SECRET FORTS

SHOPPING HONG KONG, 1971.

mrforts — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 18:39:14 +0000

July 1971. Three and a half years before my birth. My dad’s a medic in Vietnam. A MASH unit. The 95th Evacuation Hospital in DaNang on the South China Sea. When evacuating wounded soldiers, a doc had to accompany. On one such occasion in July of ’71, my dad was such doc. Going through some of his things a few years back, came across a folder of receipts. He kept folders relentlessly. Looks as if dad spent some time and some money during his 48 hours in Hong Kong. Shoes, two pair. Two suits. Some stereo equipment. A hotel stay. Two packs playing cards. Wonder what shipping from Hong Kong to the States cost back then.

OUT/ABOUT/HERE/THERE.

mrforts — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 17:48:56 +0000

HAPPY 4TH from SECRET FORTS.

mrforts — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 14:42:12 +0000

Be safe out there.

THE BOARD : SUMMER ’13.

mrforts — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 14:54:37 +0000

Your pictorial guide to a proper, stylish, adventurous and perhaps dangerous Summer.

B-ROLL : THE HILL-SIDE + GITMAN BROS SUMMER SHIRTING.

mrforts — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:57:22 +0000

Never content to simply rest on their laurels, The Hill-Side continues to grow and evolve from their very first collection of instantly classic ties and pocket squares to their latest endeavor. In collaboration with the Ashland PA expert shirtmakers Gitman Bros, The Hill-Side releases, just today, a special collection of floral-printed, perfect-for-summer short sleeve BDs. And with their release comes one minute of video made from hundreds of photos taken with a dozen or so disposable cameras early one morning last week in Brooklyn.

The shirts are made using a selection of four Japanese and three US made floral prints from The Hill-Side’s ss13 collection and all cut and sewn by Gitman right here in the good ole US of A. To announce their arrival, The Hill-Side and co. called upon my many years of theatre experience to help illustrate, frame by frame, what it’s like to wear seven shirts at once.
The result, a befittingly DIY “disposable motion animation video”.

The collection is available at your finer menswear retailers across the country and of course at Hickorees.
Head over the the Need Supply blog, where I’m guest blogging this month, to see the finished video.

TOKEN ENGINEERED GARMENTS POST : FW13 LOOKBOOK.

mrforts — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:20:17 +0000

Here at Secret Forts, we are unabashed in our long time and extreme fandom of all things Engineered Garments. With the release of their FW13 lookbook, each look so layered, each garment so detail-rich, it takes a number of passes to dissect it properly.

With FW13, as has become something of a cornerstone for EG, Daiki and team have gone full on textile and pattern mash up.
Winter florals to plaid flannels and wide stripes to black on black, EG continues in its aesthetic evolution while remaining steadfast in its cues of influence and inspiration and consistent in vision. With summer promising to be a long and hot one, there’s plenty of time to pick each look apart and get excited for layering up again.

EPIC FIELD TRIP : ICA, BOSTON.

mrforts — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:23:02 +0000

While back in New York for work recently, I was lucky enough to invite myself along with the brothers Corsillo on an overnight road trip to Boston. Right back to the same area of the city in which Emil had his studio after grad school, albeit greatly changed since those days. The occasion; the opening of Barry McGee’s “mid career survey” at the beautiful Institute of Contemporary Art in Fort Point for which Emil and Sandy produced a series of three (with a fourth on the way) limited edition bandanas selected by and printed with Barry’s work and exclusive to ICA and Hickorees of course. Friday morning, with the bandanas belly-banded and boxed up, we had a delivery to make. And then, beers to drink.

A long-time fan of Barry’s work, living in San Francisco in the early-mid 90s, his screws, faces and derivations on the moniker “TWIST” (TWISTER, TWISTO, etc.) were ubiquitous on the streets. (As was the beautiful work of his late wife and brilliant artist Margaret Kilgallen). The chance to attend the private opening replete with all the trappings (champagne toast, meet and great, Q & A, etc.) made the twenty-something me nostalgic for what Barry referred to, later in conversation, as the best years in the City by the Bay.

Stopped in at the famous Shady Glen in Manchester, Connecticut for a late breakfast of cheeseburgers and sundaes. Worth the detour.

AMAZE + SOKER piece commisioned by ICA along 90.

Bandanas delivered and up for display.

Q & A.

Barry invites fellow street legend Lee Quinones up to field some questions.

Pile of dreadlocks. #gross

Signed exhibition catalog. #daymade.

#Boston

#Bostongarbagewalking.

Back to NY and straight to LGA.

Cinelli + Barry McGee. #souvenirs

Limited edition TH-S + ICA + Barry McGee bandanas. Pre-sale at Hickorees.
Huge thanks to Richard at the ICA store for making the evening a great one.

OUT/ABOUT/HERE/THERE.

mrforts — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:49:49 +0000

THEN AND NOW : THE UPGRADE.

mrforts — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:52:17 +0000

While most things featured here at Secret Forts only get better with age, there does arise the eventual occasion for mending, darning and upgrading. Picked up at a flea market some years ago, this selvedge HBT tote has always been a favorite of mine for its simplicity. And as most things do as a result of constant use, it began falling apart. This is where it helps to have friends who practice a craft, know what they’re doing and do it exceptionally well (*that would be Chris and Lindsay at Stanley & Sons) and who don’t mind being asked a favor of that when put up against meeting production deadlines and other more pressing business, understandably drops to somewhere near the bottom of the “to-do” list. Well worth the wait. What’s old is new again.

I had asked Chris to replace the carry handles, add the exterior and interior pockets and basically just make it awesomer. Mission accomplished.
An enormous thanks to good pals Chris and Lindsay at Stanley & Sons for humoring my requests. And oh yeah, Stanley & Sons is now on Instagram. You know what to do…

then

now

then

now

then

now (interior)

OUT/ABOUT/HERE/THERE.

mrforts — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:10:14 +0000