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A blog dedicated to the interesting, scandalous, useful and cutting edge in the world of men’s style, fashion and grooming.
The occasionally cantankerous A.P.C. honcho Jean Touitou just sat down with Hypebeast’s Eugene Kan to expound on the state of modern clothiers. But when the conversation turns to America, he gets a little carried away and moves towards nationalist body snark. We’ll forgive him for choosing Serge Gainsbourg over the Ramones, but this requires an explanation»
Wallpaper’s recent tour of Paul Smith’s favorite objects taught us a lot about the designer, but most importantly, we learn that Sir Paul is not a man who suffers boredom quietly. Describing his new train-set briefcase, he drops the following knowledge:
I used to take the train set to Japan on my many early trips. I’d produce it when I was bored stating that “I’m bored, I’m going to play with my train set.” As you can imagine this caused great shock and surprise but also a lot of fun and helped establish my personality with my colleagues in Japan.
Of course, we’ve felt the urge to break out a train set during an interminable meeting more than once…but something tells us it’s a bit different when you’ve got your own multi-national brand. It’s still whimsical, but there’s a touch of the terrifying boss in there too.
James Toback’s documentary Tyson comes out today, but the director’s relationship with the iconic boxer actually goes back two decades, to when Iron Mike was just a 19-year-old up-and-comer. The movie has moments of humor and sadness—sometimes at the same time, as when he calls Don King a “wretched, slimy, reptilian motherfucker” who “would kill his mother for a dollar.” (But how does he really feel?) We sat down to talk with Toback to talk about whether he’s scared of the champ, Tyson’s curiously strong knowledge of 19th Century poetry, and the perils of the eight-day acid trip.
Kempt: So, Mike Tyson: Crazy or misunderstood?
JT: Certainly misunderstood. Crazy, only in the sense that he’s not a conventional, linear person, and is on his own channel, in a kind of uncompromising way.
K: So why do so many people think this guy is nuts?
JT: Primarily the ear-biting and the rape conviction. I think if you take away those two things, the perception would pretty much be gone.
K: You’ve known Mike for 20 years. Has it ever been scary working with him?
JT: No, [but] he said something interesting after seeing the movie: “You know, I always used to wonder why people said they were scared of me. [After] watching the film tonight, I’m scared of that guy.”
The Dow may be surging, but it’s going to be quite some time before that money trickles down to the average man of style…much less the average shop-owner.
Hypebeast recently had the same idea as us, and approached some of the wiser boutique men and label owners with notebook in hand.
Streetwear isn’t exactly our scene, but the lessons are more or less the same: cut back on stock, streamline production, and try to ride the whole mess out. The most surprising takeaway is the longterm effect of all the sample sales you’ve been seeing. We aren’t usually inclined to speak ill of the occasional 80% discount, but labels and shops need high margins to keep afloat, which makes it hard to imagine what the sample sale scene will look like six months from now.
It’s important for brands and retailers to stay agile these days, but good ideas have been in remarkable short supply. To that end, we’ve reached out to some of the brighter minds in the business for an impromptu thinktank. If you’ve got any ideas of your own, feel free to let us know.
Not all great minds are bloggers, so the latest in our ongoing series comes from the retail side of the equation.
Portland’s Winn Perry is one of the rare independent boutiques that manages to steer the mainstream from outside of New York or Los Angeles, and establishing a style stronghold in a small city takes a whole lot more than just a good eye for clothes. So naturally, proprieter Jordan Sayler has a few interesting things to say about keeping afloat in troubled times.
Our friends at Style Salvage just joined the ongoing conversation about the luxury industry’s response to the recession with some wise words. The takeaway? “There is definitely a sense that the industry has lost its way.” There’s a new kind of customer out there, and firms need to figure out what the new customer wants.
But don’t get too nervous; it’s nothing a few bloggers can’t sort out.
We steer the good ship luxury through these treacherous economic waters»
We’ve been shopping our musings on recession-chic around to a few other bloggers to see what ideas they came up with, and so far the response has been nothing short of intriguing. A Suitable Wardrobe has been one of our favorite trads since we started in the blogging game, so we thought we’d start things off with their response.
If his ads are any indication, Tom Ford has seen a lot, so we figure he’s picked up a considerable amount of wisdom along the way.
So we’re glad Details managed to keep him in one place for long enough to dish out some life lessons. The results vary from his morning routine (ice cubes over the eyes) to his unvarying commitment to tuxedos.
The big design revelation is Ford’s distaste for the high-cropped suit jacket…but it makes sense that he wouldn’t much go for the waiter look. As for the sexual revelations at the end, let’s just say he takes swinging very seriously.
Tim Hamilton does Uniqlo
In the tight circle of New York designers and the rising tide of young, American menswear creators, indie comer Tim Hamilton is a clear standout. As well, his limited collaboration with Uniqlo, the Japanese superstore that has also recently worked with Loden Dager, is a far cry from the designer-stamped wears one might find at Target. In anticipation of the line’s retail debut on Friday (show up early, guys) Hamilton gave us a handful of his precious minutes to explain the origin of the line, how it differs from his signature collection and his favorite Japanese dishes.
In our never-ending thirst for knowledge, we sat down for a few words of wisdom with Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, veterans of urban education and creators of Public School, the rugged, multi-purpose streetwear label that hits stores mid month.
Kempt: What is the inspiration behind Public School?
Chow: New York City—of course—and anyone who’s ever survived public school. Our man is someone who’s well-traveled and appreciates details.
Kempt: So than who is your ideal model for Public School?
Osborne: We are our best models.
Kempt: How modest. What parts of New York inspired this line—and don’t say your apartment?
Chow: I don’t think it’s any one place. It’s more of the idea of New York, all the five boroughs. Moving around the city and just collecting that energy everywhere you go.
Kempt: What are your favorite haunts in the five boroughs?
Chow: Max probably goes out more than me—but Bar Pitti and Freeman’s for sure.
Osborne: Naw, naw—I don’t go out that much. I just go with the wind. Someone tells me something’s going on, I’m gonna go.
