Up some death defying and later down life affirming stairs is Freddie Nieddu’s world.
Nestled behind England’s first social housing project, his studio, showroom and atelier is quickly and quietly becoming the place that a certain sort visits.
London has a habit of moment’s, brief sparks which demand surface deep attention, IT places and things, often they damply fizzle out and onto the next, but sometimes these moments sink under the skin and become significant, they cut through the expected, bypass trends and become something other, they become themselves.
Calm and elegant, Fred is the very model of his work, wearing our cashmere driving sweater over a shirt to draft patterns and under a coat to run errands.
Fred wears the Navy Driving Sweater
And what is his work? Well, the suit is dead, sweatpants, sofa working and tat is the future, that’s right isn’t it? I’m not sure, actually, I think it’s nonsense, this future, our future will differ from the predicted as wildly as 2000 did for those in 1960. Personal flying cars aren’t here and the assured, sensual luxury of Freddie’s tailoring, it’s basis rooted in tradition because you learn from that, the flourishes artistic and practical because from art and purpose come beauty isn’t just the actual future, it’s the now. The always.
At this point, someone might suggest, “what is a clothing company doing talking about the clothes of others?”, erm, well, great chef’s eat everywhere, painters talk and architects pound the streets, it is in Connolly’s DNA to be forward thinking, progressive and worldly, so why wouldn’t we shine a light on what is great, especially when it looks even greater with a bit of our 8 ply?
Words and Photography by Daniel Jenkins