MoB Magazine by MoBMagazine

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RIOT

Photo by Samyi Basevi

EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S note

Choo Vegas - Editor in chief Samyi Basevi - Creative director

RIOT September is “the fashion month”. OMG how that makes me want to rebel! It’s the season for fashion weeks around the world, and the month when so-called influencers go mad and fashion magazine are jumbo sized, packed with the latest trends. And every September we are served the same conservative ideas about who’s hot and who’s not - regarding anything from beauty, class, race or gender. Very few can be said to invent anything new. Or make any interesting statements. How strange, when clothes are more than keeping warm or modest. Isn’t this getting a bit old? In Second Life as well as real life, designers and fashionistas alike follow trends. But - there are some honorable exceptions. In this issue of MoB, we are celebrating Second life artists, designers and personalities who all appeal to our love of rebellion. Who invent, don’t follow. Who doesn’t collect likes but dares to challenge. Artists like A.live, Nath Baxton, Titus Palmira, Lunhea and Cecilia Nansen. Brands like Cinphul, Nylon Pikney, HotDog, Schadenfreude, David Heather. Designers like Legal Insanity who make great denim and doesn’t overprice them. And style icon Winter Jefferson, the androgyne aussie-model who is a runway pioneer. Why rebellion? If the world is in a state of crisis we should be re-assessing the messages conveyed in our personal style, our clothes. It should be addressed by designers. Because when we get dressed we choose what message we want to send to the world. Why not actually say something? Clothes don’t talk, someone told me. Tell that to the people before us, the mods, hippies and skinheads. To the punks and riot grrls. Subcultural movements whose statement-making garments were a potent form of expression and protest. Everything from gender inequality to racism to workplace bullying can be protested via clothes. The pussyhat-movement against Donald Trump, actresses in all-black on the red carpet during #metoo, the Gilets Jaunes of Paris protesting taxes. What we wear denote social rank, status or political and class affiliations and aspirations. And protest. Or - it may simply mean that you just want to stand apart, be wild, make noise and kick ass. All the above is what style riot is about. So, hello Fall! We are ready to raise hell. Let’s RIOT Choo Vegas

SUMMARY EDITORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NOTE PHOTOGRAPHY Cecilia Nansen

5 9 10

Titus Palmira

A.ilive

Nath Baxton

Lunhea

Eviana

RIOT

Choo Vegas

Samyi Basevi

INTERVIEW

Winter Jefferson

DRAWINGS

Choo Vegas

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Cecilia Nansen â&#x20AC;&#x153;I love to write with pictures and paint with wordsâ&#x20AC;?

Titus Palmira

â&#x20AC;&#x153;If others like what i have produced then thats lovely, but really its a beautiful, foolish waste of time.â&#x20AC;?

A.ilive

“Antisocial!!!”

Nath Baxton

“Twenties from Northern Ireland I don’t care about your SL fantasy.”

Lunhea

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Know that I will always live like this ... On the wings of a billion dragonflies, like a rope that vibrates at infinite frequency ...â&#x20AC;? .

EVIANA

“Predator of emotions. Amazon of waves. Arranger of thoughts. Stable unstable. Subjective, disheveled spectator. Not for all” . 58

riot

RIOT

By Choo Vegas

FASHION RIOT

“To do a dangerous thing with style is what I call art.” Charles Bukowski

Top: Boys to the Bone Jacket: Villena Pants: Rowne Necklace: Yummy

I couldn’t agree more. These artists dress me up: Nylon Pinkney - her The Tableau Society for Well Being has an eclectic mix of shops like Yummy’s original and affordable accessories, Zsa-Zsa Withnail’s drag queen beauty salon and something as original as The Golden Years - a geriatric style boutique who else does that??? Hotdog - nutty creations that speaks to whimsical fashionistas and the most morbid goths alike. Anything from poses to clothes evokes macabre imagery from movies and fairy tales and crazy shit that goes bump in the night. Cinphul - in Imokon Neox’ profile she states: “I make what the hell i want”. Be prepared for a completely unique form of esthetics - everything from shoes and accessories to houses and furniture is rustic, strange yet elegant and makes you want to go to hell in style. Cureless and Jeune by Rowne - one is cartoon crazy, the other high fashion but both make shiny latex that makes me want to sing with joy as I swipe my credit card again and again. Boys to the Bone and FakeIcon - I just worship in their temple of neon tinted spandex, glittering baubles and shiny tracksuits. Junbug and Belle Epoque - because they can persuade me to wear a pink ball gown!

Mask: Cureless Collar: Junbug Gown: Belle Epoque

Coat: Hotdog Hat: Peculiarthings

Dress: Nylon Outfitters Bag: Yummy

Shoes: Cinphul Pants: Jeune by Rowne

Pants: Jeune by Rowne Coat and parasol: Hilu Boots: M.Birdy

Hair: Zsa-Zsa Bag: Yummy Coat: Plastix

RIOT

By Samyi Basevi

MAKE IT WORTH IT Fatpacks and Co

Tired of being forced to buy a fatpack just for a color or a little something more .. To all the designers and as a 3D designer in rl, I know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s very easy and quick to modify a hue or add a color on a mesh So stop taking people for fools by only offering some elements in a fatpack, I understand that it can be business but MAKE IT WORTH IT!

INTERVIEW

WINTER JEFFERSON

Interview by Choo Vegas / Photos by Winter Jefferson

“Prettier than you. Not even sorry.” Yep, I stole that title from his profile. Shamelessly. If anyone in Second Life can be counted as fashion royalty Winter Jefferson most definitely should have a crown. With vampy pale complexion, toned dancer’s physique, and long mane of snow-white hair he is hands down the most iconic SL muse of all time. His styling is always immaculate and original. And his turn of phrase - witty, sarcastic but always bitingly funny - never fails to amuse. Yes, read his profile!

What inspired you to create your model/stylist persona, did your avatar always look like that? “I was a vampire from moment I spawned in Second Life in 2008. The modelling came later. Unfortunately,... so did my signature look. I started out the typical long black-haired leech that clogs the halls of every generic mainland Doomcastle. I used to hunt with my blood brother and pick up willing victims with swirl of cape, flash of red eyes, flick of flexi tresses and glibness of silver tongue. Are you cringing as hard as I am yet? Yes....ehhh...no! Hm...go on... “The first blessed change came when a new black hair came in a pack with a white version which I thought I’d try on because my name was Winter and oh hey, so this is me now! The next progression was when I discovered fashion blogs by accident while trying to find new vampire communities that I hadn’t thoroughly exsanguinated yet. I started commenting on my favorites, got invited to a blogger’s party and was adopted into their fold. I guess they took pity on the courtly pale man with sculpty pants cuffs getting eaten by his shoes. After gaining the startling knowledge that fashion in SL was “A Thing” then realizing how I could adapt it to properly express myself as textile art, the blogging and modelling was a natural evolution. I was already the ideal model ectomorph physique which comes from a uniquely liquid diet with the occasional cheat day blood clot - you know; just like boba tea.” 87

The Pioneer Long before gender fluidity sashayed shamelessly into the mainstream, runways and magazines were dominated by female top models. Yes, there was also a handful of male top models, but even if some gave off a somewhat edgy vibe, they all fit safely into the mold of conservative masculine handsomeness. Then - along came Winter. I remember the first time I saw you I thought: damn, that’s Andrej Pejic! Did you hear that a lot? I’m very flattered by that; thank you Choo! I did eventually, but do you know what? Back in late 2009 there were just a few faintly amused novelty mentions in the media of Andrej, (who have now transitioned to Andreja, but back then he was still a “he”) - this young Australian male model who had the ability to walk both mens- and womenswear flawlessly. I hunted up more about Andrej in curiosity and had that goosebumps moment where I saw him and knew instantly this was a beautiful new world; and I was being called to circumnavigate it. Yes, everybody was talking about this androgyne wonder... Yes! So I posted Andrej’s picture on plurk in admiration and spoke about who he was, and most of the responses were people agreeing he looks like me without being prompted: “It’s your sista from another mista!” “Who let your av out of its cage?” I was never the manifestation of hulking testosterone, but after this I recreated myself further to rise to this new aesthetic and never looked back.” New generation Today, gender fluidity and androgyny has become the trademark for the millennial’s generation Y-models who no longer want to define themselves within the traditional concepts of gender. I would think this play with androgyny is especially liberating for men who must have felt pressure to mute their inner peacocks and conform for a long time? “I’m very much hoping that the movement towards acceptance of external expression also helps men live all other aspects of their lives more freely too. We’ve been forced into all kinds of rigid boxes of masculinity - toxic and otherwise - and I think now we are slowly learning to be better. It’s somewhat safer to wear pink without getting beaten up for it. It’s also getting gradually more acceptable to care; to dance, to display vulnerability. We aren’t where we should be yet, but a lot of the world is slowly waking up. 91

You live in Australia, is the trend of less traditional gender-thinking shifting also there? “Well Australia which is well known for its antiquated external image of reptile wrestling masculinity, and even here I see more men on the street confident enough about their safety to be more non-conforming with their appearance. It’s taking a longer time to filter through to the corporate world, I have to admit. I have a government position and right from day one it was communicated very clearly that all and any freak flags must remain tightly furled. So my office wear is fairly subdued apart from the odd flash of individuality, right up until I get home and burst back into SL like the undead Disney Princess I truly am. Okay... so my woodland companion creatures aren’t so much the deer and bunnies and more like bats, maggots and lampreys but you get the general idea.“ Wow!! How did you become so brave with your styling? “I was still exploring the boundaries of what I could do to curate my avatar as the art piece I had decided he would become when I was asked to help with fronting charities and take over the direction on floundering fashion events. I was made to understand that I had earned sway in the community that I hadn’t grasped at all yet. Eventually I had that one striking moment where it hit me that nothing I could do here could really hurt me in any way. People could laugh at me, but no one could as hard as I could at myself.” You became fearless? Yes! I dropped any fears about my appearance, my activities, my ambitions. This was when I adopted AUDACITY as my watchword and protocol for all aspects of my Second Life. Nothing was out of bounds after that. I was going to take everything that the light fell upon and make it mine to style with. It hasn’t always paid off though. I introduced androgyny to the modelling community maybe half a year before it was ready for it - my words on Andrej above talk about this - and I was mid-way through my run on Mr. Virtual World 2011. I faced a great deal of criticism and disapproval on this both openly on my blog and behind the pageant scenes, and I didn’t even place in that years’ competition. At the time I was dark at myself for it, but I soon woke back up to my personal paradigm of audacity and now have no regrets.” Male fashion revolution 10 years ago, there were basically 3 types of styles for men: norm core guy in shirt/pant combos, surfer dude with shorts and slippers - and goth/neko, a style that was a big hit especially among DJ’s around 2007-08. 92

How do you feel about dressing in SL these days, is it more diverse or even more norm-core than before, only with better looking mesh? “Oh Choo, we languished in the wastelands of male mesh basics for a few years there. I understand it; rigging was time consuming and hard and designers had to very carefully consider their return on investment and cater to the broadest audience possible. Stylistically it meant a death of anything interesting for men to work with. I’d been kicked out of the women’s section with the advent of mesh because of course it was now shaped to boobs instead of one-size-fits-all-women-plus-Winter. I sulked in the racks of cardigans and corduroys for far too long and considered throwing in the towel more than once. Sure, I could still customize my look to a degree but there was bugger all to work with and dressing myself was no longer a fun challenge. It was just a challenge. And it was exhausting. Light shone back over the horizon about three years ago, thank goodness.” Oh yea, what happened? “A few pioneers dared to colour back outside the lines and bit by bit inspiration was returned to men’s clothing. Designers like David Heather, Gabriel, Fakeicon, Boys to the Bone, Riot, TwoSided, Contraption, Hotdog and Artificial Hallucination started presenting us with the same levels of creativity that the women were getting. Men’s events like Monsigneur Chic and The Man Cave sprung up as showcases around this work and now I know I can happily visit an integrated shopping fair like Equal 10 and Anthem and spend money on delicious things to wear. There will always be the market for basics but now we have options again. This thrills me and keeps me logging in even after 11 years.” Runway bonanza In 2008 the SL fashion scene was still in its early stages, and runway shows had more in common with pageantry than cutting edge couture. But those who have followed the scene for a while will remember that crazy magnificent show Winter Jefferson curated for Opium agency, choreographing all the top models of the day around a runway built on French surrealist principles. Remember that crazy show? We never see those type of happenings much anymore... “I’m so glad you remembered that! It was niche, and it was bonkers, and we had to innovate an entire new way of walking a runway literally upside down but it’s one of my production history highlights. I still smile crazy big when I remember at random moments that the backstage director declared it was far too complex, he refused to train the to models walk it and then tried to punch me... I’m not even kidding! Bitch, please. I once walked a 90-meter-long runway backwards on stilts for a steampunk show wearing a clockwork skirt. Aspire harder. 93

“My other personal favorite outside-the-box fashion show was the Inmutatio event in 2011 I co-created with Monica Outlander of Miamai for her annual couture release “Black Label.” It was a series of tableaux vivant based around the Tarot where each frozen scene came to life momentarily one by one with Modavia models and our closest friends. There were soliloquies, duets, short ballet pieces, recitals of T.S Eliot works. Monica got me to open the show as her muse and I was The Fool... to absolutely no one’s surprise ever.“ Wow, i remember that show!! Makes me sad but these days there are less runway shows, and fashion releases tends to be more focused around events and social media. Do you think the SL runway show is dead? “I don’t think it’s dead; but I will agree in a heartbeat that it’s not what it used to be, and I have a hard time seeing how it could claw its way back to glory. The events treadmill tends to mean that by the time designers’ works have been featured in a show, they’ll already be stale and three releases behind due to the demands of the industry. I’m in the lucky position where I can be choosy about what shows I take on - and when I say this a lot of it is due to the fact that my fifteen hours ahead of SL time zone is hell and if it isn’t on a Saturday, I usually have to sit it out. But it also happily means that I get to walk in the blockbusters, like the annual Fantasy Angels VS-inspired show or Neo-Japan twice a year. These must beat off audiences with a stick once the sim exceeds 100 avatars all clawing to get in. When you open the map and see all those green dots packed tightly together and then afterwards receive a thankful message from the featured designer, it renews both my faith and joy in runway all over again.” What is your main ambition these days? “To live my Second Life as a cautionary tale.”

All photos: with kind permission of Winter Jefferson NB! You can read the full edition of this interview on our MoB blog: https://mobhomepage.wordpress.com/2019/09/15/winter-jefferson-prettier-than-you-not-even-sorry/ 97

DRAWINGS

Someone asked me, what does the style of your drawings mean? I answered: STFU! Choo Vegas

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support

Featured artists Cecilia Nansen Titus Palmira A.ilive Nath Baxton Lunhea Eviana Winter Jefferson Choo Vegas A big thank you to all for your participation

Mob SEPTEMBER 2019