The great outsider and collaborator

One of my current personal favourite designers is Watanabe. he can be considered a fashion outsider because he is something of an enigma and I think this is part of the attraction. I must admit that I've not really taken too much notice of him previously but now I am looking through his past creations and really enjoying what I'm seeing! Unfortunately menswear design is not really known for innovation but designers like Watanabe and (more recently)Throup are helping address this. I love how Watanabe deconstructs classics, for example taking apart white shirts or trench coats and exaggerating a facet or two, and then putting them back together for an entirely new and accomplished result. In an arena not exactly known for embracing groundbreaking innovation, Watanabe’s menswear has received particular acclaim. Although I like his s/s 2008 collection it is far too cold to be thinking about that season so I will concetrate on a/w 2007 and his bikerwear collection! As I've come to understand the 'Watanabe way' is to leave no sartorial cliché un-deconstructed, so he broke down the biker jacket into its component parts—collar, belt, zips, etc.—and put them back together in unexpected ways, reminiscent of The Clash.

This image is courtesy of men.style - Daft Punk on the catwalk? I'm in love with leather biker jackets right now and this show was one of the main reasons for this love to blossom.

Not content on concentrating merely on the leather biker jacket he looked at cloth versions and added numerous zips...as I've mentioned previously I adore zips.

Other than the search for the perfect biker jacket which is a tremendously difficult task because it is a classic and should be regarded as a staple for any man's wardbrobe I am looking for the right boots. I'm undecided between keeping to the biker theme or purchasing something a little more formal. I will keep you updated as to how my search goes and leave you with one more example of Watanabe's work...

Just look how Clash like this is!

Mad about Plaid

Hey EJ

I am huge fan of plaid at the moment and seem to see it everywhere although at times when I do see it want to burst into the Python's lumberjack song (one day soon I will just have to). I know you are a fan of the plaid shirt but are your eyes feasting on it as much as I am in recent weeks? I'm just working out a myriad ways of wearing it and have been inspired on recent style posts from the sartorialist, facehunter and DDD!

Have a look at these...

The classic - shirt worn with (slightly faded) denim jeans (image courtesy of thesartorialist)
Plaid shirt used as layering - very subtle plaid here, even with the stripes though it works! (image courtesy of facehunter)

Plaid Shirt with matching hat (the shot doesn't do it justice really, it actually looked pretty damn cool) - NB - I love the style of the guy on the left. (Image courtesy of DDD) Dressing up in Plaid - I love the hair here and red socks - not a fan of the trousers (they give him the appearance of sporting child bearing hips). Thesartorialist is finding some great shots in Stockholm (image courtesy of thesartorialist)

I think everyone in the world knows of our love for plaid. I also think H&M have been reading my mind as they have devoted a whole section of their accessories range to black & red plaid... love love love. For ages now I have been meaning to post this picture of Joe Strummer- I love the jacket and the loose teddy-boy-esque look. Come on, this hair is just beautiful.Sigh. And then this afternoon I was watching the extra features on the Science of Sleep DVD and admiring Michel Gondry's rather adorable jacket. I googled him and began to suspect that Michel may share our love...

The coat seen on the DVD- I love the suit GGM wears throughout the film but that's a different post

Michel giving a talk in New York in August 2006

Michel at a show via this blog

It's clearly a long-term love.

Sorry to hijack/distract the focus of this post... oops.

Fighting in the streets - The style of The Clash

Having changed my mind over who to blog about first countless times over the last two days (actually weeks) the tossing and turning is over. In the end it had to combine my two favourite things: music and fashion. So let's start with the Clash.

Bernie Rhodes (the manager) said "There's gonna be a lot of fighting in the streets. Things are going to get rough so we're going to need clothes which are tough." Rhodes approached a number of fashion students to realise his vision of tough streetwear that looked great on stage. Rhodes chose Alex Michon (pictured left in a Clash shirt) who at the time was a 19 year old art student. Her successive waves of militaristic designs have ultimately defined the look of one of the most visually exciting bands. We can also see the influence contemporary influence with brands such as April 77 exploring similar ideas.

You would be misinformed to say that the Clash just wore what they were told to (never a good thing because you have to wear the clothes, not the other way around!). A key facet of their style was the individual inputs from the band members. Simonon (pictured left, and looking awesome!) for example during the early days designed Pollock influenced paint splashes on the clothes and shoes. It is unlikely that I would do that a whole outfit but splattering your accessories, such as tie/pocketsquare/bag would look great. Another example is Joe Strummer adapting the zip jacket designed by Michon and worn at their famous Rainbow gig (April 1977) by stitching a ripped up photo from the Notting Hill carnival onto the side. (I have hunted for images to illustrate these two points but alas i am empty handed so please just imagine it, or better still send me what you find!). What we can take from these examples is; be creative. Look at the clothes you buy and wear, make them yours. Rather than just buying a new item of clothing look at what you already have, can you adapt an old piece that has been sitting in the wardrobe unworn and give it a new lease of life? Currently my to do list involves tapering trousers, adding zips to jumpers and pockets and of course this will all be blogged about no matter how successful or otherwise.

Another part of their style mentality we like is the fact that the individual needs were taken into account for example Strummer had to have a little plectrum pocket inhis trousers and an inside pocket for the books that he always carried with him. At times too many people neglect their individual needs when thinking about the clothes they buy and wear. Granted, not everyone needs special pockets (even though they are cool) but thought about what we do in the clothes we wear has to have an influence on what we actually wear.

Overall when we think about what The Clash wore, we think of primary colours (with plenty of black), stencilled slogans/phrases and of course zips! I currently love black vintage leather biker jackets with a number of chunky zips but the hunt for one that fits as I want it to is proving hard. At the moment House of Holland-esque slogans (especially the typeface) are everywhere and to be honest I am a little tired of them but if witty and or interesting why not add one to an old t-shirt.

We have only really touched on some of things we like, we don't want to bore you this early but it means we will return to this band! For us at Style Salvage clothes (although extremely important) are only one aspect of style. The Clash and in particular Joe Strummer provide ample material in discussions regarding how to style hair...but you will have to wait for that.

Keeping it in the family

I love this shot of Charlie and Joe Casely-Hayford in their white shirts.

I picked up a copy of the latest issue of i-D over the weekend and I must say, the Manhood issue is far better than any issue that I've read for as long as I can remember, for a start it doesn't feel and read like a love letter to the 90s. Within the issue I came across Casely-Hayford who are the first brand in high fashion to have a father and son working together at the creative helm. Joe has long demonstrated his ability to draw upon and connect his formal training in tailoring and fashion . Throughout his career he has pushed and examined menswear with his intriguing and influential innovation. From the deconstructed tailoring of the 80s (three dimensional lapels and exposed seams) to oversized knitwear and the fusion between sportswear and formal clothing in the 90s. Now this well seasoned hand has joined forces with his son, Charlie, who has to be one of London's most stylish chaps (I remember this Sartorialist shot in particular) who has recently become the face of Dr Martens alongside Coco Summer..

Here is an excerpt from the i-D interview...

i-D: What prompted this new father-son venture?
JCH: I still feel as excited as when when I first walked through the doors of St. Martins. I don't feel like I've created my greatest work yet. It seemed natural to take this step with Charlie who has been a confidant and collaborator for some time. I have a great deal of respect for Charlie's discipline and focus. His input isn't always that of the young avant garde experimentalist. He is often conservative and pensive and approaches things from a classical standpoint. So it isn't predetermined that I stand for tradition and he the innovation. We believe that no other brand can capture the duality of English Sartorialism and British Anarchy, and celebrate the beauty of high art and street culture simultaneously. We aim to offer a new and considered vision of English style in the 21st Century.

The duality of the brand reflects Joe's design history which has seen him creating stage clothes for bands like Clash to dressing the highest members of the British establishment whilst at Gieves & Hawkes.




Within their first show they combine the urbane qualities of Edward VIII, the first modern day English sartorialist, with the contemporary sportswear of London's street culture. The sense of duality is continued with a simultaneous emphasis on lightness and substance. Technical fabrics are fused with formal wear, sporting items formalised through the use of fine silk dog tooth jersey fabric, whilst contemporary twists underplay suits.

One of the main concepts behind the house is celebrating "Made in Japan, designed in London", with the British spirit clearing running through the clothes. The majority of the products are made in Japan (we often say that the Japanese do most things better) with a smaller part of the collection made by craftsmen in the UK and Italy. Shoes are bench made in Northampton, hand made silk ties are woken in Italy; printed silk scarves come from Italy and hand knitted pieces from Scotland. The focus is on creativity, attention to detail and craftsmanship, I wish every brand focused on the same ideals.

I am fascinated by the father and son element to this brand and can't help but think that I wish that my father was a leading designer. This is certainly a brand to keep an eye on. The label is currently only being stocked in Dover St Market in London and a few places in Japan.