Look at these wholesome boys.
They’re on the invite for Christopher Shannon’s show next Tuesday.
What wholesome thoughts they must be having!
Let’s have a look at the nitespots they have attended.
Or wish they had attended.
Helter Skelter.
Raindance.
All Night.
Their five-a-day diet.
Wholesome to the core.
OMG cannot wait for the Christopher Shannon carnival of wholesomeness!
He’s always wholesome, right?
OMG!
It’s five days until the menswear shows!
For spring/summer 14!
And everyone’s doing those weird stories where they get designers to show them their sketches and moodboards in advance!
Weird!
Like, isn’t there meant to be some element of surprise to shows?
Like, isn’t it much more interesting to judge a collection on the clothes themselves?
Like, how many times can people be “inspired” by J*m*s B*nd/Th* R*t P*ck/M*d M*n?
Like, isn’t too much importance put on people’s inspirations and themes? Isn’t it just lazy journalism? Isn’t ingenuity, cut, make and fit the be-all-and-end-all?
And anyway, no-one’s going to tell you their real inspiration – i.e. make a better version of something that sold well last time round, then introduce some new things that will hopefully sell well this time.
OMG THOUGH!
Let’s make a dream menswear moodboard for the upcoming fashions!
Dream Menswear Moodboard pt1.
Sharpay.
Specifically, Sharpay’s oeuvre in High School Musical 3.
****PURE MENSWEAR INSPIRATION****
Inspiration for men’s accessories.
For footwear.
Would love to see these at the Savile Row presentation.
All round attitude.
Manbags.
Skirt length – perfect for JW Anderson.
Hair and grooming.
Sharpay!
Dream menswear moodboard pt1!
More to come!
Possibly!
As this summer continues to be the one that never was in the UK, there are some bits that I’ve pretty much given up on wearing.
Until I was on holiday last week.
With a pool.
In need of hot poolside moments.
Cue the amazing T-shirts of Sir James of Long.
Do you think:
a) there’s a whole heap of photos of me posing in said hot poolside moments by a pool,
or
b) there’s thankfully not a single picture of me in said hot poolside moments in existence?
Obviously b).
Hey!
Here’s some pics instead of said hot poolside James Long T’s on a hanger on the back of my door!
Hot poolside moment No1!
So hot!
Hot poolside moment No2!
Total hotness!
Hot poolside moment No3!
Hotness incarnate!
OMG you can totally get hot poolside moment No3 on the world wide web!
At that LN-CC!
Here’s their model wearing hot poolside moment No3.
Though not by a pool.
In a studio.
It’s £160.
Oh and obviously there’ll be an Indian summer and it’ll be glorious in September and October and all will be well in the world, don’t you worry.
I’m just back from a week in Greece, getting some rest before the men’s shows begin in six days time, and have been catching up on the news I’ve missed.
One bit has made me excited indeed.
Some backstory.
On January 15th, I finished my review of the AW13 Giorgio Armani menswear show in the Financial Times with the following words.
“The day dawned with the news that luxury conglomerate PPR had bought a 51% stake in Christopher Kane. That marriage of a French blue-chip buying into a small British label brings into focus the isolated state that Milan finds itself: no new designers, no sense of how it can make itself relevant in the 21st century.
I wonder if Mr Armani could provide the solution. His business is profoundly successful. Wouldn’t it be an interesting move if he were to ape Bernard Arnault and François Pinault, and used some of that money to set up new, separate fashion houses? It could happen in the same way that Comme des Garçons created a label for Junya Watanabe. It is something that could provide new impetus to his own work. Just a thought.”
Then, in my round-up of the Milan shows on January 18th, I wrote:
“Milan has an air of diminishment about it. It is clear that fashion houses all act independently of each other, without any unified attempt to preserve Milan’s status as a fashion capital. Italy needs to work out its own way of discovering and supporting fresh talent.”
So I was very pleased to see last week’s news that Giorgio Armani is to offer his showspace in Milan to young designers, including full technical support.
It means that young designers will be able to show on a schedule without having to subsidise their own venue, with the implicit support of Armani himself.
Mr Armani said of the decision: “We need concrete actions to support Italian fashion, initiatives that give more strength and a feeling of novelty to Milan’s Fashion Week. It is for this reason that I decided to make my theatre on Via Bergognone available for the fashion shows of some of the most promising designers, who can count on my building’s technical services.”
The first designer to benefit from this is Andrea Pompilio.
He’s new to me, but is already stocked in places like Jeffrey in NYC, 10 Corso Como in Milan and online at thecorner.com.
It seems apt that in a city built on commerciality, and without a tradition of radical design, that the definition of “young designer” is someone already with stockists.
I really mean it: each city has to find its own way of nurturing young designers. London has the counterculture and colleges that allows all our idiosyncratic new talents to flourish.
Milan is a city full of young designers from around the world who went straight from graduation to work behind the scenes at the big Italian brands. Many take that route to learn the ropes in the industry before launching on their own.
Milan could have its next generation of new name designers already working right under its nose. If the big brands are canny, they could launch these young designers themselves as protégés, just as with Com
Here’s Pompilio’s AW13 collection, which he showed at Pitti – a mix of women’s and men’s.
I look forward to seeing his Milan menswear debut at 11.30am on June 22, and hope all the editors and buyers in town will go out of their way to support the initiative.
They’ve been clever with the scheduling, so that the show is just round the corner from the one before – Stefano Pilati’s debut at Ermenegildo Zegna.
There’s no excuse not to go.
I think it’s super important that Armani is taking this action. He plans to do the same during the women’s schedule, which is similarly stuck in a rut of familiarity.
There’s other interesting stuff happening in Milan. During the men’s shows, the new board of the Camera Della Moda, their version of the BFC, will be introduced.
Previously Milan has felt like a city of brands working independently from one another. But suddenly the Camera Della Moda is about to become cross-party.
The new board includes Patrizio Bertelli, CEO of Prada and husband of Mrs Prada; Diego Della Valle, owner of Tod’s; Angela Missoni; Ermenegildo Zegna; Renzo Russo; Silvia Venturi Fendi, and Carla Sozzani, owner of 10 Corso Como.
During the last menswear shows in January, Milan was a depressing place to be.
Maybe soon it can become again a city of engagement and optimism.
OMG nothing to see here!
NOTHING!
No point hanging round waiting.
Go now to jacksunnucks.net!
The site of my compatriot!
Much more fun!
Because…
I’m having a Proust-a-thon!
And won’t post till I’m done.
OK here’s what I’m really reading.
Go now!
!!!
OMG I’m taking two virgins to the ENO to see La Boheme tonight.
Opera virgins, obviously.
They’ve got six kids between them.
We’re going to weep BUCKETS.
It’s Jonathan Miller’s production, my first time seeing it.
Here’s the trailer…
I’ll update with updates on the virgin’s experience if I can see through the weeping and buckets.
It’s on till 29th June… Perfect first opera experience for virgins… click here etcetcetc…
I just saw this posted on Facebook.
A two hour video of the closing week of the Paradise Garage.
Extraordinary.
One of the comments on Youtube is “keith haring at 1:26:12″
To be watched now, immediately, in full, forsaking all else.
Tonight those dear boys Agi & Sam are having a knees up to launch their Topman collaboration, which goes in stores on June 4.
Here’s an obsessive close up of some of the best bits.
I love this printed jacket, which is part of a full suit.
That’s the glamour and decadence of Topman HQ’s decor in the background, by the way.
The collection is all about a fictional football team called The Owls, and this print is what they see as a man-made nest.
The blazer is an extraordinary garment, and will cost £140.
The matching trousers will be £60, the shirt £40.
There’s also a single deck double-breasted blazer in an eggshell abstraction print.
Here’s those buttons.
About which I was so excitable, the photo’s a bit, um, blurred.
It’ll also be £140.
At the heart of the collection are football shirts for this fictional team The Owls.
Lead sponsor for The Owls being Agi & Sam, obvs.
Here’s one.
The wording on its tab at the bottom.
There’s also a football shirt with owls on it, like this one.
The badge.
Both football shirts are £50.
I love love love the nest blazer.
But weirdly I also love love love this super simple sweatshirt.
Printed on it is the name Agi…
…& Sam.
Aaaah bless!
It’s £55.
Much jolliness in the press kit.
Football cards of Agi…
…& Sam.
Here are little figurines of Agi & Sam that you’re meant to flick with your finger for some reason.
Something to do with pretending it’s a game of football.
Doesn’t it hurt your nails?
Agi & Sam!
Topman!
Jolliness abounds!
I just realised I never posted these images of Wolfgang Tillman’s current show at Andrea Rosen in NYC.
It’s images from his Neue Welt project.
I was looking through my images of the time, and the images of his images sung out.
So I thought I should put them up.
This one in particular.
And this one.
And this one.
The show’s still on at Andrea Rosen till June 22, totally go see.
Ohmygod.
We have some sudden contenders for the coveted prize Best Sweater In The World.
Sibling.
Not surprising since sweaters are their bread and butter.
Here’s their Best Sweater In The World contender!
It’s so amazing.
Riot scenes painted to look like Toile De Jouy.
Here’s a riot scene.
And another.
And another.
And another.
Amazing!
It’s one of those sweaters that everyone comments on.
Like, everyone.
And is an absolute pleasure to wear.
What might seem audacious on the hanger becomes charming on the body.
Thus making it a strong contender for Best Sweater In The World.
Ever.
I’ve also got matching trackpants, obvs.
OMG how long till the next Sibling show?
How long?
Three weeks!
Is it three weeks?
Or less than three weeks?
Eeek!
Amazing!