Stephan Schneider SS11 'Collect'

With the arrival of each season it is quite easy to be washed away by the the relentless current of fashion. The seemingly incessant release of designer look books at key points in the calendar often bewilder and unfortunately allow a few key ones to slip right by. There are even designers whose work I admire but for one reason or another they fail to make it on the pages of this blog. Until very recently, Stephan Schneider was one such designer. Thankfully, I have the third issue of b magazine to thank for rectifying this shortcoming.

Historically, why have I not followed and enthused over his every collection? The simple reason is that Stephan Schneider is a designer that goes about his business quietly. One has to look.  For the last eight years he has shunned the circus of fashion week, allowing his designs rather than the theatrics of a show to make the required statement. I know that whenever I've encountered Schneider's designs in b store or in retail outlets across the continent I have noted their good cut and use of stunning fabrics. His concern is in the detail, attractive to people who want to make less effort when dressing. He designs each fabric himself, whilst the label has its own production facilities in Belgian factories where pieces are cut by hand and time is spent on the finest finishing. The moment his latest designs began to hit the shop floor I sought out the designer to learn more about him. Below, we take a closer look at his stamp collecting inspired SS11 collection and discuss his approach to design...

SS: You graduated top of your class from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1994 and have since established a quiet following over the last sixteen years. Looking back to the very beginning, what were your inspirations, your dreams and the driving catalyst behind launching your label?

Stephan Schneider: My inspiration still comes from the same source as right from the very beginning. It's my fascination for the visual mass around us; mass consumerism, mass communication, mass entertainment. As a fashion designer, I should aim for individuality and uniqueness but at the same time I am surrounded by mass consumption. Surrounded by the same Louis Vuitton campaigns and Celine Dion songs all over the world's shopping centres. I want to communicate my collection and my products in a different way. The actual selling of a garment is to me the final step of the design process. So, right from the very beginning I wanted to have my own store here in Antwerp and wished to experience and find out for myself who the real customer is. The selling period to buyers in the showroom in Paris does not reflect the real customer. I guess it was this attention to and desire for reality which was and still continue to be, the catalyst for my work.

SS: Aside from it being your name, what does Stephan Schneider mean to you?

Stephan Schneider: I do not think of Stephan Schneider as a brand. Luckily I am one of the few independent designers who earn their money by selling garments. I don't need to sell cosmetics, licensed accessories bearing my name or seek any consultancy work from big companies. I see myself as a garment creator, not a brand.

SS: How has your approach to or view of fashion shifted during the life of the label?

Stephan Schneider: When I started the business with my graduation collection, it was my dream to have my own store, a catwalk show in Paris, a company with employees in order not to have to pattern cut by myself any more. My dreams were to become a big company one day. Over the years, I have realised that it is a strength to stay concentrated and efficient. To produce in the country you live so that you are able to deliver exactly the product you designed. I sometimes compare a fashion house with a restaurant: There is no haute cuisines chain in the world as the chef has to cook in his own kitchen. To me fashion should be like this. At the end of the 90s fashion became synonymous with big stock market companies hiring designers just to leave a strong impression in the media through the use of a very strong and aggressive way of design language. Fashion was accurately planned by marketing managers. Today, I feel that it is my strength and even my luxury to be able to draw the patterns!

SS: You have quietly and assuredly built up a selection of stockists and buyers. Do you think there is a particular Stephan Schneider man? If so, do you think about them when you design each collection?

Stephan Schneider: I think the Stephan Schneider man is not a fashion follower or even a magazine reader. He wants to discover clothes by himself. Like reading a book and opting not to watch the movie version of it. Therefore, when I design I always take care to leave enough space for the personality of the wearer to find its place in the garment.

SS: In the recent issue of b magazine you summed up your attitude on the theatrics of fashion shows with and its incompatibility with your design aesthetic with; "buyers know the collection, they need to see it closely, they want to see the garments, feel the fabrics." Without having the ability to feel the fabrics and to inspect the cuts in person, could you describe the key features of Collect.

Stephan Schneider: For SS11, I was inspired by the act of collecting stamps. My father was a dedicated collector and I became fascinated by his passion. Soon the act of collection will become a very unusual habit. It takes too much time. You browse quickly on the net from side to side. Therefore you have to take your time to watch the SS pictures on my side, then you will be surprised.

SS: What was the starting point for the collection and how did it evolve in to the collection we see today?

Stephan Schneider: In every collection I want to challenge myself to work with a material or garment that I've never worked with before. For SS11, it was ultra light and delicate viscose fabrics. I treated them with a special dying technique to make them as soft as possible. Both relaxed and casual at the same time. For the construction of the garments I wanted them to be as simple and effortless as possible, yet sophisticated, so the facing of the jackets and shirts functioned as an extra closure which gave the impression of wearing two garments at the same time.

SS: With your small design team, I was surprised to learn that you design and produce each fabric yourself. What are you particularly proud of for SS11?

Stephan Schneider: The fabric design is a way to keep the design language very personal and intimate. For SS11, the outline block of stamps was used as a polka dot pattern which looked amazing. I also love the Carre scarf pattern of my fathers stamp collection.

SS: With each collection, there is a sense that you offer a contemporary reinterpretation of classics. There is a sense of tradition. With this in mind, is there a moment in or era of style that you are particularly drawn to?

Stephan Schneider: I never draw my inspiration from history books or future forecasts. I am fascinated by every day pop, youth culture that was mostly expressed in the 80s. Bands like ABC or Les Rita Misouko introduced fashion to me.

SS: Your design aesthetic is predominantly focused on the detail. What are the details that you wish more men gave more thought to?

Stephan Schneider: Please do not tumble dry all that you wear.

SS: What excites you about the future of menswear?

Stephan Schneider: Male customers are extremely loyal. They examine my garments and enjoy discovering each detail for themselves. I personally enjoy it if my work is approached with an element of humour, curiosity and vanity. I feel that these basic human aspects are the future of menswear whereas womenswear will always have to reflect power and sex.

SS: Finally, what's next for Stephan Schneider

Stephan Schneider: I am not interested in new projects, not even in changes. My definition of quality is continuation with passion. So, next is the same as yesterday.

Lookbook credits

Photography by Stephan Heinrichs. 

Models from Tomorrow is another day.

Leitmotiv AW11: Light Motiv

Over the last twelve months or so, I have gradually found myself drawn to the previously unsettling world of prints. The mere thought of paisley, camouflage, gingham, polka dot, leopard print or digital creation used to cause sweaty palms. Something changed. One of the factors in my new found confidence was the discovery of Italian label Leitmotiv during the SS11 season of Pitti Uomo. The one thousand, four hundred and seven exhibitors who decided to preview their new collections and projects at this Disneyland of menswear tradeshows caused great excitement during my first visit but it was Leitmotiv who really left the greatest impression. I was slapped silly by the hands of the design duo behind the label and their penchant for clashing and layering of the whimsical. I've kept an excited eye on the pair ever since. 

I'm pleased to declare that Leitmotiv's AW11 collection is as playful as ever. Once more, the talented design duo, Sasso and Carro, have created a dazzling print rich collection that manages to be both familiar and new. Entitled Light Motiv, the collection is a video game that captivates our attention and shifts before our very eyes. For the new season, landmarks, characters and animals merge, mingle and dance around one another in an ever changing configuration of print possibilities. Digital camouflage pixelate and transforms in to urban compositions. The familiar animals emerge from clouds, ornamental mazes or gallop out of nowhere. The more you look, the more you see.

With each passing season, the design duo behind Leitmotiv narrate stories that fascinated us all throughout childhood. Today we relive them through their dazzling prints. The seemingly simple canvas of menswear becomes the canvas that unfolds a tale of dreams and the poetic whims of the pair.

Christophe Lemaire AW11

The name Christophe Lemaire has been bouncing around my head causing excitement with every ricochet for some time now. With each passing season, the seasoned design talent honours a subtle and quiet elegance by creating a seemingly timeless collection of luxuriously simple basics. Heavy figures, with supple and full outlines, are worked in fluid fabrics that fall in an effortless manner and wrap the body without ever concealing it. Lemaire creates an essential wardrobe by putting together the clean and calm lines of western wardrobe with the sophisticated ease and generosity of volumes of traditional eastern garments. It is this very wardrobe that I long to have.

After honing his skills with Yves Saint Laurent and Thierry Mugler, as well as Christian Lacroix and Jean Patou, Lemaire launched his own label in 1991. He has since restored Lacoste's iconic image whilst being its artistic director from 2000 to 2010. Twenty years since starting his own label and the designer has remained relatively unknown. One gets the feeling that this is just how he prefers it. Lemaire is a designer far more interested in style than fashion, the trends and fanfare of fashion are far less important to him than the simple quality of his creations. However, AW11 is a significant season for the design talent. Last month saw the unveiling of his highly anticipated Hermes debut. Whilst filling the rather large shoes of Jean Paul Gaultier with widespread acclaim, Lemaire continued the quiet evolution of his own label.

The AW11 collection takes its inspiration from Serguei Parajanvov, Georgian film director and visual artist known for living elsewhere, in dreams made of myths and icons including David Byrne, Nicolas de Staël and John Luly where a love for beauty and for light in its uncertainty of location and time blend with the rich colours of his images. To mark this significant season, we were fortunate enough to ask the designer about the maturity of his label and his hopes for the future whilst taking a closer look at his latest creations...

SS:What were your inspirations, your dreams and the driving catalyst behind launching your own label? Both in 1991 and then your return to it in 2007.

Christophe Lemaire: From the very beginning to this point, I have always been driven by the same idea: trying to create in my clothes the perfect synthesis between simplicity and quality. This idea has just grown up with maturity.

SS: How has the label and your approach to it evolved over the years?

Christophe Lemaire: I strive to improve the same pieces season after season. We really push the idea that once you like a garment you want to wear it all the time . We give that possibility by offering a perfect basic in a wide range of fabrics.

SS: What were the first and last item you remember designing?

Christophe Lemaire: Uniforms!

SS:Your collections are always a wonderful blend of references. What was your initial starting point for AW11?

Christophe Lemaire: I like the idea of synthesis as well as blurring the frontiers between genres. I don’t want the references to be too obvious.

SS:How did the varied figures of Sergui Parajanov, Nicolas de Stael, John Lury and David Byrne influence your designs?

Christophe Lemaire: Serguei Parajanvov’s movies for textures and colors that mix with a very poetic and refined sensitivity. David Byrne for the effortless sharp sense of style. Nicolas de Staël for the beautiful obviousness of a black shirt and a black pleated pants. John Lury for the sophisticated ease.

SS: As a designer, would you agree that you are more interested in style than fashion. How would you describe your approach to design?

Christophe Lemaire: Observing our everyday gestures, environment, and responding to it.

SS: Your designs continually evolve to push a form of luxury fashion to new limits. Proportion, silhouette, cut, fabric and method are all central components. What is luxury to you?

Christophe Lemaire: Time.

SS: There is a definite sense of timesless-ness to your designs. Withe each collection you create an era defying wardrobe consisting of exacting basic pieces whilst experimenting with shape, cut and form. If you could go back in time and experience one moment or era of fashion, what would it be?

Christophe Lemaire: The 20’s were a fantastic innovative era, liberating the body and mind, and radically switching from the western tradition of corset to the Asian tradition of tunic and kimono, or the ancient Greece art of draping: all about shoulder and hips.

SS: The idea of a personal uniform is something that we've been mulling over since before we even started the blog. The concept of uniform is certainly an important facet of your work - do you have a personal uniform?

Christophe Lemaire: Three-pleated pants, an officer collar shirt and a double-breasted jacket as easy to wear as a waistcoat, all in the same fabric. Wool flannel for winter, linen and cotton for summer.

SS: How has the oft cited Walter Albini phrase, 'Sometimes to dress is to leave a little', influenced you as a designer?

Christophe Lemaire: To dress is to say what you would like to be, how you see yourself. There is something very playful about it, you need to dream. It is actually something quite deep.

SS: Finally, how do you see Christopher Lemaire, the brand, developing over the next few seasons, as you simultaneously take on the creative director role for Hermes?

Christophe Lemaire: We want to develop Christophe Lemaire as a lifestyle brand and edit complementary objects to the collection. Also, the Paris shop should be a unique place where people can come for advise and find a piece that will respect their individuality. Of course, collections should always improve.

All images courtesy of Christophe Lemaire and taken by Axel Jansen

1205 AW11

We have long been interested in the interplay between the social constructs of masculinity with style and menswear. On a number of occassions we have attempted to explore the myriad of influences on how men dress but tend to struggle. Thankfully a number of designers are posing and examining the questions for us and the resulting collections are full of variety and interest. Paul Garbase eloquently explores the tension between masculinity and femininity in everything she designs. She manages to capture both the femininity inside very masculine garments and the masculinity inside more feminine pieces. Now, we first introduced her label 1205 back in April last year and have kept an interested eye on the designer ever since. Fresh after the widely acclaimed debut unveiling of her designs for Woolrich Black Label during New York Fashion Week, the designer has returned to London to reveal 1205's AW11 collection. 

Once again, regardless of gender, this 1205 collection showcases Gerbase’s trademark sensitive use of luxury fabrics and erudite pattern construction for a modern, contemporary muse. When I spoke to the design talent about the evolution of the label last year, she professed that it was a natural progression from what she had learned in pure tailoring and signaled a return to her original design passion. Having learned the strict rules of tailoring at Hardy Amies and Kilgour alike, Gerbase is now in the knowledgeable position to ignore a few of them along the way. Her mantra of "I think if something is well made and the fabric is great then it should not matter whose wearing it" still echoes in my ears as I admire the latest collection...

Look book images supplied by 1205
Photography: Ben Dunbar-Brunton. Art Direction: Paula Gerbase. Styling: Jakob Brondum

The balance between menswear and womenswear or masculine and feminine has been an intriguing and thought provoking facet of each of her collections. Here, Gerbase plays with fabric in a menswear way for women and experiments in a womenswear way with cutting.  As a consequence of her menswear and couture training, quality of cut and fabric are paramount in Gerbase’s designs. The design process begins with fabric, looking at everything in a microscopic way, resulting in a unique, modern, almost clinical point of view.

For AW11, the designer has looked towards creating texture and pairing more functional fabrics with traditional fabrics. A combination of the finest English, Swiss and Italian fabrics. Earlier this week I was invited to see the latest collection of menswear, womenswear and unisex pieces at her studio space in Bloomsbury and could not resist taking a few detail shots. We have long declared that the real beauty of menswear is in the details and will never tire of taking the time to celebrate the finer details of men's style. Here, Gerbase experiments with fabric combinations and cut to create timeless and utilitarian clothing which is detail rich for both sexes.

Deatil shots of a number of items that caught my eye.

With each season you only ever really encounter a handful of collections which leave you truly excited, inspired and questioning your own current wardrobe. The return of Paula Gerbase's 1205 is certainly one for AW11. Building on the success of her first two collections and her work with Woolrich Black Label, I'm sure 2011 is going to be an even bigger year for this design talent.

Ally Capellino AW11

The recent onslaught of AW11 Press Days have left me excited, confused and, if I'm honest, sweaty. There's something quite odd about flicking through rails of knits and thick jackets in rich fabrics in showrooms that feels like they would be the perfect place to grow tomatoes. My head and heart are caught between two seasons. As much as I welcome the warm sunshine and blue skies of today, part of me still longs for Autumn. The recent few peaks in to the future afforded by the press days have pushed me over the edge. The sight of Ally Capellino's latest additions and reworked modern classics made me forget about the heat.

With their roots in decaying industrial buildings and institutions, the colours for Ally Capellino's AW11 collection are shadowy and dark. The much loved waxy group has grown and is especially strong in a WW1 warm khaki colour. Soft olives and browns predominate, but there are rich reds and putty colours to balance the collection. There are new styles in the shape of a parka and handy rucksack in the waxy group and a whole new group, Luxe Wax, dedicated to mac users, with a 17” macbook finally accommodated in a luxurious rucksack. I've already got my eye on a few models but let me introduce you to a few highlights...

An old favourite of mine, Richard. 
An investment satchel in Italian vegetable tanned leather with contrast bridle leather straps.

One of the new additions, iGor from the Luxe Wax range.

From the Luggage range, meet Jasper. 
Unlined work and travel bags with beautifully stitched pocket detailing.

Rocky.

Meet Dave. A heavy waxed canvas, unlined bag with coated canvas base.

Frank and Frances from the Waxy range. 

British waxed cotton canvas in rich autumnal colours with a soft leather base and bridle leather buckled straps.

All look book images courtesy of Ally Capellino

These look book images remind me just why Autumn is my favourite season. I just love those mornings from late September through to early December where you can layer, wrap and protect yourself in an assortment of comfortable and practical fabrics. Wool, tweed, cashmere, waxed cotton and anything else you can get our hands on are all layered on to envelop and comfort you.

Haider at Hostem

As pointed out in the recent men's issue of Interview, Haider Ackermann is having a moment. Since debuting his first collection in 2002, the design talent has boasted a small but devoted following but within the last few seasons, the larger fashion crowd has finally begun to catch on. The presentation of his womenswear pre-collection and S/S 11 menswear debut was undoubtedly a moment and I consider myself so fortunate to have witnessed it. It was a visual feast packed full of surprises. Memories of it still excite me today. Ackermann hosted a lavish evening of fashion, performance and celebration in the deserted Palazzo Corsini on the edge of the Arno river in Florence. In a wonderfully unique combination of the baroque surroundings and the true bohemian spirit of Haider, guests enjoyed a champagne reception and exotic fruits, followed by a piano concert and then fashion parade in a chandelier lit courtyard.

Entitled “A Carte Blanche named "Opium", the spectacular showcase was a romantic homage to a travelling woman and her man alone in the deserted Palazzo, channeling a gypsy spirit of North Africa. The menswear itself was a complete surprise. With a womenswear line known for sensual, attenuated androgyny we expected more of the same for his debut menswear offering. Instead we were treated to an array of embroidered textiles and textures reminiscent of a grungier Dries Van Noten. With so much of fashion shifting towards a form of minimalism, Haider Ackermann's embroidery-encrusted jackets and patched jacquards were a pleasant surprise. Ackermann used fabrics and textiles that I wanted to reach out, manhandle and steal. Despite being universally applauded, in December the in demand designer announced that he would not produce another collection until he felt suitably compelled.'Creativity cannot be forced into a time frame' he uttered and now...we wait longingly for the next instalment. However, as we (im)patiently wait we can, thanks to a small selection of key stores, buy in to Haider Ackerman's male wardrobe. Earlier this week I popped in to Hostem as this enclave on Shoreditch’s Redchurch Street now boasts a well selected rail of the designer's debut. It was great to take a closer look at the collection to remind myself that I for one would like to join Ackermann's nomadic tribe...

Just a few of the pieces that caught my wanting eye inside Hostem.

Having been fortunate enough to watch the debut presentation in person, it was an absolute pleasure to inspect the finished designs on the shop floor.