If there's one business that largely defies the current climate, it's fashion-– or at least, its aesthetic. Even though a global economic slowdown’s in full force, predictions of a season of austerity and anti-glamour have still failed to come true. With London Fashion Week here, an almost audible buzz has begun to spread amongst those in the industry. Will London-– a city obsessed with recession-– follow suit? How the capital’s designers will react remains to be seen, however it’s hard to imagine that LFW’s trademark eccentricity will let up in 2009.

Currently preparing for this month’s showdown is Tim Soar-- creator, designer, driving force behind menswear label Soar. A relative newcomer on the scene, Tim avoided the usual route to the catwalk. Without any formal fashion training, he arrived on the London scene via various careers including DJ, music consultant and one-half of graphic design studio POST, alongside the legendary Neville Brody. Soar’s first collections had an almost immediate impact, snapped up by Liberty and cult boutique b Store. His priority was creating something that had the visual impact of more experimental design whilst, importantly, maintaining the standards and fit of tailored menswear. Simple. Perhaps that’s the key to Soar’s increasing popularity, a label that avoids the usual pretention and posturing and just, well, gets on with it.

We asked Tim-– whose show is happening tomorrow at LFW-– to give us an insight into the upcoming season and find out why Picasso’s Blue Period just isn’t his thing.

How have you found the run-up to LFW? Does it get easier with each season?
No, no and no. To quote cyclist Lance Armstrong when asked if it gets easier after so much training, he replied, “No, it never gets any easier, you just go faster.”

What’s in store for AW09?
Well, we’ll be showing alongside B-store’s own label again, but this time on schedule in the BFC tents. We like to think of it as the two-back beast of London menswear.

Who/what are your influences when it comes to your work?
I have been seriously into men’s fashion for 30 years and that acts as a huge repository of references and influences. I like to make clothes that feel old and modern at the same time. Not “classic with a twist”, but there must be some flavor of the past mixed with something very modern. Menswear is about nuanced progression.

Is there always a clear theme to your collections?
No, I really do not understand the “my collection was inspired by the Pieros in Picasso’s Blue Period paintings” school of thought. That way, it seems to me, you end up with costume, not clothing. I start very organically with really broad themes. How things develop is what’s exciting.

Characterize this upcoming collection…
Dark, a bit gimpy, with floaty touches.

What do you do when you get ‘designers block’?
Suffer like a mother fucker.

Describe the London fashion scene right now.
There is a really good London scene for menswear right now. Lou Dalton, Omar Kashoura, B-Clothing, Carolyn Massey. If you step back and look at your contemporaries you realize they all have the same struggles, trials and tribulations you do, and so you have to tip your hat to all of them. “Chapeau.”

If you could see any public figure, past or present, in your clothes who would it be?
I think George W Bush in a one-off tar-and-feather suit that I would make especially for him. Probably with a lining of dried shit.

Talk about the transition from your previous career to becoming a designer.
No transition, I still have my previous career in music. My career before that as a graphic designer has many similarities with fashion. In general, everything I have done-- interiors, graphics, music and fashion -- has been about trying to describe a certain bittersweet nostalgic emotion that I find very beguiling. The medium varies, but the message is the same.

And finally, your plans for the future of the label?
Not to go bankrupt, obviously! Lets just say that currently I am in the gutter looking up at the stars.

~Lena Dystant