Narrate (Self Published Magazine) by Prachi Sethi

issue / 1

narrate

may 2018

Frida Kahlo / Aliki Van der Krujis / Ashish Satyavrat Sahu / Fin Harries / Casey Neistat / Marcel Floruss / Emma Gonzales

hello there.

welcome.

Hello, I welcome you to the first edition of Narrate. A narrative, a story, visual or literary for me has always left an imprint. An imprint, a passage into a new dimension, a constant source of creative inspiration and emotional endurance. As I watched, read, heard an infinite stream of narratives, I developed a sense of appreciation and gratitude for the art of story-telling. Humans inspire, intrigue and encourage other humans, and so with Narrate, I wanted to establish that connection by bringing together personalities, excelling in their respective areas under one name. With this, Narrate welcomes you to a new decade of devoted literary storytelling. Storytelling, through, for and of the people. A gender neutral bi-annual magazine. Engaging and encouraging both female and male readershi p, Narrate features healthy, happy looking men and women, setting new agendas, represented through intimate and enquiring journalism, an Intersection of personal style, art, culture and lifestyle. Narrate nurtures holistic achievement and human excellence. This edition narrates tales of Frida Kahlo, in a personal, intriguing journalistic marvel. Also featured in our first edition is a Dutch textile artist, Aliki Van Der Krujis, a light on her project â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Wearable Weather. This edition also brings about Millennials such as Sam Madhu, Marcel Floruss, and Casey Neistat, exceptional entrepreneurs, continuing to create and inspire. Ideas relating to sustainability and ecological concerns are brought together with fair, sustainable fashion and architectural solutions â&#x20AC;&#x201C; stories revolving around Fin Harris (Architect) and Ashish Satyavrat Sahu. At last, we take great pride in featuring Emma Gonzales, an American teenage gun control activist. Admist the carefully curated high-fashion pieces, Narrate is a people-centred zine. For the globally curious ones, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve packed the following pages with untold, overlooked and flat-out remarkable contemporaries. Minimal and elegant design, each fli p of the page offers a fresh start, a new story.

Prachi Sethi, Editor in Chief

Casey Neistat

Frida Kahlo

New York based self-taught Film-maker.

Mexican Artist

Aliki Van Der Krujis

Fin Harries

Dutch based Textile Artist

New York based Architect

Ashish Satyavrat Sahu

Marcel Floruss

Indian Khadi Designer

FIT graduate Fashion Blogger

Emma Gonzales

Sam Madhu

American Activist

Brooklyn based Illustrator

contents

casey

film-maker

entrepreneur

neistat Source : FourSquare

casey neistat

Casey, born in Gales Ferry, Connecticut, dropped out of high school at the age of 17, and ended up living in a trailer for almost 5 years. As a kid, Casey never had fancy things. His father. Barry, worked at a restaurant, and his mother Amy was a stayat-home parent. They lived in a lower middle-class neighborhood with certainly no access cash. However, in a long run his shaky financial history played an important part in his style has a filmmaker he admits. ”““”I was always the loudest, in trouble, and told I was doing wrong”” he says. ”“ For me, that wasn’t a good enough reason to stop acting that way”.”““” For those five years, he went on to wash dishes for five different places, ”“ “”I wanted to be the best dishwasher who ever lived”““” he said. The physical monotony of cleaning dishes is what gave him the incentive to seek something greater. “It takes an awful job to make you realize how bad you want your dreams to come true.”

“The key is to never stop working; it is the cure for any kind of rut.“ Over 10 years from now, Casey is a New York based distinguished filmmaker and vlogger. His main body of work consists of short films he has released exclusively on the internet, including regular contributions to The New York Times’ critically acclaimed Op-Doc series. He has also directed TV commercials for brands including Nike, Mercedes-Benz, and J. Crew. His online films have been viewed over a million times in the last three years. Despite of his success in the mainstream media industry, he prefers the honesty and accessibility of Youtube as a distribution medium. ”“ “”Mainstream film production consists of directors, producers, camera, lighting, costume, art, post production and more. However, this decreases the creative output for each member.I prefer making movies my own way. Limited resources, restricted postproduction. This has often led me to my biggest most creative ideas, that I can share with millions of viewers with one click of a button”.”““”

Source : @aingeruh

Do More

- Casey

Source : Youtube/caseyneistat

casey neistat

“Everyone’s trajectory in life is unique and you choose your own path. Within those paths, there is an encyclopedia of universal understandings. I think those ideas apply to everyone, but the way they’re interpreted and executed in different for each person.“ Casey, over the 10 years and more, has taught us that gear are just tools. Now, he has nearly any equi pment he’d like, although it’s a luxury he doesn’t always prefer. ”““”The perfection of what technology has allowed filmmakers to do has erased the humanity from the art form””“” he says. ”““”I try to live on the furthest end of that spectrum and embrace, encourage and promote a primitive sense of humanity and handmade aspects. ”““” What stands far more above it is the story. While film-making has been taken over by cinematics and technology driven equi pment, the art of storytelling still remains at the core of film, and Casey continues to remind us of it, every day, everywhere in the world. One platform – YouTube. ”““”I want people to look at my videos are think, I can make that video”. This is the biggest compliment to him he explained.”““” On April 5, 2018, Neistat announced a new project: 368, a creative space for creators to collaborate. On April 12, CEO of Patreon Jack Conte announced a potential collaboration with Neistat on the project.

great entrepreneures arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t made in classrooms

no rules - casey neistat Source : Author/Casey

new york

london

paris

milan

dubai

frida

Source : Telegraph/Frida

mexican

artist

kahlo

A beautiful Sunday afternoon in a lush-green open courtyard. With the tone of the day set to earthy, subdued colours with a hint of yellows and pinks, the world-famous artist Frida Kahlo. sits in the comfort of her Mexican family home – the Blue House or Casa Azul. The Mexican artist very humbly grants us an up-close, personal interview for the first edition of Narrate. Frida Kahlo is a Mexican painter known to combine traditional Mexican folk art with surrealism, making her paintings a symbolic form of self-expression. A communist, feminist icon, and a self-taught artist who is better known for painting over 104 brilliant paintings, 55 of which are self-portraits.We’re deeply honoured and thankful to have Frida chat with us in a much personal session.

P: Buenas tardes Frida. We’re honoured to have you chat with us. Mexican roots find an evident voice in your paintings. It is incredible how small elements of your life are immortalized in these characters. Tell me more about how you’re attached to these elements and how do you think artists can stay true to their roots and cultural contexts in the present times?

Buenos días! Growing up around these blue and yellow walls, I have a fond memory of playing around in the terrace with monkeys tangling around my shoulders. I get my Mexican roots from my mother, while my father was German by birth, but his embrace for the Mexican people and the culture was immense, leading me to have a deep sense of belongingness to my roots. The elements in my painting are simply out of impulse, but they are triggers to remind me of my roots. During my days in New York with Diego, I remember lamenting over not being home, and wanted to go back home and do the most mundane things, but those I truly identified with being my own. In today’s world, there is a lot of connectivity, it is a great thing but at the same time, it alienates one from their roots. The digital form of art as I see, has made things too uniform across borders, which is also how human emotions are the same irrespective of their roots, but to convey the roots is an integral part of art when it comes to cultural context of the subjects and what they are dealing with.

Your self-portraits are vivid expressions of different phases of your life, now they’re a source of inspiration for stylists and visual artists across the globe. From the uni-brow to the flowered bow, the visual cues of acceptance and the diverse definition of beauty is evident, what was it to be a non – conformist in those times when even today, it is something we’re still gaining acceptance towards?

I’m deeply moved to see how visual artists and the fashion scene is taking inspiration from my appearance, which seemed really pure to me as an expression of who I am. It is what I have been most comfortable in, and I loved to switch between what men wore, what women wore, and blurring the lines between gendering of clothing. It all is now up for analysis, but at that point it was purely my impulse that dictated what I wore. If it were up to me, I would love to wear all the traditional clothing that Mexican culture has to offer and arrange flowers all day long! As far as Non-conformism is concerned, I never rebelled on purpose, it just intuitive impulses that drove me to wear certain clothing or do certain things.

frida kahlo

I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality. - frida kahlo Source : moma.org

Source : moma.org/frida

frida kahlo

I believe that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m entitled to my own sexual expression and I take great pride to have lived my youth committing to myself

Featuring Ishwari Ambavane and Shekhar Sharma, Photographed and Styled by Prachi Sethi, adorned by Sapna Rauthan

Most of your life as an artist, you’ve been crept under the shadow of Diego Rivera, what is your view of how the outer world viewed you as, did it ever affect you that you were known as his lover or wife more than known as an artist?

Diego is the architect of my life. I take pride in the art he creates. Our habits and styles might be different, but our love and passion towards art is as wild as it seems. While Diego loves to create grand murals, forming his political opinion in the eyes of the public, I on the other hand paint to kill some time. Really, I do not know whether my paintings are surrealist or not, but I do know that they are the frankest expression of myself. Since my subjects have always been my sensations, my states of mind and the profound reactions that life has been producing in me, I have frequently objectified all this in figures of myself, which were the most sincere and real thing that I could do in order to express what I felt inside and outside of myself. So, to answer to your question – No. It never bothered me to be known as the wife of Diego. He’s not only been a constant source of motivation and inspiration for me – a driving force through happiness and pain to create art.

Gender and sexuality have been quite the talk recently, although the diversities and the fluidity have been around for long, you were quite openly fluid when it came to your sexual expression, however, it was never a subject of discussion. How is it relevant to today’s time, what are your views on this new ‘acceptance’ or ‘attention’ towards gender and sexual identities?

Often women are repressed within the family structure and I guess that my paintings resonate so strongly with women because they are representative of the struggles women face. I think my work too was empowered by my struggles as a human. It was empowered by my love with Diego which ran a fairly torrid course as I’m sure you know. I’ve always dressed to my impulse, whether it is a man’s suit or a Tehuana dress. And as much tabooed as it is, I could never shy away from “being me”. I believe that I’m entitled to my own sexual expression and I take great pride to have lived my youth committing to myself. Talking about “acceptance” and “sexual fluidity” in the current scenario is important, however “self-acceptance” is absolutely crucial and any day more important than speaking about oneself. To be comfortable in your own skin, allows for a greater and happier sense of self love, which ultimately reflects upon the people surrounding you.

feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?

- frida kahlo

frida kahlo

Featuring Ishwari Ambavane, Photographed and Styled by Prachi Sethi, adorned by Sapna Rauthan

Featuring Shekhar Sharma, Photographed and Styled by Prachi Sethi, adorned by Sapna Rauthan

How has your relationship with your family affected your life, through the happy times and the times of pain? Who have been your trusted souls and what drives you to be closer to them?

When people talk about my life, the mark It with turbulent milestones and the great deal of physical and emotional pain. The conclusion I’ve drawn is that all I’ve done is fail, but with all the hardshi ps and anguish that have been a constant in my life, although at the time it seemed to me like I was alone, looking back at it now, I’ve always had someone – a friend, family to help me deal with it. Growing up, my father encouraged me to embrace my differences and learn to take pride in it- which I did. He was an immense example to me of tenderness, of work (photographer and also the painter), and above all in understanding for all my problems. I have fond memories of my childhood, running around this very courtyard, the same courtyard I attempted to walk in after my bus accident. Through happiness and misery, my family, my friends and even the people who didn’t really know me, empathized, or at least tried to. However turbulent my relationshi ps have been personally, they’ve all fall back upon me in the end and I think this drives me closer to them – passion, empathy and pure love. And of all these people I think, I trusted the mirrors I surrounded myself with the most – they helped me paint my own reality and realise that, At the end of the day we can endure much more than we think we can. Well, to conclude, imagine you’re stranded at an island and can have any four people from around the world with you to stay, living or dead, who would you choose and why?

Ah! Interesante. Ofcourse, Diego. Him being such an important part of my life, I cannot imagine a life without him. Second, my father, who has always accepted my impulse towards the way I look and what I do. My dog from Mexico, to remind me of the Mexican life and Tina Tango for a friendshi p that can also be of greater benefits, if you know what I mean!

Featuring Khushi Agarwal Photographed by Prachi Sethi, Garment by Mehul Bhardwaj

Featuring Khushi Agarwal and Shimona Photographed by Prachi Sethi, Garment by Mehul Bhardwaj

Source : alikivanderkrujis.com

aliki van

textile artist

der krujis

Wearable Weather Aliki van der Kruijs is a Dutch textile designer and artist with an experimental, playful and innovative mind-set. Her fascination for natural phenomena comes back in all of her work, in which nature and its elements are subject, tool and matter at the same time. Her work moves in the intersection of art, research and design. Aliki is educated in Fashion Design (BA Artez Art Academy, 2007) and Applied Arts (MA Sandberg Instituut, 2012). She operates a studio in The Hague, the Netherlands and works on self-initiated research-projects, collaborations and commission based. She is guest-teacher at the Akademie van Bouwkunst in Amsterdam and the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design. During her Masters in 2012, Aliki transformed her graphic and fashion design background into a textile-oriented practice. Aliki graduated with the project Made by Rain: a collection of weather data: visual recordings of a drizzle day or even monsoon, imprinted in textile. This work included an extensive research involving the relationshi p between colour, culture and nature with a specialisation in textile. The project Made by Rain is an ongoing research and by working together with ZigZagZurich the original results of the research is applied onto home textiles. (ZigZagZurich collaborates with artists and designers, both established and new, on unique collections transformed into textiles). This project is one way of Textile register of rain fall at a specific location. Each unique cloth is accompanied with its actual preci pitation data of location, time and weather conditions. Her work method involves planned manufacturing however integrating a certain uncontrolled `natural’ element in which the coincidence is programmed, leading to a collection of tactile piees of work. The aim is to make a rain-atlas with all the imprints Aliki collects Made by Rain was initiated by an intention to `map the weather’ with the idea of creating a textile register. Aliki’s research started after she inherited twelve calendars from her grandfather. On these calendars he described the weather, every single day of every year. After her grandfathers example, Aliki started to map the atmosphere. Only whereas he wrote it down, she made it visual. In time she developed a new printing technique she now calls `pluviagraphy’. By use of a photographic film that is sensitive to water, she is able to transfer rain preci pitation onto textiles. Later, these prints are fixated onto the textile using a series of chemical treatements.

There are two ways of making these rain textiles analogous and digital. The analogous version involves using the ink-paper above the layer of textile for the ink to seep onto the textile, when the rain hits and the paper bleeds hence achieving the print. The digital version is prepared with a layer of ink already on the cloth, leading the ink to bleed as the rain hits the surface. Thereafter, after confirming the rain- data from the weather station, the information of each textile is screenprinted onto the textile. The location, date and time, interval and milimeters of the rain are recorded. The textiles form a collection of weather data: visual recordings of a drizzle day or heavy rainfall, imprinted in textile. It results in unique cloths that are given their actual preci pitation data of location, time and weather conditions. Whenever van der Kruijs would see another rainstorm approaching, she’d hurry up on the roof and catch the drops on large sheets of fabric. Initially Aliki did tests on paper and that works out as well, a more fluid quality of the material ± textiles work like magic for this technique. The first textiles that are rained upon were made in Amsterdam, thereby recording the Dutch/Amsterdam weather conditions. However this project could travel anywhere, making it a useful tool to visually record a natural phenomena that is normally measured and noted in weather charts, satellites and graphs. With the production process Aliki also antici pates to the increasing preci pitation in the hydrological cycle. For instance the climate changes could be noticed in the prints over a long period of time, as rain in The Netherlands has increased by 4% in the past fifty years because of it. Aliki has so far applied the fabrics to a silk scarf and a fashion collection. She also described the entire project and process in a publication called `Made by Rain’. The process is documented in a book, responds to the increase in preci pitation intensity due to climate change using collaborative projects in fashion as one of the messengers. Made by Rain is an ongoing project. Just like a rain shower, every set of textiles is one of a kind. Overall natural processes influence my visual language. Either I use rain, as something unpredictable. Or I create a work method where there is space for an uncontrolled element. I really like this tension between setting parameters and creating space for thing to occur/happen

aliki van der krujjis

Source : alikivanderkrujis.com

aliki van der krujjis

The wonderful thing about rain is that it outlines the contour of the immediate landscape around your. You hear the space

- quote from a blind man

Source : alikivanderkrujis.com

After these textiles where applied into the duvet covers of ZigzagZurich or KD Tees by Nike, people knew better how to relate to the textiles and the project received immense appreciation. Nike launched a graphic t-shirt with Aliki’s print for the KD collection of basketball player Kevin Durand inspired by the player’s love for metereology. It is available in three colours. With allover graphics that reflect a wet effect on the front, back and sleeves, these Nike KD tees pay tribute to ™The Weatherman∫ with his logo on the sleeve and a Swoosh tag at the hem. In the collaboration with the fashion designer Elsien Gringhuis, Aliki used her framework (shape of the clothes) to come up with new ways to print and paint on textile. It worked as a playground for those new techniques. One letting the shape of the pattern dictate the print, and the more fluid result is a `fold-and-water’ technique that brings unique print results. With these silky soft bed sheets you can sleep underneath the weather that afternoon was unstable, with blue skies alternating heavy rain showers, and there’s something so beautiful about it.

s�

In reality, a streaming error, the glitch was not an aesthetic element really, but what if we did see it aesthetically? Well, in the art and design industry, glitch has turned out to be the most followed trend of the year. Designers, artists, photographers, advertising moguls and even product designers are using this as an aesthetic element in their work. “Glitch appeals to designers for its dystopian yet futuristic look and feel. There’s a controlled imperfection to it and it’s a reminder of the technical elements of design. It visualizes technology as having a combination of textures and patterns but without perfection. When you have a disharmony in design, it becomes more interesting and stands apart from everything else.” says, Terrence Morash, creative director, Shutterstock who analysed the visual trends over the past year.

Featuring Apurvaa Rajvi Mohan, Photographed and Styled by Prachi Sethi, adorned by Sapna Rauthan

the glitch

the glitcb

Featuring Apurvaa Rajvi Mohan, Photographed and Styled by Prachi Sethi, adorned by Sapna Rauthan

architect

global change activist

finn harries Source : Guardian.com

Finnegan Harries is a British designer and an architect-in-training at Parsons School of Design. In 2011, he founded the popular YouTube blog JacksGap with his twin brother Jack Harries. The blog has more than 4.1 million subscribers and 200 million views. “Both of my parents are involved in the movie industry. My father has his own production studio, and my mother is a scri pt writer. Jack and I literally grew up in the media sphere.”“ The brothers have used their influence on YouTube and social media to drive dialogue around social and environmental challenges such as mental health and climate change. My brother and I came to New York to film a video for Skype about a female cellist, who was making video tutorials on how to play cello on the Internet. I fell in love with this crazy city from the first moment I saw it and immediately learned about the awesome Parsons School of Design… Actually you touched a bit of a sensitive topic. There was such a strange conflict inside of me: on the one hand there was a successful project, and everyone said something like “Hey keep on that!”, and on the other, there was a small voice in my brain, that it is not what I actually want to do. And I decided to slow

“

In 2015, Finn moved from London to New York to pursue a degree in architecture at Parsons School of Design. During his architecture degree, he learnt about global climate change, and so he began to educate himself in sustainable architecture. Source : Michmadero (above) Jacksgap.com (below)

finnegan harries

Our first assignment was to design a structure that would help protect a city from flooding. It was a sobering moment. I wondered if my classmates and I were fated to become a generation of architects forced to spend their careers trying to remedy the environmental disasters we humans were responsible for creating. That class became the wake-up call I needed. I ordered books, downloaded documentaries and found myself at a weekend-long training camp with Al Gore. The event was hosted by his organisation Climate Reality with the goal of making participants into Climate Reality leaders. What I learnt terrified me. Firstly, it is not just ‘the environment’ that is at stake here. It is every human being and living species we share this planet with. No matter what happens to our climate, it is safe to assume the planet will be here – it is humans who may not. Secondly, this is no longer a problem that may occur in the future. It is here right now. However the good news is the scale and the immediacy of the problems we face today present a really unique opportunity for change. As humans we are innovative and we are adaptive. We are able to recognize and rectify our mistakes.”

“

I was 15, sitting on a London tube headed for the Houses of Parliament with my mum, when she leant forward and warned me that she might be about to get arrested. It was 2009 and we were on our way to a climate change protest she had helped to organise. Together with a group of friends - all women - she had co-founded an environmental lobbying group to demand that the government take urgent action on climate change in the run-up the Copenhagen UN climate talks. I was too young and perhaps still too politically naive to engage with the conference’s history. So when she explained that for its entire 15-year timescale, it had failed to come to any meaningful agreements - and that this was the year we had to try to make sure it finally did, I’m sure I only grunted in an indifferent manner from under my shaggy mop of hair. I had moved to New York to study architecture. One of my first classes was on sustainable systems and as I sat listening to the professor give us a basic introduction to climate change, it all came flooding back. It struck me that here I was, five conferences later and still there were no binding agreements. No clear solutions. No plan of action.

Source : @jackharries

educate, organise, mobilize, lead by example

- finn harries

Source : Jacksgap.com

When we look around, at the capacity of the problem, it is natural to find helplessness in the scenario. Our generation has a responsibility to find practical solutions to cater to the environmental problems we have inherited. Our generation has the tools and power to keep our politicians in check, to be aware and make aware. Just a few names, from a list of hundreds. When it comes to protecting planet earth it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter what country youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re from, what gender or sexual orientation you are or religion you believe in. This is a problem that affects every single one of us â&#x20AC;&#x201C; It is a common thread that unites us all.

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, the 16-

year old campaigner from Colorado who is suing his government for environmental damages. He spoke at the U.N last year and he works as the truth director of his organization: Earth Guardians. .

Boyan Slat, the 21-year-old

environmentalist and inventor whose design for a system of cleaning plastic waste from the oceans has raised more than $2m in support for his organization, the Ocean Clean Up.

Morgan Curtis, a 23-year old

environmentalist who was preparing to cycle from Maine to Paris as part of a youth delegation that would join the climate negotiations at the U.N summit. .

finnegan harries

“Us creatives all respond to the world around us through our individual means of expression. We should take responsibility within our own work to share and promote the values we believe in. We can’t just talk the talk, we need to walk the walk. We have a really exciting opportunity to rethink the way we design, to reimagine the materials we use to create and to clarify the messages we’re communicating through our work. Taking a sustainable approach doesn’t need to mean sacrifice. “

khadi waala designer

ashish satyavrat sahu Source : @ashishsatyavratsahu

ashish satyavrat sahu

Scrolling Ashish Satyavrat Sahu’s Instagram handle is a beautiful treat for someone who loves contemporary Indian textiles. The world is a playground and Ashish has truly shown it by picking his inspirations right from the streets and transforming them into interesting pieces of wearable art. Having worked with the textile of Khadi through his years at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Gandhinagar and his time with the textile giant Ritu Kumar, Ashish launched Wadaj.in as his own initiative dealing with contemporary hand spun, hand woven and hand crafted clothing. From the many streets he’s seen, the people he has met and the places that he has travelled, the road not taken was always his treaded path for seeking inspiration. Born to a grocer in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Sahu went on to study at the premier National Institute of Fashion Technology in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from where he began his journey in the areas of textiles, crafts and fashion. Being associated with Ritu Kumar as an apprentice and then as a designer, Sahu went on to gain even more insight into the Indian contemporary fashion scene. Moving forward in the pursuit of his craft journey, he went on to win the Vogue Honours in 2014. His ensemble on Cocktail hours with his use of silk and tribal art! “And, there was no looking back. The four years of intensive interaction with art helped me exhibit by talent. “I have partici pated in various competitions such as Made in India and NIFT Fashion Olympiad in the past. Now, winning The Vogue Honours has crowned my endeavours“,” Ashish spoke proudly. His collections were then showcased and sold at Palladium in Mumbai by Vogue. Another one of his recent collections is the Sohrai. The design ensemble narrates the story of the cattle worshi pping festival in Jharkhand. The indigenous craft of bamboo is taken to create the intricate masks, belts, earrings – all in the earthen vibe. Throughout his design career, Ashish has worked deeply in the influence of his roots, using the techniques and textiles like Ghicha, Muga, Eri and Katiya, all forms of Sahebganj silk. The motifs are often from Sohrai and Khobar tribal art forms. The Indian fashion scene is progressing greatly in the use of traditional Indian techniques, crafts and designers who are deeply associated with their roots. This indigenous heritage is accessible only because of these fashion designers, who are trying to carve the classical couture of India, the crafts in the high fashion terrain. Slow design and the idea of handmade is taking over the world, and India stands as a pioneer of those ideals, especially in the sector of textile and apparel. There’s simplicity, elegance and luxury in Khadi, from Gandhi to Sahu, Khadi has adorned many forms of ideas and will go ahead with many more! Source : drapedbrahmin.com

khadi waala designer. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a got a ring to it.

ashish satyavrat sahu

Source : onedapperstreet.com

fashion blogger

entrepreneur

marcel floruss

Fashion for me has always been more of a medium. What drives me is moving people, and inspiring them to follow whatever theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re passionate about

marcel floruss Source : alikivanderkrujis.com

As Instagram continues to reign as the king of all visual platforms, Luxury brands are now more accepting of the digital age with models and influencers dominating the runways as well as they dominate the Instagram feeds. As the luxury customer ages, there is great pressure for brands to figure out ways to engage with a younger audience. Dolce and Gabbana has pioneered this movement, embracing social media as an extension of its seasonal story telling efforts, which is perhaps more important than ever according to Floruss. “As potential customers become more affluent, [they’ll] know where to go first “,” he says.

“No matter how big you are as a brand (and want to stick to tradition) the industry much like fashion itself, has to keep evolving,” Marcel’s endeavour set a milestone in the fashion industry. Not only bridging the gap between high fashion brands and social media influencers, but Marcel also managed to make a name for himself in what has been women dominating industry. Being an FIT graduate, he brings to the blogging industry, much needed knowledge of fashion, inside and out, hence providing a fresh perspective – a respect for the process and craftsmanshi p rather than the finished product. Not only the business part of the industry, but Marcel also breaks through the set stereotypes for men’s fashion. “Real men wear pink” Marcel claims. He happily acclaims himself to be in touch with his feminine side, also acknowledging the “gay” rumours and gracefully declining them. “I’ve always had a self-confidence problem. Fashion used to be something of an emotional Armor for me. I just knew I could hold onto it, feel safer if I dressed well. For me, fashion is therefore not a status symbol, but a personal strategy to gain self-confidence and thereby freedom. And that’s also the motivation behind my blog. I want to inspire other people and give them positive energy. I want people to start thinking positively about themselves and expressing themselves through their style. It’s exhausting to stand in this light all the time. But at the same time, it is very nice”

arcel florus

In the saturated space of men’s fashion and lifestyle blogs, Deutsch based Marcel Floruss has created a name in the industry with One Dapper Street. With over 105k followers on Instagram he’s one of the most sought-after fashion bloggers in the world. He’s known for his versatility -a fusion between street style and dapperness- and is constantly changing his personal style by drawing inspiration from the streets of New York City to his fellow fashion bloggers. Cultivating and nurturing the blog in its earliest stages within the halls of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology where he was pursuing a degree in Fashion Merchandising at the time. Fast forward to now, and One Dapper Street has garnered a loyal fan base with 316k Instagram followers, and brands far and wide have taken note. The 25-yearold Brooklyn-based influencer has worked with a number of diverse fashion and lifestyle brands including Barneys (for its recent holiday gift guide), Armani Beauty, Gillette, Lucky Brand and AC Hotels (a Marriott affiliate). Self-branded Marcel also continues to get brand sponsorshi ps, the top notch of the industry such as Dolce and Gabanna. Dsquared2 etc. Luxury brands have undeniably been slow adapters to the changing digital landscape though Dolce and Gabbana might be considered the ‘exception’ rather than the ‘rule’.

Sources : ondapperstreet.com

WE CALL BS

“

Six minutes, and about 20 seconds. In a little over six minutes, 17 of our friends were taken from us, 15 more were injured, and everyone, absolutely everyone in the Douglas community was forever altered. Everyone who was there understands. Everyone who has been touched by the cold gri p of gun violence understands. For us, long, tearful, chaotic hours in the scorching afternoon sun were spent not knowing. And how about we stop blaming the victims for something that was the student’s fault, the fault of the people who let him buy the guns in the first place, those at the gun shows, the people who encouraged him to buy accessories for his guns to make them fully automatic, the people who didn’t take them away from him when they knew he expressed homicidal tendencies, and I am not talking about the FBI. I’m talking about the people he lived with. I’m talking about the neighbors who saw him outside holding guns. If the President wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy and how it should never have happened and maintain telling us how nothing is going to be done about it, I’m going to happily ask him how much money he received from the National Rifle Association. You want to know something? It doesn’t matter because I already know. Thirty million dollars. And divided by the number of gunshot victims in the United States in the one and one-half months in 2018 alone, that comes out to being $5,800. Is that how much these people are worth to you, Trump? If you don’t do anything to prevent this from continuing to occur, that number of gunshot victims will go up and the number that they are worth will go down. And we will be worthless to you. To every politician who is taking donations from the NRA, shame on you. If your money was as threatened as us, would your first thought be, how is this going to reflect on my campaign? Which should I choose? Or would you choose us, and if you answered us, will you act like it for once? You know what would be a good way to act like it? I have an example of how to not act like it. In February of 2017, one year ago, President Trump repealed an Obama-era regulation that would have made it easier to block the sale of firearms to people with certain mental illnesses.

Emma Gonzรกlez

Emma Gonzรกlez is an American activist and advocate for gun control. As a high school senior she survived the February 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida

Source : Time Magazine

From the interactions that I had with the shooter before the shooting and from the information that I currently know about him, I don’t really know if he was mentally ill. I wrote this before I heard what Delaney said. Delaney said he was diagnosed. I don’t need a psychologist and I don’t need to be a psychologist to know that repealing that regulation was a really dumb idea.

“

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa was the sole sponsor on this bill that stops the FBI from performing background checks on people adjudicated to be mentally ill and now he’s stating for the record, ‘Well, it’s a shame the FBI isn’t doing background checks on these mentally ill people.’ Well, duh. You took that opportunity away last year. The people in the government who were voted into power are lying to us. And us kids seem to be the only ones who notice and our parents to call BS.Companies trying to make caricatures of the teenagers these days, saying that all we are self-involved and trend-obsessed and they hush us into submission when our message doesn’t reach the ears of the nation, we are prepared to call BS. Politicians who sit in their gilded House and Senate seats funded by the NRA telling us nothing could have been done to prevent this, we call BS. They say tougher guns laws do not decrease gun violence. We call BS. They say a good guy with a gun stops a bad guy with a gun. We call BS. They say guns are just tools like knives and are as dangerous as cars. We call BS. They say no laws could have prevented the hundreds of senseless tragedies that have occurred. We call BS. That us kids don’t know what we’re talking about, that we’re too young to understand how the government works. We call BS.

illustrator

designer

Sam Madhu

Source : @sam_madhu

my inner goddess will fuck you up. Samyukta Madhu, Instagram famous Sam Madhu is a Brooklyn based illustrator, representing a new generation of young Indians fighting for feminism, sexuality and selfexpression. Her pop art, could be the perfect stickers to shut down all those sanskaari trolls. Sam, as she is fondly called, draws women who reflect her personality so as to appeal to women who feel the same way. She is currently working for a designer for Adidas Original and excelling at her own personal brand, Sabaash! “My source of inspiration is honestly my own crazy brain. I come up with bizarre ideas and I bring them to life - it’s as simple as that. My work does have a message - people are going to talk shit about you whether you do good or bad, so just be yourself. “ “They think I’m trying to say that you can only be a feminist if you wear tiny clothes and smoke cigarettes. I think it’s hilarious. I never said anything, I just drew a picture. They’re the ones spinning a whole drama. Oh, then there are those who think I’m disrespecting Hinduism. I have no idea how they came to that conclusion - I think Hindu goddesses are divine and gorgeous, and I want to depict them as symbols of empowerment. If you have a problem with that, maybe you should reconsider your hatred.” “A lot of people also think my art sends a poor message by telling Indians that they have to lose their culture and Westernize themselves to move forward – that’s actually the total opposite of my message - I’m saying respect all the cool stuff your culture has given you and take it with you, at the same time, don’t be afraid to move past societal norms. Be brave and express yourself. Don’t let society scare you into being someone you are not.”

Sam Madhu is a perfect example of what art is meant for – sparking a discussion. Negative, or Positive, the very nature of discussion is somewhat important in our times. Her work represents the modern Indian women embracing drugs, booze, sexuality – topics that are labelled as taboo in India, even today. Her artwork, a neon lit world with goddess in adidas tracksuits and supreme T-shirts, pose in sneakers, a crazy juxtaposition of Indian heritage and global culture. “Growing up in Southeast Asia, I was always keenly aware that most Western depictions of Asian women are stuck somewhere in the last century—more turn-of-the-century wilting lotuses in saris and qi pao than independent, modern women.“ Madhu’s work clearly struck a nerve with a lot of other women of colour, too.” Sam’s work speaks to hundreds of women, overwhelmed with the pressure of adhering to the societal standards and conforming to the male gaze. With the chaos taking up the top headlines, the times we live in demand for this change. It demands to be heard, it demands to be seen. Millennial artists like Sam Madhu evoke a sense of rebellion, paints a much broader picture in the societal culture, a relatable and important, an oppressed perspective that every woman, once in her lifetime can relate to. It’s the 21st century. Women need to start embracing their bodies, sexual needs, freedom, sense of identity in this narrow society. It is time for a change, a change in perspectives, a fresh mentality. A breakthrough.

Source : @sam_madhu

She adds that the single brown woman is at a new age of acceptance and equality, and has to fight for herself even though people will tell her what she can’t or shouldn’t do. More power to you Sam!

sam madhu

“I’ve always loved art and making art. I don’t think I ever became an artist, I think I was born an artist”

credits Inc.com. (2018). Casey Neistat: Why Great Entrepreneurs Aren’t Made in Classrooms. [online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/ video/casey-neistat/why-great-entrepreneurs-arent-made-inclassrooms.html [Accessed 15 May 2018]. Design Indaba. (2018). Casey Neistat | Design Indaba. [online] Available at: http://www.designindaba.com/profiles/casey-neistat [Accessed 15 May 2018]. Pbs.org. (2018). The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo . Life of Frida | PBS. [online] Available at: http://www.pbs.org/weta/fridakahlo/ life/ [Accessed 15 May 2018]. Collins, A. (2018). Frida Kahlo’s Diary: A Glimpse Inside Her Tortured, Scribble-Happy World. [online] Vanities. Available at: https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/1995/09/frida-kahlo-diegorivera-art-diary [Accessed 15 May 2018]. Alikivanderkruijs.com. (2018). Aliki van der Kruijs. [online] Available at: http://www.alikivanderkruijs.com/wp/ [Accessed 15 May 2018].

Followmeto.travel. (2018). Finn Harries: “There should be deeper meaning in | Followmeto.Travel. [online] Available at: https:// followmeto.travel/diary/murad/finn-harries-there-should-bedeeper-meaning-in-every-tri p [Accessed 15 May 2018]. Adobe Blog. (2018). Sustainable Design: Finnegan Harries on Reconnecting with Nature in NYC | Adobe Blog. [online] Available at: https://theblog.adobe.com/sustainable-design-finnegan-harrieson-reconnecting-with-nature-in-nyc/ [Accessed 15 May 2018]. The Telegraph. (2018). Capital boy wins fashion crown. [online] Available at: https://www.telegraphindia.com/1150917/jsp/ jharkhand/story_42961.jsp [Accessed 15 May 2018]. Content, G. (2018). Life on the Move: Style blogger Marcel Floruss. [online] GQ. Available at: https://www.gq.com/story/lifeon-the-move-style-blogger-marcel-floruss [Accessed 15 May 2018]. Gründerszene Magazin. (2018). „Ich möchte, dass Menschen anfangen, positiv über sich selbst zu denken“. [online] Available at: https://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/instagram-modeblogger-floruss [Accessed 15 May 2018]. The Hindu. (2018). Pop art and the single brown woman. [online] Available at: http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/sammadhu-digital-art-on-instagram/article19187765.ece [Accessed 15 May 2018]. Washington Post. (2018). ‘Six minutes and 20 seconds’: Emma González delivers speech, then silence. [online] Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2018/live-updates/ politics/march-for-our-lives/six-minutes-and-twenty-seconds-emmagonzalez-delivers-speech-then-silence/ [Accessed 15 May 2018].

credits

Madebyrain.com. (2018). Made by Rain – by Aliki van der Kruijs. [online] Available at: http://www.madebyrain.com/ [Accessed 15 May 2018].

a magazine by prachi sethi