Studio Visit: James Coward

We spoke to ⅔ of the team behind James Coward last week about the goings-on at their brand: conspiratorial, inspirational, and editorial alike. A conversation filled with sharing current perspectives and gaining new ones, teasing the hot spots of Vancouver, and diving into the current and longtime vintage obsessions of the owners/designers. It’s a fun one.

You can shop our selection of James Coward products here.

You often use the term “CO-CONSPIRATORS” to describe the people who work in tandem to create James Coward. We love that this implies something a little sinister and conspiratorial, like whispers amongst friends. How do the co-conspirators behind James Coward gather? Can you describe what these meetings look, feel, and sound like?

We’re so lucky to have a diverse group of “co-conspirators” with backgrounds in music, apparel, industrial design, architecture, fine art - you name it. Vancouver has a small, but tightly knit scene which draws people together from all sorts of creative backgrounds, and there are a few restaurants, bars, stores, and 3rd spaces where this community gathers. For us, many of these ‘conspiratorial’ meetings occur at “Deep Blue” - a once-hallowed after hours venue above an autobody shop where we are now headquartered. The building is still mainly a music hub, with the former dance floor converted to recording studios where many of our friends are making exciting and propulsive music. -PB

Using terms such as the above is, by our estimation, also a gentle reflexive reminder not to take ourselves too seriously. We love what we do and take pride in our work, but at the end of the day, it’s important to each of us to chuckle at some of life’s vocational and avocational absurdities. - AG

James Coward’s clear perspective and voice must come from strong creative direction. How does a group of 3 navigate the creative direction of a brand? Is it equal weight at all times, or does each person have his own strengths and take the lead in certain areas?

It honestly hasn’t felt like that much of a challenge - we’ve been working together as a troika for over 5 years now, and we’ve all known each other for much longer than that. It feels like we’re aligned on the important pieces - we have many shared cultural references and we are all uncompromising when it comes to robust construction and the quality of the fabrics we use. Each of us brings a unique perspective to the project though, in terms of individual interests or priorities, and I’ve found personally that this has enriched my own worldview. Whether that’s a movie recommendation from Aaron with great wardrobe design, or a piece of vintage workwear that Dan is geeking on, everything comes together in a way that feels additive. Plus, when the odd disagreement occurs, three is a magic number when it comes to breaking a
tie. - PB

It’s very difficult to articulate how and why our creative direction has crystallized in the manner it has. We all have a very strong shared understanding of what James Coward is, and what our values are, and as such it’s easy to make decisions through that lens; our distinct sensibilities and personal tastes and references ultimately add to the depth of our consideration set, and, ultimately, our shared dialogue. - AG

A brand wholly based on collaboration seems like it would push the limits of invention, iteration, and intuition resulting in a line only as exquisite as James Coward. Do you find yourselves lending the mindset of collaboration into styling with your personal wardrobes? When are you styling your line with other brands, and which brands—up and coming, long established, vintage—are you often styling with?

While our garments have begun to represent a majority of the clothing and footwear that I wear on a day to day basis, I definitely find joy in integrating other brands into my wardrobe. Most recently, a few pairs of vintage Ys for Men trousers sourced by our friend Yong who runs usedinternetshop out of Seoul have been in particularly heavy rotation, as have a couple of shirts from Tender that I’ve acquired over the past few years. - PB

On social occasions and events, we do generally have to coordinate to make sure we don’t rock up in matching sets, but otherwise I think while we all have (on the surface) similar taste, each of us has a very distinct personal style. I mostly wear James Coward, but I also tend to pair it with older Yohji/Y’s, Issey Miyake, and Comme Homme Plus, with a few select (sort of) contemporary pieces from Lemaire and Man-tle. - AG

It’s understood that many designers pull inspiration from the long history of clothing, attire, and other forms of dressing since the beginning of dressing itself. We’re curious about James Coward’s nontraditional forms of inspiration—food, furniture, outdoor spaces? A brief moment looking out a window at a tree whose limbs are ever so subtly swaying in the wind? When and where do you feel most inspired to bring a fresh perspective back to your co-conspirators?

For myself, I feel the most creatively juiced by two modes of inspiration. Catching up with some of the above-mentioned ‘co-conspirators’ in a quick outdoor respite at one of Vancouver’s after-hours venues is a big one for me. Not only is it inspiring to see a friend perform and tap so immediately into their creative process, but it’s always a good forum for people watching and outfit clocking. On the opposite side of that spectrum, I’m inspired too by time spent outdoors. The last few summers I’ve been getting into Bikepacking - mostly throughout the Southern Gulf Islands - and I find that the time with no service, surrounded by sandstone topography and the colour palette of these little microbiomes that exist solely along the southern coast of BC, is so invigorating. It’s cool too to engage with the Bikepacking community as far as soft goods construction goes - it’s a hobby with a strong DIY ethos that results in some cool solutions as far as bag construction - materials, weatherproofing, dyeing, fasteners and notions. It’s been interesting to talk with those folks about garment construction as well. -PB

I’m a big ‘as i was moving ahead i occasionally saw brief glimpses of beauty’ type of fella; anything, be it monumental or mundane, that puts me in touch with wonder, awe, and the mystical oneness of all things deep down is always very moving and inspiring to me. Sometimes this is when I’m contemplating the construction of a sentence, and other times it’s when I’m driving on the open road listening to Watermusic II. It’s all heat. - AG

You can follow James Coward at www.james-coward.com and on instagram @jamescoward.

Photographs provided by James Coward.