WILLIAM RICHARD GREEN | SPRING / SUMMER 2013 MENS COLLECTION

British menswear designer William Richard Green presented his take on an alternative and ‘anit-postcard’ view of Britain for his military-inspired Spring / Summer 2013 collection.

The line, entitled ‘Home is Where the Heart is’ displayed a modern reworking of traditional British, no-frills, attire. Born in Worcester and growing up in the countryside just outside of Birmingham, Green took inspiration from his rural British heritage when crafting his Spring / Summer 2013 line.

Green clearly has a passion for well-made and quintessentially British garments, a trait which echoed noisily throughout his latest collection. Making the most of the material Great Britain has to offer, Green used a variety of British-sourced fabrics, such as herringbone, jersey, cotton – and even rubber from Derbyshire.

William Richard Green’s models had that ‘small town tough guy’ look about them. However, by dressing these ‘hard men’ in exquisitely tailored garb, any sense of foreboding fell by the wayside. Green’s role as one half of the techno and house outfit, Joe and Will Ask, undoubtedly had a strong influence on his Spring / Summer 2013 collection. His fondness for rubber, modernism and Nu Rave was key throughout the line. There was a lively vibe to Green’s work with large dark polka-dots sitting boldly against the London-based designer’s cool monochrome palette.

A sense of heritage clashingly angrily against a definitively hipster feel made for an interesting juxtaposition; oversized T-shirts sat alongside delicately tailored trousers, army-green bomber jackets were teamed up with crisp white round-collared dress shirts.

His aggressive Spring / Summer 2013 collection stands this former Central Saint Martin’s student in good stead for his future menswear career. William Richard Green has already roused excitement within the industry and has certainly made a mark for himself as an up-and-coming designer – one to certainly keep an eye on.

- Ellen Stewart