IT’S ALL ABOUT ‘ME CLOTHING’!

There’s something relentlessly positive about urban streetwear label, ‘ME Clothing’!

Already on the fashion-forward radar of ‘Jones Bennett PR’, the leading-edge, boutique, public-relations agency, with an astute awareness of emerging creative talent, it was with great anticipation, that I awaited my chance to spread-the-word! Kindly passing the promotion-baton to yours truly, I inquisitively-embarked upon my dash-to-discover the origins of such boundless energy and ambition!

Maybe it was the series of ‘snapback’ caps, emblazoned with the sign of ‘Victory’, or perhaps, the signature-slogan of ‘I’m A Boss’, being announced via the visual loud-hailer of its upper-case, bold-type, upon primary-permeated sweatshirts… It could even have been the ladies’ ‘Varsity’ jackets, which yelled cheerleader-chic, in popping-candy-pink! To whichever garment my journey visited, I, most assuredly, called-off-the-search, once I’d found out more about Adam Benjamin, the entrepreneurial-brain and design-brawn, behind the brand!

Described by Jones Bennett PR as being motivated by manifesting a ‘feel-good factor’ of mutual creative appreciation, though the medium of fashion, and fuelled by the desire to offer a striking, urbanwear range, distinguishable by its dynamic design-presence, ‘ME Clothing’ was born. Impressive, for me, was the absolute clarity of vision with which Mr Benjamin pursued his objective, and, even moreso, that this has been directly reflected, in a brand-identity of cool, stealthy, simplicity. When added to the further artistic impact upon him of an ardent passion for music, the compounded outcome of highly-wearable, marketable, yet affordable, pieces was, and still is, entirely achieved.

A stand-out feature of the collection is its capsule nature, a perfect mirror to the succinct name. Substantially-quilted gilets, puff their chests proudly against practical silhouettes, available in both hooded and non-hooded options. Statement jumpers, are identifiable from-distance, with their glaring typography… tees, round-necked are efficiently-cut and, whether Christmas were nearly upon us, or not, I could sing a descant of praises over the ‘hero-piece’, varsity jackets, with their luxurious contrast-leather sleeves! Furthermore, as a stalwart for perpetuating the unique, I love the customisation-element, which acts as a ‘clothing-shuffle’, of sorts, facilitating creative ingenuity via upping-the-bandwidth of the easy, mix-match, neutral-toned palette! Such pleasing punctuations of personalized flair, worn in any combination, with one of the superb snapbacks and some boxfresh kicks, mean you’re good-to-go from pavement-to-première and back!

With the ability to span art-forms, it is no surprise, then, that over the three years since the launch in 2010, the label has attracted stars of the hip-hop/ r ‘n’ b genre, on both sides of ‘the pond’! The likes of U.K chart-toppers, such as ‘Chipmunk’ and ‘Wretch 32’ have been spotted sporting ME menswear, whilst heart-throb rapper, ‘Bow Wow’, has flown-the-flag for the brand, over in the U.S, in his one-off, customised jacket from the über-popular ‘Varsity’ collection. However, such household figures in sport as Florent Malouda, have also selected the brand as a ‘go-to’ designer-choice, and herein lies the tantalising twist-in-the-tale of ‘ME Clothing’. Not only is it amassing celebrity endorsement, but it is also capitalising upon a ‘mass-appeal’ momentum, which is quickly gathering pace within the scholastic-sport demographic! Once again, proving the less-is-more adage to be a design-winner, since bespoke jackets have been fabricated for the basketball and cheerleading teams of such esteemed institutions as Northampton and Westminster Universities, respectively.

Versatility, then, incorporated with a ‘warp-speed’ drive towards continued and discernable creative expression, are qualities which set, Adam Benjamin and his ‘ME Clothing’ label apart. He is a shining example of, both, enterprise and initiative, determinedly representing the head-turning vibrancy of the U.K’s urban-menswear scene. I found the brand replete with a stylistic spirit which is ‘100% ME‘ and after you’ve checked out the range, I think they’ll be a 100% ‘you’, too!

 www.iwearme.co.uk ~ www.store.iwearme.co.uk ~ @MECLOTHINGUK ~ SALE NOW ON WITH UP TO 50% OFF!

www.jonesbennettpublicrelations.com ~ @jonesbennettpr

©AFROW2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

‘STYLE HAPPENS SOONER, ON ‘LATER’!’

We have a lot to thank Mr Jools Holland for! Not only does he bring us the most eclectic of live, global musical offerings, from established and emerging artists, alike, but with them, come a plethora of stand-out, sartorial selections, from the style-spectrum! For instance, you’re as likely to see and hear the hauntingly melodic, ‘Amadou and Mariam’, bedecked in bold, traditional Malian dress, playing in the-round, as you are the infectiously-anthemic synth-pop of ‘M.T’, in their eponymous multi-coloured, tie-dye-tees!

Case-in-point has to be a recent episode, featuring, Goldfrapp, James Blake, Franz Ferdinand and Kanye West!

 Backlit in a pure-gold aura and engulfed, full-length, in a column of black chiffon-drapery, the ever-ethereal, Alison Goldfrapp, held the audience, spell-bound with her melifluously reed-like, vocal perfomance of ‘Annabel’. The timeless gown, simultaneously, captured her effortless, idiosyncratic grace, whilst also paying homage to SS14 runways, with its pintuck-peephole bodice.

The unnervingly-talented James Blake delivered an equally-classy rendition of the stunning ‘Retrograde’. With hair, windswept, in defiance of the stillness generated by his unfolding-wall-of sound, he was an example of understated style, surrendering to sonic substance. In a ‘1-800 Dinosaur’ T-shirt-and-jeans ensemble, Blake also seamlessly combined product-placement of his new record label and a pinpoint performance, with ease and flair.

In stark juxtaposition, was the riff and quiff-friendly, Franz Ferdinand. Already well-known for their unique fashion statements including the sharpest of Savile Row-silhouettes, the band showed that they had lost none of their couture-creativity, teaming the gusto of, lyrically, ‘right words’ with the ‘right action’ of donning fashion-forward Hawaiian-prints with rock-a-billy attitude! Very D-Squared-2!

Kanye West’s performance of ‘Bound To’, with the outstanding ‘Uncle’ Charlie (Gap Band) Wilson, more-than-referenced the fact that he had graduated, magna-cum-laude, from the School-of-FROW! The ‘College Drop-Out’ star stamped his artistic authority on the programme, with all of the swagger for which we have come to love him. Punctuating the pitch-black studio with dramatic spotlighting, which served to accente his choice of a laid-back, layering trend, a play-on-neutrals of black ribbed-tee and low-slung, loose-fit, trousers, was complemented by a three-quarter length, khaki parka and desert boots in a pop-of-camel-colour. The entire look was topped-off by the trademark, heavy-gold, diamond-set, belcher-link chain, de rigueur for ushering in SS14’s metallic forecast! Uncle Charlie was certainly in-the-house, with his own, distinguished, take on double-denim, accessorizing with shades, as blacked-out as the windows on a one-off, customised Bugatti! It was, undoubtedly, a fitting backdrop to the soaring, silky-smooth, vocal-runs and devastating musical prowess of such a living-legend of U.S Funk/R&B!

So, the next time you tune into ‘Later… with Jools Holland’, keep an eye out for a new class of ‘artist-interpretations’… I think you’ll find that, on closer inspection, they are, in fact, rather more original!

©AFROW2013-2019 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED