ABOUT AUSTEN

"The reason no one married her was it was just all too much. Something truly frightening rumbled there beneath the bubbling mirth: something capable of taking the world by its heels, and shaking it."
- Fay Weldon

"Edmund and Fanny are both morally detestable and the endorsement of their feelings and behaviour by the author makes Mansfield Park an immoral book."
- Kingsley Amis

"The art is so consummate that the secret is hidden; peer at them as hard as one may; shake them; take them apart; one cannot see how it is done."
- Thornton Wilder

"Austen reveals so frankly and with such sobriety the economic basis of society."
- W H Auden

"This old maid typifies 'personality' instead of character, the sharp knowing in apartness instead of knowing in togetherness, and she is, to my feeling, thoroughly unpleasant English in the bad, mean, snobbish sense of the word, just as Fielding is English in the good generous sense."
- D H Lawrence

"Here was a woman about the year 1800 writing without hate, without bitterness, without fear, without protest, without preaching. That was how Shakespeare wrote, I thought. And when people compare Shakespeare and Austen, they may mean that the minds of both had consumed all impediments; and for that reason we do not know Jane Austen and we do not know Shakespeare, and for that reason Jane Austen pervades every word that she wrote, and so does Shakespeare."
- Virginia Woolf

"She is mistress of derision rather than of wit or humour. Her irony is now and then exquisitely bitter. The lack of tenderness and of spirit is manifest in Miss Austen's indifference to children, and as children through whom a mother may receive flattery from her designing acquaintance on her sensible friends... in this coldness or dislike Miss Austen resembles Charlotte Bronte."
- Alice Meynell

    

SPRING 2017 MENSWEAR: LONDON REVIEW

Three of the best at the on-going London shows:

J W Anderson

Whimsical, joyful and relevant in these rather depressed, cynical times - a jolt of inspiration.

Margaret Howell 

Elegant, thoughtful, desirable clothes with hidden wells of sensuality. Cuts out the social media noise instantly and suddenly you see, and think, clearly.

E Tautz

Rumpled academic meets Talking Heads - more deliciously desirable clothes that will stand the test of time.

MEN'S FALL/WINTER 2016 REVIEW: ELEGANCE AND PUNK

Vivienne Westwood: Brilliant and inspired

Burberry Prorsum has, like clockwork, been turning up efficiently brilliant collections for so long that it nettles when its latest showed unispired looks that looked terribly mehanical - just the usual outerwear cut a little roomier. Compare this with the amazingly inspired Vivienne Westwood collection and you will see what I mean instantly. "Androgynous" doesn't even begin to describe the teagown and cardi aesthetics - this collection had balls (literally in the phallic pendants) and ballgowns and yet looked juicily, boldy, swaggeringly sexy, and very very British, with the kind of haphazard, modern sexuality that is embodied by an episode of Cucumber. Every piece is irresistible. More unlikey beauty came from Calvin Klein Collection - not just from the gilded denim or the silken tailoring but from the exaggerated puffa blousons and coats with the hood/halo - whoever would have thought? But that's what we look at in fashion isn't it? This discovery of beauty in some new way - in this case hoodies with a Renaissance effect. 

Prada made me slow and stop for a good look at the collars, key danglies, straps and patched on plackets, pockets, cuffs and collars. Very beautiful motley stuff, poetic and practical - how does she do it year after year? There's some recall of the printed tunic silk shirts from Dolce&Gabbana but taken in a much less literal way and given subtle magic. Beautiful/dowdy (always done so well by Mrs Prada) plaid things.

The fabrics were singing at Ermenegildo Zegna Couture, some very elegant songs. Very elegant stuff that would seem revolutionary if you haven't seen a Dries Van Noten collection. And we do want a revolution from Stefano Pilati, not more subdued, extreme elegance. For these difficult times, a bolder, punkier attitude is called for, don't you think? Just look at Alexander Mcqueen if you can't decide - very beautiful everything, but only the punkish, slightly violent looks register - everything else looks coldly immaculate and harmless. Because we have Pilati/Zegna-ish elegance at E Tautz too, with that interesting 80s inflection. And then at Bottega Veneta, a rumpled version of this elegance, where the plaidy-tweedy ones stole the show - dowdy made so desirable and new it makes one giddy for a weekend in Balmoral with a thermos of good tea.

Checks and Plaids at Bottega Veneta

       

WEEKEND READING LIST: PICTURE BOOKS OF 2015

I've sworn off buying books for a while now, not for any noble green reasons (although you must consider these), and have been dutifully been borrowing all my reading from our wonderful libraries here. Truth is, I simply have no more shelve- or indeed floor-, space for one more book, and yet... I couldn't resist these. 
These are all picture books, and are about drawing, a talent which I've been neglecting - I havn't picked up a pencil to sketch in ages, and I suppose these purchases are meant to inspire me to draw in the new year (and not act as dust magnets). Fingers and toes crossed, guilt-drenched.

How can you resist Gruau: Portraits of Men (with a come hither cover like this)? 

How to resist anything by David Downton? I squawked when I saw it and flew down to Kinokuniya and bought it in a flash. David Downton: Portraits of the World's Most Stylish Women is not unrelated to Gruau and his work is very much in that tradition, although Downton doesn't acknowledge that debt. I don't agree with Downton's pick of "most stylish" - Coco Rocha? Dita Von Teese? Really? - but still.

Finally, my niece Sharon very kindly ordered the book Harry Bush Hard Boys - and she promptly added one into the cart for herself! I think she said she bought it on Book Depository, but whatever it was, it arrived to make an excellent Christmas present for me!

Flashback: Look Back At Men's Fashion In 2015

WORLD WORE ‘15

Look back in wonder at the year in men’s fashion trends and themes in this flashback. By Daniel Goh

This has been a big, dramatic year in fashion; Not only did men’s fashion thrust forward decisively in looks that completely broke from the past, it zoomed ahead without nostalgia or sentimentality for eras past, and menswear is finally freed to move into the 21 Century. 

Doherty, whom no fashion can now save, looking very much like Stephen Fry.

If Only Pete Doherty Was Slim

There was a sense of déjà vu when Pete Doherty, now a pudgy uncle at 36, appeared at Saint Laurent’s show in Paris last October. The former rake thin Rimbaud of rock (and former squeeze of Kate Moss), who was the “thin-spiration” behind Saint Laurent’s seminal Spring 2015 collection, appeared to be twice the size (and age!) of his former self (albeit still sweaty, unwashed and clutching a pack of cigarettes like a ball of used tissue). Nonetheless, the skinnier than thou models, squashed into frayed jeans and stovepipe leather leggings, a flail of beaded chiffon or a shrug of shrunken jacket recalled the poet/punk of The Libertines in his fey days. If only he were thin again.

In this hit collection for Saint Laurent, Hedi Slimane seemed also to be citing his own gloriously slim self, and by the way celebrating the marginalized, the freak, the fragile, the queen, the poet, making a case of relevance for the disagreeable, disgruntled, and preternaturally sour. That such a stance actually strikes at the heart of, and is a comment on, the happy, shiny hordes of Instagram, the hordes that have clicked their approval in waves of “Likes”, seems to be lost on the Social Media generation. This can only prove that the Social Media generation is dumb and lost and that Slimane is beyond cynical.

(Spring/Summer 2015 examples: Saint Laurent SS 1 8 16 17 38 46 53 61 65; Lanvin SS 8 10 14 23 38 43)

Part 1 of 4 - Part 2 will be posted up later

Helena Bonham Carter Reading A Passage From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 56


 She entered the room with an air more than usually ungracious, made no other reply to Elizabeth's salutation than a slight inclination of the head, and sat down without saying a word. Elizabeth had mentioned her name to her mother on her ladyship's entrance, though no request of introduction had been made.Mrs. Bennet, all amazement, though flattered by having a guest of such high importance, received her with the utmost politeness. After sitting for a moment in silence, she said very stiffly to Elizabeth,
``I hope you are well, Miss Bennet. That lady, I suppose, is your mother.''
Elizabeth replied very concisely that she was.
``And that I suppose is one of your sisters.''
``Yes, madam,'' said Mrs. Bennet, delighted to speak to a Lady Catherine. ``She is my youngest girl but one. My youngest of all is lately married, and my eldest is somewhere about the grounds, walking with a young man who, I believe, will soon become a part of the family.''
``You have a very small park here,'' returned Lady Catherine after a short silence.
``It is nothing in comparison of Rosings, my lady, I dare say; but I assure you it is much larger than Sir William Lucas's.''
``This must be a most inconvenient sitting room for the evening, in summer; the windows are full west.''
Mrs. Bennet assured her that they never sat there after dinner, and then added,
``May I take the liberty of asking your ladyship whether you left Mr. and Mrs. Collins well.''
``Yes, very well. I saw them the night before last.''
Elizabeth now expected that she would produce a letter for her from Charlotte, as it seemed the only probable motive for her calling. But no letter appeared, and she was completely puzzled.
Mrs. Bennet, with great civility, begged her ladyship to take some refreshment; but Lady Catherine very resolutely, and not very politely, declined eating any thing; and then, rising up, said toElizabeth,
``Miss Bennet, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a turn in it, if you will favour me with your company.''
``Go, my dear,'' cried her mother, ``and shew her ladyship about the different walks. I think she will be pleased with the hermitage.''
Elizabeth obeyed, and running into her own room for her parasol, attended her noble guest down stairs. As they passed through the hall, Lady Catherine opened the doors into the dining-parlour anddrawing-room, and pronouncing them, after a short survey, to be decent looking rooms, walked on...

WEEKKEND READING LIST: Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant

My new obsession is Stephen Tennant: An artist and writer, he was also a great beauty in early youth (he was the Kate Moss of the Jazz Age!). Mostly he's that very English thing - an eccentric. The Philip Hoare biography of Tennant, Serious Pleasures is one of the best books I've read in ages - a serious, addictive pleasure. 

All You Need To Know: Neil Barrett Detailed Update

Menswear designer Neil Barrett uses the most rigourous of traditional tailoring standards to make modern, attractive clothes for the contemporary market. By Daniel Goh

Neil Barrett, 50, is waxing lyrical about his first denim designs for his eponymous label in the lounge of Upper House, during the press briefing for Blackbarrett’s Spring collection (Hong Kong, November 2014). He fairly gushes about his first foray into denim, which he professes to not having worn in the last 15 years, excitedly, and triumphantly extolling his superior take: It’s really dark indigo colour, almost black; it’s pristinely non-washed, even and dense; it stays rigid and creaseless; there’s a stiff body it that gives it that military bearing. “It’s perfect. I tried to make clean denim. It’s super lovely. I was trying to work out how to make it so I would wear it. How do I make it modern? Why would my client wear it? How do I make it relevant to me?” he enthused with evident pride, swiping at the looks on his iPad. This dressy denim is very much a metaphor of what Neil Barrett stands for – he’s all about a certain formality in design and craft, much more about rigour and traditional techniques even though he works very much in the contemporary market, especially with the trendy men’s label Blackbarrett. This purist bent can probably be traced to Barrett being born into a family of English tailors: He’s the fourth generation in his family to follow in those sartorial footsteps. “My family's business began at the end of the 19th century and we specialised in military tailoring. That's the root of my life's passion and inspiration,” he said.

Barrett is a graduate from London's prestigious Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design as well as the Royal College of Art. He entered the Italian fashion industry by working for five years as Gucci's senior men's designer under Tom Ford. Next, he joined Prada (“Miuccia Prada is the only designer I always look at”), where he established Prada's minimalist menswear line in 1995. “Spending more than a decade at both Prada and Gucci moulded me into the designer I am today,” he admits.

Striking out on his own in 1998, Barrett's first stand-alone store opened a year later, in Tokyo. In 2002, he staged his first runway show, at Men's Fashion Week in Milan. In 2007, he launched the diffusion label, Blackbarrett.

How would you describe the aesthetics of Blackbarrett and who do you design for?

I’m just trying to do good, desirable menswear pieces. I design for myself always; imagining myself as the client, in different fits, down to the super skinny – some of the kids over in Asia have snake legs - even our super skinny looks loose, so we had to start doing extreme skinny. We take into account the reality of the markets we sell to. I’m very aware of my markets. I’m very aware and very sensitive to my clients. Colour blocking is a signature, and the jogging pants. I’m not trying to make Blackbarrett crazily gimmicky. Many brands do gimmicks, so it’s very seasonal. My work is recognizable, but not so gimmicky that it cannot be worn in another season. I want my clothes to have longevity. I don’t design throwaway fashion. I’ve never been into instant fashion. I’ve always been believed that men buy garments, they wear them a lot and they become a favourite item, a favorite jacket, a favourite shirt or jeans. That’s a guy thing.

What qualities keep your customers coming back for more?

Most of my clients are repeat clients, which is very stable for us. I’m very attentive to fit and fabric. I always try to create new interest which is appreciated by the discerning. It’s not crazy, silly, gimmicky. I do subtle details which people understand and are happy to wear. I create a balance of wearability and desirability. It’s striking that balance that makes the difference between a gimmicky designer and a designer who has longevity.

Your passion for fashion is obvious; What moves you about this business?

I enjoy the whole wonderful process of fashion. It’s a fun organic process to make the vision in my mind into reality. Fashion is a learning process for me. If you’re a good designer you’re always observing, you’re very discerning about what you take on board. I listen to people who are astute. I love creating new fabrics – that’s one of my favourite things. I prefer to create my own fabrics rather than go around looking. I know what I want in my mind, I go to the best mills and we make it. I know the best mills to do things at the price point we want. 

You define yourself as being a menswear designer?

I’m a menswear designer who designs womenswear with a menswear point of view. I accidentally did womenswear. I had so many people buying small sizes of my menswear.

How would you define a stylish man?

Style should reflect one's character. To me, style is about knowing how to put together a look with nonchalant ease. A stylish man could be stylish in a way that I don’t like or in a style that I do like. A stylish man has enough taste to put something together in an attractive way. Someone who’s stylish takes care in putting themselves together and they look at themselves in the mirror in an objective way and they make an effort. Some people put too much of an effort and they look ridiculous. I like men to look like men.

How big is your team?

I have a 6,300sqf headquarters just outside Milan, with another 6,000 sqf factory. In Milan I employ 65 people; In London I have about five, in the factory I have about 55 people. I have four designers for Neil Barrett, not a very big design team, but I have a very big support team.

For Blackbarrett there are four designers. I basically give the direction for where I want to go in terms of story and theme and then we go into the designing process, then the merchandising plan, what I believe in, and expand on the bestsellers, and cover what you sold well and try to create new fabrics.

What motivates you to keep working?

After more than 15 years in the industry, I'm still always trying to improve on everything. I feel like you can never sit on your laurels and accept that this is the best. There are some things that I feel I can't do better, but there are products that I could do better, so I focus on those. I have a huge wardrobe, but I still wake up and feel like I don't have a specific garment with the right fit. So I'm always creating new stuff. That's why I love my job. My biggest kick in life is this challenge to keep creating something new, modern and relevant. I know that if I don’t like it, and I’m not going to wear it, then it’s not good enough. I could wear all my clothes.

Why do people still shop in this age when there’s just so much fashion?

The whole point of clothes is to make you feel psychologically more confident. Because when you feel you look good and you go out smiling in the morning you get compliments. I try to recreate interest and desire for fashion season in and season out. But for the whole digital era that we're living in, I decided that it was important to make things easier and recognizable from a distance, which has been very successful. I'm expanding the brand by adding these more graphic options. I’m applying that graphic everywhere, but in a way that I would wear it. As for myself, I don’t really have time to shop fashion. I buy furniture, I buy objects. I love interiors so that’s where I spend my money. The problem is I have too many things and I need to edit!

How do you differentiate Neil Barrett and Blackbarrett?

Blackbarrett is a contemporary line that is accessible, but designed. They are original works – not watered down versions of the first line. It’s accessible fashion – not just clothing. There’s lots of clothing companies out there but they are not fashion. Neil Barrett is made in Italy, (95 per cent is made in Italy – knitwear is made abroad), basically using all the new technologies to push new boundaries. It’s entirely owned by me, and the prices are quite high. Blackbarrett is made in Asia, to be sold in Asia. If you start exporting, the prices go crazy because of taxes, that’s why all the first lines from Europe costs so much here. Over the years, I’ve seen so many people who wanted to wear Neil Barrett but they couldn’t afford to buy the clothes, so it was a natural progression to start Blackbarrett. It was to be made available to a wider audience. I wanted Blacbarrett to be sold alongside Neil Barrett, as one concept. Two types of people wear Blackbarrett: People who are attracted to the product, the fit and image, and then there’s the younger ones who have just started their first job who are not interested in spending that money on clothing. It can be any age group.

What are your other obsessions? How do you unwind?

I try to eat well and I try and exercise three times a week at 7.30 in the morning before work. We are all attracted to youth obviously because it’s when we have most vitality, energy and beauty. It’s natural that people are going to be anxious to keep their youth. But I think that as long as you look young for your age, that’s all that counts. I believe I have a young spirit, so however old I become, I will always have a young spirit which keeps me going and keeps me smiling.

My friend are my other passion. Walking in the countryside. I love extreme, isolated places. I was born by the sea in Devon. I’m always trying to get back to the sea. We are always taking weekends away.

Are there plans to do a bags and accessories line?

For Blackbarrett we’ve just put in a jewellery collection this season. Shoes and accessories are in the works for both Blackbarrett and Neil Barrett. The usual reason for making shoes and accessories are when you have more standalone shops. It’s one of those areas that I’ve studied over the years – I designed a Prada men’s bag that I still see now after 20 years. When you have a good bag, you don’t need another. You can change the fabrication but that bag is good. Men are creatures of habit, unlike women. Once you get something that really works you can carry on and carry on. I’m looking forward to expanding into that area. For shoes it’s more about guaranteeing a minimum quantity for production so once there are enough stores then that’s when the shoes will be launched.

What is this obsession with bags?

Bags are objects, like a vase or any object that you have in your home – they are collectible. Clothing seems more expendable. Shoes are also small objects, easy to store and so they are a dream for selling.

EDDIE REDMAYNE: MY NEW ENGLISH OBSESSION

This one is pretty self-explanatory, and if you watch the video interview below, you will see what I mean, English Charm operating at full power. Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne is an English actor, singer and clotheshorse, born January 6, 1982. 
He's really the new Hugh Grant!

Queens, Big Heads and Humour

If I could speak like Helena Bonham Carter, you won't be able to keep my mouth shut! I'd talk and talk and talk just to hear my own wonderfully posh, cut-glass accent. I want to take elocution classes!!!

NOT THE LADY: Aung San Suu Kyi's Speech at Oxford University

A charming, elegant speech made on a summer's day in Oxford. I like that she isn't slick and glib; She's graceful and so stylish!

SPRING 2013: LONDON COLLECTIONS: MEN

Isn't it scarey? Spring 2013 is upon us! Shocking!
The first-ever menswear fashion week in London has concluded last Sunday. Clicking over the videos and runway pictures of The London Collections: Men quickly, you'll surely ask "why?". Why would anyone bother?  Do we need another fashion week? Of any sort? Do we need to stretch the traditonal semi-annual seasonal fashion circus even longer?

JAY CHOU: HOW ARE YOU?

I didn't immediately fall in love with this Jay Chou song but on repeated hearings, in DH's car, in one taxi after another, I got hooked, and decided to upload it onto my iPod (yes, I have two!) and iPhone (obviously, this technical feat deserves a long blog posting all by itself). I've been listening to it ever since. Here's the quite-strange video. The wonderfully gifted Mr Chou has suddenly gone quite matured, so this song, for me, has the added sadness of lost youth.

Isn't it great though that this video has the lyrics translated in English? It immediately lifted what could have been merely another superb sentimental ballad into something memorable, quite up there with any of Mr Chou's best. There's metaphysical poetry in the lyrics - unexpectedly, movingly used. In my mind's eye, Jay is still the youth in this picture

I've said this many times before, and written about this a few times: Jay Chou's appeal, for me at least, is because he seems the ideal Ah Beng (none Singaporeans may not understand this genre of masculinity). He is the soul of the Ah Beng. His singing is like the sweet and strong essence of 10,000 Ah Bengs rolled into one keening, sobbing, sighing tune.