ONE AFTERNOON in 1988, Cher was rehearsing in a Los Angeles recording studio when a guy with wild, curly hair and a stern face dropped by. Richard Stark had recently started a brand called Chrome Hearts, which made jewellery, clothes, and accessories for bikers and rock stars, and he was doing the old-school version of influencer marketing: riding his Harley around town and seeing if famous people would buy his gear.
There were plenty of brands selling heavy-metal motorcycle jackets and rocker jewellery in those days, but Stark, a headstrong and clever leather wholesaler from Utica, New York, had a more luxurious vision for the genre. Through his job working with tanneries, he had access to super-thick hides normally used in upholstery, so he'd been tooling around in his Hollywood garage for a few years, making sturdy jackets he and his buddies would wear on their bikes. Thanks to a friend who worked in fashion production, the jackets were beautifully made, but the real breakthrough came when Stark and a jeweller added custom silver hardware-sterling studs, zipper pulls, and biker cross embellishments. Suddenly, a Chrome Hearts jacket would not only save your ass if you crashed your Harley but it might also get you a table at Spago.
Stark would soon become one of the most influential celebrity clothiers of his time, but in 1988, in that studio with Cher, only he knew it. We were in a rehearsal hall, Cher recalls by phone. And some weird guy comes in, all leathered out, and he had a guitar strap with him.” The guitar strap, Cher says, was gorgeous: thick black leather, with baroque silver-filigree work. The only problem? Stark wanted $5,000 (₹3.7 lakh), about double what an Hermès Birkin cost at the time. “I thought, Who is this crazy guy? I've never heard of him, and he wants $5,000 for a guitar strap?
この記事は GQ India の May 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は GQ India の May 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
In Haider We Hope
The role of a fashion designer is one usually forged in chaos and fired down by “creative differences”. But on the eve of a new Tom Ford directorship, Haider Ackermann has never felt more free.
VIVA VARUN
Varun Dhawan on balancing fatherhood and film shoots, and the pressure of making the right choices.
PRATIK GANDHI'S QUIET EUPHORIA
The actor―who delivered a knockout performance in Madgaon Expresson the high of a hit and the pressure of sustaining success.
THE COMEBACK KID
Buoyed by his performance in Singham Returns, Arjun Kapoor doubles down on creativity.
SCRIPTING STARDOM
Vicky Kaushal on the thrill and terror of stepping onto a Sanjay Leela Bhansali set, charting an unconventional career, and making sense of the money game.
A TRYST WITH STARDOM
Triptii Dimri segued from her left-field roots straight to the animal park. The gamble has paid off.
WALKING A TIGHTROPE
Following the monster success of Stree 2, Rajkummar Rao opens up about navigating artistic fulfilment and box-office glory.
THE MAHARAJA OF MEHRAULI
It's been an action-packed year for Tarun Tahiliani, the emperor of Indian couture.
LONE WARRIOR
Kartik Aaryan on why, in an industry that only watches out for its own, he has to blow his own trumpet.
HITS AND HEARTBREAKS
Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali talks about redeeming himself with the extraordinary Chamkila, dealing with star-studded setbacks, and why we've forgotten to make love stories.
