The Dandy Rebels Collection by Joshua Kane

Mr and Mrs Joshua Kane modelling Dandy Rebels outfits

 

Is the Dandy a rebel? 


Absolutely! 


Beau Brummell may have been a model of moderation. 

But his influence on mens' fashion was a revolution in itself.


Within a decade of Brummell's departure to France in 1816 - his unruly successors were all but competing for the ridicule of caricaturists. (1)


Count Alfred d'Orsay became the leading London dandy by the 1820s.

And flamboyance - or fashion rebellion - kept him at the hub of celebrity status for decades.

As did his elan, amidst far more exuberant spectacles. 


Count Alfred d'Orsay depicted in Victorian caricature


By 1850, d'Orsay had returned to his native France. In the debt-ridden manner of Brummell before him. And Victorians slammed the door on the last few Regency rascals in their midst.   


Which is where we return to the scene: as retro-Dandyism meets modern celebrity tailoring.

(via a raid on Vivienne Westwood's 1970s punk-era zips, studs and leathers)


Dandy Rebels takes up themes explored in the recent Joshua Kane collections, Ceremony (2018) and Mythical Creatures (2019).


A catwalk male model in a Dandy Rebels suit by Joshua Kane



Whilst this time round, up to a quarter of the Dandy Rebels outfits take to the realm of red and black.

A visual siren, rather redolent of departed Soho dandy, Sebastian Horsley. 

Himself a former punk and rebel: right down to publishing an "Unauthorised Autobiography" in 2007. (2)


Sebastian Horsley on a catwalk wearing a black suit and top hat with a red waistcoat while making a traditionally offensive 'V-sign' with his fingers to the camera
"Dandyism is a shield and a sword and a crown - all pulled out of the dressing up box in the attic of the imagination."               The Chap issue 48



There's an echo of Sebastian Horsley's attitude in Joshua Kane's outlook:

"I think that's the beauty of dressing up - it's just kind of pretending to be a different version of yourself or someone else completely, and I think that's really magical and really fun." (3)


The Joshua Kane independent design house was established in 2014. Fulfilling the young tailor's skills acquired at the Jaeger, Burberry and Paul Smith fashion design companies. 

In 2016, the Joshua Kane showroom relocated from Spitalfields to Great Portland Street in central London.

Line artwork by Joshua Kane depicting 3 Victorian dandies, idling - one is looking through a telescope
                           "Rebellion is part and parcel of dandyism; one of its objectives is outward appearance."                                                              French Philosopher, Albert Camus - 'The Rebel', 1951



And in 2019, Mr Kane became a UK Ambassador for Arts, Fashion and Sports.

(well the dude's a former footballer and keen skateboarder, so...)

Tailor Joshua Kane in an elegant suit posing with needle and thread
The finer points of needlework behind the catwalk sensations



Famous clients include Tom Holland, Russell Brand, Zahvia Ward, Alexander Vlahos and Rod Stewart. While Joshua Kane costumes have featured on several Film and TV sets.

Even Love Island's presenter Laura Whitmore sports a truncated Dandy Rebels number in the latest series! 


Joshua Kane has described his approach to tailoring as "the art of making beautiful sculptures for humans to wear".

While 'sculpture' so often seems to influence the mode of modelling on most catwalks. 


At least Dandyism shines and smirks across the centuries in this new collection!


So let's sit back and see what the fuss is about... 




                                                                        Joshua Kane Store



1) 'Monstrosities of 1822' by George Cruikshank 


Monstrosities of 1822 cartoon by George Cruikshank




2) 'Dandy in the Underworld', Sceptre Publishing 

Among Sebastian Horsley's own select specimens of dandy rebels was the young John Lydon: 









John Gilheany is a Freelance Copywriter at: 'A dash of Tonic!' 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Drawing Room dens to Greeters' Guild! | How Smoking Jackets found fresh air - and Smashed It with Sanguine Style!

Image
'Troy Hawke' bestows perfect poise and exquisite manners upon bewildered British shoppers - whatever the occasion.  In splendid attire, Milo McCabe's "non-consensual employment" antics have salvaged the Smoking Jacket from stag party shenanigans. And tawdry Hugh Hefner homage!  The Smoking Jacket suffered a calamitous decline over the past century. Yet it survives... with subtle grace and red-carpet character. Moreso, when sported outside the entrance of B&Q and other august retail outlets. So how did the Smoking Jacket become so strident and stylish a garment in the first place? Origins of the Smoking Jacket  The delights of partaking a pinch of snuff gave way to the dour ritual of actually smoking tobacco by the Victorian era.  This brought with it the hazards of ash smudges, singed fabric, acrid odours and other unbearable insults to evening wear.  Indeed, Smoking Caps even became part of an ensemble to ensure a whiff-free head of hair.  Existin...
Read more

Beau Brummell and the Wit of Wilde

Image
  So much is left to our imaginations upon invoking characters of the Regency era. And intrigue is all the more intense in the case of George Bryan Brummell – arguable founder of Celebrity Culture. It was 'Beau' Brummell (1778-1840) who led London fashion away from the pansy spectacle of bewigged fops. A non-nobleman who became 'Arbiter Elegantiarum' (essentially, Fashion Dictator) as appointed by an enamoured Prince Regent. Beau Brummell was ‘famous for being famous’ and a precursor to the youthful course of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). And yet the latter lived a life of bon mots that thrive to this day. Whereas attempts to capture the droll hilarity of Brummell’s sayings have always escaped epigram. The fashionista’s abstract jests, observed a contemporary: “ turn upon a single circumstance, the exaggerating of the merest trifles into matters of importance, or treating everything else with the utmost nonchalance and indifference.” (1) If you’re beginning to sen...
Read more

The Exquisite origins of ‘Anthony Blanche’ – my dears!

Image
(The mobile version of this feature got rather tipsy -  there's a more moderate helping here:https://medium.com/@nuromanca )  “ Do you realise, Harold – please pay attention to this – that you and I are going to  have a rather famous career at Oxford?” It could so easily have been a line from Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. And so distinctly attributable to Blanche – should a prequel scene at Eton have arisen. However the pledge was conveyed from one impending member of Waugh’s social set (and fodder for future novels) to another. An elegant pair who would converge to form “an aesthetic bugger who sometimes turns up in my novels under various names.” (1) They were Harold Acton and Brian Howard: both of whom led a relatively rebellious sixth-form existence. At a particular theatre performance: “ Brian and Harold walked into the stalls, in full evening dress, with long white gloves  draped over one arm, and carrying silver-topped canes and top-h...
Read more