Introduction by FutureClaw

Blouse - GF Ferreâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Trousers - Operations 1

White Blazer Band of Outsiders White Vest, Worn Under Altuzarra Striped Denim Pants Tripp NYC Sequin Handbag Chanel Sunglasses Dries van Noten

White Tee, Worn Over Oxford Dries van Noten White Oxford Dress, Worn Underneath Acne White Silk Crepe Striped Harem Pant Acne Pink Leather Bag Chanel Vintage Scarf Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Own

Briefs Moschino Patent Long Gloves La Crasia Skull Ring Disaya

Sheer Top Yves Saint Laurent Side Bow Panties Moschino Chain Link Necklace Ben-Amun Hosiery Wolford Statue Heel Sandals Christian Dior

Black Metallic Lace Bodysuit Agent Provocateur Dice Metal Ring Disaya Bracelets Ben-Amun

Dress Nina Ricci Shoes Etro

Dress Yohji Yamamoto

Oversized Print Jacket, Dropped Crotch Shorts, Cage Sandals Yves Saint Laurent Sheer Top American Apparel Black Leather Structured Dress Alexander McQueen

Bracelets Ben Amun

Black-White Fantasy Tweed Jacket, Black/Ecru Cotton Tweed Top, Two-tone Tights Chanel Printed Sandals Christian Dior by John Galliano

Circle-cut Top and Cropped-over Jacket, Sequinned Skirt, Socks, Taupe Patent Heels Marni Black-White-Purple Painted Tweed Vest and Skirt Chanel Metal Bracelets Tom Binns

Photography Ken Pao for www.kenpao.com Makeup Vincent Oquendo for Artists by Next Hair Ryan Taniguchi using Tresseme Model Tine @ Trump Model Natalia @ Trump

RA D LiPPS

Photography Emma Tempest Art Director Jem Goulding Makeup Kenneth Soh @ kennethsohmakeup.com using MAC Pro Cosmetics Hair Fabio Vivan Model Annie @ Models1

POISON IV Y

Multi-Colored Sequined Heels Miu-Miu Silver-Black Mesh Heel Christian Dior (Jeffrey New York) Blue Jeweled Aquatic Cuff Sorrelli

Gray Patent Leather Shoe Cuff Dekkori (Jeffrey New York) Silver Cocaine Bracelet Tom Binns (Jeffrey New York)

Long Hammered Squares Necklace

Jewled Necklace

Tuleste Market

Leetal Kalmanson

HeAdonIstIc Photography Julia Kennedy Millinery J.S. Esquire Art Director Jem Goulding Makeup Sinden @ Streeters Hair Claire Rothstein Model Erin Fee @ Select

21st century millinery is all about mood, sending out sexual and sensual messages. It is powerful even disturbing, giving a newborn strength to the woman it adorns. Master of this new genre is Justin Smith, milliner from London. Who, with his dark and masterful works of art, transforms and encapsulates a contemporary age in fashion. - Carole Denford, Fashion Editor, The Hat Magazine

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S A N DR A BAC K LU N D WORDS by MARIA GIRALDO BOMBIN / PHOTOS courtesy SANDRA BACKLUND Deeper beyond fashion, way above seasons and further than trends, that is the exact location for the work of Sandra Backlund. Like masterpieces, her work does not need to come with a context, it does not have a WHY, it does not need to be explained, no need to be justified, no need to be coherent, no need to be a slave of the seasoned frame industry. At the beginning of her career, she was awarded with prizes sponsored by Topshop or H&M but she wanted a slow life and believed in slow fashion. She founded her own company in 2004. “It is just me in my studio in Stockholm, but my family, friends and press office help me a lot”. She collaborates punctually with partners, such as Emilio Pucci or Louis Vuitton. To what extend do you need or take advantage of the fashion world? I don´t like the way mass production, mass consumption and making fast and big money is poisoning modern fashion. I think we all have to start taking responsibility for our actions in this matter, but of course I am aware of the fact that it will be imposible for me to continue to do everything by myself and by hand forever. I already work too hard for my own best, so there is no way I can develop my collections if I don´t find a way to solve the production problem. I was recently introduced to Italian knitwear producer, Maglificio

Miles (producer of Alaia, Rykiel, etc.) by the White Club, a non-profit organisation based in Milano which works to connect new designers with producers in Italy. We have just carried out our first collaboration (pictured above). A test that has been very successful and I hope that it will soon be possible for me to combine my hand made one-off pieces with machine made pieces, within the same collection. How many collections do you launch per year? How many pieces do you need to consider a collection complete? It could be one? Ever since the beginning I have been doing two collections per year, one for Fall/Winter and one for Spring/Summer. A collection is not completed by just a specific number of garments, it differs a lot and this is also one important reason

why I need to find help for production. Now when I do about 10 pieces per collection, I already work all the time. It is frustrating because I often feel like I am wasting ideas because there is no time to allow my collections to grow bigger. Regarding your question if one garment could complete a collection I would say no, but of course it could be possible to build a collection from only one garment. I could use it as a starting point for other clothes, it depends how you see it… Greater artists have always built their world bounded to an obsession? What is Sandra Backlund’s one? Except for the obvious, the handicraft techniques and the materials I work with. I am really fascinated by all the ways you can highlight, distort and transform the natural silhouette with clothes and accessories.

I like to consciously dress and undress parts of the body. I am really introverted and lock myself in my studio when working, so in that sense I guess I find inspiration from everything that is going on in my own life both private, as a designer and as a founder of my own company. She avoids the main fashion weeks, while her collections are exhibited in galleries around the globe. Sandra has also taught at the Arts of Fashion Foundation as a master on knitting structures. Her public confessor is the cultural guru, Diane Pernet, from a “Shaded View on Fashion”. She invited Sandra to the runway of Hyers Festival 2006, where she received the grand prix from Christian Lacroix. On the contrary to other designers, she creates from nothing, no cloth or surface on which to print or cut. It is just her yarns and needles. Some of her pieces must be complicatedly assembled right on the body before shows. Sandra has investigated with different materials, wood, hair but she seems to have found in wool the perfect companion. What does knitting allows you and what doesn’t? I do not feel like I chose knitwear, it just happened that way. I have always been experimenting with different materials and three dimensional shapes and the kind of knitting that I do is just perfect for that. For me knitting is synonymous to creative freedom. Very consuming in matter of time and money and a real trial to one’s mental and physical strength. I like the way you are building your own fabric while working with traditional handicraft techniques and the way it is often both mathematical and yet permits improvisation. It is never easy to define your own work, but you say you are more a sculptor than a tailor. Aren’t tailors, also sculptors who assemble small parts in a conservative or innovative manner? I understand your question, of course tailors also sculpt sometimes when creating shapes, but since I never work with traditional pattern making, but invent my pieces while doing them 3 dimensionally by hand, I think I approach fashion more

like a sculptor. I guess a different piece takes a different amount of time, but you could give us an approximately idea of how time demanding you pieces are? As you already guessed, it differs a lot depending on the piece and my current health/strength but for the most complicated pieces, could be up to 400 hours. You say fashion is a democratic form of art? It is in a way because you can express yourself but it is also a very “classifying way”, specially when you make sure you wear pieces not everybody could afford. So, do you think democracy applies the Luxury Brands as well as to your not-so-easy-accessible pieces? Personally I like to think of fashion as an art form rather than an industry. I consider fashion a democratic form of art in the sense of something that most of us do relate to in our everyday life. People in general could of course be more self governed when it comes to fashion, but even if you do not think about it or actually care about it, the choices you make on what you wear is still an expression for something. It can be a personal or political statement, a way to become someone else or to blend in and look like everyone else or just because of aesthetical reasons. My designs are very personal for me and they are not made with the purpose to please everyone. Both the aesthetics and the fact that it is all hand made by me and often made from high quality materials, makes it not at all commercial. Actually I try not to think so much about trends, wearability and what other people wants from me when I design my collections, in the end I do this mostly to satisfy myself. Do you wear your designs? For you daily life, what type of garments do you wear? And for special occasions? Any brands in particular you follow, like or wear? Do you like collecting at markets, or vintage places? I seldom wear my own design, but that is also a future mission of mine: for every collection to include at least one garment that I would actually dare to wear myself. Now I almost only wear vintage clothes, mostly all kinds of dresses. I never shop for brands, but for specific pieces I like.

As a designer and as an entrepreneur with your own brand, what would you like to achieve creatively and economically speaking? I try to keep an open mind and not worry too much about the future, but on the other hand I am not the kind of person who wants to rush for the stars either. My plan is to continue to work hard, protect my origins and what I am good at, but still find a way to develop my designs and my company. I am a searcher so I will never find myself reaching some kind of finishing line, but I would of course like to be able to live off my work. Any upcoming projects? At this moment, I am giving the last touch to my F/W 09-10 collection and I am also working on a special knit piece for the Arnhem Fashion Biennale in The Netherlands this summer, and planning for my S/S -10 collection. Any common characteristics that your yarn must comply with? If I could choose whatever I wanted I would prefer ecological and fair trade yarns, but it is a bit difficult when you are a small company doing just one-off pieces. Sometimes I buy my yarns from my local yarn store and sometimes I order from bigger companies, for example in Italy. Hopefully in the future I will be able to select my yarns more carefully planned. Sandra experiences fashion, work and life seem to be one single matter. Maybe for that reason she baptizes her collections in such an intimate way. “Last Breath Bruise”, she fell down the stairs at the very same momentum her grandmother died. What would you never give up? My origins.

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DUC K I E BROW N

P ORT S 19 61

WORDS by JULIE BOBEK / PHOTOS by BOBBY MOZUMDER

WORDS by TALIA FITTANTE / PHOTOS by BOBBY MOZUMDER

“How Duckie can you get?” asks Daniel Silver and Steven Cox in their fall fashion invitation. This fall’s collection was all about optimism, as the bright orange gives your mood a positive boost. A major highlight of the show was the beautiful new fabrics that the designers created through collaboration with their textile mills. The waxed pants, coats and gloves deliver a smooth and comforting feel through their slippery, slightly sheened surface. From a distance, a handquilted jacket looks as if it would be heavy and uncomfortable, but one touch of the fabric reveals an airy lightness that seems positively futuristic. Additionally, functional elements, such as pants with knee pads and classic herringbone suits, kept the collection grounded. After watching their group cheerfully toast the collection backstage shortly before it would be revealed at Bryant Park, I was able to ask Daniel and Steven a few questions.

Fashion writers like to throw around words like “costumey” and “overdone” when they write about collections with actual personality. Most often than not, reviews of Tia Cibani’s collections for Ports 1961 read like a how-to primer for fashion writers. At various times, reviewers have criticized Cibani’s collections for being too literal in their interpretation of a theme. These reviews are generally mixed with high praise for Cibani’s color palette and eye for detail, but I think views like this are missing the fundamental essence of Ports 1961. Cibani does not compromise her vision. She wants to create a spell through her collection. The wearer should be transported to another time and place. Buyers of her pieces are free combine at will, but at the root of Ports 1961 is the belief that clothing should be joyous and beautiful.

Describe this year’s fall collection to me? - Steven - It’s all about the eyes. - Daniel - All about covering up. It’s coats, jackets, hats, gloves and big scarves. It’s durable fabrication. It’s about survival and mostly optimism! What new fabrics have you developed? - Steven - We have developed a lot of fabrics. A technical fabric has been created. It’s very durable and yet has a hand made feel to it. It’s a heavy woven like a tough basket weave. The fabrics are thicker than usual. We have used coating fabrics for jackets and trouser. It’s very stiff and has an armour like feeling. Many pieces are molded yet tailored. A sculptural feeling. - Daniel - heavy wax cotton.

What colors are you showing in this season’s collection? - Steven - Black, orange, brown camel and all shades of grey. You don’t show any fantasy pieces? - Steven - No. Everything we show we sell. - Daniel - Yes. Everything we show you can wear. The fantasy part is up to you. You have been in the fashion industry for more than 20 years. Where do you see fashion moving toward with the current economy? - Daniel - Fashion will always survive... Fashion is patient. It’s about what people are thinking and feeling and always changing. - Steven - Fashion will become more interesting. You will have to be really good and creative to survive.

You manufacture your collection locally and internationally. How can you influence other designers to follow your directions? - Steven - That is up to them. - Daniel - Yes, that is up to them. You have to feel a sense of responsibility for the city and or country that you live in. and it’s about giving back. That is not something that is taught. That is something you have or don’t have.”

Cibani herself embodies these very ideals. When I spoke with her backstage before the debut of her Fall 2009 collection, the first thing that impressed me about her was her utter lack of pretention. This is not a woman who allows censors to dictate her path or who buckles under market trends. This is a woman utterly devoted to infusing every thread in her collection with the knowledge she has gained from her life and her travels. Born in Libya, raised in Vancouver, and trained in Shanghai, Cibani certainly brings a lot of experience to her collections. Though she only took over as creative director in 2004, she has been a part of the brand for more than 15 years. In the past she has interpreted the totem poles of the Pacific Northwest and the mythic beauty of a Scottish winter. Now she turns her hand to medieval India during the Mughal dynasty and the person of Empress Noor Jahan, a woman who broke the mold for her time. The colors of India jump out at you right away as the collection comes down the runway. Brilliant curry yellow and dusty rose are set against sandstone woven through with gold thread and pearly

greys that shimmer as the models move. And move they do as Women will want to wear these clothes. And why not? They are they step jauntily to the music of Red Baraat, a Brooklyn-based stunningly executed and many are the visual manifestations of the Bhangra and brass fusion band that is live on the runway. The “statement piece” that magazines are always exhorting us to find collection is unapologetically luxurious, with its beautifully em- and add to our wardrobes. But beyond that, they seem like they broidered jacquards, bright silks, and rows of tiny buttons. Draped would be a joy to wear. Backstage, Cibani insisted that her colpieces, such a as a flowing lightly-patterned dress, are paired with lection was “about ceremonial dressing” and “pausing to enjoy a highly structured jackets with meticulously articulated details. little bit, the color, the drape of the fabric, the detail, even having The idea, Cibani explained, was to show traditional Hindu shapes someone to help you.” These pieces are about feeling special simcoupled with the more structured pieces like those the Mughals ply because you are a woman. Clearly, Cibani pours herself, heart wore. The soft pieces are kept close to the body, while the more and soul, into her collections, Season after season, she takes the armor-like ones are on the outside. One could even say that this consumer along on her travels. In an industry ruled by the fear of is a metaphor for Empress Jahan herself. A renowned beauty, she irrelevance, she takes a brave stand by weaving fabulous stories won the heart of the emperor and became his wife. Though women from cloth and displaying them for all to see. in her time had very little power, she became the true force behind the throne, often ruling on important matters in place of her husband. There is no way to miss Cibani’s inspiration in this, or any of her collections. But instead of seeing costumes, I see potential.

Boots Rick Owens Hooded Top Julius Jeans Leviâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Jacket G-Star Boots Hudson T-Shirt Prada Jean Shorts Acne

Dress Jean Paul Gaultier, Shoes Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own

Dress Marc By Marc Jacobs, Waspie Agent Provocateur, Pants Alice + Olivia, Shoes Chanel, Cuff Bracelets D&G

Pink Vest Chevignon Yellow Net Wrap Fabrics Interseason

Jessica wears: Blue Top Manish Arora White dress stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own Emmi wears: Vest Sans Pink top Manish Arora

Skirt & Top by 3.1 Philip LIm Boots Vintage Socks by Fogal Jewelry by Philippe Audibert

Jacket, Shirt & Skirt by Erin Featherston Socks by Fogal Boots Vintage Gloves by LaCrasia

Azzaro jumpsuit Kenneth Jay Lane earrings Vintage hats, glasses, brooch, collar necklace, and bracelet.

Isabella Oliver 365 dress Vintage Chanel hat Kenneth Jay Lane earrings This-n-That blue ring Vintage sunglasses, necklaces, and pearl ring Vintage Chanel bag.

Bikini Top by Red Carter Pink Shorts by Sylvia Heisel Isaac Manevitz for Ben-Amun Silver Bracelet

Bikini Top by Marysia Tutu by Marysia White Hotpants by The Blonds, Special order Necklace by Isaac Manevitz for Ben-Amun

Black Bathing Suit with Broach in front Sauvage Bracelets Right 1st Alexis Bittar, other 3 GM Collections Bracelets Left Alexis Bittar

White Bathing Suit With Cutouts and Print Miss Sixty Shoes Ruthie Davis All Bracelets GM

Terence Koh The End of My Life as a Rabbit, Deitch Projects 2007

Special Projects

“…Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art.” Money is now happening to this group lets not beat around the bush and mention Terence in the context of sincerity, swaddled in fur and Fendi in his all-white Canal street building. Terence is a charlatan: he lies so often it becomes truth. He minces, he watches, he tells you what you want to hear. He speak Chinese, you want Chinese? He has recently been on at least four magazine covers photographed as or with the words WARHOL across him, and I think we can all agree with this relationship and put it aside. But Terence is a strange white animal: his artworks are not mass produced fuck-yous to the market (although some sculptures covered in “gold” may be mere spray-paint) but are rather delicate, degraded, half-dreams half nightmares as unique as he is. His artworks are poems written during a fantastic glowing all night party. And despite all the white, when Terence is black he is very very black: a recent exhibition in Zurich found Koh rebuilding the Last Supper in black with skeletons and a poison-ant filled cast of himself as Christ. The exhibition, called GOD, included a black catalogue teeming with photos of pornographic violence and degradation featuring the artist and mysterious men. Speaking of girls, which we haven’t yet at all really, Aurel Schmidt builds Archiboldo-esque babes out of the punkest junk around, all illusionistically and elegantly drawn in pastel shades of colored pencil. She literally collects shit off the street and squirrels it home to her Long Island City studio to draw and ponder. She had me elbow deep in trash more than once to help her get just the right used condom. But I’ve forgiven her for that already and can say unrestrictedly that her recent Party Monster series includes some of the most spot-on New York City portraits of a moment that I’ve seen. Only by being there at 4am as whatever crappy cool venue is closing or on Terence’s couch at sun up or covered in unfathomable filth from Dash’s floor the next day can you see the visages in real life that Aurel captures here with blood, puke, cum, drugs, and debris. This is one of the ways that art and life are back in close relationship after a prolonged break up. That was another transition! Sincerity is a dirty word but one I’m not afraid to use. Without revealing too much privileged info about personal life, will everyone take my word for the fact that these artists are living their works? Many artists are not from a grad-schooled art background and their diversity of life experiences breathes fresh energy into what can be a very boring parade of bland art-historical update art. Everything you’ve read about Dash’s playboy millionaire life is a lie; everything you’ve read about a-historical ignorant ingénues is off. Terence only ”came out of nowhere” to the world at large but to his friends he was a severely struggling Canadian Chinese freak in a shit apartment down here below Canal. The back-story should be irrelevant. If you look at the artworks with a little optimism, parting the imparted cynicism just a tad, you will get all the real deal feeling from the artworks themselves.

Aurel Schmidt, Weeping Woman, 2008 Pencil, colored pencil, acrylic on paper 27 x 33 inches

What do they know that we don’t?

Is your favorite Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”?

I think it’s more a voice of optimism. To me it’s pretty much not to take things too seriously, and to keep looking at the world in an optimistic way.

That’s so funny. I actually have to say that my favorite Beatles song is all of the Magical Mystery Tour. Specifically that instrumental piece “Flying.”

So I’m assuming, just from your work such as “Royaume Nous Grandirons Ensemble”, that you speak French?

What direction do you see yourself going in next? I know since you were on tour you had to bring a lot of prints that you could carry from place to place, but do you see yourself doing larger, installation-type work?

I don’t speak French well. A lot of the French that I’ve written in my work is because I’ve worked so closely with a French audience and Sixpack. And I’ve always been a fan of works that are in other languages. I’m not really one that’s big on making literal comments on current events, but [Un Royaume] is definitely a comment on the general state of affairs, just the general war and all that stuff, it’s loosely based on that. “One kingdom, we should grow together” - it’s definitely up for interpretation but it’s a loose, loose comment on that. It seems like a lot of your work does talk about this idea of community, or one world. Do you feel that kind of sense of community in LA? Compared to New York, Los Angeles doesn’t seem to have that much of a close-knit feel, but do you feel like you have that sort of artistic community? Yeah, Los Angeles is a very, very strange city compared to New York and to all the different cities that we traveled around to. But I think that once you find your place and meet the right people that it can become something special. You find your niche within the context of this bigger metropolitan, sprawling city. The concept of exploring this social connectivity and community is an ongoing theme that I’ve explored, specifically over the last couple years, and it speaks definitely beyond the Los Angeles area. But as far as the artistic community here, by nature of making things and making art and imagery, a lot of my friends and a lot of the people that I hang out with are very much a part of the art community, and they’re into show openings and openings at the Family Bookstore and various galleries around town. If you could do cover art for any novel or film what would it be? Film, it would definitely be The Adventures of Baron Munchausen by Terry Gilliam. I just watched that movie and just freaked out. And then I’ve been reading a lot of famous American literature, like really classic American literature, and I think a novel would be The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.

We’re working on this show in Los Angeles. It’s going to be at Subliminal Projects, Shepard Fairey’s gallery. It’s going to be a lot of the prints from the “Our Mountain” show, but we’re adding on. Justin’s creating a bunch of work and we’re going to bring the teepee in there and then we’re going to create a couple more pieces. I also just finished several apparel graphics with Michael Leon of Commonwealth Spec. He’s artdirecting for Nike skateboarding, so I just designed a couple T-shirts for Nike Skateboarding. I’m working with the guys over at Kid Robot on a bunch of random three-dimensional pieces. And then I’m doing some skateboard graphics for Habitat Skateboards. Those Element skateboards are out, and then we are reissuing them for the states in new color waves, and then we’re going to release them on contemporary board shapes as well, so they’ll be skateable. And then I’m just excited because I released that solo book, so I’m working on getting several distributors. If we were to take the teepee and those bed sheets on a camping trip is there any place you’d recommend? I’d recommend that you go to “Our Mountain”. But definitely something very spacey, at night, where you can see a lot of stars. For more information on Steven and his work visit www.stevenharrington.com Interview by CAITLING ANNE PARKER & ALEX S. PLAPINGER Photos and art work courtesy of STEVEN HARRINGTON

INTERVIEW

ANA FINEL HONIGMAN / PHOTOS

BOBBY MOZUMDER

PUSH*THE*BUTTON MULTIMEDIA is where Swedish artist Rasmus Svensson satisfies his various creative impulses. As an art collective, record label, print production shop, and community hub, PUSH*THE*BUTTON represents an entrepreneurial trend that has become characteristic of young creatives defying career specialization. While conventional wisdom dictates that in order to be really good at something you need to devote all your energy to that one thing, Rasmus and his friends, collaborators, and business partners challenge this notion and create a case for indulging the desire to “dabble” (the lack of a better word highlights the social bias in question). For this issue of FutureClaw, Rasmus put together a series of digital artworks that ref lects his current range of interests. We had the opportunity to talk with him about the series and some of the ideas that inform PUSH*THE*BUTTON.

Where does this desire to diversify your creative pursuits come from? I have always been very interested in people who build their own world and have everything they do relate to that world. When I see someone who is doing lots of different things in music, drawing, computer stuff, clothing, or whatever, that really grips me. I think it’s very important that everything you do fit together in some way, even if you do a lot of different things. One of my idols is Andrew W.K., who plays in the band Wolf Eyes, does lectures, and produces Lee Scratch Perry, among other things. Even though all these activities seem so varied, there’s still some kind of central point that keeps it all together. And how do your artistic interests relate to your background? Well, I used to hate minimalism when I was younger. Now I don’t. But I most enjoy epic things. Things that are huge in scope. So the epicness, biggness, otherworldliness is important to me. My interests do relate a lot to memories and what not, though. Lately, I’ve been very interested in rocks, stones, smoke, circles, and Guns’N’Roses. Yes, the circles are clearly prevalent in the body of work you put together for us. What draws you to the shape? Well, circles (and spheres/globes) are self-contained. They enclose the chaos and make it look well ordered. What about the acidy color palette you use? Something about that and the way you do collage seems specific to the digital medium. I guess it’s got to do with trying to break through the digital medium -- pushing it past this ugly point, after which it gains a certain accessibility again. The distorted guitar is a good example of what I’m talking about: those people pushed their medium (the amp) too hard and it broke up and people were shocked. Of course, now people aren’t that shocked by it anymore. I used to be very into the so-called glitch thing, a movement that consisted of exploiting digital errors in music and images, when I was younger. I felt like it was our generation’s version of the distorted guitar. But now that stuff has

been normalized, and I’m not really into it anymore. For me, the interesting place to be is that line between the ugly and the beautiful I guess, exploring whatever feels like it hasn’t gotten boring yet -- whatever makes people react in some way. Nowadays New Age music offends people’s taste more than a loud guitar. There’s clearly a psychedelic element to your aesthetic. It’s present in the work of a lot young artists these days, and seems to have evolved beyond a kind of imagery into a creative approach. What do you think has incited this renewed interest in psychedelia? I think it might have something to do with the easy availability of everything that we now have. In my case, I don’t think it’s got much to do with some idea of sixties/hippie culture. It’s more about fitting a lot of things into everything, if that makes sense? I feel like we’re at a point in history where it’s so easy to look back at anything we choose. There’s so much information on whatever you want to know about. So many pictures, sounds, ideas. In a way, that’s pretty psychedelic. But not in some drugged out way. I’m a big fan of Fort Thunder and all that contemporary “psychedelic” poster making. I found those things a few years ago. I played a show with Mat Brinkman (another man of many talents) here in Gothenburg and saw some of the work coming out of that scene, so it’s definitely made an impression on me. Generally speaking, the globes (and everything else I’ve been doing lately) are about looking back at the past by way of something new. Like watching the moon landing on YouTube. Or reading about ancient Greek architecture on Wikipedia. Or looking at animated GIFs of Native Americans on a homepage from 1998. So the globes are like peepholes into the past or future or whatever. www.pushthebutton.tk

PHOTO ESSAY

ALEXANDER BINDER

Dear Tommy,

become a top in the game. I’d probably get a lot of butt, gay guys find me particularly attractive.

What is it about this T-Pain cameo on the Rick Ross album? It is so fucking magic. I love it. It is a modus vivendi. It is a spirit. It is beautiful.

I was deep in that pussy, son. She was so much fun. She asked me to hit it raw and I obliged. I was in complete accord. The she’s like playfully like, “You don’t have any STDs you’re going to give me?” Sort of like a statement, like she was trying to dictate a clean outcome for this very dirty, heated episode. Then she’s giggling like “like maybe some herpes.” And I kind of got into it like, “Naw, ma, just HPV.” I don’t think I’ve ever joked with a partner about transferring STDs. It’s usually a very heavy existential questioning and not usually openly communicated, an elephant in the room if I may, you just kind of work your way to the point where there is no more questioning the action, and... boom, you’re in. And it feels so good. Upon finishing you are instantly overwhelmed with regret and paranoia.

Last summer, I had an epiphanic moment where I realized that no benefit, no true evolution can result from such a doggedly negative self outlook. I began to approach topics and information that I knew little or nothing about with an almost greedy excitement, viewing them as great opportunities to further understand this place we call the world and its history.

Also, I hope you were able to have a decent sleep on the floor in the greenroom. I chose your room because it is optimal to listen to music throughout romantic interludes. As you know, it can really make the experience. And, oh yeah nigga, we fucked to Sade. So fucking hot, dude. Please try it. On a greater level, I want to thank you for helping me to develop as a person and for rescuing me from low points and depressed states at various times over the last few years. Your stoicism, calm, rational ways, humor, wit, and perspective have contributed so much to my general well-being. During those long months in the hospital I wanted to talk with you the most. You are my favorite person to engage in conversation with.

I have been thinking about getting Tent City back together. I am moving to San Francisco soon to spend time with Colin and Sam, Elaine, Annie and whoever. Being a rapper seams really fun, and there is no reason to look upon that dream with skepticism. Paul, I hope to see you soon, either in San francisco or New York or wherever. Let’s make plans. Love, T

I’ve been thinking about this lately because, like 50, I yearn to take chances and span the spectrum, and in doing so, possibly unleash the potential life has for me. I recall all of the momentum you and I had going at the end of last summer. So much positivity and elan for life. That feeling has waned a bit in me and I am ready for it’s renaissance. I look back on those days of empowerment, you and me, with considerable fondness. This dogma lies within me, but for some reason, when I am with you, it rises to the surface so naturally, to the point that I believe I rely on you to extract it from me.

I guess work – being in a junior position, shaving every day and putting on a suit, feeling new responsibilities and pressures, not just from

I recently watched the 50 cent movie Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Apparently his early life was quite trying and he almost died a number of times, the 9 bullets we all hear about included. After the shooting, he entered a deep depression, and as humans tend to do, he bounced back and became the second richest rap entertainer today (after jay-z). I realized that hitting rock bottom gives one a certain character that allows them access to the top. The more you’re willing to span the spectrum, the more life can offer. 50 has vascilated between near death and now, far from death, with the security that large amounts of money can provide.

That’s a really gay way of thinking. You can’t harp over self improvement like that. Self-improvement happens. Another thing I notice myself doing is approaching information that I don’t know with guilt. Like, “I should know that” or “I fucking knew that, I read about that a while ago. Why didn’t I remember that?”

Do you ever wonder what you’d do concerning sexual activity, how you would change your sex life if you were to contract HIV? Being in the city maybe I could get into a circle of gay guys who have HIV – such networks do exist I hear – and get my dick sucked, maybe

I want to thank you for providing such a great prelude to sexual intercourse via the atmosphere at Pac Rim. I guess I was worried because of the stark contrast from the planned meeting with Sophia – sober – against the night before – seeing each other for the first time, ethereally intoxicated and expressing such emotions through dance. But, thanks to your help (the Akon, the distilled spirits), I was able to salvage my graces and shape fate to my benefit yet again. Winning is the shit.

Fall is upon us, seasons are changing, and my 25th year is on the horizon. That being said, I am not unhappy with the outcome of my life thus far. After all, I lost my virginity, the only thing I cared to accomplish during the first portion of my existence. I recall the dismal days before this event, doubt-laiden and pathetic, surely the cause of the dark comedy that is my personality. A certain sagacity is derived from the pain and rejection that the soft-faced liberal boys of our peer group were spared from, sinking there penises into pretty little virgin girls, while I was by myself masturbating in a graveyard.

Sometimes I get caught up in thinking of value like that. On the weekends in NYC sometimes I have slight existential panics about how I could and should and am spending my time. “Geez, I should really go to the Met.” Or “I should really watch some more movies. I don’t know much about movie trivia.”

The regret is a bit vaguer in this case. Just based upon the sarcastic and playful milieu that enveloped that episode it would be rather comic if I ended up with HIV from that scenario.

Back to Sophia:

Dear Paulie Son, Dear Paul,

Tommy, I admit I was nervous last night at Pac Rim before Sophia arrived. I had had such a baller day, full of beauty, confidence, wit and happiness with very little questioning of the foundation I was seemingly levitating over. I think I was getting caught up in logistic thoughts about my travels home and burning CDs, trying to ensure some sort of permanent value was gained from my paid vacation to Burlington than all the drinking and witty banter, however fun and reinvigorating all of that was.

I really relate with T-Pain when he sings “I got a fresh lineup, a fresh outfit.” I felt that much fresher and enthralled with what the universe would bring me after purchasing my new farmed-salmon colored American Apparel single pocket t-shirt. It might have made all the difference in the outcome to the evening.

work, but from living in such a place as New York – has deteriorated that zeal and led to this pathology of ‘should haves’ and ‘I don’t knows’.

to reach those witty peaks which instill further confidence and lead to the prospect of gaining access to pussy – an activity which holds great weight in our gauging overall personal happiness) manner. When you’re drinking before work, and missing work because of drinking, well, that’s when you have a problem. My Uncle is an alcoholic. You’re not like my Uncle. He is a fucking mess. You’re not a mess. I don’t see him in you. Oh, another note, Sophia is a former nationally ranked tennis player. She has a great body and is very comfortable in her skin, a requisite to any truly memorable fuck. If her face was a good as her body she would be a 9.8. Great pussy (wet), still taught, firm C-cup breasts with fun nipples, long legs, great hair to run your hands through, a toned but not muscular body, which makes her more attractive to me because she occupies the middle ground between the flabby hipster ass that you kind of hit hard out of spite for such a pathetic lifestyle and an athleticism that confounds confidence to some degree and may result in finishing early, going flaccid or just not being fun in general. It is so beautiful being hot boys in our prime. Let’s try to remember that and really enjoy our youth, because, after all, it is ephemeral. Your Friend, Paul

I love you and care for your wellbeing. That being said, I will tell you if I think your drinking is becoming problematic. You claim to be an alcoholic. I don’t think you’re there. Your drinking is, from what I know, usually done in a celebratory or a self discovering (on a quest THIS PAGE & OPPOSITE: Paul Damon and Tommy Wheeler, Love Letters (no homo), 2009. Courtesy Tent City Estate.

INTRODUCTION

DREW STOCK / PHOTOGRAPHY

BOBBY MOZUMDER

The Combat Paper Project was initiated by Drew Cameron, an Iraq War veteran, and Drew Matott, a paper maker based in Burlington, Vermont. Their project has become many things to many people: part outreach effort, part therapeutic outlet, part platform for self expression, and part forum for political activism, it defies clear definition. The Drews and other core Combat Paper members Eli Wright and Jon Turner agree, though, that Combat Paper is fundamentally about war veterans making sense of their service experience through the process of turning combat uniforms into paper. FutureClaw is privileged to showcase some of the projectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent output. Combat Paperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s show Fabric of War will be on view this summer at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, England and the Phoenix Gallery in Brighton, England. Eli Wright, Broken Toy Soldiers, 2009.

Jon Turner, Pink Mist, 2009.

Jon Turner, Untitled, 2009.

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHY

LEWIS RAPKIN

BETWEEN MABON AND SAMHAIN, Berlin can sometimes take on a drawn and powerful cast. Like a dark woman or a forgotten tunnel, the intensity is inexplicably attractive. These moments remind me of Providence, Rhode Island, where I grew up. Nearly all of my memories of my hometown have a tinge of New England Gothic: bats in the coat closet of my Kindergarten, the witch-like cape worn by my first crush, the World War II bridge, Kim’s Oriental Weapons shop, drums and fires in the Train Tunnel, sitting in a warehouse basement in the middle of nowhere listening to Marjan Crash practice ( Fig. 1 )... This year I’m constantly drawn back to my memories of Providence, particularly those from the fall of 1993. I entered that season with very little. I chose just a few companions. A failed end of summer romance had yielded an incredible breakup tape, one side of which was Opium Den’s “Diary of a Drunken Sun”. Listening to it was like crawling into a cave. It was the perfect antidote to having burned out on punk, hardcore and grunge. The lyrics and sound of mid 80’s Washington DC bands like Rites of Spring also spoke to my disillusionment and I listened to “End on End” constantly. Most importantly, because it was the most volatile of my guides, I had discovered Sylvia Plath’s semi-autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar. I had first encountered Plath two years earlier and rejected her completely. The language made me tense, got under my skin. The man hating alienated me. The second time around, I went in deep. Enmeshed, I drowned. The difference between Esther (the novel’s protagonist), Plath and I blurred. We were a sexless love triangle.

I felt one’s pain as the other spoke mine. The wit, the venom, the beauty and the rage were in me as they were on the page. I had returned to Providence to try to get some ground under my feet after several fantasies hadn’t played out the way I wanted them to. I had made a brief stab at Art School, then ridden a Greyhound bus around the Midwest and hadn’t found what I was looking for in either place. I discovered group improvisation with other Providence musicians, producing astounding tapes of long psychedelic jams in my parents’ basement. I had hoped the project would develop into something but that door slammed shut in a fog of drugs and competing egos. I wasn’t becoming the person I wanted to be fast enough and I wanted out or home and wasn’t sure of the difference anymore. I learned quickly that going back is an illusion, another fantasy. Home was something that I would have to make, not find. I wandered in my memories, burned each like a votive candle until the cold set in. I spent hours and days on end recording feedback and drones on an old Sony reel to reel. I wandered downtown and in Swan Point Cemetery. I read everything I could get my hands on but nothing dug in like Plath. As each day passed I felt like I was standing in a train station while people and trains came and went. I would watch and wait but I had nowhere to go or be, and for this reason I called it “The Platform”. What I was waiting for never became clear. In retrospect it was more about giving up ( Fig. 2 ).

Fig. 1

S/S 2009 “I THINK MY designs represent a vision of what fashion can be.” Coming from 26-year-old designer Julia Hederus, it’s a statement that evokes both her dedication to the evolution of fashion and her belief in the importance of garment-making. A native of Stockholm, Hederus studied fashion in Denmark before moving to London to get an M.A. in menswear. It was there that she contacted iconic shoe company K-Swiss with a collaboration pitch, resulting in three limited edition, Lego-inspired sneakers. Now a rising design star, Hederus has started up a business and works independently in her own studio. She spoke to us about why she makes men’s clothes and what makes Michael Jackson sexy. How did your interest in fashion start? I used to play around with my mum’s silk scarves, and sort of drape them around me to create dresses when I was 6 or 7 years old. Then I think I discovered fashion in magazines when I was about 13, and I felt so astonished by Comme des Garcons, Ann Demeulemeester, Helmut Lang, Galliano and Vivienne Westwood. I could sit for hours and look through those catwalk reports. Did you have a fashionable family? My mum was a textile designer, and she always bought lots of clothes and went travelling a lot. I think that she really inspired me. She had a very unconventional, not so feminine, Japanese style with flat cuts and wide trousers. She never wore a bra, and always a lot of menswear, big shirts and workwear and big sweaters, and always had one of her own huge silk scarves in her hair. She also loved sneakers. Aside from that my family consists of many architects and artists. Do you have any style icons? I think that Jean-Michel Basquiat has been very important to me, not for the actual clothes he wore, but rather his mentality. He could wear anything, just like he could write on anything. Lately I have been very inspired by Michael Jackson and his very confident look from the late 80’s, early 90’s: always quite slim trousers and a nice shirt. Or a golden vest! It’s so liberating to see someone who knows exactly what he likes, and what he finds sexy. Why do you design clothes only for men? I don’t feel drawn to womenswear though I do see a lot of freedom in fashion for women. It’s more creative--and it really makes me wonder why men can’t feel the same thing. I do think that a lot has changed, but there still are a lot of boundaries to break. And I would be happy if I managed to do that. Are you ever going to expand beyond menswear? I hope so, but there’s still so much undone in menswear and I guess that my view on fashion will need some time to sink in. How did the K-Swiss collaboration happen? I always dreamt of doing cubic clothes! It’s something with the simplicity and raw cut-out shape that thrills me. It makes your mind spin! I always made shoe sketches on the side for my collections, because I just found it very important to have the right

shoes to match an outfit. So during my M.A. I contacted K-Swiss and they were interested, so then I just started to design for them. Behind the shoe designs there’s also a Lego concept, a brick system. You get the shoebox with the trainers and a whole kit of velcro bits that you can put anywhere on the shoe! Just start piling and placing. It’s really fun. What is the look of your designs? My look is very hard and casual at the same time, often inspired by sports--motorcycling, sailing, surfing, skateboarding, biking--and then I often mix it with a precise shape that I like to work with, often symmetric. Who is the ideal man you are designing for? He’s very free and spiritual, and creative. He’s like Basquiat! How do you think men feel in your clothes? They should feel different from the crowd, as if they lived 10 years ahead. Is there a certain look on men you find sexy? Loose-fitting clothes, and nice denims and more skin than usual. When a man’s not afraid of mixing styles and wearing unexpected combos, that’s really nice. I also like men in jeans with bare chests! If you could no longer design clothes, what would you do with your life? I can’t imagine a life without being creative. I would end up as a graphic designer, illustrator, or furniture designer. I think that my brain is programmed to come up with ideas for how things should look. Does being Swedish influence your garments? I often prefer simplicity and that’s maybe because I’m Swedish. But my designs aren’t that good for cold weather, which is necessary in Sweden. They are better for boys on the street on a sunny day. INTERVIEW by MICHAEL ALAN CONNELLY PHOTOGRAPHY by ERIK WÅHLSTRÖM STYLING by PIERRE CAMILO MAKEUP by IGNA ALONSO MODELS ROBIN P (MIKAS) & OSSIAN (KID OF TOMORROW)