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Seditionaries was the name of an iconic clothing like between collaborators Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren.
Its admirers and adherents were often moved to design punk garb of their own, and few were moved more than Jun Takahashi, who absorbed the lessons of the line and used them to create his own cult label, Undercover.
Takahashi and his friend and collaborator, Hiroshi Fujiwara, also scoured Tokyo for vintage Seditionaries pieces, eventually amassing a collection impressive enough that they published it as a limited-edition book
In an interview with Style.com’s Matthew Schneier, Jun touches on his punk roots and reflects on how the mentality of ‘punk’ has stayed with him throughout his career.
What was your reaction to the Met’s announcement that Punk will be the theme of this year’s Costume Institute exhibition? Does punk belong in a museum? Or is such an exhibition a confirmation of what many old punks are fond of saying—that punk is dead?
I didn’t have a particular feeling about the announcement. I think the element of punk has a significant meaning for human beings as one of their means of expression, so I believe punk can proudly belong in a museum as a work of art. I think most people who say that punk is dead have moved into the next step while keeping a punk spirit at their base. The spirit will live on in me until I die.
Looks from Takahashi’ and Fujiwara’s Seditionaries book
In related news, the exhibition ‘From Punk to Chaos’ PUNK: Chaos to Couture is running at the Museum of Metropolitian Art from and open to the public from May 9 – August 14. It explores the roots of the punk subculture through original punk garments from the mid-1970s and recent, directional fashion collections by some of the world’s most renowned designers.
Source: Style.com
Raf Simons is one of the designers who got me interested in high fashion in the first place. I first discovered his work in the mid 2000s and was instantly drawn into his rebellious vision of menswear. The Talks spoke with Mr.Simons on his journey from a teenager in a tiny town in Belgium to fashion designer at Dior. In the quote below Raf speaks on how witnessing a Margiela show deeply affected him.
I’ve read that the first fashion show you ever went to was Maison Martin Margiela. You said it was so beautiful that half the audience cried and it had a huge influence on you. Why?
Because that was the day that I understood that fashion could also be conceptual and intellectual, that it could be linked to a certain kind of social, psychological thing. That Martin Margiela show was in a really trashy area in Paris and it wasn’t in a building, it was in a playground from a black neighborhood. The parents had agreed to do the show for the Margiela company only if their children could come and see it. Everybody was expecting the children to just stay on the side and sit with the audience, but they didn’t.
Read the rest of the interview on The Talks.
This year A Bathing Ape turns 20 years old. Honeyee features several interviews reflecting on how BAPE has evolved over the years. Key figures from BAPE’s development including C.E designer SK8THING, and architect/interior designer Wonderwall speak how how Nigo grew from an influental Ura Harajuku shop NOWHERE to becoming a major influence in worldwide fashion.
You can read the interviews on Honeyee.com
Vancouver based publication Freckled Magazine has just launched (Issue Fall/Winter 2012-2013). Check the issue for plenty of great content that runs the gamut from photography to fashion, writing and illustration. In the issue you’ll find an interview with Third Looks fam Scott M and also a couple excellent fashion editorials by Rebekah Seok.
I’ll be posting up some bonus photographs from the shoot next week so be on the look out for that.
Click HERE to read the entire magazine on issuu.
Japanese fast fashion retailer Uniqlo has put out a series of UT graphic t-shirts in collaboration with the Estate Jean-Michel Basquiat foundation. The designs pull images from the influential artist’s paintings. My personal favorite is the all-over print design, be sure to check out some of the detailing on these shirts, particularly the screen printing on the insider collar which is a nice touch. All shirts are $19.99 and can be purchased on the Uniqlo site HERE.
If you are a fan of Basquiats art, the retrospective at the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea is still ongoing. See our post on it HERE.
Port Magazine Online editor David Hellqvist spoke with Visvim designer Hiroki Nakamura on his design process for two special cardigans from Visvim’s Fall/Winter 2013 collection. In introducing the piece Hellqvist makes a fantastic point that there is now a second movement of Japanese fashion that came to power in the last ten years. One that has provided an alternative to the fantastical designs of Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo. This movement is lead by brands such as WTAPS, White Mountaineering, Engineered Garments and of course Visvim. While there is a great deal of fluxuation in style between these brands, what they share is an obsession on perfecting and re-defining heritage staples.
Visvim stands at the forefront of that and the below quote by Hiroki sums up his approach to design.
“I like to mix interesting products and raw materials from all over the world, using various artisans and techniques. Modern manufacturing is great because you can take advantage of quality and price but at the same time, the output of modern manufacturing increasingly looks the same, and I like to see character. I’m working with different artisans and sources to add character to the product. I believe in using natural colours and dyes – I think the natural dying process still has a lot to offer. You won’t get a completely flat dye, it won’t be perfect, there’s an element you cannot predict – but I like that, it’s key to our product.”
Read the rest of the feature on PORT.
Undercover Fall/Winter 2011 backpack on the left and Carhartt WIP Spring/Summer 2013 Bag on the right
I was browsing Hypebeast today and saw their post on the new Carhartt WIP Spring/Summer 2013 bag collection. At first glance I thought, hm that orange backpack looks just like the backpacks Undercover has been doing since 2009.
Here are the details I spotted that are strikingly similar
1. Logo placement on the bottom right.
2. Use of leather pulls and double zips on all closures.
3. The pouches/pockets have the exact same placement.
4. The leather detail is moved on the Carhartt piece to the middle instead of off-center to the left.
5. The bottom of the backpack is fabricated in leather.
6. On other models of the Undercover backpack, there’s the same hanger attachment at the top of the bag.
To me this seems like too many similarities to ignore. Undercover is a brand I personally love and I feel it was necessary to point out my personal observations.
Please feel free to chime in if you feel I am off here and jumping the gun. If you know the original design this Carhartt WIP bag may be referencing please feel free to post about it in the DISQUS comments below.
I’ve also posted some other iterations of this UC design below
Fall/Winter 2009 Undercover Backpacks
Undercover Spring/Summer 2009 ‘Camo backpack’
Undercover Spring/Summer 2011 Backpack
So today marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Diplomatic Immunity Vol.1. If you aren’t making it to the reunion show tonight at BB King’s, at least watch this video by Mass Appeal with Baohaus chef and Fresh Off the Boat host Eddie Huang speaking out on hip-hop, Four Loko, and why it’s cool to mix high/low culture. Eddie cites Crime Pays as his all-time favorite Killa Cam album, but I gotta go with Purple Haze. I’ve been steadily listening to Purple Haze for 5 years straight and it’s probably the only rap album where I can still stand the skits after almost a decade. S.D.E. is a close second.
Photo Adrian Crispin
David Hellqvist of PORT Magazine visited Jun Takahashi at the Gyakusou Showroom in Paris and spoke to him about the evolution of Gyakusou. Jun Takahashi has dedicated to the runners lifestyle and in his person life is taking more time to train and compete in marathons. His preference is to run in cold weather,but Jun says “regardless of the distance it’s always hard to run – it’s such a mental sport as you’re always faced with yourself.”
The below quote by David Hellqvist defines how Gyakusou has re-focused on the function aspect of designing sportswear.
“Three years in, and Takahashi is finding his feet. Gyakusou was pretty spot on from the start, but the last few seasons has seen him scale down the design element, focusing on the task ahead; running. As Takahashi evolves as a runner, so does the collection: “Design-wise, it’s getting simpler. I wanted to focus more on the functions and for the functions to work the design doesn’t need so much space. The first season had more of a sharp design to it and that was a design that was not necessary for running – now it’s a lot more functional!”
See the entire feature on PORT MAGAZINE.
Street style has been the topic of hot debate in the last few months. It seems in the past year or so, it has catapulted from being categorized as ‘niche content’ into the forefront of the fashion industry. Fourth and Main is a brand and webshop that also producing editorial content that’s opinionated and personal. Contributor and frequent street style photographer Francis Davison shares her candid personal experiences from the front lines of fashion week culture. In the feature she speaks on the camaraderie and competition between street style photographers and reflects on the evolving role of street style in fashion.
Street style is a micro-industry that exists on the peripheries of fashion; loathed for its invasive voyeurism by the same people who crave its attention – and hate themselves for craving it. Within the street style ‘community’ there is a complex set of politics and cliques. Every six months the same ever-expanding group of photographers assemble: clients are swapped and stolen, elbows are jostled and equipment is envied and disdained in equal measure. Spending four weeks travelling and working together creates the atmosphere of an overblown school trip. The only thing we have in common is that we all really want ‘that’ shot of Russian editor Miroslava Duma, and we all hate the paparazzi.
There is a hierarchy which creates an unspoken set of rules about who I can and can’t talk to (I rank low, my camera isn’t taken seriously and barely anyone bothers to ask who I’m shooting for); if I tried to make small talk with any big names I’d be greeted with blank stares and few words. That said, for these weeks of the year the streets of Paris, Milan, London and New York become our workplace and most here are contending with jetlag, demanding editors and hundreds of images to sift through and edit each night until the small hours. I don’t blame them too harshly for wanting to keep their heads down.
I recommend you check out the entire feature HERE.
