Australian menswear is, on the whole, much maligned, but there are a few voices of reason in there, keeping the ship tight. Okay, not a few, maybe like, four labels. Anyway, one of them is Vanishing Elephant, who manage to combine laid-back and sharp in new and impressive ways every season. Known for their prints, Vanishing Elephant have just been given the chance to speak to a much wider audience (at a lower price point), thanks to a collaboration with Stussy that landed in stores this month. We spoke to VE designer Felix Chan, who is currently in Hong Kong, about the new range and how to do summer properly.
How did this collaboration come about?
We're good friends with some of the local team and we had some pretty informal chats over beers a couple of times, thats how the ball got rolling. We were in Melbourne a bit after that on business and we had the chance to meet the whole team, all the stars aligned and they were equally interested in working on something together. (The real story is that we met at a Swingers club, the menswear designer at Stussy Australia, Tom Lanyon was eyeing Arran and that's how they got 'chatting').
Can you tell us a bit about how you adapted your style to Stussy’s?
We love the heritage and history of Stussy, it's iconic streetwear. So we really wanted keep the aesthetics casual and combine some of our classic silhouettes. It was a compromise and combination of both of our classic shapes whilst incorporating some colour, print and embellishments like embroideries.
This project is quite a global one for you. What do you hope the perception of this internationally is?
We haven't really thought too much about it. We're really comfortable with what we've done, so hopefully, the international market embraces it for what it is. We don't tend to over-think and over complicate the process. Having said that, the initial response to the footwear and from blogs has been pretty overwhelming which is great.
You seem to have broken through as one of the very few voices in menswear in Australia people actually respond to. Why do you think Vanishing Elephant resonates with guys?
We'd like to think that there's definitely a sense of authenticity to what we do and who we are. We're pretty regular guys and as i mentioned, we don't over think or over complicate anything, we make clothes that we like to wear and hopefully others like to wear. At the end of the day, we're completely pragmatic and realistic about what we do, we do try to remove any arrogance or attitude to the clothing we make and I think that is appreciated by the market.
Can you give us some advise on how to keep a ‘street’ look feeling dapper?
Nice pair of leather shoes, and keep it neat and tidy.
This collection is quite print driven. What made you pick the patterns you did?
It was a 10 piece injection delivering in December, so we really wanted to keep the prints colourful, playful and incorporate some sense of nature. We had about 15 rough prints and narrowed it down to the safari and bird print.
There’s a Hawaiian flavour to your bird print. What’s your take on the whole trend towards self-aware ‘dad dressing’?
We're all about it. Who wouldn't want to look like a 65 year old asian man?
But no, it's all good, it's all about print and colour, and if that's associated with 'dad dressing' then so be it. Pappa Chan, Bennett and Russell would be proud.
Do you think there’s a crisis of masculinity happening at the moment, and if so, how does it affect the way guys dress?
I don't necessarily think so. If anything, i think menswear is moving into more classical shapes but with an emphasis on colour/print and fabric.
What makes for a great backpack? Why are they coming so much into vogue for guys?
Backpacks are practical and easy, just needs to be a good size. They also take you back to school days, which is great when you're old like us.
Can you share some of your ultimate style resources with us?
Travel, travel, travel.
What about some summer essentials? Clothes? Records? Books?
Get away from the city, and spend times with friends and family. Music-wise I'm travelling back in a time a bit, some Sam Cooke, Beach Boys, Sly & the Family Stone, Dylan etc. Although we're giving the Jonti and Kurt Vile albums a nudge right now. I have a mate (DJ Hendy Boy) who loads me up with all the new music, otherwise I'd be clueless. Books: I'm still working my way through Murakami's 1Q84, not exactly summery reading but great nonetheless.