Makers of Melbourne

Welcome to Makers Of Melbourne – the ‘go to’ guide for our technically integrated age.

Makers Of Melbourne has been created to consume and assimilate Melbourne culture. We're male focussed, but not male specific, sorting through the dross to weed out the creative stars, standout events and stylish folk that make this city unique. 

MOM aims to embrace all facets of what makes this city a creative hub. Our aim is to inform without condescending – to keep you abreast of what’s going on without regurgitating Press Releases & to seek out this city’s sub cultures to give our readers the inside scoop on what’s REALLY happening with the people who make Melbourne Melbourne.

Filtering by Tag: Beggar Man Thief

Stewart in Dries Van Noten

Stewart was hard to miss in what has been a very quiet week in Melbourne (where are all you guys hiding?).   In town from Hong Kong on a lightning visit to see friends, Stewart was busy falling in love with our Melbourne way of life.  Just as we were falling for his style and his sensational Dries Van Noten printed canvas derby's.   Stewart's style advice? "Don't think about it, just go with what you love".

James in Vans x Diemme

James, co-owner of 'Up There' store, was snapped wearing a pair of Italian leather Montebelluna Hiker LX buffalo boots. These limited edition hi-tops from the Vault footwear series are made in partnership between Vans and luxury Italian shoe brand Diemme. The California skate heritage of classic Vans  has been combined with Italian shoemaker Diemme's materials and handmade techniques.

 

Tyson Losers Uneaker

We loved Tyson's whole act this week.  Caught having a sneaky day off in Melbourne with his fiancee, Tyson's relaxed style and attention to detail made for an eclectic mix.  We especially love the English country gent upper-half with the Shibuya bottom half.  Losers Uneaker 'Shark'

Donni Olrik Chelsea

Donni was on a brief visit home to Melbourne between projects in Bali and Bangkok when we bumped into him this week.  Despite spending the better part of 10 years in Asia steering some of the best clubs, he clearly hasn't forgotten how to run the classic Melbourne winter look.  It was the superbly cut denim trench that caught our attention, but as we got talking we could see the whole package was a quintessentially Melbourne streetwear masterclass.   The sharply cut black calf Chelsea's just reminding us how easy good style can be.

James Burnished Dior

We bumped into James yesterday as he was whipping around town running errands before heading overseas to attend the wedding of a friend.  A Sydney 'expat' now enjoying the Melbourne life, James is very much our type of man.   Full of character and energy, and always well put together.  His beautifully cut and understated three-piece, the full knit tie and of course a classic chestnut Dior derby to bring it all together on a wild and wet Melbourne morning.

Interview: James Cameron

“We now know a brogue from a derby, a peak from a notch. And we should. We also know when we should use this knowledge. Being comfortable because you got it right is better than being comfortable because you got it wrong.” - James Cameron

For so long the idea of a Melbourne man and style was mutually exclusive. It was an awkward arrangement of grooming and presentation only if it meant a beneficial outcome.

Men wore suits with the same aplomb a footballer visits the tribunal or a criminal leaves the court, good from afar, far from good.

Then something happened, there was a shift. Yeah there was some awful stuff in the middle about metro-sexuality and oxymoronic men’s beauty, but a lot of that was just the embryonic stages of something bigger that struggled to find meaning and a suitable definition. Let’s just say they were the years we had to go through to get here.

We worked out that deep V-necks were for dicks with shaved chests, but more importantly, that caring too much is just as bad as caring too little.

Nonchalance is different to not caring and this was the shift, a simple understanding that meant the effeminate damage of the previous years forced upon us (whether subscribed to or not) could be repaired.  Things weren’t black and white anymore. Take care of your skin, but maybe draw the line at mascara. Sure your eyes ‘pop’, but what did we say about caring too much?

We grew, we moved on and we got past really pointy shoes in pale mock alligator.

With each setback we gained strength and confidence, footballers still make avoidable mistakes; black tie is for black tie and the only room for creativity is your choice of tailor, not the choice of colour. If you’re wondering, yes, brown is wrong despite the name of the medal.

Leave fashion to the victims and style to the men.

James Cameron is a Melbourne tailor, author and freelance fashion designer.  James has developed and advised on clothing design for some of Melbourne's best known menswear labels, fashion stores as well as his own eponymous label.  James writes for The Age Melbourne, Broadsheet and several other fashion publications.