Thursday, July 22, 2010

Buffalo style

Master of street style, Ray Petri is (in my opinion) worthy of worship. The legendary stylist, photographer, and founder of creative imaging company and fashion movement Buffalo, made groundbreaking/earth-shattering/beyond influential waves during the early to mid eighties with his editorials for The Face magazine, as well as i-d and Arena Homme. Petri’s vision and love for fashion and style surpassed the eye of time, and thus created something fresh and completely innovative. Petri died in 1989 from AIDS, but his genius is still remembered and often replicated to this day.

SOME MORE ABOUT BUFFALO: The name Buffalo came about after a visit to nightclub Bain Douches, where large Caribbean bouncers donned US Air Force jackets that read “Buffalo.” Petri once clarified the origins of the name: “People tend to associte the word Buffalo with Bob Marley’s ‘Buffalo Soldier,' but in fact it’s a Caribbean expression to describe people who are rude boys or rebels. Not necessarily tough, but hard style taken from the street…” Buffalo became the describing word for the style Petri established, as well as the movement that soon followed. The Buffalo style was often an eclectic mix of tribal prints, Armani suit jackets, bowler hats, and boxing gear, (basically the perfect juxtaposition of streetwear and high end). Petri was deeply influenced by many things, including, but not limited to: street culture, punks, Caribbean, and Jamaican Ragamuffin culture, rude boys, mods, Native Americans, East Indians, and a lot of androgyny.

SOME MORE ABOUT RAY: Petri had a crew of prodigious and utterly chic creatives. Among them were Jamie Morgan: photographer, (and co-founder of Buffalo), Judy Blame: remarkable designer and stylist (who also acted as Petri’s assistant and muse), stylist Mitzi Lorenz, Swedish singer/rapper Neneh Cherry, and a very young Naomi Campbell. Together, Petri and the Buffalo clique started a fashion revolution, and redefined what it meant to be a stylist.

No comments:

Post a Comment