Home is where the Selby is

"A box of illicit candy that I received at camp," was the most cherished parcel that Todd Selby ever received by mail. Sent with love from his family, the memory of that considered confectionary has whet his appetite once more. Aiming to wrap up a similar bundle of excitement for a coming of age audience that longs to receive tangible post, the creative has collaborated with luxury lifestyle service Svbscrption and explored a familiar theme.

Launched in May 2012 by Andrew Apostola, Sam Wheeler and Marc Goldenfein in New York, Svbscription has fast become a quarterly Santa Claus for its family of subscribers, an ever growing channel for receiving timeless and rare objects and experiences in the mail. Every three months its members receive a special parcel curated around a specific theme. Having previously delivered parcels around the themes of travel, study, leisure and the collector’s edition, Svbsciptions have collaborated with the photographer, illustrator and author around the concept of Home.

"I believe that home is the most important place. It is where you keep your treasure and build your memories. I also find my house to be one of the few places where I can relax. As I travel so much, my time at home is very important and I really appreciate and cherish each day I get to spend in my home."

Given that he has spent the past five years peeking through the keyholes of the world's most interesting and creative homes, he's the ideal curator. The result? "A surprise box of unique things for your house," is how Selby simply introduced Svbscription's latest parcel. Offering an enticing slice of The Selby’s world, it brings together work from some of his favourite design­ers, cohorts and cre­ators from around the world.

"It was really a simple process. The ideas was to ring up people I’ve been wanting to work with and brainstorm with them what type of products we come make fit into the parcel under the Home theme. This project gave me a chance to finally work with people I’ve photographed or met through my travels and collaborate with them in a different way."

With the help of a few of his favourite creatives and craftsman, Todd Selby and Svbscription have produced two limited edition parcels. Mine arrived on Friday afternoon. Two caskets of curiosities  Despite having interviewed Selby, I had, like each and every one of the subscribers, absolutely no idea what was inside. It was a treasure trove that treated every sense. Objects that encouraged cooking, entering, tasting, decorating, lighting and scenting. They included a money box/vase by Everyday Needs and Martino Gamper, a bison leather keychain by Los Angeles based leather design company Parabellum,  a dark chocolate bar from Mast Brothers wrapped up in the Selby's unmistakable illustrations, further playful scrawls by his hand repurposed as stickers, a scented candle by Coqui Coqui Perfumes and a recipe box of Home Style Recipes by The Selby and submissions from friends including Eric Ripert, Alice Waters, Tom Sachs and Violet's very own Claire Ptak. Delicious.

The packages settle in to their new home.

With periodic pauses filled with promise, Svbscription is part dis­covery, part expe­ri­ence. Todd Selby harmonised his voice with that of the service perfectly, who or what is next? The upcoming address etched on Svbscription's magical mystery mail sees it explore the theme of the unexpected. Wait with excitement for the postman. If you really can't wait, a few boxes of the above treats are available at Colette now.

One hundred beards

"I have major beard envy. I can't grow a good beard myself so this project allowed me to live vicariously through others," Jonathan Daniel Pryce explains as his popular blogging project, 100 Beards in 100 Days, is turned in to a hard back book and launched at Front Room, St Martin’s Lane, later today.

If you're unfamiliar with the project, Pryce took up a daily pursuit to capture and document the finest facial fuzz amongst the capital’s male population. Beginning on July 1st and culminating with a snapshot of his own cultivation, the talented photographer shot one hundred beards in one hundred days. From young tattooed hipsters to suited city gents, wonderfully bushy to artfully trimmed, the streets of London are awash with beards and Pryce shot some of the finest specimens. As the body of beards shifts from blog to book, we caught up with Pryce to relive the one hundred days of work...

You've been photographing street style for yourself and a range of fashion clients for about five years now but what was the catalyst for the 100 Beards in 100 Days Project? 

There were many reasons when I started the blog on July 1st. I won Photographer of the Year at the SFAs in June and a lot of my client work had become quite similar so I began thinking of concepts to try something new and personal. I'm best known for my street style photography and wanted to continue in this vein, but develop it further to focus on portraiture. I've been noticing beards so much since moving to London and the trend of beards as an accessory has been rising, so I wanted to document that before it becomes over-saturated. 

With the volume and deadlines involved, how difficult was the process of selection? 

That's a great question. In short, very difficult! With each guy I spend anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes, so I can end up with 40 frames meaning editing is tricky. I spent a lot of time deciding and sometimes called in my friend's creative eyes to get a second opinion. With nearly every subject there was more than one photograph I loved, and that's part of the reason for having the book. I wanted to show the outtakes and also the guys who, for whatever reason, didn't make it onto the blog. 

The project involved you cultivating your own beard, who are you beard icons/inspirations? 

I've got such a wealth of inspiration due to all the guys I photographed. When I decided to grow my own, due to the huge amount of digital peer pressure, I spoke with the team at Pall Mall Barbers who are experts in all things hirsute. We spoke about a few icons and how to shape my beard to suit me once it grew in. I love Nick Wooster's style and his facial hair is always superb. It was such an honour when he blogged about the 100 Beards project. My real envy kicks in when I see models like Patrick Petitjean or Tony Ward - strong growth, thick and full! 

Looking back at this body of beards, do you have any particular favourites? 

I've selected twelve images to be shown at 45 St Martins Lane (open between 1st - 6th of November) which are some of my favourites. I loved Roy as I think the photograph captured the moment perfectly. Also Ricki, Kial and Ali all had very impressive growth. 

Were you surprised by the variety of beard shot? Were there any beards that got away? 

I tried hard to represent many people - this blog wasn't about hipster beards or tradition beards, I wanted it to show the diversity that London has to offer. I did a lot of walking around the city and discovered some great neighbourhoods I'd of never have travelled to otherwise. There were certain areas with higher concentrations of beards - Soho and Shoreditch especially - but I think another subject in the photography is the location, so keeping that diverse was important to me. The project was quite pure to the 'street photography' concept so yes I lost quite a few bearded guys in the London crowds. What will you focus your lens on next? The book promotion is going to take me up until the end of 2012, with launches at Jigsaw Menswear and the new Pall Mall Barbershop. After, I'm working on some exciting projects for the London Collections: Men in January - some film and photography documenting the men behind the industry. Watch this space.

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To whet our appetite for the book launch and the exhibition at 45 St Martins Lane, Jonathan Daniel Pryce shares a few of his favourites beards...

Roy, Ricki, Ali and Kial from 100 Beards.
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Autumn Favourites... The Dandy Project

“My role in all of this is very simple. I make clothing like armour. My clothing protects you from unwelcome eyes,” explains Yohji Yamamoto. We all need added armour during the cold, wet and wild months of autumn and blog favourite The Dandy Project has fully embraced the designer this coming season. On one of the hottest days afternoons of the year, we snapped two looks that Izzy was most looking forward to enveloping himself in over the coming months and both were built on solid sartorial foundations provided by Yamamoto...

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"This fall (Autumn), my look is highly influenced by my Asian heritage and my fascination with Japanese culture, and my obsession with the idea of comfort and the notion of dressing for oneself versus dressing for an audience. Lately, I've been going for voluminous, Samurai-esque bottoms, like the Yohji Yamamoto hakama pants photographed here and a new pair of cropped palazzo pants by Comme des Garcons Homme Plus that I have yet to debut. I'll find warmth and comfort in long double-breasted coats and robe-like jackets in tactile fabrics for the indoors, or out in the early fall. This autumn, still dark and dandy as the past few, will be my cosiest ever..."

Izzy on his favourites this season.

Sunglasses by Number (N)ine, shirt and trousers by Yohji Yamamoto, vintage tapestry robe by Neiman Marcus and the black leather and suede shoes are a collaboration with The Dandy Project and Allen Edmonds
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Shirt and trousers by Yohji Yamamoto, vintage black coat by Pierre Cardin, fox scarf from the Garment District in NYC and shoes by Allen Edmonds.
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Style Stalking (Snapshot)... The Provoker

Yesterday saw a whole host of blogging talent drag suitcases and oversized shopping bags crammed full with potential bargains to our yard for a sale. With polite and orderly queues forming as early as 9:30, the pace was set and remained hectic throughout much of the day. From manning my trestle table to tending to the chicken satay, there was little opportunity for breathers but I couldn't resist style stalking one of my fellow market stallers, The Provoker (who was helping out Park&Cube). Clad in a heady mix of Tisci's rottweilers and Givenchy jewels, Celine sunglasses, a Proenza Schouler 'it bag', high street finds and Jeffrey Campbell statement creepers, the lovely Nathan deserved as much attention as the wares on Shini's table. Such an ensemble of fierce fashion isn't really conducive to shouts of "Roll up, roll up... two for a paaaaaaaound," but this was a very different market... 

Cab by Boutique, sunglasses by Celine, t shirt, necklace and earring by Givenchy, bracelets by Lanvin and Balenciaga (yard sale buys), Proenza Schouler PS11 bag, trousers from Zara, belt by Banana Republic and shoes by Jeffrey Campbell.
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Details... Tokyo Vintage Bomber

Here's Samuel from Tokyo Telephone wearing a vintage bomber unearthed at a local market. The detailing on the skeleton was quite beautiful.

Details... Tonal Tokyo

Drawn to the blue tones of Tommy Ton's own Tokyo combination of New Balance and Marni. 

AW12 Illustrated (Part Two)

Following on from where we left off on our illustrated summary of AW12 so far, we have again enlisted the help of Anne-Marie Jones (please do check out her blog) to reinterpret our favourite looks from a sartorially fruitful season in Paris. Highlights include Humberto Leon and Carol Lim's debut outing for Kenzo which was inspired by the Internet generation's take of dressing and saw the pair present a succinct collection of staples which stayed true to the rich colour and print traditions of the house whilst sprinkling a little something extra of themselves over the collection. For his eponymous line Raf Simons concerned himself with changing the silhouette of menswear and undoubtedly had fun experimenting with proportions. At Acne, Jonny Johansson offered clashes and unexpected combinations in a theme defined as “Swedish Seventies functionality.” Wooyoungmi looked to the melancholy of Edward Hopper's paintings to create a truly sublime wardrobe for the young gentleman. Lucas Ossendrijver continued his focus on technical sportswear fused with immaculate tailoring for Lanvin and Stefano Pilati offered an elegantly disciplined wardrobe at Yves Saint Laurent which centred around the theme of 'Sex and Money'. In truth, there are too many highlights and almost too much to digest at this stage so we will let allow the immediacy of Anne-Marie's artwork to talk for us...

All artwork by Anne-Marie Jones especially for us
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Looking over both parts of our illustrated highlights so far, do let us know what caught your eye or whether you think we've missed a real gem of the season.

Details: Camo that demands attention

Camouflage by definition is a method of concealment but Nam's jacket from General Idea was one of many items of clothing on display at Pitti Uomo that deserved attention.

Treasured Items... The Dandy Project

Takahiro Miyashita's decision to bring his critically beloved avante-garde menswear label, Number (N)ine, to an end in AW09 his followers were left bereft. The label closed on a high with an exquisitely crafted and extravagantly layered range of clothes that delicately flickered between fashion and costume. It was a triumph that is difficult to forget. The unveiling of Miyashita's The Soloist, with its soft layers of faded romanticism, has helped comfort his supporters but they still cling on to the fruits of his previous endeavour. The Dandy Project is just one (an a remarkably good one at that) example. Here he shares his most treasured item... 

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The Dandy Project and the Number (N)ine monkstrap shoes

"It would render me practically footless if I lost these Number (N)ine monkstrap shoes that I had purchased at the store's closing sale in New York two years ago. The silhouette is of a classic slim monkstrap shoe, but with punk-rock creeper detailing, tough and extremely walkable hard rubber soles by Continental, rendered in ever-wearable dark beige suede. Their era- and style-ambiguity make the shoes as great a base for dark and conceptual Belgian pieces as they would with full-on Americana, and the high vamp provides ample coverage that allows me to wear them even on the deadest day of winter."  

"I've worn them so much so that the lines are going squiggly and the weave goes gaping open. There is a faint white stain on the left shoe (toothpaste fell; I was brushing in a hurry) that suggests perhaps a bird might have gone to the bathroom on my shoes, but I think I'll keep it on there."

"Number (N)ine is now defunct, and though the designer Takahiro Miyashita still brings his artisanal romance to his new line The Soloist, nothing would compare to the dark, theatrical exuberance that was Number (N)ine. In honor of the brilliant designer, I've affixed medal of sorts on one of the shoes: a vintage shoe clip from Kings County Salvage in Williamsburg. I could only hope that the intense brilliance of the rhinestones against the battered, seemingly bird-defiled creepers would be something Miyashita-san would find at the very least, agreeable." The Dandy Project

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