LUSH & CULTURE ZINE | ISSUE 5

lush.

by Iason Raissis

VASSILIS EMMANUEL ZOULIAS

GUCCI X ARMINE HARUTYUNYAN

lush.

Editor-in-chief Iason Raissis

Art Director

Fashion Director

Creative Director

Editor-at-Large

Street Style Editor

Runway & Global Editor

Archive Editor

Global Editor

Elisabetta Mako

Anna Kioumourtzi

Irene Z. Charitopoulou

Terry Raissis

Athina Krizel

Iris Zimble

Fivos Dimitrakopoulos

Laura Lamberti

lushbyir org/magazine

The Rule Breaker- Lee Alexander McQueen

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GUCCI X Armine Harutyunyan

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Vassilis Emmanuel Zoulias

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Han Kjøbenhavn- a balance between basic and unconventional

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Pavlina Bechrakis- "She is Art"

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Zeus & Dione- The Rebirth of Greek Craftmanship

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The Rule BreakerLee Alexander McQueen

By Iason Raissis

Alexander McQueen was a London based, English fashion designer who was head designer for Louis Vuitton Givenchy line, before starting his own line In 2004, he launched his own menswear line McQueen earned the British Fashion Council’s British Designer of the year award four times and was named commander of the order of the British Empire

Lee Alexander McQueen was born on March 17, 1969, into a working-class family living in public housing in London’s Lewisham district. His father was a cab driver and his mother taught social science. On their small incomes, they supported McQueen and his five siblings. McQueen called “Lee” by his friends for most of his life, recognized his homosexuality at an early age and was teased extensively about it by schoolmates.

At age 16, McQueen dropped out of school. He found work on Savile Row, a street in London’s Mayfair district famous for offering made-to-order men’s suits. He worked first with the tailor shop Anderson & Shephard, and then he moved to nearby Gieves & Hawkes.

Deciding to further his clothes-making career, McQueen moved from Savile Row and began working with theatrical costume designers Angels & Bermans. The dramatic style of the clothing he made there, would become a signature of his later independent design work. McQueen left London and traveled to Milan, where he worked as a design assistant to Italian fashion designer Romeo Gigli.

Upon his return to London, McQueen enrolled at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art & Design and received a Master’s in Fashion Design in 1992. The collection he produced as the culminating project of his degree was inspired by Jack the Ripper and was famously bought to its entirety by the well-known stylist Isabella Blow. She became a long-time friend of Alexander, as well as an advocate for his work.

Only four years out of graduate school, McQueen was named Chief Designer of Louis Vuitton Givenchy. Although, at the time this was a prestigious job, McQueen took it reluctantly. Even though he was pushing the limits of what people expected from fashion, he felt he was being held back.

The designer would later say that the job "constrained his creativity," though he also made the following admission: "I treated Givenchy badly. It was just money to me. But there was nothing I could do: the only way it would have worked would have been if they had allowed me to change the whole concept of the house, to give it a new identity, and they never wanted me to do that." Even with his reservations about his work, McQueen won British Designer of the Year in 1996, 1997, and 2001, all during his time at Givenchy.

McQueen's rise from lower-class high school dropout to internationally famous designer is a remarkable story His bold styles and fascinating shows inspired and wowed the world of fashion, and his legacy lives on Longtime co-designer Sarah Burton took over the stilloperating Alexander McQueen brand, and McQueen's contribution to fashion was honored by a 2011 exhibition of his creations at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City

McQueens story, is what made me come closer with the industry and finaly work in fashion At the time I created the magazine, the only thing I knew how to do well was to interview people, listen to their stories McQueens story, had already been written before I even knew what the fashion industry was all about

Today, we celebrate one year of lush , 5 issues of pure fashion and journalism And although i wasn't able to interview McQueen myself, I have pledged to help those young designers out there to find their voice through lush , and introduce their work to the public at the beginning of their careers

GUCCI X Armine Harutyunyan

"In Western contexts and histories especially, ugliness has long functioned as a social category that demarcates one's rights and access to social, cultural, and political space."

(Rodriguez & Pryzbylo, 2018)

EDITOR

Laura Lamberti

This, dear readers, is one of the sentences with which Ela Przybylo and Sara Rodrigues, open the introduction to Politics of Ugliness, collection of essays born from the authors' refusal "to accept that ugliness is solely the product of a body, space or thing " With this quote Przybylo and Rodrigues were referring to several laws, known as" ugly laws," that at the end of the nineteenth century were passed in the US, UK, and Europe in order to preclude certain people from accessing the public sphere "on the basis that their bodies would pollute the public spaces because they were disgusting, disabled, ‘deformed,’ sickly, or unsightly ”

One of the many facets of the politics of ugliness ,the one I believe we should be focusing on right now consists in "ugliness" being used not as a discriminatory element itself, like in the case of the above-mentioned "ugly laws", but rather being attributed to groups being discriminated against ,as a marker, a tool for marginalization. The comparison of Jews to rats in Nazi Germany and the graffiti in Srebrenica, which reads "No teeth? Has a mustache? Smell like shit? Bosnian girl," are just some of the historical instances in which this phenomenon can be observed.

It doesn't come as a surprise that the world of fashion has been historically permeated with racism, extremely limiting beauty standards, and most importantly for the purpose of this piece, the tendency to cover up the former with the latter, often following the ideological trends of the time. However ,in recent years great steps have been taken in the direction of a more representative, more inclusive and all around more open environment in the fashion world. Unfortunately, the general public hasn't always made proof of being able to keep up with the change.

In early September, Armine Harutyunyan's name was all over Italian media, following the aggressive reaction of the Italian public to fake news regarding the Yerevan-based artist and Gucci model's inclusion in a fictitious list of the 100 sexiest women in the world, allegedly redacted by Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele.

While the initial criticism focused on Harutyunyan's "bushy eyebrows," "hooked nose" and her "unconventional facial structure," the conversation soon steered towards political correctness and freedom of speech. Numerous Italian Instagram and Facebook users stormed the internet with conspiracy theories of mind control and manipulation, claiming that Harutyunyan's inclusion in this alleged list of the 100 sexiest women in the world was in fact a not-so-vigil attempt to pressure the general public into silencing any views they might have that do not fit the political correctness " regime" of our time, as some have referred to it.

While having had my fair share of conversations on the dangers of using political correctness as a tool of silencing debate rather than as a tool for inclusion and equal representation, as an Italian college student in New York City, I could not be more worried about the social media discourse surrounding Harutyunyan in my country, mainly for his failure to see, or refusal to acknowledge that the general wave of criticism of the model, which in fact began in 2019, is rooted in an insidious and, to stay in topic, "ugly, "attitude that is anti-Armenian sentiment To be fair to Italian media, very few outlets from the international scene have delved into the topic in depth, however some ,like OC Media (Open Caucasus Media), news outlet focused on shedding light on news and analysis from the North and South Caucasus, did indeed address this dimension of the issue

In an article dating back to October 7th 2019, Alla Parunova , gender researcher and activist, points to antiArmenian animus, which she describes as an issue deeply rooted in Georgian society, as one of the causes for the concern and outrage voiced by numerous Georgian internet users following Harutyunyan's walk down the runway at a Gucci show in the previous September.

In her article Parunova writes that "The furore arose after a number of Georgian news articles were published that claimed that Harutyunyan had become the face of Gucci she had not, she simply walked down the runway in a single Gucci show. The articles did not seem to intend to foment attacks on her, however, by reporting only fragmented information and not reporting the broader context, the emphasis was thereby put on her physical characteristics and her ethnicity. The article by Fortuna is an archetypical example: the headline reads: 'A 23-year-old Armenian girl became a model for Gucci'. The rest of the article is focused on the admiration that Harutyunyan has received from Armenians." Georgia and Italy have however not been the only countries where Harutyuynyan sparked furore and annoyance. The model mentioned in various interviews that a Turkish TV program had even begun to do a parody of her. In her article, Parunova also mentions that some comments made by Georgian internet users, similarly to some I have read on Italian social media, engages in dehumanizing discourse that questions Harutyunyan's womanhood and humanity.

Considering the fact that we live in a transitional period, that could either lead forward, towards an increasingly inclusive society, or backward, towards exclusionary politics, polarization of ideas and thinking based on dichotomous paradigms, and that the power to steer the course of history in one direction or the other is held by ordinary people making daily decisions, I urge you to ask yourselves and others the following:

What does "ugliness” mean? How do I understand it? Where does this understanding come from? Who decides what is ugly, and why? And last, but not least, what are the dangers of the politicization of "ugliness"?

Where do I see these dangers in my daily life?

Vassilis Emmanuel ZouliasUnique and Intertemporal

Editor: Iason Raissis

Media: Vassilis Zoulias

After 20 years as a brilliant fashion editor for magazines including Gynaika and EIKON, Vassilis Zoulias began to fulfil his long-life dream of designing clothing and accessories. In 2002, he opened his boutique, Vassilis Zoulias Old Athens in Athens, where he introduced luxury shoes, handbags, hats, and limited collections

Realizing his passion to dress women and staying true to his love for old time elegance- in 2007 he launched his first Ready-to-wear collection, paying homage to old-time glamour with the refined synchronous touch of his finely detailed excellent creations. By 2008, he showcased his first Haute Couture and Bridal Collection and has since headlined Greece’s fashion week for the past decade.

First of all, thank you for agreeing to talk with us. To begin with, I would like you to tell me a few words about Vasillis, who is he?

Thank you for having me. That is a great question! Vasillis is a person who constantly creates, dreams and achieve his goals

So, at 15 you begin working in fashion if I am not mistaken. How did you end up in the industry, did you always wanted to work in fashion?

When I graduated from junior high school and had the ability to work during the summer period, immediately I searched for a position in fashion. In 1979, I began working for Takis Parthenis. One day, he told me that he had arranged for a photoshoot with Katerina Terzopoulou which was the best stylist at the time, but she was unable to work that day, so he gave me the garments, sent me to the National Garden, where the model made her self-up and I did all the styling. But that was crazy for me at the time because I had never done something like this before and I loved it, I will never forget the feeling I had that day. Those images where printed in a magazine called ‘eikon’ an avant-garde magazine at the time owned by Aris Terzopoulos, without my name in it. Later I worked at Billy Bo, where for four years I was working backstage in his runway shows and as a stylist for editorials

And years later, you are a fashion editor working for known magazines. Am I right?

In 1984, I began working as a fashion editor and stylist at “Gynaika”, where I travelled to Paris twice a year to attend the Fashion Weeks, a remarkable experience for me because I had the chance to be present in very important shows that shaped today’s industry. Such as Naomi Campbell’s catwalks for Azzedine Alaia, Thierry Migler’s and Claude Montana’s spectacular runways, and the first shows of Jean Paul Gaultier. Although, I was just a young boy wearing special hats and headpieces who happened to walk around fashion week, where I was photographed and made the covers in London’s Sunday Times. Anyhow, the 80's were a very creative period of my life

Until you decide to leave the media and styling world and create your own line in 2002. What was it that pushed you towards becoming a designer?

It seems though that I always wanted to have my own line and ultimately a brand. When I was young I had taken a few fashion design classes, but I was always working behind the scenes. At some point, and with the help of God I was proposed to take over a brand called “Mouriadis” and as a project manager rebuild the brand and created a menswear line In the process I learned to make men’s shoes, shirts, suits During that time, I was constantly aspiring to create women’s shoes. After a while, the brand bankrupted and I took the store and created my first boutique in 2003, known as Vassilis Zoulias Old Athens.

You are believed to be one of the most intertemporal and elegant Greek designers. What makes your collections keep that intertemporal and at the same time unique line.

You pointed out two very nice words. Intertemporal and Unique. That is what I say, the point in all this is to change perennially while staying the same. When I was a stylist, I used to create hundreds of looks every month for almost 30 years, and from some point and on you could spot my work and know it was me behind it just because all the images shared the same bits and pieces of what I praised back then . I believe that every creator must have their own identity, and thus I believe I have managed to create one for myself which is distinguishable and known; and of course that is something that I am proud for

What would you like to say to are making their first steps int

To be brave. And to not listen t follow their hearts, and their d and have their own aspirations faithful to their vision and alwa began and chose this path in th “convicted” to succeeding, to b That is a reminder for young pe only possible outcome should b

What do you think about sustainability in fashion?

Where does Vasillis Zoulias stand in all of this?

I personally believe that I am one of the most sustainable designers, mostly because my clothes are intertemporal, and once you buy something you are going to keep it for some years in your closet. People that come to my boutique tell me how much they love, and they wear until today shoes and dresses I had designed for them years back.

In terms of materials, the collection I presented last year with Pericles Kondylatos, all my designs were made with straw, a material that hasn’t been used in the past by anyone in the fashion industry. We managed to create a full collection using that very natural material sewed on my lines. It was a very interesting experiment and a beautiful collection at the same time

Han Kjøbenhavn – a balance between basic and unconventional

Editor: Athina Krizel

Media: hankjobenhavn com

Northern Europe has birthed many remarkable designers that are getting more and more recognized by the streetwear community all around the world and Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen is one of them. The Danish founder and creative director of Han Kjøbenhavn started his journey by launching his brand with an eyewear line in 2008. The high success of the sunglasses that were inspired by the Danish architecture allowed Davidsen and previous co-founder Tim Faith Hancock to broaden the brand’s horizons by expanding into the menswear and then in the womenswear industry. With little to no experience in the fashion industry, his graphic design education and with the help of his childhood friend Hancock, Davidsen embarked on a journey to create a renowned brand of high-end streetwear Since then, Han Kjøbenhavn has grown to be a strong opponent to the menswear section of casual and refined fashion.

Denmark is known for its clean and charming local way of leaving The beautiful, colorful buildings with locals and tourists riding bicycles, Copenhagen can be seen as a Nordic fairytale. However, Davidsen was raised in a family of working-class background within a grey and dull concrete building at the suburbs. To some, this way of living can’t be described as a fairytale like life but in Davidsen’s perspective it is a magical and quite different fairytale from the rest.

Davidsen is inspired by both aspects of his country of origin but the majority of his recent collections are far from the expectations of the “Danish design”, which is often described as clean, earthy, and simplistic Han Kjøbenhavn gives a more different approach of the Denmark which we are familiar with. The pieces of his work have a less polished, slouchy, and DIY-like but avant-garde aspect that are not found in many brands of the region. The brand focuses essentially on the architectural aspect and urban feel of their clothing , which led to its success. From the latest SS21 collection, the Nordic house of fashion presents a series of striking proportions and silhouettes that is inspired by the evolution of the living beings. Encouraging diversity, individuality and emotions is the main vision of this collection. Geometry and anatomy is very prominent as the brand embraces sculpting and extending the shoulders in an extravagant way Lace and ruffles were also a leading part of the presentation which brought out the duality of the brand for formal and casual wear.

Jannik Wikkelsø Davidsen certainly has a talent for designing his clothing pieces but he strives to connect with his audience in a deeper setting. In order to do so, he tends to tell stories with his films by portraying different eras, characters, scenarios that are connected to every single collection that he has put out this last decade. He tries to present his fashion work in an eccentric and unorthodox manner and succeeds so by putting models and actors with peculiar features, that are appointed to depict a gruesome aesthetic in his creative short films The release of these films helps the brand exhibit their collections in an unusual and eerie way that is distinct from any other Scandinavian brands. The brand has continuously used individuals that are portrayed to show distaste alongside their neat and avant-garde offerings. The films are also an essential part to Davidsen himself since he has the opportunity to narrate stories and show his personal way of thinking to a broader audience. Their AW12 short film which attracted so much attention with its moody and unsettling content, even received a bronze lion at the Cannes Lions Awards. Since then, they have won many awards for their creative and artistic way of marketing.

"SHE IS ART"- Pavlina Bechrakis

I must have been 16 years old when I started to become obsessed with the fashion industry and in my daily search for new standards and trends, I ran into Pavlina. A young girl, a few years older than me with an eccentric style, creativity, and passion for art. From the years of my adolescence until now she has been an inspiration to me.

Pavlina Bechraki, is a young artist, who during the quarantine revealed to the world of social media her artistic vein as well as her first collection entitled "ART HEIST" which she presented at Bank Job & Shamonette in Athens. For the last issue of the year, I decided to contact her for the following interview and photo shoot

How do you manage to combine fashion and art? Though I find that fashion and art are one, I'm referring to your daily work.

Fashion is art and I feel very lucky to be in the fashion business right after I finished my studies. Truth be told, is that creative people excel in this industry. I would never bear to work on something uncreative Besides causing me misery, I think I'd be hopeless at it too!

What is it like to be an artist in Greece?

These are harsh times, but those difficulties the artist must translate into creativity and be inspired by the emotions created by each situation. For example, during the first quarantine I created my first complete collection entitled "ART HEIST" which I presented in Athens at Bank Job in early July and again in September at Shamonette.

Pavlina, I'd like to thank you again for this interview. At LUSH we believe it is important to promote young artists. How did you come in contact with the art world, what won you over and where does your inspiration comes from?

I grew up in an artistic family, so I had quite a few influences, my grandmother is a visual artist and poet and my mother a painter. My relationship with colors and brushes began from a very young age and since then I have not stopped

Your motto is "I am art". Could you tell us exactly what that means?

Each creation is "me". It's what is in my head. Everything that comes out of my soul Everything I've experienced in the past and what I feel now.

for almost 6 years at Celia Kritharioti, the historic haute couture atelier in Plaka founded in 1906. It was and still is a great school for me. I'm sure this job helped me in more ways than one to become who I am today. I have travelled to the most beautiful places in the world and have met the most important people in fashion and art

Like our last show at the British museum, it was an incredibly moving moment for me because it combined my two passions: fashion and art. And for this, I am truly thankful to my favorite designer and artist Celia Krithariotis and the entire creative team

Do you have any plans for the near future?

The secrecy of not sharing your plans keeps art lovers on their toes, so I would rather not reveal them until I realize them.

Finally, what would you advise young people who would like to enter the field of art and fashion?

My advice is that no matter what happens, we must chase our dreams That is the only way incredible things happen. It is very important to set goals and see we are achieving them. Artists are dreamers, but we also must be reasonable and stay grounded.

Zeus & Dion- The Rebirth of Greek Craftmanship

Editor: Iris Zimble

Media: Zeus&Dione

Zeus+Dione was founded right after the Greek economic collapse in 2007 by Mareva Grabowski (wife of current PM of Greece), and Dimitra Kolotoura. The name is rooted in Greek mythology Zeus and Dione who were the parents of Aphrodite the goddess of love, beauty, and youth

Opening such a luxury and niche brand during the economic crisis may seem illogical; but Grabowski and Kolotoura had a vision to showcase Greek heritage They wanted to employ local artisans to showcase the Greek craftsmanship behind their clothing. They rediscovered the silk factory in Soufli, in the north of Greece next to the Greek and Turkish border. The factory had a low demand for supply, working at low capacity most of their machines were out of use. Soufli has a very long history with their silk. It has been said that during 550 AD two monks that came from China brought over silk tree seeds Soufli was one of the first towns in the west that started producing silk. Then in the 19th century modernized their production and became the pioneers of silk production in the Balkans.

Until the 1980s and 90s when cheaper silk from east Asia took over the market causing the collapse in the Silk trade of Greece. With Zeus + Dione and other Greek fashion houses, demand for Greek silk increased over the past decade and the factory was able to hire locals once again to start producing premium Greek silk The factory usually produces up to 6 kilometers of silk for each Zeus+Dione collection. There use of Greek craftsmanship is more than just silk,

they use embroiders from the Greek cities of Agros (south-west of Athens), and Metsovo (North-West of Athens) Their knitwear is produced in the Cycladic islands and Attica. As for their handwoven patterns, come from the island of Crete.

Zeus+Dione doesn’t only promote premium clothing but also the history and craft of Greek artisans.

Online Issue No.5: www.lushbyir.org

December, 2020

Issued bimonthly lush. by Iason Raissis

Cover Photograph: Vassilis Emmanuel Zoulias Archive

Appear in this issue

Pavlina Bechrakis/ @pavlilly

Vassilis Emmanuel Zoulias/ @vzoulias Armine Harutyunyan/ @deararmine

Appearing Brands

Vassilis Emmanuel Zoulias/ @vzoulias

Zeus & Dione/ @zeusndione

Han Kjøbenhavn/ @hankjobenhavn

GUCCI/ @gucci