CASELY-HAYFORD, Joe

British designer

Born: Ghana, 24 May 1956. Education: Trained at Tailor and Cutter Academy, London, 1974-75, St. Martin's School of Art, 1975-79, graduated 1979; studied history of art at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, 1979-80. Family: Married Maria Casely-Hayford, 1 August 1980. Career: Worked on Saville Row, pre-1974; designed stage outfits for rock groups and stars, including Mica Paris, Tori Amos, Neneh Cherry, Liam Gallagher, Suede, Lou Reed, and U2, from 1984; created own company, Joe Casely-Hayford Fashion, 1984; designs appeared in Derek Jarman's film Edward II, 1991; designed hosiery range for Sock Shop chain, London, 1991; commissioned to design clothes for ballet Very, by Jonathan Burrows, 1992; established diffusion line, Hayford, 1992; flagship boutique opened, London, 1993; freelance designer, Panchetti label, Italy, and Joseph and Top Shop chain, Britain. Exhibitions: Street Style, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, November 1994-February 1995. Address: 128 Shoreditch High Street, London E1 6JE England.

Publications

By CASELY-HAYFORD:

Articles

"Bovril Babes," in Face (London), June 1992.

"Year Review of Fashion," in i-D (London), January 1993.

"Fashion," in Face (London), December 1993.

"Urban Nomad," in i-D (London), The Urgent Issue.

"A Question of Culture," in i-D (London), The Strength Issue.

On CASELY-HAYFORD:

Books

Tulloch, Carol, "Rebel Without a Pause: Black Street Style and Black

Designers," in Juliet Ash and Elizabeth Wilson (eds.), Chic Thrills, A Fashion Reader, Berkeley, CA, 1993.

De La Haye, Amy, editor, The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion, 1947-1997, New York, 1997.

Articles

"New Talent," in Harpers & Queens, September 1985.

"Da Londra, Moda Come Provocazione: Eclectics," in L'Uomo Vogue (Milan), December 1985.

McCooey, Meriel, "East Side Story," in the Sunday Times Magazine (London), 27 April 1986.

DuCann, Charlotte, "Independent Style: Young British Design," inVogue (London), November 1986.

"Shooting Stars," in Women's Journal (London), February 1988.

Bain, Sally, "The New Order of Nights," in Elle (London), December 1988.

Profile of Joe Casely-Hayford, in Details, February 1989.

Profile of Joe Casely-Hayford, in the Observer, 12 March 1989.

Hochswender, Woody, "Fashion Iconoclasts Rediscover Subtleties," in the New York Times, 2-3 April 1989.

Samuel, Kathryn, "Designer of the Year," in the Sunday Telegraph, 15 October 1989.

Griggs, Barbara, "The Italian Connection," in Vogue, May 1990.

"Joe Casely-Hayford," in Clothes Show (London), March 1991.

Rodgers, Toni, "Double Vision," in Elle (London), March 1991.

Clarke, Adrian, "Black Panther," in Fashion Weekly (London), 14March 1991.

Profile of Joe Casely-Hayford, in the Guardian, 22 April 1991.

"Five Cut Loose (and Ties Will Not Be Worn)," in the Independent (London), 22 August 1991.

Profile of Joe Casely-Hayford, in the Glasgow Herald, 9 October 1991.

"Fashion Warriors Set Sights on Impact," in the Independent (London), 17 February 1992.

"Joe Casely's Costume Karma," in the Weekly Journal (London), 23May 1992.

Plewka, Karl, "Spotlighting Joe Casely-Hayford," in Interview, January 1993.

Profile on Joe Casely-Hayford, in Collezioni, January/February 1993.

Tredre, Roger, "In the Black-White-Rock-Fashion World," in theIndependent Weekend (London), 13 February 1993.

Schacknat, Karin, "Joe Casely-Hayford: Pure Vormals Ultieme Doel," in Kunsten de! (Arnhem), May 1993.

Rawlinson, Richard, "Top Shop Signs Up Joe Casely-Hayford," inFashion Weekly (London), 22 July 1993.

Alford, Lucinda, "Hey, Joe!" in the Observer Review (London), 22August 1993.

Profile of Joe Casely-Hayford, in the Manchester Evening News, October 1993.

Scott, Alexander, "Platform, Rusty New Ideas," in Ticket (London),June 1994.

Sims, Josh, "Cape Crusaders," in the Guardian (London), 3 November 2000.

***

The traditional design tenets of quality fabric, attention to detail, and excellent cut underpin all of Joe Casely-Hayford's work. This is not to deny the surprise of his designs, which often have unusual details of decoration or spicy color combinations to enliven them. His clothes are for the discerning customer who wants styles to retain their appeal for more than one season. The clothes are always very contemporary in feel, though rarely following fashion fads. Although he returns to his skillful pleating and cutting of traditional wool fabrics for classic suits each season, his influences are wide ranging. He can just as stylishly redefine 1970s wide collar coats as create American Indian-style soft leather jackets.

His menswear is perhaps his perennial tour de force. Always interesting and innovative, his collections are a combination of highly desirable good quality with witty detailing. His clean-cut wool suits are given a stylish twist through pleating or cut-out lapels with curling velvet inserts, making them more individual. His designs may reveal a certain amount of anarchic license in their cut, but he is never cultish or unwearable, carefully balancing the elements in his work with his original vision to make clothes with a long life span. Even his more experimental garments, like the all-in-one suit he created in the late 1980s that looked like a two-piece from the front but had a battle-dress back, still have a beauty in their fit and the refined finish that distinguishes all his work.

Casely-Hayford, like Stephen Burrows and Ozwald Boateng, was one of the few early black designers to attain prominence in the international fashion world, and he passes his knowledge along to the next generation; one of his protégés is Walé Adeyemi. Having arrived on the wave of the exciting new art school-trained British designers that included John Richmond and John Galliano, he has also remained dedicated to increasing Britain's fashion standing on the international market. To that end, he is active in teaching future designers, lending his time and expertise to programs like the Marymount London Fashion Program, which teaches students and gives them the opportunity to intern with working designers and get hands-on experience.

Although he is part of the 5th Circle, set up in August 1991 to showcase the menswear of five homegrown designers, he is equally committed to his womenswear collection. It has the same strength of cut and clarity of design, often initiating ideas that are later taken up by others. Examples are the bra tops of his early shows that were later to flood the market; the hot-colored patchwork suede wide collar jackets, long coats, and hot pants he used that heralded the 1970s revival of the early 1990s; and the beehive hairdos he brought back in his fall 2001 show.

His clothes for women have a sexy feel, with sculpted leather waistcoats and neatly fitted suits alongside funky knitwear and simple yet sophisticated dresses, each with the usual Casely-Hayford twist marking out their design. His designs are complemented by the seasonal addition of interesting and unusual footwear created for Shelly's, the London shoe chain.

Beginning in about 1984, Casely-Hayford entered the music world, dressing such stars as Tori Amos, Black Uhuru, Neneh Cherry, The Clash, Liam Gallagher, Glamma Kid, Lynden David Hall, Mica Paris, Lou Reed, Suede, and U2 (including their two-year world tour in 1991-93), and enjoying a popularity rivaled only by Gianni and Donatella Versace. He also served as a costume designer on Derek Jarman's film Edward II (1991).

Casely-Hayford has quietly built a niche for himself in British fashion as a master of cut, and his work has also just as quietly gained an international following, especially in Japan, where his work is very popular. His clothes have the appeal of longevity while at the same time maintaining style and well-balanced beauty through the combination of each element of design, providing carefully thought-out garments that flatter the wearer with their witty detail and consistently good fit.

He has remained very active, showing collections regularly from 1998 to 2001, not only in London but from Paris to Milan and from Rome to New York. His collections in 2000-01 featured an eclectic riot of colors and fabrics, from orange and green to white and black, from solid to tie-dye, from leather to tweed, from tulle to suede, from fake fur to wool. Described alternatingly as conservative, cutting edge, bold, and subliminal, Casely-Hayford's designs, while remaining experimental, are still very wearable.

—RebeccaArnold;

updated by Daryl F.Mallett