Day Dream
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Who the fuck is Chamelea?
In the making of this issue, we met our beautiful friends and listen to their fantasies. We hung out with our amazing contributors, talked about chamelea. We had fun taking a lot of polaroids at our studio. We went around this mundane town and create an amazing chameleon fashion world. We had inspiring chats with seriously talented people. We listened to soothing music, we baked happy cookies and pick out which photos and stories to publish.
We live in an ambiguous world where we construct our own scenarios. Where fashion translates to figments of imagination. We are living the irregular life where opinions vary. Where things happen and change quickly. Daydream helps you keep track. We make fashion experiences realized. We deliciously provide you with whimsical ideas.
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Day Dream: Chamela Issue
Day Dream
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4. CONTRIBUTORS 5. PRELUDE 7. A CHAMELEA’S MUST HAVES 13. WHY DON’T YOU 14. STORY: MIDNIGHT MAGIC 18. STORY: LULA AND ROSE 24. INTERVIEW: AMANDA WONG 26. INTERVIEW: ARSY MEDINA 3
Day Dream: Chamela Issue
ABANG MAWARID ROLANSYAH
ANN SOLAGE
What did you do in this issue? I took photographs. What do you do in your spare time? I sleep and think about life. What’s your passion? Building awkward situation.
What did you do in this issue? I wrote midnight magic and eat cookies. What do you do in your spare time? I eat cookies. What’s your passion? drinks and meeting new people.
GEMMA CHLOE WARD DAY What did you do in this issue? I did the why don’t you challenge! What do you do in your spare time? Surprisingly, cleaning my apartment. What’s your passion? cigarettes.
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What did you do in this issue? I wrote Lula and Rose. What do you do in your spare time? Walk around suburbs drinking coffee. What’s your passion? Colors.
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c
hamelea is a woman who came to earth from a wonderland somewhere in another swirling galaxy.
She can change the color of her skin, adapting to any environment, with still being the same woman. She has a stereoscopic pair of eyes that sees in a very deep perception. She has a long tongue that she uses to taste her delicious flowers.She likes walking slowly and sees beauty in the conforming of things.
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Day Dream: Chamela Issue
Have you ever bought a new dress to go to your high school friend’s bridal shower? Have you went looking for olive camo boots and coats to go camping? Or spend hours dressing up for the ‘it’ fashion party? You wouldn’t admit and say yes, but I know you all have. I have. In every way, we adjust the way we dress for all functional, aesthetic and social reasons. Fashion turns us into CHAMELEAS. Some probably thinks “I don’t wanna conform and fit in”. Oh all the almighty fashion people, they praise individuality so much that conformity is translated into a loss of identity, into boredom, well basically just bad. But why? Daydream looks at fashion conformity from a positive point of view (Our team consists of unbelievably happy, cheerful people. We reject all those negative energies and cynicisms!) Conformity = Comfort. How good is it to have the pressure of having to stand-out-from-the-crowd off your shoulder? Plus, can you imagine going camping in platforms? Or going to your friend’s shower in rain boots? Not pretty. Conformity = Social equivalence. How wonderful would this life be if everyone’s nice to each other? If we can eliminate those mean eyes that makes fun of the girl wearing her grandma’s skirt to dinner? Uh-mazing. Finally, conformity is not equal to loss of identity. Instead it gives you the chance to have a few. When chameleons merge themselves with the grass, does it make them a caterpillar? Would you still notice them as chameleons when they color turn psychedelic at dawn? If you’re wearing the same top as your 50 years old lecturer, would that make you old, and a lecturer? We merge conformity with our imaginations, creating a series of beautiful, astonishing chameleas
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A CHAMELEA’S MUST HAVES A simple guide to building your own survival kit To go through life As a chamelea.
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Day Dream: Chamela Issue
TO ROLLIN’ AND STONIN’
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TO A MUSIC FESTIVAL 9
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TO MELBOURNE IN GENERAL
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TO CAMP OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS
TO BE FRIENDS WITH CINDERELLA
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WHY DON’T YOU Find and go to at least 4 themed parties on one weekend Rules: 1.Two of the themed parties should be with a group of people you’re unfamiliar with. 2.the other two may or may not be with people you know. 3.go all out and embrace the Chamelea in you Experienced and written by: Gemma Day
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CHALLENGE EXCEPTED! Was exactly my reaction when the daydream team challenged me to do it. I loooove themed parties and I couldn’t wait to do it. 4 in a weekend might be a bit hard, oh but maybe It won’t if I decided not to drink too much. This should be interesting. Friday. Witch Party
I was dressed in obviously black. Long black sheer hooded dress which I haven’t worn in too long, knee high socks paired with my beloved black cage boots. I wore so much necklace and rings that it took me 3 minutes to move 3 steps ahead. Anyway, the party was hosted by a friend of my good friend’s neighbor’s friend who has a really cute but married older brother. Complicated but hey, I deserve credits for being able to find A WITCH PARTY. So I arrived with a bottle of wine. I came in, didn’t really know anyone and shit, the host really went to extreme. It was dark, candle-lighted but thank God with better music than chanting. The decoration resembled a magic jungle I suppose. Posters of trees, a huge drawing of moon pasted on the ceiling and the best part was they had real animals. I felt like I was on drugs, but no they actually had a horse in the backyard, just chillin’ with a bunch of people drinking their heart out. It was SUPER exciting, especially after a couple of drinks when my personality finally kicked back in. I met a lot of new captivating people and one of them – The one with the really cool wizard hat - explained to me the ‘history of witchery’. A couple of hours later, a group of us decided to leave and went to a kebab place. Shortly, it was one of the most electrifying events I’ve been to in months!
Saturday. Toga Dinner
I have a little sister in college who’s going to graduate soon. She’s studying fashion design and these creative people had this pretty clever idea of throwing a dinner party where they all wear togas. She invited me weeks before. I didn’t plan to go but after the Daydream challenged me to do it, I went. It was in a small, cozy Japanese restaurant in the city. Thank God my mom still keep my toga in her I’m-extremely-proud-of-my-daughter storage box. I was pretty nervous for this one, It reminded me so much of my university days. Well, I thought It would be best to take one of my college’s best friends, Molly, with me. So I (forcefully) did. Surprisingly, we fit in really well (as in she-hooked-up-with-oneof-the-guys-later-that-night well). I was like “see, we’re not that old. Maybe as long as we’re wearing these togas, we can go to any college party we want” . So in short, It was really great. The sushi were delicious, the sake was ‘drunkening’ and my sister’s friends were pretty cool (and did not make fun of her for taking her big sister out at all).
Saturday. Bond Party
This was after the toga dinner. It was a Bond-as in James Bond-party. I’ve planned on going to this weeks ago, so the timing was perfect for the challenge. Well, instead of being the girl he slept with, I was James bond. I wore a suit, black bow tie, but with a pair of colorful socks and black platforms. The party was hosted by Noir, a new independent fashion line as a launching event. I work freelance, I’ve wrote and styled for them a couple of times. You can probably predict how the scene of the party was… They turned this huge space into a classy, old-school James Bondish bar. They had models walking around in their new collection and they had guns (fake ones) as props. After it gets late people went from ordering glasses of gin and tonic from the bar to shooting vodka out of water guns. I went a bit crazy and couldn’t really remember what precisely happened after the gun shots. Suffice to say that the next morning, someone (from the party I suppose) wrote “Hey Mrs.Bond ;)” on my facebook page.
Sunday. Pink princess brunch
Ok. I have to admit. Its my girlfiend’s daughter’s 5th birthday party. I can’t find anymore themed party and honestly very tired of all the drinking. This one was kind of a fail; I thought everyone was going to dress up but no, instead of being a chameleon, I was the only grown up wearing a princess attire. Ugh. So I arrived, wearing a fuchsia balloon skirt and a tucked in, light pink shirt, a pink platform and a fucking tiara. Everyone was looking at me like I was a freak that just fell on earth from somewhere in space where everything is pink. But besides that, everything went pretty sweet. Naya (the birthday girl) wore the pink dress I gave her two weeks ago as a pre-birthday present. She looked adorable hanging out with her princess friends. The birthday cupcakes were delicious (Oh, my friend’s a cook, so she made this herself. Uh mazing). The free champagne was great. Ok so, after I helped with the cleaning, I went home at around two and went back to bed.
MY ADVENTURE LASTED FOR THE WHOLE WEEKEND before I reluctantly went back to work on Monday. My experience has been pretty magical, I met a lot of new people and now I know fitting in isn’t so bad, great actually. I was one of those people who, I admit, pretty up themselves. Who thinks that standing out from the crowd and intimidating people who dress ‘normally’ was the key of life. I realized it wasn’t so much about me wanting to be different. It was the crazy influence from the high fashion lifestyle on the concept of “Look-at-me!-yousuck” that limits me from fitting into different ‘types’ of society. Sue me, this probably sounds a bit cheesy, especially only after a weekend of partying. But it’s a start! Well in conclusion, I can totally see myself as a Chamelea. She’s like a baby growing on me and ready to burst out.
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Day Dream: Chamela Issue
MIDNIGHT MAGIC
Written by: Ann Solage
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It is a small flat, 3 levels above an antique home wear shop, where I spend my boring Saturdays flicking through TV channels longing for something good to watch. Where I set up a workspace corner, a home for my favorite old chair, grey marble desk, a small bookshelf with old books and magazines, some greens in a cup, my macbook, a printer and an a huge stack of archive paper that my best friend gave me as a present symbolizing my ‘success’ in my writing job. I’m a fashion journalist, freelance. My commercial work requires me to write boring reports of runways, trends and red carpet crap. But what I really do, and my real passion, is I handwrite stories and fantasies.. I like to handwrite my stories, to just put everything that’s happening in my head without any types of filtration. Its like daydreaming, but on paper. so, here it goes!
One day, after work, after 4 glasses of merlot and other stuff too, I walked home. I took a short cut through an alleyway that leads to my building’s back entrance. While I was walking, I saw a wooden door that I’ve never seen before. The wood was very rustic, chunky and old. It has this sentence crudely carved on it “come into the future. 2050” I was so temped to open it, so I did. I was expecting robots and shit. But when I came in, I saw Naked people. Like Naked, Naked. From babies to old people playing bridge on their porch. It was a bit weird. I felt the need to get naked too, but maybe not. So I walked around this nudity world, or what they called as ‘The Future’. The land was similar to the world we’re living in right now. Restaurants, apartments, houses, bars, shops, yea pretty much the same. I came in to one of the bars named pop (I just wanted to capture the scenery of naked people drinking casually in a bar), to my surprise, people were wearing clothes. In my head, I secretly went “damn it. They’re not naked“. I started observing, They were all wearing wigs, and unbelievably amazing 60s clothing; plastic boots, colorful, colorful,
colorful. I felt a bit oof place with my all black attire. My mind started to ponder about so many things - like “why in the world do they wear clothes indoor and get naked outdoor?” To “Is this like a costume party?” until this lady, whom I guess was the bartender or receptionist or whatever, came up to me and said : “Can I help you? Feel free to change your wardrobe anytime. Our changing room is right there” while pointing at a yellow door next to a huge Wahrol’s Marylin print. I was so confused, wasn’t my outfit good enough? Was this really a party with super strict dress code? So I replied, “excuse me? I don’t have anything to change into with me.” This conversation went forever with my tone rising throughout each sentence thinking that she was insulting my way of dressing. Well, in short, she wasn’t. She explained that clothes were provided in the changing room for me to choose from. Now I see how it was the future. There were about 100 flat screens that show images of a lot of clothing. Hats, wigs, shoes, capes, coats, shirts, purses, totes, rings, skirts, you name it. They were touch screen, so I touched on:
Insa’s yellow, pink, green, and purple pumps // YSL’s archive Mondrian dress // A gigantic yellow, transparent hoop earring // Black bob wig with fringe // Bernhard Willhem’s snake print shoulder bag // A whole bunch of rings so amazing I can’t even explain 17
Day Dream: Chamela Issue
Then I touched ‘process’. Within 5 seconds, the door next to my screen illuminated with a green text saying ‘enjoy’. So I opened the door and holy shit, everything I just picked were there. Like physically there! I was seriously so excited I fell 2 times trying to put on the shoes. Some other people were there too, they were laughing and some of them smiled at me saying “first time?” I was so embarrassed my face lighted up like a barbershop sign. Well, so I walked out feeling superb, how much more colorful can I get. I ordered a drink and was invited to join a group of gorgeous people on their table. Me, being the newbie, asked so many questions and thank God they happily answered. I’ll just tell you the most important explanations about this ‘future’ they gave me:
1. The weather never gets cold. 2. They’re proud of wearing their own skin on public. 3. Every public space has changing rooms, and the wardrobes provided a depicts the theme of the place. For example, there was a playground for kids called Disney where they provided each and every Disney attire ever invented. There was a bar down the street called cool cactus, they provide all spikey shit in all range of colors. Oh and their McDonalds has a changing room providing strictly red and yellow stuff. Apparently, their hills had changing rooms too, filled with camping/ hiking stuff like boots, camo capes, etc.
Everything sounded and looked amazing. I even went to that McDonalds and put on a striped red and yellow jumpsuit. Oh I did not wanna leave. I want to stay here. Wear my own skin. And just keep changing to these exquisite outfits to fit in. But I cant, oh that stupid brunch appointment with my editor tomorrow. Plus, I am exhaustingly tired and drunk. but I swear ill be back in a jiffy.
Writer’s note: Have a read of my thinking behind this piece, just if you feel like it. The idea is that the world is providing us with a ‘tool’ to fit in to the right environment. People ‘get naked’ as symbol of identity conformation, creating no gap in the (fashion) society where everyone is wearing the same thing: human skin. BUT this doesn’t mean the world gets boring. People can chose where they want to fit in, what they want to do (wear) to fit in. People gets to chose whatever kind of ‘person’ they want to be. They chose their own personality - multiple personalities - through fashion, through attitudes, like Chamelea. This is depicted by having the ‘instant’ changing room, symbolizing how fashion is a tool for instant conformation.
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Day Dream: Chamela Issue
MY NAME IS LULA. AND YES, I STALK written by
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Chloe Ward
Day Dream: Chamela Issue
She wakes up at exactly 9 am every morning, then runs down to the tiny coffee shop next to her building, ordered a strong soy latte to go, goes back to her flat, sit in the balcony and lit up her morning cigarette. In this colorful, whimsical world where things changes color like chameleons, where aesthetic is like the foundation of the city, I’ve never seen anyone so Mesmerizing. My name is Lula and yes, I stalk. I live across her flat. 906A. We are both on the same level, just different buildings, but our rooms’ windows are facing each other. I’m not a professional stalker though, not ones with super macro lenses, cameras and shit. So I watch her everyday through the plastic purple binocular my mother gave me for my 10h birthday. Well, its originally purple, but that depends on where I put it I guess.
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Oh wait! You’ll probably get confused. So let me first tell you about my world before I go on.
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I live in this small, small country named Chameleon island, located between Asia and Africa. Its one of the most colorful places in the world and is another whole universe of fashion. A universe where you can take random photographs of people strutting on the street and put them on the cover of magazines. Well, the name of the island says everything about it. Here, we are all chameleons, parts of our outfit change color fitting in to the environment. Even sometimes objects (like my binocular) change colors too. So yeah, back to clothes. Your dress might change to the pattern of your carpet, your shoes might change to the color and texture of twigs scattered on the park, your scarf might adjust its color to the brick wall behind you. Its like we are all conforming to what’s around us. Its bewitching! Continuing my story.. I finally had the courage to introduce myself last week. It was an amazing coincidence, like in the movies, she almost left her book (It was Save Me the Last Waltz – Ella Fitzgerald. Oh how dreamy!) at the park and I picked it up. I complemented they way her black socks turned into green, matching the lovely, dewy grass. We had a long - sort of flirty - nice talk and a large cup of coffee. Well, shortly, I have a date with her in 6 hours. Flowers, check!. Outfit, check!. Credit card, check!. The small and pretty necklace with black rose pendant, which I got her a few days ago simply because her name is rose, check!. We’re going to the Carniville. its basically a huge area of the land where no landmark is the same color. They’ve got a sky-blue café to a turquoise salon, a magenta boutique to a burgundy pet shop, white, to black, to gold restaurants. So we are arriving at the restaurant. we sit down, we shares a plate of smoked salmon salad with French dressing. She then orders a pesto penne with olive and mushroom, whilst I am having their dish of the evening, grilled prawns and scallops with sautéed asparagus.
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I couldn’t wait to give her my heart-felt gift and yes.. thank God it suits her beautifully. Her dress was turning into gold matching the wall paper while I helped her put it on. Perfect We are walking out of the restaurant now, blending in with all the amazing people in the district. This is what I love most about this place, everyone talks to each other, complements each other. There is something about fitting in in this place that I love. Rose and I are having such a splendid time; she keeps talking about how much she loves the gift I gave her, we keep holding hands and smiling at each other and after a gigantic 2 hour chat with another very cute couple at the café noir, we finally decide to come home to my place. She loves my apartment (oh thank god I cleaned before I went out today), We cuddle as we watch funny face and finish a whole bottle of wine. Oh how does she looks so good in her sleeping attire.
“good morning, Lula” she say as she peeps under my blanket that covers my whole face. I smile back, thinking about how wonderful, sweet, romantic last night went. Then I hold her hand and lay my head back on the pillow. Definitely make my top 10 most amazing moments of my life.
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Day Dream: Chamela Issue
Gluttonous
colourloving
erratic
A quick talk with the ridiculously inspiring, Melbourne-based fashion student/ illustrator/designer/artist,
Amanda Wong
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What do you do? i do mostly mixed media drawings / work of the things that i am obsessed with, which are namely naked girls, fungus and acid patterns. mostly for fun - to get the weirdness and agitation out of my system. What do you love about what you do? my artwork is kind of an escapist soothing kind of thing. i love the process of making it and i can’t really imagine not having it as part of me? it’s not a hobby because i hate that word, more like a habit i suppose. Describe yourself in 3 words! gluttonous, colourloving, erratic I love love love your work.Tell me everything about it. Why choose colors? And what are you thinking about when you work your magic? so i guess i’m inspired by mostly colours and patterns. i really like to get detail oriented and spend lots of time drawing tiny dots, or lines maybe in one area its this whole visual mindfuck (CAN I SAY FUCK??) thing that i really am quite
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obsessed with. i think i use colours that wake my brain up, clash, excite me in a way? i don’t usually think about a concept when i draw or anything, its pretty instinctive. thinking too hard about it ruins it for me! Which one is your personal favorite? Hmm i kind of hate on my work once its done, so i couldn’t say! What pops into your mind when I say chameleon? Dinner. haha i kid! um, chameleon i think of that youtube video where the chameleon is scared of the iphone and screams like a little girl, haha. If you could live in a magical fashion world. How would that world be? A magical fashion world? boggles the mind. on one hand pretty much feel like fashion is a magical world but on the other hand, how great would life be if everything looked like walter von beirendonck’s mind? so typical but also so gooooood.
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“Naked girls, fungus and ac All artworks are collages of photography, water color, oil pastels, glow in the dark inks, glitters and digital imaging. Click naanbreadbed.blogspot.com to be indulged in A Wong’s world of wonders!
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cid patterns�
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I’M PASSIONATE IDEALIST AND HUNGRY ALL THE TIME A quick fun chat with the remarkably talented Jakarta, Indonesia-based fashion stylist,
Arsy Medina
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What do you do? I’m a freelance fashion stylist and an occasional baker What do you love about what you do? What do I love about what i do? mmm... probably getting to dress someone up according to your imagination, and seeing your fashion concept coming to live. As a baker i guess i love the fact that i get to eat the cake afterwards.. Describe yourself in 3 words! I‘m passionate, idealist, and hungry all the time. I stalk your blog everyday, you’re ridiculously talented. Can we talk a bit about some of your works? aaaawww thank youuuu...thats so sweet of you..so what do you wanna know about my work? :) Ok my personal favorite: A girl who fell to earth. What were you thinking about when you ‘wrote’ that story? I was thinking about the issues that was happening at the time around me. I was leaning more towards the social issues. After i met with the photographer, we started visualizing the location, the clothes, the ambiance and started symbolizing all the issues that was happening and adding it in the frame. The ufo and robots are not added until
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we get to location and yet I think it is the most brilliant addition to our whole story. Which one is your favorite amongst all your works and can you tell me a bit about it? My favorite? mmm..i have a couple, to be honest with you, it just seems unfair to have only one hehehe. I love the girl who fell to earth, eclectic click, and my darling kate. I have one more actually, but it’s not published yet and i don’t think it will be published anytime soon :P
“I was thinking about the issues that was happening at the time around me.” What pops into your mind when I say Chameleon? It’s either an animal or a model. Finally, if you could live in a magical fashion world, how would that world be? That it would changed by it self every time i got bored.
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Photographs according to appearance sequence. 1. The Girl Who Fell Into Earth Story for Dew Magazine Earth Issue, 2011 Photographer: Anton Ismael 2. Ibid 3. Eclectic Click Test shoot for VTM models Photographer: Anton Ismael 2011 4. The Sound Of Renegades Story for Dew Magazine Music Issue, 2012 Photographer: Anton Ismael click ineedbiggercloset. blogspot.com to enter Medina’s eclectic world! 31
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Now that yo reading. I p with Cha magic wear it wise daydre
ou’re done present you amelea’s jacket. ely and keep eaming.
Love, Yellow Carrot
Day Dream: Chamela Issue