Heroes of Menswear: Klaxon Howl’s Matt Robinson

Ten years after Matt Robinson started his label Klaxon Howl, he’s still serious about vintage-inspired looks and showing men how to rock a suit.

Inspiration

“My inspirations every season are rooted in traditional menswear, touching on pieces from the early to mid 20th century. The way we manufacture and our fabric selection process is still very much rooted in that. We make things really well and build them to last. We use quality fabrics and make them in Canada. We’re doing things that people don’t really do anymore, especially in the world of fast ad disposable fashion. As a culture, we consume more, but we spend less. It’s strange.”

Closet Must-Have

“A good sports jacket. Whether that means buying a two-piece suit and wearing the elements separately or investing in just a sports jacket. If you get a good piece, you’re going to get a lot of wear out of it. But you kind of need the vision to be able to pair it with different things. You have to test the waters and feel comfortable in whatever you do. Comfort is key. I hate when people say ‘I can’t wear that.’ If you have legs, a torso, arms and a head, you can wear anything.”

Wear Vintage

“It needs some of the pieces to be contemporized a little bit, but there are those pieces you could pluck right out of the past and wear. You see it with the trend of people wearing vintage. Vintage has always been huge and most people have some semblance of it in their lives. Most designers these days are referencing things from the past. They might not always admit it, but they do. It’s there. It makes it easier to have a starting point.”

Keep Size in Mind

“I firstly design for myself. Luckily, I’m average build and average height so that works well with me being the fit model. Depending on your own sizes, a lot of the pieces will look a lot different. A suit on me looks different than it does on a slimmer, taller model. I use me as the middle ground.”

Style Yourself

“Men aren’t always comfortable in a suit and that’s why we sort of deconstructed it. A lot of our looks are suits, but with missing elements, like no matching pants or blazers. Sometimes we pair knits and woven shirts with the suits instead of collared button-ups. You can always take something you find overwhelming and scary and make it a little bit more approachable and to your own comfort.”

Rules to Follow

“I don’t really have any rules. The rules that are in the Klaxon Howl mantra are just to make good quality pieces, hopefully timeless pieces that can hang in your wardrobe and be worn again and again. So, I guess, by extension the rule would be to buy those same kinds of clothes that are timeless and well made–which is what they used to do decades ago–and to tailor them to your needs.”