{"id":983960,"date":"2025-12-09T10:43:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T07:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=983960"},"modified":"2025-12-09T10:43:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T07:43:00","slug":"martine-rose-limits-are-good-but-i-like-breaking-the-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=983960","title":{"rendered":"Martine Rose: \u2018Limits are good, but I like breaking the rules\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Martine Rose x Havana Club charity fundraiser<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Gallery \/ 10 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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It\u2019s quarter past two on a Thursday afternoon, and <\/span>Martine Rose<\/span><\/a> has the world\u2019s most professional hangover. I say this because, while most midweek jollies are the product of bad decision making, Rose has just collaborated with Cuban rum brand Havana Club, and spent the previous evening launching her limited edition bottle with a gaggle of friends and family. Given the nature of the collaboration, it would be rude for her <\/span>not<\/span><\/em> to be hungover. \u201cIt was so fun. I think it felt like a family party, actually,\u201d she tells me. \u201cThat was definitely the aim. There were lots of friends and family and industry people, but everyone was sort of mushed up together in this big celebration.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Like all of her previous collaborations, this partnership with Havana Club has deep roots in the Martine Rose world. Rather than saying yes to anything that comes her way, Rose\u2019s collaborations are a seamless extension of her brand, cultural signifiers that mean something to her community. Rose took on the role of guest creative director of Clarks in 2023, a firm fixture of Jamaican culture; her long-standing partnership with Nike trades on the brand\u2019s importance to global youth culture; and this collaboration with Havana Club channels the freedom and joy you\u2019d find at a Caribbean family party, where a bottle of rum is never too far out of reach.<\/span><\/p>\n

But as well as having a party, the launch also doubled up as a fundraiser, where Rose and her team held a charity raffle to help those affected by Jamaica\u2019s Hurricane Melissa. The prizes on offer were a combination of Havana Club goodies and Martine Rose products, including a gold gift bag made especially for the event. \u201cI was in Jamaica this summer before the hurricane, and stayed in the area that was the worst affected,\u201d Rose tells us. \u201cThe Havana event was always going to have a charitable element, and then, of course, the devastation of Hurricane Melissa happened and it just felt like that was the right thing to do. But it was wonderful. People are very generous.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Below, we chat to Rose about the new collaboration, upending the idea of a fashion show, and the enduring importance of community.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Martine Rose x Havana Club charity fundraiser<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Martine<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Gallery \/ 10 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Hey Martine \u2013 why did you want to join forces with Havana Club for this collaboration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> With every collaboration, it\u2019s about a conversation and it\u2019s about a common thread. This one, it really made sense from the beginning for lots and lots of reasons. Obviously the Caribbean connection, and a sense of community building and celebration and joy, which is really easy to expand on. It\u2019s really easy for that to be integrated into our world. So this was one that sort of made sense right from the beginning when it was on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you tell me about the ideas behind the campaign for this collaboration? What sort of references and energy did you want to bring?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> It\u2019s something that we\u2019ve done before for my own brand, all different types of people dancing. For this collaboration in particular, that sense of joy and celebration felt like the right avenue to tap into. And so we knew we wanted to have this sort of fun and humour with it, and this lightness. So it was really easy to come to that conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I look at the different collaborations you do \u2013 whether it\u2019s Havana, Nike, Clarks, etc \u2013 you always manage to integrate them into the Martine Rose world. It doesn\u2019t feel like a logo slapped on a bit of product. How important is that kind of worldbuilding, especially when working with another brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> I\u2019m just not interested or motivated to just create products. It\u2019s just not what I am ever inspired by. When I enter into collaborations, it\u2019s always the relationship comes first, and it\u2019s always a conversation about where it can go. We\u2019re always really ambitious with our collaborations \u2013 it\u2019s not just this sort of churning out. I mean, no one really needs more product. The magic of actually building something with a partner is so much more valuable. That is the spirit of a true collaboration. When you have that relationship with a partner and they trust you, they allow you to take them out of their comfort zone and go into places that they haven\u2019t gone before.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Limits are really good. It\u2019s what attracted me to menswear in the first place \u2013 Martine Rose<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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Did that happen with this Havana?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose: <\/strong>Yeah, for sure. It\u2019s interesting working with alcohol brands, because it is a whole different focus. And it\u2019s very much a product, so you\u2019re like, \u2018OK, how can I communicate something in a very small area.\u2019 If you\u2019re talking specifically about redesigning a bottle label, there\u2019s loads of stuff that you have to try and communicate on it. The joyfulness, the sense of celebration, all of that. You have a tiny square to do it in somehow. To do something that is pretty two-dimensional, and to somehow let that do all the talking \u2013 it\u2019s really interesting. It\u2019s challenging in a great way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you find that limiting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> Well, limits are really good. It\u2019s what attracted me to menswear in the first place. Like there are limits to what men are going to wear. There are rules, and that\u2019s what encourages these really creative solutions, usually. Taking it as far up to the line as you can without crossing it, because once you cross it, it breaks. It\u2019s the same with having a very definite scale that you all need to work within. I actually like working in limits, believe it or not. But I also like breaking the rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

You recently held a charity fundraiser which launched the Havana collab, but also raised vital funds for those affected by Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. Can you tell us more about that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose: <\/strong>It\u2019s so important. I was in Jamaica this summer before the hurricane, and stayed in the area that was the worst affected, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland, which was almost completely flattened by it. The Havana event was always going to have a charitable element, and then the devastation of Hurricane Melissa happened and it just felt like that was the right thing to do. But it was wonderful. People are very generous.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Martine<\/span><\/span>
Photography Pascal Gambarte<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Bringing together a community is one of the things that your brand is best known for, despite how overused that word has become. How important is that word to Martine Rose?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> I mean, you\u2019re right, it\u2019s sort of overused now, so it almost feels like a bit of an eye-roll. Unfortunately, there isn\u2019t a better word that can sum it up. So I have to keep using the bloody word, <\/span>community<\/span><\/em>,<\/span> community<\/span><\/em>, all the time. But I guess in the most authentic way, it\u2019s just always been where our focus has been. I\u2019m not interested in a lot of the other parts. I\u2019ve always been interested and inspired by everyday things, everyday people, and the creative potential in everyone. So it wasn\u2019t an intention. It\u2019s not like when I started the brand, I was like, \u2018Oh, this is going to be really community focused.\u2019 Not at all. It just always existed like that. I guess it\u2019s become something that has become synonymous with the brand, but it\u2019s just who we are.<\/span><\/p>\n

And your last season<\/a> was inspired by market stall traders. Was that a personal thing from growing up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> I mean, I always feel sad that there just aren\u2019t so many markets left for my kids to know. But for me, markets were a day out. Whether it\u2019s going to food markets, clothes markets, stalls with my nan every weekend, the market callers at Kensington Market \u2013 it\u2019s always been the backdrop of London life. They\u2019re getting reduced, but it\u2019s definitely worth celebrating the few that are still around.<\/span><\/p>\n

That specific kind of London life isn\u2019t represented that much in fashion \u2013 do you feel an obligation to be that voice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> No, I don\u2019t feel any obligations at all. It\u2019s just what I\u2019m interested in and always have been.<\/span><\/p>\n

For that last show you also asked people not to be on their phones, too. What was the message behind that request?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> We\u2019ve done it when we did the friends and family show [AW24]. It\u2019s just really poignant for people to put their phones down and be present in the room. It just sort of shifts it a little bit. I want people to really look and be present, as opposed to be this observer. It was just inviting people, I guess, to think about. It really changes the atmosphere.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Trying to fit into this very narrow view of what fashion is, it just didn\u2019t really apply to me \u2013 Martine Rose<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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I think in that way though, you have changed what a fashion show is seen as, or what a fashion show could be, especially in London. Was that an objective of yours?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose:<\/strong> Again, it wasn\u2019t an objective. None of this is really planned, like a master plan, at all. With me, it\u2019s just been this process of discovery and confidence. Trying to fit into this very narrow view of what fashion is, and what a show is, being chic and all of that, it just didn\u2019t really apply to me. The stuff that fit for me was this world building. I was preoccupied with the atmosphere, music, family, friends \u2013 all of that stuff that makes life rich. <\/span>We\u2019re preoccupied with how people feel when they come to our shows. We sit in different parts of the show beforehand, like, \u2018how does it feel when you sit here? What\u2019s your feeling if you\u2019re in this room or in that room?\u2019 We spend a lot of time doing all that stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

And finally, how are you feeling about 2026?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martine Rose: <\/strong>I\u2019m always an optimist. I am, for better or for worse, eternally optimistic. I\u2019m eternally optimistic about people. I really believe in the best of people, and I really believe 2026 is going to be great.<\/span><\/p>\n

Martine Rose x Havana Club is available now<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/69246\/1\/martine-rose-havana-club-cuban-rum-collaboration-london-jamaica<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Martine Rose x Havana Club charity fundraiser Gallery \/ 10 images It\u2019s quarter past two on a Thursday afternoon, and Martine Rose has the world\u2019s most professional hangover. I say this because, while most midweek jollies are the product of bad decision making, Rose has just collaborated with Cuban rum brand Havana Club, and spent […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":983961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-983960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=983960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/983960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/983961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=983960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=983960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=983960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}