Music

The culture of fashion: how the catwalk soundtrack got its groove



Michael Clark Bodymap fashion show - photograph by Robert Rosen courtesy BodyMap

Models! Clothes! Music! Fashion show soundtracks are increasingly part of shaping a brand’s identity. And in the digital era they’re about to become even more important…

The year was 2017. Kim Jones was menswear artistic director at Louis Vuitton. At the appointed hour, his first models sloped onto the Paris runway in iterations of slouchy 80s overcoats, baggy flannel trousers and Basquiat-style suits with untucked shirts. Then the kicker – internet-breaking Speedy holdalls emblazoned with red-and-white Supreme logos. And to add the crucial fourth musical dimension: Honey Dijon’s mix of Sound Factory bangers including Chez Damier’s Can You Feel It (MK Dub), completing the downtown New York nostalgia trip.

Since then, other notable catwalk soundtracks have included LaQuan Smith’s AW23 Ballroom fabulosity-fest; Benji B’s eerie David Lynch-like Chromatics mix for Jil Sander SS25 and Saint Laurent’s long-term music collaboration with DJ SebastiAn – so integral to the brand, they packaged it as a box set and sold it in Saint Laurent stores. (more…)



Shop the post: scarves, scarves and more f***ing scarves



Fantastic Man scarf

Scarves are underrated. We don’t big them up nearly enough. But Fantastic Man (above and below) has recognised this oversight and given a whole feature to the combined joy and pragmatism of this unsung wardrobe hero. (more…)



The culture of fashion: Alex Michon, shy punk (part 1)



Alex Michon

In December 2020, I interviewed my friend, the artist, writer and a director of Transition Gallery, Alex Michon for an article for Bon Magazine called ‘Can what you wear change who you are?’ I could only feature a couple of her soundbites in the piece, but on recently rediscovering the transcript, I realised she had some incredible insights into a pivotal time for young women and their attitude to clothes and self-expression. I spoke to her about her years designing and making clothes (alongside her friend Krystyna Kolowska) for The Clash at the peak of their influence along with her own personal style metamorphosis as a reaction to living in 1970s Britain. (more…)



On Acme BOY and the T-shirt economy



Acme BOY The Birth of Punk and Anti-Fashion 1975-1985 by Phil Strongman Cover

Just finished reading an early copy of Phil Strongman’s Acme BOY: The Birth of Punk & Anti-Fashion 1975-1985*. It’s a riveting read with Strongman’s straight-shooting yet humorous tone giving us plenty of insider intel on the fashion and retail landscape of London’s legendary punk power players – Acme, Boy, SEX et al.

I enjoyed this little lesson on T-shirt economics. A tee is an easy thing to make and sell, is cheap as chips, yet it lends itself to all manner of self-expression. As he says here, if you’ve got the right attitude, a T-shirt can be your entire outfit. Very punk. (more…)