ISSUE 09 - AUTUMN 2014 by MANUSCRIPT

MANUSCRIPT Heart of Darkness : The evil underbelly of Australian history is exposed at the Adelaide Biennial. Triple Bill : Rafael Bonachela welcomes to Sydney the best in contemporary dance.

Between the Lines : Sol LeWittâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s geometric artwork continues to offer new ideas about art history. Creative Collision : Fashion, art and architecture collide in a brilliantly programmed Art Month.

AUS/NZ $6.00

BOY WONDER

The continued rise of designer Dion Lee Photographed by Paul Scala

Also : Christian Louboutin, Jonathan Saunders, TV Moore, Jonny Niesche & Biennale of Sydney.

65 CASTLEREAGH STREET, SYDNEY – (02) 9229 4600 – WWW.DIOR.COM

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Issue IX Autumn 14

04 Editor’s Letter 12 Contributors 16 News

21 Introducing Scrap Wall, Jonny Niesche, TV Moore Photography Guy Coombes Pablo Ravazzani, Saskia Wilson 28 Inside Out The season’s best and brightest is unfolded and unveiled. Photography Anna Pogossova 36 Heart of Darkness South Australia’s preeminent art event, the Adelaide Biennial, shines a light on the darkest reaches of Australia’s national character. Story Alison Kubler 40 Printed Matter Scottish-born, London-based designer Jonathan Saunders has mastered the art of fashion, with his collections offering a narrative on popular culture. Story Mitchell Oakley Smith 42 With the Company Artistic director Rafael Bonachela brings together three of the world’s most talented choreographers – himself included – to celebrate Sydney Dance Company’s 45th anniversary. Story Mitchell Oakley Smith 46 Walk the Line A retrospective exhibition of the work of Sol LeWitt raises debate about the sensationalist nature of contemporary art. Story Alison Kubler

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Issue IX Autumn 14

50 Best Foot Forward He may be known for red-soled stilettos, but cordwainer Christian Louboutin’s venture into menswear is gaining serious traction. Story Mitchell Oakley Smith 52 The New Suit Menswear is changing, with the recent fall collections presenting an overhaul of the traditional silhouette. Story Mitchell Oakley Smith 54 A Cut Above He’s Australia’s most prolific fashion designer, but Dion Lee is only just getting started. Story Mitchell Oakley Smith Photography Paul Scala 58 Dream a Little Dream of Me The boys next door slip into something a little more comfortable. Photography Pierre Toussaint Styling Jolyon Mason 68 Great Dane Danish at heart, suiting brand Sand is forging a truly global business with its international outlook. Story Mitchell Oakley Smith Photography Cara O’Dowd Styling Jolyon Mason 74 Blue Steel It has been reinvented time and again for the past 150 years, but this season’s denim seems distinctly modern. Photography Georges Antoni Styling Jolyon Mason

90 Stockists

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From the Editor

While Australian art has long been well represented internationally, our fashion industry has traditionally failed to make any real impact beyond our own shores. Of course, there have been milestones made – Martin Grant’s success in Paris, for example – but I don’t think it’s too bold to say that no Australian designer has been able to build a truly global business in the high-end category in recent times. That is, of course, until Dion Lee, our cover

star, whose meteoric rise is the result of a well honed but continually didn’t attend the Art Gallery of South Australia

developing style and absolute commitment to the size and

under its previous director, but I’ve been lucky

operation of his business. Mr Lee plans to launch a menswear range later this

enough to visit several times in the past year.

Since Nick Mitzevich took the reins of the gallery amid

year, complementing his two womenswear lines, but it’s not

accusations of poor funding and state disregard it has

for this reason alone that we have profiled him in this issue

undergone one of the greatest transformations seen by a

[see page 54 for more]. Indeed, it was always our mission

state institution, but not in the way that other galleries are

to feature Australian men that are doing great things and that

attempting to deal with the changing art landscape, with

are respected internationally, and I can’t think of a more

their ill-thought-out renovations and extensions, and

appropriate example than Mr Lee, who recently returned

attention-seeking exhibitions. Instead, Mr Mitzevich has

from another hugely successful showing in New York City

capitalised on the gallery’s rich holdings, presenting works in

soon after opening his debut concept store in Sydney.

unexpected, ambitious hangs that follow themes and

Did I mention that he’s only 28? Bravo. Until next time-

narratives rather than periods or genres. There are naysayers, of course – as there always is when one steps too far outside of the box – but Mr Mitzevich should be commended for re-engaging the Adelaide public, with record attendance figures in the past two years. With two major exhibitions slated for the year ahead, including Fashion Icons, drawn from Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the gallery is set to become an international destination, too. On page 36, Alison Kubler writes about an aspect of our national character that is far removed from the comfortable stereotype, a notion explored in Mr Mitzevich’s 2014 Adelaide Biennial, aptly titled Dark Heart, that features work by some of our country’s best, including Fiona Hall, Ian Strange, Martin Bell and Julie deVille. As Ms Kubler writes: should provoke more questions than answers and it would seem that this... is well on its way to achieving this.”

Mitchell Oakley Smith twitter.com/MrOakleySmith

Photo: Bowen Arico

“At the very least a show of this national cultural importance

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Issue IX Autumn 14

Editor & Publisher Mitchell Oakley Smith Creative Director Jolyon Mason

Art Director Elliott Bryce Foulkes

Contributing Features Editors Alison Kubler & Jonathan Seidler Fashion Assistant Alex Rost

Contributors Georges Antoni, Guy Coombes, Diane Gorgievski, Jordan Graham,

Jenny Kim, Sasha Nilsson, Cara O’Dowd, Anna Pogossova, Pablo Ravazzani, Paul Scala, Pierre Toussaint, Saskia Wilson Special Thanks The Artist Group, EMG Models, IMG Models,

London Management Group, MAP, Priscillas Models, Shooting Birds Studio, Sun Studios, Viviens Creative Manuscript is owned published by Mitchell Oakley Smith (ABN 67 212 902 027), 8/2 Wellington Street, Woollahra NSW 2025, manuscript@mitchelloakleysmith.com. Printed by MPD, Unit E1 46-62 Maddox Street, Alexandria NSW 2015. © 2014 All Rights Reserved. ISSN 2201-0815.

Contributors Diane Gorgievski

Andrew Smith

Cara O’Dowd

With a celebrity client list including Kylie Minogue, Miranda Otto, Joel Edgerton and Henry Cavill, and fashion stories regularly appearing in Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and InStyle, Diane Gorgievski is one of Australia’s leading hair stylists. In this issue, Ms Gorgievski lends her talented hand to our denim feature [page 74], working with photographer Georges Antoni to create “the best shoot I have ever done,” as she describes it. “It brings all the elements of hair texture and styling into one look.”

Having established a stellar career in the early 2000s with campaigns for John Varvatos, Lacoste, Hugo Boss and Diesel, Sydney-born model Andrew Smith all but disappeared in recent years, departing the industry to establish his own company, Playland Motel, in the United States. With an extensive editorial feature in this issue, however, he has “returned to this truly exceptional job to once again globe-trot and work with amazing photographers and stylists,” he says. “It’s good to be back.”

Sydney-based photographer Cara O’Dowd grew up with a photographer grandfather, spending her weekends shooting sports with him from the age of seven. “I remember sitting in the dark room and finally understanding how it all worked,” she explained of the traditional film process. Today, Ms O’Dowd shoots predominantly with digital equipment, and worked first as a digital operator to build her skills. Her first story for Manuscript, Great Dane, appears on page 68. Welcome to the family, Ms O'Dowd.

Metamorphosis, an Hermès story

Dip tie in silk twill « Etrivière » briefcase in Sombrero calfskin Sydney Surfers Paradise Melbourne Marina Mirage Brisbane Tel. 1300 728 807 Hermes.com

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News Saba expands, A.P.C. arrives, David McDiarmid returns,

Harrolds welcomes, Paul Smith shares & Isaac Julien exposes

n May, the National Gallery of Victoria will unveil an exhibition, When This You See Remember Me, of the work of David

McDiarmid, whose prolific artistic

output – spanning histories of art, craft, fashion, music, sex, gay liberation and identity politics – is almost impossible to define. “I never saw art as being a safe thing. I know that exists but that’s not something that involves me,” said Mr McDiarmid in 1993, two years before his passing. Most known for his involvement in the gay liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s – resulting in him being the first person arrested at a gay rights protest in Australia – his brightly coloured prints and collages, emblazoned with activist

↗ David McDiarmand. → Xiang Jing and Qu Guangci for Paul Smith. ↘ Valentino. ↘ ↘ Isaac Julien.

s part of its brand revitalisation, Saba is expanding its product

slogans (“I’m too sexy for my T-cells”,

n the back of his own retrospective at the Design Museum in London, Paul

Smith has turned over his

Melbourne retail space to contemporary Chinese artists Xiang Jing and Qu Guangci (collectively known as X+Q Art), with an exhibition of the duo’s sculptures on display until mid-April. The soft pieces bring together identifiably Chinese faces with kitsch animal limbs, such as rabbit ears (particularly appropriate, given Mr Smith’s fondness for the animal) and bird wings, in an ode to Pop Art. The artists’ aim is not necessarily one of communicating social or political messages, but simply to celebrate youth and promote a sense of optimism, much in line with the ethos of the Paul Smith brand.

“Motorsexual homocycle slut needs service”) may speak to a specific era of gay politics, but their general promotion of acceptance and equality still resonates in a contemporary context, particularly in light of popular culture’s focus on Russia at the present time.

category to include, for the first time, sneakers. Part of a growing

athletic and casual range offered by the Australian retailer, the high-top sneakers are handmade from leather in Portugal, but comprise clean, slim-line design, intended to be purchased as a wardrobe staple with longevity rather than a trend-driven impulse.

Museum of Modern Art in New York,

continues, with French readyto-wear brand A.P.C. opening

its first store in Melbourne’s

central business district this March. Designed by longtime architectural collaborator Laurent Deroo, the store’s interior is an ode to minimalism, with the brand’s men’s and

ollowing a retrospective at the

he Australian retail assault

a large number of works by British artist Isaac Julien will travel to

t may have firmly cemented its position as Australia’s leading – and most luxurious – men’s retail destination, but Harrolds knows

women’s collections displayed sparingly upon

that the pace of fashion is such that there is no

parquetry floors and brushed aluminium

time to rest. With the new season comes new

fixtures, not dissimilar from its recently

brands on its shelves, including Lanvin and

opened Bond Street, New York store. The

Valentino. “These brands were introduced to

arrival of the Jean Touitou-founded brand

create a middle ground between our modern

is a significant coup for the QV building in

and classic customer,” explains head buyer

which it will be housed, also home to Aesop,

Robert Ferris, the divide resultant from the

Incu and Vanishing Elephant. The store will

brand’s longtime clientele and newly-

begin trading with the brand’s spring/summer

introduced, following the store’s restructuring

collection of clothing and accessories as

in recent years. “Lanvin and Valentino will

well as two collaborations: art and design

add a new sophistication to the floor that will

partnership M/M Paris and French fashion

appeal to both the fashion-forward and

designer Vanessa Seward.

traditional clientele.”

Roslyn Oxely9 Gallery, in Sydney, for their

first presentation in Australia, opening in March. Included is an ambitious film work, Playtime, exploring the relationship between capital, the art world and the individual, set across three cities and starring Maggie Cheung, James Franco and famed auctioneer Simon de Pury, who rather naturally plays himself. A suite of six large-scale photographic works will accompany the film.

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News Children of Vision refocuses, Orlebar Brown travels, Rolex opens & Burberry pleases

(the founder and designer of Jimmy D) has

appointment as its chief executive officer in

shuttered the existing site of his multi-brand

addition to chief creative officer. Shown in

f you haven’t been recently (and

t the men’s collections in London

you really should), there are some

in January, Christopher Bailey

brilliant fashion happenings in

presented his first show for

New Zealand. James Dobson

Burberry following his

retail home Children of Vision, relocating

Kensington Garden, the collection was titled

to a light-filled, timber-floored first-floor

A Painterly Collection, and while it comprised

space on Karangahape Road. While only

hand-painted leather and suede – significant,

open Friday and Saturday, the store will be

in that hand craftsmanship is so important to

open via appointment during the week,

today’s luxury market – this was no ordinary

allowing Mr Dobson to dedicate more energy

adoption of artistic qualities and elements

to his growing online business, his point of

that has plagued contemporary fashion in

difference in the digital landscape being his

recent years. The designer wasn’t out to cash

line-up of avant-garde designers, including

in on art’s intrinsic perceived value, but

Bernhard Willhelm, Peter Jensen, Daniel

instead imbued his clothing with its own by

Palillo and, of course, Jimmy D. Meanwhile

maintaining the integrity of its design and

in Wellington, the entrepreneur is opening a

craftsmanship. What Mr Bailey has done at

concession store within boutique The Service

Burberry in his time at the house is to set up

Depot, permanently housing his stable of

binaries so vast that other brands are left

brands as well as a mix of accessories, design

scrambling to keep up. It might be one of the

pieces and magazines (including this one).

oldest luxury brands in existence –

hought the economy was doing it tough? Sydney just got its first Rolex boutique. Situated in the

corner ground site of the

spectacular, heritage-listed Henry Davis York building in Martin Place, the boutique’s interior features high vaulted ceilings, marble columns and Art Deco finishes, the glitzy splendor paralleling that of the fine timepieces on offer. The result of a 30-year relationship between Rolex and local business LK Boutique, the outpost is home to the brand’s signature Swiss watches, including its Oyster collection, with self-winding mechanism.

↗ Burberry Winter 14. ← Orlebar Brown. ↓ Rolex showroom, Sydney.

established in 1856 and later the maker of trench coats for the British military – but it’s also the most digitally-savvy by a mile. In extending on his shop-the-runway functionality introduced a few years back, the brand this season allowed customers to purchase and personalise scarves and knitwear from the collection online at Burberry.com for two weeks (personalised nameplates can be added to outerwear, bags and knits, and embroidery added to scarves) for delivery nine weeks later, months before the standard collection arrives in store. In doing so, Mr Bailey brought together the two opposing forces that drive today’s shopper: instant gratification serviced by online shopping and, in the same breath, the handmade and personalised that shoppers so crave as the pinnacle of luxury. Like the binary of the brand’s business structure, so too was there a competing sense of sexuality in the clothing, with silk scarves draped over

the models’ shoulders worn with low-cut ollowing his jaunt to 1950s Miami,

mesh singlets. Mr Bailey was said to be

Adam Brown of luxury swimwear

inspired by the Bloomsbury Set – the early

label Orlebar Brown this season

20th-century group of creatives linked by

finds inspiration in Monaco, with

modern attitudes to feminism and sexuality –

a new series of the brand’s ‘Bulldog’ swim

and the colours, such as charcoal, navy, bottle

shorts reproducing 1930s illustrated travel

green and dark plum, are very much

posters promoting the famed seaside locale.

of that era. Virginia Woolf is included in this

Elsewhere in the collection, such as in blazers

group, and Bailey has referenced the writer

and t-shirts, yellow, blue and orange tones are

in his women’s collections before, evidence

reminiscent of the Monacan landscape.

of an ongoing interest in the British school.

farage

FAR AGE.COM.AU

SABA

WWW.SABA.COM.AU

INTRODUCING

INTRO DUCING

scr ap wall Jonny NeisChe & tv moore 21

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Mr Wall photographed by Guy Coombes on 09 January 2014 at his home in Bondi, Australia.

INTRODUCING

r M l l a W

Scr ap Wall DI R EC TOR , ART MON TH S YDN E Y

he wonderful thing about the role of

creative catalyst studied Intermedia at

growth. Essentially, the 100-or-so art spaces

artistic director of Art Month Sydney,

Auckland University and subsequently

that are still involved with the event are so for

the month-long festival bringing

worked as an artist, curator, retailer, visual

the same reason. “Galleries tell us that they

together the city’s galleries, is that it’s more

merchandiser and design consultant. His

are hungry for new faces and that they wanted

about event programming than it is traditional

multilayered retail venture, One, brought

people to feel relaxed and welcome in their

curation, and as such, the barrel of applicants

together art, object, fashion and furniture

spaces,” explains Mr Wall, suggesting the

is a great deal wider. That, of course, is not

and provided a platform for collaborations

intimidation many people feel in the presence

to say that the festival lacks an intellectual

and curatorial exercises, operating in a

of an art gallery. According to the director,

framework, but rather that its remit is far

constant state of flux in much the same

Art Month Sydney creates new reasons for

greater than most traditional galleries and

way as contemporary art. “I’m not saying

people to visit and become more familiar

museums operating in Australia right now.

each industry is the same, but there are

with galleries.” There are, for example, tours

Which makes a lot of sense. The borders of

common elements that can operate as

specifically geared to those who want to learn

what constitutes art have been questioned

paths of discovery for contemporary art,”

how to make a fine art purchase for the first

and challenged for centuries, but only in

he explains. “Art stands as the foundation

time, as well as after-hours precincts, inviting

recent decades – or years, for some lagging

for most creative industries, and where

people into a suburb’s collective of galleries

institutions – have we seen anything beyond

these forms intersect you find the most

during typically closed hours.

painting and sculpture within the rarefied

energy. This is the area I’m interested in.”

white box. Photography, street art and

The director’s varied interests result,

The galleries, on the other hand, use the opportunity to showcase their portfolio of

performance have long been poor cousins,

as you might imagine, in an incredibly broad

artists. One of the finer commercial galleries

which speaks lengths about where the likes

scope of programming, with events focused

in Sydney, Sarah Cottier Gallery, is using the

of music, fashion and industrial design sit on

on topics such as collection, design, the

opportunity to present an exhibition of over

the hierarchical ladder.

development of street art, and art in fashion.

200 works, including every artist that has

What brings these subjects together is the

shown in the space, including Australian-born,

boundaries and the resultant stigma around

raising of questions that face contemporary

Los Angeles-based mixed-media artist

visual art, and his vision for this year’s event

art today: Are critics still relevant? Does art

Jonathan Zawada, as a way of marking its

is to create alignments between varying

drive creative industry? What should we

20th anniversary. “This,” says Mr Wall, “is

disciplines as a way of exploding the

be collecting? Does street art belong in

a personal highlight.” And therein lies the

audience’s preconceived notions of what

museums? These are some of the issues

benefit of the one-year directorship. “I get

art is and can be. “I have been in and around

to be discussed during the event’s series

to see exactly what’s happening right now:

art as long as I can remember – I’ve studied

of talks, an important element of Art Month

where art fits in the community and in the

it, practiced it, shown it and sold it – and it

Sydney, with “each topic bringing together

marketplace. It’s an exciting time in the

still can seem like a rarefied atmosphere

a cast of participants that should create a

creative realm.” That he is an outsider of

even to me,” explains Mr Wall. “This is my

dynamic response”, according to Mr Wall.

sorts, given his varied background balancing

opportunity to expose it a little more… for

“I’m not trying to provoke conflict but the last

art and commerce and a transplant from

people to recognise the art in contemporary

thing anyone wants to see is a room full of

our sister nation, also ensures he has few

culture and hopefully want to discover more.”

people nodding and agreeing.”

allegiances, resulting in an objective vision

Scrap Wall is well aware of these

For Mr Wall, there lies no real distinction

Art Month Sydney was established by

for the event.

between creative forms beyond their process,

gallerists Vasili Kaliman and Michael Reid in

a notion evidenced in his background. Born

2010 as a way of inviting new audiences into

Art Month Sydney runs until 23

and raised in Auckland, the self-described

commercial galleries to assist in spurring their

March 2014 throughout the city.

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Jo nny Niesche Artist

onny Niesche came to the art world quite by accident. Following a decade-long career playing experimental, hardcore

rock music in New York City, he returned to Australia without a plan or specific interest in any other industry, and while figuring out his next move, helped to renovate his parent’s house. “When it was put on the market I thought that the ‘for sale’ sign would make a nice canvas, and so I painted on it,” he

themselves as simulated ancient treasure

explains. “That was it. I was obsessed with

troves,” explains Mr Niesche of his conceptual

paint and felt an instant alchemic affinity

approach, which finds similarities in the work

with it. I had no choice but to pursue it.”

Anselm Reyle and Robert Rauschenberg.

And while his parents fed him with brochures

“Many sacred sites from around the world

on courses in finance, he instead enrolled

from throughout history, such as the great

at the Sydney College of the Arts.

pyramids of Egypt, have been re-built and

Needless to say, the gamble paid off.

re-imagined in Vegas as an attempt to be

The work for his graduate show was selected

the absolute seduction, and in turn the most

for Hatched: National Graduate Show at

lucrative, which I see as a kind of creative

the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art,

destruction.”

and subsequently nominated for the Sir

In one of his most iconic works, A carrot

John Sulman Prize, the Blake Prize, and the

is as close as a rabbit gets to a diamond,

Churchie National Emerging Art Prize. In

shown last year at Artspace, Mr Niesche

completing his Masters last year, Mr Niesche

suspended a giant mirrored square from

was awarded a scholarship to study at the

the ceiling, with encasing layers of glitter

Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna with luminary

that draw the eyes inward. The effect is both

minimalist painter Heimo Zobernig. His

mesmerising and disconcerting, in much

career growth continues this year with a

the same way as the famed neon lights of

solo show, Vegas Can Be, opening this March

Las Vegas. This illusory play of objects and

at Minerva, Potts Point on the back of a group

visualisations of deep space and references

show at the same space. He’ll also appear in

to popular culture offers an “experiential

SCA New Contemporaries, a group show of

exchange between the work and the viewer”,

emerging contemporary artists opening

which Mr Niesche hopes might offer a

at the Sydney College of Arts in March.

heightened sense of perception.

It’s really little wonder that Mr Niesche’s work has allured academics and curators alike; as an ode to the glitz of Las Vegas

Mr Niesche photographed by

casinos, many of the pieces, particularly

Saskia Wilson on 07 January 2014

the later works, are at their heart seductive,

at his studio in Alexandria, Australia.

with their stimulating colour-ways and glitter-soaked finish. “Vegas casinos

Vegas Can Be is on show at Minerva,

seduce the high roller by portraying

Potts Point from 18 March to 26 April 2014.

INTRODUCING

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INTRODUCING

ecause Timothy Vernon Moore –

He currently lives in New York,

the contemporary artist better

returning to Sydney for exhibitions, including

known as TV Moore – lives in New

the forthcoming Biennale of Sydney,

York, it became easiest for us to speak via

showing regularly at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery,

email given the time difference. What

Sydney and Station Gallery, Melbourne.

ensued was a Ping-Pong game of written

His work – which spans painting, photography,

correspondence wherein Mr Moore didn’t

video, film, installation and performance –

so much answer any of the questions posed

is held in the collections of the Museum of

to him for this profile, but rather used them

Contemporary Art and the Art Gallery

as a platform to ask more questions. Indeed,

of New South Wales.

behind this casual banter there seems to

This is not the first time Mr Moore has

be an inquisitive mind that internally debates

been featured in the Biennale of Sydney,

some of the big issues, like mass media

having created a major sound and video

and cultural history.

installation for its 2008 iteration, the result

While some of his work can be read

of a months-long fellowship in the Californian

as “overblown finger paintings”, as he

desert. But the Sydney-born artist returns

describes them, there is a sense of relatability

to his hometown for a solo exhibition at the

in that the inherently democratic process and

Campbelltown Arts Centre, which will run

medium helps to unveil a conceptually dense

in tandem with his involvement in the

story beneath. The very “electric candy”

biennale. The large-scale exhibition, entitled

serves to pull you in eyes first, and indeed

Rum Jungle, brings together a broad cross-

viewing them in the flesh is a much richer

section of the artist’s work, creating an

experience. As Mr Moore says: “I like the way

“inebriating and interdependent exhibition.

a small child can enjoy them for their vitality,

It’s more of an adventure of my work with lots

colour and electricity, yet an intellectual

of new ideas holding court with older things.”

art maven can debate me about them for days.” This, he believes, is a positive thing.

Mr Moore photographed by

“Ultimately we make this stuff [artwork]

Pablo Ravazzini on 15 January 2014

and hopefully it creates an experience,

at his studio in New York, United States.

a conversation. “Art is political in some way just by it

The 19th Biennale of Sydney:

being made; it’s social because it’s out there

You Imagine What You Desire

in the world and I’ve always had a penchant

is on show throughout Sydney

for the absurd and continue to touch on things

from 21 March to 09 June 2014.

that are often pushed to the side of between the cracks in the matrix. I can’t sum up the work in a t-shirt slogan.” And indeed nor should he. Although he was born in Sydney, where he studied at the Sydney College of Arts,

r M e r o o M Mr Moore spent time in Europe in his early

twenties before gaining his master’s at the California Institute of the Arts.

TV M o o re ARTIST 27

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F AS HIO N

IN SIDE OUT The spring/summer season offers a distinctly playful palette of plaids, checks and paisleys. Unfurl your layers to reveal an explosion beneath. Photography Anna Pogossova

Burberry jacket, Prada shirt.

Opposite: Gucci shirt & jacket.

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Burberry jacket, Hermes scarf.

F AS HIO N

Prada shirt.

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Hermes scarf, Emporio Armani bag.

F AS HIO N

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Prada shirt & jacket.

F AS HIO N

Prada shirt, Hermes scarf.

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Tony Garifalakis, Untitled 5 from the series Mob Rule, 2013.

FEATURE

Heart of darkness With popular culture entranced by society’s evil underbelly, an art exhibition celebrating Australia’s own dark history seems timely, writes Alison Kubler.

quick assessment of popular mainstream

kilter outside the Art Gallery of South Australia, like a

culture would suggest that dark is the new

prop from a prosaic version of The Wizard of Oz). Group

late Adam Cullen, and books such as Picnic at Hanging

light. Our televisions, cinemas and bookshops

exhibitions are inherently risky, fraught with tensions.

Rock. There persists in Australian historical culture an

are replete with vampires, zombies and post-apocalyptic

Dark Heart was to feature a catalogue essay by Germaine

artistic willingness to expose the difficult side

scenarios. Our appetite for destruction is insatiable. When

Greer that at the time of writing had just been nixed, so we

of our national character, to turn an unflinching gaze

anthropologists look back at the 21st century they might

must imagine its contentious content. At the very least a

inward and see that which is most unattractive about

confuse an average mother from Sydney for a member of

show of this national cultural importance should provoke

ourselves, which catalogued might include, amongst other

an outlaw bikie gang, such is the contemporary popularity

more questions than answers and it would seem that this

things, a nationalistic spirit that borders upon jingoism,

of tattoos across age and class. Where tattoos were once

biennial, at the time of writing, is well on its way to

the racist overtures of the contemporary sovereign borders

the hallmark of rebellion, an outsider art form, they are

achieving this.

campaigns and a shameful history of Indigenous neglect,

now something of a suburban rite of passage, mawkish at

It is perhaps worth wryly observing that staging an

masculine malaise), to artists from Albert Tucker to the

all shot through with a parochial attitude that persists.

worst and mediocre at best, certainly no longer shocking.

exhibition with this title in Adelaide is a provocation of

Australians are adept at being self deprecating and ruthless

To extend the analogy, outside is the new inside.

sorts, since its reputation as the city of churches has been

in their self-analysis. This may be one of our better

tarnished in recent history thanks to the Snowtown

character traits.

This universal fascination with the abject, the ‘other’, suggests a societal disaffection or disillusionment, a social

murders. The image of bodies in barrels is hard to shake

malaise borne out of a real apocalypse; in this case, the

when you journey in from the airport past industrial areas

the artist to the theme, though this strategy invariably

global financial breakdown. Out of these straitened,

on a grey, rainy day.

disappoints. Substantially different in their individual

conservative times has emerged the mainstreaming of

Self-appointed 2014 biennial curator and Art Gallery

The temptation with an exhibition such as this is to fit

approaches, the 28 artists featured all make

counter-culture in the form of an obsession for ghouls and

of South Australia director Nick Mitzevich explains: “In

uncompromising work that is authentic in its intention.

monsters, and a fair few handsome vampires. So prevalent

its 13th iteration the biennial will tap into the hearts and

Dark Heart illuminates two concurrent art histories or

are monsters that, well, they are no longer very scary. We

minds of contemporary Australian society to explore the

cultural trajectories that frequently converge and diverge:

may as well blame Lady Gaga and her legions of ‘monsters’.

political, the psychological and the personal. I am after

an ancient and contemporary Indigenous art history, and

To paraphrase Andy Warhol, if everyone’s a monster then

an inherently emotional and immersive exhibition, one

a white (albeit ethnically rich) art history. In this regard,

nobody is. This leads me, in a roundabout way, to the 2014

that is unafraid to ask difficult questions and expose the

Mr Mitzevich’s central premise is an interesting one for

Adelaide Biennial, entitled Dark Heart, which features 28

underbelly of society.” A challenging remit, although it is

the complexity of context it throws up; the central premise,

artists (including Brook Andrew, Del Kathryn Barton,

the last statement in particular that intrigues in light of my

the ‘dark heart’, is an unfixed and shifting thing. It means

Martin Bell, Julia deVille, eX de Medici, Fiona Hall and

introductory thoughts. Mr Mitzevich’s interest in exposing

one thing and another completely at the same time. It is

Ian Strange) working across divergent media.

the nation’s underbelly (through painting, sculpture,

both the heart of the land and the darkness of our

video and installation) points to an aspect of our national

character. It suggests unease.

Dark Heart is as ambitious as it is big. The Adelaide Biennial is an exhibition that historically receives

character that is far removed from the comfortable

significant critical attention for its showcase of Australian

stereotype. We are a nation girt by sea, an island

understood as a history of landscape painting, from the

art and aims to attract large attendances, coinciding as it

geographically defined; outwardly we project the image

earliest colonial painters responding to the harsh

does with the Adelaide Festival, which in turn includes the

of a sun-kissed sporting nation of Valkyrie-like

exoticism of their new climes through to the iconic

Adelaide International 2014 (curated by Richard

proportions and promote ourselves in international

paintings of Sidney Nolan and Russell Drysdale and more

Grayson). It’s a busy time for Adelaide that sees the city

tourism campaigns with imagery of our beaches and bush.

recently artists such as Shaun Gladwell and Indigenous

challenge Melbourne and Sydney for cultural hegemony.

Yet beneath this bronzed exterior there flows a darker

The history of Australian art could traditionally be

artists Sally Gabori and Brook Andrew. For the majority

Large-scale thematically curated exhibitions such as this

undercurrent that relentlessly pulls us along, one that is

of Australians the bush remains unknowable, inexorable

are most successful when they take a risk in an attempt to

manifest across Australian literature, cinema, art and

and at times malevolent. The indigenous connection to

describe the Zeitgeist, whether through the selection of

fashion, from the melancholy romanticism of Nick Cave

the land is indisputable; the land is not a genre, rather it

artists, the theme itself or the logistical complexity of the

lyrics, to films such as Lantana, Warwick Thornton’s

is the great story of existence and humanity, that which

exhibition (artist Ian Strange is developing a massive site-

heartbreaking Samson and Delilah, or Snowtown (a tale

connects us collectively to a larger story that is eternal,

specific work that will see an entire house come to rest off

of urban decay and boredom, it describes an Australian

complex and deeply politicised. In this context we might

MANUSCRIPT

understand the dark heart as more than just the literal

and overshot with colour. His work pulls no punches. It is

land itself – it is perhaps, as Mitzevich has conceived of it,

designed to unsettle, as is the work of eX de Medici, who

the evocation of a collective dark night of the soul. In the

appropriates the polite Victoriana genre of watercolour as

hands of the artists collected in Adelaide, it is a metaphor

the starting point for works of extraordinary detail in

realised in myriad permutations.

which she juxtaposes imagery of weapons with feminine

Mr Mitzevich has said “in a way, I’m saying contemporary art at the moment is very much about a return to the narrative, very much about a return to

tropes such as flowers. The final large-scale images are alluring confections that hide a malicious beauty. Del Kathryn Barton is best known to Australian

figurative art, very much about a return to aesthetics –

audiences by virtue of her successful Archibald prize

that’s the point I’m making with this list [of artists].” Tony

winning works, yet to label her a portrait painter is to

Albert’s work is a highly subjective response to the stolen

diminish her practice. For Dark Heart she has created a

generation that employs kitsch Aboriginal themed

sprawling opus entitled the heart land, as well as a video

memorabilia to underline our discomfort with our past.

work. Ms Barton’s work enthrals with its at times

His house of cards beautifully entitled I have decided to

sentimental, illustrative flow. She is a mark maker par

stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear points

excellence, her mode of expression a frenetic outpouring

to the fragility of Indigenous and non-Indigenous

of tightly controlled gestures. With the heart land, a huge,

relationships. Brook Andrew’s raison d’etre is a cold-

multi-panelled work, Ms Barton describes her own

headed examination of the sins of a colonial nation visited

experience of motherhood while she makes analogies

on its Indigenous people via quaint etchings rendered in

about creation, home and hearth. It’s almost psychedelic

a large blown-up scale on canvas in elegant gravure detail

in its rendering, hippy and trippy. It’s a showstopper.

“Several artists in Dark Heart make works that deal with the uncanny, that which unsettles by virtue of its apparent normalcy.”

FEATURE

← Fiona Hall, Out of my tree, 2013. ↓ Ian Strange, Harvard Street, 2012, and Burn series #4, 2013.

Several artists in Dark Heart make works that deal with the uncanny, that which unsettles by virtue of its apparent normalcy. In the work of Shoufay Derz, butterflies swarm over a shrouded face, beautiful and weird. Tony Garifilakis taps into a commonly held mistrust of politicians, turning the faces of recognisable power players from Vladimir Putin to Kevin Rudd into malevolent harbingers, spray painting them black in a series entitled Mob Rule. Everyone’s favourite goth taxidermist, Melbourne artist Julia de Ville, is creating an as yet unseen installation entitled PHANTASMAGORIA that includes a baroque inspired chandelier that evokes the form of an octopus. Fiona Hall’s inimitable work employs found objects and artfully carved bones and filigreed metal to create shamanistic items such as a skull cuckoo clock, a creepy memento mori. Ms Hall, who has been named Australia’s representative artist for the 2015 Venice Biennale, is a well-established artist whose oeuvre examines political and environmental themes. Alex Seton’s meticulous sculpting in marble is a marriage of archaic techniques with contemporary issues. Someone died trying to have a life like mine is an installation of marble life jackets that lie on the gallery floor like the flotsam and jetsam from another failed asylum seeker attempt. Appropriately named artist Ian Strange’s perfectly normal suburban house flung to earth as though rejected for its prosaic facade is reminiscent of architect Robin Boyd’s declarations several decades ago on the Australian ‘ugliness’. Internationally based, Mr Strange has been making photographic imagery of abandoned and gutted American houses, the remains of the subprime mortgage crisis that stand bereft and

← Alex Seton, Someone died trying to have a life like mine, 2013.

empty. And flying above this extraordinary collection of art is the strangest thing of all – Skywhale, a pendulous, fecund and strangely benevolent creature, the creation of Patricia Piccinini. Skywhale taps into a subconscious fear of horror rent from the skies, and yet Ms Piccinini’s whale is, in that traditional definition of the word, cute. It’s figurative, all right. Missing from the exhibition’s original line up is Australia’s pre-eminent photographic artist and past Venice Biennale representative Bill Henson who withdrew from inclusion after official announcement spurred yet another media

The Adelaide Biennial

fracas and allegations of child pornography surrounding his work. The farce of trial

of Australian Art: Dark Heart

by media that Mr Henson has suffered would suggest that mainstream Australia

is on show at the Art Gallery of

can’t yet face its own dark heart.

South Australia until 11 May 2014.

MANUSCRIPT

PRINTED

MATTER

Growth continues for emerging designer Jonathan Saunders, with his new menswear range rivaling his existing womenswear. Mitchell Oakley Smith meets the Scottish master of print and pattern.

ashion has always been dominated

by a certain aptitude for cut, which Mr

establishing significant businesses beyond

by men designing for women. One

Saunders differentiates with the use of

creative play – ably assisted, no doubt, by the

might postulate that the great

printed textiles, having studied at Glasgow

phenomenal growth of online trading. It is

masters of couture – Charles Frederick

School of Art and, later, at Central Saint

with thanks to MatchesFashion.com that the

Worth, Paul Poiret, Christian Dior, et al

Martins, where he graduated in 2002 with

designer was brought to Sydney last October,

– could see something in women, a sense

an MA, winning the Lancome Colour Awards

with fellow British designer Roksanda Illinic,

of beauty, that they women might not see

upon graduation.

as part of a press event promoting two of the

themselves, and thus highlight and accentuate

Mr Saunders’ background in art is plainly

online store’s star performers.

their best features. But with the shifting

evident in his work, but the layers are deeper

landscape of the industry in recent years that

than straightforward prints on fabrics. Indeed,

staff to assist in producing his six collections

has seen menswear as a category experience

for his spring 2014 menswear collection, the

(four women’s, two men’s) per year, which is

phenomenal growth, it makes sense that new

designer was thinking about the notion of

considerable given that beyond Burberry,

generations of male designers should turn

artificial and manmade, such as the aesthetic

British fashion was never lauded for its

their attention to the clothes they wear every

of New Order and Pet Shop Boys record

professionalism. “I think British designers

day. That was the case for Australian-raised,

covers and Peter Saville florals. What that

were always known for innovation because we

London-based Richard Nicoll, who branched

translated to sartorially was a homage to

always started with no money, and from that

out into menswear in 2012.

American Psycho and the items that

comes innovation,” says Mr Saunders. “That

categorically represent menswear [pictured].

has all changed in the last five years, and I

for me,” says London-based Scottish designer

“It’s not my world, so I was drawing on my

think commercialism is no longer a bad word.

Jonathan Saunders of launching menswear

impressions of what menswear is: a grey suit,

At Saint Martins we all had a real snobbery

following the popularity of his women’s

a striped tie… they’re not necessarily cool

about wearability, but you learn quickly that

collections. “Womenswear is very specific,

things, but it’s what I think of when I think of

that’s nonsense at the end of the day, and

and when you’ve been doing it for a few years

menswear generally.”

there are lots of ways you can push creativity

“I was very self-indulgent in starting it just

you develop a signature or formula that

With his penchant for colour and print, it

Mr Saunders now employs close to 30

without alienating the person that’s going to

you have to follow,” he explains. “I studied

stands to reason that at the time of writing,

wear it. When you learn that skill you become

furniture design before I did fashion, and

it was announced that Mr Saunders had

something people want to invest in rather

like menswear it is more about the detail.

been recruited to consult on the women’s

than just look at.”

The form is simpler, and I missed that.”

collections of British designer Paul Smith,

Since presenting the range in 2011, menswear

whose clothing shares similarities with that

has quickly come to account for a quarter of

of Mr Saunders. While the young designer

Mr Saunders’ business with his clothing

will inject the Paul Smith business with

filling a gap between classic suiting and

renewed energy, the consultancy will provide

more avant-garde fashion.

further financial support to Mr Saunders’

“At the end of the day they’re very simple

growing business. But beyond that, it’s

clothes,” says the designer, noting that the

pleasing to see the sense of camaraderie

aesthetic variety is the result of colour, print

amongst London-based fashion designers,

and textiles which, he adds, “works for me in

with the industry experiencing something of

terms of my naivety. I mean, I’m not a men’s

a revival in recent years. Indeed, there has

tailor. I’m learning it as I go along.” The

been a band of emerging talent (Mr Nicoll,

designer may not have trained on Savile Row,

Jonathan Anderson of J.W. Anderson and

but his womenswear has always been defined

Christopher Kane alongside Mr Saunders)

FEATURE

MANUSCRIPT

Rafael Bonachela photographed by Jordan Graham.

FEATURE

With

the

Company A new triple-bill and a special anniversary demonstrate the breadth of Rafael Bonachela’s vision for Sydney Dance Company, writes Mitchell Oakley Smith.

afael Bonachela’s childhood

with visual art, children don’t understand

Albany and Mandurah. It’s certainly a far

exploring that and pushing it to see what

exposure to dance – namely

contemporary dance to be a foreign

cry from Russia, with the company recently

comes of it. Sometimes it works well, other

watching re-runs of Fame: The

language, or attempt to identify a clear

returning from a six-week international

times it is more challenging.” And it is so

Musical on television – is not what he

narrative arc, but instead respond creatively

tour also including South and North

for both parties. Like fashion designers

wants for the youth of Australia. The

to the physical movement. During a

America, but Mr Bonachela wants to

working with artists, a fashion designer

Spanish-born artistic director of Sydney

performance at a regional New South

structure the company’s touring schedule

working with performing artists is nothing

Dance Company, arguably Australia’s

Wales primary school last year, the

to allow for alternating years of international

new. When we look at collaboration

most known, if not best, contemporary

subsequent question-and-answer session

and domestic travel. “We did our first

historically, early-20th-century Ballet

dance outfit, believes that for audiences

was full of ideas. “We thought they’d be

performance under my direction at the

Russes has become an iconic symbol of

to engage with dance in their adult life,

stuck for questions but we couldn’t get

Venice Biennale [in 2009] and now we’ll

the way in which dancers, painters and

they must be exposed to and familiar

rid of them,” recalls Mr Bonachela of the

be performing in Dubbo, the Gold Coast,

designers worked together, influencing

with it first. “This is a barrier with all

experience. “This level of access is so

Albany… it’s the same dancers, the same

the broader artistic world that surrounded

contemporary art forms, but it’s easier with

important. We can spend hours here [in

skilled professionals,” he says. “We’re

them, like that of French couturier

contemporary art because of the support

Sydney] making work, but if we only

telling the story of Australia, of Sydney,

Paul Poiret.

behind it, so it’s free. You have thousands

perform it in Sydney for the very wealthy

and we must be present in this way.”

of people going for day trips to Cockatoo

people that can access it, then why are we

Island to see the Biennale [of Sydney],”

doing it?”

muses Mr Bonachela. “With the performing

But it’s not just global roaming that

In fulfilling the artistic director’s

In the century since, it has become commonplace for designers to work with

is helping the company to grow under Mr

ballet companies, with the New York City

Bonachela’s direction, but rather a holistic,

Ballet, under the guidance of Sarah

arts you have to buy a ticket, so you really

vision – that is, to be more than just a

collaborative approach that has seen

Jessica Parker, enlisting the likes of Olivier

need to engage people, but how can you do

touring troupe of performers – the company

Sydney Dance Company engage with artists

Theyskens, Prabal Gurung and Iris van

that if they’ve never had the opportunity to

this year introduced a one-year fulltime

outside of dance, such a vocalists Katie

Herpen to create one-off pieces as a way

see it, even as children?”

pre-professional dance course, welcoming

Noonan and Sarah Blasko, composers Ezio

of enticing a new audience earlier this year.

25 “over-talented young future dance

Bosso and Nick Wales, fashion designers

Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci recently worked

performing arts companies – one explored

professionals from around Australia” to

Toni Maticevski, Dion Lee and Josh Goot,

with performance artist Marina Abramovic

and debated by Sydney Theatre Company

the company’s home on the wharf on

and film director Daniel Askill. In doing so,

and choreographers Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

under the direction of co-artistic director

Hickson Road, where they will, by the

Mr Bonachela presents a multi-sensory

and Damien Jalet to create costumes for a

Cate Blanchett, who was responsible, with

year’s end, earn a certificate IV in dance.

experience for the company’s audience

ballet based on Maurice Ravel’s Bolero.

partner and co-director Andrew Upton,

This year also sees the introduction of

that extends beyond physical movement,

We might purport that for a designer,

for introducing a $20 ticket scheme – but

dance education, whereby the company

providing alternate points of entry for

working with a moving body, as opposed

one that Mr Bonachela is keen to help

will hold workshops for students in the

audiences not familiar with contemporary

to a static mannequin, is alluring, not least

solve in the lead-up to the company’s 50th

regional towns they visit on the

dance. In an alliance with contemporary

for the challenge of exhibiting their artistic

anniversary, in 2019. When we spoke earlier

performance schedule, offering an

art, Mr Bonachela collaborated with artists

skills beyond retail-ready designs.

this year, he had just confirmed his tenure

additional layer of engagement.

Jennifer Allora and Guillermo Calzadilla

It’s an ongoing challenge for

for another five years, so it’s little wonder

Although the company performs

For Interplay, the company’s triple-

to create performance piece Revolving

bill kicking off its 2014 program, Mr

that he wants to safeguard the company’s

predominantly in capital cities, with the

Door, presented as part of Kaldor Projects’

Bonachela has eschewed these additional

future by developing a younger audience.

forthcoming triple bill Interplay touring

Project 27: 13 Rooms in 2013.

artistic collaborations in favour of engaging

The surprising thing for Mr Bonachela,

Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, existing

“It’s one of the most exciting parts of

two of contemporary dance’s greats: Italian

however, is the way in which children

works, such as 2012’s 2 One Another, will

contemporary dance,” says Mr Bonachela

choreographer Jacopo Godani and Chunky

respond to the work: free of inhibition.

take to the road, with the company

of the opportunity to step out of dance’s

Move founder Gideon Obarzanek. While

Like the studies that show that children

performing in regional centres such as

bounds. “We’re part of contemporary

the company will perform a piece from Mr

are more adept than adults at connecting

Mackay, Rockhampton, Dubbo, Orange,

culture in Australia and for me it’s about

Godani’s existing repertoire, Mr Bonachela

MANUSCRIPT

“We’re part of contemporary culture in Australia and for me it’s about exploring that.”

and Mr Obarzanek will both debut original

movement, Mr Godani’s highly physical,

Obarzanek is enjoying his return, having

with other mediums. I’m trying to do

works created for the company, both of which

sexually driven works, and Mr Obarzanek’s

left dance some two years ago “without the

something new in coming back, and that’s

were in development at the time of writing.

use of spoken word and acting, for which

intention of necessarily coming back too it”

really exciting.”

As an artistic director, Mr Bonachela is in

experimental company Chunky Move is

– and then there’s his return to Sydney

a rare position in that he is able to both

renowned. “There is so much contemporary

Dance Company itself, having left the

a group known for its unrivalled virtuosity,

choreograph for his dance company as well

dance and we are never going to fulfill every

company 25 years ago.

it’s a giant leap away from the choreography

as commission new work, and, as he says,

style,” admits Mr Bonachela, “but hopefully

‘”I’ve got a list of people I love – some of

the audience can connect with the works.”

them I found out about a month ago, some

“It was interesting and challenging

Mr Obarzanek, for one, is not typically

Certainly for Sydney Dance Company,

it usually performs. Mr Obarzanek’s work is

for me to say yes to the commission,” he

essentially a critique of contemporary

explains, “but once I did I was hooked.”

dance, with the dancers pulling apart their

of them I’ve been following for years. For

a fan of such an approach, explaining that

Over the past two years, Mr Obarzanek was

own movement as a way of questioning its

me it’s not so much about common themes

a double- or triple-bill doesn’t allow its

exploring movement in a more narrative

form and meaning, and it will literally give

[between the separate works] but variety

audience to appreciate the works

sense, working with actors, such as at

voice to the company in moments of vocals

and contrast. The dancers will maintain the

individually. “They’re good in that they

Sydney Theatre Company, where he

and acting. “You might not think twice if you

thread of the company, but the works will

offer a variety of quite different work, and

created the highly acclaimed performance

saw Brown Council or Chunky Move doing

show just how versatile they are.”

because they’re quite short works they

piece Dance Better at Parties. “I felt that

that, but I think it’s unusual to hear the voice

tend to be dynamic,” says the choreographer.

after 16 years of running my own company

of dancers,” says Mr Obarzanek, whose

within contemporary dance will be no more

“But often it becomes an evening of

[Chunky Move in Melbourne] that I’d

challenging work could not contrast

apparent than in Interplay, bringing

comparison, and so there’s no bigger, more

expressed everything that I could imagine,

more greatly from that of Mr Bonachela

together Mr Bonachela’s dynamic, lyrical

holistic point of view.” Nonetheless, Mr

and so it got to the point where I was flirting

or Mr Godani.

The disparity of choreographic styles

FEATURE

“He’s doing things that I haven’t ever

– Mr Bonachela’s piece was originally

for the company, demonstrating that he

Interplay runs

done,” says Mr Bonachela of the work in

inspired by his 2012 Project Rameau, in

knows the importance of stepping out of his

15 March – 5 April in Sydney,

progress. “I’ve never had anyone talking on

which Richard Tognetti had performed an

own bounds, and those of traditional dance,

10 – 12 April in Canberra,

stage. I’ve never worked with an actor.

excerpt of the Bach masterpiece. “I fell in

to extend the dancers’ repertoire. But

and 30 April – 10 May in Melbourne.

I don’t deal with dance in a theatrical way;

love with [the music] and dived head first

beyond that, it indicates a very clear

Visit sydneydancecompany.com

I’m a purist, it’s very physical. But when

into it. They’re very complex and very well

objective of offering audiences a taste of

for tickets.

I see the work of Gideon, I think ‘wow, that’s

known pieces, which I didn’t know until

everything, of creating new and interesting

so clever, so different’, and I think that’s a

I’d chosen them to use for the piece, and

entry points, in much the same way as his

great thing and that audiences will come out

to be honest, it’s probably music that

engagement of creative collaborators.

of the performance having got something

doesn’t need to be choreographed, so I’d

“Although I want to give everyone freedom,

out of it.”

better do a good job, which is something

I’m also very conscious of how I’m putting

As for Mr Bonachela’s own work, the

I’m very conscious of.” It’s not the first time

things together,” he says. “There’s an

choreographer was inspired by Johann

Mr Bonachela has used strings (or Bach for

instinctive feeling. You can’t predict, but

Sebastian Bach’s iconic Partita for Violin

that matter) in his work, but, as he says, “it’s

you put people together, take risks, and have

No. 2 in D Minor, with the dancers joined

many years later, I have a group of dancers

to believe it will pay off.”

on stage by acclaimed violinist Veronique

I work with every day, and I want to push

Serret of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

myself and the dancers.”

With an opposite process to Mr Obarzanek – creating movement to an existing score

If anything, Interplay is a benchmark indication of Mr Bonachela’s broad vision

MANUSCRIPT

WALK THE LINE An exhibition of the work of conceptual artist Sol LeWitt provides a moment of reflection amidst the noise of overhyped contemporary art, writes Alison Kubler.

↖

→

Sol LeWitt

Incomplete open cube 5/6,

Filk silk screen prints

1974.

(detail), 1970.

FEATURE

…I will refer to the kind of art in which I am

Mr LeWitt’s practice, which included drawing,

involved as conceptual art. In conceptual

printmaking and sculpture (or as the artist preferred

artworks a collector could own would be a Sol LeWitt

to refer to them, ‘structures’), emerged out of minimalism

wall drawing. One could keep it safely in a filing cabinet

aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual

in the 1960s as part of a larger intellectual approach to

alongside one’s tax receipts and feel smug about owning

form of art, it means that all of the planning and

art making and theory. This in itself was a response to

something that is largely invisible. It is valuable by stealth.

decisions are made beforehand and the execution

post-war abstract expressionism and modernist formalism

You see, a Sol LeWitt wall drawing is powerful in its

is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine

art theory with its linear progressive trajectory, as defined

intent. It involves the act of mark making on a wall that

that makes the art. This kind of art is not theoretical

by the art historian Clement Greenberg. Minimalism

serves both as an interaction with architecture and three-

or illustrative of theories; it is intuitive, it is involved

argued for objectivity over subjectivity, and challenged

dimensionality and engages with minimalism’s dialogue

with all types of mental processes and it is purposeless.

the status quo of the white cube or gallery space and the

with phenomenology, but it also offers a provocation

It is usually free from the dependence on the skill

heroic machismo of the modernist ‘artist’. Mr LeWitt’s

about the value of art, challenging the status quo and the

of the artist as a craftsman.”

structures took the modular form of the square or cube

purpose of art. Drawn directly onto the gallery wall

as a central starting point because it is a non-emotive

originally in pencil or chalk (inherently democratic

art the idea or concept is the most important

Sol LeWitt’s treatise in Artforum in 1967 is widely

I have always considered that one of the most decadent

shape. His strategy of repeating patterns – linear – and

mediums), the wall drawings were always intended to

recognised as the first public recognition of the conceptual

structures reflected a kind of do-more-with-less strategy

be ephemeral and temporary.

art movement, although Mr LeWitt himself resisted the

characterised by an elegant spare quality and humility

tag. He is one of the great artists of two overlapping

of materials. In 1968 the artist would begin formulating

drawing instructions detailed by the artist, the wall

centuries, who counted as his contemporaries fellow

the deceptively complex wall drawings for which he is

drawings privilege concept over content, negating

American artists Dan Flavin, Robert Morris, Frank Stella,

best know, bringing three-dimensionality to the two

modernism’s primacy of the authenticity of the artist’s

Carl Andre and Lawrence Weiner, amongst others.

dimensional plane.

hand and celebrating the purity of the artist’s concept.

Rendered by a team of assistants following precise

When one buys a Sol LeWitt wall drawing, one receives not the finished artwork but rather the schema, an authenticated map that can thus be realised in another space. The drawings are not site-specific; they are unfixed and changing, though the central idea is not. Each iteration of a wall drawing is distinctly different by virtue of its installation by different hands, and thus each work is unique though pre-determined. Mr LeWitt created over 1,200 wall drawings over some 37 years, expanding his ‘palette’ in the 1970s to include coloured ink washes (ostensibly influenced by his experience of Italian frescoes whilst living in Siena) and again in the 1980s when he began to use vivid acrylic paints. Four new wall drawings, three of which will be for the first time, will be realised as part of Sol LeWitt: Your mind is exactly at that line, an exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales that covers forty years of the artist’s work and for which two Sol Lewitt estateapproved assistants are being flown to Sydney to create. The catalogue of work for the exhibition is drawn in part from businessman, philanthropist and art collector John Kaldor’s considerable gift to the state gallery, (together with significant works from the Naomi Milgrom Collection in Melbourne and the Sol LeWitt collection in Carver, Connecticut). Of course, we have Mr Kaldor to thank for, amongst other things, Jeff Koons’ Puppy at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney in 1995, John Baldessari’s Your Name in Lights at Sydney Festival in 2011, and the performance tour de force 13 Rooms at Carriageworks last year. Few people have brought so much to Australia, and Mr Kaldor’s relationship with Mr LeWitt stems far beyond this exhibition and, in many ways, is the impetus for its creation.

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“...the artist’s practice runs counter to so much current contemporary art, which is by turns declarative or didactic”

In 1998 Mr Kaldor invited Mr LeWitt to Australia a second time, 21 years after his first visit in 1977 in which he produced monochromatic wall drawings for the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria (Project 6 of Mr Kaldor’s ongoing series that now numbers 29). On his return visit (Project 11) Mr LeWitt produced a new work, Wall drawing #876, imbued with colour and movement in matt and gloss acrylic in primary and secondary colours for the Museum of Contemporary Art. Mr LeWitt’s enduring relationship with Australia continues with this exhibition, not least because the artist’s practice runs counter to so much current contemporary art, which is by turns declarative or didactic. A quick glance at museums and galleries around the world reveals programs filled with attention seeking look-at-me installations and ‘moments’. Amidst the noise of this loud explanatory version of art that seems designed for its reception by social media, Mr LeWitt’s work offers quietude, moments of contemplation and an intellectual reflection on ‘art about art’. Specifically his work rewards thinking and time spent. The viewer intent on finding a quick explicit meaning in the work of Sol LeWitt must grapple with the coolness of the intention and its explication. If Your mind is exactly at that line is indicative of new director Michael Brand’s vision for the Art Gallery of New South Wales, it might point to an increased intellectual engagement with art and ideas. Following on from the large scale exhibition America: Painting a Nation, it also might suggest where Mr Brand’s mind is at, having recently resigned from his position at The Getty Museum (after his position became, in his own words, ‘untenable’) in Los Angeles to take up the helm in Sydney. Curated by Natasha Bullock, the Sol LeWitt exhibition looks to the gallery’s strong holdings, greatly increased by Mr Kaldor, and turns our vision outwards to the legacy of contemporary American art. An important addition to Your mind is exactly at that line is work from the artist’s own personal collection (which at the time of his death in 2007 numbered some 9000 works), specifically works by prominent Indigenous artists gifted to him by Mr Kaldor. Mr LeWitt’s collection, which ranged from mid-19th century Japanese prints to work by other minimalist luminaries such as Eva Hesse, Donald Judd, On Kawara, Dan Graham, Hans Haacke and Gerhard Richter, was built through swapping works with contemporaries or the purchase of works by emerging artists. For the first time, Mr LeWitt’s works are exhibited alongside that of Indigenous artists such as Gloria Tamerre Petyarre and Emily Kam Kngwarray, whose work in particular he deeply admired in written correspondence to Mr Kaldor, in the country of their origin. This is a complex curatorial juxtaposition, not least for the subjectivity it imbues Mr LeWitt’s own work with. Inevitably we find ourselves looking at the artist’s own austere work with a new scrutiny, looking for chinks in the conceptual armour. Was Mr LeWitt’s interest in ↑

Sol LeWitt,

Aboriginal art the direct influence for his ebullient wall paintings rendered in bold acrylic colour? How else

All two part combinations of

might we make sense of these latter works, with their

arcs from four corners, arcs

undulating lines and curvilinear forms (although Mr

from four sides, straight,

LeWitt’s strict rules still applied, no colour was allowed

not-straight and broken

to overlap another)? Mr LeWitt declared in 1967 that ‘art

lines in four directions, 1977.

that is meant for the sensation of the eye primarily would

FEATURE

be called perceptual rather than conceptual. This would include most optical, kinetic, light and colour art.’ Do Mr LeWitt’s later colour-based works constitute perceptual art? Perhaps the appeal of Aboriginal art for Mr LeWitt lay in its frequent repetition and seriality, a shared characteristic. For many people it is fair to say that an engagement with Indigenous art is based purely on an aesthetic level. This is why it fills the atriums of hotels and features as the backdrop to politicians and businessmen proselytising. Indigenous art has always walked the tightrope between conceptual and decorative; an intimate knowledge of the themes and stories contained within does not preclude an appreciation of its form – quite the contrary. For the layperson, traditional Indigenous art is a kind of narrative art expressed as abstraction. Seeing Mr LeWitt’s work alongside some of this country’s greatest Indigenous artists is a real revelation, a rare treat. As the artist wrote: ‘It doesn’t really matter if the viewer understands the concepts of the artist by seeing the art. Once out of his hand the artist has no control over the way a viewer will perceive the work. Different people will understand the same thing in a different way.’ This sentiment is perhaps what makes his work entirely relevant for a new audience, for whom art theory is largely irrelevant.

Sol LeWitt: Your mind is exactly at that line is on show at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until 3 August 2014.

↑ Sol LeWitt, Wall drawing #303: Two part drawing. 1st part: circle, square, triangle, superimposed (outlines). 2nd part: rectangle, parallelogram, trapezoid, superimposed (outlines), 1977. ← Sol LeWitt, Pyramid, 2005.

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BEST FOOT

FORWARD

As the world’s most Googled shoemaker, Christian Louboutin's small venture has become big business. Mitchell Oakley Smith visits the designer in his Parisian studio. When women think shoes, they think

Is there a connection between

but I’d never do that. I have a journal with

The bags and accessories are

Louboutin. Christian, that is. With

the men’s and women’s collections?

all different coloured pens that I use. And

very strong this season.

their iconic red lacquered soles, the

A lot of the men’s shoes have been

it’s really a small studio. I have someone

It comes naturally, really. When you get

subject of a lengthy legal dispute that

influencing, and not influenced by, the

who helps with editing the collection, and

confident you go quicker, you execute

the designer’s company eventually

women’s shoes. When I’m designing the

others specialising in leather and colours

better. It’s a challenge, but it’s also very nice

won, and oftentimes glitzy designs,

collection, women in our office have asked

and different things. But it’s really just me

when you have good feedback about things.

there is no mistaking a pair of

why a men’s shoe will have all these tassles

designing.

Christian Louboutin heels. Indeed, in

and bits, so sometimes I end up doing a

2012 the Design Museum in London

women’s version of it. I was aware from

mounted an exhibition to honour

the beginning that I didn’t want it to be

twenty years of the French designer’s

the other away around, because men and

career. In expanding his business, Mr

women’s shoes are very different: women’s

always a work in progress, and finding the

Louboutin launched a men’s line in

are very light and thin, so if you apply that

right kinds of materials. But if there was

2011, following an ever growing

to men it doesn’t fit right. It’s really a

an inspiration for this collection, I had in

accessories collection, which has

different process.

mind these 1950s musicians, like bands

Can you talk us through the spring 2014 collection?

Well, I never have just one solid idea. It’s

that performed on big cruise ships that

continued to grow with the opening of several men’s-specific stores and

The red sole is such an important

were very well dressed. And so I went for

concession concepts, including

part of the brand and is on both

this very pointy, polished kind of shoe.

Selfridges, London. He speaks with

the men’s and women’s shoes. Why

Manuscript about his process of

is it so special to people?

creation.

Well, it’s a sign of recognition, and later

“A lot of the men’s shoes have been influencing, and not influenced by, the women’s shoes.”

it was a trademark, so while the club – MITCHELL OAKLEY SMITH

Your men’s line has continued to grow, and quite exponentially. Was it a conscious decision to expand into menswear?

the Louboutin club – is getting bigger, it’s something people can have in common. And it’s not really obvious, it’s quite hidden. It’s like a wink.

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN

And as you say, that club is

It was by accident, actually. This guy

getting much bigger now. Do you

called me up, a young pop star that’s now

still think of your brand as

a friend, and he asked me to create some

French?

shoes for him for his tour. I said OK, but

It’s like my English: I speak it, but when

had to ask why he came to when I had only

I do people hear the French accent.

designed for women. He said ‘well, it’s

So we’re an international brand but with

very simple. I have three sisters and

a French style. I think of myself as a luxury

they’re often in your shoes, and I don’t

artisan, because we focus a lot on hand

know what it is but there’s something

craftsmanship. That’s a very Parisian

about them that gets people so excited,

thing, going way beyond [contemporary]

and so to wear them on stage will really lift

fashion, like in the 18th century with the

me up.’ So I really started designing for a

refined pieces of furniture. Luxury

showman in the beginning, but when I

artisanship is tied up in French history.

started doing that – designing without limits – I saw that a lot of people are real

So you’re not a virtual person

showmen, and a lot of people really like

when it comes to design then.

that side: the colours and textures

I’m not digital at all. Someone told me

and things.

about this three-dimensional machine,

FEATURE

Christian Louboutin in his paris design studio.

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↑ Ermenegildo Zegna. ↗ Calvin Klein Collection. → Giorgio Armani.

FEATURE

The

New Suit Men’s fashion is a slow burn, but the recent fall collections have seen an overhaul of the traditional silhouette. Mitchell Oakley Smith muses on the shape of things to come.

ne of the biggest trends I have

simplicity that belies complex construction

Christian Dior’s own wardrobe for his

noticed this season is a

and creation, and his menswear collections

unusually formal, suiting-based collection

deconstruction of jackets and

for the house continually rework the suit into

for Dior Homme. Like previous anatomical

coats, all of which creates a rather top-heavy

something softer and more luxurious. He

studies of the same garment, the suit, with

silhouette prevalent in the collections of

too incorporated that padded, elasticised

its high-cut lapels, was presented in two-,

countless Italian brands. In a way, it’s a casual

bomber style, rendering them in grey wools

three- and four-button iterations, and like

turn as it moves away from the structure

that might traditionally be used for suiting,

at Ermenegildo Zegna, worn with casual

that we associate with corporate suiting,

and pared other two-piece numbers with

nylon parkas over the top.

and no one captures this feeling better than

zip-up cardigans. The sense of texture that

Calvin Klein Collection was one of my

Stefano Pilati in his role as artistic director

is the result of this kind of experimentation

favourites of the season. It was a stroke of

at Ermenegildo Zegna.

is something seen in plenty this season,

genius on Italo Zucchelli’s part to emblazon

nowhere more obvious than at Salvatore

sweatshirts with the logos of the house’s

else was still focused on imbuing traditional

Ferragamo where its designer Massimiliano

best-selling fragrances, something he

tailoring with sportswear elements, such as

Giornetti adopted the kinds of weaves and

probably could have done already, given

harnessing details and tech fabrics, but fresh

stripes found in luscious, traditional rugs

the popularity of such garments in recent

from his reign at Yves Saint Laurent, Mr Pilati

(something he collects, apparently). Its most

seasons, but it was the voluminous, almost

introduced a leaner, more languid silhouette,

striking incarnation was in a few coats that

unrealistic proportions of his overcoats,

a softness that he continued in Milan this

presented panels of colour in an ombre effect,

trousers and said sweaters that was most

season. That the show’s first exit was a grey

achieved, of course, not through digital print

appealing as, again, it transformed that

single-breasted suit worn with a coat over the

but the weaving of threads. Now that’s luxury.

slim athletic silhouette to which we’ve

shoulders and – gasp! – a woollen beanie, quite

Most of the jackets – whether cropped safari-

become so accustomed. Frida Giannini

shocking when you think of the sartorial history

style, traditional blazer or mid-thigh coats –

elevated Gucci’s menswear offering this

of the house, it was obvious that Mr Pilati is

were belted, further thwarting the classic suiting

season, too, eschewing the sporty style of

taking seriously his role of modernising the

silhouette in this season’s overhaul of tradition.

last season for the classic style of sixties-

At last season’s spring shows, everyone

suiting purveyor for a contemporary audience.

At Giorgio Armani, the Italian brand's

There was suiting in this collection – lots of it,

more mature line, the unstoppable designer

Italian house, and the powdery palette of

and quite beautifully made, too – but the

focused on the jacket, presenting an anatomical

cornflower blue, blush and cream rendered

designer has a unique ability to make it feel

study that “reworks the emblem of the

elegant slim trousers, newsboy caps and

modern, and it wasn’t just the styling that

Armani universe, bringing an evolutionary

cropped double-breasted duffle coats. The

achieved this. In one look, a three-piece grey

element to tradition.” That was certainly

addition of leather pieces – and not just

suit is worn with a beautiful, wide-lapelled

the case in the way Mr Armani presented

jackets, but also pants and shirts – added

overcoat with fur trim, slashed at the waist and

countless iterations: cut short at the hips;

masculinity to the boyish shapes. And that

elasticised, turning it into a sort of coat-cum-

belted at the waist; double-breasted, single-

seems to be trick of luxury menswear at

bomber. That playful eschewing of tradition

breasted; with contrasting collars, and no

the moment: elevating oftentimes simple,

continued throughout: the collar of one bomber

collars at all. What brought it all together,

casual pieces with quality fabrications.

jacket extends from the front of the jacket itself,

of course, was the designer's innate

Just look at Hermes, where artistic director

resulting in an unusual shape that fuses drape

understanding and mastery of tailoring,

Veronique Nichanian produced quilted

and structure, while bomber-like quilting is

ensuring that even in casual, cardigan-like

puffa jackets in black crocodile leather.

transposed elsewhere.

styles that it retained a sense of authority

The shape of things to come, indeed.

Tomas Maier at Bottega Veneta is, of

and masculinity. Kris Van Assche looked

course, a master at this sort of effortless

to the jacket, too, taking inspiration from

era London. As always, luxury is king at the

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COVER

DION LEE A Cut Above As our countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost designer, Dion Lee has become the poster boy for Australian fashion on a global stage, writes Mitchell Oakley Smith. Photography Paul Scala | Creative Direction Jolyon Mason | Grooming Jenny Kim

MANUSCRIPT

pend some time

namesake business – its size, shape,

amazing at providing that, and I feel within

with Dion Lee, and

style and direction – with the wisdom

my own role that I’ve got more freedom to

you quickly get the

of someone far beyond his years. It makes

be more considered and to focus on the

impression that he

sense then that major retailer Cue, a

parts of the business that I should be.”

has high expectations.

company that also owns Veronika Maine,

As a result, he has been able to elevate

When we meet in

chose to invest in Mr Lee’s business,

his product in terms of manufacturing,

early January, he’s

purchasing an undisclosed share in mid-

fabrication and quality control, delivering

in the throes of preparing his fall collection

2013. Under the contract, the designer

“a higher standard, which is really what

to present at New York Fashion Week, his

remains autonomous and with creative

I wanted.”

second time doing so, and is frustrated that

control, but the investment has allowed

the Christmas break has meant less time

him to grow the business to meet demand

launched his label, perhaps unwittingly,

to coordinate with American contractors

and provides the infrastructure necessary

right out of college, and in terms of

on a solid creative concept for the show;

for it to become a truly global player.

prestige, creativity and presentation, he

he has also just completed his first pre-fall

When the announcement of the

The 28-year-old Sydney-based designer

has quickly surpassed his peers to establish

collection since switching to four seasons

partnership was made, few expected such

a new benchmark for what Australian

per year, which means he had to take a

a bold move. Australian fashion doesn’t

fashion - and, for that matter, fashion

break from designing the aforementioned

have an extensive history of the type –

businesses anywhere - can be. Mr Lee

fall collection, arguably the most important

predominantly a result of the relatively

graduated from the three-year course at

of the year; and during the course of both

small nature of fashion businesses in the

the Fashion Design Studio at Sydney

projects, he was forced to open the doors

country and a lack of high quality, big

TAFE, during which he spent an internship

to his much-anticipated boutique, his first

brands to support them – and the few that

with avant-garde designer Tina Kalivas.

venture into vertical retail, so as to meet

have made the jump have regretted so

A list of the accolades bestowed on the

stock and financial forecasts, despite it not

later, with the likes of Peter Morrissey and

designer in the subsequent years include

being finished to the point he had originally

Kit Willow-Podgornik losing their names

the Qantas Spirit of Youth Award in

wanted. In the first few minutes of our

in the process of buyouts. According to

Fashion Design (2010), the L'Oreal

conversation, these are issues he talks

Mr Lee, the year since has been onwards

Melbourne Fashion Festival National

about, and with some passion, but he does

and up. “It has been really good, and I’ve

Designer Award (2010), the Prix de Marie

so with a clearheaded, controlled tone.

already learnt a lot,” he explains. “With

Claire Award (2013) and a finalist place

There are long nights and weekends

anything like this there’s always going to be

in the relaunch of the fabled International

spent in the studio, but there is no finger

a period of transition, but the real objective

Woolmark Prize (2013).

pointing or petulant tantrums. The

of partnering with [Cue] was for support

designer takes responsibility for his

and infrastructure and they’ve been

The full extent of Mr Lee’s vision for the Dion Lee brand is on display in his

COVER

← Dion Lee's Site 01, Strand Arcade, Sydney. ↙ Backstage at the Dion Lee fall 2014 show at New York Fashion Week.

“There are long nights and weekends spent in the studio, but there is no petulant tantrums or finger pointing.” first store, Site 01, housed in the Strand

technical aesthetic but sensual at the

main line but explored as a fully-fledged

Arcade’s historic building in the CBD.

same time. I'm really interested in cut

brand in its own right.” He won’t confirm,

Here, his collections are merchandised

and construction and technique and fabric,

but he hints at the prospect of a menswear

in full, rather than in an edited form as in

but on the end-wearer the clothes have an

launch later this year, and his aesthetic of

multi-brand department stores, and in

ease that's very sexy and about the body,

sharp tailoring, particularly in his shirting

surrounds that complement the aesthetic.

and I think a lot of that comes down to the

range, would ensure no dilution of aesthetic.

As says the store’s architect, Kelvin Ho:

Australian lifestyle.” For his fall collection,

It seems, in many ways, a very natural

“The idea was to explore beauty in the

the designer looked beyond the surf culture

extension. “In any case,” he says, “we need

process of construction and how the

that has inspired his body-con neoprene

to make sure we keep refining our existing

illusion of something unfinished could be

creations, finding inspiration instead in our

lines, too.”

introduced into a contemporary retail

country’s history. In this way, convict

space to create an honest environment

uniforms influenced his signature tailoring,

that contrasts with the garments and other

this time with a boxy, masculine silhouette,

refined elements. Here, villaboard, a

while steel-capped R.M.Williams boots

material typically used in construction,

and akubras recalled one of our earlier

is used to create a second layer in front

style exports: Crocodile Dundee.

of the existing walls, offset with charcoal

In attracting more stockists, Mr Lee

carpet and polished stainless steel used

needed to start designing for a broader

as borders. “We tried to invert positive

audience and so introduced more wearable

and negative space to create a displaced

day-to-day range, Line II, focused on

area within the existing framework.”

shirting, in 2011. It fetches retail prices

A good measure of a designer's

about half of his main line as a result of

innovation is the difficulty in describing

some garments being produced offshore.

their clothes and, in this case, it's hard to

More recently, he introduced a capsule

put your finger on what it is exactly Mr Lee

collection of swimwear, which he’s keen

does. Architectural complexity often belies

to further develop into a product category

what appears at first glance to be a simply

of its own with its own, independent

tailored garment, such as a pencil skirt,

wholesale channels to suit. “There are

but this is not haute couture in the sense

lots of new product categories that we’re

of how we imagine it. “I find the question

working on and looking at,” he explains,

of my aesthetic surprisingly difficult to

“but it’s about having the right timing and

answer,” explains Mr Lee. “It's quite a

also that something isn’t tacked on to the

Photography Assistance Mitch Fong Post Production Postmen

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FASHION

Dream a little dream of me Mr Field wears Prada top.

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Mr Barrett wears Akira Isogawa dress.

Opposite: Burberry shirt & underwear.

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FASHION

Sportmax dress.

FASHION

Chanel accessory.

Opposite: Miu Miu dress.

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Prada dress.

Opposite: Sass & Bide dress.

Jordan Barrett/IMG Models | Harrison Field/EMG Models Photographic Assistance Andy Stevens Styling Assistance Alex Rost & Kaila Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Agostino

MANUSCRIPT

Great Dane Although its outlook is global, Danish brand Sand projects an image of homegrown authenticity. Copenhagen isn’t exactly known as a

According to the designer, each

fashion capital. Its people are stylish,

collection begins with fabric selection,

cosmopolitan and open-minded,” says Mr

of course, but as a nation, Denmark is

and although it utilises some of the finest

Sand. “He’s a modern man, and he wants

renowned more for its exceptional

traditional Italian weavers, there is a

cool and well-fitted garments.” Indeed, the

furniture, interior design and architecture

Scandinavian twist in that the tailoring is

men’s business as a whole has remained

than it is fashion. But that’s slowly

more flamboyant, with prints and pattern,

steady – and in some cases grown – in

changing. According to Dansk Fashion

evidenced in the images in this portfolio.

recent years, despite financial collapse

and Textile, the country's fashion and

“The consumer dares for more today,”

throughout the world. Looking good, it

textiles industry grew three per cent last

says Mr Sand. “Now it’s not only the tie,

seems, has become integral to success,

year, and its biannual fashion week is

but also about wearing a printed shirt and

which in turn is the key to the Sand story.

gaining traction with bright young stars

blazer like a new accessory.” In one blazer

Launching the label with his wife Lene

such as Henrik Vibskov, Peter Jensen and

from the current spring collection, a navy

in 1989, with womenswear following in 1991,

Anne Sofie Madsen. A 2013-released

base is printed with vivid white flowers,

Sand has now grown to comprise three

book, Fashion Scandinavia, demonstrates

while silk tuxedos are printed with

product lines: Pink label, a fashionable,

the global appeal of fashion in the region,

intricate architectural patterns in silver,

somewhat preppy range, Black label,

noting its simplicity, attention to detail

black, olive green and purple in a twist

comprising more of its formal suiting, and

and high quality materials.

on classic black tie – the shirting range,

Red Carpet, designed for evening wear.

Soren Sand agrees with the description,

“The Australian man has become more

meanwhile, is a veritable hotbed of paisleys

Accompanying this is an extensive range of

adding that “everything we do in all Danish

and polkadots, each in varying shades of

accessories, such as leathergoods and shoes.

industries is about good design – it’s in

pastel tones and primary brights.

Based in Lake Como, Italy – a location chosen

our roots and in the way we’re raised.”

This incongruity of classic and

to be nearer to the label’s fabric suppliers –

His self-titled label, Sand, has fast become

contemporary has built Sand a significant

the couple is responsible for both creative

a star on the homefront and internationally

audience, with its largest market now the

development and business direction, juggling

with its fusion of Danish design values and

United States, turning over $20 million

creativity and commerce in the same breath.

modern styles. A Sand blazer, for example,

there in 2013 through its 225 North

But, as Mr Sand explains, “I love both. I’m

comprises a slim fit with innovative details,

American outlets. In May, the brand

very excited about the design, about creating

such as contrasting lining, buttons and

opened a large-scale concession store in

beautiful products, but I also know how to be

stitching, and is made from Italian fabric.

the men’s department of Saks Fifth Avenue

commercial as well. To me they are closely

“Many British brands are a bit old school

in New York City, representing major

connected.” And yet despite the brand’s

when it comes to construction and fitting”,

growth since launching the brand in the

design studio being based in Italy and its focus

explains the designer. “A Sand suit contains

market three years earlier. Australia, too,

on export, it remains committed to the

all the elements to make it perfect, and the

is an important focus for the brand, with

Danish industry, showing as part of its fashion

construction and traditional craftsmanship

a new partnership with department store

week instead of in Milan or Paris. “We are

are essential for us.”

David Jones seeing the roll out of five

Danes in our heart and soul,” says Mr Sand.

shop-in-shop concepts across the country.

Photography Cara O’Dowd | Styling Jolyon Mason Grooming Sasha Nilsson

Mr Marshall wears Sand clothing throughout. 68

FASHION

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Photography Assistance Jesse Lizotte | Styling Assistance Alex Rost Ms Nilsson used Kevin Murphy hair products throughout.

FASHION

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b LUE STEEL D e n i m –t h a t most ∏igo∏ous, utilita∏ ian of fab∏ics– is the pe∏fect wa∏d∏obe a l l- ∏ o u n d e ∏ Photography Georges Antoni | Styling Jolyon Mason Grooming Diane Gorgievski

FASHION

Mr Smith wears

Seiv vest,

jacket, shirt,

skirt & jeans, stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own

shoes & socks

worn throughout. Opposite:

G-Star Raw vest,

Cheap Monday skirt,

American Apparel leg warmers

(worn as sleeves).

Lee jacket (light),

Kohzo jacket (dark),

stylist's own jeans

(worn as leg warmers), A-Brand shorts

(worn underneath). Opposite:

Stylist's own cape, Bassike jacket, Kohzo jeans,

ASOS shorts (worn underneath). 79

Bassike t-shirt, Levi's shirt

(worn underneath),Â

Country Road jeans

(worn as skirt),

Bassike jeans. Opposite:

Stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own apron, Levi's jacket, Neuw jeans

(all worn inside-out). 80

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Levi's vest, Three Over One shirt, stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own jeans.

FASHION

G-star Raw shirt, Neuw jumper,

Bassike jacket

(worn underneath),

stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own jeans

(worn as harness), G-Star Raw jeans,

Saba jeans

(worn underneath),

River island jeans

(worn underneath). Opposite:

G-Star Raw by Marc Newson

jacket & jeans. 85

Lee jacket (light),

Kohzo jacket (dark),

Three Over One vest, stylist's own jeans

(worn as leg warmers), A-Brand shorts

(worn underneath). Opposite: Wrangler overalls, G-Star Raw vest,

American Apparel leg warmers. 86

FASHION

MANUSCRIPT

Scotch & Soda vest & jeans, Levi's jacket

(worn underneath), Wrangler shorts

(worn underneath), American Apparel leg warmers

(worn as sleeves),

stylist’s own scarf. Opposite from inside:

Bassike jacket,

Lee vest,

Cheap Monday shirt, Lee shirt,

Levi’s shirt,

G-Star Raw jacket,

Three Over One jacket, G-Star Raw by

Marc Newson jacket. 88

Andrew Smith/Priscillas Models | Photography Assistance Adrian Price Digital Operation Willy Ward | Styling Assistance Alex Rost & Kaila Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Agostino 89

MANUSCRIPT

Stockists

A-Brand / abrandjeans.com

American Apparel / americanapparel.net ASOS / asos.com

Bassike / bassike.com

Burberry / burberry.com

Cheap Monday / cheapmonday.com

Christian Louboutin / christianlouboutin.com Country Road / countryroad.com.au

Crane Brothers / crane-brothers.com Dion Lee / dionlee.com

Dior Homme / dior.com

Emporio Armani / armani.com

Farage / farage.com.au

G-Star Raw / g-star.com Gucci / gucci.com

Harrolds / harrolds.com.au Hermes / hermes.com

Jonathan Saunders / jonathan-saunders.com Kohzo / kohzo.ch

Lee / leejeans.com.au

Leviâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s / levis.com.au

M.J. Bale / mjbale.com

Neuw / neuwdenim.com

Paul Smith / paulsmith.co.uk Prada / prada.com

Ralph Lauren / ralphlauren.com River Island / riverisland.com Saba / saba.com.au Sand / sand.dk

Seiv / seiv.com.au

Scotch & Soda / scotch-soda.com

Three Over One / threeoverone.com Wrangler / wrangler.com.au