Drawn & Quartered

Drawn & Quartered is the work of Australian silversmith Jake Andrew.  The aesthetic is stark, and dark, with a bit of fantasy, which I love—odd pieces of silver jewelry that I would like to wear all at the same time, bumping into and buffing each other with wear.  Jake enjoys working on custom projects as much as his own line, and in his first visit to New York, he came bearing special pieces that I will treasure very much.

It might be a little jarring to see me in a bow tie nowadays, but here is one that harmonizes quite well with my everyday look. Jake took the little bow tie in my logo and carved it into an oversize signet ring in solid silver, and created quite a handsome piece.

I’ll be using this to wax-seal my handwritten notes.

There is also this thumb ring, adorned with nothing but the tiny dents and inclusions it incurred in the creation process.

Secretly engraved with the letters of my real first name.

The Drawn & Quartered shop

Sliced Stack

Call it a sign of maturity, or perhaps just a wavering aesthetic, but I’ve been gravitating towards smaller, precious pieces of jewelry now, as opposed to my usual big baubles.  I like the idea of minimal but storied rings implanted on each of my fingers, and this silver Sliced Stack, a lovely gift from Autoctona, has comfortably made my right pointer its home.  The ring is made by slicing up the ring to create a thinner slice to accompany the main piece.  It is a play on the notion of heavy and light, a charming imbalance that looks just as good stacked as it does askew.

The Sliced Stack, in brushed solid sterling silver with the polished inside, is one of my favorite pieces from Autoctona’s 2013 line. I like to wear mine slightly askew to reveal the disparity between the two components of the ring.

Autoctona Sliced Stack ring with a DIY overdyed vintage DKNY knit top

The smaller piece can easily be assigned to the role of thumb ring: my little nod to the 90′s.

stacked

photographs by Mikee Tuason

The Craig Green Sweater

Leafing through his Fall 2013 lookbook, I immediately felt a kinship toward Central Saint Martins MA graduate Craig Green, with his deliberate omission of color, relaxed shapes, and weathered, raw finishes.  The kinship soon turned into some sort of yearning for a long lost brother as I read in an interview with Thisispaper that Craig Green was a “self-proclaimed DIY enthusiast,” treating each garment in his collection as an individual project.  He would crinkle-wash fabrics, apply raw-cut anti-fray techniques, and even dip sleeves in rubber, then apply these things to a classic silhouette—it is DIYing at a designer level.  His technique shows strongest on his sweaters, where this honest craftsmanship meets the relaxed, weathered look that I so fancy.

It is the patchwork sweater on the left, in both cream and black, that I yearn for the most. There is something about the fabrics in different shades of the same non-color, pieced together in different positions, that just speaks to me. I hear the lightly metallicized striped one on the right, in the darker black, also calling to me.

The metallic one on the left is an impactful nighttime piece and could double as a great wind blocker. Nearly all of Craig Green’s sweaters, particularly the white one on the right, work as great layering pieces. As of late, I’ve been layering long to short—long shirt to cropped bomber and things in between, as similarly illustrated above.

photographs via Craig Green

Power Wash

I’m folding up my collection of Alexander Wang and BDG scoop-necks for now; I think I’ve found my new blank canvas t-shirt.  The American Apparel power washed tees have an ever so slightly wider neck opening, ample sleeve length, and hang so perfectly that they softly skim the shoulders and chest, then hang lightly just past the stomach.  These tees are given an enzyme treatment that simulates 40 wash cycles, and really do feel like t-shirts you’ve had for years—minus the scandalous holes and unsavory stains.  This summer, I’ll be going from bed (in outfit on left below), to brunch in relaxed black trousers and kung-fu shoes, to dinner in a precious jacket and toe-ring sandals, all in the same white t-shirt.

the American Apparel power wash tee

photograph via American Apparel

Adante

pouch in hand-woven bamboo, embellished with semi-precious stones and handcrafted gold seed beads by Adante Leyesa

I picked up a clutch when I was in Manila a couple of months ago—one in woven bamboo decorated with large, heavy semi-precious stones bordered with tiny iridescent gold beads that shone like little lights.  There was something cosmic-punk about it, with the planet-like stones and hammered gold plates that looked like oversized studs.  Add to that the sparkle of the beads, the island warmth of the woven bamboo, and the ease and casualness of the zip-top pouch style, and I was set on adding this beautiful little thing to my collection.  Adante Leyesa is an emerging accessories designer from Lipa, Philippines, independent and self-taught.  Tribespeople from the Cordillera mountains weave the bamboo by hand, then a group of out-of-school youth from Lipa meticulously works on the embellishments, the entire process taking two weeks to finish.  You’ll see me toting this around in the warmer months, with my pocketless pajama-like pants and sneakers in shocking colors and patterns.

Tillmann Lauterbach x AnOther

AnOther Magazine teamed up with designer Tillmann Lauterbach on a titillating new partnership.  It’s a competition, which will run for two weeks from now; readers will have the opportunity to win a new menswear SS13 wardrobe selected by top AnOther Mag editors by entering their email addresses on the competition page.  The winner will be selected at random.  Check out the competition here, and in the meantime, enjoy these Tillmann Lauterbach backstage images shot exclusively by AnOther.

Tillmann Lauterbach Spring 2013 sketches

monkey Noma

Paul Boche

photographs c/o AnOther Magazine

Ziggy Chen

Shanghainese designer Ziggy Chen so succinctly embodies the mood I am in right now: dark, loose, and masculine—quite comparable to established greats Yohji Yamamoto and Paul Harnden, but set apart by his work with texture, a keen eye for proportion, and a painstakingly refined Eastern influence.  For Fall 2013, Chen drew inspiration from Shanghai circa 1900-1920: silhouettes inspired by workmen, monks, herders, and soldiers, and textures reminiscent of the finishing on buildings built back then.  Rendered mostly in unassuming black and a few dark neutrals, the result is an expertly mellowed exercise of a timeless Asian aesthetic.

This look took my breath away. The most perfect long black fall coat with a subtly dramatic pleated back, the almost dress-like tunic shirt, and the strong, square pants are all both striking and unassuming.

The texture on this Ziggy Chen coat is reminiscent of old concrete.

The raw, frayed hem brings a feeling of lightness to this heavy wool funnel-neck coat.

two expertly layered Ziggy Chen looks: one in browns, and one all in black

Though I don’t see myself wearing a double floor-length coat look, the combination of the prints and the silhouette is remarkably regal.

Two layered black looks: one more voluminous and samurai-like, and the other a blazer over a long sheer top—a vaguely South Asian look that I’ve always loved to wear.

Ziggy Chen is represented by Stealthprojekt Showroom in Paris.

photographs via Stealthprojekt

Netpage

Netpage is an iPhone app which allows users to clip any page of a magazine, purchase featured items, and even play easter-egg videos by simply holding camera phone over magazine.  I’m highly skeptical of any new fashion app, but because Hearst is putting its money on it, I thought I’d give it a try.

Esquire on the Netpage interface

Esquire has partnered with Made Collection to curate the “Great American Things Collection,” and these products featured in the magazine are easily shoppable on Netpage.  Here are my favorites:

the perfect, most unassuming pair of burnished brown oxford shoes by Allen Edmonds

a handsome khaki overcoat by Southwick

They even sell Rappahannock River Oysters, grown out of Topping, Virginia.

Clipping pages sure is fun, and it’s amazing how the app manages to generate high-resolution versions of the clipping while you casually hold the camera over any page, without having to read a barcode.  I do wish they soon include Instagram on their share platforms, as I spend a large percentage of my social media life on there nowadays.  I wonder if this act of holding a camera over a magazine is going to stick, but the wonderful part of this old media/new media saga is watching it rapidly and creatively evolve over time.

Photos via Netpage.  Download Netpage here.

Agi and Sam

scenes from the Agi and Sam x District MTV film, featuring Agi and Sam Spring 2013

London design duo Agi and Sam just made a little film in collaboration with District MTV and I think you should watch it.  It’s short and delightfully absurd, with the storyline loosely based around the pair’s experiences of visiting their grandma’s house and being forced to watch detective TV series’.  The film beautifully showcases the delicious prints of Agi and Sam Spring 2013.

photos and video via District MTV

So Many Adventures

I styled an editorial in the current issue of I.T Post magazine, shot by Alex Kirzhner.  I was inspired by the many odd pairings of people in my life, and I wanted the spread to look like self-shot wedding photos of the most eccentric couple.  We got to play with beautiful clothes from Rag & Bone, Thom Browne, Adam Kimmel, and Robert Geller.  This was my first time styling womenswear for print, and though I wouldn’t say it’s any more or less difficult than menswear, it certainly is very different.

“So Many Adventures Couldn’t Happen Today” shot by Alex Kirzhner, styled by Izzy Tuason, for I.T Post

sunglasses by Robert Geller, mock turtleneck and knit blouson by Adam Kimmel

on her: jacket and skirt by Thom Browne, shoes by Rag & Bone; on him: sunglasses by Robert Geller, sweater, jacket, and pants by Adam Kimmel

on her: hat by Robert Geller, turtleneck, dress, pants, and shoes by Rag & Bone

all clothing by Rag & Bone

headpiece and dress by Thom Browne

hat, hooded sweater, and shirt by Robert Geller, sweater (on shoulders) by Rag & Bone

on him: hat and hooded sweater by Robert Geller, coat by Rag & Bone; on her: hat by Robert Geller, dress and gloves by Rag & Bone, fur stole, stylist’s own

 photography: Alex Kirzhner

styling: Izzy Tuason

models: Justin Passmore (RED) and Amira Ahmed (NEW YORK)

assistants: Marnee Litton and Emily Lopez

I.T Post is available at Page One