The Staying Power of Style And Etiquette: The Islington Twins were Mods but were never Rude Boys (Part One)

THE TW↑NS: Env↑ronMENTAL Training™

A Training, Motivating, Consulting Service

“With all these myths about us it seems we have become a legend in our own lifetime.” ITWOMLG

C. Okonkwo & D. Okonkwo 2015 2



A Ten Year Anniversary Special

The Staying Power of Style And Etiquette

The Islington Twins were Mods but were never Rude Boys

Compiled & Edited by Chuka Okonkwo & Dubem Okonkwo




Part One

‘Everything Has A Beginning…’




Picture 1




"These myths about me, I'll soon become a legend in my own lifetime." ITWOMLG

To celebrate our ten year anniversary we thought it a brilliant idea to give our clients and readers a set of exercises using the photograph of The Islington Twins by the talented photographer Robin Emilien. But rather than just asking you to perform the usual dry task of answering questions after watching a short film or studying a photograph, we've given you selected excerpts to read to give you a little background to the picture.

Well done to those of you who managed to answer the questions in Film Study: A Shred of Identity. If you haven't seen the weblog, it's worth a visit or even a revisit. Congratulations to everyone who struggled to compete the task set in How To Look At A Book Cover. Yes, it may have taken up a lot of your time, but you can't deny it wasn't worth it.

In Part 2 we've selected and edited excerpts - with permission of course - from the privately published 'The Staying Power of Style and Etiquette: The Islington Twins were Mods but never Rude Boys' for this part of this post. We think the subtitle states clearly what the Islington Twins were and what they were not. We're delighted to be sharing these excerpts with you our clients and of course our readers, and hope you enjoy reading them as much as we have.

We made the conscious decision to keep as much of the original wording and expressions as possible to give readers a feel of the period being described, and to help those of you who will be doing the exercises at the end to immerse yourself into spirit of Robin Emilien's picture. If after successfully answering all the exercises in Part 3, you discover that your visual ability has been awakened or is much better than you thought it was, this post would have done the job we set out to do when it was first conceived.




We don't usually provide stimulating, visual distractions of any kind with our weblogs, and clients and regular readers will testify that our posts require one's full attention since they don't readily hold the attention. There are no bright or sexy images to hold the attention; no light-hearted quotes attached to an interesting and familiar image to ease the dryness of the text. So this post is slightly different. Well, it's our ten year anniversary and we're feeling generous.

If any scholar or historian reading this post is a fan of the photographer Bill Brandt, we recommend popping off an email to the London College of Communication, formerly the London College of Printing, and getting access to their bulging archive, where you can spend an afternoon perusing the pages of this thirty year old essay. You shan't be disappointed.

Bill Brandt: A Life History: Contextual Studies Essay 1984 by Robin Emilienhttps://openlibrary.org/books/OL20019667M/Bill_Brandt

'The Staying Power of Style and Etiquette: The Islington Twins were Mods but were never Rude Boys' began life as an explanation of how Robin Emilien's picture came to be taken. The excerpts in Part Two tell that story and others. Those stories, though not related directly to the photograph, are still important in themselves. The image is from an age before Wi-Fi, iPhones, Health & Safety, the English Premier League, the Internet and Facebook became part of our daily lexicon and consciousness.

Perhaps after this post is published the copyright holders will allow the complete work to be published. For the moment there doesn't seem to be any plan or interest in doing so. This is a pity since most of the material that has been written about The




Islington Twins fails to cover the philosophy that underlay their style, first as Tw↑n Mod 1 and Tw↑n Mod 2, and then during the post Mod period. They believed strongly in mental training, were avid readers of works from the extensive canon of the world's literature, Shakespeare, Shelley, Byron, Plato, Lao Tzu. They

adored art especially traditional paintings by artists like Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Titian, Delacroix.

As well as art books, their reading material ranged from comics like Warlord, magazines like Look & Learn, facsimiles of the Gem and Magnet to books on science, history, sport, espionage, and music. Books, books, books and yet more books. As well as clothes and records most of their money was spent on books. There was a time when the borough of Islington had several good secondhand bookshops with 'gems' at affordable prices, plus an excellent twice weekly antique market clustered round the bizarrely named Camden Passage, about ten minutes walk from Angel tube station!

The Islington Twins' musical taste was eclectic; their mother, a special and dynamic influence in their lives, introduced them to the works of classical musicians via The Reader's Digest beautifully designed box set collection of composers like Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Vivaldi, Grieg and others, all recorded on vinyl to the highest quality. Their record collection, which also included The Beatles, The Hollies, The Kinks, The Animals, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochrane, Buddy Holly, Scott Joplin, Walt Disney, Irving Berlin, Gershwin, was all vinyl and played on an old record player, a gift from a relative.

Before their late teens they had watched many classic British and Hollywood films from the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. On British television the best of Lew Grade's output filled their minds: The Persuaders, The Avengers, Danger Man, The Prisoner,




Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet. American shows with stick-forever-in-your head theme tunes, Man From Uncle, Mission Impossible, I Spy, The Wild Wild West, and Star Trek enriched them and captivated their attention. They practised martial arts like judo, Shotokan karate, aikido. They were also great dancers and walked miles round London daily.

If one gives the above paragraphs a moments thought it will be seen that their style was indeed an expression of all the influences that had shaped them. We have not mentioned their deep interest in the ancient mind development techniques practised in ancient China, Japan, India and

Tibet. Yes, it's true that the Islington Twins have their Nigerian heritage and know the subtle effects the culture of Onitsha has had on their psyche, but it's equally true that the effect of living and growing up in an English culture with its rich history has also shaped their thinking. All these influences, these effects, are like pixels that form a digital image. When mixed with their interest in Eastern philosophy, it is clear to understand how their style emerged.

Mary Mount's recollection of her time at The Bar with The Islington Twins was first published in 2007 in Tank Magazine, Volume IV Issue 9, under the title 'Two Cool for School...' before appearing as 'Gentlemen of The Bar' in the Guardian's G2 in April that year. (Today the only source of the interview is online on the Guardian's website. It would be good if Tank Magazine made their version available online. From a fashion perspective the images in the magazine make interesting viewing.) Mary Mount's excellent piece carries their voice and allows them to tell their story without tweaking to suit editorial or academic constraints. In selecting to write in this manner, Mount




gives her article space to breathe and retains its authenticity. She keeps it real and raw to borrow street vernacular for a moment. Today's youths would refer to the article as sick.

Those fortunate to have read The Staying Power of Style and Etiquette and will tell you that the pages vibrate with a personal story of fashion and style that few fashion writers or historians could ever pen, not because they're incapable, but because the pressures that often come with an academic's career trail after them. What with the problem of trying to find funding or a grant that will allow you to do your research in peace, compounded with having to teach unenthusiastic and unmotivated students, and exasperated by the actions of interfering busybodies from

various educational bodies, some might claim that an academic career, especially in the arts, is no longer what it used to be. Perhaps, Our Rage: Bitterness and Delusion in The Arts 1990 - 2015 could be the subject of a peer-reviewed paper some day.

Ted Polhemus, author of the seminal work, Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk, and external curator of the Streetstyle exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in November 1994, has an understanding of street style and what makes it so special. If you haven't read his book it's worth a look. Better still, get hold of a copy of the updated Street Style published by PYMCA. The pictures in both books are a testimony that human beings have the spirit of the peacock, the flamingo and parakeet within them, and will seek different ways to express these characteristics, i.e.dressing up, whenever they can and wherever they can. Early Spandua Ballet (who were part of the New Romantic Movement) in the early 80's are an example of what happens when freedom of expression is permitted to flourish. The history of street fashion needs to be heard as much as possible from the mouths of those who actually experienced the particular period in question. Ted Polhemus's understanding of this necessity is shown clearly in his




publications.

In this clip from the PYMCA 2010 launch party for the publication of the updated Street Style. You can feel the authenticity in the voices of Jon Swinstead, founder of PYMCA and Ted Polhemus, author of Street Style.

Street Style - Ted Polhemus Book Launch and Exhbition https://vimeo.com/112074392/description

In 1979, The Mod Revival provided an opportunity, an arena, a platform, for The Islington Twins to express themselves in their own way. They continued to do so even when they left the movement they loved. In fact, many would be surprised at some of the 'looks' they created for themselves during their time at The Bar. Their wardrobe during that period was as far removed from the parka, pork pie and wraparound shades look

of their Mod days, as the Afghan beads and psychedelic dress of the late 60's was to the slim ties and narrow lapelled suits in the early part of that decade.

But their self-expression stems largely from their interest and love of mental development and mental training. And any attempt to separate or to look at their fashion or style without grasping their mental outlook is a grave mistake. Such a separation would reduce their clothes to 'mere feathers'. The term 'mere feathers' is an expression the Islington Twins used to refer to their attire whenever they felt an inquirer had failed to understand that it is the mind of the person wearing the clothes that makes and gives the garments their look and feel.

It is not our intention in this post to analyse the thoughts and feelings that contributed to their Mod look or any of the subsequent styles and fashions that have been worn over the




years. However, we would advise any academic seeking to understand the thinking behind their various styles, not to make the error of separating the mind from the attire. To do this is as ridiculous as paying heed to the camera used by a photographer and neglecting to understand what drives that photographer. Or to be so focussed on the guitar the musician used you fail to understand their mindset or the music's meaning.

The personal philosophy and mindset that governs fashion and style is not the preserve of the Islington Twins. But if academics and cultural historians would, for just an hour or so, put aside their peer reviewed papers and follow Ted Polhemus's example, they would discover the same richness and detail that their academic demeanour often deprives them from feeling or even seeing.

If your musings or findings don't reach ears outside the walls of the institutions you work in, you have failed yourselves as historians or researchers. Get out into the field and speak directly to the ordinary Smiths, Joneses, Chans, Patels and Leroys of this world. They will supply you with the essence that will make your research worth the years of dedication and committed study you have put into the pursuit of (or quest for) academic excellence.







Picture 2

It is important to realise that fashions and styles do not spring out of thin air. They are an expression of the human pysche, of how we humans feel and think. It is true that environment and other factors play a powerful part, but the mental spirit rises above environment and circumstance to reveal or display its true nature. Anyone reading this post who doubts us should read about the Sapeurs, who were featured in the classic 2014 Guinness commercial and documentary directed by the visual story teller Héctor Mediavilla.

Sapeurs, the men inside the suitshttps://vimeo.com/122093834

The Surprising Sartorial Culture Of Congolese 'Sapeurs' by Angela Evanciehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2013/05/07/181704510/the-surprising-sartorial-culture-of-congolese-sapeurs

Sapeurs - New Guinness Advert (2014) http://youtu.be/B-3sVWOxuXc

Watch the short documentary on the Sapeurs on YouTubehttp://youtu.be/CScqFDtelrQ

Further reading:

Industry Spotlight: Ted Polhemushttp://www.fashionschooldaily.com/index.php/2014/03/11/industry-profile-ted-polhemus/comment-page-86/#comments

The British supermarket of style by Paul Rambali and Sarah




Callardhttp://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/news/fashion--the-british-supermarket-of-style-street-style-has-been-our-biggest-fashion-export-now-neatly-divided-into-tribes-its-become-a-museum-exhibit-at-the-va-paul-rambali-mourns-its-fate-sarah-callard-talks-to-those-who-gave-seminal-pieces-to-the-show-1450938.html

In Part Two The Islington Twins discuss the Mod period and their post-Mod experience. You will learn from them how they came to be part of the Mod Revival in the late 70s, and how they came to hold court at The Bar.

End of Part One




Pictures in Everything Has A Beginning

p. 5

The Islington Tw↑ns aka Chet & Joe as Tw↑n Mod 1 and Tw↑n Mod 2 by Robin Emilien in Brick Lane early 1980s

p. 13.

The Islington Tw↑ns at Agi & Sam SS 14 during London Collections: Men, Victoria House, Bloomsbury, Sunday 16th July 2013


Education

The Staying Power of Style And Etiquette: The Islington Twins were Mods but were never Rude Boys (Part One)