Faint Mag 01: As Above, So Below

A/W 11 CAMPAIGN SHOT BY PETER RYLE CONTACT@PETERRYLEPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

PRODUCER GEORGE HEWITT GEO

ORGEHEWITT@GMAIL.COM

MODEL NIKKI THOT@FRM

www.luihon.com.au

THIS PAGE TOP DEBRA McNAMARA SKIRT VIVIENNE TAM NECKLACE & CUFF BEN-AMUN SHOES CESARE PACIOTTI NEXT PAGE NECKPIECE J. COTTONGIM

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PHOTOGRAPHED by LINDSAY ADLER www.lindsayadlerphotography.com

WARDROBE STYLING LSC for 4Season Style HAIR SAMANTHA LANDIS MAKEUP MIRABELLE @ MAKEUP FOREVER featuring Mikaela from Q Models

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CAPE STYLIST’S OWN NECKLACE and RING CHARLES ALBERT LEGGINGS ELIZABETH & JAMES GLOVES LA CRASIA FAINT MAGAZINE

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TOP CHARLES HENRY SHOULDER PADS J.COTTONGIM PANTS CHENGHUAI CHUANG NECKLACE and BRACELET PONO by JOAN GODMAN BRACELET H&M RING MONIES US

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DRESS DEBRA McNAMARA NECKLACE BEN-AUM NECKLACE LEE ANGEL SHOES BETH & JAMES RING BY BOE FAINT MAGAZINE

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W A N D E B Y

M A R I A

Styling Christina Di Make-up / Hair B Featuring Christina Dietze @ Cha

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ietze & Rhia Taranto londie@ Agent 99 dwick And Rhia Taranto @ Viviens

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JACKET VINTAGE from SHAG SCARF (worn as skirt) VINTAGE SHAG NECKLACES ADELE PALMER

LEFT CARDIGAN KIRRILY JOHNSTON BIKINI SUIT ROBIN GARLAND AUSTRALIA TOP ISABEL MARANT FROM TORSA HAT CITY HATTERS MELBOURNE RIGHT BLAZER ST. LENNY NECKLACE MODELS OWN

FURS VINTAGE LINDA BLACK

IRIS VAN HERPEN SS11 ‘Crystallization’ COLLECTION

Amsterdam Fashion Week

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I RIS VAN HERPEN

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FEATURED DESIGNER PROFILE

WORDS BY TULLY WALTER

ithin the current fashion climate it is a rare phenomenon to get blown away by something entirely fresh and new.

Designer Iris Van Herpen however, is sending an icy gust straight from the Netherlands.

I hadn’t felt the feel of new season butterflies in a while, nonetheless, Van Herpen’s S/S11 preview, Crystallization, unveiled at Amsterdam’s recent Fashion Week has given me chills reminiscent of days discovering former fashion Frankensteins such as Margiela, Chalayan or Pugh. Crystallisation ignites drama, spectacle and wonderment, pushing the boundaries of the textile paradigm, merging technological advancements with exquisite craftsmanship. Van Herpen has accomplished a lot for a 26 year old, having worked alongside fashion pioneers Victor and Rolf and Alexander Mcqueen, it is little wonder her dynamic aesthetic is teamed with world class technical skill. It is actually shocking to discover that she is so young. Despite statistic variables however, her work is what renders her truly amazing.

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Her 5th collection shown at Amsterdam Fashion Week, Crystallization is an exploration of the properties that water can embody in its liquid or frozen form, translated into a fashion vocabulary via the tensions and conflicts between both soft and fluid materials and hard and rigid forms. The collection, like many of her previous, embodies concepts and workmanship so intricate it is hard to fathom how she manages to show seasonally. However this collection stands, indisputably as a breakthrough.

Simultaneously, words that seem to get thrown around even more than cut and silhouette amongst the fashion dialogue these days, are “architectural” and “futuristic,” so much so, that the two, particularly when paired together, sounds a bit like the title of a Cosmo editorial.

Van Herpen explodes these clichés via her Crystallization, by literally collaborating with experimental architects Bentham Crouell and Daniel Widrig creating garments with such complex geometries, they almost embody electrical systems.

She reinvents the limits of producing fashion by harnessing the latest technology via Rapid prototyping, working with New York based computer aided design Company MGX by Materialise.

to mathematically structured formations embodying crystals, consisting of shapes repeated and scaled to create a single volume to wrap around the female form. These multifaceted creations are made possible by the complexities and possibilities of 3D printing and rapid prototyping: the automatic construction of physical objects using additive manufacturing technology.

Computer modelling isn’t something typically used in world of high fashion, it is most commonly used in developing car parts. It is however, beginning to filter into the worlds of fine art and sculpture used for developing complex shapes, but in terms of being used to construct a garment this is a first.

What’s particularly original about Van Herpen is that she maintains an aesthetic so ultra modern via the sum of terribly intricate pieces. She fuses a traditional sense of ornamentalism reminiscent of the Art Nouveau period with a slick futurism - a tangible analogy for her own design process of blending handcraft and technique with computer aided design. Meanwhile despite a staunch stylistic bond with futurism and rigidity, both the underlying silhouette and tone of the collection via tightly cut and bound silhouettes is feminine and sensual, almost teetering on the erotic.

“I am fascinated by the fact that there are secret lines hidden in totally transparent and liquid material.”

She describes the inspiration for this collection saying, “...I am fascinated by the fact that there are secret lines hidden in totally transparent and liquid material.” The highly technical body of work includes rubber, leather, metallics, chains and plastics. It consists of ten looks physically conceptualising the forms of water- from frozen waterfalls of moulded transparent plastic, wrapping around bodies or integrated into convoluted leather creations FAINT MAGAZINE

Van Herpen explains that she feels fashion is far behind on the technological ladder; when it comes to new techniques, materials and constructionmethods. She challenges this slope by expanding the notion of fabrics, the garment and what it is to “wear”.

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Armed with a definite nod to craftsmanship and a central comprehension of aesthetics, Van Herpen’s feet and focus are placed firmly on the future. It is an inventor and innovator like her who can keep the pulse of fashion pumping with concepts that truly break and rebuild the possible, proving that one woman’s life work is another womans seasonal collection. The pressure is on for Van Herpen to keep up the momentum and with her first show in Paris March next year all eyes are on Iris.

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OMEN AT WORK.

by PIERRE DAL CORSO Stylist Marz Atashi Stylist Assistant Flor Fuentes Hair Franck Nemoz Makeup Eva Mbaye Featuring Frida @ Ford Models, Paris

PREVIOUS PAGE DRESS EMMANUEL UNGARO GOLD NECKLACE HELEN ZUBELDIA SHOES NINA RICCI THIS PAGE JACKET DICE KAYEK NECKLACE ZUBELDIA HELENA FRINGED GLOVES GUY LAROCHE LEATHER BELT JITROIS SHOES ROGER VIVIER

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LEATHER JACKET CATHERINE MALANDRINO CHIFFON TOP BARBARA BUI METALLIC HIGH WAISTED LEATHER PANTS ARZU KAPROL SHOES BRUNO FRISONI LACE TIGHTS WOLFROD RINGS GISABELLE MICHEL

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THIS PAGE HELMET MURMURE BY SPIRIT JACKET QUENTIN VERON LEATHER GLOVES IHP SHOES VICTORY RING BACCARAT NEXT PAGE HAT MURMURE BY SPIRIT NECKLACE HELEN ZUBELDIA

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THIS PAGE CAPE DICE KAKEK HAT FILINTA ASLI LEATHER GLOVES GUY LAROCHE LEATHER BELT FATIMA LOPEZ PANTS LUIS BUCHINHO LOW BOOTS VIVIENNE WESTWOOD SHOE JOHN GALLIANO OPPOSITE PAGE FRINGED & HOODED CLOAK CHAPURIN LEATHER STRAPLESS TOP FATIMA LOPEZ EMBROIDED HAREM PANTS JOHN GALLIANO GLOVES MINNA PARIKKA PEARL NECKLACE SWAROVSKI SHOES VICTOIRE VALKRIE FAINT MAGAZINE

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HILLED

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

MICHELE BLOCH-STUCKENS

STYLIST PATRICK BOFFA MAKE UP CAROLE COLOMBANI HAIR CINDY LEROUX POST PRODUCTION STEPHANIE HERBIN FEATURING JESSICA BERTONCELLO @ MARILYN PARIS

PREVIOUS PAGE SLEEVELESS LEATHER AND FUR JACKET DIOR PANTIES ERES BLACK STOCKINGS WOLFORD RINGS POIRAY THIS PAGE EMBROIDED FUR JACKET EMPORIO ARMANI PANTS GUY LAROCHE SHOES LANVIN OPPOSITE PAGE COAT ATSURO TAYAMA BAG LANVIN JEWELLERY POIRAY

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SHORT SLEEVELESS FUR JACKET, LEATHER JACKET& STEEL NECKLACE ELIE SAAB

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THIS PAGE DRESS GASPARD YURKIEVICH OPPOSITE PAGE ASYMETRIC DESS LANVIN STEEL BRACELET ELIE SAAB

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SUIT JACKET PAM POCHETTE ETRO SHIRT AND SUNGLASSES GIORGIO ARMANI NECKTIE CORSINELABEDOLI TROUSERS VIVIENNE WESTWOOD SOCKS ALEXIS MABILLE SHOES DANIELE MICHETTI ARMCHAIR AND WALKING STICK BY LIPSTICK VINTAGE

HE by

STEFAN GIFTTHALER

Stylist Luca Termine Make Up Chiara Guizzetti @ Green Apple Hair Marco Girotti @ Green Apple featuring Brandon Wilson @ Fashion

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SUIT JACKET RABAYA PULLOVER COMME DES GARCONS TROUSERS NEIL BARRET SOCKS GALLO SHOES GIANFRANCO FERRE FAINT MAGAZINE

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SHIRT MEMINE UNDERSHIRT

AMERICAN APPAREL TROUSERS VIVIENNE WESTWOOD SUSPENDERS LEVIS SHOES HTC

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SERS VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

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TRENCH COAT ALESSANDRO BIASI TROUSERS PRINGLE OF SCOTLAND HAT BORSALINO CANE LIPSTICK VINTAGE SOCKS GALLO SHOES MARSELL PREVIOUS PAGE SUIT JACKET RABAYA PULLOVER COMME DES GACONS T-SHIRT AND SUSPENDERS LEVIS TROUSERS NEIL BARRET SOCKS GALLO FAINT MAGAZINE

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SHIRT GIANFRANCO FERRE TROUSERS MARIOS BELT GIANFRANCO FAI

BOWTIE CORSINELABEDOLI HAT PAM SOCKS ALEXIS MABILLE SHOES ETRO

OPPOSITE PAGE

PULLOVER and TROUSERS JOHN GALLIANO

SHIRT LOUIS VUITTON BOWTIE CORSINELABEDOLI SUSPENDERS and SUITCASE A.N.G.E.L.O. CANE and SHOES ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

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OPPOSITE PAGE UNDERSHIRT AMERICAN APPAREL WAISTCOAT ETRO TROUSERS KRIS VAN ASSCHE SUSPENDERS ALEXIS MABILLE SHOES HTC THIS PAGE HAT BORSALINO SUNGLASSES GIRORGIO ARMANI ARMCHAIR AND CANE LIPSTICK VINTAGE FAINT MAGAZINE

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DESIGNER PROFILE

YOUNG & RESTLESS WORDS BY SOPHIE CASTLEY

Far from the windswept tresses, million dollar smiles and collagen pouts of Genoa City, this is Young&Restless of a different agenda. Born from the seeds of a dynamic friendship, the collaboration between designer Max Tan, and stylist Ashburg Eng has blossomed under the veil of their exciting new label, Young&Restless.

Highly commended under their respective spotlights, this partnership is a practical realisation. Creative director and founder of Test Shoot Gallery, Eng has been fruitful in his success as a stylist, his career spanning a decade. From humble beginnings, Eng began as an assistant bridal designer, who, in 2009 was recognised for his work, becoming the recipient of Best Fashion Stylist and Overall Winner at the international, Iconic Societås Awards. Equalling praise in the design field, Tan’s eminent Singaporean label Max. Tan was selected to show at the prestigious fashion trade fair MODEFABRIEK in Amsterdam.

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“She was once t She treasu What could She now scaven Hiding be She is unable to fo

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eeping it local, the label is based and produced entirely in Singapore, giving the pair the advantage of a very hands-on approach from design to delivery. Themes are conceptualised from inspirations of their environment, and translated into fashion-forward, cohesive designs, sewn with an androgynous thread. Made for the “free-spirited, confident and unpretentious woman”, Young&Restless have hit the ground running with their debut collection, Ritual.

A progressive reflection of neo-paganism, the collection draws on gothic Victorian imagery, and the concept of dark, both in literal terms and the emotional manifestation of dark forces.

the epitome of purity but is now the force of destruction. ured life and joy. Now, all she yearns for is despair. d once be so innocent, ended up in such a tragic end. ngers through the night in search for fresh virgin blood, ehind the high collar of being once a caring nun. orsake her dependence on the dark and forbidden rituals.”

Functional knits imported from Germany and Japan fabricate the collection, with garments intended to flatter the female figure in their seaming and design. Moving away from the predictable, contradictions of femininity and masculinity are painted in simplistic hues of navy, white, royal blue, sky blue and slate. Waving goodbye to symmetry, deconstructed, asymmetrical features make for an appealing yet contradictory aesthetic. This, anchored with clean lines and inter-changeable separates, form Ritual’s blood thirsty backbone for Autumn/Winter 2010.

ASHBURG ENG INTERVIEWED BY SOPHIE CASTLEY

How and when was Young&Restless born?

After a successful ad campaign collaboration for fashion label Max.Tan, Max Tan and I (Ashburg Eng) formed a friendship that lead both of us to more creative partnerships. Often, we would find ourselves nodding our heads in agreement with each other’s opinions and comments on most topics; fashion related or not. Hence, with no surprises, aesthetically, we are very much in-sync.

Therefore, “Young&Restless” was launched.

What responsibilities are delegated in your collaboration? And who is involved in the design process?

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What is your design aesthetic texts today. for your label?

What was your reasoning beI like things to be instinctive, ran- hind Ritual’s colour palette/ dom and pure. I like the idea of scheme? juxtaposing masculine tailoring with the softness that I put in the I love the strict colour codes infabric so that there is a duality spired by the concept of ‘nunbetween sensuality and strength. nery chic’, which allowed me to I am not particularly frilly and place emphasis on the structure tend to avoid things that are too of the clothes. Also, the black embellished. I definitely appreci- and white campaign photos focus ate a certain hardness and drama. on the interplay of light between I am a firm believer in non-tra- the models and clothes, which ditional pattern-making and tend conveys my intended message of to avoid superfluous seaming ‘Worship the light, Worship the and construction in my apparels. dark’.

Seams should follow a woman’s body and thereby accentuate it, which cannot be achieved by merely cutting fabric in the easiest and most cost-effective way like in a mass market factory.

The use of the star pattern compliments the collection beautiWhat was your concept and in- fully, was that achieved via the spiration behind ‘Ritual’? use of design lines or have you used a printed fabric?

I wanted to work with the popular subject of the occult. An exhi- Each panel of the five-pointed bition that I came across entitled star was cut-out and sewn togeth‘Worship the light, Worship the er. I also combined different and dark’, instigated an explicit rela- opposite sides of the fabric, thus tionship between spiritual forces forming a sublime and graphical and something potentially sin- effect. ister. The idea of worshipping the light has been perverted into Also, the pentagram circle dress something more evil. Certain he- is a truly statement piece! How donistic experiences occur in the did this concept come about? dark as well. It is a free space to experiment with little conscious The concept behind this dress morale restraint. For me, it is not conveys two possible perspecthe gothic that intrigues but the tives: good and evil forces. The darker side of imagination: the five-pointed star itself represents culture of fear and self-limitation the symbol of neo-paganism. On that exists in some urban con- the other hand, when the gar-

ment is laid flat, you can see the outline of the garment forming a full circle, which encompasses the five-pointed star, thus represents the symbol of Satan.

How do you see your label evolving in the next 5 years?

Now’s an very exciting period as the fashion scene is evolving so fast, which greatly shapes the way we perceive fashion like how it is to be presented, marketed, sold, and worn. One of our main objectives at this point is to carve out our ‘DNA’, which is very important to us. We have always been focused on proposing collections that converts daydreams into reality; it is for this reason that we have managed to continue existing and growing as a house.

Being in such a competitive industry where almost everything has already been tapped on, it is very important to stay unique in one way or another.

Another challenge is to make sure that people understand the technical and creative process behind designing, which includes developing, cutting and making a garment, as these are elements that carry much value.

The prices of garments in the mass-market may have misled people into thinking that it is easy to produce cheap clothing, when in fact those prices are far below the normal cost of developing a garment.

‘Worship the light, Worship the dark’

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Five words that describe your current collection, ‘Ritual’.

It’s all about your morals.

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TO VIEW ENTIRE ‘RITUAL’ COLLECTION BY YOUNG&RESTLESS VISIT WWW.YOUNG-AND-RESTLESS.COM

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A FAINT VISION

ELIZAVETA PORODINA PHOTOGRAPHS BY

“King Volcano / Prayers For Rain”

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THE GOLDMINE

ALIEN Q II

ARTIST PROFILE

BEACH HO

Victoria Legrand Interviewed by KELLIE ARBU

WWW.BEACHHOUSEBALTIMORE.CO Mistletone / Inertia

OUSE

UCKLE

OM

1 You worked under Car Park Records for your first two albums. Why did you switch to Sub Pop for Teen Dream?

We just wanted to expand our capacity for producing our ideas and visions.

Carpark is an amazing one man label.

Amazing. At Sub Pop there were people to handle the process. We wanted to make a DVD, etc. and we just thought it would be more practical. It was not a glamorous decision.

What do you like best about Australia?

The beaches, the views of the ocean.

The cliffs, the people. There are many things. We’ve only been once.

What do you least like about Australia?

We would have liked to have seen more of the land in between the major cities.

But the distances are too vast for band travel in a vehicle. So bands have to fly everywhere.

2 How did you both meet?

Through an online real doll service.

No, really, we met through a friend in Baltimore and started playing musically immediately. Beach House emerged less than a year later.

What inspires your music and lyrics?

Everything is potentially inspirational.

It’s really when something hits you at an unpredictable time and light when something becomes apparent that it’s inspiring you. And then if you’re lucky you get to write it down, or record it.

Or remember it. Sometimes the moments escape you. Like in your sleep, you’ll hear a melody try to wake up to write it down, then poof. It’s gone.

Is there a time and place where you feel most motivated to create music?

It’s all the time. And when you’re on tour, it’s worse because you want to, but don’t have the space to do it. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

What was it like working with Chris Coady?

Who is your favorite artist to tour with?

We work well with Chris. He’s a good friend of ours, also a Baltimorean. He understands our controlling natures and our visions.... Because we have always been our own producers, he handled our vision of Teen Dream elegantly. Some producers would want to put their stamp on a band. Chris isn’t like that.

We’ve toured with such nice humans: the Papercuts, Bachelorette, Grizzly Bear, the Clientele, etc...Some people really make tour feel like family and good times. That’s really what you need on the road. A sense of connection as you go through the experience.

Dreamland - a converted church?

3 Sounds a bit magical. Tell me more about this place where you produced Teen Dream.

How

This location to record was a very beautiful wooden room attached to a house.

The “church” aspect of it had no meaning to us or to our music. We appreciated the surroundings, but really we had headphones on, and all our instruments and were in such a deep state of listening and crazy energy that paying attention to the fact we were in an old prayer room or something wasn’t even a blip on our brain waves. Beautiful room though.

Is th

What do you do when you’re not touring or creating music?

Thinking about music probably. We haven’t been home for more than 7 weeks since we left to record Teen Dream so we’ll tell you that later.

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Hate pora your

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(To peop

What would you do professionally if you weren’t musicians?

I’m whe

I can’t imagine.

Wha futu

(To Victoria) You’re the niece of film composer Michel Legrand and the singer Christiane Legrand. Did they influence you in any way? Were you close?

We were never close. They have had no influence on my career in any way.

Mus blas

4

w would you describe your style?

quare oreo cookie. Funky.

here any genre of music you hate?

e is a strong word. Adult contemary. Triple XXX bubble bath for r prostate.

at are your favorite songs on Teen am?

don’t like to play favorites.

at can we expect from your future ums? (assuming you will produce urth)

can’t say. Only time will tell.

Victoria) How do you feel when ple compare you to Nico?

over it. That’s something I heard en the first record came out.

at can we expect to see/hear in the ure from Beach House?

sic! You can expect to see love sts.

W

ILTEN PEARL

by JON ATTENBOROUGH STYLIST ANNA RAJU HAIR NATALIE ANNE AYOUB MAKEUP CARMELLE WATKINS STILL ASSISTANT DAVID WHEELR featuring SOPHIE VAN DEN AKKER @ PRISCILLA’S

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THIS PAGE TOP TOVAH SHORTS ELLIOT WARD BROOCH COSSINET (worn as mouthguard) OPPOSITE PAGE STUDDED CAPE SIM.ME.RI.AN

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FEATHER ‘HEADS WILL ROLL’ GOWN from ‘Behind The Red Curtain’ FALLEN

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THIS PAGE JEWELLED CATSUIT SYLVIACHAN STONE NECKLACE ALISTAIR TRUNG (worn as headband), NECKLACE AND EARRINGS COSSNET (worn in headband), SHOES IRIS VAN HERPEN x UNITED NUDE

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JEWELLED SHEET DRESS FEAR ZIPPED PLATFORM SHOES BEAU COPS

LEATHER HALTER VESTKHRYSALIS ‘GARLAND’ LONG SKIRT IN SILVERAURELIO COSTARELLA JEWELS FROM THE COUTURE RANGE STARELLA SAMANTHA WILLS FEATHERED GLOVES ALISTAIR TRUNG

ARTIST PROFILE

MELANIE PULLEN PHOTOGRAPHER

Words by MONICA HUBER

VINTAGE FOG

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MELANIE PULLEN

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nspired by real crimes uncovered by the Los Angeles Police Department and the County Coroner’s Office, photographer Melanie Pullen recreates hangings, drownings, rapes and strangulations in largescale, full colour prints. Using high-end fashion items to distract the audience from the brutality, her ‘High Fashion Crime Scenes’ series comment on the present day’s commercialisation of violence and our desensitisation to it.

Sheltering under a café’s umbrella while a thunderstorm passed over Melbourne’s inner suburbs earlier in the month, I saw my own imminent death flash before my eyes. To my surprise it came to me as a rendition by Pullen, complete with her characteristic attention to detail and a very smooth editorial finish.

Fused to the umbrella pole, I was clad in a royal blue powersuit from Miuccia’s latest offering.

Make-up artists had done their best to dust my high cheek bones with a dirty, sooty skin look. My hair of course was crimped to a crisp and a haze of smoke filled the lower end of the frame suggesting the zap itself was only moments ago. My legs went on for miles, finally tapering in to finish at a nice pair of black patent leather Prada pumps, from which Pullen perfectly captures their shine. My eyes were not their normal mousy brown pinholes but appeared as big perfect black circles that looked piercingly into the distance in acceptance of death, ready to meet her at her gate. Coming to think about it now, it wasn’t even me.

could have been dirty drugged up hookers or better, obese Mac Donald eaters, but the women in Pullen’s scenes come miraculously from high society. They are always meticulously dressed in luxury labels whether they are found hanging by their bruised little necks in empty warehouses, draped over beds with their legs unapologetically spread or slumped across wooden planks of hazy seaside jetties. Despite the horror of the circumstances, the prints radiate silence and the victims appear at peace in their scenes. Perhaps this comes down to Pullen’s characteristic attention to detail. In ‘Phones’, the subject’s shoes seem to echo the same yellowy-green hue as the public telephone boxes on the street behind her. Similarly, another’s metallic gold dress seems as much a part of the underground railway scene as the steel escalators and oncoming speed train. The woman’s red dress in ‘Main Hall’ is reminiscent of a fairy tale and immediately casts her as the central character of the stories in the books that surround her. In each case, the clothes Pullen puts her victims in are given life through death and this what makes stylists, designers, and all those fashion conscious squeal with over-emotion. It’s fashion immortalised through death and drama.

but to wear them to exhibition openings and other events. In other interviews she is described as having become good friends with most top-end designers but also as a supporter of the more up-and-coming LA scene.

Not only is Pullen a darling of the fashion industry, the art world admires her too, complementing her on her ability to provoke social change. Now I love fashion. Fashion spreads for me are fabulous and emotive, and they construct a fantasy around fashion that is what its all about but the ease with which photographers and stylists throw away real emotions in their shoots that always gets to me. It’s that deep, wrenching feeling that you feel in your gut that you don’t know what to do with when looking at a spread in a magazines, and then you flip the page, and it happens all over again. It is a beautiful thing, each page is beautiful, each feeling is beautiful, but unlike Pullen’s work it can only go so far. It is a blessing really, that Pullen, normally a photographer for Elle and Nylon, is given the opportunity for her images to speak beyond the glossy pages of a fashion magazine.

The boundaries between fashion and art are normally more highly patrolled, mostly by art Nazis in thick-rimmed spectacles and tanks armed with various philosophical ammunitions. Nonetheless, represented by the Ace Gallery, Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles and Stephen Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco, Melanie’s work was popular at their 2009 shows where her works fetched between US$5000 to $10 000.

For a project that has been 8 years in the making it is interesting to hear how ‘High Fashion Crime Scenes’ has unfolded. At her humble beginning, Pullen used to buy a $1000 worth of high-end clothes a day from Barneys, the American department store and then return them. Now aged 35, the attractive and softIrrespective of the reality of the ly spoken blonde is sent outfits The commercialisation of viosituations, for all we know the from designers not only wanting lence is obvious in our current victims of the real LA crimes her to include them in her shoots culture. It’s most obvious in the FAINT MAGAZINE

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shows we watch on TV where we sit down to our daily dose of butchery and blood. It’s where our heroines are the hookers, and the drug dealers are martyrs. But while on one hand Pullen is asking us to reconsider our desensitisation to violence, on the other, she also seems to be advocating a celebration of death as some other cultures do, rather than an all paralysing fear. But after hanging out with the coroners of American police departments you too might say, as Pullen does; “Don’t take it so seriously, there’s more to life than just living and dying.”

INTERVIEW by ALEXANDRE DUBOIS

What inspired the idea behind ‘High Fashion Crime Scenes’?

Several years ago I was in a bookstore looking through books of vintage fashion images. Mixed in with all of the fashion books was a compilation of vintage crime scenes titled Evidence.

The crime scenes were macabre images taken between 1912 and 1914 in NYC. I was really caught off guard by the images.

They haunted me for a long time.

Several years later I again came across another book of crime scenes titled Death Scenes– this compilation was much more horrific than the first but for some reason though I wasn’t upset by the images, I was more curious about the settings, the cloths on the victims, and the strange little details in the photos. I basically overlooked the violence entirely. On my way home that night FAINT MAGAZINE

the images hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized that I was looking at these crime scene images for over an hour and noticed everything but the violence. I started to analyze what had made me so oblivious to violence… how the media changed and films had grown much more graphic. At that moment I decided to work with crime scenes and play up my experience, kind of try to purposely desensitize my audience while having the violence sitting right there. This is where the idea for High Fashion Crime Scenes came from. I decided to recreate true crime scenes (many from those two books I just mentioned) but play up the images, with glossy colors, high fashion, beautiful women, etc. Kind of playing with what the media does everyday.

How accurately do yours works mimic actual events?

Many of the images are recreations down to the finest detail, like my self-portrait, but then others I kind of recreate from images and add a little more detail. I end up playing with the original image both adding and subtracting concepts, to alter the story slightly. I really get strong imagery in my mind and once it’s there that’s what I inevitably aim for.

Have you ever witnessed a crime scene first-hand?

Yes, I’ve seen a few. They’re very silent and kind of surreal in the strangest sense of the word – because our idea of “reality” is so much about what TV and film is – when you see a crime scene or death in person it’s actually Can you tell us a little about very silent and still. There aren’t what is involved to produce any special effects, special colors or anything of that nature which each image? is what we’re so subconsciously A big part of my work is put- accustomed to. It’s really just a ting together the reference im- moment in time you’re witnessages – as all my work is drawn ing, the end to a story. There’s a from true events. I also combine strange irony between our idea this with inspiration from cin- of death and the actuality of it. ema and other sources. So the research and compilation of what direction I’m going in takes up a lot of time. Then once I have the idea set – I then pull together a crew of people to help make my ideas come to life. Some images require major production with large crews (sometimes up to 50-100 people) makeup, models, stunt coordinators, etc. But some of the other images are very simple with just a model and a friend helping. To be honest, I kind of prefer the smaller shoots – as you don’t have so much chaos and can focus a little more. The hanging images in High Fashion Crime Scenes where the most difficult to recreate properly.

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The aesthetic representation of violence and murder in your works almost glamorizes the brutal nature of these crimes. After having produced such an extensive series of photographs for the series, do you find yourself somewhat desensitized to the idea of death?

life than just living and dying. So I’ve found that maybe being a little less sensitive about the subject isn’t such a bad thing – it kind of opens the door to a lot of curiosities about life.

Honestly, I am much more desensitized to it now.

The reference photos and scenes don’t really have the same influence that they used to. But it’s desensitization in a very strange sort of way. I like to view death the way some other cultures do, in that it’s not an ending but more of a celebration of what someone’s done and who someone was. I find it so strange that people memorialize the place someone died in a car accident – the moment of bad luck.

That place and moment really has nothing to do with the actual person or their achievements, their goals.

Really the places and things the person could relate to and were interested in have so much more to do with the person.

In one of the photographs you chose to use yourself as the model. Do you identify personally with these scenes? How did this decision come about?

I’m in the photograph titled: Self Portrait. The original image I found really mesmerizing. It was of a young woman, about my age when I took the photo, she died this tragic death, probably raped and then stabbed but it looked like she was a prostitute based on her clothing and makeup. She was found dead on her bed. Hanging just above her bed was another photograph, a portrait of her looking very proper.

I found the dichotomy fascinating. She probably dressed conservatively to see her family and presented herself in this way to people she knew yet she had this other side.

She had this proper photo above her bed to probably remind herself of how she really wanted to live life – kind of a strange fantasy. I personally relate to dichotomies and try to incorporate them into life and into my work. It’s something that I’ve played with since I was a child. So this image seemed perfect for a self portrait – actually it’s two self portraits because I am the woman above the bed as well – dressed very proper in black and white – then dead in full color looking almost like an entirely different person.

“ I’ve found that maybe being a little less sensitive about the subject isn’t such a bad thing – it kind of opens the door to a lot of curiosities about life”

I did a photo series in Mexico a while back and spent a lot of time in so many different areas there – I really like the way the Mexicans celebrate death during Dia los Muertos (Day of the Dead)—it’s more of a party where they introduce you to their loved ones and they celebrate their lives. It’s much more interesting. You leave feeling that you know a little about the person and you admire something about them. Also I became friends, during the research phase of the project with the Los Angeles County Coroner. If you hang out with the coroners you really see a different side to it all. They, like other cultures, really don’t take it so seriously.

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MELANIE PULLEN

Are you working on anything at the moment?

Yes, I am just completing the final images in High Fashion Crime Scenes. I did a different project titled Violent Times in between and completed that but now have gone back to High Fashion Crime Scenes to complete just a few images that I really wanted to do a few years back. I’m also working on another series but that’s top secret for now.

Do you have any upcoming exhibitions?

I have large exhibition coming up in April, 2011 at Ace Gallery in Beverly Hills, CA. It will include several of the last pieces in High Fashion Crime Scenes that I’m currently working on.

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AGLE’S Nest

Photographed By Enokae Styling Xavier Make Up Rocio Cordero Hair Sheridan Ward Featuring Simon @ Premier London Assistant Crystal Deroche

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DON’T LET GO

SAMANTHA EVERTON

“CHILDHOOD FEARS” BY

SAMANTHA E V E RTO N “If I keep my eyes closed” is one of the key pieces in “Childhood Fears” by Samantha Everton. The dangers of the imagination that we feel in childhood are just as potent as the fears felt in reality. They are universal, often not rationally understood or easily articulated, but span cultural and social divides, intrinsically connecting all in one common thread. “I wanted this image to have a ghostly, other-worldly feel about it, as if in a dream like state, which juxtaposed against the reality of the situation”.

The elements of this series all came together from chance encounters, moments in time and unique findings, “ I found a beautiful white party dress in an op shop near my home, it had a sense of history and spoke of its years in its delicate state. I lived with this dress for a while and it began my thought process”.

In Childhood Fears, the images are both hauntingly beautiful and deeply compelling. Their strength lies not only in their poignancy, but in their ability to communicate deep, profound messages to all that see them.

Everton’s photographic art is primarily concerned with depicting an untouchable reality with elements of surrealism. She puts together images that show quiet, introspective and unconscious moments in daily life. Her creation of an image is an imaginative process in which she aims to give a physical texture to fleeting or unarticulated feelings. The images are theatrically staged using elaborate locations, props and fantastical characters.

Samantha Everton is represented by: Anthea Polson Art, Queensland Dickerson Gallery, Sydney www.samanthaeverton.com New work launch, Exhibition dates: 26 th March – 9 th April 2011

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INVISIBLE CHILDREN

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THE SUFFOCATION OF FEAR

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ScreenSirens

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Photography & Art Ingrid Baars Styling Angela Kuperus Make-up & hair Ed Thijsen MaxModels

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DORA MAAR

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OLGA KHOKHLOVA

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THE TEMPTRESS

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a.concept by Anthony Capon WORDS BY SOPHIE CASTLEY

ainstream, mass produced, conventional. Take them elsewhere because they won’t be found in Anthony Capon’s repertoire. This 26 year old freshman to the

fashion ranks ticks all the boxes. Redefining the notion of acceptable, Anthony is the poster boy of androgyny, breaking the cookie cutter mould of what is marketable and wearable.

Project Runway heyday now passé composé, Anthony debuted on the runways of Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in May this year, receiving acclaim for his innovative, avant-garde aesthetic, with garments which challenged the confines of both construction and design.

Weighing on textural contrast to lift a monochromatic palette, accents of gold facilitated a sophisticated and luxurious character. Additionally, structured dramatic tailoring interlaced with more free form silhouettes, presented a sound voice for womenswear and a new perspective on defining menswear.

The idea that everyone is looking for love is beautiful but the harsh reality is not everyone finds it.

What is the meaning behind the name, A.Concept?

It was just a play on my initials in my name and I guess behind each collection there is a concept behind it. Nothing too deep and meaningful, for once I thought laterally...

Who is the A.Concept customer?

A.Concept is for men and women who know who they are, very confident and style conscious.

They also want to wear something which is quite exclusive, different to everyone else but also reflects a part of their personality.

What are the themes and inspiration behind your debut collection, Egyptian Superheroes?

The collection was based on the concept of Egyptian superheroes looking for love. Superheroes are strong, powerful, independent and fierce. The idea that everyone is looking for love is beautiful but the harsh reality is not everyone finds it. The inspiration was that even if the superheroes don’t find love, they are still super.

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ferent to what is out, where I acSometimes people may not un- tually think my womenswear is derstand who or what we are, but stronger. Jenny Bannister is also we are all beautiful, individual a fan of my work, and I just think characters armoured up, ready to she is fabulous. fight for love, after all “ ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than How do you plan to establish the never to have loved at all.” ~ Al- success of your label, without fred Lord Tennyson. falling into mass production?

It’s about knowing where your This collection was a contradic- clientele is and I will definitely tion of structure and fluidity, and be heading to Asia to promote textures of patent leather, wool, A.Concept. I also know that silk, linen and metal fibres. The A.Concept isn’t for the mass black and white is signature market; there is no point in kidA.Concept, and the highlight ding myself in doing huge progold represents the golden trea- duction runs. The people who sure of love which we are all buy A.Concept will also buy it searching for. for the exclusivity.

The finally crafted garments combined with the hand made Dead or alive, if you could accessories of perspex and chain choose any individual to repmail captures the true identity of resent the face of A.Concept by the A.Concept style.

Anthony Capon, who would you choose?

What feedback did you receive Bjork! from the industry following your RAFW debut?

Melbournians good news, I invited Nancy Pilcher (former A.Concept will be exclusively Vogue editor) to my show. She stocked in ‘Et Al’, in both Colloved it and could definitely see lingwood and Flinders Lane who I was aiming it at. Unfortu- stores, from March 2011. nately I received more press for my menswear because it was dif159

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Stylist EVANGELINE WINTERBOTTOM Hair KANTO Make Up EUNICE FREEMAN

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A FAINT VISION

PHOTOGRAPHS BY KIMBERLEY MENNEN www.kimmennen.com

Stylist Greg Dennis Makeup & Hair Bryony Gamble @ Rouge Artists Featuring Gemma Browne and Alexandra Davy @ Darley Management John Rombout @Vicious Models Stylist Assistant Emma Westblade Photo Assistants Jake Lowe, Matthew Burgess, Callum Ponton

ARTIST PROFILE KIMBERLEY MENNEN INTERVIEWED by TESS MARTIN

T

he accumulative mechanics behind Mennen’s photographic collections deliver graphics that suck one into nostalgic realms of pre-pubescent innocence and a dreamy, fantastical ambit. In a time accustomed to aid just about anyone with the equipment to be a photographer, Mennen certainly differentiates herself as one of Australia’s most exciting and talented camera people.

There is specific lucidity in your ‘Underwater’ collations, which evoke a nostalgic feel, assimilated with fantastical dreams.

What, if any, are the underlying messages you are conveying to your audience?

I frequently confront the theme of beauty in femininity, and the conflicting motifs of sexuality and innocence. My Underwater photographs are more of a psychological observation of the language of sexuality and innocence, represented within the vulnerable adolescent mind. To represent hidden strength in femininity, the ambiguity of sexuality and beauty in the fall of darkness. Most of my photographs are more of a mystical dreamlike reality that personifies the naivety in the adolescent transition from childhood to adulthood.

Comparatively, your ‘Motorbikes’ collection depicts a conflict in terms of content.

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How does your inspiration for a professional. each project differ? Where is it derived from?

I think photographers need to embrace new technology rather I’ve had a passion for motor- than reject it. To be at the forecycles for as long as I can re- front of such a highly competimember. The series was some- tive industry it’s imperative to thing I wanted to do as soon as be up to date with all the new I started studying photography. advancements in photographic My attraction was not only to the gear. Being a professional phobikes themselves, but the techni- tographer is more than just havcal challenge involved in craft- ing a camera and taking pictures ing the light to model the highly here and there, it’s a career that reflective curved surfaces. Each requires a huge amount of hard series of images involves a new work, knowledge and professet of challenges both stylistical- sionalism. ly and technically, and the further I push myself for a shoot the What equipment do you use? more gratified I feel by the end of it,” says Mennen.

For the underwater ones with models completely submerged The degradation of natural in the water I use my Canon 5D beauty at the expense of globali- Mark II with an Aquatica unsation seems to be a concurrent derwater housing. I use an untheme throughout the ‘Portrai- derwater Ikelite strobe to sync ture’ collection, what exactly is other flashes outside the pool. the purpose for this collabora- The advance in digital technoltion between corporative and ogy is great for keen underwater natural beauty? photographers. Now I don’t have to change rolls of 35mm film in I am greatly inspired by music my Nikonos after 36 frames now and a big fan of Pink Floyd. Their I can just have a large CF card various album covers evoke an in a digital camera and have hunillusional dimension to familiar dreds of frames to choose from surroundings bordering on mod- in a full day shoot. For smaller ern surrealist imagery. scale shoots I shoot in a fish tank in the studio using a Plaubel 6x9 Although Mennen has mastered monorail camera with a Phase the art of traditional photogra- One P25+ back. I sync to Bronphy, she speaks with veneration color Grafit flashes to light the about the growing technological images and freeze any motion advancements yet maintains the underwater,” says Mennen. distinction between a punter and 178

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LONDON FASHION

WEEK PORTRAITS LENSED BY

DAVID YEO WORDS BY DAISY DUMAS

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i

t’s September.

The end of another all-too-short bright and sweaty summer in London. The first fresh pinches of autumn are beginning to creep into the mornings.

A number 6 double-decker sweeps by and dissolves into Aldwych’s curved, theatrical lanes. A camera flash pops and a tall, androgynous girl giggles.

The streets – these streets – are full. They’ve been filled, em tied, and filled again – over and over - for hundreds of years.

The gum-trodden pavements have seen all there is to know in London – the shuffle of a trillion footsteps, the sounds of a billion stories and the lights of lives and lives played out in these worn, homely concourses.

Where a young Elizabeth, courtesans, nobility, plumed horses and ladies-in-waiting once trod, now comes a more earthly procession: ripped tights, cotton shirts, leather shoes, doffed hats and woollen coats. Plastic sunglasses, leggings, piercings and leopard print.

And where once those who entered Somerset House did so on strictly regal business, an altogether different breed of gentry now fills its anachronistic halls and columned passages: fashion’s royal set. Designers, stylists, fans, students, the hungry, celebrities, artists, wannabes.

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Inside, hallowed catwalks cut a path through the sight of a hardened set of career voyeurs. And whilst beauty and vision thrill the hard-to-please, make no mistake: money fuels this engine.

Like Baudrillard’s Paris, girls totter through the arcades of Somerset House whilst men in dark glass sip from takeaway coffee cups and watch.

The wanting-to-be-seen: flâneurs On the streets, though, is where of the fashionscape. ideas and creativity really come It’s the underbelly of high art, the alive. The pavements host the economic viability of a stylish living, breathing embodiment of idea. Uniqueness democratised. fashion and its heartbeat is not And like a buoyant dinghy, it’s a vein of creativity that refuses to be dragged d o w n or overinflated.

True, street fashion wouldn’t float without the sea of publicity locked behind doors and blink- and rambling modern-day documenters that London Fashion ered by guest lists.

Week proper brings. But without It’s treading the pavements. Lit the Sartorialists, Stockholms, Isby the lamps of a stream of black abellas and Daphnes, the mindcabs, watched by an audience blowing design and world-class lurching by, eyes peeled through style we see on private catwalks would seem as hollow as a set crowded bus windows. prop.

The catwalk: our slabbed sidewalk, of course. And our models: Like the Thames that once they come to see and be seen, to flowed flush with Somerset support, to shine, to be part of House’s arches, London fashion a multi-billion dollar global in- has energy – it surges, ebbs and dustry, to parade, to work. To be swells. Its protagonists will visit photographed, to photograph. To and will leave. Styles will come blog, cajole, meet, mingle. To in- and go and designers will burn form, learn and absorb. Today, in bright and fade. But London’s paths, pedestals and palaces of this city, everyone is a model. infectious creativity will remain.

“...Without the Sartorialists, Stockholms, Isabellas and Daphnes, the mind-blowing design and world-class style we see on private catwalks would seem as hollow as a set prop”

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Here, David Yeo’s reportage from the sidelines of Somerset House’s frenetic hubbub capture fashion spilling into London life – and London life crossing into the London Fashion Week bubble. It’s not a normal snapshot of London fashion, but a hyper-condensed, concentrated, creative burst – and its glow will filter into minds, wardrobes and onto some of the world’s bestknown catwalks. The lense is turned away from mass-produced runway models and instead onto their watchers so that gradually, the audience is becoming as much a part of the circus-esque spectacle as the designer dresses themselves. Taken on the hoof – as naturally as possible, usually in a rush and at the behest of the elements - Yeo’s photographs of photographers, models, movers and mysterious looks expose the rapturous buoyancy of the city’s style.

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ELLIOT Morgan A FAINT VISION PHOTOGRAPHS BY

www.elliot-morgan.com

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S H A D O W S H P F

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T Y L I N G S H A U N A M c C A N N & S H E R I S E E WA Y S A I R & M A K E U P T H Y D I N H H O T O A S S I S S T A N T M A R Z E T T E H E N D E R S O N e a t u r i n g C A R O L I N E @ F O R D M O D E L S

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JACKET SHERISE EWAYS LEGGINGS NYC NECKLACE GIVENCHY

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JACKET and SKIRT SHERISE EWAYS BANDEAU NEW YORK APPAREL NECKLACE GIVENCHY SHOES DOLCE VITA

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JACKET and PANTS SHERISE EWAYS BANDEAU NEW YORK APPAREL PINS MELISSA CHRISTTIENSEN

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THIS PAGE PANTS SHERISE EWAYS BANDEAU NEW YORK APPAREL SILVER CHEST PIECE, EARINGS and CUFF MELISSA CHRISTIENSEN OPPOSITE PAGE TOP SHERISE EWAYS SILVER CHEST and HEAD PIECE MELISSA CHRISTIENSEN

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A COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPH

BETSY VAN LANGEN WWW.BETSYVANLANGEN.COM

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