Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring - Summer 2021 i Vogue Hommes English Version

—I recall a staggering survey, published several years ago, in which the authors posited confidently that, in less than a hundred years’ time, the majority of people will have no idea who Marilyn Monroe was, incidentally the greatest icon of the 20th century. If this prophecy were shown to be true, we will have reached the peak of a phenomenon that is already making headway and appears to be unstoppable: in other words, an indifference to the past never before witnessed throughout History. A past that has been eradicated by a merciless cult of the almighty here and now. How then can we not be concerned about this, when we know only too well that turning our backs on the past would be tantamount to drawing a line under memory;…

—Idris Balogun’s journey has been one of legacy and learning that began with a small boy exploring his father’s wardrobe: “I loved my father. I also loved his clothes. I fetishised about them, one after the other. Whereas most dads would have sent me outside to play football, he encouraged me. In fact, he was the one who introduced me to the first major black fashion designer, Ozwald Boateng, who became my idol.” Seen from afar, Idris Balogun and Ozwald Boateng are cut from the same cloth: kids from the black diaspora who learned the finer points of their trade on Savile Row before graduating to legendary houses — Givenchy for Boateng, Burberry and Tom Ford for Balogun. But there are differences, too, starting with the fact that Idris Balogun…

—Who would have thought that Prince Charles could be so attractive? Tall, slim, elegant, that comely look in his eye that makes your heart skip a beat, a shy yet winning smile and all the hallmarks of a man who has been misunderstood and is simply looking for love… British actor Josh O’Connor cut a disarmingly sexy figure in Season 3 of The Crown, making his breakthrough and hitting the headlines at the age of 30. Born and raised in Cheltenham as one of three children, he now divides his time between North London, the English countryside and Scotland. He has become hot property, equally at home on television as he is in arthouse cinema or Shakespearean theatre. And his charm, warmth and sparkle were still readily apparent despite having…

—During his flamboyant glory years in the mid–70s, American designer Roy Halston Frowick would host the great and the goofy in his gigantic New York apartment spread over two floors. The 101, as it was known, was the place to be until the city that never sleeps succumbed to the advent of yuppies and gentrification. His mega soirées where drugs were rife were notorious. Where else would you find Martin Scorsese arriving with Liza Minnelli on his arm, putting in an order for every illicit substance imaginable? For the happy few, including the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Anjelica Huston, Lauren Bacall and Andy Warhol, it served as antechamber for Studio 54, a veritable bubble–bath of excitement, with a disco–funk soundtrack for a movement whose hedonism was about to come crashing…

FROM ANTI–WRINKLE TO SKIN REGENERATION While women’s collagen levels plummet from the age of 50 onwards, men’s reduce at a much slower but steadier rate from the age of 20, with the consequences being most visible on muscle mass and the tautness of the skin. The key is to find products that go beyond wrinkles and target the thickest layer of the skin to reinforce it. LA PRAIRIE RARE PLATINUM HIGH–REJUVENATION PROTOCOL This 30–day treatment targets skin cells — whose activity slows as the years go by — as well as regenerating the entire environment in which they evolve. Its strength is in the blend of signal molecules that act as growth factors. LIFE SERUM + PEPTID7 COMFORT DROP Peptide SDKP was discovered by the French National Centre for Scientific…

And so Winnie New York was born, rooted in a finely honed talent, a grandmother’s encouraging words and, most of all, Idris’s desire to listen to his deepest inspirations. “At the very beginning I was designing clothes for myself. I dress simply, in jeans, a T–shirt, a blazer, but I expect them to be perfect. That’s what guided me.” Perfection isn’t too strong a word to describe this wardrobe of urban basics, where each garment is a confluence of ultimate minimalism and luxury. Phoebe Philo for men: superb silk–lined trench coats that are as comfortable as a pair of pyjamas, gorgeous blazers in sea–green wool and mohair cardigans to die for. Since then, Idris Balogun has started designing for women too, and had a show in Paris. Coincidentally (or not),…

—On Zoom, Dior’s Artistic Director of menswear, Kim Jones, is sitting in front of an abundance of books, organised meticulously along metal shelves. He runs to one, bringing it back to the camera to show it off. It is weighty, and leather–bound; a first edition of Orlando, by Virginia Woolf. “Look,” Jones says, opening it to a dedication; “Vita, from Virginia. Monday October 11th 1928.” “Vita” refers to Vita Sackville–West, a writer, Woolf ’s lover and the inspiration for Orlando, Woolf ’s adored novel, in which a poet travels across centuries, changing sex from man to woman. Jones has acquired the majority of Woolf ’s gifts to Sackville–West. “This is all Virginia,” he says, pointing to a run of red books behind him. “And those,” he says, gesturing to a…

—A fashion house’s heritage is both symbolic yet literal, immaterial yet tangible. It is not merely the capital that guarantees its continuity and often its prosperity: it is also the genetic and perhaps even moral code that forms an integral part of its identity. While a heritage can be a trump card that is a boundless source of inspiration during times of uncertainty, it can also be a roadblock in the face of change and the evolution of a brand. The concept of heritage plays an essential role in contemporary fashion, both because it is reassuring and because, while the fashion houses that dominate the industry are run to ensure that they make a profit and are therefore open to new ideas, they have often been going for decades, if…

A CUT ABOVE “Our most extravagant creation? There are quite a few but I would have to say the driving suit Marc Newson wore to race his 1955 Ferrari 857”, muses Campbell Carey, creative director and chief cutter at HUNTSMAN, a bastion of men’s tailoring, established in 1849 and located at 11 Savile Row. No end of sartorially inclined stars have crossed the emporium’s threshold in search of the perfect cut, personalised to their exact desires, in what is always a unique experience. The likes of Coco Chanel, Henry Kissinger, Gregory Peck, David Bowie, Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon, “even Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs”, Carey adds. “Considering they had both access to the best ateliers and the finest tailors in the world, the fact they chose Huntsman speaks volumes.” But…

VOGUE HOMMES Of all the objects we can pass on, why is the watch unique? RÉMI GUILLEMIN First of all, because it’s something that can be passed on. A watch is made to last not just a lifetime but several lifetimes. There is no notion of obsolescence. It is also highly personal and therefore emotionally charged. Of course, we pass on more than the object itself. It’s also about sharing one’s passion, knowledge, emotions and memories. VOGUE HOMMES Collectors from father to son? RÉMI GUILLEMIN This is, in effect, essentially a men’s market. We curate sales according to the watches that are consigned to us and, while there will always be a small selection of jewellery watches (Cartier or Piaget), the majority of lots are men’s timepieces. Many collectors were…

—“I like reaction, it’s what I look for. I don’t like sweet and gentle. I have no desire to provoke, but I do need certain subjects if I am to create new photographic effects and visual tensions.” (Helmut Newton’s words are taken from José Alvarez’s book, Helmut &June. Portraits croisés, published by Éditions Grasset). Newton’s style is summed up in these remarks. The tensed muscles of unsmiling women; interplays of dark and light, of eroticised accessories; an air of danger. The photographer Sophie Bramly, author of Un matin, j’étais féministe, sees this amalgam as “an incredible prowess”: “Newton used the erotic tropes that objectify women while subverting this objectification to find fantastic female empowerment. This leaps out in the Rue Aubriot series. These women are photographed on an empty street,…

—Casting Scarlett Johansson as the heroine of the live–action adaptation of the Ghost in the Shell manga; frenzied twerking à la Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus; Blues songs ripped–off and repurposed by the likes of the Rolling Stones; Kim Kardashian naming a range of figure–hugging underwear “Kimono”; Disney’s trademarking of the Swahili phrase “Hakuna Matata” (“no worries”) for The Lion King: all these examples have, at some point or other, cut through the saturated space of social and other media, giving form to a growing sense of annoyance at cultural hijacking, the barefaced plundering of representations, the shameless subverting of cultural mantles to be repackaged and profitably marketed for mainstream consumption. It’s behaviour that contemporary sensitivities are no longer willing to permit under the pretext that it’s “cool” or “we…