Originally beginning their work four years ago, Mantle 2020 made their first London Fashion Week Debut on September 14th, 2024. Presenting their second capsule collection, the works are designed to be interchangeable and worn altogether.
The event was hosted by Oxford Fashion Studio. The collective is composed of diverse individuals positing creatives at the forefront of their work. Assisting in the process of platforming upcoming and independent designers, OFS champions exceptional brands with the goal of broadcasting their stories and getting collections to the catwalk.
I spoke briefly with the Mantle 2020’s founder, lead designer, and all around one man show. We discussed the origins of the brand, the necessity in waiting, trusting the process and taking risks. Read below for a fuller image of the Mantle 2020, and its founder Dan Kallos.
I wanted to clarify, is this your debut collection in London?
This is my second collection. I already have one out, but this is the first showcased collection on a runway. It’s my first time at London Fashion Week.
How do you feel after seeing your garments on the runway?
The stress levels are still going down. This is like a year’s worth of work that’s gone into this and it’s just me who does it all.
So you do everything then?
I have some help from friends. Adrian does my sketches for me. I’ll sit down with him and sort out what I want the collection to look like. He’ll then take that away and do the sketches. He’s amazing, the sketches he produces are incredible.
The collections are designed to be a capsule wardrobe, so each piece can be worn together. It also works throughout collections, you can mix and match between the garments themselves.
Each future collection references previous ones. I design what I think would be a good wardrobe. I have another friend called Jacqueline who advises me on the socials.
Other than that, it’s all me.
Do you make the garments by hand?
No, we send it off to the factory to be handmade in London. It’s all made in the UK, fabrics, hardware, all that stuff.
The knitwear for this runway show was made in Leicester. It’s all done custom – knitwear, colour palette, all from yarn. Our leather is sourced from the UK as well.
I wanted to ask about the inspiration for the colour orange in this collection, specifically the way it operates within the collection. Why this colour?
So the original colour I was going to go for was sort of a camel. Then actually when we went for burnt orange. I loved it and thought it was really cool but I wasn’t sure if it was going to work for this.
Then when we went to pick the yarns, basically they didn’t have the camel colour. Instead we could make a custom colour by weaving different hues together. So we did that.
The colour we created, I’ve called that Evening Sun.
Think coming to the end of the summer, sun setting. Its’ about being comfy as the sun comes down.
If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self after learning what you know now, what would it be?
I’m self taught, I never studied design. I think you can sort of look at things from a completely different perspective when you’re not put into this box. You can learn as you’re going. If you make mistakes, you’ve learned a lesson. If you don’t make a mistake you may be creating something new that someone else hasn’t done before.
I would just say – you don’t need to rush it. Take time with these things,
I never actually saw myself doing a brand, I went into buying when I finished at uni. I kind of taught myself through that. When I first had the idea for the brand, it was years before I actually launched it.
I’d say these things take time. Make sure you’re 100% prepared before dropping into anything. It took planning to make it what it is now.
Right so there’s two sides to this perspective. One that says if you have an idea you need to act on it immediately, and another that says you need to sit on it and think it through, how do you feel about this?
So one of my big inspirations was Virgil Abloh. In the first collection, there was a red version of the black organza jacket you see presented today. Basically, the night before I had my first meeting with my factory – he passed.
It was the first time that I understood why when someone famous dies, people get so upset. I’d never have anyone famous resonate with me who had passed yet. So I was distraught.
My wife who is big into spirituality said “we will do a ceremony to honour his memory”. She said to write a message on a piece of paper and we will burn it into a candle. That will send it into the universe and he’ll hear it. I thought that sounded really nice.
So while I’m doing that, I’m watching the message burn and I take a picture of it. The next day when I went in I said, “right, the jacket needs to be this colour”.
So things like that take time, you can’t always know right away. Sometimes inspiration just comes to you.
What is the biggest hurdle as a self taught designer in this industry?
I think I’m really lucky in that no one has actually said no to me yet. In terms of who I work with – or they have given me the advice that I needed.
It’s self doubt that’s the biggest hurdle. It’s like “can I actually do this because I haven’t actually been trained”, “will I ever be on that level”? I never thought I’d do a runway show, ever. Let alone just one year into the brand.
The first collection launched a year ago, and this has been a year’s work. I don’t really follow the fashion calendar. I just release a collection when I feel like there’s a need to. When I feel like the product’s right.
Self-doubt is the biggest thing to overcome. If you think you can do it, there’s no reason why you can’t. You can always find someone to help you.
How have you found the creative community in terms of going from buyer to designer is pretty different?
Do you know what’s funny – I live in Glasgow and there’s not a massive community out there but there is an art school and you can meet some artists up there.
I feel like I’m quite sheltered in Glasgow, I don’t give myself the time to go out and meet people. That’s why something like this is amazing because it gives me the chance to get out there. I’m getting to meet people that I would never normally meet, from all over the world.
I didn’t realise that I would be featured with designers from all across Europe and New York. That’s amazing to me. Everyone here, the whole Oxford Fashion Studio team has been incredible. They’re so understanding, so organised. I could never have done something like this without them.
So far – it’s been an amazing experience.
In one word, how do you feel about Mantle 2020’s future?
Hungry.
Mantle 2020 is all about quiet luxury and they’re just getting started. After seeing the garments real time and speaking with the designer, I can confirm it would be silly not to tag along for the ride.