ENGELSK
SPRING SUMMER 2017
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editorial note Avant-garde and realism have historically
always lived on opposite ends of the conceptual fashion spectrum, one representing artistic pioneering and aspirations while the other depicts the grim realities of life that rarely served as artistic inspiration. As the concept
of realism approaches global domination there
leaves one main question, how do we keep sight of what we aspire to? The mere definition of realism states it’s the tendency to view things
as they really are, distinguished from the
abstract. It can be widely agreed upon that the idea of realism doesn’t push boundaries, yet we see it sprouting its roots worldwide, even
in places where avant-garde once dominated, so is that statement being proven false?
The fashion industry, an industry arguably made up of dreams and aspirations has seen a sharp shift and can be seen emulating the recent path of the entertainment world where reality stars
have become super models and social media influencers have become fashion designers. Has
the power of realism made our dreams attainable? Or have we entered a moment in fashion
history that will be remembered its lack of progression and innovation. In this issue of Engelsk
we’ll be diving into the exploration of avant-garde and realism as one harmonious conceptual idea rather than two opposite views never to meet. Through this avant-garde realism issue
discover a whole new aesthetic merged together from polar opposites that has created a fresh way of imagining fashion.
JESSICA OGDEN & KALLIE MCSHANE CREATIVE DIRECTOR AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
DIRECTORS
Jessica Ogden Creative Director
Kallie McShane Editor-in-Chief
Caro Ginorio Producer/Operations Manager
Lauren Morgan Art Director
Alexandria Lang Fashion/Prop Director
CONTRIBUTORS
Vanely Martinez Writer
Jacob van Brunt Talent
Augusto Silva Photographer
Mike Schalk Photographer
Isabel Pao Talent
Carson Walker Talent
Julia Morgan Makeup Artist
Drew Gocke Talent
Jackson Mccabe Designer
Stephany Knize Talent
Cathy Nguyen Talent
Andrea Ramirez Photographer
Adriana Guzman Talent
Emma Craft Photographer
Boyang Teng Designer
Quinten Sanchez Talent
Becky Dionne Talent
Matt Sgambati Photographer
Pia Sorrentino Talent
Kendra Stanziola-Mirrop Photographer
Matt Lim Talent
THERE ARE SUNFLOWERS IN THE CEILING contributing words by vanely martinez
This is for the innovators, the pioneers, the unorthodox. May the nonconformist join in against the status quo. May we push boundaries and welcome the experimental and original. Roll out the red carpet for the rare ones with style. Style that runs in and out of our souls as creativity for the sake of one true outcome: individuality. Let us walk the unpaved road of uniqueness. Where gold flowers flourish from the ceiling and stars live on the floor below. Throw away the mask that hides you in the current of the main stream. Leave the black and white extremes and welcome the mysterious pink matter that is life. May our garments be as bold and bright as Van Gogh’s thoughts. Yellow, pink, red, blue and of course, more yellow. Wear daring and sharp silhouettes dripping in personality. “Look at me! No, really. Look at me”. I am the opposite of what you are familiarized with. I am what comforts the uncomfortable and discomforts the comfortable. I am vast, brilliant and uncertain. I am life reveling through thoughts to later be materialized. I am the perspective some are afraid to take. A sunflower in the ceiling, the elephant in the room, I am what you can not ignore. I am the muse in the artist. The brush to the painter. The ink to writer. The eye in the photographer. I am the creativity of the brave. May we all indulge in our shape, color, flow and style. Strangeness is only strange for the fearful and dull. Be true to who you are, whatever that might be. Reject the mass. Let weirdness take the wheel to drive the path of ingenuity. I am, you are, we are; Avant-Garde! v.l.m.
Engelsk Loves PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATT SGAMBATI WORDS BY JESSICA OGDEN KALLIE MCSHANE LAUREN MORGAN ALEXANDRIA LANG CARO GINORIO
Mas c u l i n e Ve l vet by Jessica Ogden
What was once seen as super luxe, cocktail attire is now transformed into casually cool everyday wear---and I’m not talking about for women. Seen straight from the A/W 17/18 Paris Catwalk, men’s velvet came in all shapes and sizes. What drew me to this “Masculine Velvet” was it’s clear contrast between pieces, which made the outfit so wrong, yet so right. Though it is known for it’s obvious physical and visual texture, velvets contrast when mixed with prints and different fabrics alike is what makes each look complete. Whether from Balenciaga mixing bright orange with baggy blue velvet slacks, or Walter Van Beirendonck combining a dark emerald green blazer with camouflage pants, Paris fashion week was full of these statement looks. What you will see later on in our Netted editorial, is this same contradiction. One of the male models is styled in a traditionally female oversized, pale blue tunic but what creates the contrast, other than the female cut on a male figure, is the harsh tattoo that pokes out from underneath the soft collar. This punk-meets-plush affair creates a juxtaposition weirdly pleasing to the wearing and viewer. The texture between velvet, net, and plastic also continues to add depth to the composition. Furthermore, traditional walls between gender and occasion in reference to velvet, have forever been torn down not to be rebuilt again.
A Ne w S h e r i f f in Tow n by Kallie McShane
The “wild west,” a classic American landscape and lifestyle that has been influencing film, art, and fashion for the last century. This year its fashion’s turn to reinterpret the western spirit as brands like Dior, Coach, and Ralph Lauren pay homage to classic American style and make “cowboy chic” a thing of the present. I believe that now more than ever people want to connect to their past and find a way to show they’re proud of where they come from, and what better way is there to do that than by rocking a trend that truly reflects the roots of America and its gritty traditions. Growing up in Texas and spending summers at my grandparent’s ranch in a tiny town running amuck with my brothers pretending to be every character portrayed by John Wayne in classic westerns, I’m beyond ready to dust off my boots and rock a well-executed denim on denim ensemble.
P i erc e d E l e m e n ts by Lauren Morgan
Braids have always been a quick way to give your hair some life; whether it be through the styling of the braid itself, or the aftermath of effortless waves, this twist and tie hair technique is a classic. Braids have always been played with and transformed through a variety of techniques, such as intertwining ribbon within, braiding mini braids into larger braids, or even fishtailing. Just when you thought there was no other way to transform your duchess braids, cornrows, and frenchies, think again. Pierced braids are the new way to shake up your seemingly innocent ‘do. First spotted on our favorite genie in a bottle, Christina Aguilera, this punk hair statement has taken off. With the perfect timing of festival season, celebrity hair stylist Chris Appleton caught the attention of almost all Coachella goers with placing this new hair accessory on many of his famous clients. With that level of exposure, many better hop on this “warrior-princess� hair style before it gets overdone and stomped into the festival dirt.
W h a t I Wi sh I h ad F oun d in the C ra c ke r Jac k Box by Jessica Ogden
Here’s the deal, you know that feeling of nostalgia that washes over you like a wave at the most random moments? That is how I feel every time I see these earrings. I get transported to a childhood room, as my childhood self, opening a box of Cracker Jacks. Its red, white, and blue packaging shinnying in my hand as I start to salivate thinking about what’s inside. What’s my prize? When can I open up and eat what’s inside? That is how I feel when I hold these earrings. A shiny new prize, a cherished new possession. We used Boyang Teng’s jewelry in our “Virtuous” photoshoot because many of her pieces expressed simplistic lines, and delicate silhouettes. When picking up her jewelry for the shoot however, she handed over a little black box with her hand made jewelry delicately put inside. After she went her separate way, I opened up the box to find these gorgeous peanut earrings mixed in with the bunch! The artist did not mention this pair when telling us what earrings she had to offer. It was a complete shock bringing me back to a moment in time with my beloved Cracker Jack box. For this reason, I believed they needed their own page and own spotlight.
Th e S l i c e by Caro Ginorio
Last week someone asked me what I would choose if I had to pick one last meal on this Earth. I didn’t even have to think about it, pizza. Where do I even begin to explain my love for pizza? Allow me to romanticize my explanation: I love the farmer that cultivated the wheat and the mill that turned it into flour. The tomatoes that ripened under the sun and were made into sauce are also dear to me. Oh cows, sweet lovely cows, that allow us to extract that sweet nectar called milk so that cheese can be made, I adore you as well. But mister pizza man, taking all these ingredients and making the dough, putting the sauce and the toppings, mister pizza man you have a permanent place in my heart. Pizza. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. The aroma hits me even before I see you. The beauty you bestow the world with your perfect round ways. The choices, oh the choices you provide me for your toppings that you mesh so well with. Then with that first bite you disarm me with such brute force that I can’t help but gasp. Every bite as if it were my first and hopefully not my last. The joy that envelops me like a warm embrace as I chew and swallow each bite. The rest of the world vanishes around us, time stands still, there is only you and me. I wasn’t kidding when I said I love pizza, oh and I think fashion and art is cool too.
Avant Garde Realism For over a century fashion has been defined by the Avant-Garde and its ability to create something beautiful and otherworldly. It translates from French as “in front of” the rest, and alludes to culture that goes against the societal norms. Traditionally fashion was always about an escape of reality, an interpretation of dreams, and spectacular showcases that accompany the fantastical garments. Think Chanel’s biannual theatrical installations in Paris or the over-the-top styles of Rei Kawakubo’s Commes des Garcons. Fashion became a being that transcends everyday life both imaginatively and economically, but in recent years has seen a huge visual and cultural shift in not just garment styles but also how these new styles are presented. With the rapidly increasing popularity of social media, more specifically Instagram, people can now connect with the iconic designers and brands that were generally unattainable to them in every facet before. Along with this, the idea of “realness” in fashion has transformed through the increased influence of streetwear styles and brands such as Vetements and Supreme, and the grim reality of real life has turned into one of forefronts of fashion inspiration.
The codes and customs of the entire industry are being questioned and reimagined. Has realism become the new avant-garde? Or is avant-garde the new realism? This new wave of emerging fashion designers has begun to distance themselves from the glitz and gloss that had become the pinnacle of much of the fashion world. These designers find the beauty in the ordinary, rethinking the “basics” in to something more elevated and eclectic than they ever were. Natalya Maczek, cofounder of the Warsaw label MISBHV, said recently, “Streetwear is becoming very interesting, I’m not offended when people call our label streetwear, because I feel like this is really what fashion is about right now. It’s about how people dress in the street, how they feel and what they want to say with clothes.” In a world where styles and trends were once determined by the industry’s most luxury and time-honored fashion houses, consumers now hold the power to dictate what they want, and what they want is real attainable fashion. With the rise of social media, designers can now operate their businesses how they want when they want and still be seen on a relatively large scale, throwing
WORDS BY KALLIE MCSHANE PHOTOGRAPHY BY AUGUSTO SILVA PIECES BY JACKSON MCCABE MODELED BY CARSON WALKER
the entire sense of traditional fashion for a loop. The reliance on showing in the traditional runway setting during the two big fashion week seasons is almost nonexistent now. Small brands with 55,000 Instagram find success through their connection on these social media platforms, not through having a fashion show budgeted with millions of dollars in the California desert with custom hot air balloons and A-list guests. Designers can now develop and make collections, post cool shots of the products on their Instagram, and sell their pieces through the same digital platform. There’s something very “cottage industry” about the whole process, and sponsored fashion week programming is just no longer necessary. While many of these avant-garde realism designers and brands are more underground operations, the fashion world is still managing to keep up. More and more of these brands are being noticed and stocked in Opening Ceremony, Dover Street Market, and the like. The real question posed is that will this be a viable long-term fashion revolution, or will people once again turn
back to the aspirational ideas of fashion that have driven the course of the industry for a century? A Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) fashion design student, Jackson McCabe, truly embodies what we believe to be an avant-garde realism designer. With pieces like monochromatic knits with oversized octopus-like sleeves and double collared menswear button downs, he has seamlessly merged the two opposing concepts into something so out there, yet so undeniably cool at the same time you can’t help but feel yourself needing a McCabe original in your own closet. He is just one of the thousands of the world’s fashion students looking to make a mark on the industry by doing something new yet still relatable and relevant to the fickle consumers of fashion. With all of the changes happening to the traditional fashion cycle, we at Engelsk eagerly wait to see how students, like Jackson, entering the industry will leave their own unique stamp on fashion.
Fashion: Objectified
In an industry that has capitalized on the lives of models, influencers, and celebrities to further their brand recognition and reputation we at Engelsk take this moment to assess the changing tide of the fashion world and the cry for change in how clothing is portrayed to the masses. These known figures have become like objects to companies and designers as they use them almost as if they’re just live mannequins, their sole purpose in life being to show off the apparel of the brands they sport. Though
some initiatives have been taken to better the treatmentof these brand representatives, we still see 00 sized models being told they’re too big and need to go on 48-hour crash diets to wear an oversized silhouetted dress, or celebrities being held to outrageous contracts that control every aspect of their life just because they’ve become the face of a brand’s new fragrance, shoe, or handbag. Yes, this often comes with a hefty sized paycheck, but what is the price of being used as an object versus being seen as a
WORDS BY KALLIE MCSHANE PHOTOGRAPHY BY KENDRA STANZIOLA-MIRROP
person? Clothing has traditionally been something to enhance the human form, so why is it that in this revolutionary age of fashion, the exploitation of people is still so commonly looked over and accepted? So, as realism in fashion becomes more and more prevalent will we see a change in the avant-garde traditions of the misuse of women? In my personal opinion, the answer is yes. We as a society now demand so much more from the fashion industry than has ever been asked before, and in order for brands to remain relevant
they must listen to their consumers. We want to see women who are happy and healthy and look like they enjoy what they’re wearing and promoting, and for our fashion aspirations to align with our real-life ideals. In this issue of Engelsk we’ve chosen to highlight this conflict the fashion world is faced with and interpret what objectification in fashion means to us.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE SCHALK MAKEUP BY JULIA MORGAN MODELED BY JACOB VAN BRUNT MODELED BY STEPHANY KNIZE
PRETTY
Netted In a time where fashion and beauty standards are being heavily questioned, we ask ourselves what truly makes something beautiful fashion? Is it impeccable construction and silhouette? Is it the ability to make the person wearing it appear taller, thinner, or buffer in the eye of others? Or is it something far more simple and real? While the line between avant-garde and realism becomes increasingly more blurred, the answer to that question becomes increasingly less clear. Haute couture is no longer the only standard of beautiful clothing and track pants are no longer just the staple for the classic American soccer mom. The two concepts are now being combined to create a whole new fashion aesthetic, one that it is strong yet subtle, overthe-top yet simple, and lastly questions everything fashion once was. “Netted” explores these changing standards and the façade that has developed from more accessible fashion and the Instagram filtered life so many strive for in this social media age of fashion.
There is no doubt that people dress for themselves, but as much as it might be denied there is always an element of people dressing for others as well. We get ready and dressed for our days sometimes spending hours in the mirror, the reflection showing what others will see. When we approve, or disapprove of that reflection, we are telling ourselves what we think others will see when we appear in front of them. We scroll through Instagram and see the likes of style influencers like Alexa Chung and Olivia Palermo and wonder how we can emulate their fashion choices in order to appear more trendy and in turn more beautiful. But how transparent are those images we see? Do we know everything that really went into making that beautiful outfit, or how much effort it took to combine that Dior top with those Adidas track pants that appears so unintentionally cool?
WORDS BY KALLIE MCSHANE PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREA RAMIREZ MODELED BY ADRIANA GUZMAN MODELED BY QUINTEN SANCHEZ MODELED BY PIA SORRENTINO MODELED BY MATT LIM
Knowing all of this why do we let ourselves be enticed and sucked into wanting this life and world that isn’t real? The answer is pretty simple, the fashion industry is just doing its job. An industry made of dreams and aspirations wants its consumers to strive for something more than themselves, and that’s where it can sometimes get dangerous. There is a lot of change happening to this idea as the realism movement becomes globally more popular. When fashion turns to normal life for inspiration we all of a sudden find ourselves in the middle of it, instead of on the outside looking for a way in.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE SCHALK MODELED BY CATHY NGUYEN MODELED BY DREW GOCKE MODELED BY ISABEL PAO
MESSY
Virtuous There is something pure and beautiful about the naked body. It’s a reminder of innocence and how we were all brought into this world. While in previous years, to some, nudity was looked down upon and considered faux pas, times have changed and it’s now become more accepted and praised more than ever before. Avant Garde art has always pushed the boundaries of what is accepted and nudity is no exception, this is especially true within fashion. Self acceptance of one’s own body has been a topic for many years, is something that we at Engelsk feel strongly about. In every issue we show body confident models, and this one is no different. Jamie Beck, France based photographer and co-owner of Ann Street Studio, recently spoke about nudity, commercialism and its relationship within fashion. Referring to
her truth which says a lot about the society posing nude in self portraits she says, “This is me. This is raw. I don’t need anything to make me feel beautiful—beauty comes from within. Can we appreciate beauty if you can’t buy it? If it’s [sic] value is sold as selfconfidence? Am I more or less valuable to you if my body has nothing of value on it?”. This touches on an uncomfortable we live in today. We are more shocked by seeing an image of a nude body that is intended to inspire self acceptance than by an image of a clothed body designed to crave what we lack. In today’s social climate material things have begun to take precedence over the importance of knowing yourself and worth. Once you can truly accept yourself all of the material things are just to help accentuate.
Linking together beautiful and delicate pieces from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) jewelry design student, Boyang Teng, with the simplicity of the nude body, an alluring image of self acceptance is created. Her pieces are simple yet unique and feature intricate detailing which can only truly be seen with close examination. The neutral tones mixed with metals allow them to blend in with body and detailing to be discovered in others. The subtle avant-garde nature of her pieces combined with the pure realism of the human body epitomizes what avant-garde realism is truly about. The beauty is found in the merging of simplicity and intricacy, and mirrors what we at Engelsk seek to explore in Fashion.
WORDS BY ALEXANDRIA LANG PHOTOGRAPHY BY EMMA CRAFT PIECES BY BOYANG TENG MODELED BY BECKY DIONNE MODELED BY ANONYMOUS