Published: May 8, 2026 at 12:14 pm
When I meet James Downes on Leadenhall Street in the heart of London’s insurance district, he is dressed smartly.
But I needn’t feel bad about my trademark BusinessCloud blue hoodie, jeans and trainers; for James wasn’t born in a suit.
“The Blitz was my cohort,” the House of Insurtech founder tells me later, referencing the London club that launched the New Romantic movement in the early 80s and was famed for the eclectic homemade fashion styles of its denizens.
Those Covent Garden Tuesdays helped launch the careers of Spandau Ballet and Boy George. When David Bowie visited, he recruited ‘Blitz kids’ to feature in his Ashes to Ashes video.
More on Bowie later. As for the Blitz, it was where James found a home.