Brand watch

YMC: Having returned from Manchester not too long ago I noticed this label in a number of shops. This type of look seems quite popular with the locals and this has kicked me into action to talk about them (I have appreciated them from afar for some time now). The following blurb comes straight from their site and I have quite blatantly stolen parts from it, but this brand knows all about stealing...the name comes from a soundbite from Raymond Loewy (pioneer of American Industrial Design) who reasoned that "you must create your own design style." What I like about this brand is that they attempt to provide the solution for intelligent clothing that is both wearable and distinctive. This is a brand that helps to satisfy the demand for stylish, functional, modern clothing which of course is important and is all the better when it gives a nod to the past in the process.

Their recent S/S collection as shown above and here takes inspiration from the spirit of '69 British youth culture when the hard mods became 'suedeheads'. It was a movement of anti fashion at its best embracing the anti racist movement and the music culture of ska and reggae. I love their mix of modern and traditional materials and at times superb detailing.

Raf Simons: His shows are a mix of fashion, youth culture, music and performance."I don't want to show clothes,I want to show my attitude, my past, present and future. I use memories and future visions and try to place them in today's world." He has often criticised the rigid and dictatorial stance of the mainstream fashion system (a view that I at times support). The message from Raf is 'pride in individuality'. In 2005 he created his second line , Ray by Raf and this line has found its own feet. In a recent interview with Dazed he talks about his second line and how he doesn't "want to be ruined, like other people have been, by their second line" and on recent evidence he certainly won't be! What I like most about him was this sentence in the aforementioned interview "In the beginning, my dream was to bring tailoring to a young audience" which is one of my dreams...now where did I put that course application...