In the second part of the Before Tacky Podcast, we speak to luxury menswear designer Brett Johnson from Milan about his style influences.
Check out part one of the interview with Brett.
Tag: style report
If you happen to be along the Almafi Coast in Italy head to Salerno for a bit of menswear shopping. Walking on the Via Mercanti in the old city I saw Ferlazzo Giuseppe store with a sign posted of 50% off. My “SALE GENE” kicked in. The two floor store carries some stylish Neapolitan pieces.
Normally I have a podcast interview office to office. But this time it turned out a bit different. I sent Andrea Mazzuca the link for the podcast. Mr. Mazzuca was in his sports car.
Check out the interview below.
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Fast Fashion Part 2
Part 2 of the Before Tacky Podcast talks about Fast Fashion and buyers behaviours. What do consumers want? Is “buying better” a trend or only a social media slogan? The panel goes in depth on the subject.
Click below to view the latest episode.
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Studio 189
I saw Studio 189 on a luxury website. The Ghana brand eye catching patterns peaked my curiosity. The brand collaboration between actress Rosario Dawson and Adrima Eriah is a rising star in the fashion world with social justice credentials by supporting African production.
Click below to see the fashion shows.
I met Paolo Ferrari at a fashion trade show in Berlin. His sustainable bags made from reused seat belts struck me as chic. I have been a fan ever sense.
Check out our Before Tacky interview with the Italian handbag designer behind the 959 brand.
Paolo speaks about why and how he creates the brand’s collections.
Advertisement: My shirt, courtesy of Esemplare from ThinkInc Communications.
Before Tacky podcast talks to Phil Cody about his shoe brand Cody & Co.
Click below to watch.
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Before Tacky on NYFW
Taking on New York Fashion Week. Before Tacky commentators give their opinions on the Big Apple’s fashion scene this season. The likes and hates.
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No Bad Hair Screen Wear
Still, in yet another lockdown since November the barbers and hair salons have been closed. Perhaps, getting a hair appointment, maybe possible on March 1st. Until then, with all my online conferences, interviews and meetings, I do not want to want to leave a lasting impression with a James Brown mugshot hairstyle. I adapted a lockdown style. It’s one thing to have a “Bad Hair day”. But, like everyone during these times, I am living “Bad Hair Months”. I may wear mismatched socks under the desk, but the thought of having unruly hair immortalized on social media is a no go zone, an epic nightmare.
Thankfully, luxury Italian hat brand Borsalino gave me some hats to use. Each style has been a lifesaver. I decide on a hat and shirt before the digital medium close up.
Thank you to the Borsalino Team for giving me the hats.
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Gender Spin at Apocrypha
While going over looks from Tokyo Fashion Week I came across Fashion Designer Apocrypha. The color combinations and lace materials grabbed my attention. I sent him an email. Happily, Creative Head Reiji Harimoto responded to grant Black and Paper an interview.
What does the white represent in the collection?
It has several meanings. First, the white must be a standard color in the style of the historical background, imagined the situation in Europe during the regent era. Second, this collection is inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s collection of poems. It only has the information of black ink visually dropped on white paper. However, there are an infinite number of colors that can be imagined from that information. Black ink on paper is generally colored by subtractive mixing, but by reading this as letters, one can imagine a scene that is colored by additive mixing from a dark state with nothing in the head. In this collection, white is the imagination of color, which is the basis of subtractive mixing. His poems are colored based on the experience of the reader, who must have fallen in love once.
DANDY
Lace is more of a feminine material but you have incorporated the material in the menswear looks, why?
I think Baudelaire’s poetry is an objective and abstract depiction of Baudelaire’s own life, which always depends on women. I also wanted to express such a view of the world. It may be “feminine” by being worn by women. However, when men wear it, it has some kind of matured ”masculinity”. Maybe I wanted to get rid of the peculiarity. Also, during the time of George Brian Brummell’s life, which is the origin of “Dandy”, the way of life of Baudelaire, mechanical lace knitting machines were born in England. It is a technology that has survived the Luddite movement and continues to evolve to the present day. Isn’t that too wasteful to categorize by gender?
DANDY Lace is more of a feminine material but you have incorporated the material in the menswear looks, why?I think Baudelaire’s poetry is an objective and abstract depiction of Baudelaire’s own life, which always depends on women. I also wanted to express such a view of the world. It may be “feminine” by being worn by women. However, when men wear it, it has some kind of matured ”masculinity”. Maybe I wanted to get rid of the peculiarity. Also, during the time of George Brian Brummell’s life, which is the origin of “Dandy”, the way of life of Baudelaire, mechanical lace knitting machines were born in England. It is a technology that has survived the Luddite movement and continues to evolve to the present day. Isn’t that too wasteful to categorize by gender?
Gothic Chic
What is the Gothic link to the Spring 21 designs?
The answer depends on what you mean by “Gothic” in the question. If I dare to answer in the first place, if you see this collection and feel the Gothic element, it is a scene that you can see from the background of the times, as answered in the first question. If so, I think I have succeeded in expressing my most important “collection should be a literary art drawn with clothes”.
Are you making a gender statement about modern fashion?
In Japan, it seems that gender controversy is often going in the wrong direction. For example, regarding feminism, misandry ideas are strongly felt, and relatively aggressive claims are becoming mainstream in SNS and social media. Many are neither calm nor academic. I don’t think it is desirable to have a conflict with a principle. Also, there are many women with strong social status around me in the fashion industry. When I listen to their opinions, I think that the stronger those claims are, the more isolated they are, and the more the conflict of principles is just creating a groove. I think the same can be said from liberalism and other ideas. That’s why I wanted to create a categorized creation.
Oversized
Where would a guy wear your pieces?
The image of a man I imagine exists in a twilight space between morning and night at dawn, between daily and extraordinary. It’s just an imagination, and in reality, I’d like you to put it into your own identity and wear it as your own in every scene of everyday life. Because the person who wears it in every scene is the main character. If you’re in Hollywood and your main character is a profession, maybe it’s only when you’re on the red carpet.
I noticed the A/W collection was oversized with layers combined with streetwear style, what influenced this?
Reproduced relatively faithfully to the historical background. I create all the patterns myself, so every season there is a theme in pattern making as well as design. In the theme of the collection, we analyze the social situation and trends of the historical background and calculate back from the one at that time to create a pattern. You cannot create an atmosphere that feels “somehow” just by adding details to the existing body. This is also the theme of life, which is always in conflict between commercial design and authorship.
Stay Tuned for Before Tacky Podcast. Interviews with Fashion Professionals.