Just the Trickett
In anticipation of their Miles Davis inspired Ivy Shirts and to learn more about one of my favourite brands, I’m pleased to welcome, Iain Trickett founder of TRiCKETT England.
It was about seven years ago or so, I remember I kept coming across socks by the same brand again and again. Not because of paid advertisements, but word of mouth, it seemed like people couldn’t get enough of them.
I was working in a menswear store at the time, in a lot of ways I was in my element, I made friends with regulars and got to chat with them about clothes all day long.
One day, a regular customer came in wearing a striped tee, with a small tab on the breast pocket. The tab read, TRiCKETT, the same brand that made the socks I’d heard so much about.
I asked him about the brand and he gave them a glowing review. I thought I’d see what all the talk was about and order something for myself. That glowing revue couldn’t have been more deserved.
Ever since then, I’ve been going to them for anything and everything.
When I started Easy On The Ivy, I knew I wanted to do interviews, and I thought a great way to kick them off would be to welcome the man behind the brand that inspires me so much. I then saw online he announced he’d be making Miles Davis inspired Ivy Shirts. Then it wasn’t a case of if I’d interview him, but when.
In anticipation of the Ivy Shirts and to learn more about the brilliant, TRiCKETT, I’m pleased to welcome founder, Iian Trickett.
Firstly, Iain, thank you for taking part in this; I’ve loved TRiCKETT for quite some time.
From the Shetland jumpers I wear to the pajamas I sleep in, to the coffee I drink, you’ve built something really unique that I think reflects your personality. For those who may not have heard of the brand, what would be your introduction to them?
You are more than welcome Tom, it is a pleasure to go anywhere and get the chance to talk about clothes and style, so thank you for having me on here. In a nutshell, TRiCKETT is a clothing brand from Accrington which sells items manufactured in the best places by people that we care about. There are lots of ways to describe what we do ranging from ‘concept shop’ to ‘lifestyle store’, but what I think we do well to present interesting items in an approachable way.
I am not a trained designer, but clothing and shoes are my lifelong passion. I like to communicate my ideas with people and offer an alternative way to buy clothes online that is fun, conscious and a little bit different. I love randomness and unpredictability but never compromise on quality.
Over the last 11 years since the brand started, I am incredibly proud to have cultivated a wonderful community through social media, who have helped to shape TRiCKETT into what it is today. I couldn’t introduce the brand without mentioning the community at the heart of it.
It feels like you’re someone who’s not afraid to take risks, which I think is something that your customers, including me, really appreciate. Is that something you’re conscious of when making decisions?
It is really easy to take risks when you are doing something for the enjoyment of things and not profit. Usually the stuff that I like the most flops and what I consider the more ‘safe’ items always fly out of the door, which is only natural as the stuff I really like is for a very ‘Iain’ niche. I wouldn’t say that what I do is contrived in any way, I just make stuff that I like. I know how frustrating it can be when I don’t remake things or do a reprint etc, but I just think that it makes items feel much more special, like when I got a Kermit the Frog Supreme t-shirt, if they were reprinted a month later, it would’ve lost that excitement for me.
Making things that you can’t get elsewhere is what makes the shop and brand different from others and I think this is what makes TRiCKETT successful. You only have to look at how multi-brand stores across the world are in a near-permanent sale as they compete with each other over price, but we don’t have to do that as you can only get our products from us. Again, stocking our own branded product and things from exclusive, branded partners can be a risk, but that is a road that I will always go down ahead of stocking things that ‘sell’ because at that point you are just another shop selling the same brands as everyone else.
What’s a product that you have sold or currently sell that you’d say is quintessentially TRiCKETT?
I interpret the ‘quintessentially TRiCKETT’ items as those which are high-quality basics, of which we stock a few! However, it all started with socks for us and I feel that they are still the most important thing that we sell. They are an essential item for most of us when we get ready in a morning and represent the first ever relationship that we made with a factory here in the UK. Our partner factory has been making socks in Leicestershire since the 19th century and the current owner is still a family member. The care and attention that goes into a pair of socks can never really be underestimated and that is why I think it represents us, detail-driven, understated and ultimately very useful.
I also genuinely believe our sweatshirts, which are made in Portugal, are the best in the world and that our t-shirts that we have made in Los Angeles (who we got a bloke out of retirement in Mexico to knit the fabric for) have the best story in the history of t-shirt making.
I believe that the stories are what make our products special and that every item we make/stock has a reason to be in the shop.
So, in summary, socks, sweatshirts and t-shirts are three items that will forever be TRiCKETT staples.
I wanted to invite you onto the blog for a number of reasons, but mainly because of your upcoming Ivy Shirt drop. What can you tell us about it?
Well as a proud Ivy enthusiast, I was waiting for this question haha. I have made a few shirts in the past with all the details that we all look for (nice collar roll, locker loop, mother of pearl buttons etc), but I was never truly happy with them. So, I made it my focus in the last part of 2023 to get the whole thing right.
I was merrily getting on with my work when I got an email from someone who I can’t name saying that they had access to the original Miles Davis ‘Milestones’ shirt. As you can imagine I had a million questions and asked if I could come and see it, however it was a considerable flight away and I am not sure that my accountant would like that.
What I will say is that the measurements for the size small will be the exact ones that he wore and we will grade up (this is when you make each size) the shirts in accordance with this, so no matter what your size, you will be as close to the great man as possible. The shirt will come in the classic green (which no-one has got right yet), a lovely blue and the classic blue and white university stripe. All the details will be there and many, many more.
What went into choosing the colourways and designs?
I believe that the Miles shirt hasn’t been done properly yet and it is a bit of a cult item amongst Ivy enthusiasts, so that had to be done. The university stripe is always a popular choice and can be dressed up or down depending on the mood and for me is something that should be in any wardrobe. Then finally we needed something ‘Kind of Blue’ to pay homage to the great man and that is why we made a blue shirt too.
When you were designing the shirts, did you have an archive of pieces you referredback to as inspiration?
I am super lucky to have some great Brooks Brothers pieces from the 1950s and some great pieces from the ‘80s and ‘90s too that influenced the shirt. However, I always lean super heavily into my mum’s British Mod / Skin influences from the 1960s. The shirts were just a little sharper and more aggressively tailored (which isn’t really my personal style) than their American counterparts and that is something that I have included in our shirt, making it fit a little closer to the body.
There are still a few very specialist shirt makers in the USA who make wonderful shirts to an exceptional standard from custom fabrics which you cannot get anywhere else.
Which only proves to me that there are still people looking for old styles and classic clothing.
Here’s a hint of what’s to come from Trickett’s Twitter!
What was your introduction to Ivy Style?
Weirdly it was my dad. He has always been a huge fan of classic American clothing and he still is to this day. In my whole life I don’t think I have ever seen him leave the house without his trademark button down collared shirts, wool sweater and flat front chinos. I always thought that this was just him being a weird dad, but he explained to me many years later that it was just a classic look that he copied from the film ‘The Graduate’ as he thought that is something that Americans wore. Turns out, they did fora while… not so much anymore.
Then as I got older and got into tailoring from the UK and Italy, I learned about the more relaxed and louche style of Ivy and then made the pilgrimage to London to shop at John Simons as many of us have done for years before and will continue to do so.
I know you’re big into Italian Football; are there any American sports you like? I’m a Green Bay Packers fan, and I genuinely think one of the reasons I like the NFL so much is just for the kits and colours they use.
In a strange set of circumstances, I got into football and American sports around the same time. I was visiting my great aunt in Florida a lot and reading up on sport and American culture whilst trying to convince my dad to eat the melon that my aunt had made for me. He started getting into American football in the early ‘80s and is still a passionate Detroit Lions fan to this day.
American sports were a much bigger influence on the brand when I first started than they are today, but there is always that background of American athletic basics in everything that I do. To answer your question, yes, I like most US Sports with basketball being my favourite (LA Clippers… I know), American football (Seattle Seahawks) is something I like but college football is far more interesting to me.
The intersection between rising professionals and kids that are fresh out of high school is unlike any other sport. The crowds that the bigger teams get are crazy too, I am a big Florida State fan and they regularly get 80,000+ for home games, GO NOLES!
I got into baseball later on, but I am a Dodgers fan because I am a fan of the city of angels and the two things go hand in hand. Finally, the LA Kings because I loved Wayne Gretzky and he moved to them just as I was getting into hockey.
How did the Neapolitan influence of TRiCKETT occur?
I have been a Napoli fan for as long as I can remember watching football Italia on Channel 4. They were a team living in the shadow of Maradona when I first started being interested in them - I am always seemingly drawn to teams that are underdogs or have a strange history haha.
Whenever anyone would ask me, I would always say Iliked Napoli and people would always give me a perplexed look which only made me like them more.
I had always heard that the city was unlike anywhere else on Earth and when I got the opportunity to go for a short break, I came back as a changed person. The people, the food, the football, the clothes, the Vesuvio, everything made me think that this was the
place that I needed to be… they also invented pizza… I also managed to meet some of the nicest people you could ever hope to speak with in the city and have made lifelong friends there. Two of whom are Dutch, but we will save that story for another time.
I really like that you share the people behind the scenes who make up the TRiCKETT family and play a part in making it what it is. Who are some of the people you’reworking with at the moment?
Yikes! At the moment we are working with Neil and Steve at separate factories within the UK on socks. Upender in Bolton makes our beautiful jackets and overshirts and Roy in Leicester makes our amazing rugby shirts.Anabela, Filipe and Antonio in Portugal are making our t-shirts and shirts. Then we have Carlos and Mitchell in Los Angeles making t-shirts and there are many other localmanufacturers making things that I haven’t quite finalised yet.
I treat all of our suppliers like family, so that we can be honest with each other and ensure we do the best by each other.
Also, I’m incredibly lucky to be able to work with my dad, Barrie, every day. He’s in charge of postage and packaging and can wrap a parcel in our signature brown paper faster than anyone I’ve ever seen.
Do you have a dream collaboration or product you’d love to make?
I would genuinely love to design a car… I know I have gone big there, but I really think there is a gaping wide hole in the market for affordable cars that are energy efficient, look great and are built in the UK.
Nissan Qashqai, I’m looking at you! I also quite like the idea of making my own Pot Noodle, but that isn’t very glamorous.
Randomly, the idea of making a kitchen surface spray really appeals to me too.
Finally, other than the Ivy shirts, what should people be stocking up on from TRiCKETT?
We do an ace job of t-shirts and polo shirts, so I think that is what you should be looking to from us.
We also stock a great cut of jeans called the Coppice Cut which were in the works for a long time and I’m incredibly proud of how they turned out.
They look great and flatter most frames. Additionally, our line of sweatshirts always tick a lot of those ‘Ivy detail’ boxes that we all know and love.
Thanks for taking part, Iain, and thank you for doing what you’re doing; there’s only one TRiCKETT.
You heard Iain, there’s plenty for you to go and check out, so why not do it now. Head on over to https://www.trickett-england.co.uk/
All the best and thank you for reading,
Tom
Track of the blog: Brian Wilson - Pacific Ocean Blues