Words by Flora Macdonald Johnston
The rise of Clayton Chambers has been considered and steady. Very much like the man himself. Having followed Clayton via Instagram for years due to his insightful critiques of menswear it was an interesting exercise to meet a face I had come to know and respect so well over social media. And, it did not disappoint.
Chambers has a devoted and highly engaged fashion following - predominantly - within the US and Europe. All of which follow his newsletter, interviews, critical reviews and reports which he posts on his Instagram and Newsletter Sprezza. Why do they follow him with such dedication? He does not mince his words - written and spoken -and his obsession with discovering independent brands means he offers discovery combined with digestible information.
“I feel I can condense [a subject] down and explain it in a simple way for people,” he tells me in his London pop-up shop (which happens to be in our very own Appear Here Bethnal Green Road space). “Sprezza started out more as a medium for seeing cultural trends and things that are happening. I would spot five different brands or people doing things differently and could say here's what this means, or here's why it matters.”
As we talk, multiple brands - many of which are boutique and independent selling items from Vintage Stone Island to beautiful homeware - are setting up within the space for the shop to open the following morning (Clayton later told me over 700 people came to the store in a single day, many of whom had traveled to London specifically to visit).
The shop marks his second physical venture. “People like the newsletter partially because they like being able to then have part in something like this,” says Clayton on venturing into the physical sphere, “the newsletter is cool for stories and covering drops and what's happening culturally. But the real most interesting things happen when you do an in person activation, a pop up.”
Clayton's rise to a digital influencer is somewhat surprising when considering his upbringing, Clayton did not grow up in Miami or LA like many of his now fashion counterparts, but within a highly religious family in a small cattle farming town that had a population of only 5,000. ‘It was a redneck town”, he says “and this was the time before social media obviously - so there was very little culture.”
Clayton's father was a Baptist preacher and Clayton grew up with seven other siblings, unsurprisingly I discover Clayton is the youngest. In his own words Clayton “was definitely the black sheep. Rebellious. The wild child.”
Clayton’s interest in clothing was clear from a young age, his mother would make costumes for local musicals and the church (he was also in the choir). “I was always around clothing and style growing up just by way of wearing a suit and tie to church and then [my mum] would teach us how to alter and tailor our own pants and shirts and things like that.” His family would drive 45 minutes to the nearest Dillards or JC Penney, and stock up on suits that were 80% off. Fast forward to Clayton’s late teenage years and like many from a small town - he dreamt of the big city and was awarded a scholarship at a liberal arts school in Manhattan.
New York acted like a fast track incubator; “I felt like I played catch up on the last decade. Going to New York accelerated that because all of a sudden I was like in Manhattan, I’m an 18 year old kid by myself and taking the train to Soho or something, you're seeing where all the cool brands and interesting things are happening or raves and nightclubs. There’s everything all at once. I was just a kid absorbing all of these different things and I fell in love with clothing.”
During a university summer Clayton managed to secure an internship at Micheal Kors and also at the once much loved and iconic Barneys where he learnt buying and merchandising, eventually being offered a job there.
Sprezza, the newsletter, was born - like so many things during COVID, out of boredom and a need to create. Clayton’s readership expanded over months, no longer a blog for friends - he suddenly had a global audience and it was growing - fast. Within each weekly email, Clayton would speak on topics such as‘’The suit is not dead'’ and his panache for spotting micro-trends and highlighting independent menswear brands such as 18east, Kestin, and Carter Young, garnered a devoted following.
Was the timing and rise of Sprezza serendipitous perhaps? “I think it was probably the right time for it to come to light,” he agrees, “I wanted to somehow find a way back into clothing. But I didn't exactly know what the right path was, but I knew that I could write things. I started to realize that male consumers appreciated the newsletter because it represented something that GQ and Esquire and a lot of these sort of legacy publications, even newer ones like Hypebeast and Highsnob weren't giving.”
Today, Clayton has now moved to Amsterdam with his wife and two young boys, in part, to take advantage of collaborations and partnerships, but also due to the world of physical retail, a space he plans on expanding the Sprezza brand into.
“I feel the future has many different components and different functions of the brand. So maybe there's a creative services arm to produce campaigns and shoots and do special projects. Maybe there's a limited run collaborative side of the business, I can create a small batch of footwear, apparel or outerwear and then a magazine component. And of course, physical events on the go, trunk show style and eventually a physical permanent space that's just my canvas for making cool shit.”
With more shops planned in the future - his own being the end goal - I was intrigued as to what attracted Clayton to stores so much and why he also wanted to create more.
“I love when brands make spaces that feel like spaces you can hang out in and enjoy, not just feel transactional. The foundation of that comes down to the people you hire. It’s really hard to hire good people but if you can manage to find a set of good people and train them to understand how to take care of people, customers, guests, whatever it is, that's when you know a space is truly a good spot.”
For Clayton, it’s clear his love for stores, and brands, needs to go beyond the current cafe culture of simply adding an espresso machine and comfy sofa to attract customers and create a community base; “One brand that I always look to is Sid Mashburn. He was one of the first menswear designers at J. Crew, he worked under Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfige and all these great American brands,” he tells me animatedly, “he's a southerner from Mississippi, so he's got this classic hospitality approach to retail, which sounds a little cheesy, but then like when you go into HIS space, all the people that he hires are all like him in the sense that they just like take care of you. Each sales associate knows something different, one will know how to talk about sports, someone else philosophy and literature, another politics. And I think just being able to have that connection point with him, a different type of customer based on who walks in the door, makes people feel at home.”
And, at this moment duty calls, Clayton needs to set up his own store and create in his own way - home