A&F: The anti-climax



Hmmph, what a waste of time that was! First I had to contend with a mega-queue, and I do not queue to go in shops! Next I had to find someone who knew about these wretched ‘magalogs’. I was finally directed to the till where of course I was confronted with another queue longer than a month of Sundays. I managed to duck and dive to the front to ask about the mag.
“Yes, we have them here behind the counter, you can queue up to buy one.”
“But have you got one I can look at first?”
“Um…they’re sealed. Let me see if I can find one.”
“How much are they anyway?”
“£100”
“!!!???!!! Ok, do you want to finish serving this guy first?”

The harrassed assistant finished folding the young fellow’s logo T-shirts then spent a few minutes bustling behind the counter before emerging with something wrapped in cling-film which looked like a box which *could* house a magazine but I wasn’t allowed to open it. After a nano-second’s deliberation I thanked the assistant and made my exit sans magazine. I get what they’re doing, they’re creating a buzz, keeping things exclusive, yada yada yada. But.. I just couldn’t be bothered with it all. Fair enough, the photography is probably beautiful, I’m sure the articles are well-written, I’m sure the design is sublime, but at the end of the day, I want to try before I buy and I don’t think that’s asking too much if I’m spending £100 on a magazine.

Update: Mind you, having re-read yesterday’s post I guess it serves me right. There was me thinking I could get one for peanuts to flog on Ebay. I s’pose you’ve gotta laugh really…

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A&F: The comeback








Don’t forget peeps, Abercrombie’s cult A&F magalog returns on Saturday for London customers only. And you have to be over 18. And you have to pay for it (I think). Hey, it matters not, don’t forget these are Bruce Weber pics (of hot boys) we’re talking about. And they’re totally collactable (translation: Ebayable) too.

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What a coup!



The collaboration to end all collabrations, H&M have hooked up with Rei Kawakubo of Commes des Garcons to create an exclusive collection for autumn 2008. Included in the range are womenswear, menswear, a smattering of childrenswear as well as a unisex fragance and accessories. Talk about a coup, how do you beat that? Short of Marc Jacobs designing for Gap (which he’s hinted he always wanted to do) I don’t think there’s any point in any more of these collaborations after this one.

The range launches in Tokyo at the beginning of November followed by the rest of the world a few days later. What can we expect to see in the range? Well the great thing about Comme is how it combines wacky pieces with updated classics so my money’s on graphic printed tees, school-girl grey knitwear-with-a-twist, a perfect pleat-top trouser (for men and women), surely a rockabilly fifties frock or two in insane colours like neon pink or yellow and some wear-anywear white shirts. Accessory-wise I can imagine something in garish plastic or rubber (a shopper?), some brothel creeper-esque shoes and maybe a take on a Converse or Vans shoe. My man D suggests something in yellow/black tartan (kilts for men? bomber jackets?), and a version of their pop-coloured zip purses in printed vinyl. What does everyone else think?

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The It-bag robberies




Those wretched baglifters are still at it, smashing and grabbing from every It-bag peddler from Bond Street to Sloane Street. On Monday evening the bike-mounted bag-burglers targeted the Fendi store but were papped by photographers stalking Rebecca Loos as they drove past Cipriani in Mayfair with as many as thirty bags hanging off each bike. Although it’s not much fun for a bag designer to have their stock plundered only to have the precious loot unceremoniously flogged on Ebay, it must be a bit of a comfort to know they’ve been targeted. In a way, these robberies are serving as quite the accidental barometer of what’s hot and what’s not in arm candy. So far, Luella, Anya Hindmarch, Mulberry, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo and Salvatore Ferragamo have all been victims, imagine the shame if you were the only bag shop that wasn’t being raided, you’d almost have to stage a robbery yourself, just to save face.

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