Ann D, Cloak, Raf Simons ... I just don't get it

[denimdestroyedmylife]

in 30 years-----plus sizes?

 

[Augusto86]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

A British gentleman would.

But here's the question...

If a man wears a black suit in his own home and nobody sees....

Will Manton still disapprove?

I submit yes, he would, for Manton can feel each and every disturbance in the Sartorial Force, as though a million voices cried out and were silenced with scented linen pocket squares...

Although we're in S&D so maybe this is a parallel universe beyond his Infinite Knowledge.

 

[Fuuma]

Originally Posted by poly800rock

interesting discussion. i'm curious to see where all this vampire/goth/industrial/futurist stuff heads in the next few years. it's not like robert smith stayed miserable for 30 years....only 20.

I'm not sure what you mean by that comment; are you talking about the evolution of the current wearers, the designers discussed or the "look"?

 

[denimdestroyedmylife]

i would think he means the direction of the designers, or if the aesthetic will still be on the radar in the next 30 years

the "mourning-all-the-time" look has been around since hamlet, so i expect it will continue as long as men can breathe or eyes can see...

 

[xcoldricex]

gosh so much hate for all these labels lately. oops. i'm not at 666 posts anymore.

 

[poly800rock]

Originally Posted by Fuuma

I'm not sure what you mean by that comment; are you talking about the evolution of the current wearers, the designers discussed or the "look"?

designers and the wearers. The look is the look. like DDML said, it's been here for quite some time now.

Originally Posted by xcoldricex

gosh so much hate for all these labels lately. oops. i'm not at 666 posts anymore.

I'm not at all hating. Just a little curious as to the sudden influx of these labels popping up all over these boards recently. And I guess it does ultimately come down to personal style, cuz you seem to pull off a great look regardless of what label is attached. fuuma and djrajio do it well also, but kind of what faust said, you can really tell if the piece wears you or vice versa.

 

[faust]

Originally Posted by poly800rock

designers and the wearers. The look is the look. like DDML said, it's been here for quite some time now.



I'm not at all hating. Just a little curious as to the sudden influx of these labels popping up all over these boards recently. And I guess it does ultimately come down to personal style, cuz you seem to pull off a great look regardless of what label is attached. fuuma and djrajio do it well also, but kind of what faust said, you can really tell if the piece wears you or vice versa.

The reason these brands started "popping up;"

1) I came across some of them a long time ago, and I liked them.
2) I joined tFS where I found some like-minded people
3) I was dissatisfied with tFS and started SZ, and naturally carried my aesthetic over there (I like what I like, end of story), and invited those who I respected on tFS over there. Some of them happened to share my aesthetic, but some are there because they share my love for interesting fashion in general - if you look closely, plenty of posters have a different aesthetic, but as long as they have something intelligent to say about fashion in general they are more than welcome on SZ.
4) A bunch of people from SuFu decided to join.
5) SZ is on its first legs, and there are not many people posting - but these discussions carry over to SuFu and here. Hence, there developed a filter that favors a darker aesthetic (although like I said before, for every Ann or Raf outfit you show me that looks dark, I can show you 20 that does not - it's just an image that's been projected, you can deconstruct these outfits easily - I certainly don't look like people on Number Nine runway by any stretch of imagination).

Conclusion: these brands are certainly NOT dominant, it's a just a small niche that you are encountering due to your forum habits. That's why it raises my brows when people talk about things like high prices in conjunction with still very small labels, as opposed to talking about Gucci, Versace, Prada, Dior, etc.

 

[LA Guy]

Faust,

It takes balls to start up a site, and yours looks very much like Styleforum did when it first started 5 years ago, also in reaction to another site. Looked over there, and the quality of discussion seems very good. Congratulations.

I'm not sure that these brands just started cropping up recently, however, although their has been more postings about them here and on Sufu recently. If you look through the archives, Cloak, Ann Demeulemeester, Raf Simons have been discussed here for a long time. I think that the first mention I personally made of Cloak was in their seminal FW03 season, re. an oversized cardigan that I had (retail at that time was $300, a similar, not as interesting cardigan sold in FW06 for $750 - how times change.) and comparing how the line had changed since it's inception in 2001, when the line was much more "geek chic". Actually, I remember that Traffic LA, after having carried Cloak shirts for a season, had dropped the line because it wasn't selling at that point. I do think that these higher end brands definitely have a niche base on here and at Sufu. Certainly, Stylezeitgeist focusses more on these brands and styles though.

Oh, and Jas M.B. is a great leather goods brand. I had a leather bracelet from 2002 or so (maybe SS03). Regretably, the strap broke (the snap closure was too secure for it's own good, and eventually tore the leather,) and I haven't found a similar pattern yet. As with all brands that come into their own, the prices regettably get higher too. Back then, a leather carryall was about $425. Now, they are at the $700+ range. Oh well.

 

[faust]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

Faust,

It takes balls to start up a site, and yours looks very much like Styleforum did when it first started 5 years ago, also in reaction to another site. Looked over there, and the quality of discussion seems very good. Congratulations.

I'm not sure that these brands just started cropping up recently, however, although their has been more postings about them here and on Sufu recently. If you look through the archives, Cloak, Ann Demeulemeester, Raf Simons have been discussed here for a long time. I think that the first mention I personally made of Cloak was in their seminal FW03 season, re. an oversized cardigan that I had (retail at that time was $300, a similar, not as interesting cardigan sold in FW06 for $750 - how times change.) and comparing how the line had changed since it's inception in 2001, when the line was much more "geek chic". Actually, I remember that Traffic LA, after having carried Cloak shirts for a season, had dropped the line because it wasn't selling at that point. I do think that these higher end brands definitely have a niche base on here and at Sufu. Certainly, Stylezeitgeist focusses more on these brands and styles though.

Oh, and Jas M.B. is a great leather goods brand. I had a leather bracelet from 2002 or so (maybe SS03). Regretably, the strap broke (the snap closure was too secure for it's own good, and eventually tore the leather,) and I haven't found a similar pattern yet. As with all brands that come into their own, the prices regettably get higher too. Back then, a leather carryall was about $425. Now, they are at the $700+ range. Oh well.

Thank you. It does take balls, especially from someone who does not do website creation for a living. The major thing I want discussed on SZ is the designer's work - no matter who that is. If someone comes on there and shows me the merits of Tom Ford's work - I'm all ears.

Of course I absolutely do not claim ownership over the above mentioned brands - one of the first things I searched for when I started posting here is discussion on these designers. I just tend to be passionate about the things I like, so it probably comes off as hype to some people.

Times do change, and I also lament the rapidly rising prices on clothing. In 00' a full priced pair of shoes would cost $350, and that was a lot. Now you are lucky if you find one for $350 at half off. The rapidly falling $ is not helping (when I was in Antwerp in '01, one Euro cost 85 cents, today one Euro costs $1.35 - that's a 60% hike!). I have been virtually priced out of the MSRP market in the past few years, despite my rising salary. Every man has a point when he chooses to accept the prices or not. I have reached mine . Luckily in NYC you have plenty of discount shopping opportunities (in LA it's probably not so bad either).

 

[Badseeds]

Really regret that i didnt check out this thread earlier. Discussion has been great recently. As for these designers, though the price is a killer for me, I still think they are definitely worth buying.

As for the liking or disliking I think thats kinda a personality thing---I used to be a big fan of gothic rock and even now I still like dark music. BTW now my favorite singer/composer is Anna-Varney Cantodea, the mysterious german artist. So you see why I like this "goth-ninja" look. ppl could look post-modern cool without putting themselves into some punk style clothes,which I hate a lot.

 

[Badseeds]

Originally Posted by faust

Times do change, and I also lament the rapidly rising prices on clothing. In 00' a full priced pair of shoes would cost $350, and that was a lot. Now you are lucky if you find one for $350 at half off. The rapidly falling $ is not helping (when I was in Antwerp in '01, one Euro cost 85 cents, today one Euro costs $1.35 - that's a 60% hike!). I have been virtually priced out of the MSRP market in the past few years, despite my rising salary. Every man has a point when he chooses to accept the prices or not. I have reached mine . Luckily in NYC you have plenty of discount shopping opportunities (in LA it's probably not so bad either).


Sad, Faust your words just made me sad.

 

[Brian SD]

Originally Posted by Badseeds

Sad, Faust your words just made me sad.
I agree. But consider that there are labels like Thick as Thieves and April 77 that are around the original retail price of Cloak. In 5 years we might be sayin the same things about $800 sweats from the middle end labels. If middle end is Rag&Bone, April 77, etc.

 

[lowrey]

Originally Posted by poly800rock

Just a little curious as to the sudden influx of these labels popping up all over these boards recently.

well basically most of these are upcoming or growing brands in terms of gaining more popularity. so it's not just an online thing, these brands are appearing in stores too and gaining reputation, some of them are appearing in magazines for example. so thats pretty much the reason why there generating discussion, some people are talking about them and others are asking what they are.

 

[Badseeds]

Originally Posted by Brian SD

I agree. But consider that there are labels like Thick as Thieves and April 77 that are around the original retail price of Cloak. In 5 years we might be sayin the same things about $800 sweats from the middle end labels. If middle end is Rag&Bone, April 77, etc.


Yea. I am not a big fan of RB, but April 77s seem pretty nice. Except for that they are not in the "goth-ninja" look (oh I like this word so much). Wait to see things happen 5 yrs later.

 

[lowrey]

I think theres a big misinterpretation in terms of this overall style, yes it might seem very gothic or so in press photos and maybe even on runways, but the individual pieces from these designers are far from the whole goth-ninja-whatever theme. of course some might have that feel, if you're looking at for example ann demeulemeester's or rick owens' clothing on the racks it doesn't appear the same way in my opinion.

with the clothes being more drapy, using maby sheer materials and darker and more mellow colors, it of course generates a certain theme/style, but they can be worn in many ways. they dont directly transalate to for example some of the pictures posted in this thread.