Tuesday 28 June 2011

'WEEKENDER' FILM TRAILER


A new film to be released on 2 September takes us back to the Rave days of the early 90s.
Weekender follows two guys in Manchester in 1990. The plot-line reads;
1990. The rave scene has arrived from Ibiza and warehouse parties are exploding across the UK bringing phenomenal wealth to the organisers. In Manchester, best mates Matt and Dylan are in their early 20's and long to be more than just punters. As the government moves to outlaw the scene, it's now or never and they quickly rise through the ranks to join the promoting elite. They are taken on a wild journey from the exclusive VIP rooms of London clubs to the outrageous parties in Ibiza super-villas and the hedonism of Amsterdam. It's everything they dreamed of and more. But as their success continues to grow, they attract a more dark and sinister world. Matt and Dylan start to drift apart as they are forced to question the dreams they set out to achieve and their once solid friendship.

SAHARA SHORTS 50% OFF



The last few remaining Sahara Shorts have been reduced to make way for more stock.
Available now with 50% off for £29.95 while supplies last.
We have 32" and 34" in the Navy and 32", 34" and 36" in the Sand.
The Shorts have 2 front button secured front and back pockets with a zipped side pocket, plus a small ticket pocket. The styling is just above the knee length.


THE BEGINNINGS OF CASUAL CULTURE IN LIVERPOOL.


This interview appeared on youtube recently. It was part of the extras on the Awaydays film DVD. The interview took place in the Transalpino store in Liverpool which sadly is no longer trading and covers the beginnings of the Casual culture in Liverpool in the late 70s and its development into the mainstream.

Saturday 25 June 2011

'RENI' BUCKET HAT UP-DATE



Our website has now sold out it's stock of the 'Reni' Bucket Hat.
A few stores are yet to receive their order so there is still a chance to pick one up at any of these outlets in the coming week; Stone, Hip, Casual Clobber, Henry Brummel, Evolution, Terraces, Originals Footwear, Camisera, An-X, 80s Casualclassics, Ran and SW1.

80s CASUALS AT GLASTONBURY WITH ROONEY


It appears Wayne Rooney has asked to have his picture taken with one of our T-Shirts at Glastonbury today. The guy with the 80s Casuals T-Shirt runs the kids store Minnie Bee which has the 'History of Sole' Tee and will be stocking more in the coming weeks.
Liam from Minnie Bee kindly posed for the pic with Wayne backstage at Glastonbury.



Friday 24 June 2011

NEW T-SHIRTS - FIORUCCI MADE ME HARDCORE



We are preparing a couple of new T-Shirt designs for this month.
The first is a hybrid using artist Mark Leckeys video piece 'Fiorucci made me hardcore' as a platform. The background wording is a who's who of famous labels from the early 80s taken from Leckeys spoken word during the 'Fiorucci' video. The colouring of the words, red, white and green represents Italy, Fiorucci's country of origin and a destination for many European grafters in the 80s and 90s.
The 'Scarface' character is a Kev Sampson creation from the original book publication of 'Awaydays'. It appeared on the inside pages as part of a map showing the area in which the books storyline was set. We have secured exclusive copyright from Kev to use the figure.
The T-Shirt should be in stores around the second week of July.

Wednesday 22 June 2011

AUTUMN '11 SHIRT






A final sample has arrived of our Long Sleeved Shirt for Autumn/Winter '11. The inspiration still comes from the 80s with a Newman style metal badge and contrast buttons in our logo colours. A double button left breast bellow pocket brings the shirt up to modern times.
Two fine Dillard plaid colours are being produced in 100% cotton.
The features also include a chambray inner placket and inner cuffs plus a leather loop on the reverse of the shirt for hanging.
When the temperatures drop the long sleeved shirt will still look smart under one of the many plain sweatshirts or cotton jumpers that will be quite ubiquitous this Winter.
Expected delivery to stores is September with an RRP of £65.

SUBWAY S/S EBAY STOCK CLEARANCE



We have another piece for Ebay from a couple of years ago. The 'Subway' Sweatshirt was a functional garment that was ideal as a layer under a thin jacket with it's waterproof hood hidden in the neck collar being perfect for the wet Winters.
We have a couple of each size available for £27.50 with free delivery.
Only the Cyan Blue is available but this seems to be the colour of the Summer for us with quite a few T-Shirts being sold in this colour.
Sizing is quite small so we recommend going up a size.
For the forthcoming Winter a basic Sweatshirt is in the production stage and a sample is anticipated.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

POLO T-SHIRT STOCK CLEARANCE



We have raided the dead-stock room again and have a couple of pieces we can clear off cheaply on Ebay. Firstly we have the short sleeve 'Perry' polo from a couple of years ago. There is only about a dozen grey left and the sizes are Small, Medium and Large. £17 with free postage.
The 'Perry' polo derived its name from the British heritage of Fred Perry polos and their affiliation with the casual culture of the late 70s.
The polo has the leather logo badge on the left breast with the buttons also embossed with the 80s Casuals name.
As well as the polo, we still have XL, XXL and XXXL in the Khaki 'Awayday' Cagoule plus XXL in the Navy.
Check back for a Cyan 'Subway' Sweatshirt which will be put up Ebay soon.

FREE PIN BADGE.


Our logo Pin Badge is now upon us and will be distributed with the 'Reni' Bucket Hat. There should be no extra cost for the badge so make sure you pick one up with the hat.
The badge is somewhat discreet being intentionally unobtrusive but as the saying went on one of our T-Shirts; "There are those that know, those that don't needn't bother"


Monday 20 June 2011

PARIS 'LEEDS CASUALS' EXHIBITION





This weekend [25/26 June] sees a photography exhibition take place in Paris. The pics first appeared in Leeds last February as part of the 'Wish you were here' 'Memories of the Leeds Casual scene' exhibition and now for two days it crosses the Channel to the Galerie Menouar on Rue de Parc-Royal, Paris for two days.
The photographic history of the 80s is provided by the Leeds 'casuals' or 'dressers' as they liked to call themselves and captures a unique period with a true spirit of the time.

Sunday 19 June 2011

NEVADA JACKET UP-DATE








We await a couple of boxes of Nevada Jackets to be released from customs and then all stores should have a supply before the weekend.
The Nevada is made from a lightweight ripstop windproof material. It has four front bellow pockets with a right arm pocket and a front button fastening epaulette. The hood is wire rimmed for further protection from inclement weather and it also has an adjustable cord for a tighter fit. The inner has a cord waist adjustment plus two decent size poachers pockets on the back whilst the front inner has a left breast pocket.
A new larger size leather badge makes it's debut on the Jacket and it will also be seen on the 'Reni' Bucket Hat.
The Nevada has been produced in a burnt orange and a moroccan blue colour for Summer with only 125 of each colour being manufactured.

Saturday 18 June 2011

'RENI' BUCKET HAT


The 'Reni' Bucket Hat has finally arrived and will be in stores before next weekend. Available in two colours, Navy and Beige, the hat is one size only and measures 29cm in diameter. Most stores have ordered so check the stockists list. http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/stockists.html

NEW A/W11 80s CASUALS CAGOULE


This is our third interpretation of a Cagoule. The first two were inspired by the iconic Patrick and Peter Storm pieces from the 80s, both of which appeared in the 80s Casuals book.
This design brings together everything we consider to be integral for a match day lightweight jacket.
Here we have the sketch for an Autumn/Winter 2011 Cagoule. A sample should be with us in the following few weeks. The Cagoule is our second jacket for Autumn in addition to the Smock and all pics of samples will be here soon.
The jacket will have contrast colours of Navy and Cream plus another combination to be decided. There are two front bellow pockets, a peaked hood and a hidden front full length zip. The reverse will have a hidden zipped pouch which can be used for storing the Cagoule in. The zip has a leather handle for easy carriage. A waterproof material is being used and it should be in stores by September.

Saturday 11 June 2011

80s CASUALS CAGOULES

'STORM' CAGOULE from a few years back.




A simple, functional and easily packable Cagoule has always been a staple of 80s Casuals from our first foray into the clothing market 4 years ago. Our very first designed piece was the 'Storm' and then the 'Awayday' Cagoules and this Autumn/Winter we re-interpret the design again to sit alongside a Smock as part of a new collection. The jacket will have two front pockets and a full length zip. It will be waterproof and be a 2 coloured piece.
We should have the design print available in a week or so with a manufactured sample in the next month and as usual they will appear here first.
A 'Storm Cagoule' [pictured above] appeared on ebay recently and there is another on there at the moment. The jacket zip has the original 80s Casuals multi-coloured logo and the badge on the arm is an embroidered version only ever used the once. The run was limited to just 100 pieces x 2 colourways. The design was based on the Patrick Cagoule that appeared in the early 80s and became a must have item with its two front pockets and two hidden velcro fastening breast pockets.

Thursday 9 June 2011

80s CASUALS SMOCK A/W11 STAGE 2

STAGE 2


STAGE 1



In February details were announced for a Smock as part of our 2011 Autumn/Winter Collection. A rough sketch of the plans were put together but before the sample stage many alterations can take place. As can be seen in the above pics, the initial ideas needed some tweaking before going to the manufacturers for sample production.
Even once the sample has been produced it is still possible to make alterations whether that be a button or even the colour as material samples can sometimes be deceptive.
We now await the first sample which can take up to 2 months to produce, so as soon as it arrives we can then compare it to our sketch and put pics up here once we commit to the design.
A thick waterproof cotton is the likely material with two front pockets, a narrow slit pocket for quick access, a left breast angled pocket and a hidden back poachers pocket. The hood will be peaked with a drawstring fastener for the hood and hem. The cuff and neck will both be three button fastening.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

NEW 80s CASUALS PIN BADGE



It's been a few years since we have produced some promotional goods. 6 years ago it was stickers which were despatched freely with T-Shirt orders and began appearing all over Europe with lads taking them on their clubs European travels. Then a year or so later we produced a badge which had the old 80s Casuals colourful logo on.
So seeing as the 80s logo has since changed shape and colour we thought it only right to produce a badge which again shall be available without charge with our Bucket Hat.
The Hat is due hopefully in the next two weeks and will be sent to shops a.s.a.p as we know many festival goers are eagerly anticipating their arrival.

80s CASUALS - RUSSIA

Our stockists list gained a new store this week, as we posted a selection of T-Shirts to Moscow, Russia. http://www.turbocolor.ru/ have ordered the new designs; History of Sole, 1981 Riots and Satellite Town plus the old favourites Insight and The North will Rise. The store sells a cross section of labels including Ralph Lauren, Dockers, Fila and Tacchini.

Tuesday 7 June 2011

DAKAR JACKET SPECIFICATIONS



We now have both colour Dakar Jackets on-line http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop4.html but a few months ago we were at the design stage. This at first involved a drawing with specifications so as to give the manufacturers an idea of our requirements. A Balaclava and a Water Pouch were both essential items for our bikers inspired piece which we hoped could be positioned inside the jacket. As can be seen from our original drawing the finished product is better than we could have expected.
All stores have now had both the Deep Red and Midnight Blue delivered. The Dakar will be perfect for the coming festival season should the weather deteriorate plus the pouch is ideal should there be a ban on taking drinks into the main arenas.


80s CASUALS POLO T-SHIRTS





We are taking a year out from producing a Short Sleeve Polo T-Shirt but we shall return in March of 2012 with an up-dated version as part of 'The Grafters Collection'. The finer details are still being put together but a Long Sleeve version with be ready for the Winter months.
The overall look will now include our new 80s Casuals embroidered black and red badge with the brands corporate colours also being used for the contrasting buttons, a look perfected by the quintessentially British designer Paul Smith quite a few years back.
The placket has a chambray inner with the neck trim and seam split also having a make-over.
Colour samples are being sourced for the Long Sleeve Polo, so there's more details to follow but the RRP will be similar to the Deck Polo price of £45.

Monday 6 June 2011

NEW 80s CASUALS BADGE



Work still continues on our sample 80s Casuals Shirt for Autumn. The latest addition being a metal logo badge for the breast pocket. As with all of our products there is a nod to the 80s with this detail and those who remember French brand Newman will notice the distinct shape and positioning of the badge.
Inspired by the American actor Paul Newman, two pioneering Frenchmen created the label in 1967 and used the celebrated father of Industrial design Raymond Loewy to create an iconic metal logo.
A complete Shirt sample should be with us soon.

Saturday 4 June 2011

MARK LECKEY INTERVIEW and EXHIBITION


We know Mark Leckey as the first artist to use Casuals within an art piece with his 1999 video 'Fiorruci made me Hardcore'. The documentary of sorts showcases the teenage rites of passage of British sub-cultures through the 70s, 80s and 90s. This Video is now being shown in its correct environment as part of an exhibition of three of Marks works also including 'Big BoxStatueAction' and 'GreenScreenRefrigeratorAction'. The exhibition runs from 19 May until 26 June at The Serpentine Gallery Kensington Gardens London.
A few years ago we interviewed Mark for the 80s Casuals website. Here is that interview were he talks about the influences behind the 'Fiorucci" film.

In 1999 the Tate Gallery in Liverpool held an exhibition entitled ‘Remix’. Among the exhibits was a video installation by Mark Leckey intriguingly titled ‘Fiorucci made me Hardcore’. For those of us old enough to remember Fiorucci in its heyday, we think of halcyon days on the terraces in the early 80s. Fiorucci jeans and sweatshirts obviously made its mark on some. I ventured down to the Tate to see if Mark Leckey had been one. Could this be the only piece of contemporary art to acknowledge the sub-culture known as Casuals. I returned home without disappointment. ‘Fiorucci’ charts the rise of British youth cultures. Starting off in the 70s with video clips of northern sole dancers. The shift of styles and sound underlines the change in the cultural landscape. The video climaxes after 15 minutes with scenes of acid house raves from the early 90s. Set to Marks own soundtrack, a voice over takes us through an array of designer brands championed by Casuals throughout the 80s.

80s -Great title Mark, but why Fiorucci? What was the inspiration behind the title?

M.L.-It was from a bit of Graffiti outside Studio 54 in New York. I liked it because of its intense belief in something that was just fashion, trivial stuff.

80s-You start off in the 70s with Northern Soul, was this something you were brought up with?

M.L.-No, it was a bit before my time and I was in Ellesmere Port, Northern Soul’s heartland was Wigan. I did get a double black eye from trying to copy a lad who moved to our school from up there though. He was doing some soul spins and he thought I was taking the piss so he finished his pirouette with a lovely head butt. But I’d seen enough of Northern Soul to know that when I first went raving that it was the same, working class and fiercely independent, and that’s the history I wanted to put across in Fiorucci.

80s-Moving on to the Casual era, obviously a right of passage for any teenager on Merseyside, was this something you always wanted to document in your art?

M.L.-I was always fascinated by how it happened. How something like that grows from a few Bowie fans in Liverpool to this enormous, but to the rest of the world completely invisible, movement. It also taught me a lot, that’s kind of what Firoucci made me Hardcore means, about how you can take something that’s already out there in the world that your excluded from and make it yours. I thought that was brilliant. I remember when I was about 17 coming down to London with a small crew and going into Burberry, this bunch of no mark kids from up north, and we knew exactly what we wanted which really threw the staff and customers there. It was like a far more sophisticated punk. That’s what this Chav thing is. It’s the middle class revenge on being made to look stupid.

80s-Where did the footage come from?

M.L.-I got really lucky with the Northern Soul stuff, this bloke had the uncut footage of a seventies documentary about Wigan Casino. The Casual stuff was a lot harder, I just had to scout through regional Television archives. The footage I used the most though is from a documentary about the ICF called ‘Hooligan’.

80s-Did the designer names used come from your own wardrobe?

M.L.-I wish, all my stuff was snide.

80s-Why only use this era for the voice over?

M.L.-I don’t know, I was just imagining a bloke with a little PA at a market.

80s-You obviously have a strong interest in British sub cultures but has ‘Fiorucci’ put the lid on your love affair with the 80s and using it in your work?

M.L.-This is the thing I can never work out, whether its just over for me because I’m nigh on middle age now, or whether that whole idea of subculture has disappeared, because it was basically a 20th Century idea that’s ran its course. I’m still working on that. Being a Casual taught me about style, it learnt from the Mods, I have just kept on developing that same classic style.

80s-Finally Mark, where d’ya get yer trainees from? Back in those days.

M.L.-Wade Smith

Mark Leckey was born in Birkenhead in 1964 and followed Everton home and away in the 80s. Known for his atmospheric projection pieces and audio sculptures blending popular culture with visual art. He now resides in London and has had major exhibits across the globe including Germany, Canada, Chile, Switzerland, Greece and at Tate London.

HISTORY OF SOLE T-SHIRT




All of this months designs will be in store shortly. The History of Sole T-Shirt incorporates the many names which have been in-grained in our conscious. The trainers listed will forever be associated with the Casual era.
The design has also been produced on some Kids T-Shirts which can be found in the Under 5's section of the site. http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop9.html Don't be misled by the Under 5's title as this is more commonly known as a phrase for up and coming young Casuals and the sizing will fit age 2 to 14.
Two more stores will be stocking the Kids range from this month. Northern Rags and Minnie Bee http://www.minniebee.co.uk/