Most of us own a lot more clothes than we need, which is no good for our wallets, the planet or British jobs, says designer and The Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant, who believes it’s time to return to much simpler times…

by JOANNA MOORHEAD

CAMERA PRESS/GEMMA DAY, COLIN THOMAS

Patrick Grant is a fashion designer who would like us to stop caring about fashion. If you’re thinking that’s an unusual line, you would be right. But he has assembled an impressive array of evidence. Exhibit A, a faded plum-coloured sweatshirt circa 1985. Exhibit B, a green-grey teapot made in Glasgow.

The sweatshirt is from a charity shop, bought by his late granny, who knew straight away he’d love it. ‘And I do,’ he says. ‘I wear it often and every time I wear it, I think of her.’

The teapot is different: it’s not old, and Grant chose it himself from a favourite shop in his native Edinburgh. ‘I love its craftsmanship,’ he says. ‘I like form, colour, texture, material: these are the things that matter to me, how things are made. And there’s something great about this teapot – you can feel where the potter’s hands were when he was making it.’

For Grant, 52, best known as a judge on the BBC series The Great British Sewing Bee, what matters with the clothes we wear and the items we own are quality and connection. He loves things that connect him to people or memories and remind him of the skills and care that go into the manufacture of well-designed items that will last. It’s this sense of craftsmanship and connection he thinks has all but disappeared from the world of retail in his lifetime.