F E AT U R E
Gong – Psyche has added the 2018 Drapers Award for
Menswear Independent of the Year to the trophy cabinet.
It means Steve and Psyche have become almost as
well-known to the outside world as industry, football
and the Transporter Bridge when it comes to putting
Middlesbrough on the map, although not all of the
attention has been welcome.
BBC Three screened a four-part documentary series in
2005 about Psyche, called The Secret Life of the Shop.
Steve and his staff were shadowed for a year by director
Richard Macer, but he felt the end product was more
mockumentary than documentary.
“I think a lot of our success in terms of awards is that
they find it endearing that we are all-singing, all-dancing
and we’re doing it in Middlesbrough,” he reflects.
“But the mistake that people make is that they consider
Teesside a backwater, and that’s far from the case.
“It has always been a trendy place, and there have
always been good clothes shops, it’s not just Psyche.
“But I think a lot of the negative press attention our
area gets from down south is just to make themselves feel
better.
“We live in a fantastic place, full of fantastic people, but
I wouldn’t do a documentary again.
“It was produced by a southerner talking in a drawl
and in mocking tones, trying to goad us to do things.
“There were things in there I didn’t want going out and
I felt quite stitched up by it, to be honest.
“For raising awareness of Psyche it was a nine out of
10. For making it look professional as a business to invest
in, it was a two.
“But it means I’m dead used to being in front of a
camera, so there is a positive to it because video is a big
thing these days on the internet.”
Another big plus is that Steve’s relationship with other
half Alex – one of the documentary’s central themes due
to their 21-year age gap – is still going strong.
They have two young boys together, Ollie and
Theodore (Steve’s eldest son Harvey is studying Law at
university) and plan to finally get married at St Paul’s
Cathedral in 2020.
“We got engaged in 2005 but I haven’t got around to
getting married because I’ve always been too busy and I
always put work before my personal life and get told off
for it,” Steve says.
“But I love her to bits. We have a lot in common – she’s
got a first in her degree in retail – and we get on like a
house on fire.
“The MBE means we can get married at St Paul’s,
which will be amazing.”
Steve uses a football analogy to describe Psyche and is
currently kicking on in cyberspace, adapting to the high
street’s tough demands with an increased online presence.
Psyche launched an American website last Christmas,
a New Zealand site hits the internet soon and it will be
followed by a Chinese version.
“It’s exciting times, and if you aren’t trying to score
goals or stop the opposition from scoring, you shouldn’t
be in my team,” he says.
“You’ve got to be fit and strong to compete because it’s
massively competitive online.
“So you’ve got to be the best and strive to improve all
the time. Constant improvement is what I’m after.”
That said, Teesside’s designer don isn’t planning to take
a back seat – or a director of football role, if you will –
any time soon.
“Providing my health holds up, I would like to go until
I’m 70 and then step back and become chairman and
come in half a day here and there.
“There are ups and downs, but I’ve still got the
determination and high energy levels to succeed and
overcome the challenges,” he adds, practically punching
the air to emphasise the point.
Psyche-ing out the opposition, I guess you could call it.
tees-life.co.uk
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