The Holy Land (or not!) visit part two

I'm not sure if it's just me, but after being in Tel Aviv for four days I'm yet to spot a well dressed man. There are PLENTY of shops here for women, three big malls full too, but for some reason the men get the bad deal, the terrible deck, the short straw. There are virtually NO nice clothes shops for us fashion obsessed tourists! WHY???

Today I wore this (below). It's nothing fancy, a Marc by Marc Jacobs tee, River Island shorts (part of the Designer Forum collection) and Flossy shoes (you NEED to get some, soft as butter!). Now, I realise lime green shorts with tassels on are hard to swallow in the most accepting of cities, but I've never had so many stares! For a city that claims to be so liberal, you'll just have to accept me and my tassels!


The thing that gets me though is that my green shorts are from the good old British High Street. They're not designer. They're not couture. A thousand other people could be wearing them. But over here the high street for men is DI-A-BOLICAL. There's a handful of shops, all stocking the same striped polo shirts and check shorts. ERGHH. And you know what that mean... all the men look the same. No dressing to expressing (don't know if that makes sense, but it sounds amaze) over here.

HOWEVER, I'm pleased to say there is one diamond in the rough. Kedem Sasson (www.kedem-sasson.com) couldn't come soon enough! We stumbled across the shop on one of our mammouth hikes round the city, I actually let out a 'woop' when I saw there was real life men's clothes in the window. An even bigger one when I had a root through the rails.

Kedem combines peasant-style essentials with utterly modern designs. According to his website he was inspired to design due to "his wife's meager and unimaginative clothing options". He actually went on to design for plus size women, and looking through the pieces in his store in Tel Aviv, I can now see why his designs were so popular - a lot of draping and masses of fabric. And it's all so flattering! The dress with the buttons below is SO Grace Coddington (as is quite a lot of the stuff), quite oversized by quirky in equal messures.


Take a look at these pics. This is only some of the collection. I'm such a fan of individual pieces and this is exactly what you get with Kedem Sasson. The fisherman pants below were genius, and the new spring summer collection was all so versatile, featuring light fabrics and simple yet uber-relaxed inovative pieces. And that was just for the men!

The handsome shop assistant, head to toe in Sasson. Vest is a unique just for him from the designer.

Those ol' red soles

If you want a wrap dress, you head for the Diane von Furstenberg rail. If you want a mini-skirt, shoes or anything for that matter in acid yellow, you go straight to Versace. If you want the highest heels you can possibly find, a synonymous red sole and as much sex appeal as you can fit into a pair of shoes then you head for trusty Christian Louboutin. Every woman's, and some men's, favourite.

When I was invited down to the Louboutin press office for a glance at their new collection it took me about 32 seconds to reply YES. I went along to the sample sale a few months back, but being surrounded by a flock of screaming, angry, determined women and big boxes filled with old season shoes is hardly a way to enjoy such masterpieces, is it now?

To say there's 'something' about Louboutin shoes would be a complete understatement. It's all the elements put together that make them so special. Colours, fabrics, embellishments, the red soles and highest heels all work towards his mantra - to "make a woman look sexy, beautiful, to make her legs look as long as [he] can". I think he achieves all that, don't you?

The new autumn winter collection has some amazing pieces, as well as some oh-so bloody cute clutches. The ball bags (sorry, but that's what they are) come in the below black fur, white and leopard print. There's loads of spikes going on too, lots of leopard print and hundreds of crystals. There's a lot of what I would call 'show' pieces which would probably look better on stage than a mere mortal. Look at those sexual thigh highs! Rihanna would go mad for them! I could even see Cher in the nude mesh fiery bling options. Alicia Keys and Elle Macpherson wore the versions of the shoes below completely covered in spikes and the like.

When talking about the men's collection, Anne, the lovely PR manager, told me that: "Christian likes to keep things organic. When he's ready to bring more out, he will. He doesn't ever rush these things". I guess this is why his collections work so well. For men, I feel in love with the black, white and red chevron design calf skin shoes, leopard print studded slip ons and of course the amazingly sparkly trainers! LOVE a bit of shoe-bling.

One thing I'd like to know though... metal heel on a suede shoe? Nice or not? I'm so undecided!

Have a look. Sorry to do this to all the Louboutin lovers. It's like shoe-porn!

FOR THE GIRLS:

Cher eat your heart out!

Furry ball bag...oops!

Surely the BEST wedges of the season?

FOR THE BOYS:

UNCONDITIONAL love

You know when someone asks you what essentials you'd pack should you be shipped off to a desert island for a lengthy period of time? Well mine would almost certainly include my new puppy, my biggest pair of sunglasses, possibly some suncream, muesli and yoghurt to get me by (my new thing), my trusty floral Westwood shirt and the entire new collection from UNCONDITIONAL. I'd have to look good amongst the palm trees and sand, and the spring summer collection from the amaze British label would certainly do just that. It all makes me feel warm inside which, I have to say, is very rare with a collection in its entirety.

Philip Stephens knows how to dress a man. For seven years he has been designing menswear that not only fits impeccably but is comfortable, easy, versatile, relaxed and yet still exudes designer quality. His tailoring is always paralleled with a drape here or a funnel neck there and his signature is most definitely the 'hood'. Add a zip or three and you have the perfect UNCONDITIONAL piece. He explains more below about his constant contrasts that appear wonderfully in his work - it's all so deliciously wearable!



The website states that: "UNCONDITIONAL is often mildly androgynous". I have to agree. Some of the spring summer men's collection flutters on the feminine side of masculine. Low cowl necks showing just the right amount of man-cleavage and long, floaty cardigans grace the rails. I always bang on about how men's fashion is delving more and more into women's territory - Philip plays it cool, almost dipping a toe into the romantic-pond.

Above anything else, although the website does reel off a list of celeb admirers (including Brad Pitt, Jude Law and David Beckham no less!), Philip remains humbly and refreshingly flat-footed on such hype, telling me bluntly that "I'm not so keen on all that celeb bullshit".

If you find yourself wondering aimlessly round Selfridges (in any part of the country), head straight for UNCONDITIONAL. You'll soon fall in love.

I was intrigued, and obviously had to find out more. Here's what lovely Philip had to say...


The Very: What would you say is your biggest inspiration when it comes to any collection?

Philip: It varies - sometimes maybe there's a story to tell - other times it starts from no where. Usually each collection picks up from the last one though, even if maybe approaching from a different direction. Nature is without doubt my number one inspiration... more subconsciously than in a planned way. And London streets I guess too. And then I love formality mixed with sportswear, tradition juxtaposed with modernity - usually there's some odd cocktail or fusion of opposites going on in my head.

The Very: Who are your favourite designers?

Philip: Hmm that's difficult. I loved Steven Sprouse in his first round, more for his whole attitude than maybe the whole reality. I still love it's cameo appearance in the movie "Slaves of New York". So fab!

The Very: Apart from your own clothes of course, what do you tend to dress in every day?

Philip: To be honest these days I live in UNCONDITIONAL, very boring hey?! Very occasionally I buy something else but then never wear it. I can get quite obsessed with a certain silhouette and often have four of the same thing and wear the same look like a uniform - until its time for a change and then its onto the next uniform. I think it's good to test drive your own label though, especially in terms of fit and quality.

The Very: It's all about draping. What led you to this? It's quite Westwood is it not?

Philip: Weird, I've never thought I was at all Westwood. Aren't I far more understated? Though I do love drape and cowls and hoods - I love drape set against structure, in a very masculine way of course. A combination of the soft and hard so to speak! I suppose I've always loved something quite 'punk' but done in a refined and understated way. I hate anything too loud or in your face - it bores me in 5 minutes flat and for that reason I generally hate print. I can appreciate it, but I never wear it - it's like tattoos, I'd be so bored of anything after a very short while.

The Very: I personally love clothes with a difference, and I think UNCONDITIONAL gives you the unexpected, but who is your ideal customer?

Philip: Ideal customer? Gods knows! We've been lucky to dress many of my style "idols", for example David Bowie, my most exciting, and that's been very satisfying sometimes, but generally I like someone who buys something and makes it their own... who has their own sense of style.

The Very: Did you always want to design clothes? Tell me how it came about?

Philip: Yes I guess I did, though I came at it very late and slightly around the houses. I did interior design for a number of years and then club promotion and other things. It happened quite organically.

The Very: What is it about the fashion industry that excites you?

Philip: Not much to be honest lol. The industry does not really excite me LOL. Much of the fashion industry is bullshit, no, BUT I really enjoy my job.

The Very: What do you think about size zero and plus size models?

Philip: Life should be a celebration of diversity, and fashion should be a reflection of that. However, without a doubt, clothes often look best on a tall skinny frame. Also they are normally always produced in the same sample sizes and that's a cost issue. I do think there are lots of other things to challenge more than just size though.... no?

The Very: Where do you think men's fashion can go next? We've seen it go quite feminine recently, what are your thoughts on this?

Philip: This whole masculine/feminine thing does not really wash with me, we all started off in a bit of draped fabric, a loincloth then a toga! Men and women's clothing really started off the same. I like the whole relaxing of dress codes though and I do embrace and love androgyny. I guess things will totally merge back to where they started off... eventually.

The Very: Who would be your ideal celeb to dress and why?

Philip: God knows! Who is the most gorgeous influential coolest celebrity? And why is it all about celebrity these days...?

The Very: The spring summer men's collection is gorgeous, it references the American flag and there is some dip-dyeing going on, tell me a bit about it.

Philip: Hmm, I've spent quite a bit of time Stateside recently and I love this twinning of London and New York that's been going on inside my head - it's totally warped of course!

The Very: Zips, hoods and an easy casualness - is that all part of the UNCONDITIONAL identity?

Philip: Very much so. It's totally the identity I go for: easy yet special, comfortable yet sexy, basic yet luxurious. UNCONDITIONAL is basically my collection of luxury basics, things I hope we might actually need and/or want :-)

The Very: What's your favourite piece from the collection?

Philip: For SS2010 hmm... do'ya know what, I love the dip dyed rayon scarves - they are so 'nothing' and yet so special. Put them with anything - just jeans and a white T shirt - and you already have a special outfit!

Some of the FAB detailing...

For more info and stockist information, check out the website - www.unconditional.uk.com