Charlie Casely-Hayford (born 24 May 1986) is a menswear designer based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, where he was born. He founded the international menswear brand Casely-Hayford at the age of 22 with his father, the acclaimed British fashion designer

Joe Casely-Hayford Joseph Ephraim Casely-Hayford (24 May 1956 – 3 January 2019) was a British fashion designer. Beginning in the mid-1980s he established an international reputation as one of the UK's most respected and consistently relevant designers of men's a ...

OBE.

Early life and family

Charlie Casely-Hayford is the great-grandson of the respected politician and writer

J. E. Casely Hayford Joseph Ephraim Casely Hayford, (29 September 1866 – 11 August 1930), also known as Ekra-Agyeman, was a prominent Fante Gold Coast journalist, editor, author, lawyer, educator, and politician who supported pan-African nationalism. His 1911 no ...

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

. The cultural historian

Gus Casely-Hayford Augustus Lavinus Casely-Hayford (born 1964) is a British curator, cultural historian, broadcaster and lecturer with ancestral Ghanaian roots in the Casely-Hayford family, a cadet branch of the Cape Coast royal dynasty. He is presently the Direc ...

OBE is his uncle and the lawyer, businesswoman and public figure Margaret Casely-Hayford

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

is his aunt. In 2008 The Black Power List named the

Casely-Hayford Casely-Hayford is an English language patronymic surname that is native to Ghana. It is most commonly borne by the Casely-Hayford family, descendants of the famous 19th century Euro- Fante and Pan-Africanist, J. E. Casely-Hayford of Cape Coast. ...

family the most influential black family in the UK.

Education

After leaving

Harrow school (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, while studying at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, Casely-Hayford began to contribute to a number of styling projects internationally. He has styled musicians varying from hip-hop artist

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

to UK band

The xx The xx are an English indie rock band from Wandsworth, London, formed in 2005. The band consists of Romy Madley Croft (guitar, vocals), Oliver Sim (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Smith, also known as Jamie xx (beats, MPC, record production), a ...

and

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-award-winning artist

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

. He has contributed to international publications, from ''

GQ Style ''GQ'' (formerly ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and ''Apparel Arts'') is an American international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though articles on ...

'' to '' i-D'' magazine.

Career

In 2008, while studying for a degree in History of Art at the

Courtauld Institute The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

, Casely-Hayford joined his father to launch luxury menswear label Casely-Hayford, a brand based on English Sartorialism and British Anarchy. Casely-Hayford currently works between London and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

where the collections are produced; they focus on the idea of duality as a foundation for the brand's ethos. International stockists include

Dover Street Market Dover Street Market is a multi-brand retailer originally located on Dover Street, in Mayfair, London. It has stores in New York City, Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing and Los Angeles. Dover Street Market was created by Rei Kawakubo of Japanese fashion ...

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

, Corso Como,

Barneys Barneys New York Inc. is an American luxury brand founded in New York City in 1923. It has introduced major designers including Armani, Azzedine Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Christian Louboutin, and Ermenegildo Zegna to the US market. Barneys N ...

, I.T.

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

Isetan ( unlisted on March 26, 2008, ) is a Japanese department store. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Isetan has branches throughout Japan and South East Asia, including in Jinan, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Shanghai, Singapore and Tianjin, and formerly in Ba ...

Other work

In 2010, Casely-Hayford was made the global face of

Converse Converse may refer to: Mathematics and logic * Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement ** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication ** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...

's international ad campaign, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the

Jack Purcell John Edward Purcell (December 24, 1903 – June 10, 1991) was a Canadian world champion badminton player. Purcell was the Canadian National Badminton Champion in 1929 and 1930 and declared as world champion in 1933. He retired in 1945, and pu ...

Trainer. In 2008/2009 he modelled alongside Coco Sumner as the face of

Dr. Martens Dr. Martens, also commonly known as Doc Martens, Docs or DMs, is a German-founded British footwear and clothing brand, headquartered in Wollaston in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England. Although famous for its footwear, Dr ...

. In June 2010, Casely-Hayford was selected by ''

Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...

'' as a "Brilliant Brit" in their prediction of 75 young talents shaping 2010. He was also selected to feature in '' i-D'' magazine's 100 most important portraits in fashion, shot by Nick Knight. In June 2011,

Premier Model Management Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

signed up Casely-Hayford as the newest addition to their Special Bookings board. He was named one of '' GQ''s 50 best dressed men in Britain in 2013, 2014, and 2015. and one of the 40 best dressed men in the world by ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' in 2017. In 2015, he was named one of the most influential people under 40 by ''GQ'' magazine and one of the 25 people who matter most in Menswear by

Style.com Style.com was a luxury e-commerce website, launched by international media company Condé Nast in September 2016. In June 2017 Style.com was closed and absorbed by online retailer Farfetch.com Before its closure Style.com offered established and e ...

In April 2017, Casely-Hayford collaborated with UK fashion brand

Topman Topman is a UK-based multinational men's fashion retail brand founded by Burton Group (later renamed Arcadia Group) in 1978. Along with its women's clothing counterpart Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group, Topman went into administration i ...

on a successful suiting collection titled Topman Fine Tailoring. The collection was sold through 30 stores in the UK and internationally.

Personal life

Casely-Hayford is married to interior designer Sophie Ashby, founder of Studio Ashby."Charlie Casely-Hayford & Sophie Ashby Talk Collaborating On Their Chiltern Street Store"
''Something Curated'', 22 October 2018.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casely-Hayford, Charlie 1986 births Alumni of Central Saint Martins Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art Artists from London Black British fashion people British fashion designers English fashion designers English people of Ghanaian descent Fante people Ghanaian people of English descent Ghanaian people of Irish descent Living people Menswear designers People educated at Harrow School Charlie