We had a little chat about his collection and the world wide web!

What is your collection about? Inspirations?
The prints I created were essentially the mood boards for the collection so everything came down to color and texture: the colored faux fur mimics and anime girl’s bright, unnatural hair color. I wanted to simulate nudity with a flesh tone print on body conscious garments.

You seem very inspired the actual internet aesthetic, what do you like about it?
It’s more real, obtainable, and inclusive than mainstream/high end fashion. But then again, it’s not really about fashion, it’s more of a culmination of music and art scenes. It caters to a younger crowd as well and I’m not interested in stepping into an adult’s shoes entirely just yet.

Celebrity you’d like to see wearing your clothes?
Bjork, of course. And on the other end of the spectrum, I think Courtney Stodden would look really good in some of my clothing.

Favorite Blogs? Favorite tumblr?
Some of my favorite blogs are linked to on my blogspot and a few of my favorite tumblrs are

top8friends.tumblr.com
stoopidjesse.tumblr.com
dearabra.tumblr.com

Style icon?
Right now I’m all about local drag queens.

Your future?
Somewhere down the road I would love to have my own shoe line, but right now I’m just looking for assistant footwear designer positions.

Words: Dora Moutot
Images: William Harrison courtesy 

‘Watching her perform is like being transported to some freakishly queer and bizarre, deranged, dream-like world of hallucinogenic animals, sequins, eyebrow raising, vertical pelvic thrusts and a never-ending magic trunk of mad outfits combined with even madder songs” wrote Britt Foe about Mc Gaff E for Neu HQ magazine.

MC Gaff E recently started a new project called MEGA MEGA with Ylva Falk, a House of Drama performer. “We are cosmic princesses from out of space and we bring light and power to your eyes and ears,” says MC Gaff E. The girls plan to go to Peru to record their first music video soon.

 Let’s have a chat with our hallucinogenic-princess!

When did you start”singing”?
I’ve been in choirs since I was seven but I was never any good so I never took it seriously as something I wanted to do later in life. I’ve been performing in my current style for the past four years but I wouldn’t exactly call what I do ‘singing’!

Fashion seems a very important part of your performances, what do you like about dressing up?
I would call what I wear ‘personal style’ rather than fashion just cause I don’t follow any trends. Colour and face paint makes me feel good on every level! I feel uncomfortable wearing black (unless its some amazing lacy jumpsuit).I shop in thrift stores all over the world. I get a lot of my outfits in America and got a ridiculous amount of colour while I was in Peru recently (I’ve struggled to find things I like since that trip. My favourite designers are Isolated Heroes, Carley Hague and Fred Butler.

Do you have a style icon?
I think Ilona Royce Smithkin knows whats up!

Where does your inspiration come from?
I am inspired in general by other performers pushing the boundaries on stage with colour and energy. And visually wise, I’m currently inspired by Peruvian textiles from the amazon.

Favourite artists?
Trippple Nippples, Nina Hagen, Forces, Rub n Tug, Betty Grumble, Jonny Woo, Ryan Styles, Le Gateau Chocolat, Wau Wau Sisters, House of Drama, Narcissister, Rubbish Fairy and My Bad Sister.

Australian artists, Europeans should know about?
Betty Grumble, Justin Shoulder, and Dallas Dellaforce

A quote?
“Being stranded in the middle of nature is absolutely no excuse to look boring or shit.” Taylor Di Pasquale

Best club night?
Tough question! My favourite (regulars) are Bamboo in Melbourne, Loose Ends in Sydney, Honey Sound System in San Fran, Horse Meat Disco and Sink The Pink in London!

Your future?
The future is bright with our new band MEGA MEGA. So finishing album in the next couple of weeks, touring that and taking my rapping musical to the theatre!

MC Gaff E in 2 words?
Raw power!

What does bad taste mean to you?
Zero self presentation.

www.gaff-e.com

Words: Dora Moutot
Images: MC Gaff E facebook. 

For $1500, Rayfish Footwear allow their customers to use their online design tool to select aspects of dozens of existing animal hides to create an entirely personalized print, before making the product with stingray leather. The prospect of footwear crafted from the hide of stingrays may seem bizarre enough in itself, but pales in comparison to the core techniques used in development.

In place of a thriving design team works a number of qualified geneticists. Using a technique referred to by specialists as “bio-customisation”, supergene clusters from other animals are implanted into stingray foetuses, essentially altering their DNA, to ensure that as they grow into otherwise normal, adult stingrays, the patterning on the skin mirrors the customer’s design.

The first breakthrough for creating these “transgenic” stingrays was in February 2010, when the same group of geneticists successfully bred and raised a stingray whose skin boasted the patterning of a rattlesnake combined with the colouring of the moon wrasse fish.

The stingrays themselves are raised in tanks, which specifically mimic their natural environments. While they are raised in humane conditions, the humanity of the concept itself is questionable at best. While the complexity of this science is undeniably spectacular, the narrative darkens when the stingray reaches six to eight months old, thus becoming what Rayfish Footwear Inc. refer to as “shoe-size”. At this point, these genetically enhanced wonders of nature are slaughtered to produce the afore-mentioned footwear.

The company claims to be ferociously opposed to the harvest of wild rays, and strictly committed to the conservation of oceanic species. The company’s morale in this department seems solid, the concept and science: innovative. Regardless, the usage of such brilliant technology in order to genetically alter, breed and kill living animals for the purpose of throwaway fashion leaves much to be answered for.

The ultimate in bad taste? Quite possibly.

Words: Lore Oxford
Images: Ray Fish Inc

So, what is this new hairstyle we’re talking about?

Rick Owens sensed the trend before it occurred.  In 2009, he launched the concept of “voluntary baldness” with his A/W menswear fashion collection.

However, Peggy Noland, designer of all things eccentric has been wearing this “trademark” hairstyle for a while.

Here we are, two years after Rick Owens’s fashion show. I have just noticed that Sara Urb, a teenage Tumblr blogger, choose to be half bald too. One of her pictures on which she shows her new hairstyle already reached 700 notes on Tumblr, which means that a a bunch of others teenagers probably like it. Furthermore, Sara baptized her blog “awful aesthetic” and describes herself as an “awful style lover”. Bad taste is all the rage!

What could be more rebellious for a teenager than a voluntary baldness? Probably nothing, the baldness being the worst capillary nightmare of every adult.

I don’t know yet if this potential trend will become a real trend but it’s very likely that the idea might spread!

Words: Dora Moutot
Images:
1 à 4 : Rick Owens A/W 2009-10
5 à 6: Peggy Noland
7 à 11:  Sara Urb Tumblr 

What was the idea behind Screenshots of Despair?
I started the Tumblr a few months ago. I was inspired by some projects by Rob Walker, including something called the Gallery of Default Anonymity, which was a collection of default social media avatars. That project was somehow really fun, in a spartan and haunting way. The idea behind the Screenshots of Despair Tumblr wasn’t really about user interface or social isolation precisely. It’s more about a gap between human and machine. And it’s about the feelings technology can evoke in people.

How do you feel about this gap between human and technology?
So many people say that the site is sad. But I don’t really think of it that way. It’s a combination of happy and sad. It’s a little crease in reality that gives you a tiny jolt of joy (and maybe a little brief bit of pain) to see and to think about. The Culture of Cute online – from LOL Cats to all the Cute Overload stuff – makes a lot of sense as an online mood lifter. But to me there’s room for this kind of thing, too. I see it as sort of an equally healthy antidote to sites like those.

Do you screenshot everything yourself or do you have people who submit?
I used to find most of the screenshots, but now it’s primarily submissions. And the submissions have been wonderful. It’s been great seeing all the different ways people approach the same problem. I especially like to get submissions from unexpected platforms or shots that aren’t in English. The gap between human and machine is universal; it translates across all languages.

screenshotsofdespair.tumblr.com

words: Interview by Dora Moutot
Images: Screenshot of Despair 

According to Karl, the collection could be named “Versailles in a socialist France” which means, a Versailles somehow ghettoized. Marie-Antoinette is wearing creepers and has a mullet hairstyle… welcome in a Ghetto Royal era!

As I said in my previous article: could politics be communicated through aesthetics?

However Karl’s rant is, in my opinion, very amusing and well pointed out. However, I feel that Karl might have got one step behind for a while. But who can blame an 80 years old man?

His collection, also like many others (Meadham Kirchhoff, Jeremy Scott, Christopher Kane…etc) embodies « Tumblr » through the materials and colors choices.

We can also notice his recent advertising campaign with Alice Dellal as his muse… Alice Dellal who was at the time, two or three years ago, probably one of the trendiest supermodel.

This collection and this delay on trends definitely indicate a true reversal of the situation. Designers who once inspired the younger are now picking in the buffet of web-teenagers trends.

So Karl, let me ask you: Are you having a hard time with the digital age?

Or might he have, conversely, all understood? Might he be applying the “WTF method” to his collections and actions in order to be talked about and to seduce a new generation?

Facing a crisis of octogenarian rebellion or of voluntary delirious bad taste, Karl is probably fully doubled up with laughter in his studio….This great Fashion grandpa will , at least, always have the power to surprise us and to…raise smiles.

Words: Dora Moutot
Images: Style.com 

Muslim Trance is a trend which started approximately a year and half ago on the Internet. The aesthetic and the sounds of Middle East are slowly invading the world of music and contemporary art, starting with Net Art.

But let’s start with the beginning. The creators and the people responsible for the diffusion of the trend are the artist and musician Fatima Al Qadiri and Dis Magazine.

Born in Kuwait and actually living in New York, Fatima Al Qaridi has a great understanding of the Arabic world, a sympathy for Western culture and a sharp eye when it comes to art. She creates experimental music halfway in-between the traditional Arabic songs and contemporary music. Having grown up in Kuwait, she reinterprets Koranic melodies by incorporating them in electronic sounds. Her music, ancient and bizarrely futuristic, sounds like sacred music for 2.0” Second Life” mosques where « Muslim Ravers » would come to pray and dance. Welcome to the web-spiritual era.

At the end of 2012, Dis Magazine published a mix created by Ayshay, Fatima Al Qaridi’s pseudonym. The mix called Muslim Trance started the buzz on the Internet. And this is how the trend originated.

The aesthetic of the mix cover gave the visual tone of the trend: Arabic letters, a burka and the picture of a Lebanese (or maybe Saudi) woman with over-the-top make-up: a very Net-Art looking collage. The success of the mix gave birth to a second chapter: Muslim Trance 2, followed by a third one in 2011: a demo called Warn-U. The cover image showed a woman in a hijab, inside a swimming pool, with the title scripted in a characteristic Arabic font. Planet Tumblr started to reblog the image and the aesthetic started to spread online.

Fatima associates herself with Up-and-Coming Avant-Garde artists such as Khalid Al Gharaballi, Ryan Trecartin, Kamau Patton or S.A.M & the T.A.Z. Her very mind-blowing and futuristic last video clip, Vatican Vibes, was produced by the talented Tabor Robak.

Dis Magazine were the first ones to feature the aesthetic highlighted by Fatima: an aesthetic halfway between Net Art, Islam and the Kuwaiti new rich extravaganza, with articles like Dressing your hijab or Arranged marriage.

Nonetheless, the 2011 publication Pâté, was the first printed attempt to introduce this aesthetic by Fatima and Lauren Boyle, the editor at Dis Magazine. Pâté is a book about Kuwaiti style, investigating the very close relationship between politics, culture and fashion. The book showcases a luxurious world with abandoned palaces and half-veiled women wearing outrageous make-up. Although some of the images for the book were especially created, the remainder are compilations of Kuwaiti advertisements, album covers, and other local paraphernalia.

“We are trying to reveal some of these style realities to the outside world” says Fatima during an interview with Patrick Sandberg, editor at V magazine. “The majority of these images are not available on the Internet, and that was a big incentive behind this project.” She adds: “The threads are so loose and definitely not searchable in English, sometimes not even in Arabic. It’s crazy. Kuwait is a closed world and a very secretive society with a thousand cliques”. The book reveals interiors decorated with fake plants, gold hued sofas and Kleenex boxes on every table « The rich are invariably obsessed with clinical levels of hygiene.” says Fatima. “Cleanliness is godliness is the slogan of Kuwait”.

Pâté also opens our Western eyes to great undiscovered fashions: according to Fatima, in order to give more volume to their hijabs, Kuwaiti women use teddy bears in between their hair and the fabric in order to achieve the wanted shape.

However, this is not the first time that Fatima tries to exhibit Kuwaiti style. In 2009, she organized a group show called Goth Gulf Vortex GGVV, whose aim was to display Gothic Kuwaiti style. The Gothic style was introduced to Kuwait in the early 2000’s. Their interpretation of the Western trend resulted in an even tackier version than the original one; the mix of Kuwaiti trends and the aforementioned Gothic style being highly conflicting.

Fatima Al Qaridi’s idea of mixing the genres and introducing her knowledge of the Arabic world to the Western one, started to reach the masses. The singer M.I.A adhered to it in 2010, by wearing a very « New Aesthetic » Burka at the Scream Awards. XXXO was her first video to embrace the aesthetic. In her last video clip, Bad Girls, she appears in the desert around a group of women wearing leopard veils by a golden BMW car, surrounded by men wearing the traditional Sudan costume. And the Hollywood Reporter has recently informed that Kanye West’s upcoming video is being recorded in Qatar.

But how does Web culture embrace this new trend?
The Middle East aesthetic goes hand in hand with holograms! The images of Burqas made out of Holographic fabrics have thousands of notes on Tumblr. The brand Yard666sale spotted the trend and started to sell t-shirts sporting Arabic logos in holographic hues, while Tumblr teenagers began to incorporate Arabic fonts into their digital collages and GIFS.

Thanks to Fatima Al Qadiri’s « matière grise », the Arabic culture is starting to inspire the Western world. In a very subtle and beautiful way, these two worlds may just begin to merge with each other.

Which brings me to think: could politics be communicated through Art and visual culture?
Let’s just wait and see!

Words : Dora Moutot
Images:
1 to 3: Fatima Al Qaridi
4: Abdullah Al-Mutairi
5 t0 9:  Fatima Al Qaridi
10: Unknown ( Tumblr)
11: Leopold Duchemin
12: Unknown  (Tumblr)
13: Unknown (Tumblr)
14: Yard666sale
15 to 17: Unknown ( Tumblr)
18: MIA in Burqa
19: Unknown ( Tumblr) 

I’d like to thank Mehdi Hadj Khalifa, Anne Laurence Sowan and the Mastermind program for giving me this opportunity.I would also like to thank Styron Lundberg for doing the poster artwork.

The participating artists are:

- Chris Timms
- Jeremy Couillard
- Maude Kasperzak
- Eilis Mcdonald
- Ricardo Juarez & Silvia Blanchi
- Will Rockel
- Travess Smalley
- Adam Cruces

Underneath is my curatorial statement.

INTRO

We still live in a world where the Internet is a novelty. Even though for almost a decade now the Internet’s been completely integrated into our daily lives. Despite the prevalence of the Internet, Net-art is still considered a micro-movement and something of a “UFO” in the contemporary art world. Net-art is just beginning to be added to museum collections and to be exhibited in galleries around the world. “Gradients: Inside the Internet Rainbow” by the Mastermind program is the first such exhibition in North Africa.

The exhibition “Gradients: Inside the Internet Rainbow” is a collection of digital artwork from “young internet based artists” that explores the theme of gradients, which are very popular at the moment in the Net-art scene. Gradients are typically created using Photoshop- a vital tool for artists working in the digital format. The gradients are often used to create digital landscapes. Net-art and The New Aesthetic are somewhat blurry terms used to describe these art movements. However, inside these movements, different smaller Net-art “tribes” are emerging and as they become easier to see and define, hopefully will soon be better classified. If I had to hash tag this exhibition, I’d call it # Web Surrealist, # Web Psychedelic or # Internet Rainbow Art Rave.

According to artist, Marisa Olson, in a few short years, we will live in a “post-Internet” era. A time when the Internet will no longer be such a novelty but become something far more mundane. When this day comes, the Internet will finally be accepted as the biggest museum in the world. And the art world will be forced to change because of how art and images are shared on social media. The rules of art will evolve. The world will accept the fact there no longer is such a thing as an original rendering of an artwork.

A Conversation with Dora Moutot about Net-art

Net-art… Internet art… Web art… Digital art… New Media art… Here we are in 2012 and we’re still lost in the soup of words being used to describe this new artistic movement. New? Actually, it’s not that new. Emergent? Of course.

According to Josephine Bosma, a Net-art specialist, we’re currently witnessing the work of the fifth generation of Internet artists. The first was the pre-internet generation, the ones who explored the functionalities of the fax or the videotext. They were followed by the first “boom” of Net.Art (Net dot art) in the 90’s. The leaders of that generation were Vuk Ćosić, Jodi.Org, Alexei Shulgin, Olia Lialina and Heath Bunting. Back in those early days of Web 1.0 the idea of democratic art distribution was born. Motivated by this new vision, some virtual galleries opened and a whole universe of Net.Art iterations appeared such as Spam Art, E-mail Art, Hacktivism Art and ASCII, all of which had brief success in contemporary art.

Net-art is a catchall term. It describes a wide variety of very different artistic techniques from HTML code, Gifs and software painting, to JPEGs, 3D graphics and animation, virtual worlds and videos. Net-art, is often, but not always digital. Artwork can merely question the Internet and its functionality without being made on the Internet or even on a computer. That said, in order to have the work qualify as Net-art the artist needs to use the Internet and social media to disseminate and “advertise” the work. A Net-artist is not only defined by the nature of his or her work but rather by the means of how they share their work on social media and in the Net-art community.

It’s 2012 and we’re presently in the Web 2.0 era. The climate has changed. The Internet is no longer a playground for a small crew of nerds. Nowadays, the ones we hear the most about are the YIBAS, the “young Internet based artists.” They are typically between the ages of 16 and 30, they grew up with the Internet, they play with its aesthetic, they question and deconstruct the World Wide Web, and they’re crazy for new technologies. But most importantly, they obsessively share their art through Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. The open communication patterns of these platforms enable the international distribution of the artwork and recognition for the artists entirely separate from the old world of institutions. Net-art is a rebirth for art.

The idea of selling this “non-tangible” art like GIFS and webpage design is beginning to spread. With each passing day, virtual galleries become more and more numerous. The idea of “taking the web out the web” is also becoming popular thanks to artists like Rafael Rozendaal and his “bring your own beamer” concept that allows anyone to exhibit his web page design, gifs, or videos for one night.

Right now we refer to these new artworks and model for distribution and exhibition as The New Aesthetic, because what connects all these artists are not political convictions or some organizing principle but rather a very new and mutually shared aesthetic… a new post-modern 2.0 style.

To Join the Facebook event and see all the details, it’s here.
Texte: Dora Moutot
Image: Styron Lundberg 

Approximately one hundred people crowded the show. Some ” Internet famous”London fashion heads like photographer Alis Pelleschi, designer Roberto Piqueras, Carri Mudane from Cassette Playa and Namalee the founder of Super Super magazine attended the event. Everyone was so incredibly well-dressed and colorful, the crowd was almost as exciting as the show.

MEAT offers a curious mix between latex fetish outfits, which usually are a bit dark and a very Kawaii/ Barbie/ My Little Pony aesthetic. Associating latex with any aesthetic other than BDSM is a pretty difficult challenge. I can report Boadicea certainly succeeded! MEAT is a bit like if your little sister suddenly decided to dress like a “LATEX PRINCESS.” I particularly had a crush on the transparent latex dress with dolphin print.

The singer Azelia Banks is one of the first celebrities to wear the brand but sooner than later, you’ll see MEAT worn by Katy Perry and Gaga. Taking a look at the MEAT website is worth it if you like the “3D babe” aesthetic. You can definitely feel the influence of Alis’ style on the website.

Words: Dora Moutot
Photos : Dora Moutot

Would you like the Internet in your Closet?

If you do, You should read my article on O FLUXO. CLICK !

Dora.

Rhiannon Jones, the creator of the brand Bolshie is probably one of the pioneers of this trend. It’s been a while since she first started wearing long braids. However, the singer Lucrecia, always used colored braids for her signature style. And Kerli, the Bubble Goth queen, recently wore colored braids.  So did the Californian It-girl Brooke Candy.  In London, the two girlfriends Zandile N’komo and Rharha took over the “Brandy and Monica” style mantle.

On the boy’s side, it’s easy to imagine a re-fashion-ization of the plaits braids. And digging a bit deeper, it’s possible to envision “fake dreadlocks” as a new hairstyle trend. The singer Maluca Mala already wears dreadlocks on her head.  And the androgynous model Andry Bradin recently exchanged his very Marylin Manson-inspired straight black hair for black dreadlocks.

I’m sure you’re already thinking of running to the closest Afro hairdresser in your area!

Words: Dora Moutot

Photos 1,2,3: Rhiannon Jones
Photos 4: Kerli
Photos 5,6: Brooke Candy
Photo 7, 8: Lucrecia
Photo 9: Rharha
Photo 10, 11: Zandile Nkmo
Photo 12: Fruits, Japan
Photo 13,14 : Christina Aguilerra
Photo 15: Luke worall
Photo 16: Justin Timberlake
Photo 17: Maluca
Photo 18: Andry Bradin

“I wanted to do a piece inspired in part by Myspace gifs but also by No Limit Records album covers.” say Bijoux.  “Last year I did a music video for Maluca’s song “Lola” and we were working on incorporating gifs into the video, thinking of different directions to take it artistically.  And Maluca brought to my attention the art of No Limit Records covers. I had remembered seeing them, but her reminding me of them really brought it to the forefront of my attention. So that’s why I wanted all of these pieces to be square with lots of layers of smoke and fire and done in a kind of surrealist fashion. A lot of Myspace graphics were inspired by that type of hip hop imagery.  But now, it moves.”

Words: Dora Moutot

Shoot credits


Photographer: Bijoux Altaminaro
Stylist: Hayley Pisaturo
Makeup artist: Michelle Ceja
Hairstylist: Shawn Mount
Model: Dylan

1/ THUFF GIRL
Cassette Playa T-shirt and shorts, Bottega Veneta pants, Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, Mordeka King necklace, Noir chain necklace, Piers Atkinso hat, Noir rings, all else stylist’s own.

2/DUNGEONS & DRAGONS GIRL
Bess leather jacket, KTZ shoes, Dragon necklace, Elliot Ward Fear dress, all else stylist’s own

3/INTERNET GIRL
Zana Bayne harness, Jeremy Scott jacket, shirt, skirt and pleaser shoes, Jean Paul Gaultier Glasses, all else stylist’s own.

4/EGYPTIAN GIRL

Norma Kamali dress, Erickson Beam on gold chain shirt, Mordekai body jewelry w/belt and cuffs flower bracelets and necklace, Noir gold feather neckpiece, Kenneth Jay Lane gold bib necklace, Piers Atkinson hat

5/ALIEN GIRL
Mugler top and skirt, Elliot Ward Fear latex leggings, Manuel Albarran headpiece, Georgeana Ostrander for Cesare Paciotti shoes.

6/FAIRY GIRL
The Blonds dress, Erickson Beamon jewelry

7/CAR GIRL
Bess jacket and shorts, Kerin Rose glasses. Noir necklace, all else stylist’s own.

What the hell does Bubble Goth mean?

To understand this micro trend, you first have to discover one particular artist.

Kerli is an Estonian singer, and self-proclaimed creator of the Bubble Goth movement. Eastern European countries are always incredibly good, or should I say bad, at creating amazing looks and new musical trends. Bubble Goth is basically commercial pop music with a singer wearing a “white goth” style. I don’t really know what the word bubble is doing, but I guess it must be there for the “fun/sweet” side.

When asked, Kerli says that Bubble Goth means “wearing black and white together, wearing opposites, and things that doesn’t necessarily match together.” And when asked about her influences, she mentions the Spice Girls. “I’m a Goth Spice Girl,” she’s said in the past. Looking at the outfit she wore during Logo’s New Now Next Awards (Buffalo shoes on her feet and a Cyberdog-style dress), you first think this must be an old picture of Baby Spice on the red carpet… and then you realize this is not Emma!  And then you fully acknowledge that “Goth Spice Girl” is a pretty good description of Kerli.

Kerli is more or less a girl wearing a style in-between the Lolita and Cyber Goth looks. She’s someone who understands that instead of playing metal or hardcore techno, the actual success recipe is to have an edgy look and play commercial music. (Thanks to Lady Gaga for this lesson).  I’m pretty sure the Cyber Goth community must hate her for selling their style to the mainstream. So in summary, being a Bubble Goth apparently means singing like Rihanna and dressing like a Cyber Lolita!

Words: Dora Moutot

You don’t like swimming pools.  But you do like to swim.  Wearing the obligatory swim cap is too unglamorous for you because you don’t really enjoy the “condom head” style.

The 50′s provided us with the reminder that everything was or can be fashionable; even when we’re considering… like, the worst accessory ever.

I have a crush on the fringe swim cap! Such a good idea!  Hygiene and glamour combined! 
Let’s re-invent the swim cap.  Designers?

Words: Dora Moutot

When did you start designing your clothes?
I started making/designing all my clothes when I was 13 years old.  I try my best to create as many outfits as I can but I never like to force or rush my outfits so it can be months before I design a full-on fully themed outfit that I usually am inclined to wear.  But I will say I have about 20 outfits plus separate pieces like purses, earrings, head pieces, etc.

What do you like about dressing up?
I’ve always loved dressing up ever since I was little.  I would stare at all my mom’s high heels.  And I was so excited to grow up and put on makeup and high heels and pretty dresses… My mom always dressed up. Everywhere.  So naturally, it stuck.  But I’ve just created my own way of dressing up. I just wouldn’t feel like me if I wasn’t dolled up.

How did you learn pattern cutting and sewing?

I am self-taught. Everything I learned about sewing was through trial and error.  And with learning all the pattern cutting, I would research online.  And I never stop learning.  I’m always learning new techniques.  It’s very rewarding.

Where does your inspiration come from?
It comes from everywhere or anything.  I’m actually really easily inspired by so many things.  It’s just time and money.  If I had all the money in the world I would be popping out twenty outfits a day!

I discovered you on Myspace a while ago. You’re e a rainbow Internet celebrity.
When did you start posting your designs online, and how did people react in the first place?
It was probably around when I was 15 or 16.  A lot of my first outfits that I made/sewed for the first 2 years, sadly, I never took pictures in them.  I never thought my outfits would become such attention-getters and cause a lot of reactions.  So when I started posting all my outfits online, the reactions I was getting on the Internet were more positive than I was receiving in my ‘real’ day-to-day life.  It was refreshing and eye opening that there were a lot of people who enjoyed and loved what I would wear and make.  But I still got a lot of negativity and people who were really disgusted by the way I dressed.  And of course, let me know it.

Who are your favourite designers?

I absolutely adore Jean Charles de Castelbajac, Jeremy Scott, Agatha Ruiz de La Prada, Ashish

Favourite bands?
Nirvana, Ragnarok, Belphegor, Hypocrisy, Burzum and Kampfar.

A favourite quote?
My favorite-”I’d rather be dead than cool”-Kurt Cobain

Who’s your favourite Disney character?
I adore Ariel!

You’re wearing a lot of wigs!
Do you think, wigs are becoming a trend? (I see more and more teenagers wearing wigs on tumblr.)

I have over 30 wigs. I’m not sure if it will become a trend but I have seen more people wearing and feeling more comfortable with wearing wigs. Wigs are definitely an essential for my outfits. I can have a different look every single day. I don’t have a favourite shop but Ebay is the best place to get all different types of wigs.

What does “bad taste” mean to you?
People who only like to buy things that are brands.

Words: Interview by Dora Moutot
Images: Alexandra Merino 

When young stylist Alexa Gould-Kavet and model Alis Pelleschi work together…their collaborations always offer something wicked!

Please note, Alis is not only a model, she’s also an amazing photographer.  She’s worked for clients such as Kokon to Zai, and SuperSuper! magazine.  She used to be a MySpace-famous teen.  And now she’s a very creative Tumblr princess adult.

The short film called “Baby, 1 + Time Forever” is very surrealistic and boasts a Tumblr-ish aesthetic.

Alexa who art directed and styled the video says, “Inspired by the pink pop aesthetic of early Britney Spears and specifically the hit song, “Baby One More Time,” my film explores a trope of twisted innocence. The presence of a waif-ish beauty is juxtaposed with a satanic feminine force; part tumblr-inspired goth barbie, part early Britney, she’s the subconscious desires and fears of the waif.”

We love it!

Words: Dora Moutot

I’m totally in love with the “Jamiroquai” bob fur hat and the long psychedelic print dress. I believe in the comeback of the “bob sun hat,” and the death of the cap.

Remember, the last Marc Jacobs show?  The hats were very funky. I think the terms “funky and psychedelic” might show up in moodboards again and might become trendy sooner than later!

Words: Dora Moutot
Images: Marina Fini 

Camille Holtz is a 22-year-old photographer. She submitted photo reportage about Johnny Hallyday fans.  I loved the images, but I also really liked her artistic approach.

She explains:

The images from Destination Vegas, from Bruno Serralongue were a real eye-opener to me. Like him, I wanted to take pictures of a community. I thought about Johnny Hallyday fans. On June 9^th, 2009 the French-Belgian star was playing in Lens for his last tour: Tour 66. My mom surprised me by buying tickets for the concert. It was the perfect occasion to start this project that I’d wanted to do for a long time but that I’d been procrastinating.  

So I started photographing Johnny Hallyday fans. For his last tour, I waited for hours, sometimes days in front of the venues in France and Belgium. At shows, I snapped the picture of the woman with the gigantic Johnny tattoo on her back, and the picture of the Johnny look a-like man in front of the railings. Quickly, I realized I wasn’t really into documenting the concerts and concert-goers. I wanted to do something more intimate.

I was really excited by the idea of visiting fans’ homes. I wanted to discover their universe, to see their collections, their clothes, and their decorations. By pure chance, in the city of Lens, I met Bruno.  He really looks a lot like Johnny. He took me under his wing and showed me fans’ cafes and he took me to look-alike parties and some gigs in the north of France. The pictures you’re looking at are a summary of all the atypical places I went to and all the people I met during this adventure.

www.camilleholtz.com

Words: Dora Moutot
Photos: Camille Holtz

Vintage childhood watches (with screens) are now available at American Apparel. “We’re constantly scouring the globe for sartorial gems from decades passed. We are excited to share this newly rediscovered sampling of deadstock timepieces; original, never worn designs from the 80’s and 90’s, hand-selected by us for you.” says American Apparel.

Are fun watches making a comeback?

Words: Dora Moutot
Images: American Apparel