Robert Ledingham

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Robert Ledingham of Ledingham Design

You look very nicely put together. Well, I try to be. I tend toward almost unstructured jackets, like this one. It’s a Zegna. It’s cashmere, and the price reflects that, unfortunately. I could have got it for $1,400 if it was wool, but it was around two grand. The pants were about $250 from Quorum on West Georgia; they have their own line of clothing. I don’t want to describe it as created with budget in mind, but it is. They have some very smart, sporty clothes. What’s the style like in your office? It certainly isn’t a suit-and-tie atmosphere anymore. Many years ago, I would wear a tie all the time. People dress a lot more casually in the design world than they used to. Do you ever wear jeans? Um, no. The younger kids on staff do. When do you get really dressed up? If I go to the opera or to some concerts downtown. I think that’s about the only time I put on a tie, other than funerals. The opera’s getting pretty casual these days too. That’s true. At one time people really did get dressed up, but now they go in anything. You’ll see guys in sandals with their feet showing or in Adidas or something like that. It’s sort of too bad. What do you look for in clothing? I look for things that are fairly simple. I will tend to wear shirts in more daring colours than many people. I’m not afraid of wearing pink or bright colours. There are some design offices where black T-shirts and black pants are almost a uniform. I know an architect in Chicago who won’t buy anything unless it’s black. What do you think it is about black and creative types? Well, let’s face it, it is more slimming. If you put a few pounds on, it does help that way.