Wayne Hemingway at Leeds College of Art

On Tuesday evening I visited the Leeds College of Art for their latest Creative Networks event with Wayne Hemingway.

To some, Wayne may be recognised for creating the label and brand, Red or Dead yet I learnt yesterday evening that both he and his wife, Gerardine, had achieved a lot more through design.

Wayne’s talk began with references to his interests and by noting that when he was growing up that the term ‘creative industries’ probably didn’t exist, yet he’s inexplicably tied to this industry. We were presented with the stats from the Design Council (Wayne’s on the Trustee Board) and were encouraged to value the benefits of design in our lives.

For Wayne, design was innate and his design was more from the make do and mend philosophy compared to his partner Gerardine who created clothes from scratch. After moving to London and not having any money for rent, Wayne and Gerardine took everything they could replace easily, their clothes, to Camden Market to sell.

By the end of the first day they had made a lot more than they needed and they discovered a drive to sell more and get a better pitch. By the end of the year they had 16 stalls and were getting clothes, shoes and accessories being shipped in from all over the world, including Shoddy Yards in Dewsbury.

One of the things Wayne soon realised was that due to the current music scene he could buy old Dr Martens, repair them and sell them on for a greater price than a new pair. It was this mind for resale that kept the couple in tune with their market and increasing sales.

In 1983 Gerardine opened an outlet in Kensington Market and began selling her own clothes. This was later to become the first Red or Dead collection after she agreed to an order from Macy’s after encouragement from her fellow traders. At the time, neither her not Wayne were aware of the department store or how they were going to fulfil the biggest order they had ever received.

The order had been taken during London Fashion Week and the industry were astounded that such a significant order had been placed for what wasn’t even a brand, let alone a non-brand that wasn’t part of the event.

Whilst navigating a route into footwear, Wayne and Gerardine were confronted by questions about what Red or Dead was. Not what the name was, but what the brand was. The philosophy of the brand is something they have carried with them into other ventures: creating design that matters in everyday life.

Whilst some fashion designers have forayed into the design of hotels, collaborations with housing projects certainly aren’t expected, yet after a successful TV debate after noticing the institutionalisation of new homes, Wayne and Gerardine began a collaboration with Wimpey Homes in 2003.

Wayne noted that “being a designer is about seeing things and getting angry about them”. It’s about noticing the things in life that can cause issues and creating a solution. Wayne felt that the increase in ASBOs and the like was due to the environment that people were growing up in – in the Wimpeyfication of homes – and he wanted to create something that encouraged a community.

Wayne and Gerardine designed the development Staiths Southbank on the banks of River Tyne, Gateshead. It wasn’t just the homes that they designed though, it was the place. They were influenced by the likes of Jan Gehl and the places where they had grown up, places that allowed them to play freely without harm yet interact with nature.

The development encourages community and facilitated ownership for the residents of the community by involving them in the planting of the flower beds and trees. They realised that “design thinking is more important than the physical manifestation”, and just like fashion designers have others create the garments, they had others physically creating the place. The difference was, the residents were involved in the creation too.

Since then, HemingwayDesign (Wayne and Gerardine’s company which now involves their children) have been involved in a number of other projects including some with brands such as McDonalds and Coca Cola.

In the Q and A Wayne was asked why someone who cared so much about upcycling, sustainability and community would work with McDonalds. He noted that he too was surprised to find himself warm to such an internationally renowned brand but it was the accolades that the company has that aren’t as well known that won him over; the fact that they’re loved by farmers more than any other company and that they sell more apples and grapes than a huge supermarket brand such as Tesco.

In addition, they had approached him to create an upcycled uniform for 85,000 employees. It’s the unsaid and the doing that earns you the respect of Wayne Hemingway and his team and his projects show that design really is everyday; whether it’s your home, your uniform or your branded clothing.

The next Creative Networks event is on Thursday 5th December and is an In Conversation event with Jamal Edwards.

This event was attended by Kay – Kay regularly blogs about the things that makes you smile over on Cheery Little Thing, she has worked on some of the city’s biggest festivals and she has a habit of live tweeting from talks such as this.