Studio Sounds: Erïk Bjerkesjö AW13

As smoke plumes drifted, shadows danced, drums pulsed and cymbals crashed, Erïk Bjerkesjö's monochrome masters explored and conquered the opulent stage of Florence's Villa Favard. Returning to the place where it had all began one year ago, Linda Loppa, Patrick de Muynck and Polimoda provided the perfect setting for the design talent to revel in. Weeks might have passed but his is one to savour. Picturing what Marcel Duchamp would have worn if he were alive today and inspired by one of the most accomplished and influential directors of all time in Ingmar Bergman, the young talent casted his own spellbinding theatrical vision.

"This season I wanted to create something that is really close to my heart," explained Bjerkesjö as he travelled across a snow covered Swedish countryside by train on his way to Florence. "It is a collection that takes clear inspiration from Gotland, the island that I grew up in outside Stockholm. It is also the same island Bergman lived on. I opted to name the collection 'L'île' which means the island." It is a sartorial love letter to his native home and the craftsmanship of its inhabitants. This collection is more about the craftsmen of the Island. Building on the Florentine shoemakers that first inspired and continue to drive his handmade footwear confidently forward, he built a wardrobe by looking at writers, painters and even explores how Bergman himself lived and looked on the island. A cacophony of craft. With tailoring in wool from Lanificio Cerruti and cotton from Cotonificio Albini, produced in Italy by the same tailors as Martin Margiela used and Valentino still do and knitwear in organic lovikka yarn, made by his mother and himself on the island.

Bergman's masterpiece 'The Silence' might have inspired the set design but I was keen to share the playlist of the sounds that filled Bjerkesjö's studio alongside Magnus Klackenstam's atmospheric snapshots from the presentation at Pitti Uomo. Hit play and enter his world...

ERÏKBJERKESJÖ - L'ÎLE from erikbjerkesjo on 8tracks Radio.

Erïk Bjerkesjö AW13. Images by Magnus Klackenstam 
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Studio Sounds... Matthew Miller AW12

The Studio Sounds of Matthew Miller. Cover by Little Doodles.

Entitled 0.05 Expedition, Matthew Miller's AW12 collection sartorially re-purposes man made and naturally formed patterns and textures in to digitally printed garments. By taking its inspiration from the environment Miller's man conquers, from the city to the country, the blossoming design talent has created a wardrobe fit for all manner of adventure. For inspiration, Miller ventured beyond the confines of his Hackney Wick studio and explored his adopted city. Rather than merely travel from a to b and ignore his environment like so many of us do, Miller looked about him and focused in on key changes in his environment. From tree bark in Hyde Park to chip boards in Chancery Lane to well worn bill boards in Shoreditch, the entire city fell under the magnifying glass of the designer's eye, his chronicled snapshots evolved in to his AW12 collection.

We've all seen the prints and can trace the designer's footsteps across town thanks to the addition of QR codes to each garment but who accompanied Miller on his journey? As he explored, he was joined by a shuffling mix from the 80s and 90s including the slightly aloof Joy Division, the confused Kavinsky the happy to be there, one hit wonder that is Q Lazzarus. Thanks to his playlist below you can join the expedition...

Matthew Miller AW12 Playlist from StyleSalvageSteve on 8tracks Radio.

DAF - Brothers 

Joy Division - New Dawn Fades 

Q Lazzarus - Goodbye Horses

Kavinsky - Nightcall 

Palais Schaumburg - Wir Bauen Eine Neue Stadt 

The Stone Roses - So Young 

Nirvana - Rape me (Live) 

The Pixies - Wave of Mutilation (Acoustic) 

Pearl Jam - Yellow Ledbetter 

Mazzy Star - Into Dust
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Studio Sounds: Mr. Hare AW12

Cover image by Little Doodles

"I wanted to make some shoes that could deal with everything that could possibly be thrown at them on a good night and also deal with a long, cold and wet winter," explained Mr. Hare as he sipped on red wine one afternoon in August. The haze of wine and spirits acted as the perfect backdrop for the shoe designer to reacquaint me with the carefully crafted, leather characters that make up his 'At Large' collection. "It is a consolidation of everything that we had before it in a winter Mr. Hare collection made in to something that was ultimately practical in enabling people to do what they do, which is going out to Soho on a Thursday night without worrying about trashing your shoes." Now, the beautiful coming together of sexy and functional is rare but thanks to a soundtrack of Gaz's Rockin Blues mixed and the memories of some of Soho's great characters washed down with rum, sees the two opposites unite in a series of increasingly passionate embraces in a dark corner.

Every time I visit the designer at his Rochelle School studio my ears are treated to the sounds of the  speakers. Music is the pulse of the studio that makes shoes that demand to be danced in. From Billy Fury to Kendrik Lamar, The Specials to BJ the Chicago Kid, here are the audio inspirations of 'At Large'. Turn it up loud..

Mr. Hare AW12 Playlist from StyleSalvageSteve on 8tracks Radio.

The Specials - Nite Klub 

Robbin Ray - Baby Baby Take a Look 

Louis Prima - Just a Gigolo 

John Holt - Ali Baba 

Billy Fury - Last Night was Made for Love 

BJ the Chicago kid - Sex X Money x Sneakers. 

Frank Ocean -Whip Appeal 

Kendrick Lamar - Money Trees 

El-P - The Full Retard 

Friends - Friend Crush

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Studio Sounds: Agi&Sam AW12

Cover art by Little Doodles

Thanks to their penchant for clashing and layering print upon print, Agi&Sam once again opened my mind to print possibilities for AW12. Despite the name being something of a mouthful, 'Darwin's Theory of Why The Chicken Crossed The Road,' the tale behind the collection itself is a simple one. The dyanamic design duo have travelled to the future just before the Apocalypse in fact, where the last men alive on Earth are replicating the finest cloths of the past using what they have at their disposal, namely recycling fabrics from plastics. Throughout, the colourful pair expertly engineer their own print variations of vividly coloured Linton tweeds and fine traditional tartans whilst inspiration comes from a warm nostalgia for M.C Escher and Stanley Kubrick. The dizzying display includes a variety of tessellating repeats, woven fabrics, tweeds tartans, chickens and ducks which prompt the viewer to ask the age-old question; 'Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

"We don't believe that fashion should be taken too seriously," say Agi&Sam in regular unison but despite their smile inducing designs this is a collection that should be taken seriously. Always aiming to be revolutionary as well as humorous in their approach to menswear, the print princes once again experimented heavily with texture and colour. Stretching the boundaries of textiles, and printing whilst pushing me to consider unexpected print combinations. The use of unexpected combinations were mirrored in their studio playlist. In a workspace that Simon Chilvers' has compared to the bedroom of a frustrated teenager, the boys were listening to an eclectic noise that bounced from Wacka Flocka Flame to Mercury Prize winners Alt-J, 2 Pac to Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young to Craig David. Lend me your ears and prepare to jump in to their disorientating world...

Agi&Sam AW12 Playlist (cover art by Little Doodles) from StyleSalvageSteve on 8tracks Radio.

Waka Flocka Flame - No Hands 

The Knife - Silent Shout 

Frank Ocean - Pyramids 

Alt-J - Tesselate 

Kindness - That's Alright 

2Pac - 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted 

Kavinsky - Nightcall 

Fleetwood Mac - Dreams 

Royksopp - What Else is There (Trentemoller Remix) 

Modrat - A New Error 

Wayne Wonder - No Letting Go 

Neil Young - Alabama 

Craig David - Can't Be Messin' Around 

Lil Wayne - Lollipop 

M83 - Midnight City (Show Music) 

Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye

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Studio Sounds - Casely-Hayford AW12

Amazing cover art by Little Doodles

Over the last few months my ears have been regularly transported to the studio of an array of creatives thanks to Studio Music. In addition to providing a soundtrack to my own work, the site provides an interesting insight into the creative process, through the music that they listen to whilst working. Inspired, I thought I'd ask a selection of designers to talk soundtrack our favourite collections of each season. To kick things off, we press our ears to Casely-Hayford's 'Cultures In Between' collection for AW12.

Taking inspiration from the acclaimed Grayson Perry exhibition ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman’ that lit up London’s British Museum late last year, Casely-Hayford brought together signifiers from a range of British cultural symbols to create a cultural similitude. As Perry prompted the viewer to consider his curated artefacts in a new context, the father and son design duo offered a sartorial reality which felt simultaneously old and new – it’s aim being to emphasise 'subcultures' which actively sought a minority style in an attempt to lay claim to an identity apart from the mainstream. For AW12, the pair draw influence from a series of British iconic signifiers associated with subcultures of the past, present and future. Parkas from 60’s Teddy boys, Biker jackets of the 70’s Punks, MA1’s from 80’s skinheads, Puffa Jackets from Manchester’s 90’s rave scene and bomber jackets from 00’s youth street culture have all been run through the Casely-Hayford design machinery for a unique reinterpretation. Throughout this considered collection, the sartorial alchemists that are Casely-Hayford offer a plethora of appealing and surprising proposals whilst cementing the House's ethos of 'Innovation through Tradition'. But what were they listening to as they practiced these recent experiments? Press play, turn it up loud and find out...

Casely-Hayford AW12 Playlist (cover art by Little Doodles) from StyleSalvageSteve on 8tracks Radio.

 IBN Gold - Pound
Earl Sweatshirt - Dat Ass
Frank Ocean - Golden Girl
Yuna - Thinking About You
XXYXX - Alone
Dominique Young - Unique Show My Ass (Sick To The Back Teeth Remix)
Haim - Forever
Surkin - Lose Yourself (Rustie Remix)
Echo Park - Feels Like Love
Bjork - Virus (Hudson Mohowke, Peaches and Guacomole Rework)

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