Manuscript

ISSUE 01

SUMMER 2011/12

JACK DERGES The importance of hard work and good manners

AUS/NZ $5.00 UK £5.00 EU €7.00 USA $5.00

LIONEL BAWDEN Life feeding art and art feeding life

OLIVER ACKLAND LA traffic jams and casting room blues

OLAF BREUNING Collaboration shaping the creative landscape

LANVIN'S LUCAS OSSENDRIJVER Photographed by Paul Scala

Contents

08

EDITOR’S LETTER /

CONTRIBUTORS /

10

12

THE QUARTERLY

OLIVER ACKLAND

16

Returning to the small screen in acclaimed drama The Slap, Oliver Ackland continues to make waves in the acting world.

PHOTOGRAPHY JORDAN GRAHAM 18

ROBERT RIGUTTO

Citizen Deconstructed, the brainchild of Sydney designer Robert Rigutto, sets a new standard for Australian menswear.

PHOTOGRAPHY BOWEN ARICO 20

LIONEL BAWDEN

The local artist makes a spectacular return to sculpture with a solo exhibition in Melbourne.

PHOTOGRAPHY BOWEN ARICO 22

FABRICE PENOT & EDOUARD ROSCHI

Two French men offer a distinctly different scent with their New York-based perfumery Le Labo.

PHOTOGRAPHY JEN DESSINGER 24

ALTER EGO

The versatility of denim is nowhere more apparent than in our portfolio of Australian male faces.

PHOTOGRAPHY JORDAN GRAHAM | STYLING JAMES DYKES 32

THE ART FREAK

As New York-based artist Olaf Breuning reveals, art and fashion are complementary forces.

STORY TÉCHA NOBLE | PHOTOGRAPHY ADRIAN MEŠKO 36

JACK OF ALL TRADES

Playing the lead in the upcoming film Dungeons & Dragons, drama school graduate Jack Derges has his sights set on stardom.

S TO R Y M I TC H E L L O A K L E Y S M I T H | P H OTO G R A P H Y PA U L S C A L A | S T Y L I N G S O N N Y G R O O 40

PAPER PLAIN

The creative quality of recycled paper inspires a summer wardrobe, with assistance from some of the country's leading artists.

PHOTOGRAPHY LIZ HAM | STYLING JOLYON MASON 48

THE DARK KNIGHT

Lucas Ossendrijver, LANVIN's menswear designer, channels Batman for the house's spring/summer collection.

S TO R Y M I TC H E L L O A K L E Y S M I T H | P H OTO G R A P H Y PA U L S C A L A | S T Y L I N G J O LY O N M A S O N 56

CITY TO SURF

PHOTOGRAPHY JORDAN GRAHAM | STYLING JOLYON MASON 71

FINAL EXAMINATION

The classic white dress shirt becomes the subject of considered discourse.

STORY TODD ROBINSON | PHOTOGRAPHY CHERINE FAHD

06

P H OTO G R A P H Y PA U L S C A L A

Sportswear meets surfwear meets suiting in this sartorial mash-up of colour and texture.

Editor's Letter

L

ess than a year ago, I wrote about the seismic cultural shift in society that led men to become more interested

in and knowledgeable about fashion and style. It’s in response to this change, and with the aim of catering to what is a rapidly growing market, that Manuscript was born: a quarterly, large-scale publication created for a new generation of forward-thinking men.

Putting a magazine together is an interesting process. The fear of creating something new, of making a public transmission, can be extremely daunting. But at the same time, having a clean slate is liberating — you’re free to create and invent without restriction, and that has been key to the creation of Manuscript. Of course, the journal’s digital platform will remain, continuing to be updated on a daily basis, but we acknowledge the perceived quality and value that historically comes with the printed page, and we’ve dedicated to it long-form journalism and visuals of the world’s most talented photographers and stylists. And where other publications extend their content to encompass a plethora of subjects, Manuscript makes

the creative worlds of fashion, design and art its focus, illustrated by

experimenting with what we have.” And with a viral video campaign that’s spun deliriously out of control — half a million views at last check — LANVIN, under the direction of Ossendrijver and creative director Alber Elbaz, heads firmly into the future.

Similarly, New York-based visual artist Olaf Breuning has redefined

what a luxury house stands for with his collaboration with Swiss leathergoods house BALLY. In the second of the house’s BALLY Love series — in which

profiles of and stories about these industries’ respected leaders.

it teams with a Swiss-born contemporary artist on a project to present at

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge my being

Art Basel, the fellow Swiss organisation it now sponsors — Breuning puts

Australian, and by virtue of Manuscript’s office being based

his trademark spin on BALLY’s clean aesthetic in a capsule collection due

in Sydney, the publication, too. While our content has much

to arrive in stores this season. It opens up an interesting debate, the whole

international relevance, there’s an Australian twist to what we do.

art and fashion collision, one that Breuning sees as being symptomatic of

You can see it in the simplicity of this publication’s design, care of

both contemporary markets, as he reveals to Técha Noble in our exclusive

Nicholas Adamovich, and also in the tongue-in-cheek nature of our fashion shoots. We love Australia and are proud to present

the LANVIN man somewhere else, keeping the spirit the same but

interview [The Art Freak, page 32].

Fashion really is core to what Manuscript stands for, given it's something

our take on international ideas, for we think interpretation makes

that so strongly pervades our lives today, and as such, much of this publication

what we do so interesting, and without forward planning it,

is dedicated to the photography of it, and we’ve employed the best to bring

has become the unofficial theme of this issue.

to life our wild ideas. This publication would be nothing without the invaluable

Our cover story about Lucas Ossendrijver [page 48] highlights the very importance of this tool in today’s market, the LANVIN

contribution of these talented beings, and I thank them for the creative enrichment they provide. So here I present the inaugural issue of Manuscript:

menswear designer, now in his sixth year, interpreting the mood that

a fresh voice in a sea of publishing noise. I love what we have to say, but your

pervades the venerated French house to create a line relevant to today’s

voice is just as important. I invite you to write me, connect with us online.

man by slowly evolving the cornerstones of our wardrobe. As Mr Ossendrijver explained to me at the company’s Paris headquarters:

Until next time—

M I T C H E L L O A K L E Y S M I T H / Editor & Publisher twitter.com/MrOakleySmith

08

PHOTOGRAPHY BOWEN ARICO

“It's an evolution, not a revolution. Every season we try and take

Contributors

E D I T O R & P U B L I S H E R Mitchell Oakley Smith D E S I G N D I R E C T O R Nicholas Adamovich F A S H I O N D I R E C T O R Jolyon Mason E D I T O R I A L C O O R D I N A T O R Jackson Walker F A S H I O N A S S I S T A N T Ryan Peter O N L I N E P R O D U C E R Nichole Walkling CONTRIBUTORS Bowen Arico, Jen Dessinger, James Dykes, Mitsutaka Enokida, Cherine Fahd, Benjamin Fountain, Jordan Graham, Sonny Groo, Liz Ham, Benja Harney, Tania Mason, Max May, Adrian Mĕsko, Sasha Nilsson, Técha Noble, Todd Robinson, Paul Scala, Nicole Thompson

SPECIAL THANKS 2c Management, AINYFF, Chadwick Models, EMG Models, Hamilton Hodell, London MGT Group, Models 1, New Madison, Priscillas Model Management, Reuben Hansen, RGM, The Rat’s Nest Collective, Viviens Models

M A N U S C R I P T- D A I L Y. C O M Manuscript is owned and published by Mitchell Oakley Smith (ABN 67 212 902 027), 11-13 Burnell Place, East Sydney NSW 2010.

Printed by MPD, Unit E1 46-62 Maddox Street, Alexandria NSW 2015 © 2011 All rights reserved.

PAUL

SCALA

JAMES

DYKES

TODD

Though Australian, photographer Paul Scala has lived in London for the past five years, making it easy for him

ROBINSON

to cross the channel to shoot the cover for Manuscript's launch issue which, he explains, “was a pleasure.

It was a great team and a great project.” The photographer's sharp composition and architectural drama, evidenced

Artist, designer, researcher and educator

in this issue's The Dark Knight [page 50], has graced the

Todd Robinson has made a prolific contribution

pages of such fashion titles as Candy, Harper's Bazaar,

to the worlds of sculpture, installation, textiles

Vogue and GQ Style.”

and fashion. A current PhD candidate at the University of Technology, Sydney, where he also teaches in the Faculty of Design, Architecture

Sydney-based stylist James Dykes specialises

and Building, Mr Robinson most recently

in menswear, so when it came to putting together

collaborated with artist Mark Titmarsh on a

the fashion pages of our first issue, he was

project [Public Fitting, MOP Gallery, August 2011]

an obvious go-to. Mr Dykes worked with

that saw their respective practices collide.

photographer Jordan Graham to highlight the

With such a background, Mr Robinson is primed

split personalities of Australia’s leading

to pen Manuscript’s regular column exploring

modelling talent using the most versatile of

the traditional cornerstones of menswear,

wardrobe basics: denim [Alter Ego, page 28].

the first being the classic white shirt [Final

“It was about bringing out different aspects of

Examination, page 70].

the boys’ features and giving them a masculine edge with a broad mix of denim styles,” explains Mr Dykes.

JORDAN

GRAHAM

Australia’s cultural landscape has been radically influenced by

The aesthetic of Manuscript is largely influenced by

the work of Técha Noble in the past decade. Ms Noble is part

the photography of Sydney-based Jordan Graham,

of the all-female art collective The Kingpins and works across

whose work appears extensively in our first issue.

live performance, sculpture, video installation, and graphic,

Mr Graham photographed rising acting talent

print and fashion design. Ms Noble interviewed Swiss-born,

Oliver Ackland [page 16] prior him to flying

New York-based artist Olaf Breuning [The Art Freak, page 32],

the coop to Los Angeles, shines a multi-faceted

whose work operates on a similar platform to that of her own.

light on the versatility of denim [Alter Ego,

Of the interview, Ms Noble says: “It was amazing to come

page 24] with contributing stylist James Dykes,

face-to-face with someone that has so inspired me

and captures the cultural clash of Australia’s

throughout my career, and that he was so down-to-earth was

dual city and coastal life with twins Jordan

incredibly humbling.”

and Zac Stenmark [City to Surf, page 56].

10

The Quarterly

VANISHING ELEPHANT collaborates, ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA keeps time, M U L B E R R Y c e l e b r a t e s , A N D E R S O N & S H E P PA R D p r i n t s , W R A N G L E R r e v i s i t s .

with longevity in the essential black and tortoiseshell acetates,”

“For some brands collaboration is about reaching a

wider audience, but for us it’s fun to work with a brand we like,”

she explains of the debut range, all of which is handmade in Japan.

explains Arran Russell, one-third of Australian streetwear label

“We will look to our seasonal colour palette to add newness to the

VANISHING ELEPHANT, about his collaboration with surf

range every six months, which follows the philosophy behind our

label STUSSY. The aim of the designers – Huw Bennett and Felix Chan

main organic jersey business.”

alongside Mr Russell – was to rework both labels’ silhouettes so they

could be reinterpreted by both sets of customers. As Mr Bennett says,

COMMISSIONS. Originally established as a way for designers

“This collaboration is ultimately about showing a collective thought

to showcase their work at international arts festivals, the collective,

from both brands, offering customers a slightly different product

with founding permanent members Adam Goodrum, Trent Jansen

without defying the beliefs of both businesses.” The result is a ten-piece

and Charles Wilson, has this year evolved into an organised body

capsule collection of classic summer pieces in washed blue and

of six designers tasked with creating limited edition collections

olive tones, and floral and animal prints. It’s not the only project

on an annual basis, each year driven by a particular period of

keeping the three designers busy. October saw the opening of the first

Australian history. As creative director Lou Weis explains:

VANISHING ELEPHANT retail store in Melbourne, with plans

“I was uninspired by the idea of a design show without a real meaning

for a Sydney location to follow. “We had been looking at potential

and story. [The] limited edition brand that shows in a gallery setting

retail spaces for a while so were relieved to have found one,” says Mr Chan

really creates a dialogue about design from an Australian perspective.”

of the choice to open in Melbourne instead of Sydney where the

Guest designers join the core members each year, selected on the

VANISHING ELEPHANT studio is based. “Retail has always been

applicability of their methodology and aesthetic relating to the

something that has interested us, and really important for the brand’s

design period being explored, Mr Goodrum, Mr Jansen and

identity and growth.” The Foolscap Studio-designed store – created to

Mr Wilson this year joined by Lucy McRae and Max Lamb.

make men feel welcome beyond a credit card transaction – is located

With this year’s project focused on Colonialism, “the designers

in QV, corner Russell Street & Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.

were shocked at the underlying unity of the resulting pieces,”

Like the name suggests, eyewear label COLAB is all about

One project with collaboration at its core is BROACHED

says Mr Weis of the work, which heavily features timber, brass,

collaboration, and for summer it has joined forces with Australian-

porcelain and sandstone. “The research was collaborative but the

born painter Anthony Lister to create three unique styles in 1000

design process individual.”

FROM LEFT: VANISHING ELEPHANT & STUSSY capsule collection, an excerpt from Anderson & Sheppard: A Style Is Born, ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA Monterubello watch, WRANGLER's archive-inspired capsule collection.

individually numbered units, in stores from November. As COLAB’s

Carl Tindall explains: “Anthony was pumped about the project.

limited-edition watch to commemorate its centenary, Italian menswear

We could go to extremes”, as they have with several of the brightly

label ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA has launched a permanent collection

coloured frames, reminiscent of Mr Lister’s namesake superhero-

of watches, Monterubello. Comprising two 1940s-inspired styles

inspired artwork, “and Anthony would respond with ‘let’s do it!’”.

– Solo Tempo in white or rose gold and Chronograph in rose gold

It seems the season for eyewear. Basics label BASSIKE, known for

After successfully dipping its toe in the timepiece market with a

– the watches are the result of collaboration with acclaimed Swiss

its organic cotton t-shirts and denim, has introduced a five-piece

watchmaker GIRARD-PERREGAUX, with whom ZEGNA has a

eyewear range just in time for the sunny months. Mary-Lou Ryan,

longstanding relationship. Indeed, the ZEGNA and Macaluso family,

one half of BASSIKE with Deborah Sams, says eyewear was a natural

owner of GIRARD-PERREGAUX, stand together as businesses

progression for the burgeoning label. “The focus is on creating frames

historically steeped in design and technology innovation.

12

The Quarterly

COLAB creates, BROACHED COMMISSIONS joins forces, EDWARD GILBERT launches, BASSIKE suns itself, HARROLDS opens doors.

“The collaboration with Gino Macaluso has been extraordinary,”

Simon Sykes and illustrations by Paul Cox. Few ever experience the

says Gildo Zegna, CEO of ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA, of the late

bespoke process of what has been described as the best men’s tailoring

GIRARD-PERREGAUX CEO. “The Monterubello project is continued

institution in the world, but the immersive experience of this well-

by Stefano and Massimo Macaluso, and I am proud to celebrate this

researched document – with both archival and contemporary images,

launch with a special tribute to my friend Gino.”

as well as a historical timeline and explication of the outfitter’s signature

English drape – comes somewhat close.

Sydney-based designer and stylist James Campbell is helping

to evolve the men’s accessories market in Australia with the launch

Following the adage that everything old is new again, denim label

of EDWARD GILBERT, a moderately priced ($130 for the zip

WRANGLER has produced a capsule collection that employs the

wallet shown below) leathergoods brand. “I started the label,

use of its archive campaign imagery from the 1970s. The range, which

quite simply, because there were no accessories that interested me,”

consists of tees, sweatshirts and tanks, all of which are washed to a

FROM LEFT: ANTHONY LISTER & COLAB eyewear collaboration, BASSIKE eyewear collection, EDWARD GILBERT leather zip wallet, CHRONICLES OF NEVER for HARROLDS, a Charles Wilson-designed Australian blackwood tallboy, part of this year's BROACHED COMMISSIONS project.

Mr. Campbell explains. “The first collection was about introducing

point that evokes the aesthetic of the era, is sold exclusively

EDWARD GILBERT to the market, highlighting our difference to

in General Pants Co. this season.

other brands, like the complete lack of brown tones.”

Luxury men’s department store HARROLDS continues its

expansion in the Australian market with the opening of TOM FORD-

It has been one hell of a year for MULBERRY, the 40-year old

British bag company, which happens to be the last remaining British

branded shop-in-shops in both its Sydney and Melbourne outposts.

luxury house to manufacture its wares on home soil. That others

The 100-square metre spaces, designed by Ford’s in-house team and

in the same league have shuttered their local factories and gone

housing a broader selection of the men’s suiting and casual ranges

offshore in recent years – a loss for England’s industry and a blow

than previously carried by HARROLDS, represent a shifted focus toward

to the revered heritage so many houses pride themselves on – is all

experiential shopping. As Chris Kyvetos, creative director of HARROLDS,

the more reason for MULBERRY to celebrate, and creative director

explains: “The shop-in-shops are the first of their kind in the Asia Pacific

Emma Hill is happy to do so. In fact, she’s led a party convoy around

region and provide a total brand experience for our customers.”

the globe over the past twelve months, clinking glasses in destinations

The store’s product offering includes TOM FORD made-to-measure

as far spread as California (for the Coachella music festival), Sydney,

and made-to-order services, whereby clients may customise the style,

Korea and Milan with a giant Bayswater bag (a Hill-designed house

fabric and size of their garments with the assistance of TOM FORD-

signature) in toe. In honour of the anniversary, MULBERRY has also

trained in-house tailors. Mr Kyvetos is responsible for the redevelopment

published a photographic tome documenting the MULBERRY world

of the HARROLDS brand, a job which saw the expansion of its designer

over the past two years, and created an animated film with illustrator

fashion offering, – now including GIVENCHY and THOM BROWNE,

Josh Gurrie. We just hope next year isn’t a downer in comparison.

– and the opening of a 1000-square metre store in Sydney’. “We aim

Speaking of books, ANDERSON & SHEPPARD, the historically

to provide our clients with total brand experiences, and the TOM FORD

steeped tailor known as much for its inscrutability as for beautiful

shop-in-shops are a significant step in that direction.” The total brand

bespoke suits, has proved it (and books, for that matter) is not a relic of a

experience isn’t limited only to names of Mr Ford’s stature, Mr Kyvetos

bygone era with the release of a weighty publication. Released in October,

commissioning a capsule collection by Sydney-based designer Gareth

the 296-page Quercus-published tome, Anderson & Sheppard: A Style

Moody of CHRONICLES OF NEVER. Comprising denim, cotton,

Is Born, is assembled by Vanity Fair’s Graydon Carter and Cullen Murphy,

leather and jersey pieces, the collection contains Moody's signature

and features photographs by Jonathan Becker and Christopher

fits in a range of washes created excusively for HARROLDS.

14

Introducing

OLIVER ACKLAND Actor

A RISING STAR IN AUSTRALIAN FILM AND TELEVISION FOLLOWS THE FOOTSTEPS OF HUNDREDS BEFORE HIM AND TRIES HIS LUCK IN THE CITY OF ANGELS.

“It’s like a fulltime job where you’re

At 32, Mr Ackland, the winner of the

television series, co-starring Alex Dimitriades,

not being paid,” says Oliver Ackland of the

inaugural Australians in Film Heath Ledger

Melissa George and Sophie Lowe, is based

process of auditioning. Mr Ackland, known for

Scholarship, is an attractive figure: his thick

on the novel of the same name by Australian

roles in the Toronto Film Festival-screened

crop of dark hair frames a rounded face with

author Christos Tsiolkas and explores the

Wasted on the Young and television

piercing blue eyes. He has a boyish way

ramifications — social, cultural and emotional

miniseries Cloudstreet, is speaking via phone

about him — a slight frame and a voice that trails

— of a man slapping a child not his own at a

from Los Angeles where, with a new

excitedly higher when he talks about his work.

suburban barbecue.

green card, he is spending his days between

They’re traits that have led him to play

the beach and the intimidating environment

characters far younger than his age (he played

shoot the scenes just once before moving on,

of casting rooms. “The competition,”

a 19-year in Wasted on the Young). He is,

which is usually the way in television. It was

he continues, “is so much greater than

however, careful not to be typecast. “I can’t tell

fast but also liberating because you weren’t

in Australia. There are a lot of people doing

you how exciting it is to be doing three projects

agonising over every line you had to deliver.”

exactly the same thing, going into exactly

back to back with such contrasting characters.

Mr Ackland predominantly plays alongside

the same rooms you’re going into. It can

If it was the same over and over again… well,

Australian actress Essie Davis in the series.

be terrifying, but it’s a good thing.”

let’s just say it’s a luxury to have challenges.”

“She is such a professional and allowed me to

As Mr Ackland explains: “Often we’d

“Wasted on the Young was a very specific

talk everything through. It’s scary to work with

by virtue of being coaxed into joining his high

character,” says Mr Ackland of Darren, a nerdy

someone who wants to sit in their trailer

school theatre sports club. “The idea of doing

character in the Ben C. Lucas-directed film

alone through lunch.”

that scared the shit out of me, but somehow

about a high school student [Ackland] who

they convinced me. I guess I wanted to get to

is forced to act when fellow students leave

challenges he is presented with, including both

the bottom of why I was so intensely scared

for dead his best friend after assaulting her.

his work and the traffic of Los Angeles,

of it and at the same time really interested in it

“Meanwhile,” he continues, “Cloudstreet and

which he loathes. But despite his youth, the actor

[acting] as an art form.” Theatre sports led

The Slap were in opposite directions.”

seems an old hat in the industry. “At the risk of

to drama classes and, after graduating high

sounding like a dick, I turned down a television

school, his first gig in the Australian television

three-part television adaptation of Tim

series recently,” explains Mr Ackland cautiously,

show Outriders alongside Abbie Cornish,

Winton’s Cloudstreet, however more public

noting it’s not that he doesn’t want to work

followed by roles in short films Emergence,

attention is shined on the young actor in

in television, but rather he is concerned about the

Damian Walshe-Howling’s The Bloody

the eight-part television miniseries

types of roles he plays. “I didn’t feel like it was the

Sweet Hit and John Hillcoat’s highly

The Slap, in which he plays a living-in-the-

next job for me, so for now it’s back to going into a

acclaimed feature film The Proposition.

moment young character, Rhys. The ABC

lot of rooms all over the city.”

Mr Ackland was introduced to acting

Mr Ackland played Toby Raven in the

16

Mr Ackland is keen to tackle whatever

MR ACKLAND PHOTOGRAPHED BY JORDAN GRAHAM ON 16 JUNE, 2011 A T S U R R Y H I L L S L I B R A R Y, A U S T R A L I A .

17

Introducing

ROBERT RIGUTTO Designer | Citizen Deconstructed

TO LAUNCH A FASHION LABEL TAKES A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF C O U R A G E A N D C R E A T I V I T Y. R O B E R T R I G U T T O H A S B O T H .

For a boy from Sydney’s suburbs, Robert Rigutto’s CV reads inspiringly long, citing stints as menswear director for CALVIN KLEIN and DONNA KARAN prior to a collaboration with P. Diddy for the creation of the rapper’s clothing line SEAN JOHN, which received a CFDA award in 2004.

Having returned home to Sydney to be nearer to his family and friends, Mr Rigutto spent time assessing the local market.

“I left Australia because the industry was full of copycats,” Mr Rigutto told The Australian earlier this year. “Now it’s exactly the same. Australian labels still do buying trips overseas to get samples to knock off.

It’s depressing.” Them some big words for a designer who has been out of the country for close to two decades, but some the designer is backing up with his new label, CITIZEN DECONSTRUCTED, built upon a similarly big statement: “I’d like to be considered a leader of the new guard of Australian men’s fashion.” Big for the inexperienced, perhaps. This designer is no rookie.

Mr Rigutto’s new brainchild presents hardworking, sports-inspired designer pieces at prices not akin to the design industry, the result of reuniting with Derek Tsang, a manufacturer with whom he worked at DONNA KARAN. “It’s casual and chic but still sporty,” explains the designer, motioning toward his current summer collection of

starched and coated cottons, linen blends and brushed cotton twills. “I avoid unnecessary detail. If there is detail featured in my garments there is a reason behind it.

The collections are easy to wear and masculine, and fit plays a part in every piece.”

Inspired by military and workwear styles, Mr Rigutto is keen on playing with colour in a bid to avoid black, despite its mainstream appeal.

“I remember in the early eighties when it was all about colour, then the Japanese influence arrived with everything in black. Now it’s the other way around: colour is considered avant-garde.” CITIZEN DECONSTRUCTED isn’t exactly HOUSE OF HOLLAND; injections of colour appear in Mr Rigutto’s designs, but they form part of a look, such as in the label’s current summer collection, inspired by 1940s rail workers, where sky blue and mint green are contrasted with indigo, chambray and tobacco tones, pared back with white wardrobe staples.

Mr Rigutto, 41, grew up in the western Sydney suburb of Blacktown, interested in fashion but aware of it being considered an odd choice of career for a male to pursue.

“Nowadays,” he says, “fashionable men are everywhere.” The designer found little creative inspiration in Australia after graduating from East Sydney Technical College [now TAFE] in 1986, and so packed his bags bound for JFK. “The nineties was such a great time to be in New York. The city was still raw and gritty,

18

not as polished and homogenised as it is today. It’s still a great city, only different.

The fashion industry wasn’t as globalised as it is now, and yet there were many more opportunities available.”

Working for American fashion conglomerate CALVIN KLEIN wasn’t something Mr Rigutto ever imagined happening, but a seven-year experience he is certainly grateful for. “Working closely with Calvin was definitely a defining moment.

It made me grow up and develop as a designer.

He has such an amazing taste level and eye for what’s coming up next. He didn’t give a shit what people thought. As long as he believed in it, he went with it.”

A Calvin-esque aesthetic is evident in CITIZEN DECONSTRUCTED — it’s there in the lightness and simplicity of the pieces — but while the designer concedes it’s impossible not to draw on his experience at the American label, his take on menswear is more about catering to his own lifestyle. “I'm a pretty active guy. Sportswear comes from a need to be informal, casual and relaxed, which translates to the wearer feeling that way too.

So many of today’s men’s staples — the hoodie, knit pants, shorts — all originated from sportswear.

Menswear silhouettes evolve more subtly than in womenswear, so for me it’s about refining and updating these garments as opposed to reinventing the wheel.”

M R R I G U T T O P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y B O W E N A R I C O O N 0 4 A U G U S T, 2 0 1 1 AT H I S H O M E I N WAT E R L O O, A U S T R A L I A . M R R I G U T TO W E A R S H I S O W N L A B E L .

19

Introducing

LIONEL BAWDEN Artist

F O L L O W I N G T I M E S P E N T E X P E R I M E N T I N G W I T H T H E M E D I U M I N W H I C H H E WA S T R A I N E D, T H E S Y D N E Y- B A S E D V I S U A L A R T I S T R E T U R N S W I T H A S O L O S C U L P T U R E E X H I B I T I O N.

“I studied painting at art school in

geometry and colour. He sees transformation

the nineties,” explains visual artist Lionel Bawden,

and flux as preconditions to our experience

failure or success and reinvention is ongoing.

“and so my recent solo painting shows [A Void/

of the physical world. Or, more particularly,

As an artist it is very common to experience

La Disparition, Grantpirrie Gallery, Sydney,

essential to the construction of identity.

a broad spectrum of emotion in rapid cycle,

2010 and Nonsense, Neon Parc, Melbourne,

2009] were a return to working with

as fictional types of fungus containing

and yet potentially volatile humans.” It’s hard

figurative imagery.” But like his transition from

psychotropic agents, perhaps the pattern

to imagine Mr Bawden, an affable gentleman,

primarily a painter to sculptor, feeling he had

itself as hallucinogen. However, there’s more

as the latter. The artist himself is more inclined

exhausted personal narratives, Mr Bawden

humour and lightness in the work than in the

to believe his practice makes him highly

returns this November with a solo sculpture

stalacmite-type structures he’s known for as a

sensitive, if somewhat insane. “Perhaps it’s

exhibition at Melbourne’s Karen Woodbury

result of the patterns. As he explains: “The new

why I pursue an art practice,” he muses of his

Gallery. And while pencil-based sculptures

work celebrates beauty, focused on pattern as a

typical schedule: making work during the late

made him a name as one of the most promising

refined embodiment of repetition. There have

evening and early morning.

up-and-comers in the art world, the artist has

been periods when I backed away from it,

this time used pattern as a way to explore the

but at the moment I need to dive fully into it.”

intricately crafted pieces, the very premise of

human condition, traversing the same territory

Mr Bawden, 36, was educated at the

which is based as much in construction as it

with more refined focus.

Australian National University, from where he

is in expression? Mr Bawden finds working

“I’m thinking very much about surface

Certain pieces of Pattern Spill appear

“The cycle of experimentation,

which makes many artists deeply empathic

Wouldn’t anyone go insane creating such

graduated with honours in painting. He’s been

with his hands satisfying, perhaps a result of

and pattern as a portal to the interior,”

working professionally ever since, today out

working with his father, a gardener. “I like to

explains Mr Bawden of Pattern Spill, the name

of a studio in Sydney’s Redfern, the space in

reckon with things physically and to create

given to his new series of work. “It’s a meeting

which he created, over the course of the past

a physical object that can hold my ideas and

place between the controlled order that much

year, the works that make up Pattern Spill.

provide a conduit for other thoughts to pass

pattern contains and the organic world of flesh

“I’ve been working on drawings and sculptures

through. Much contemporary digital artwork

and oozing fluids. Control meets collapse.

simultaneously, moving between stages

offers a specific duration of engagement.

Order faces dissolution. I am interested in the

of each,” explains the artist of his practice.

I create objects where the duration of

dichotomy of repetition, which is seemingly

Mr Bawden notes the direct, meditative nature

engagement is carried in the physical object

mechanical but essentially very human.”

of sculpture being much slower than the

with some resonance or echo of the labour

meticulously crafted drawings containing vast

held within the work.”

Repetition forms Mr Bawden’s core

practice as an artist, a concept he has explored

hexagonal cells, each cluster of six small cells

and exploited through amorphous shapes,

taking at least an hour to create.

See Pattern Spill at Karen Woodbury Gallery, Richmond, Victoria, till December 17; kwgallery.com

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M R B A W D E N P H O T O G R A P H E D B Y B O W E N A R I C O O N 0 6 A U G U S T, 2 0 1 1 A T T H E R A T ' S N E S T S T U D I O I N E A S T S Y D N E Y, A U S T R A L I A .

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Introducing

FABRICE PENOT & EDOUARD ROSCHI Perfumers | Le Labo

A D I S DA I N F O R C O R P O R AT E C U LT U R E G AV E B I R T H TO ONE OF THE WORLD’S MOST INNOVATIVE PERFUMERIES.

Of the five senses, smell is the only one directly hardwired to our brain. As a result, it’s stronger than sight, hearing, touch and taste, giving it the power to harness great emotion.

The faintest scent of chalk and pencil shavings can send you back years to primary school, recalling a seemingly forgotten, nondescript moment in the classroom. As Fabrice Penot puts it, scent tells stories without words.

“It has the power to move people, to trigger emotions and connect deeply without saying a thing,” explains the co-founder of the New York-based boutique perfumery LE LABO. “Scent can impact lives and it’s something you can’t even see.”

The French-born Mr Penot and his business partner Edouard Roschi met while working together in the creative department of GIORGIO ARMANI. There in the company corridors the pair discovered a shared passion for a certain idea of mankind and beautiful perfume, as well as an equally violent dislike for neckties and submitting to authority.

“We shared a common need for beauty and freedom,” explains Mr Penot. “We hoped that there was a few people that would share our vision for a different perfumery.”

The pair needn’t have worried too much.

Waiting for them after setting up shop in New York’s NoLita neighbourhood in the spring of 2006 was a plethora of men and women around the world seeking something beyond watered-down celebrity-endorsed eau de toilettes.

Watered-down is a literal description, given the concentration of fragrance (in an alcohol-water mix) is typically less than four per cent in an eau de cologne or toilette, whereas it is up to

30 percent in extrait (perfume), the breakdown used by LE LABO.

Each of LE LABO’s perfumes is formulated by hand, on demand, in a single location, its New York lab. It’s not a bespoke process, explains Mr Penot. “We don’t believe creation should be democratic, so we don’t custom make.

We make our set collection of perfumes to order.”

LE LABO’s in-store team of mixologists, if they can so be called that, combine high quality natural oil (the result of a collaboration with a perfumer) with alcohol at the time of purchase, upon which a personalised label is attached.

Each perfume is named after its main ingredient and the total number of accompanying ingredients in its formula. Ambrette 9 has the fewest elements, Vetiver 46 the most.

Not that the number of ingredients makes a perfume any greater than the others; it’s a matter of those ingredients’ complexity and combination.

It’s not just the unique mode of bottling perfume that distinguishes LE LABO, a lesson learnt from Master of Marketing Giorgio Armani. “We learnt the importance of every detail from working with Giorgio Armani.

He was obsessed with perfection, and we make our way with the same amount of obsession,” says Mr Penot, “but instead we focus on imperfection.”

The perfumer concedes that the presentation of the LE LABO brand was key from the very beginning, and it shows in every element, from the brown recycled paper packing and apothecary jar-like perfume bottles, to the white-tiled, lab-like flagship store (LE LABO is French for The Lab,

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after all). The recycled paper and refill program and use of vegan and non-cruelty ingredients is an environmental stance, though it’s not one Mr Penot and Mr Roschi actively promote. “It’s not for us to scream: ‘Buy LE LABO and save the planet’. When brands do that I see it as embarrassing. It’s not an approach to perfume, it’s an approach to life, and perfumery happens to be part of ours,” says Mr Penot.

So how did two French men wind up selling their wares in New York? “Where else?”

Mr Penot asks simply. And for the success LE LABO has experienced in the city its founders created an exclusive fragrance, Tuberose 40; the combination of bergamot, neroli, rosemary, orange blossom, tuberose and sandalwood, amongst others, a heady representation of the city’s diversity and pace. There are also exclusive perfumes for Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Paris, London and Tokyo, complementing LE LABO’s range of soy-blend candles, Santal 26-scented handmade leather journals and Rose 31-scented laundry detergent.

Perfume, LE LABO’s founders believe, can be both a necessity and a commodity, given the over-flooded market. “We try to make perfumes that are a necessity in people’s lives in the sense that you become deeply affected if you don’t have anymore of it. We try to affect people.”

The founders are quick to name Rose 31 — an ambiguous feminine/masculine perfume with woody notes of cumin, cedar and amber — as their favourite and best-selling perfume for men, but are reluctant to explain way. “If explanation kills art, it surely kills a great perfume,” jokes Mr Penot.

“Wear it and see.”

MR PENOT & MR ROSCHI PHOTOGRAPHED BY JEN DESSINGER ON 17 APRIL, 2011 A T T H E L E L A B O S T O R E I N N E W Y O R K C I T Y, N E W Y O R K .

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ALTER EGO

PHOTOGRAPHY JORDAN GRAHAM | STYLING JAMES DYKES | GROOMING MAX MAY

Mr Vanderhart wears BASSIKE jacket, WRANGLER jeans.

OPPOSITE PAGE: WRANGLER shirt, BASSIKE jeans, MACPHERSON MEN underwear.

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Mr Coulter wears NY RAW SPECIAL EDITION BY G-STAR jumpsuit.

OPPOSITE PAGE: G-STAR RAW overalls, stylist's own rings.

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Mr Knochell wears VANISHING ELEPHANT shirt, G-STAR RAW jeans & braces.

OPPOSITE PAGE: CALVIN KLEIN JEANS shirt & shorts.

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J A C K VA N D E R H A R T / E M G M O D E L S | J O R DA N C O U LT E R / E M G M O D E L S | Z A S C H A K N O C H E L L / L O N D O N M GT G R O U P NATHANIEL ROOKLYN/PRISCILLAS MODEL MANAGEMENT | MR MAY USES LA MER & L'ORÉAL PROFESSIONAL DIGITAL OPERATION JEREMIAH WOLF | PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE JAMES BAILEY & MITCH FONG | POST PRODUCTION ALEX REZNICK

Mr Rooklyn wears G-STAR RAW vest, KSUBI jeans, his own earring.

OPPOSITE PAGE: NY RAW SPECIAL EDITION BY G-STAR trench coat, KSUBI jeans.

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Multi-hyphenate artist Olaf Breuning has pushed boundaries for over fifteen years. A solo show at New York’s Metro Pictures and a major collaboration with fashion house BALLY further enchant and entertain, writes Técha Noble.

MR BREUNING PHOTOGRAPHED BY ADRIAN MEŠKO ON 09 SEPTEMBER, 2011 A T H I S H O M E A N D S T U D I O I N N E W Y O R K C I T Y. 32

33

OB Two years ago BALLY asked me to photograph an event in Miami and they were looking for an artist for this collection and they liked my

There’s something great about that. It’s a cool thing.”

which is beautiful, by the way. How did it come about?

I thought I’d start with your recent collaborative project with BALLY,

TN I came prepared. Considering Manuscript is a fashion magazine,

OB [Laughs] No, no, no… they’re all questions? What is wrong with you?

TN So here’s my hand-drawn map of what I want to ask you about.

OLAF BREUNING Well, thank you.

reference since my early days as an artist.

me a lot of joy throughout my life. It’s been a very present point of

TÉCHA NOBLE I must confess, Olaf, your work has brought

art world, and the importance of humour.

Manuscript about collaboration, the expectations of the

the fellow Swiss organisation BALLY sponsors — he speaks to

in which it produces a capsule collection as part of Art Basel,

Decrauzat to work with the house as part of its BALLY Love series,

brand BALLY — the second Swiss artist after op-artist Philippe

As Mr Breuning readies to unveil his work with Swiss luxury

through which most of us experience these artists’ works.

to these famous images and the reproductions and consumable patina

extensively in his career, but also raising the question of our relationship

artistic value to the medium of bodypainting, a form he has interrogated

Mr Breuning really achieves two outcomes with such a project: lending

often in exaggerated, hasty brushstrokes that verge on bad taste.

past century, such as Andy Warhol, Frieda Kahlo and Cindy Sherman,

body paint to replicate the style or a famous work of a keynote artist of the

history of contemporary art. Like The Marilyns series, Mr Breuning used

Palais de Tokyo — Mr Breuning sought to explore his relationship with the

— framed prints at New York’s Metro Pictures and large banners at Paris’

In his most recent project, The Art Freaks, shown in two different forms

his practice and the cultural landscape about which he comments.

fast-paced work method and unwavering interest in and dedication to

multi-hyphenate, amassing a significant body of work as a result of his

mid 1990s. He has since worked professionally as a global-roaming

a photographer at Zurich’s Zuercher Hochschule der Kuenste in the

explains in the following interview: “I’m happy when people wear my art.

something away from the work that he values creatively. As Mr Breuning

if he can imprint his artistic signature on a commercial product or take

PS1’s Move! with Cynthia Rowley being recent works — but does so only

undertakes collaborative projects — SURFACE TO AIR, BALLY and

work simply because it impresses their friends. The artist regularly

people are not as keen to drop close to $1 million on a Damien Hirst

key to the art world as a result of a tough economic climate, one in which

Mr Bruning readily admits that collaboration, for the most part, has become

concerned with commercial viability and next big things.

in the contemporary art landscape, a borderless global society today

his practice, appear intentionally synthetic — has made him a serious force

fully formed or neat but always deliberate; wigs, another key element of

— bodypainting, which plays a large part in his 15-year portfolio, is never

It is an irony not lost on the quick-witted artist whose lo-fi style of artwork

can be considered more humorous and entertaining than it is confronting.

of collaboration to transmit ideas about mass culture, Mr Breuning’s work

photography, film, sculpture, installation and that somewhat blurry medium

The aesthetic of artist Olaf Breuning is one of binaries. Employing illustration,

Though New York-based, Mr Breuning was born and raised in Schaffhausen, a small town in the north of Switzerland, training as

"I'M NOT SOMEONE THAT NECESSARILY WANTS TO REMAIN SOLELY WITHIN THE ART WORLD" in that loop?

borrowing from contemporary art in today’s landscape. Are you interested

TN I wanted to talk about branding. I really see commercial brands

me long to do a t-shirt or something.

OB Yes, but most of the time I like the people and I do it. It doesn’t take

TN Do you get approached a lot?

a dress. I’ve been more involved in the fashion world than I'd like.

with her. She’s a nice woman. We were dropping colour on a girl in

OB Yes, we collaborated last year. It was a very nice experience to work

PS1 project [MOVE! October 2010]?

TN I saw a Cynthia Rowley t-shirt on your couch, is that from the

Breuning’ on it, which is good for me.

see it as Olaf Breuning, you see it as BALLY, and you just read ‘by Olaf

cool because it’s my art. But with BALLY it’s different because you don’t

OB Yes, but I’ve done bags and t-shirts with other brands, and that’s

— takeaway art, in a sense, with the shoes.

TN The idea is interesting that people can buy a piece of your work

commercially viable.

around the world, and it’s important to me that I can do something that’s

colour blocking. I’m sure they’ll be so desirable that they can sell them

that fits what they do. They’ll be lots of colour blocking. And I like

OB I don’t know exactly what they’re doing. I guess it’s something

visual project?

TN Will they replicate the shapes and colours you created in the

I’m going to see the prototypes in Milan in a few weeks.

OB I hope the products they make with my name on it look good.

TN Are you happy with the project?

it’s cool, and I trust them. It all went really fast from there.

work and approached me. I like the people and the brand, I think

Mr Breuning's capsule collection for BALLY, available worldwide from March, 2012.

26

specific work that would represent your practice?

At the moment she has a lot of job offers and has to see which one to take.

I cut off the leg [Sibylle, 1997]… but a mix, because my work is not a continuous body. It’s not so easy to lay down one single aesthetic.

TN Totally. And you’ve been producing so much work lately. It’s really very prolific. I want to hear about The Art Freaks.

OB I guess in my case it would be a mix. Maybe one of the ones where

TN If you were going to be regurgitated into an ‘art freak’, is there a

OB She works in fashion. She’s a pattern maker. She has two jobs, actually.

It would be hard for the both of us to be so creative in the one space.

but I had to stop somewhere.

TN Is your wife an artist as well?

OB No, but that would be easy. I could have made a hundred, even more,

TN Is Yayoi Kusama in there?

OB So far I haven’t. Usually I travel a lot. My wife and I are about to buy a house upstate, so the plan is to always go there.

and I think that’s interesting.

of sexuality, for sure… as far as Keith Haring and Andy Warhol go,

OB Well, I guess. But that’s not for me to decide. There’s a mix

being represented, because obviously there are fewer women.

TN Do you leave New York for summer?

dinner with another. It’s a very social day.

Then I need to work on a photo. Then I'm having lunch with a brand and

OB I have to organise myself because there’s lots on at the moment.

TN But what about the gender imbalance of the artists

care about whether it’s a man or woman.

What does today involve?

Women are also more used to the make-up. But otherwise I don’t

living in an isolated art world. You embrace a wider cultural sphere.

Women’s bodies are easier to paint; men have muscles and stuff.

and lovely, whereas men have bits sticking out you have to hide.

gender orientation, but for a job like that it’s a nicer body: it’s round

who were also women. I’m happy they’re women, not because of the

so I knew already a stock of women, and they recommended friends

TN Well it’s evident in your work that you’re not purist in that sense,

that necessarily wants to remain solely within the art world.

will be finally shown, I don’t really care. As I said before, I’m not someone

to speak about our world, and that’s the most important thing. Wherever it

OB You know what? I believe as artists we have a language and we want

that there are more women… I had done a series called Marilyns [2010]

OB First of all, I knew I needed maybe 30 people. The funny thing is

TN Do you think that’s a good strategy for artists: to lend out their work to keep buoyant?

did gender ever come into play?

It’s an amazing gallery space. When choosing the people [in the work]

TN It’s a beautiful solution for that space in Paris, because it’s up high.

series at the time.

to do a sculpture but I didn’t want to, but I was creating this Art Freaks

like that, not work for a specific reason or time. Palais had asked me

OB No, no. I did it just because I wanted to. I try and work

TN Did Palais [de Tokyo] originally commission the show?

shows, so I’m a big-ass at Metro, which is nice [laughs].

harder than before.

downturn of art sales because of the financial crisis, which made it a lot

photo shoots. I have done many in the past few years because of the

commercial fashion projects a lot: I did shop windows in Tokyo, I do

cool thing. And then the commercial part, well… I started to do these

when people wear my art. There’s something great about that. It’s a

in the art world so I just stay there and show only in galleries’. I’m happy

fingerprint anywhere I can. I'm not like artists that say ‘I’m comfortable

I like it very much. I like the people I get to work with. I do like to put my

OB I like when that loop ends up in my bank account [laughs]. But yes,

these ‘art freaks’. Metro has the last few years given me so many solo

altogether. You can stand in the room and look all around you and see

whereas in Paris they’re banners from the ceiling. There are 33 of them

[Paris] at the moment, only Metro Pictures did it as framed prints,

OB Well, it’s part of the same series I’m showing at Palais de Tokyo

35

right away. Besides, it makes you happy rather than sad. It’s nice. I do like the humour of Woody Allen and Jerry Seinfeld.I like the realism.

TN Have you seen Cory Archangel’s exhibition at the Whitney

really recognise the bottom part, which was a photograph of her lying on

the floor with these orange stockings.

TN And Murakami hasn’t seen it?

moment in Seinfeld when Kramer decides to make a coffee table book about coffee tables. The eternal narrative, I guess.

OB Well, that is genius. The humour is very good in that show. Especially now, art seems to be so damn serious again. Life is not meant to be serious.

important tool?

OB Oh, yes. Because, let’s say as an example, animals don’t

have humour. You can’t name one animal that smiles.

TN He made this really simple installation with a video loop of the

OB No, no. What did he do?

TN He’s obviously a very funny person. Do you see humour as an

[Murakami, 2007]. I was very worried he would sue me [laughs].

three-eyed dolls [Kiki], and inside the mouth it said 'I have bad breath'

[Cory Arcangel: Pro Tools, 2011] yet?

be seen from a point of humour otherwise you would just kill yourself

same gallery [Metro Pictures], so she came. That was nice. She didn’t

OB I don’t think so? But he knows I made a drawing with one of his

I feel no connection, that they’re missing life, because life in itself has to

have a sense of humour. When I meet people without a sense of humour

something that is very intellectual. Human beings are cheap if they don’t

OB [Laughs] Oh, they don’t smile. They just seem to smile. Humour is

OB Cindy Sherman was at my opening in Paris, because we’re with the

The Art Freaks seen the work?

recognise that in a second. Have any of the artists represented in

TN I would argue for the skateboarders [Skaters, 1997]. I would

TN Dogs smile.

FROM LEFT: Andy; Yves; Jackson; Cindy; Martin; Kandinsky; and Takashi, part of Mr Breuning's The Art Freaks, 2011 series.

I’ll just say ‘fuck it all’ [laughs].

like ‘What? How is that possible?’ Anyway… maybe when I buy my house

That’s why there’s some ridiculously bad artists in the spotlight, and it’s

have to sell. Collectors, the same: they want what’s high in the market.

elevates the space [the gallery], makes them more famous. Galleries also

them, they just go with what’s on at the moment, what’s hot, because it

straightforward and simply business. Curators are the same. Most of

do my art, it would kill me, but for them it’s so black and white and

in our own language. We do it because it is our lives. If I could not

the other side. When we are good artists, we work without compromise,

OB Also curators, galleries, all of the people we deal with, they’re on

than it is a creative one.

I feel quite weird in that space, like it's more of a business engagement

TN I always feel when I meet with curators that it’s like going to court.

But, you know, galleries want us to do certain things.

I direct my stuff, I edit my stuff. It’s enjoyable. I think it’s more honest as well.

like a series. I prefer to stick with my thing as an artist. I shoot my stuff,

certain response. I rather do something like film in a short but serious way,

you’re free. You don’t have this structure. [Feature] film has to elicit a

OB The same as a fashion parade: forget it. That’s why I’m an artist:

TN Does the cinematic format interest you? A feature film?

of the most intense experiences, which I love.

though, because no one really buys films. But when you watch it it’s one

OB Oh, yeah. Because when you finally do it, it’s really exciting. It’s hard

TN Do you like that long gestation process?

there’s so much that brings it together. I’m working the next few months in it.

have movement, you have sound, you have storylines, you have editing,

OB Sure, it takes longer. It is the king medium of all, because you

because of the time involved?

TN Obviously there’s a lot of immediacy in your process. Is film harder

When something’s good, you want to re-do it. Life is like that, I think.

OB No, no. Probably not. But I’ll often do a sequel of something.

which is one of my favourites of your work. Will it become a trilogy?

TN I want to ask you about the Home series [Home 1/Home 2, 2004/07],

P H OTO G R A P H Y PA U L S C A L A | S T Y L I N G S O N N Y G R O O | G R O O M I N G M I T S U TA KA E N O K I DA Rigid theatre training and a blockbuster film release are secondary assets to the tireless work ethic of young actor Jack Derges, writes Mitchell Oakley Smith.

British actors are more believable than their American counterparts.

Maybe it’s that Shakespeare was British, giving birth to modern theatre as we know it. Or simply that Britain is home to the English language.

It’s not for this reason alone that young actor Jack Derges features in this issue of Manuscript, but it certainly makes us believe his talent is real and well honed. It may not yet be the latter, considering the 23-year old has only just completed shooting what will be his second film to date — Passengers, alongside The Chronicles of Narnia’s Anna Popplewell, due for release in March 2013 — but Mr Derges’ talent is most certainly real, as is his determination. “No one who can rise before dawn three hundred and sixty days a year fails to make his family rich,” says Mr Derges in reference to his work ethic. “With this quote in mind,” he continues, “I will never be mistaken for an actor who takes things for granted and rest on my laurels.

I will constantly strive for excellence, making bold choices and constantly looking to up my game.”

Having grown up in Tavistock, a small town in Devon, UK, Mr Derges was more interested in sports than he was anything creative. “My first ever performance was a monologue from Twelfth Night,” he explains from a film set in London. “From that moment on I knew acting was for me. Nothing that sport offers matches the rush of emotion I get when performing.” Mr Derges, 24, is the first in his family to perform for a living, but it’s a passion that was encouraged, leading him to enrol in a performing arts course in Plymouth, the closest big city near his hometown, after which he moved to London to attend The Arts Educational School of Acting, scoring the lead role in the Gerry Livelydirected Dungeons & Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness shortly after.

“Filming was every boy’s dream,” says Mr Derges of the experience, a big one for the young actor, considering the most he’d performed was in college plays. “We were running around with swords and performing on horseback. It was an incredible experience finding myself in the middle of a massive cave in Bulgaria months after drama school.” Not that it was all fun. Mr Derges, given he plays the film’s lead, Grayson, appears in near every scene, affording him the honour of 15-hour days, often in freezing temperatures. “I was always first in and last out, which would be followed by time at the gym, a quick meal and bed, ready for my 5am calltime the next day. It was full on, but I loved every second of it.”

Though his performance in the latest installment of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise is yet to be seen, it could be said that Mr Derges’ open, playful approach to acting, evidenced by his earlier theatre work, allowed him to fully immerse himself in his character. As the actor notes, previous versions of the film — Dungeons & Dragons in 2000 and Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God in 2005 — have not been sensitive to the video game, which boasts an extensive fan base. It was for this reason he was keen on portraying his role as best he could by reading the books and studying the script. “I really enjoy the specifics of screen craft,” says Mr Derges of his preparation. “You constantly have to think about hitting marks, continuity and framing, in addition to your performance.”

And though he has enjoyed the process of shooting two films back-to-back, Mr Derges is keen on returning to stage, the form of performance in which he was trained. “My dream has always been to play Richard III, something I know is a long way off for me just yet, however one of my favourite scenes in Passengers is where my character is rehearsing for that exact play, so I’ve already had a taste.” With goals like that, it’s obvious where Mr Derges’ future lies.

MR ENOKIDA USES MURDOCK LONDON | PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE RASMUS JENSEN STYLING ASSISTANCE VICTOR ALEX CHEVAGNE | POST PRODUCTION POSTMEN

Mr Derges wears BURBERRY PRORSUM jacket.

OPPOSITE PAGE: BURBERRY PRORSUM sweater & pants. PREVIOUS PAGE: Z ZEGNA coat & pants.

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PHOTOGRAPHY LIZ HAM | STYLING JOLYON MASON | GROOMING SASHA NILSSON

Mr Yardley wears LAB tees, WHYRED shirt, THREE OVER ONE pants, BROOKS BROTHERS braces, as interpreted by Benja Harney.

OPPOSITE PAGE: WHYRED shirt, DIOR HOMME hat & tie, as interpreted by Tania Mason.

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WHYRED singlet, HERRINGBONE suit, JIL SANDER neckpiece, as interpreted by Benja Harney.

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JAC + JACK sweater, BALLY pants, CARUSO jacket, available at HARROLDS, BIRKENSTOCK sandals (worn throughout), HERMĂˆS bag, as interpreted by Tania Mason.

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BASSIKE singlets, LACOSTE pants, MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA belt, as interpreted by Benja Harney.

OPPOSITE PAGE: BRUNELLO CUCINELLI shirt & shorts, CK CALVIN KLEIN jacket, BASSIKE pants, PAL ZILERI belt, available at HARROLDS, DIOR HOMME hat, as interpreted by Tania Mason.

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G-STAR RAW by MARC NEWSON tee, LAGERFELD jacket, ZAMBESI bike shorts, THREE OVER ONE shorts.

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NICK YARDLEY/CHADWICK MODELS | HAIR COLOURING BENJAMIN FOUNTAIN | DIGITAL OPERATION JAMES BAILEY PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE MITCH FONG | STYLING ASSISTANCE RYAN PETER | POST PRODUCTION KIKI SJÖBERG B E N J A H A R N E Y I S A S Y D N E Y- B A S E D PA P E R E N G I N E E R

/ paperform.wordpress.com / illustrators.com.au

TA N I A M A S O N I S A S Y D N E Y- B A S E D I L L U S T R ATO R A N D S C U L P TO R ZAMBESI singlet, jeans & jacket.

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THE DARK KNIGHT P H OTO G R A P H Y PA U L S C A L A | S T Y L I N G J O LY O N M A S O N | G R O O M I N G N I C O L E T H O M P S O N Lucas Ossendrijver evokes the slick aesthetic of Gotham's mysterious hero in LANVIN's moodiest collection to date, writes Mitchell Oakley Smith.

Mr Dufour wears LANVIN throughout.

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Stylist’s own headband.

JEREMY DUFOUR/NEW MADISON | MS THOMPSON USES MAC COSMETICS PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE RASMUS JENSEN | POST PRODUCTION POSTMEN

Stylist’s own sunglasses.

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ucas Ossendrijver believes the French aesthetic is the

had a head designer for several years. Nor could the

result of a mistake. “There’s something slightly off

Mr Ossendrijver graduated from Arnhem Institute

women’s aesthetic, which prior to Elbaz’s reinvention

for the Arts with a masters degree in draping and has spent

about the way the French dress,” explains LANVIN’s

still imitated Jeanne Lanvin’s feminine aesthetic of light

the vast majority of his career in Paris, first as a freelance

menswear designer. “It’s never perfect. A little bit

florals and delicate trimmings, have served as a reference.

designer for PLEIN SUD and KENZO HOMME, and later

thrown together.” A little bit like Mr Ossendrijver, in fact,

Having no clear directive might have proved problematic,

for KOSTAS MURKADIS. It wasn’t until 2001 that he

who when we meet on one of the sweltering days that

but Mr Ossendrijver embraced the opportunity, beginning

assumed the role of head designer of DIOR HOMME’s

held Paris’ womenswear shows in a clammy grip in

with a small collection of jackets, pants and shirts in the

‘Classic’ line, where he developed collection plans,

early October, is anything but dressed up. He himself is

fall of 2006. “The image [of the house] was still a little

selected fabrics and designed garments. “Those experiences

not French (he was born in the Netherlands), but he’s

bit dusty at the time I started. It wasn’t bad, but Alber

really shaped me,” says Mr Ossendrijver of the varied

resided in Paris for the better part of the past two decades

was progressing and taking it to a new place, so it was

experience, which also included a two-year stint as a

where, it appears, some of that Parisian nonchalance

excellent to come in at that time. We’ve been growing

lecturer at the university from which he graduated. “I learnt

has worn off. Of course, if there’s a designer that can pull

steadily and now menswear is a significant part of

a lot of things from each of my jobs, without which I wouldn’t

off dressing casually it’s Mr Ossendrijver. LANVIN is

the business.” Indeed, LANVIN menswear — apparel,

be able to do what I do now.”

one of the world’s most popular brands, revered for its

shoes and accessories — is housed in 20 branded concept

historical legacy but also for its contemporary design

stores in addition to an extensive wholesale network.

operate under the same umbrella and, to a degree, share a

innovation, and that Mr Ossendrijver is responsible for

And with the growing size of Mr Ossendrijver’s atelier,

language — a dialect, perhaps — they essentially operate

its burgeoning men’s line — one that only began, despite

now numbering six, comes increased public attention.

as separate entities, in separate buildings, the only uniting

its prosperity, in 2006 — is all the more testament to his

At the house's most recent menswear show, over 700

force being Mr Elbaz. While Mr Ossendrijver directs the

sharp eye.

press and buyers attended, overfilling the venue’s

men’s design studio, Mr Elbaz offers a different point

capacity, with many more scrambling to get in from

of view. “He’ll be there during the fittings seeing what’s

unlike the majority of its contemporary counterparts,

outside. The madness for what is essentially a 100-year

working, and that’s what I like," says Mr Ossendrijver.

the house began in 1889 as a millinery, as opposed to a

old womenswear label — and a high-priced one at that —

"It’s really an exchange, and because he comes from

supplier of leathergoods, with womenswear, bridal and

is thanks to Mr Ossendrijver’s irreverent approach to

an objective place, he doesn’t have a connection to

children’s clothing offered soon after. Jeanne Lanvin,

what has gone before. That and a personal addiction to

the garments. He hasn’t seen the workings of them, so he

the house’s founder, opened a boutique that still today

sneakers that has fuelled a booming industry of its own

can say, ‘You don’t need this, get rid of it’, and that’s really

houses LANVIN womenswear on the corner or Rue Boissy

within the LANVIN house.

enriching because you learn so much more.” Despite the

D’Anglais and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, opposite the

exchange, Mr Ossendrijver doesn’t draw inspiration from

building in which Mr Ossendrijver works.

and their lives change,” explains the designer wisely,

Mr Elbaz’s womenswear designs. “I always think of men,”

LANVIN is an interesting proposition, given that

How the designer wound up at LANVIN is a well-

“You don’t want to get stuck in the past, because people

While LANVIN’s men’s and women’s collections

noting the house’s made-to-measure suiting service,

he says, spending time in the menswear store beneath

worn tale, but one worth rehashing for the humour of

demi monsieur, differs from the multi-stage, time-consuming

his design studio to observe the customers that purchase

its serendipity. At the time, Mr Ossendrijver was still

bespoke process in that it allows customers to leave the

his designs. “I see men that are very different: young men,

working in the design studio of Dior Homme under the

store with a suit altered to their body shape and height.

older men, thin men, bigger men, and what I like is that

direction of Hedi Slimane, hearing through a friend that

“In the past, people were used to waiting, but today

they can all come to LANVIN and find something to suit

the Sleeping Beauty of French fashion, LANVIN, was

everything is quicker. People don’t have the time anymore,

them. It’s like a luxury supermarket, a complete range,

looking for a designer for its menswear line, a directive

so you have to evolve and make these little luxuries relevant

which is quite rare in Paris. There’s something for every

of the house’s relatively new owner, Shaw-Lan Wang,

for today.” As for the sneaker, despite Mr Ossendrijver’s

customer, for every occasion, for every moment of the day.”

a Taiwanese media magnate who purchased the company

preference for such footwear, today wearing a patent-toed

in August of 2001, hiring Mr Elbaz as creative director

suede pair, it is something that fits within LANVIN’s

very little litters Mr Ossendrijver’s office, a stark white,

within months of the sale. “I loved Alber’s work and

stylistic framework. “When I started, I didn’t have a very

medium-sized room adjoining the men’s design studio

had a lot of respect for him, so I simply wrote a very

clear idea of what the LANVIN man was about. I knew

on the fourth floor of the north side of the building.

short letter. A week later I was sitting with him in the

there was quality, craftsmanship and classicism, but I

Fabric swatches decorate a wall panel of the design

office of Jeanne Lanvin,” explains Mr Ossendrijver,

didn’t have an archive like there is for the women’s studio,

studio, but there is no a mood board or inspiration images,

smirking in amazement at his luck. “It was intimidating

and because of that, the collection evolved as a wardrobe

save a small stack of contemporary magazines — issues

and very quick, but within months I was installed in the

of essentials, rather than trend fashions, and that’s where

of Fantastic Man and Another, most of which are kept

design studio with a small team, getting to work on our

the sneakers come from.” Of course, Mr Ossendrijver’s

for their features on Mr Ossendrijver or the house. It’s a

first collection.”

offering isn’t designed for jogging — “There’s a lot of work

clearheaded environment in which the designer works,

and luxury fabric research and development that goes

which makes sense, given his ideas are far more abstract

narrative that is his journey at LANVIN, for unlike

into them, so they’re a lot more sophisticated than a

than they are referential. “I have to see things, touch things,

the vast majority of designers working for established,

regular sneaker,” he explains — but it says something

try them on,” explains the designer of his design process.

houses, particularly in Paris, he wasn’t restricted by an

important about the brand’s intention to remain relevant

“I’d rather see sample swatches and work with the

existing framework, for the men's design studio had not

in a youth-orientated luxury market.

patternmaker than draw pictures.”

Mr Ossendrijver’s latter point is pertinent in the

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Beyond bright light from around midday onward,

Of course, mens’ design studios operate in a

completely different manner to their female counterparts by virtue of the fact that change is minimal in the men’s fashion market. “It’s an evolution not a revolution,” says Mr Ossendrijver, a line he’s definitely used before for the fact that he strongly believes in what he’s saying. “You’re always going to have jackets and pants and button-down shirts, and within those boundaries you have to find a way to make them interesting, which really is the challenge of menswear. Every season we try and take the LANVIN man somewhere else, keeping the spirit the same but experimenting with what we have.”

In June this year, Mr Ossendrijver presented a

fast-paced spring/summer men’s collection to a soundtrack of The Dark Knight theme music, prompting a survey of uniforms that referenced notions of superheroes.

At rehearsals, Mr Ossendrijver could be heard saying ‘faster, faster, faster’ to the models, who walked with steely determination. “Well, actually, the story was created from military looks,” explains Mr Ossendrijver when I ask about the Christopher Nolan Batman films, which served as inspiration for Manuscript’s exclusive preview of the collection on the pages prior [The Dark Knight, page 48].

“I think men look sexy in uniforms, and when you look at the opening looks” — sharply cut, box-shaped garments with cutaway collars and layers in dark leathers and high-shine fabrics, military boots and zips — “they almost look like security guards’ uniforms.”

But LANVIN isn’t a house for gimmicks (even its

hilarious dancing video has an underlying artistic brilliance in its unexpected combination of high and low cultural values), and the details of each garment prove that.

“From the outside you can’t see much, it’s a blank canvas, but when you look closely, a lot of the leather was glued onto finished garments and pressed, so there’s lots of very thin layers that create the whole look.” What followed is what Mr Ossendrijver describes as an evolution from strict to free, where the strict heaviness of the opening looks gave way to relaxed summer suiting and light layers, many of the fuchsia, sky blue and cream coloured pieces worn with leather sandals and featuring digital prints.

It was a standout collection for Mr Ossendrijver in

his six-year tenure at LANVIN, but like every season, it found its genesis in fabric. “Sometimes you want a fabric to do something it simply won’t. Sometimes it looks terrible in a colour you want to use, so you have to allow the fabric to speak.” This approach is fuelled by Mr Ossendrijver’s treatment of the design studio as a laboratory where ideas are tested and fabrics and colourways experimented with.

“After this,” he explains, “you start asking how you got

M R O S S E N D R I J V E R P H OTO G R A P H E D B Y PA U L S C A L A O N 0 5 O C TO B E R , 2 0 1 1

there and try to construct a relevant story around it.”

AT T H E L A N V I N M E N ' S D E S I G N S T U D I O I N PA R I S, F R A N C E .

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CITY TO SURF PHOTOGRAPHY JORDAN GRAHAM | STYLING JOLYON MASON | GROOMING MAX MAY

PREVIOUS SPREAD: Mr Stenmark wears RUSTY rash vest, ZEGNA SPORT pants, DION LEE neckpiece.

THIS PAGE: LACOSTE shirt, CALIBRE suit, OAKLEY glasses, ZAMBESI belt. OPPOSITE PAGE: BASSIKE shorts.

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WHYRED tank, LAB suit, KAREN WALKER glasses.

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WHYRED sweater, PAGEANT suit.

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PRADA shirt.

PREVIOUS PAGE: RUSTY & surfboard, SUBFUSCO suit.

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ZAMBESI shirt.

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BODY SCIENCE compression skins, BURBERRY glasses & shoes, ICE watches.

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WHYRED sweater; PAGEANT suit.

JORDAN & ZAC STENMARK/VIVIENS MODELS | MR MAY USES LA MER & L'ORÉAL PROFESSIONAL | DIGITAL OPERATION JEREMIAH WOLF PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANCE JAMES BAILEY & MITCH FONG | STYLING ASSISTANCE BENJAMIN FOUNTAIN | POST PRODUCTION ALEX REZNICK

ABOVE LEFT: AUSSIEBUM swimmers, SPEEDO swimmers (worn over top), OAKLEY glasses, TRIWA watch.

RIGHT: AUSSIEBUM swimmers, Trixan Body swimmers (worn over top), OAKLEY glasses, TRIWA watch.

OPPOSITE PAGE: WHYRED shirt, BRENT WILSON suit, REEBOK shoes.

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Stockists

A U S S I E B U M / aussiebum.com B A L L Y / bally.com B A S S I K E / bassike.com B I R K E N S T O C K / birkenstock.com B O D Y S C I E N C E / bodyscienceskin.com.au B R E N T W I L S O N / brentwilson.com.au B R U N E L L O C U C I N E L L I / brunellocucinelli.com B U R B E R R Y / burberry.com C A L I B R E / calibre.com.au C A L V I N K L E I N J E A N S / calvinkleinjeans.com C H R O N I C L E S O F N E V E R / chroniclesofnever.com C I T I Z E N D E C O N S T R U C T E D / citizendeconstructed.com.au C K C A L V I N K L E I N / calvinklein.com C O L A B / colab.com.au D I O N L E E / dionlee.com E D W A R D G I L B E R T / edwardgilbert.com.au E R M E N E G I L D O Z E G N A / zegna.com G - S T A R R A W / g-star.com H A R R O L D S / harrolds.com.au H E R R I N G B O N E / herringbone.com I C E / ice-watchstore.com.au J A C + J A C K / jacandjack.com K A R E N W A L K E R / karenwalker.com K I R R I L Y J O H N S T O N / kirrilyjohnston.com K S U B I / ksubi.com L A B / labgallerie.com L A C O S T E / lacoste.com L A G E R F E L D / nmi.com.au L A N V I N / lanvin.com M A C P H E R S O N M E N / macphersonmen.com.au M J B A L E / mjbale.com M U L B E R R Y / mulberry.com O A K L E Y / oakley.com P J O H N S O N T A I L O R S / pjohnson.com.au P A G E A N T / wearepageant.com P R A D A / prada.com R E E B O K / reebok.com R U S T Y / rusty.com S P E E D O / speedo.com S T U S S Y / stussy.com S U B F U S C O / subfusco.com T H R E E O V E R O N E / threeoverone.com T O M F O R D / harrolds.com.au T R I W A / triwa.se T R I X A N B O D Y / trixanbody.com.au V A N I S H I N G E L E P H A N T / vanishingelephant.com W H Y R E D / whyred.se W R A N G L E R / wrangler.com Z Z E G N A / zenga.com Z A M B E S I / zambesi.com.au Z E G N A S P O R T / zegna.com

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Final Examination

THE

WHITE SHIRT The classic white shirt is both an object and an ideal. Of the multitude of garments in the male wardrobe, none is as definitive as the white shirt. White comes first, then all others. Shirts of colour tend to be in some way only versions of the singular white. This inverted logic of difference means in order to distinguish a white shirt in any way we require some kind of method by which to do so.

Distinction can begin by considering the shirt as a typology of forms, starting with the collar, which can spread, boned or soft, or buttoned down; the cuffs can be of a single band, turned-back, round or mitred, double or single buttoned; the fit full, narrow or shaped, and so on.

Perhaps a more complete assessment might be possible through finely grained, lets say micro, perceptions. Only so much is discernible to the eye when faced with white on white.

The artist Marcel Duchamp, an elegant man against the measure of any fashionable standard, proposed the beguiling term infra-mince.

For Duchamp, infra-mince is the distance or interval between two things and is so compelling he is said to have dedicated ten years to its exploration. Despite leaving us to ponder such a notion with little in the way of explanation, he proffered a number of tantalising examples: the sound of corduroy rubbing together; the space between two sheets of paper; and the difference between a shirt, new then washed.

I have always imagined this shirt as white.

The architect Le Corbusier compared the white shirt to whitewashed walls, arguing these screens liberate a new, hitherto unseen modern body behind it. Paradoxically, when it comes to the white shirt, Duchamp’s somewhat puzzling experiments bring us back to the sensuousness of the perceptible that Le Corbusier was so keen to dispose of. Tactile perception is most suited to bringing out the real promise of the white shirt: a pinch of cloth taken up between two fingers, the friction of the weave against the finger tips almost audible, attests to the sensation felt by the body in wearing.

STORY TODD ROBINSON

PHOTOGRAPHY CHERINE FAHD MJ BALE shirt.

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