A bit about what
makes Boden, Boden
Johnnie and Sophie Boden
A bit about what
makes Boden, Boden
Contrarian. How else would you describe a man who left a good job in the city – working in New York during its shiny ’80s heyday no less – to set up a mail-order clothes company at a time when buying things that got delivered was considered a bit, well, joke-worthy? Or was he just lucky – right time, right place, right instinct?
Johnnie launched Boden with a hand-drawn catalogue featuring eight menswear styles he wanted in his own wardrobe (and wanted to order from his armchair). That was 1991, and back then, catalogues for stylish people who like stylish clothes weren’t really a ‘thing’ in Britain.
Today, after a wild, unpredictable and exciting 30 years, Boden is a global company but it still has the same family vibes. It’s the opinion of the women in his life – his wife Sophie (who pushed him to follow his dream in the first place), his three discerning daughters and Johnnie’s feisty female sidekick – Sprout the dog – that he values over anything.
Just your average, boring family really
“Anything brave and out of the ordinary inspires him.”
- Katie Boden
“Anything brave and out of the ordinary inspires him.”
- Katie Boden
Anna and Katie in 1998
“He asks me for a lot of emotional advice,” says daughter Anna. “I’d say out of us three I’m the most level-headed and able to see two sides of every argument. But for creative stuff he’d ask Katie and logistical stuff he’d ask Stella.”
At the heart of everything has always been a desire to make clothes that stay in your wardrobe for a long time. Buttons that stay buttoned and cashmere that you can actually wear and wash and, well, live in. “No rubbish clothes” as Johnnie says, means just that – keep them on your back and out of landfill.
The design process has always been painstaking, and the quality so important that Johnnie is unrelentingly exacting about it. “
Anything aesthetic and brave and out of the ordinary inspires him,” says daughter Katie. “Literally anything and everything. Anything beautiful, anything with real character, that’s uplifting, whether that be a musician, or a film, or just something that’s eye-catching.”
“Boden isn’t about fast fashion
and fads. It never was.”
“Boden
isn’t about
fast fashion
and fads. It
never was.”
Originality is also so very important, with every step taken to set Boden apart from the rest. Whether that’s hand-drawn prints, doing our best to make sure we don’t cut corners and even listing words we cannot use (we copywriters love a challenge). Attention to detail is everything, and it shows. Johnnie has also been adamant that every factory we use respects its workforce in the same way he respects his workforce at home. And that Boden uses as many recycled materials as possible.
“His main piece of advice is always be yourself,” Katie adds. “I think we’re all flawed but that’s the one thing that we [the family] are – very honest. I just think you can’t go wrong by being honest.” And lastly? “He’s also never tried to be cool…which makes him cool.”
Boden isn’t about fast fashion and fads. It never was. It’s about making clothes that put a smile on your face, for a long, long time.
Originality is also so very important, with every step taken to set Boden apart from the rest. Whether that’s hand-drawn prints, doing our best to make sure we don’t cut corners and even listing words we cannot use (we copywriters love a challenge). Attention to detail is everything, and it shows. Johnnie has also been adamant that every factory we use respects its workforce in the same way he respects his workforce at home. And that Boden uses as many recycled materials as possible.
“His main piece of advice is always be yourself,” Katie adds. “I think we’re all flawed but that’s the one thing that we [the family] are – very honest. I just think you can’t go wrong by being honest.” And lastly? “He’s also never tried to be cool…which makes him cool.”
Boden isn’t about fast fashion and fads. It never was. It’s about making clothes that put a smile on your face, for a long, long time.
