London fashion label UNCONDITIONAL is now just 8 years old – designed by Philip Stephens, it started as a tiny capsule of luxury menswear for the Concrete Shop, in Soho, London in late 2002 and was joined by a small womens collection 2 years later. UNCONDITIONAL showed on the official London Fashion Week schedule for 6 seasons, and has since moved around showing for two seasons in New York, 3 times by invitation in Shanghai and Amsterdam. SS11 was shown back in London.

The first UNCONDITIONAL flagship store opened next to the Covent Garden Hotel in 2008 and was joined in 2011 by a large flagship store in central Manchester, Philip's birthplace.

UNCONDITIONAL is said to be very London in its attitude, yet with an ease and simplicity sometimes described as quite American : ‘the collection is a winning combination of the laidback and the edgy’. The backbone of each collection is a unique range of ‘luxury basics’ with an overlay of more special pieces; usually relaxed in style, UNCONDITIONAL is often mildly androgynous. UNCONDITIONAL has established its own feeling of a modern elegance with a dash of rock’n’roll – pieces that are uncompromising in their attention to detail with high quality fabrications, always favoring pure, natural, ethically produced fabrics and yarns. Clean, strong silhouettes that are always intentionally quite sexy, often balancing a signature of drape set against structured, architectural tailoring.

The wide range of males that have bought the collection from actors Brad Pitt, Jude Law, Jared Leto, Orlando Bloom, Johnathan Rhys Meyers, footballers David Beckham and Thierry Henry, to musicians Depeche Mode, Mr Hudson, Mika, Skunk Anansie, Tinie Tempah, David Bowie, Kanye West, David Guetta, Royksopp, Kasabian, Will Young, JLS … and onto the girls front, from Skin, Gwen Stefani, Chrissie Hynde, Patti Smith, Kelis, Pixie Lott, Tori Amos, Cameron Diaz , Rihanna and Madonna… shows a wide appeal.

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“Like an experienced writer, Stephens has been playing with the language of formal dressing, the vernacular of sportswear, the vocabulary of womenswear. The result is an accomplished and imaginative collection that achieves a sophisticated and elegant look without ever being boring, formal or traditional, without ever appearing too dressy or too fashion. This innovative combination of street style and formal elegance makes UNCONDITIONAL one of London’s best designer labels.”

Peppe Orru, Collezioni

“The creations of UNCONDITIONAL communicate a distinguished comfort, an air of serenity, as if the slightest gesture of the person wearing them were enough to radiate elegance. UNCONDITIONAL represents another turn of the screw in elegant modernity as a clear example of the simple, of the strength of cuts performed with care and attention to detail in collections charged with a contemporary attitude. Design with pure cuts, clean and forceful colours, the absence of prints and stridency, all orientated toward highlighting the personality of the person wearing them, without exaggerated displays of emotion. Perhaps for this reason it is one of the brands having the most impact on British Fashion today.”

Atlas of Fashion Designers 2009