Steve Edge is not wearing his diamond-encrusted shoes today. But not because he considers a casual lunch meeting over a plate of fish fingers and peas an occasion unworthy of the bling. On that the branding guru is vehemently clear.
“There is never a reason not to dress for a party, darling,” he says, wide-eyed through his thick-rimmed glasses. “Look…” he smiles and glances down to his feet, which flash and sparkle in the darkness under the table courtesy of a pair of electric blue glitter Giuseppe Zanotti trainers. Twinned with a one-of-a-kind Dries Van Noten flower power jacket and a pair of made-to-measure Oliver Benjamin trousers, the outfit is one of many that make up Edge’s trademark look – eccentric, creative and tirelessly dedicated to being different.
And he can pinpoint the exact moment he decided that embracing the weird and wacky was the only way. “In most poor, Jewish families there is a rich aunt, darling,” he says. “Particularly in the East End. When I was nine years old, I visited mine. She had cabinets full of beautiful china and cut crystal. I asked when she used it and she said: ‘On special occasions.’ She died the next week.
“I was the youngest of six boys so always got hand-me-downs but my mum made sure I had one party outfit. After my aunt’s funeral I went home and said: “Mum. Guess what? I am going to wear my party outfit every day from now on. I won’t ever wait for a special occasion because it won’t ever happen. And I did. I have dressed for a party every single day since then. And every day the party has come to me.”
Coming from someone who has worked with Salvador Dali, trained monkeys on the set of Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, helped design the Millennium Falcon and used to commute to work every day on a horse called Queenie, it is hard to challenge the claim – bold though it might be. And now Edge wants to bring the party to property. But is it an invite the sector is going to be clamouring to accept?
The self-titled Lord Shoreditch talks branding, hoodies and reveals how he plans to disrupt the real estate sector one outrageous outfit and sea of expletives at a time.
Creating a legacy
Severely dyslexic, Edge struggled through school before finally finding his niche when he was introduced to the legendary filmmaker George Lucas. He set up his own branding agency, Edge Design, 30 years ago. Now he has hundreds of staff working out of two offices and an impressive client list.
For a while he focused on working with retail and hospitality brands, and he has been linked to some of the biggest names in the business – Hix, Dior, Cartier, Fortnum & Mason, Annabel’s Group and Marks & Spencer. But over the last decade he has been working increasingly closely with the construction and property industries and counts Urban & Civic, Wates and Argent among his clients.
Edge Design is the brains behind the branding of Argent’s new R7 building at King’s Cross. “The vision for Argent’s building was to deliver something that would appeal to the tech industry,” says Edge. “The flexible floor layouts designed to accommodate growth, and the large, open-plan ground floor level that houses an arthouse cinema, retail units and a restaurant that is open to the public are what makes it a unique space.
“We decided to use the working title for the building, R7, in order to establish Argent’s legacy within the area. Taking the pink façade as inspiration, we used fluoro pink as the lead colour and created an oversized brochure to reflect the creative space that Argent and the architect, Duggan Morris, have created.”
But while some big names might be calling in the cane-wielding Edge for brand consultation, for many a big question mark will most likely hover over the relevance and value of such a service, if they would even consider it at all.
On one hand, now does seem to be the era of the brand, both in London and the regions, as developers are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that the right name, vibe and personality can be the making of a building or a scheme. But do they need someone like Edge to help them get it right?
Clear messages
“Some people really don’t get me at first,” Edge concedes. “They look at me and think: ‘What is that? Is he gay? Is he weird? Is he mad?’ But once they get to know me they soon realise I know what I am talking about.
“And that’s the thing. I know what I am talking about. Everyone thinks they are a branding expert. But they aren’t. It is a skill. Have you ever noticed how you have a blank piece of paper and no one knows where or how to start? Then as soon as someone puts one thing on that piece of paper everyone has an opinion. ‘I wouldn’t do it like that,’ or ‘how about changing this to that’. Suddenly everyone is involved there is a load of noise and what could have been a beautiful thoroughbred horse turns into a camel real quick.”
And this, insists Edge, is where he comes in: “I bring big ideas and know how to take a lot of information and turn it into something clear and simple,” he says.
“It is often really hard to do that from the inside. I can go into huge multi-million-pound businesses and tell them straight their logo is terrible and their brand is awful. And you have to cut things right back.
“Don’t go throwing five balls at people: ‘this is who we are, this is what we do, these are the people we work with, this is what our mission statement is.’ It goes on and on and too much information kills people. You want one, clear message and then you have to have the faith to leave it. Feed people with just enough. Just enough so they get it, understand it and want it. But not so much that it gives it all away. You want to hold a bit back, allow people to fill in some gaps with their imagination too.”
Telling stories
But what is the real commercial value? Even if Edge can convince the great and good of the property sector that his expertise is unrivalled – and his track record is pretty impressive – there is another layer of persuasion to get through. How important is it really to get your brand spot on? And will getting it wrong actually see the business suffer on a major scale?
“Why do we need strong brands?” says Edge rhetorically. “Well, I would say very much, wouldn’t I? But we do. Especially now everything is digital and there is so much noise. We are bombarded with thousands of messages and images and brands and company names every day. So it is more important than ever that you stick your head above the parapet.
“And we are all time-poor. We fit meetings into meetings between meetings. So you need something clear, sharp, arresting. The right brand will really help with that. It is who you are, what you are. Brands are about stories and people remember stories.”
And he adds that the real problem with brands does not often stem from a name. It is all about the story.
“You can have a bad name as long as the story works. Just walk down the high street and look at the shops. God, there are a lot of stupid, weird names out there. But they are actually great companies. It all comes down to the way you sell the story behind the brand to people.”
Party outfit
And what about the Edge brand? Whether people love it or hate it, it rarely goes unnoticed. It has been a key part of his strategy, has opened doors and is one of the biggest tools in his networking armoury. But is it real?
“God darling, I would be exhausted keeping this up day in day out,” he says, again gesturing at those shoes. “I would be knackered. I couldn’t do it. This is the real me.”
So he never has a day off? Never lolls around on the sofa in tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie? “A hoodie?” he says, so shocked a forkful of fish finger stops midway from his plate and hangs in mid-air as he slowly turns to repeat his question. “A hoodie? Are you having a laugh?”
So that would be a no, then.
“Absolutely, darling. No. No way. Like I said, dress for a party every day and that party will come to you. It has worked for me my whole life. And anyone can do it. Anyone. Whether it’s a great tuxedo or a little gold backless number. If anyone out there has anything like that in their wardrobe and they look at it and think ‘I will wear that one day’ for God’s sake, get it on tomorrow.
“Because you know what? If you wait for that special occasion you will be waiting your whole life.”
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