SILENT BY DAMIR DOMA AW12/13

So I’m currently counting down the days till the 21st of January, where at 19:00 GMT I will be watching the LIVE Damir Doma AW12/13 show entitled ‘SOMEWHERE, SOMEONE IS WAITING FOR YOU’ over on NOWFASHION. The more time I take to think about Damir Doma as a collection and as a designer, the more I realise how prominent it is within my wardrobe. I recently came to the decision that everything I own, I adore and engage with when wearing it, creating that indescribable feeling of comfort and moment where you are at one with yourself.

SILENT has always been one of those collections I run to when one is in need of solid staple basics, I suppose you could say it’s of a higher level of what DRKSHDW is to Rick Owens Mainline. However, these images have made me question whether it will be just basics I would be looking to pick up from this collection. As a lookbook it’s flawless, the looks show thought, untouchable proportions with tonnes of inspiration, you couldn’t ask for more. Even from the images we have, the collection shows fabrics and shapes that you would expect to see from the mainline offerings, something that I’m elated by but then doubt creeps in as to whether it will keep it’s attractive price point status if it continues to excel as much as it has. Only time will tell.

J.W ANDERSON FALL/WINTER 2012 MENSWEAR COLLECTION

The images are out, here is a sneak peak at J.W Anderson’s Fall/Winter 2012 collection. One collection I was looking forward to seeing over many others on my to check out list. For me Mr Anderson always hits that unusual spot. You always see the big boys do trendy sort of things but hardly unusual. To me Anderson is like the ugly duckling in a good way, the rebellious one. His work is always on some strange tangent and I like that a lot. He is a man doing his thing but he reminds me of McQueen just by his stand out style. I am really excited by this collection and I can only wish him the best in the future, not that he needs it but heck. I hope you like this collection as much as I do. You can check out his previous collection here.

Photography: Alex Sainsbury
Styling: Benjamin Bruno
Model: Oliver Greenall at Elite London

MY TOP 3 DANISH DESIGNERS

HENRIK VIBSKOV,
Not for the light hearted, Vibskov’s work proves to be rich in colour with influences coming from as far as Peru. I’ll be honest, this is a collection I couldn’t see myself rocking but I feel I’ve obtained the skill where I am able to take elements and incorporate them into what I wear daily. For example, a key staple piece would be the wider pants he used to venture into a good three years back – classic and ‘boxy’. Henrik is a true asset to Denmark’s soft power and the world of fashion design.

STINE GOYA,
Goya graduated from Central St Martin’s, London, back in 2005. Similar to Vibskov, she has a background in elements such as print design, which is evident throughout all her collections. She works with classic cuts and shapes yet brings an unconventional aspect into the equation when it comes to the prints. I like the fact Goya is strictly WW as moving into the MW sector can be detrimental for many designers, for me there is only one collection that achieved this level, Jil Sander FW08. There are many discussions debating the lifespan of such a dominating print but that marble is something that will stay with me. So does that mean that prints and some what garish designs appeal to the customer more than we may think?

[MW – Menswear | WW – Womenswear]

VIBE HARSLOF
We finish on an unspoken area of the industry here at AREWU, Jewellery. I’ve had to revisit this myself, it’s often hard to do as sometimes we find ourselves frowning upon purchases or particular collections we took an interest into, but not Harslof. Her universe is distinctively playful, I’m talking colour, shapes, texture all thinks that have a strong connection to graphic design. They are designed to withstand the test of time, she believes her work should be wearable yet innovative, something she’s definitely achieved. Her work challenges the preconceptions of what constitutes accessory design, to me she’s rebellious and a visionary. Simply because she hasn’t conformed to what people’s expectations of jewellery is and steered well away from the path of the precious metals, her position is as solid as it could be, she can find her work stocked in some of the strongest stores we know from the likes of Collete to ‘A Place In Stockholm’.

JESSE MORGAN BARNETT – TAKING PICTURES WITH THOMAS RUFF

A completely new artist here. I suppose you can say it was convenient for me to suddenly come across Barnett’s work, it was just the motivation and inspiration I needed to get back out snapping again. I feel myself relating to this work, I imagine it would be at the kind of level and state of mind I would like to be in had I of continued with my photography studies. Thomas Ruff accompanies Barnett in this particular series, a name that cropped up a lot within my research, his signature portraits are simply untouchable. I suppose I’m finding it difficult to figure out just were Ruff’s input has been placed within the images bar the portraits shown, but maybe that acts to part of the abstruseness. Having discovered these images late last week, I’m finding myself sat here green tea in one hand, the other typing away whilst trying to come up with a valid final answer as to why I love these pieces of work. Perhaps I don’t need to, but I’ll leave you with the term ‘negative space’ – something so simple yet so effective and used throughout these images shown and all my own personal work.

“GANG OF” PROUDRACE SS12 VIDEO

Proudrace spring/summer 2012 “gang of”

When asked about the inspiration of this collection, proudrace answers “it’s a gang of nomadic skaters and their trophy girlfriends”. but it’s more complicated than that.

This season proudrace was inspired by a few things: a curiosity with the uniform dressing of various religious groups, memories of house of style ,the supermodels and their love for teenage youth. all of these are presented subtly in silhouettes of throwback skater classics but still staying true to the proudrace aesthetic.

The label created their own cult for their spring summer 2012 collection. a cult to represent everything that they believed in and loved from their youth. it is a collection of restrained recklessness and go-to uniforms of anyone who wants to be part of their gang

JAMES CULLEN – POSTER DESIGN

I found myself dedicating this Monday evening researching typefaces, an area of design that I have took a bona fide interest in within the past few months. I’m trying to conceive what exactly it is that draws me in, I think it’s the idea of font’s being theoretically endless. The weights and spacing can add dramatics or character effortlessly making it one of the easiest forms of connecting with an audience, corrections can be done with the touch of a button making it appear far more appealing to people like myself who thrive over the idea of focusing time and dedication to an unmarked canvas only for layers and hours of work to be potentially ruined by whatever life throws at you. I suppose I’m trying to narrow down area’s of the arts that I want to delve into and in my current position this is what I want to explore. Above sits some examples from a James Cullen, whose Flickr account I came across by sheer luck. I’d been searching for a snap of Levon Vincent but these pieces stopped me in my tracks. There’s a point where one should know where to stop in design, the point where that one extra polka dot or stripe could make or break the piece, by simply enjoying Cullen’s work I can tell he has mastered this. Throughout the whole set I couldn’t find one that I wouldn’t want to tear clean off a wall and slap in a frame. It’s bad enough I can’t fault the work but he’s topped it for me with the artists that are sitting on those posters, they create the soundtracks to my life day in day out.

Check out the rest of James Cullen’s work HERE.

REVISITED: RELENTLESS ENERGY PRESENTS LIVES OF ARTISTS #1

 

Still to date, one of the raddest documentaries I have seen. I remember sitting down early 2010 and watching the premiere of this on Channel 4, every aspect blew me away. It focuses on the stories of a group of individuals who have achieved exceptional achievements with unmitigated passion and dedication by simply doing what they love. That last sentence sums up perfectly what we all want out of life, I have nothing but admiration for them, they have most likely had to have made sacrifices just like the rest of us but when you watch this film the surge of emotions and sense of freedom you gain at the end is overwhelming. To think that is just a slice of what they experience day in day out only makes me question what exactly it is that I’m doing but I have faith I will achieve this sense of ecstasy with whatever path I choose soon. Surfing has always been an interest of mine that fades in and out of my life. I can’t quite locate where the fascination lies but an underlying affection for water and it’s movement along with the feeling of independence within natures elements could be the answer I’m looking for. It plays a big part within the documentary with three friends hitting Tahiti in search of a killer wave known as Teahupoo, which translates as ‘Wall Of Skulls’. It’s the mecca for the world’s best and most lionhearted rider’s with deaths and injuries acting as reminders of just what mother nature is capable of. The stories themselves could make this documentary worth while with the adventures and accounts of World Freeride Champion, Xavier De Le Rue enough to fill the whole 1:19.25 alone or the raw authentic intimacy of the Gallows on tour but it wouldn’t be complete without the cinematography. Word’s cannot describe how sensational it is. I want you as a viewer to just take the time out to watch the whole piece [720p HD]. Immerse yourself, barricade any distractions around you and focus on the footage with the untouchable soundtrack only adding to the experience.

CASE HISTORY BY BORIS MIKHAILOV [1999]

Publisher – Scalo, Illustrated Edition, Hardback [1999]

Boris Mikhailov played a massive part when it came to researching during my photographic studies. I will state that he is and will always be one of my most inspirational photographers. My mother bought me the ‘Case History’ book back in my final year but I’ve come to realise  just how much I took this hardback for granted. The content itself is stupefying with images that just changed my perception of ‘documentary’ photography within the first few glances. The main element of the book that I adore is the way it tells the story, it’s often hard to get this right with a photography orientated book as just the placing of just one wrong image can ruin the flow and interaction a reader see’s and has. Mikhailov manages to capture every hidden raw detail of the Ukraine, a place that has proved imperative for his work. It’s difficult to sum up quite how I feel about this book, it’s shaped and helped me in so many ways, I’d go as far as to say maybe it made me mature at college, but who knows. I have included the synopsis below.

‘Boris Mikhailov, whose “Unfinished Dissertation” was published in 1998, focuses in “Les Miserables” on what he believes is the result of the breakup of the former Soviet Union. Though Mikhailov considers the conditions of his particular place of residence for over 50 years crucial to his work, he is not providing a recollection of the specific history of Kharkov, Ukraine. Rather, he brings out the “condition humaine” in this city characterized by industry and factories, by newly installed Coca Cola billboards as well as socialist architecture. Kharkov provides the backdrop for Mikhailov’s moving portraits describing the decay of both social structures and individual lives. We witness street kids taking drugs, adults in search of food, trying to re-install their social self by cleaning their bodies in the artist’s own apartment. Despite devastating poverty, the women and men in Mikhailov’s images look back at us with great dignity. Their eyes express an unbroken will to survive in a social system that has broken down completely. Mikhailov depicts the harshness of everyday life in a society not as far away from ours as we might think.’

THE SAKAKI DEBUT SS12

Spring summer 2012 will be debuting the works of Mr.K. Sakaki (The Sakaki), a designer who is very new to me but not so much the Japanese. It was only through the Auguste-Presentation that I was made aware of this fantastic designer whose work matches my current wardrobe.I am a big fan of how Sakaki uses materials, proportions and size in harmony to create a clean collection that is both delicate and playfull. I think one image shows a bit of hand embroidery, however, some tassel details are not obvious in the snaps. I have also read that there is quite a bit of recycling going on here too in the fabrics department.I have been wearing loose clothing lately and I have fallen sucker for anything loose and unstructured. I will be honest in saying, loose layers are the best in the winter, it means you can walk with a flawy swagger. We have been talking about it a lot and it has become what we call comfort steez.

Also, this reminds me of Yohji and Rei Kawakubo.

Via: http://marunikikyou.jp/

EASTPAK ARTIST STUDIO: RICHIE CULVER

 

Real nice short video thrown out here by Eastpak. It’s part of their ‘Eastpak Artist Studio’ series with 130 artists being chosen for the charitable project and this one focuses on the man himself, Richie Culver. After visiting the Culver exhibition at LN-CC earlier on this year I took a real interest into his recent and previous work. The video delves smoothly into his ideas and thoughts with it finally summarizing his concept behind the collaboration, an interesting one at that.

“I have a Jesse Owens piece, which is Jesse Owens coming out of the starting blocks in the 1936 Olympics.” “They sent me three bags, So there for I foiled each bag with a gold, silver and a bronze” “I’ve kind of based it on the, you know when you do a marathon, once you’ve ran a marathon you get a heat sheet to put over you” “This basically is my way of conveying the illness, as the patient, the human goes through, the disease, the family or for anyone around involved it becomes almost like a marathon, you know as the person deteriorates.”

The bags are officially released on January 18th in Berlin.