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WEEK IN FASHION NO 3: GET WELL SOON (OR DIE)

The fashion hots and nots which got tweeted and blogged about this week.
Jan 18-Jan 24 (Well, this week it’s been about MEN & FASHION)

Let’s start with the end. Last night, I attended a gig by Germany’s new indie hype-boy Konstantin Gropper at Mascotte club in Zurich. Verdict: All hype ist justified. Get Well Soon, Gropper’s music and band project, delivers the soundtrack du jour, a kind of dark collection of Brothers Grimm lullabies playing on the revenge of nature over man. Gropper performed in a suit and barefoot, to a full, enthusiastic house. His bambi-stickered e-guitar hinted at an angry young nature boy who’s heavily into stoicist philosophy, but, reassuringly, not full time. A request for a backstage picture was turned down by the management with an unphilosophical ‘no-way’. Fair enough. But in a week in which it emerged even the Pope is giving his blessing to blogging & social networking, such dinausor attitude does irritate a little. Come down and get well soon indeed.

Davos Man is dead Business Week, a must-read for the U.S economic elite, trumpets, somewhat optimistically. It refers to that quintessential pan-national, pro-market, global leader of finance and business who attends The World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss mountain town of Davos, for philosophical talks (in the past ie with Hollywood A-listers such as Angelina Jolie). Alas, WEF kicks off on Wednesday, and casino capitalists were alive and kicking at Adam Kimmel’s AW 10/11 presentation in Paris:

via NYT

Luckily for Davos Man (and his cash-strapped victims), luxury menswear fashion labels have taken that rough out-in-the-cold vibe to their hearts. Heritage and going-back-to-the roots emerged as the standout trends slumming down the mens catwalks in both Paris and Milan. In 2011, indulgences will be strictly kept under the wraps of sensible down jackets, military coats, and sharp but save tailoring in manner of Mad Men. The dilemma of course is: does dress to unimpress need a luxury label when there is Topman and Zara Man? That’s why, like the Pope, every self-respecting fashion house is now jumping on the social networking bandwagon. Ubertrend: video, video, video.

On to hard news: that international superstar journalist look so beloved by CNN correspondents has come under fire. Gone are the days of the belted trench or bulletproof vest. Now tight Haiti coverage is proving just a little bit too, er, tight: Jason Carroll, reporting on Wednesday’s aftershock and looking like a guy who had done 20 quick pushups before going on air, wore a T-shirt so snugly revealing it called into question whether a disaster zone is the place to flaunt one’s gym physique. The New York Times tut-tuted. It then scathingly likened their TV colleagues to bendable action figures. Ouch.

Tweet of the week comes courtesy of iA from Tokyo: Shibuya. Shopping. Most men’s shoes are designed by man hating ultra feminists that just want us to look like jerks. Now that’s what I call an emancipated leap forward from the old women loathing gay fashion designer cliché.

Always remember: with fashion, it’s important to never judge a book by its cover. Take Hot Chip. Granddad on the outside, delirious dancefloor on the inside.

© Hot Chip

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