Home (all) Welcome to DENHAM the Jeanmaker´s website. Each card reveals a story which represents one facet of Denham´s vision. Categorised by the collection, garment library, studio & stores, to press reports & the birth of the Cutter´s Council. Designed in time with no beginning nor end, through resourceful innovation and fearless experimentation. It´s a decorated blog. A tailor-made homepage. We hope to fascinate but are equally prepared to frustrate.
We'd heard about the War & Peace Show from several of our friends and contacts in the vintage scene. Something that had to be seen to be believed. Thankfully my wife had a curiosity of her own and the foresight to book us in early.
We were in search of interesting military surplus, an ongoing source of design inspiration for its ever-progressive utility. It's almost unbearably trite to make the point that wars are very sad things and that an exhibition like this, dedicated entirely to militaria, is bound to be wrapped in some thick melancholy and surreal irony. But we were focused on the discovery of design concepts we might not have seen before... -and there was certainly profound dignity to the historical narratives behind much of what was on show.
As usual the real gratification came from meeting people. It starts out about clothes and ends up being about the community of folks who share our enthusiasm. We try to capture just a few of them on video each time we're out at something like this. Maybe we're as busy collecting these people and their stories as we are foraging for new specimens of utility design for the Denham Garment Library.
Thanks to Tristan and his guvnr Steve Pybus from Dirty Harry's in Brighton, Oliver Locke from Regimentals in Hertfordshire, Sophia Angelique Danaka from Angelique's Surplus, Bernard from Shop 13 in Switzerland, Francoise from Tranchee Militaire in France and the mysterious guy who whispered about the SAS but asked not to have his face on camera.
For One Weekend, the Center of Everything
French Airman (hanging out at the event's Living History area)
Eddie Bauer B9 Jacket (like the one in our own library)
