NYLON - January 2009 - (Page 78) MELBOURNE MIGHT BE AUSTRALIA’S SECOND LARGEST CITY, BUT ITS FASHION LABELS ARE FIRST-RATE. BY SAMANTHA GILEWICZ. PHOTOGRAPHED BY CORY WHITE CLAUDE MAUS Rob Maniscalco, a.k.a. Claude Maus, didn’t set out to be a designer. The art school graduate created his pseudonym under which to exhibit his quixotic works and installations, and customize brand logos in the late ’90s. “The slippage between art and fashion made for an easy transition,” says Maniscalco, who eschews the familiar spry, summery Australian aesthetic, instead drawing inspiration from the likes of architect John Lautner, gothic artist Banks Violette, and Krautrock band Ash Ra Tempel. “Claude Maus is dark and minimal, with cues from Nordic folklore,” he says. “There’s a strong emphasis on leather and layering, and the mixing of wool cashmere jersey with silk chiffons.” Maniscalco’s penchants for the macabre translate to a line that is at once rock ’n’ roll and romantic: inky denim, deconstructed singlets with Bauhaus-esque graphics, a lambskin poncho with leather sleeves, and his signature hooded bomber that has won him cult status, thanks in part to a fan base of local bands, like the Presets and Cut Copy—with whom Maniscalco collaborates on tour T-shirts and art shows. But, it will be his debut at Paris Fashion Week this February that will surely convince you to come over to the dark side. claudemaus.com. REST IN PEACE SCHWIPE When Tim Everist and Misa Glisovic are asked about their backgrounds in fashion, they answer, “Does wearing clothes count?” The graphic artist and the former Stüssy designer started Schwipe (they began in menswear and recently debuted their womens line) because they “thought it would help get girls,” but what began as an irreverent T-shirt line—featuring tongue-in-cheek slogans that read REHAB IS FOR QUITTERS and KETAMINE IS A DRUG FOR HORSES—has ballooned into one of Melbourne’s most offbeat streetwear brands. Kanye West and Tony Alva sport the guys clothes, while Mike Giant and Neckface have exhibited their art in the boutiquegallery, Don’t Come, that the pair also co-owns. Even though the two find “the Internet and psych-harmonics” inspirational, the fall line was all about “The Original Party Animal: ensembles for musically malnourished missing links.” The resulting collection features oversized T-shirt dresses with geometric graphics, acid-dyed, retro-hued hoodies, piano key–printed bubble skirts, and paint splatter–patterned leggings, and even comes with a soundtrack mixed by DJs Ooh Ee and Frosty. “Our latest range, called ‘Take a Trip Down Under,’ is a wild Oz-ploitation that can’t be beaten,” say Everist and Glisovic. “It’s an homage to Australia…. Has anyone ever done an homage to fromage? That shit would be huge in Paris.” schwipe.com.au. As its name suggests, Rest in Peace is dark and unorthodox—and the designers behind the line, Patrick Crea and Mark Pereira, are as enigmatic as you might imagine them to be, too. “Within design we explore ways to express our artistic ideas, and once we agreed that fashion was a medium with compelling dexterity, the future was clear,” says Crea of the motivation to start RIP. The two studied architecture and graphic design, respectively, at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, but Crea began designing a decade ago—when a Valentino suit he was given as a gift didn’t fit quite right, he tailored the blazer into a deconstructed jacket. Rest in Peace now manifests this arty aesthetic. Inspired by “everything,” the fall collection thus is one of conflict: denim shirt–jacket hybrids with asymmetrical zippers, high-waisted trousers cropped at the ankle, and midriff-baring leather bombers. Says Crea: “We were able to translate and reflect a variety of creative influences, and tangibly capture a mood that is particularly engaging.” restinpeace.com.au. 78 profile stylist: amiee byrne. hair and makeup: blanka dudas. model: zsa zsa at chadwick. claude maus: cape, dress, and pants by claude maus, stylist’s own glasses, rings, brooch, and shoes. schwipe: top by schwipe, jeans by george terrific, shoes by white savage, stylist’s own suspenders, sunglasses by alpha 60. rest in peace: coat and pants by rest in peace, shirt by schwipe, hat by uh-oh, necklace by chronicles of never, necklace by discemori, cuff by alpha 60. return to oz http://www.claudemaus.com http://restinpeace.com.au http://schwipe.com.au
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