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THIS IS PROVOCATIVE ... pro∙voc∙a∙tive: adjective
+ Arousing sexual desire or interest, especially deliberately. + Causing provocation, “a provocative article.”
REESE HERRICK shot with MATT BREWER @ look photographer leslie andrews makeup artist melanie hutton hair stylist mandy freeman
LETTER
FROM
THE EDITOR Welcome to The Provocative Issue CHAOS is bringing the HEAT this spring with our 10th installment! The flowers are in bloom and days of floating down the river with friends are just a few weeks away. Well, unless you’re here in California where it’s happening now! I have to say us Californians are definitely spoiled- maybe that is why we’re so happy. We’re getting our daily dose of Vitamin D! I must admit that I am actually by the pool as I type this letter … come, join!
If you’re a regular viewer of CHAOS then you’ll recognize how the editor page represents the issue’s theme-this edition was no exception. For my take on being provocative, we went for a passionate and seductive approach. Male model Matt Brewer helped me convey this vibe, which I must say, made it extremely easy.
The Provocative Issue presents a clear representation of the sexual tension that reaches a peek when springtime arrives. Being provocative is largely about being comfortable in your own skin. Throughout this issue you will see how the CHAOS photographers have interpreted the essence of the word “provocative.” Some editorials have a subtle take on the subject, touching on the delicate curiosity of sex appeal. Other articles have a more straightforward perspective, describing the fun and playful aspects of sex.
XX,
We asked Sebastian Sauve and Francisco Lachowski to have fun with us again, this time on the cover of CHAOS. The editorial, which was shot in Milan by Ivan Muselli, is fun and flirty with bold colors and sex appeal from your two favorite male models.
I hope you enjoy this issue and that it gets your pulse racing a bit … it did mine!
Reese Herrick Editor-in-Chief
BLURRING THE BORDER
THIS DANISH DESIGNER TAKES ANDROGYNY TO ANOTHER LEVEL. Any doubt that Jean//Phillip is one to watch evaporated with a glance at this young label’s first look at Copenhagen Fashion Week last July. Draped in layers of earthy fabric and a thin leather belt knotted casually at his waist, Swedish model Texas Olsson appeared strong, relaxed, and elegant in his own skin. Spectators couldn’t take their eyes off of him, but one question thickly hung in the air: is that man wearing a skirt? Jean//Phillip is one of Denmark’s most fashion forward and progressive labels. Founded by self-taught designer JeanPhillip Dyeremose in 2007, this homme couture label has turned the world of men’s fashion upside down with unconventional materials and shapes that fly in the face of fashion norms of gender and sexuality.
Men’s fashion is missing something and Jean believes he has the answer. With women’s wear, designers are free to explore, often indulging in theatrical flights of fancy from season to season. Remember Alexander McQueen’s 10inch armadillo shoes and Margiela’s wig coat? Terrifying, impractical, and utterly brilliant. Menswear, on the other hand, tends to be more straightforward. With the exception of mavericks like Rick Owens and Comme des Garcons’ Rei Kawakubo - both of whom have built successful houses based on eccentricity it can even be thought of as boring. For spring 2011, men’s fashion has some notable trends: a definite shift in silhouette, broader lines, and a looser fit. From key
TEXT: LYNDSAY MCGREGOR PHOTOGRAPHY: COPENHAGEN FASHION WEEK
pieces like shirt to pop the overall Safari and rarely disap still linger.
In a word, seen it all like to argu are not nea on the surf one anothe a recurring seeing wha offer some the ladies, the trend so of freedom to move, fre to think.
It’s this sor desire to obvious, he more intere he wants to they care a yet won’t s
While som nothing m dress, Jean to decide. are confid plain to see
Finding in colors of t collection with elega
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Tops flowed into bottoms deconstructing the male silhouette while long flowing cardigans and jumpsuits did their part to fuse the gender gap.
the cargo pant and the camp ps of acid and brilliant whites, look is polished, yet relaxed. d military, two influences that ppear from menswear,
“The collection was clean and quite pure in its way of presenting itself,” he explained. “I wanted a clean setting without any noise for the eyes, so that the only focus would be the details on the clothing.”
, it’s manly. But frankly we’ve before. Much as some would ue, men’s and women’s fashions arly as separate as they appear face; they are dialogues with er. As androgyny starts to make g appearance on both circuits, at the men are doing now may e insight of what’s to come for and vice versa. What makes o attractive is the implied sense m that comes with it - freedom eedom to misbehave, freedom
In past collections, Jean showed a lot of structure – actually, he’s known for it. Spring, with its overly draped layers and complimentary textures, is unashamedly soft, even when contrasting with the harsh environment from which it drew its inspiration.
rt of freedom that fuels Jean’s design. Uninspired by the e wants to put men in something esting than just jeans and a shirt; o see them in clothes that say about what they are wearing, strip them of their masculinity.
me may argue that there is masculine about a man in a n says that’s not up to the public His clothing is for men who dent in themselves, which is e in his SS11 offering.
nspiration in the people and the desert, Jean presented a that blurred the sexes, filled ant drapery and earthy tones.
"I WANTED A CLEAN SETTING WITHOUT ANY NOISE FOR THE EYES, SO THAT THE ONLY FOCUS WOULD BE THE DETAILS ON THE CLOTHING" “The softer approach came all by itself, and will and has become a part of how I see the garments,” he said. “The AW11 collection has taken things back to the more structured side of me, but still with the soft influences, so a balance between has arrived.” Even so, it’s quite a departure from what we’re used to seeing. One of his earliest collections added more than a feminine
touch with bondage-like corsets. There’s a definite ‘borrowed from the girls’ vibe running throughout as opposed to a smattering here and there. “That transition came naturally all by itself as it felt right to move in that direction,” says the designer. “The more feminine look first came when the whole collection was done and taken into perspective. I want to do things differently as it’s an untaken path that makes me learn and take steps onto thin ice, and for me that is what fashion is all about.” In other words, Jean is doing what he does best: giving something new to the world of men’s clothing. But make no mistake, Jean is not antifashion. His clothes are not completely off the wall. Just as military and safari played
major roles in other men’s collections, so too can traces be found in Jean//Phillip such as cargo shorts or military buttons on an asymmetrical jacket. Relaxed looks such as this have become popular on runways.
collection, have seeme he disagree
Though the overall collection is steeped in pajama-like comfort, Jean did not forget his tough side: contrast sleeve biker jackets and leather shorts paired with sheer tissue tops added some edge.
“Women’s on for it alre for me need
Basing his c color palette world”), styl cut. Suiting points, with like artistry trademarks Jean//Philli handpicked materials, w fabrics and with interesti be found ac
“Leather has always been a big part of the collections no matter if it’s summer or winter so it just needs to be there as a segment, because it’s a big part of how I see a look,” he said. The fashion industry is no stranger to messing around with gender but lately it’s seemed stuck on completely blurring the lines of what masculinity means: transsexual model Lea T. serves as muse for Givenchy; on RuPaul’s Drag Race, cross-dressing contestants battle it out in catwalk battles; James Franco appeared in drag for a recent cover of transsexual fashion magazine Candy. But when it comes to the clothing side of things, it is difficult for many designers to find that perfect androgynous twist. Jean somehow nails it, creating pieces wearable – and wanted - by both genders. Classic and confronting pieces are part and parcel of his vision of contemporary menswear. He has taken this idea of unisex attire, which has traditionally been reserved for women’s fashion, and has given it a man’s perspective, thus creating genderless fashion. At one point he incorporated styles for women in each
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Material sel important to shiny and transparent “The collecti every seaso choosing fiv to work wit through that
"WOMEN'S FASHION HAS ENOUGH GOING ON FOR IT ALREADY," HE SAYS. "SO THE FOCUS FOR ME NEEDS TO BE ON THE MALES."
First, Jean d wants to ma of these fabr ones that ar won’t be p sell, but add overall visu are picked t he has usu
and while a full line might ed like the obvious next step, es.
[fashion] has enough going eady,” he says. “So the focus ds to be on the males.”
collections on a monochrome e (“Colors make noise in my les are minimalistic and slim g is one of Jean’s strongest h classic tailoring, coutureand attention to detail all of his work. Another ip signature is a strong d selection of leathers, stretch wool, cashmere, silk, coated knitwear. Asymmetric jackets ing zippers and jumpsuits can cross the board.
lection has always been very o the designer, as he contrasts matte materials with filmy fabrics throughout his work. ions are worked on differently on but I always start out by ve to seven materials I want th and put out the collection t,” he said.
decides how many pieces he ake out of each material. Two rics are always “crazy different re used on showpieces” and produced as they’re hard to d a little something extra to the ual presentation. The fabrics to go with the theme – which ually decided on before he
has even finished designing the current collection. “When materials are chosen I draw simple silhouettes, and then every garment gets its details while the sewing process is going on, and that goes on with every piece until the collection is done.” With his skilled hand and keen eye, one would assume a career in fashion was on the cards for Jean from the get-go, but instead, his first fell in love with animation. “When I was younger the dream was to become an animator but I found out at an early age that that wasn’t the path for me as I loved to watch it more than do it, so I always knew the next step would be fashion.” Despite holding great admiration for Lucas Ossendrijver of Lanvin Menswear, and Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane, Jean decided against the route of internships, choosing instead to start out on his own and learn from his own mistakes. Teaching himself helped to keep Jean’s vision pure and organic, inspired by the work of anime master Hayao Miyazaki. Although working alone helped Jean’s thought processes in the long run, he admits that it sometimes hindered him. “It has definitely been a force,” he admits. “My approach to fashion is more naive as I think everything is possible, so no matter how stupid the project I always end up making it work, even though people have told me otherwise.”
While he remains tight lipped when asked for input from other designers, he eagerly agrees to help out through charity work. In 2010, he was one of 31 designers from 13 countries asked to participate in Project White T-Shirt, an exhibition curated by creative agency Triple Major to benefit Designers Against Aids. Each designer was asked to recreate the humble white shirt, no holds barred. In keeping with his provocative style, Jean covered the interior back of a white t-shirt with sequins. At first glance, it looked like a plain white tee. On closer inspection, the fabric had a noticeable ripple, explained once the wearer unzipped the sides and flipped up the back to reveal the sequined interior. As with everything he tries his hand at, what you see isn’t always what you get. In a way it harked back to Jean’s earlier collections, where details like sequined cuffs were thought more as body armor than adornment, and for boys to enjoy just as much as girls. Though at times his presentations can appear almost avant-garde in appearance, pull each look apart and everything is wearable. Jean’s desire to change the way men dress can really be thought of as subtle: he just wants style to be borderless. While his designs are not the typical Scandinavian flare westerners have grown accustomed to seeing from brands like Acne, Cheap Monday and
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FOR OTHER WANNABE DESIGNERS OUT THERE, HIS ADVICE IS SIMPLE: "BELIEVE AND IT WILL COME TRUE."
H&M, there’s no denying that a European influence exists. Copenhagen Fashion Week is now the biggest fashion event in northern Europe. Though Denmark might not be the first place that comes to mind when thinking of fashion, the country’s triple threat of creativity, individuality and functionality is helping Danish design make a name for itself internationally. “Denmark has its own Scandinavian way of thinking slim and minimal,” says Jean, who credits Copenhagen with being a more inspiring place to be. Obviously this young label is destined for bigger and better, and Jean’s next move is to join the likes of fellow Danish designer Malene Birger and sell in countries where people are already crying out for his clothes. For other wannabe designers out there, his advice is simple: “Believe and it will come true.”
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Fear of
Flying
photographer KELLY JILL stylist COREEN MILLER model BROOKLYN @ key
PREVIOUS dress VINTAGE, necklace worn as head band JELERA @ NOUVELLE NOUVELLE, ring H&M dress AMERICAN APPAREL, earring MANDI STEVE @ GENTILE ALOUETTE