我在角尖裡鑽煙

設計為物增值，設計師都不敢怠慢表現功力。世界零距離，彼此眼角相視，燈光之下新事更稀。於是，大家再拼命設計出設計來。

累不累。

到頭來有多少竟是如煙。眼過了。

心若能寂靜透澈，悟道始不急於末，恍如無痕，卻在不覺間讓人繫懷，怎麼樣。

到底怎麼樣。或如題矣。

reworknonbeauty

80s是簡約盛世前的最後一片樂土。近日硬撼過來的boyfriend's之物，不管是 boyfriend's jeans, boyfriend's jacket, 也是那些年的小縮影。

80s既愛亦恨。那群色彩圖案form物料, 回望也滴汗。世界太燦爛了，衣服免不了折射開來，甚麼也張揚，穿得人也像是打橫行。

喘息後，re-work應是正面的，反正現今的流行週期縮短了，不能太挑剔。只是，我仍持著審慎態度。一前輩曾大概的這樣說過，女時裝設計師，容易跌入女性的審美標準，把著這個「美麗」關口，其他嘗試只好擦肩而過。相反，男時裝設計師少了這些顧慮，可以百花齊放得多。美醜不應是主觀意願，美是審出來的。但美會是不斷演變，不美的事物潛能也許更大。當我們質疑不美的不美時，也許那也是下一個美的開始。

HANDMADE 定情

原體是工業進化製品，乾淨俐落，宜大量生產。忽然，來個嫵媚招手，每一位有個性也獨特，那刻間就活起來。

浪漫的，也是窩心的。

經歷了系統化的造物，我們又想從handmade中得到慰藉。奈何handmade較難大量出產，資源短缺，也不一定賣得上好價錢。時間不等人，消費群也是。所以，一般都是小眾在邊緣的邊走著。愈難熬的，愈應留下，平衡生態。

亦因亦果，吧。

單是一絲線一針步也夠定情。我仍在盤算著。

近日購回來的，
大部份都是我不能讀的。
假若自幼家裡就有日籍佣人，
以及法籍裁縫師，
那今天我可少了點障礙。

胡想真無聊，
但長大後的苦學，
確實是好很苦的。

Generative Art

仍然在細看一些文章。但，匆匆看過些關連作品，沒有感人發現，很是可惜。

一般情況下，art 都包括一個過程。這個過程包括變化。變化是由人來主宰。這樣art才有趣味。如果主宰來自程式、電腦、機器、數據，那我還未能明白這與art的關連在哪。

是不是我太過固步自封。

機械式及製作已充斥生活角落，我們的雙手在哪。

恕我尚未深入了解，但我還是喜歡Generative Works這名。

無奈。矛盾。責任。

從報章裡獲悉此本地品牌。那些襯衫，都像告訴你 "yeah... CDG-like"。我沒有興奮，只有無奈。可能我太愛她了，所以，像她的反而不能討我歡喜。她的獨特，不能給抄襲。

去年，我也畫了相似的款式給嬰童。後來好像給刪除，因為國內的媽媽還未能明白。那時，我也只有無奈。

兩者都是無奈，出自同一人身，立場卻是相對。

矛盾。

之餘，隱約聽到一聲"賤"字。




confession... 矛盾繼續。就是beams boy抄的，我卻歡喜的以雙倍價錢買下來。賤。這次很清晰。

可能是東西洋月更圓的後遺症，我對本地時裝總是提不起興趣。推給雞與蛋的論理，我自可稍稍逃脫責任。本地的不景氣不爭氣、嚴重老化及脫軌情況，已經是事實。再推前一點看，環境文化心態，都跟祖國同出一脈，同根生雙生兒，只是我們沒有洗髮乳製的日式豆腐而已。

只管罵，罪更重。

handshake with bow tie

沒一樣物件是擁有永恆不變的定義。就算在同一時空，它也可以有不同的釋意。一只bow tie，很渺小似的，不能獨立出場，不能擔大旗，不是最佳男配角但又不是甘草，不是衣櫃裡的must-have, 不是設計師的愛好元素，不是女生的玩意，甚至不屬於apparel, 才不過是一名accessory 成員，曝光率也很低。但奈何它一出現，都讓我們稍稍留意，然後對主人立下看法。

從前在17世紀，克羅地亞外僱兵以圍巾把襯衫的開口鎖上。法國佬抄下來並調一調，然後化作上流社會的服飾部份，隨後這更捧成為18/19世紀那年代的人氣之物。後來領帶bow tie就洐生了。

克羅地亞外僱兵不是上等人，這身份甚至是帶有少許負面的含意。法國佬沒嫌棄那身份以及制服份子，還拿來轉化成上等人的fashion item, 他們倒大膽又可愛。法蘭西的時尚及創意精神從早宗年代已十分活躍。

領帶的應受性較bow tie強，但後者跟人的化學作用卻微妙得多。穿戴bow tie的人，你或會跟專業人士、保守政客、魔術師、侍應生、宴客、知識份子等身分之士聯想起來。對著時裝友，一般人掛了bow tie，他可會被認定為一個悶字。而偏偏會用bow tie的人，除了是工作關係外，又真的是（偏）長者之列。而在電影中，也會為討厭的教師校長總編帶上bow tie。作為stereotype之用，它真的功不可沒，可塑性亦強，範圍甚廣，稱奇。

某類人的工作，真的需要一只bow tie以自保之用。醫生擔心瘋狂病人抓著領帶不放，或進行手術時橫掃傷口；侍應生的領帶先舌玩了你的美食；魔術師想插手進西裝暗袋卻錯抓領帶。除了行為層面上的，心態上，掛bow tie也可為展示更專業，更不一樣，更不凡的一面，而發揮效用。

時裝沒有永遠的朋友或敵人。時裝友也絕不是把立場鎖死，今刻不屑一顧，其實可能已埋下伏線，暗暗行動，就像那些大行的股票報告，唱淡都是為他日的鮑芯而設。

看，bow tie掛在polo上，再拼pinstripe西裝外套，甚至7分短褲，當把大家搭上關係後，就變得可以很fashion。當然，穿著時，最好加上粗微粒，畫面更迷人。

但，倘若男生換了曾特首，大家可就不會認同這樣的配搭。fashion與否，從來都不是單一的事。人跟物跟環境跟時間等的關係，奧妙又不簡單，也可說是一門學問及一項個人的修煉。但，不是把最潮的渾身掛瀉便是，拜託別這樣想也別這樣做。


能量越大，責任也越大。這是使用守則，它與他同時分擔責任。







同場加映... 在現實生活中，男生一身白色是很少見的，除了去見白龍王吧。

COMME des GARCONS ＊ SHIRT

她的廣告，我只會在外地雜誌見得到。一直都喜愛她的男裝襯衫，也很想買來穿穿，然而SS碼一直稀少，價錢又不討好，而最重要的是，我不認為我穿得好看。所以只能送禮。可以carry到襯衫的人其實很少。除了是要身型好看外，還得有一種骨子裡的氣質。這，所以，是一小撮人的福份。

襯衫表現的是身體與衣服中的空間。不能太多也不能太少。準確拿捏。亦因如此，女裝修身款，如襯衫加上胸褶／修腰線，罪該拼除，因為這種做法著實破壞了這category的genre。

男裝襯衫的領子其實是有不同的款式，例如大小，領尖斜度等。假若跑去度身訂造，那便可因應個人的臉型及頸項及領帶，而揀選合適的，作為配合及修飾作用。Ready-to-wear就沒有了這個優勢，因此，成敗也關乎穿衣者的本身條件。

而，跟襯衫配置時，又要小心選擇，否則一下子可落於俗套，或格格不入，然後浪費了。

至於氣質，在我認識的人當中，大概只有兩位，是不容置疑的。大概，這是當文人的好處吧。

我仍想念這花襯衫。很好看。

encens : the shape of raf simons

應是二月份的事。買了一段時間，待今天才真正的看清楚。

記錄的不只是raf simons, 還有如dries van noten, agnes b, rei, yohji, mmm, westwood, lagerfild等。刋登的不是本季最前線的服裝，反之，很多都似是80年代的款式。但卻很好看。較下週的Milk East Touch更好看，較下季的style.comm更好看。

好看的不是因為流行元素，不是把最新的圖案，工藝，布料，造形，設計集於一身。好看是因為不是那種當下世界的fashion。好看是因為不會在大都會見得到。好看是不需明星名模來展示。好看是原來他們是這樣看衣服，不如為設計而設計。



"I wanted to return to basic shapes, almost primitive. I needed more clarity, more prominence. The men's collection was already meant to be a wardrobe of classics cleansed from anything superflous, but during its conception, I couldn't stop asking myself if I wasn't designing clothes that were too simplistic, if it was worth organising a show just to exhibit a pair of well cut trousers, a jacket proportioned to the very millimetre, or a simple white shirt. When I saw the results, I realized that now was the right time to continue with this direction. I am in a period where I feel the need for something more clear-cut, less glittery. I have never purified my vocabulary so much. It had been a long time since I last dared to show a woman on a catwalk, wearing nothing more than a black linen pullover and a pair of white trousers."
DRIS VAN NOTEN

"I wanted an alternative. Starting from the observation that certain types of clothing exist - such as work clothes - with no other purpose than to be convenient and comfortable to wear. I said to myself 'these clothes weren't made in a day, over time many anonymous people have made necessary adjustments : why shouldn't I try to improve them as well?' I took everything that I love, white shirts, t-shirts, jackets, trench coats, and I tried to imperceptibly revitalise their proportions. It was totally anti-fashion, to such an extent that we would see women enter the shop wearing parrot coloured trousers and a red scarf, but who would leave wearing grey, a beige scarf and a denim blue waiter's jacket, as if they had been cleansed of all the Diktats in vogue!"
AGNES B

SUPER NORMAL

One of the purchases of today...

SUPER NORMAL | sensations of the ordinary
Naoto Fukasawa & Jasper Morrison

"Why do so many designs fail to pass the everyday test? Why is Normal disappearing, and when it's gone, how do we replace it? Is beauty just a question of looks, or could there be more to it than meets the eye? What makes a good object, and how come some objects get better with time?"

"The objects selected by Fukasawa and Morrison are, indeed, all oxymoronic and superlative: they push the norm to the boundaries of the possible and at the same time introject a sort of paradoxical coincidentia oppositorum. By making them so "normal" they aren't normal any more, they become both "normal" and "exceptional" at the same time. So exceptional they seem normal. In other words, they are not perceived or perceivable as exceptional. "
- Silvana Annicchiarico/design curator

"When people hear the word "design", they think "special"; creating "special" things is what everyone, designers and users alike, assume design is all about. When in fact, both sides are playing out a mutal fantasy far removed from real life.

I'd like us to explore whatever we might conceive as Super Normal. I take an interest in collecting such things. I want to share the fun, the pleasure of reconfirming an appeal in things we'd disregarded as "naff". Not that I propose sticking "Certified Super Normal" product design award labels on things. It's much more of a quietly seen unseen, a refreshing surprise that awakens the person who had thought of looking for something obviously special in design by instead reconfirming what we already hold important and so perhaps letting us break free of our current design paradigm straitjacket."
- Naoto Fukasawa
































































"This is a "fake" sandal formed from a single molded piece of rubber; the pattern has been taken from a standard, upscale leather women's sandal. Japanese people, who do not wear their shoes in the home and who don't want to go to the trouble of putting shoes on when they're stepping outside for just a short time, wear this kind of sandal. They are often used in public toilets, too. The most common color is a light brown, really an unappealing color, but these are green - perhaps an attempt to be a little more fashionable? These copies of fashionable sandals areas unfashionable as can be put there is no sandal more sandal-like than this. And they're water resistant and easy to wear. When I saw professional surfers in Okinawa and people working at the beach wearing the green ones, they strangely fit in with their deeply tanned bodies and looked really good - like local pros, rather than surfers wearing flip flops just to look good."
Quoted from the book


somehow, clothes is alike. It reminds me what it says in "encens, the shape of Raf Simons"...
"THE LESS FASHION SHE WEARS, THE MORE BEAUTIFUL SHE IS. IT IS LIKE A UNIFORM." GIORGIO ARMANI 1982

i say, fashion can be boring. still, i dun suggest pointing to the fashion trend, solely, and in either a conscious or unconscious sense.

假如中服強下來。

我習西方款式剪裁。西褲西裙西褸西恤西tee。那是強調線條形態的體現。中國衣式在百年前開始汰去，西服走入民居。現在說的中國文化運用，不是表面的點綴，便是把古著現代化。

假如，中國衣式在那天沒給取代，經歷百年到達今天，會是甚麼模樣。

值得研究。