Matthew Miller: SWAT team chic for East End rockers

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jan 6, 2018

Few designers are writing a tougher fashion vernacular than Matthew Miller who presented his latest collection on three different young Indie bands in a brick-walled club underneath an East London railway bridge late Friday night.

Half the battle in building a great collection is the right choice of fabrics, and again, Miller had plenty of novel and impressive ideas. Take his fantastic rock star’s shearling coat with shaggy lapels, over which was bonded fine gabardine wool to produce a snazzy finish. Or admire his bold lead guitarist, oversized leather jacket with the smoothest of hands.
 
“It’s made of goat from Cyprus. Not many people know that the island does amazing goatskin. You have to know your fabric resources,” explained Miller, posing backstage with several budding young rock stars.

Miller got into fashion via clubbing, before studying fashion at Manchester University and doing a masters at the Royal College of Art. Moreover, he also studied tailoring with the legendary Italian brand Brioni in its headquarters in the Abruzzi region, via a six-month project with his college.
 
“They put us up in a castle!” beamed Miller, before recalling several unique special orders. Like a custom-made suit composed in part of gold thread, which they could not press but had to seam by hand to protect the delicate metal fiber.
 
Nothing so delicate in his collection, where the standout editorial looks were SWAT team tunics in crinkly anthracite nylon covered in cartridge pockets. Or a remarkable multi-trap duffle made in Japanese speckled wool, another example of his unerring eye for materials.
 
“I am from Stoke and everyone wanted me to work in ceramics, but I thought no. Not for me! And I went into fashion,” joked Miller about his hometown, the world capital of ceramics, which is known as The Potteries.