Hell for Leather takes off

The first Bedlam shirts arrived on the Friday - the collarless Tattersall check in country tan with the softest leather neck; the windsor brown striped bib front; the Bengal wine colourway; and the button down blue check. The next delivery brought the crimson cowboy all in ones. Then I drove into town to collect the labels showing all the fabrics used in the collection and the picture of us taken by Redboy (above). They were printed by Sussex-based Dan and Louise at Hatley Print whose neighbour works off Piccadilly and who kindly took them to work with him. Dan sent us this film of them rolling off the presses and I cried. So box of tissues at the ready, try to contain yourselves:

Then the ribbing arrived for the nubuck leather shooting/biker jacket and I drove to the East End workshop with that before popping to London Trimmings across from the Blind Beggar pub for last minute bigger buckles for the waistcoats.

On the Monday our intern Ingmar and his mama Helen Patton took the early train to Manchester to introduce themselves to the team at the Cooper Stollbrand factory regarding Ingmar's project to redesign his school uniform. They brought back our samples with them, sewing pearly buttons onto the Newsboy caps as they travelled. The next day we invited the Founding Fathers and Mothers of Bedlam to assemble together for the first time and, we hoped, to admire what has been made thanks to them.

Wednesday the Whitechapel workshop finished off the ladies' wear, calling to say the last pieces were ready to collect at 8pm. Back at our studio we opened the bottle of Bollinger that Helen had brought us as a "thank you" for having Ingmar. They were already on their way to New York and the next mornign we were, by the skin of our teeth, ready to follow them. For these reasons - the supernatural haste with which we put this together - as well as the leather detailing, we have dubbed the Autumn / Winter 2013 Collection "Hell for Leather". It is used to denote fast and furious focus on your goal, be that Mr Fox or, in our case, an order.

Early on Thursday morning Mr Wesley's old friend Stuart came to collect us in his Hansom Cab and drove us to Heathrow:

And with  a suitable send off we were on our way

Hot, or should I say cold, on our tail was a snow blizzard. My friend Francine had provided us with her apartment at Ground Zero, overlooking the Pools of Remembrance. From the lofty perspective we enjoyed they appeared like the portal to hell. We got settled and snuggly but outside the temperature was also hitting zero. On Friday, when you walked in the wind the ice chips felt like gravel in your face. It was the first time in all my years of coming here I felt New York had lost its nerve. While we went from bank to phone store to discount snow boot emporium, people scurried to close up early and hunker down. It is understandable when you consider a few months back the lobby of our building was under four feet of water. They have redecorated with opulent swank but a certain dank mustiness prevails. And of course there was the famous onslaught down town on that much recited date.

The gargoyle in our lobby

Francine did us proud with the accommodation, which was yet another example of the generosity that made the trip possible. We have named each piece in the collection after someone who helped us on our way, so accordingly the jodhpurs are the "Franzipants" and my own favourite tweed we made into the "Megan" for the lady who contributed to our air fares.

But on Saturday we woke up to crisp mountain top blue skies and set off to Any Old Iron on the Lower East Side to prep for the party being thrown by le patron, ex pat Andrew Clancey, to launch our collection and to celebrate his store's third birthday. http://www.anyoldiron.net/

It's located on Orchard Street between Rivington and Stanton and Andrew gave us the window. In it we placed the "Mr Willis" suit in tribute to someone we are proud to call a client and friend.

Then we got to unpacking the trunk and steaming the creases out of the clothes while Ingmar sewed yet more buttons onto the caps - they are the perfect fusion of our "Gangs of New York with an Oliver Twist" ethos, the Manhattan hat decorated with London's pearly buttons. Andrew tried on the double breasted overcoat which we have named "The Clancey" in his honour as he was the first person to stock us. We must point out that the samples were made in standard sizes so he appears to be handless in this photograph. Shortly before guests were due to arrive, Andrew's doggie Monkey decided to have a particularly stinky bottom-end issue. We opened the door, squirted air freshner like it was in fashion and blamed Mark to save Monkey's blushes.

Mr Clancey in the Harris Tweed overcoat named for him in his store "Any Old Iron"

We hung the Ventile macs -  now named the "Mr Wesley" - on their pegs, the Olive Green with tomato lining and Worcester Sauce piping; and the Cinnamon lined in café creme with milky piping:

The "Mr Wesley" macs made of super water resistant Ventile

Trousers and jackets went up on the rail. Here are some shots of those taken by Benjamin Amure a few days before we left. Ben is famous for his studies of jazz players in the London clubs and we've got to know him through our musical ambassador Theo Jackson http://www.benjaminamure.com/

The "Mr Willis" close up. John G. Hardy "Alsport" tweed and real horn buttons

The "Mr Wesley" Ventile macs

The "Taffy" jacket, the "Mr Willis" suit jacket and the "Dolph" - all in the John G  Hardy "Alsport" tweeds

The "King of Threads" cords in black and Country Corn and the "Arthur" trousers with leather cinch back

The "Jay B" single breasted overcoat in Harris Tweed with red piping and velvet collar.

Much cheering greeted the arrival of New York City's "Face" of Bedlam, in keeping with the red headed pale skin theme, DJ (and photographer) Redboy. We got him into the "Tectonic" suit, done for the first time in a grey pinstripe and the button down shirt before getting him to give the grey herringbone single breasted overcoat with red piping a spin. http://redboy.com/

So with personnel in place it was time to greet the guests. Andrew said he had never had so many RSVPs to an event. I said ah, well, I had noticed some of the names on the list and knew for a fact that they were drunk and in London. If twenty people showed up I said we would be more than satisfied, and more Bulldog gin for us. From the moment we opened the door it was thronged with people apparently genuinely interested and leading creatively fulfilling lives, not just after a free drink. Here is your invitation:

One of the first to arrive was my dear friend Jeffrey Hall with whom I used to dress the windows of Bond Street many years ago. He is now in charge of the look of Brooks Brothers stores and flew down from Toronto to be reunited at the party. Then Ingmar's mama Helen stepped in with her friends and decided it was only fitting that she should own the coat named for her. It was also given a whirl by team GB sprint modellist Kim Wall who did us the honour of attending - and how perfectly a propos that such a fast lady (in the politest possible sense) should be present at the "Hell for Leather" party. Kim settled on the pearly cap to take home with her. http://kimwall.co.uk/

Helen Patton in the "Helen" coat, Wolf in the "Clancey", Redboy in the "Tectonic" while Ingmar stitches pearly buttons in his Bedlam tee

Kim in the "Helen" coat in Harris Tweed with deep patch pockets and plaited leather buttons

Jeffrey "Mr Brooks Brothers" Hall tried on the Dolph jacket named for Baron Sweerts de Landas Wyborg

Redboy showing his delight at the arrival of New York City's own Countess of Bedlam,  author Michele Jaffe http://www.michelejaffe.com/

On the right, Sarah who designs the costumes for our mood board favourite "Broadwalk Empire", amongst other shows

That'll be me in the "Megan" jacket 'n' him in the "Bumble Bee"

Kim Wall in her pearly cap

The party rolled on til Andrew rolled down the shutters. Cheers to everyone who came and to Andrew for making us feel famous and for clearing up. We must say thank you too to Terry and George that we met in the lobby of our building and who not only did us the honour of turning up but also donated cases of Playboy energy drinks to keep us all peppy http://www.playboyenergy.com/.

The next day we celebrated Jeffrey's birthday early with a little reconnaissance around the Meat Packing District and got to meet Jeffrey Kalinsky of the high end boutique that bears his name.

I stood outside the brownstone in the Village that was home to a character who bears my name - Carrie from "Sex and the City".

We checked out the Odin store in Soho, checking prices on pieces, before stumbling across Jeremy Scott's fantastical car. I got to know him when he was making fantastical outfits for Björk. His wit is equal to his glamour. The inside is quilted like the lining of our cape. http://jeremyscott.com/

The inside of our "Marina" cape, hand quilted crepe silk satin

Meanwhile in China Town they were celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Snake. We had dinner and picked glittery confetti out of our noodles before walking home through the snow. We're now going to take a comfort break before returning with the second half of our Once Upon A Time In New York City story.