Paul Harnden

[AKA*NYC]

amazing!!! thank you for posting.

[bonejelly]

Met a stranger at a design convention today in Toronto who was wearing a real nice PH black long blazer. After inquiring it turns out he had purchased it from a Value Village in Mississauga (suburb outside Toronto) for probably a retardedly low price (Value Village is a low-end thrift store for those unfamiliar). He wasn't familiar with the brand when he purchased it and seemed quite curious about the story behind it and how I had heard of his work.

Paul Harnden bringing people together.

[zamb]

Met a stranger at a design convention today in Toronto who was wearing a real nice PH black long blazer. After inquiring it turns out he had purchased it from a Value Village in Mississauga (suburb outside Toronto) for probably a retardedly low price (Value Village is a low-end thrift store for those unfamiliar). He wasn't familiar with the brand when he purchased it and seemed quite curious about the story behind it and how I had heard of his work.

Paul Harnden bringing people together.

you should have offered to pay him three times the purchase price since he didnt know what it was

[bonejelly]

zamb, it seems some friends had informed him a bit about the brand after the initial purchase. still, the idea certainly crossed my mind.

* legitimately, i'm sure he probably paid under $50 for the thing.

[Ochre]

This might be a totally misguided guess but I think seenmy may have had a hand in the direction of that Harnden shoot.

[TheNotoriousT]

His name is on the first page so you might be right. ;)

[Faust]

amazing!!! thank you for posting.

Really? It's Ok, but "amazing"?

Now I know why Inventory was at DSM. They are really pushing Harnden hard. I don't know why though - it all sells on the first day anyway and he refuses to up their order.

[AKA*NYC]

Really? It's Ok, but "amazing"?

Now I know why Inventory was at DSM. They are really pushing Harnden hard. I don't know why though - it all sells on the first day anyway and he refuses to up their order.

i'll stand by statement haha. i personally dislike high-concept editorials (with some exceptions of course) and i appreciate how minimal this is. i also really like the styling - especially that first look with the open db blazer - and the models. they successfully managed to break from that civil war 1800s cliche that is hurled so often at harnden (see recent activity in good finds) with what i find a contemporary yet highly romantic take. from looking at this you would be hard pressed not to see harnden as a contemporary of ann in the "romance" department.

[kvjan]

Bonejelly, that is a ridiculous story. Being in Toronto, I know Value Village; who in their right mind would let their coat go to a place like that? Thats crazy. Also, what design convention were you attending, if you don't mind me asking?
I have no idea why Inventory Magazine would put the effort into a shoot dedicated to Harnden, considering their market.

[gavagai]

Sorry that editorial is a fucking disaster. A huge miss.

[Johnny]

why do you say that? very strong way to put things, when there is no reason given....
i find it quite interesting that, in spite of all of the recent chatter re how PH is popular on sz becuase of his "updated" cuts etc., this has been styled in a very old-fashioned, more classically PH, way. i'm pretty sure that PH would like it. PH is inded quite easy to wear these days, if you just take a jacket and pair it with some j pants or other skinnies and a black LUC sweater etc., so i think it's quite nice to see it in a different (and ironically more "original" context).

as to why inventory would feature harnden, yes it might seem a little strange, but as individual pieces his jackets for example would be very easily assembled into workwear/new trad type stuff (look at for example the fabrics and some shapes used by Nigel Cabourn) - just as easily (more easily in my view) as they may be assimilated into a so-called SZ look.

and I don't think that DSM stock inventory just (or at all) because they're trying to sell harnden. DSM stocks many inventory-liked lables such as gitman, visvim, cp, blue de paname, yuketen etc.

[Mail-Moth]

^ Agreed. I remember suggesting TheAddict to match his PH double-breasted jacket with a good pair of jeans, and I continue to like the idea. Some of his pieces are quite dramatic, for sure - as for this long priest coat from a few seasons ago - but his iconic jackets don't really ask for fuss.

[snafu]

I agree, I typed a long response to the shoot. In total praise, but by the time i had corrected all of my terrible spelling mistakes it had time out.

Anyway i really like the backdrop; does it not remind you of the inside of his garments? The model reminds me of a younger version of the designer himself and i love the use of the flowers.
This shoot is modest and you can see the garments while still retaining a certain mood.

I agree i don't think Paul would disapprove of this; of course i could be wrong. But i think Stephen certainly respects a designers vision.
Thank you for posting this and i very much enjoyed it.


Would have an older model worked better? Or would have it become the expected shoot of paul? I personally find his clothes work better on an older man the female collection i find works on any age but i prefer his male clothes to be worn by someone who looks like they have wisdom.
When i see people my age wearing his garments i struggle to see it suiting them. I own a few paul pieces but i rarely wear them but i agree that when i do i find myself picking up denim; i find it hard to match with anything else. Even LUC, ma+, cdiem fabrics seem to 'slick'. Even when my girlfriend wears her paul i always push her to match it with denim.

[MikeN]

I agree with Faust and gavagai here, I don't see anything special about this, other than the fact that it's rare to see Paul Harnden in an editorial. The casting is terrible, these models look too stiff for even, say, Thom Browne. As AKA said, I appreciate the fact that it doesn't look like some civil war reenactment, but as anyone who wears this stuff knows, it really doesn't look like that in real life either. It all just looks too serious for me, it needs some playfulness thrown in. See Erik Madigan Heck's Ann Demeulmeester editorial for example.

[swami]

I think Denim would only do disservice to Harnden as seen below , I like how Mr Nouveau sports it & can even see it working with so many of the revered designers on here marvieLab , IS etc all come to mind.







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?