‘Before I was a musician my career path was following design and manufacturing: I studied engineering and architecture.’ So says Guy Berryman, the bass player in Coldplay, who has been a fixture in one of the world’s most successful bands since it formed in 1997.

‘In 2017 we were looking at having a break for the first time ever. Basically we didn’t see each other in 2018, and I thought: what am I going to do? I started wondering whether I had left my passion for design behind for good.’ Berryman has always maintained interest in his former field, and now he had a chance to engage with it anew.

Coldplay’s bass player, Guy Berryman, has taken his passion for design and implemented it into his new clothing brand

He realised he’d always been interested in clothing in terms of its design. His personal style, he says, is driven by this: ‘I like a type of military, utilitarian style; I love design where form follows function. I definitely don’t follow fashion trends. I’m drawn to good, timeless design.’

Berryman has amassed a huge collection of vintage pieces, many from military sources. ‘Since I became a touring musician, I’ve travelled round the world collecting garments,’ he explains. Some have never been worn, others, like a Royal Air Force parka from the ’50s that he still sports today, bear the marks of their history, something he loves. ‘That coat is made from Ventile and it’s really worn-in, but looks brilliant.’

With the clothes reflecting Berryman’s personal style, a lot of the garments boast intricate and interesting details

So, with thoughts of returning to designing, it was to his collection of vintage clothing that he was drawn. ‘I was looking at how to emulate the type of things I had found – timeless designs with longevity and interesting details. I’ve got jackets in my archive that are some of the most stunning pieces I have ever seen.’

And so began Applied Art Forms, a project bearing all the hallmarks of Berryman’s personal style. ‘I design everything for myself because I want to wear it,’ he confesses. ‘In any artistic endeavour you fall into a dangerous place when you try to design for a market. I only know how to design things that I believe in and want. We’re primarily a menswear brand, even though we shoot on women and present ourselves as unisex.’

Applied Art Forms offers utilitarian garments with military detailing

Instead, Applied Art Forms offers utilitarian outerwear, knits, trousers, shirts, sweatshirts, T-shirts and hoodies, plus accessories, many with military detailing. These include a waistcoat modelled on a ’70s US Army radio operator’s “carrier vest”, a pair of shorts inspired by those worn by the Gurkhas, a parka with a choice of detachable liners, or the star of this season’s collection, a double-breasted cotton jacket based on a French World War I dispatch rider’s.

‘I’m not designing our garments to follow trends in fashion, but to look good now and in the future. My aspiration is to make things that someone will hold up in 70 years from now and say, doesn’t this still look great,’ he concludes.