GOOD TASTE RUNS IN THE FAMILY

‘We’re just like best friends, really. He’s been a really good dad, and we’re good mates. We never really argue so it’s very chill.’ Brad Hobbs is the extremely well-dressed chap you may have seen running things in our Carnaby store in central London, and seeing him with his architect father Roger, it’s clear where he gets it from. ‘Are we similar people?’ ponders Hobbs snr. ‘I think so. We’re both organised.’

The sense of style was always present in the family. ‘I think we were always ahead of our time,’ says Roger. ‘My wife - his mum - used to work in a boutique in Deal. She was successful there, and we had boutiques then in Folkestone, jeans and high-end women's wear, and so there was a bit of flair that came from that.

Then I went into architecture. I always liked reasonably nice cars and clothing.’ Brad recalls their long childhood drives through France in his father’s BMWs and Mercedes, getting introduced to Stevie Wonder and Motown on the stereo, while Roger mentions one other important family trait. ‘My wife tells me I do not own an off switch. She's constantly kicking me under the table or saying “you can't say that”. I think that’s definitely something you've inherited as well.’

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Herbie Mensah grew up around clothing, with a seamstress mother and a father with a taste for tailor-made suits. And in turn, his son Saul grew up surrounded by the accoutrements of his father’s life as a world famous model, designer, clothing dealer and maker. ‘One of the things I noticed a lot growing up was when I would go to my dad's room, and there would just be rails and rails of clothing and shoes. I'm thinking, “when do you have time to wear all this stuff?” But then when I got a bit older, I thought hold up, I can use this to my advantage. I can go through these rails, I can see what fits me, I can try stuff on... But I like my dad’s style a lot. You can tell that he knows his stuff. It's old school, it’s eclectic.’ Mensah still works in fashion,with his bespoke creations available online and at his regular plot in Portobello Market.

Much of their memories as father and son revolve around football - a shared love of Manchester United, and Saul’s time at Fulham FC where he got signed as a youth player at five years old before his current career as a model started. ‘He was obviously pretty good, and I used to get a lot of compliments from the other parents and coaches and he’d get a lot of attention from the other kids,’ says Herbie. ‘But he was always very humble about it, really cool. That was something I always really admired in him.’

https://herbiemensahvintagelondon.com/

Cymon Eckel is what you might refer to as a ‘face’ in London’s subcultural scene. A co-founder of the legendary Boy’s Own rave collective with his close friend the late Andrew Weatherall, he’s the immaculately dressed bloke with the wedge cut who shows up in the best photos of London’s earliest house clubs (being 6’4” makes him fairly easy to spot). He was behind fabled London nightlife venues Riki Tik, The Griffin and XOYO, pioneered some of the earliest co-working spaces in London and has forgotten more about the underground than most people ever know. He now runs placemaking consultancy Mass + Void and he’s also a dad to (among others), Cherry. ‘How I’d describe our relationship... respect would be a bit strong, but I think we’re equals?’ she says.

Now a writer, theatre-maker, poet and performer in their own right and appearing at this summer’s Edinburgh Festival, Cherry is continuing something of an Eckel family tradition.

‘She's very clever and talented, and we're very proud, but we have this joke about the ‘jazz hands’ theme running through the family. My mother and father were film extras back in the late 1950s and 60s, and then I used to bunk off school to do the same thing, and when Cherry started writing and performing, it just seemed like continuing the lineage.’ And when it comes to fashion, both are learning from each other: ‘You've always got an interesting jacket,’ says Cherry. ‘I really like looking back at photos of you, in the early acid house days. It’s always interesting seeing what you were wearing back then. And wondering where I could get a jacket like that now...’

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https://www.massandvoid.co.uk/

Amy Conroy has had an absolutely remarkable life by anyone’s measure. The four-times Paralympian with Team GB’s wheelchair basketball team took up the sport after having an above the knee amputation as a result of a childhood cancer. Having gained multiple medals at the European Championships and World Championships she is still playing as an elite athlete, as well as public speaking and modelling. ‘As cheesy as it sounds, I would describe him as being my best friend,’ she says of her father Chris, a retired teacher from Norwich. ‘We went through some sticky times when I was growing up - my mum passed away of cancer, and then I went and got cancer. But I think from then I kind of realised that we're on the same team, and I've always just looked up to him as someone who I aspire to be like.’

Chris returns the sentiment: ‘I’m so proud of Amy and her sister. They are the best. My wife died when the girls were six and four, and it could have gone pear-shaped, but they were so easy and so good. They get each other's backs, they're great, and so it makes my life so much easier as a father. I just feel so lucky.’ Amy credits Chris with teaching them the value of ‘creating legendary, iconic memories’, and calls out his sense of style. ‘You're always smart. I've never seen this man in a pair of joggers. He wears a lot of black, but today I saw him admire himself in the mirror a few times,’ she says of his newly colourful Aubin threads. ‘I think you're a changed
man.’

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‘My boyfriend thinks that I dress like a little version of my dad,’ says Kitty Lardner, an actor and multi-talented musician. Given that her father is Tom, co-founder of the Plus Agency (one of London’s best boutique design houses) and a lover of classic Ivy, militaria and workwear, there’s worse people to be compared to. ‘He definitely showed me the importance of teaching children good music taste from an early age,’ says Kitty, although Tom admits that his daughter has long since surpassed him as a guitarist. ‘I feel like our relationship is really quite casual, and more like a friendship. It’s never been about “do this, do that,” says Kitty. ‘I’ve always just encouraged you to be yourselves,’ says Tom. ‘Both of our children really amaze me – the way that you’re so creative and fun.’

For now, the only sore point has been his daughter’s habit of migrating items of clothing over from his wardrobe to hers. ‘It’s nearly always when I’ve got a meeting starting and I’m thinking “where’s that shirt?” And I realise I’ve seen her wearing it recently and it’s gone...’

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