Re: 02 - The Extreme Issue

ERIN GOODMAN

THE EXTREME ISSUE Editor-in-chief Aaron Bernstein Art Director Danielle Raynal Advertising Art Director Karla Rocha News Director Taylor Block Business Manager Perri Rothenberg Fashion Editor Juliana Sullivan Production Manager Dylan Auman Social Media Manager Taylor Kigar Assistant News Manager Shelby Katz Assistant Business Manager Katherine Moore Fashion Assistant Chanelle Bertelson Fashion Assistant Carmela Osorio Lugo Fashion Associate Elizabeth Riden Fashion Associate Kathleen Sayler Assistant to the Editor-in-chief Alison Wild Advisor Stefani Joseph Writing Contributors Jonathan Edward Buckley, Matthew Demarko, Abbey Eilermann, Sarah Humphries, Astoria Jellett, Andrea McCarrel

Visual Contributors Steven Aldridge, Stephen Archer, Alexandra Arnold, Chase Baltz, Justin Barber, Pat Bombard, Alison Bushor, Nick DeBruyne, Jake William Hamilton, Kelsey Heinze, Sarah Humphries, Carina Isukh, Tucker Klein, An Le, Noel Martin, Dylan Shaw, Victoria Strayhorn, Jon Taylor

Permanent Contributors Bruce Block, William and Patricia Moore

AMANDA JOY HARRIS

STEPHANIE HALLER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

54 Dzine

Connoisseur of Kustom Kulture

58 Jake Thompson

Extreme Hairstylist

61 Red Alert

By Stephen Archer

11 SCAD FAShion Show 2012

68 Abstract Construction

12 Form

73 Role Models

14 Bombing the Streets

74 The Rose Bone

15 Trend de la Crème

115 Senior Designer Interviews

18 The Future of Fashion

136 Skin Deep

24 Basic Training

140 Trash

40 Profanity in Journalism

148 Dancing the Neon Waters

44 American Beauty

154 Record Store Day

The Restaurant Transforming the Way We Eat

A Radical New Breed of Crafting Takes Off

Lady Gaga Meets George Jetson

By Aaron Bernstein

Opposing Views

Beauty Story by Alison Bushor

When Fashion Meets Architecture

Book Review

A Story by An Le

The Ugly Truth About Beauty

By Jake William Hamilton

Rave Culture

A Paradise for Extreme Music Lovers

52 Stevie Boi

Extraordinary Eyewear On the cover: headpiece Kiera Corrigan shirt Theory at James Gunn dress Michael-Birch Pierce and Molly Shea

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR “But can you do it again?”

This was the most commonly asked question after the release of our first issue last winter.

The support and appreciation we have received has been gratifying, and I could not be more excited to share with you what we have produced over the last two months. With what seems like everyone anticipating our next move and eager to see what’s to come, I don’t think there could be a more fitting topic than one of extremities. It all makes sense – the people waiting for something more, a sizeable budget to carry through a couple large-scale productions, an audience to release work to – why wouldn’t we push ourselves to show you the best we can be?

I am pleased to present to you over 150 pages of fresh, new, and dynamic content that makes up The Extreme Issue. This issue pushes for an edgier and bolder aesthetic, calling for a more responsive audience that, in the grand scheme of things, will help shape and influence the growth and development of Re:.

After we had such great success with the cover and feature story of our first issue, I asked photographer An Le to come back and shoot them again with any theme of his choosing that fit under an ‘extreme’ aesthetic. What he created is a hauntingly beautiful story that mixes fine art and fashion and reflects his distinctive aesthetic in a refreshing manner as one of his last Savannah-based photoshoots before he moves to New York. We also sat down with this years top fashion design seniors and graduates to further highlight the talents that have manifested themselves in breathtaking garments featured in our Senior Profiles section photographed by Dylan Shaw. Keep an eye on the advertisements in this issue, as they function as a unique editorial as mock advertisements made in collaboration with senior fashion designers for their senior collections.

We were also lucky enough to interview three top working artists that work under an extreme aesthetic under the context of fashion. From sculptural hair to extreme nails to oneof-a-kind eyewear and accessories, these interviews are just the tip of the iceberg to the rest of the unique and insightful content of this issue. Enjoy!

Aaron Bernstein Editor-in-chief

SCAD FASHION SHOW 2012 Bold patterns and bright colors dominated this year’s scene both on and off the runway. by liz riden

FORM:

t he s avan n a h r e s t a u r a n t t r a n s form i n g t he w a y we eat

By Astoria Jellet Photographs by Alexandra Arnold On their website, Form’s owners define their Savannahbased business as a “tastery,” a provider of gourmet food and wine. They cater and customize, working closely with their clients to pick the perfect blend of dishes, desserts, and wines. The business can take the form of a restaurant, catering service, and a market for fine wines, cheeses, and more. Between them, the four owners have ninety-two years of experience in fine dining. As of October 2011, they had exactly one year’s experience with their new form of restaurant, and 170 private dinners under their belts.

Claude Auerbach is the wine and cheese connoisseur and sees to 400+ wines and 60+ cheeses from around the world. He sells his cheeses by the ounce and unlike most retailers, he lets his customers taste each cheese before they buy it. He seeks not just to sell his wine, but to educate his customers, and neglects big brands in favor of rare and exotic creations from small producers all over the world. He even has a “value vault” full of bottles all under $20.

Brian Torres specializes in cheesecake, using over thirty recipes derived from his mother’s own secret formula to create flavors ranging from Savannah Bee Honey to Peaches and Pecan. He provides the cheesecake for Leocci’s Trattoria, Cha-Bella, Thrive, Foxy Loxy, Butterhead Greens, Maxwell’s, and even a special sugar-free blend for Paula Deen.

Chris Russell is the chef who creates seasonal menus and specializes in private dinners. He uses only organic American meat, much of it local. Tailoring each menu to his customers’ needs, Chris makes Form the best possible

choice for people with special diets. He can handle anything, from private dinner parties to full wedding specials to in-house dining, and Claude helps him pick the perfect wine for every meal.

Jimmy Kleinschmidt, a former SCAD student, is the sales specialist, handling all the day-to-day business of Form.

He’s been in the restaurant business since the age of fifteen and has studied architecture, graphic design, and advertising. He’s worked his way through many different restaurants, from dish boy to manager.

These four passionate and talented men also employ a wide range of freelancers, which helps them keep Form’s costs low. That’s why they can offer three course meals for only $65-70 per head. It is, they say, “the casual side of fine dining,” and they pride themselves on supporting local farmers and producers as well as on their value.

Located on the corner of Habersham and 36th Street in Savannah, Form is an inviting shop and restaurant.

Formerly a Carver bank, much of the wine is stored in an old vault, while more bottles overflow into various crates and shelves. A simple, long, regal dark wood table dominates the dining area, standing on a light speckled linoleum floor. Soft overhead lights illuminate the intimate room under a high black ceiling.

With their focus on value, comfort and individual attention, Form is truly a new form of dining.

A radical new breed of crafting takes off

By Liz Riden With street-style blogs as a major platform for broadcasting fashion trends, it’s no wonder even old-fashioned hobbies are taking to the streets. Crafting and do-it-yourself projects are no longer just for grandmas, especially when displayed in a radically new way. That’s where the bombing comes in.

Yarn bombing, a trend that first started in 2004, is a closeknit relative of standard graffiti. The major difference, however, is that the creators spend countless hours knitting and crocheting works of art, made of yarn. These pieces are then attached to anything and everything: trees, cars, handrails, and even public monuments are common victims of the trend. Yarn bombers’ strategic handiwork is then attached (most frequently by the cover of the night) and only lasts for a short time. For many yarn bombers, the purpose is to create beauty and inspire art in the mundane. For others, the fiber creations are an act of political or social opinions.

One of the most iconic examples is the public covering of the “Charging Bull” monument on Wall Street in New York City. Cleverly crafted by Agata Oleksiak, this act of “giving the bull a new coat” caused quite a stir and general outbreak of other similar artistic actions. Prior to her bombing, she knitted several pieces into a bright pink pattern

that is impossible to miss. Then, she attached all of the pieces to the body of the bull, carefully making the entire animal appear seamless. Many yarn bombers, like Oleksiak, are truly artists and do not wish to be associated with amateur street artists. She states: “the street is an extension of the gallery. Not everyone’s work deserves to be in public.” Some knitters, like Jessie Hemmons, make statement sweaters that redirect the public to the fine arts that are often overlooked. Her display manifested into a pink pullover sweater for the Rocky Balboa statue in Philadelphia. The statue, right outside the Museum of Art, is often visited more than the museum itself. By knitting a bright pink sweater with the words “Go See the Art”, Hemmons voiced her opinion in a beautiful, artistic way.

That being said, however, this covering of public property is still a form of vandalism, no matter how beautiful. Unlike graffiti, the effects of yarn bombing are not nearly as severe. No property is damaged in the creation, and the public’s reaction is generally so welcoming that it rarely causes legal issues.

This street art phenomenon has also inspired youth to take up knitting and books to be published, encouraging the “domination of yarn”. Yarn bombers have begun taking queues from graffiti artists and creating “tags” to set themselves apart from the rest. As the recognition of urban artists grows, so are the endless possibilities. Many major companies have recently hired yarn bombers for promotional materials and advertisements, including car “sweaters” and signs.

This new call to the streets is giving all artists, both young and old a chance for free expression, without the title of being professional. Street art is now the new inspiration for major designers, at home crafters, and fellow artists.

As handmade fine art and do-it-yourself projects sweep the Internet, it only seems right that they have a public place to be displayed. Whether worn in garments or displayed on the side of a building, extreme crafting is the new breed of street credibility. Perhaps artists can even thank that ill-fitting Christmas sweater from grandma for this beautiful new trend.

Trend de la Crème From Coachella to Congress, cool and carefree festival fashion isn’t just for concerts anymore!

By Kathleen Sayler Photography Kelsey Heinze

Digital prints make a simple silhouette pop. lace vest Trunk 13 shirt Fabri’k shorts Copper Penny

A fresh print breathes new life into skinny jeans.

Citizens of Humanity jeans Copper Penny shirt and bra Stylist’s own

Polka Dots are an old standby that’s spot on.

Central Park West dress Trunk 13 Many Belles Down shirt Trunk 13

17

Lady Gaga Meets George Jetson

By Shelby Katz photography by pat bombard garment, headpiece Abbey Eilermann

R e : M ag a z i n e

How many people would wear a dress made out of meat?

That is the question of the decade.

Okay, I lied. Maybe it’s not the most pressing question on everyone’s mind. Instead the majority of our attention is given to subjects of war, curing cancer, the next presidential election, Lady Gaga’s next wardrobe choice… Oh, wait.

world of fashion has been making its way into the future: a sartorial space age. There is a focus on the futuristic, a galactic and sci-fi overdrive.

But the general public as a whole has always taken influence from pop culture, especially when it comes to fashion. We can go back to the 1980s and Madonna’s cone bra a la Jean Paul Gaultier. Or perhaps back to the 1960s with Twiggy, Bridget Bardot, and Jackie Kennedy. You can even time travel all the way back to the 18th century and Marie Antoinette.

That may be a bit of a stretch, but something interesting to think about nonetheless.

“Meet George Jetson!” Fashion is moving at the speed of light toward a new interpretation of 1960s raised collars and metallics. All of this enthusiasm brings to mind the early 20th century Futurist art movement. Artists strived for anything and everything new, despising everything that was considered traditional and wanting no part of the past.

The ideal world for these revolutionary minds was one of speed, technology, and youth. Aside from their desires for militaristic movements and violence (or maybe not), today’s society is on a similar track. Technology has been sweeping the nation and growing exponentially over the last decade. This rise and boom of technology is a pivotal aspect to the wide spread affect that pop culture has on the public. Designers no longer have to wait for critiques of their collections; responses and opinions are tweeted and blogged about the second a model steps foot on the runway. Photos of celebrities and “who” they are wearing on the red carpet are put on the Internet before the show even begins.

Rather than thinking about the past, however, it seems the

Films are taking the futuristic turn as well. “Avatar”, “The

She just keeps coming up, doesn’t she? Society is obsessed with pop culture and is constantly bombarded with its imagery. No matter what else is happening in the world, an ensemble that attracts flies will always be breaking news these days. Where the allure is in that, I can’t really say.

19

Fifth Element”, and “Tron” are just a few examples of how the fashion industry isn’t the only one capitalizing on this trend. Even the music we hear everyday on the radio is up to date with its modernity. Case in point: Katy Perry’s latest music video for “E.T.”. Not only does the entire video take place in what seems to be another universe, but there are alien-like creatures, the wardrobe is particularly futuristic, and the title in itself is definitive enough: E.T., meaning “extra terrestrial.” Britney Spears’ “Hold it Against Me” music video has some galactic influences of it’s own, as well. This time around, our classic pop princess may be saying, “Oops, I did it again,” as she takes some steps further into outer space, without the shiny red jumpsuit and cheesy Mars set. If you haven’t seen this particular music video, definitely give yourself the time to do so.

With a room full of T.V. screens and neon paint, it is one for the history books.

The modernist is forward thinking and fashion designers today are just that, pushing the idea of progression. It is “back to the future” as an escape from everything else in the present, and even in the past. The country has been hit hard over the last few years by a recession, among so many other things, and society is in need of a getaway.

Think back to the film industry’s way out in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. When MGM and Warner Bros. began putting out all talking, all singing, and all dancing films, people could take a trip to the movies and revel in the “Lullaby of Broadway”. Even for just a short time, everything else was forgotten.

That same feeling comes when watching these ultramodern designs come down a runway. While some designers were playing it safe over the last few years— and consumers weren’t spending as much—there was something else happening amongst the rest: a turn toward the avant-garde.

Coco Chanel once said, “In fashion you know you have succeeded when there is an element of upset.”

Lady Gaga. She may not have been the initial pioneer of the time travel trend, but like it or not, nobody can reject the fact that she was, and still is, a catalyst to its continuance and popularity.

Gaga has strategically brought everyone (yes, everyone) to pay attention to her. Whatever her intentions may be, it works. “What no one can deny is her uncanny ability to mine decades of avant-garde and pop-culture history and

R e : M ag a z i n e

twine them together in a way that feels like the future,” said Jonathan Van Meter, a journalist who conducted a recent interview with the star for Vogue magazine. “She is a human synthesizer, a style aggregator, the perfect WikiGoogle-YouTube–era pop star.”

Close relationships with fearless fashion designers immediately catapulted Gaga to fame in the world of vogue. The potential of the creative process of the McQueen and Gaga team was monumental. Put two genius and creative minds like that together and the world is gifted with fashion that is pushed to the limit, with no boundaries and no trepidation. Lady Gaga’s upcoming tour and costume collaboration with Georgio Armani is one of the most anticipated of the year. From what we already know, she is sticking to the space age. There will be mirrored accents, robotic features, edgy studs, and sharp and exaggerated shapes.

After the new queen of pop made herself known, along with all of her ground-breaking wardrobe choices, performance artists everywhere began picking up on the avant-garde. Aside from recently taking the title of being People Magazine’s “Most Beautiful Woman,” Beyonce has been the “love on top” of the eccentricity list in fashion lately. Not only did Queen B take her metallic body suits to the surface of another planet in her “Sweet Dreams” music video, but sleek straight hair and reflective fringed sunglasses are suddenly creating “divas” everywhere.

Beyonce has always been a brilliant personality, positioned in the limelight as pop music’s front-runner and lead singer of Destiny’s Child. Almost a decade later she is even more successful than ever and there is no stopping her now.

The irreplaceable superstar has gone from an effortless white tank, denim shorts, and red heels in the “Crazy in Love” video to a sexy, minimalist Sasha Fierce, and now a futuristic fashion icon collaborating with Lady Gaga and the like. Music videos to note: “Video Phone,” and “Telephone.” Both are definitively avant-garde, featuring structured, metallic garments with shoulders reaching all new heights, sunglasses covered in cigarettes, hats fit for the mother monster, studs, black lipstick, silicone, plastic, and dresses made of chain. Don’t forget to take notice of the special effects coming out of toy guns and the men with video cameras for heads.

Also topping the pop music charts is Nicki Minaj, coming in to the realm of avant-garde music and fashion at just the dress Zishan Shao glasses Stylist’s own

right time. Among the varied, generally outlandish, and sometimes notorious ensembles the multiple personality artist steps out in, Minaj recently took the futuristic trend quite literally with a solar system inspired cocktail dress while out and about in London. Now who wouldn’t want to go out on the town in London wearing a dress with a galaxy full of stars and planets on it? With what seems like a new neon hair color each month, Nicki Minaj is successfully helping to rid society of its conservative style and inhibitions.

For the more not-into-neon people out there, look to Rihanna; pop music’s futuristic warrior, a little bit more edgy and a little bit more animal. We witness a new extension of the inhuman talent in this superstar every day with robotic choreography, leather bodysuits, and even nude music videos (sans the silver body paint that covers her entire body). From “Pon de Replay” to the retro futuristic style in “Who’s That Chick,” Rihanna, like Beyonce, has traveled the pop music train all the way into the future.

One can argue that these women are culturally the top influencers in the fashion industry today. But don’t forget about the designers themselves. There are plenty of fashion designers whipping out the rocket ships and all of their parts, including Gareth Pugh and Matthew Williamson. Williamson’s most recent collection was about accentuation of prints, bold and bright colors, and audacious statements. Gareth Pugh tends to be a bit more literal with his designs, taking architectural elements to the next level. He makes fur and leather that act as gadgets of the future and elevates it with large screens and provocative images as a backdrop for his shows. Masked hybrid-like models gloriously rule the runway every time, breaking away from their part in humanity and becoming dynamic, sci-fi leaders of the universe.

Giambattista Valli and Kenzo picked up on the avantgarde galactic craze in a completely different manner,

R e : M ag a z i n e

using the runway as a means for time travel, as opposed to the garments. The spaces housing the fall 2012 shows were space station inspired, brightly lit, and vibrantly colored. Even the designers that aren’t completely going after a trip to another universe are still finding ways to subtlety incorporate aspects of it. Marc Jacobs went 1920s sportswear with a futuristic twist in his last spring collection, adding clear plastic accents, accessories and even entire garments made of transparent and reflective material.

Being that the future hasn’t happened yet, one would think it would be difficult to predict, but speculating about the unknown has been human nature for years. Nobody thought we’d have iPads fifteen years ago, but here they are making millions and helping Apple take the world by storm.

We all remember “Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century” being the favorite after-school Disney Channel movie of countless tweens. And don’t forget flying cars. They aren’t here yet, and they may not be on anyone’s practicality radar, but you never know what can happen in this day in age.

So what classifies something as a part of this futuristic, yet contemporary trend? It has to be so bizarre and so individually abstract, that nobody even questions the latex sculptural spikes because it just makes sense. The silhouettes are tailored, and they are covered with geometric prints, neons, metallics, and cutouts. It’s sleek, minimal in its composition, and robotic in shape. The hair and makeup styling is pushed to the edge and is always just as extreme as the fashions themselves. Sleek hairdos and architectural headpieces hit the runways recently at Ohne Titel and Meadham Kirchoff.

Prabal Gurung and Roberto Cavalli went for bright blues and greens on the eyes this season, reminiscent of “Avatar” extra-terrestrials. Prada went alien on the eyes, as well, with provocatively smoky lids and bright orange brows.

Fashion is seeing so much “alien” lately that it is becoming hard to grasp whether any of it is even real. Someday our idealized future will be looked upon as retro, but for now all that matters is that we keep moving ahead. Who knows what will happen next? As Anna Wintour puts it, “Fashion’s not about looking back, it’s always about looking forward.”

top Sarah Humphries dress Zac Howell glasses Stylist’s own

23

BASIC BASIC BASIC TRAINING TRAINING TRAINING photography AARON BERNSTEIN stylist JULIANA SULLIVAN set design DYLAN AUMAN makeup MILA GRASS, KRYSTLE VENTICINIQUE model arrangements DOUG ORDWAY, RISE Model Management photo assistants JAKE WILLIAM HAMILTON, AN LE styling assistants CHANELLE BERTELSEN, ALISON WILD set assistants ANDREW MCCOURT, GENNA WILLIAMS models LARA LILL, ETHAN GLOVER, JOHN SCHMIDT, SLOANE MARSH (RISE Model Management), TUCKER KLEIN, STEVEN GLEN DIEHL, EMORY STRAUB (Tout Talent) special thanks to the Beaufort County Planning Department

necklace HANNAH GOFF shoulder piece ALIX SPEARS (opening spread) dress JLINSNIDER necklace JEAN KEE

necklace JEAN KEE, dress JLINSNIDER

dress HANNAH GOFF shoulder pieces JEANETTE ZOLMAN

(next spread) dress JLINSNIDER

profanitY in journalism Fuck Lazy Fucks Who Use ‘Fuck’ Lazily. But don’t take away the lingual privilege from us all…

by Matthew Demarko illustration by tucker klein

Journalism is a hallowed hall, and profanity is leprosy. Or at least that’s what they’d like to have you think, as if the newsprint they print it on isn’t more akin to toilet paper than gold.

But as we ride the wave from newsprint to the digital age, the flames of the profanity war are being fanned rather than extinguished. Age-old arguments cry down from their engraved marble slabs: ‘Profanity shall alienate our readers.’ ‘Profanity shall be deemed lazy and languid.’

‘Profanity shall decrease readership and galvanize revolts.’

Fuck that.

Before you go calling my retort lazy, realize that many people who like profanity don’t just rely on those words all the time; sometimes they just like words in general and don’t want to have to censor any of the beautiful lot of them.

The problem with the marble slabs is that they fail to address two issues. Why is profanity so controversial in the first place, and what are the dangers of excluding profanity from the platform?

The day I stopped cursing was the day I started to ask those questions. I attended a southeastern Georgia high school, and remember the day their own version of the marble slabs went up. (Except their budget only allowed for printer paper.)

“Profanity is the attempt of a weak mind to express itself forcefully.”

I loved cursing. It was my first drug, delivering an instant rush of blood to my brain with any tiny dose. But when I read that poster, I felt weak. Like cursing was a form of steroids, and everyone who read the poster knew my dick was shrinking. (That’s only a metaphor.)

The poster was simple. Stark, blank, no design. But it emblazoned itself into my ‘wisdom collection’ and instantly became dogma (a testament to the power of words in and of itself). I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Then I couldn’t stop hearing or seeing it. Weak minded people walking through our halls reaching for that quick four-lettered pick-me-up. I didn’t want to be like them. And two things happened: I tried to create my own profanity (tater tot, chair, etc.) and I tried to learn other words to

R e : M ag a z i n e

replace them. (Guess which one of those ventures failed.)

I must seem pretty foolish admitting that stopping the use of profanity gave me a slightly expanded vocabulary.

But it’s easy to forget it also gave me a slightly retracted vocabulary. And then an even stranger notion sprang forth from that out-of-the-box thinking: what kind of lexicon would I have had already had if society hadn’t taught me that those words were off limits?

These words have been given their insane amount of power from the ban that they experience. I’m not saying the solution is as simple as approving them for a societal wide desensitization, but I’d love for that experiment to be conducted in a respectable, psychological institution.

Right next to the experiment evaluating the effects of censorship on a community.

The case of the censorship of profanity in journalism strikes the familiar chord of censorship as a whole. Once enacted by nameless accusers and followed blindly by the apathetic, the levies of self-accountability come crumbling down. People no longer need judge content for themselves; an institution can decide for them.

So my favorite words, those taboo words I had used for sincere expression, were now imprisoned, surrounded by walls drabber than the landscape of journalism itself. But why is the landscape so blasé? Must it cater to the politest common denominator? More than the consequences to self-accountability, censorship limits possibilities and prohibits personalities.

Words are words. Some are feathers. Others are explosions.

Linguistically we have a possibility to express an infinite spectrum of power and meaning. But when you take a word out of the spectrum potholes remain. Sometimes a person is just a douchebag. There isn’t a single other word to describe that kind of person. Douchehole is close, but the slight difference in connotation exemplifies how and crucial (and irreplaceable) a word can be in our vocabulary.

It’s more than douches though. Beyond certain words being irreplaceable, we need color. Fuck is a color.

Journalism is a wall. I’m not saying it’s gray, but go read it and tell me it isn’t a bit boring. Perhaps if personalities were on full, uncensored display, the colors would be more vivid and telling. Here’s an interesting thought: Bill O’Reilly is prohibited from cursing? Bill O’Reilly amasses a multi-million and growing audience. But if Bill O’Reilly was allowed to say “Fuck it!” on air and not just in his viral video (Google it now) Bill O’Reilly would probably keep the audience size he deserves.

I’m not touting profanity as the seven to sixteen best words in the English language. But they are powerful beings and when chained up by the gods of language might just clash like the Titans with consequences reaching far and wide.

So let’s set the Titans free and invite them not just into our articles but also into our consciousness. As writers, we’ve earned our words. Let us use them lest we lose them. In this truncated lingual society, we can’t spare to sacrifice any more.

And if you still can’t justify it, just tell yourself Shakespeare did it.

41

pr*f*n*tY in j**rn*l*sm Save it for the junior high bathroom stalls; why profanity in journalism is keeping America in a juvenile state of mind.

by danielle Raynal illustration by tucker klein

R e : M ag a z i n e

If you’ve ever spoken to anyone over the age of 60, you’re well aware that things are not as they once were in terms of American culture. Gone are the days of families gathered around radios and weekly visits from charming milkmen, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing to lose sleep over. Nostalgia often borders on inflexibility, and with resources like a computer that fits in our pockets, how could we pine for carrier pigeons? We’ve developed new forms of communication that have built upon these prior achievements, and that’s something to be proud of.

This isn’t a new phenomenon; every generation craves its own shock factor in varying degrees. But what’s important to consider isn’t necessarily any sort of initial opposition to progress—novelty is decidedly controversial and bound to create conflict—but whether what we’re doing and making is really progress at all. So when it comes to introducing expletives into the world of publication, what are writers adding to the mix? Journalism was made for communicating ideas in a professional forum, so when all it’s missing is a drum track and a synth loop to make it the next single à la Lil Wayne, shouldn’t we reconsider our lyrics?

Now, I’m not on some kind of holier than thou rampage, preaching to the foulmouthed masses with a bar of Lifebuoy soap in hand. I’m not asking you to stifle your laughter through a Will Ferrell movie because your grandmother would probably wet herself listening to that kind of language; it’s the translation of that content within the context of professional writing that really yanks my chain (catch my drift, Nana?).

Let’s consider the larger picture. American culture is globally renowned for laziness, and the same way we’ll choose an elevator over that towering flight of stairs— unless someone skinnier is watching—we’re now flipping the bird to a carefully constructed sentence in favor of a few salty terms pulled from a relatively limited arsenal of vague distaste and generally misdirected anger. This is especially the case within the politically charged realm of journalism, where sound logic and careful reasoning

are tossed aside in favor of hasty accusations and vulgar showboating. Sure, profanity constitutes a noteworthy portion of the language we use in a casual setting. But when it compromises the remainder of our vocabulary, as is almost exclusively the case when used in a professional context, it’s about time to draw the line. What some may claim as a pursuit of progress or an attempt to challenge cultural norms is in fact quite the opposite. Substituting an adequately articulated argument with vulgar verbal shortcuts is like slapping duct tape over the gaping holes in our arguments. We should be fostering thoughtful dialogue and describing our history as it unfolds with respect for the language we use on a daily basis. As a nation we are unilingual by a staggering if not embarrassing margin—so if we can only speak one language, shouldn’t we speak it well?

the explosion of social media, but if we’re not able to discuss it in a scholarly manner, what sense of credibility are we granting to these innovations?

So let’s clean up our act. Put in some effort. Use your big boy (and girl) words, and celebrate the forty-seven different ways to better articulate the feeling that too often precedes a flurry of muttered profanity and crass phrasing. We owe it to ourselves, and to the future of our literary culture.

As we fall deeper into colloquial speech and gradually lose touch with the rich heritage of the English language, our writing continues to suffer exponentially. Furthermore, those who use a fuller vocabulary are associated with the grossly undeserved stigma of sheer arrogance. I’m not talking about that friend who still touts his AP Language scores like an Olympic medal or the coworker who clearly spent more time reading a dictionary than learning how to make polite conversation; I’m talking about the judgmental eyebrows raised at anyone who responds to the standard “How are you?” with anything but a banal “good” or “fine.” We’re playing to the lowest common denominator, and our culture is bearing the consequences. Sure, it may be easier than doing a little reading now and again to freshen up the ability to verbally express ourselves, but using profanity in writing immediately disqualifies any sort of globally accepted standard of professionalism.

With unprecedented access to international media via Internet publishing, our audiences are virtually unlimited.

Under the watchful gaze of global media, we should be rising to the occasion and seeking a continually higher standard of quality in publication content. Our century’s pioneers have achieved remarkable feats in every field imaginable from breakthroughs in renewable energy to

43

AMerican beauty photography ALISON BUSHOR stylist NOEL MARTIN makeup MILA GRASS models LEXIE COON, MAKENNA REEDER (Halo Models) lip foils GLITZYLIPS

tattoo INKLINGS

STEVIE BOI: Extraordinary eyewear

By Andrea McCarrell In the past five years, the function of eyewear has changed dramatically. The concept has changed from enabling sight to enabling style. Of the many innovators of the new-age extreme accessorizing trend is eyewear designer, Stevie Boi. Stevie’s work is well known in pop culture, with high end clients serving as faces of his brand. One of his most well known designs is arguably the black rhinestone shades Lady Gaga wore on her The Fame album cover. He also created Beyonce’s fringe eyewear featured in her Diva music video. Stevie’s designs have also been featured in top fashion magazines such as Vogue and Elle.

Certainly, Stevie Boi has brought a new perspective to the fashion accessory industry since his design debut in 2009. His designs have brought extravagant shapes to the previously slim and minimalist eyewear market.

Through his designs, Stevie has shown the fashion industry that less isn’t always more. The aesthetic is always edgy and ever changing. In a bio video, Stevie says, “What I love most about my art is the fact that it’s fearless. It’s the best way to express myself and the best way to explain why I’m so… difficult.” Stevie clearly feels an affinity with the word fearless. Later in the video he states, “The Stevie Boi brand is fearless.

It’s a brand worth searching for and a brand worth fighting for.” The term does embody his designs. His work pushes boundaries and redefines the importance of accessorizing. Convenience is set aside to make room for eyewear fashion statements like never before. The Stevie Boi customer cannot be after functionality. They must belong in the spotlight, as do all of his designs.

Within his brand, Stevie Boi has launched multiple collections throughout his career. Currently, he is traveling to promote a new line. Stevie spoke to us about his passion for eyewear, his current lines, and the future of his brand.

R e : M ag a z i n e

SB: Everything I do for my clients is a one of a kind piece. Usually we make replicas of the pieces so fans/ supporters can purchase them to keep a piece of history and memorabilia of that artist.

RE: Eyewear is a very specific niche within the fashion industry. How/when did you discover this distinct passion?

SB: I discovered I was into eyewear in 2009. Then I just left the music industry and wanted to focus on my daily routine of designing.

RE: Explain your experience in the music industry.

SB: It was fun. Ironically, it’s come full circle because a lot of folks remember me and some don’t. So when I tell them I did [work in the music industry] they connect two and two together and realize why my cliental is so diverse, etc. I loved making music… it was the best way to express my emotions.

RE: When you first started to develop as an artist, were you influenced by any other designers/artists?

If so, who? What aspects of their works inspire you?

“

SB: I love Leigh Bowery and Grace Jones. Their influence is so unique and made a great impression on my career.

They’re bold, weird, and funny characters.

RE: Is there any specific moment or event you would define as your “big break”? In other words, when did you realize you had made it as a designer in the industry?

SB: I clarified myself as a “designer” once my glasses made the cover of Vogue.

RE: How would you define your design aesthetic or inspiration today? How do you think it has evolved over the years?

SB: Today it’s very colorful, fun and fearless. Before, it was very dark, cultural and fearless. I kept the same edge just made it more appropriate for all audiences.

RE: Tell us about your different product lines.

SB: So far, I’m working on a kids’ line as well as promoting my new line “54” all around the world. This week I start promotion in China, then Africa, and then Europe.

RE: I understand you have some very high profile clients. Do you ever create custom designs for clients?

RE: If you had to pick your personal favorite from your own products, which would you choose? Why? SB: The “sbshines.” They are my first pair of sunglasses I designed and were worn by many, but Gaga took them to another level.

i will change the future of design.”

RE: Who is your favorite fashion designer?

SB: Leigh Bowery is mine. He was a performing artist.

I think designers are designers, but artist(s) can range from designing to singing and even acting.

RE: What other artistic or design mediums do you see yourself pursuing?

SB: Definitely acting and maybe music. Not really sure so far.

RE: Where do you see your work going in the years to come?

SB: I see a household brand… a brand that everyone will understand regardless how cutting edge or “weird” it may be. I will change the future of design.

Stevie Boi’s impact on the eyewear industry is unlike most others. He has transformed the idea of functional eyewear into an idea of luxury. One does not wear his pieces because they have to; they wear them to make a statement. His designs serve as not only eyewear, but also as pieces of art.

53

Images courtesy of Damiani/ Standard Press, Mai Lucas, Dzine, and Chris Mosier

DZINE:

Connoisseur of Kustom Kulture

By Sarah Humphries

If there were two words to describe artist Carlos “Dzine” Rolon they would be “raw” and “honest.” The Chicagobased artist has developed a worldwide following for his diverse talents. He has created a unique artistic language that transcends a specific media and materializes in multifaceted works of painting, sculpture, installation, fashion, and even extreme nail art. He has shaped the idea of “Kustom Kulture” in his work. For Dzine, the idea of “Kustom Kulture” is a fusion of street art, juxtapositions, and contradictions with a hint of the baroque aesthetic.

Dzine is inspired by forms of inventive creation that generally are not artistically motivated. Products like cars or bicycles inspire him to reshape these products into artistic sculptures or as his website calls them, “hybrid artifacts.” This sculptural fusion produces work that is rooted in history, subculture, faith, customization, and, very crucially, identity.

Dzine has released two publications that chronicle his works. The first is an exploration of his studio practice called The Beautiful Struggle: The Art of Dzine. His second is a depiction of Dzine’s hugely successful foray into presenting “Kustom Kulture” as wearable art in the form of nails. He has launched two kustom nail art salons in New York City and another as part of the renowned Miami-based Art Basel. The Miami show was as Dzine describes, “Part traveling art installation, part ornamental manicure center, part companion experience to the publication, Nailed.” Nailed is a comprehensive overview of Nail Culture ornamentation from history to present day. The book features photographs of nail culture phenomena and chronicles Dzine’s role in the kustom nail movement.

For our extreme issue, Re: Magazine gained an exclusive interview with Dzine himself to talk about his creative

process, his unique projects, and how he handles it all.

RE: Where did the name ‘Dzine’ come from? What made you feel like using a pseudonym and how did that come about for you?

DZINE: The name came from an alter ego that was developed when I was painting a lot on the street in my teenage years. I was really influenced by a lot of work that was coming out of New York in the late 70s in the punk and disco era and also the 80s. Artists like Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat were very influential to me. I was especially fascinated with the multimedia aspects of their work. The development of Dzine as a personaz became much bigger than I anticipated. I legally changed my middle name to “Dzine.” It has become a large part of my work and my body of work. Art in general is a collective. Creative types like musicians, actors, and performers often change their names to stage names. It’s not exactly the same thing, but very similar.

RE: In your teenage years, you experimented with a lot of graffiti art. How has graffiti art and street art culture impacted your work?

DZINE: That was more my youth and my earlier work. I saw it as a learning process. It was a good time. The emotions and collective energy of street art is very raw. It’s no coincidence that people who are self-taught or come from that era, are generally some of the best artists recognized today. Jean Michel Basquiat just broke a record selling a piece for some 14 million dollars at Sothebys. Of course, it doesn’t delegate how good an artist is- how much they are paying them. For me, I equate the history and the raw, honest, aggressive talent with greatness. I definitely try to keep some of that same energy in my work. Even though I 55

don’t really do that type of work anymore per se.

Recently I’ve become really interested in this “Kustom Kulture” idea, which deals heavily with identity and globalization—especially cultures with specific identity issues. I love adapting it with things like the nail project and my work before that. I customized bicycles, the car, and the boat, making these hybrid sculptures. Now I’m making these paintings with patterns that deal with identity as well. My earlier work definitely morphed into the work that I’m doing now.

RE: Did you study art in college or are you self-taught?

How did you find yourself having a creative career?

DZINE: Largely I am self-taught. Quite honestly, I decided to be self-taught. I went to Columbia College for a semester but before then, I began going to museum shows and gallery exhibitions in Europe and in New York—I was leaving my comfort zone. I started educating myself about the art world before I even went to art school. Then when I got to art school I basically knew all the information that they were teaching already. My honest feeling was that the professors that I had weren’t teaching with a passion and an emotion that I was connecting with. I decided that it wasn’t for me because I didn’t find it inspiring at all. I left Columbia and decided to go off on my own. I started working for an advertising agency, moved to New York and began assisting artists in their studios in New York. I learned a lot from them. I dove into the art world instead of going to school. But I have this amazing library of books I’ve collected. I’m constantly educating myself. I don’t feel like I’ve missed something by not going to school. I feel like inspiration comes from making work, investigating, researching, and educating yourself on what’s out there and what artists are producing these days.

About a year and a half ago I got offered an honorary professorship at Carnegie Melon. Teaching is a very special thing but I realized that my studio practice is where my focus is. I’ve actually found in my studio, I’ve become more appreciative of people who are creating things, and objects and are creating, ideas, that have nothing to do with the art world. People who are into car culture, and nail culture. I like things that are produced in an unorthodox manner.

RE: What is “Kustom Kulture” and what does it means to you and your work?

DZINE: The “Kustom Kulture” work came from this project that I did when I went to the Venice Biennale. The Biennale is this really important contemporary art exhibition. It

R e : M ag a z i n e

happens every two years in Venice—it’s like the Oscars of the art world. For this occasion, I didn’t want to present just paintings or a wall piece. I wanted to present something that was unorthodox. I wanted to create a sculpture that kind of spoke to people and not just to museum people and gallery people. I wanted it to be very real and honest. I got invited to produce a piece for the Ukrainian pavilion, of all places. I went to Kiev and starting interviewing people about what it meant to be Ukrainian and identity and culture. I’m all for making beautiful, visually stunning art

“

the professors that I had weren’t teaching with a passion and an emotion that I was connecting with.”

but I also like connecting a story to that. I found that most of the stories I was hearing from Ukrainians were similar to my parents’ story. I’m Puerto Rican and we shared a diaspora of identity and culture. I love the customization culture of low-rider cars. I love flea markets. I wanted to figure out how could I marry custom culture and the art world for this Ukrainian identity piece. So I made a boat that had like 20 TV screens, subwoofers, a laser light show, and a DJ booth. I had all these interviews with people about Ukrainian identity and I floated this thing in Venice in the canals. I had a DJ playing Ukrainian folk music up to contemporary dance music—it represented a complete mish-mash of culture and identity.

That’s how I really became interested in the cross section of making these hybrid sculptural pieces and introducing this language into the institutions into the gallery world. I felt like this fresh and new voice I was working with hadn’t been seen before.

RE: How do you juggle having such a successful career, traveling, having a family, and running a studio?

DZINE: On top of being a full time artist and having

a studio and traveling, I’m also a dad. In all honesty, I stopped partying. I wake up early. I drink coffee. I do yoga. Sometimes you just have to be really focused and regimented. Don’t get me wrong, I know peers of mine who are artists who can drink a bottle of Jack and function!

But that’s not me.

RE: Have you or are you thinking or getting involved in fashion with your art?

DZINE: I definitely have a connection to the fashion world.

I lot of my friends are involved in fashion. Juergen Teller is a good friend of mine. And one of my old friends, Ezra Petronio is the artistic director of Self Service Magazine. I did collaboration in Japan with two clothing lines. The nail project has become it’s own animal and was way bigger than we anticipated. It became the perfect storm with the book and the timing because I had been working on it for a year and a half. Designers like Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang have been fans of the project. That’s when you know that something is successful, when it crosses over into pop culture. You get people who have nothing to do with the gallery involved and that was very humbling to me.

RE: Has there been a defining moment in your career?

DZINE: I had an exhibition of my work in my early 20s and it was not a success. I think that was a defining moment for me. It was a really important defining moment for me.

I realized the work that I was making wasn’t very honest. I

wasn’t true to myself. After that happened, I destroyed all of that work and from that moment on, I promised myself that I would never do that again. I promised myself that I would make the most honest work that I could. I would just be myself.

RE: Do you have any advice for creative people and aspiring artists who admire you and your work?

DZINE: I would say that when you are producing work in the art world or the fashion world, whatever it is, I would say that try to do it and produce work that is out of your comfort zone. Try not to make everything so safe. I still have to remind myself to do it. Something that I’ve said over and over again is “No risk, No rewards.”

Dzine represents an artist who understands that truly significant art is not just about aesthetic beauty, but about an important story to be told. His use of “Kustom Kulture” and focus on identity makes his style thoughtful and distinctive. Through his journey it is understood that part of Dzine’s success comes from that fact that he is constantly enlightening himself about what it means to be an artist and leaving his comfort zone frequently in the pursuit of truth. Any artist or creative individual can understand what an important idea it is to be an educator to yourself throughout your career. After all, artistic work is very much an important, individual journey, a beautiful struggle, you might say.

jake thompson: Some people might spend an hour on a hairstyle.

Jake Thompson might spend five months.

By Matthew Demarko Photography by Jake Thompson 3D Photography by Kevin Schiedle

I also loved all the girls…I had average grades…not falling behind, but not showing off either! My mother could see the disinterest…so she started asking a lot of questions my junior year; “Jake, what do you want to do when you grow up?” As we bantered back and forth, she mentioned hairdressing. I always shared an artistic eye, and used to If you’re thinking this is Lady Gaga-esque and you know cut my friends hair on the lawn. “Hairdressing?” I asked. her, let her know that Jake would love to work with her. “Ok, but mom I’m not gay.” “Jake, you don’t have to be gay to be a hairdresser. There are a lot of famous hairdressers Also be sure to let her know that he would be perfect. that are straight and…” All I heard was famous. So here This is an artist who doesn’t try to hide his brushstrokes. we are 16 years later! Who knew it would turn out like this.

You can see each meticulously crafted strand cut, colored and styled in it’s own unique way; all dancing together in RE: What was the moment you realized you could be a wave that forms something you’d never think to see on avant-garde with your craft? top of somebody’s head. But Thompson’s artistry doesn’t stop there. Thompson is his own photographer. The final JT: The moment I realized I could manipulate hair. product is a Jake Thompson creation, through and through. Manipulating hair isn’t as easy as people think it is, you have to forget everything you think you know about Oh, and he does live shows too. hairdressing.

As if his stunning portfolio wouldn’t be enough, Jake Thompson was also recognized with the 2011 North RE: What do you feel has been your most extreme American Hair Association (NAHA) Avant-garde award, and creation to date? is fresh from learning of his 2012 nomination. But where did this fiery passion start? Well, with a blog that reads like JT: Well, I would say my current nomination for NAHA! It’s it’s from a half hair-master, half motivational-god and an so crazy, but oh so pretty! I love that it looks like a bouquet energy that is only growing exponentially, Jake Thompson of hair flowers. Everyone can relate to the beauty of the accredits the nexus of his successful path to one person: collection. who else but his mother…

RE: What is the time frame for one of your collection JT: She knew regular college wasn’t for me…so she guided pieces? What’s the minimum/maximum hour the me into a trade. I loved the social thing school had to offer. styles take?

Hair is not a medium widely conjured in the mind’s eye upon the mention of the word “art.” But to lay sight on the creations by Jake Thompson is to have your mind blown open to the possibilities of your least-expected raw material.

R e : M ag a z i n e

JT: I can take up to a few hours to five months. It all depends on the detail of the collections. My latest nomination took four months to complete. Five pieces were made.

RE: Do you have to also spend time taking a models hair back to its natural state or can they simply jump in the shower?

JT: A lot of the time I work with pieces and or wigs. Models usually want to keep their hair fairly wearable. But there are those rare cases where a model is down for whatever.

Those are good days. But I base my collections off the beauty of [a] girl and if she can sell what I’m putting on them‌ RE: Your interest and skill in photography is inspiring for cross-disciplinary artists. How do you juggle your love/dedication to them?

JT: Well it’s quite easy, because my passion for photography is directly relative to my hairdressing. If I create something amazing, I want to shoot it. So as I am thinking of my creations, I’m also thinking of how I’m going to shoot it, light it, pose my model, etc. I love the art of hairdressing, photography and music. It’s a marriage. I’m married to my art.

JT: No, but I daydream about creating a collection and having an art show! I would love to create something just for art lovers to come and appreciate up close and personal. I’ve been doing shows across Canada where I’ll carve my 2011 winning collection from scratch in front of an audience! That’s a trip, but oh so much fun. They get to witness real Avant-garde coming to life in front of them!

RE: Is there another field that you’d like to cross RE: You speak of hairstyling legends so highly in your collaborating with? interviews. Are you beginning to see yourself as one?

JT: I would love to create hairstyles for…anything progressive and out there. I think futuristic films are where JT: I try not to go there, I really like keeping a humble my collections would fit best. I try to create collections outlook on my craft. I try and relate to my audience, peers, that aren’t from this world! I could offer so much when co-workers, etc. I want them to think what I do is still very it comes to bending reality. I love looking/creating things achievable; all it takes is hard work. You need to pick your from a dream world. I think it’s so appealing because if passion and live it, sleep it, dream it, breathe it! you’re given free rein to create something, you have this challenge to bring it to life.

RE: For the artists who are searching for their niche, what would you say to them?

RE: Is there anyone’s hair out there that you would love to work on?

JT: You have to be selfish with your art if you want to be good!

There is only so much time in the day, and if we allow too many JT: Lady Gaga of course, her wigs and/or hairpieces she things to distract us from creating, we run diluted with our art! has for her videos, shows, etc. She’s amazing in every We really can only do a couple things at once, if you’re lucky! way.

I’m not that lucky. I can only do one thing at once. I’m the type of artist that has to put everything into my collections. If I go RE: Have you had galleries of your collections where to my studio, I can’t be worried about mundane shit. I have to people can experience them in a three-dimensional cut out all outside stuff. I put myself in “the zone.” Surrounding myself with art I’ve created; music I can daydream to; having appreciation? access to endless tools to get the job done…basically making “the zone” free of time and everything else in my life. Most people I converse with ask how do I have time to create the collections, enter contests, travel, work in the salon, etc? Well, it comes down to being selfish! What is important to you? I’m selfish with my art because if I don’t create, I truly feel I’m not doing anything in the world, and I should just die! There is way too much I want to accomplish and I’m not waiting around for it to happen, I’m making it happen!

I never expected a hair artist’s wisdom to beckon me back to the words of Bruce Lee: “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

So it’s tempting to call Jake Thompson the Bruce Lee of the hair world, but he transcends comparison. Full of inspiration and with a myriad of exciting years ahead of him, it will be fascinating to follow this artist into maturity.

One thing’s for sure: from now on, I’m going to be a lot more selfish with my art.

RED ALE p hotography STEPHEN ARCHER

designer + stylist WESLEY BERRYMAN makeup + hair SAJ MACK model JEFFREY MINKO (Chosen Model Mgmt)

Abstract Construction: When Fashion Meets Architecture

By Taylor Block

“Fashion is architecture.” Three simple words spoken by Coco Chanel.

Fashion is hardly the isolated commodity that so many people see it as. It’s an art form like any other that draws inspiration from the world around it. For centuries, fashion designers have been inspired by the architectural anatomy around them, whether it be the Pyramids of Giza or the New York City skyline. This is not news. But inspiration is a two way street. Architects are also borrowing influence from textiles and the structures that they create on the human form. With these two seemingly contradictory disciplines in mind, the Savannah College of Art and Design is paving the way for collaboration and innovation.

LaRaine Papa Montgomery, Professor of Architecture at SCAD is teaching her students the power of teamwork. In the real world, so to speak, people of all different backgrounds work together in professional settings. In order to simulate “real world” learning, Professor Montgomery only teaches collaborative learning classes. She sees the importance in learning professional skillsets early on saying, “They [her classes] aren’t ever busy work.”

R e : M ag a z i n e

image Steven Aldridge

In her Design Studio III class, architecture students presented their portfolio to a group of 20 senior fashion design majors who then picked an architect that embodied their own personal aesthetic and senior collection. Now the architecture students are to design a flagship store to be (hypothetically) located on Spring Street in the trendy Soho area of downtown Manhattan. Everything about the store, from the exterior material to the floor plan within, draws inspiration from the fashion designer and his or her collection. They also created a piece of furniture or architectural object to be showcased in the store. Third

R e : M ag a z i n e

year architect major, Jason Beauchemin speaks of how his designer’s use of separates was a source of inspiration for designing his architectural object. “I wanted to create a piece that was multifunctional. My designer had 17 different separates in her collection so that inspired me to create separate pieces that joined together like an outfit would. So it [my piece of furniture] configures into 17 different pieces just like her collection.�

Though the architects can use their imagination to create whatever their heart desires, there must be an element of

practicality. There are codes to be followed and regulating lines that dictate where certain elements of their design can be built. It has to make sense in context to what’s around the store. Just as in fashion, there’s a balance between innovation and functionality. Like a garment, a space must be usable, or wearable in the case of fashion. However, as is the case in any form of design, creativity and aesthetic come into play. Finding that happy medium is what makes a space (or garment) successful.

left Nick DeBruyne right Victoria Strayhorn

So why fashion and architecture? Where did the inspiration for this collaboration originate? Professor Montgomery speaks of an exhibit that was at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles back in 2007 called Skin + Bones: Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture. The exhibition focused on the fundamentals that underlie both fashion and architecture. This unusual pairing was a stimulus for the class’ curriculum. “Being the spring quarter, these students are exhausted,” said Professor Montgomery. “They come in here and they’re dragging. So I said to myself, well what’s exciting in the spring: the fashion show. So I thought, lets put these two majors together.”

71

As Professor Montgomery’s class discusses, there are striking parallels between the two fields. Some of the world’s most successful contemporary fashion designers have been professionally trained as architects. Case in point: Oscar de la Renta, Gianni Versace, and Tom Ford.

As these multitalented designers learned early on, the fundamental ideas within the two fields are intertwined with one another. Proportion, process of design, and style are relative in both domains, just on different scales. Fashion designs for a person, architecture designs to house a person.

Architecture major Matthew Spinner looks at it with a rational eye saying, “They’re two elements of human existence that are necessary for us to live. We need to be clothed and we need to be housed. So they fit together perfectly.”

So what’s the end result for this class? What’s the ultimate goal? “Sleep,” architecture major Sarah Mosko dryly remarks. Architecture students at SCAD are notorious for their lack of sleep. But aside from the mental relief, there’s also the educational gain. This project is a wonderful boost to both architect and fashion portfolios.

Brady Gina is a senior architecture student who previously took the class with Professor Montgomery. He speaks of how the class paid off for him, landing him a retail design internship with Victoria Secret. “I was introduced to them at the career fair and presented my portfolio. They said they were looking for someone with retail design experience and I showed them the work I did for this class. Later, I got a call saying that my portfolio was the strongest they had.” It’s extremely rewarding for any student to know the work they do in the classroom rewards them outside of the class as well.

SCAD prides itself on being a school that not only provides its students with an education but also gives them the tools necessary to be competitors in the workforce. Being the “University for Creative Careers” it’s a relief to know there’s truth to that statement. As Professor Montgomery puts it, “No one should ever leave this school thinking they haven’t collaborated.”

image Steven Aldridge

R e : M ag a z i n e

[re]view:

role models Essays about a Good Manson Girl, Outsider Porn and Johnny Mathis

By Jonathan Buckley

When I think of my role models, a list of writers, junkies, half-wits and child prodigies comes to mind because the idea of having a serious role model is absurd—in the same way that John Waters’ book Role Models is absurd.

Absurd, but brilliant, much like John Waters himself. If Waters doesn’t ring a bell, he’s the king of cult trash cinema.

For a taste, search “Pink Flamingos ending” into YouTube to see the clip that has made stomachs churn for over thirty years. But, that’s enough about bad taste; let’s talk about Role Models.

The book is comprised of ten essays based with the central theme being roles models—in all shapes, sizes and occupations. In each one Waters gives pure insight to subjects and somehow I found myself not pitying any of them, but instead finding earnestly admirable qualities.

After going through the essays I learned that influence comes from all sides of the spectrum. From the golden boy Johnny Matthis—loved by grandmothers everywhere—to former Manson girl Leslie Van Houten, Waters finds admirable qualities where others might not look.

It only makes sense. John Waters may not appear to be a role model himself with his pencil thin mustache and his bad acid trip jittery eyes. Just like Waters, the essays keep you interested with the combination of bad taste and clean prose. His honest, quirky voice flies through the pages like a pinball going back and forth and up and down until the last sentence of each essay.

I connected most with the essay on Tennessee Williams, my favorite playwright who loved bad taste as much as John Waters. But, Williams knew how to present it with a veil of decency. Waters wrote about Williams, saying

that “he may be the only Pulitzer Prize winner to write about A200, a product used to rid your body hair of crab lice.” Role model? Yes, it’s Tennessee Williams—the same man whose plays you normally read in high school and then further discuss the symbolism of lights and darks in his works. Williams is also the man who wrote The Killer Chicken and the Closet Queen, and although it’s foul it has nothing to do with fowl.

The ten essays by Waters—as scattered as their subject matter may seem—have two things in common: each one is heart warming and also filled with quotes you’ll want to scribble down in your notebook. For example, “Nothing is more impotent than an unread library.”

Waters views his subject as equals and more importantly as humans. In the essay on Leslie Van Houten, the still imprisoned reformed Manson girl who was convicted because of the LaBianca murders, Waters doesn’t paint the picture of a locked up psychopath who he happened to befriend. Instead, through Waters’ eyes, the reader sees that this 62 year old woman is trapped in prison for a crime that she committed when she was 19. The same compassion that is given to Leslie is given to Bobby Garcia, an outsider porn filmmaker who Waters describes as “the Almodóvar of Anuses, the Buñuel of Blow Jobs, the Jodorowsky of Jerking Off.” Role models clearly come in all walks of life. From an endearing gay porn filmmaker to Rei Kawakubo, the founder of Comme Des Garçons, the inspirations behind Waters’ essays are as sordid, loveable and strangely familiar as Waters himself.

So, if you’re packing for the beach, don’t pack your literary snobbery. Save the Sartre for September and instead learn a few things about strippers, gay porn, 50s singers and the man who loves them.

the

a story by an le stylist Perri Rothenberg set design Dylan Auman

O Rose, thou art sick!

The invisible worm That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy.

by William Blake

men shirts Theory at James Gunn on right, neckpiece Stylist’s own women dresses Mangled Courtesan by April Johnston on left, bracelet Zia

on her dress Mangled Courtesan by April Johnston bracelet Stylist’s own on him shirt Theory at James Gunn pants Model’s own

on her vest Mangled Courtesan by April Johnston dress Hannah Goff jewelry Stylist’s own on him mask April Johnson shirt, sweater Theory at James Gunn

from left top Zac Howell skirt Mangled Courtesan by April Johnson accessories Stylist’s own dress Kat Sommovigo necklace Zia pants Model’s own

on her top, skirt Hannah Goff jewelry Stylist’s own on him shirt Theory at James Gunn pants Michael Wiernicki headpiece Carmela Osorio Lugo

on him shirt Theory at James Gunn pants Model’s own neckpiece Stylist’s own on her top, skirt Mangled Courtesan by April Johnson headpiece Paris Market

from left pants Model’s own dress Michael Wiernicki dress Kat Sommovigo earrings Zia shoes Stylist’s own

on him pants Model’s own on her dress Mangled Courtesan by April Johnson

from left dress Mangled Courtesan by April Johnson headpiece Kiera Corrigan dress Blake Smith earrings Zia top Michael Wiernicki

on left jacket Michael Wiernicki hotpants Michael Wiernicki necklace Zia on him shirt Theory at James Gunn pants Model’s own on right jacket Christine Alber skirt Hannah Goff shoes Stylist’s own

dress Faith Thornburg bracelet Paris Market

on men shirts Theory at James Gunn pants Models’ own jewelry Stylist’s own on women dresses Faith Thornburg bracelet, right Zia

dress Faith Thornburg body jewelry JLINSNIDER on men pants Michael Wiernicki

shirt Michael Wiernicki dress Faith Thornburg necklace Zia

on him pants Michael Wiernicki sweater Theory at James Gunn on her dress Blake Smith bracelets Stylist’s own

shift Model’s own neckpiece Paris Market dress Faith Thornburg necklace Zia

bodysuit Styling team opening spread headpiece Kiera Corrigan shirt Theory at James Gunn dress Michael-Birch Pierce and Molly Hobson Shea underdress Faith Thornburg

THE ROSE BONE photographer An Le stylist Perri Rothenberg set design Dylan Auman photo assistants Dave Sweeney, Stephen Archer, Pat Bombard, Jake William Hamilton stylist assistants Chanelle Bertelsen, Carmela Osorio Lugo makeup Mabani Hernandez, Megan Mateo hair Katherine Taylor, Alison Wild, Holly Burnham models Melanie Blankenship (Wilhelmina Modelogic); Lara Lill, Madisen Taylor, Christina Adams, Aaron Odum, Nikita M’Bouroukounda (RISE Models); Gabriel Curl, Anthony Gelfand, Jake William Hamilton props and set pieces provided by Paris Market special thanks to Blake Olmstead, Peter Mavrogeorgis, Dame Darcy, Kevin Clark, Brian Nettles

OLIVIA PRANCE

INTERVIEWS photography by Dylan Shaw

SENIOR FASHION DESIGNERS

Alexis Asplundh

By Liz Riden

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

AA: Bright.

RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

AA: Someone who is active, but also very fashion forward. Someone who likes to be comfortable. That’s why I used active materials, but it’s definitely not activewear. It’s for someone who is normally out scuba diving, then comes home and would put on a (neoprene) skirt. It’s their day-to-day life, but it’s ready-towear. I’m a scuba diver, so I thought it would be really fun to use materials that don’t typically get used for ready-to-wear clothing.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? AA: Jil Sander. Our aesthetics work in a similar way, and I really like the simple lines she uses in her collections.”

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

AA: Before SCAD I was in school for Marine Biology, so hopefully following that route.

RE: What is the most important lesson you have learned from SCAD’s school of fashion? OR What has been the highlight of your fashion education?

AA: To be myself. Not letting my designs get pushed around. Highlight…seeing my whole collection come to life.

RE: How do you think social media has affected the fashion student’s connection to the industry?

AA: Hugely. Fashion is so instantaneous, it goes down the runway and you’re thinking “where can I buy that, how can I make that work with the clothes I have?” It forces you to find inspiration beyond fashion design. It’s good and bad. It’s fast, but we need to go back to the old school ways of going to the library for research.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

AA: Time management, time management, time management. Get involved in the fashion in the area. Be true to yourself, learn how to interview, be ready to work really hard.

RE: What do you want to do next? / What is the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?

AA: I’m working at Reebok in Boston in their apparel department next year. I just recently sold two garments, so I guess I need to get back to sewing right away.

Blake Smith

By Sarah Humphries

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

BS: The overall message I wanted to get across was “ethereal.” But I do want dark undertones. There are metalwork pieces and dying techniques that make it more beautiful and dark at the same time. I wanted it to be different from normal eveningwear that is beautiful and frilly, I wanted it to have a tattered, destructive edge.

RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

BS: My girl is always an artistic person. Whether a musician or an actress- I could always see Florence Welch or Rooney Mara in my designs. I feel like mysterious artistic types would wear my clothes.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? BS: If I had a muse, it would probably be Florence Welch. She embodies that whole mysterious slightly androgynous, otherworldly beauty. Designer-wise I definitely look up to Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy. That’s my all-time idol and I would definitely love to work for him one day.

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

BS: I would LOVE to be a dancer. I have always loved to dance, and after taking some classes, I have found that it is another passion of mine...it’s just so expressive and raw and allows me to create art with my body, my movement.

RE: What is the most important lesson you have learned from SCAD’s school of fashion? OR What has been the highlight of your fashion education?

BS: I always thought it was the best to be artistic and creative in the fashion world but this year in particular, being a senior, has made me realize that I need to have a job. You come to the realization that you need to have a strong aesthetic and it can be as creative as you want it but at the same time you need sell-ability. You have a duality. You must be able to go there and be artistic but you almost have to have this alter ego that can be marketable. I feel like that is the most important lesson is that even though fashion is about creative work, it is also a business.

RE: What do you want to do next? / What is the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?

BS: The day after graduation, I’m going to New York to start a 10-week internship opportunity with Kohl’s.

After that I will be knocking on doors for big houses to get into the industry.

Derek Clarkson

By Jonathan Edward Buckley

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

DK: Well, one word I used in my initial research was “Hvalreki”. It’s an icelandic word for “good fortune.”

RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

DK: It’s the type of person who embraces change and isn’t afraid to get involved in new innovations and fashion.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? DK: Menswear designers like Henrik Vibskov and Juun J do such amazing and inspiring work. I hope one day to reach that level and work with such talented artists.

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

DK: I imagine some sort of fine art. If I had more time here at SCAD I’d love to pursue painting.

RE: What is the most important lesson you have learned from SCAD’s school of fashion? OR What has been the highlight of your fashion education?

DK: It’s in SCAD’s mission statement. The school exists to prepare talented students for professional careers.

It’s so true. The fashion industry can be a difficult one to break into but this school has trained me to just that.

RE: How do you think social media has affected the fashion student’s connection to the industry?

DK: Social media is huge right now. I connect with industry professionals all the time using Facebook and LinkedIn. It’s a great tool to have right now.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

DK: I’d say be as innovative as you can be and don’t fall into the usual or safe trends you know now. If you devote enough energy and love to your senior thesis, it’ll evolve into a collection you will be proud of.

RE: What do you want to do next? / What is the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?

DK: A lot of opportunities have been presenting themselves after the SCAD fashion show. I’m so grateful and excited to get my hands onto some new projects. I just hope to squeeze in a tiny vacation even if it’s just by the pool for a week.

Emily Dawn Long

By Jonathan Edward Buckley

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

EL: Transformable.

RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

EL: I think my stuff is wearable. Its separates so the pieces can be worn dressed up or with jeans so I see many different age ranges wearing the clothes from 60 something year old woman to young girls and also my peers.

I’ve even had guys look at the pieces!

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? EL: Kenzo, Missoni and Dries Van Noten. I’m very influenced by print based design.

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

EL: Well, I’m a double major in fibers so I’d focus on that or something random. I like food—maybe I’d do food photography or design.

RE: How do you think social media has affected the fashion student’s connection to the industry?

EL: You can easily see what going on in the industry and do research. It’s also a fast way to get feedback from your peers, which is great, but I also hate social media.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

EL: Don’t get stuck. Your collection will evolve. Your initial concept will not be what you end up with.

RE: What do you want to do next? / What is the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?

EL: It’s weird all my friends are done, but I still have a lot of work because of my double major in fibers.

Everything is still up in the air though. My dream job would be to work at J.Crew.

Erin Goodman

By Andrea McCarrel

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

EG: I would say two words: accessible avant-garde. I say that because the purpose of my collection was to make avant-garde familiar and easy to approach, but still wearable for whoever looks at it and is interested in what they see.

RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

EG: I see a woman who lives in the city and she’s in the art and design industry, so probably like a furniture designer. She is a woman who wants to turn heads and she wants people to come up and speak to her because of what she’s wearing, not necessarily because she’s being loud or boisterous. She likes talking about craft, craftsmanship and detail, so she starts conversations by wearing statement pieces.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? EG: I would definitely have to say Rei Kawakubo from Comme des Garçons. She not only is a very strong female designer, but she’s always pushing the limits in fashion design. She’s fearless, and I like that she always has a quirky comment on things that are happening in the world today.

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

EG: I did want to go into dermatology for a while in the medical field.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

EG: Yes. First, for upcoming seniors, do your summer assignment. If I hadn’t done my summer assignment in as much depth as I had, I definitely would not be where I was by the end of spring quarter. Gather images and never stop. Keep your eyes open, you know, use your camera phone. Just take pictures of anything that you see that may be able to be incorporated into your theme. That’s really important.

RE: What do you want to do next? / What is the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?

EG: The first thing I’m doing when all of this is over is going on vacation! I’m going to Europe with my family so that will be a really nice little break. After that, I’m moving to New York City and I’m going to be hopefully working under a well-known line as a design assistant.

LIYA CHEN

By Abbey Eilermann

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

LC: Spiritual / sentimental RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

LC: She is someone who is not afraid to look different from others. Very elegant yet edgy at the same time.

Someone who has great respect for history and modern art.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? LC: I am inspired by musicians the most. I make my own songs too, and this is because I love to provoke a certain kind of emotion. I respect Naotaro Moriyama, who this collection was inspired by.

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

LC: A songwriter.

RE: What is the most important lesson you have learned from SCAD’s school of fashion?

LC: Be open-minded. Be creative. Scad taught me how to think outside the box.

RE: How do you think social media has affected the fashion student’s connection to the industry?

LC: The industry has become more open due to social media. We can connect with companies easily and get information about what other designers are doing. Before, fashion seemed like a very secretive industry.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

LC: Don’t be too caught up with fashion and trends; be inspired by something bigger, or something personal. No matter how crazy the design is, craftsmanship always comes first.

RE: What do you want to do next? / What is the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?

LC: I am interning with Natori, known for east-meets-west aesthetic. I’m super excited to be part of this company, as we share the same aesthetic in design.

PATRICIA GARCIA

By Abbey Eilermann

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

PG: My collection is an impression.

RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

PG: The woman wearing my clothes is bold, elegant, and lover of all things artistic. She is a woman who wants to wear the whole painting, not just a simple print. Life is too short to be understated.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? PG: -Iris Van Herpen- She is by far my favorite designer. She is an inspiration to me because of how unique her design aesthetic is. She is an architect with clothes. -Professor Evelyn Pappas and Marie Aja- Herrera: seriously the most inspiring professors in the world. They have pushed me to become a better designer, student, and person! -Vincent VanGogh- the ultimate inspiration to my senior collection. His effortless, repetitive brush strokes, use of color, and his twisted mind led me to discover how much I could relate to him as a senior in our intense time crunch. -Also I couldn’t have done anything without the help of Toni Dammicci (Fibers) and Emily Brodowski (metals). The amazing women I collaborated with for all of my marbled prints and dyes! Not only were they amazing to work with, but they kept me calm in a constant state of stress.

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

PG: I would be a farmhand in the south of France in a lavender field. Oh, yes.

RE: What is the most important lesson you have learned from SCAD’s school of fashion?

PG: The need to edit and problem solve in a timely manner. Also, be ready for the unexpected. Certain things happened and I felt a little unprepared, and then more things happened on top of that! Stay on task.

RE: How do you think social media has affected the fashion student’s connection to the industry?

PG: Despite the fact that we are considered just students, we have a lot of vision and insight to bring to the table, and placeS like Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr give people in higher places a chance to see your work and potential for bigger things. I believe it also makes hunting for a job even harder; if you don’t have your work somewhere on those sites, you could be considered less of a candidate for a job.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

PG: I would suggest collaborating with anyone you can at SCAD. It was hard, but so rewarding! And this amount of talented people in such a condensed area is quite unheard of anywhere else. Take advantage of making an original product starting from textile all the way to the final photo shoot!

Quiana Napoleon

By Sarah Humphries

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

QN: “Utilitarian” or “functional.” My menswear collection is very much for a man’s man.

RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

QN: My customer is sophisticated. Late 20s or 30s. A mature guy who is settled who wants garments that are high quality. The garment would be special and wouldn’t be worn every day. Since they are coats, it’s winter wear. It would be worn every once in a while. He cares about what he wears but that’s not his main focus. He does like to pay attention and have something nice on.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? QN: I really like Antonio Azzuolo. He is a menswear designer who hasn’t been around for that long, he’s fairly new. He focuses on tailoring. Another artist is Aitor Throup, he is a menswear designer but he is more of an artist. His stuff is more 3-dimensional, very transformable, functional.

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

QN: [Laughs] Many people say that I should pursue law because I am defensive and great at arguing my point.

RE: What is the most important lesson you have learned from SCAD’s school of fashion?

QN: I’ve learned that you kind of have to be very organized and you have to be able to visualize and know what you want from the very beginning. Time management is very important. You don’t have time to figure out every single step so it’s very important that you have it figured out early on. For those who will be seniors next year who don’t make it into the show, they shouldn’t feel bad about it. It’s very new. It’s your very first collection. Learn, enjoy it, make friends, and have fun. Make a great collection that you love; you appreciate; that has integrity. You want to be happy with it because if you are not happy with it, whether you make it into the show or not, it won’t make you happy. Use it as an opportunity to make connections with your classmates. Respect people, their space, and their garments. Have fun. And enjoy it while you are making it.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

QN: My advice to upcoming seniors would be to be able to be decisive. Take advice but don’t listen to other people to the point where you end up with something that you don’t believe in. You have to believe in yourself. Be confident.

Sam Shanks

By Shelby Katz

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

SS: Experimental… I used a lot of strange, unconventional fabrics like rubbers and plastics, RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

SS: When I started designing, I kind of had … Sophia Coppola in my head. I … thought of her because she has a quirky kind of style and the proportions that she wears are kind of off. So I kept her in mind. [I] kind of imagine someone in an artistic field, a design position somewhere, someone who is up on the trends and isn’t afraid to stand out and doesn’t necessarily want to be sexy, because none of my clothes I would say are particularly sexy, but its mostly strange shapes and someone who is daring.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? SS: Dries Van Noten. I look to him a lot. I think that the way he uses print is really great because he’s really refined.

Also Phoebe Philo with Celine. I think she really knows what women want to wear while still remaining high fashion.

RE: If you weren’t a fashion designer, where would you be today?

SS: Either a chef or an interior designer. One of the two. It was hard to decide between here and there.

RE: What is the most important lesson you have learned from SCAD’s school of fashion?

SS: Other than the technical skills I’ve picked up here, I think learning to work with and around other people is one of the things that kind of sticks with me here. You’re not always going to necessarily be best friends with everyone you meet, but being able to appreciate and respect them and bounce ideas back and forth is important.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

SS: Yes, absolutely. Design your collection and stick with it. Don’t redesign throughout the whole quarter. Stay really focused on finishing because it’s such a small amount of time you have that if you keep playing around and redesigning after senior 1, it’s just not going to happen.

RE: What do you want to do next? / What is the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?

SS: I’m headed to Macy’s, working as a designer. It starts with an internship for eight weeks and then goes into a position. That’s one day after graduation.

Tiantian Sun

By Shelby Katz

RE: Describe your collection in one word?

TS: Reserved. It’s very cultural. In Asian cultures parents push their children not to be proud. They are shy and reserved.

RE: Describe the type of person you envision to wear your clothing?

TS: I hope a girl- no she is already a woman… about 30. She is tough, she has a good job, she has a need to do everything. On the outside she is cool, and a tough woman, but on the inside she is very soft. She is just a woman.

RE: Who are your biggest fashion/artist inspirations? Why? TS: For my … inspiration, I think about culture fusion and differences, especially because of my background. I am from China, and it is so different here with culture and American kids see things so differently. I try to see from the perspective of western people looking at eastern culture.

RE: What is the most important lesson you have learned from SCAD’s school of fashion?

TS: Being a graduate student, you need to know about the future. You already have to dig deeper with your own style. Undergraduate students are still building their style, but for graduates you have to know.

RE: How do you think social media has affected the fashion student’s connection to the industry?

TS: I just feel like social media gives us an outside view. In China, I didn’t know a lot about western, European culture. We only saw some famous brands. [H]ere… I see so much more. It helps with finding trends.

RE: Do you have any advice for aspiring fashion designers? Any advice for upcoming seniors?

TS: [I] have a mentee and this year. She is a senior and from the beginning I told her, “You need to do research.” Not only in a certain time, all the time. When you start studying here you need to start planning and researching all the time for senior projects. Movies, beautiful trees on the street, buildings, everything. You look at other countries and what they’re doing. I would suggest looking at Japanese designers… They are crazy, what they are doing. Then look at the American market and think about what your design work is a match for. Also look at other types of art, not only fashion, painting, architecture, furniture design… what they are doing.

RE: What do you want to do next? / What is the first thing you’ll do when it’s over?

TS: Find a job, definitely. I’m doing my research paper now. I have my thesis paper to finish now. I actually want to be a professor. I think fashion education is very, very important. Fashion education is going to impact this generation. I hope I can be a professor to help other students to make their dreams true.

skin deep the ugly

truth about beauty by taylor block illustration by Jon Taylor The ugly truth: It hurts not to be beautiful. There it is, I said it. It’s not polite or proper but it’s true. At a young age our society is consumed with the quest for beauty. Young girls want to look like the princesses they read about in fairytales and young boys want the physique of their favorite athletes. The obsession hardly ceases or slows down as we get older. Everywhere we go we are bombarded with images of perfectly airbrushed models and celebrities— people we’re supposed to look like. With expectations of weight shrinking thinner and thinner and image editing growing increasingly more advanced, the goals and expectations set our for ourselves are unreachable. Not so little known fact: None of it’s real! It’s all smoke and mirrors. So if it’s all a hoax why are we buying into the scam?

Body image insecurities start at a young age. As soon as we are old enough to recognize ourselves in the mirror, an innate concern for our appearance kicks in. By age nine, anywhere from 50-80% of young girls want to lose weight.

This is where it all starts: the seeds of insecurities bloom early and only cultivate as we grow into society. Even as we reach old age the infatuation continues. There is an entire market of cosmetics for elders who want to look young and defy old age. In order to self-preserve, women and men dye their hair, invest in wrinkle cream, and get face-lifts. Insecurities are often a private, secret thing we keep hidden from each other but when exposed, some of the results can be shocking. In a study, over half of young women reported they would “rather be hit by a truck than be fat.”

When I first read this statistic I was shocked. But after my initial disturbance wore off I began to think how I would respond. I weighed my options. How long would I be fat?

Would the hit from the truck paralyze me? How fat would I be? I had to stop myself. I realized I was actually considering it. I’m just as much a slave to my appearance as the rest of the world.

Our devotion to the way we look is evident. But at what cost does it come? With the countless cosmetic products on the market and numerous procedures available, what is the true price of beauty? On a global level we invest an estimated $200 billion annually in our appearance. That factors out to roughly $38 billion on hair, $24 billion on skin care, $20 billion on cosmetic surgery, $18 billion on cosmetics, and $15 billion on perfume. These numbers are quickly rising and a lot of controversy around the topic lies on whether or not such expenditures are of value. Though most consumers who invest in the above categories gain some benefits in the sense that they feel better about themselves, I can’t seem to get over the fact that we’re willing to invest $15 billion on perfume to “feel better about ourselves.”

Furthermore, the majority of our investments in these products fall short. Over 90% of the cost of cosmetics goes to packaging and marketing. The remainder goes to the ingredients within the product—hardly a comforting thought.

If this isn’t enough to make you question your favorite tube of lipstick, consider not only the monetary investment you place in your appearance, but also the time and physical risk. To many, altering our appearance means covering up a new pimple that decided to surface. However, there are millions of others who take the concept of altering much further.

137

In 2011, over 9 million cosmetic procedures (both surgical) and nonsurgical were performed in the US. That is a nearly 450% increase in the past decade. To whip up a healthy serving of perspective, 1/5 of Americans don’t have basic health care and yet cosmetic procedures is the fastest growing area in the medical world.

If we can trace body-altering issues back to adolescence, can it be traced back even farther? Is society’s obsession with correction a recent occurrence? The sad truth is that it can be traced as far back as the tenth century with foot binding in China. This is not to say the Chinese are to

In 2011, over 9 million cosmetic procedures, both surgical and nonsurgical, were performed in the US. That is a nearly

450% increase in the past decade.

R e : M ag a z i n e

blame for the world’s insecurities but it proves that society’s need to “tweak” what is “wrong” has been around for centuries. Foot binding most likely began in the Song dynasty. The feet of young girls were bound and broken so that their toes turned under. The flesh was torn and the muscle structure was permanently damaged. It didn’t stop here either.

Altering went so far as to displace women’s internal organs and fracture their ribs. In western societies in the 16th century, corsets were a popular fashion. Though seen today as a sexy and alluring article of clothing, they were hardly practical or safe. When pulled too tightly, as they often were, a corset could exert as much as 80 pounds on the internal organs. We’re all familiar with the popular scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, when Elizabeth Swann, played by Keira Knightly faints over a cliff into the ocean because her corset is too tight. Though comical in the movie, this scenario was highly plausible.

Even makeup, something women use frequently today, was once highly unsafe and dangerous. Makeup dates as far back to the Egyptians who are famous for wearing more eyeliner than Marilyn Manson. Though we still call it kohl liner, it was a little different than the kohl used in Ancient Egypt. With all the chemicals in the makeup, chronic pink eye was the least of their worries. After continuous use, mental decay was extremely common. In Ancient Rome as well as 15th and 16th century France, ceruse, a popular chemical used to whiten the complexion was trés chic.

It contained lead, hydroxide, and carbonate. In addition, mercury used to be the most popular treatment to remove freckles. Consequently, it also removed the outer layer of a person’s face. But beauty is pain, right?

Though all this nonsense was centuries ago, cosmetic procedures have only increased and evolved due to modern technology. Whether it’s a negative or positive thing can be argued but its growth is a fact. Many advocates and participants of plastic surgery admittedly argue that it has dramatically raised their self-esteem and feel it was worth every penny. To this I can agreeably see the value and argue the importance of building up your own confidence.

But why must our confidence originate purely from our looks? What about our personality? Or is that just wishful thinking? But when does plastic surgery become too much or too extreme?

As fascinated and admittedly curious as I am with plastic surgery and cosmetic procedures in general, I can’t help but remind myself that we’re intended to look a certain

Double jaw surgery, which includes cutting, taking out, and rearranging the upper and lower jaws, is a

REGIONAL FAVORITE. way and we’re fighting that. In essence we’re messing with Mother Nature. To this, Cindy Jackson responds, “Mother Nature messed with me.” Cindy Jackson currently holds the world record for most cosmetic procedures at 52. Nick Watt, who interviewed her for ABC News last April says, “You’d be hard pressed to find a part of her body that hasn’t been cosmetically enhanced.” She had her eyes, nose, brows, cheeks, lips, breasts, chin, stomach, knees, and hands cosmetically altered. The surprising thing is she doesn’t look like a female version of Michael Jackson. She looks, well, good.

Though often associated with the US and Hollywood specifically, plastic surgery is a global phenomenon. In South Korea, plastic surgery was once a hush-hush thing.

Now it’s being brought into the light and the truth is frankly shocking. Double jaw surgery, which includes cutting, taking out, and rearranging the upper and lower jaws, is a regional favorite. Dr. Park Song-hoon, leading practitioner of jaw surgery in South Korea said, “Korean women want a revolution with their face.”

Times interviewed Chang Hyang, a South Korean makeup artist. At the time, Ms. Hyang had spent the past two months completely redoing her eyes, teeth, and jawbone.

It’s common for parents to pay for their daughters eye surgery simply as a graduation present or a reward for good grades. Today women in Seoul frequently have “western looking eyes” that have a double fold, despite the fact that only one in five women are born with them.

Women such as Cindy Jackson and Chang Hyang are just ordinary women who have gone to extreme lengths to alter their appearance. There are however, household names that have notoriously gone under the knife.

We have all seen the metamorphosis that Michael Jackson, Heidi Montag, Kathy Griffin, Lil Kim, and many others have undergone due to cosmetic procedures, mainly plastic surgery. Heidi Montag is pathetically famous for undergoing ten cosmetic procedures in one day. And Michael Jackson is famous for not only making more money dead than alive but also getting so much work done on his nose that it began to deteriorate. He only admitted to two rhinoplasties but specialists speculate around 30 procedures were done on his nose.

Are these celebrities really the definition of beauty? I think not. The thesis of this article is not to knock all who go under the knife. I’m just as subject to societal insecurities and body image issues and have spent serious time contemplating what I would change about myself. But I can’t help but cringe at the statistics on the amount of time, money, and potential risk we invest in our appearance. I find something beautiful about the life you can find in an old person’s face. You can see the laugh lines that came from a lifetime of happiness and possibly leathery skin from too much time spent lying in the sun. Is it really worth erasing all those memories? In essence that’s what we’re doing.

Many argue these procedures put life back into their skin, but I argue the opposition. The extreme steps we take to cover up, erases the life that was once in our faces.

In the past, explorers have searched high and low for treasures and riches. In modern society we’re on the hunt for this rare concept of beauty. Author Daniel Hammermesh sums it up perfectly. “The term scarce beauty is redundant—by nature, beauty is scarce.” Let’s keep it that way.

In Korea, eye surgery is so common it’s not even considered a major surgery anymore. Late last year, The New York

139

photography by Jake William Hamilton

tal ent Kathl een Sayl er (RISE Model Management) styl i sts Sarah Humphr i es & Jake Wi ll iam Hami lton makeup art i st Ken d all Lock student designers Claire Buyens, Chiarra Joseph, & Kimb erly Ware

(left) jacket, bra, gloves, pants Stylist’s Own headpiece Sarah Humphries (right) dress Claire Buyens (cover spread) leather top Kimberly Ware pants Chiarra Joseph earrings Chanel bracelet Stylist’s Own

(left) sweater Claire Buyens pants, tights Stylist’s Own (right) knit dress Claire Buyens denim jacket Stylist’s Own

dress sweater, striped shirt Chiarra Joseph lace shirt Claire Buyens flannel skirt Kimberly Ware

by Matthew Demarko

If you know what PLUR is, you can probably leave this You really only have to know one thing: PLUR. It’s the article too. You will know all this. But more importantly, mantra of the entire scene, standing for ‘Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect’. It sounds like a campaign by Amnesty you’ve felt it.

International, not a drug-fueled subculture. But those four It would not offend me if you left. It seems pretentious virtues combine to describe their “Golden Rule.” And to to write an article on rave culture. Are a couple of mere go with the four virtues are five ingredients that combine personal experiences, a few sincere Googles, and an to manifest the alchemy of the scene: music, dancing, fashion, drugs, and people.

Listening to EDM. Dancing until 9 AM. Giving light shows.

Wearing neon (or wearing nothing).

Giving (and getting) candy.

Doing molly, or maybe even candy flipping.

Living like children.

Sharing everything. undeterminable amount of hazy interviews enough to thoughtfully expound an international subculture that has survived for 60 years? The people who won’t rave will continue to think it’s just drugs. The people who want to rave eventually will. The people who do rave…exactly. But what’s raving?

Lysandra Peterson of Forth Magazine called it “twelve hour teenage pop culture Halloween.” But teenage evokes a negative connotation. Childish yes, but in the best way. Living the way we did in youth, unbiased and bold, accepting of everyone, and loving color and costumes.

Lysandra definitely got the Halloween part right.

R e : M ag a z i n e

Music.

You’ll only hear EDM (electronic dance music) at raves, and your body and pulse will sync to this music in the most electrically gripping way possible.

You’ve already got the annoying heartbeat bass stereotype in your head. But the genre has spanned everything since the advent of synthesizers to disco to dubstep and beyond. Raves are events where music flourishes. Events promoting the creation and sharing of an art form, a sonic gallery.

Promotion and proliferation of an art form is probably not the first thing people think of when they go to or consider raves, but the performance, both audience and DJ, is one big artistic circus. And the theme song is never the same. Remixes are a staple to the scene, where you might here a sliver of your favorite song for a second before it vanishes into the waveforms of another. Or maybe you’ll hear your two favorite songs as one. The spectrum of possibility is breathtakingly refreshing. Further, the constant repurposing of songs strips the rigid concepts of possession and ownership. Raw material becomes reconstructed and recycled. Art made from art.

The music is shared with the audience and the music is shared with other musicians. The music fuels the party, and the DJ is your graceful host. Their one goal is to get you to dance.

DANCING. You’ll finally have a chance to do it like no one is watching.

What does it look like? Visualize the waltz. Now put it on the top of the Empire State Building during a summer storm. Then send it to Africa.

You’ll have a chance to stretch and express your body in a grippingly erratic and primal fashion. You probably don’t think of dancing as exercise, but it’s a master of disguise.

It’s expressive exercise; exercise that is fun, both mentally

“The music fuels the party, and the DJ is your graceful host. Their one goal is to get you to dance.”

and chemically. But this isn’t a synthetically altered chemical state. This is your body telling you to feel good because you’re doing something good. Your body is the drug store, dancing is the price, and endorphins are on the label.

And it’s not a Catholic middle school dance. The walls aren’t lined with those too afraid to bust a move, and it’s not a melancholy concert. It’s a conversation, the crowd screaming with their bodies for the DJ to give them more.

Psychedelic New Vaudeville. Interactive Cirque du Soleil.

You’d probably laugh at anyone dancing at a rave, but here’s the beauty: they wouldn’t care. If nothing else than for it’s demonstration of an escape from a social stigma, it’s commendable for the dedication and fervor with which ravers move. Many don’t know dancing and singing were once as commonplace as conversations. Almost like a forgotten art, now reserved for the “talented few.” But music is a universal language, and a stirring spirit. When we tap our feet, is no accident. We feel the music, and we want to move. Ravers listen to that instinct.

151

And when you dance with others, you share that feeling.

Sharing music and your body is another gift, temporal and intimate. You can grind or dance together from a room away, you just better be using your entire body. It might look like theater. After all, there are costumes.

FASHION. Colors aren’t worn; they’re lived at raves. Here’s where the Halloween analogy gets especially pertinent. Reflective construction vests are common. So are feathers. So are LED’s. So is underwear. Neon is president; a president that supports funding for the arts. Walking into a rave feels akin to when people were presented with their first swallowing of Technicolor. Sure, afterwards you don’t mind watching something in black and white, but now you’ve seen what’s possible.

Getting ready and dressed for a rave is unlike any wardrobe selection you’ll make in your life. You feel like a peacock.

Clothes evolve from solitary practicality. Even if you’re used to making statements with your clothing, the lack of limits is unrivalled. Eye-catching neon grabs your gaze and fires straight into your pupils. It’s a visual shot of tequila.

You were sleeping and a million suns rise to meet you. You will wake up.

The fashion might be more color centric than anything else, but that doesn’t prevent a couple staples existing in the wardrobe of a raver. Fuzzy raver boots might be the most well known accessory for one to don. Hair extensions are also frequent, but there probably isn’t anything as ubiquitous as candy (also spelled in every conceivable flavor, from ‘candee’ to ‘khandi’). If your sweet tooth is optical than you won’t mind them not being edible.

Candy is classically composed from the day-glo beads of our Lisa Frank youths, but has been expanded beyond simply colorful jewelry around the wrist. Juvenile and cheap, these beads, when assembled as candy, take on new life. They can be combined and sewn into almost any arrangement imaginable (necklace, cuff, bra, skirt, etc) but prototypically exists as bracelets. But these aren’t vain accessories that are meant to be hoarded; they exist as potential gifts to be bestowed to others commemorating new friendships or significant memories experienced at a rave. They are the new friendship bracelet.

R e : M ag a z i n e

It’s a visual shot of tequila.

f .

The ceremony of exchanging candy involves a symbolic dancing of hands: two peace signs pressed against each other, followed by two hands forming the outline of a heart, and finally the fingers intertwining for the passing from one bracelet to another. The dance is accompanied by the lyrics echoing the pillars of the scene: peace, love, unity and respect.

A little extremity is a new life experience. “Not the years in your life but the life in your years…” and all that stuff.

Drugs can be a huge part of your rave experience just like alcohol can be a large part of your college experience. But even after the chemically altered states that are induced inside hearts and minds, it still isn’t the number one reason why people go to raves.

It’s a tradition that is both ethereal and electric. Much like an experience had by another fashion staple: light gloves. Simple gloves adorned with LED fingertips, these accessories also exist to dance, although in a more intricate way. Think of a personalized laser show choreographed to whatever song happens to be spinning. Just like candy, these shows are another gift and bonding experience. A testament to the ability of clothing to evolve from utilitarian to fun and entertaining, but also a beautiful sentiment and opportunity for sharing.

People.

But what if your clothes aren’t bright enough to keep you awake even after the moon gets tired and the sun is well into his travels?

DRUGs. Say what you will about drugs, but you can’t deny: they’re like a special pair of sunglasses that you’ll never be able to wear the same twice. 9/10 people will say you can have a rave without drugs. 1/5 people might commit to that sobriety, but 0/∞ raves will be drug-free. There’s never really a bar without alcohol, is there? Different substances, but consumed for the same effect: an altered state.

The largest bane to the existence of raves, drugs have kept these parties controversial in the media for decades.

It didn’t help when a teenage girl died at the Electric Daisy Carnival (one of the largest EDC gatherings in the world) last year. But the ability for teenager’s to be irresponsible is nothing new, and to judge an entire culture on the actions of a few is unfair.

Just like Buddha said, “Everything in moderation, in moderation.” Drugs and all the aforementioned ingredients (music, dancing, neon, etc) are ridiculed as purely for the supplementation of the drugs themselves. But while they might enhance the effects, that doesn’t mean they aren’t a trip when you’re sober as well.

They are the final, most important alchemic ingredient.

Making connections with others riding the circus with you is what will keep you coming back. On average, 19/20 people responded fervently that people were the number one reason to go to raves. They may love everything else, but not with the ferocity in their hearts that they love the other people. It’s almost like the weakest link theory.

There are so many hopeless drug addicts attracted to the scene, the links of societal perception are damaged and a lot of people can’t accept raves for the pure, blissful social setting that they are. Charitable and giving, ravers want to share everything with you.

Not to liken raves to socialism. But isn’t ‘social’ the root of that word?

A social setting that sings the chorus of peace, love, unity, and respect. Karma’s got a nickname: the PLUR Fairy. Live the mantra and it’s guaranteed you’ll get a visit. And not just from ravers wearing fairy wings.

Life has a mass that is directly proportional to the experiences you can stuff in it. But you don’t want your mass of a life to reach obesity; there are some limits. But to step into a dream and live a party you’ve never lived before is something you may only have to do once.

So do you want to stay at the Catholic middle school dance all your life? Or will you get off the wall and dance the neon waters? There’s a reason this scene has flourished.

Stop reading this article and go find it for yourself.

Photographs by Rosario Edwards

153

record store A Paradise for extreme music lovers

by Taylor Kigar illustrations by Chase Baltz

R e : M ag a z i n e

day: “Graveface Records and Curiosities” kicked off National Record Store Day Savannah style: brimming with oddities while still reserving its undeniable charm. A giant ice cream cone greeted me at the door of the shop, looking like an equally absurd and sinister cross between the Michelin Man, soft serve, and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters circa 1984. I realized upon further inspection that it was actually a costume, complete with two armholes and a cutout mouth that some poor teenage boy was probably forced to don one summer. I imagined him peeking out at the world through the slim slit while sweating incessantly, just trying to make money for videogames.

This costume however, was only a taste of what Ryan Graveface (the store’s owner) had to offer for Record Store Day. As well as many brand new releases and re-releases never before pressed on vinyl, other strange objects clutter the store—fully demonstrating the Curiosities component of their name to be true. A red shelf stands at the center, reserved solely for taxidermy animals or their various body parts—raccoons, opossums, snakeskins, a mounted jack rabbit (whose face is undeniably still frozen in the expression of (“Oh S**t!”) a turtle preserved in a clear glass necklace, an assortment of antlers, and a hairy deer leg turned water canteen. (Hoof included.)

established indie label formerly located in Chicago, now right here in Savannah. Some of the bands represented are: The Appleseed Cast, The Marshmallow Ghosts, Monster Movie, Dreamend (Ryan Graveface’s own) and Black Moth Super Rainbow (in which Ryan plays bass).

The records themselves are also works of art; the label’s music is often shipped out of the country to be pressed on different colors of splattered vinyl and other beautiful foil designs.

Ryan Graveface, Graveface label, and his curious record store captures the true essence of what Record Store Day is all about: to keep the quirky, independent record culture alive and to “celebrate the art of music.” Record Store Day was the brainchild of Chris Brown, storeowner of Bull Moose, a chain of record stores in Maine and New Hampshire, and was officially kicked off on a national level for the first time in 2008. It now occurs everywhere on the third Saturday of every April, and artists collaborate with independent record labels and stores to premiere special releases just for the occasion. The list of artists participating this year is as diverse as ever, Arcade Fire, Beach House, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, Katy Perry, and M83, just to name a few.

One of the eager collectors rummaging through stacks of music was extreme music lover and Savannah College of Art and Design student, Ross Fish, and he agreed to clue me in on what was still valuable in vinyl today:

But don’t let all the extra bric-a-brac fool you; the music was not in short supply. Crates and crates of albums were stacked in every inch of the store, and a steady crowd circulated in and out during most of the day. Men and “For my 10th birthday my father took me into the back women of all ages and styles shuffled through the album room of our basement and, like the Wizard of Oz, pulled stacks; the old tattered tops shifting in waves of vibrant from behind a magic curtain two beautiful cherry wood ink and faded paper. speakers from the 70’s, a beautiful analog head unit, and with it some of the greatest classic rock records ever As it turns out, Graveface is not only housing some serious recorded.” From there, it was history. When speaking records, but producing them too. Graveface is also an about his love of records, Ross doesn’t pause or falter. He

155

“Even if every record store closes on the face of the earth, you can’t kill the culture.

It will always be alive in the hearts and minds of those individuals that will never let it die.”

Ross FisH

is well versed in his passion and that is one of the most incredible features of the record community—the tenacity.

“Because it’s an exact copy of the physical sound waves of the original recording, you get frequencies above and below your hearing range, and pick up fluctuations in the

R e : M ag a z i n e

air that you would only get if you were actually there. And that doesn’t get converted to CD and mp3—it is the energy and the presence and the moment of the recording. And there’s nothing better to me on a rainy day than sitting in my room, putting on a record, and feeling it. You don’t get that with an mp3. You just don’t.”

HAN NAH GO FF

Paige Joost Prairie No. 1935

Advertising CreditS Erin Goodman

Photographer - Alison Bushor Talent - Lyndsey Rhode, Madison Taylor, Kathleen Sayler (All RISE Model Management) Makeup - Mila Grass

Amanda Joy Harris

Photographer - Aaron Bernstein Talent - Alison Wild

Stephanie Haller

Photographer - Dylan Shaw Talent - Brianna Dillon (RISE Model Management) Hair - Alison Wild Makeup - Zak Schiller

Briana Busam

Photographer - Pat Bombard Talent - Tiffani Allen (RISE Model Management) Hair/Makeup - Katherine Taylor

olivia Prance

Photographer - Stephen Archer Talent - Alexa Johns (Factor Women)

Hannah Goff

Photographer - Pat Bombard Talent: Christina Adams, Lindsay Strรถm (both RISE Model Management) Hair & Makeup - Rebecca Wash Set Design - Dylan Auman Assistant - Dave Sweeney

PAIGE JOOST

Photographer - Alison Bushor Talent - Taylor Krankowski, Megan Maccullough, Alexandra Sapp Makeup - Paul Sanders

www.re-savannah.com