Well, well, well drinks, certainly got me lubricated for our party Thursday night, as I kicked off the party with the Gossip’s spunky version of Wham’s “Careless Whisper”. I suspected it was going to be a hot hot night, and hot it was! And I’m not just talking about our troop of go-go’s decked-out in customized jockstraps and vests, rusty accessories, leather roses, rubber suspenders, golden army boots and dust goggles (we’ll be keeping those for burning man!). Big thanks go out to Joe and Ian and the Nice Collective team for all their work in (barely) dressing our boys. And thanks to our guests for undressing them…
With “Billy Jean” blasting out of the speakers (R.I.P. Michael) I passed the aural (or was it oral) baton to DJ Paleboy, our DJ of the Month. A great set that climaxed with a Scooter LaForge painted Gio Black Peter collaboration, Amerikill, which reminded us all to get fucked up. Of course by then I was - maybe even more so than the four boys twisted around each other on our casting couch - our rather soiled casting couch I might add. Thanks to David Kimelman for handling that debauchery - we’ll be posting those shots in a couple days.
Spirits and minds were high high high… just how I like them. When the Captain arrived, a.k.a. the wonderful DJ Saheer Umar, I knew it was time to go below deck and find myself a cabin boy or two. Now, this is where I kind of have to rely on Weston and Richard to fill me in (no, not in that way… you dirty girty) as my next recollection is of waking up this morning between two boys whose names I obviously don’t recall, but who still tasted good and smiled… so it must have been good… Ah, how how I love a good party. Finally some reward for this overworked intern!
Thanks to everyone that came - everyone had an incredible time! The hottest and nicest party we’ve been to in a while! xxx
Thanks to the Hose, Fire Island Beer Co., Mark Edio for making the go-go boys even hotter, and special rock hard thanks to all of our go-go boys: Canyon, Glen (who we never actually saw go-go), Richter, Louis, Ryan, Taylor, Scott and Scott – many of whom popped their go-go cherry at our party. Many of whom some of us here at EVB need to see much more of later…
Anyway, Paul Gunn was nice enough to send us some shots of the party, and here they are…
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… and some more random (kinda crappy) shots from me after the jump...
Now that all the Fashion Week craziness has jumped on a jet and landed in Europe and you’re no longer sick of it all, but back on your knees begging for more (literally), we thought we’d share some of the backstage action from Nice Collective’s show at New York Fashion week last week.
Upstairs on the runway it was pure spectacle. The show, titled Time Machine, landed at the Angel Orensanz foundation on the Lower East Side, a stripped down ex-synagogue. On the runway a copper-colored wood, metal, and leather beast of a turn-of-the-century carriage - the time machine itself - was in the sights of a gigantic hemisphere of Orwellian electronic eyes that stared down from on high. Models stomped past in duct-taped combat boots while ripped up machine-music boomed throughout the eerie space. The place just didn’t feel safe and we loved it.
Joe (above left) and Ian (above right), our favorite fashion provocateurs, clearly operate outside of the rules of the fashion industry but love stirring it up from within. The collection was a pastiche of decidedly atypical fashion references to Victoriana, turn-of-the-century prospectors and miners, top-hatted dandies, side show emcees, and steampunks. I mean come on - they even had aluminum ‘fuck you’ stilettos!
Anyway, consult your favorite fashion blogs for all the looks and descriptions. Here at EVB we’re going through the back door and into the dressing room. We sent photographer Ves Pitts backstage to take in the pre-show action (ok, and a bit of runway too).
EVB: What’s the story with the construction of your Time Machine?
Joe: We started with the shell of a 1910 carriage, and the entire riding compartment - room, walls, roof, doors and lighting were all built from scratch. We built the body out of burned wood, copper and brass, and the dashboard out of salvaged aviator equipment. The metals were hand-shaped and aged, and the expandable batwing top was made from gears and leather.
Ian: The undercarriage was from a farm in Petaluma (an hour north of San Francisco) and we built the entire carriage section there and in Brooklyn. The machine was made out of reclaimed wood, clad in recycled brass scraps. The leather canopies and inner skin are made of scraps from Nice Collective leather jackets.
Once the machine was assembled it was burned and then sealed to capture the moment. The result is an object that will oxidize and continue to evolve. This object is at stage one and is now entering into stage two, which is when the mechanics and propulsion system begin integration.
Noah Elias, a co-collaborator on this project and crew chief, was a large influence on us during this expedition. It was a project that was the culmination of all aspects of our process, lifestyle, and friends.
The EVB team also snapped some, let’s say less “professional” shots before and after the show…
INTRODUCING THE EAST VILLAGE BOYS ARTIST TEE SERIES
ARTIST TEE #1: SCOOTER LAFORGE
Scooter’s work has been shown in gay bar bathrooms, laundromat galleries, and Patricia Field clothing racks; Iggy Pop’s back, and mental hospital walls; and somehow combines a range of visuals from children’s book style-riffs, to watersports, cigars and leather daddy boots. What’s not to love?
All of the shirts are hand-silkscreened in metallic silver ink with individually hand-painted additions of blue, pink, yellow, and gold glitter by Scooter, signed and numbered on the back. Limited to an edition of 75 shirts. Available exclusively through the EVB Store.
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Brand spanking new fashion label, Cottweiler, are friends Matthew Dainty, 26, and Ben Cottrell, 24. Both young, charming and attractive, but quite different. Matt’s the talker, a skinhead born in New York and raised in Essex (the accent is definitely Essex). Ben is a little more reserved, wearing a button-up shirt and slick side-parting, raised in Bristol on a council estate and now living in east London. They’ve just launched their sexy and very masculine (I’d quite like some myself) menswear brand, with a collection for S/S 2009. I dropped by Matt’s studio in Dalston to meet the boys and chat about their first collection.
Elias Redstone: First off, what’s the soundtrack in your studio? Give us a couple tracks for the interview.
Belle Epoque , ‘Miss Broadway’
Grace Jones, ‘Man Around the House’
ER: So how did you guys originally meet?
Ben: We were both studying fashion in Bristol at the University of the West of England. Matt was the year above but dropped out, so we ended up studying in the same year.
Matt: There were forty girls in our year and we were the only two boys, and only four of us did menswear. It was a bit of a shit university but it just meant that we stood out more. We really helped each other with our final collections. Ben was good at patterns, tailoring and shapes…
Ben: …and Matt is amazing at the overall vision and styling. Although we had different skills we shared a similar style and used the same models for our shows.
ER: You mention Matt’s overall vision - what is it?
Matt: I like to create a lifestyle, an ideal. What I and others might aspire to be or look like. I dont see the future of Cottweiler as just a clothing label - the overall image has to be relative to the people that wear it.
Ben: I agree it’s not just about the clothing - it’s about confidence, aspiration and belonging.
ER: How did growing up on a council estate influence you and your work?
Ben: For me, it gave me a sense of realization. Being surrounded by red brick government funded housing and unemployment on a daily basis gave me and a lot of my childhood friends a desire to do better, or at least to appear as if we were doing “alright”. The want for designer clothing and the latest trainers were mine and my friends way of being a part of something amongst ourselves, and without knowing it we created our own little trends. Although we were a group it was also very important to stand out as individuals. This has definately influenced the way we design - a sense of belonging but also standing out.
ER: What did you do after you graduated?
Matt: I was assisting Kim Jones for a year, and then started freelancing for designers like Hackett and Buckler, and got a full-time job designing for high street brands. It’s very commercial but great for understanding manufacturing, production and how the industry works. Ben was interning at Ozwald Boateng during college. They offered him a job when he graduated. He’s amazing at tailoring and you can see that in our range.
I ask to see the new collection and Matt rifles through the racks and pulls out the designs for S/S 2009. The vests are all long and square cut, the tops low slung and structured. The colours are light and washed out, influenced by vintage sportswear. There are a couple of big printed tees that will no doubt be picked up in the editorial pages. There is also a line of accessories. I get to see some black and white leather boots, and on the way are leather bags, cuffs and more boots.
Matt: All the tops are long and square cut. It’s a really good cut that looks good on different guys. We get influenced by skinheads and lads we see on the street so our cuts are really masculine. We were inspired a lot by a book I found on teenage Russian prisoners. I also love Larry Clark’s early work.
Ben: For me it is about identity amongst a group of boys, about ‘being the boy’. We wanted to keep everything British-made, but that’s proving really difficult at the moment. If we could reach that point it would be really amazing. ER: ‘Being a boy’ has been interpreted by a variety of people: Bruce Weber, Jack Spade, Peter Pan… What does it mean to you?
Ben: Getting away with it!
ER: How do gay boys fit in there?
Matt: It’s been really interesting to work with Ben and have the straight man’s point of view. He can really see what the gay attraction is to the image of the label from us being mates, and the same goes for me. We like to do stuff that’s a little provocative - that appeals to both gay and straight boys.
Ben: I agree. I don’t think it’s about being gay or straight it’s about a knowing admiration from other boys. Matt shows me his mood board. Disengaged boys. Punks. Jocks. Dogs. It looks like a mix of fashion and fetish.
Matt: We both like skinheads, but for different reasons. If it was left up to me the brand would be more gay. Ben keeps me in check. And our work is really collaborative. We work with people we know and love. My boyfriend, Ben’s girlfriend and our mates help with accessories, jewelry and graphics. They know what we like.
ER: What does it for you about skinheads? Why do they turn you on?
Matt: I just get turned on by anyone who looks like they are going punch the shit out of someone.
Ben: For me, true skinheads (not the racist cocks) are one of the most style-conscious subcultures to ever come out of England. The attention to detail in appearance is impeccable.
ER: Who would you like to see wearing your clothes?
Matt: So many guys (with a cheeky grin), but I don’t know all their names.
Ben: Just normal guys really. Lads. ER: Young offenders are an obvious influence. You must have seen Scum - what’s your favorite scene?
Ben: Yes I’ve watched Scum a few times. To pick a favorite scene is hard, there’s so many, but the sock and pool ball, the potting shed, and the “that ain’t a tool” scenes are pretty dark, but honest.
ER: What’s the shoot for EVB going to be like?
Matt: We’re shooting it in a council block. It looks like a young offender’s dorm room. Lots of gym shorts and boots. We’re filming and photographing it so it will look quite grainy. ER: Who’s the model on this shoot?
Matt: His name is Billy. He was scouted by a mate and it will be his first shoot. I scouted another boy the other day to model for us - he was working on a construction site for one of the new towers in the city and hasn’t modelled before either.
ER: What is your ideal model?
Ben: Clean, but rough. ER: How would you describe your own look?
Matt: Ben’s more Mod. I’m more preppy.
Ben: Matt’s more street. I like wearing suits.
ER: Matt, who is your preppy style icon?
Matt: My older brother (who is far more handsome) has been a huge influence on the preppy side of things. When I was at my primary school in America, he was at a prep school in New England. I still wear his hand-me-downs from high school now. I think my prep style had been ingrained at an early age.
ER: Ben, who is your Mod fashion icon?
Ben: Otis reading. Have you seen how sharp the crease is in his trousers?
Photography and film stills shot for EVB by Nicola Steele
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INTRODUCING THE EAST VILLAGE BOYS ARTIST TEE SERIES
ARTIST TEE #1: SCOOTER LAFORGE
Scooter’s work has been shown in gay bar bathrooms, laundromat galleries, and Patricia Field clothing racks; Iggy Pop’s back, and mental hospital walls; and somehow combines a range of visuals from children’s book style-riffs, to watersports, cigars and leather daddy boots. What’s not to love?
All of the shirts are hand-silkscreened in metallic silver ink with individually hand-painted additions of blue, pink, yellow, and gold glitter by Scooter, signed and numbered on the back. Limited to an edition of 75 shirts. Available exclusively through the EVB Store.
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