From being £30k in debt with bailiffs circling like vultures in 2016 to hanging in the wardrobes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's brightest stars in 2022, no mid-range brand has had the same cataclysmic rise to fame as Percival. Looking at the brand's growth as an outsider, it would be easy to make the mistake that Percival is backed by LVMH-level investment and a boardroom of strategists rather than one man and his close-knit team of just thirty close mates and colleagues. In fact, it's that feeling of sentimentality and closeness that underpins all that Percival creates. And the man in question? Christopher Gove.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
Trials and tribulations of our Zoom connection finally sorted (Gove punches the air triumphantly), I caught up with Gove on the stand-out year he's having with Percival. It's a testament to his considerate character, then, that before I can get a word in, he instead first checks in on me, taking care that I'm not “too stressed and overworked” to be taking his call…
I'm good, thank you! How are you?
I'm feeling a little frazzled. I'm sleeping well, but waking up still tired, because the whole time I'm having stress dreams about red weather warnings and the like. We've opened our first wholesale store this week as well, so that's playing on my mind.
From my perspective, you have nothing to worry about. Percival is killing it right now and seems to be going from strength to strength. Surely that's reassuring?
It's been pretty mad! I've only been full-time since 2017, it began as a side hustle during my decade-long career in marketing. Actually, to call it a ‘side hustle’ feels generous as it wasn't making any money. In fact, it was losing money. It started life in our shop in Soho with a shitty website without much support. Eventually, the bailiffs got sent around as the bank account we were overdrawn in was in my name, and I hadn't paid rent in a quarter.
To cut a long story short, I liquidated the whole company and began selling off the shop's samples to pay off the bank. Interestingly, I sold all of the samples online in about three days, and that triggered the real light-bulb moment that the online, direct-to-consumer business model was the way to go. From there, we just worked drop to drop, using one to fund the other, and that flexibility allowed us to grow, even as a small team of just me and my production manager Paul Strong, who's also a close mate.
Something that always strikes me about Percival is its unique levity, in that the garments are striking and serious in their design, but the brand is undeniably humourous in how it presents them. How did that approach come to be?
Thank you! I think I'm so caught up in the business that I sometimes forget to read and listen to nice things about it. The humour comes from a response I had to the kind of hipster era when I started the brand back up again. 2017 was fraught with wax moustaches and man buns and a kind of taking-yourself-very-seriously vibe that I just couldn't get behind, but for some reason the brand really seemed to attract. I remember thinking ‘what the fuck?' – I hated that pretense about menswear. That's when the manifesto became about pointing fun at yourself – humour contextualised by good design – and I actually think that embodies a sense of Britishness, which again is a key element of what the brand is about. Who wants to be serious anyway?
Do you wear a lot of Percival yourself?
I'm the only designer, so yes absolutely, at this stage it's almost all that I wear. In particular, I can't stop wearing the retro tracksuit bottoms, but the linen suits and boucle shirts have really made up the bulk of my hot-weather wardrobe.
You also work with a lot of comedians, whether in your fashion film adverts or in collaborations. James Acaster and Ed Gamble from the Off Menu podcast immediately spring to mind. It's a very literal representation of Percival's intersection of design and humour. How did that working relationship come about?
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
It came around just through mutual friends, really. Rick Edwards, in particular, who has always supported me and the brand since even his T4 days. It was actually incredibly organic, and I think that's why it made so much sense to people. It began as not so much a collaboration, but just us helping them step up their merchandise to make something they could be really proud of. Collaboration is also a great way to develop your products and grow your audience, and this seemed to strike a chord.
We all listen to Off Menu actually, so the whole team was keen and excited to get into it. It really began when I was just chatting to Ed [Gamble] because he's big on his menswear, and we were chatting about fabrications and quality, leading into a chat about how great fans deserve great merch, and that they ought to make something more premium.
And, of course, James had to begrudgingly get involved. In truth, he and I are both a bit awkward, but he goes along with it all and I reckon he loves it secretly. The shoot is great fun too, we just have a laugh and it feels organic. It's a combination of brands that makes sense.
.jpg)
And Percival is no stranger to collaborations, is it? You've teamed up with Champion on two sell-out drops, plus Camden Hells and Classic Football T-shirts.
Well, we all love football – both playing and watching – so again it seemed like a natural move for us. I try to leverage those things that we all like at Percival, that way nothing feels forced and we maintain ourselves within it — which feeds into that modern English brand identity in a way.
Of course, the biggest development in Percival's cultural history has come in the past few months — you're officially in with the MCU! How does it feel to have Chris Evans, Paul Mescal, Tom Holland, and the Rock wearing your designs, among others?
In all honesty, I've been working too hard to stop and think about it, but it is pretty major. I think Tom Holland was the first, but it was the Chris Evans polo in particular that made an impression on me.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
.jpg)
I actually created the design with my four-year-old daughter. We were just painting; I was doodling some designs whilst she took on another rainbow or dragon or something, but then she started painting onto one of my polo designs and I thought… wow, that's actually great. Let's create a knitted polo that looks as though it's been painted. And when Chris Evans rocked up in it, sales just soared. I think we got as many as two hundred orders in one day.
Instagram content
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
It also seemed to start a pretty major spiral. I think we had The Rock wear a polo to the DC League Premiere and Paul Mescal wear Percival to a Cartier event a few weeks before that. I have no clue how the Rock is getting into that polo, but I'm glad he is. The Rock seems to me to be the final boss of menswear.
Do you ever get “pinch me” moments? That is an unbelievable journey, from liquidation in 2017 to dressing the Rock in 2022.
I think so! I mean, I just go home to my daughter, come back the next day and keep going. I do get buzzed off it, but I forget sometimes, and that's the nature of work I suppose. All these things come down to luck, connections, and enthusiasm, and they have to happen organically. It's gratifying, but we put in the work, and we will keep putting in the work.
To check out Percival's red-carpet-walking designs among other goodies, keep an eye on their new arrivals page. You can follow Gove and Percival's rise to sartorial fame at @percival_menswear on Instagram and @_Percival on Twitter.
NOW READ
Paul Mescal is the latest celeb to succumb to the almighty Percival polo shirt
Chris Evans' best-selling Percival polo is about to get a mammoth restock
Six pieces from Tom Holland's wardrobe that you can (and should) add to your own
