Designers

Neil Barrett

Fashion Designer

Milan

31 December 1969

neilbarrett.com

Neil Barrett

Neil Barrett (born Neil Barrett Barber in 1965 in Devon, England) is an English fashion designer, based in Milan, Italy. He gained his reputation and built his business around minimalist menswear.

Both Barrett’s grandfather and great grandfather were master tailors, inciting an early interest in tailoring. Following his graduation from the Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and Design, Barrett earned his Master’s degree in men’s fashion design at the Royal College of Art in London. His designs caught the attention Gucci, where he began his professional career.

Working in Florence for Gucci in the early 1990s, Barrett gained commercial and industrial experience and was quickly promoted to senior menswear designer. After five successful years, he presented a project to Prada, proposing the launch of the company’s first designer menswear collection. Under Barrett’s direction, Prada became renowned among fashion insiders as the forerunner of "minimalist" menswear. During 1994 and 1995, the sales at Prada doubled.

In 1999, Barrett launched the Neil Barrett brand with his men’s collection. The first, free-standing Neil Barrett brand store opened in the central Tokyo Aoyama shopping district in 2001. Barrett joined the Milan Fashion calendar featuring his men’s collection in January 2002.

Also in 2002, Neil joined forces with the mega-brand Puma, co-branding a collection of athletic shoes, Puma by Neil Barrett, available mostly in clothing stores rather than the traditional network of sports stores. The following year, Puma named Neil Barrett Creative Director for a series of technical collections starting with Italy’s National Football Team. Team Italia wore Neil Barrett’s “on pitch kit” training and formal wear exclusively, ultimately winning the 2006 World Cup title. Barrett became the first fashion designer ever to have exclusively dressed a national football team.

In February 2006, the Neil Barrett women’s collection made its debut during New York Fashion Week. Following sales—50 million euros in 2007—Barrett opened a third mono-brand store and first shop mall in Seoul, Korea. In 2007, Neil began working with artist-architect Zaha Hadid on a concept store that opened in September 2008 in Aoyama, Tokyo.

2006

After ten years of production by the Prada Group and Allegri, in its eleventh year Barrett moved production to Tuscany. Factory srl dedicates 90 percent of its production to the Neil Barrett collection.

Neil Barrett’s designs offer an elegant rebelliousness. With refined, waisted suits that fit perfectly, Barrett tends not to follow trends but his own individual taste and instinct.
Endorsed by the “Hollywood A List”, the world’s fashion trendsetter the Neil Barrett men and women’s collections includes day and evening attire, shoes and accessories.

The brand’s unique designs combine a family heritage of British tailoring skills with the Italian craftsmanship.
Neil’s unique signature style stems from his reworking of iconic men’s wear details and fit. The product’s broad appeal lies in Neil’s ability to combine timeless quality, wearability and fashion trend.

Text Courtesy in parts: Wikipedia.org, FashionModelDirectory.com, CatwalkYourself.com

Below Neil Barrett Collection

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