The designer, businessman and broadcaster, best known as a judge on BBC One show The Great British Sewing Bee, was in the island to speak about his book, Less: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish – How Having Fewer, Better Things Can Make Us Happier, but took time out to visit Le Tricoteur factory in St Peter’s.
‘I’m here primarily for the Literary Festival, but I couldn’t come to the island and not come and see some guernseys being knitted,’ he said.
‘It is one of those globally iconic bits of clothing.’
His book and talk highlighted the crisis of consumption and quality in fashion and how consumers could make themselves happier by rediscovering the joy of living with fewer, higher-quality products.
‘We’re in this mad situation where people are constantly trying to sell us new things that are of lower quality than the things they’re going to replace, and so we end up with just a whole pile of junk that has no value at all. The environmental footprint of this guernsey sweater that I’m wearing is likely to be one of the lowest of any garment you could imagine.’
Although this was his first trip to Guernsey, it wasn’t his first time wearing a guernsey.
‘I did have one for many years and wore it with great pleasure. Unfortunately, I just don’t know where it is because my clothes are sort of scattered to the four winds in storage.’
Mr Grant launched social enterprise Community Clothing in 2016, which sells quality items 100% made in the UK, and he said there was a chance a guernsey may be added to their range soon.
‘With a little luck, we might see the guernsey on there. It sounds feasible.
‘It’s just they are incredibly busy here, and it is whether they can spare a few for us.
‘It really genuinely fits with with our philosophy, which is exceptional quality, extraordinary local production.
‘You can tell from the team here that making these things is a source of enormous pride. When you make something great, it makes you feel good about the work you do. So the people making them feel great, the people wearing them feel great – it’s an economy which creates value for everybody.’
But the brilliance of the guernsey had one drawback – its excellence meant it was very unlikely ever to feature in one of the Sewing Bee’s transformational challenges.
‘I just can’t imagine a point where a guernsey needs fixing enough to transform. They last too long – they’re just too good,’ he said.
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