McCARTNEY PHOTO BLOG: March 2014

24/03/2014

Style Hunter: Alasdhair Willis

Alasdhair Willis, 42, is the newly appointed creative director of Hunter and the husband of Stella McCartney, with whom he has four children. After graduating in fine art from the Slade, Willis became the publishing director of Wallpaper magazine, and founded the furniture design company Established & Sons, and the brand consultancies Announcement and the Anonymous Partner. His wife’s brand aside, he has consulted for David Beckham’s Bodywear collection for H&M, Adidas and Alfred Dunhill. Since Willis joined Hunter the brand has introduced two new sub-brands, Hunter Original and Hunter Field. Hunter Original showed its first collection for autumn/winter at London Fashion Week last month. It will go on sale in July. Hunter Field, offering specialist performance footwear, outerwear and accessories, will launch for spring/summer 2015.

Personal style I would say it’s consistent, considered and mostly appropriate. Every day is quite different for me but most days involve a tailored suit or jacket. I like formality, even more so when it’s not required.

Fashion soft spot Bespoke suits; boring maybe, but I’m addicted to the process and the result. Henry Rose has been my tailor for 15 years. The most memorable outfit I’ve ever worn was a magnificent wool double-breasted suit by Henry Rose. I wore it to the Palace when my wife was awarded her OBE. It’s a suit that the great sartorialist Edward VIII would have been proud of.

Wardrobe rules My wardrobes are extremely organised at all times. Everything falls into formal, informal and sport.

Favourite designers Miuccia Prada – and Stella McCartney.

Favourite piece of clothing Right now it’s a blue rubber bomber jacket from the new a/w 14 Hunter Original collection. It represents the exciting new face of the brand.

T-shirts Sunspel – the short-sleeve crew-neck T-shirt in white and black is a favourite.

Watch I have had my Rolex Explorer II for nearly 20 years. It’s been my daily companion for that entire time. It was the first thing I bought myself when I started earning.

Socks Look no further than New & Lingwood. I wear only plain colours, no pattern.

Jewellery Only my wedding band.

Jeans I wear Acne Roc Raw.

If you could go to only one shop It would have to be Berry Bros & Rudd.

Exercise regime Football, cycling, tennis and boxing, but not at the same time. My tennis racquet is a Head Graphene Radical Pro custom edition in black, and I wearAdidas adiPower Barricade 8.0 shoes.

Grooming I wash my face with warm water and then cold water, finishing off by stealing some of my wife’s expensive moisturiser.

Furniture I have many favourite pieces of furniture but if pushed to pick one it would be a table I bought in auction by Gerrit Rietveld. It was made in the 1920s and I get a massive amount of pleasure every time I look at it. Nothing is allowed on it, of course.

Bedside reading After resisting reading it for months I’ve succumbed to the Morrissey autobiography. As one of his biggest admirers since the early 1980s, I hesitated to read it for fear of disappointment. I’m also reading An Unsung Hero by Michael Smith, about an Antarctic explorer called Tom Crean. But my favourite book of all time is The Lost Ones by Samuel Beckett.

Smallest luxury My first coffee of the day.

Biggest luxury I’m not saying, but it does involve wheels, speed and very beautiful lines.

The perfect day Any day where I get to hang out all day with my wife and kids. I don’t care where we are or what we’re doing.