My guest on this episode of the Threads of Conversation podcast is Alec Leach. Formerly Style Editor at Highsnobiety, in 2018 Alec left his role to pursue a career in sustainability. In 2022, he published a book called ‘The World is on Fire, But We’re Still Buying Shoes’, a short, sharp manifesto about how we can fix our shopping habits. The book has now sold over 10,000 copies.
What I love about Alec’s work is that he’s brave and transparent, but also delivers his message with a sense of humour. He’s only human, and he knows the reader is too. Instead of dishing out rules, he encourages his audience to join in the sustainability conversation in a way that’s approachable, interesting and fun.
In this episode, Alec talks us through 8 items from his wardrobe which tell the story of his journey from a fashion editor inundated with freebies to a sustainability activist with a ruthlessly edited wardrobe of staples.
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The piece that reminds Alec of his childhood…
“I chose a band tee from one of my favourite bands from when I was about 17 or 18 called ‘Modern Life is War’. I listened to a lot of metal and punk rock and hardcore when I was a kid and I really really loved that band.”
The piece that reminds him of his career…
“I bought these just before I left Highsnobiety. The store in Berlin opened towards the end of 2018. I interviewed Jockum, one of the founders, just before it opened and he was like, ‘Yeah, come round the store. We’ll give you a discount if you want anything.’ I think I got these boots with the last paycheck I ever got at Highsnobiety.”
The piece that reminds him of a high…
“When I was at Highsnobiety I bought a bunch of stuff that I just never really enjoyed wearing, and a lot of it came down to the fact that it took a really long time for me to accept the fact that I’m not a skinny, sample size kind of guy. I was just browsing online and I remember I came across it. My book had come out, and I was starting to make pretty good money from it and things were going really well. It was summer, and I was just like, ‘That jacket’s probably gonna look really good on me, why don’t I just buy it?’ The fit is just so good. Whoever designed it should get a Nobel Prize or something, because it’s perfect. I absolutely love it.”
The piece that reminds him of a low…
“There’s actually a bunch of different things I could have chosen here. I had a series of recurring laundry catastrophes. This pale blue oxford shirt from Closed lives again but after that I fucking obliterated my favourite Our Legacy jumper. I’d already fucked up two tees, and then used those to fuck up the shirt, and then rescued the tee and destroyed the shirt while rescuing the tee, and then rescued the shirt… At the end of all of that I was like, ‘Sweet, I’ve fixed everything. And then I just fuck up my favourite knit!”
The piece that made him feel a part of something…
“I went to uni in Sheffield and was working in this really boring student bar flipping burgers for a living and playing in a couple of old bands. I just felt like I was in a really small place and Supreme felt like this world back around 2011. They were still making really cool clothes and doing really interesting collaborations, and it just felt like this really fascinating thing. That’s one of the real things that got me into fashion, which got me into streetwear, which got me into my job at Highsnobiety, and that was where it all began.”
The piece that reminds him of a great party…
“It’s my wedding shirt - the nice shirt I wear to weddings. It’s got really nice long sleeves, so when you wear it underneath a suit it looks really gorgeous because you have these really soft creamy, beige-y sleeves poking out the end of your blazer.”
The piece that makes him feel sexy…
“When I was working at Highsnobiety, I wore a leather blazer all the time. I wore it so much that some people I worked with were like, ‘Whenever I think of leather blazers, I think of you.’ I love that. There's just something about a leather blazer that feels great, and I've owned a bunch of them over the years. I feel like myself when I wear one, which I guess is why I chose it for the sexy piece.”
The one that got away…
“I ended up hanging out with Matthew Williams in Tokyo for half a day, which was a really bizarre experience, because I really did not have a glamorous lifestyle at all. I loved ALYX when it first started - their menswear was so cool. And I remember Matthew was actually wearing this jacket with a Dior beret that he said Kim Jones gave him. It like it looked so sick with the leather jacket I was like, ‘This is one of the coolest looks ever.’ A year or so later I saw it at 70% off and I was like, ‘Fuck it.’ I loved wearing it, but it never quite fit right - it’s a little bit too small, so the silhouette doesn't look like it should on me.”
Threads of the week
Jorts weather! Fun fact: these used to be a pair of full length Levi’s until Chloe Baines customized them for me and added the rivet detail on the hem. Knit is Phoebe Philo’s Céline, boots are Ann Demeulemeester.
Loose Threads
“Hemlines that once severely tapered now expanded, hovering like U.F.O.s above shoes or pooling atop them like swirls of soft-serve ice cream.” - Blackbird Spyplane’s Jonah Weiner on how and why our pants got so big.
Watched two very different, but equally fascinating documentaries this week. The first was Martin Scorsese’s ‘Made in Milan’, a short film released in 1990 which follows Giorgio Armani as he prepares to show a new collection. I heard about this via Teri Agins’ episode of The Cutting Room floor podcast, which is also excellent.
The second documentary was ‘Cobra Gypies’ by Raphael Treza, who spent months living with the Kalbelia in the Thar desert in Rajasthan. These nomadic people are known for their snake charming and mesmerising dancing skills, but I was most blown away by their incredible style. The way they use colour and embellishment, mixing traditional costume with modern pieces to create outfits that are - for want of a more eloquent way to put it - insanely cool.
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A Thread about Alec Leach