English Laundry

Christopher Wicks, the designer and creator of all things English Laundry, was born a child of the Sixties in Manchester, England. In his early years,he found solace sketching shirts, shoes and guitars. What began as a pre-teen pastime, however, became a life long career in designing men’s and women’s apparel and home interiors

His first full-time design opportunity came at the age of 22, when he became a designer of men’s formal shirts for one of England’s largest gentlemen’s shirt manufacturers. The passion for stripes, collar shapes, pearl buttons and French cuffs that he gained during these early years has stayed with him throughout his career, which eventually led him away from gentlemen’s apparel to the more in-demand realm of sportswear.

Wicks is obsessed with fashion, music and his hometown of Manchester, passions that are evident throughout his unique and distinctive designs. His signature styles are inspired by music of the 60’s and 70’s as well as the music culture of today.

Wicks’ passion for design was recently recognized by the Fashion Industry Guild of Cedars Sinai Medical Center as their 2010 “Man of the Year”, an award that has previously been given to design luminaries such as Maurice Marciano of Guess and Dov Charney of American Apparel. Mr. Wicks also joined the board of trustees for Otis College of design and has been awarded the designer of choice by Otis for the year 2012 at a gala event on May 7, 2012.