G-Force Eighties Clothing Company in Nottingham

Anyone who remembers names like Cocky’s Shed and Culture Vulture in Hockley, Nottingham, was probably (like me) around there in the mid eighties when different forms of street fashion were establishing. I was chatting recently to a friend from my Trent Poly days about living in Nottingham and the name ‘G-Force’ came up, as we remembered the boutique clothing shop with it’s strong, bold knitwear.

Funnily enough we had both bought our own G-Force knits, to wear and be ‘in with the in-crowd’ of the time.

Although to be honest I didn’t always have the guts to wear it as often as I would have liked. This was my jumper.

Their label and logo with great details, heavy zip and characteristic stitching on the seams.

G-force was often worn by bands like the Stereo MC’s, the performance artists Stomp, celebrities like Cher and Eric Cantona. I started googling the name to see what was available and the name of it’s founder Robin Kerr appeared. As luck would have it, Robin not only had an accessible email address but is now a Senior Lecturer in Fashion at non other than the Manchester School of Art ..small world again eh !! I got in touch with him to ask a little more about this iconic brand…

How and when did the company G-Force first form ? ( can you explain a little of it’s back ground, the main contributors etc ) 

It was set up in 1979 after graduating from NTU with a degree in fashion.  Initially it was a small studio on Bottle lane a back street in Nottingham it was only open on a Saturday as the rest of the week was used to make the garments that usually sold out on a Saturday.  A range of hand knitted sweaters were produced and sold to Paul Smith.  By 1980 it hand moved to the shop on Goose gate with a small factory on Fletcher gate.  The shop remained until 2006 when it finally closed, the factory moved around the lace market and eventually ending up on Alfreton road as the rents became too high.

Who were your customers, where were your garments being seen (magazines etc). Was it an exciting time to be starting out int he fashion world ?

In the beginning it was the punk era that started the brand, also selling to Johnson’s on the Kings Road along with some Japanese stores in Tokyo.  Shoes designed and made with the DM sole were a major part of the retail growth.  The brand went trough many changes from suits worn by Depeche mode, rockabilly suits and leathers, zoot suits and finally moving into work wear which became synonymous with the brand.  G Force became one of the forerunners of what is known as street wear selling all over the world.  We always used to advertise in ID Magazine which was the bible in Japan and we would have small Japanese independent stores coming to Nottingham to buy stock that when we realized there was a massive market in Japan, so I took a collection over in 1983 and it sold out.

What was your day to day roll in the company and did you yourself originate from a textile back ground ?

Pretty much everything from design, pattern cutting, fabric and production sourcing and sales abroad.

I remember the shop being very metallic, solid and bold (as well as that fabulous construction of the metal gate). Where did the ideas and motifs for the knitwear originate and what was the main themes behind the collections ?

The shop went through many changes but the strongest look was the industrial metal interior which went with the work wear collections, the interior was designed and fabricated by John Eager a graduate from NTU who went on to do all our shops and the shops for FREELANCE in Paris and New York  At the time the collections were very  work wear based with heavy denims and waxed cottons stitche with large white stitching. The most successful range was the one with engineered garments designed to give maximum movement of the body, there were worn all over the dance floors and picked up by many bands like the Stereo MC’S.  There were strong graphic images on boiled felted woo knitted jackets that can still be seen being worn today.

I remember the stitch detail being a defining look on each piece. Did details like that help to flow one collection into another, or where they kept separate by colour, design, shape etc ?

Stitch, cutting and construction were very important in building the collection, garments were designed to last, all were made in the UK, shapes tended to be over sized.  Collections tended to evolve from one season to the next.

Your customers were often strong, confident, sometimes famous individuals. At what point did the one shop in Hockley turn into a much larger expanding business ?

The mid 80’s saw a massive growth, we started to sell all over the world and opened stores in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Lisbon and London.  Garments were seen being worn by, Eric Cantana, Stereo Mc’s, Take That, Cher and many more.

Hockley in the 1980’s was full of amazing small businesses like Culture Vulture and Cocky’s Shed. When you first opened G-Force, was the lace market still a developing, area, or was already quite arty and defined as a new place to be and buy ?

When we opened in 1980 we were the first independent store to open in Hockley it was very much a working area with a fruit shop, butchers and bakers servicing the workers in the Lace market, as the area declined more independents moved as the rents were low, it was a great place to be until the council realized it was becoming fashionable then the rates and rents doubled overnight. It is now full of bars and restuarants, busy at night and dead during the day.

Is G-Force still around in anyform at all ? Do you have any plans for it’s reissue ?

There is production of hand made leather bags under the label System G.  Currently there is no production under the G Force label but here are several collaborations happening shortly which will bring a retrospective collection onto the market.  I am also working on a collaboration with a French company, designing a range of fishing and shooting garments to be launched next year, this has the G force signature, heavy fabrics from Scotland and all made in Nottingham.