Etienne Daho Monsieur Daho Rarest

Released to celebrate his 30-year career in the music industry, Monsieur Daho is a 40-track collection of hits, rarities, live tracks, and remixes personally chosen by the French new wave pioneer himself. The two-CD compilation features duets with singers/actresses,, and Catherine Deneuve alongside collaborations with the likes of ('Tous les Gouts Sont dans Ma Nature'), ('Les Bords de Seine'), and ('Les Liens d'Eros'), live performances from 2001 ('Le Brasier,' 'Soudain') and 2004 ('Le Grand Sommeil,' 'Week end a Rome'), alternative versions of 'Retour a Toi' and 'Soleil de Minuit,' and Top 20 hits 'Des Attractions Desastre' and 'Comme un Boomerang.' ~ Jon O'Brien.

I'ilz writ-:?, us from Juneau, Alaska, as follows: Times are CALIFORNIA HAND ROCK DRILL. CALIFORNIA HAND ROCK tates the shaft, a cam or eccentric draws the hammer. Then we have in this district, one, if not the largest galena car- bonate mines in Idaho territory, and that is the Daisy Black Mine. Excellency Mr Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Republic of Italy, on the occasion of the. It will flow,' Colonel Ismael Daho, head of the. Financial assistance to a staff. Mayor Brig-Gen Aung Thein Lin inspects growth of physic nut plants.—MNA. Yangon East University Railway Station.—MR.

// now (from left): Wild Thing, Snake, Tattoo, Hawks & Dove// These four amazing Wonder Workshop t-shirts – the first designs from our exciting new rock & roll fashion label The Look Presents – are now available in-store and online. //Junior in The Look Presents Wonder Workshop Wild Thing tee 08// To celebrate the forthcoming tour by the Sex Pistols (members Sid Vicious, Steve Jones and Glen Matlock have all sported the infamous Wild Thing shirt) The Look Presents is collaborating with premier fan-site God Save The Sex Pistols on a special with prizes including two Wild Things custom-made for us by Wonder Workshop designers John and Molly Dove.

To win, find the answer to somewhere in this post. THE LOOK: How did Wonder Workshop start?

J&M: We were designing out of (the legendary shop at 430 Kings Road which these days is Vivienne Westwood’s ) and came up with a rock & roll jacket in black plastic and fake fur with a snarling leopard head on the back. //Iggy Pop from the Raw Power sleeve by Mick Rock// One day Iggy Pop wandered in and bought one. He and the Stooges were recording Raw Power in London with David Bowie. Iggy ended up wearing the jacket on the album sleeve.

We only made five; there would have been more, but we used the remaining black plastic and green leopard-skin brocade to line the the shop changing room! //Don’t blink! See Iggy’s jacket at 0.14// THE LOOK: So where is Iggy Pop’s jacket now? J&M: It cropped up only last year in the documentary The Treasures Of Long Gone John, about the guy who runs Sympathy For The Record Industry (the label which released the first records by the White Stripes, Courtney Love and Beck). We’re gonna talk to John soon about how he came by it; Iggy lost that jacket years ago in a drug deal!

THE LOOK: How did Wild Thing come about? J&M: We had always liked the 60s song Wild Thing by The Troggs and made the shirt as a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, who totally restyled it when he played the Monterey Pop Festival. //Marc Bolan: The poster with T.Rex album The Slider // Soon everyone was wearing Wild Thing: Marc Bolan and The Sweet, even actress Jacqueline Bisset in Francois Truffaut’s movie Day For Night. Sid Vicious was snapped in one when he was a 17-year-old called John Beverley on a photography course at Hackney College of Further Education. //Sid Vicious (then John Beverley) in Wild Thing// //Led Zep’s Robert Plant in Wonder Workshop’s Elvis print tee// THE LOOK: How did the Wonder Workshop label develop? J&M: We started out with tattoo designs – one of which is part of the new range – and evolved a tough rock & roll aesthetic, adding rhinestones. We were the first people to print on black t-shirts and it all came together with tributes to 50s icons and other designs which were worn by Paul McCartney when he was in Wings, Robert Plant from and on the road with the Stones.

//Macca and Jagger in Wonder Workshop designs. Pic (right) by Neal Preston// THE LOOK: What’s it been like revisiting these, er, wonderful Wonder Workshop designs? J&M: Amazing.

We have kept the original aesthetic but brought them into the 21st Century. The new shirts have that glam-punk-rock edge which attracted people in the first place; we’re looking forward to seeing them worn by a new generation of rockers and dandies! Find out more about John and Molly’s adventures in rock and pop fashion and read all about Wonder Workshop, Wild Thing, Paradise Garage and much much more in.

To buy The Look Presents Wonder Workshop t-shirts go. Hurry while stocks last! The earlier this month of the most recent attempt to breathe fresh life into was not in the least surprising, blighted as it was by a series of poor market judgments but also weighed down by the history of the brand. Potential customers were deterred by licensee ‘s ill-conceived positioning of the original High Street fashion label in the luxury bracket, while the departure of head designer Bella Freud after just three seasons rang alarm bells throughout the industry. //Freud talks about her Biba launch collection, A/W 06// Such events, however, were overshadowed by the non-involvement of visionary founder, who maintained a dignified distance aside from commenting that she found the revival “painful”.

//Marc Bolan in Biba jacket with 1973// //Evening Standard advert April 1974// Biba expert has pointed out in that the crash of the original company in 1975 was seen as symptomatic of the general economic malaise in the dog days of Ted Heath’s Government, and that this latest collapse can be viewed in similar terms: “As belts are tightened, it is possibly time to say farewell to Biba. Finally.” //One of 12 customised windows at Big Biba, 1973 // Whatever, it’s all a long way from the joie de vivre expressed by the original Biba in all it’s incarnations.

As detailed in Chapter 14 of, the boutique and label brought affordable high fashion to the High Street and came to symbolise not only Swinging London in the 60s but also the glam era of the early 70s, serving along the way such customers as, Twiggy, Marc Bolan and Roxy Music. //Invite to early 90s retrospective// Since then Hulanicki has engaged in all manner of creative endeavours, not least designing boutique hotels in association with Island Records boss Chris Blackwell. The opening shot of Mike Nichols’ movie The Birdcage has a sweeping view of four of them: the Leslie, the Cardozo, the Cavalier and the Netherlands. //Look out for four Hulanicki-designed hotels in Palm Beach// Among her many achievements, Hulanicki has also created a bar for Rolling Stone, illustrated a, and worked with Graham & Brown and Habitat on wallpaper ranges.

Last year the eight-foot Great Dane she designed for Big Biba’s pet department even made an appearance in plant form at the. //Hulanicki on Biba’s history and her approach to design// Earlier this year the former fashion illustrator held an exhibition of her work at a London and is currently working on a collection for the V&A. “I don’t mind that people still want to reinvent Biba,” she said earlier this month. “I just try to grin and bear it.”.

“The magic of stars is the work of fans,” wrote cultural commentators and Vermorel in their 1989 visual celebration, the follow-up to the duo’s extraordinary and too-long out-of-print. //Pic: Hedi Slimane from Rock Diary// And, in his photographic project, unstintingly captures the atmosphere of live performance, the personalities of some of our most celebrated musicians, and, significantly, the fervour of the fans. //Pic: Hedi Slimane from Rock Diary// With an exhibition at in the north-western Spanish city of Leon, the first of the three volumes which make up the companion book is largely dedicated to photos of fans and the audiences at last year’s music festival. //Pic: Hedi Slimane from Rock Diary// The ways in which fans provide the momentum for pop culture are detailed by contributor – who lines up in the third volume with fellow writers and – while Slimane’s unwavering gaze and use of monochrome drains the imagery and highlights the drama, fireworks and glamour which occurs as much in the crowd as on-stage.

//Pic: Hedi Slimane from Rock Diary// In contrast, the portraiture in the second volume provides an insight into the celebratory though sometimes exhausted on-the-road lifestyle of some of our favourite performers and personalities. //Pic: Hedi Slimane from Rock Diary// “Celebrity is the religion of our consumer culture,” wrote the Vermorels in 1985. “And fans are the mystical adepts of this religion who dramatize the moods, fantasies and expectations we all share.” It’s great news that Starlust is apparently being readied for an. More recently Fred Vermorel scripted and produced, an unsettling inquiry into celebrity and fandom in the digital age, for the late major-domo Tony Wilson.

The Rock Diary is at Musac until September 17 while the is published by the museum in conjunction with. For an exclusive interview with Slimane about his life and career fusing fashion with music, design and photography read Chapter 31 of. Last night’s event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of proved a massive success. //Hayley in Mary Quant and Robbie in sharkskin suit// With an exhibition of rebel style from down the ages and young models decked out in fantastic items from the 15,000-strong archive, owner Roger K. Burton kept the house agog with his adventures in music and fashion. //Alice in Woodstock print trouser suit and Ashley in three piece // //Neo-Edwardian and Teddy Boy style// The catwalk show was MC-ed by CW associate using his mellifluous tones in full BBC announcer mode.

//Watching the show: Liz and Terry De Havilland, Marian Buckley, Gordon Richardson// The audience made for a wonderfully wild and varied assortment, from fellow fashion bloggers and to shoe legends, by way of pink-locked, Topman creative director. //Sarah Lee, Jasmine Cabrera and (far left) Johnny Deluxe Pic: // And that’s not all: also paying attention were a stellar cast of retailers and designers,,,, Mark Powell, Jasmine Cabrera, Derek Harris of, photographer Sarah Lee, performer, mod/soul/hippie legend, DJ/gal about townLektrogirl and many many more. //Roger informs and enlightens.

Pic: Lektrogirl// //Mark Powell with Robbie// //Early 60s Beat Girl skeleton Sloppy Joe// //Getting it on: Jeff Dexter and Paul Gorman//. If Mick Jagger in Mr Fish represents the Sixties and Madonna in Gaultier the Nineties, then Lovefoxxx in a sequinned catsuit at Glastonbury 2007 is the Noughties’ live rock fashion moment. As THE LOOK has revealed, the suit was created for the CSS singer by Kansas City designer, who seems on the verge of spandexing the entire pop world. Today Peggy speaks to THE LOOK about the Peace Corps, her cheeseburger store and working with the Brazilian singer. //Lovefoxxx at Glastonbury 2007 in that catsuit.

Photo // Like fellow KC native, Peggy Noland’s clothes are all about rainbow colour, crazy patterns and twisted silhouettes. Wearing a Peggy Noland alphabet bodysuit or low-crotch leggings takes considerable chutzpah. Even so her line of clothes is becoming a stage-wear must-have: Lovefoxxx, the and long-time friends and are all fans.

//Peggy Noland leggings at MadeMe// Despite the fact Noland and Lovefoxx have yet to meet in person, Peggy describes the stagewear she designs for the Brazilian singer and other performers as a collaboration “from them telling me the arms need to be longer or shorter or coming up with things I could never dream of!” The glam sequined catsuit was designed specifically as a stage piece for Lovefoxxx. Many of the pieces Peggy has created for the CSS singer are low-maintenance, “perfect for touring because they are light and pack tight”. //Ziggurat sequins: 70s glam in a contemporary form// Peggy grew up in a convent in Kansas and extensive travel left the 24-year-old contemplating a life of religious service.

Rejection by the Peace Corps left her doing “funny little things for money – including making weaves for Flavor Flav and – literally poop clocks!!” Her first collection came about because she was staying on sabbatical with a pattern-maker in India. On her return to KC she took night-courses and eventually opened her own store, Peggy Noland Kansas City, in 2007. //Peggy Noland Kansas City.

Today THE LOOK proudly presents a world exclusive: an excerpt from Roger K. Burton’s new documentary Vive Le Punk, featuring the one and only time Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood ever talked publicly about their 12-year creative collaboration. //Vive Le Punk: (c) Roger K.Burton 2008. No reproduction without permission// This fascinating film is being shown as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of Burton’s street-style archive.

THE LOOK is taking part in on Thursday May 22; will be in conversation with author Paul Gorman and there will be a fashion show and exhibition of rare items from the archive. Entry is free. Book tickets. For anyone interested in design, style and the creative process, Vive Le Punk is a must-see. Shot on a hand-held camera with variable lighting and sound which add to the voyeuristic atmosphere, the meeting took place the night before an exhibition of the same name opened back in 1993; Burton had invited McLaren and Westwood along to preview exhibits from their shops, Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die, and. By turn uncomfortable, charming and comic, the documentary presents two immensely erudite individuals who are often generous about each other’s respective roles in developing a series of designs which resonate to this day. Yet the tension is palpable.

After all, they separated acrimoniously and publicly 10 years previously, and the exchanges sometimes verge on the Pinter-esque, with plenty of verbal sparring, pauses and interruptions. And there is poignancy. If you’re in London or thereabouts on May 22 please be our guests and come along to THE LOOK’s latest event: author Paul Gorman in conversation with fashion archivist, boutique designer, director and all-round rockin’ and rollin’ Renaissance man. Taking place at the wonderful, kick-off is at 7.30pm, and the event will comprise: • This month’s exhibition featuring an unrivalled selection of original rebel style, including neo-Edwardian, Beatnik and Teddy boy and girl suits from the 50s, hippie, mod and rocker gear from the 60s and the finest collection of original punk clothes from the 70s – as picked out by Roger from his archive of 15,000 individual items.

• A fashion show – featuring real live young people! And be warned: they’ll be wearing some crazy and out-there fashions from down the years! //Kate Moss in CW by // • A soundtrack of the greatest rebel sounds from down the years.

Listen out for!! //David Bowie in Contemporary Wardrobe in Jazzin’ For Blue Jean 1984// • Roger and Paul talking through Roger’s adventures in rock and pop fashion, from Midlands Mod in the 60s, Acme Attractions, SEX, PX and Quadrophenia in the 70s, World’s End, Nostalgia Of Mud, videos and Absolute Beginners in the 80s, high end commercials, fashion shoots with the likes of, and more videos in the 90s, to the present day position of the Horse Hospital as London’s greatest centre for alternative and cutting edge arts. //Westwood and McLaren (centre): In Burton’s must-see Vive Le Punk// • We’ll also be discussing this month’s screening of Roger’s startling new movie Vive le Punk which features the only filmed interview with Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood about their respective roles in one of the key creative partnerships of the 20th Century. It’s being shown repeatedly throughout May; we urge you to catch it while you can.Do come along on the 22 – it’s gonna be fun. Already we know of many faces and movers and shakers from rock and pop fashion who are going to rock up, so, as Kenneth Williams might say, stop messing about and book now at: or drop us a line here. See you on the night.

The work of artist Peter Saville lingers at the crossroads where art and design meet music and fashion. //Saville// Responsible for some of the strongest artwork and graphics in popular music from his days as Factory Records in-house designer for Joy Division and New Order to working with the likes of Pulp and Suede, Saville has a fashion CV which includes launching with and collaborations with in the 80s and at Dior in the 90s (where he was tipped to become creative director before famously falling out with LVMH’s ). In conversation with THE LOOK, Saville reveals how the juxtapositions presented by London clothing store Crolla were a key inspiration for one of his most famous sleeves. In May THE LOOK is taking part in – Contemporary Wardrobe’s 30th anniversary celebration of events which includes the world premiere of the only known footage of designers and discussing their ground-breaking work together. //The Horse Hospital: “Shaking up pop culture”// Based at the Horse Hospital in Bloomsbury, London, the Contemporary Wardrobe Collection consists of more than 15,000 pieces featuring some of the most important and rarest clothing items since the 40s. Burton and Jack English, 1978. Pic: Roger K. Burton// Contemporary Wardrobe mainman Roger K.Burton will be interviewed on May 22 by THE LOOK author Paul Gorman as part of a special night at the Horse Hospital – the event is a must for all fans of style and pop culture as well as fashion, art and design students.

As detailed in, Roger is a significant figure in post-war fashion: he started at the cutting edge of the Midlands mod scene in the 60s and pioneered collecting and dealing in the early 70s to the likes of and. It was Roger, for example, who discovered the cache of Wemblex shirts which became the canvas onto which McLaren & Westwood created their notorious Anarchy shirts.

//1976: Simon Barker in Anarchy shirt with Marco Pirroni and Sue Catwoman. Pic: // He and his partner Rick Rogers teamed with BOY’s and in autumn 1978 to open in James Street, Covent Garden, the shop which set the agenda for military and futuristic style among the New Romantic movement: those who worked there include, and. //PX interior, 1978. Pic: Roger K. Burton// That same year Burton and Jack English formed Contemporary Wardrobe by retaining the giant collection of clothing they had supplied to The Who’s movie Quadrophenia.

//Quadrophenia: “We are the mods!”// In 1980 Burton designed McLaren & Westwood’s shop, which retains his work to this day, and a couple of years later realised the duo’s “primitive, paganistic” brief for the deliciously deranged Nostalgia Of Mud, which opened in premises in St Christopher’s Place, just off Oxford Street, in March 1982. This closed the following year after complaints over the scaffolding, tarpaulin and bubbling “lava” pit (as well as the behaviour of the staff). //Nostalgia Of Mud exterior 1982. Pic: Roger K.

Burton// Under Burton – who also operated vintage menswear outlet Dobbs & Partners in South Molton Street – Contemporary Wardrobe supplied and styled such movies as Chariots Of Fire, and Sid & Nancy. //Bowie et al in Contemporary Wardrobe, Absolute Beginners 1985// And it’s been non-stop ever since, with Contemporary Wardrobe fashions from such stores as, and and lines from Yves Saint Laurent, and Givenchy featuring in videos by the likes of Kylie Minogue, Robbie Williams and Kanye West. //Poster from the 1993 exhibition// The opening at the Horse Hospital in 1993 was inaugurated by the exhibition with unbelievably rare items from the design partnership of McLaren & Westwood, who both turned up for the opening night.This, their first meeting in 10 years, was caught on film and will be screened in May as part of a fascinating and previously unseen documentary also called Vive Le Punk. //Westwood & McLaren 1971.

Pic: David Parkinson// “To the best of our knowledge this is the only time that they have been filmed together discussing their legacy,” says Roger. With a private view on May 2 runs from May 3 to May 31. Roger will be in conversation with Paul Gorman from 7.30pm on Thursday May 22 as part of THE LOOK’s night which includes music, rare footage, images and original clothing from the CW archive.

Tickets and more details are available from or on +44 (0)20 833 3644. Incredibly it is 25 years this month since Come On Eileen hit the number one spot in the US for Dexy’s Midnight Runners. The song – and the album that spawned it – had taken the UK and Europe by storm the previous summer, as had the Caledonia soul be-denimed look concocted by Dexy’s leader, one of the great visual avatars in rock and pop fashion.

//Dexy’s in 1982// The image – ear-rings, straggly curls and stubble, pinafore dresses, used dungarees and gypsy scarves, sandals and pumps, coalman’s jerkins and berets with pheasant feathers – is the one most associated with Dexy’s. Yet the band sported the clothes for less than a year and the irony is that by the time of the Stateside success, the group’s restless frontman was already moving on stylistically, looking to both Main Street USA and back to his youth as a “peanut” in north-west London in the late 60s for inspiration. Here, with previously unpublished quotes, we reveal exactly how Rowland rapidly rang a series of changes over a few short years in search of “the great lost look”.By the time the first line-up of Dexys splintered in late 1980, Rowland had already come up with a fresh image to replace the “New York stevedore” style of Dexy’s debut album and first Number One.

//The so-called “athletic monk” look of 1981// Matching the lifestyle of the new group, which was dedicated to an almost monastic regime of purity of body and soul, the elements foreshadowed the 80s fitness fad: boxer boots, wrist- and head-bands, singlets, simple white t-shirts and designer sweatpants. //Projected Passion tour t-shirt// These were combined with tiny ponytails taken from sketches of 18th century sailors and custom-made hooded jackets based on those worn by Liverpudlian casuals, and showcased during the incendiary shows on the choreographed tour of theatres of 1981. //Dexy’s by the water 1981// However, lack of record company interest undermined Rowland’s confidence in the concept, and when Dexy’s music swayed into a more pastoral direction the following year, the group’s look once more evolved; by the spring of 1982 the “athletic monk” phase was over. “It was good because it flew in the face of what was happening,” says Rowland.

“Little did I know that it would be the look Dexy’s is most associated with, but in reality, we had it for less a year.” He explains how it was created: “Debbie Baxter, a costume-maker working at the Mermaid Theatre in London (who later married original Dixons bassist ), had been helping us with clothes since late 81. She gave that look a tougher edge, but, by the end of that year, we wanted to move on.

It was a dilemma and for the first few months of 82 we were flummoxed. “We started to look a little Dickensian, with little caps, but saw that were wearing those. //Animal Nightlife early 1982// “We were into the idea of being scruffy, but of course only in exactly the right kind of way. Everybody and his brother was now dressing up, to the point where it meant nothing. Sometimes you have to try lots of ideas that don’t quite work or hit the note, untill you find one that does.

//Single cover summer 1982// “Debbie would show us drawings she had done, some of which we’d like, and some of which we didn’t. I can’t remember the exact sequence of events, but one day Debbie suggested denim dungarees. She made some up for us. We boiled them in my kitchen in effort to get them them to fade, but they still didn’t look right. Then we heard that Flip (the used/dead-stock store with branches in the King’s Road and Covent Garden) had some in, so a couple of us went down there and bought a load. //Flip in The Face 1981// “I remember during the Too-Rye-Ay sessions opening a big refuse sack and passing them round to the guys.

Some of them had already left the band and were only recording the album on a session basis, and basically the band was in tatters, so some weren’t as reserved about their feelings as they might have been a few months earlier. There were guffaws from one or two, but eventually it all came together. “It’s a bit like music: to get something that looks right and effortless, you have to go through periods when things are anything but effortless. You’re experimenting and maybe getting it wrong, and then finally it comes together. I love it.” Appearances onstage and in videos also made a style icon out of violinist Helen O’Hara, whose image was imitated nationwide.

“Debbie made me the pinafore dress I wore, which actually I really hated,” confides O’Hara. “I wanted to be one of the lads and wear the dungarees but Kevin was against that. Then I found some old skirts in Oxfam shops and improved upon the way I looked.” //Erin O’Connor evokes the “Eileen” look, 2007. Pic: Wireimage// By the time Come On Eileen hit number one in America in April 1983, Rowland was “messing with the Celtic look, making subtle changes”, says Dexy’s graphic designer.

“Kevin started to wear his trousers inside out, which reflected what else was going on in fashion at the time. Vivienne Westwood was doing similar trousers with pockets on the outside at “. //Staff inside Nostalgia Of Mud, 1983. Pic: Robyn Beech// Not that Rowland was even aware of what was being designed at Westwood’s extraordinary London shop. One day that spring, near the record company HQ on Broadway, New York, he experienced a style epiphany.

“I spotted a guy with an Ivy League haircut, short and brushed over to the side like. He was wearing a check shirt, parallel trousers like Sta-Prest and a pair of GIs or plain cap shoes,” he recalls. //Dexy’s on Madison Avenue, 1985// “The guy was drunk, staggering around the streets, but the clothes intrigued me because that look had disappeared by then.

At least, you would never see it in England. It was the Ivy League look that had been fashionable in the London suburbs of my youth. //Billy Adams, Kevin Rowland and Helen O’Hara, 1985// “Then, in January 1983 I was walking down Madison Avenue Too-Rye-Ay’d up, dressed in a heavy overcoat with my beret with a feather sticking out of it.

I stopped outside Brooks Brothers and saw the clothes we had worn years ago: raised edging on the seams, hook or off-centre vents in the jackets, patch pockets. The jackets were so subtle it was untrue, because at first glance they looked very square. //Extract from This Is What She’s Like 1985// “I kept on looking at the clothes people were wearing as we toured the States that year. In Texas outside a restaurant I saw these two guys. They had parallel pleated trousers on, with plain cap shoes and button-down shirts, short Ivy League haircuts and were standing with their hands in their pockets, which gave their look a shape that made them exactly resemble a couple of well-dressed hard-nuts from Harrow in 1969. //Billy & Kevin from shoot for Don’t Stand Me Down, 1985// “I loved the fact that this ultra-conservative look was still going strong in America, and was worn only by squares or people who had to wear it for their work.

At that time there didn’t seem to be any British equivalent, until later re-defined the British look.”At first I bought a pair of Imperials (plain caps or GIs) for old time’s sake, but I kept looking at them in wonderment, at their beauty. I would sit in my hotel room at night looking at them. I was dreaming about them. I felt so inspired again. I began to fantasise about wearing lots of Ivy League stuff and looking really clean and crisp. “I knew this look could be great and massively popular. It seemed so opposite of what was happening and yet so 100% right.

I was going on stage in America wearing dungarees and an old overcoat, but during the day I was going to the record company and asking for cash so that I could raid. “Then, in spring 83, when I went to my Dad’s 65th birthday party, I wore some of the gear and my sister-in-law said: ‘You look like an extra from ‘. I was delighted.” //Kevin Rowland with THE LOOK author Paul Gorman 2006// Kevin is currently working on a new Dexy’s album and a book about his life. For his exclusive essay on “the great lost look” and how it empowered the recording of Dexy’s superb album see chapter 13 of. Meanwhile the future of the UK’s greatest Ivy League outlet J. Simons is under threat. The lease at the shop at 2 Russell St in Covent Garden operated by John Simons since 1980 ends in June 2009 and John is looking to connect with potential investors.

Those with funds or ideas as to how to keep this important independent open contact John. In the latest in our series of studies of key designs created at 430 King’s Road in the 70s, THE LOOK investigates Prick Up Your Ears, one of the last provocative acts from Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood’s store in its incarnation as Seditionaries. //Orton (standing centre), Queen, July 1967/Seditionaries t-shirt design spring 1979// The outrageous graphic has until now been chronologically filed alongside the likes of and, which were produced at the peak of punk media frenzy in the spring and summer of 1977. In fact, Prick Up Your Ears did not appear until the dog days of Seditionaries, in the spring of 1979 after the publication of John Lahr’s masterly Joe Orton biography of the same name and the release of dystopian gang movie The Warriors.

//First edition paperback cover 1978/Halliwell’s Loot poster 1966// On publication in October 1978, Lahr’s book caused immediate cultural ripples, ones which were felt particularly keenly down the wrong end of the King’s Road (where “blackmail” lettering had been used for promotion of the Sex Pistols in much the same way as Orton’s lover Kenneth Halliwell had created newspaper print collages for his partner’s work 10 years earlier). “When the Sex Pistols broke up in January 1978, I ended up in Los Angeles, staying and living for three weeks in, next to Duke’s Coffee Shop on Santa Monica Boulevard,” explains McLaren. “Three doors along was, and still is,. I got this and some other t-shirts there. Joe Orton was someone I much admired, so when the book came out I dedicated this to him with the quote from his diaries.” The book’s unblushing presentation of the promiscuous proclivities of its subject (as essayed in his diaries) had the chattering classes agog, while Lahr’s sympathetic celebration of the dramatist’s life matched the cool audacity of Orton’s work. //Orton outside 25 Noel Road 1964 (c) Leicester Mercury/”Cheap” fur coat (c) Joe Orton Online// The plates in the book displayed Orton’s great look, which reflected his and Halliwell’s ascetic lifestyle: cheap white t-shirts, Empire-brand jeans with giant turn-ups, desert or baseball boots, corduroy jeans, motorbike jackets, hooped tops, army surplus caps and coats. The clothes marked him out as a pioneer of gay style and enabled Orton to press home his image as an outsider not just in the dinner-jacketed Theatreland of the West End but society at large. Orton’s reputation as a homosexual outlaw had already been bolstered by his incarceration for defacement of public library books as detailed in this BBC4 documentary: Lahr took the title of his book from an unreleased play of Orton’s, who had toyed with the idea of using it for a rewrite of Up Against It, a screenplay he was creating for The Beatles at the time of his death on August 9 1967 (bludgeoned by Halliwell who then took a fatal overdose).

Less than three weeks later Beatles manager Brian Epstein was himself found dead of an overdose (and also later appeared on a McLaren shirt when his image and a mock report of the circumstances of his demise were added to the tee). Arriving as punk’s potency dissipated, Lahr’s book confirmed Orton’s position as one of the movement’s guiding spirits. “Reject all values of society,” Orton is quoted as telling his friend the comedian. This outlook certainly chimed with McLaren, who had paid tribute four years earlier when the playwright’s name was added to the “right” side of the SEX shop’s infamous. //Orton on You’re Gonna Wake Up tee, 1974/Inside 25 Noel Road (c) Leicester Mercury// It is said that McLaren at one time investigated shooting a version of Orton’s Up Against It screenplay starring the four Sex Pistols. Certainly Prick Up Your Ears was also the title of an early song by another set of McLaren proteges,.

//Diary entry on the t-shirt and in John Lahr’s book// With the t-shirt title lettering taking its cute from promotion for Hill’s movie (which was released in February 1979), the base image of the Seditionaries design was a cartoonish depiction of a homosexual orgy. The figures were then scrawled with “punk” characteristics – mohawks, piercings, tattoos – and overlaid with a two-colour screen and an appropriate extract from Orton’s diary: complimented by theatrical impresario Oscar Lewenstein on a new fur coat, the playwright reflects that he looks better in cheap clothes because “I’m from the gutter. And don’t you forget it because I won’t”. The biting tone and aphoristic ring could have come from one of the themselves. Not that any of them wore it; Prick Up Your Ears’ joylessness reflected the circumstances in which it was produced. The band had long since split and John Lydon had not only launched his new group Public Image Ltd but also a legal claim against McLaren. Over in New York Sid Vicious had just died from an overdose.

//Orton in Morocco 1965/Seditionaries 1978// Mirroring this disarray, Seditionaries itself was in free-fall. Open infrequently, Westwood was wondering whether to give up fashion design for a degree and McLaren was preoccupied with the fall-out from the Pistols collapse and desperately trying to complete the band biopic The Great Rock & Roll Swindle. The t-shirt briefly featured (in censored form) in Seditionaries music press mail-order ads, though the recession bit hard during the winter of discontent, and, with fresh inspiration coming from 18th Century romanticism, piracy and the Burundi beat, the shop was boarded over in the latter half of 1979, awaiting transformation over the next year into. Prick Up Your Ears was to receive wider exposure over the coming years when it was licensed by King’s Road neighbour along with the rest of the 430 “punk” designs (for, it is reported, the paltry sum of £200, such was Westwood’s impecuniosity). Sales received a fillip in 1987 with the release of Stephen Frear’s biopic film. This, of course, starred Gary Oldman, fresh from his starring role in Alex Cox’s as – who else? – one-time 430 King’s Road shop assistant Sid Vicious.

Many great images and insights into Orton’s life and work can be found at the lovingly put together, which includes the added bonus of the hilarious collection of letters fired off to national publications in the persona of busybody Edna Wellthorpe. We know it’s a couple of weeks old but this exhilerating clip of Colourmusic performing their song Yes (to an audience including the irrepressible world-famous ) gives us a chance to boost on behalf of our friends at menswear “vintage salon” A Fine Tooth.

//Watch out for Bob// Great isn’t it? There’s an opportunity to see the promo clip for the song at the end of this blog but first let us explain: Colourmusic were one of several groups hosted by and Tucsonscene.com at last month’s music industry jamboree SXSW in Austin TX. //Racket magazine covers AFT// This was another event which cements the strong bonds between the sharp-dressed fellers at AFT and a number of snappily attired performers:,,, o and are among those who have availed themselves of the company’s vintage selection and “throwback tailoring”. //Devendra gets it on with A Fine Tooth// A Fine Tooth is run by Vegas resident vintage expert and stylist James Kessler and San Franscisco-based Todd Hudson, who collaborates with Kessler on the company’s business, handling patterns, managing production and finishing each pair by hand.

//OK Go get fitted right up// The “guaranteed-to-fit” trousers are not tailored by size but by body shape; ATF has gone so far as to name nine (obviously “James” and “Todd” feature, but there’s also “Zack”, “Brady”, etc) and promises delivery in five days following online submission of height, weight and other details: waist, in-seam, seat and so on. //Lord Whimsy in AFT fitted trousers// AFT’s is always worth a peak, not least for coverage of such fellow travellers as the self-proclaimed Mammal Of Paradise, author of (optioned, it is said, by Johnny Depp) and speaker at gatherings of the. Meantime let’s go again with Yes by Colourmusic, this time the official promo version (and no leaping Beatle Bob).

Congrats to Planet Notion for being with a news story about the debut next month of our wonderful new fashion label The Look Presents. As writer Dave Dryden says, we’re reinventing iconic rock fashion for the 21st century, bringing the aesthetic of legendary designers and boutiques to a new generation of rockers.

The first range from is, of course,, whose designs were worn by everyone from Sid Vicious, Iggy Pop and Marc Bolan to Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, The Sweet and Paul McCartney. Alongside the notorious there will be a range of amazing animalistic and tattoo-inspired t-shirts, including this incredible gold foil snake which wraps itself around the wearer’s black clad torso.

This year there are two more collections from The Look Presents at Topman – in July a new range of t-shirts and festival gear featuring the eye-popping graphics of founder Nigel Waymouth and in October the first ever High Street ready-to-wear collection of suits, shirts, ties and coats from designer to rock royalty. The Look Presents Wonder Workshop t-shirts are in the UK and online around the world priced £25 each from May 26 – keep an eye on for availability. When young French actor Jules Sitruk appears as irritatingly cool French exchange student Didier in much-touted new Brit-movie, an entire vista of rock and pop fashion from the 80s, and one King’s Road store in particular, opens up.

//Sitruk in Son Of Rambow and a black version of the LaRocka jacket// In a key scene, Sitruk is garbed in a red leather/black drill sleeveless Levi’s-style LaRocka! Jacket from, the greatest and most rocking fashion outlet of all time, whose customers ranged from Jerry Lee Lewis, Bob Dylan and Keith Richards to Tom Waits, The Pistols, The Clash and yes, even Liza Minnelli. //Johnsons R&R Suicide in Son Of Rambow and on the cover of The Face 1981// In a separate scene in Son Of Rambow, costume designer pays yet another covert tribute when she places a tee from Lloyd Johnson’s Japanese-influenced and much-imitated Rock & Roll Suicide collection. It’s not surprising the the visual nods to rock and pop fashion are of the highest quality. The team behind Son Of Rambow are steeped in music; as promo production company, writer/director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith have been responsible for such hit clips as Supergrass’s Pumping On Your Stereo and Fatboy Slim’s Right Here Right Now, and continue to pump it up; among recent commissions is Vampire Weekend’s new single. //406 King’s Road London SW3 in the 80s// As revealed in, Lloyd’s shops in Kensington Market and at 406 King’s Road became a hive of rock-influenced fashion from the Seventies to the Noughties, with labels such as Tex-Mex, Beat Beat, Johnsons The Modern Outfitters, R&R Sucide and LaRocka!

Reflecting many different areas of design influence and musical interest. //Trudi Parsons in The Face 1981// Lloyd’s creations under the R&R Suicide banner debuted with coverage in style bible The Face, with Siouxsie Sue on a 1981 cover and shop manager Trudi Parsons featured inside. //Billy and Joe plump for Johnson’s// Meanwhile Billy Idol and Joe Strummer both chose R&R Suicide shirts, the former on the sleeve of his breakthrough album Hot In The City and The Clash frontman on tour in the Far East in 1982. One of the most charming aspects of the Johnson’s retail experience was that Lloyd and his staff became personalities in their own right, as seen in this rare advert for the style press shot by photographer Martin Brading in 1986. Mrc Soundmaster 210 Manual. Among those appearing are Lloyd (bottom right), his wife Jill (centre), Trudi and her brother Dave Parsons (top right). Dave moved on to play bass for Transvision Vamp and, in the 90s, grungers Bush.

//George Michael in LaRocka BSA jacket and boots// LaRocka! Became so ubiquitous that it was often the only common ground between artists and celebrities as various as Nick Cave and Samantha Fox, as exemplified by the fact that, in the same year, George Michael wore Johnsons in the video for his US number one hit Faith while Tom Waits carried over his stagewear bought from the shop for his landmark London shows of 1986 to his role in Jim Jarmusch’s Down By Law. //At 3.12: “NOT the shoes!!”// As seen in this scene from the film, his character only comes to life when screen partner Ellen Barkin threatens to throw his silver tipped LaRocka! Boots out of the window. //THE LOOK’s own “Waits” LaRocka! Boots// Towards the end of the decade the glam element of Johnson’s designs attracted those interested not just in rock but also clubwear.”When the leather jackets really took off I had this mad idea to do a gold biker jacket, jeans and boots to celebrate,” says Lloyd.

“I guess it was Elvis’s gold suit playing on my mind. And once again, instant success! Lux Interior from The Cramps bought the first outfit and then the fashion editor of The Face was so ecstatic when he saw it, we got the front cover and four pages inside. So I thought, why not do silver as well? The next thing there was a phone call from Vogue. Could they photograph Liza Minelli in the silver jacket for the cover?” And now LaRocka is back, with Lloyd and Jill working alongside on the reinvention of the brand for the 21st Century through Trevor’s company.