I think high-end, luxury designers have to stay true to themselves and keep pushing boundaries
—Tell us about yourself
My name is Steve Doyle. I’m 26 and was born in Birmingham, England. I now live in London, editing my website Buckstyle.com.
—Tell us about magazine (concept, target, article)
I launched a print magazine called BUCK in October 2008. 3 issues were produced but unfortunately, due to the current economic situation, I had to close it in February this year. In May, I re-launched the website Buckstyle.com and so far it’s been very successful. The original idea behind BUCK and Buckstyle.com was to produce a magazine for young, creative men who do their own thing and are interested in finding out what’s new in fashion, design and style. We also included stories about food (because I love cooking and eating!) so it was a kind of lifestyle magazine. We feature a lot of ‘real people’, such as streetstyle articles. We try not to instruct too much; we prefer to present trend news and give suggestions.
—How did you come to establish the magazine?(How did you find the crea who you work with you?)
After my parents died, a few years ago now, I had some inheritance. I decided to use this money to follow my dream and launch a men’s fashion magazine. My inspiration was Men’s non-no, which I became a fan of while I was living in Tokyo in 2001. I studied Japanese Studies at SOAS, University of London, and spent one year in Tokyo as part of my course, and during that time got to know the Tokyo fashion scene very well!
Launching a magazine is of course difficult, and very time consuming; I didn’t have a day off for about 9 months. Before I started planning the launch, I worked at several other magazines to gain experience. These included GT, Wonderland, Dazed & Confused and finally British Vogue. After this I set about creating a lot of very long to-do lists! And, gradually, I got through them.
Most of the people who worked with me on the magazine were hired through open interviews: I advertised for the jobs. There were a couple of people I had worked with before, but the majority of the core staff were unknown to me before. Then, when we produce articles, we use all our contacts together.
—What makes your magazine different from others on the market?
BUCK was different because there are no style magazines in the UK aimed at young men. Also, there are no male magazines with such a large amount of food coverage. Buckstyle.com is unique as a fashion website in that we do Video Fashion Editorials – it’s like a 3 minute music video you might see on MTV, but instead of promoting a song, we promote certain items of clothing that we think are the most interesting at the moment. We’ve had a great reaction to it so far!
—Where do you get article idea?
We have certain fixed features – shopping guides, fashion show reports, interviews. These mostly come from what I feel I want to read about.
—Who are your favourite designers recently? Do you know any new comer?
From the SS 2010 collections, my favourite international labels were Lanvin, YSL, Givenchy, Les Hommes and Louis Vuitton (oh, the LV shoes are amazing for next spring!!)
Of the newcomers, I really like Omar Kashoura, Carolyn Massey and Lou Dalton – these 3 are British and are names to watch.
—How is the fashion scene like in London?
It’s fun. It’s energetic and very creative. The London fashion schools, LCF and Central St Martins, produce some of the best designers in the world so there is a competitive atmosphere. There is also a strong club culture which is quite unique here and that’s fun to be a part of. London is a place where young people can try out new things and experiment. It’s a very liberal place and always ready to accept ‘the next big thing’, so it’s a great place to learn. To be really successful though, most designers leave to Paris or Milan, which is where they become more commercially minded e.g. John Galliano, Alexander McQueen.
—Where do you think is the most fashionable area or place in London?
Right now, I love Broadway Market and London Fields in Hackney. Certainly the East in general is where most creative people live.
—What kind of designers are needed by consumers in this economy crisis?
I think high-end, luxury designers have to stay true to themselves and keep pushing boundaries. Everyone is price conscious in a recession but the value of a designer item is its uniqueness. While the average person may start buying more navy and black, turning more conservative, that’s not necessarily true of the person who buys designer clothes. Why would I buy a designer black jumper if I can get it in Uniqlo for much less? Certainly the labels I picked above – YSL, Givenchy etc, are continuing to produce items that you can’t find anywhere else…yet!
—Which SS09 trend do you hope will go away quietly and which do you want to stick around for a while?
I can’t talk for womenswear but in menswear, there’s not much I don’t like at the moment. I love studs so will be pushing this for a while to come yet!
—What is next for you ? What are your future plans?
I have a lot of changes coming up actually. I’m not going to reveal everything yet but I’m quite excited. Essentially I will be taking a less hands-on role at Buckstyle.com – handing over more of the website to other people – and instead I will launch a couple of new projects, still style related. I will keep you updated of course!
