Interview with Gill Evans

This week, Ahoy hoy along with 2 of the top Mod blogs (and dear, dear friends of Ahoy hoy) We Are The Mods and Punks in Parkas are featuring segments with the Ace Face of modette's, a true original - Gill Evans!

Gill and her husband Del were among the original leaders of modernist style even before the term "mod" was coined. They were known as Continentalist - drawing inspiration from French and Italian fashion. Gill, being a talented clothing designer and maker created sleek pieces for Del and herself.

As a women who adores mod culture I find Gill Evans a total inspiration. So few do I come across someone who lived through the whole birth of mod yet alone happens to be a women with superb style and made her own clothing! I am as ecstatic as could be! And below is what happend when Ahoy hoy got a chance to pick dear Gill's brain about fashion, make up, and being an all-around top mod bird.

Ahoy Hoy: Hello Gill! Ahoy hoy is beyond thrilled to have the honor to interview a true original mod such as yourself. What was it about the scene that you found captivating and exciting? What was it like to be a mod women in such a male orientated sub culture?

Gill Evans: I never really thought of my self as a woman in a male orientated sub culture as I was always very confident and knew what I wanted to achieve. When I left Art School in 1960 and started designing and making clothes the word Mod had not been heard of. Originally Del & I called ourselves Continentalists because I had been interested in French & Italian styling whilst at Art School. Everything was new and exciting for us as we spent many hours designing and making clothes together in my bedroom at home, we were captivated with what we were creating. Fashion and music was our life and all we lived for.

                              

              

AH: I truly enjoy seeing all the photos of you and husband looking sharp in your chic ensembles. Where most the outfits designed and made by you? What do you think are some of the advantages of designing and making your own clothes as to purchasing them from a store? Are you still designing and making clothes?

GE: I designed and made all my own clothes, I found it easy to just keep coming up with ideas.I still have a Portfolio of my designs from early to mid 1960's. I hope to be able to put some of them into production soon- they are quite inspirational.Del designed his suits and I would sketch them and we would go to a Tailor and have them Made to Measure. I made him leather coats and shirts and ties and also we would buy shirts and cut the collars off so that he could wear white stiff collars on them. I still design and make clothes for my ModTogs collection and I always wear them myself. People I meet say to me 'Oh you're a Mod.

AH:  Any present day designers or celebrities who you think are doing the mod look right?

GE: I can't think of anyone in particular that has the Look quite right as I think you need to have been part of the scene back then to know exactly what it needs to be. Mini skirts were not a Mod thing- more Swinging Sixties.It was around 1966 before shorter skirts were worn by true Mod girls and then it was just above the knee. Hemlines were just below the knee or slightly longer prior to then.

AH:  Many of us have the idea that a mod make up look is heavy eye liner, pale lip and extreme false lashes (i.e Peggy Moffitt) What where the true mod girls of the 60’s wearing make up wise? What is the best beauty tip you can give us mod girls today?

GE: A Natural shade Foundation with a loose powder over- I always carried a Compact. Rouge placed just under the cheek bones to accentuate bone structure. A sweep of pale blue/grey eye shadow. Eye liner but not too thick. Fine Eylure False eyelashes. Lipstick in a Deep Pink or a Brownish Pink- I would wear one by Yardley called  Pink From Peru which always looked flattering.

AH: If a young reader is interested in the Mod scene and looking to change her wardrobe accordingly so, what would be 5 key pieces you would say she (or any mod girl) would need in her wardrobe?

GE: 5 Key pieces for the True Mod Girl look are as follows:-

A Suit.

A Pinafore Dress.

A Blouse with a collar and long full sleeves.

A simple design Dress either with long straight sleeve or a cutaway shoulder.

A Black Polo neck jumper or skinny rib jumper.

These can be mixed and matched and with simple jewelry will look perfect.

A very special thank Gill for her fantastic insight and for taking the time to answer our questions.

For more information (and great photos) of Gill & Del's mod fashions visit https://www.facebook.com/ModTogs

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Interview with Max Galli

I am enthusiastically excited to have had the opportunity to interview the utterly talented Italian illustrator of all things mod - Max Galli! I found his artwork on Facebook not too long ago and became enthralled with his lively images depicting a very swinging Mod scene and of his vampy 60's pin up models.

Max was friendly enough to do an interview for Ahoy hoy and give us an insight into his fabulous, kaleidoscopic of hip illustrations! Enjoy!

Ahoy Hoy: Hello Max! I’m very excited to be able to pick your brain about your extraordinary artwork, the characters you’ve created and your love for 60’s culture! Out of all the things an illustrator could focus on you’ve created a fabulous little niche for yourself with these pictures depicting a very colorful, and hip swinging London. Tell me, what about the 60’s scene drew you to create such lively portrayals?

Max Galli: Hello, April! Well, it didn't start with the Scene at all. Basically, it happened because of my father. He used to be a photographer in Rome, during the mid 50s-mid 60s period. I grew up with this huge lot of pics of models, actresses, portraits and landscapes. That was exactly where it all started.

AH: A lot of your artwork features these very cool, fashionable, sensual women. What is it about the 60’s girl that is so appealing?

MG: women were very attractive and liberated, in the 60s. They knew exactly what they wanted, yet keeping their coolness and sexiness to a quite high level. They had very little to do with their mums. They used to express themselves through femininity, rather than arrogance like today, and they demanded respect from their same age group male counterparts, even with only their "modern" lifestile. They were truly emancipated and truly "girlish" at the same time. And that's why I feel fascinated by this kind of girls.

AH: Tell us about one of the main heroine in your work, Molly Jones. Where did you draw your inspiration to create her? Is Molly based on someone you’ve met in your life? What would she be like if she were a real person?

MG: well, there is a proper model for Molly Jones. A very good friend of mine, a girl photographer from Trento (northern Italy), called Monique. At the very beginning - to be honest - I didn't think about her as a source of inpiration. Then, I met her at a major Mod festival in Rimini, and I went: "oh, you look very similar to one of the carhacters I've created recently", and she said: "I'm pleased", and that's how it started. The other details came out from a plethora of mid-late 6ts spy-movies like 007 et al.

AH: While you were growing up in Rome was there much of a Mod scene if any? What are some of your favorite aspects of the Mod scene and subculture?

MG: yeah, there was a Mod scene in Rome (as there is now), since 1979. The aspects of 'Mod culture' - taken in its broadest meaning - I always liked are: music (in my specific case, 50s and 60s jazz, library music from mid 50s to mid 70s, and everything with a Hammond organ in it), clothes (again, anything from MadMen-ish early 60s style to very late 60s 'freakbeat' paisley attire), and, well, girls (both types, short-haired, chisel toed and long-haired, overknee booted, as I think they're all "with it"). Plus a few other factors like pop and op art, design, literature (not only Colin Mc Innes seminal masterpiece "Absolute Beginners", but also authors like Sartre, Cortázar, Joyce and any other one who could sound 'Mod' to me).

AH: From an artist perspective, who are some of your favorite illustrators?

MG: there are few names for you, and I think all of them were groundbreaking, in some way: Fritz Willis, Peter Max, Jim Steranko (USA), Guy Peellaert (Belgium), Guido Crepax, Marco Rostagno, Sergio Toppi, Andrea Pazienza (Italy), Esteban Maroto, Luis Roca (Spain), Jean-Claude Forest, Nicolas Devil (France), Leiji Matsumoto (Japan), and a number of illustrators I'm not sure about their nationalities...

AH: Seems like in the last few years there has been a resurgence of Mod. Show’s like Mad Men, bands like The Strypes and even athletes like Bradley Wiggins are bringing the Mod culture to the masses. What do you think about this Mod comeback and do you think it’s just a fad or that it’ll be here to stay?

MG: honestly, I think in some way it's a good thing for Mod culture to go mainstream, but, on the other hand the risk is that the very spirit, the very substance of Mod-ernism could be confused with any 60s-esque mass fashion. And that would be kind of 'diluting' that elitaristic, hedonistic, style-conscious particularism that resumes very well what "the whole mod thing" is all about.

AH: Where could fans in the United States (like myself) purchase your work? I would love to own some prints!

MG: I've got two illustrated books on Amazon and other online bookshops, at the moment, "MidnightTo Six", a collection of black and white line illustrations commented with short sentences, and "The Adventures Of Molly Jones", a proper Mod-pop-psych full colour comic book, both realized in English only, both very well known within and outside the Scene. I also accept commissions for original illustrations, as my printed posters are currently out of print. If you like to know a bit more about my art, you can visit these links:
www.maxgalli.net (my own website)
www.newuntouchables.com/nutsmag (for my latest comic strip "Betty Beat" and Mod-related essays)
www.eyeplug.net (for 60s design, 60s music and 60s comics related articles and features)
If you like to own one of my original illustrations, you can contact me here: maxgalli69@yahoo.it

Thank you Max!

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