The Premiere Issue

PAMELA

LOVE ZANG

TOI

MICHAEL

CHLOË SEVIGNY FASHION’S

MOST

INTRIGUING

RAPAPORT

A VA I L A B L E A T U R B A N O U T F I T T E R S

FROM THE EDITOR Welcome to the premiere edition of Meets Obsession magazine.

It was only a year ago, I founded MeetsObsession.com, a website where I spent numerous hours a day writing about my many obsessions with fashion and current culture.

It was a small fashion blog that my friend Mei and I wrote on daily, because we loved fashion.

For us, the blog was a creative outlet that fueled our obsessions with dresses, shoes, jewelry, and the occasional silly celebrity that made us laugh during our most stressful moments.

Within weeks of launching, our readers grew exponentially, and within a matter of months, we were more than 90,000 strong.

Since I was eight, I was collecting the magazines of Sassy, Seventeen and Vogue and read each of them cover to cover, staring at the glossy pages of Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Kate Moss who looked ridiculously glamorous in Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Calvin Klein.

To me, fashion glossies were the seasonal style Bible, and each issue provided sustenance to my obsession. As I touched each page, I found myself living vicariously through each beautiful image; and I believe, this is something that digital media has yet to replicate.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 8 Pamela Love 10 Shooting Blanks: A History of No Wave Cinema 12 Beautifully Unwritten: Natasha Bedingfield 16 RIP: The Death of an Album 18 The Tribe of Life: An Interview with Michael Rapaport and Phife Dawg

20 Breaking the Rules 30 New Kid on the Block: Prabal Gurung 32 Alice Ritter 34 Michael Franti: Gentle Giant Warrior 36 Victoria F. Gaitán: Beauty in Decay 38 Sounds of Domestic Living 39 Shooting for Reel: A Preview of Upcoming Documentaries

41 10 Most Intriguing in Fashion 52 Zang Toi: 30 Years on the Throne of Luxury 54 Autumn Beauties 59 Hers and His Fall Accessories 60 Fall into Beauty: Autumn’s Best Beauty Bets

Print may be dead, but in fashion, it will live forever. And because fashion is our obsession, it was only natural that Meets Obsession would pursue that medium.

And today, we’ve arrived.

We bring you fashion without the pretense, music without the masses, and culture without the convention.

We live and breathe fashion, music and pop culture. We stay up at night thinking about it, and talking about it, and wanting to talk to you about it, because we are, after all, the paper for the fashion and culture obsessed.

This premier edition is the result of great writers, talented artists, fabulous photographers and beautiful models.

We loved doing it, and we hope you love reading it.

Jacqy Law

66 Brian Baker: Reflections of a Guitar Mastermind 68 Entranced by The Entrance Band 72 Twitter “Fail Whale” Creator Reinvents Wall Art 73 Fashion TV: Fashion Themed Shows Coming to A Screen Near

74 Confessions of a Tattoo Artist 76 Ra Ra Rasputin 78 Fashion Exhibition Guide

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 3

MAIA WOJCIK, GLOBAL FASHION DESIGN TALENT SCOUT / DJ

I’ve always been obsessed with clothes, and in a way, “dressing up”... draping myself in jewelry is a really quick way to feel totally exotic, or precious, or just to add color and texture to any outfit. I’ve recently become more obsessed with jewelry than [with] whatever I’m wearing... I can’t leave the house without [my jewelry] piled on. Even if I was wearing clothes, I’d feel completely naked [without it].

4 | MeetsObsession.com

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

PAPER FOR THE FASHION & CULTURE OBSESSED

Editor-In-Chief & Creative Director Jacqy Law Managing Editor Mei Tan FASHION AND BEAUTY

Beauty Editor Susan Linney Fashion Assistant Audrey Leon Fashion Contributor Catherine Toor Fashion Contributor Karen Alexis Bastow Fashion Contributor Rhiannon Strayer

MUSIC

Music Contributor Megan Friend Music Contributor Yohana Desta

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Film Editor Matt Cohen A&E Contributor Caroline Cullen A&E Contributor Justin Brill A&E Contributor Saron Olkaba A&E Contributor Stanton Lawyer

TABLE TABLE OF OF PHOTOGRAPHY CONTENTS CONTENTS Contributing Photographer Joshua Feldman Contributing Photographer Kate Reeder Contributing Photographer Yulia McClamrock

ADVERTISING

Director Lisa Nobles advertising@meetsobsession.com

PUBLISHER

Meets Obsession Media LLC PO Box 100643 Arlington VA 22201 1-888-588-2146 publisher@meetsobsessionmagazine.com

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 5

IAN WARREN, ARTIST

My real obsession is making art, but it fits right alongside my obsession with tools. Whether I’m making giant inflatable sculptures, or site-specific installations, tools are what make it all happen. When you need a freshly-honed Japanese-backed tenon saw, can you really stand for anything less?

6 | MeetsObsession.com

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

YOKO K., ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN

I am obsessed with creating multi-layered tracks to within 0.1 decibels of precision so that I can deliver an intoxicating soundscape that will make you forget everything that is painful, if only for a moment.

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

MeetsObsession.com | 7

said, “Neil Young and Royal Trux are always on my iPod.” Love herself is a drummer in an all-girl band named Scorpio Rising. The psychedelic garage rock trio is comprised of two of Love’s closest friends, Jane Herships and Elizabeth Inez Loza.

Famous for her infused bits of rock ‘n’ roll jewelry that features animals, skulls and religious iconography, Pamela Love is the Brooklyn native that has become the go-to jeweler for women seeking unconventional adornment.

The bold and visionary style of Love’s beautifully crafted pieces has made her a fixture among up-and-coming style icons like actress Rachel Bilson, British TV presenter Alexa Chung, and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld (daughter of former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfield).

Love also has collaborated with high-end designers to create new collections. In 2009, Love designed a series of ornate gold and silver pieces for Zac Posen’s Fall/Winter collection that were richly infused with punk and Victorian influences. “I always love working with other designers and companies. It’s such a new and fun process. I really did love the collaboration that I did with Zac Posen for his show,” Love said.

Although the NYU film school grad originally started her career as an assistant to artist Francesco Clemente in 2006, her personal style and artistic streak quickly led to her calling in jewelry design.

“I have always been creative. When I was styling a few years ago, it was really difficult to find pieces that fit with what I was doing, so I just started making my own,” Love said in an interview with Meets Obsession. “Now, here I am.”

Soon her pieces were featured in fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle and Harper’s Bazaar and sold by luxury stores like Barneys New York and Open Ceremony.

Fashion aficionados and jewelry geeks were in love with Love’s dark, romantic signature aesthetic.

Her macabre designs have garnered her a nomination from the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Swarovski Award for accessory design this year.

Love’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection included bold pieces like stake rings, skull necklaces and spiky cuffs.

Continuing her otherworldly style, her Fall/Winter 2011 collection has a tribal mystique, with the majority of her cuffs and rings featuring protruding spikes, and the necklaces emulating chest plates.

“I like the idea of mysticism and [I] am really inspired by Native American culture, which features a lot of animals and spirituality, so I think that’s why it comes out in my designs,” Love explained.

“I recently went on a road trip to New Mexico with my friend, Skye, and we visited these amazing caves that were tough and pretty at the same time. That’s how I came to this collection.”

The rural charm of New Mexico is seen throughout her collection that includes gold pieces, such as bracelets fashioned out of a pentagram and simple, rustic cross necklaces.

Music also has played a huge part in Love’s collections. “I’m always listening to music when designing new collections,” Love

The accessories designer has also worked with trendy and affordable stores like Topshop to help get her pieces to the masses.

In spite of Love’s marked tough girl image, she currently is obsessed with florals, a striking deviation from her trademark macabre charms.

Though her jewelry strays far from the traditional, her advice for women in purchasing accessories is surprisingly practical. “Buy jewelry that you will wear forever and can pass down,” Love said.

Sage advice from a jewelry designer who loves the dark side.

BY YOHANA DESTA Necklace: Pamela Love, Crystal Crescent Necklace Bronze with Green Crystals

8 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Jewelry Photo by Adrian Gaut |

PAMELA

LOVE

| Portrait Photo by Amy Troust |

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 9

Through in-depth, candid interviews and amusing anecdotes with such notorious “no wavers” as Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi, John Lurie, James Chance, John Waters, Beth B, Scott B, James Nares, Debbie Harry, Thurston Moore, Lydia Lunch, and many others, Danhier manages to create a rousing and informative documentary that does justice to the spirit of No Wave cinema.

Through in-depth, candid interviews and amusing anecdotes with such notorious “no wavers” as Jarmusch, Steve Buscemi, John Lurie, James Chance, John Waters, Beth B, Scott B, James Nares, Debbie Harry, Thurston Moore, Lydia Lunch, and many others, Danhier manages to create a rousing and informative documentary that does justice to the spirit of No Wave cinema.

“Underground ‘B’ stars of the No Wave – Filmmakers Scott B. and Beth B., artist Diego Cortez, Lydia Lunch, Johnny O’Kane, Bill Rice and Adele Bertei of the Contortions. New York City, 1980” Photo by and courtesy of Marcia Resnick from Blank City

SHOOTING BLANKS: A HISTORY OF NO WAVE CINEMA In one of the opening scenes of Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise (1984), a long, slow tracking shot follows a young girl walking through a desolate, empty city street. Screamin’ Jay Hawkin’s I Put A Spell On You plays on the movie’s soundtrack as the lone girl walks down a series of blocks filled with bleak, run-down buildings and barren alleyways. The image and setting is ironically depressing and faintly post-apocalyptic. It is as if the setting was in some war-ravaged Eastern European city, when in fact, the film was set in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the year 1984.

New York can be a magical city. From the neon wonderland that is Times Square to the hip, urban bohemian hangouts of Greenwich Village, New York City has a certain charm and quality that has made it one of the greatest cities in the world. Yet, in the 1970s and early 1980s, a new film movement, known as “no wave,” emerged to depict a not-so-glamorous New York, and showed images that were far from the timeless and classic settings portrayed in iconic NYC-based films.

The movement was a stripped-down, DIY approach to filmmaking that not only revolutionized the art of independent cinema at the time, but doubled as a strong cultural statement for the obscure and revolutionary art and music scene in New York. It was a movement that featured a derelict culture of offbeat and pioneering artists and musicians, and combined a strong sense of collaborative unity, shoestring budgets, unique visions, and DIY sensibility. As a whole, “no wave” sparked a nuanced, minimalist and wholly original aesthetic for films.

Blank City, a new, fascinating documentary by French newcomer Celine Danhier, documents the history of No Wave cinema and the “cinema of transgression,” a term coined by No Wave director Nick Zedd to describe the sadistic and darkly humorous shock value of much of the latter work of many No Wave filmmakers.

NEW YORK, NEW CINEMA The impetus for No Wave cinema came from the “no wave” music movement. As anyone who was around New York, especially in downtown Manhattan in the late 1970s would tell you, it was not the most glamorous place to be, and was filled with not-soglamorous people.

According to James Chance (of the bands Teenage Jesus and the Jerks/James Chance and the Contortions), “Straight people were trying to escape New York. The only people who wanted to come to New York were like freaks and crazy people.”

In 1978, Brian Eno (of Roxy Music) curated a compilation album titled No New York, a 16-track compilation of songs by the bands D.N.A, Mars, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, and James Chance and the Contortions. When the album was released, it introduced the world to an emerging music scene that was born out of the frustrations of dilapidated industrial slums in the Lower East Side.

The No Wave music movement was less of a pinned-down style or sound of music, and more of an unorthodox methodical approach to starting a band and playing music. The art-punk sound of the movement was less of a testament to the reinvention of sound with suspect professionalism or musicianship, than it was of curious artists attempting to expand into a new medium, whether they were good or not. “Nobody was doing what they were good at,” remarks Lurie in the film. “The painters were in bands, the musicians were making films.”

Thus No Wave cinema was born. It started as a sort of avantgarde approach for these artists and musicians to try their hand at something that was completely foreign to them. But for these artist-turned-filmmakers, they took that avant-garde approach and found a stylistic niche to create a movement. Above all else, these No Wave filmmakers valued the mood, raw texture, and lo-fi aesthetic of their films rather than trying to string together a coherent narrative or structure.

10 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

THE RISE OF NOTHING (AND EVERYTHING) Just as the music aspect of “no wave” grew to prominence in New York, No Wave Cinema followed along heartily. By the early 1980s, filmmakers like James Nares, Scott and Beth B, Eric Mitchell, Lydia Lunch, and Chance were regularly screening their work at the same venues that had helped to populate the corresponding music scene years earlier.

Venues like the famed CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City became the breeding grounds for these budding auteurs.

However, it was not until the opening of The New Cinema, a film space created by Nares and Mitchell of the Collaborative Projects collective (a grant-funded collaborative formed amongst artists, filmmakers, and musicians in New York in the late 1970s), that the full impact of No Wave Cinema came to fruition. The space was more than a place where filmmakers would screen their latest pieces; it became a refuge and the central hub of the “no wave” scene. It was through the infamous screening parties at The New Cinema that “no wave” began to make a splash in the greater art world. Films like Rome ‘78, King Blank, Black Box, and Underground U.S.A. gained notoriety through their continual runs at The New Cinema.

Steve Buscemi and Mark Boone Junior in Eric Mitchell’s film The Way It Is, featured in BLANK CITY

As the work of this movement began to receive mainstream attention through film reviews written by commercial media such as The Village Voice, The Washington Post, and Variety, the movement consequently fizzled out. Some of the more radical filmmakers of the movement, such as Richard Kern, Lizzie Borden, and Zedd, continued to push the boundaries of the extreme, and their work soon developed into what is now known as “the cinema of transgression.” “The cinema of transgression” developed in the wake of the demise of “No Wave Cinema.” By the time the movement had fizzled out in the mid 1980s, some of the movement’s filmmakers had pushed beyond the boundaries of conventional filmmaking to the point of gratuitous shock value and sadomasochism.

Few others, most notably Jarmusch, continued to work in the same fashion and brought “no wave” into mainstream attention with films such as Stranger Than Paradise (which won the coveted Camera d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival), Down By Law, Mystery Train, and Coffee and Cigarettes.

CHRONICLING THE BLANK MOVEMENT

“No Wave 78” photo © GODLIS.

Such reclusive stalwarts as Jarmusch, Chance, Lurie, Nares, and Amos Poe who were notorious for avoiding interviews, opened up candidly about the movement and provided for some of the film’s most vivid and amusing anecdotes.

What Danhier has created is something remarkable.

With Blank City, Danhier has perhaps created the most comprehensive and well-documented account of the notoriously underground “no wave” movement. The film employs a classic documentary approach to tackle its subject through the conventional use of talkingheads, erratically and stylistically intercut with splendid archival footage. The result is a wholly enlightening, fascinating and informative film that sheds light on one of cinema’s most enigmatic and hard-boiled movements.

With her approach, Danhier paints an apt portrait of the bleak reality of New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She does so in a way that romanticizes the derelict, drug-addled slums that were the backdrop for the inspiration of the “no wave” movement.

Particularly effective is the number of open and candid interviews that Danhier found for the film.

Blank City is more than a well-put-together documentary chronicling a moment in time. It is a love letter to a lost generation who lived in a fleeting but highly influential movement spearheaded by cinematic pioneers. It is clear with Blank City that Danhier’s passion for her subject runs deep, as her film defines her role less as a director and more as a diligent and dogged cultural historian of No Wave cinema. Thus Blank City becomes less of a documentary and more of a visually comprehensive and highly detailed account of an innovative movement, and is sure to become the authoritative text on the subject.

BY MATT COHEN

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 11

BEAUTIFULLY UNWRITTEN

NATASHA BEDINGFIELD

Natasha Bedingfield is striking.

Styled with straight blonde hair, red lips and Egyptian eyes, she reached over for a cup of tea, before removing her shrug to unveil her bohemian outfit of a black bandeau and harem pants.

On her summer U.S. tour, Less is More, Bedingfield had just finished her latest show and spent the last half hour signing autographs.

Relaxed and friendly, she is exactly what you would expect a self-described “positive” pop singer to be in person. “It’s so nice to meet you,” she said warmly as she walked over to greet me.

I smiled and reached out to shake her hand, but no sooner felt that it would have been more appropriate to give her a hug.

BEAUTIFULLY UNWRITTEN

At age 29, Natsha Bedingfield has become the pop singer who is best known for her inspirational lyrics of life, love and human emotions. However, the British singer and songwriter evinces a sense of maturity, self-awareness and honesty when she speaks that extends beyond her public persona of the happy-go-lucky girl.

“You always find little stories in my music,” she said pensively of her latest album, Strip Me. “Things that people go through, things that I’ve gone through...just ways that we’re all very similar and… connected by the situations we are in… the desires we have, the ideas we have.”

With her melodic range and raspy voice, Bedingfield catapulted into the American pop scene in 2005 with the U.S. release of her debut album, “Unwritten.” An international hit, the album turned gold and climbed the charts worldwide, including the American

| Photos by Rankin |

Billboards and the United Kingdom album charts where she landed at number 26 and one, respectively. The title track of her album, “Unwritten,” was picked up as the theme song for the hit MTV series, The Hills, and became a national anthem to a young generation looking to define itself. As the most widely-played single in the U.S. in 2006, the song turned platinum and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2007.

Since then, the New Zealand-born pop singer has released two albums—Pocketful of Sunshine in 2008 and her latest album, Strip Me, in 2010. While Pocketful of Sunshine was mildly successful compared to her debut album, Bedingfield continued to score major hits with singles like, “Love Like This,” and “Pocketful of Sunshine,” that peaked at number eleven and four on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles.

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 13

BEAUTIFULLY UNWRITTEN Now Bedingfield has embarked on Less is More, her tour across the U.S. Less is More borrows from the theme of the album, which is about human emotions and returning to her roots. The whole point of the tour is, in Bedingfield’s words, “to strip it back.”

She has taken away the massive sound stages, multiple costume changes, swirling lights and ten-piece orchestras that audiences would expect from a pop performance with the hopes that her minimalist approach will elevate her music and help her connect with audiences. Even her venue choice is small and intimate.

While in Washington, D.C., Bedingfield took a break from her tour to sit down with Meets Obsession to talk about her music, family, life, and fashion obsessions.

MO: The lyrics in songs like “Weightless” and “Strip me” sound like they are about defining your personal identity to a certain degree, and knowing who you are. And then there are other songs like “Run, Run, Run” and “Touch” that are about love and emotions. How much of this was personal?

Well, my music always gets personal. I feel like this album is more about being human. It’s more about all of us and what life is like… and I think that on the one hand we’re all so diverse and unique and we need to celebrate the uniqueness because it’s crazy because we’re all trying to look the same.

But we should be celebrating being as incredible and different and diverse as we are. At the same time, I think there’s a lot in the world that can be fixed and we realize how similar we are in the areas of what we need and love, fear and desire… Strip away with what we think and do away and we’re left with [knowing]…we’re amazing unique and powerful individuals.

talking about?

Well I’m known as [being]… positive. And it’s quite funny because as I got to know my husband, he was like, “well, that’s such a surprise, you’re really a pessimist.” Because I’m English, I’m like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh... and it’s quite funny because I’m like, “Oh, it’ll probably rain… tomorrow.” So that’s how we are in Britain—you don’t get your hopes up. “My song’s number one, but let’s just see how the next one goes.” My husband’s American and I’ve been learning so much from you guys and you guys are like, ’go get ’em’.”

MO: You once said that your style icons were Bridgette Bardot, Audrey Hepburn and Debbie Harry. I love your choices, but that’s quite a range of style choices. How do you view your style in each of these women?

Well if you want a range of women let’s throw in Grace Jones. I love her. I wish I could look like her…Yea, I guess style icon is someone that’s... your muse, someone that inspires you. I look at some of those women that we mentioned and how they’re willing to take risks, but also who wear things that suit their body and shape... it’s much about that too, like wearing your clothes well.

MO: What are some of your favorite wardrobe items in your closet?

Like the shoes I wore today. Those were Giuseppe Zanotti… Well I’m not wearing them now. These are my comfortable shoes. I can jump in these.

MO: Those are four inch stilettos, and those are your comfortable shoes?

Well these are great. These are from Steve Madden. Go get them.

They’re awesome. I also love Alexander Wang and I would buy the whole shop if I could have bags big enough to fit it all.

MO: That’s interesting because you do have an organic way of speaking about human emotions that taps into your fans.

MO: What are you currently obsessed with?

Yes. Just think of all the crazy things we face everyday... we all think our situation is the hardest... and it’s crazy and sometimes with music, we talk about those things and there’s a freedom, there’s a validation that comes because it feels like you said it, you said [it] how I feel. I’m not alone in this.

I just started watching Nurse Jackie a bit later than everyone else. I’m not obsessed with Twitter but I go on a Twitter binge. Like I won’t twitter for a week and then I’ll go on there and do… 20 tweets. And then I’ll be like step away from the tweets. It’s very addictive. And I’m addicted to chocolate as well. I just like finding the best chocolate somewhere like South America or South Africa… [where] you can tell that the beans are being treated very well.

MO: My favorite song from the album is “No Mozart.” Was that about anyone particular?

That’s the only love song from the album. You know I just got married and I think everyone expected for me to write a love song and I was like, no, I don’t need to write another album about that because I’ve written a lot of songs -- you know like “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

I wanted it to be about life but that... song is about my husband…

I think with men, it’s hard for them to show... or have people see the sides of them [that] they don’t want seen. Well, it’s hard for women, too. I hate that.

I don’t want to show the ugly parts of myself and I think that’s the most incredible thing about marriage. It’s that... you love someone to let them see that part of you and hope that they still love you and trust that they do.

MO: Really, who do you follow on twitter?

Well some people are really funny and some people aren’t… But Will Farrell is really funny and he tweeted funny stuff that I retweeted recently.

And I like re-tweeting things because it makes you look smart.

You’re following cool people, you know.

MO: Obviously, you maintain a busy schedule. What is your favorite thing to do on a free weekend?

I like to shop for new make-up, Sephora and stuff like that, find some fun eyelashes or lipstick. I’m obsessed with... Tom Ford lipstick. So expensive but so worth it. I wear it every day.

BY MEI TAN

MO: Well, you’re so charming. What negative sides are you 14 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

DEREK JAMES AKA DJ FLECCS KAPAZITOR

Much of my day is spent listening to promos and mixtapes of varying audio quality, and most headphones don’t reproduce the bass, which is arguably the most important part of dance music. I was reluctant to spend hundreds of dollars on a pair of Beats headphones, but after hearing them, I ended up getting several different models, so I can listen comfortably wherever I am.

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

MeetsObsession.com | 15

RIP: THE DEATH OF THE ALBUM HOW MUSIC SINGLES ARE KILLING THE ALBUM, AND ONE WRITER’S MARKED PLEA TO SAVE THEM. The first CD that I ever bought was Nirvana’s Nevermind at a recycled record store. I was in the ninth grade when I bought the album with the money I had saved up from my allowance. I opened it up immediately at home and examined the cover art, song lyrics, and production notes before I played the album. I liked the way the CD felt in my fingers—it was mine and I had forever to enjoy it.

By the end of the week, I had absorbed the entire album, and understood the angst of Kurt Cobain.

We were mental soul mates; and even today, I can still sing the lyrics verbatim to “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Today, I, like millions of other music fans, no longer have to spend our Saturdays at the record store waiting in line to buy an album. With the advent of digital media fueled by Internet music purveyors such as Napster, Amazon and iTunes, we could stream music onto our laptops and listen to entire songs or albums instantaneously.

Boom, we have become the “now generation” with instant gratification with the click of a mouse.

“We live in a very fast information, disposable, here-todaygone-later-this-minute culture,” said Lonn Friend, noted music journalist and former editor of Rip magazine that was responsible for bringing artists like Metallica, Guns N’Roses, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana to commercial recognition in an interview with Meets Obsession. Friend likened the current environment of fickle music listeners to a “tweet culture.”

I did not disagree with his statement. Over the years, perhaps due to my impatience or “fickle” interest, I stopped listening mostly to albums and moved on to singles contained on my handy iPod. And it occurred to me, while playing Lykke Li’s single, “Little Bit” on the metro one Friday afternoon, that I never cared to buy her album, and had no idea who she was as an artist.

I couldn’t help but wonder then, that if I had stopped listening to albums, did the world stop, too, and if they did, would that mean that albums were becoming extinct?

I caught my breath and found my Nirvana record when I got home.

While touching the chip plastic cover, I thought, no, it couldn’t be.

What happened? Certainly, music didn’t change—perhaps we did.

If we were to examine the history of recorded music, it goes without saying that with each successive generation and technological advance, audiences have altered how they have enjoyed music.

At one point, record players were the primary medium for people to listen to albums, where friends would convene around an old turntable and float away into the musical reverie.

Then came cassette tapes and CD players that allowed us to search for our favorite tracks, and fueled a “cruise and choose generation.”

Today, we’re able to convert CDs into digital media files that can be swapped and shared—and as a result, we have instant access to any track we want to listen to within seconds. With the explosion of digital media into mainstream culture, album sales consequently, have declined in the music industry. According to a February 2010 article by CNNMoney.com, the Recording Industry Association of America had reported that album sales have dipped by an average of 8 percent in the last ten years.

Meanwhile, individual tracks sold digitally continue to experience exponential growth. Billboard charts director Geoff Mayfield, in a 2008 interview with USA Today, said of the changing tides, “[T]he business has changed. In the ‘70s, albums drove the market... With the advent of digital music, we went in the opposite direction. Not only are people buying individual songs again, but there’s a much broader spectrum of songs available.”

Friend agreed and added, “Now we’re in an age where music is discovered by a great majority of people, online. You [can] search websites to find the lyrics or music attached...It’s not an experience where the entire record is listened to.”

Moreover, the Internet, which artists used to advertise their music, has altered the way albums are promoted in the industry. Fans can visit an artist’s Myspace, Facebook or YouTube page and hear the latest track without ever having to purchase an album.

With its fierce competition and slimming profit margins, the commercialization of music has forced artists to compete for public attention by reducing their song tracks to ringtones or television sound bites. No longer can artists simply rely on their albums to engage fans, but rather, they need “catchy jingles” to build a fan base.

Drummer Tommy Lee of the legendary rock band, Mötley Crüe echoed these sentiments when he discussed the difficulty for an artist to produce and sell a successful album in today’s market.

In a June 2011 interview with Noisecreep, a subsidiary of AOL Music, Lee stated that albums were “a waste of time,” and that he would never make another one again, citing that audiences cared more about singles than what they heard on the radio.

“Well, knowing Tommy Lee for almost 25 years... He’s just seeing how the times have altered and how there’s no marketplace for what they used to do,” said Friend, defending the validity of Lee’s response. “When I was on tour with them during the ‘Dr. Feelgood’ years, that record sold over 5 million copies before anybody turned their heads. Those numbers are gone. The market can’t sustain that kind of musical production anymore.”

16 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

With the speed of technology and short attention span of listeners, music artists only have a few seconds to grab public attention.

Perhaps that is why controversial artists like Lady Gaga can summon legions of fans with her over-the-top persona to fuel her album sales. “[She’s] the greatest music marketer of our time,” said Friend.

“She understands the image. She understands star [power]. She’s a genius at doing that.”

However, while albums sales have declined, a new niche market— the sale of vinyl records—is making a steady comeback. According to a 2010 report by the Nielsen Company and Billboard’s 2010 Music Industry Report, vinyl record sales were up by 14 percent from 2009.

In an interview last June with talk show personality Stephen Colbert, music icon Jack White of the rock band, White Stripes discussed his reasoning for producing vinyl records. “I like the idea of having it in your hands.

You can’t hold an MP3, right? This is about putting an object and dropping the needle and sitting down and looking at this cover,” White said. “That’s the romance of music that we’re losing in this generation, I think.”

Perhaps due to their ability to evoke nostalgia, several artists, like White have marketed and sold vinyl records successfully.

However, because of their high up-front costs, typically only well-established bands only can afford to produce them. “I would say, if you have the resources, the room, the time... I would get a turntable and... get some of those records on vinyl,” Friend said. “It really is a singular… experience. There is a warmth about the grooves, the pops, the imperfection.”

Friend’s words left me remembering the first band I ever saw in concert—the Smashing Pumpkins. I was in high school when I first heard the band’s album, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness and parked in line overnight in front of the concert hall to buy their tickets. When I saw Billy Corgan on stage, he was a dream and I allowed myself to slip into the reverie of his wailing voice as he sang “1979.”

I can’t imagine albums being extinct. What would “Mellon Collie” or Radiohead’s Pablo Honey, or Biggie’s Ready to Die be to fans if they were never composed?

They spoke to us, a generation who, at one point, bought those albums, flipped through the booklets, and read the lyrics to hold on to a tangible piece of an artist.

There was a warmth that we experienced when unwrapping those records—perhaps it was the warmth of the artist’s soul that we felt emerging from those tiny discs.

And this is why the album, in all its sacred glory, must not die.

BY YOHANA DESTA

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 17

The film itself is part concert footage from their reunion at the 2008 Rock the Bells tour, part chronicling of the history of the group, and part “behind the music” featurette that explores the troubling dynamics among the groups members. Rapaport offers some great in-depth interviews and personal access to the group’s founding members as they reunite for the first time since their 1998 break up.

What develops is a triumphant examination of the personal lives of Tribe and the conflicts within the group. Particularly moving is the creative tension between Q-Tip and Phife Dawg that eventually led to their 1998 breakup, and Phife’s life-long battle against diabetes, which led to the group’s re-formation, and makes for some of the film’s most emotionally charged moments.

In Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest, famed actor Michael Rapaport dons the filmmaker hat for the first time as he explores the trials and tribulations of hip hop legends A Tribe Called Quest. Compiled from more than 100 hours of footage, the film is a moving, intimate, and wholly informative portrait of A Tribe Called Quest that chronicles their 20-year plus career with the utmost care and precision.

Born out of the streets of Queens, A Tribe Called Quest exploded onto the rising hip hop scene in New York during the mid-1980s.

The Tribe, which consists of founding members Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White were an influential asset to the development of modern hip hop.

Along with fellow artists De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest was a central part of the Native Tongues Posse, a musical collective of hip hop artists whose music featured positive, good-natured lyrics and a distinct nod to the culture of their African heritage.

With such classic tracks as “Left My Wallet in El Segundo,” “Bonita Applebum” and the iconic “Can I Kick It?”, A Tribe Called Quest created a unique and unprecedented legacy that has been a major influence on some of today’s biggest names in hip hop, and undoubtedly shaped the world of hip hop as we know it.

“For me, A Tribe Called Quest meant the same thing as the Beatles, Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones, so my goal was to treat them the same way those groups have been documented over the years,” Rapaport says about the idea for making his documentary.

With Beats, Rhymes & Life, that esoteric passion is wholly apparent through Rapaport’s unique vision and precise and honest portrayal of the group. “I know that I made it for one reason and that’s because A Tribe Called Quest is my favorite group and I love their spirit and music.”

Despite all the drama of the group, they all were able to put their differences aside and come together for their brother in peril and Rapaport poignantly captures those touching moments. Beats, Rhymes & Life is a fascinating and moving music documentary that will appeal to both hardcore Tribe fans, and to those new to the group.

Rapaport and Phife Dawg were kind enough to sit down with Meets Obsession and discuss the process of making the film, as well as some of the hardships and obstacles that went into making this labor of love.

Meets Obsession (MO) [To Michael Rapaport]: When did you decide you wanted to start directing films?

MR: I’ve had the curiosity and impulse to want to direct films for about the past ten years. With my career as an actor, I was around so many great directors, John Singleton, Spike Lee, Tony Scott, Woody Allen, and when you’re around them and you’re like “How do they do this?”, and there’s a love of filmmaking and curiosity about it. I’ve been talking about wanting to direct a movie, but unless you’re like Leonardo DiCaprio, or Jim Carrey, or a big, big star with lots of money, the only way to make the transition from actor to director is to just do it, you’re not going to get handed anything.

The idea [for this film] stuck with me... and I was working on a television show that I was not happy doing, but I was actually making a good, steady paycheck. It was a good paying job, but it was not fun to do, and I found that Tribe was going back on tour in 2008, and I asked them “Can we do [the film]?” Getting started was the easiest part, but it was being compelled that got me through it. Documentary filmmaking is a bloodbath; it’s not like making Avatar. It’s not even like making a small independent movie with a $500 budget. It’s no budget, it’s nuts and bolts, it’s nothing. We’re out walking through New York City carrying bags and cameras.

It’s guerrilla, straight-up guerrilla filmmaking, but I love that part and it brings out the best in myself and the people around me.

MO: You’ve mentioned all the great directors you’ve worked with in your career, Spike Lee, Woody Allen, Tony Scott, John Singleton. Did working with them influence your directing style?

MR: It influenced my directing style in terms of the one thing all those guys share; they share a different, unique tone. Tony Scott’s very loud, he’s Australian, he’s smoking cigars, but he’s in control of the set. Woody Allen and Spike Lee are very similar; they’re real low-key, super quiet. Spike Lee’s a little feisty at times, he’s like a little general, but [the directors] and John Singleton, they’re in control.

I worked on a movie with Nora Ephron, and one thing I learned

18 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

from her is she would sometimes say, “I don’t know, but we’re going to figure it out.” Just being confident enough to do that and just coming in with a plan and applying it, those are the things that I learned from those directors.

MO [To Phife Dawg]: It’s such an expository and personal documentary, were there ever times when you felt you didn’t want the camera on you?

Phife: Absolutely, I got tired of that damn camera. But the one thing I liked about the process [of shooting the film] is just knowing that the director, he may not be Steven Spielberg yet, but the passion was definitely Scorcese-ish. He was adamant, he was passionate, he really wanted to get it done and make sure everybody’s eyebrows lift off their faces when they saw the film. That was his whole approach to it. So, I wasn’t going to be the weakest link in it by not supporting him and not giving him my best. Not like it’s a performance, it’s real, it’s a documentary, when I say giving him my best, I mean no-holds barred... and I just laid it on the line, as best as I could.

THE

F E O B I TR LIFE

MO [To Phife Dawg]: This doc chronicles the whole history of the band, including the fallout between the [band], and your intense battle with diabetes. What’s the hardest part of the documentary for you to watch?

Phife: When I’m getting ready to go in for the operation. It had to be the hardest, definitely. That, as well as how I was looking before the operation. There are scenes where it’s like, ok, Phife is sick, obviously. Then there are scenes where he’s turned a corner, when we’re going to rehearsal, or Australia or Japan where it’s like, ok, Phife is back, which brings it full throttle, at least for myself.

MO [To Michael Rapaport]: With Beats, Rhymes, and Life, you demonstrated that you have a unique vision and style to filmmaking. Do you want to keep directing films?

MR: Yeah, I want to direct a narrative film. I’ve got a script I’m excited about, but we’re really nowhere with it yet. I haven’t really been able to truly focus on it. It’s something that I would like to get going by the end of the year.

MO: Is it something you wrote?

MR: No it’s something I read, very dark.

MO: What genre?

MR: Human, it’s dark, it’s very dark, but it’s poignant, and it deals with teenagers who are at the bottom of the bottom. But it’s told in a very interesting and fresh way. With the script, I liked how dark it gets, but how poignant it gets, and that balance.

MO: Does it remind you of anything? What kinds of films are similar?

MR: Boyz n the Hood meets A Clockwork Orange meets Kids, with a sprinkle of Natural Born Killers. It’s a really bizarre script, but I’m nowhere with it yet. One of the challenges for me personally for getting this movie made is, “Yeah, you made this documentary, but can you technically direct?” And I’m thinking, “Jesus Christ, you know how tiring making this thing was?” There’s no script, there’s no nothing. Give me a script and I’ll shoot a few takes, I’ll make it happen. But it’s my plight and I’ll find a way to get the [film] made.

BY MATT COHEN | Photography by Kate Reeder |

Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 19

20 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

BREAKING

RULES

YOU KNOW THEM TOO WELL...

DON’T MIX YOUR PRINTS. NEVER WEAR BLACK AND NAVY. NO WHITE AFTER LABOR DAY. ALWAYS MATCH.

SOME RULES

DESERVE TO BE BROKEN PHOTOGRAPHER

YULIA MCCLAMROCK STYLING

MEI TAN, AUDREY LEON MAKEUP

VICTORIA GOLDBERG MATTHEW B. OF PRODIGY ARTISTRY HAIR

ALICE OLSON MODELS

CHELSEA T, JORDAN B, SASHA H OF IMAGES NYC ART DIRECTION

JACQY LAW RETOUCHER

LULIE LENS

LEGGINGS:

LADAKH | BLAZER: GILDED AGE | SHOE: RING & BRACELET: SYLVIE MARKOVINA

MERE

DRESS: 22 MeetsObsession.com| |Autumn Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue 22||MeetsObsession.com Winter 2011 Issue

ALICE RITTER | SHOE: BARBARA BRIONES NECKLACE: YOCHI NEW YORK

GRACIA | COAT: ECHO | NECKLACE: YOCHI NEW YORK BELT/HEADBAND: ERIK & MIKE

JUMPSUIT:

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 23

UNITARD:

LADAKH | SHOE: BLOWFISH SHAWL: LADAKH

24 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

JUMPSUIT: LADAKH | SHOE: NEIMAN MARCUS VINTAGE HEADBAND & NECKLACE: SYLVIE MARKOVINA MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 25

COAT: 26 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

GILDED AGE | SHIRT: OBEY PROPAGANDA

SHOES: MERE | PANTS & COAT: GILDED AGE | MALE SHIRT: OBEY PROPAGANDA SHIRT: SCOTCH & SODA |SKIRT: LADAKH | RING & BRACELET: SYLVIE MARKOVINA HAT: FILIPPO CATAZI MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 27

|

BLAZER: GILDED 28 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

AGE | RING & BRACELET: SYLVIE MARKOVINA

DRESS: ALICE RITTER | SHOE: BARBARA NECKLACE: SYLVIE MARKOVINA |

BRIONES MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 29

PRABAL GURUNG Designer Prabal Gurung is the new kid that has everyone taking notice.

30 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Photo by Tyler Rose |

A celebrity favorite, Prabal Gurung is best known for his red carpet gowns that have been worn by Hollywood elites like Demi Moore, Oprah Winfrey and Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld.

He has dressed even First Lady Michelle Obama, who has worn two of the designer’s custom-made gowns to high-powered political events.

As the fashion industry’s newest rising star, his recent showings at New York Fashion Week received rave reviews, and his runway presentations were packed with a front-row dream team that included Anna Wintour, Carolina Herrera and top editors of major fashion magazines like W and Elle.

Gurung’s collections—feminine and glamorous—are infused with a sophisticated use of drapery, asymmetry and bold colors that create a dramatic edge and appeal to women around the globe.

Gurung is a master in using basic color palettes such as black, white and grays to weave in bright, sundry colors like reds, blues and yellows to elevate his designs and create an artistic contrast.

For his Spring 2011 collection, Gurung unveiled a series of dresses with meticulous ruching, bold geometric color blocks, and asymmetric hemlines that liquefied against a woman’s body.

His Fall 2011 collection showed a refined sensibility rooted in American tradition with a nod to the European aesthetic. With his dramatic use of red, white and black, Gurung created stunning dégradé fur jackets, black leather cocktail dresses and knitwear paired with long chiffon skirts; and with them, he showed a clever infusion of tuxedo tailoring, rich fabrics and lace appliqués.

Born in Singapore and raised in Nepal, Gurung’s design career began at the New Delhi’s National Institute of Fashion Technology.

After completing several apprenticeships at local fashion houses, Gurung traveled worldwide to work in cities like Melbourne and London to help style fashion shows and photo shoots. By 1999, he arrived in New York City, where he cultivated his remarkable design pedigree.

Gurung attended the Parsons School of Design, where he was singled out as “Best Designer” at the annual Parsons/FIT design student competition. He worked for iconic American designers such as Donna Karan and Cynthia Rowley before he became the design director for Bill Blass.

In February 2009, Gurung went solo and launched his eponymously named collection for New York Fashion Week and received the universal admiration of critics. “Clothes for a thinking-man’s sex symbol,” was how he described his debut fall collection that featured, what would become, his signature cocktail dresses.

Gurung’s collections are featured in major publications such as Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and the New York Times. He is a member of the coveted Council of Fashion Designers of America’s (CFDA) Fashion Incubator program.

Established by Anna Wintour, the prestigious program is designed to foster the country’s next generation of fashion designers by teaching them the craft, trade and business skills that they needed to succeed in fashion.

This year, the up-and-coming designer won the prestigious CFDA Swarovski Award for womenswear and was a recipient of USA Network’s Character Approved Awards.

Fashion Fund Award and was the runner-up for the CFDA’s Vogue Fashion Fund.

Gurung, an impressive designer, is an emerging talent to watch out for the years to come.

BY MEI TAN Contributions to this article were made by Catherine Toor.

Last year, the young designer was honored with the Ecco Domani | Photos by Alessandro Viero / GORUNWAY.COM |

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 31

ALICE RITTER

Cloaked with warm childhood memories of dressing up, and armed with a palpable desire to “explore the fashion of her youth,” designer Alice Ritter relocated from Paris to New York, a move that marked a “rebirth” for Ritter, who had left her life as a publicist in France.

32 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

“When I arrived in New York 12 years ago, I think there [were] all those signs that pop up when you decide to change something in your life, you know,” said fashion designer Alice Ritter. “All of a sudden, every magazine I opened was [filled with] stories of people like me who came to New York for vacation and discovered fashion design as their vocation and they stayed and eventually they became successful. I was like: That’s it! That is exactly what I want to do!”

Ritter settled in Brooklyn and was determined to establish herself as a designer. After spending some time creating pieces for a small boutique in the city, Ritter decided to strike out on her own and design for her own brand of woman.

Remarking on whom she considered to be the perfect candidate for her clothes, Ritter laughed as she mused over her inspiration. “A sort of free spirit, global girl or global woman with a chic look... Or maybe, I’m thinking of the girl I’d like to be.”

Her trademark “French Girl in New York” aesthetic is both feminine and masculine. Inspired by the soft erotic film Emmanuelle, and the work of many classic designers, Ritter’s clothes are undeniably sexy. “[I love] Phoebe Philo, Balenciaga, Yves St. Laurent,” she said, as she rattled off a list of designers with a deep sense of affection and reverie, as though she were naming beloved family members.

Ritter’s collection has an ageless elegance, and is replete with unique and versatile pieces such as a timeless wrap dress and a structured coat that seems to transcend seasons. She creates flowing tops and bohemian print patterns that are infused with masculine sex appeal.

Ritter also pays tribute to those designers who first inspired her. The informed observer can see traces of Philo’s romantic silhouettes, Balenciaga’s play with color, and the structured elegance of YSL dresses that subtly and cleverly play into her designs. Ritter continually experiments with ideas, as she believes that experimentation, whether with color or shape, is a necessary part of design.

“Right now I’m really into colors,” she croons. “I’m in this mood of mixing up colors that might not match well, but if you do it in the right way or in the right shade, it’s really great. It’s a scary territory.” She added, “In France, we’re really attached to our basics, our classic pieces. I really went back to my roots with this last collection.” As her brand grows, Ritter thinks about the direction of her business. While most designers may want to design exclusively to high-end consumers, Ritter is more practical. “I don’t want to be cynical about it, but it is a business. You want to reach people, you want to share, and ultimately you want to make money,” she says.

However, she is cautious to maintain a reputation for designing high-quality clothes.

“I’m always glad when people are wearing my stuff, I love

interaction with my customers, but you also don’t want to devalue your clothes.”

Although she errs on the side of accessibility, there is one demographic Ritter is not targeting, at least not intentionally— celebrities. “Jennifer Lopez, I wouldn’t consider her my typical customer, [but] at one point she was buying a lot of my stuff. I was really happy about that, but I didn’t advertise it either,” she says.

In a world where a designer’s brand can be promoted quickly by celebrities, Ritter shows restraint. “It’s a fine line, you want to sell, you want to be out there, but you don’t want to be obnoxious about it.”

Given the natural charm of her collection, Ritter’s whimsical creations have garnered the praise and adoration of the fashion industry, and have caught the attention of hipster fashion chain, Urban Outfitters. “Right now I’m launching a second collection with [them],” she says proudly. “It will be much more affordable.”

Released in July, the line is what Ritter describes as “classic Paris meets Brooklyn.”

For a designer who once played dress-up, Ritter has come a long way.

WRITTEN BY SARON OLKABA

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 33

MICHAEL FRANTI PEACEFUL PIONEER OF LOVE MUSIC AND CONSCIOUSNES

MICHAEL FRANTI: GENTLE GIANT WARRIOR The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus once said, “The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.” Michael Franti, the musician and political activist, lives and breathes this metaphysical mantra, and in turn, is transforming our thoughts through his conscious messages and melodies.

I had the opportunity to spend a few moments with the guru of good vibes before his performance in Washington, D.C. to discuss his childhood, career and cultural sentiments.

Barefoot and smiling, Franti radiates a kind of affirmative hope and beauty seldom seen in today’s celebrity excess. Perhaps best known for being a free-spirit, Franti believes in the inherent goodness of people and has tried to express this sentiment throughout his career with his music. Franti, who could be described as a “conscious musician,” not only creates music, but is an instigator of social and political revolutions.

To understand Franti is to understand his roots. Born during America’s cultural revolution in 1966, Franti is the son of an African-American and Native American father, and an IrishGerman-French mother, and was later adopted by a Finnish couple who already had three biological children of their own.

Influenced by his adopted family, he was taught about love and acceptance. He quickly connected to music and discovered how songs had the power to inspire and soothe people.

In using these positive inspirations, Franti has engaged fans as both a musician and philanthropist. In 1998, he launched the

multicultural music festival in San Francisco called “Power to the Peaceful,” that brings together musicians, artists and vendors to help raise cultural awareness. In addition, he helped to establish a foundation—which also bears the same name—that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for different humanitarian charities worldwide.

In 2007, he filmed his documentary, I Know I Am Not Alone, which chronicled his travels to Iraq, Israel, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories where Franti, in an effort to bring music in the Middle East, showed the political and social costs of war.

As he reflected on his time spent in Iraq, Franti exuded a fiery passion when he spoke about his time with musicians, doctors, civilians, and soldiers who opened up to him about their personal experiences on war.

“I would just go outside with my guitar and start playing for whoever was there to listen,” he said in a manner that was both disarming and casual.

“I met some really interesting people there. That’s the beauty of music, it brings people together.”

Franti recounted various stories—the most striking being a story about an Iraqi heavy metal band he met called Acrassicauda (or translated to English, “The Black Scorpions”) who was forced to sing songs advocating political propaganda about the late dictator, Saddam Hussein. Extremely touched his experiences, Franti saw first-hand the effects of war on human freedom, life, and existence.

34 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

Much like a philosopher, Franti ruminated on his beliefs about violence and social order. He believed that change began with individuals who had to alter their own perception of the world and move past their fears to recognize that war was not the answer.

“Sometimes the hardest thing to do is just to stay human,” Franti said, pensively.

His ideas of peace were captured in the lyrics of his famous song, “Bomb the World,” that evoked a powerful mantra when he sang the chorus, “You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can’t bomb it into peace.”

When asked about the importance of love in today’s world, Franti, smiling crookedly, responded, “Love is like the lubricant of the universe that keeps it moving. Whether it’s love for another person, or love for the environment, or love for music.”

With the power to move souls, bodies and hearts, Franti is a romantic poet with a warm personality that exudes a contagious energy on and off the stage.

Franti ended our interview to begin his show. As the sixfoot-six-inch dreadlocked gentle giant bounced onto stage, he extended his arms high above his head saying, “I wanna show you something beautiful D.C!” and was answered with a boomerang roar.

BY MEGAN FRIEND

| Photography by Kate Reeder |

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 35

Gaitán clearly addresses these kinds of contradictions with her photography—she assaults the breach between beauty and decay; she cleaves whimsy from darkness, and demands consideration of gluttony until the point of expulsion. She consistently describes her work as being, on some level, fucked up—a term she uses to discuss her photography which both explore and embrace the maddening and confounding issues of today’s cultural reality.

So in turn, we talk about things that are fucked up. We talk about things like girls going through puberty as early as age eight because of pollution. We examined the horror of sexual abuse and the new phenomenon of sensationalized instances of pedophilia that made parents hyper-aware of how they treated their children.

We lamented on how violence was an institutionalized construct of social masculinity, and how sometimes, in a disturbing twist of emotional reflex, the most terrifying thing about suicide was wondering who had to clean up the mess.

VICTORIA F. GAITÁN:

Beauty in Decay

She enters Starbucks—the platonic form of an ideal of rebellion long disenfranchised by irony and corporate cynicism. Standing before me, she is blonde, no less than six feet tall, with tattoos graffitied across her body.

These things are fucked up. Victoria’s pictures are not—and this is not a criticism. How can one regard the world as it is, a place where the majority of women, men and people are perpetually subjugated by their circumstances, biology and fate, born in a time and a place where just being alive can, for all intents and purposes, be a birth defect?

How can one know this and not signal to the world a sense of inexorable dread and terror?

How can one be aware and fail to dredge up the mire beneath that which corporate culture deigns to afford popular dignity?

Her art is not fucked up. It is honest.

Victoria F. Gaitán is dressed to kill (or at least menace). She is in all black with leopard-spotted platform pumps that were adorned with little blood red bows, and a menacing Rob-Zombie-meetsWyatt-Motherfucking-Earp cowboy hat with an image of a Jolly Roger skull. And if she told me she was a pirate, I would have believed her right then and there and signed my life away to hunt for treasure. Alas, I’m in khakis and a blue button-down shirt like the douche that I am, and so I will not be burning any Caribbean ports on this day, yarr.

If this all sounds completely intimidating, well… I would never admit to being intimidated, per se, but I can tell you that I didn’t exactly feel great. None of this, of course, was Gaitán’s fault—she is, without a doubt, one of the sweetest persons you could meet.

In fact, one could be forgiven for initially calling her demure.

Although, it becomes apparent to me rather quickly, that she also is polite, engaging, funny, and wickedly bright.

Originally hailing from Adelaide Australia, Gaitán studied photography at the University of South Australia, although she initially wanted to study film. She tells me that her instructors at the university were taken aback by her desire to actually learn and practice the craft she aspired to master. She tells me that she admires the visions of filmmakers like David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch and Tim Burton, and how the universes they construct in their films have an arbitrariness and apartness—a consistent set of rules and a detachment from our world that she finds particularly appealing.

“They are bound by their own systems, values, senses of logic and propulsion,” she tells me.

36 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

Cherry Whip, Victoria F. Gaitán

Sweet Meat, Victoria F. Gaitán

My analytical side wants to analyze these compositions; the indecisive side of me can’t decide as to whether this is a good idea or not, despite the fact that I cannot avoid analyzing it regardless.

I am indecisive as to whether or not to explore and express this analysis or not—could my vacillation be in it of itself, a product of her genius? My first instinct is to say the photos are too on the nose, but they aren’t. In a composition, something must be on the nose in order for viewers to pursue the loose ends inside their own psyches in order to synthesize an experience from the art, or, perhaps a newfound understanding that can be incorporated into the gestalt of one’s understanding of life.

Enough German psychobabble: An artist gets to have it both ways, to claim the personal motivation and intention within the work, as well as the subjective interpretation that people ascribe to it. This is secretly why non-artists hate artists, because they get to have their cake and eat it too; incidentally, most artists have to go through a lengthy period of starvation before actual cake can even come close to being part of the equation. Gaitán offers to me the cakes in her Sweet-Meat series that represent both the sweetness which society expects of women, and the impermanence of the physical beauty that society primarily values in women: Given time, the cakes will rot and become worthless, just as a woman’s looks will fade.

I grant her this—it is, after all, her cake. And yet, I am struck by the appeal of the cakes; surrounded by so much delicious cake, who could resist only a bite? To me, I see a society that force-feeds its women this bounty of sugary cake until, as in the

photos, she has no choice but to vomit this artificial essence of sweetness, this viscous and disgusting corn syrup. With this in mind, it is a profoundly disturbing coincidence that pornographic magazines use corn syrup to depict semen on women’s faces.

Her work, in her own words, concerns access and restriction, decadence and decay, and I am struck by the symbols of innocence, the flowers and the cherries, juxtaposed with this regurgitating river of popular culture, this force-feeding of girls, from childhood on, using mass-marketed diabetes of the soul.

The photographs of Gaitán are striking, and offer a dichotomy of beauty and disfigurement that is somehow more beautiful by summation and resonant in many ways. It is no surprise that Gaitán, the woman, the person, presents a similar dichotomy: She is a great beauty by any estimation who is marred by darkness and tattoos and yet somehow is more beautiful and more compelling for it all.

In talking to Gaitán, I can say with utter confidence that in her case, at the very least, society is hopelessly shortsighted. This is because her photos present another dilemma—that the value of a composition extends beyond its aesthetic beauty alone. In fact, the superficial “prettiness” or the aesthetic “quality” of a composition can even detract from the deontological “goodness” of the piece itself. In this fashion, Gaitán guides her audience to an intrinsic truth: In the measuring of human worth, our eyes may be the most worthless judges of all.

BY JUSTIN BRILL

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 37

With SODL, Susan and Emily hope to offer to fans a deeper and perhaps, more reflective element to their music. “We’re looking to go a little more mellow and soulful,” said Emily. “We’re so used to writing about crazy things in Exit Clov like government mind control or the drug trade, it’s nice to challenge ourselves with something new or different.”

SODL, to date, has released two singles—the eerie and simple, “Gold to Refine,” and the holiday song, “Inamorati,” which is filled with echoey vocals and endless sleigh bells. “Inamorati” also is the soundtrack for a holiday short they created for their Etsy store, imoM. In the pipelines, however, is a boutique album of Taiwanese and Chinese folk songs song by the twins, which they plan to render into their own darkly haunting, rock versions. They hope to release the project before the end of the year.

SOUNDS OF DOMESTIC LIVING

Identical twins Emily and Susan Hsu share more than just genetics. Diminutive in stature, with big brown eyes and jet black hair, the charming duo make up the band The Sounds of Domestic Living (SODL), a new musical project for the twins.

Creating indie pop music described on their Facebook page as “spare dark indie folk country soulful pop blues,” the girls have grown musically from their early days in the band Exit Clov.

In an interview with Meets Obsession, Susan explains the idea behind the description. “It does sound like a hodge-podge of ideas.

I think we’re just less interested—and I think Em would agree—in playing to any particular genre and more interested in creating a mood.”

The “mood,” that Susan referred to relates to the twin’s music in Exit Clov that often had political undertones. Founded by Susan and Emily in 2003, Exit Clov played a kind of “new wave pop noir” that focused largely on making clever political and social commentary infused with bits of playful subversion. One of their best known singles, “MK Ultra,” was a catchy track about government mind control.

The band, which is comprised of John Thayer (drums), Brett Niederman (bass), Aaron Leeder (guitar) and the twins (vocal, violin, guitar and keyboards), garnered buzz in their native Washington, D.C. They quickly became a fixture in the local indie music scene and have opened for bands like Cloud Cult, Architecture in Helsinki and Rilo Kiley.

However, all good musicians often take time away from their primary band to experiment. “Everyone in the band has branched out in the last few years to do new projects,” Emily said. “We’ve worked so hard as a band together for so long, but at the end of the day, we all have our own creative pursuits, so we needed to feed that part of us as well.”

While the twins live apart—Emily in New York and Susan in D.C.—they work closely in their creative pursuits to help draw inspiration from each other. “Suz and I both write lyrics together.

We actually need each other to bounce ideas together,” said Emily.

“I don’t know if it’s because we’ve only done it that way since we started playing music, but I find it very difficult to write on my own.”

However, the twins did not come up with SODL’s name. Rather, it was inspired by their friend and musician, Eamonn Aiken (The Dustys, Bellflur, and former Bonapartes). The girls were at Aiken’s studio recording a holiday song. “As we were leaving, we asked him how to find our way out to the kitchen door,” Emily said, “And he said, ‘Just follow the sounds of domestic living.’ It sounded strangely poetic and beautiful.”

Considering how long Susan and Emily have been in music, they have become veterans to a degree. And with the music industry in a constant state of flux, it seems the only way to prove oneself as an artist is with the performance of a live show. SODL has yet to expand its live performances, but Exit Clov has hopped all across America.

When asked about any traditions Exit Clov kept before doing a live show, Susan said it depended on the venue and city. “Whenever we played the Black Cat, one of our friends used to text us when we got onstage and tell Em and me to find him in the front row, stage right, and we’d do a round of Jaeger before the set started.

At the Middle East Club in Boston we always sit down for a band dinner before the show, partly to have some quality time together, but mostly it’s just so we can get the lamb kibbeh.”

Emily continued, “I just try to find a quiet place where no one will bother me. Most of the time we’re in a loud bar and I hate having to shout to talk to people, because it shreds my throat before the show, and then I don’t feel like singing anymore.”

To which Susan replied teasingly, “What a diva.”

They are little narratives like this that showcase how different the identical twins really are.

And while the girls have proven their musical chops with Exit Clov, their individual quirkiness is perhaps what will make SODL’s music stand out.

BY YOHANA DESTA

38 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

SHOOTING FOR REEL

A PREVIEW OF UPCOMING DOCUMENTARIES Each year hundreds of feature-length documentaries premiere at film festivals across the world.

Even so, only a handful get picked up for distribution in theatres, and only five obtain the honor of being nominated for an annual Academy Award for Best Documentary.

However, documentary film reaches much farther than the handful of films that are recognized at the Academy Awards each year.

Documentary filmmaking often is seen as being on the vanguard of storytelling because it enlightens audiences about world issues, fascinating subjects and the beauty and truth in reality. Often times, film festivals breathe life into the culture of documentary film and help to promote the work of their creators who work with minimal resources and shoestring budgets.

Meets Obsession was fortunate enough to cover this year’s SILVERDOCS Documentary Festival, an annual film festival put on by the American Film Institute (AFI) and Discovery Channel, and is one of the world’s premiere documentary festivals. Below is a profile of five upcoming must-see documentaries that have been gaining critical acclaim at national film festivals.

BEING ELMO: A PUPPETEER’S JOURNEY The public may not know Kevin Clash personally, but it does know him as the beloved red furball and Sesame Street stalwart, Elmo.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey is the touching, intriguing and surprisingly funny story of the man behind the puppet.

Directed by Constance A. Marks, Being Elmo highlights Clash’s early childhood ambitions of being a puppeteer and his undying passion for the art that ultimately led him to work with his hero, Jim Hensen. Their collaboration led to the creation of one of the most adored puppets of our generation.

Combined with fascinating behind-the-scenes footage of the ins and outs of a puppeteer’s craft, and narration provided by Whoopi Goldberg, Marks’s film transcends the conventions of documentary storytelling and captivates audiences by telling Clash’s story of endearing passion and unique creativity.

BETTER THIS WORLD In 2008, David McKay and Bradley Crowder were arrested for possession of homemade Molotov Cocktails at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The 20-something pair were deemed “anarchists,” and charged later with domestic terrorism. In Better This World directors Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega document the enthralling and expository investigation of these two supposed “terrorists.”

Better This World plays less like a documentary and more like a reallife political thriller. It begins with the back story of McKay and Crowder—two politically conscious, yet socially benign Texas boys who were far from the monstrous anti-American “terrorists” the media made them out to be. Eventually they would be influenced by a well-known “charismatic revolutionary” who was ten years their senior. Under his guidance, their beliefs become more radical, and they plan a trip to peacefully protest the 2008 RNC. What develops is a captivating and awe-inspiring true story of

Better This World Documentary deception and betrayal. As the identity of an FBI informant becomes a key factor in McKay and Crowder’s entrapment defense, the film chronicles the fierce judicial battle of the two young men in court as they fight to prove their innocence. Combined with intriguing interviews from both McKay and Crowder, FBI agents, lawyers, and other key figures in their trial, Galloway and Duane de la Vega create a superb film that will stir up headlines upon its release in theatres.

THE OTHER F WORD “I don’t want to grow up/if growing up means being like you/then I don’t want to be like you.” Those lyrics, from legendary punk band The Descendents, never rang as true as they did in director Andrea Blaugrund Nevins’ The Other F Word, a film that explores the seemingly idiosyncratic world of punk rock parenthood.

Once young, angry and pitted against the world with their fierce, aggressive music and radical attitudes, the guys that “your parents warned you about” are now grown up with children of their own.

Featuring interviews with such punk icons as NOFX’s Fat Mike, Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Flea, Rancid’s Lars Frederiksen, Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus, and Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath, The Other F Word is a colorful, touching, and at times, hilarious look into a life of growing up without growing up.

LIFE IN A DAY No one would agree more than director Kevin Macdonald that today’s generation is the “YouTube Generation.” He proves this through his innovative documentary, Life in a Day, a film that was compiled from more than 4,500 hours of footage submitted from people in 192 countries on YouTube over the course of a single day.

As evidenced by its name, the film uniquely chronicles a real day in the world by weaving together a narrative through the use of YouTube submissions. Life in a Day opens with a scene of early morning, and then unites, at a nearly seamless pace, several interesting stories told by its various submitters.

The film’s narratives vary from the mundane activities found in everyday tasks, to the emotionally heart-wrenching stories, such as a woman’s battle with cancer, and a gay man’s struggle to come out to his grandmother.

Winner of the prestigious “Cinematic Vision Award” at this year’s SILVERDOCS Documentary Festival, this film is a paragon for visionary filmmaking and a culturally significant documentary for the “wired generation.”

BY MATT COHEN

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 39

LILLIAN CROWE, DESIGNER

As a person who creates accessories, I’m constantly accessorizing. That, coupled with an obsessive love of thrift stores, estate sales, and anything vintage has led to an ever-growing collection of hats and hair accessories acquired on trips throughout the United States and beyond. Flying in a hat is no fun, but a sacrifice for the greater aesthetic good!

40 | MeetsObsession.com

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

10

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION THERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF CREATIVE AND TALENTED PEOPLE IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY. BUT WHO ARE THE RULEBREAKERS, TASTEMAKERS AND TRAILBLAZERS? WHO COMMANDS ATTENTION? AND WHO DO WE LOVE TO TALK ABOUT, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD? MEETS OBSESSION MAGAZINE PRESENTS THE 10 MOST INTRIGING PEOPLE IN FASHION IN 2011 OUR LIST OF FASHION FIGURES WE LOVE TO HATE, LOVE TO LOVE, AND MOST OF ALL, ARE INTRIGUED BY.

Illustrated by Yiying Lu

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN DOWNLOAD FREE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM THIS FEATURE AT MEETSOBSESSION.COM/INTRIGUING10

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 41

10

THE FEMIMAN: ANDREJ PEJIC

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION

There once was a time when only female supermodels like Heidi Klum and Gisele Bundchen graced the catwalk and turned heads with their long legs and blonde tresses.

Now, it is Serbian-Australian model Andrej Pejic’s turn—and no, girls, he is not oiled, tan or posing in the latest Calvin Klein underwear advertisement.

Rather, Pejic, at 19, has mesmerized, electrified and downright confused the fashion world with his genderbending features of pale skin, pursed lips, Rubenesque eyes, and well, feminine wiles.

Simply to describe Pejic as beautiful would be tantamount to calling Einstein smart. Pejic is androgyny at its apex, and is single-handedly spearheading the next wave in fashion—the “femiman”—or man with feminine qualities.

Yet, even this description falls short in describing his elusive and brilliant qualities. Standing at a statuesque 6’2, with bombshell blond hair, he exudes a graceful masculinity that is combined with a thoughtful, coquettish and contagious charm. When asked if he would consider a sex change operation for a contract with Victoria Secret in a March 2011 interview with The Telegraph, he replied, “You’d have to, wouldn’t you? I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.”

Perhaps this is the kind of “can-do” attitude a model needs to excel in fashion.

As the hottest male and female model in the industry, Pejic has the unremitting attention of every major fashion designer. He is the current face of two major labels’ spring/summer 2011 advertisement campaigns—Marc Jacobs and Jean Paul Gaultier. Last January, he also landed Gaultier’s menswear and haute couture female shows in Paris. Gaultier, who has now featured Pejic in multiple runway shows, built his menswear show around Pejic, and closed his haute couture show with the stunning model as the blushing bride.

Yet, with the glowing fanfare that Pejic has received, he is surprisingly tempered in his response to all the public praise. “You can be in one minute and out the next,” Pejic said, almost pensively, in a television interview with Australian reporter, Rahni Sadler last February. Further, remarking on his beauty, he went on to say, “I think I am an attractive person… but I don’t place that much value on beauty and I don’t think society should either.”

Some of this modest temperament may be due to his chaotic and humble upbringing. Pejic’s childhood has been as richly provocative as his multi-layered looks.

At six months old, he and his family fled a war-torn Bosnia and finally settled in the working class city of Melbourne, Australia in 2000.

It was not until high school that he was discovered by Australian modeling agency, Chadwick.

Since then, Pejic has had a whirlwind career as fashion’s “it girl,” and has been shot by Steven Meisel, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for French and Italian Vogues, and featured in numerous editorials in WWD Japan, Zeit Magazine and i-D magazine.

He recently sparked controversy for his cover for Dossier Magazine that showed him coiffed, shirtless and feminine.

Bookstore chains, Barnes & Noble and Borders censored Pejic’s magazine image—which had too closely resembled a topless woman—by wrapping the publication with an opaque plastic cover.

As a controversial male or female model, Pejic is giving all of the top fashion models a run for their money.

Kate Moss, eat your heart out.

BY MEI TAN

42 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Illustrations by Yiying Lu |

THE CLOTHES COLLECTOR: ANNA DELLO RUSSO If there was anyone who ever lived, breathed, and existed for fashion, it would be over-the-top, self-described “passionate fashionista,” Anna Dello Russo.

Currently the Editor-at-Large and creative consultant for Japan Vogue, the Italian-born editor, at age 49, has been praised consistently by fashion elites for being a trend setter with a flair for turning daring, runway looks into “ready-to-wear” fashion.

Once described as a “fashion maniac” by famous photographer Helmut Newton, Dello Russo—as a rule—has always placed style before comfort and practicality.

At the age of 12, she attended school with a matching “collection of Fendi bags [that included a] wallet, bag, [and] umbrella,” she told New York magazine in an interview last year. The umbrella, she noted, was “part of the look,” even though she carried it on a sunny day.

Dello Russo boasts a vast collection of designer clothes that requires storage in not one—but two—mammoth apartments.

Last October, she interviewed with W magazine and opened her apartments (or rather, pseudo-closets) for viewing.

Photographs taken by W captured 250 tuxedo jackets, an extensive exotic fur coat collection, and a 4,000-pair shoe collection that would bring former First Lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos to her knees.

“Collecting clothes is complicated because the clothes need a space and the right temperature,” Dello Russo told New York magazine in February 2010. “You really destroy clothes if you leave it there…It’s dusty, it’s hot—it ruins the clothes. It’s… freezing in my house! The clothes need to be cold.”

Dello Russo, while a former student of Italian literature, has a library that is not filled with books, but rather, the clothes of Dolce & Gabbana, Louboutins, and Prada.

She is meticulously organized in her closet.

The fashion enthusiast places her “top-drawer” clothing, a.k.a. the chicest and most modern, in apartment one, which is decorated top to bottom in leopard.

For items that are considered “less-than-current,” she demotes them to apartment two, next door.

When Dello Russo divorced her husband, she expressed her trials and tribulations with the clothes she wore in public. Dello Russo donned a black Balenciaga two-piece to court on the day that her marriage ended. In a September 2010 interview with the Daily Beast, she said, “I was feeling really, really desperate. Balenciaga, Balenciaga! The perfect divorce outfit.”

Dello Russo has moved on since then to a new boyfriend. However, he plays second fiddle to her first love. “He doesn’t live with me,” Dello Russo told New York Magazine in an interview last December.

“There is no space because of the clothes.”

Dello Russo earned a bachelor degree in Italian Literature and Art History and attended the Domus Academy in Milan.

Prior to leading one of the world’s most influential fashion magazines, she spent 18 years cultivating her knowledge and style at Condé Nast Italia as Fashion Editor at Italy Vogue.

She went on to serve as editor of the men’s fashion magazine, L’Uomo Vogue from 2000 to 2006.

Dello Russo is often featured in popular street style blogs like The Sartorialist and Jak & Jill.

She has worked with the international clothing website Yoox.com which celebrated its ten year anniversary by producing shirts that highlighted each one of Dello Russo’s top ten outfits.

The shirts sold out within a day. Last Christmas, she ventured into the world of perfume and created a new fragrance named, “The Scent of Anna Dello Russo.”

The perfume, which had notes of vanilla and almond, came, of course, in a golden shoe bottle.

We would expect nothing less.

BY KAREN ALEXIS BASTOW

10

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 43

10

THE FASHION GOD: ANNA WINTOUR

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION

In 1988, Anna Wintour stepped into American Vogue magazine as its Editor-in-Chief and never looked back.

For more than two decades, Wintour has helmed, shaped and molded a $350 billion fashion industry in her trademark sunglasses, and with her unrivaled business sensibilities.

Under her bold leadership and direction, Vogue has become, and continues to be the industry’s top fashion magazine. And if that were not enough, the famous editor has a keen eye for talent, and is credited for establishing the lofty careers of fashion designer icons such as Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Marc Jacobs.

A fashion broker and dealer, Wintour has used her extensive authority to continually elevate and promote the fashion industry.

She began the trend of placing celebrities like Demi Moore and Julia Roberts on the cover of fashion magazines, and symbiotically linked the worlds of celebrity and fashion.

Wintour, who has been anointed by her critics with nicknames like “Nuclear Wintour” and “Wintour of Discontent,” is famous both for her cold disposition and unwavering demands of perfection.

She has a rumored $200,000 a year allowance to purchase clothes, worn the same precise bob since the age of 16, and maintainsd a regimented schedule that begins at 6 AM every day. Even her assistants are required to retain a particular look—thin, coiffed and always fashion-forward.

Her well-known demands combined with her grand authority have made Wintour the intriguing and scathing subject of the best-selling novel, “The Devil Wears Prada”; an unauthorized biography, “Front Row: Anna Wintour The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue’s Editor in Chief”; and a critically acclaimed documentary, September Issue, made by famous filmmaker RJ Cutler.

These public caricatures, however, while entertaining, fail to encompass the successful work of Wintour, who, at age 61, has created a world in which her opinion is the only opinion that matters in fashion.

“There is always a moment when you question if Anna will like it or not… any designer that says the contrary will lie,” said designer Nicolas Guescare of Balenciaga in a 2009 interview with 60 Minutes.

Last year, Wintour had Milan in a panic during fashion week when it was discovered that she had cut her visit to just four days, as designers rushed to reschedule their shows accordingly.

A veritable enigma, Wintour is a woman of few words—all of which she efficiently uses to charm, anger, praise and denounce.

“I’m very decisive, and I try to give very clear direction,” she said in a 2009 interview with David Letterman, “and sometimes unfortunately they don’t hear the answer they [would] like to hear.”

For New York City retailers facing dismal sales during the economic crisis in 2009, Wintour successfully organized the event, Fashion’s Night Out (FNC), a citywide celebration that encouraged consumers to shop. FNC was so successful in raising revenue sales for retailers it returned as a larger event in 2010 and had 100 cities in 16 countries participating worldwide.

To help fledgling young designers, Wintour also established the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Vogue Fashion Fund in 2001.

The fund, which has an endowment of $10 million, finances, teaches and cultivates promising young designers to ensure that the fashion industry maintains and supports its brightest stars.

“Fashion is not about looking back. It’s about looking forward,” Wintour once famously remarked.

Indeed, in a world that is fickle and ever-changing, Wintour has outlasted some of her greatest critics.

In the end, she remains the industry’s leading authority, always looking forward behind those sunglasses, ever knowing that she can play God for as long as she wants to.

BY MEI TAN

44 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Illustrations by Yiying Lu |

Sassy magazine who loved Sevigny’s urban look and secured her a summer intern position at the magazine. For a moment, it appeared that Sevigny would have cultivated only a career in fashion.

However, by 1999, Sevigny rise in film came when she landed her first serious role in the critically acclaimed movie Boys Don’t Cry and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.

Since then, she has become the movie darling and poster child of independent art house films, securing roles in critically acclaimed movies such as American Psycho and Party Monster.

In 2003, she made headlines with her explicit sex scene with director Vincent Gallo in the controversial and independent film The Brown Bunny, in which she gave Gallo a blow job.

This film is a departure from her current role as Nicki Grant, one of the conservative wives in a family of polygamists on HBO’s Big Love series in which she won a Golden Globe in 2010.

But Sevigny is as much known for her artistic movie roles as she is for her notable fashion sensibilities. On the red carpet, Sevigny dresses with a fearless certitude unmatched by any celebrity.

THE FASHION MUSE: CHLOË SEVIGNY

It was nearly two decades ago when Jay McInerney crowned Chloë Sevigny the “it girl” of the nineties and catapulted the fledgling actress into permanent, high social status. Since then, “cool” may be the most ubiquitous word used to describe Sevigny who, at age 36, has become a noted fashion muse to iconic designers such as Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent, and Dolce and Gabbana.

However, to describe Sevigny as simply “cool,” is rather an understatement.

Few individuals have garnered the relevance, praise and permanence of Sevigny who—whether intentional or not—has the uncanny ability to be a controversial, as well as inscrutable and inspirational figure in the film and fashion industry.

Sevigny is contradiction personified. She is beautiful, and has a resume of work that reflects both conservatism and liberalism, both ambiguity and clarity, and has a surprising thoughtfulness and assertive sex appeal for a girl who grew up Catholic in the waspy, affluent town of Darien, Connecticut.

Perhaps this was why she was once described as “Mona Lisa,” by casting director Laura Barnett in a 2001 Vogue article.

Sevigny credits her love for clothes with shopping in thrift and vintage stores in her hometown.

By 17, she was discovered by Andrea Linett, the fashion editor of

Sevigny, who is best known for her edgy, vintage attire, believes that having personal style does not require one to compromise their wallet. In a 2009 Elle Magazine article, she stated, “It’s not what you spend but how you wear it that counts…The key is often to dress up inexpensive basics with accessories. Something like a beautiful designer bag or belt can make everything else look richer and more luxurious.”

Her unique style has earned her a clothing line that launched in 2008 with Opening Ceremony. Sevigny described her line to Vogue as, “a little punk, a little rockabilly” and a “lateeighties, early-nineties alternative-girl look.”

Last June, Sevigny opened her line for viewing to fashion editors with a full runway show in a steamy, no air-conditioned, high school gym in New York City.

“I wanted you to come in and be transported back to the way you felt when you were a teenager,” Sevigny told reporters after the show. “Even little tiny things — the cinder blocks, the color blue of the walls. Anything that would trigger the senses to that time when you’re questioning everything.”

Even the models that walked the runway were noticeably diverse— reflecting both “young and old and different kind of body shapes,” said Sevigny.

Sevigny continues to show the world that, like her eclectic fashion sense, there is more than one way to do things.

Given her effortless transition between fashion and film, cool definitely would be an understatement to describe her.

BY MEI TAN

10

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 45

THE CONTROVERSIAL AMERICAN: DOV CHARNEY 2011 hasn’t been good for Dov Charney. As the founder and CEO of the American clothing company American Apparel, Charney is not the typical corporate executive managing a multimillion-dollar brand label. For the last several years, Charney has unabashedly made news headlines with his provocative advertisements, financial scandals and sexual harassment lawsuits.

At the same time, he is known for his social consciousness; under American Apparel, Charney has taken a proimmigration reform stance, provided low-cost health insurance to low-wage workers, and refused to outsource his clothing line to cheaper operations outside the U.S.

Born in Montreal and educated in Hebrew and Canadian schools, Charney came to the United States in 1988 and began one of the most successful American clothing companies. As a fan of American-made goods, Charney reinterpreted the classic American t-shirt, and with his brand, defined the next generation of urban hipsters.

“There was something about American products, that are just, like, rugged,” he told CBS’s morning show in a February 2009 interview.

Back in high school, he began buying American made t-shirts, and selling them back in Canada.

Charney latched onto his idea of Americanmade apparel and took it to the bank, establishing the famous clothing company in 1998. While the downtown, Los Angeles American Apparel factory was not acquired until 1997, Charney began manufacturing clothing under the American Apparel name long before.

“It was during my freshman year at Tufts, that my T-shirt company took on the trade name ‘American Apparel,’” Charney writes on his website, explaining the fact that he was not the one to come up with the name. “I briefly entered into a partnership with Bob Smith, owner of Kellsport Industries, one of the most authorized Hanes wholesale dealers, and the name ‘American Apparel’ was actually his idea.”

At first examination, Charney, who straddles the line between controversy and morality, is a compelling human study. “I’ve had relationships, loving relationships, that I’m proud of,” he said in a 2005 interview with Bloomberg Business Week about having consensual relationships with his staff. “I think it’s a First Amendment right to pursue one’s affection for another human being.”

Thus goes the story of Charney, whose company so far has held up despite his public indiscretions.

Charney’s career history—full of highs and lows—remains just as colorful as his personality: In 1997, Charney founded and expanded American Apparel, which became the fastest growing company in the U.S. By 2004, things took a turn for the worse when a Jane magazine employee wrote a controversial narrative of her sexual escapades with the business mogul.

Three years later, Charney’s company was met with yet another scandal, this time it was for a provocative billboard featuring a screenshot of actor, Woody Allen, dressed as a Hasidic Jew from the film Annie Hall.

Allen sued American Apparel and won a settlement of $5 million.

By 2008, Charney was back on top—he was named one of the top 100 most powerful people in Southern California by the Los Angeles Times. His company, American Apparel—with its iconic and simple t-shirts—was regarded as one of the top trendsetters. Then last year, Charney faced rumors that his company would shut down due to declining sales and questionable loans it had taken, as well as another series of sexual harassment lawsuits.

Charney, however, has refused to hide amidst controversy. Once defending himself for sexually harassing his employees in court, he said during a deposition made public by Dateline, “I frequently drop my pants to show people my new product…There’s some of us that love sluts. It could be also an endearing term.”

By 1990, Charney had dropped out of Tufts and moved to South Carolina, where he spent time learning about the t-shirt trade from textile producers. Driven, fascinated and inspired, the welleducated entrepreneur made the decision to strike out on his own. Charney borrowed $10,000 from his father to start American Apparel.

According to the New York Times, Charney also gained financial backing from the mothers of former girlfriends. “I noticed they were Mrs. Robinson-types,” he told the Times last April when asked about how he charmed his female endorsers.

A large portion of the company’s success is attributed to the fact that Charney—in a world that has globalized its markets—has branded American Apparel as a domestic company with goods produced by American workers. As CEO, Charney supports employee-friendly corporate policies that require that workers are treated fairly, paid above minimum wage, and have access to benefits.

Yet, despite Charney’s goodwill towards his employees, he remains the subject of fashion and gossip circles around the globe. Charney continues to shock the public with his controversial mannerisms and use of sexually provocative ads that display half-dressed models with their chests and bottoms exposed. Perhaps this is what makes him a genius marketer for American Apparel.

BY CATHERINE TOOR

46 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Illustrations by Yiying Lu |

spearheading a print advertisement campaign for luxury design house Badgley Mischka.

A year later, they launched “The Row,” an expensive and extensive collection of womenswear, menswear and now eyewear inspired by Savile Row, a chic shopping street in London. Moving away from reasonably priced and teen-targeted lines, “The Row” catered to upscale consumers with sophisticated tastes.

The line’s simple and modern designs already have nabbed the attention of First Lady, Michelle Obama, who wore its lavender pleated skirt on ABC’s The View earlier this year, as well as highend fashion department stores like Barneys New York and London’s Harvey Nichols carried the girls’ line.

THE EMPIRE MOGULS: MARY-KATE AND ASHLEY OLSEN Once referred to as “The Olsen Twins”—a name that illustrated their singularity versus individuality—Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have matured past their Full House years, shed the ubiquitous name and moved into the adult world.

Long gone are their days of matching overalls, backward baseball caps, and tight pigtails.

Today, the twins are respected business tycoons with a billiondollar empire that they have used to expand into high fashion, Oprah style. With their bohemian, eclectic and accessible apparel, their clothing lines have earned high praise among fashion elites.

At the ripe age of 25, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have accomplished what most child actors do not—achieve mega success in adulthood. Under their global brand management company, Dualstar, the twins have built a successful brand that merchandises their videos, television shows and clothing apparel worldwide.

Their most recent venture is with the social commerce company, BeachMint, where the Olsens have helped to launch StyleMint, an online subscription site that began in July.

Created through a partnership with the co-founder of MySpace, Josh Berman, StyleMint provides users with customized style recommendations based on their generated profile and purchases.

Mary-Kate and Ashley have designed a line of t-shirts for the website, and are hoping to establish a line of knits and sweaters.

With the success of “The Row” raking in an estimated $10 - $12 million in annual sales, it is surprising to learn that the twins had doubts about their ability to market their high-priced goods due to their background in developing more affordable lines.

“Initially, I wanted someone else to front the brand,” said MaryKate to Newsweek last April about her concerns about customer demand for their mature line. “We wanted someone else to rep it.

But we couldn’t lie.”

That same year, the twins moved their high-end brand further by consulting for the successful clothing line “Elizabeth and James,” a ready-to-wear collection that was named after two of their siblings, Elizabeth and James. “‘Elizabeth and James’ is a contemporary line and ‘The Row’ is a lot more sophisticated,” Ashley told The Fashion Informer of the distinction between the brands in an interview in June 2007. “Also, ‘Elizabeth and James’ is more of a licensing deal, so we function as creative consultants, and ‘The Row’ we do totally ourselves.”

However, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have not abandoned their initial bread and butter—affordable clothing for younger buyers.

Launched in 2010, “Olsenboye” is a line of junior apparel, shoes and accessories and is carried by department store giant JC Penney.

“It’s about quality and price and style, and we wanted [the line] to be lighthearted and kind of a great line for really any age,” MaryKate told Good Morning America during its pre-launch last year.

Inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2009, the twin billionaires continue to be at the top of countless “best dressed” lists.

“Online commerce is the perfect medium for us to create a new brand that is as much about the clothing as it is about the customer experience,” Ashley told Women’s Wear Daily last April.

With smart business sensibilities and eclectic personal style, Mary-Kate and Ashley have proven their fashion staying-power as focused entrepreneurs.

Yet this is far from the twins’ first venture into the fashion world.

BY CATHERINE TOOR

As young girls, Mary-Kate and Ashley launched the clothing line “Mary-Kate and Ashley: Real fashion for real girls” for Walmart that catered to girls between the ages of 4 and14.

By 2006, the twins made their first mark in high-end fashion by

10

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 47

10

MOST INTRIGUING

THE CREATIVE: NICOLA FORMICHETTI

IN FASHION

Nicola Formichetti, best known as the new creative genius for the French luxury brand Mugler, and best friend to pop star Lady Gaga, is flying high these days.

Born in Japan to Italian and Japanese parents, Formichetti has branded a unique style that interweaves modern luxury with aggressive street wear.

In the last decade, Formichetti, has gained prominence in fashion by working with the industry’s biggest names like designers Alexander McQueen, Issey Miyake and Kim Jones, and has collaborated with wellknown brands such as TopMan, D&G, and Stussy.

He has worked with numerous famous photographers such as Laurie Bartley, Magnus Unnar, and Benjamin Alexander Huseby.

As the owner of the Japanese clothing store, Side by Side, his newest venture will be a pop-up shop that is slated to open this September in New York City.

In meeting Lady Gaga at a V Magazine shoot, the creative director quickly changed his tune. “It was an instant love. I had always stayed away from celebrity and musicians before, but she was so different,” said Formichetti of their immediate chemistry in the same interview.

Formichetti’s career began at the age of 21, when he worked as the art director and head buyer for the successful London boutique “The Pineal Eye” for two years.

While there, Formichetti met Katy England, a stylist for Dazed & Confused magazine.

England was impressed by Formichetti and hired him as a contributor for the magazine in 2000; and by 2008, he had climbed his way to creative director.

“Instantly we understood each other completely. We started working naturally — all the videos, shows, tours.”

After living in London for nearly a decade, Formichetti moved to New York where he worked as a stylist for V magazine.

Formichetti is fast to point out that he and Lady Gaga are “best friends” who gush over one another. Undoubtedly, their collaboration has brought significant attention to Mugler.

He continued to pursue his talent in the print world by contributing to fashion magazines such as AnOther, 10, Numero Homme and Mixt(e), and serves as the fashion director for Vogue Hommes Japan.

Then, in 2009, Formichetti met pop-singing sensation, Lady Gaga, and catapulted his already brilliant career into celebrity status.

Having worked with iconic fashion designers, Formichetti had been initially skeptical about mixing celebrities and fashion.

“There’s way too much celebrity in fashion,” he once said in an interview with the New York Times Style magazine in January 2010.

“I don’t really like working with celebrities, so I try to stay away from that whole machine.”

Formichetti was responsible for Gaga’s meat dress at the MTV Video Music Awards as well as the one who inspired the “egg shell” that housed Gaga as she came down the Grammy’s red carpet.

Gaga also stole the show in Formichetti’s Fall 2011 Mugler debut in Paris when she strutted down the runway holding a cigarette.

Formichetti, with or without Gaga, is a new creative force who has made punk rock pretty.

BY KAREN ALEXIS BASTOW

48 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Illustrations by Yiying Lu |

THE FREAK: RICK GENEST Rick Genest is the man that everyone can’t stop staring at.

For the last four years, Genest has spent a quoted $7,000 on tattoos on his face and body to make him resemble a macabre, human skeleton.

His face is a portrait of a skull, drawn open to show the human brain and fully embellished with a set of hollowedout, black-rimmed eyes.

His body art, replete with various drawings of bones, veins and arteries, seems so real that it’s hard for one to believe that they’re not looking inside a corpse.

Nicknamed “Zombie Boy” by the media, Genest has the attention of some of the biggest names in fashion.

At age 25, Genest is the controversial muse for the high-end French clothing brand, Mugler, and is the noted best friend to pop singer sensation, Lady Gaga.

Genest is the current model for Mugler’s Fall 2011 menswear campaign where his tattoos are prominently featured in the ads.

He also is the star of Gaga’s latest video for her hit single, “Born this Way,” where, as an homage to Genest, Gaga decked out herself in Halloween make-up to resemble his likeness in the video.

Genest, now properly represented by three European modeling agencies—Ford Models Europe, WhyNot Models and Unique— was first discovered by Nicola Formichetti, the creative director of Mugler.

At the time, Genest, who had left home after high school and was homeless, was working as a “circus freak” with a traveling carnival. Formichetti had seen Genest on Facebook and asked the tattooed man if he would like to come to Paris.

The rest was a Cinderella story—that is, if Cinderella was an introspective, occasionally laconic, grim reaper.

As a child, Genest had undergone a series of brain operations and inherited the nickname Zombie. Out of respect for his parents, he waited until he was 16 to get his first tattoo.

“And with this nickname it… was a big part of my life,” Genest said in an interview with 7 Jour Magazine last May. “With this name I got tattooed with it—something that kids do.” He went on to say about his grim look, “It’s in the eye of the beholder, right?

Everyone has their own opinion of what is beautiful. Some people its exterior cosmetic beauty and there’s also interior beauty.”

It is this “interior beauty” that has returned Genest to his career roots—working in a traveling carnival of freaks.

Aptly titled “Lucifer’s Blasphemous Mad Macabre Torture Carnival,” the carnival features a contemporary side show of acts, including Genest himself as a walking zombie who eats people alive.

He and his colleagues, Dr. Death and The Executioner helped him write the script for the show.

Genest even landed a small cameo in the upcoming film 47 Ronan with Keanu Reeves which he filmed in Budapest.

Yet, with all the media attention, Genest, a self-described “punk rocker,” remains a normal kid in his mother’s eyes. In a U.K. Daily Mail interview with his mom, Mrs. Genest, she replied of her son, “Rick will always be himself. He’s very loving to his family, and faithful to his friends. His grandparents love him very much… everybody has always accepted him as himself.”

When asked what was next for him in an interview with the Montreal Gazette last May, Genest pensively replied, “[I will] always continue with my show… freak show is number one, it’s my baby… and to continue performing… and if we do it right, we can use it for good things—use the promotion for good causes.”

BY MEI TAN

10

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 49

10

THE NEXT DESIGNER ICON: SARAH BURTON

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION

With the tragic death of Alexander McQueen last February, many in the fashion world speculated on how the House of McQueen would survive without its brilliant designer.

Then came Sarah Burton—a relative unknown to the public with some big, daunting shoes to fill.

As McQueen’s right-hand woman and head of the label’s womenswear collection since 2000, Burton had been an integral part of the brand and was therefore a natural choice. “Having worked alongside Lee McQueen for more than 14 years,” said Jonathan Akeroyd, president and CEO of Alexander McQueen, “she has a deep understanding of his vision, which will allow the company to stay true to its core values.”

Burton began her career with McQueen as an intern in 1996 while she attended Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London to study print fashion. She was subsequently hired upon graduation to work with McQueen, where her responsibilities gradually extended to menswear, accessories and other areas.

Since her appointment as creative director last May, Burton, to say the least, has single-handedly reinvigorated the McQueen brand—both with critically-acclaimed collections for spring and fall, and with her much-talked-about design of Kate Middleton’s royal wedding dress.

For a moment, rumor mills were buzzing that it may be Burton who would replace John Galliano at Dior.

With thoughtfulness, fearlessness and painstaking care, Burton has brought light to McQueen where there had been darkness. Her first spring collection in Paris, while staying true to the contour silhouettes and ornate designs of her iconic predecessor, was in Burton’s description, a more “tender” collection.

Burton unveiled a series of dresses that stunned—butterfly dresses in burnt orange, and black and white were paired with iris platform sandals; an intricately-laced gold-leaf ball gown that held a soft, fringed skirt; and a sequence of feathered, and black and cream degradé dresses that evoked the essence of flight and wind.

Even the spectacular and theatrical runway shows known of McQueen were stripped down and exuded a lighter, more maternal affair.

In the end, Burton has infused her own point of view into the McQueen brand with the delicate respect and refinement of a woman’s touch. “There will always be this McQueen spirit and essence,” said Burton in a September 2010 interview with Women’s Wear Daily, “[but] I can’t try and pretend to be Lee.”

how would I to begin?” a February Vogue, “Lee’s everyone else’s…

Lee work for? For all decided to just get on

ever even begin Burton said in interview with British mind was so different to but I had to ask myself, what did this to close down? In the end, I with it: do my best.”

Needless to say, Burton has exceeded the expectations of an industry where it is difficult for even the most accomplished designer to garner adulation and praise. At age 36, humble, yet daring, Burton is an iconic designer in the making.

BY MEI TAN

Given the magnificent showings of her first two collections, it is surprising to learn that Burton did not want the job. “I thought:

50 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Illustrations by Yiying Lu |

THE PHOTOGRAPHER TERRY RICHARDSON He’s loud, crazy and the brain behind half the fashion spreads in major magazines such as Vogue and GQ. He’s photographed models, presidents, musicians, actors, and yes, even hobos.

Terry Richardson is the photographer on everyone’s lips, and he also happens to be the most controversial.

Born in New York and raised in Hollywood, Richardson entered the alternative scene early on in his life. He was a skater who joined a punk rock band in his teen years. After the band’s breakup, Richardson took up photography as a hobby.

It was a natural fit for Richardson who then left for New York City to pursue his dreams as a photographer.

By 1998, Richardson had published his first photography book, “Hysteric Glamour.” The book captured his fascination with the nightlife of the city and featured graphic sexual images, a bevy of models (himself, included) and everyday people in jarring poses.

Since “Hysteric Glamour,” he has released several books, among them “Son of Bob,” “Too Much,” “Terryworld,” “Kibosh” and “Manimal.”

Perhaps best known for his sexually provocative and soft pornographic photographs, Richardson utilizes simple white backgrounds to create a live or “popout” effect that jumps out to viewers. He does not use Photoshop, special effects or lomography, but rather, relied on minimalistic and straightforward ambiances and cameras to capture compelling images.

Over the years, Richardson’s own personal style has become as memorable as his shocking photography. The 45-year-old has stuck with his trademark uniform of huge, hipster-approved glasses, plaid shirts and luxuriously thick mutton chops. He also has built a reputation for being the “creepy uncle” who affectionately insists for his photo subjects to refer to him as Uncle Terry.

Unsurprisingly, Richardson’s rumored scandalous behavior has triggered a series of complaints by models who have spoken out about his lack of professionalism. Models like Rie Rasmussen has alleged that Richardson manipulated young models in order to have “his way” with them.

But Richardson is not without his supporters. Supermodel Noot Seear defended him in a March 2010 interview with New York Magazine, and said, “Terry is an amazing photographer. All that goes on while shooting is participatory play.” Even designer Marc Jacobs has leapt to Richardson’s defense. Also in March, the designer told the Wall Street Journal that Richardson was not “illspirited,” nor was he to be blamed for the way photos turned out.

Regardless of these allegations, Richardson’s work continued to enthrall the public. After all, it was Richardson who photographed Megan Fox in a mind-blowing spread with GQ magazine after her

role in the blockbuster movie Transformers. He also shot presidentto-be, Barack Obama, who looked surprisingly candid and happy in the photo, for the cover of Vibe magazine in 2007. Then, there came Lady Gaga’s second cover for Rolling Stone magazine.

Richardson had the brilliant idea to have her hold up two machine guns to her chest.

The list of his work is endless. Whether the public is reviewing the latest advertisement for Marc Jacobs’s cologne, eyewear from Tom Ford, or American Apparel’s t-shirts, they are witnessing Richardson’s work.

And lo and behold, Uncle Terry is everywhere a girl turns, watching her from behind his powerful lens and capturing keen fashion moments that have the world on its head. And the girls don’t mind at all, do they?

BY YOHANA DESTA

10

MOST INTRIGUING

IN FASHION

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 51

52 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

ZANG TOI

30 YEARS ON THE THRONE OF LUXURY In an industry where a designer is as good as his current collection, Zang Toi is a veteran luxury designer who has remained relevant and successful for three decades. At age 50, Toi has built a career creating beautiful, handcrafted gowns and impeccably tailored suits. “I am one of the few fortunate American designers that can command a very high ticket price,” said Toi, in an interview with Meets Obsession.

Toi readily admits that the exclusivity of his brand and loyalty of his elite clientele has helped to expand his high-end business—a difficult niche market that successfully is attained by a handful of designers such as Zac Posen, Diane von Furstenberg and Vera Wang. However, unlike those designers that have branched out into commercial lines, Toi sells to an even smaller market—elite consumers who can pay upwards of $30,000 for a well-crafted gown.

And he is one of a handful of designers who has done this successfully.

Inspired by beauty, Toi’s current collection of gowns and suits was designed in a palette of black, nude, and emerald green.

His dresses, replete with intricate bead work, lace detailing, and delicate pleated silks showed at New York Fashion Week and received a full room standing ovation. There, Toi closed his show with a $30,000 finale piece that stunned audiences. With hundreds of hours of painstaking work, the black strapless ganza ball gown was made with thousands of intricately placed Swarovski crystals and hand-stitched bead work to resemble lace trims.

The Malaysian-born designer grew up the youngest of seven children in Kelantan of the Kuala Krai district, and as a child, had an affinity for drawing. “I’ve always loved drawing and sketching and I think that gave me a solid foundation,” said the awardwinning designer.

At the age of 20, Toi came to the United States to live with his brother and attend the prestigious Parsons The New School for Design where he almost majored in interior design. Taking last minute advice from his sister, however, Toi chose to enter fashion and never looked back.

Toi started his career by apprenticing under fashion designers, Ronaldus Shamask and Mary Jane Marcasiano. Six years later, he opened his atelier and designed his first collection in 1989. “[There were] a total number of 13 pieces—my lucky 13,” said an effervescent Toi. “One dress was picked up by Anna Wintour [and was featured] in Vogue magazine.”

Toi’s lavish gowns had so enamored Wintour that the famous editor featured the young designer in the iconic magazine twice.

Six months later, he released his spring collection and he landed promptly back in Vogue. Over the next three decades, Toi’s work would be featured in major magazines like Women’s Wear Daily, Time, W, and Vanity Fair.

Toi’s earlier collections in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90s were dramatic and bold—full of bright, splashy colors and Asian influences that included Malaysian orchids and bold patterned colored batiks.

However, over the years, the luxury designer has created more simpler pieces with classic silhouettes and feminine detailing that included the use of delicate fabrics, tassels, beading, lace, and silk.

Toi’s pure talent for creating red-carpet-ready gowns, infused with his interpretation of how a woman should dress, has allowed Toi to grow into an international distinguished designer. “My style is very classic and traditional, with my own unique twist to it,” he said, and continued to describe his key objectives in designing for his clientele. “My goal is to just continue to do beautiful things...to make my ladies happy and have them…coming back.”

Toi has a loyal following that includes television series Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria and Real Housewives of New York cast member, Jill Zarin.

Zarin, a good friend of Toi, fell in love with his clothes and asked the designer if she could walk his runway. “I met Jill back in 2008 when she was just about to start filming the Real Housewives,” he said. “By [then], I knew her body really well, so I said ‘sure, why not.’” For his Fall 2011 show, Toi put Zarin in his show-stopper piece and had devoted fans on their feet.

In the span of his career, Toi has dressed numerous celebrities that included Fergie, Sharon Stone, Gong Li, Heather Graham, Farrah Fawcett, Patti LaBelle, and Ivana Trump.

The designer was the recipient of numerous awards including the Mouton-Cadet Young Designer Award in 1990 and Monsieur Style Award for Best Womens Wear Designer in 1997. In 2002, he was recognized for making a significant contribution to life in the United States from the International Center of New York. He received the Dynamic Achiever Award in 2010 and Transfiguration Education Association Award in 2011 both for his outstanding achievements in fashion.

Currently, Toi is working on his Spring/Summer 2012 collection.

While the designs for his collection remain a secret, Toi did reveal his inspiration for the collection—Africa. “Things could change, but that’s the direction we’re taking right now,” he disclosed. “I was supposed to travel to a certain country for inspiration, but because of uncertainty in that region, we decided not to go.”

In the meantime, fans of Toi just will have to wait.

BY JACQY LAW Contributions to this article were made by Catherine Toor.

| Photography by Kate Reeder |

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 53

F A L L BEAUTIES PHOTOGRAPHER

YULIA MCCLAMROCK STYLING

MEI TAN MAKEUP

VICTORIA GOLDBERG MATTHEW B. OF PRODIGY ARTISTRY HAIR

ALICE OLSON MODELS

JOSHUA M. JUELLES C. KSUSHA B. SASHA H. OF IMAGES NYC ART DIRECTION

JACQUELINE LAW RETOUCHER

LULIE LENS

GOWN: ZANG TOI 54 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed

GOWN: ZANG TOI | JEWELRY: SUSAN JANE

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 55

TUXEDO & GOWN: ZANG TOI | JEWELRY: SUSAN JANE | SHOES: UNITED NUDE

56 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

ZANG TOI

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 57

58 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

MIMI VERT CROWN JEWELRY $165 TO $480 www.mimivert.net

PAMELA LOVE SEVEN-PORCUPINE NEEDLE NECKLACE $690

LILLIAN CROWE RIBCAGE NECKLACE $12O lilliancrowe.com

pamelalovenyc.com

hers his

SYLVIE MARKOVINA KAHLO HEADPIECE

ACCESSORIES

MERE COPPER SHOE $179 oaknyc.com

BULLET CUFFLINKS $80 UNCOMMONGOODS.COM

BENOIT SELIMA OPTIQUE FRAMES $360 selimaoptique.com

MERE GOVNAR SHOE $225 oaknyc.com

GYPSY MOON ARABESQUE ETHNIC PATINA EARRINGS $18 gypsymoondesigns.com ZANG TOI

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 59

FALL INTO BEAUTY:

AUTUMN’S BEST BEAUTY BETS

LUSCIOUS LIPS AND FALL FLUSHED CHEEKS

The summer sun has set and it is time to get ready for the fall’s fabulous shades of beauty. We’ve picked our favorite make-up, skincare, nail polishes, perfumes and hair care for women, as well as our favorite scents for men.

Crisp and cool, dark and daring, the following selections are perfect for creating the cooler-climate looks we are craving this year!

THE EYES HAVE IT Sue Devitt Nordic Trek Illuminating Eye Shadow Quad Inspired by the amazing landscapes of Iceland, Sue Devitt’s Nordic Trek fall collection is truly one of a kind.

We have fallen in love with the muted tones of the Illuminating Eye Shadow Quad.

The four shades can be combined to create bold fall-fresh shades or more subdued winter hues. We love the Volcanic Brown Shimmer, which gives a slightly golden, autumn-ready eye.

Combine the Arctic Blue and Glacial Aqua shadows and you will get a soft, sleek, ice-inspired lid. The Nordic Nude can be used to neutralize any of the other colors, or be worn solo for a barelythere look.

As always, with Sue Devitt’s make up collection, the powders are creamy but crease-resistant, as well as long lasting.

Price: $37.50 Available: Now Buy at: Bloomingdale’s counters, suedevittbeauty.com Jouer Everyday Classic Wear Mascara This mascara from Jouer’s Mad About Fall line makes our list for many, many reasons. It is clump resistant and smudge-proof.

It moisturizes with vitamins E and C, and wraps each lash with a humidityresistant seal for an all-day hold.

Jouer Everyday Classic Wear Mascara is available in Noir (a rich black) and Brun (a black-brown). It keeps your lashes looking lavish, lush, and lovely.

Girls on Film Fall Color Collection Lipstick cherry all over the lens as she’s falling. Whether that Duran Duran reference makes sense to you or not matters little—no one can deny the always-on aspect of today’s camera-happy and social media obsessed. Pictures are taken, people are tagged, and suddenly 500 of your “closest friends” can see these not-soflattering photos from last night’s soiree. Bottom line, you never know when your next photo-op might be.

Smashbox understands this plight and is on your side. Their Girls on Film Fall Color Collection was created to keep you camera ready at all times. While the whole line is fantastic, we have two top picks for you: Lip Enhancing Gloss in Overexposed Super rich and shiny, this gloss creates a perfect, photo-ready pout.

Price: $18 Available: Now Buy at: Smashbox.com Girls on Film Blush Rush This luxe, longwearing blush will have you snapshot ready in seconds. And with its convenient swivel mirror, touch-ups are a snap.

Price: $24 Available: Now Available for purchase at: Smashbox.com Lip Enhancing Gloss in Overexposed Super rich and shiny, this gloss creates a perfect, photo-ready pout.

Price: $18 Available: Now Buy at: Smashbox.com

Price: $20 Available: September Buy at: Jouercosmetics.com, Beauty.com, Henri Bendel, NYC, 1-800-hbendel

60 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

SKIN SAVERS Renée Rouleau’s Girls Night Out Mini Facial Glow Kit Renée Rouleau’s superior mini facial set helps keep your derma hydrated, healthy, and ready-to-glow, especially during those chilly nights out on the town that can be cruel to your skin.

This 3-step kit contains Rouleau’s Skin Smoothing Peel, Skin Drink Serum, and Glow Enhancing Cream, as well as a facial sponge for easy application.

The Skin Smoothing Peel gently exfoliates to free the face of dry and damaged skin.

she is with fashion. Her perfumes are striking yet subtle, and Si Lolita is no exception. Base notes of amber and musk give the eau de toilette an amazing-for-autumn aroma, while pink peppercorn, magnolia, and lemon leaf keep the scent sweet.

The bottle, which comes nestled inside a bright winter-white box, is a beautiful four-heart clover. Adorning its neck is a sweet red scarf that makes it seem as if the silhouette itself were bundled up for brisk weather. You’ll love the smell, not to mention that Si Lolita will look so pretty on your shelf!

Price: $90 for 3.4 oz; $50 for 1.0 oz Available: September Buy at: Select Nordstrom, Nordstrom.com

HAIR MUST-HAVES It also keeps it smooth with special fruit-extract enzymes and antioxidants.

The Skin Drink Serum gives your face its eight glasses of H20 thanks to sodium PCA, a water-binding agent that attracts and retains moisture, while whole leaf aloe vera gel also works overtime to keeps skin soft and supple.

Finally, the Glow Enhancing Cream, which is enriched with a bioactive moisturizer that holds up to 100 times its weight in water, will have your face gorgeous and glowing for up to 20 hours.

Price: $75 Available: Now Buy at: ReneeRouleau.com

Sachajuan Intensive Repair Shampoo, Conditioner, and Straight and Shine Spray Fall is all about sleek, stick-straight hair, and Sachajuan’s new Intensive Repair line makes this look easy to achieve.

The shampoo and conditioner work their magic to repair damaged hair using Ocean Silk Technology (or OTS for industry insiders).

OTS uses minerals and proteins from sea algae to penetrate hair follicles and rebuild them from the inside out, versus silicon-based products that only coat the hair. These miracle ingredients remain in the hair after rinsing, which results in extra strong and shiny strands.

Couple the shampoo and conditioner with the Straight and Shine Spray, and you have got a totally tamed mane. The spray is lightweight, smells great, and creates just the right amount of texture for your tresses.

FALL NAILS OPI Touring America Collection OPI’s latest collection is a literal tour de force…of some of the country’s coolest spots, that is. Made up of crisp and uniquely-named autumn colors such as A-Taupe the Space Needle, French Quarter for Your Thoughts, and My Address is Hollywood, the line pays homage to everything American, offering 12 fall-friendly shades for fingers and toes.

Price: Intensive Repair Shampoo, $30; Intensive Repair Conditioner, $32; Straight and Shine Spray, $30 Available: September Buy at: Select Woodley & Bunny salons, Woodleyandbunny.com

JUST FOR MEN

“My recent road trip across the country sparked the creation of the Touring America Collection,” says Suzi Weiss Fischmann, OPI’s artistic director. “Autumn is a time for rejuvenation, and these shades revive classic, iconic colors for fall, from cool heather, khaki, and chocolate, to warm rose, peach, and red.”

Indeed these shades are super rich and sexy, and easy to apply just like all of OPI’s long-lasting lacquers. Pick up one, or six, or all twelve, if you can—your nails will never look better.

Price: $8.50 each Available: Now Available for purchase at: Select Dillard’s, OPI.com for salons

AUTUMN SCENTS Si Lolita Eau De Toilette by Lolita Lempicka French fashion designer Lolita Lempicka (a.k.a. Josiane Maryse Pividal) has proven herself to be just as gifted with fragrance as

Bath & Body Works Signature Collection for Men Body Wash in Twilight Woods While guys may love this entire line, we have selected the body wash to be the best of the bunch. The woodsy scent is sexy and seductive, but not over-the-top strong. Infused with aloe vera and invigorating oils, the wash’s luxe lather is made to moisturize even the driest skin.

Price: Body Wash, $10.50; Body Spray, $12; Cologne, $29.50 Available: September Buy at: Bathandbodyworks.com

BY SUSAN LINNEY

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 61

ELLEN BAR (PHOTOGRAPHED AT LINCOLN CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY)

FORMER BALLERINA, FILM PRODUCER, NEW DIRECTOR OF MEDIA PROJECTS AT NEW YORK CITY BALLET

When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with New York City Ballet. It was, and is, the best ballet company in the world, and I was lucky enough to be a dancer there for 14 years. Now that I have an offstage role, I’m obsessed in a totally new way; it’s kind of like going on a second honeymoon with my first love.

62 | MeetsObsession.com

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

YARA FLINN, DESIGNER-NOMIA

I love their structure and color variations—having them in my studio inspires a lot of the shapes in my work.

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

MeetsObsession.com | 63

TARA ST JAMES, FASHION DESIGNER, OWNER OF STUDY NY

Math was a very prominent part of my life growing up and was always my favorite subject in school. I tried not to pick favorites, but somehow the square stood out more than others and really took over my life when I launched my line, Study NY, in 2009 with a collection called The Square Project. I documented the development of all the styles –each comprised of a different number of squares –on my blog, which is entitled 4equalsides.com. Get it?

64 | MeetsObsession.com

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

MO: Wow, that’s incredible. How did you get involved with the Sound Wave Festival?

Well the people who do the festival got in touch with our booking agents and it’s pretty much like a moving Lollapalooza or a grown-up Warped Tour if you will. And when they approached us with this idea we said, “Absolutely, I mean ‘Unchained’ every night? Come on!”

MO: That’s going to be cool, have you toured in Australia before?

We’ve been there, I think five times since the late ‘90s. It’s a super pretty place and the fans are great. They really seem to dig what we’re about.

MO: How did you get into playing music?

I got a guitar for Christmas when I was in second grade. I think I was 7 or 8 years old and my best friend got one that same Christmas… that was a really fortunate thing because my friend who had gotten the guitar had an older sister who already played…

I remember the first thing that I learned to play was “Yellow Submarine” because it was appropriate for a 7 or 8-year-old. My guitar came with a Beatles songbook with all the guitar chords with it. It was something fun to do but I never really thought about it being a job; I was just playing around with it. And eventually, when punk rock started I put myself in a unique position to have really funny hair and I had some skill on an instrument and I joined my first band called Minor Threat in 1980, a local D.C. punk band at the time.

MO: And from there how did you transition into seeing music as more of a career than just a hobby?

Considered one of the most dominating hardcore punk bands of all time, Bad Religion has been infusing melodies into the mainstream since the early ‘80s, raising blood pressures, igniting the spirit of revolution and contemplation, and electrifying fans with their hard-edged, threeminute gems.

Brian Baker, guitarist of Bad Religion, has been shredding his axe with true punk grit that has extended far before his Bad Religion days with outfits like Minor Threat, Government Issue, Junkyard, Dag Nasty and the seminal band, Meatmen.

Meets Obsession recently had the pleasure of speaking with the guitar hero and prodigy as he ruminated over his latest projects, adventures on tour and insights on today’s music industry.

MO: Are you on or off the road right now, Brian?

Well I’m actually on a little break from touring with Bad Religion, the band I’ve been in for 17 years, and I’m headed to Europe for six weeks for around 20 shows and festivals. When I get back, I have a little time off, then I get to tour Australia with Van Halen….with David Lee Roth! It’s pretty much the coolest thing that’s happened to me in 30 years! There’s this big festival called the Sound Wave Festival…Van Halen is the headliner and there’s us and Alice Cooper and we’re playing every big population center in Australia.

So I’m super excited.

Well it kind of happened to me without me knowing it. Minor Threat ended up becoming pretty popular in D.C. and then we ended up touring all around the United States. And we also put out our own records and this is when that was unheard of.

The two older guys in the band started a record label and Minor Threat was a record they put out. I mean they were 7 inches, and we were making 500 or a 1000 of them at a time and selling them to our friends at local high schools. It was totally low tech. It was still a “hobby” at that point. When that broke up, then I started a cycle of joining other bands or starting my own. Then maybe around 1985, I realized that I was working playing guitar fulltime for a band called Dag Nasty. I had no money but I couldn’t get a job because I was gone all the time so nobody would hire me. The[n]… I was in a band called Junkyard on Geffen and I was on my first real tour bus and it kind of just manifested from there.

MO: Can you give us insight into your creative process?

It…starts with always having a guitar around my neck. I could be watching a movie from 1930…and a line will stick with me and I pick up a guitar. One tenth of the time something comes up and it’s good enough and I write it down. Sometimes the inspiration comes from watching TV or doing normal stuff like going grocery shopping. Then eventually when I have a stack of ideas—I have a recording studio in my house—I go down and time, when something comes out that I can make use of, and

66 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

when it does, it’s an amazing feeling… It’s the kind of thing that makes me feel more connected to the world, society, and humanity because it’s an organic drug-free adrenaline… It’s a happy organic byproduct of playing guitar and songwriting.

MO: Do you think that in today’s culture that the record industry and its often-contentious relationship with new technology are contributing to a kind of connectedness or the opposite?

I don’t feel sorry for the music industry or for big labels no longer having the ability to make millions off their artists. I love downloading and the immediacy of music today. I will get a text from someone being like “did you get this new record yet?” and within 40 seconds I’ll be downloading the record off iTunes.

That’s… such an advantage than what we had in the ‘80s. The downside is that the music is so much more disposable now and there’s so much of it available and therefore it’s harder for a young artist to break the cracks. And the saddest thing is that the hookiest songs I’ve heard lately have been the songs in commercials. In that sense it’s transformed this sacred craft into the best ten seconds that you can put together.

MO: Right, if technology can help connect people and that’s what music should do, it can be a positive thing, depending on how you look at it.

The reality of it is, it’s just not as precious as it used to be. But in a lot of ways, technology has been overwhelmingly positive, but for the craft of songwriting and recording it can be detrimental.

MO: How important is the social and political commentary in Bad Religion’s music?

It’s really an accidental mission. The singer of our band [Greg Graffin] has a degree in biology. He’s very interested in the way the world works and how humans interact with each other, so what he writes about is just what he thinks. He’s not trying to force lyrics into the mold of what’s set up with our clever populist antigovernment rant, it just comes out… It’s a happy accident like most things that have happened to me throughout my life.

MO: So this is super random, but I came across an interview over 10 years ago where you said you were driving around Portland looking for spirit photographs. I hear you guys have some interesting adventures while on tour in the different cities you visit.

When you do what I do for a living, one of the downsides is that you’re on the stage for an hour and twenty minutes and you have to fill the rest of the day with stuff… and I’m a little old to get wasted. So when we show up in a city, we always have a mission… like before the show, the bass player and me [will] go out and adventure. And yes, one tour I read a book on spirit photography so I went out looking for old spirit photographs. Another tour, we needed folding bicycles so we went out and got folding bikes. We actually have some waiting for us in Europe! It’s cool because the concert venues are usually kind of isolated so it allows us to get on our bikes and all of sudden discover this whole world you never knew existed. Screwing around on a bicycle in the South of France was fun.

MO: Do you think that music can save the world? Pete Townshend once did.

No, but I think it can make it a better place to be. I believe that musicians have a responsibility to get those positive messages across.

BRIAN BAKER REFLECTIONS OF A GUITAR MASTERMIND

BY BY MEGAN FRIEND

d e c n a Entr

D N A B E C N A R T N

E E H T Y B

“When I was learning to speak I was learning to sing, when I was learning to walk I was learning to dance, when I was learning to run I was hoping to fly, [and] when I first made music I saw that flying is possible. Since then I have aspired to sing, dance, and make music above all else,” so says Guy Blakeslee, lead singer and founder of psychedelic rock group, The Entrance Band.

Who really knows what makes a rock star—it could be in that certain ineffable quality that one has to possess that screams “I don’t give a shit.” Or, it could be the lifestyle that would include late nights, random sex, questionable drugs, and of course, rock ‘n’ roll.

Most likely, though, it’s simply passion—at least, if one were to ask this Chicago-based trio.

The Entrance Band is comprised of lead vocalist and guitarist Blakeslee, drummer Derek James, and seasoned bassist Paz Lenchantin. Together, the trio creates a kind of “psychedelic euphony” in their music, where iconoclastic messages ring loud and clear through thick, heavy sounds that makes a girl want to rebel.

Every band needs a catalytic visionary.

68 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

For The Entrance Band, that guy was Blakeslee. Originally known as Entrance, Blakeslee began solo and played regular gigs at The Hideout, a hole-in-the-wall venue with a lot of history in downtown Chicago.

Eventually, Entrance became The Entrance Band, with an expanded title that grew with their success. Four albums and labels, and countless tours later, The Entrance Band is still going strong, with no intentions of slowing down.

I know I’m in for it when I see them wander on to the stage, beer in hand and cigarette on lip, looking like a glorious band of hippies.

When performing, the three members lend their own particular charm in creating The Entrance Band’s je ne sais quoi.

Their sound—so distinct and vulnerable in its heady eccentricity— fills the room.

Each instrument is stripped bare; there is nothing but Blakeslee’s bluesy vocals, and the magnificent cacophony of Lenchantin and James to distract you from the kaleidoscopic energy that emanates from the speakers.

Waif-like and dainty, Lenchantin’s dreamy presence is enough to make anyone smile. When the beat drops and she starts ripping on her bass (appropriately ornamented with a single flower clipped to its headstock), watching her writhe and dance to the music becomes an experience in itself.

Then there is James, the mysterious, handsome guy who seems more comfortable playing than speaking, and who seems both humbled and surprised by any modicum of success that his talent has brought him.

Finally, there is Blakeslee. Eccentric and full of life, when speaking with him I could not help but think, where the hell did this guy come from?

At moments he seemed out of this world, destined to live in a place far more beautiful and feral than here on earth. His lanky build, eager eyes and trippy thoughts seem alien in a world that wants him to conform because it does not understand him.

Still, with the help of Lenchantin and James, Blakeslee is doing everything he can to live a life that is far from ordinary.

“My most intense obsession is with the ‘present-ness’ or [being a] ‘gypsy’. A way of [life] that is always open and ready for anything, with fewer and fewer divisions or separations between states of being. [It’s] a fully-realized psychedelic state that doesn’t require drugs or anything, but the intention of creative thought and the breath that we breathe, which is our most powerful gift and tool for exploring this reality we share,” says Blakeslee about his vagrant lifestyle and offbeat demeanor.

After stints with several ill-fated bands, the Baltimore native, who began as a solo act, released his first and only solo album, The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken By Storm in 2003 with Tiger Style Records.

Soon thereafter, Blakeslee recruited Lenchantin and James to fill out the band.

Together, the trio produced three records after “The Kingdom”; and their latest self-titled album, released in 2009 was highly acclaimed.

When asked what aspect of their music they are most proud of, Blakeslee emphatically says, “[Our] independence!”

The band’s beatnik approach to life and living saturates every lyric, like “Pretty baby don’t you know my style? / You can’t control me / Cause I’m young and wild,” that is on their track “Pretty Baby.”

“We write all of our songs together, I am mostly responsible for the words but we discuss the feeling or idea we’re getting from the music... most of our songs these days are personal and universal at the same time,” says Blakeslee on their writing style. “[They] touch upon the theme of being present, aware, and powerful....All of our songs are some manifestation of the living of a dream--the dreams we share and our own individual visions that we help each other realize through music and travel.”

With over a decade of experience, Blakeslee also has sound advice for new artists trying to make a name for themselves in a cut-throat music industry.

“Do it yourself,” he replies concisely, a contrast to his more lengthy ruminations. There is no such thing as overnight success, as the band has learned in having to earn their stripes in the record industry.

And The Entrance Band has every intention of having a longstanding and successful career. “[We want to] stay on tour until we can’t do it anymore,” says Blakeslee on their plans for the future.

The band has traveled all over the world spreading their bohemian anthem in every type of venue. From nondescript dives to festivals packed with thousands, the Entrance Band has seen it all.

Blakeslee also opened up about future projects. “We want to create an album called ‘Supersession’ where we get all of our friends and comrades from all over the world to join us in creating psychedelic symphonies,” he said.

Some of these “comrades” are the industry’s biggest heavy hitters.

Their tour mates include heralded bands, such as, The Kills, The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s, Sonic Youth, and Cat Power who regard the band in high esteem.

When asked what inspired their sound, Blakeslee paused before rattling off a lengthy list. “Love, friends, cities, trees, the Blues, Africa, America, the sky, rain and clouds, desert mirages, LSD, breathing, walking miles and miles forever, Harry Smith, airports, train stations, Allen Ginsberg, the view from a car window forever, the lines on the highway forever,” he said.

I got the message.

Blakeslee also mentioned how he got his name. “The name Entrance has a double meaning: to enter into a trance, and to pass through a doorway,” he said. “[This] door that we pass through leads [to] an out of [body] trance that touches the edge of complete insanity and chaos.”

If I closed my eyes and just listened, I could understand precisely what he meant.

BY SARON OLKABA

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 69

PHILIPPA HUGHES, CHIEF CREATIVE CONTRARIAN, THE PINK LINE PROJECT

Everywhere I go, I scan the streets for art and take pictures. I’ve interrupted many conversations and been late to many appointments while taking time to capture these images. I am so obsessed with street art that I have asked several artists to make pieces on the walls and ceiling inside my apartment!

70 | MeetsObsession.com

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

CHRIS ELDRIDGE, GUITARIST WITH PUNCH BROTHERS

It’s my answer to bird-watching. I compulsively check gas station shelves for new flavors of Doritos, everywhere, all the time. West, and only west, of the Mississippi can you get the greatest flavor of all: Salsa Verde.

OBSESSIONS IN PORTRAITURE SERIES BY KATE REEDER

MeetsObsession.com | 71

TWITTER ‘FAIL WHALE’ CREATOR

REINVENTS

WALL ART -SARON OLKABA

The moment words escaped Yiying Lu’s lips, her genteel charm and wonderful orchestration of words captivated me. Her drawl, an unusual mix of Shanghai meets Sydney, is just about the most charming accent I ever have heard.

“I’m sort of a mixture of international cities,” she laughs. “It’s more fun to travel. You’re able to see a lot of new things you never saw before.”

Lu, while bashful about her success, has built her career on the idea of combining beauty, iconic images and international sights to recreate them into creative designs. For Lu, sight, tangibility, and aesthetics are core elements she embraces in her work.

While referring to herself as a designer rather than a “pure artist,” Lu has created some of the most recognizable 2D illustrations on the Internet.

Lu is a co-founding member of the revolutionary wall graphics website, WALLS 360 that was launched last December. Her resume also includes the creation of Twitter’s pop-culture iconic “Fail Whale” image, as well as the lesser known, but equally entertaining Conan O’Brien “Pale Whale.” Currently working with the late night funnyman, O’Brien, on an undisclosed project, Lu kept mum about the details but went on to described O’Brien as “really great.”

Her dedicated approach to progressive art is the driving force behind her success. “If you work hard and be kind, amazing things will happen,” she said, echoing a quote from O’Brien that she had displayed on her mantel. It is clear, through her bright disposition and true passion for all things creative and artistic that she has taken these words to heart.

Although Lu’s designs generally are simple, she is fascinated with the idea that things are not always what they seem. “My interest is creating art that is new, combining new ideas – thinking laterally.”

Lu explains that her unique take on the world helps her drawn inspiration from everywhere such as the graffiti on a dilapidated wall or on the skin of a watermelon.

This lateral thinking is what inspired her to co-found WALLS 360 where she recreates iconic images and designs them as wall art that can be purchased on the website. “WALLS 360 give wings to the art, it enables the art to fly everywhere,” Lu says proudly, as this innovative concept has brought the world’s most recognized illustrations into the homes of art enthusiasts worldwide. To Lu, walls are the best canvases to display art.

Although Lu has built her business with art illustrations, she has other surprising aspirations. “I’m obsessed with broaches!” she said. “I would love to start my own line of jewelry because it’s so versatile.” Lu also went on to say about other future projects, “I’m tired of consumption! Now it’s about contribution, I want to touch people’s hearts.”

WALLS 360 creates large-format, repositionable wall graphics for artists, designers, and brands globally by creating ready-to-use wall art made out of self-adhesive fabric paper.

While some people may mention philanthropy to impress others, Lu’s affirmation and sincerity shows that she means what she says.

It is, perhaps, this frame of mind that allows her to create and distribute art that keeps her riding the wave of success.

72 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Photo by Yiying Lu |

FASHION TV FASHION THEMED SHOWS COMING TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU

Audiences have their pick of shows about runways, makeovers, matchmaking, and renovations. Rest assured, for fans of reality shows, the season is filled with bitch slaps and uncomfortable TV moments that make weekend nights with snacks and cocktails better than a night at the movies.

Drum roll, please...

LIFETIME Project Accessory Synopsis: Borrowing from the same successful concept as Project Runway, Project Accessory has designers competing to produce-you guessed it—the best accessories. Each week, contestants will design handbags, hats, and jewelry with the hopes of snagging the cash prize to launch his or her own fashion accessory business.

Why You Should Watch: Like all reality competition shows, producers will be coming up with crazy challenges each week to ensure high entertainment value.

Bravo It’s a Brad Brad World (working title) Synopsis: Rachel Zoe’s adorable and scene-stealing assistant Brad Goreski returns to the network with his own show that documents his trials and tribulations with running a fashion business. Cameras follow him to posh events like Paris Fashion week and Cannes Film Festival, and as he delves into new relationships and a new career.

Why You Should Watch: Audiences who loved The Rachel Zoe Project because of Goreski will get to see him all on his own.

Goreski, who is a talented fashion stylist, will don his hipster glasses and sass his way through each drama-filled episode, and have audiences rooting for him.

Mad Fashion Synopsis: The effervescent Chris March of Project Runway fame, best known for designing theatrical costumes, returns with his own show on the network. Fashion fans will get a close-up look at his life and see him create spectacular and insane designs for high profile clients as he toots around town with his crew of fashion misfits.

Why You Should Watch: If March’s lifestyle mirrors his crazy over-the-top designs, then the show is sure to be entertaining for television enthusiasts. Plus, who doesn’t want to see a grown man work magic with feathers, sequins, and sparkles?

Ready to Wear (working title) Synopsis: A high-end consignment shop, Second Time Around in New York, is letting cameras in to follow four of its employees who go searching through the trash of NYC’s elite for the purposes of finding treasure for their fashion-savvy shoppers. With an eclectic clientele, these employees will try to make vintage fashion items even better the second time around.

MAD FASHION -- Season:1 -- Pictured: (l-r) Izzy Decauwert, Alex Barlett, Christine Brown, Chris March, Matt James, Jake Kelsey Photo by: Miranda Penn Turin/BravoS.

Why You Should Watch: These employees will search through the attics, garages, nooks, and crannies of the wealthy elite. Fashion lovers can imagine going through New York Housewife, Sonja Morgan’s closet to find all of the vintage couture she is sick of, and return it to the shop to sell to another girl who can appreciate it.

NBC Fashion Star Synopsis: Elle Macpherson hosts a show with twelve designers competing for a multimillion-dollar contract to sell their clothing in the stores of renowned, American retailers.

Why You Should Watch: Like Heidi Klum, Macpherson is beautiful and has an accent. Also, celebrities Jessica Simpson and Nicole Richie have signed on to be “fashion mentors” to the contestants and will likely be entertaining to watch. The show also has a cool feature that will allow viewers to purchase the winning designs in retail stores, and online the day after the episode airs. Hooray for instant gratification!

HBO Spring/Fall Synopsis: Back to the small screen for the first time since 1998, Tea Leoni is starring in and executive producing this half-hour pilot about three female business partners overcoming personal dysfunction while battling their own occupational problems in the crazy world of New York City fashion.

Why You Should Watch: We saw in the movie, Spanglish how Tea Leoni can be the queen of dysfunctional, and in Bad Boys how she can kick ass, so we can’t wait to watch her I-Love-Lucy her way out of zany issues in the Big Apple.

BY CAROLINE CULLEN

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 73

CONFESSIONS OF A TATTOO ARTIST Tattoos are everywhere. In recent years, the ubiquity of, and public fascination with, tattoos have spawned reality televisions shows such as Miami Ink. Even luxury designers such as Louis Vuitton, Thierry Mugler, and Christian Audigier have caught onto the rage and have prominently featured tattoo imagery in their advertisements and clothing lines.

Today, tattoos are no longer taboo, or associated with those on the margins of society like the sailors, soldiers, convicts, and circus freaks. In current pop culture, one can see hipsters, teenage daughters, soccer coaches, fashion models, and yes, even grandmothers with a tattoo. Yet, despite their ubiquity, they remain one the purest forms of individual self expression.

The massive exposure of tattoos has cultivated a multimilliondollar industry that supports tattoo artists and their craft. I spoke to tattoo artists Matthew Wojciechowski, David Allen and Shawn Brown to get their thoughts on an underground industry that has gone mainstream.

Jinx Proof is one of the most celebrated tattoo parlors in Washington, D.C. It also happens to sit in the heart of Georgetown, one of the district’s most affluent neighborhoods. Surrounded by luxury boutiques, Georgetown is the least likely location for anyone to find a tattoo shop.

Jinx Proof runs like many other tattoo shops in the country. As a business, it has a large number of walk-in clients, and a faithful following of customers who want custom designs, and who are willing to pay top dollar for it.

When I arrived there to meet resident artist Matthew Wojciechowski, he was with a female customer who wanted to get diamonds tattooed behind her ears. I observed the woman—she was young, Asian, and trendy—not whom one would consider a typical client.

It struck me then, as I observed her with her friends, that tattoos were once the ultimate expression of defiance, and this woman picked out her tattoo like a dress she was buying at a Georgetown boutique.

How far we have come.

Tattooing for 19 years, Wojciechowski began his career as an apprentice and later worked at, and owned a number of different shops around the country. One of the most striking things about him is his full salt and pepper beard that runs at least six inches long below his chin; and while one may assume that those in his trade are loud and brash, he is introspective and has the even tone and quiet confidence of a skilled artisan who understands his work.

While Wojciechowski appreciates the current popularity of tattooing, and the concurrent uptick in business, he speaks fondly of the days when tattooing was an underground art and tattoo artists were more invisible. He struggles with the “tide of bad tattooing” that is coming from new tattoo artists who are drawn into an industry that has entered mainstream culture and believes that the industry needed a set of standards to protect the craft. “[Tattoos should] look the way they are supposed to,” said Wojciechowski, who believed that tattoos should have solid color and smooth shading. “And if [one sees] the design on paper it should look like that.”

Wojciechowski would also like to see the “peripheral shops” and those “artists [who are] not taking it seriously” exit the industry.

And while he does not watch tattoo-related TV shows, he does not object to them because he believes he got several clients a week as a result of them.

David Allen’s enthusiasm for tattooing was infectious and readily apparent when I spoke to him. Regularly traveling between Baltimore and Chicago, he worked out of shops in both cities. Allen has the confidence of someone who has worked hard to perfect his skills and yet, maintains the youthful excitement of someone who continually discovers something new in his trade. And perhaps what was most telling about him related to the intersections of his personal life and career. The birth of his son was an impetus for him to seek stability in being a full-time tattoo artist.

74 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

Allen attended art school and was a freelance graphic designer and illustrator before he apprenticed with two notable artists, Drew Thomas and Monte. Allen describes his design aesthetic as “realistic with graphic undertones.” In approaching his work, he focuses on the overall aesthetic of a tattoo and how it conforms to his customer’s body, as opposed to an old school approach where a tattoo was simply a “sticker.”

Allen has a philosophical approach to tattooing and places great value in developing a relationship with his customers. When discussing tattoos with clients, he seeks to understand their background, personal life, and jobs, as well as how the new tattoo would be incorporated into their life. Allen sees himself as a “translator” who takes the reference materials and desires of customers and interpretes them into the most appropriate tattoo for them; and he dislikes jaded artists who dismiss their clients’ desires and are too lazy to push themselves in their craft.

Similar to Wojciechowski, Allen thinks the increased acceptance of tattooing has benefited the industry. “[I once] tattooed a 70-yearold guy that hated tattoos because of his upbringing,” Allen said, “but [he] decided that they were okay and wanted to get a tattoo that meant something to him.” The man told him that his change of heart “was directly related to watching a TV show.”

Shawn Brown is a rock star. No really, he is a rock star who is well known in the D.C. hardcore scene for providing vocals for the bands Dag Nasty, Swiz and Jesus Easter. For the past several years, Brown has worked out of the Tattoo Paradise shops in Wheaton, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Brown is a humble tattooer who approaches tattooing much like a craftsman who has a deep respect for its history, its tools, and those artists who came before him.

Unlike Wojciechowski and Allen, Brown took a circuitous path to his current career. After years of drawing and inquiring at tattoo shops about apprentice work, he became discouraged and moved onto music. A few years later, his friend got him a job working at the counter of a new tattoo shop and as payment, the artists would teach him the craft.

It was in his apprenticeship that Brown learned the fundamentals; and his work was thoroughly grounded in the traditional techniques and styles of tattooing. Brown preferred clean lines, smooth shading, and a limited color palette, like that of the fivecolor palette which was popularized by the famous and late tattoo artist, Sailor Jerry Collins.

For Brown, respecting traditional tattoos is important. If an artist, he said, “[drew] a Koi fish with a head shaped like a penis, and the colors [used were] black, lime, green and purple,” they have not drawn a Koi fish as traditionally understood.

For a traditionalist, Brown is surprisingly open to his industry being incorporated into the mainstream, and sees the growth of the industry as providing space for customers and artists to pursue their own interests. He defends the rights of established artists who have taken their work into more commercial pursuits such as tattoo artist, Ed Hardy. However, he does not agree with the commercialization of tattoo images by those outside of the industry, such as the liquor and clothing companies.

Moreover, Brown states that more than any other means of expression including music, clothing and art, tattoos are a permanent form of self expression. “Tattoos are one of the only things you can literally take to the grave,” he said. | Photography by Kate Reeder |

Matthew Wojciechowski, Jinx Proof Tattoo Artist

This permanency makes the selection of a tattoo artist, design, and placement all the more individualistic. In the end, Brown, as in Wojciechowski and Allen acknowledge that tattoos were markers of self expression that are based on individual desires rather than needs.

BY STANTON LAWYER

MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 75

RA RA RASPUTIN It’s around 7 p.m. at Dickson Wine Bar in Washington, D.C., and the members of Ra Ra Rasputin are deciding where to sit for their interview. “We could sit in front of the bar. That’s pretty typical of us,” laughs lead singer and keyboardist, Brock Boss.

And so the bar it was.

The band has had a whirlwind year. With the recent release of their eponymous debut album, they were prepping for their summer performances at local venues like DC9 and the 9:30 Club. All the while, they have kept their day jobs. Yes, day jobs—all of which are real and professional.

Guitarist and bassist, Patrick Kigongo works for a liberal rights non-profit, Boss is an engineer and tester for the District’s metro and bus system, and drummer Ken Quam works for a technology company that certifies online stores.

Keyboardist and guitarist, Anna Rozzi is a middle school teacher.

However, she is the only one who will be leaving her daytime gig to pursue music. “I’m actually not going to be a teacher after this year,” she said. “I’m very sad, but it’s exciting to really get myself in a creative space.”

It is an interesting dichotomy that Rozzi is balancing in her life. She admits to occasionally sleeping in her classroom after late-night shows in order to get a few hours of sleep. “It’s embarrassing, but I don’t compromise my work. I’ve brought grading to venues,” Rozzi laughs.

Naming themselves after a disco song of the same name by 1970’s group Boney M., Rasputin’s music is thoroughly electric, and maintains a vintage feel with sounds from ‘80s inspired synth-pop.

Boss’s deep, baritone vocals are reminiscent of perhaps (and in the best way) a bored Dave Gahan of the famed Depeche Mode.

“The main inspiration is dance music —not stereotypical dance music, but a full range of everything from Ibiza house from the late ‘80s, to disco, to even just like very corny ABBA or Boney M.,” says Kigongo before he stops to correct himself and to emphatically say, “No, no, no, we enjoy that stuff, and not ironically either!”

Their first album compiles all the aspects of great dance music from which the band has drawn inspiration; and the technological aspect of their music is something that is very important to them.

Their obsession with creating sound systems and using vintage technology bordered on a Jack White-like fixation, which made sense for a techno band.

Like many groups, Rasputin enjoys performing live, above all else. “There’s a really intense emotional release that comes from getting up on a stage… it’s an extension of your personality... [and] a place that’s very deep within,” Kigongo says. “Some people may look at what we’re doing as being a bit self indulgent and being self righteous, but being creative is not just something that is an internal dialogue between the four of us. It’s also about us... giv[ing] something back.”

BY YOHANA DESTA

Formed in 2007, and with a local following, Rasputin has remained unsigned and this year, decided to self-release their album.

76 | MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue

| Photo by Joshua Feldman|

STOCKISTS

Retailer: Barneys New York www.barneys.com GRACIA

ALICE RITTER Octave Dress, $525 | Page 22 Olin Dress, $525 | Page 29 Retailer: Space 519 in Chicago www.space519.com

Ruffle Romper, $74 | Page 23 Retailer: South Moon Under www.southmoonunder.com LADAKH

Crystal Crescent Necklace Bronze with Green Crystals , $825.00 | Page 8 Retailer: Pamela Love 212-564-8260 www.pamelalovenyc.com SCOTCH & SODA Striped Tee, $58 | Page 27 Retailer: South Moon Under

www.shoplesnouvelles.com

Essence Bodysuit, $72 | Cover, Page 24 Steve’s On the Square 415 Center Avenue Philadelphia, MS 39350

BARBARA BRIONES

www.stevesonthesquare.com

Eva Shoe, $365 | Page 22, 29

Kimono Cardigan, $120 | Cover, Page 24 Retailer - www.closetcult.com

www. susanjane.com

Vertigo Leggings, $64 | Page 21 Retailer: Statement 3612 North 165th Street Omaha, NE 68116 402-932-5922

Lloyd ring: $77 | Page 21, 27, 28 Lloyd Cuff: $99 | Page 21, 27, 28 Lloyd Headpiece, $187 | Page 25 Shrine Necklace, $275.00 | Page 25

Les Nouvelles

www.barbarabriones.com BLOWFISH Baku Peep-toe Bootie | Page 24 Retailer: Shoefly 2727 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA 22201 (703) 243-6490 www.shoeflyonline.com

Memphis Belle Romper, $108 | Page 25 Pesca Trend 1151A 2nd Ave New York, NY 10021

ECHO

www.pescaboutique.com

Black Faux Fur Jacket Coat Retailer: South Moon Under

Call Me Skirt, $55 | Page 27 Retailer: Statement 3612 North 165th Street Omaha, NE 68116 402-932-5922

www.southmoonunder.com ERIK & MIKE Beaded Wood Buckle Belt, $29.50 Page 23 Retailer: South Moon Under www.southmoonunder.com FILIPPO CATAZI Wool Hat | Page 27 Retailer: Asos GILDED AGE Boreal Lined Casual Blazer, $499.00 Page 21, 28

MERE SHOES Mike, $179 | Page 21, 27 Copper, $199 | Page 27 Retailer: Oak 28 Bond Street New York, NY 10012 (212) 677-1293

www.southmoonunder.com SUSAN JANE Bel Air Cuff, $395 | Page 55 Bib Necklace | Page 55,56

SYLVIA MARKOVINA

Retailer: Sucre 357 Bleecker Street New York, NY 10014 212-352-1640 www.sucrenyc.com UNITED NUDE Hollow Cognac Shoe, $ 490 | Page 56, 57 www.unitednude.com YOCHI Wood Bead Necklace, $88 | Page 22 Retailer: South Moon Under www.southmoonunder.com ZANG TOI

www.oaknyc.com

Fall /Winter 2011 Collection | Pages 54 -58 & Back Cover

OBEY PROPAGANDA

www.zangtoi.com

Tribal Tank | Page 26, 27 Retailer: South Moon Under www.southmoonunder.com

Patton Hollywood Waistband Pant, $ 229.00 | Page 27 Parka with Zip Off Hood, $999 Page 26, 27

PAMELA LOVE MeetsObsession.com | Paper for the Fashion & Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 77

FASHION EXHIBITION GUIDE

Illuminating Fashion: Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands Duration: May 20, 2011 – September 4, 2011 Location: Morgan Library, New York City, New York About: The exhibit will not only venture into how Northern European fashion changed from its fruitful period in the early 14th century, but also how painters and artists used costume designs to help their audience understand their artful masterpieces.

Website: www.themorgan.org Sporting Life Duration: May 25, 2011 – November 5, 2011 Location: Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City, New York About: This exhibition examines the connections between sporting life and fashion, and will showcase over 100 garments thematically centered around exercise, dance, golfing, sailing, and swimming.

Website: www.fitnyc.edu S/S New York Fashion Week Duration: September 8, 2011 – September 15, 2011 Location: Various Locations, New York City, New York

Tyen | BeautyCULTure

California Beauty CULTure Duration: May 21, 2011 – November 27, 2011 Location: Annenberg Space for Photography, Los Angeles, California About: The exhibit features over 100 works from world famous photographers, and offers a series of seminars that discuss modern-day beliefs of beauty.

Website: www.annenbergspaceforphotography.org Colorado Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective Duration: Opens March 25, 2012 Location: Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado About: Featuring over 200 haute couture pieces, photographs, and films, this retrospective will examine the iconic designer’s 40year career.

Website: www.denverartmuseum.org New York Daphne Guinness Duration: September 16, 2011 - January 7, 2012 Location: Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), New York City, New York About: For fashion enthusiasts who enjoy viewing beautifullycrafted clothes, Daphne Guinness, heiress of the Guinness family (yes, the famous beer producers), will exhibit close to 100 pieces from her personal wardrobe collection that features the designs of Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Dolce & Gabbana.

Website: www.fitnyc.edu

About: The biggest fashion event week in the world, New York Fashion week kicks off in various studios around the Big Apple.

Fashion enthusiasts can witness designers showcasing their spring collections.

Website: www.mbfashionweek.com Vermont In Fashion: High Style, 1690-2011 Duration: June 18, 2011 – October 30, 2011 Location: Shelburne Museum, Shelburne, Vermont About: A historical recount of fashion from the late 17th century to contemporary times, this exhibit will feature 75 pieces from the Shelburne’s permanent collection as well as borrowed designs from fashion’s biggest names such as Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar de la Renta and Balenciaga.

Website: www.shelburnemuseum.org US Tour The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Side Walk to the Catwalk Duration: June 17, 2011 – August 19, 2012, traveling exhibit Location: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada: June 17, 2011 – October 31, 2011 Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX: November 13, 2011 – February 12, 2012 De Young Museum, San Francisco, CA: March 24, 2012 – August 19, 2012 About: This retrospective marks Gaultier’s 35 years as a designer, and is set up to show his work that has been inspired by dance, film, and the pop-rock scene.

Montreal: www.mmfa.qc.ca Dallas: www.dm-art.org San Francisco: deyoung.famsf.org Website: http://www.modeaparis.com

BY RHIANNON STRAYER

south moon under inspiring self expression through the art of fashion

Bethesda ∙ 301.564.0995 | Reston ∙ 703.435.0605 | Clarendon ∙ 703.807.4083 | National Harbor ∙ 301.567.0511 MeetsObsession.com Paper for the Fashion|&southmoonunder.com Culture Obsessed | Autumn/Winter 2011 Issue | 79 Gaithersburg ∙ 301.948.0971 | Fairfax Corner ∙| 703.222.0571

AUTUMN WINTER 2011 ISSUE NO. 1

THE PREMIERE ISSUE PRABAL

GURUNG

RICK GENEST

MUGLER’S

MUSE ZANG

TOI

DIY CINEMA PAMELA

LOVE

CHLOË SEVIGNY FASHION’S

MOST

INTRIGUING

NATASHA

BEDINGFIELD

BREAKING

THE STYLE RULES

PAPER FOR THE FASHION & CULTURE OBSESSED