Established in 2008, Emperor London is an accessible luxury high-street brand, with a mix of perfect cuts, focused on refined details and on trend clothing. The London-based label created quality statement clothing and accessories ideal for Men and Boys. Famous for it’s lifestyle touch, Emperor is here to transform the latest fashion trends into accessible luxury.
A&E gets up-close and personal with the creative minds behind the urban brand, Babak, Farhan, and Haman Golkar, the three siblings elaborate more about their love for contemporary fashion, why they decided to create a male driven brand, and give us a clearer image of what’s on Emperor London’s agenda for the coming 2018.
How did Emperor London come about? What’s the story behind the brand?
We have always wanted to go into a fashion business together. It has been an important part of our mission to create a fashion brand that makes high quality products at an accessible price point. We wanted to create something that made our customers feel like an Emperor without spending like one!
How did you develop an interest in men fashion?
Men fashion is all about balance and harmony. Men clothes are not necessarily the most complicated to make like women clothes are, so what makes them special are the details, fabrics and cut. These are details that have always been our main interest and creating menswear is a perfect outlet for our passion.
Tell us more about the design process. How do you source and select materials?
We draw a lot of our inspiration from architecture, the metallic details we use in our clothes are reminiscent to metal details found in royal palaces. We always believe that it is those little details that make something feel and look like a luxury product. Apart from that our greatest inspiration are the people around us. We always have a sensitive ear to what men want and use, so one must say that this would be starting point to our creative process.
The Emperor London brand is big on merging street-wear and high-street fashion. How do you incorporate that in your designs?
We start our design process always with our customer in mind. What does the Emperor Man do, where does he go and how does he travel? We live in a very active society where we are always moving, our clothes always have to adapt to the time of day we are in. This fast paced world that we live in no, we don’t have the time to go and change our clothes 3 times a day, so our collections have to embody the street wear look and seamlessly transition to a fashion piece in the evening.
How did you branch off into designing for Boys as well?
The concept of a “mini me” for the collection was always at the forefront of our brand’s vision. Our Boy collections are exactly the same as the Men collections, but literally shrunk to ages 2 – 12.
High-street brands must keep up with new trends. How is this affecting you?
Fashion is an ever changing chameleon, with new ideas constantly being introduced and changed determined by the world and society around us. Fashion is a narrative of who we are and what our society is trying to say right now. It is such an incredible part of our job that we take great pride in being part of. These changes and constant need to discover and research affects us in nothing but positive ways.
What do you have up your sleeve for Spring Summer 18?
Spring Summer 18 collection has the introduction of a lot of new items in the collection. We have our tailored pieces being introduced and the first light weight leather jacket is being made for the collection, also we are about to launch our very first shoe design, which we are incredibly excited about.
What’s your take on the Middle East market? Especially in Men’s fashion?
The Middle East has always been a place of beauty, from the incredible architecture, the beautiful fabrics and the works of art that have been a point of inspiration to so many international designers for many decades. Men in the region have always taken great pride in the way they look and are groomed. I don’t know of any Middle Eastern man, young or old, who would leave the house not looking well put together nor have their hair perfectly done.
How has Emperor London evolved, in terms of its online presence?
Online is such a vital part of fashion and retail culture now, it is something that cannot be ignored and will lead consumerism for generations to come. This is however not to diminish the importance of brick and mortar stores which is still vital to the experience of the brand. We launched our online store last year and it is growing and developing at a rapid pace, reaching markets and cities who do not necessary have access to an Emperor Store i always a plus.
EMPEROR’s Flagship Store in Beirut, Lebanon
What has been your career highlight to date?
Probably being the first ever High Street brand from the Middle East to have opened in London and also having our first two franchise stores open in Beirut and Astana.
What’s your goal for 2018?
2018 is an exciting year for us. We are opening two stores in London in March along with our offices and showrooms there for the Europe market. The success of Emperor Fragrance which was launched late 2017 will be developed and expanded on a much bigger global platform scale in 2018.
By Dana Mortada
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