FASHION: SGC-NYC SS12 FASHION FILM

New York is filled with people. 8,391,881 to be exact. Any one of these people could be ‘the next big someone‘. An award winning screen-writer, an opera singer or composer, a world-famous music producer, a real-estate mogul, upcoming artist… it’s anyone’s guess when you meet someone, just who is behind their elusive facade.

Such is the case with Jason Alfano of fashion brand, Social Gathering Clothing NYC (or SGC-NYC).

Preferring to keep a low-profile, and diect any attention towards his brand, blog and musical tastes, GrandLife managed to pin Jason down to get a small insight into this clever NYC cat, and his latest film collaboration with photographer, Bon Duke.

GL: Who are you, and where did you grow up?

JA: Hello. I am Jason and I grew up in NJ (Don’t hate me because of it haha).

GL: NYC is a tough place for some. What does it mean to you?
JA: It means grit and hard work. Connections and energy. It is loneliness and complete randomness.

GL: Do you have some favorite spots in the city you want to tell me about?
JA:
Restaurants
Roberta’s, ABC Kitchen, Blue Ribbon Sushi, Acme, ISodi , Lupa, Socarrat Paella Bar, The Smile, Little Frankies, Vinegar Hill House, Takahashi, Rubirosa, Frank’s and Prime Meats, Whitman’s, Earth Matters, Orlin, Juice Press, Liquiteria.
Shops
The New World Order, Search and Destroy, Court Shop, Alter Brooklyn, I Don’t Like Mondays, Screaming Mimi’s , Trash and Vaudeville, What Goes Around Comes Around, Oak Brooklyn and in Manhattan, Assembly, 143 Ludlow.
Beach
Fort Tildon and New Jersey Beaches – of course, haha!!
Music Venues
Glasslands, Mercury Lounge, Bowery, Warsaw in BK.
Bars
Motor City, Lit, Max Fish, Baccaro, Sophie’s, Soho Billiards, Sweet and Vicious, Lucky Jack’s.
Hotels
Soho and Tribeca Grand.

GL: Have you spent much time in other cities or countries?
JA: Sadly not as much as I would like. My mother is from Italy so i have a connection there, but I haven’t been afforded the opportunity to substantiate a visit just yet.

GL: What’s important to you, on a personal level?
JA: Someone that is genuine.  I don’t need any admiration, I don’t need any recognition in this life. I just need someone that will not let me down when I need it.

GL: Why the name, Social Gathering Clothing?
JA: The name Social Gathering is a taken from a Birthday Party/Lydia Lunch song. It is also a commentary on how brands are run today.

GL: You have the most extensive and epic musical catalogue. It’s obvious that you’re very passionate about music. Can you tell me about this?
JA: Pretty much everything I listen to now, 70% of it I owned by the time I was 16. I  would go to St. Marks 2 or 3 times a week with my little brother. He was maybe 9 years old, and I would let him sit in the basement where they would play old punk concerts. This was before the Internet made your music choices for you. So It was all word of mouth and reading every word of every linear note.  ”Oh Greg Ginn likes this. It is a must”… haha. My first concert was Bad Religion. I was 13 years old and our friends dad drove us in a station wagon and till this day I still remember how big this circle pit was.

My musical tastes just evolved from that basic jumping off point.

I dont even really listen to them but I love the Hawkwind covers because I love Barney Bubbles. Anything that Raymond Pettibon did for Black flag works.

My favorite love song is by My Dad is Dead, called ‘Boundaries’.

My music ‘Anti’ hero is Jeffrey Lewis.

GL: With this extensive array of music, have you played in bands, or ever DJ’d?
JA: Both my brother and father play guitar. I tried for years but for some reason I never could pick it up beyond the basics. 

GL: What is fashion to you, and how would you describe your personal style?
JA: I dont pay to much attention to fashion, but I do wish my style wasn’t so basic. I look at people who work so hard creating, and I just want to support them in anyway possible. I appreciate the people that let me pull for my SGC video. 

GL: Who are your favorite artists and what is art to you? Do you collect it?
JA: NY’s AntiArt -  Jimmy De Sana

GL: Do you read magazines?
JA: I think I get a minimum of 25 magazines a month. The more obscure the better and on anything from Interior Design, To Fashion, To Art. I basically read them all cover to cover.

GL: What’s on your side table at home?
JA: Magazines and books and speakers. I feel like I am the last person on earth to still have a stack of books by his bed.

GL: Tell me about some people that have been around you that you admire or are inspired by, and how so?
JA: My grandparents (who are both gone now). My grandmother was a seamstress for 60 years in Italy and she pretty much worked her whole life for others, just to scrape by.

GL: What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t making clothes?
JA: Mescaline

GL: Tell me about the film, and how it all came about?
JA: We had been talking to www.bonduke.com for a little while. I have major respect for that kid. He’s so humble and talented.  We thought of this simple idea of having a girl alone in a room. She would be away from daily distractions and we wanted to document how she would react.

GL: How does creating a film differ to producing a look book? Do you prefer, or are you more proud of one process than the other?
JA: I don’t think I’ve ever done them separately. We usually do the editorial and the video together. I mean the way I go about things is really mellow. ‘Lets just have some fun and shoot’. People seem to be really down on fashion films lately, but I love them. Maybe because it is the little rock star in me, and this is my little music video.