Aitor Throup is a Buenos Aires-born, Burnley-raised artist, designer, and creative director. He is best known for his conceptual menswear label New Object Research, which debuted at London Fashion Week Men’s in 2013, and for his ongoing design studio A.T. Studio, based in a repurposed cotton mill in Burnley, England. His work is characterised by a rigorous focus on anatomy, movement, and garment engineering.
Key Facts
- Born: 1980, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Based: Burnley, Lancashire, UK
- Education: BA Fashion Design, Manchester Metropolitan University (2004); MA Menswear Design, Royal College of Art, London (2006)
- Label: New Object Research (debuted 2013, London Fashion Week Men’s)
- Industry: Menswear, Art, Fashion Design
Background
Throup moved from Argentina to Burnley at the age of twelve, where he became immersed in football culture and the clothes that surrounded it — particularly Stone Island and C.P. Company. This early fascination with functional garments rooted in subculture shaped his entire design approach. He completed a BA in Fashion Design at Manchester Metropolitan University with first class honours in 2004, and graduated from the Royal College of Art with an MA in Menswear in 2006. His RCA graduate collection, When Football Hooligans Become Hindu Gods, won the Collection of the Year award at the fifth International Talent Support (ITS) competition.
Career and Collaborations
After graduating, Throup opened A.T. Studio in east London in 2006 and began an extensive period of consultancy work. He redesigned the C.P. Company Goggle Jacket for the brand’s 20th anniversary in 2009, and collaborated with Stone Island on the Modular Anatomy and Articulated Anatomy series. From 2010 he worked as a creative consultant for Umbro, designing England’s official 2010 World Cup football kits. He also served as creative director for British rock band Kasabian from 2011 onwards, directing album artwork and music videos.
In 2013 Throup launched New Object Research, presenting at London Fashion Week Men’s. In 2016 he was appointed executive creative director of G-Star Raw, overseeing the mainline and Raw Research lines. He departed G-Star in 2018 and announced a new, as-yet unnamed menswear label in 2019, with an initial line — The DSA — derived from his long-running Daily Sketchbook Archives Instagram project.
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