19 Jan 2010, Posted by admin in 20 Questions,Fashion, 0 Comments

20 Questions With Commonwealth Utilities

Name: Anthony Keegan

Job Title: Creative Director  and Founder of Commonwealth Utilities

Carter Cramer: What’s your hometown and your age?

Anthony Keegan: Originally I’m from London, Ontario Canada. And I’m 35—but if you want you can take ten years off that

CC: And what’s your background? How did you get into fashion?

AK: Well, I grew up an art kid, pretty much always doing fine art. Then someone asked me to help them with a fashion show and I started making clothing out of playing cards and AstroTurf—so that was fun. Then I started school in London—I was in an interior course at the London College of Fashion, then went to Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design and got my degree. After that I worked at a place called Fabrica, which is a creative think-tank in Italy. The guy who did the Benetton ads was my boss. Then I went to Armani and was there for over a year, then Versace, where I did the men’s collection, which was fun. Then I came to New York and ended up working for Kenneth Cole. After that I started a division for Donna Karan, and now I’m where I am now

CC: What was it like working for such acclaimed fashion houses as Versace, Armani and Donna Karan? Which design house was your favorite to work in?

AK: Probably the most fun was Versace because it was like living the fashion dream. I got to work with the best fabrics in the world, the best embroiderers, the most talented print houses. I also got to [act on] a lot of outrageous ideas and really play with that. And then the fashion shows, the whole scene, it just really felt like how a fashion show should be. European fashion is just a whole different thing than American fashion

CC: How is it different would you say?

AK: American fashion is more financially oriented, and European fashion is just so much more organic and intuitive. That’s the real difference

CC: Have you also designed womenswear?

AK: I did do womenswear—at Giorgio. But my woman, I don’t really do Oscar gowns or that sort of thing, I’m more about a thinking woman. My woman is more androgynous, more like a Jil Sander woman, more masculine

CC: You’ve chosen an interesting time to start a new fashion label, with the current state of the economy. Tell me a little about that? How has it affected you?

AK: You know, it was funny because there was just something in the air, and I was getting really tired of what was going on with my old company, and just wanted [to do] something new. And when economy crashed, I was thinking the opposite of [doom and gloom], because when an economy crashes it causes people to rethink what they’re doing. It’s an amazing, creative time. And with the entire political change, and the way menswear is being received globally, it’s a great time for young designers to take a chance. There’s nothing to lose now, so I may as well go do it. I think there are a lot of young designers feeling inspired and energized. It’s like eighty percent of the competition has already given up, so it’s a good time for me

CC: In which direction do you think fashion will be headed in the current economic environment?  Do you think it’s going to be tougher for designers to sell high fashion in the next few years?

AK: I think that people are going to see designers being more creative than they have been ever before. Generic is not going to cut it anymore. Our price-point is entry-level luxury. We can’t compete with a Club Monaco or any of those labels. It’s a level not penetrated enough, but I think it will thrive. People won’t buy houses or cars in this economy, but they’ll buy a beautiful handbag

CC: So tell me a little bit about the Commonwealth Utilities label. What was your vision here?

AK:  Richard [Christiansen who runs Chandelier Creative a full service creative agency], my business partner, and I have known each other for 15 or 16 years, and there are so many designers who launch themselves and don’t consider how to get their name out there, and we basically wanted to be a brand that’s part marketing and part fashion. We want to sell a story and a concept. A lot of designers want this, but they don’t have a creative agency to help with it. All of the small details, like the hangtag, the website, the business cards—they’re all very important. Companies I’ve worked for in the past have changed their identity and it confuses the customer. So having a creative agency as my partner really helps. We spent a long time focusing on the language and idea behind the brand before even creating the clothes. I think people want this today—they expect more. What people really want is romance, a story, not just a shirt. Hopefully we’ll have a shop in next 12 months, and our shop will be like a theme park, in that what you buy is from the theme park—a souvenir. They’ll remember the story behind the [item].  Abercrombie and Ralph Lauren are both amazing at this. You’re buying into a tribe—a whole lifestyle

CC: What’s behind the name Commonwealth Utilities?

AK: Well, Richard is Australian and I am Canadian, so we were thinking of something in common and we’re both from the commonwealth. We love contrasts, like doing a suit with sneakers. At our launch party, for example, we did champagne and Oreos—we like to play with contrast. And utilities—we didn’t want to be known as just a clothing company, so the idea with that came from the Monopoly game board, because I was thinking of the utilities [squares] on the game board. [The label] has a utilitarian undertone, even though it’s still fashion

CC: Your website is quite fun and quirky, with the slogan “A Gentleman Gets Dressed Up,” and videos of men getting dressed. I also love the concierge service component of the site. What’s the idea there—what are you trying to convey?

AK: Well, the whole brand can be [summed up in] three words: sexy, smart and humorous. The guys getting dressed—we wanted it to be sexy, but not porno, just a wink to it. That’s the attitude we love. We wanted it to be about us, not just a generic website. We have a “things we love” section, and an events section with photos from our events. Richard finds crazy things when he travels, so we put up pictures of stuff like that. We wanted the concierge service to be on there because there are simple things people don’t know, like how to find a vintage Rolex that’s not $6,000. Richard loves handwritten notes and the whole personal touch, so being personal is important. Our accountant went crazy because Richard almost bought a Bentley to deliver all the clothes we make. He heard that Christian Dior had a Bentley deliver all his couture and [wanted to do that]. Maybe down the road….

CC: So what are some particular looks we’ll see from Commonwealth Utilities?

AK: Coming up you’ll see bow ties—that’s a signature for us. It’s not anything new, but one of the things I’ve noticed is that men don’t know how to wear them, and it’s difficult for them. But if you know how to tie your shoelaces, you can do it. So we started making bow ties out of cotton, not heavy silk, which is stiff. It’s dressed down this way, but elegant and chic still. The bow tie for us is quite grand, even though it’s made from a less fancy material

CC: What other signature items do you produce?

AK:  We do a cashmere line, including a cashmere kimono for fall. The attention to detailing on the inside of our suits is [something we’re known for]. People don’t pay enough attention to the details, and for menswear it’s important because men look for this. The more details on the outside, the more men won’t wear it. But if it’s on the inside, it’s quite elegant and chic and wearable

CC: What’s a typical day like for you?

AK:  My studio is in Chandelier Creative [Richard’s company], which is a circus. I’m constantly needing to arrange and rearrange my schedule with Richard’s. He’ll have anyone from Kate Spade to [executives] from the W Hotels in the office, so half my day is trying to work around his schedule. Then the rest is spent researching and creating.  And we try to make everything in New York, so we are [constantly] looking for hat makers, shirtmakers, tailors, et cetera who are here in New York City. There’s this new resurgence in menswear though, so the local craftsmen are now getting more business.  Rag & Bone does this, too

CC: Who is your wearer?

AK: It’s funny because we named our new bow tie after Brad Goreski, Rachel [Zoe’s] assistant, and he called us yesterday and asked for a bunch of our clothes. I think he’s great because he’s young and dresses up. We want to dress up a dressed-down culture. We want America to look more fabulous, because people are getting lazy. Dressing up is a great thing to do, and we want people to know this. Brad, in our mind, is a spokesperson, sort of. We really want to work with guys who want to know how to dress up and like to

CC: Who do you like to envision or draw upon when designing a collection?

AK: It really is a mixed bag—music sometimes, but usually it’s just me walking down the street and getting something in my head. I can’t pinpoint it, because I usually just find myself with a sketchbook, and it could be anything. This fall I was looking at sculptures, and everything needed to be long and draped—layers. I’m kind of one of those guys who just gets an idea in my head, and it just evolves

CC: Any style icons?

AK: Yeah—I love Bryan Ferry, David Bowie—he’s always been such an image of the times. Yves Saint Laurent himself. He was a very well dressed man. Tom Ford is an amazing style icon, too

CC: And what about your own personal style—what’s that like?

AK: I dress up every day, but it’s not like Wall Street. I’ll wear jeans, a dress shirt, and a tie with a tie clip and my sleeves rolled up. It’s never totally done, but it doesn’t look too washed out

CC: Other than yourself, who are some of your favorite current or past designers?

AK: That’s kind of a trick question, because so many designers do great things for different reasons. I guess Dries van Noten, Paul Smith, [Martin] Margiela. But then there’s Issey Miyake and what he does with fabric, or Jean Paul Gaultier—the first fashion designer I fell in love with because he showed me clothing was really fashion.  And Gianni Versace brought the supermodel to life.  So designers have their own specialties that make for [greatness]

CC: Where in New York do you like to hang out?

AK: Hollander & Lexer. I go there a lot to hang out—it’s an amazing men’s store that looks like a taxidermy shop. I actually don’t hang out that much—I’m not that cool. My new favorite place is Vlada because it reminds me of what I thought New York would be like before I moved here.  And I haven’t felt that for seven or eight years. It just has a great, eclectic group of people

CC: Where is your line headed ultimately? What’s your ultimate fantasy goal for conquering and making your mark on the fashion world?

AK: What we intend is to have flagship stores that will have clothes, furniture, body products. We also want to have jewel box stores all over the world—these tiny mini stores, which would just be fun. One reason we wanted to do this project was because Richard has all these clients, like Old Navy, and they will edit his ideas to make them more appropriate to their customers, which takes some of the fabulous elements out of the original concept. But now—with [Commonwealth Utilities] we can keep them, and if we wanted to hire someone to chalk an image of our stuff on the street or do some skywriting, we can do that. So working with Richard allows an interesting way to communicate our ideas, which is what this label is about

–Carter Cramer