Proper Magazine Issue 39 - NYC Cover
While Proper Mag is first and foremost a menswear magazine, it’s our opinion that fashion, as a broad field, ought to be utilised as a canvas for more important themes to be projected from. Social issues, environmental issues, and wider political aims can all be alluded to through the simplicity of clothing. Clothes are, after all, the first things we put on in the morning and the last things we take off at night. Their proximity ought to make us think.
In this issue, No. 39, Reaction, we’ve compiled photos, editorials, shoots, interviews and essays that build upon this. We interviewed cult hero Olmes Carretti, whose brand Best Company was worn by a group of infamous Italian materialists, who, in the 80s, reacted to a changing political climate by wearing colourful and expressionate clothing. We took a visit to Altrincham’s Polyspore, where two lads from the Manchester area are cultivating mushrooms - for food, and hopefully, with the prospect of changing local ecological areas.
While fashion has these positive outcomes, it also has a darker side. In a long article about (what we consider) ‘the golden era of vintage clothing’, we lament the growth of fast fashion headquarters within Manchester, and chat to various vintage clothing sellers, including well established Manchester brand Bags of Flavour to freshly brick ‘n’ mortar’d Gone Fishing Vintage, and position buying vintage as one of the most responsible ways to react to the impact that fashion has on the planet. The issue also contains an ethical lesson from Ten c, an Italian brand that wants to make their products last a lifetime.
On top of these, you’ll find the usual suspects: a select look at some Highly Desirable Trail Running shoes, a collaborative piece with good friends Keen, a delve into the world of refillable water bottles with Klean Kanteen, and some words from Ladi Kazeem of The Vault, who takes us through some of his experiences building a t-shirt and merchandise empire. Oh yeah, and just for fun, there’s a solid article with Jake Bugg, indie working-class hero, who considers fashion one of the most fundamental grounds for expression, especially when you don’t have much else.
- 168 pages
- Uncoated paper
- Printed using vegetable-based inks
- Printed on carbon-balanced certified paper
