RAFMANIA!

HI, MY NAME’S ELLIOTT AND I’M A RAF SIMONS OBSESSIVE, as evidenced by the recent load of SS 10 PRESS DAYS.

There was a denim gym bag at RAF BY RAF:

There’s a new emphasis on DENIM across the whole line too (about time), they’ve all been labelled up and marked, lots of the jeans come with an amazing 3D wash at the back pocket. Attention to detail, something this second line’s been missing for a long while:

It’s another Raf x Peter De Potter collaboration, worryingly that looks a bit like Pete De Doherty in the top left:

Nice pockets, fluffy jumper (bit 90s, in a good way), chinos…

Here’s Raf Simons for Dr Martens, clever use of that old red colourway:

MEANWHILE… at Raf Simons Fred Perry, literally coming out of nowhere it’s a BACKLESS POLO SHIRT! A reference to the same crossover silhouette (round the front) in Raf SS 08 t-shirts?

These are Fred Perry tennis shoes that Raf’s cut away- they can be worn with or without a neoprene contrasting sock, below.

DON’T WAIT ANIMATE.

They’re a great and really talented new band which I recently shot for the amazing The Most Cake magazine.

I made the rosettes that singer Joe and keyboardist Bex are wearing by hand (took aaages). There’s an interview with them and their MySpace is here.

Styling by Elliott James Sainsbury, photography by Holly Falconer

RECENTLY…

Christopher Shannon shirt and sweater, the only snap I managed to take from Topman Oxford Circus’s relaunch party…

AMAZING, Smiley sweater and a knitted stonewashed denim jacket by the very talented Cozette & co, aka SIBLING, at London Fashion Week’s menswear day:

Peewee (from A Suit That Fits.com) and myself recently found ourselves setting up shop on Brick Lane to enter the world of “guerilla selling”, look:

Wow, patterns found near the Barbican; they really remind me of the cover of Can’s “Tago Mago” (amazing). That whole “Golden Lane” area nearby is like a crazy 70s graphic design utopia:

Amazing dog door guardians in a house by the river:

Shooting Don’t Wait Animate for The Most Cake magazine:

Steve Doyle has started a new food website, Doyle’s Kitchen. Last night was his first weekly dinner party (think Come Dine With Me, then up the camp factor), you have to check it out:

I’ve also been working on a very special secret project… all will be revealed very soon, on this blog. Here’s a behind-the-scenes sneak peek:

BUSY BUSY…

Been away working on some new FASHION FILMS at Buckstyle.com.

Most recent is “No Man Is An Island”, directed by the very talented Oliver Warren with photographs by Cameron McNee. It’s got a lot of backpacks in… we shot it in some very exciting places… there’s a bit of Raf there… nice bright colours… tops really…

The second was directed by Alex Johns, with photographs by Holly Falconer and is called “Dyad”, an exclusive showcasing the Topman Lens A/W 09 collections by Kasper Harup-Hansen, Carolyn Massey, Mjolk and Dexter Wong.

PUMP IT UP…

Regular readers might know that I am a Reebok fanatic, and part of that is down to Christopher Shannon. For the past four seasons (including his graduate collection) he has featured Reebok sneakers as part of his show styling and the partnership seems to run deeper than just calling in appropriate footwear to finish the collection…

At his final MAN show last week, Chris used the Pump Omni Lite, in celebration of the 20th ANNIVERSARY OF THE REEBOK PUMP! Doesn’t that make you feel ancient? Because we all remember being at school when Pumps or L.A. Gears were the shoes to buy.

Either way, Reebok provided us with some amazing catwalk and backstage images that show off Chris’s SS 10 collection; his most complex yet and one that I’m completely obsessed with already.

Really, really obsessed with this chain print and am angling to buy this jeans and wear them with the sneakers… maybe even the whole look…

Another great shot showing off Christopher’s collaboration with Eastpak, another first for SS 10.

This is another must-have from the collection. It’s a panelled top with aertex, sheer, cotton and tech fabric panels. ‘Fresh’ is the only word I can think of to describe it…

There’s lots more promised for Pump’s 20th anniversary as well, but it’s nice to see a young designer partnering with a brand that they obviously really care about rather than some of the eye-raising pairings we’ve seen over the past few years. Chris – a skilled printmaker, following his pieces for Topman and with Judy Blame – also did a rather nifty collab t-shirt for everyone on the front row at MAN.

Meanwhile, my sneaker obsession grows… Chris’s collections have actually inspired a whole new look for me, based around the ‘wrongness’ of wearing a sneaker after wearing brogues and formal shoes for so long. It’s this: crew neck, fitted sweatshirt with a polo underneath, looser tracksuit bottoms, all plainly-coloured, and a sneaker to finish it off. A simple men’s look that feels modular, a basis for a ton of options (like those prints, textures and the top above).

OKI-NI’S MARGIELA ARCHIVE.

oki-ni’s archive feature is one of the most exciting ideas happening online right now. Why can’t designers and labels archive their own clothes properly? Pieces of Raf Simons, Levi’s and Nike have been lovingly photographed, beautifully styled and catalogued by the website, showing creative director and buyer John Skelton’s passion for these brands.

Next up is a Margiela archive, property of the lovely Mr. Craig Borthwick, a man who perhaps knows more (and has more) Margiela than anyone else I can think of. I once ended up at Craig’s for a dinner party where I found out that he owned some legendary vintage pieces, such as the patchworked Levi’s that I have often fantasized and admired. Whether Margiela really is still at the helm or not, the men’s brand finally seems to be really getting the attention it deserves. With oki-ni having one of the best buys of any store, I couldn’t resist asking John more about this unique project.

MENSWEAR: You must have been working with and buying the brand for some time now. What keeps you coming back for more?

John Skelton: It’s a bit of a weird one really. Every season I go into the showroom and just end up selecting so many more options than when I’m in other showrooms. I have a real thing about trying everything on before I write it and when you put this stuff on it just fits so well that I end up with loads of it. The tailoring and the knitwear is timeless. Im still wearing Margiela I bought ten years ago.

MENSWEAR: What have been your Margiela ‘highlights’ throughout the men’s collection, the pieces that have really made you go ‘wow’ or fall in love with the brand perhaps?

JS: There’s loads of them. I really fell for the tailoring in a collection around seven years ago which had the mix up waistcoats in it, still remember it like yesterday. Also nearly died when I seen the first cut’n’sew vintage Levi’s in Harvey Nichols around 1998. That’s actually the first thing that got me into Margiela when I think about it, they we’re like nothing else I’d ever seen at that point.

MENSWEAR: People seem ignorant or less aware of Margiela menswear compared to womenswear. What would you personally recommend about it?

JS: I’m not going to recommend anything about it. If people want to be ignorant about it then that means there’s less of us wearing it!!

A Margiela water bottle…

MENSWEAR: The archive series on oki-ni is really exciting, any dream archives or people with huge clothing collections you’d like to delve into?

JS: Yeah actually. I’ve got some really exciting meetings with some people in Japan that I am really enthused about but I cant give any names away at the moment. Also another Geordie boy who we’re going to be featuring soon which is going to be a new and interesting angle for us.

Also can I just finish by saying a huge thank you to Craig Borthwick whose Margiela archive this is. He not only provided the product but styled the whole thing himself and I think it’s the strongest, most authentic archive styling wise we have up. Thanks bro x