"Sewing is a contact sport.": Sruli Recht

I'm barely getting to know this designer Sruli Recht but his influences (former employer Alexander McQueen, cyberpunk author William Gibson) and his unique approach to a number of design fields have my attention. While Recht has caught flack for his use of controversial unsustainable materials, and his style is very unconventional it can't be denied his work speaks for itself. And he's so far been prolific putting his hands on a wide variety of disciplines from typography, illustration, to accessory design.






The bottom line, however, is that I just want all of these boots, even (especially ?) the sci-fi swashbuckling ones. Check out the Sruli Recht Fashion Spot interview here if you missed it.

Images via Sruli Recht

Fashion Boldy Goes Where It Has Always Gone Before: Blondes

I will never understand why the fashion industry takes such a backwards approach to diversity, with a few token exceptions designers and casting agents pretend that a small portion of the world's ethnic makeup represent the most beautiful and aspirational of personalities. Very few exceptions have broken this iron wall of sameness. Every excuse in the book has been heard. "I asked the agencies to send me ethnic models but there really isn't any" It's a broken record at this point.

Times Online reports that now designers are using the recession as an excuse to cut back on "quirky" models. The explanations are contradictory:

Dr Abigael San, a chartered clinical psychologist, says: “Blonde hair and blue eyes are known for appealing to a lot of tastes, it’s a classically beautiful look. The association with blonde hair goes back to childhood: we associate these characteristics with forces of good, honesty and trust. We’ve recently been deceived by bankers and politicians, so the need to trust is even greater”.

Blonde hair and blue eyes = good, honest, truthful. As opposed to the blonde haired blue eyed wall-street guys who look like Ken? Here, from the same article, is another curiously antithetical reasoning from Dr. Gail Brewer:

“We also live in a predominantly brunette society — so we are naturally drawn to this look, which is seemingly exotic.

So blondes are both exotic and the most safe. These are two conflicting concepts. I think designers should wrap their head around building a client base that is broad, and has some depth instead of appealing to dull conservative ethnocentrism. Recently some fashion journalists have stepped up to the plate to decry the obvious discrimination against ethnic diversity on runways. This is a problem with a long history. We all remember Italian Vogue's "All Black" Issue from last year. Imagine a world where an issue like that wouldn't be cause for any conversation, where it was unremarkable.

NYmag spoke with model Lisa Kebede in April who sees some positive change for runway diversity. She thinks that first lady Michelle Obama has been making a dent.

"I think there’s a lot more black models working and I think that’s because of having Michelle and Barack out there. I mean there’s been this issue, raised last year — how there wasn’t enough black models on the runways — but I think Barack and Michelle have really helped us, hopefully forever, to get over this hurdle for black models."

I hope she's right.

Introducing MYKROMAG: the thrilling adventures of a young impressionable fashion magazine

In a world where big name glossies are stuffed with bland ad campaigns, boring retreads of the same withered perspectives. In a world where celebrity covers rule with an iron fist, one little magazine will rise up to turn back the tide of banality. One magazine will break the rules.

Mykromag is that magazine. Coming this summer to a newstand near you.

Actually no, its web-based apparently. Which is a bit more convenient.

Its free. And...they have some really nice features with some fresh faces from around the fashion industry. They interview Bronx born model Shaun Ross and designer rising stars like James Long whose androgynous urban warriors are pictured below



Follow the link children.

Crisis and Fountainheads

By now you have all heard the troubling news from WWD that Thom Browne's CFO and CEO are exiting leaving the rumors to swirl about the company's ultimate future. Will it close? Will Thom Browne as we know it be no more after the well-received Pitti Uomo presentation?



I was watching The Fountainhead (starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal). It's not very good but I did enjoy a few things about it. There is a very Randyian unintentionally comedic erotic sequence involving Cooper (as Harry Roark) cutting rock in a quarry, the camera fetishizes his work, progressing to a violent makeout session, and it ends with Neal striking him in the face with a riding crop. The costume design is superb especially for Cooper and Neal (any woman with sense will want the robe she wears in her first scene). Most integral to the film however is the protagonist, Howard Roark, a symbol of Rand's masculine ideal, of defending one's aesthetic ideals in the face of shifting market trends.

Fashion has seen design houses rise and fall with the tumult of caprice. If Thom Browne does close his doors he will be in the company of many designers, some of them very great indeed. However his struggles come at a time when Menswear is the safer arena of fashion. Men's fashion is consistent for retail and actually expanding in both sales and market breadth.

Rand's Howard Roark defies the trend by being a futurist but most artists are not so lucky. Public opinion shifts so irrationally at times and shuns even legitimate work. Its the cliche of the starving artist to be rewarded in death, not by St. Peter at the pearly gate but by St. Sotheby's posthumous auctions and Sotheby's cherubs, the establishment art critics. The best thing about The Fountainhead though is not original at all but classic Aristotle. The good pursued by the artisan, by any virtuous character, is gained in the process of mastering and sustaining his own craft and the discourse of his craft. Roark's ultimate goal is satisfaction in creating dynamic architecture and defies committees and housing boards who insist he alter his designs to make them safer, more conventional. He eschews easy success and material gain for purity of his craft. Whatever end Thom Browne faces as a design house I do wish the designer luck for having a peculiar vision and sticking to it.

Odeur Autumn Winter 2009-2010 RTW

The Muppet Show's Swedish chef was the first experience I had with our Swedish friends. For years my only knowledge of their ways was restricted to Swedish Meatballs and Swedish Fish. After making friends with a die hard punk kid named Karl (who is also an engineer and a very vocal socialist) I began to suspect that Swedes could be awesome and not just muppets and makers of strange somewhat bland foods. Still I tend to think of them as a typically sunny people. Dark modernism doesn't flash immediately to mind. Maybe bittersweet romanticism (themes often visited by Acne). Odeur is making me review my simplistic (possibly racist? reverse-racist?) view of Swedes. I wouldn't say the designers have a chip on their shoulder but I believe the heavier side of utility and minimalism is taking center stage. Bold flowing deconstructed shapes combine with athletic-wear comfort in a welcome marriage of two worlds.

This collection won't be available stateside as far as I know but there are a number of online stores stocking the line such as Grandpa. The prices are actually very reasonable even factoring in shipping costs. I have my eye set on the outerwear.





Images courtesy of Odeur.

Tim Hamilton RTW Fall 2009-2010

I didn't get around to commenting on New York Fashion Week too much, but one designer I felt stood above his peers was Tim Hamilton who continues to excite. 80s minimalism and German industrial design seemed to blend together quite nicely into militant boyish silhouettes. Hamilton has stuck to simple graphic prints and sober usage of color ( few blocky geometric shapes here, a splash of cherry red there).

The line is both rigorously youthful and confidently masculine, bouncing between 60s bohemian roadwarrior and Mod elegance. The patent leather boots in black, and matte leather white pairs are incredibly chic and so severe.

Some Brave Apollo

Would these beady eyed anglo-saxon faces lie to you? April 77 has issued a series of items inspired by the the Apollo moon walk conspiracy. The basic gist of the conspiracy is this: The event that everyone watched around the world, live on tv, was actually an elaborately staged video drama to spook the Soviets. Moon walk skeptics ask if we were able to get to moon in '69 then why is it that now thirty years later we've never returned?

Personally, I don't care. But you can explore that tangent yourself.

Back to earth. Head uncorked from the stratosphere. If the premise and silly product description are set aside (pleats certainly do not protect you from solar radiation, kids), this jacket looks really incredible. Its about time someone revived the memory that astronauts (and pilots) were once treated like rock stars, and were deployed, naturally, in some of the most popular rock songs of all time. (Space Oddity, Rocketman, anyone?) . Who better to honor forgotten rock stars than April 77?

American Double Vision: Thom Browne & Ralph Lauren

I completely missed the memo on Thom Browne venturing into womenswear with Black Fleece but Cintra Wilson visited his shop for a review. Her conclusion is muted optimism but what really interests me is the contrast she draws between New York designers Ralph Lauren and Mr. Browne, their aesthetic and their ideal suited male.

It’s a slightly gothic twist on the Old Money Athletic Club look, originally reified into postmodern absurdity when Ralph Lauren stuck crusty leather bridles and yellowing crew-team photos on mahogany paneling and pronounced it a lifestyle.

But Black Fleece appears too sensitive for sports. Mr. Browne, like Mr. Lauren, nurtures a fetish for the trappings of Old School Preppy, but the Thom Browne alumnus seems to be a bit more pale, less muscular and more (ahem) eccentric. Picture a cross between Pee-wee Herman and Nurse Ratched, only more obsessive-compulsive

Its a fair observation, though I do not share Wilson's apparent antipathy for Ralph Lauren's perspective, it does serve to highlight the radically different take on American sportswear that Browne has carved out. His niche doesn't glamorize Americana as Lauren is prone to do through amber tinted lenses, instead Browne fetishizes Ivy League exaggerating quirky features into stylish neurosis and turns 60s white collar garb into ritual costume.

Two looks from Ralph and Thom's SS09 collections

Ralph Lauren built an empire on wide ties, elitist country club imagery, and snapshots of sporting memories. He built the power look of the 80s, and his suits remain popular with corporate customers. He carved out an entire narrative for his brand. Personally I find it rather admirable that the Ralph Lauren man can go from the ranch, to the bar, and to the office at the drop of the hat. I sadly hear a lot of young people find Ralph Lauren boring but for me there's nothing boring about buttoning into a Purple Label suit. Call me crazy.

Conversely, it's not surprising that many traditional tailors oppose Browne the designer. Browne says uniformity, not individuality, is the definition of beauty. However, his consistent preoccupation with the quirky accidental and his mechanized view of beauty is very different from the system of a men's clothier. But furthermore, Browne is deeply attatched to off-beat superficial artifacts of preppiness. This was more than apparent in his SS09 "tennis" collection. On the otherhand what is strangely alluring about Browne is just that, the odd subversion of conventional American sportswear circa 1960 into a sometimes uncomfortable mix of pageantry, kitsch, compulsive habit, and asphyxia.

two looks from Thom Browne's Moncler Gamme Bleu collection

While Browne and Lauren couldn't be more different, I feel completely at home with both creators, and I've been inspired by both. There is no reason why gender-bending arty design and more subtle elegant design can't exist in the same world. American fashion, particularly in New York, needs to be able to press forward and express itself more liberally, but there's no reason why certain standards and hallmarks can't be enjoyed simultaneously.

Mad Men Costume Designer To Dress Non-Fictional Characters? Me? You?

From Glamour

STF: Designers from Michael Kors to Thom Browne have acknowledged that your work on the show has inspired them...um, how does that feel!?
JB: Last night I met Anne Hathaway [at the SAG awards] because one of my best friends does her makeup. And I was with January Jones and she said "Oh Anne this is Janie, she does the clothes for Mad Men," and Anne Hathaway was like, “How does it feel to be responsible for changing the face of fashion?” and I was like, “It feels pretty damn good, thanks Anne!” It has been incredible, and I’m just glad that it’s really touched and inspired so many people. That’s really the gift.

sTF: Can we expect to see a line of clothing come out of this, or a collection inspired by the show? What kinds of projects do you have going on for the future?
JB: I’m working on some things right now…I hate to be so mysterious but I can't really say! It would have my name attached to it though.

Whatever the project is I will certainly be paying attention. Janie's care for detail could be put to good well in tailored looks for men or women. Hopefully men...not ladies...

Gareth Pugh To Helm Dior Homme?

The blogoverse is rumoring that Gareth Pugh, who has just only a couple of days ago released his first menswear collection may soon replace Kris Van Assche at Dior. Exciting news for the young brit and his fans. Fashionisto culls from Grazia and EDerek Blasberg that LVMH is ready to shake things up It couldn t come at a better time for Dior as it becomes clear Van Assche is not finding his footing with men's collection which started out rocky with his 90s hip hop obsession and has gone nowhere since. Except to retrace, unconvincingly the steps already trod by Hedi Slimane. Dior Homme became sadly dull under Van Assche.

Pugh would be a major break from that cycle in a way that LVMH hopes would mirror the strange success of Galliano for Dior's womenswear, bringing fierce artistic vision to push the the line forward. While Galliano's aesthetic is retro-costume dippinging into fashion's past, Pugh is one of the few names consistently building futurist worlds, though to differing levels of success. He always brings drama but wearable clothes are rare. His first men's collection, seemingly inspired by Hellraiser, is dangerous and dark. Leather pieces embellished with pins defy the rules of comfort. The makeup is a bit haunted house, but Pugh shows rare shapes for a men's show, and also an array of beautifully strange quilted coats. The most desirable being the trench displayed above, though others compete for attention with bizarre sharp shoulders not unfamiliar to fans of Pugh.

What do you guys think: Can Pugh take on Dior Homme?

McQueensbury Rules in Motion

In case you haven't seen it, here's the video to McQueen's great Fall 2009-10 show. Watch it quick before its taken down again, eh?

Rick Owens RTW Fall Winter 2009 2010

Drama Queen? Rick Owens prefers that label over Goth. That label fits uncomfortably the expressive hand present in every look of his Fall 09 collection. Where's the drama? There are searing hot leather jackets here, true to Owen's rock roots, though even there he contorts shapes. Every look is storied, layers of black shift around the figure in all glamorous textures. The clarity of his voice is found year after year on the catwalk.

The boots: slouchy, yet agressive. Necklines fall to mid torso, warmed by handsome fur scarves, or cloaked within one of Owen's beautiful coats. Duvet coats. Crock print coats. The fabric falls asymmetricallly that way, slips this way for a wrap-style jacket. Owens claims Brancusi as inspiration for his work. That reference makes a great deal of sense in the floor length tunics. The rise of simple verticals, columns of black, cut from space, is a persistent image. A large gold crown hangs at their neck. Brancusi's instructor Rodin likewise stands as a source, given the rigidly sculpted male form of the show.

Blaak FTW Fall Winter 2009, 2010

The Blaak man (sorry) will be wearing a tribal look this year. Sachiko Okada and Aaron Sarif have been steadily building the house year after year, incorporating evocative references in details, and providing collections full of wearability. This years show developed a tribal flavor; a shamanistic, and occultic narrative. The looks are nicely complemented with coherent accessories.



Did you notice the studs? It might remind you of Prada's collection shown a short time ago in Milan. A poster on FashionSpot pointed out a striking similarity between Prada's collection and Blaak's Fall 2007 collection which included studded shirts and pants. Well, have a look yourself...



Time for a serious question: does Miuccia Prada hate Blaak people? Yes or no?

A New Look: Yves Saint Laurent RTW Fall Winter 2009 2010

Stefano Pilati returns this season without a trace of the seventies art world playboy of last year. But the sensuous has not been supplanted with a utilitarian sheen, bell-bottom trousers are succeeded by generous long shorts cut to reveal just a hint of calf. It reminds me of a statement the designer made when first joining Saint Laurent...

Calves are a devastatingly undervalued body part. They are so beautiful. Women, at least, can wear skirts. But we have to wear our pants long, long, long. Why?

Color-wise there was a beautiful silk shirt in rich plum, which also the jackets, a house staple. A bold elated blue overcoat paired with a similarly hued plaid flannel shirt. But color as we have learned this season is an extravagance not to be expected. Most pieces are charcoal, black, and white.

Accompanying the show is a video starring Michael Pitt (who still appears as he did in Last Days as Kurt Cobain), in which the actor is admired offscreen by a female speaker. The erotic element is a subdued force of tension between classic pastiche and youthful grunge gesture. The restrained sexual energy is framed by respectable architecture but beneath the surface it threatens.

Does the show have the same slow burning, slow stewing effect of a dark romance? There is an admirable riskiness to the collection but whereas past collections elevated the YSL man to opulence and bygone glamour this show shifts towards a new direction with quieter luxe details and a harder palette.








All images via WWD

Op Art: Hugo by Hugo Boss RTW Fall Winter 2009 2010

A little optical illusion for Fall? While Moschino opted for a bit of french surrealism tromp d'oeil, both Raf and now Boss have been exploring more German wells of inspiration. Though while Raf drinks deeply from Weimar, its a topic he has mined successfully for years, Boss's attempt with Op Art and industrial new wave is rather uneven. Delivering a black and white convection of lines which throw off the eye more than invite a curiousity.



A note should be made at this point, though the topic will be addressed later as I gather the dominant trends for the season. Suddenly everyone is doing capes. Burberry, Etro, McQueen, and now...Boss? Now I love capes, but I'm wondering if the general buyer will want to throw one over his shoulder, and his client's. There were some notable pieces in geometic patterns, a series of taut angular jackets, like a hard edge bolero, and series of knot-less ties also piqued my interest.