Pro Selector: ASOS’s Design King John Mooney
The head of menswear design for the global powerhouse that is ASOS tells us how to keep it simple and classic with his top picks.
The CV
Age: 33. From: Liverpool, “born and bred”.
Employment: After previously working for high-end designer Alexander McQueen, Mooney moved over to design at Topman before heading over to the online heavy hitter ASOS.
What’s the worst job you’ve had? “The McQueen thing was quite tricky. I graduated when I was 22 and you may think to yourself ‘top brands’ will have structure and it’s going to be fantastic, but the reality was that it had structure for the women’s side but men’s was brand new. College gave me discipline, but it doesn’t give you that industry experience so it was hard, being 22 and having that responsibility on your shoulders to actually produce the first menswear range. There was quite a lot of pressure, it was tricky, it was very fashion – the stereotypical version of what everyone thinks the fashion industry is like – bitchy comments, late hours, hard work, hard grind. It was a high-pressure job.”
01 A bag for life: Jas MB rucksack
I bought it about eight years ago and I still use it nearly every day. It was probably one of the first things I bought to treat myself when I first had a proper job. I love the fact that it doesn’t break easily and it’s just very convenient, it’s got good pockets, it’s easy to use – it’s alright for an overnight stay and if anything it’s got better with age. jasmb.com
02 Classic shoes: Clarks desert boots
Clarks are written into British history, I think there’s a simplicity and comfort with the boot. They can casualise a suit, they can dress up a pair of jeans, they’re just very versatile. The only thing I hate about them is how slippery the flipping toe gets when it’s wet outside, that’s one thing I think they need to sort out – the fact that you nearly kill yourself when it’s raining. asos.com, ₹ 7,044
03 Picture book: Tom Wood: Photie Man
Tom Wood lived in New Brighton, just across the river Mersey from Liverpool. He became known locally as “photie man” because every day he was out on the streets with his camera. I found this book when I moved down to London and I was missing home. It ended up being the inspiration for my final collection at the Royal College of Art. amazon.com, ₹ 2,230
04 Hot brand: Our Legacy shirt
Our Legacy have been pushing it for the last few seasons – the whole printed fabrications on menswear has been quite a big thing. You pay for it though, it’s not the cheapest product, but it’s definitely not the most expensive product either, it’s got a good cut and it’s well made. They’re a very cool brand at the moment. ourlegacy.se
05 Ace app: Flipboard
It’s this whole idea of simplicity – you’ve got your phone and it has got your music, your contacts and you can access the internet, but there’s all that other stuff out there like blogs and tumblrs or maybe something on Twitter or Facebook. The Flipboard app is fantastic because it just slips it all into one place. Apple store, free
06 Pimped ride: Foffa personalised bike
Foffa is run by an Italian guy called Danny Foffa. This bike is a very lovely thing: it’s bespoke, it’s monogrammed with my initials and I’ve customised the handlebars and seat myself. I probably should use it more than I do, but it was a bit of an investment piece and more than anything else I just think it’s very nice to look at. It sits behind my desk here at work. foffabikes.com
07 Quality wallet: Comme des Garçons leather wallet
A lot of the guys who I used to work with at Topman thought my old wallet was a bit too messy and had too much stuff in it, so they decided to get a new one for me on my birthday, which is this one. Comme des Garçons are great and this is probably on its way to becoming a design classic. oki-ni.com
08 Functional accessory: USB key ring
It’s a bit geeky, but it’s the fact that they’re the kind of things that you always forget. You know you’ve got one somewhere, but you don’t know where it is and you have to buy another one. So I know I’ve got my USB key and the stuff that I need for work so it’s all about convenience for me. amazon.com, ₹ 2,230
09 Sought-after timepiece: Vintage Tag Heuer
That was a present from my girlfriend about three-and-a-bit years ago. When I was about 12 or 13, every older lad that I wanted to hang about with had a TAG F1. It was around Italia 90, the World Cup, the height of scally style in Liverpool and everyone had the red bezel [ring that surrounds the watch face] or black bezel or a red or white face or the rubber strap and alright I’m now 33, but I just thought to myself, “that is the watch that I always wanted” and I searched on eBay and I couldn’t find any. Then I was back in Liverpool for a weekend and happened to go in a little pawn shop and lo and behold there it was – my perfect watch. I love the simplicity of it, the black bezel, the fact that it’s somewhere between a sport and a classic strap watch. More so than anything else there’s an emotional reason as to why I bought it.
From the December 2012 issue of FHM India.
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