ISSUE FIVE MARCH 2011 HUBEN HUBENOV EDITOR IN CHIEF / FASHION DIRECTOR hubenov@giamagazine.com SLAV EDITOR IN CHIEF / CREATIVE DIRECTOR slav@giamagazine.com
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What’s the first that comes to your mind when you hear the word 'fear'? Perhaps it has something to do with different phobias, or personal fears of yours. Or it is connected to a certain global issue – like the global warming, or the increased Sun activity, or the Mayan prophecy... Don't worry, it's the same with us. And trust us, we can talk for days about our fears – of loneliness, of death, of poverty, of getting old, of the end of the world... But that would be another magazine, or just a very intimate conversation. Instead we’ll do what we do best – talk about fashion. And if, in the context of all above, fashion seems irrelevant and insignificant to you, well, perhaps you're right. But we might as well enjoy it while we have it. Call us shallow, but we'll be afraid of the future later.
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6 NEWSCAST 10 BEAUTY: NICE TO MEAT YOU 16 DESIGNER: NEVA BALNIKOVA 18 EDITORIAL: CREATURE 26 DESIGNER: MASSIMO GIORGETTI 28 EDITORIAL: THE HUNGER 44 INTERVIEW: YVA SCHATZ 48 EDITORIAL: BLINDEAD 62 FEATURE: FEARLESS 66 EDITORIAL: WARRIOR QUEEN 80 EDITORIAL: BLACK SWAN 88 COMMENTARY: IT’S NOT FASHION, IT’S YOU 90 EDITORIAL: COME PLAY WITH ME 106 FEATURE: THE RICHEST 108 EDITORIAL: BEACH BLVD 122 EDITORIAL: IN BETWEEN
matilda at starz people is photographed by milen radev and is wearing dress burberry prorsum and collar simone rocha styling by huben hubenov, hair and makeup slav for max factor
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We're not getting tired of hearing, reading and seeing more and more of the late Alexander McQueen. And perhaps we never will. So it's an amazing news that the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has decided to honor the genius designer with its annual Gala. The exhibition 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' was previewed in the end of February for press, will be featuring approximately hundred of McQueen's works of art, from 1994 to his last collection, shown at Paris Fashion Week short time after his death in February 2010. There will also be a 'Cabinet of Curiosities' containing jewelry and Philip Treacy–designed hats, and a separate screening room showing videos of
McQueen’s runway presentations. Here's what Costume Institute curator Andrew Bolton said for this special Gala: 'We drew on the McQueen archive in London and are indebted to McQueen's co-workers and colleagues for their willingness to share their memories of him, especially Stella McCartney, whose friendship with McQueen makes her an ideal co-chair for the Costume Institute Ball, and Sarah Burton, who gave a valuable insight into McQueen's design process over the past 14 years.' The Gala’s honorary chairs will be PPR’s Francois Pinault and his wife Salma Hayek, and Colin Firth, Stella McCartney and Anna Wintour will co-chair. 'Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty' opens to the public on May 4 and runs through July 31.
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When you are making a movie based on a book it’s always very difficult due to high expectation whether the film version will live up to the literary original. Moreover, if we’re talking about a book that has sold over 9.2 million copies in its home country, Japan, alone and has been translated into 36 languages...
according to the critics and the huge fan base of the book is as good as the novel. 'Norwegian Wood' is a coming-of-age movie about life and the meaning that we’re always looking for in love and how we overcome loss. The score was composed by Radiohead band member Jonny Greenwood (There Will Be Blood).
The internationally acclaimed Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami iconic novel 'Norwegian Wood' pronounced as 'Catcher in the Rye' for Japan's post1960s generation, has been turned into a movie that
'Norwegian Wood' is already touring the film festivals around the world, and it opens for general public on 9 March in France, and 11 March in the UK. www.sodapictures.com/norwegianwood/
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Kate and Laura Mulleavy are one of the most Hedi Slimane explains in one of his interviews: promising new designers at the moment. 'I started taking pictures before I even began in In just five years, they succeeded to prove themselves fashion. I didn't start with clothes until I was 16, but I as truly innovative, uncompromising, had my first camera when I was 11. I've always taken and unconventional talents. pictures, almost like some people take notes or write down their thoughts.' For this book, which is the first publication to observe the world of Rodarte, they collaborated with the During the time as a designer he had a very photographers Catherine Opie and Alec Soth, successful career with YSL and Dior. While he was and each photographer has developed completely a creative director at Dior Homme, among many of new projects in cooperation with Kate and Laura, his breakthrough achievements, was the fact that he exploring the many aspects of Rodarte's creative made lots of people to lose weight in order to able range. to fit in his skinny trousers. After he left the fashion house, he concentrated on his photo projects and we The sisters’ past collaborations have included artists, started diligently following his web-diary. actors, musicians and writers such as Miranda July, Autumn de Wilde, Ryan McGinley, Ari Marcopoulos That’s why we look forward to purchase his new book and Darren Aronofsky. ‘An Anthology of a Decade’ – that contains selection of 175 color photographs. The Rodarte book is available for pre-order at www.amazon.com Again, available for pre-order at www.amazon.com
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Italians might do in better in some spheres, but when talking about the French, they turn out to be pretty awesome with their current pop and electronic music. They have always had the mentality of making strong and cheerful music with deep and touching emotional undertones. And as modern French electronica is synonymous mainly with Laurent Garnier, Agoria and the guys from the Ed Banger stable, we would like to introduce the newest compilation from Kitsuné – a cutting edge collective, fashion brand and music label, based in Paris. It’s the naughty child of Gildas Loaec and Masaya Kuroki, a young entrepreneur and an architecture student who decided to switch to fashion design. Kitsuné combines all the things they are into - clothes, music and image.
Sounds easy, so is the mood in its latest compilation Kitsuné Parisien. The tracks are selected by label head Gildas Loaec and international party hopper/ artist and regular feature on Purple Diary - André Saraiva. It showcases the cream of the new Parisian music scene with rare and exclusive tracks from Destin, Birkii, Yan Wagner, Housse De Racket, Jupiter, Logo, Ryskee, Beataucue, Exotica and some more. We are talking about twisted and modern chansons, that scream Parisian out of their lungs and then go for serious day and night dancing at various locations. The booklet features some cool french girls, photographed by André Saraiva and wearing the spring collection of Kitsuné. If we got it right. Kitsuné Parisien is available at www.kitsune.fr
photography zlatimir arakliev makeup slav for max factor model hristina at ivet fashion
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Neva Balnikova is only 26, but her name already rings a lot of bells. For many years /as it turned out/ she is involved in making provocative jewelery out of, sometimes, the most extraordinary materials. Provocative in the 'you won't see an analog of it, anywhere' sense. That's why we met her over a quick afternoon coffee, and besides asking her this and that, we politely requested to shoot a part of her works of art in our Warrior Queen editorial /on page 66/. And she agreed. When did you start making jewelery? Oh, I have to go back in time... There was a natural need for it, I guess. It was around seventh grade, when my mom gave me some jewelery, that I disassembled and made new stuff out of it. My mom was, of course, furious of that fact. After that, it wasn't until tenth grade, when I tried to exhibit and sell, and till today – I learn and perfect myself. What was the first thing you sold? Oh no! They were so funny back then! It was a long necklace, very techno, made out of wires and abalones. I was very impressed by the fact that someone liked it and bought it. What inspires you? Life, haha! There are always subjects that are of interest to me, subjects which I research. Some of my latest works are focused on architecture, monuments, memorials... Some kinds of enormous things. Also churches, cathedrals, because of their opulence... All that pilgrimage, connected to religion is very interesting. I also find interesting the cliches about what is beautiful. I love to experiment with things, that people perceive in a certain way, that is a cliché to them, and I try to get them out of that context. Like your bones and teeth collection. You show something that most people see as horrifying, but
you show it in a beautiful way. Actually that's a little bit of psychological stuff... This horror, that is very curious, is actually inside of us. I love to take off from psychological moments like this. Do like to play with that fear? I play more with the perception, yes, the fear as well, but also a lot of things outside that. Are you interested in fashion? Does it influence your work? Yes, I am interested. And yes, it somehow influences me, but on a subconscious level. I constantly look at fashion, because I have this permanent urge to see new things, to get new information. What would you like to do from now on? Perhaps to establish my character. Because I'm still at that point with the lots of different ideas, I want to channel them to create my own signature, I'm kind of chaotic at the moment. What are the materials you like to work with? I don't know... I've worked with everything – from plastic to bones. I have different moments, when I am attracted to different things. Okay, what was the most difficult to work with? Your most difficult to do jewelery? There is no such. Everything is difficult, but when you find it interesting and you love to do it – that's the beauty of it!
Don’t forget to check out Warrior Queen on p.66, featuring Neva’s works, and her portfolio here: www.flickr.com/photos/nevabalnikova and here: www.nevabalnikova.carbonmade.com
photography zlatimir arakliev styling huben hubenov hair and makeup slav for max factor model iveta at ivet fashion
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earring ugo cacciatori
rings from left to right: model’s own, three rings by ugo cacciatori, ann demeulemeester
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handbag alexander wang
necklaces from top to bottom: ann demeulemeester, ugo cacciatori, nymphenburg by patrick muff
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shoes maison martin margiela
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necklace nymphenburg by patrick muff
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Massimo Giorgetti is a name that you’ll be hearing more and more with every new season. He is the creative director of his own brand MSGM, which is one of the hottest non-British new labels in the last few years. Massimo started his business in the crisisdriven 2009, and proved to all of us that there’s more to fashion than just money. Are you very busy with MSGM? Yes, I am, sometimes even too much. But fashion is my life, my air, I couldn't do anything else. How did you decide to work in fashion? From an early age and as a teenager I had a passion for fashion. I was delighted to see the fur that my aunts were wearing and the embroidery work of my uncles in their farms. Then a technical business institute kept me away for a few years, but with a degree in accounting at the age of 19, I was already around clothes shops and businesses from the same field. Where do you find inspiration for your collections? Everything inspires me. Newspapers, internet, television, cinema, music and art. And the people around me, friends, boys and girls, colleagues and coworkers. What do you need to start working and creating in the fashion world nowadays? A great courage and a great stubbornness. Were you afraid to take the decision to start a business? I've never been afraid of anything. Sometimes I'm insecure, actually very often, but never afraid. They call me the brave, in fact, because I started in the year of the darkest crisis, in 2009.
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Do you have a favorite fashion capital? Let's say I have some favorite designers, not favorite cities. Miuccia Prada and Marc Jacobs, followed by Stella McCartney and Proenza Schouler. Who are the trendsetters of today, the bloggers, the editors, the models or the designers? The clients are the only and true trendsetters, first the boutiques and the buyers, and then the final customers. I think, and I'm sorry, that the blogs and the bloggers are already out, and truly finished. I am sorry because they were one of the most beautiful new and democratic things that ever happened, in the recent years, to the fashion world. But everything goes out of fashion, and now it's their time. Do you like being famous and how do you deal with your fans? Of course I like it, although I found myself a little shy and not very social. But with my fans I'm dealing very well and they are a constant source of ideas and comparisons. Describe your personal style. Chino beige, a shirt with white and blue stripes and heather gray sweatshirt. And a Top Ten from Adidas. It is not a look but a way of life. What do you wish yourself for the next season? That the crisis really begins to give way to recovery and that the upcoming winter is more colorful and less gray than the past one. From all points of view.
www.msgm.it
photography slav jekov styling and wardrobe paravane hair and makeup slav for max factor model sophia vassileva
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Yva Schatz is one of those people, who can’t be defined by a single or multiple words. So we won’t even try, we’re just going to expose the raw facts: she has studied arts in Israel, parallel to her graduation in a language school with English, she has MA in Bulgarian philology and a postgraduate qualification from Christie’s London. She has worked in New York for Li Edelkoort, one of the most
important forecasters, and later had a two-year flirt with the Israeli Secret Service, for which we promise to keep our mouths shut. For almost six years Yva has been living exclusively in Bulgaria and teaches XX century, a subject that has appeared in the National Arts Academy in Sofia along with her. We met her to talk about the fears in fashion, of its future and where the industry is going right now.
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We wanted to meet you, because even though you're strongly connected to fashion, you are somehow outside of it, and have a more objective analysis on it. Yes, you lose perspective, the image gets pixelized when you're too close, you have to back off a little bit to see it clearer. I've never thought I'll be professionally involved with fashion, and I still think that this is just a phase in my life. If we connect it to my teaching at the Academy, this phase is going for five or six years, which is not that much. I've always looked at things more analytically, I was involved with criticism of literature, arts... This wide perspective from the outside is a problem for people in fashion, because when they go deeper, the capsule gets smaller, and in fact they don't see the real life, and the people they work for. Tell us about your work for the Academy. What do you teach there? I was first invited as a person who talks for trends and cultural reading of the market. I started teaching just for fun, but then suddenly I realized, that no one was teaching XX century to the students, which was absurd. So I developed a subject, compiled from all my knowledge, which turned out pretty interesting for the students, because they were taught only costume, or only politics, but no one made the links between those things. And if you have to read the market now, or in the near future, you have to understand how the mechanism worked in the past, to understand the political and social environment that provoked a certain artistic movement in a certain era. How do you show them those connections? I start with the artists, the painters, because they have very raw sensitivity and the trend manifests with them very uncouth. Then we pass on to the architecture, because the things get more channeled there, and after that is media, music, in general – everything that people were interested in at that time. And just after all of that we get to the costume, which is a very polished marketing product, containing all those specks of that decade, all the little things that provoked it to be. In other words – you teach them to make the research, that every designer does for their collection, for instance. And everything falls in place very logically, it's not 'that-designer-made-that-dress'... Well, there are those exceptions, that a certain designer can start a trend by himself or herself, but it's more of an exception than the general rule...
Okay, let's talk about fear. I don't know where to start, what should be our first question... The fear is something that the fashion theory covers extensively, the theory that explores the psychological and social directions of fashion. Talking about it, we will address very fundamental moments connected to the characteristic of fashion as such. One of its problems is whether or not it is art. And here, we can include a certain category of people, who treat fashion with extreme depreciation, but who subconsciously are afraid of it, because they don't take it seriously. And some people, with social authority, or are more intellectual, they think it's superficial, and they will be seen as such as well. They see it as something with no value. Exactly. Unfortunately, in the last few years, the fashion got so commercialized, that this statement is more and more embraced. This denial from a serious, intelligent audience, which if was living in another time, let's say in the twentieth century, postWorld War II, perhaps would've been more seriously engaged with fashion. Another moment we can comprehend, is this duality of fashion, which works on a psychological level – on one hand to belong, and on the other – to differentiate yourself. These two mechanisms exist in everyone's head in parallel, simultaneously. You, on one hand dressing in trend, fashionably, or at least fashionably in terms of what is recognized as such from your social group, you have to have all the necessary codes on you, in order to be recognized that you belong to them. But at the same time, there is this exactly reversed mechanism, that makes you to stand out as an individual, meaning that you don't have to go exactly with the herd, but you have to be a little dissimilar in some ways. Being different and identical. Yes, this duality is one of the interesting dynamics in fashion. And a lot of people carry this fear: 'Am I sufficiently strong individual and do I manage to copy the codes to be recognized in that certain social class?' And that automatically leads us to the brand luxury goods, or the so-called status symbols, which are the easiest way to be recognized. If you want to be recognized as a noveau riche, or as someone with a status in society, the rules are clear. You have to have that watch, that mobile phone, that handbag, that car... Are the status symbols a constant? There are periods that status symbols are in fashion, and periods that they're not. But here we address a whole new other dynamic in fashion... The rich
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people, aristocratically rich, rich from generations on, for whom this is a state of living, and not something new, they always have these markers to distinguish themselves. Directly underneath them, there is another social class that very actively imitates them. And when the rich people see that the lower class copies them, they run away and start to change the status symbols, which fuels the fashion change to move quickly. For instance – we had the Eighties, which were all about the enormous sizes, the flamboyant, the gold and glamor, but then came the Nineties, that were all about the mission, the message, the wealth and the label were for your own use, for your own entertainment, something intimate. And at some point, around the year 2000, the glamor, the patent leather, the lip gloss...They all came back, everything was blazing, the flamboyance of the Eighties came back. Can we define this as the fear that you might be recognized as 'not-rich-enough', if you don't have the right status symbols, the correct markers? Or the other way around. No matter whether you have the money to buy a Birkin bag, for instance, you are afraid that someone can point you out as a noveau riche, or as someone with a bad taste. You have to have the right messages, to sent them out to the right person, in the right situation. And that's exhausting and very stressful. Respectively, the people outside this shallow and superficial side of fashion, which coincidentally is very active and brings a lot of money to a lot of companies, if you're a strong individual and you think you shouldn't be recognized this way... That's where this depreciation and denial of fashion comes from... The fear of being thought of as superficial, if you're a fan of fashion? Yes, that's correct. The extreme commerciality of fashion polarizes people furthermore, people with attitude towards it, either positive, or negative. During the Fifties and the Sixties, fashion was really an expression of the spirit of that time, literally. Everyone was interested in it, in some way, there wasn't this argument if it's superficial or not. Until today, when a huge part of the potential fans of fashion are repulsed by it. Respectively, there's another fear – whether you're 'cool' enough. Trends change so rapidly, that if you're someone who's a little more conservative, a little slower in the perception of what's fashionable and stylish, by the time you realize those things, and become comfortable in a certain new image, it's already demode, out of fashion. It is causa perduta for people who are not among the most aggressive
followers of trends. Speaking of aggressive consumers... In a market when you have consumers, that buy a certain product, the fast consumers who are not afraid to capitalize every new trend in possessions, are about ten or fifteen per-cent, and they are part of a certain demographics. The rest of the population, not mentioning if they're intelligent or not, or what their income is, in the end of the day consume slowly. But at some point, they abandon this race... We were always interested how this stress of being 'cool' affects the consciousness and education, on all levels, even the little children. This commercialization and this advertising invasion has reached levels so high, that if some years ago a teenager wouldn't even care what they wore, today this is a huge problem even to their family. Starting from school environment, then to another competitive one, then to a job interview, and so on... Largely, I blame the market, this rotation of trends, which are not even real trends, but 'fashion fads', they are so momentary and transitory, and don't reflect the spirit of the time in no way at all... This is more of 'I have to produce something new, to activate the consumer'. At some point, the only valuable criteria is if you are a good consumer or if you are not, we're not even talking about 'cool' anymore. I think that the fashion industry is selfdestructing that way, which is not good at all... The thing you mentioned, about the teenagers... They are directly influenced by the environment, by the group that surrounds them, and that individualism doesn't exist anymore, and it's a pity, because before, in the teenage years, everyone wanted to stand out, to attract attention to themselves in some way, and in previous decades there were very strong waves of subcultures. And subcultures are of utmost importance, because the raw talent, the raw vision that designers later feed on is born there. For many years now, there are no new subcultures. There are just style tribes – I am a woman that wears Armani through the day, and Louis Vuitton in the evening, or I am a woman who dresses in Celine at work, and wears Gucci in the nightclub... Or you are a hipster, that wears only vintage... In our opinion, the hipsters are an artificial subculture created exactly because of the lack of any other, and in its attempt of being an anti-movement, it's actually another style-tribe. What do you think about that? Hipster, as a category, may sound new, but the word is actually from the Fifties. Even my father-in-law says to me: 'You are very hipster with that trousers', for
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instance, they used to call the 'trendy' people that way at his time. Today's hipsters embrace certain ideas, that are somewhat mainstream – the freedom of dressing, or the lack of canons, which were applied before, and turn them into some kind of ideology. But that repelled a lot of people, who do the exact same things, that hipsters do – they don't watch television, they don't use the Internet, but read books, they also wear vintage clothes – but they don't want to be identified as hipsters. That exact artificial loading of ordinary things with ideology repulses. So yes, I think this is an empty, hollow subculture. Let's sum up – instead of attracting more followers towards it, fashion does everything in its strength to repulse the large percent of consumers. That happens because of the enormous rushing of fashion, and the extreme response of fashion magazines, blogs, and so on of it. Other thing that influenced that is the lack or rules and guidelines, which can be both positive and negative. Before, there were certain rules – white boots are worn in the summer only, for instance, you don't mix black and brown, the colors of the nail polish and the lipstick have to match, so must the shoes with the belt and the bag... All that guiding helped people to have the feeling of a good taste, in a way. No matter how limiting that is, you have rules that you have to learn and follow. That pluralism that occurred, which is very liberating, which is great for people born with sense of style, deprived the people, who are not, of road signs. And what do they do? They bet on the anonymity. They are not anti-fashion, they just ignore the fashion as such, and they say they are not interested in it, so that they cannot be sanctioned. They hide in the most common and plain clothes, in this anonymity, because they don't have stylistic guides. They are afraid to be recognized as demode, as inadequate. And those rules, that don't exist anymore, they used to be applied to the adequacy of dressing for certain occasions. You had clothes for theater, clothes for weddings, clothes for work... Now look at how people go to the theater – why do you have to come with those dirty shoes and ugly jeans? It's an homage to a certain institution, a certain tradition. And traditions have to be preserved and upgraded, not violated. 'Tradition' and 'rules' are not dirty words. Do you think there's an option for fashion, to go back to this 'dolce vita', when it use to service the pleasure and fun in life, when it didn't create this centrifuge, this stress of hurrying? Perhaps it's just a pose what Tom Ford did, but on the other hand – what's the point in fashion weeks
and shows, that present clothes, which will be sold after six months, but some people already wear them, even before the official 'premiere'? Just before we came here, we watched again the video from Ford's presentation, and we thought that it's just like seeing the presentation of a couturier from the last century, this joyfulness, the smiling models, the excitement of the reaction to the clothes, the contact with the audience... Yes, exactly. All that talking that he did, the woman as a woman, the refusal of following trends, the selection of guests, the intimacy... All those things that characterize fashion from the early era, when there was a very defined border between haute couture and confection. That's what I liked about that – that he took us back to that. But on the other hand, fashion has turned into a very powerful business with lots of money in it. But isn't it all just business that's left of it? Absolutely. But I doubt that we'll be able to stop it, unless we all collectively stop consuming. Everything is so rushed, so made to be weak... The clothes now are made to withstand a single wash, for instance. Or if it's not the clothes that wear out, the trend will, in order for consumption to be present, in order to maintain that level of hysteria. And we all know it's going bad – bad for the aesthetic, bad for our inner comfort, bad for the planet, but we can't stop it. In fact, that's how fashion reflects the spirit of our time – the end of everything of value, the absolute consumerism. On a side note, talking about fear in fashion, not of fashion – in the Fifties and Sixties, the mass state of hysteria and fear created a fashion line, that is a very interesting phenomenon. This is the fear of the Cold War, and all that hysteria of East-West. All that we see as this space-age stylistic, all those long automobiles, looking like spaceships, all those metallic clothes, all that came from a fear, a paranoia. The fashion of that time reflects that – the preparation for a life on Mars, for a nuclear holocaust, and that's most curious fact. This aerodynamic shape of design, those colors, this refining and cleansing of design gave us a trend for decades upfront, which is still very strong even today. And all of that is the final product of a mass fear. Do you think we need a similar fear today, for us to have such style revolution? The end of the world?
photography milen radev / studio 414 styling huben hubenov hair and makeup slav for max factor model matilda at starz people
shirt and shoes maison martin margiela, collar simone rocha
dress burberry prorsum, collar simone rocha, shoes maison martin margiela
shirts prada
shirt and skirt simone rocha
cardigan moschino cheap and chic
shoes maison martin margiela
shirt coming soon by yohji yamamoto, skirt simone rocha, bag burberry prorsum
vest and skirt simone rocha
sweater moschino cheap and chic, skirt simone rocha
next page: dress burberry prorsum, collar simone rocha
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Be afraid. Be very afraid. That's the mantra that resonates all around us – the politicians use it to control us and the media gladly transmit it to every corner of the planet. We associate fear with loneliness, despair, horror, loss, pain, and sadness - feelings that bring unbearable conditions to the human mind and body. And we all know that once fear is nestled in our heads it's extremely complicated to get it out of there. Though this is the most fear-driven era in the human history: we are afraid of death, afraid of global warming, afraid of the neighbors, afraid of our true selves – instead of trying to let it go we are in constant marathon of escaping every possible phobia that eat us from inside. We are even afraid to think and talk about fear. But can fear inspire us to create fashion? Is it possible dreams from the dark to instigate as a result something that is truly creative? Can scary things be works of art? It's not up for a debate – it can. One of the biggest fears that a person who creates has is the vulnerability that comes with the exposure of one's inner sanctum to the world. The opinion of the others stops many designers from revealing
their true ideas. But then there is this special breed of artists, which not only survive during their dark periods, but also bring art out of it. Embracing fear as an inspiration, as brave as it sounds, could lead to mind-blowing results. And we guess there is something fearful and fearless in Central Saint Martin's, the alma mater of Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Gareth Pugh and Riccardo Tisci. The four designers are not scared to use fear in their work, but instead of making people terrified they direct them to transcendentality. All of them seem to speak for the unlived parts of the mind, our dark corners, and the clothes and design that they make come with strength and dazzle that is not easy to be expressed with words. And each of them confronts fear in their own, unique way.
'I'm interested in dark psychosis' admitted Lee many times, which sounds like a dark prophecy concerning his own life and death. McQueen was undoubtedly a true genius obsessed with the Anglo-Saxon folklore, the afterlife, shock tactics, religion, death, and controversy from the very
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begging of his career. You can always distinguish a genius from the multitude and you don't need 800 hand-painted feather butterflies on a single dress for this. The 'enfant terrible' declared a rebellion against the conformity and the establishment: the 'bumster' trousers, textiles printed with the image of a man being executed in the electric chair, using double amputee model Aimee Mullins for one of his catwalks and spraying paint over a model on the runaways – as if she is on the conveyor of mass production... He left a legacy and a brand that speaks better than even Anna Wintour on his memorial: 'He brought a uniquely British sense of daring and aesthetic fearlessness to the global stage of fashion.'
Hussein Chalayan's first notorious collection was made with fabric, which was buried and made look older with steel filings. Chalayan is considered as very individualistic and ignorant of the fashion history and know-hows. He designs to shock while breaking rules and dogmas
of every kind. His 'Between' collection combined half-naked models with traditional Muslim clothes. Another of his unconventional approaches is that he used to cut clothes without armholes or sleeves. When you know your true self you can collaborate or work for others without being afraid of losing your identity, and Chalayan is the living proof. During his career he has worked for Asprey, contributing with his avant-garde ideas while keeping the traditions of the brand, later he collaborated with Flake, which resulted in one-off footwear pieces, and from 2008 he is the creative director of Puma which may seem as the most counter intuitive step, but furthermore Puma has acquired a majority stake in his own label. It may appear that Chalayan tries to be innovative for the sake of innovation but he invents new clothes aspiring for totally new conception of how he sees the human body. One can easily notice the darkness as one of the main topics in his collections - vampires, tombs and constriction, a method used by various snake species to kill their prey. But he uses the fear and darkness in the most enlightening way in an industry, which on the surface tolerates the creativity, but secretly looks for the wearable.
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of presentation on the radar of the industry as a possible alternative for future. Gareth Pugh is only 29, but his style that disfigures the human body already cannot be mistaken, and one can wonder what could be expected next of him. Going through his career and his experimentation with shape, proportions and usage of unusual forms as balloons, discs, and masks, and materials as parachute silk, and foam is very difficult to foresee but one thing is sure - he is fearless in what he does. Watching one of Pugh's catwalks can be compared to a futuristic gothic sci-fi costume party celebrating the end of the world that can freak you out, but also make you jealous of his creativity. He started his career as a costume designer for theater and the theatricality can be seen both in his designs, but also in the way he promotes his collections. He used video presentations instead of runway shows for few seasons, while searching for a runway alternative, and that definitely brought this form
But his return to catwalk for Fall 2011 makes us wonder – was that all about the finances?
The extremely shy Riccardo Tisci was born in the city of Taranto, Italy, brought-up in a family with eight siblings and strong catholic traditions, and after graduating Central Saint Martin's and presenting two collections of his own, in 2005, he was officially appointed as the creative director of Givenchy. The insecure designer found himself in a position, where he had to fill very large shoes. He became the youngest couturier in Paris and successor to John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Hubert de Givenchy himself. The haute-couture demands for an extreme craftsmanship and uniqueness, and in addition - the fear of whether you will meet the expectations and the traditions of the fashion house. Even though Tisci
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was very afraid that he won't be able to find his own voice among the aristocratic clientele, he managed to design a commercially successful first collection with his own interpretation of Givenchy heritage. Although it was criticized by the fashion press this was the beginning of his brilliant career and the revival of the house of Givenchy. The Catholicism, death, crosses, bones, skulls, and black and white as colors heavily influence Tisci. He used transsexual and albino models for his campaigns and while described as a Gothic-chick designer, there is a certain amount of romanticism, blend of femininity and masculinity, and feeling of melancholy in his works. The advice that he got from monsieur Givenchy was: 'Don't try to be somebody else. Be yourself' – as it seems he's still doing his best following it boldly, by creating his own perception of beauty with dark twists. All of these designers being unique individuals with their own style have something in common - they are not afraid to be guided by instinct instead of
inspiration, or fake trends. That leads to redefining, creating something new, which was unthinkable before, while exploring fears and breaking taboos. Fear has many forms but the main is a barrier often purely imaginative that prevents us from liberating our full potential. It's inevitable to fail, but every time we overcome our inner doubts and reveal even our darkest secrets, boundaries are pushed and new ideas are materialized. We don't feel comfortable but this is what it takes to overcome the fear of exploiting our instinctive creative choice and we have to have the balls to do it. And in the end of the day this is what makes a brilliant designer - they don't need permission to do daring things, even from themselves, because the biggest pressure that we have comes from ourselves, and the resistant scary voices in our heads that can either enslave us, or free us. It depends on the point of view. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
photography vasil germanov / thinktanklab styling huben hubenov hair and makeup slav for max factor model katya at ivet fashion
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dress bcbg max azria, top valentino, earrings patrizia pepe, rings neva balnikova
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dress bcbg max azria, vest ann demeulemeester, rings neva balnikova
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top comme des garcons, mask neva balnikova
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dress haider ackermann, necklace shourouk
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dress anelia peschev, rings and necklace neva balnikova
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dress sophia kokosalaki, rings neva balnikova
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dress bcbg max azria, cape di+, headband neva balnikova
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dress john rocha, headband neva balnikova
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dress alexander wang, shorts di+, epaulette neva balnikova, shoes burberry prorsum
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epaulette as mask neva balnikova
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photography philipp jelenska styling, hair & makeup christopher koller using sexyhair model susan at supermoda management
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Many will not be brave enough to admit it, but fashion has become inseparable part of our everyday lives. Even the most devoted enemies of the fashion are influenced somehow from the color palettes of the season to the 'small and insignificant' things like the general trend of the cut, the shoes, the materials, etc. As the character of Miranda Priestly concludes: 'You've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff.' And if you're not a member of a secluded nudists' colony then you're part of this world. But why we make all this fuzz against fashion? Shouldn't we be more constructive in the criticism instead of arguing just to appear, as we are too good and clever to bother us with such trivialities? One of people's most common answers to the unknown, and very often scary parts of life is to deny them. It's easy – you just need to ignore them, and they don't exist. Yes, that's a good strategy, but if you are afraid of fashion because of your body, height, short legs, weight and so on – then the problem is not the industry – it's you. And we don't mean your
body, we mean the fear and the denial of who you are and the lack of motivation to improve yourself. The fear of fashion is most commonly found out in certain types of groups: the macho-men, the overweight people, and the intellectuals. We'll explore them in detail without claiming to be psychologists, and having in mind that we look at extreme stereotypes in hope that such extreme cases do not exist. The first group of the so-called 'macho men' is afraid to be perceived as feminine so they do everything possible to look man enough. Their most despised person is the gay fashion victim. The comical thing is that they just talk about how preposterous fashion really is, how only women should care about it and those 'freaks the homos'. But usually the thing that you obsess the most is the thing that you like (and you're afraid to admit). Probably every 'cave man' secretly is envious of the straight guy in the office wearing pink shirt, who goes to the gym three times a week, while he watches television eating buckets of oily food, lying to himself that to fart and be fat is the men's role in the world.
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There's nothing wrong to be overweight and to like your body – it can be sexy if it comes packed with confidence. But when you are fat and miserable, and secretly you obsess over the models and curse them for you being a lazy ass, who eats non-stop – then there's something very wrong. The easiest solution is to say fashion is for the superficial that only cares about the appearance but the sad truth is that you care more about the appearance than the shallow skinny people. Don't get us wrong - nobody is flawless. But our bodies are the perfect instruments that we posses and we need to take care of them. The obesity is one of the biggest problems that we face today and we need to act on it, instead of looking for an escape on the easy road of denial. The intellectuals always look at the world and at the ordinary problems of the less smart part of the human beings as vanity. Fashion is a vanity but by ridiculing others' lifestyle, if they don't do any harm and just enjoy themselves, is superficial at excessive levels and could mean jealousy. If you care about the clothes that you wear, and follow the trends, don't necessarily mean that you're ignorant lesser form of life. Likewise, if elite few people are too busy to care about fashion and style, it's also perfectly fine. But please, one of the things that distinguish a really clever person from the mass is that they know that
everybody is at different stage of their personal self-development, and one will not do any good by preaching their own truth. Anna Wintour, being one of the most influential persons in the industry, comments on this phenomenon of full-blown criticism towards the fashion world: 'I think what I often see is that people are frightened about fashion. Because it scares them, or make them feel insecure, they just put it down. On the whole, people that may say the meany things about our world, I think that's usually because they feel, in some ways, excluded or, you know, not a part of 'the cool group', so as a result they just mock it.' Fashion has many connotations but it also serves as a way to express ourselves to the world. We believe in the free will. Everybody has a unique style and understanding of the world, and nobody should judge anybody else. Criticizing just to appear smarter, better or prettier is something that we all need to work on to stop using in our lives. We are full of our little doubts and timidities, but playing the blame game just makes our problems bigger. It's much better to admit our fears and to be courageous to work on them despite the public opinion – it will definitely make us better people. Don't postpone! Life is too short.
photography tihomir rachev / noframe studio styling nikolay pachev model nikolay at ivet fashion
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dress comme des garcons
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leggings haider ackermann
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overall maison martin margiela
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leggings ann demeulemeester
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leggings and accessory ann demeulemeester
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dress zara
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In my view ignoring money seems like ignoring Facebook - irrational. And yes, there are people that fear money. Of course the Greeks come in to help and term that type of fear - chrematophobia. That is actually the fear of the material existence of money and of mismanaging them. In other words
this is the fear of, in case you are like me, being able to lose money. Well I suppose that when it comes to the richest people in fashion, they do not suffer from chrematophobia. Otherwise that would be pretty ironic...
Net Worth: $27.5 billion
however, would not accept Mr. Arnault's attempts to acquire the brand. In order to cool the things off, Bernard Arnault stated that his intentions are to only help Hermes improve their performance and increase their profit. Known for his aggressive business manners Mr. Arnault is still asked to go away. But hey, isn't business all about that?
At first Bernard Arnault was involved in the real estate business along with his father. He arrived at the luxury goods market when in 1984 he obtained Boussac Saint-Freres - a broke textile and disposable diaper company, whose assets included the House of Dior. In 1987, Moet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton merged into the LVMH group of which Bernard Arnault is the founder and chairman. The group's companies list now includes Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Fendi, Celine, Marc Jacobs, Kenzo, Moet & Chandon, etc. As Alessandra Galloni wrote in her WSJ article 'He is a $22 billion company in a $200 billion business'. In December 2010, the company raised its shares in Hermes to 20% and made Mr. Arnault the largest individual shareholder. The house of Hermes,
As it comes to the market star China, Mr. Arnault has some big plans. Who doesn't? Everyone goes crazy about China as Burberry, PPR and LVMH invade the ancient country in exchange for increased revenues. Between 1999 and 2009, a gap of just 10 years, China's U.S. dollars billionaires increased 130 times. Or said in another way, this means that thirteen new billionaires appeared every year. The American dream seems to fade away. Let's talk about the Chinese dream, eh?
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Net Worth: $25 billion
Net Worth: $22.4 billion
A son of a railway worker, Ortega began to work at the age of thirteen as a delivery boy for a shirt producer and then became a tailor's assistant. Later on, using the experience he gained, Ortega became a manager of a lingerie shop. He started to copy the expensive designs and resell them at a lower price. And it worked out.
Stefan Persson is the son of Erling Persson, who inspired by Macy's and Barney's while on a trip in New York, founded the H&M concept in 1947.
In 1975, he opened the first Zara store and now, at the age of 74, he is the owner of one of the largest fashion empires - Inditex Group. Starting with Zara, then launching Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear, Oysho, Zara Home and Uterque, Mr. Ortega managed to expand the company to 4 500 stores in 73 countries. According to Forbes his fortune places him on the ninth position among the richest people in the world. Not bad, eh? Well, of course, when you are that rich you are not satisfied with just a fashion company. Mr. Ortega is known to have interest in real estate, gas, tourism, banks and football. He is also that man who tries to stay away from the media and very little is actually known about his personal life. The one thing that he has truly proven is that he is the calm 'whatever' guy that I actually imagine hanging with. On a yacht. In the sea. With his daughter around. She is still not married.
At first the company was just called Hennes (Swedish for 'hers') and sold women's clothing only. Later on 'Mauritz' was added as they took over the hunting store Mauritz Widforss. In 1982, Stefan took over his father's position of Managing Director and until now has become the 13th richest person in the world. Fast-fashion billionaires, however, seem to be pretty secretive. When you google Stefan Persson the first dozen of results that appears describe how he acquired a whole village in England for about 25 million pounds while competing with another Swedish money-maker. Another dozen says how rich he is. The rest is in Swedish. And here Google translate proves to be useless...
The power of money maะบes people desire wealth. But wealth is not easy to be achieved. Wealth is for those who know how to deal with it, those who have no fears and who are able to struggle.
jacket and shorts veda
photography michael stonis styling sheree carella hair and makeup jose monzon assitant-photography chris brown model stotesbery at industry models
top veda, bra lepel, underwear american apparel, shoes matiko, cuff bagstil
dress btfl people
vest collina strada, bra a.b.s. intimates, stylist’s own tights, shoes matiko, ring robert anthony
ring robert anthony
dress ai for ai, underwear american apparel, cuff bagstil
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vest veda
previous page: vintage shirt, trousers kristina dimitrieva, bag collina strada, cuff bagstill this page: leotard, vest and trousers ai for ai, ring robert anthony
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photography antoine de laroche styling calvin nymon hair and makeup fĂŠlix puget styling assistant erika bilinszky model olivka at major paris special thanks to airliquide paris
jumpsuit basil soda, bangles and ring kmo jewel, boots pring
jumpsuit and fur basil soda, sunglasses chloe
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body jitrois, waistcoat and boots basil soda, ring kmo jewel
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dress minge couture, bangles kmo jewel
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shirt basil soda, trousers jitrois
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dress marjan pejoski, boots basil soda
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anelia peschev www.aneliapeschev.com burberry prorsum www.burberry.com nymphenburg www.nymphenburg.com simone rocha www.simonerocha.com sophia kokosalaki www.sophiakokosalaki.com ugo cacciatori www.ugocacciatori.it are available at farenah concept, 1a saborna street, www.farenah.com alexander wang www.alexanderwang.com ann demeulemeester www.anndemeulemeester.be comme des garcons www.comme-des-garcons.com haider ackermann www.haiderackermann.be maison martin margiela www.maisonmartinmargiela.com are available at all u re, 9 saborna street. john rocha www.johnrocha.ie msgm www.msgm.it shourouk www.shourouk.fr are available at love/labels, tzum floor 2 coming soon by yohji yamamoto www.coming-soon.com moschino cheap and chic www.moschino.it prada www.prada.com are available at trend box, 4 sveta nedelya square ai for ai is at www.aiforai.com american apparel is at www.americanapparel.net bagstil is at www.bagstil.com basil soda is at www.basilsoda.com bcbg max azria is at serdika center, ground floor and www.bcbg.com btfl people is at www.btflpeople.com collina strada is at www.collinastrada.com di+ is at 29 han asparuh street and www.diplus.eu jitrois is at www.jitrois.com kmo jewel is at www.kmojewel.com lepel is at www.lepel.co.uk marjan pejoski is at www.marjanpejoski.com matiko is at www.matikoshoes.com patrizia pepe is at volume one, serdika center, ground floor and www.patriziapepe.com pring is at www.pringparis.com robert anthony is at www.robertanthonydesign.com valentino is at 4 saborna street and www.valentino.com zara is at the mall and serdika center and www.zara.com
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