GIA 6 - UNIFORM English

ISSUE SIX APRIL 2011 HUBEN HUBENOV EDITOR IN CHIEF / FASHION DIRECTOR hubenov@giamagazine.com SLAV EDITOR IN CHIEF / CREATIVE DIRECTOR slav@giamagazine.com

DEPUTY EDITORS KRASSIMIR DIMITROV dimitrov@giamagazine.com VASIL SHTEREV shterev@giamagazine.com EDITORS ANNA WARD ward@giamagazine.com SVETOSLAV PETROV petrov@giamagazine.com YANA GEROVA gerova@giamagazine.com contributors aleko osenski argir kovatliev asya filipova bozhidara popova calvin nymon daria slusarczyk gala mendes julien cozzolino kiril kovachev lazar goushev ruben marmol sebastian troncoso vasil germanov yuhei nerome

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uni·form – noun \ˈyü-nə-ˌfȯrm\ 1. dress of a distinctive design or fashion worn by members of a particular group and serving as a means of identification; broadly: distinctive or characteristic clothing

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4 NEWSCAST 6 COMMENTARY: PREPSTER MANIFESTO 8 EDITORIAL: 20 FEATURE: FLYING FASHION 24 EDITORIAL: WORKING CLASS 34 COMMENTARY: CLOTHING AND IDENTITY 36 EDITORIAL: PURITY 48 COMMENTARY: OFFICIOUS INDUSTRY 50 TRENDS: FOREVER IN TREND 64 FEATURE: HAIL TO THE SUN 66 EDITORIAL: FEMALE LIBERATION FRONT 82 EDITORIAL: DECLARE INDEPENDENCE 96 EDITORIAL: PROUD OF MYSELF

* isabel de bruijn at fleming models is photographed by sebastian troncoso and is wearing shirt sandro, jacket sfera, trousers max mara, belt roberto bellido and hat stetson styling by gala mendes hair / makeup by ruben marmol

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It will be fair enough to look at Cristóbal Balenciaga through the words of some of his contemporaries and fellow designers. Christian Dior called him ‘the master of us all’ while Diana Vreeland said that Balenciaga ‘brought the style of Spain into the lives of everyone who wore his designs,’ and that he ‘was the true son of a strong country filled with style, vibrant color, and fine history.’

Balenciaga and Spain by Hamish Bowles (European editor-at-large for Vogue, who has written many books, including Jacqueline Kennedy: The White House Years, Carolina Herrera: Portrait of a Fashion Icon and Yves Saint Laurent Style) accompanies an exhibition, which considers the impact of Spain’s culture, history, and art on one of the greatest designers of the twentieth century. From the opening

of his Paris fashion house in 1937 until his retirement in 1968, Cristóbal Balenciaga created a cutting-edge oeuvre that transformed the way women dressed, and his impeccable standards seduced generations of some of the best-dressed women around the world. The book also investigates the impact of Spain’s religious dress and ceremony, royal history, regional costume, dance traditions, and splendor of the bullfight as they relate to Balenciaga’s diverse and innovative designs.

The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco hosts the expanded retrospective of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s designs from March 26 through July 4, 2011.

The book is available at www.rizzoliusa.com

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ALL IMAGES © LA MAISON BY KOTO BOLOFO PUBLISHED BY STEIDL / WWW.STEIDLVILLE.COM

Obviously photographer Koto Bolofo has used his unlimited access to the workshops of Hermès in the best possible way. La Maison is an elaborate object comprising eleven 11 hardcover books, housed in a slipcase, which showcase Bolofo's painstaking seven years' documentation of the Hermès universe. You can expect an individual look onto craftsmanship, from the manufacturing of saddles, silk scarves and the famous Kelly Bag, to ready-to-wear, shoes and perfume. Even the private Hermès museum on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré is revealed. But at a certain hefty price tag. £149, $238 or €175.

La Maison by Koto Bolofo is published this May

by Steidl. More at www.steidlville.com

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WORDS KRASSIMIR DIMITROV, PHOTOGRAPHY STREETFSN.COM

I'm tired of seeing hipsters who pretend to be hipsters, but I'm also tired of hearing all of this crap against these poor skinny girls and boys.

Let's face it: there is a new breed of urban hipsters.

They are not (I repeat - they are not) like the hipsters from the 40s listening to bebop with relaxed attitude, dark humor and self-imposed poverty.

They are a new kind of hipsters – you know them very well – listening to music, reading books and watching movies that nobody has ever heard of.

They are skinny (and if they're not, they still wear those skinny jeans, even if the fabric cannot take the pressure from their bodies) and they are always critical against the mainstream; till the moment when the hipster movement itself became mainstream...

Then maybe the preps? Yes, they're spoiled rich kids, but now that the hipsters can afford better lifestyle, and the Royal Tenenbaums are so cool (if you haven't heard about them then please at least pretend that you know them, that's what a real hipster would do), this could work out. But what will happen with all those slim fit trousers, wayfarers, t-shirts with clever slogans, and the Converse sneakers?

What about being unique? Well, why not make something like the best of the both worlds?

And having money, full-time job and taking a shower daily – it's not very hipster. It's sad, I know, but we need to move on… and in the same time remain hip.

Hell, yeah.

Now, let the transformation begin.

Looking for a solution it would be a very good idea to borrow something from other subcultures, wouldn't it?

Probably the bohemians? They're so cool and have nice clothes, but on a second thought – no, hipsters are much cooler than them.

And here comes the equation: Hipsters + Preps = Prepsters

FASHION RULES You know that the hipsters have so many important things to care about – like the environment, the problems of the minorities, the poverty and the hunger in the world – but in the same time they cannot go out without having a conceptual outfit.

It's not that simple and the best fashion statement is no fashion statement at all. So, let's keep the skinny jeans, but this boat shoes are really comfortable, and

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the blazers are so elegant (though, please, do not tell this to anybody). And the black-rimmed glasses are the best final touch ever. So, we got this issue solved.

exclusivity but with a classy touch – it could be just a bow tie or a tote bag, but knowing the basic rules of etiquette will not hurt and it's priceless.

MUSIC, MOVIES, BOOKS

So the party is set. The food…if you're fed up with sushi, tasteless vegan meals or the secretly eaten junk food, now a new world will be available to you.

Even if Martha Stuart and Julia Child are a little over the top, a little gastronomic experiments will not be so bad after all – and the unpronouncable for the ordinary folks names are a huge plus.

Everybody knows about the hipsters' sophisticated taste in arts.

But I also know (don't ask how) that some of them have on their iPods music that they're ashamed to admit that they listen to. So now the prepster shouldn't hide this anymore.

But nothing mainstream – the prepsters are the new intellectuals, right? So we can keep some of the unlistenable music but then this could be an opportunity to expand the horizon - classical music could be an option.

Regarding the movies and the books - probably something which is not indie and depressing could also be interesting to watch.

PART YING, FOOD, DRINKS The weirder the party, the better, the less people know about it, the cooler it'll be – that's the leitmotif behind every event that a hipster will attend.

Hosting/attending a prepster party equals again

Concerning the drinks, why not follow the advice of the preppy New Testament – 'True Prep' (the Old Testament is 'The Official Preppy Handbook' which has been printed 41 times since 1980) of trying Limoncello – a traditional Italian digestive, that seems to be the secret new trend.

It seems that being a prepster could turn to be something really hip. But please do not share this with too many people because they could find out that there are so subtle differences between these two subcultures and probably between hippies and hipsters, and the other subcultures...And in the end of the day there's nothing new or original anymore.

Everything seems to be a meaningless meme, even being a hipster.

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this page: sweater 5+1 annapurna, poloshirt love moschino, necklace natalia brilli next page: sweater alexander wang, trousers jean paul gaultier, sandals ann demeulemeester

photography vasil germanov / thinktanklab styling huben hubenov hair and makeup slav for max factor model atanas at ivet fashion

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top paul smith, leggings ann demeulemeester

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man dress damir doma

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jacket yves saint laurent, shirt junya watanabe, shorts vivienne westwood, accessory raf simons

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shirt junya watanabe, shorts vivienne westwood, necklace natalia brilli

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man dress damir doma, leggings ann demeulemeester

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sweater alexander wang

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t-shirt valentino, poloshirt paul smith, shorts yves saint laurent

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cardigan damir doma, t-shirt 08sircus, trousers jean paul gaultier

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WORDS HUBEN HUBENOV

'Think of her as your mother. She only wants what's best for you. A cool drink. A good dinner. A soft pillow and a warm blanket.'

This slogan from a vintage advertisement of American Airlines sums very well one of the reasons why flight attendants will always have a certain appeal, a certain kind of authority, a certain kind of allure. After all, traveling by plane is kind of intimate experience.

But the character of the stewardess itself is also one of the most brightest popcultural symbols of our time. And why is that? Isn't it just a service personnel, in elegant uniforms?

Well, yes and no.

The answer is quite simple – the relationship between fashion and stewardesses is one of the strongest and of the most lasting in the modern corporate world.

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In the times after World War II, the public aviation begins to take new dimensions. More and more people start traveling by plane, and the idea of flying begins to associate with the glamor and romantic of the new modern society. Modernity manifests itself through fashion and air travel. Precisely these are the two main areas that offer the best career opportunities for young women in the Fifties and the Sixties. The cabin crew job becomes an idealized dream of liberating, limitless and dynamic life, which more and more women are seeking and longing.

Proportionally with this the stewardess figure begins to transform into a sexual symbol, desired by more and more men. Perfectly logical, the female flight attendants evolve into something more than just a staff – from the point of view of airline companies they turn into the perfect marketing instrument.

Dior, Nina Ricci, Hermes, Pierre Cardin, Andres Coureges, Christian Lacroix and Christobal Balenciaga.

But the real fashion revolution in the air space comes around the same time with another revolution – the sexual. In 1965, in the midst of hippie and mod movements and the cult to the psychedelic prints and bright colors, Mary Wells Lawrence, advertising executive of the now defunct American airline company Braniff International Airways, famous for her brave marketing decisions, hires Emilio Pucci, to breath new life into the dull uniforms of the company.

And he revives them well – with a shock therapy.

He dresses the Braniff stewardesses in A-line mini dresses in psychedelic swirls, circles, spirals, and what not, in turquoise, fuchsia, orange, bright green... He even dresses the girls flying to Iceland and Greenland in long fur coats! The final touch to the uniformical euphoria of Braniff is the transparent spherical helmet, which the flight attendants wear on the runway, so that the wind doesn't mess up with their perfect hairstyles.

That's why gradually more and more companies realize how important is the appearance of their in-flight crew, headed by the most 'fashionable' brand – Air France, whose relationship with Parisian couturiers dates from 1946, and by today the list of names, who have worked on designing their uniforms, The philosophy behind the seemingly extravagant includes designers and fashion houses like Christian solution of Braniff and Pucci is actually quite

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simple – the well-dressed personnel is happier and respectively – flying turns into a more enjoyably experience. Especially for the male passengers. The concept is obviously working, because soon after that many airline companies follow the example set

by Braniff – the once strict, kind of military uniforms begin to show more legs, and more breasts, and the muted corporate tones are replaced by brighter and joyful colors. In 1968, United Airlines introduced short A-line dresses, made in bright orange as their new uniform and Allegheny Airline – white mini dresses, with the company name splashed all over them in all kinds of different typefaces. Even more extreme example is the Southwest Airlines, who dress their girls in hot pants and go-go knee-high boots made of white leather, accept the motto 'Sex sells seats', start serving cocktails with names like Passion Punch and Love Potion, and experience a dramatic raise in ticket sales...

Even the traditionally more conservative air companies go with the flow of the new fashion. SAS Scandinavian Airlines, don't reveal more of their crew's bodies, but they change the corporate color of the uniform to parrot green, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines freshen up theirs with different kinds of

accessories like belts and pillbox hats. In the early 1970s even Pakistani Airlines join the fashionable competition and hire Pierre Cardin, who creates for them the classic yet contemporary combination of a tunic and trousers.

But like most fashion trends and fads, this too has its end. In the late Seventies the change in flight crew's clothing comes again from Braniff, when Roy Halston is hired to design the new uniforms, and he takes things in a more elegant and tailored direction, typical for his fashion. Soon after that in names like Bill Blass and Ralph Lauren enter the field of air fashion, and the stewardess begin to step away from the image of sex dolls. With the coming of the 1980s the cabin crews begin to rely more and more on union alliances and the female flight-attendants embrace the image of carreer women, thanks in part of their new power dress uniforms, created for them by the new wave of fashion design.

And this trend is remaining strong till today. Despite the long and diverse list of names of designers and brands collaborating with airline companies, which includes Giorgio Armani, Julien Macdonald, Kate Spade, Yves Saint Laurent, Coco Chanel and so

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much more, more brave design solutions in the contemporary uniforms are rare. Even the most recent of such collaborations – that of Air France and Christian Lacroix, otherwise known for his flamboyant design – produced extremely classical, tailored, minimal and even a little retro uniforms. But we shouldn't neglect the fact that the job of a flightattendant is not what it used to be.

Today the stewardess figure has lost its lustrous popcultural glamor, the profession is considered risky and insecure, and not quite that elite, especially after the events in September 2001. Nevertheless, the flirt of aviators with fashion continues and there are no indications of a change. Uniforms of different airline companies are still an object of interest for the public, and for the annual charts for the best dressed cabin crew. And even though today traveling by plane is taken quite serious and with a certain amount of fear by most people, who knows what the future hold, who knows if we won't become witnesses of a Renaissance in the pleasure of flying, and with it – in the appearance and fashion of those sweet people, who are doing their best for us to be comforted in the stressful situation that is a flight?

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photography sebastian troncoso styling gala mendez hair and makeup ruben marmol model isabel de bruijn at fleming models production www.plato24.com

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vintage shirt chloe, jacket antik batik, trousers max mara, hat philippe model, vintage belt

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dress louis feraud, belt mango

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shirt sandro, jacket sfera, trousers max mara, belt roberto bellido, hat stetson

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vintage dress louis vuitton, skirt estefania borras, shirt essentiel

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shirt hanae mori, poncho sandro, skirt zara

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dress sandro, dress stefania borras, jacket guess by marciano

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shirt dacdac, trousers ann demeulemeester, vest guess by marciano

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WORDS KRASSIMIR DIMITROV

Have we defeated the conformity to wear a uniform? Is it just a thing of the past?

I don't think so.

The main idea of the uniform is to distinguish certain group of people from another. Just walk around in modern cities and you will notice similarly dressed people, people wearing identical clothes in London and Beijing. But the more important question is whether the modern uniform means only lack of creativity, or is it the only way to be accepted in the society?

Before tackling these issues this let's start by asking a simple but crucial question: Who are you?

The existential question of inventing ourselves is always on the agenda - human beings are in search of their identity from the very start of their lives.

It begins with seeing that being a boy is different than being a girl and continues with exploration of different school of thoughts, subcultures and hopefully one's own interpretation of 'I'.

This journey of self-discovery is one of the most

frustrating processes, but the curiosity and the energy, that comes as a result, only make us ask for more. This is a strictly individual search but in most cases it ends up with a person associating to a certain group. After all, man is by nature a 'social animal' that looks for acceptance, feeling of belonging and companionship. Obviously, nobody can be an island. And for better or worse everybody is part of a subcultural group, meaning that they do whatever it takes to differentiate themselves from another group, or from the larger culture they belong to.

All of these groups have their unique worldview and symbols – music, movies, books, philosophy and clothing. They choose how to see the world and how they want the world to see them. The appearance is the easiest way to demonstrate that you belong to a certain group and the clothing is a powerful tool for building identity. Choosing whether this is right or wrong should be up to everybody.

The question that inevitably comes is why we choose to express our identity through clothes and

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accessories? And why we voluntarily accept to wear some kind of uniforms?

Part of the answer is very obvious due to the fact that we usually only look, and rarely watch and hear.

The clothes, the accessories, the hair and makeup become the most distinguishing parts for a certain group. You see a person dressed in black with long hair and you have a metal, you see skinny jeans and a plaid shirt and you have a hipster, the list goes on...

Dressing in a sort of armor to go out in the world helps us demonstrate that we are members of certain exclusive club. Just think of the white-collar workers.

In order to show to the society that they're successful they dress to impress – the tie, the suit and the white shirt – if you want to make business with them either you should look like them or they will not take you seriously.

I can't stop wondering whether we reached the point when even the nerds should work on their wardrobe awareness – take Mark Zuckerberg for example, how he upgraded from the flip-flops.

Every different group has similar clothes and either you choose to wear them or you will not get an entry ticket. Nowadays most of the events, and the venues that host them, have a strict dress code – you need to wear this and you mustn't wear that. It's up to you,

but in the end you obey the rules. Isn't this kind of uniform that we choose to wear willingly?

Yes, definitely.

These are the rules of the modern society.

On the surface we're pretending that we're fighting against the conformity, but honestly, how often you've judged a person for wearing the wrong clothes? And I'm not talking only about the dresscode at work - it's the same case everywhere.

Unfortunately there's no solution to this, but a good way to fight it is to wear something that expresses your own style – God is in the details.

Human beings will always prefer to live in a world defined by rules - it makes it more bearable.

And yes, it's necessary for the modern society to be governed by rule of law, but clothes, which could be the only way a person to touch some kind of art, let us break the conformity. Putting certain clothes can transform you in whoever you want to be.

The power is so strong that you can use them as a tool for re-invention, social climbing or for being an outcast. But the only way to put this into practice is to experiment even at a price of making mistakes, because usually the mistakes are the reason something new to be born. It asks for courage but in the other case we will continue being ignorant persons afraid of finding new versions of us; we're just existing but not living.

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dress simone rocha, bracelets natalia brilli, rings and earrings ugo cacciatori

photography vasil germanov / thinktanklab styling huben hubenov hair and makeup slav for max factor model iva at ivet fashion

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dress simone rocha, bracelets natalia brilli, rings and earrings ugo cacciatori

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shirt and shoes ann demeulemeester, bracelets natalia brilli, rings and earrings ugo cacciatori

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dress max&co, earrings ugo cacciatori

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shirt armani collezioni, bracelets natalia brilli, rings and earrings ugo cacciatori

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dress simone rocha, shoes ann demeulemeester, bracelets natalia brilli, rings and earrings ugo cacciatori

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jacket jean paul gaultier, shoes ann demeulemeester, bracelets natalia brilli, rings and earrings ugo cacciatori

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t-shirt tao, earrings ugo cacciatori

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WORDS VASIL SHTEREV

There is something ironic about the fashion community. By 'ironic' I mean both sad and ridiculous.

The word 'stylish' seems to have lost its true meaning lately, and it somehow turned into 'the means to stand out in the fashion crowd'.

So, who are the biggest stand-outs?

Well, Anna Dello Russo for starters.

Honestly I don't really get what that buzz around her is all about. Anna lives for fashion and fashion lives for Anna. True. But every other post on the web is about her, her apartments in Milan, the 4 000 shoes collection. But everybody loving her just seems fake.

Why pretending?

Anna Dello Russo is like an overused media product.

It is always a good strategy to get her to wear your designs because she is the million-impressions billboard for no fee. On the other hand she seems to try too hard to get noticed, like she is trying to be the next Isabela Blow or something.

But can she?

What I appreciate, however, is that she confesses her efforts.

I read an interview where she says that she is jealous of Lady Gaga for having more followers on Twitter.

Maybe that is the reason why Dello Russo is about to produce her very own single soon.

I have never been a fan of 'I can do it all' people and that actually makes me follow this project of hers.

There are two possible outcomes - it will appear to be a surprisingly successful step or it will be a ridiculous try that will embarrass her, just like that Baptiste Giabiconi video few months back.

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I must, however, confess that while researching Anna, somehow I found myself liking her better.

I began to respect her perceptions of how to maintain the image of an Internet fashion icon and how serious she is about it, even though it seems so superficial.

Speaking of superficial, who else to trash?

Oh, I know – Bryanboy!

At the moment he has no plans to do anything else than blogging, and according to The Cut he is blogging excellent - making more than $100 000 per year. All that for just appearing here and there and then publishing posts. And the ads of course.

But how did he do it?

Bryanboy is the other person whose appearance I do not really appreciate despite following his blog for a few years now.

Marc Jacobs loved him and now everybody does.

The power of popular minds, I guess.

But seriously, can you really like somebody, who calls himself a 'boy' and then storms the streets with a fur coat and Kenzo heels?

The lick-ass hierarchy in the fashion industry has recently changed, and the reasons are so easy to understand.

If Bryanboy attracts 100,000 visitors a day and you give him an expensive garment as a present and win his respect, he will expose it on the web and for a week it will have reached nearly a million people.

And Anna will also have a lots of fun with it.

For just the price of a garment and the self-esteem sacrifice. But all those reached will be the brands' targeted audience.

Do you see the difference with the other promotion channels?

I don't quite understand what people are crazy about in Bryan and Anna's appearance and behavior.

Perhaps it's just because 'the community' is so falsely obsessed with them, that most people are just afraid to be demode.

The uniformity in people's behavior is something that I will never truly understand. It is an odd lifestyle choice.

Better be the cold and sophisticatedly-respectful Anna Wintour than the theatrical and attentionseeking Anna Dello Russo. I don't judge.

But it would be great to see Bryanboy dressed like a man for once, wouldn't it?

Recently, fashion is getting over exaggerated and boring. Part of the problem are the people who try too hard to get noticed, to get spread around the web and become fashion-celebrities in spite of sacrificing that sophistication and appeal the fashion used to have.

And garments turn into raped monuments.

Raping isn't right, is it?

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words huben hubenov, photography aleko osenski, styling h&s, hair and makeup slav, model alexandrina at ivet fashion

While making this issue we wondered which is the most appropriate trend to present? Which is the uniform of the season? Is it the floral print?

Is it the stripe? Is it the bright colors? Nothing would be conclusive, because in the ocean of different interpretations on a subject, in the end of the day there is nothing, that we can declare as a uniform.

We wondered a little more and reached the conclusion that the only fashion uniform is that which doesn’t change with time, that which we can wear yesterday, today, tomorrow.

That which is not influenced by fleeing trends and fads – a uniform, consisting of timeless clothes, that every woman should have in her wardrobe.

WHITE SHIRT The history of the shirt is taking us back in year 3000 BC. That’s why we won’t try to retell it, even though its way to the everyday wear is tough. Until the end of the 19th century, the white shirt is considered underwear, and exposing it without other clothes on top, was considered as erotic as we today consider a man in his speedos, for instance. Despite that, the shirt reached its status as a mandatory part of the women’s and men’s wardrobe, especially after WWII, and today its white variation is one of the most interpreted types of clothing, varying in cuts, lengths, collars, details – the list goes on.

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shirt maison martin margiela, trousers and belt sportmax

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trenchcoat max mara

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TRENCHCOAT Even today, Burberry and Aquascutum are arguing over who created the first trenchcoat. This fact alone is sufficient to completely illustrate the influence this garment has over our time. The classic trenchcoat is made of waterproof and windproof material, called gabardine, it is double-breasted with ten buttons, and comes in beige, tan or black. And even though we constantly see variatons on the subject, so far there is no better alternative.

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STILETTO HEEL The stiletto heel is long and thin high heel, whose appearance is documented first in the beginning of the XX century. It came out of fashion, for a brief period, in the end of the Sixties and beginning of the Seventies (but not out of the streets, where women refused to let it go), up until the moment Manolo Blahnik brought it back in 1974.

The popularity of the stiletto heel is rooted so deep in our modern idea of fashion, that it’s hard for anyone to visualize a beautiful, well-dressed woman wearing something else.

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shoes casadei

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blazer and top max mara, jeans max&co

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BLAZER The blazer is a type of jacket, more casual than the suit jacket, but more formal than the regular sports jacket. Actually, one of the main differences between the blazer and the sports jacket is that the first is made only in solid colored textiles, in black, beige, khaki or navy blue. Of course, in contemporary fashion is hard to point out the ultimate blazer for women, but one thing is certain – this type of clothing is essential to any wardrobe.

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JEANS Just like a significant part of the modern wardrobe, jeans began their history as a workers wear, in 1849, in the United States. Originally created for gold miners, jeans quickly spread across the workwear uniform in different professions, and even became part of the clothing of American soldiers in WWII. The true popularization of the jeans, however, came in 1980s, when the fashion designers began to create the so-called ‘designer jeans’, and declared openly that wearing jeans is something normal.

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jeans max&co

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lipstick mac red by m-a-c

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RED LIPSTICK The lipstick has such a rich history, that even if we try, we could hardly be completely detailed.

Used primarily by women, even in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, today the red lipstick itself is a popcultural symbol, as well as one of the main pillars of the beauty industry.

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LITTLE BLACK DRESS The little black dress made its debut on the pages of Vogue, in May 1926, thanks to an ink drawing by Gabriel Chanel. Due to its simplicity, the slim-fitting minimalistic dress is accepted very well. So well, that we doubt that there is a designer today, who hadn’t done at least one little black dress in his or hers career. In her book The Little Black Dress, Amy Holman Edelman says that it it ‘emblematic of a woman’s freedom of choice, her equal participating in the world and her declaration that, this time, she is dressing for herself.’

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dress valentino

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WORDS SVETOSLAV PETROV

The uniforms of the German army and the upper echelons of politicians and administration at the Third Reich has remained in history as an evidence of the great tailoring and impossibly subtle design of a doomed regime. And beside the horrible acts the Nazis left in history, they made a big impact in another field – the field of fashion.

using more functional dress codes and muted colors, which tried to eliminate individuality, the Nazi party was keen on expressive styles for every different position in the military. Uniform were designed to look neat, smart, and make ordinary citizens feel proud and an important part of the Third Reich and its plans for a superior race.

Military uniforms and general clothing since the beginning of the 20th century have an immense influence on modern menswear. But as we constantly reference any links and inspiration from the American navy (khaki, aviator shades, and tail coats) or the British armed forces (the trench coat), people mostly omit commenting on Nazi uniforms and regalia due to the sensitive nature of their past and place in history. And while people like Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister has been openly building a collection of Nazi memorabilia, the world has decided to comment under the line and reference it in collection and clothes without the due acknowledgement.

The Wehrmacht was having its own renaissance during the 30's as the Nazi party came to power and went onto a quest to make it bigger, better and ready for another war. As history shows, the German army was severely crippled after World War I. The uniforms of the new army have also been hard to overview, as there were so many specialist uniforms and variations for each unit of the Wehrmacht (camouflage, Luftwaffe, tropical, extreme winter, parade dress, etc.). In addition, SS uniforms deserved their place in history along the standard uniforms of the Luftwaffe.

The most dramatic uniforms during World War II were worn by the Nazi troops. They loved uniforms.

Every part of the army had its own uniform, complete with accompanying regalia. Uniforms demonstrated status and power — the dominant elements in Nazi propaganda. Totalitarian societies have always been known for regarding the uniforms in their various ways as a norm not only for the military and sate administration but also for the civilian population.

But while totalitarian and communist countries were

Nazis had a penchant for exquisite black leather, brass buttons, armbands and various regalia, that were believed to be a modern take on the ancient German knights in medieval Europe. Instead of armor made of interlinking metal rings, the Nazis used black leather. The secret police Gestapo was not that clandestine as expected with their slouch hats and anklelength black coats, while the air forces and S.S. Panzer military divisions sported visors of roughly cut pieces of leather, jump boots and black leather jackets. On the whole the Nazi Party adopted the black-white-red color scheme.

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One of the most important differences in the new uniforms compared to the Weimar-era ones was that the tailoring was more form-fitting due to Germany's adoption of mechanized warfare: soldiers had to spent much time in the confined space of a vehicle and a shorter jacket was less likely to pick up dirt from the seats, for example. The SS field uniforms were of similar appearance externally but had a wider collar.

The somber and authoritative black SS uniforms were the norm in the 30's. They were tailored exquisitely to and foster respect, and were designed by Karl Diebitsch and graphic designer Walter Heck. During the war SS uniform suppliers could not keep up with wartime demand and, as a result, the different units frequently wore uniforms drawn from Army stocks, with the addition of SS insignia. Many of the uniforms were produced

by Hugo Boss years before the company became synonymous for classic men's suits. At the time this looked like the most natural thing, as Hugo Boss in the 1930's was a family-run business that manufactured police and postal uniforms. Before Germany was defeated in World War II, the whole industry worked for the Nazi party, which awarded contracts to numerous companies to produce the black uniforms, worn by SS units, the brown shirts worn by SA storm troopers and the black-and-brown uniforms of the Hitler Youth.

As we have already mentioned Nazis were really keen on regalia and theatrics. Army uniforms and ranks were distinguished from one another by the national emblem worn above the right breast pocket, and the collar tabs bearing a pair of Litzen, a device inherited from the old Prussian Guard which resembled a Roman numeral II on its side. Both symbols were embroidered or woven in white or grey while worn on shoulderstraps. The last were piped or underlaid in a color code, which identified the branch of service and belonging of the unit: white for infantry, red for artillery, rosepink for Panzer troops and so on.

Most of the soldiers wore belt buckles with the inscription 'Gott mit uns' (God with us).

The Wehrmacht boot was little different from the one of World War I: made of brown pebbled leather (blackened with polish), with hobnailed leather soles and heel-irons. Trousers were worn tucked inside (as seen today on most catwalks with or without success) and the boots were shortened to 32-35 cm in order to save leather. Officers' boots were knee-high, more form-fitting, and often of superior quality as they were ordered by the officers themselves.

Another important iconic piece is the military coat: one of the main influences on outerwear apparel

for autumn and winter menswear nowadays. Its Wehrmacht version was a formfitting thigh-length eight-button tunic of fine wool without external pockets. The Luftwaffe wore beige jumpsuits, leather flying helmets and thick fur-lined boots along with black leather jackets with epaulettes, insignia and medal ribbons.

No matter Nazi regime was destroyed after World War II, its style began a new life on its own and proved to be a string reference point in modern pop culture, music, cinema, fetishism and all aspects of culture and entertainment. One of its staples, the black leather jacket, became a popular symbol of rebellion that was worn by rock ‘n’ rollers in the 1950s likse James Dean in Rebel without a cause. The heavy black Dr. Martens boots look closely familiar to Nazi jump boots. Fashion used only the main staples of Nazi aesthetics and got rid of regalia and flamboyance, recognizing the valuable practical nature of the uniforms and Nazi clothes and putting the stress once again on functionality and simple design. Good for it.

photography lazar styling h&s hair and makeup slav for max factor models elizabeth, rayna and vanya at ivet fashion

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jacket burberry prorsum

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jacket red valentino, shirt sportmax, trousers paul smith, shoes gio diev, sunglasses cutler and gross, scarf mcq

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coats astella

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jacket jean paul gaultier

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blouse jean paul gaultier, skirt astella, belt muse shop

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vanya: dress anelia peschev, earrings and clutch patrizia pepe; rayna: dress astella; elizabeth: dress red valentino, purse muse shop

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jacket burberry prorsum, trousers richard nicoll, shoes zara

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jacket john rocha, leggings burberry prorsum, belt muse shop

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t-shirt and trousers paul smith

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dress anelia peschev, shoes gio diev

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elizabeth: jacket francesco scognamiglio, corset and skirt john rocha; vanya: jacket jean paul gaultier

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shirt modis

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vanya: jacket jean paul gaultier, trousers modis rayna: jacket ann demeulemeester, trousers paul smith, boots gio diev elizabeth: shirt maison martin margiela, skirt gustavolins

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photography aleko osenski styling bozhidara popova makeup argir kovatliev assistant-photography asya filipova, kiril kovachev models ani at ivet fashion, nadin, tsveta at visages, christina, gabriela, amada

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dress sassa bjorg

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dress sassa bjorg

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dress sassa bjorg

cardigan sassa bjorg

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dress gloria ivanova for farenah concept

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cardigan sassa bjorg

jacket carevitsa

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photography julien cozzolino styling calvin nymon hair yuhei nerome makeup daria slusarczyk model ines loan rau at angels and demons agency

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dress next episode, jewelery kmo jewels

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vintage jacket, t-shirt petit bateau, pants soleil sucre, vintage shoes yves saint laurent

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jacket next episode, t-shirt a fault, vintage shoes yves saint laurent

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dress next episode, jewelery kmo jewel, shoes pring

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jacket jitrois, t-shirt a fault, skirt stella jeans, shoes pring, jewelery kmo jewel

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total look jitrois, jewelery kmo jewel

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5+1 annapurna www.annapurna-aidabarni.com 08sircus www.kiminorimorishita.jp anelia peschev www.aneliapeschev.com burberry prorsum www.burberry.com damir doma www.damirdoma.com francesco scognamiglio www.francescoscognamiglio.it natalia brilli www.nataliabrilli.fr raf simons www.rafsimons.com richard nicoll www.richardnicoll.com simone rocha www.simonerocha.com ugo cacciatori www.ugocacciatori.it vivienne westwood www.viviennewestwood.co.uk are available at farenah concept, 1a saborna street, www.farenah.com alexander wang www.alexanderwang.com ann demeulemeester www.anndemeulemeester.be cutler and gross www.cutlerandgross.com jean paul gaultier www.jeanpaulgaultier.com junya watanabe maison martin margiela www.maisonmartinmargiela.com tao are available at all u re, 9 saborna street. armani collezioni www.armani.com love moschino www.moschino.it paul smith www.paulsmith.co.uk red valentino www.redvalentino.com are available at trend box, 4 sveta nedelya square astella is at www.astellaatelier.com and 68 vitosha boulevard antik batik is at www.antikbatik.fr casadei is at www.casadei.com and 147 rakovski street essentiel is at is at www.essentiel.be gio diev is at www.giodiev.com and 84 vitosha boulevard john rocha is at www.johnrocha.ie and at love/labels, tzum second floor louis feraud is at www.feraud.com max mara is at www.maxmara.com and 74 vitosha boulevard max&co is at www.maxandco.com and 56 vitosha boulevard philippe model is at www.philippemodel.com sandro is at www.sandro-paris.com sportmax is at www.sportmax.it and 74 vitosha boulevard stefania borras is at www.stefaniaborras.com stetson is at www.stetson.com valentino is at www.valentino.com and 4 saborna street yves saint laurent is at www.ysl.com and at garde robe, 4 saborna street

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