Looking For Margiela in His New Book
- story Chioma Nnadi
When the new Maison Martin Margiela book showed up on our desk last week, we weren’t surprised that the cover was plain ol’ white-on-white. Margiela has been fashion’s most famous phantom for over 20 years now, and the last place he’s going to leave clues for his identity is on the cover. Just like his clothes, nothing about the book is straightforward—he eschews the traditional foreword format, sprinkling black and white photocopied letters and essays in-between the pages instead. There’s a handwritten letter from Jean Paul Gaultier who talks about the time day he hired Margiela as his assistant, and another from French Vogue EIC, Carin Roitfeld who attaches an adorable pic of her and stylist Emmauelle Alt lounging backstage at a Margiela show in 1992 to her note. All the seminal MMM moments are in there too, like the crazy pointed-shoulder trend he kicked started in 2007, or the supersized jeans from his “life-size” fall 2000 collection, where everything is blow up by 150% to 600% from the original dimensions. For conceptual eye candy value, there’s even a page of mugshots featuring rugged Margiela male models past and present—we’re putting our money on the blond bearded dude (bottom row, fourth picture in from the left) being the real Margiela.
Big In Japan: New North Face Purple Label
- story Alex Frank
How many times a day must we bemoan our inability to convert dollars to yen? High Snobiety brings us images from The North Face’s Purple Label, sold exclusively in Japan. It’s just the latest in a string of American labels (Levi’s, Woolrich, among others) that give their best off-shoot lines to the Japanese market and keep us Yankees in the dark. Japanese store Nanamica has the entire line, which includes essentials like color-block velour backpacks and floral duffles.
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posted on Nov 2, 2009 in STYLE NEWS tags high snobiety, Levi's, nanamica, north face, North Face Japan, purple label, Woolrich Woolen Mills
Stylee Fridays: Albert Hammond Jr on Style and His New Suits
- story Chioma Nnadi
- photo Guy Eppel
Albert Hammond Jr launched his line of suits for Confederacy earlier this month, a collection the fashion press had been eagerly anticipating for months, and something we’d been quietly hoping he’d do for much, much longer. There are few men that can run the sartorial gamut of suiting quite like Hammond, and with everything from epaulettes on hunter-green suits to stunningly spiffy three-pieces in the line, it all looks and feels just like him. Alongside stylist and Confederacy store owner Ilaria Urbinati, Hammond put everything together from start to finish, and when he spoke to us via phone from his parents’ house in California, he was already percolating new ideas for round two. Read the full Q&A after the jump.
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posted on Oct 30, 2009 in Homepage Top Spotlight, STYLE INTERVIEWS, STYLEE FRIDAYS tags Albert Hammond Jr, Confederacy
James Brown vs Ali in No Mas’ Rumblevision
- story Chioma Nnadi
It’s been 35 years since George Foreman and Muhammad Ali met on Zairian soil for their “Rumble in the Jungle”—or as some would have it—the Fight of the Century. NYC-based clothiers No Mas are celebrating the anniversary of Ali’s victory with Rumblevision, a series of animated shorts in which artists like David Rathman pick and mix pivotal rumble moments (the rope-a-dope, the press conference, the epic TOK) in bluesy watercolor. Illustrator James Blagden on the other hand, goes off on a pretty amazing and fantastical tangent for his short, staging an entirely re-imagined rumble where James Brown goes toe to toe with Ali in a puff-sleeved, flared-leg onesie. It’s really more of a soul-powered dance-off than a real fight, and kind of like what Celebrity Death Match, might look like if you crossed it with America’s Best Dance Crew.
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posted on Oct 30, 2009 in STYLE VIDEO tags David Rathman, James Blagden, James Brown, Muhammad Ali, No Mas
A Continuous Goldberg Presents: The Pop Up Flea
- story Alex Frank
After conquering the internet with A Continuous Lean, a blog dedicated to the greatest in American menswear, Michael Williams’ next step seems to be eliminating the middle man altogether. For a few days in November, you won’t just have to stare through a computer screen at all the gorgeous sweaters and shoes, you’ll be able to buy them at the Pop Up Flea, a style bazaar that he’s co-hosting on Mulberry Street from November 20-22. There will be plenty of opportunities to compare Barbour coats and wool knits with fellow New York gentlemen and purchase some new pieces to boot. You might even be able to get some in-person shopping advice from Mr. Williams, which would make it a hell of a lot easier deciding which plaid goes best with your Red Wings.
Staff Affections
- story Alex Frank
Every Thursday, FADER style assistant Alex Frank asks employees and employers at our favorite shops around the world what their most cherished in-store item is at that exact moment. This week, we caught up with New York’s Assembly.
Edun x Jo Ratcliffe for War Child
- story Chioma Nnadi
It’s been a bit of a wild thing week for us, starting with Beast Mark and now rounding out with Edun’s T-shirt and T-dress series with artist Jo Ratcliffe. The white-on-black images are pretty terrifying and amazing, and what’s more, a percentage of the proceeds go towards the charity War Child. The limited series is available here starting today, for one-month only.
Duckie Brown and Odin Release New Images of Edward
- story Chioma Nnadi
We’ve been following updates on Edward, the highly anticipated Duckie Brown/Odin Collaboration for months now, and a about a fortnight ago were treated to two lookbook images on WWD. New pictures are trickling in thick and fast of the collection which is said to be 17 pieces deep and all comfortably under a $500 price point. Edward will be in all Odin locations on November first, and the waxed cotton jacket and double-breasted charcoal number are the sharpest, most elegant antidote we can imagine to a Halloween night of Jabba the Hutt costumes and Pee-wee Herman impersonators.
Itemized: The Petit Bateau Mariniere shirt
- story Chioma Nnadi
Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would’ve done a column on who we’re dating but that seemed a little bit much. This week Chioma Nnadi writes about the Petit Bateau Mariniere shirt.
Designer Malia Sias Marks the Beast
- story Chioma Nnadi
If you’ve ever come face to face with a set of googly eyes staring up from a drain pipe, paper towel dispenser or condom vending machine, then you’re already familiar with the work of designer/artist Malia Sias. Her latest project, The Beast Mark, pays homage to her unwavering dedication to animal prints, with feline photo collage tees, beaded wolfman earrings and all the best wild girl pieces to build around the bestial look, like acid wash motorcycle jackets and skintight denim leggings. Alongside her new line of women’s wear, Sias blogs about animal kingdom fashions, diligently sourcing out four-legged thrift store art, pictures of Liberace in head-to-toe leopard skin suits, and lots and lots of doe-eyed creatures. We’re just waiting for the day that our trashcan gets plastered with hypnotic snake eyes.
