A Close-knit Family

Easily my joint most exciting invitation of the week was to Thursday night's launch party for Sibling, my very dear friend Sid's new and uber-luxe knitwear label. A joint business venture with his partner Joe and friend Coz, Sibling finally sees Sid designing a collection in his own right after many (extremely successful) years designing knitwear for such fashion big-hitters as Bella Freud, Lanvin, Alexander McQueen and Giles. The trio really are the ultimate dream team: Sid's technical wizardry when it comes to knitwear innovation is the stuff of fashion legend; Joe (Bates), ex of Dave & Joe and now a lecturer in fashion design is a creative force to be reckoned with; and Coz (Cozette McCreery) is one of the best PRs and best connected people in the industry, as well as an idol to a generation of clubkids as one of the team behind BoomBox.

The venue was Cordy House, an event space on Curtain Road, so given the Hoxditch location I erred on the sartorial side of caution and decked myself out in a variation on the usual fash-bash uniform: rolled up indigo jeans, paint splat Converse and my black Jens Laugesen t-shirt. I accessorised with a bit of sparkle (my diamante cuff) and a yellow belt and topped the whole look off with the gorgeous black cashmere and fox scarf which Sid - the angel - made me years ago as a gift to cheer me up when I was going through a bad patch. (NB: that's a true friend!)

Arriving not too long after the 7.00 start time (I'd got side-tracked by a slightly surreal cider tasting involving a Jill Tyrell lookalike - don't ask), it was encouraging to see that there was already quite a crowd gathered. When fashion people, whose relationship with punctuality is as notoriously ambivalent as it is with food, are on time for something, you know that you've hit on something big. I did a fair bit of mingling throughout the evening and was encouraged to find that many of the crowd were press, buyers, bloggers (!) etc who can hopefully provide the oxygen of publicity that a fledgling label needs. There were also a few old faces who I was over the moon to see, not least the designers and all-round lovely chaps Tristan Webber and Markus Lupfer (who I still have a huge crush on, even after seven or eight years of acquaintance) and Guy, a long-time friend of Sid's (and I like to think, mine) who has modelled for the collection.

The collection, of course, is what the evening was all about, and boy is menswear about to get a kick up the arse (which, according to the press release, is Sibling's avowed intent). The complete collection was on display, partly modelled by Sid, Coz and Joe and partly in a video installation which can be seen on the website, and it's incredible. Sibling has taken knit- and men's-wear staples and reworked them in luxury fabrics embellished with the most intricately artisanal beading and embroidery. So, a classic Breton sweater (also available as a vest and cardigan) has its navy and cream stripes laid out in tiny mother of pearl panels. A perfectly tailored grey prep school blazer is tipped in fluoro orange and carries Sibling's own house crest. The carousel pony adorning the full front of a heavy-gauge sweater has a mane of real horse hair; and my absolute favourites, the dove grey cashmere 'Ratus Ratus' sloppy joe of which the entire shoulders and breast plate are covered with crawling pink rats, and the twin-sets with leopard spots in a variety of candy colours, all formed of bugle beads.

The inspiration, craftsmanship and sheer extravagance of Sibling's first collection is quite genuinely unlike anything I have ever seen in menswear. Sid, Coz and Joe have not just created something beautiful, but also something truly unique, and I find that enormously exciting considering the general stagnation of men's fashion over the last few years. Of course, given the immense complexity of the vast majority of pieces, I can only imagine that prices are going to be absolutely eye-watering, but these are real investment pieces which I can easily envisage cropping up in the permanent collection of the V & A in years to come. The beauty of any Sibling knit is that it will never just be part of an outfit, it will be the outfit, the entire focal point not just of your look but of any room you may happen to enter wearing it.

Sibling is certainly not for the faint hearted - it takes a lot of chutzpah to carry off a ski sweater adorned with a skull and crossbones pattern in neon mink - but for those who love making a statement with their clothing and want to support some all too rare creative artistry, this is a label to be reckoned with. I for one already love it like, well, a sibling, and I think we'll make for a very happy family together.