Edition Eight Feature
Words by: Phil James and James Cowdale
Location: Cheltenham, England, UK
Photo Credit: ©&SONS @andsonsuk

When Phil James reached ‘a certain age’, he decided the only way to wear clothing that made him look and feel good was to create his own collection. James Cowdale joined him soon after and, seven years later, &SONS has grown from a capsule collection of modern classics into a global community of like-minded pioneers.

Phil, James – give us a bit of background. What did life look like before &SONS and how did you come together?

PHIL

We’re both from creative backgrounds. I was an advertising photographer, shooting all kinds of marketing and advertising content. I started a production company called Shadowplay, where we did stills, CGI, retouching, film… anything under the advertising umbrella. I’m still a photographer, but now I only shoot for &SONS.

My career got to a stage where I was on the road a lot, away from my two sons and not seeing them enough. I was unhappy with how the industry had changed. Budgets were tiny. Clients wanted everything for nothing – and they wanted it tomorrow, which meant never enough time to do things properly. I became disillusioned with it all , which coincided with where I was, age-wise – a polite way of saying ‘mid-life crisis’!

I’ve always been into clothes. I did a bit of fashion when I was at art school. And I’d registered the name &SONS years ago thinking it would be perfect for a clothing brand – specifically men’s clothing. I liked how ambiguous it was and how it could tack onto the end of other brands from a collaboration point of view.