expose
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Welcome to this pre publication of Expose Magazine. We exsist to celebrate the talent at Middlesex University’s School of Art & Design and this issue will give you a taste of what our magazine is about. We have been created from the collaborative and creative notion that encompasses each and every student, tutor and creative discipline at Middlesex. Encouraged to engage with the art and design world in the city that we call home, but also within our own walls, and push the boundaries of what really is possible. We celebrate the work of a variety of disciplines – everything from fine art and fashion and illustration to interior design. Simply we want to share with you the most exciting and thought provoking work being created in our corner of London. This issue comes at the most important period for every student. Excited, curious or worried about what will happen next, we have one last chance to show the world what really makes us tick. We are the next generation of emerging creatives and this summer is our chance to showcase ourselves to the awaiting industry. We understand the importance of the digital age and the place it plays without our art school. However we are incredibly privileged to descend from one of London’s most well-known, talented and brilliantly controversial art schools- The Hornsey College of Art. The archives held that document the history of such a prestigious institution have served as a huge inspiration for this publication. We hope you enjoy this taster of whats to come.
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Imagery by Lucy Barnes Fashion Communication and Styling
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This serues aims to explore the unnecessary waste of energy in the city of London throughout the night. “Is this mentality really worth the cost?� Photography by Jonathon Pool
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Creative Direction: Sophie Bailey Photography: Conner Farrow Guy Model: Sophie Hetherington Clothing designed by: Yasmin Lane and Courteney Evans Fashion Design
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Take a look into the past, present and future of Fashion Film. Starting with the mannequin parades of the 1990’s, and detailing the rise of Alexander McQueen embrassing new technology, this essay takes a look back at the origins of fashion film and its place within the fashion industry today. Will fashion film replace the catwalk? Written by Sophie Bailey
The first fashion films of 1911 were used to promote the designers clothing similar to their purpose today, however they were coined the mannequin parades and ‘throughout Europe and the United States, they rapidly became a medium through which knowledge of elite fashion was disseminated to a mass audience’ . This early form of fashion promotion paved the way for the spectacle of 21st century fashion show and the rise of contemporary fashion film and alternative media. Paul Poiret and Jeanne Paquin, leading French designers of the 20th century understood the importance of exposure within their films ‘bringing the image of haute couture to a wider audience’ , abolishing the notion of exclusivity and championing exposure, contemporary designers such as Gareth Pugh and Alexander McQueen are still trying to translate in the 21st century.
“ a gathering of
prime arbiters of vanity
portraying the space of a mental hospital; sparse, bright and uneasy. These themes continued through every aspect of the spectacle; with the outside of the box mirrored where audience were forced to uncomfortably face their own reflections. ‘a gathering of prime arbiters of vanity’ the very people who determined what was attractive and ugly, fat or thin, looking upon themselves before the start of the show. As the show started the two way mirror was switched on and the audience allowing them to finally see inside the mirrored box through to the models and clothing. At the end of the show, a metal box which remained throughout, opened up and revealed the fetish writer Michelle Olley, staged in a pose inspired by the Joel-Peter Witkin’s photograph Sanitarium. The collection was a statement of how the politics of appearance ‘a performance by some of the world’s top models, beautiful women driven insane by their own reflections’ . McQueen was well known for upending conventional standards of beauty, in this particular case celebrating the idea of difference. For fashion editors to confront an image of a woman who is not conventionally considered attractive was something that was particularly resonant in this collection. McQueen used this show to communicate themes of change, with the need to develop beyond what was socially accepted. Each season under the rein of Lee at McQueen came a newly designed spectacle, produced in a specific way to avoid the predictability of a fashion show challenging the tradition of the catwalk. In conversation with Nick Knight in 2009 and before his SS10 show Plato’s Atlantis McQueen said ‘I felt like the shows had gone as far as they could to an audience that was expecting the extravaganza, but it’s not about tricks, it’s about the wider audience’ . Designers such as McQueen have looked towards technology and new media when improving exposure and generating commerce in an economically challenging era. The shows of September 2009 displaying the Spring Summer
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The mid-1930s fashion shows were produced on a grand scale, and with the continuing rise of their importance saw the introduction of sound and light in the 1960. Success of the super model (thanks to Gianni Versace in the late 1980s) and celebrity culture in the 1900s prompted fashion shows to become a form of entertainment entering the world of show business and performance art. These shows are referred to by Ginger Gregg Duggan as ‘theatre without a plot’, having the ability to create a cross-media spectacle, blurring the boundaries between fashion, theatre, art and performance. Duggan talks greatly about spectacles created by Alexander McQueen and John Galliano (Givenchy and Christian Dior); including their reputations of communicating ideas through dream like sequences and fantastical imagery. McQueen was well known for his evolution of fashion show experimentation, this can clearly be seen in the Spring Summer 1999 collection VOSS. McQueen experimented with the stage encouraging models to walk around a two way mirrored box,
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2010 collection saw a rise in live steaming of fashion shows throughout the internet. McQueen approached the medium differently than most other designers by collaborating with SHOWstudio.com and Nick Knight. McQueen live streamed Plato’s Atlantis via the SHOWstudio.com platform to thousands via the website. He filmed the show with two robotic cameras mounted on the runway unusual for its time, as most designers were hiding the video camera amongst the photographers at the end of the runway. Broadcasting collections live enables the designer to contribute to the live steam schedule, not losing out in competition and press attention. Designers, now aware of the benefits of live steam however do not acknowledge its importance over the catwalk; therefore hide the camera leaving the aesthetics of the runway as normal. The at home audience could watch McQueen’s collection in real time including a fashion film created to translate McQueen’s vision and details
Behind them, a sixty-foot LED screen projected a super-sized image of model Raquel Zimmerman melting in and out of water and coiled with snakes’. Dual use of fashion film throughout one show, firstly as a fashion film of Zimmerman and the snakes, secondly a live steam instantly promoting the collection was a first for McQueen sparking the future of what many other designers have since executed. McQueen projected a stark lesson in reality replicated over and over with a multi-faceted approach to marketing including the spectacle, live steam, filming of the show itself and filming of the audience watching the show. When asked of the future of fashion shows and the internet McQueen argues ‘It’s bringing the audience right in at the start of the collection, it’s not being edited down by outsiders. It’s to see it as I see it myself, not an interpretation of a theme by outside forces… I’ve
“ It’s bringing the audience right in at the start of the collection, it’s to see it as I see it myself ”
of the clothing not visible from the side of the runway. By doing this he celebrated the rise of technology simultaneously degrading the privilege of those who received an invite. Through the live broadcast of his collection McQueen reached audiences worldwide far quicker than a printed publication and the photographs taken at the end of the runway that are usually viral within an hour of being taken could. Believing for design to move forward it had to be responded to by a diverse audience, in his own words ‘I never thought of myself as an elitist designer its counterproductive to put myself in such a small arena, it doesn’t make design move forward if it’s only to a select few’. Writer Alex Fury wrote ‘centre-stage - two twenty-foot robotic cameras that sprung to life before the first outfit even entered the catwalk, turning their gaze first on the audience before pirouetting like sinister automatons around McQueen’s models.
already started tweeting, because I’ve been educated too, and that communication which I never had, I have… I’m addicted to it, I haven’t stopped’ . It is surprising that by adding more facets to a fashion show, McQueen actually had more intense control over this season / output and opinion that was projected. The creation of the Zimmerman fashion film allowed the audience at the venue and online to see the thoughts of McQueen, the inspiration and ideas that surrounded the spectacle and the clothes. The film felt like the inner going on’s inside the designers head and allowed the viewers to understand and connect with the clothing. McQueen pioneers the use of communication through the live steam of his fashion shows and his personal use of social media websites help to connect with his audience even further.
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The live steam also exposed the fashion show in all its exclusivity to the masses; it opened up the spectacle and its connotations of privilege while disregarded the exclusivity normally associated with such events. McQueen realised before 2010 that for fashion to move forward, it needed to be opened up to the wider market and for fashion to evolve it could not be contained within the select few. Enabling students, creatives, even housewives and office workers to view his show he created a large media attention (more so than had been before). This aspect of Plato’s Atlantis allowed for development in technology’s role within the fashion show generating more international exposure than any other media. The success of McQueen’s live steam prompted more designers and industry critics to accept that role of technology when showcasing new collections every season and is now recognised as a valuable marketing and publicising tool within the industry.
“I never thought of
Pugh argues that ‘it’s the image from that show that people take, and it’s important to reconsider how we show our things’ . With the spectacle of fashion as important as it has ever been, it is important to question the reality of these performances and where the future of fashion marketing and catwalk shows lie. Gareth Pugh is London based designer paving the way for a new platform in which to display fashion (even if he doesn’t know what it is yet). Pugh, gaining attention after graduating Central Saint Martins and since being spotted by Lulu Kennedy of Fashion East and Robbie Spencer the Senior Fashion Editor of Dazed and Confused Magazine. His first collection for Fashion East was a critical success and he attracted significant publicity for his leather, form, PVC and volume aesthetic; with Style. com describing Pugh as the latest addition to a long tradition of fashion-as-performance-art designers. For his AW 2009/10 collection he showed a fashion film starring Natasa Vojnovic
myself as an elitist designer
In “The Society of the Spectacle” Guy Debord argues modern life is dominated by the commodity form and the false desires it creates, describing the fashion show as a ‘spectacle unto itself ’ a theme that McQueen plays with both in using mirrors in VOSS and filming the audience in Plato’s Atlantis. The use of mirrors and mirroring the audience imposes the spectacle onto those who essential create it and it is created for. He argues that spectacle ‘spatialises time and destroys memory’ a key subject that McQueen tackled by live streaming Plato’s Atlantis for the public to see. The benefits of videography and live steaming enable the atmosphere of the spectacle to survive far longer than the event and the photographs that follow. The mutation of fashion image lies with the photographs taken at every fashion show and it is these photographs that end up on Style.com and Vogue.com- the lasting memory of every fashion show. Gareth
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and created by Ruth Hogben. Rested against a backdrop of dry ice and enlarged to dozens of metres high and wide for dramatic effect. Pugh cited that this collection was something of a 180-degree twist, turning the inverted triangle silhouette that he is known for right-way up again, and he matches this 180-degree twist with showing this collection via a film rather than the traditional and universally accepted fashion show. The film created by Ruth Hogben was a critical success and was described as melting across the screen like a Rorschach inkblot, a perfect match for Pugh’s daring aesthetic. Fashion Film at Fashion Week is not a new concept and large Parisian and Italian fashion houses regularly collaborate with film makers to create promotional videos for commerce or to play alongside the catwalk spectacle. However Pugh’s daring
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move into solely using a fashion film reflects the ever changing industry and economic climate. After reports in 2007 that Pugh had not made a single penny from his venture into fashion, Evans stated ‘the fashion show is a form of commercial seduction’ .It is the showpiece designed to attract press coverage and increase commerce. This is ironically controversial considering how much money is contributed to creating such spectacles and that commerce is not an inevitable outcome. Not surprisingly many designers have no money at all and the public is unable to purchase such expense pieces; the ‘realm of consumption is transposed to the visual as there is no other way we can consume (afford) it’ . The only way for ordinary people to expose themselves to the fashion industry is via the internet and the photographs that are taken, and here by lies the importance of publicity and therefore what happens in the spectacle itself.
interesting. Like when McQueen did their live streaming thing with Nick (Knight), it was a show first and foremost, Burberry did it and it was a show. I feel like it’s a little old fashioned’. From this quote it is clear that Pugh wants a new way in which to showcase and display his collections and as a creative, designer and brand he is frustrated with the spectacle and even the ever so popular method of live streaming. It is positive to see young emerging brands as well as influential designer’s (such as McQueen) challenging this traditional and perhaps stagnant area within the fashion industry. Gareth Pugh grew up within the digital age, a generation that developed with advances in technology. He has seen first-hand the benefits and opportunities social media and the internet hold and using this within his brand and design ethos to his advantage. His fashion film collaborations with Ruth Hogben help cut costs and allow Pugh to explore a more creative and unique aspect of fashion unattainable with a fashion show.
The spectacle is traditionally appreciated as the showpiece, the showstopper, an all singing all dancing theatric that will receive no related commerce, but that will in turn create press and media intention. Although not commercial viable themselves, the commercial value of the aftermath of the spectacle far surpasses how much they cost to produce. At the same time excitement and advertisement, without them ready to wear and more affordable collections would not be bought and in turn the next season’s spectacle could not be afforded. This well established and favoured circle in the fashion designer’s year is now being challenged. With Great Britain in the midst of a double dip recession and politically prevalent European and International countries also experiencing an economic downturn the days of commerce following a spectacle are declining. No longer does the industry expect the spectacle to create capitalism, so the spectacle must adapt to survive and have purpose.
“ you’ve got to be led by the clothes
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Ruth Hogben, named one of fashions most up and coming creatives, assisted Nick Knight for numerous years before working on her own as a film maker notable and within fashion. Her work with Gareth Pugh has gained significant publicity both within the industry and in mainstream media; this has determined her as one of fashion films most important contemporary figures. She works across the bridge between film and still photography making her views on the future of fashion film and marketing more prolific and important than most. When asked about where she sees the future of the traditional fashion show and could fashion film rival it she explained
As part of SHOWstudio.com’s “Fashion In” series Alex Fury interviewed Pugh about his design practice and his visions for the future of fashion marketing. Pugh spoke about his views on the fashion show and how ‘In London it was all about the show, and that was the most important thing, whereas now I never feel like I can do what I really want to do when it comes to the show . His design practise is aesthetically unique, and a traditional show does not allow the brand and clothing to communicate Pugh’s vision fully. He discusses the absence of trust he feels when working with dressers at fashion week and how they lack the ability to translate the collection as he sees it. His powerful silhouettes lend themselves well to fashion film and as a relatively contemporary designer with little commercial backing, a fashion film is a far more relevant venture to help market his work. Pugh can translate his complicated design aesthetic seamlessly though a combination of creative direction, acting, sound and editing, far better than he is able to with a fashion show, this also allows him to keep his creative freedom and grow and publicise the brand in a direction he sees fit.
‘I think you have to be really careful about how you define it, it’s going to replace, it’s not going to replace, it doesn’t need to be that refined or that clear you know. I think there’s room for both, there doesn’t need to be so many opinions and rules about it, if it works it works, if it doesn’t it doesn’t. You don’t make a film of something that doesn’t lend itself well to film- you’ve got to be led by the clothes’. Hogben’s relaxed and un-effected attitude to the fashion film over fashion spectacle argument is clearly portrayed in this interview. edia, then it is not the right outlet in which to expose their clothing. It is also important to look at her opinion of the live spectacle ‘when I go it makes my heart race, I wouldn’t want to say that what I do would replace that for anyone’ . Here it is interesting to see a creative so reliant on new media, fashion film and the developments on fashion marketing to appreciate and relish the traditional fashion show. Like Pugh she understands the importance of the fashion show, but surprisingly does not want to see them disappear, this being unusual considering she makes a living off of the alternatives of the fashion show.
Pugh believes ‘alternatives (to the catwalk) don’t seem to be embraced as much as it should be- there’s something more
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Fashion Film and the Internet are just a new way to communicate and with the power of the Internet reaching over 2.4 billion people worldwide more creatives can be reached via this new facet. Websites such as Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio.com champion alternative fashion image and media, while offering a platform for all mediums to be showcased. Penny Martin was the editor in chief of SHOWstudio.com from 2001-2008 and helped grow the website into what it has become today. SHOWstudio.com has championed film and moving image as the ideal medium for fashion in the digital age, and has utilised online streaming and real-time reporting methods – including blogging and tweeting via multimedia-enabled mobile phone handsets. They deliver fashion live, as it happens to an ever increasing audience bridging the gap between creatives and the industry, ‘we realised people felt a real connection with it that they didn’t have with a magazine because they knew it was going off in real time’ .
“it’s all about the communication of
the idea, a lo-fi aesthetic and the performativity of being in their own imager
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The generation of which I am a part of have grown up with the internet, and we use it daily to communicate and generate. Technology is now seamlessly integrated into our everyday lives and websites such as SHOWstudio.com encourage us to respond and contribute creatively to its projects, documenting, communicating and evaluating the results. We become part of the fashion industry and can in turn connect and respond to what is being broadcast, made or said. When asked about how SHOWstudio.com approach a project Martin ‘always try to think; “is it a fashion story, a fashion monograph, or a beauty story? What are we doing here? Is there an interview? Do we have a letters page?” For me it’s working out the formula that’s inside a classic magazine and then really trying to rethink that in new media terms.’ This formula of re-working magazine style content helps the audience understand, appreciate and respond to each topic in its new media form, and then allows them to easily digest the information as they can identify the publication element they are formally used to.
‘This generation are perfectly happy to view films on YouTube where they are really heavily pixelated. For them it’s all about the communication of the idea, a lo-fi aesthetic and the performativity of being in their own imager’ . The generation of the digital age do not need a perfectly photographed fashion story to translate an idea or read about a topic. For them it is not about what the product looks like, instead importance lies with the message and the connotations of the piece. Their reliant and accepting use of social media websites to create and distribute their thoughts and feeling has led to a constant stream of new ideas and user generated content being published onto the internet. Platforms such as; Twitter.com and Facebook.com enable fast verbal and pictorial communication, Youtube.com and Vimeo.com have established themselves within the film and video to enhance and support interaction, and DazedDigital.com and SHOWstudio.com serve as more than digital magazines collaborating with the industry and multi-disciplined future creatives to exchange information and ideas. The fashion industry now recognises the importance and value of user generated content and digital platforms such as SHOWstudio.com utilise this fast produced ethos to market its fashion projects to a broader audience worldwide.
The key to SHOWstudio.com’s success lies in the way it communicates and includes its audience in its projects. Previously you have been able to download, print out and create a garment from a pattern created by a designer, after finishing the garment the audience was invited to upload photographs of their piece to the website for everyone to see. This creative and inclusive ethos enables the viewer to feel a part of what they are doing and viewing, instantly connecting them to the project and enabling them to understand the language of fashion in which they are creatively communicating.
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Imagery by Theo Spencer Fashion Communication and Styling
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Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this pre publication of Expose Magazine
Middlesex University School of Art & Design Theo Spencer Fashion Communication and Styling
Editor Sophie Bailey
Lucy Barnes Fashion Communication and Styling
Graphic Design Calum Houldsworth Adam McCarthey
Sophie Hetherington Fashion Communication and Styling Jonathon Pool Photography Courteney Evans Fashion Design Yasmin Lane Fashion Design External Contributors Connor Farrow Ball Photographer
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Expose Magazine