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André 3000′s short-lived fashion line, Benjamin Bixby, that launched in 2008.

From The New York Times (2008):

At a party at Barneys New York during Fashion Week, André Benjamin, his hands thrust into the pockets of his suspender pants, really did look as if he would rather curl up at home with his Singer than be known as another singer who can sew. He was there to introduce a line of men’s wear called Benjamin Bixby, which includes tweed plus fours and club sweaters with leather elbow patches. The collection was inspired by Ivy League athletics of the 1930s. It looked like Ralph Lauren having a Steampunk moment.

The name Benjamin Bixby derives from an episode of MTV’s “Punk’d” on which Mr. Benjamin was the victim of an elaborate joke: At the fabricated scene of a car accident, a Maybach salesman demanded his name, implying that Mr. Benjamin was responsible for the damages. Unaware of the setup, he blurted out “Bixby,” the last name of the actor who starred in the television series “The Incredible Hulk.”

Later, to create a persona for his fashion line, Mr. Benjamin, 33, combined his surname with that of Bill Bixby. The character is a world traveler whose wardrobe includes things like a $995 cotton corduroy blazer, a $350 felted waistcoat and a $95 newsboy cap. At Barneys, those clothes now hang next to lines like Double RL and Engineered Garments, which have a similar bent of Depression Chic.

The reaction from young men has been strong, said Tom Kalenderian, the men’s wear fashion director at Barneys. “Though you are looking at plus fours and collegiate sweaters that remind you of the past, it is very current with today.”

Mr. Benjamin’s point of view was shaped as a teenager in Atlanta, where, to stand out, he often customized his clothes and dyed his jeans turquoise or orange. He was into fashion back then, he said, noting that his favorite brands were “Alexander Julian Colours, Ralph Lauren, Generra, early Guess, Bugle Boy, Tretorn, Lacoste, Levi’s, Britches, Helly Hansen, Eddie Bauer, L. L. Bean, Bass, early Timberland and early Banana Republic, when they were still doing adventure wear.”

“For an African-American guy to be a prep, that’s a dichotomy,” he said. “Prep style comes from mostly affluent families who just wear these cool clothes. But when you come from a background that has more struggle, your take on it will be different. There’s a certain kind of rebel to it.”

From W Magazine (2017):

“I️ knew the next time I️ got into fashion or design [after OutKast’s clothing line] it’d be something I️ really love,” he told the audience. “The reason I️ took that route was because hip-hop had this image of ‘we don’t wear these types of things’ and I️ knew we wore different clothes. So Benjamin Bixby was my personal way of trying to say, ‘This is how we do it.’ The clothes I was trying to make were all my sketches and designs. I was like, ‘Let me take this. Let me not get an investor.’ So all of it was me. My own money. Unfortunately, I️ lost millions, to be honest. It was an expensive lesson. But I can tell you, it was the best times, the best lessons in my life about my self and creating things.”

One of the lessons Benjamin learned is that it’s much harder to create and fund a line as an individual than with financial backing, a point that Kanye West has made repeatedly over the years — especially throughout his Yeezy tour — which André 3000 can empathize with.

“Because I️ was so against how people looked in hip-hop looked, I went really hard trying to prove that we didn’t,” he said. ‘So in doing that, I kind of shunned — I️ didn’t do parties we didn’t have a website. I just wanted to prove to everyone that this was for real. I was going to Paris to fabric showrooms. I️ remember we were in Hong Kong, and I was there working for a month, and I️ saw a flyer for a performance that was N.E.R.D. and Kanye West. So I went to the show and I saw Kanye and Pharrell backstage. They were like, ‘What you doing here?’ And I️ was like, ‘I’m trying to make this clothing thing happen.’ Now when I️ see Kanye and Pharrell killing it, they’ve both opened doors. It’s a beautiful thing.

#I wish this would've flourished #andre 3000 #outkast #benjamin bixby #fashion #business lessons #the new york times #w magazine

André Lauren Benjamin for Tretorn

#andre 3000 #outkast #tretorn #ATL #inspo #Benjamin bixby #big boi #atlanta #atliens #model #urban #three stacks #3 stacks #jeff staple

remembering Andre 3000's Benjamin Bixby collection

remembering Andre 3000’s Benjamin Bixby collection

it was short lived and the waistlines were a little high but it wasn’t bad at all

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#andre 3000 #benjamin bixby #designers #style

A cool spring day

#Menswear #Engineered Garments #J Crew #kamakura #Benjamin Bixby #Carmin #Uniqlo

A Not-Quite-Spring Outfit

I found a good deal on a suede A-1 blouson but the buttons looked cheap so I had them replaced with some horn buttons I got from Hwa Seng and I think it looks great now.

Throw on a nice striped OCBD (oxford cloth button-down shirt), a thin cotton v-neck jumper, some off-white trousers and some snuff suede chukka boots and you have a nice outfit for those cooler days.

Note: These off-white trousers can show creases quite easily and it's visible here because I took these pictures in the middle of the day after I'd been wearing them for some time.

#Menswear #Kamakura #Benjamin Bixby #Crockett and Jones #Hwa Seng #A-1 #Suede