Last week I clocked a bunch of guys in the Hoxton Hotel. They looked immaculate - Summer trench coats tied tight at the waist, polished pointy shoes, hair freshly cut - everything was picture perfect. And that's where it all seemed to go wrong. It was too neat, too tidy, too precise; they seemed to have taken all the fun and personality out of wearing nice clothes in the desire to get it right.
It reminded me about fledgling New Jersey brand Forged Identity. They have an anti-glamour design ethic. Joe Cassese explained to me what that means.
Anti-glamour is when you’re not afraid to get those new shoes scuffed or dirty or not being embarrassed by a wrinkle in your shirt.
Don’t misinterpret the term as being against glamour, in fact we respect any endeavor to look and feel as good as one can, we take pride in presenting ourselves in how we dress ourselves.
It’s when someone looks like they put a lot of thought into what they are wearing but really didn’t, it’s just how they look all the time.
The glamour we refer to when we say ‘Anti-Glamour’ is Glamour in the service of raw vanity and conceit, rather than in the service of self presentation with a sense of Class.
Partly inspired by films such as A River Runs Through It, Reds, The Wanderers and Once Upon A Time In America, the three partners behind this inspiring independent menswear brand (Kevin Goldstein, Joe Troiano and Joe Cassese) all share a background in construction. Maybe that's why this - the Autumn/Winter 09 Collection - boasts a combination of the understated, the well made and the functional - a perfect antidote to the self-conscious smoothies I'd just seen.
http://forgedidentityclothing.com/
