For Daniel Needleman, co-founder of new lifestyle label Primrose London, Primrose Hill has “quiet confidence”. “It’s a proper community in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world, and it carries a particular feeling we call the Sunday morning feeling: unhurried, quietly creative, never trying too hard,” he tells Broadsheet of the neighbourhood, which has attracted bohemians and artists for centuries.
It’s a feeling the born Londoner and his wife and co-founder Hillary Needleman are attempting to bottle with Primrose London, which has just launched with a tight edit of three designs: a cord cap splashed with the word “Primrose” that’s available in navy, green and black – and which Needleman reckons will be the most popular piece; a cotton men’s T-shirt in black or navy reading “the view’s so nice”; and denim totes. While it’s a nod to a specific neighbourhood, the line also references Londoners’ strong ties to their areas – whether they’re born and bred, or landed more recently.
“London can be a big, anonymous, hurried place; Primrose Hill somehow opted out of that,” Needleman says. “Something in the pace of it just lets your shoulders drop – and the lovely thing is, it doesn’t care whether you’ve lived here 20 years or wandered up the hill for the first time that afternoon. The relaxed feeling is for everyone.”
Needleman’s perfect day out kitted in his new line would start on a loop down the high street, up Primrose Hill then through Regent’s Park. “Cap on, tote over the shoulder with the snacks for the kids and dog.” Then it’s off to the Little Bread Pedlar, and brunch at Greenberry or Sam’s Cafe. “If the sun’s out, there’s only one answer: up the hill with the kids, friends drifting in and out, nobody checking the time. Stay long enough and you get the sunset over the skyline – the view that gave our tee its line.”
