Neil Barrett

Neil Barrett has been designing fashion apparel for over twenty years. Both his grandfather and great grandfather were master tailors, and Neil’s passion for tailoring was cultivated at an early age.



Following his graduation from the Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design, Neil went on to earn his masters degree in men’s fashion design at the Royal College of Art in London. Upon graduation, his designs attracted the attention of Gucci, and Neil was offered his first professional design position.



Working in Florence for Gucci in the early 1990s, Neil gained extensive commercial and industrial experience. He was quickly promoted to senior men’s wear designer. After 5 successful years, Neil presented a project to Prada, proposing the launch of their first designer men’s wear collection.

Under Neil’s direction, Prada became renowned to fashion insiders as the forerunner of “minimalist” men’s wear, and became synonymous with this era.



In 1999, Neil launched the Neil Barrett brand with his men’s collection made in the finest Italian factories. The first, free standing Neil Barrett brand store opened in the trendy central Tokyo Aoyama shopping district in 2001. Neil Barrett joined the Milan Fashion calendar featuring his men’s collection in January of 2002.



Also in 2002, Neil joined forces with the mega-brand Puma, co-branding a collection of athletic sport shoes: Puma by Neil Barrett, selling mostly in clothing stores versus the traditional sport store network.



The following year, Neil Barrett was named Puma’s Creative Director for a series of technical collections originating with Italy’s National Football Team. Team Italia wore Neil Barrett’s “on pitch kit” training and formal wear exclusively ultimately winning the 2004 European Cup title. Neil Barrett became the first fashion designer to ever have exclusively dressed a national football team.



It was in 2004 that the world’s international style-makers began turning to Neil Barrett for their wardrobe needs: Chris Martin of “Coldplay” for his world tour and MTV Music Video Awards, as well as Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo for numerous premieres and awards.



Neil Barrett took particular pride in Brad Pitt choosing to wear his sharply tailored Neil Barrett style exclusively for the launch, premieres and press junket of “Troy”.



In 2005, Orlando Bloom and Ewan McGregor joined Neil Barrett’s Hollywood A-list wearing Neil Barrett to film premieres and in their personal lives. Brad Pitt returned to Neil Barrett for his change in image with “Mr. And Mrs. Smith”, being the first celebrity to wear one of Neil Barrett’s “hand-aged” leather jackets that have long since become signature pieces in the Neil Barrett collection.



The year 2005 ended with Jake Gyllenhaal wearing Neil Barrett for the premieres of “Brokeback Mountain”, and Orlando Bloom for the premieres of “Kingdom of Heaven” and “Elizabethtown”. That same year, in Osaka the second Neil Barrett freestanding store opened.



In February 2006, the Neil Barrett women’s collection made its debut during New York Fashion Week.



For the 2006 World Cup hosted by Berlin, the Italian National Football Team once again sported “on pitch kit” and training gear designed by Neil Barrett in collaboration with Puma. This historic honor was again a first for a fashion designer to design the technical sport kits, Team Italia went on to become world champions winning the World Cup, a unique and magical experience for an Italian-based fashion designer.



Later in 2006, Justin Timberlake was featured on the covers of GQ US, GQ Germany and Vanity Fair Italy joining Neil Barrett’s select group of actor and musician clients.



In less than a decade, the Neil Barrett brand has become a leader amongst young fashion brands

generating skyward of 52 million Euros in combined men and women’s collection retail sales

featuring day and evening wear, shoes and accessories. Neil Barrett’s unique heritage of skilled

British tailoring combined with fine Italian craftsmanship make for his distinctive signature style of

reworked iconic men’s wear details and fit; a timeless quality and perfect balance of wearability

and leading fashion trend.