For Nancy
FO REAL
CONTENTS
Guide
When Mark asked me to write a foreword to this book, my first thought was Fuck off.
Let me explain: It wasnt because I dislike MarkI love him. Fuck off perfectly describes his aesthetic and his singular approach to life. In a world of political correctness and a constant stream of pabulum that permeates the current retail and publishing culture, Marks spirit is the antidote to the neutered and the bland.
Marks voice represents a mind-set that all generations can understand. He has co-opted Fuck off as a business model: he not only embodies the smart-ass and the curmudgeon; hes made a cottage industry out of the persona of the grumpy old man. But there is more to Mark than the contrarian. He gained experience at classic purveyors of taste and style, having worked with venerable institutions such as J. Press. He expertly built a career around the established, then put that experience to good use when he broke out on his own.
As a distinct and contrarian voice in #menswear, Mark produces clever collections with a sense of humor and a poke in the eye, but his clothes are never trendy or trite. Theres always a solid through line of East Coast establishment crossed with Travis Bickle. And he puts his money where his mouth is by stamping Fuck off on every leather-soled shoe. What makes Marks vision work is that he is, at his core, classic. He understands the rules, protocol, and tradition. Then he turns it all on its ear. That, for me, is the hallmark of a genius.
Nick Wooster
The clothing I make has heart and soul. When I design, the only limitations are the rules in my head. Sometimes, I have a hard time verbalizing those rules, and in fact, I find it excruciating when people ask me to talk about my inspiration and the creative process. So dont expect me to do it here. I would much rather be sitting at a table trying to execute my ideas, not talking about them.
I grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, where becoming a designer was not even a remote possibility; the opportunities just werent there. When I moved to New York, I really had no idea what I was going to do with my life, either. I just knew that this was the place I needed to be. I began working in fashion in sales, first in North Carolina and then in New York. With respect to design, I am completely self-taught, although I really think of myself as a maker rather than a designer. I learned the process from shopping, examining details, digging around factories, and listening to people who knew a lot more than I did. And I learned that ideas can come from anywhere and that coming up with them is the easy part of the process. The execution is the ticketand an order aint an order until its paid for.
McNAIRY, PAT AND HOLLY: (Mark and Lisa McNairy, circa 1968): Courtesy of Pat and Holly McNairy.
My style has evolved from being afraid to express my real feelings to simply not giving a fuck. Life is too short. I like to think I make clothes for people who can think for themselves.
I have been hired to help companies revamp their brands, to help reinvent that classic, Ivy-inspired look. Well, fuck Ivy. The problem is there are too many rules, and rules are supposed to be broken. As a designer, the real turning point was during my incarceration as creative director for J.Press. Before then, I pretty much did what I wanted, but I was always amenable to the suggestions of buyers and salespeople. At J.Press, I was hired to administer CPR to a dying brand, but the powers that be would not let me do what I was hired to do. So I said: Fuck this. I am going to do a Howard Roark, and do exactly what I want to do, and it will work, or I will go down fighting.
Thus, McNasty was born. Or born again. However you want to phrase it. And I learned to not take myself, or this business, too seriously. But the things I make are serious business to me. Ive had my own company since 2009. Ive always been hands-on, and I think I always will be. It is hard for me to function outside the 10018 zip code. I am in the factories almost every day, looking at fabrics and choosing buttons, zippers, and threads. This is the way I learned how to make clothes. Just like the wrong shoes can kill a whole look, the wrong button or the wrong thread can ruin a garment and send me into a shredding frenzy. I am not kidding: it has happened. I am basically designing for myself, so there are probably certain details that most people will never even notice. But I know that they are there.
I like a modern take on the traditional. Actually, I like fucking with tradition. I draw inspiration from so many places: hunting and fishing gear, military uniforms, Savile Row, Ivy League, and work wear. The inspiration can come from anywhere, even from something wadded up in the trash. The way I see it, clothing should not be so formulaic in terms of how it is made or how you wear it.
This book is an extension of my philosophy on clothing and on life: from clothes and shoes to essential knowledge, and even a few tips on being a gentleman. My suggestion: Use this book as a guide. Find your voice. Be discerning.
Or, put more simply, read (if you know how to), think (if that is possible), look at the pretty pictures, get inspired, and then go fuck yourself.
And thanks for buying the book.
Mark McNairy
Earth, 2016
HYPEBEAST: (Mark McNairy for Heather Grey Wall, Inferior Collection, 2012), photograph of Arthur Bray, DJ at Yeti Out and editor of HYPEBEAST, courtesy of HYPEBEAST.
GETTY IMAGES: Ed Marker, The Denver Post via Getty Images, 1966.
SIMPLE PERFECTION.
MINIMALISM AT ITS BEST.
ANGEL, JORGEN: (Johnny Rotten, Daddys Dance Hall, Copenhagen, 1977) Jorgen Angel.
ON IMPERFECTION AND BEAUTY
Occasionally, I wear one of my favorite shirts that happens to have a very small hole on the front of it. People like to point out the hole to me, like I was a leper. The fact of the matter is: I like that hole.
LYON, DANNY: (Chicago, 1965) Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos.
GETTY IMAGES: A.Y. Owen, 1957. The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images.
GETTY IMAGES: Ted Spiegel for National Geographic/Getty Images, 1963.