Ruse Magazine // Summer 2016 - Sam Fazz by Ruse Magazine

SUMMER ‘16 SELF LOVE 4 SS 2016 8 AN ODE TO DAVID BOWIE

LET ME TAKE YOUR PICTURE

MONTHLY 16 MOTIVATION FREEMAN AND SULLIVAN

NYREE G WATERS

SAM FAZZ 32 LAUREN TEPFER

JUSTINE DIAZ

self love

BY BAILEY DREW

Tattoos are one of the few things I feel completely passionate about. I want to fill my body with pieces of art that I’m proud of because it’s the only permanent part of my life that I am in complete control of. I constantly get asked about why I got each individual tattoo and thought I’d master post it all into one commentary for those of you who are curious about the art I deemed worthy of permanence. ‘i am mine’ — In Orion Carloto’s handwriting, marks my first tattoo. At the time I was going through a really weird transitional phase where I wanted to love the body I was in, but I didn’t quite know how to accept every little thing I hated about myself. After sitting myself down and going over all

the good and bad I saw on my exterior I realized I would never change. I am stuck with my body for the rest of my life and I needed to accept and love that fact. Orion was a big influence in the upbringing of my self acceptance with all of her kind words and positive outlook. She only ever saw the good in people and it truly inspired me to take after her. I had read a poem by Nayyirah Waheed that simply said, “I am mine. Before I am ever anyone else’s.” — and I felt so passionately about those two sentences that I decided to ask Orion to write it out for me so I could get it tattooed. To this day I am oh so in love with the words on my ribcage. XI XVI XIII — November 16, 2013.

should ever run from again. This tattoo serves as a reminder of that.

This date in roman numerals is one of the most meaningful tattoos of mine. I got it for myself as a reminder of what could’ve been and how far I’ve progressed since then. On this date I was going to kill myself and I found a reason to keep going when I truly thought I couldn’t. This particular tattoo is something I reflect on often, for it proves recovery is possible and there is far more to life than your mental illness. 416 — Stands for 4:16 PM in, the time everything changed and I knew I had to keep going. This one coincides with my roman numerals. LOVE WILL WAKE US, LOVE WON’T BREAK US — Quoted from the song Take Me Away by Bleachers, marks the tattoo I got on my 18th birthday. This song has stuck with me ever since I heard it off the album Strange Desire a few years back. Jack Antonoff (the lead singer of Bleachers) is a man I’ve always admired and found inspiration from. He put words to thoughts I couldn’t quite express, and inspiration to love with all I’ve got. I used to be afraid of love and feelings, but I’ve found reason to believe that fearing your own natural emotions is silly. I’ve felt so much love in my lifetime and it’s beautiful and raw, it’s not something I

Amethyst Crystal Cluster — I would have to say this is one of my favorite and most meaningful tattoos. My dad passed away when I was 11 months old, 12 days before my first birthday, which left me living a life without someone who should’ve been my world. It wasn’t until I was old enough to understand that my grandma pulled me aside and told me stories about how my dad used to mine crystals with his best friend and give them to his loved ones. “He said they brought good luck, and that if we ever needed to feel his love, to hold it tight and he’d be there.” She then handed me a small cloth bag with an amethyst crystal inside and told me he wanted me to have this one once I was old enough to understand the entirety of the situation. I carry that crystal with me wherever I go, and when life gets tough I hold onto it extra tight. I decided to get crystals tattooed as not only a tribute to my father, but a way for me to feel a little extra close to him when I need it most.

Dove of Peace, Pablo Picasso (1949) — Since I was a little girl I have always admired Picasso’s simple yet impactful art work. While researching his paintings I came across this simple little Dove and fell in love with it. This particular dove was chosen as the emblem of the First International Peace Conference in Paris, and since then has become one of the most recognizable symbols for peace. I positioned it on my thigh because I used to self harm there and thought that putting a symbol of peace would help remind me that a little love and peace with myself can go a long way.

sire. She inspired physical love in those around her, but in doing so she also inspired intellectual love. She was more than just her surface, and very few people truly got to understand that; that’s what sold me on the piece.

‘I LOVE YOU’ — These three words were taken from a love letter my dad wrote my mother before he passed away. Considering I was not even a year old when he passed away, I don’t remember ever hearing these words come out of his mouth, as much as I wish I had. I wanted to get an excerpt from something he wrote with love, so maybe I could feel it just as much as my family did.

SAFETY PIN — This little piece was a complete impulse tattoo. I was at the parlor, I had just gotten my dad’s ‘ love you’ and I saw this small safety pin sitting on my artists desk and said, “Hey can you tattoo that on me?” It’s a cute little tat that really has no meaning, but the memory behind it gave it something more.

The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli (1480s) — My biggest and most detailed tattoo; I got this one for multiple reasons. To begin with, the painting is a beauty in itself, and that’s what initially sparked my interest. Venus was a Roman goddess whose function was to encompass love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity, and de-

Dance, Henri Matisse (1909) — The first installment of Dance, was highly regarded by Henri himself as the “overpowering climax of luminosity.” There’s really no underlying meaning behind getting this particular piece tattooed besides the fact that I think it’s beautiful and I have always admired it.

Thank you for letting me share the parts of my body I feel most proud of.

XOXO, Bailey

SPRING / SUMMER 2016 BY KIRA TRAVER

The Spring/Summer season is quickly approaching and with the new season comes the inevitable wardrobe changes. While we always look forward to having an excuse to buy new pieces and clean out old ones, the new trends always seem to be a guessing game. Luckily, if you plan out how to go about the cleanout and refresh yourself on all of fashion week’s SS16 hit trends, the chaotic practice will become a little more organised. Having all of the essential pieces in your wardrobe is an immense start, and possibly the most important. The list of essentials can be lengthy but chances are you already have many in your wardrobe. With the perfect fit jeans, a series of solid color t-shirts, and the faultless spring jacket, you can basically master any outfit. This season Topshop, Zara, and Urban Outfitters are prime options for the best-fitting affordable jeans. With one good pair of black

and blue jeans, you can experiment with endless prints, fabrics, and shoe styles. Having a selection of the full neutral spectrum in tops also aids in the creation. A spring jacket can be anything lightweight, although some of the most popular tend to be leather jackets, bomber jackets, and jean jackets. You can either go with the timeless black, or search for new popular patterns inspired by the runways of Louis Vuitton, YSL and Gucci. The new trends this spring are countless and ever growing, and now is the time to see what speaks to you. This season is all about being bold with your choices and leaving no option untouched. The undeniably cool looks of the 70’s have made a major comeback during New York Fashion Week, starting with vintage tee’s. The tattered tops have always been a classic, and can be fit into any style from runway chic to fashionably-cool street style. Nasty Gal, The Vintage Twin and

many high end thrift stores will offer you an in to the world of vintage tees and are a great place to start any collection. The modes that people are still hesitant about bringing back such as the bell bottom jean and the mule slip-on loafers (courtesy of Gucci) may not be for everyone but are definitely worth a shot. Stella McCartney also just introduced her Elyse tri-coloured platform shoes which are intriguing and without a doubt the start of an limitless shoe craze. If a blast to the past is not working for you this spring there are countless modern looks to try out. Straight from the runways of London Fashion Week, brit-glamour influenced pieces such as patterned pants from Burberry’s SS16 collection or Topshop’s cigarette style trousers have become a must have in many closets. The british designers always seem to be able to make business casual look like something straight out of vogue. The spring

looks featured models adorned in the classic button up but with intriguing flares of suede skirts and floor length velvet slips. Speaking of velvet, everything from 1920’s Great Gatsby-esque party gowns to lingerie-made-formal wear is an fascinating outcome of the high end fashion world and an effortless way to dress up an night out. Last but certainly not least comes the unavoidable beach vibes and tropical flares. A trend wholeheartedly embraced by many designers like Yves Saint Laurent with trademark Hawaiian shirts and nautical inventive looks from Tommy Hilfiger and Diane Von Fustenberg, will make you feel like you’re always daydreaming on a tropical island (we can wish). The bohemian vibes that seem to reappear every year are a straightforward way to dive right into summer fashion. Delicate colourful party dresses and the more extravagant prints will carry the sunshine straight into your wardrobe.

AN ODE TO BOWIE BY KIRA TRAVER

This past January we lost one of the greatest and most influential musicians of all time. David Bowie was an absolute original, and gave us not only musical classics, but fashion inspiration that is still with us today. Bowie was unstoppable when it came to fashion, wearing anything and everything that he pleased. He used his music and stage presence to introduce multiple personas, each a tool to aid his own self expression. Perhaps his most famous and most powerful being Ziggy Stardust, a fictional alien and rockstar all in one. First introduced in 1972 with the release of his album “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars”, this particular persona is widely recognized for the fire red spiked hair, the bodycon suits and flared shoulder pieces. Aladdin Sane was also introduced around the same time, originally a playoff of Ziggy Stardust, but soon became another individual character. Again influenced by personal times in his life, Aladdin Sane was most well known for his eminent lightning bolt marking, said to be

a symbol of the contrast of his mind. Not four years later Bowie released another album, “Station to Station” coinciding with the creation of “The Thin White Duke”, a character much more sophisticated and emotional than Stardust, wearing only black and white formal wear. The White Duke represents a major shift in Bowie, and he was said to describe this as “a dark time” in his life. Even when not trying to portray a certain role, or fit into a character, Bowie’s freedom of expression still shone through. One of his famous looks was monochrome two pieces and suits worn majorly during his Serious Moonlight World Tour. From bright reds and blue to neutral tones, Bowie turned the classic suit nto a staple piece in every rock-and-roll inspired wardrobe. Another thing he seemed to excel at was layered clashing print that even the highest up in fashion wouldn’t have imagined paired together. And he made it look good. He was never afraid of stepping out in stripes and plaid, or exotic floral print blouses over fishnet bottoms. These combinations carried over onto the

runway for years following, in Jean Paul Gaultier’s 2013 line displaying none other than Ziggy Stardust, in continuous years of Gucci shows, and other highly known designers such as Alexander McQueen, Givenchy and Tommy Hilfiger. Bowie was also known to eliminate gender stereotypes and was a big influence in the belief that specific clothing pieces are not made for only men or women, but can be worn by anybody. Often seen in skirts, dresses and stereotypically “feminine pieces,” Bowie was never afraid to try new trends and embrace every aspect of fashion available. On the cover of his album “The Man Who Sold The World” he is pictured rocking a vintage floral robe, and used a similar style in the cover for “Hunky Dory” and other hit albums, and his is only a small fraction of him portraying this. All in all David Bowie has left a lasting impact on the fashion world that will live on forever. Gone but never forgotten.

RUSE LIVE BY KAYCIE SAXTON

YEARS & YEARS

LAPSLEY

let me take your photo BY SAM HSU

The one thing in the world that I love more than anything is going to concerts. It’s such an amazing feeling when the love for a certain artist or band’s music brings everyone around you together. I’ve been doing concert photography as my (almost) job for around a year now, and I’m still not over how happy I am when I’m snapping photos at a show. People always ask me what the best way to get in in this field is, so here’s an in-depth mini guide on how you can get started on being a badass music photographer!

for a tour photographer to accompany them on a world tour…

1. Getting Started

Your camera! A standard DSLR does the trick for pretty much all concert scenarios. They all have high ISO (this controls the lighting and how much light is let into your lenses) settings and fast shutter speeds. I’m personally a Nikon fan and use a D3300, but I’ve heard great things about Canons and Pentax!

The most important thing to do in getting started in the photo world is to build a solid portfolio you’re planning on shooting for a media outlet, your own blog or anything else, somebody’s always, always, always bound to ask for your past work before they decide if they want to work with you. At the beginning of your photography adventures, being patient goes a long way. Start at local shows at bars and venues that allow you to bring in a professional camera, or even festivals that allow you to bring one to shoot from the crowd. Remember, being nice goes an even longer way. Imagine what could happen if an underground indie band you took photos of at a bar gets big and starts to look

2. Gear As shocking as it is, the camera you use isn’t important. But since concerts have ridiculous lighting and the people on stage are moving around at freakishly fast speeds, there are a few requirements that come with concert photography your iPhone camera or point-and-shoot camera won’t really meet.

Your lenses! – A 50mm f/1.8 lens is the perfect starter lens. It’s fixed (doesn’t let you zoom in or out) but your photos don’t come out freakishly up close or far away. Once you’re comfortable with the 50mm and think it’s time to upgrade to a zoom lens, a 17mm50mm f/2.8 is also perfect - it lets you take a close-up of the lead singer or a full band shot. When you’re evenmore comfortable and wanna get action

shots from shows where the singer is bouncing around nonstop, get a 1116mm f/2.8. It’s ultra wide and captures the moment perfectly. One last thing: don’t think that you have to get a Nikkor lens just because you have a Nikon. I swear by Tamron and Sigma, their lenses are literally the same quality and will save you a LOT of money in the long run. 3. The Right Settings After you’ve got the right gear, you gotta learn how to use it! I suggest using manual or aperture-priority mode. Make sure your shutter speed is up to at least 200, ISO at 1600, auto white balance and autofocus. Since the lighting is constantly changing at a show, adjust the settings as you need to. The best way to get comfortable with your camera is to practice in different lightings. Never stop shooting!

4. The Coveted Photo Pass The photo pass will be your best friend and worst enemy all at the same time. It gives you access to the front of the barricade or another area the venue has specifically for photographers. Usually, we’re only given access there for three songs and it’s more than enough time to get a few good shots. If you’re onboard with a publication, you or your editor will shoot an email to the publicist or manager of any artist playing the show you’re covering. You can do this if you run a blog that gets a decent amount of readers as well! List your name, information on the publication you’re shooting for (or your blog!), and what show and artist you’re requesting for in the email, and they’ll take it from there. Just remember that publicists and managers are busy people, don’t go off on them if they don’t reply right away or can’t

accommodate your request. Be nice because chances are, they work with your other favorite band and you’ll work with them again in the future. Plus, most of the time, requests are approved because the content that’s published will benefit and promote the artist; it’s not out of niceness. 5. Your First Show So, the publicist/manager approved your request, and you’re now on the guest-list for a photo pass and ticket. It’s ridiculously important to have a day-of phone number of a tour manager or publicist to call in case something comes up at the box office, it’s usually included in the email sent to you, but if not, be sure to ask. You wouldn’t believe the amount of times I’ve had to stand in front of a venue

frantically calling a publicist because my name slipped from the list…). Once you’re in the photo pit, BE NICE. Respect the venue rules; it’s usually thefirst three songs and NO flash. Ever. Respect your fellow photographers, too. The music photographer circle is pretty tight-knit and word gets around pretty quick. Your connections are important. Many of my photographer friends have recommended me to different bands and artists. This goes for security, fans and everyone else around you. Remember that fans actually paid money and waited hours to see the band that’s playing, and they’re the only reason that band is here tonight. It doesn’t take much to be nice. Other than that, don’t stress too much and focus on getting some amazing shots!

BEST COAST BY SAM HSU

CONFIDENCE DOES DIFFERENT Makeup is a controversial topic- it always has been, and it always will be. Some people use makeup because they are insecure and want to cover themselves up with false beauty. Some people use it as a form of self expression, art, or rebellion against society. Some just use it because they think that they have to, or are supposed to. And some don’t wear makeup at all. And that is okay, because it is a completely optional luxury. Girls and guys will get confused by standards and by what people tell them, but here is an unsaid rule of makeup, and that rule is whoever wants to wear it can wear it, and however much they want to wear is okay. Every human face is different. This causes a problem revolving around makeup trends in todays society and todays social media. What may look good on one persons face might look different on yours, which results in higher insecurities and more issues with self image. Realize that your face is special, and that your beauty is unique and different, and your makeup should be, too. The fun thing

about cosmetics are that they are all different, too. Every product is a base for what your creativity sparks. Your face is a canvas and there are so many products to choose from to decorate it. If you have hooded eyes like I do, and you struggle with eyeliner, try thisdon’t line your lid, just take your liner and flick it out from the outer corner of your eye. It’ll open your eyes up and make them look bigger. If you have smaller lips, you can always use a lip plumping gloss, or overline them with lip liner, or even bite them a little bit to get the blood flowing and make them appear more full. Do not give up if you are discouraged by the pressure of society or because something didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. Keep experimenting with different things and see what works well for you. There will always be more time to find what you like about yourself and to discover how to enhance those features. Do not hide behind your makeup, thrive in it. Do not use it as a coping mechanism if you have issues with

SN’T COME IN EIGHT T SHADES BY KASSIDY NEELY

confidence and loving yourself. Love your face, and love you. Then use makeup to enhance that and to have fun with it and expand your horizons. There are millions of looks that you could pull off, which results in millions of ways for you to think “damn, I’m cute”. Do not apply your confidence with a concealer brush. You have to find it within yourself and your being, and once you do, it will make a world of a difference. You can not find self love inside of a forty-dollar foundation. I never really thought my naked face was as beautiful as it was when I had makeup applied. I’ve reached a point, though, where I like wearing no makeup more than wearing it, which is preference of course, but it helped me realize that my beauty was never the cosmetics itself, my beauty was always my face. Me. I am beautiful, not my contour. Tell yourself this! Do not be fooled by standards and opinions. Embrace yourself, because that is all you truly have. Confidence does not come in eight different shades.

INDIVIDUAL BY BRENDA MARIE

You start off with everyone by your side You start off with everything handed to you You start off with the world being easy on you Years pass by many people left your life Things become harder to reach towards Reality kicks in and there’s no help given Eventually you wake up one day and realize You stand alone, no one cares anymore We are all trying to survive to be the fittest When’s the last time you had a helping hand? Why’s that? Because that’s the way it goes You may want to feel, but won’t know how

You lost interest because everyone else lost it You’ve been forgotten, pushed under the rug Where is the trust you once had for some It left along with everything and everyone else You’re hurt and want comfort, no one cares At the end you will stand alone with not a soul Wondering why the people you once cared for Left without a word, not even a good bye You’re on your own, time to wake up and realize Everyone is worried about them self now You’re grown now and scared of the world You have every reason to cause it’s not easy You have to struggle through many obstacles You have tension all over your body and mind You’re stressed and freaking out over it all You’re lost...all because your all alone These are suppose to be lessons for you But why do they cause sorrow on our hearts Sometimes you want it all to end already You see no purpose in living a hell hole Is this a joke? I wish. It only gets worse You living by a system, what they want for you You think you’re choosing your life style?

You’re wrong. You’re not actually a free man You’re trapped in your own damn body. You don’t get to decide how you wanna live Unless you break the rules, do things your way Stop living inside the box, step outside of it Live a little, don’t means do, stop means go No means yes and so forth, you get the idea. You’re letting them control you. It’s them! They want to see you fail, they want that! You don’t need to be scared, you need to be brav Fight your own battles, stand Independent, stand individual, Step out of your comfort zone and just leave Escape everything and be wild, be free Do it for you, do it for everyone else who can’t Do it because you don’t have much time left Life for us doesn’t last an eternity, it will end Time to let ourselves go, explore, go crazy For once do something you want to do That’s the real pursuit of happiness You may stand alone but you will stand happy You will have your pride, your dignity, faith. You’ll have you and that’s all you need is YOU.

FREEMAN AND SULLIVAN BY MAGGIE LAVENGOOD

The Freeman and Sullivan website is a haven for anyone who feels that navigating their way around the fashion industry is an impossibly difficult and expensive endeavor. It’s three co-founders, Moira Sullivan, Brittany Freeman and Courtney Freeman are depicted on the side in a wonderfully elongated sketch, the same sort that are often found on fashion designer’s desks. The sketch shows the three girls with Amazon-like forms, with blank faces that are quite unlike their real life visages. Although I never got the chance to meet them in person, one quick scroll down any of their beautifully coordinated Instagrams makes it clear that they are three women are phenomenally full of life, creativity, and inspiration. Despite their burgeoning fashion success, the girls are just normal 20 and 21 year-olds (albeit extremely stylish ones). They describe themselves as avid concert goers and travelers, and Moria jokingly refers to herself as a “known avocado enthusiast.” They met and bonded over a mutual love of music and style and a shared goal of innovating themselves and the way fashion is seen. Freeman and Sullivan was born as a way to cultivate a style that is individual and affordable. “A lot of fashion blogs feature outfits that an average person cannot buy because they do not have the money,” Brittany says. “We wanted to make a fashion blog that was affordable for a normal teenager.” The individuality of the Freeman and Sullivan blog grew from the inherent individuality of its creators. “When you are completely yourself and putting your all into whatever content you are producing, there is no room to sit and worry about it standing out,” Sullivan says. “Being 100 percent yourself makes everything you produce new . There is not another mind exactly like your own anywhere else in the universe.” Courtney adds that there is an innate remarkableness in a blog run by three people, meaning that three opinions and tastes converge in a triply unique result. The trio have begun making a fresh sort of

noise in the industry with their cleverly styled outfits and cheeky self-designed tees. The Freeman and Sullivan shop currently boasts six items, with fan favorites including the “EMPOWERED WOMEN EMPOWER WOMEN” tee (now on it’s second run) and a sassy white baseball cap that reads ‘in your dreams’ in an ornate grey font. The graphic tees were created as a result of the struggles and passions experienced by the designers and are intended to make a bold and truthful statement before the wearer even opens their mouth. “My friend wore the shirt on a date and she said it brought up a really amazing conversation about feminism,” Sullivan says. “It’s amazing and overwhelming how many positive and progressive people there are out there. It all starts within ourselves before we can all come together as one.”

Although the text that adorns their clothes deals with quite serious subject matter, the designers are not afraid to play around with them. Their photoshoots heavily feature starshaped glitter, confetti, and balloons. “The pictures are fun and carefree and that is what we want our shop to emulate. We want people to feel confident and badass in our clothing and have that feeling translate into everything they wear down the line,” the bloggers say proudly. Sullivan, Brittany and Courtney’s feminism resonates in more than just their coveted threads. The sexist view of fashion often taken by the public angers the three of them into much-needed and honest protests. “I also think the notion of fashion being a “women’s industry” is the same reason it is not taken seriously and seen as frivolous.” Moira states. She cites the “blue sweater scene” in the fashionista-favorite “The Devil Wears Pra-

da,” in which gawky intern Andrea laughs at two blue belts being deliberated and claims they look exactly alike. In response to her degradation of the industry, fictional Vogue editor-in-chief. Miranda replies, “That blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs, and it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room from a pile of stuff.” Both Miranda and Sullivan have valid points. Fashion is an industry of interconnectedness. It is integrated into every aspect of our lives, whether we notice it or not. And yet it’s focus on external appearance and “vanity” have marked it as a woman’s game, a label that comes with a negative connotation. Courtney chimes in with an objection to not just the industry’s lack of gender inclusion and the subsequent trademark of assumed

vapidness, but their lack of representation.

it used to be.

“There are so many women that are not represented in the industry as well,” she says. “Ethnicity, gender and body type are a bunch of problems that the industry needs to improve on.”

Brittany categorizes today’s trends as “tame” and those of the late 20th century as “riskier”. Courtney sees the revival of these styles in today’s fashion as symptoms of a business stuck in a rut, but quickly adds that she thinks the “modernizing of these trends represents innovation in it’s own right.”With an air of positivity, Moira says that it’s up to us to mold fashion into whatever we want.

This statement has been echoing around the industry for years now, and for good reason. In 2015, only 27 of 136 major U.S publications featured covers with models of color. At New York Fashion WeeK, only four percent. of the showing designers were African American, a statistic that is mirrored by African American representation in the Council of Fashion Designers in America, which is a little less thanthree percent. These bleak statistics paint an ugly picture of fashion’s past and stir up worries of an equally problematic future. But the three founders of Freeman and Sullivan are dedicated to discussing this in their blog, right alongside their weekly fashion coverage. Opening up a conversation about social and environmental issues and their relation to fashion is prominent in their picture of the future. “We as consumers have all of the power in the world to not buy into unethical companies and brands,”the bloggers say of their dreams to change the industry’s dependence on unjust practices. “Where our clothes come from, how and by who they were made, and sustainability is extremely important. By talking about this, it adds to fashion and brings a new level of consciousness to the way we shop.” Beyond the importance of their social goals, the girls are determined to create a new perspective in fashion. Moira aspires to destroy the seriousness that has been creating walls within the industry and replace them with more room for creative expression. “Have fun and be you, damn it,” she says. “There are no rules.” This freewheeling creativity and artistry seems to be devoid from today’s fashion climate. The plague of the industry’s decline becomes most evident in the girls’ comparisons to how

“We as the people have the power over who and what gets paid attention to,” she says. “We need to focus more on liberating and promoting the brands and designers that we do love, and stop bringing more light to names that get enough attention.” The distinction of Sullivan, Brittany and Courtney’s philosophies on the industry is echoed in their evolutions of personal style. When I asked them what they think creates style they each discussed the transience of the entire concept and how heavily the notion of a fashion identity grows as you do. “Time [creates style],” Sullivan says. “Experiences and evolving as a human takes a toll on everything around you. We all have an innate style, but it grows and expands just as we do.” “I think style comes from what ever you are comfortable wearing. Your style is not a permanent thing,” Courtney agrees.“Each individual creates style. There are no two people that have the same style,” Brittany says. Although there are similarities in the looks expressed in the pristine photos on their blog, the three girls attribute a wide range of moments as those that sparked their fashion interest. When asked what their favorite memories in fashion history were, they each provided me with very different answers. “When Kate Moss lit up a cigarette at the Louis Vuitton show during Paris Fashion Week,” Sullivan offers excitedly. She also adds Lil

Kim’s one boob onesie at the 1999 VMA’s as an iconic fashion memory, describing in in appropriate succinctness as “class.” Courtney and Brittany are slightly more pragmatic in their responses. Courtney heralds the McQueen A/W 2010 show as the catalyst that made her go head over heels for fashion. “It was the first fashion show I ever watched and, quite frankly, it has been and probably will be the best fashion show I’ve ever watched,” she says. Brittany lists celebrities as her fashion inspirations, mentioning Cara Delevingne’s equally awe-inspiring and laid-back outfit at the 2014 Met Gala as an important moment. “I remember being stunned at how good she looked just by wearing pants and a crop top,” she says. “That is when I realized that you do not have to fully dress up to impress.”

As the summer months creep slowly closer, the prospect of dressing up to impress seems more and more unmanageable. The impending heat is already making me consider the copious amounts of wool in my closet as a death sentence as far as my dressing well is concerned. To end our conversation, I asked the girls what pieces they rely on to get them through the swelter. Courtney and Brittany claim bodysuits as their holy grails, due to their versatility. Sullivan proclaims her love for a good hat in the spring and summer. And as you scroll through their blog in the future, count on happening upon a few bodysuit features and at least one good hat.

NYREE G WATERS BY KAYCIE SAXTON

I know that sometimes this question doesn’t truly have an answer, but why did you become an artist? What helped you recognize that art is what you wanted to do? I don’t know if I became an artist or just started calling myself one to see what it sounded like, and people just sort of believed me. You don’t need to pass a test to be able to call yourself an artist. Anything can be art and anybody can be an artist, but it’s still really just a word I’m trying out to see if it fits. I’m seeing what it feels like and if I like it I might keep it. I got told off once in school for giving my friends pen tattoos under the tables when we were supposed to be listening I remember thinking this would be a cool job. I think I’ve just always loved and understood making art. Whether I call myself an artist or not, and whether I make money or not, it’s not something I can give up or ignore. The need to create is always going to be there inside me, haunting me like a friendly ghost Collage seems to be your main focus, what draws you to collage? I have a short attention span and can’t sit still for long, so I think my work and the

mediums I’m drawn to reflect this. I prefer to work quickly and intuitively. This is why I love collage. I don’t have to be precious about making mistakes because I can play around with shapes before I glue anything down. Even after I do, days or weeks or months can pass and I can find a collage I’d forgotten about and I can still add to it. I think a lot of my collages are actually covering up old ones that I didn’t like. With collage, I can instantly see what’s happening and move things around accordingly, cover bits up and scribble on top of layers. I don’t have to wait to see how it turns out. I like the quickness, freedom and spontaneity of it. I never plan a collage, or think too much while I’m doing it either. I like to just see where it goes. The whole process, from choosing bits of material to work with to the composition of each element on a surface, is all considered, but in an instinctive way, and I think this means the result is always completely personal to me. You can give a group of people the exact same cut out components and ask each of them to lay them on an identical page however they like, and you will get a set

of very different images each time. I like that the outcome is never the same. I think I like the challenge of trying to bring different elements together to find a way that makes them all work as one whole in an image. What are your favorite materials to work with? I think collage is the process I’ve become most comfortable with. I understand the way I work with it now, so it tends to come naturally and I don’t have to think about it. I have been playing with ceramics because clay is a lovely material to work with. I took a little pottery course recently and got so much joy out of it. There was just something about learning a new material for the first time. Working with clay and using my hands felt so exciting. It makes me feel like a kid. The times when I get most excited about being able to make things are when I can get dirty. I like being covered in paint, I like making a mess. I don’t enjoy staring at a fucking computer screen for a whole day. I’d rather be outside. The fun bit for me is the real life making: getting your body to create things with actual movements and feeling the material you’re working with, understanding it with your hands and then standing back and looking at what you’ve created that didn’t exist until you made it exist. I really loved playing with textiles last year while I was still at college. I was trying to translate my process of collage into materials other than paper. I printed onto thin fabrics and layered them to overlay abstract shapes, like I would do with pa-

per. they had a really nice transparency to them, so the shapes merge together but the layers give some depth. I’m working on more pieces like these! What is your creative process like? Probably a bit erratic. It depends on how I’m feeling that day. When I was in a studio, I would spend some days messing about, drinking cups of tea and complaining about not making anything. Other days I would put my headphones in and make more work in a day that I had done in weeks put together. I really value the company of other creative people when I’m working. I think certain people can have a massive impact on your creative process, if you find somebody who can challenge and inspire you. Sometimes all it takes is hearing other people’s perspectives, ideas and opinions to shift you out of your own

head, to help clarify your idea or give you acompletely new one. Now, I’ve set up a temporary studio in the spare room at home, where it’s just me. That environment has changed my process. With nobody to vibe off of or ask for advice, you just have to trust your own eye and get on with it. Sometimes I can be quite private when I’m still working on something. Other times I really enjoy discussing ideas. At the end of the day when your work is an extension of yourself, or contains bits of your heart or mind, it can be an uncomfortable in the early stages of letting go and letting other people see it ‘unfinished’. I’m happier with the results, when I think less and just get on with it. Overthinking leads to overworking and then it seems to lose it’s appeal.

What is your experience being an artist in this day and age? What difficulties do you face? It feels too obvious to even mention, but the internet is still a relatively new phenomenon and it’s become such a massive part of every aspect of our culture now that our generation can barely remember life without it. One of the best and worst things about it, as a person who makes things and shares them online, is how easy it is to do this with the internet. It’s easy to find tutorials for making anything you can imagine, and it’s easy to share what you’ve made. It’s mad to think that something you’ve made in your bedroom can potentially reach hundreds/thousands of people all over the world, in seconds. In a lot of ways, I’d say art is more accessible now than it ever has been, which is a wonderful thing. With so many people sharing so many images constantly, I do think it can be hard to make sense of it all. Sometimes I feel my brain is so over-saturated with images I’m not actually looking at them propery

anymore, which is shit! I see other people doing it too: taking in enough of an image within two seconds to warrant them “liking” it and immediately scrolling infinitely downwards. As an artist on instagram, you’d be forgiven for feeling like you’re a tiny dot in a big ocean because it’s massive and constantly in a state of flux. Even if your work is being looked at, it might not be seen with as much attention and consideration as you’d hope for. Even though I think sharing what you’ve made is an important part of the whole process, the primary focus should be on actually making the things in the first place. Sharing it all is secondary, and it can actually distract you from making in the first place. Another challenge for artists is maintaining ownership of their work. Once you share your work anywhere, you have little control over what people choose to do with it. On the internet, some people will reblog images without crediting the artist, other’s will explicitly steal work and claim it as their own without the likelihood of the artist finding out because the internet is so big. Sometimes it happens on a much bigger scale, with huge brands like Urban Outfitters and Topman ripping off emerging artists by copying and mass producing their work. This isn’t something I’ve experienced myself with my own work, but it frustrates me enough to see it happen to other people because I understand what goes into the process of making things. When you put your time and soul into something, it’s demoralizing for someone to take it without asking, or skip the whole process and just copy the finished result, which is something that benefits nobody. I don’t see any value in copying something that already exists - it’s something

you do in school when you’ve got no ideas and your homework’s due tomorrow. It’s lazy and boring, and there’s no excuse. If you’re heart’s not in it, I think you’re better off not bothering at all. Which of your own pieces is your favorite and why? My favourite in terms of how proud I was of the end result was probably my degree show. I didn’t really know what I was doing at the time, but in retrospect, I feel like I made something that represented me as a person and an artist. I was honest. It was both messy and considered, and overall I felt like it was balanced. I didn’t try to make it for anyone else, it was just very personal. I really enjoyed making the block collages. They were a nice escape from the panic of trying to do loads of things at once. I think I found comfort in the ease of the collage process and so I could just relax while I was making those. My favorite, in terms of how valuable I found the process of making it, was a book I made after my nan died. I was in my third year of my degree, and everything else I made at the time felt completely hollow and pointless. It helped me document everything: her stories, the thoughts that kept me up at night and all the grief. at the time it was the cathartic outlet that I needed. Now, when I look through it years later with the clarity that time brings to grief, I can understand the magnitude of what we were dealing

with as a family. And it’s all there in a little book. I read that some of your work pulls directly from journals, but what else inspires you? Real life, memories, people, old photographs, conversations, going to galleries, listening to music. going swimming. All the things that I’d end up writing about in a journal. Life, really. Are there any artists you look up to or admire? Of course! Damien Tran, Nick White, Noah Harmon, David Shrigley, Tom Duimstra, Kaye Blegvad, George Fouglas, Ceri Amphlett, Elin Lisabeth, Gwion Christmas, Mara Caffarone and Klara Grancicova. What goals do you have for yourself as an artist? I want to do so many things! and so many things that have nothing to do with being an artist, and yet everything to do with it. I want explore all the bits of the world I’ve never seen, make mistakes, see/hear/do/smell/taste/ things that make me fall in love with the world over and over again and never get bored with it. I want to write, make art and make music. I think all those things are so closely wrapped up in one another. I can’t imagine living without making, and I can’t imagine feeling the need to make any-

thing without living first. I think making things is my way of processing everything. My goal is just to get as much as I can out of being alive while I am, and never stop making. Are there other types of art you haven’t explored that you might try? Martial arts. Are there any symbols in your work? Is there any meaning behind that or just personal preference? There’s no secret meaning behind what I draw. I’ve never given it any thought until now, but I think I just have a thing about filling space. The symbols I use are purely functional. If a page feels too white or too empty, I find lines and dots tend to be a gentler, more subtle way of occupying a space than with block colour or a dense shape.

sam faz BY CLAIRE TORAK PHOTOS BY MADISON ALLSHOUSE

At the age of 19, it’s rare for someone to know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their life, let alone to actually be doing it. While the rest of the world’s teenagers are surrounded by uncertainty and angst, Sam Fazz stands out as an anomaly against them. Even though Fazz experiences the pain of growing up, she gets to share her journey with thousands of people each and every day. Fazz took advantage of the internet and turned it into a platform to share her passion with her viewers, 47,000 of them to be exact, on her YouTube Channel. Since then, she’s acquired hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube alike. “I wanted to start a YouTube channel for a really long time, but I was too scared to do it by myself,” Fazz admits. “I was on a road trip with Orion Carloto to Nashville, and she was the same way. We just started it for fun. We didn’t really have a lot of friends or get to go out much so it was our form of entertainment.”

Recently graduated from high school, Fazz has grown a lot through her channel. Pushing her to explore life outside of her comfort zone, she believes that she’s better because of the cyberbullies and backlash that accompany an internet career. “It forced me to develop a really strong sense of self so that you don’t take others’ views, negative or positive, as your own,” she says. “I had to learn how to really be tough and not care what anyone thought of me.” Not only has Fazz matured since starting YouTube, she continues to grow and learn from her mistakes. “I surround myself by people who are very strong and and that have a sense of individuality,” she explains. “Growing up, I wasn’t doing that. I felt like I had to compete with my friends in order to be an equal to them. It’s so important to realize that other people’s opinions of you are their business and not yours.” Fazz took the confidence she developed and projected that to her view-

ers, encouraging them to love themselves and do so proudly. “I want them to be okay with who they are and to just let their freak flags fly, I guess,” Fazz says. “There’s no one set way of life, and it’s important for them to have bravery.” Her main channel serves as an outlet for her to manifest her ideas and truly be herself. “When I made my separate channel, I wanted to have a place where I could document different aspects of myself,” she says. “It’s a place where I can express every side of myself.” In a society marked by content creators who often put up a front to gain more success, Fazz’s genuity allows her to differentiate herself from the rest of the internet community. “I don’t think I need to be any different than I am in real life. What you see is what you get,” she says. “I want to impact these viewers’ lives in a certain way, and that what I’m doing is showing something in a positive light. I don’t want to just mindlessly make things.” While the only person Fazz can credit her success and self-assurance to is herself, having a strong system of support motivates her to challenge herself and the content she shares. “Being around other people that are so sure of themselves and what they’re making inspires me to do the best that I possibly can for myself and for my content,” she admits. After just three years, what started as harmless fun blossomed into a world of opportunity. Now, Fazz is using her platform to pursue her true passion: fashion. Even as a young girl, fashion was always an important part of her every-day life. “My mom has a video of me trying on all of these sunglasses of scarves saying, ‘Mom do you like this?’” Fazz admits. Since then, her

love for fashion evolved into something that wasn’t just for fun. “I realized that there are so many people out there that are good at it and do make it their lives,” she says. “That’s when I decided that fashion was what I wanted to do.” Now, Fazz views fashion as multi-dimensional way of self expression. Citing inspirations such as Lady Gaga and Alexa Chung, fashion is an art form to Fazz. “Lady Gaga really inspires me because she’s just so cool, she says. “Everything she wears has a story behind it.”

As a multi-faceted creator, Fazz isn’t stopping at just fashion. She’s spreading her talent and voice beyond the lens of her camera and onto the silver screen. “I’ve loved acting since I was in fourth grade,” she shares. From that point forward, her love for playing different roles remains prominent aspect of her life. “I did a play three years ago and I was an orphan, but I was a teenager. That character really made me think about how hard it must be growing up like that,” she confesses. “It really shook me inside. Since that’s happened, it’s made me want to adopt a teenager when I’m older because I feel like they’re at such a different place.”

On top of her YouTube channel, her unique fashion sense and her love for acting, Fazz also pursues creativity through dance. Dance allows her to reach an even wider audience because she was able to teach young girls. “I still love dance and I dance on my own time,” she says. “It wasn’t about technique or how great they were, it was about letting them love dancing. If you don’t have passion in your life, then it’s not going to be as fulfilling, and seeing these little girls look up to me and to know that I was inspiring them.” With such an impressive resume, Fazz has the world at her fingertips. “I just want to do what makes me happy,” she says. With a drive like hers, she won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

LAUREN TEPFER BY MAGGIE LAVENGOOD

PHOTOS BY LAUREN TEPFER

As we bury ourselves further and further into the digital age, social media becomes a more significant facet in mainstream society. With Instagram and Twitter taking up space on more than 400 million phones worldwide, it becomes difficult to imagine that there could be those that still manage to bring something new to these spaces. Enter Lauren Tepfer. She has nearly ten thousand followers on her Instagram (@s. ilver), where she posts her duskily dreamlike images. Based in New Jersey and only 16 years old, she has already placed contributions to Rookie Mag, a collaboration with Teen Art Salon, and features in Paper Magazine and Sad Girl Magazine on her resume. Although her photos may have gotten their online kudos for their soft-hued aesthetic, her sincere portrayal of suburban New Jersey and teenage friendships speaks volumes outside of simple stylistic pleasure.

Despite all of the perks of being an artist online, there are those who wrongfully assume that internet-based art is automatically more vapid than it’s “real world” counterparts. Tepfer is quick to dismiss these comments that mark some art as ‘tumblr’ and meaningless. “Since when did ‘Tumblr’ become an adjective?” she asks. “Whenever someone, especially young females, begin to create something and share it, they are immediately labeled as ‘trying too hard’ or ‘wanting to be something they’re not,’ which is so frustrating.” As someone creating online, the place where new trends multiply by the minute, she argues that it’s perfectly okay to be influenced by what is trendy. Her art may have been born on the internet, but Tepfer enthusiastically claims that her largest inspirations are the artists she’s discovered offline, such as Petra Collins, Milly Cope, Tamara Lichtenstein, and Paolo Raeli. That doesn’t discredit the relationships she’s formed online- such as that with fashion blogger Moira Sullivan who she cites as an incredible influence. Her inspiration goes beyond her photography peers, and much of it comes from people, music, cinema, and writers. Although her muses pulled her into the art world, Tepfer doesn’t let them trample on her own distinct style. “I approach each of my photos with a certain vision, an idea that I’m going to create some kind of alternate universe.”

The carefully crafted universes that exists within Lauren’s pastel pictures have a certain cinematography to them, as if they were stopped in the middle of a movie scene a la Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills. That is not without purpose. Each photo seems to have a deep and interesting backstory- one that Lauren hopes she might be able to expand on through film. She is currently enrolled in a cinematography course at the University of Arts in Philadelphia, where she is developing her ability to play with other mediums. Tepfer aims to use her photography skills in unison with the skills she is cultivating in other mediums. For the rest of her career, she wants to continue to experiment. It’s a crucial goal for someone who began so early, and has such a long path ahead of her. “It’s all so crazy! Becoming ‘successful’ at a young age is so confusing, at least for me,” she says. “I feel like most artists spend most of their life struggling to achieve some kind of exposure, and for me, that really wasn’t the case. I feel like I’ve cheated the system!” Tepfer doesn’t plan on being content with where she is. The teenager views her current surroundings as a start, but she sees nothing but room to grow, learn, and improve in her career- and in life. “My overall goal is to be at a place in my life where I am truly happy and accepting of who I am. I hope to be able to practice and share the gift of art with the world for as long as possible. I know that I will continue to grow, continue to learn, and continue to improve for as long as I live.”

JUSTINE DIAZ BY BAILEY DREW ART BY JUSTINE DIAZ

At what age did you begin expressing yourself through creativity? I started doodling when I was in kindergarten and then eventually started drawing and painting as I grew older. I didn’t really think anything of it, I just thought of art as a hobby. It wasn’t until the end of middle school/freshman year of high school that I began to take my art seriously and decide that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Did you have any people influence your creativity growing up? I didn’t really have any specific influences on my art while growing up. I just knew that I loved to create and wanted to draw and paint all the time. Although, there was a show I used to watch religiously called “Art Attack” and it really inspired me to develop imaginative and innovative ideas. I loved watching the host create projects in all sorts of media, and I would try to make some of them on my own when I had the chance. Unfortunately, I’m really terrible at making anything other than two-dimensional art, hence why all the art you see on my Instagram is pretty much done on paper or canvas. Where do you find inspiration for your art? For my illustrations, my inspiration is

based on my interests, which is pop culture. So the bands I listen to, celebrities I look up to, the movies/TV shows I watch, etc. all play some sort of role in my art. What do you hope to accomplish through your art? The art I post online doesn’t really have any meaning. I usually do things just because. As of right now, I don’t think any of my work would actually have any influence over people. What role do you feel as an artist you play in society? Since I’m in school to become an illustrator, I learned how to use my creative skills to communicate a message, story or idea. My personal work isn’t really conceptual since I focus on portraiture, but I do create work that is based on current events, politics and mainstream media. How has your practice changed over time? Has your art always looked the way it has? People and portraiture have always been my thing. I started out drawing fictional characters using Sharpie fineliners in the eighth grade to doing paintings on canvases that are almost as tall as me. I love using people as my main subject because it’s what I’m best at, and I like narrating their per-

ure out a new possibility for my future. Doing portrait paintings as a living would also be nice. I’m just afraid it might not be the most stable career choice, but it’s a thought. I’m the most indecisive person ever, so I honestly don’t have my mind set on anything specific, but I do know that I want to do something where my creativity won’t be restricted and I’ll enjoy making art everyday. What do you like and dislike about your art?

sonality through my work. What artists do you look up to, and why? Jen Mann and Petra Collins graduated from my school, and seeing how extremely talented and established they both are motivates me to keep on creating and improve as an artist. I love how their work tells different stories and how they are able to captivate their audience with their portraiture. I honestly hope to be at least half as talented as they are someday. Professionally, what’s your goal? Since I love both music and art, I’d love to design things like CD covers and merch for bands. Another goal of mine is to work for companies like Buzzfeed, Nylon or Refinery29 and create editorial illustrations. I currently work with Tote Magazine as a contributing illustrator to create graphics accompanying their posts and articles, so I feel like this really helped me fig-

I discovered my own personal style and what exactly I want my main focus to be just over a year ago. I really like that my art combines both flat and realistic elements, especially in my portraiture. When I did my first portrait, I put so much effort into the head and neck that I realized I didn’t have enough time to finish the shirt, so I ended up just using solid colours and flat shapes in the shape of a top,

and I surprisingly loved how it turned out. I’ve been doing all my paintings like this ever since - it’s sort of a combination of quirky and formal. I’m a huge perfectionist, and I tend to critique myself quite harshly whenever I finish making a new piece. I always think there’s something wrong with certain areas, and I constantly feel the need to fix it when in reality, it’s just fine. What sparks your interest and how do you go about turning that idea into reality? I either take my own reference photos or search them up on Google if I don’t have access to whatever it is that I need. I usually have a stack of blank canvases or illustration board in my room ready to use, so I study the photo and think about what size would be appropriate for it. Almost all of my portraits have some sort of object

or motif incorporated into it. I’ll start out with a normal painting of the person, and for whatever reason, I always think it looks empty and incomplete, so as I’m painting I’ll think about what I want to add to give the person some character and tie the whole piece together. What can we look forward to regarding your upcoming projects? I have a series titled “Picture Day” where I paint portraits in the style of awkward school pictures. So far I’ve only done two, and both are self-portraits just because I can easily take a bunch of reference photos of myself and get started right away. I’m actually hoping to start and finish at least five more within the next few months, but this time I’m using a bunch of my closest friends as models. I already have an idea of how I want each one look and I’m really excited to see how they all turn out.

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