Made In Britain: Bristol based brand Grove & Co share their story

On Friday June 22, Spoke and Stringer were host to a special evening with fashion label, Grove & Co, celebrating the company, their freshly-finished brand film and an even fresher product, completed that very day.

So, who are Grove & Co?

Led by Bristolian friends Tristan Evans and Ben Martin, G&C was born in the midst of a trip to Paris and a mutual love of really great shirts. Inspired by the designers that filled the Parisian streets of Montmartre, they questioned whether they could do better.

The Grove & Co short film preview at Spoke and Stringer

To develop an initial design, Tristan and Ben took inspiration from key parts of their favoured shirts and pieced them together in their own style. After months into years of exploring fabrics, cuts, lengths and finishes, the Grove & Co shirt was complete.

Grove & Co encompasses everything you’d want from an independent British brand. They focus on a sustainable and conscious decision to question who they work and collaborate with to ensure they too match the designers’ values, creating ethical products that are all made in the UK with each shirt carrying the hand-sewn British flag label.

With an aim to perfect their signature fit, not only with the consumer in mind but also themselves – a designer should always be comfortable in their own threads – Grove & Co pay attention to the smaller details, from tortoiseshell buttons, a carefully curved collar to the texture of the fabrics.

With a unique brand like this, there is sometimes the fear that an air of exclusivity will appear, but the G&C partnership at Spoke and Stringer was inclusive. Grove & Co invite in anyone who shares a mutual love for style, quality and uniqueness, and Tristan and Ben are approachable guys who know their stuff and want to share their story.

As well as a fine selection of burgers, a collection of shirts were on display to try, buy or admire. Among these were the Linwood stripe shirt, perfect for summer with the peachy and olive tones; and the staple white button-down Arlington.

Sustainable Linwood and Arlington shirts by Grove & Co from £105

Grove and Co fashion shoot featuring the – perfect for summer- Linwood shirt

The short film ‘Made in Britain‘, put together by Calum Jelf of Punchline Media, told the story of the brand and gave great insight into the commitment of the entire process (taking up to a year to find the right fabric alone). During the film, Tristan notes: “We’re really pleased with the success and the reception that our shirts have had so far, and what we’d like to do is continue to develop new products. But the most important thing is that we’re creating things that our customers love.”

The newest of products, hot off the press and joining their winter collection was a crisp, black workman style jacket. Completed after days of text battles regarding a pointed vs rounded collar alone, “I think the jacket speaks for itself,” says a very humble Ben.

It was no surprise to learn after this that Ben takes the lead with more of the design elements, while Tristan oversees more of the manufacturing. In their own words, the ‘sexy stuff’ vs ‘back end’ divide.

In a world of fast fashion and at a time where big-game players are closing high street stores, Bristol24/7 asked Tristan whether he thought the UK consumer was becoming more aware of the clothing they’re buying, where it comes from and how it’s made.

“Personally – yes, I think it’s becoming more recognised to keep fashion in the UK. Manufacturing in the UK is something that’s really hot. When it’s a dying trade you can go out to Turkey and so many places around the world to get things made, but having it on your doorstep is such an important thing for us because it means that we can be really close to it.

“There’s the whole sustainability aspect of it as well with having it so close to home and knowing how far each unit and each fabric has moved, is really important now”.

Grove & Co Factory

“It’s really interesting, because we speak to retailers all the time that are a bit like, ‘oh wow, it’s made in the UK, how is this possible?!'” Tristan continues. “It’s funny because we’ve actually been speaking to some Japanese retailers, and the biggest emphasis for them is that it’s all made in the UK. They love it, they think it’s amazing. Whereas for us it’s more about being close to the process – it would have been really hard for us to manage that if it was done in another country.

Grove & Co owners Ben Martin & Tristan Evans at the Made in Britain film preview

“It’s understanding where they come from, because your clothes could be made in the UK but not sustainably made. We make huge emphasis on asking lots of questions to anyone we work with: how much people are paid and making sure a reliable chain supply is there.”

Not so much you are what you eat, but you are what you wear.

Addressing the room, Tristan and Ben acknowledged the collaborative efforts that have gone into all aspects of not just their business, but nights like these.

“Over the last two and a half years me and Ben have worked with a lot of different people and I think it’s important that we showcase people like Calum Jelf and Spoke and Stringer, people who focus on independently run businesses. For example, Spoke and Stringer were the first company to take us on and go into retail with us. We’re growing as a company and it’s great to have everyone here to support us,” says Tristan.

“It’s been a long journey and it’s something that’s quite close to our hearts now and hopefully will develop into something beautiful.” adds Ben.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=706S5SmG-vU

To shop Grove & Co.’s current range, visit www.groveand.co

Verity Vincent is a Freelance writer and Marketing Creative based in Bristol. She has experience in roles ranging from social media management and content creation, project managing video and photo shoots to writing press releases and event planning.