David Gandy’s second visit to the UAE, as a keynote speaker at the Dubai Retail Summit last month, happened in very different circumstances to his first visit three months earlier.
The male model and entrepreneur came to the UAE for the first time in December to race his classic car in the Mille Miglia, the famed endurance time trial that started in Italy a century ago, and which can now be seen — and heard — in all seven emirates. But the model’s two trips to the UAE share one important thing in common, his new clothing start-up, David Gandy Wellwear.
In December, Gandy told me that the Mille Miglia, while primarily driven by his love of “restoring and keeping something historic on the road”, was also a chance to test the concept of his new ascendant clothing brand. David Gandy Wellwear seeks to push the boundaries of modern fashion by combining affordable style with comfort, based on a direct-to-consumer model that has seen sell-out success in the UK and the US.
For Gandy, fashion does not have to hurt. This was a point proven during the days-long race under the desert sun, during which he wore pieces from the David Gandy Wellwear line, which are specifically engineered for hot climates, using breathability, UV-protective and antibacterial technology.
“I’m not embarrassed to say I had only four of our PK polos and two pairs of easy pants throughout the entire Mille Miglia, because, quite simply, they worked,” Gandy says.
“The UAE proved the point of our brand. It turns out Wellwear inadvertently made the best driving trousers you can buy. I was comfortable racing 1,000 miles in the desert, and when I had to get out to meet the press and do pictures after six hours in a classic car, the clothes still looked smart.”
It was exciting proof for the company that its creations, which in a short time have sold well in colder climates, could work in more distant markets. And Dubai Retail Week provided an opportunity for Gandy to speak to an international audience about his latest venture.
“Like our brand, the UAE is open to new ideas, so this was the perfect opportunity to talk to a diverse audience about what we’re doing,” he says. “I’ve never been to a retail summit before, but this is the exciting, slightly daunting reality of being the founder of a brand — it’s quite a big deal for me.”
The prospect of global expansion means the pressure is on for Gandy and his small team to keep pushing the concept forward, while not losing sight of its identity as a fashion start-up.
Gandy believes the most recent additions to the collection do exactly that.
“The latest items are an evolution of the essentials that make the brand what it is,” he says. “The team has explored new fabrics and concepts, something that is endlessly interesting. If someone likes something about our brand, they should be able to buy a continuation of the concept they like, not just endless cycles of the same thing. It’s constant trial and error.”
The result this time around is a nettle and cotton blend for textured summer loungewear that is light and breathable. There is also a new basic crew T-shirt, with all the David Gandy Wellwear characteristics that customers appreciate, at an attainable price.
Gandy stresses throughout our conversation that attainability is a guiding principle for the label. “I always say we’re a style company not a fashion company. We can’t ignore what people buy, so we develop along those lines.”
But, in keeping with the start-up spirit of the project, there is still an instinct to disrupt. “I’d love to add more colour to men’s fashion,” he says. “And yet, here you and me are sitting in grey and black respectively. If there were more men on the call, they’d be in blue. If you’re lucky, maybe a few in forest green. So we are gradually trying to introduce evolved tones, like a stone grey version of the trousers that I wore for the Mille Miglia.”
The company, with an agile and tight-knit team, is also exploring the vital issue of moving the industry on from fast fashion. Sustainability is important, but Gandy prefers to use the word “responsibility”.
“If you make something that lasts, you don’t need to keep producing and buying it. Perhaps that’s a slightly more old fashioned view that our parents bought into, but it is crucial as we try to think about how to be more sustainable.
“If we can start looking at the big environmental questions as a small brand, then other fashion houses should start to look along those lines as well. That’s how I think we are a disruptive start-up.”
