THE ELEVATED UTILITY OF GANDER

Home to some of the United Kingdom’s most beloved musical exports, Manchester’s status as a city of culture has seen the metropolis continue to expand its sphere of influence. From the heyday of Madchester and Britpop in the ‘90s, the Rainy City is firmly stamping its presence on the fashion world as a challenger to London’s status as the hub of British fashion. Commonly known in the 19th century as “Cottonopolis” as a result of the city’s position as the centre of the cotton industry in the country, it comes as little surprise that Manchester’s creative industry is thriving and teeming with new brands that are putting their own distinctive twist on British design.

One such brand, Gander, has been gestating a cult following for their personal approach to design. Founded by Mancunian designer Calum Gregory in 2023, the fledgling brand is already delivering product that wouldn’t be amiss in the collections of brands with a lifespan five times as long. Fusing function and wearability, Gander’s aesthetic vision sits comfortably as an embodiment of refined utility, crafted with an ingrained DNA of versatility. Born from Calum’s desire to create his platonic ideal of a jacket, he set to work designing and creating the garment, despite having no formal fashion design training. “I used to draw at school, so I just drew a design of what I wanted. I was looking for a specific thing on the market that I couldn’t find, so I wanted to get something made specifically for what I wanted,” reflected Calum when the topic of how he first started Gander was raised. “I took it to a local pattern maker, and she templated it and made my design into a proper design format. I got it sampled, wore it around town and people really started fucking with it and kept asking me where it was from.” What seemingly started from necessity, creative impulse and a gap in the market quickly blossomed into something that was connecting with others, and the Peveril Jacket was born. A boxy style modelled on vintage fishing and wading jackets, the Peveril captures the immediate essence of Gander’s aesthetic sensibility and Calum’s approach to design, with the designer embodying the spirit of a true autodidact. “There were so many expensive lessons when I first initially started off, because I was literally learning on the job,” pondered Calum when thinking back to two years prior, “I didn’t know what a tech pack was, I didn’t know what grading a pattern was… I didn’t know what a fucking pattern was! It was as simple as liking the jacket design and getting one made.”

Functional, but with its own flair that brings a distinctive attitude, the Peveril Jacket is also indebted to the city in which it was designed. Named after the iconic Peveril of the Peak pub in the centre of Manchester, the jacket symbolises Calum’s deep appreciation to where he’s from, something that is clear as he guides us up to his office-cum-showroom at the city’s iconic Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter. Commenting on the early 20th century lift that carried us up three flights to the Gander showroom, Calum enthusiastically recounted the history of the lift, “It was installed in 1922, by a company called Etchells, Congdon & Muir, they stopped operating in the 1960s. There’s about 3 or 4 of these old lifts around, and apparently this is the oldest one.” It is this passion that Calum exudes for the things around him that clearly translates into his work with Gander. Fuelled by his appetite for creating clothing that he and those close to him enjoy, the brand is propelled forward into its own realm, and rather than chasing trends, Gander evolves quietly but purposefully, guided by its designer’s own personal style, preference and taste. “I wanted to make clothes that I wanted to wear” was Calum’s refreshingly simple reasoning for starting Gander, in a world where oftentimes status and money are the sole driving forces behind any fledgling business. “I rarely found something on the market that I actually liked, so I was constantly cropping a trouser or a t-shirt because things didn’t fit me the way I wanted them to. I started the brand with the idea that as long as I like it, and as long as my mates like it, then I’m content and happy with that,” Calum stated as he mined further into his reasoning for embarking on this creative endeavour, “it’s taken different forms over the years, but if you’re intentionally designing for a trend, you’re always going to be chasing the next thing. You need to design what you like, and people either fuck with it or they don’t.”

Staying true to his vision, and being comfortable in that, evidently holds great importance to Calum as he takes us through his AW25 collection. With incense swirling in the air as a typically grey Manchester skyline is framed in the studio windows, Calum takes us through the upcoming Gander collection that has just launched at END., “it’s not about being a trend driven brand, that the product can be here for years and years is what I want to achieve,” commented Calum, “the brand was adopted in the outdoor and tech space as that was really prominent at the time when I was starting, but I want to communicate to people that it isn’t just in that world. We’re going in a more mature direction moving forward.” Browsing through the collection, while there are still the staples, such as the Peveril Jacket, that will remain in new and improved versions, Gander’s product offering has expanded into new territory. From the Cottonopolis Trouser and matching jacket, which draws inspiration from more workwear-oriented styles to create semi-formal pairing that can easily be styled up or down, to an almost lace-like 2-in-1 jacket that can be worn together or separately, Gander’s outlook has rapidly expanded into new and exciting territory. When the topic moves onto the brand’s direction, Calum’s modus operandi is clear, “the beauty with Gander is that it is youthful and playful. You can see that in the design and throughout the brand. Gander is for your everyday. I don’t think there are any pieces that necessarily stray from that. You could wear it semi-formally, not at a wedding maybe, but to work or to lounge around in it. It’s a very diverse collection.” 

Following Calum’s tour through the brand’s AW25 showroom, we leave the studio and head across town for a pint in the place that inspired him from day one: the Peveril of the Peak. Perhaps the day of talking through his collection and thought process behind the brand has seen Calum become even more entrenched in his own approach to design, as he reflects in a final comment before heading off to a run club, “as my personal style develops, Gander will too. It’s definitely taken a lot more of a mature, formal approach, especially with this season and beyond. It’s fun to show people and to bring them along for the journey.” I can’t help but feel excited by what Gander offers, especially in a cultural climate that doesn’t typically reward passion for passion’s sake, and Calum’s continued pursuit of creating clothing that he likes will surely stand him and Gander in good stead as the brand continues to metamorphose in line with his own taste.