55pages Issue 6

#6

5 pages

Issue 6

55pages

Editor Nick Thompson nick@55factory.net Sub Editor Jonathan Bright Fashion and Content Editor Sara Darling sara@55factory.net

With political unease still rife throughout the entire World and more recently in the Ukraine, it is important to be aware how volatile our planet seems to be, thus engaging in political debate from our free speaking democracy is extremely important.

Our feature from Tyler Wetherall debates the possible impending exodus from social media but also touches on the importance of using this as a tool for exposure on global issues from poverty to tolerance, rather then solely pampering our own egos.

Digital Developer Joe Barbour joe@55factory.net Designer Harry Sabine Style Editor Zoe Lem

Of course there is our usual array of the best contemporary arts, fashion and music of this moment.

Art Editor Christopher George

55employees are happy to begin the search for content for issue 7. Feel free to get involved!

Music Editor Nick Thompson Writers Tyler Wetherall Kate Lawson Greg Scott Benjamin Murphy Daisy Jones Charlie Partridge James Adair Jonathan Bright Sara Darling Zoe Lem Christopher George

55factory.net

Contributing Fashion Editor Jennie Kwon Technical Consultant Demir Sayiner Business Development Manager Dom Sturgess dom@55factory.net Publishing Director Christopher George Digital Publishing Director Joe Barbour Publishing Manager Nick Thompson

Editor’s Letter

During the course of issue 6, we will be commemorating the 100th anniversary of the beginning of WW1 with our feature from photographer Jason Brinkler and his portraits of WW1 Veterans. This goes to remind us of how far we have come and yet at the same time how the world is still in so much turmoil.

Creative Director Christopher George chris@55factory.net

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Cover Credits Jo Bevan from Desperate Journalist Photographer - Christopher Sims Makeup - Monika Swiatek Shirt & Tie - Topman 55factory 55 Holmes Road, Kentish Town London NW5 3AN 020 3286 8558

Article - Daisy Jones Photos- Nick JS Thompson

arrows of love

I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you but everything’s fucked. Racism, sexism and homophobia are still worryingly rife and with a planet population of nearly 8 billion there’s barely enough room to make a snow angel.

London quintet Arrows Of Love have written an appropriately angry album aptly titled “Everything’s Fucked” and it’s full of brilliantly filthy guitar, fast-paced drum kicks and wry ‘middle-finger’ lyricism.

What does it deal with? “Man, it’s a pretty big spread,” explains Nima, singer of Arrows of Love “From sexual frustration to politics.

There’s songs about people that smile at you while hoping for your failure, our rulebased society, your own holed-up paranoia, going crazy with conspiracy theories, bad relationships, profiteers, addiction.” The album was recorded in it’s entirety in Nima’s basement, “I don’t like using the ‘DIY’ word because people have made it a cliche and often lied about it” he says, “but we were doing everything ourselves; funding it, recording it, mixing it; all the time learning as we were going along.” Sometimes this truly is the best approach (I forgot to tell you that the music industry’s fucked too) “The music industry is afraid to take risks, or develop

musicians, and instead it bets on ‘safer’, unmemorable, instant-payback acts” says Nima, “These acts are like fast food; easy to swallow but no real content, so you’re still left kinda hungry.”

Arrows of Love are named after a William Blake passage (“Bring me my bow of burning gold/Bring me my arrows of desire“) and, rather bizarrely, it’s not hard to note comparisons between the two with their well-directed words of wrath. But what about sharing a love of London? “If I’m being honest with myself there’s more love than hate. But it’s definitely a city that’s got plenty of things to throw at you. I’ve always found myself reacting against a lot of things I see and hear.” We close the interview with an age-old question: What advice would you give your 16-year-old self? “Stop wanking. Stop writing that cheesy love poem - it’s not actually love. And batten down the hatches you little imp cos you’re in for some shitty rides over the next few years and everything you think now will be blown apart till you’re left wondering what’s still real and why no one ever warned you.” But, most importantly “Enjoy it while you can.” arrowsoflove.co.uk djsjones.tumblr.com nickjsthompson.com

Words - Tyler Wetherall Illustration - Jaswant Flora

Do not Disturb

UNRAVELlING OUR OBSESSION WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

07 I AM OFFLINE, A DAUNTING PLACE OF DISCONNECTION AND SOLITUDE. FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS ARTICLE, AND DUE TO AN UNEXPECTED MOBILE CRISIS, I HAVE NO SMART PHONE. I CAN’T CHECK EMAILS ON THE LOO. I CAN’T INSTAGRAM PICTURES OF MY LUNCH. I CAN’T SHARE INANE COMMENTS WITH A THOUSAND VIRTUAL FRIENDS. AND YET, I STILL THINK IN STATUS UPDATES. For the first few days, my hand compulsively reaches for my phone like an awkward twitch, and then a momentary panic ensues, as I realise it is futile. My only resources are directly around me or from within. I daydream more now. Looking wistfully out of bus windows, I observe people: the glow of their smart phone reflected in their eyes, walking down the street, head down, as if their mobile were an oracle and they, its lowly worshippers.

I call people when I need them, and we have a conversation that is not tapped out on Facebook while doing three other tasks simultaneously. People get my undivided attention. I have more mental stretching space to percolate ideas. I get lost. Often.

Part of me doesn’t want to go back. I want to stay switched off, and I’m not the only one. A dozen people I know have deleted Facebook from their phone, and numerous New Year’s resolutions revolve around tempering the use of social media. This is part of a collective movement gaining momentum to reconsider our relationship with the technology that surrounds us. In 2013, the video ‘I Forgot My Phone’, written by Charlene de Guzman & Miles Crawford, went viral with over 35million hits at the time of writing. It demonstrated the inherent sadness of trying to digitally document life’s most beautiful moments, while forgetting to actually live them. The light of the birthday candles is dim in comparison

to the dozen phone screens recording.

The average person now checks their phone every six-and-a-half minutes – that’s 200 times a day. Office workers are estimated to check their emails 30 to 40 times per hour. A recent survey revealed 25% of participants had interrupted sex to answer their mobile.

The smart phone is, after all, the ultimate in bespoke convenience. We tailor our device to meet our every need from what time we want to wake up to who we have sex with, as seen by the phenomenal success of apps like Tinder. Our phones can count our calories, monitor our bank balances and even tell us jokes (ask Siri, if you haven’t already). There are only two objects in my life always in arms’ reach: a pen and my mobile. I wonder sadly if one day the latter will entirely supersede the former.

But as we become ever more reliant on digital devices to direct our work and personal lives, evidence mounts about the negative implications of constant connectivity: clicking incessantly through links is diminishing our memory and ability to concentrate; social media is making us lonelier, more cut off and depressed than ever; and London’s Capio Nightingale Clinic now runs the UK’s first technology addiction programme. I could go on.

It seems, however, for the first time we have begun to raise our heads above the digital quagmire to question whether we want to spend our life glued to a screen. Since 2010 there has been a National Day for Unplugging every March, as part of the so-called Slow Tech movement. This swiftly growing global movement endeavours to temper the damaging effects of excessive technology in human life, by encouraging a healthier, more balanced usage of technology.

This awareness is starting to infiltrate popular culture too: just take Karen O’s recent Yeah Yeah Yeahs gig, in which she told the audience to “put their f*cking phones away” or simply the number of bars with mobile phone bans. ‘Analogue’ zones are appearing in cafes in the tech capital of the world, San Francisco. A recent Kit Kat advertising

campaign cashed in on this trend introducing ‘Free No WiFi zones’ in Amsterdam. Signal blockers inside branded park benches created a space where people could read a book, have a conversation – and naturally a Kit Kat – without digital distractions. The fashionable retreat for the wealthy high flyer is a digital detox, in which they pay to handover their devices upon check-in. The implication is, much like alcoholics in rehab, we no longer have the self-control to switch off unaided.

But is this neo-luddite movement solely about a concern for our collective mental and social health? The generation lamenting our digital addiction is the last ever generation to grow up without it. In hard times, we frequently look back with a misty-eyed reverence, in this case to the pre-digital past as a time when we actually communicated effectively with our fellow humans. There has always been a fascination in those things antiquated by technology: hold-up stockings, typewriters, record players and so on. Harking back to a time before convenience was king, these objects hold a nostalgic appeal, and archaic artifices of style are frequently revisited on the catwalk of Hackney. The same goes for technology. A recent rise in stationary sales indicated a return to letter writing, which by all practical measures should be near extinct.

Will art students start buying old Nokia 6110s on eBay for their retro appeal?

Convenience would dictate we all take up a kindle, but practical as they may be no technology can harness the smell of a freshly turned page. The other day I buried my nose in a new book, and a small neurotransmitter in my brain was so titillated by this, that it zapped out a command for me to share this experience with others, as if an app existed for smells: Stinkstagram. Even more titillating was the realisation that this was impossible.

Beyond this type of fashionable nostalgia, the slow tech movement is about something far deeper, about an appreciation for those intangible experiences that cannot be translated into computer code. Admiring the sunset without the need to take a photo or watching birthday candles blown out without mediating the experience through an iPhone.

There are 35million people and counting who clearly relate to this.

At the moment the Slow Tech movement is on the sidelines; digital detox is something discussed around dinner tables or written about in articles, and switching off is practiced by a small albeit increasing few, but there is no real evidence of our mobile usage doing anything but increasing rampantly. Right now, there is no financial incentive for the powers that be to facilitate such a cultural shift. But take a look at the Slow Food movement for inspiration: begun in 1986 to combat the ills of the fast food industry, it was originally relegated to the domain of nut-eating hippies. Now it is a presiding force in the food industry, with the words local, seasonal and organic topping almost every menu. Back in the eighties, that sort of seismic shift in food culture would have seemed ludicrous. We still eat fast food, but we now know to moderate our consumption.

There is always a gap between a new technology changing society and society acknowledging the impact of that change.

We have reached the end of that gap now, and we are taking a collective step back to question the ways in which smart phones and social media have enhanced and reduced our experience of the world around us including our relationships. I do not propose that there is much chance of us throwing our mobiles out the window and returning to the days of typewriters and carrier pigeons (as much as that aesthetically appeals to me), but perhaps we can welcome in a new age of a more considered relationship with the technology we have become so reliant upon.

To start with, knowing when to switch off.

jaswantflora.tumblr.com tylerwetherall.com

Interview - Christopher George

Cyclops

HAVING A BLUNT REALISM TO LIFE AND EXTREME REFLECTIONS TO DRAW ON, ARTIST CYCLOPS IS PHILOSOPHICALLY EQUIPPED. WITH HIS FORMAL EDUCATION ATTENDING “THE UNIVERSITY OF LIFE”, HIS STUDIES WERE EXTREME AND EXPANSIVE.

SURPRISINGLY, GROWING UP IN NORTH WALES PRODUCED A SOLID GROUP FOR CYCLOPS TO DRAW FROM, WITH A LARGE CREW KICKING AROUND TOGETHER TRENDING THE “B-BOY” STYLE.

AS A YOUTH HE NEEDED TO BELONG TO A FORMATIVE GROUP WITH SHARED VOCABULARY THAT ALLOWED GAINING A RIGHT OF PASSAGE. WITH ONLY THE OPTIONS OF HEAVY METAL, HIP-HOP AND NOTHING IN BETWEEN, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL HERITAGE AND A LINK BACK TO HIS FATHER’S SOUL MUSIC INTEREST, HIP-HOP WAS TO BECOME THE LINK WITH WHICH HE ENGAGED. ALONG WITH AN INTEREST IN ART, THIS WAS A WAY TO BELONG TO A COMMUNITY. CYCLOPS’ NEW BODY OF WORK FOCUSES ON HIS PAST LIFE, PLACING IT IN A CALM STATE OF BEING, REMINISCENT OF THE ACADEMIC AND MASTERS STYLE UP TO THE 17TH CENTURY. AFTER MOVING TO MANCHESTER AT 15, HE LIVED IN A “LIBERAL HOUSEHOLD” DURING THE EARLY STAGES OF THE RAVE SCENE. 55 - How did you become involved in the burgeoning Manchester club scene?

C - “My mum’s friend manufactured ecstasy and was part of the club culture in Manchester. Clubs like the Thunder Dome, Hassienda, Banchie were where my friends and I would get into the events really without being intercepted by anyone’s radar. I used to carry a DJ’s records into the clubs. Because of our age, we just were not seen as a threat. I would have 10 pills to sell and have one for free. I would then experience this fucking incredible music. It was a move on from hip-hop to this ecstatic tribal experience; really feeling it as a result of the drugs and music. It was an expanded field of fucking teenage hedonism. The scene at this point still was not fully formed and quite loose.

It was a culture that was not solidified at the time.”

55 - There was a period of your life where you were an addict. What do you think this brought to your work?

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C - “Ummmm, it’s difficult to say what that experience brought to my work. I don’t think I explicitly unpack trauma from my life into my work to deal with it. What I do think is that the mindaltering and expanding nature of drugs have given me a way of seeing the world. It is definitely the positive elements of what I experienced. It’s not all negative; it just ends up being negative. That is what drugs tend to do more often than not. The mind-altering component of what I experienced has changed me. It’s changed the way that I think, and this is the unique thing to have happened. The use of language or the way of seeing the world that’s kind of humorous or distorted.”

55 - What event in your life made you leave the previous existence of drugs and enter a more serious existence as an artist? Was there a key moment?

C - “I had a child, that was one of the main things.

I was still very much in a state of chaos. I wanted to stop using drugs but it’s not that easy. If it was easy the problems of drug addiction would be less serious. Why would you choose to stay on hard drugs if you had the choice? Faced with life and death, people continue using.

“I just kept slipping and sliding from making the correct choice to stop. I didn’t want to perpetrate a life of bullshit onto my son, or not be a part of his life due to being a drug addict.

“I was also at the time hanging around with some successful artists who I looked up to and whose work I respected. They gave me a lot of support and encouragement. They told me my life didn’t have to be like this. They gave me some space to make the decision. Once I had stopped using drugs it wasn’t really a problem, because I had replaced the addiction of drugs with art. Art is a pretty expansive place to be.”

55 - Your recent works are in more of an Academic and Masters style. Where is this drawn from?

C - “These works are drawn from a period of time where I was doing more graffiti art. I then went away and did an MA at the Royal College. In these paintings I am carrying on an idea from the past. In a way I am making peace with a theme and part of my life. The original idea of drawings and paintings that I had been doing were with these women having intense details in their crazy headdresses. My mum had schizophrenia and I have always used that theme without it being explicit in my paintings. As an image I have always thought: ‘what does schizophrenia represent? Is it some kind of turbulence or an extra expression?’

“These painting have calmed down over time from what the idea used be. My mum killed herself about 6 years ago; I am ok with that now.

It was as difficult as you could possibly imagine, but as my life has changed, the paintings have expanded and changed also. They’re becoming

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more ambitious. There is also a strong reference to photo-realism with some elements of street art that I have taken a bit further.”

C - “Ummmm, I don’t really know how to answer that for you. Yeah I feel compelled to make things absolutely. What was the first one?”

55 - Have your experiences of life left you distanced from people would you say?

55 - Is it a salvation?

C - “I grew up having to look after myself and I have more or less been doing that ever since. That is not always a good thing: Sometimes it can be a bar and make it difficult to see how other people fit into things.

If you look in the mirror, all you see is yourself.

You’re pure, you don’t need to fear, and time slows down then everything is fucking cool.

C - “Salvation...well it has definitely been a place to exist. And it is kind of forgiving. A place no one can tell you you’re doing it wrong. I don’t think that is true for many occupations. Perhaps that’s what I needed.

Yeah I would say that choice to be an artist has helped me overcome problems, but at the same time it comes with its own problems.

Sometimes its just a fucking consternation.”

“There are, however, reflections and if you’re scared, you’ll see someone that is out to get you. If you are angry you’re going to see victims.

It’s getting rid of those reflections; that’s the challenge we all face in life.”

55 - What are you like when you have time off?

55 - How are you with your reflections?

C - “I don’t know. All the things I’m not doing I suppose. There are a lot of things I want to achieve.”

C - “It’s about finding the centre; it’s always a battle. It’s about being realistic and taking action when you can.”

55 - What inspirations do you take from?

C - “People who have to some degree manifested a powerful mystical vision. People like the artist Goya, the American poet and humanist Walt Whitman, and Joseph Campbell whose works cover mythology, comparative religion and a vast aspect of the human experience.

Truth seekers. These are people who have gone out of their way to search for the truth. It’s not just about art, it’s also about an attitude and a vision.

This is what I find interesting. I find someone who has made their ideas, like Apple’s Steve Jobs, to build business. This is equally inspiring to me.”

55 - You put together the creative group Burning Candy. What was the purpose of putting this group together for yourself?

C - “It was when I had just come out of drug treatment actually, and some of the people who had been really supportive were part of that crew.

I was working as a builder at the time and it all happened really quickly. It was just the right time and the right place for it to happen.

“The purpose for myself was to build a bunch of ideas in one place, then mobilise it into a number of projects. For me it was also like doing a foundation art degree. At that point I was out of a ten-year heroin addiction and also out of rehab.

Almost immediately we were selling paintings for double figures. I was learning really quickly during that period of time. For me it was about being as bold as I thought I could be.”

C - “Anxious.”

55 - What are you anxious about?

55 - Would you say your flexibility as an artist and a person have come from your troubled past?

C - “Flexibility, I don’t know about that. What I think is that I have never been afraid to really go for something. Actually that’s not always true, but I have made certain decisions to try lots of things. I think I have always been open to failing. I’ve been in prison, homeless and in all kinds of positions.

It’s like I don’t have anything to fear from this fucking world. Why would I fucking care if I fail as an artist? Why would I fear failing as a designer.

What the fuck can these people do to me?

“I have to remind myself all the time that life is short and I want to get stuff done. I want to create and I have bigger projects that I want to do than the ones I have achieved so far.”

55 - What do you think about the human race?

C - “It’s a wonderful thing that the universe can look at itself through the human race. For what it’s worth, it may just be that what we value in life, and what we are mesmerised by, are just a combination of chemicals.

The universe made us in such a way that we can reflect upon our own existence. That means the universe is reflecting on its own existence.

Now that is something quite special I think; I find comfort in that. But then we could also be some weird disease. Why we would want to behave in the way that we do as humans? I suppose it makes perfect sense in many ways.”

55 - Is being an artist a form of salvation for you?

Is it a compulsion or a distraction? lazinc.com

Top Blazer by Filippa.K - Under Blazer by Ben Sherman - Trouser by T.M.Lewin Pocket Square by T.M.Lewin - Watch by TRIWA - Ring by Model’s own

Top blazer by Sack’s - Under blazer & Trouser by Caslazur - Ring pendant by Corneila Webb - Statement pendant by Fiona Paxton - Bracelet by Links

Brig h t Y ds o u n ien g F Photographer - Christopher Sims Stylist - Jennie Kwon Makeup - Sharka using MAC cosmetics Hair Stylist - Renda Attia Photographers Assistant - Nick Thompson Stylists Assistant - Sara Hultgren Post Production - 55factory

Sunglasses by Prada - Blazer by James Lakeland

Blazer by Ben Sherman - Waistcoat & Trousers by T.M.Lewin - Pocket Square by T.M.Lewin Necklace by Maria Black - Watch by Storm - Bag by Oppermann London

Suits by Malene Oddershede Bach - Under Blazer by By Malene Birger - Shoes by Dorraj Necklace by Bill Skinner - Rings by Maria Francesca Pepe - Round Gold ring by Lara Bohinc

James opposite: Blazer by Uniforms for the Dedicated - Waist coat by Paul Costelloe - Trouser by Filippa.K - Tie Pins by Pyrrha - Rings by LoveBullets Lola opposite: Suits by James Lakeland - Chocker by Maria Francesca Pepe - Body Piece & Rings by Corneila Webb

Top blazer by Sack’s - Under blazer by Caslazur - Ring pendant by Corneila Webb - Statement pendant by Fiona Paxton

Sunglasses by MISSONI at Cavan.com - Swimwear by Herve Leger

Grey suit by Antony Morato - Waistcoat by Paul Costelloe - Pocket Square by Paul Costelloe - Cuff by Storm - Rings by LoveBullets - Shoes by J Shoes

Interview - James Adair Photos - Christopher Sims

Breton

“YOU’RE A TOURIST// YOU’RE ONLY HERE AS LONG AS THEY RENTED IT TO YOU” CHANT BRETON IN UNISON IN THEIR LATEST SINGLE “ENVY”. MORE ON THAT LATER. DURING MY PREP FOR OUR RECENT INTERVIEW WITH THE BAND, I NATURALLY REVISITED THEIR BACK CATALOGUE; A RICH AND VARIED SONIC LANDSCAPE, ONE OF WHICH IS BY NO MEANS SMALL AND BY ALL MEANS MEANDERING. OVER THE PAST 4 YEARS, THE BAND HAVE GENERATED A CONTENT STORM OF 4 ALBUMS AND 6 EP’S – 10 RELEASES IN TOTAL, 0 OF WHICH HAVE FALLEN UNDER THE ALL-TOO-COMMON AILMENT OF “THIRD ALBUM SYNDROME”.

STATISTICALLY, THESE FIGURES ARE IMPRESSIVE, BUT WHAT’S THE SECRET? WELL, I THINK WE NEED NOT VENTURE MUCH FURTHER THAN INFLUENCE AND EXECUTION. BRETON IS A 5 PIECE HAILING FROM LONDON. WORKING FROM A FORMER NATWEST BUILDING IN ELEPHANT & CASTLE, WHICH THEY’VE DUBBED “BRETON LABS”, THE BAND HAVE JUXTAPOSED THIS ENVIRONMENT BY CREATING SOUNDS THAT ARE BY NO MEANS GENTRIFIED. THEIR CHOICES OF TEXTURE, MELODY AND ARRANGEMENT FEEL AS IF THEY’VE BEEN OBTAINED EITHER YEARS BEFORE, OR MOMENTS AFTER THE MUSICAL TOURISTS HAVE FORNICATED ALL OVER THEM. SONGS THAT SOUND AS IF THEY PULL ON THE COATTAILS OF A LONG SINCE DEPARTED PHILADELPHIA SYNTH-PUNK SCENE, ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE RECENTLY HIJACKED CARIBBEAN STEEL DRUM, THE BAND HAVE SEARCHED FAR AND WIDE FOR SONIC INFLUENCE OVER THE PAST 4 YEARS YET MANAGED TO MAKE SOMETHING REFRESHING WITHIN ALL THAT CHAOTIC CONTEXT. IS ALL OF THIS INTENTIONAL OR MERELY MY SUBJECTIVE TAKE? I CAUGHT UP WITH BRETON TO DISCUSS THEIR STORY SO FAR--”

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formally used as banks in Elephant & Castle and people that make electronic music – I remember hearing that Aphex Twin had the same setup for a long time.

B - The thing that holds any artist back is simply having space to work in, especially in London. Bands can go bankrupt just trying to pay for rehearsal space, and I’m sure millions of great short films never see the light of day because people can’t afford locations or equipment.

The lab was a way of putting everything in one place, and having a place we could stitch ideas together, or pull them apart.

55 - The music videos all have such a strong individual aesthetic and are so cross platform – what’s the story behind them?

B - Each video has it’s own identity because they are approached in different ways. The songs are the same, we try and develop them in their own way so we don’t repeat ourselves.

55 - What was the story for the first few E.P.’s? Were they more or less recorded and released independently? I’ve looked up names like Strange Torpedo but there’s not a huge amount of information online?

B - We released our first E.P. on Ian’s (synth/ MPC) label. The next one was on Hemlock which is an amazing label run by Untold, who is the godfather of UK bass music. It should all be on discogs.com, but these E.P.s where circulated by blogs and word of mouth, so we didn’t go out of our way to make a lot of noise about them. We were finding our feet really.

B - We met through a combination of south London live scene (everyone was in a band or promoted nights), art school and various projects.

55 - An interesting thing I notice about your music – a track like “Edward The Confessor” has that kind of darkwave European synthguitar-drum machine punk sound that seems to be really prevalent in the current soundscape – but you guys did that nearly 3 years ago? Then there’s one of the latest singles “Envy” which kind of feels almost incomparable in sound. Vocal harmonies, calypso steel drum sounding synth notes, a very uplifting pop tune. Tell me about the journey between then and now, how did you arrive in such a different place? What influenced it? I love how you’ve referenced that early sound you had with “Got Well Soon”.

55 - Tell us about Breton Labs? There seems to be a connection between buildings

B - All we have ever tried to do is develop the ideas we started with. This means we get to

55 - How did you guys meet?

constantly try out new things, and it means that patterns like the ones you have mentioned, get thrown up without us forcing them. Different people spot different things, and different references jump out in ways we can never really predict.

55 - I would argue that “War Stories “is arguably your most British sounding record. You have this great span of British sound from the past 30 years all mixed in there – there’s elements of new romantic vocals in there, all the way through to more indie-dance fusion moments that we’ve really seen come to life in recent years. This kind of juxtaposes with the fact you recorded it in Berlin – what was the decision behind that?

B - Berlin was more about escaping a lot of the things that we were finding a little stifling about London, both creatively and personally. It wasn’t so much about Berlin, more about making our own record.

55 - What’s the writing process like for you guys?

There’s a lot of great minds coming together in this band – does that make for a more independent “everyone at home in their bedroom working on their own ideas” or is this quite a collaborative process from the offset?

B - It starts in a very insular and personal way, with things being written on my own at 4 in the morning, but the songs really start to take shape when we develop them together.

This record has a really clear sense of identity, that feels more of an extension of our band and personalities.

55 - When playing live – what’s your ideal audience? I always like to ask this question to bands that have such wide embracing sounds. Obviously there’s a reaction you try to evoke in music, but your DNA is so considered it feels like you know your listeners well and I’m curious – should they dance?

B - I like the fact that we can play lots of different types of show. I have always wanted to be in a band that can play a abandoned shoe factory in Lithuania at 3am, but also can play with an orchestra in a cinema at the Australian Centre of the Moving Image.

The fact that we played both those shows within the same tour is really important to us.

55 - What’s the theme of War Stories in terms of its narrative? Is there a way of summarising the stories behind the tracks into something quite concise? IE What is the record about?

B - The record is about everything we witnessed and spoke about for a year, all the characters we met, all the things we found in the news that affected us, everything we lost and gained, all the music we fell in love with and the films that blew us away. It’s a whole year of existing in this band turned into 45 minutes and 7 videos.

bretonlabs.com @jalexanderadair christophersims.com

Article - Kate Lawson Photos - Christopher Sims

Favela maison Favela Maison is a creative collective comprising an experimental mix of minds, who merge the worlds of art, music, fashion and film with an urban sensibility inspired by a raw fusion of cultural influences. Their core values and aesthetic are moulded around a desire to seek out different movements - familiarising with them, but ultimately translating them into their own visual codes.

In short, they are an indication of how the underground can meet the mainstream, and still retain a unique identity.

I met with three members of the stylistic tribe - Yesawi, Kase Prince and Marc Rise, to talk about how the collective evolved.

So how did you all come together?

Marc: Yesawi was starting his own clothing label, so we both collaborated on that from a styling angle, working on test shoots. Kase was making music, so we helped him with the videos - and the rest of the group were making films or creating inspirational Tumblrs - it was an organic meeting of minds.

What’s the message you’re trying to communicate?

Yesawi: What we’re doing is blending a rich mix of cultures - it’s all defined by where we’ve been in life and how past experiences have affected us all individually - that’s what influences what we put out there. There isn’t a main theme for our projects, it’s all about mixing it up.

Tell me more about your overall creative vision?

Yesawi: We work off how ideas come to us and then we go out there and feed the people. Every day is different and the response we get is that people are

really into the fashion, the music, the imagery etc, so that helps us to think and create more.

Marc: There’s a culture of youth right now who are really into design, art, fashion - the internet-age kids who really want to do something more with their life, more creative - they’re the people who are really enjoying what we are putting out there on all levels.

Kase: It’s like a creative revolution!

Which designers or creatives have inspired you on your journey so far?

Kase: Time periods influence me rather than people - that whole vibe and energy rather than a specific person.

Marc: Rick Owens is one person I admire. I like the fact he’s out there making a statement with his clothes - he’s gutsy and clever.

Yesawi: Pigalle Paris. It’s a very bohème label and they are totally immersed in selling a lifestyle and a culture, not just a look. I love their infusion of French street style.

What do you think about London street style, and in particular, London Fashion Week?

Marc: London is cool, but we feel like some brands and designers here are looking towards the US for influences, but in the US, they’re looking to Europe for street style ideas! - so it’s like a fashion cycle influencing and impacting one another. It’s hard to know where the new ideas are coming from at times actually, or whether there are any?

Yesawi: It’s a shame but LFW has almost become a circus now, on and off the catwalk.

Kase: The industry needs to be boundary-pushing again, and also to believe in and nurture its youth talent. favelamaison.com

kate-lawson.com christophersims.com

Jayson Brinkler Take a moment to think about your birthday – the actual day of your birth, rather than the order of pubs you’ll visit.

Maybe your birthday’s today and mum is inundating Facebook with stories of 10 hours in labour and how you used to be such pretty little angel.

What was happening back then? In my birth year, Bob Marley died, the first Space Shuttle launched, Diana married Prince Charles, France abolished capital punishment, the DeLorean hit car showrooms, MTV hit our screens and Nintendo released Donkey Kong.

I still consider myself young. Stop laughing.

But I appreciate a lot’s happened since then.

What if I fast forward 100 years from my birthday? Assuming I’m still in it, what world do I envisage? Has it experienced technological advances like the last 100 years? Is climate changing for the worse? Did they cure cancer?

Can cars fly? Is it a peaceful world?

There are strong arguments for and against whether now is in fact peacetime. But what if I think back 100 years? What would I hope to see today?

those we don’t see. I think of millions that cannot sit for a 21st-century digital camera. The millions in foreign lands sent to senselessly lay down their lives to ostensibly protect British interests at home.

Back then, we fought to prevent Germany taking control of the English Channel. Yet as I write, NATO troops pull out of Afghanistan from a long war; one where lives were senselessly wasted in remote places to ostensibly protect British interests at home, to stop ‘the terrorists’.

Photos peppering the news serve similar poignancy by those missing from them. One needn’t see the coffin draped with the Union Jack; the town that gathered behind it spoke volumes. Meanwhile the smiling face of a decorated soldier is blackened by the family never given a chance to say goodbye.

So fast forward 100 years and the world you envisage. You reflect similarly on images of those that survived the wars of today. What thought permeates your mind?

Is it ‘not again’, or ‘never again’?

As I’m sure you’re aware, in 2014 we mark a centenary. A new book by photographer Jayson Brinkler documents the lives of 100 British centenarians, and his images of those that not only survived the Great War, but saw the entirety of a transformative 20th century, is humbling.

These photographs by their very nature invite reflection. Over 100 years ago, that face was to bear witness to two World Wars, the birth of television, the discovery of DNA and the first man on the Moon. They are living historical documents. We would do well to remember this, looking upon our elders as a society disconnected – unplugged – from a virtual ‘real’ world. We are the lucky few that reap their rewards, and those they once fought for.

And this is the sad thing. These striking, sombre photos invite another reflection; one of

Harry Patch - Born 17th June 1898

Albert ‘Smiler’ Marshall - Born 15th March 1897

Article - Jonathan Bright

Arthur Barraclough - Born 4th January 1898

Jack Davis - Born 1st March 1895

jaysonbrinkler.com @brightywriting

Interview - Greg Scott Photos - Christopher Sims

desperate journalist

WITH OUTRAGES THAT RANGE FROM HACKING THE PHONE MESSAGES OF A MISSING GIRL’S MOTHER, TO WRITING INSINUATING ARTICLES THAT DAMN THE LIFE OF A DEAD, GAY SINGER (WHO AT WHICH POINT STILL HAD A LITTLE COLOUR IN HIS CHEEKS), IT SEEMS THESE DAYS THAT DESPERATE JOURNALISTS WILL REVEL IN FILTH. SO IT FEELS SLIGHTLY JARRING TO KNOW A BAND CALLING THEMSELVES DESPERATE JOURNALIST ARE CURRENTLY CREATING THINGS OF BEAUTY AND THOUGHTFULNESS. Since laying down their print on the underground indie scene earlier in 2013, Londoners Desperate Journalist have shown themselves as artists of particular note. Named after an obscure track

by The Cure - Desperate Journalist in OnGoing Meaningful Review Situation - one has to admire the band for having the grit in the current media climate to adopt a moniker so brazen, confrontational and bound in dark humour.

For an outfit that have only just celebrated their first anniversary, their sound is tight and betrays their freshness. They achieve a sonic chemistry that would make green many of their more roaddriven contemporaries. The four-piece, postpunk outfit comprising spellbinding front woman Jo Bevan, guitarist Rob Hardy, bassist Simon Drowner and drummer Caz Hellbent, have crafted a sound that is familiar but not derivative.

While the band are indebted to the post-punk and 80s alternative scene - they’re happy to namecheck their influences, branding themselves as an homage - listening to them you feel that although they may have a known starting point, to where they continue on their journey is of their own design; more fascinating than a standard flame bearer for post-punk. Their sound is built of melodic and lush guitar arrangements that erupt into anthemic noise, dressed in speculative and expressive vocals, an energetic rhythm section at its foundation.

Live performances are helmed by the sombre and reflective presence of lead singer Jo, whose voice has the tortured delicacy of Bjork and the defiant strength of Souxsie Sioux. Meanwhile the band give unruly performances that stir a genuine and palpable excitement in the audience. They are a live act that demands attention.

In 2013 they released their first EP Cristina with audiences on the live circuit and internet bloggers gushing approval. They followed this in November with the single Organ, which has since become a live favourite.

55 - Who would you say are the worst ‘desperate journalists’ out there at the minute?

DJ - There are certain people that I’m not very

fond of personally, but I wouldn’t like to name them. People who are unimaginative and make loads of comparisons and stuff, they should be banned.

55 - As an up-and-coming band, at some point in the future you will probably have to deal with such people. Are you prepared for that?

DJ - Not particularly. It depends how the desperation manifests itself.

55 - You’ll find them snooping through your bins.

DJ - I’d write some angry lyrics about them and over-dramatise it to make it sound much more important than it actually is.

55 - Do you think that as time goes on and Desperate Journalist become bigger that the name will cause you any problems?

DJ - It already has! A journalist gently ribbed us in an amicable fashion about it. He said that it ‘unfairly dated’ us. He was being a bit sensitive.

There was a French review that mentioned the name straight away. It said: “apart from that name they’re really good”. He thought it would cause problems. But if Bombay Bicycle Club can get somewhere you can call yourself whatever the fuck you want.

55 - What about the reaction to the Cristina EP? DJ - The reaction has been broadly very positive.

We knew Cristina was the single and people do keep coming back to that one still. I guess we’re pretty pleased as it was completely us: we recorded it ourselves, did all the press ourselves and put it out there ourselves. That EP was pretty much the first four songs that we wrote together; there was no process of throwing stuff away, and it’s our original work.

Someone who had just heard Cristina said on Twitter recently: “at last a band being responsible with heritage”. Which is a blousy way of saying we’re a band doing something in the post-punk idiom, but not being a rip-off merchant. It’s nice to be recognised for adhering to the ideas that are good about post-punk rock.

55 - What do you think makes you particularly stand out from the other bands around at the minute?

55 - You’ve been recently compared to The Smiths, what other artists would you like to be lined up against?

DJ - 12-string guitars. What I like particularly about us is that we’re not a throwaway; the songs are immediately affecting, more so than just a throwaway pop song. I don’t think you get many bands these days that straddle the noisy and aggressive whilst also being ‘indie’ and ‘classic pop’. I always feel it when we play live. Seeing the other bands we’re playing alongside, we’re always a hell of lot more aggressive, more direct and noisier. I like that; it marries with our more constructed arrangements. It’s not over-done or over-thought; it feels more spontaneous and alive.

DJ - The Cure. And Echo and the Bunnymen.

55 - The 12-string guitar, what brought that on?

DJ - It’s harder to play and we like a challenge.

Rob wants to be king of the castle; he’ll be playing a harp next. You can make quite different sounds. You can be restricted, but in a nice way.

It forces you to play things like…well, a 12-string feels like you’re playing a whole song. It gives you a nice depth to the noise.

55 - Are there any leftfield influences that the listeners might not expect?

DJ - It’s never a determined idea. We never sit there and go “were gonna write a Goth song or an indie song”. We’ve got a song and we’re gonna try and make it sound as good as we can.

There was no conversation about what we should sound like, we just played together and that’s how it ended up. It’s just a combination of what the four of us like, which isn’t anything particularly obscure or weird. When we got together I said: “Let’s not do an indie band, lets do something really different.”

55 - Outside of music are there any influences you feel give your work colour or passion?

Shirts and ties - Topman Shoes - Dr Martens Glasses - Cutler and Gross desperatejournalist.co.uk christophersims.com

DJ - ‘Happenings’ is about On the Road by Jack Kerouac, which is a terribly teenage thing to say, but it’s a kind of alcohol-fuelled road trip vibe. Jo used to live in America so she did some travelling around the east coast. A big road-trip across America is the dream.

I guess lyrically speaking I always have images in my mind of what I’m trying to convey. A person or a book that I’ve read, little bits that float into your mind.

55 - How does the dynamic of the band work?

How do each of your personalities influence the band’s direction?

DJ - Caz makes the tea. We all take it in turns to be the miserable one. But mainly its Rob, he’s the miserable panicky one. Rob’s sometimes the straight guy and Simon’s sometimes the joker.

Basically, Caz is always late for everything and Simon’s the one that’s on time for everything.

55 - Jo, would you say that you were a tyrannical front-woman?

DJ - Not at all, I love to give.

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55 - On the journey, have there been any particular times that stand out as a moment of glory?

DJ - Recording in Keith’s (Keith TOTP) studio. Up until that we were just messing around, when we heard the recording back we were like ‘fuck this is good’. It’s nice being in a nice big fancy studio and it all being for free. That was just really fun for me. We had a debate about mixing the song, we decided to do it ourselves, which I’m really pleased we ended up doing. It was the right choice as it sounded right and good. It sounded like us. There was quite an honesty which came from doing it all ourselves.

55 - Lastly, who would win in a fight, Jan Moir or Richard Littlejohn?

DJ - Richard Littlejohn. Because he’d... [Ed: removed for legal reasons].

The new Desperate Journalist single is released on 5th May on ‘Giant Haystacks’ Records

Article - Christopher George

istanbul

An evolving city

MY VISIT TO THE SPRAWLING MELTING POT THAT IS TURKEY’S CAPITAL ISTANBUL WAS A HUNT FOR HIDDEN GEMS; WHAT I FOUND WAS A ONCE-TREASURED COMMUNITY ON THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE. A city of both Europe and Asia, Istanbul sprawls over the two continents with the Bosphorus strait a boundary – geographically splicing East from West – socially and culturally creating a unique ancient urban metropolis.

The population of the world’s third largest city continues to grow at an incredible rate while moving away from its ancient Middle Eastern roots. Along with a booming construction industry are the demands of an evermore affluent, consumerism-crazed population, all buying into the Westernised dream of luxury lifestyles and disposable high street brands.

These are just a few of the factors remodeling the classic demographics of Istanbul and beyond, creating completely new suburbs that seep back into the mainland of Turkey.

Istanbul’s new glittering tower blocks and

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high-rise luxury living apartments are testimony to Turkey’s desire to restore its Renaissance glory, looking like jewels being polished for a future on the global crown.

Taksim square and Independence Avenue are not only the centre of modern Istanbul, but also the centre for recent political unease caused by a controversial redevelopment scheme of a public space. This unease runs deep with the Turkish, who have a strong identity with their independence and liberalisation as Muslims. This area, built in the Neo-Classical, Neo-Gothic, Renaissance Revival, Beaux-Arts, Art Nouveau styles during the 19th and 20th centuries, is reported to have over 3 million people visit during a single day.

The grand towering classical buildings house all manner of commercial shops, with many of the 19th century apartment blocks rambling on with their internal walkways, market places, imposing marble staircases housing curious and eccentric nightlife scenes. Health and safety departments haven’t yet desecrated, curbed or destroyed the atmosphere of these properties. On the streets, it’s a scene not unlike Glastonbury on a very hot night when the Saturday night frenzy is in full swing.

Street vendors, music and a lively bazaar atmo-

sphere bubble over from the sparks of a growing youth population.

What is less known about Istanbul to outsiders is an area only a short walk away. Roma, or Gypsies, and their culture have inhabited this area named Sulukule for over 600 years. Much of this area in bygone years would have been serviced by the traditional entertainers of many descriptions, who have quickly been eradicated.

On a recent trip to the city it was purely an instinctive physical and spiritual pull that drew me to the Sulukule area, Istanbul’s Roma quarter. It’s not an advertised spot but soon will be completely demolished, replaced by a gated community of a more affluent and wealthy citizen, carrying laptops and pushing baby strollers. This historical home to the Roma is a culture being destroyed before our eyes. All this has been happening since 1992 and precipitated has serious socio-economic decline for the Roma community with a forced closure of entertainment establishments.

It seems ironic, then, that Istanbul was awarded the European Capital of Culture in 2010 when it encourages the wiping out of a presence in this part of the capital that dates back to Byzantine times. Plans that are unveiled show the regeneration of this area and the 620 town houses to be built; the models of plastic people carrying laptops and drinking grande lattes is something all too common.

For several years there has been a system of paying off house owners and undervaluing their properties. You now find empty streets encased in sheet metal walls running the length of the old and beautiful 20th century Neo Classical city blocks. In itself it is an enchanting and excitingly visual area, but at the same time it is a depressing image of what could be seen as ethnic and cultural cleansing.

This still-vibrant area will in a very short period of time be completely cleared, as the corporate machine eradicates over six centuries of history.

While the rest of Istanbul has had a huge economic boom over the past 10 years, this area remains pretty untouched, its historic community flourishing just five minutes walk from Independence Avenue. In statements regarding the redevelopment, city officials say the project will improve living standards in Sulukule, where 5,000 people live; it will bring amenities such as electricity, gas and water and replace crumbling houses with modern row houses featuring landscaped gardens and courtyards. The reality of

this is relocation for many inhabitants of Sulukule.

Those that can afford to stay in Sulukule will get 15-year loans for the new homes, says Mustafa Demir Fatih, District Mayor.

Mostly, tenants in the Roma quarter cannot afford this. They will receive loans to buy less expensive apartments about 40km away on the fringes of Istanbul.

Byzantine chronicles refer to a community in Sulukule as early as the 11th century. The ancestors of the Roma kids of Sulukule first settled on this particular spot of land, close to the Golden Horn and just outside 5th century city walls of old Constantinople. The earliest record of the community, from about 1050 AD, refers to a group of people, believed to have come from India (where, indeed, most historians believe the Roma originated) who camped in black tents outside the city walls.

After the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, the community was granted official permission

by Sultan Mehmet II to make their homes on what is now Sulukule. Their fortunes took a downturn in the 1990s, when their “entertainment houses” — private homes in which Roma families would cook, strum and dance for wealthy Istanbulites — were shut down on allegations of gambling and prostitution.

The Sulukule project will impoverish these people even further. Many will see it as a grave crime, that the living memory of a community is destroyed.

I spent a very hot day wandering this enchanting, if not decaying area, stumbling over small enclaves of independent businesses selling things from shop mannequins to second-hand car hubcaps, tiny grocery shops and local cafes. I was very relieved to not come across a Starbucks, McDonalds or a Gap. I had a camera in hand and an iPhone in pocket, and I was honestly a little surprised at how unaggressive the Roma were towards me. Being a typical pasty faced Westerner caught in the midday sun with my digital equipment swinging from my arm, I could have easily a been a target for opportunism. Maybe it’s the Gypsy in me that kept things calm and the locals open to my presence. Maybe it was a spiritual calling, that I found myself in this area totally unknown to me, not a tourist in sight. A real, vibrant community on the edge of existence and survival.

With little to no hope of any grip, in a very short period of time the area of Sulukule in Istanbul will be displaced, despite centuries of coexisting perfectly happily. It has survived global wars and religious upheaval, only to be shot down by the religion of corporate gain.

Interview - Benjamin Murphy - GCAK

616

NOT YOUR TYPICAL ‘STREET ARTIST’, 616 CREATES WORKS FROM THINGS AS DIVERSE AS; LEGO, TURF, PISTACHIO SHELLS, EXPANDING FOAM, FRIDGES, SNAIL SHELLS, AND OCCASIONALLY, PAINT. THE ONE THING THAT TIES ALL OF THESE VERY DISPARATE ELEMENTS TOGETHER IS THE JAGGED PERSONIFIED LEAF CHARACTER THAT APPEARS IN ALL OF HIS WORK. HIS UNIQUE WORK IS A REFRESHING CHANGE FROM THE INSIPID SINGLE-LAYERED STENCILS OF CELEBRITIES AND CARTOON CHARACTERS THAT HAVE BECOME FAR TOO UBIQUITOUS OF LATE. A TRUE ‘OUTSIDER ARTIST’, 616 IS CLEARLY ON A MISSION OF EXPERIMENTATION. HE CAME TO MY STUDIO RECENTLY SO I DECIDED TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ASK HIM SOME QUESTIONS FOR 55PAGES 55 - Hello 616, please tell me first how you got into street art, and what were your goals when you set out?

616 - I started doing streetart because I used to get pissed and use that as an excuse to paint weird shit on the streets of Essex. My mates would look at me as if I was some kind of nutcase.

55 - (laughs) You are.

616 - I then discovered streetart and realised that you could do this expressive work legitimately. There’s a lot of freedom in streetart.

55 - It’s tough to balance out drawing freely and purely for the fun of it, with also keeping in mind that it’s going to be seen by others.

How do you keep the balance somewhere in the middle?

616 - It’s hard to describe. I like the aspect of my art being seen and appreciated, but ultimately I do it for myself. You’ve got to keep in mind that it is going to be seen by the general public, so you don’t want to do anything that’s going to offend their eyes too much.

55 - Yeah, you seem to be a bit more conscientious than most, I liked the way you put up a drawing of a tiger on Brick Lane because it’s a Bengali community.

616 - Yeah artists should try being a bit more aware of their surroundings a lot of the time.

55 - Where did your name come from, why did you decide to be known as a number as 6-1-6.tumblr.com benjaminmurphy.info

opposed to a name?

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616 - Because of that phrase: “I am not a number I am a free man’. A lot of people go on about being free. I just wanted to be a number, to rebel against the rebellion.

55 - Where did the leaf motif come from?

616 - I’ve always had a fascination with nature, and leaves are beautiful things. I like things with intricate patterns.

55 - A lot of your paintings are created onto found objects such as: doors, sofas, old pieces of wood etc. Things that have all been used in the past.

Why do you prefer this method of working to using canvasses or more traditional surfaces?

616 - The found objects are from the street, so you’re bringing the street inside. I hate the idea of going and buying a canvass and painting on it, it just seems packaged. I like to get something, look at it, and react with the object. A canvass is lifeless, it’s got no personality until you put your artwork on it. I find it easier to create something if I’ve got something to work with. I’ve always liked antiques and collectables, something with a bit of history and a story behind it.

55 - The paint flakes you do are a particularly nice idea, tell us about those.

616 - The paint flakes come from graffiti halls-offame, where the graffiti artists scrape off the old paint so that they have a smooth surface to work on. I pick them up, paint on them, and then stick them up again somewhere else. I like the idea of giving new life to something that’s been thrown away in the rubbish. You can see all the layers of paint, it’s like Graff history.

55 - You love giving your art away for free, a lot of people would say that is counterintuitive and yet it only seems to help you gain more recognition.

616 - I like the idea that people who cant afford art, or maybe people who don’t even appreciate art get to own a piece. Me giving a piece of art away might be the first step towards getting them to explore what’s out there, and open their mind creatively a little more.

55 - Do you think it devalues your art in any way by giving away something in the street that in a gallery would have a price tag?

616 - This is the thing I’ve always fought with. I don’t think it de-values it. I like my work to be accessible because I don’t like it when artists take advantage of people. Artists have a duty to not bleed people dry, but at the same time artists need to sell works so they can live. It’s tough.

Photographer: Christopher Sims Fashion Director: Sara Darling

Make Up and Grooming: Philipp Ueberfellner using Cosmetics A La Carte Hair: Jay Zharg @ ERA Management using Bumble and Bumble Photography Assistant: Nick Thompson Fashion Assistant: Amy Yuen Models: Bailey @ AMCK Christa @ Established Ani @ Profile Dress - Daniele Bardis Feather ear piece - Bibi Van Der Velden

Necklace - Labouddica Orange bomber jacket - ZDDZ Jeans - Cheap Monday

Leather jacket - Nympha Crop top - Fam Irvoll Mini skirt - Fam Irvoll Spike necklace - Soomin

Black leather shorts - Of the Realm Top - Muther of All Things Gold earrings - Finchittida Finch

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Christa - Opposite Gold bra top - Tube Gallery Top - Prey of London Grey Jeans - MOD Green shoes - Simmi Silver bracelet - Linnie Mclarty Gold necklace - Imogen Belfield for Made Fur tail attachment - Mary Me Jimmy Paul

Bomber jacket - Jean-Pierre Braganza Crop top - London Loves LA Leather shorts - Mary Me Jimmy Paul Bag - EH London Silver necklace - Only Child Boots - Mary Me Jimmy Paul

Bailey PVC top - Hardware London Black shorts - ZDDZ

Christa Grey swim suit - Muther of all Things Neon jacket - Of the Realm

Bailey Black bomber jacket - Hardware London Blue mesh top - ZDDZ Gold chain - Hardware London Black shoes - Frank Wright Black jeans - Cheap Monday

Dress - Malene Oberdash-Bach Gold necklace - Finchittida Finch Orange necklace - Imogen Belfield for Made

Ani Bra top - Lashes of London Shorts - Marry Me Jimmy Paul Jacket - Andrew Majtenyi Shoes - Simmi

Christa Zebra jacket - Edith & Ella Pink swimsuit - Beach Riot Bag - EH London Shoes - Steve Madden

Black top - Ada and Nik PVC cuff - Stylist’s Own

Article - Sara Darling Illustrations - Adriana Krawcewicz

ss14 trends

Christopher Shannon

Our Fashion Director chooses her picks from the International catwalks for Spring Summer 14. Pastels, 70’s and a moving towards more natural makeup and the ever popular androgynous look all make an appearance for the upcoming Spring Summer season.

Pretty in pink. Boys and girls will be rocking the pastel trend as soon as the clocks changeas a leftover from the winter mauves, ice cream shades will be popping up everywhere.

Either go the whole hog of head to toe sorbet, or add a token accessory. If you’re feeling particularly femme, try a floral pastel look, and get in touch with Peter Pilotto, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, Temperley London, J.J.S. Lee, Zoe Jordan and Eudon Choi. Boys should take note of Christopher Shannon Go back to school, or at least art class, with the paint box prints as seen at the Miuccia Prada and Stephen Sprouse’s graffiti art inspired Celine show. You can nod to the brights with Tommy Hilfiger accessories or clash it up with details and smock shapes worn by Cara Develigne at Chanel or in your face, face painted dresses at Prada, complete with stretchy legwarmers and clutch bags.

Twisted logos were top of the class at Ashish, and men can join the school bus by wearing Issey Miyake colour clashing shorts and mismatching trainers (leg bruises optional!)

Chanel

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Holly Fulton, Henry Holland and Jonathan Saunders gave us a taste of the 70s and romance with maxi dresses, prints and platforms popping up again. Voluminous pants and denim were also noted and clashing prints are de riguer! With hair and make up also nodding to the natural at Anna Sui and we love the knee high lace up booties at Mui Mui.

Mui Mui

With androgyny always being in fashion for boys n girls, Rick Owens is a man who knows what women want. Along with Alexander Wang there is always a new take on a black look- making girls who like boys looking like girls even cooler! With selected designers dominating this sphere menswear is part of the revolution with Lou Dalton, JW Anderson and Alexander McQueen preparing for a unisex summer this year.

Rick Owens

saradarling.com artianadeco.com

Article - Zoe Lem

international fashion showcase Now more than ever, so many countries are exploring the global fashion market. Taking inspiration from economy, culture, music and the arts- creativity transcends cultural boundaries and unites in artistic expression.

This February, the British Fashion Council hosted for the third year running an International Showcase at London Fashion Week; Bringing together nearly 30 Foreign Embassies and cultural institutes with more than 120 designers, this was an amazing platform for both the countries and designers involved.

One of the outstanding entries was Estonia, which for the second year running was awarded best exhibition; Another one of our favourites was the Philippines, who impressed with the strength of their collections.

With art and fashion going hand in hand, check out what turned our heads.

Jun Arajo is a talented designer from Davas in the Philipinnes. Very active in the world of fashion competitions, he has achieved recognition and various accolades from a number of international competitions, which have put him firmly on the fashion map.

His AW14 collection draws inspiration from both his heritage and environment where he utilizes traditional sackcloth mixed with modern pattern cutting and structured silhouettes. Jun is as much an artist as a fashion designer with each collection using different materials and techniques to express his creativity.

Olivia d’ Aboville is a French-Filipino designer and artist specialising in tapestry and textile structures.

She up-cycles unconventional materials related to the sea such as fishnets and fishing lines and recycles plastic objects such as water bottles and plastic spoons. Her creations speak volumes about the environmental problems of her local surroundings of the Philippines and her conceptual collections are reminiscent of the ocean.

Launched in 2009, Jonurm provides unique, multipurpose outerwear range featuring timeless, minimalist designs with flawless tailoring for men and women. Educated at Estonia’s Industrial Education Centre, Nurm has been recognized within the industry as one to watch.

With a personal motto against excessive consumption, his AW collection is designed to practical, flexible and adjustable. Backpacks and parkas come in two lengths so they can be altered as when requiredto suit your mood or the weather.

With simplicity being the key, the Jonurm collection will appeal to those who like no fuss and pure practicality, “I believe that my products will inspire my wearers to be more effortless and simple in everyday life, and at the same time, very true to her/his own style.”

We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

zoelem.co.uk junartajo.tk oliviadaboville.com jonurm.com maritilison.com scheckmann.com

Marit Ilison is a freelance artist and designer from Estonia, who now works and lectures on conceptual art. Having completed her degree at the renowned Estonian Academy of Art, she gained experience with a number of established fashion designers all over Europe.

She takes inspiration for her designs from memorable experiences, and has a strong interest in edgy pattern cutting and slick tailoring.

Not restricted by seasons, Ilison designs timeless pieces that defy the conventional twice yearly collections, and her AW14 collection is inspired by the atmosphere and personal memories she experienced in Peru and Mexico.

Fashion designer Sille Sikmann is the designer behind the brand Scheckmann, which focuses primarily on men’s footwear and accessories.

With Baltic-German roots, the brand is aimed at the modern sophisticated gentleman (the brand name actually translates to ‘chic man’) and the shoes are not only handmade but made to measure and made to order.

With some very exciting technological plans as to the way the shopper will be able to find the perfect shoe, this is definitely one to keep on our fashion radar

Interview - Christopher George

Adam espira

WITH STRONG REFERENCES TO PERIOD COSTUME, IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT ADAM ESPIRA HAS A PASSION FOR VICTORIANA, MILITARY AND ROYAL REPRESENTATIONS. BUT WHERE DOES THE INJECTION OF RAW MEAT AND COMMERCIALISM COME IN? His subject matter could have strong associations with classicism and religious representations in its semiotics, yet the feel of his historical backdrop is more Boar War Victoriana, with a very modern interpretation that mixes with surrealism.

A self-confessed costume junkie, Adam had the career mind to further his fondness in regalia and its design. He worked in museums sporadically, explaining that he could have just as easily been lured into directing TV, film and theatre period drama. As it happened, it was painting and imagery that directed him.

His attraction to historical accuracy is, he says, almost geeky in its approach. Not wanting to follow the costume design route, it was a natural step to take elements of this and place it into his paintings.

He adapts modern technique to this classicism. Originally producing his images digitally, he creates these in his own archaic manner, taking quite an experimental digital technique.

Rather than working with Illustrator or Vector, Adam produces his works in Photoshop. Not knowing initially how to work the program, this proved time consuming, but it’s still the way he produces his digital pieces.

55 – How have you found producing your art digitally?

“Because there is this stigma with creating work digitally, I wanted to find my own technique, and I’m bloody minded much of the time. I wanted to do it my own way, even if it took longer and was harder. Not wanting everything to start to look the same, as much of digital art imagery can end up, I wanted people to see there was a person behind the work.

“Creatives are generally into an alternative lifestyle, so there is always this pool of visual citation they dip into for similar kinds of references. I think when you extract from this pool, it’s extremely difficult to make your work stand

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out. How do you do it?

“It’s always been very important for me to stand out and to have a strong style. So when I started with digital work, I was acutely aware that using these programs correctly could start to standardise my work. I tried to be different by doing it my own way, creating a style. Over time I began using my own visual language and combinations, like the TESCO and shopping bags. They don’t often crop up in peoples work.

These objects are now associated with my style.

It’s difficult to be original.”

55 - You have current icons: commercialism, meat, vintage and military. Was this a conscious decision, or did these items just end up appearing in your works? Where do they come from and what are the reasons?

“I’ve always be interested in history, archaeology and attracted to the past – Victoriana, specifically. We are all still connected to the past. The Victorians were really the first to use imagery for commercialism, and identity as a vehicle for advertising and consumerism. Much of my work has a strong use of consumerism.

“As a child, my father used to make model planes and paint toy soldiers, so I grew up copying him, making Airfix models and playing games with my friends. To me it was the same as Star Wars – the villains and heroes – with more the idea of the Second World War being glamourised. I used to chop the plastic figures up, so I would have a box of dismembered body parts painted red which, after the battle I would scatter as corpses everywhere. Back then I was aware that it wasn’t as clinical as it was preceded to be to a child. As you get older you start to question the morality of these things – giving girls dolls and boys guns.

“The meat reference comes from the fascination I have with the Vanitas pictures. Vanitas are collections of objects placed together that have a strong symbolism. Usually they are critical of the times people live in: their vanity, riches, and elements of fashion, war and death. They are placed there for people to reflect on their lives and see all the vanities they can get caught up in. When one reflects on whether these physical items are really worth anything, it unveils that these items are generally meaningless, vain and often only objects of selfish desire.

“I see the works I am doing as a modern interpretation of the Vanitas, with the use of commercialism, fashion, money, modern technology and ultimately death.

“Specifically, meat refers to our own mortality.

Meat decays the same as flesh. I can’t walk past the meat section at a supermarket without staring at it, completely transfixed.

“However we like to dress it up, we’re all still animals and eating meat connects back to our animalistic nature. I see a dubious morality with the way meat is dressed up and what is done with it in factories. There is no reason why we have to eat meat anymore, but I still personally have a craving for it. I am interested in this dual situation with the meat in my pictures, our animal nature and the reminder of mortality reflected in a Vanitas kind of way.”

55 - How are you with death?

“I don’t know? I suppose I like to pretend I’m cool with death, and that it doesn’t worry me.

But I find it really hard to believe that we’re not all really terrified of dying. It is existence as we know it just disappearing, unless you believe in an afterlife, and with that I don’t really know what the hell’s going on. Does anyone?”

55 - What about aging? Is there an idea of this in your work?

“Well, yes. I think I either want to be really young or really old. It’s that in-between part

I don’t like. This middle bit. You’re not sure if you’re still young and do what young people do and hang out with them, or whether you should be settling down. It’s a thing society puts on you. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter, I suppose. Look at William Burrows. Well, actually he’s dead now, but he looked great as an old guy and was really cool. I want to be really young, or skip to being like William Burrows.”

55 - What are the reasons that you bring a commercial aspect into your work?

“I guess we all succumb to commercialism and branding. We are all used to being in this society that perpetuates it constantly, so you just accept it and forget it’s all around you. It’s when you get away from commercialism that suddenly you get a window on what it is like for other people who do not have this commercial aspect totally dominating their lives. You see people whose lives don’t revolve around wearing the next thing, what phone to have, what’s on TV. You then get the chance to think: is it a good thing to live like that constantly?”

55 - What do you think?

“I’m beginning to doubt it. Consumerism and social media have their benefits, but when it

interactive adverts on bus stops, the internet with your cookies and search engines tailored to make adverts suited to you personally. You cannot escape from it whatsoever in this city and much of the world. In 20 years time, we will be constantly bombarded with adverts via every human sense.

“I am generally an optimistic and happy person.

I don’t let this get to me and I don’t hate it. You can turn your Facebook off if you want to and not have a mobile phone, but unfortunately it’s becoming more and more difficult to opt out of these lifestyles. However, there is a generation out there that do not know anything else apart from this, and a next-generation who will think it’s completely obscure to live as we did 10 years ago. That’s worrying.

“On the other hand we have our older generation who don’t have a clue. What’s happening to them, apart from becoming very isolated? There seems to be two forms of isolation happening in parallel.”

consumes you to the point where you loose your humanity and spirituality, that’s sad.

Some people must spend all their days looking at a screen, wake up in the morning and turn on their iPad or computer. If they have to go somewhere they’re looking at their phone on the bus. At work they are on the computer screen. Back on the bus and on they’re on their phone again, and then home, back on the computer or TV, then bed.

“I just think: is that healthy, is it a good thing?

I feel it has begun to take over too much. I am not completely against the digital age, but I am having strong doubts about the actual time we are spending living in that world and not the real world.

“Commercialism as we know it has been around since the Victorian era. If you look at old photos of Piccadilly Circus, it’s not that much different than today. Loads of traffic, horseshit was the alternative pollution everywhere and there was advertising plastered all over the place. It was almost heavier on the streets then. So it wasn’t a fantasy of idealism.

“Things have become so much more perfected now and it seems like we are actually living in the future every day. You have espira.co.uk

Article - Charlie Partridge Artwork - Tom Bartlett

slacktivists

I have been tricked into coming into Bluewater.

What is this place? I feel like a tourist in despair.

irony well in the lyric: “Punk is dead, just another cheap product for the consumer’s head”.

At the edge there are windows to the outside.

Natural light. I hope to keep my spirits up.

It is similarly odd that every Christmas we’re invited to enjoy many adaptations of Dickens’s ‘A Christmas Carol’. It is, after all, a tale of redemption for the greedy Scrooge amidst a festival which is more about greed than ever, however much we may enjoy its veneer of humanity and kindness. By engaging in consumerism, you endow it with power. The game exists if you’re still playing it.

Oh lord. I’ve just realised this window overlooks the entrance. It’s only 9.26am. Car after car arrives. Entire families descend. Worshippers at a monstrous cathedral.

I have never understood shopping. As a child, it was just boredom. Midwinter days were spent waiting for older people to choose between a selection of equally boring things - alleviated occasionally by hiding inside clothing rails. I can’t hide inside rails anymore. And boredom is now accompanied by suspicion.

This is all snake oil. Fantasies. Dreams for people to buy into. What sort of dream is a Jamie Oliver frying pan? Why does anyone need any of it? Do they really enjoy it? Really?

Bizarrely, even the ‘all this stuff is bullshit’ meme has been popularly consumed for a long time - Fight Club, punk music, Dickens. The smashthe-system-by-wearing-this-t-shirt-demographic has been ready to buy into for years. Today it continues this oxymoron in status updates: “OMG look, another article by Owen Jones that is the sort of like a thing I might have read”.

Anarchist academic Matt Thompson describes it as “biting the hand that feeds you, not hard enough to do any damage, but just hard enough to leave bite marks that might demonstrate your intention”.

The ‘slacktivist’ was described by The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS as a person who supports a cause ‘by performing simple measures’, but who is not ‘truly engaged or devoted to making a change’. There is nothing wrong with performing simple measures, and status updates raise awareness of a cause.

A trending topic may even help generate wider media attention. But if you’re not making a change, the fantasy may ultimately be as satisfying as empty bite marks on the stuff you fried off in your Jamie Oliver pan.

Whilst there are many slacktivist causes, in the specific case of anti-consumerism, it becomes particularly hard to ‘slacktively’ make a change if you are engaging consumerism to do so.

You cannot buy your way out of consumerism.

Crass’s 1973 song ‘Punk is dead’ captured the

Perhaps I should not whinge. I don’t have to play the game, but also I don’t have to ruin other people’s fun. It’s 10am now at Bluewater and the car park is already overflowing with people who are excited for their celebrity-endorsed utensils.

I am in the minority and this is democracy.

Sometimes though, even if you’re not playing, the game can still impact on you. I’ve never played football, but it still disturbs my life.

Similarly modern consumption comes with scant thought for hidden consequences. It has fed the growth of corporate megaliths, causing genuine political power to be ceded from elected officials, accountable to the people, to businesses accountable to shareholders. That is not democracy and it should worry us, because we may wake up from our fantasies and find we paid more for them than we thought.

Take, for example, The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. Currently under negotiation by our Government, it is ostensibly about facilitating international trade, but includes clauses that allow ‘investor-state dispute settlements’. This enables large businesses to sue governments who, in attempts to protect their own citizens, get in the way of the desires of shareholders.

In El Salvador, a $315 million investor-state dispute settlement is being sought by a Canadian mining company, after the El Salvador Government refused it permission to build a gold mine on the grounds that such a project risked contaminating water supplies. There are hundreds of similar cases around the world.

Suddenly, my Bluewater despair doesn’t seem quite so childish. I’ve made some dramatic leaps, but it’s just my preferred fantasy. Then again, I’m told that the frying pan actually comes as a set. Oh, and look at that, it’s on sale.

Hide me in a rail. defpeck.wix.com/tombartlett robinandpartridge.com

Dress by Roberto Capucci - 1988

Article - Christopher George

the glamour of italian fashion

THIS 60 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE OF ITALIAN FASHION SPONSORED BY BULGARI IS BEING HELD AT THE HOME OF FASHION ITSELF, THE V&A IN LONDON.

Valentino with models - 1967

With a rare opportunity to view what has become one of the main capitals of the fashion industry, we travel through what has been a turbulent, glamorous and globally successful fashion empire. This journey takes us from post World War 2 destruction and the first unified fashion collection by Giorgini at the SalaBianca. Giorgini then took his models on the road to promote the collection abroad. Pucci on his second Sala-Bianca in 1951, understanding the importance of the American buyer, began the world domination of Italian designers and this began the rise of Italian fashion, to its peak during the 1980’s.

The Italian fashion designers became the face of their brand, created a lifestyle to go with it which saw Prada, Miu Miu, Dolce and Gabbana, Valentino and Versaci amongst others turn fashion into the billion dollar industry it has become.

With the lasting Italian domination currently being broken by the emerging Chinese textile and fashion manufacturing industry and also the rise of it’s own fashion industry, we get an insight into the history of the Western fashion market and it’s need to reinvent itself with the brand identity and mark of heritage.

The exhibition brings an array of original catwalk designers from this 60 year period, along with stunning photography, archive material and previously unseen pieces from private collections that capture the glamour from post-war to the ready-to-wear brands.

Giorgini at the Sala Bianca - 1955

Exhibition runs from 5th April to the 27th July

68 Stockists Muther of All Things - mutherofallthings.com Hardware London - hardwareldn.com Nympha - nympha.co.uk EH London - wolfandbadger.com Imogen Belfield for Made - made.uk.com Ada + Nik - q-men.com Finchittida Finch - finchittidafinch.com Malene Oberdash Bach - maleneoddershedebach. com Bibi Van Der Velden - bibivandervelden.com Daniele Bardis - danielebardis.com Edith & Ella - edith-ella.com Beach Riot - beachriot.com Fam Irvoll - fam-irvoll.myshopify.com Soomin - soomin.co.uk ZDDZ - zddz.co.uk Frank Wright - frankwrightshoes.com Cheap Monday - cheapmonday.com Of the Realm - oftherealm.co.uk Jean-Pierre Braganza - jeanpierrebraganza.com London loves LA - londonlovesla.com Only Child - onlychildlondon.com Tube Gallery - tube-gallery.com Prey of London - preyoflondon.com Linnie Mclarty - linniemclarty.com Tramp in Disguise - trampindisguise.com Blackeyewear - blackeyewear.com Josh & Nicol - joshandnicol.com Little Shilpa - littleshilpa.com Lashes of London - lashesoflondon.com Mary Me Jimmy Paul - maryme-jimmypaul.com Andrew Majtenyi - andrewmajtenyi.com

Simmi - simmishoes.com Labouddica - laboudicca.com Links - linksoflondon.com Triwa - triwa.com Herve Leger - 02072012590 Cavan - cavan.com BACK - annsofieback.com Ruifier - ruifier.com Ben Sherman - bensherman.com T.M Lewin - tmlewin.co.uk Prada at Sunglass Hut - 0844 264 0860 James Lakeland -jameslakeland.net Pyrrha- pyrrha.com Cornelia Webb - corneliawebb.com Sack’s- sacks.co.il Caslazur - caslazur.com Fiona Paxton - fionapaxton.com Antony Morato - uk.morato.it Paul Costelloe - paulcostelloe.com Storm - stormwatches.com Love Bullets - lovebullets.co.uk J.Shoes - jshoes.com MOD - mod-denim.com Dr Martens - drmartens.com Topman - topman.com

By Malene Birger - bymalenebirger.com Dorraj - dorraj.com Bill Skinner - billskinnerstudio.co.uk Lara Bohinc - larabohinc.com Maria Francesca Pepe - mfpepe.com Filippa.K - filippa-k.com

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