Tuesday 31 January 2012

Add-To-Cart: Asos Releases S/S 12 Lookbook














    Fresh out of the studio is ASOS' look book for their S/S 12 collection, available to the masses in April. For now we wait, drowning slowly in this winter rain, dreaming of crochet and summer brights...

    For the whole shebang see here

The Kids Are All Right





Sunday 29 January 2012

Palmer//Harding


    Some mornings, I'll open my closet doors and simply stare, frozen in drowsy bewilderment. With years of thrifting, sporadic spending allowances, and the thirst for whatever semblance of ogled runway looks I can find spilling out, I am faced with a quandary that is sometimes too early-risen to face (most notably on mornings after the poor decision of a late night, weekday concert). Do I go with eclectic grunge? 70s romance? Or perhaps the androgynous power look? And then I sigh, shrug my shoulders, and pull at random.

    What I have come to realize is that on such mornings, all I truly want is clean, easy simplicity. And although I hold all of my crazy, statement-making pieces dear, no wardrobe is complete without the staples to hold it all together. 

    The boys of designer label Palmer//Harding are capitalizing on this fact with stunning collections based solely around a certain neglected basic; the shirt...


















    Launched for this S/S of 2012 season at London Fashion Week, Palmer//Harding have taken this often disregarded basic,  and twisted, pleated, and tucked it into works of art. "By focusing on a single garment the designs can be seen in a pure form, without distraction, highlighting the progressive beauty and craft of the garments." An interesting concept. There's no hiding poor craftsmanship, nor overlooking of detail on a crisp white button-up. Which is a good thing, because you would be remiss to pass over the romantic structure and attention to detail in these shirts. 


    Most importantly, Palmer//Harding are reigniting our love for the investment piece. This collection is timeless; one could don that gathered neck short-sleeved number years from now with the trouser cut/jewellery/general adornment of the moment and look just as lovely and put together as if worn today. I know I've been inspired to make my next purchase to a well-tailored staple. My wardrobe (and future sleepy morning self) will thank the boys of P//H for it.


http://palmerharding.4ormat.com/


A rather amusing jab at fashion's latest legal cause célèbre. Is it just me, or have there been more designer litigations than usual of late?

Ye be warned Stephano.

Thursday 26 January 2012

RACES



    Concert season is rolling in once again, and the ticket compartment of my wallet is filling up as rapidly as my disposable income is deflating. It's time for $4.50 Pabst-filled bellies, croaked sales pitches, and cheap sandwich dinners. But hey, it's all for the sake of great music, and God knows we all need something to keep our minds off the early month weather.

    Last night, I battled through said weather for the first concert of the season. Funnily enough, trudging back home through the sleet, it was not the headlining band I had set out to see that was the subject of my post-concert glow, but...the opener. This was the first time this had happened to me. I felt almost guilty; as though I had hooked up with the wing-man of a date...

    Who is this 'other' band? The second party to my betrayal? Los Angeles bred sextet RACES. Combining meticulously composed hard-hitting guitar shreddies, hauntingly flawless vocals, and a unique flow that melds folk, indie, rock, and psych, Races has created a refreshingly fresh sound that has me all gaga and crazy-like. They killed it, here having the dual meanings of having rocked the place, and having completely ruined the rest of the concert. No hard feelings here though.

    Races has released an EP 'Big Brooms' which is a prelude of sorts for their debut LP 'Year of the Witch', available to the masses this March 27th. There is also their first official video, hot off the press, which I have posted for your listening/viewing pleasure below (I don't want to spoil it, but there's a hell of a lot of party balloons and confetti, and the cameo of a certain taxidermy-ed mammal. Rather exciting, to say the least, so make sure to check it out)...

    Which concerts are you most looking forward to/partially starving yerselves for?

 

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Sketch Sense: Richard Kilroy














    I love Richard Kilroy's marrying of detail and minimalism. The clean simplicity of the lines allow for a distinct silhouette, and focused segments of detail highlight the main features of the outfits. A unique method of composition that has me reaching in inspiration for pencil and paint...

For more of his work, see his website

Monday 23 January 2012

For the Boys: Lust Never Sleeps


    This Fall season has been dubbed by many the 'Season of the Suit'. From Prada's parody play on power, to  Louis Vuitton's globe-trotting class, there has been much thematic emphasis on the outward display of refined prestige. Business with Walter Van Beirendonck, of course, was of quite another nature...




















    Antwerp Six cohort Beirendonck entitled his latest collection 'Lust Never Sleeps'; as in, no matter how deliciously prim, proper, and prosperous a man may appear, baser instincts always loom prevalent. Suits? They made their appearance. Although, on this runway they were used as a basis for contrast, a face-off if you will, between the painted primal masks of Papua New Guinea warriors or Caribbean Voodoo priests, and the leather bound cousins of Western sex club fetishists.
    
    As anyone familiar with the WVB archives would expect, the collection held a strong and invasive message, delivered boldly in lively print and strong colour. Details of emphasis were seen in full body leather waders, body gloves, and black rubber padlock charms. Walking canes, usually symbolic of the upper class, were reconfigured into kinky staffs. Some may even note that a few looks were reminiscent of the Nadsat delinquents of Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange"; perhaps a nod to the surging darkness of the teens' primal instincts 'at play'.

    All themes aside, I found the collection to be incredibly wearable, and hope to see some of those cleverly blocked suits and fantastic outerwear on the streets. After all...lust never sleeps, so it might as well see the light of day.