CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

anthonymcgrath405 / 06/11/2014

A lot more then the Emperor’s new Clothes – Ten c

What happens when the creative directors of CP Company and Blauer come together ? Well apart from loads of debating on the intrinsic detailing of outerwear, a blooming great coats brand for starters ! Ten c, the Emperor’s new clothes is the brand created by Alessandro Pungetti and Paul Harvey and couldn’t be further away from the pretentious characters from Hans Christian Andersen fable, but like the original tale which tells of looking beyond what you are told to see and to value what is truly there. The ability to see past the fashion media barrage is a new interpretation of the original fairy tale.

Ten c is a menswear collection that wear no labels either inside or out. They ask to be loved for what they are. Pieces that last forever. These timeless and iconic jackets are created to live and age with you !!!

The incredible Japanese jersey will, with time, mould itself almost imperceptibly to you. It will become part of your life’s story like the dented wristwatch from when the Bungy rope broke and would have broken your arm had you not being wearing that watch. The tent that wears the scars of every festival its ever been to with you. That pair of jeans you just cannot throw away. They will become exclusively yours.

Ten c believe that by applying the true values of craftsmanship and creating garments that are conceived to last all your life, they can in some way help, and this comes from the bible of real environmentalists, in the elimination of waste. They are talking about caring and quality.

anthonymcgrath405 / 04/11/2014

Tripl Stitched to Perfection – Tripl Stitched Shirts

Every man loves a good shirt, whether he be a classic city gent, a weekend football terrace watcher or top button fastened beard wearing trendy, you can’t beat a good quality shirt that keeps it’s shape, colour and isn’t a trail of Hercules to iron, we are simple creatures us men.

Tripl Stitched is a new men’s shirt brand that is designed and manufactured in its own factory in London creating contemporary casual shirts using vintage machinery.

Driven by the desire to bring back premium shirt production to the UK, over the last 10 years Tripl Stitched have sourced, shipped and restored shirt-‐making machines from around the world.These machines are not as quick as their modern counterparts but the finished garments that they create have a character and finish that sets them apart from their peers. Tripl Stitched produce a collection of the finest men’s shirting from oxfords, flannels, button downs and spread collars.

The finest quality construction combined with prints developed with some of Britain’s best creative talents, and fabrics sourced from the finest Italian and Japanese mills create premium shirting that has the cachet of not only made in England, but made in London.

The first collaboration with London based creatives takes its influence from the heart of shirt making. Entitled ‘Cut, Make Trim’ the project is the launch of a unique series of collaborations showcasing three of London’s best illustrative talents – IYA, Josh McKenna & Jack Cunningham.

IYA are an independent creative studio working collaboratively with clients across multiple disciplines, includingFolk, Oliver Spencer, Hudson Shoes, BBC, Channel 4, Globetrotter Luggage, Nike & Volvo amongst others. Their shirt design, the Scriptura pattern, is based on a graphic from a 1970’s screen-‐printed calendar, given to them as a gift when they moved to their new studio in London’s, Menswear Heartland,Lamb’s Conduit Street. Purchased from a quirky art and design second hand bookseller in WC1, the calendar is still a prized possession and hangs proudly on the studio wall.

East London based illustrator and designer Josh McKenna’s shirt features a linocut illustration of a famous cockney rhyming slang – Apple & Pears -‐ the addition of more tropical fruits to the print, like the pineapple create a contemporary twist to a traditional rhyme, me ole cockney sparrow .

Jack Cunningham is both an illustrator and animator and currently the youngest director at Nexus Productions. Jack’s playful characters, each depicting different parts of the shirt making process, come together to create a unique pattern which has been screen printed onto a limited run of shirts made from heavyweight indigo cotton with a subtle tone on tone finish.

Further projects are already in development, so keep your eyes peeled and Tripl Stitched hope to have a continual programme of collaborations across all different aspects of London’s creative industries.

anthonymcgrath405 / 03/11/2014

It’s Spookily good for you – Snail Gel by Amanda Lewis

This is no Halloween tall tale, Dr Organics actually harvest snail slime to create a eco conscious beauty range that is amazing for your skin. Seriously though I have been wondering how you harvest snail slime, answers on a postcard please?

Snails make Helix Aspersa Muller, which enables them to regenerate its shell and skin if damaged.

Snail slime has long been known for its amazing healing and soothing properties, once the scientists got involved they discovered that it contains super high levels of allantoin, collagen and elastin all things that does your skin good.

So, time to try it out. First impressions were good, it’s rich, non-greasy and smells very botanical and fresh, not snaily whatsoever. Skin looked brighter and felt firmer.

As its organic it’s free from any nasty substances – such as petro chemicals, parabens and additives or snails! What more could you ask for !

anthonymcgrath405 / 29/10/2014

125 years in the Making – Lee Jeans 125th Anniversary

To mark this milestone anniversary Lee are producing a series of special projects, bound up in one yearlong celebration. To kick proceeds off Lee have asked designers at the helm of Lee’s four favourite labels who have helped the iconic denim brand re-imagine its most popular fits and finishes.

These friends of Lee bring their own left-field take on style, creating four distinct facets to the collection. With each designer already the founder of their own successful brand, they perfectly embody Lee’s worker-doer aesthetic. The line-up is, drum roll please, Donwan Harrell, creative director of luxury denim brand Prps; Emma François of womenswear brand Sessun; Swedish denim king Orjan Andersson, and Belgian design trio Sarah and Carol Piron and Gregory Derkenne of Filles à Papa.

For us Men, Andersson’s DIY alternative approach to design is perfect to bring a contemporary, upbeat character to the project. Clean pared-down washes is combined with patched and repaired black denim with a rock aesthetic look. Örjan celebrates Lee’s trademark denim with a simple slim unisex silhouette. And genius denim connoisseur Donwan Harrell of US-based luxury menswear outfit Prps adds his own brand of design magic, bringing confident finishes and exciting visual washes to the party.

anthonymcgrath405 / 28/10/2014

A SPEZIAL Collection from adidas – adidas Originals X SPEZIAL

In 2013 adidas held an exhibition to celebrate all things Adidas and showcased the product collections of some of its most passionate fans. It was a major success and it’s ‘SPEZIAL’ title has since come to represent the very essence of the adidas brand to fans and collectors alike.

The project was curated by long time, 3 stripe devotee Gary Aspden, honestly what Gary doesn’t know about adidas isn’t worth knowing, trust me. After the overwhelming response to the exhibition he put forward an idea to work with the adidas team in Herzogenaurach, birth town of adidas, to come up with a new, archive inspired, adidas Originals capsule collection of clothing and footwear. From this proposal the adidas Originals x SPEZIAL range was born.

The adidas Originals x SPEZIAL range is not solely about the engineered science of performance sportswear, the cross over of high fashion luxury brands and sports wear or the nostalgia for one to one vintage reproductions. Whilst adidas is fundamentally a sportswear company, it has always had a rich history in leisurewear dating back over 40 years to the era of Adi Dassler himself. The adidas Originals x SPEZIAL collaboration is a modern collection that pays its respects to all these areas without being solely dedicated to any one of them. It offers a range of clothing and footwear range that provides an updated, contemporary and premium vision of adidas.

The collection includes twelve iconic vintage adidas apparel pieces (e.g. the Beckenbauer tracksuit) that are re-designed and re-invented in premium fabrics and modern cuts. Plus, the footwear takes four classic adidas silhouettes and tweaks them whilst retaining the brand’s DNA. The upper patterns are re-worked and new hybrid shoes marrying up different elements of much loved iconic styles are created.

Aspden says of the collection; “Growing up in the north west of England in the 70s and 80s adidas was (and still is) the brand we all gravitated towards. I have been a fan ever since. I grew up loving the sophistication of European sportswear brands.The adidas Originals x SPEZIAL collection is about identifying and utilizing those elements (beyond the three stripes) of the adidas design personality that are unique to this brand.”

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