Leave The Boy Alone.

I have to admit I had not even entered this world when BOY London came onto the scene, with their emblazoned t-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and more with its bold logo. Now the label has been revived I'm not willing to miss out this time around. I recently ordered Pamflet (an online zine) and was reading an article titled 'The difference between fashion girls and indie girls' It was an interesting read and I was not falling down the road of 'fashion girl' after reading their views, for instance a true indie girl 'would only be able to wear a band t-shirt if she was actually into the band, and wearing another bands tee (even if it looked better) was totally out of bounds' as opposed to 'fashion girls' fliting from 'trend to trend...with no qualms at all' I have adopted the views, and wearing something like BOY London I felt it would not be deservedly worn, unless I found out about the whole culture behind the brand, instead of just wearing it as it is now sold in Urban Outfitters, open to an easy audience and is the brand to be seen in amongst the trend setters.



Boy London was set up by Stephane Raynor, in the 1970's at the same time that Malcom Maclaren and Vivienne Westwood were causing a stir with their Chelsea store SEX, Raynor along with John Krevine also set up a stall on the Kings Road called Acme Attractions, run by legendary DJ Don Letts. It was the heart of London's Punk scene and attracted everyone from Boy George to Patti Smith and Bob Marley. It even led to one of the capital's greatest club the Roxy to cater for its cool clientele, set up by their accountant.

Raynor and Krevine soon turned their attention to BOY London, opening its own shop on King's Road for the clothing line, starting of as a punk staple, dressing the likes of the Sex Pistols. In the 1980's the brand really came into its own, punk was now dead and the coolest kids in town were kick-starting the New Romantic scene. Raynor showed of his new offerings with shows that were more akin to parties in the hippest nightspots, and before long the brand had an international following, even emerging the Ibiza club scene into his collections. 'No fashion fans wardrobe was complete without a t-shirt emblazoned with the winged logo.' Unfortunately, the brand became so copied that Raynor effectively lost control and the legendary brand fizzled out.

Now Raynor is back with a small boutique, SICK, in Brick Lane, selling all things vintage Boy London, after recently visiting the shop, its whole lay-out has an original BOY feel to it, you are almost transported back to when it was first emerged. It has also been revived, with Raynor collaborating with Urban Outfitters to create a small range of uber-cool branded pieces.



Where is my Boy? London?