what happened to the hellraisers? From The 2nd Earl of Rochester to Keith Moon, Guy West, designer for men’s shoe emporium Jeffery West talks about the opportunity for their return.
“A lot of younger men have a uniform these days, a blue or black blazer and a somewhat ‘loud’ shirt. They’re wearing whatever GQ tells them to. A louder shoe, [like] a snakeskin or a coloured leather really just wants to finish the outfit off.” says Guy West. Jeffery West create extravagant, flamboyant and stunningly designed shoes for the modern hellraiser. They’re influenced by the Mods and the Rockers of the pre-Madonna era. Guy West, one half of the shoemaker duo, loves the fact the modern man can shop online for a Cuban heel. He hates that New Yorkers are so conservative when it comes to what they wear on their feet: “Of course there are lots of fashionable men in New York, but there’s a very small niche of people comfortable with wearing something a little bit different on their feet.” He says. Does the 21st century man need a boost? Someone they can look up to and proclaim: “Alas, a well-known young man stepping out in something other than a flat-soled desert boot or pair of Yeezys!” Guy says: “We were a lot more comfortable leaving the house back in the late 70s or early 80s because there were so many different tribes of people. There were always the skinheads that would beat the shit out of you, but they’d beat the shit out of anyone.” We need a new hell raiser, a modern day Keith Moon or Joe Strummer. Someone your parents think is a bad influence, and the man you know your girlfriend would leave you for. And dare I say it, I think the answer is a member of Britain’s most popular boyband: Harry Styles.
The problem is, when Harry Styles walks out of a bar in London wearing a pair of beautiful metallic silver jumper boots by Saint Laurent, 99% of influenced men are put off by the just shy of £700 price tag. Frontman for alt-rockers The 1975, Matty Healy was pictured performing on stage in ACNE ‘IGGY’ five inch platforms. Whilst this undoubtedly influences global audiences, few heel hungry teens are going to have £900 in their bank accounts ready to spend on a pair of shoes. There’s a reluctance for the high street brands to create their standard run-of-themill copies too – because they’re scared the boys in blue (…suits and brown suede shoes) come running after them. These men feel betrayed, the hallowed and righteous ground of the high street store has been tampered with by influencers such as Styles and Healy. The word ‘Cuban’ appears ahead of ‘heel’ and the word ‘slim’ before ‘fit’. Jeffery West have their stacked heels readily available. Whether that’s in one of their beautiful and meticulously designed stores, themed around a 1920s prohibition bar, each location thoroughly planned and different from the last. Their website, with a list of icons and influencers a click away, or perhaps through the most popular online shopping channel for the 21st century wannabe Mr Styles: ASOS. “Back in the day when we used to only sell to specific menswear shops-” Guy says, “-they would only take the classic designs, you know, play it safe. But with ASOS we do very well; they love the classics, but they
realise the importance of having the Jeffery West handwriting shoes, or the crazier ones because they’re what sets us apart from other brands.” He adds: “Of course there’s the online shopping night scene too.Someone buying shoes through ASOS on a Friday night after a few drinks might be more inclined to buy a snakeskin boot than they will be on a Tuesday morning in a shopping centre”. Jeffery West shoes are priced between £200-£500, half a world away from the price points of the high fashion brands such as Saint Laurent and ACNE; not to mention much more accessible to the younger, impressionable audience.
The traditional man tends to go for the slightly flashy tie to show they care about how they’re dressed, and that they’re not willing to blend into the crowd. However, the unconventional man knows that it’s what’s on his feet that really do the talking.
There is of course the reluctance of many to change the clothes they wear as their daily uniform, never mind what they wear on their feet. It would be much easier for a banker to make a statement wearing a tie different from their usual. So why go to the extent of buying a pair of £200 shoes?
Who is our 21st Century hellraiser?
Grayson Perry, talking about masculinity in his book ‘The Descent of Man’ said, “A primary function of their sober attire is not just to look smart,” he notes, “but to be invisible”. It feels as though as a lot of men are, as much as they would think they’re doing the opposite, ‘dressing up’. The subconscious decision to blend into the background from head to toe is a huge statement in itself: ‘I don’t want to cause a fuss’. Guy thinks changing your footwear is the best way to start: “It just brings you confidence. A good pair of shoes just starts and finishes any good outfit off. You can’t help but notice it, they make you walk different; they give you a swagger”.
Keith Richards’ smoky smoulder gave us the 60s, Ziggy Stardust paved the way for the 70s, Boy George told us it was okay to wear eyeliner in the 80s and Morrissey told us to un-button our shirt in the 90s. Bowie’s everchanging persona was all we had in the 00s, because there was no one new. Harry Styles has the edge, but he isn’t quite there.
‘If you can be an artist then I can be one too’ Joseph R. O’Donnell, 2016. Oil, Acrylic, Spray. Anyone can be an artist: not being in a gallery doesn’t mean you can’t. Anybody can wear a dress: being born a boy doesn’t mean you can’t.