Luxury unisex streetwear brand SAM MC London has debuted its Fall/Winter 2014 collection in Singapore at Salon by Surrender. Established in 2010 by designer Samuel McWilliams – a graphic designer-turned-streetwear enthusiast – SAM MC London the high-end unisex label champions individualism and self-expression in an avant-garde mix of contemporary streetwear designs that are simultaneously wearable and utilitarian.
With a lookbook that is styled by i-D Fashion Editor Jack Borkett and shot by photographer Greta Ileva, thenew collection showcases McWilliams’ latest design concept inspired by fantasy yet grounded in practicality. The collection’s neutral palette, athleticism and futuristic accents reference early 2000s Gaultier, Helmut Lang and Henri Lloyd.
“I have a very visual, almost storybook perspective on my clothing and the world that I am creating. Dressed in the design, the models become “your manga-esque heroes with ninja training, abandoned in space to fight for their own destiny. This season, I imagined them on their day off, alone on their space station, working out and watching old films,” says McWilliams.
We stole some precious time from McWilliams and discussed about the wacky label and style.
Nookmag (N): What draws you to street wear?
Sam McWilliams (S): I think you can get to wear whatever you want on the streets. If you’re confident enough, you could go crazy with prints like our tattoo pieces. If you want to tone it down with a pair of jeans, you could wear a graphic tee. On the streets, there are different personalities and different people wearing different sort of clothes. You get inspiration from one another. For us, everything starts from the streets, we’re not looking at catwalks. I can’t label us a street wear brand, the fabrics that we use are more luxurious. We have to make our clothes suitable for all types of occasions.
N: What do you think about the street wear scene and how do you try to differentiate yourself?
S: For me, it’s designing clothes that I would usually wear. When I go out, I’d wear a pair of Nike, jeans and tee shirt. It’s about trying to make yourself feel comfortable and not trying too hard. If you’re going to be wearing a longer tee, you got to be comfortable wearing it. If you’re not comfortable, don’t wear it. A lot more guys are conscious about fashion, which is nice. I think if more people are comfortable with what they are wearing, it will influence more people and from there, you get the vibe of these people and it’s quite nice.
N: This fantasy world that you’re creating with your collection, how personal is it to you?
S: Everything that I design is very personal. I take inspiration from my childhood, like growing up here in Asia. We’re not designing something for the sake of designing. Everything is super personal to us. We’re not going to get something out there just to try and sell. I can see myself wearing all these pieces. It’s just about trying to find an occasion for each piece and there’s a thought behind everyone.
N: Why do you think your designs appeal to Asian pop stars like 2NE1?
S: I think it could be personal taste and the quality of the clothing. Maybe it’s the story behind each piece that they can tap into and experience. But it’s also a nice working relationship that we’ve got with them as well – the pieces that we were doing for them were very personal to them. For 2NE1, we try to create a little character that is personalised for each girl, not just designing a look and feel. Whatever they put on, they can actually feel comfortable and relate to them because the clothes were tailor made.
N: Tell us more about your creative journey.
S: First, it starts with a story. We try to create characters that we can design for. We have the SAM MC guy and the SAM MC girl. We find out what they would want to wear and from there, we know the silhouettes and what sort of pieces we want to create. We try to find new ways of doing things, new materials. And we try to find a mixture between storyline and concept behind every pieces. The thing about being a graphic designer, it’s not necessarily about the prints but how they would sit on the body. Beyond the actual clothes, it’s about the brand aesthetic – how we can take the prints and put them on store branding as well. From there, we’re moving more into art. We got custom painting on bags, accessories etc.
N: Are all your apparels made to be unisex?
S: Everything is based on being unisex. It’s the whole brand aesthetic of our SAM MC girl – she wants to wear her boyfriend/brother’s clothes. They are specifically tailored for women’s wear. But if a guy is daring enough, he could wear the sheer long sleeve top. All of our girl silhouettes are all menswear. I think this is what makes it street. The SAM MC girl is more comfortable wearing boy’s clothes. My sister was a tomboy. She always steals my clothes, so I have a nostalgia of that. I’m not going to make women wear a specific collection – it’s too contrived of us.
N: Personally, what other labels do you like to wear?
S: It depends on the occasion. On normal days like today, I like to wear my Levi jeans and Nike. I’m obsessed with Nike. I wear Nike everyday just because you can wear them with completely different pieces. But then, I like Givenchy tees as well because my sister does the prints there. When I’m wearing Givenchy pieces, it’s not like I’m wearing Givenchy the label, I’m actually wearing something my sister designed. That’s the background behind it.
N: Do you feel obligated to dish out style advice to your friends?
S: Oh I hate it when they ask. They always tell me, “You’re a fashion designer, you can tell me what to wear.” I’m like it’s up to you. I’m not going to try and put you into something that you’re not comfortable with. I tell them to try as much stuff as possible and try to find the right thing to wear and feel comfortable with. Like if you’re comfortable wearing baggy jeans, don’t try and wear skinny jeans just because it’s the trend. Again, it’s all about comfort.
SAM MC London retails from SGD350 to SGD1,590 at Salon by Surrender.
