R I N S E & R E P E AT SPRING
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R I N S E & R E P E AT SPRING
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SUMMER 2012
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R I N S E & R E P E AT SPRING
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SUMMER 2012
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Image by LUKASZ WIERZBOWSKI
N a d i ra h N a z a ra l y Ed i t o r - I n - C h i e f
M i c h a e l B rambila C r e a t i v e D irector & Graphic Designer
Daniel Griffiths A s s i s t a n t Ed i t o r
Co n t r i b u t i ng Photographers B R E N T C H UA B A L I N T B A RNA M A A RT E N ALEXANDER JOE LAI R E K A KOT I H A DA R P I TCHON G RA N T YO SHINO M I C H A Ë L SMITS K AT I E MC CURDY J E I R O H YA NGA N I C H O L AS WAICKMAN M A R C O VAN RIJT L U K AS Z W I ERZBOWSKI
Ma y ra F l o r e s Ma n a gi n g Ed i t o r M i c h e l S a ye g h E xe c u t i v e A s s i s t a n t
Contributing Artists TINTIN COOPER MARIONA VILARÓS Contributing Musicians CHAZ KNAPP KILIMANJARO Contributing Writers ERICH KESSEL JR. RICHIE LAURIDSEN BEN SPEAK DEAK ROSTOCHIL PASCALE BARGET JASON JUDD
Co n t r i b u t i ng Illustrator KRISTÍN PÉTURSDÓTTIR
Lennart Richter @ ReQUEST photographed by BRENT CHUA
Luke Wora l l @ DNA Mode l s photographed by HADAR
Milo Spijkers @ N Y MO D E L S p h o t o g ra p h e d by J E I R O H YA N G A
BITE-ZINE.COM
Vi c t o r i a @ R E D Mo d e l s p h o t o g ra p h e d by K AT I E MC C U R DY
EDITORS’ NOTE Out with the old. In with the new. In our first anniversary issue, BITE Magazine endeavours to start anew by focusing on a clean cut aesthetic in line with the spirit of the spring-summer seasons. Thus, we set upon the notion of ‘Rinse and Repeat’ as a playful encapsulation of this fresh re-awakening. As always, youth is at the heart of the BITE project, and this issue’s contributors looked to the past - be it ‘recycled’ fashion aesthetics or nostalgic subcultures within art - to creatively re-assess the now. Our eclectic mix of fashion editorials seek to rejuvenate minimalism and reconstruct simplicity in their unique way, whilst our choice of artists and photographers highlight the vibrancy of transformation. We’d like to extend our thank you to everyone involved with BITE since its beginning; both the contributors and readers who’ve enabled this project to grow this past year.
contents 08 Black Metal Text by Jason Judd 18 Chaz Knapp Interview by Nadirah Nazaraly 22 Sanctuary Photography by Marco van Rijt Styling by Jean Paul Paula 32 White Rune Photography by Katie McCurdy Styling by Katherine Anderson 42 Tintin Cooper Interview by Daniel Griffiths 44 In Flux Photography & Styling by Brent Chua
56 Moi, Lolita Photography by Joe Lai Interview by Pascale Pascale Barget 68 Ode To The Pure Photography by Grant Yoshino Styling by Takayuki Sekiya 78 Better Without You... Photography by Maarten Alexander Styling by Lune Kuipers 90 Recycled Aesthetic Text by Richie Lauridsen 92 Fresh Prince Photography by Jeiroh Yanga Styling by Javon Drake
102 Vices Photography by Hadar Styling by Chris Lukas
142 Rebel Boy Photography by Balint Barna Styling by Boglar Bendik
112 Wavefront Photography by Reka Koti
148 Sputnik... Photography by Macha毛l Smits Styling by Layna Vancauteren
118 All You Gentlemen Of Summer Photography by Nicholas Waickman 126 Eastern Promises Text by Erich Kessel Jr. 128 Kilimanjaro Text by Nadirah Nazaraly 132 Standstill Photography by Lukasz Wierzbowski
160 Mariona Vilar贸s Photography by Mariona Vilar贸s 168 Let it Lie Text by Ben Speak 170 The Force of July Text by Deak Rostochil 172 BITE Mix
Image by Lukasz Wierzbowski
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•BLACK METAL• TEXT JASON JUDD
ominous landscapes, and the dissection of symbolic Black Metal logos. The work in the exhibition is not art about Black Metal, but the Black Metal-ing of contemporary art. Ishmael states that there is not an absolute definition of Black Metal art; furthermore, the eight artists cannot be defined exclusively as Black Metal artists. With that said, this exhibition facilitates a connection in the artists’ interests, aesthetics, and methodologies that are undeniably Black Metal.
Black Metal culture carries a complex history bathed in ideological extremes. Emerging in the early 1990s, Black Metal pushed the limits of the metal genre to new boundaries. The drums walked a line between creating a distinct beat and filling an environment, the unrelenting distorted guitars slid through each note as they became increasingly indistinguishable from one another, and the vocals emerged as an unapologetic guttural screech. All of these meld together, not as distinct elements driving a song, but as a single entity creating a dense and brooding hum. This raw hum embodies a rejection of Christianity, capitalism, and Modernism in favour of the occult and a type of existential nihilism that questions intrinsic morality. The iconography associated with Black Metal is steeped in band logos as unintelligible as the lyrics, thereby offering themselves as symbols. Corpse paint, violent and mystical photocopied imagery, and lo-fi recordings all culminate to the Black Metal subculture, which is as theatrical as it is extreme. Black Metal gained international attention for a number of church burnings, murder and suicide, leading to some separation of the ideologies of the subculture’s politics.
Through all the turmoil, Black Metal has not only survived but has become a peculiar interest to many. One of these followers is artist and Black Metal scholar, Amelia Ishmael; her most recent curatorial endeavor is an exhibition titled Black Thorns in the White Cube. Ishmael brings together eight artists influenced by the genre in question, including: Elodie Lesourd, Vincent Como, Aaron Mette, Terence Hannum, Karlynn Holland, Tereza Zelenkova, Alexander Binder and Grant Willing. The artists (spanning across North America and Europe) explore mystic obscurity, sonic translations, dark and
I met with Amelia at Western Exhibitions in Chicago, IL, where the exhibition was currently on display (previously at Paragraph Gallery in Kansas City) to talk about Black Thorns in the White Cube. I spent some time with each piece in the exhibition before Amelia arrived and, not knowing what I had truly expected, I did not find anything I naïvely thought would exemplify Black Metal. To put it simply, there was nothing extreme - no violence, no corpse paint, and no theatrics. The show pulled you in, not by the exploitative and obvious, but by a quiet pensiveness. The work did not fight for dominance and attention with one another, nor is each work strong enough to present anything totally fulfilling on its own. But what exists is a hum, a dark and dense hum.
left to right
GRANT WILLING Untitled (Fire) 2009
ALEXANDER BINDER Untitled (from the series “Traum”) 2011 Lambda print
KARLYNN HOLLAND Mountain 2011 India ink on Bristol
I often think about how approachable contemporary art is for a viewer; which tools one needs to properly read the artwork and how much context is needed for a suitable foundation? Black Thorns in the White Cube brings Black Metal and contemporary art together, both esoteric in their own right. When asking Ishmael about how approachable the exhibition is when viewed from either side, she explained that the people who were previously invested in the Black Metal culture seem to be more confident at the gallery. Ishmael stated, “They didn’t need wall text necessarily, whereas many of my non-music peers fumbled a little and wanted more definition, more context. We see this happen a lot with visual culture studies, outsider arts, and craft arts. There is this peculiar flipping of the artists’ bios and their visual productions. I like this partially because it bridges art and life in a positive way but, on the other hand, it draws critical attention away from the actual artworks as independent things with their own form of agency, and affirms a cultural hierarchy that my art historical work at large has worked to tear down.”
Amelia went on to explain how artists Christophe Szpajdel, Karlynn Holland, Elodie Lesourd are all working with the history of Black Metal logos. Although the logos may be unfamiliar they are not unapproachable and a viewer may not recognize specific references of the logos, yet most may recognize them as Metal logos. However, understanding the deeper references of Black Metal logos can “be said of any specific cultural references made through any artwork… the only initiation process involved is curiosity and an open mind.” The exhibition created quite a fandom with viewers who seemed to be so affected by the whole project that they visited the exhibition multiple times and attended all of the special events attached to the show. This show of support struck a cord with Ishmael stating, “I feel that this passionate interest and vitality is sometimes lacking within the fine arts as if art is only a cultural medicine that one must swallow.” Black Thorns in the White Cube contains a noticeable amount of photography, which is interesting when thinking about Black Metal’s ties to the occult, its references to
It’s not pop or high culture, it’s a culture that deals with a lot of issues that people don’t typically like to discuss
a type of hidden knowledge, and Scandinavian folklore; using the photograph to document the supernatural or mystical that the naked eye, perhaps, cannot see. Alexander Binder’s photography is gritty and lo-fi, and its rawness is on point with Black Metal’s thought that the more raw something is, the more real it is. Though some of the imagery is honestly ambiguous and fascinating, some are harder to read past a person in a cloak and a mask, with Grant Willing’s and Tereza Zelenkova’s photography dealing more with a sense of presence through symbols and landscape. I asked Ishmael about the importance of landscape imagery in Black Metal. “The visual culture of Black Metal seems to have maintained an affinity for landscape—both visually and sonically—since its inception. It’s one of the dominant subjects in album covers and music videos. Some of the first images I recall seeing associated with Black Metal included long shots of snowy woods and mountains. It would seem that the location is very important to Black Metal, its locational position sets the timbre—not just geographically, but psychologically, and
Photograph of Installation TEREZA ZELENKOVA Unicursal Hexagram 2009
even phenomenologically.” Ishmael continues, asserting that the work of Binder, Willing, and Zelenkova translates the feeling of being immersed in an isolated and surreal environment, which can be understood as “important signifiers that resonate with the Black Metal soundscape.” The cultural signifiers, deconstruction of logos, and references to the occult lead me to think about how interesting it is that artists internationally are working in a methodology that has grown out of a subculture in Norway. Without getting too deep into the topic of globalism and art, I asked how Black Metal has crept into contemporary art and aesthetics. “It hasn’t really crept. It just hasn’t been recognized in this way before. Which is why I felt an urgency to organize this exhibition. Like any subculture or music Black Metal has had a huge impact on people across the world and it is only natural that some of its conversations take place within art. But, I would say that so far the subject has not been supported much by the institutions, it’s developed mostly in the peripheries and when its critical reception has historically tried to disarm it. It’s not pop
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TEREZA ZELENKOVA Bones
2009 Lambda print
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opposite page
GRANT WILLING Untitled (Ice) 2008
clockwise
ALEXANDER BINDER Untitled (from the series “Allerseelen”) 2011 Lambda print
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opposite page
GRANT WILLING Untitled (Mist) 2008 digital fiber print
TEREZA ZELENKOVA Lilith 2009 Lambda print opposite page
Photograph of Installation
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or high culture, it’s a culture that deals with a lot of issues that people don’t typically like to discuss and it has raunchy roots.”
mer self and, as a moth would, searching for a way out of the darkness toward some sort of unattainable light.
Aaron Mette is the only artist in the exhibition that utilizes explicit imagery from a Black Metal band, with his series of pieces, Afterlife 2-4, depicting images of Dead, the vocalist for Mayhem. Dead faced a tragic end, dying from a self-inflicted gunshot to his head. On the left Dead is portrayed in snapshots, while on the right we are presented with a butterfly (Afterlife 2 depicts a moth) that is decorated with the palette and shapes present in the clothing and appearance of Dead. The images to the right appear to deal with the idea of reincarnation. In death, Dead has transformed into something beautiful - only carrying remnants of his for-
Amelia commented on how Vincent Como and Terence Hannum are making some interesting moves from Black Metal to art. I found Como’s Decent an intriguing, minimal, and open piece of work that offers the viewer to a chance to read it through the eye of Black Metal. The surface of the black paper squares, when installed mocking an upside down triangle, were blackened with toner and acrylic; drawing ties to the lo-fi qualities of collage paste-up layouts and photocopies of the subculture. Terence Hannum’s piece, Threshold, is formally interesting by using black acrylic as a type of veil of negation; drawing the importance to
the laser cut shapes to reveal the fog and ambiguous crowds of people. The center of the three pieces reveals nothing. It is simply a black plain which begs the question: are the cuts revealing the content, or is black the content itself? The exhibition, Ishmael explained, came from an interest in investigating how contemporary artists are drawing upon the languages, iconographies, and narratives of Black Metal within their own practice. Ishmael wanted the exhibition to identify Black Metal in the art gallery by approaching Black Metal from the art gallery’s perspective, rather than including artists who were already involved within the fine art community. Amelia states, “I wanted to work more analytically here, with concrete connections
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Photograph of Installation
between art history and Black Metal, with the visual vocabulary that Black Metal created or brought together in the 1980s, and how artists now are expanding this vocabulary and encouraging its evolution.” Amelia Ishmael continues to question Black Metal’s involvement in contemporary and historical aesthetics and ideologies; opening up a dialogue between Black Metal’s antagonistic nature against Modernism, enlightenment rationality, capitalism, and Christianity with contemporary art. Black Metal, perhaps, has a hand in romanticism for which it uses to view contemporary culture, with Black Thorns in the White Cube using visual art to strengthen the evolution of Black Metal to a type of methodology.
Black Thorns in the White Cube is not a roar, but a black hum that reverberates throughout the gallery; a visual vibration that constantly insists one to experience the exhibition as a whole by striving on the codependence between each piece. If one finds it difficult to decipher the esoteric codes found in each piece, I suggest standing in the center of the gallery and allowing the work to hum.
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Chaz Knapp INTERVIEW BY NADIRAH NAZARALY
Chaz Knapp creates music that comes across as a set of paradoxes—soothing yet intense, remote but familiar. The twenty three year old multi-talented musician produces emotionally arresting pieces that accurately reflect the mind and, essentially, the man behind the music. Utilising music as a medium of self-discovery, Chaz has recently embarked on a project titled Analogue. An immaculately conceived series, consisting of solos and collaborations, Analogue cannot be compartmentalised to one genre alone. Yet, the diverse sounds within and across each series segue into each other almost effortlessly. The Minnesota-based musician who has a classical trilogy underway this Fall, shares with BITE his principles, musical approach and everyday inspirations.
When did you first find your true vocation for music and how did this come about? When I was about nine years old, my parents bought me a guitar as a Christmas present. I ventured into soccer and baseball but I was equally awful at both! The guitar was an attempt by my parents to find something I was good at and luckily, it was. As a young musician, who are some of your musical inspirations? Have they evolved over time? I have so many. My choices in music have definitely evolved over the years. I’ve gone through different musical periods in my life, each containing different inspirations. Lately, I’ve been listening to my music or my friends’. As I am working on so many projects and mixing one album while writing more pieces and this seem to take up the majority of my time. When creating a track, do you have an objective in mind such as wanting to evoke a certain feeling from your listeners? Or is it all spontaneous? When creating a track, I try not to think about anything. Whenever I try to approach music with an objective it actually becomes more difficult for me to create. Creation comes, it shouldn’t be directed and I try, especially as of late, to make that clear through my music. My music is very minimal and usually more dark than uplifting. However, I am not a depressed or a sad person - I am very passionate. I guess what I’ve found, whilst dealing with my music, is that all I want is to capture the emotions within for my own
to a small town in Southwest Missouri. A few friends of ours also moved out here, all for the same reason. It is time to get back to our roots: we are starting a garden, trekking in the forests, cooking, reading and always trying to create a form of discipline in our lives that I feel has been lost with the technological age. Living day by day, moment by moment, negating your outer material self, trying to be the best I can be to myself and those surrounding me. Could you share with us your approach to the Analogue series? I started the Analogue series a little over a year ago when I was in Colorado. My favorite book is “Mount Analogue” by Rene
On top of doing my own Analogue solo projects, I also love to collaborate with people. There is something about collaborating with like-minded individuals that make the whole experience very rewarding. I played a show in California last June, and I met Imani Waddy & Afta 1 there. Before then, we had mutual friends and we did know each other, but after California, we began living offline and actually started making music with one another. We were all experiencing the same emotions in our lives and still do, which makes the collaborations we do more fluid. There is definitely a lot of music hidden within so many wonderful people.
Creation comes... personal growth and music library. How one wants to interpret the final piece to fit their life or emotional state is fine with me. What inspires you? I would honestly say that my biggest influence is everyday life - the experience of every day as a whole – living. I spent the past two years in Colorado with my fiancé and experienced a lot out there. It had very positive and uplifting times but that also came with some really low points. It was the first time I had been out on my own and the transition left me feeling odd. I had a lot of growing to do in that whole process, but I felt like I needed that boost. Colorado and the mountains are definitely a huge inspiration to me. I recently moved
Daumal. It is the story of a mountain that exists somewhere on our planet which cannot be seen by the naked eye. It contains a base that is accessible and a peak, which isn’t. The mountain represents the path to enlightenment. I felt, after a long process of self-discovery, that this concept very much suited me. Analogue is my attempt at climbing my own spiritual mountain and the Analogue albums are my footprints left in the mud on my way up. Whatever Analogue album you hear is my emotional state at that certain point in my life, whatever genre or style I want to explore at that moment. Could you share with us the process towards collaborating with various musicians in the series?
The Analogue series feature folk, classical, electronic and jazz music. Is this a conscious attempt on your part to explore the different genres? When I was a kid playing music, I was playing classical guitar recitals, blues clubs, folk songs and rock & roll. So you see, even when I was just starting out, I was playing many different genres. My first guitar teacher, John Holst, is one of my biggest inspirations for he taught me not only how to play music, but to love music, of any and every kind. From then on, I find myself experimenting with different genres. I feel that musicians and labels are forgetting the true gem found within music: all types of music. Everything has to be restricted and limited to the point where it takes the fun out
...it shouldn’t be directed of creating. This is why I am getting back to the creation of music itself and not taking things too seriously. As a musician you will never please everyone. There are always going to be millions of people who don’t like your music (the same goes for even the biggest acts), so why spend all this time trying to refine a signature sound. Music is a form of self-expression and there is no way you are the same person as your first record. We are constantly evolving and so should our music. At this point I could care less about fitting in to a certain genre because my albums consistently jump around. At the end of the day, this is why any of us should be doing music anyway. If you were not a musician, what do you
think you’d be doing instead? If I never picked up music I am not too sure what I would be doing. I honestly believe I was meant to do music. With the way the economy is right now, as well as the college costs nowadays, it is difficult to say. Back in high school, I figured if music didn’t work out, I would go to college and become an English professor. However, at this point in my life, I have no idea what I would be doing. As I am not a fan of the University systems here in America, getting a job as a professor is out of the question!
the middle of nowhere right now. I was born, raised, and grew up in Southern California. After that I lived two years in Denver, Colorado. My whole life, I have pretty much lived in cities and suburbs, Even though I was in the Inland Empire, not Los Angeles, I still lived in a largely populated area. The town we live in now has about 6,000 people and that is completely different than I anything I have ever experienced. At this point in my life, I am trying to understand and refine myself for what may lie next. It is a lot more difficult to really negate yourself when you have all the temptations that come with living in a big city.
Are there any plans to move to a bigger city in the near future? I am not opposed to it but I am happy being in
http://www.chazknapp.com/
S A N c T U A R Y PHOTOGRAPHY MARCO VAN RIJT AT ERIC ELENBAAS STYLING JEAN-PAUL PAULA HAIR CHRISTIAN COURCELLES MAKE-UP DAVID LENHARDT MODEL MAXIME BERGOUGNOUX @ SUCCESS MODELS PARIS
Check Jacket by Raf Simons Rubber Varsity jacket by Maison Martin Margiela
Over Coat by Maison Martin Margiela Check Shirt by Raf Simons Leather Pants by Maison Martin Margiela
Rubber Varsity jacket by Maison Martin Margiela Jacket undeneath by Kris van Assche leather pants by Maison Martin Margiela Socks by Barcode Sneakers by Kris van Assche
Overcoat by Maison Martin Margiela Suit Jacket by Givenchy Polo and trousers by Kris van Assche Socks by Barcode Sneakers by Kris van Assche
Jacket by Kris van Assche Shirt by Carven Homme
Overcoat by Maison Martin Margiela Suit jacket by Carven Homme Shirt by Marc Jacobs Trousers by Kris van Assche
Overcoat by Maison Martin Margiela Suit jacket by Carven Homme Shirt by Marc Jacobs
Check Jacket by Raf Simons Rubber Varsity jacket by Maison Martin Margiela Trousers by Kris van Assche
PHOTOGRAPHY KATIE MCCURDY CREATIVE DIRECTION JOHN ROEBAS STYLING KATHERINE ANDERSON HAIR MARCOS DIAZ @ ION STUDIO MAKE UP KIM WEBER ELLIS FAAS PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT BEN TAYLOR MODEL VICTORIA @ RED MODELS
Silk Jumpsuit by Zara Sneakers by Nike Air Max Wright opposite page Vintage Satin Bomber Jacket Sheer Dress by TopShop Shorts by American Apparel
Silk Jumpsuit by Zara Sneakers by Nike Air Max Wright
Jacket by Rodebjer Bra by Nike Shorts by American Apparel Clear Shoes Vintage Socks by Charm Craft
Jacket by Rodebjer Bra by Nike Shorts by American Apparel Clear Shoes Vintage Socks by Charm Craft opposite page Mesh top by American Apparel Bra by American Apparel Jeans by Levis
opposite page
Jacket by Rodebjer Jacket by Rodebjer Bra by Nike Shorts by American Apparel
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TINTIN COOPER INTERVIEW BY DANIEL GRIFFITHS
Bangkok-born artist Tintin Cooper‘s collages weave sporting images and figures from popular media, in order to cut away the different faces and obscure their identity. The themes of her work highlight society’s obsession with celebrity, and undermines this illusion by forming work that seems to shatter the subjects from within.
ones. The idea of playing with images is especially relevant today with photographic manipulation and the internet. Yet many of the images of football players are from the past, is this juxtaposition an intentional part of the work? The images are mostly from the 80s at the moment. I think its partially because imagery from that era is less complicated and more romantic in a sense. I was also born then, so perhaps that’s why it really sticks! Also, people in images now can sometimes look too plasticky, or else there’s a lot of sponsorship/advertisement around it. I can’t find any interest in overplucked eyebrows. That’s why Arsene Wenger is so great! Moving on to your sculptures, such as The Manager Strikes Back series (2011), what fascinates me about this work is the range of influences from Star Wars to Ancient Rome. Why did you choose these diverse references and fuse them together in this way?
Could you tell us a little bit about your art practice. Why choose specifically sporting figures in your work? The sports figures are actually a recent thing- they carry on from previous works, such as the ‘Testosterone Paradise’ video installations, which remixed footage of famous action heroes like Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Lee. You’d walk into a room and be caught between these two largerthan-life projections, communicating to each other through grunts and power snorts, competing to do pushups or pumping iron like it’s the end of the world. Those older works were outright funny as many of the gallery goers would testify. There is still some element of humour in the newer sports collages. Except I’d say that they have a subtle ‘spirituality’ (for want of a better word) about them. Perhaps the positions of the hands in prayer and the fragmented faces have something to do with that. You’ve stated that the starting point for
your work are “icons of masculinity, heroism and male identity”; do you want to question the hierarchy of these figures in your work, if such a hierarchy exists? Hmmm I can’t remember writing that... (perhaps a gallery wrote that long ago...yes, can I blame them?) There is no hierarchy as such between the figures, or any that I intend. But each image that I choose is in a sense an image of power. Of course the source is from the news and the media so it is natural that these depicted individuals would have something that makes them stand apart. How do you approach your collage work? Does the manner in which you mask or weave the image change depending on the photograph? It always depends on the image yes, but if an image really grabs me I might use it in several different ways. Its weirdly psychological- sometimes I’ll make something and it kind of shocks me at how ugly/weird it is afterwards. The box constructions especially are like that, and it’s a shame they haven’t had as much recognition as the flat
I happened to be watching Star Wars during the time I made those heads (for the first time ever, can you believe? People ask me where I’ve been living the last 25 years, but that’s another story). Anyway, I was watching and I thought...this is great! And so these images naturally came together- The Jedi, the Sith....Arsene Wenger the Emperor of football...all these paternal figures, influencing the masses. Then there was the Caracalla head that’s in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I was completely struck by how relevant it is for us today, with our constant press and televised imagery of powerful leaders. Everything from the gestures to the propaganda-like repetition, and of course the downfall which is practically in-built. That’s the moment that is so fascinating- when the emperor and the empire teeter on the brink of destruction. Lastly, what are your current projects? Well, I’m really happy to be included in a recent issue of Granta magazine (119: Britain), and their upcoming exhibitions this summer. I’m also currently in some group shows with Jotta at the AAF 2012 and with CUSP in Leicester, and have a show coming up in India in the summer. http://tintincooper.com/
IN F L UX PHOTOGRAPHY & STYLING BRENT CHUA MODELS ALEX MICHELS, LENNART RICHTER & PEDRO BERTOLINI @ REQUEST
Pedro wears Canali Lennart wears Ermenegildo Zegna
Shirt by Ximon Lee by Simon Lee Suit by Canali
Suit by Ermenegildo Zegna Tie clip by Bernard James
Alex wears Polo Ralph Lauren Lennart wears Ermenegildo Zegna
Suit, shirt and shoes by Canali Necklace by Bernard James
Suit by Canali Shirt by Ximon Lee by Simon Lee
All by Ermenegildo Zegna
Alex wears Polo Ralph Lauren Lennart wears Ermenegildo Zegna
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MOI, LOLITA Simon Porte Jacquemus is a self-taught designer ready to inspire us all. At just twenty two years old, he has already produced five collections that feature his prominently ‘crazy simple’ style for the twentysomething girl. From humble beginnings, Jacquemus moved to Paris four years ago to discover fashion. In 2010, the Frenchman launched his own label which is now being distributed across the world’s fashion capitals. In an interview with BITE, the cinephile designer explains the JACQUEMUS story – its past, present and future.
PHOTOGRAPHY JOE LAI ALL CLOTHING BY SIMON PORTE JACQUEMUS
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“I really think about the woman as something true and never anything else.”
INTERVIEW BY PASCALE BARGET
Could you tell us about your background and what led you to where you are today? I’m twenty two, I come from the South of France from a little town called Bramejean. I came to Paris to study fashion and when I lost my mother I decided to stop school. Later, I assisted a fashion editor, got fed up after six months and decided to start my own brand. In the beginning what was it that attracted you to fashion? At the start it was a big dream. I don’t know exactly why but since I was young I just knew I wanted to be a designer since then it’s just like a vocation. If working in fashion didn’t work out what would have been Plan B? Oh, a lot of things. Nowadays, I would be an interior designer but for myself. I would love to build my own house, make it my own, and then share my house with others. You are known for using your collections to tell stories. Where do most of your ideas for your collections come from? The starting point is my mother and the
South of France. When I am working on a collection, I start thinking of a film and the main character, and then I try to create the clothes of the particular character in the film. I really think about the woman as something true and never anything else. When I wake up, I don’t care about the details of the clothes I only care about the woman. When do you get most of your ideas? I get a lot of ideas when I listen to music or when I walk along the street. I am trying to be the woman in the next season. I listen to a lot of 80s French music like Leo [sings a little of the tune]. In your latest Spring/Summer 2011 collection ‘Le Chenil’ we encounter a woman who is disheartened with men and retreats to the countryside with her dogs. What was the inspiration for this tale and does this represent some of your own experiences? No it doesn’t represent my own life but since I was 16 I’ve always wanted to do a fashion campaign with a lot, a lot of dogs. I don’t know why but I just think it’s super aesthetic. And so, for this season I decided to create
this story and I imagined a girl like Bardot who moves to the South of France. It’s not that Bardot is my main inspiration but there was a similar spirit in this particular story. Your latest muse, Caroline de Maigret, is the face of your latest collection. In what way does she represent the Jacquemus woman? The first time I saw her was in the Margiela show on the Internet and I was surprised because she looked so much like my mother. I was also a bit scared and I sent a photo to my Grandmother and she was like, ‘Simon, this is not good’. So, I wanted to meet her and when I finally did she was super nice, I mean crazy nice. She represents Jacquemus not only because she looks like my mother but also because she is very true and raw. When it comes to making your collections which materials and cuts do you like using most and why? I like simple materials like cotton, linen and wool. But for example my last collection le Sport 90 for next winter I used vinyl for the first time but it was just because of the
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story. She was a 90s girl and so it was as if she had to wear vinyl, something very trash. Overall it’s the materials that have to work with the story but, for sure, I prefer simple materials. Like everyone knows, I don’t try to do fashion experiments. I don’t know because I didn’t learn how so I’m not attracted to it. Some people say they are attracted to a certain silhouette but not me. I just try and get rid of all the details. I try to do ‘crazy simple.’ Also I don’t want to use very expensive materials because I want my price to be affordable so that young twenty-something girls can wear my clothes.
With your last two collections came accompanying short films. Where did the idea for these short clips come from and what was your reason for publishing them alongside your collections? The films actually come before the collection. In a way they are more important than the collection. When I decide to make a collection I decide to make a film. I love making films. They didn’t come with the first collection because there was no budget. For the second collection, there was also a film but it wasn’t good and then came ‘l’Usine’ for the third collection and ‘le Chenil’ with
Caroline. Will these short films become a permanent feature to your future collections? Yes, of course. This is the first reason why I want to continue working - to make a lot of films, which, for me, are all part of the same story. After just four collections you have already achieved a lot of recognition for your work. Which moment has been the most important in your career thus far? There are a lot of moments I can’t say there’s
one which is the most important as there have been so many. One would be the feedback I got from Rei Kawakubo, the Comme des Garçons designer, about my collection after my first showroom. Another important moment was when for my first collection, I sent out a lot of mails to many shops and I only had one answer from a place in the South of France called Gago. She was the only one to answer and she told me to pass by the shop. At my first showroom she bought my collection and today, she still buys my collection.
In many interviews you mention how your mother has greatly influenced your career. In what way does your family and personal life impact the clothes you make? It’s more like an emotional impact. Jacquemus is part of the story of my family. It was when I lost my mother that I decided to create this brand. Jacquemus is my mother’s name, it’s her second name. I’m not like looking at a photo of my mother and say to myself I am going to create this, of course no, but it’s like a spirit that is there.
In the next couple of years what do you want to achieve with the Jacquemus brand? A next beautiful film I hope. And to have everyone watch my film! And just to continue doing what I’m doing.
http://jacquemus.com/
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O D E T O T H E P U R E P H O T O G R A P H Y G R A N T Y O S H I N O
STYLING TAKAYUKI SEKIYA GROOMING OWEN GOULD @ THE WALL GROUP MODEL EUGENIY SAVCHENKO @ MAJOR MODELS NY SPECIAL THANKS TO DOMINICK HANNOSH @ MAJOR MODELS NY
Armored sleeve and mask NN by NGHI Pants by Acne
Shirts by Timo Weiland
All by Dominic Louis opposite page Top by Dominic Louis Pants by Acne Necklace by Arielle De Pinto
Mask as head piece by Arielle De Pinto Crown NN by NGHI
Jacket and Pants by Dominic Louis Shoes by Florsheim Limited
BETTER Without you... PHOTOGRAPHY MAARTEN ALEXANDER STYLING LUNE KUIPERS HAIR & MAKEUP VANNESSA CHAN @ HOUSE OF ORANGE BY CLINIQUE MODELS LISA UPPELSCHOTEN @ SPS MODELS / CAHNINE VAN DER BREEMER @ ULLA MODELS
Chanine wears Skirt by Marie-Lisa Hermkens Socks by American Apparel Shoes by Nike Top by Acne Lisa wears Turtleneck by Epoque by Edith&Ella Skirt by Marie-Lisa Hermkens Socks by American Apparel Shoes by Kangaroo
Chanine wears Turtleneck by Agnes B Skirt by MTWTFSS Weekday Belt by MM6 Maison Martin Margiela Socks by American Apparel Shoes by Nike
Lisa wears Coat by Land Shoes by D. Co Copenhagen Socks & Panties by American Apparel
Chanine wears Pants by Henrik Vibskov Bandeau top by Brandy Melville Vintage Top
Lisa wears Shoes by Nike Dress by Elise Kim Harnas by Elsien Grinhuis Socks by American Apparel Chair by rietveld from neef Louis
Chanine wears Dress by Acne Lisa wears Dress by Stills
Chanine wears Blouse by Yophi Ignacia Skirt by mbyM Shoes by Kangaroo Socks by American Apparel Lisa wears Blouse by Monique van Heist Skirt by MTWTFSS Weekday Shoes by Nike Socks by American Apparel
Lisa wears Bathingsuit by Cheap Monday Skirt by Hussein Chalayan Shoes by Damir Doma Vintage Belt Chanine wears Shoes by Nike Dress by Comme des Garรงons Shirt Socks by American Apparel Desk from neef Louis
Chanine wears Top & Skirt by MTWTFSS Weekday Shoes by Nike Socks by American Apparel Lisa wears Top by Komment Skirt by mbyM Belt by A’N’D Shoes by Nike Socks by American Apparel Chair & table by Rietveld from neef Louis
ART DIRECTION TAMIR KAAS PHOTO ASSISTANT MAXIM ASSCHERMAN SPECIAL THANKS TO NWN XAVIER MARGREETH OLSTHOORN WOEI ROTTERDAM NEEF LOUIS JELIER & SCHAAF STUDIO ERNSTIGE ZAKEN NICO VAN DER HELM @ HOUSE OF ORANGE
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Recycled TEXT BY RICHIE LAURIDSEN
Influence and innovation work in tandem with the emergence of cultural trends, styles, sounds and stories. From art to music, style and literature, the canon of the past offers an aesthetic playground; a blueprint for building something uniquely contemporary. Though some succeed in transforming an amalgamation of influence into something exclusively modern, sometimes, echoes of the past are just as loud as voices of the present. As artists continue to traverse the cultural landscape, occasionally, thinking forward only gets as far as the rear view mirror. This year, author Irvine Welsh reprised the 1993 novel Trainspotting and its 2002 sequel, Porno, with the prequel Skagboys. In addition to offering the author a chance to play with some of the characters that ushered him into the mainstream spotlight, Welsh’s reprise offers a glimpse into a temporal window. Reviving these characters is a nostalgic step backward, a resurrection of a novel that arguably became a cultural staple of the 1990s. The image of Ewan McGregor’s role as Renton reliving new adventures on the bookshelf is both wistful and invigorating, recapturing the excitement of the original, and brings a whole repertoire of culture back into the crosshairs of the public eye. Reflective peeks into the past are nothing new: artists, musicians, designers, and authors can all be seen negotiating rebirths and resurrections
across sound and style alike. But as new collections, album releases, and reviews continue to tout influences, the narratives of the past grow louder, tumbling into the foreground like recycled pieces of history fused into new artefacts. In 2012, with unlimited archives of the past within touchscreen distance, the aesthetics on display feel simultaneously old and new, a fusion of vetted voices coming together – a cultural collage. The streetwear on the high street this week is a barrage of neon, acid wash, and asphalt patterns; trainers are high-tops growing higher highlighted by denim’s return to elastic ankles. Though the style might be synonymous with the looks made popular in the 1990s, it is not so simple. The aesthetics on show have learnt from previous decades and graduated. The cuts of denim are more refined, shaking off extra width for slim fits and straight legs, while sneakers boast new intricacies and colour combinations. From high street to high fashion, the learning curve of past generations is even more pronounced. While Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino established explicit connections to the 1990s in her recent collection for Urban Outfitters, name-checking Seinfeld, Empire Records and Clueless in each piece, high fashion designers appropriate similar influences with striking, contemporary resonance. The Autumn/Winter collections
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Aesthetic from Burberry, Paul Smith and Yves St. Laurent, feature sweaters with a prominent knit design reminiscent of the sort-of Christmas sweater and decorative knitwear of the 90s. Burberry’s bundle-neck sweaters carry knit images of an owl and a cat, but feel updated rather than ironic where the pastiche of the 60s and 70s resonates through each piece. The colour palette of burgundy and mustard yellows coupled with deep greens and flourishes of purple seem reminiscent of a thrift shop window, the same strokes that painted the artefacts of the 50s up to the 70s. The bundle-neck cut tells a different story; projecting something unmistakably modish, an undeniable attitude coupled with certain suavity. Similarly, at first glance, the knitwear on display in Yves St. Laurent’s AW12 work wouldn’t look out of place at Twin Peaks’ Great Northern, but the piece comes with a stunning revision: rather than a pattern knit across the garment, the woven representation is a razorblade. Stark and monochromatic, this is among the most covetable items on display—vividly representing the anxiety and energy of 2012 using the stylistic language of a generation past. In the same way that echoes of the 90s creep throughout these designs, the success of television shows like Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire are stylish invitations into the modes of the past. Tellingly, a barrage of wingtips and brogues dot the
displays but combine seamlessly with classic ankle-cut army green trousers (Acne AW12), Burberry’s psychedelic paisley prints (SS12) or Paul Smith’s neon knitwear (AW12). Just as the monochromatic razorblade knit sweater oozes with an attitude that is unmistakably contemporary, a black and white palette is something that seems to transcend time. New albums from groups like Beach House or Frankie Rose both use the stark, black and white contrast for the covers of their new LPs. The cover of both Beach House’s Bloom and Frankie Rose’s Interstellar would not look out of place next to the iconic Unknown Pleasures or any other sleeve designed by Peter Saville—towing the line from post-punk to present day. The beauty of these aesthetic blueprints is the way in which different decades can literally be woven together to create something excitingly fresh. Recycling cultural aesthetics is almost a biological burden. Renowned evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins insists that ideas spread from brain to brain through imitation, a “meme gene” that propagates an idea from person to person once it is well received. As information technology allows further access to the past, the aesthetics, trends, and artefacts of culture will continue to be recycled and repeated.
Image of Twin Peaks courtesy of Artisan Entertainment Inc.
H S E R F E C N I R P PHOTOGRAPHY JEIROH YANGA STYLING JAVON DRAKE GROOMING MARIA YEYE MODEL MILO SPIJKERS @ NY MODELS ASSISTANT MELODIE JENG
All by 3.1 Philli Lim opposite page Jacket and Pants by Calvin Klein Collection T-Shirt by Calvin Klein Underwear Shoes by Prada Necklace models own (worn throughout)
All by 3.1 Philli Lim opposite page Jacket and Jeans by Dior Homme T-Shirt by Calvin Klein Underwear Shoes by Maison Martin Margiela
Cardigan and Shorts by Marni T-Shirt by Calvin KleinUnderwear Shoes by Maison Martin Margiela opposite page Jacket by Y-3 Shorts by H&M
Jacket by Y-3 Shorts by H&M Shoes by Prada
VICES PHOTOGRAPHY HADAR STYLING CHRIS LUKAS SPECIAL THANKS BRITT MAGNUSON MODEL LUKE WORRALL @ DNA
Hat by Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière
Jacket Stylist’s own Top by Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci Shorts by Skingraft
Hat by Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière Top by Skingraft Blazer by Rag and Bone Trousers by Poleci
Jacket Stylist’s own Top by Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci Shorts by Skingraft
Hat by Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière Top by Skingraft
WAVEFRONT PHOTOGRAPHY REKA KOTI
MODELS REKA N @ VISAGE MODELS
BENDETTA @ ATTRACTIVE MODELS
ANITA H @ VISAGE MODELS
Dress by Kata Szegedi
Dress by Dora Mojzes
Dress by Dora Mojzes
THANKS TO ZOLTAN ACS AND THE GOMBOLD ÚJRA! HUNGARIAN DESIGN
All you gentlemen of summer
PHOTOGRAPHY NICHOLAS WAICKMAN MODELS JUSTIN @ DNA LOAMMI @ NY MODELS JIRI @ NY MODELS
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Eastern
Promises TEXT BY ERICH KESSEL JR.
The first thing many Westerners notice about Beijing is the heat: the sun pounds down consistently on tourist and shoppers. After the heat, the most visible trait of contemporary Beijing is the growing presence of fashion, which has quickly made its way into the centuries-old Chinese cultural hub. My 45-day visit to Beijing last summer was stunning in the sheer number of luxury goods bastions dispersed throughout the city of 20 million—Gucci, Versace, Marc Jacobs. Yet most important about the growth foreign presence in Chinese fashion is not the rate of its infiltration; it is its effect on what is designed in the West. While fashion makes its debut in growing Asian economies, fashions of the orient have slowly developed a footing on the trend arc of the last few seasons. Since Nicolas Ghesquière’s Spring 2011 presentation, the term “Japanese” has been the buzzword. Ghesquière presented rebellious leather jackets with avant-garde proportions and intense boots that made slight references to Tokyo street fashion. Fast forward a few months to Riccardo Tisci’s
Japan-inspired spring 2011 Couture presentation, which featured laser-cut organza fashioned into swans on lithe chiffon, fashion has looked East. The source? A variety of Japanese motifs, from robots to ritualistic dance. Both the Tisci and Ghesquière collections provided expositions for a two-year long development that would encompass all of Asia. After those starting points in the narrative of Eastern influence, Japanese influence became bolder. By June of 2011, Ghesquière had developed his street styling musings into much more sophisticated sculptural coats for the resort season. The designer’s move to Japanese fashion, however, was punctuated by the spring 2012 collection that was anchored by dramatic, wide-brim headgear. Sarah Ruston, Fashion Director of Hong Kong-based Lane Crawford, noted that there was “almost something like a Japanese warrior [in the collection].”[1] What Ms. Ruston refers to as “elongated sun visors” were in fact a reference to a Cristobal Balenciaga bridal creation. Yet her Asian interpretation was echoed in
post-presentation interviews with Glamour’s Anne Christensen, who noted the allusions to Japanese pleating and pinning. [2] Much like the folds of an obi sash accompanying a kimono, Ghesquière’s shorts incorporated major volume with Japanese sleekness. Thematically, the Balenciaga collection provided a darker portrayal of Japanese culture. Kimonos are about seductive covering. So too were the broad brimmed visors, heavy skirts with sexed slits up the leg, and structural letterman jackets: covering up was sexy. Surprisingly, one of the most multi-referential collections was one of the season’s most successful. By the start of the fall 2012 collections in New York, the Balenciaga visor had appeared in the editorial pages of every major fashion magazine. It was official: Asian influence had been firmly planted and would make its presence for the fall season. In the September before the February presentations, Vogue’s Anna Wintour remarked that she had “never been anywhere that restless and ceaseless in its pursuit of the new [than China].”[3] Designers later showed
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similar tenacity. The new expression of Asian influence was even more explicit, more referential. Proenza Schouler, for all practical purposes, exploded from the box with its collection, influenced by the same Japanese classics of Ghesquière’s work. But what set Proenza Schouler’s contribution to trend narrative was the use of martial arts as reference points. Stiff white jackets recalled karate uniforms; a chunky leather see-through coat encapsulated the bodies of models with sleek black hair; Asian brocades accented mini-skirts. “We were really interested in the idea of protection and escape, in a way,” admits Jack McCullough of the Proenza Schouler duo.[4] Lazaro Hernandez later added that the collection was about “protection from the big bad world.”[5] Hernandez’s idea of protection is especially relevant for today. As fashion attempts its conquest of emerging Asian markets, such kimono-like shields will be needed. Asia represents growing challenges, as well as sparkling opportunity. The New York Times made mention of the startling reality of such opportunities in 2011, noting that China now represents 28% of the global luxury indus-
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try. The trend will continue as the decades progress: “the center of gravity [for the luxury industry] is shifting,” posits Yuval Atsmon of consulting firm McKinsey & Company.[6] Also notable about the evolution of the Eastern trend was its increased depth and broadness during the fall season. The range and variety of ways to reference the Orient increased dramatically. Joseph Altuzarra’s collection centered on the exotic, drawing on jodhpurs of India and the intense color combinations of rural Mongolia. Wrap dresses jingled with the din of Turkish gold medallions; Mongolian lamb’s wool coats also gave needed substance to the collection. Weeks later, Dries Van Noten pried open the archives London’s Victoria and Albert Museum for the Korean and Chinese inspirations that would culminate in one of his most practical collections. Dries Van Noten refined his references into a dialogue between East and East that Cathy Horyn described as “deconstructed.”[7] Silken dresses with dramatic Chinese prints were paired with the cool of European jackets and smart pants. “We scanned prints, and
1 2 3 4
Blanks, Tim. Balenciaga: Spring 2012 Ready-toWear. Paris, France. Style.com. Condé Nast, Sept. 2011. Web. 5 May 2012. Ibid. Wintour, Anna. “Letter from the Editor.” Editorial. Vogue Sept. 2011: 213+. Print. Blanks, Tim. Proenza Schouler: Fall 2012 Readyto-Wear. New York, New York. Style.com. Condé Nast, Feb. 2012. Web. 1 May 2012.
then we played around with them,” notes Van Noten in interview with Tim Blanks.[8] Rarely were the prints left alone. One dress featuring the face of a Japanese woman was rotated; embroidered swans on jackets were dispersed in refreshing ways. The effect of this was profound: it signaled the development of fashion’s Asian narrative into something less explicit but equally reflective of the industry’s direction. Van Noten’s methods emphasized the idea that his clothes did not have to be blazoned with Asia to necessarily connote Asia. Fashion relies on the narrative arc of trends; it wouldn’t exist without it. The trend of looking east for inspiration should be regarded, not necessarily for its chicness, but for its newness. In few cases during the past ten years has fashion latched on to one trend and developed it in varying ways. Perhaps the trend of cultural dialogue is Asia so important because it represents designers attempting to raise the creative bar. The idea that more designers can do better at once is a sign of a healthy industry. Let’s hope that this trend outlasts the rest.
5 6
Ibid. Wassener, Bettina. “Luxury Brands Follow the Money to Asia.” New York Times. 24 June 2011. Web. 1 May 2012. 7 Blanks, Tim. Dries Van Noten: Fall 2012 Readyto-Wear. Paris, France. Style.com. Condé Nast, Feb. 2012. Web. 5 May 2012. 8 Ibid All images via vogue.co.uk
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Kilimanjaro INTERVIEW BY NADIRAH NAZARALY
Armed with a strong set of ambitions and an array of influences, Kilimanjaro is a nascent project formed in January 2011 by young Danish musicians, Aron Jensen and Patrick Bech-Madsen. In their EP, Bajkal, set for release this summer, the Danish duo flirts heavily with natural soundscapes interspersed with electronic beats. Bajkal leaves behind a spectacular blend of desolate calmness and distant warmth—not unlike the conflicting sounds of nature. The upcoming Danish act is nothing short of driven when discussing their future projects and musical involvement within and outside the country in BITE’s music feature.
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i was in Siberia, eating noodles in the streets of Xi’an, China and Patrick...
Hailing from Denmark, what exactly drew the both of you to name the band Kilimanjaro? We’re very much drawn to the mystique and magnificence of Mount Kilimanjaro. We hope that our music will provide people with a sense of escapism, away from their comfort-zones to somewhere as magical as the steppes of Tanzania. For us, it’s important not to completely create an electronic sound, but rather, associate the sounds of nature (i.e., raindrops) with floating synths and vocals. How did the two of you come together? Aron: A mutual friend who needed some volunteer DJs for an event introduced us at a Trentemøller concert in 2009, so we joined
forces and DJ-ed together for a year and a half after that. Slowly, we moved away from flipping records to producing our own in Patrick’s basement; steadily buying more gear for our spare cash. What were the creative and/or artistic processes involved in the production of Bajkal EP? Aron: It was quite an odd process! I was in Siberia, eating noodles in the streets of Xi’an, China and Patrick would send one sketch after another whilst he was still in high school. I would be commenting on the tracks through Skype, texts and chats. Bajkal was a track we considered for a free EP called Apache, which we released in early 2011 and was originally called Motown, but it needed too much work and
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...would send one sketch after another whilst he was still in high school. mixing and/or mastering. We rediscovered it when we made Bajkal. The final version is far more different from the original and has gone under considerable work. The second track from the EP, “Don’t Wait”, didn’t take as much time. It was one of those evenings where you find the right chords, and the song pretty much writes itself. Could you give us a little insight with regard to the Danish music scene? Do you consider yourself different or similar to your Danish counterparts? Well a year ago, the Danish music scene was really boring – it was as if everybody tried to be the next Trentemøller, and a lot of different dub tunes were produced. But we think the Danish electronic music scene is in a real good progress. A lot of attention given towards the English bass scene has brought artists like Roska, Midland and soon Blawan and Joy Orbison to Denmark. We don’t really consider ourselves similar to anybody here, although there are some acts revolving around the same genres as us. An act to check out is definitely a duo called Averos, comprising of Natal Zaks and Theodor Clausen who are friends of ours. These guys have an incredibly unique sound. Plus, Natal has been a mentor for us in some respects. How much does living in Denmark influence your music? Patrick: Living in Denmark has probably made us more productive as the weather is pretty dull most of the year. Aron: Well, we’re forced to spend a lot of our time indoors so I guess that causes us to make music that is more listener-friendly and cozy – with more emphasis on detail and the soundscape rather than focusing on “banger-beats”. What are some influences?
of
your
musical
Our main influence is probably Mount Kimbie music-wise as well as the way they play live—it has been an eye opener for us. The way that they transform electronic music from a MPC-32 and a MacBook to a chaotic inferno of buildups, loops, guitar and live vocals. That has inspired and motivated
us to constantly challenge ourselves and implement more and more techniques to our live-set. Are there any cities you’d like to perform in? It probably sounds like a standard answer but guess we’ll say New York, LA, Barcelona, Berlin and London. We would especially love to play in London; we have been talking about trying to gather some contacts over there for a couple of gigs. Since we’re deeply inspired by the UK scene from Boards of Canada to Mount Kimbie, we would probably spend an entire week just going to concerts around London (but most likely Boiler Room!).
What’s next for Kilimanjaro? Patrick: What’s next? At the moment we are waiting to get the Bajkal EP out, it will feature remixes from Natal Zaks, Sina, Gards from KC and Empyrean. After this, it’s on with another EP, which will probably be way different, but we’re not in any rush. I am currently doing my Sekuoia act, which has been very successful and Aron is spending most of his time hitting the books as a Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences student in university whilst I am currently studying electronic music at a school of creativity called Engelsholm.
http://soundcloud.com/kilimanjarodk
STANDSTILL PHOTOGRAPHY LUKASZ IERZBOWSKI
R E B E L PHOTOGRAPHY BALINT BARNA STYLING BOGLAR BENDIK MAKEUP KATA KERTESZ HAIR ZSOLT SUBERT / SACO HAIR MODEL FABIAN @ MGM PARIS / NERO HOMME
B O Y
Trousers by Zara
Leggings and vest Vintage
Leggings and vest Vintage
S P. U T. N I. K PHOTOGRAPHY MICHAﾃ記 SMITS STYLING LAYNA VANCAUTEREN HAIR & MAKEUP STEFAAN VERELST MODEL TOM FONTEYN @ IMM BRUXELLES
Shirt by Acne Tie by Dior Homme Trousers by Raf Simons Coat Raf Simons Archive
All clothes by You Wie Ng
Shirt and hoodie by Raf Simons Archive
Shirt by Acne Coat by Raf Simons Archive Short Models own
Trousers by Raf Simons Sweater around waist by Bruno Pieters
Shirt by You Wie Ng Oversized sweater by Pelican Avenue
Trousers by Raf Simons Blazer and Sweater by J. Lindberg Sweater around waist by Bruno Pieters.
Trousers by Dries Van Noten Turtleneck by Bruno Pieters.
MARIONA VILAROS
PRELUDE FOR ORCHESTRA This series stands as a small piece of a greater diary; an on-going project focused on the relationship between the individual and its most immediate natural surroundings. — ‘Prelude for Orchestra’ is an exploration through the transition from Winter to Spring; an attempt to capture the transformation of the environment and its noticeable influence on human life. Through these images, the series aims to portray the purity of a renewed Season, revealed by the increasing manifestation of light and the unbreakable transformation of the landscape’s form and colour once more in time.
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Let It Lie Sleeping Dogs (dir. Roger Donaldson, 1977) TEXT BY BEN SPEAK
Sleeping Dogs is a film of firsts. In 1977, it was the first feature to be filmed in New Zealand for fifteen years. It was in fact the first entirely New Zealand film production, and the first New Zealand film to be released in the United States. The first image, the film’s title emerging from a rifle, slowly fades to reveal a young child drawing with crayons, a heady mix in two shots. The drawing—a bird with a golden beak—is a farewell present for the girl’s father, Smith (Sam Neill). Following his wife’s infidelity, Smith is out the door with no destination, one suitcase and only the most cursory of goodbyes to his two young children. The film chronicles Smith’s increasingly drastic actions as he is drawn into a rebellion against the increasingly fascist police state in an alternate present, separated only a few degrees from the Muldoon administration of 1970s New Zealand. Plotting terror attacks against its own people to inspire fear, the government become increasingly militant in scenes eerily prescient of the anti-
Apartheid Springbok riots of 1981. And it’s not just the politically questionable elements of New Zealand that Donaldson regenerates so well, the whole film is inherently Kiwi. I can think of no better encapsulation of small-town New Zealand than Smith’s stop at the deserted tea rooms immediately following his departure from his family. But I promised myself I wouldn’t get stuck on its impeccable New Zealand-ness, so with my little nationalism kick aside, Sleeping Dogs operates just as well as a critique of right wing politics. Smith is an absolute everyman from the ubiquitous name up—he is in no way predisposed to the vigilantism to which he ultimately resorts. Living in isolation on a small island off the Northland coast following his separation, Smith is imprisoned for owning an unregistered radio transmitter, and on suspicion of planting the explosive devices found by police on the island. Facing the newly-reinstated death penalty, or publicly admitting to being a revolutionary and sent into foreign exile, he stages a dramatic escape in transit to court. The
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Smith lost in the tumult of people, the frantic pace of the camera tracking him intensifying the disorientation, the monotone concrete palette remarkable only in its overwhelming consistency. police’s drastic actions only created a criminal where there was none before, their fear tactics escalating what should have been an interrogation at most to a full manhunt.
the frantic pace of the camera tracking him intensifying the disorientation, the monotone concrete palette remarkable only in its overwhelming consistency.
clusion is Smith through and through, and he seems almost to actively mischievously undercut the cinematic happenings around him he is surely not aware of.
The atmosphere of the film is highly charged, with clearly delineated tonal changes as the action progresses. Smith’s isolated retreat on the island is bathed in a soft warmth, a hazy focus creating an almost nostalgic scene, as if these days are the ones Smith will look back on in fondness. One sequence, detailing a televised speech by the Prime Minister following a terror attack, cuts between Smith and the family he left behind in the city. They sit indoors in a steely grey gloom, motionless, inert, while he bounds forth, restoring the cottage and cultivating its grounds, oblivious to the coming governmental changes, cut off as he is. The openness and warmth of the island provide stark contrast to later sequences in the city. Even filmed in long shots, the city seems oppressive and claustrophobic, Smith lost in the tumult of people,
Ultimately the strength of the film lies in the high tension maintained throughout the film. From the start, we are in the dark. When it comes to detailing what has gone before to lead to the increasingly autocratic state New Zealand finds itself, we are given the absolute minimum. We have little idea where we have come from, even less of where we are going. The scarcity of information maintains throughout, rendering the film utterly compelling. Despite lacking any visible cause for his actions, Smith seems completely authentic. This is thanks more to Neill’s deadpan performance more than anything else, his naturalism overcoming a now mildly dated script. Distracting language throwbacks aside, Neill’s mounting frustration as Smith, and Donaldson’s deftly paced direction hold out until the last scene. A somewhat bewildering half-note, the con-
Sleeping Dogs is a hard sell. A lessthan-brilliant script with acerbic, emotionless delivery, no exposition, and bordering on insularly Kiwi, it should fall flat. But it doesn’t. Donaldson’s history as a still photographer has served him well, as has his cast and from the objective horror this film should have been, emerges a real classic of New Zealand cinema, paving the way for the recent successes the scene has found. A brilliant critique of militarised government, and worthwhile commentary on New Zealand conservatism, Sleeping Dogs is essential viewing. Perhaps this is truer today than it was 35 years ago, as more political administrations are faced with Smiths who will not let their injustices lie.
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THE FORCE OF JULY TEXT & ILLUSTRATION BY DEAK ROSTOCHIL
The Visionary. Ever so often a person comes along with a voice that has the ability to create change, the potential to alter opinions, to question the invisible guideline for life and to answer with a clear conception full of understanding and relevance. Miranda July is one of those people.
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From the liberal San Francisco suburb of Berkeley, California - a centrality of bohemian lifestyle in the midseventies - Miranda July has steadily followed the progressive mentality of her roots. As a young adult, July began writing plays and staging them at local music clubs and, after she had moved to Portland, Oregon, joined a punk scene, “given lesbianism a whirl and cut off all her hair,” she started experimenting with making short films. The “Original Motion Picture Soundtrack” to the James Bond film Thunderball, lodged in a shut drawer of her first apartment kitchenette, inspired July to create
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voice is one of honesty and genuineness—her charming and captivating personality is reflected in every word, page by page. In the summer of 2007, July began working on her second featurelength film. Beginning with a break-up and initially developing as a performance, Things We Don’t Understand and Are Definitely Not Going to Talk About evolved into the 2011 film The Future, a darker story than that of Me and You, focusing on feelings of commitment and embedded with quirks involving a metaphoric t-shirt and anthropomorphizing the moon and a cat
expectedly grew into It Chooses You, and July’s own experience building the book gave her the story that her main character so desperately needed. Jason would, in a sense, become the fictional Miranda; he would make the PennySaver expedition on a whim as she did, striving to find some deep, cosmic revelation in the process. The title of the book even derives from the film’s script. Jason: “I’m gonna let it choose me. I just have to be alert and listen.” One often finds themselves having somewhat of an epiphany when discovering the work of Miranda July; her candid approach to representing
She urges to examine the complexities of the human condition and achieves it with grace, wit and humility, an original motion picture of her own. Atlanta was the title of her first film, a ten-minute story of a pre-teen Olympic swimmer and her overbearing mother preparing for the 1996 Olympic games, in which July acts in both roles. The use of video imagery quickly penetrated her performance work as she graduated from small clubs to more theatrical performance venues throughout the country, including New York’s performance art hub The Kitchen. It wasn’t until 2005 that she would release her first feature film, the offbeat Me and You and Everyone We Know, which won the Caméra d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival and immediately gifted her the notoriety of a true filmmaker in international regard. Despite the success of the film and its frenzy of media and offers to fund another, July felt no interest in embarking on a Hollywood journey and so set out to publish a collection of short stories that she had built upon over several years. Sixteen Stories of Sex, self and romance form the much praised No One Belongs Here More Than You. In her sententious writing style, July’s
named Paw-Paw. A thirty-something couple, Sophie and Jason, fear their impending loss of freedom as they plan to adopt the very old, sick stray cat in a month’s time, realising that in this last month they must do something meaningful with their lives. Just as she was finishing up the screenplay, July hit a brick wall. Armed with a beginning and an end to her story, but lacking an essential middle for Jason, who sells tress door-to-door for an environmental volunteer group, she found that everyday distractions had gotten the better of her, so much so that she began working on an entirely new project. A book began by accident, perhaps in a subconscious effort to delay the completion of her troubling screenplay. Reading the PennySaver, tucked into piles of coupons amongst Tuesday’s junk mail became an afternoon ritual, and her avid curiosity to learn more about the anonymous seller of the used hairdryer and the vintage leather jacket led her to call the listed numbers and ask for an interview, hoping to answer the questions that besotted her. These interviews un-
both the deep and not-so-deep emotions of people provides an explanation to some of our most profound thoughts, as well as the mundane wonderings of everyday life. What connection do we have to the strangers we meet in passing? Do we have the same daily concerns, worries, priorities? These are the settings of July’s esoteric chronicles. Her work is devoted to exposing life’s truths worth talking about; to ask the questions formerly unanswered and never asked. She urges to examine the complexities of the human condition and achieves it with grace, wit, and humility, venturing away from the quotidian - recognising it but not analysing it - and, instead, translates it into something relative and easy to understand. Often times brilliantly peculiar, blunt, and altogether mystifying, and maintaining success in nearly every medium imaginable, Miranda July is an artist in every aspect of the word.
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Don’t Wait - Kilimanjaro Sayulita - Apparat Howl - RYAT Siglo - Aebeloe A Walk - Tycho H e n r i e t t a - Ye a s a y e r S p e a k N u h - Fa n t a s t i c M r. Fox So Will Be Now... (feat. Pional) - John Talabot We t L o o k - J o y O r b i s o n The Earth Got Round - Sara Sayed & xxxy WOUH [original mix] - Nicolas Jaar I t ’s A l l I n Yo u r H e a d - Sw e a t s o n K l a n k Love - Chaz Knapp AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING AT
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STOCKISTS 3.1 Philip Lim Ac n e Ag n e s B. A l e xa n d e r Mc Q u e e n American Apparel Arielle De Pinto B a l e n c i a ga Barcode B ra n d y Me l v i l l e Bruno Pieters Ca l v i n K l e i n Ca r v e n H o m m e Co m me d e s G a r ç o n s D. Co Co p e n h a g e n Damir Doma Dior Homme D o m i n i c Lo u i s D o ra Moj z e s D r i e s Va n N o t e n Elise Kim Elsien Grinhuis E p o q u e by Ed i t h & E l l a F l o r s he i m L i m i t e d Givenchy H&M H e n r i k Vi b s k o v H u s s e i n C h a l a ya n Jacquemus Ka n gar o o Ka t a S z e g e d i Ko m m e n t Kris van Assche Le v i ’s Ma r c J a c o b s Ma r n i Ma i s o n Ma r t i n Ma rg i e l a Mo n i q u e v a n H e i s t M r. Po r t e r Nike Pe l i c a n Av e n u e Po l e c i P ra d a Ra f S i m o n s Ra g a n d B o n e Ro d e b j e r Shakuhchi S k i n g ra f t Ti m o We i l a n d To p s h o p Y-3 Yo p h i I g n a c i a Yo u Wi e N g Za ra
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