house by House of Billiam
STYLE. ARCHITECTURE. GASTRONOMY. DESIGN
Editorial Harriet Francis Editor
Addie Chinn Contributing Editor Max Reyner Contributing Editor Freddie Janssen Contributing Editor Chloe Rahall Stylist Ian Sen Photographic Journalist Erika Symonds Photographer Simeon Bird Art Director
Publishers
Sales
William Rowe
Richard Robinson (London)
Jo Jackson
Grace Davies (London)
CEO & Founder
Managing Director
Kirsty Dare
Commercial Director
Neil Lazaroo Art Director
r.robinson@official-house.uk
g.davies@official-house.uk
Bridie Woodward (New York) b.woodward@official-house.us
Nate Tower (New York) n.tower@official-house.us
William Buckley (New York) w.buckley@official-house.us
Nardisse Ben Mebarek (Paris) n.b.mebarek@official-house.fr
The Breakthrough Issue HOUSE is the sister project of House Of Billiam, a British company designing bespoke streetwear using the best of British tailoring and fabrics. “House” is the non-bespoke side, created for those who want durability and style without the extautionate price that comes in hand. The quarterly House paper is designed to give you an insight into House culture, what we’re into and what we’re discovering. Quite honestly, it’s a tasteful way to get our designs out there whilst informing you on London’s undisclosed information covering art & design, gastronomy, music and various other cultural content. We hope that from reading this paper you’ll see more of your city, impressing women with your insider knowledge on the finest restaurants whilst looking dapper in that new House shirt you’ll be wearing. Our first issue covers the topics focused on photography, gastronomy and New York. As House stemmed from its sister street-wear brand ‘House of Billiam’ we thought it was important to centre the pilot issue around the city that pioneered hip-hop and street-wear culture; giving you an insight into down town New York during the early cult days of the 1980’s. Our best,
house Harriet Francis Editor In Chief
MUSIC
UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA The more we got to know Ruban Nielson over the past year, the more compelling he became; an outspoken, opinionated frontman, and, even rarer in the indie rock realm, a truly badass guitar player as well. Expect scuffed vocals and inventive melodies and a rhythmic vocabulary that draws equally and naturally from psych rock, hard funk, and soul. It’s the work of an assured craftsman with a preferred set of sonic parameters, and shows off the band’s development in a lucid, loose fashion.
MUSIC
FEBRUARY PLAYLIST What we’ve been listening to in the House of Billiam studio
Condsider this the Pilot of one of our regular monthly playlists (catch online between issues) Featured this month we have American musician and producer Toro Y Moi, the much-debated comeback track from Justin Timberlake, a new release from everyone’s favourite The Knife and our album of the month Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
Toro Y Moi – Say That Justin Timberlake – Suit & Tie featuring JAY Z Unknown Mortal Orchestra – So Good at Being in Trouble Ducktails – Under Cover Solar Year – Magic Idea Autre Ne Veut – Play by Play Ghost Poet – Survive It Amateur Best – Get Down The Knife – Full Of Fire Parquet Courts – Borrowed Time Farewell J.R – Night Wolves Short Stories – On the Way Only Real – Blood Carpet Veronica Falls – If You Still Want Me Everything Everything – The House Is Dust
PROFILE
FACE TO FACE ISRAEL AND PALESTINE PHOTOGRAPHER & ARTIST JR
PROFILE
In 2012 the Palestine and Israeli Face2Face project began; photographer & TED prize winner JR joined forces with his friend Marco to organise the largest illegal photography exhibition ever created.
JR is the name of a photographer and artist whose identity is unconfirmed due to his bold work being challenging and, as professional and talented as he is, illegal. Born in France, he calls himself a ‘photograffeur’ which exemplifies his work; pasting large black and white photographic images in heavily public locations, similar to the act of graffiti. JR’s work often challanges widely held preconceptions, as well as the manipulation of the media. For JR’s latest project, he and Marco (friend) pasted large, monumental photographs of Palestines and Israeli’s next to eachother in several cities across Isreal and Palestine. The pair travelled to the Middle East in 2011 to try and figure out a way for Palestines and Israeli’s to be united, harminously. They travelled through the Palestinian and Israeli cities without speaking much. Simply looking at ‘this world’ in amazement. A holy place for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. A tiny area where you can see mountains, sea, deserts and lakes, loathing, hope, and despair all embedded together. After travelling they came to the conclusion that “the people look the same; they speak almost the same language, like twin brothers raised in different families. A religious covered woman has her twin sister on the other side. A farmer, a taxi driver, a teacher, has his twin brother in front of him. And he is endlessly fighting with him.” It’s obvious, but Palestinians and Israeli’s don’t see it in that way, so JR and Marco decided to put them face to face, the intention being that on first inspection, the public would not realise that the two people are from two opposing cultures, which is the point. The Face2Face project consists of portraits of Palestinians and Israeli’s who are doing the same job, for instance a taxi driver or a nurse, and seeing them face to face, in huge formats, in unavoidable places, on both Israeli and Palestinian sides. JR explains his essential aim for the project is “We want, at last, for everyone to laugh and to think by seeing the portrait of the other next to his own portrait, he will start to consider the collision between the two.” JR continues to portray his work in precarious, urban spaces across the world, working on various projects, one where by the public, you, can send him an image of your choosing, for him to maximise and send back to you in a print ready for you to boldly paste in your own choice of location (one print is subjective to groups of no less than four). Check out his work at www.jr-art.net.
FEED
LISTEN CAREFULLY Created by Jonas Breme at the University of Applied Science in Potsdam, Listen Carefully is an interactive design project that addresses an issue that Jonas believes is serious: that listening to music has switched from being an active to a passive activity. Frustrated by the fact that music has become for many the backdrop to their lifestyles, Breme designed a pair of headphones that puts music firmly in the foreground. His custom ‘sensitive’ ear phones force users to focus purely on what they are listening to by turning the music off if the user moves. Equipped with a built in acceleormeter, a digital potentiometer and an Arduino Montor, any movements picked up by the headphones causes the playback volume to drop, forcing the users to sit still relax and enjoy. While the headphones may be the wrong choice for listening to dance music, the project is an interesting concept which ties into the trend of Digital Downtime and helps us question our current forms of consumption.
LNCC STORE REVOLUTION Moving into Spring/Summer 2013, east London store LN-CC have revealed a fresh store fit featuring two completely new areas. Replacing the original octagonal wooden constructs, the main "Secular Space" now features futuristic mirrored shelving and soft lighting to display their footwear and leather goods, while the private instore bar "Chameleon" now has geometric wood panelling and dimmed lighting to juxtapose the ambience of the shopping environment. Brands available from LN-CC include Balenciaga, Lanvin, Givenchy and niche designers like Myriam Schaefer.
FEED
THE WORLD’S FIRST 3D PRINTED HOUSE With all the hype currently surrounding 3D printing and its seemingly endless capabilities, the race has started to build the world’s first 3D printed house. London architecture company Softkill Design joined that race the other day by announcing plans for a plastic dwelling that could be built off-site in just three weeks, claiming it could then be assembled in just a single day. “It will hopefully be the first actual 3D printed house on site,” said Gilles Retsin of Softkill Design. “We are hoping to have the first prototype out in the summer.” Measuring in at 8 metres wide and four metres long, the single storey “Protohouse 2.0” will be printed in a factory and then transported by van to be “snapped together” on site. “You don’t need any bolting, screwing, or welding on site,” says Retsin. “Imagine a Velcro or button-like connection. The pieces are extremely light, and they just kind of click together so you don’t need any other material.”
LEICA X HERMES DESIGN This impeccably designed camera is the offspring of the long awaited collaboration between Hermes and Leica. It’s entirely hand made, even down to the case, packaging, and its own Hermes camera bag. With only 100 in production, this will be a much sought after collectors item.
HACKNEY STUDIO
UPDATE: WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING IN THE HOUSE STUDIO
PREPERATIONS FOR THE AW13 COLLECTION Agi, one of the designers for Agi&Sam, dropped in to sample some of the new HOUSE collection and place a cheeky order before stock goes on sale (top left & right). We make our first AW13 suit using Scotland based JC Rennie&Co wool suppliers (centre), who are one of Britians highest quality wool manufacturers. Since we set out on the relaunch we’ve been all about sourcing traditional heritage fabrics and have been working closely with a lot of the tweed and woolen mills that still exist in Scotland, Yorkshire - the traditional roots of the industry. Upon visiting we’ve come across a range of quality traditional fabrics such as the Melton and the tweeds; we’re now working with Harris Tweed on one of our styles. Our aim is to start collecting such traditional fabrics and design them for a more contemporary fit and styling. Catch a sneak preview of our Scottish collection and our photo-documented journey across the English countryside and Scottish highlands in the next House issue.
HACKNEY STUDIO
Studio Visit: Manufacture & Industry Manufacture and Industry is a blog run buy two guys from up North, they travel the British Isles documenting the craftmanship and history of products made in Britain, and we were delighted that they’d decided to give us a visit. More on this in our next issue as we post the intervew and pictures, for now check out their blog and get to know what fine establishments this country has to offer.
Sneak Preview of fabrics used for the new collection. (Below and above) Liberty London lining, (to the right) Colour chart for our prestigious lambs nappa leather, which will be used for the new biker jackets.
FEED
OUR FAVOURITE LONDON RESTAURANTS
Camino Kings Cross
Meat Liquor Soho
With its refreshing pan con tomate, heady butter-drenched garlic prawns and plentiful portions of unctuouscured ham all proving their worth, this proves itself as one of Londons finest Tapas spots.
We feel the Meat Liquor pioneerd the now on trend burger restaurants popping up around London, having been to the majority, we still rate Meat Liquor as the best. (Well worth the queue).
3 Varnishers Yard, The Regent Quarter, Kings Cross
74 Welbeck St London W1G 0BA
Grill On The Market Smithfield
Bistroteque Bethnal Green
Nestled along side the grand Victorian halls of historic Smithfield Meat Market, GOM definitely lives up to it’s historic surroundings, this joint offers London’s most sensational meats.
A fine dining experience set in an industrial warehouse, the atmosphere is unbeatable for an uncliche good dinner date. Delectable French menu with a small, well selected, cocktail list.
2-3 W Smithfield London EC1A 9JX
23 Wadeson St, Tower Hamlets, E2 9
FEED
THE TEN BELLS Nothing could trump this pick in Ferbruary’s food selection. Upstairs at The Ten Bells is a British restaurant above the historic pub in Spittalfields. A joint formed from the legendary three who started The Clove Club and The Young Turks, what was meant to be a three month pop up received so much attention it’s now permanent. Enjoy delicious, fresh, seasonal British food with a twist. The iconic, strange but incredible small plates are not to be missed. 84 Commercial St London E1 6LY
Buttermilk fried chicken and pine salt at The Ten Bells
Pitt Cue Soho
The Globe Colombia Road
If the fact that they have a meat dish called ‘The Thunderdome’ doesn’t convince you this place is worth visiting then the throngs of people queuing outside every night, certainly should.
Quiet and unassuming, it wouldn’t be hard to miss this little Bulgarian pub eatery. Don’t though, because missing it’s £6 for a delicious pizza and beer deal would be tragic.
1 Newburgh St, London W1F 7RB
Stingray Globe Cafe, Shoreditch, London E2 7RL
LOOK BOOK
Monkey Shoulder Whiskey Sometimes a nice glass of whiskey is all you need. Be it to fight off an illness, an antidote to a break up, to warm your insides when treking the Alps or to simply relax and enjoy; make your whiskey Monkey Shoulder whiskey. Our choice of bottle here at the House studio. It’s delicious. We feel Not much more needs to be said here but ‘cheers’.
LOOK BOOK
house by house of billiam
AUTUMN/WINTER 13 LOOK BOOK
LOOK BOOK
LOOK BOOK
oliver wears house chet varsity house oscar trousers house dean tshirt shoes: stylists own
LOOK BOOK
oliver wears: house dominic white shirt house blackwatch trousers house black watch waistcoat shoes stylists own
LOOK BOOK
oliver wears: house dominic white shirt house blackwatch trousers house black watch waistcoat
LOOK BOOK
LOOK BOOK
oliver wears: oliver housewears: chad white tshirt house white shirt housedominic rupert trouser house trousers houseblackwatch chuck varsity house houseblack oscarwatch blazerwaistcoat shoes shoesstylists stylistsown own
LOOK BOOK
oliver wears: house dominic white shirt house blackwatch trousers house chuck varsity shoes stylists own
LOOK BOOK
oliver wears: house dominic white shirt house rupert trouser house thomas knit shoes stylists own
LOOK BOOK
Autumn/Winter 2013 Campaign
Photographer Erika Symonds Hair Leah Isadora Make-up Leah Isadora Stylist Harriet Francis Art Director Harriet Francis Post Production Editor Simeon Marcus Bird Venue Doodle Bar Battersea 17/02/13
GASTRONOMY
Magnus Nilsson’s Arctic Cuisine Based in Northern Sweden, restaurant Faviken Magasinet is set on 24,000 acres of pristine farmland. Using seasonal produce sourced on the restaurants acre’s, Nilsson has fostered a rustic experience that he refers to as rektun or “real food”. As the grounds are covered in snow for six months a year, Nilsson relies on pickling, fermenting, curing and other old-fashioned preservation techniques through winter. Faviken Magasinet caters for an exclusive 12 people per night, making it one of Swedens most sought after dining spots, so we were the least surprised on hearing it reportedly has a two- to three month waiting list. In this spread, photographer Howard Sooley portrays an array of images which inhabit the niche craft and design behind this gastronomic icon. Submitted by Harriet Francis
GASTRONOMY
SARTORIAL
STYLE ICONS
RICHARD AVEDON Richard Avedon, the highly acclaimed New York photographer who learned his artistic talents through the infamous art director Alexey Brodovitch, is our leading icon for sartorial style. It holds no surprise that Richard Avedon would trump our list when his life was dedicated to creating the worlds finest of aesthetic images that lured the public eye.
SARTORIAL
SARTORIAL
EDWARD FOX Impeccably dressed Edward Fox dresses in the most superb suits tailored to fit on Savile Row, whilst occassionaly opting for the relaxed look in his infamous worn courdroys, a look we’re currently accustomed to here at the the House studio. Famously known for his large acting parts in classic British plays, it is just as well that he holds no tollerance for stylists and insists on dressing himself, a provocation which all sane directors happily tolerate.
SARTORIAL
STEVE MCQUEEN Steve Mcqueen, throughout his successful life in the public eye, thouroughly accomplished the relaxed sartorial look. A wardrobe of biker jackets and tailored trousers, loose fitting blazers and a dapper iconic haircut, Steve Mcqueen has played a thorough part to House clothing inspiration throughout it’s development.
SARTORIAL
GIANNI AGNELLI Althoough Giovanni “Gianni” Agnelli was a highly successful businessman, fulfilling the titles of Italian industrialist and president of Fiat, we at House and the majority of Italy feel the title ‘King of Italy’ is a far more fitting image for the man. At the time of being admired for his knowledge in business, he was equally admired for his dress sense. During the 1960’s -1980’s, Gianni Agnelli inspired style across high society, mastering the style of sprezzatura - making the difficult look easy. His trademarks include wearing a watch over his shirt (saves time) and leaving his tye slightly askew; this man cares for every detail, yet pulls it off with a charming sense of non-chalance.
SARTORIAL
SARTORIAL
JEAN-PAUL BELMONDO
Jean-Paul Belmondo acquired many accolade’s for his style via the potent combination of an exemplory choice of clothes and a sense carelessnes. His style facilitated his characters for New Wave cinema, exceptionally played out in his role for Godards’s film Breathless. The infamous smirk and cigarette merely aided his ‘just threw it on’ style.
SARTORIAL SIDNEY POITIER A serious man with a serious style, Sidney Poitier is an oscar winning American actor and a Civil Rights activist. The honourable man was impeccably dressed throughout his vital part in the times of the Civil Rights movement, photos of the period show him on marches in premium slim black suits, and we think that’s a hell of a way to get your voice heard. Poitier reminds us that styling is a powerful tool in helping to convey poignant messages.
ART & DESIGN
NYC’S NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD Ground breaking real estate companies are about to process plans to construct an entire new neighbourhood, from scratch, in New York City. It will be one of the most interesting construction projects that American history has seen; the city will acquire sixteen new skyscrapers adding over 12 million square feet of office, residential and retail space to Manhattan’s West Side Yard. Mayor Michael Bloomberg plans for the construction to move the economy forward via accelorating employability rates and helping young proffessionals gain their place on the property ladder. Bloomberg stated in March 2013 “we’re moving forward to make the far west side’s economic potential a reality.” More on the graphic design innovation of this project to continue in the next issue.
CULTURE
THE LEGENDS OF HIP HOP The Beastie Boys, Fab Five Freddy and Afrika Bambaataa At a time when hip-hop was relatively unknown to those residing below New York’s 125th street, French photographer Sophie Bramley was there to document what we initially missed out on. As part of the cult in the - then underground music movement, Sophie Bramley befriended the leaders that pioneered the American hip-hop craze today. It was the early 1980’s when Bramley started photographing the behind scenes and intimate photos of the cult movement. Her collections consist of the freshfaced leaders The Beastie Boys, Fab Five Freddy and Afrika Bambaataa. The photos from decades past are now having their long over-due exposure, readying for the public eye in Paris’ 12MAIL Gallery, 20th March. Her insider images show groups of guys spinning on their heads, close-ups of the leaders themselves and pictures of the crowds of girls swooning over them whilst the break-dancers paid no attention except for what was happening between themselves and the dance floor. Bramley’s preference of underground clubs at the time were “The Roxy… I spent so many nights there! And the Bronx River Centre, when there were private parties hosted by the popular of the lot.” It wasn’t only the loyal friends, fans and general youth of the various neighbourhoods surrounding NY’s 125th Street who came to the cult nights. Among theme were Keith -
CULTURE
CULTURE
CULTURE Haring, Kenny Scharf and Andy Warhol all wanting to be a part of this working class, groundbreaking movement. Bramley shot with a Nikon F Pentax 6X7 and “the unsinkable”, which she always carried around in her pocket but has forgotten the brand. She recalls looking at legendary music photographers work, including Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant and thinking “But they are so much better photographed, we see the artists continually at their best”. However Sophie later reviews that her photos do have a positive difference, in the fact that they are intimate as they’re the only ones shot behind the scenes, candid. Perhaps it is down to her French culture in a way that the French are very much attached to the intimate, Sophie had stated that she missed French cinema when in the U.S as “we see things more intimately in Europe, here in the U.S, people don’t want to see the truth, they want to aspire to an icon, which is essentially a 1D glossy object.” It’s not all negative though “at the time I loved the show, it was spectacular and new to me.” It is interesting then that we see these two distinctive aesthetics connected in her photography, not at all the gloss, but from her candid behind the scenes images you can really feel the excitement of the spectacular. Decades later, Sophie admits that she remains very close to “Freddy”, and occasionally see’s the others when she can, “Freddy is always informing me of what they’re up to, so I still feel as though they’re as much a part of my life.” Fab Five Freddy has received many accolades from the music industry for being “the top man” to bring hip-hop culture worldwide and mainstream. Born Fred Brathwaite, Fab 5 Freddy began his journey as a young visual artist, executing exceptional graffiti throughout New York City. The 1980’s saw Fab 5 Freddy accomplish one of the all time classics of subway graffiti today; as a homage to Andy Warhol, he graffiti’d a car that covered the main stretch of the subway with Warhols iconic Campbell’s soup cans. A couple of years later, Freddy began to exhibit his paintings on canvas in major galleries across Europe and America. Bramley recalls Freddy as the “liaison” between the hip-hop scene in down-town New York, moving amongst the art, film and music scenes that were all influenced by this newly developing hip-hop scene. It wasn’t until Debbie Harry starred him in her ground breaking, early 80’s music video “Rapture”, in which she famously wrote the
lyrics “Fab 5 Freddy told me everybody’s fly…” From then on Freddy affiliated himself with celebrity friends and art world titans, including Jean-Michel, Basquiat and Keith Haring. Fab soon had his vision to take on the big screen, pioneering the world’s first ever seen hip-hop music feature film, a film still popularised today, recently recognised by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 20 music feature films, ranking 7th in the list. Nostalgic of her days in New York, Sophie recalls the cities past and the change she faces now… “There were bums and bag ladies who filled the streets, the dirt, the street food stalls and the everything else mixed incredibly well with the bourgeois and luxurious Uptown. There we celebrations everywhere as we lived in pre-AIDS utopia.” Bramley talks of friends she hung out with there, hanging out with the likes of Robert Mapplethorpe, designer Meripol and Kenny Sharf “etc”. Sophie explains that since many of the artists died of AIDS, New York has since been cleaned up with a hell of a lot of money, and as much as she still likes to go, she feels as though she is part of a “super clean Disney Land with stores such as Gucci, Prada, Chanel & Co.... Tramps were evacuated off the middle class territory and have now located to New Jersey instead”. Bramley lived her youth through this exciting, then cult hip-hop, pioneering scene, so it’s interesting to here what she thinks of hip hop music today “When I was at MTV and I produced ‘YO!’ the collection of 80’s rap I loved grew not only in all states of the U.S, but it also grew into and pioneered the majority of European and Japanese rap, so I am very proud of those years… but then there was gangsta rap, and in my opinion, everything how already been said or done. So I continue to listen to my junk loop, but now and then an occasional novelty proves me wrong. But I’m not at all nostalgic, I love the new and contemporary, as though I could shape it, I just think they we need to stay innovative instead of tiring what was once electrifying.” Sophie Bramleys collection will be shown at Paris’ 12 MAIL Gallery toward the end of March, so if you’re heading to France, be sure not to miss this prestigious collection that captures the behind the scenes truth of a hip-hop revolution.