Ben Olins – författare

John Simons has spent seven decades quietly shaping British menswear. His shops were among the first in the UK to import American Ivy League style, and he gave the Harrington jacket its name. While trends have shifted, Simons' approach has remained clear-sighted, inventive and independent. Clothesville: John Simons' London charts his life in style. It follows him from early days at Cecil Gee, the opening of The Ivy Shop in 1965 and the Soho clubs where London's modernists gathered. Readers will see how Simons persuaded British manufacturers to sell him their American export designs, and how his shops became meeting places for style-conscious Londoners. Drawn from Simons' own recollections and supported by contemporary sources, the fold-out guide is both map and biography. Written by Ben Olins and designed by Grey Haas, Clothesville continues Herb Lester Associates' tradition of richly illustrated guides to cultural history.