What is your favourite place to get a coffee in East London?I'm really lucky because there's so many good coffee shops around me. I'm literally two minutes away from E5, which is a bit of an East London institution and has been around for longer than I can remember. Also Violet is a really nice spot. There's a place that opened about a year ago in Victoria Park called Blas, which is Australian run, so you know it's good coffee. I think it was a groundskeeper's hut or something at one point but they took it over about a year ago, and it has become somewhere I always stop at when walking the dog.
And what's your favourite pub in East London?
I think I'm going to shout out a local-ish one to here, which is the Prince Arthur on Forest Road. It actually shut its doors just before the pandemic and was closed for a couple of years. It's under new ownership and has been restored to its former glory, doing really good food as well.
What's the oldest item of clothing in your wardrobe that you still wear?
I’ve got two answers to this. I've got a denim jacket, which is like an old stonewashy Levi's number that belonged to my dad, so that I've had for a long, long time. It's a bit of an in-between seasons thing. I gave it a new lease of life by putting a patch on the back of it, which is a sort of cut-out from a t-shirt from the football team I play for. The oldest thing that I own is like a Navy-issue peacoat that I got at a place called Dirty Harry's in Brighton when I was living there. This is a long time ago. So I think that's probably the oldest thing I own in terms of actual age of the garment.
You recently published your second book on Wes Anderson, can you tell us a bit about this project?
So I've now written two books on Wes Anderson. The most recent one came out in September 2025, and it's called Shoot Like Wes. It's actually a collaboration with my partner, who is a photographer. The idea was essentially to create a guide on how to take great pictures, nodding or alluding to Wes's signature style. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of his aesthetic, with step-by-step exercises so you can recreate photographs in his style. The Worlds of Wes Anderson, which is the first one, is a bit of a deep dive into his inspirations, influences, ranging from like cinema to music and architecture, fashion as well. It was more of a labour of love for me, and the one I'm probably proudest of.
What's your favourite Oliver Spencer piece from the Spring 26 Collection and why?
Definitely the trench coat. I really love the fit and colour. I do also really like the Bembridge bomber jacket. I feel like brown is something I'm wearing more and more as I get a bit older. I don't know what that says, but I always like the kind of texture and the details in those kind of garments.
What's your favourite thing about living in East London?
East London has been home for about 15 years and I've seen it change a bit over that period, but nice elements have also stayed the same. There's a real familiarity about the place now. There's so much choice and always new stuff happening. I’ve built a community of friends here too so it’s great sharing the neighbourhood with people you’re fond of.
What do you look for in a brand and what is most important to you in what you wear?
There are more considerations nowadays around things like the provenance of materials and how things are made, but when I'm just browsing and picking stuff off a rack, I'm always drawn to the colour, the texture, and the cut. Shopping in stores can open you to surprises, and I like the discovery aspect. Shopping at Oliver Spencer is great because the staff have a really good understanding of how things kind of go together, which is really useful to someone like me who typically shops for the more boring everyday things. Their styling suggestions are always right on the money.
