You probably saw those cheeky ads where John Malkovich was demanding that the domain bearing his name was released by another John Malkovich and wondered what they were for.
At 63 years old, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 films including Being John Malkovich and Dangerous Liaisons.
His performances are always riveting and intense as he generally plays a convincing villain. Now, for the past two seasons, he has re-added the role of a fashion designer to his repertoire – and very well I might add.
It might come as a surprise that the actor who played the disillusioned ex CIA agent who attempts to assassinate the president of the United States in “Line of Fire” would be interested in fashion, but in January of 2017, John Malkovich launched his fashion line of menswear to critical acclaim.
John malkovich fashion
This was not his first go around in the foray of the fashion world. In the early 2000s, Malkovich launched his eponymous line. This was followed up by his brand Technobohemian in 2011 which sold well in boutiques in the US. Malkovich’s latest venture is a line of men’s clothing which is sold at johnmalkovich.com and select stores.
John Malkovich isn’t simply a celeb stitching his name into garments and selling them for an inflated price. Rather, he is involved in the design process including the actual sketching of the garments. A true artisan, Malkovich even selects fabrics for his unique designs. He leans towards finely spun merino wools, silks and Pima cotton from Italy which gives the clothing a softer and more durable quality.
For summer 2017, he offers printed and solid shirts in 100 percent cotton, ribbed cotton knit sweaters, and reimagines the linen suit in three buttons with peak lapels. Malkovich gets retro with linen Nehru jackets, wider legged trousers and presents an updated pea coat in cotton gabardine. Accessories are not an afterthought as hand drawn patterns show up on cotton/silk blend scarves and printed silk ties are done in a medium width.
The entire line is done in rich Navy’s, shimmering whites and deep blacks. Nothing terribly flashy, just tasteful wearable clothing for a casual summer look. For the most part, prices are comparable to other high-end wear and if you have $300 to spend on a cotton t-shirt than the actor/producer’s label might work for you.
Malkovich isn’t the only celebrity dabbling in men’s fashion these days. Pharrell Williams began his career in fashion in 2005 when he created the Billionaire Boys Club clothing line along with Ice Cream footwear with Japanese fashionista Nigo. In 2014, Williams’ inked a deal with Adidas to produce a series of sneakers from his personal collection. Rapper/entrepreneur Sean Jean has done his part to shake up the industry with a line of clothing which is classy and refined. Numbers don’t lie and the label has been reported to bring in $525 million annually.
Bill Murray teamed up with his brother Joel in 2016 to release a line of golf apparel called William Murray Golf. No stranger to the game, he worked as a caddie as a youth and of course his role in “Caddyshack” forever cemented Murray as a cultural icon. The endeavor seemed par for the course for the 67-year-old golf aficionado.
The line features caps, polos shorts, and t-shirts. William Murray Golf apparel is available exclusively online at www.thechivery.com/collections/william-murray-golf.
However, none of these celebrities are as involved with their lines as Malkovich and really, his interest in fashion isn’t that surprising. As a youth, Malkovich had a strong interest in fashion as he attended university to study costume design. To this day, Malkovich still produces garments for the theatre. He has walked the runway in Paris and has appeared in campaigns for the like of Prada and Armani.
Fashion is an art form and John Malkovich is an artist who expresses himself through creating garments in the same way David Lynch expresses himself through painting. Fashion is simply a more commercial and accessible medium. I mean pick your poison, you can pay $5,000 for a Lynch painting or $500 for a Malkovich jacket.
Photos courtesy of Google images
