Magical: House Of Beauty & Culture 34-36 Stamford Road N1 (254 7794)
//Heroes by Mark Lebon for i-D Bible 1988. Styling by Judy Blame and Christopher Nemeth//
I’m looking forward to participating in ShowStudio’s live broadcast discussion of today’s Louis Vuitton A/W 15 menswear show in Paris.
Vuitton artistic director Kim Jones has been trailing the show on his Instagram feed with tantalising hints as to the direction and content. Jones’ A/W 15 collaborators include Judy Blame, Nellee Hooper and Mark Lebon – all names associated with the late shoemaker John Moore’s magical 80s north-east London art/fashion space The House Of Beauty & Culture.
Jones, an avid archivist, is a collector of the original creations of another sadly late British fashion figure, the incomparable Christopher Nemeth, who was also a key member of the HOBAC collective and whose name has gathered momentum since his premature death in 2010 with such events as last summer’s Paris exhibition of archive pieces by Commes des Garcons.
//Detail of Vuitton A/W 15 Damier Graphite bag featuring Christopher Nemeth’s trademark frayed rope print//
I am already very much taken with Jones’ positioning of his nods to HOBAC and in particular Nemeth’s hand-crafted brilliance within Vuitton’s twin totems of luxury and travel. The show staging has been trailed by short clips posted by Lebon and Jones’ model friend Kate Moss showed tacit support when she wore a cape bearing a large version of Nemeth’s frayed rope print to Clash bassist Paul Simonon’s art exhibition opening the other day – see here for a photo and the Daily Mail’s predictable response.
A couple of years ago journalist Kasia Maciejowska wrote an in-depth dissertation on HOBAC as part of her History Of Design MA ; see here for Maciejowska’s article about the alchemy conducted at 34-36 Stamford Road N1 for the V&A’s 2013 Club To Catwalk show.
Visit the Christopher Nemeth website here.
A must-see is The Selby’s visit to Nemeth in his Tokyo home and studio a year before his death here.