sometimes you

sometimes you the exploration of the conscious and the subconscious mind

If our subconscious were attractive, we would not have to bury it down deep within us Doug Douglas Coupland

Masthead

sometimes you 2011

By AMFI

Issue No 1 Price The Netherlands and Belgium €15

sometimes you

sometimes you the exploration of the conscious and the subconscious mind

Issue Nº1 Spring & Sumemr 2011

Editor in Chief Therése Östelius Art Director Shannon Jager Visual Manager Lindsey Watson Editor Anouk van der Laan

Editor Vita van Casteren Text & Design Editors Shannon Jager & Therése Östelius Printer Sil’s drukwerk, Amsterdam

On the cover & back cover Headpiece by Bibi van der Velden, armpiece used as breastpin by Roparosa and a blouse from Filippa K. Photographer: Jasper Abels. Model: Leontine

Editorial Note

Sometimes you feel you are a part of different worlds­— in the mindful and awake or the imaginative and hidden. sometimes you is the exploration of the conscious and the subconscious mind. sometimes you takes you on a journey through the latent state of mind.

Combining art, fashion and culture—sometimes you speaks to a generation who is willing to discover contemporary culture beyond the ordinary.

In this very first issue, we embrace the unknown to explore the hidden emotions within all of us. Starting in your deep subconscious, traveling in gradient towards a more conscious being.

Contents

Into the Unknown Unknown Fashion Windows text by Hanne Lippard Escapism – photography by Gemma Warren Commodity Fetish text by Ivania Carpio van Osch Designing in the unfamiliar interview with Iris Kloppenburg Creative Mind: Esteban Berrios – Juxtapositions Exquisite Fashion

10–19 20–21 22–23 24–25 26–27 28–31 32–33

Far From Inbetween 36–45 46–47 48–49 50–51 52–55 56–57 58–60 62–63

Inbetween Fashion Don’t Blame Your Last Name text by Vita van Casteren Somewhere Inside collage by Maurits de Bruijn Playing the Part text by Imme Visser False Awakening photography by Therése Östelius Spheres of Influence interview with Peter Leferink Creative Mind: Cora Hamilton – Accidental Beauty Exquisite Fashion

Almost Awake 66–73 74–77 78–79

80 –81 82–85 86–87

Awake Fashion Loud but Never Square text by Rustan Söderling Living in the Void documentation by Suzanne van Heerde Above the Surface text by Lindsey Watson Creative Mind: Mandy Sharabani – Thoughtful Design Exquisite Fashion

sometimes you

sometimes you step into the unknown, an unexplored territory where you confront your inner struggle

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Into the Unknown

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sometimes you

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wear a dress by COS, trousers by American Apparel and shoes by FIlippa K

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sometimes you wear trousers by Dior, a top by Weekday and shoes by MargAret Howell wear a jacket by Individuals

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sometimes you wear a shirt backwards by ACNE

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sometimes you wear trousers by Acne and a jacket by MARC BY MARC JACOBS

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sometimes you

Photography: Sanja Marusic Styling & Art direction: Therese Ă–stelius Shoot Assistant: Shannon Jager Model: Simone de Rijk Hair & Make-up: Elyse Moland

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Windows

By Hanne Lippard

Hanne takes us into the mind of a girl, exploring the feelings hidden deep inside all of us.

She gets off the metro, exits the station and starts walking up the steep road that leads the way towards the grand church on top of the hill. The streets are filled with deranged tourists, which seem to walk all over the streets as if they were all born on this very day and are first now getting used to the concept of roads. Nothing leads to Rome. She regrets having chosen this road herself, but in her mind it was the easiest. Far from it is the truth. When she reaches the corner of another street a man wavers at her, 30cm from her nose, asking her if she speaks English. She answers by shaking her head, but as she shakes she does not actually remember what language she actually speaks. He holds up a map, points fingers all over it, all ten at once, leaving fat stains on different locations worth seeing. People always ask her for directions. She does not even know her own sense of direction. In a helpless way of disapproval he folds his chubby small arms into a cross and lets out a grunt. Its is first now that she realises how small this man is. The cross he has made is very small and awkward. He could fit into the trunk of a car without bending his knees. She imagines how he could travel the whole world this way, by sneaking into random peoples cars when people would be paying their parking tickets with their back to the car. He might not ever have thought about this opportunity. These are only her thoughts. She would have done it, but she is too tall.

She always has to bend her knees when travelling. Planes and trains crunch her up. She has an unusual height for a girl, they say. People say a lot of things that make no impact on the development of mankind.

Fifteen billion words are wasted every day on nonsense. You can never say the same about silence.

He says the word English again, in the tone of a question. She shakes her head three times, twice to the right and once to the left. Today she does not speak any language that anyone would understand. No fingers, no arms, no grunts, no sounds or gestures, except for this single gesture of refusal. No understanding for the streets, and only the sound of her pulse keeps her from being completely mute. She puts her blonde hair in a rubber band so that it is less noticeable and turns her head eighty-five degrees around the turn of the corner. She walks down a side street in a completely different direction. Here nobody is looking at her, or throwing words at her face. She can let herself go again, walk on through without having to understand any languages. She gets into the metro again, to get back to where she came from.

The metro is full of people all wanting to go home, in the direction back to where she came from... She looks at the translucent reflection of herself draping the buildings. She wears black today, from head to toe. It is not a consequent choice, but she assumes that maybe others might think so. That they might think that she is “difficult” or “angry”.

She has heard these words around her before. People think that one does not hear when her eyes are looking into another direction, but one hears with ones ears, and ears are closer to the truth then one thinks. Looking out of the window she shifts between these two ways of seeing, and at some point loses perspective on if she in fact is outside or inside of the train. Being in between like this, she feels like she belongs nowhere. It gives her some comfort to feel like this. A liquid silhouette, easily unnoticed, moving at the speed of a train. It feels very good to feel like this. Transparency after a long day with little rest. The days, they come. More often than never. She likes to think of time as boxes of content. She likes to think that now is a box which has no particular size, but at some point it will close it self and be put on the shelf with the past boxes. There are boxes with cities, with rooms, with conversations, with lovers. The boxes have before and after within them, but that doesn’t become evident before it is closed. She very much likes the now. She dislikes thinking about tomorrow, and she tries not to linger too much on the boxes on the shelves that are behind her, leaning against the wall. She likes to keep most of them sealed and out of sight. But of course, sometimes, they leak.

sometimes you

There are boxes with cities, with rooms, with lovers

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The boxes have before and after within them, but that doesn’t become evident before it is closed.

She very much likes the now. She dislikes thinking about tomorrow, and she tries not to linger too much on the boxes on the shelves that are behind her.

She likes to keep some of them sealed. But of course, sometimes, they leak.

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sometimes you admire photographs taken by GEMMA WARREN

Escapism

PhotogrApher

Gemma Warren

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Commodity Fetish

By Ivania Carpio van Osch

Ivania gives us an inner dialogue from a female perspective about the decision behind buying a pair of

sometimes you

tights.

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Her eyes glide across the shelves crammed with small plastic packages with promises inside. She scans the mannequin legs hanging from the ceiling showing off sheer thigh highs. Left and right in the narrow alleys of the hosiery section women are fixated by the almost sexual images on the products.

Sexual images without a face. Legs sitting on a bed with messed up sheets on which you can imagine what happened previously, flawless naked bodies wearing nothing but the tights. And even the more conservative ads of businesswomen in pencil skirts have a restricted fetish undertone. By looking at them you can almost hear the clicking of stilettos on a marble floor and the sound of the nylon covered thighs rubbing against each other underneath that tight pencil skirt.

In one of the alleys a woman in her mid-40’s is nervously unpacking one of the pantyhose while keeping her eyes on the salesperson and hiding behind the racks and plastic mannequin legs. Then walks over to a mirror and holds the pantyhose, that look more like two thin ribbons, in front of her thick leg.

She squeezes her eyes a bit while looking at her reflection, visualizing her soon to be new look.

Our girl is opting for a thin yet athletic pair of legs for this spring. The Wolford section promises her this with a Parisian fantasy. The black back seem on the nude sheer pantyhose are held by two delicate hands illustrated in 1960’s Parisian Vogue style. Worn by surreal long legs of the model that are effortlessly crossed over one another like a pair of

scissors. By possessing these she would be able to wear that dress, those shorts, and heck even that thong bodysuit from the picture on the package.

None other than the visual master himself, Helmut Newton could of have contributed more to this luxe, flawless and almost porno chic message of Wolford. He shot their campaign during the late 90’s in which a short haired model is seen looking over the ocean, camera hung around her shoulder, hand in her side and wearing nothing but a pair of white Wolford pantyhose. It looks like she is about to do great things.

And that added coveted subjective values like power, sex and freedom to the product.

Without admitting it to herself, a quiet battle inside of her starts. But her fetish for all things fashion wins it every time. She convinces herself that this is a much needed basic that will make her gigantic collection of clothes wearable. Today’s purchase, as every other days, justifies all her earlier bad bargains. If she doesn’t indulge in this short lasting obsession she will

have nothing to wear tomorrow. She snatches the pantyhose out of the racks and hurries to the counter. A tiny voice, her reasonable self, tells her that this purchase is driven by completely irrational reasons, that there is still a way out of all this; turning around and putting the plastic

Legs sitting on a bed with messed up sheets on which you can imagine what happenedpreviously, flawless naked bodies wearing nothing but the tights package back on the shelf. Joins in on the queue of women that are waiting to spend their money.

But one glance at the beautiful fashion dream makes her even more persistent. These tights are more crucial than the air she breathes. And this dominating thought pushes away every reason left in her. The thick-legged lady in front of her stuffs her newly bought piece of nylon luxury in her handbag. The last argument to convince herself that this purchase is a justified one goes through her mind. The black back seem is the epitome of chic. This is timeless, not a seasonal frill.

Bleep. That would be 35 euros please.

The battle is won. As for the exquisite Wolford pantyhose, at home she will realize she bought a piece of nylon and that the goddess legs on the picture weren’t included. The pantyhose will end up in her big drawer together with the rest of her collection. And tomorrow a new object will be the symbol of the subjective values she is looking for.

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Fashion Designer

Iris Kloppenburg unleashes her inner creativity as she takes on the role of interior decorator for the new lloyd hotel

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sometimes you interview IRIS KLOPPENBURG

Situated in central Amsterdam, Iris Kloppenbergs four rooms is to be opened September 2011

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Designing in the Unfamiliar

By Therése Östelius & Shannon Jager

From designing for the body to designing the interiors of hotel rooms, the Lloyd Hotel has provided young fashion designers with the rare opportunity to design out of their element.

Since the beginning of 2010 eight young fashion designers have used the hotel space as their studio and now they see their room designs being realized into hotel rooms, ready to invite hotel guests.

The crossover between fashion and architecture has verily led to a fusion of fashion and interior design. All rooms have each a unique interior design characterised by diversity: fresh and playful, sexy and comfortable, risqué and classic.

We have talked to Iris Kloppenburg, one of the designers, about the feeling of designing in the unfamiliar. We were curious to see it felt natural to switch from being fashion designer into applying their art to interior design.

What interested you to jump into this project?

To change to a new discipline and to work in such a new and unknown field of creativity?

I was asked for this project as a graduate. I saw it as a challenge and was curious to see what my ideas and fantasies could bring into interior design. I saw the project as a major discovery in the world of the unknown.

What surprised you about the way of using fabrics within interior compared to fashion design?

The usage of fabric is in interior totally different than from fashion, the relationship between room and body, and the use of material and form is something completely different. But it is a good feeling to work with something that is unknown; it does not restrain me, but rather gives me the freedom to experiment. The possibilities are endless and have much direct impact on my design.

Can you describe what you are

What reflects you as a designer in the room

working on at the Exchange Hotel?

you have worked on?

I’m working at the moment on realising four rooms for the Exchange Hotlel. They are all telling a different story and to show the different manifestations of a growing organism. Besides, I design products including a single lamp, chair and closet lining.

My handwriting is literally and figuratively reflected in the rooms but also the extraordinary fantasy in context of reality. Thus, it is the floating line between fantasy, reality and the unknown that is the most prominent reflection to my designs.

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It is the tension between two unrelated images and how it creates a story on its own Extract from the book “The Third Mind�

by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin.

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sometimes you interview a creative mind

Translucent page on light table.

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Newspapers spread out on the floor, finding the perfect image.

Juxtapositions Graphic

Designer

Esteban berrios

By Therése Östelius

The spontaneous result of merging two images

itself, without altering existing material by cutting and

—the front and the back of a printed page—

pasting, but by discovering them as they where.”

with unrelated visual information to reach a

The back and the front of a magazine page

new single unit. Sounds simple but by digging

becomes one by relying on the transparency of the

deeper into Esteban Berrios´ work method, it

paper. Connecting two unrelated images to form a new

becomes clear that there is much more than

body. He explains that what he is looking for in the

spontaneity behind the result.

result “ it is the tension between two unrelated images and how it creates a story on its own. I think that

The idea of Esteban’s work evolved out of him

there’s more quality in getting intrigued by

researching a writing method that William S.

the new world that you get introduced to by an

1

Burroughs popularized in the late 50’s. “It’s

accidental juxtaposition, rather than

a literary version of the collage technique, in

only getting entertained.”

which the writer literally cuts up a page of text

His work becomes a collage of visual expression,

and then pastes them back at random, creating

creating new dimensions to the already existing

a new page with the same content.”

arrangements. He says that what drives this work

In Esteban’s work — Reflection on

forward is because his interest in “how images get

Arrangements — ­ he takes this method of

around on complex association lines. Images are

writing and translates it into graphic design.

a language, and I think that the juxtaposition of

“What surprised me was that the texts that

contrasting materials makes you think in

came out of this rearrangement where far more

association blocks rather than words.”

interesting than the original linear narrative.

For this issue of sometimes you, we have asked

So it made me start thinking how this could be

Esteban to dig into fashion magazines to create a

observed in images, without the act of collage

new arrangement inspired by the subconscious.

2

1 William S. Burroughs book “The Third Mind” is a good example that shows the method of cut-ups. Where unrelated texts rearranges to form new narratives and often-surreal images. You can also read more about the author at http://realitystudio.org/ 2 In John Berger’s book “Ways of Seeing” he describes, through word and image, how art contains hidden ideologies. It can also be viewed as a series at; http://www.ubu.com/film/berger_seeing.html 29

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Untitled, ESTEBAN BERRIOS (2011)

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sometimes you admire artwork made by ESTEBAN BERRIOS

Untitled, ESTEBAN BERRIOS (2011)

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sometimes you wear a dress by COSTUME NATIONAL wear a dress by KENZO, blazer by Filippa K and a skirt by TOP SHOP

Exquisite Fashion

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By Therése Östelius

imaginary and surprising

real and considerate and one of the

sometimes you gasp the air of two worlds, one of the

Far From

Inbetween

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sometimes you wear a necklace by Bibi van der Velden

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sometimes you wear a breastpiece by Bibi van der Velden and a body by American Apparel

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sometimes you wear a jumpsuit from AND BEYOND wear a bra by Individuals, bracelet by Roparosa and shorts by Merel GroebbĂŠ

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Leontine wears a Necklace

by Bibi GROEBBé van der Velden, Leather Bra by Merel Groebbé andLegging by Merel Groebbé sometimes you wear a necklace by BIBI VAN DER VELDEN, bra and leggings

by MEREL

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sometimes you wear a shoulderpiece by MALOUSEBASTIAAN, ring by Roparosa, shirt by And Beyond, skirt by Monki and shoes by River Island

Photography: Jasper Abels & Romi Severein Styling: Lindsey Watson & Anouk van der Laan Make-up: Lisanne den OudeN Model: Leontine from Fresh MM

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Don’t Blame Your

Last Name

BY Vita van Casteren

By Vita

sometimes you

Vita describes the misery of having a last name starting with a late letter in the alphabet and the surprising power it has over what you decide to buy.

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Want to sell your stuff fast? Call the Zimmermans. People with last names falling late in the alphabet always want to be first.

They respond quickly to limited offers, afraid that it won’t last. This buying behaviour is influenced by the last name-effect, and the late alphabet-ers become impulsive buyers.

The next time you come home with four new jackets, you could blame your last name.

The last name effect sounds like a joke, but it isn’t. A recent study at Georgetown University in Washington shows that quickly or slow reactions depend on the first letter of your last name. All the Zuckerbergs and Wilson’s buy faster than the Andersons and Carlsons do.

Through different experiments Kurt Carlson

and Jacqueline Conard researched buying reactions and uncovered the difference between them. Carlson and Conard sent students a mail with free tickets, but were told that the amount was limited. The late alphabet-ers respond very quickly, while the others didn’t take immediate action.

Your buying behaviour is based on experiences you have had in childhood. It isn’t really about acquiring things, but it’s about the pain of missing out.

Late-alphabet-ers always had to restrain their nerves when waiting for their exam results, while early alphabet-ers instantly were put out of their misery.

This feels unfair and in adulthood they do everything to avoid getting this treatment again. The endless patience they had in childhood is disappearing when they see a time-limited offer. Now they can influence time and they don’t have to wait anymore. It’s payback time.

The last name effect isn’t only about impulsive buying, there is more. Late alphabet-ers have a certain ability to become trendsetters.

They feel the urge to compensate years of waiting through responding instantly to new

It is not about acquiring things, but itIs about the pain of missing out trends. These people do not only notice them, they are the ones who discover new trends. Anna Wintour made sunglasses indoors socially accepted, Chloe Sevigny introduced us to the high-waisted shorts, and Coco Sumner reinvented the socks-in-shoes trend. Whether it effects you or not, never underestimate the power of last names.

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sometimes you admire artwork by MAURITS de Bruijn

Lindsay Gaga

MauriTS de Bruijn

Artist

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Playing the Part

sometimes you

By Imme Visser

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It is now exactly ten minutes to ten.

I am not late, I won’t be late, I am a professional.

Today, I am wearing my electric blue boots, yet everything else is black.

You work in fashion, you dress fashionably, that’s something you have to keep in mind. I am walking now, I feel it in the way I move my feet, trying to stride with confidence, though the heart is never there. It’s a game we play, and it’s a damn good one. When we walk, people stare at the electricity our poise delivers. Still with careful nonchalance we sometimes, very rarely, smile. Models. That’s what they think, that’s what everyone knows, that’s what’s oozing out of my very pores today.

I am a model and between you me, I am one of the best! I grin a little when another girl walks by and we check each other out. Scared little birdie, two feet tall but with little elegance, tries to find the entrance. I am not helping her, it’s a world of individuals out here. For all I know,

Imme lets her dreams surpass reality in a models daily struggle to not be forgotten.

Photography Charlotte Brand

I feel it in the way i move my feet, trying to stride with confidence, though the heart is never there

she’s the next Lara and I’m the one who accidentally helps her find her big breakthrough. I never deliberately spoil my own fun.

I’m already inside the show building, pacing towards the make-up area.

Make-up is so boring. I say a quick hello to the nearest make-up artist and sit down in her chair.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know if you’re up yet...” She says and nervously looks around, as if there’s anyone there that cares. “I don’t think anyone really cares about order,” I say and look at the chaos.

The Make-up Girl tries to get her stuff together and finds me a powder.

It’s the nearest. I won’t say anything as it will only slow down the process, but please let them find proper make-up artists next time.

“Jaaade!” I turn around, it’s Kev, the choreographer of today’s show.

He air-kisses me and looks at my new pixie-cut quite mockingly.

I am a bit confused at this stage but I pout and air-kiss him back.

“Honey, you know you’re not in this show, right?” he says.

I stare at him.

“I think you’re making a mistake Kev, I’m the show opener ,” I say, and get out my model-map of important information, with the call sheet of today. I smile sweetly.

Kev looks at me with weird eyes.

“Jade, we called you this morning.”

I’m a bit angry at this point.

“You did certainly not call me.”

Suddenly I have flashes of a living room, shattered glass on the ground.

A small person sitting in the corner of the huge lavender sofa. She’s staring at the wall, where the mirror used to hang. This is me, this morning, the phone is in my hand… I remember it all now.

I try to say something polite yet cool, but my throat prevents me from speaking. The make-up artist looks away in embarrassment.

Kev’s already gone, helping the two foot birdie putting on a dress.

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sometimes you admire PHOTOGRAPHS by Therése Östelius

False Awakening PHOTOGRAPHS BY Therése Östelius

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sometimes you admire PHOTOGRAPHS by Therése Östelius

Lucid dreams let you wander, through unknown territory until you are almost awake 55

Photography Mathieu van Ek

Spheres of

Influence

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sometimes you interview Peter Leferink about INDIVIDUALS

By TherĂŠse Ă–stelius & Shannon Jager

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principal design lecturer Peter Leferink explains his transition from pursuing his own career in fashion to teaching the next generation how to survive in the industry

AMFI, Amsterdam Fashion Institute, has created a program that provides new fashion students with the reality of being a part of the unfamiliar world of fashion by letting them come together to create a fashion line called Individuals. The concept behind, Individuals comes from the vision of increasing the individualistic world by using the personal stories of each designer to create something together with the guidance of Creative Manager, Peter Leferink.

Peter Leferink has taken the time to share about his experiences in the fashion industry and about how he balances being an independent fashion designer while teaching at AMFIn the last few years, Amsterdam Fashion Institute has pulled their students out of their classrooms to set up a brand under the name Individuals. A school project taking the big step out to the real world of fashion, where not only the teachers will grade your work anymore.

While being a teacher at AMFI do you feel like being a teacher comes first, or do you find a way to balance the designer in yourself?

That’s the great thing about teaching, it comes naturally. I don’t feel any need to express my own designer skills to find a balance. The teacher always comes first. If it would work any other way I would quit instantly. I wouldn’t be able to guide collections the way I do with a focus on the personality of the student and the world that surrounds her or him.

Do you have any projects apart from being a teacher at AMFI? Yes I do, I advise and sometimes actively help out several young Dutch designers on their way forward: from structuring their production plans to advising their employees for designers like Iris van Herpen to Jan Taminiau.

Is there a crossover between the projects you create in your spare time and the ones you are a part of at AMFI? When teaching elsewhere, the crossover is teaching, but the goals are different since there is only one AMFI with a unique and clear mission.

Obviously when doing consultancy work the crossover is a passion for fashion and to help out young and ambitious people.

Do these two “worlds” inspire each other?

Yes they do, but all worlds do and interact, inspire each other. Also the private one with children, love, food, words and sounds does highly influence and inspire the way I work and think and try to bring out the talent that nearly every student has. Processes of young children growing up, finding their way through education and life, do highly resemble the way students move through AMFI searching for a way to express their unique being and emotions.

What important lessons did you learn in the industry as a professional designer that you have brought with you as a teacher at AMFI? The essence of Amfi is bridging the gap between artistic freedom and the reality of the fashion industry. In other words: how can you be creative and earn your daily meals at the same time.

And that bridge is exactly the one I crossed over from various starting points, visions, and places. I worked within an extremely artistic environment with a total focus on quality and the personality of the designer, but still: these clothes needed to be reproduced and sold. That brings up demands and some limitations. It is within these limitations that the real quality of a designer comes to light or fades away. I have a huge admiration for the ones that succeed to combine those industrial and commercial demands with a huge artistic freedom.

La Petite Mort is this Autumn/Winter 2011 contribution to the brand and is the tenth collection in the history of Individuals. This collection is all about taking a leap of faith, and brings you through the moment when there are no morals anymore and everything turns into a black rush of adrenaline. The collection is to be found in the By AMFI store in Amsterdam.

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1.

My pigmented fabrics are

can control it

how far you

based on a mindset about chance, and

Pigment print on silk.

Hanging prints in Cora’s workspace.

Stencil forms for silkscreen prints.

sometimes you interview a CREATIVE MIND

Accidental Beauty

TEXTILE DESIGNER cora Hamilton

By Therése Östelius

Accidental beauty is a perfect word to describe the work of textile designer Cora Hamilton.

1 Depending on the slightest gust of wind , chance or motion—Cora uses pigments to reveal the power of coincidence in her work.

The collision between consciousness and chance is what brings Cora’s work together. This unexpected idea came as an epiphany while she was blending loose pigments into dye. “I was watching the small pigments and started to think about its dry characteristics. How beautiful they are and was wondering if it would be possible to catch the essence of the dry pigment on a fabric.” Her eagerness to find out resulted in a series of printed fabrics, woven textiles and silk screen prints.

2 Cora’s extraordinary space­‑like prints came to life when she started to spread dry color pigments over fabric. To Cora, this unique way of working has become the driving force behind her creative process.

“I can control it through my choice of tint and in the way I move my hand when pigmenting the fabrics. But exactly where the pigments settle and blends with other pigments is something I can never be in control over. The interesting color combinations and new patterns that come from working this way make the entire process very exciting.”

Her creativity moved on to printing a 60 meters of silk fabric, which she later tore into strips with which she created a pixel like weave. A pattern ­­— appearing without having any control over the outcome. “It was exciting to see how the color would occur and if it would follow the same pattern as the previous piece.” From fabric, Cora later moved on to experimenting with her work on paper. She wanted to capture the same expression as on the fabric prints.

“It was nice to carve out a piece from the fabric, and zoom in on it, to try to capture the same feeling in the very moving and organic print into a frozen image. I also wanted to see how similar I could get the fabric on the paper. If it would loose the feeling of movement and fluidity or not, but it did not change. The paper print itself also has an enormous momentum and a sense of space.”

3

It is her curiosity that has kept her going, and is what has triggered Cora to take this project this far. She explains, that when her curiosity is dead, the project also naturally dies. Saying sometimes you need a break from a project. It is not just only healthy, but also a way to distance yourself from the work to find out new creative angles.

1

One of Cora’s Inspirational sources is the nature, or in what she calls “Natural Beauty”.

Such as fallen leaves on the ground creating different patterns depending on the gust of wind.

2 Different books about the universal space are something she kept on going back to during this project.

3 Her curiosity does not stop with experimenting with her own material, being influenced by designers and artist outside her field ads another layer to her work. Books such as; “Henri Matisse: Drawing with Scissors” by Jane O’Connor. “Russian Textiles” by Susan Meller have had big influence on her. But also music; “I always listen to music, it is one of my greatest inspiration. One once said “I want to create art that sounds like music” – I thought it was a great sentence and something I keep on referring to.”

Different books about the universal space is something she kept on going back to during this project.

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sometimes you admire textile prints by CORA HAMILTON

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pigment prints on silk fabric, Cora Hamilton (2010)

pigment prints on paper, Cora Hamilton (2010)

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sometimes you wear rings by Acne and J Dauphin, a shirt by Isabel Marant and a dress by Prada wear a jacket and dress by YohJI Yamamoto and trousers by Beyond Retro

Exquisite Fashion

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By Therése Östelius

Sometimes you are almost awake, Walking on the pathway to consciousness

Almost Awake

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sometimes you wear a jacket by Catta Donkersloot and tights by H&M wear a dress by Catta Donkersloot and a jacket from Stylist

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sometimes you wear a body by H&M, top from Stylist, pants are vintage and shoes by WALT STEIGER wear a blouse by Super Duper Vintage and a dress from Stylist

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sometimes you wear a top from the stylist, lace shorts by H&M, lace tights by Calvin Klein and shoes by Paul Gree wear a blouse by RIVER ISLAND and a top by CLUB MONACO

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sometimes you wear a jumper by H&M and a short jumpsuit by SUPER DUPER VINTAGE

Photography: Toeps Stickystuff Styling: Shannon Jager and Vita van Casteren Make-up: Dennis Michael Model: Caitlin from Micha Models 73

Loud but Never Square

BY Rustan Söderling

explores the conscious and subconscious mind at work through the daily wear of checkered shirts, the mind altering use of Mexican cacti, the satirical musings of sixties pop music and the life cycle of

sometimes you

fashion.

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My father has worn the same checkered shirts for as long as I can remember. They are magically replaced each year with near identical doppelgangers. Year in and year out. Some of the shirts are reddish some are greenish. Some are for work and some are for leisure. Each Christmas he gets two or three new ones from my mother. His reaction is that of pleased familiarity. There are no surprises, no flair and nothing fashionable.

At the most he will compliment the colors as “nice” or the textile quality as “durable”. The way he dresses has virtually no impact on his daily life, he’s not expected to one day show up to work in the latest fashions and he never has.

Still, he prefers checkered shirts (or my mother does?) and white t-shirts. I doubt this is in any way consciously thought through. At one point a subconscious choice was made and he stuck with it. In looking the same for at least the last 20 years he is basically the anti-thesis to the fashion world. A world that consciously aims to reinvent itself every six months. But also a world that, perhaps subconsciously, regurgitates past year’s styles over and over in search of novelty. In a way, the fashion world is one big hive mind chasing an elusive zeitgeist. A mind with a consciousness and a sub-consciousness.

Speculating about the subconscious mind in a wake sober kind of way is a sort of futile endeavour since being conscious is synonymous with being un-subconscious. Being conscious is also being limited to one awareness. The British author Aldous Huxley wrote an essay back in 1954 dealing with his first mescaline trip. Mescaline is a hallucinogenic drug obtained from the Peyote cactus. Mexican medicine men have long used Peyote to get in contact with the spirit world, as they call it. He describes what happens as getting access to “the Doors of Perception” which is also the title of the essay. In the book, Huxley describes the brain as being eliminative rather than productive. A mind that in theory is capable

of taking in and understanding everything at all times, a “Mind at Large”. According to this theory we are all potentially recording every bit of information that we are presented with at all times. Since the majority of this information will only

Aldous Huxley

Rustan

confuse us in the pursuit of our current worldly goals we store it somewhere in our subconscious. The popular but slightly false notion that we only use 10% of our brains come to mind. I suppose this is partly true but not in the sense that we are missing out on all these great sci-fi brain functions, like telepathy or telekinesis. In fact, if we used the other 90% and we took in all that which we perceived, the experience would probably

You always know what to expect, the Familiar has taken the place of the fashionable

be that of being conscious to the point of being unconscious. A sensory overdose.

Imagine watching and understanding 1000 TV shows all at once, there wouldn’t be much time for anything else. The use of drugs like mescaline supposedly gives you a glimpse into this other reality, Huxley calls it a by-pass. A backdoor to the subconscious.

What we perceive in our daily conscious state is actually a very limited sort of peep hole in to the reality which surrounds us.

Since we have to interact with others on a daily basis and none of us is in a state of “Mind at Large” misunderstandings are bound to happen. In this way we are all practically alone, no one has the same perception of reality as someone else because our minds choose to focus on different parts as being important.

Everyone’s unique gene pool, upbringing and experience of course plays a huge part in this as well. This makes it impossible to completely understand another person and in order to make ourselves G.K. Chesterton

Oscar Wilde

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understand and to be understood we have invented systems of symbols which we call languages. These symbols are however quite general since everyone’s interpretation of them are based in their own history of perception. For me the word “chair” conjures up a mental image of my grandfather’s old armchair in red velvet that smelled like old man. For you it invokes a different chair, maybe a black office chair or a La-Z-boy.

The features of these two objects are however similar enough to bundle them together under one word, “chair”. Thus a common understanding is formed. That all chairs are different is however a bit of an oxymoron, as G.K. Chesterton once pointed out: “when Mr. H. G. Wells says (as he did somewhere), “All chairs are quite different”, he utters not merely a misstatement, but a contradiction in terms. If all chairs were quite different, you could not call them “all chairs””.

The conscious mind basically acts as a defence against what it perceives to be useless information. The psyche’s number one priority is the survival of its host, the human body of which it is part. In order to go on existing it’s important to not get buried in thoughts and practices that distract you from that goal. Back when we were all living in caves the priorities were very basic, a roof over your head, a mammoth to eat, a caveman/woman to mate with and to look out for any saber-toothed tigers that might be wandering about. However, new times bring new troubles. Civilization has gradually evolved beyond the cave based system and peoples survival needs has developed along with it. While shelter, food, sex and keeping away from bodily harm is of course still quite essential, there are also newer needs. One need is to be relevant, to be in the now, to be seen as being

in the now and appreciated for it, maybe even envied.

A language is a system of expression and does not necessarily consist of words and sentences. Music is a language and so are images and garments. Fashion might be the language that most express man’s need to be—or rather be perceived as—contemporary and exclusive. When walking into a room full of strangers we express more with the combination of clothes we wear than we do in the first five minutes of conversation. We judge hundreds of people daily based on the style of fabric they wear and in what combinations. Studies show that we make up our minds about a new person we meet in the first five seconds and that first impression is very hard shake. A reality not forgotten by the protagonist in The Kinks famous fashionista satire and dedicated follower of fashion said “his clothes are loud but never square / It will make or break him so he’s got to buy the best.”

My friend Joel used to be a bit of a fashion maniac when we were teenagers. He always dressed quite stylish and had all these Japanese fashion magazines lying around at home. One day he decided to give all his old clothes away. He bought only one new set of clothes which he wore every day, almost like a uniform. His explanation was: “When you always look

sometimes you

Music is a

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language and so are images and garments

the same, people remember you better”. In a way he branded himself. Just as Ronald McDonald never changes style, neither does Joel or my father for that matter. You always know what to expect, the familiar has taken the place of the fashionable.

We have a need to express our uniqueness at the same time as we have an innate desire to belong. The fashion industry makes use of this conflicting need for individuality and conformity. While it follows a very strict framework, or language, that never seems to really change, its primary goal is to evoke an illusion of novelty. Let’s take a classic format of displaying the latest in haute couture: a model on a catwalk. As she travels down that narrow strip and back again, as her predecessors have done for ages before her, the clothes she wears convey a certain message to the onlookers. The message is: This is new! This is now! Forget the past! But the form of display says: you know this, you recognize this, this is safe. Each season designers and consumers ridicule the old trends while devotedly following the new.

This is not a productive mind at work but rather the eliminative mind that Huxley talks about. A mind that can’t handle all the information it takes in and therefore stores it somewhere in our subconscious.

A mind that needs to block out last year’s fashions in order to make sense of this years. The designs change every six months but the format in which they are displayed stays the same, too much change leads to disorientation. The survival of fashion demands first a rejection and regeneration, then a period of adjustment and once were accustomed, rejection, regeneration, etc, etc... It may very well be that fashion is made to become unfashionable.

But clothes are made and worn to keep us from being arrested for indecent exposure, among many other benefits. So why not look your best while also obeying the law? Or as Oscar Wilde once said: “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”

Ray Davies

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Living in the Void

By Lindsey Watson

Clothes, they are everywhere. Walking by a shop with a camel colored dress in the shopping window.

The dress screams your name. It pulls you like a magnet. Suddenly you realize that you can’t buy it.

Somebody else will enjoy its beauty. For Suzanne van Heerde, a student at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, this is reality. By choice. She’s participating Free Fashion Challenge, a concept that started from the philosophy that there’s more to fashion than shopping and consuming. Suzanne is one of the 30 fashion addicts who committed to not buying clothes for one year. A few months into the initiative, Suzanne has discovered new ways to fill her obsession with fashion, documenting through photos the new sources of fashion in her life.

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Suzanne van Heerde

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sheepskinmagazine.blogspot.com

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luxirare.com

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sometimes you interview SUZANNE VAN HEERDE

DIY that I did after seeing it on loveaesthetics.blogspot.com. Doing DIY’s makes the challenge more endurable!

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stopitrightnow.blogspot.com

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an excerpt from my personal inspiration book. A lot comes from culture, nature and architecture. These images are from a vintage National Geographic.

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luxirare.com

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I surround myself with peculiar objects, juxtaposing them in ways that inspire me.

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Suzanne shows us through photographs how she 001

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remains a part of fashion after deciding 006

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not to buy new clothes for an entire year 008

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Above the Surface

BY LINDSEY WATSON

Lindsey relates Freud thoughts about hidden emotions through

sometimes you

fashion.

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Standing in a busy store in front of a full rack of short beautiful leather skirts, you doubt if you could wear that to a dinner party. One side of your brain tells you to wear whatever you feel like. Other side tells you to dress appropriately according to what is socially accepted. You could consider this as boring... Sound familiar?

In dressing, there’s a certain boundary that we are afraid to cross. We’re afraid to use our emotional thinking. This is because of common knowledge.

According to Mr. Freud, it feels safe to people to act rational. It’s visible and accepted. “The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one seventh of its bulk above water”, said Freud. Dressing rational feels safe, because you communicate a style that everybody can relate to.

Inside the stores when you are looking around, increasingly what you find is what is accepted. Fashion lovers who believe to have their ‘own style’ basically allow shops to dictate their moment of existence. An accepted choice.

A safe choice.

Still, almost all of our actions emanates the other side of the brain. The part that consists of emotions. The extent is big. Approximately 90 percent of our brain. According to Freud, “The most complicated achievements of thoughts are possible without the assistance of consciousness”. By dressing through our emotions the invisibility becomes visible. You take a risk of standing out.

The question is, do you want to let fashion dictators to rule your outcome and play it safe? Or take a chance and dress according to your own emotions?

Maybe Mr Freud has the answer.

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Page from Mandy’s workbook.

Page from Mandy’s workbook .

Inspirational photograph for Mandy’s 2011 collection.

sometimes you interview MANDY SHARABANI

I want people to be aware that EACH GARMENT is much more than just a shallow object, and that there is a deeper meaning behind its design

Thoughtful Design

Fashion Designer Mandy sharabani 1

By Anouk van der Laan

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Technical tailoring and optical illusions is what characterizes the Dutch fashion designer Mandy Sharabani’s recent graduation collection “A Fool’s Paradise.”

Her calculated approach to fashion design has caught the attention of many, showing up in recent posts on popular sites like ashadedviewonfashion.com and Kismet online magazine.

While only a recent graduate of Fashion Design, Mandy’s attentive designs comprising of advanced technical skills and strong colors, trigger the eye of the viewer. Her meticulous approach to design means that every small detail is planned out precisely in each garment to achieve the desired illusion. She evokes these illusions by alienating the classic cloak, to dresses, blouses and jumpers. Then strategically drapes its remarkable forms on the human body and creates new fashion.

Mandy wants the amount of thought that goes into each design is clearly evident saying; “What I want from

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people is to take a closer look at my garments. I want them to be aware about that there is much more than just a shallow object, and that there is a deeper meaning behind its design.”

For this collection Mandy found inspiration from many sources in the months of research prior to designing.

Her current fascination with layers came when she was inspired by the use of glass in buildings and its organic features describing; “glass when touched is a hard surface, but when you take a step back it remains transparent to the eye.”

But her inspiration seeking does not stop there, other influences such as 2 Mark Rothko’s color combinations and 3 Sonja Delaunay’s way of treating color and contrasts has strongly influenced Mandy’s choices when designing for this collection. Together with her conscious way of tailoring and her use of color, her design forms the perfect fool’s paradise.

At her internship by former brand Veronique Branquinho, known for her detailed work and quality garments, Mandy researched on the cloak. “I’ve experienced how beautiful a women’s cloak can be, those beautiful fabrics of the best quality got me enormous exited.” She decided then that the coat would be the main piece of her graduation collection.

2 Mark Rothko’s abstract paintings with a surrealistic background, inspired Mandy in his exhibition in Tate Modern London. ‘I am impressed by his color combinations and how they get even more intense and stronger when you stand further away.’

3 Sonja Delaunay is a painter of the 20’s Bauhaus movement. Mandy: ‘She created her own color pallet and invented new contrasts. A lot of other artists at that time were inspired by her work, just as I am.’

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sometimes you admire FASHION DESIGNS by MANDY SHARABANI

A FOOL’S PARADISE, Mandy Sharabani (2011) 85

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sometimes you wear a vintage neckless by Studio W and a t-shirt by Dior wear a jacket by Dries van Noten, striped silk dress worn as a top by Vionnet and trousers by Hermès

Exquisite Fashion

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By Therése Östelius

sometimes

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you

sometimes you would like to thank our contributors; Ivania

Carpio van Osch, Imme Visser, Rustan SÜderling and Hanne Lippard for sharing their thoughts in writing; Esteban Berrios, Cora Hamilton and Mandy Sharabani for inspiring us by revealing their work process; Suzanne van Heerde for sharing her experience on the Free Fashion Challenge; Peter Leferink for giving a glance in the life of a teacher at Individuals; Iris Kloppenburg for sharing her experience in working for the Lloyd hotel; Maurits de Bruijn for making illustrations; Gemma Warren for sharing her photographs; Jasper Abels, Romi Severein, Sanja Marusic and Toeps for their photography; Lisanne den Ouden, Elyse Moland and Dennis Michael for doing the hair and make-up; Fresh Models and Micha Models for organizing a model; Leontine, Simone and Caitlin for modelling; Studio 13 and Stickystuff for sharing their space for creatives; MalouSebastiaan, Roparosa, And Beyond, Individuals, Coebergh Communication, Centre Neuf, Filippa K, Super Duper Vintage and Dutch Fashion Foundation for lending their clothes and accessories; Sylvia Visser at Sil’s drukwerk for helping us print and last, but not least Frank Wijlens, Charlotte Lokin, Casimir Morreau, Anneloes van Gaalen, Sophie Peeters, Suzanne van Rooij, Linnemore Nefdt, Eric de Boer, Petra Boers, Bregje Lampe, Martien Mellema, Luis Mendo, Monique Teunissen, Peter van Rhoon, and Ganbaroo PR for coaching us on the job.

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stocklist

Acne American apparel And beyond Athenaeum bookstore Beyond Retro Bibi van der Velden Catta Donkersloot CLUB MONACO Coebergh communicatie&PR COS Costume National De Bijenkorf Diesel Store Dior Dries van Noten Fashion Hotel Filippa K Free Fashion Challenge H&M HEMA Hermes Individuals Isabel Marant J Dauphin Kenzo Fresh Model management Roc MAC store Malou Sebastiaan Marc by Marc Jacobs Margaret Howell Merel GroebbĂŠ Micha models Monki Pieces Prada River Island Roparosa So Dutch Fashion Pr Studio W Super Duper Vintage Top Shop Vionnet WALT STEiger Weekday Yohji Yamamoto Zipper

www.acnestudios.com http://americanapparel.net www.andbeyond.nl www.athenaeum.nl www.beyondretro.com www.bibivandervelden.com www.catta.nl www.clubmonaco.co www.coebergh.nl www.cosstores.com www.costumenational.com www.debijenkorf.nl www.diesel.com www.dior.com www.driesvannoten.be www.lloydhotel.com www.filippa-k.com http://freefashionchallenge.com www.hm.nl www.hema.nl www.hermes.com www.individualsatamfi.nl www.isabelmarant.tm.fr www.jdauphin.com www.kenzo.com www.freshmm.com www.rocva.nl www.maccosmetics.com www.malousebastiaan.com www.marcjacobs.com www.margarethowell.co.uk www.michamodels.nl www.monki.com www.pieces.com www.prada.com www.riverisland.com www.roparosa.nl www.studiow.com.br www.topshop.com www.vionnet.com www.waltsteiger.com www.wwkday.com www.yohiyamamoto.co.jp www.zipperstore.nl

Issue No 1 Price The Netherlands and Belgium â‚Ź15