«Silence is volume», interview with DenzilPatrick founders Daniel Gayle and James Bosley

How do you tell the story of a city that gathers influences and cultures from every corner of the world but, due to the commercialization of aesthetics, is losing its identity? The city in question is London, and Daniel Gayle and James Bosley, respectively designer and artistic director of the independent brand DenzilPatrick, have found the answer in its architecture—more precisely in Westminster, the initial inspiration for the brand’s new collection. With another chapter of London Belongs to Me, the duo of creatives, partners in life and work, return to British Fashion Council's official Fashion Week to showcase the multiplicities of the city that raised them. «For so many people, London is a tourist destination,» explains Gayle, «it's a place to see a few gigs or to see some of its beautiful architecture. But in fact, for us, it’s our home, as for my parents and grandparents, which is where this whole project started.» The brand owes its name to Daniel Gayle’s grandparents and was created in 2021 with the goal of celebrating London and its influences, starting from the designer’s Irish and Jamaican roots. This time, however, the collection draws inspiration from the Middle Ages, the city's Gothic buildings, and the aesthetic of motorcycle racing, featuring quilted jacquard jackets reminiscent of old tapestries and metallic coats that blend biker and knight uniforms.

If the dominant aesthetic of DenzilPatrick’s FW25 collection revolves around armor, motorcycling, and the medieval era, for the two creatives, the focus was instead on «the softer side of men,» explains Gayle. «But we do that by exploring the things that aren't so soft.» With delicate palettes and alternative silhouettes, the stylistic codes of the work uniform and classic menswear engage with womenswear, aiming for a perfect balance between masculine and feminine. Women’s clothing has often been an integral part of DenzilPatrick’s creative process, Gayle and Bosley explain, incorporating vintage dresses into their initial mood boards and using luxurious materials typically reserved for womenswear, such as the Japanese duchess satin in the latest collection. After all, the central themes of DenzilPatrick’s FW25 collection were «romanticism, respect, love, and chivalry,» as Gayle specifies, and upon closer look, few things are more romantic than Japanese duchess satin.

On the sleeve of the FW25 motorcycle jacket, the phrase Everyday, Majesty is inscribed, a statement that perfectly encapsulates the brand’s soul. «It goes back to humble origins and working-class identity,» comments Gayle. «Mundanity can still be wonderful, incredible, and majestic. We want to celebrate the tension between these two realities.» Reflecting on the influence of the working class in their collections (both creatives grew up far from aristocratic luxury), Gayle and Bosley emphasise that their goal is to highlight its most beautiful and nostalgic aspects. This intention is evident in every collection, with the constant presence of elevated uniforms and jumpsuits through the use of technical, refined, and vividly coloured materials. «Discussions about class can be difficult, but it’s a very important part of what we do, and we celebrate all of it,» says Gayle, adding that another of the brand’s main goals is «to get men to wear more color.» Using the visionary Alexander McQueen as an example, the designer highlights how the media and fashion industry have always depicted creatives' humble beginnings through a negative lens, whereas reality is much different. «We find love, beauty, warmth, and purity in many things that people don’t even consider. Our work is mainly about giving space to that identity,» he adds.

The entire world of DenzilPatrick is a love letter to London and its people—not just from a creative standpoint. After working for fifteen years in luxury fashion in Paris and New York, Gayle and Bosley chose to embark on a new adventure in London to protect their independence, which they define as their greatest strength. While in other fashion capitals, the two creatives continue to collaborate with major brands and companies, DenzilPatrick remains, four years later, a «small and wonderful project, because we are creative and crazy people,» as Gayle puts it. «We are fully aware of everything a brand needs to survive and thrive, and we have numerous other jobs to keep things running. What we are doing feels more like an artistic expression. The asset is the culture.» Gayle and Bosley’s latest choices for DenzilPatrick reaffirm their protective stance toward the city and English fashion, such as their decision to join the official London Fashion Week calendar last June—a time when the entire fashion system was questioning both the city and the fashion show format. «In some ways, in London, there’s always this feeling of being the underdog, and of course, I find that really inspiring,» says Gayle.

Even though the new wave of fashion is offering alternatives to traditional shows—such as after-parties, community dinners, or presentations—for DenzilPatrick, it is unthinkable to abandon the runway. First of all, Gayle and Bosley joke, «we are showmen; we both started our teenage years dancing,» and secondly, «a fashion show is a performance, and we love every aspect of it. We present a very classic show format because the clothes must be able to shine. For this season, we created a setup where you can almost hear the garments, you might even smell them.» This deep passion for tradition, their deep affection for the city of London, and their awareness of classism and the hypocrisies of fashion lead us to ask whether DenzilPatrick’s designs, despite being an artistic expression, are ultimately highly political. «Silence is volume,» responds Gayle. «We are humble and empathetic people who wanted to quietly, gracefully try and make a project work. There are designers I admire who are much more aggressive and powerful than us. But we simply wanted to gently walk in and see if we could take up some space. I think there is a political statement in that: this is not a place for negative energy.»