Sperry Top-Sider AW10 Preview

7th Man stopped by Sperry today to preview the coming, fall collection. From the most classic styles to their own take on the chukkas, the fabric and colors made the difference. Come fall you can bet to see these earth tone shoes all around.

Contributing Editor - NJD

Waft in Martin Margiela

The much coveted house of Martin Margiela has sprung a little surprise into their lean, mean, trend defying machine: a scent.

Yes that's right: Available from April exclusively in Selfridges, Margiela's first fragrance named '[untitled]' will be beautifully displayed and available for your sniffing pleasures.

This unisex musk is slotted gently into the floral - woody - musky grouping, an unusual choice for a unisex perfume, but delicious all the same.

May i present to you . . .

The new sparkle in Shoreditch Highstreet's eye: Present, one of the most reverred shops in Europe has opened it's utterly chic doors on one of the most talked about streets in London.

Present, 140 Shoreditch highstreet, the resting place of The Golden Horn Cigarette Company and a patch of land, long since ignored by the local eastenders.

Not anymore that is for sure. Present offers you with brands such as Alife, Vans, Haversack, Reigning Champ, and Present's own special brands t-shirts and the suchlike.

The attire crosses the entire spectrum of street cool and deliciously preppy, perfect for the impending spring with it's fresher than fresh colours and sparkling crispness.

If the clothes don't tickle your fancy than perhaps you should pop in to buy a curiously large and scented candle, or even a giant calendar. The visual aesthetics of the shop are splendid with a wall of carefull rolled bags adding a boisterous splash of colour, and vintage paraphenalia keeping the east London feel within the brand new boutique.

Did i forget to mention the delicious coffee on offer? Made especially for you, on a vintage Italian coffee maker, have a flick through carefully displayed back copies of monocle and other cutting edge menswear mags whilst you wait, (7th Man will be there soon for sure) although it is a shop.
Not a library.

Fred Perry Archive

Oki-ni has launched a fantastic new archive from classic British brand, Fred Perry. The label begun during the 1940's when Fred used his experience as a Wimbledon champion, along with Austrian footballer, Tibby Wegner to create the iconic sportswear.

The archive contains exclusive collaborations with Paul Weller, a sixties inspired COMME des GARCONS tracktop and a 1964 edition of The Sunday Times icon for "Mods the World Over." And, many more great memorabilia!!

Visit now: Fred Perry Archive @Oki-ni

Contributing Editor - NJD

Le Baron in New York ?!!

The famous club, which is well-known in the fashion scene for its all night parties, where one can meet the finest from the industry is rumored to venture into New York. Inventory sources say Yellow Karaoke lounge in chinatown will be the new Parisian post! Only time will tell - due to open for Spring/Summer 2011 season.

7thMan is excited to know come Fall there will be somewhere new to let the stress out during New York fashion week.

Contributing Editor - NJD

James Long: The inimatable rebel.

The collection was cohesive and immediate: you just wanted to run and steal one of the distressed black woolens, to put on immediately, his ability to manipulate yarns is second to none, except perhaps Mark fast's womenswear: but that is neither here nor there.

The palette was dark and sulky, flashes of red were littered about creating a richness to the collection that the otherwise inobtrusive palette could not have managed alone.

Details: Head bands, leather: cushioned/panelled/all over it was everywhere, oversized knits, boiler suits, biker trousers, obese courdroys, shearling, denim, distressed.

I think those words summarise the collection in it's most simplistic terms quite effectively. Again shearling was sent down the runway: this time in the shape of bags and random detailing. All denim was printed with red, all courdroy was made up of FAT channeling rather than the rather demure grooves of courdroys on offer in American Apparel.

Navy was a popular colour for this maestro of British fashion and a biker/grease monkey theme was impossible to ignore: what with the leathers and boiler suits popping up consistently.

All in all, this collection stayed true to Long's menswear vision, It was fresh, contemporary and wearable.

Images by James Pinkie Terry.

Shannon Backstage Images

Faithfully, all these images are by the now infamous James Pinkie Terry

Christopher Shannon shows us the slopes.

No one has ever mastered quirky leisure wear with quite the same mastery as Christopher Shannon: his trade mark icy palette remained but with neon pop colours which added a lovely retro edge and made me think of it as the wardrobe for the cast of Saved By The Bell - if they were ever to go skiing.

The formula was the same as always: Panelling, colour blocking and pattern OVERLOAD. Paisley and snowflakes are the patterning choice for AW10, appearing on knitted head bands, turtle necks, trousers and jackets: it was simply sumptious.

The tech fabrics that Shannon has the ability to manipulate with such ease were fashionably in attendance: netting and nylon the infamous favourites! Splashings of sartorial kept the juxtaposition of sportswear and tailoring going strong.

Shearling detailing confirmed this as the ultimate fabric for the colder, fresher months of 2010 and the earliest months of 2011 or now (if you are not already wearing your spring/summer concoctions in an act of brazen defiance?).

Quite frankly, I want nothing more than to go to the alps next winter in head to toe Christopher Shannon, not to ski. Just to wear it.

Tim Soar: The epitome of class.

http://www.dazeddigital.com/Fashion/gallery/34/6828/10/Tim_Soar_AW_10-11

No ones collection shouted WEALTH, quite like Tim Soars. With the addition of some of Savile Row's finiest tailors showing collections at Men's day: some of the more contemporary designers gave prestigious sartorial and infinite elegance a whirl.

Tim Soar was the most successful: leather cumber bands and rain hats, double breasted jackets and coats. Camel, caramel, black, navy and white: the palette of a gentleman, the attire of a success story.

AW 10 may just be the season of Soar. Cropped jackets and collarless shirts added a contemporary twist with the traditionalism that was flaunted in the faces of the avant-garde supporters, and there was the blue boy - he was pretty avant garde, but immaculately dressed!

Unfortuneately the camer suffered technical difficulties throughout our time backstage so the image is borrowed from Dazed Digital and the imagery talents of David Hellqist.

Komakino set their marching orders.

Komakino sough help from the experts with the styling for their fiercely military show: Anders Solvsten Thomsen - previously of 'Pop' - currently with 'Love' was tirelessly making sure these dip dyed boys were immaculate, whilst the designers were scarcely seen.

Ominous music, remeniscent of a scene prior to rape or murder in cinema, accompanied the boys in black down the runway.

Gothic and 90's grunge undertones added depth to the fiercely military collection: epaulettes topped off many a shoulder, intimidatingly painted doc martins gave a sturdy edge to the boys walk, and wool coats with leather panelling created a delightful contrast admidst the black.

Splashings of bleach over trousers/shirts/jackets reinforced the decade that is now officially vintage: the 90's have been courted for many seasons among the fashionistas of the real world, and it is now that the designers have smartened it up for adaption.

Head wear looked to be inspired by the war attire of medieval knights: offering up a touch of heritage which has been flounced about generously among all the fashion weeks.

Overall Komakino offered up an inoffensive interpretation of some sort of grunge army: leather knuckle dusters contrasted with carefully structured wool coats, set off nicely by nude shirts, a perfectly proportioned, expertly crafted, military creation.

All images by ( as always) by James Pinkie Terry

Carolyn Massey: Obsolete Prototype C53

And so here we have the collection that set the standard for men's day on Wednesday 24th, and what a standard. The boys reminded me of ballet dancers with their dramatically sunken eyes, prominently shaded cheek bones and slickly swept back hair.

Massey's innate talent for knits was displayed to perfection: chunky, intrusive snoods were draped around necks, and striped, forties inspired, jumpers were kepeing the boy's leather clad bottoms warm.

Leather was adored throughout, as was a delicate shade of mauve - the exact same shade that popped into JW Anderson's collection - a new shade of elegance. Wool coats were worn open, loose and long.

Trousers were cropped emphasising the detailing on the brogue ankle boots, and introducing an interesting element of femininity to the scrutinizing masses: gaping, rope like, fishnet tights: a quirky detail which complimented the sartorial masculinity of the collection beautifully.

Carolyn Massey has firmly established herself at the very tip top of modern menswear.

All photos by James Pinkie Terry

The finer details of JW Anderson AW10/11

Back stage at JW Anderson, the team were running comfortably (or should I say fashionably) late. Effortlessly causing a tangible suspense among the neatly seated audience.

The details included a whole host of picnic rugs sculpted into delectable items: bags, jackets and waistcoats were all victims of the itchy tartan look, by by God it worked well.

Sleeping mats were rolled into bags, whilst resembling their camping partner - the sleeping bag.

Studs were embellishing everything from faces to ankles, and back up to the necks. And LOOK at those JW earrings: what would you do for one of those? I would actually go camping in the highlands if that was my reward!

JW Anderson has established his name through his dramatic collections, ecclectic silhouettes and fearless flamboyancy, his interpretation of AW10 was no disapointment: perhaps punk has already been done, but the fusion of galic culture and the punk movement was genius.. it all lay in the flowers.

All images are by James Pinkie Terry

Carnaby Street - 1960-2010

As everyone knows Carnaby Street today is part of the daily life in London, and as well for tourists around the world who come to view the hot designers & labels of the street. What most might not know is of the rich history Carnaby brings, like the music heritage such as the Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, and Jimi Hendrix from the 60's. To celebrate the 50th Anniversary there will be year long events starting with an exhibition and book of the same title; 'Carnaby Street 1960-2010'.

The exhibition will put into context the history of Carnaby from its earliest origins in the 16th Century to the present day with a focus on the 60's...The limited edition book will feature images from the 60's photographer Philip Townshend and exclusive interviews of people who lived and worked on Carnaby.

Series of events will follow throughout the year including a live music weekend in June and a unique fashion show in September.

Carnaby Street: 1960-2010 opens from today the 26th of February to Saturday the 10th of April.

38 Carnaby Street, W1

Contributing Editor - NJD

Top & below image by: Philip Townshend

Middle image by: All Hulton

The youngest menswear at LFW

London is probably the most avant garde fashion capital, therefore many from the next A/W 10/11 men collections are composed by eclectic, modern and fanciful garments.

The Mensday at London Fashion Week was full of very interesting proposals where we could once again reaffirm why London is the ideal market for young designers to launch their brands.

When talking about modernism and trendiness at LFW, a name springs up my mind very quickly: Katie Eary. She gave a meaning to the word 'show' with her animal lookalike prints, accessories and very colourful clothes.

White is not the preferred colour for this season either, but Central Saint Martins was dare enough to show some really cool white looks. Young designers are always meant to be the most risky ones.

TopMan Design upgraded the brand deciding to carry out their first independent catwalk. As it was expected, they did not disappoint anyone. The colour palette was dominated by green army, oxford red and black. The military inspiration look was reinforced with boots and other details such as necklaces and hats.

Mensday LFW

The official mensday of LFW was kicked off today with spectacular shows by Carolyn Massey and JW Anderson respectively.

The two could not have contrasted more greatly: Massey's smooth palette of soft greys, tantalising mauves and dramatic blacks gave way to a more sophisticated take on the Gentlemen of AW10.

Crop trousers revelaed chunky fishnet tights disappearing into fabulously heavy, brogue - and work - ankle boots. The nake-up transformed the models into gothic ballerina's and the draped tops and gorgeous fabrics gave a liquidity to the collection that you made you wish it could go on forever.

JW Anderson's offering of what can only be described as Highland Punk was an exquisitely crafted collection, with chunky Arran knits shrouding the boys skinny frame: some left as raw wool others covered with gauze: creating a pillowed effect.

The boots resembled that of a 1930's deep sea diver, but with the weighty additions of studs, studded belts and - in some romantic cases - mauve roses (which gave the backstage area a divine aroma). These boots are serious hardware: could crush a mouse in one step type of hard wear.

Details Included: Jackets and bags made from tartan picnic baskets, raw edges, rolled up trousers, belts [everywhere].

The highland theme was so strong you could almost imagine the bagpipes blaring out as the boys were being dressed: but that would have been too obvious of course.

Camel was used for outerwear: firmly establishing it's essential presence for next A/W which i personally cannot wait for...



Tomorow our location photographer: James Terry will upload all of his fantastic images of backstage Mensday, and we shall take it from there.

"Richard Hambleton - New York" in Milan

Richard Hambleton rose to fame in the early 1980's when like his contemporaries, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, had great success coming out of the New York City art scene. He used the streets of NY as his canvas for visually arresting public art, most notably his "Shadowman" & "Crime Scene" series. Hambleton has been labelled "The Godfather of Street Art".

The last surviving member of the East Village Art Movement, Hambleton saw what fame and drugs use did to his close friends, and for the last 20 years has led a relatively reclusive life in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. During those years, Hambleton has continued to create and his works can be found in the permanent collections of the MoMA, the Brooklyn Museum, the Zellermeyer in Berlin, the Andy Warhol museum, the New Museum of Contemporary Art and even at Harvard University. In 1984 he was chosen for the Venice Biennale.

Following the highly successful New York exhibition in September 2009, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld & Andy Valmorbida in collaboration with Giorgio Armani will present "Richard Hambleton - New York" an exhibition of 45 works by Hambleton, during Milan Fashion Week.

Vladimir & Andy say: "Richard Hambleton's brush stroke as an artist is genius and is in a league of his own. Most significantly, he is the most important and influential living street artist in the world today, with a story and career that is unparalleled. It is also a privilege for us to collaborate with Giorgio Armani and we are pleased to present it in such a prestigious space."

The Richard Hambleton exhibition will be open to the public on March 1st to the 12th 2010, following the opening night reception on February 25th 2010. All at the Armani/Teatro in Milan, which will be open from 10am-7pm.

It will feature 45 pieces, 30 works-15 never before seen, will be for sale.

Contributing Editor - NJD

Richard Hambleton's images by: Hank O'Neal