Paul Harnden Shoemaker and more...

[kit]

I forgot about Rei Kawakubo's 80s experiments in boiling wool jackets , but she was one of the first , if not THE first , of the deconstructionists , and strongly influenced the Belgian designers , especially Margiela .


BTW ' boiled wool ' , in the old fashioned sense , is a middle-european technique , Austrian I think , to make wool cloth water repellant , by boiling it to make the weave as tight as possible .

Oiling wool , as in loden cloth , is another way to make fabric water repellant .

There's NOTHING new under the sun ..........

 

[helena]

I saw Mr harnden in paris this week - one word - Fagan.....

 

[*sayan]

I often had the discussion about not having anything new under the sun, especially in the fashion context. Maybe there are eras of concepts, and interpretation of these concepts. Maybe we will have the opportunity to see real new inovtions in the fashion industry, but i would rather expect them from the chemists and the biologists rather than the couturiers..

I think the most important thing now is to get the clients to understand the work and appreciate the opportunity of having individuals like altieri or poell that hang on to they r vision. Long lasting quality with long lasting design, added with the emotionaL part of it, all this burying in afganistan deserts or such, thats so wonderfull to be able to dream awake, we need this. This one jacket, u ruined yourself for it, u loved it, hated it, walked, ate, cryed in it. You live with these clothes, create a balance.

we have to stop consuming like maniacs, well end up burying ourselves in garbage.

Im mixing a couple of ideas in here, too much to type, but:

long live small independant brands

 

[kit]

I often had the discussion about not having anything new under the sun, especially in the fashion context. Maybe there are eras of concepts, and interpretation of these concepts. Maybe we will have the opportunity to see real new inovtions in the fashion industry, but i would rather expect them from the chemists and the biologists rather than the couturiers..

I think the most important thing now is to get the clients to understand the work and appreciate the opportunity of having individuals like altieri or poell that hang on to they r vision. Long lasting quality with long lasting design, added with the emotionaL part of it, all this burying in afganistan deserts or such, thats so wonderfull to be able to dream awake, we need this. This one jacket, u ruined yourself for it, u loved it, hated it, walked, ate, cryed in it. You live with these clothes, create a balance.

we have to stop consuming like maniacs, well end up burying ourselves in garbage.

Im mixing a couple of ideas in here, too much to type, but:

long live small independant brands

I feel your pain , and I do understand . B)

 

[flyboy008]

Me too, I saw him at a store reception party on rue du harold in Paris tonight.
I could tell that was him right away. He wore his own design from "hat" to toe.
I went to speak to him and make sure I was right. He was very very friendly and admitted he is the man of himself.

You guys might not know, CDG(Rei) did those jkt about 10 years ago, it was actually a collabration with Mr. Paul Harnden. This was the lady at "IF" told me, so you guys can stop argue now.........

 

[*sayan]

Im wondering if Its hard to get an internship with him?

 

[surver]

so i see... rei is turning out to be not-so-innovative afterall!! seems like most of her 'inventions' had 'real innovators' collaborating!! sigh... she's just a very good publicist/marketing person that knows how to 'create' sensation and perception... well, at least she's giving due credit to some of these people such as watanabe!

 

[Johnny]

so i see... rei is turning out to be not-so-innovative afterall!! seems like most of her 'inventions' had 'real innovators' collaborating!! sigh... she's just a very good publicist/marketing person that knows how to 'create' sensation and perception... well, at least she's giving due credit to some of these people such as watanabe!

I take it you're joking, or trying to be provocative, rather than just ill-informed?

 

[Johnny]

Fagan in background

 

[faust]

Fagan in background

Duhh! Thanks Johnny! It's been a long time since I read Dickens.

 

[surver]

of course rei's still one of my heroes - precisely because she is very very good in finding very very good people to work for her...

 

[surver]

anyone can provide a direct way to contact paul harnden? i wish to seek him out to discuss some possibilities incl. collaboration, representation, etc..

merci.

 

[Johnny]

of course rei's still one of my heroes - precisely because she is very very good in finding very very good people to work for her...

So you think that her success (in terms of producing all of the wildly innovative and exciting collections that she has made for over 30 years) is entirely down to others? Paul Harnden is a suberb craftstman no doubt, but he's not creative at all. There's nothing innovative about what he does. Comme des garcons would have used his expertise in making jackets, but would not have obtained any creative vision from him. Watanabe is her protege - she hasn't relied on him at all!! It's much more theother way round, as Junya would readily admit (and has in any interviews I've read with him).

 

[PrinceOfCats]

When asked what his general views on fashion were, in an interview with i-D, Junya said 'I have the same attitudes as Rei Kawakubo' (or something to that effect)...

 

[Johnny]

When asked what his general views on fashion were, in an interview with i-D, Junya said 'I have the same attitudes as Rei Kawakubo' (or something to that effect)...

Exactly... I was thinking of the same interview (it's in the iD book I think)

 

[nqth]

So we have came to the point "what is innovative in fashion"? :-P

I think that what Rei Kawakubo did is to invent the new aesthetics, or style. It is not just the way she treats materials or cuts a jacket or trouser. It is not about new materials nor techniques alone. Those are just the "tools" to achieve some looks.

I think it is because of her antifashion, radical attitudes. And she always finds the way to express them in clothes. She doesn't just show some "cool" stuffs. She makes statements. She might use the same colour, fabrics, treatment or cut in every piece of the collection. She once used ugly bands to "deform" the clothes and rubbish as head gear. I really don't cares about rubbish coming from one's garden or desert. It is the concept, the "thought" behinds this what really counts, imo. I think I am always attracted by few words she said about the collections:-)) Few words but so many (and free) interpretations as well.

The collaboration she did with artists, graphics designers is really impressive. People who does not work in fashion could bring in fresh ideas, imo:-) I do think if one doesn't have formal training in fashion, it is possible that he/she doesn't care much about rules and constrains. And if one is good enough, it will really work. Rei Kawakubo worked as a stilist, so she knows fashion enough, tho:-)

And in addition, she does have huge influences on people. That's important, because by that way she changes fashion a bit:-)

 

[surver]

i think nqth struck a very important point - that rei used to work as a stylist, as well as not having gone thru formal fashion training and hence no burden. that's precisely why she can break so many so-called 'rules' because those 'rules' simply didn't apply to her!! she is constantly working 'outside' the box and therefore doesn't, and haven't been, affected by the industry's shackles and trends...

re: the collaborator bit - innovation and design in this time of global economy depends very much on TEAM. and i think that's what rei kawakubo is most successful at - the ability to build up such a strong team that consistently 'invent' within the realm of her larger vision... although i'm not too thrilled with her summer 2005 collection... what's up with the pink panther stuff??? as well as her thing with fred perry???

 

[runner]

womens jackets from S/S 05

 

[nqth]

from yahoo japan auctions page
http://page10.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/m10892222

 

[goldsmith]

Does anyone know anything about a company called SUNDAY? They're sold in Japan and Europe cause my friend bought them there. Really cool designs. I hear the new thing are all hand sewn and very limited of each item. Like one of a kind . If you love Paul I think you will love Sunday.