Kitten Magazine / K33 / Fun by Kitten Magazine

KITTEN* FRESH FACES IN FASHION K33 FALL FUN FRESH 4 CONTENTS 5 MASTHEAD FACES 8 10 12 14

ASTRID PRESTON NEON HARD PLACE CAIO GOBBI

FASHION 16 24 34 40

FRANK TROPIANO THE BATTALION CAIO GOBBI NEON

RUNWAYS 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62

SASS & BIDE PAMELLA ROLAND ZANG TOI TRACY REESE TWINKLE CYNTHIA STEFFE KELLY NISHIMOTO VOOM

Main Cover Image: Photographer * Mike Vensel Model * Gina McNeil / Photogenics Fashion * The Battalion Location * Los Angeles USA Back Cover Image: Photographer * Mike Vensel Model * Bruna Cavalierho / Marilyn Fashion * Neon Location * Sao Paulo Brazil

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Fresh Faces in Fashion Publisher & Editor in Chief Mike Vensel Faces Fashion Runways Photo Copy

Editor Editor Editor Editor Editor

Senior Editor NYC Senior Editor Paris Senior Editor London Senior Editor Sao Paulo

Tiffany Lee Lisa Katinic Whitney Fierce Luke Gilford Tricia Feters Erna Bersegian Sandy Lakdar Holly Albright Ariadna Ledesma

Special Thanks MAO PR, Presscode, Marilyn Brazil, Ford Models Brazil, Photogenics Media, IMG Judy Vensel, Andrew Dutkowsky, Chris Dutkowsky West Coast Office Kitten Magazine 1725 Ocean Front Walk, Suite 614 Los Angeles, CA 90401 Telephone: 1.310.451.2202 Fax: 1.310.917.1178 Email: info@kittenmag.com Subscription Inquiries / Customer Service http://www.kittenmag.com/subscribe subscribe@kittenmag.com, Kitten is printed in the U.S. and published by Sevense Inc. 1725 Ocean Front Walk Suite 614 Los Angeles CA 90401 Copyright 2005 Kitten Magazine Kitten is a registered trademark of Sevense Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or in full is prohibited. Kitten* welcomes contributions. Kitten assumes no responsibility for content of advertisements. For more information please visit: http://www.kittenmag.com

ASTRID PRESTON * ART Interview by Mike Vensel

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AP: I am Astrid Preston and I am a painter, I live in Santa Monica California and we are inside the Craig Krull gallery setting up my next show. This is work that I have been doing over the last 2 years. MV: can you tell us about your most recent paintings? AP: This work came about when my son went off to college 2 years ago. As they say its empty nest work, I was going around looking for things that corresponded to my emotional state. All of my work has an autobiographical element. I am also trying to find an emotion in myself that I can convey through the work, something that people can feel, I want to have that emotional content, I am not that interested in cold work or totally conceptual work. I am very interested that I have an impact and I have stayed with landscapes because for me landscapes are something that we evolved out of, obviously we are all a part of nature and I think all of our emotions, our DNA and RNA came out of this relationship with nature. I always think I can tap into something primal, that’s my goal anyway. This work specifically I was walking around and trying to find new images because my old ones didn’t suit what I was doing, they are very open, open leaves and branches and I was walking by some plants and the bright sun and the way the light was bouncing off of them and I was mesmerized by the abstraction that I saw within the shapes of the light and the shadows and up till them my leaves had been somewhat stylized and a lot of my pieces were simpler. I love the abstraction in reality. So the works are very photo based, very precise. It took a lot of time, not just for the details but to capture that quality of shadow and light

MV: Can you tell us about the process of how you choose a photograph to paint? AP: It’s pretty intuitive. I was looking for a certain complexity and an order inside the complexity, some of the pieces have 5 or 6 different plants in them and finding a way to make that harmonious, was what I was looking for, trying to integrate that, maybe its inside of myself, maybe its the news, all of the information we are bombarded with To create order out of chaos so to speak. MV: Why do you choose to paint instead of showing the original photographs? AP: I think my photographs don’t have the same emotional impact and scale. And I am really not good with the computer. I’ve done some images and thought its better than a lot of photographers and I could do it but I just love what happens when its transformed into a painting. I can leave things unfinished or finished and the Photoshop results I see I don’t find have the same emotional content that a painting does. MV: what can we expect to see from you in the future? AP: Who knows, that’s always the fun part, I have no idea, I have a lot of things I didn’t finish , a few ideas I didn’t have time to execute because of the labor intensiveness of the work. I always start with an emotion and who knows what I will feel tomorrow.

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Photos * Mike Vensel / Model * Bruna C / Marilyn Brazil

NEON * FASHION

Interview by Mike Vensel DB: My name is Dudu Bertholini and I am a stylist and a designer

MV: can you tell us about the inspiration behind your newest collection?

MV: How long have you been designing?

DB: For our newest collection we have a mix of Brazilian culture; beach and city, which is a lot of Brazil, so we have a Sao Paulo print which is tough and rough and then we have a Salvador print which represents Bahia, they are opposites, rough vs. soft, the collection has a lot of Latin feeling, a bit of Spain, a lot of red. We have 3 different artists collaborating with us this season; they are very special and exclusive prints.

DB: I’ve been designing for 4 years. MV: What would you say is your signature? DB: I think it’s a mix of exclusive prints and strong silhouettes. MV: what inspires you?

MV: What would you say is unique about Brazilian fashion?

DB: life inspires me a lot, friends, travel, cinema, literature, for my partner Rita and I, all life inspires us.

DB: The freedom we have with our body, the way we understand our body, color, and how we use our body in a special and free way of showing off. I think that’s very Brazilian.

MV: Can you talk about the process of how you develop a new print each season? DB: for each season we call different artists to collaborate with, we choose the theme that we are going to work with and then we go develop the idea with the artist. For us it’s a better way to do it. We decide weather its going to be more graphic or if it’s going to me more free gesture and then we develop the prints together with the artist. MV: how has the neon evolved over the years? DB: We began doing a one of a kind bathing suit collection, they were city bathing suits, you would wear as outerwear, not as beachwear, very special, mixing vintage fabrics, and after a year we developed our first exclusive print, which changed neon, and then what began as one of a kind pieces became a real brand and we began to produce and to sell more and then new lines, new ranges appeared, first the jersey and then the silk and now we work with all kinds of fabric.

MV: What are your plans for the future? DB: To grow a lot with wholesale in Brazil and our other showrooms around the world, in Tokyo and New York. We want to have a good showroom in Europe, which we don’t have yet and to get more and more identity because Neon is a brand that is born with fashion identity and that’s what makes our products unique and special. For more please visit: www.neonbrazil.com.br

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Photos * Mike Vensel

HARD PLACE * MUSIC Interview by Tiffany Lee AC: Hello I am Ashley Huizenga.

TL: So where do you get your ideas for shows or performances?

FC: And I am Freddy Christy and we are Hardplace. TL: where did you guys meet?

AH: It usually starts with the costumes. FC: we try to have special themes for each show, like we did a Christmas show where we sang a song to the baby Jesus.

AH: we met in Los Angeles.

TL: was there blood involved?

FC: I am from Detroit originally TL: Where did you get your name?

FC: there was no blood in that show we just sung to the baby Jesus.

FC: By putting a friend of mine in between a rock and a hard place.

AH: With the blood I thought it was showing that I have life inside that I want to give to you. FC: (laughs) I guess that’s what bleeding is. I don’t like doing the fake blood because its sticky

AH: Its very obvious, but by being obvious its also serious. FC: It was either that or turbo blue.

AH: I have all of this blood for all of the movies I have done since pretty boys. So we just want to say - boys keep it skinny! (laughs) Girls rock it out!

TL: How would you describe your sound?

FC: No fat boys! (laughs)

AH: I would call it rococo rock, but then people might not understand that

AH: No fat coming around here, I want my groupies slim. TL: are you going on tour soon?

FC: We get the 80’s thing a lot.

FC: we are going on tour with Adult. By touring I mean for 3 cities.

AH: We believe in sound and vision.

AH: You know a tour is a tour.

TL: So you do a lot of performance art?

TL: Where can we find your album? AH: I love spending time on recordings and making really good songs but when its time to perform I am not just going to stand up there and play my instrument. i am going to have costumes, I am going to give you a show. FC: There will probably be some glitter.

FC: you can get the old record amoeba in Los Angeles and just hit up Myspace (www.myspace.com/hardplace) and there are free songs. For more information visit: www.hardplacemusic.com

AH: something I am going to throw at you, something I am going to take off. Kitten*

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Photos * Mike Vensel / Model * Nathalie - Marilyn Brazil

CAIO GOBBI * FASHION Interview by Mike Vensel

CG: My name is Caio and I am a fashion designer.

MV: What don’t you like about fashion design?

MV: how long have you been designing?

CG: The financial part.

CG: 13 years.

MV: How has your collection evolved over the years?

MV: what are your signature designs? CG: my work is street fashion, street wear and fashion.

MV: How has your collection evolved over the years? CG: The styling and the finishing of the clothes.

MV: who is your customer?

MV: How would you describe Brazilian fashion?

CG: Everybody, I don’t have just one client.

CG: It’s the beginning of a new area, we are still crawling in the fashion business but we have a bright future ahead of us.

MV: what inspired your last collection? CG: two movies, Lost Boys and The Hunger.

MV: What makes Brazilian fashion unique? CG: The shapes and the shigado (not translatable).

MV: What inspiration did you take from these movies and integrate into your collections?

MV: what advice could you give to a designer that is just starting out?

CG: The movies are basically stories about vampires. I was inspired by each character. I took each unique character and translated it into wearable fashion.

CG: work hard. MV: what can we expect to see from you in the future? CG: lots of growth.

MV: What do you like most about fashion design? CG: The creation and the catwalk. Kitten*

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FASH ION * MODE FRAN PHOT L * KATHYK TROPIA NO O FORD G R AP STYLIN G * M HER * MIK / ID MODE HAIR LS A E R V C SIF UENT ENSEL LOCA / MAKEUP E TION * S L IF E * CON EY ISL AND / NYC

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FASH ION * MODE THE PHOT L * GINA / BATTALION O PHOT G R AP STYLIN O G * M HER * MIK GENICS HAIR IK E VEN E VEN / M SEL A K S LOCA TION EUP * CHREL * LOS ISTIN A FAR ANGE LES RELL

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BBI FASHION * CAIO GO / MARILYN BRAZIL MODEL * NATHALIEMIKE VENSEL PHOTOGRAPHER * NSEL STYLING * MIKE VE KE VENSEL HAIR / MAKEUP * MIULO BRAZIL LOCATION * SAO PA

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AZIL N ILYN BR N * NEO FASHIO * BRUNA / MARE VENSEL MODEL RAPHER * MIK EL PHOTOG * MIKE VENS VENSEL STYLING AKEUP * MIKEO BRAZIL HAIR / M N * SAO PAUL LOCATIO

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FASHION * ADRIANA DEGREAS MODEL * MANOELA ZACHOW / FORD BRAZIL PHOTOGRAPHER * MIKE VENSEL STYLING * MIKE VENSEL LOCATION * SAO PAULO BRAZIL

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New York Fashion Week / Fall Winter 2006 Photos by Edward Jahn

SASS & BIDE * RUNWAYS

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New York Fashion Week / Fall Winter 2006 Photos by Edward Jahn

PAMELLA ROLAND * RUNWAYS

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New York Fashion Week / Fall Winter 2006 Photos by Edward Jahn

ZANG TOI * RUNWAYS

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New York Fashion Week / Fall Winter 2006 Photos by Mike Vensel

TRACY REESE * RUNWAYS

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New York Fashion Week / Fall Winter 2006 Photos by Mike Vensel

CYNTHIA STEFFE * RUNWAYS

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New York Fashion Week / Fall Winter 2006 Photos by Mike Vensel

TWINKLE * RUNWAYS

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Los Angeles Fashion Week / Fall Winter 2006 Photos by Mike Vensel

KELLY NISHIMOTO * RUNWAYS

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Los Angeles Fashion Week / Fall Winter 2006 Photos by Mike Vensel

VOOM * RUNWAYS

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