Image Smabs Sputzer via Flickr

The latest collection from Patrick Grant may be E Tautz’s most British yet. Savile Row cutting meets Martin Parr’s dry visions of suburban England, bound together by the seaside childhood memories burned into your retinas the way only British beaches can. Grab your mac and a serve of soggy chips, we’re going on holiday.

E Tautz SS15

“The British seaside as a general theme has long been a staple muse for British designers, but I’d say we looked at it differently for this collection,” says E Tautz Owner and Creative Director Patrick Grant.” We looked at the reality of it through our own experiences and memories of holidays there, largely as children. We did a lot of reminiscing of those ‘at the time’ dreadful experiences of seagulls nicking your chips as your sit on a freezing bench next to your mum and dad. Bored rigid.

We love those images you recall of old people sitting around, with nothing else to do but stare out to a drizzly sea, the memory of deck chairs fights, the sheer bleakness of the UK coasts where people are having fun despite the shit, overcrowded beaches and bad weather. We also looked into seaside subcultures – into mods and rockers and songs like Everyday Is Like Sunday. The collection as a whole is a fond look at those trips that often only seem happy in hindsight.

Last year I went to Tony Ray-Jones and Martin Parr’s Only in England exhibition at the Science Museum. It was an affectionate look at those weird and wonderful seaside holidays that we go on in England. Seeing that collection of photographs triggered a love that I already had for our bleak and brilliant coastline towns and villages.

E Tautz is known for boldness in our use of pattern and colour and this season is no different (couldn’t do the British seaside without it). Expect soft draped silhouettes in our outerwear. And look out for some wonderful tailored twill de Nimes. This collection in contrast to some of our previous ones, it’s a truly British affair. Probably our most indulgently naval gazing one yet.

There are a few nods to the summer 2011 collection which was inspired by the very soft tailored British sportswear of the early 20th century. It feels like some of the clothes we traditionally wore to the seaside had that same relaxed tailored feel so this was an obvious starting point. Double-breasted suits worn casually, big tailored shorts, oversized pockets.

There’s not a lot left to be done, now. I like to be organised. Everything for the show is in place. The mind is already wandering to AW15/16…”

E Tautz present their SS15 collection on Tuesday 17th June. Stay tuned to HERO for full fashion week coverage, from London, Florence, Milan and Paris