'Aplace' to look!

I have discovered a really informative website, which keeps updated about design, and they offer information on cool, kooky brands. www.aplace.com is a Scandinavian magazine and fashion boutique. They are based in Stockholm and the store has a brilliant range of brands which include Opening Ceremony, The Local Firm, and Norse Projects.

How I Get Dressed - Paul Weller

Paul Weller is commonly known for being in the coolest band of all time (in my opinion), The Jam! He also spent time making great music in The Style Council and now is still a contemporary artist with his solo career at it's peak. Paul Weller is a musical inspiration to me, aswell as this he is my style icon, he is the man who I look at for ideas when buying clothes and when designing clothes. Paul Weller, also known as the 'modfather' has grown up with an obsession for the mod culture and style. This was seen mostly in the Jam where his typical outfit would be a tailored suit and bowling shoes. He has carried this appreciation on throughout his life, changing styles slightly as his music has changed through the times. However, he has still kept the undercurrent of the mod style obvious in his appearance, which can be seen in his sharp edgy clothes and structured hair styles.

I have found a brilliant article online which gives you a great insight into how Paul Weller become obsessed with detail and mod culture from when he was just a young lad. He also discusses what he likes about this style of clothing, which has filled me with new ideas for completing my designs...this article was found on www.guardian.co.uk

"I come from a time when every kid dressed up. Everybody. If you didn't, you wouldn't be able to hang out. It was very tribal. There's nice things in that. It's culture, it's roots for me. Maybe I just never grew up, mate."

"When I was a kid in Woking, every week you went to the football dance, and every week the top kids would be wearing something different. You were constantly trying to catch up with them - which you could never do because, by the time you'd saved up enough to buy the item, they'd moved on to something else. That's the whole Mod thing I suppose."

"This was the late Sixties, early Seventies and we were all post-skinheads - suedeheads. We were little peanuts, too young to be proper skinheads. But those styles permeated down to the kids anyway. The main strand that forged it together was that American-college look, the Brooks Brothers look: the cardigans and sleeveless jumpers and the buttoned-down shirts and the Sta-Prest trousers. That was the common ground. It was a way for people who haven't got much to make a show."

"I can remember original Ben Sherman shirts being around till the early Seventies. I had to really save for my first Ben Sherman. We used to buy Brutus shirts, which were much cheaper - second best. But Ben Shermans were the sought-after item. The first one I ever got was a lemon-yellow one. I must have been 12, 13, and it was a bit too big for me. But being a kid I didn't realise you could take it back to the shop. I wore it till it fitted me."

"It's the aesthetic that sticks in my mind. The colours and the look of things have stayed with me. It meant everything to me. It was a statement of intent. And I thought, wouldn't it be nice to have a Ben Sherman as they used to make 'em 40 years ago, or whatever it was. So I spoke to Ben Sherman about doing my own design, based on how they used to be, as near as dammit anyway. With a few little modern touches. I just did a little sketch, put all the details in: the bigger collar, bit more like a contemporary Italian collar, a few little touches here and there. It's not rocket science."

"That love of detail, the Mod thing, it's eternal for me. It's ingrained, I don't even think about it. I get a buzz going into a furniture shop - not even to buy things. Just to see the roundness or the cut or the shape of something. It's all art, you know what I mean? There's a shop down Knightsbridge way, it's all Italian furniture - it's like walking into an art gallery. And most of the decent clothes are made in Italy as well, aren't they?"

"I think my love of detail comes from the whole skinhead thing in the late Sixties, early Seventies. But even having said that, it must come down to the individual. I'm sure my contemporaries who were little skinheads at the same time as I was, if I talked to them now about the cut of a trouser, they'd be like, 'What are you on about? It's just a fashion we went through'. Which is right in some ways. But to me it meant more than that. Evidently I was looking at all those details and studying it. So I guess it was down to the individuals interpretation of what you care to see."

Creating a Check..

This is the first project where I have ever attempted to create a check which would be used in repeat to form a pattern for a shirt. I have produced 2 checks which I am happy with and quite a lot that don't work. I want to keep researching and gathering information into creating checks because I have started to learn that there is certain ways to do it and certain ways to avoid if you want a successful design.

Below, are 2 checks I have designed which have gone into a repeat and then visualized on a shirt as you can see at the beginning of this post.

Lyle & Scott's New Archive Range

Often seen amongst young lads and gals on the street is Lyle & Scott's Vintage range of clothing which offers a slim fit and has edgy aesthetics. Their new range uses the same principles of design as the vintage range, focusing on indie and modernist principles. However, these new designs push the boundaries and really echo decades of styles from the company. I love the bold graphic approach to design and the use of colour combined with historic/modernist influence really makes this collection contemporary.

The Very Special, Specials!

Filmed at the Old Grey Whistle Test in October 1979, The Specials transformed the British music scene with their style and their sound..

"If you were 12 in 1979, the Specials were easy peasy lemon squeezy the greatest band on the planet. The sort of band you can't quite imagine not existing before. Of course, style over substance is any easy sell in the pop charts, and you have to assume that the vast majority of the millions of catalogue rude boy clones who cat walked the shithole of Britain’s high streets over the following few years were fashion victims of the lowest order (check Stereotypes or Do Nothing for the bands response). The difference being that, perfectly packaged as they were, the Specials were substance wrapped in checkerboard. Who else could mention the Irish Republican Army and the Ulster Defence Association in a dance track? It turns out I, and millions of others, nailed our colours to the right mast at the time, and try as I might I still can't find a single chink in the armour of The Specials legacy.

First, they looked fucking great. If you weren't there, Britain was transformed into a mail order version of The Wailin Wailers album cover almost overnight, though it probably didn't know it at the time. Before the birth of the woeful sports casual, the working class dressed up for the weekend and the easily attainable and striking evocation of mid 60's Jamaica was too irresistible for those who founds punks sartorial alienation just that bit too alienating." The Specials Website.

The Specials have also been celebrated by Fred Perry with a collection of clothing for The Specials 30th year anniversary. Both band, and companies message and style have become timeless. The clothing produced can be seen here.

Fred Perry Photos

I have found some great photos on Fred Perry's unofficial facebook page, sent in by people from all round the world. These clearly show the style and culture of the brand and their market. Some of these images inparticular show how the brand is worn by casuals, aswell as showing how the label is still taking influence from the 60's and the mod period.

Deck Shoes

The deck shoe is going to be big hit with men this summer, The classic look of a navy blue or brown deck shoe worn with a pair of rolled-up chino's or skinny jeans will be seen everywhere. I love these shoes and own a pair myself, because the style of them, it is perfect for looking smart and casual this summer, and they seem to go with anything! They look neat and stylish and could suit many people due to the colours available from the high street.

90's Preppy

Definitely a new trend that is coming through this year, I have found a great article on asos about this 90's preppy look which shows the full collection and video. It describes this style as being, "all about colour. Eye-popping Balearic brights are played off against soft pastels, symbolizing a culture clash between the White Isle's acid house clubs of the early '90s and the laid-back cool of modern-day old Ibiza Town". I have screen-grabbed these images from the asos article which I think strongly demonstrate the subtleties of this trend.

I'm absolutely in love with this style at the moment, and I am really excited these pastel colours and soft tones have stayed at the fore-front of men's fashion. I think the aspects of this trend which I like is the way the colours really represent a laid-back summer style, and when worn with subtle extras such as the neckerchief it works really well. I'm also glad the deck shoe is back in trend this summer, I hope to write about that shortly.

Templates for Visualizations

I have been drawing up templates that suggest what garments shapes I want to use in my final collection of clothing, I have produced 10 garments which are split into 5 casual pieces and 5 formal pieces. Here are a few examples of what I have been producing on illustrator..

Fred Perry Store, London.

My tutor at university went to London a couple of weeks ago and took these amazing photographs for me, which show Fred Perry's ultra cool HQ. The logo in the shop window is constructed from wood and can be seen to flow all the way back throughout the shop and into the desk. The construction of the logo reminds me of a wave or movement, and because it can be seen next to the red raincoat for instance, it seems to tie in with the nautical theme I am currently looking at. I think the photograph of the 6 images on the wall is a really intelligent way of showing your influences and market. Photo's such as Paul Weller showing the companies awareness of sub-cultures and the photograph of the woman's mod hairstyle alongside the image of Fred Perry during his tennis career really explain what the company is all about. When I present my collection at new designers, the idea of having photographs in picture frames to show the theme of my collection is something I really would like to do.