THE LIBRARY 1994
Why The Library?

"We wanted to have a store where you could put
anything you wanted, a classic suit next to something
from McQueen," says co-owner Peter Sidell, "and the
only place I've ever experienced that was in a library
setting, where Brett Easton Ellis was two shelves away
from Shakespeare."

The name does double duty: The Library also sells a
vast collection of fashion and design-related books,
many of them rare and collectible. "We wanted to
expose how designers are inspired," Sidell continues,
"show clients how it all works, for example, how the
photographer August Sander is the Bible for just about
any menswear designer."

And if anyone knows the intimate workings of men's
fashion, it's Peter Sidell. When he opened The
Library with Aaron Firth in 1994, he had years of
retail experience with Jones and Joseph under his
belt. Firth's background was wholesale. Both of them
wanted to break the mould of the familiar and find new
blood. "It wasn't about scaring people," says Firth.
"It was about showing them there was a new order."

Thirteen years later, that enduring sense of discovery
means The Library is still London's one-stop shop for
the bleeding edge in menswear. Take on board the fact
that Sidell considers the cultish Viennese designer
Carol Christian Poell to be "the best designer ever,
the most influential designer that people don't know
about" and you'll just have to accept the fact that
The Library is going to take you on a fashion trip.

"We're good at getting in early," says Sidell, a mild
understatement when you consider that, from the day it
opened, the shop has carried Dries van Noten, who was
a virtual unknown in those early years. Likewise,
Sidell and Firth committed to Alexander McQueen from
the moment he launched his tailoring for men, and to
Hardy Blechman Maharishi, with its lushly embroidered
combats. "Hardy did the best-ever drawstring pant,"
enthuses Sidell. "And he's never changed it - it's a
classic, like Levi's 501's."

The marquee menswear names of the future might include
the tailoring maverick Gustavo Lins or the shoe
designer Christian Peau - and if they do, you may
remember it was The Library where you saw them first.
But you'll also recall that you encountered them in an
environment which is as far from fashion snobbery as
you can get, where a salesman's passion for his
product might persuade you to take a punt on an
extravagantly embroidered shirt, a butter-soft pair
of vegetable-dyed boots, a sensationally tailored
jacket. None of these items will come with a label
you recognise, but all of them will be instant
wardrobe essentials.

And that might be The Library's ultimate fashion
lesson. Free your mind - and your body will follow.
Tim Blanks

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