For what they are doing, nobody else can really touch oki-ni right now. After we had creative director John Skelton speak to BUCK last year, I had to catch up again for MENSWEAR. A lot has changed since then; oki-ni sells music, the site’s relaunched, and the product and buying has just got sharper and sharper. Hardly a week goes by without must-haves like the MARGIELA PARACHUTE WAISTCOAT, DAMIR DOMA BOOTS, RAF SIMONS x DOCTOR MARTENS SANDALS or JIL SANDER CATWALK BLAZERS going online, often not stocked anywhere else in the UK, shot in a crisp and clear way.
The site is also EMBLEMATIC OF A NEW TYPE OF MAN. Not a dandy, not retro; not defined by a look at all, but rather a set of labels and a knack for making the link between sportswear with designer, denim label with catwalk, whilst keeping it modern. Out with skinny jeans and in with Levi’s Red, nice trainers, a jacket by a young designer and a cult top from Japan, if you know what we mean. It’s about time too; expect more from MENSWEAR’s favourite shops over the coming weeks and months too.
MENSWEAR: What new labels and product are you excited about for the second half of S/S 09?
John Skelton: We’ve got a really strong Japanese theme arriving as part of our mid season installment and there are some fantastic brands and products within them. These include Der Sammler Solo, Christian Peau and Fracap to name but a few.
MENSWEAR: You’ve championed and brought to light a lot of designers that haven’t got huge recognition in the UK. Are there any others you would like see have more notice taken of them?
John Skelton: Yeah, now that things are developing I’ve really invested in the young and new designers again as its something that I think is very important. One guy that I think deserves a lot more attention from the press and the buyers is Satyen Kumar. I really believe in this guy and his work and I don’t feel he’s getting the recognition he deserves. His winter 09 collection in my opinion is as good as it gets.
MENSWEAR: The buying and balancing of labels is really inspiring- but do you have any inspirations putting together the selection? i.e. certain guys who’ve put things together in ways you like, film, music inspirations, catwalk…
John Skelton: No not at all. It all boils down to our buying philosophy which is very simple. If we wouldn’t wear it we won’t buy it. It’s a true feeling from the heart, that is maybe why it is inspiring as a completely true feeling will always show through in whatever form it is being expressed in.
MENSWEAR: Your new picture archive- showing designer’s previous work- sounds like a great idea, as it’s so hard to find back collections from designers, what has been the designer’s responses so far?
John Skelton: To be honest I haven’t really spoke to the brands about it. I have mentioned to 1 or 2 that we are doing it and they we’re happy and interested but to be honest I want it to reflect our interpretation of the brands in our feeling and all of the product comes from our own personal collections that we have so it is most definitely our take on things.
MENSWEAR: People seem to really talk about and like the idea that you have one model for the site, Dan, how did the idea come about?
John Skelton: The idea came about as Dan is a good friend of mine and has pre-oki-ni carved out a bit of a name for himself as a footwear buyer in his previous roles and also wears and loves the product that we sell. I thought it would therefore be a good idea to get him involved as the footwear buyer and also tie in the modeling so that the product is shown on one of us in a true light of how we wear it. I’m so happy that we chose this non-conventional style of modeling and feel it has so worked
in our favour. I hate the stereotypical models that most houses use, it doesn’t reflect real life at all.
MENSWEAR: There used to be a physical shop; though the whole format was really different then, would you ever go back to this in the future?
John Skelton: It’s hard to say, I never say never, but I’m definitely very happy with our current format and so far it has shown to be far more effective than the previous one so I won’t be in a rush to revert back.
John’s personal style- we think it reflects a new kind of man (amazing mask optional)
MENSWEAR: Can you tell us any new names coming to the site for A/W 09?
John Skelton: We’ve really gone for it this season with many new additions including a project on new and young designers. We will be introducing one each month, who we feel are the pick of the crop from the young guns: these include Julie Hederus (Sweden) Satyen Kumar (UK) and Martine Rose (UK).
MENSWEAR: The store is seven years old (it seems hard to believe). So where do you see yourself, and oki-ni, in another seven years?
John Skelton: Who knows? I am very happy at the moment focusing on oki-ni as a brand and have the desire to see this project through for as long as it takes to get it to where I want it to be and through our distinct style that we have honed. The only thing I do know is that I will definitely be in the field of clothing/product/music as I couldn’t see my self doing anything else. I love what I do and feel very fortunate to have been able to pursue this as a real career as oppose to a hobby. As far as oki-ni goes, if I’m still involved we’ll still be doing exactly what we’re doing now but hopefully on a much bigger scale with an even wider and more interesting offer. It’s only going to go one way and that is even more specialist and niche.
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