About

Old Ford Workshop was created from a studio on the Old Ford Rd in Bow, East London.

I first started in fashion because of my brother. He worked at the Paul Smith store in Londons West End. We decided to open a shop together which was interesting to say the least. The line about not working with friends and family was tested to the extreme and we found it to be correct!

Starting off in Soho the store eventually ended up in Spitalfields, East London on Brushfield Street. Although on the edge of the City this was an amazing area with many talented and creative people, pubs, restaurants, food stalls and local artists such as Tracey Emin and Gibert and George

The store became successful stocking various iconic brands including Paul Smith and the more diverse labels like Japan's 'Michiko Koshino' and Englands 'Griffin'

Throughout these years I was buying collections to sell in store and found the process extremely interesting. If I made a mistake it would affect me financially so gradually learned to buy what people wanted.

After a wonderful 10 years, shop rents and business rates in London became too much and the store said goodbye to Spitalfields and its much loved customers. 

I became a consultant and helped brands with their collections. The emphasise is always to make it sell. This is a point that people miss about sustainability. Can you imagine all these brands that produce mountains of stuff that no one buys due to lack of thought at the design stage? It's like machine gun fashion. They fill their showrooms with hundreds of styles because they are not sure themselves which will sell. This ends up in landfill before its even tried on.

I could go on and on about this but you would probably fall asleep so I won't.

Before launching the brand I studied pattern cutting at the London College of Fashion for some deeper knowledge on a technical level.  I then began to produce my own bits preferring minimal design with nice fabric and good shapes. I've always loved Japanese clothing and the clean fits so have taken a lot of inspiration from there. Workwear culture also gets a nod although not everyone wants to dress like a train driver which is why I give it a gentle nod and not a hug. 

Hope you enjoy the clothing. If you have ANY issues with the design or fit then pease email me at justin@oldfordworkshop.com I'm always interested to hear your feedback.

Thanks, Justin