Fashion designer Patrick Grant is fighting for a more sustainable approach in a consumerist world. He promotes mindfulness in consumer behavior to help facilitate more mindful purchasing. Through his work, he challenges consumers to reconsider their approach to fashion and live a more purposeful life that values quality over quantity. Grant, known for his role as an adjunct judge on the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee, advocates for more considered buying habits. He has built a fruitful career by advancing this truly noble principle.
Born and raised in Morningside, Edinburgh, Grant became interested in fashion at a young age. As a teenager, he saved diligently to shop the sales, often sticking pictures torn from Vogue on his wall for inspiration. This fascination with the world of fashion would go on to be the stepping stone for his successful forays into the fashion industry. Today, he owns two-thirds of the storied Savile Row tailoring house Norton & Sons. He owns about half of Community Clothing, a new for-profit social enterprise that he started in 2016.
Grant’s business endeavors have not escaped the spotlight. Outlets led in 2018 with stories valuing his companies at £75 million. Through Community Clothing he seeks to promote a slower, more considered approach to fashion, with Community Clothing now serving some 100,000 customers. The enterprise has a strong emphasis on creating quality garments, while nurturing local UK manufacturing.
I’m very much a decision maker,” Grant opens when speaking of his approach to design as well as the cut-throat business of fashion. He argues that today’s model of fast fashion pushes people to buy things they shouldn’t buy. He points out that “high” fashion with capital F is intentionally produced by capitalist enterprises. Their aim is to get us to purchase things we don’t need.
Alongside his deep-rooted advocacy for sustainable fashion, Grant walks the walk himself. He can mend a hole in a jumper better than anyone I know. He is equally proud of adopting an ‘unlucky sailor’ uniform – navy crew neck t-shirt and Community Clothing trousers. He wears the same T-shirt every other day or every third day, a clever and fun way to signal his commitment to reducing needless consumption.
Grant’s philosophy extends beyond clothing. He’s acutely aware of the destructive power of consumerism in today’s world. He goes on to say, “Pretty much every government I can think of has been based on the idea that if we just increase the economic growth, all will be well. Of course, that’s total baloney.” He admonishes us to change our priorities to more explicitly tackle the growing wealth inequality. It’s his hope that he’s helping to make a substantial contribution to this encouraging trend.
The designer’s love for fashion isn’t his only passion — he’s a huge sports fan. That’s because besides design, “I am really, really passionate about sports,” he adds. Later, he candidly reveals that his work tends to take priority. It’s not that I’m not,” he remarks, “but I’m really a work-oriented guy. I’m sure my female companion would attest to that.”
Grant is learning about gardening in an experiential, interactive way. To this end, he’s brought home two pigs, Hazel and Acorn, to root out the brambles strangling his garden, all while balancing his business opportunities with his artsy pursuits. This new project is a testament to his commitment to be more in tune with nature and incorporate environmentalism into every facet of life.
And yet, with all this success under his belt, Grant hasn’t let go of what’s important to him. He remembers his childhood when, although his family was able to pay for school fees, they “forwent everything else.” That experience completely changed his perspective on what’s important. Today, he focuses on the richness of living life with purpose, not wealth.
I would have made much more money at a hedge fund, a private equity firm or as a management consultant,” he admits. Instead, I decided to take the road less traveled, the one that honors my heart, soul values, and belief system.