There’s something marvellously Madchester-centric about the cultural references that inspire Seven Layer CEO and creative director Jamie Lundy. ‘I’m an ’80s and ’90s kid, growing up in my early teens with The Haçienda, Stone Island, CP Company, Kickers, The Stone Roses, Oasis, City and United,’ he says. ‘Of course that’s going to inspire the label now and in the future.’
Stockport-born, Manchester-based Lundy – who took over the tech sportswear brand in 2017 – has found specific influence in the performance-focused and militaristic outerwear styles popularised by the Madchester scene’s most riotous musical figureheads. Today, brands beloved by Oasis, like Stone Island and CP Company (both founded by Massimo Osti) are enjoying an enthusiastic style renaissance, due to consumer investment in technologically innovative and craftsmanship-focused clothing. Stone Island was acquired by Moncler in December 2020, at a valuation figure of €1.15bn.
Seven Layer’s flagship boutique in Alderley Edge, UK
When Lundy – a former British gymnast and engineer – took the reins at Seven Layer, he was keen to instill a ‘grittier, military aesthetic’ into its DNA, ‘with a performance and technical outerwear twist’. The brand is based on the concept of seven clothing components, the first being a base layer, the third a thermal layer and the seventh a cold layer, which can be built onto the body according to need. Lundy recruited design director Chris Vandrill – who has also worked for sustainable outdoor clothing company Finisterre and cycling brand Pearson – to create the brand’s Origin System, a functional and minimalist collection, inspired by garments in the ‘US Military Generation III Extended Climate Weather Clothing System', a 1980s-developed offering designed to provide adequate protection for soldiers operating in temperatures between -60 and +40°F (-51 to +4°C).
Available to purchase at the brand’s Alderley Edge flagship boutique and at United Arrows’ Roppongi boutique in Tokyo, Seven Layer’s Origin System is made up of protective and high-performing pieces, including T-shirts, sweatshirts and parkas. Its ‘Modular Down Outer' jacket is lightweight, stretchy, water-repellent even in torrential downpours and created using DownTek, a fabric with premium down clusters that trap air to provide maximum insulation.
RELATED STORY
As part of Lundy's overhaul of Seven Layer, he was keen to restrucutre its manufacturing processes and supply chains. Pieces in the collection, including the brand's Liam Gallagher-worthy camouflaged ‘Field Parka’, were manufacturd by British outerwear company ArkAir, using 100 per cent organic cotton from Dinsmore Kells in Northern Island. ‘My family-managed engineering company spent the last 40 years fabricating in UK factories in Stockport and Irlam; it made sense to try and continue at least some of that mindset,' Lundy says.
‘It’s in my blood and my soul,' he adds of his affinity for Manchester as a city. Whether wearing the brand's pieces to brave the elements on a mountain, or simply when listening to Oasis while strolling down your local high street, now the city’s stylistic signatures can be part of you too.
INFORMATION
-
The great American museum boomNine of the world’s top ten most expensive, recently announced cultural projects are in the US. What is driving this investment, and is this statistic sustainable?
-
Here’s how Heathrow is reimagining airport chaos as ambient musicGrammy-nominated Jordan Rakei turns travel noise into a meditative soundtrack by sampling everything from baggage belts to jet engines
-
Wallpaper* checks into Gansevoort Meatpacking, an art-filled hotel that mirrors the district’s glow-upThis sharp, stylish New York hotel is a fixture in its neighbourhood, where boutiques, restaurants and clubs have long since taken over spaces once occupied by slaughterhouses
-
These illuminating fashion interviews tell the story of style in 2024Selected by fashion features editor Jack Moss from the pages of Wallpaper*, these interviews tell the stories behind the designers who have shaped 2024 – from Kim Jones to Tory Burch, Willy Chavarria to Martine Rose
-
Rick Owens’ new Moncler collaboration features a surreal ‘demountable mountain refuge’ inspired by Charlotte PerriandYour first look at Rick Owens’ latest Moncler collaboration, a mountain refuge designed alongside extreme-condition experts Hugh Broughton Architects and an accompanying clothing collection made for ‘hibernating’
-
‘I was captivated by the idea of merging two iconic brands’: Nigo on his 1990s-inspired collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-BenzUnveiled at Moncler’s ‘The City of Genius’ event in Shanghai this past weekend, Japanese fashion designer Nigo unpacks his three-way collaboration with Moncler and Mercedes-Benz, which includes a play on the G-Class alongside a fashion collection in his eclectic style
-
‘If you’re a proper designer, you can design many different forms’: Jony Ive unpacks his modular LoveFrom, Moncler outerwear collectionFive years in the making, LoveFrom and Moncler’s shape-shifting jacket collection marks a new direction for Jony Ive. Speaking to Laura May Todd in Milan, he talks forging new paths and staying curious
-
Utilitarian men’s fashion that will elevate your everydayFrom Prada to Margaret Howell, utilitarian and workwear-inspired men’s fashion gets an upgrade for S/S 2024
-
First look at Moncler’s blockbuster new exhibition, which turns Milan Central Station into an immersive public galleryWallpaper* takes an exclusive look at Moncler’s new Jefferson Hack-curated exhibition, which features portraits of an eclectic cast of international creatives, including artist Daniel Arsham, musician Rina Sawayama and make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench
-
Moncler reaches new heights with blockbuster Grenoble show on the slopes of St MoritzWallpaper* heads to the snowy peaks of St Moritz for a Moncler Grenoble show which asserted the outerwear behemoth’s dominance over the slopes – with a fittingly star-studded guest list to match
-
Moncler and Sacai have united to create the wardrobe of the futureBridging past, present and future, Chitose Abe of Sacai looks forward 70 years for a new Moncler collaboration
