Random fashion thoughts - Part II (A New Hope)

[OccultaVexillum]

Yeah all of that would be awesome, I was thinking that established companies like that would be off limits though. I was moreso looking for something like Luxire (send samples etc and start a dialogue and have a sample made) or even something in the way that story et fall was set up (small manufacturing plant that is making custom lasts and silhouettes for multiple vendors). There's somebody on here that was having different shoes custom made somewhere in Asia and posting them in recent purchases. Aeglus I think?

 

[OccultaVexillum]



DIY seems like the obvious choice...

Yeah, maybe I'll just find a boot thats halfway decent and reach out to 1000deaths to throw some belts and buckles on it (half srs).

 

[LA Guy]

Yeah all of that would be awesome, I was thinking that established companies like that would be off limits though. I was moreso looking for something like Luxire (send samples etc and start a dialogue and have a sample made) or even something in the way that story et fall was set up (small manufacturing plant that is making custom lasts and silhouettes for multiple vendors). There's somebody on here that was having different shoes custom made somewhere in Asia and posting them in recent purchases. Aeglus I think?

Yes, but Asia is a different continent...

 

[the shah]

So maybe some already figured it out but last weekend I was up in NYC for a top secret assignment with@gdl203. We were shooting a photo editorial for the new Frank Leder FW16 collection that just dropped. I've gone on about Leder enough before, but this collection is bananas. Fabrics are extraordinary as usual, the color schemes are really great and @conceptual 4est selected really fantastic pieces for NMWA.

Anyway if you guys are interested in seeing the results and nerdy write-up (which incidentally touches on a a subject that was discussed here a few days ago) feel free to check it out:

 

[KingJulien]

Not as round and tall as engineer boots. The idea came from a picture of a paratrooper that used his chute straps to tie his boots on because the laces rotted. They were just wrapped around the shaft a handful of times and tied off, and then another one tied around the foot, wrapping between the heel and forefoot, straps hanging all over the place and it just looked cool as ****. I can't even find the picture anymore and when I try and google it I can't find anything. All of the paratrooper boots I see are like riding boots, this guys were like a nylon canvas or something so there was shape in the toes but the rest was very unstructured.
Anyway I agree that DIY would be the logical, and easiest, route. But it would be cool to have one done for real. Thanks for all the tips.

Like these?



Jungle boots

 

[LA Guy]

Like these?



Jungle boots

Visvim does a version of the Seven-hole boots pretty much every season.

These are my favorite version:


but there are obviously others.

 

[penanceroyaltea]

Whoa Christian Kimber's new lower 5th mid tops look really cool. Hope someone looking for white sneaks kops them!

 

[KaleidoscopicK]

Last night, Toronto contemporary menswear retailer (and dormant SF affiliate) Uncle Otis celebrated its 25th anniversary with a party, while showcasing some of their anniversary collaborations with Universal Works, Canada Goose Black Label, Maharishi and Tanner Goods. I brought a friend with me to the event and we had a good time.

The Canada Goose parka and (for some weird reason,) the Tanner Goods black leather tray caught my interest. For a brief moment, I considered breaking my No Canada Goose Rule.

Uncle Otis is one of my favourite clothing boutiques in the city: the staff is friendly and I like their brand selection. I wish I could frequent the store a little more often. Being in business for 25 years is impressive, especially in the neighbourhood they're in.

Here's hoping they stick around for a long while yet.

 

[il_colonnello]



It's not eating your cake and having it too.  It's people not being entirely self-consistent, which translates into just being human.  As a fashion consumer, he very possibly is disappointed with fashion as it is now.  As a fashion designer, he might see the Calvin Klein job as an interesting challenge, or as a person who wants to eat well, he might just see that it's a pretty sweet job.

I don't know if he has to square it since he didn't create this environment. He's just working within it, complaining about what's happened to a thing he loved. If you say his work contributes to that environment, then arguably everyone in fashion is somewhat guilty because everyone contributes it to some way -- the journalists, editors, designers, financiers, shop owners, distributors, etc etc etc.

Maybe everyone is culpable in some way, but since guilt is so widespread, I don't think it's unreasonable for people to complain about the environment and industry they work in.

It's hard to do this any other way at this point. Meaning, even if Raf Simons wanted to completely opt out, do his own brand, and do this totally creative, slow-fashion way, it would be a hard business to sustain (esp at the kind of income that he probably needs to keep up his standard of living).

There's an interview with Jeff Ng, owner/ designer behind Staple, somewhere. I'm too lazy to find it, but he talks about the problem being as such: it's no longer enough to design a good jacket. Once a jacket sells, to keep yourself relevant and in the same stores, you have to do the same jacket in ten different colors the next season. That's just how the seasonal calendar works. Although now, we have pre fall, pre holiday, pre whatever seasons in addition to the two-season SS/ FW calendar.

I interviewed the designers behind Ten C, a somewhat "experimental" concept line, last year. They wanted to do this "forever collection," where they made eight jackets that were supposed to be the best in their class (the best field jacket or whatever) and would never change. That lasted for a few seasons, but then stores were like "in order to keep you on our racks, which is expensive real estate, we need you to introduce new stuff. Otherwise we're just going to pick up another brand and fill that with stuff loyal customers haven't seen." So, they made a few more designs, a few more colors/ materials, etc. And they've become another fashion brand, although not to the speed of Dior or whatever.

There are some brands that are exempt from this, but they tend to be on the CM side of the board. Generally speaking, the fashion system forces designers to keep pace in order to stay relevant/ commercially viable. I don't think any of this would change if Raf designed for his own, small line or a big brand like CK. The system is way bigger than what he does. He's just complaining about it.

I gotta say for a designer who has all but fallen out of favour stylistically around here, Raf's career choices sure get a lot of slack ITT.

I didn't say he created the environment but he sure as hell has been contributing to it. I think it's a bit much to say "he has no other choice" - perhaps it would be more correct to say, if he wants to make $20m a year he has no other choice. I used to think that money wasn't the main draw for him, now I'm not so sure. Anyway, if you are considered one of the world's top 3 or top 5 professionals in your line of work, I think you're going to have to be prepared that what you say in a public space will be measured against more stringent standards than what a regular joe says in an Internet forum. The way he justified his departure from Dior he has certainly set himself up for a lot of ridicule if he doesn't last considerably longer in his new job than the previous one. And if he wanted examples that it can be done differently, he wouldn't have to look far: How about all of the people who he keeps citing as his influences (many of whom Belgians or even living in Antwerp like himself)? Ann Demeulemeester up until recently did purely her own thing, season after season, not giving a **** how the rest of the industry developed or what it wanted or expected (and I don't think she quit for reasons related to that; my impression was she was just "done" with designing clothes). Dries Van Noten has been doing exactly 4 collections per year for decades, men, women, spring, fall, and I assume he doesn't starve.

I totally understand that retailers have a problem carrying the identical 8 Ten-C jackets season after season, but there is a middle way between that extreme and Alexander Wang churning out 20+ collections in a year between Balenciaga and his namesake label.

 

[gettoasty]

And now Engineered Garments is available at Mr. Porter

 

[LA Guy]



And now Engineered Garments is available at Mr. Porter

We will add your uniqueness to our own. Resistance is futile.

 

[penanceroyaltea]

So is Eidos

 

[badeggcat]

Always wondered why UK retailers are allowed to do straight forward online sales for EG. There doesn't seem to be any logic to the restrictions on US retailers.

 

[Lorcan7]

Not as round and tall as engineer boots. The idea came from a picture of a paratrooper that used his chute straps to tie his boots on because the laces rotted. They were just wrapped around the shaft a handful of times and tied off, and then another one tied around the foot, wrapping between the heel and forefoot, straps hanging all over the place and it just looked cool as ****. I can't even find the picture anymore and when I try and google it I can't find anything. All of the paratrooper boots I see are like riding boots, this guys were like a nylon canvas or something so there was shape in the toes but the rest was very unstructured.
Anyway I agree that DIY would be the logical, and easiest, route. But it would be cool to have one done for real. Thanks for all the tips.

Almost sounds like you are describing Palladiums. A lot of their current styles are pretty ugly but a plain pair might be a cheap option to use as a DIY prototype? Would be suitably unstructured. I'm sure there are fashion brands (Visvim?) that have done Palladium style sneaker boots in the past too. I can't imagine a traditional leather shoemaker being interested in the project. I wanna find that photograph now, sounds awesome.

 

[gong]

recs for oxfords that can be worn casually a step above uniqlo quality? find their fit and fabric is lacking