Monday 25 July 2016

Raf Simons Redux

Milan. Charta. 1995. First Edition. Folio, 224pp. White cloth in vellum paper dustwrapper. Numerous illustrations. 

Very well produced book published to celebrate 10 years of Raf Simons. As the publisher says- "Published for the tenth anniversary of the Belgian fashion designer's career, the volume 'Raf Simons Redux' narrates through images and texts the intellectual and creative evolution of Raf Simons, one of the main innovators of contemporary men's fashion. By Peter De Potter and Raf Simons. Edited by Maria Luisa Frisa. Special contribution by Cris Brodahl, Stef Driesen, Pieter Mulier, Olivier Rizzo, Collier Schorr, Robbie Snelders, Willy Vanderperre. Texts by Francesco Bonami, Peter De Potter, Marc Foxx, Jo-Ann Furniss, Ashley Heath, Terry Jones, Collier Schorr, Raf Simons."


Keizo Kitajima Shashin Tokkyubin Okinawa - Photo Mail from Okinawa (issues 1-4)

Tokyo. Parolu-sha. 1980. First Edition. 4 volumes, Small 4to, ca 20pp each. Printed wraps as issued. Numerous Black & White plates. Text in Japanese. From a very small print run, with few copies surviving. The original negatives and photographs have long since been lost. More images available on request. . Hardcover.. Book: Near Fine. .

A complete set of Photo Mail Okinawa, originally produced for his show at CAMP in 1980. No institutional copies at the time of writing, in addition Kitajima reputedly does not have a file copy of the work himself. Very new wave and somewhat zine-ish in feel, they document the people and Scenes of Koza- primarily hostesses, drunkards and African American G.I.'s. The photographs are harsh, haphazard and a filled with a sense of chaos and urgency, channeling an almosy punk like energy. Reads like a gritty and seedy parallel universe. A post Provoke/Workshop masterpiece.

C Ryan Skinheads

London (?). Self Published. 1981. First Edition. 4to, 68pp. Printed wraps as issued. Text in English. Numerous Black & White plates.

The real deal. Lots of grainy photocopies images and brilliant text. One of Ryan Mcginley's favourite books, which is nice to know. An excellent subcultural artefact.

Shoichi Aoki Street no.1 and no.2

Tokyo. Street. 1985. First Edition. 4to, 2 Vols. 32pp each. Printed wraps. Text in English and Japanese. Numerous colour plates.

Really special one here- the first two issues of the legendary 'Street' magazine. Way before the internet street was the definitive source of streetstyle shots, mainly taken outside fashion shows in London, Paris, Milan and New York. So- we basically have a behind the scenes of all the shows in '85, which includes Comme, Alaia, Anthony Price and so on, plus a lot of out and about shots. Seriously amazing.

Willy Spiller Subway New York

Cologne. Stemmle. 1986. First Edition. 4to, 140pp. Printed wraps. Numerous Colour plates. Text in German.

First and only edition, which appeared in the same year as Bruce Davidson's Subway. Incredible document of New York's subway system and the people, graff, commuters, police and oddballs who populate it shot between 1977 and 1984. Gritty portrait of a retrospectively mythologised part of New York Life.

Alan Vincent The Bangy Book New Yorker Street Boys

Berlin. Vis a Vis. 1988. First Edition. 4to, 80pp. Printed wraps as issued. Numerous Black & White plates.

Great document of the guys who 'pass'. Documents the gay black and puerto rican street subculture of NYC. Killer details, self styling, and (some) nudity. The real deal, and the only book that documents the subject.

Mark Borthwick Synthetic Voices

Tokyo. Synergy. 1998. First Edition. 4to, ca 200pp. Printed wraps. Numerous colour plates. With Obi Band. Inscribed by Borthwick to titlepage.

Conceived more as an artists book, and containing his brilliant work for Purple, Self Service, Vogue Italia etc. alongside Margiela, Personal work, texts, Hussein Chalayan, Paul McCarthy, Patti Smith and a lot more. Beautiful- and the best copy I've ever seen.

Burton Y Berry Teenage Styles and Trends 1967-71 A Retrospective

Zurich. Privately Printed. 1972. First Edition. 4oo, Unpaginated (ca 128pp). Glossy boards as issued. Numerous Black & White plates. Text in English. 'This publication was made possible through a generous grant from Mr. Blank'. Privately printed in an edition of 300 copies.

Very little is know of Burton Berry, except that he was an American diplomat and senior member of the American Numismatic Society (thats coin collecting), he was also an important textile collector and served as consul to Istanbul, Bucharest, Cairo and Beirut before becoming Ambassador to Iraq and then retiring to Zurich. It is in Zurich in the late 60's- and when he was in his early sixties, that he shot this book. Presented as a guide to youth fashions (which it is), the book is more a vehicle for Berry's lust, admiration and fascination for the young men he documents. He is partiularly interested in long hair, the feminisation of youth and the flambouyancy of dress at the time. The images are very much what would be later called streetstyle shots, and Berry does an excellent job categorising and presenting them, and seems to have struck up a dialogue with his subjects to really get an understanding of what was going on at the time. The overall feeling though, is that of a tender love affair with youth itself, in a way only a man in his sixties could produce.

The Bible of Punk Rock Poster Art: the Early Years

Los Angeles. Hard Corps. ca. 1996. First edition. 4to. 96pp. Spiral bound wraps. English. Numerous Black & White plates. Wear to wraps. Printed in a small but unknown run.

The definitive reference to punk/hardcore posters and flyers, compiled by an unknown Temple City based author. Artworks run from the late 70s onwards, and are very Pettibon and Black Flag heavy, though most of the SoCal scene is covered. A phenomenal resource, with a lot of rarely seen work.

The Day Glo Designers Guide

Cleveland. Day-Glo Color Corp. 1969. First edition. 4to. 68pp. Spiral bound as issued, with Day-Glo tone chart, a Day-Glo four-colour process chart and the Day-Glo bonus screen colour chart.


A superb artefact of the psychedelic era and it's eventual appropriation by mainstream popular culture. Includes work from Warhol, a fabulous screen printed treatment of Bert Stern's Marilyn Monroe shoot, floral pop up (complete), Martin Sharp, Peter Max. Complete with all inserts, pop up and tear out.

The Ingenious Patterns and Hotel Okura

Tokyo. Hotel Okura. 1964. First Edition. 4to, 104pp. Silver stamped cloth in slipcase. Numerous Colour and Black & White plates. Text in English and Japanese. Slipcase has been, ahem, customised. More images available on request.. Hardcover.. Book: VG+. .

Stunning book detailing the textile and wallpaper patterns, as well as the key themes of the famous Hotel Okura. "The Okura is an extraordinary testament to a key moment in Japanese design. It was built two years ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 ' with an annexe added in 1973 ' by an exceptionally gifted and diverse group that included the architects Yoshiro Taniguchi and Hideo Kosaka, the folk artist Shiko Munakata and the potter Kenkichi Tomimoto. Together they created a unique modern design that referenced the traditional colours, shapes and crafts of Japan." Fiona Wilson.



The Poser (Issues 1 and 2)

London. Self Published / Better Badges. 1979. First Edition. 2 Volumes. Small 4to, Unpaginated (ca 20pp). Numerous Black & White plates. Text in English.

Very special zine started in 1979 by Anderson, which John Peel described at the time as 'worth getting hold of'. Anderson was a photographer rather than a journalist, which makes the poser more of a photographic document than a fanzine. Though it is a very DIY publication the layout, printing and photography is extremely high quality, and makes for a distinct visual record of what was a fertile music scene in London at the time. The first 2 issues cover the Mo-Dettes, Iggy Poop, The Ruts, The Underground sound of Chippenham, The Slits, Penetration, The Clash, Siouxie and so on. The images are interspersed with short reviews of the gigs attended, and tips on gig photography. As a photographer Anderson seems more interested in composition, and bands that look visually striking, though many of the groups themselves are now considered essential in the punk and new wave canon.

The Smiths

Tokyo. Rockin' On. 1994. First Edition. Small 4to, Unpaginated (ca 160pp). Printed wraps as issued. Text in Japanese. Numerous Black & White plates.

Published in 1994, this is the best book on Morrissey and The Smiths by a long shot. It's also beautifully designed and produced, with a lot of brilliant early images.

The Village Voice View (Vue) Preview Issue

New York. Village Voice. 1985. First Edition. 4to, 30pp. Numerous Colour and Black & White plates.

Preview issue for The Village Voice's short lived (5 issues) fashion magazine, helmed by former 'Rags' editor Mary Peacock and designed by Yolanda Cuomo. The quality and depth of material is incredible, and provides an insider's ear on the ground in a way very few publications have achieved. Larry Fink goes clubbing at the Palladium, Nan Goldin takes Turbeville's bath house concept to it's logical conclusion, and delivers arguably her best work, dandies and street fashion get their dues, and a lot more.

Jun Takahashi Untitled. Sex and Seditionaries

No Place (Tokyo). No Publisher (Jun Takahashi / Undercover). No Date (ca 2004). First Edition. Folio. Unpaginated. Black cloth in Pin up Slipcase. Reputedly printed in an edition of 1000 copies. No Text. 
 
Inventory of Sex, Seditionaries, Let it Rock, Vivienne Westwood/Malcolm McClaren clothing. Page after page after page of original garments flat photographed, probably the only record of a lot of the garments. The publicity shy Takahashi of Undercover fame has probably the biggest collection of early Westwood, and this book documents all of it. Apparently McClaren flipped his wig and thought it had to be the collection of either Rei Kawakubo or Yoji Yamamoto, as they were the only two people he remembered buying one of everything in each colour. An underground legend.

Claude Nori Vacances a L'Italienne

Paris. Contrejour. 1987. First Edition. Oblong 4to, (unpaginated) 84pp. White wraps in white. Numerous Black & White plates.

An amazing Portrait of teenagers in Rimini, Sicily and Naples in 1984; on the beach, riding Vespa's, camping, going to the funfair etc. Looks like a lost Eric Rohmer film. Super stylish and very amazing.

Vague no.1

Salisbury. Vague. November 1979. First Edition. 4to, Unpaginated (8pp inc covers). Printed wrappers. Black & White/Monotone plates. Text in English.

Issue 1 of the seminal post punk zine with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam and the Ants, The Cure, The Specials, Madness, Selecter, Two-tone tour, Swell Maps, Red Crayola, Ruts. "'Every day the seditious seeds planted by Sniffin' Glue and Ripped & Torn bear some unlikely fruit. Every day another young editor staggers proudly under the Westway with a new bag of radical reading matter, making the three minute trip from one bright spark of the current explosion, Better Badges, to the other, Rough Trade. In every corner of the country there seems to be something going on' Wiltshire's Vague". Sounds. 'The kids like it.' Adam Ant.

Walter Pfeiffer & Co. Inventar

Zurich. Self Published. 1977. First Edition. 8vo. Unpaginated (48pp). Printed wraps as issued. Numerous Black & White plates. Text in German.

Looks like a catalog for a groupshow that Pfeiffer put on with a group of friends. Includes Thomy Kretz, Fredy von Beck, Barbara Schneider, Werni Eymann, Ezio, Lisa Enderli, Edy Marconi, Paolo Masina, Alfred Hog, Renato Serra, Andres Staubli, Marc Masson, Marlies Isler, Friedrich Nordpol, Daniel Steinmann and the mighty Manon! Beautiful.

Yohji Yamamoto F/W 2000-2001

Paris. Yohji Yamamoto. 2000. First Edition. 4to, Unpaginated (ca 30pp). Printed folder boards as issued. Numerous Colour and Black & White plates. In original stiff printed envelope.

Killer Yamamoto featuring Amber Valetta (amazing) tons of archival prints and crazy M/M work set over a series of 5 gigantic foldouts. Tip!

Yohji Yamamoto Fall Winter 1998/1999

Paris. Yohji Yamamoto. 1998. First Edition. Oblong folio, 28pp. Printed wraps. Full colour images. In stiff printed envelope.

Right- no ordinary look book here, Inez and Vinoodh shoot, Maggie Rizer models, and M/M art direct. Very surreal props, framing, lighting and connotations of witchcraft vie for equal attention with the clothes, which of course are super.

Yohji Yamamoto Femme F/W 1999-2000

Paris. Yohji Yamamoto. 1999. First Edition. 4to, Unpaginated (ca 48pp). Printed wraps in in textured dustwrap. Numerous Colour and Black & White plates, interleaved with screenprints. In original Yamamoto envelope.

Brilliant Yamamoto catalogue, beautifully put together by M/M and shot by Craig McDean, very theatrical, and interleaved with two colour screenprints.

Ian David Baker Younger Days

London. Aubrey Walter. 1993. First Edition. Small 4to, 64pp. Printed wraps as issued. Numerous Black & White plates. Text in English. Softcover.. Book: Near Fine. .


Shot in the 80s David Baker photographed youths around earl's court, seedy pool halls and in the park- in a world that really does no longer exist in the same way. Rent boys, fellas cruising in the park, tough lads, young mods, skins and the like, in a London that seems to be another planet when compared to the present day. Quite romantic, and quietly malancholic.

Fiorucci Panini Album

Should you need an introduction to Fiorucci itself- it was essentially the pop art wing of the fashion world, in the late 70s and early 80s Marc Jacobs, Jackie O, Calvin Klein and so on shopped there, Maripol worked there (and then became creative director), Kenny Scharf showed there, Keith Haring sprayed the Milan shop, you get the idea. The album- and stickers inside show the full flush of incredible Fiorucci graphics from their campaigns to their rather irreverent pop statements. Such a baffling and fun part Memphis part disco/new wave part pop art collection, and a complete graphic history of Fiorucci. Fantastic.

Fac51 The Hacienda Newsletter no.5

Manchester. Factory. Undated (but 1982). First Edition. 15 x 21cm. 4pp including covers, photocopy pages. Softcover.. Book: VG+. .

One of the few Factory related things not to have its own catalog number. So, the year is 1982, the Hacienda has been open only for a few months, and things are going both swimmingly and disasterously by reading the contents. William Burroughs is on the cover as he's doing something with Psychic TV, listings in the centre also show Pere Ubu, Jam Wobbly, Psychedelic Furs, Ludus (yes!), Honeymoon Killers (yes!), Dillinger, Orange Juice, Sandi and the Sunsetz and then Thompson Twins, Tears for Fears, Big Country etc. Thats quite a serious line up! Big rant at the beginning from the manager complaining about membership cards, having a go at the punters, the newsletter being very late- so that by the time it was read most of the bands had already played, charts from Mike Pickering et al. video reviews and forms at the back, which if you were a member you had to fill in with your guests and show with your membership card. Sounds like a proper disaster. But a beautiful one.

Egoiste 1-10

Paris. Egoiste. 1977-1987. First Edition. Large Folio, 10 volumes. 48-156pp each. Numerous Black & White plates. Text in French. All bright and complete. Softcover.. Book: VG+. .

Wow! The first ten issues of Egoiste, covering the first decade! Each issue could have a whole entry devoted to it. The scope, quality and influence really cannot be underestimated, and it's title as the most intelligent, luxurious and influential fashion magazine to have ever existed is pretty undisputed. A dream team of contributors, who give some of their best work, incredible art direction, and amazing subjects. Bettina Rheims, Mick Jagger, Warhol, Karl Lagerfeld, Helmut Newton, Richard Avedon, Patti Smith, Yves Saint Laurent, Isabelle Adjani, Deneuve, Andre Leon Talley, Lisa Lyons, Charlotte Rampling, Jean-Paul Goude, Jeanne Moreau, Philippe Morillon. Too amazing for words.

Egoiste 1

Paris. Egoiste. 1977. First Edition. Large Folio, 42pp. Numerous Black & White plates. Text in French. Bright and complete, centre spread has pin holes with tape reinforcement around them, but no tears! Softcover.. Book: VG+. .

The first ever issue of Egoiste. Starting as it will go on there's some superb work by Philippe Morillon, Gainsbourg, Warhol, Shirts, Paolo Roversi and it goes on. High brow and underground at the same time.

Dries Van Noten 1992-2006

Antwerp. N.V.Van Noten Andries/Privately published. 1992-2006. First Edition. Archive comprises: 7 Invitations (including the First Womenswear show in 1994) and 18 lookbooks and runway presentation books. Various sizes and paperstocks- Lookbooks range from 8vo to folio in size and are from 16-72 pages each. Hardcover.. Book: Fine. .

An incredible archive or Dries Van Noten invitations, lookbooks and ephemera stretching from the beginning in 1992 until 2006. Various sizes from regular book size (8vo) to folio for S/S 1998, different paper stocks and bindings, spot inks, gilting, special envelopes, invitations in acrylic, felt and more. Most of the work was done by the team themselves but there's a lot of work by Ronald Stoopz and the rest of the Antwerp crack team. Dries Van Noten has managed to sit both outside and right at the centre of the fashion system at the same time, keeping full independance, never advertising and not producing pre collections of diffusion lines. His refusal to participate in the fashion system has led not only to cult status, but has also allowed him, and his designers complete freedom- which means their work quite distinct. The clothes are subtle, perfectly detailed and considered, taking in a dizzying array of influences from Orientalism to New Wave Cinema and Modernist Painting all shot through with a unique sensibility. This archive of material very much distill's the influences and ethos of the designer and his house from the very early days to the mid 2000's.

Invitations:
Women's collections S/S 1994 (first womenswear show)
Women's collections Undated, but S/S 1997 (invitation gives a meeting place and states that a shuttle will take visitors to the show venue, which was La Plaine Saint-Denis)
Women's collections A/W 1999-2000 (foldout)
Men's collections A/W 1992-1993 (second show)
Men's collections A/W 1994-1995 (+ 6 page press presentation) (in envelope)
Men's collections S/S 1995 (in envelope)
Men's collections A/W 1995-1996 (in envelope)

Lookbooks:
Women's collections S/S 1998
Womens collections S/S 1998 (runway)
Womens Collections A/W 1998-1999 (runway) (2 copies)
Women's Collections A/W 1998-1999 (2 copies)
Womens Collections A/W 1999-2000
Womens Collections S/S 2000
Womens Collections S/S 2001 (runway)
Women's collections S/S 2001
Men's collections A/W 2000-2001
Mens Collections S/S 2004
Mens Collections A/W 2004-2005
Mens Collections S/S 2005
Mens Collections A/W 2005-2006
Men's and Women's Collections S/S 2000
Men's and Women's Collections A/W 2000-2001
Men's and Women's Collections A/W 2001-2002

Raf Simons Disorder Incubation Isolation (Autumn/Winter 1999-2000)

Antwerp. Privately Printed. 1998. First Edition. 30 x 30 cm, 23 12 x 12" cards. Numerous Colour and Black & White plates.  Softcover.. Book: VG+. Dustwrap: VG.

9th season, the collection is shown in a Filmstudio; Studio Carreree on the Avenue du President Wilson no. 50 in Paris close to Porte de la Chapelle on Friday 29th January 1999 at 09h30 pm. A little group of teenagers opened the show, with black flags featuring the following words: DISORDER INCUBATION ISOLATION These words are important to describe the image of the collection, and it is also a memorial to Joy Division. The global idea of this collection is to make a reference to the past, specially the first two parts of the show. Fashion goes so quickly that people tend to forget the historical meaning of clothes, especially costumes. This is why the opening of the show was like a procession to create the right atmosphere. The most important part was a group of models wearing black Capes, classical, asymmetric and circle shapes in three quarter length, a variety of design, an other group wearing ceremonial costumes, shirts with cuffs and collar that are removable. The hair was very constructed in sharp lines. The first three groups had black coloured hair. And in the last part the hair changed to blond coloured hair, but still very constructed hairstyles. The colour of the outfit changed from black to grey. Raf Simons likes plain, black and monotone, but also he likes the past in contrast to the future. The music was in this part very fast. The blond group was wearing long light grey and dark grey coats with zippers. The silhouettes are very clean: shirts in classical weaving wool fabrics without collars. Nearly each light grey outfit was with a white 'R' Turtleneck and the dark grey outfits with a red 'R' Turtleneck.

Deluxe Issues 1+2 (complete set)

London. H.M. Schneider. 1977/1978. First Edition. 4to. both volumes Unpaginated. Printed wraps. Numerous Colour and Black & White plates. Softcover.. Book: VG+. .

Cult publication Deluxe only ran for 2 issues but came to somehow define british street fashion at the fag end of the seventies. Aside of the Peter Blake/Allen Jones etc. what makes this of interest is the Seditionaries (Vivienne Westwood) presentation by Ku Khanh, which was the first Seditionaries shoot in a magazine and the brilliant 'Wild on the Side Walk', shot by Newman and styled by the great Caroline Baker. The other important shoot is the 'Streetwalking Shocking' shoot by Norrie Maclaren, and its ace. Plus inside out', featuring Westwood, Quant etc. (amazing), 'Wet Dream' featuring YSL, Bill Gibb, Mr. Fish, and shot in Brighton (also amazing), Brian Eno on strange records, Allen Jones, Man Ray, Suze Randall, Lunch with Quentin Crisp and Arnold Schwartzenegger (yes really!), Pasolini, lots of Westwood and some other great shoots by Newman, Baker et al. Such a good magazine, ultra glam (its the seventies), but beginning to foreshadow the street culture later epitomised by the likes of i-D a few years later. A key piece of British fashion history.

Decorattivo 1975-1977 Manuale per uso Professionale (complete set)


Milan. Idea Books / Studio Vista. 1975-1977. First Edition. 3 volumes. Small 4to. Unpaginated (ca 128pp each). Volume 1 comprises 5 softcover books in slipcase, volumes 2 and 3 are conventionally bound. Printed boards as issued. Numerous Colour and Black & White plates. Text in Italian and English. Published for private distribution to Architects, designers and theorists. Volumes 2 and 3 were renamed decorattivo 1 and 2 and republished by Idea books for sale to the public. Hardcover.. Book: VG+. .

Stupendous private publication from Branzi's Centro Design Montefibre, whose aim was to research textiles, fibres and colours. Though intended to be a continuing annual publication, Decorattivo only lasted for 3 years. Volume 1 (1975), sets out the aims of the project, continuing to exemplify the ideas through 3 areas- haberdashery, the 19th century and what Branzi calls 'Paquebot'- a 30s style of opposed concepts relating to an idea of 'Luxe'. The theme for Decorattivo 1976 is UFO, a decorative system created from space objects, and amorphous designs connected to spontaneous processes, with 1977 focussing on lines and squares. Texts are also a very definitive and well considered statement, the central idea being that decor is a system of cultural communication and that understanding it's semantics will lead to a non figurative design that at the same time offers cultural representation. Phew- as far as research and as a sourcebook- it is yet to be bettered!