The Eclectic Romantic

The Eclectic Romantic ISSUE

01

THE NEW ROMANTICS

A year ago, I was inspired by my graphic designer boyfriend to start up my own personal Tumblr blog, an idea he presented to help organize my thoughts and document my personal style evolution. A long-time witness to the blogging movement taking shape before my eyes, nearly half a decade ago, I began noticing style blogs and sites pique my interest—first it was My Style Diary, an initial concept similar to the fashion photo catalog Lookbook.nu, and soon after I was collecting images of my favorite outfits and wish list items in multi-paged Word documents, much like the developers of Pinterest and the slue of other bookmarking sites to follow. As a creature of my generation, it is in my nature to collect imagery from both analog fashion magazines that once reigned supreme for the authority on fashion and most recently, from blogging, bookmarking sites and online shopping, for further use, documentation and inspiration. In recent years, the line between analog and digital technology has become blurred, and so have the authoritative voices and processes distinguishing print from digital.

I felt as though I had watched my favorite design and fashion blogs develop into full-fledged brands and I had just been spectating that entire time while they furthered their success. I decided to finally commit to the Tumblr blog after years of dabbling as a blogging platform and use it as my own live moodboard. When it came time to name the URL (my very own corner of the Internet as it were) it was apparent to name it “The Eclectic Romantic,” a nickname my Dad coined for my personal style one night in a casual conversation about my career plans. The name stuck and it seemed to perfectly encapsulate my penchant for both leather and fur, studs and florals, skulls and pastels. While I continued to post my favorite fashion, street style and prop styling imagery during the course of a year, it occurred to me that it was inherent in me to constantly repost and reblog content I came across, snapping photos on my smart phone of my favorite outfitted mannequins and cataloging them into folders on my desktop, reblogging street style photos onto my Pinterest boards for reference and layering magazine tears onto binders of collages and bulletin boards. I realized that girls just like me were doing just that and creating their own brands and careers, acting as art directors, prop stylists, editors and graphic designers for their own blogs, both posting original content with the help of their photographer boyfriends for their very own photoshoots to simply reposting content that was already existing in the blogosphere. Bloggers have evolved into the tastemakers in the fashion, interiors and design industries, while major brands capitalize on the talents of individual doodle artists, creators and crafters brought to their attention through the convenience and accessibility of the Internet. A new generation of bloggers, with unprecedented exposure and experience with digital technology is on the horizon, including 17-year-old Tavi Gevinson, who came to public attention with the help of her sophisticated and witty fashion blog Style Rookie, which she started at just 12 years old.

Now featured in countless magazines and blogs, gaining front-row access to designer fashion shows across the world and exclusive interviews to designers Meadham Kirchhoff, Tavi is now a publisher with her book “Rookie Yearbook,” published in 2012, which prints her blog content in an annual printed format. As I sifted through the international issues of various fashion magazines at my local book shop, I came across a similar interpretation titled “Style.com/Print,” the latest edition of the seasonal content found on the Condé Nast website. The publication flirted between the exclusitivity of fashion industry insiders with accessibility of the web, as well as Raymond Williams’ ideas of the residual (the past), dominant (the present) and emergent (the future). Inspired by the concept that it was possible not only to turn analog content into digitized photos, scans and posts, but also to turn digital into print formats, I decided to conceptualize this publication as “The Eclectic Romantic: A Printed Blog,” an evolution of my personal Tumblr—including the findings, designers, trends, street style, retailers and brands I find stimulating, fresh and inspiring, delving beyond just the images tiling my personal webspace and into the stories and creators behind them. This magazine serves as a snapshot into the corners of visual culture I find innovative and exciting, focusing primarily on blogging and social media, street style, brands both high end and high street and retailers revitalizing the shopping experience. Think of this as a glimpse into the most stylish, edgy and experimental friend’s personal dossier on the visionaries and influencers on the forefront of fashion. A printed blog.

The Eclectic Romantic [Cover imagery courtesy of ofwgkjay and ugly-all]

Table of Contents I’LL TUMBL 4 YA

TEEN IDLE

SHIT BLOGGERS WEAR

FASHION KILLA

IN PRINT ARTY PARTY

ANATOMY OF A BLOGGER ART SCHOOL COOL

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

INFLUENCERS

INFLUENCERS

INFLUENCERS

THE BLOGGERS, STREET STYLE STARS AND VLOGGERS AFFECTING E-COMMERCE, SOCIAL MEDIA AND FASHION TRENDS.

INFLUENCERS

[Imagery courtesy of blkzeus]

I’ll Tumbl 4 Ya Since its inception in 2007, microblogging platform Tumblr has hit its biggest reach of users with over 130 million registered unique URL’s this past year, despite being recently acquired to Yahoo in June 2013. While it is no question that established brands have jumped to Tumblr in recent years as a means to convey brand ideals and vision across yet another social media platform, a new wave of influencers are using the site as a means to propel unique business ventures, including digital publications, brands and blogs, capitalizing on the recent street style movement and shift towards all things underground, irreverent and unique, favoring the image saturated cascading feed, anonymity and endless pool of imagery courtesy of unique links and custom content uploads. In the blogosphere, Tumblr reigns supreme.

Driveshesaid

driveshesaid.tumblr.com Originally hailing from Peru, Luanna Perez-Gerreaud is a fashion student currently based in NewYork City. With a penchant for studs, creepers, platforms and 90s grunge, Perez updates her various social media accounts ranging from a personal style blog (le-happy.com) to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, where she posts her inspiration videos akin to mini-photoshoots. Most recognized for her unique flaming red locks donning a soft dip-dye effect, Perez mixes up the hue, gaining an audience on Tumblr as “the girl with the red ombre hair.” Channeling 90s grunge and punk influences, Perez-Gerreaud has become somewhat of a poster child for all things of the moment in beauty and fashion.

Owning unique cherry hued locks proves to have its benefits, as driveshesaid, or Lua P as she’s fondly known outside of Tumblr, has cultivated a look all her own. As a fashion merchandising management student at the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Lua realized the power and potential in creating a unique look and maintaining it to boost her ambitions to work in the fashion industry. What makes Lua a force in the fashion world and worthy of coveted sponsorships and brand collaborations in a sea of conventional bloggers is her bold sense of style and fearlessness in changing the hue of her locks that others would shy away from.

Her personal style is characteristic of everything happening in beauty and fashion--- taking note from 90s grunge and punk infuences, Rodarte recently sent girls with ombre hair spanning from a green to bright orange down the runway, marking a bold move into unconventional beauty and making hair bleach utterly cool again. Lua masters the dip dye hair effect and what turned to be a happy accident with bleach at the tips created a gorgeous effect and identity for the blogger. Her clothing taste ranges from grungy boots and platforms to soft cotton blouses balanced with quirky vintage details.

Beanies, round sunnies and a matching red lip have become her signature, even scoring her deals with huge brands A favorite amongst the edgy blog set, her likeness has been emblazoned across her own

Topshop dress, known as the “cross girl tunic” and a Zara slogan tee-shirt. Collaborating with brands like H&M x Maison Martin Margiela, Levis, Dr Martens, and Mango, the scarlet-haired fashion maven has gained editorials and features in a series of high profile blogs and websites, including the Jeffrey Campbell blog, writing as a guest editor of the Nasty Gal blog, MTV Style, River Island Style Insider magazine and Teen Vogue. .

Lua accredits her passion for style from making unique ensembles when she was a child in her bedroom and developing her own sense of self at a young age at home in Peru.

“The moment in which my interest in fashion really grew the most was when I left high school. I realized then that fashion wasn’t about wearing the trendiest stuff mixed all together, but that the true challenge was to mix and match garments in a congruent way in order to express something. That’s why I think fashion is so important; it is one of the most significant ways to express yourself.”

She insists the source of her creativity lies in the process of getting dressed, “elaborating an outfit, merging different garments and attempting to make them match or mismatch in order to create a whole ensemble. I love to take time looking at my garments and trying to figure out an innovative way to modify them.” As a surefire success already creating a brand for herself with her recognizable style and locks, Lua’s future in the fashion industry looks as bright as her tresses.

Tierdropp

tierdropp.tumblr.com Tierney Shea, the muse behind the popular Tumblr blog Tierdropp, first started blogging in April 2011, as a relatively late bloomer in the blogosphere. But as she developed from personal style stories, Shea began enhancing her webspace, posting pictures of her own style, her ever-growing closet and DIY tutorials for various projects ranging from head chains, thrifted denim turned dip-dye shorts and a Nasty Gal inspired tee. But what fascinated readers and gained her a substantial following was her own style pics, including pairings of on-point trends including leather skater skirts, disco leggings, peplum trousers and a growing collection of the coveted Jeffrey Campbell Lita boots.

Like most bloggers, the composition and mix of pieces of an outfit becomes more interesting to a reader than the labels of the garments themselves.

As a regular on the blogosphere, seeing what ordinary girls do with the same or similar resources, the brands they tap into online and they way they extend their closet elevates the experience of scrolling through posts into inspiration territories. What draws most into Tierdropp’s Tumblr is her unprecedented mix of totally realistic finds. As a resident of the Midwest, Tierney Shea possesses an uncanny ability to carefully select the best of the best in mall shops and online shopping, making high fashion and high street trends totally within reach but does it in such a way that’s more in tune with a high profile editor than a typical college studient. She’s the girl others wished attended their universities for comradery, inspiration and escape into the world of fashion amidst a conventional, conservative and bland landscape. It’s no secret American fashion on the whole is more conservative, realistic and classic in comparison to its Euro counterparts. In a sea of J.Crew bubble necklaces, khakis, boat shoes and polo shirts, Tierney resides as the fashionplate next door. Donning the shoes of the season, Tierney rocks several pairs of Jeffrey Campbell Litas and the towering Unif Hellbounds, a high platform bootie that’s as unrealistic as it is photogenic. She mixes Forever 21 faux-fur vests with ease, juxtaposed with chiffon blouses, shaggy coats, and galaxy leggings

as a subtle nod to those who “get it.” Her most coveted items remain totally realistic for the every girl-its attainable yet aspirational in the way she styles herself. Her unabashed passion for clothes and personal style is totally unapologetic, even if her looks do catch some glances in her Midwest surroundings.

It’s clear the girl indulges and her honest approach to self-initiated photoshoots is apparent in the details.

Plastic hangers line a metal clothing rack, appliances line the side of a house, setting an almost-perfect setting for staging shoots the rest of us can appreciate. Tierney’s presence on Tumblr is a nod to the evolving movement in personal style. What started as an involved session getting ready in the morning, taking a few harmless selfies and posting them into Instagram has evolved into an elaborate and complex network of similar fashion mavens, scoring girls deals with big brands.

Blogging has become a pre-requisite for a career in fashion or design and it looks as though its here to stay.

What Tumblr presents to readers and users alike over other blogging platforms is a connectivity and immersion into another world and a self-devised network. Searching through common threads with hashtag labels surfaces a pair of boots or a style, the reblog and follow buttons allows for instaneous reposting of ideas. Tumblr allows users to follow the original source of an image, allowing those who post original content like Tierney to create a huge network of fans and followers just like her.

The White Pepper thewhitepepper.tumblr.com

As a brand to spawn from Tumblr in 2011, The White Pepper first used the social media platform to connect with readers and dig deep into the consumer base for research into trends. Upon realizing there was a market, the brand developed into an ASOS Marketplace shop and eventually evolving into a full-fledged ASOS branded boutique. The UK-based brand credits the site to still be a powerful influence in editing product lines, noting that after 6000 reblogs of a pair of pink overalls, the designers decided to create an additional pair in mint and even took inspiration from a vintage photo of Twiggy with a pair of sunnies to create a modern version, which became a bestseller.

The White Pepper is an online Cinderella story, starting from an unassuming Tumblr blog in 2011 and after gaining a significant fan base through other Tumblr bloggers, initiated its ASOS Marketplace shop, allowing the brand to gain invaluble exposure with the help of UK mega-brand ecommerce site ASOS’ umbrella of support and promotions in a unique digital marketplace setting. After gaining a following, the east London brand opened its own collection with the site in early 2013 and has since collaborated with British heavy hitter Topshop, which sells the line at its Oxford street flagship store’s pop up market in London. The brand’s modern British style encapsulates east London street style, including voluminous babydoll dresses, oversized denim jackets and bomber coats, pinafores, baggy cardigans, demure polka dot button-downs, conservative midi skirts and understated trousers.

The brand grounds its mastery of minimalist classics revamped with modern gamine and edgy accessories ranging from gladiator boots, loafer wedges and mary jane platforms. The brand notes “The White Pepper tumblr also features our own street style images, and we look to these, as well as those of the thousands of other blogs we follow, for inspiration for our new collections.” In a recent instance, the brand took inspiration from an image from London Fashion Week, including an oversized plaid shirtdress topped over a pair of faded jeans on an anony-

mous fashion photographer. The image inspired the Oversized Check Dress, which took on an empire-waist shape to freshen the look and bring in a unique perspective paired with black loafer wedges and white frilly socks. The brand has even extended its creative pursuits to print, complete with stylized lookbooks offered free with every purchase and a magazine, as a means to establish a perptual foundation for the otherwise totally digital brand. The label is a signifier of the emerging trend in digital brands reversing back to traditional promotions to solidify their presence on and off the computer. Its a unique concept for brands who have built their success purely on follows, PayPal transactions, Facebook statuses and Pinterest boards and oftentimes never actually meeting the people who buy and love their clothes to reverse to traditional technology. Tumblr has been instrumental in facilitating and documenting the brand’s success, accounting for likes on an image, reblogs, followers and comments as a built-in analysis of what works and what doesn’t according to consumer tastes. It will be interesting to see if other hopeful start-ups will follow suit in the future. The White Pepper’s earnest success story is a lasting one, as the brand bases its aesthetic entirely in classic shapes, colors and silhouettes accented with trendy details and accessories for modern influences and staying true to the styles and fanbase that helped them realize their potential and aspirations in the first place.

VintageVirgin

vintagevirgin.tumblr.com In 2010, Jessica Virgin started her blog msvintagevirgin.blogspot.com and started her Tumblr as an outlet for visual inspiration. As a stay at home mom based in Texas and contributing writer for the official Nasty Gal blog, Jessica spends much of her time writing for her own blog and other major brands and splitting her time between photographing her ensembles, editing stories and photos and thrifting for vintage treasures.

Extending her blogging brand into Pinterest, Instagram, Bloglovin and photo catalog sites Lookbook and Chictopia, her style spanning from ditzy florals, retro jerseys and sportswear, 60s shifts and leather trousers scored her a feature in the ASOS magazine.

Crediting Diana Ross as a personal style muse, Jessica Virgin of the Tumblr blog Vintage Virgin, has cultivated a style for herself that can only be described as fierce. Despite whatever look she chooses to rock on any given day, she does so in a way that delivers visual eye candy, donning over the top details and accessories head to toe. Virgin favors experimenting with trends but balances them with unique silhouettes and textures so she owns the look-its evident that as trends come and go, her sense of style remains, noting “be yourself!

You don’t have to change yourself to fit every trend that comes out.” Featured on various blogs and magazines, ranging from FOAM magazine, Gap styled.by series, N.E.E.T. magazine, Modcloth, MTV Style, BUST magazine, Calivintage, Chictopia, Google News, Jeffrey Campbell blog, NYLON Indonesia, Solestruck and Stylecaster, Virgin has made albeit cheeky name for herself on her social media outlets. Her Tumblr page is wildly successful, which is in part due to her eclectic range of tastes, spanning from 60s fashion, disco influences and uber-trendy street brands like Ragged Priest, Supreme and Unif and a curated hybrid of street snaps, runway looks, blogger style and vintage photos.

Virgin is an illustration of utilizing the underrated Tumblr for successful fashion blogging-- her look is easy to recognize, but her pairings of garments read exaggerated and a bit outrageous for America’s buttoned-up everyday fashion sense. Unlike European

retailers, American shops struggle to keep up with trends as quickly as they emerge and Virgin expresses her tastes in staying ahead of the mainstream and outsourcing creative vitality at thrift stores Value Village, Goodwill and the Salvation Army, creating a knack for vintage clothing, silhouettes and styles.

She relays her fashion knowledge in the brands she selects to wear and the way she styles uber-trendy fast fashion with the right colors and silhouettes as to not become a caricature. As a picture of effortless and idiosyncratic styling, Virgin favors blogger-friendly e-commerce brands such as Nasty Gal, Tunnel Vision, Romwe, Sheinside, Beginning Boutique and Wasteland who have taken to the Cambridge Satchel model offering bloggers unique affilate programs for free clothes and promotions.

Her success on Tumblr is the result of constant uploads of her own photos and ability to not only attain trendy pieces but to rock them before hitting the mainstream mixed with coveted vintage pieces for eclectic fusion of styles.

Daylighting as a writer for the Nasty Gal blog, Virgin splits her time between writing and featuring in other publications and sites with updating her own blogspot URL in tandem with her Tumblr space. Her aptitude in balancing both blog and Tumblr accounts and merging them beautifully into a unique brand has actually caused the style maven to become somewhat of a Tumblr celebrity in her own right.

Style the Natives stylethenatives.tumblr.com

Charlotte Cox is not a typical British teenager. Instead of studying for the highly regarded A-level tests to gain access into a prestigious sixth form, the equivalent of the mandatory SAT standardized testing required of any university-bound American highschooler, Charly opted for media studies and shifted her path entirely. At age 16, Charly bagged an assisting job for e-commerce photoshoots at Burberry headquarters in London, where she scored the swoon-worthy position of dressing fellow teen and effortlessly chic and charismatic Cara Delevigne for the Burberry Spring/Summer 2012 showcase. Her experience led to starting Style the Natives for daily dose of glamour.

Deemed a college dropout in her native England, Charly Cox shifted her fate from Oxford University to Oxford Street by immersing herself in the high fashion and retail industries with the prestigious opportunity to work at Burberry headquarters. After starting the blog Style the Natives and choosing Tumblr over other blogging platforms, the community Charly built for herself on the site allowed her to create a successful network of followers and fans and a source of interviews into entertainment and fashion. “Amongst meeting and working with some incredible people I also gained a position writing and co-editing for a fashion and music quarterly magazine called TMRW,” she notes.

The opportunities allowed the determined teenager to hone her interviewing and writing skills and work entirely as a freelance writer, stylist and photographer.

Now fully launched on a custom domain at stylethenatives.com, Style the Natives has bridged the gap from Tumblr space, which Charly still updates, into an online magazine, with a support system of other like-minded creatives who got in touch with Charly through the blogging site and help design, write and edit stories and interviews from all over the world. While the brand is in its initial stages, Charly’s curation of typography, imagery and perspective feels fresh and energized in a sea of glossy cooler-than-thou blogs. Her voice is sophisticated, well-versed and educated of the industry she sets out to conquer as a wide-eyed hopeful

burning for experience that she sets out to establish for herself. Like others before her, namely Tavi Gevinson of Rookie, and 12-year-old Brit Blogger Ophelia Horton, Charly channels her fervent interest into the digital technology she has grown accustomed to as a millennial. Her venture into blogging is tokenistic of the new generation of creatives who are taking to Tumblr, Issuu and Wordpress and launching entirely digital enterprises with unprecedented exposure and dependence on digital technology than any other brand, shaping tomorrow’s editors, developers and designers.

She and her contemporaries are shifting the prominence of Tumblr as a supporting act to established magazines, labels and brick and mortar shops and turning the current model on its head by making Tumblr the root of all vision, identity and influence. Tumblr’s endless source of imagery and information delves beyond simply reblogging into a moodboard and inspires business ideas bigger than itself.

With much anticipated hype built around the launch of the online magazine taking place summer 2013, Charly’s decision to make the magazine a cascading vertical feed of stories, interviews and editorials is reflective of an astute observation of industry insiders turning digital publishing from horizontal page flipping and into a vertical scroll. Her role as primary voice, is concurrent with the emerging movement in young self-starters learning about the technology presented to them and doing it for themselves.

Dalliance Magazine dalliancemag.tumblr.com

As the brainchild of 18-year-old Tumblr user Jasmine, Dalliance magazine is a unique publication put together by a team of writers, designers and editors based all over the world, with ages ranging from 15-20. Residing in England, Jasmine first met art director Laura, based in Australia, through a shared passion for design and style and discovering each others’ unique Tumblr URL’s. After realizing it was vital to break into the magazine industry by creating a unique publication of their own, Dalliance magazine was created and designed with Tumblr and free publication host Issuu in mind to facilitate the self-inititiated venture for the young entrepreneurs.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START AN ONLINE MAGAZINE? HOW HAVE YOU ORGANIZED YOUR TEAM FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD? Since I discovered the fashion world I have been fascinated with the way it all works, how editorials are created, how the process of getting the designs to runway and so on. I had the idea of starting my own online magazine for quite awhile, but I knew that I would not be able to do it without someone else, particularly with having plans to go to university. I found Laura (co-founder) on Tumblr and it seemed that we had a lot in common, so I asked if she would like to join me and then the rest is history! I am an aspiring creative director so it had a lot to do with my career aspirations that made me so determined to make this magazine an actual thing rather than just an idea. Laura & I come up with a main theme every month, plan the editorials and send our team emails of the theme, but we don’t make the theme our main necessity; if we did it would make the magazine boring - so we basically give our team freedom in what they do and we are pretty relaxed about what goes in.

I am 18, whilst Laura is 15 and our team ranges from 15-20. We are pretty young and it sometimes

can be difficult to have people believe that we mean business, but with thanks to our readers and our contributors this problem is quickly going away.

Another thing that can be difficult is the travel distance between the members of the team. I’m from England and Laura is from Australia and with the time difference it can sometimes be a pain, particularly when it comes to the launch of each issue, but like every obstacle that we have come across we have still managed to deal with it. The rest of our team is based all around the world, some in America, some in Germany; we’re worldwide!

WHAT INSPIRES EACH ISSUE AND HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO YOU PL AN? Laura and I are constantly finding sources of inspiration, whether it be in a magazine or online and all it needs is one thing to inspire a whole issue. We plan the theme and editorials a couple of months in advance, so that if any complications come through with shooting some editorials we know we can solve it and not have to worry about running out of time. The stories and layouts on the other hand are done in the month between the current issue and the next issue. We read and edit every single story our journalists send in and it’s very rare that we do not publish a piece, like previously stated we are very open-minded with what is published and we have a very talented team so the stories are rarely a problem. In regards to the images, they

are extremely important as they can determine our reader’s interest in the article. We want to make our layouts as interesting and artistic as possible, so we like our images to have the same qualities.

AS A PUBLICATION COORDINATED WITH CONTRIBUTORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, HOW ARE RESPONSIBILITIES AND DEADLINES ORGANIZED? Every member of our team has a huge responsibility as we rely on him or her to do what is expected and with us not being all in office this can be difficult, but most team members are very reliable and we appreciate all that they do. Our deadlines are the same every month, Laura and I keep on top of all that comes in and we make sure the stories are sent to our graphic designers immediately after they have been edited so that they can have plenty of time to work on their piece. It usually takes a whole month to produce an issue of DALLIANCE, but as we grow as a magazine and business we hope to make our magazine bigger and better so it will only take more love and care and we are extremely excited to take these steps even further.

HOW HAS THE POWER OF THE INTERNET SHAPED YOUR SENSE OF S T YLE AND VOICE? It is only more recent where I have been religiously reading blogs; my favourites include 4th & Bleeker, Wolfcub Chronicles (who worked with us on our debut issue) and Oracle Fox. The Internet has greatly influenced my style as I kind of live in the middle of nowhere where hardly anyone has amazing style.

I particularly like using Pinterest; actually I would say it’s more of an obsession! But through the Internet I have discovered my favourite style icons such as Elin Kling, Tash & Elle (who will be featured in our September issue) and Christine Centenera.

HOW HAS TAVI GEVINSON, FOUNDER OF ROOKIE YEARBOOK AND ANOTHER YOUNG ENTRPRENEUR, INFLUENCED YOU AND YOUR MAGAZINE? I don’t actually know too much about Tavi and her magazine, but yet she has still managed to inspire me. Tavi is so young and fearless and she has just gone with her gut instincts and started something incredible and it inspired me to not wait for something amazing to happen, but to create it and that’s when DALLIANCE was born.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE RECENT BLOGGING MOVEMENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES THE WAVE OF STREET ST YLE HAPPENING NOW? I think people try a bit more to look good now that being snapped in the streets is such a big thing, particularly in the cities. Personally, I like street style as it’s nice to see people’s individuality shine through and I’m glad I have the option to go on blogs or social media

sites like Instagram so I can look at style from around the world. I particularly, like Stockholm street style.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE FUTURE OF THE BLOGGING MOVEMENT AND MAGAZINES? I think this is just the beginning of the blogosphere. So many people are getting successful due to their blogs and I don’t believe that is going to stop any time soon.

Printed publications are currently being questioned on how long they will last, but I think fashion publications have nothing to fear, as you cannot beat a glossy fashion magazine! Our goal is to get our publication printed so hopefully we can join the likes of Vogue, Russh & Love Magazine on the shelves soon.

I FOUND YOUR MAGAZINE THROUGH TUMBLR-HOW DO YOU THINK TUMBLR IS CRUCIAL FOR YOUR MAGAZINE’S SUCCESS? WHY NOT USE ANOTHER SITE LIKE WORDPRESS OR BLOGGER? Social media is extremely important for our magazine, as we can’t afford to pay for advertisements at this current time. Our Tumblr account allows us to express our style and to connect with our readers. Also Laura and I are the ones who control our social media so our readers can get a personal experience with us.

We found a lot of people have discovered us on other people’s blogs and on Instagram, which is great, we just hope to boost our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and our other sites so that we can get more coverage.

We do have a blog, but like I mentioned it’s just Laura & I who works on our social media and with running the magazine and still doing other day-to-day things it can get difficult to keep on top of it. This is definitely a section in our business that we hope to improve on.

AT WHAT AGE DO YOU REMEMBER BEGINNING TO USE TUMBLR? DO YOU THINK TUMBLR HAS GROWN IN POPULARIT Y, EVEN THOUGH IT HAS EXISTED FOR A COUPLE YEARS NOW? I think I started using Tumblr when I was 17. I was quite a late discoverer of it and I definitely went through a stage where I was completely obsessed. I think recently Tumblr has greatly increased in popularity, whether that be with the whole hipster thing going on right now or that more and more celebrities are using it, I’m not sure, but David Karp (founder of Tumblr) is for sure giving Facebook and Twitter a run for their money!

For more information about Dalliance Magazine, check out their Facebook and Tumblr pages and view monthly issues at http://dalliancemagazine.com

Anatomy

of a

Blogger

Ivania Carpio of Love Aesthetics bloG

Tommy Ton’s Jak & Jil street photography blog

Susie Lau of Style Bubble

The “Blogger” look has become an ubitiquitous uniform easy to identify across websites, social media outlets and magazines, and now retailers like River Island are even tapping into the aesthetic and dubbing it an aspirational style to channel in catalogs and lookbooks. The trend seems ironic to the blogging and street style movement and reminiscent of Dick Hebdige’s insight into popular culture that can be summarized into a single notion: punks rip their jeans out of protest and after early adopters take on the look after seeing it on the streets and the identity moves gradually into mainstream (nowadays through the distribution of pervasive visual outlets such as Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter and Pinterest) stores begin selling preripped jeans and the cycle endlessly continues. The impact of fashion bloggers is extensive and their influence has become unrivaled in the industry as a continuous source of fresh-faced art direction from a network of effortlessly cool girls in the know, but will “blogger” style become a parody in and of itself? Will fashion trends become so bold that the masses will move back towards minimalism? And what classifies an outfit into a single identity synonymous with both celebrity and occupation? A few key elements are evident in a blogger’s outfit and in order to master the appearance, accessories are typically designer label or of-themoment street brands, ranging from designer sneakers, edgy sweatshirts and layered friendship bracelets. The identity can be encapsulated by a casual cool juxtapostion of high-low items that are especially on point for fashion trends, typically paired with stylish dipdye hair, nail art and defined brows,

on par with contemporary beauty.

The look is reminiscent of a fashion industry insider, and more often than not major bloggers happen to possess photographer boyfriends, merchandising or design jobs in the industry and a giving budget complete with carefully chosen designer items meant to look spontaneous, but with enough clout for those who are in the know to instantly acknowledge, coupled with offhanded downtown edge ranging from experimental beauty details, studs, leather or underground labels. The lines between fashion industry professionals like editors Julia Sarr Jamois, fashion editor of Wonderland Magazine, and Vogue Japan editor-at-large Anna Dello Russo quickly blurs as a younger generation picks up style cues and sets out to get snapped by the best photogs in the business. Ultimately, Blogger style can be summarized in one word: eccentricity.

The wilder the attire, the better: think bold furs, quirky details like baseball caps and sneakers paired with formal items for outlandish cool for girls who dress for themselves and not for guys.

In true form to her blog, take style cues from The Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine and rock outrageous pattern clashing-- tapping into her concept that the trends girls love, most guys find hideous. The blogger and street style heavy hitters worthy of copying consist of Susie Bubble’s Susie Lau, Russian editor Miroslava Duma, , casting agent Natalie Joos, stylist Elisa Nalin, J.Crew Creative Director Jenna Lyons and Vogue Japan’s editor-at-large Anna Dello Russo who deserve consistent reblogs, repins and likes if nothing else than their fearless confidence in front of the lens.

blogger anatomy NEON BEANIE Because bloggers get bad hair TOO.

sunnies for mystery.

101 LAYERED JEWELRY a Composition of designer watches, costume jewels and friendship bracelets.

VINTAGE FUR add retro glam to modern details.

KENZO TIGER SWEATSHIRT the latest in street trends, A pullover for warding off nyfw chills.

designer handbag throwback to 2004.

DISTRESSED DENIM to ground luxurious pieces back to earth.

A Prognosis Into A Blogger’s Jeaneology An analysis of the most lust-worthy and coveted items capable of ensuing heart attack, convulsions overall physical impairments in fashion die-hards during designer sample sales. if any of the following symptoms including heart palpitations, dizziness or weakness should occur, consult a physician.

(ALL IMAGERY COURTESY OF TUMBLR AND THE BLONDE SALAD, LEFT)

clear handbags

Beanies & Beach Waves

Isabel Marant bekket

Valentino Rockstud

Colored Fur Jacket

CHANEL “LEGO” CLUTCH

Hologram envelope clutch

DSLR DIGITAL CAMERAS

Balenciaga Centuire Boots

In May 2013, Cecilia Doan started up the Tumblr blog “Shit Bloggers Wear,” inspired by the all-present “Shit Girls Say” memes after having casual conversation at her creative strategist day job about a pair of lusted-after Chanel espadrilles spotted on Sincerely Jules’ Julia Sarinanna. After mocking up her first sketch, the blog took shape on its own, illustrating essentials from Air Max 90s, the Proenza Schouler PS11 bag, and the Chloe Susanna booties.

Despite lacking training in drawing or illustration and only basing her sketches on a college class focused around napkin drawing which taught her to draw out ideas quickly, Doan opted to put pen to paper “for the sake of having a unique aesthetic for the blog.” Her concept has caught the eye of fashion powerhouse Topshop, who recently collaborated with the designer for a series of Topshop exclusive drawings featured on the brand’s website.

Doan, who scans Google Images for repetition of trends and styles, notes “Many of the fashion bloggers who’ve talked about it have expressed positive sentiment. Some designers (i.e. Brian Lichtenberg and Dimepiece) see it as a status to envy which is pretty cool.

The blog may come off as a diss for some, but I commend fashion bloggers first and foremost for continually putting themselves out there for millions of people to enjoy/be inspired by … and secondly to make parodies of.” The concept Doan presents is key in understanding the blogger movement in fashion. In tangent with contemporary ready-to-wear trends moving towards casual style and high-low mix to justify a struggling economy, the emergence of street photographers such as Scott Schuman and Tommy Ton since the original Bill Cunningham and the dependency of social media and devices in daily lives expedites the way in which the masses receive and process visuals. Is it possible that blogger style and subsequently street style altogether will become a victim of its

own success, reducing itself to a cultural cliché? It is now possible to view New York Fashion Week photos as they happen thanks to the street blogs taking precedence over authoritative Vogue but with designers pushing for rare materials and complicated construction in recenty years, the American retail industry will not only struggle to recreate designs but also distribute them, preserving the identity and exclusitivity to industry elite in an endless cycle of snobbery. And it’s important to note this is all because of the early 2000s emphasis on designer labels--when Louis Vuitton monogram Speedys and Chloe Paddingtons were being replicated on the black market by the thousands, filling up New York’s Canal Street in Chinatown first with downtown girls and steadily with mothers bussed in from the countryside eager for their taste of designer chic. As the industry caught on to the black market’s wrongdoings, designers pushed themselves for harder-to-copy designs, including incorporating snakeskin, fur (read the Fendi fur Spy bag) and other posh details. But as the recession reached global limits, the industry shifted back to realistic ready-to-wear to counterbalance global tightening of wallets. That, combined with the boom of all things Apple and WiFi connections reaching epic speeds, all caters to the rise in street style as the counter culture in fashion. It juxtaposes both an attainable sensability, i.e. sneakers and caps replace heels and stoles, with just enough swank to keep the entire look to fashion’s finest editors, models and photographers, today’s aristocracy just short of actual royality. It is fashion after all, an industry created hundreds of years ago for only the privileged bluebloods. Only today’s quest for supremacy is making best dressed on the style pages in an eternal pursuit of cool.

TEEN IDLE

LULUTRIXABELLEx

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YOUTUBE.COM/USER/LULUTRIXABELLEx The fashion vloggers to emerge on the scene are university age students or just breaking into their first few years of work, turning their shameless dressing sessions and tag posts into a cheeky pasttime. The vloggers featured range from two Brits (In the Frow and LuluTrixabellex) and two American girls (Clothes Encounters and Obsessions and Collections) who share a passion for connecting with other like-minded enthusiasts, displaying clothes from lines such as Ragged Priest and MinkPink and often favoring burgeoning exclusive online labels, typical of the push towards online shopping.

With bloggers influencing the way girls (and guys) shop, dress and take photos of themselves, it should come as no surprise that the latest movement in social media is taking to YouTube, with self-proclaimed vloggers detailing their latest shopping “hauls,” outfits, makeup tutorials and tips for shopping for exclusive online details, in flea markets and widely appreciate e-commerce sites across short videos. As “normal girls,” the latest crop of video talent has an edgy appeal, shopping at sites like Nasty Gal and Topshop and scoring major bargains worthy of an innocent post.

OBSESSIONS AND COLLECTIONS

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THE LATEST GENERATION OF BLOGGERS HAVE TURNED TO YOUTUBE TO BROADCAST THEIR MONTHLY HAULS, OUTFIT IDEAS, LOOKBOOK VIDEOS AND THRIFTING TUTORIALS. While most style vloggers keep the video posts to product reviews or haul videos from a recent outing to a flea market or thrift store, Jenn Im’s eye as a self-made buyer for vintage goods has granted her opportunities to attend New York fashion week and collaborate with labels like Bare Magazine and Threadsence, boasting over 23 million cumulative views. Im credits her success from starting a fashion vlog on YouTube when the focus was on text blogs and thus staking a claim for herself in a sea of other hopefuls attempting to make their mark in the fashion and retail industries.

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IN THE FROW

YOUTUBE.COM/USER/INTHEFROW

As brands begin making the move to the front of the camera rather than just behind the keyboard, as will the vlogger presence, which begs the question: whats next in self publishing? As brands begin to catch on to the charismatic fanatics who offer invaluable exposure to consumer buying habits, vloggers with unique style and an honest perspective will emerge in this generation of style addicts.

As the adage provides, a camera never lies, forever distinguishing this first era of vloggers to surface from social media as heartfelt and passionate trailblazers.

Fashion Killa

ASAP ROCKY AND THE INFLUENCE OF HIP HOP’S NEWEST GOLDEN BOY ON BLOGGER STYLE

A native of Harlem and a member of A$AP Mob, a group of aspiring music producers, rappers, fashion designers and music video directors with a shared passion for creative culture and dubbed the moniker to stand for “Always Strive and Prosper,” Rakim Mayars, the most notable member of the Mob and known as ASAP Rocky, often stylized as A$AP, has become something of a fashion prodigy fusing the worlds of New York high fashion with hood street culture. Noting designers Alexander Wang, Balenciaga, Prada, Escada, Jil Sander, Costume National, Goyard, Isabel Marant, Dior, Rick Owens and Raf Simons to name a few in his song “Fashion Killa,” off his 2013 release of the album LONG.LIVE.

A$AP, Rocky’s penchant for mixing traditional streetwear with monochrome looks and up and coming designers holds enormous influence for rising labels such as Pigalle, Pyrex Vision and Russ Karablin’s infamous “Comme des f**kdown” beanie, a trend that arguably Rocky helped to start, spawning dozens of copy cat brands and parodies. Defying an ill-fated future and cultural stereotypes, Rocky utilized the fame he gained in 2011 with the underground release of “Peso” to propel his ambitions in becoming a style icon, collaborating with Raf Simons and interviewing with Alexander Wang for Interview magazine.

A favorite amongst the blogger set, who don his visage across his line of concert

tees, Rocky cultivates a personal style that has become characteristic of the latest fashion trends, flirting with established skate brands such as Stussy, traditionally urban accoutrements such as Timberland boots, with exclusive special edition garments that send flocks of followers scrambling for their own taste of A$AP $tyle, virtually making or breaking a breakout fashion label. Unprecedented in the hip hop world, where rappers divide between a hood or high fashion following, Rocky’s merger of both worlds makes him the first of his kind, appealing to a mass array of fans, reigning true to his steadfast ambition and aspiration proclaiming himself that “fashion is almost like a religion, for me at least.”

TIMBERLAND X VERSACE

THE ASAP EFFEC T

SUPREME & STUSSY

PYREX VISION

JEREMY SCOTT X ADIDAS

PIGALLE COVER IMAGES BY GREGORY HARRIS AND CRAIG MCDEAN FOR INTERVIEW MAGAZINE; THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE IMAGERY COURTESY OF TUMBLR

HOOD BY AIR

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THE RISE OF THE DIGITAL PRINT TREND IN STREET FASHION.

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Photorealism has been a theme for many designers lately, including Mary Kantrantzou’s mirrored patterns and even Prada and Roberto Cavalli have been among the many labels to embrace digitally produced clothing, spanning from the haute couture to streetwear. But the newest line of street brands have emerged as the source of the coolest products, turning artwork, landscapes and reblogged photos on Tumblr into real-life artwork, printing onto materials as diverse as cotton and silk. The dependency of social media and technology is even reaching extraordinary levels, so much that consumers can opt to wear images of their favorite animals (i.e. the lion printed swimwear making waves from Australian-based We Are Handsome), seapunk-inspired cyber art (from London line We Are Useful) and even reprints of Biggie Smalls, Givenchy bird patterns or blatant knockoffs of Louis Vuitton or Versace from the underground sock line CoolSocksBruh, who manage to not only spoof the famous designers’ work, but also Nike by printing onto iconic checked sockwear for custom orders. The push for photo and digital printed clothing seems to have found its niche in street styles, as typically it is the market making the most use of Tumblr’s cascading feed of imagery, which can often lack the original creator of a photo, whether the photographer, original site or even subject. As brands begin to reap the success of printing others’ work, albeit a photo of a rhino or a reprint of the Mona Lisa on tees, leggings, socks and beanies, who gains the cred? In the days where technology only evolves into hyper speeds, is it even necessary for credit to be due if the brands themselves aren’t claiming stake in saying they owned the image but instead turned it into something entirely new? Academics own a clear definition of plagiarism when taking form as a document, but what happens the work at hand is not only artwork, but the source of income, success and fame for brands basing their entire concetpt in reblogging others’ ideas? Will these brands last and if so, which ones?

LONDON LABEL ILLUSTRATED PEOPLE PRIDES ITSELF ON TOTALLY UNIQUE IMAGERY AND DESIGNS CONCEPTUALIZED THROUGH SPECIAL SCREENPRINTING, SEEKING ONLY INSPIRATION AND A FANBASE IN TUMBLR CULTURE.

ILLUSTRATED PEOPLE’S SS 2013 LOOKBOOK ALLUDED TO CYBER IMAGERY FOR TOTALLY UNIQUE AND CREATIVE PRODUCT LINES.

BLACK MILK CLOTHING: [AN INTERVIEW]

What was the inspiration behind the image printed leggings? How are the images printed?

The leggings are printed using a special sublimation process and originally James was inspired by potential alternatives to boring black cotton legwear!

How important is it for your vision that the products be produced entirely in Australia and how do you think this business practice is impacting the community and business at home? Have you noticed a trend in other labels maintaining production and manufacturing at home and do you this is a trend or a much larger movement taking place?

Having our garments made in Australia is very important to us. Industry trends have been going the opposite way, with many companies moving offshore to cut costs. However, we believe the additional costs of manufacturing in Australia are offset by the level of control we subsequently have over our product’s quality, fit and consistency.

Where do the images printed on your clothing come from and whats the process in attaining the imagery? Why do you think leggings are an ideal fit?

Some of our images are commissioned just for us by artists, some are drawn in-house, and some are purchased. Our leggings fit well because we test them over and over again until they work!

What do you think is driving the brand’s success recently? Do you think the recent trend in digital printed clothing has made this season the most successful?

Our success began before the digital printing trend - our success is due largely to social media and the worldwide network of fashion-forward ladies who were looking for something different.

Because of our imagery-saturated culture, there’s this idea that because of technology

we can now wear images we see on that same technology like Tumblr or Instagram. What role do you think authorship plays in this and your business? Do you think the fashion industry’s recent trend of digital-printed clothing is a result of social media or vice versa? Is it a trend or a much bigger movement?

We tend not too focus on trends, or worry about which came first. We just do what we think is cool :)

Would you say social media is vital to the brand’s success? How is your business sustainable?

Social media is absolutely vital to us - we only advertise via social media. Our business is sustainable because we continually bring out new gear that people want.

What does it mean to be an e-commerce brand today and how do you think social media impacts your business? Why do you think the decision to stick to online rather than get your products inside stores was more successful longterm? What is it about e-commerce/online?

Social media is important for all businesses, e-commerce or otherwise, because it allows real-time interaction with customers. Being an e-commerce brand today is very positive - more people are shopping online than ever, we can reach a very broad market, and we don’t need to wholesale to reach the world. Reselling and having stockists never really interested us - we like to keep everything in house so we can make sure the entire Black Milk experience is positive from start to finish.

Finally and most importantly, how vital were bloggers to your business?

Bloggers were really important to us, James’ [the Founder] personal blog and the girls who blogged about us were the beginning of what has turned into a real following.

[Imagery courtesy of Black Milk Clothing, CoolSocksBruh, Illustrated People, Pray for Paris and We Are Handsome]

FASHION PATRON SAINT CARA DELEVINGNE

Holy Chic Designers Riccardo Tisci, Creative Director of Givenchy, and Jean Charles de Castelbajac, were among many of the designers who set out for a fashion crusade for the Fall 2013 runways in religious dressing, interpreting the look in divine digital print ready-to-wear, spanning from cooler-than-thou tees, sweatshirts, skirts, dresses and accessories christened with Virgin Mary’s visage and ornamental cathedral and stained glass window patterns. Street brands like Illustrated People, Pray for Paris and Black Milk clothing and online wunderkind Asos and Topshop are following suit for everlasting fashion devotion.

While the rest of the fashion world is having a runway confessional and leading in a pilgrammage for conservative forms, ranging from designers Marchesa, Valentino, Marios Schwab, Dolce & Gabbana, Meadham Kirchhoff, Gareth Pugh and Jason Wu, who all praised puritanical high collars, gilded coronets and brocade trains in a cry for ecclesiastical extravagence, Givenchy reinterpreted the trend for a ready to wear realism, printing heavenly likeness to the Virgin Mary across tees, sweatshirts, clutches, totes and dresses. While the glorious presence is nothing new in the fashion world, an industry that has been embracing cruciforms emblazoned across high street lines of jewelry, tank tops and leggings for some time now, fall’s runways are ushering in a chaste perception into their casual streetwear, whether a call for political critique, earnest expressions of faith or a vulgar nod to be edgy and controversial or perhaps a combination of all three. Regardless, the veiled

image of Mary proved to be a fresh aesthetic in digital printing, a favorite amongst celebrities, including Kanye West, Rihanna and Ciara who previously appreciated Tisci’s dog and bird printed tees in former seasons. Regardless of opinion on the controversial collection, Tisci proves to be a ready-to-wear phenomenon, onsetting dozens of similar styles for aspiring street brands, printing basilica-inspired ceilings, ornate stained glass patterns and references to other religious symbolism.

Ricardo Tisci’s edgy interpretation of the Madonna proves to be the leader in religious garb of the season, teasing between cheeky humor, ode to the high and mighty and blashpemous effigies, complete with censorship bars across many of the images plastered across dozens of items in the collection. [Editor’s Note; at time of print, Meadham Kirchhoff showcased their SS14 ready-to-wear collection in London featuring cool collars and religious referencing, carrying the trend into the forthcoming season]

VISIONARIES

VISIONARIES

VISIONARIES

THE ARTISTS AND ILLUSTRATORS IMPACTING THE VISUALS OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY, INCLUDING MAGAZINE AND LOOKBOOK DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION.

VISIONARIES

[Imagery courtesy of blkzeus]

Hattie Stewart y t r a P Arty D CREATIVES E S A -B N O D N LO E E R TH

ARE CHANGING ART DIRECTION IN

THE FASHION AND RETAIL CIRCLES

The Doodle Bomber

As fashion’s newest muse, Hattie Stewart’s journey into commissioned artwork for major brands such as Marc Jacobs, Luella and House of Holland has been nothing short of a masterpiece. Originally doodling over the covers of magazines as an illustration student at Kingston University, Stewart got her big break when those same publications began asking for her to intentionally “doodle bomb” their covers and editorials.

As a happy accident, Hattie found herself mindlessly sketching over the cover of Dazed and Confused, she tells Company magazine, of which she has also recently collaborated, and ended up drawing out nearly 16 different variations in one day. Customizing magazines with her cheeky smiley prints with bold designs and characters, Hattie’s work can be most recently seen on the newest Old Navy televised commercial, a mark noting that Hattie has truly made it when asking to work for the mainstream American retailer. Her colorful and vivacious prints are a favorite across a diverse array of crowds, including the hipster crew closely associated with Urban Outfitters, who recently asked Hattie to take part in a special pop up show at their permanent pop up and event studio Space 15 Twenty in LA, where she made a special guest appearance, doodled across the walls and sketched across fine china and dishware and the iconic Doc Martens boots as part of the exhibition. Also participating in a special event with Hello Kitty in Miami, featuring her work in London’s Somerset House exhibition Pick Me Up Graphic Arts Festival, collaborating with Rookie magazine and published Yearbook, and even doodling for Playboy magazine are just some of the perks in working for diverse audiences. She tells Company magazine, “I’ve said yes to things I wouldn’t necessarily want to do, but you don’t know until you try what might come of it. I did an illustration for a small zine, then a year later, the same contact asked if I’d like to go to Bangkok to paint a mural at Bukruk-- a street-

art festival. It was on the best weeks of my life.”

The connectivity of the fashion and art industries is a movement Hattie is witnessing firsthand, explaining that there are dozens of examples of the two worlds merging and this is partly due to the expansion of creative pursuits crossing over into different fields-- “you don’t have to be a professional in one genre-- you can be a stylist and a photographer,” noting a recent makeupa artist she worked with for an i-D magazine cover is among her newest partnerships bringing forth exciting and unprecedented opportunities. The mass appeal of Hattie’s pop art designs is evident in the movement towards a handmade irreverence and flippancy-- industry insiders and humble fans alike crave the look of hand doodles and sketches but combined with the convenience and edgy of technology-- they want sleek sites with the slightest movement of a smiley winking back or a GIF of a dancing character.

Perhaps its an ode to 90s cartoons created anew with bold new lines and form or the reference back to the age of print, but Hattie’s style can suggest the movement towards reblog culture-- taking something permanent as print and customizing it. The millenials’ craving for customization is key and reflective even in the art world’s steady merge towards fashion. Hattie’s look transcends cultures, genres and age groups, customizing each commission based on the client. While a Playboy cover may don a cheeky bunny in a way that downplays the blatant sexiness of the publication and in turn makes a saucy parody of it, Hattie’s work takes on a wholesome approach with recent client Old Navy, whose consumer base primarily consists of the average American middle-class family, thus minimizing her knack for ironic satire (read her recent doodle of the royal baby’s first appearance outside the hospital) in favor of commercial appeal, which makes her work and deep talent in and of itself worthy of a reblog.

[Imagery on cover, current and subsequent pages courtesy of Hattie Stewart. Quotes by Hattie courtesy of Company Magazine]

The Caricaturist

Ted’s Draws is the production of self-taught artist Ted Pearce, whose cheeky caricatures of modern celebrities and pop culture icons, gained him exposure in collaborating with London retailer Brown’s Focus for display work and selling a line of exclusive tees through the store for his most recent season of prints.

Including features in i-D magazine and Vogue, Pearce is now gaining a substantial following for his irreverent sketches.

What’s most impressive about Pearce’s work though is his ability to teach himself all he knows and effortlessly his style is telling of the visual landscape, gravitating towards bold line drawings reminiscent of the recent shift towards 90s style emblems. In an exclusive opportunity to interview the London-based artist, The Eclectic Romantic reveals Pearce’s unique journey into his successful business venture and whats drawing fans in to his line of tees displaying faces of Prince, Eddie Murphy and Madonna.

How did you first get started?

When I used to dj, I’d draw the flyer, and other friends would see them and ask me to make their flyers too. I started using fabric pens to draw special t-shirts to wear when I djed, and people would ask me to make them one, so I did that for friends for a few years, until I eventually sat down with some people and planned how to print them and sell them. I’m not totally sure who my influences are, I might see something, and it’ll register visually, but I never remember the name. I used to look at my dad’s Picasso book a lot, he’s the best artist I know, he also had lots of Robert Crumb comics, and I always liked Ren and Stimpy, and the Simpsons. Also I was into graffiti growing up, so I’ve gotta say Kase 2.

What is your experience with teaching yourself illustration and learning how to draw?

I’ve drawn all my life, I haven’t retained any advice on drawing from lessons at school, I can either look at something and draw it semi accurately with a pencil,

which is not interesting to me. Or I can draw something as I see it in bold line form, and then redraw the lines until they look good or simpler as a flat image, and play around with it as a design. That is what I like visually, drawing’s boring. I would say that I’ve got to this point after many years, but I’ve been very casual and aimless til about 5 years ago, and I’ve always had a day job.

You noted that you left school; what’s your perspective on the way the arts are taught in the UK? Do you think creative industries have a stigma?

At school art was like an hour off, like PE, at most normal state schools here I think you are pushed towards finding a job or job skills (and art isn’t), or just getting your maths and english up to standard. I think you have to go to art college to get any serious creative education, even then it’s not seen as way towards a career, unless you’re doing graphic design maybe. I never considered having a career in art, it’s only from running into people as an adult who are doing things creatively and getting paid, that I started

thinking differently. For a normal (non posh) person art is not an option to make money. Both my parents tried it, and were always broke and on benefits.

How did the collaboration with Browns Focus come about and what was the project like?

They just emailed me, the buyer wanted a t-shirt for herself that was sold out, and she emailed me asking to come and meet them and talk about working together.

I went in and showed them 3 designs I was planning on releasing next, which they liked and they asked for 3 more, so they could have a range of 6, so that was it. They could see what I was doing would work, all I had to change was get a higher quality t-shirt, and my own labels sewn in, which I was planning to do anyway. They did ask that I come up with a display, so I talked to my set designer friend Rosy, and she told me to make life size cut outs on foam board, so that’s what I did, with her practical help, and I’m glad I did it, they look good, and I used them for my photoshoot. It was great exposure for me to be in Browns as I was only reaching people in my world, which isn’t very big, and it caught the attention of magazines that might have passed me by otherwise. Other collaborations are always out there, it’s just a case of the ideas working for me, and having the time to do it.

It seems as though theres a shift happening where stores and retailers are signing on artists like yourself for collaborations to bring something extra?

Do you think this is a trend happening recently?

What do you think is the allure?

I think Browns definitely were looking to get new people involved at a less established level, as that’s part of how things happen in London. I don’t know if companies are choosing a specific drawn look, or just going with artists and designers who are doing things already themselves.

They could see that I was doing well on my own, and had a following online. It gives us both credibility in opposite sides of the industry, it makes me look less like a joker, and them less stuck up or out of touch with what’s happening at ‘street’ level. I’ve noticed there’s been more interest from the fashion world now I’ve had browns’ association with me, which is good because I’m not trying to be a part of the art world really.

A lot of your subjects are late 80s-90s references-- why do you gravitate towards people like Ice Cube? It feels fresh and current with the push for 90s nostalgia happening now--are there any subjects you would like to draw in the future?

This 90’s thing has been going on for a long time, but for me it’s just what I grew up with, I got into hip hop in the late 80s/ early 90s, but i’m just doing people who I love, and it takes a while for me to get to that point, style wise I actually love the 80s, the Sade era, Loose Ends, the Cream Cashmere era, that’s the style I made props for the Browns display from. I’m going to keep drawing from my experience and what inluences me, which isn’t a huge amount of stuff, what you see is me.

How has social media helped propel your brand?

What do you anticipate for the future?

That’s how I’ve got to where I am really, my business partner runs all that side of things, I just email him the images and what I want him to put up, and he does all the rest. I don’t do Facebook myself, it’s not really my thing, my phone just does texts and phone calls, I’d say I don’t care about all that shit, but it’s the way I’ve been able to reach people so I do value it. I think it’s taking over everything, but you need a good thing to start with, if you build it they will come, as long as it’s on the internet.

TED’S DRAWS DISPLAY FEATURED IN BROWNS FOCUS STORE IN LONDON

[Imagery courtesy of Ted Pearce and tedsdraws.com and brownsfashion.com]

[Imagery on current and subsequent pages courtesy of lazyoaf.com and lazyoaf.tumblr.com]

The Brand London pop art brand Lazy Oaf has been established since 2001 by founder Gemma Shiel, who used to screenprint designs onto men’s t-shirts and sell her wares in Spitalfields market, developing her prints out of her dad’s garage as a fully independent enterprise.

Several years later, the brand has never been more popular or relevant, selling its product lines in over 250 stores worldwide, among them being Urban Outfitters, which recently featured the cartoon printed tees in their spring/summer 2013 lookbook. The nod to 90s nostalgia is a fitting aesthetic decision that has never been more on point or on trend for the push for line drawings among the artists featured in this publication. Keeping an element of “weirdness” is a true component to the brand’s identity, often including disfigured hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza and crazy cartoons. Recently collaborating with e-commerce emporium Nasty Gal, Lazy Oaf released a special edition newspaper illustrating the cooperation between the two brands, who share a consumer base of edgy teenagers and twenty-somethings with a bold sense of humor. The exposure to the California-based American company is an unrivaled opportunity for exposure to a broader network of bloggers and buyers in the industry. Despite a rise towards fame and with a small flagship store nestled in London’s SoHo, the brand keeps things humble, employing a total of 7 team members, often hosting casual parties and participating with whatever opportunities are presented, including a collab with DC Comics’ Batman iconography and Underground Creeper shoes and even participating in an illustration event at the Tate Modern. Founder Gemma Shiel notes, “Managing the business and trying to be creative is sometimes a strange juggling act.

One minute, I am drawing a dog smoking a fag and the next minute I am having meetings where I have to bandy business terminology about convincingly like critical paths, net and gross. I kind of like this, but I

have promised myself that whatever happens in the future, I will never wear a skirt suit.” The brand’s sense of humor is a fundamental factor as the product lines extend from women’s to men’s clothing, appealing to both sexes with a broad range including buttoned-up tops, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts and jackets for guys, and tees, pullovers, jumpsuits, dresses, skirts, leggings, jackets, bags, jewelry, hats, socks and sunglasses for girls. The brand has now extended into a homewares line, including stationary, cards and art prints. The brand’s use of pattern play and unique textures and materials, including pom-poms sewn onto the collar of a chambray shirt, is a glorification all things 90s that went wrong but now done so right. The brand is key to utilize the recent trend in hipster hieroglyphics, affirming the playful influences of ancient Roman and Greek symbols with parody spoofs of famous candy bars, making fun of their own name with titles like “Twit” for Twix, “Sneaky” for Snickers and “Lazy” for their take on the Mars bar. With such prominence in fashion not only for street brands and trends but with those with handmade appeal, will a brand based solely on handdrawn sketches ever go out of trend? Does it even better if they master a particular consumer base, like the excitable and eclectic crowd of London hipsters who love Lazy Oaf clothes? As trends converge and the parody brands flooding the current high street markets spawning hundreds of copycat labels like Brian Lichtenberg’s “Homies” for Hermes spoof sweatshirts become so widely distributed it becomes cliche, it could be suggested Lazy Oaf is on the forefront of fashion, instead spoofing famous graphics like American candies and even making their own twist on the iconic Disney characters and the recognizable Mickey gloved hands into cheeky crop tops. The brand’s existence has never been stronger or more appealing and it will be exciting to see if other retailers will follow suit with these doodling creators.

ART SCHOOL COOL A FAVORITE AMONGST TUMBLR BLOGGERS AND ART DIRECTORS ALIKE, WITH THE CONVENIENCE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY, COLLAGE HAS NEVER BEEN MORE RELEVANT

While the origins of collage, or the assemblage of different forms as a visual arts technique, can be argued to date back to the invention of paper and even throughout early Medieval times where gold leaf paneling was applied to the façades of cathedrals, the Tate Gallery notes that collage was in fact a process to emerge as recently as the early twentieth century and argued as veritable technique.

Ushered in with Modernist artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque utilizing glued on patches onto their paintings, collage has remained true to its modernist aesthetic, rejecting realist philosophies and placing emphasis on alterations, modifications and incorporating existing ideas and works into something wholly new. Like other Modernist works, collage affirms self-consciousness, where the work itself employs and draws attention to a variety of materials, processes and experimentation in creating the work. Unlike Romantic ideas of the nineteenth century, collage and its modernist emanations flirted with idealism, or the concept that reality is derived from constructed internal mental thoughts, and empiricism, where knowledge is derived entirely from sensory experiences in tangent with evidence. While variations of collage range from decoupage, collage on organic materials such as wood, and photomontage, the most common practice of today includes digital collage, advocating use of computer tools with or without traditional materials and textures.

A preference of the close-knit community on Tumblr rather than other blogging platforms, collage serves as both light-hearted parody and the indulgent reveries of fantasy maximized by a generation dependent on computer technology. With a simple reblog, amateur collages of teen girls experimenting in their bedrooms with images of celebrities plastered across paper tears and sequins become as regarded and distributed as renowned artists’ work. The collage work featured in this publication, including Brazilian artist André Bergamin and Spanish artist Francisca Pageo were first discovered through the convenience of Tumblr itself, and brought forth in this printed blog as carefully curated selections of collage artwork today, indentifying with a generation of young creatives. With the unique opportunity to research into the world of modern collage, The Eclectic Romantic got the opportunity to interview both Bergamin and Pageo, respectively, on their work and the role of collage as modern art form.

The Eclectic Romantic: How long have you been creating collage work and how has your process, style and aesthetic grown and developed? How do you describe your aesthetic and what influences your work?

André Bergamin: I’ve been working with collage for about 7 years or so. I started working as a graphic designer and used to do a lot of flyers and posters for parties and nightclubs.

Later I worked as a freelance art director doing advertising stuff, that’s when I started to get commissions for editorial illustrations. It came up to a point where I gave up everything else and decided to just make collages and work on my own. I’m most influenced by textual imagery, when I read or listen about a scene I feel compelled to try and make it happen through the montage process. Not sure about

the aesthetic since it seem to be always changing. Right now I’m interested in juxtaposition, striking colors and movement.

What is the role of collage in the realm of visual communication today? Do you find its a practice that is picked up by lots of artists and what does it have to say about society?

Do you think it is in fact, a modern art movement relevant to the times?

Even though it’s been around for a long time, I think collage is a rather contemporary art form. It seems like we can’t expect many new art movements and ruptures, there’s a feeling that all the avant garde ideas have already been thought. Rather, we better get use to revisiting the past and choose from old imagery and styles and themes to try and create something

(INTERVIEW WITH ANDRE BERGAMIN CONTINUED ON FOLLOWING PAGES)

An Interview With:

ANDRÉ BERGAMIN fresh, This is not only for collage per se but you can see it in painting, music and films too.

What is your favorite work from 2013 and why? Favorite work to date?

How long does a piece typically take and what is the overall process like?

That’s hard. I usually get bored with my pieces as soon as I finish them. I would have to say that my last one, “O Desfile”, pleases me the most for now.

It varies a lot. Some projects may take weeks, others just a day or two. For commercial works the deadline usually plays a great part on the process. As for the process itself, mine is very simple. I just scan some images from one of the hundreds of old magazines, books, photographs I have here and assemble them on Photoshop. Usually there are also textures, drawing, water colors, but everything is digitised eventually and assembled with the help of the computer.

Collage is seen from high profile artists to teenage girls, like myself a few years ago, spending the afternoon piecing pages together.

Do you think collage is a recent technique and practice that speaks to a particular generation? What elevates collage to art?

I wouldn’t know how to name what elevates anything to art. We can just speculate that is the effect it has on you rather than the technique the artist uses. About your other question, yes, collage is probably the most democratic art activity, you just need scissors and glue (or, like in my case, a photoshop). That’s why you’ll have a teenage highschool girl doing almost the same stuff as, say, Max Ernst was doing. Collage is easy. Maybe that’s why it has been treated as a kind of underdog of art styles. But know, who cares? In contemporary art no one is concern whether the piece was difficult to make.

What media do you work across and what is the impact of digital technology on your work?

How does the blogging movement impact what you do?

The internet made it easier for everyone. You can show your work for a lot of people at the same time and find out what other people are doing. I started making collages just for fun and posting it on Flickr and that’s how I got my first illustration commission. About the technology, for me, it’s wonderful to have such an enormous amount of possibilities. I’m able to resize, flip, change colors and contrast, do a lot of things that would be impossible with handmade collage.

Why do you think magazines are now emulating a collage look in their art direction?

I haven’t notice this but then again I don’t usually read a lot of magazines. I would guess that collage is a kind of a fad right now. Maybe because of its inclination to assemble and mix old and new stuff and turn into something fresh.

IMAGERY ON COVER, PREVIOUS AND CURRENT PAGES COURTESY OF ANDRÉ BERGAMIN AND ANDREBERGAMIN.TUMBLR.COM

An Interview With:

FRANCISCA PAGEO Her work has been described by Héctor Rey, visual and sound artist, as “fulfilling her constant duty of constructing her subjectivity, but does it in such a fragile and tricky field as collage, which sometimes seems to be ruled by a systematic ad nauseam repetition of naïve cliches. After many hard working years, her images bear witness to a self-learning process,” a process vital for the Modernist approach to the collage technique. Residing in Spain, Pageo’s work has been commissioned for gallery exhibitions, corporate identities, a feature for Absolut Vodka Network and garments for the brand Zak as wearable art.

The Eclectic Romantic: How long have you been creating collages? And how do you describe your aesthetic?

Francisca Pageo: I’ve been making collages since 9 years ago. My process is cutting which is most inspiring as I have it in my hands. I look at the magazines and I go cut and put it on the cardboard while I combine colors and forms. My style is simple but complex, and I need a perfect harmony at the end. I guess I’m pretty minimalistic. I don’t like overloaded pieces, just in determined occasions.

My work is influenced by drone and ambient music (which I listen to while I work), cinema and literature like the most.

What do you think is the role of collage today?

The role of collage is determined by the artist. Every collage artist is different.

I used to work it around a lot of things, putting on editorials section (like magazines, posters, music albums, etc.) or artworks to be exhibited, another artist can use them like just expression in itself... I think collage is a mix between an illustration and an art vision. You can express your personal vision around a thing or you can express what you feel at the moment. So, I think yes, it’s an art movement of today. And not only at the present, collage was a great method to use at Dadaism, Surrealism, Bauhaus, etc. styles.

Collage is seen from high profile artists to teenage girls spending the afternoon piecing pages together. Do you think collage is a recent technique and practice that speaks to a particular generation? What elevates collage to art?

No, I don’t really think it’s from a particular generation. It’s an antique practice as I said, but it’s natural on teenagers to cut and paste the things they love, as a form to plasm the things they want to see or the things they cannot like. I also did that as a teenager.

What elevates collage to art? To me, it’s to see the career of the artist, his evolution, his style, his impressions. This vision and personal style of the artist must incite to the spectator around something. This elevates collage to art.

What media do you work across and what is the impact of digital technology on your work?

Well, in my artwork there’s not really impact of digital technology, I work with my hands and I need to touch the materials. The only impact I have around my work is the connection with all the countries, because the net has this thing, you can go with your work everywhere and everyone will see it. And yes, the blogging thing, it’s amazing. I’ve got a lot of interesting works because of that. Comissions around music, exhibitions in other countries, workshops...

ALL IMAGERY OF PREVIOUS, CURRENT AND FOLLOWING PAGES COURTESY OF FRANCISCA PAGEO AND TUMBLR.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR THE ECLECTIC ROMANTIC DISCUSSES THE COLLAGE STYLE OF TAVI GEVINSON’S ROOKIE YEARBOOK AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COLLAGE IN ITS APPEAL While collage has become synonymous with teenage girls protesting their angst across large-scaled layered art projects and with the rise of the Internet and Tumblr, the chosen practice for idle hands of the millenial generation, the chosen aesthetic for Tavi Gevinson’s Rookie Yearbook, produced by Montreal-based publishing house Drawn & Quarterly which specializes in comic book design and layout, proved to be a perfect fit in the first installment of the annual printed format for the intelligent and snarky blog started by a teen prodigy.

This is not a book review, but rather an art direction review of the publication gracing the desks of editors at illustrious It’s Nice That and dozens of other design agencies and blogs. In a world of glossy publications, vertical scroll across digital releases of print titles across the iPad and heavily stylized responsive web design and online magazines who utilize super glossy imagery and font, its a refreshing experience to possess the Rook-

ie Yearbook, adorned with handwritten type, stickers, a fold-out crown and flattened scans of illustrations and fabrics, which is just as juvenile as it is ironically so. Sonja Ahlers and Anaheed Alani, who helped develop the first issue of Rookie Yearbook, outsourced much of the publication’s whimsical prints from Montreal-based vintage mecca La (Found)erie in order to produce an authenticity to the book’s art direction. Ahlers recently told design blog It’s Nice That that the delivery of a printed format for the Rookie blog was an interesting spinoff of the concept, noting, “we knew that Rookie would have to be on the internet, to make it accessible to a lot more people and to allow for a back-and-forth with readers through the comments. This way, we get the best of both worlds — a web magazine with a yearly print edition. It’s very gratifying to see our photographers’ and illustrators’ gorgeous work on paper, and to hold a heavy object in my hands that we MADE.” Crediting the

MOST ARTISTIC blog and the book as two different beasts with enough information from the online blog to fill an encyclopedia illustrating the experience of growing up as a girl, the book is the production of several collaborators in order to craft as much of a diverse showcase of femininity and coming of age as possible. The art direction supports and informs the stories and message of embracing uniqueness and individuality-- rather than acting as Tavi’s sole voice on teenage years, the series of collaborators provides an elevated and layered experience like the topics the book discusses. Sonja Ahlers, who collaborates with both Drawn & Quarterly and the website, supplied a majority of the book’s illustrations and notes that the full project took about 6 weeks in design stages. The final work is a beautiful representation of the content and the design team’s perception to maximize its collage aesthetic was an astute observation into the millenial generation’s affection for both literally and figuratively repinning favorite imagery due to the overabundance and exposure to visual delights found both on the web and in print for an unprecdented generation lucky enough to grow up with both.

IMAGERY COURTESY OF ROOKIE YEARBOOK, DRAWN & QUARTERLY AND TAVI GEVINSON. QUOTES BY SONJA AHLERS AND ANAHEED ALANI DERIVED FROM IT’S NICE THAT.

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