| 'LOVE BEFORE GLORY' lookbook + interview with JAXIN HALL! |
| Written by Sacha Young | ||||||||
| Monday, 16 May 2011 18:56 | ||||||||
Some of you may know JAXIN HALL from his time in the band Of Mice & Men, or maybe you hunted him down on www.fu**yeahjaxinhall.tumblr.com, or perhaps you caught him on your television in 'Rude Awakenings'... OR better yet, you're a fan of his very own charming clothing line, 'LOVE BEFORE GLORY'! All the way from Manurewa to California, Jaxin has made waves in the U.S. and all over the world with the existence of 'Love Before Glory'. In some ways, it seems to be a natural way for Jaxin to unite the seas and bring all the continents together, all whilst living out his very own American Dream. Alas, some of us are still in Auckland, but with the inspiration and knowledge of Jaxin's story, maybe we can learn from the his three words of advice to "never give up". Who would have thought an annoying little Marine Biologist wannabe child would turn into such a successful and all-conquering young man! Jaxin Hall and Coup De Main share a history of friendships, so we were incredibly excited when he chose to share with us and our readers an exclusive launch of his 'Love Before Glory' Autumn/Winter '11 lookbook, as well as answers to a fair amount of questions for us...
COUP DE MAIN: How did 'Love Before Glory' the label form? Who inspired/influenced you to start designing? JAXIN HALL: I've always loved drawing. My favourite thing to get growing up, was a drawing pad and a pack of crayola coloured pencils. I also grew up not ever being able to afford really nice/cool clothes. Hand-me-downs and The Warehouse were all we could afford. So I was always very aware of what I WISHED I could've owned. I guess this grew a love of "maybe one day I could own this" which one day turned into "maybe one day I could MAKE this" and so I decided to find out how. CDM: When you look back to when you had just begun, did you ever think you would be doing what you are doing today? JAXIN HALL: I always had pretty lofty dreams of what kind of scale I'd like 'Love Before Glory' to get to. The fact that I am now actually reaching some of those dreams blows me away. But I don't know if I really ever thought I could do it or not. Haha. I usually just take life as it comes, luckily this path lead me to a place I'm really stoked to be. Both as a clothing label and personally, where my life is at because of it.
CDM: What is the best thing about being a designer? JAXIN HALL: For me, it's that I can create something simply because I wanted to and then to see it on people from all over the world. That will always blow me away. That I drew a diamond with antlers because I thought it looked nice and then I get photos from someone in Sweden with it tattooed on their wrist or photos with bands touring Japan and the fans are wearing one of my tees. That's an amazing feeling. CDM: Tell me a little bit about your creative process when designing a range... JAXIN HALL: It used to be me just getting an idea from something I might hear in a song or see on the street and I would write it down and start to sketch it at home later. Just anything random I liked the look of. But now we've moved to totally cut & sew it's a lot harder. There are colour stories and themes and stuff that I try to apply now. So it'll be this inner conversation "ok, what am I feeling for Autumn this year? Hunting and outdoors? Okay!" - and I start listing out all the things that means to me. Duck callers, guns, anti-hunting, plaid, woods, etc. Then I'll compile a list of garments I'd like to create to go with that and take my ideas and turn them into the graphics or embroidered patches and tie it all in together so that range as a whole is going to compliment each other item.
CDM: What is the inspiration behind your up & coming collection? JAXIN HALL: The release you're seeing here is loosely based on two ideas. In November last year I was in a small mountain town in Arizona. In a restaurant they had all these old photos from the 1950's of local schools. All the guys had these amazing old letterman sweaters and jackets on that I loved the look of. That got me thinking about how in New Zealand we don't ever get to experience that side of school pride, so I wanted to create a line that embodied that look and sense of pride in where you're from but also embody my own schooling - Manurewa, didn't graduate, a little rough round the edges, but ultimately doing okay. Haha. So this is what I ended up with! CDM: Tell us your favourite memory that has come from 'Love Before Glory'? JAXIN HALL: This is going to sound cheesy, but it has to be that this label that I love and have so much fun doing was able to provide me with a means to buy my lady the engagement ring she'd dreamed of and take care of us financially as we move into our future together with this as our career. It really is amazing to me that I get to do what I love as the main thing in my life with the person I love. It's awesome.
CDM: Since you used to be out on the road touring a lot, how do you think that contributed to your label and it's growth - as well as the inspiration/character of your brand? JAXIN HALL: It definitely helped me develop a sense of what my own style is. Being influenced by the music and fashion both in New Zealand and America and taking what I liked from both worlds really helped to nail down the direction I wanted to take the designs in. It also opened the brand up to an amazingly receptive audience right off the bat. They liked the band I was in and were interested in me so they got to see 'Love Before Glory' - and the ones that liked it, bought it. The awesome thing was that there were a lot more that supported it than I ever thought! And it quickly became more than I could handle from the road. So I had to call it a day on touring and actually really take the brand and its future seriously. CDM: What did you dream of becoming when you were younger? JAXIN HALL: I always wanted to be a Marine Biologist because I wanted to swim with whales and dolphins. I used to call the "0800 SEE-ORCA" number that you're supposed to call to help scientists track killer whales around New Zealand, and just ask the lady questions. Until one day she asked to speak to my Mum and told her not to let me call any more.
CDM: If you could bring one (fashion) item back, what would it be and why? JAXIN HALL: I remember thinking my Nana's broaches were the most amazing and valuable thing I'd ever seen when I was really little. It would be rad to see big gold broaches on dresses and jackets. I also remember thinking I looked so suave in a turtleneck sweater as an eight-year-old... maybe they'll have their day again. CDM: What's the best advice you've ever been given? JAXIN HALL: Never give up. Simple really. It's easy to let bumps in the road turn into mountains, but it's in climbing those mountains that we really learn the things that help us move onwards and upwards.
CDM: What is one thing you can't live without? JAXIN HALL: A cup of tea in the morning. English breakfast, two sugars, and almost a third of the mug is milk. Staple. CDM: Have you got any fashion tips for our Coup De Main readers? JAXIN HALL: Don't ever, under any circumstances, think that it's okay to buy/wear real fur. CDM: Start this sentence: JAXIN HALL: Finding out what's around the next corner on this roller-coaster... is what I live for.
HEART LISTENING: Foster The People - 'Pumped Up Kicks'. HEART WATCHING: 'MacGyver'. HEART READING: Anything by Bill Peet. HEART OF THE WEEK: King Fantastic - a rapper I just discovered. He's cold! Word-plays for weeks. Great inspiration. You know you want to see the rest of the 'Love Before Glory' Autumn/Winter '11 Lookbook... it's all uploaded into our lookbook section HERE. ALSO, be sure to keep a close eye on Coup De Main, as we've got a really exciting competition coming up, with our very first WORLDWIDE scavenger hunt to win 'Love Before Glory' threads! Go and 'like' LOVE BEFORE GLORY on Facebook already! |
