Interview: Philip Boon

“A stylish man has to be unique. I’ve been on best-dressed lists over the years and I think they tend to be very generic and put up only one kind of look. I truly think a stylish person is someone who is not afraid to stand out.”

-       Philip Boon

The rain is teeming as Philip Boon ducks in to a high-end bike store-cum-café on Commercial Road. We shake it off, ordering tea as he laments his show of footwear: a pair of vintage army surplus military boots. Disappointing stand-ins, he frowns, for the Comme de Garcons black ankle boot he would have worn had the weather not, well, rained on his parade. A former fashion designer, one-time PR industry notary and, for the past 16 years, a stylist to the stars, Philip has a unique insight in to what rates (and what doesn’t) on the fashion radar.

Philip: “My grandmother used to say you always dress from the shoes up, and Melbourne men are doing that. I like that we are seeing more colour; that men are looking to tans and greens. And I think that navy shoes, at the moment, are amazing.”

Stand out fashion gets a big tick from this creative director and stylist, who is free in his admiration for avant-garde dresser, Richard Nylon.

Philip: “He’s totally over the top and most people find him freakish and scary but – for the average man – that is really the final frontier: to get over the need to conform. The Dandies have always been the best dressers in history because they are not afraid to stand out.”

Still, that doesn’t mean there are no limits. For Philip, the idea of a white shoe that is not a trainer is possibly a step too far.

Philip: “I bought a pair in 2001 and ended up having to spray paint them silver (he laughs). There are possibly exceptions, for men with good physiques and very simple, clean lines of clothing.”

You have been warned.

Story: Sarina Lewis

Philip Boon - Creative Director & Stylist

Represented by: missbossyboot.com.au/philipboon

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Thanks to  à bloc Bicycles