Nigel Cabourn’s Garden House is an inspirational haven tucked away at the back of his house, overlooking a cricket ground. It’s an ideal place to have as a venue to unwind in, or to use as part of a city break. Instead Nigel uses it as his creative hub, where he and his team create and refine the garments he is most known for. The lower level is the base of operations but also is home to Nigel’s hallowed collection of vintage garments. Used as points of reference, inspiration and guidelines each item is catalogued and carefully stored. The back wall is made of sliding wardrobes that contain not only newly acquired heritage pieces but also Nigel’s own archive of his past collections. Cabourn’s collection and his affection for vintage wears has extensively been covered in numerous interviews and blog posts but once witnessed by your own eyes you can see that the northeast designer lives and breathes this obsession.
Amongst his collection is, what at first, looks like tattered rags hanging from clothes hooks. On closer inspection, and with some explaining from Nigel, each hung material is actually a vintage outerwear piece from World War 2. RAF and sniper jackets, paratrooper coats – some complete with huge signs of age, wear and tear. The key piece on the rail is a Russian Sniper Coat made from sheepskin. The sleeve is torn and the leather on the outer is flaking. It’s heavy and hard to distinguish as a coat. He informs us that it’s worth £10,000. When asked where he finds such items he deflects the question by saying ‘I’ve been doing this for 35 years’.
Apart from his enormous appreciation for military garments from the first two world wars, vintage clothing from the 40’s – the 60’s Nigel also keeps a keen eye on modern day outerwear and active apparel. His current collection with outdoor brand Karrimor and their K100 range is a perfect marriage of his interests. At first it seemed like a strange choice, with the Karrimor brand only really coming into its own from the 70’s onwards, but funnily enough Nigel had taken inspiration from the brand over a decade previously. His 2003 Ascension collection was loosely based around a Karrimor Frame Rucksack from the 1960’s. He dissected the rucksack, researched the materials, colours and craft of the bag and used elements throughout his AW03 collection to create jackets and accessories. Even more surprising is the fact that he still owns the Rucksack and to this day uses it for inspiration. Combining this piece with a WW2 10th Division Mountain Parka worn by Nike co-founder, Bill Bowerman, Nigel created his own version, featuring fabric similar to the original K100 nylon.
Another piece featuring recognizable Cabourn traits is the Fishtail Parka, based on a classic WW2 Snow Parka. Using Japanese fabric the parka, as with the rest of the collection, is crafted together in Britain – a point Nigel is very particular about.
Utilizing Nigel’s knowledge of not only vintage/heritage pieces but also his decades of experience in the fashion industry itself, he has created a perfectly balanced collection for the autumn/winter months. A highly considered range, the K100 Karrimor x Nigel Cabourn AW15 release encompasses the northeast designer’s ethos:
“You’ve got 4 elements: Vintage, Technical apparel, Karrimor’s history and you’ve got mine; you put it all together and that’s where you find these pieces.”