Designer Profile: Tom Pike, RCA graduate and part-time designer for Levi's.

Tom Pike has just graduated from the RCA with an MA in Menswear Design. Here he talks to Marian Buckley about his environmental design methods, colour blindness and working in pubs.

When Tom Pike's models paraded the RCA catwalk earlier this summer, there was a definite reaction. In a year when menswear is dominated by a camp punk look (vivid, contrasting colours, fetish details mingled with bold blazers, bondage trews and mohair tops), Pike's tongue-in-cheek, straight-from-the-street outfits stand out. This is credible, casual clothing that straight men can wear.

Pike's graduating collection put Nike's swoosh alongside self-branded Pike graphics. But Tom's not worried - Nike saw the collection when they visited the RCA weeks before the final show, as Tom explained: "Nike came to interview some students and do a bit of recruiting. One of the Nike women really liked it - I think the other one was a bit concerned but we managed to laugh it off. I told them that I wanted to see if my collection would look viable with a registered retail brand name on it - Nike haven't tried to sue me yet".