A true renaissance man & never ever knowingly under-dressed.
Mr Parks was born on November 30 1912. He died in 2006.
Happy birthday sir, where ever you may be.
Archive for November 2010
NKU: Gordon Parks
Tuesday, 30 November 2010 Comments Off
Watching Downhill Racer
Sunday, 28 November 2010 Comments Off
It's freezing outside. And it's gonna get colder.
Weather like this is best admired from a safe distance - like in the warm comfort of your living room. This afternoon I plan to enjoy the cold climes by watching Downhill Racer.
A much underrated movie, it came out the same year as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and failed miserably. In some ways it was buried by it's own publicity; against Redford's insistence the studio promoted it as a sports movie.
Sure, skiing does provide the films backdrop, but calling it a sports flick is like describing Disney's Jungle Book as a film about wildlife.
Downhill Racer has glamour and grit and pace and snow and some great skiing scenes too.
Released in 1969, it's filmed with a nod to the French New Wave - a handheld shot here, a jump cut there - but in a way which is neither arch nor intrusive, just cool.
Redford is meaner and more detached in this film perhaps than any he's ever made; a working class anti-hero, he finds himself on the US Olympics Skiing team through the misfortune of another downhill skier and through virtue of his own talent.
What he lacks in social skill and team spirit he makes up for on the slopes.
Which is just as well since back in the late sixties the US Olympic team is populated by wealthy amateurs, the chalets of Aspen Colorado are a rich kids' playground and it's all about the après-ski, darhhhhling.
Trying to figure out the games rich people play was something which really hit home when I first saw this film while in my teens at college - me, a local kid surrounded by all these out-of-town privileged types...what a minefield!
Of course the other thing that kept me watching it back then was the clothes. White track-suits, camel jackets, snow glasses, roll neck sweaters, faded denim, shearling coats, extreme-weather outerwear...It's what snow was made for!
For me there was a certain poignancy in the fact that the main character, David Chappellet, could so easily look the part and so brilliantly dominate the slopes and yet not fit in at all...It helped me decide to stop trying.
As a film it still packs a punch today, still has a resonance and a style. Some say Redford is much better here than he is as the Sundance Kid and in many ways this is a more substantial film.
Maybe Redford felt the same; it was the films' studio-maneuvered box office failure which motivated him to set up The Sundance Film Festival.
The film was made by Redfords' own production company, Wildwood and directed by the same guy who later made The Candidate with him, Michael Ritchie.
The overtly social and political commentary in The Candidate is more subtly explored here, but it is here none-the-less.
For example, on one level the Chappellet character is a heroic outsider challenging an otherwise archaic and feudal environment...
...and yet on another level he's a selfish protagonist, determined to further his own personal gain at any cost - his real motives hidden behind the veil of national interest...
Mmmmm, maybe it's not that subtle after all.
Odd Future: Here today. Where Tmrw?
Wednesday, 24 November 2010 Comments Off
(NB the following comes with a parental guidance notice)
Maybe you're already up to speed with OFWGKTA -
California's, latest, finest and perhaps most inspiring crew...
If this is your first encounter; some advice.
Don't try and define them. Don't try and break 'em down analytically...
You'll have more luck catching your own shadow.
These guys are evolving at the speed of light and seem to have no respect for boundaries or other peoples definitions.
Who knows what they'll do next, where they'll be next...
All we need to do is try and keep up....
check - oddfuture
a hotrod road movie...
Saturday, 6 November 2010 Comments Off
david biene is the photographer responsible for the amazing book hopped-up. it looks at europe's kustom kulture - stylers into classic americana, but based in places like sweden, germany and the uk.
he made this film as an additional part of a print project we did together a month ago for dickies workwear.
in the photo essay, biene documents his trip to europe's biggest kustom festival - travelling with the draggers car and motorcycle club.
biene, who's based in germany, got into the scene through his love of the music, but soon discovered that music was just a part this international scene.
kustom kulture is one of those things that seems unaffected by outside trends and fashions. it exists regardless of how much media attention it gets or doesn't get and seems to have enough inherent cultural richness to simply keep on going.
perhaps as a result of this you often find magazines referencing kustom kulture in fashion stories; young models, leather jackets, vintage bikes, biker boots - you get the picture.
i'll never understand why so many of these magazines insist on using models when, as you can see, the best way to capture the scene's glamour and excitement is through the real thing...
just got the latest inventory magazine...
Thursday, 4 November 2010 Comments Off
inventory mag is one of my favourites. no, not just 'cause i write for it - although i'll admit it does help.
a few issues old and already established as a huge influence on menswear. it’s like they’ve cracked the code - offering stuff web-based mags can’t. at least not yet.
the key? they approach the mag as seriously as the designers they talk to approach their work. most mags voice the enthusiasm of the consumer.
maurizio donadi is the head of levi's vintage clothing. he's a heavyweight. i had a lot of fun interviewing him.
we conducted the interviews in london. this meant i didn't get to visit the LVC office in amsterdam. it's located inside the city's old olympic stadium and has a wealth of amazing archive material.
i first met maurizio in las vegas a couple of years ago. he'd only just joined levi's at that point. he was one of the coolest people i met on the whole trip. no, not just 'cause he used to run RRL - although i'll admit it did help.
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