17/12/2012

The Legendary Christmas Sweater

The Legendary Christmas Sweater

Legendary, Iconic? Yes, we would go as far as to say that the Christmas sweater is up there on the legendary and iconic fashion statements. Bad taste, cheesy, festive and fun? Oh yes! But did it start out with this intention or has it gained this reputation due to the publicity it has received via films and media and how is it rated now?

Existing since the early 1950s, the Christmas knitted patterned sweater was offered to the family by auntie or grandma who would knit a unique festive pattern and family members would wear it for the occasion. Patterns and applications slowly became louder and more sparkly and generally more outrageous, creating a somewhat tacky over-the-top look.


The whole idea of being given these sweaters and feeling obliged to wear them added to the un-coolness. Certain famous figures evoke the image of the Christmas sweater, think Bill Cosby; he has to have worn the record number of dodgy patterned knits. So then who put the cringe-worthy item back on the fashion map? One memorable moment would have to be when Darcy, actor Colin Firth is seen sporting his reindeer sweater in the Bridget Jones movie. He managed to pull it off and gave the sweater a certain new sex appeal.


Right now it is a hot item, high street retailers are cashing-in on the scene, top end designers such as Paul Smith and of course charity and vintage stores are great places to pick up an original 80s or 90s style creation. Even better: make and customize your own! It also seems it’s no longer about sophisticated Christmas parties and wearing your best frock, but Christmas sweater parties are a must, with competitions to win the cheesiest sweater. Rather fittingly, in the UK today there’s the official Christmas jumper day, with wearers encouraged to donate to the charity Save the Children.

Well isn’t that what Christmas is about, good spirit, festive fun and giving? So be sure to be seen wearing one, after all ‘tis the season to be jolly’.

Tamsin Cook

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13/12/2012

A Way Of Being Oneself

A Way Of Being Oneself

A project by students a bit over their twenties which became a brand. Born in Germany in 2009, although in a few years it conquered the most niche European markets, A Kind of Guise cares to maintain its design office and production in Deutsche territory. Their biggest talent? Knowing how to communicate strong. Communicate what? A lifestyle. Through video, teasers, images and slogans. The style is nice, the language intelligible and the quality of garments excellent. In today’s world that runs at 2.0 speed, it is not enough anymore to get your hands on a good product, you must be able to generate the public’s desire to own it.


Tell The Blogazine how and when did A Kind of Guise start? Nobody knows who you are nor how many you are. This is an intention to focus only on clothes and not on the designer, or what?
Well, first of all, we want our products to be in the spotlight, not the persons behind it. And secondly it has never seemed important for us to publish our names or see them printed somewhere. But it’s not a secret, we are 5 people coming from different backgrounds (like fashion, music, art, film etc.) who try to translate all their influences into the products. The whole thing started off in the summer of 2009 in Munich, as a little student-project, but soon more people joined the team and we are still growing (slowly but strong).

Your taste of style is very precise and coherent. This is a trend overflowing around the world, but in particular way in Europe. Such a country, old school, fifties, mormons attitude. Where do you look for your inspiration?
Inspiration comes from everywhere. Books, music, photographs, the people around us, our family and our friends (who we still want to design the stuff for).


Communication. It is a massive point of strength in fashion today, and you work on it very well. How do you manage your communication and image strategies, that are so funny and powerful as well?
Honestly we don’t think so much about strategies. Of course we set schedules and release-dates, but style-wise it’s just us you see in the pictures. There is one important word that may sum it up: Passion.

Proudly Deutsche production. DNA and quality fashion could be a way for young designers to capture and ride on the market? What’s your personal experience and your point of view about it?
Well it’s a basic decision you make before you start. And for us it was clear that we want to build strong, long-lasting and honest quality products. So you start searching for a proper production which is regional, close, easy to communicate with etc. There you go, we found that in Germany.

Sum up in three words A Kind of Guise.
Analyse. Solve. Believe.

Antonio Moscogiuri Dinoi

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30/11/2012

The Fisherman Sweater; From Function to Fashion

The Fisherman Sweater; From Function to Fashion

What could a fisherman not do without? Apart from his net and boat of course – a truly hard wearing fisherman sweater. We take a look at this traditional unisex garment and see how it is still worn today by fishermen but also how it has become an iconic fashion item.

One of the earliest brands in the field, The Guernsey‘s sweater ‘Gansey’ dates back all the way to the 15th century, knitted by the fishermen’s wives. These first popular sweaters were knitted with a tight hard twisted yarn, that is both durable and water repellant.


Believed to date much later, early 1900s is the Aran sweater from the Aran Islands, off the West coast of Ireland. They were priginally knitted by the fishermen’s wives before sending their husbands out to sea. The unscoured wool meant that the natural oils in the wool made the garments water repellant, a perfect warm and protective piece to protect the fishermen from the rough weather conditions.

Each region or port developed their own knitting pattern and it is believed that if the fisherman drowned at sea, if he was returned to the port of origin, he could be identified by the pattern on his sweater by his family.
 Both the Aran and the Guernsey sweater have stitch designs signifying nautical or religious elements. The honey comb stitch is a symbol of the hard working honey bee, the diamond is a wish of success and wealth, whilst the cable represents good luck and safety at sea.


The Aran sweater was popularized in fashion terms during the 1960s by the Irish folk band The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Maken who created their signature look all dressed in cream aran cable sweaters. Steve McQueen brought a whole new look to the aran sweater as he was seen sporting a cable knit in the early 60s, making it a lot more stylish and iconic as a garment, leading the way for many more memorable “cable fashion moments”.

Today the fisherman’s sweater is not just a traditional heritage sweater but also a fashion statement worn by both men and women. That is the beauty of such original and authentic garments which are a craft in themselves; they are never really in or out of fashion. The fisherman sweater can be worn by anyone and re-styled in so many ways, it leaves to the wearer to decide on the style statement.


Tamsin Cook

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22/11/2012

Roy Roger’s & The History of Denim

Roy Roger’s & The History of Denim

“There is no future unless you have a real history” is a quote that in many ways puts words on what the brand Roy Roger’s stands for. As the first Italian manufacturer of denim, the company has worked with this never-lost material since the 1950’s, and just like back then, the American cotton is still a product coming from the historical Cone Mills Corporation.

Even though the collections today present American as well as Japanese denim, and the washes and the models might be slightly upgraded from the ones produced in 1949, the company has kept much of their original flavor, making it a brand that gains strength from looking back to move forward. It is the small details – such as knowing that the tailors use the same sewing machines as the ones of the 50’s to make chain stitching – that make one want to know more.

A pair of Roy Roger’s jeans has its beginning in a raw cloth of denim, and before doing anything else, the fabric and the processing of it are studied carefully to learn how the material reacts in terms of washing and shrinking. Design, cut and patterns of the slim fitted jeans are thereafter handed over to the in-house tailors for expert attention to stitching. Much thanks to the internally handled processes, the iconic Roy Roger’s denims from back-in-the-days share several features with the pair of jeans you find in store today. Besides the already mentioned Union Special sewing machines and the fabric coming from the “American temple of denim production”, both the intertwined seams in the back and the double stitched back pockets are the same. Though, the most iconic features of a pair of Roy Roger’s jeans, seen today, might be the features that weren’t thought of as fashion details at all back then. The back pocket zipper, which Roy Roger’s and the founding manufacturer Manifatture 7 Bell have had patented since 1952, and the famous small money pocket in the front, were incorporated to protect the workers from losing the day’s wage when heading home after a long day worth of work.

Whether you love a pair of jeans for its functionality and fashion aspects, or for the details that assure you both quality and an amazing history, we have found that Roy Roger’s gives us both. Because, who doesn’t love the feeling of knowing that someone put not only time and expertise, but also pride and joy into the garment you are wearing?

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Illustration by Karin Kellner

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16/11/2012

From Heritage to Today

From Heritage to Today

The last few seasons have seen a strong lean back towards heritage brands and classic workwear. Trusted, original, authentic and functional, brands such as Redwing, Woolrich, Pendleton, Filson, Gloverall and Levi’s among many others are associated with the rugged outdoor life and real hard work.

We’ve taken a look at some original vintage items featured in the “Vintage Menswear” book, which is a beautiful collection of archive pieces from the Vintage Showroom in London, collated together in one book, which boasts original sportswear, military and workwear items which still inspire today’s brands and designers.

Let’s start with the trench coat, originally a civilian item but later used for military use. Key features are double breasted, wide lapels, storm flap, shoulder straps and belted waist and cuffs. An iconic piece which might conjure up images of Dick Tracey or Inspector Clouseau. One thing is for sure, it’s timeless, stylish and it means business. Fast forward to 2012 and a key fashion trend seen on the streets for women is the oversized trench coat, worn layered and relaxed with the sleeves rolled up.


The Parka jacket; a functional heavy, hooded and fur-lined jacket, – originally invented by the Caribou Inuit (Eskimo) of the Arctic region to protect themselves from the extreme wind and freezing temperatures whilst hunting and kayaking – is still a key trend in young urban street fashion. Here, featured from the Vintage menswear book, are an U.S. Army 1942 snow parka, a 1950s Hunting parka and a 1960s expedition parka. If we take a look at designer menswear of today, we see how Nigel Cabourn has translated these original features and details into a contemporary “Antarctic Smock” as it is named, using modern fabrics and styling, the item takes on a whole new modern and fresh look.


So why the nostalgic obsession with all things heritage right now? It seems people have a need to re-connect with a time when these clothing items represented labour, hard work, outdoors and getting your hands dirty. With many of us sitting in an office in front of a computer screen for a big part of the day, perhaps we feel more in connection with nature and our ancestors if we are sporting a pair of red wing boots, artificially aged and worn-in jeans with a fur-lined parka on the back of the chair, ready to be put on at the end of the day to brave the commute home.

Tamsin Cook – Images courtesy of the “Vintage Menswear” book of The Vintage Showroom, Nigel Cabourn

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08/11/2012

The Classic Affair

The Classic Affair

If you would ask someone to sum up in a single word his way of dressing, most likely he would never say “Classic”. Nevertheless, despite the foolish prejudices of ordinary hipsters and bungled fashion victims, in the end it’s always the Old School Style to influence customs and behaviors, especially in terms of male aesthetics. During the last five years there’s been a considerable return to the formal male elegance.

Jackets, vests, double-breasted suits, trousers with front pleats, button-down shirts and worth braces: a twister of shapes and colors in which shoes – especially dominated by the British style – remain a good safe haven to which fall back if lost in the vast sea of styling proposals. Good rule says every gentleman has to own at least two pairs of shoes, classic and high bill, to be alternated during the week, and one more casual pair, for weekends and less formal occasions.


Church’s, Alden, Tricker’s, Allen-Edmonds, Crockett & Jones, Ludwig Reiter, Cheaney and few, strictly few, other houses have transformed an ancient craft into a fine art. Secrets of artisan families are interwoven with those of royal dynasties and famous names that have shaped the history of cinema, fashion, art and science.

It all starts with the custom-made shoe: not only a garment for a very small clientele, but a symbol of power and absolute elegance. A choice linked to the need for individual comfort and beauty, pitted by long processing times. Material testing, color choices and interminable waiting lists become a certain type of a rite. But times change, and the ability to devote full days, resources and production costs to a single customer gradually disappears. Market moves quickly, and to meet the growing demand for tailored pieces, the big manufacturers alter their production by defining sizes, shapes and standard color palettes that the customers would have to comply with.


The leathers used for the inner sole are only vegetal tanned hides, and calfskin is always the standard material adopted to clothe the skeleton. Customers can personalize their own dream shoes with the help of a talented shoemaker. You can find a famous example of it at Number 9 St. James’s Street in London, home of one of the most popular custom shoemaker in the world, John Lobb. There, the Master Last-Maker initiates the manufacturing process by taking a series of foot measurements, while client chooses the model, shape and type of leather, as well as the height of the heel, the sole and any other particular details. In addition to John Lobb’s, this practice is adopted by many other custom-made shoe houses, such as Berluti, László Vass and Gatto.

Wearing quality shoes means communicating an intention. They are a status symbol intelligible by a few but clearly visible to all. The fact that the fast fashion industry and small European ready-to-wear manufacturers have also turned to this type of production means that this kind of demand by the market is not merely a niche anymore. This change communicates a sense of rediscovered antique elegance that, hand in hand with the uncontrollable demand after anything vintage, has the ambition to make men’s fashion more suitable to the the needs of this new type of male.


Antonio Moscogiuri Dinoi

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01/11/2012

A (Fashion) Tale of Truth

A (Fashion) Tale of Truth

Unless you’ve resided under a rock for the past decade, it is manifestly clear that green, biosphere conscious fashions have become an all-pervading phenomenon in today’s fashion landscape. After a deserved flood of awareness that has been raised about the horrors of what goes on behind the fashion industry’s curtain, eco fashion has as such gradually evolved from an haute-nouveauté buzzword, into the new normalcy. By virtue of this, eco-responsibility is exploited as a vital marketing strategy for a growing group of fashion labels.

A number of these businesses, particularly some ‘old’ and established ones, have attempted to jump on the green bandwagon by disingenuously spinning their apparel as environmentally beneficial. This deceptive use of green PR, also termed as greenwashing, denotes to a diverse array of counterfeiting practices. 
Conspicuous labelling, through the iniquitous endorsement and certification of third parties, is one such thing. For instance, fabric with a mere 5% organically grown cotton is qualified for acquiring the virtuous stamp of Textile Exchange; a non-profit organization focussed on the responsible expansion of textile sustainability.




On a similar note, the Better Cotton Initiative – a multi-stakeholder’s initiative founded by Adidas, Gap inc. and H&M, among others – is deemed a reputed, eco-responsible organization and thus credible hallmark, while de facto, it has established minimum environmental requirements for growing cotton. 
Under meticulous examination, the green gloss of some of these companies is flaking in the heat. As such, the ethical alignments of fashion labels are increasingly watched with a critical eye.

Yet, in spite of these unjust ecological credentials made by some, the biggest environmental impact of the manufacture of clothing happens on the consumer end of the spectrum, after the production phase. In fact, a sweeping sixty percent of the consumed energy is directly correlated to the way we wash and dry our garments. 
The carbon footprint of a load of laundry is not to be underestimated: washing and drying every two days creates around 440kg of CO2e each year. Tons of energy can be saved there, by line-drying and washing our garbs in cold water. 
All in all however, the utmost smartest and greenest thing one can do is, radically but simply, cut down on shopping sprees. It’ll surely help reduce the clutter in one’s wardrobe.

Claire van den Berg

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25/10/2012

Let It Rain

Let It Rain

It’s the end of October with November on the march in. On the northern hemisphere that means the leaves turning yellow, dropping degrees and a few, or in worst-case scenario pretty many, rainy days. The season soundtrack goes from chirpy to melancholic and when those first raindrops hit the ground, half of the wardrobe is dismantled. That is unless you choose to embrace the autumn with its amazing colour palette, layers of clothes and don’t give a damn about the rain.


Someone who truly has embraced the rain is Alexander Stutterheim, founder and creative director of Stutterheim Raincoats. “I love the fall. Summer’s demands on amazing parties, relations, experiences, well; these expectations on everyone to really LIVE these few months of the year are pretty heavy for me. I don’t like the anticipation I guess. Besides, the light during fall is much more pleasurable and you can put on good-looking clothes”, he said when The Blogazine asked him about his relation to the season. The brand’s story has its starting point in the archipelago outside of Stockholm and its only focus is to keep their customers dry while staying stylish. “What we want to achieve is very clear; to make people feel pretty (and dry of course!) even if the weather is ugly. We want to show that life can become more bearable even if the surrounding conditions do everything in their power to accomplish the opposite.”


Scandinavia has understood the demand of making autumn prettier, dryer and more lovable. Their instinctive feel for superior quality is just another plus. Norwegian Rain, hailing from the rainiest city of Europe, has won several awards for their design excellence where the high-tech is hidden, and we can’t wait for the release of the Stutterheim matte black rain boots (which, according to our sources, soon will be in store).

Christopher Bailey, sitting at the helm of Burberry, is someone else who knows how to handle a cloudburst. Maybe it’s his British heritage that has accustomed him to the weather forces, but whatever the reason, looking back at his A/W12 runway show, he knows how to evoke more than one smile out of a pour down of rain.

So maybe we should stop complaining about the poor weather, put on a nice pair of rain boots, a stylish coat, fold up our umbrellas and head out to enjoy a day of good fun.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Stutterheim Raincoats

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19/10/2012

The Design Philosophy: Looking Back To Look Forward

The Design Philosophy: Looking Back To Look Forward

Let’s take a look back to 2 weeks ago, here at The Blogazine we reported on some key trends from the SS13 runway shows. It got us thinking: where do designers get their inspiration from? What drives them to dive deep into previous decades of fashion trends? Or, on the contrary, leap into the future and use futuristic fantasy to create contemporary collections for next summer?


Every season there is a hype of an era or decade; “70s is back” or “30s glamour” for example. This season saw key trends emerging strongly from the 60s, 80s and 90s grunge and even a hint towards the early “noughties” period.

Of course fashion is influenced by many factors; economic changes, current affairs, music and youth culture amongst many, so fashion trends are subtly moving all the time. When it seems that everything is possible, designers are looking back to their own careers as a way of celebrating their own story and drawing inspiration from their own archives to strengthen their message.

As an example, Raf Simons, recently appointed to Dior, looked back at his past 17 years as a starting point for his own menswear label. He looked at Nirvana and the grunge scene, claiming his aim was not to imitate that era but to take iconic elements from this period and re-work them to a contemporary look. Talking on his inspiration he says “There was a nostalgic feeling but also a futuristic feeling, in psychology but also in materialization”.

Marc Jacobs is known to only look back to look forward. His “Marc” by Marc Jacobs line pulled uplifting outfits from the early 80s and were re-worked to a modern fresh and fun collection.

A time perhaps when style and fashion are becoming less and less identifiable, the fascination with the past for designers seems to be a nostalgic pot to draw from, a kind of safety net to build on for the future. In any case, whatever your generation, these memorable style moments from the past will always make us smile, evoking memories and nostalgia of outfits we may have all worn and wouldn’t dream of wearing again, but as what goes around comes around, let’s see who opts for the 80s look next summer!

Tamsin Cook

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11/10/2012

The Founders of Fashion

The Founders of Fashion

This year Christian Dior celebrates 65 years in business, long after the fashion house founder left the building. Cristóbal Balenciaga is being honoured with an exhibition in Paris 40 years after his death and Jil Sander steps back into the role as head designer of her eponymous brand. There are dozens of fashion brands that are famous for the name of the person that gave it its first stamp, whether that person is still in his or her seat. How important are these ‘fashion founder’ names for their respective brands? And is the status of the fashion houses paying homage to their founders as much as to their current createurs?

Take aside everyone with special interest in fashion. How many really knows the name of the designer behind Dior today? Average Jane does for sure know the name Christian Dior, she probably buys both his make-up and perfume as well. But the name of Dior might be as important to everyone who actually knows Raf Simons as well. Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Balmain, Emilio Pucci, Kenzo Takada and all their friends – they breathe fashion excellence. Some of the great names are still alive; some are still even with their companies. These designers have shaped much of what the business is today, and whether they smile or turn in their graves over what their successors are doing to their lines, every garment entering the runway is carrying their names and their heritage.

When Alexander McQueen, a much younger ‘genius’, tragically passed away, the death of the brand was up for immediate discussion. Even if there’s probably a few years left before anything can be told for certain, Sarah Burton is keeping the brand floating – McQueen isn’t a name that anyone will let slip away without a fight. It must be a fine balance to sustain between honouring the name you work for and staying true to your own design aesthetics, while making business happen. “If you don’t know your history, you have no future” are the words of Jil Sander who for many years has seen collections in her name being directed by someone else.

Is it the stories of old Paris and Italian family companies deriving from leather producers that add to the myth and status of today’s giants? Is it the impact that these designers once made, or is it smart business? Is this a phenomenon of the past, or will we in the future be as nostalgic about Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Thomas Tait and their younger friends? No matter what the answer might be, the names that still inspire awe in us have made a contribution to the beauty of things we still see today.

Lisa Olsson Hjerpe – Image courtesy of Patrick Demarchelier (Dior Couture)

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