There is no shortage of newcomes trying their hand at being an artistic director: from influencers creating a sportswear brand to celebrities turning to lingerie, the fashion market is full of alternatives.

Going for such a project should not be taken lightly and has to be thought through, even matured over time, or during a break… When Covid-19 brought the whole world to a standstill and touched our lives in unexpected ways in recent years, many took the opportunity to put idle hands to work. Just like Guy Berryman.

On a break from Coldplay since 2017, he took advantage of his free time to re-engage with his passions and started creating by launching his own line of clothing. Then, in 2020, Applied Art Forms was born: the first physical designs from an artist who was only creating music until then.

Since February, his brand is even among those owned by the Rainbow Bordeaux family brand .

Applied Art Forms: somewhere between nostalgia and modernity

During our discussion, Guy Berryman looks back on his career and also talks about what motivated the launch of his brand. After more than twenty years of only thinking about music, he went back to school: “I decided that it was important for me to re-engage in the field of engineering and architecture.”

Throughout his career as a musician on tour, Guy Berryman discovered a passion for collecting and with his archives, he thought about developing his line: “When it came time to go back to the design process, I had this library of ideas and clothes and I felt like that was what I really wanted to focus on.”

Guy Berryman is very excited to take on the role of designer . He remembers always being creative from a young age: “I remember that I liked to build things with Legos or that I liked to draw or make things when I was a kid.”

A common theme that particularly resonates with one of design’s famous principles: “Form follows function”, which means that the shape of a building or object must be linked to its function.

“I am really thankful that I am able to wake up every day, to be able to create and follow my inspiration all the time.”

Fascinated by this theory, his Applied Art Forms brand includes utilitarian pieces, associated with techwear styling , that echoes that concept. In particular, he draws his ideas from key period creations, such as the British Royal Air Force utility jacket: “When you look at an Army, Air Force, or Navy jacket, all the details were made for a specific reason, not for a stylistic design. For example, I have utility jackets that come from the British Royal Air Force, and there is a chest pocket tilted to the side. The system was designed just so that someone could easily get an object out of it.”

While Berryman has a particular love for French workwear from the 1920s or British military clothing, he also finds inspiration in Japanese and Korean culture for his color stories: “I am really in line with street culture in Japan and Korea, where there is also an old military style with greens, khakis, but also the silhouettes that inspired us for Applied Art Forms. It’s not just about creating clothes that are inspired by the past, but also about making them modern.”

His brand also demonstrates a high degree of technicality and modeling, drawing on his training. Among his essential pieces, he references the parka: “It is one of the pieces that can be configured in different ways, which means that it can be worn in any season. There is a coat and a jacket with a hood and removable colors with an adjustable length. Linings can be added inside to keep you warm in winter, but you can remove them in summer to only have the shell and shorten the length.”

“I like to inject quality into our creations: from the fabric, to the selection of materials, to the construction. I would like someone like me, in 70 years, to own this piece of clothing and continue to think that it is still an extraordinary object.”

The 45-year-old is not giving in to fast fashion and what is popular in stores, because he claims to only create what he wears. In addition to the techniques and neutral colors that imbue all of his designs, Guy Berryman focuses on another essential point: sustainability.

Everything he creates is designed to evolve over the years, as he explained: “When I design a product, I always think about how it will hold up fifty years from now: will it still be as beautiful? Will it still stand the test of time? Is it made well enough? Was the fabric chosen correctly so that it will one day become a coveted vintage piece? I like to inject quality into our creations: from the fabric, to the selection of materials, to the construction. I would like someone like me, in 70 years, to own this piece of clothing and continue to think that it is still an extraordinary object.”

Timeless, his clothes are rooted in slow fashion, governed by the motto “buy less, but better”, as he himself points out.

Recently, the superstar set foot in Bordeaux for the first time in order to celebrate his new baby’s arrival. Based in Amsterdam, his brand is now available in France, at Rainbow Bordeaux. Three years ago, the Bordeaux brand contacted him and offered to become the first Applied Art Forms point of sale in France. The store has been run by the same family for five generations and was praised by the artist for its collaborative vision: “All the stores where we sell our products are handpicked and match up with our brand well. Rainbow really met our expectations and they are very friendly people!”

Bordeaux will not be the only city to host Berryman’s work. Applied Art Forms will soon be on display at the Dover Street Market in Paris.

Written by : Clara Marcellin