February 2, 2013 |
MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF
DESIGNERS
What’s that favourite club-kid quote? “Just throw a little glitter on it, honey, go dancing.” Well, failing that, why not stay in? By all appearances Meadham Kirchhoff’s spring/summer man was quite the party monster, but their presentation seemed to be a case of all dressed up with nowhere to go – the first time we’ve ever found such a concept appealing.
What’s your earliest menswear memory? A favourite outfit/article of clothing? The first show you saw?
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “Well, I guess it would have been some Gaultier of a kind – if we are talking fashion of that ilk. Otherwise, what made a longer-lasting impression on my men’s aesthetic was growing up in Guinea and seeing how people who had no money took an immense pride in the way they dressed and put themselves together. There was that boy at school that I was kinda of in love with – he used to come in wearing his sister’s clothes and rags tied around his head.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “The only menswear I have ever liked, cared about or wanted to wear was early Raf Simons, which I loved.”
Do you have a special talent we’re not aware of? What’s your party trick?
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “No.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “I don’t have a party trick and I don’t think I have any special hidden talents either. I’m pretty one-dimensional.”
Biggest vice? We won’t tell a soul.
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “I don’t know. I enjoy a load of things that are supposedly bad for you, but I’d never call them vices.”
What gets you out of bed in the morning? Coffee and a croissant? Or something harder?
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “Coffee – strong coffee.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “The thing that gets me out of bed in the morning is my alarm and the fact that usually everyone will arrive for work – because unfortunately I still live in the studio.”
Dressing up and going out, Jeremy Kyle reruns, or something more deep and meaningful – what keeps you up at night?
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “Worries, loneliness… The usual shit.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “At the moment I am kept awake at night by my brain, which will not stop thinking and worrying about the new collection.”
First piece of menswear you designed? Instant success or epic fail?
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “Well… it was a mixed reaction. I used to get things made up by street tailors in Africa and wear them to school – let’s just say I was never one of the popular kids.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “The first bits of menswear I designed were for our first ever menswear collection 10 years ago. Hmm, it was neither a huge success nor a huge failure – it was okay, I guess.”
Mentors/muses? Who never fails to inspire?
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “Don’t believe in either of the above. Some people are temporarily inspiring and then one gets bored of them.”
What are you wearing? For the shoot, we mean. We’re not being filthy, honest.
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “Big black T-shirt and dirty grey marl shorts and Lee Roach/Nike shoes.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “Meadham Kirchhoff menswear wallflower T-shirt, Nike shorts, stripy boxer shorts, socks from Beams, jelly shoes, jewels from Lilien Czech and Hermès clochette.”
You can judge a man by his…
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “How much he lies – to himself and to others.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “Entire demeanour.”
How do you feel about the way most men dress?
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “I don’t.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “I don’t think anything at all about how men dress, I wouldn’t waste my energy.”
Is getting ready better than going out? We got a strong nesting vibe from your last presentation.
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “Self-indulgence in the context of the presentation was more important, yes, but both going out and getting ready are equally scuzzy in motives.”
EDWARD MEADHAM: “Getting ready is always more fun than going out.”
What’s new for men’s SS13?
BENJAMIN KIRCHHOFF: “Nothing is new, really – seriously, nothing.”
Text Vincent Levy
