Celebs in Stone Island MKII

Loaded Icons

 Loaded has had many iconic covers in its time, but many of my favourite icons have appeared on the front of the lads favourite. Here's a few...

Music v Designer Collaborations

The most iconic music artists are often the most influential when it comes to clobber. Music and fashion go hand in hand similar to that of football and fashion. You only have to attend a gig and the crowd will be largely dressed similarly to the band. Mods and Rockers wore their hearts on their sleeves when it came to music allegiance and dressed accordingly. The Clash and Sex Pistols brought punk styling, anti establishment and anti label. Late 1970s and London and Coventry meet the West Indies musically, Madness and Specials music goers clad in Ben Sherman, Crombie and DMs, complete with cropped hair. 1990s Britpop and it's Blur in Fila, Oasis in Stone Island and Gazelles etc. The fans always follow suit. Just look at gigs these days - go to Beady Eye/High Flying Birds (aka Oasis) and it's the parrot heads clad in Liam's latest Pretty Green offerings (now in TK Maxx...). Go to Madness and it's still Fred Perry and Brutus. Anything Madchester then it's bucket hats, Adidas and loose fitting tees.

And designers ain't no mugs. They'll cotton on to the fact they're part of the cult, or at least try to stick their finger in the pie and force their way in, and cash in. And over the last few years there's been quite a few official designer v band collaborations. Maybe it speaks volumes that most of them are old imperial brands mixed with bands that are not quite the 'now' in music - maybe both music and fashion are dead.

The first I ever saw of these was back in 1999. Doctor Martens brought out a special limited 'Madness' boot to coincide with the Nutty Boys 20 year anniversary. And since then Madness haven't done too badly with the whole collab thing. 2-Tone staple clobber Ben Sherman did an official cross over with Madness including checked shirts, Harrington's and tees. Some of the gear was quite frankly horrible but the jacket and Polos stood out - unsurprisingly only available in black or white...

I've also seen on fleabay a Madness shirt by Aertex. A North west label, famed for dressing WW2 Desert Rats and the 1970 England World Cup squad, meets the North London Invaders. Bit of a strange one and don't know the link but I do know it knocks the spots off the Shermanator efforts. The Madness M taking pride of place on the chest of a cool blue gingham check.

Fred Perry were in on the act before Ben Sherman linked up with Madness. It may be disputed what brand was more associated with ska - Perry or Sherman - but theirs no doubt which band were truly ska and that's the Specials. The Laurel Wreath was given a slight 2-tone makeover and again the clobber was all black/white, shirts and polos the staple diet available. Since then Perry has also linked up with Amy Winehouse to make her collection. It was short lived.

Up the road in Manchester there's been a few. The centre of the music universe for a spell during the 80s and 90s, designers got it too. Not strictly a collaboration but Admiral linked up with the Mondays in 1999 to provide the band with swag on their reunion tour, and for Shaun et al to front the sportswear's latest advertising campaign. The campaign was ill fated as the brand went bust and as no one really rated the gear Shaun was unable to flog it off his own back to score smack.

Oasis were arguably the biggest band since the Beatles and have had the odd collaboration. Iconic brand Barcuta teamed up with them to create a cool limited edition Harrington. They also liked a bit of Manchester brand Kangol and several times the Kangeroo was sported on tour gear for band and back stage crew alike - often have a peek on eBay for these meself. The khaki parkas I've seen are pretty damn cool. And like it or loathe it (and again not strictly a collab) but Liam Gallaghers Pretty Green label is here to stay. Here you've got the rare example of musician creating a designer label and then approaching another musician for a collaboration with the Paul Weller label. Music v Fashion v Music.

 Finally the North West has always had a thing for its trainers. Plenty of Adidas Originals to be seen from the 1970s onwards. Bands like the Mondays and the Farm often sported the latest kicks, but two of the biggest faces from the areas music got the envious pleasure of having their own personal link with Adolph Dasslers training shoes. Noel Gallagher, the biggest celebrity trainer head if ever there was one, with his rather suave looking Man City coloured kicks, and across the city's footballing/music divide Stone Rose Ian Brown with his personalised Superstars in Man Utd red/black.

So there's the pick of the music v designer collaborations. There may be more but these are all bands and brands I like. Would I buy any of them? Probably not. Some would argue there's no individuality with this gear and it's simply a cash in and/or sell out. The flip side of the coin it means people can staple their colours to the mast and identify with both band and brand. And what do I think? Don't care. It's only a blog.

Thats Entertainment

808 State. Black Grape. Blur. Ian Brown. The Charlatans. The Coral. The Enemy. The Farm. The Futureheads. Gorillaz. Happy Mondays. Housemartins. Inspiral Carpets. James. Kasabian. The La's. Madness. Manic Street Preachers. New Order. Oasis. The Seahorses. Shed Seven. Suede. Supergrass. What's this? Thats Entetainment.

That is just some of a few artists whose work I've picked up from the store that is That's Entertainment. Dealing in used CDS/DVDs and selling from 99p up, most £1.99 (or 3 for a fiver), it's enabled me to expand my CD collection dirt cheaply. Some from the list, like Kasabian, were important albums that I hadn't bought as I couldn't warrant spending a tenner on a CD brand new. So £1.99 each used? Bang on. Other artists like Blur, Mondays and Oasis I grew up with and already had several albums, but has enabled me to get 'lesser albums' (Oasis Be Here Now and Standing On...) or rarer ones (Mondays Rave On EP) rather than just the best sellers or greatest hits.

They seem to be situated in the North (Metro Centre, Newcastle, North Shields and York were about 60% of the companies stores last year) but with the likes of HMV struggling and the recession biting it wouldn't surprise me if they expand. Saying that I was gutted to visit the Metro the other day and find it closed. Was genuinely upset. I told the wife who kindly informed me that they've now branched out to on tinterweb. So had a look. Thousands of bargains there and free P&P. So Gorillaz Plastic Beach and Wonderstuff's Greatest are wending their merry way to me for £3.98.

Pretty Green

Picked up one of Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green cricket hats in his sale for £15. Not for me like, for our Oasis obsessed younger brother for Christmas. Had a try on when it arrived like and it's not half bad for the coin - wouldn't have paid the £40 RRP for it like. Was tempted to get another one for meself, but sticking with the Kangol. Has to be said it's presented well in a smart box and comes with a gym bag.

Not a label I've ever bought from, however they've rewarded me with a £10 e-voucher so tempted to buy a polo shirt (very much from the Fred Perry school they are) if they knock a few bob off in Jan sales - stay tuned.