CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

anthonymcgrath405 / 22/04/2015

A Matchless Avenger – Matchless team up with Marvel for Avengers: Age of Ultron to launch a Limited Edition Superheroes Collection

2015 has to be the year of Movie Blockbuster sequels, and it really does cover the whole of the spectrum. We have such movie “Classics” as Hotel Transylvania 2, The Transporter Refueled, Pitch Perfect 2, Ted 2, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (I seem to have missed the first one). Right the way through to Batman Vs Superman, Bond 24 aka Spectre, and of course the red letter day that is December 18th, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, first up is a Blockbuster of a Blockbuster is the heroic form of Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron !!!! Earth’s Mightiest Heroes return to the big screen in the highly anticipated movie. As the synopsis foretells, “When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to the Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.”

Following months of collaboration with Academy Award-winning Costume Designer Alexandra Byrne, Matchless, the oldest British brand of motorcycles, clothing and accessories with the first product manufactured at the end of the 19th century, designed and supplied key pieces from their current collection for the Superheroes, which reflect the characters’ true personalities.

These heroes include Scarlett Johannson’s character ‘Black Widow’, Chris Evans’ Captain America, Jeremy Renner’s character Hawkeye and Nick Fury himself, played by Samuel L. Jackson. For Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Matchless created the ‘Captain Jacket’, a timeless blouson with two front pockets made of Matchless treated calf brown leather making it soft, strong and very resistant. For Hawkeye’s alter ego Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), the costume designer chose the classic Matchless ‘Osborne Ltd Edition Blouson’. This fitted leather blouson with its round collar is made in Matchless’s signature black calf leather, keeping our Super Hero cool at all times. For the ever cool commanding figure that is Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) the designer chose another contemporary Matchless design, which has now been renamed the ‘Fury Coat’ in the character’s honour. This classic 3⁄4 black jacket combines the lightly aged soft Nappa leather with treated wool fabric.

As the official luxury fashion partner, these signature Matchless pieces, as well as key garments and accessories inspired by the remaining Avengers characters, will be available to purchase through key Matchless stockists and the newly launched online Matchless Atelier heroes.matchlesslondon.com Each Matchless limited edition garment will be identifiable by the iconic Marvel’s Avengers hangtag and will carry the exclusive Matchless Avengers Passport, detailing the origin of the character and their Super Hero garment, surely a collectors Musthave.

anthonymcgrath405 / 20/04/2015

My Favourite Grooming Products – David Olsen, vice president of global beauty & grooming, MR PORTER.COM

Today sees the launch of a new feature where we ask key industry figures to let us in on those essential items they couldn’t live without. The subject of today’s feature is David Olsen, vice president of global beauty & grooming for both NET-A-PORTER.COM and MR PORTER.COM. In his role, Olsen oversees the global beauty and grooming planning, buying, sales, marketing and communication functions, for the group. Olsen has a Bachelor of Arts from UC Berkeley and a JD/MBA from the University of Miami.

1) Czech and Speake-manicure set

Having nice, clean looking nails is a must, especially when you are in front of clients day in, day out. This set is the highlight of our Czech & Speake collection – it’s premium, unique and can be easily packed away in a suitcase.

2) Aesop-Dapper Gentleman

Aesop collaborated with us to design this bestselling exclusive. The kit includes the products every man needs to freshen up tired skin.

3) D R Harris-Arlingon kit

D R Harris has been around since 1790. That says it all. When I have time for a proper shave, this is my go-to brand. The products are well made and the Arlington scent is classic and refreshing.

4) Patricks Pomade

Patricks hair product range is truly one-of-a-kind. The packaging design is unique – it features a double lock system so the package doesn’t open while travelling, dimensions inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, and a no-slip rubber grip system – that it’s easy to forget that the pomade contains a hair loss prevention compound.

5) Bigelow-Rose Salve

This is the ultimate skin defense for the UK’s cold temperatures. C.O. Bigelow has been a Manhattan institution for over 100 years. I can always rely on them for quality products, with a rich and old-New York feel.

6) Pankhurst-Silver Fox Shampoo

I’m counting on this product to help me age gracefully. Pankhurst’s award-winning formulations and handsome packaging will take you straight back to the Bentley-designed barber chairs of their Carnaby Street Shop.

anthonymcgrath405 / 16/04/2015

A Historic Pairing – Nigel Cabourn X Fred Perry

Nigel Cabourn and Fred Perry are two monumental names in British Menswear, both share great similarities in that they always stay true to their design principles, have never been swayed by the fads and passing trends of Fashion and both share a passion for Sport. Perry’s is a more obvious one, with his heritage deeply entrenched in tennis, but Cabourn too finds great inspiration in Sporting attire.

Premium menswear retailer, Woodhouse Clothing has been selected as one of 10 limited retailers who are housing the exclusive Nigel Cabourn for Fred Perry SS15 collection which is inspired by table tennis. The 12 piece collection which comprises of polo shirts, shorts and lightweight jackets.

Gavin Crossland, head of buying at Woodhouse said “We’re delighted that Woodhouse has been chosen to sell the Nigel Cabourn collection for spring/summer 2015. The collection is steeped in heritage and ticks all the right boxes for our consumer. As we head towards our 40th anniversary this year, it cements our position in offering exclusive brand collections.”

We were lucky enough to be invited to Nigel Cabourn’s Army Gym concept store in Covent Garden to talk with the man himself about the collection.

Can you explain a bit about this collection and the thinking behind it?

This particular project is really about Fred himself. Obviously when you do a collaboration, from my point of view, it should be 50/50. I have a big interest in table tennis anyway, I was a young kid in the ‘50s and table tennis was quite a big sport then and that’s when Fred Perry began his clothing range.

When the team at Fred Perry came to me and asked would I work with them I immediately said I’d be interested but I wanted to focus on Fred because he was world champion in table tennis in 1929. They sort of dropped their jaws a little bit because I’m not sure how aware they were of that – everyone thinks of him as a Wimbledon Champion before anything else.

I said if we can do the collaboration on table tennis then we’ll do it, so basically this is a combination of my love of Ping-Pong as a kid and the fact that was where Fred really began.

Do you still play?

Oh yeah! I play a lot, I’ve got my own table and up until recently I was probably playing 4 or 5 times a week. I’m very much into keep fit but unfortunately I can’t do everything, I’m doing a lot more boxing and army training at the moment but table tennis is really good for your mind and quick thinking.

What’s your favourite item from the collection?

The Sweat Suit is definitely my favourite, it’s basically what Fred Perry were making around 1954 and in 54/55 as a kid I was wearing that same tracksuit bottom with the over the head half zip top which was actually a football kit of the day.

I love the full suit, you’ll see from my Instagram that I’ve been wearing it a lot. I’ve been using it for everything from riding my fat bike to boxing and playing tennis, it’s great.

Can you describe the collection in a few words?

It’s based on table tennis, it’s inspired by table tennis and it’s really what Fred Perry were specialising in from 1952. The collection is true to that and uses all of the original fabrics from the early 50’s as well as the original branding from the laurel wreath to the back neck label. It epitomises Fred Perry at the beginning.

Can we expect any more Fred Perry x Cabourn in the future?

Well this is the first one, I’ve designed two more since then so we’ve got three collections coming out in the next 18 months and I’m pretty sure we’ll be doing another one, so it’s going to be a two year collaboration.

The next one is based on Fred training with the Arsenal football team in 1936, which again, not a lot of people know about. When he was a tennis player challenging at Wimbledon during the height of his success in tennis he was also at the training ground with Arsenal.

The next collection is heavily focused on that. It’s really cool, there’s roll neck sweaters like the old goalkeepers wore mixed in with sweat pants and tops.

Fred Perry have got such a good following and the great thing about this project is it’s a very natural one for me as you can see, you can’t just make that stuff up.

It’s a big part my heritage as well, I’m 65 for god sake and my brand is already 45 years old, Fred Perry is about 60 odd years old too. I knew a lot about this and it looks great.

anthonymcgrath405 / 14/04/2015

Survival of the fittest – Natural Selection

Natural Selection found life back in 2009, when John Park sought inspiration from Charles Darwin’s book ‘Origin of Species by way of Natural Selection’ the brand was conceived on the notion of constant evolution in a highly competitive world. Starting as a denim brand, and using only Japanese selvedge, Natural Selection marries modern silhouettes and finishing techniques to authenticity and high-fidelity construction.

For this season Natural Selection throughly embraces the chaos and energy of artist Tim Woolcock, a latter day proponent of the St Ives School of Painting, to create a collection of non–linear abstraction. Following the architecturally design collection for last season, where irregularity was introduced through peppered tweeds, flecked chambrays and an errant polka dot motif. The shirting, shorts and sweaters feel sportier whilst silhouettes retain their clean, vertical lines.

The colour palette of the collection of blue, grey and stone are reminiscent of Woolcock’s work and compliment the crisp, uncluttered essence of the clothing. The brand continuously strives to challenge the norms of garment construction and craftsmanship with details such as buttons, pockets and seams concealed to produce flawless design with no compromise on functionality.

Proving its survival and even triving, later this month the brand open it’s first flagship store, on London’s Monmouth Street. Offering the discerning consumer the opportunity to shop both ready to wear and the extensive denim range, the Natural Selection store will also have curated collections from specially sourced designers; namely No.288 footwear from New York and Parisian eyewear brand Thierry Lasry. Cosmetics from Dr Jackson’s all-natural skincare range and fragrance from Histoires de Parfums will also complement the store’s all round offering.

anthonymcgrath405 / 13/04/2015

AMEN to that – A*MEN ULTRA ZEST Limited Edition

A*Men, originally launched back in 1996 as a men’s fragrance created from the richness of Thierry Mugler’s own imagination, drawing heavily on his characteristic symbolism. The fragrance itself reflects the duality of the Mugler man: a powerful, strength of character belying an emotional sensual side beneath. This original scent evoked by the fresh, metallic purity of peppermint and lavender, combining with a reassuring sensuality of a woody blend of patchouli and Atlas cedarwood. Contrasting this is a fiery explosiveness of coffee, styrax, and powerful notes of musk and tonka bean.

However, the man of the 21st-century is very different to his counterpart of the last millennium and so A*MEN brings you a new twist on the original: Ultra Zest. Shaken, not stirred, this new male fragrance will tantalise the senses as it bursts with fresh, citrus, spicy and woody notes. This refreshing cocktail dares you to stand out from the crowd, be bold and go where most won’t dare to go.

It offers the perfect cocktail of woody, spicy and citrus notes and once again evokes emotions in equal measures. We have, Vigour, supplied by The fresh scents of mandarin, blood orange and ginger to tantalise the senses. Attitude, comes thanks to a mix of cinnamon, coffee and black pepper to give the fragrance its strength and unwitting character and of course, Seduction, thanks to vanilla, patchouli and tonka bean to create a sophisticated and sensual scent.

The energetic orange flask containing this elexia explodes with colour whilst the signature star of Thierry Mugler, shines from within.

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