{"id":435646,"date":"2025-09-19T08:33:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T08:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/435646\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T08:33:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T08:33:15","slug":"why-wales-is-all-over-our-menswear-moodboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/435646\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Wales is all over our menswear moodboard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Britain would be nothing without glorious Wales,<\/strong> from the beaches of Gower to the slate-grey peaks of Mount Snowdon. A shift happens as soon as you cross the border. The air gets a little mistier, the night sky a bit clearer, road signs switch to Cymraeg, and stiff upper lips relax into welcoming smiles.<\/p>\n

Change here is slow but steady. The grand vistas that inspired Dylan Thomas and Gillian Clarke are now the backdrops of Hollywood sets (HBO\u2019s Industry<\/a> films in Cardiff). Deer that roam ancient farmland now wind up on the plates of local Michelin-starred restaurants<\/a> like The Gorse. The newest city in Wales, once a coal-mining stronghold, is today home to Britain\u2019s most unlikely international football franchise, Wrexham AFC.<\/p>\n

Coat by Barbour x Paul Smith. Shorts by Speltham. Quilt by Antique Textiles Company.<\/p>\n

T-shirt by Phipps. Shirt by Portuguese Flannel. Jeans by Our Legacy. Belt by Longchamp. Rope by Go Outdoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been amazing watching Wales build its soft power over the years,\u201d says writer Angela Hui, whose memoir, Takeaway: Stories From a Childhood Behind the Counter<\/a>, recounts growing up in a Chinese takeaway in a rural part of the country. Hui namechecks the new wave of Welsh talent \u2013 from photographers like Megan Winstone and Llyr Evans to chefs such as Tomos Parry and Chris Roberts \u2013 who are putting the culture on the map. \u201cWales has found a rhythm that\u2019s fiercely Welsh,\u201d she says, \u201cand resistant to being London-ified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacket by Farlows. Vest by Napapijri by Martine Rose. T-shirt by CP Company. Kilt by Margaret Howell. Socks by Pantherella. Boots by Grenson. Belt by Saint Laurent. Watch by Tudor.<\/p>\n

Jacket by Stefan Cooke. Jumpers (layered) by Jaeger. Trousers by Phipps. Gloves by Hestra.<\/p>\n

\u201cMainstream portrayals of working-class life in Wales love to dwell on how rough it is,\u201d says Hui. \u201cAnd yes, it is rough. That\u2019s the point. The beauty here is hard-won. You see it in the pebbledash terraces, the grey, rain-slicked streets and the ugly colliery scars etched into endless green valleys, but there\u2019s something in that mountain air that breeds resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top, shorts and boxers by Phipps. Vest and boots by Brunello Cucinelli. Socks by Pantherella. Watch by Tudor. Gloves by Wooyoungmi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe Pembrokeshire has some of the best produce in the UK. The quality of shellfish, in particular, is incredible,\u201d says Tomos Parry, the Anglesey-raised chef behind cult London restaurants<\/a> Brat and Mountain. He\u2019s known for his talents with an open flame, and this autumn, he\u2019s bringing his restaurants back home to Wales for a pop-up at the glamping retreat Fforest. \u201cWhen I was coming up with the concept for Mountain, the produce of Pembrokeshire gave me the confidence to create some of our signature dishes,\u201d he says. \u201cMany people are pulling in the same direction to improve and progress the produce and cuisine of the area \u2013 places such as C\u00e2r-y-M\u00f4r, who have created a unique seaweed farm in the mineral-rich seas, through to Caws Teifi, who make our cultured butter using raw, unpasteurised milk from their very local cows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacket and pants by Moschino. Vest by Phipps.<\/p>\n

Vest and shorts by Adam Jones. Boots by Loro Piana for Le Chameau. Hat by Margaret Howell. Fishing rod, stylist\u2019s own.<\/p>\n

Welsh Ghanaian textile artist Anya Paintsil, whose works are currently on show at T\u0177 Pawb gallery, does her stitching in a 200-year-old converted barn. \u201cFrom my perspective, northeast Wales is a great place to be an early-career artist,\u201d she says. \u201cComparing it with my experiences in London, I feel like there\u2019s a genuine grassroots scene and network of support that\u2019s less about networking, and more about real interest and excitement about what other people are doing, what they\u2019re making. There\u2019s an irreverence that exists alongside serious commitment to the arts, tradition and the scene that I really appreciate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacket by Magliano. Top by Our Legacy. Trousers by CP Company. Shoes by Ugg. Scarf by Cos. Hat by New Era. Gloves by Burberry. Rucksack by OEX from Go Outdoors.<\/p>\n

Jacket by Canada Goose. Hat by Palace.<\/p>\n

Pembrokeshire\u2019s glorious coastline is made up of nearly 200 miles of sandy dunes, red-hued rocks and high-drama bluffs. There are beaches for sunbathing and dolphin-spotting, yes, but it\u2019s more than just surf towns. Explore Iron Age and prehistoric standing stones, hill forts and roundhouse remains dotted along the water. Quiet villages where you can pop in for a lobster roll (our favourite is Cafe M\u00f4r in Angle) make Mediterranean port cities look like theme parks. The locals are known to grumble about an influx of English holidaymakers but usually open to sharing recommendations (and epic bara brith).<\/p>\n

Vest by Dsquared2. Shirt by Phipps. Shorts by Arc\u2019teryx. Socks by Sox. Shoes by Keen. Hat by New Era.<\/p>\n

Boiler suit by Craig Green. Boots by Grenson. Sunglasses by Oakley. Water bottle by Amazon. Rope, harness and carabiners by Go Outdoors.<\/p>\n

Published as part of GQ\u2019s \u2018What\u2019s so Great about Britain?\u2019 special issue \u2014 read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Styling by Angelo Mitakos<\/strong>
Models, Finley Prentice<\/strong> At Storm And Jude Furnivall<\/strong> At Wilhelmina
Hair by Tariq Howes<\/strong> using Babyliss Pro
Casting Direction by Mc Barnes<\/strong>
With thanks to Land Rover Discovery<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Britain would be nothing without glorious Wales, from the beaches of Gower to the slate-grey peaks of Mount…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5010],"tags":[147746,748,147747,147744,2766,2584,147745,4884,388,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-435646","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wales","8":"tag-brioni","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-british-fashion","11":"tag-british-style","12":"tag-culture","13":"tag-fashion","14":"tag-fashion-shoots","15":"tag-great-britain","16":"tag-lifestyle","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115230042007973465","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}