I’m grateful to Peter Stanfield, media and arts professor at the University of Kent, for alerting me to these great images of members of Shakin’ Stevens’ backing band The Sunsets sporting T-shirts designed by the late Malcolm McLaren for sale in his shop Let It Rock at 430 King’s Road in the early 70s.
On February 5 I’ll be taking part in a conversation about the significance of the late art dealer Robert Fraser at Gazelli Art House, the London gallery currently hosting Robert Fraser’s Groovy Arts Club Band, the exhibition of works by 13 of the cutting edge artists he represented between the 1960s and 1980s.
What Men Wear is the self-explanatory title of a slim volume from the Fantastic Man gang which punches well above its weight.
Containing questionnaires with 50 men on their favourite garments, the book also presents long-form interviews with three of the fashion world’s leading figures: Italian designer Stefano Pilati, British designer Charles Jeffrey and retailer Paul Smith.
I’m indebted to reader Dave Shaw, who has sent me the photograph above left of himself wearing a very rare rock fashion garment: one of the canvas and leather jackets made famous by Rod Stewart, who sported his on the sleeve of 1970 solo album Gasoline Alley.
The cream jackets with heraldic-style brown trim were made by the maverick British tailor and leatherworker Colin Bennett and co-designed with Lloyd Johnson for sale in Kensington Market in the early 70s.
“When I bought it the guy told me it was the last of three; the others had gone to Rod Stewart and Allan Clarke of The Hollies,” says Shaw. In fact, as Johnson reveals in the comment below, Bennett made around 20 (and Stewart’s has survived in a collector’s archive).
British fashion designer John Alexander Skelton’s preview of his latest collection at the ancient Fleet Street watering hole Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese was a sensually overloaded and eerie delight.
| Paul Gorman is a writer. This is his blog: art, books, conversation, cults, dancing, design, encounters, environments, events, film, galleries, groups, individuals, invitations, magazines, music, opinions, performance, photography, places, press, privacy, spaces, style, thoughts + views. |
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