Marky Ramone Makes It Easier To Dress Like Marky Ramone

Does rock n' roll have one look in its long and stylistically storied history that, more than any other, defines the energy and rebellion of its spirit?

Marky Ramone and Tommy Hilfiger think so. The two are launching 'Rock Scene,' a collection of denim and leather and tees inspired by the "unique spirit and effortless cool" of 70s NYC and the dawn of punk in general. Rock Scene the magazine pinpointed new artists: Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Blondie. Perhaps you've heard of these nobodies? They went on to define rock, and rock fashion.

What does this all mean for the duds, though? It means clothing defined by an ethos taken from that bygone, yet still vital, era: Leather jackets, jeans, and tees, featuring slim fits, stencil letters and abstract artwork, for both men and women. The collection can be found on hilfigerdenim.com, and specific items can be found at the Hilfiger Denim store in New York, and at Macy's. Marky Ramone spoke to Blender about the inspiration for the collection, and his thoughts on people who choose to let their pants fall down.


How did you get hooked up with Tommy Hilfiger?
Well I know Andy Hilfiger well and I knew his brother well, Billy, and I ran into Tommy once when we were in a band together. I was out of The Ramones for about 3 years and when I was out of The Ramones we had a band and Tommy would come by and say hello and we’d hang out and I’ve known him since '85 when he was just starting out. That’s really how it worked out, and I was approached to do a Marky Ramone leather jacket theme feature line and it was an ensemble.

It really is just the American classic look: leather jackets, jeans, but the leather is softer, it’s not so hard and I wanted that so you wouldn’t have to break it in after 10 years. The studwork is tasteful, not over the top, and the jeans I designed with the studwork near the pockets, only one pocket not two and the t-shirts are really cool because they kinda look like the 70s look of the CBGB era along with Rock Scene which Andy, myself and the girl Tara co-owned… we kinda incorporated…it was you know Dolce and Gabbana.

How interested in fashion were you all along, and how much design experience did you have going into this process?
Well music and fashion go together - it’s 50-50. When The Ramones were together, we had a look, which was undeniable. The Beatles had a look. You know we might have not been the best looking guys in the world, but if you put it together we looked like a group and that to me was a thought and I always admired when a band looked unified, and I felt that in The Ramones. All through my life as a musician, I always wore the jeans and the leather jacket…and I am from Brooklyn, New York and I lived there all my life. And you go to school there and really that is the basic look there. I didn’t want to wear a suit and a suit jacket like it was required and I was always in a fight with the principal and the guidance counselors because of what I wore so I kept going because I said screw this - people can look the way they want. That’s really where it came from: the streets, that look, that design.

What is your most cherished item of fashion?
My leather jacket that I bought in 1967 when Richard Hell played with me and The Voidoids and we were doing the Black Generation album, that was the first album, the only album I did with him and I got enough money to get a leather jacket… you know a new one so I went to an Army Navy Store and bought my first Perfecto and it remains with me and it’s in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They just brought it over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the New York Annex so it’s on display there. So I would say that is my prized clothing possession and I still wear it occasionally and it still fits I am happy to say.

Do you have any opinions on how the rock look has progressed over the years?
When we started hanging at CBGBs, when we started hanging out there when there was nowhere else to hang out, the look of rock and rolls bands was still the bell-bottoms, the granny pick high heel shoes, the fat pants and the college shirts and there is a look of fat jackets that came out of that era, I guess the glam era. I just wore what I wore when I went to high school and I guess the other Ramones did too. Over the years a lot of bands kinda adopted the look. Now if you were in California it would be pretty hard to wear jeans and leather jackets everyday if the weather is 90 degrees so a lot of the bands on the west coast started wearing shorts and sneakers, you know more comfortable sneakers and picked up on the Converse look and adapted their own look because of the environment. So really, fashion is really something out of your own mind.

What would you say is Marky Ramone’s more rock and roll moment?
So many - can I list a few? I guess being in two Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame bands which was cool because a lot people started recognizing what we were about and it took a lot for the world to catch up. The lifetime achievement award that Bono gave me right after 9/11 was pretty impressive because the city was pretty down and I was pretty down after seeing all that stuff outside my window when it happened. And doing 10 studio albums as a Ramone and then doing one Rock n’ Roll High School and working with my friend Phil Spector and so many things.

Now I am doing this Sirius radio show and I can’t top that. I can play bands that I feel should have done better when they came out, but because of the competition with disco and stadium rock and pop/rock a lot of people shot punk rock and I feel now that it isn’t threatening but at its time maybe it was. So I play old bands and I play new bands. 

How do you feel in general about the future of rock n' roll and rock n' roll fashion?
I think it’s getting better because the tight fitted look is coming in and I just feel it looks better. You know I don’t want to see people’s underwear, I don’t want to know what underwear they wear - I don’t give a shit. I think people want to be in a nice fitting tight suit and a pair of jeans and I see a lot of guys and girls wearing that now. Also, you can’t disagree with the fact that the leather jacket/jean look is Americana and it started with Marlon Brando and James Dean, all the way through the sixties. And then the Ramones. And then the Clash took their look from the Ramones and added their own things to it... and the look is going back to England and they English are picking up on it and I think that it evolved into a lot of things and it is interesting because there really is something for everybody, but I really think that look is back.