Peggs & Son opened in a quiet corner of Brighton’s North Lane in 2000, when big-brand menswear still dominated the city. He wanted something different; a place shaped by curiosity, Japanese precision, British independents and the thrill of finding something new.

Two decades on, that instinct still drives the shop. Peggs & Son isn’t about fixed looks or fashion rules. It’s about the evolution of taste, the pieces that earn their place in our lives and the pleasure of discovering work from designers who care as much as Ian does.

Here, he shares how it all began, what he looks for when he buys and the objects from Isokon tables to his long-awaited Vitra Eames lounge chair that have shaped his own idea of good design.

Can you tell us how Peggs & Son began, and what you wanted to create that didn’t exist at the time?

It was a different retail landscape at the very end of the 90s. A largely pre-Internet world in terms of shopping and traditional menswear designer stores, stocked with big Italian brands, was dominant in Brighton. I had moved to Brighton a couple of years before and developed an interest in Japanese design, as well as the new wave of British labels, such as YMC, 6876, and Product 250. I was young and foolish enough to think I could give it a go. So I opened the doors to the first store in the back streets of Brighton’s North Laine in early 2000. 

How would you describe your approach to style - both personally and in the store’s curation?

I’ll soak up influences from everywhere, partially from an openness to learning and perhaps a lack of self-confidence. I love seeing people who know their style and rarely change, though I’m also slightly wary of people who proclaim their look to be timeless style and not fashion. It’s all fashion and fashion changes. That’s the joy of it. The store's curation changes and evolves, too, as the years pass. 

What draws you to a brand or a piece when you’re buying? 

It’s a great question and one I find difficult to answer. When we go buying collections for the stor,e I always work on ‘first principles’- when we see a collection, do we love it? Do we want to wear it? Do we get that instinctive feeling that it’s good? If we do, then we will look a bit harder and ask all of the questions about it that we need to, is it a good fit for the store? Is the quality of production and use of fabric right? We love finding new things that our customers may not have seen before, too. 

Has your idea of “good design” changed over the years?

I think I’ve learned a lot over the years, so perhaps I have a better grasp of what good design is and what it does. 

What parallels do you see between good clothing design and good furniture design?

They are both things that we all interact with daily, and I wonder if one of the defining facets is that you barely notice them. I bought a nest of Isokon tables 25 years ago, and they’ve been used every day since. I did not know of Isokon’s history and design heritage at the time, but they’ve quietly provided a service for all that time. I’ve owned a pair of Japanese selvedge denim jeans for a similar period of time, and they’ve also served their purpose while becoming somehow nicer over the years.

When you think about your own home, what objects or spaces mean the most to you?

Just after the Covid lockdowns, I had an office built in my garden- like everyone who had worked from home during that period, it wasn’t easy working with the kids running riot, etc. The office became a place I could store all my tat and the few bits of childhood memories I had managed to retain through the years. It also allowed me to have some furniture that I had always coveted. I purchased an Eames desk and Robin day chair and installed Vitsoe shelving (my wife really dislikes it, so I couldn’t have it in the house). So it’s become a little sanctuary, a quiet place I can work surrounded by memories and art on the walls, gifted from friends. 

Is there a piece of furniture or design object you’ve owned for a long time and never grown tired of?

I haven’t owned it for many years, but as long as I can remember, I have wanted a Vitra Eames lounge chair. Being the kind of idiot I am, I also spent a long time looking at every other chair I could find because the Eames seemed too much of an obvious choice. Finally, in 2020, I purchased one from Cimmermann, and without fail, every time I pass it at home it makes me smile. I really wanted to be so precious about it, but almost instantly the kids started spinning around on it, the cats lay on it and occasionally claw it, and it becomes a temporary coat stand, so it wears the beautiful marks of family life. 

What does “slower living” mean to you — and how do you bring that into your everyday life?

Christ, I wish I knew. Life is busier than ever. Running a business and three growing boys doesn’t leave too much time for reflection. I dream of buying a little cottage along the coast, maybe Rye Harbour or Dungeness, where I could spend days reading and walking. One day perhaps. In the meantime, I do have one weekly non-negotiable, and that is a long run into the hills of the South Downs surrounding Brighton. It keeps me connected with the seasons and nature, and it’s a time to think and consider. 

Many of the brands you carry have deep roots in Japan and Scandinavia — what is it about those cultures’ approach to design that resonates with you?

The Japanese eye for detail is unsurpassed, and they can be obsessional and often perfectionists. This creates things of absolute beauty- be it a reproduction of a mid-century military jacket to the futuristic designs of somebody like Kosuke Tsumura. 

The Scandinavians have such a great aesthetic. They’re almost all tall and beautiful and wear things so well. I wonder that because they have such a strong domestic market, they don’t concern themselves too much with designing for a wider world, and so it really hones the look. Almost as if they don’t care what anyone else thinks and are doing it just for themselves, and that is very cool. 

If you weren’t running Peggs & Son, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

I genuinely have no idea. I’ve always been motivated more by what I don’t want rather than what I do.. 

Finally, what’s inspiring you right now a place, a designer, a book, or something more intangible?

Without a doubt, I am most inspired by the people around me. My wife is an incredible woman; she has an energy that I rarely see elsewhere and a certain sureness of direction that I don’t possess. The friends I run with weekly - Professor Angus Carlyle and Jewellery designer Bleue Burnham, both have depths of knowledge I can only hope for. The team atPeggs & son are also a joy. Being surrounded by younger people helps you keep a fresher perspective on the world. 

Discover more about the Vitra Eames lounge chair in our design icon guide.