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Boris Bidjan Saberi

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  • blackfedora
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2012
    • 507

    Nice little article from the NYTimes about the NYC shop here.

    Comment

    • casem
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2006
      • 2590

      ^Just came here to post it. It was a cute article, I've copied it below for those whom clicking is too much:

      "Boris Bidjan Saberi had a cold. Or the flu. Something like that. Anyhow, the point is he was sick, and it was an unusual state of affairs in his atelier. Look at a picture of him: He’s a hardy guy, strong, resilient. But this time, he was under the weather, and that was a problem.

      Not because of his health, though of course we wish nothing but the best of health for Mr. Saberi and all those around him. No, it was because of something else — it was because of the jackets.

      Mr. Saberi makes ornately detailed, strikingly proportioned leather jackets that exude a nomad warrior confidence. The leather is meaty but supple. The stitching is homespun but executed with industrial rigor. And even as they hang in the store, waiting for an adventurous soul to pick them up and try them on, they look as if they have already been through the wars, as if they have been sculpted by the sweat of men who weren’t willing to sacrifice protection for comfort.

      We were looking at the jackets, myself and an employee of the Saberi store, who was relating the story of the craft that goes into the making of the jackets. The sleeves that are pre-bent at the elbow — those are “body-molded,” she said. What a fabulous euphemism, I said, because yes, they certainly did look as if they were worn by a human. In fact, you could say they looked as if they were being worn by a human as they were hanging on the rack, so much space did each one require.

      But this was no euphemism, she noted. The leather that was so creased? It was dipped in water to loosen it up, then worn by an actual person for a couple of hours to be broken in and given its weathered effect.

      That person: Boris Bidjan Saberi.

      So when Mr. Saberi has a cold, hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of jackets just sit there, unmolded. Unmoldable, even, because no one else in the atelier knows quite how he does his breaking in.

      When I heard this story, I was one of a handful of customers in this very spacious store on a dry, quiet block over by the West Side Highway. Arranged like an art gallery, with high ceilings and ample space between racks, the room is impossible to fill by design. Not that it ever would: On three trips to the store, this was the only one in which I ever shared the room with other customers.

      There are certainly customers for this one man’s mildly mad method, but by design, not too many. Look, I’m not going to talk about prices beyond the broad sketch — several-hundred-dollar translucent T-shirts, $1,000 hand-knit scarves, $5,000 leather jackets. And Saberi doesn’t do e-commerce: “Our garments are best experienced in person, and we welcome your visit. We are located in Lower Manhattan, in a quiet corridor,” reads a note on the website.

      So you go, and you contemplate. Take in the ninja hoodies with asymmetric zippers, the shorts that look like potato sack diapers. There are thoughtful thumb loops everywhere. On the more conventional side, there are white leather sneakers with strips of black leather applied to them willy-nilly, and also lush scarves that scrape the floor.

      Hanging on the rack, the jeans looked as if they’d been flat-pressed into a bowlegged shape. But when I tried on a pair, there was nothing irregular about them. They were skinny but sagged at the bottom — as denim should be — and the pockets bore the markings of a tremendous amount of by-hand labor.

      What’s notable about all this high-intensity luxury is that it arrives without even a hint of flash. It doesn’t telegraph ostentation. The piece in the store that looked the slickest, I tried on. It was a black leather button-down shirt, thick and with the faintest sheen. (It also came in creamy white.) The cuffs had cleaved cutouts that resembled hooves. It seemed guaranteed to make you look like an awful person.

      When I slipped it on though, small flecks of leather began to come off the inside of the sleeve onto my arm and hand. It was disintegrating, as if I’d just ripped it off the animal. It was primal, morphing, a living thing. This was more luxe than luxe.

      Back at the racks of leather jackets, I was trying to parse the fine points. Some of the coats were treated with what looked like a sticky oil. The differences between the fall jackets and the spring ones were sort of negligible — a looser collar, a nominally thinner leather. (Some of the leather is horse, some is calf.) They mostly hung on the body the same way, which is to say eagerly, with gecko-like determination. You would have to peel it off, if you were inclined to remove it, which you might not be, because they come with a bit of magic.

      When you put one on, your beard instantly grows thick and ragged, and your hair develops a weighty, oily sheen. The jacket has already been through the gantlet, and it transfers that information to you when you slip it on. Keep Mr. Saberi healthy — he knows too much."
      music

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      • p2h
        Junior Member
        • Jan 2014
        • 19

        good to see there is still devotion for half gods... I gonna read it one more time jerking with right hand and cuddling my BBS jacket with the left one...

        Comment

        • justin_bridou
          Member
          • Feb 2015
          • 40

          Originally posted by p2h View Post
          good to see there is still devotion for half gods... I gonna read it one more time jerking with right hand and cuddling my BBS jacket with the left one...
          haha, yes, i'm not sure this kind of idolatry really helps... personally, I'd be ashamed of wearing a saberi jacket after having read this

          Comment

          • Monoral
            Senior Member
            • Mar 2014
            • 375

            ^

            Why? personally after reading that I will be wearing BBS more loudly and proudly than ever

            Comment

            • justin_bridou
              Member
              • Feb 2015
              • 40

              Originally posted by Monoral View Post
              ^

              Why? personally after reading that I will be wearing BBS more loudly and proudly than ever
              haha, because, mate, I'd not appreciate my beard to instantly grow thick and ragged, and my hair to develop a weighty, oily sheen. i'd like to keep the control on it as much as possible...

              Comment

              • eleves
                Senior Member
                • Sep 2012
                • 524

                It's cool that he's being featured, I want his business to continue succeeding like any other. What I don't like about articles like this though is definitely what some have alluded to, when things look like they become worn for reasons other than just liking them. BBS is worn so that we look manlier! It's the first step in a brand being sought out for someone to look cooler and not just sought out because it is genuinely appreciated by its consumer or a healthy mix of both . It has shades of the route Rick Owens has been playing with recently but just like Rick, I'm not going to stop wearing BBS.
                Last edited by eleves; 03-09-2015, 12:45 PM.
                Originally posted by Faust
                HOBBY?! HOBBY?!?!?!?!?! You are on SZ, buddy - it ain't no hobby, it's passion, religion, and unbounded cosmic love rolled into one.

                Comment

                • cjbreed
                  Senior Member
                  • Feb 2009
                  • 2712

                  i don't understand what you are saying here.
                  dying and coming back gives you considerable perspective

                  Comment

                  • eleves
                    Senior Member
                    • Sep 2012
                    • 524

                    Originally posted by cjbreed View Post
                    i don't understand what you are saying here.
                    Saying that there are people who find out that something is determined cool by another source, and they purchase it for that sole reason rather than a genuine interest in the product, something that I associate with any artisanal brand or designer. The ones who tend to seek that sort of thing out have a directional mindset regarding why they like it and things related to it as opposed to someone who is just wearing or buying something because someone else will look at you and think you are cooler or manlier (in the case of this article) for wearing this. The idea spreads and becomes the bandwagon jumping that everyone secretly dislikes. It's the famous "hypebeast" mentality. You have the people who don't give two shits about what Boris is actually doing or how he's working with something or why but will buy it because it will provide a status jump. The exposure is good for Boris' bottom line as many people read the NYT but it will inevitably also lead to the kind of exposure that none of us wants to see regardless of who admits it or not.
                    Originally posted by Faust
                    HOBBY?! HOBBY?!?!?!?!?! You are on SZ, buddy - it ain't no hobby, it's passion, religion, and unbounded cosmic love rolled into one.

                    Comment

                    • eleves
                      Senior Member
                      • Sep 2012
                      • 524

                      Originally posted by guardimp
                      I would like to see BBS do better while not dropping the quality. Too many brands discussed here go under due to lack of mainstream regard. Sure, the people who find in in the NYT are not typical SZ posters - but does it matter?
                      Very true, that's why I made it a point to mention the bottom line and the brand's success. And that's exactly it, in the end does it matter? Who knows? Who actually really cares? Regardless like I said I don't mind, I still buy Rick Owens regardless of particular or change in quality and perception, same will go for Boris unless he starts designing like shit. There's always the chance too that he'll just stay the PH route and just have all of his stuff stay the same price and produced in the same numbers. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that the exposure runs different routes including the route that I was talking about and in the end, those whom Boris' work still resonates with will continue to purchase
                      Originally posted by Faust
                      HOBBY?! HOBBY?!?!?!?!?! You are on SZ, buddy - it ain't no hobby, it's passion, religion, and unbounded cosmic love rolled into one.

                      Comment

                      • Amir
                        Member
                        • May 2010
                        • 32

                        Originally posted by guardimp
                        I would argue Boris already has started designing like shit. His new stuff pales in comparison to the stuff from 2-3 years ago, and yet the price has skyrocketed. This article is merely a symptom of his changing output.
                        The amount of conversations I've had with fellow Boris fan's about this topic. The fact that his label is changing/evolving (into a direction I dislike; becoming more mainstream) and the prices going up and up and further up, season after season is devastating.

                        Comment

                        • Faust
                          kitsch killer
                          • Sep 2006
                          • 37852

                          Prices are going up, but I don't see any decrease in quality and I examine each collection pretty thoroughly. It's definitely not "declining like shit." Talk about hyperbole. Can you point to specific instances in quality decline?

                          Prices should come down a bit this season for the US market because of the strong $$$.
                          Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                          StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                          Comment

                          • Macabre
                            Member
                            • Nov 2013
                            • 49

                            Yeah that declining quality arguement is a bit bullshit dude. Makes me question if you've even handled any recent BBS.. The quality is damn impeccable in most cases. As for the aesthetic direction Boris is taking the label, that's obviously down to personal preference. I for one, am enjoying his newer output.
                            Although I probably won't be able to afford much of it until a couple of years down the line
                            Last edited by Macabre; 03-09-2015, 05:43 PM. Reason: Spelling
                            "The heart sings while the wallet weeps. I'd say that's a pretty fair trade." -interest1

                            Comment

                            • Faust
                              kitsch killer
                              • Sep 2006
                              • 37852

                              Sounds more like people talking out of their ass just to pour some shit. Typical Internet.
                              Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                              StyleZeitgeist Magazine

                              Comment

                              • GucciAmen
                                Senior Member
                                • Sep 2014
                                • 363

                                Originally posted by Macabre View Post
                                Yeah that declining quality arguement is a bit bullshit dude. Makes me question if you've even handled any recent BBS.. The quality is damn impeccable in most cases. As for the aesthetic direction Boris is taking the label, that's obviously down to personal preference. I for one, am enjoying his newer output.
                                Although I probably won't be able to afford much of it until a couple of years down the line
                                Exactly, Boris himself has stated that with every season he has created (since the conception of the P13's) he has improved their design and construction. Earlier seasons had an issue with the infamous crotch seam (which I have experienced firsthand), but, recent seasons have resulted in that problem area being reinforced... From the pieces that I have, which are from a number of his seasons, I would say the quality is getting better, if anything.

                                I would argue Boris already has started designing like shit. His new stuff pales in comparison to the stuff from 2-3 years ago
                                Boris' most recent FW15 collection was a favourite of mine for the entire season, and arguably, many of the members on SZ feel the same way (based on the comments made on said thread). I'm not going to say BBS did worse collections in the past, but, I would claim that although prior collections like Blood/Primitive Sculpture were fantastic, Heimat and Symbiosism could easily rival them.

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