Olly Shinder

Here’s Olly himself wearing his Gore-Tex crocodile shell jacket and matching trousers, which are fully adjustable thanks to all those criss-crossing poppers and panels. “When I see someone wearing an outerwear jacket, I’m always drawn to it,” he says. “I find it super sexy. It shows something a bit active about the person – it’s way more interesting to be into the outdoors than just going to the gym.”

Above, a vest made from a fabric that’s most often found in body-contouring shapewear and underwear. “It flattens and compresses things. I mean, it holds you together quite securely,” Olly says. “There’s a sensuality to it, and I wanted to do something that subverts gender. It’s always used in female bodywear, but it’s also used in binding tops by trans men. The patterns of the collection are so menswear-y, but I really would like anyone to buy it. I don’t see the client as only a man.” The alien-like shoulder protrusion is a zip, emerging from another zip: a YKK AquaGuard poking through a more conventional coil zipper.

Olly is wearing: a polypropylene jacket – made from the same material as the large cones given to dogs post-operation – over a devoré camouflage silk shirt, which was designed in collaboration with textiles classmate Nusra Nijimbere. “I knew I wanted camouflage, but it’s so hard to get it right. I’m obsessed with it, but it can look cheap when done badly,” says Olly. The trousers are reverse-welded Gore-Tex, and super waterproof.

Taking decidedly mundane materials and sexing them up has quickly become one of Olly’s signatures, like the racerback vest-and-brief combo made from Polartec fleece and seen above. “I wanted to use trusted suppliers for the functionality they bring, like Nike would do, but do something a bit more fun and interesting with them. The thought process is always, ‘How can we play with this?’”

So, what’s next for Olly Shinder – seen above in a forest-camo devoré camouflage silk shirt-and-trouser set – and his namesake label? Well, he’s not interested in working for anyone else at the moment, for one thing. “I’m trying to do my own brand. There’s some logistical, set-uppy things that need to be done. I’m just figuring out all the bits that need to happen to do it. I’ll just keep pushing for now and see how it works out.” Fingers crossed!