Simply Yours Presents Simply Gok

With: Ryan Cooper-Brown, Nicki Gillon and Amy Weidenbaum 

Last Wednesday on one of our cities random sunny days, we were invited along to a three on one chat with the Channel  Four  fashion legend, Mister Gok Wan. As we made our way down to the JD Williams HQ, who have developed Goks lingerie line with their under wear brand 'Simply Yours'. We wondered  if we would  be met by the biggest diva to hit inside the M60? Needless to say our worries were not necessary as the man was every bit as chilled and honest as we have seen him on his hit shows  'How To Look Good Naked' and 'Goks Fashion Fix'. 

On arrival we were led into a back office and left to stew as Gok finished his final interview of the day, Well thats what he thought! Little did he know the best had been saved till last, now let’s  find out why the good Samaritan of fashion is in Manchester. 

Gok: Hi guys

Gok: Tired very tired

Gok: Lets Go

Ryan: To many you seem to  champion the larger woman, where do you think this stems from?

Gok: I look at what women look like, and to me it’s about women accepting their bodies and accepting what they look like. It’s also about accepting their own physicality’s and personal style and that is obviously something that affects the younger kid’s right through to the older women. Different body shapes different body types, different ethnic backgrounds and different sexualities,  That's where the revolution  is happening, it’s just being picked up in ‘oh’ Gok Wan only does big girls, that’s what it looks like on the surface, but when you dive a bit deeper, it far more of a social experiment.

 Ryan: Do you think it partly has to do with women now being able to create their own Identity, as appose to men dictating style through social acceptance.

Gok:  Absolutely, fashion is still a female sport and it always will be, however women have never used it as a tool to express themselves. They have always been dictated to., because the big fashion designers, and fashion houses, the MOET CHANDON and all of those people that run the magazines the stores and retail, are still run by guys that are head to toes in Burton, they have no clue what is going on, so women really need to use it now.

Ryan:  Why did you choose to work with Simply Yours?

Gok:  They chose me!

Ryan:  I presume you must have had plenty of offers?

Gok:   It was down to personalities really, I’m not a great sales man, I‘m not good at going out there and going ‘right!’

Ryan:  But you can sell other people?

Gok:  Yeah exactly, I’m quite good with politics, not intentionally at all. I’m not claiming I’m super clever at all, but I am good at rationalising things is what I’m saying. But when it comes to the hard sell, like ‘ you must wear my underwear’ I’m not good at it.  Unless I could work with a company that could make, produce and sell the product, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. When these guys came along, they were really nice, and they allowed me to have a lot of input.

 Ryan:  Why now, do you feel it is the right time in your career, for you to make a move like this?

Gok:   I hope so, I think so! There is a fame around how to look good naked. I don’t mean to speak in third person, but the Gok brand, at the moment is as big as its going to get in this kind of field.

So obviously that’s a good time to market things and stuff  and also I have reached a stage personally in my life where I am confident in what I express. And so I believe in this under wear, I believe in empowering women, and giving women an opportunity, to feel secure.  I would never do anything unless I could articulate, and convince people why I thought it was a good product for them.

I’m not very good and that bull shit, I couldn’t turn round and try and sell a mach three or something, it’s just not my bag at all. I am a working class grafter and I have always been the same way.

Ryan: Leading on from the working class, simply yours is not an expensive brand and is more accessible, is that another reason why you have chosen to  go along with this project? 

Gok:  Its down to demographics, how to look good naked is not a high brow show we don’t appeal to the academics, although some do watch it, as we have been written about. If you have a look at the law of averages, I’m sure you’ll see more working class house wives watch the show. We would aim at that market, I might do diamond encrusted underwear one day, you never know!

Ryan: You have worked with celebrities in the past, has that helped to gain any tricks of the trade?

Gok: They take all my Ideals.

Ryan: For example, how they hide all of their unwanted bits?

Gok: Na , most celebrities have personal trainers they have people to groom them, their bodies tend to be more in shape, because they have the finances and the time. And so working with celebrities is very different but at the same time they are still bodies. The kind of work you do with celebrities is different, for example if I was doing a video I wouldn’t put Joe public in there because they would look like a twat! Equally I wouldn’t go up to a celeb and say try this halter neck top on from Dorothy Perkins, because that would not be her USP.

Ryan:  Is that another reason why you have chosen not to have a well know celebrity wearing the underwear?

Gok: Oh god, no way it is brand for the people, the model that we chose, she’s beautiful but she has a real body. After all my years in the fashion industry I’m not going to get my head up my arse and say I want her to wear that!

Nicki: How hands on were you with actual design of the lingerie?

Gok:  I was very hands on I would go into the fittings and be checking the stitching, and the tension on the lycra. If I’m going to put my name to it, I wouldn’t want to do anything that wasn’t right. It was tested through many stages, it would come back and we would conduct focus groups with people trying it on.

 I was Involved throughout the entire process form the design  to the marketing, we are about to go into a meeting about the next collection we are going to do. So of course you’ve got to have integrity in what you are doing or you will lose trust. And I think how to look good naked, the brand is all about trust. So there is no way I could just sit there in front of 40 girls and talk about the underwear if I did have a clue.

Nicki:  In-terms of trends, is there anything you have picked up on the collection, or is there anything you are going to use going forward? 

Gok: This was quite trend lend, number one the colour, pinks purples and the blacks. We have all seen that purple has bombed on the high street. But when we started working on this a year ago, we said we would use purple as we had been working on it for a while. We have also decided to go very 40’s &  50’s and the influences of the power dressing woman. I think you’ve only seen 10% of it, many big designers I know are working on the 40’s 50’s for next year. We’ll be ok.

Nicki:  What is your take on mancunian style, have you been out and about! 

Gok: Oh yeah I’ve been out to canal street,

Ryan: whereabouts?

Gok: Tribecca, spirit and the Ruby lounge

‘Everybody Laughs’

Gok: There is a climate of fashion in the North especially the North West. There is a lot of competition between the North, London and Europe. And so it reflects in how you dress, there is need to be noticed up here. People want to wear the obvious labels the Vivienne Westwood’s, which sells a fortune up here, and  Alexander Mc Queen as well as Chloe who sell loads here to. Manc style is a lot more cabaret style, look at me I’m wearing a designer label.

When I was doing fashion fix, I got a chance to travel around the country, I was able to see that Manchester, Newcastle and Liverpool are all very similar. Where as other places that are close in geographic terms dress completely different.

Nicki: As part of our work at the Manchester Fashion Network, we recruit and advise students on their next step into the industry. After all of your success, do you have any words of wisdom for a student reading this and wants to follow in your footsteps?

Gok: In Styling? First of all work out what kind of styling you want to do, high end advertising, media music, basic or commercial. Work out what your best at, and don’t try to add to many strings to your bow. Start working on your portfolio, and try and get as much paid work as possible so you can pay others to work with you. When you see people who use their friend that is a photographer and their friend who has a bar then your work starts to look a third degree, student portfolio.

Ryan: You mean put your money where your mouth is?

Gok: Exactly, get that bar job get that club job, work in a restaurant and put as much money as you can back into your career. There is no stylist that I know now that doesn’t have to do that constantly. Try and get some assisting work of course, and bleed any one you can for any information. I suppose the best thing for you to do is hit an agency, letting people know your there. I mean I have assistant now, my last assistant is now shooting for Vogue and it wasn’t because he was amazing it’s because of the arrogance I gave him.  It isn’t about the contacts anymore the market is so saturated you can have that a great contact book. It is about being  in the right time and place!

Ryan: Is it because no one’s moving? 

Gok:  No  I would  argue with that, that’s such a lazy thing to say! I worked 6 days a week, even before I was on the television. I get really angry with assistants now when they say, "i’ve been trying to look . I can’t get a job until someone moves", you have to make it work! Just try and get as much experience for a while and when you do make  it you will realise it is the best industry in the world.

Amy: We just have a couple of quick fire questions for you?  

Nicki: VPL, best thing since slice bread or really should be dead?  

Gok:I quite like a VPL

Amy:  Hovis or Warburton’s‘ Gok Looks confused’

Gok: Warburton’s, I think

Gok: I’m just working out the politics in my head, I’m going to have to say aggie, for politics reasons

Gok: Argh! I want to say Kate, have you seen Posh’s new hair, it’s horrible.

Gok: I’m wearing Calvin classics,

Nicki: Are you really or are you just saying that?

Gok:  I’m not getting the fuckers out  I am really, there actually not classics,

Ryan: Are they the structure ones? 

Gok: yeah, I like the Calvin’s I’m not into the Aussie bum and all that. I get a classic underwear, and Calvin’s proper hold you old man as well.

Nicki/Ryan/Amy:  Thanks for everything.

Gok: It was my pleasure.

As we under took the usual photo 'OP', Gok promised us a night out in London, and we offerd to return the favour, and take him on a tour of the best parts of Manc.

Find out more about Goks Simply Yours Collection at

www.simplyyours.co.uk

To see some of Goks collection visit our gallery

Sizes range from A - G

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