Stylist to the stars Harry Lambert is releasing a collection with Percival
(Picture: Percival)When Harry Styles began to properly enter public consciousness as a style icon, shedding his boy band skin and pushing all memories of Jack Wills trackies and wide brimmed hats firmly into the back of our brains, it was the knitwear that cemented his personal brand.
His red carpet outings may have been increasingly camp and Gucci clad, but it was flashes of his day to day wear and more fleeting looks that showed Styles - and more importantly, his stylist, Harry Lambert - meant business. As Lambert told the Evening Standard, this is all a result of his ethos: “I always go statement with knitwear.”
These looks are how Styles became associated with his trademark string of pearls, peek-a-boo shirt collars and bright, popping colours. The knitwear was a vessel for it all, and we’ve wanted a piece of the crochet pie since the first time the world set eyes on that legendary JW Anderson cardigan.
Now, we have the closest thing to a free pass through Styles’ closet: Harry Lambert, who has been working with Styles since the two met in 2014, even before Styles went solo, is launching a collection with menswear brand Percival, and it features a generous dollop of Styles-esque knitwear. And more: Lambert has kitted out Emma Corrin, Josh O’Connor and even footballer Dominic Calvert Lewin in some crazy knits over the past few years, so you know you’re in good hands.
The collection is inspired by the botanical term nightshade, and features members of the nightshade family (aubergines, peppers and tomatoes all sit under the nightshade umbrella) dotted about throughout the collab, as well as friendly snails which pop up along the way, sitting in the centre of sweaters, or adorning the back pockets of trousers.
If Styles is the king of the fruitbowl (see songs Watermelon Sugar, Kiwi, Cherry, Grapejuice for proof), Lambert is establishing himself as the reigning monarch of the vegetable garden, even though he’s actually allergic to most of the foods involved.
“I am allergic to peppers, aubergines and tomatoes,” he told the Standard, “so we thought it would be fun to turn these into characters and incorporate them into the collection.” And as for the snails? “From my love of the seaside, fairgrounds and riding the snail ride as a kid in Great Yarmouth. It's two very different facets of my life coming together in a really tongue-in-cheek — and chic! — way.”
It’s all very playful, which runs through Lambert’s work with many of his clients: recall Emma Corrin’s balloon boob dress, Styles’ heart print dungarees, or Alexander Skarsgård for Interview magazine earlier this year, where he wore a T-shirt which simply read “Alexander Skarsgård is a sexy bitch”.
Lambert’s favourite piece from his Percival collection also happens to be a slogan t-shirt; a black, long-sleeved tee featuring a smiling white snail with the words “Quite Pricey” above it (though it only costs £45), “Which I plan to wear everyday,” Lambert says. He explains that the collaboration is based around exactly that: “Selfishly making things that I would like to wear.”
You may be able to cop the knits, but recreating the classic fits of Lambert’s clients is more of a challenge. Luckily, he has some advice on that topic: “I think having fun with it is important to make sure that it feels contemporary and fresh,” he says. “That's how I will always approach knitwear, anyways. That might mean by choosing colours that you wouldn't maybe put together or consider usually, but then also with what you're pairing the knitwear with and the context.”
A prime example of Lambert’s advice in action is Harry Styles’ 2021 Grammy’s look - the plaid one, not the leather one - which paired a striped peach and cream sweater vest with a tartan green and yellow jacket. Oh, and a feather boa. Too much? Weirdly not. Lambert doesn’t miss, after all.
The Harry Lambert x Percival collection also features more classic knits, like the ones frequently worn by fellow Lambert client Josh O’Connor. There are thick knit, earthy coloured sweater vests and traditional vertical striped shirts, absent of any little vegetable characters, which may appeal to the more conservative of Percival customers.
This collaboration business is all new for Lambert. “I’ve never done a clothing collaboration before,” he shares, “but Percival reached out to me just before covid hit. So it’s been a long time in the making.”
Percival has a roster of famous faces almost as long as Lambert’s, with celebs like Ryan Reynolds, Kit Harrington and Paul Mescal all spotted wearing the brand. It’s a match made in fashion heaven.
The collaboration launches on the 10th November, and will be available online as well as from Percival’s Soho store.
