A1923 / Adiciannoveventitre (Augusta)

[mortalveneer]

a1923 llamas take a Nile booze cruise

[eckblk]

roma zurich's instagram:

a1923 ss14

[Vehk]

^ dead-end semi-tornado boots?

[johnny_herb]

Interesting reference for the A1923 trainers, perhaps:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-USMC-High-Top-Swim-Mens-Gray-Military-Sneakers-Shoes-Kicks-Made-in-USA-8-/121040828935?pt=US_Men_s_Shoes&hash=item1c2e987a07

[cjbreed]

and.....



annnnddd.....



ok. here's my take on all this. having seen the showroom pictures for FW13 and SS14 and going thru this thread and simone's history and so forth, have we finally reached a point where we can come out and say that his work is often very very obviously derivative? i feel like the debate is over.

yes ccp did not invent the double zipper, but the shape and "dead end-ness" and timing of this is just too obvious. the other side to this for me though, is that the boot is fucking awesome. so does it really matter?

and yes i know harnden did not invent the peasant status crumpled blazer but he did tweak it just so and the popularity and demand for it is undeniable. and when we start to see the a1923 versions of a harnden jacket (FW13, SS14) pop up shortly after seeing simone wearing harnden then honestly guys why pretend its not how it is.

also, in reference to the memoria comparison earlier in the thread, i actually think this shoe is his take on memoria

here is memoria:



here is a1923 the following season



is it the same? no. is it pretty close? you bet...and models in the coming seasons use a very similar welt to memoria, horse leather, and thick hemp laces. the similarity is obviously. could one argue that this is just each designer's take on a classic workboot? yes. but then could one argue that the timing on this is way more than a coincidence? i think so.

now...i am bringing all this up so that i can say something else as well. a1923 is producing amazing pieces. the footwear AND the clothing. the quality is 2nd to none. the look is cool as shit. in fact, i want to wear a1923 footwear and clothing almost more than anything else. its really really great stuff.

to me it doesn't really matter that his stuff is lacking in originality. i don't really care, i don't need him to re-invent the wheel, as long as the quality is there. i could easily overlook all of this and support him 100%, but what makes me angry is his pricing. he is ignoring the fact that we know his work is clearly derivative and pricing as if he were altieri himself. i am feeling a lot of ego coming from simone. and i will never ever ever ever pay full price for any of his stuff. ever. well maybe a shoe. but the clothing? fuck no.

am i the only one who feels this way? what do u guys think?

[Sombre]

"Derivative" is putting it kindly. Since day one people have said he was flat out ripping CCP, not just "inspired by". I felt that way in the early seasons, but in the past three or four years I felt his leather treatments and evolution (sole thickness, sleekness, etc) differentiated him from anyone else out there and put him at the top, or damn well near it, of anyone currently making footwear. His experiments haven't always been successful, and some have been ridiculous (duct tape shoe), but they were always his. And some have been fantastic.

However, I think he's recently begun to regress in terms of both evolution and experimentation. The pieces you just posted are good examples, where it seems like he's taking the double closure to every garment. At this point I wouldn't be surprised to see double zipped underwear. His footwear also seems to have departed from the typical shape to (re)introduce bulk to the sole, but there are also pairs with very little shape to them that bring to mind Guidi. I'm not saying he's copying Guidi, because that shoe shape is very common and has been around literally for centuries, but currently it's not something I associate with Augusta.

As for pricing, Augusta's has always been very high. I think the days when we paid for originality are long gone, and now it's more or less a consumer rationalization, rather than one of the driving forces on Simone's/Carol's/Amadei's/etc end. In some cases you pay for the cost of the innovation, like $2800 for the fiberglass spun boot instead of the usual $2200, but I think that's because the added research and treatment cost that much more. Generally speaking I don't think originality affects the cost of the clothing. Whether it should is a never-ending argument, because that's not something anyone can reliably quantify.

[bonejelly]

As time goes by, I've grown less and less surprised by the similarities that I see in Simone's work.

Perhaps the man prefers to focus on the artisanal aspect of what he does, rather than design. Or maybe he just knows when to take advantage of trends and demands in the marketplace. Were there not once rumours of Poell not wanting to be sold in the same stores as Augusta for these very reasons of authorship?

[Faust]

Agreed with bone jelly. I think Simone simply does what he likes to wear and it's more that he likes to make things with his own hands (and if you can make a living doing what you like, what can be better?). Less of a designer, more of an artisan. He does put a lot of his own effort into leather treatments though. And he is one of the humblest and nicest people I know. The prices are high indeed, no question there.

I must say though, I really don't see how his clothes are copies of Harnden. I think they are quite different in terms of a look they create.

[cjbreed]

well its just my opinion but for fw13 there is a pretty heavy crumpled wool tweed classic blazer with fused/stitched lapels and ss14 has a lighter weight 4 button version of the same crumpled thing. they're not the exact same but the shape/silhouette and cut are pretty similar and the looks they create are virtually the same...but people can decide for themselves. i love them btw...

i agree that simone makes what he likes and in many cases makes it better. and i think he's got a good thing going for himself. thats fine. but the price. is it worth the same or more than the pieces he is inspired by?

the answer is that it is worth what people will pay for it. and the quality is there and it looks cool so there you go. but to me, his pricing is anything but humble.

[SHYE_POSER]

well its just my opinion but for fw13 there is a pretty heavy crumpled wool tweed classic blazer with fused/stitched lapels and ss14 has a lighter weight 4 button version of the same crumpled thing. they're not the exact same but the shape/silhouette and cut are pretty similar and the looks they create are virtually the same...but people can decide for themselves. i love them btw...

i agree that simone makes what he likes and in many cases makes it better. and i think he's got a good thing going for himself. thats fine. but the price. is it worth the same or more than the pieces he is inspired by?

the answer is that it is worth what people will pay for it. and the quality is there and it looks cool so there you go. but to me, his pricing is anything but humble.

That's exactly it. In the menswear realm, I'm sure that why many started designing in the first place. If its better than the "original" I don't find a problem with it.
He isn't a high street store, ripping off things within weeks of their showing. But, he may be capatilising on certain "trends" within the niche.
I think he is smart for doing so, from a business view.

He isn't the only one to do so within the niche. Only a few seasons ago almost everyone had a blood red piece, cold dyeing. More recently, where designers known for a more rugged aesthetic (_7, BBS, RO and maybe even DD) have "cleaned up" their aesthetic.

Everyone is prone to trends of some sort, even if they proclaim they don't follow any.

[Pumpfish]

I really rate Simone's fabric clothing.

Yes there are similarities and inspirations, but look objectively at the end product. A refined interpretation of this aesthetic. Beautiful cut and construction. No gimmics or flights of fancy.

Now whether you can justify the pricing in the absence of an innovative or meaning laden design framework, is up to you.

But for me, I will take Simone over Aitor's fly fisherman in a gasmask.

[Peasant]

He obviously rips shit off but I agree that he does it because that is what he likes. He's an amazing craftsman and I chose many of his pieces over their "original." He travels, buys products from other designers and within a season or two he makes something extremely similar.
Funny thing is that he's not the most blatant copier on this site and people never call out the other guy. The difference is that Simone makes awesome stuff, though.

[cjbreed]

well now u can't do that man who's the other guy???

[Faust]

lol. oh, no, here we go again. i'd rather yous made fun of the showstudio talking heads that Fuuma posted.

[palgrave]

I am looking to buy one of these. Would you recommend it? How is the sole and are they comfy?