mens clothings: Knitwear

Showing posts with label Knitwear. Show all posts

Magazines in the spotlight... Port

Ever since Port hit the shelves with its debut issue back in March, the self-styled "intelligent magazine for men" has filled a gap in the confused unoriginal market. From that moment on my impatient finger tapping wait for each issue of Fantastic Man has, much to the relief of those around me, reduced massively. With the introduction of this quarterly, I finally crave another title. Whilst so many men's magazines continually look at themselves in the mirror mouthing "Who am I....What am I doing here?" before embarking on a period of reinvention, Port has always had a reassuring confidence and authenticity. With its mouth watering roster of contributors, eye for detail and obvious passion, it is a publication that continuously provokes thought, ignites imagination and surprises.

The obvious (as it adorns the cover) third issue highlight is the extended feature, The Making of The Rum Diary, which includes world exclusive behind the scenes materials and an in depth chat with the film's writer and director Bruce Robinson. It was from this lengthy dialogue that the theme of creative freedom evolved and developed, quite naturally, to become the delicate thread of the issue. From industrial designer Dieter Rams discussing the development of the iconic Vespa, to acclaimed actress Samantha Morton talking to photographer Mischa Richter about capturing one's creative genius on film, the issue reflects on the nature of creativity and how freedom is an essential part of its very existence. The entire issue is something to savour but below are just a few of the features that caught my wanting eye...

"The splendid bitterness of the unpeeled broad beans and the saltiness of the anchovy are a joy"

Fergus Henderson offers a recipe that sees the happy union of anchovy gunge and broad beans.

Can style be manufactured or does it develop in response not to fashion, but to dressing as a way of life?

Colin McDowell asks if there's a place for the modern dandy or if he'll just end up looking comic.

Styled by Alex Petsetakis and shot by Devin Blair, Fight Club packs the essentials that take you from gym to the street.

Styled by David St John-James and shot by Marisu Hansen, Cast from Past presents a selection of products that increase the heartbeat. Leather framed sunglasses by Paul Smith.

Also from Cast from the Past is this perfect pencil with built in sharpener by Graf Von Faber-Castell. Never have I wanted a pencil more.

"I think the appeal of a cardigan is in its temporary comfort: it wraps around you, but you can whip it off in an instant. It's a styling trick: the garments you wear underneath are still exposed if you wear it open, so colours can be blended and incorporated, and it has the advantage of making things look so much more relaxed when its worn that way."

Alison Llyod believe there is nothing like this unassuming piece of knitwear.

Styled by David St John-James and shot by Leila and Dmaien de Blinkk, On the Inside showcases comfortably tailored style.

"By the time I bought my Vespa GS150 in 1953, it was already well known by riders that the engine was displaced to one side and that this caused a slight i,balance in the machine. As a young architect, the solution was simple: rectify that imbalance by asking your girlfriend to ride side saddle behind you. The weight of her legs on the opposite side of the engine did the trick."

Dieter Rams remember how a Vespa and a girlfriend helped him achieve the perfect balance.

The Rum Diary, the highly anticapated movie, has taken over a decade to come to fruition. Bruce Robinson, the film's writer and director, shares exclusive content from behind the scenes and talk at length with Port's editor Dan Crowe. Here's Johnny Depp in the final shot.

A scene unintentionally set like a painting by Renori.

With the visual aid of Jillian Edelstein's stunning photography, Stephen Smith gets to the heart of what bullfighting means to Spanish culture.

'In every direction, it felt as if I were looking far out into the horizon towards the never-ending extent of the land"

Frederic Lagrange explores Mongolia.

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I could have quite happily shot every single page of the issue but my images and enthused ramblings do not do it justice. If you buy one men's magazine this season, I heartily recommend Port.

Unpicking the seams... Monsieur Lacenaire's Teddy Jacket

Earlier this summer, Susie returned from the Disneyland of menswear tradeshows that is Pitti Uomo, armed with a pocketful of business cards, a mind crammed full of rail tales and a number of SS12 product shots. As she hopped, skipped and jumped her way through the vast space her ever eager eye was scanning each stand and taking note of the real gems. One of the shiniest was Monsieur Lacenaire. With the unveiling of its debut collection for AW11, the menswear magpie in me had found its latest obsession.

Monsieur Lacenaire takes its name from the French poet and murderer, Pierre-François Lacenaire. Baudelaire called Lacenaire "one of the heroes of modern life" and the label's founder and designer, Garance Broca, expresses the refinement and anti conformist spirit of this Dandy villain with an assortment of reimagined classics. Broca is above all else passionate about knitwear. After earning her stripes at luxurious houses including Balmain and Hermès, she decided to bring new elegance and folly to men’s fashion today. With an accent on luxurious materials, Broca revisits the classic male wardrobe and plays with age-old knit techniques (cable stitching, jacquard) throughout. Now, I would have happily unpicked the seams of any piece from the accomplished debut collection but the Teddy Jacket is the real star. Below, we take a closer look at the jacket and talk to the designer herself to see just how the knitwear talent put her stamp on this staple of American sportswear...

SS: How did you go about stamping your take on this staple of American sportswear?

Garance Broca: Making this piece in a soft and shiny Superfine Alpaca fabric has made it more sophisticated with a fine touch of tradition, also with the wooden buttons. It has the look of American sportwear but it is more like a little jacket or a cardigan. The fit is less chunky and less rigid.

SS: Could you talk us through some of the technical processes and people involved in making the jacket?

Garance Broca: I’ve tried a number of different knit techniques to have some of the traditional fitting. I wanted a slim fit but with chunkier sleeves. Also, to add a hint of classic knitwear, I added a cable in the back.

SS: Did you encounter any problems? How were they resolved?

Garance Broca: For the body part, I wanted a more elaborate stitch but it would have made the style too thick. Also, the contrast with the sleeves was not troublesome so in the end I decided that the simpleness of a reverse jersey would be both nice and light whilst the contrast with the full needle sleeves could be more relevant.

SS: Like all good menswear, the jacket oozes details. What are you favourites?

Garance Broca: I think my favorite is the cable in the back. This jacket is already strong as it is but the addition of the cable knit is the last detail that really makes a statement and declares 'I am knitted'!"

SS: How would you describe the finished piece in your own words?

Garance Broca: This is a piece where you can fell both different and safe. The look is totally trendy but the details of the wood buttons or cable at the back make it really special and unique, and ultimately make it Monsieur Lacenaire!

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"I love this jacket because it represent what is the new menswear : both casual and chic. It’s completely casual because it refers to college boy and sport; but in the meantime, it has become a classic item and it represent a high level class in America, so it can be seen as chic."

Garance Broca on her love for the Teddy Jacket

Look book shots courtesy of Monsieur Lacenaire

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'Classics with a twist' is one of those throwaway phrases (by designers and journalists alike) that is so over used that I'm loathed to ever use it on the pages of this blog. However, Monsieur Lacenaire's debut offering is one of those odd occasions where nothing else will do. As Broco reimagines wardrobe staples like the classic Varsity, there is a display of welcome playfulness and a covetable depth of detail.

Now, we were not the only one to fall for the knitted charms of its debut with Selectism being one of the first blogs (way back in April) to shine the spotlight on the label and key retail locations snapping up the label. Mr Porter and Colette have both swooped and picked up key pieces for the winter season, including the Teddy Jacket.

Unpicking the seams... Lou Dalton's White Noise knit

We are consistently inundated with collection unveilings and product drops. At times it feels as though our screens become a conveyor belt. A blur of items that leave us oohing, aaahing, reaching for our wallet or scratching our head in disbelief. However, the incessant pace of it all is often to the detriment of the product. With our latest feature series, Unpicking the seams, we want to celebrate and focus on the deserving. The series will take a deep breath and showcase our favourite items from each season and even take the odd look back. With a new season fast approaching (with August days that are more at home during October) and our love of a good knit, we kick it off with a longing look at a real highlight from Lou Dalton.

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From the frustrated and disillusioned Seattle scene through to the discomforting ruthlessness of the Russian criminal underworld, Lou Dalton was influenced by feelings of discomfort and a desire to fit in for AW11. As a designer, Dalton is concerned with colour, texture, quality and finish and here, she continued to practice and hone her signature of rebellious English sportswear with a strong sense of detail. As always with this exciting design talent, knitwear is a key facet of the collection and here it is oversized to soften and texture to the tailoring. One of the real highlights was this fantastic heavy-gauge marl knit nicknamed white noise.

"Internally the piece was given the name of "WHITE NOISE", my fellas brother was in the studio one night as we were working our way through various swatches of knit, his reaction was spot on to what eventually became this sweater, "That looks like white noise....." and that was really the starting point. I do like a melange knit however; a standard melange is quite consistent throughout, I wanted this to be a little ad-hoc a little home made." Lou Dalton on the starting point of the knit.

The high neck and oversized shape do just that. Inspiration came from classic Melange knitwear, a very old crudely knitted scarf that the designer found and sweaters worn by the likes of Kurt Cobain during the height of the Seattle scene. Once Dalton has an idea of where she is going in terms of concept and design, she meets with the knitwear factory where this information is relayed, various swatches are requested to cover both the design and tension of knit required. Once approved, the sampling trials begin before a finished piece emerges.

"As I am not a trained knitwear designer but do have a good understanding of what I like and what technically works in terms of construction and knit. I start with the yarn research, I work with various yarn suppliers from the UK through to Italy, I will request yarn cards, along side of this I will research and look at a variation of knit techniques and stitches that I feel are relevant to the aesthetic that we are working on for the season as well as looking at vintage finds and contemporary knits. It is also very important for me to remind myself of what historically has worked for us in terms of sales etc. This particular exercise is possibly the most important part of the process, to try and nail what your consumer will relate to is key." Lou Dalton on the design process.

Since the labels inception in 2005, Lou Dalton has designed her collections with the same man in mind and has built up a strong following with the help of key early stockists including Daniel Jenkins and oki-ni. This season, Lou’s hard work and well crafted menswear has been given the recognition it deserves with a place in the well stocked shelves of Liberty's menswear basement space. The more men who discover this design talent the better. With the white noise sweater now in store, I jumped at the chance to try it on for size...

A closer look at Lou Dalton's White Noise Knit.

We'll leave you with Dalton's succinct description of the item, "WHITE NOISE....... 100% lambswool Crew neck sweater..... on sale at Liberty."

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Details: Print on print

Timo Weiland's very own Alan Eckstein teams up his own designed knitted waistcoast with a floral print shirt from Adam.

Discovering Tokyo... Labrat

Discovering Labrat

Now, you might have noticed that the blog has been quiet recently. I landed in Tokyo on Saturday afternoon and I've since spent the last few days drunk on food and shopping. When I've not been stuffing my face with sashimi, gyozas, tonkatsu or yakitori, my mind has been blown by the myriad of retail opportunities and discovering designers at every turn. Alongside my recent trip to Singapore I have amassed enough content to keep the blog busy for weeks to come. Whilst I promised myself (and EJ) that I would use this time to take a little blogging holiday to just enjoy myself, I just couldn't resist sharing a few of my finds with you. First up, Labrat via BerBerJin.

BerBerJin are a chain of vintage shops in that have been at the heart of the thriving men’s vintage scene in Tokyo for well over a decade. They have always stocked museum quality examples of international vintage, but recently they creative minds behind it have collaborated with like minded brands to produce items that compliment their beautiful back catalogue and archive. Under the moniker Labrat, the talented bunch romanticise the hardcore and celebrate the underground. Thanks to the well informed Mai, I was pointed in the direction of an exhibition of their AW11 collection and excitedly jumped at the chance to inspect the pieces up close. I was blown away by the attention to detail, fabrications and sheer diversity of their offering. For this season alone they have collaborated with the likes of Blackmeans, George Cox, Porter, Vision, CA4LA, Black &Blue and Discovered. I think the best way to explore the full AW11 line is to introduce the collaborative lineup whilst taking a closer look at the designs...

With each season, Discovered turn to the streets of Tokyo for inspiration. From Shibuya down through Harajuku, the designer duo Tatsuya Kimura and Sanae Yoshida collate and reinterpret the varied styles to create multi faceted designs. The pair like nothing more than juxtaposing contradictory themes and here they have created stunning Aran knits for oversized shorts and jumpers...

The Aran knitted shorts and jumpers in collaboration with Discovered.

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One of the more familiar brands of Tokyo native labels involved with Labrat is Porter. Now, everyone should know this maker of well crafted and elegantly designed accessories so I will fast forward on the introductions. Here, the minds of Labrat and Porter combine to create MA1 jackets, matching shorts and laceup backpacks...

The varied fruits of the collaboration with Porter
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Blackmeans is a local leather specialist that started out in 2005 as a leather goods manufacturer but soon evolved and began producing their own lines of leather motorcycle jackets, belts and accessories. Here, they continue their successful partnership with Labrat to create a number of jackets and a leather skirt...

The Lightning Leather Jacket with fringe detail beautifully modelled by a member of the Labrat team.

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Having first produced brothel creepers in the 50s and winkle pickers in the 60s, George Cox gained notoriety in the 70s when these looks were resurrected by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren to become the uniform of a generation of punks. Now, one hundred and five years old, the company still continues to grow and develop thanks to their archive of lasts and hunger for product development. Here, the collaboration with Labrat produces the Cross Boot...

The Cross Boots in collaboration with George Cox
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Despite my enthused murmurings above, Labrat constitute more than just a number of successful collaborations. In addition to working with some of the finest names in Tokyo, the label have created a number of covetable pieces on their own. Highlights include double cloth basics, kilting and even a Chester coat...

Labrat's own mix of underground classics.
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Sibling AW11 Darn The Boozer

For their sixth collection, the ever bold and progressive knitwear label Sibling take us on a knitted pub crawl around East London as they invite us "darn the boozer". After all moving to the area, the design trio looked to the The Golden Heart, The Bricklayer's Arms, The Red Lion and the George & Dragon to quench their thirst for inspiration. During the presentation in Somerset House's Portico Rooms during Menswear Day, I was soon inebriated by the cocktail of texture, pattern and stitch as I stumbled through the design trio's favourite local drinking holes.

Throughout the collection their favoured drinking dens are referenced both in a literal sense with the use of pub insignia and iconography embroidered in and also in a more abstract way in pieces which reference George and in others which reference the dragon. Like all good pub crawls this is something of a drunken haze but I'm pretty sure pandas featured in it along the way. I can remember the first intoxicating yarn pint being downed at The Golden Heart, in a crew neck featuring text, embroidered tattooed heart and spider web elbows, with a chaser of a Claddagh fisherman’s sweater in a heady cashmere mix. Moving on to The Bricklayer's Arms in an insignia zip up jacket before roaring through to The Red Lion in an aptly addorned sweater. I think we finished up at the George & Dragon in a fair isle knitted in Scotland featuring Saint George, crossed cigarettes and dragons.

With each collection, the design trio combine the wonderful craft of knitwear with an added sense of humour. In fact, when we interviewed them last year they conceded that "Sibling is all about humour in a very English way that may come across as being a bit silly at times." Here however, they have struck the perfect balance and created a collection of covetable designs that still produce a wry smile. To supplement my drunken presentation shots, I can happily share the collection look book as shot by Thomas Giddings...