Stimuli nr2full

photo: Jef Jacobs

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NEW YORK 150 Greene street New York, NY 10012 toll free:(866) 888-6677 p:(212) 204-7100 f:(212) 204-7101

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www.mossonline.com

2008

COMPENDIUM OF CREATIVITY

Cover Styling Make-up Hair Fashion

No. 2

Charlotte (Marilyn, N.Y) / Photographed by Brett Lloyd Jack Borkett Danielle Kahlaniis Nicole Kahlaniis Basso and Brooke dress with Linda Farrow sunglasses

I. For Immediate Release Fleet Ilyaa, Café Gigli Herman Bas, Be@rbrick/Eley Kishimoto KIND knitwear Café L’Eclaireur Noovo Festival Michel Gaubert/Longchamp Serapian Milano Space Invaders Van Cleef & Arpels Ben Onono Filep Motwary Lutz Huelle Nino Bauti Virgin Island Water, MB03 Querelle

22 24 26 28 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42

II. Interviews Christophe Coppens Joseph Quartana Maria Cornejo United Bamboo Jan Nord Jean Claude Wouters Vive la Fete Jerry Bouthier Francois Sagat Brodie Neill Simon Foxton

44 48 54 58 62 64 68 72 76 80 84

III. Portfolio Trevor Jackson

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2008

COMPENDIUM OF CREATIVITY

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IV. Conversation Item Idem vs. AA Bronson

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V. Fashion Feature Fashion Underground by Jared Johnson • Elliot Atkinson • Sandra Backland • Nahum Villasana • Claudia Rosa Portraits of Brazilians by Ivan Abujamra

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VI. Feature Sebastien Tellier by Joe Roberts

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VII. Fashion Come Hither by Brett Lloyd Eye Candy by Tomas Falmer Visual Trickery by Derrick Santini Modern Times by Kristiina Wilson Bookworm by Kim Jakobsen To The Final Touch by James Mountford City Slicker by Cedrick Mickael Mirande Backstage Observation by Bicefaliko

130 148 160 174 186 192 198 206

VIII. Art Art of Consumerism by Alexis Chabala & Dominic Sio Blame Canada by Bruce LaBruce & Terrence Koh Blood Simple by Ju$t Another Rich Kid & Stuart Semple Le Soiree by Laurent Desgrange

210 218 220 226

IX. Home Showtime by Mr. KIND

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2008

COMPENDIUM OF CREATIVITY

No. 2

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / CREATIVE DIRECTOR Dominic Sio EDITORS Adam de Cruz Jared Johnson SPECIAL PROJECT Ninette Murk FASHION EDITORS Niki Brodie (U.K.), Vinnie Pizzingrilli (Brazil) CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITORS Tamer Wilde, Nathalie Gubbins CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Javier Barcala (Spain/Belgium), Adrian Corsin (North America), Paul Hunwick, Robi Dutta (U.K.), Hidetaka Furuya (Japan) CONTRIBUTORS Mauricio M Larsen, Nick Chonsak, Sorrel Kinder, Yahaira, Jessica Santini, Jack Borkett , Mr.KIND, Kenneth W. Courtney, Stuart Semple, Joe Roberts, Beth Vincent, Joe Roberts, PA Aaron, Beth Vincent, Mikki Most, Item Idem vs AA Bronson PHOTOGRAPHERS Karl Lagerfeld, Nick Knight, Brett Lloyd, Tomas Falmer, Derrick Santini, Cedrick Mickael Mirande, James Mountford, Simon Wald-Lasowski, Alexis Chabala, Dominic Sio, Kristiina Wilson, Ivan Abujamra, Kim Jakobsen To, Bicefaliko, Laurent Desgrange, Monica Feudi, Sebastian Mayer, Humphrey Meng, Alasdair Mclellan, Giles Price, Jason Evans, Mark Borthwick, Francois Sagat, Ola Bergengren, Julio Torres, Gregor Titze DESIGN DIRECTOR Benjamin Thain ART DIRECTOR Dominic Sio, Jun Kit MARKETING DIRECTOR Jared Johnson jared@stimulimag.com EDITORIAL OFFICE 21, Girdlers Road, London W14 0PS, United Kingdom tel./fax : + 44 (0) 207 603 7549 S.E.ASIA OFFICE Suite 63-2, Manor 2, Jalan Perkasa 9, Taman Maluri, 55100 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, West Malaysia tel./fax : + 6 (03) 928 763 82 WORLDWIDE COMMUNICATION www.mintred.be ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES U.S.A. Jared Johnson jared@stimulimag.com | U.K. Adam de Cruz adc@stimulimag.com S.E.Asia Dominic Sio dos@stimulimag.com SUBSCRIPTIONS subscriptions@stimulimag.com PRINTING MunSang Printers Sdn. Bhd. DISTRIBUTION Export Press www.exportpress.com (Worldwide) B. White (Brazil) Central Papers (Singapore, Malaysia) COPYRIGHT Stimuli © 2008, by the artists, the authors & photographers. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. All prices and credits are accurate at press time but are subject to changes. This magazine accepts no liability for loss or damage of manuscripts, artworks, photographic prints and transparencies.

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Royal Fleet

Cafe Gigli

Bringing together the skill of classical training and the adrenalin of the London party scene, FLEET ILYA is an accessories label with the taboo-breaking sensuality of leather and an unrivaled devotion to detailed craftsmanship.

“Milan is boring” — it’s what quite a lot of people in the fashion industry tend to wail, even if it’s a little harsh. But they might well change their opinion thanks to the opening of the CAFE GIGLI, dreamt up by Gentucca Bini, Creative Director for Romeo Gigli.

Launched by Coco de Mer in September 2007, the pieces range from corset-like harnesses and head pieces to exquisitely finished pillows and chairs. FLEET ILYA accessories have been feted in the press and his client list boasts Sienna Miller, Angelina Jolie, Kylie Minogue and Rihanna. The pieces all draw on a design ethos which evokes high-end bondagewear undercut with street smart playfulness, all hand crafted in England in the finest.

Opened in September 2007, the cafe is located in Via Fumagali, an attractive street in the artists’ quarter in Milan, and seeks to initiate a wide range of cultural activities, linking fashion, design, literature and art together. It also holds some cultural events each month, and these activities aim to benefit the wider city, and involving celebrities from around the world. The events include contests for young artists, art exhibitions and concerts by independent musicians.

Fleet’s collection of accessories have expanded, and now include tote bags and holdalls, built of leather and heavy canvas, referencing his body pieces in their construction and opulent finish. A fundamental aspect of Fleet’s design is dual functionality, where the bags can be trussed and folded to create varying shapes and sizes from a single piece. ­— PA Aaron photo by Brett Lloyd www.fleetilya.com

This cafe is open not only to artists, intellectuals, and art-loving people, but also to anyone who wants to be culturally stimulated. It will also serve as a fashion library where you can find rare fashion books and magazine collections from the 1920s to the present day. Moreover, the place is sophisticatedly furnished by Driade, Philippe Starck, Ron Arad, Naoto Fukasawa and Tokujin Yoshi.

“Romeo Gigli has joined the ranks of Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli and Dolce & Gabbana in putting his name to a place where the beautiful people can see and be seen and even eat,” wrote one prominent fashion journalist on its opening. It may be worth keeping an eye on how far CAFE GIGLI will culturally stimulate the second largest city in Italy.

— Hidetaka Furuya 24-25 Cafe Gigli Via Angelo Fumagalli, 6 20143 Milano (MI) www.romeogigli.it

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Bas Relief

Prints Charming

Who says painting is dead? One of the main highlights at the last outing of Art Basel Miami was local wunderkind HERMAN BAS’s show at the Rubell Collection, garnering the positive attention of critics and art enthusiasts who attended the fair. An artist who has been acquiring a big following in the last few years, Bas was honoured with an exhibition of 38 works collected by the Rubell family over the last decade. Consisting of pieces ranging from drawings to canvases, the show conjures up Bas’s affinity for the literary, the romantic, the melancholic and the sexual and indicates that he is truly one artist to watch.

What’s the result when one of London’s most ingenious design duos customizes a Japanese cult toy? Insidiously charming bears boasting equal parts graphic appeal and childhood magnetism.

— Mauricio M. Larsen The Swan Prince, 2004, Herman Bas Acrylic and gouache on canvas 30 x 40 in. (76.2 x 101.5 cm) www.rubellfamilycollection.com

Continuing their history of collaborations with the cadre of the art and design world, including designer Karl Lagerfeld and artist H. R. Giger, Japanese toy company MediCom Toy has partnered with label Eley Kishimoto to interpret its BE@RBRICK collectibles.

Not unlike MediCom, Eley Kishimoto, designed by Wakako Kishimoto and Mark Eley, has long synchronised its efforts with fashion’s bellwethers. The label’s designers have produced print and fabric designs for Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton. So it’s no surprise that the two brands have finally joined forces — if only because it’s taken so long.

The toys, which come in 100% (7cm) and 400% (28cm) sizes, are wrapped in either the red/white or black/white colourways of the iconic swift ‘f lash’ pattern. And with both fashion fanatics and toy collectors eyeing these anthropomorphized bears, a ‘f lash’ is also likely to describe how they’ll move off store shelves.

— Adrian Corsin www.colette.fr

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Walter Van Beirendonck ‘SEXCLOWN’ SPRING-SUMMER 2008 COLLECTION NOW AVAILABLE IN THE FINEST STORES AROUND THE GLOBE stockists: see www.waltervanbeirendonck.com

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A Kind (and Funny) take on fashion While Italian designers Elsa Schiaparelli and Francisco Moschino popularized the style, the duo behind knitwear label KIND is reinventing ‘classico con twist’ (classic with a twist) for a new legion of fashion followers.

Founded in Holland in July 2004, Kind is a creative luxury label that purveys high-end knitwear crafted from the finest Scottish cashmere yarns. The label eschews the blatantly referential, marrying elements of the past (film noir silhouettes and Elsa Schiaparelli designs) with the modern (comic book characters and bold graphic images). They weave it together with an intarsia technique, creating a riotous, entrancing narrative.

“When we design, we see it as initially creating a comic book… so each collection evolves like a story,” explains Mr KIND, the co-founder. The result is playful without being saccharine, contemporary without being f lippant to the past.

The key to this balance is as enigmatic as the label’s founders — they don’t even reveal their real names. The story goes something like this: Mr. & Mrs. KIND meet in a hotel lobby in 2000 and their relationship quickly progresses from friends to lovers and eventually to co-founders of KIND.

In response to criticisms that the anonymity is simply a marketing gimmick, Mr. KIND responds, “It’s more that we want people to concentrate on our work, not us.”

The philosophy seems to be bearing fruit; the label has been picked up by the world’s most forward-thinking boutiques, including Colette in Paris and Liberty in London.

The Spring-Summer 2008 collection, aptly dubbed ‘Showtime’, pays homage to the glamorous Kit Kat Club of the musical Cabaret. For those too young to remember both the original period and its late 60’s/early 70’s renaissance, the collection offers a taste of its unparalleled luxury minus the staid accoutrements.

Knits bedecked with dancing legs can achieve that.

With one eye looking to the past and the other looking to tomorrow, the future looks bright for KIND. — Adrian Corsin Besides London, Milan, and Paris, Kind can be found as far as Tokyo, Australia, Iceland and Moscow. www.k-i-n-d.com

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Cafe L’Eclaireur Launched in December 2006, L’ECLAIREUR, the bar and restaurant, is an attempt to promote the basic philosophy of L’ECLAIREUR: the admiration for history and a personalised service for each client. And it works. This classy bar/restaurant seems to offer a timeless atmosphere, and successfully make its customers feel invited so that they can simply have a good time.

Attached to one of its stores at 10 Rue Boissy d’Anglais, Paris 8th, this bar/restaurant is inspired by the famous Dulciora patisserie in Milan, designed by Piero Fornasetti in the 1950s, and is the result of a brilliant collaboration between Martine and Armand Hadida, the owners of L’ECLAIREUR, and Bamaba Fornasetti, Pieroís son. Bamaba designed the playful decor paying homage to his father, decorating its wall with drunken monkeys, piles of playing cards, and a library full of books. He also went through Maison Fornasetti’s archives to bring out original self-portraits of Piero Fornasetti which he the reproduced into smaller paintings, and displayed them in gilded frames.

As far as the food and drink, the bar L’ECLAIREUR offers a wide selection of personalized drinks, ranging from classic cocktails such as Mojito and Bloody Mary to fun twists on the cocktail such as Fomaspresso and Spiced Mandarine Daiquiri.

In the restaurant, you can tempt your palate with dishes such as marinated fish, finger sushi, Saint Jacques skewers with Bellota ham, lamb with boletus or celery turnip with horseradish and panna cotta with citrus fruits, just to name a few.

Dishes like these that are making the bar/restaurant L’ECLAIREUR a popular destination place. It’s a laudable feat for any restaurant, particularly one that neighbors a store that’s been Parisian retail staple for nearly thirty years. To put it simply: great concept, excellent execution.

— Hidetaka Furuya www.leclaireur.com

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photo: Eric Frideen / model: Natasha Prince at Storm

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Noovo Festival December 2007 saw the launch of the Noovo Festival for Fashion & Photography in Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Founded by Charo Gonzalez and Jorge Margolles from Noovo magazine, this fashion festival aims to showcase Spanish talent, as well as to support international artists, such as Gareth Pugh, Boudicca, Romain Kremer, Petar Petrov and Eley Kishimoto.

As a way of fostering new talent from Spanish fashion schools, the Noovo festival organised a competition where chosen students competed for a cash prize. The participating judges were comprised of important names in the industry, including Martine and Armand Hadida, the founders of L’Eclaireur, Joseph Quartana, buyer at Seven, Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov, and Diane Pernet, an iconic fashion journalist.

the Hostal de los Reyes Catolicos built in the 15th century, this show presented works by Seb Janiak, Pierre Gonnard, Wing Shya, Dino Dinco to name but a few.

Another important part of the avant-garde event is a photography exhibition co-curated by Diane Pernet and the founders of the festival. Located at

— Hidetaka Furuya

JARNO KETTUNEN was also an important presence at the Noovo festival. Based in Antwerp, this Finnish artist is becoming increasingly renowned for his action drawings which he makes backstage at fashion show. His work captures both the latest trends and the mood backstage. For the first edition of the Noovo event, he made backstage action drawings for the following designers: Gareth Pugh, Romain Kremer, Petar Petrov, Patrik Soderstam, Mikio Sakabe, and Eley Kishimoto.

www.jarnok.com

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www.reinaldolourenco.com.br

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DJ, Spin That Bag! Let’s face it, both LONGCHAMP and MICHAEL GAUBERT make the fashion crowd swoon. Gaubert with his incisive sounds that galvanize the runways of Chanel, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent; LONGCHAMP with their iconic traveling bags that have singlehandedly redefined Jet Set Chic. So it’s no surprise that the international musical genius and the French luxury goods company have partnered to develop a new line of bags specially designed for music aficionados.

The musically-inspired line has been a long time in the making. GAUBERT has been in the music industry for over three decades, Djing at the swankiest parties and crafting Collete’s cult-followed mix CDs. During the seventies and eighties, he moved within the fashion circles of Paris, making the industry’s movers and shakers (think Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler, Kenzo) well, move and shake. It wasn’t until the nineties that he produced his first soundtrack for a Chanel runway show.

With this in mind, it’s the 8-piece MG by collection is covered cord-print (created by company Base).

no surprise that LONGCHAMP in a wire and Belgium design

The collection is available in black and white coated cotton canvas and is trimmed in cowhide leather. It features a bowlingstyle weekender, iPod cases, and for the serious techie, a ‘3-Way High Tech Case’ to hold a digital camera, iPod, and BlackBerry, all in one. Compared with the subtle elegance of LONGCHAMP’s traditional offerings, this collaboration is defiantly bold. Then again, it is coming from the man who blasted Mika’s ‘Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)’ to a stream of waiferthin models at Max Azria.

— Adrian Corsin Available in selected Longchamp boutiques worldwide. www.longchamp.com

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Stepan It Co-branding is a universal formula for growth for many companies as to stretch their brand elasticity, a way to reach out to a wider audience. Enter SERAPIAN MILANO. Brainchilded of Stefano Serapian and Gina Flori in 1945, it is the choice leather goods’ manufacturer for the likes of Cartier, Bally, Burberry and most recently, Ermenegildo Zegna. With British designer newcomer Marios Schwarb, Richard Nicolls, and Italian Albino D’Amato recently joining, there’s a sure of contemporary applications in leatherworks.

The collaboration sprung Opera Optima or ‘very first’

by SERAPIAN MILANO, a highly personalised series,

made of precious leather and available in a very limited edition which can be ordered via waiting list only.

The company reinterpretates leather goods by using stepan, a historic PVC material championed by SERAPIAN, reflecting the style and taste of each designer. Dedicated to the most demanding customers, it is only available in selected shops worldwide. Expect to get hold of these items soon in 2008. ­— Dominic Sio

www.stefanoserapian.com

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Game Invaders In his book Half-Real, video game scholar Jesper Juul argues that video games create fictional worlds. But for French guerilla artist SPACE INVADERS, it is the games’ context in the real world which excites him most.

Since 2000, the artist, working under the pseudonym SPACE INVADERS, has been creating small mosaic art pieces based on first-generation arcade games, including — no surprise here — Toshiro Nishikado’s iconic 1978 arcade game SPACE INVADERS. Using ceramic tiles and, more recently, Rubik’s Cubes, adhered with extrastrong cements, he travels the world, plastering the cities he visits with myriad variations of the games’ iconic four characters.

His fixation with gaming is as much about the aesthetic as it is with the process. For starters, his graphic medium protects the integrity of the game’s pixilated aesthetic. And much like its competitive nature, scoring remains fundamental to his purpose. He explains, “It’s very straightforward. Each SPACE INVADER is worth between 10 and 50 points depending on its size, composition, and where it is. So each invaded city has a score that’s added to previous scores.”

His hometown of Paris remains the most invaded city, where the Montpellier series forms an image of a SPACE INVADERS character when viewed from up high.

His work, which can be seen in 35 countries, has been dubbed vandalistic and offensive by critics.

But his supporters are growing. Some have called his work subversive, prolific, even ‘a circumvention of bureaucracy’. The artist offers a more modest explanation. He admits that while the work is political by nature, he sees it as ‘a symbol of our era and the birth of modern technology, with video games, computers, the Internet, mobile phones, hackers and viruses.’

It’s a subject matter with an undeniably global appeal.

Beyond his homeland, SPACE INVADERS exhibitions have mushroomed across the globe, including Istanbul, Toyko, Melbourne, and New York. He’s even spawned a self-initiated copycat and a handful of blogs that feverishly track new invasions around the world.

And the maverick artist is expanding the breadth of his esoteric operation. His online shop (space-invaders.com) sells branded paraphernalia, including D.I.Y. kits, footwear, T-shirts, and city guides. His latest book, Invasion in the UK, spans eights years of his UK pictorial invasions, including exhibitions in Manchester and Newcastle.

— Adrian Corsin Invasion in the UK is available online at space-invaders.com and at Colette in Paris. www.space-invaders.com

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Atlantis Found The house of VAN CLEEF AND ARPELS has plunged into the deep to reveal the beauty of the mythical island of Atlantis. They have found paradise at last — in the form of high luxury that characterises their mythical seaanimals. Expect bejeweled fairy-tale figures like nymphs, mermaids, and extraordinary deep sea creatures. Fantasy comes alive with our favourite — the Haliades bracelet which has gleaming white gold and round diamonds. The fantasy-filled repertoire continues with the nymph-like Néréides clip which consists of a yellow gold set with

yellow and white diamonds that omits a warm amber aura of light. Atlantis, a brilliant, mythical kingdom of beauty and abundance has inspired us all. So, ride along with the undercurrents and wear your best Neptune’s treasure to go with your Crab Bisque. We are sure Plato couldn’t agree more. ­— Dominic Sio www.vancleef-arpels.com

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Ben Double In a photo studio in east London, photographer Derek Santini is getting ready to take the last photos for singer/songwriter BEN ONONO’s new album. Ben is looking striking in a silver blue Dior suit matched against his dark skin and his luminous eyes. For the final frames, the make up artist daubs Ben’s face in a kind of war paint and the look’s not just striking. It gets right to the heart of what Ben’s new album is all about — duality because here is a man dressed in a designer suit yet covered with war paint; a man whose mum is English and whose dad is Nigerian; who is a classically trained pianist yet has had success with dance tracks including with Fatboy Slim and Café del Mar; and who’s new album is now mixing drum beats with film scores and great songs.

“Nowadays everybody has this sense of belonging and not belonging — it gives us a quality of yearning that makes us want and a desire for love. The music references do that too and are from everywhere and they’re all there sitting together in the songs,” says Ben. The album contains in its title the paradox Native Stranger and the result is a beautiful, intelligent and wide ranging album that’s incredibly exciting and fresh.

— Robi Dutta www.benonono.com

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The New Idealist Designer by day, blogger by night, Cyprus born FILEP MOTWARY has achieved a cult following within his native island and beyond. A part of the new European avant garde, his latest collection were shown along with Maria Mastori’s accessories during the Hellenic fashion week. It referenced Swiss architecture with a detailedeye for shape and corners. Nautical elements were seen with sailor’s ropes, pearls and fishing nets which seemed to be reminiscent of his Mediterranean islander upbringing.

There was a re-awakening spirit of au natural with light ethereal fabric atop a fish net fabric.

Monwary, who previously spent a stint working at John Galliano and Chloe, is still in the industry full force with his blog uN NOUvEAU iDEAL. He features interviews from great personalities such as fashion designer/illustrator Charles Anastase, art flicks director Bruce LaBruce and photographer Matthias Vriens with enough meaty content that calls for a calorie count.

— Jared Lee Johnson http://filepmotwary.blog.com

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The Name is Lutz After years of being heralded as fashion’s Next Big Thing, you might regard LUTZ HUELLE’s relative obscurity as something of a disappointment. But in an industry where fly by night labels are the rule rather than exception, it’s a statement one would hardly relinquish.

Since 2000, LUTZ, along with the help of business partner David Ballu, has been delivering some of the most innovative collections of Paris fashion week. The LUTZ philosophy is simple: purposefully slouchy, deconstructionist, but hardly abstruse. LUTZ explains, “I try to stay away from the predictable… [But] I want to make clothes that are aesthetically beautiful.”

And so for Spring 2008, he married the edginess of songstress Siouxsie Sioux with the lightness of Vilvadi. A classic tuxedo jacket came fashioned with a zipper at the back that opened to reveal a deeply seductive V, and diaphanous panels were generously layered, creating a graphic, but surprisingly earnest, degrade effect on a tunic.

If the collection draws comparisons to Raf Simons’ latest collection for Jil Sander, it’s hardly a surprise.

For starters, both designers work with the Gysemans factory in Belgium for production and cite Martin Margiela as a key influence. But it’s likely the unwavering obsession with streetwear and popular

culture that likens the two designers most. LUTZ confesses, “I’ve always loved popular culture, like music and film.” And it was during his years at St. Martins that a young LUTZ developed his reference base, including Blitz, the New Romantics (Boy George is a particular favorite), and Kraftwerk.

Since establishing Lutz, the laurels have been pouring in. Within a year of the label’s birth, he had nabbed the ANDAM Award sponsored by Yves Saint Laurent.

In 2004, he was invited to participate at the GWAND Festival of Fashion, where he won the ‘Ackermann’ Prêt-a-Porter Prize.

It’s telling that the accolades are most feverish among fashion’s most prophetic; Suzy Menkes has dubbed Huelle a ‘tenet of modern fashion’ and fashion provocateur Diane Pernet is an avid supporter of his work. So even if he never realizes the Next Big Thing prediction, anonymity is looking less and less like an option. ­— Adrian Corsin Available in selected shops in Japan, China, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, UK, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and the USA. Enquiries: www.stationservice.fr

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Beautiful Fashionistas the world over differentiate between themselves and mere style pedestrians through an inherent knowledge of the newest, edgiest, soon-to-behuge labels and the designers behind them.

requests began pouring in from the world’s fashion glossies. A sponsorship was offered by fur heavyweight Saga. The global fashion cognoscenti waited with bated breath for BAUTI’s next move.

NINO BAUTI is one such name. One of the most eagerly followed brands of 2007 by those in the know, the Central St. Martin’s schooled NINO BAUTI looks set to go stellar in 2008.

However, as events of 9/11 devalued the currency of luxury goods (albeit temporarily), Bauti put his design aspirations on hold to begin work as a freelance stylist and writer for the Condé Nast Inc. It was during this sabbatical period that BAUTI met London-based stylist and editor — and soon to be brand co-founder — Niki Brodie. It was thus that the following year, NINO BAUTI’s eponymous label was launched with a S/S07 debut collection.

Spanish born BAUTI’s earliest fashion inspiration was his grandmother, a celebrated house model for the iconic Balenciaga label during the 40’s and 50’s. Fascinated by the romance, artistry and style of her life in Paris, BAUTI enrolled in an Art History undergraduate degree in his native Seville.

Specialising in 20th Century movements, he travelled to England upon graduation to pursue specialist qualifications at auction house Christie’s. During this time, he realised his true passion laid in the world of fashion however, and enrolled at world renowned Central St. Martin’s.

An intriguing and promising talent, BAUTI spent time during his studies interning with industry stalwarts Alexander McQueen and Armani. Upon graduation in 2000, his complete collection was bought for production by British heritage brand Joseph. Editorial

Luxurious fabrics and classic, elegant lines were the collection’s ethos. Seasonal embellishment gave a louche nod to trend, Bauti preferring to work to his own style agenda than market whims. With a fourth collection already in production, NINO BAUTI has proven that his beautiful, understated, feminine pieces are more than a one season hit. Certainly, it will only be a matter of months before his clothes are hanging in the most admired wardrobes across the land.

— Beth Vincent ninobauti.com

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It Must Be In The Water

The Smell of Art

Call it the haute couture of parfumes if you will - the House of Creed is here to stay. Founded in 1790, and with the seventh generation of the CREED family in control, the House of Creed still ranks as a private luxury label. While many royal families and celebrities have commissioned special fragrances in the past, not everything about CREED is history and ultra exclusive.

Their recent fragrance, Virgin Island Water, offers a fresh whiff of exclusivity for the public. The inspiration stems from a trip taken to Ginger Island by Olivier Creed, the company’s main nose. The appealing blue waters of the Virgin Islands thus accounts for the name, but greater focus is on the ingredients. The top notes feature copra, the inner sweet portion of coconuts, palm tree sap, and mandarin orange just to name a few.

Middle notes include hibiscus flower, ginger, ylangylang and jasmine. Finally the bottom notes include sugar cane and white rum - items that are uniquely Caribbean. Available in Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Liberty and others fine retailers worldwide, this is one scent worth sailing for.

Hamburg-based BIEHL PARFUMKUNSTWERKE is one fragrance company to watch. Brain-childed by German purist perfume-marketeer Thorsten Biehl, son of the famous nose ­ — perfumer Henning Biehl.

The younger BIEHL started a successful career stint as fragrance expert at one of the world’s leading fragrance companies H&R, now known as Symrise, BIEHL and made his mark with a unique start in the world of scent.

Devoid of the usual gimmicky scent-marketing, BIEHL focuses only on the content and has commisionined six of the best perfumers in the world to create scents.

­— Jared Johnson www.creedfragrances.co.uk

Sold in an art gallery setting instead of the usual retailer’s showcase, the art of olfactory begins here with a series of well-edited scents. One of them we loved is an eau de parfum titled “mb03.” The intriguing nose behind it is Mark Buxton and those who know Mark’s work (Comme des Garcons, Ouarzazate, White, Man 2), should also give mb03 a test run. And so should everyone else.

Bottled in a non-design bottle, the luxury scent plays red pepper, elemi and roman chamomile as one of a few top notes that give this a sexy, sinful aroma. It takes you straight into a temple of calmness, of languid amber and raw patchouli with a hint of leathery sensuality.

Relaxed and enigmatic and never boring, mb03 truly has the whiff of a work of art. ­— Dominic Sio www.biehl-parfum.com

— 42 —

gallery51.com

> > f o r i m m e d i a t e re l e a s e < <

Erotic Pleasure Erotism in a bottle is the best way to describe ‘Querelle’ — the new scent by chemist-turned-perfumer Pierre Guillaume of PARFUMERIE GENERALE. The name will be familiar from the Fassbinder adaptation of the Jean Genet’s literary milestone ‘Querelle de Brest’ (1947).

While that thrilling story sets the mood for this unique scent, it is certainly playing tricks with our headspace.

sensation with some very clever touches — vetiver, a gentle dash of rose and sparkling adehyde at the centre and a hint of spice, peppery cumin and myrrh. And finally, sealed with a base note of ambre mousseline.

This is a distinctly masculine cadence and a fragrance that will guarantee to drive any company wild. We smell trouble ahead.

Totally charming without overtly nostalgia, Querelle is utterly captivating and easily gets you into the mood.

The essence exudes a warm and woody olfactory

— Dominic Sio www.parfumerie-generale.com

— 44 —

Christophe Coppens Joseph Quartana MARIA CORNEJO UNITED BAMBOO Jan Nord Jean Claude WouterS Vive La Fete Jerry BoutHier Francois Sagat Brodie Neill SIMON FOXTON

All photos courtesy of Christophe Coppens

CHRISTOPHE COPPENs interviewed by Javier Barcala

Christophe Coppens’ career has been a long and winding road celebrating the quirks of life with dazzling accessories and enchanting haute couture. Since the opening of his hugely acclaimed Tokyo store, magic visionaries of almost any kind have been turning their lenses on to this Brussels-based milliner.

— 47 —

>> Christophe Coppens <<

JB: Hi Christophe! it’s great to talk to you again. You’ll be travelling in a matter of days?

CC: Yes, I’m going to Holland and then to Milan.

JB: What’s going on there?

CC: I’m going to find a location for our presentation in April of my first decorative line in five years, then also to Spain for New Year’s Eve with my family, and of course Tokyo to present the new collections… but the biggest travels go on everyday in my mind.

JB: It’s not the first time you’ve done an interior decorative line and you’ve done so many other art projects in the past, yet accessories always remain as the leading path. Would you say you’re still having fun in the fashion world?

CC: Well, fun for me is the moment when the drawing becomes a prototype. Everything else is logistics and mathematics.

JB: And I guess that primary step includes the seeking out of inspirations, which is something that really keeps me intrigued about you. I mean, even though your tastes seem to be oldfashioned for certain things in daily life, you have your own formula to find inspirations in the most up-to-date culture. Are you trying to connect with people’s likes somehow or do you just end up hoping the rest of the world can catch up?

CC: It’s like all the information I gather ends up through my notebooks into a vessel; then the biggest part of my designing trusts my intuition and lets go. Bad designs come from too much reflection.

JB: The reason people sometimes look back to the past is that the basic things stay true. Something that your work represents for me is a kind of grace associated with another era. What are your favourite period(s) in history?

CC: None and all. I have a deep respect for history, without being paralyzed by it. I make things for today but I cannot help but to look behind my shoulder; and then again intuition and association are my two biggest tools.

JB: Since you opened the shop in Japan, the level of projects you’ve been undertaking has definitely been going up. Getting famous there to be later echoed by a quick and sometimes random success in Western markets, it’s such an archetypal sort of story, but what would you say is the secret to actually establishing your image in that country the way you’ve done it?

CC: Working the Japanese market was and still is a step-by-step process. As you know Japan is always very open to new stuff, to the new hype. So it is a market easy to approach, but of course the season after, something else is new and then the real work starts.

It’s not true at all that the Japanese market is easy.

I try to go four times a year and talk to my agent and my customers there; I need to feel the market because that’s the only way to continue growing. I find a great example in the figure and image of Sir Paul Smith. He’s huge in Japan, but he’s worked the market very consciously.

Then of course I feel so at home in Japan too!

JB: Once your shop is among the only 10 new shopping tips in Tokyo published by Wallpaper Travel Guide for 2008, your status in the country seems fairly recognized. How is it like having a fan base of crazy followers? This is what people really want to know!

CC: It is part of the game, but at the same time I still believe this is just the beginning; we still have so much work, and when I say this it really counts for all my work.

— 48 —

It took me fifteen years to create a base line, and now I can finally say it is solid enough to start playing around.

JB: With two lines of accessories — Christophe Coppens men & women, and Coppens by Christophe Coppens girls & boys — boiling over a melting pot of influences, it really seems like you’re possessed by a number of forces when creating your collection.

Do you have some constant basics to start with however? What is the motto that really propels you once and again every season?

CC: It is all about focusing and targeting; I tend to like different kinds of customers, not just pure fashionistas! We sell accessories to the ladies who lunch as well as to hip youngsters. The trick for me is to canalize these different markets through these collections.

But again, here, we’re just at our beginning.

JB: What made you create the specific youth line Coppens?

CC: Before, I used to mix everything up in one single collection.

As a customer you need to be quite strong to see the trees through the forest, and as a buyer too. So, the first impulse was to bring clarity to the label by splitting up the existing types of work we do.

But I must say I don’t consider Coppens to necessarily be a younger line. It is like a more exuberant line with less restrictions, while others have more classic qualities.

JB: There’s been a lot of continuity, working with the same team throughout your career. And that goes for the people you’ve worked with in Belgium as well as Japan. Seeing how fast things are moving for you lately, how do you feel about reaching the same levels with the new people you must start dealing with?

CC: Respect and get respected. Love and be loved. www.christophecoppens.com — 49 —

All interior photos courtesy of Seven New York Portrait photo by Jared Johnson

JOSEPH QUARTANA interviewed by Jared Johnson

Albeit American retailing is fast on the brink of becoming completely mass orientated, guarantee there’s a force to stand against. Apart from opening seven days of the week, to closing at 7pm, to the actual name, SEVEN seems to be Joseph Quartana’s lucky number or in this case, boutique. As New York’s premier retailer who introduces and stocks quirky, odd, and interestingly quintessential independent brands, Joseph takes us into his world of ideal uniqueness. He spoke to us while juggling seven tasks.

— 51 —

>> Joseph Quartana <<

JJ: The name of your store SEVEN is derived from a Buddhist concept that illustrates creation and destruction, is there any significant resemblance?

JQ: Seven in numerology stands for ‘dominance of the material plane’ and also happens to be the founding partner’s ‘digital number’, your ‘essential’ number so to speak. However the significance of the number has nothing to do with the design of the new space other than collective mystical leanings. John Demas, our architect and partner, designed the new shop to reflect the ultimate difference between the human sexes — and please note we are not stereotyping here as both sexes display/are guilty of the same characteristics. It’s more an energy thing. Think yin/yang.

The concept is circularity according to sex. Women’s items are all on the left of the shop and men’s on the right, forcing the client to circulate through the space according to their gender, with women in clockwise rotation as that symbolises ‘creation’ as women bring new life into the world, nurture, etc, and men in counterclockwise rotation which symbolizes destruction as men fight, start wars, etc.

The space features a large black mirrored mannequin bank in the centre and a black mirrored monolith in the back which houses the hidden fitting rooms and our office and storage closet. The significance of the black mirrors is that they were used by early magicians — sorcerers, not illusionists — to summon energy, a symbolic parallel we see in the creative processes of our designers.

Of course they don’t literally use them when designing, but it’s more to suggest that our space is a place where energy is and has been summoned.

JJ: Everyone knows you have a strong influence on New York fashion retail. When did it all happen?

JQ: When John, Steve, and I finished college in the late 90’s, we were spread about the northeast and we all came to New York ultimately. All of us were working entry level shit jobs with me on Wall Street, and Steve and John doing entry level architectural work. I quit my job first and invited them into this project back in 1999. Miguel Adrover’s shop had just gone out of business and we thought there was room for another that embraced truly cutting edge designers — there was nothing like this in New York at the time. We figured if we wanted these designers, there must be others

who do as well. So as I worked on Wall Street during the Internet boom, my parents entrusted me to invest their money, and I in retrospect stupidly put it all into high-flying tech stocks. Well, luckily I almost tripled their wealth in the process. As a result when I was ready to start Seven, they provided the startup capital. We opened our doors in April 2000.

JJ: So when you opened, who designed your shop and under what concept?

JQ: The old and new shop was both designed by our partner and former creative director, John Demas. The Mercer space was largely a reaction to our first space as we thought it was naïve though ambitious I suppose. None of us had any experience in retail before we started Seven; we really just winged it with common sense, raw, youthful ambition, and what we imagined retail should be. With that said, we of course made many mistakes along the way. And with Mercer we wanted to incorporate all the prior knowledge into the new design. So with John’s lead, we reduced his concepts into a workable fashion retailing machine. Our previous shop on Orchard Street was a modernist monstrosity that didn’t blend into the strip (I don’t think we were thinking about discretion then).

And we really wanted to start over from scratch. We wanted the new space to be simple and to solely focus on the products. I’ve been to many shops around the world and didn’t want ours to have any distracting elements. For example, as much as I respect and love ‘10 Corso Como’ in Milan, it is absolutely dizzying to go in there and you can’t find anything as it is so haphazardly laid out and merchandised. So we’ve designed our new space to be the cleanest, most logical, simply laid out economical fashion retailing machine we could muster. For example, the only light sources in the space are on the racks, the mannequin bank, and the flat screen TV which only shows fashion show videos. So attention is forced onto the product and product informational resources. And with the circularity concept, the client is almost forced to see every look before entering the fitting room with their respective selections.

JJ: You’re an economics major from New York University. How did you bridge the gap between fashion and business?

JQ: It had a large part to do with the fact that when you study

— 52 —

economics your classmates are a boring bunch. I preferred to hang with Parson’s fashion kids, one of whom turned out to be my wife. I studied hard and did well at university, but sought inspiration in the club scene of early and mid 90’s New York to escape my boring studies and fellow NYU students. It was there with the help of the Parson’s kids, and LSD and Ecstasy that my mind really opened up. I saw a lot of my older classmates who were graduating with interesting degrees like philosophy and fine art going right into the unemployment line so I stuck with economics. At the same time, I realised I wanted to apply my business understanding to an interesting industry which could have well been art, film, music, or whatever. So since I had so much exposure to the fashion industry and I saw that many fashion designers that started their own businesses went under rather fast, I realised that there was a need for someone who could straddle both worlds, so I settled on buying.

JJ: Now, let’s talk retail. What do you think of the current state of fashion retailing in NY and the USA in general? Any plans to expand SEVEN? JQ: Well, from what I see, a lot of the buying amongst the ‘old guard’ is safer (almost unrecognizable amongst certain brands), but hey, that’s what the masses buy. We try to embrace the essence of our designers’ collections of whom we search far and wide. As far as the difference between New York and the rest of the USA, well we may as well be a separate city state so I’ve little idea about what’s happening in the rest of the country retail-wise. And for now our only expansion plans for the time being are to perfect our e-commerce site. Unlike having another brick & mortar shop, it reaches the entire world (version 2.0 coming very soon). We are considering some offers to license in other cities at the moment but I honestly can’t imagine flying to Los Angeles or London every month to check up on things. We’ll see what becomes of it. Colette has had some similar expansion offers and I respect the fact that they didn’t expand after all, as I believe that in order to run a shop well, you have to be in it all the time and that’s what we do, and I’m a very anal motherfucker.

JJ: Speaking of offers from London, it’s on everyone’s lips that London is enjoying another swinging revival. Do you think New York will ever have a similar talent upswing anytime soon?

JQ: I hope so but for the last six years, short of a few interesting small brands we found and carry like Pleasure Principle, Bender, and Salvor Projects, who are all getting international accounts and press recognition, it’s been pretty boring. The big newcomers like Proenza Schouler, Peter Som, Phillip Lim, etc, don’t excite us as it is too commercial. But again, New York is like Milan, it’s a commercial city nowadays. It’s a far cry from the 80’s and 90’s.

JJ: And I think you were the first to introduce the Belgian avantgarde designers to New York, what was the reaction from the American audience?

JQ: We weren’t the first to introduce the first wave of the Belgian avant-garde to America actually. That honour goes to If, a shop near to us. We were the first to introduce some second and third wave Belgians including Bernhard Wilhelm, Raf Simons, Haider Ackermann, Christian Wijnants, and Peter Pilotto amongst others.

With each of them, the reaction of the American public, well, our American clients at least was hesitation at first, and then gradually they embraced them one at a time. After years with some of them like Bernhard, we have a huge and very loyal cult following season after season. Currently we are the first in New York to introduce the new wave of Brits storming the press like Gareth Pugh, Cassette Playa, and House of Holland.

JJ: Do you think consumers today still carry the age old mantra: “I shop therefore I am”?

JQ: When it comes to food and other absolutely necessary things that mantra still applies. We sell items that are either distractions from the daily humdrum that light up people’s lives or tools of a sort that enable one to express their deepest selves. But they aren’t necessary for survival!

JJ: What’s the most difficult buying session you have encountered?

JQ: Any that requires the buyer to choose a range of colors and fabrics for any given style. Most of our designers offer styles that are available as is, so it’s easier to assemble an edit. Mind you, I take into consideration every designers’ every piece and balance out a buy that doesn’t have too many tops vs. dresses, etc, while

— 53 —

>> Joseph Quartana <<

trying to show the essence of their vision and stay in budget. So when we have too many options, it’s challenging to envision the entire buy for the next season. It’s simply too much. So given it’s the media age and our clients tend to stick with what was shown, I too tend to stick with what was shown and work within those parameters generally. Of course on occasion I’ll see a style that I think will work better for the American market in a different color/ fabric and I’ll go with it.

JJ: I understand that you are just back from your recent buying trip in London & Paris, what are the exciting progressive brands you intend to add into your roaster of designers?

JJ: What’s the ‘hottest’ item that is flying out of your store right now?

JQ: Everything.

JQ: There are a few items that are equally hot. House of Holland ‘model’ tees, April 77 jeans, Henrik Vibskov scarves, Pleasure Principle flannel kimono hoodies, and anything by Bernhard Wilhelm and Jeremy Scott.

JJ: You’ve recently been selected as a juror for the +46 Stockholm Fashion Week awards, have you spotted any true talents there?

JJ: I notice that you’re a saviour to independent designers. Any thoughts on the recent mass commercialisation in fashion?

JQ: For the last few years it was all about the luxury boom and labels, labels, labels. At least some of the bigger houses like Lanvin, Givenchy, and Balenciaga are now doing interesting and very beautiful things, so that’s good. These houses of course have the most complete resources to utilize. But with small indie designers they do everything on their own and their work is still stellar so consider that. They deserve more recognition as they’ve accomplished more with fewer resources to draw upon.

JJ: In the 80’s it was Suzanne Bartch who was responsible for bringing the hottest London imports such as Bodymap, English Eccentrics, Dexter Wong etc to New York. Do you think things have changed a lot since then?

JQ: Yeah, Giuliani was voted into power as our mayor and destroyed nightlife and anything else edgy. The city is very clean and sterile right now, but at least an underground still exists that is cool and doing interesting stuff, namely ThreeAsFour, Rub & Tug (DJ’s), A touch of class (producers), Codek records, and Death from Above Records (producers) to name a few. Besides Opening Ceremony, Atelier, and us (Seven), I don’t know of other shops that are really embracing the best of the new designers.

JQ: In terms of new lines I bought David David, ground zero, and Katherine Hamnett’s ready-to-wear collection.

JJ: Who else do you have your eye on?

JQ: I liked skyward and Julian Red (who we carry now), and I’m watching 5th Ave shoe repair. Sweden has a great design spirit!

JJ: It seems that you’re a bit of a fashion world’s clairvoyant, any future predictions?

JQ: I see a casual but embellished and sophisticated early 70’s on the horizon, and more early 90’s.

JJ: So when did you first meet Jeremy Scott? Describe your first meeting.

JQ: Back in 2002 I was hanging in a bar called Swim which was on Orchard Street. Chilling out before I was to DJ, and Jeremy Scott and Masha Orlov (the stylist) came in. They were both decked out in Chanel accessories as it was hot at the time, and they saw me, walked up and just started being all like in these snobby, droning tones “Chanellllll, Chanellllll, Chanelllllllllllllll.” I started buying him shortly thereafter.

JJ: Tell me more about your involvement with the cutting-edge online fashion portal Hint Magazine (www.hintmag.com)?

As the music editor Lee (Carter) and I have the same sort of ear, so we always talk about what bands and tracks we like. He also asks me what I think would work for editorials he does.

— 54 —

JJ: What’s your most memorable experience with Lee Carter?

JQ: There are too many as we’ve been good friends since 1995. But one that I still laugh about to this day is when Lee and I were at Recess which was one of the first parties to embrace electroclash back in 2001. Lee got wasted and Benjamin Liu was around us telling us for the 14th time that he was Andy Warhol’s assistant and that we should be so impressed. So Lee in his completely wasted state of mind just completely went off on him about how he is such a loser (he’s not in fact) living in the past, and we don’t care, and how we’ve heard this a billion times! It was hilarious but a bit shocking for me! Lee takes no prisoners!

JJ: It came to my notice that Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode DJ’d at your birthday party. How was that? Are you a fan?

JQ: It wasn’t Dave Gahan, but Andrew Fletcher. He’s the redheaded bespectacled keyboard player (and original founder with Martin Gore in 1980). He was promoting a band on his newly formed label and DJ’ing in the process, and my good friend Tommy Saleh booked them to play at his Tribeca Grand Hotel on the day of my birthday party, partially as a gift to me and partially as I could promo it better. Depeche mode is my favorite band of all time. I have every domestic release they’ve ever come out with and lots of foreign releases too. We even named our corporation ‘Black Celebration Inc.’ after their 1986 album.

JJ: What are you listening to right now?

JQ: At this very moment, I am in love with anything by in Flagranti, Simian Mobile Disco, Switch, Pink Skull, and Lcd Soundsystem. But the genres I listen to and spin are predominantly Nu-rave, New Wave, Hip House, Tech House, Old-school Techno, 90’s Cheesy Dance music (2-unlimited for example), Booty Bass, Italo Disco, and Disco (especially of the Electronic sort). I love lots of singles and artists from the above.

JQ: Well it was called ‘New York New York’ at Paris Paris and Paper Mag co-hosted with Tommy Saleh from Tribeca/Soho grand.

I DJ’d along with Jeremy Scott, Spencer Product from Ruff Club, Geordan from the Misshapes and a few other New Yorkers. It was mad crowded with local Paris fashionistas as well as those from fashion week who wanted to blow off some steam. And everyone was dancing (unlike New York) which was nice to see. As I was exhausted from buying all week, I just dropped my set and then hid in the DJ booth so I don’t know about anything risqué that happened.

JJ: Someone tips you off that Scott Schuman a.k.a. Sartorialist is planning to snap your picture tomorrow... what would you put on? Why? JQ: Whatever I feel like in the morning as that is just who I am.

JJ: You wear and stock Raf Simons. Are you a Jil Sander customer too?

JQ: It’s a bit out of my budget and too clean for my tastes. I prefer Raf Simons’ collection.

JJ: Lastly, pick one: shoes or sunglasses for spring?

JQ: Both matter always! I liked Jeremy Scott and House of Holland’s shades. And the Raf Simons multi colored hiking boots in white and primary colors. I almost fainted when I saw then on the runway. www.sevennewyork.com

JJ: How was the party you organized at Paris Paris recently, the infamous club run by the French graffiti artist Andre? Who attended? Any crazy happenings or sightings?

— 55 —

Runway photos by Monica Feudi Portrait photo by Mark Borthwick

MARIA CORNEJO interviewed by Jared Johnson

Lately an organic and easy lifestyle is branded on everyone’s minds and Zero by Maria Cornejo’s clothing is just that. At her multi-purpose Nolita boutique in New York, the front displays items from the recent collection while a team works frivolously in the back.

One could assume this New York fast pace work ethic contrasts her calm English upbringing, but speed seemingly bears no effect on her as she consistently produces two innovative collections annually. We had the chance to speak to Maria about fashion, designing, and her life.

— 57 —

>> Maria Cornejo <<

JJ: First, what part of Chile are you from? You were there recently ­— how has it changed?

MC: I’m from Santiago and I left Chile when I was eleven. Since then, I’ve gone back to visit but many things have changed. It’s modernized dramatically first and foremost. My childhood memories seem too naive compared to how it has become.

MC: They encouraged us to mix with other departments such as the graphic and 3-D departments. They taught us to be more openminded and be interested in other fields outside of just fashion.

The programme was also very competitive and demanding. They really pushed to get the best out of you.

JJ: Then you worked as a creative consultant in Paris.

MC: As a child in Chile my grandmother and aunt would always be knitting or sewing us things to wear. My grandmother Ita taught me to knit on my grandfather’s big carpentry nails when I was 7.

MC: Yes. I learned how to develop an entire collection from just one yarn — coating, sweater, jersey or whatever. I learned how to work on a big commercial and press worthy collection. I was working for a brand that was aging and I had the chance to help renew it, which was very fulfilling.

JJ: At 11-years-old, how did you adjust to moving to England?

JJ: So what’s the story behind labeling your brand “Zero?”

MC: It was difficult to see my parents go through that transition.

I think kids adapt easily. For my siblings and me, it was somewhat of an adventure. It was exciting to be somewhere else.

MC: The collection is named ZERO as an expression of a pure vision: zero is a number that neither adds nor subtracts; it is, rather, a point of departure. I didn’t want people to attach a person or a name to the collection. I wanted it to just be about the clothes, but with time it has developed into a brand.

JJ: And what childhood memories do you have?

JJ: So in England you discovered that fashion was for you?

MC: Living in England, I would go to the library looking at books and read French Elle. After seeing the movie Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn, I thought for a long time I wanted to be a fashion editor. I didn’t realize that you could learn to be a fashion designer; I just thought you were selected to become a designer.

JJ: You have traveled a lot — which cultural experience has had most impact on you and your work?

MC: I’ve been exposed to many cultures and values that contribute to my designs. By traveling I realize that clothes have to work in different cultural situations and different modern lifestyles. But the exposure to cultures has also helped me find myself; I don’t make direct references from the places I’ve visited but rather it helps me look inside for inspiration. I am particularly intrigued with Mexican culture. I feel in touch with my Latin roots when I am there. I find the Mayan and Aztec cultures very rich.

JJ: How many languages do you speak?

MC: I’m bilingual in Spanish and English, but after living in Paris and Italy, I can speak French and Italian.

JJ: What was Ravensbourne College of Design like? You already knew how to knit, so from here what other valuable opportunities were granted to you?

JJ: And regarding the woman who wears your brand? What does she do and where does she go?

MC: A lot of women are in the creative fields with their own careers: artists, gallerists and architects, but then we also have clients with a very wide age-range — a mother with their daughters. They’re stylish women without giving it much thought and value comfort.

Fashion should be always be fun and interesting no matter what you do or where you’re going.

JJ: What part of English culture do we see in your collections?

It’s very New York, but at times I do notice a few items can be daring, like tartan used in a previous collection.

MC: I always have a tendency to throw kitschy elements and colors in the mix to counter balance things. I do have a sense of humor from growing up in Manchester and London. The English are very eccentric and not worried about fitting in. During my teenage years I was very influenced by punk and the independent music scene Hacienda in Manchester, the new romantic scene — Taboo. New York has grounded me and allowed me to find my own identity.

JJ: Some may refer to your collection as minimal because of its simplicity. The construction looks very effortless and organic, but does it take a lot of research on your part to achieve this feel or do you just experiment until it comes together?

— 58 —

MC: I don’t do any research or look to external inspiration; it’s a very internal process. It’s all about draping and figuring out how the fabric will fit on the body.

JJ: And with your colour palette, how do you choose what you want from so many colours?

MC: It’s a feeling. It tends to be a reflection of what I’m wearing, what I want or missing. In New York I tend to wear a more neutral color palette but when I’m away I’m much more colorful and try to put in color wherever I can in the collection.

JJ: Textiles and fabric can be very complex. How do you approach a decision when selecting a fabric for the collection? What’s special about the way it feels in regards to texture and flow?

MC: I approach fabric in two ways. I first look at the functional fabric — basics that must be within a certain price range. And then there’s the fabric that I call ‘eye candy’ — fabrics that I just fall in love with and try to find ways to apply it into the collection. That is the fun part!

JJ: How do you approach cutting to obtain your desired effect?

MC: I’m always trying to eliminate seams by cutting from circles or just one fabric. But with grading, I have to place seams in more places than anticipated, thus it’s an ongoing quest to find out which fabrics drape well and how I can simplify and modify my design process.

JJ: In many of your collections detailing radiates from the neckline and shoulders. Do you find something uniquely interesting about shoulder detail? It seems like your method of imbuing sexiness without being provocative.

MC: I think the shoulder and neckline frame your face. It’s the first feature that people instantly see. I would say the shoulder and the neckline are more democratic than other parts of the body, however it’s never been a conscious choice to focus on these parts.

JJ: Which other designers catch your eye? What do you wear personally?

MC: Growing up in England I was a huge fan of Vivienne Westwood and in the 80’s, Jean Paul Gaultier. I love Yohji, Martin Margiela, Commes des Garçons, Helmut Lang… But these days I’ve been wearing mostly my collection.

JJ: You collaborated with Keds, but in the meantime are there any other collaborations underway?

MC: The past couple of seasons we’ve collaborated with Swarovski for using their crystals in our evening wear and with Mackintosh in Scotland for our trench coats. For the Spring/Summer 2008 we also collaborated with Eileen Shields for our shoe collection. The collection ranges from cut-out front ballerina flats to ankle booties.

I love the idea of working with companies that have great history and craftsmanship.

JJ: I like the range of your collections. The colour palette tends to either be uniform or there’s a major contrast. Some garments are cut in an airy and feminine manner while others items are sharp and masculine reminiscent on Helmut Lang’s work.

MC: I greatly admire Helmut Lang as a designer but I don’t look to other designers for inspiration. I design based on what I would want to wear. I believe that there’s a Ying/Yang aspect to my designs, combining masculine and feminine elements. I never wore a lot of dresses so I’m always trying to design the perfect dress for me! I try and find things that women can wear based on reality, yet are still fun.

JJ: Have you thought about designing for men? I feel menswear needs more innovative designers to balance the traditional and conservative brands.

MC: I have done menswear in the past. I tried doing it for the store and I have designed uniforms for restaurants for both men and women. I have thought about it and eventually would like to do a men’s collection. This fall I did the Joey hoodie which was unisex and a hit for both. Menswear is difficult and we have many requests to design for men, but I think we would start very small with just a few key pieces. Men tend to be more minimal in their shopping habits.

JJ: What do you feel differentiates you from other brands?

MC: I’m not someone who designs to set trends. I’m always trying to evolve and refine my ideas, and by doing this, I think I’m pushing fashion forward in my own way by reinventing my designs.

JJ: Now with family life, how do you balance the huge demands of the fashion industry with a husband and two children?

MC: It’s hard. My schedule at work can keep me here until late and over the weekend sometimes but I try to balance out my time. If I stay late one night at the studio, I’ll try to take my kids to school the next morning, etc.

JJ: Your husband Mark Borthwick is a photographer. I assume the entire family travels a lot?

MC: Yes, with both of our crazy schedules we try to stagger our trips so that one of us is at least with the kids. It’s hard at times because we won’t see each other for a month sometimes. But when we can, we will take a trip or a vacation all together.

JJ: Your style seems to differ from that of Mark’s. Do both styles clash at times when it comes to choosing something such as decorating your home?

MC: Our aesthetics complement each other. We both like a lot of color. We had a lot of input in the way our home was designed but we both felt it should really be a comfortable and a simple backdrop to our lives. It is very simple; we just wanted to maximize the space and light in the house. The back of the house is all glass on 2 floors with an open staircase. There is a big terrace and skylights on the top floor and a slightly Japanese garden, which Mark planted. Occasionally our styles clash; Mark likes to collect and I’m constantly throwing stuff away.

JJ: If you weren’t designing clothing what would you be doing?

MC: I would love to do ceramics and pottery. There’s something so tranquil about being able to be creative on my own without having to rely on outside resources and check my email constantly!

JJ: It’s the night before the collection and everyone is hectic. How do you keep your calm? Do you have any pre-show ritual such as listening to a certain CD or eating a certain food?

MC: I’m usually very anxious when time comes close to the show and my stomach is all up in knots. For the entire week before the show I don’t get much sleep. The night before I’m usually doing the laundry or the dishes. I find that it takes my mind off and relaxes me a bit.

JJ: Is there a particular item from your past collections that you absolutely love?

MC: I love the off-shoulder bubble top. I’ve been designing it for years and I’m always buying it season after season. Also, the drape front dress.

JJ: Can you tell me one keyword that sums up your next collection?

MC: Gypsies. www.zeromariacornejo.com

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All photos courtsey of United Bamboo

UNITED BAMBOO interviewed by Jared Johnson

United Bamboo collective has nothing to do with the Taiwanese triads, but if the ‘sons of Kuomintang’ decided to use this high fashion brand to get their views across, who could blame them? Founded by Thuy Pham and Miho Aoki in New York, the label is now an expanding fashion co-op with a cult following. A new shop in Tokyo is giving them international clout. After staging their spring collection, United Bamboo’s co-founder, Thuy Pham spoke to us about Eastern influences and how he is taking his architect’s training and knowledge and applying it to fashion. We tried to get the measure of him.

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>> >> URnoi tb ebd YBo aum n gb o<o< < < JJ: How did you meet Miho Aoki and how did you two formulate your ideas to form a successful business?

sort of came naturally to me because I like making stuff. I used to make furniture and all sorts of things.

UB: A few friends and I formed an ‘art/fashion’ collective and we called it Bernadette Corporation. I was the one responsible for designing the clothes and collections. Miho Aoki was helping out in the studio along with another guy named Siri. Two years later Bernadette Corp fell apart and I had this loft space so I sublet it to Miho & Siri, who wanted to start their own line. They asked me for a name and I suggested ‘United Bamboo’. It was a name of a Chinese triad that I remembered reading about when I was a little kid but it has other meanings as well. So they were working in my loft and I was living in the back. I didn’t have anything better to do so I just helped them out. At some point Siri left to create his own brand and I became a partner with Miho. Actually, I thought they had better business sense than me and other people I worked with who were more interested in the art than business aspect of what we were doing. When I came on board I had an idea of re-contextualizing an existing fashion archetype as a brand concept. I read somewhere that Polo was the biggest fashion brand so I thought it might interesting to use that as a starting point. But later on this became a nuisance because people kept pigeonholing us as trying to be ‘preppy’ or designing around a ‘preppy’ theme.

JJ: What did you like most about the field?

UB: For me architecture is the design discipline which sets the pace for other design disciplines in the academic sense. Architecture is design but it’s often big and permanent so you have to be more serious about it. From my experience, architectural academia is preoccupied with its own historical existence and is constantly trying to progress. To do this the architect might bring ideas from other disciplines like philosophy, politics, science, literary critique, etc. It is this notion of self importance that makes it challenging and always pushing the boundaries of design. But it can also be annoying as well with a lot of architects spouting bullshit about postmodern theory and what not. What I notice at the moment as opposed to when I was in school 10 years ago that there is a return to design as a skill. Some firms like Herzog & de Meuron are making beautiful buildings without having to write a book to explain the theoretical concepts behind the building. One of my favorite new buildings is the Beijing Olympics Aquatic Center designed by ARUP Engineering. It’s basically a box whose structure designed is based on the natural structure formed by soap bubbles.

JJ: So when starting up, it must have been tough…

JJ: I’m certain it still influences you today…

UB: For me the influences come from the approach rather than a formal or stylistic influence. I mean with clothes the most obvious approach is to treat the fabric as a surface. So normally you would construct a shell or skin around your site — in this case the body. But I tried to experiment with the idea of ‘cells’ which is using a repeating shape to build up the form instead of creating the form from a surface. It was nothing special. I started with a square tile and built up a garment using this tile. Most people misconstrued this as origami, but it was actually just a tile and nothing to do with origami.

UB: Yes, the biggest problem for us was cash flow because we were started with very little capital. We had a lot of help from friends and family. Like my mother, a seamstress by trade, who was helping us sew. We also had help from Shirley Yung who is still our production/ office manager. Her family also had a clothing factory in the Bronx who produced clothes for us on credit.

JJ: United Bamboo is based upon Asian influences, but explain the ‘united’ aspect and its relevance to your collections.

UB: The ‘United’ is because I’ve always preferred to work in partnerships as opposed to putting my name in front. I like the name because it has a few meanings for me personally. ‘United bamboo’ comes from a Chinese saying. If you bind bamboo together it becomes a very strong material. They still use it in China for construction scaffolding. I know this from my background in architecture. Other than that, the bamboo plant is just one of my favorite plants with many useful applications like, flooring, fabrics, etc. Now with the eco movement, bamboo is becoming a popular renewable material because it can be grown and harvested in a short amount of time as it’s not a tree but a grass. The irony is that some Chinese triad uses that name — so yeah, it’s also a gang. You won’t find any ethnically Asian elements in our designs but you will find that we do use a lot similar design techniques as the Japanese designers like Rei Kawakubo or Yohji Yamamoto. The European designers have couture as their heritage so they tend to use draping a lot as opposed to the Japanese designers who use a lot of flat pattern making.

JJ: So tell me about your involvement in architecture.

UB: The funny thing is that when I was a kid I was really good at math and my father wanted me to go into the sciences but I always preferred to be drawing and making stuff instead of studying. I tried a year of engineering and hated it so architecture was a compromise between me and my father. I fell into fashion by accident, but it

JJ: With pattern making and construction as a focus, you take conservative clothing, alter the shapes, add volume and textures for a simple, yet unique collection each season.

What’s your design philosophy?

UB: I love architecture because that’s my background. What you describe is like making architecture for a specific site — the body.

Instead of using steel and glass we use fabric to make form, volume and structure. Clothing is the first architecture: when that original caveman wrapped an animal skin around his body he created shelter as opposed to just finding shelter. But I’m aware of the difference between fashion and architecture so I must have a point of reference for people to understand that it’s clothes. I like conservative clothes only because they are ‘archetypes’ in the Jungian sense. Anyone who sees a ‘raincoat’ can recognize that it’s a ‘raincoat’ no matter if it has six sleeves or shaped like a pear. I suppose I picked up this notion from architecture school.

JJ: Like an architect who pays close attention to details, what do you monitor closely when designing?

UB: Most importantly, I care about the quality. Regardless if we are making a simple t-shirt or an evening dress, the construction has to be top notch. I try to increase efficiency and reduce labour through design like eliminating unnecessary seams, trying not to make a bunch of seams converge on a single point, just making the sewing generally easier so the final product looks good regardless

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of the skill level of the sewer. It’s not always possible but I try hard for every item. I have to pay attention to where things get made because there are different tariff rates for different countries and different materials. The price is dependent upon where the fabric is produced and where it has to be shipped to, where it’s sewn, etc.

Also certain factories are skilled at some things while others are not. It’s a balancing act between cost versus quality.

JJ: Since we’re talking business, which additional markets do you want to target?

UB: I am curious about emerging cities like Sao Paolo, Shanghai and Stockholm — places which are not yet considered cultural centres like NY, Paris, London and Tokyo. I think as information become more accessible, we will find that there are people not living in the big fashion cities who might want a product like United Bamboo but have no access to it. But in order to this we have to create a product which they can afford. Everyone should have good design. I think designers can design affordable things as well as expensive things. They don’t need to limit their products only to rich customers then turn around and license their brand to be placed on cheap but crappy products. But this is easier said than done and counter-intuitive to the luxury branding and licensing strategy you normally see in the fashion business.

JJ: At least you know music! I understand together with Aoki you own a music label. Tell me about some of your latest collaborations with artists.

UB: Yeah it’s a side project with Rusty Santos who is a musician who also recorded/produced some Animal Collective LP. Right now that project is on hold but the last things we released were a single for Panda Bear (from Animal Collective), Holy Shit LP (Matt Fishbeck & Arial Pink), and Rusty Santos LP. JJ: You featured Panda Bear on a previous compilation CD. I recall the music from Panda Bear playing in a Zero Maria Cornejo show and I liked what I heard.

UB: Noah Lennox a.k.a Panda is great guy and it was really great to have worked with him. He has a really good sense of composition and I like his singing as well.

JJ: Besides your label, what other artists and bands do you enjoy?

UB: A lot and too many to name. Recently I’ve been listening to a Finnish band called Cats on Fire which sounds like the Smiths. And some Swedish band called Shout Out Louds who sound like The Cure (but their poppy, dancey tracks).

JJ: You’re headquartered in New York which is known as a centre for fashion buying, yet you have two stores in Tokyo. Is capturing different world markets difficult?

JJ: Can you give me a preview of a current project you’re working on?

UB: Yes it’s very challenging. We have a Japanese business partner so that’s the only reason why we have stores there. I would prefer to have a store in NY first to set precedence for how the other stores should be. I have learned to create different products for different markets, but in the end it still has to look like one consistent collection.

UB: For the UUAR label we aren’t doing anything at the moment. For our next men’s collection a portion of it will be costumes for a ‘science fiction skating film’, which is written and directed by pro-skater Mark Gonzales. I’m doing costumes for some characters referred to as ‘the rich kids’. I might be doing a collaboration with an architect helping him realise his idea of ‘architecture for the body’, but I can’t say at this time because it’s not confirmed.

JJ: Where do you see your New York flagship shop? Describe the location and interior.

UB: I love the area where our office is at so anywhere around there would be great. For our store in Tokyo we worked with a NY architect, Vito Acconci. I would love to work with him for a store in NY. I can’t visualise any interior design until there is an actual site, but it would probably lean towards something modern without being too cold.

JJ: The New York Flagship has yet to come, but what items can we purchase online in the meantime?

UB: I’m still working on this. But we are starting to make accessories or things which the customer doesn’t have to fit in person. We have wallets, ties, casual shoes, that sort of thing. We’ll probably also put some hit items for sale online like our fishtail army parka, denim, sweaters. Maybe we’ll sell the samples from the collection as one offs.

JJ: Outside of the design studio and work, what do you get up to?

UB: I like to learn things so in my spare time and I always read about stupid stuff online — history, science and politics. I don’t feel like I really know about anything thing though. Someone said that the internet is like an ocean that’s only two feet deep. That’s exactly how I feel. I know a little bit about many things but no deep knowledge of anything.

JJ: What parts of the fashion industry do you like the most?

UB: To be honest I like what I do daily and the people I work with, but I don’t really enjoy being dealing with the fashion industry. I feel like a nerd when dealing with the fashion industry. Normally I don’t like explaining to fashion writers about how I work because they seem to have their own preconceived notion of how design works. Like they are always asking what ‘theme’ influenced the collection, but for me there’s never a theme — it’s always just my personal pursuit of design but we just package it as a ‘collection’ because this is how the fashion business works. But they’ll tell me that a dress I designed looks like a Poiret dress so my theme is Poiret even though I don’t even know who that is. I’m always afraid to say something like I’m influenced by some ‘architects name’ because they’ll say “well that doesn’t look like any ‘architects name’ building I’ve ever seen.” That’s because I’m not trying to make a coat look like a building. I’m just taking the design approach of one specific project. There are a lot of different ways to approach design in architecture. Nowadays almost all design is done on a computer so you can have a design approach that was impossible in the previous pencil generation. Now with CAD you can start with a lump of material and shape it into a form like you would with clay. Unfortunately I can’t take this technology and apply it to fashion. wwww.unitedbamboo.com

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All photos courtsey of Jan Nord / H&M

JAN NORD interviewed by Ninette Murk

Unless you’ve been living under a rock in the last couple of years, you will have heard about H&M, the Swedish retailer who changed the face of affordable, young fashion forever. Apart from the great looking clothes, the thing that springs to mind first when you think about H&M is their collaborations with famous fashion designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Roberto Cavalli, Rei Kawakubo and Viktor & Rolf and celebrities such as Madonna and Kylie Minogue.

Their latest project is ‘Fashion against AIDS’, for which H&M and AIDS awareness brand ‘Designers against AIDS’ invited 15 wellknown musicians, fashion designers and other celebrities (Rufus Wainwright, Timbaland, Katharine Hamnett, Scissor Sisters, Good Charlotte to name but a few) to create prints for T-shirts and other items, in an effort to make young people stop and think about their attitudes towards HIV/AIDS. Stimuli spoke with Jan Nord, creative director at H&M and in charge of their fashion campaigns. Jan started in advertising as a copywriter but for the last six years he has worked at the fashion retailer.

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T-shirt 9.99 DesigneD by: Ziggy MARLey

and

NM: Why did you decide to work for H&M? JN: It was such a great opportunity I did not even think twice.

To work within a creative company as Creative Director of communication is a field of possibilities. The product, fashion, in itself is innovative. That in combination with the second part of the business idea of H&M — fashion and quality at the best price — is a stimulating yet challenging platform to create fashion campaigns.

NM: What are some favorite campaigns/projects so far?

JN: It’s hard to tell — whatever we do, needs to be created out of some wish to turn it into your favourite. But of course when we see the results of ‘Fashion Against AIDS’ we are really proud! The unbelievable combination of high end fashion designers at the prices of H&M also gives me a lot of satisfaction.

immediately and seemed to know as much about H&M and our customers as we did. But then I heard that he is like that, knows everything about everything. He is quite amazing. And the collaboration with Kylie, of course. She is so full of positive energy that it rubs off on everyone. It was a pleasure from the first meeting, through all the work and until the final big celebration in Shanghai where Kylie helped us open up our first store. It was an electric evening, absolutely fantastic.

NM: How do you develop your concepts?

JN: Teamwork is key. We work across borders, involve creative people from outside H&M when needed, travel all over and frame the creative process to focus on what is relevant and needed.

NM: A personal question: who are your favorite fashion & product designers, artists, musicians & movie directors?

JN: I think it speaks for itself. Everyone needs to think about their own responsibilities fighting AIDS. If we can help by supporting information that highlights the problem through our channels, we think it’s a part of our responsibility.

JN: I have a soft spot for very clean design, still with a clear human touch to it. So Margiela, Comme des Garçons, Jil Sander always seem to catch my eyes. Danish 50’s/60’s furniture design is still amazing. Soul music, preferably female vocals, makes me feel good. Movie directors? I must say the dry dialogue in a Hitchcock movie or the quirkiness of Spike Jones is always refreshing.

NM: What’s it like to work with wellknown artists, photographers, designers, movie directors?

NM: What’s your opinion on ecological fashion, Fair Trade and the like?

JN: First of all we ask the photographers, directors and designers based on their skills. And 99% of the time it is just a thrill to develop ideas together with such creative people. It is all about teamwork. When we involve celebrities we really try to see them as icons in style and fashion and in that sense inspiration to our customers. What we always see — and of course love — is that everybody no matter of their iconic status, seems to enjoy shopping at H&M.

JN: A sustainable process from A to Z should be, and in the future needs to be, totally integrated in the product. It is really a shame if ecological fashion is just a ‘fashion’ and not a long term commitment. Fair trade is a part of how we produce. H&M has a strict Code of Conduct that we constantly improve.

NM: Do you have some anecdotes that you would like to share?

JN: I have no individual vision. That’s part of how we work. So my answer has to be that wherever H&M is going will be the vision of how we develop creative solutions for the future.

NM: What would you like to say about ‘Fashion Against AIDS’?

JN: Well, I was really impressed when we first met Karl Lagerfeld and discussed the idea of doing something together. He was as sharp in his mind as he is in his design. He grasped the idea

NM: What is your vision creatively for H&M towards the future?

www.hm.com

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All photos courtsey of Jean Claude Wouters

JEAN CLAUDE WOUTERS interviewed by Javier Barcala

When Marc Jacobs and entourage first saw his formula-breaking, sheer and burstingly sensual portraits jaws dropped, and promptly they decided he would be the right one to portrait the designer.

Even though he claims this to be his closest work to fashion to date, Belgian artist Jean Claude Wouters is a fearless and reckless experimenter who has played with the synergies of creative fields such as dance, films, painting and photography. Jean Claude’s pictures are alive, albeit suspended in time; some might say is still of great rarity to see the artwork of someone who, as he put it, ‘dances his photographs’. Stimuli talked to him about his work, dreams and inspiration.

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> > Je a n C l a u d e Wo u t e r < <

Marc Jacobs

JB: So you’re back in Tokyo with an exhibition, how was the opening at Marunouchi Gallery?

is no room for aggression, it remains very calm. They just can let themselves go and appreciate it.

JCW: It couldn’t go better. I am so moved by the reactions. It is so comforting to live such experience. The work is getting on fine.

I guess this is related to the fact that historically, Asia has never wanted to reproduce the appearance of things — they never had any interest in that. They were far more interested in expressing the ‘feeling’ or the ‘spirit’ of the thing.

JB: Does it still inspire you being there?

JCW: It does. Japan always inspired me. I’ve been attracted to Japan since I was a teenager when I started to discover the films, the paintings, or the theatre be it Noh or Butoh.

At that time I was just really impressed by the relation of this culture with subjects such as spirituality, sex or death. So, let’s say being here really fits with the concept of ‘vacation’ for me.

JB: I can see the way you have taken on this sense of simplicity, even though you come from a western culture, your portraits ooze this sort of spiritual charm. For instance you’re face portrait of Marc Jacobs is almost hypnotizing. Where was it taken?

JCW: It was taken in his own studio at Louis Vuitton’s building in Paris, last May 2007.

JB: Does it ever drag you down?

JB: Walk us through the journey behind this photo.

JCW: The thing with Japan is that you can find almost everything there is in the western world here too, but then the shift within the reality you encounter is huge. So you have to be always very aware, very alive, because nothing works the way you are used to.

JCW: This year, Bloomingdale’s, the department store, decided to launch ARTRAGEOUS, a special event to connect artists with fashion designers.

What I find amazingly pleasant is the true relation they have with everything, from seasons or periods of time, to objects, personal impressions. You feel the sense of the sacred in all that. I guess that’s something some primitive or traditional societies in general still keep.

JB: The female nudes portraits you’re showing now, I see they’re taken with this technique of yours that I feel amplifies the sensuality of every image in a profound yet very subtle way.

For a culture that is not very fond of overtly erotic imagery you found how to dodge any feeling of aggression. Do they read this the same way you expected in Japan?

JCW: They react very well to my nude images, yeah, I guess is because, as you say it invites you to a world of sensuality but there

Most of the artists they choose at that time, were dealing with fashion in one way or another. But they also thought it would be a good idea to have one artist that had nothing to do with fashion or clothes.

Bloomingdale’s Vice-President, Stephanie Solomon had seen my exhibition in Chelsea two years ago and she thought I would fit.

So the idea was to give over their 25 meters windows on Lexington Avenue to Marc Jacobs, but they were just a bit nervous about his reaction, considering they’d picked me in advance, even before Marc had had his say on any decision.

JB: Was that the first time Marc Jacobs knew about you?

JCW: In 2000 I did a film for Louis Vuitton and actually I filmed him in his creative studio at the time. I have to say when I have

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Exhibition in Tokyo

a 16mm camera on my shoulder, I am very discreet, and also respectful. But he doesn’t remember that. He was sitting at his desk, doing some sketches, I guess focused enough not to notice that I was filming.

JB: I guess this didn’t influence in the final decision.

JCW: No it didn’t matter. Probably Bloomingdale’s proposed me because my work seduced them, especially for the fact of being so discreet.

Marc’s first reaction was he wanted to choose the artist himself, but he eventually gave in to see my file too. Luckily, just half hour after he got through my file his company was calling Bloomingdale’s to give his absolute OK. It was great!

By the time we met, he was so simple and calm. Very gentle.

Then we met again in NYC after his show last September.

JB: Where is the portrait now?

JCW: It belongs to him, is permanently in the Marc by Marc Jacobs shop in Bloomingdale’s Lexington Avenue Building.

JB: A lot more people will have access to it, especially since fashion scene is a new territory for you. How important is recognition for you?

JCW: I do care for the recognition of what I do. The work exists only when someone sees it. And a few more people is better than a few less...

JB: When you worry if something is going to work out, what do you do?

JCW: I don’t know. But sometimes it becomes like a blind energy to just keep on working in a certain direction, like walking in the desert or against a wind full of snow...

JB: What got you into photography?

JCW: I have an obsession with light, the only light sensitive material is film and photographic paper. Everything else is light sensitive in real, but it takes many years to see the result... I don’t see myself as a photographer anyway. I am more like a dancer who expresses himself through other means different than dance. I don’t dance anymore though.

JB: Would you be interested in actually mixing disciplines or are you more of one brush-stroke at a time?

JCW: Mix is so fine in any way of life!

JB: Your last series of pictures, ‘Mechanics’ , has a lot to do with sexuality and voyeurism in a way, what was your motivation for these ones?

JCW: I am attracted by the simplicity of pornography and at the same time to express the confrontation between real life and fake.

There is also a dimension of sadness, and the reality of humankind.

Some bestiality too, in the way that we pretend to be far evolved but I see the animal aspect vastly in all of us. Even aspects from plants...

I tend to find beauty in what some people may find vulgar.

JB: How does your everyday life intervene in your work process?

JCW: Badly, but I am working on my self to take things on the good side...

JB: What do you want to accomplish in your next five years plan?

JCW: As in the last few years, to be as close as possible to what my life is supposed to be, and to what I am supposed to realize. Truly and simply. www.jeanclaudewouters.eu

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photo by Karl Lagerfeld

All other photos courtesy of Vive la Fete

VIVE LA FETE interviewed by Javier Barcala

Thanks to them we know that dance music rocks. For unadulterated sass with sugar on top as well, here comes the glamour-hipstercool chick of Vive la Fête. With her feet on the ground together with a rebellious attitude and baffling intensity, Els Pynoo talks about her last stroke of luck and a very satisfying career.

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>> >> VRi vo eb bl a Y Fo êu tneg <<<<

JB: I remember the first time we met, you came to Antwerp accompanied by Danny in your trademark black 80s convertible car, keeping the neighbours awestruck with your blond hair!

How do you deal with fame and this attitude living in a town like Ghent?

EP: Well, the truth is, we appreciate every style of living... Three years ago, we lived in a farm in the country, among farmers and animals and all that stuff. We also have lots of animals ourselves: horses, ponies, a donkey, a pig, dogs and cats and lots of gooses and swans... We love it because it’s a completely opposite kind of living to the one we were used to five years ago. I love to visit big cities all over the world and do concerts in all kind of clubs, but then it is rewarding to come home and have a peaceful day surrounded by nature. We need that kind of balance.

JB: I read about your donkey a couple of times before, I guess his fame and fortune is rising too (laughs). Coming back to your blond hair, do you relate to the nifty image of a group like Blondie and an electrifyingly powerful lead singer such as Debbie Harry?

EP: When I see pictures of our group it reminds me immediately of Blondie, but that’s just because I’m a blond girl who sings and the guys are all dressed in black... I mean there was never any intention there. We listen to a hell of a lot of different types of music, so even though Vive la Fête doesn’t sound the same as Blondie, not even close, I think there are some resemblances in the sense that we radiate the same energy, which I think is very important when you’re a stage performer. She’s that one-of-a-kind unique artist you want to reach out to all the time.

JB: I can’t wait to see how you perform the new songs from ‘Jour de Chance’, your last album. Like the previous ones, this one brings a little darkness and then it feels again as if it’s been washed over in up-tempo Françoise Hardy or Lio. Where does the inspiration come from?

EP: From being on tour for several years, which is exhausting but also inspirational like everyday life. For instance counting on all the emotions hanging around us because we’re a couple, that really inspires me. Playing in the same band and finding love there, that’s luxurious!

JB: And where is the origin of the title?

EP: The day we did the final touch of ‘Jour de Chance’ was actually a very lucky day for us... and after 10 years of doing what we want to do, we’re so proud of what we have achieved. That’s a kick! So this album is also our way to celebrate, even if this may sound too sappy.

JB: I would say Vive la Fête sounds naïve and slightly melodramatic, but then you manage to rant and rave and spit your tireless festive spirit out. It’s like you are keeping it especially for the live performances. What is the most exciting part of the process, from starting to write a song until playing it to the masses?

EP: I think every part is exciting. I love the complete process.

Finding the right words and matching it to the right melody, singing, recording the instruments... the montage of the song... even the pictures that go with the album and finally the concerts…

I just love it all! You have to love it to be able to work on this for several years and keep enthusiastic to the core.

JB: Have you ever approached or been approached by artists you admire from an earlier generation?

EP: Yes! We met Jane Birkin, Lio, whom you mentioned before, and also Christophe who had several hits in the sixties like ‘Aline’, ‘Les Marionettes’ and many others... I was and I still am a HUGE fan. Recently we’ve been working together on a song with him, it’s called ‘Els Pynoo’. Imagine: for me this is a dream come true! Then I still want to meet Jacques Dutronc, who knows?

JB: Let’s call his attention from here. “Jacques Dutronc: Els Pynoo wants to meet you and Stimuli magazine wants to give the

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scoop on what will happen next!” (laughs) With these so varied influences and a career of more than 10 years behind you, what kind of audience do you reach out to today?

EP: Every kind you can think of... and from six till sixty six years old, which makes me very happy. We reach all this great variety of people, not just party people but also people who listen to music other than techno or electro, but then want to have a little bit of lighter fun. And especially those who stick to these old classic French pop songs and are waiting for a modern twist to it.

ELS PYNOO’S FAVORITE CITY SÃO PAULO A year ago we did some concerts in São Paulo... It was the second time we were in Brazil. The first time we went to Recife.

We had a super time in São Paulo! People are so friendly and warm!

I’m still thrilled by those days of fun and frolic, if feels like it was yesterday…

JB: Then I’m sure Jacques Dutronc heard about the song where you mentioned him (‘Claude François’ from the previous album ‘Grand Prix’). Who did the lyrics for this album, and which ones do you feel most proud of?

Every night we were invited to very stylish restaurants, like DUPLEX, where we started a little routine of drinking delicious Caipirinha (or several) for the rest of the stay, and of course fresh vegetables and fruit from Brazil, some of them we’ve never seen before, like the Cupuacu. WRAPS is another nice place to eat, less fancy, more popular but with delicious freshly cooked fish!

EP: It’s been always a process of almost half-half. I make some and Danny does some. Danny does mainly the music part and I do the texts and melodies but, of course, we work it out altogether at the end. Every now and then, Danny does some lyrics I barely dare to touch, like ‘Quatsch’ which is his favorite whereas mine is definitively ‘La Route’.

We walked several times along Oscar Freire, the well known shopping street in São Paulo. We stopped to buy some records in BARATOS AFINOS and clothes in KING 55. I remember this shop with only plastic shoes MELISSA; you can’t imagine a crazier store! I bought a pair of pumps with a very high heel and full of diamonds, incredible! I have to go back there soon…

JB: At this moment you’re ‘en route’ in Spain, right? Do you feel the many fans you have there?

By the time we got our work schedule, our record label ST2 had been approached by Jo Soares’ TV show.

EP: We immediately put up some concerts here so the fans didn’t have to wait too long. We were so looking forward to it because we’ve always had great fun in Spain.

After this we got ready for our concert in party venue CLUB THE WEEK. They have this large outdoor arena with an amazing swimming pool on the side. It was one of the best gigs ever, spectacular! This was mainly because of the energy in the audience.

Needless to say, Danny and I ended the night all drenched.

JB: I hope to see one of your live performances for this tour, here in Belgium, in Spain or wherever.

EP: Yeah, hope to see you soon!!

In São Paulo I feel I can do anything I want, I loved their sense of humour. Vive São Paulo!

www.vivelafete.be — 73 —

Portrait photo by Sam Kim Party photography by Dominic Sio

JERRY BOUTHIER interviewed by Mikki Most

Following it’s recent demise, BoomBox, has certainly left a large sparkly hole in London’s clubland. One of the most successful, colourful and creative clubs in recent years, for anyone who enjoyed it’s rather fabulous but all too brief spell as the only place to be seen on a Sunday night, it suddenly all looks rather bleak and boring down the disco in 2008.

Jerry Bouthier ensured that amongst all the frills and spills the fashion kids still all managed to dance their asses off week in week out, to some of the most cutting edge music around, and from a personal perspective most of my favourite nights spent down there were when Jerry was behind the decks. Fortunately for those whose ears were tuned into the fantastic sounds being played on its dancefloor, Jerry Bouthier the club’s main resident DJ has absolutely no intention of hanging up his headphones just yet.

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>>Jerry Bouthier <<

I caught up with him on a bleak day in early January to discuss what made it all so special....

MM: So how was the final BoomBox NYE party for you?....

JB: A little sad to be honest, it felt weird… but I guess it was the right time to stop it. NYE is always a bit of an anti-climax anyway, so many expectations… still the venue looked amazing and the party went full blast til late.

MM: Why do you think the club became so successful?

JB: BoomBox is an experiment that blew up, it was never a business — and people recognised that from the word go. Richard Mortimer (Mr BoomBox) put a good team of people together. He had a strong vision, wouldn’t compromise and even more importantly never forgot it was about fun.”

MM: Have you always played at very fashionable clubs? .Do you find the crowd understand your sound better?

JB: Fashion parties are fun, maybe not so upfront, it depends, but you can really mix things up and go crazy… it’s important to adapt to situations but it’s also good to surprise.

MM: You mixed the rather outstanding BoomBox-Kitsuné compilation, how did that collaboration come about?

JB: I don’t know, suddenly it made total sense to all… you know, clothes, fashion, hype, electrock, pogo, Paris/London… it was nice to leave something behind, a statement of what the club represented at that point.

MM: Have you been working with Kitsuné for a while then?

JB: I knew of Gildas (Loaec, Kitsuné’s boss) when he was Thomas Bangalter’s right-hand man then he started doing this weird little label which soon blew me away. I so got on their case, continuously pestering him for music and info that we became very good friends (lol).

MM: They certainly seem to have a knack of being one step ahead

of everyone else, what’s their secret?

JB: A big passion for all kinds of music… As DJs Gildas & Masaya are always on the frontline, road-testing new tracks so they know what they’re talking about. They’re constantly on the lookout for material that’s fresh, a bit different and that looks forward to the future rather than the past…

MM: Do you find the French and English music scenes very different?

JB: It’s fair to say music is more deeply rooted in British culture.

Rock, pop, disco, R&B, it’s simply all music here. For me it goes way back to pagans, drinking and singing, having a good time…

MM: French music is pretty hot at the moment with artists like Justice, Sebastian Tellier, Brodinski and labels like Ed Banger & Kitsuné ruling the dancefloors. Why do you think this is?

JB: In France the lack of roots turned into an advantage. Because there were no electronic/dance scenes until Daft Punk and Air, French musicians did their own thing without thinking too much about it.

MM: So are you producing your own music as well?

JB: Yes I have done for years, I used to play guitar, then worked on electro-pop projects which never quite made it… Today I’m writing and producing with Andrea Gorgerino as JBAG, we’ve just remixed the new S-Express, Kylie, Siobhan Donaghy, Rex The Dog, Riot In Belgium… we’ll be releasing our own material soon.

MM: Sounds like you have a lot going on… and what are your DJ plans in 2008?

JB: Keep finding music that excites me so that I can share it with others.

MM: Thanks Jerry… and we look forward to dancing to your beat again very soon. www.myspace.com/jerrybouthier

— 76 —

— 77 —

All photos coutesy of François Sagat

FRANçOIS SAGAT interviewed by Jared Johnson

Whoever said adult films and fashion don’t mix?

Monsieur François Sagat is internationally acclaimed for his performance on the x-rated screen in pornos like Manifesto and Arabesque but many are unaware of his past performance in the fashion arena where he worked as stylist for the likes French Vogue and Visionaire magazine. We caught up with him to try to penetrate his innate artistic side and dabble into his past as a fashion follower. Putting the kink to one side, Francois dished the scoop on how the fashion industry has left a bad taste in his mouth.

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>> Françoise Sagat << JJ: You drew a lot as a child, do you still engage in illustrative arts?

FS: Yes, I’m still drawing some illustrations for FADE — my best friend’s label. We are actually working on a new line of t-shirts inspired by Atlas and mythology.

JJ: What led you to Paris at the age of 18. Why Paris?

FS: My first dream was following fashion for a while before coming to Paris. It was childhood dream becoming true or almost true in my case.

JJ: I hear you attended La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne?

FS: Actually it wasn’t La Chambre Syndicale, but the studio Berot.

I spent two years studying nude, art history, style, drawings, cut and couture. The third year was for training in fashion houses as assistant

humorous. Has Peter’s precedent had an impact on your career?

FS: I met him at the GayVN awards this February in San Francisco, but I didn’t know he was that famous. Regarding my career, he’s had absolutely no impact because we don’t have the same style at all and we’re not from the same generation.

JJ: If you were given an offer to work in the fashion industry again, would you do it?

FS: Yes of course, as an illustrator and for my own t-shirts and underwear line that I plan to release in the upcoming months.

JJ: So what’s in your wardrobe? Any designers you admire?

FS: I basically have sportswear, jeans, t-shirts and sneakers. My favourite suit is my body of course! I’m very simple because I’m naturally stylish — my face and tattoos. I wouldn’t have an extravagant style, but I am taking care of my body and skin.

JJ: You dress pretty urban — do you have a ghetto edge?

JJ: When you first came to Paris what did you do next? Many people think you jumped right into adult film industry.

FS: I’m not from the ghetto at all even though I look like a thug guy sometimes.

I do think it’s sexier to look like this rather than a gym queen!

FS: I had to give up fashion for a better living because being a styling assistant didn’t pay enough for the amount of energy it took, so I began selling clothes and bartending for a while.

JJ: Tell me about your taste in fine art.

FS: I love the photographer Gerard Schlosser, Goyaís and Hieronymus van Aken paintings. In the cinema I love David Lynch, Francis Ford Coppola, John Waters, Gus Van Sant, and Gregg Araki.

JJ: How was working at Visionaire Publication and what was a usual day like?

FS: I was mainly working in Paris for Beat Bolliger (fashion editor of V) and Carine Roitfeld.

JJ: And with art there’s music. Do you think music scene today has a strong impact like it was in the 80’s?

I was doing everything from the shopping to acting as the studio photo shooting assistant. So I’ve worked for Karl Lagerfeld, Inez van Lamsweerde, Mario Testino and Isabella Blow and a few other photographers.

FS: Now it seems to be only a copy of originals things remixed sampled to infinity. The 80’s are still a big inspiration in music today, however.

JJ: I understand you’re a Pharrell Williams fan. Which other urban music artists do you like?

JJ: I’m certain you worked for a few fashion houses, then…

FS: Thierry Mugler was fun as my real first experience in fashion.

Martin Margiela and Paco Rabanne were very boring. Jeremy Scott was very exciting, but my best and last experience was for Nicolas Ghèsquiere at Balenciaga.

JJ: Does this industry still raise your pulse? Recently I saw you were the subject in Bernard Wilhelm’s look book.

FS: Not really, but I’m still very interested in some fashion photographers such as Steven Klein, Juergen Teller, David Sims, Craig McDean. I would love to work with them as a model but I don’t really care about the clothes. Yes everybody noticed my collaboration with Bernard Wilhelm because it’s totally different from what I was doing before.

FS: I’m not really crazy about him even if I do like his music. I prefer Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Britney Spears.

JJ: So tell me about your biography book in the making. Will it be a roman-a-clef tell all be similar to Devil Wears Prada or The Beautiful Fall? When can we expect to see a copy?

FS: First of all it won’t be like of the books you’ve mentioned. It’s early stages for writing and it’s supposed to be released in fall 2008.

JJ: Are there any books or magazines you’re into at the moment?

FS: I like Flaunt, i-D, Butt, HellsKitchen, uN NOUvEAU iDEAL, and DoingBird Magazine.

JJ: Fashion and the adult industry have a long love and hate history... what do you think?

JJ: Finally, as a fan what do you think of Britney Spears’ current condition?

FS: Yes they work in the same way. Everybody is smiling in front on everybody but in the end they stab each other in the back. It is like they think they are the only ones in the world, like an elite class.

FS: No comment about her private life but her last album Black Out is really good!!

JJ: Your take on the iconic 1970’s porn star Peter Berlin was very

www.francoissagat.com

— 80 —

— 81 —

All photos courtesy of Brodie Neill

BRODIE NEILL interviewed by Jared Johnson

Tasmanian born Brodie Neill’s design aesthetic is best described as design alchemy. His pencil waves like a magic wand as he turns scribbles into seats while a graffiti wall materialises into a pebble stool — a magic that requires more than just studying manuals. Trained in Tasmania and later the Rhode Island School of Design, the London-based industrial conceptualist has been compared to other talents such as noted British industrial designer Ross Lovegrove and Zaha Hadid, an architect who works to defy gravity. Neill focuses on exploring design with digital technology enhanced by a progressive manufacturing approach so that his work demonstrates the evolution of design in the 21st century using computer generated design and application. We caught up with the design maverick recently and asked him a few questions:

— 82 —

@ CHAIR

JJ: What’s most tantalising about industrial design?

BN: Scope — the fact that as a designer you can float between disciplines taking reference and influence from different aspects of society culminating in a creative response. One can merge cultural influences with technological advancements to create objects of current significance. It’s not just the creative output that is exciting but also the fact that through design a designer can merge cultures, steer industry, and promote change.

JJ: What was the inspiration behind the E-turn seat?

BN: The design of the E-turn came from a personal challenge to design a seat from one continuous loop, twisting and morphing in cross section but overall forming a stable function. I was playing around with 3D modelling software and discovered a way to create an overlapping rapidly transcending form. I knew I wanted to give it a real sense of energy and motion like a 3D sketch dancing on the surface.

JJ: Briefly describe your style regarding conception and execution.

BN: Usually a design is born from a curiosity or challenge.

Sometimes an object just emerges but usually I think of a new way of designing a form and explore that new process. These new ways are usually digital but are often developed along side physical models. The E-turn is a result of exploring furniture configured from one morphing ribbon. Currently I am investigating furniture forms from perforated surfaces and merged faces.

The design process is usually quite quick — like a few intense hours of focus in front of the computer. From here it is developed via engineering programs in order to assure its strength, proportion, and stability. Most designs are realised via five axis CAD/CAM machinery especially at the prototyping stage.

BN: My style definitely evolves and I would like to look back over the body of work I have completed and be able to highlight significant turning points. I have lived in four different cities in the past seven years, including three different countries, and three different continents, so the changes have been quite dramatic. Other changes have occurred due to being exposed to new techniques and ideologies. My natural curious self also inspires me to explore new directions so I’m always feeding the creative output to evolve.

JJ: Do you have an industrial favourite designer, and why?

BN: There are many designers and also architects that I appreciate.

The one aspect that ties these creatives together is their proficiency of form.

JJ: Some of your works have a fluid shape with an indefinite form.

Which materials do you use in the manufacturing process?

BN: The E-turn is manufactured from fibreglass in Italy but the original prototype was made from carbon fibre here in the UK. Since working on the E-turn I have continued to use this technique whilst also introducing new surface treatments to the digital prototyping process. Some interesting investigations include the use of reclaimed materials in the CNC process and another using a 100% eco friendly coatings.

The fluidity is achieved through the use of 3D modelling software and the CNC process enables us to reflect this fluidity direct from the desktop into the final physical object. I am always exploring new techniques both digital and mechanical in order to achieve evermore fluid concepts.

JJ: What can we expect to see from you soon and when?

BN: Creativity is at the core of the concept with utility and function accommodated for second. This isn’t to say that my designs don’t function well, but if function were a primary cause then my designs wouldn’t be so creative.

BN: Hopefully the new material explorations applied in the format of new and exciting designs. I have three new chair designs being shown in New York during the ICFF in May. The three designs will be exhibited in the showroom of Rubin Chapelle located in the Meatpacking District. Each of the three designs will demonstrate a different form language and finish. Beyond that I am developing new designs for several exhibitions as well as continuing current commissions with Italian clients.

JJ: Does your style evolve and what factors may spark a change of direction?

www.brodieneill.com

JJ: How do you balance creativity with utility and function?

— 83 —

>> Brodie Neill <<

E-TURN Brodie Neill for Kundalini

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E-TURN Brodie Neill for Kundalini

— 85 —

from the spread ‘Superbad’ i-D magazine1987. photo by Nick Knight

SIMON FOXTON interviewed by Paul Hunwick

To celebrate his 25th year in the fashion industry, Stimuli magazine pays tribute to pioneering menswear stylist, Simon Foxton, who is currently fashion director of Fantastic Man magazine. We look at some of the defining images of his career, ask what first attracted him to fashion and find out how the boy from the Scottish borders got Seal to strip naked.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 87 â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

>> Simon Foxton << PH: Tell us about your background.

PH: Does your playful style limit the work you are offered?

SF: I come from a family of hoteliers in Berwick-upon-Tweed in the Scottish borders. I went to school in Muscleborough, Edinburgh, which I really enjoyed. I liked the structure and discipline of boarding school.

SF: Oh definitely (laughs). I don’t get the big campaigns. I’m not complaining but if art directors see me doing pictures of black boys in rubber they think I can’t tie a tie so yes, it probably has cost me something in terms of jobs but hey ho, I enjoy what I do.

Fortunately I’m not particularly motivated by money.

PH: Interesting then that you’ve chosen a freelance career...

SF: Yes. And I’m not sure that I’m very good at it. I’m not terribly ambitious or pro-active.

PH: Can you remember the first time you became aware of fashion?

SF: The area I come from is known for its knitwear and when I was about eleven or twelve an avant-garde knitwear designer called John Ashpool came to live with us at the hotel. He would allow me into his room to let me look at his art books and a whole new world opened up. Other fashion people, such as Katharine Hamnett and Lynne Franks, came from London to work with him and they all seemed very interesting to me.

PH: Did you decide then to seek out a career in fashion?

SF: Not really, no. I never had a burning desire to go to art school or become a designer. I wanted to be in London and I was fairly good at art so ended up applying for foundation courses. I think I viewed it as the path of least resistance.

PH: Why did you choose the famous St. Martin’s School of Art? SF: It was the first one I came across when I looked up art schools in London. Luckily, they accepted me and in September of 1979 I moved down. I did a foundation course followed by a three year BA in fashion design.

PH: How was that period?

SF: It was post punk and the beginning of a new decade. It was very exciting. It felt like a time you could really experiment. There weren’t nearly as many commercial restrictions as there are now.

People were having fun but simultaneously being quite serious about their experiments. Designers at St. Martin’s around that time included John Galliano, Stephen Jones and Stephen Linnard.

I meandered through the course but my degree show using all black models got a lot of attention. I graduated, designed a range for Fiorucci, then set up my own label called Bazooka. It only lasted a year or two. We sold quite well but we were kids with no business sense. I’m not greatly worldly now but we were so naïve then.

PH: How did you move from fashion designing to styling?

SF: The first bit of styling I ever did was for i-D. They asked Bazooka, BodyMap, Ray Petri and Caroline Baker to do a page each. They liked it and put me in touch with [the photographer] Nick Knight.

PH: Were you one of the first people to define themselves as a ‘stylist’?

SF: I think it was in the seventies that the term stylist came about.

Prior to that shoots were either styled directly by fashion editors or the photographers’ girlfriend would help out. Caroline Baker and Molly Parkin were probably the first people to be called stylists but it’s probably true to say when I started, the term was in its infancy.

PH: Why do you think people use you as a stylist?

SF: They come to me if they want something fun. One of my stories will bring humour and a certain graphic quality. People don’t come to me for anything chic. I don’t do chic. I’m more poppy, fun, naughty. Sometimes a bit rude. My styling is overt. At times, even a little bit silly.

PH: How did your overt style fit into the nineties?

SF: Not terribly well. I felt a little misplaced during that time. The dominant looks were grunge and power label dressing, neither of which I do particularly well.

PH: And this side of the millennium?

SF: Since 2000 I’ve been having more fun with fashion. Fashion is cyclical and the current interest in the eighties is more in tune with what I do, though today’s interpretation of the eighties is slightly karaoke. Not in a bad way.

PH: Black models have always featured heavily in your work. Why? SF: Well, it’s no secret that I find lot of black men attractive. Also, without trying to be worthy, there has been a great imbalance of white versus black faces in magazines and it’s quite enjoyable to help rectify that. Black skin just looks richer and more beautiful to me than my own colour.

PH: What still draws you to fashion?

SF: I enjoy the process of making images. I still get a kick from it, when I’m allowed to do my own thing. It’s increasingly difficult because magazines have changed so much. With so many restrictions, advertisers have really got them by the short and curlies.

PH: Have you considered styling other mediums, say, dance or theatre?

SF: I have done some work with choreography and would definitely like to do more.

PH: How much has branding and marketing effected fashion?

SF: It’s true that much of fashion has become an exercise in branding but the trick of a stylist is to find those items in a collection that are interesting. Although it can be quite grueling and limiting, rather than trail against the rules, you have to learn to work within the constraints. We are not pure artists. We are commercial artists.

PH: Do you think the fashion industry takes adequate responsibility for the images it produces?

SF: I don’t think it does but if it were too rational it wouldn’t be the exciting medium that it is. I think what makes fashion enjoyable and fun is the fact that it’s slightly irreverent and non-PC. PH: How did the legendary Seal cover come about?

SF: Well, it’s quite funny actually. The nudity wasn’t planned. I’d underestimated how big Seal was so most of the clothes I had for the shoot didn’t fit (laughs). Nick [Knight] had the good idea for him to do it naked, which he was happy to do and it turned out to be a fantastic image. It wasn’t so much idea as my fault.

PH: What advice do you have for stylists at the start of the career?

SF: Think very carefully if it’s really for you. It’s not glamorous.

The image you’re producing might be the job itself is not. It’s a hassle. It’s a lot of admin and a lot of carrying bags.

— 88 —

i-D fashion spread Photo by Giles Price

‘Strictly’ i-D magazine Photo by Jason Evans

Arena Homme Plus Photo by Alasdair Mclellan

The Face magazine 1987 Photo Nick Knight

Simon Foxton is Fashion Director of Fantastic Man, Consultant Fashion Director of i-D magazine and a regular contributor to Arena Homme Plus, GQ style, L’Uomo Vogue, Vogue Homme International and Ten. — 89 —

>> Simon Foxton <<

‘Hey There Fancy Pants’ i-D magazine, 2003 Photo by Jason Evans

— 90 —

Bazooka patch Design: Simon Foxton ( 1984 )

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Arena Homme Plus Photo by Alasdair Mclellan

TREVOR JACKSON

by Paul Hunwick

He’s an acclaimed art director, a Dj, and a music producer. He’s also remixed records for Gossip, U2, Massive Attack and Soft Cell, created a record label thats being cited as the Factory Records of its generation, and is the man behind the music production unit, Playgroup. One wonders what Londoner Trevor Jackson, 40, puts down as occupation on insurance applications.

Rejected from Central St. Martin’s School of Art, Jackson studied Art & Design in Barnet before setting up his own graphic design label, Bite It!, in the early nineties. It attracted an influential client list including Stereo MCs and Jungle Brothers. Not content with just designing the sleeves, Jackson turned his attention to the contents and created his own hip-hop record label.

In 1996, Jackson set up Output Recordings with the hopes of introducing other muscical genres; after ten years, when the pressures of being an independant became too much, he boldly killed the project. His baby had become a monster. Thankfully, he continues remixing and designing. 2004 saw him produce some of his most acclaimed work to date with the Op art inspired cover for Soulwax.

Jackson’s work is ubiquitous. His style is confident but without the constraint of a definite signature. “I get bored very easily and try to create something unique for each project,” he tells Stimuli. While this approach pleases his clients, he suspects it’s cost him more lucrative projects. Big corporate spenders almost always want to buy an assured ‘look’, something that leaves Jackson unphased. “For me, it’s more about creating work that I find interesting,” he says.

So where does he see himself in ten years time? “We live in a world that bombards us with visual shit. I’d like to create something powerful but simple, like Anish Kapoor does,” he says. “But forget ten years, make that six months.” www.trevor-jackson.com

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> > TRr eo vbobr YJ oa uc kn sg o <n < < <

Handface – Tokyo TDC Anniversary Web Book – 2007 Brotherhood – Alphabetical Response – Promotional 12” Cover – Bite it!/Virgin Records – 1995 – Photography by Donald Christie Playgroup – DJ Hicks- Album Cover – K7! Records 2002 Playgroup Video Collaboration with Donald Christie – 2003

Various logo designs

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SOPH – Music is Beautiful – T-shirt design – Soph 2005

— 97 —

> > Tr e v o r J a c k s o n < <

Soulwax – Any Minute Now – Album Front Cover – Pias Recordings 2004

— 98 —

RGBPM Live A/V Performance Video Stills- 2007

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> > Tr e v o r J a c k s o n < <

Uniqlo + Idea Magazine – Typo-graphics T-shirt Series - 2008

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Intersection Car Parc – BMW 1 series Sound + Light Installation – 2004

Conversation

all photos courtesy of Item Idem AA Bronson portrait by Arne Svenson Item Idem portrait by Humphrey Meng Item Idem ‘Black Man’ portrait and DISPLAYSTHETICS photos by Sebastian Mayer / AEIOU MIDASPHALTARMACOAT photos by Item Idem

ITEM IDEM vs. aa bronson coversation between Cyril Duval & AA Bronson

AA Bronson is the surviving member of General Idea, a group of three Canadian artists and lovers who were together from 1969 to 1994. Since his partners, Jorge Zontal and Felix Partz, died of AIDS in the 1990s, Mr. Bronson has worked alone; that’s not to say he’s ever really alone, though. As an artist, mentor, healer and gay role model, he still collaborates, most recently with Japanese conceptualist artist and designer Item Idem. Both artists have created works for the School for Young Shaman’s exhibition in New York; Item Idem a cape made of gold Louis Vuitton bags and melted car tires, dedicated to the artist Joseph Beuys. For Stimuli, the two sit down to talk about their experience.

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>> Item Idem vs. AABronson <<

Item Idem \ 5:45pm Jan 21st Dear AA, so we are starting that ping-pong Q&A for Stimuli magazine, and I have been picked to throw the ball. Here we go!

How would one — you, for instance — recognize a young Shaman?

And what does it take to be one of them?

but I hesitate to say that Michael was using the fish (or Christ) as an accomplice. Perhaps he was!

AA Bronson \ 1:07pm Jan 22nd At General Idea we used to talk about battlestances disguised as dancesteps, and maybe that is the kind of person I look for; the one beyond reason, the kind of person who is totally committed to something, but it is difficult to know just what. Ultimately, they don’t care about anything except their own secret way, and yet, at the same time they, are highly ethical, even saintly. I call them artists! How about you? In your professional life, you are usually seen as a designer, artist, or stylist. How does it feel to be seen as a Shaman?

For my part I really loved Desi Santiago’s reversed neon-light pentagram. I thought this piece ending the exhibition visit helped to link all the elements together, perhaps along with the tent you produced with Scott Treleaven...

Item Idem \ 9:27pm Jan 22nd Well, since I started wearing my Shaman coat, my powers have totally increased! Actually, to a point where it almost becomes difficult to bear... People I don’t even know keep on touching my shoulder, certainly believing that as King Midas, it would bring gold to everything in their life. Surprising, isn’t it? The power of persuasion...

AA Bronson \ 7:51pm Jan 25th The coat is quite glorious, I think. We must get a really good installation photograph that shows it well. It does have that sense of the Magician’s robe; that is to say it has a kind of power to it. It is easy to think of it as a piece of fashion, but in fact, it is much much more. By the way, it is possible that I will do a version of the Shaman’s room in Hamburg in May. So I am trying to imagine how it might be possible to include the coat.

Although it would be very difficult to ship!

This gimmick I am using is actually a good metaphorical explanation of the artist role; how one can stand and present his own interpretation, his own unique vision, and by that engender a process of believing and ‘followers’.

I know that sounds pretty scary to speak like that, in a time when the world gives the impression of being torn apart by religious extremists of all kinds, but I guess that’s the artist role: to simply provide poetical alternatives to a potentially-pessimist reality....

So yes, if being a Shaman comes to this (being a provider of alternative), then yes, I think it feels quite good. Though, it does raise some questions, such as the use/abuse of power, that stay for me unsolved, and quite troubling.

9:44pm Jan 22nd I still cannot explain myself properly why Joseph Beuys picked a coyote for his illustrious & iconic ‘I Like America and America Likes Me’ piece. I believe that the cliche he uses to develop his anti-American irony is rooted in the legendary stupidity of the mentioned animal. But I cannot stop myself asking why... Was he maybe influenced by the 50’s cartoon Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote?? Was Joseph Beuys finally pop!?!? Somehow...

AA Bronson \ 10:24pm Jan 22nd In North American aboriginal terms, the coyote is the trickster (equivalent to The Fool in the Tarot deck). So as well as feeling like a character out of an iconic American Western, he also has much deeper roots. In fact, Shamans often had as their alter ego or as their spirit guide a coyote. I was actually in New York during Beuys I like America... piece, so I saw it at the time — amazing!

Item Idem \ 2:09pm Jan 25th Maybe he was?

Now back to that tar coat. After so many mystical and almost religious symbols, how come such a materialist and paian symbol (those Louis Vuitton logotypes and products) ended up being displayed here? A new Golden veal imagery, reincarnated in today’s modern idolatry?!

Item Idem \ 2:45pm Jan 26th Excellent news! The coat and me would love Hamburg, I am pretty sure! If it happens, I would love to contribute to some kind of display shelf, like some kind of jewel case setting magnifying it... or maybe some oriflamme ornament surrounding it, to intensify the dramatic aspect... Actually I am not so sure of those chains I used... maybe it is too strong as a symbolic...

I am always very interested by the relationship between the support to showcase and the product/artwork itself... Sometimes artworks makes great display support too!!! It is what I tried to push in my latest DISPLAYSTHETICS project, where finally the installation I produced was just a support to host bigger and better purposes, events, performances & interactions, which added to the sculptural elements. We’re crafting something much closer from the idea of ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’... Maybe your Shaman room was also close to that idea? With all the various formats used, I think the participants were definitely contributing to the global piece...

AA Bronson \ 5:00pm Jan 26th Yes, the idea of the entire show is a kind of ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’, in which even my activity as a healer and as a teacher is implicitly part of the artwork.

How did you come up with the idea for the coat?

Item Idem \ 8:45pm Jan 24th I bet it was! Finally, that coyote ended up being the mirrored image of all the philosophical questionings that Beuys is trying to introduce in that performative situation. In our situation, would you say that any of us young Shamans used a similar accomplice for this art show we produced under your patronage?

Item Idem \ 6:47pm Jan 26th I definitely follow you on this. Since the beginning of this project, I have been pretty excited about becoming a medium itself, a puzzle piece of something bigger... and I guess it all kind of came out together... This whole Shaman room gives the impression of a sophisticated assemblage of heteroclites works/structures, defining something unique and united... How did I come up with that coat??? Oh that’s a long story ! I will try to cut short and straight to the essential...

AA Bronson \ 10:33pm Jan 24th Well, there was Michael Dudeck’s fish, which he was holding through his entire performance. The fish is, of course, the symbol of Christ, and I think back to Paul Thek’s use of the Fish as well,

7:11pm Jan 26th I guess I should quickly explain the (gold & black) colour codes I used for this Shaman coat, and how I got influenced and secretly pushed to use those...

— 104 —

>> Item Idem vs. AABronson <<

I should start by saying that I am usually visually addicted to patterns... It has become an obsession and even if they are not all the time encrusted in the aesthetics of my work, they keep on surrounding me in things I like, clothes I wear, etc... I am usually not such a good client of rigorist minimal aesthetics, which have been en vogue in the last few years. Especially in the fashion aesthetics, with the revival of that minimal, 90’s black & white silhouettes...

But, to my surprise, last summer I was deeply shocked by a picture of Terence (Koh) posing with his Balenciaga gold terminator leggings, in front of his dark glossy GOD installation in Zurich.

Have you seen it? This shock of contrast changed something in me, and once again, it’s not an appeal of minimalism that got me...

I simply encountered one of the strongest colour/energy alliances ever... Neither black nor gold, on their own, would have seduced me to that point!

I then started developing a temporary addiction to this gold & black alliance, without losing my strong ‘mathematical’ relation to colourful patterns.

And, starting as a joke, I slowly incorporated that very energetic duo in my daily life...

Painting my desk in gold and displaying fake gold bars in its money corner (left).

Following a simplistic interpretation of what I knew of Feng-Shui, I ended up instantly being much more successful in my professional life!

My first job in fashion was to contribute to the opening of Colette in Tokyo for & with Comme des Garcons in Japan, right after my art studies in France. My choice was to start building a ‘crossover-multitask-career’ in an environment (Tokyo) where retail is the key word.

Tokyo and Japan, to me, lack the cultural ambition to promote young national contemporary art culture. Copycats, like me, end up sourcing their influences from various fields. And I ended up pushing more creative direction & interior design projects, while secretly coveting intellectual art production...

I believe that one very important step I took was to make absolutely no separation between my commercial projects and my art projects.

These projects were influenced by the retail environment, recreating simulation of shops like all my most influential art mentors had done, such as General Idea of course, or colab etc...

I think very simply, as Andy Warhol did... To be a good artist, I need to be first a good commercial artist... After being a good artist, I will try to be a good business artist!!! No wonder my two heroes are Andy Warhol & Rei Kawakubo (self-taught designer of CdG, that started designing as she couldn’t find what she wanted...) ...I am their unauthorized child!!! Haha!

While many artists are ashamed of their ‘money jobs’, I make mine the starting point of my artistic ambition; becoming a retail expert is conceptually locating me in a quite unique position, which is beyond the classical positions of genres and styles... It has its advantages and its disadvantages... People cannot simply put me in a box, which helps me get very special projects/jobs, but they also can’t put me in a box either... meaning people lacking ambition/understanding cannot simply figure if I can be useful to them or not...

Then, while mentioning this anecdote to you when we met in Miami (when you invited me to be part of the School for Young Shamans), it became obvious for me and for you that, whatever my piece would be, I would have to respect my own codes: It would be black and gold only.

7:46pm Jan 26th That’s for the colour code imagery... But more important, I think, is the choice of the materials I picked for that coat.

Even before having Beuys in mind, I thought that my piece should combine elements that were, by logic, totally incompatible. And this explains that, and that alliance of toxic tar and high-end luxury symbols, such as the Louis Vuitton bags. I guess I wanted to define something that could not be apprehended sanely. I like a Shamans’ decoctions, mixing the most various elements together... creating a very weird alchemy, something with that feeling of the unknown, something that gives goosebumps... Then later, those selected elements ended up fitting well the illustration of my own logotype cosmogony (me playing constantly with art & fashion identities, reversing, relocating & shifting them...) and this reinterpretation of the ‘myth of origins’ of Joseph Beuys, somehow the patron saint of this exhibition. Do you know, by the way, that you are the first person/artist, that Wikipedia (as good as it gets...) relates to him and his work as Shaman?)

I am sometimes very amused to see how art people see me or describe me as a fashionista; but I can always see how much they are also fascinated by it! The contemporary art world has definitely been swallowed by the glamour of the fashion spheres, and I guess that produces quite interesting ‘mutants’” like me... and I am not alone!

But I am happy to participate in that genre of blending and notion renovation. I think that my strategy can be related to what you, at General idea, emphasized as Viral Communication... I spread slowly (and surely) through a maybe-unique patchwork of worldwide multi-genre projects, with the people that i am really interested in collaborating with; the ones that are not afraid & clearly see the interest of shaking boundaries...

AA Bronson \ 8:24pm Jan 30th You are very good at slipping past the normal categories of artist/designer/stylist/architect/etc. Can you say something about that?

That is why, like you guys, I am not afraid to play with copyrights, to reinterpret art history and create my own place inside of it...

I think sometimes that my main ambition is to become a tool, a media for other artists... As a good copycat, could I not easily be seen as the right platform to reach other shores!?!?

Item Idem \ 8:12pm Jan 31st Well, I think that it simply comes from my refusal to enter the art world through a ‘normal’ process...

AA Bronson \ 10:51pm Jan 31st Wow. This makes a great artist’s statement! We should include it in the gallery book for the Young Shamans show!

— 106 —

>> Item Idem vs A.A.Bronson <<

Item Idem \ 3:32am Feb 1st Then, we should include it!

successful... it made me laugh out loud. Always a good sign. But many, many people will never understand, so you would have to be prepared for that!

8:27pm Feb 17th So here is the big question!

No, that’s not me in Nazi Milk unfortunately!!

I am sending you the drafts of my self-portrait. Its is called Whog Gold and it is a reference to the Nazi Milk picture by G.I. I have been wanting to do a piece relating to Nazi Milk for a long time and I thought this was the right occasion... However, its obviously a tricky call, and I could easily see a polemic starting around that picture... so I need to explain my intention with it, and I thought we could maybe discuss that... It is a direct reference (and denunciation) of some extremely connoted advertisements of the XXst century, using an awfully racist aesthetic of popular culture, such as an African-American drinking chocolate milk.

I am thinking of the advertisement for BANANIA (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banania ), that obviously pictures an awful colonialist aesthetic. But I might also be thinking of examples like Uncle Ben’s or Aunt Jemima’s, in Northern American popular culture.

Item Idem \ Today at 5:15pm Well, if the humour effect is there, then it already makes a good point. But maybe it comes also from the fact that you know me and my face, so it becomes obviously funny. I guess that yes, it should always be related to the original that inspired that picture...

Talking about that Nazi Milk picture, can I ask you some history elements, or anecdotes about the process itself? As far as I know, there are different versions, ranging from 1979 to 1990?

Also, aren’t you curious about that Got Milk campaign that I mentioned earlier?? Do you think it is possible that the advertising people got inspired by it, somehow?

AA Bronson \ 9:11pm Feb 18th Yes, of course you can ask me about the history of Nazi Milk. The truth is, there was a milk advertising campaign in Canada circa 1976 that first used the milk moustache motif. We were making a kind of reference to that, but I do think that the later American campaign was in reference to Nazi Milk.

Somehow, I intended to have this picture relate to the Nazi Milk picture’s calm ‘black humour’ using also an advertising aesthetic. (Coincidentally, the Got Milk campaign (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Got_Milk%3F) is so close to the Nazi Milk’s idea, where people have a milk moustache... but strangely enough, this Got Milk campaign was created much after the Nazi Milk!!! So maybe I was not the first one actually to copy General Idea! )

Item Idem \ 8:59pm Feb 19th I think this copycat ping-pong in between art and advertising fields is quite interesting...

I am trying to think of other potential examples, but right now I cannot find any...

Here, the milk becomes a chocolate bar made out of gold (a symbol of one of Africa’s most ransacked treasures) ) using special effects to turn the bar into gold.

This African American man eats with his gold teeth , playing on the cliche of the Hip Hop “ billionaire lords” imagery).

It is a bit as if Campbell’s Soup were suddenly adding a ‘silkscreened’ portrait of Andy Warhol on their soup cans, or if Brillo soap was creating a new shampoo called Deitch...

The picture I intended to make is somehow very close to the cliches Spike Lee used for his movie Bamboozled (http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboozled). And I wanted to play this same card and using a very strong cliche to denounce it. However, Spike Lee is from African-American origins and I am not (without mentioning the fact that he is a recognized anti-racist intellectual, filmmaker & militant...), so that is why I can see how this picture of me could become a major source of polemic... What do you think?

Have I succeed in my intention to propose a similar work, both aesthetically and conceptually, to Nazi Milk? I am not 100% convinced, as both subjects (Nazism & colonialist imagery) are very, very different, and in both pictures, the ‘bad guy’ is not at the same place...

Also, by doing this picture, I propose my own interpretation of Nazi Milk and it’s somehow very difficult to put thoughts into this picture, as I am not the one who created it...

And regarding your picture, here is my question: Is that you in the Nazi Milk picture? Because in that case, maybe we should use this one?

AA Bronson \ Today at 12:59pm Well, it’s a tricky thing, of course. But I think it’s quite

Though, I think this kind of process could not exist nowadays... I believe art, advertising and marketing genres are too narrowly joined to be able to display such ‘irreverence’, which too me, is quite an important starting point for strong ‘humour-based’ artworks...

For example, the Prada Marfa project by Elmgreen & Dragset is, of course, very interesting, but everyone knows that it is a joint venture in collaboration with Prada... Those kind of collaborations can sometimes produce exciting pieces, but don’t you think they are also making things a little too obvious?

AA Bronson \ 9:58pm Feb 19th Yes, it would have been more interesting to carry out the Marfa project without Prada’s permission, I think... in which case it would have had to become much more complex in its relation to the world of fashion and marketing, in order to avoid legal problems. On the other hand, it was the very outrageousness of working together with Prada that gives the project this kind of Oscar Wildean spin.

Item Idem \ 8:17pm Feb 20th True, I agree with you, along with the ‘provocation’ of displaying that shop replica in Marfa, a town famous for its artistic community, from a different generation though... I think it did generate some reactions of ‘hostility’, didn’t it!?

— 108 —

But, even if I like their work (Elmgreen & Dragse), I think that in this affair, maybe it was Miuccia Prada who was the bravest/ sharpest, after all ?

I mean, being able to display such a sense of self-derision is actually quite interesting... Actually, it’s an excellent branding tool, using controlled controversial depreciation... I find it a pretty brilliant marketing strategy, actually... Prada has never been as cool!!!

I like that much better than fashion empires (VMH?) that simply ‘vampirise’ artists’ works with their financial power, and uniquely (let’s be honest) for their own glory, and in order to sell more monogrammed handbags. This kind of junction art-market right now (the most obvious) actually makes me uncomfortable.... because the artist and his work are dominated by the medium with which they are experimenting.

The only one, to my knowledge, breaking that rule is Damian Hirst. I think his thinking and his ‘chess moves’ (producing For the love of God, a diamond human skull, as the most expensive artwork ever-made, then defining its selling price, then buying it himself back to control its value & stability on the art market...) are purely brilliant.

If we talk about art & market interactions, his recent actions are, to me, the most relevant right now.

And I am purely fascinated by how cleverly & courageously he is rejuvenating his artistic carrier!

AA Bronson \ 2:13pm Feb 21st Yes, Damian always knows how to come out on top, doesn’t he?

In this sense, he is following in the footsteps of Gilbert & George.

Although they didn’t play with the idea of the marketplace in the same way, they made every career move in a blatantly careerist kind of way, but to such an extreme that it became part of the art — quite amazing!

12:56am Feb 25th But let’s not think about Gilbert & George right now. Shamans they are not (clowns though, or tricksters, perhaps!).

Your own role in relation to the art / fashion / design world is far more complex, and for me, more interesting. Let’s stop here, more or less where we began, with A.A. Bronson’s School for Young Shamans, and your miraculous Coat of Very Few Colours! www.itemidem.com www.aabronson.com

— 110 —

Different locations beget different creations

By Jared Johnson With so many countries boasting their own fashion weeks, the appeal of traditional runway shows is waning.

Which is why indie designers are looking for new ways to showcase their collections. Some are choosing to work from home, while others conducting their business in cyber space. As technology shrinks the global landscape, the discovery of new talent has never been easier. Below are some new players with humble beginnings and bucket loads of potential. We give you The Fashion Underground.

As London prevails as the playground for youthful spirit and creativity, designer ELLIOT ATKINSON finds himself centre stage amidst this raw and energetic scene. A recipient of the Betty Davis Scottish Style Award, Atkinson has acquired stockists such as Kokon To Zai in London, Best Shop Berlin in Germany and Tjallamalla in Sweden.

The awkwardness of adolescence and a grunge-youth aesthetic served as inspiration for his spring collection.

Stark, black, faux leather and dashes of plaid recall a rebellious spirit and youthful corruption. Be it a tight satin corset or a nylon parka with an exaggerated shoulder, the 90s references are unavoidable.

We see this powerhouse designer leaping into fashion radar.

While mathematically balanced, refined, and structured most easily come to mind, SANDRA BACKLUND’s creative aesthetic is still beautifully inexplicable. This emerging Swedish-born designer recently gave us her take on fashion with her collection titled, “In No Time.” Each garment is meticulously detailed with a focus on shape and precise construction. The knitwear is tucked and coiled to resemble the uniform of 13th century Japanese warrior, the raised hemlines reveal a balance masculinity and femininity. A blouse is adorned with clothing pins assembled in the shape of a fan. Sandra contrasts soft knits with wood, but it’s all heavy; heavy on the shoulders and chest. Summoned by Louis Vuitton and named winner of the Festival International De Mode and De Photographie in Hyeres, France, we would agree that this is certainly the best contemporary architectural knitwear we’ve seen thus far.

A future-forward vision drives Architecture Human, a new collection of finely constructed menswear by Mexican designer NAHUM VILLASANA. His ingenious signature touch features straps of material that evoke the intricacies of a spider’s work. To the touch, however, his work evokes a feeling of pure and simple luxury. While the brand may be considered impractical against its conservative origins, the self-taught Villasana chooses to challenge social and cultural taboos.

A fan of clean lines and lean cuts, CLAUDIA ROSA blends minimalism with sportswear for her latest 22-look spring collection. The collection included a sheer, leg-bearing mid-length jumpsuit, as well as blouses with cutout detailing. It all comes in a restricted palette of black, cream and charcoal grey. Rosa’s seasonal roster also included a few slogan sweaters that recall the cheekiness of the late 1980’s. Unusual patternmaking with simple cutout detailing and layering characterize her unique eveningwear. The high point of her collection is a simple black multi-tiered dress. The fabric was cut and then layered over three times, emphasizing the bottom hem. While many designers race to push the envelope each season, Rosa pushes it with moderation.

This is a collection that has been meticulously carved out for the confident, self-assured woman.

— 111 —

Elliot Atkinson I have been designing since I finished my exams at high school. It was shit there, so I left to do a small fashion course in a small town in the south of England.

I recently finished my fall/winter collection and I plan on collaborating with an artist in Sweden who works with graphic mediums, and is like myself — a kid from the grunge era. The image of my label is directed by my own life. I am influenced by the Grunge/youth culture I was bought up in. For example for A/W ‘08, I looked at the almost tribe-like clothing people wore on the council estate in my home town.

I’m only really inspired by friends and people I come across in suburbs and cities like Berlin trying to pull of this look that just fails. Berlin is the perfect city for this obsession of mine! I thus choose very carefully the environment my clothes sit in, as they reflect failure and decay in youth and westernized civilization.

I make quality clothes, but sometimes you just want to not stay up all night with a couple of friends sewing on three machines and listening to George Michael. I think my label communicates an image, and I know people like the clothes for what they communicate. I guess my clothes represent my own identity.

Location: London www.elliotatkinson.co.uk Email: parsnipford@hotmail.com Collection photos by Brett Lloyd

Sandra Backlund My inspiration is mostly from inside. I improvise a lot and allow myself to lose control and discover what happens if I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think so much about the practicality of trends, seasons, wearability and what people want from me. I always work on the human body when creating a garment. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m fascinated by all the ways you can highlight, distort and transform the natural silhouette of the body with clothes and accessories.

When I start on a new collection I take off from some kind of diffuse idea.

Then I begin to experiment with different handicraft techniques and materials to find concrete ideas to develop into garments. One thing leads to another and in the end the collection is like a three dimensional mind map. I do not sketch my pieces, but spend a lot of time to improvise and explore my own handicraft skills. I carefully pay attention to all mistakes and ideas which help me learn more than before.

Location: Sweden www.sandrabacklund.com Email: info@sandrabacklund.com Collection photos by Ola Bergengren

Nahum Villasana I found inspiration to be a very strange subject. It’s not like I get inspiration from something — my inspiration comes anytime. It becomes my language, my guide, and like the energy to do it. Sometimes I can take a lot of time to be inspired. It’s a very rare thing — it’s like an enigma.

I veer towards both minimal and noisy design aspects. For instance, I love the work of Ben Frost and the images in them are really subversive. They grasp your mind into thinking if it’s either beautiful or ugly. I find them extremely beautiful and I’m fond of their intensity.

Like any artist there are difficulties in my life. People in Mexico are very conservative and they are not quick to accept this form of art. This is a big obstacle for creating a collection because I must charge low prices so my customers can afford to buy. The most successful item has been the black and white hoodie because it is a very normal thing. Fashion here is stagnant and you don’t see much style experimentation on the streets and there’s also a mental ignorance. A person here could love a piece of clothing, but avoid buying and wearing it because it’s objectionable to our culture. With that said, I don’t make much from design so I work as an English teacher at an elementary school to make ends meet. I don’t complain about any of it. It’s my passion.

Location: Mexico www.architectural-clothes.com Email: info@architectural-clothes.com Collection photos by Julio Torres

Claudia Rosa My stimulation depends on what’s going on. Influences are everywhere, mainly people around me with their way of thinking, living and acting, so the simple pleasures of looking at anything tastefully designed interests me.

As far as working in fashion, I don’t like the given show dates by the fashion industry. Since I also show the pre-collections, the periods between the summer and winter collections are very short, but I overcome by being well organized.

For my last collection, I was inspired by John Maeda’s Laws of simplicity No.5 which states, “Simplicity and complexity need each other.” I like to mix different materials. I use silk jersey as well as strong cotton fabric, which is mainly used for working clothes. I am open to all kind of techniques.

In my work you find hand knit as well as fine knit made by machines. But it is always important to have it well done, no matter what material is used.

Location: Austria www.lukas-by.com Email: info@lukas-by.com Collection photos by Gregor Titze

PORTRAITS BRAZILIANS of

photographed by Ivan Abujamra

direction and introduction by Vinnie Pizzingrilli translation revised by Martin Clowes

ALEXANDRE HERCHCOVITCH Hi. How’s it going?

I am doing very well, busy working on next collections for my label and Zoomp.

What do you do?

I am fashion designer, sometimes a DJ. Why? This is what I like to do most; I love clothing, construction and music.

Who do you work for?

I create for everybody in a very democratic way.

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

Chef, architect, roller-coaster engineer.

— 120 —

KARINA MOTA & SEBASTIEN ORTH Hi. How’s it going?

Hi. We’re very well and busy developing our first Surface To Air Brazil clothes collection.

What do you do?

We both run Surface To Air shop and studio in Brazil, working with 15 contemporary Brazilian designers such as Neon, Amapo and Paula Ferber. Our art-direction studio develops fashion campaigns and video clips, and we do some kick-ass parties in Sao Paulo and Paris once in a while too.

Why? We have a ceaseless need for freedom, so we organised ourselves in a way that allows us to work with every creative idea that we have.

Who do you work for?

We choose to work with instead of for. Lately we have collaborated on projects with Igor Cavalera and Laima Leyton from Mixhell, So Me, Tsumori Chisato, Diesel, Cacharrel, Justice, Chromeo, Goose, Scenario Rock...

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

A sailor and a singer somewhere near the docks.

OSCAR METSAVAHT Hi. How’s it going?

Very well thanks.

What do you do?

I experience, then create.

Why? To express. To share.

Who do you work for?

For everybody who buys or admires my creations.

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

I don’t see it as a job; I see it as an opportunity to express my experiences. If I weren’t doing fashion I would probably be creating in architecture, which is also very relevant to how we live.

HELENA LINHARES Hi. How’s it going?

Great.

What do you do?

I work… A lot!!! I’m a businesswoman.

Why? Because that makes all the difference.

Who do you work for?

For Pelu — my shop.

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

RIEN!!!

PAULO BORGES Hi. How’s it going?

Having the very best time of my life, living the experience of being a father. It’s wonderful!!!

What do you do?

I’m executive director of Sao Paulo Fashion Week’s website www.spfw.com.br Why? Destiny.

Who do you work for?

For myself above all else.

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

I can’t even think about that - I never see myself doing anything else.

Maybe cinema...

— 122 —

MARCELONA Hi. How’s it going?

Always fine!

What do you do?

Work on a website in the morning and at parties at night.

Why? That’s the way I like it...

Who do you work for?

I’m a contributor for www.erikapalomino.com.br If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

I would like to be an heiress...

RODRIGO BUENO Hi. How’s it going?

Living intensely — barefoot and open hearted.

What do you do?

I produce stimuli for the senses - art, ambience and transcendental actions. I set environments with plants, pictures, pictures, water, fire and food. I paint studies of nature and portraits on reclaimed wood. I tap ancestral memory for fresh nowness.

Why? It’s beyond my will. It is a ref lection of the world inside and around me.

Who do you work for?

Whoever.

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

I would be my dog.

RAFAELLA CASSOLARI Hi. How’s it going?

Living the great adventure of everyday life.

What do you do?

I’m the fashion designer of my own label.

Why? I never stop to think about it. I just like to do it.

Who do you work for?

For anyone that likes what I do...I like it!!!

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

I would probably be living the Flamenco culture somewhere in Spain.

PEDRO MARTINELLI Hi. How’s it going?

It’s all good...

What do you do?

I graduated as a photojournalist and my personal work is focused on the Amazon region.

Why? I have been in the Amazon region since the 1970s, when I made contact with an isolated indigenous Panara community. My personal work has been focused there ever since.

Who do you work for?

Personal work is for my soul, commissioned work for my survival.

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

I’d like to be a basketball player.

— 124 —

RICARDO CASSOLARI Hi. How’s it going?

Living the magic of life.

What do you do?

Something that I really love — I’m a hairdresser Why? I believe it’s genetic, all my family do the same thing.

Who do you work for?

For a lot of people and mostly for my soul.

If this weren’t your job, what would you do instead?

I always have a need to do and be a lot of things, but in fact I’m really happy with what I do.

direction & introduction

VINNIE PIZZINGRILLI

translation

MARTIN CLOWES

——126 126— —

photography by Derrick Santini

SEBASTIEN TELLIER interviewed by Joe Roberts

Sébastien Tellier is best known for La Ritournelle, the epic orchestral masterpiece which captured the world’s attention in 2005. But his career began with ‘Fantino’, his first release seven years earlier, which led Air to sign him to Record Makers, the label he still calls home. ‘Fantino’ found its way onto the soundtrack of Sophie Coppola’s Lost in Translation, introducing him to an American film dynasty he now calls friends, and paving the way for a growing second career in soundtrack work.

— 127 —

“We have a saying in France,” he explains when we meet in a Dalston pub one afternoon. “La chance du débutant. It means you play best right at the beginning. The first shot is perfect.”

But he’s had more than beginner’s luck with Sébastien collaborating with the best of France’s creative fraternity.

On his third album, Sexuality, he worked with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, one half of France’s most popular musical export, Daft Punk, whose production on the album is his first ever solo project.

“I wanted to work with Guy-Man because I’m a huge fan,” Sébastien explains of their partnership. “He can make very, very good music, but at the same time he listens like beginner.

In general, when you make music everyday, music twists your mind and in the end music twists your ear.

You can’t listen to music correctly anymore.”

everywhere. I love that. But I want to put some grace, some finesse in this world of sex music.”

“I try to make real art and not just pop music. That’s why it was wonderful for me to make this kind of music. If you try to make something in the current mood, but put something intellectual in, it will shine because usually it is so boring.”

The result is what he calls “intellectual R&B”, awash with synthesisers, squelching bass and the sound of women mid-orgasm.

The lyrics, meanwhile, evoke his, “very noble and romantic vision of sex, a vision where sex is used to seduce the mind.”

“In France we have a company that does pornographic movies and the musician who makes the soundtrack is called Rico,” he continues.“He was the bass player for Sexuality so all the bass is played with a very sexual feeling.

On ‘Pomme’ you can hear it very well because the bass on it is very, very loud.

The bass is very sexual for me.”

“That’s why there are so many shitty records. Most musicians have had their ears twisted. But Guy-Man listens to music like my mother or my little sister. Like a child.”

‘Sexual Sportwear’, the album’s Morodor-esque first single, wears Sébastien’s love of soundtrack, porno or otherwise, heavily on its sleeve.

“He’s one of the kings of world music,” Sébastien adds, recalling their all-night recording sessions which only ended after Guy’s wife gave birth to their first child. “When he plays he doesn’t move his head, he just moves this part,” he says indicating the hips. “He’s kind of a white African man.”

“Pop music needs, every time, to have a new influence. To take influence from soundtrack, that’s great. A Clockwork Orange by Wendy Carlos – it’s wonderful. The music from Midnight Express and Love Story, I love.

“A good writer doesn’t just write,” he continues. “He lives his life, goes to bars, on holiday, adventures, and after that, he writes something. I think we do the same with music. You make your life, you watch movies, you read a book, and after that, you go and do something. To make good music, you can’t think too much about music.”

Each of Sébastien’s projects begins with a concept. While his first album, L’Incroyable Verite, was about sadness, and his second album, Politics, thought, Sexuality reveals a new uninhibited Tellier.

“I was always crazy about sex. I tried to find new ways of excitement,” he says. “Sex is a big pleasure, it’s enjoyable, so I want to make enjoyable music. For Sexuality I wanted to make an erotic soundtrack, music that can excite people, but with a Latin influence.”

“Everywhere in the music world, there’s music about sex. Look at the success of Justin Timberlake. People live in a culture where sex is

“When you are French to be really cool, you have to make a soundtrack. A French singer can never become a real pop singer, because in real pop singers are English or American,” he explains.

“To find the real French way you have to look at French soundtracks.

The real talent is there. I want to be the perfect French guy so my mind is full of memories of movies and soundtracks.”

To prove this point, he recently worked on music for independent French film, Steak, alongside two of Paris’s biggest rising stars, SebastiAn and Mr Oizo from Ed Banger records. Mr Oizo, otherwise known as filmmaker Quentin Duplex, also wrote and directed Steak.

“Mr Oizo remixed my first album and now he’s one of my best friends,” Sébastien says of a long-standing creative partnership which has also seen him act in Duplex’s films.

— 128 —

i n t e r v i e we d by J O E R O B E RT S p h o t o g ra p h e d by D E R R I C K S A N T I N I

“SebastiAn, I love too and I hope to work with him again and again. He has the sound of a new generation. He makes music for very quick pleasure and is into scratched beats, But on the Steak soundtrack, he made some beautiful songs. And I think he’s better, if that’s possible, with sad music.”

“Before, the concept was politics so everything had to be eccentric, because politics is eccentric. It’s too much, full of nothing and completely absurd in fact. I believe in philosophy and not too much in politics. So I tried to do some stunts. I tried to sing high, and it’s very hard to sing high when you’re smoking a cigarette.

“The film is a comedy so everything has to be funny. Thanks to these two guys, it’s actually a very good record! But initially we tried to make very shitty music,” he laughs.

“Now I’d like to do something completely clean,” he says, explaining how he wants his band to pretend to use laptops while secretly playing live synthesisers underneath, “a fake fake. It’s a kind of vision of sexuality don’t you think?”

Producing music for film bankable,” giving him the freedom to make Sexuality worrying about sales. Yet it freedom of its own.

and TV, Sébastien notes, is “very creative without offers a

With record makers moving into film and photography, Sébastien hopes to follow Mr Oizo and Daft Punk (whose film, Electroma, featured his track ‘Universe’) in making his own feature.

“In pop music you always have to make the same form of music, the introduction, the first part, the chorus. With a soundtrack you can make more original music.”

“For me, design, fashion, music, movie, it’s all the same thing. You just have to have the spirit of artists. My parents bought me a guitar when I was six, so I chose music. But I think my mind could create a movie too. It’s just a way of spirit to make art. After that it’s just a technical problem.”

Does he have any plans then to work with Sophie Coppola again?

“I’d like to do something with the whole Coppola family. They’re a wonderful family, full of talent. One of my best friends, Thomas, from Phoenix, is her boyfriend and they have a baby together. So for me, Sophia is someone very close. She lives in Paris so for sure, we’ll do something together, but I don’t know what yet.

“It’s also a good balance. In music you are alone in the studio and you are kind of against the world. For me, movies are the opposite. They’re a big collaboration.”

Given Sébastien’s prevailing mood of sexual awareness and pleasureseeking, he has plans to make an erotic movie too. “But something like a war picture,” he adds.

Counting Francis Ford Coppola, her father, as one of his favourite directors, he also proudly adds, “sometimes I eat with him. He likes to sing in the restaurant and always he makes joke after joke. He’s a real joker.”

His music was once was once described as ‘the loneliest sounds you will hear’, but Sébastien has clearly moved on.

“I like to change my life for each album,” he concludes.

Given this interest in film, it’s unsurprising Sébastien places equal importance on his visual presentation, gaining him a reputation as an eccentric performer. Last tour, he sang while smoking cigarettes through his nose.

“For the first one I was a very sad guy. For the second one I changed my girlfriend, I changed my apartment, I changed my car, everything. Now for Sexuality, I changed my mind. I’m not nervous, I’m not anxious anymore. And I think it’s a good way to have sex.”

www.sebastientellier.com

— 130 —

come hither photographed by Brett Lloyd styling

JACK BORKETT

make-up

DANIELLE KAHLANIIS

hair

NICOLE KAHLANIIS

model

CHARLOTTE AT MARILYN NY JOE, DAVEY, MALCOLM, RYAN

d re s s

BASSO AND BROOKE

g l a s s e s

L I N D A FA R R OW

d re s s

BASSO AND BROOKE

s h o e s

A RC H I V E V I V I E N N E W E S T W O O D S H O E S

blu e ro p e d re s s

PAULE KA

sho e s

N I CHOL AS KIRKWOOD

all c l o t h e s

A MERICAN APPAREL

g o l d j e a n s

J E A N - C H A R L E S D E C A S T E L B A J AC

f u r s t o l e

S T Y L I S T â&#x20AC;&#x2122; S OW N

wh i t e j e a n s

ACNE

sho e s

N I KE AIR

seq u i n e d ve s t

M ODELS OWN

cat s u i t

D I ANE VON FURSTENBERG

sho e s

S T YLIST â&#x20AC;&#x2122;S OWN

lea t h e r j a c k e t

G AP

ves t

D I OR HOMME

sho r t s

C HEAP MONDAY

swe a t e r

D I OR HOMME

sho e s

M ODELS OWN

jea n s

Y EN

sho e s

D OC MARTENS

bel t

D I OR HOMME

cus t o m i z e d s h i r t

M ODELS OWN

jea n s

Y EN

sho e s

D OC MARTENS

bra c e s

TOP MAN

bla c k a n d s t r i p e ve s t

AMERICAN APPAREL

jeans

YEN

belt

DIOR H O M M E

black vest

AMER I C A N A P PA R E L

photographed by Tomas Falmer styling

NATALIE GUBBINS

make-up

ADAM DE CRUZ using MAC Pro

hair

BENJAMIN MOHAPI using kiehls

stylist assistants

HANNAH MACLEOD & KATE FOLEY

make-up assistant

HOLLY SILIUS

model

ELIZA AT SELECT

special thanks to

ABSOLUTE FLOWERS WWW.ABSOLUTEFLOWERS.COM

b l a c k a n d n u d e b o d y

M A I S O N M A RT I N M A RG I E L A

s t a r c a p e t o p

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD RED LABEL

ora n g e j a c k e t

M ARNI

bla c k l e g g i n g s

A NN-SOFIE B ACK

ora n g e a n d n u d e d re s s

MARNI

wh i t e g l a d i a t o r b o o t s

STEVE & YONIP

sun g l a s s e s

B ALENCIAGA

nu d e b o d i c e

V I VIENNE WEST WOOD GOLD L ABEL

pin k s k i r t

V I VIENNE WEST WOOD GOLD L ABEL

hat

S TEPHEN JONES

wh i t e b l a z e r

M AISON MARTIN MARGIEL A

gre y t o p

A NN-SOFIE B ACK

pin k l e g g i n g s

M ANISH AR ORA

bla c k s h o e s

G I VENCHY

pin k s h i r t

NOIR

sun g l a s s e s

JEREMY SCOT T FOR LINDA FARR OW

blu e c o r s e t t o p

VIVIENNE WEST WOOD RED L ABEL

bla c k s u n g l a s s e s

JEREMY SCOT T

pin k t o p

M AISON MARTIN MARGIEL A

ora n g e s k i r t

M AISON MARTIN MARGIEL A

bird s h a t

J E FFREY PORTMAN

pin k c o r s e t t o p

VIVIENNE WEST WOOD RED L ABEL

bla c k t ro u s e r s

VIVIENNE WEST WOOD RED L ABEL

nu d e s h o e s

MAISON MARTIN MARGIEL A

bla c k d re s s w i t h p i n k star print

Y VES SAINT L AUREN T

red j a c k e t

LOUISE GRAY

yel l ow d re s s

CHAL AYAN BY HUSSEIN C H A L AYA N

yel l ow j u m p s u i t

MODERNIST

gol d b a n g l e s

NOIR & WENDY NICOL AVA I L A B L E AT K A R B I R I

gol d e x t e n s i o n b ra c e l e ts

NOMINATION

asy m m e t r i c d re s s

SOPHIA KOKOSAL AKI

VISUAL TRICKERY

photographed by Derrick Santini

em b e l l i s h e d s i l k b l o u s e

LOEWE

wh i t e t - s h i r t w i t h b e a ding

MAISON MARTIN MARG I E L A

dark g re y s u i t t ro u s e r s

MAISON MARTIN MARG I E L A

lea t h e r s t u d b e l t

MODELS OWN

on her: b ro c a d e s i l k d re s s

N I N O B AU T I

n a v y / w h i t e s t r i p e s h i r t

EMILIO DE LA MORENA

j e we l l e r y

B E L M AC Z

h o s i e r y

FOGAL

on him: p a l e b l u e s u i t

M A I S O N M A RT I N M A RG I E L A

v - n e c k d o t j u m p e r

M A I S O N M A RT I N M A RG I E L A

w h i t e s h i r t w i t h b ow - t i e M A I S O N M A RT I N M A RG I E L A s p e c t a c l e s

CUTLER AND GROSS

s h o e s

M O D E Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; S OW N

yel l ow s we a t e r & s t r i p ed scar f

PAUL SMITH

ora n g e j a c k e t

VIVIENNE WEST WOOD

bei g e s t r i p e t ro u s e r s

MAISON MARTIN MARGIE L A

na v y t w i l l d re s s

NINO B AUTI

ove r s i z e d c a rd i g a n

SONIA RYKIEL

we d g e s a n d a l s

GIUSEPPE Z ANOT TI

‘Gi s e l e’ b a g

SERGIO R OSSI

all j e we l l e r y

BELMACZ

ho s i e r y

FOGAL

on h i m : bea d e d t u xe d o s u i t

MAISON MARTIN MARGI E L A

wh i t e p a t c h w o rk t - s h i r t

PAULOWNIA

Bla c k a n d w h i t e s i l k s car f

STEINUNN

on h e r : gol d / o ra n g e / b l a c k g ra phic dress

TINA KALIVAS

an g l o m a n i a c r i n o l i n s kir t

VIVIENNE WEST WOOD

ho s i e r y

FOGAL

jewe l l e r y

BELMACZ

stu d s a n d a l s

SERGIO R OSSI

on h i m : bea d e d t u xe d o j a c k e t and beaded dress shir t

MAISON MA RT I N M A RG I E L A

on h e r : sil k d re s s

MAISON MA RT I N M A RG I E L A

jewe l l e r y

BELMACZ

bu t t o n d ow n s t r i p e d s hir t

PS PAUL SMITH

pa l e ye l l ow l i n e n s u i t jacket

PAUL SMITH

blu e k n i t t e d s p o t t i e

PAUL SMITH

pol k a d o t s i l k s c a r f ( i n pocket)

PAUL SMITH

blu e a n d w h i t e t i e d ye jumper

MAISON MARTIN MARG I E L A

fashion editor

NIKI BRODIE

make-up

ADAM DE CRUZ using MAC Pro

hair

GOW TANAKA using Keihls

photographer assistant

DAMIEN FRY

fashion assistant

AIDA DOLRAHIM

models

FELICITY @ STORM, JAMES COOPER @ PREMIER

ora n g e t - s h i r t o f C o c o Chanel

LONDON DENIM

twe e d j a c k e t

PAULE KA

an g l o m a n i a s p o t s h o r t s

VIVIENNE WEST WOOD

pa t e n t b e l t

R OBERTO CAVALLI

all j e we l l e r y

BELMACZ

MODERN TIMES photographed by Kristiina Wilson

stylist

YAHAIRA

make-up

CYNTHIA ROSE

hair

ELIZABETH MORACHE @ WORKGROUP NYC using rusk product

styling assistant

DARIO FORMICA

model

AMY FINLAYSON @ NEXT

producer

ERIN M.

d re s s

V I V I E N N E TA M

n e c k l a c e

S T E PH E N DW E C K

h o s i e r y

WOLFORD

b o o t s

G I U S E P PE Z A N OT T I

d re s s

JOLIBE

j a c k e t

HELMUT LANG

hosiery

WOLFORD

s h o e s

S O PH I A KO KO S A L A K I

top

M AISON MARTIN MARGIEL A

tig h t s

D KNY

dre s s

U NITED B AMBOO

glove s

L A CRASIA

jacket

M A R I M E K KO

shir t

ETRO

c o a t

PE T ER S O R O N E N

d re s s

BENJAMIN CHO

h o o d

MICHAEL ANGEL

t i g h t s

DKNY

b o o t s

G I U S E P PE Z A N OT T I

bo o t s

G I USEPPE Z ANOTI

jac k e t

M AISON MARTIN MARGIEL A

pa n t s

G UCCI

glove

L ACRASIA

bel t

V I NTAGE

photographed by Kim Jakobsen To

concept

DOMINC SIO

styling

KIM JAKOBSEN TO

photography & Styling Assistant

ALICE GAZIO

hair

LINE NILSEN

make-up

THOMAS DE KLUYVER

model

BETTY

cardigan ONEHUNDERED, shoes RED by WOLVES, socks UNIQLO

PHOTOGRAPHS 1983-2007 by Anna Fox, THE BATHROOM AIN’T GOT A DOOR by Anna Grassi, vintage books, photographer’s own

reading SELF SERVICE MAGAZINE, glasses LINDA FARROW

carrying ZOO MAGAZINE, glasses LINDA FARROW, top UNIQLO, t-shirt TRYADIET, jeans APRIL 77

reading VOX POPULI: TOKYO by Fiona Tan, HAUNTS by JH Engstrom, blouse VELOUR, top UNIQLO, glasses LINDA FARROW

reading PURPLE FASHION MAGAZINE, socks UNIQLO

HAUNTS by JH Engstrom, ACNE Paper, A MAGAZINE: curated by Veronique Branquinho, vintage books, photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own

PHOTOGRAPHS 1983-2007 by Anna Fox, THE CRISTOPHE BRUNNQUELL PURPLE BOOK / PURPLE FASHION MAGAZINE

THE FINAL TOUCH photographed by James Mountford

styling

TAMER WILDE

make-up

ADAM DE CRUZ

hair

NAOKI

model

Jamie Jewitt & Chris Howe @ FM Models, Simon Pennec @ Models

b l a c k l e a t h e r b e l t w i t h h i n g e

BU R B E R RY P R O R S U M

b l a c k d o u b l e l a ye re d l e a t h e r b e l t

BU R B E R RY P R O R S U M

knitted black jumper

BU R B E R RY P R O R S U M

b l a c k h a t c h p a t t e r n e d b e l t

BU R B E R RY P R O R S U M

ski n n y Je a n s

NUDIE JEANS CO

navy blue plaid shirt

J . L I ND B E RG

sil ve r t i g e r r i n g

KOKON TO Z AI

w h i t e s h i r t w i t h b l u e p i n s t r i p e s

YMC

sil ve r a n d w h i t e d o u b l e ring

VIVIENNE WEST WOOD

b l a c k l e a t h e r p o i n t t i p s h o e s w i t h w o o d e n s o l e s

H O R R AC E

pla i d s h i r t

I S SEY MIYAKE

s i l ve r n e c k l a c e w i t h w o o d e n d a n g l e c h a r m s

Z U LU

na v y b l u e f i t t e d Ca s h mere coat

HINGED

bla c k l e a t h e r b e l t

BURBERRY PR ORSUM

bla c k f u r g l ove s

BURBERRY PR ORSUM

black fur mittens

BU R B E R RY P R O R S U M

black leather boots

DIOR HOMME

city slicker photographed by Cedrick Mickael Mirande

styling

JESSICA SANTINI

hair & make-up

ROZENN

model

ALBAN RASSIER @ NEW MADISON

b l u e ve l ve t j a c k e t

I C E B E RG

g re y a n d w h i t e t ro u s e r s

T H I E R RY M U G L E R

t re n c h

AG N E S B

l e a t h e r b a g

UPLA

g re e n j u m p e r

AG N E S B

t ro u s e r s

HERMES

m e t a l l i c t re n c h

B R U N O PI E T E R S

gre y t ro u s e r s a n d j a c k et

BRUNO PIETERS

wh i t e s h i r t

CERRUTI

bla c k d o u b l e s t ra p l e a ther boots

KRIS VAN ASSCHE

bei g e s u n g l a s s e s w i t h l adybird

LINDA FARR OW VINTAG E

can va s b a g w i t h l e a t h er details

UPL A

big leather bag

L ACO S T E

watch

PI LG R I M

g re y t i e

K E N ZO PA R A N TO N I O M A R R A S

b e i g e s u n g l a s s e s s

L I N D A FA R R OW V I N TAG E

p u r p l e ve l ve t s h o e w i t h m i r ro re d h e e l

MALANDRINO

backStage observation photographed by Bicefaliko

Celebrities, art and gossip are marketed up to their eyebrows now- are you buying it?

Concept : Dominic Sio Photographer : Alexis Chabala Art Direction : Nick Chonsak Fashion Styling / Co-ordination : Sorrel Kinder

The Feud of Marc (inspired by recent event at IHT) Marc Jacobs Eau de Toilette, International Herald Tribune, clamp on wooden base. | Mixed Media Š Stimuli 2008

LOST STEPS OF ANDRE BRETON Handmade leather shoe by John Lobb with brooch by Asprey. | Mixed Media © Stimuli 2008

ART & COMMERCE Sketch paper, metal paper clip with eye make-up by Chanel. | Mixed Media © Stimuli 2008

COMPOSITION OF A COMEBACK (Bravo Donattella) Coconut shell, long blond wig on wooden stand. Lip brooch by Erickson Beamon and sunglasses by Versace. | Mixed Media © Stimuli 2008

Concept and photography by Dominic Sio

The Enigma of Bernhard Wilhelm Unknown content, sack cloth, robes and sunglasses by Bernhard Wilhelm for Linda Farrow. | Mixed Media Š Stimuli 2008

BRING SAFE SEX/Y BACK Plastic evidence bag containing condoms and PLAY by Parfum Comme des Garçons. | Mixed Media © Stimuli 2008

BON ANNIVERSAIRE / MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA Woven leather belt, Ligne 11 by Martin Margiela. | Mixed Media © Stimuli 2008

Blame Canada Leave it up to Terence Koh and Bruce LaBruce to serve us up something symbolic and esoteric in the form of live art. Under Javier Peres Projects, native Canadians LaBruce and Koh presented an installation and performance ironically titled Blame Canada. Exclusively shown in Berlin, the display referenced the Bang Bang bar from the 1992 movie Fire Walk with Me directed

by David Lynch. “We appreciated the metaphorical notion of walking across the f loor of a bar and switching identities as easily as segueing from beer to hard liquor,” explans LaBruce.

As reinterpreted by LaBruce and Koh, who were both fascinated by the bar, the installation can be interpreted as a split between their identities as polite Canadians and their close association

with Americans, and also a split between their two disciplines, art and film. The exhibition encompassed an art viewing and a wild party with a performance starring Vaginal Davis co-ordinated

by LaBruce. With dildos close in grasp protruding from above and below a steel framed centre stage, the duos idea of corrupt art was realised.

Combining political statements with satirical humour allowed LaBruce and Koh to get their point across as the modest bar assumes a debauched, all American vibe but then is finished off kinkily as penises hang from above — a sudden yet vivid snippet into American gay culture. Americans may point the finger at Canada, but in this case, who’s really to blame?

Boys night out

Monsieur Sandwichhead

Mr. Woman and Mrs. Man Colette / Jeremy Scott / Kitsune / Boombox photos and artworks by Laurent Desgrange

SHOWTIME

photographed by Simon Wald-Lasowski homeware selected by Mr. & Mrs. KIND all clothes by KIND

plastic cups with fac e s : Xe n o s w w w. xe n o s . n l

plate: Barbapapa sh o p

desktop waste bin:vintage - Flea market in France

bi rd nut dispencer: v i n t a g e W M F p ro d u c t

vacuum cleaner: type HENRY by Humatic Inte tiona l L t d .

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 233 â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

index ACNE www.acnejeans.com

Gucci www.gucci.com

Paulownia www.paulownialondon.com

American Apparel americanapparel.net

Harrods www.harrods.com

Paule Ka www.pauleka.com

Ann-Sofie Back www.annsofieback.com

Helmut Lang www.helmutlang.com

Paul Smith www.paulsmith.co.uk

April 77 www.april77.fr

Jean- Charles de Castelbajac www.jc-de-castelbajac.com

Peter Soronen www.petersoronen.com

Balenciaga www.balenciaga.com

Jeremy Scott www.jeremyscott.com

Red By Wolves www.redbywolves.com

Basso and Brooke www.bassoandbrooke.com

Jolibe www.jolibe.blogspot.com

Roberto Cavalli www.robertocavalli.it

Belmacz www.belmacz.com

Koh Samui www.kohsamui.co.uk

Sergio Rossi www.sergiorossi.com

Benjamin Cho www.showroomseven.com

LaCrasia www.lacrasia.com

Sonia Rykiel www.soniarykiel.com

Bernhard Willhelm www.totemfashion.com

Linda Farrow Vintage www.lindafarrowvintage.com

Sophia Kokosalaki www.sophiakokosalaki.com

Brittique.com www.brittique.com

Loewe www.loewe.com

Steinunn www.steinunn.com

Browns www.brownsfashion.com

London Denim www.londondenim.com

Stephen Dweck www.stephendweck.com

Chalayan by Hussein Chalayan www.husseinchalayan.com

Louise Gray www.louisegrayfashion.com

Stephen Jones www.stephenjonesmillinery.com

Cheap Monday www.cheapmonday.com

Maison Martin Margiela www.maisonmartinmargiela.com

Steve & Yonip www.steveyonistudio.com

Christian Louboutin www.christianlouboutin.fr

Manish Arora www.manisharora.ws

Tata Naka www.tatanaka.com

Cutler and Gross www.cutlerandgross.com

Marimekko www.marimekko.com

Tina Kalivas www.tinakalivas.com

Diane von Furstenberg www.dvf.com

Marni www.marni.com

Top Man www.topman.com

Dior Homme www.diorhomme.com

Matches www.matchesfashion.com

Two See www.twoseelife.com

DKNY www.dkny.com

Michael Angel michaelangel.netmain.htm

Uniqlo www.Uniqlo.com

Doc Martens www.drmartens.com

Modernist www.modernistonline.com

United Bamboo www.unitedbamboo.com

Emilio de la Morena www.emiliodelamorena.com

Nancy Pop www.nancypop.com

Vivienne Tam www.viviennetam.com

Etro www.etro.it

Nicholas Kirkwood www.nicholaskirkwood.com

Vivienne Westwood www.viviennewestwood.com

Fogal www.fogal.com

Nike www.nike.com

Wendy Nichol wendynicholnyc.com

GAP www.gap.com

Nino Bauti www.ninobauti.com

Wolford www.wolford.com

Giuseppe Zanotti www.giuseppe-zanotti-design.com

Noir www.noir-illuminati2.com

Yen Jeans www.yenjeans.net

Givenchy www.givenchy.com

Nomination www.nomination.com

Yves Saint Laurent www.ysl.com

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 234 â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

Now presenting: Models against AIDS — 235 —