by germinal » Sat Oct 12, 2013 7:49 am
Went to DSM; tried on the veil jacket... holy fucking shit the bed it's the best piece of kit i've ever handled - the sort of jacket you could own for years and find new details every time you wear it. Double layered sleeves with elastic thumb straps, zip cuff; i counted 7 pockets on first examination; all the buttons are needlessly complicated - each buttonhole is on a separate piece of fabric that is riveted to the main jacket; rubber-backed collar; beautifully fitting hood with the weird stowable veil (also rubber-backed at the bottom to add weight and ease stowing); drawstrings everywhere, too many to count; not to mention the entire jacket is made up in super-lightweight mesh (the hardware adds heft to the whole thing, so it doesn't feel fragile at all); the tag is a thin, wide strip with the Aitor Throup logo, "New Object Research" and almost certainly the number of the jacket - i'm kicking myself that i forgot to look. The jacket fit me perfectly and looked amazing and i could easily see myself wearing it on the daily; if i had £2500 to spare i would have no qualms on spending that much - you can see where your money's going in every detail.
Both skull bags have been redesigned since previous releases, and the price has been jacked up accordingly (apparently they were sold for a loss first time round). The backpack is now in a soft malleable nylon. Last time the material was stiffer and felt sturdier, and gave the bag it's structure. This time it's evident that it's the panelling and sewing that supports the skull form. Hardware and leather feels the same as before (robust as fuck). The SA said that bag sold within half an hour. In fact all the bags and hats that DSM were allocated sold in the first day - by the time i got there, two days later, only two shirts, the veil jacket, the trumpeter's uniform and the denim jacket were left in stock (everything else was for display only). The Shiva bag now has two zips on top, which is a sensible redesign, and feels a bit smaller, tho i may be misremembering. This one is made up in a fuzzy wool which i prefer to the more traditional suiting fabrics used last time. Again, hardware feels like you could club someone to death with it.
Both the hats - the band-leader's hat with a clear brim, and the face mask cap - felt a bit cheap, and in fact i think i might have damaged the former when i picked it up... oops. The shirts are cool-looking - made from a fairly stiff, dry poplin; sewn edge-to-edge; seams taped with clear plastic, inside and out; laser cut pockets - but completely impractical: all but unlaunderable, and i guarantee the tape will peel after a couple of seasons. The denim jacket was unchanged from the previous release: still the same rubber-backed denim, sewn edge-to-edge etc. Trumpeter's coat is very cool - the trumpet case unfolds to form part of the collar - but i didn't bother trying it on. Apparently DSM didn't get the Mongolian parka, which sucks because it was the piece i most wanted to see. Sorry I don't have any pictures, they're strictly forbidden, and i was never left alone long enough to sneak one. I grabbed another two copies of his manifesto on the way out... now i have four lol