The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - The Telegraph Magazine
Another country
A designer haven in New York state
WHEN CONNECTICUT-BASED designers Simon Kneen and Paolo Secchia decided to launch their own accessories brand, they took inspiration from their home. The 100-year-old colonialstyle farmhouse that is their rural HQ is located in Washington, Litchfield County – a low-key town 90 minutes from New York that has been described as the ‘anti-hamptons’ – and an authentic, relaxed feel permeates both its interior and their designs.
‘This area is home to creative people who come up here to enjoy simple things, beautiful countryside and locally produced food,’ says Liverpudlian Kneen. Artists of all kinds have felt the pull of the area’s views and New England architecture for years: Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe became its most famous residents when they moved into Miller’s home in the nearby town of Roxbury, where Debbie Harry now owns a house, and Diane von Furstenberg, Meryl Streep, former J Crew creative director Jenna Lyons and ex-vanity Fair editor Graydon
Carter are among the county’s other inhabitants. But don’t expect to see any of them getting papped at the local restaurants. ‘It’s a place of escape from New York,’ Kneen continues. ‘There’s no scene.’
Kneen, who was formerly creative director at Banana Republic, and Secchia, ex-vice president of accessories at the fashion brand Vince, launched their company Grey New York Grey New England online in 2016, selling distinctively styled leather bags, wallets and sneakers, all made in Italy. The brand evolved out of a shared frustration with corporate fashion retail. ‘It felt like all this creative juice we had wasn’t really doing anything,’ Kneen explains. ‘We were trying to improve the stock value of big companies, but it left us feeling empty.’
Simultaneously, the pair were based in New York and struggling to spend time in their country home, which they had bought in 2012. They finally gave up the New York commute when
There are rules: ‘No Hawaiian shirts by the swimming pool or for dinner. We’re neutral here’
Secchia left Vince in 2016. ‘It made sense to base ourselves in just one place,’ he says.
The Grey signature is rigorous attention to colour and form. ‘We decided the brand had to be seasonless,’ says Kneen. ‘We wanted to make beautiful things for people to use all year round.’ The products are also ‘gender-friendly’: rather than being labelled men’s and women’s accessories, bags and wallets are divided into two lines: Grey New York and Grey New England. ‘The New York bags work for city life: you can stuff in your gym kit, go to work, grab dinner or whatever and carry a greatlooking piece,’ says Kneen. ‘Our New England bags are intended to look good set down in the corner by a great piece of art in a country house.’
Pricing is key, too. Although the company shares production facilities in Italy with some of the world’s most expensive luxury brands, its prices are relatively accessible: a leather bracelet costs £35, and tote bags start from £360. ‘We’re design socialists,’ says
Kneen of the brand’s ethos. ‘Making something impossibly expensive is kind of easy, whereas making something of quality that people can afford is very important to us.’
The farmhouse is part of the Grey story and features in pictures on its website and social media, all immaculate landscaping and neutral interiors. Open patios, outdoor dining and poolside
Guest rooms have cashmere blankets, and selections of books in Italian and English
fun in the summer give way to roaring fires, soaring ceilings and a glamorous, clubby feel in the winter. In the barn room, the main entertaining space, vintage Louis Vuitton trunks are dotted around leather-detailed furniture and comfortable linen sofas covered with shearling throws. The walls feature works by the artist Mark Beard, among others, along with a couple of treasured Jean Cocteau sketches.
The house is a social hub for city friends who come out to visit at weekends, and it is clear that attention to every kind of detail makes Kneen and Secchia desirable hosts for guests, whose rooms have faux-fur throws, cashmere blankets, 1,000-thread-count cotton sheets, and selections of books in Italian and English. ‘We give our guests personalised pool totes with house-monogrammed towels and sunscreen when they visit in summer,’ explains Kneen. ‘Paolo makes fresh pasta and bakes Italian bread and cookies; his speciality is home-made roasted-hazelnut biscotti.’
However, there are house rules: ‘No Hawaiian shirts by the swimming pool or for dinner,’ says Kneen with a chuckle. ‘We’re neutral here.’ Although this is said with a twinkling eye, as Grey’s marketing director, Brandon Ferreira, points out, ‘it’s no joke. There really is a cupboard full of grey cashmere sweaters if you arrive here stuck for something to wear.’ greynewyorkgreynewengland.com