Style For Guys: Growing Pains And A Fury To Be Reckoned With.

Disclaimer: this article contains long sentences of words put together and personal reflections.

"WHEN I GROW UP."

Not only is this the title of a brilliant cantata by the young ladies' ensemble we used to know as The Pussycat Dolls, it is also a thought that frequently flashes through the minds of many a young dreamer.
An inquisitive archaeologist, a boisterous caveman (in sexy torn leather skirt, bien sûr), a prolific singer, an Oscar-winning actor, an unstoppable barrister. Over the years I myself have racked up quite the body count of men I've strived to be. Recently, my life path has slowly begun to shape itself in a less ramified fashion, steadily leading me to the life of a fashion journalist. Over the past months I've been on the most breathtaking rollercoaster ride, one I'd never expected to have come from a little blog I started one day in 2009. Being a recognised Belgian fashion blogger these days is unreal. It's a state of reverie that one eventually has to wake up from, right? But despite these wonderful experiences, one can't help but feel uneasy and trepid. Is the inspiration going to keep coming? Will I grow to hate this business? Look at Galliano and Decarnin, even Heidi Klum says that tomorrow I will be "aut"! Should I just fold my laptop now and call it a day? Surely my wardrobe of vintage H&M isn't enough to be a proper fashion blogger, am I a fraud? It's thoughts like that on days like these that make me waver and question myself. That's why it's so important to know why you're doing it all, who you want to be. Every boy needs a role model and mine lives in London, wears Balmain capes and has a pencil moustache.
He is the owner of the most ridiculously awesome surname since Plantagenet and works as fashion director for the inimatable Nick Knight's ShowStudio. Many were called, but nobody else was chosen to be...

Alexander FURY

"Oh, y'know, just chillaxin' with the Goddess Divine of All Modern Pop."

Mister Fury studied at Central Saint Martins London (a powerhouse institute that spawned the likes of Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney, Hussein Chalayan, Phoebe Philo, Gareth Pugh et al). As a journalist he has interviewed the most influential fashion personalities like Anna Dello Russo (see below), Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez (Proenza Schouler), Tim Walker and Stephen Jones etc. He also helped shape the rise of fresh London talent like Mary Katrantzou, Erdem and Marios Schwab and is currently scurrying around Paris for fashion week while immediately updating reviews on Showstudio.

It is of course this immense amount of knowledge, drive and experience that attracts me to look up to him, but his personal sense of humour and general attitude are just as pivotal to me. I've come to known a tiny bit of him over the past year through social media, and I am always awestruck by his ability to write such elegant and eloquent reviews one minute and come up with gems like 'brillax' and 'DIY epiduralz' a second later. Intriguing both on and off-duty, this man epitomizes my fashion ideal and one day having tea with him is as high on my list as getting my nails done with Carine Roitfeld or spending a day looking at fabric swatches with Raf Simons.

I fully understand my grasp on the industry and its revelers is probably still as dewy-eyed as a Paul Klee painting, but I am determined to be a professional. Don't get me wrong, though: I don't wish to become a carbon-copy of Alex nor do I encourage anyone to go through life as if they were someone else. I 'simply' seek to emulate his savoir-faire, to crochet with words with comparable finesse and to look at myself and others with tantamount relativity. As - another - Alexander The Great once said: "There is nothing impossible to him who will try."

[Feel inspired? I put together a most Fury-ous outfit after the jump.]