Tender Spring/Summer 2011

Late last week I met up with William again for a look at Tender’s new Spring/Summer 2011 collection. It’s always nice to see him, one because he’s a very nice chap but also because a conversation with him is like a conversation with an encyclopedia (in a very, very good way) and you always come away having been taught something new. Plus I get coffee & biscuits so I’m more than happy.

Following on from the launch earlier this year, William has been refining the range and also expanding it to include a new slimmer style of jean with some different detailing from the lot 132 types, so if the first version was a bit baggy for your tastes go back and give the new style a try when it comes out. There’s also a new finish for the summer season and both styles of jean will be available dyed in Weld.

Very basically weld is a yellow natural dye and what is does is cover indigo in an amazing light yellow sheen, but one that is obviously much more vibrant on the inside, in the stitching and the Callico lining. They look more like normal jeans but at the same time you can tell there’s nothing ‘normal’ about them.

This type of dyeing really brings out all of the detailing in the jeans, whereas indigo over-dyeing makes them harder to spot – so in many ways they’re less subtle than the over dyed versions, but at the same time look more like standard jeans (if that makes any sense). Basically they’re different but ace. Also, how they’re going to fade is going to be interesting, will the wear patches turn green as indigo washes through the Weld? The proof’s going to be in the wearing (I’ve already ordered my pair)…

As William has tried to gently extend the range, it now also has a shirting element to it. This is in the form of a pullover workers shirt in cotton calico with a two button pleated placket (the buttons are cast Aluminium and depending on the dyeing process have a different finish to them). The sleeves stop a couple of inches shorter than most shirts as a direct influence of the working shirts railway men would wear and can be rolled and buttoned if so desired. All of the shirts have the tender logo printed on the lower left hand side, which is designed to fade when washed and there a three colours to choose from – white cotton, woad blue or weld yellow.

The T-shirts have evolved too, and as with the other pieces there’s now a Weld dyed version (and the colour is slightly more mustard then on the shirt due to the way the fabric takes the dye). This season the printed T-shirts take their inspiration from Christoph Brunner and his illustrations for ‘to the Glory of God’ from 1729. The illustrations themselves were done in a single line which bears direct correlation with what Tender try and do by using as few breaks in the stitching process as possible.

Then there’s the recent Tender collaboration with the guys at The Hillside on a small range of woad dyed accessories. These should be available soon and the range consists of a tie, bandana, scarf and a pocket square. Very simple but beautiful nonetheless. Another great touch is that the paper that wraps the products was used to remove the oxidised top layer when dyeing the pieces, so even that is woad dyed and then over printed.

Then last but not least there’s the leather pieces (apologies though as I forgot to photograph them). Next season sees the introduction of a natural leather bag, the front bottom and back of which are made from a single piece of oak bark tanned leather with the sides stitched in with waxed thread and then riveted at the strain points. It’s a single large compartment with no internal pockets and no lining.

Open it up and on the inside you can clearly see it’s a piece of animal skin – I for one really like this, it’s true to the material and the animal it came from, it’s not an item that has been cleaned up and polished and devoid of any signs of it’s origins. Plus the bag itself is a thing of beauty and one that is going to wear unbelievably as it’s used – the tab by the buckle will darken, the back will rub against your clothes, scuffing and taking on the dye from your jeans etc. I’m looking forward to seeing one of these after a years use.

The belts have a new style too, with a different buckle (an ‘s’ slide buckle), it’s available in the natural and black that the original belts came in with the Tender logo and info silver foil blocked on the inside. All in all the products are a great extension to an already great range and it’s good to see William getting the recognition he deserves.

For more information on the brand go to their site here: Tender.