Mark Maidment is the creative director for London-based Ben Sherman, which recently opened a store on Newbury Street. (
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G FORCE | MARK MAIDMENT
No stuffed shirt
Mark Maidment is the creative director for London-based Ben Sherman, which recently opened a store on Newbury Street. (
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More than 45 years ago, a British gent named Arthur Sugarman changed his name to Ben Sherman and started producing a slim-fitting button-down shirt. Taking his inspiration from American haberdashery and R&B music, his shirts may have faded into obscurity. However, they were discovered by a vain batch of music-loving, Vespa-riding folks called Mods who adopted Ben Sherman shirts as an official part of their uniform, and a fashion giant was born. Since then, the brand has collaborated with bands ranging from the Bravery to the Beatles.
Ben Sherman, which opened its fifth US store on Newbury Street earlier this month, had been languishing under bank ownership until it was purchased by Atlanta-based
“It was about 18 months from the time that we decided on Boston, to our opening. Part of that delay was very boring and had to do with building regulations. We had to put in an [elevator] and there was some confusion over it. The other part of the delay was that we decided to change the concept of the store’s interior design. We’ve always had a look that I call Mods in the mansion - the idea of this suddenly wealthy musician moving into a British estate with an eclectic mix of antiques and a scooter parked in the hallway. We wanted to give that a twist. A big difference you’ll find in Boston is that there are black walls and gray walls. There’s a moodier feel.
On Ben Sherman and Mod culture:
The Mods cared more about the way they looked more than anything else. Music was important, chasing girls and guys was important, but before anything, it was “How do I look?’’ They were about tailored suits, scooters, and Italian films. We are obviously lucky to be a part of that. The Mods thought of the Italians as the most stylish. The Ben Sherman button down-shirt looked very Italian to them. If they had picked a different shirt, Ben Sherman wouldn’t be here.
On the brand’s connection to music:
“The Mods in the early 1960s were obsessed with soul music, also ska and reggae. When 2 Tone and ska blew up in the late 1970s early 1980s, suddenly the Ben Sherman shirt was adopted by those guys. The Specials, Madness, and the Jam wore us. That was later picked up by bands like No Doubt. Then Brit pop exploded in the 1990s. Oasis walked out, and the first thing they were wearing was the Ben Sherman shirts, that was the third resurgence. Its status as an iconic garment was cemented.’’
Interview was condensed and edited.
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