Paul Harnden

[stadsvandringar]

I think the appeal of the editorial is that they've done a decent job styling harnden for once, which seems to be a fairly rare thing. I like the simplicity and the fact they made the clothes look good without too much window dressing. Yes, the model could have been better.

As for pairing harnden, why not with yohji? They seem to have a similar aesthetic and make ample use of rumpled fabrics. Harnden also cuts his pants, coats and shirts very similarly to yohji in my opinion.

[theaddict]

I agree with you Mail-Moth and tend to wear non coated pants with my PH now...still looking for other matching pants though, PH pants are not an option for me...
The editorial is ok, although not mindblowing. I dont think its a problem of styling but rather the overall aesthetic of the pictures. Definitely it is not comparable to the Eastern Market editorial...

[gavagai]

Just to be clear my comments are about the editorial piece NOT Paul Harnden or his garments/merchandise.

I think it is shit. I don't care for the poses, the lighting, the colors or the interiors. The whole thing looks too indecisive for me. You want to do Victorian? Do it. Workwear? do it. I think an editorial piece should have a vision and clear direction. A point of view if you will. If there is one here I think it missed. It lacks the darker side of life that I think the man is fond of.

Some of this is merely my personal aesthetics but more so it is about the type of image i've come to associate with "PAUL HARNDEN." That doesn't mean there can be different takes but this particular take mixes some B&W head shots that are ok with some terrible treatment of color photos.

I'm not sure if he would approve of the editorial but judging from the man's photography, videos and artwork this is a totally different direction (not for the better).

I'm at work so this isn't some kind of Manifesto. Rather just a quick reflection of some cutesy photography in a magazine.

Here are some of the images associated with Paul Harnden clothing. judge for yourself:

[MikeN]

Definitely it is not comparable to the Eastern Market editorial...

Of course. Those are near breathtaking.

[surver]

this editorial is harking the 'massification' of Paul Harnden... recently i've seen one too many references to PH in one too many places... diluting the work... some are sooo blatant that every [technical] detail is copied but in the end they are still not able to achieve the right vibe because they cannot capture the spirit and essence of PH (the combination of cut/fabric/texture/etc).

it is very frustrating to see the 'mainstreaming' of originators... and this goes for almost everything related to creativity... in the end the original gets 'cheapened' in the eyes of the general public since they do not understand the originals accessing them byway of the diluted, copied versions... (not that this affects those who support the originals) but still very annoying nevertheless...

case in point - following recent topics in the furniture sections - the cheapening of the iconic scandinavian modernist designs by the likes of ikea...

it's always easier to copy than to work hard at coming up with something of one's own... isn't this the age-old problem... sigh

[gavagai]

While I really like some PH coats and have a particular fondness of the pants I can't really say the garments iIve seen exhibit any type of totally new or completely original quality.

That being said, you don't need to make something completely "new" (nothing ever is) for it to sick as fuck. Some of the jackets and pants exhibit the "sick as fuck" quality. That quote may be owned by somebody who lurks these waters.

Tough to say at this point that the product has been diluted.

People will move on to something else in the Spring and PH will still be around on SZ. Think of it this way:

The already semi-saturated second hand PH market will continue to get better. Lots of stuff popping up here and elsewhere.

[surver]

but you haven't seen the blatant button-for-button, lapel-for-lapel copies that i've seen... but yes, i do agree with you; PH will still run strong here at SZ.

[MikeN]

Christian Peau?

[surver]

no. CP's not that blatant; derivative, or if put nicely 'inspired', perhaps... but perhaps it's just coincidence that the aesthetics of both jive... i'm speaking of another brand that has produced both short and long versions almost literally 1:1 with PH save a few altered details such as around the sleeves and pockets...

[surver]

on the issue of pairing PH with others... it is a very difficult thing although wearing head-to-toe PH makes me feel too 'theatrical'... i remember way back a few years there was a photoshoot named 'kool old men' in the now defunct japanese magazine High Fashion's mens version (sorry suddenly forgot the name of the magazine) that really defined PH for me... i'll dig it up and post the image later tonight.

i've been pairing my PHs with Mark Mcnairy's 8-pocket cargo pants lately that seems to work quite well, moving away from the typical SZ aesthetic of skinny [black] jeans...

[zamb]

considering ph is a fairly literal interpretation of several precise moments in space/time, calling others out on copying the work is full of lol. just sayin. granted interesting things (can possibly) happen when the work and presentation is taken out of context. but.. ah. yeah.

First time in a long time I see you saying something I disagree with

the difference between PH and the copies is simple. Harden truly believes in this aesthetic and will stick to it whether its in or out of vogue, His intent seems to be (at least to me) providing it to those who truly appreciate it and can find escape in the nostalgia of it.

whoever decides to copy it, is copying because the have come to realize more people are latching on to this aesthetic, more than harden can cater to, as such there is money to be made, so there is no belief in the look, but the profits to be gained by providing the look......

[christianef]

When people without knowledge or taste start extolling the virtues of something they probably haven't seen.

With Harnden, his asthetic is niche, but his production is even smaller. Even now his pricing isn't high enough to dampen demand relative to supply.

Call out the rally monkey !

my favorite book is catcher and the rye

[MikeN]

zam, maybe you have misread something in what i wrote? the issue is squarely that paul harnden cannot lay claim of ownership to the aesthetic the same way miyake could with pleats please.

This is not a valid argument. The aesthetic is what? Wrinkled blazers in rough fabrics? Yes, I'm sure people throughout the history of time have also cut jackets using similar fabrics. And I'm sure Yohji cuts jackets that are similar to men's jackets of the 1920s, and Rick makes a perfecto jacket that looks like a Schott jacket.

part of the reason being that the aesthetic in which he works stems from relatively direct interpretation of existing objects.

Again, I'd like to see any of these garments that anyone familiar with Harnden would legitimately confuse with Harnden. I know that you think that basically any jacket from the specific era that you're referring to (and which year is that again? because you've claimed civil war, and you've also claimed turn of the century) is better than a Paul Harnden jacket just because it IS old instead of merely looking old (which I disagree with anyway).

he curates the aesthetic, and, in gaining traction, he sees others borrow influence either from him or in the vicinity of his inspiration, but they cannot legitimately be accused of copying him.

So you're telling me that this and this aren't copies of Harnden's work?

Some of frank leder's or geoffrey small's work is technically quite comparable by way of patterning off of pieces that are 120-150+ years old.. dawson's as well, but thats a little closer to home.

yet we never see you criticizing them

[BSR]

i'm not a specialist of the history of fashion designs, but all this reminds me of a conversation we had on this topic (merz was already there): the question was whereas harnden was making copies of actual past garments from a specific area of time or whether he was dreaming of a past that never existed.

merz, you say that ph's vocabulary or language is extracted from the past, and obviously you're right since we can find a lot of design elements and patterns he uses in different traditions (don't ask me for a precise tracking, again i'm mostly ignorant of it). but it does not imply that what harnden is saying with his old and odd words is about the past, or boils down to quoting ancient times. you can use this language in many ways, and it can be about the present times, or about a possible world different from ours where people would still live in the countryside or whatever. Therefore i would not say his work is simply a 'quote from the past'...

btw i don't care about what he expresses of his vision through commercials or any branding insights he might add to his work, since it is always more or less peripherical compared to what his work has to say.

[Faust]

I dont know if the purpose of the photo shoot is so much to reach a new audience as it is to appeal to the existing base , in which case this accomplishes exactly that no?

I don't think Inventory is exactly a Harnden base, although as pointed out it will go well with workwear.