Monsieur’s Gainsbourg reggae-ish late 70s anthem is a perfect fit fot the day. The weather today is amazing, it is Friday and we got an OZON event coming up.. What could go wrong?
See you tonite @ Artower
Superdry, the company with fanatic followers like Bradley Cooper and Paris Hilton, Ben Stiller and Shakira, David Beckham and Jennifer Love Hewitt, continues to impress us with its new collection Spring/Summer 2010, a collection full of power and colour.
Very long tank tops with a wide neck-line and three-quarter sleeves t-shirts give a new dimesion to a wide palette of vibrant colours, while worn-out military trousers and shorts come back with intense branding and authentic camouflage. The plaid and stripes on narrow lines give a more tailored made result in men and women and denim is now introduced in all categories.
Sexy denim skirts and shorts, tight Tees, Jerseys in loud colors, embossed militer lightweight jackets and romantic but modern dresses combined with leather military boots produce the style of the woman Superdry for the summer.
Superdry’ s man appears with worn-out boots, military jackets in earthy colors, original logo-printed Tees, shirts with short sleeves and fluffy texture, but also cotton plaid shirts -synonymous with Superdry’ s authentic vintage style- that this year have surpassed themselves with a new range of stronger, brighter colors.
Superdry, loving company of stars, gives us authentic casual looks that will make us stand out, during the hot summer days and summer nights full of vibe.
Do you consider your longterm experience at a brand such as Eastpak the milestone in your curriculum?
Yes in fact, I started taking care of the communication of Eastpak to better extend it in Europe and back in 2000, they asked me to become Vice President of marketing for Eastpak and Jansport. By then I was 29, doing two brands and again in 2004-2005, the group asked me to become President Global for Eastpak, which I did for five years.
Do you think the kind of experience you got from Eastpak could be transferred to a denim brand?
Your question is so interesting because before joining this business I thought I was ‘joining a sect’ but at the end it is not that different. Yes, there is a specific technique and knowledge and it is good to join a company like Lee with their big time expertise, but at the end of the day the point is to respect the brand’s DNA while being able to contemporise it. Bags, denim what is the difference?
What does a president do during the day?
I am really passionate about trends, design, architecture and all these kind of stuff and it is a job where I can have my hand on the design work as well as on the marketing side. Being a number result freak, I spend my day between solving problems, shipment, protection, sales, profits, profitability. In general I can jump from the designer’s office to the CFO’s and the logistics office because my role is just that: to give solutions.
You must have a favourite part.
It is difficult to say. I would say my favourite part is more the design, the marketing side, but if the product is not making good results for the company, I get disappointed, so I am really into the commercial side as well. That is how you see if something is working at the end of the day.
Lately, due to the Credit Crunch, we see many brands, not only denim ones, going back to their routes. They design the old favourites and it might seem that there is not really a development. How do you react to this?
Every brand should look back into its origin because the market will go back for the real thing. Having said this, it doesn’t mean that we should just do vintage stuff. I think we should look at what is our DNA, what is the history, but at the same time we have to innovate and make it contemporary. I think this is what we show here; the ‘101′ collection.
Yes, but on the other hand, Eastpak that is not a historical brand, was always based on making new collaborations and suprising its clients.
That is a different story. For example we just did a collaboration with Vivienne Westwood. Even a historical brand like Lee has to be pulled forward and it does so by such collaborations with iconic designers.
Is it maybe in your future plans to collaborate with an up and coming designer?
I joined the company two months ago. Wait, it’s coming! (laughter)
What are the best values of Lee, as you have seen in these two months?
When you look at what makes Lee different, is that it brought so much innovation and so much attention to the field such as the smarter fit and details like the zip on jeans. Now everybody has a zip or a button but it
was Lee that invented the zip back in the 20’s-30’s. It is revolutionary. Lee invented the first uniform, a true work wear. Lee was also the first one to introduce slim fit and slim jacket for the European cowboy and that says it all for me. This is where I think we have to act now for the future.
So if we were making a SWOT analysis in the economics field, the strengths of course are the values that you mentioned. What are the weaknesses of Lee as you see, being the new president?
I think that Lee over the past few years has, like most of the American brands, lost its identity. Most of these historical brands have been taken frontal by the wave of the Italian denim and the trends that happened in the beginning of 2000. Trends change and so they overreacted and at the end
what happened was that they lost their identity. I think now the main job for brands like Levi’s, Lee, and Wrangler is really to look who they are. These brands have 100 years of history behind them. I will maybe work five to ten years for this brand and it will only be a 10% of Lee’s lifetime.
The opportunity of the times?
Trends are going big time in our direction so that is a big opportunity.
And the threats?
The threats are that the economy is not really recovering fast, but we are positive. I think we see some good sign.
Why did you choose to present only two lines at Bread&Butter?
Because again that’s part of the strategy I just described. This is for me what Lee will be from now on. You have the archives, you have the 101. That really says it all. That is what Lee should have been forever.
What do you see as a trend now in denim?
To come back to the real ‘no bullshit’ denim, maybe more dark, more solid, more clean and a good value for money.
We are going to feature your interview, in our ‘sweet dreams are made of jeans’ issue. What would be the best ever dreamy location that you could see yourself in denim?
My ideal location is the Mauritanian desert where I’m coming from. That is where I have to go sometimes to get out of this.
Do you go often?
I’m trying to go once or twice a year in order to get disconnected. The work I do is full of energy and sometimes you just have got to go back to yourself and return with fresh ideas.
Two loud nights at The Roundhouse in Camden were just a warm up to Sonar 2010, the 17th International Festival of Advanced Music and Multimedia Artin, which will take place in two simultaneous festivals between 17 and 19 June: in Barcelona and A Coruña. 25 artists took apart attracting some 3000 people throughout last Friday and Saturday nights.
You will be reading all about Azari & III, one of my favourite acts to have emerged in the previous year, in the current issue of the OZON magazine (p.25). This is their new video. Gotta love it!!
On Friday March 12, OZON will present Denim Dreams, a photographic exhibition in Art Tower (Athens). The exhibition is a tribute to an all time classic item- jeans. The character of denim is captured through the lens of OZONs photographers.
An OZON event wouldn’t be complete without a party with DJ sets and ABSOLUT providing cool drinks throughout the duration of the event.
OZON Denim Issue and a limited edition Denim Dreams catalog will be distributed in the event.
OZON Denim Dreams will be held at Artower Agora, 10 Armodiou st, Varvakios Square, 7th and 8th floor. Start time: 20:00
French independent label Record Makers with the help of contemporary artists Mrzyk & Moriceau has created a surrealistic iPhone game. Create random art by swiping different parts of the screen. The free app doubles as a contest, there are three winning combinations which you can send and win awesome prizes. This is one of the most creative and fun iPhone apps we’ve seen in a while.
Jim Greco’s signature model, as well as the Thunder Low model release in three new colorways for Spring 2010, apart from the Black Canvas and Black Suede versions carried over from previous seasons.
LACOSTE lives in colour year round, as creative director Christophe Lemaire deftly demonstrates with his Fall/Winter 2010 collection that takes iconic sportswear staples and stretches them beyond their imagined boundaries.
Volume and oversized proportions are the key words of the comfy casual, yet sophisticated chic Club line, emphasizing sleeves for women, while for men it is all about deconstructing and rethinking the jacket. Vivid colour blocking takes center stage, with fuschia, yellow and green colour on double-faced wool polos, elongated sweatshirts, worn as mini-dresses and high-heeled desert boot-brogue hybrids in suede.
Darryl McDaniels or ‘DMC’ as most of the world knows him, is one-third of the groundbreaking rap group Run–DMC;
a group that has influenced the style and sound of hip hop more than anyone else. DMC talks to ozon about style.
Let’s talk a little bit about your current projects – what are you currently working on and what are your plans for 2010?
I’m currently on touring Europe and I’m about 98% percent finished with the new album and I hope to release it in April. The album is going to be called ‘The Origins Of Block Music’.
Run–DMC have been credited more than any other hip hop group for influencing the way artists and fans dress. What influenced your style? At what point in your career did you become aware of the magnitude of your influence in how people dress?
What influenced our style were the people in our neighborhood. Hip hop before records, was always there, there was a culture, the music, what we wore, graffiti, dancing, the way we talk. When you look at the first rappers Kurtis Blow, Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa when they started making records they didn’t present themselves the way they were in the neighborhood, they had no other rappers to look up to, since they were in show business they thought they should dress up so they dressed like the Rolling Stones, Parliament Funkadelic, Rick James. They were our idols, so when we started making records like we say ‘my adidas’ song ‘we took the beat from the street and put it on TV’ we didn’t invent it we didn’t even want you all to wear adidas with no laces like us, we put this on video and records people was like wow! The reason it appealed to so many people was because it was such a fresh raw style. Hip hop itself is bigger than just the MC and the rappers. So when people saw what we were wearing, hearing our music and stuff they weren’t just emulating us they wanted to get that feeling. Once people started wearing glasses, hats, chains and adidas with no laces like us, we got nervous. We said yo! this hip hop thing is powerful stuff, so we have to watch how we present ourselves.
What are your favorite sneakers and why?
Adidas Shell Toe sneakers, although my personal favorite is the pro model, because I like hi tops. The reason why adidas was better than all other brands is that all other sneakers would get old, the Shell Toe is indestructible, it’s hard like Run-DMC.
We are doing a denim issue and denim has been a part of your signature style. Do you think that denim in hip hop culture is equally iconic as sneakers are?
Denim is incredible, denim is so iconic, probably a little bit more than sneakers -sneakers didn’t get iconic until Run–DMC made adidas – and adidas should be happy – officially synonymous with hip hop, no other brand can say that; when you say hip hop the first thing people think about is the Shell Toe; but when you think about denim… denim is rock n roll, hip hop, cowboys, motorcycles, bikers, denim is rodeo. Denim is the roughest entity on the face of earth.
Black or blue denim?
Blue is good when when you’re trying to be flavourful, but black is incredible, a total black outfit makes a statement. A famous photographer from France once said: ‘The way Run-DMC look, they can walk down the runway today, tomorrow, 20 years from now and still look new’.
Style has obviously been an important element of your image but do you still care about it as much as you did at a younger age?
I care more than I cared when I was fifteen! What happens tday with the hip hop artists that have their own clothing brands trying to convice everyone to dress a certain way, cannot compete with an oldschool outfit: white Shell Toes with black stripes, black jeans, black leather jacket, black hat. People think that old school is a time period, old school is a lifestyle, a consciousness of presenting and representing something. If you have one kid among all these people walking.
OZON Presents: Denim Dreams Friday, 12 March 2010 at 20:00
Superdry, the company with fanatic followers like Bradley Cooper and Paris Hilton, Ben Stiller and Shakira, David Beckham and Jennifer Love Hewitt, continues to impress us with its new collection Spring/Summer 2010, a collection full of power and colour.
