#baminate

BAMIN NOTES | Trend: Musicians in Black, Godmother of Punk Patti Smith x Man in Black Johnny Cash

Traditionally, musicians and performers wear black so as to not detract from the music itself. Of course, black doesn’t have to be boring. Legendary musicians Patti Smith and Johnny Cash took wearing black to the next level, making the look an extension of their musical energy. It’s all black everything week at BAMIN, and we’re indulging our #TBT nostalgia with a glance back at Patti Smith’s androgynous punk styling and Johnny Cash’s timeless “Man in Black” on-stage presence.

Often referred to as the “Godmother of Punk” or the “punk poet laureate” Patti Smith’s music is a brilliant fusion of poetry and punk rock, and her androgynous, menswear-inspired wardrobe has made her a long-time muse for designer Ann Demeulemeester. Though Patti Smith is still killing it in the style department and still has a penchant for wearing lots of black (and black leather), she used to give her outfits more whimsical names: the “tennis player in mourning,” a black-on-black ensemble paired with white Keds; her Anna Karina-inspired in Bande à part look echoed the dark sweater, plaid skirt, black tights and flats; and her long black sweater, black tights, white socks with Capezios take on Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. 

Patti Smith’s style has an affinity for masculinity, though we like to think of it as more utilitarian. For that practical yet stylish punk rock cool, accessorize your favorite leather motorcycle jacket with a unisex Black Leather Carryall $515.

Johnny Cash may be a country music icon, but his music also notably blended elements of rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, folk, and gospel. And while Cash has a famous protest song titled “Man In Black,” he was also known for his on-stage styling as the “The Man In Black.” Cash actually owes his signature look to stylist Manuel, who made Cash nine all black outfits because there was a special on black fabric (how practical!) but told Cash, “‘You should wear this color. It's your vibe, it's your aura. Something tells me you should wear this color.’” Johnny Cash’s head-to-toe black looks completed his image as the sensitive outlaw.

If you plan to embody the spirit of The Man In Black, you’ll need a black button-up, a long and tailored leather coat, slick boots and this Leather Overnight $515 for those long trips away from June. Just don’t forget to kiss her before you go.

MOMENTS | Mash-up: Art x Theory x the Color Black, Pushing New Boundaries with the Blank Slate Color 

We’ve curated the best of digital age-inspired creativity—from user-generated content, mash-ups, and remixes to collaborations between multi-disciplined makers.

When Russian artist Kazimir Malevich unveiled Black Square (1915), he ushered in Suprematism, one of the most radical developments in abstract art. Influenced by avant-garde poets and an emerging movement in literary criticism, Suprematism used the monochrome in the “rediscovery of pure art which, in the course of time, had become obscured by the accumulation of ‘things.’” It’s been a century since the introduction of the color black as the “zero point,” a void for the old, thus welcoming the freedom to feel and create something new. As you’ve noticed, we’re working an all black everything theme here, so let’s take a look at some of the best all-black paintings that have emerged in the last century.

Robert Rauschenberg began his series of black paintings in 1951, and among these works is his Untitled [glossy black painting]. The piece was Rauschenberg’s exploration of the boundary between painting and collage and used collaged, dipped, and painted newspaper fragments to add a third dimension to his paintings.

In the same era, there’s abstract artist Ad Reinhardt. Reinhardt spent the better part of 1953 until his death in 1967 on his all black paintings, which he described as, “A free, unmanipulated, unmanipulatable, useless, unmarketable, irreducible, unphotographable, unreproducible, inexplicable icon.” The profound, self-reflection that Reinhardt’s black paintings produced was a reaction to how, when everything is in motion, art should be still.

Sergej Jensen’s black monochromes painting on hemp, Untitled (2008), is a more recent take on the all-black painting. The piece places its focus on the material as a means of achieving form. As the black paint dried, the hemp canvas warped and cracked stretcher bars, a representation of the tortured state of internal struggle.

It’s a new year, and a new blank slate. We want to leave those tensions of the past behind, so grab your Black Leather Overnight with Neomesh Sides $405 and get ready to embark on that new adventure. 

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BAMIN NOTES | Trend: Jean-Luc Godard x The French New Wave, the Prevailing Influence of New Wave Fashion 

The French New Wave is known for its radical experimentation with visual and narrative filming techniques, all while making bold fashion moments. The movement started in the late 1950s and 1960s, shifting focus away from conservative period pieces and towards the concerns of the working class, like the social and political upheavals of the era. And while the films featured the simple street styles of the time, the characters often embodied a certain je ne sais quoi that made the accessible yet stylish looks feel so iconic. The movement’s most prominent pioneers include Jean-Luc Godard, who, at the age of 84, is still finding ways to introduce new techniques to the formal innovations of film. So in celebration of Godard’s experimental 3D drama Adieu au langage (2014), we’re taking a look back at some of the most timeless looks from his New Wave classics. 

Anna Karina, the poster girl of the French New Wave (and Godard’s ex-wife) also starred in his technicolor Pierrot Le Fou and Made In USA, but right now, we’re vibing her styling in Godard’s black and white films. Bande à part’s iconic “Madison dance” scene, performed to soul music composed for the film by Michel Legrand, features Anna Karina in her girly French best—dark, oversized sweater, plaid skirt, men’s hat, and black high socks. We can’t forget the large, tweed coat she wears in her turn as tragic actress turned prostitute in Vivre sa vie either, mostly because it makes us want to grab a Black Leather Overnight $575 to embark on our own tale of New Wave fatalism.

Anna Karina may be the quintessential face of the French New Wave, but Brigitte Bardot holds the throne on the other end of French allure. In Le Mépris, Bardot works the classic Breton stripe with a demure cardigan, but the teased blonde hair and thick headband immortalizes her look. As for the men, Jean-Paul Belmondo embodied a don’t-give-a-damn effortlessness, when he’s accessorizing his slim cut trousers with fedoras or his ever-present cigarette in the mouth. It’s the kind rouge sophistication that calls for a Black Leather Briefcase $505. 

So whether you’re channeling French gamine Anna Karina or iconoclastic bombshell Brigitte Bardot, don’t forget that extra bit of je ne sais quoi.

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BAMIN NOTES | News: BAMIN (Build And Make It Now) x Shop Spring App 

BAMIN loves digital age innovations, so we’re super excited to announce our partnership with Spring, the app that combines e-commerce with the streamlined and personalized nature of Instagram. Spring lets you follow your favorite brands, and when you see something you like, simply swipe and tap to get it. It's a new year, and we're starting with a blank slate...in black. We're celebrating an all black everything theme with a selection of black bags unique to Spring. Because black is always on trend. If you haven’t already downloaded the Spring app, do it and be sure to follow us when we go live Tuesday, January 20th.

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MOMENTS | Mash-up: Frank Ocean Covers Aaliyah’s Cover of Isley Brothers' "At Your Best (You Are Love)"

We’ve curated the best of digital age-inspired creativity—from user-generated content, mash-ups, and remixes to collaborations between multi-disciplined makers.

Frank Ocean commemorated what would have been Aaliyah’s 36th birthday by sharing his haunting interpretation of The Isley Brothers’ 1976 single “At Your Best (You Are Love),” a song famously covered by Aaliyah in 1994. Referred to on Ocean’s Tumblr as “You Are Luhh,” the cover features Ocean’s soulful falsetto and some light instrumentation. His pure, wordless falsetto creates an intimate and stripped down rendition that is very reminiscent of Aaliyah’s version of the song (which was also sampled on Drake’s Thank Me Later track “Unforgettable”)—a cover of a cover.

This emotional tribute to the late and beloved R&B singer is the first new material we’ve heard from Frank Ocean since last November, when he released “Memrise,” his most recent solo song in two years. The last 20 seconds of “You Are Luhh” contains some funk-lite instrumentals from what sounds like a different track, and we can only hope that it’s a sneak peak of Ocean’s much-anticipated Channel Orange follow-up.

It’s Monday, and since we’re starting the week with Frank Ocean’s expressive tunes, the urban Black Leather Duffel with Orange Neomesh Sides $465 lets us channel our moody, poetic selves, with a hint of orange to take the edge off.

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MOMENTS | Throwback: #FBF BANKS Covered Aaliyah’s “Are You That Somebody?”

We’ve curated the best of digital age-inspired creativity—from user-generated content, mash-ups, and remixes to collaborations between multi-disciplined makers. 

It’s #FBF, and because today would been Aaliyah's 36th birthday, we’re revisiting one of our favorite covers—BANKS’ magnificent interpretation of Aaliyah’s 1998 “Are You That Somebody” for BBC Live Lounge. Aaliyah’s hit song was once referred to as "Timbaland's greatest gift to the world," and 13 years after her death, the legendary singer’s vocal influence is still heard in the works of artists who blend the R&B, bedroom-pop, and indie-pop genres. 

BANKS’ cover of Aaliyah’s single is a stripped down acoustic guitar rendition, but she’s given us some more adventurous covers too. Listen to her acoustic Aaliyah cover, then work out your week’s feelings with her neo-soul jam version of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” before getting into the weekend with her sensuous rendition of The Weeknd’s “What You Need.”

It’s Friday, so let our Black Leather Briefcase $505 help you get through a productive work week.

Then remix it by switching out the sides to go from work to play with this Black Leather Duffel with Neomesh Sides & Leather Handles $465.

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MOMENTS | Mash-up: Illustrator Christoph Neimann’s Mixed Visual Mediums

We’ve curated the best of digital age-inspired creativity—from user-generated content, mash-ups, and remixes to collaborations between multi-disciplined makers.

You’ve probably seen legendary artist, illustrator and author Christoph Niemann’s work on the covers of The New Yorker, Newsweek andthe New York Times Magazine. Every Sunday, the visual storyteller sets aside to time to play with different visual mediums, which he shares on his Instagram. Examples of his work include combining his illustrations with everyday objects and photographs to create optical illusions. Of course, you can also peruse a more extensive collection of Neiman’s work on his Tumblr. 

For a little #TBT, Niemann launched an interactive animated app called Petting Zoo, which takes his playful illustrations and combines it with technology. Niemann built the app himself and spent a month wrapping his head around divs and JavaScripts and C.S.S. classes. The app has a zoo of 21 illustrated, animated animals that the user can swipe and tap at these creatures for their animated reactions.

In Vienna this upcoming summer? Christoph Niemann will have a solo exhibition at MAK.

If these mixed-media illustrations have you feeling as playful as we are, you can store your portfolio in this Blue Neomesh Briefcase with Orange Neomesh Sides & Black Leather Handles $260.

Or for a subtler look of whimsy, equip yourself with this Black Leather Briefcase with Blue Neomesh Sides & Blue Leather Handles $395.

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MOMENTS | Mash-up: Jon Hopkins x Late Night Tales Mix Series, Covers Yeasayer’s “I Remember”

We’ve curated the best of digital age-inspired creativity—from user-generated content, mash-ups, and remixes to collaborations between multi-disciplined makers.

Electronic musician and producer Jon Hopkins is the latest contributor in the Late Night Tales mix series. Late Night Tales combines exclusive covers with spoken word narration, creating “music and stories worth staying up for”. Hopkins covered Yeasayer's "I Remember" in his sampler and collaborated with poet Rick Holland for the spoken word track.

The mix takes samples from tracks by Four Tet, School of Seven Bells, Holy Other, HEALTH remixed by Gold Panda, Jónsi & Alex, and more. On his creative process, Hopkins explains, “I mixed by key and by texture more than anything else, using original sound design, pivot notes, and often recording new synth or piano parts to link things together in a way that flows as naturally as possible. I hope you enjoy it." 

Listen to Jon Hopkins’ Late Night Tales album sampler via SoundCloud.

For those late nights full of music and stories, an Orange Neomesh Duffel with Blue Leather Sides & Black Leather Handles $440 is just the thing you need to take you from night to sunrise.

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