CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

anthonymcgrath405 / 11/07/2014

All done in the best possible taste – BAARTMANS AND SIEGEL

Baartmans & Siegel SS15

Wouter Baartmans and Amber Siegel, the London based Dutch British combo, are certainly making their presence known in the men’s fashion universe. Their names aren’t household ones at the moment, but no doubt over the coming few years that will most definitely change.

The duo met while at avant-garde fashion house, Viktor & Rolf, and were united in their belief of beautiful craftsmanship and imaginative design. Their style has quickly evolved and matured and tge duo describe their look as, “Classic elegance with modern masculinity.”

Already they have brought their unique take on menswear to successful collaborations with the likes of Penfield and Grenson. But moving into Autumn and 2015 get ready for the onslaught, with projects planned with the likes of River Island, Kickers and the subject of today’s post. Nixon, the contemporary watch brand have teamed up with this dynamic duo for their first folly into London Fashion. Since their humble beginnings in southern California, Nixon is now distributed in over 90 countries, boasts a team of some of the leading talents in Skate, Surf and Snow and a product range grown to include clothing, accessories and custom audio products.

Proud to focus on the items that aren’t noticed first, Nixon’s collections are filled with innovative and contemporary designs. Working to make the small things as good as can be, “so when you wear it, you feel like you’ve got a leg up on the rest of the world.” A statement the brand has abided by for the past fifteen years.

Baartmans & Siegel SS15

anthonymcgrath405 / 10/07/2014

Still Fresh after 25 years – The Boxfresh 25 Collection

25 years, a Silver anniversary is something to shout about and make a fuss over and to celebrate this landmark event, one of the UK’s best loved streetwear brands, Boxfresh will launch a limited edition, capsule collection entitled ‘25’.

The brand began life with a market stall in Camden, North London in 1989 with a range of contemporary graphics printed onto vintage t-shirts. These garments were picked up quickly and became a staple amongst music artists and creative talent across the capital.

The collections that celebrates this monumental year will include 12 pieces of apparel and four footwear styles featuring the ‘QUARTER’ graphic on all t-shirts and sweats and as a label inside each product. The graphic represents not only a quarter of a century but also highlights Boxfresh’s US sport and street inspirations. When Boxfresh originally began, it was a store in London which sold exclusive American brands such as Carhartt and Penfield. ‘25’ celebrates this early heritage but brings a European sophistication to it.

In this collection, Boxfresh has also explored new areas in cut. Fits are are looser and oversized with longer length tees and shirts with extended tails and sweats, using super heavy weight loopback fabric. There are jackets with technical qualities and reflective 3M is featured throughout the pieces.

anthonymcgrath405 / 09/07/2014

Tour de Smith – Paul Smith in full Cycling mode

If you were lucky enough to have beared witness to a glimpse of the Tour de France past through the country this week, you will surely known that the country seems to be in the grip of cycle frenzy at the moment. Now one designer, who is totally known for his great passion for peddle power is none other than the great Sir Paul Smith.

By special invitation from the British Government, Paul Smith has designed three posters to mark the cultural importance of the Tour de France and its arrival in the UK. With the design taking inspiration from the three UK stages of the tour, the posters celebrate the momentous occasion. One reflects Saturday 5th July, the first day of theTour and when the athletes will cycle 190km from Leeds to Harrogate through the Yorkshire Dales. The second, in green, is Sunday 6th July when they’ll cut a dash over the Peak District from York to Sheffield. The third, bright blue poster accompanies the final stage in the Tour’s visit to the UK when the peloton will race 155km from Cambridge to London ending onThe Mall. After which theTour will continue in France.

Limited edition, signed versions of each of the three posters are available to win by those who post images of themselves with their bicycles using #takenwithmybike on Instagram andTwitter.Winners will be selected at random. Get involved!

No one could accuse Sir Paul of resting on his laurels as he has just teamed up with MRPORTER.COM to launch Paul Smith 531, an exclusive range of specialist cycling outerwear and accessories.

Bringing together Paul Smith’s passion for cycling and the latest developments in technical fabrications, the 11 piece collection features lightweight jackets, cycling essential accessories and an all-black racing bike designed for city cycling.

The Paul Smith 531 range is named after the famous Reynolds lightweight bike tubing used by Tour de France champions. The number refers to the ratio of manganese (5), molybdenum (3) and carbon (1) in the steel alloy. Built in collaboration with Mercian Cycles, a British bespoke bicycle retailer, the bike forms the centrepiece of Paul Smith 531 adding to the MR PORTER sports category.

Take a look at Sir Paul Smith talk us through how he came up with the idea in a short film below.

anthonymcgrath405 / 02/07/2014

Ted-tastic luggage – Ted Baker launch Luggage

Don’t you just hate standing at the baggage carousel, on a right downer after a great holiday and all the bag on it look like yours ?!?! Well those wonderful guys from Ted Baker have thought long and hard on how to solve this problem without you looking a right plum with some day glo yellow, stand out from the crowd, suitcase.

The have come up with both a men’s and women’s range of hard-sided and ultra lightweight polycarbonate trolley suitcases. The men’s range takes inspiration from herringbone. One of the oldest forms of woven linen, dating back over 2000 years to the Roman Empire, where the design was used in some of the finest textiles.

The Ted Herringbone pattern is featured across the framed front panel in either a masculine Navy or Charcoal Grey. The cases have clever little touches to them paying homage to Ted Baker’s quirky and unique style, for instance, the wheels on the case have been cleverly re-imagined as shirt buttons. Plus the organised interior, designed for optimum packing efficiency, and features the brand’s unique “Birds of Prey ” lining, with soaring Eagles, Owls, Falcons and Hawks.

After all we must remember, travel does broaden the mind, but as Ted, himself says, it’s how you travel as much as where you go, that makes the Journey one to remember.

anthonymcgrath405 / 01/07/2014

Ensure you’re looking good at the Nineteenth hole -Trickers X Wolsey

Now what do you do if your one of the oldest existing clothing companies in the world. Who during the 19th century quickly established itself as Britain’s premium manufacturer of finest quality hosiery and a champion of knitwear innovation, opening one of the first steam powered factories in 1859 and you want to produce a pair of top notch golf shoes ?

Well you turn to a 180 year-old family business, who’s a premium specialist of handmade leather shoes; based in home to Great British footwear, Northampton. This company is renowned for its heavy brogue shoes and boots and has supplied his royal highness, The Prince of Wales, for 5 years before being given a royal warrant.

I am of course talking about two sterling heritage brands coming together to produce one sterling product. Wolsey and Tricker’s have joined forces to create a special-edition Golf shoe, which marks the first time Tricker’s is offering an off-the- shelve model. For the collaboration, Wolsey envisioned a simple and timeless design, emphasised by a traditional welted construction. Authentic craftsmanship is evident through materials like calf leather uppers and linings, a leather insole and a stitched leather outsole.

Jamey Hargreaves, Chairman & Creative Director, Wolsey, says of this collaboration.

“Wolsey approached Tricker’s as we wanted to produce a hand-crafted golf shoe made in England. Our shoe is very clean and minimal with our signature Wolsey red as an internal pop colour, which conveys our overall brand aesthetic “less-is-more.”

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