Hideyourarms.com April 2008

April 29, 2008

Review: Hand of Prey by Your Eyes Lie Its always fun to get mail from unexpected places, and Thailand is one of those places. Im pretty used to receiving mail from America by now, but the far East is still something of a novelty for me in terms of mail, and even though I know that Your Eyes Lie are a UK/Thai operation, I was expecting a package with stamps bearing the Queens face rather than a serious looking Thai guy. Im sure the very mention of Thailand and clothes has immediately got some of you worrying about the conditions that these clothes were made in, but have no fear, these tees have nothing to do with little kids that have excellent sewing skills and a lot to do with a creative partnership between British graphic designer Ben Yarwood and Thai fashion designer Alisa Longsuwan. I met Ben at Margin and we had a good chat about all things YEL and HYA, he told me all about the stresses of creating a tee to print on (no stock AAs here!), the significance of being picked up by Urban Outfitters, and gave me a better overall understanding for a brand that I knew I liked, but didnt quite get.This tee is also something that I dont quite get. The phrase Hand of Prey is actually a Googlewhack, with the link going to a PDF about the History of Veterinary Medicine in the late Islamic Period so I dont think thats where they got their inspiration from for this piece. But I think not knowing what it means is pretty cool too, t-shirts dont necessarily have to mean something, and you dont necessarily have to understand it if they do. The important thing is that they look cool, and undoubtedly this does, black and white tees always give you a lot of options when youre pairing up your tee with something, which is why I like that combo so much. Considering how much time YEL put into creating a quality t-shirt (I think they spent about six months testing and retesting different styles, cuts and material blends) its hardly a surprise that theyve produced something impressive. The first tee of theirs that I reviewed is still going strong four months on, although you should bear in mind that since I own so many tees I dont wear the same tee as often as most people do. It is quite a fitted shirt, and not particularly long in the body either, definitely a quality product, and the custom tags are a nice touch as well.
www.hideyourarms.com
www.youreyeslie.com

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Hideyourarms.com April 2008

April 19, 2008

MarginReports: Trousers London + Fear not gentle readers, HYA has not turned into Hide Your Ass (now there's an idea!), but I promised these guys that I'd write something about them even if I don't have the first clue about the world of premium jeanswear. I met two of the people behind Trousers London at the pre-party before the main event at Margin and they they were great, very concerned about the two friends I took to the party who 'over-extended' themselves on delicious free cocktails from the bar. In short, being nice to me will get you a feature on HYA. + Trousers London was officially launched at Margin, though the brand was born in 2007 with the intention of creating a jeanswear label that stood out from other high-end offerings. Here's how they describe themselves: Trousers is an experimental, ambitious, future-focused jeans label inspired by London. From unique designs and shapes, to small but important details, Trousers stands alone among the clones of the daily jeans parade. Trousers makes jeans for the genuine modern day gentlemen, for the man who loves the thrill of the new and is always at the forefront of the avant-garde. We at Trousers believe in ecologically friendly materials and we care that our products are not born of exploitation. Our range is crafted with patience and skill in small batches, in our Italian factory using organic premium denim. + Like I said, I know basically nothing about the premium jeans market. I do know that their jeans looked cool, and they're making all the right noises in terms of not wanting to destroy the planet which is refreshing to hear, and I think that it would be pretty hard for you to disagree that these are fairly unique designs, you certainly won't find anything like them on the high street. So, I do give their range a thumbs up, but unfortunately my thumbs are of little value in this instance. At the moment it isn't actually possible to buy these jeans. Those who are interested in the limited edition garments (just 600 pairs in the first production run) will be available to register their interest in May when the Trousers web store opens, with the jeans getting to them in June or July. If you're a bricks and mortar kind of person, the jeans will be available in a select few retails stores around the UK and Europe around August/September.

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Hideyourarms.com April 2008

April 9, 2008

EIO Clothing: Spring/Summer 08 release+ I got a chance to meet up with EIO at Margin back in February, and it was really great to get hands on with their whole range after reviewing a sample back in October last year.So, with that knowledge in mind, I can tell you with no uncertainty that this latest S/S range is damn fine. The hoodies were soft and the designs were sharp, and they've even started selling some rather nifty looking belts that have their logo stamped onto them. Click on through to see all the new goodies that they've got on offer. Props to EIO for seeming like a great bunch of people, having spoken to them I can really understand the level of passion that they put into what they do, and I think that shows through in this latest collection. EIO Clothing

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Hideyourarms.com March 2008

March 31, 2008

MarginReports: You Can Make It Happen Andy: 'Ummmm, why have you put those badges into takeaway cartons?' YCMIH: One day we were making our onion-design badges and we noticed that they were, y'know, onion badges (Queue bemused look from the devilishly handsome blogger) Andy: YCMIH:Onion Bhajis! Andy: Ahhhhh! Now I get it And with that, I was thoroughly smitten with the ladies behind You Can Make It Happen, a small Manchester-based company set up by Jo Finlay in 2003. There was a fantastic quirky-Britishness about them, their designs, and entire brand philosophy that was really endearing. The often doodle-like hand drawn illustration style is a staple of their (usually food-inspired) designs, something which goes hand-in-hand with the hand-printed, limited edition nature of all their pieces. Fittingly, considering the food-theme that seems to run through their range, YCMIH are getting healthy and eating their greens. That rather strained metaphor (analogy?) means that they're sourcing all their products from manufacturers that employ fair, ethically and environmentally conscious working practices. They had quite a few products at Margin that I can't spot on their typically whimsical, hand drawn website, such as a new eat your greens' range, and a guilt-free eco-bag, a product that is really big in the UK at the moment, so it might be a case of it taking a while for them to get to the site, but it's entirely possible that they'll have the latest stuff at Manchester's Fashion Market every Saturday 10am-5pm on Tib Street (near Debenhams, if you know Manc. you'll probably know where that is). You Can Make It Happen

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Regenerate + Blog

March 20, 2008

Regenerate + Exhibitor Blog Post

“Margin tradeshow

We picked up buyers and distributors in France, new stockists around the country as well as international press, not bad for a first show.”

http://www.regenerateclothing.com/

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Hideyourarms.com March 2008

March 17, 2008

www.hideyourarms.com MarginReports: terratag Just a month (and a week) after the event actually occurred, I'm finally treating you to some reports on brands that I found at Margin. As most of the vendors at Margin didn't want photos being taken of their goods (and a few at The Park were pretty rude over the whole photo situation), and I can understand why, the clothes world can be pretty cut throat, I won't be using any personally taken photos of the brands I met, but I think that I was able to get a much better insight into what all the brands were about, so there should be a bit more authority to these posts than my regular 'hey, that looks cool' offerings. Terratag were the first brand I chatted too, so I thought it would be appropriate that I profiled them first. It's hardly surprising that Terratag made a big impression on me, they love robots, perhaps even more than I do (they're putting together a book with more than 200 robot t-shirts in it), and the way that their designs seamlessly mix British and Japanese pop culture really pushes my buttons (in a good way). They employ lots of strong images, often inspired by the extremely popular Gundam series, which helps to explain why Japan is one of their biggest sources of international orders. They also have no fear in using metallic inks, something that I'm happy to see. But to make it seem as if Terratag are robot obsesses is pretty unfair, their designs run a fairly wide gamut of subject matter, they like to dabble in graffiti style and vivid, neon colourways (some of which actually glow under UV light!) that are bound to get a lot of attention. Overall, a very impressive line, who had a friendly guy working their booth that didn't appear to mind answering my annoying newbie-journo questions.

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Sportswear International Report

February 15, 2008

Sportswear International Logo

LONDON FAIR REPORT: PURE, TBC & MARGIN

London, England, UK, 15 Feb. 2008

For their a/w 2008-09 editions, the London trade shows (TBC, Margin and The Park, held February 10 to 11; Pure, held February 10 to 12) all went through something of a renaissance, for better or worse, revealing either new formats, sections or management.

The womenswear show Pure following on from last season’s successful revamp of the Spirit section, the area catering to the young and urban retail segment, saw the launch of Pure Footwear this season. Showcasing a varied mix of labels ranging from Terry De Havilland, Terra Plana, Audley and Melissa to Rocket Dog, Snowjoggers and J Shoes, the space provided a versatile footwear platform that proved a hit with the buyers.

Another new feature at Pure was the Spirit Catwalk Show. Desigual, Entoomemetto and Piezak were some of the new labels exhibiting for the first time at Spirit who also showed their designs on the catwalk.

Change was in the air even at TBC. After a disappointing last season with exhibitor numbers reduced and the show lacking in energy, hopes were high as the new organizing body, Idex Media, stepped in to revamp the show, promising to give it a new lease of life and a more international appeal.

When approaching the show venue it was already clear that TBC had changed hands: huge signposts helped steer visitors in the right direction, unlike in previous seasons when they were confusingly scattered around the streets. Despite the brownie points awarded for organizational skills and corporate value, the new format lacked creativity: the sterile, carpeted space counteracted the energy of the labels on show, and failed to convey the edginess of London street culture that visitors and exhibitors ultimately come to experience, aside from getting down to business.

On the exhibitors’ side, the selection shrank to only about 60 labels including Ringspun, WESC, Garbstone, Farah, Edwin Jeans, Lost Property, Boxfresh, Monkey Genes and Skunkfunk.

The buzz that was lacking at TBC was to be indulged in at Margin (margin.tv), this is a show that nicely captures the young and edgy London vibe with its laid-back feel and energetic array of young labels. The news of the season here materialized in Traidfare, a new section featuring ethically sourced, and in some cases also organically produced, collections from brands such as Komodo, Organic Stereo, and Cyclus.

Emma Holmqvist, London Correspondent

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Drapers February 2008

February 15, 2008

Drapers Report
Drapers www.drapersonline.com London Streetwear Report Justin Hustlin Teori Co Bantum Dress-o-rama KT & Paul EIO Clothing Terratag Alexander Downes

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Feeling the Love

February 14, 2008

“Mucho Gracias for the debut show, couldn’t have gone much better.” + Brandnativa with Cyclus + www.bagzontherun.com

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Margin London February 2008

February 14, 2008

Images from Margin London in February 2008
Yamama at Margin London February 2008
Yamama
Trousers at Margin London February 2008
Trousers London
Double Goose at Margin London February 2008
Double Goose
The Herbaliser wearing Double Goose at Margin London February 2008
The Herbaliser wearing Double Goose at Margin London
Kuyichi Pure Premium Denim at Margin London February 2008
Kuyichi Pure Premium Denim
Komodo at Margin London February 2008
Komodo
Justin Hustlin at Margin London February 2008
Justin Hustlin
M.Y Clothing at Margin London February 2008
M.Y Clothing
Regenerate at Margin London February 2008
Regenerate
Brandnativa with Cyclus at Margin London February 2008
Brandnativa with Cyclus
InsideOut Agency with Rise-Up, Organic Stereo, Kuyichi and Livity at Margin London February 2008
InsideOut Agency with Rise-Up, Organic Stereo, Kuyichi and Livity

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