The Hammer House of Fashion... "Gothic Chic"

I ran accross this over on the Gothic.net site and though folks would enjoy it. Also, for those that have missed it, you should check out the great book on the subject of fashionable Gothic culture by Gavin Baddely called Gothic Chic, even if it's not connected with this fashion line. Anyhow, here you go:


The Hammer House of Fashion presents: horror in your wardrobe
By Chris Hastings and Roya Nikkhah
(Filed: 27/02/2005)

The Hammer House of Horror, the British studio famous for churning out spine-tingling films, is hoping to make it big on the catwalk with its own range of "Gothic chic".

Hammer, whose peculiarly British take on the horror genre included Dracula, Prince of Darkness, with Christopher Lee, and One Million Years BC, with Raquel Welch, wants to exploit the cult status enjoyed by some of its characters among young filmgoers.

The studio has also licensed a range of computer games, replica toys, books and comics, all of which will be emblazoned with the studio's blood red logo.

Gresham Blake, one of Britain's most celebrated bespoke tailors, has been asked to produce a range of menswear and womenswear that will capture the look of some of the studio's most famous characters.

Mr Blake, whose clients include Christian Slater, the Hollywood actor, Norman Cook, the DJ, and Davina McCall, the broadcaster, said he had no doubt that the clothes would be popular with young shoppers. "Hammer is a national institution. I am 35 and I can remember secretly staying up late to watch films like Frankenstein and Dracula when I was a child," he said.

"The surprising thing is that kids today are doing exactly the same thing. I know of 11-year-olds who are Hammer fans."

Mr Blake, who will stock the new range in his Brighton boutique, said that some of the more flamboyant designs would be exact copies of the costumes worn in the films.

"We are planning to produce between 12 and 14 different designs inspired by the studio's films. Some of the designs will be replicas complete with top hats and capes," he said.

"Others will have a wider appeal but still reflect the essence of the studio. We are thinking of high collars on long coats for the men and deep blood red linings on coats and jackets.

"We are also drawing up designs for a range of frilly shirts which were worn by most of Hammer's leading men." The womenswear is inspired by former Hammer stars such as Ingrid Pitt and Joan Collins, who were either cast as victims or vampires.

"It's all about plunging necklines, long gloves and buttons on the cuffs. We are also thinking of panel-back dresses and puffed shoulders. Our plunging necklines will probably plunge a little more than they did in the films."

Hammer, which came to prominence with the 1957 offering The Curse of Frankenstein, made 291 films and television series before it stopped production in 1979.

Despite not having a hit for almost a quarter of a century, the studio, which was placed under new management four years ago, has achieved a strong following among a new generation of fans thanks to late-night screenings on television and the widespread availability of its films on DVD and video. Charles Saatchi, Britain's bestknown collector of modern art, is the largest single shareholder and tributes from Martin Scorsese and Peter Jackson, the director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, have helped to raise Hammer's profile.

A few years ago the idea of a horror-influenced fashion range would have been unthinkable. In recent months, however, a number of fashion houses have produced ranges of Gothic-influenced designs. Vanessa Gillingham, the fashion director of Glamour magazine, said that the new Hammer designs stood a good chance of success in the current revival of Gothic and Edwardian glamour.

"On the runways at Milan this week, I have seen a lot of sharp tailoring in black, with high-frilled collars and Gothic elements done in a very soft, chic way, particularly at Gucci and Prada," she said.

Janet Woodward, the chief executive of Coolabi, which commissioned the fashion range on behalf of the studio, was in no doubt who was the main draw. "Christopher Lee as Dracula has become the ultimate in cool and he will feature heavily in the merchandising," she said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/grap...27/nhamm27.jpg

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...27/ixhome.html

Well, that's one way to generate cash for what is in all truth a dead studio (no pun intended) and it seems only fitting it would be fashion related given their wide range of costumes to draw on...should be interesting to see who buys into all this. They'll have to go pretty high quality to really make a dent...nostalgia can only go so far. It's interesting at least.

Man I remember watching Many a Hammer Studios film when I was young. I wonder if they can make any kind of impact with thier line. It's gonna be interesting to see if they can make the kind of quality that people are gonna want and expect from such a line. The name of the game here is quality.

Can I marry Charles Saatchi? I could just be his mistress... I could just hang around in his art galleries...