MENSWHERE
20 years in the making, "Menswhere" is the life's work of Liam Maher, great-grandson of both an Irish tailor and a Welsh master weaver who has worked as a senior creative for Timberland, Burton, Visvim, Denham and Ecco. A mysterious magnum opus with academic undertones that investigates the lost history of an underground tailor's guild featuring photography by Marc Haers. Smel was responsible for the extravagant design of the book and was a partner in the production.
Deliverables
Visual Identity, Book, Webshop
Services
Art Direction, Editorial Design, Co-production
For years 'A Lost History of the Militant Guild of Rural Tailors' has been whispered about by the likes of William Gibson, Joseph Corre, Shaun Stussy, Mark Parker and even Joe Perry. But how do you integrate an artist's arcane and idiosyncratic act of world-making into an autonomous book that is both relevant and timeless?
CHALLENGE
Create an autonomously crafted photo book that breathes life into a secretive narrative, seamlessly blending contemporary aesthetics with the visual richness of a photo-centric format.
CREATION
We immersed ourselves deeply in the author's story about a secretive tailors' guild. We then translated the craft and rituals of the featured contributors into a visual style that allows space for graphic formality and creative expression. This approach retained a subtle flavor of academic research through distinctive text formatting, the use of typographic codes, and alternating rhythms with photography. The result is an aesthetic style that evokes a distinctive and authentic texture, akin to the way a loom weaves fabric.
Design Asset - Photography
Photography plays a crucial role in capturing the atmosphere of MENSWHERE. Portraits and rituals, skillfully captured by photographer Marc Haers, were placed on the pages distinctively, with images extending beyond the page borders to the next. Additionally, we took care of image editing to ensure the best possible result in the printing process.
Photography plays a crucial role in capturing the atmosphere of MENSWHERE. Portraits and rituals, skillfully captured by photographer Marc Haers, were placed on the pages distinctively, with images extending beyond the page borders to the next. Additionally, we took care of image editing to ensure the best possible result in the printing process.
Framework - Design Assets
Colour Palette, Typography, Text Layout, Photography Editing
A Lost History of the Militant Guild of Rural Tailors
MENSWHERE
"Our collaboration with Smel has revolved around a highly idiosyncratic personal project. A work that resists easy categorisation - fashion historical versus conceptual art versus academic research.
Smel's role in developing a distinctive overall framework as well as complementing internal rhythms has been crucial in harnessing its widely varied elements into a unified whole while always respecting the nuance and texture that makes it unique. The process itself felt like more than just teamwork, it felt like family".
— Liam Maher, author of Menswhere
Smel's role in developing a distinctive overall framework as well as complementing internal rhythms has been crucial in harnessing its widely varied elements into a unified whole while always respecting the nuance and texture that makes it unique. The process itself felt like more than just teamwork, it felt like family".
— Liam Maher, author of Menswhere
Published by Energy Plan Creative in collaboration with Smel *creative agency. The book is expected to launch via a series of focused events throughout 2024, exactly 20 years since the underlying concept was originally conceived.
The book 'MENSWHERE' is proudly included in the esteemed libraries of Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo, F.I.T. (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York, Central Saint Martins in London, and Institut Français de la Mode in Paris.
Client
Liam MaherSamenwerking
Text, concept, and creative direction: Liam MaherPhotography: Marc Haers
Image editing: Marc Gijzen
Co-production: Energy Plan Creative & smel *creative agency
