Designer names: Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones
Origin: London
Design background: Catherine and Rob studied at Ravensbourne College of Design and Central Saint Martins respectively. They worked with Warren Noronha, Luella Bartley and John Richmond before setting up Teatum Jones.
Career highlight: “The exciting response to our debut spring/summer 2011 collection including personal requests from Annie Lennox, Florence Welch and Olivia Palermo.”
Design signatures: “Effortless chic meets a contemporary elegance, achieving the perfect balance between masculine and feminine.”
What is your brand philosophy? “Teatum Jones is conceptual in its approach to design whilst remaining loyal to an ethos of authenticity, wearability, desirability and quality. We are fascinated by human behaviour and exchanges and find ourselves compelled to seek out beauty and refinement in what is ordinarily considered sinister or dark.”
How would you describe the Teatum Jones woman? “She has a refined and contemporary take on elegance. She is inadvertently chic yet boldly nonchalant. She is drawn to the label because it allows her to achieve the perfect balance between masculine and feminine. Embodying the effortlessness and ease of the pieces, the Teatum Jones woman embraces the conceptual whilst radiating a contemporary relevance.”
Trademark piece: “The perfect silk dress that transfers seamlessly from day to evening, with equal impact.”
Price range at retail: £250 - £2,900
Three spring/summer 2012 inspirations: “Collage, hazy suburban mornings and the female psyche.”
What’s next for your brand? “We are very excited to be holding our first ever on-schedule presentation during London Fashion Week for SS12, as well as getting ready to launch Teatum Jones in four major retail territories: London, New York, Jeddah and Dubai. We've had a very busy time in just the space of a year!”
Who are your design heroes? “Le Corbusier and Jonathan Ive.”
What’s your favourite cultural hotspot in the capital? “The Scooter Café on Lower Marsh just behind the Southbank. Step back into 1950s Italy... It’s a hidden secret where you can stand your spoon up in authentic hot chocolate whilst listening to the poetry recital group or Doowop records that play on a constant loop!”
In five years’ time we will be… “Ten more seasons deeper into exploring our fascination between structure and fluidity and presenting the perfect equilibrium between the masculine and the feminine.”
Find Teatum Jones at the Trace Sales Room at the LFW Exhibition, Somerset House - 16th-20th September.