Joshua Kane, Joshua Kane Tailors
London, UK
From fine tailoring to hats, leather jackets to accessories and now introducing women’s wear, Joshua Kane’s designs are synonymous with quality, luxury, style, and individuality but most of all his work represents a desire and passion to create from his heart.
What business aspects have led to the success of Joshua Kane Tailors?
Part of our success can largely be attributed to how we draw inspiration from history. A lot of our collections are inspired by historical characters, something I thoroughly research and develop before release. Our latest runway show for London fashion week was made up of characters from the 1920’s, albeit recreated with some minor changes to suit with current times.
I personally feel that this resonates with our customers, as they can see themselves dressing in a certain real way – as opposed to dictated by trends.
For marketing, you’ll be surprised to know that we carry out everything in-house. I feel that this is a very personable approach, and it carries through to our intended audiences. If we had an outside agency come in, there would be some losses in our message which I feel would jeopardize the brand integrity.
The PR is also done in-house. We have a fully capable and skilled team that manages everything from content production to other creatives like photo ops. Our team of photographers, writers, copywriters, and editors are all on the same page when it comes to projecting our brand’s message. This is the only way to stay true and keep your engagement consistent across all platforms.
What do you think is the future of tailoring? Do you see technology replacing the essential art of tailoring for instance, cutting, measuring or producing bespoke suits?
There is certainly an impact of technology on tailoring, but not to the extent that it can replace the art of tailoring. We are very old school when it comes to our in-house tailoring, with all patterns being drawn and cut from scratch. We are proud of old-world craftsmanship, and will keep it that way.
It’s not to say that computers and technology haven’t influenced the way we do business. We absolutely need it when building out creative decks, storyboards, style editing, etc. Any type of marketing collateral is largely done with the assistance of technology.
What is Joshua Kane Tailors’ unique value proposition and how do you acquire your customers?
Where I feel we stand out, and which is what the customers see and aspire to, is the making and styling of particular characters. This is a big part of our business. We cater to people that like to stand out a little and look different – and are not afraid to do so. This is why I spend a great deal of time developing collections around characters and periods. It’s that aspirational aspect we use for brand appeal.
We are also a fully vertically integrated company, with exclusive designs from mills we work with. That is a real luxury in this day and age. Our recent runway collection all consisted of exclusive fabrics with our selvage. This really helps to set us apart.
We’ve also worked on a number of television shows, producing their outfits. Our latest work consists of 18 outfits made for the lead character of a new Netflix show coming out soon. We also did 6 outfits for a film recently, and we do have some celebrities that we cater to.
All this has certainly made the Joshua Kane brand experience unique, and continues to do so. While I am glad we’ve had some exposure through film, tv, and celebrities – that impact is not quantifiable. I’d much rather provide everyone the same level of experience, than live off the short-term gains from A-listers.