Sharp notes: Kirk Newman on his style essentials

On my wrist

I wear my Breitling Chronomat which has been the only watch I’ve worn for more than 13 years now. It has a very personal meaning to me: I was going through a difficult time when a very good friend of mine made me aware of that watch. I asked him how it was going to cheer me up, and he replied “just put it on your wrist”, and he was right. A well-picked watch can become very personal and a part of someone for a lifetime. It can remind you why you work so hard. My Breitling gave me confidence at that time – and I am still amazed how durable it is. It is very well worn and loved. The design is so classy, too: steel and gold with a navy blue display. It just perfectly suits any style of clothing from casual to very smart. I still get compliments today about it.

In my sights

I am a nature lover and am always keen to spend as much time as possible outside and explore different forests, lakes and beautiful parks but owing to my busy lifestyle in central London I never had a chance to live it. I bought a bicycle four years ago while still based in London and used it only once. Now it has rust all over it and looks terrible. Life has changed for me this year: I moved up to a lovely quiet village in Buckinghamshire and we are still sorting out the new house but I finally have my own garden. I have vegetable and fruit patches at the bottom and I can’t wait to buy a new mountain bike – probably a Specialized one – and explore every piece of land that surrounds this beautiful part of the world.

In my wardrobe

My wardrobe is very colourful: I love coloured trousers, jeans and shorts. My eye is always drawn to the brighter items in a store. I pick up a lot of my clothes on my travels, which makes them all fairly unique. My absolute favourite piece of clothing, though, is a classic white T-shirt. This might sound very boring but I am very specific about the fit and the neckline. If I don’t get the right fit that I like, then I don’t wear it. In 2013, Zara produced amazing white Ts – round-neck with a little wider neckline showing a little of the collar bone, I bought ten in one of their stores in New York, but after two years they slowly started to fall apart, which is normal after many washes. I searched every store in London, made phone calls to their shops, searched online, tried to find the serial number and it turned out they stopped producing them. Believe it or not I then started to research T-shirt manufactures to ask if they could replicate them but this got a bit stressful. I gave up my search and very luckily earlier this year found a T-shirt shape from Nike that is almost the exact same that I love and made of very good material. Guess what, I bought 20 new ones in white, black and blue.

On my radar

E Tautz is a British brand I like a lot at the minute, especially its single-breasted coats – they are so well made and a timeless piece. I also recently discovered Hardy Amies, and could buy up most of the store. Its tailoring is unique for Savile Row; it is very contemporary and it has a large collection of knitwear. It is also relatively affordable.

On my travels

I am a very light traveller: more often than not, I just have hand luggage, and the only thing really that matters to me on my journey is my Nivea cream. People would assume I am using it for my hands or face but I’ve used it since I was a teenager for my hair – there is no other product like it. Every time I go to a hairdresser I get compliments about how thick and nice my hair is; they are always surprised when I say I use Nivea and nothing else. It has a nice texture and gives the hair a natural glow without causing dandruff or the usual glue effect that you get from gels. It remains natural and feels soft. I always pick up a new bottle of aftershave in airports, I have my signature scent – Armani Code – then I like to mix it up with new ones. It’s a great way of killing time in an airport.

In my dreams

If I had all the money in the world, I would probably first call my parents and ask them what they would want – what would make them happy or make life easier. Then I would look after my closest family and buy anything they need. I would also donate to those with less. Even when I’ve had times when I haven’t had much money, I still make a point of helping others less fortunate than me. After everyone is happy, then I would jump straight on a plane and travel the world and enjoy life completely carefree. Travel is the one luxury everyone should be able to afford. I gain more happiness by sharing with others. We will never be happy with all the money in the world if we don’t have our loved ones around us to share the fortune with.

On my agenda

I think when you live in London you take for granted what is on your doorstep. For some reason I haven’t managed to see the musicals Thriller and Lion King yet, which are both on my list. I love musicals and the energy that comes with it. My first ever experience in London of a show was the Cirque du Soleil – and I was mesmerised by the artists and the tension that built up during their performance.

In my past

For many years I travelled the globe opening restaurants as an Operations Development Manager and one of the openings I did was in Boston. The owner of the restaurant gave me a gift with a bag full of random items relating to Boston, one of them was a beanie hat with white letters that said Boston on it. That beanie hat fit me as if it was made for me and became a permanent fixture on my head. Unfortunately, last year I messed up the fabric by washing it too hot. It’s only a non-expensive item but I still miss it. It has taught me to pay attention to care labels on clothes though when I do my washing. Luckily a brand from California called RGD Rhodium Global Design approached me on my Instagram for collaboration and they sent me a new beanie which I now love almost as much.

In my future

I love travelling to places I have never been so if a job were to offer an opportunity to discover somewhere new I’m always going to say yes. I have been the face of alcohol brands, Tequila 1800 most recently, lots of different clothing brands, airlines, sunglasses, hand modelling, the lot, but I am yet to work with a fragrance company. I’d really love to secure a campaign with one of the big fragrance brands and feature in one of their beautiful and timeless campaigns.

On my bucket list

I want to complete my book which is designed to lift people who had really difficult times in life and help bring them back to happiness. I am a good people motivator, which is why I did so well in my last job getting staff motivated.
I am all about positive mental attitude. Whatever darkness or pain people went through, I want to make sure I have tried hard enough to help bring them back to happiness. There is one major rule in my book that applies to people who have a choice in life. In order to make a change you must choose first; once you have chosen you must then do something about it; once you have done it, you will have made the change. There are people in the world with no choice; we should stop taking freedom for granted.

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