Category Archives: fashion focus

British designer Giles Deacon is an industry survivor, doing things his way while many of his peers have struggled to stay afloat over the years. Deacon‘s longevity, however, is most likely thanks to his experience: he’s tried his hand at the top of some of the most esteemed design houses before debuting his own namesake line in 2003. He lists Emmanuel Ungaro (to which he most freshly severed ties), Gucci, Daks, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, and Bottega Veneta as former employers and most recently collaborated with mainstream shoemaker, Nine West, on a capsule collection aptly entitled “GILES for Nine West” which debuted this Fall. Here, Deacon chats with us about the collection, which features bold looks, his signature “Eek” characters on charm bracelets and tote bags, and which celebrity he’d most like to take under his chic wing.

MH: How was it doing a budget-friendly collection for Nine West? You’ve done collaborations in the past, namely one with Mulberry, but, this is your first that’s lower in price…

I wanted the Nine West collaboration to be playful, cool, and urban with some “Giles touches” like the “fluoflage print” and signature “Eek” [character] which I featured on jewelry and bags. I also did printed pony ballerina flats and bold, heel-strap boots. The collection, all-in-all, is very focused and tight so we could really develop all the pieces in great detail from the shoe’s heel shapes and fabrics to bespoke packaging.

Tell me a bit about the latest Ready-to-Wear collection you recently presented during fashion week…

My latest collection was a homage to the swan — an exquisite, beautiful creature that’s equal parts serene and dangerous.

How many people does it take to create a Giles collection?

In the Giles design department there there’s a team of nine. Their duties range from actual design to cutting to making the London pieces. In Italy, I have a team of four along with a full factory.

You’ve now had the opportunity to spread your aesthetic, both high and low, especially with the help of some very famous fans (namely Daphne Guinness). Is there anyone you wish you could have dressed?

I would have really liked to dress Katherine Hepburn. She seems to have been a really interesting character with equal amounts of fun and seriousness, and was also a fantastic actress. She looks very modern in pictures now.

AOL StyleList helped me out on this one. [Shouts btw] Follow my lead for some RACKS-ON-RACKS-ON-RACKS-style, heat-alleviating essentials.
‘Cause the 90′s is back, son – and in more ways than one.

 When I don’t want to schlep too much, I stuff everything in this Mexican carpet bag, pull the drawstring, and go.
Git’ur’own at WillLeatherGoods.com.

I love a tackier-than-thou ode to 90′s hip-hop, especially in 90 degree heat.
Get your Versace on at Net-A-Porter here.

As round as the sun is hot, I turn to these circular framed shades to hide from UV’s all the while channeling my idol, Iris Apfel.
Peep these alternatives over at Topshop.

In a heatwave, bet you’ll catch me in a kurta.
What’s a kurta? Educate oneself.

Besides the red cup (which is an obvious summertime must),
these vintage Levi’s bell-bottoms are my go-to warm weather pant.

View the original story on AOL here.

Watch as my girl, RL Esterline and I speak with Rachel Bilson, Zoe Kravitz, and Derek Lam (above) about his eBay line at his official launch party last month.
Just press play. Find some b-t-s pics below.

The StyleList crew!
(Left to right: MH, RL of HuffPo, Jessica Hoppe of Having it All)

Years of watching Serena Altschul on MTV News kind of paid off
(if you disregard that slee’d intro)

Come wintertime, I wake up in my Fjällräven bubble jacket. No, it’s not because I love hip-hop. It was given to me by my dad when I went to college as a sort-of global warming survival tactic. It’s double-down, crazy comfy, and the best quality known to man. He had it since he was in high school in Sweden and it lasted ’til now, so, you know it ain’t no North Face. The historic brand started as a hiking company selling tents and rucksacks. They’ve been gaining attention in the states ever since selling their backpacks at Opening Ceremony. Now, they’ve opened their first flagship stateside (located at 262 Mott Street) and it’s like a little slice of home. You’ve got to see it to believe it.

photos courtesy of (top) fjallraven & (bottom) freshness mag

Edit. In honor of this month’s Smoke & Mirrors feature in ELLE magazine (p. 340, December ’09), “MH.edits” dissects the outfit I styled exclusively for the shoot as done in the “fashion focus” posts. So glad I had the opportunity to style myself – as myself! Having access to the unlimited racks of designer duds was a total dream come true. You’ll usually find me with a scarf somewhere on my person, so, when I was asked to assemble a look that included at least one Hermes scarf, I was set. Inspired by years of watching my favorite musicians incorporate scarves into their personal styles, my look was prompted by memories of Steven Tyler’s scarved mic stand, Janet Jackson’s handkerchief (from the “Alright” video), Mozart, Keith Richards, Prince, and Axl Rose’s headband. It was all about celebrating my love for music and fashion – which is what S&M‘s all about. The result’s a combination of hard and soft, masculine and feminine, today and yesterday. An homage to rock & roll. Thanks again to everyone at ELLE for coining me a “tastemaker” and making the whole experience so enjoyable. Such an honor. (Cheers to my fellow featured bloggy baby, Krystal, at whatisrealityanyway)

1 Hermes polka dot silk scarf (worn as headband)
2 Corpus velvet motorcycle jacket
3 Ralph Lauren Collection silk organza blouse
4 Hermes silver collier ring
5 The Row french grey leather leggings
6 Hermes metallic brocade scarf (worn as handkerchief)
7 Chloe suede lace-up booties

It’s most certainly my Scandinavian heritage that’s harvested my love for clogs. I’ve grown to incorporate the pointy-toed elf shoes into some of my most unorthodox looks. The connotations of clogs stateside are somewhat pejorative. Most see Crocs, Berkeley lesbians, Heidi and gardeners as clog’s only friends. For Spring ’10, Chanel opted for clog’s mainland farm look, adding a wooden heel to a leather-topped mule for the fashion set. Brazilian plastic shoemaker, Melissa, has created my favorite rendition of the classic footwear to date, in collaboration with designer Edson Matsuo (worn in photo). It seems like it’s finally time to let your inner gnome thrive!

Chanel / Spring 2010 / Paris Fashion Week
Melissa Clog by Edson Matsuo

Capes are the shit. They always have been. Always will be. That is – if you know how to fly (which I do). Why else would you wear one really? Every superhero has one, the Papa rocks one, the Count, and look – so does Irina in Dazed! (They all fly as hell) I’m telling you, try one sometime and you’ll be glad you did.

“I-R-I-N-A” – Ryan Leslie

I’ve had the opportunity to explore my infatuation with historic men’s costume, but never had the chance to examine my biting interest in knightswear. Tough, tactile, and anonymous: knight’s stand as fashion’s great gatekeeper. The armored one holds an untouchable appeal, a sense of mystery enforced by such faceless authority. Playing with this anonymity provides for a studied layer to everyday dress that’s sharply literal and paused in time. Watching the tin man play an inspiring role in last season’s fashion artillery shows just how Ackermann and Pugh feel the same.

^ This is a good one… haha (circa ’06) ^

I’m starting a new post series that reflects on my personal style influences, entitled ‘fashion focus.’ I promise once I’m fully moved into my new apartment I will have the August edition of mh.edits up. In the meantime, for the first post of the series, it’s my love for plaid explained. No, it doesn’t come from anything grunge-inspired or hipster (hell, I was listening to Janet in ’93 not Alice in Chains), it’s pieces from my whimsical tween love affair with Larisa Oleynik or better known to SNICK viewers as Alex Mack from The Secret World of Alex Mack. She was cute, had killer style (and if I remember correctly an amazing hat collection), along with the fact that she could morph into that weird silver CGI goop whenever she had to escape from her crush or the scientists that were chasing her. But when I think of Alex, it’s her affinity for the checked flannel that I remember most. She’d accompany any overall or backwards cap with an open plaid buttondown, either tied upon her waist or sizes too large, slouched atop her tee. It’s the root of my endearment for the pattern that so often ends up on my back.

Me ‘n’ my girl Rox watching that Alex Mack.

Me ‘n’ my cousin Vera watching that Alex Mack.

I’ve been wearing leggings for some time now – I remember the first time I wore them in high school to gasps and hallway awe. It’s 2009 and they’re still an integral part of my wardrobe. Finally, there’s less stigma surrounding men in anything ‘tight’ due largely to the skinny jean trend. In tandem, men’s leggings have garnered attention within fashion circles based upon Givenchy’s recent menswear collections. I see leggings as tight pants fit for both sexes. Many disagree and see them only as undergarments for women, but I find leggings to be an elemental piece of body conscious dressing. Always an extremist; garments are either tight or falling off me. And that’s just how I like ‘em. There are no ‘in-betweens’ – proportions are important in differentiating from the norm and establishing one’s individuality. To think that men haven’t worn anything that close to the body since the 1800′s is stunning. Honestly, what will it take for men to go back to tights a la Robin Hood? The man without fear of shape or size. The man who’s not afraid of skimp or stare. It’s that certain embrace of one’s own that’s so inspiring. Everyone is made to look different and it seems, due to today’s homogenization and singularity in dress, there’s no room to express anything more than what’s emblazoned on a t-shirt.

Identity is something that’s attained. Part present, part past, it is piece-by-piece a tell-tale to one’s experiences and longings, inspirations and limits. For myself, I see leggings as a derivative of my childhood fondness for Dickens and Twain. Their lead male characters always rose from rags to riches in twig-legged bottoms. It’s something that’s stayed with me from the time I played Artful Dodger in Oliver!; the strong-willed little pickpocket with a Cockney accent. From beggars to royals, streets to kingdoms, chicken-legged looks were something they both shared. The most fantastic characters I remember were mini yet magical. The top-heavy silhouettes from Prince and the Pauper have had a lasting impact on my personal style. The story’s also probably the very thing that influenced my love for mixing high and low – think Givenchy (Prince) and disintegrated tee (Pauper). See above and below for le visual hints.

(Click thumbnails to view full-size.)

I’ve been intrigued by round-frame sunnies since I watched Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act when I was a little boy. I remember begging my mother to buy me a pair from the local Rite Aid. She got me red ones that I still have. A decade and a half later…

…they’re back — this time on my female counterpart, Miss Olsen. So, again (as she once did for the Wayfarer), she’s brought back another vintage frame, this time, the round-frame Windsor. Not to start a war (because I, of course, have massive respect for her and admit sharing similar stylistic influences – beggars, rockers, stoners, etc.); but hell, I wore the ones my mom got me back junior year (’07). It wasn’t that I felt a trend churning; it was the simple fact that I had been home for Thanksgiving and my mom rekindled the flame when she found them in storage. Peep the pic of my mom and I below. Since then, it’s been much easier to find the babies all over town due to Mary-Kate’s heavy retail influence. To date I have 10 pair. The New York Times is hella late.

Presently, they’re still my favorite sunglasses. They fit my face better than most frames do. My favorite pairs are in black and yellow.

You should probably read this post while listening to someone who reminds me of a mini-modern-Mozart…The-Dream. Just imagine the 5’8″ composer hovering over his skyscraping organ as if he were in an Austrian opera house beating it up like gorilla.

There’s something that’s always caught me about 18th century (and prior) men’s dress. It’s probably the fact that “macaroni” fashions were more peacock than pasta, in that they’d incorporate, as a rule, much more extravagance than their female counterparts. Heels, stockings, jewelry and wigs, were among the uniform for the upper class 1700′s male who considered it critical to exemplify status. Viewing these heavily adorned males beside powerful men today is somewhat of a joke: Mozart could pass as Dita Von Teese for all its worth. Found in 1984′s Amadeus, the men’s costuming can be seen as a sort of competitive exploitation of wealth and virility. How funny it is to see how things have changed to become what they are today… If anything, I’d say men don’t have the sort of fun women do with fashion presently in that they have their limitations set so strongly by society.

If I had to say which style I’ve been most inspired by, I would have to give it to Amadeus. My obsession with ruffled collars, top-heavy silhouettes, puffy shirts and ringed fingers, big hair and organ sounds, has its root in my 5th grade music class. We learned of Beethoven and Mozart, while all I could focus on was their impeccable sense of style. They seemed to understand what it was to dress for statement and self-identity. Nowadays, the formulaic man’s dress constricts any expression except fear from being outwardly portrayed. To think, there was a time when men got glee from challenging any sense of homogeneity in fashion is still exciting to me. Below, you’ll find a photo from my trip to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London last summer, where I found what I hope to look like in forty-plus years. Beneath it is a photo showing how to modernize the Rococo-era aesthetic with a ruffly shirt, torn jeans, and high shoes. The hair helps.

(Click any photo to view full size)