David Denby of The New Yorker writes a few thoughts on the latest Johnny Depp film, “Public Enemies”. Overall he gave it a good review but it may not have reached his very high expectations for the film. Here’s an excerpt…
“Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” is a ravishing dream of violent gangster life in the thirties—not a tough, funny, and, finally, tragic dream like “Bonnie and Clyde” but a flowing, velvety fantasia of the crime wave that mesmerized the nation early in the decade. The scowling men in long dark coats and hats, led by the fashion-plate bandit John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), march into a grand Midwestern bank with marble floors and brass railings, take over the place, throw the cash in bags, and make their getaway, jumping onto the sideboards of flat-topped black Fords—beautiful cars with curved grilles and rounded headlights that stand straight up from the cars’ bodies. It’s the American poetry of crime. Throughout the movie, blazing tommy guns emit little spearheads of flame, just as in a comic book. Men get their skulls bashed with gun butts, and get thrown out of cars, but, despite all the violence, the movie is aesthetically shaped and slightly distanced by the pictorial verve of gangland effrontery—the public aggression that Mann makes inseparable from high style. He keeps the camera moving, and the editing (by Paul Rubell and Jeffrey Ford) reinforces the speed without jamming ragged fragments together in the manner of hack filmmaking. As a piece of direction, “Public Enemies” is often breathtakingly fast, but it’s always lucid.” Read the full article here.
And even more interestingly, in the video below, Vanity Fair contributing editor and author of Public Enemies (the book) Bryan Burrough’s discusses how the gangsters changed the country, and how closely the movie adheres to history.
Karl Malden, the great Oscar winning actor, died today. I barely caught the news, what with all the hubbub over Jackson and his pills, wills, and enablers. Malden has been a mainstay of American cinema for so long, appearing in so many important films. In my opinion he was a strong, mainstay supporting actor. I wonder how many of our generation know and appreciate his work…
Truth be told I’m not sure I like the Kanye-ized Mr.Hudson, who seems to be minus the Library now. Mr.West sadly seems to have auto-tuned the English out of him. I will have to hear more from his upcoming album to adequately judge but I’m already missing the old Mr.Hudson (see below), who I’ve been waiting to release a new album for over two years now.
We’ve featured Giuliano Fujiwara footwear before and his accessories collections just don’t get enough attention. This season he changed up what is usually a very clean selection of shoes and went with a little more straight sneaker-head style. Many will make the obvious comparisons to Cr8tive Rec or worse, the Air Cheezy, but it’s the detailing and materials that separate them. The monochromatic series of navy, red, white, and sand are perfect, and they aren’t over stuffed with an oversized foam package like many mainstream brands. And although I have become a low guy over the last couple years I’m starting to consider the high-top again…
Images of a selection of the Wings+Horns Fall/Winter 2009 collection have been floating all over the web this week and I wanted to highlight the piece that separates itself from the rest. The Varsity Jacket pictured above is simply put, perfect. The combination of the wool navy body and rich chocolate brown leather sleeves and trim are a perfect combo. The jacket feels more Unrivaled than W+H. Which is probably why I love it so much.
In his second season as Creative Director for Dunhill, Kim Jones continued his march towards modernizing the label’s timeless heritage. For Spring/Summer 2010, he gave a contemporary update to the traditional tailoring for which the brand is known. I loved the icy grey and navy color palette and slim silhouettes. Some of the suiting fabrics were made up in Camdeboo, a crush-proof mohair. Two-toned Panama hats, short-sleeved patterned shirts and lightweight summer cardigans paired with tailored linen shorts could be your uniform this season. And a grey suit with a pin dot tie and polka dot shirt, all in various tones of the same color worked perfectly.
Jones once mentioned he’d like Dunhill to become an English Hermès, which places a lot of weight on the accessories and that emphasis was felt throughout the show which featured warm weather hats, cuff links, sterling silver briefcases, supple leather carry-on bags, flint framed sunglasses, and classic brogues.
Keep reading for detailed views and our favorite looks. Click on the images to enlarge them.
It is so rewarding to watch a beautiful collection come down the runway and know that you may be able to find every piece in store someday. As a designer I love the “fantasy” shows that are pure design inspiration but it is much harder to put together an interesting show filled w/ peices you could buy and wear now without looking like you stepped out of the future. Junya Watanabe is a master at this and displays those skills every season. The collection speaks for itself… so I will let the images do the talking. Below you will find a selection of the best looks and detailed views.
Kris Van Assche defined the season’s theme, “Dissonance,” as the notion of things of different origin grating together. He deconstructed Western wear and reconstructed it in new proportions, using elongated proportioned tops, Bermudas over leggings, with sport high-top gladiator sandals, he even featured a Peep-toe high-top. The collection felt fresh and light and I loved the use of bright royal and yellow color pops paired with crisp white and sheer grey.
Read more for additional detailed views of our favorites.
Ok, so this is coming from a guy who doesn’t even own a sandal, but I have to say that the Bottega Veneta Sandal pictured above is simply cool. Not cool in a “I would buy it sort of way”, but interesting and fresh. I doubt you will see anything else like it on the runway this season.
The Lanvin Spring/Summer 2010 collection looked great as usual. Tim Blanks of Men.Style usually does a great job of distilling his thoughts on a collection into a couple paragraphs and I love this little tidbit… “Elbaz mentioned that Lanvin has mostly been using the same models for the past few years. They’ve seen them grow from boys to (boyish) men, a fact they marked by penciling baby Dalí pencil moustaches on some of the guys. It’s that moment Elbaz relishes most, the moment of transformation. “The best thing about fashion is that it gives the freedom to be ,” he said. There was a whole lot of very enticing freedom in this collection.” There is a continuity from season to season with Lanvin that a lot of labels don’t have, which takes confident steady leadership. Much respect to Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver.
What can I say? Bottega Veneta gets me every time. I can’t say that I own one piece from the label but I can tell you that every season I fall in love with just about every look. Tomas Maier has done an excellent job and creates a beautiful collection every time out. I will feature some of the key looks from the collection later this week but for now I wanted to highlight the best shoe in the collection. The deep blood red patent penny loafer pictured above is simply perfect. I think when next Spring rolls around this is the color that will be on everyone and replace this years shades of blues.
C.P. Company had a great show last week… very clean and simple, just how we like it. There was one particular shoe I thought deserved some highlighting, the suede barefoot moccasins. In the Spring and Summer I basically live in these types of shoes. They are perfectly lightweight and the color palette tan, teal, and black is spot-on. Click on the image above for a much closer look.
James Sherwood has written up a nice little piece on the “loafer v lace-up” debate for FT.com and has some notable Savile Row shoe peddlers weigh in. Here’s an excerpt:
“I don’t do loafers at all,” says Nick Hart, founder of the Savile Row tailor Spencer Hart. “To me, loafers look too American. I would recommend Edward Green’s chocolate brown suede lace-up brogues for the summer suit. Don’t be fooled by sartorial rules involving what one is allowed to wear with what. That is only for the insecure: the bullies and the bullied. Rules are fun to know and in the hands of the stylish are there to be broken. And chocolate brown is the new black.”
According to Gieves & Hawkes design director Frederik Willems: “When the loafer is worn with summer suits, it has a more Continental feel and looks right when made in the finest leather or suede. As for loafers without socks, I feel it is more appropriate for a casual summer weekend. A lace-up will always bring more business cachet to a summer suit.”
“As a rule, guys come in for a loafer or a [lace-up] shoe. You rarely get them out of one camp and into another,” says Nathan Brown, founder of Lodger Footwear on London’s Clifford Street. “A lot of successful trader types in their mid-30s buy the black Italian loafer for the blue suit a half size too big, and kick them off at their desk. The 40-plus bankers favour the English version of the penny loafer, with the rounded toe that they try to dress up with a coloured sock. Neither is what I would call wearing a loafer in a modern, serious way. Most guys don’t know how to wear a serious slip-on in a formal way.”
As far as Brown is concerned, the oxblood leather Italian contemporary loafer is the definitive navy suit summer shoe. “Whereas most shoe stores report 80 per cent sales in black, we are finding more than 50 per cent of Lodger guys taking us up on our colours,” he says”
I’ve personally always been a lace-up guy with a suit, but I do like a loafer for slightly less formal occasions. I do think many men get comfortable with one style and stick with it their whole lives, but I like to mix things up and let the weather tell me how to dress. Which means more loafers and less socks as the months get warmer. Read the full article here.
Six years in development, the HB-SIA will soon begin flight tests with the goal of flying virtually via the power of the sun. This incredibly innovative aircraft is the creation of the team at Solar Impulse, led by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg. One of the sponsors of this project is Omega, which also produced a sick Speedmaster (the GMT “HB-SIA”) to commemorate this extraordinary airplane.
The HB-SIA has:
The wingspan of an Airbus A340, in order to minimize induced drag and offer the largest possible surface for the solar cells. The weight of a family car, every unnecessary gram has been eliminated in order to build a super-light aircraft. The power of a scooter, after the extreme optimization of the entire energy chain.
ONE PROTOTYPE, THREE OBJECTIVES
1. Validating the results of the computer simulations, the technological choices and the construction technologies 2. Testing an unexplored domain of flight, as no aircraft has yet succeeded in flying with this combination of size, weight and speed 3. Demonstrating the efficiency of the energy system by being able to fly right through the night after storing sufficient solar energy during the daytime.
Stats
Wingspan 63.40 m
Length 21.85 m
Height 6.40 m
Motor power 4 x 10 HP electric engines
Solar cells 11,628 (10,748 on the wing,
880 on the horizontal stabilizer)
Average flying speed 70 km/h
Maximum altitude 8,500 m (27,900 ft)
Weight 1,600 kg
Take-off speed 35 km/h
It’s been a rough week for me, I was admitted to the hospital and had emergency surgery over the weekend, so have been out of commission most of the week. You can miss a lot in a week in this new world. Ninski’s been left to fend for himself for the week and has done some great work but I’m back and ready to get in the mix. I’m still bed-ridden but I want let that stop me…
Never say never, eh? I’m breaking our rule here by mentioning this guy, but I just have to. Having brought us such delicacies as BBC and Bape, the pioneering street-fashionista and artiste extraordinaire Pharrell has done it again! Incredibly he is pushing past the realm of high taste, and opening our eyes to a new elite fashion sensibility. At first it made me squirm but now I realize the jacket he is wearing is so far ahead of things- it is the new “it.” I just didn’t get understand at first. Always a few steps ahead isn’t he? This jacket is so cutting edge, so bleeding edge, such a cut-down-grannys-drapes-and-build-a-blazer kind of creation that I realize we have a notable post here, the kind that will quickly be aped by the other blogs. But we got to it first, having seen the light…
I love this camera.
Not because its trendy or Art Directors are bandying this about as their latest purchase (please) but because it kicks its competition in the arse, it is (relatively) futureproof, and its gorgeous.
Its amazing that Jim Jannard decided to build a digital camera with these specs, and offer it up for a fraction of what other systems are going for, and he did it all while creating a distinct look and feel for the camera and its various siblings.
In an era of cheap throwaways and planned obsolescence, I really admire the durable, modular design of these cameras, and in particular the companies desire to allow firmware upgrades to help keep each camera current. What a contradiction with our current consumer culture- something that sets an example going forward (I am dead tired of lobbing out my ipod every two years.)
Here is an Olddandy, Karl Lagerfeld (fresh from a rideabout in his Hispano-Suiza H6 it seems), being interviewed by star adman Amir Kassaei. The interview was held in Berlin on April, 11th 2008 at the “Gipfel der Kreativität”. Its a forum about design, marketing and advertisement organized by the Art Directors Club for Germany. My German is rather rusty, but the gist of it is this: They talk about Lagerfeld’s creative powers, how he maintains his hair, then on to serious discussions such as Karl’s photography, his extensive fashion legacy, and his future plans as he nears his 95th birthday. Lagerfeld also spent about a minute massaging Amir’s ego, depicting him as the Europe’s answer to Alex Bogusky. A great interview/discussion if you can spare the 44 minutes and 52 seconds.
Slightly over six decades ago “1984“ was published. George Orwell’s novel is just as relevant in todays world as in 1949, perhaps more so as many of the imagined tools of oppression are now a reality (TV’s in every home and cctv’s come to mind.) NPR put out a great report on the book’s anniversary, including commentary by Christopher Hitchens, author of Why Orwell Matters.
We’ve seen The Pet Shop boys and Brian Eno get involved, and now increasingly other artists and designers are lending a hand in resisting the loss of freedoms in the UK. Neville Brody has a statement piece vis a vis surveillance and freedom included in new show on at the Design Museum entitled “Freedom Space.” The show is called Super Contemporary and he is one of fifteen designers presenting work, including Paul Smith (cute Rubbish bin) and Zaha Hadid (pure rubbish.)
Its encouraging to see this sort of involvement. It helps get another viewpoint out there and strengthens the debate that is ensuing in England.
The Neil Oatley designed McLaren MP4/5B is one beautiful machine. It was highly competitive in 1990 at the hands of Berger and Senna. Senna won his second title with this McLaren, generating controversy with his intentional shunting of Prost in Japan which sealed the championship for Ayrton.
The MP4/5B is easy on the eyes, with a simple, balanced form that is light years from the overly busy, dart-nosed F1 designs we have now.
Sometimes it’s tough for us to write about certain things here because we want to keep some secrets all to ourselves, rather than share them with thousands of readers. But in the end we always end up showing all our cards because we can’t help but share, as is the case here… Tyler Brûlé writes a weekly Fast Lane column for the FT Weekend Life and Arts section of the Financial Times and they are always filled with little nuggets of great insight. Saturday’s column had some that were particularly on point with Ninski and my discussions together, and we’ve highlighted those here.
“I know the summer season has officially started when two things start to happen. The first is that regardless of where I’m travelling, I no longer pack socks that go any higher than the bottom of my ankle (I’ll make an exception to go on-stage at the FT’s Luxury Conference in Monaco next week).
The second is that the annual “Italy vs Spain as the perfect Med destination” debate starts raging in my head (sorry France, apologies Greece and worry not, Lebanon – I’ll be spending time with you in early August). While Italy was the clear winner last year – thanks to much planning by my friend Olivia – this year it is Spain that is way out in front. It managed to get a cheeky head-start in late spring when I based myself for a few days in Palma, Mallorca.
Five or six years ago, I managed at least two trips to Palma a year. I would check in to the Hotel Portixol, eat club sandwiches by the pool, sip cava and go for late afternoon runs along the seafront into town. On my last trip there, I felt I’d been too absent for too long and decided to do something about it. First, I visited some real estate agents to see what kind of apartments were available in the city and, second, I asked one of them if they had any retail space available in the Santa Catalina district. By the time I boarded the flight to Milan I’d found a nice fixer-upper close to the market and a shop not far away.
Following a quick dash to Bali and back last week (which included some hair-raising thunderstorms over the Bay of Bengal on Friday night), I’m now parked at the Portixol and attempting a week off. I say “attempting”, not because I’m clattering away on my keyboard writing this column, but because this is also week one of a new retail experiment in which we have taken our Monocle shop concept and not only moved it to the Med but also staffed it in a completely different way.
Having found a typically Spanish shopfront that also boasts full living quarters at the back, I thought it might be a fun experiment to get colleagues out of the office in London and into the sunshine of Mallorca to meet our customers. So last week, Gaby, Kirsty and Yoshi descended on Palma to whip the tiny shop into shape, and this week Poppy and Natlie have been figuring out the rhythm of the neighbourhood to gauge opening hours. Should it be 11am-1pm, followed by a five-hour siesta and then 6pm-10pm? Or should it stretch to capture diners still looking for after-dinner distractions and stay open till midnight? So far everyone’s in agreement with having the whole afternoon off but we’ll have to see how the Santa Catalina district behaves as locals, Swedes, German, Norwegians, Danes, Brits and Antipodeans drift in and out over the coming weeks.
One of the most valuable lessons we’ve learned since moving into the shopkeeping business last November is the importance of offering people a place to sit. The addition of a simple teak bench in front of our London shop a month ago has revealed a number of interesting facts about human behaviour and modern urban planning. The first is that the sheer number of men and women – both young and old – who take up a place on the bench to rest their feet, take the sun or even devour a sandwich suggests that there’s a shortage of public places to sit down.
In fact, a quick scan of Marylebone in London reveals that the only places to sit on the street come with a menu. I chatted to a very informed local woman in her seventies who’s become rather fond of our bench and she explained that street benches have disappeared because they serve as beds for the homeless or potential hiding places for “the tools of terrorism”. “It’s actually nothing more than a cost-saving exercise,” she went on. “Much better to get mums and oldies to buy a cup of bad coffee than allow them the right to sit down for a few minutes.”
In Palma we put two benches in front of the shop, and within the first few days of trading we’d found more people looking for a place to sit down, catch their breath, have a chat and then move on. While Spanish cities seem much better at placing street furniture than London, our end of the street doesn’t have any seats or benches so they’re likely to be popular as the temperature rises and visitor numbers swell.
Too many cities are terrified of encouraging street life as it might generate too much laughter or create forums for staging revolutions. Smart mayors are starting to realise that busy, occasionally boisterous streets are better for the local economy because they have a trading life that goes from dawn till dusk. Moreover, truly vibrant, mixed-use neighbourhoods usually police themselves because residents live above the shops. Indeed, we wouldn’t dare step out of line in Palma because the lady and her chihuahua in the flat across the street seem to be in charge of our stretch of pavement and take up watch on their balcony every evening at 8pm.”
I cannot wait to see this film. Love the lack of supporting cast, and also the relatively simple location. Well, thats aside from the need for CG effects to support the whole “Moon” thing. Also love Sam the actor- not your usual Hollywood fare.
I’m curious to see if this Director is deserving of his title or if the whole Bowie angle played heavily into getting this gig off the ground. Early reviews are rolling in, some good, some not so.
I still can’t cosign on denim shorts, although I know some respectable brands are making some, but the chambray short is a whole other story… This great option from Post O’Alls would be a great addition to any man’s wardrobe for summer. It goes great with alot of the shirts and shoes we’ve mentioned here in the last few weeks. Keep it clean with an oxford or solid tee or mix it up with some plaid. Either way, all great looks.
