Hustler White Unidentified Collectible No 1 Shades from My Lost Uncle - MissingSince1979

20 May 2019

Cover your eyes if it gets too sleazy bright this summer

With Pride just around the corner, "sleazy bright" is, hopefully, a distinct possibility. To this end My Lost Uncle - MissingSince1979 has added to their Hustler White Unidentified line with striking sunglasses, set to be released on Monday, May 20. This is the first part of a two part release with another scheduled for Pride month.

The original Hustler White Unidentified fashion line which was available through the Tom of Finland Foundation store, is completely sold out except for one (1!) anorak, size large. And it will probably be gone before I finish typing. The line - including shorts, tanks and backpacks - was sleazy and sexy, while also bright and colourful. So are the sunglasses.

My Lost Uncle - MissingSince1979 is a somewhat mysterious but very fascinating fashion designer. As we discovered when they released their Paul Goes to Hollywood and POP lines, the art and inspiration is as crucial as the fashion. As their website says,

Garments and accessories will look good on a man or just hanging in a walk-in wardrobe as arty-farty pieces made of print collage fabric.

The Hustler White Unidentified print pattern is specifically designed in homage to the infamous, and highly homoerotic, Tony Ward fashion shoot with photographer Terry Richardson. As with the POP line's referencing and borrowing from other artists, the Hustler White Unidentified print design filters the icon and ideas through an art, fashion and gay lens.

As always when receiving a press release from My Lost Uncle - MissingSince1979, the text with its charming garbled Finnish into English translations and madcap allusions, sends me to their websites trying to make sense of it all and out of concern that it could all be an elaborate and fashionable Banksy-esque fashion/art prank. And in the Tom of Finland store, I found an interview with Jauni Maunula who is identified as the designer/artist behind My Lost Uncle - MissingSince1979. The interview is credited to "by Tom of Finland Store Staff Writer" who I hope doesn't mind if I quote from the interview because if offers a delicious insight into the creation of the original Hustler White Unidentified line and hence, the sunglasses.

Hustler White Unidentified started to evolve from the feelings of my teenage years. If I have to think of one man from that time, he is Tony Ward. My inspiration comes a lot from the popular culture of past decades. During the '90s I was a young boy trying to be a cool guy, raving in the lasers if I got into the clubs with fake ID, wearing bright coloured abstract figure t-shirts and reading the SEX book in french (that version was cheaper). Somehow against these happy times life was a bit dark then, there was AIDS, party drugs arriving to Finland, the gay scene was not that liberal, the whole country was suffering economical depression and so on. Even music television was dealing with these things. Unfortunately that exact TV company refused to show "Justify My Love" video starring Tony Ward and I needed to order the VHS single from the USA. It never arrived.

Tony Ward was/is a fantasy for many of us and he was mesmerizing in Hustler White. At 55, Ward is still modelling - including underwear - and has his own fashion line Six In The Face he refers to as "hand ravaged clothing by Mr Ward." He is, tragically, married to a woman (the wedding happened while he was still "dating" Madonna) and has three children. Judging by his Instagram he should have been pressed into service by My Lost Uncle - MissingSince1979 to model the Hustler White Unidentified line and sunglasses.

As Bruce LaBruce's art tends to do, Hustler White made a lasting impression on Maunula,

The film was shown one night only at an alternative film festival in the late '90s. I chose the film because usually at that time people couldn't see gay related films at theatres, especially in Helsinki. And of course because Tony Ward was in the main role . . .   Bruce LaBruce was a really interesting name too I think. I remember sitting in the middle of the theatre, it was empty, only a few people were there. One person left during the amputee sex. Yeah, the scene was strange for me too as I was still finding my own sexuality, but later on I realized that Bruce LaBruce's brutality is the thing I like in his art. At that time the Finnish gay scene was really feminine, in Finland guys were still vogueing in high heels at clubs. Bruce LaBruce brought me to the next level of masculinity. There is nothing bad in vogueing, I love that too, but I mean LaBruce turned me more in the dark side of gay culture. And after all it it not dark at all. He is just showing different gay stereotypes, more masculine ones, sex and even zombies. And let's not forget the end of Hustler White. If you don't remember, watch it, there is love.