When Selfridges met: Tinie Tempah

— 18 April 2012

Music superstar and certified style icon, Tinie Tempah, paid Selfridges London a visit today to celebrate the exclusive launch of his new clothing label, Disturbing London. We caught up with him to talk about his first foray into fashion, why Britain is the most stylish place in the world and his first ever trip to Selfridges.

Never before has an urban British artist been quite so renowned for his impeccable style, so Tinie Tempah’s decision to create a fashion line feels like an effortlessly brilliant one. “It’s a dream come true”, says Tinie, “I’m very happy. The reaction has been crazy, even other musicians in the industry, everyone’s really supportive and I’m glad everyone feels a part of it.”

Featuring fierce graphic tees, Americana-inspired bomber jackets and the standout regal skull logo, the collection is directly inspired by Tinie’s much-admired sense of personal style. “I would relay all the things I liked and send textures, patterns, bits of material and things I owned. Then we’d get samples back, thankfully I’m the perfect sample size.”

When Selfridges met: Tinie Tempah

Anybody looking to emulate Tinie’s signature look won’t be disappointed. “I was getting quite renowned for the simple and straightforward denim shirt and chino look. I thought it was nice, especially as it’s such a small range, to put our customary Disturbing London signature denim shirt in there.”

Any trademark bow ties in the pipeline? “Yes definitely. We wanted Disturbing London to start off very organic and make it a really cool, credible high-end British streetwear brand. We want to get bigger and bigger until the point where we can do a more heritage, classic, high end tailored collection.”

The Disturbing London collection is available exclusively at Selfridges London, Birmingham, Manchester and online at Selfridges.com. “I actually remember the first time I came to Selfridges,” explains Tinie. “I saved up for ages and it was such an experience. I walked out with my nice golden bag and I was really happy about that. I wanted to make sure I created that experience for other people. There wouldn’t be any other place that I’d rather start my collection than here, because my longing and waiting to come here was such an exciting thing.”

When Selfridges met: Tinie Tempah

Tinie’s indisputable influence on British menswear was cemented in January when he was selected by the British Fashion Council as a member of the London Collections committee, alongside Tom Ford, Christopher Bailey, and Selfridges’ very own David Walker-Smith. “I love British style. I don’t think anywhere else in the world would have thought of the word ‘dapper’ before we did – that’s definitely one of our own. I love how London is a very cosmopolitan place. You can go down to the East End and see different people wearing a fresh take on traditional clothing and then you can go to The City and see bankers wearing sharp tailored suits. I think it’s great we have princesses and the queen here - it’s the perfect ground for so many different dimensions of style.”

Crowned by GQ magazine as Britain’s best-dressed man of 2012, has this stylish accolade piled on the pressure when choosing what to wear? “To be honest I actually dress down a lot more now. I feel like I could just wear a tracksuit or a pair of Speedos and everyone would be like ‘it’s amazing, it’s crazy!’. When you’ve got such a great honour like that, which I’m truly grateful and privileged for, I don’t feel like that means I need to start wearing meat or a gramophone on my head and being like ‘look, I’m really avant-garde and out there, check me out!’ I think it’s the subtleties that make someone’s fashion style great and the fact that it can relate to a lot of people.”

When Selfridges met: Tinie Tempah

How does he do it? We grilled Tinie for his sartorial style advice. “Accessories are very important and you’ll always judge a man by his shoes and his watch. Take pride in those things; I try to make sure that if my shoes aren’t new, they’re clean. I use baby wipes on my shoes, that’s a secret for you. I think the most important tip of all is to express who you are - you don’t speak to everybody you meet so your clothes convey your personality. Don’t be shy with it. Go crazy.”

So, how will Tinie be expressing his personality this summer? “In nice shorts. I’m going to go for a lot of plain t-shirts this year so I’m going to make the shorts be the colour pop. Also, as I’m from England, I have to have a great raincoat. I’m going for more pastel shades this year: pastel pinks, oranges and greens. When you get that horrible grey cloud over the sun, I like to think I’m going to wear something that will brighten people’s days and make them smile. And a clean pair of trainers, always. Get the baby wipes out.”

Watch the film interview.

Shop Tinie Tempah’s Disturbing London now.

Click here to sign up for our weekly newsletter and stay in the know about everything going on at Selfridges.