Summer ‘16
Magari SUMMER PREVIEW WITH EDITOR
BEYONCÉ
Believing is Power 5
Beyoucé's "Formation" video drew criticism from police unions. 30
5 BEST LA COFFEE BARS
ADELE
Which city has the best coffee? 7
NEIGHBORHOOD TOUR IN DWTN LA The intersection of arts and cultures. 9
ARTISAN OF FIDM FI DM students in Visual Communications create strikingly beautiful window display designs/ 11
PASTEL CRUSH
"Hello": about the difficulty of re-establishing closeness after a separation. 32
DRAKE Dorky dancing in "Hotline Bling" is just about to be turned into popular memes. 34
JUSTIN BIEBER Justin Bieber’s "Sorry" is a plea for a chance to apologize to a lover. 36
KANYE WEST
Alluring cosmetics we need for summer. You’re watching 12 of the most famous people on 13
KANYE WEST WOLVES VIDEO Kanye West teams with Balmain for his "Wolves" video. 17
RIHANNA Rihanna was presented the Video Vanguard Award by Drake. 28
the planet naked in bed together. 38
JULIUS SCHULMAN California mid-century modern photographer spreads around the world. 40
THE LAST PAGE Freedom. 49
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Magari VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER/ CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER Anne Chang @ilavoo Associate Publisher Jennifer Smith General Magage r Emily Wang Executive Director Erin Williams Advertising Services Director Jenny Louis American Fashion Director Sarah Potter International Fashion Director Stella McCarley Beauty Director Courtney Winston Account Manager Danielle Sams, Dana Lewin Integrated Marketing Director Sally McDonald Brand Development Director Sandra Bareilles Art Director Gloria Allen Designer Marie Fox
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Preview with Editor
“Believing is Power" Dear Readers, The Magari magazine, of which the word means "maybe" in Italian, is written for those who believe that anything can happen with an open mind. Creativity will come along with our positivity in all forms. What occurs to us in life is all about what's going on in our minds. When we encounter obstacles, it is easy to blame it on others. True strength is shown when we can maintain a positive mindset. It is not where we are that matters, but our intention and honest effort that will take us a little closer to our goal. Our goal is to create a magazine that tells about the art and culture of the time, whether mainstream or just emerging talents. It is important for us to hear the voices coming from real people rather than the commercialized content. Being based in LA, we are a diverse community which values our cultural mix that inspired each other. Culture, art, music, fashion, entertainment and related current events in Los Angeles are our main focus. We are dedicated to telling the story through our vision, that is to be strong and elegant in expressing ourselves. Together as a community, we can truly listen to each other and create a beautiful harmony. Anne Chang
Editor-in-Chief
In this issue: It is the time of the MTV Video Music Awards, which arouses much conversation in the fields of art in music, fashion, videos, dance. fine art,... We have decided to take a closer look at how artists in music and fashion fields are inspired by each other and collaborate in form of music videos. Working together not only helps each other build their brand identity, but also telling the story as a unit is much more interesting. Despite the controversy of artists using each other to create a louder noise, we are still aware that the art of today somewhat reflects the society in many aspects.
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LIFESTYLE Food & Drink
Travel
5 th F l o o r
5 Best LA Coffee Bars Which city has the best coffee? By Joshua Lurie
If coffee is black gold, then there’s been a Gold Rush in the past decade, with specialty coffee powers descending on LA from across the US. Homegrown coffee companies have also stepped up, with some growing chains sourcing coffee and others roasting their own beans in-town. In all cases, Angelenos have benefited -- and here are the 5 best of the batch.
2/Blacktop Coffee DOWNTOWN
The cousins behind Wurstküche teamed with Tyler Wells, a co-founder of the late, great Handsome Coffee Roasters, on this sleek Arts District coffee bar. Douglas fir and marble are keys to the hip-and-clean aesthetic, and Sightglass coffee, Straus milk, and top-of-the-line equipment make sure the brews stay true.
3/Civil Coffee
HIGHLAND PARK
Alex Morales and brother Alan spent time at Handsome Coffee Roasters and Tiago Coffee Bar + Kitchen before branching out on their own with Civil Coffee. Their stylish café on an emerging stretch of Highland Park sports an eagle logo and contains a white-and-blue color scheme and a high ceiling.
4/Coffee Commissary BURBANK
1/Alfred Coffee And Kitchen MELROSE PLACE
Joshua Zad was smart to open the first Alfred Coffee on Melrose Place, a short West Hollywood street that could easily double as a runway, considering all the models and celebrities that traverse the thoroughfare’s high-end clothing shops and boutiques. Better yet for business owners, they end up sharing photos through social media. Alfred’s iconic sign, “But first, coffee,” is particularly Instagrammable and reinforces Alfred’s core focus: pumping out plenty of espresso drinks and cold-brew coffees, all using Stumptown beans, and the ubiquitous Alfred cone -- a chocolate-coated cake cone that holds a double shot of espresso.
This growing chain, which has an imposing rooster logo on the wall and the obligatory Instagram-friendly tile, now keeps studio workers well caffeinated throughout TV, film, and radio production.
5/Cognoscenti Coffee CULVER CITY
Considering owner/ architect Yeekai Lim earned his bones with pop-up coffee bars around the city, it’s nice to see a fully realized take on his vision.
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Neighborhood Tour in Downtown LA
lifestyle Travel
The intersection of Los Angeles arts and culture. ByMargot Dougherty
The Broad Museum
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Designed by architect Frank Gehry, Walt Disney Concert Hall (WDCH) is an internationally recognized architectural landmark and one of the most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world.
A+D Museum
Dedicated to progressive architecture and design, A+D showcases a spectrum of disciplines. The current exhibit, “Come In! DTLA” exhibits the work of L.A. photographers, sculptors, graphic and industrial designers, as well as a shoemaker’s improbable but inspired takes on footwear.
Hauser Wirth & Schimmel
Hauser Wirth & Schimmel is the Los Angeles location of Hauser & Wirth, the international gallery devoted to contemporary art and modern masters. A new destination in the heart of the burgeoning Downtown Arts District of Los Angeles.
The Broad is a new contemporary art museum founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles. The museum is designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Gensler and offers free general admission.
Hennessey + Ingalls
The offerings at L.A.’s venerable art and architecture bookstore span the visual arts—landscaping, photography, graphic design, interiors, architecture.
Royale Projects
An alley of looming murals leads to the crisply white entry of this contemporary-art gallery. The current show, “LA Today,” curated by 80-year-old Carl Schlosberg, a founder of MOCA Los Angeles and the Skirball Center, features mixed media pieces.
Jason Vass
Gallerist Jason Vass grew up in the New York art world. His father, Gene Vass, was an abstract expressionist and his mother, Joan Vass, designed knitwear worn by Jackie Onassis. Mr. Vass had galleries in Soho, Santa Monica and Santa Fe before opening in the AD with a roster of established and emerging sculptors, painters and photographers.
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Artisan of FIDM FIDM students in Visual Communications Major creates strikingly innovative window display designs. Their artisan mood depicts fashion as its most playful and energetic vibe.
By Kate Diamond
Visual Communication pros are experts at designing the perfect window display or pulling together the perfect outfit—and making it look like a work of art. With classes in quick sketching, Photoshop and Illustrator, and practice working in teams and analyzing trends, students become experts at design and visual communication. In the classroom, students collaborate on realworld projects with companies like Saks Fifth Avenue and Disney Stores North America. Internships have included Anthropologie, Giorgio Armani, Warner Bros., and luxury brand owner Richemont.
lifestyle 5th Floor
A Closer Look
The Visual Communications Program offers students a diversified, creative business background in visual presentation, exhibit/trade show design, retail and event marketing and store planning, with an emphasis on the fashion and entertainment industries. Students benefit from exposure to practical and theoretical visual merchandising techniques. Courses include presentation design, color theory, concept visualization, trend forecasting, and computer graphics. Visual Communication pros are experts at designing the perfect window display or pulling together the perfect outfit—and making it look like a work of art. With classes in quick sketching, Photoshop and Illustrator, and practice working in teams and analyzing trends, students become experts at design and visual communication. In the classroom, students collaborate on real-world projects with companies like Saks Fifth Avenue and Disney Stores North America. Internships have included Anthropologie, Giorgio Armani, Warner Bros., and luxury brand owner Richemont.
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PRODUCT Beauty
PASTEL CRUSH
TOVE Eyes Palette
This exclusice eye shadow palette from pastel to brights, has everything you need to create an impactful look.
Pantone Sephora Lipstick Break the monotony of sheer pastels and go bold with a high coverage light pink. It is opaque enough and definitely makes a statement for your outfit.
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OPI Nail Polish
Iconic softly shaded hue of rasberry which is perfect for every skin tone. Natural hues bring out the brightness while looking subtle and sophisticated enough for all occasions.
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PRODUCT Beauty
alluring cosmetics we need for summer Sephora Lip Gloss
Get a pigment-loaded pop of lavendar color.
Sephora Lipstick
Break the monotony of sheer pastels and go bold with a high coverage light blue.
Zoya Nailpolish
This ultra freshening mint green shade for a bright mood.
MAC Lipstick
These colors are bound to stand out of the crowd.
Sephora Lip Gloss NARS Eye Palette
Get a pigment-loaded pop of mulberry color.
Colors with matte and shimmer shades.
Smashbox Lip Gloss
A sweet scent to moisten your lips on a summer day.
NARS Concealer
Conceals flawlessly and brightens up skin tone.
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Magari Summer 2016
THE
MUSIC VIDEO ISSUE
Kanye West Teams With Balmain for His “Wolves” Video— Olivier Rousteing Shares His Take on the Collaboration by Jane Gregson photography by Nabil Elderkin
“This is definitely one of the most incredible campaigns I’ve ever done. When I saw Kanye singing, Kim moving, the models walking and crying, the tears on Kanye, the tears on Kim—I was just like, ‘Wow,’ ”
T
hus spoke Balmain’s creative director, Olivier Rousteing, who has raised the bar on his seasonal campaigns since taking the reins of the French house in 2011. Past ads have featured Rihanna, the sisters Hadid, and a selection of models so super they need first names only, Naomi, Christy, and Claudia. Today, Rousteing reveals that his Fall 2016 ad campaign for the house has taken a new form: Balmain has partnered with Kanye West to produce a music video for West’s The Life of Pablo track “Wolves,” which doubles as the brand’s campaign. Directed by Steven Klein and art directed by Pascal Dangin of KiDS Creative, the video was shot in New York City and stars West, his wife, Kim Kardashian West, and a slew of Rousteing’s favorite models: Joan Smalls, Jourdan Dunn, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jon Kortajarena, Ysaunny Brito, Josephine Skriver, Chico Lachowski, Jordan Barrett, Ronald Epps, Sasha Luss, Riley Montana, and Dilone. Rousteing and West’s relationship goes back. The musician and Kardashian West previously starred in Balmain’s Spring 2015 menswear ads and West has collaborated with Rousteing on a series of Balmain x Yeezy garments worn by the Kardashian-Jenner family to the Yeezy Season 3 show at Madison Square Garden last February. After hearing the TLOP album at MSG, Rousteing said he fell instantly for the record—“It’s my favorite album ever,” he said—and that the track “Wolves” featuring Sia, Vic Mensa, and Frank Ocean
resonated particularly. “I called Kanye and I said, ‘I would love to create a campaign around your music, your lyrics, and your aesthetic,’ ” Rousteing explained. “I think that’s what is interesting: It is a campaign based on music. That was really important for me.” To those paying attention to the 30-year-old designer’s work, his love of music is well documented. The launch party for the Balmain x H&M collaboration featured a Backstreet Boys reunion. Rousteing isn’t just someone with a deep Spofity playlist, though. As a young designer with his finger on the pulse of technology and social media, he sees the potential in the music industry for communicating new ideas to larger demographics. “Business-wise, the music system is so strong and sometimes, for me, it’s even more modern than the fashion system. I think we should all look at what is music today. Music is such an inclusive world because it’s all about talking about real life and telling beautiful stories, sometimes dark stories. From a business point of view, music is understood way more than fashion sometimes. With music, you talk to an entire generation, where sometimes with fashion, you don’t talk to an entire generation because not everybody gets magazines. With music, you have a platform that helps you to discover an entire world. From a business point of view, the communication around music is way stronger and way more powerful and way more, in a way, interesting, and that’s what I love about music.” right: Fashion Design by Balmain in Wolves VIdeo
e v i s clu out n i n ll ab a uch its a e and s is use l lif c , i a rea s s c e u e i M ld b out or s. t s r wo ing ab utiful storie a talk ng be dark s i tell etime som
In the former category are the sylphlike models that slink and dance at the Gilded Lily during Balmain’s after-party for the Met Gala, all glitz and haute glamour. West, Kardashian West, and tens of Balmain Army models were then shot in a studio in New York, teary-eyed and moody to represent West’s rawer vision. The rapper wears his outfit from the Met Gala, a beaded jacket made in collaboration with Rousteing, white tee, and Fear of God jeans. (A first, perhaps, that another brand has featured prominently in a luxury brand’s ad campaign.) “Kanye has a great culture of what he thinks is cool in fashion, and I have my ideas. I think the mix of us made this jacket. Kanye loves denim, I love couture embroidery . . . mixing my point of view with his point of view made this jacket spectacular,” said Rousteing. This running creative dialogue between Rousteing and West is only growing. “Kanye has a really strong
and incredible vision and I will say it is a vision of art. It’s about fashion; it’s about music; it’s about video. He’s an incredible designer as well, he’s an incredible art director, he’s an incredible singer, and I think it’s all of those things that I love about him. What I also love is that he actually says what he thinks and I love his strength because he is someone who is really honest. For that, I always love working with him because we can have a conversation and in a way he challenges me as a designer and he makes me discover his world, and that’s what I’ve always loved, and even when we were dressing him for the Met I think those looks were great because he was there to twist it with me and to think how we could make it better. . . . I think we learned a lot from each other and it’s an interesting collaboration every time that we work together, I mean, it’s just incredible.”- Mg
right: Fashion Design by Balmain in Wolves VIdeo
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The MTV Video Music Awards is where cultural memories are born.The wilder, more provocative, and more-prone-tospontaneity than the grammys.
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V I D E O
V A N G U A R D
A Sense
of Space By Peter Gossell Photographs by Julius Schulman
Photographer
Julius Schulman’s photography spread California Mid-century modern around the world. Carefully composed and artfully lighted, his images promoted not only new approaches to home design but also the ideal of idyllic California living — a sunny, suburban lifestyle played out in sleek, spacious, low-slung homes featuring ample glass, pools and patios.
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A Sense of Space
The subject is the power of photography.
“T
he subject is the power of photography,” Shulman explains. “I have thousands of slides, and Juergen and I have assembled them into almost 20 different lectures. And not just about architecture—I have pictures of cats and dogs, fashion pictures, flower photographs. I use them to do a lot of preaching to the students, to give them something to do with their lives, and keep them from dropping out of school.” Yet rather than seeming overtaxed, Shulman fairly exudes well-being. Like many elderly people with nothing left to prove, and who remain in demand both for their talents and as figures of veneration (think of George Burns), Shulman takes things very easy: He knows what his employers and admirers want, is happy to provide it, and accepts the resulting reaffirmation of his legend with a mix of playfully rampant immodesty and heartfelt gratitude. As the man himself puts it, “The world’s my onion.” Shulman is equally proud of his own lighting abilities. “I’ll show you something fascinating,” he says, holding up two exteriors of a new modernist home, designed for a family named Abidi, by architect James Tyler. In the first, the inside of the house is dark, resulting in a handsome, somewhat lifeless image. In the second, it’s been lit in a way that seems a natural balance of indoor and outdoor illumination, yet expresses the structure’s relationship to its site and showcases the architecture’s transparency. “The house is transfigured,” Shulman explains.
“I have four Ts. Transcend is, I go beyond what the architect himself has seen. Transfigure— glamorize, dramatize with lighting, time of day. Translate— there are times, when you’re working with a man like Neutra, who wanted everything the way he wanted it—‘Put the camera here.’ And after he left, I’d put it back where I wanted it, and he wouldn’t know the difference—I translated. And fourth, I transform the composition with furniture movement.” To illustrate the latter, Shulman shows me an interior of the Abidi house that looks out from the living room, through a long glass wall, to the grounds. “Almost every one of my photographs has a diagonal leading you into the picture,” he says. Taking a notecard and pen, he draws a line from the lower left corner to the upper right, then a second perpendicular line from the lower right corner to the first line. Circling the intersection, he
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A Sense of Space
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A Sense of Space
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American photographer Julius Shulman’s images of Californian architecture have burned themselves into the retina of the 21th century.
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A Sense of Space
That’s the point of what we call dynamic symmetry.
explains, “That’s the point of what we call ‘dynamic symmetry.’” When he holds up the photo again, I see that the line formed by the bottom of the glass wall—dividing inside from outside—roughly mirrors the diagonal he’s drawn. Shulman to a wonderfully high level.” “I tell people in my lectures, ‘If I were modest, I wouldn’t talk about how great I am.’” Yet when I ask how he developed his eye, Shulman’s expression turns philosophical. “Sometimes Juergen walks ahead of me, and he’ll look for a composition. And invariably, he doesn’t see what I see. Architects don’t see what I see. It’s Godgiven,” he says, using the Yiddish word for
an act of kindness—“a mitzvah.” “Most people whose houses I photographed didn’t use their sliding doors,” Shulman says, crossing the living room toward his own glass sliders. “Because flies and lizards would come in; there were strong winds. So I told Soriano I wanted a transition—a screenedin enclosure in front of the living room, kitchen, and bedroom to make an indoor/outdoor room.” Shulman opens the door leading to an exterior dining area. A bird trills loudly. “That’s a wren,” he says, and steps out. “My wife and I had most of our meals out here,” he recalls. “Beautiful.” When I ask Shulman what Neutra saw in his images, he answers with a seemingly unrelated story. “I was born in Brooklyn in 1910,” says this child of Russian-Jewish immigrants. “When I was three, my father went to the town of Central Village in Connecticut, and was shown this farmhouse—primitive, but [on] a big piece of land. After we moved in, he planted corn and potatoes, my mother milked the cows, and we had a farm life. -Mg
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AASSense e n s e oof f SSpace pace
He was doing— with a totally positive use of the words—advertising or propagandist photographs for the cause.
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