GQ’s List of the 50 Most Stylish Men

There is something for every man in GQ’s list of the 50 Most Stylish Men. From Kerouac to Clooney, McQueen to Newman and Ali to Jordan. Don’t take it too seriously, but it’s a nice catalogue of cool.  Just be sure to read the bio’s.

 

Shwood’s Wooden Sunglasses

Just looking through Portland-based company Shwood’s new collection gives me wood! As their website states, “Shwood is handcrafted eyewear created with the intent of individuality and uniqueness that can only be found in natural surroundings.” And, yep, you guessed it, Shwood use wood. Their in-house manufacturing process merges precision technology with classic skilled craftsmanship. Every step from veneering and precision ply cutting, to shaping and finishing is conducted in their workshop to promise an entirely handcrafted eyewear piece. Wood manipulation is kept to a minimum in order to maintain the natural aesthetic. All models are accompanied by 100% UVA/UVB protection Carl Zeiss lenses imported from Italy. Oh yeah, and Polarized lenses are also available. Their debut model, the Canby, was inspired by James Dean and lays lays the groundwork for an entire wood revolution.

The Evolution of the T-Shirt

Writing about Fall Fashion in a recent issue of New York Magazine, Hugo Lindgren has a great piece about the evolution of everyone’s favourite fashion accessory: the humble T-Shirt.

In Paleolithic times, the T-shirt was a humble tool, worn beneath a shirt, to absorb perspiration. But ever since James Dean started wearing one without anything on top, it morphed into a form of personal advertising, a movable billboard. Even Dean’s plain white shirt conveyed a powerful message, which was, You can’t tell me who to be, a declaration that has never gone out of style.

 The greatest breakthrough of the last decade was when American Apparel, under the direction of its free-loving founder Dov Charney, turned the fit of a T-shirt into a message. Never mind the graphics or slogans. The message was you—your body thrust out there into the world, shrink-wrapped in every conceivable color. American Apparel remains powerful and ubiquitous in the T-shirt world, but the trends have gotten subtler and more introverted. In the same way that various art movements become hermetic and end up addressing the nature of art itself, today’s cutting-edge T-shirt is all about the T-shirt. Comfort…is the golden principle, but it gets way more complicated than that. Because comfort isn’t simply a matter of how a shirt feels; it is also a matter of how you feel about the shirt. And designers are constantly trying to figure out how to game that relationship with science and technology. Just as denim designers have been doing for years, T-shirt makers are introducing artful imperfections in an effort to turn a commodity into something personal and familiar.

Read the full article here.

Book Club

When I think of book clubs I tend to get an image of 40-somethings sitting around a fire in ugly jumpers expressing their opinions on the latest suggested title from Oprah.  But, thanks to local Canberra designers Simon Gibson and Sergio Bodulovic, that image is about to change. Book Club is a new clothing label featuring jeans, sweatshirts and shirts. Importantly, all of the product is Australian made – even the fabrics are knitted in Australia. The designs are minimalist and structured – but it’s the cut of the clothes which really differentiates Book Club from the rest of the crowd – especially in the case of their jeans.

Simon and Serge have spent the last year sussing out the fashion industry, trying to figure out the best way to go about completing their range – sometimes with outcomes far from ideal. But, the hard work has paid off and the Book Club look is original and fresh. Each piece in the range is, rather fittingly, named after a famous author. My particular favourite? The Steinbeck jeans – for those times you want to look like an inner-city Tom Joad. They are, quite simply, dope. Check out the gallery below to view some of the range and see more at the Book Club website.

For those of you in Canberra, the lads will be launching Book Club next week at local retailer iTrip i Skip. The party will double as a sale with special prices for punters. Visit an ATM beforehand though, because sales will be cash only.

Date: Friday, 13 March 2009
Time: 6:00pm – 11:00pm
Location: Itrip Iskip
Street: 30 Lonsdale St Braddon, Canberra.

“Weapon of Art” T-Shirt by Alphanumeric

I want Alphanumeric’s newly released “Weapon Of Art” T-shirt! The AK-47 is made up of instruments used in graphic design.

[via High Snobiety]

Spader Clothing

A few weeks ago I was kicking back at a friend’s barbecue where I caught up with James Campbell – aka DJ Rush. Rush’s latest project isn’t in vinyl – it’s in apparel. Together with business partners John Ruman and Anthony Withers, Rush is a director of Spader Clothing Australia, better known as Spader.

Spader is inspired by the Holy Trinity of Australian street culture: music; surf; and skate. With its casual effortlessness and its progressive interplay between logo and typography, Spader’s 2009 tees and singlet tops are the item du jour for savvy scenesters everywhere. Hell, even mash-up maestro Z-Trip was caught rocking out in Spader threads during his Australian tour earlier this month.

The Spader aesthetic is a fresh mix of boldness and simplicity. Scope out Spader’s Summer 2009 range in the gallery below and to keep up-to-date with all the Spader shenanigans visit their website and blog.

 

Obama: Run DC

The best pre-inauguration Obama streetwear from the streets of Washington DC!

[via SuperTouch]

Ksubi Online (finally)

It really is Christmas. First the guys at Monster Children launch their new look website and now I learn that the crazy kids at Australian fashion label Ksubi have launched their blog. They are five years late – but then those hipster fashionista types are always the last at a party. Scope the Ksubi blog here. Bookmark it now and add it to your daily digital dose.

CIT FashionACT presents: Notions 2008 Graduating Parade

The eleven graduating students from the Canberra Institute of Technology’s Bachelor of Design (Fashion) will showcase their debut collections at ‘Notions’ on 7 December. The graduating parade is a culmination of three years of creative and dedicated work by the designers: Andie Meredith, Jacquelyn Hewat, Kelly Battur, Karen Clarke, Francesca Altenberg, Gemma Jameson, Tegan Kennedy, Simone Viljoen, Kiri Davis, Lyndall Beattie and Sara Wurcker. If you’re local or visiting the area, be sure to check out the latest fashion designs that Canberra has to offer.

When: Sunday 7 December, 7:30pm for an 8pm start
Where: National Museum of Australia
A limited number of tickets are still available online at www.outincanberra.com.au

The Cobrasnake’s “Too Young” Exhibition with Ksubi

Party photographer Mark Hunter (aka The Cobrasnake) is back in Australia with his exhibition “Too Young”. The exhibition sees 200 of The Cobrasnake’s favourite photographs being displayed at Ksubi’s two flagship stores. As the title suggests, the photos are of pretty young things (i.e. girls) shot in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, LA and Sydney. The Sydney exhibition was tonight – but if you’re in Melbourne on 28 November, get down to Ksubi’s Armadale store:

Time: 8:00 pm
ksubi no. 2 (The Bombed Mache)
1021 High Street
Armadale, VIC

Mark will be on hand, signing limited-edition tees and prints available for purchase.

[via Hypebeast]

Ksubi: Lest We Regret Pop-Up Store

Last week, Australian fashion/streetwear label Ksubi launched Lest We Regret, the first in a series of concept pop-up stores in Melbourne. The pop-up store is located at Don’t Come (the Schwipe gallery in Melbourne city) and has taken over half of the gallery space for 12 weeks. The store will stock the latest from the Ksubi range, along with one-off and exclusive pieces. The concept stores are anticipated to launch nationally, with Brisbane and Sydney soon to follow – and there are whispers the project will go global. Each new location will feature an original interior concept designed by the Ksubi collective to reject accepted retail practices and to make a statement on the impermanence of retail. Lest We Regret features 120 glass jars, suspended from the ceiling with wire, containing shredded Quarterly Economic Activity Survey’s from the Australian Bureau of Statistics – a not so subtle nod to the woeful economic climate…and kind of ironic given the price tag on Ksubi threads.

[via Highsnobriety]

The Denim Distressing Factory

 

According to the latest stats, worldwide, nearly 90 per cent of consumers own at least one pair of denim jeans, and they wear them an average of three days a week. Somehow, denim, a material that once stood for durability and practicality has been transformed into a lifestyle necessity. The global denim market is worth $46 billion and manufacturers are always evolving their product through innovation. Probably the biggest trend this past decade has been the “distressed” denim look.

 

Believe it or not, but there was a time when jeans faded naturally. I think it was around the same time that muscles were built not in gyms but through manual labour. When men could make things with their hands and, when those things broke, would fix them. When wifebeaters and flannies were worn not out of a sense of ironic chic but out of a need for function. But, hey, times change – I’ve built a metaphorical bridge with my imaginary hammer and I’m over it.

 

Recently, photographer David Friedman visited a Kentucky “distressing” factory where skilled labourers expertly age denim for the benefit of high-end designers. Luckily for us, he created a photographic essay of his visit. Until I saw Friedman’s photos, I always thought that the “distressing” process was done entirely by machine. Thankfully, I was wrong. As the photos attest, a LOT of hard work goes into making the jeans we wear – something I’m quite stoked about.

 

View Friedman’s photographic essay here.

 

[via Boing Boing]