The Brand

The Red Dragonhood grew out of an examination of my own identity. In common with other designers, I've had to go where the work is, so I've spent most of my life away from home. Hiraeth is a powerful emotion and I have found myself constantly being drawn back to Wales and my origins. Yet there's barely been any fashion industry left in Wales since
the Laura Ashley factories closed.

English street fashion pays scant attention to the land of my fathers – I'm not talking Haute Couture here, I'm talking about the stuff people actually wear on the streets. Shopping in the Cardiff arcades one day, I was bemused at how much presence the brand One True Saxon had, even though it's an excellent, quality brand from good, hard-working people.
Think about the connotations for a moment. Its signature is its tongue-in-cheek English laddishness.

I couldn't find much of interest in any of the contemporary streetwear brands. They all seemed to be copying each other. To me, there didn't seem much relevance in a Welsh person wearing, for example, a T shirt carrying a big number and the name of a Japanese city – as is the fashion in London at the point of writing – simply because David Beckham has been photographed wearing one. What is David Beckham to us?

The more I thought about this, the more I found I had something to say. About being Welsh. About Welsh humour. About Welsh political and social issues. About Welsh history and culture. About Welsh fashion too.

Do a quick search of what's available on the internet and you'd be forgiven for believing that everybody in Wales wore nothing but red. Much as I love rugby and I'm proud of our national team, I don't want to go around wearing a shirt boasting about our Six Nations triumph of two years ago – not after last season anyway. And I'm certainly not about to endorse Brains beer without payment, even if I do like an occasional pint of SA.

So I set out to create a Welsh label. The more I worked on it, the more I started to realise the beauty and importance of the Welsh language and how cool it is to be Welsh in a world made homogenous by globalisation. What you see on this website is the result. I hope it amuses you.

If you don't agree with something I've got to say, well, that's cool. It's only my opinion and it doesn't count for much. But if my work appeals to you in some way, even if you just like a particular design, then that's really cool. Thanks, dear hearts, and welcome to The Red Dragonhood.

Martin Davies
Designer

Thanks to everyone who provided inspiration or offered encouragement for this project. To Rich, Kelly, Javier, Craig, Nick A, Matt, Lisa, Charlotte and Gavin, Joe (knock 'em out, man), Matt, Ryan, Owain, Saunders, Tom, Eggsy, Charles and Camilla, Julian, Dennis, Ian, Chaz, Murray, Rhys, Gruff, Shirley, Nick F, John, Hefin, the men of Harlech, the men of Pumlumon, the Daughters of Rebecca, the Sons of Glyndwr, the Merthyr rioters, the men of MAC and the FWA, the men of the NUM and the ISTC; to our fathers and their fathers and their fathers back until the beginning of time. Thanks also to Kate, Viljo, Lila and especially to Zarina, without whom none of this would have been possible.