James Andrew is a designer of Cuban-English origins. The designer clearly stands out among his peers – when other boys went crazy for toys, young Andrew was in love with Tom Jones’ bell sleeve shirts with pink and mint green cuffs.
“I have always been fascinated by style, fashion, interiors, architecture, art, and how people lived” he writes on his blog What Is James Wearing. “As a child I could not wait to devour the latest GQ, my mother’s abandoned issues of Vogue, books and iconic films.”. Before he had an occasion to fulfill his dreams, Andrew was outed by his sister and subsequently disowned by his mother. Left penniless, Andrew chose the security of banking and commodities trading rather than exciting but risky career in design. However, he couldn’t change his fate.
The designer was so unhappy in his job that he decided to quit and started working for Ralph Lauren’s Home Collection : “I dreamt of a very different way of life – where people traveled the world, wore amazing clothes, lived in beautiful homes and had fabulous parties. It’s not surprising that I became an interior designer!”. His career started to develop rapidly and in 1998 when Andrew found himself working with his childhood idol, legendary Albert Hadley, in his company Parish-Hadley. Years later, the designer decided to open his own firm, James Andrew Interior Design.
Andrew is a virtuoso of design, creating sophisticated compositions rather than concentrating on one particular object and matching everything to it. The perfect balance of his interiors is achieved due to the careful choice of furnishings and accessories – not a hair is out of place. Andrew skillfully mixes patterns and colors, going from vivacious yellows to serene blues. His British roots reveal themselves in soft rugs, classical furnishings and homely aura, so characteristic for James’ projects. Thanks to brilliant placement of art pieces and antiques, his interiors are closer to galleries than ordinary bedrooms or living rooms.
When it comes to the fashion sense, Andrew and Oscar Wilde could easily become the best of friends. An elegant dandy and trendsetter, James puts as much thought to the contents of his closet as to the designs of his spaces. In 2008 he started a blog, www.whatisjameswearing.com, which was immediately spotted by renowned magazines such as Elle Decor and The Telegraph. The initial idea appeared after Andrew’s boxing trainer told him: “James, you have such great style you must start a blog!”. Although initially the designer was not too enthusiastic, he decided to give it a shot and was astonished with immediate success: “People respond to my sense of style: I am constantly getting looks and comments, both good and bad. After all, if everyone liked what I was doing I would think I was surely doing something wrong! Thankfully, most of the feedback I get is good. “. The message of his outfits is to dress the way you want and be original instead of mindlessly following the fashion.
http://www.whatisjameswearing.com/who-is-james/
https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/james-andrew-interior-designer-what-is-james-wearing/
The designer was so unhappy in his job that he decided to quit and started working for Ralph Lauren’s Home Collection : “I dreamt of a very different way of life – where people traveled the world, wore amazing clothes, lived in beautiful homes and had fabulous parties. It’s not surprising that I became an interior designer!”. His career started to develop rapidly and in 1998 when Andrew found himself working with his childhood idol, legendary Albert Hadley, in his company Parish-Hadley. Years later, the designer decided to open his own firm, James Andrew Interior Design.