Think Tilda Swinton mixed with Christine Lagarde and you have Teatum Jones’ ideal of a super smart and creative woman. Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones met while working together in Italy for John Richmond and established their brand in 2012.

A look from Teatum Jones' Autumn Winter 2016 collection

“Modern, polished and bold” is how Teatum and Jones describe their clothing. In July, they launched their International Woolmark Prize-winning capsule collection with Harvey Nichols, inspired by the 19th-century figure Agnes Morrogh-Bernard, who founded the Foxford Woollen Mills in 1892 to provide work for an impoverished town. The design duo travelled to the mills and set out to recreate Bernard’s narrative. Working with a guipure lace mill in France, they modernised their fabrics with geometric foil prints and created an innovative and unique Merino wool lace that won them the highly-acclaimed prize.

A look from the Teatum Jones x Harvey Nichols capsule collection

It is this spirit of innovation and constant development that is at the essence of the Teatum Jones brand. This season, the designers say they are “delving more into weaving and yarn structure, by pushing the boundaries with the traditional mills that we use and getting them to try new materials and techniques”. Working closely with their supply chains is important to them so they can support causes and people that inspire them through their work.

At the moment, the duo say they are busy with their first menswear collection to launch for spring/summer 2017. “People have asked for many seasons when the guys would get a look in. Now feels right and we are very excited!” they say. We caught up with Catherine and Rob to see how they will spend their free-time this week.

MONDAY: Castle Combe (Wiltshire, South West England)

Castle Combe is one of our favourite go-to destinations to escape to and spend much-needed quality time with family before heading back to the studio on Monday. We stay at the Castle Inn Hotel in Castle Combe; such a beautiful old Inn with the best view of the village. The food, wine and peaceful atmosphere make it the best place to fully relax after a week in the studio.

TUESDAY: Brockwell Lido (Brockwell Park, Dulwich SE24 0PA)

Brockwell Lido is about half an hour from our Lambeth studio, which tends to get really hot at this time of the year. We generally pop down there to cool off after a day at work. It’s perfect on these warm, late summer nights. Our favourite bar near Brockwell Lido is The Florence, which does a great pint of Guinness!

WEDNESDAY: 06 St. Chad’s Place (6 St. Chad’s Place, King’s Cross WC1X 9HH)

Tucked away off a quiet street in King’s Cross, 06 St. Chad's Place is a great restaurant and bar for a midweek break with our team. It’s an old brick Victorian warehouse with long tables and a cocktail menu with everything you can think of, so it provides the perfect place for an after-work drink. Our favourite dish is the beetroot and blue cheese salad, but the food is always amazing and the place has a great atmosphere.

THURSDAY: Curzon Soho (99 Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho W1D 5DY)

Being lovers of real-life or fictional stories and narratives of every genre, we find films a really inspiring and important form of research. The Curzon in Soho is our favourite cinema in London because of the diversity of movies – new Hollywood releases alongside foreign features and classic films. It also has a great cafe and bar, which makes it a great place to catch up on work before the film starts! We’re looking forward to watching Things to Come, directed by Mia Hansen-Love, which looks like a really creative and intelligent film. It explores womanhood and happiness, which we think will be a perfect form of inspiration as we are constantly inspired by human stories.  

FRIDAY: Bussey Building (The CLF Art Café, 133 Rye Lane, Peckham SE15 4ST)

The Bussey Building in Peckham is one of our favourite places to end a busy week with the team. It is a great centre for the creative arts and there is always something inspiring going on. This month, there is an upcoming event called Disco Freaks that combines Funk, Soul and Disco music.

Teatum Jones’ collections are available to purchase at Teatumjones.com. Their capsule collection for Harvey Nichols is available through Harveynichols.com.

Text by Steph Nowak