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THE YOUTH ISSUE SPRING / SUMMER 2012 VOL. I
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H A Z E HAZEMAGAZINE.NET
TWITTER.COM/HAZEMAGAZINE HAZEMAGAZINE.TUMBLR.COM FACEBOOK.COM/HAZEMAGAZINE
SITES VENTURING ALONG CAPITAL 5POINTZ INTO THE STREETS SOUNDS BJORK MIXTAPES JUNGLE MUSIC PROFILES MORGAN TO DUCKY BAILEN BROTHERS THE IMMEDIATE EXPERIENCE YOUTH MOVEMENT COLLECTIVE KIDSUPER HOGAN MCLAUGHLIN IMAGES OUT OF THE ASHES BACK TO BOWIE (R)AVE MARIA BYEGONETHREADS A BYGONE ERA
CO EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VALERIE CHAN KENDALL BREZINSKI
CREATIVE DIRECTOR ALETHEIA WEIYI CHAY
MANAGING EDITOR MYCHAL LOPEZ
ART DIRECTOR LUCY CHEN
COPY EDITOR ALYSSA PAVLEY
LIFESTYLE DIRECTOR CAROLYN AMURAO
LIFESTYLE EDITOR STANTON JACINTO
FASHION DIRECTOR LUCY MCLAUGHLIN
FASHION EDITOR CHARLES TISETH
CONTRIBUTING FASHION DIRECTOR JACOBI HOLLINGSHED
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR LIZ KIM
MUSIC EDITORS DANI BRONSTEIN MICHAEL LORENZ VISUAL EDITOR GUS PARK
PR DIRECTORS WES HOLLAND LINDSEY SOLOMON BUSINESS HEAD MICHAEL WANG
PHOTOGRAPHERS CHRIS BERNABEO MALIKA VORA HALEY STARK WAVERLY MANDEL MEREDITH DUMAS MELODIE JENG SPONSORED BY
NEW YORK CITY IS ONE OF THE MOST INSPIRING PLACES IN THE WORLD. FROM ITS INCEPTION, HAZE HAS BEEN ENVISIONED AS A PLATFORM FOR TALENTED ARTISTS AND INDIVIDUALS LIVING IN THE CITY TO MEET, COLLABORATE AND CREATE SOMETHING WORTHWHILE AND PROVOKING. WE WANT TO HARNESS THE CITY’S CREATIVE ENERGY AND DIRECTLY TRANSLATE THAT ONTO OUR PAGES: THE VOICES, VISIONS, THOUGHTS AND SOUNDS THAT ARE THIS GREAT METROPOLIS. DURING THE PROCESS OF CURATING OF OUR FIRST PRINT ISSUE, WE HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO CROSS PATHS WITH SOME FREAKISHLY GIFTED BRIGHTYOUNG-THINGS IN FASHION, MUSIC, PHOTOGRAPHY AND WRITING, INSPIRING US TO FORM A COLLECTIVE THAT SHARED, NURTURED AND DEVELOPED IDEAS. THIS BOOKLET IS WHAT WE CAME UP WITH. IN THE FIRST ISSUE, HAZE PROFILES THE CREATIVE YOUNG CULTURE THAT PERMEATES THE FRINGES OF THE CITY: A SELECT FEW UNDERGROUND AND RISING DESIGNERS, ARTISTS, ACTORS, MUSICIANS, AND THEIR STORIES. CONSIDER IT AN HOMAGE TO THE CREATIVE STRUGGLE, SHEER HUSTLE, AND THE ALL-TOO-FAMILIAR PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM. COVER/EDITORS NOTE PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS BERNABEO
THAT BEING SAID, ON BEHALF OF OUR TEAM, WELCOME TO HAZE. WE HAVE FILLED THE PAGES WITH THINGS THAT INSPIRE US, AND HOPEFULLY AFTER READING THIS YOU’LL BE INSPIRED TOO. VAL CHAN & KENDALL BREZINSKI
SITES
V E N T U R I N G A L O N G C A P I T A L
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JI NOK HO AND ALETHEIA WEIYI CHAY
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JACKSON AVENUE AT CRANE STREET AND DAVIS STREET, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101 N40° 44.7288’, W073° 56.7938’
BY GUS PARK
YOU SHRINK TO THE SIZE OF AN ANT AND SINK INTO A JAR OF ACID-COLORED JELLYBEANS. YOU REALLY LIKE BIGGIE. LIKE, REALLY, REALLY LIKE BIGGIE. IT WAS ALL A DREAM.
I N T O T H E S T R EETS BY CHARLES TISETH It’s easy to recognize a person who looks great, but discovering them within a specific context makes it all the more special. I approached the task of photographing street style with open arms but kept the essential aspect of location in mind. As I walked the streets of downtown Manhattan, I looked for people who were on point with their outfit but were also interesting when juxtaposed with their surroundings. I sought out individuals who exuded a sense of quiet confidence, whether they were walking alone down on Bowery, strolling through the narrow streets of the Lower East Side, or navigating the waves of people up and down Broadway. The clothing caught my attention first but how the person was wearing their clothes was equally crucial. Fashion and location go hand in hand. I mainly photographed on weekend afternoons as people were out casually in the brisk weather. It was then that I happened to find some lovely individuals. I found and photographed these people in the midst of their day, and they reminded me that both “what they wore” and “where they were” are equally important.
BOWERY X HOUSTON INDIA 21
HOUSTON X BROADWAY ROLLY 24
ASTOR PLACE JOSE 18
BOWERY X HOUSTON JONAS 25
LAGUARDIA X BLEEKER JENNIFER 22
SOUNDS
9 0 s N o s ta l g i a A l b u m R e v i e w
H o m o g en i c by Bj o r k
BY MICHAEL LORENZ THERE ARE FEW ALBUMS THAT REPRESENT THE ECLECTICISM OF THE 90’S MORE THAN BJÖRK’S HOMOGENIC (1997, ONE LITTLE INDIAN RECORDS). WE ALL KNOW THAT THE 90’S PRODUCED MANY INFLUENTIAL ALBUMS LIKE IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA BY NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL, READY TO DIE BY BIGGIE SMALLS, AND OK COMPUTER BY RADIOHEAD, BUT NONE OF THEM ENCOMPASS THE ARTISTIC AND EMOTIONAL QUALITIES IN HOMOGENIC. AS A FOLLOW UP ALBUM TO HER 1995 HIT POST, HOMOGENIC DEMONSTRATES BJÖRK’S GROWTH AS AN ARTIST AND AS A PERSON. A MORE INTROVERTED BJORK WROTE HOMOGENIC AFTER SURVIVING A FRIGHTENING ORDEAL WITH A STALKER, WHO, AFTER TRYING TO KILL HER WITH AN ACID-SPRAYING BOMB, KILLED HIMSELF ON VIDEOTAPE. HOMOGENIC IS SUCH AN INFLUENTIAL ALBUM EVEN TODAY BECAUSE OF THE HIGHLY PERSONAL QUALITY OF EACH SONG. HOMOGENIC STANDS OUT AMONG BJORK’S ICONIC DISCOGRAPHY BECAUSE OF THE ALBUM’S PERSONAL NATURE THAT HAS GONE ON TO INFLUENCE COUNTLESS SINGER-SONGWRITERS. IF WE CONSIDER JUSTIN VERNON’S SECLUSION IN THE WOODS TO PRODUCE THE HAUNTING, PERMEATING SONGS ON FOR EMMA OR BERUIT’S ZACH CONDON’S EUROPEAN SOJOURN AT THE AGE OF 17 TO PRODUCE THE WORLDLY, FLOATY MELODIES HE IS KNOWN FOR, WE SEE A KIND OF FAVORING OF THE LONE INTROVERT—BELOVED TO BOTH MUSICIAN AND LISTENER—ON THE INDEPENDENT FOLK SCENE. EMOTIVE SONGS HAVE ALWAYS EXISTED BUT THE LINGERING INFLUENCE OF BJÖRK CAN BE SEEN IN AT MANY OF OUR FAVORITE MODERN DAY ARTISTS. WHETHER IT IS THE PERSONAL QUALITY OF EACH SONG OR BJORK’S SOUND INNOVATIONS, HOMOGENIC IS AN ESSENTIAL ALBUM FOR BOTH THE SOUND AND PERSPECTIVE OF MUSIC TODAY. *PHOTO FROM LARGELA.COM
M I X T A P E S BY DANI BRONSTEIN AND MICHAEL LORENZ ILLUSTRATIONS BY HALEY STARK I GOT THREE HOURS OF SLEEP, I NEED TO WAKE UP “Dance Yrself Clean” by LCD Soundsystem “Death Wish“ by Force of Nature “End Of The Line” by Sleigh Bells “Ceremony” by New Order “Empathy” by Crystal Castles “Express Yourself” by Diplo feat. Nicky Da B “Where There’s a Will There’s a Whalebone” by Islands “Blow (Cirkut Remix)” by Ke$ha “Midnight In The City” by M83 “Don’t Move” by Phantogram
SONGS TO DANCE IN FRONT OF YOUR MIRROR “Glad” by Traffice “Music is the Answer” by Bailey Smalls “Djohariah” by Sufjan Stevens “Disco Bhangra” by Marsh Dondurma “Bangarang” by Skrillex feat. Sirah “Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys “Golden Ghost” by Lotus “Karma Police” by Citizen Cope “Easy Star All Stars Authentic Phyric Remission” by Of Montreal “All of the Lights” by Kanye West
SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR SUMMER FLING “I can’t make you love me” by Adele (cover) “I found you” by Alabama Shakes champagne year” by St. Vincent “Higher Love” by James Vincent McMorrow “All the rowboats” by Regina Spektor “It’s only life” by The Shins “Old Pine” by Ben Howard “Shelter” by The XX “Who Knows Who Cares” by Local Natives “I Can’t Make You Love Me/Nick of Time” by Bon Iver (covers)
TUNES TO GROOVE TO THIS SUMMER FOR ANY OCCASION, HAND-PICKED AND CURATED BY HAZE’S MUSIC EDITORS
NEW YORK CITY IN AUGUST “The Anthem” by Onra “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangster” by Geto Boys “All Eyes On You” by St. Lucia “Lofticries” by Purity Ring “You” by Gold Panda “Good As New” by Vacationer “Zebra” by Beach House “Fresh Feeling” by Eels “Black Eye/Burnt Thumb” Metronomy “2HELLWU” by Sleigh Bells
SOUNDS OF THE CITY (NYC-CENTRIC BANDS AND SONGS) “Friend Crush” by Friends “oO0OoO0Oo” by Oberhofer “Love is Not Enough” by Anthony Da Costa “Daylight” by Matt and Kim “All Eyes On You” by St. Lucia “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down” by LCD Soundsystem “Encom Part 2 (Com Truise Remix)” by Daft Punk “Hounds” by The Antlers “Life of His Own” by Sharon Van Etten “Lovesick Teeanger” by Bear in Heaven
ARTISTS YOU’LL NEED TO KNOW THIS SUMMER “The Only Place” by Best Coast “Boom Boom” by Rye Rye “Myth” by Beach House “Host” by Alex Winston “Jasmine” by Jai Paul “Fuck Up The Fun” by Azealia Banks “Gun Has No Trigger” by Dirty Projectors “Primadonna” by Marina And The Diamonds
J U N G L E M U S I C BY DANI BRONSTEIN
As a New Yorker, I don’t exactly have the best experiences with music at house parties. Crowded apartments rarely have anything more than an IPod on shuffle, and the occasional amateur DJ. So when I visited Binghamton for the weekend and my friends got me buzzed enough to agree to go to a house party, I prepared myself for the same shitty trance broadcasted through much larger speakers. Somehow it wasn’t a 21st-century Animal House. For one thing, no one was throwing up off the front porch, and the fact that only a third of the attendees were in togas made it an acceptable atmosphere. The scene was striking enough to reverse my stereotypes of the classic
‘house party,’ but as I ventured into the living room the party’s focus exploded in my ears. Towering above was Green Stop Sign (GSS) jamming out to Phish, The Grateful Dead, and innumerable original tracks. Allen Glen, Eliot Kershner, and Uriyah Kopelowitz, its band members, grew up in Englewood, NJ and they have been playing together since high school. They inaugurated themselves as Green Stop Sign in the 10th grade but it wasn’t until graduation when GSS took their high school gig to a new level. Eliot, the undisputable mind behind the madness, stood still behind the tower of ivory keys, a laptop, and a Korg. He led the trio with an intri-
cate blend of technical piano solos and synthesizer lines. Alen kept people dancing throughout the night with his insanely tight beats behind the kit. Uriyah kept the jamband ambience throughout with his improvisational dub bass lines. They were clear that the structure of their music is the key to making it a fun experience for the audience. Eliot described some cross between Jamtronica, funk, blues, and jazz. While Allen excitedly agreed that Jamtronica is fresh, he still wrestles with straightforward labels. Allen admits “I don’t how many bands pull it off the way we do...it’s definitely jam, but Eliot’s classical training makes them pieces, not jams.
We’re Jam-funk-tronica. Allman Brothers meet Lotus, meets Easy Star All Stars.” Though Eliot mused further on how when his own music he hopes to be far more provocative. “Music is evolving and we should take greater advantage of it. We can create aesthetically pleasing and unique sounds that never existed until now.” GSS has been rocking college house-parties for some time now, but it seems they’re ready to take things to the next level. Expect them to tackle the Big Apple. No term I can coin sums up Green Stop Sign better than Uriyah’s word for just about everything GSS-related: “Jungle.”
PROFILES
F r o m
M o r g a n
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E v e r y t h i n g - i n - B e t w e e n BY LUCY MCLAUGHLN PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTED BY GUS PARK PHOTOGRAPHER: MALIKA VORA
Morgan Neiman a.k.a. Ducky lives for the summer. On a chilly March afternoon, all we can talk about are 80-degree days, warm weather clothes, and her plans for her first summer as an official college grad: “More shows are going to be the first thing, going on tour, assembling some sort of bigger live band—I mean, without giving too much away, I’m in the process of developing some really cool technological stuff to go along with the live show.” Morgan has a way of commanding the attention of everyone in a room. When we started the interview, it was just the two of us on set in a quiet photo studio. As more and more people started to trickle in, it became harder to stay focused. Morgan greeted everyone who walked through the door with enthusiasm, initiating enough witty side conversations to turn our two-person chat into a whole group conversation. It is clear that Morgan is a people person—a trait that likely contributed to the success of her solo project Ducky. At the ripe age of thirteen, Morgan thought up the idea for her music career in order to fulfill an assignment for school: “I went to this hippie, liberal school where had these recital projects where you got a year to focus on whatever you want and learn how to do it really well. But people did crazy stuff, like one girl built a hovercraft and another guy composed a symphony—he’s like a famous composer now. He was crazy. And I was like, ‘Oh! I’m gonna make a CD!’” In eight years, Ducky has transformed her act from a school project to a highly recognizable act in the New York music scene. But between performances with instrumental rock group, Explosions in the Sky and traveling to Austin for SXSW, Morgan still struggles to
wrap her head around it. “It’s kind of a constant thing where I’m going, ‘Oh holy shit! This is happening!’ But I don’t find it overwhelming. I think that this is always what I wanted to do and I like talking to people, and I like doing press, and I love to perform, so there’s never a moment where I feel like it’s scary or overwhelming. It’s pretty much constantly like, ‘Shit! This is happening!’” While most people our age only think, ‘Shit! This is happening!’ when it comes to graduation and the harsh realities of adulthood, Morgan is more concerned with how to push her brand further along. She is ready to take Ducky on the road, “[It’s] really going to open me up to travelling much more because right now it’s only what I can do on the weekend. I would love to play in Berlin. I’m actually talking to some people who do booking for the Bergheim, so we’ll see!” In one afternoon, Morgan managed to win over everyone on set. Her genuine interest in others coupled with her unbridled sense of humor kept up conversation, making this one of the most relaxed photo shoots I’ve ever been a part of. Between the stories of her wild teenage years in California and her photogenic professionalism, it’s easy to see that her thirteen-year-old aspirations have taken her far. A lot has changed for Morgan since the days when music was a middle school project and “Ducky” was just a nickname based on a class photo where she posed with a stuffed animal duck, but she’s recently received affirmation that she has always been a striking personality: “I just got an email from someone the other day that was like, ‘Hey! I saw you play a show when you were thirteen and I just want to say I still listen to your stuff!’”
T H E BA I LEN B ROT H ERS A DY N A M I C D U O
BY MICHAEL LORENZ PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTED BY GUS PARK PHOTOGRAPHER: MALIKA VORA
“We’re not a funk band,” says David Bailen of The Bailen Brothers, “[we’re] rock and roll with a foundation in R&B, Rock, Folk, and Jazz.”The Bailen Brothers are a music collective that have undergone many transformations and evolutions since they began playing as kids. Their sound converges many genres into one cohesive and innovative sound that they call “vintage pop”. David and Daniel Bailen were both born and raised in New York and come from a musically talented family, even being so fortunate enough to be featured as soloists in the Metropolitan Opera’s Children’s Chorus. After releasing their first album back in 2007, titled “Come and Get Your Art”, The Bailen Brothers have positioned themselves in the New York music scene over the past couple years, thanks to their truly innovative sound—the result of the band’s wild energy and passion. They have played multiple venues all over New York and the tri-state area, and even had a short international stint playing at two local clubs in Florence, Italy, only to situate themselves as a band that is a mix of every characteristically New York style at its best. Their recent hit, “I Just Want To Dance” has been steadily gaining views and popularity on YouTube. It has an overall fun-loving, rock-and-roll feel that is so intrinsic to their sound. Their newest full-length album “Must Be Mistaken” was released this February and is now available on both iTunes and on the band’s website.
T H E I M M E D I AT E EX P ER I EN C E BY CAROLYN AMURAO
“AUDIENCES ARE GOING AWAY, WE’RE LOSING FOUNDATION MONEY, WE’RE LOSING SPACES, WE’RE LOSING PEOPLE THAT ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN THEATER. THE WORLD IS TELLING US THAT THEATER IS NOT AS NECESSARY AS WE THINK IT IS, SO IF WE THINK IT’S SO NECESSARY WE BETTER FUCKING BLOW THE ROOF OFF IT AND DO THE BEST WORK THERE HAS EVER BEEN.”
Welcome to Blue Triangle Nature Fun Time Summer Camp. It’s a world that the nonprofit theater company, Studio 42, has created just for you. Surrounded by upside-down hanging Christmas trees, a boy and a girl sit alone on a suspended bench. This is where young Miranda and Oliver have their first sexual experience. The audience watches Oliver reach into the crotch of Miranda’s denim shorts. As he touches her, her breathing intensifies. People laugh. It’s laughter of disbelief that this moment is really happening; it’s the reaction you get when someone’s blatant exhibitionism makes you uncomfortable. Getting people into one room to share in one immediate experience is what independent theater is all about. But since theater is not as commercial as other forms of entertainment, off-off-Broadway companies struggle to simply get people into a room. In pursuit of new, innovative work, companies must figure out how to make theater important and accessible. An alum of Juilliard, Talbott is currently a literary manager at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, an off-Broadway theater in the West Village, and the founding artistic director of Rising Phoenix Repertory, a company he started in 1999. With the number of theatergoers decreasing, Talbott believes that it’s up to the companies to create work that is attractive and engaging for any theatergoer. Acknowledging our increasingly digital
culture, the theater can benefit from technology in some ways. The Internet and social platforms such as Facebook are great tools for companies for promoting, discussing, and connecting to fellow companies in distant places. At the same time, technology has a tendency to separate people from regular interactions, a danger for the communal attitude of theater. In contrast to the sometimes-isolating effects of technological devices, the theater is all about personal communication and physical interaction. “There’s a big difference between masturbating on your computer with somebody in Taiwan than making love with somebody in your bed,” says Talbott. “I think theater needs to get back to making love more.” According to the advocacy organization, The League of Independent Theater, in New York alone, there are over 300 companies and 10,000 plus actors and crew. There is no shortage of opportunity to see theater. It is everywhere: in the backroom of a restaurant in the LES, on a SoHo street, in a theater midtown, in someone’s cramped apartment. Despite all the diverse productions showcasing their own original stories, they don’t always attract a wide audience. Talbott believes that people are scared of theater and that TV and film are the only mediums attracting an actual viewership. But the reality is that watching an actor onscreen is completely different than experiencing an actor’s energy directly in front of you.
Y O M O C O BY STANTON JACINTO PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTED BY GUS PARK PHOTOGRAPHER: MALIKA VORA TO THE TYPICAL UNDERGRAD, THE REAL WORD -- OR THE “STUFF” THAT COMES AFTER GRADUATION -- IS TERRIFYING. THE THOUGHT TRIGGERS UNANSWERED QUESTIONS OF JOB STRUGGLES, FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE, AND ADULTHOOD. BUT HOW MUCH MORE TERRIFYING IS IT TO DANCE MAJORS, WHOSE TIME IN CLASS IS SPENT DECONSTRUCTING THE MEDIUM AND CULTIVATING THEIR CRAFT. IS IT POSSIBLE TO LIVE THROUGH YOUR ART WHILE MAKING A “LIVING” IN THE ARTS? Me: Where does the inspiration to create (to choreograph) come from? M&R: Our choreography is rarely conceived based upon a single inspiration. We are constantly searching for alternative perspectives we can use to diversify our work by incorporating inspiration from all aspects of life. Some days we create based off of images we have created in our heads, and other days our movement is fueled much more by the idea of challenging the physical ‘impossibilities’ of the body. Me: After the release of the film “Cellular Disposition” almost a year ago and the release of “Pina” a few months ago, does this encourage you in continuing to collaborate and incorporate other aspects of art into your work as well? M&R: We always want to incorporate other artistic visions with our own. It often fuels our process through the creation stage. The creative opinion and ideas of other artists keeps us constantly striving for invention in our work and everyday lives. Settling for what is usually done or following one singular vision is what we try to avoid in our creative process. Me: What are your post-graduation plans transitioning out of college and into the real world of art? Has Tisch prepared you well? M&R: The support that we have received from Tisch in our endeavors to start a company so early in our careers is something we are both extremely grateful for. Having access to the resources that NYU has to offer allowed us to create a solid foundation for The YoMoCo that will certainly smooth our transition into the ‘real world’. Me: As young emerging artists of New York City, how do you go about creating an original and authentic creative voice? M&R: We have created a support system for each other that allows us to create without the pressure and fear of the unknown. We have also learned that is all right to admit when ideas or concepts are not matching our vision, and sometimes you have to go back to square one. Me: Much of your choreographic work is visually stunning, especially from a stylistic and fashion perspective. What inspires your personal ‘fashion’ style? M&R: Our fashion style comes from combining thrift and vintage items and modernizing them. We are inspired by the classic, American, blue-collar attire of plaid and boots and we are suckers for a unique finds at Salvation Army and Goodwill.
YO U T H M OV EM EN T C O LLECT I V E
6 0 M I N U T ES
WITH COLM DILLANE OF
KIDSUPER
BY VALERIE CHAN PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTED BY GUS PARK PHOTOGRAPHER: MALIKA VORA
“EVERYBODY HAS AN INNER CHILD, YOU KNOW…” It’s an unusually blistery day in March and I’ve sought shelter indoors with Colm Dillane, founder and designer of Kidsuper. Sitting many stories high above Washington Square Park, safe from the elements, gray clouds start to materialize on the other side of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Droplets of rain begin to roll down the windowpane, and below park goers scatter like ants. “It’s like the sense that you can do anything, and that the possibilities are endless…Endless optimist, like the world is at your hands, -that’s what Kidsuper is all about”, he relays to me in a slow, carefree drawl. Acutely laid back, he has a boyish face and dirty blonde ringlets that he wears crushed under a grungy snapback that has certainly seen better days. Colm himself is very much a physical embodiment of his own brand. Look closely next time you’re walking around New York and maybe you’ll spot the Kidsuper mascot (a cartoon doppelganger of the designer in a superhero getup) tagged on a random light post or alleyway. What started out as a joke rap pseudonym between close friends, Kidsuper soon evolved into the name that would eventually define his growing line of tee shirts, hoodies and baseball caps. The label is an explosion of color and pattern, and all pieces bare a sense of tongue-in-cheek nonchalance that contrasts greatly with the grim starkness that seems to pervade street wear lines nowadays. “It’s nice, because I’m just having fun with it. Just going along with the flow.” Colm’s ability to not take himself, or the brand, too seriously is refreshing and can be seen in almost every facet of his company. The Kidsuper website is a gigantic, interactive doodle that he made on a whim one day with his roommate, a computer science major. On the main page, you’ll find a stream-of-conscious-like feed that is composed of fan mail, impromptu photo shoots
with close friends and instagram shots of outgoing packages. “One thing I like to do is to draw and scribble on all the packages to my customers, and I try to write everyone nice thank you notes too. Just to, you know, show that I care and stuff”. In the hard-knock world of street wear, where anybody with the slightest artistic inclination (or lack thereof) with the access to a screen printer can quite literally start their own line, startup brands like Kidsuper are a dime a dozen. However, Colm’s youthful optimism, childish naiveté and sheer hustle seem to be paying off. Mathematics major at NYU, he splits time between attending classes on combinatorics and corresponding with manufacturers, analyzing fabric samples and designing new pieces. He does this all out of his NYU dorm room. “I spend zero on advertising,” he says to me “we rely on word-of-mouth a lot”. Through the power of the internet and help from enthusiastic friends, Kidsuper has grown from a small side-project to a full fledged brand with fans around the world. I ask him about any highlights or interesting stories that have arisen, and he laughs, “You won’t believe this, but I get an email one day from this guy living in Amsterdam,” he adds, “This was before Kidsuper could ship internationally, but he writes to me about how much he loves the line, and that we should seriously consider shipping to the Netherlands. Anyway, attached to the email is a photo of Kidsuper motto, “Stay Super!” in an abandoned tunnel…and it’s huge! So right now, there’s a huge Kidsuper tag somewhere in Amsterdam…pretty unreal.” It’s nearing the end of our meeting, and I ask him if there are any parting sentiments he wants to leave with our readers. “Yea,” he says, “Live life super.” Check out the Kidsuper line at www.Kidsuper.com.
PHANTOMS I N
P A R I S
BY LUCY MCLAUGHLIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARA KING
IT’S TWO O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING AND HOGAN AND I JUST WALKED FROM DISTRICT 8 TO 5. PARIS IS AN ODD CITY. IT IS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE YOU CAN ATTEMPT TO GET LOST, BUT STILL MANAGE TO END UP AT YOUR STARTING PLACE, OR SOMEWHERE RELATIVELY CLOSE. FOR SOME REASON, THAT WASN’T HAPPENING TONIGHT. WE WALKED PAST SHOP WINDOWS HOUSING THE SEASON’S LATEST FASHIONS AS SHINY BLACK CARS ZIPPED DOWN THE ROAD AND PARKED IN FRONT OF TOWERING GATES. I IMAGINED THEY LEAD TO THE COURTYARDS AND HOMES OF THE PARISIAN ELITE. “I JUST FEEL LIKE I BELONG HERE. I WALKED AROUND FOR THE REST OF THE DAY, ALL ALONG THE RIVER AND UP TO THE OPERA. IT FELT SO NATURAL TO JUST SIT AND TALK THERE AND THEN ROAM THE STREETS.”
For as long as I can remember, Hogan has always been somewhere else—both physically and mentally. My brother’s mind operates on an other-worldly level that I can’t even begin to understand. The things he imagines can be astounding, haunting, and moving all at one time. A close family-friend most perfectly observed that Hogan’s art “mediates the space between the living and the dead.” Ever since I heard that, I haven’t been able to see his work in any other way. What’s more, I think Hogan is beginning to see himself in relation to this concept. After spending a week in Paris with my brother, I’ve come to realize that it is the only city in which his variable interests are able to come together and exist harmoniously. In Paris, Hogan doesn’t feel the pressure of self-identification; His existence is effortless. In Paris, Hogan appears to embody his own artistic concept; He wanders like a phantom of an unknown past. Before Hogan was a designer, he danced for a company called Hubbard Street in Chicago—our hometown. At this point, drawing was only a side project during his daily dance rehearsals and tours of the country. At 18 years old, Hogan was one of the youngest dancers in the company and was constantly told of the greatness he could achieve with a little growth. I’d say a kind of greatness was achieved, but only after he left the company in 2010. With more time for his art and the freedom of unemployment that allowed him to pick up and move to New York, Hogan was fully invested in establishing himself as a designer.
Several months passed and nothing really happened. He worked from his apartment in the West Village, wavering between visions of designer grandeur and the possibly that a college career might actually be necessary in order to achieve his goals. Honestly, things were looking bleak for a while. It wasn’t until last April that Hogan got in touch with fashion icon Daphne Guinness, who wanted to see Hogan’s art come to life as much as Hogan did. One year later, Hogan’s designs have been featured in the windows of Barney’s New York, worn by icons such as Lady Gaga and Guinness herself, and finally, Hogan is working on his second collection, which will be released May 10th. Needless to say, Hogan has come a long way since last April. I think I finally realized the magnitude of his success when he asked me to join him in Paris for Fashion Week this past spring. I arrived in Paris the other week having not seen my brother in over two months. Our only means of communication was through brown paper bags containing wadded up receipts to be filed for accounting purposes and the occasional text message regarding the upcoming season of Game of Thrones. We sat at a café eating eggs, mesclun salad, and mustard. He looked different—clean-cut, smartly dressed (more so than usual), and highly composed. He had cut his hair, something he swore he would never do. After returning from Paris, Hogan and I spent a lot of time sitting on the balcony of our Brooklyn apartment. The weather in New York was uncharacteristically pleasant for
March, but after spending a week in the cold mists of Paris, we were grateful for the climate change. While the weather was a definite perk, the resurgence of pigeons was definitely not. Every morning, they sit outside our window, flapping and cooing, and amassing piles shit that neither of us wants to clean. Whenever we sat outside, Hogan’s eyes would dart from splat to splat, growing more and more disgusted with each pile, “We should set up a trap or pull a BB gun on them, Betty Draper style. I don’t want to kill them, I just want to scare them away.” I had almost completely forgotten about that episode of Mad Men, but Hogan has a way of remembering little moments in the past—especially if they involve strikingly beautiful women. I would never categorize my brother as a history buff. His interest in the past is mostly inspired by sci-fi fantasy stories and his admiration for historical figures is usually channeled towards the woman portraying them in the newest HBO or SHO series. He had a brief obsession with the 50s that coincided with the first season of Mad Men followed by forays into ancient Japanese culture likely inspired by Miyazaki movies. And even though these specific history binges have come and gone, I’m starting to realize that Hogan holds on to the key components that really speak to him as a designer, “Right now, my inspiration is a hybrid of Chinese opium dens and Natalie Dormer in The Tudors. There’s always a slightly medieval motif.” Sometimes I can’t believe the concepts that he comes up with; most notably the line he described as “Geishas and
The one thing I find most interesting about Hogan’s designs is their ability to hold elements of both the past and future. The hints of historical inspiration are present in each collection, but are also a clear effort to pioneer elements that are new and exciting; “I’m always taking basic aspects of the past and mixing them with the future. Like now, who wants to take inspiration from high-waisted jeans a white t-shirt?” Fashion, just like fantasy, intrigues us in new and unimaginable ways, all the while maintaining a sense of familiarity. In spite of our generation’s access to boundless information, our inability to fully understand the reality of historical events drives us insane—and while we all work to find our own resolution, Hogan has found his in art and design. Instead of dwelling on one specific time period, he has invented an epoch of his own by cultivating facets of history that speak to him. Hogan just left the café. I can still see him walking down the road alone. He enjoys solitude and adapting to a culture in a way that is entirely his own. My idea of adapting is sitting in a café, cycling between cups of espresso and Gauloises cigarettes, and hiding my face behind a book so no one knows I don’t belong. Hogan gets out. He is constantly moving from place to place—I honestly haven’t seen much of him since I’ve been in Paris, but its okay. If anything, I think it has helped me understand him better. When you see him in his element, you kind of want to step back and observe. He’s a ways down the rue now and has almost completely disappeared into the mist. He looks somewhat phantasmic.
IMAGES
O U T O F T H E AS H ES PHOTOGRAPHER: MELODIE JENG PHOTO ASSISTANT: OLIVIA MANNO STYLIST: JACOBI HOLLINGSHED MAKE UP ARTIST: NATALIA ARAI HAIR STYLIST: MELISSA MIKA MODEL: DEONNA PINKERTON FASHION ASSISTANTS: ALEXA WIMES & KENDALL KLEINBERG
OUR PASSION ARE THE TRUE PHOENIXES; WHEN THE OLD ONE IS BURNT OUT, A NEW ONE RISES FROM ITS ASHES. -JOHANN VON GOETHE
DRESS: SARAH LEORA CUFF: ABBY MAY SHOES: STEVE MADDEN
BLOUSE: KAI AAKMANN CROPPED BLAZER: ERYN BRINIE SKIRT: KRISTIN BARTLETT NECKLACE: ABBY MAY CUFF: ABBY MAY
DRESS: SARAH LEORA
MAGGIE MCLAUGHLIN IN HOGAN MCLAUGHLIN COAT
BAC K TO B OW I E
PHOTOGRAPHER MEREDITH DUMAS EDITOR LUCY MCLAUGHLIN
MODEL: ANITA GOU IN HOGAN MCLAUGHLIN COAT
MAGGIE MCLAUGHLIN IN HOGAN MCLAUGHLIN COAT
MODEL: ANITA GOU IN HOGAN MCLAUGHLIN PANTS, AMERICAN APPAREL BANDEAU, HER OWN JEWELRY
MAGGIE MCLAUGHLIN IN HOGAN MCLAUGHLIN COAT
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THE ICONIC BEAUTY OF THE VIRGIN MARY, MODERNIZED THROUGH THE BRASH COLORS AND BOLD PATTERNS OF SPRING/SUMMER 12
STYLIST/DIRECTOR - VALERIE CHAN PHOTOGRAPHER - HALEY STARK MAKEUP - NATALIA CHEIKO ARAI MODEL - ALICE ZHANG ASSISTANTS - CHARLES TISETH, GUS PARK
JACKET, LEGGINGS - ANDREA PITTER TOP - AMERICAN APPAREL GOLD NECKLACE - NATASHA SPEDALLE WOVEN RHINESTONE NECKLACE, EARRINGS - STEPHANIE WONG
COLLARED SHIRT - AMERICAN APPAREL JUMPER - STYLE SHOP VINTAGE COLLECTION SKIRT - ANDREA PITTER HEADBANDS - JOOIN SHIN KEY NECKLACE - BLUE BAYER SKULL CROSS - STYLIST’S OWN
ALL JEWELRY - BLUE BAYER FLORAL HEADPIECE - VALERIE CHAN
DRESS - STYLIST’S OWN IVORY SKULL BRACELET - STEPHANIE WONG METAL BANGLE - BLUE BAYER FLORAL HEADPIECE - VALERIE CHAN
BY E G O N E T H R E A D S PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS BERNABEO STYLING/DIRECTING BY ALETHEIA WEIYI CHAY MODELS GIOMAR USECHE AND LIDIADY USECHE
THE PERSONAL BARTERS ONE HAS TO MAKE IN THE CLASSIC DICHOTOMY BETWEEN THE PAST AND FUTURE, AN INHERENTLY COMPLEX TASK VISUALLY COMPLEMENTED WITH A GRAY PALETTE AND HOPEFUL MINMALISM
CREDITS 1 ALL VINTAGE 2 JACKET BY QUINN ZHU, CHAIR BY ASHLEY HSU 3 TOPSHOP KNIT, SKIRT AND JACKET BY QUINN ZHU 4 H&M DRESS, THEYSKEN THEORY WEDGES 5 VINTAGE TOP, H&M PANTS AND CUFFS 6 H&M FAUX GOLD CUFFS SPECIAL THANKS HAIR LAUREN JACQUELINE ROBERTS NAILS ELIZABETH MANTEL VIDEO JOSEPH ALGRANTI
A BYG O N E ERA BY MYCHAL LOPEZ & LUCY MCLAUGHLIN PHOTOGRAPHER WAVERLY MANDEL MODELS: MICHAEL MENDIETA, BLAZE GAWLIK, KELLAN PEAVY, TRISTAN VINER-BROWN, COLIN MUNN ALL OF THE CLOTHING: STYLIST’S OWN
Twenty-somethings love to love the past. We rave about television programming that involves the Mad Men era. We revolt against film interpretations of classic literary sources. We idolize James Dean, Steve McQueen, and JFK as our American style icons. Pick any decade and there is not one face that breaks in dewy-eyed recollection of a time lost, of a kind of authenticity gone, of a truly prolific period dismantled by some other more radically artistic moment. Though this kind of appreciation for culture applies to most years of the 20th-century, when we think of the nineties, the subject matter is far less lofty. What we remember of the years in between 1990 and 1999 are discernibly kitsch: Tomagutchi, N*Sync vs. Backstreet Boys, “That’s groovy, baby!,” Olmec and Kirk Fogg, the advent of Starbucks, Lisa Frank, AOL, etcetera. Despite the pop culture cheesiness, especially in comparison to the high art that we praise from other decades, we still seem to proudly vocalize our undying love of the nineties much more than other years. From TeenNick’s “The 90’s Are All That” that began last summer to the sartorial resurgence of flannel shirts and DayGlo neons to the crazed reaction in LES lounges whenever a DJ plays Biggie, our minds are steeped in nineties culture. There is no discussion of taste or issues of authenticity when discussing the nineties. Frankly, no one cares. Instead, we find ourselves romanticizing every single aspect. But are we even allowed to equate our personal love of She’s All That, ska music, and Hey Arnold to our sacred appreciation of Jack Kerouac, Metropolis, and Joy Division? Can we even start to consider kitschy nineties culture as good as the all the other examples of high art? Besides simply being the decade of our childhood and a representation of a ‘simpler time,’ there seems to be more at stake than just trapper keepers and Hungry Hungry Hippos. Just like the other decades that we so admire for its unwavering artistry, the nineties has the potential to be seen as unique and genuine in its own right. When you consider examples from television, music, fashion, and even comic books, you can start to see the decade as some ideal, romantic moment.
Remember the heat wave episode of Rugrats where our favorite gang of scrappy kids traverse across the park on a scorching day to find shade and water? Led by a new friend, Al-Sabu, the adventure turns into a Lawrence of Arabia tale to find a mythical oasis of sprinklers. Now recall the episode of Doug where Patti invites our largenosed everyman to a regrettable dinner of liver and onions; or the one episode of Pete and Pete where Artie, Little Pete’s odd, beloved, personal superhero, runs away; or even the Stoop Kid episode of Hey Arnold! (“Stoop Kid’s afraid to leave his stoop!”). It’s these kinds of moments that characterize the pristine innocence and wild imagination of Nickelodeon in the nineties and, actually, cartoon programming in general. It was television based on the wide-eyes of childhood. The narratives in these Nineties toons—and remember, there were actual worthwhile stories to be had here—were stuck in a kind of dream world. They weren’t at one point realistic or based in actual things that we can do in a physical sense—like in the live-action, human-portrayed sitcoms that have taken over Nickelodeon and Disney today. Nor, were they at all exaggerated and over-thetop like contemporary Cartoon Network programming, which has been plagued by a YouTube sensibility and randomness (bleeding, saturated colors, ADD storylines, and nonsensical humor). Rather, Nineties nicktoons portrayed an idealized form of childhood adventures. Whether our cartoon protagonist was going off to some far-off, unreachable, imagined world, or were simply going a couple of streets down to an unexplored part of the neighborhood, there was always a healthy balance of what the character actually saw and what they wanted to see. These imaginative adventures, however, existed to compliment the more compelling aspects of these Nineties nicktoons: the emotional story arch—perhaps the biggest reason why they stick with its former viewers after so many years. If you reminisce about particular episodes that stand out, it’s inevitably those inherently sweet/sad moments like when Arnold helped Mr. Hyunh reconnect with his daughter during Christmas or in the Rugrat’s Mother’s Day episode when Chuckie’s hears the poem his late-mom left for him. But even when you take away those special, holiday episodes, you
are still left with shows that offered the highs and lows, eccentricities and subtleties of childhood. Now, cut to a definitely post-2000 cartoon like Spongebob Squarepants, where our title character’s obsession is his job at the Krusty Krab and the misadventures as they relate specifically to his hobbies, it seems as if the focus to being entertainment and fodder for laughs. With the experience of growing up preserved in these Nineties cartoons, we can acknowledge a kind of innocence that has all but vanished from children’s television today. … Imagine a young adult: unkempt, unshowered, groaning and stumbling around in front of thousands of people. Now think of grunge music, Nirvana, the “live fast, die young” ambitions of Heroin-chic underdog, images that conjure up some idea of a romantic tragedy. At a concert a few months back, standing in a crowded concert hall I overheard a girl ask someone who Kurt Cobain was. I recognize that it is entirely possible for celebrities to fall by the wayside; nonetheless, I still find it hard to wrap my mind around the idea that a girl (in a relative age bracket) doesn’t remember the poster child of grunge. The movement seems key in remembering what the 90s were all about. This was the beginning of teen angst; the self-loathing, anti-establishment lyrics groaned through distorted instrumentals that kids could blast in their room after slamming the door in their parent’s face. The ultimate “fuck you!” There was, and still is something so intriguing about the faces associated with grunge. The music seemed to cultivate an escapist culture filled with tortured souls who wanted nothing to do with the limelight. No one brooded like them—and the more they brooded, the more intrigued the media became, constantly creating love affairs between America and the anti-hero. Sadly, not many of these figures lived through the decade. Artists such as River Phoenix, Jeff Buckley, and Elliot Smith seemed to be reaching the prime of their careers just before finding themselves caught up in the wrong means of escape or lost under circumstances both rare and tragic. It was the overall mystery of their life and death that made them so alluring; the unanswered questions, the unfinished work, and their reclusive nature that formed a category of celebrity that is rare in today’s culture. Back then, it was the secrecy surrounding
their personal lives that fueled our obsession. Our fascination for the gritty details of celebrity culture grew with the development of celebrity news forums such as TMZ and Star Magazine whose growing readership can be attributed to Internet popularity. When it came to celebrity in the 1990s, the main concern was tearing their full-sized poster from the latest issue of Tiger Beat. The anti-hero wasn’t only at large in the music scene; the 1990s was also known for revolutionizing the comic book superhero. After years where DC and Marvel heroes reigned supreme and kept violence in check, writers and artists began pushing stories focused on heroes and villains with great psychological depth. Blockbuster issues in the 1990s were doomsday-centric, presenting their readers with the “what if?” of an apocalyptic future: Spider-Man battles himself in the Secret Wars, Batman assumes the title The Dark Knight, Superman meets his maker in The Death of Superman. Alongside the struggle of these classic protagonists came the rise of post-Cold War heroes who were not at all heroic. Bands of misfits and social recluses guided the new comic book storylines with their inability to control their own powers, crippling psychological damage, and often-inconclusive battles with their enemies. Whether they were old villains whose popularity merited their own series or new characters expected to pioneer the transition from comic book to graphic novel, it is clear that the comic world saw the 1990s as it’s time for Renaissance. And like grunge music, this Renaissance brought the underdog to the foreground, highlighting the deep psychological trauma of a tortured soul. … It’s clear that the Nineties are worthy of creative and artistic praise, offering storylines and characters that are unforgettable. But, why are we romanticizing the nineties now? It honestly hasn’t been that long since then. As a product of that generation, I willingly bought into the sentimentality of it all, but never really asked why. When we look back and romanticize the age of imaginative kids and fiery underdogs, maybe we’re searching for conclusions. As a generation with unbridled access to immediate information, it is hard to wrap our minds around the fact that some questions will remain unanswered. Not everything can end with a bang.
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