In the Studio with Kit Neale

Honestly, this should be called "In the Studio with Kit Neale and Two Puppies." When Harry and I turned up at Kit Neale's London studio, the three of us watched as Harry's French Bulldog, Isaac, and Kit's whippet, Pigeon, fell in love. And when I re-listened to our interview below, there was a pause in which Pigeon relieved himself against a wheelie chair and had to be taken outside. So this is the environment of colorful ordered chaos in which Kit and his team work. There are bootleg Barbie dolls and plastic dinosaurs fighting in plant pots in the front window. The shelves are covered with toy cars. And a chip shop price list hangs on the back wall (Kit built an entire fish and chip shop for his Fall/Winter 2013 presentation.) Read on for a little insight into everything Kit's working on right now, from a takeover of the Kew Gardens boating lake with jelly mongers Bompas & Parr, to becoming the "British Marc Jacobs."

Shop all Kit Neale here.

Photos by Harry Carr

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Alice Newell-Hanson: I really want one of your printed motorcycle helmets!
Kit Neale: They were a collaboration with Davida, a UK helmet manufacturer. They gave us the helmets and got an airbrush artist in London to paint them. We gave them the prints and they’re perfect matches!

That’s so cool. Where did the idea come from?
The spring collection is all about boy racers. I had an image of these British lads on their mopeds. The collection is "Margate meets Peckham," with a real seaside feel; I used to live in Margate, and the biggest thing I remember was all the boys going around on their scooters. They could only go up to like 70mph!

Are you working on any other collaborations right now?
I am actually—with Bompas & Parr [the jelly mongers] and Kew Gardens [London's Royal Botanic Gardens]. Bompas & Parr actually approached us. Sam Bompas' girlfriend walked past the studio and said, "I like this, I want to show my boyfriend!” He’d coincidentally seen a feature in ShortList on Kit Neale and was hounding us for days! They’re creating a big installation this month at Kew. It’s all about edible plants, fruits, and vegetables. They’re designing an insane menu. You'll get into a boat on the lake—they’re going to dye it fluorescent pink, I think—and in the middle there will be an island shaped like a big pineapple. It’s going to have a Kit Neale print wrapped around the side.

It sounds like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It’s pretty much just like that! We’re also doing the uniforms for them: these leather aprons printed with fruit.

Are you really into food? What are your favorite places around the studio?
I love it! I’ll give you the list... Mr Buckley’s, which just opened on Hackney Road is great; the lobster mac is so good. There’s Busaba, which is really good Thai. Then I love the Albion. The cakes...

If you opened a store, would you do it in Hackney?
I actually think I'd choose Paris. I think it’s kind of classic.

But you do a lot of your production in the UK, right?
Yes, some right here and some in Tottenham. But we do a bit in Portugal now too