Our first encounter with Thomas Heatherwick came about after seeing his studio’s fantastic design for Coal Drops Yard, the reinvention of two historic coal drops buildings into a new retail district and public space.
During our conversations with the team at Coal Drops Yard regarding joining the project, we expressed our delight at the overall design that Thomas and his studio had done for the scheme and they suggested an introduction to him.
When we met at his studio he was wearing some UW pieces and we suggested we made him a special outfit to mark the opening of the project.
We took inspiration from his favourite pant, the shapes are based on traditional workwear garments updated for a modern "suit". The fabric is a core Universal Works cotton twill with an embroidered surface inspired by IKAT --weaving that David and Thomas both love.
Sketch of Heatherwick Studio’s UK Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Courtesy of Heatherwick Studio.
