In The UK their are a ton of brands now making their mark on international market place but some really do standout. English garment manufacturing has always been regarded as some of the best in the world and in the fashion industry this couldn't be more obvious. The British craftsmanship in garment production is known around the world as pinnacle for high quality practical menswear. One brand that has been carving its own lane for the last few years and running away it is Midlands based Universal Works. 

In late 2008 Universal Works was born, with the Autumn Winter 2009 our first collection. Thier founders work life reads like a description of the company's DNA – an early career in the Midlands, firstly as a sign writer, actually painting lettering before it all went vinyl, then in the local coal mine which, brought an understanding of real work wear, then, through fourteen years at Paul Smith, an elegant English sartorial element was added. A further five years at Maharishi brought my love of street wear into the mix.

Now Universal works is regarded around the world as a brand thats making all the right decisions. 

At sneaks and Peaks last week we had the pleasure in meeting one of the gentlemen from Universal Works by the name of Robin Hughes. We were introduced through our good friends from Mimm Shop Nottingham whose collective team Robin is affiliated with. After sneaks and peaks we all headed back to our office, grabbed some food courtesy of the Caribbean Queen @ The Blue Marlin just next door to our office. While in the office we all got to talking, history of brands and future plans for everyone. All i can say was it an extremely inspiring day and this all topped it off. I'm hoping their are a number of projects we can work on as an even bigger collective in the very near future.

After everyone had finished eating we packed up and headed back to Boxxed ready to grab a few beers and watch the secret walls finale.

Over all this was an amazing day and look forward to the next time we all link up. Look out for the Mimm Shop interview coming very soon and I hope we can work out one with Robin and Universal Works to.

In the meantime check out the post from Robin - A Day in the life of a "sneakerhead" - Universal Works Blog

http://www.universalworks.co.uk/journal/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-sneakerhead/