CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

The extraordinary mens blog for the modern man
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One heck of a serious Collaboration – Edwin X Blitz

imageFor those that don’t know Blitz Motorcycles is a Paris-based custom garage founded by Fred Jourden and Hugo Jezegabel in 2010. Together, we conceive, customise and hand finish motorcycles to create unique, one-of-a-kind machine. Summer 14 sees the third collection made by Edwin Europe for  Blitz, born from a shared passion for road trips, great friendships and beautiful simplistic design.

The collaboration retains at its heart the main core principles that prompted the first two: creating non-seasonal, non-trend led functional garments that fit in with Blitz Motorcycles way of life…

This concise seven piece capsule collection, entirely made of jersey is made up of six t-shirts and a single crew sweat, using a palette of washed black and off white. The use of monochromatic tones and fabrics lends itself to the durable and stripped back aesthetics demonstrated by the Parisian Duo.

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It’s Magic -Stone Island Marina

imageRemember the Hypercolour T-Shirts of the 1980’s, they started off one colour then as you warmed up, or simply with body heat they changed to a different one, yeah they were all the rage. That was until it was you wore it and the first area to change colour was you armpits, which just highlighted something, which really didn’t need a big colour changing  arrow to point it out.

Anywho, the technology behind this has moved on in leaps and bounds and luxury Sportswear brand Stone Island are implementing it in a whole new way within their new Stone Island Marina range. It’s described as, “A meeting point between the Sports look and total relaxation.”

The technology used with this range on waistcoats in fine cotton muslin changes colour according to the temperature. The molecules of the micro coloured pigments encapsulated in the fabric changes colour gradually as the temperature rises, changing the shade of the jackets. Plus to make this a little more technical and a ravers delight, glow in the dark details have been used on the detailing, piping and print.

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Breaking all the new rules -Harvey Nichols New Rules of Menswear

International Uber Style Retailer Harvey Nichols have recently unveils an exclusive fashion film titled ‘NEW RULES’. This dynamic video is directed by the creative agency Bunker London, and styled by Matthew Josephs, who is being hailed as one of the country’s most exciting new stylists.

The film showcases the latest SS14 collections from Harvey Nichols key menswear brands such as: Hood by Air, Kris Van Assche, Christopher Kane, Neil Barrett, Christopher Shannon, B Side by Wale, Damir Doma, Versus, Gareth Pugh, AQA, BLACK SCVLE, Ann Demeulemester, KTZ, alongside the established heavy weights in the industry; Raf Simons, Givenchy, Balmain, Versace and Saint Laurent Paris. This frenetic, high octane film highlights the fashion industry’s current obsession with elevated streetwear and reflects the growing integration between music and fashion. To parallel this pairing, Harvey Nichols has chosen to represent one of Britain’s growing musical talents Lil Silva, whose musical influences are an amalgamation of minimal funk and grime, to provide the background beats.

 

New Rules: SS14 Menswear from Harvey Nichols on Vimeo.

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Orla & John, a match made in Collaboration heaven – John Lewis X Orla Kiely

imageAs part of the landmark celebrations around John Lewis’ 150th birthday this year, You surely can’t have missed that TV Ad by now ? The department store is collaborating with world-renowned designer Orla Kiely on her debut menswear collection. The monumental celebrations, which will see exclusive collaborations by the likes of Barbour, Levi’s and Hackett, amongst others across the retailer and will cement 150 years for John Lewis at the pinnacle of British ‘shopkeeping’.

Internationally lauded for her striking prints and use of unique motifs and textures, the 19 piece range takes inspiration from the 1950’s Mediterranean styling from film, The Talented Mr Ripley. Featuring printed shirts, cotton poplin shorts, swim shorts, pigment washed jersey sweatshirts and a range of accessories including caps, belts and canvas beach bags, the collection features colourways from the designer’s signature ‘Stem Print’ palette in mustard, brick red and elephant grey. Anchoring the collection are two classic prints from the designer’s archive – ‘Sea Sketch’ in navy blue and ‘Ditsy Regatta’ in grey and brown – each in an illustrated, hand drawn style.

“For my debut menswear line I wanted to create something true to my established design signature – versatile matching sets that achieve a clean, confident and contemporary look. Working closely with the John Lewis team from start to finish has made the process an absolute joy. Happy Birthday John Lewis!” Says Orla Kiely

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Designer Exterme Sports – Paul Smith Extreme Sport

imageSir Paul Smith is a designer who’s long had an association with the world of sport, whether that be through his own life long passion for cycling and his partnerships with Giro d’Italia or the Stylish cycling brand Rapha, or dressing not only the England Football team but his ongoing relationship with Manchester United. The Summer of 2014 not only is the summer of sport, but sees it come together with Fashion and fragrance in Paul Smith Extereme Sport – a fresh, energising, sporty take on Smith’s Classic scent.

“I’m passionate about sport and wanted to create a fragrance that embodied all the things I love about it.” Says Sir Paul. “Extreme Sport fresh, lively and and dynamics and will appeal, not just for sportsmen, but to any man with an active lifestyle.”

Paul Smith Extreme Sport is a citrus, woody and spicy fragrance. It takes it’s base DNA from it’s highly successful parent scent- in bergamot, incense, tonka bean and geranium, but to invigorate the new sporty twist, we see a raft of new notes. Kicking off with an intense burst of grapefruit followed by a shot of cool, crisp Moroccan mint. This then gives way to spicy floral heart punctuated by stimulating black pepper. The scent shows it’s muscle with its stamina and staying power built around incense Cedarwood and Tonka bean to give it all day longevity to the skin.

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