“Starch Makes the Gentleman…” – Beau Brummell
Deformed ribs, fainting rooms and OMGDRAMAZ – why should ladies have all the fun? Men wear corsets too! Male corsetry was first popularized in Regency England by Beau Brummell, the original dandy – a man who polished his boots with champagne. Here he is in his pre-insane-from-syphilis days, sporting abs of whalebone. “Sixpack? Don’t need one.”
There’s been a spectacular revival of dandy style in fashion magazines and on the runway, but it’s not until now that I’ve seen a strong new take with a darker tone. Photographer Peter Ashworth (previously mentioned here) recently collaborated with designer Stefán Orschel-Read (who also models in the shoot) to create Orschel-Read’s A/W fashion lookbook, “Mourning for Orlando” – a series that, at various turns, perfectly marries dandy and deathrock. My favorite images are of the streamlined corset/jacket combo; I imagine Mr. Pearl would approve! The collection includes a wider array of unusual pairings, including geisha, punk, Baroque, and, amazingly, the 70’s leisure suit. How do they all combine? See for yourself.
July 3rd, 2008 at 6:03 am
Thats fierce! I have a feeling I might be egging my boyfriend on to try out some of these looks (especially this one: http://www.ashworth-photos.com/media/fashion/stefan%20collection/_PAA4485%20paweb.jpg wowzers!)
xox,
dayna desastre
http://www.daynadesastre.com
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:51 am
Thank you very much Nadya for featuring images from my A/W 08/09 Lookbook on here. Ulorin Vex told me about it. And you nailed the inspirations :D
Can I ask a favour though… the link to my myspace is not my current one. Its now myspace.com/orschelread
Again thank you
July 3rd, 2008 at 8:59 am
I need these items. For me.
July 3rd, 2008 at 11:10 am
Stefan, welcome to the blog! The designs are amazing. I have updated the link – wish I’d found it before, there are a lot of awesome photos on there. I hadn’t realized that these were based on Orlando – “Mourning for Orlando,” what a great title! I have updated the post to include it.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Oh, how can this BE?? I was only today reading a short history of the dandy and his influence on modern fashion! So great to see that others appreciate Beau Brummel.
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Ahh, the dandy. The last man I was in love with was a dandy. He wasn’t a corset sporting dandy but a dandy nonetheless with his high collared shirts starched to perfection and his gorgeous black frock coat that I would have gladly taken from him. But I digress. I wonder if I could adapt the dandy style into my wardrobe. I don’t see many female dandies running about and yet I wish there were.
April 10th, 2010 at 12:31 am
[…] An older post on Coilhouse about men in corsets featured some fascinating photos from Peter Ashworth. It’s wonderfully bizarre fashion. […]