AUSTRALIA
Nicki HARAJUKU BARBIE
T R AV E L Destintions
Alex Perry Issue one
2010
PHOTOGRAPHER
SIMEN
JOHAN december 2010
$8.20 (incl GST)
ZIMMERMANN
COLLECTION
JOY
CONTENTS
ANGELES
MUSIC 7. Nicki Minaj 12. Amy Meredith 16. The Naked and Famous FASHION 20. Alex Perry 28. Zimmermann Swimwear 33. Get to Know the Row PHOTOGRAPHY 38. Simen Johan 44. Jill Greenberg
SUMMER 2010
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ART 48. Raphael Vincenzi 52. Jerico Santander 58. Denis Zilber TRAVEL 62. Luxe Escapes 66. Central Coast
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TECHNOLOGY 70. Back to the Future 76. Apple’s Eye’s 78. Emerging Market
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EDITOR’S LETTER Hello and welcome to the first issue of Evoke, WHO IS EVOKE? Evoke is a relevant Australian Indie-magazine that supports Australian fashion in an international light, aswell as music, photography, art, travel and technology in an overall spectrum. Evoke is a magazine that does not fit neatly into the high end fashion category or street wear but alternatively incorporates elements of the two creating its own niche character. Evoke is not about dictating to or pigeonholing our readers, or buying stories from overseas publications. WHY EVOKE? Evoke has provided a credible alternative for those who crave a more substantial glossy magazine. As more women reject the mainstream media’s obsession with celebrity and body image, Evoke is in a strong position to connect in a real way with readers. Our entire philosophy is to connect with the readers. We’re the place young women come to when they want to discover something new, be challenged and be inspired! -20 -35’s women’s alternative mainstream market. Evoke represents a new generation of switched-on, opinion-forming young women who are dissatisfied with the predictability and superficiality of conventional magazines in the market. We hope you enjoy this magazine as much as we do! Lauren and the EVOKE team. letters@evoke.com.au
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There just weren’t enough pages to capture bodacious barb Nicki Minaj at her most glamourous eccentric. What’s her secret to being the most talked about performer in urban music? Behind the lipstick.
Since 1966 Flipping around in your flops this summer was fun and all, but your toes will say ‘See-Ya’ to the sun once they check into these hot new styles of Vans. Can’t decide between cute looks like Giselle and TransFlora Prison Issue? Maybe they’ll “accidently” make there way into your shopping cart this Fall!
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n
icki Minaj might have been born in Trinidad and raised in Jamaica, Queens, but the 25-year-old rapper and onewoman style tornado makes music like she comes from another planet. Nicki Minaj’s Harajuku Barbie aesthetic and penchant for autographing the breasts of her devoted female fans notwithstanding, she is arguably one of the strongest female voices to emerge in hip-hop in the last decade. Nicki Minaj is the rare rapper without a chip on her shoulder. She’s not even bitter about her time as an unsigned artist, when she struggled to get her gum-snapping flow noticed. “I was shopped around a lot early on,” says the bubbly 25-yearold, born Onika Maraj. “The major labels weren’t interested, and they shouldn’t have been. They shouldn’t have been excited to sign somebody that no one knew about.” So she made a name for herself.
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I THANK GOD THAT I WASN’T SIGNED YEARS AGO AND THAT I DIDN’T HAVE A HIT RECORD BEFORE I DID THE GRIND. I’M READY NOW.
“I don’t mind being called a weirdo,” says Minaj. “There are a lot of people in hip-hop who are probably never going to get what I do. But, by just being myself, I end up touching a lot more people who might never have paid much attention to a female rapper.” Minaj has worked hard to establish her own voice, writing all her own material and not leaning on sex appeal. “I made a conscious decision to try to tone down the sexiness,” she says. “I want people—especially young girls—to know that in life, nothing is going to be based on sex appeal. You’ve got to have something else to go with that.” It’s a chilly Los Angeles evening and the rapper Nicki Minaj, having just finished her photo shoot, has traded in her impossibly-high heels for lavender fuzzy slippers as she settles into the studio’s couch in a Bushwick-y stretch of L.A. just south of downtown. She cracks a Coke and a smile, her warm pink lips curling back to reveal her Cheshire Cat grin beneath her white wig, vaguely-Asian eyes and gorgeously chiseled nose. It’s this mix of round-the-way girl and exotic future-vamp that’s made her pop so powerful against the saggy backdrop of hip-hop. “I just know that I’ve always been visual,” she says. The 25-yearold, born Onika Maraj in Trinidad and raised in Queens, is leaving an impressive lip-blot on the tissue of hip-hop, one ear-popping featured performance at a time. Minaj rose up through the hip-hop ranks by appearing on over 30 tracks, alongside heavyweights like 8
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Ludacris, Drake, Lil’ Wayne and Usher. But her 2009 mixtape, Beam Me Up Scotty, is Minaj 101. On “Still I Rise,” she waxes Eminem-like on a more Elton John-like subject: “And I only stop for pedestrians, or real real bad lesbians.” It’s lines like these that have made her hip-hop’s gayest MC -- a Jay-Z for the drag queens, as it were. “I see videos on YouTube where they impersonate me, and they do an amazing freaking job of dressing up as me,” she says. In past interviews she’s mentioned her own bi-curious leanings and has predicted hip-hop will one day embrace its first openly gay artist. But as far as being a gay-positive presence in hip-hop, Minaj insists, “I didn’t set out to do that. I just like to put a spotlight on the people who support me, and it just so happens, you know, that the gay community has supported me -- more than I ever could have imagined.” Likewise, she claims it’s a happy accident that her rapping with accents, voices, characters (“Nicki Lewinsky” and Harijiku Barbie”), drops in pitch -- as though she’s speaking in tongues. “It happened like a lot of things I do -- as a mistake,” Minaj explains. “Like the freegin’ clip in my hair in the ‘My Chick Bad’ video with Ludacris. My hairdresser was curling one side and using a clip to hold my hair. I was like, ‘Leave it.’ They all looked at me like I was insane -- but that’s something I do. It’s the same thing with my cadences: I’m probably running out of breath or something crazy, and it’s like, ‘This is not going to work.’ But then I’m like, ‘Let me listen,’ and it winds up being magical and I just keep it and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I love it.’” October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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Minaj can turn heads -- as well as a phrase. Her fashion sense has a similarly, um, elliptical quality. This is the woman, after all, whom the New York Times called “the Cindy Sherman of rap.” Minaj says it’s more than a pose, though -- it’s fashion as a pillar of hip-hop. Her style, she says, is “hip-hop meets couture meets crazed lunatic.... um, yeah.” When she was younger, she remembers “listening to Biggie talking about Versace. Fashion has just always been a part of hip-hop. We wanna hear what jeans Jay-Z will tell us to wear this year--that’s hot.” Being an acting student at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (the “Fame school”) really opened her mind. “I saw gay kids, I saw white kids, I saw grunge and pink hair and piercings,” she recalls. “I think because of that, I didn’t put limits on myself or what I was going to put in my raps. I really just wanted to be diverse.” School also taught her the power of language. She recalls a particularly revelatory assignment reading Othello. “The line was, ‘Tis monstrous’--period. And the second line was, ‘Iago, who done it’ -- question mark. Then we read it without punctuation. ‘Tis monstrous Iago who done it,” which basically gives the story away. The fact that punctuation can change what you’re saying, I guess that’s why I love hip-hop -- being able to say the same thing but it meaning a different thing,” she says. Even as a young girl, Minaj recalls, “I remember having my older cousin keep repeating Slick Rick’s ‘Children’s Story’ so I could learn it. I wanted to know Left Eye’s rap on ‘Waterfalls.’ When Jay-Z rapped about ‘calling an audible,’ I knew what he meant. That’s what excited me about rapping. We’re talking
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about our hood, but you can be intelligent and witty with it, you can do whatever. I just like when people show their intelligence within hip-hop.” Her non-street smarts were perceived as a liability when she started recording around the New York hip-hop scene. “My first manager told me, ‘Stop playing around with your words, stop being funny, nobody’s going to take you seriously. You shouldn’t sound smart,’” she says, shifting in her seat. “I don’t know. I just started saying things.” Appearances on the hip-hop DVD series The Come Up four years ago led to a Lil’ Wayne-like flurry of mixtapes and featured appearances, leading, not surprisingly, to Lil’ Wayne signing her to his label, Young Money. Now with her debut album, Pink Friday, ready to drop in November, her next act, she says, is to connect emotionally with listeners in a way her scenery-chewing appearances never could. “This album is my heart and soul. This is me explaining every single relationship that I’ve ever been in and explaining it in a way that every woman in this world can understand it.” It’s hard to imagine this hip-hop Lady Gaga getting emo, and let’s face it, the singles so far, “Massive Attack” and “Your Love,” haven’t quite nailed what she claims next-level Nicki Minaj will sound like. But she’s been pretty good at predicting the future so far. “I’m going to be in Tokyo, Paris--I’m going to go everywhere you can imagine. I’m going to own London. I mean, the sky’s the limit and you watch what I say. I refuse to lose..”
I REALIZED THIS DUDE JUST WANTS TO MAKE A MARK IN MUSIC, AND HE HAS A GREAT EYE AND A GREAT EAR FOR HIPHOP.
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WE BELIEVE SO MUCH IN EACH OTHER’S TALENTS. WE’RE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF ONE ANOTHER.
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A journey is a fitting way to describe the last two years of life for Amy Meredith. From shaping their sound in a rehearsal room in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire to industry showcases in Hollywood, all before the melodic synth-rock act even had half a dozen songs to their name, their rapid rise has been paralleled by a sharp learning curve. And if there’s any truth in the old adage that the journey is always half the fun, then Amy Meredith have one hell of a ride ahead of them as they ready for the release of their debut album.
But to get to the now, it’s important to first look at the past. The Amy Meredith fire was lit when singer, keyboardist and songwriter Christian Lo Russo found common musical ground with local guitarists Joel Chapman and Cam Laing and bassist Wade Osborn. Enlisting drummer Kosta Theodosis, the creative spark spread like wildfire. With an eclectic love of music, from The Beatles to The Cure and The Smiths, the quartet found their feet in synth-driven melodic rock that would evolve over the years but retain a core sound all their own.
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IF SOMEONE IS GOING TO JUDGE OUR BAND BASED ON THE LYRICS AND SAY THEY’RE TOO HONEST OR WE’RE WEARING OUR HEART ON OUR SLEEVE, THEN SO BE IT.
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“We believe so much in each other’s talents. We’re very supportive of one another,” Lo Russo explains. “We wanted to make a band that was extremely talented and could go the long haul, rather than people who weren’t necessarily good at their instruments trying to make a buck or trying to tour. We wanted to be accomplished musicians first – before we decided to take on the world!” It seemed the world wasn’t going to wait for Amy Meredith, though. After just two shows and half a dozen songs penned, the quintet found themselves pursued by A&R from every major label, plus imprints and management teams. Eventually signing a progressive deal with Tsubi/Ksubi and jetting to the US to showcase their wares, Amy Meredith returned home and took a step back on their path to global domination. They left the label, released a set-up selftitled EP and retreated from the spotlight to focus on writing great tunes. “We’ve had such an interesting journey,” Lo Russo says. “There was a stage we went through where we 14
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were so focused on being this ‘cool’ band. Every band goes through that – until you realise that all you want to do is make great music that’s going to reach the greatest amount of people.” So throughout 2008 they pieced together about 60 songs, some of which dated back to their initial jams in the Shire. Reconvening at a farmhouse in January where they rehearsed on its patio for two weeks, Amy Meredith cut the list in half, finally whittling it down to 15 songs. Then, over six weeks at The Grove Studios on the NSW Central Coast, they withstood the appeal of the site’s tropical swimming pool, quad bike and driving range to lay down their debut. The result is an accomplished set that showcases Amy Meredith’s ear for great pop hooks and their ability to traverse styles yet still have a heart and soul all their own. There’s the sexy, dark swagger of “Lying”, the spacious, melodic anthems “Young At Heart” and “Start All Over”, the fun, upbeat poprock of “Porn Star”, a dose of dirty rock in “Faded White Dress” and the irresistible sunny ’60s pop of piano-driven “Highest Walls”. Pounding rhythms and
gorgeous guitar melodies combine brilliantly, while thoughtful arrangements ensure the setting is never cluttered. “I love having a wall of sound, Phil Spector-style, but it’s about finding balance and giving it space,” Lo Russo explains. “We went for just enough space and instrumentation that it turned out right. That’s something we feel a real sense of accomplishment about, that it doesn’t sound too compressed and too compact.”
direct and emotional – but always universal in scope. “I always try to write from a place of honesty, a place of truth. If I write a concept, I like to be able to relate; that’s where I want the lyrics to be honest and I want people to relate to them.” As Amy Meredith learnt early on, ambition doesn’t need to be a bad word. Getting their music heard by the most ears should be a main goal. And while their debut set aims high, it also showcases a band whose ability deserves to take them to the next level.
Rob Connolly guided the band each step of the way as producer, working alongside Grammy Awardwinning US engineer Brian Paturalski (Aerosmith, OutKast, Silverchair). And with the 15 tracks laid down, the band scored a coup in securing the mixing talents of LA native Mark Needham (Killers’ Hot Fuss, Hot Hot Heat). “Instead of pitching it to a lot of people, we thought we’d just pitch it to Mark to see what he thought. He heard a couple of songs and he was on the phone to us the next day, saying, ‘You’re really onto something.’ He wanted to be a part of it as much he could,” Lo Russo recalls. “He brought something new to the table in terms of giving the music the space we wanted, finding less compression and bringing up the bits that needed to come up, and bringing out the synths.” And at the heart of the band’s sound are Lo Russo’s words, at times oblique and at other times strikingly October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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Auckland’s The Naked And Famous are a pop powerhouse owned and designed by the formidable duo of Alisa Zayalith and Thom Powers. The band, which has recently evolved into a five piece (joined by David Beadle, Jesse Wood & Aaron Short) took their namesake from a Tricky song - yes, they also have great taste in music. Their sister EP’s This Machine and No Light both released in 2008 had critics singing
and possibly start a band. She was hot so naturally I tried to get her number. After some more serious discussions though, I heard her sing. We started talking about putting a band together and recorded a few demos at my house. There was a lot of live show orientated bands playing around that time which we had an aversion to; it felt more like a party-scene. We decided it was crucial to have an EP recorded,
How did you and Alisa meet and decide to form a band? We met at MAINZ in Auckland. I was doing audio engineering. I never had much luck working in a typical ‘band’ situation so I guess I was taking the producers-route. Alisa was doing the contemporary music course, looking to link up with some musicians
How long have you guys been playing for? Did you play instruments while at school? Alisa’s been singing since she was really young, she was involved quite a bit in theatre while at school but TNAF is her first band. I’ve been playing guitar since I was the same height as a guitar. I also played drums for a while. I remember Scott from Whitebirds and Lemons and I made this band for 2 weeks when we were 15 just so we could play a System Of A Down song at ‘The Big Lunch Out’ at College… we were going through a bogan stage. I only really hung around with musicians at school so I’ve always been playing music.
their praises, Auckland audiences dancing (a feat in itself) and saw them offered a coveted spot at CMJ Festival in New York. Well known on the Auckland gigging circuit, the band are back after some down time with the release of their latest single All Of This, from their forthcoming debut album. Evoke Magazine talked to Thom about what the band’s been up to and how it all started...
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produced and well rehearsed before we began gigging.
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You’ve had some local & international success – what do think has been the secret to your bands success so far? There’s no secret. Simply having determination where it counts - being artists. We’ve also made an effort to understand how the music industry works. I’d highly recommend any young musician to do the same. Alisa and I have both worked in music retail, which helped form both of our musical palettes… I think having a decent music collection is imperative too. What kind of music did you grow up listening to? Any guilty pleasures you still like to listen to? I had really cool parents who’ve never changed the radio from 95bfm so I think I got to listen to some pretty decent music growing up. Massive Attack, Tricky, NIN, Smashing Pumpkins etc. Mainly alt rock from the 90s. I’d say Tool’s my biggest guilty pleasure, which is ridiculous! It shouldn’t be! They’re a great band, they just have such clichéd bogan fans. Tool fans are notorious for having no appreciation for anything that isn’t Tool. What artist are you listening to at the moment? Health – Noise-rock band from the states Heather Woods Broderick – folk artist and Tamyrn – gloomy post-punk sounding rock band with Cocteau Twins moments. I found out about Health and Tamyryn from Pitchfork What are you guys currently working on as a band? The album, which we will be releasing early next year. What’s your advice for kids who want to get into bands? It’s going to take ages but if you really want to – do it. Lots of my friends backed out of pursing music because it doesn’t seem like a realistic career. Some because their old fashioned parents weren’t supportive enough. Don’t listen to anyone except other musicians (haha), they can help. Any Naked & Famous gigs/ special events coming up we should look out for? Keep checking thenakedandfamous.com and myspace.com/ thenakedandfamous to stay up to date with all our latest gigs. 18
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CAPTIVATING DESIGNER With more than a thousand guests and a star-studded front row, the designer’s parade was nothing short of show stopping.
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lex Perry is Australia’s most captivating designer. For over 17 years he has been making women around the world look and feel glamorous by virtue of his magnificent gowns and sensational red carpet eveningwear. After graduating from East Sydney Technical College in 1984, Perry worked as a model agent representing Australian models for international modeling agencies. In 1992 Perry opened his first atelier creating gowns, corsets and sheaths. After relocating his salon in 1994 to Double Bay, Sydney, Alex Perry built up his clientele to include high profile celebrities, social identities and personalities. Alex Perry was a designer at the inaugural Mercedes Australian Fashion Week held in May 1995, and has shown collections each year. Perry’s runway shows have featured Jennifer 20
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Lopez, Nelly Furtado, Rihanna, Eva Longoria, Natalie Portman, Megan Gale, Miranda Kerr, Kate Fischer, Alyssa Sutherland, Nicole Trunfio and Lily Cole Perry launched his ready to wear collection in 2004, currently available at selected David Jones stores and boutiques around the world, as well as at the Alex Perry flagship store in Sydney’s iconic Strand Arcade, which showcases his full range including haute couture, red carpet and bridal wear. Alex Perry Brides, offering ‘off the rack’ gowns, was launched in 2008, complimented by Alex Perry Accessories including handbags, jewellery and evening shoes. After being established as Australia’s premier Couturier, Alex Perry launched his first ready to-wear collection in 1998. Currently available nationally at David Jones, the collection of special occasion pieces has been designed with dinner, cocktails, the races and red carpet moments in mind. Familiar Alex Perry Couture signatures of boned corsetry, hand ruching and sexy, feminine silhouettes are all-important elements of the ready-to-wear collection. October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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The difference is the price, making the Alex Perry experience accessible to a wider audience. Perry has appeared as a fashion commentator and co-host on such television programs as 50 Years of Television and Ultimate Make Over and coverage of wthe Australian Fashion Awards and the Melbourne Cup Fashions on the Field. He is also a regular guest on the Nine Network’s Mornings with Kerri-Anne and other morning television shows, as well as being the only judge to appear in every season of Australia’s Next Top Model. Held in a cavernous sound stage at Fox Studios, guests were ushered to their seats in the enormous space, which fell to pitch-black darkness before models, such as Alexandra Agoston, strode out in sharply tailored jackets and luxe corseted bodysuits. Inspired by Arabian princesses, the look was overthe top glamour, with Perry’s signature polish lending an edge of sophistication to the collection. “It’s about gorgeous Middle Eastern women, their strength and their confidence,” the designer said. The colour palette was stark black and white, offset by sandy nudes and sunset hues of blush pink and soft lilac. From form-fitting floor-length frocks to embellished and feathered mini-dresses, it was the elegant evening looks that stole the show. Perry’s A-list clientele are sure to be pleased with the collection. Almost every piece was made for gracing the red carpet, including a number of gowns with billowing skirts and tiers of tulle that recalled the designer’s earlier creations.“I’ve designed a couple of big dresses, because that’s where I first started my career,” Perry added, reflecting on his time in the industry. In an unprecedented event, the August 2004 issue of Vogue Australia was the only issue to ever feature an all Australian cast of covermodel Nicole Trunfio, wearing an Alex Perry gown, photographed in Australia by an all Australian team of stylists. “Alex Perry knows how to flatter and accentuate a woman’s body; he understands quality and fit. And he knows how to deliver a drop-deadgorgeous red carpet dress,” Vogue Australia’s Kirstie said in her July 2004 editor’s letter. Alex Perry’s debut accessories collection will be launched in August for 22
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Summer 2006/2007. A third store at The Strand is being readied to house the collection that includes glamorous evening and bridal stilettos in iced satins adorned with jewelled brooches or fine bows. Evening clutches embellished with pearls and crystals, and a selection of faux bijoux glittering earrings. With short and sweet lace confections to corsets cosseted in tulle, this collection proved why Alex Perry is the label to visit when you want to make an entrance. After being established as Australia’s premier Couturier, Alex Perry launched his first ready-to-wear collection in 1998. Currently available nationally at David Jones, the collection of special occasion pieces has been designed with dinner, cocktails, the races and red carpet moments in mind. Familiar Alex Perry Couture signatures of boned corsetry, hand ruching and sexy, feminine silhouettes are allimportant elements of the ready-to-wear collection. The difference is the price, making the Alex Perry experience accessible to a wider audience. The ready-to-wear collection is also available at selected boutiques internationally including United States, United Arab Emirates, China, Europe, Japan, uwait, Indonesia and Hong Kong. In May 2002, the maestro launched his glittering Sydney salon at The Strand. This building is an iconic Sydney landmark opulent, glamorous and exclusive, the perfect showcase for Alex Perry Haute Couture.
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After fourteen years of successfully making women look glamorous in Australia, the Alex Perry brand has become synonymous with luxury, glamour and quality. In the interview. Alex was asked about his 18 years of being in the Fashion Industry… what was the highlight? “Being on the front page of Vogue”. What was the low light? October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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His response was “ I had 6 years of low lights.” Even though he had articles and pages in Vogue, he still couldn’t pay to have the brakes fixed on his car!!! His wife Mary, a model, supported the dream, believing in the direction they were headed. He honored her support and how fantastic she was. The interviewer asked, “Did you ever contemplate quitting?” He said, “How could I quit?” He was too embarrassed to say that the dream wasn’t working, and then realized he had a team of people around him who together were invincible and they could achieve anything they set out to”. Alex was correct as the Australian Fashion Week was launched Alex hosted an amazing extravagant event “With more than a thousand guests and a star-studded front row, the designer’s parade was nothing short of showstopping.” Marie Claire.
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CRUISE SWIM DESIGN Their label was one of the very first to decide that swimwear could be both fashionable and functional, and have since been followed by the likes of We Are Handsome, Anna & Boy and Flamingo Sands.
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immermann is one of the most respected and recognized Australian fashion labels with international recognition in boutique womens’ clothing. Zimmermann has been described as a trendsetting fashion label, with the unique ability to mix casual and elegance in simple yet unique designs and styles. The label is also recognized for its high quality and intricate detailing. Since its inception in 1991, the fashion label has never looked back. The masterminds behind the label, Simone and Nicky Zimmermann have continued to satisfy the demanding female fashionistas throughout the globe across two decades of style. Today, Zimmermann creates two distinct lines within every season – ‘Ready to Wear’ (such as dresses, tops and skirts) and Swimwear (such as bikini’s, one-piece or 28
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casual beachwear). As well as having a number of boutique stand-alone stores throughout Australia, Zimmermann represents Australian fashion success with the likes of Harrods of London, Victoria’s Secret Catalogue, CK Tangs in Singapore and Lane Crawford in Hong Kong all stocking Zimmermann creations. Locally, Myer and David Jones both stock ranges of Zimmermann, a definitive sign of the labels strong presence and overall demand. The fun brand presents each year in Australian Fashion Week, securing acclaim from critics and the public. Zimmermann continues to explore overseas market and produces a popular range of bathers that are both eye catching and distinctly Australian. Miami. It’s full of retirees from the northern USA, bikini babes and Cubans. Now it’s probably full of
fans of our very own Zimmerman swimwear. Nicky Zimmerman showed her cruise collection, for the second year in a row, to a crowd that was eager to see the mastery that is Australian swimwear. In the two years Zimmerman swimwear has been in the states, sales have doubled and you can find the range October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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in hundreds of stock lists including the prestigious Saks Fifth Avenue store in NYC. Focusing on producing a high quality result Zimmermann is continually inserting details with flatter the body and act as sculptural pieces. The brand is continually finding ways to diversify itself in the fashion market, recently launching ‘Shine by Zimmermann’ which explores the functional aspect of swimwear without compromising on a fun and fashion. The The label continues to receive feedback from a range of magazines such as Vogue, on its unique style. The collections also extend internationally and are received with great anticipation. Yet the duo is most proud of their extensive success in Australia, with stores in Melbourne and Sydney and their collections displayed in David Jones. The designing duo Nicky & Simone will be showing their label Zimmermann for the 13th year in a row in 2010! What an achievement! Zimmermann is an Australian based label with a strong focus on luxury swimwear. It’s a label that has become a household name for dresses to dance the night away as well as swimwear. We had the privilege of catching up with Nicky Zimmermann to get the goss on their upcoming show at RAFW. The label has gone from the Paddington markets to becoming a household name for Australian design. Did you ever anticipate the journey you’ve had? Of course not, but we have always had some big goals and wanted to make this label our life so we always hoped that it would be a great ride! The news just landed that your opening another concept store in Soho, New York. How did you decide on Soho? We have been searching for the perfect store location in New York for a while now and have looked at lots of different downtown options. But the site we have in Soho was just beautiful and felt right. Are you planning to launch any other concept stores soon? Yes. In Australia, we are opening a flagship in the Sydney CBD this year and in the US, we have a few other ideas that are in the pipeline. 30
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Nicky and Simone Zimmermann, Zimmermann clothing is always perfect for the Australian climate, is this something you take into consideration when designing? It has some influence over what we design but mostly we are just working to create something new and beautiful. Where did you draw inspiration from for your Spring/ Summer 10/11 collection? The idea started with a simple progression of tonal colour, starting at black and white. We wanted the collection to be pure, fresh and ordered. Clean colour, uncomplicated prints but all together cohesive and beautiful. As the collection evolved we started to work with lines, geometric shapes and melded these with naturally beautiful elements to create something that we love and want to wear. What fabrics and prints can we expect to see for Spring/Summer 10/11? Linear prints, spirographs, perspective lines and vanishing points have been combined with mono-toned florals on white bases to create things, which are all at one. Our prints feature a gradation of shapes and lines that grow as they run down the body. Fabrics were chosen for weight with an emphasis on the capacity of each to carry our new silhouettes, they include triple weight silk crepe, failles, waffle suiting. How do you prepare yourself for the crazy week of RAFW? We make sure we are organized early and work hard so we are ready. Zimmermann has been showing at RAFW since 1996, that’s quiet an achievement! What’s your favourite memory from 13 years of shows? After the last look has come out of any show we have an overwhelming sense of relief after months of work. Who has been your favourite model to walk for Zimmermann at RAFW? There have been some great girls - Sarah O’Hare, Emma Balfour, Catherine McNeill, Nicole Trunfio, and Lilly Cole. They’re all great.
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GET TO KNOW
THE ROW
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s clothing label takes the spotlight. See more of the sisters wearing their own designs.
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ever question, the public’s fascination with the 22-year-old, fashion designer’s and autho’s and not to mention actresses. Mary-Kate and her (older by a few minutes) sister Ashley were beamed into American households from their infancy on the television series Full House, and since then they’ve brilliantly maneuvered their charm, beauty, and wit into a multimillion-dollar industry. Mary-Kate and Ashley are also hard at work on their, the higher end The Row . The two even teamed up to publish a book of interviews last fall called Influence (Razorbill), in which they interviewed other artists and designers who have inspired them.Having just shown their S/S11 collection, Evoke Magazine had an exclusive e-chat with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen
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about their infinitely desirable and luxurious brand, The Row. From the moment Natasha Poly stepped onto the Paris catwalk wrapped in a collarless, double-faced black cashmere coat, accessorised simply with narrow brown belt and flat sandals, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen consolidated their version of classic American sportswear – an appealingly louche and quietly luxurious take on how women dress today. Taken its name from the ultimate location for tailoring, Savile Row, The Row was born three years ago out of the desire for the perfect T-shirt and evolved from a collection of flawless basics to where it stands today as one of the brightest spots in the retail universe. With its younger line, Elizabeth & James (appropriately named after the twins’ younger siblings) and a move into menswear and sunglasses, the Olsens are slowly making incremental steps in building a credible fashion empire a million miles away from their tween company that made their multimillionaires, Dualstar.
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Walk into the Row’s studio in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood and you will see no clothes. Sure, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, designers of the Row, have been credited as key to what those of short memory call “new minimalism,” but this is a little method. “Oh, man, the clothes are gone,” sighs MaryKate, looking fine in a vintage red-and-black-spotted Yves Saint Laurent blouse, jeans, and skyscraper heels. “They’re off in sales,” explains Ashley, on brand in a slouchy Row sweatshirt, pant-skirt, and flat sandals. That’s what happens when everyone wants what you’re selling. After 24 years of growing up in front of the American public, Mary-Kate and Ashley now occupy a desirable, influential position in the fashion world. After only three years in business, the Row, born with a luxury T-shirt, sits next to Rick Owens, Lanvin, and Azzedine Alaïa in the world’s best retailers. But this success didn’t come by accident or through money or connections. “We work,” the two stress almost simultaneously (six days a week, commonly). It’s a knee-jerk defense bred from years of intrusive pictures and tabloid gossip insinuating they did anything but. “Remember that crazy time when all of us young girls were being followed?” Ashley says. The two were like hunted animals, their only defense a venti Starbucks. Now that they have both moved to New York full-time, oddly, we see them less. “We’re either at home or here at the studio,” Mary-Kate notes. “I think they got bored of us.” While you might guess that the Olsens’ sartorial preference—a long, covered-up look—might come from a desire not to be seen, you’d be wrong. MaryKate explains, “We’ve always been attracted to longer—” “Layers, silhouettes,” Ashley says, finishing her sentence. “When we were growing up, our mother taught us never to have your belly button exposed,” Mary-Kate adds. This low-key, tempered sensuality is the spine of their collection. The Row lady doesn’t need to put it all out there because she has something going on “in here.” This mood was reflected in the Olsens’ Fall 34
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2010 presentation, just 19 looks in a simple palette, worn with the same summery flat: a black wrap coat, a precise white shift dress, a languid jumpsuit—all the pieces girls want but have a devil of a time actually finding. Resort had a similar quiet confidence, each look paired with vintage Prada loafers. Both Olsens are huge Prada fans. “Miuccia’s spin always has a sense of humor, which I love,” Ashley says. “Céline’s quite amazing too,” adds Mary-Kate.
and very direct. I think that has been a philosophy behind The Row ever since we started the line. All of the background visuals are high-res images of actual fabric swatches from our collections. We wanted the viewer to really see all of the details of the beautiful fabrics we use—washed red silk charmeuse, the scales of our python skins, our cashmere modals. We wanted it to feel like you could reach out and touch everything.
Though the two don’t fantasize about giving anyone a “Row-over,” they would like to dress the first lady. “I’d love to get Michelle Obama in the Row,” Ashley says. “The simple suits and things. It’s all made in America, so why not?” But the two chalk up their first success to Lauren Hutton, whom both are “obsessed with” and who was shot for Forbes in 2007 “on a motorcycle in our leather leggings. I think there’s nothing chicer than that,” says Ashley. The Olsens have in fact already appeared in Forbes—the first time as kids. Toddler titans? “Nah,” says Ashley, giggling. “The Most Powerful Crawlers.”
How did you choose designedmemory and what was the process of working with them like? AO: We instantly loved how visual the other sites they had done were—everything felt so tactile. We wanted to keep that tactile feeling but also make sure the site was very simple and easy to navigate. MKO: Designedmemory really understood The Row’s aesthetic and our personal view that a Web site shouldn’t be too overdone. They understood that we didn’t want it to look too “Webby.” They taught us a lot about what’s possible with technology. Plus, it’s always fun to work with young, ambitious people.
So, newly 24, newly East Coast, but always in control, Mary-Kate and Ashley are, yes, getting their ducks in a row. And 24, the age when you can take New York by storm, is the perfect time to do it. “Ah, but,” says Mary-Kate, looking at Ashley with an old-soul smile, “we’re 48.”
How did working on the Web site compare to other parts of working on The Row? Was the division of labor different than it is when it comes to working on the clothes? MKO: I was actually very surprised to discover that working on the Web site was very similar to the actual process of designing the collection itself. Designedmemory were amazing collaborators because they truly collaborated with us—we worked on every single piece of imagery and content on the Web site directly. It was a very hands-on experience, which I didn’t expect—it felt more like making a beautiful collage than a Web site team. It was a very intimate experience, which was exactly how we like to work.
What are some of your favorite Web sites, and where did you look for inspiration for making yours? Ashley Olsen: I have to admit we’re not that tech-savvy, but we’re constantly learning and discovering new things on the Web. I check Style. com to look at the collections and love to poke around some of the other fashion blogs to see what’s going on. And, of course, I check nytimes.com religiously and huffingtonpost.com for news. A friend introduced to me to hypem.com, which is an amazing resource to check out new music. What does the look and the feel of the Web site say about the collection? M ary-Kate Olsen: We looked at a lot of different Web siwtes before we started working on our own, and we thought most of them were too loud. We wanted The Row Web site to be subdued 36
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Simen Johans’ earlier work showed a child’s world in which the primal need to explore and search for meaning manifests itself in mysterious forms of creativity and play. His work explored how we instinctively form our understanding of the world, not through reason, but through imagination, creativity and emotion His current series of images and sculptures, “Until the Kingdom Comes” continues to explore the human predilection toward fantasy and emotional fulfillment, but here through the depictions of animals who mirror human conventions.
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A pair of dreamy foxes in a park during a snowstorm appears to be crying; a llama with a poodle haircut exhibits flamboyance. He creates mythical landscapes that hover in a space between fantasy and reality, emotion and reason, desire and fear, artifice and nature. Pastel colors, misty settings and fuzzy animals create beauty and wonder, but bloody noses, artificial hair and strangely knowing expressions suggest a darker reality.
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Simen Johan is a photographer as well as an observationist. In his latest exhibit, Until the Kingdom, animals are portrayed as having more humanistic qualities than we usually see in them on a day-to-day basis. Some of these animals are photographed on farms, others at zoos, and a few are taxidermies. Now, when I think of a taxidermist I think of hunters or Norman Bates from “Psycho.” Johan is far from a diluted murder, however, and instead creates a different beauty.
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THERE’S NO SPECIFIC FORMULA TO HOW I MAKE THE WORK. EVERY IMAGE I MAKE IS THE RESULT OF EXTENSIVE EXPERIMENTATION.
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Simen Johan explores darkly the human proclivity towards fantasy and our attempts, knowing or otherwise, to craft alternate realities for ourselves. Merging traditional photographic techniques with digital methods, Johan creates each of his images from as many as one hundred negatives, having first constructed or discovered each element and photographed it on film. Across his body of work, the viewer is urged to ponder the relationship between the real and the artificial or imagined. The images allude to our inclination to anthropomorphize and domesticate what we see and find around us, and they speak to realms of emotion, our fears and desires, rather than reason. In his earlier work Johan explored the unique relationship that children have with the unknown, constructing complex photographic worlds that seem to grow wild from young imaginations. In some images the children are prominently featured, wrapped up in acts of play or ritual as the makers of their own worlds, while in others they’ve vanished completely, leaving only the enigmatic traces of their mischief. 40
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This Norwegian-born artist takes real life photographs, however technology and a few other tools are necessary to get the end effect. Hair gel is used to create tears on foxes and long, flowing hair extensions are added to an otherwise menacing wolf. In smudging the line between reality and fantasy, Johan forces us to discern the unpredictability in life. In a Big magazine interview, Johan said, “We pursue what we desire and escape what we fear. We look for truth, but when it is undesirable, we disguise it with desirable lies.” His artwork is the epitome of this quote. See for yourself. Simen Johan’s work has been widely exhibited internationally, and is in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Cleveland Art Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and other major institutions. Johan’s first monograph, Room to Play, was published by Twin Palms in 2003. Born in Norway and raised in Sweden, Johan earned his B.F.A at the School of Visual Arts, in New York, where he currently resides. Where are you from? Born in Kirkenes (Lapland), Norway, raised in Sweden, live in New York. You’ve shot children, and more recently animals. You manage to bring out something hidden in your subjects to the forefront. How do you do this? There’s no specific formula to how I make the work. Every image I make is the result of extensive experimentation. If you look at anything in life you realize that things and situations are never quite what they are made out to be. Life is filled with hidden meanings, myths and illusions, and it is we ourselves October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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who have created life that way. The reality- that we are only one in billions of other people, in a world of endless time and space and soon will vanish and be forgotten for all eternity-is just too scary for us to acknowledge in every day life. How did you get into what you do? I studied film and photography in Sweden for 2 years. I came to New York in 1992 to go to film school, but it turned out to be too expensive for me, so I transferred to study photography instead. Photography appealed to me because it allowed me to finalise projects myself, and I liked experimental aspects of it. I started out doing physical collages and painting on photographs, but later I learned to manipulate my images digitally.
Your work blurs the lines between installation, painting, and photography. Would you class yourself as a photographer? No. I see a photographer more as an observer than a creator of things. Photography is the end product of my work, but it is a very small part of a greater creative process. If you didn’t work in a creative field what do you think you’d be doing with your life? Something to do with logic, strategy and having the final say. So what’s next? I’m still working on more images and sculptures for my animal series “Until the Kingdom Comes”, which will eventually result in another book.
What elements do you feel make a good image? While there are all sorts of good images (an image can be great solely based on its composition or color), I’m generally drawn to images that communicate something meaningful.
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LL EEN ERG The Atlantic offered an apology to John McCain this week after the photographer for the October cover, Jill Greenberg, posted doctored pictures of the Republican nominee on her personal Web site. It also emerged that Greenberg, a fierce anti-Republican, had photographed McCain for the magazine while he stood over a deliberately unflattering green light. In 2006, Jim Lewis discussed whether “the photographer who makes kids cry� unfairly exploits her subjects. The article is reprinted below. Like many people, I dislike having my picture taken, and the fact that I love to look at photography, to think about it, and sometimes to write about it, has done little to leaven my antipathy toward participating in it. Having a camera pointed at me makes me selfconscious, a feeling I do my best to avoid; and it pricks my vanity. (I used to tell myself I was simply unphotogenic, but in time I came to realize that, no, in fact I just look like that.) Moreover, I always wind up feeling slightly violated: My countenance is among my most intimate possessions, and when a 44
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GREENBERG DOESN’T HANG AROUND WAITING FOR ONE OF HER TODDLER SUBJECTS TO MELT DOWN:SHE INDUCES THE TANTRUM, GIVING THEM A LOLLIPOP, AND THEN SUDDENDLY TAKING IT AWAY.
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photographer make off with an image of it I feel like I’ve been fleeced. Anthropologists have described isolated tribes who would not allow themselves to be photographed by Western visitors because they were convinced that some part of their soul was being stolen. There is something to be said for such a belief. Exploitation is photography’s true métier: I take that to be a fact, though not such a damning one as it may appear to be. There are other professions, after all, that traffic in similar kinds of advantage taking (psychoanalysis is one; journalism is another), and 46
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exploitation, like anything else, can be well or badly done. Some photographers negotiate it nimbly, with a kind of moral intelligence, and the art they make is brilliant and enlightening; and some are clumsy or crass. Which brings me to the work of Jill Greenberg and the quarrels that have sprung up around it in the past few weeks.
boy I shot, Liam, suddenly became hysterically upset. It reminded me of helplessness and anger I feel about our current political and social situation.” “As a parent,” she continues, “I have to reckon with the knowledge that our children will suffer for the mistakes our government is making. Their pain is a precursor of what is to come.”
Greenberg is an L.A.-based photographer whose work, judging from her Web site, the all-too-aptly named www.manipulator.com, has generally been commercial and editorial: ads for Target, portraits of celebrities, that sort of thing. But she also has a small art career, showing more conceptual work in galleries, and she has an exhibit up now at the Paul Kopeikin Gallery on Wilshire Boulevard. The show is titled End Times, and it consists of a few dozen large photographs of infants and toddlers throwing tantrums: sobbing, red-faced, staring furiously. Fair enough. But they’re not meant to be read as mere baby pictures; they’re meant to be a statement. As Greenberg herself explains in the gallery’s press release, “The first little
This is the sort of art that makes one groan and roll one’s eyes. It’s political in the worst way: literalminded, preachy as a bumper sticker, and, well, infantile. Moreover, the pictures themselves don’t look very interesting (for one thing, Greenberg seems to think that size—the photos are 42 inches by 50 inches—is a substitute for power). But lots of people make bad art without inspiring the kind of fury that Greenberg drew down upon herself. Her mistake was not in her meaning, but in her method. It turns out that Greenberg doesn’t just hang around her studio waiting for one of her toddler subjects to melt down: She induces the tantrum, by, say, giving
the child a lollipop, and then suddenly taking it away. When a photography enthusiast who goes by the pseudonym of Thomas Hawk discovered as much, he pilloried Greenberg on his blog, in a post that can be summarized by its headline: Jill Greenberg is a Sick Woman Who Should Be Arrested and Charged With Child Abuse. The post generated a few hundred comments, and the discussion spread to Flickr, and then to other blogs. Greenberg responded in an interview on PopPhoto.com. It looks like what’s going on here is the standard “can good art be made by bad people” debate, but to the extent that that’s so, it’s uninteresting. As Faulkner once said, “If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate; the ‘Ode on a Grecian Urn’ is worth any number of old ladies.” But Greenberg isn’t Keats, and bad art neither deserves nor receives the kind of moral pass that Faulkner was endorsing. An asshole who makes great art is an asshole who makes great art; but an asshole who makes lousy art is just an asshole. October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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Raphael Vincenzi Hi Raphael, congratulations on being featured in Evoke Mag. As you know, you’re one of my very favourite artists, so I’m kinda chuffed to be doing this interview. Give us a rundown of your artistic journey; how did you get started? What role has it played in your life over the years? Raphael: Thank you, it’s an honour to be part of Depthcore. I wasn’t born in an artistic family at all, I always wanted to be an artist but what kind exactly I wasn’t so sure about. I discovered that I could work artistically with computers a few years ago and decided that I wanted to do just that. It wasn’t easy because I did not follow any education in that field but at the same time it helped me to find my own way of doing things. Now I am a freelance illustrator and it’s great, sometimes it’s not, but overall it’s good.
You are on of the few Depthcore members who live in Belgium. What’s the creative scene like in Brussels? Do you participate much in it? Does your local environment manifest itself in your work? Raphael: To be honest I don’t know much about it. I know a few illustrators like Geraldine Georges or Julien “Veuch” but I know more what’s going at the other side of the world than what’s 48
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in my own town sometimes. I don’t think that where I live is influencing me directly in my works but there is a certain, even if subdued, urban aspect in what I do.
How do you spend your days as a freelance artist in Brussels? Run us through a typical work day... Raphael: It’s nothing special, I wake up early, I drive my wife and children to school and work. I smoke a bit, I start working, I take a break, I keep working some more. It’s better than to work at the office for sure although it can get a bit lonely sometimes. It’s a normal life. What’s stimulating you lately? Reading much? Any artists coming up strongly on your radar? Raphael: I just finished reading “Empire of Illusion” by Chris Edges, which is about how american culture has become a constant escape into unreality with tv shows, porn, fake happiness and how politics have used these tools to plunder and steal while the masses keep asking for more. Although aimed at the US, it is happening everywhere in the world. It’s quite a great book because it slaps you in the face. I am always looking for new artists and I like the works of Herve Dieudonné who October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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I just found out that he is from Belgium !! http://www. behance.net/HerveDieudonne. What has been the most enjoyable freelance project you have worked on to date? Raphael: I really liked to work for popshot magazine lately, the poem was about how pornography supposedly liberated women but it’s not the case so I tried to illustrate this to the best of my abilities. I especially like to work for clients who allows me to be creative as much as I’d like to be. What are your hobbies and passions in life aside from art and design? Do they find their way into your creative? Raphael: I listen a lot of music, I watch a lot of movies and I read a lot of books on political, social and self-development topics. So all of these sources of inspiration feed my creative process. I am just trying to be a better man, to know myself and the world around me in an objective way and my work is a reflection of that somehow. How do you approach your work? What’s standard in the Dead Pony process? Raphael: It can go two ways, either I wrote down an idea that stick with me and I start working on it, building up the layers, cutting, adding things up until it clicks. Or I can start something then it turns into a better idea or direction that wasn’t expected. I try to work everyday, even if sometimes there is no inspiration, just playing around, trying out new shapes, scanning hand-made doodles and so on. I try to stay open to a new ideas or a happy accident because that’s what makes it interesting in the end. I have plenty of ideas but sometimes the motivation isn’t there. Your work tends to involve a lot of feminine themes and content; what is it about the fairer sex that intrigues you so much artistically? Are there any concepts you have been looking forward to exploring? Raphael: I don’t know, it came easy to me to use a feminine figure and spirit into my works. I think I could express much more things in this way, maybe it’s a way for me to reconnect with an unconscious part of me. I think it is also quite funny to do such works because I am a guy but I don’t picture myself drawing cars, soccer players and guns. I 50
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have other ideas but they are based upon french puns or weird sentences but I haven’t come around doing them yet, they are already half made in my head, I just need to push them through my fingers now. You have a very strong personal aesthetic? looking at a piece of artwork you have produced there is never any doubt as to whom the creator is. Would you consider your style influenced of inspired by any artists or art movements in particular, or is it more of an organic progression that you naturally stumbled across? Raphael: I don’t consider myself a great artist, I just found a way to express myself in this way. It has its root in collage, street art, fashion illustration and paintings but it evolved naturally from there. I always wanted to to a little thing more than all of these styles and push it a little further in my own direction, that’s why I decided to explore my own feelings or state of mind through the illustration by adding type and sentences, so it can be viewed in different ways depending of whom is watching it. What direction do you see your style developing in? Are you leaning towards incorporating more traditional elements or digital elements in your work? What percentage of each do you think your work is currently comprised of? Raphael: It’s hard to tell. I think collage is the base of what I do, even if it borrows heavily from different styles and does not look like a collage in the end. I don’t think I can tell which way i’d like to go now, I think it will always be a bastard mix of digital and traditional, it is about 60 digital and 40 traditional but it changes with the topic I am exploring of the mood I am in. You’ve been in Depthcore for quite a long time now; what has being a part of the collective meant to you? What was your favourite chapter? Favourite artwork ever submitted? Who would you most like to collaborate with? Raphael: A constant re-evaluation of what I do to keep it interesting. I think I like EVE and Mythic as well. It’s difficult to say which artwork I prefer but I am fond Year one for example. I’d like to maybe collaborate with Diftype (Niklas) or Justin on the top of my head.
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Jerico Santander The marriage between technology and creativity has led us into the world of digital art. The line between virtual reality and reality is often blurred, and has simultaneously opened up the gates to a new form of art that espouses digital media
Santander possesses a portfolio bursting with vibrant, dreamlike essence. Spilling layers of aesthetic appeal to every image he toils with, his use of salient color combinations, artistic composition and elegant originality amaze all his viewers. Evoke chatted with the artist to gain insight into how his taste for digital art has ripened, and how he operates within this arena. Jerico Santander, currently available for freelance or long-term contracts, is a Spanish illustrator and digital artist who beautifully represent the inventive world of post-digital media.Santander possesses a portfolio bursting with vibrant, dreamlike essence. Spilling layers of aesthetic appeal to every image he toils with, his use of salient color combinations, artistic composition 52
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and elegant originality amaze all his viewers.up crazy images.”
Welcome, can you please introduce yourself? Hi there! I’m Jerico Santander, an illustrator from Canary Islands, Spain. Apart from the obvious, I also enjoy going out for a run, fishing and eating my mum’s cheesecake. How did you start your design career? What motivated you? At primary school I felt way more interested in drawing than for playing with a ball, then at high school I had more communication with computers than with girls…Somehow I’ve always been connected to this world. I still can remember the first time I saw Flash and Photoshop (thanks cousin). I am unable to work with something that looks real or common. I’m always dreaming while I am awake and conjuring up crazy images.” As many other illustrators, I also started designing website layouts. Then someday I found the legendary Infinity Digital Vision catalog with some old school shit October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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from masters like Mike Young or Jens Karlsson. I felt the need of getting in that digital art world. Trying to imitate them is how I started to mesh up with Photoshop in a more artistic way. Who are your favourite artists? Can you share your favourite websites? Traditional artists: Mars1 and Josh Keyes. Digital artists: Alex Trochut and Microbot. About my favorite sites and inspiration sources: depthcore.com, behance.net, cgsociety, and deviantart. How do you define yourself? As I see you make use of Illustrations, 3D objects and lots of other stuff. One cannot say Jerico is only an ‘illustrator.’ Many artists find resources everywhere. I do usephotography, digital painting and sometimes, a bit of 3D. I do nothing but welding many images together building up a totally new one, I guess I understand digital art as an extension from collage? Honestly I don’t know which resources/tools I will work with in the future, probably I’ll paint more and use less
photography. I’m bored of long hours trying to find the perfect stock image. I just hope to still have fun working! I think there are a lot of people wondering about this: How does your process of designing evolve? How do you start a design and how do you finish it? For instance, can you share design process of own world? It depends on the project. I always need to do a few sketches, then search for the main stock, rendering some 3D (if needed), putting them all together, painting lights and shadows, etc. Anyways I usually get the best ideas when I’m about finished and that can mean the need to remake a big part of the process! Did you first experiment with paint, simple sketches, web design, or something more? Since I was a child I had always been interested in drawing. I remember having a lazy teacher in grade school that used to provide us with paper, encouraging us to draw rather than giving us a grammatical lesson. I think this teacher deserves some credit in helping me develop an interest for the arts that soon became a hobby of mine [laughs]. Back to your question, I first came into contact with design and digital art back in 2003. I observed my cousin who was creating Flash sites and I found myself curious, so I began to experiment by meshing Photoshop with Flash, creating animated sites, abstract illustrations, and other impressive images. To date what would you say is your favourite illustration that you have created? What motivated you? From the ones in my Behance page I don’t have an absolutely top one so I’d mention two and why I like them: “Own World“: I enjoyed crafting this image for the amount of effort, frustration and headaches I had with it. I felt way free when I finally got it done. “Nereid“: I always wanted to do something like this. I had fun experimenting with the human body and light while working. You tend to use plenty of digital media to enhance your work; what drew you into digital art? I found
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the endless possibilities of blending photography, 3-D displays, and painting beyond exciting. I got addicted to the idea of creating compositions with different stock photos and then combining them as one– painting with tablets, highlights and shadows. Though lately I feel I need to practice more with painting instead of photography. It’s quite difficult, and nearly impossible, to find the exact stock I am looking for and it becomes a nuisance–but at the same time I love it. How much do the principles of uncertainty and fantasy play into your work? I am unable to work with something that looks real or common. I’m always dreaming while I am awake and conjuring up crazy images. There is a substantial dose of surrealism in your portraits; is that something you purposefully create or do your images fluently manifest this quality? The “randomness” in life makes me smile; that’s why I like surrealism. Some ideas I think about before I start working on them, other times while I’m October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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working on a piece the idea just makes its way onto the page. I don’t really notice what I’m doing until I come in the next day and see what I have created. I do think it is best to first start with a sketch outlining the main ideas, then later you can simply add to it. Since working with the MTV Movie Awards in 2007, what other projects have you been engaged in? I’ve been freelancing for the amazing people at BUCK (www.buck.tv). Some projects I have worked on include Tower of Grandville for Scion. I have also pitched ideas for ”My Sims” TV commercial. In both works I served as some kind of matte painter; it was a really exciting experience for me. Beauty and elegance glisten through your work; what attributes would you say contribute to this? Thanks for that compliment. Frustration can be the main key here. I tend to have an artistic endeavor in mind that is usually out of reach. I can’t enjoy my work or show certain qualities in my work if I can foresee how the image is going to end up. Another important point is to be sure about what you want
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the image to portray; writing ideas and drawing sketches beforehand are key. Once you have a solid base for your work everything else comes a little easier, including depicting beauty and elegance. Of course possessing basic knowledge of color theory, composition and such is just as important. Your color palette consists of strong pigments; other artists may be overwhelmed by using such bold colors. Do you credit your creative personality for this “braveness,” or something more? I have fun exploiting colors and grabbing the attention of others very much. Most of my work is indeed saturated with bold colors. I just have fun with it. Thank you for answers. Finally, what do you want to say to Evoke readers? Thanks Evoke for the interview and to their followers for reading!
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Denis Zilber Denis Zilber has put his illustration to work for dozens of clients and customers. Denis is already a familiar face in Russian editions of GQ, Playboy and Maxim, and his ingenious creations are bound to excite markets this side. Explains Denis of his remarkable work: “I enjoy exaggerating characters, ideas and shapes in my work, pushing things as far as I can, adding the grotesque to every possible thing I do.”
It’s not just his understanding of proportions and conventional illustration that allows him to create such effective pieces, but also his understanding of how to set a piece. Every illustration is a visual synecdoche, capturing key moments in spectacular stories. Speak to us a little you please. You are from where? How old are you? I am called Denis Zilber, I am 32 years old, I am originating in Minsk, I lived there 15 years and I have lived in Israel for 17 years. What do you appreciate more in the occupation of artist? The freedom of choice and the possibility of the realization of my ideas. 58
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Did you study arts or are you autodidact? That made a long time that you made drawings? How long lasted your way of artist-amateur and when you became professional? F irst of all I cannot say that I would have become professional, my ideal is still very far and I am only at the beginning of the way. As for the drawings, I make some since my childhood. My parents are artists both, then when I was child I knew
already what I will do in the life. I at the time did not have doubts. I started to have doubts later, this is why I gave up the drawing around 10 years! After I went back there but I always regret wasted time. I studied the all alone drawing, the nights, after work. Very often, I slept only four hour! I drew illustrations for the stories which I invented, made of the drawings in 3D… And that during two years. Then I collected all my illustrations, created my own site and exposed all my work there. Then one started to make me proposals for a work by the means of this site. Thus I started to touch money for my drawings. How did you promote your work and when you knew the recognition? As I already said it to you, October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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I promoted my work by the means of my site. It is the easiest means. And that went. Of course that there exists many more effective means such as the participation in the contests, with the exposures but it was not for me. However I took part in some contests.
artists of which I am always work… Illustrators of books also… Among the painters, I can quote Aubrey Beardsley, Picasso, Van Gogh, Juan Miro and others. Among the illustrators, Rébecca Dautremer, Arthur de Pins, Jean-Baptiste Monge.
What do you prefer rather, CG or the traditional drawing and painting, and why? Which materials do you use? I prefer traditional materials but in work I use CG in this moment. Why? To save time. My preferred programs are photoshop and painter. However I hope to start again to use the watercolour in a near future.
Are you indifferent to criticisms? Who likes when one criticizes it? Everyone likes to be rented even if some denies it. However criticisms of a true professional at one good moment it is very useful, that can be a gift that the person makes you without asking for return. In this case criticisms are quite invaluable.
Are you completely satisfied with your work? Yes I of it am satisfied the first one or two hours after having completed my work. But after one day or two I like them already less… There are always things to add or modify. Who influenced you more? Many people. Above all, my father, he is my critic and my adviser at the same time. But also, some traditional and contemporary
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Do you test with novel methods, new kinds? Always. In each work. It’s all apart of the design process. On which projects do work you in this moment and what you consider for the future? These last years I made illustrations for the cartoons, I also made illustrations for the magazines (GQ, Playboy, Maxim, Blazer). Maintaining my objective is to finish my studies in Animationmentor and to find a work in a large studio.
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Luxe Escapes
Is today the day for snorkeling with colorful tropcial fish and a nap on the hammock under palms on the beach?
MANTANGI ISLAND RESORT
Matangi Island Resort is a small family owned and operated Fiji resort situated on Matangi Island in the northern Fiji Islands. This luxury Fiji beach resort is the only resort on horseshoe-shaped private island Matangi Island. Ringed by several beautiful white sand beaches, and wrapped around a lagoon of pure aquamarine, Matangi offers an experience so unique it is listed in “1,000 Places to See Before You Die”.Imagine waking each morning in a beautiful treehouse to the gentle sound of lapping waves at the beach in front and birdcalls from the lush rainforest behind. While you breakfast on luscious tropical fruits, you enjoy 270-degree views of the ocean and Matangi’s exquisitely landscaped tropical gardens and ponder the choices for the day ahead. For the adventure of scuba diving followed by a relaxing massage? Kayaking around the lagoon or 62
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a romantic picnic for two to Horseshoe Bay? For a trip to a Fijian village or to dive from Tavoro Falls on Taveuni Island?Should tonight include a romantic candlelight dinner for two on the overwater Deck or a gourmet dinner of lively conversation shared with other guests in the dining bure? Matangi Private Island Resort is a tropical luxury resort for those who want to indulge in relaxation, rejuvenation and adventure in a setting created to be in harmony with the environment and local culture. Romantic Horseshoe Bay is one of the highlights of this beautiful island, offering an unspoiled tropical wilderness, pristine white sand beaches, crystal clear aquamarine waters and a romantic honeymoon getaway. Matangi Island is close to it’s island neighbors, yet far enough away to be very private, quiet and secluded. Carefully cut out of the dense rainforest and fronting the sparkling aquamarine waters sweeping beautiful palm-fringed beaches. October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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COCO PALM RESORT
Maldives - Atoll of islands dispersed in the Indian Ocean. Coco Palm Bodu Hithi is situated on the private island of Bodu Hithi in the North Male’ Atoll, a 40 minute (29 km) luxury speedboat ride from Male’ International Airport. The island is rich in vegetation with naturally designed sandy walkways and coconut trees, edged with white sandy beaches, turquoise seas and isolated sand banks. The ambience of the island is enchanting for even the most discerning of guests. Dunikhou Island in the Maldives’ Baa Atoll is a gorgeous strictly private island, north-west of Male. It has just one resort — Coco Palm. Its 86 rooms and 14 over-water villas, including two suites, form a semi-circle on the lagoon. There are splash pools with private terraces, sunken and spa baths, crafted wood and rattan furniture and soft cotton furnishings. The island can be walked around in 30 minutes and its underwater world is virtually 64
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untouched. PADI and SSI-certified dive courses are available. Meals of amazing variety are served in three restaurants.
MOOREA BEACHCOMBER
The 118 islands and atolls making up the five archipelagos of French Polynesia are sprinkled over four million square miles of the South Pacific Ocean. Moorea is the most popular after Papeete and has a slow and easy lifestyle. Sun drenched tropical beaches and their accompanying heat cry out for the sun worshippers by day, and recuperation from that heat and sun in the evenings. Hotel Moorea Beachcomber is a classic island resort. The 143 rooms were inspired by the traditional Polynesian fale with balcony, ceiling fan and air conditioning. Fifty over-water bungalows are set around a series of green islands and have private terraces with direct access into the lagoon. Beaches
are white and sandy there are plenty of shady coconut palms.
MANIHI PEARL BEACH
over a translucent lagoon, and the beach bungalows are set directly on the sand. As for the gastronomy, the Poe Rava restaurant proposes a menu with a variety of European, Polynesian and Chinese dishes. Everything has been thought of to make your stay unforgettable.
black pearl farms. The Manihi Pearl Beach Resort has been created with a mixture of local materials — wood, bamboo, shells, pandanus and palm fronds.
There are 14 over-water bungalows with wide sundecks over the lagoon. Soft light bathes the bungalow and you are able to feed the fish below.
Manihi is an atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago, 520 kilometres north-east of Tahiti. Its lagoon is clear and has a navigable pass through the reef, sheltering
The Manihi Pearl Beach Resort is the only first class establishment on the island. It enables guests to discover the atoll while at the same time enjoying international standards of luxury and comfort. Noble traditional building materials have been artfully crafted and assembled to produce this architectural jewel, which is only equaled by the pearls produced on the Manihi pearl farms. The overflowing swimming pool is like a small blue lagoon. Bathing is doubly refreshing as one part of the fare bar opens directly onto the swimming pool. The overwater bungalows look out October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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Central Coast Just over an hour north of Sydney, lies a world of golden beaches, sparkling blue water, surf, forest, lakes, fresh air...a relaxing escape!
Just over an hour north of Sydney, lies a world of golden beaches, sparkling blue water, surf, forest, lakes, fresh air… a relaxing escape! The Central Coast is home to 5 national parks and 19 beaches. Behind the beaches is an abundance of tranquil coastal lakes and waterways, fertile valleys, state forests and rolling hills of the hinterland. The 4 main waterways are Hawkesbury River, Brisbane Water, Broken Bay and Tuggerah Lakes and as we’ll show you they provide a diverse range of water based activities. From patrolled beaches to lagoons, lakes and amazing waterfalls. Fishing, swimming, surfing, boating, cruises, sailing, water skiing… there’s something for everyone. If you’re not so into the water side of things there is an array of culture, art, recreation and shopping, and of course, dining experiences to suit everyone. From award winning restaurants to Al fresco cafes, casual bistros and fresh fish and chips by the sea! The pelican has been adopted as the symbol of the tourist industry on the Central Coast. The Pelican 66
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feeding is on every day at 3.30pm at Memorial Park, the Entrance.
LONG JETTY CATAMARAN & BOAT HIRE
Long Jetty Catamaran and Boat Hire is an original boat shed that was built in late 1940’s and is a local icon in the area. Barrie and Helen took over the business just over a year ago and cater for the wide spectrum of water sports; from the sedate to the exciting! Not only is there the action you can get at the many surf beaches, but Tuggerah Lakes offers many still water activities… catamarans that are fun and easy to sail, even better when the breeze is up! Single and double kayaks, even pedal boats which is fun for the whole family. If you have the need for speed they offer water skiing as well as wake boarding and wind surfing! Even the keen and serious sailors out there can have sailing lessons and specific courses. There busiest times are over the school holidays and the weekend traffic certainly keeps them on there toes! They mainly run the water skiing in the mornings, to get October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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the best part of the day (no wind and flat water) and when the winds
PEARLS ON THE BEACH
Nestled on the edge of Pearl Beach, a national trust village, Pearls on the Beach is truly a hidden treasure making this restaurant an ideal spot for lunch, dinner or that special occasion. Scott, now the owner of 2 years was previously head chef for 4 years, but decided to take the reigns with his wife Melissa. The modern Australian menu caters for everyone, making changes constantly utilising the season’s produce. Dining on the balcony on a balmy night, perched above the beach, you’re in arms reach of the lapping water. Making it easy for everyone, all entrees are $18.50, the menu very diverse; for example, a mixed sushi plate or Moroccan spiced chicken spring rolls with almond & cinnamon dipping powder or cuttlefish, Balmain bug, capsicum, red onion, lemon & watercress salad on celeriac remoulade.
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Mains are &28.50 with a board of daily seafood specials. The $12 desserts you can’t skip when you read something like this; violet crumble mascarpone cheesecake with bitter chocolate couli or Affogato al caffé: vanilla bean ice cream, espresso & Frangelico liqueur with white chocolate & hazelnut biscotti or my pick would be the roasted pear with five spice panna cotta & Iranian fairy floss! WOW!
MORE INFORMATION & COST CITYRAIL Services operate all over Sydney Transport Infoline 131500 between 6am and 10pm 7days a week or go to www.cityrail.info for details
LONG JETTY CATAMARAN & BOAT HIRE Tuggerah Lakes, Long Jetty Catamaran hire from $30, kayaks from $10, water skiing from $60, pedal boat from $12, windsurfing from $20. September to late June, all weekends and school holidays. Bookings for group and corporate days can
be made by arrangement. Web: www.cathire.bigpondhosting.com PALM BEACH FERRY SERVICE Departing Palm Beach Wharf, Ettalong Ferry Wharf & Wagstaff One way to Ettalong or Wagstaff $8 All year round, check website for timetables: www. palmbeachferry.com.au PEARLS ON THE BEACH 1 Tourmaline Avenue, overlooking the peaceful and secluded Pearl Beach. Entrée’s $18.50, mains $28.50, delicious desserts $12 Open Thurs to Sunday for lunch & dinner. Trading hours extended during holiday periods. Web: www.pearlsonthebeach.com.au
KIMS BEACH HIDEAWAY Charlton Street, Toowoon Bay, just over 1 hours drive from Sydney. Web: www.kims.com.au
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LOVELY POOL AND SPA FACILITIES ON OFFER. ALSO TENNIS AND SQUASH COURTS. GREAT LOCATION - 5 MINUTE WALK TO THE BEACH!
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BACK TO THE
FUTURE POWER LACES BEAT NIKES
Watch out, Nike. Power Laces has your number. Of course you have the patent, but let’s not get hung on up on the ‘deets. Power Lace’s enterprising creator is already on the second generation of his self-tightening shoes and it looks surprising similar to Nike’s just-granted patent — complete with heel sensor. This guy is going for broke, though, and is currently seeking funding via Kicker Starter. I’m not sure I would drain the trust fund to allow the guy to quickly hit his $25,000 goal after seeing the Nike patent, but a few dollar bet at least makes this guys day. Plus it could net you a t-shirt or some rad 80′sthemed stickers. A $250 donation will get you the first generation if the target goal is reached. It’s surprisingly nice. Marty would approve. (You knew I had to throw in at least one Back To The Future joke).
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CARBON FACE MASK?
We thought we saw them all when the swine flue craze was at its peak, but in the weird and wacky world of face masks, there’s a new one to top them all. The Green Screen by designer Robert Ortega is an anti-bacterial and reusable face mask that “sequesters the Co2 from every exhale.” Made from pulp and embedded with seeds that actually sprout, the face mask is supposed to not only help keep your lungs safe from the world, but keep the world safe from the mini carbon dioxide emissions coming from your lungs. Face masks are certainly on the rise these days, with more and more people hoping to ward off the most unforgiving airborne ailments without the prick of a needle or the popping of anti-bodies. So what if you could take this simple sheath and turn it into a natural aid that would not only keep you safe from viral invaders, but also lend a hand in improving the local air quality? Made with pulp derived from fungal spores, along with seeds that eventually sprout, the
“Green Screen” is a face mask that not only filters airborne bacteria away from delicate nasal passages, but it also sequesters carbon dioxide from every exhalation. Considering our breath doesn’t contribute to global warming, the “sequestering CO2” part of this mask is the least interesting aspect. What’s really odd is the idea that it could sprout actual plants. At that point, it’s probably best that you not wear the mask since that could pose some real problems for your health. But the fact that you can simply toss the mask in your compost pile when done and it’ll produce plants is pretty cool. This Dish Is Veg states that the Green Screen was a finalist in this year’s “Project Greenway” competition conducted by the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture.
WILLY WONKA GUM?
Willy Wonka gum may not remain a fictional concept in the coming days with the development of a breakthrough technology that resorts to microscopic capsules to release various flavors simultaneously. The Norwich based Institute of Food Research’s scientists are going to implement this technology. Dave Hart, the Food scientist Professor has come up with a boiled layered sweet that is capable of changing flavor. He said in an interview that the fantasy concoction of Wonka is something millions of children across the world has dreamt about. By chewing these gums a person can get three distinct flavors one after the other. Before chewing the flavors remain distinct from one another.
separately inside the capsules. Fictional as it may sound, the person who chews the gum will get the flavor of tomato soup at first bite. If he chews the gum further he may get the flavor of roast beef. After chewing more vigorously he will get the flavor of blueberry pie. This may sound straight out of a science fiction film but the day is not far when one can see such gums getting sold from retail stores. The developments in food technology are slowly altering the way people eat food. The news has made the Willy Wonka gum excited and some of them have already posted their comments on the social metalworking accounts.
The food researchers in the USA are also trying to come up with similar gums in near future. Tony Dinsmore a Physics professor in the University of Massachusetts has developed a technique, which allow the flavor molecules to be captured 72
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SAY HI-SUN TO THE TOWEL
Sunbath lying on a sandy beach is a possibly the most common and popular activity to spend a weekend in coastal areas. Here’s something for the upcoming Independence Day weekend, and no it’s not from Skymall. It’s a towel to take to the beach. It’s pretty nice and loaded with features. Fold it into a backpack, look cool lying on the built in pillow, listen to music on it. Wait what?! Yes, listen to music. And if you have a music system alongside to enjoy your favorite tracks and a lounger to lie in comfort, you cannot ask for anything else. The “hi-Sun” is an innovative accessory that combining a beach towel with a speaker system allows an entertaining beach vacation. Compatible with iPhone, iPod or any other player that has a 3.5mm universal jack, the hi-Sun runs on Li-ion battery, rechargeable through an integrated USB port, to produce surround sound. Woven in cotton (100 %) to ensure utmost comfort, the hi-Sun measures 80 x 180 m and available in black, red, blue and pink
colors. In addition, you can remove the speakers so you could wash the towel with your normal clothes. Moreover, the towel folds into a compact backpack for easy storage as well as transportation. The hi-Sun is a beach towel/blanket/pillow/backpack/ boombox that will have all the people at your local beach checking you out – beach body not required. What is required is that you plug in any audio player, via a standard 3.5MM AUDIO. It’s also easy to carry, as it can be converted into a backpack, not to mention the fact that the speakers are removable, allowing you to wash the towel, keeping it clean and fresh. It’ll set you back $72, but do you think it’s a price you’re willing to pay to carry one less item to the beach?
WOODEN EAR CUPS ?
Ah, Zebrano wood. I recall my days in Shangri-La laying on a chaise of that selfsame wood, its resonant properties returning me to health after fighting velociraptors in the brush. Now I can enjoy the same benefits of the Zerbrano wood with none of the downward slashing with razor-sharp claws. These earphones – priced at $2,749- are Ultrasone’s latest foray into the ultra-premium headphone market. We’ve found Ultrasone to provide more than acceptable quality when it comes audio and noise isolation, but $3K? Really? Press release after the jump. I just re-read it and noticed that they used Ethiopian sheepskin on the ear cups. The Edition 10 is a result of years of painstaking R&D to ensure the first open backed special edition headphone met the rigorous standards set by its predecessors. The ear cups alone are a triumph in both form and function, resulting in a design never before created by Ultrasone’s engineers. Drawing inspiration from natural forms, the Edition 10’s ear 74
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cups feature high levels of air permeability through the grills, high specific torsion strength and extremely low resonance, all in a lightweight design. The outer ear cup is finished with galvanic Ruthenium plating and with a Zebrano wood inlay, which is coated with eight layers of clear lacquer for protection. The Edition 10’s inner ear cup, as well as the head-pad, is adorned with reddish brown Ethiopian sheepskin. This type of leather is known for being the most supple leather available, achieving the maximum level of comfort and sound isolation. Attention to detail can be seen at every level with the Edition 10s and the cable is no exception. Ultrasone has incorporated silver-plated OFC 99.99% pure copper wires and utilized Kevlar as the casing, achieving increased current flow, improved flexibility and lower overall weight. In addition, the Edition 10 is designed to be balanced input ready.
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APPLE EYE’S “Never a dull moment” with the company “reinventing itself all along and providing, over and over again, a new perspective on what we thought was carved in stone”.
Apple is set to announce a new roster of gadgets, and the marketplace is excited. Apple has had its share of triumphs such as the iPad and the iPhone, and it share of disappointments. Apple TV hasn’t taken off as much as the company would have liked. Whatever the outcome, Steve Jobs and company are again poised to cause a stir in the tech world.There are predictions that CEO Jobs will announce updates to Apple’s lineup of ubiquitous iPod media players, and also changes to its iTunes store to make it friendlier to mobile devices. Others expect a more radical move, such as a revamping of its Apple TV device. Apple has remained silent on its new products before their formal debut, allowing the buzz to build on its own. The company did offer a clue in its e-mail invitation to the announcement, featuring a picture of an acoustic guitar with a sound hole in the shape of Apple’s logo. Apple usually introduces new iPod media players in September, and this year much of the speculation 76
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has focused on its popular Nano model. The blog iLounge posted images from a Chinese Web site of square-shaped rubber cases that it said would fit the new devices. The cases seemed to leave no room for the Nano’s current click wheel, perhaps in favor of an iPhone-like touch screen. Speculation about a new version of the iPod Touch, which has Internet as well as media functions, has been that the device will get a camera, possibly to allow for live video chats. Some expect the Touch to get the higher-resolution screen that’s already on the iPhone 4. Some analysts forecast that Apple would go beyond iPods to unveil a new version of its Apple TV device, which allows consumers to download movies, TV shows and YouTube clips. The upgraded device could be considerably smaller, perhaps the size of an iPod. “We would view an updated Apple TV as an important step in Apple developing an allin-one Apple Television,” Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to investors.The poll by online magazine brandchannel.com asked its
readers to identify the brands with the greatest impact on their lives, and say how they affected readers’ behaviour and their view of the world.The nearly 2,000 professionals and students who voted named Apple overwhelming winner. The creator of the iPod and Mac computer triumphed in six categories including most inspiring brand and the one readers cannot live without. Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker was also a winner, but it received the dubious honor of the brand most readers wanted to argue with, and the one they most wanted to revamp. Voted into second place in the category was brand USA. “Apple has clearly captured the hearts and minds by leading across most categories. Others, such as the USA nation brand, which ranks highly as most in need of a rebrand, requires help according to our readers,” said brandchannel editor Jim Thompson.
to brand, which regularly puts Coca-Cola in first place. One of the more surprising results from the survey, was that few of the respondents -- who came from 107 countries -- thought that there was such a thing as a “green” brand. The result comes despite millions of dollars spent by some of the world’s biggest companies to rebrand themselves as “environmentally-friendly”. Discussing Apple, one anonymous reader said there was “never a dull moment” with the company “reinventing itself all along and providing, over and over again, a new perspective on what we thought was carved in stone”. At the other end of the spectrum, Microsoft had “gone from innovative and bold to stodgy and follower,” said another unnamed reader.
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YOU’R NOT IN AN EMERGING
MARKET!
JAKARTA–It was only a few days ago I was sitting in a wheelchair getting a blood transfusion. It was Friday night in Singapore, and I was at Clarke Quay– a pseudo-outdoor mall of clubs. It’s like a smaller scale version of the Las Vegas strip frequented by Singaporean college kids, goofy Western expats and hot Asian girls, mind-bogglingly shimmied into tootight dresses. Everything in Clarke Quay — and Singapore for that matter– is highly competitive, and the clubs rotate in and out of business. So to stay popular, it’s important to have a gimmick. There was Highlands, the scotch bar, where the waitresses wore short kilts and the chandeliers had antlers. There was Lunar, where the gimmick was simply being “cold”– indeed that can be a novelty in Singapore’s sweltering heat and humidity. Then there was the Pump Room where a large crossdresser belted out tunes, in between the thumping techno music. But I was at the most over-the-top, a bar called Clinic. You sit in a wheelchair, and you get your drink in the 78
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form of an IV– with a name like the blood transfusion– delivered by a young nurse. Want a shot? It comes in an oversized plastic syringe. It felt a little wrong. I mean, I’ve seen enough of Asia to know people could have used those medical supplies for more than partying. But there I was nonetheless, doing wheelies and sucking on an IV. It was the essence of Singapore: An Asian themepark developed for Asians who want a Western lifestyle and Westerners who want an Asian lifestyle– but can’t quite commit to either. A true sign you’re in Singapore? I didn’t have to use a single squat toilet– even in the dodgier areas of the city. In Asia, the toilets don’t lie. Singapore times how long it takes to get through its immigration line, obsessively trying to get it under 11 minutes. I breezed through on arrival and departure. “I’m here because of the airport,” said KF Lai, founder and CEO of BuzzCity, an ad network that monetizes the throng of mobile users in Singapore’s chaotic neighboring nations. Compare that to Jakarta. I October/November 2010 www.evoke.com.au
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arrived Saturday and despite being on one of the only arriving flights at that time, I stood in the immigration line for about 45 minutes. It’s not that Jakarta doesn’t have its Western bubbles. But they’re smaller and colliding with the city’s larger reality much more frequently. The walk in between the comfortable apartment I’m borrowing in Jakarta and the cavernous, Western shopping mall, the Grand Indonesian, took me through a sprawling slum and along streets so jammed with traffic, I almost got clipped by a motorbike a few times. My first day in town, walking through the slum– getting deeper and deeper as I kept taking wrong turns– I stuck out like
a sore thumb. A big, tall, pale-white American woman who only knows about three words in Bahasa. One of those was “pulsa,” which means “credit.” I was wandering this neighborhood seeking a top-up on my pre-paid SIM card– something that is ironically easier to do in the slum here than in that opulent mall. This is the disconnect of Southeast Asia right now: There is enough of a middle class that Western companies want to be here, and Web companies in particular want to make sure they don’t miss out like they did in China. But a place like Jakarta is still a Wild West. A neighborhood like the one I wandered through is so far from the consumer reality in the US that it’s hard to imagine the opportunity is as big as it is for Western companies. Trying to do business in Indonesia, particularly in the Web space, is about vacillating between the fear that it will take another ten years to build a $1 billion Web business (ala India) and the fear that it’ll take off overnight without you (ala China.)Progress on this kind of scale is just messy and putting a comfort bandaid on it only hides the issues and the opportunities. Almost every day in Jakarta there’s a protest in front of the city’s Soviet-esque Welcome statue, that people get plenty of time to look at because the roundabout is always clogged with traffic. It’s the realistic underbelly of a country surging headlong into democracy and capitalism: Democracy means people dissent and capitalism means everyone who can afford a car wants a car. In my opinion, parts of Jakarta can put on a better face than India– where 80
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there’s been so much rapid urbanization the big cities are an out-of-control infrastructure mess. But plenty of Jakarta is scary and unpredictable, plagued with poverty and corruption. It’s this disconnect that Singapore is hoping to bridge, a sort of economic and cultural translator for the West. And on paper– and in a few industries that I’ll detail in my next post– that makes sense. Singapore is, after all, just a short flight from India, China, most of Southeast Asia. And because it is 40% made up of immigrants, you can find a lot of local market expertise on the tiny island. But is Singapore really that much closer to the market? Physically yes, but
don’t kid yourself: If you’re this comfortable, you’re not experiencing an emerging market and you’re not going to understand your customers. You aren’t going to understand how the five-tower pricy apartment building I’m staying in sold out in a flash, how the Grand Indonesian was packed with affluence-seekers on a Sunday afternoon and yet how so many people on the walk in between still live like it’s 100 years ago. If that’s what you want to understand in Asia, Singapore might as well be on the moon. Sure,Singapore is growing at an economically droolworthy 18% a year but that’s not because of an exploding middle class climbing the prosperity ladder. Lai and others tell me between 50% and 70% of the economy is in providing comfort for the region’s wealthy, whether it’s five-star hotels, expensive expat penthouses, or the real cash king– financial services for offshore money. There’s just no hack around the pain of building a consumer business in emerging markets Without experiencing the pain and frustration of everyday life, you can’t understand this new customer. Like the old West, it’s exactly that unstructured inefficiency that creates so many opportunities. By the time problems like local talent, infrastructure are all figured out, you’ve got China– a place where local companies have grabbed most of the opportunities.
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STOCKLISTS Alex Perry/ Zimmermann Summer 2010 Adidas Aesop Ahava Al’chemy Alannah Hill Alba Aldo Alessandra Alex Perry Alibi Alice McCall Karen Millen Allen Almay Barbarella Bardot Bare Bare Bare Barielle Barkins Baubridge Bauhaus Bayonelle Bayswiss Be Genki Beacon Bebe Bec&bridge Becca Bespoke Bethany Bettina Liano Betts Bewitch
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1800 801 891 1300 721 754 1800 824 282 1800 631 283 (03) 9429 0000 (03) 9584 2245 (03) 9421 2770 0414 528 669 (02) 9233 6555 (02) 9029 8411 (02) 9280 0333 (03) 9510 0259 (02) 4390 1300 1800 025488 (02) 9557 6134 (03) 9420 7900 (02) 9327 2144 (02) 9319 4599 1800 808 993 1800 004 507 1800 989 491 (02) 9290 2402 (03) 9425 1000 (03) 9580 9500 (02) 8595 6111 (02) 9130 8833 131 595 (02) 9211 3755 (02) 9310 4230 (02) 8399 1274 (02) 9522 3333 (08) 9258 9966 (03) 9539 5100 1800 199 662 1800 335 011
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Bic Big W Billabong Billion Dollar Bio Ionic
1800 649 476 1800 251 311 (07) 5589 9899 (02) 9318 2021 (08) 9361 0180
Bio Sculpture 1300 246 435 Karen Millen (03) 9510 0259 Allen (02) 4390 1300 Almay 1800 025488 Barbarella (02) 9557 6134 Bardot (03) 9420 7900 Bare (02) 9327 2144 Bare (02) 9319 4599 Bare 1800 808 993 Barielle 1800 004 507 Barkins 1800 989 491 Baubridge (02) 9290 2402 Catherine (03) 9499 9844 Caudalie 1300 553 440 Cellex-C 1800 664 455 CEO (02) 8306 2000 Cetaphil 1800 800 765 Chanel 1300 242 635 Charles (02) 9663 4277 Charlie Brown (02) 9360 9001 Charlie Brown (02) 9318 9444 Charlie Brown (02) 9318 9444 Monday (02) 9698 9907 Cheetah 1800 651 579 Chelsea de (07) 3358 6880 Chezanzibar Chick Activist Children Chilli Kids Chinese
(07) 5520 3388 0408 347 118 (03) 9421 0533 (02) 8399 2326 1800 074 637
Chloe 1800 812 663 Chrissy L 0419 515 000 Christensen (02) 9328 9755 Christian Dior (02) 9695 4800 Christian (02) 9695 5678 Christina (02) 9368 0971 Circa 1800 099 378 Citi 1800 061 858 Citizen (02) 9452 7300 cK One 1800 812 663 Clairol 1800 226 524 Clarins (02) 9663 4277 Clarks 1800 651 185 Clearasil 1800 226 766 Clinique 1800 061 326 Cloth (02) 9699 2266 Coach (02) 8666 0600 Coco Rio (02) 9290 0800 Codice (02) 8595 6999 Cohen Sabine (02) 9212 2819 Colcci (02) 9948 8388 Colgate 1800 802 307 Colorado ConairPro Condura Contony Converse Coo Ca Choo Cooper Cooper St Coquette Coral Colours Corporate Cosabella Cosmedicine
(07) 3877 3395 1800 251 215 (02) 8595 6999 (03) 9416 3377 (03) 8878 3000 (03) 9429 0000 (03) 9521 2411 (02) 9211 4511 (03) 9787 2342 (03) 9383 5077 (02) 9690 0077 (02) 9388 7964 1800 705 800
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