IS FRAMED
D e cE MB E R - ja n ua ry 2013
92 ANDREW HUANG
63
10 STATUS MESSAGE 12 MASTHEAD
STATUSPHERE 14 22 23 24 25 26
THREADS SETTING BRICK & MORTAR SCREEN INK BEATS
gadgets 27
TECH PACK: STOCKING STUFFERS
Give the gift of giz.
BEAUTY 28 29 29
66
FOSTER THE PEOPLE
FACE PAINT: TINSEL TOWN
Silver bells, silver bells
ABOUT FACE:ON THE DOT
Pore a little more
BEAUTY BITE: Rudy’s Barbershop
VISION BOARD
34 SECRET GARDEN
If only diamonds grew on trees. By Natalie J Watts
40 BON VOYAGE
Cruise with me, baby. By Nikolai De Vera
46 HERO HEROINE
Get hooked on designer drugs. By Nick St. James
SHOPPING GUIDE SWAG
53 Our Secret Santa gift guide
54 SOMETHING SPORTY 55 SOMETHING SHINY 56 SOMETHING SEXY 57 SOMETHING SLICK 58 SOMETHING STREET 59 SOMETHING STRONG
FASHION
60 SOMETHING SILLY
30 GO SEE
61 SOMETHING SMART
STREET STYLE These snaps don’t lie.
32 STYLE ID: THREE QUARTERS It ain’t so long, flair well.
FEATURES mUSE
62 RULE OF THIRDS
Belgian model Marine Van Outryve looks at the bigger picture. By Giano D. Dionisio
mAESTRO
63 SHAKE THE HABIT
Since they’ve pumped up Manila’s kids, we hope Foster the People “Don’t Stop” rockin’ that “Helena Beat” for their upcoming 2013 album. By Reena Mesias
64 CATCHING THE BOOGIE
This year, monstrous hip-hop producer Mick Boogie unleashed his beastly Beastie Boy mix, Grand Royal. Now, hear his grander roar. By Leo Balante
64 RHYME AND REASON
Even on our tropical shores, Encounters With A Yeti do play out, under blazing hot arrangements that could cause hallucinatory engagements. By Rita Faire
65 BACK TO THE FUTURE
DJ duo Gypsy & The Cat follow up their 2010 debut, Gilgamesh, with the independently released, dream-fueled, and rainbowgreased The Late Blue. By Rita Faire
66 FULL OF GRACE
Dayve Hawke of retrophiliac outfit Memory Tapes is unfussed by hype and nonplussed by musical life on the internet. By Nante Santamaria
MEMORY TAPES 67 REGAL TO ROCK, LEGAL TO ROLL
Stockholm’s The Royal Concept don’t just “D-D-Dance,” they also take their chances, get romantic, and share their plans to set the “World on Fire.” By Reena Mesias
mASTERMIND
68 ICE BREAKER
Photographer Ysa Pérez introduces us to her subjects (including Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, and Cassie) all in a New York minute. By Rita Faire
69 BELLE NOIR
Having worked with industry heavyweights like Peter Lindbergh and Arthur Elgort, makeup artist Kristin Gallegos certainly knows how to give good face. By Victor Loong
70 THE AURORA COLLECTIVE
As a bright DJ, producer, and video director, Brooklyn-based Aurora Halal sonicbooms through the sound barrier of the VHS spectrum. By Anika Ventura
70 SPLIT SECOND
Feral femme and horror junkie Kristen Hager talks about Being Human, being a demi-werewolf, and being a kitchen hazard. By Macy Reantaso
71 THE BOY WONDER
Original STATUS creative director Nick St. James comes full circle to share his tale of chasin’ tail, shutter clicks, and dickin’ around. By Victoria Herrera
IS FRAMED
D e cE MB E R - ja n ua ry 2013
46 HERO HEROINE
71 NICK ST. JAMES
67 HEAVY HITTER
72 SOAP OPERATION
Filter the filth until images gleam like fine specimen. Nothing is too anal for Benjamin Alexander Huseby whose photographic style bends like rubber and severs like artisanal cutlery. They’re soft. They’re sharp. They won’t snap. By Kristine Dabbay
78 THE MESMERIST
Photographer Baldovino Barani visualizes high fashion through elements of diabolism, politics, and pedestrian novelty to form illusions of grand allure, all while remaining one of the industry’s most mysterious masterminds. We sat for a chat about his reality, virtual reality, and how surreality bites (back). By Giano D. Dionisio
84 CINÉMA VÉRITÉ
No mise-en-scène seems amiss with miss Alice Hawkin’s scenes that are like photo copies of the blond babe’s memories, daydreams, fantasies, and reimaginings. Her energetic situations result in narrative imagery fashioned through
THE ROYAL CONCEPT
playful voyeurism that eggs and edges. By Rita Faire
88 SUM OF HER PARTS
Emma Summerton’s got the chops to create imagery that won’t flop. She captures supermodels with simmering sexuality in supersized scenarios without the superfluous details. The result? A grand total of supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and maybe more. By Victoria Herrera
96 LA BURNINGMAN 97 AU REVOIR CINDERELLA 97 EDEN 10-12 JETSET 98 NYFW - O.P.C. × MISSHAPES 98 FIAMMA FRESH FRIDAYS ADMU × DLSU
99 STEVE AOKI LIVE @ REPUBLIC 99 SOCIAL STUDIES
MORE
BLOCK PARTY: OUT OF SIGHT
100 DIRECTORY
Video directors
92 ANDREW HUANG 92 CYRIAK HARRIS 93 DARCY PRENDERGAST 93 SEAN PECKNOLD
STATUS INVADES
102 MIGUEL MIRANDA
Our trusty photog buddy shows us the goods under the lens hood.
104 STILL LIFE
EVENTS
What GIFs look like in print.
NIGHTVISION
Here, kitty, kitty. You don’t look too shaggy, but surely that power drill could buzz up any hot fuzz. Shot by photographer Benjamin Alexander Huseby and reprinted from VMAN, the image captures this issue’s spirit, framing us style-mongering youth in portraits of our reckless fantasies and playful attitudes. Ha! Who are we kidding? We just wanna look good.
95 PFW - THIS IS NEW YORK 96 FLORENCE BIRTHDAY LOVE
statusmagonline.com
Blogsphere
the pulse of hip at your fingertips
go see
we’re all models off duty. smize!
FEATURES
there’s more to what’s in print
NightVision who’s spotted partying where
Photo Diary confessional for lensmen
Digital Magazine DOWNLOADS STATUS in pixels, not free mixtapes paper and wallpapers
STATUS MESSAGE
Baldovino Barani (78)
FRAMED
BENJAMIN ALEXANDER HUSEBY (72)
O
ne of my favorite pastimes is indulging over images in magazines and falling in love with the beauty each print brings to light. In our Photo Issue, STATUS goes into the minds of visionaries to find out how they create mesmerizing images. Photographer Benjamin Alexander Huseby carries major clout in the fashion and art world. He has shot iconic covers and editorials for VMAN, AnOther Man, i-D, Dazed & Confused, and Vogue that flirt with art and seduction. In his interview, he reveals how his global lifestyle makes him fearless and why he always follows instinct before thought. There’s nothing better than entering a hypnotized state through fashion and fantasy. Looking at Italian-born Baldovino Barani’s body of work is an experience unto itself. We love how he plays with one’s imagination by expressing the surreal. As much as we love fantasy, we also love to play. Alice Hawkins does just that. From shooting a fashion story inspired by Dolly Parton to shooting Vegas show girls, she shoots by her own rules. Emma Summerton, on the other hand, is one of the most sought after fashion photographers. She shares with us her love for vintage fashion and her mind that’s able to conceptualize images that redefine femininity. Aside from stills, moving images inspire us. We rounded up video artists Andrew Huang, Cyriak Harris, Sean Pecknold, and Darcy Predergast in our Block Party. And if we were to play favorites with our photographers, Nick St. James would be on top of the list. He’s one of our first art directors who helped conceptualize the pages of STATUS; shooting with him is always fun. In this issue, we’re showcasing the new breed of fashion and art photographers. All they had to do was pick up a camera and shoot their dreams to life.
Editor-in-chief
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contributors statusmagonline.com Rosario Herrera
@rosarioherrera
creative director Patrick L. Jamora art director Patrick Diokno graphic designers Nyael David
@padraick @patrickdiokno @nyaels @jerdeeee @paolostroodles
editor-in-chief
Jer Dee Paolo Geronimo
ANIKA VENTURA
With a love for jumping in the line and rocking her body in time, Anika shook señora Aurora Halal’s (70) funky bones with her natural curiosity—the best trait about being a writer, Anika muses. Our boogie-loving contributor, who also writes for a travel and lifestyle mag, merged her passions for music, photography, and analog video to get to the bottom of Aurora’s multislasher persona.
associate editor Kristine Dabbay features editor Reena Mesias fashion editor Loris Peña
@tindabs @yohitgirl @_dizzyrizzy @giodion @zoelaurente @ritadoesnttweet
Tina Herrera
@tinaherrera_ @danbuenaventura @kevinpueblo tweet us!
assistant editor Giano D. fashion assistant Zoe
Dionisio Laurente editorial assistant Rita Faire
sales & marketing consultant
account manager Dan Buenaventura junior account manager Kevin Jude Pueblo
contributing writers
Leo Balante, Victoria Herrera, Macy Reantaso, Nante Santamaria, Anika Ventura contributing artists
Stefani Annaliese, Camilla Ashworth, The Cobrasnake, Fernando Colon, Justin Create, Catherine Day, Nikolai De Vera, Gerard Estadella, DJ Fabian, Joaquin Gregorio, Francisco Guerrero, Brantley Gutierrez, Imane, Sunjung Kim, Angelo Kritikos, Maui Manalo, Miguel Miranda, Stefani Pappas, Mira Parmar, Chloe Pierre, Jeruel Pingol, Nicholas Routzen, JP Singson, Allison Specketer, Nick St. James, Adam Seth Teh, Natalie J Watts, Williams & Hirakawa, Aleksey Volchek
WILLIAMS & HIRAKAWA
interns
Zee Carbonell, Bianca Cruz, Marianne Cruz, Melissa Leviste, Victor Loong, James Villamayor, Frances Zehr
Photography school sweethearts Mark Williams and Sara Hirakawa just came back from shooting fashion spreads in Alaskan glaciers. With a flair for capturing a mix of glamour and humor—Sarah Silverman, Olivia Munn, and Chelsea Handler notwithstanding—the married twosome marry cinematic photography with their innate lightheartedness, which you can see in their pictures of Foster the People (63).
editorial editorial@statusmagonline.com advertising advertise@statusmagonline.com marketing marketing@statusmagonline.com general inquiries info@statusmagonline.com We like taking the visionary position.
JERUEL PINGOL
This time last year, videographer Jeruel was an art intern for our lovely magazine, sharing his creative vision and our gingerbread cookies. Since then, he’s shot every video counterpart to our monthly fashion editorials—all available online. For this issue, he depicted our “Hero Heroine” (46) swathed in luxury and sullied by skag. We can’t wait to see what other visual treats he has in store for us, including those elusive pre- and post-diet photos.
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What’s your STATUS? tell us.
read our digital version statusmagonline.com/ digital-magazine like us facebook.com/statusmagazine follow us twitter.com/statusmagazine instagram: statusmagazine STATUS is published by STATUS Media Group. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.
THREADS / setting / BRICK AND MORTAR / BEATS / SCREEN / INK
December/January 2013
SERIOUSLY SEXY I
n PRIORY OF TEN’s case, women can carry themselves in oversized tailored shorts, sweat pullover, and loose top. They need no body-hugging dress to flaunt their sexuality when armed with a leather pencil skirt and a dash of red lippy. Come at them, boys! prioryoften.com
MOUNT OLYMPUS H
ave a good fight with YAHN ADAM’s Theseus: Minotaur collection. With a silver-plated Theseus helmet ring for protection, the gods will be on your side. If that won’t let them bow to you, try on the Zeus’ Talon ring with black resin. When all is said and done, claim your throne with the King of Athens necklace. gnossem.com
THE GENTLE ONE C
lothes can make the man with GPPR’s latest collection. With denim jackets, camo pants, and printed button-downs, mean what you say and walk the talk. Add a sleek jacket, red tie, and a pair of chinos, and earn all the respect you deserve, sir. gppr.us
TWO FOR THE WIN G
et ready for another winning collab brought to you by Marc McNairy and KEDS. Keeping up with the hype from last year’s Booster collaboration, they rework their magic in The Triumph by Mark McNairy. Inspired by old tennis stars and style icons, they bring back the classic silhouette by using Keds’s signature brick outsole. keds.com
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THREADS
BRANDS TO KNOW
MOTOR ARMOR T
ake one for the road from Bloodline, the new collection from EAT DUST. The heavy-duty “Bathory of all denim” materializes the unrelenting pleasures of heavy metal, skateboards, and motorcycles. Don denim vests, jackets, and jeans before you head out to face those riff blasts and engine roars. eatdust.bigcartel.com
DEFINITION OF TERMS U
gliness, surprisingly, is sparse or nonexistent in I LOVE UGLY’s latest collection. Its ornate printed caps and button-downs balance the severity of black cardigans and polo shirts accented by the buttons’ earthy tones. Precious as a vintage rug and sturdy as an antique gilded frame, the brand understands understated luxury. iloveugly.net
BAND OF BOATS D
esigner Scott Sternberg knows how to rock the SPERRY TOP-SIDER boat. The latest collaboration between the iconic boat shoe brand and Band of Outsiders showcases Sperry’s timeless designs updated with stripes, patchwork, and candy hues. sperrytopsider.com
COMIC CREATOR C
olor your life with doodled scarves from THREAD EM and trade floral prints for crayon doodles and abstract art. Tie these silky pieces around your neck or tote them around your bag for an instant pop of color and humor. These treats may have four sides, but they’re never square. threadem.it
oxford coma T
he owners of A KIND OF GUISE were students when they started their own line; but the project took off and have been continuing to create looks that take the scholarly to the streets. Here, bearded and spectacled men are textured with striped blazers and mustard beanies then polished with white button-downs and cream jackets. Now, here’s the right guise for guys’ becoming. akindofguise.com
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THREADS
BRANDS TO KNOW
QUEEN AMIDALA E
arrings and necklaces from EABURNS radiate a sci-fi vibe. Tibetan accessories come to mind with the brand’s use of metallic foiled leather, deep reds, and neon greens bound together with ringchain links. Everything’s architecturally pieced together, fit for an edgy galactic empress. eaburns.com
BOULEVARD BELLE #03
#10 #05
#04
#06
179
INNER :TOP :# SK177214 # SH178309 BOTTOM
TOP : Flower Shirt Jacquard Skirt
# SH178309 Flower Shirt XS-L $189 XS-L $205 TOP :
XS-L # T188013
$189 INNER Long Sleeve Knit TOP :
# T188013 XS-L
Long Sleeve Knit $117
XS-L
$117
156
BOTTOM : # C117501 # SK177415 OUTER :
Embroidered Skirt : Draped Coat BOTTOM
# SO157805 Tailored Capri Pants: XS-L $156 XS-L $345 BOTTOM
XS-L # SK177214
$175 BOTTOM : Jacquard Skirt OUTER :
# SO157805 XS-L
Tailored Capri Pants $205 Cropped Jacket
XS-L
$175
XS-L
$276
OUTER :
# C117501
T
Draped Coat
XS-L
$345
# J138202
his Fall/Winter season marks Rue De Jean’s launch of its full ready-to-wear line, Rue De, that includes silk blouses, knits, full skirts, tailored dresses, blazer coats, and basics. Go festive in colored capris, printed jacquard skirts, and checkered shorts or channel femininity in flowered shirts and embroidered skirts. With these on, there’s no such thing as a late bloomer. ruedejeans.com
MAKE THE GRADE C
heck out these modern twists on specs from GENTLEMONSTER. Find slightly angled sleek half-rims, round lenses framed in thick classic black, marbled tortoiseshell, and fun patterns for every frame of mind. These aren’t your regular prescription glasses ‘coz they put the punch to the good old prep. gentlemonster.co.kr
badge of honor T
imes are hard, and when you’re in the streets bringing your A-game, you got to have shirts that highlight your cred. ANCHORED PRODUCE’s The Stamp of Approval Pocket Tee boasts quality that’s tested and approved. “No fakes. No gimmicks.” The Streetcat shirt gleams “With pride” and another shows us to “Rise from the bottom.” Word of advice: wear their word. anchoredproduce.bigcartel.com
BILLY IDOL W
ho wouldn’t admire young designer BILLY HAZEL’s handmade shoes? With these on, you could be wearing a simple black dress and not look underdressed for any party. Patent, transparent, or golden—Billy Hazel lifts you up with platform wedges. Climb any ladder and cross all lines, all the audience can do is look up at you, kid. facebook.com/billyhazelshoes
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THREADS
BRANDS TO KNOW
DIm DETAILS L
ove is in the details of GARLAND COO’s threads. Its latest collection showcases an assortment of dark-hued pieces that pay close attention to every seam and stitch. From the tiniest pintuck and pleat, each jacket and shirt pride itself with a tailored finish. garlandcoo.com
SKULL CANDY ATTRACTION DISTRACTION L
et it bead with KYYOTE’s handmade jewelry. Designer Amanda Loos plays with geometric shapes and colors like fuschia, bright melon, and yellow to come up with minimalist adornments. Pair Soma earrings and Abstractions necklace with a black dress for a fun date and a guaranteed he’ll-never-take-his-eyes-from-off-you look. kyyote.com
SNAPSHOT T
ake a picture in 69’s denim outfits. Let designer A. Halford’s jeans, jackets, dresses, bralettes, and oversized denim totes teach you how to chill and dress like everyday is casual Friday. Nevermind the hair, they have a cap for that, too. Now, look happy and say cheese! perfectsixtynine.com
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I
f you snoop through TRINKETS MNL, you’ll find more than just skeletons in its closet. Here, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings made of candy-colored skull beads, ropes, and chains— lean more to being sweet than spooky. Celebrate Halloween all year ‘round with these deathly treats that make accessorizing a ritual for all seasons. Facebook.com/HouseOfTrinketsMNL
GIRLS JUST WANNA R
efresh your wardrobe with GABBY APPLEGATE’s bright red lines on cool grey plaid dresses, palazzo trousers under navy satin dinner coats, two-tone sleeved jackets, and empire cutouts on little black and blue dresses. Her pieces reinterpret formal basics so when the working day is done, you can have a little fun. gabbyapplegateclothing.com
THREADS
EYEZ ON THE PRIzE N
o one woman should have all that power, but you can’t help it with VERLAINE’s latest collection. Born in the Lower East Side of New York, the brand’s chunky coats, structured jackets, widelegged trousers, and cutout dresses know how to fit and flatter perfectly. Stop staring! verlaine.us
SOMETHING NEW T
ake traditional cameos, insert AMEDEO, and you’ll get oval beauties with carved skulls, monkeys, and angels. From black rings with crystal details on the side to a gold chain necklace with three monkeys covering their eyes—the brand revamps classic favorites into something current. Mom would be proud. cameos.com
BALL SO HARD F
Words by Zoe Laurente, Victor Loong and Loris Peña
ly high with PONY wings that make you swing like an allstar. Its latest drops reintroduce City Wings and Hawaii that score you some points both on and off the court. The shoe, originally designed for basketball, makes its way to the streets with leather and canvas that work for everyday abuse. pony.com
TOY SHOULDERS B
oys overcome playing with toy soldiers and move on to playing in concrete jungles. That’s why David Ben David aka DBD started SPRAYGROUND that sells deluxe backpacks flashing prints of Game Boys, eyeballs, galaxies, and skeletons that can wake your inner little rascal. So when someone stabs you at your backpack, give the cold shoulder or and give ‘em the finger. sprayground.com
DUNT CARE H
ey, boy! You’re looking good in LABRAT’s Nomad collection. Take the word bum diggity to another level and pair a cardigan with another cardigan, a sleek coat with a vintage cap, or mix loud prints with other loud prints. Durty is the new black, and looking like a BAMF is always a good thing. labrat.jp
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SETTING
PLACES TO GO
SUITE
QT HOTEL, SYDNEY
Q
T HOTEL transforms Sydney’s two most iconic buildings—Gowings department store and the State Theater—into a boutique hotel that blends Gothic, Art Deco, and Italianate architecture with contemporary design. It now houses 200 guest suites, equipped with the hotel’s signature oversized bathtub and shower as well as vintage fixtures that play on the hotel’s history. Taking a trip to the lower levels will treat visitors to some of the oldest parts of the building, including antique retail showcases, gargoyles, and timber floors.
qtsydney.com.au
GRUB
ARACAMA, the fort
I
t’s not by a tropical seaside nor the middle of a Havana haven. ARACAMA is in the center of the busy Bonifacio High Street food district, but offers the same island getaway comfort. The restaurant, with its cabana-style interiors with flowing white drapes, bright white walls, outdoor patio sets, and intricate leaf accents, is helmed by owner and executive
CORKAGE
THE STAND, NEW YORK
chef Fernando Aracama. By reinvigorating Fish Balls with fresh catches of the day and reimagining traditional fried wraps with house sisig, Aracama serves Filipino comfort food refined by various culinary techniques.
facebook.com/AracamaManila
H
osting the likes of Judah Friedlander, Neal Brennan, and Artie Lange, bar and comedy club THE STAND shows that great jokes only get funnier with a little bit of liquid encouragement. We’d watch out for the Bligh’s Revenge if we were you. Drink enough of it and The Stand’s Agricole Martinique JM Rhum, spiced date syrup, lemon juice, Averna, and black walnut bitters might just spell curtains for you; you wouldn’t want to miss any surprise acts coming your way.
thestandnyc.com
SLICE, the fort
SLICE now offers more than just sweet tooth delights and caffeinated concoctions. Along with the restaurant’s signature Choco Yema Cupcake and Hot Chocolate, Slice also offers pasta and rice dishes. 7th Ave. cor. 29th St. South, G/F West Superblock Bonifacio High Street Central, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
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TROPICAL SALAD WITH MANGO VINAIGRETTE Mixed greens with an assortment of tropical fruit, topped with mango vinaigrette and parmesan cheese
THICK TOMATO SOUP Puréed fresh tomatoes with cream
BROWN ARROZ CALDO Brown rice porridge with chicken, shallots, garlic, and a hardboiled egg
BARBECUE CHICKEN RICE MELT Baked barbecue chicken strips on a bed of brown rice, topped with melted cheese
Words by Rita Faire, photos by Patrick Diokno
PLATE
BRICK AND MORTAR
STORES TO SHOP
PEEK!, SINGAPORE 36 Armenian Street, #10-04 Singapore City peek-ture.com Dime to drop: SG$20-SG$600 (P677-P20,300) Don’t leave without: A nifty iPhone lens, a refurbished Polaroid camera, or a vintage Russian Darkroom Army camera
D
on’t forget to take a PEEK! next time you stroll down the rows of shop-houses in Singapore’s Armenian Street. Situated here is a restored two-story heritage building that serves as a hotspot for those with a soft spot for taking snapshots. Visitors are welcomed by all white interiors, vibrant green shelves, and lamp-adorned high ceilings. Lomography (and iPhoneography) enthusiasts can gawk over the endless wares and services the store offers from displays of camera lenses and phone cases to refurbishing dad’s old Polaroid camera. Meanwhile, tourists can fulfill their fancies with a Diana Deluxe Kit or a Fisheye One Woodgrain. Peek!’s second floor stocks analogue cameras from the Darkroom Army and limited edition Fed 5Bs. Also hosting workshops and events from time to time, Peek! attracts all types of hobbyists and specialists. Add the fact that The Impossible Project (of IMPOSSIBLE by NIGO) and Leather Factory Roberu shirts have made their nest here, you shouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself peeking in.
DARKROOM, LONDON 52 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC1N 3LL darkroomlondon.com Dime to drop: £15-£1,500 (P955-P99,529) Don’t leave without: The Darkroom hand mirror
B
Words by Rita Faire, Victor Loong and Loris Peña
ehind its black façade, DARKROOM’s interiors marry Aztec and African tribal prints with Mondrian modernity. The store is ruled by contemporary sensibilities of minimalism, demonstrated by uncluttered accent walls decorated with only a thin row of framed photographs. Space is heightened by the contrast between black walls and crisp white ceilings as the eye draws to main pieces illuminated by hanging industrial lamps. The shop also pays tribute to other art movements like Bauhaus and De Stijl with an eclectic selection of one-of-akind, handmade accoutrements that double as works of art. The sculptural necklaces displayed alongside structural carafes can either be displayed around your neck or on a wall. Also in the store are pieces from emerging designers and craftspeople. Cuff bracelets from Fleet Ilya, ceramic storage pieces from Established & Sons, and geometric scarves from David David elevate Darkroom’s purposes from retail retreat to unconventional gallery.
ESTATE OF MIND
F
ree your ESTATE OF MIND and the rest will follow. Proudly flying the Aussie flag, this online store has pieces from designers Emma Mulholland, Lucy Kulmar, Chase Dakota, and Virginie Lynn. Your baby got outback in Love & Anarchy’s asymmetrical LBDs while Orri Henrisson’s cropped trousers and contrast-panel shirts give your gent a reprieve from rugged. estateofmind.com.au
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SCREEN
SCENES TO SEE
TICKET
REMOTE CONTROL UPSIDE DOWN Kirsten Dunst and Jim Sturgess star in Juan Diego Solanas’s (Nordeste) film about a man searching for his long-lost love in an alternate universe with an opposite sense of gravity.
DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino’s latest film sees a freed slave (Jamie Foxx) as he travels across the Deep South with a German dentist turned bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) to rescue his wife from a ruthless plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS This adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale follows Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) 15 years after their gingerbread house incident as they become two of the most feared bounty hunters in fairytale land. NOT FADE AWAY The Sopranos creator David Chase directs Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows) and John Magaro (Liberal Arts) in this New York Film Festival entry about young love and rock & roll in 1960s New Jersey.
THE GRANDMASTERS Five years after his last film, Wong Karwai returns behind the camera in this drama based on the life story of Bruce Lee’s mentor, Wing Chun grandmaster Yip Man.
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COUGAR TOWN (TBS) After three seasons on ABC, the cul-de-sac gang heads to the land of Team Coco for its salvation. Former showrunners Bill Lawrence and Kevin Biegel have stepped down, but Samantha Who? producer Ric Swartzlander is more than eager to get the show back to docked ship shape.
DOWNTON ABBEY (PBS) Downton Abbey invites viewers to start their year right with impending nuptials. Posh people problems abound as the Crawley family deals with weddings (both ill-fated and successful), money scandals, and American mothers-inlaw, while the servants downstairs struggle to keep up with lady-killing footmen, health scares, and war inside the plotting smokers camp.
HOW TO LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS (FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE) (ABC) Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother alum Sarah Chalke joins Everybody Loves Raymond’s Brad Garrett and Weeds’ Elizabeth Perkins in a series following a young, uptight divorcée forced to move in with her laid-back parents after the economy goes to the dogs.
PL AYBACK DAISIES (1966) I love this Czech film and the two female protagonists are amazing.
ILIRJANA ALUSHAJ (Apache Beat) @ilirjana PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (1975) Amazing, mysterious, and shot beautifully. We based the Apache Beat video for the track “Tracing Sky” on this film.
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (1988) I love Japanese animation, and this one is so wonderful. It lives somewhere between weird and cute.
WEEKEND (1967) First heard of this film via my friend Alan Palomo (Neon Indian) as he said I reminded him of the women in this film.
KILL BILL VOLUME 1 (2003) What a great film! Has everything in it and the Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) character is the perfect heroine/ action hero.
Words by Rita Faire
ZERO DARK THIRTY An elite team of intelligence officers and military operatives begin the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Kathryn Bigelow’s follow-up to her Oscar-winning film, The Hurt Locker.
ink BOOKMARK
BOOKS TO READ
HOT OFF THE PRESS GRANDVILLE Bête NOIRE By Bryan Talbot Set to the backdrop of the violent 19th century French underbelly, Bête Noire is the fifth graphic novel in Bryan Talbot’s series about Detective Inspector Archibald LeBrock and his partner Detective Sergeant Roderick Ratzi. This time, the badger and his rodent chum traipse through Paris in pursuit of a masked assassin bent on eliminating the finest members of the Grandville art scene.
EMPRESS OF FASHION: A LIFE OF DIANA VREELAND By Amanda Mackenzie Stuart Diana Vreeland ruled over the fashion world with a silken glove from her time in Harper’s Bazaar to her tenure in Vogue and her reign in the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Curated by biographer Amanda Mackenzie Stuart, the book includes a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Diana’s intimate circle populated by Coco Chanel, Andy Warhol, the Kennedys, Elsa Schiaparelli, and the rest of the fashion elite.
YOU CAN FIND INSPIRATION IN EVERYTHING By Paul Smith
In Paul Smith’s book, You Can Find Inspiration In Everything, he says,“Photography is one of those things that keeps me fresh… I base all of my collections on observation.” Here are just a few frames you might find in his office, if ever you’re lucky enough to be invited in for tea. • A framed black and white photograph of a woman and two girls in traditional dress ‘in Golden Triangle, North Thailand.’ • An empty wine bottle with a photograph of Mussolini on the label. • A signed photograph of Dennis Tito. • A black and white photograph of Sean Penn peeing. • A framed black and white photograph of a topless blonde woman by Scavullo.
A POSSIBLE LIFE: A NOVEL IN FIVE PARTS By Sebastian Faulks Taking place in various countries during various eras, Sebastian Faulks’s new novel explores the pains and pleasures borne out of love, separation, and missed opportunities. He looks at the relationship between a soldier and his lover during the Second World War, a father struggling with the guilt of giving his son away, a 19th century French servant who finally understands the Bible story her master reads to her, and a singer who connects with her unwitting audience.
• A signed photograph of Elaine Pyke playing the female lead in Steven Spielberg’s surprise smash Broadway musical version of Macbeth. • A black and white photograph of Mick Jagger, wearing only a small pair of shorts and carrying a bucket and a spade. • A framed photograph taken at Glastonbury in 1997 showing a black T-shirt with the words ‘Paul Spliff’ printed on it.
Words by Rita Faire
FOOTNOTES Bryan Talbot’s Grandville series was inspired by the works of Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard, a French caricaturist who worked under the pseudonymn J.J. Grandville.
Way before she became Editor-in-chief of Vogue, Diana Vreeland was first part of the Tiller Girls, a popular 1900s London dance troupe that became famous for their linked arms and high kicks.
Sebastian Faulks is a fan of West Ham United F.C.—an allegiance shared by comedian Russell Brand, actor Ray Winstone, and former Olympian Kriss Akabusi.
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BEATS
MUSIC TO HEAR
PL AYLIS T “She Lives in My Lap” Outkast Basically the soundtrack to our love life in high school.
“Flashing Lights” Kanye West It came out at a pivotal time for us to follow our dreams.
“Sooner or Later” N.E.R.D. The name says it all.
“Amen” Meek Mill ft. Drake Gospel sample over ridic heavy crunk beat.
WALLPAPER. Ricky Reed (vocals) thisiswallpaper.com
BEE EYES Julius Valledor (vocals/guitar) bee-eyes.com
“Je Claque Des Doigts” Madjo Can’t undertsnad her and I don’t care.
“Are You… Can You… Were You?” Shabazz Palaces Best instrument(al) of last year.
“Ela Só Pensa Em Beijar” MC Leozinho Favorite record from Rio.
“Baby” Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti Sounds like the feeling when you smoosh your girl’s face.
“Gonus” FMAM It’s unexpected and left field but it still retains that pop sensibility.
“So Much In Love” Zia Quizon I think Zia has everything it takes to be a superstar.
“Babe Slayer” Eyedress It slays.
ON THE RISE
NOCTURNAL NATURE
Y
OLO is so last season. Now there’s YOMO, or at least that’s what Cholo Hermosa (drums/vocals) calls his band with Kyle Quismundo (guitar), YOLANDA MOON. “Our music is rhythm-driven in a way where
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drafts start from beats,” he explains. “’Smalltalk’ was inspired by a motown drumming pattern. ‘73,’ obviously folk. While ‘Path’ was inspired by a Massive Attack trip-hop loop.” While they
combine elements of different sounds with sultry vocals, the common denominator among all the songs is soul. People could call their songs “heartsick ballads,” but Cholo says, “Some songs call out for help, others shout regret; the songs shout out who we are and where we are right now.” Recently, they’ve signed under Terno Recordings. “It’s nice to finally have a place to call home,” says Cholo. But as for their EP that’s gladly welcome in our postsummer-pre-autumn playlists, Kyle says, “The biggest challenge, I guess, would be getting that pristine quality recording. Cholo and I obsess over it, and I think it’s going to be the thing that’ll keep us up at nights. But it’ll be worth it.” Splendid evenings, sleepless nights. The more you listen, the more emotions rise. Enjoy.
facebook.com/yolandamoonmusic @yolandamoonsays
MUSIC NEWS
Beck plays time-traveler as he releases his new album that’s not really an album. It’s a test of what an album can be months from now. Instead of coming in the form of MP3s, CD, or vinyl, Beck Hansen’s Song Reader is to be released as sheet music, which other musicians can play for themselves. 108 pages with 20 individual song booklets will feature 20 tracks, a hardcover case, a Marcel Dzama (Guero), Leanne Shapton, Josh Cochran, and more original art.
After the successful worldwide tour of Michael Jackson’s costumes last May, Julien’s Auctions is auctioning off the King of Pop’s 50-100 wardrobe items on December 2 at the Julien’s Auctions Beverly Hills Gallery. Make space for treasures like spandex leotards, battery-powered light-up helmets, and the iconic crystal-covered glove designed by longtime collaborators Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush.
If your band decides to reunite and tour without you, what would you do? Write a book. And tour by yourself. Ex-New Order bassist, Peter Hook, recently came out with his book called Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division. He is also having shows with his backing band the Light (but performing New Order’s Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies in full) at London’s Koko on the 17th and Manchester Cathedral on the 18th.
Words by Reena Mesias, Yolanda Moon and Julius Valledor photos by Patrick Diokno, Beck Motely photo by Justin Create of Beau Monde
THE AIRPLANE BOYS Beck Motley theairplaneboys.com
“When Saints Go Machine” Hos Mig Igen ft. Coco O This is all we listened to in Coachella.
TEC H PACK LEICA X2 À LA CARTE • Customizable compact camera with design options for finishes and features • Features a professional CMOS image sensor with 16.5 megapixels • Equipped with a Leica Elmarit 24 mm f/2.8 ASPH lens • Uses 35 mm film SRP: TBA
TURTLE SHELL BOOMBOX • Bluetooth capable device with a 33-foot device range • Meets IPX-5 dust and weatherproof standards • Powered by a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery • Comes with built-in microphone for call functionality SRP: P6,210
stocking stuffers
This holiday season, the best gifts could come in the tiniest socks.
POKKET MIXER • Mobile mini DJ platform with featuring a crossfader, equalizer, and listen switch • Requires no power supply • Compatible with most media playing devices • Activates via headphone signal
HOUSE OF MARLEY MIDNIGHT RAVERS
SRP: TBA
• In-ear headphones made from recyclable aluminum • Comes with 52-inch fabric-covered cord that cuts down static • Equipped a right-angled 3.5 mm gold-plated connector • Features two noise-isolating 8 mm drivers SRP: P1,660
DOWNLOADS MIXER By Armillary
RUNKEEPER By RunKeeper
BLUE NOTE By Groovebug
Allows users to discover and invite people to get-togethers.
An exercise device that measures your performance against members of the animal kingdom.
A comprehensive catalogue of songs, artwork, photos, videos, and articles related to iconic jazz label Blue Note Records.
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FAC E PA IN T Benefit Ooh La Lift Instant Under-eye Brightening Boost P912
Lorac Oil-Free Luminizer in Pearl P1,161
Chanel Illusion d’Ombre Eyeshadow in Fantasme P1,492 Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Stretching Mascara P1,243
MAC Strobe Cream P622
TINSEL TOWN
Lancôme Éclat Miracle Serum of Light Complexion Illuminator P1,534
Bring out the glamour and glitz to celebrate the yearend hits.
Jemma Kidd Make Up School Eye Wardrobe Colour Quartet in Grey P1,602
Laura Mercier Foiled Eye Colour in V.I.P. Silver P912
Bobbi Brown Metallic Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Chrome Patina P995
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NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Pots and Pans P186
Nails Inc. Special Effects Nail Polish in Sugar House Lane P734
Chanel Le Blanc de Chanel Sheer Illuminating Base P1,865 Laura Mercier Metallic Créme Eye Colour in Alloy P912
Model photo by Fernando Colon
Rimmel London Glam’Eyes HD Quad Eye Shadow in Black Cab P228
Marc Jacobs Bang Eau de Toilette P3,109
AB O U T FACE DOUBLE DOWN
DDF WRINKLE RESIST PLUS PORE MINIMIZER™ MOISTURIZING SERUM hits two birds with one stone. It exfoliates and hydrates your skin, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and pores. P3,523
I’M A BELIEVER
Skip the foundation with PHILOSOPHY THE SUPERNATURAL PORELESS, FLAWLESS SPF 15 TINTED PRIMER. It multitasks as a skin protector and foundation while keeping pores and wrinkles tight and out of sight. P1,244
Expert Advice
Place a warm wash cloth soaked in lemon juice over your face to help cleanse skin and minimize pores.
PREP PRINCESS
Add NARS PRO-PRIME SKIN SMOOTHING FACE PREP to your pre-makeup ritual. It erases fine lines and evens out rough patches, leaving your skin flawlessly matte throughout the day. P1,244
ON the dot Keep them clean and shut them tight.
ACE OF BASE
Master the art of a flawless base. TARTE CLEAN SLATE PORELESS 12-HOUR PERFECTING PRIMER refines the appearance of pores and lines to keep makeup in place for up to 12 hours. P1,244
POWER PUMP
Words by Zoe Laurente, Model photo by Fernando Colon
A few pumps of ESTÉE LAUDER’s IDEALIST PORE MINIMIZING SKIN REFINISHER will leave your skin feeling soft, smooth, and silky. Slap some on for brighter and clearer complexion. P3,316
WET SLICKS
MAC PREP + PRIME SKIN REFINED ZONE TREATMENT may apply wet, but it dries up in an instant, leaving skin with a long-lasting natural matte finish. P829
b ea u t y b i t e RUDY’S BARBERSHOP
G
et your fix of new dos at RUDY’S BARBERSHOP. Aside from the quick service, the store’s interior completes your Rudy’s Barbershop experience with pieces from an old Remington Ammunition factory. The store adorns itself with a handmade, welded back bar, black enamel wall panels, and factory lights–a breather from clinical salons that look like they came out straight from a brochure. Simply put, Rudy’s isn’t just about beatuy. It’s about community. 14 West 29th Street New York, New York, 10001 Tel. 212.532.7200 rudysbarbershop.com
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GO S E E A good photo never lies, and neither does great style. Learn a thing or two and try to walk a mile in this bunch’s shoes.
Leather Shorts Sheer Jacket Platform Sandals
Vintage Button-down Checkered Pants
Cutout Dress
Cropped Pullover
Laced Stockings
Harem Pants Printed Trousers
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Plaid Shirt
Neon Coat
Penny Loafers
Parachute Shorts
Printed Tee
Kimono Jacket
Photographed by JP Singson and Joaquin Gregorio
Pleated Skirt
Ribbon Belt
Shift Dress Bear Earrings Suede Jacket
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S T YLE I D
THREE QUARTERS
If you don’t have anyone to snuggle with this Yuletide season, don’t fret. Here are some alternative three-quarter length outerwear that will keep you warm during the chilly holiday evenings. by JP Singson
Student Shoko Yamashita goes all-black with a pop of red.
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A light nylon jacket works for our unpredictable weather here in Manila.
A casual parka is a must-have.
This tangerine jacket on Michelle Harper looks sweet and juicy!
Doina Ciobanu of The Golden Diamonds goes androgynous with her oversized coat.
jponfashionspeed.blogspot.com
The perfect stylish jacket for St. Patrick’s Day.
An edgy layered coat with matching personality will definitely get second looks.
Secret Garden Somewhere under the blue skies lie satin dresses that flow with the wind and bejeweled accessories that shine when the sun hits it. Pair them with printed frocks and golden locks—they’re all you need to play the field. Photographed by Natalie J Watts Styled Camilla Ashworth
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top and skirt both by Michael van der Ham crystal collar by Joanne Hynes ring by Mawi
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top by Lanvin floral headpiece by Her Curious Nature necklace by Mawi bracelet by Mawi rings by Mawi
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blazer by Stella McCartney skirt by Holly Fulton necklace by Holly Fulton earrings by Holly Fulton shoes by LD Tuttle
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dress by Michael van der Ham crystal collar by Joanne Hynes
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Makeup, Nails, and Hair Mira Parmar using Illamasqua, OPI, and Bumble and Bumble Model Stacy Grant at Models 1 Retouching Catherine Day Assistant Stylist Chloe Pierre dress by Lanvin embellished headpiece by Her Curious Nature bracelet by Mawi
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BON VOYAGE All signs lead to a go when you're clad in Fall/Winter’s chunky coats and structured skirts. Get naughty with wine-stained lips and get nautical with big round sunnies. All aboard! Photographed by Nikolai De Vera Styled by Joaquin Gregorio
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shirt by Lost Weekend NYC sunglasses by BCBG Max Azria skirt by Cheap Monday
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top by Timo Weiland skirt by Zero + Maria Cornejo shoes by YSL Opposite page: coat by Zero + Maria Cornejo dress by Cheap Monday
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fur vest coat byTimo Weiland dress by Zero + Maria Cornejo shoes by YSL
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Makeup Imane Hair Stefani Annaliese Photo Assistant Allison Specketer Model Hayley Wheeler of Next shirt by Cheap Monday shorts by Cheap Monday sunglasses by BCBG Max Azria
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HERO HEROINE
Cross over to the dark side in fishnets and metallics. Give in to sweet temptation. Put on your favorite dress, light a cigarette, and escape the world. Feel the rush. Get high on this. Photographed by Nick St. James Styled By Loris PeĂąa
dress by Sassa Jimenez nose ring by Renzie Santos stockings, stylist’s own
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top by Noel Crisostomo gold pants by Robin Tomas
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dress by Proudrace cuffs by Forever 21
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blazer by Oz Go dress by Arnold Galang
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Makeup Maui Manalo Hair Adam Seth Teh Assistant Stylist Zoe Laurente Model Chelsea Robato pants by Oz Go fringed belt, stylist’s own fishnet body suit, stylist’s own
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SSWAG H O L I DAY S H O P P I N G G U I D E
DECEMBER 2012 All ye lassies and lads, ‘tis the season for gift-giving, so round up the gang and play along with our Secret Santa. Here’s a little sweet something for you. Product Photography by Miguel Miranda Runway Photography by Fernando Colon
Human [P259]
Human [P699]
Sperry Top-siders [P3,950]
Sony Walkman F series NWF-F805 [P13,788]
Sony Nex-F3 [P31,599]
Nike [P1,595]
Victoria’s Secret Beach Sexy Instant Bronze Body Spray [P739]
Topshop [P1,895]
TY R O P S G N I H T SOME Skechers [P3,995]
Nike [P4,995] Terranova [P1,245]
Roxy [P1,790]
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Lacoste Fal/Winter 2012
Terranova [P2,695]
Call It Spring [P2,095]
Oxygen [P449] Terranova [P799]
Sony Xperia SL [P21,894]
Butter London Nail Polish in Wallis [P574]
Steve Madden [P3,950]
Dolce & Gabbana Secret Eyes Mascara [P1,285]
Oxygen [P599]
HINY SOMETHING S
Topshop [P3,795]
Nanette Lepore Fall/Winter 2012
The Little Book of Perfumes [P720]
Dorothy Perkins [P3,895] Forever 21 [P1,435]
Forever 21 [P1,420]
Zara [P1,790]
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Warehouse [P1,595]
Tory Burch [TBA]
Warehouse [P3,895]
Forever 21 [P915]
Paris versus New York [P799] NARS Copacabana Illuminator [P1,750] MAC Lustre Drops in Sun Rush [P885]
Penshoppe [P949]
EXY SOMETHING S
Warehouse [P745]
BlackBerry Bold 9900 [P26,490]
Forever 21 [P1,135]
Forever 21 [P1,535]
Tom Ford cheek color in Love Lust [P2,968]
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Hérve Léger Fal/Winter 2012
Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion Make up [P2,542]
EstĂŠe Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-place Eye pencil [P861]
Dorothy Perkins [P745]
Oxygen [P999]
Tom Ford Lip Color in Bruised Plum [P1,845] Forever 21 [P1,695]
Forever 21 [P1,175]
Giorgio Armani Code Luna [P2,398]
Warehouse [P2,395]
LICK SOMETHING S
BlackBerry Torch 9860 [P20,290]
Call It Spring [P2,095]
Prada [P5,999]
Tibi Fall/Winter 2012
Oxygen [P949]
Terranova [P870]
Aldo [P5,395]
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Crooks n Castles [P1,690]
Sony MDR-IR XB900 [P9,430]
Quiksilver [P1,790]
Celio [P1,295]
Bench [P1,129]
TREET S G N I H T E M O S
Giorgio Armani Code Sport [P2,009]
Nike [P4,495]
Zara [P4,590]
Sony PlayStation Bluetooth Headset [P1,639]
The World Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide [P599] Keds [P2,590] DC [P2,290]
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Kiehl’s Facial Fuel [P1,332]
General Idea Fal/Winter 2012
Bench [P899]
Topman [P1,595]
Dovo Cut Throat Razor [P5,330]
Oxygen [P1,449]
Zara [P7,590]
Regatta [P1,495]
Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio [P2,840]
NG O R T S G N I H T SOME Zara [P2,990]
Zara [P4,590]
Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2012
Wallstreet [P249]
BlackBerry Curve 9380 [P10,990]
Call It Spring [P3,995] Gangsters Encyclopedia [P699]
Sony Play Station Wireless Keyboard [P3,046]
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Sony Alpha 99 [P171,380] Terranova [P1,095]
Lucky Tiger Ray Rum After Shave [P492]
Bench [P1,229]
DC [P3,490]
I L LY S G N I H T E M O S Rebus [P1,999]
Oxygen [P349]
Topman [P2,745]
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DC [P6,290]
General Idea Fal/Winter 2012
BlackBerry Curve 9320 [P11,990]
Marc by Marc Jacobs [P8,250]
Human [P459]
Folded & Hung [P475]
Regatta [P495]
Bench [P998.75]
Penshoppe [P1,499]
Regatta [P1,095] Sony ICD-UX533F [P7,190]
Ralph Lauren Polo Blue Sport [P2,952]
RT A M S G N I H T E SOM Call It Spring [P2,995]
Marc by Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2012
Penshoppe [P599]
Oxygen [P349]
The Elegance of the Hedgehog [P499]
Celio [P2,195] Pony [P2,795]
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M U S E
RULE OF THIRDS This sprightly sprout from Brussels, MARINE VAN OUTRYVE, had her breakout year booking big leaguers like Chloé, J.W. Anderson, and Mary Katrantzou. Not only is she a triplet, this teenage fashionphile is also a triple treat with her graceful good looks, posh style, and disarming humility. By Giano D. Dionisio Photos courtesy of Hakim Model Management
A
t a shoot, Marine Van Outryve poses for a photo with her blue-grey eyes transfixed on the lens. She sways left and right, cinches the silk of her DVF jumper, and lets out a rare smile. It’s all in a day’s work. Back from a weeklong family vacation in Ibiza, the young lady talks fondly of growing up green in Belgium, the constant evolution of her career, and the perks of being a fashion model.
CHARMED SISTER
Fashion is a very good exercise of personal expression as art… My personal style is very fresh, natural, chic, and rock.
IN THE HABIT
This business has taught me to have some discipline and to be more confident in myself… I love playing sports. They allow me to let off steam. I also do yoga to relax. I love taking long walks.
Yes, I’m a triplet. We’re not too similar; we are three different characters. Each of us blossomed into different lifestyles, but we have a sentimental relationship that connects us.
SUNSET BOULEVARD
PEOPLE PERSON
hakim-mm.tumblr.com
I am interested in this job to meet a lot of creative and passionate people.
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I use my inner actress to inspire photographers—I myself am inspired by many things: paintings, films— while trying to bring out new emotions.
M A E S T R O
SHAKE
HABIT
When FOSTER THE PEOPLE headed to Manila and whetted our appetite by announcing a new album for 2013, we knew this would be the start of a long-lasting relationship. In sickness and in health, in chaos and in order, onstage and online, our ears are all set to hear the greatness that will once again take care of everyone’s groove and rapture. Let’s dance. By Reena Mesias Photographed by Williams & Hirakawa
S
o many kids lost their minds and voices months ago when frontman Mark Foster, bassist Cubbie Fink, and drummer Mark Pontius of Foster the People spread their dance-infused pop rock thrilla in Manila. For a day, the iPods were reduced to playing Torches, the “advanced/ senior” hipsters were nowhere to be found (‘coz they were crying sellout), and life became a party—well at least for those who ambushed the concert grounds and went out of control with the trio’s exhilarating, bouncy tunes. All of the madness took place, certainly, with Foster the People’s consent. Mark Foster says, “I don’t think there’s a limit to the band’s weirdness.”
What people may not know is, before they charged every scenester with euphoria, the band went through a few drawbacks. This translates to their songs that talk about death, lost American youth, or fear twisted into something lighthearted (“A happy song with happy lyrics is boring,” says Mark Foster). The band also rework discomfort into something positive. “There’s life that comes with it,” Mark Foster continues. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he said, “Uncomfortability sometimes produces the best art.” So keep the band uncomfortable, go ahead. Take them to a foreign country, and make them feel weird with
freakish traditions. Most likely, they will succumb. They will probably even use the experience to inspire their second album. “When you’re in the comfort zone, sometimes it’s hard to grow as a person,” Mark Foster says. “So there’s been a lot of growth over the last year.” He tells us about his trip to India, in a city around a lake. “There were these celebrations going on. I didn’t know what was happening. People made a human pyramid that’s about six storeys high, 40-50 feet in the air. They were trying to grab this piñata type thing hanging from a rope. It was full of cheese curd, and when they got it, that’s when the celebration started.” With cheese curd or monstrous balloons or Mark Foster’s sensationally awkward dance moves, how the band will celebrate the sophomore album, we can only guess. But imagine you are Mr. Foster, and you know
how to make a record that’s going to meet global success, do you make another seller or do you do something new altogether? Even if he chooses the latter, we’re sure the new album will foster the people just as well. Thanks to the influences from Mark’s travels and his electronic side project Simms and Belle, we can expect a more “evolved” sound that meets The Clash, The Kinks, West African music, and David Bowie. Mark Foster says, “There’s a rule that we have in the studio. It’s basically, ‘Let anybody try anything new,’ and I think that’s the attitude we’re going to have.” “There are no boundaries—just let everything come out and not really judge it.” Welcome the change and the unknown. Let Torches be your guide, but let the new album take you to your destination.
fosterthepeople.com @fosterthepeople
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maestro
catching the boogie
Guess which one of the “Bad Girls” is ready to “Bring The Noise” to the hood? MIA is proud to present her second album, Matangi. Maya proves her craft and style as she’s the “Only 1” in her album this time with no added featured collaborations.
MICK BOOGIE isn’t just a DJ anymore. If you’ve been invited to grace the turntables at The Darby, Le Bain, Avenue and 1 Oak, or to spin at parties for Esquire, The Hollywood Reporter, Red Bull, Will Smith, Anja Rubik, LeBron James and Jay-Z, you’re pretty much “it.” By Leo Balante
E
“
very project I do—big or small—influences me and benefits my career,” says the Ohio-born and NYC-based Mick Boogie, also a drum- and pianoplaying mixtape composer and producer otherwise known as The Commissioner. Marked by 80s tunes, rock, soul, electro, and his famous hip-hop spins and mashups, Mick knows how to keep the party going. “A good party is a combination of many things: the crowd, the venue, the energy,
the music, the alcohol. Most parties don’t have the right combination, but that’s what makes the special ones amazing,” Mick says. Aside from taking A-listers to party nirvana, Mick also collaborates with the biggest names like Coldplay, Kanye West, and Adele, whose works have also influenced his musical stamp. “The Viva La Hova mix with Jay-Z and Coldplay set a definitive music trajectory for how I wanted to base my sound moving
forward, that is very multigenre,” the mix master notes. But his dreams of “more music, more mixes, having lots of travel” and maybe a “STATUS x Mick Boogie party” (“That would be crazy,” he says) don’t just materialize because he’s a DJ. “I decided a long time ago to stop thinking of my life as being a DJ instead of running a business with DJing being a component,” he explains. “It’s been great ever since.”
mickboogie.com @mickboogie
rhyme and reason What would you do if you had ENCOUNTERS WITH A YETI? Guitarist Niño Valmonte says, “Instagram that shit!” We had our own run-in and, while that suggestion does check out, we just opted to groove to their musical moves and learn what it takes to make “tonal poems.” By Rita Faire Photographed by Francisco Guerrero
I
t took almost seven years for experimental acousmatic band Encounters With A Yeti to make its way out of the wild
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Don’t be surprised when LOCAL NATIVES’ Hummingbird flies its way to your playlist. Co-produced by Aaron Dessner of The National, expect heavy organic percussions, guitar-play, and emotional baggage; that’s not just because they agreed to work together over alcohol.
Crooner SCOTT WALKER has been silent for a while. But with his upcoming album Bish Bosch, he is sure to make some noise. Just by the track titles themselves, “Epizootics!,” “Corps De Blah,” and “SDSS1416+13B,” it’s obvious that the sounds will be indescribable. and on to the stage. Frontman Pochie Buenavista says, “It wasn’t an issue of waiting for a final ingredient. It was more of hitting a point where you craved to move on, evolve from what it is you were previously doing.” After a period of what he describes as reinvention and redundancy control, an eerie, atmospheric brainchild was born with his current bandmates Ross Pleyto (bass), Caloy Tiangco (drums), Des Lawas (keys), Ramon Rivera (guitars), and Niño Valmonte (guitars). Their entire instrumental discography sways between the realms of film score and symphonic classical homage as it evolves into a collaboration with the audience
that “allows them to use the song in any way they want, be it a soundtrack to a moment or a highway to a memory,” says Pochie. Niño elaborates by saying, “Without vocals, ‘the canvas becomes the painting,’ and a much better painting at that.” Calling their creation “tonal poems,” the band’s album, Pilot, stands on solid ground, every note as organic as the reaction they garner. “Fuck your writing process,” says Caloy. “Just play and the song will come and transform.” That’s what you call poetic license.
facebook.com/encounterswithayeti @reclusiveyeti
The wait is over. The band has finally gathered enough FREE ENERGY to get back in the game. Their newest album, Love Sign, is produced by John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile, Dinosaur Jr.) who took the band’s love of radio pop and rock to greater heights.
MAESTRO
BACK TO THE FUTURE After bunking down for the winter in a farm off of Melbourne, GYPSY & THE CAT emerge out of the woodwork as a couple of time-traveling musicians driving backward down the timeline and turning left towards a new sound. By Rita Faire
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heir process may sound like Stephen King’s Misery, but the lack of kidnapping, torture, and crazy nurses make Gypsy & The Cat’s country retreat less scary. One-half of the duo, Lionel Towers, explains, “We wrote The Late Blue in Xavier [Bacash]’s dad’s farm which is an hour out of Melbourne. We pretty much stayed there when we wrote it.” Now, don’t think they’re hermits with no love for daylight or company. This is the first time either of them had done this sort of thing for a record, and with the new process came sacrifice of daily distractions. “If we had written in the city, we would have done day shifts, and it wouldn’t have been a 24-hour process.” Instead of driving to the studio at 10 in the morning and starting work just before lunch, they woke up to the sounds of nature before answering its calls and going headfirst into writing until they both crashed to a good night’s sleep. Taking inspiration from 1960s psychedelia—a couple of eras away from the 1980s pop referenced in their debut album, Gilgamesh—The Late Blue takes cues from Pink Floyd and The Zombies. Songs like
“Bloom” and “Sorry” are filled with winding rhythms, hazy vocals, pulsing undertones, and second turned into a meaningful rehash of thoughts and emotions. Lionel explains, “In every song, there’s probably a moment.” Gypsy & The Cat can pump up the tempo but be able to create a lazy afternoon mood by singing brooding lines. It’s a movement that Lionel describes as more “left” than what they had with Gilgamesh. “I think it’s left just because the songs are less obvious with this record.” What else would you expect from “dreamscape ballads with washed out melodies, driving tom-fuelled rock with dance-floor highs, to lazy Nordic grooves with cascading Moogs and liquid tones?” The decision to move “left” came hand and parcel with their decision to part with their major record label, Sony, and release independently. “We wanted to be in charge of our own music,” says Lionel. “There were all sorts of things wrong within that system. We figured that in terms of Australia and other territories, we could release ourselves independently and maybe if it’s strong enough, people will
“MAJOR LABELS ARE ONLY GOOD AT NURTURING ARTISTS WHO ARE ALREADY BIG.” hear it. “ He goes on, “Xavier and I feel that today, major labels are only good at nurturing artists who are already big… Back in the day, major labels kind of had to manufacture bands from scratch and make them famous.” Good thing fame isn’t the only game they’re playing. “I think a lot of people won’t get this record as much as they did the first, and you know, that’s cool. Because at the end of the day, we just want to write,” says Lionel.
gypsyandthecat.com @gypsyandthecat
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FULL OF GRACE
New punk band FIDLAR made it out of the garage with a selftitled debut album. These punk Angelenos have rage following them as they rock out with “Cheap Beer” on hand. Sounds pretty reckless. If that isn’t too obvious, you should know what FIDLAR means: Fuck It Dog, Life’s a Risk.
Dayve Hawk of MEMORY TAPES is comfortable to have convinced fans that he couldn’t care less to connect with them in gigs and festivals, but with his promising new LP, Grace/Confusion, how can he blame their renewed zeal for his analog glory? By Nante Santamaria
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ayve Hawk’s two daughters, the older one playing piano and the little one gleefully screaming, are “loud” enough for him. While the rest of the indiesphere won’t stop abuzz with their hashtags and incessant declarations of “nexts,” Dayve aka Memory Tapes works quietly in his corner. A year since his last LP, a new recording, Grace/Confusion, is set to come out this December. In this sea of artifice, he comes up with something real. He says, “I felt the most honest record I could make was one where I embraced the fact that I had lost my compass because why pretend otherwise?” What confuses you most about today’s music? I think it’s all confusing. I’m interested in working towards an ideal, which means that every record is, in a sense, a failure. You’re documenting your attempts to achieve something, keeping a record of the approach; but everyone seems to come from more of a success/ fail, hot/not, like/dislike sort of angle. It’s become a numbers game. The internet is such a perfect machine for recording the public’s initial reaction to things that I feel like culture has become more about judgment and less about development. When do you find vocals necessary? I could never be Leonard Cohen, and the truth inherent in the
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“No one should be waiting for me to sort out that breakthrough hit… I’m not gonna burn hot a few years and then become a lawyer; this is what I do.” basic genetics behind people’s voices is, good or bad, pretty valuable. This is another thing that goes back to the general ideas behind what motivates me. I use my voice not because I think it’s great, but because it’s mine. Do you think of your analog tendencies as products of nostalgia or as an aesthetic technique? I think I’m just old! A lot of the artists I meet now are college kids who studied graphic design; they’re very on it as far as how to use computers to get their whole thing across… I really don’t have the skills. I come from a more traditional piano, drums, guitar sort of skill set, so that’s how I work. The integrity of many musicians today is now preceded by buzz. How do you filter what you listen to? I think hype and buzz can take a toll if you’re fairly entrenched in the culture that creates it, but I’m pretty out of touch. I really don’t filter what I listen to. I don’t believe in the idea of experimental music… pretty much all forms have people waiting in some corner, ready to embrace them, so the idea
that anything is really breaking ground is fairly artificial. Some people need to feel that their parents would shudder at their record collection; others need to feel the whole room is feeling the same track. I’m not fussed; I just want to be interested. What would you like your listeners to remember as you become more mature? This project, at least as it relates to the outside world, has become an exercise in me challenging my own hesitation, so lots of what could be described as promotion has been sort of against my better judgment. Most of it I’ve made my peace with, but some things usually involving fashion photography —I could stand to forget. I’d like my listeners to remember that my goals are long-term; my interest is in development. No one should be waiting for me to sort out that breakthrough hit, and I hope that people will resist the urge to jump ship when I stray offcourse. I’m not gonna burn hot a few years and then become a lawyer; this is what I do.
memorytap.es
We don’t see how it’s wrong for TORO Y MOI to experiment and shake things up by hopping on the bandwagon of infectious songs for his next album. As long as he hasn’t lost his “Touch,” we’re good. Give the guy a break ‘coz he wouldn’t even want Anything in Return other than his patron enjoying his craft.
Matt Mondanile is garnering more attention as the frontman for what was once a solo project named DUCKTAILS. But for his fourth release, The Flower Lane, he invited the band Big Troubles to help him with the recording. The end result? You’ll be floating through the warm, welcoming melancholy.
JESSIE WARE has clear Devotion to her music. She puts “110%” effort and passion in sweet-talking listeners with her seductive tones mixed with electropop.
MAESTRO
regal to rock, Legal to Roll When you grow up learning jazz, the music you’re expected to create is obviously jazz. But THE ROYAL CONCEPT ain’t you. Bassist Magnus Robert says, “We dropped out of jazz college. The only thing we really wanted to do was to play rock & roll.” So they did, and four new rock & roll kings were crowned. By Reena Mesias Photographed by Brantley Gutierrez
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hat’s happening in The Royal Concept’s van at the moment of the interview: drummer Frans Povel is driving, guitarist Filip Bekic is playing tracks from jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, bassist Magnus Robert is watching Californication, and vocalist/guitarist David Larson is working on a new track they just wrote with the smallest MIDI keyboard you’ve ever seen. A viral smash, The Royal Concept have been generating buzz all over music blogs since coming out with “Gimme Twice.” Now, they’re gonna knock everyone out with an LP expected to release early next year. They might sound like the lovechild of Phoenix, Tokyo Police Club, and the Strokes, but they’re actually too good to dally in another band’s shadow. “Right now, we’re fighting for our right to soundcheck every night,” explains David. “Sometimes, we feel it would be a lot easier just to be a classic rock band with two electric guitars, a bass, and drums. But then, people would have missed
the royal parts of The Royal Concept… all the synths and the electronic parts we love to play onstage.” Roll out the carpet, and prepare the “soda pop and crackers backstage,” because they are about to slave to the sweat and rule the revolution. Let’s rewind a bit. What drove you to the music industry? Magnus: Filip, Povel, and David grew up with parents working as musicians. They’ve actually never had another job than playing or teaching music. I come from a non-music background, but when I was six years old, I walked up to my mom and said, “Mom, I wanna play bass.” I have no idea where that came from, but from that day, music has been the biggest part of my life. You mentioned that “In The End” is your anthem. It’s a pretty sad song compared to “Gimme Twice” and “D-d-dance.” David: We saw ourselves playing it for 40,000 people, and when the “la la la la” part comes in,
everyone just sings along, and the rain starts to fall. It’s a song that means so much to me ‘coz I wanted us to have a ballad, but we had a hard time to combine that with our other more happy songs. “In The End” it just made us grow 300% as a band. What makes your vision different from all the other bands who just wanna “spread good music all over the world?” David: To “spread good music all over the world” could never be a bad thing, right? But it’s the way you do it that makes the difference. I totally agree that our kind of music is not evolutionary, [but we have something unique and] we’ll never stay away from a certain kind of music just because it’s not cool enough. I think that’s why people feel something when they hear us… either they hate or love us. But still, our music just happens to create emotions.
We’re very proud of that. How rock & roll should we be to handle The Royal Concept? Filip: Rock & roll is a lifestyle that died 20 years ago. Nowadays, it’s just a music genre and a fashion style. You don’t have to practice that style to feel at home in our world. We feel that today’s world of music needs more passion and energy, and we’re tired of pretentious bands that don’t dare to show how much they love what they do. In that sense, we’re really trying to bring some rock & roll attitude back to business when we play, and we love when our fans help us with that. Complete the sentence. “In the end, The Royal Concept will be…” Filip: A cover band of themselves playing their fifth reunion tour.
theroyalconcept.com @theroyalconcept
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BREAKER
New York photographer YSA PÉREZ can’t take a compliment. We patted her on the back for her cool and casual style, and the only reply she could muster was, “My friends are going to make fun of me for that one.” Doubt that, Ysa. By Rita Faire A$AP Rocky
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Solange Knowles
ndrew Garfield was playing on one of the banisters of The Crosby’s balconies when Ysa Pérez told him to freeze. “I was starting out when I took that photo,” she recounts. She’d shot three frames of that pose. One with Andrew’s eyes closed, one where he looked uncomfortable, and one winning shot that would eventually land on the pages of Nylon. “A couple months later, The Social Network came out. The next thing I knew, he was dating Emma Stone and I began seeing Spider-Man posters everywhere.” Those were the moments when the New York photographer just stopped in her tracks, took a deep breath, and told herself, “Fuck. Did I hang out with that person?” It feels surreal, but stuff like that happens to Ysa more than she expects. Best known for being among the first photographers to shoot A$AP Rocky, she remembers, “A friend sent me ‘Peso’ way before Pitchfork told everyone it was cool, and way before A$AP was a fashion icon at runway shows.” She clocked out of GQ early that day to take a trip down to the East Village for their shoot. She knew she would get great photos, but she didn’t expect to end up “smoking weed with a chill guy that makes good music on a lovely afternoon.” That’s just how she rolls (pun intended). “Half the battle of a great photograph is making someone comfortable enough to let you in for a moment,” says Ysa. Sometimes it’s easy, especially when she and her subject have common friends or similar obsessions. Other times, she says, “You just gotta say some shit to get the ball rolling.” That’s why her perfect shoot is with someone who isn’t afraid of the lens. “The willing are the most interesting to photograph,” she explains. “You want to be able to connect with
someone, have a conversation and leave with photographs you feel good about. It sucks when someone isn’t reciprocating the same energy and isn’t interested. I rarely blame the subject, I just leave disappointed in myself.” After a while, forgiveness sets in and her life’s mantra takes over. “You fuck around and you learn.” Her method produces mad results— Andrew Garfield wasn’t her last shoot for Nylon, and A$AP wasn’t the only rapper she shot. Shooting portraits for clients like AnOther, XXL, Fools Gold Records, and Spin, Ysa has done everything from trailing Arctic Monkeys down the tour line to shooting the album cover for Uffie’s Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans and being declared one of Refinery29 × Coach’s new It-girls. In the midst of a plastic world and the digital revolution, she’s chosen to stick to genuine conversations and her 5D Mark II film camera. “Everything I’m really proud of was shot on film,” she states. “Perhaps I romanticize it, but I strongly believe that film is responsible for the way my photographs look. I don’t want to say film trumps digital, because it’s not suitable for every job. I definitely understand and respect that.” Well, we respect her need to keep it fresh. “New York City is my home but I’d actually like to be in Europe in 2013, just for a change of scenery. I’d also like to start working on an exhibition; I just need to go through my binders of film and make sense of it all.” ‘Til then, she’s chillin’ in the Brooklyn sun with a nice cup of tea, living off the high of her last great shoot.
ysaperez.com @ysaaa
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Andrew Garfield
mastermind
BELLE NOIR With a look that’s been described between 60s Cher and modern luxury goth, makeup artist KRISTIN GALLEGOS has become a style icon in her own right. By Victor Loong Photographed by Nicholas Routzen
tep inside Kristin Gallegos’s closet, and you’d see dark pieces from Rick Owens, jewelry chain harnesses from Bliss Lau, a Margiela dress, and boots from Ann Demeulemeester. There’s a lot of black, white, grey, beige, and some touches of deep red. And maybe, just maybe, a peek of tulle in the back. Before Kristin fully delved into the art of spackle, she was doing pirouettes and pliés. “I was really talented, but I knew I wouldn’t be the next star of American Ballet Theatre. If I weren’t going to be one of the best, I wanted to move on. I am very all or nothing!” she says. Kristin took that grand jeté into the beauty industry with her book and Craigslist. “I looked at their work and talked to them before we met in person. We started testing, I only shot with two or three photographers in LA, then I printed out all of my work before I moved to New York.” She lined, shadowed, contoured, and carved deeper into her craft by assisting other artists. Now, Kristin gets to travel the world, work the fashion week runway backstage, and shoot with the likes of David Bailey, Peter Lindbergh, Patrick Demarchelier, Arthur Elgort, and Annie Leibovitz.
You’ve been photographed for several features. Do you do your own makeup? Yes! I request to do my own makeup and hair, and most of the time, styling. I am not a model and I have a very specific look—it’s my thing so I keep it consistent. But if I could have any other makeup artist work on my face, I would definitely have Peter Phillips do my makeup. He is a true artist. Any fantasy shoots or concepts? My dream show would be doing makeup for Comme des Garçons!
The hair and makeup for its shows are always super conceptdriven. Rei Kawakubo always puts on an amazing show. She is in a world of her own. What’s a creative philosophy that’s purely Kristin Gallegos? The way I approach my work is to not have any rules. You can basically use any product for anything. I use the face as I would a canvas. I get inspired by the person in my chair as well as the hair, the clothes, and the set. I may start with an idea of what I may do and once I get started, it usually turns into something totally different. My personal motto is to work with what you have. Embrace what makes you different and interesting. Find what works the best for you and be confident, because confidence is the most beautiful quality in a person. Most people think that careers in beauty and fashion are glamorous. Working in fashion can be really glamourous! But for the most part, you are under a lot of pressure to produce interesting and creative work all the time. You have to think of things on the spot. You have to do your research on your own time. You work for really long hours most of the time and have really early call times. At the beginning, you are working for free and dealing with some strong personalities. There’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. A lot goes into each picture and each show. You have to be willing to work really hard. I have had hiccups along the way, but the best way to deal with the stresses is to be confident and strong. At the same time, you have to be flexible and willing to compromise. You have to have a thick skin and not
be too sensitive. It is a very collaborative process; you have to be open to other people’s ideas. What’s the weirdest place you’ve pulled inspiration from? I guess the weirdest thing I get inspired by would have to be food! There are some incredible colors found in food—especially in fruits and vegetables. What do you wish people paid more attention to when it comes to makeup/beauty regimens?
I really wish people cared more about their skin. Having beautiful skin helps to make anything else you put on your face look better. Also, finding your proper foundation and concealer is super important. I feel like a lot of women don’t get the color and coverage quite right. Less is more when it comes to foundation. You don’t want to look like you are wearing a mask.
kristingallegos.com @kristingallegos
“Find what works the best for you and be confident, because confidence is the most beautiful quality in a person.” Photographed by Stefani Pappas
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The Aurora Collective Other than DJs who’ll blow your mind, a massive soundsystem, a firepit in a weird old mansion, trippy visuals, and your best friends, you also need videographer, photographer, musician, underground party organizer, and one of New York’s psychedelic dreams, AURORA HALAL, for that immediate rave. Project X’s got nothing to say on this one. By Anika Ventura
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y father is Lebanese. My mom grew up in Canada. My first name was inspired by the aurora borealis.” There you have Aurora Halal, a New York-based artist who specializes in bizarre, hallucinogenic projects. “A lot of my ideas come from dreams and psychedelic experiences,” she says. Known for using VHS cameras and old school footage, it’s common to cast Aurora’s style as “retro”, but she clarifies, “The surrealist fascination is just how I see things. I like the way
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things are raw. But I’m getting into highdefinition lately. My philosophy is to trust my first instincts, make sure it’s coming from a real place, then make it work after.” Since going freelance and leaving her position as a video editor for Vice, she’s been busy with her own video production company, warehouse parties, and her solo music project. “I am going on tour doing live visuals for Planet Mu artist, Ital,” she says. “I’m bringing a ton of analog gear and doing this new live feedback
setup with a surveillance camera onstage. Hopefully a photography exhibition… that is my 2013 goal.” She’s strange and sugar combined, and when you’re lost in her lasers or staring at her visuals, stay put. “I don’t want to recreate anything that already happened in another era,” Aurora says. “I think the work I’ve made is very much situated in 2012… I don’t want to be anywhere but here.”
aurorahalal.com
SECOND As a self-confessed horror film junkie, KRISTEN HAGER admits that having a werewolf as an alter ego is not that bad at all. “I guess the best way to put it is that I am more in touch with my animal side,” she says. By Macy Reantaso Photographed by Angelo Kritikos
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risten Hager has had her share of sci-fi-slash-horror films from Alien vs. Predator: Requiem and A Little Bit Zombie. Despite the fact that werewolves aren’t really on top of the sexiest monsters list (unless you’re into shaggy animals), she wasn’t fazed at all when she learned that she’d portray a werewolf in the US version of Being Human. She says, “Turns out, being a werewolf is a lot sexier than one would think! It’s liberating to behave in a way that is so primal, and I also love the grittiness and ugliness that come along with it.” In more ways than one, Kristen admits to being in sync with her character,
the headstrong Nora Sargeant. “I now find myself far more aware of the mind and body connection. Because I’m playing a wolf on TV, it is my job to be very in tune with my senses and impulses,” Kristen says. But, of course, Kristen’s also just a regular girl who tends to get really clumsy. For example, she accidentally dropped a knife in a blender and sent flying shards of glass everywhere. “My kitchen looks like a war zone,” she tweeted. But the kid’s all right. Kristen may be a handful, but boy can she transform herself to various roles.
@kristen_hager
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mastermind
THE BOY WONDER Portrait by Sunjung Kim
We are about to pull the curtain back and introduce you to an old friend of ours—commercial director and photographer NICK ST. JAMES. His “smart” style falls between telling his subjects to grab their balls and having them imagine they need to use the bathroom. We swear it makes sense in the end. By Victoria Herrera Steve Aoki
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t’s about time that this article made it into the pages of STATUS, ‘coz Nick and STATUS go way back. Nick did time at the STATUS office as our first creative director. “My designer Rev and I would lock ourselves in an office trying to meet our release dates. We would survive on rations of crackers and Cheez Whiz,” Nick recalls. Now he has shifted from creating concepts for clients to executing them himself as a commercial director and photographer. Don’t be intimidated; he’s just a regular dude who likes free hugs, biking at midnight, and anything that has to do with Korea.
The Cobrasnake
You knew who Keiichi Nitta was before we did, now he’s shot our August 2012 cover featuring Nigo. What keeps you ahead? I keep ahead by not purposely trying to look for the “next big thing.” I just seek out what interests me. I don’t do it to be cool, I just do it ‘coz I like learning and experiencing new things, whether it’s a person or a style of art or music.
Babies and dogs are your passion. But why did you decide to photograph people? I never planned on being a photographer. I bought a camera as a hobby and started taking pictures of sunsets and street signs. Then I gradually started taking pictures of anyone who let me. Next thing I knew, I was shooting the first cover for STATUS, and from there, people started paying me to take photos. It really shocked me that people liked my portraits. Of course, I never let on. Act like you been there. What is your most memorable shoot? My most memorable shoot for STATUS was definitely Steve Aoki. He was so chill and was seriously down to do anything— whether it was smearing ketchup on his nipples or grabbing a handful of his balls. I was a brand new photographer then, and it gave me the mindset that I shouldn’t be intimidated by celebrities when shooting them. Because in the end, we all think a handful of balls is pretty funny.
LMFAO
You used to work in advertising. Write me one sentence of copy for the soon to be released Nick St. James underwear line. Nick St. James Crazy Translucent Underwear. Show us you’re nuts. I love how you’re working in fashion and advertising but not really obsessed with it. How do you manage to keep a cool and realistic perspective? I believe that if you become too sucked into your industry, you become less open to the gigantic world around us which is just full of inspiration and learning that you can use in your creative work. And some people might kill me for saying this, but it’s just fashion and advertising. No one is going
to die because I overexposed a photo. What’s the most insane instruction you’ve given a subject to imagine? “Imagine you have to pee really badly. Now, imagine that you just peed in your pants, and you don’t want to get caught but it feels so good. And by the way, you’re made of plastic.” Tips to your younger aspiring, adorable self? Buy as much Apple stock as you can. Stop going to parties so much. Look at more art. Look harder.
nickstjames.com @xnicolo
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SoaP OPERATION In some ways, photography is a cleansing act. It’s uncommon to achieve a perfect state, but you snap and edit anyway. Nobody knows this better than BENJAMIN ALEXANDER HUSEBY whose bread and butter cuts through the clutter by delivering freshly minted looks for everyday use. Known for hazed albeit focused images, Benjamin demystifies glamour by exposing its politics. So if ever the words “rubbing elbows” come into contact with Benjamin; it can mean skin against skin or the kind of friction bubble baths can’t wash away. By Kristine Dabbay
Vogue Hommes Japan
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HEAVY HITTER
Muse Magazine
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icture this: two men kissing headlined by bold text and sexuality, “Make out with your mates. Skive school. Get pierced.” That’s just one of photographer Benjamin Alexander Huseby’s jabs on imagery that leaps out of paper and peels like forbidden fruit; its pith dripping with the juice of androgynous youth, sunlit women, and Russian Bolshoi dancers. He didn’t study photography, but somehow photography caught up with him. His work, often identified by soft light, tackle the genteel and the hardcore. Benjamin says, “I think my work has evolved from being more emotional to being more about form and ideas. My work is more direct now; I’m more confident in what I do. I don’t feel the need to hide so much behind the haze anymore.” Surrounded by images, he’s hardly image-conscious. “No, not really—I’m too honest… I’ve never tried to create a
persona,” he says. His natural approach, seeded out of forest mischief with family and friends in Norway, keeps his roots intact. Even if his photographs fly toward fantasy, Benjamin humanizes his dreamlike sequences with everyday expressions of grief, stoicism, romance, and humor. Called by his friends a “new-age lesbian” for always being politically and spiritually charged, Benjamin finds solace in gardening, yoga, and being at war with the obvious. He shares, “One thing I dislike very much is how everything (often also in art) is using references. No one seems to be able to just shoot without all these already done images to look at. It’s a bit depressing, because when I started shooting, we just made everything up; it did not always work out, but at least it had a sense of spontaneity.” Ergo, he answers our interview by instinct.
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Vivienne Westwood Gold Label
How are you? Tell us about your latest shoot. I just shot Liu Wen yesterday, who is the number one Asian model. She was wearing Dior couture, jeans, and T-shirt, so I did a mix of documentary and very classic couture pictures. You’ve worked with the likes of Nicola Formichetti and Katy England. You’ve also worked for i-D, Vogue, Acne Paper, and Dazed. How did you start in the industry? When I was still an art student at Chelsea College of Art, I did an exhibition which Alister Mackie and Katy England came to. Katy, who was fashion director at Dazed then, got me involved in the magazine. Nicola and I were already good friends. I was just hanging out at The Pineal Eye— the shop he worked in—after school, so we started shooting together quite soon after. I also spent a lot of time just hanging out in the Dazed office, making collages and illustrations. Being of Norwegian/Pakistani descent who grew up in Oslo and studied in London, what do you think constitutes global style? I’m not so much interested in “style,” but I definitely live in an incredibly globalized world. For the last five years, I’ve lived in Berlin but commute
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to London, New York, and Paris all the time. My boyfriend is Dutch but partially Indonesian. I have great friends in Tokyo, etc. I think traveling and meeting other cultures open your mind, create tolerance, and give you a different perspective. It allows you to be proud of where you come from but not be scared of others. In Interview, you said, “I would say I approach glamour and gender from the opposite side of how one would in a fashion story.” Tell us more about this. I said that in specific relation to an exhibition trying to explain some of the difference between doing commission work and art. When you do fashion, it’s ultimately about seduction, selling a fantasy or image somehow. In my other work, you want to see all the pieces of the construction. Fantasy is irrelevant—you want to see the flaws, you want to see that the wig is a wig. I can’t really describe the creative process, as it would imply that there is a time when I’m creative and not. To me, it’s all a constant process where everything I experience—sleeping, cooking, eating, gardening, reading, meeting friends, and browsing the internet—it all can have something that inspires me.
In terms of image-making, what do you think are the current sensibilities of this generation? The fashion world has definitely become extremely more commercial, less emotional, and it’s the corporate culture that rules, not the creative. That has created a culture where there is little room for innovation, and the only young photographers that become successful are the ones that can deliver an image that looks like one from the already established photographers. To the outsider, what sort of politics should photographers or anyone working in the industry be wary of? Because I never really felt I was a part of a group or fitted in a stereotype, it has been easier for me to observe the worlds from the outside. I worry less about all the things one should do or not do as an artist or photographer—all the rules of how to make a career or a name for oneself, etc. I don’t worry about all the power structures and the day-to-day business gossip. Yesterday, I went to the preview of The Frieze Art Fair and brought a close friend of mine who is currently homeless and has no money. Here we were in a gathering
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“I WILL ALWAYS FOLLOW INSTINCT RATHER THAN THOUGHT.”
Fantastic Man
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AnOther Man
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“WHEN YOU DO FASHION, IT’s ULTIMATELY ABOUT SEDUCTION.” The Gentlewoman
of some of the richest people in the world out for a day’s shopping, spending millions on art, while my friend would not be able to eat that day had I not bought him dinner. That makes me incredibly angry! I was an activist since I was very young, so I do care about politics very much. Did you ever have days when you just wanted to quit? Since I always intended to be an artist, and never thought I would be a photographer, and in some way fell into it, I have a constant debate with myself on how to make the right priorities. That is my biggest problem—finding this equilibrium—and sometimes because of the fashion world’s constant demands and quick turnaround, I often think I need to stop and slow down. In the end, though, I love doing what I do, and would not want it any other way. You shoot videos and photos. If you were to create a movie with your overall creative direction, what would it be like? It would be a magic realistic film, mixing documentary and fiction, and starring Liv Ullmann.
Muse Magazine
of our experiences. I always try to follow instinct rather than thought, so that is utilizing energy somehow. I am practicing yoga everyday and currently learning Vedic meditation; that has helped me focus a lot. Who are the photographers you look up to? I think Wolfgang Tillmans and Juergen Teller were my favorites when I grew up reading i-D. Inez and Vinoodh and David Sims were also very influential—all the stuff they did in the mid-90s for The Face. How’s a day in the shoot of Benjamin like? My playlist is a mix of 60s girl groups, 90s indie rock, gay house classics, minimal techno, and contemporary leftfield pop. I’m always very nervous when I start; it’s a bit like performing, actually. Being a fairly mellow person, I sort of have to channel a lot of energy to drive the shoot. Complete the sentence. The best shoots happen when… …you are having a good time.
benjaminhuseby.net
For your exhibition in Paris’s Don’t Projects gallery, you said that you don’t believe in purity–just energy. Does this translate to your life as well? Purity implies that we can rid ourselves of who we are. I believe there is no purity of thought or genius, as we are all products
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THE
MESMERIST Feast your eyes on fashion’s fiercest flights of fancy. The visionary BALDOVINO BARANI captures the fashion phantasma that transcend trends. Having hypnotized fashion’s underground of freethinkers across the globe, the photographer draws us into his hallucinations wrapped in glamour and intrigue. By Giano D. Dionisio
The Ritual
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Hat Woman
Beneath
the grimey gloss of its façade, fashion’s freak flag fluorishes. In this realm, the style elite take a backseat to the drama-seeking aesthetes. The clothes are the same—from opulent couture to laissezfaire luxury—but the stories are more somber, the personalities more deranged, and the imagery less restrained. Even in scenes as mundane as the London commute, photographer Baldovino Barani jars his audience. A model dances around a pentagram of candles in her Chanel catsuit while a cloaked Valentino girl lurks over a cemetery. Merry widows, veiled and vacant, hobble through tea house back alleys and derelict dim sum joints. A silver-haired madcap brings a rotary buffer to her Céline-cinched waist, sending sparks flying all over her Balmain mini. With a seamless combination of raw intensity and high-class drama, the pictures scream a sense of disquiet. By throwing the chic unto the esoteric, Baldovino elevates fashion photography into a puzzle.
Thanks to his vague internet copywriting, Baldovino himself has become a fashion enigma with a less-than-accurate online biography. Naturally, I get to the bottom of it. “I actually haven’t lived in London in five years, so there you go!” Baldovino begins. Currently residing in Paris, the lensman had previously been living in Hong Kong for four years, where much of his work was shot. Background check: Baldovino was born and raised in the North of Italy until around age ten. Since then, he moved countries/continents every four years of his life, spending high school on a reclaimed manmade garbage island in Japan, then attending London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. “I dropped out months before getting my BA,” he confesses, then smirks, “Needless to say, my parents are super proud.” Baldovino’s nomadic lifestyle instilled with a culturally rich worldview that is often expressed in his shoots. “It’s sad, but I really don’t consider anywhere home
anymore. I feel like a bit of a traveling photo salesman sometimes,” he says. “I love Asia, though. That feeling of being strangely out of place makes me feel right at home whenever I’m there.” Seeing as the internet catapulted Baldovino into cult status, I laugh when he says, “You really shouldn’t believe the internet. Really.” But I ask him anyway about one nagging bit of internet trivia: that he only uses natural and available light for his editorials. “It’s 100% accurate,” he tells me. No flash, no reflectors, and no studio shoots in almost twelve years. He has, however, shot a fully 3D editorial. As Baldovino shows, the world hasn’t run out of spellbinding fashion narratives as long as you keep your eyes peeled and trust your senses—not the internet.
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The Mercenary
Senior Citizens
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Evangelist
Hey, Baldovino. How are you? What was the last memorable dream you had? I am very good. I like this question. Okay, I just had this dream about going to this Jewish holiday dinner with Darren Criss from GLEE. It was weird. Shit happened. I’m getting help for this, I swear! For the record, how did you first get into photography? I really got started with photography after buying an old Rolleiflex camera at a flea market and taking pictures of my best friend under a Magnolia tree in Kobe, Japan. This is before Facebook, Twitter, and phone cameras. All we had was a Hotmail account—and hope. Could you talk a bit about your conceptualization process? What fuels your ideas and drives your artistic vision? I get inspiration from all over, but I kind of live in a bubble; so, a lot of times, an idea will come to me in a dream or it will start with one word that someone
says, then it will grow in my head and eventually end up in a photo. Fashion is, of course, a big part of it. Sometimes, one dress will be the catalyst that inspires a whole shoot. That’s why I try to follow Fashion Weeks and attend shows. I like to tell stories with clothes. And locations, of course… Many times, a location will really fuel and develop the story. Your photography evokes surrealism and exaggeration. How do you manipulate reality to produce such imagery? Sometimes, I feel like it is the other way around—like reality actually “manipulates” me to produce such imagery. Does that make any sense? It’s really not about reality though. I mean, as soon as you take a photograph of any kind, you are molding and shaping reality. It’s all a manipulation, from the model to the hair and makeup to the situations. But that’s what I love about it—when, out of those seemingly meaningless and
fabricated elements, some sort of universal truth comes out in the photograph. According to your website, “The universe of Baldovino Barani is set to expand in 2012 with the establishment of his eponymous fashion label, Baldovino Barani Atelier…” The site sort of oversells it a bit… I’m always making clothes/accessories and trying to sneak them into my shoots. I went to a fortuneteller in Hong Kong and she saw my name written on clothing labels, so I decided to go for it. The reality of starting [an atelier] wasn’t something I was actually prepared for. It’s a very
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Sanctuary
“But that’s what I love about it—when, out of those seemingly meaningless and fabricated elements, some sort of universal truth comes out.”
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small, handmade collection for now, but I think it will really reflect my style in terms of photography. I’m not sure that it can be translated into fashion; but, that’s the challenge, I guess.
After all those elements are in place (casting the right model, location, styling), if we’ve done it right, it pretty much takes care of itself. All I have to do then is capture it and press the shutter button.
So, what other fields would you consider exploring? A reality show. That’s what I really want! [Laughs.] vvvNo. I mean, my main focus is always the photography; I live and breathe it. It’s everything. It’s all linked, though. When you start thinking/acting in a creative way (I hate that word, but you know what I mean), then it affects all the things you undertake. I mean, who would have thought I would have so much fun rewiring and installing all the light fixtures of my apartment? I only got shocked once—and I liked it!
What characters interest you lately? There’s been this interesting dichotomy lately between those very “proletarian” characters—marigold glove-wearing, hardworking, Bon Jovi-soundtracking types of girls—and the more literary, bookworm, flawlessly intellectual types I seem to be gravitating towards.
How do you choose stories to turn into your visual narratives? I like characters. I like imagining up this girl, thinking about what she does, what her obsessions are, what she hasn’t admitted even to herself. After that, I work with the stylist to visually define/ strengthen that character. In other words, we try to think what she would wear, what she would definitely not wear, how she would hold herself, et cetera. I think it’s called character development in movies, only we don’t have a script to jump off of.
I like it when I’m shooting a scene that could be taken out of a 1980s National Geographic spread, but where the girl is wearing a €4,000 Hermés poncho and Haider Ackermann calf leather boots. This is gonna be published in December. In case the world ends, any final words? Does my hair look good? Also, in case we survive… what do you envision for the world’s future? I really don’t know—more Honey Boo Boo? Lastly, what is your focus setting for photos and for life in general? Auto focus, and I say a little prayer.
baldovinobarani.com
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Vendome
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CINÉMA VÉRITÉ From singing Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors” in a Southern honky-tonk bar to running down a building corridor with a handsome lad she picked up, photographer ALICE HAWKINS’ life inspires her art. By Rita Faire
Dolly Parton Is My Religion
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Dolly Parton Is My Religion
Natalia Vodianova, Sunday Times Style
THE HIGHER THE HAIR, THE CLOSER TO GOD It’s like she’s saying, “Howdy there, darlin’!” Clad in fire engine red with candyfloss blonde hair to match, Alice Hawkins sits on the countertop of a 1960s floral kitchen during one of her trips to Nashville, Tennessee. “I had a dream of walking in [Dolly Parton’s] world in Tennessee, dressed head to toe as her,” Alice recounts. The photos weren’t supposed to be self-portraits. They were supposed to be the culmination of a life-long dream. “Dolly Parton is my idol, and most of my commissioners know I love her and would love to photograph her,” she
says. “Last year, a magazine tried to get her for a cover story but it was looking unlikely, so we started talking about other options for the cover star, but I was still so enthralled with my thoughts of Dolly.” Alice told the editor about her dream of going up the Smokey Mountains, bathing in heart-shaped hot tubs, and singing Dolly classics in a honky-tonk bar. The editor caved in and soon, Alice and her team of stylists were off to Dollywood with “Coat of Many Colors” in their lips and hearts. It was a pilgrimage that resulted to the project, Dolly Parton Is My Religion. “My work has always been autobiographical,” says Alice. Beginning in South London as a fresh graduate of Camberwell College of Arts, she was spotted by i-D and was put to work as a night life photographer. Intimidated at first by the likes of Nick Knight and Katie Grand, her
jitters were short-lived. Consequently, Nick and Katie have become mentors. “I’m attracted to glamorous and exciting people with strong visual character,” she says.“I find these people and their worlds interesting places to take fashion into—merging them together rather than booking a professional model and making the whole story up myself.” It puts her mania into perspective. Miss Dolly is an icon with an epic career and an unmistakable look—a good upstart for a bubbly young girl with a love for big hair and short skirts. “I got the opportunity to meet Dolly when I got back from that trip as she was touring in America,” Alice says.“I left a set of prints with her tour bus driver before I left. It had a note, and Dolly’s manager replied, ‘Dolly thinks you look like a young, hot Dolly!’”
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“AN IMAGE IS AN IMAGE. IT’S WHAT THE VIEWER MAKES OF IT THAT DEFINES WHAT IT IS.”
Dame Edna Everage, Ponystep
Michael Fassbender, Outtake from Esquire UK
HONKY-TONK ANGELS Buxom and blonde don’t veer far away from some of Alice’s other subjects. The Page 3 girls of London’s tabloids, as well as the showgirls of Vegas’s stage, pose for her lens too. “I have fun teenage memories of sitting in my friends’ bedroom in the village,” remembers Alice. “We laid out all the images of Page 3 girls on the floor, ones that he had collected from his dad’s newspaper. We talked about which images were our favorites. My feeling of admiration for Page 3 girls started then.” Alice’s fashion editorials are a platform for East Anglia beauty queens, Texas cowgirls, and tabloid taunts. She dresses them head to toe in Vivienne Westwood with diamonds to match. “I do feel more comfortable bringing fashion into my world and my subjects, rather then immersing myself in the industry itself,” she goes. “I’m mainly interested in the clothes because they can make people feel so special.” One of her Agent Provocateur
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shoots shows Maggie Gyllenhaal revisiting her Secretary sexuality, wearing black corset and silk stockings as she presses a gilded phone against her ear, her legs rubbing against each other in anticipation of the voice on the other end. The image repeats years later when her film Hello Rory opens with Alice seated in a dark, lush living room. A phone against her ear, her lips parted, she narrates, “Hello. My name is Alice. I used to work as a shop girl in a lingerie store in Soho, London called Agent Provocateur. My favorite customer was a gentleman named Rory.” It isn’t seen in the film, but after quitting her shop girl post, she gave Rory her mobile number and they regularly keep in touch. He was tickled pink that she made a movie about him. Make of it what you will. “An image is an image,” says Alice. “It’s what the viewer makes of it that defines what it is.” For her, these aren’t images to titillate and scintillate. They’re just a couple of girls having a bit of fun.
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Tiah Eckhardt, Catherine Bailey, and Daisy Lowe, Agent Provocateur
DRUTHERS AND RUTHERS A few months before Hello Rory, Alice is wrestling on a sofa with a lovely ginger gent. He’s lying down, all smiles, carrying her above him. Before that, he was meeting her at the door, pulling on his black leather jacket. Next, he’s making coffee, looking straight at her as he takes a sip. He aims a showerhead at her, a teasing grin spreads across his face. It may look like a date, but it’s actually the cover shoot for Esquire UK’s June 2012 issue. “I was delighted to be asked to photograph Michael Fassbender because he is an exceptionally talented actor and a handsome man,” Alice admits. “To me, he was somewhat of a dream date and I wanted my pictures to reflect my feelings about him.” The pair made a night out of it. “I explained to him that I wanted to make our experience and pictures feel personal and flirtatious. We spent two hours rolling around sofas, running up and down corridors, smoking fags, making coffee, and getting wet in the shower.” It all works into what Alice believes makes a good photograph. “It contains truth, reality, integrity, and a story,” she says. “I love photographs of extraordinary people in extraordinary places; pictures that capture the theatre of life in all its glory—its loud and quiet moments.” In this case, it
was the cat and mouse chase between man and woman. “My art direction was preconceived, but he went with it and we improvised with what we had in the apartment and hotel. What a great man he is! I was lucky he was up for playing along with my fantasy.” In the end, control is a safety net. Alice says, “I let the person I’m photographing lead more sometimes. It depends on their personality.” If the person would rather take the reigns, then they’re her guest, “I either try to bring it out of them or capture what they chose to present to me.” People like Billy Connolly who come to a shoot sporting cowboy boots and banjo tattoos get the Grand Ole Opry in her studio with country music and a bout of Southern comfort while others like Roberto Cavalli get to sit with a St. Bernard and a parrot as they’re framed by ivory elephant tusks, golden monkey cages, Ancien Régime furniture, all while sunlight peeks into the windows, illuminating his good side. At the time of our interview, Alice has just come home from a two-week holiday in California. “I turned it into a shoot for The Independent,” she tells me. “I suggested taking some clothes with me on my holiday and just shoot as I go along. Dream clothes shot in dream places.” As always, Alice Hawkins’s art imitates life.
“I LOVE… PICTURES THAT CAPTURE THE THEATRE OF LIFE IN ALL ITS GLORY.”
alicehawkins.com @AliceHawkins_
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SUM OF HER PARTS
Some photographers make you want to possess a woman’s thighs, jaws, collar bones, nails, or breasts as if you can measure each part against each other. Other times, they make you desire a coveted handbag or perfume. While those are all true; EMMA SUMMERTON emerges as the kind of artist who steps backward from each fraction to be able to see the whole picture—body, face, flaws, sexuality, story—everything. So if you love her work, that means, you love her world. By Victoria Herrera
Sasha Pivovarova, i-D Magazine
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Fei Fei Sun, Vogue Italia
“[PHOTOGRAPHY] is delving into your imagination, seeing in your mind what you want to create and then working towards making it happen in the real world.”
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O
n the corner of my desktop is a folder of photos I’ve pinned for inspiration. These are images most of us only envision in a dream. Apparently, the images were shot by Emma Summerton. There is a wily magnetism in her photographs that make us gravitate to them. Perhaps, it is her lighting or composition or maybe it’s just how she makes things very soft and sensual. At the core, her images channel the energy of a woman in a way only a woman photographer can understand; these women are free, kooky, sexy, and slightly mad unafraid to be themselves. When all is shot and printed, we realize our desire to live through them. We want to be those women. Naturally, Emma regards her muses as an extension of herself. Born in Australia, Emma was influenced by the kitschy atmosphere of the land down under. She studied Fine Arts at the
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National Art School in Sydney and worked as a photographer’s assistant for five years before eventually packing her bags for London to be an assistant to Turner Prize-nominated artist, Fiona Banner. She recalls, “I did painting at art school and I thought I would become a painter but found myself enthralled with photography so I chose that as my major. One day I will paint again, but I am very busy with my photography right now, and painting takes a lot of time and solitude.” When she was slowly letting go of her brushes for the lenses, Emma first helped Fiona Banner on her artistic projects, ranging from stretching canvases to screen printing. She eventually picked up the camera again when she shot images of herself making art. Fiona ended up having Emma take some images for her first book, allowing Summerton to travel in New York and Germany to shoot pieces in galleries.
“I like finding things. I like to imagine the history a piece of clothing has had.”
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Natasha Poly and Ollie Edwards, i-D Magazine
A long way from her apprenticeship— these days, you can find Emma busy casting models for her upcoming photo shoots. Her clients include several high fashion bibles like W Magazine, Vogue, Dazed and Confused, Self-Service, and i-D. She has also shot several ads for Burberry, Topshop, Anna Sui, Yves Saint Laurent, and Miu Miu. One career highlight was her first shoot for Vogue Italia. “It was such a big deal for me… We built a fantastic set, and it was just a total high being given the chance to shoot for them. It was with stylist Edward Enninful and model Lily Donaldson who is amazing.” Obviously, she has acquired the training, technical knowledge, eye for detail, and creative freedom to be trusted to deliver iconic images. “For most editorials, the brief or idea is put together by myself and the stylist, then approved by the magazine. Then it’s just about working out location or studio/set build, casting the models, talking a lot with your creative team,” Emma explains. But genius moves further than that. “For me, a lot of it is delving into your imagination, seeing in your mind what you want to create and then working towards
making it happen in the real world while always being prepared for things to change even up ‘til the day of the shoot,” she says. So when she isn’t in a shoot, Emma continues to stock up on ideas so she won’t be stuck with limited options. From films, music, travel, and most especially “spending time with friends who [she] loves,” she also cites model Aymeline Vladeas a current inspiration because “She’s wild, a free spirit, smart, and fun!” Despite being in an image-focused industry, Emma isn’t one to be conscious of herself—only “to the extent that I like to wear clothes that I love and feel good wearing… I like to express myself and how I feel in what I wear,” she says. Her wardrobe is a collection of vintage items, all with their own story and character. “My first love is vintage and I have worn vintage since I was a teenager. I like finding things. I like to imagine the history a piece of clothing has had, and I think the craftsmanship and fabrics of great vintage is amazing.” She mixes up her vintage items with pieces from Alexander McQueen, Celine, Alaïa, and Givenchy.
From her wardrobe to her work, this artist will keep expressing. Next year, Emma will still be conjuring up beautiful images for her high profile clients. On a personal level, she will be working on a book of self-portraits and abstract work taken in Polaroid; it’s a project that’s been in the making since Emma’s art school days. Her earlier Polaroid work featured a series of self-portraits taken for her boyfriend as “visual love letters.” This book captures years of unpublished history— sort of like a time capsule into her private eye. It is always a test for artists to push past the threshold of what they can conceive, but Emma keeps her work interesting and fresh. When it comes to photography, “Follow your own creative vision and don’t give up,” she advises. “The constant thing for me is to remain positive and open to things changing so you don’t get stuck.”
emmasummerton.com @mssummerton
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B L O C K P A R T Y
When photos start moving, things get grooving. Dense senses dance while dimensions bend twice in front of your eyes. There are fingers growing arms growing hands growing fingers. A paint-caked face fades into grains. Four hypercreative video artists let us pick their brains. Fullscreen. HD. Press play.
OUT OF SIGHT
ANDREW HUANG In your opinion, what are the most important elements to getting a story across? Point of view, framing—I think one needs to envision where the camera is at all times. Perspective—spatial relationships between one thing and another. And pacing—it’s all about the rise and fall. What would you like to see more of from video directors nowadays? I’m not sure exactly regarding content, but I want to see more diverse filmmaking voices. I also just want to see more attention to craft. There are too many easy DSLR videos out there. I want to see something finely and tediously crafted with a lot of love and time poured in.
Where do you think the video medium is heading? Augmented reality seems like such a powerful new world to explore. I haven’t dabbled yet, but I feel like that’s the future—to have immersive worlds visually interacting with you in real time. The directing collective Encyclopedia Pictura seem to be investigating that realm, and I’m excited to see what they come up with; they are incredible storytellers. What ideal world do you see yourself inhabiting? I’d like to be in an M.C. Escher painting. But it might drive me a little nuts. That or just hang out by that lamppost in Narnia, you know?
andrewthomashuang.com @andrew_t_huang
CYRIAK HARRIS
So, you’re like a modern day graphic Frankenstein for the internet age. I like to think of animation as breathing life into things, so that would be an appropriate description, especially as my work often escapes from my control and runs around terrorizing local villagers.
and more complicated until it becomes something else entirely. It’s my way of attempting to build my own small universes with their own laws of evolution. As such, the creative process is very improvisational; I quite often start projects without knowing how they will end.
How would you describe your visual style? It’s like a window into some kind of alternative sanity or daydreams that dream of being nightmares.
What ideal world do you see yourself inhabiting? I’d like to one day live in a world where I can go one whole day without marveling at the infinite depths of human stupidity.
What’s your creative process like? I like to start with something very simple and make it more
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cyriak.co.uk @cyriakharris
BLOCK PARTY
SEAN PECKNOLD How would you describe your visual style? Balls to the wall.
What’s your creative process like? My process is sometimes strange but usually fun. I start with an idea for a story, then I think of a technique I’ve wanted to try or explore. I go for a long bike ride when I can’t think of anything, or I play the guitar, or make a sandwich. Sometimes all three at once. Sometimes, I stand on my head and let all the blood cells rush there hoping that maybe they are carrying ideas with them. I moved away from computers when I got more into stop motion and I really enjoy that, using my hands to make and light things. I spend a lot of time lighting.
Surreal imagery is pretty common in your work. What’s your favorite recurring dream? I keep having a lucid dream where I’m flying around an underground cave city made out of LEGO-type building blocks. Everything is bathed in the most beautiful light. I jump up on top of the buildings and then I start to destroy it all by kicking everything to the ground. It’s so rad! Music videos are a huge part of your reel. What music inspires you right now? Moondog, Talking Heads, Meredith Monk, Harold Budd, John Maus, Bert Jansch, Wu-Tang, Neal Morgan, Tonality*Star, White Hinterland, Alina Hardin, Panda Bear.
seanpecknold.com @gograndchildren
DARCY PRENDERGAST
Words by Giano D. Dionisio
How would you describe your visual style? Tactile. In camera. Laborious. Textured. Dark. Cartoony. Raw. Human.
From your experience with music videos, how do you translate a song into visuals? For me, it’s always a blending of two art forms. There are many superbly directed clips out there, but it’s the point where two art forms amalgamate and fuse to form something more beautiful than they could be on their own—that’s where the magic happens. It’s about connecting to the pulse and conjuring ideas that either match the sentiment or deliberately clash. But it’s no good trying to ram ideas onto audio tracks. Be patient. Eventually, the song will roll around that’s perfect.
Where do you think the video medium is heading? Ah, who’s to say? I’m not really one for following gimmicks. I was super surprised to see a resurgence in 3D technology as of late—given that it’s hardly new. I feel its revitalization is coming to an end. I’ll stick to traditional forms for now. Those avenues of pursuit aren’t so much what interest me, moreso the content that is captured. What ideal world do you see yourself inhabiting? I want to be making features stuff for kids’ TV. I want to correct everything that’ s wrong with the world of entertainment— restore fun, craziness, and a little ol’ thing called a narrative.
ohyeahwow.com @d_prendergast
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NIGHTVISION PFW - This is new york by Gerard Estadella
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Florence Birthday Love by The Cobrasnake
LA Burningman by VolchekShot.Me
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AU REVOIR CINDERELLA by Gerard Estadella
Eden 10-12 Jetset by VolchekShot.Me
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NIGHTVISION
nyfw - o.p.c. × misshapes by Gerard Estadella
FIAMMA FRESH FRIDAYS ADMU × DLSU by DJ Fabian
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NIGHTVISION
STEVE AOKI LIVE @ Republiq
SOCIAL STUDIES by The Cobrasnake
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DIRECTORY BRANDS 21 MEN SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City ALDO Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati City ARNOLD GALANG Myth, Greenbelt 5, Makati City BCBG MAX AZRIA bcbg.com BENCH Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati City BENEFIT Greenbelt 5, Makati City BOBBI BROWN Rustan’s Department Store, Makati City BUMBLE AND BUMBLE bumbleandbumble.com CALL IT SPRING Greenbelt 3, Makati City CALLIOPE SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City CELIO Greenbelt 3, Makati City CHANEL Rustan’s Department Store, Makati City CHEAP MONDAY cheapmonday.com CROOKS AND CASTLES Greyone Social, Greenbelt 5, Makati City DC SM North EDSA, Quezon City DDF ddfskincare.com DOROTHY PERKINS Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati City ESTÉE LAUDER Rustan’s Department Store, Makati City GIORGIO ARMANI Rustan’s Department Store, Makati City GREYONE SOCIAL Greenbelt 5, Makati City FOLDED AND HUNG SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City FOREVER 21 SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City HOLLY FULTON hollyfulton.com HUMAN Shangri-La Mall, Ortigas City ILLAMASQUA illamasqua.com
JEMMA KIDD jemmakidd.com JOANNE HYNES joannehynes.com KEDS keds.com LANCÔME Greenbelt 5, Makati City LANVIN lanvin.com LAURA MERCIER Rustan’s Department Store, Makati City LD TUTTLE ldtuttle.com LORAC loraccosmetics.com LOST WEEKEND NYC lostweekendnyc.com MAC Rustan’s Department Store, Makati City MARC BY MARC JACOBS Greenbelt 5, Makati City MAWI mawi.co.uk MICHAEL VAN DER HAM michaelvanderham.com MYTH Greenbelt 5, Makati City NAILS INC. nailsinc.com NARS narscosmetics.com NIKE nike.com NOEL CRISOSTOMO Myth, Greenbelt 5, Makati City NYX nyxcosmetics.com OPI opi.com OXYGEN SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City OZ GO twitter.com/Oz_Go PENSHOPPE SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City PHILOSOPHY Beauty Bar, Greenbelt 5, Makati City PONY pony.com PROUDRACE Myth, Greenbelt 5, Makati City
QUIKSILVER SM North EDSA, Quezon City REGATTA Greenbelt 3, Makati City RENCIE SANTOS renciesantos.com RIMMEL LONDON rimmellondon.com ROBIN TOMAS Myth, Greenbelt 5, Makati City ROXY SM North EDSA, Quezon City SASSA JIMENEZ sassajimenez.blogspot.com SKECHERS skechers.com SPERRY TOP-SIDER sperrytopsider.com STELLA MCCARTNEY stellamccartney.com STEVE MADDEN Greenbelt 5, Makati City TARTE tartecosmetics.com TERRANOVA SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City TIMO WEILAND timoweiland.com TOPMAN Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati City TOPSHOP Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati City VANS Vans Concept Stores, SM Department Stores, Robinsons Department Stores, Landmark Department Stores, Urban Athletics, Toby’s Sports, Olympic Village, Shoe Salon, American Rag, Sole Academy, Greyone Social WAREHOUSE Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Drive, Makati City YSL ysl.com ZARA Greenbelt 5, Makati City ZERO + MARIA CORNEJO zeromariacornejo.com ARTISTS Stefani Annaliese (Hair) stefaniannaliese.tumblr.com Camilla Ashworth (Stylist) twitter.com/cam_ashworth
The Cobrasnake (Photographer) thecobrasnake.com Fernando Colon (Photographer) fernandocolon.com Justin Create (Photographer) livebeaumonde.com Nikolai De Vera (Photographer) nikolaidevera.com Gerard Estadella (Photographer) icanteachyouhowtodoit.com DJ Fabian (Photographer) thetwelfthhouse.ph/dj Joaquin Gregorio (Photographer and Stylist) joaquingregorio.com Francisco Guerrero (Photographer) francisco-guerrero.com Brantley Gutierrez (Photographer) brantleygutierrez.tumblr.com Imane (Makeup) imanemakeup.viewbook.com/imanemakeup Angelo Kritikos (Photographer) angelokritikos.com Maui Manalo (Makeup) twitter.com/MauiManalo Miguel Miranda (Photographer) miguelmirandaphotography.com Stefani Pappas (Photographer) stefanipappas.com Mira Parmar (Makeup and Hair) miraparmarmakeup.com Chloe Pierre (Stylist) behance.net/ChloePierre Jeruel Pingol (Videographer) twitter.com/yojeruel Nicholas Routzen (Photographer) nicholasroutzen.com JP Singson (Photographer) jponfashionspeed.com Allison Specketer (Photographer) facebook.com/allisonspecketerphotogaphy Nick St. James (Photographer) nickstjames.com Adam Seth Teh (Hair) twitter.com/dumders Natalie J Watts (Photographer) nataliejwatts.com Williams & Hirakawa (Photographer) williamshirakawa.com Aleksey Volchek (Photographer) volchekshot.me
S TAT U S IN VA D E S
MIGUEL MIRANDA Fashion photographer MIGUEL MIRANDA has got SWAG, and not just on our pages. Discover his treasure trove of favorite things! twitter.com/mmirandaphoto
CARTIER WATCH
I got this as a graduation gift from my father.
PEARL JAM TWENTY BY PEARL JAM Pearl Jam is my favorite band.
JORDAN XI CONCORD One of my rare shoes that I’ve yet to wear.
HELMUT NEWTON: SUMO. REVISED BY JUNE NEWTON
From one of my favorite photographers.
DARTH VADER HELMET AND LIGHTSABER
POSTERS AND MEMORABILIA
I’m a movie junkie so I collect a lot of stuff from my favorite movies.
A must for any Star Wars fan.
FUELBAND WATCH
It fits my active lifestyle perfectly.
NIKE DUNK HI GALAXY
THE BIG LEBOWSKI BOBBLE HEAD
Recently I started collecting bobble heads.
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HYPERLITE PREMIER WAKEBOARD
My first wakeboard. I try to board every chance I get.
Photos by Patrick Diokno
This was a special release for the 2012 all star weekend.