Whistle for it: Menswear celebrates its 1st birthday

One year on since launching its menswear collection, the British retailer is celebrating its first birthday with a new collaboration and a pop-up shop

How do you make a first-birthday party memorable? Cake for everybody should be at the top of your to-do list, along with finger food, decorations and the obligatory children’s entertainer. But all these things should be closely followed by making absolutely sure that you have copious amounts of alcohol on offer, too; first-birthday parties are generally always about keeping the adults happy. There is, however, the golden rule that you should never, ever break, which is to keep the length of the celebrations short; if the party is too long, then tears and tantrums from all are sure to ensue.

So with Whistles Men celebrating its first birthday this week, you perhaps wouldn’t expect the label to ignore this rule so blatantly. But ignore it it has, and instead this particular birthday boy has opted for a week of revelry in the shape of a pop-up store. And why not? The label is doing well and this kind of success is no mean feat, especially when there are now so many affordable options available to the fashion-savvy gentleman.

As Jane Shepherdson, the chief executive of Whistles, says, the brand “has grown steadily over the past 12 months, and now has many repeat customers who love it for its well-designed, timeless staples and relaxed modern style. It is simply good taste”.

So what can we expect from this very special birthday party? Well, along with the standard booze and food on offer, you’ll also be able to shop and buy the full Autumn/Winter menswear collection.

Terrific winter coats and an array of impressive knitwear will keep those repeat customers coming back for more and should help to ensnare a few new ones too. And the accessories such as bags and hats will make it on to many an early Christmas present list.

But perhaps the icing on the birthday cake is the collaboration that Whistles has worked on with the denim label Edwin. What they’ve created is a raw denim indigo pair of jeans, which may seem pretty ordinary on the outside but look closely and you’ll see that the devil, as always, is in the detail: the pockets are lined with an indigo leaf print using the Japanese technique of Ise-katagami.

Having set such a high bar for itself, we await the second birthday party with bated breath.

The pop-up store runs from 20 to 25 October at Protein Gallery, 31 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EY