Coldplay's Guy Berryman on his Fashion Brand Applied Art Forms

L'OFFICIEL: How did you start your label, Applied Art Forms?
Guy Berryman: The brand was launched in 2020, as the pandemic lockdown began. The design studio is based in Amsterdam — where I'm also about to move full-time. With travel restrictions, it took a lot of adaptation to keep Applied Art Forms alive — including implementing a new way of working remotely with the team. I got into the habit of participating in Zoom conference calls with the rest of the team in Amsterdam, every day, three to four times a day if necessary, always offering new ideas and designs.

LO: Why did you launch this project?
GB: Before becoming a musician, I studied design and architecture. I have always been passionate about these sectors, which are also artistic, and I suppose I wanted to reconnect with my first loves around creation, engineering and architecture. With my itinerant status, I had the opportunity to travel the world and collect many pieces: fabrics, denim and military clothing. Generally speaking, a lot of utilitarian wardrobe items, because that's what I like the most. When I decided I wanted to return to design, I looked a lot at my personal pieces and archives. They are a source of inspiration to look for new and interesting looks.

LO: How would you define the brand’s DNA?
GB: It’s a brand that has its roots in heritage and is given a twist with more contemporary cuts. It is about modernizing the way in which clothing of utilitarian origin will fit on a body. In a word: Applied Art Forms was designed to be timeless.

LO: Can you tell us about the manufacturing of your pieces?
GB: We are not at all in the search for seasonal trends, we do not follow social media trends or offer patterns that are destined to run out of steam over time. Conversely, we offer the best materials for a durable wardrobe that accompanies us over the years, and throughout our lives. Many of our pieces are made in Japan with fabrics that are, in my opinion, the best in the world — like Ventile and Japanese selvedge denim.

LO: What’s on your mood board?
GB: Silhouettes inspired by Asian fashion. I'm not really the most knowledgeable when it comes to fashion or streetwear, but while travelling, I couldn't help but admire and wish to capture the essence of the style of the people of Tokyo and Seoul.

LO: What was the very first piece you designed?
GB: It was a parka jacket with a fairly complicated construction, with a removable collar and hood, an adjustable length, and a technical fabric for the harshest temperatures outside. It was fundamental to position itself on the market with real skills in creating models. My background in engineering has pushed me to offer models whose execution is a challenge — which does not prevent me from offering simpler pieces at the same time, such as t-shirts and other statement pieces in cotton, always beautifully crafted. But complexity remains the heart of my profession and always pushes me further in my research.

LO: When we browse your website, we notice that the brand is unisex. Was it a vocation or a way of sticking to a standard that is now increasingly widespread?
GB: I would like to point out that I personally wear every piece in the Applied Art Forms wardrobe, which means that we originally shot our campaigns on male models exclusively. After reflection, we turned to a more unisex approach because our clothes are not limited to a gender category — many women pick their clothes from the men's departments. It's quite natural that we ran our new campaigns on models of different genres. To be completely frank, it was never a question of presenting itself as a unisex brand, but rather of offering different styles and ways of appropriating our pieces – regardless of who we are – and without making any argument about it.

To find out more, visit the brand's website here.