The Beat Goes On

Writing in Esquire in 1958, Jack Kerouac outlined his vision for the youth of the day. The “illuminated hipsters” of the forties were to be “ragged, beatific, beautiful in an ugly graceful new way.” In the next decade such manifestos paved the way for some surprisingly chic fashions, thanks in part to the efforts of Yves Saint Laurent, who looked to beatnik style in his early collections for his own label. The latest take on the beats’ reinvention of tailoring comes from Phillip Lim, whose spring 2010 menswear collection looks to the slouchy style of disaffected youth in the 50s. This accompanying film was shot in New York by director Keith Kandell.