Steve Calder: 10 Questions

Informale is Melbourne made, small batch, built on military archives and the same Neapolitan tailoring instincts Steve has spent two decades refining. It's a philosophy we recognise in our own approach: buy less, buy better, wear it until it tells a story.

Read the full story behind the label in our latest Dispatch.

“Informale” means informal. Philosophy, or just an excuse to never iron anything? Our intention behind the brand name “Informale” is to demonstrate how we mix formal, tailored elements with casualwear (i.e. INformal). I do have a strange habit of keeping all my shirts and tees looking crisp and sharp, but never my shorts or pants. If you asked my wife and co-founder Jordana, she’d definitely say it’s an excuse for me to skip ironing the lower half!

Melbourne or Auckland: who does coffee better? Melbourne wins this one on sheer volume. That said, the last time I visited my Auckland whānau, I was very impressed by the coffee scene there. You guys are catching up!

If your jackets could talk, what would they say about how men treat their clothes? For some of our jackets, like the J002 and J043, we tell our clients, “The worse you treat them, the better they look.” If those ones could talk, they’d probably say, “What the hell, man?” Our clients usually care for their clothing really well, so in reality, our jackets live very happy lives.

What is the most “un-Informale” thing you own? The gym is where I have a bit of fun. I picked up a classic Bintang singlet during my last trip to Bali, and I could swear wearing it has added 10% to both my lifts (and T levels).

Which piece would you fight a customer over if they grabbed the last one? The SH25 Utility Shirt in Chambray. It’s such a unique fabric, with that fun, colourful fleck. I’m afraid one day our mill in Japan will stop making it, and I’ll never find an equivalent again.

What is the best advice from another designer that you completely ignored? “Learn to draw.” I really enjoy finding an old garment and building on its personality and character rather than starting from scratch, so I never bothered learning how to draw those fancy sketches. It’s a pretty cool skill, though, and I have huge respect for those who do it.

Any op shop, any city: what are you hunting for? 1940s–1960s military and workwear clothing. I passed on a 1960s Czech Airborne Brigade “Salamander Camo” jacket during a trip to Japan that I really hope to find again.

Which rule of tailoring do you love breaking? At a Black Tie event in Italy I wore a seersucker camp-collar shirt, unbuttoned with a singlet underneath, under my tuxedo. An extremely cheeky twist on black tie that somehow worked out.

Who is the Informale customer, as a film character? I like to think of the “Informale Guy” as Indiana Jones: adventurous, intelligent, confident, and a little contrarian. The clothing is well made and well worn, but great taste in clothes is probably the least interesting thing about him.

What is the one item landing next week that people will regret not buying There are many! If I had to choose just one, I’d say the J002 Jungle Jacket. The Jungle/Safari Jacket is a familiar style, but ours, based on a vintage original, is in a league of its own. And the patina it develops over the years is “chef’s kiss.”