WeSC activists Lady Tigra, Love Eneroth, Jonas Wiehager, Chris Pastras and Mika Edin contributing to ”WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy” Pick up a copy at your nearest WeSC retailer. For more information visit www.wesc.com
www.wesc.com
STYLE AND INFLUENCE I
t’s finally here! Our first STYLE issue! This is one of the most nerve-wracking issues we have put together because we wanted to do it right. At first, we imagined featuring the big guns- you know, Karl, Marc, Donatella…the fashion gods of today.
But c’mon…we’re STATUS. We need to keep it real with who really changed the way we dress, shop and look at fashion personally. These new amazing fashion people may not have the history of the legendary fashion pioneers, but they are just getting started. Our generation has invented, broken, and re-arranged the rules. They are our modern sources of inspiration. Our cover girl Lady Gaga certainly packs a punch with her barely-there red carpet outfits and bold costumes that could be mistaken for sculptures. We haven’t seen anyone like her for a while-and doubt there will be another one like her in the near future. Even though we haven’t left our pants at home just yet, she has given us more courage to be original in the way we dress. Lets not forget our new daily obsession: fashion blogs. Whether she’s styling photo shoots or attending fashion shows, Garance Dore shares her adventures and insights through her beautiful photographs and illustrations. We also get our fashion fix from Susie Bubble from Style Bubble and Wendy Lam from Nitrolicious. Yuri Lee the creator of Lookbook shows us that style is a universal language. The people who follow the beat of their own drum inspire us; Sarah Lerfel, the creative director/buyer of respected Paris boutique Colette, is responsible for re-inventing the retail world with her vision for style and culture. Clae footwear designer Sung Choi is leading the sneaker pack with his classic and timeless designs. Japanese editor and photographer Yone has shocked and awed the world with his original lo-fi photography style of shooting sexy girls. Last but not least, Devon Aoki has been all over the fashion the pages since she was 13 and has her own swagger on and off the runway. Which leaves us with one very important lesson. At the end of the day, the only opinion of fashion that counts is your own. - STATUS TEAM
STATUS ISSUE 08
...hearts fashion.
STATUSPHERE x REVIEWS.........................18 IGNITION......................................26 TECHPACK......................................27 ABOUT FACE....................................30 DO IT YOURSELF................................31 GO-SEES.......................................32 SWAG SNEAKERS......................................36 SHIRTS........................................39 HEELS.........................................40 BAGS..........................................41 HATS..........................................42 COOKIES.......................................43 STATUS INVADES TABATHA MCGURR................................45 MAESTRO LYKKE LI......................................46 FRIENDLY FIRES................................47 NIMBUS 9......................................48 HOOD INTERNET.................................49 DJ FASHEN.....................................50 GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY.........................51 MASTERMIND YURI LEE......................................52 Jean Pierre Braganza..........................54 SUSIE BUBBLE..................................55 PAPER MONSTER.................................56 PETER JAMES LEE...............................57 GIAN ROMANO...................................58 Ilaria Urbinati...............................59 KAREEM BLACK..................................60 KEVIN POON....................................63 ABIGAIL LORICK................................64 WENDY LAM.....................................66 NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK.........................67 PHILIPPINE FASHION WEEK.......................68 HEAVY HITTER YONEHARA YASUMASA.............................71 SUNG CHOI.....................................74 WORKING GIRL SARAH COLETTE.................................78 GARANCE DORE..................................80 LADY GAGA.....................................84 DEVON AOKI....................................88 MIND JOB......................................90 NIGHT VISION..................................94 TRANSACTION...................................98 MUSE x JESSICA GUECO..........................102 ULTIMATE FASHION GUIDE FOR EVERYONE...........109
Paper Monster
Philippine Fashion Week
Yonehara Yasumasa
Yuri Lee / lookbook.nu
Kobe Bryant
W
hat’s a better style statement than wearing an armored bubbled mini-dress? Our cover girl Lady Gaga can unapologetically turn any odd and obscure decor piece into a fashion statement. Just goes to show that she always steals the spotlight...even in a mugshot.
Lykke Li
contributors
Lionel Deluy
This French fashion-slash-celebrity-slash-music photographer battled his way through continents, skipped the atlantic pond, managed to succeed an abduction (not the green kind) while being held at gunpoint to work his way to the upper echelons of photography in Los Angeles, California. In this issue, Lionel Deluy’s shoot with Devon Aoki is just one of the masterpieces in his journey.
Tim McGurr
Timothy McGurr’s fascination for the arts came to him as he was capturing moments of his time in Tokyo, which later developed into a passion. Self proclaimed the 13th Witness, this photographer/ videographer, with a passion for stop motion don’t even own a professional camera he just often rents a canon 5d camera for his works. Check out his photo of designer Peter James Lee to witness his vision.
GINO DE LA PAZ
There was a time when a younger Gino de la Paz ran to Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay for tips on how to pull off an Iroquois headdress and a Raf Simons jacket for 2nd period English. But now, having weathered Rogues Gallery-style preppie, Skins indie-electro and a brief Jacques Dutronc phase, he now apes the nuances of the style icon he knows best: himself. In this issue, Gino interviews Devon Aoki on how she came up with her own personal style.
KAT POPIEL
Also known as Mama Kitten, Kat Popiel is the ultimate insider. Knowledgeable on music, fashion, and indie culture, she contributes for The Most Influential, Slamxhype, and Dazed and Confused. Not only is she brilliant with interviews, she’s also got a brain for marketing, and event promotions. Check out her dialogue with photographer Kareem Black.
EDITOR Rosario Herrera ART DIRECTOR Revo Naval ASSOCIATE EDITOR Victoria Herrera ASSISTANT EDITOR Nante Santamaria MARKETING DIRECTOR Jon Herrera ASSOCIATE MARKETING DIRECTOR Mesh Villanueva DESIGNERS Nicole Bianca Po Patrick L. Jamora EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Tracy Collantes
INTERNS Angelica Joi Guerra JC Gepte Xavier D’Souza CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Raymond Ang Christopher Jan Benitez Christy Braganza Marla Cabanban Anna Canlas Gino De La Paz Toff De Venecia E Pancho Esguerra Erika Hofmann Ada Lopez Shinji Manlangit Sarah Meier- Albano Ralph Mendoza Kat Popiel Jason Qua Eirene Uy
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Celwyn Abasolo Raena Abella Lanie Alabanza-Barcena Eric Ray Davidson Lionel Deluy Clayton Hauck Tufiq Hosen Patrick L. Jamora Sidney Lo Timothy McGurr Rebecca Miller Stanley Ong Mark Q Revolution Jujin Samonte Karolina Turek FINANCE Eva Ventura PUBLISHER Whiz Kids Publishing
What’s your STATUS? We’d love to hear from you! Email us. whatsyourstatus@statusmagonline.com It’s also available digitally at WWW.STATUSMAGONLINE.COM For advertising opportunities, please email advertise@statusmagonline.com / marketing@statusmagonline.com Or call (02)8901708 / (02) 8956833 Status Magazine / Unit 3 / Ecoville / Metropolitan Avenue / Makati
BACK TO THE FUTURE S
STATUSPHERE
tarted last November 2008 by tastemakers Javier Laval and J. Lorenzo, ANDROID HOMME shows that it knows sneakers and the high life. The duo says, it’s “the interstellar collision of street and lux design” that gave birth to this techno-macho label. Its übersleek footwear and accessories for men spell out that this stuff is made for luxury. Lambskin’s not exactly the material you’d associate with streetwear. Special touches like this make Android Homme light-years ahead.
www.androidhomme.com
DENIMOLOGY I
t’s rare for guys nowadays to find a pair of stylish pair of denim that stands out from the stockpile of designer jeans available. Surprisingly, LA brand POST’AGE is bringing a fresher take on men’s denim during this age oversaturated with ultra skinny styles. Delivering masculine straight-slim silhouettes with interesting pocket details, they have also introduced new washes such as brown rust for their high quality denims that come from Europe, Japan, and United States. Post’age jeans create a unique fade over time depending on how often the owner wears them. Guys, now you can keep your manhood with this fresh cut while exuding a natural effortless style.
*Ladies collection will be out Fall 09. www.postagedenim.com
DAYS OF SUMMER S STYLE BITES
GREAT OUTDOORS
I
T
www.undernourishedmanila.com
www.woolrichwoolenmills.com
nspired by icons—the Olsen twins, Kate Moss and Agyness Deyn—UNDERNOURISHED MANILA is for the radical chic femme with a hunger for defying the status quo. Its owner Tina Braganza has always been into designing clothes as an avenue for self-expression since she could remember. Now with her own line, she toughens romantic looks by fusing punk rock flavor with exposed zipper detail designs popping from classic shift dresses, tailored tuxedos, and frilly skirts. Undernourished Manila’s volatile and electric combinations of high, low, and vintage bring a refreshing take on previously usual clothing.
18 - www.statusmagonline.com
hey say that searching for your primal man-ness means going back to basics, but that doesn’t mean running to the woods. Here’s a more convenient option: WOOLRICH WOOLEN MILLS. With roots in an 1830-established clothier, the younger, cooler label brings old world ruggedness to new world boldness. Call it sportsman style or hunter chic. The brand calls to mind the outdoors, hunting, fishing trips, and a time when men didn’t feel the need to wax. They’ve got it all for you, really: buffalo vests, fishing smocks, plaid shirts, and ties. Think Paul Newman or Robert Redford. See, when you’re a man of substance, things don’t have to be so complicated.
ummer aint over yet. HELLZ BELLZ, the independent clothing line that designs for the ladies with swagger, just released their 2nd drop for their summer collection. Creator and designer Lanie Alabanza has developed the line to have more cut and sew pieces but they still retained their badass graphic tees with a tribute to the fashion icons of our time. To accompany the release, they have created a short video titled “Kicks After Six” which was directed by Ricky Kim.
www.hellz-bellz.com
statusphere
WEAR IT OUT
T
he name says it all—nothing is too complicated when it comes down to Chinese jewelry label WEAR-AND-TEAR. Started by Cheung Lik in 2008, it’s all about fresh and simple pieces that withstand trend seasons. That’s why this accessory line has been making some big waves in the fashion scene. Cheung’s geometrically sculpted accessories make the perfect statement—an unusual aesthetic of intertwined chains that add refinement to the unusual mix of materials that include suede and lace. Her woven fabrics and squeezed metals could make you stand out without having to drip yourself in diamonds. Thus creating the perfect balance between soft and heavy we all want in our jewelry.
www.wear-and-tear.com
SURF’S UP L
ooks like you’re having a new surf buddy to hit the waves with as Nixon releases its first waterproof LCD watch that predicts the tides. The Lodown TI is a pre-programmed timepiece that shows you tide charts at 200 beaches for the next 15 years. Which waters, you say? Why most likely at the world’s hottest surfing spots of course! If you need to know when the tide rises and how high, you can just stare at your watch face. It also has dual time functions, an alarm, a countdown timer, a wave counter and a chronograph. Made from titanium with hardened mineral crystal, the Lodown is waterproof up to 100 meters, so you can really go deep. Nixon may have created the surfer’s new best friend.
www.stokedinc.com.ph
Fashion Fantasy
MY SASSY GIRL A
s the rest in the fashion arena favor the bold and the fierce, designer SASSA JIMENEZ brings romance back into the scene. Imagine raiding Carrie Bradshaw’s closet; you’d probably pull out a Sassa dress from there. Made for the modern Renaissance woman, her collection is full of tulle and brocade on bodyhugging silhouettes that emphasize the natural beauty of the feminine contour. With Sassa’s keen eye for details and talent to create carefully structured designs, she keeps her dresses in their glamorous and fashion-forward glory. Truth be told, her creations are sassily surpassing trends as they come and go.
www.sassajimenez.com.ph
G
REY ANT is the LA brand that the young stars like Rihanna and MIA have been rockin on the red carpet. Known for their signature high-waisted jeans, the line has come up with amazingly stylish yet comfortable dresses, tops and trousers. Creator Grant Grajecki launched this line in 1998 after designing costumes for porn films and the Ice Capades. I guess this is where his vision for fantasy was introduced. The once a small fashion brand, had become the brand synonymous with hot young Hollywood.
www.greyant.com www.statusmagonline.com - 19
DESIGNER COCKTAILS I
f you are looking for a creative and one-of-a-kind cocktail, make your way to 21 Annankatu in Helsinki, Finland. You’ll find yourself at A21, recognized as the world’s best bar. This is an alcohol connoisseur’s paradise, where they don’t just make cocktails but “design” them—from conventional mixes to Finnish drinks, they’re all here. If you more of the bubbly type, they stock ten kinds of champagne. They can also whip up a virgin cocktail for those with a non-alcoholic palate. All these drinks are served in a laid back living room vibe with comfortable plush seats.
21 Annankatu, 00100 Helsinki, Finland www.a21.fi
COZY CORNER P
S CAFÉ has gained an outstanding reputation for serving tasty food in a homey atmosphere. This is where urban sophisticates and avid foodies come to dine. If you want to go all-out, try their juicy grilled wagyu burger, but if you feel like something on the light(er) side, the seven wild mushroom salad will do you right. Read: oven-roasted mushrooms on a bed of mixed salad, cherry tomatoes, and feta, all atop a sesame cracker with a jug of hot bacon dressing for your own drizzling pleasure. If double chocolate blackout cake, sticky date loafs, and summer berry pudding is a song to your ears, save room for that dessert plate you are bound to lick clean.
www.pscafe.sg
VISUALS + VIBES P
LUS63.COM isn’t just a reference to the archipelago’s area code; it’s a feast for the senses. Virtually taking you to different places in the country, this website features thoughts and sounds to go with pictures far from what tourists take. They may often be everyday places but as developer Dan Matutina says, “Ultimately, we just want people to experience the Philippines differently.” And in case the photo compels you to visit the place, a most likely case, they’re linked to Google Maps for your convenience. Dan adds, “We just want to push the Philippines as an amazing destination—a country with great visuals and vibes.”
www.plus63.com
THE EMPEROR’S A
reigning name in the Design Hotels ™ group, THE EMPEROR provides a spin on the traditional. Its brick facade leads to a modern minimalist interior, housing 55 rooms all named after old world emperors, also cartoonized on the hallways. Each royal suite comes with a flat screen TV, MP3 sound system, WiFi Internet, and even a butler at your request. Within walking distance to Beijing’s historic attractions, this eminent court also has a fusion resto called Shi and a rooftop bar called Yin, both converted into buzzing hotspots at night. The raising of lanterns at sunset and the ceremonial presentation of rice wines are a few of the Chinese touches in these bars. For those who want to relax and unwind, there’s also a spa and fitness center called Yue. Get to know more about the traditional without sacrificing comfort and style.
33 Qihelou Street, Dongcheng District, 100006 Beijing www.designhotels.com/theemperor 20 - www.statusmagonline.com
SUBCULTURE Photographed
by Boo Blanco
WASPS IN THE CITY A
“
t first, it was the look,” Vespa Club Pilipinas (VCP) cofounder John Rana confesses how he got started riding the Italian scooter with its enduring Euro vintage design. He recounts how the Philippine summer capital was once teeming with the classic Lambretta scooters in the 60s. But it was only three years ago when he formed VCP. Just a little trip away from Baguio City, the native Igorots have their own version—one entirely made of wood and probably been there much earlier. Yet just the same, Vespa riding is also a tribal activity in the city. VCP come together every month, inviting us to come over at Yellow Cab Pizza, an NYC topper place whose delivery men ride the same famed scooters. Adidas Originals collaborated with Vespa for a line of sneakers and apparel made for these swooshy wasps (lit. Vespa in Italian). It’s a band of riders who have scooted as far as the paradise island Boracay, with their Vespas floating with a ship for a while. “The worst are usually the best ones,” John refers an Ilocos-Isabela trip where heavy traffic and harsh rains made for a rougher trip. For a recreation that doubles the effort of a 4-hr car ride, what could make everything worth it? He replies back quite easily, “I became pretty adventurous.” It’s when you tell the story of a journey to another rider, he says, something common that make them understand this gang handshake called a honk. If you find yourself itching to show these free spirits a sign of approval next time you come across one of em, maybe it’s a hint you start riding yourself.
DESIGNHEADS OF THE ISLANDS, UNITE! C
reative culture in the Philippines continues to thrive with imagination. And to further charge this non-stop energy, Raymund Punzalan and Jowee Alviar, also known as Team Manila, head a group of artistic individuals to present Manila Design Week (MDW). “The idea is to bring graphic design to the streets and to the people... It’s an open, honest chance for all of us to show just how much talent the Philippines has got.” This attests to the duo’s effort in directing a strong current of fresh ideas into the community aside from their retail shops and art school. This August 8-15, 2009, MDW presents art shows, video exhibitions, student shows, and discussions with influencers in the art scene.
www.maniladesignweek.com
www.whoridesavespa.com
CONFESSIONS
OF A SOCIAL NETWORKHOLIC
“He’s literally everywhere.” somebody snarked about my online omnipresence, then it hits my LCD-lit face; I’m prolly addicted to lurking in every cybercorner I could get a username-password combo at. Man, I was just a noob blog whiner, but the internet has seriously evil fangs. Maybe I have to live more of my offline life, y’know, the real one with actual people. Wait, lemme tweet that.
Course TWITTER’s become a new media buzzword thanks to @aplusk (Ashton Kutcher) who beat @cnnbrk (CNN) to having a million followers and @Oprah who made her first tweet on TV. But before that, bitesized blogging that lets you write as long as your brainfart lasts was a novelty. For the first time in history, people could broadcast their every meal via their iPhones, conduct revolutions via web, and stream news via one-liner updates from the field.
Like its 20-something millionaire founder David Karp, I got moshed in with these Young Folks, hyperlinking on a digital scrapbook called TUMBLR. It’s the real-deal push-button publishing, replete with skinny hipsterettes and bearded geeks—most of them designers, artists, nerds, seekers of everything zany and meme-worthy—pimping the sexiest site themes and constantly measuring their self-worth through their Tumblarity.
And yet there’s the “other Twitter”, running on a dizzyingly confusing timeline as you begin to add more contacts. Get this: what Friendster is to MySpace. PLURK was my answer to the reign of the Fail Whale, Twitter’s bearer of downtime news. Its karma scoring system which rewards you with a dancing banana emoticon when you’re always plurking felt like the coolest thing since PostSecret. But it wasn’t.
What I do while updating these networks? Loop a vibe, of course, tuning in to the “social music revolution” LAST.FM. There’s no interrupting DJ (Coz that’s you!), there are infinitely more stations, and you don’t need to call in for requests. You just scrobble, playing randomly to expand your sonic taste, and get new music recommendations similar to what you usually listen to and mark as loved. Even ban the screamcore tracks you hate.
www.twitter.com
www.tumblr.com
www.plurk.com
www.last.fm
www.statusmagonline.com - 21
BEATS
Photographed by Carlo Roderos
BOOK REVIEWS
DJ PASE ROCK
www.paserock.com
Eli Escobar “Head To the Sky”
mc dash A.K.A. MIGHTY JOE YOUNG www.mightyjoeyoung.bandcamp.com
Francis M – YO! Remastered Version – “Mga Kababayan!” I bought a cassette tape of Francis M’s first album YO!. His second single “Mga Kababayan” is what gave me the drive to make it out here and to be where I am and proud to be Filipino. Marco Polo & Torae – Double Barrel – “Double Barrel” With the scene flooded with singsong autotune bullcrap, this album takes me back to the Boom Bap era, that raw 90’s hardcore. Something that hip-hop’s been missing these days. Public Enemy It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back “Night of the Living Baseheads” This not just your typical rap album; their target was the government, social Issues, racial problems, Afrocentricity, fighting the powers that be. Helmet ft. House of Pain Judgment Night OST “Just Another Victim” From the Golden Age once again (1993), a clever mix of metal/rock and rap/ hip-hop. Lovin’ the production from heavy going to Boom Bap groove; you gotta sink your head into this single.
22 - www.statusmagonline.com
Updated house song from my homie and fav producer. Great sound on this and real soulful like music should be. Amanda Blank “Make It Take It” My lil sis Amanda showing her feisty punk rap side. This was the music I wanted to hear her make. Rob Threezy – “Your Love” Rob is one of my fav producers right now. Nice 90’s sound updated with club beats. Pure delight.
Duck Sauce – “The Motion” I just picked this one from A-Trak and Armand Van Helden’s collaboration. In my opinion, this one is the sleeper. You’ll be seeing the other three jams on every DJ’s favorite songs of 2009 list. DJ Sega Let Me Clear My Throat A sureshot from the young Philly dude Sega. He has a million of them, but this is one of my favorites that I always play. Works every time.
DJ GRAHAM FUNKE www.myspace.com/grahamfunke Madcon – “Beggin” This track has been huge overseas for almost a year, already snatching up a number of European awards. And finally, some of us DJs are getting enough requests to justify a roll of the dancefloor dice. Gorilla Zoe – “Echo” What drew me to this new single from Gorilla Zoe is that it’s so different from the way he originally hit the streets with ‘Hood N---a.’ The musicality is uplifting, and the lyrics are metaphysically introspective, especially compared with older prose like ‘I can eyeball purp.’
Maino ft. T-Pain “All the Above” I was feeling ‘Hi Hater’ when it dropped. And then I see this single in my inbox, with T-Pain attached and a Just Blaze track in the vein of his new sound. This is quite possibly the most melodic song that will be released this year. Shwayze ft. Cisco Adler “Get U Home” Most likely influenced by the various electro acts that have taken an interest in the earlier singles, this new track stands to become a banger-dujour, with four-on-the-floor and a huge hook.
ACT UP: SLEEPWALK CIRCUS
E
ach strum on their guitars oozes with warmth and reverb; every string played out seems to last forever. The rhythm sections orchestrate order in a chaotic dissonance. This purported wall of noise harnesses the power of a thousand dreams, amplified and made into sonic abstracts that leave everything to waste. Through it all, Sleepwalk Circus just finished their set. Led by ringmaster/ guitarist Francis Lorenzo, the band pioneers the nugaze sound—a permutation of the shoegaze genre championed by the almighty Irish band My Bloody Valentine but with decipherable vocals being the only difference. Sleepwalk Circus continues to paint the canvas with bizarre strokes from the palette of sounds off the remnants of punk and noise. “It boils down to expression. Some of the weird sounds are there for a reason,” Francis explains their art. Just as the music is unabashedly indulgent and unbridled with rich textures of melodies rubbing against the grainy distortion feeds, so is the number of band members in the line-up, currently around 10, that keeps changing when there’s a show in town. “We don’t call them sessionists. We call them part of the circus,” quips the ringmaster, who describes how everybody rides the crazy carousel and contributes in their own way during recording sessions. During their live performances, he is accompanied by guitarist Peavey Nicholas, bassist Mica Cabildo, and drummer Jeric De la Cruz. Enormous, extravagant, and emollient, Sleepwalk Circus medicates your fix for something fresh in a scene overcrowded with pastiche rock acts and saccharine pop bands -Christopher Jan Benitez
cinemantics: COCO AVANT CHANEL O
nly a brave few actually reshape social conventions. In this case, the glorious biopic Coco avant Chanel shows how a mod maven overcame dogged dilemmas—public opinion included—and challenged her time’s corseted and feathered dressing protocols to produce something timeless. It’s a celebration of the time when Coco Chanel (Audrey Tautou) was still Gabrielle Chanel, an illegitimate daughter abandoned by her salesman father before the First World War. Also an aspiring cabaret singer, she moonlights as a stage clothes designer for the French actress and singer Mistinguett. It is, moreover, Coco’s involvement with some of the wealthiest men in France that launches her to the top of the fashion world.
DIRECTOR’S PICK: Karl Lagerfeld himself oversaw the costume and design that gave the film life and authenticity with what the House of Chanel embodied during the time: simplicity and boldness, elegance and sophistication, tied up with a signature touch of crazy. The sweeping and majestic shots of cocktail parties, social coteries, and gallant mansions not only helped to capture nostalgia and the eccentricities of the French chic movement but also dodged clichés that plague period films. However, it is Tautou, with her solid résumé of character-centric films, Amélie at the top of this list, and her nuanced performance that steal the show. Tautou channels her inner Chanel and expands the acceptable in her ascent from rags to couture in this stylistically powerful experience. -Christopher Jan Benitez
CHANNELING STYLES
SCREEN BOOK REVIEWS
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS T he movie that influences a lot of what I do is The Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson. I first saw it on a VHS tape from our neighborhood video store. I remember seeing the trailer online and being fascinated by the old school track suits and the vintage Fila tennis shirts, so I quickly grabbed the only copy from the backroom shelf. It wasn’t a clear one, but I just loved everything about it—the story, the characters, the art direction, the costumes, the music, the camera movement—it was everything I wanted lumped together in one movie. I think I’ve seen it over 20 times, yet I sit and watch it every time I catch it on HBO. There are a lot of great scenes in the movie like the amazing opening title sequence, Margot Tenenbaum
stepping out of the bus, but I think the most memorable one for me is the Richie Tenenbaum suicide scene. The combination of music (Elliot Smith’s “Needle in the Hay”) and the visuals made it feel like a very honest scene. If you look at some of my videos, you will see little tributes to Wes Anderson. Whether it’s in the art direction, the camera movement, or costume design, I can say there is a clear influence, but I also try to make it my own. I only wish that if and when I make my own movie, it is half as great as Tenenbaums. -Pancho Esguerra, commercial and music video director (Up Dharma Down’s “Sana”, Bamboo’s “Probinsiyana”, Taken by Cars’ “December 2 Chapter VII”, etc.) under the creatives group Springboard
Flipping through the channels, you’ll have realized how fashion is jucier than ever. And if you wanna tune in to the better broadcasts on how to live the fabulous life, keep browsing-while hogging the remote.
Beverly Hills Swagger
Upper East Side Flair
I
The OCD Report
f there’s one thing GOSSIP GIRL has taught us, aside from looking around before kissing someone, it’s how to dress like a lady on a mission ala Blair Waldorf. Complete the look with a bottomless arsenal of skirts, bows, and headbands matched with killer red lips. Want the billionaire bohemian look? Serena’s loose tops and dresses don’t fly solo with blazers and trench coats to keep her warm. With this much style, it’s no wonder the city never sleeps.
S
A Day at the Zoe
eing near the beach 24/7 at 90210 is just too much temptation to stay wrapped up. Why cover up that perfect tan with a long-sleeved shirt, right? LA is all about cruising Sunset Boulevard with your top down, shades up, and your game on. Let your hair—and everything else—flow with Annie Wilson’s dresses matched with surfer highlights. Channel Naomi with shorts that dawn glowing legs and voila! You’re ready to go from club hopping to a night swim.
traight from Tyra’s vault of hit show ideas comes another “fierce” reality prod— STYLISTA. From conceptualizing high fashion spreads, creating the next big trends (even from Chinatown), to sleeping with your grammar books over your heads, this is about the struggle of scrutinizing every drop of ink that goes on the pages of Elle under its “Devil Wears Prada” editor Anne Slowey. It’s not only your sense of chic that gets tested in the fire but also your OCD.
Y
Wintour Warrant: Dress like a star, and you might just be one.
Wintour Warrant: If this city never sleeps, neither should your stylist.
Wintour Warrant: Whoever says you can’t have it all definitely did not know Anne Slowey.
Wintour Warrant: Even with just two assistants, there’s always more than enough to stir drama.
B
ou have to admit that her frail figure carries a job with more substance than we give her credit for. Aside from featuring TiVo-friendly drama, THE RACHEL ZOE PROJECT lets us in on what it’s like creating looks and images for LA’s brightest stars. Juggling presence in global fashion events and finding the OMGI-die dress for her clients actually takes strong legs and a lucid eye. “We’re not saving lives,” she says, but with a job like this, you might as well try saving yours.
www.statusmagonline.com - 23
INK
Three Hundred and Seventeen and Counting
BOOK REVIEWS
Pygmy
by Steven Meisel
by Chuck Palahniuk
O
n the surface, Pygmy crudely reads like a teen movie—first love, awkward school dances, raging hormones—but this isn’t a John Hughes film from the 80’s. We’re talking about a book written by Chuck Palahniuk, so expect it to be really effed up. Almost 10 years after the initial release of David Fincher’s cult adaptation of Fight Club, Palahniuk unleashes his 10th novel about a group of expertly-trained teenage terrorists infiltrating the bowels of America to engage Operation Havoc, a carefullyconstructed plan for ethnic cleansing. Told through the fragmented language inside the dispatch reports of Pygmy a.k.a. Agent 67, a Hitler-quoting, 13-yearold exchange student from an unknown communist country, the book paints a hilarious, and often disturbing, picture of America today.
Living with a typical suburban family, Pygmy secretly builds bombs, steals money from the Church, and falls in love with his foster sister (who’s also a spy), while the other operatives impregnate sex-craved American teenagers. The novel is rife with Palahniuk’s nihilistic themes and signature choruses. In one riotous chapter, he manages to turn a mock United Nations Peace Assembly into a deadly teen party complete with drugs, alcohol, and the requisite titflashing—an allegory for actual UN assemblies? Well, perhaps. Within the 36 dispatches that comprise the book, Palahniuk satirizes with conviction America’s capitalistic nature, its blatant consumerism, the overly-hyped media, flawed educational system, faux-religion, and the dumbing down of its youth. Yes, it’s New Frontier xenophobia at its finest. Wow, this right here would make one hell of a teen movie—Molly Ringwald not included. -Shinji Manlangit
The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman
T
his September, the January in fashion, counts four years since Scott Schuman started his now world-famous street style photoblog The Sartorialist, counting 100,000 clicks everyday. But this time, he has compiled his favorite shots in this Penguin book of the blog’s same title since he shifted his concentration to photography from his job at the showrooms peddling brands like Valentino, Helmut Lang, and Jean-Paul Gaultier. And he now has a monthly page in GQ, an ad for GAP, and worldwide fashion week stints for Style.com. Now flying back and forth from cities like Milan, Paris, Sydney, New Delhi, Rio, to NYC, he has definitely wowed seekers of street style inspiration. Every metro scene has spawned its own spin on what’s marvelous according to his lens. It is so refined and, to some, trivial that they have come up with lists on how they can be photographed by The Sartorialist, speculatively depending on wearing a tailored
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men’s suit, donning private school uniforms, smoking, and rocking heels with boyfriend shirts. Truth is: he could choose a scarved painter as one of his favorite subjects over a pack of gorgeous brand-wearing models. But one thing is certain; fashionistas are one snap away from begging him to photograph them. Who wouldn’t be mesmerized by his criteria, his assiduous attention to details and favor for the living and breathing over looks that reek of sterile store shelves and display windows? Imagine 512 pages of successful quests for the right pocket square, cuffed sleeves, and tapered pants— this elusive balance hanging timeless in a shot. The bias for bicycles, tailoring, and scarves are only natural; the method, after all, is as how designers hunt for inspirations. Sure you could be Carine Roitfeld wearing fur and a band-aid on her knee, but you might as well be an old man at Chinatown wearing his clothes and not worn by it. In Scott’s eye, style is just as it is. -Nante Santamaria
E
ver definitive of the past, present, and future of man in fashion, photographer Steven Meisel’s thirty-year body of work spans countless images depicting what can only be described as the utterly, tragically hip. The very heartbeat pumping blood through the industry’s fickle veins, Meisel has taken spindly, gamine limbs and spawned supermodels, from Naomi and Linda, Amber and Christy, to Liya and Stella, Coco and Agyness. “He was the first person to introduce me to the idea of reinvention,” says Madonna in a recent Vogue tribute. Their collaborations—the cover of Like a Virgin, her controversial, titular 1992 book Sex—milestones in her career, have cemented her as one of the most relevant women in pop culture, if not of all time. “You get sucked into his aura. He knows things.” This, from the queen herself, confirms our suspicion: Steven Meisel, iconic image maker, is as much a muse as he is an artist—and how. Despite a throne in front of an obsessive media, fashion’s godfather is a recluse. When mysterious, press-shy Meisel allows the slightest homage, the otherwise excessively critical world of fashion rejoices. This year, Mallard/Janvier releases a third slice from the tastemaker’s portfolio, a twentyyear chronicle of Meisel’s staunch commitment to aesthetic renewal and timeless ephemera, to devastating hyperrealities and edges that cut sharp and deep. Once more, the public is abuzz. It isn’t difficult to see how Vogue Italia has come to devote its cover to such artistic zeal not once, not twice, but all of three hundred and seventeen times, for we, too are endlessly enamored. -Ada Lopez
d.yee Jason of The Boggs Castor Straw Fedora Spring ‘07
BrixtonAd_Fader-0507-Print.indd 1
4/2/07 3:26:55 PM
IGNITION
N O I T I N IG
Highlights: Maximum Output (hp @ rpm): 240 @ 4000 Torque (Nm @ rpm): 500 @ 1500 Fuel Economy: 9.3 miles/ gallon $37,200 www.audi.com
Highlights:
Cruze Control C
hevrolet is out to make an impact. They have started their trek in the compact car segment by introducing the CRUZE. It boasts an upscale midsize car design together with great proportions making it comfortable for 5 people to enjoy their ride. The interior finish has more detail with their 2-tone leather seats. The new acoustically pleasing sound system will definitely make the ride more fun. For more power, their Double Continuous Variable Cam Phasing feature optimizes the engine’s charge cycle . This also means that there is reduced emissions and fuel consumption making it friendlier for the environment. It just shows that good value doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style.
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Maximum Output (hp @ rpm): 110 @ 6000 Torque (Nm @ rpm): 113/153 @ 4200 Fuel Economy: 35.1 miles/gallon $18,700 www.chevrolet.com
Crossing Over N
owadays more drivers are ditching their bulky SUV’s for more fuel efficient crossover SUV’s. The Audi Q5 is the latest luxury car in compactluxury sport-utility segment. It is 3 inches shorter, 3 inches wider but drives like an A4. It has more safety features like a roof load sensor, parking system w/ rearview camera, high/low beam assistant, side assistant and an adaptive cruise control system. The Q5 also added multimedia functionalities such as the MMI system with intelligent speech control system, Bluetooth telephone, DVD drive, iPod interface with a 500 watt Bang & Olufsen speaker system. And lets not forget what all Audi cars are known for—their beautiful interior is made in quality plastics, supple leather, and exact engineered controls.
TECH PACK
NOKIA N97
Touch screen or qwerty keyboard, 48 gig memory, customized navigation, 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens, 3.5mm stereo headset, nokia maps city guide, Facebook, Flickr and My Space friendly too! SRP: $695
Pro-ject Debut Turntables
MDF plinth, cast steel platter, suspended motor, High quality tone arm, steel/sapphire arm bearings, Ortofon OM5e cartridge SRP: £240.00
Messless Charger
Compatible with Nokia phones, Sony Ericsson handsets, iPods, PSPs and mini USB connectors SRP: £69.95
Tech pack With all the commotion in the modern world it’s nice to know that our gadgets can stay nice and simple.
Ricoh CX1 Digital Camera
9 megapixel CMOS sensor fronted by a 7.1x (28-200mm) lens and 3-inch LCD SRP: $430
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SWAG
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SWAG
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ABOUT FACE
OUT WITH THE OLD IN WITH THE NEW
Body scrubs aren’t just for luxurious relaxation. They wash away aged, dead dermal cells and make way for new, healthier skin. By cleaning your pores out, they also reduce the risk of zit breakouts. So scrub away, it’s gonna do you good.
SWEET SCRUB OF MINE Take that sweet tooth of yours to a whole new level. FRESH Brown Sugar Body Polish is a great alternative to salt, with sugar being more soothing and a natural antiseptic. It doesn’t sting on wounds and calms the skin as you apply.
FOOD FOR THE SKIN Ingredients from nature straight to your skin, CAROL’S DAUGHTER Almond Cookie Sea Salt Scrub is all-natural. It utilizes sea salt as an exfoliant and numerous edible ingredients for an adorable scent, yummy enough to eat.
Beauty Bite: Shu Uemura
J
apanese cosmetics giant SHU UEMURA is spreading their philosophy of respecting one’s own skin across the globe. Their ever-expanding store locations are a clear sign for the demand of their products. Their latest concept store in Manila is located at Power Plant Mall in Rockwell area of Makati
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City. This location is fully stocked with their cosmetics, skin care and makeup tools. Weather it’s their fun and fanciful eye lashes or popular cleansing oils your searching for, you’ll be sure to find it there. 2nd level North Wing, Powerplant mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City,
SOAK UP THE SUN Summer comes only once a year, but fret not, PHILOSOPHY Sweet Coconut Milk Salt Rub and Shower Scrub makes the wait easier. One whiff and you’ll realize that summer is just one bath away. Coconut milk is also known for its antimicrobial properties, definitely keeping acne at bay.
OLIVE GODDESS The secret of olive oil was discovered by the ancient Greeks and Romans; now TOCCA stole that secret from their gods and goddesses. Its Esfoliante da Corpo Stella Blood Orange Rich Body Polish uses super fine crushed olive granules, harnessing the benefits of olive oil such as polyphenol compounds that prevent and repair sun damage.
D.I.Y.
JAZZ UP YO JACKET
Transform your basic blazer into a paparazziready Lady Gagaesque sleeveless armor top. Schemed by Kermit Tesoro Photographed by Patrick L. Jamora
P2
P1
STE
STE
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WEARING THE FUTURE
Find a basic black jacket you haven’t been using.
P5
P4
STE
STE
Sew gold over black ruffles at the shoulders.
P6
STE
Stitch 2 buttons in place.
STE
Sew together a strip of fabric, ribbon, zipper, sequins, and military patch.
YOURSELF
Close the lapels, and sew black ruffles around the neckline
Make ruffles out of gold and black fabric scraps.
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P7
STE
GGOOGLE I YIT:
Cut its sleeves off.
With a safety pin, attach the patch bouquet to the jacket’s chest.
ED
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SH INI
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T!
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D RO
Name: Kermit Tesoro Age: 21 years old School: UP Diliman, Fashion Institute of the Philippines, School of Fashion and the Arts Mentors: Marlon Rivera, Shannon Pamaong, Christine Benet First clothing article he made: An outfit I made for Pulp Summer Slam 2. Moshpit! Cuttings and knots shirt and an improvised slipknot mask. Some of his Collections: Lil Bo Peep meets Lil Miss Muffet Show: on the truth about children and their nightmares, sweet tooth, and the cavities (September 2006); Philippine Fashion Week S/S09: intersection of two artistic disciplines to introduce unorthodox materials, collaboration with Leeroy New (October 2008), Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 09: an attempt in modifying the definition of black (May 2009) Style inspirations: Future wear and genetically modified clothes What he thinks about future wear: A different configuration of forms, proportion, and silhouette. Manipulation of drafts and constructing an odd draft of pattern to vent an anatomically correct outfit. Favorite designers: Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Nicolas Ghesquière, Elsa Schiaparelli, Riccardo Tisci, and Mary Quant—the surrealists and the subversives. What to expect on his next runway show: Maybe a visual mockery to an organization authorized by its nation to use force: the military
Learn how to do more DIY projects with these trusty cybermanual sites.
ThreadBanger For up-cyclers and re-fashioners using simple tools and techniques.
www.threadbanger.com
OutsaPop Trashion Channeling runway items with a Finnish indie girl.
www.outsapop.com
Burda Style Open source sewing for more advanced do-it-yourselfers.
www.burdastyle.com
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GO SEE
Baret
Blazer
Plaid Shirt Plaid Shirt
ee S Go 32 - www.statusmagonline.com/GOSEE
Fringe Shorts
Graphic Tee
Nylon Vest
GO SEE
Rolled Pants
Prairie Skirt Varsity Jacket
Skinny Jeans
Fitted Cap
Boots
Leather Jacket
Button Down
Khakis Stripe Tee
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SWAG AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2009
Photographed by Revolution Make up by Sharon Soledad-Malig of Shu Uemura Modeled by Michelle Panemanglor of Calcarrie’s International Models Philippines and Terence Lloyd of Monaco Models & Casting Agency
swag
TWO STEP
Look forward to these clean styles of classic sneaker silhouettes. Bye bye hype.
Shoes by Pointer “Mathieson” [P4,860] 36 - www.statusmagonline.com
Element [P4,500]
Alife Everybody Mid [P5,875]
Generic Surplus Pointy Oxford [P3,350]
Pony City Wings Lo Pacific [P2,995]
Gourmet [P4,175]
Gourmet L’due [P4,730]
Pointer Debaser [P6,000]
Puma [P2,650]
Element [P5,500]
Ecko Unltd Jupin [P3,495]
Element [P4,500]
Zoo York [P3,890]
Clae Mcqueen [P6,200]
Alife Everybody Mid [P5,875]
Bleach Catastrophe [P1,950]
Clae Thompson [P7,600]
Element Mike Vallely [P5,200]
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SWAG
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Topman [P2,245] Puma [P1995] RMK [P4,700] Obey [P4980] Stussy [P3,000]
CHECK IT
From hipsters to tricksters, plaid button down shirts keep the boys lookin young and laid-back.
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Shirt by Stussy [P3,000] Jeans by Fresh [P5,520]
5.
1. Junk Food [P1,650] 2. Bleach Catastrophe [P995] 3. Adidas [P1,895] 4. Ezekiel [P1,700] 5. Girbaud [P950] 6. Puma [P1,020] 7. RMK [P1,980] 8. Transformers [P299.75] 9. Harry Potter [P249.75] 10. Nixon [P1,950] 11. Stussy [P1,225] 12. Topman [P1,095] 13. Vonzipper [P1,950] 14. Mighty Healthy [P1,850] 15. Obey [P1,100]
A PRINTED MATTER Sometimes our graphic designed tees can get all the attention. With rich, colorful designs, we say, why the hell not?
Shirt by RMK [P1,980] Jeans by RMK [P5,875] Hat by Brixton [P2,640]
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swag 2.
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Dress by Pink Manila [P950] Jacket by Marithe et Francois Girbaud [P1,000] Shoes by Aldo [P5,295]
5. 7. 6.
ALL TIED UP
Laced up shoes turn childhood memories into stylish statements. Remember the rule: bunny ears then knot. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
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Ilaya [P1,400] Charles & Keith[P3,450] Possibility [P2,650] Aldo [P5295] Charles & Keith [P2,199] Possibility [P1,500] Charles & Keith [P3,450] Possibility [P1,660] Trunkshow [P890]
swag
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3.
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Top by C. Luce [P1,980] Jumper by C. Luce [P2,160] Bag by Aldo [P2,895]
STAR STUDDED
These rockstar studs are the perfect accents to your humble bag. It’s time to hit the party. No photos or autographs please. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Lyn [P3,795] Aranaz [P3,600] Aldo Accessories [P2,395] Anne Klein [P7,450] Lyn [P3,795] DKNY [P11,500]
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swag
2.
1.
MAD HATTER
Don’t call it a comeback ‘coz classic fedora will always have a place in our closet. It’s the new, eyecatching styles that we’ll keep switching up. 6.
7.
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The Ramp [P750] Aldo Accessories [P1,455] Aldo Accessories [P1,455] Obey [P2,325] Christies Crown Series [P2,760] Aldo Accessories [P1,455] Christies Crown Series [P1,985]
Hat by Christy’s Crown Series [P1,985] Dress by C.Luce [P2,980]
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swag
1.
COOKIE MONSTER
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Eat me.
5.
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Presto Creams [P5.00] Jolly [P5.00] Cream-O [P5.00] Hansel Chocolate Sandwich [P5.00] Rebisco Straberry Sandwich [P5.00]
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LOWRES 44 - www.statusmagonline.com
STATUS INVADES ...
Photos courtesy of Tabatha McGurr
Tabatha McGurr
Affectionately known as the “PR Bitch” of the famed female line Married to the Mob, Tabatha McGurr is also one of our favorite bloggers, one whose point of view is honest, funny, sarcastic, and all the things you wish you could say to someone’s face but can’t. Hey, it’s not everyday you meet a girl who freely speaks her mind and actually makes sense!
”If I could see any celebrity sex tape, it would be Kenny Powers’, hands down. Even if he’s just solo.
“Since I was a little kid, I’ve adored and collected stickers. Then I took my first trip to Japan around the age of 8 and found sticker heaven. I can’t go to Tokyu Hands every weekend, so I’ll order myself a shit ton online when I’m in a sad mood and have money,.. I don’t open them; I’m saving them for love letters.”
“These are my ‘must have at all times’ items from inside my makeup bag. Wipes (for everything from whore baths to cleaning my camera lens), Visine (ask Keith Murray why), Fresh mascara and lip balm, hemp Itch-AWay (courtesy of Leah and her trip to Belize!), tweezers, and of course a little mirror.”
“My boyfriend and I went on vacation to the Dominican Republic in May, fucking incredible. The only shit we really wanted to bring back were cigarettes, rum, and dominos. I saw this beautifully-tanned titty milk-saucer at a gift shop and freaked out.”
“...that gorgeous couple on the cover represents my boyfriend and I... He sent me an old photo of him with lion-esque hair, and I thought he looked like the total kind of cheese dick that would be on a romance novel, so I googled ‘romance novel covers’, found that shit, and just photoshopped his face in. He said it’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for him.”
“This particular note is from when my chocolate love Melissa...Besides it being funny, the resemblance to me is uncanny.”
“People that frequent our site are definitely familiar with the infamous Will Moy, spring street stalker/lover extraordinaire. This was the front of the card he made/gave me for Valentine’s day.”
“That’s my little baby, Coco. After I turned 18 in September, I went out to LA with my Dad, and as a birthday gift, he got me a tattoo from Mister Cartoon.”
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MAESTRo
The Golden Voice Tune in to Swedish indie singer LYKKE LI as she shares a little bit about her upcoming sophomore album, being inspired by a topless Jane Birkin, like she’s looking at you in the eye. By Nante Santamaria Photographed by Taufiq Hosen
S
tockholm’s indie muse Lykke Li (pronounced “lookee”), has risen to world fame and definitely gone far since a singin’-in-the-loo YouTube gig. Now at the last leg of her debut album Youth Novels tour in US and Europe, she wonders, “It seems everyone else is more obsessed with where my home is than I am. I haven’t found mine yet. But I like sunshine,” she offers a good starting criterion. Just as bright as her preferred address, some call her music powdered-sugar pop— sweet and memorable but very fine, as fine as someone who’s collaborated with fellow Swedish Bjorn Yttling, the bass/ keys/co-vox of Peter Bjorn and John. With all the aural quirks of theremin, mellotron, children’s choir, and sometimes even a string section, Youth Novels definitely rang among last year’s best albums while “I’m Good, I’m Gone” made it to the 24th of Rolling Stone’s Top 100. It’s still “The voice for sure!” that she loves to play the most with, so listen up as she speaks with us about being raised in an artistic family, writing her new album, and drinking whisky on the floor. I’m so thankful for the people who recommended your music to me; I think that’s how most folks learn about you. How do you love the Internet? I have a hate and love relationship with the Internet; I love that I can connect with so many people when I choose too but don’t like the things that can spread like a fire when it’s not coming from me. I always think it’s better to look people in the eye, if you know what I mean. It says on your MySpace that you’re influenced by a topless Jane Birkin. I could see some resemblance, but what’s this about? I was watching a YouTube clip of her where she was lying on a piano topless singing and found it to be so liberating. It seems it is such a sexist environment today that only certain kinds of girls do that. I wish we could all just
ALT LYKKE ‘LIST
be free like we want to. Like Beth Ditto! Do you read a lot? Is that why Youth Novels? I love reading and try to read as much as possible. I love reading classics as well as contemporary ones. Any titles you highly recommend? Right now, I’m reading The Lover by Marguerite Duras. So far, so good. You’re now also becoming known as some style siren, posing for those magazines like Elle. NY mag’s even complaining that you’re not in men.style.com’s Women of Fashion 2009 list. How do you feel about that? Style is nothing I think about. I follow my day mood and try to make the best of what I have. You mentioned before that your whole life has been a preparation for making music, and the little bit of time you have between performing now is the creation. What are the usual impulses? My broken heart. Walking in a grey Stockholm with the rain splashing on my face. Drinking whisky on a floor.
How’s your second album going? Could you tell us more about your creative process? It’s a very interesting process that’s slowly moving forward. It’s very different than my last one, and the songs are rather beautiful. It’s darker.
What does the Future hold for Lykke Li? Babies and great music.
www.lykkeli.com
Why did you choose to become a musician like your father instead of becoming a photographer like you mom? What was the best thing you learned from him? As strange as it may seem, my parents have nothing to do with what I do. I did what my heart told me to, and therefore I can’t really take advice from anyone else either... The best thing I’ve learned from him is to roll tobacco and how to take the C chord on the guitar. I liked it when you said that when you make music, it’s either you dance or you cry. Which is it now?
“Dance Dance Dance” ft. Bon Iver “Knocked Up” Kings of Leon cover “Hustlin’” Rick Ross cover “Belonging It Up” The Hood Internet remix “I’m Good, I’m Gone” cover by Friendly Fires
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It’s beyond that. It’s mourning as well as laughing out loud.
“Style is nothing I think about. I follow my day mood and try to make the best of what I have.” www.statusmagonline.com - 46
maestro
e z a l B h s i Engl By Ralph Mendoza Photographed by Rebecca Miller
“It seemed we could be a band but get more from people than mosh pits or geezers; nursing larger singing anthems back to you whilst swaying arrhythmically.”
S
FIRES FRIENDLY o i r t d e dg bands n! Hard-e exciting e m t e s r o fi m e e h h t t ike to Call off as one of e we’d l e r z fi a r e c n o a is lights up 9. This this 200 h c t a w to nin. keep bur
taples in almost every iPod and club playlist, their songs have spread like wildfire since Friendly Fires’ self-titled debut album saw the light in September 2008. A sprint through the record reveals why they’re immensely likeable: the melodies. While the tracks are lucid displays of their lush references—electro, disco, punk, and on occasion, a welcome nod to shoegaze—the anthemic melodies are the reasons why Friendly Fires have become, in recent times, the gods of radio repetition and music blog overposting. No wonder Brooklyn band Au Revoir Simone went out of their (gorgeous) way to do a cover of “Paris” with the psychedelic duo Aeroplane. No wonder kindred musical spirits Grum, Air France, and Thin White Duke paid similar tributes. And so did every teenager in his or her own bedroom “covering” and dancing to “Strobe” and “On Board.” Comprised of Ed MacFarlane (vocals), Edd Gibson (guitar), and Jack Savidge (drums), the band trace their roots all the way to the suburban town of St Albans in England. Boredom had probably set in, which soon paved the way for the obvious…and the disco. When asked by Erin Clements of Elle what the single “Skeleton Boy” meant to him, MacFarlane not only gave his easy two-cents, he offered a definitive idea as to what the band was genuinely trying to get at all this time: “It’s a song about escapism,
which is very important in our music. I don’t like lyrics that remind me of the real world. I like music that takes me somewhere else. That’s why I love disco and house. It’s about closing your eyes on the dance floor and being somewhere else.” Here, STATUS caught up with MacFarlane for a few more words on their music. Enjoy. And no smoking within 20 feet. There appears to be a ton of upbeat funk and electro in the mix. Where did all this come from? When we were about 17, we started listening to more and more dance/electronica type music and going out to clubs. Experiencing people actually dancing for hours on end had an effect on what we wanted our music to do to people. It seemed we could be a band but get more from people than mosh pits or geezers nursing larger singing anthems back to you whilst swaying arrhythmically. Who are your biggest influences and why? We all really love My Bloody Valentine. Their melodies are amazing. The guitars and synths just bleed into one another, so you never really know what you’re listening to. More recently, we’ve been listening to plenty of disco; Todd Terje has a fine range of edits that are genuinely fun pop that get people dancing. Liquid Liquid has been a great inspiration. What were you guys doing before getting into music?
We were all at school together. I suppose just watching cartoons and eating sweets like any other 3-foot moron. Right now seems like a great time for you guys. How are you finding all this sped-up fame? It’s great. Our records have just gone gold, so we’ll all have something shiny to decorate our respective toilets with. We’re getting to play in South America soon. We best savor these dizzying highs before the crushing lows begin. How are the tours coming along? It’s festival season for us now. We’re really looking forward to playing Calvi on the Rocks Festival. We always try and book the whole weekend off because it’s such a good site and the line-up’s the bomb. Any notable band routines before a show? Gin and tonic. Who would make into your fantasy band lineup, living or dead? The vocalist from Boards of Canada, White Stripes’ bassist, Lady Gaga’s drummer, Lightning Bolt’s guitarist. What are your plans for the rest of 2009? Get playing ‘till September then lock ourselves away until we’ve written a second album.
www.wearefriendlyfires.com
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MAESTRo
THE CALLING
Rising fast among his peers, rapper NIMBUS NINE, also known as GINO FERAREN, is pushing his music to connect with global musicians, while at the same time, proudly repping his roots along the way. By Raymond Ang Photographed by Revolution
A
tall, formidable man in a wife-beater enters the Filling Station, an unassuming diner located in the heart of Manila’s red light district. Suddenly, I’m intimidated. Maybe a little bit scared. It sure is enough to make me stop sipping my drink. Meet Gino Feraren and his alter ego Nimbus Nine. Like Marshall Mathers before him, “Nimbus Nine” is the persona Gino takes on to do his thing. “Things I feel like I could never do myself, Nimbus Nine can.” Gino elaborates, “I wasn’t really exposed to too much local hip-hop but I really loved the music,” he says. “I discovered UrbanPinoy.net, and that’s where I linked up with different heads from all over— from down South, people from Parañaque, Las Piñas, FilAmericans. There was a whole hip-hop community that I never knew existed. I started to develop a hip-hop persona.” In 2002, his high school junior year, he linked up with his beat-making friend known as Limbs. It was, Gino recalls, his first exposure to producing and making music, “He used to make beats in his room. We just freestyled the whole day and just started recording.” The dynamic between the rough and soft edges of Feraren’s persona is what informs Nimbus Nine’s music.
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While Nimbus Nine provides the beats and hip-hop bravado, it is Gino who provides the lyrics, the odes to Manila, and the social realist portraits in songs like “Manila Boys,” “Jeep,” and “Semento at Buhangin” from his first album Philippine Phenom. And it is in these lyrics that he reveals himself as more than your ordinary rapper, like the hard armor and hiphop machismo of Nimbus Nine is just a mask to let him do death-defying acts of empathy. Nimbus Nine finds his Third World reality inspiring. “It’s that hustle-bustle energy, kahit na pagod na pagod ka na, tuloy-tuloy ka pa rin, lagare pa rin nang lagare (even though you’re tired, you still go forward, you keep going at it).”It’s an offshoot of colonial mentality, and perhaps it’s only positive offshoot. Living in the Philippines, where people are constantly trying to prove themselves the equal of their foreign compatriots, gives you a yearning for something better. “There’s hunger in a lot of aspects,” he says. “Being Third World hungry, being hungry for recognition, being hungry to do well and make it big. You see people work day and night shifts, non-stop, taking two jobs and going to school afterwards. I guess it applies all over the world but it’s different when
majority of the people have that [kind of life]. It rubs off [on you].” But Nimbus Nine isn’t the only one. A lot of his fellow artists are finding their footing and making hiphop their own. “With hip-hop,” he says, “I think it’s in its puberty stage. It’s growing. It’s like when Superman started to find out he has laser powers in his eyes and super-strength.” He has a lot of respect for his labelmates from Turbulence Production. “They’re really high caliber MCs. If you listen to them, those are really dope lyrics. All of us are born and bred over here. It’s different when you hear MCs who are Filipinos but came from the States. Here, our exposure is different.” Right now, Nimbus Nine is keeping himself busy with gigs in some of the Manila scene’s haunts, like Saguijo and Route 196. Within the year, he plans to release an album, a product of his nonstop writing and performing. It is this scene which Nimbus Nine wants to give back to with his internet-only 2009 release Back 2 the New School. “This is something that is a giveaway to people.”—a generous, heartfelt one.
www.myspace.com/nimbus9ine
Top9: Nimbus
’s
Jay- Z - “A Million and One Questions” remix Lauryn Hill Feat. D’Angelo “Nothing Really Matters” Blackstar - “Respiration” D’Angelo - “Send It On” Kanye West - “Spaceship” Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill “Turn Your Lights Down Low” Alicia Keys - “Slow Down” Common feat. Mary J. Blige “Come Close” Los Indios Bravos - “Dunong”
“Being Third World hungry, being hungry for recognition, being hungry to do well and make it big... I guess it applies all over the world but it’s different when majority of the people have that [kind of life].”
maestro MAESTRO
y r t s i m he
c d n u o s
Once in a while, a crappy track is made bearable by a creative mash-up. But what a joy when an already awesome one is mixed-up with another of its caliber. THE HOOD INTERNET is all about racking up these kind of moments. By Raymond Ang Photographed by Clayton Hauck
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t all starts with a beat. This particular one is coming from your everyday, collecting-cobwebs-in-yourbasement, keyboard...played by a cat. Yes, a furry, four-legged cat. The one that goes “Meow.” Before you can properly digest this absurd display of musical virtuosity, you realize that the smooth, familiar voice riding over this beat is none other than Grammy-winning R&B singer Usher. It’s “Love In This Club,” with the Polow da Don production ditched for the supernaturally talented cat’s keyboard— The Hood Internet’s Usher vs Keyboard Cat “Play Him Off, In This Club”. Welcome to the world of The Hood Internet—where the beats are tight, ideas innovative, and possibilities limitless. Aaron Brink and Steve Reidell first met as rivals. Online, DJ STV SLV (Steve) and ABX (Aaron) used to download each other’s songs and take the occasional pot shot at each other on wax. Offline, they knew of each other through their solo gigs and, eventually, in bands they played together in, like the Chicago art-pop band May Or May Not. Eventually, rivalry turned into an alliance, which then turned into The Hood Internet in spring 2007. They set up thehoodinternet. com as their home base, where Brink and Reidell released their full song mashups. “I mean, you know, conceptually A plus B, voila. But we do cut things apart, assemble instrumentals from the split studio tracks, EQ things to fit in here and there,” says Reidell. Complete with photoshopped “album art” for each title, The Hood Internet, according to their official Facebook profile, “gives the people what they want on a daily basis— even if they don’t know they want it yet.”
Marrying the divergent worlds of hip-hop, indie rock, classic rock, and even pop together, they find the common thread in these radically diverse genres. “We listen to a lot of music and experiment with mixing different songs together before getting the right combination,” says Brink. He also adds that their mash-ups are still based on hip-hop traditions. “A big influence is the use of samples throughout the history of hip-hop—taking existing music and putting it in a different context to make something new.” The mash-up has gained a reputation as a particularly independent form of music. Imagine: Some tech-savvy fan messing with his Mac’s GarageBand deconstructs that song you wrote about the dissolution of your marriage and decides to marry it with block-rocking beats from hip-hop’s latest tastemaker. With all the power of the Internet and modern technology, this shows how this genre can truly stand alone. It’s not like the record labels have been calling anyway. “Major labels couldn’t really sell our music... I think the recording industry has bigger problems than to worry about going after mash-up artists,” Brink says. What makes The Hood Internet stand out from the rest of the mash-up pack is this palpable sense of fandom, that they really are fans of these genres, that they truly respect these artists. So even while they’re forcing Usher into a collaboration with a spinster’s best friend, they retain the swagger of “Love in This Club.” And so far, The Hood Internet hasn’t received any hate mail from the artists they sample. Brink takes this one step further. “When we meet
artists whose music we’ve messed with,” he says, “and they know who we are.” They consider that the best response they’ve had.
www.thehoodinternet.com
Listen to this: “ABX – I’m a Flirt (Shoreline)” (R. Kelly vs. Broken Social Scene) A song about a destructive love and one about flirting…a lot. Common sense would tell us that the pee fetishist and Canadian indie rockers did not foresee a mash-up this perfect but the Lego-like fit of the songs’ different elements tell us otherwise. “DJ STV SLV – What One Thing Do You Want Me To Say” (The Dismemberment Plan vs. Amerie) Here’s the thing with Amerie’s “One Thing”: It’s a great summer song with a great beat that gets ruined by Amerie’s Beyonce-lite vocals. The Hood Internet’s solution? Take Amerie out of the equation and replace her with the Dismemberment Plan. Not as nice to look at, more pleasant on the ears though. “ABX – The Ghostface of You Lingers” (Ghostface Killah vs. Spoon) Spoon’s “The Ghost of You Lingers” is a weird little oddity of a break-up song. How do you make an already weird song weirder? Throw in a former Wu-Tang Clan member, and watch sparks fly.
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“...a good DJ puts the craft first before the money...”
FASHEN
Everyone knows that a good DJ can make or break the party. But when you’re rockin’ the hottest clubs worldwide like DJ FASHEN, you are the party. Interview by E Photographed by Karolina Turek
W
ith over 10 years on radio and over 20 years spinning at clubs and events, one can say that DJ Fashen has definitely paid his dues. His long history with music has fine-tuned his ear for spinning the party’s perfect play list. Pretty cool for someone who had no intention of being a DJ. “Times were kinda tough back then. I was working at a large sneaker store chain, bussing tables at a restaurant, and DJing on the side for fun. It was never meant to be a career,” he says. But it happened, and we are thankful it did too. Today, we are blessed with amazing club nights (in LA, Vegas, Canada, Tokyo, Hong Kong...), free mix downloads (like the ones on his MySpace), and body pains (from those moves you pulled during his last set. Yeah, don’t act like you didn’t try to pop and lock.) It’s his breadth of knowledge that allows him to effortlessly move from hiphop to electro, top 40, rock, and back. Currently part of Deckstar, the same DJ group that reps celebrated DJs AM, Steve Aoki, and Jazzy Jeff, Fashen shows no signs of surrendering his momentum. Can you fill us on the story behind the name “Fashen”? Fashen was given to me in the early 90’s by friends and DJ J-Cut, a selector from Phoenix. I used to be in a dance crew called 2NPosition. We were dipped head to toe in Tommy and Polo. So when I began DJing, it was a fitting
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title. Since then, my style has changed but still fits the title. Who or what would you say drove you to this particular path of the music industry? Z-Trip was definitely a huge influence, as well as Kid Capri, and DJ Premier. I looked up to all of them—Primo on the technical side, Kid Capri on the party rocking side, and Z-trip on the creative open-minded side. He was doin the whole rock and hip-hop thing way back then. You rep your hometown Arizona real well in the music scene. In an industry filled with spinners hailing mostly from LA, New York and Las Vegas, what would you say gives that Arizona flavor to your kind of music? To be quite honest, where you live really doesn’t matter. It’s what you’re really into and what you make of it. There are other DJs in Arizona who play completely opposite of what I do. I wouldn’t label them any different because of where they live. Especially with the way music is spread all over the Internet. There could be a guy in the most Hoboken town in the Midwest who has the illest music library and, if practiced enough, could hang with any DJ anywhere in the world. The difference is people’s perception. Performing with some of the music industry’s biggest names such as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg,
Kanye West, Diddy and Run DMC ain’t no joke. How do you calm yourself down before a gig? Actually, I’m the opposite. I get myself worked up for a gig, but there’s always a quiet before the storm. I usually watch a little TV and run through my music in the headphones. Djing clubs is fun, less stressful because you know you’re in control. Djing with or before an artist can be a little nerve racking. A lot of times they think you’re gonna do something to make them look bad. I had to DJ for a particular artist once but his exact words to me were “Don’t fuck me up”. That guy really isn’t even relevant anymore. What goes through your mind when you’re spinning? I’m really focused when I play. I always watch the crowd. Usually, I’m thinking how the crowd will react to what I have coming up next, or I’m planning the next few tracks. It’s like chess; I’m always 5 moves ahead of the current record playing. Describe your wildest set to date. This definitely had to be in Edmonton with my friends Pete and Mike from small-town DJ’s. It was Grand Prix, and we did an afterparty for Red Bull at a club called The Bank. There was like 30 people with us goin nuts! Place was packed, and my set was on point. Probably the best party I ever DJ’d, and I expected the opposite.
What do you think makes for a good DJ? A good DJ knows his music, knows his records inside and out, every break, every build, the audience’s favorite parts, verses, and has an open mind to all sounds, styles, and genres. A good DJ should know he or she is playing to a crowd and not always for themselves. A good DJ respects the artists and his other DJ peers. And a good DJ puts the craft first before the money or any kind of fame it may bring.
www.myspace.com/djfashen
Favorite album of all time:
The Infamous - Mobb Deep
Track you’d make love to:
Shake You Down - Gregory Abbot
This song is totally overrated:
Swag On - Soulja Boy
Everyone hates this song but I love it:
Africa - Toto
Chicks dig this shit when I spin:
How Will I Know - Whitney Houston
I would so give up...Gossip to spin in...Ibiza. People think I’m... like 25 years old...
but I’m...
actually not.
Girl
OF LINGERING CLOUDS AND LASER-LIT SKIES
maestro
Photo courtesy of Ghostland Observatory
GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY’s THOMAS TURNER shoots lasers, dances The Robotique, and is haunted by Miles Davis. By Marla Cabanban
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here comes a time in one’s life where an unknown entity just surges within him. You know the sensation—it starts making its presence known after a couple of tequila shots by way of a cosmic force that’s half Boogie Nights and half monkey mating ritual. But the phenomenon— these communal, freaky-deaky dance-a-thons—wouldn’t be complete without the requisite music. For such purposes, a band from Austin Texas is to be gloriously credited. Everybody give a round of applause for Ghostland Observatory. A fusion of electronica, funk, punk, soul, and a smattering of other genres could be a humble attempt to sum up the throbbing duo of the braided vox maestro Aaron Behrens and the caped synth shaman Thomas Ross Turner. Making their first appearance with their debut full-length album delete.delete.i.meat in 2005, the duo soon came out with a follow-up Paparazzi Lightning in 2006 and, recently last year, Robotique Majestique. All released under Thomas’ label Trashy Moped
Recordings. But when asked about their humble beginnings, Thomas says it quite casually, “We met through an ad in The [Austin] Chronicle.” In a generation force-fed with an avalanche of special effects, gore, and gloss, people eventually look for something as simple as a good show. And that’s indeed what Ghostland Observatory succeeds in delivering, even if their music can be categorized as hobbling between desecration and innovation. We say desecration for the purists who can’t handle say, the blues being packaged as this unfamiliar, unrecognizable thing. Yet we also say innovation for those who take joy in being irreverent and brash—the same qualities that make up the Ghostland Observatory experience. This is a band that has balls, and boy, how they love it. The costumes say it all, and if that’s not enough, the audience gets the privilege of being assaulted by a laser show. “There is a connection that happens when the crowd begins to loosen up and
dance. The focus and energy becomes magnified. All of a sudden the lasers, the sound, the crowd becomes one,” says Thomas. They do love their lasers, and there’s no denying that each concert ends up being a dance party. Jaws are on the floor and feet are a-moving. “Every time people come to see us, it is a statement. We are not on the radio or MTV or any of that. People come because they heard from a friend that our music is different and our show is different. That says a lot,” he adds. Synth shaman Thomas cites Miles Davis as a style inspiration, which could conjure the image of the jazz legend rolling up from his grave, but we’d like to think that, while playing a jazzfunk line with his trumpet, he’s groovily wearing a cape too, way up in the laser-lit skies above.
www.ghostlandobservatory.net
“There is a connection that happens when the crowd begins to loosen up and dance. The focus and energy becomes magnified. All of a sudden the lasers, the sound, the crowd becomes one.” www.statusmagonline.com - 51
52 - www.statusmagonline.com DANIEL L.
ADELINE R.
HANNAH S.
FRIEDRICH H.
NINJAINTHERUN K.
JACK Z.
RICHARD M.
ANDRES E.
DORIAN G.
PASCAL G.
ZINA D.
BENNO S.
PHILIP E.
BETTY A.
RICARDA S.
AJ E.
mastermind
Carolina E. Dennis R.
“If your style can inspire, your look deserves more exposure.”
BEYOND BORDERS
“Real fashion inspired by real people” is what LOOKBOOK.nu represents. Founder YURI LEE shows us that fashion inspiration can come right from the streets. By Tracy Collantes Photographed by Sydney Lo
What sets LB apart from the other fashion style social experiment sites? We’re more democratic because we’re an editorless community. Community “hype” determines which looks have earned the privilege of frontpage exposure at any given moment, which is why we dub LB “collective fashion consciousness.” And the best part is, you can see something
new by checking back every single day. Throw us some digits: the number of people who register daily as well as the number of posts from LB’s members. As an invite only community that launched a little over 1 year ago, we have about 45,000 registered members, with 200300 new members signing up daily. However, our global viewership is much larger—over one million unique visitors per month! As far as looks go, anywhere between 600-900 are added each day! The toughest aspect of maintaining LB’s caliber is... Striking a balance between quality and equality. We certainly welcome all types of people to contribute their unique style to our project, but the mission is not to showcase equally every look from every individual in the entire world. So we have this “karma” system set up that’s very meritocratic. The more “karma” you earn (whenever a member gives you a “hype” point, it increases your reputation), the more visible you become. Of course, we give everyone the option to turn off what we call our “karma filter” in order to see everyone’s looks regardless of reputation. The system may sound a bit snobby to some, but it’s really not about judging others—it’s all about inspiration. If your style can inspire, your look deserves more exposure. That’s our simple philosophy. What are your observations about the way street style is affecting the fashion industry today?
We are giving people a very dynamic, community-oriented alternative to glossy magazines and runway photos, and we give everyone, whether you’re an emerging designer or a 16-year-old who just loves fashion, the chance to be seen and promote your vision. And it’s not like you have to choose one or the other. Most fashion bloggers and prominent LOOKBOOK.nu members remain very influenced by the latest designer lookbooks, but they mix it in with their own vintage items or more affordable pieces and make it into something more accessible to everyone, not just industry “insiders.” On the same token, you can be absolutely positive that the design people at brands like UO, H&M, Zara, etc. have caught wind of street style sites and already take inspiration and information from the latest trends online.
Crystal W.
OOKBOOK.nu (LB) founder Yuri Lee’s love for art, fashion, and culture paved way to the birth of one of the most popular sites today. An invite-only online fashion community, LB allows its members to post their own creative fashion looks, all to inspire fellow garb addicts from across the globe. With its clean layout and userfriendly interface, this site allows you to hype, stalk, and comment on your favorite looks. Yuri, a University of California, Irvine Art History graduate, now turned website manager and graphic artist launched LB in her tiny apartment. The website began when Yuri and her boyfriend Jason were discussing ideas for social websites that were feasible yet hadn’t been done. “I brought up fashion!” Yuri recounts. “I remember he kind of just looked at me blankly, like ‘Uhh...okay,’ but after I showed him The Sartorialist and The Cobrasnake, and turned him on to street style blogs, he got more interested.” It didn’t take long before this virtual lookbook’s growth and influence on street fashion spread like wildfire, and it’s still growing bigger in the cyber style arena.
Complete the sentence: You wouldn’t believe what happened this one time at LB when... Lady Gaga posted looks on LOOKBOOK.nu! Just kidding—it was a fake. But she was good and had everyone on the team guessing. (Laughs)
James P.
L
Mind giving us a little peek at things yet to come with LOOKBOOK.nu? Our plan is to keep listening to our users who continually guide us in the right direction. Also, I recently read that announcing your plans makes you less likely to accomplish them, so unfortunately I’m gonna have to keep things mysterious on this one!
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mastermind
t s i n o i t r o t n o THE C A true Pied Piper of cutting-edge fashion, designer JEAN-PIERRE BRAGANZA’s creations embody architectural construction detailed with intricately twisted forms and patterns. He shows us how it all actually fits. By Tracy Collantes
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brocades both in his men’s and womenswear pieces. As the cutthroat competition in the world of fashion gets tougher by the minute, Jean-Pierre gives the lowdown on how to remain at the forefront of it all. What is the basis of your design philosophy? I love to take elements that are sartorial and twist them and manipulate until I find something new. How was it like to have your first full men’s and womenswear collection presented at London Fashion Week 2004? It was a brilliant experience, and I can’t believe I pulled it off with no budget. The models were all friends and friends of friends; everyone else helped out of the kindness of their hearts. It was in the Canadian Embassy, and the orders started coming in immediately afterwards. Since then, you’ve become recognized internationally. You were even handpicked by Karl Lagerfeld as his protégé during the Australian Wool Innovation’s Protégé Project— where you got to experiment with the finest Australian Merino wool yarns and fabrics. How was it like? I was incredulous when I heard! They had to convince me that it was really happening as I didn’t believe it.
Among the myriad of creations that grace the streets and runways, what sets your creations apart from the rest? I provide a consistent sexuality, which may be ambivalent or androgynous but never blatant. It has to do with intelligence, confidence, and creativity rather than showing flesh. I linger in the dark corners of the imagination. How do you continue to create remarkable designs that transcend trends? I always design from the body outwards. The bare human form is what inspires me, and the shapes and drapes flow from it. This creates a blank template from which all designs flow, and trends become irrelevant. From the multitude of personalities you’ve encountered in this industry, who tops your list? The highlight of my career so far was this year when I made a few pieces for Nine Inch Nails and met my idol Trent Reznor. I was unable to contain myself and came across as a bit of a fanatic…not so cool. He was very charming and supportive. It was such a privilege and honor to be chosen to work with him. It was the biggest compliment I have ever received. We all have days when we feel the urge to just throw
our hands up and surrender. What keeps you going with the hectic lifestyle you lead? I live and breathe hard rock, industrial, and electro. I used to drum in a hard rock industrial band back in the days of yore, therefore it’s in my veins. When I need a spiritual lift in the studio, I have to crank something heavy and loud to calm my nerves. My assistants suffer for it, but they must be used to it by now. This is the penance for working with a soul that has spiritual connections to rock and roll. Your profession’s one of the most sought-after by today’s young ones. A few tips for those who wish to dabble on fashion design? If you live and breathe design, are obsessed by appearance and ideas, and are extraordinarily determined and confident, then you should consider it. If you just like dressing up and shopping, then you are a customer, not a designer. Any word you want to leave us? Think for yourself, and question authority.
www.jeanpierrebraganza.com
Photos courtesy of Jean- Pierre Braganza
ean-Pierre Braganza’s intelligent use of fabric and attention to detail makes him a favorite of well-madeyet-comfortable garment lovers. Having worked with fashion designer Roland Mouret after graduating from Central Saint Martins College, the London-born and Montrealraised designer got to hone and develop his skills in tailoring and gained the discipline he needed. His first collection was showcased back in 2004’s London Fashion Week, and his career has continued to escalate ever since, recently showcasing his Fall 2009 collection during Milan Fashion Week. “I just work my ass off,” says Jean-Pierre when asked about the secret behind his quantum leap of success. With a design aesthetics heavily centered on “origami” fabric draping technique, accompanied with form-fitting silhouettes, Jean-Pierre fuses form and wearability into his collection. He pioneered the method of installing stretch jersey panels to beautifully cut contoured trousers, which is now common among the fall/ winter collections of many designers. Using a palette of warm army greens, various tones of white and black with bursts of red floral prints popping out of his suits and jackets, Jean-Pierre plays with sultry black satin
mastermind
BLISSFUL DISCOVERIES With a fashion blog addicting thousands of readers by the day, London-based writer SUSIE BUBBLE takes her style obsession to the next cyberground level. By Erika Hoffmann “
“I don’t think of the blog as a responsibility; it’s a joy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing it.”
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here is nothing I hate more than the term ‘fashion police’,” says 25-year old Susanna Lau when asked about the fashion crimes people may commit. After all, in today’s world, the style we see as hideous might very well become tomorrow’s hottest craze. The Internet has played a very big part in the making of these trends thanks to the fashion blogs. They have become major sources of insight and inspiration for readers all over the world. Susanna, also known as Susie Bubble, a nickname she picked up during primary school for being in her own ‘bubble,’ runs her famously known blog Style Bubble. It may be all about fashion and the latest trends on the runways, but it is also about her opinions. “I don’t get first dibs really, but I do try and give a different spin to existing news stories. That’s what I’ve always done.” If she’s not crazy about a trend, she’ll tell you straight up. It’s nice to see a girl with a mind of her own. “I don’t want to be thought of as an informant. That would mean I’m held accountable for what I write. That’s scary seeing as I’m liable to make mistakes and hugely fallible,” says Susie shrugging off all the nerves. Her blog started during “a bored afternoon and distaste for the monotony of my job,” she tells us as if it were as simple and as mundane as our grandma’s stamp collection. Perhaps to Susie, it really is that simple. Besides, “escaping into fashion was a wiser choice than escaping with a boy.” And it was a wise choice indeed. Today, her blog commands a readership of more than ten thousand people, she is one of the few hand-picked bloggers invited to attend the Gucci, Chanel, and Lanvin fashion shows. In 2008, she was also named as one of London Evening Standard’s most influential people. “I’m very suspicious of these kind of arbitrary lists—how are they calculated? Why are the rankings like that? So it’s not something I take too seriously. I’m only one of many bloggers influencing and shaping the fashion community as a whole,” says Susie. Being known as a fashion influencer may demand a lot of pressure and expectations, however, for Susie, “I don’t think of the blog as a responsibility; it’s a joy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be doing it. It doesn’t take a particular kind of skill set other than enthusiasm and love of what you write about.” That’s the thing about Susie—she does things with little or almost no regard, freeing herself from the ball-and-chain of expectations. This enthusiasm has also landed her a role as a commissioning editor for Dazed and Confused, “It was a mutual friend sort of thing... It was a job too good to pass up and has given me a new challenge. Working for Dazed is pretty much what I expected it to be and a bit more.” When it comes to her different writing styles, she explains, “The tone on my blog is my own personal voice, the wee sounds in my blood clotted brain... the tone on Dazed is one that has been worked on for the past ten years. Two entirely different things.” The perks of being a well-known blogger may involve traveling to different places and meeting all sorts of new friends, but on the downside, many nasty comments as well. “I’ve been trying to grow a thicker skin but the cells just won’t regenerate and duplicate,” she says. The thought of quitting the whole thing may have crossed her mind. “I did think about it once in the middle of a crazed night, but I think Typepad was playing up.” Aside from her witticisms, Susie also posts photos of her outfits on the site. Nope, they’re not staged outfits of the day but her real outfits to go out shopping or work. When it comes to her personal style, she says “It’s constantly evolving, and it could be a number of things that influence it.” So it’s been 3 years since Susie’s ever-growing blog has blessed the fashion community with a new voice online. Right now, she just continues to write, detailing her thoughts and adventures that have fashion lovers all over the world saving it as their homepage. Who knows, in the future, she might end up coming up with a Food Bubble as she is a hardcore foodie as well, “I’d still like to be a food critic...give Jay Rayner a run for his money!”
www.stylebubble.co.uk
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mastermind
DOUBLE IDENTITY PAPERMONSTER may sound like a mean cartoon character set out to attack the world, but his works are nowhere near that. Ironically, he’s about the intricacies of these beautiful creatures: Women. By Christine Braganza
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t’s not everyday that you get to see a guy with a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences rip up the art scene the way stencil graffiti artist PaperMonster has. “I admit that it is a massive leap from stencil artist, but at the same time, it is very exciting, and I am extremely lucky to be able to do both at the same time. My two lives really melt together at some points and both rely on the exact same thing—experimenting.” His works slew together Asian typography, intricate stencil details, textures, patterns, and vivid colors, all part of his artistic method. His main inspiration: women. “In my work you see real emotions and real subtleties in facial expressions that immediately raise questions of ‘Who is this girl? What is her story? What is she hiding?’,” PaperMonster says. Through his work, he explores human themes like love, anger, and their different challenges. So if you ever come across a piece from PaperMonster, you either take it at face value and enjoy his beautiful piece of work or you look deeper and analyze the mystery behind the woman, but we suggest you do both. Why the focus on women? I really love to use these women because of one reason— they are complex, mysterious, emotional, and powerful. You can walk down the street, and a woman will completely catch your eye with her features whether you are married, engaged, or even hate women. I try to capture that moment of emotion or mystery and, at the very same time, allow the audience to create her story and past. How did you come up with mixing collages and stencils? How did you figure out that stencils were the medium you wanted to explore? It was a way for me to add a new dimension to my work rather than just two flat layers of stencils. Working with stencils as a medium was never really my initial
intention, and I just wanted to have a strong grasp of all skills from wheatpasting wheat to traditional graffiti. What drew me most to stencils was how relaxing it was to take a blank sheet of paper, cut into it, take my time, and ultimately have a paper with hundreds of cuts inside of it that can produce something beautiful. You’ve attributed the success of your art to your dedication and tenacity. How was the journey? The journey has been extremely hard. From the very beginning, I would set out ridiculous goals for myself, never knowing if I could reach them. Through my drive and push, I was able to accomplish a lot of what I set out to do. If someone didn’t want to give me a chance, I would make my own opportunity and take my destiny into my own hands. I learned to not just produce something because I have to but because I want to, and I am proud of what I am making. You’ve cited Blek le Rat as an influence. What was it like meeting him? Meeting Blek le Rat was a life-changing moment for me. It was at a time where I was just starting to stencil and had not ventured out of my comfort zone. He was extremely inspiring, and I think one of the most important things that I took away from the experience is to always stay humble and kind. I have a greater desire to create because I know that people enjoy what I do, and to someone out there, my paintings have a great impact and inspire the exact same way as Blek le Rat inspired me. Any advice for kids who wanna break out the way you did? In order to be recognized, you have to do something new. One of the most valuable things I have learned is to not give up and feel you failed because you are not recognized right away. If you do not see an opportunity, make one for yourself, and fight for what you want. Send letters, send emails, meet people, and get your name out there in as many ways as you possibly can think of.
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mastermind
SLEEK CRITIQUE Founder and designer PETER JAMES LEE created House of Cassette for writers, photographers, artists, musicians, and designers—the creative community who reflect on what good style is. By Vicky Herrera Photographed by Timothy McGurr
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t’s all about the quality of what you sell rather than how much. This critical attention is what Peter James Lee is obsessed with. Previously working for Puma AG as their International Lifestyle Designer, and as creative director for Hudson Jeans, Lee developed his own clothing line under the name House of Cassette. From denim, to cut and sew sweaters, dresses, jackets, and shirts, this LA brand focuses on minimalist details; intricate stitching, premium fabric, and careful construction. For their denim, it’s their custom-made, embossed buttons and a variety of denim washes that make each piece more special. With a pool of New York and Los Angeles tastemakers supporting Lee, one can observe that the new generation not only loves style but substance as well. You graduated from the Otis College of Art and Design. But a lot of aspiring designers wonder if attending fashion school is essential. Would you personally recommend them to do so? If you want to be a designer, then I would highly recommend
schooling, or you can look at it as training. It’s a place where you can focus 100% of your time for 4 years plus to your future trade/skill. I would absolutely recommend Otis, Parsons School of Art and Design, or Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. I hear it’s a lot easier these days, but I would still go. You’ve designed for Puma and Hudson Jeans, but was establishing your own brand of clothing line part of your plan all along? How different was it designing for each brand? I have always wanted to do my own brand. Isn’t that the point? Working for multiinternational companies gave me really good perspective of how things work with lots of people in the mix. Designing for different brands, it pretty easy. You have to respect the brand and what it means, and the right designs will pretty much come out. Do you have a fashion muse? Where do you get your inspiration from? I get inspiration from people’s energy.
Why did you choose clothes? Was this decision always clear for you or are you also into other aesthetics? I try to have fun with all the aspects of designing an apparel collection— from hang tags, ads, line sheets, buttons, textiles, to the design of the clothes themselves but wouldn’t say that this is my creative outlet. Oftentimes, when designing, there is such a purpose for me to do something. There are already rules that I have to abide by, so I don’t see it as a true form of releasing my creativeness. I really do wish I had more time to focus on my Art. I haven’t been to my Art studio in a such a long time. With a company such as HOC, it is impossible for one man to do the job all on his own. You must have a hardcore team that’s been keeping up with you—or a team that’s hella addicted to coffee. (Laughs) Coffee is good. Well, anybody can do what we do. Just gotta be down for whatever, hungry, and be able to sometimes do things you don’t want to.
Okay, House of Cassette’s House Party. Who would be invited? What music would be playing? Who would be trying to crash it? What drinks would you serve? Come one, come all. Music: classic jams to new indie music. Drinks: whiskey for me, vodka and tequilla are favorites. You’ve travelled a lot for work. What have you learned from these trips? Traveling to different countries and seeing different fashion from different countries change over time has given me a wealth of knowledge that I hold dear. It opens your eyes to see things that are beyond your little world. Last Question: white socks plus black shoes—any chance for a comeback? White socks with black dress shoes—don’t see it coming into vogue any time soon. White socks with black sneakers— sure, why not.
www.houseofcassette.com
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FADE TO BLACK
GIAN ROMANO is one of those designers you’d rather not tell your friends about, or else they could all be as cool as you. And that’s not cool. By Anna Canlas Photography by Revolution
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By Anna Canlas Photographed by Revolution
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friend of mine says my aesthetic is very hard-edged, very Mad Max… I’d say also that it’s very constructed,” said 27-year old Gian Romano. Inspired by the innovative style of street culture and energy of “the scene”, he creates pieces that when slipped on—a jetblack jacket with an anatomical dress—give you the feeling of wanting to stalk some dark corner, with your head leaned back, foot pressed against a wall, cigarette in hand, and some rock and roll life track in the background. Known for his skinny silhouettes and black collections, Gian designs the same way regardless if it were for a man or woman. “Most of the time when I design, I don’t think of the gender, I just make the garment. There are pieces though that are designed for women, but most of the time, I don’t think of the gender.” Dressed in head-to-toe black, Iliganborn Gian shares that he rarely sketches his ideas—instead he just goes straight to creating the patterns for his garments. It’s quite a daring technique that, when combined with his slight OCD for construction and selection for hardware, keeps his pieces looking innovative and tailored. “I think about wearability,” he adds, dispelling all notions of a deliberately deviant aesthetic. “I don’t wanna say I’m avant-garde. I mean, I’m not really doing something that’s really out there,” goes the soft-spoken assertion. “For me, the only avant-garde left these days is Miuccia Prada.” In fact, Gian’s great interest in clothing technology echoes that of the Italian designer. “She has really simple clothing, but if you look at them closely, the processes, the materials are really… something else.” It’s a style cultivated over the years since the designer’s start in 2000: taking up basic pattern making with master designer and now Project Runway Philippines mentor Jojie Lloren, bagging the grand prize at Mega Magazine’s Young Designers Competition in 2004, landing a summer scholarship in Menswear Design at London’s Central Saint Martins, volunteering while on vacation in New York (“It was fashion week anyway.”) and thereby apprenticing for design collective threeASFouR. Photographed by Raena Abella Styling by Karlo Vicente Hair and Make Up by Christine Rojas-Laviña of The Makeup Forum Model: Sebastian Monroe Shot at 1080 Studios
While at Saint Martins, Gian was able to nurture his knowledge in fashion and learn the design aesthetics that famous alumni Alexander McQueen, Paul Smith, and Stella McCartney have learned. He recounts, “We were driven away from looking at clothes, more into what drives you visually—the first thing that attracts your eyes when you flip a magazine or newspaper.” Thinking back about his most important lesson at threeASFouR, he shares, “It’s hard to enumerate. One thing maybe is the whole structure of running a label.” Returning to Manila in 2005, he immediately got to work on his first full collection, No Wave, as prompted by his grantor, the British Council. “It was part excitement and part nerve wracking since it’s kind of like I have to show people what I have learned over the year I was gone.” Was this when he started crossing over to the dark side? “I love black. It’s all I wear,” he admits. “A friend of mine said I became The Darkness once I got back from New York and London. Before, he said, I used to be more preppy.” His Autumn/Winter 08/09 collection titled Stutter Oblete got picked up for distribution by Singapore’s art/fashion/ lifestyle boutique Black Market. Gian explains, “It’s about two worlds meeting together.” Despite insisting that he doesn’t mean to make an intelligent line, his most recent Autumn/Winter 09/10 collection is still very much conceptual: an ode to leather jackets in all forms, quilted textures, sinewy stitching, a play on circles and loose forms, and custom-molded demibold shoulders—moodily titled Fettle Derelict. “The collection was about displaced forms. From displaced organs to displaced individuals.” He motions to look at a photograph on his mood board: a homeless man with a comforter slung over one shoulder like a cape. To illustrate, he comes closer to the picture and points out the beat-up bedding’s collection-inspiring quilting. “I’m totally visual… But at the same time, I don’t like taking things too literally.”
www.gianromano.com
mastermind
L.A. CONFEDENTIAL Behind the styles of precisely plotted editorials and glowing red carpet schemes, ILARIA URBINATI puts the meat on the racks of Confederacy. By Christine Braganza Photographed by Eric Ray Davidson
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er constant premise is fashion. Born in Rome and raised in Paris, Ilaria Urbinati has always been surrounded by art, culture, and style. Growing up with her art dealing mom and a fashion photographer dad developed her taste for living the creative life. At 23, Ilaria had her first styling break with The L Word or “styling boot camp” as she likes to call it. But previous to that, she had to climb the fashion ladder as assistant buyer for her aunt’s store at Sunset Plaza while writing for various magazines. Before long, she was buying for LA stores Milk and Satine. Now, she has styled countless celebrities and editorials for Flaunt, Nylon, and Mean to name a few. She finally took the leap of opening her own shop after constant persuasion by her buddy actor/DJ Danny Masterson whom she got as business partner with Aly Mawji in conceptualizing Confederacy Boutique. With the great reviews on their launch at LA’s Silver Lake area, Ilaria leaves us stumped: what else could she possibly come up with next? You mentioned an initial struggle between fashion and writing. When did you decide that all you wanted to do was fashion? Probably when I started styling men. I mean I love styling women, and some of my favorite clients are girls, but I found menswear more inspiring in a way. It’s more challenging because its all about quality and details… I’m a fiend for research and learning new things and challenging myself. I think that was the point when it all made sense to me. You’re “very referential” when it comes down to styling. How does alluding to certain films, people, or eras help you? …it gives my work more dimensions… It is also the way that I found out I could incorporate all the things I am passionate about into this one thing I do. Meaning, I could incorporate the books, films, eras I grew up loving to help create some sort of inspiration for myself. Otherwise, fashion would bore me to pieces.
What was the story behind Confederacy? Confederacy was my business partner and forever-pal Danny Masterson’s idea. He used to come visit me at the stores I was a buyer for and always be like “You should have your own store”… We had been discussing this owning-a-store-together
still know exactly every little thing that goes on in the store. The best thing is that the store and the styling really feed each other. What have you learned from being in the fashion industry for so long? Mostly, working my ass off and having a slightly obsessive personality. You’re only as good as your last job, so you gotta stay on your toes, you gotta always stay creative, and you can never get too comfortable or lazy. And as with any job that a ton of other people would love to have, there’s always someone willing to do it if you don’t, so you gotta stay enthusiastic and show you want it. On the other end, in the words of the great Curtis Armstrong in Risky Business, sometimes, you just gotta know when to say “What the fuck?” It’s only clothes.
www.ilariaurbinati.net
Favorite person to style: That’s like asking me which of my children I love most!
I love to shop with:
craziness, and then January 2007 rolled around, and I was like “OK, if we’re going to do this, we gotta do it now ‘coz fashion week is coming up, and we have to place our orders.” So we booked our flights, and off we went. We had no space yet, but we just did it, and it was just business as usual. October 2008, we finally opened. Do you ever find it difficult to balance your styling with your store? Definitely, it’s just like double the work. But I’m an obsessive multitasker, and I can be working on three shoots— eight pages each and a press tour and
Danny or my boyfriend at buying appointments for the store. It’s basically like shopping for a living. Also Beth Riesgraf and Sarah Shahi—they are two of my clients and best friends, and we all three always end up buying the same thing!
Most you’ve ever spent on an item: I own a whole lot of Jimmy Choos, and I bought the amazing Phi boots that cost as much as my rent at the time.
Hardest client to please: It’s never them. It’s always their entourage.
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SHOT THROUGH THE HEART With his seasoned eye for the worlds of music and fashion, New York-based photographer Kareem Black has demonstrated his versatility as a visual artist. Yet it is his portraits of street influencers, Thai boxers, and teenage boys from the suburbs that aptly reflect his innate ability to connect with his subjects. By Kat Popiel
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mastermind
H
aving realized that his passion laid behind the lens, Kareem Black shifted majors from his painting scholarship at School of Visual Arts. Now he’s revered because of his campaign work for urban street wear label LRG, his editorial spreads that have appeared in XXL, Vibe, and The Source magazines, drawing the attention of commercial brands such as Burger King, Vitamin Water, and Samsung. His first stab postcollege was shooting Rev Run from Run DMC and Zach de la Rocha on the cover for the first issue of The Fader to ever come out. Nearly a decade later, Kareem has captured well-known faces such Bloc Party, A-Trak, Kid Sister, Kanye West, Lily Allen, Michael Stipe, and Santigold, bringing humor and edge to his representations. His style gives us a curated perspective, framed in the shape of a photograph, reportage if you will, giving us an unabashed view of what makes him click. Do you shoot on film or digital? Commercially, I shoot all digital, but my heart will always be with film. I love the process and the slowness of film. I like how it feels and looks, having to get it right the first time and not having my results immediately available. Speaking of commercial photography, could you talk us through some of your highlight experiences in the industry? Each shoot is unique and has a personality of its own. I’ve been shooting for 10 years, and still I learn something new on almost every shoot. What I do is advertising, celebrity, and editorial, all portrait-based, all dealing with people so no two shoots are the same. I’ve met a lot of people and have traveled all over the world, usually the more different from mine the better. My first overseas trip was to Egypt in 2001, and it changed my life. Photography is certainly exploration on a lot of levels, but sometimes I think my photography career is a cover for my need for actual exploration and travel. I’m interested in seeing everything I can before I meet my end. With your portrait photography, how do you get ready to interact with your subjects to get the shot you think represents them? I never really have a game plan because everybody is different. I feel like approaching it that way is like when a guy approaches a bunch of different girls and uses the same manufactured lines. It’s false and forced. I’m interested in the interaction between the subject and myself and I think that the photograph is made from that energy and that trust.
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mastermind
Which dream city, person, or situation would you want to photograph if budget and access were no issue? I don’t really think about my shoots in those terms. I don’t have a set wish or shot list in my head, it’s not practical to think like that. There are people who I’d love to shoot but my vision starts to build once I know certain variables. I’m always visualizing what would make captivating or funny shots with certain subjects. There are so many sketches of photos, of subjects floating around in my head some of which aren’t even alive. Elvis or Nixon or DeForest Kelley would all be amazing to shoot.
Who or what in New York inspires your work? Sometimes, it’s the simple things like riding the subway or chilling at the park. I’ve started a new series where I set up a white backdrop and just photograph people on the street. Friends and artists such as Dust La Rock, Jules Kim, and Brooke Nipar, who I’m fortunate enough to hang out with on a regular basis, keep me going. I love that we can trade ideas readily and push each other. One of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my career was that I rarely took the time out to stop and smell the roses. You have to experience the little things in life.
Do you have any thoughts on all the countless emerging party snappers out there? I’m not a party snapper. There is some incredible talent to be found in that genre of shooters but, like in all areas of art, the overwhelming majority of the participants are average by definition. I really like people like Bronques, Mel D. Cole, and TONE because they do more than take party photos. They have actually branded their look, and you can identify their style. I think those guys provide their perception of the party, the way they saw it, doing more than just documenting.
www.kareemblack.com
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Kareem Black
“Photography is certainly exploration on a lot of levels, but sometimes I think my photography career is a cover for my need for actual exploration and travel.”
Photos courtesy of CLOT
mastermind
THE RULING TRIBE
If there’s one crew that runs the Hong Kong streetwear scene, it’s gotta be CLOT Inc. Co-founder KEVIN POON talks about this lifestyle brand and its never-ending, can’t-stop-won’t-stop hustle. By Jason Qua
Kevin Poon
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he message for CLOT is to push for creativity and to bridge the gap between east and west,” says 27-year old Kevin Poon. Just like its home Hong Kong, the brand certainly represents the meeting of global influences. But in this case, it’s the tide of youth culture. Started in 2003 with actor Edison Chen, Poon recounts, “We were a bunch of friends and ideas coming together with a common goal in mind—to create a new platform for the youth movement in Asia, in music, art, film, fashion, etc., to coagulate sort of speak, so CLOT for us stands for coming together.” Let’s get this straight, CLOT is not some rip-off of another NYC/ LA brand hyped in another territory. It’s got its own flavor. Governed by the eastern simplicity and the more American reference to the techno age of the recent past, their line is stamped with child-like play—marked by hand-drawn clothing elements like buttons and pockets or maybe strawberry and watermelon prints on Medicom bears. Then there’s the use of traditional patterns, like the silk lining in their collab with Levi’s and Fragment’s Kazuki Kuraishi. Perhaps this influence is a reflection not only of cosmopolitan Hong Kong but also of Poon’s previous homebases Chicago, Vancouver, and LA. The CLOT crew doesn’t limit itself to clothing. Being among the “cool” hunters
around the world, CLOT has expanded its creativity onto other platforms. There is retail, with boutiques ACU and Juice. Kevin explains, “We were inspired by the movie, Juice by Tupac Shakur. The premise of the movie is to gain “juice” (respect), that was one meaning and the other was to offer juice, as in many different flavors”. There is also the PR and consulting arm of the company as well as CLOT media, their music and artist management side. You gotta admit, Hong Kong’s youth is already in good hands. A lot of the brands in the street scene have been inspired and influenced by subcultures whether it be music, art, skate, etc. What sparks CLOT’s fire? I can’t speak for everyone at CLOT, but I am very much inspired by music. First I was very much into hip-hop, and then I started to search more deeply into the meaning of hip-hop and then I started getting into soul, old school samples, and started really getting into it—the lifestyle, the lyrics, and learned the mentality of the hustle. I also really like sneakers and was heavily into sneaker culture and wanted to collect everything. I get bored easily, so after music and sneakers, I collected toys, and then recently I am very much into art and design.
CLOT now ventures not only into clothing but in retail through Juice and in PR and design through ACU. How did all these come about? Our concept came together when we wanted to open a store that sold clothes and brands that were not sold in Hong Kong. When we started Juice, we decided to throw a party to celebrate. Luxury brands saw what we were doing and asked if we host parties and events for other people, [pause] why not? And that’s how we started the PR & events side of CLOT. At the same time, we started our own label CLOT apparel. We started small and organically started to grow, and likeminded people came together to unify the movement. So it’s sort of like the “let’s go” mentality and “we learn day by day” and “to deal with issues as they arise.” CLOT has been involved with a lot of collaborative projects with Pepsi, Nike, and Levi’s among others. What’s your design process like when it comes to these collabs? The design process varies every time we work on collaborations. First of all, I think it has to be interesting to start with, and when we have a project in mind, we attack it differently—to break down and to rebuild; to try to do things that have never been done before and to create a new chemistry. Each collab is different, but it’s only interesting when we are
working with brands that we like, also, if each party has some input to create something new. The kzKLOT 505 denim where CLOT collaborated with Kazuki and Levi’s was extremely well-received. How was it working with such a respected designer? Working with Kazuki is very chill and laid back. He is a great person with a great vision when it comes to design, so there is a level of trust and comfort when we work with him because we know it’s going to be hot. He’s one of our favorite designers here at CLOT. In a recent interview, you mentioned that CLOT is focusing on Southeast Asia. What potential do you see in the region? I think Southeast Asia is really a great region to be in, and I think people here are really, really receptive to new ideas. I love Southeast Asia and yes, we currently do have plans to expand in the region. It’s a secret now, but once we can announce to the public, I’ll be the first to let you know. *Since interview, CLOT Inc. has opened another Juice store in Malaysia this June 2009.
www.clotinc.com
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mastermind MASTERMIND MASTERMIND
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very woman should have some tulle in her closet.”
Photos courtesy of Abigail Lorick
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unway Romance
ABIGAIL LORICK used to rule the catwalk, but it’s her clothing line that steals the spotlight these days. By Erika Hoffmann
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ike every good model, she lets the clothes stand out and dazzle, creating a character, an image, and a persona in every lady. That’s what Abigail Lorick does today with her clothing line Lorick. It’s the epitome of sophistication, grace, and elegance—a lady that is adept with social graces and respects yet is also firmly planted with her own identity and principles. Think of the real Blair Waldorf—strong yet sensitive, and sensitive yet bold. Why the reference? Let’s just say Blair’s mother’s clothing line is none other than Abigail’s herself. Featured on the hit show Gossip Girl, Abigail has found a way to bring the 1950’s in the generation of mass texting and blogging. It’s the aesthetic and the business, the romance in the future, and the strength in the docility that she does best, and just like in the show, you know you love her.
your whole life! What caused you to leap from walking in a show to producing one? I got bored with being a model. I always knew I wanted to be a fashion designer, and then I decided to give it a try. And thank god-the decision became a career.
From the runways to the… well...runways, you’ve been in the fashion industry
What were some of the coolest clothes you got to wear while modeling?
What are the ups and downs of modeling and designing? How has the progression been so far? Modeling is a wonderful way to travel around the world and get close glimpses into other cultures. The hard part was the concept of being a mannequin. As for designing, it’s amazing to see a woman put on a Lorick dress and watch her persona change, her energy rise and her eyes open up [and] to create an entire collection that holds many different elements, but all tell the same story. As for the negative, I’m not a fan of doing all of the business work.
A white t-shirt in the ocean, and a wedding dress made out of paper. How does your designing process go? I pray and wait What makes a Lorick lady? She is the modern Lady. Her style comes from within her and is exuded through her entire being-her manners, her respect, her constant evolution, her yearning to learn, her desire to know the world. And most importantly, she loves getting dressed. She enjoys this process and takes pride in it. There is always a feminine thread in her attire; however big or small-but it is always there. She is always complete in her style and undoubtedly makes this effort daily. With this style sensibility, who are you more likely to dress,Serena or Blair? Blair. Because her look is always properly finished, This is the strong aesthetic of Lorick.
What is it about the 1950’s that turns you on? They danced a lot in the 50’s. Women twirled. Gloves, a hat, and a matching bag-what more could you ask for? And crinoline! Every woman should have some tulle in her closet. What’s something we would see you a lot in? What’s something you will never get caught dead in? I wear a lot of collared shirts, it drives my friends crazy. I usually always have a scarf, kitten heels, and a big, sweeping, short highwaisted skirts. I’m currently in love with my cropped Helmut Lang leather jacket. I never wear flip-flops. You’ve said in the past that you admire Martin Luther King and Miuchia Prada the most. What are the most inspiring things about them? They both have honest, real narratives. And they spoke and speak those narrations with influence and elegance.
www.loricknewyork.com
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mastermind
WENDY’S WONDERLAND
Photo courtesy of Wendy Lam
WENDY LAM lets her frank taste meld with the delectable website nitro:licious, and she allows us a lick of what it’s like to be a standout blogging fashionista.
By Christine Braganza
W
endy Lam may sound like she’s pertaining to some fancy cocktail when she says nitro:licious, but she’s talking about her blog which she describes as “a unique blend of street style, high style, and lifestyle with a personal touch.” Kicking off from Interwebs anonymity in February of 2006, nitro:licious continues to fuel every fashion enthusiast’s interest, style, and taste. No wonder the site has taken over the US, Germany, UK, France, and China, proving that with great content and flair comes even greater hits. With her fresh perspective on the latest H&M remix, stalking Gossip Girl’s dashing bad boy, and Kanye West’s new girlfriend, she’s become a major-league figure in the virtual fashion scene, tracking fashion week trends right on the runway and giving the sneak peek on what’s up and about in NYC. Whether she’s talking about skin care or the latest launch party, she manages to transform the ordinary into a fashion feast. Here, we talked to her about what it’s like being an influential blogger and how to have Wendylicious style.
Favorite fashion designers and labels Marc Jacobs, H&M, Martin Margiela, Commes des Garçons...
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So how did you start blogging? And why “nitro:licious?” Nitro is my sorority nickname and I love it. “Licious” is from delicious… One day, my friend/mentor Yu-Ming Wu, who is the co-founder of Freshnessmag.com and founder of SneakerNews.com, was like, “Since you like shopping and love H&M so much, why don’t you start a fashion blog and write all about it since there’s no blog out there like that?” What has your experience as a blogger been like since then? It’s been great, I’m happy to have met so many great people along these years and have experienced so much stuff that I wouldn’t [have] imagined if I didn’t have the blog. If you weren’t a fashion blogger now, what do you think you’d be doing? I’ve always wanted to be in fashion since I was young but never really pursued [it] as I wasn’t able to get a job in a fashion magazine. I love to
Top 5 Closet Staples
Style icons
Chanel Classic Flap Bag, leggings, rings, black shoes, sneakers
Carine Roitfeld
shop, so I can’t imagine not being in the fashion industry. You do have a great eye for style; how do you keep up to date with all the fashion info out there? Read blogs, magazines, keep up to date with fashion shows and just from looking at people. People are the main inspiration. My blog really helped me keep up to date. Your style is a hybrid of high fashion and streetwear; how did you go about developing/creating this style? I love mixing high and low together, you’ll hardly ever see me head to toe in high fashion. I love mixing H&M clothes with a Chanel bag or throw on a tee/ hoodie and sneakers to play it down. What kind of items do you like to splurge on? I splurge on handbags, that’s my weakness! And sometimes shoes that will not go out of style in one season. Besides
Mary-Kate Olsen
Top Magazines to Check Out VIVI (Japanese) and French Vogue
that, most of my clothes are from H&M, Forever 21, Topshop, Hellz Bellz, and from Hong Kong. You’re based in the Big Apple, and you blog a lot about metropolitan culture. But do other cities, aside form New York, influence you as much? I love NYC. Born and raised here, people here aren’t afraid to be themselves and try new things, but I also get influenced by Japan and Hong Kong. What are your future plans for nitro:licious? Do you plan to start any other blogs? I’ve been asked by a lot of men to start a nitro:licious men’s blog but, at the moment, I don’t have the time to do it. I’m very sporadic so, when the time comes, something new will pop-up, and I don’t really like to plan so far ahead, but I am focusing on growing my blog and making it better.
www.nitrolicious.com
Top Blogs to Check Out Street style blogs like The Sartorialist and Jak and Jil
Designers on the
Rise
Elohim by Sabrina Goh Where are you from? Malaysia. What is your design philosophy? To have an open mind, lion’s heart, and unique strength. What inspires your designs? I am always inspired more on objects, forms, structure, architecture, etc.. I practice in mixing element of menswear and womenswear in her collection, using colors, cutting, different textures of fabrication to contrast matte and shine, unexpected details and silhouette. How long have you been designing? I have been designing for 4 years in Singapore’s fashion industry. What was the most important lesson you learned about creating your own collection? Everything to me is important because without any works done, I can never succeed. From drawing a line and develop into a garment; business and marketing strategies, branding, etc.. I think we all learn from scratch. What are the challenges of being a young designer? During this recession period…sales and financial will be the biggest challenge. I believe every young artist or designer who has great passion like me is fighting very hard for the bread and butter in exchange for the ideas and designs. Starting out might be easy, but to survive is the challenge. It will take passion, good courage, and a bit of luck to do so.
www.sabrinagoh.com
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK Leading the pack of innovative designers in Asia, these young creators of couture take us through their inspirations, design philosophies and lessons learned in the business of fashion.
Reckless Ericka Where are you from? Philippines. The brand is based in Singapore, though, and is designed by 3 individuals: Afton Chen (Singaporean), Ruth Marbun (Indonesian), and me, Diorelle Sy (Filipino-Chinese). What is your design philosophy? Risk-taking, fun-loving, and adventurous… We focus on balancing classic tailoring with edgy use of silhouette and colors, and constructing avant-garde silhouettes with classic details. This infuses edginess and quirkiness into our brand, giving it our very own refreshing identity. How long have you been designing? The brand was established this January 2009, but the three of us have been designing since 2004. We met through fashion design school and have since been eager to start a label once we graduated. How did it feel showcasing your first full collection? It felt amazing... We were part of the Audi Fashion Festival 2009, which also showcased a host of international A-list fashion designers such as Christian Lacroix, Vivienne Westwood, Marc Jacobs, and Gareth Pugh. What was the most important lesson you learned about creating your own collection? Colin McDowell: While design should not be sacrificed, it is important to think of commercial viability as well.
www.recklessericka.com
Nikicio by Nina Nikicio Where are you from? I was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. What is your design philosophy? I want to challenge the notation of a fashion world. No trends. No seasons. No fads. My clothes have to be able to be worn and last forever. What exactly inspires you? I can be inspired by anything and everything at all. Usually from my current liking towards something. How long have you been designing? Maybe 5 years or more. What are you particular about when designing? The wearability. I don’t believe in disposable fashion or creating things that only look good on runway. I’ve always wanted to create timeless pieces that can easily fit into anyone’s closet. To me, clothes should be treated as investments. I always wonder how long a piece will last when I buy something, and I don’t want my customer to worry about that. How did it feel showcasing your first full collection? Amazing. There are no other words to describe it. What are the challenges of being a young designer? To get enough support, exposure, and sales in order to move from being a young designer to becoming an established designer.
www.nikicio.com
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HEAVY HITTER
BLACKOUT
From voluminous gowns to short disco minis, ruffles and layers give us the extra frills in our closet.
Jaz Cerezo 68 - www.statusmagonline.com
Jerome Slaya Ang
Michael Cinco
Sasa Jimenez
Lyle Ibanez
Angelo Estera
Marlon Rivera
FANTASY FRILLS
Marlon Rivera
Ciege Cagalawan
Black is the staple for any woman’s wardrobe, but this holiday it comes back with a chic vengeance.
HEAVY HITTER tive fashion ve and innova ti ea cr the of b er to watch the new hu nvention cent emerging as Co hall is X a SM ek to e We s th n shio llection scend to Philippine Fa ent their co lebrities de es ce pr d s an er s gn ta si is 0 de in Asia. Styl r 10 days, 10 supporters. llections. Fo buyers, and s, er ph ra og Holiday 09 co phot ors, models, full of edit
MODEL MINUTE: Charo Ronquillo Nanette Lapore
LIQUID CASCADE
Dimple Lim
Aries Lagat
Cho Cheng
Project Runway / Chloe Dao
Jerome Slaya Ang
Roland Lirio
Photographed by Celwyn Abasolo
Angelo Estera
Any dress with draping has a magical effect and manages to make any woman look and feel like a goddess.
•Started modeling at… 17 years old. •Now living in… Manhattan. •Modeling agency is… Ford Models (New York), Calcarries (Manila). •Recent campaigns… Rugby for Ralph Lauren, Norma Camali, Ann Taylor Loft, J. Crew Avenue, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s. •My favorite photographer to work with is… Bruce Weber.
FRONT ROW
BACK STAGE
Host Sarah Mier - Albano & Teresa Herrera
Imelda Marcos
Heart Evangelista www.statusmagonline.com - 69
STATUS ISSUE 1 Status has ADD
STATUS ISSUE 2 Status is not at its desk
STATUS ISSUE 3 Status is out to launch
STEVE AOKI APRIL/MAY/JUNE 2008
IZA CALZADO X TILT JULY/AUGUST 2008
JONAS BEVACQUA SEPT/OCT 2008
STATUS ISSUE 4 Status is a piece of work
STATUS ISSUE 5 Status is revolutionizing rebellion
STATUS ISSUE 6 Status is hustlin’
UFFIE Nov/Dec/Jan 2008
JEREMY SCOTT FEB/MARCH 2009
ATRAK APRIL/MAY 2009
STATUS ISSUE 7 Status is abstract FAFI JUNE/JULY 2009
heavy hitter
THE SHOT CALLER Japanese editor and photographer YONEHARA YASUMASA shares his insight on girls, photography, Eastern culture...and did we mention girls? Introduction by Victoria Herrera Interview by Sarah Meier-Albano
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picture is worth a thousand words. But when you take a glance at Yone’s photos of hot girls, you are left speechless. Known as the editor of Japanese publications Out of Photography and Smart Girls, Yone popularized his lo-fi style with the Fuji Cheki camera. While some may call the approach rather amateur, this makes his photos feel all the more real-that is precisely his intention. It’s not like he’s shooting you in a studio with full on lights and make-up. Instead, Yone tries to capture his subjects in natural states. With major street cred, Yone has shot ads for Japanese brand Kiks TYO, is a contributor for streetwear website Hypebeast.com, travels the world for exhibits of his Cheki shots, and also collaborates with brands like WeSC and Greedy Genius on creative projects. And if you see the similarities between his work and American Apparel, Yone says the other is a rip-off. Well, what can we say? Copying is a form of flattery. So you don’t consider yourself a photographer, but I don’t know what else to label you as. Help? I label myself an editor. Shooting photos is a part of the editor’s job.
What are little things you like to have/ need while shooting? Music? Alcohol? My iPod that has all sorts of music that I love. During the shoots, I usually DJ with my iPod. I select songs depending on the models’ mood and the atmosphere of the day. I’ve been online for an hour looking at your images and have yet to see a single dude photographed by you. Sorry, interested only in girls!
If you had to do a portrait of Obama, explain to us what we would see in the final product. No offense, but not interested in guys. What’s your take on street style/fashion these days? Not much, just stuff that looks right on myself. You’ve worked with some of the bigger names in pop culture in Japan. Any American artist/model you feel would be a spectacular Yone Cheki candidate?
For those who haven’t had the pleasure, please introduce us to Cheki. Sometimes Cheki could become a great present, just giving them away as you shoot; I consider it as a way of communication. Or, it could turn into a favorite interior piece in your room, with just simple display ideas. How easy is it to get girls to take their clothes off? It’s easy, once you find that right girl who has the potential to take her clothes off. By this, I mean not those professional girls who are used to being naked, but those who have hidden desires to take off their clothes. The secret is that I’m a genius at detecting girls with some kind of reason that they want to get undressed. Growing up in this industry, I realized that non-models all want the frighteningly perfect Photoshopped and studio-lit pictures, while real models want their shots to look as natural and accidental as possible. That being said, the pros must love you. Exactly. But my style has actually become more popular over the years, so at the same time, many of the non-models ask me to get their pictures taken. Explain to us a little bit about the segment of Japanese female culture that you capture - who are these girls? What makes them unique? Why are they this way? One distinctive value in a Japanese culture is that there seems to be high demands for “girly” girls. The flirty ones who try to draw mass attention from the opposite sex. Those girls who fit into this image are usually very conservativeminded, and more likely to be influenced by guys’ values. This framework could also apply to the relationship between Japan=girls, and the western civilization=guys. These values could have existed, maybe in the old times when we used to have no information from the outside world. However, the world today is so open to us. That’s why I find those girls who are close-minded and too busy chasing the guys downright unattractive. The girls I capture in my work are those who stand opposite from those conservative girls. They are independent in many ways and have their own way of style.
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“The girls I capture in my work are those who stand opposite from those conservative girls. They are independent in many ways, and have their own way of style.”
heavy hitter Well, I have just recently started looking beyond Japan to different girls in Asia. So to be honest, I really haven’t had the chance to think about American girls yet. Asian culture—how do you find the Western world perceives it? I think for most people, there’s no image. For some, it might be a treasure box filled with excitement. For others, Asian people are like wild shop-holics of art. Do your vacation and family photos look like normal people’s? I usually don’t take family photos. I don’t want to waste a minute taking pictures while I’m spending precious time with my family. Were you ever into other forms of art? Graffiti, painting, sketching, etc.? Movies taken by digital videos. You’ve seen more half-naked women than most of your counterparts. If I asked you to give today’s female youth some words on self-esteem/body issues, what would you say? I know a bunch of people, including top models, with unbeatable appearances. My point is, it’s totally nonsense comparing with others on how you look… You’ll be able to relax and gain more self-confidence once you stop competing. Instead, just focus on who you are. You’ve inspired me to buy a new camera and mess around. What should I buy? First, think about what you want to take. Then how you want to take it. Then you can figure out which camera best suits your purpose. Complete this sentence: With the accessibility kids today have to expensive cameras, iPhoto, and Photoshop... …they tend to forget the essence of creativity. Really, you only need good ideas to rise in the mainstream. Don’t spend a fortune going after fancy tools; you know, a single Cheki camera was good enough for me.
www.cexwork.com
Arrange the following in order of importance, when trying to achieve the perfect shot: Model (Pose), Model (Face/Body), Mood/Energy, Styling/Clothing, Background, Lighting, and Framing. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)
Model (Face/Body) Background Mood/Energy Model (Pose)=Framing Styling/Clothing=Lighting
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MASTERMIND MASTERMIND
heavy hitter MASTERMIND
RESTLESS SOLE
Independent sneaker brand Clae is for the man with classic taste. Its clean silhouettes and wearable colorways are introducing a more stylish and versatile way for our men to dress for both work and play. We can only thank Clae founder and creative director SUNG CHOI for the inspiration. Introduction by Vicky Herrera Interview by Erika Hoffman
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heavy hitter
H
aving lived in Korea, New York, and LA, Sung Choi is a melting pot of cultures. “I think my work ethic and core values are ingrained in my Korean past where my early childhood was spent playing soccer and baseball, playing with Legos.” Later on in his life, it was New York that gave him the vision and character, while LA taught him to relax a little. After all, one needs some breathing time to actually work on the big ideas. It is these concepts that we could give credit for the current change of taste level in today’s sneaker scene. His footwear brand Clae has pushed the idea of quality even further. Although Sung has been designing graphics and apparel since the early 90’s, his move to designing footwear began later in 1997. Unlike the hyped-up, color-crazed looks of years past, Clae began in 2001 with an aim to move away from ridiculous, short-lived trends. However, three years later, Sung pulled the plug on Clae, setting it aside for the future. For him, there was a need to regroup and reorganize. “During the three-year hiatus, I worked on a few freelance design projects for DC Shoes while also heading up the Ecko and Zoo York footwear programs; meanwhile, I was waiting for the right opportunity and moment to relaunch Clae.” And when he did relaunch it, it blasted off. We all know that Clae had quite a history; it has come, “gone”, and successfully emerged once again. What’s changed, evolved, and remained the same?
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I think footwear is trending towards a more simplified, classic style; we see Chuck Taylors and classic Vans all over the place in addition to a reemergence of traditional hard bottom shoes and work boots like Red Wings. I think now it’s time to move forward and bring some fresh ideas into the mix and reinterpret what we see so much of. We’re true to our original mission; creating versatile footwear that bridges the gap between sneakers and dress shoes. Did you have any reservations coming back from the hiatus? I did have few reservations, naturally, but I felt it was the right time. It was nerve wracking through the first few seasons of the re-launch, but once we delivered and the shoes began to sell, I felt a little bit of relief and even more certain that I’d made the right move. What do you foresee the industry to be, and what role do you expect Clae to play? The sneaker industry is going through a revolution, sparked by the newly emerging independent brands that are challenging the retro-heavy dinosaurs. Right now, the market feels a little restricted—most people wear shoes for style and comfort in their leisure activities, and wear sport-specific athletic shoes for their field of play. Clae fuses an athletic heritage with a more
casual silhouette, all while using quality materials and topnotch construction. What are your inspirations? Where do you draw from, and how do you translate this into your work? I’ll use a quote here. “Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration and fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light, and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what JeanLuc Godard said: ‘Its not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to’.” - Jim Jarmusch
people like the Cousteau, Langston, and Whitman to name a few. What makes a person “name after” worthy, and how do you pair the people with the shoes? It’s more of an homage. I use the names of individuals who have given me so much inspiration over the years. It’s less about specific pieces, and more about the individual’s vision, discovery, and art of pursuance or accomplishments. For example, our Cousteau is named after Jacques Cousteau, the man synonymous with underwater exploration. I made a shoe that referenced a boat shoe, so who better to name it after than the man who said, “a lot of people attack the sea, but I make love to it.” Who would you be surprised to see rocking a pair of Clae’s? I don’t think I’d be surprised by anyone in particular, young or old. Our shoes are made for anyone who can appreciate a quality pair of shoes.
Growing up, who were your style icons? How are their influences reflected in your works? I admire Bruce Lee for his fluidity and taking an intelligent approach to his work; Miles Davis for his infinite style and his courage to keep things moving; and John Coltrane for his physical dedication and spiritual devotion to his craft. I hope that all of the above is seen within Clae’s DNA, from taking an intelligent and thoughtful approach to design to the dedication and devotion to the craft.
Okay so, I just bought my boyfriend some Claes and he doesn’t know what to dress it with. What brands do you recommend he pairs it with? I would stick to clean and simple pieces (maybe because that’s my personal aesthetic). In my experience, Uniqlo, UNIS and A.P.C. have great basics; both the quality and cut are there, and the simplicity and details complement Clae well. An advantage to all Clae styles is that you can dress them up or down and look good everywhere in between.
You are known for naming some of your shoes after famous historic
www.clae.com
“i think footwear is heading towards a more simplified, classic style...”
Music
I love all kinds of music... From Duke Ellington to John Coltrane, Bob Marley to Sizzla, Big Daddy Kane to Biggie, Black Sabbath to Stevie Wonder... As for newer acts, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Santigold, The Bad Plus, and Phoenix…anything that comes from the soul usually works for me.
Books
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a fun read for a dreaming mind. The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell is a must.
Places
I’d like to think that I don’t run away anywhere, but in reality I run home everyday. I do enjoy traveling, mostly for business, but I do find time to discover things here and there. Hong Kong, Saigon, Seoul, and Tokyo top my list.
Food
Korean, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Indo to Italian, Mediterranean to Caribbean...I love them all!
Five Business Rules to Live By:
1. Be true to yourself and your vision. 2. You get what you put in. 3. Just because you have good taste doesn’t mean you’ll make a good designer, and just because you’re a good designer doesn’t mean you have a good brand. Design is at the core, but there are many other factors involved in building a strong brand. 4. Pay your dues...you might actually learn something. 5. Be kind to others and handle your business.
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Fun, surprising, and thoroughly addictive, there’s no telling where Parisian boutique JARDIN DES TULERIES Colette will lead us next. Colette creative director and buyer SARAH LERFEL shares the vision behind this influential store. By Toff de Venecia
LOUVRE
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oco Chanel once said, “Fashion is not something that exists in dresses (alone). Fashion is in the sky, in the street…and in the way we live…” Well, there seemed no better metaphor to the couturiere’s wise words, living, breathing, or otherwise, than to perchance a collective that embodies just that. Call it a lil’ shop of wonders—a lifestyle sine qua non that pushes an insatiable curiosity to innovate and emancipate the power of ideas, thus creating universe upon universe within one’s own hearth and home. Colette, the brainchild of visionary Sarah Lerfel and her mother who is also the store’s namesake, lays nest at 213 rue Saint-Honoré and is committed to bringing Parisian retail experience to a whole new level. “Goal was, and is always to introduce products in the best possible way,” relates Sarah on Colette’s one-of-a-kind store displays and her long-term vision for the store. “That’s why we keep changing,”—change being a definite understatement. Born in Paris, what was initially a three-tiered concept store designed by Armaud de Montigny has undergone a sleek renovation by Wonderwall, a Japanese design firm that also did interiors for OriginalFake, Bathing Ape, and BBC/Ice Cream. While these three brands have found a comfortable roost within the eclectic fashion Mecca, Sarah shares, “It was logical to work with Wonderwall for their corners (within the store).” But since she loved what they had done so much, the firm was given artistic chops to continue working on all three floors. “We wanted something not over-designed. It’s not about the space itself but the designers we love.” With the store’s blossoming predilection for brands and elements that have become integral to streetwear and street culture, it’s interesting to cite the compelling case that Colette has made vis-à-vis her native land. After all, Paris is and will always be the epicenter of couture, cultural renaissance, and high art. One would have to wonder, where, in its turn to street culture, Colette stands in all of this? “We like to think we’re a crossing point between fashion, art, street, music, beauty, and design,” relates Sarah who continues that Paris was delayed compared to the United States and Japan in terms of its proclivity to street. “But for the last seven to eight years, the movement has grown a lot. Everybody is more informed.”
Over the years, Colette has found sartorial pride in carrying some of the most elusive street wear items and design collaborations that money and an undeniable eye can buy. In Sarah’s own words, they carry items that “make you want to sleep all night long in front of Colette to get them first before they’re sold out.” True enough, each piece becomes a triumphant component in every shopper’s retail experience— deep magic that happens beyond tried and tested methodologies of any kind. “We hunt everywhere! No discipline: just instinct!” shares Sarah of how her team discovers the remarkable stuff. That between local Parisian finds and items found abroad, the folks at Colette are more persnickety on the quality rather than the “nationality” of any given product. Of course, it helps that there’s the Internet to hasten the search process. Sarah connects, “We continue to work the same way: good selection of products, weekly displays. And so far…we make happy an incredible clientele.” The store, which holds true to its 1997 motto of “styledesignartfood,” has also managed to maintain an online counterpart in Colette.fr, a funky website that enables the retailer to make cultural commentaries on music, beauty, design, among others, and promote its sought after retail finds to the entire world. Of course, the eccentricity of Colette is most apparent in its “water bar,” intended to remind everyone that there are actually more choices of H2O beyond Evian and Badoit. “To propose waters from everywhere in the world is to offer a worldwide trip,” adds Lerfel about the portal through which the store had also gained renown. At the moment, Colette is busy preparing for its upcoming exhibitions with internationally acclaimed artist REAS, designer fashion label Rodarte, and Miles Aldridge. We can also expect several collaborations, including ones with Leica, CanadaGoose, and Repetto. Despite the monumental success, Sarah is dead set on staying put, making the most of what they have, where they are, but improving the store every single time. So also, you may wonder, what else is there for Colette to conquer? Sarah ends, “A lot still. And the moon!”
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“It’s not about the space itself but the designers we love.”
JAR-
www.colette.fr
LOUVRE
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VISUAL
POETRY
French illustrator-writer-photographer GARANCE DORE may have the perfect eye for modern street style, but it is her outlook on life that we’d like to capture. By Vicky Herrera
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want to tell a story,” Garance Dore professes. “I look for grace, not a specific kind of clothing. Usually, my eye is caught by an allure. I take the picture, and then when I see it, I realize what the clothes... had to do with the moment of grace I tried to capture.” For a person known popularly for her street style photos, Garance talks about her photography in the most poetic way possible. It’s no surprise that this tone fills her entire blog. From her minimal fashion illustrations, reflective entries, and inspiring photos of effortless style, she welcomes us into her world without any pretense. Her adventures become our adventures. It is Garance’s open and honest reactions to her experiences in fashion that make her approach so refreshingly authentic. “I am a kind of emotional reporter. I don’t judge. This is how I touch people. People in the industry are very interested in that vision of fashion because it’s new, spontaneous, poetic, and lively,” she explains. Before being named as one of Style.com’s Women of Fashion 2009, guest blogging for French Vogue, covering the shows and streets at Fashion Week, and traveling the world with boyfriend Scott Schuman (a.k.a. The Sartorialist), Garance was an illustrator longing for a deeper connection to her readers. She began her blog in 2006 as a means to express herself and later began writing down her thoughts and adding style photos. “I love to do illustrations because they represent my dreams, but when you talk so much about fashion, there is a moment when you want to show what inspires you. This is how I started. Going to the shows, seeing so much beauty and wanting to show it.” In the end, however, she shows not only beauty, but the grace behind it. You are from one of the most fashion-forward cities of the world. How has living in Paris affected your outlook on fashion? I feel free to wear what I want and to challenge my style. Here in Paris, I can ride my bike in short skirts, shop in stilettos, and go to a nightclub in sneakers. There is no code; it’s all in the attitude.
working girl
How do Parisian women dress differently from everyone else? The parisian girl likes to let people think that she doesn’t try too hard. She is that perfect mix of laid back sexiness.
“Taking a good picture is like falling in love.” You’ve photographed a lot of inspirational, real, and beautiful women. They seem to truly understand their own personal style. What advice can you give young women seeking to develop their style identity? I want to tell them to try. No one should be scared of mistakes in style or bad taste. Fashion faux pas are cute, and they make you learn. They help you create your own originality and find your identity. What are the particular details that surprise you when photographing an outfit? The thing that always surprises me is how much it’s all in the way we wear clothes. Nothing is really ugly. Well, actually, Uggs are really ugly (laughs)...if you are proud to wear it and find a way to make it your own. Who are your inspirations? One of my major inspirations is Françoise Sagan, a French writer. I love her way of looking at life, her sense of humor, and her depth. I also love Bruce Weber, because he is the photographer of happiness. And my mother, because she is the most intelligent, strong, beautiful, stylish, loving, and funny person in the world. And she plays the drums! The most important quality I seek in a person is a sense of humour. What do you love most about your job? What I love most is to feel inspired. That moment when everything vibrates, the right moment, the right person, the right time. If I can capture that with my camera, it makes me the happiest girl in the world. I love travelling too, one of the best ways to feel inspired, isn’t it? What do you struggle with? I struggle with paperwork! What do you seek to accomplish as a photographer/illustrator/journalist? I want to be better organised. In order to leave free space in my life. I think, to be creative, you need space to dream. My priority is to stay true to my vision of life and fashion, and sharing it through my pictures, illustrations, and texts. Magazines ask me more and more to mix the three of them in some kind of collages, which I love to do. I have an exhibition in September in London mixing the three medias, and a lot of exciting collaborations coming up. I just want to try to give the best of me in each project I chose to do. Whether it be the time you first bought a pair of heels, to the time you first entered the tents in Fashion Week, what is your most memorable experience in fashion? When I met Carine Roitfeld, and she told me she loved my work. I respect so much what she does and the people she works with. She is one of my idols.
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WORKING GIRL
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You mentioned something about loving to shop in your boyfriend’s closet. Please tell, what are your favorite items? And how does Scott feel about you borrowing his swag? Oh my god, so much! Pants, shirts, jackets, t-shirts... About half of my wardrobe is menswear. I wear it in a very feminine way, with high heels; it works for me, and it’s easy! Scott always loves the way I remix his wardrobe... He is always happy to let me borrow and, when he goes to J.Crew to buy some new shirts, always asks me if I want a little something. With your blog, you are more concerned with the story behind fashion-like the people, the quirky events and experiences that you encounter. Unlike some fashion blogs that focus solely on brands and clothing, you give a more humanistic approach. What kind of ideas or stories do you want to communicate through your blog? You are right. I love to share emotions and stories because without it, fashion is just shopping and I’m not so much interested in shopping. Fashion is beautiful and crazy at the same time, and that’s why I love it. Girls are a little bit like that too, crazy and beautiful. If you only had to choose one artistic craft to perfect for the rest of your life, which would you choose to master? My answer would be different each time. I love writing, I love illustrating. But photography has something special, and it’s the relation with the moment, the person, the light, the emotion, the perfect timing that one can never recreate. It’s that kind of magic. When you get it, nothing can make you more happy and excited. Taking a good picture is like falling in love. What do you think the fashion industry needs more of? Spontaneity, movement, collaborations, sharing energies, and not have everyone staying in it’s own chapel. Movement is creative and fashion is movement.
www.garancedore.fr
I always travel with... My boyfriend!
I’ve felt most accomplished when... I have taken a great picture.
I’ve learned from fashion to...
Run after a taxi in high heels
To achieve great style, I believe that...
Dore
One sould take it as a game. Great style is never too serious.
Garanc e
“My priority is to stay true to my vision of life and fashion, and sharing it through my pictures, illustrations, and texts.”
When two artists unite, there is always a mutual teacher-student relationship constantly taking place. How has your relationship with Scott enlarged your perspective as an artist? My relation with Scott has changed my life. First, because we have so much fun together. He is the funniest person I know. But also because we helped each other define who we are. We both have a very high and loving vision of each other. I personally think he is one of the most talented photographers of his generation, and it’s just a start for him. He has enlarged my vision first because he believes in me, and then because he is a very inspirational person, always looking for new places, books, exhibitions.
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WORKING GIRL
LADY R U E T A C PROVO sivering a succes mmits to it—del co d r an he d te an ca vo n, fashio fame ad Lady Gaga plays fusion of music, le ib st si re ir act—an ful con artist d. me life perfor aria By Nante Santam
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EUR CAT OVO LAD Y PR
Photos courtsey of Getty Images
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WORKING GIRL
The objective, she would reveal, is to embody the mystique of the artist—to tease every consumer of celebrity status to raise the most absurd questions like whether she sleeps in sequined panties upside down with someone fanning her with a boa.
G
lastonbury Festival, England—She comes out of a silver case while wearing a flattened short dress, asymmetrically decked with a shiny triangle on the bodice, her eyes obscured by a mask—all encrusted with disco ball mirrors. Then she plays a crystalline keytar and waves her signature disco stick. You, of course, already know her songs—anthems of sexual deception, feigning authentic attraction, nights of wild abandon, the allure of and hunger for fame. Her flame-throwing boobs are the candles on this sweet, creamy, sensual cake of a set. On the papers, the Queen of Pop’s conical bra flashes to the memories of millions. Far from “Like a Virgin”, the image of Madonna erupts into this gripping shock artist called Lady Gaga. What was once the pinnacle of indie cred now offers its renowned Other Stage to probably today’s perfect example of a pop artist. Although set for a tour with Kanye West this fall, arguably the most mainstream rapper there now is, she also positions herself as an “artist”— someone wholly dedicated to a Warholian mission of bringing both smarts and craft to as far as MTV. But once, there was just Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, born
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to Italian American parents, a girl who began playing piano at four. “I’ve worked really hard and I’ve been hustling in New York since I was 15…and I’m really focused and I just want to do a good job.” she relates in T4 Show. For someone who clawed her way from the dive bars and was dropped from her first label, she’s only reaping the reward of hard work. For this rock DJing go-go dancer who would later find her name when she met performance artist Lady Starlight, you could say that this career is an extension, although a hyperversion, of their show called Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue which was raved about in Lollapalooza. That was just 2007. Her penchant for capturing pop hooks and melodies would eventually lead her to write music for Britney Spears, Pussycat Dolls, and Akon who would recognize the talent in a reference vocals for one of his tracks. He’d take her on to his label Kon Live Distribution, and later, she’d sign to Interscope Records and work on the still smashing debut album The Fame in Los Angeles. But she’d tell Paul O’Grady, “I don’t get caught up with all the hype and start working with the really huge people. I keep my close friends nearby me, and we just keep mak-
ing the same stuff we were doing 4 years ago.” Now backed up by this mythicalsounding Haus of Gaga in all styling and production, she is far from embracing anonymity. Just the same, it is mainly about the work. “I get to fly first [class] sometimes, but I would fly with the chickens in the back if it meant I could travel the world and sing for a living… The perks for me are when I land and there is fifty thousand people waiting to sing my song,” she shows no diva complex in Nova 96.9 FM. The objective, she would reveal, is to embody the mystique of the artist—to tease every consumer of celebrity status to raise the most absurd questions like whether she sleeps in sequined panties upside down with someone fanning her with a boa. Proclaiming her obsession for the mob princess, her love for Prada, Versace, Gucci, Fendi, D&G, and Valentino, fashion is her weapon. “I’m a glamour girl,” she usually quips quite confidently, even brashly. Read her geisha lips, preserve the curiosity of searching for the Hidden Mickey, peek through her world in the light of Lennon’s shades, savor the Euro sophistique with her tea cups, rejoice in the return of the glam rock
GOING GAGA Whether there really is anything that she won’t be caught wearing is still up for debate. Rest assured that... it’s about being naked as possible.
Check out our favorite show-stopping outfits.
CLASSIC GAGA age with her thunder make-up, go back to the future with her space age sets and concert imagery. Haus of Gaga even got a hand from the sought-after creative director of Dazed and Confused Nicola Formichetti, the guy who crowned her with the orbit hat. Nicola defines her interpretation of Lady Gaga’s style: something you’re seeing for the first time, a bit tongue-incheek, a little outrageous, something that other people might hate, lady-like with an S&M edge. On their first time to work, V magazine’s cover shoot, Nicola brings a pile of high fashion labels like Balmain, Balenciaga, and Louis Vuitton, but he balances the set off with younger lines like Gareth Pugh’s. This style, he predicts, is something that would seep in to department store racks. And looks like it’s really about to happen. Look at Jean-Paul Gaultier’s leg-revealing one-piece bodysuits, strappy kneehigh boots, and sharp shoulders. Some fashion critics would go as far as seeing her in Christian Lacroix’s sculptural-hemmed jacket, Givenchy’s chains dangling from the waist, and the pouf-skirted white gown by Chanel. The real deal, she’d reveal at the Paul O’Grady Show, “I had more of a beer budget, y’know, when I was living in New York. So I used to just buy rhinestones and all kinds of beads and find things in my apartment that were cool, and I’d glue them on to a three dollar bra from Conway’s.” Whether there really is anything that she won’t be caught wearing is still up for debate. Rest assured that, as Lady Starlight says, it’s about being naked as possible. That explains the “no pants” rule. By now, she has become the third artist to have three number one debut album songs in the Billboard mainstream top 40—owing it as well to the now radio-abused “LoveGame” and to the debut single “Just Dance”. And boy was that rise to fame quick. Lady Gaga recalls how the latter track was penned as fast. She claims 10 minutes, starting with that shifty synth intro, proceeding with the first line, “I’ve had a little bit too much,” and that was it. So popular that she’s been eating rumors for breakfast—like that she’s a hermaphrodite, that’s she’s gotten married with Kanye West, that she’s actually bald, that she’s now bankrupt and spending all her earnings on producing her gaudy shows. But there are only a few things that we know to be true; mostly her music which she describes in Billboard as a marrying of genres “from Def Leppard drums and handclaps to metal drums on urban tracks... It’s very 70’s, with early 80’s Prince-like guitars and 80’s synths…sort of like theatrical pop.” All these influences, however, are underlined by one goal— to be the commercial artist that she is, delivering carnivalesque spectacles in every performance, painting the purported underground in the color of glam. Sure, people are crazy about her fashion and music, but as we get more, the big question comes: who really is Lady Gaga? Is she really this woman claiming bisexuality, saying it’s what she meant in her second explosive single “Poker Face”—the gambling expression taken for faking it, thinking of a woman while in bed with her man? To Big Shot mag, her declaration is “I’m a bit of a con artist.” Yet she has actually become fame in every sense of the word. She provides all the cues to this lifestyle which one cannot download. She demonstrates, this is a celebrity: haunted by paparazzi in her antiseptic private white villa, making out with her frighteningly sterile mustachioed lover, portrayed in futuristic Frida Kahloesque frames, someone who’s always defended as innocent. Her entire content is this: to be an artist of perception, of manipulation in a web-diverted culture that measures worth in clicks and sizes a network to relative mass of repetition. “If anything I really love it when I see that my music and my fashion is affecting pop culture,” she explains in iProng. Call her a famewhore; she is the embodiment of all she’s singing about. Like in her music video, she emerges proud of her crime that mindless fame-eaters have been duped to follow. Lady Gaga has succeeded in this age when The Idea of the person is more important than the person. In her world, there is no way that this is turning against her, that people would resist the hype they’re fed. Welcome here, our new guilty pleasure. It is a great day to play with you.
May 2009 KIIS - FM’s Wango Tango Irvine, California
PAPARAZZI READY June 2009
Arriving at Narita Airport Chiba, Japan
HAIR-RAISING June 2009 20th Annual MuchMusic Video Awards Toronto, Canada
www.ladygaga.com
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Scene Stealer
Model and actress DEVON AOKI’s transition from photo shoots to studio sets is a daring move for a superstar in the fashion world. Her natural beauty and courage to take on new roles leave the audience in awe at this deadly combination. By Gino de la Paz Photographed by Lionel Deluy
“[My mother] is a trendsetter and is unequivocally the largest inspiration of my life, style and/or otherwise.”
I
t’s all in the genes. With English, German and Japanese DNA coursing through her veins–a childhood spent in New York, Los Angeles, and London-the 26-year-old stunner is the world in a 5’5” frame. Though she is not a skyscraper, that has not prevented the American model-actress from building a résumé that would achieve a constancy of chicness and awe. Karl Lagerfeld is perhaps the most prominent member of The Devon Aoki Appreciation Society; Kate Moss, who helped her snag jobs as a newbie, is a proud member along with Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Frank Miller, Devon’s Sin City; directors. In fact, Google her and you’re bound to discover that even millennial fans have made her, quite appropriately, the subject of an online dress-up game. Devon has never looked to be in danger of respecting conventional limitations and now, as she struts from the runway to the cinema screen, another great adventure begins. So a decade ago, Phaidon’s ‘The Fashion Book’ featured photographer Nick Knight. On his page was a photo he took of you in an Alexander McQueen brocade cowl dress. Made up by Topolino, you looked like a half-blind Björk with a safety pin on your forehead. Do you remember this shoot? What was it like working with someone like Nick Knight? The picture you are referring to was for V magazine. It was one of the first shoots I did; I think I was about 14 or 15 years old at the time. It’s interesting thinking back to that moment over ten years ago. It was such an interesting moment in fashion, and there was this awesome energy on the shoot. It was early on in Alexander McQueen’s design career, and we were pushing the envelope, trying to create an image that looked as if it was from another world. I cannot say enough about what an incredible pleasure it is to have worked with Nick Knight on this project and on many others. He continues to be one of the greatest fashion photographers and creative thinkers that I have ever known. Have you ever tried going behind the camera, as a photographer, yourself? Yes, I have done shoots in the past, very low-key, in-the-backyard type stuff. i-D magazine ran a picture that I took of my little sister a few years ago. I love to take photos; it’s a rewarding process and the memories and images stay with you forever. You’ve pretty much grown up in the fashion scene. How was it like traveling to different countries for work at such a young age? It was a wonderful way to come of age, traveling all over Europe and Asia, living out of a suitcase, meeting and admiring artists who had no desire to live in any sensible kind of way. An online bio says you were discovered at a Rancid concert you gatecrashed. What type of music would you say sums up who you are? It would start with my mother and the music she exposed me to as a child-Roy Orbisson, Al Green, Moody Blues, Zeppelin, Patsy Klein, Otis Redding, Mahilia Jackson, Bocelli, Simon and Garfunkel. And then my step dad stepped in, and he was an old punk rocker from London, so I began to listen to The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Cure, Adam and the Ants, and my personal discovery and obsession was Rancid.
working girl
Shipped off to NYC, and it was all about Tribe Called Quest, Nice and Smooth, De La Soul, Run DMC, and all the underground hip-hop stuff which my brother was into. My own personal hip-hop discovery ended up being one of my all time favorites: Jay-Z. Then I moved to LA, and it was all about Eddie Vedder, and southern fried rock like Lynard Skynard. Now, I’m back to Simon and Garfunkel. Aside from modeling, you are an actress, and you’ve already had a denim line with Levi’s. What other business ideas would you love to make happen? I am working on a new denim line with my brother Steve. I also have a restaurant concept that I am working on, so we will see how far I can push it. We’ve worked a lot with your brother Steve. He was our first cover boy and he has flown down to Manila a lot of times for events. He’s such a cool dude. I’m so lucky and blessed to have such a wonderful family, and we all influence each other. With regard to acting, are you slated to work with any directors for films here in Asia? Who’s your favorite director, by the way? I hope so. I would love to work in Asia; I think the filmmakers of the East are doing extraordinary things. One of my favorite directors is Yimou Zhang. He weaves such incredible colors and depth into his films. I would love to work with him. What is your take on the fashion industry today? How is it different from when you first started? I am still working with the same people that I worked with as a child, were all lifers! How about your opinion on reality TV shows regarding fashion and modeling? I don’t watch them, and I won’t allow my little sister to either. In my opinion, the modeling shows are not accurate or interesting. I wouldn’t let someone whose career starts and ends in an RV on a network parking lot somewhere in studio city dictate whether I could have a modeling career. I really feel bad for those girls. Whose career in modeling and acting do you admire most? I admire Kate Moss, who has an extraordinary body of work, and I also admire Meryl Streep. She really knocked my socks off with her performance in Adaptation and she continues to be my favorite actress. What inspires you right now? Nature and my mom-she doesn’t age! Who has taught you the most about fashion and style? My mother. I was always given free reign when it came to my own self-expression with make-up or clothing. She never had any rules for me to follow, and she commended my individuality. I can remember being very much into the whole punk rock/Sex Pistols thing in junior high, and she was the one who told me about Vivienne Westwood and bought me my own pair of Seditionary boots. I still have old dresses of hers from the early 80s by Azzedine Alaïa. She is a trendsetter and is unequivocally the largest inspiration of my life, style and/or otherwise.
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mind job
HAVE WE SEEN THE LAST OF
A media-fed fictionist dissects what it really means to be on the leading edge of fashion. By Eirene Uy Illustration by Nikkie Poops
I
’m not a model nor am I a fashion designer—I am a storyteller. And more than anything, fictionists just have a lot of questions. Like I’ve often wondered, what do the Fashion Powers That Be, who judge fashion reality TV shows and critique collections, really mean when they say that a piece or an editorial spread is “avant-garde?” It is easy to brush it off as yet another one of those French sophisticate phrases like “je ne sais quoi”, but the writer in me just has to make some sense out of this seemingly innocent word suppressing a “t” and silently scraping an “r.” The impalpable book of knowledge called the Internet led me to find out that the phrase “avant garde” was borrowed from a military concept which referred to the army members who forged foremost in battle. Hence, in art, these “vanguards” pushed the boundaries of creativity in the time and age they lived in. It is difficult to produce an all-encompassing definition for it proves to be a Pandora’s Box of theories and movements ranging Art Nouveau to Dada to Futurism and Theatre of Cruelty. Growing from Modernism, that questioning
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of society’s notions of traditions, it pushed artists to be self-conscious and to experiment with form and process. But as avant-garde seeks to defy traditional standards, there really isn’t a concrete measurement for whether something is worthy of the term. The alternative is to define the philosophy by focusing on the individuals who lived it out. Aesthetically, the fashion avant-garde were the ones who were—as the cliché goes—“ahead of their time,” introducing novel shapes, designs, and functions. My virtual search for the fashion avant-garde leads me to the style legends who possessed such enigma that no description could capture who they really were. Such were the likes of Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges—pioneers of the space-age, futuristic fashion that featured geometric and almost unisex designs in the 1960’s. Also from the same decade, Paco Rabanne was notorious for being the enfant terrible of French fashion. Although his name is now more associated with fragrance, his designs were considered radical—highlighted by his use of unusual material such as paper, metal, and plastic. Then, there is fashion’s first lady of Punk, Vivienne Westwood, who was able to magically capture the Punk and New Wave movements with her Seditionaries, Pirate, and Savages collections, among others. We can’t forget Miuccia Prada who stormed the fashion world with her line of the now iconic black, nylon handbags in 1985 and has continued to design in the beat of
her own tune ever since. Even with all these theories and proponents of fashion avant-garde, I am yet left with more questions. Is there still such an avant-garde movement in the fashion world today? Is it true—as Solomon said thousands of years ago—that there is no new thing under the sun? What place does the notion of “being ahead of your time” have in a world where there is no standard meaning for what is ahead and behind? You have to wonder whether being avant-garde is still relevant in an age of individuality, postmodernism, and consumerism. Majority of the present population are consumers—differentiated only by the stuff they munch on. This makes market-driven innovation necessary to survive. Let’s face it; as much as fashion is beauty, it is also a business. You can’t make clothes without resources. Ask Christian Lacroix, who, despite his immense genius, just showed his last Haute Couture collection this year—which was privately financed. The real fashion avant-garde have become endangered species—part of the casualty caused by the birth and growth of Postmodernism, an emergent tendency that everything is relative. As a fellow fictionist said, “Once you reject the standardization that comes with modernity, say bye-bye avant-garde!” And yet as fashion moves in circles— constantly picking from the past what to bring into the present, we may have not seen the last of avant-garde just yet. The story goes on, but you just don’t have to abuse the title.
night vision
NIGHTVISION FLUXXE!!
@32nd Street
photos by Jujin Samonte
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night vision
ASEUM photos by Advocacy Photographers
YARDSALE 5 @ Embassy
Photos by adoborat
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night vision
Status Issue 7 Release Party
@ Embassy
Photos by Revolution
Bacardi Superklasse 4th Year Anniversary @ Embassy photos by Revolution
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night vision
Kobe Bryant in Manila photos by Revolution
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TRANSACTION TRANSACTION
The Cobrasnake’s Birthday Party photos by The Cobrasnake
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TRANSACTION
Butterfly @ Butter Factory - Singapore
Suicide Blonde
photos by The Cobrasnake
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Where to find stuff in this magazine ADIDAS Available at all Adidas stores nationwide ALDO Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City ALDO ACCESSORIES Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City ALIFE Available at Greyone Social, Power Plant Mall Tel: 896-5084 & Greenbelt 5 Tel: 729-0945 ANNE KLEIN Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City ARANAZ Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City BLEACHED CATASTROPHE Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City BRIXTON Available at Greyone Social, Power Plant Mall Tel: 896-5084 & Greenbelt 5 Tel: 729-0945
EZEKIEL Available at Stoked, Power Plant Mall, Makati City GAUPO Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City GENERIC SURPLUS Available at Trilogy, Alvion Centre, Makati City Tel: 328-1071
LIONEL DELUY (Photographer) see lioneldeluy.com
RMK Available at Greyone Social, Power Plant Mall Tel: 896-5084 & Greenbelt 5 Tel: 729-0945
MICHELLE PENAMANGLOR (Model) CAL-CARRIE’S INTERNATIONAL MODELS PHILIPPINES Suite 1514 Cityland Herrera Tower 98 Rufino Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City Tel: 844-0350 / 753-3700
SASSA JIMENEZ See sassajimenez.com.ph
GOURMET Available at Trilogy, Alvion Centre, Makati City Tel: 328-1071
STUSSY Available at Greyone Social, Power Plant Mall Tel: 896-5084 & Greenbelt 5 Tel: 729-0945
HARRY POTTER APPAREL Available at all SM Department stores nationwide
THE RAMP Available at Glorietta 2, Makati City
JUNK FOOD Available at Trilogy, Alvion Centre, Makati City Tel: 328-1071 LYN Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City
CHARLES & KEITH Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City
MARITHÉ et FRANÇOIS GIRBAUD Available at Power Plant Mall, Makati City
CHRISTY’S CROWN SERIES Available at Trilogy, Alvion Centre, Makati City Tel: 328-1071
MIGHTY HEALTHY Available at Greyone Social, Greenbelt 5 , Makati City Tel: 729-0945
C.LUCE Available at Trilogy, Alvion Centre, Makati City Tel: 328-1071
NIXON Available at Stoked, Power Plant Mall, Makati City
CLAE Available at Greyone Social, Power Plant Mall Tel: 896-5084 & Greenbelt 5 Tel: 729-0945
PUMA Available at Puma stores Nationwide
OBEY Available at Trilogy, Alvion Centre, Makati City Tel: 328-1071
DKNY Available at Greenbelt 5, Makati City
PINK MANILA Available at The Ramp, Crossings, Glorietta 2, Makati City
ECKO UNLTD. Available at all Ecko Unltd. stores and shoe departments nationwide
POINTER Available at Trilogy, Alvion Center, Makati City
ELEMENT Available at Stoked, Power Plant Mall, Makati City
PONY Available at all Pony stores and shoe departments nationwide POSSIBILITY Available at The Ramp, Crossings, Glorietta 2, Makati City
TOPSHOP/TOPMAN Available at Power Plant Mall, Makati City TRANSFORMERS APPAREL Available at all SM Department stores nationwide TRUNKSHOW Available at 3F Teen’s Zone, Glorietta 3, Makati City; 2F 50th Avenue, Robinson’s Place, Manila; 2F Trinoma Mall, North Edsa, Quezon City See trunkshow.multiply.com VON ZIPPER Available at Stoked, Power Plant Mall, Makati City ZOO YORK Available at all Zoo York stores and shoe departments nationwide ARTISTS CELWYN ABASOLO (Photographer) Mobile: 0919-889-4221 CHRIS LEGARDE (Hair Stylist) EMPHASIS SALON Tel: 898-0802 CLAYTON HAUCK (Photographer) see claytonhauck.com ERIC RAY DAVIDSON (Photographer) see ericraydavidson.com KAROLINA TUREK (Photographer) see karolinaturek.com/
PATRICK L. JAMORA (Photographer) see behance.net/padraick RAENA ABELLA (Photographer) see flickr.com/people/83384178@N00 REBECCA MILLER (Photographer) see weareinvolved.com/RebeccaMiller/ Portfolio.html REVOLUTION (Photographer) see www.peaceloveandrevolution.com SHARON SOLEDAD-MALIG (Makeup Artist) SHU UEMURA Mobile: 0928-622-8598 SIDNEY LO (Photographer) see sidneylophoto.com STANLEY ONG (Photographer) see stanongphotography.multiply.com TERENCE LLOYD (Model) MONACO MODELS & CASTING AGENCY Unit 1100B 11th Floor Vicente Madrigal Bldg. 6793 Ayala Ave., Salcedo Village Makati City Tel: 864-0990 Mobile: 0917-842-4681 YEN UY (Makeup Artist) THE MAKEUP FORUM Mobile: 0917-834-6020 STUDIO TRYPTICH STUDIOS G/F Sarmiento Condominium, 177 Yakal St. San Antonio Village, Makati City Email: miguelmiranda42@yahoo.com Mobile: 0917-532-3373
MUSE
By Tracy Collantes
J
ack-of-all-trades JESSICA GUECO (a.k.a. Yoshi) is a multi-tasking maven. A San Francisco native, now a dweller in the Big Apple, Yoshi grasps every opportunity thrown her way, and holds on for life. Though a Political Science graduate from University of San Francisco, she sees her diploma as a ticket to pursue the two things she loves most: fashion and design. Once a sales associate for the skateboarding brand In4mation, Yoshi currently plays project manager at Rokkan, a web design firm, managing teams that create out-of-this-world interactive web pages. She also maintains a handful of blogs such as itsdesignrelated. com, CtotheJL.com, and What The Forks?!, while serving as the buyer for Bay Area shop, and now growing street culture brand and magazine Fatlace. In a world where many think that blogging isn’t much of a profession, Yoshi retorts, “Not only do bloggers attend social events and write product reviews, we also network while we’re at these events and learn a great deal from the business side of brands—gaining as much information as we can to share with all of our readers (but for me, I am just a really curious person and like to know more about the people I meet.) After all the shenanigans have died down, we go back home and then sit on our asses for hours in front of the computer trying to share with you our eyes, ears, and thoughts.” With a brain like this, don’t be surprised if you see Yoshi dominating the world in 10 years. That is the gameplan.
www.adventuresofyoshi.wordpress.com
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