Tim Soar has been making waves on London’s menswear scene for years but now he’s starting to turn his attention to women’s wear. So who is he – and why should you be paying attention?
Tim’s extensive CV does not, in fact, begin with fashion. Instead he has worked as a graphic designer, whipping up record covers for big name stars, as a DJ in some of the biggest clubs in London and as a music consultant to major fashion houses, charged with picking just the right soundtrack for its runway shows.
When he decided to try his hand at fashion design, therefore, he had an impressive roll call of industry insiders to call upon for tips – although they weren’t altogether encouraging. ‘I was working with more London designers that anyone else,’ he says, ‘so I rang them all to say ‘I’m thinking of going into fashion, what’s your advice?’ Every single one of them said, are you sure, do you know what you’re getting yourself into?’
A determined Soar decided to plough on regardless and his first collection, offered up four years ago, was half men’s and half women’s. For the following season he decided instead to focus on one sex and stuck to the menswear with a collection that was swiftly snapped up by Liberty. He also caught the attention of the British Fashion Council, bagging himself a slot on the London Fashion Week schedule where he has been building his reputation ever since.
Now he’s tackling women’s pieces once more, beginning with a capsule collection exclusive to Browns and that has just hit stores. The beautiful tailored pieces, all cotton shirts and woollen trousers, mannish overcoats and classic blazers, are clearly heavily influenced by the men’s collections that he’s offered up to date. ‘I have a great archive to draw on,’ he admits. ‘There are a lot of pieces that I’ve designed over the years that were too feminine for the men’s collection and it was hard to find somewhere to put them. But there’s so much more choice with women’s wear, I didn’t want to go too overboard with the first collection and try to do everything.’
Going forward he plans to pay more attention to the ladies, telling us that ‘Tim Soar is a menswear label now, that’s its reputation. But next season I’m going to do a menswear collection exclusively for B Store and the women’s collection will be much better.’
And he’s still finds time to run his other business, Music Concrete, although these days he’s compiling playlists for hotels rather that fashion houses. But the side-project can be partly credited for the fashion line’s success - ‘If it wasn’t for my music business the label wouldn’t still be going,’ says Tim. Emerging designers take note – it’s always good to have a back-up…
The Tim Soar women’s collection is available now exclusively at Browns 24.
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