australia :: melbourne :: shopping

[kuugaia]

Yeah I have the same feeling when handling KKA items, especially that jacket posted with IS influence. But undeniably...they make decent clothes. KKA could be considered something along the lines of a 'cover' artist. Somebody who just reworks an original work into their own...but doesn't give credit lol.

Rob I dare say you seem to be very CCP obsessed. But I might turn out the same if I ever get a chance to handle it lol.

Me likes Yohan.

[Raw Selvedge]

Yeah I have the same feeling when handling KKA items, especially that jacket posted with IS influence. But undeniably...they make decent clothes. KKA could be considered something along the lines of a 'cover' artist. Somebody who just reworks an original work into their own...but doesn't give credit lol.

Rob I dare say you seem to be very CCP obsessed. But I might turn out the same if I ever get a chance to handle it lol.

Me likes Yohan.

Man I'm just jealous of your IS hooded coat

[kuugaia]

Haha thanks B. Glad I picked it up, the pic links you showed me helped. Shame your CI store is so damn expensive ahah.

[notsicknorwell]

Obsessed is OK, blinkered is not...

BBS FW10 preview up at HLorenzo

Really great BBS buy they have there.

[notsicknorwell]

Ok Nick, go release a collection and distract me from CCP, m.a+, LUC etc!

What would asking me to go release my own collection to compete with those labels for your attention accomplish?

[DJI]

What would asking me to go release my own collection to compete with those labels for your attention accomplish?

it'd only get his attention if it's the next label to be stocked at EM.

[Ivans On High]

I have been singing this song since the runway show, but that BBS collection is amazing! I feel he has been building to this collection, and don't think that it is completely disjointed from his previous offerings. There are several things I would love to get - the leather vest with leather sleeves (first pic), the moto-collar jacket, and the wool/felt long coat. Time to save up me thinks.

[notsicknorwell]

I have been singing this song since the runway show, but that BBS collection is amazing! I feel he has been building to this collection, and don't think that it is completely disjointed from his previous offerings. There are several things I would love to get - the leather vest with leather sleeves (first pic), the moto-collar jacket, and the wool/felt long coat. Time to save up me thinks.

The pieces look so much better without the distracting sooty-forehead styling of the runway. Reverse leather high collar is nice, could've sworn he had more footwear in the show though. The two pairs in HLorenzo's buy are serviceable but not a knock-out.

[Ivans On High]

different eyes, i guess. but, it makes me actually look forward his next collection, tho. i just cannot predict, other than being black.

You say that like it's a bad thing!

[Ivans On High]

I think his use of fabrics/textures this season seem to compensate for the heavy black component (though the runway show did have some 'sand' coloured items). And I don't really like lots of drape, so I see that move as a good thing.

The strength (or wearability) of this collection can be seen in the size of HL's buy, and by all accounts, Darkland's buy is just as big and black (nohomo).

edit: and I HATE the use of colour for colour's sake.

[DJI]

surprised by just how large some of HL's buys are, BBS, Julius and Mihara in particular are huge!

never been able to pull of drapery either although it can look good on the right person (Tyler instantly springs to mind). nothing wrong with black, some subtle colour is good but black is easier haha.

[fenrost]

so what happens to ppl who love his stuff back then, the drapes etc?

i think he did struggled when ppl were comparing him with DD, now he doesnt look like DD, but dangerously look like RO, it's one of those thing that, if you wear the new BBS jacket, chances ppl might ask, hey that's RO?

the AW10 is a great collection, still. But when I look at BBS collectively, they are all too different, that's all.

[50_lions]

all this comparison stuff is getting a bit tired. although they share similarities in aesthetics (dark and black being the constant) they each possess characteristics that clearly discern each from another.

I get a dramatically different vibe from Rick than I do Boris. Fabrics/textures/silhouettes all very different, perhaps some similarly cut leather jackets but it stops there for me. I agree his direction has not been constant but I think any progression is better than no progression at all - it seems now he has found a clearer voice.

Although the above is my first memory of BBS, i respect the direction he is heading in - drape was just a trend everyone got stuck into believing was good until they realised it had no longevity.

I commend DD as his vision has been transparent from the beginning - he matured his aesthetic in a controlled manner. even when you look back at Rick collections they are dramatically different to the goth FW09 example.

[Ivans On High]

You can maintain a level of consistency and coherency without pumping out the same stuff over and over, don't you think? In my opinion that is a very enviable quality in a designer.

[50_lions]

labels that are consistent, ann d, ro, _7, dd.. hell even obscur and rad hourini are consistent.

You can't really put BBS in the same league as the first batch of designers (apart from DD). and as for Julius, they used to produce some random shit to my knowledge, before anyone had heard of them and their post-apocalyptic route - just another form of progression. also, rad hourani has been payed out for being boring/too consistent. His shit is same geo androg space-cadet shit/ different season.

[50_lions]

You can maintain a level of consistency and coherency without pumping out the same stuff over and over, don't you think? In my opinion that is a very enviable quality in a designer.

totally agree man, which is why I am even bothering.

It's almost not even about the clothes but a feeling or association to each designer.

[DJI]

You can't really put BBS in the same league as the first batch of designers (apart from DD). and as for Julius, they used to produce some random shit to my knowledge, before anyone had heard of them and their post-apocalyptic route - just another form of progression.

Julius as a label has been very consistent in terms of its vision and direction since the first collection in SS03, while still introducing enough new concepts each season to keep it fresh imo. Horikawa's previous label Nuke was established in the late 90's and was quite different to Julius (although the industrial influence was quite strong with this label too), his company Third Stone still has a couple of other labels that mainly produce graphic tees and are completely unrelated to Julius.

[avantster]

It's easy to lump a bunch of newer designers into a category based on runway images or the myopic view of a particular store buy, but by doing so we can easily miss the defining details that set them apart. (Mainstream media often lumps Rick, Julius, N(N), Undercover together as well as more recent labels, Damir & BBS.) Besides being incredibly reductive, what does calling them 'goth-ninja' even achieve, apart from being an inside joke on another forum we frequent? I've said this many times and I don't like to preach, but clothing is a tactile experience.

I was at the last Boris show and it was an excellent collection. Stark textures and geometric shapes, impeccable tailoring in heavy felt wool fabrics, notably defined structured shoulders (the antipodean brother of Damir). He's obviously still finding his own voice but he is definitely progressing.

I also don't see how a comparison to Poell has value beyond personal preferences; they clearly occupy different spheres in the fashion world. Regarding joints it's a very old concept that goes back to plate armor. Junya also did joints, but when he did he was solving a problem of functionality - he shrunk the jacket to the point where it was necessary for movement.

[Ivans On High]

enough talk about fashion... Red Dead Redemption was released a day early!

[fenrost]

He's obviously still finding his own voice but he is definitely progressing.

that's what me feels. Not saying what he does is terrible, he has not established a proper vision like other designers has.

[fenrost]

I also don't see how a comparison to Poell has value beyond personal; they clearly occupy different spheres in the fashion world. Regarding joints it's a very old concept that goes back to plate armor.

sorry I dint make myself clear. Google articulate elbow. There are plenty. But not quite resembles to poell shapes and construction. Yohans - the stitching and all. Too close for comfort.

[DJI]

well said Brian, put far more articulately than I could ever have expressed it. wish you would post here more often though!

enough talk about fashion... Red Dead Redemption was released a day early!

will need to pick that up from JB asap haha. didn't really get into GTA 4, got tired of most free roaming games but RDR definitely looks fresh. it'll probably sit on my stack of over a dozen unplayed games for quite a while but still...

[Ivans On High]

Ultimately, one need to be aware of what they do, what others have done, and be different and ultimately, be ownself.

I understand the intention of this statement, and it comes up a lot, particularly on SZ. But what if, after all is said and done, and BBS settles into a rythm and realises his direction, he is still perceived to be 'following' or copying? We can't expect all designers to have entirely original voices. There will always be elements of overlap, especially when you look at the small segment of fashion our tastes occupy (generalising here).

I don't agree that for a designer to be successful, or to be him/herself, they need to steer clear of what others have done and be 'different'. It is the subtleties that make all the difference in my eyes.

[kuugaia]

now, whats my opinion about bbs? as said, his still trying to find his aesthethic, his own voice, it is not a bad thing to explore and find as a designer, but for his audience, who may have connected with him clothing aesthetic wise, will be lost. but he will gained new one nevertheless.

I have to disagree. Though we'd all like to think that designers have this one concrete set vision on how their world and fashion should be, consumers don't. We don't necessarily share the exact same sentiment of any designer and we're also subject to change. BBS may not have the most congruency between each season, but people can still follow it season after season, changing along side the designer's vision.

Ultimately, one need to be aware of what they do, what others have done, and be different and ultimately, be ownself.

This mentality is a problem in itself. What if an aspect of your vision as a designer coincides with another designer's vision? Do you need to be different for the sake of being different? Then that in itself is being ingenuous. If you are always comparing one label to another and trying to find differences or similarities, you lose the whole essence of the label.

edit: Dammit A, you beat me to it. GRR! And very surprised to see Advanster post in here. Refreshing!

[DJI]

I don't agree that for a designer to be successful, or to be him/herself, they need to steer clear of what others have done and be 'different'. It is the subtleties that make all the difference in my eyes.

very true A.

blah, my local JB only got the x360 version of red dead redemption in so will need to wait till tomorrow to pick up a copy.

[Quiver]

'becoming fashion for fashion's sake' - this statement is too deep for me

i echo kuugaia's previous post strongly

...and i like bbs

[Quiver]

Haha i thought the discussion recently around fashion has been getting pretty serious. And i've also been kinda thinking (naively, perhaps) that fashion is basically art, and the ultimate purpose of art is to enrich our lives and provide 'entertainment'. Never been huge into categorising artists into strict genres or whatever. Just take it for it is, like what you like, buy what you wanna buy and wear what you wanna wear. Yet somehow, other people's opinion still wield significant influence over me. Gotta attribute this to the human psyche (or my insecurtities) I guess :\

[Quiver]

What's the point if everyone agreed on everything? I don't reckon you need to feel apologetic at all!

[Ivans On High]

I am a strong believer of one's work should always come from their own's uninfluenced heart.

But Rob, what myself and kuu were trying to say is: who are we to say when someone's work is or isn't influenced by their heart? You cannot assume that because their work has similarities to another designer it is necessarily influenced by that person.

Further to that, couldn't you easily say that BBS's ever evolving aesthetic is more representative of a person following his heart? It is hard to believe that a designer's heart would stay in the one spot for their entire career.

There are arguments for both sides I suppose, and this is certainly an argument that cannot be won!

[wept]

I guess, me coming from a creative background, I am a strong believer of one's work should always come from their own's uninfluenced heart, and of course be relevant. < and should not be necessarily agreed by anyone else.

not mine, but food for thought