Ernest Sabine Brings an Aspirational Perspective to J.W. Hulme
November 26, 2018
Nicky Campbell
“There’s a lot to do,” said Ernest Sabine, the designer and founder of accessories label Ernest Alexander.
Ernest Sabine inside his studio.
Indeed, the CFDA member has a lot on his plate, certainly since stepping into the role of creative director at J.W. Hulme Co earlier this year. Sabine oversees the artistic direction of the 100-year-old brand known for leather accessories. He now finds himself split between New York, where he lives, and Minnesota, where J.W. Hulme is based.
Not that he seems to mind all that back-and-forth travel. The Boston-born designer is ready to take the historic brand into the future. With a hands-on approach, Sabine spends much of his time going through the product and archives while working in tandem with the team on development and prototyping.
J.W. Hulme F/W 2018
J.W. Hulme F/W 2018
Sabine’s mandate is bring the brand, which he called “a bit under the radar,” to the level of public attention he believes it deserves. He hopes to transform the legacy brand into an accessories powerhouse to rival others.
J.W. Hulme F/W 2018
“I started by just getting familiar with their core, classic products,“ Sabine noted. “How do you go in and do something different and relevant? I think that it’s definitely a challenge when you have such a history and customers who expect things to be a certain way. My job is to not hold onto the past. It’s really about paying homage to the classic silhouettes, but giving them a bit more relevance in terms of design.”
J.W. Hulme F/W 2018
Sabine’s plan extends well beyond design. He is also in charge of marketing and brand imagery. For his first campaign for the house, he stepped away from the tradition of using customers and instead personally cast the models, then flew in a photographer from New York to photograph the campaign in Minnesota.
“There needs to be aspiration in terms of how you are presenting yourself,” he acknowledged.
It’s about keeping our roots and not changing too much, but dialing things up to a more aspirational level.
His love for men’s accessories attracted him to the gig, and he seems the perfect fit for it. “The trick is to get in the headspace of a slightly different customer and their taste,” he explained. “Functionally, separating those helps. One day I wear one hat and don’t think about anything else.”
While this could seem overwhelming to some, Sabine remains unfazed and welcomes the challenge.
J.W. Hulme F/W 2018
“It’s nice to step into an entire ecosystem where there is less pressure on me to run the business and I can focus purely on design and branding,” he said. “All the finances and aspects of running a brand are quite stressful. To just be a designer and a creative is really refreshing.”
Explore the full JW Hulme Collection here.
