Menswear, London Fashion Week Feb 2010.
Menswear day closes the end of fashion week and showing was Orschel-Read, as worn by Lady Ga Ga; even though he is a menswear designer, she still favoured his black winged trousers from last season. The show was held at The Vauxhall Fashion Scout and began with a model sporting a samurai ponytail, in a brown satin tailored suit with sharp shoulders. There were a few abstracted shaped tops with tribal and asymmetric prints, but his main theme throughout the collection was shoulder detail and clever paneling on his suits and jackets using leather, floral prints and tweeds then slotting them into the abstract shapes that he is well known for.
The next show was Omar Kashoura set in a 1940′s bistro near the Stand, put the romance back into menswear. There were a few high waisted flat fronted trousers overlaid with a thin cardigan or a soft floral satin collared shirt. The suits were tailored to look like they were from another period - but with a modern twist using modern and metallic materials – his collection is elegant and sophisticated. The show and the collection was very well thought out, in terms of how he wanted to present his collection and to set the mood.
A Child of the Jago was the last show to close the fashion week event and was in full attendance. It was held at a Shoreditch venue and a Miss Janet Jackson even managed make a swift appearance. The designer Joe Corre is the son of Vivienne Westwood, who was also there to support him. The show opened with an old man in a hat singing gypsy songs, as the show proceeded it had a eclectic and whimsical approach to menswear. There was an even percentage of casual and formal clothing in the collection; his style was very eccentric but also very wearable. The collection was strong on the whole and memorable, and the pieces that I remembered the most were the camel blazer with the white trim collar and a monkey printed t-shirt worn under a red and white trim waistcoat.
Jimmy King
Gatsby Moving Rubber – Now In The UK
We posted back in 2008 about this hair product line, that comes all the way from Japan. Since then, UK buyers have only been able to buy the product from various sellers based in Asia from eBay – with no UK distribution whatsoever! Very strange indeed.
Having decided that enough was enough with waiting up to 4 weeks for the product to arrive via second-class snail mail from Korea or Hong Kong, The Stylenerds have brought the product into the UK and is ready to buy today.
Retailing at £9.99 including first class postage, it isn’t too much more than the eBay’rs are selling for.
The Stylenerds fully back Gatsby Moving Rubber, as it is definitely up there with the very best hair products we have ever used – and the range, coupled with the clever styling chart, really help gear it towards men who have no idea what product they need, with the seemingly endless number of choices available in salons and the supermarkets.
Available via gatsbymovingrubber.com and coming soon to the Brick Lane markets in the East End of London (watch this space)…
Pop Music, Pop Art, Pop Culture – Acne Pop Classics SS10
Think of Sweden and the first things which spring to mind are: Beautiful blonde women, IKEA, Sauna’s, Bjorn Borg (The Tennis Player and not the Underwear range) & beautiful blonde women.
Well, let’s add Acne into that list of all things good & Swedish. Acne was founded in 1997 by Jonny Johansson and 3 others. Surprisingly, their initial intention was not to become a fashion brand “We didn’t want to participate in fashion in the first place” Johansson continues to explain “We wanted to be on the outside but, of course, you end up in the heat of it eventually”.
Since then, Acne has become one of the most sought after denim brands around selling 300,000 pairs per year and is up there with the likes of: Seven, Earnest Sewn, True Religion, APC, PRPS to name a few…
Acne’s pop classics SS10 is a very casual and versatile collection indeed. There are key on trend pieces like the farmer style chequered shirt and the denim jacket so, if anything, the pictures below are a great guide on how to piece together a great outfit for Spring Summer 2010.
You can find the Pop Collection & denim here
Knowingly Understated – Joe Casely Hayford for John Lewis
I, for one, would not have believed you if you told me this collaboration was in the pipeline a couple of months ago. Now, I’m a believer and Stylenerds attended the breakfast preview event to see the collection before our very eyes.
The preview event was a great way to start the day and the man himself, Joe Casely Hayford was there to answer any questions. I’d also like to mention, the bacon sarnies & croissants were a welcome bonus to cure my hellish hangover.
Anyway, less about food and more about the collection itself. The collection was simply amazing and truly different from any other collaboration on the High Street at the moment (H&M, Uni Qlo or Topman). This is because of the multiple unique collaborations, not only between John Lewis and Joe Casely Hayford, but also with the likes of Barbour, John Smedley, Cheaney Shoes and Liberty.
Each collaboration offers something different from what you would usually expect.
The Barbour jackets featured in the collection, use exactly the same material you would find from Barbour but the tailoring and detail carry that Casely-Hayford influence.
Who is Joe Casely-Hayford?
Appointed an OBE for services to the fashion industry in 2007, Joe Casely-Hayford has enjoyed widespread acclaim for his designs since first making his mark on the industry in the late 1980s. Catwalk collections followed, showcasing on runways in Paris, London and Tokyo. His extensive work in the arts industry has included bespoke commissions for artists such as The Clash and Take That, as well as an era-defining wardrobe for U2. His most recent collection, co-designed with his son Charlie, has been widely praised for its ‘Afropunk’ originality.
The Joe Casely-Hayford Timeline
1975: Formal training at Tailor & Cutter Academy before graduating from Central Saint Martin’s School of Art
1989: Nominated for British Womenswear Designer of the Year
1991: Nominated for Innovative Designer of the Year
1992: Shapes iconic image for U2 designing wardrobe for albums Achtung Baby and Zooropa
2007: Appointed an OBE for services to the fashion industry in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List
2010: Joe Casely-Hayford for John Lewis debuts in stores and online
Stylenerds Recommends…
The lightweight trench coat (pictured below) is the perfect solution if you ever ask yourself the below questions around March – June:
- I don’t want to wear my coat but will it get really cold when it gets dark?
- I don’t want to pay for the £1.50 cloakroom fee!
- I’m going to get too hot on the train and I bet it will be freezing when i get outside what do I wear?!
As a bonus, it can also be packed in a really nice bag should you feel a little hot under the collar.
The Joe Casely-Hayford Collection is available online and selected stores from March.
Check out the images below (more to follow)
Toy Me now @ Topman Oxford Circus
Toy me is one of my favourite jewellery brands and found it quite hard to get my hands on them back in the day. The only place I could remember was on the Triads website. If you didn’t know, Toy me is an Über cool brand from Italy and has seen their master-pieces grace the necks of the Dim Mak’s very own Steve Aoki, Uffie, Soul Wax & Bloc Party.
Apart from their close links to music, Toy me have taken everyday objects and converted them into so really unique pieces of mens jewellery. For example: a pair of scissors bent into a bracelet and a zipper on the end of a neck chain.
Mens jewellery is going to be very big this summer and this is mostly due to “The Rise of Plunging Neckline Tees”. A nice neck-piece will add an extra little something to the deep v-neck or a scoop neck tee. Toy me will definitely answer all your prayers and will be able to offer you something different from Joe bloggs’ oil slicked side parting and his worn out Lyle & Scott polo.
Anyway, lets get to the bottom line, Moses says “Go to Topman Oxford circus because Toy me have perched themselves very nicely on the first floor in the Accessories section!”. As I have said, You’ll find some really nice pieces there and they don’t cost you the earth too!
Go check out Toy me to fall further in love and check out some pics below!
Soulwax
Toy Me X Swear Shoes
Steve Aoki
Bloc Party
Burberry SS 2010 – Behind The Scenes
We have kindly been granted permission by the guys at Burberry to publish exclusive behind-the-scenes images of the campaign for Spring-Summer 2010, featuring the stunning Emma Watson.
This appears to be an interesting venture by the long-established British company, as they target this new generation which are just coming of age and taking fashion into the next decade.
Take a peek at the secret snaps below.
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Uniqlo X +J – Best High Street Collaboration Yet?
Japanese high street retailer, Uni Qlo have teamed up with Jil Sander to create the +J range. On my lunch break, I decided pop over to see what all the fuss has been about. I was greated by a big queue and it took about 20 minutes to be granted access to the Uni Qlo palace on Oxford street.
As you would expect, the range is of high quality and you wouldn’t expect less from Uniqlo as I believe they make the best quality garments on the high street by far. The main difference between Uniqlo and +J is the tailoring. This is particularly evident on the +J suit jackets which have a much slimmer fit compared to Uniqlo’s more casual fit. The rest of the range features some nice little winter warmers which are perfect for this time of year and even some lovely cashmere jumpers.
Previous High Street collaborations may have sounded more attractive, for example, H&M X Comme des Garcons but I have to say, this has been my favourite because of the high quality in tailoring, choice of material and the versatility of the range to create a great outfit as the weather continues to cool. The + J range is only available at selcted stores and online.
