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Brand Stan: Joe Brunner On Namacheko

For a Browns buyer, possessing an encyclopaedic knowledge of fashion is a given. Season after season, our team of experts head out into the fashion wilds, harvesting the cream of the crop of both new names and tried-and-tested favourites. Like the hunter gatherers of the fashion world, without them, our fashion appetites would surely starve.

What does it take then, for a brand to cut through the noise? To rocket a seasoned professional back to their buying roots? We asked Menswear Buyer Joe Brunner to tell us about the new brand that captured both his personal and professional heart this season…

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"As a buyer, one of the blessings of the job is being exposed to great brands every season. That being said, it’s possible to develop a certain numbness over time, and the brands that appeal to my inner child are few and far between. As I approach 30, that’s what I find myself searching for more and more. I look for brands that transport me back to my golden years; brands that capture a wide-eyed naivety; ones that light the spark. Namacheko does this.

Entering the market in 2017, designers Dilan and Lezan’s first collection certainly turned heads. With no prior background in fashion (both studied civil engineering), Namacheko’s meteoric rise was refreshing. At a time where many relied on clout and hype, Namacheko organically grew 38 stockists within the year. Celebrity endorsement came later - a byproduct of appreciation and understanding from their audience, rather than a carefully strategised marketing plan. Dilan and Lezan’s experimental outlook can also be attributed to their Kurdish heritage, and it’s this cultural identity that has become synonymous with each collection.

As for me, the events of last year certainly tested my fashion faith (as I’m sure it did for many), but it was Namacheko’s AW21 collection that restored it. Not to sound hyperbolic, but the collection, named Plato’s Fallout, blew my mind. The details in construction were superb, from the lattice-structured knitwear to the geometric jackets.

As a buyer, you can build a range from the knitwear alone. As a wearer, it’s this particular category that has me rocketing back in time and regaling tales of my glory days.

For AW21, the deconstructed knitwear looked as if it’d been woven by Shelob herself (the giant spider from Lord Of The Rings). How did they utilise such fantastical techniques? It boggled my mind. And let's not forget about the outerwear, which was arguably just as good. Glimpsing the back of a biker jacket, I couldn’t help but think how its 3D panelling reminded me of the chocolate fingers I'd snack on after school. The white Laertes Bomber (black in the show) could easily be donned by a fashionable Dexter in his laboratory (whilst Dee Dee wreaks havoc in a pink tulle Molly Goddard dress.)

You can also see the symbiotic relationship between the designers’ civil engineering background and the fashion they create; a juxtaposition of tailoring and rebellious textures and structures. This duality is also apparent in their show location - they often use Espace Niemeyer, the French communist party HQ in Paris, renowned for its distinctive, experimental architecture. Their relationship with Gysemans Clothing Group has also cemented their status amongst fashion’s technical elite.

Spotting Namacheko in the wild is quite rare, which makes owning a piece that bit more special. I’ll never forget my first sighting of Namacheko. I saw someone wearing their multicoloured gradient coat at London Fashion Week, and I thought to myself: “That would be the technicoloured dream coat that this Joseph would pick.”

Their consistent fluidity in design and ability to seek out creativity from artists such as Gregory Crewdson is how Dilan continues to progress the collections each season. What they’ve achieved is an oxymoron in some ways; understated beauty with extravagance… and I hope it never stops. Namacheko teleports me back in time and demands my full attention. Namacheko reminds me why I fell in love with this polarising industry in the first place. You might even say it’s my spirit brand."

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