If You Don't Look Like Steve McQueen At Least You Can Dress Like Him.

Steve McQueen was the embodiment of rugged sexiness. The fact that he was as masculine offstage as on, makes his appeal timeless. So it's no wonder that clothing company Barbour has introduced a Steve McQueen Collection consisting of good-looking outerwear, rough-hewn workshirts, knits and tees. Created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the International Motorcycle jacket, the iconic British Brand designed this limited edition capsule collection featuring the King of Cool.



Items in the new collection are worth a gander and are playfully named after his movies or interests. Sweaters, outerwear, buttoned work shirts and t-shirts make up the small line. Although the t-shirts are nothing to write home about (colored tees with images of McQueen and Barbour International printed upon them), the jackets even have inner linings which feature black and white images of the handsome legend.

Here's proof that cool doesn't go out of style:














Shop the collection here.

Below is a reprinted interview with Chad McQueen, the son of the film star, motorcycle racer, stuntman and style icon.


Your father is often described as the 'King of Cool'. How would you describe his dress style?
Classic, elegant, cool and timeless.

Why do you think your father's dress style is still relevant today?
Cool doesn’t go out of style.

Knowing the heritage of the brand and the fact that your father is one of its most famous wearers, what does Barbour mean to you? Is it a brand you feel particularly aligned with? Do you wear Barbour yourself?
I have some great memories with the Barbour jackets. They were always around and I remember the way they smelled, the way they felt, and the weight of them. I do wear Barbour and of course it’s because of the images of my dad on the Triumph. It’s such a cool image that it’s burned in to my mind forever.

Back in the 60s when your father competed in the ISDT, he wore Barbour. You are also well known for racing 2 and 4 wheels. How did you and your father choose the clothes that you wore to race cars/bikes?
Sponsorships started coming in to play in the 70s so that really dictated what I wore while I raced, but I’m sure that Bud’s influence was a big part of my dad’s decision to wear Barbour.

What do you like best about the collaboration with Barbour?
I am happy to be part of the 75th anniversary of the motorcycle jacket with this exciting collaboration. All of the designs capture my dad’s sense of style and the timing is perfect - Chad McQueen for Barbour

Barbour Steve McQueen™ Collection

Artist Li Xiaofeng Does Porcelain & Cotton Polos For Lacoste Holiday Collector's Series

above: a detail of the porcelain shard LACOSTE shirt by artist Li Xiaofeng

Since 2006, each year the Lacoste brand commissions a designer, design team or artist to create a special Holiday Collector's Series of of their classic L.12.12 polo shirt. Past designers included Tom Dixon (2006), Michael Young (2007), R.E.M frontman Michael Stipe (2008) and The Campana brothers in 2009.



For 2010, Chinese artist Li Xiaofeng, best known for his porcelain fragment sculptures, has created both an outstanding porcelain sculpture of a LACOSTE shirt as well as wearable Holiday Collector's editions of the L.12.12 Polo for men and women.





The Porcelain Polo
The actual porcelain Lacoste Shirt is the most expensive Lacoste Polo to date. The art piece features porcelain shards printed with Chinese characters, symbols, red phoenix birds and variations of the Lacoste alligator and logotype as well as a wax seal.








the artist at work:

above photos by Miko He


The Cotton Polo
Now, for the actual wearable cotton Lacoste 2010 Holiday Collector's Series L.12.12 polo shirts, which will be be produced in a limited number of 20,000.




The men's and women's wearable cotton polo shirts designed for the Holiday Collector's Series for 2010 by Li Xiaofeng features a textile pattern that emulates broken porcelain shards from the Kangxi Period (1662-1722) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912).



This print represents happiness and exuberant youth according to Li Xiaofeng. Originally the reason for images of babies was to promote the births and good health of children in an era of high infant mortality. Li points out that joy continues exist even in a life that is always faced with difficulties, a life where we must continually reassemble the pieces after setbacks. Li photographed each of the shards and placed them in life-sized digital pattern of each part of the polo.



above left: the Men's limited edition polo shirt and right; the Women's version


special thanks to photographer Miko He, Jing Daily and Nels Frye of Stylites for images and information

Tattoo Artist Scott Cambell Designs Bags & Inks Models For Louis Vuitton

Gucci has already introduced a Tattoo-inspired collection of handbags and Chanel introduced their temporary tattoos, so it's no surprise that luxury brand Louis Vuitton has jumped on the tattwagon.

The LVMH company has collaborated with artist and tattoo master Scott Campbell to design some men's bags for the Louis Vuitton 2011 Spring Summer Men's collection. In addition to the leather bags which feature tattoo-inspired images, Scott Campbell also decorated the runway models for the show with temporary tattoos in the form of LV logos and with the same dragon and flourishes he used as imagery on the bags.

The Bags:



detail:






detail:


The Louis Vuitton Tattoos
The tattoos that graced the model's necks, arms and legs are the same designs as Scott incorporated into the leather bags for Louis Vuitton:







Scott, who has received much online attention for his cut-up currency art, is personal friends with Marc Jacobs, the fashion designer and Creative Director for Louis Vuitton. Jacobs sports several of Scott's tatts (both Marc and Scott have his "Bros before Hos" tattoos), so it's no wonder he chose him to design a few pieces and ink the models for the show.


above: Marc Jacobs of Louis Vuitton and artist Scott Campbell backstage at the runway show

Louis Vuitton
images are courtesy of the artist, ilvoelv.com and, with runway photos by Monica Feudi and Gianni Pucci for Style.com.