• Book Cover Mats Gustafson

    An interview with Ingrid Giertz-Mårtenson

    Written by Filippa Gustafsson by Sandra Myhrberg

    Male fashion. History and culture have left their mark on the phenomenon. The result has landed in a market overshadowed by fashion marketed towards women. The book publisher Lagenskiölds published Male Fashion - An Unknown History at the beginning of November. Fashion historian Ingrid Giertz-Mårtenson has gathered some of the world's foremost writers and researchers on the subject and created this comprehensive book on men's fashion spanning from the 16th century to the present day.

    Manligt Mode - an unknown history gives a picture of what has happened in men's fashion in recent centuries: how phenomena such as 16th-century court costumes, the well-dressed dandy, music, and sports references, and gender issues made a lasting impression on the fashion picture. It also includes texts on timeless trends such as denim, black and the Ivy League, and lists brands and people who have been particularly important to men's fashion in recent decades. The purpose of the book is for men's clothing to become as well known and discussed as women's. Apart from being the lead author, Giertz-Mårtenson has written the foreword and two additional chapters: “Ruler of the impermanent. The esthetes Robert de Montesquiou” and “Henry Poole & Co and Savile Row. An insight into English tailoring history”.

    My earliest memory of learning about men's fashion history was in an early course at university called the human and the material, where we read an anthology on physical environments and their impact on us during the last hundred years. One chapter was called “Father in the Window”. The chapter was about how a physical environment described and changed the social through commerciality and norms. The new modern man stood in the shop window and beckoned, clothed in materiality, paternal love, and exuding hegemonic masculinity. This was the first time the man was presented as someone commercial, and with that also followed a long list of new standards.

    One of these was the holiday of Father's Day when the spotlight on consumption was directed only at the father, and he was celebrated with tobacco, socks, and slippers. The dilemma that arose was that it was his money that was being traded, which for many was perceived as hypocrisy. This was naturally rooted in a patriarchal structure, where women rarely had an income of their own. I found it very interesting, but it was only a small piece of history from Sweden about one hundred years ago. This is why the interview with Ingrid Giertz-Mårtenson is both exciting and right on time. Connecting two of the most interesting subjects out there, fashion and history, can't go wrong.

    How did you get the inspiration for this book?
    I have always been interested in fashion as an expression of culture; interested in why we dress the way we do, how we are affected by the clothes we wear and the styles we see around us and what ‘fashion’ actually entails. Throughout my professional life, I have been active in various areas of the fashion industry, both in Sweden and internationally. But it has always – or almost always – been about women’s fashion. This appears so obvious, one hardly sees a reason to question it. Today, the parts of the fashion industry catering to women represent around sixty-five percent of the international clothing market, with the remainder divided into almost equal parts between men’s and children’s clothing. Academic literature primarily focuses on fashion for women, and media output on fashion generally refers to womenswear.
    In short, the term fashion seems to have a tendency of being automatically identified with women’s fashion. And yet men make up half of the world's population! The result of a survey I conducted showed also that the knowledge of the average man about the history of men´s fashion was very limited. That's why I decided to publish this book.

    Why do you think the interest in examining the male side of a historically and culturally female scene is coming right now?
    For decades books and exhibitions on the history of Fashion have 90% dealt with women´s fashion. I believe many fashion historians, like me, felt that there is now a need for information regarding the history of men's fashion. So many things have changed in our understanding of masculinity during the last decades. One example of this is the important and very successful exhibition Fashiniong Masculinities: The Art of Menswear that took place at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London this year.

    Is there anything in men’s fashion history that stands out from other developments in fashion and trends?
    The history of The Suit is fascinating: one of the authors in the book, museum director and cultural historian Christopher Breward, takes the reader on a personal journey inspired by the seventeen suits he keeps in his wardrobe – garments imbued with memories, experiences, and fashion history stretching back through the centuries. The suit is an enduring constant in menswear; its significance testifies to the fact that men’s clothing and fashion have inspired women’s fashion entirely differently than vice versa.

    Do you have a personal favorite era of men’s fashion? Something that might have inspired certain chapters in the book?
    Few periods have seen such a significant shift in our perception of manliness and men’s fashion in the most recent decades. Choosing to focus on the male body, many contemporary designers have presented a different, softer view of masculinity. Traditionally masculine garments have been replaced by more fluid styles featuring alternative materials and designs.

    The construction of ‘male’ and ‘female’ has become more flexible, and the ongoing process of LGBTQ+ emancipation allows the boundaries between the sexes to become more and more actively questioned. Masculinity today encompasses an entirely different palette of fashion elements, all of which are connected to the continuing evolution of society and discussions around norms, ethnicity, and body shape. At the same time, well-established, traditional items of clothing such as sports-, outdoor- and functional wear have continued to have great success, while classic, expertly tailored men’s garments have gained a new and affluent clientele.

    What kind of imprint do you want this book to leave on the reader?
    This book does not claim to tell the complete story of men’s fashion. This would be impossible and is not our intention. Its purpose is rather to shed light on the ‘untold story’. For too long, the history of men’s fashion has been hidden behind the hypervisible forms and evolution of women’s fashion, justified by the claim that a male interest in fashion could not
    be combined with proper masculinity because fashion was female fashion.
    What I hope above all is that this book will be the beginning of a deepened discourse about men’s fashion and masculinity and clothing; that other books will be written on the subject, that the media will pay attention to it and that the subject will be discussed in a serious and forward-looking way.

    portrait of Ingrid by Beata Holmgren
  • photography Sandra Myhrberg

    fashion Qim Claesson

    grooming Paloma Gonzalez Axeheim

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    reversible jacket & sweatpants Kenzo

    shirt & shoes Visvim

     glasses Oakley

    rings Tom Wood

    Odalisque x Caliroots

    by Sandra Myhrberg

    jacket Objects IV Life

    t-shirt Neighborhood

    scarf Marni

    glasses Retrosuperfuture

    keychain Marni

    bag Neighborhood

    keyring Billionaire Boys Club

    coat Helmut Lang

    jacket Objects IV Life

    t-shirt Neighborhood

    jeans & scarf Kenzo
    shoes Diemme

    total look POLO Ralph Lauren

    shoes Dr Martens

    glasses Ray-Ban

    rings Tom Wood

    jacket, hoodie & t-shirt Neighborhood

    jeans Helmut Lang
    shoes Suicoke

    glasses Oakley

    necklace Feng Chen Wang

    rings Tom Wood

    reversible jacket & sweatpants Kenzo

    shirt & shoes Visvim

    glasses Oakley

    rings Tom Wood

    reversible jacket Kenzo
    shirt  Visvim

    glasses Oakley

    rings Tom Wood

    total look POLO Ralph Lauren

    shoes Dr Martens

    glasses Ray-Ban

    rings Tom Wood

    jacket Objects IV Life

    jeans Kenzo
    shoes Diemme

    scarf Marni glasses

    t-shirt Neighborhood

    tote bag Icecream

    scarf Marni
    necklaces Feng Chen Wang & Tom Wood

  •                                                              jacket Remake 
                                                                         lace Hope 
                                                             shoes Stina Rand 

    An Interview with Miynt

    Written by Decirée Josefsson by Oskar Borin

    Miynt’s Fredrika Ribbing believes in the purity of interpretation where she allows her music to be translated into a unique experience filled with magical substance. As a listener you get to experience a liberated sound, where the music described by the artist herself is similar to a life without routines. The pure feeling of the moment acts as the guiding light. Her musicality and artistry is organic, confident and joyful which mirrors her work. Let the melodies create an endless soundscape of wander in a summer hazer together with Miynt.

    How come music as an art form has interested you?
    I’ve always been drawn to music and it’s always been around at my house growing up. My dad is a big consumer of music and I tuned into that as well. He is a big David Bowie fan and that made me a big Bowie-fan too.

    Can you hear and sense any differences in your songwriting when you look back at your journey?
    I think that there is a difference skill-whise, for the simple reason that I know more now. But when it comes to melodies and what sounds I’m drawn too, it’s kind of the same. The biggest reason is how I feel about the project. In the beginning I thought that Miynt needed to represent the whole me musically, which is a lot of pressure to put on a project and especially when you are going to release your first song. I think I’ve managed to change that perspective and today I view my music more as an extended version of myself that can sound in a lot of different ways.

    What made you let go of the mind ghost and be able to start releasing music on your own?
    When I lived in London I used to go for long walks in Victoria Park comparing my demos to some of the worst songs I could think of. While listening to these songs it gave me some sort of kick like “damn maybe I can make music after all”. When I moved back to Sweden I shared my music with a friend for the first time and that really helped me gain the confidence to view it more like something real. To get that first positive response was really important.

    What advice would you give your younger self?
    I used to have this idea that I couldn’t sing, and it took a while for me to understand my own voice. I would tell myself to stay focused on making music rather than analyze it. And to stay calm and trust the process of time.

    In our time people tend to highly value external affirmation, could you describe your relationship towards that?
    It’s kind of a weird thing to relate to and I’ve been thinking about that quite a lot.
    I think for me personally, writing music is so attached to the joy and love for that specific process. To create something out of nothing is the most exciting thing there is. That is the foundation of why I even started making music in the first place, but when you seem to get more likes from a selfie rather than a post about releasing new music, it makes you a bit confused. I really don’t have an answer on how to relate to it. The value can’t be in the response. I guess they can co-exist as long as the like- culture doesn't interfere too much with the creative process.

    How do you keep yourself grounded?
    I try to have some sort of balance, it’s an ongoing project. But in general I try to fit in some nature and some friends and family. I take a lot of long walks and that’s been kind of the way I clear my head.

    Do you consider it important to tell the listeners about the meaning of your songs or can the music sometimes speak for itself?
    I don’t really feel any need to control how others are going to comprehend my music and I’m not a big fan of talking about the story of my music in general. I think that it’s amazing when a song can live on and be translated into a new history with a different meaning for that specific listener.
    There is some sort of obsession with clarity which I don't agree with. It’s like we don’t trust people to be able to comprehend if the individual doesn't know exactly what to look or listen for.

    What can we look forward to?
    I’m working on my next release at the moment. It feels very exciting, there are a lot of songs that are supposed to get down to at least half. I’m trying to make the theme both clear and diffuse. There might even be a song out quite soon who knows..

          top Stina Rand 
          trousers Remake 
       
      shoes Tamaris
    jacket Tara Byakko/The Swedish School of Textiles
    trousers Lisa Helena Jacobsson
    top Hope
    trousers ADNYM
    dress Märta Wallgren/The Swedish School of Textiles
    jacket Minna Palmqvist 
    trousers Victoria Chan 
    jacket Remake

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