-L.A.S
Monday, August 16, 2010
Debate: Wings + Horns Wears It On Their Sleeve
Wings + Horns has always been one of my favorite brands out of Canada thanks to their clean, wearable and minimalist take on menswear. After checking out a preview of their F/W 2010 collection, which can be seen over at The Bengal Stripe, I was impressed as per usual. Looking at the collection a little more today it became very clear that this season W+H was wearing their influences on their sleeve, especially when it came to the outerwear. I'm not sure about you, but I see a good amount of Brunello Cucinelli, Junya Watanabe and even Daiki Suzuki (Woolrich Woolen Mills specifically) in some of these pieces. That's not necessarily a bad thing considering Wings + Horns is going to make a lot of this stuff a lot more "affordable" than the stuff apparently being used as inspiration. I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on this. A big win for Wings + Horns? Who did it best? Couldn't care less? Also, if discourse is your thing be sure to click the debate tag at the bottom of the post for similar discussions from the archives.
[Pictures courtesy of Roden Gray.]
-L.A.S
-L.A.S
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Loving the jackets. Definitely a win for W+H. If it doesn't exceed my college student budget by an exorbitant amount, I might try to get my hands on that Cucinelli-esque down jacket up top.
ReplyDeleteTough call. W+H is definitely stealing the designs of others and selling it for less. It goes unnoticed when mass-market brands like j.crew or Martin+Osa (RIP) do it, but W+H may be different. It is one thing to ape a Watanabe/Cucinelli/Bastian and sell it for mall prices, it is another to put it at the same general price point as Epaulet or Unis. For my mid-market dollar, I would go with something more original.
ReplyDeleteOriginal ideas are overrated.. and aren't what you think they are. That being said, I hate wearing puffy jackets.
ReplyDelete+1 on the puffy jacket comment. When I was in grade 5 I had a puffy jacket from gap. I hated it so much. Had to wear it for years too.
ReplyDeleteCdW has a nice shirt jacket in navy that looks identical to W+H's offering. It's about $30 less, and has leather reinforced buttons.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.southwillard.com/collections/mens/crescent-down-works/shirt-jacket-navy
L.A.S is THE GO TO SOURCE for hard hitting investigative reporting on shitty gear being sold at mid range prices. The question - do you want the real thing by Watanabe/Cucinelli/Bastian or a watered down but mildly crispy knockoff from Wings & Horns? . THE BLOGOSPHERE DEMANDS AN ANSWER.
ReplyDeleteAs a Canadian, I want to know what your other favourite Canadian brands might be?
ReplyDeleteDon't say Roots.
I don't think anyone can claim the above as "original" designs unless they were around 40, 50, 60 years ago or more when they were originally conceived. If someone can put them in the hands of a new demographic, good for them. They are classics.
ReplyDeleteJamoo -
ReplyDeleteThese are the best motherfuckers in the game hands down:
Tim Horton's, Second Cup, Swiss Chalet, Harvey's, Lick's Homeburgers, Mr.Sub, Fast Eddies, Pizza Pizza,
Well golly. Why don't I just become a designer and start taking great ideas from Cucinelli, Bastian and Daiki. It's that easy huh? I think it's perfectly okay to take influences from other designers but I think W+H has been doing their own thing. If you look at last seasons A/W collection you can see that jacket with the contrasted sleeves which I think has become a way to identify them.
ReplyDeleteThe last one looks a lot like Filson's Mackinaw Cruiser, which was patented in 1914.
ReplyDeleteIdeas are recycled all the time. Designers copy each other all the time. "Good artists copy, great artists steal."
Cucinelli is a stone cold rapist anyway.
ReplyDeleteI prefer Corkinello or Bastien over Wannabe. Jus' sayin', bro'sk.
ReplyDeleteI do not see a problem in copying. Sometimes the copy can be made better. If you want the original, mkay, if you want something different, mkay.
ReplyDeleteIf no one copied the Mac (jacket), we'd all be spending 800$ +. I have a mac, but from a different company and paid a quarter of that.
Roots' leather bags are actually pretty nice. They're made in Toronto, which is nice. True, Roots got their L and W mixed up. I tried on a small once and it was as short as an xs, but as wide as a L.
Anyways, is an older copy really better than a newer one?
congratulations gentlemen, I read a lot comments on style blogs and usually the comments are rather pathetic and idiotic. These comments are actually thoughtful and insightful on this very topic.
ReplyDeleteafter all, we dress well and can think at the same time.
Brian
I am all for inspiration and truth be told when a 'bigger' brand does it, it appears to be more 'acceptable' among the masses. With that I was kind of surprised/disappointed the route W+H took with these pieces in particular. It just seemed as though there was less thought/effort put into each piece than in years past.
ReplyDeleteI really liked where the brand was going with last years F/W collection but this season I feel they've recycled more fabrics than ever (not basics only) and cut down on the originality of their pieces. It's not to say that what they've created isn't nice it's just not what I've come to expect from them.
I think W+H has a pretty distinct minimalistic approach to their collections. When your primary focus is creating well crafted and functional pieces each season, inspiration is inevitable, especially when recreating classics. With brands such as these, there will always be some "inspiration" drawn from an array of iconic classic pieces. Why point out W+H? if thats the case, contemporary menswear is built on inspiration and the best execution wins.
ReplyDeleteI will still support W+H, the quality of their pieces are always on point.
Thanks for the plug bruv. I was wondering where all the new followers were coming from.
ReplyDeleteI spent the 90's and first portion of this century wearing all the extremely expensive designer goods, Dior, Prada, Miu Miu, Gucci, Helmut Lang (when it was Helmut Lang). It was a fun but I would get tired of buying an $800.00 shirt Or $1500.00 jacket only to hate it the following year. Now that I am in my 40's, the fact that brands like Wings + Horns have come into their own really works for me. Yes, it's mostly based on classic, North American sportswear styling but it's cut better, the fits are more flattering. The quality of Wings + Horns is very good and though it's not exactly cheap, it's much easier to obtain than the brands of my youth were and have a lot more longevity style wise. Also, for you younger guys, in college and on strict budgets, there are some great end of season sales that you can pick up some pieces and wear well the rest of the season and the following year and they won't look like last years goods to most folks.
ReplyDelete