EDWARD MANN FASHION

Fashion Spotlight: Edward Mann. From the V&A Museum, "Edward Mann was a London based millinery brand which produced high fashion hats. The company label featured the phrase 'Edward Mann- Always making Fashion' and included a line drawing of a little face under a flat diamond shaped hat. Edward Mann designed the hats for iconic 1960s television character Emma Peel of The Avengers played by Diana Rigg." In the first image below, Edward Mann's Spring Collection included a vinyl helmet with perspex earphone, entitled "Sea Diver", and a racing cap with sun visor called "Seaspray". It's interesting that such natural titles would have been chosen for such Space-Age inspired creations. Then again, "Seaspray" is a much more welcoming name than "Harmful Radiation". In the second image, Mann's collection of Cops and Robbers-inspired outfits are presented by three models. As we've seen in examples like the Harry Palmer films, Get Smart, and others, the trench coat really hung on as a wider symbol for spies and private eyes. I don't tend to associate the fashion with robbers or gangsters, do you? The hats may harken back to crime movies, but those Mod sunglasses scream secret agent to me. If the designer's intention was to capture a 1930s gangster vibe, the outfits in the third image finally hit the target! One of my favorites is the Space Helmet by Mann, photographed by John French in 1965. Perhaps the most familiar design from Edward Mann was the pair of "Capsule Line felt Helmets with Dots and Moons" modeled by Pattie Boyd and Celia Hammond, also photographed by French in 1965 (sometimes credited to Cardin on-line). See more at Spy Vibe's posts Mods to Moon Girls and Pattie Boyd. Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe posts: Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, New Saint Publications, The Saint Complete box set, Gerry Anderson Box Sets, Bond LEGO, Deadlier Than the Male, Spectre Report, Music For Spies, Thai Bond Design, Brian Clemens RIP, Bond vs Modernism, Imitation Game, New Avengers Books, Road to Hong Kong, Inside Gerry Anderson, Ringo Does Goldfinger, Sixties Beat Wear, SPECTRE Announced, Popular Skullture, New Gerry Anderson Sets, New SECRET AGENT set, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Modesty Monday, Feraud Mod Fashion, Flint Scores!, Bond Danish, Home Movies, New Richard Sala Book, New 007 Comics, Designing Bond Books, Green Hornet Manga, Margaret Nolan Art, No 6 Festival, Barbarella Returns, 007 Audio Books Return, Designer: Gene Winfield, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Mattel X-15, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.

PULP FICTION EXAMINED

Upcoming release: Beat Girls, Love Tribes, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950-1980. Paul Bishop and David Foster from Spy Vibe sister-sites, Bish's Beat and Permission To Kill, have teamed up with a number of other pulp authors and pop culture scholars to create an exciting overview of mass-market paperbacks. From the press release: "The first comprehensive account of the rise of youth culture and mass-market paperback fiction in the postwar period, Beat Girls is a must-read for anyone interested in retro and subcultural style and popular fiction. As the young created new styles in music, fashion and culture, pulp fiction followed their every step, hyping and exploiting their behavior and language for mass consumption. From the juvenile delinquent gangs of the early fifties, through the beats and hippies, on to bikers, skinheads and punks, pulp fiction left no trend untouched. Boasting wild covers and action-packed plots, these books reveal as much about society’s desires and fears as they do about the subcultures themselves. Featuring over 300 pulp covers, many never before reprinted, as well 70 in-depth author interviews and biographies, articles and reviews, Beat Girls offers the most extensive survey of the era’s mass market pulp fiction. Novels by well-known authors like Harlan Ellison, Lawrence Block, Evan Hunter/Ed McBain, and by filmmakers Samuel Fuller and Ed Wood Jr., are discussed alongside neglected obscurities and contemporary bestsellers ripe for rediscovery. More than 20 critics and scholars of popular culture contributed to this celebration of a fascinating body of work." This project thrills me on a number of levels. As a kid who searched the bookshops every weekend for James Bond and Man From U.N.C.L.E paperbacks, my eyes always scanned over the piles of other authors and series titles that crammed the mystery and adventure shelves. There were so many I didn't have time to explore, but now Beat Girls can serve as an excellent introduction! And as an adult with a background in sociology, I'm especially interested to read about mass-market books and how they reflected youth culture and changes in society during the Cold War. Beat Girls comes out in November from Verse Chorus Press, but you can pre-order on Amazon here. Congratulations to Paul, David, and the Beat Girls team for what will certainly prove to be an essential addition to everyone's Spy Vibe library. 

Selected Spy Vibe posts: Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, New Saint Publications, The Saint Complete box set, Gerry Anderson Box Sets, Bond LEGO, Deadlier Than the Male, Spectre Report, Music For Spies, Thai Bond Design, Brian Clemens RIP, Bond vs Modernism, Imitation Game, New Avengers Books, Road to Hong Kong, Inside Gerry Anderson, Ringo Does Goldfinger, Sixties Beat Wear, SPECTRE Announced, Popular Skullture, New Gerry Anderson Sets, New SECRET AGENT set, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Modesty Monday, Feraud Mod Fashion, Flint Scores!, Bond Danish, Home Movies, New Richard Sala Book, New 007 Comics, Designing Bond Books, Green Hornet Manga, Margaret Nolan Art, No 6 Festival, Barbarella Returns, 007 Audio Books Return, Designer: Gene Winfield, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Mattel X-15, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.

PATTIE BOYD

Pattie Boyd was recently in town to open a new exhibit of her photographs at the San Francisco Art Exchange. I'm hearing great things about her work and even more about her wonderful energy and down-to-earth vibe. It's been many years since Boyd captured the imagination of Swinging London as a fashion model and wife of Beatle George Harrison, but she shows no sign of slowing down her creative efforts. You can learn more about the exhibit here. Below: Pattie Boyd models a Brilkie dress in 1964, photographed by Chaloner Woods with EMI pressings of A Hard Days Night (She appeared in the film, where she first met Harrison), Please Please Me, and With the Beatles. For those collectors out there, the AHDN record is the Mono pressing. Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe posts: Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, New Saint Publications, The Saint Complete box set, Gerry Anderson Box Sets, Bond LEGO, Deadlier Than the Male, Spectre Report, Music For Spies, Thai Bond Design, Brian Clemens RIP, Bond vs Modernism, Imitation Game, New Avengers Books, Road to Hong Kong, Inside Gerry Anderson, Ringo Does Goldfinger, Sixties Beat Wear, SPECTRE Announced, Popular Skullture, New Gerry Anderson Sets, New SECRET AGENT set, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Modesty Monday, Feraud Mod Fashion, Flint Scores!, Bond Danish, Home Movies, New Richard Sala Book, New 007 Comics, Designing Bond Books, Green Hornet Manga, Margaret Nolan Art, No 6 Festival, Barbarella Returns, 007 Audio Books Return, Designer: Gene Winfield, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Mattel X-15, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.

RICHARD SALA: VIOLENT GIRLS

Fantagraphics just announced a limited-edition signed portfolio by the maestro of macabre mystery, Richard Sala! The writer/artist, whose work draws on many genre faves (James Bond, Fantomas, Judex, Dick Tracy, The Avengers, Dr. Mabuse, serials, and classic horror), is a regular here at the Spy Vibe lair. I always enjoy our lengthy discussions about mystery and adventure conventions, sleuths, diabolical masterminds, and Emma Peel. And I eagerly await each new project from Sala's imagination. He worked on a series of images recently that focused on kick-ass female characters (his specialty) and called it Violent Girls. Now that series can be yours to frame and collect! From the press release: "Violent Girls is a limited-edition portfolio featuring 44 action portraits lovingly inspired by the kind of dangerous females who have populated pulp fiction and B-movies throughout the history of pop culture—blazing their way through every kind of genre, potboiler, cliffhanger, and fever dream imaginable. Each print in this thick set is 9" x 7" and on sturdy archival matte paper that faithfully captures the look of the original watercolor art. The set has been created with the utmost care in a "pad folio" format, meaning you may either keep the set in it's handsome book form and place it on your bookshelf, or you may detach any or all prints you wish (pages can be removed cleanly with no tears or mess) and hang them on your wall. Printed by Jonathan Barli of Rosebud Archives. Best known for the macabre whimsy of his many pop gothic graphic novels, including The Hidden, Delphine, and Cat Burglar Black, Richard Sala has also exhibited his artwork internationally and drawn illustrations for Playboy, Esquire, The New York Times, Google and Penguin Books. His fondness for embracing the campy and the absurd is reflected in his affectionate depictions of these lovely and deadly violent girls. The lively original drawings of crisp, angular ink line-work and vibrant splashes of watercolor are reproduced with the utmost care on thick, acid-free sheets. The unique PadFolio format allows each archival print to be detached for individual use or to be kept intact in book form." Signed and numbered, limited to 250. Details here. Tumblr page here. Spy Vibe's Richard Sala posts: Super-Enigmatix Interview, In a Glass Grotesquely, Adventures of Richard Sala Interview, Rogue's Galleries, Invisible Hands, The Hidden. Below: Samples from the Violent Girls series. Enjoy!

Selected Spy Vibe posts: Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, New Saint Publications, The Saint Complete box set, Gerry Anderson Box Sets, Bond LEGO, Deadlier Than the Male, Spectre Report, Music For Spies, Thai Bond Design, Brian Clemens RIP, Bond vs Modernism, Imitation Game, New Avengers Books, Road to Hong Kong, Inside Gerry Anderson, Ringo Does Goldfinger, Sixties Beat Wear, SPECTRE Announced, Popular Skullture, New Gerry Anderson Sets, New SECRET AGENT set, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Modesty Monday, Feraud Mod Fashion, Flint Scores!, Bond Danish, Home Movies, New Richard Sala Book, New 007 Comics, Designing Bond Books, Green Hornet Manga, Margaret Nolan Art, No 6 Festival, Barbarella Returns, 007 Audio Books Return, Designer: Gene Winfield, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Mattel X-15, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.