GUSHLOW AND COLE hand knitted "neck cover" off-white

GUSHLOW AND COLE hand knitted "neck cover" off-white.

All sheepskin and leather used in our collections are a by-product of food production and a natural alternative to synthetic fabrics made from fossil fuels.
100% natural and biodegradable
Made in England.

ONE SIZE

ABOUT THE BRAND:

Emma and I have been surrounded by fashion for as long as we can remember. Coming from a long heritage of tailors, dressmakers, knitters and eventually sheepskin makers, our path to fashion design was pretty clear. As teenagers in the late 1980s and early 90s, our sense of style was heavily influenced by the London club, music and fashion scene. We spent most Saturdays browsing for vintage fashion at Kensington Market, shopping Helen Storey at Hyper Hyper and Vivienne Westwood on Kings Road.

Inspired by the creativity and hustle and bustle of my father's leather and shearling factory, we decided to study design at the London College of Fashion before learning traditional shearling under my father's direction at Cole of Kent. It wasn't long before we began experimenting with new manufacturing techniques on traditional machines. Our cricket ball stitch was picked up by Amanda Wakeley and used in her spring-summer 1996 collection and in Nicole Farhi's menswear the following year. With the British manufacturing industry in decline, this brought much needed work to the factory.

We continued to experiment with the leftover pieces from the factory and brought our first designs to the Spitalfields market. From these designs came our first luxury accessories collection, which we introduced at London Fashion Week, and that was the beginning of Gushlow & Cole. With the increasing decline of British manufacturing at the time, my father's factory closed in 2003, but with our first orders from department stores in Paris, Tokyo and New York, we set up two machines in his garage and began sewing the collection ourselves.

We've come a long way since then, but we still work with our hands in every aspect of our business. Working closely with our artisans in our Kent workshop, each Gushlow & Cole collection continues to be handmade in England.

The success of our creative partnership is based on the unique understanding we have of each other. We have very different characteristics and design qualities, but our aesthetics are always in harmony. Although innovation is key, my father has passed on to us his love and understanding of shearling, his meticulous eye for quality, and his passion for traditional British manufacturing. These qualities are reflected in each of our pieces, and our brand philosophy has always been informed by these shared roots.

For Emma and I, Gushlow & Cole is more than just a brand - at its core is our lifelong friendship, a strong sense of family, and a company born out of determination and British entrepreneurial spirit! - Katrina Cole