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In this era of fueled urgency for fast fashion, immediate gratification rains over originality. We at Fashion Quarterly believe that there is a small segment of the population who hold fast to the notion of individual expressions bounded by time tested notions of “who I am and how I want to appear” - like the tuxedo, the cocktail dress, polished shoes… Style is not just what you wear, but rather it is your “modus operandi” crafted by motivation, patience and passion. In this issue we open with the mask feature driven with the intention of showing that an individual’s raw emotions will find a way to surface regardless of how much enhancements or alterations are applied or how much playacting is used to push us through to the next moments of our life. In the following features, we see a strive for the Beautiful through the physique and the camera lens. Our team has dedicated the overall theme to the longevity of fashion and the co-existence of our fitness with Nature. Fashion is not solely wearables, but the internal passion for something beautiful and pure. This issue is particularly interesting because we have our very talented staff writer Zach Roberts parsing the authenticity of the modern era and the fashion of collages expressed through Cav Empt. He has done a wonderful job in comparing the outwardly expressions of the ancient civilizations with the sophisticated inner expressions. Our cover girl, Jenna McCloskey, and all of our models, Kelly Richmond, Mehron Jahon, Peyman Jahon, Emmanuel Elijah, Dennis Chan, and Jacky Chan embody the indulgence of hidden glamour. Furthermore, our photographers Daniel Roberto, Geoff Palomino, guest photographer Ray Stachowak, illustrator Sean Cai and graphic designer Carter Duong embrace the words and the theme through artistry and technique. In this issue, we also have exclusive interviews with two inspiring UCSD alumna embracing the digital age and taking fashion to the next level. Free the mind, Seize the now. I hope you enjoy this issue. Truly yours, Maggie Sean April Huang
Editor in Chief April Huang Creative Director, Co-editor in Chief Maggie Sean Marketing and Events Directors Sini Choi Lilian Mar Gina Yoo External Outreach Director Donald Kwan Finance Director Yan Zhao Layout Director Carter Duong
Fashion Quarterly
Photographers Daniel Roberto Geoff Palomino Stylists Emily Butler Obinne Onyeador
Illustrator Sean Cai Writers Nariman Piri Zach Roberts
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8 There’s No Fake Like Sincerity Words by Zach Roberts, Photos by Daniel Roberto 19 Monica Geng Interview by Lilian Mar & Maggie Sean, Photos courtesy of Monica Geng 23 Animals Words and Illustration by Sean Cai, Photos by Geoff Palomino 33 Cav Emptor Words by Zach Roberts 35 Nature’s Mirage Words by Zach Roberts, Photos by Ray Stachowiak 41 Carolyn Ngo Interview by Lilian Mar & Maggie Sean, Photos courtesy of Carolyn Ngo
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There’s No Fake Like Sincerity Words by Zach Roberts, Photos by Daniel Roberto, Featuring Jacky Chen and Jenna McCloskey
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Overhead the sun trembles, as ceremonies full of beauty and masks and dances and swelling chants arise. The sky is dwarfed in rising plumes of smoke and percussive pulses, the frantic drumbeat which sustains this ancient Mayan mask ritual. We know, now, of the Mayas, the long lost thread of civilization, and of their elaborate ceremonies practiced thousands of years ago. We know of the performers who wore decorative masks as a way to symbolize the spiritual world and manifest the metaphysical into human experience. These rites were strange, mysterious, and drenched in spirituality - one of the first traces of mask-wearing. With the rise of secularism and the decline of outward religious expressions, modern civilization has all but stamped out any remaining signs of these deeply spiritual rituals.
“Fashion itself also functions as a mask.” Instead, masks have turned inwards and lost their physicality. They’ve now become a part of daily life, worn by all of us in acts of impersonation and falsification. The paradox of masks is that they turn the face inwards, while at the same time drawing attention towards it. They transfer depth onto a flat surface. Fashion itself also functions as a mask. Our public persona - the clothing we wear, the way in which we present ourselves - is no different than wearing an actual mask over our face. It’s all just a revelation of varying forms of performance. The self is not an established fact but a material to be fashioned,
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like a work of art. Through fashion, we visi- consumed in projecting an illusive, fake image bly express our personality, passions, and aes- of ourselves that we can no longer distinguish thetic sentiments to the world. between reality and appearance. As a general rule, people tend not to tolerate phoniness. Authenticity is an idea that has positive connotations in our world. We aspire to be individualistic and liberate ourselves by asserting our distinct personalities. The need for authenticity is the need for confirmation. This concern regarding originality, the notion distinguishing false and genuine, has occupied our minds since ‘fashion’ was first introduced as a concept, when human relationships and status began to be largely grounded in the display of appearance and taste. However, despite the perception that authenticity is the paradigm of fashion, it is impossible and absolutely senseless to strive for it. The notion between authentic and inauthentic is, in the modern era, nearly indistinguishable. There is no outward difference between an authentic and an inauthentic life, however drastic the difference between authenticity and inauthenticity may be. Life has become a dance of masks, where every mask is a real face and every face is a real mask. We are so
In 2014 the photographer Hans Eijkelboom published a photo series titled ‘People of the Twenty-First Century’ in which he visually documented shoppers in Birmingham over the course of a year, centering them around certain distinct visual themes. Along the sprawling montage of images, people are arranged according to their clothing and accessories. His work illustrates that while we may seek authenticity through fashion, conformity is the inherent conclusion. Authenticity does not matter, and we should stop concerning ourselves with it. Instead we should wear our masks openly, because the mask we wear eventually becomes our true self. Identity is not fixed. The facade we display, including all of its impersonations, illusions, impostures, is what defines our identity - that is our authentic self. The distinctions between our mask and that which lies beneath will always blur together, becoming a single, unified dance. ■
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Monica Geng
Interview by Lilian Mar and Maggie Sean, Photos courtesy of Monica Geng
Monica Geng is a creative writer currently living in New York City. She graduated from UC San Diego as a Communications and Linguistics Spanish double major. After attending UC San Diego, she obtained a M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media from New York University. How did you get into blogging? (e.g. Instagram brands and other soMy roommate in NYC is professional cial media sources). Living in NYC, I photographer who works with modsee interesting and fashionable peoeling agencies. After graduation, I ple on the streets of SOHO and in realized that I can combine photos, stores all the time. writing, and my side passion for fashion into a blog. I thought maybe one How has your education, experiences day is better now than never. Through and environment influenced your style? blogging, I learned how to manage a NYU is a very fashion focused school, Squarespace and my own domain. so being a student in this environment has been a big influence on my style. What advice would you give to an aspirI was involved in a few fashion shows. ing lifestyle blogger? I was the model director for the NYU The biggest advice I would give is to ACE Fashion Show. I participated in just do it. A lot of people in my circle training models, directing choreograthink about starting a website but phy, and fitting different clothing lines. it never comes into reality. Don’t be afraid of outcomes, start doing it, and How do you pick pieces that flatter your improve. body type? Recently, my favorite style is minimalWhere do you find inspiration for your istic with strategic cuts do not frame blog? body exactly. The pieces are fitted for I find most of my inspiration on Insan interesting cut with ambiguity, simtagram. One of my influences is Inplicity, fun, and not too many colors. I stagram blogger Margaret Zhang have a tiny frame, so there are differ(with almost 1M followers). She has a ent unique styles with a lucid baggy unique artsy style as a photographer fit. for celebs and models in magazines. I take inspiration from Margaret’s style, Can you describe the process on how VOGUE, Marie Claire, and Cosmopol- you started Character M? itan. I have a degree in publishing, so I It was a 6 month branding project like to keep up to date. Fashion magathat ended about a year ago. It was zines are especially a good source of a branding project for grad school. I inspiration. My favorite fashion brands wanted to see how much I could proinclude ZARA, TOPSHOP, and COS mote/brand on social media. It was a
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learning experience. I have been dancadore everything black and dark being for a long time in west coast, so I cause I think it is very classy. In the wanted to create fun dance apparel future, I would be more colorful. I don’t for dancers. I spent lots of time desee myself wearing neon, or anything signing shorts. I like cropped clothes bright green/red. I see myself as a and high waisted pieces, so that was fulltime blogger in future. I use my my inspiration to make shorts. I deblog to showcase work, writing style, signed, made the pattern, and took aesthetic, and how I pick pictures. The the design to a factory. I had the oppublic domain acts as my comprehenportunity to vendor a lot of pieces at sive work. different UCSD dance projects and competitions. It is rewarding to see Follow Monica Geng: people wear my pieces. It was a fun www.monicagarbanzo.com project in grad school to gain expe- @monicagarbanzo rience and to see how far I could go. I gained insight and primarily utilized social media platforms. As for the remaining pieces, I donated rest in inventory to a dance charity. Reflecting back on some of your previous works, what are the challenges you faced in order to achieve the final product? The biggest challenge for Character M were the financials. I had to plan everything out from scratch and how to break even. I am better at using Excel and financial models to manage balance sheets, financial statements, and cash flow. I was unaware of business work, now that experience has made me more interested in financials. This experience was challenging, yet rewarding. Describe the aura of your clothing and color choices? I have been a big fan of neutral colors for a long time. As seen on my blog, I have a lot of clothing in black, white, grey, and beige. I have been expanding recently to more colorful pieces. I
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Animals
Words and Illustration by Sean Cai, Photos by Geoff Palomino Featuring Dennis Chan, Emmanuel Elijah, Mehran Jahon, Peyman Jahon and Kelly Richmond As humans, we tend to believe that the universe revolves around us, that the Earth and it’s resources are our birthright. We use this line of reasoning to justify the relentless extraction of materials and destruction of other species. After all, we’re consuming to survive aren’t we? Our ability for reason and ethics places humanity in a position of responsibility, we have the opportunity to redefine the relationship between ourselves and our surroundings. Sustainable coexistence requires a shift away from our apex predator mentality, and towards a recognition of humans as a component of the natural world.
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Hannah Höch, Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany, 1919
Words by Zach Roberts Everything in the world can be montaged, as everything is in constant flux. We are ruled by motion. Images can be spliced, frames isolated. Photography, sculpture, paintings – they can, in one shot, reveal melancholy, hunger, happiness… universal human conditions frozen in stereoscope. But during the winter of 1895, the Lumière brothers invented the filmstrip, allowed for moving pictures. And from that moment on we were able to piece together frames, and link together the world. Because ideas don’t exist in isolation, they bounce off of each other, expanding and disseminating into a continuous mosaic. Over the ocean, a flock of seagulls, scattered, sink downward and disappear beyond the crashing waves. In this instant, as they spread their wings in chaotic unison and fill the air with commotion, this flight of birds exists as a unified structure. They are a formation, not the flapping of a single wing. In the same sense, the world itself exists as unplotted art, and a montage serves as a way to unite its disjointed fragments. The Dada movement is one representation of this idea. Hannah Hoch was one of the founding members of the photomontage movement itself, which consisted of photographic collages where various images were pulled from media and other sources, and spliced together. Montage is the perfect form for making political statements of any sort, as it allows you to piece together an assortment of visual ideas to make a grand critique. “I want to blur the boundaries,” she once wrote. In her piece, ‘Cut With the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany’ (1919), Höch metaphorically cuts through the masculine domain of contemporary German politics. Cutting is in itself a violent act, and with scissors she juxtaposes different
images together into a composition which presents an important societal criticism. In this sense, she is a magician able to rearrange at will. And in her piece, ‘Indian Dancer’ (1930), she depicts the actress Marie Falconetti as Joan of Arc, with a wooden dance mask covering her mouth and eyes, freezing her grimace of horror into a seductive glance. Her crown is replaced by silverware, transforming her symbol of martyrdom into one of domestic servitude. This collage is just as relevant today as it was in the early twentieth century, an important reminder of the shackles that mark women’s often overly-sexualized representation in mass-media. Collage is a common stylistic choice in fashion too. For instance, the brand Cav Empt is mostly defined by graphic design. Their t-shirts and jackets are often overlapped with obscure graphics and eccentric slogans, usually conceptual. One black sweatshirt portrays a figure mirrored in two, and beneath it, a quote in bold red which reads: “A hallucination
Fashion Quarterly Eadweard Muybridge, Sequence of Bird in Flight, 1883-86
Designs like this one are common for Cav Empt. Another jacket has on its back an image of a skeleton with its arm raised in a hand-stopping gesture, and a quote reading: “The objective of desire is the Real in and of itself.” Being intentionally obscure and obtuse may come across to some as pretentious, but if you take it at face value it’s just intriguing and aesthetically interesting. Combining image and text is a formula that Cav Empt has perfectly mastered. Montage as a style offers potential for re-seeing the world. Hannah Hoch displays her radical politics through art, while Cav Empt portrays culturally relevant designs through fashion.v
Cav Empt AW 2014 Lookbook
of the real, of the lived, of the everyday – but reconstitued.” The image paired with the text (along with its misspelling) leaves you with a clear sense of ambiguity. Obviously obscure, the quote is originally from the French philosopher Baudrillard, and alongside with the image it seems to suggest the state of modern life, perhaps. The prevalence of the internet makes life itself appear less real. Regardless of its meaning, on its own, the sweatshirt does look cool and visually appealing despite the obscurity of its “message.”
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Nature’s Mirage Words by Zach Roberts, Photos by Ray Stachowiak In the desert, the limitless horizon stretches towards infinity. Far-reaching mountains are shrouded in a vague, uncertain mirage, appearing unreachable. The silence is visual. In the mountains, there is no escape from the constant roaring of the wind, but the desert is horizontal - and silent. Its silence can be seen and felt in the roaming flatness of the desert. When observing the landscape, you feel as if you have invaded a sacred space and are afflicted by a sense of eerie unbelonging. The stillness is natural, disturbed only by our intruding. Rock formations are a common sight in the desert. Seemingly materializing out of nothing, they have a holy atmosphere to them. These sights have originated over hundreds of millions of years, transforming slowly with time’s expiring passage into what we see today: mesas, canyons, grottos, cliffs‌ metaphysical monuments. Each rock structure contains a different relief pattern eroded according to the unpredictable laws of nature, cut and carved by wind and water over an unimaginable length of time. Signs, then, have existed long before humans. These signs are no different than the network of solitary billboards found along the desert highway, a vast array of intelligence shared between humans and nature. Billboards decay, but rock formations are eternal.
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Just as the rock formation springs out of nothing, so to does Las Vegas, which in an instant suddenly appears in the Nevada desert. Detached from the desert landscape, this city is an abstraction. It should not be here; it should not exist. Yet it does. The desert and the city oscillate in a perpetual state of discontinuity. At night, shrouded in glimmering phosphorescent light, Las Vegas exists as a dazzling dreamscape. Then at sunrise the next morning, dawn’s famous afterglow lights up the city in a ferocious clashing of gold and silver, continuing this eternal cycle between day and night. At any moment, clear waves of heat dilute the city into an ethereal mirage, like the mountains in the horizon which may vanish at any instant. Las Vegas is the manifestation of the Garden of Eden. Paradise on Earth. The desert is primal and void of all meaning: the perfect representation of nature. Pure ab-
straction, a dreamscape undisturbed by humans. Signs in the patterns of rocks have appeared over millions of years, but they are unintelligible to humans. Do they contain meaning? There is an inherent conflict between humans and nature. All technology we’ve attained that allows us to construct cities is simply a means by which humans extend themselves into Nature, subverting it into our own image. Yet despite the detachment between humans and nature seen in the austere skyline of Las Vegas contrasted with the endless Nevada landscape, beyond the city the desert is threaded with freeways. And these freeways, spectacles of gleaming cars passing by each other, ceaselessly moving in all directions without objective, weave humans and nature together. Although Nature may outlast us all, for now we resolve to unify in a state of coexistence. ■
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Carolyn Ngo
Interview by Lilian Mar and Maggie Sean, Photos courtesy of Carolyn Ngo
Carolyn Ngo is a professional photographer and social media maven with experience spanning the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries. She graduated from UC San Diego with a Bachelors in Visual Arts Studio. Her creative insight shines through her projects, campaigns, and lifestyle blog. Can you tell us about yourself and how you got started in fashion photography? I started caring about what I wore when I worked at the Forever 21 in Pasadena back in 2006. I was a part of the original staff that opened that store. I was working retail at the time just to make extra money and it turned into an obsession for looking cute and keeping on-trend. My love affair for fashion continued when I got a job at Urban Outfitters in Hillcrest. As this continued to simmer, I started taking some introductory classes in photography and eventually decided to pick up a major in visual arts. I did a lot of event photography at the parties I went to and started to notice what people wore. I was then inspired to ask all of my fashionably conscious friends if they wanted to participate in my fashion shoots as my models. They all agreed to it and I started building up a portfolio. When I graduated UCSD and moved back to Los Angeles, I applied to a lot of fashion companies with my portfolio. Sure enough, I was hired on the spot to shoot in their studios, be creative director, and create campaign lookbooks.
Instagram and saw how successful they were with what they were doing. It inspired me to start my own account and put my own artistic twist to it. It’s the perfect platform for showcasing my wardrobe styling skills as well as my abilities in content creation, creative writing, photo direction, and post-production editing. How would you describe your photography style? Artistic in a very moody and cinematic sense. How do you make your creative work distinct? I love to add a touch of HDR quality to my images. A lot of bloggers today tend to keep their photos soft, usually with less contrast, and keep the image very bright. It’s too ‘happy’ and cookie cutter for me. As an artist and photographer, I like to push each visual production into something inspiring and different. I want my audience to look and study my photos for more than a mere passing second. I’m a girl who appreciates the details and so I want to be able to express that in my photos. I tend to treat each image as an editorial.
What inspired you to start your fashion blog? What type of equipment do you use? I started to notice fashion bloggers on Would you believe me if I told you
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most of my images on Instagram are inspires others as well. via my iPhone 6s? It is. I edit all my photos on my phone too. It’s fast and What do you do when you are in a cregreat! When I have the time to really ative rut? do some serious shoots with some faI look at books and images of the vorite outfit creations, I’ll whip out my past. There is always something to Canon. be gained from studying works from the past. How does your personal style influence the photography on the fashion blog? What are some difficulties you had to My blog is called BLVCKMATTR for a overcome throughout your career to reason. I love the color black. I’ll nev- achieve what you want? er get sick of it and it will always be a Finding the right type of people to part of who I am and what I wear. It’s cast and collaborate with. It’s really a combination of class and mysterihard to find people who are good at ousness. It is because I have such a what they do and are humble about strong connection with the color that it. If you work in the industry long it trickles into my moody photos. A lot enough, you’ll meet people from all of shadow-play and an understanding walks of life. Some feel self-entitled, of lighting are involved. while others are complete angels sent to earth. You have to be patient What is your favorite designer or brand? Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Christian Dior, Helmut Lang, Alexander Wang, Theory, Tom Ford, All Saints, Ann Demeulemeester, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, Valextra, Acne Studios, Phillip Lim, Jil Sander, Rick Owens, Raf Simons, Kenzo, Maison Kitsune, Christian Louboutin, Hedi Silmane, Jimmy Choo... the list goes on and on! What do you splurge on? Shoes, outerwear, and bags. What inspires your career path, thinking, and photography in fashion blogging? Creating. Being able to produce an ongoing body of work that involves creativity is what pushes me to keep going further. In turn, I hope my work
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and shift through what you are given. When you find the right type of people to work with, do not take them for granted and keep them very close to you. They are huge assets that will deeply enrich your life. What is the most satisfying project you have worked on? Satisfying is a word I do not frequent too often. I think as an artist, it’s natural for me to be a perfectionist-- always hungry for more, for something better. I’ve created a lot of great things that I am proud of, but I would never say that I was satisfied with them. What advice would you give to an aspiring fashion photographer or blogger? Don’t stop learning and working, network and collaborate like hell and, stay humble and open-minded. Follow Carolyn Ngo: www.blvckmattr.com @blvckmattr
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This publication may have been funded in part or in whole by funds allocated by the ASUCSD. However, the views expressed in this publication are solely those of Fashion Quarterly, its principal members and the authors of the content of this publication. While the publisher of this publication is a registered student organization at UC San Diego, the content, opinions, statements, and views expressed in this or any other publication published and/or distributed by Fashion Quarterly are not endorsed by and do not represent the views, opinions, policies or positions of the ASUCSD, GSAUCSD, UC San Diego, the University of California and the Regents or their officers, employees, or agents. The principal members of each Student media bear and assume the full responsibility and liability for the content of their publication.