Brett & Scott Staniland, In The Frame

Brett & Scott - it’s so great to be catching up with the two of you. This is the first time we’ve interviewed a duo, but with your stories, careers and lives being so intertwined, we thought this would be an interesting conversation to have together. For quite some time now, we’ve admired your creative approach to menswear and your genuine passion for your field. For our readers who are not yet familiar with you, could you each introduce yourselves?

Brett: I'm Brett Staniland. I've been a model for about 10 years now, and I currently work in the sustainable fashion landscape as an activist and advocate for a better industry.

Scott: I'm Scott, and unsurprisingly, I've been modelling for a similar amount of time, and would say our main focus is as sustainable fashion campaigners these days.

What came first for you, fashion or sustainability?

Brett: Fashion definitely came first, although growing up, it wasn't ever an industry I thought we would get into, it took a few years of modelling and being on set and learning about clothing before the sustainability thing came along, and then we immersed ourselves deeply in that.

Scott: Yeah, I suppose there was a very specific moment for me being on set and realising how much product we're responsible for, and the amount of looks we were shooting went up and up and up, and it made me look at my own wardrobe and my own relationship with clothes.

Your message and mission is strengthened together. Did you both become passionate about sustainable fashion at similar times, or did one of you blaze the torch for the other?

Brett: I think our sustainable fashion epiphany kind of happened around the same time, and obviously, we live together and work together, so we're always gonna kind of go down a similar path. I guess our careers have naturally mirrored each other's, especially when we were younger, and we were both doing the same sort of thing, but I think our main goal is to have as big an impact as possible. And so I think as we get older and graduate from certain areas and scenarios, it will be better for us to diversify, to cover more ground separately.

Have you ever pretended to be one another?

Brett: Yeah, we have pretended to be each other a few times. There have been times where I've been away doing another job, and I've got one through, and I was like, Scott, can you just go and do this for us and then he'd turn up and no one would ever find out. But it's weird because we don't think we look anything like each other, so we feel like impostors.

You clearly have a lot in common, and that is mostly what the world sees, but we’d love to know, are there any interests or passions that leave you divided?

Brett: An interest that divides us - I don't know if it translates as a difference, but like, if I go hard for something (I believe), I'll go really hard - slightly more aggressive. Whereas, you're a little bit more reserved.

Scott: Yeah, it's not something that divides us, but I'd say I would rather hold someone's hand and walk them through something, whereas you're just like, this is how it is. Get it or don't.

Brett: Oh, definitely, yeah, my, my fuse is probably a lot shorter than Scott's.

Now, back to fashion. To us, it feels like men's fashion, whether it be intentional or not, is more sustainable than women’s fashion… Would you agree or disagree, and if so, why?

Scott: I definitely agree that men's fashion is more sustainable than women's fashion. Just because it's a little more utilitarian and heritage-focused, based on silhouettes over trends.

Brett: We also have a lot less choice, and I think we're marketed to a lot less than women are. I find that as a guy, we can look and feel well put together with less stuff. Men are simple creatures, far simpler than women. For one, I think we're more easily pleased, and I think we're quite tight in a way, like just a refusal to throw things away. Our dad was a hoarder, but he was also an engineer, so if anything broke, he would fix it or recycle it into something else. But we never called that sustainability, we called that just being working class, but it's something that I think is inside a lot of men. Like, right - this was a smart top, now I've worn it to death, it's unwearable as a top, and it's going to be a rag for my motorbike.

What do you think the two could learn from each other, both from a creative standpoint and a sustainable standpoint?

Brett: I think womenswear is more expressive, and I think women are more confident in expressing themselves through clothing, which I wish more men would be.

Scott: Yeah, I agree, I think it'd be nice for men to have more freedom in the way they express themselves when it comes to clothes, but at the same time, there are things that we can learn from each other. Maybe womenswear needs to slow down a little bit, and maybe menswear needs to feel more inclusive, so men can wear whatever they want. Like, even on Savile Row, it's weird that men in three-piece suits and a shirt and tie get a bit of a look, whereas the guy in the t-shirt and the jeans doesn't.

Brett, this one is for you - in 2021, you were on the reality TV show, Love Island. It’s a show notorious for landing contestants with fast fashion brand deals and pushing fast fashion during ad breaks. Did going on to this show leave you feeling conflicted? How did you navigate this landscape in a way that felt authentic to you?

Scott: I love when we get asked Love Island questions because I used to go, ‘Oh my God, that's where I recognise you from!’

Brett: Yeah, so when I went on Love Island four years ago now, there was a moral conflict, and I remember getting the contestant agreement and thinking, how can I do this show, but not subscribe to all of the fast fashion nonsense that goes along with it? I'd worked in sustainability for a good few years, and I thought, ' This is an opportunity to speak to 5 million people a night. 'And so my kind of loophole was to take all my own clothes, and then once I realised if I took my own clothes, I wouldn't be part of their marketing, I started to ask around some of my friends who run British brands and smaller independent designers to kind of champion the things that I care about and give a platform to those brands.

For example, took some Hemmingsworth swim shorts, I took some LEJ, some Katherine Hamnet, and it was kind of like my little subvert protest in doing the show, and then obviously, the actual protests came when I got booted out.

Interestingly, a year later, Love Island ditched their fast fashion sponsor for eBay. Did you have anything to do with this shift?

Brett: Well, Vogue very flatteringly credited me with the work that I'd done the year prior to the change. The producers check in with you every week and they started to ask me more about my work. It was quite isolating when I came home because I knew I was in an area of fashion that didn't cross over with basically any of the other people from my year and anything else the show had ever been part of, but at the same time, I felt like I was having the right impressions on those people, so I wouldn't say I had an agenda, but it was certainly something that I was very, very conscious of and it was a goal of doing the show.

Scott: It was like a protest, wasn’t it? Talk about politics, talk about sustainable fashion on the biggest TV show ever, and see what they air, what other opportunity are you gonna get to make as big an impact on fast fashion? And the biggest TV show ever has now dropped its fast fashion sponsor, and those massive ambassadorships for the winners as well.

Image courtesy of Getty.

You both have a rule of 12 new items a year. Could you tell us a little bit more about this practice and how it has affected your relationship with your wardrobe, and potentially, even impacted your career?

Brett: So it was kind of like a target. One of my really good friends, Tiffany Dark, does five items a year, which is really challenging, but I looked back at consumption habits from the late 80s to now, and we used to buy like 12 items a year, now I think it's over 80. So I kind of set myself this challenge to buy 12 items a year.

Scott: It's also a nice competition to have with your friends as well. It's almost a brag to say I've not bought anything, it makes you hone in on your style, rather than buying trend-led items and trying to be cool all the time. Buying less and still being considered cool and having style is a big flex.

Brett: Yeah, it’s really intentional. I don't shop very much in general. Some months go by, and I'll save up, not buying anything because I might want a new suit, so then I get three items with the suit. And we are very lucky that we work in fashion; we've accumulated a decent wardrobe over the years, but I think it's a nice challenge for people who are just starting out too. I made a list of 12 core wardrobe staples which should be the base of any wardrobe.

You are both MONC wearers. Can you talk us through your frames of choice?

Scott: I'm wearing the Gràcia. I wanted something sleek and elegant that goes with every outfit and wasn't too much of a statement, but also has ‘leave me alone’ written across them a little bit, because I was going to Fashion Week, so I wanted a little bit of that as well.

Explore Gràcia

Brett: So my frame of choice is the Raval. These are like a bolder frame. I've always been envious of people who have glasses, and you just think they suit their face so well, so this is what I'm trying to go with, and I think I quite like the striking look. I like the black. Again, it's sleek, timeless, goes with everything, and it will last forever. For me, this (eyewear) can't really be that interchangeable or trend-led because it's almost like changing your face every day. So I like something recognisable and intentional.

Explore Raval