Polo Ralph Lauren advertising campaign, photographed by Bruce Weber, 1988. A Californian ranch is the setting for Ralph Lauren’s advertisement from 1988. His vision, conjured by Bruce Weber, is of a measured, monied society which has a home in Connecticut and a ranch in Pasadena. Lauren, apart from being one of the most famous fashion product designers in the world, is a clever marketing man; a purveyor of a Waspish, all-American lifestyle, dressing every aspect of it, from exotic travel to business suits for Wall Street. Since 1968, when he launched his menswear label, Polo, Lauren has created a brand that is known throughout the world and clothes which are status symbols of the late twentieth century. His style, borrowed from vintage clothing, evolved from a desire to give new relevance to nostalgic elegance. It was an aesthetic summed up in the films The Great Gatsby (1974) and Annie Hall (1977, for which Lauren worked on the wardrobe. In later years, he has made the look his own. —Phaidon Editors, 1998

Polo Ralph Lauren advertising campaign, photographed by Bruce Weber, 1988.

A Californian ranch is the setting for Ralph Lauren’s advertisement from 1988. His vision, conjured by Bruce Weber, is of a measured, monied society which has a home in Connecticut and a ranch in Pasadena. Lauren, apart from being one of the most famous fashion product designers in the world, is a clever marketing man; a purveyor of a Waspish, all-American lifestyle, dressing every aspect of it, from exotic travel to business suits for Wall Street. Since 1968, when he launched his menswear label, Polo, Lauren has created a brand that is known throughout the world and clothes which are status symbols of the late twentieth century. His style, borrowed from vintage clothing, evolved from a desire to give new relevance to nostalgic elegance. It was an aesthetic summed up in the films The Great Gatsby (1974) and Annie Hall (1977, for which Lauren worked on the wardrobe. In later years, he has made the look his own.

—Phaidon Editors, 1998

#Polo Ralph Lauren      #Ralph Lauren      #Bruce Weber      #Fashion      #Menswear      

6 days ago
Mick and Bianca Jagger on their wedding day, Saint-Tropez, 1971. Mick Jagger marries Bianca Perez Moreno de Macias at the town hall in St Tropez in 1971. He wears a suit by Tommy Nutter, the man who opened the doors of Savile Row to a new generation (and also cut both John Lennon’s and Yoko Ono’s wedding suits). After studying architecture, he had answered an advertisement for a salesman at the Savile Row tailors G. Ward and Co. In 1969 he opened Nutters in Savile Row. His three-piece suits were styled with narrow, square shoulders, wide lapels, tight waists, tightly crotched flared trousers, and waistcoats. Charming and shy, Nutter was a frontman for the company which, employing master cutters and tailors, made the Savile Row bespoke suit fashionable again. In 1976 he left the company and joined tailor Kilgour French and Stanbury. He is still remembered with affection and respect by the tailors of Savile Row. ‘He was a modern stylist,’ said one. ‘He brought fashion here.’ —Phaidon Editors, 1998

Mick and Bianca Jagger on their wedding day, Saint-Tropez, 1971.

Mick Jagger marries Bianca Perez Moreno de Macias at the town hall in St Tropez in 1971. He wears a suit by Tommy Nutter, the man who opened the doors of Savile Row to a new generation (and also cut both John Lennon’s and Yoko Ono’s wedding suits). After studying architecture, he had answered an advertisement for a salesman at the Savile Row tailors G. Ward and Co. In 1969 he opened Nutters in Savile Row. His three-piece suits were styled with narrow, square shoulders, wide lapels, tight waists, tightly crotched flared trousers, and waistcoats. Charming and shy, Nutter was a frontman for the company which, employing master cutters and tailors, made the Savile Row bespoke suit fashionable again. In 1976 he left the company and joined tailor Kilgour French and Stanbury. He is still remembered with affection and respect by the tailors of Savile Row. ‘He was a modern stylist,’ said one. ‘He brought fashion here.’

—Phaidon Editors, 1998

#Mick Jagger      #Bianca Jagger      #Tommy Nutter      #Nutters of Savile Row      #Fashion      #Menswear      #Tailoring      #Savile Row      

1 week ago
Alain Delon in Gucci loafers, with Romy Schneider, Cannes, 1959. On a terrace in Cannes, Romy Schneider caresses the classic Gucci loafers worn by Alain Delon. The snaffle loafer has been an icon of wealth and European style since it was designed in 1932 by the company’s patriarch, Guccio Gucci. After rebelling against joining his family’s ailing straw hat-making business, Gucci ran away to London. He found a job as maitre d’hôtel at the Savoy where he looked after the wealthy guests, paying particular attention to their baggage. He returned to Florence and opened a small shop selling saddlery, later expanding into leather bags and shoes which were decorated with a horse’s snaffle. in 1933, Aldo, his son, joined the business and designed the iconic Gucci logo using the interlocking double Gs of his father’s initials. Intermittent periods of stunning success were counterpointed with family squabbles and even murder, marring the extraordinary Gucci story. The company enjoyed a renaissance in the 1990s under the design directorship of Tom Ford. —Phaidon Editors, 1998

Alain Delon in Gucci loafers, with Romy Schneider, Cannes, 1959.

On a terrace in Cannes, Romy Schneider caresses the classic Gucci loafers worn by Alain Delon. The snaffle loafer has been an icon of wealth and European style since it was designed in 1932 by the company’s patriarch, Guccio Gucci. After rebelling against joining his family’s ailing straw hat-making business, Gucci ran away to London. He found a job as maitre d’hôtel at the Savoy where he looked after the wealthy guests, paying particular attention to their baggage. He returned to Florence and opened a small shop selling saddlery, later expanding into leather bags and shoes which were decorated with a horse’s snaffle. in 1933, Aldo, his son, joined the business and designed the iconic Gucci logo using the interlocking double Gs of his father’s initials. Intermittent periods of stunning success were counterpointed with family squabbles and even murder, marring the extraordinary Gucci story. The company enjoyed a renaissance in the 1990s under the design directorship of Tom Ford.

—Phaidon Editors, 1998

#Alain Delon      #Gucci      #Gucci loafers      #Romy Schneider      #Cannes      #Fashion      #Menswear      

1 week ago
Noël Coward, photographed by Horst P. Horst in Paris, 1934. The playwright and entertainer Noël Coward strikes a classic pose in this photograph by Horst. A flawless Prince of Wales check, accessorized with polka-dot silk and woven check, epitomizes his peerless sophistication. After his first theatrical success in 1924, Coward remarked, ‘I was unwise enough to be photographed in bed wearing a Chinese dressing gown as an expression of enhanced degeneracy. I indulged in silk shirts, pyjamas and underclothes … coloured turtleneck jerseys … and started a fashion.’ It was the look for the glamorous, brittle 1920s aesthese. For the first time since Oscar Wilde, a writer’s appearance seems as important as what he wrote. ‘All sorts of men suddenly wanted to look like Coward—sleek and satiny, clipped and well groomed,’ observed Cecil Beaton. Cary Grant was one of them, remarking that he based his own urbane style on, ‘a combination of Jack Buchanan and Noël Coward’. —Phaidon Editors, 1998

Noël Coward, photographed by Horst P. Horst in Paris, 1934.

The playwright and entertainer Noël Coward strikes a classic pose in this photograph by Horst. A flawless Prince of Wales check, accessorized with polka-dot silk and woven check, epitomizes his peerless sophistication. After his first theatrical success in 1924, Coward remarked, ‘I was unwise enough to be photographed in bed wearing a Chinese dressing gown as an expression of enhanced degeneracy. I indulged in silk shirts, pyjamas and underclothes … coloured turtleneck jerseys … and started a fashion.’ It was the look for the glamorous, brittle 1920s aesthese. For the first time since Oscar Wilde, a writer’s appearance seems as important as what he wrote. ‘All sorts of men suddenly wanted to look like Coward—sleek and satiny, clipped and well groomed,’ observed Cecil Beaton. Cary Grant was one of them, remarking that he based his own urbane style on, ‘a combination of Jack Buchanan and Noël Coward’.

—Phaidon Editors, 1998

#Noël Coward      #Horst P. Horst      #Fashion      #Menswear      

2 weeks ago