Neo-punk for the designer age / Green Day, nominated for “American Idiot” from “American Idiot”
With the release of their punk opera “American Idiot,” the pop-punk group Green Day is showing new sophistication as its members move past the safety pins, bondage chains and bad neon dye jobs.
Guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong has traded bleached blond hair for a stripe of thick black eyeliner and neatly tailored suits. Bassist Mike Dirnt is wearing custom clothes by New York’s Obedient Sons, and Tre Cool (a.k.a. Frank E. Wright III) is stuffing his closets with items from the Camdenlock store on Melrose Avenue.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Feb. 13, 2005 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday February 13, 2005 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 54 words Type of Material: Correction
Green Day -- A photo caption in today’s Los Angeles Times Magazine with the article about the band Green Day in the spread about fashion at the Grammy Awards says that guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong was performing at a 1997 KROC holiday benefit. He is shown performing at a benefit for radio station KROQ.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday February 27, 2005 Home Edition Los Angeles Times Magazine Part I Page 4 Lat Magazine Desk 1 inches; 49 words Type of Material: Correction
A caption for a photograph that accompanied the article on the band Green Day (“Neo-Punk for the Designer Age,” Special Grammy Style, Feb. 13) incorrectly stated the name of the radio station for which guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong performed at a 1997 holiday benefit. It was KROQ, not KROC.
“The guys have decided that they wanted to dress nicer and more put together,” says their stylist, L.A.-based Dee Anderson. “Their style has definitely changed. It’s still really rock ‘n’ roll with a punk edge. But they’ve added some designer pieces.”
Anderson has introduced them to Christian Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane and Obedient Sons by Swaim Hutson and Christopher Ryan. She’s also scanned the country for emerging designers who match Green Day’s neo-punk look.
The fit is closer, the accessories simpler and the color scheme is often just black, white, red and gray. Onstage, the band sticks to the functional: thick-soled shoes, short-sleeve shirts or tank tops and perfectly fitted pants. “They have all their pants pegged, which means they’re tapered at the bottom and flooded--they’re shorter and you see their socks,” Anderson says. “They all have these great bodies to dress, and they’re more adventurous.”
Many items are customized. Armstrong’s shirts are tailored for a body-hugging fit, and his favorite pants are custom-made in different fabrics.
At one time or another, ties will show up on the band members. Tomomi Fukuda, owner of Camdenlock, says Tre Cool owns perhaps 100 of her skinny $21.99 polyester-blend ties in every color. She calls him when a new item comes into the store. More often than not, he buys it.
For their Grammy appearance tonight, Anderson has procured custom suits. Armstrong is going top shelf with the skinniest black Dior suit. Tre Cool is considering a variety of suits, including those by Duncan Quinn in New York. And Dirnt will probably wear a custom suit from Obedient Sons, his new favorite line.
Though Green Day is close to becoming a household name, success hasn’t made the guys label-conscious.
“It doesn’t matter to them what it costs,” Anderson says. “It could be a $10 shirt from H&M;, and they’ll love it. Or a jacket from Hedi Slimane, and they’ll love it. It’s not that it’s a particular label--it’s about the style and sensibility of the piece.” Their job is to infuse it with attitude, of which they have plenty.
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HOW TO GET THE LOOK
A punk musician with a tie takes on a wonderfully subversive quality. Slip into your skinny suit, your skinny shirt and slide on a skinny tie. Polyester-blend ties by Camdenlock, 7021 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 933-5752.
