Change of heart
Yorkshire special occasion designer James Steward is adapting to the current climate with a new range of cool casual wear. Stephanie Smith meets the brother-and-sister team behind the brand. Pictures by Tony Johnson and Narita Savoor.
With the social calendar stripped of ladies’ days, big weddings and swish parties, lockdown has hit special occasion designers particularly hard. “We’ve just got to ride this wave. If you want to survive, people are having to adapt,” says Hannah Moody, who runs Wetherby-based fashion label James Steward with her brother James, who founded the business 20 years ago.
Lockdown put paid to their SS20 collection, which was due to be delivered to stockists across the UK. James says: “It was all ready to go, all manufactured, and then all the shops had to close.”
As a small business, they can adapt quickly, but they had to think fast. A sequin heart sweatshirt, part of a small collection of casual pieces, had sold well the previous year so, reasoning that comfortable offduty clothing was the way forward for the time being, they began designing
and producing a new range of sweats and tees with simple playing card motifs. It launched on their website earlier this month. Sweat pants and casual jackets will follow and also some men’s King of Hearts pieces to sit alongside Queen of Hearts ones – perfect pre-nuptial gifts for the happy couple once the wedding season gets back in full swing, hopefully next year.
All the pieces are printed in York and made in Wetherby. “There’s a lot of love goes into it and a lot of laughs along the way,” says Hannah.
“Fortunately for us, we design timeless pieces rather than on-trend, so we’re going to sell the casual wear this year, because people have not got occasions to go to, and save the occasion wear and relaunch that next summer,” says James. Hannah adds: “We’ve always done casual wear and day wear. I know myself, I am a bit fed up of wearing jeans so I am starting to wear day dresses with trainers.”
James and younger sister Hannah are originally from Hull (their parents now live near Beverley and they have an older brother, Jonathan, an engineer). James trained at the Kent Institute of Art and Design, then worked with couture houses in Italy and with Ben de Lisi in London. He began his own label in Leeds and has carved a successful career creating bespoke wedding and special occasion gowns. His designs have been worn by Kylie Minogue and Victoria Beckham and he has become a go-to designer for showstopping frocks worn on the red carpet by favourite British TV and stage stars, including Mr Selfridge and Cheat actor Katherine Kelly. They are currently working with another former Coronation Street actor, Victoria Ekanoye. James has also worked extensively in TV, making dresses for on-screen Coronation Street weddings and the CBeebies channel, and creating outfits for the reality show Marrying Mum and Dad.
Hannah trained in footwear design and technology at the London College of Fashion and worked in Manchester for many years as an accessories designer, a job that took her across the world and gave her invaluable insight into the global fashion business. She joined James in
2016 and now lives in Boston Spa with her husband and two young children.
Lockdown for both Hannah and James has brought unexpected benefits. “It has relaxed life,” Hannah says. “It has made you step back and think about what’s important and realise who you have missed and who you want to talk to. It was hard for us because we see each other every day, spend all day together, and we couldn’t see each other, so we were Facetiming and had a coffee on a morning.”
“But it’s not the same,” says James. “Then slowly it eased up and I could come round and sit in the garden, with the door open into the kitchen.” Hannah laughs. “You can’t use the loo,” she says.
The work and the fashion have continued, however, with loose dresses and Galaxy shirts much in demand. “The Stone maxis have been brilliant for us during lockdown because people still want to dress up but haven’t got places to go to – it’s like a dress up/down style,” says James. Hannah adds: “It’s flown out. If we had more of the green one, we could have sold it ten times over.” James says: “It’s the colour that the shops didn’t order but as soon as it was seen on social media, everybody wanted it. People want bright colour.” As winter comes closer, wear that bright maxi with a leather jacket and chunky boots, Hannah advises.
There’s a new website launching and the bespoke side of the business is picking up with this year’s weddings postponed until next year.
“We’ve had a few new brides and mothers of the bride in because people are wanting to look forward to something and get something special made for that occasion,” says Hannah.
All the school proms, sadly, have been cancelled, but some of their young clients are still having their dresses made, to wear another day.
Next year, James predicts, will be manic. “The last four months we should really have cherished, because next year, we’re probably not going to get a holiday.”
Jamessteward.co.uk
4:
2: 3: