INOU(R)ED AND ENAMOURED.

When The Inoue Brothers first dropped into the perfectly-honed selection of labels at LN-CC I’ve gotta admit I wasn’t sure how I felt, or how their knitted, slightly random hues fitted in- but those questions seem to be directly answered with their upcoming collaboration with the much-obsessed-over and praised Japanese streetwear brand SASQUATCHfabrix .

Launching soon at LN-CC, the collection’s built on knitwear rather than the Inoue’s beaded bracelets and tops from Spring Summer, and seems much, much better for it. Just like 2003 again, it feels like anything with skeleton prints gets my vote- and following SASQUATCH’s smart breton sweater with cartoon skeleton arms for Summer, these are an obvious progression. I’m looking forward to seeing the deets up close.

Since LN-CC dropped SASQUATCH, it’s become one of my absolute favourite labels, full of complex layering, outrageous streetwear silhouettes and just a general sense of maximalism run riot. For AW 11 their Modern Ninjas collection is one of the weakest, though with some interesting moments- most involving hats. Some of the proportion and the interesting layering- puffa shirts as jackets, hoodies under blazers (again, back to 2003) are more than worth considering, and easy to whip up from something in your wardrobe (he hopes)…

Via Selectism

PALILLO POWER.

To say I’m a fan of Daniel Palillo is an understatement. Fellow Londonites (is that even grammatically correct?) might be aware of Daniel Palillo’s work through the sublime hel-looks.com, where plenty of peeps seem to be sporting his stuff, but frustratingly no one here has picked up on this designer with a penchant for all things sloppily-perfect, cartoonish-garish mixed with just a modicum of darkside. SS 12′s Never Mind collection begs to be blogged about- there’s no point over-analysing these clothes, which is always a good thing, as the appeal of a sheer skull-appliqued shirt (or is it a trench?), Stegosaurus-esque spiny tracksuit bottoms and mesh long shorts is kinda clear to these eyes.

The cartoonish comes from a trip to America (the womenswear has a MARGE SIMPSON dress) and the Never Mind reference is obvious- but not obvious in the hordes of Cobain-worshipping grungewear hovering over AW 11 like a doom cloud.

Palillo also makes kidswear and some quite amazing t-shirts with Ground Zero, picking up on the fantastic prints in his main line. Maybe just because we can’t get these items in London it’s easy to fetishize them out of all proportion, but what they hey- I am desperate for a pair of mesh layered shorts (to go with the toeless socks I’ve been coveting this week).

Digging into Palillo’s archive, there’s a lot that still looks sharp. Spring 2010′s ‘Renaissance’ collection in particular is strong…

And A/W 11′s ‘Talking Heads’ is taking the obsession into overdrive. Never before have I coveted orange joggers and a ‘Fuck’ tote. Ahem.

 

MENSWEAR’S BACK

Patient readers, MENSWEAR launched several years ago (I actually forget the date) and despite taking some zzzz’s from the blog (and the fashion world) I’ve decided to come back to it, intrigued by some of the more progressive stuff out there, and a lack of inspiration in men’s blogs- better for me to post all the stuff I like than just keep it in my head. So welcome back MENSWEAR- I hope you like it- and thanks for being so patient!

You know you want them. LOOK AT THEM!!!

Yes, they’re by Asos. No, they’re not on sale til next year… Logic dictates that the online powerhouse that started as humble ol’ As Seen On Screen should be turning into some homogenous mass (as it sells the like of Gap and now River Island, and seems poised to swallow the entire high street whole), but it just gets… weirder and better and more stuffed to the brim with delights.

They recently had one of their legendary press days showing us the new collections and WHAT new collections they are. I’m not gonna blabber on, but rather show you some of the highlights. And there are MANY highlights, including the new Asos Marketplace… more on which later.

Obsessed with this slightly Glasto ’93 parka plus a wonderful Seil Marschall backpack.

God knows who this is by but the bag is Porter and they have loads of lovely new labels signed up QUITE LITERALLY stolen from under the noses of other ‘webshops’

Jewellery AMAZING.

Those boots (again)

This suit is actually neon lime. SICK!

Someone at ASOS HQ has been watching dances with wolves

What’s this…?

Only MENSWEAR’s must-have bag of next season. GIVE IT!!

The styling’s great too. ‘Loving the psychedelic vibe’

This backpack. Is it too much? Or is it really quite not enough??

Just me or does this remind you of the SASQUATCHfabrix skull trousers on LN-CC?

So Asos Marketplace: basically Asos is launching a mixture of eBay and Etsy sometime this month. People will be able to set up their own boutiques or sell things that they’ve made, vintage clothing, new designers… Asos will do all the sending and boring stuff, even (if I remember rightly) editing videos you take of them. If this doesn’t sound exciting, have a look below. All these pieces will be going on sale within the first few weeks…

HIYA!

Moschino innit…(back when they used to do good prints)

VERSACE print shirt.

SOME RANDOM print shirt!

PENDLETON cardie… I am obsessed. Asos marketplace is coming and it’s a very, very good thing already. MENSWEAR can’t wait to be wasting our hard-earned pennies on it soon. HMM.

 

Believe the hype

You’re gonna have to excuse my gushing on this one.

But it’s here… the collab of the year… the collab of the decade… the collab of the CENTURY (so far)! I can’t think of many more brands than H&M and Lanvin that I love, but together… WELL.

Last week I popped along to the launch and was, quite frankly, blown away. As a (frankly quite feeble) wannabe Lanvin collector I want to get all of it. The pieces are strong enough in themselves, kind of like a Lanvin’s greatest hits though strangely (or cleverly, depending on your point of view) without the sneakers that have made Lucas Ossendrijver’s work so universally admired. There’s cuffed tracksuit trousers harking back to A/W 08, bibbed shirts and satin bow ties, backless waistcoats… I may as well just use caps lock words like AMAZING INCREDIBLE MAJE ad infinitum and you’ll get the same thing. Ahem.

Spring/Summer 08- ring any bells?

This t-shirt’s a version of one from last Summer (10) that I really wanted (despite not liking tiger prints at all). Somehow thoguh the diamante eyes have put me off…

Tie-back waistcoats and a bibbed-front shirt. I think these are both inspired by A/W 08′s collection…

This washed tux jacket, for me, is the star of the show… apologies for the dodgy iPhone pics but I had to make sure that it really was only £79.99 and I wasn’t dreaming…

And after about a billion other blogs, here’s the lookbook images for your entertainment too…!

So there you go.

Yours truly…

A few months ago I was lucky enough to be the subject of a wardrobe feature on the amazing website StyleLikeU. It’s just gone live, with a heavy dose of cringe and a side order of pretentious, but what they hey. Regular readers will know my love for this site, which every day takes you on a fantastic voyage through the weird and wonderful closets of some pretty awe-inspiring people across the world. Started by stylist Elisa Goodkind and her daughter Lily, they do videos and photographs  has recently had the likes of Uffie and RZA on it alongside lawyers, fashion designers, bon viveurs… in fact anyone and everyone who refuses to follow conventional rules of style. I ought to be incessantly modest and say I’m not worth it etc etc but instead I’ll just guide you to look at their site which is just a joy to read.

Flatmate’s vintage jacket (20p!!!), Vintage shirt and eBay shorts, Doctor Martens boots.

Vintage jeans and Church’s shoes.