APC SS10

APC are one of those extremely difficult brands. I talk about them a lot, but I can't explain why I like them so much. The depth and complexity of their products come from their unforgiving simplicity. My first pair of raw denim was APC, and back then they were even more affordable than they are now, and I still swear by them. They are rarely referred to as the top of the pile in a specific product (most markets are dominated by the real artisans), however, season-on-season they produce great overall collections. I'm not a fan of "seasonal lines", but APC seem to be one of those widely respected brands that can do little wrong, and without trying do a lot right.

This ideal comes through in this season's collection. What excited me was to see some of their lightweight pieces from the AW09/10 collection being recycled in this season's lookbook. That is the whole idea in a nutshell. Inoffensive, timeless and stylish pieces, so why not mix in some of the AW shirting with the SS lighter knits? I'm going to be involving Oxford shirts from three or four years ago in with newer pieces from this season. It'd be great to see more of this running through lookbooks over the next couple of seasons; brands thinking harder about reinventing classic, perennial pieces that sit alongside one another year after year. I want to see less perfectly groomed models, wearing brand new clothes, and more focus on time as a process of clothing. The best pieces are the ones that, for example, you can no longer tell was purchased at Ralph Lauren, because you've had such an impact on it as a piece. For any real enthusiast, I am sure that the buying is just the beginning of an exciting period of wear and personalization of a garment.

I saw this great bag on the tube whilst in London yesterday. The man was carrying two great pieces of luggage. As well as this, he had a canvas holdall that still proudly wore the scars of years of use, but I couldn't discreetly snap a photo of that.



Back to the earlier topic for two moments. A Continuos Lean have been at the forefront of internet blogging on menswear and style since its birth. They caught up with the man behind APC, Jean Touitou, for a chat about everything from the state of the internet, to some of the things that inspire him in his work.

A Conversation With | Jean Touitou of A.P.C. from Michael Williams on Vimeo.

New stock starting to arrive

So we had APC and YMC drop today. The SS10 is looking pretty smart and the APC is already priced and hanging on the rails. It'll be hitting the online store this week if all goes to plan with other brands slowly creeping on in the next couple of weeks.

On a very seperate note, no matter how you felt about McQueen's clothing, there is no doubting that he was one of the best stage directors around. In comparison to his warm and loving personality, his shows were gothic and extremely provocative, an artist's exploration of the darker elements of his psyche. His work rarely excited me, but the respect I have for a designer, who with a few accomplices, took British design to an international scale. However many times you see it, this video is beautiful:

Gallery Copenhagen

So the past few weeks have been pretty hectic. Dashing between London, Paris and now Copenhagen to meet brands, select the lines for next year and also add some people to our family.

We just returned from a couple of days in Copenhagen. We combined the trade show Gallery with meeting a couple of people we are going to be adding to our list of brands as well as see some familiar faces and catch (and have a few beers, obviously.) Firstly, what an awesome city. People have always told me how great it was, but I was in awe and didn't want to return to the UK. A big thanks needs to be given to Esben from SNS Herning for showing us around and supplying us with some much needed coffee. The stores in the heart of the centre are awesome, and supplying the city with a great diversity of brands, magazines and artwork.

We've also got a drop from Our Legacy for A/W to look forward to now. They put out a really nice collection and we wanted to take so much more than we did. Its all about cord, flannel and washed chambray for us courtesy of the Swedish lads this year and we think its going to sit nicely along some of our other brands. Adding that feeling of inherited clothing from your Grandpa's wardrobe to the store which will be an awesome fork in the road for us. We've always said that we need to try things and learn from mistakes, and this could be the case here, but these are products we feel are beautiful, and timeless so we're really excited. It seems the buzzword this year has been heritage, and you could thats what these guys are trying to replicate, but everything is stripped back, and cut so finely. Its everything a contemporary label should be attempting in my eyes; paying tribute and giving respect to those classic items of a staple wardrobe whilst bringing them up to date with material and cut. My favourite pieces were the reverse cotton twill crew neck sweat, heavy gauge cords (shirts and trousers) and the maroon hunting parka.

A shout out needs to go out to the guys from Libertine Libertine, too. For such a young collective, they're really pushing ahead with some classic pieces elevated with some amazing detailing. Its those little things that really make a piece go from good to great. I personally cannot wait for Max to see the rest of the collection in London and meet their reps. They're also such cool guys, and really accommodating. Lets hope we get a chance to hook up with them in the summer so they can show us how to party in real style.

Its crazy how all this happens just as I was getting so excited for the Spring Summer stuff thats dropping as we speak... all I want is next years Autumn Winter. This was my first opportunity, however, being involved in the buying process right from the front line and it was great. This however does mean that we are needing to shift the final sizes from our current collections, so we've slashed the prices one last time to start getting this year's Spring Summer sorted as soon as possible and there are some really great pieces on their way.

Its time to grab a bargain however, and a lot of the pieces will work nicely for you during Spring Summer too. My best deals right now are:



Common Projects achilles - down from £240 to £168



YMC hooded Mac - now down to £99 and great for Spring as well as on top of a suit or few smaller layers



Surface to Air leather jacket - made in Portugal and 100% leather. You get a lot for your cash and the detailing is really good. A piece that will get better and better with age.

Brew Dog Beers

So last night I had too many beers. Or is it only too many when you find yourself covered in the content of your own digestive system and tended to by a matron for 12 hours whilst in a hospital bed feeling like every bone in your body is slowly decaying? The main reason I drank so much was so I could work my way through the beers of offer at the Sheffield Tap by Scottish Beer production house Brew Dog. Every single one I tried was amazing; Rip Tide, Punk IPA and Dogma. However, the one that really had my taste buds experiencing sneezing eight times in one go was the Trashy Blonde: biscuity, exotic fruits and light malt... its almost like turning up to a Sex Pistols show in a tuxedo.



This is also amazing and kept me thoroughly entertained throughout the day.

We have our final reductions on the website now as well so get over and check out the bargains you could find yourself and brace yourselves for the new stock coming in the next couple of weeks.

PEACE AND FUCKING. BELIEVE!