While this archive exhibited a few Brands Demonstrating Lineage three years ago, that exercise was essentially a postulation regarding the possible generational links between the originl Militant Guild of Rural Tailors of the Industrial Revolution and modern menswear concerns operating today.
The group’s fairly transparent hope was that individuals involved in these modern marks might actually have blood ties to Guild members further up their family trees. Were this to be the case it might partly account for the missing information on the Guild and, at least, connect our generation to theirs.
Since the time of that presentation the list of brands demonstrating many of the features of the Guild’s Standards and Ethics has lengthened steadily indicating possibly that the great grandsons of the Guild are becoming less reluctant to step into the light.
At the same time the Research Group has also kept a keen eye on related development in the East. Specically what we’ll refer to as the “Otaku” menswear brand phenomenon.
“Otaku” translates roughly as “Fan” or, more accurately “Fanatic”. The word covers any obsessive fanatisicm from the coveting of Hello Kitty to the collecting of MacDonalds Happy Meal toys. The expression also relates broadly to fashion in Japan where allegiances between consumers and their favorite lines can become incredibly strong.
But the Research Group is not interested in general Otaku behavior. The Group’s only concern is the growth in Otaku-style brands focused on authentic utility menswear.
It is the Research Group’s express conviction that Rin Tanaka (who graced the group by attending an early exhibition and membership drive in Los Angeles a few years ago) should be credited for having instigated a very large part of the current activity, inspring brand-creators with his periodical surveys; My Freedamn.
The My Freedamn books are passionately assembled to the personal and exacting standards for Mr. Tanaka himself. As such they cannot be claimed as products of the Group’s research but rather they are compliments to it for which the group has great respect and has learned a great deal that has been relevant to the Group’s own inquiries. In fact, along with Free & Easy Magazine, the My Freedamn books are so widely appreciated and so well-known among mainstream global garment researchers that the Group has refrained from adding to the noise on the subject up-to-now.
At this point it is the Group’s conviction that a critical-mass is being reached and it was time to issue comment on the Otaku phenomenon, offer a conjecture as to the role of Mr. Tanaka in inspiring it and remind users of our archive of the parallels between these enterprises and the Militant Guild of Rural Tailors Standards & Ethics. We should be clear that these labels do not adhere to the full list of Standard & Ethics.
-Their singled-minded focus on the “reproduction” of authenticity being ultimately a handicap which undermines the critical and central Guild ethic of promoting tailorwise invention.
This drive toward the purity of the reproduction (even at the expense of invention and progression except where invention/progressive techniques serve to deepen reproductive accuracy) and its acceleration through zealous focus detail and quality creates a forceful "purification" of the original concept. The cyclical double-reflection that results not only blurs the boundaries of conventional branding, but it has famously purified factually impure elements which have accidently stumbled into its zone of reflection and reproduction... A unrivaled collaboration between the author William Gibson and the Otaku label, Buzz Rickson is one such example.
However, the remarkable approach taken by these brands does succeed in subverting the overt use of standard branding mechanisms and in this regard it does manifest kinship with the Militant Guild or Rural Tailors. The focus on quality, utility and de-seasonalization all also reflect elements of the Guild’s Standards & Ethics.
For these reasons the Group advises those using this archive to familiarize themselves with the work of: Buzz Rickson's, Real McCoy, General Research, Post O'Alls, Workers, Corona Utility, Amoskeag XX, Lost Worlds, Tailor Toyo,Whitesville, Sun Surf, John Severson, Anachronorm, Riding HIgh, Studio d'Artisan, Nigel Cabourn, Sugar Cane, Mr. Freedam, Eastman Leather, Atelier la Durance, Aero Clothing, Stevenson Overall Co., and the many other emerging producers in this arena.
This drive toward the purity of the reproduction (even at the expense of invention and progression except where invention/progressive techniques serve to deepen reproductive accuracy) and its acceleration through zealous focus detail and quality creates a forceful "purification" of the original concept. The cyclical double-reflection that results not only blurs the boundaries of conventional branding, but it has famously purified factually impure elements which have accidently stumbled into its zone of reflection and reproduction... A unrivaled collaboration between the author William Gibson and the Otaku label, Buzz Rickson is one such example.
However, the remarkable approach taken by these brands does succeed in subverting the overt use of standard branding mechanisms and in this regard it does manifest kinship with the Militant Guild or Rural Tailors. The focus on quality, utility and de-seasonalization all also reflect elements of the Guild’s Standards & Ethics.
For these reasons the Group advises those using this archive to familiarize themselves with the work of: Buzz Rickson's, Real McCoy, General Research, Post O'Alls, Workers, Corona Utility, Amoskeag XX, Lost Worlds, Tailor Toyo,Whitesville, Sun Surf, John Severson, Anachronorm, Riding HIgh, Studio d'Artisan, Nigel Cabourn, Sugar Cane, Mr. Freedam, Eastman Leather, Atelier la Durance, Aero Clothing, Stevenson Overall Co., and the many other emerging producers in this arena.
