Decoding : Fashion, the Tenth Art ?

The execution of Lady Grey by Delaroche (detail)

 Two days ago, I've had a strange encounter at London Fashion Week during the Giles' show, at the Royal Court of Justice. No, it wasn't Pixie Geldof, but a certain Lady Grey. Is she a close relative to Lady Gaga ? Not at all, Jane Grey was a 16th century English noblewoman who was queen during nine days before her execution for high treason. This woman is mainly famous for a painting of the said execution, by French painter Paul Delaroche. As you suspect, I don't have medium's skills, so, when I talk of encounter, I describe my surprise to see the face of Miss Grey on several outfits of designer Giles Deacon. For me, it was especially relevant to find the detail of a famous painting used as the main pattern of a fashion collection, and I was quite amazed that no one thought about it before.

Giles Fall 2011 ( Style.com )

 Fashion, after all, is just an art like another. Critics accuse Haute Couture of being "Art for Art", that is to say something unwearable, pricey and totally useless. Designers such as Gareth Pugh are forced to defend themselves against that accusation, and to prove that their creations are made for stores and not for galleries . But I don't fit into that scheme. I particularly agree with Vanessa Paradis when she declares that she goes to fashion shows as she would go to real shows, i.e. theatre, dance or another performance. I don't mind if a dress is wearable or not, affordable or not, if it is gorgeous and aesthetic, I consider that it equals a painting or a sculpture. I was maybe influenced by the Parnassian poets during my teenage years, but I proclaim the right to "l'Art pour l'Art" !

Alexander McQueen "Savage beauty" exhibition ( photo Sølve Sundsbø )

 It seems that I am not alone in this process. Museums are opening their doors to designers, launching exhibitions for them as they would do it for masters of paintings, sculpture and photography. This Spring, the Metropolitan Museum of New York will host an exhibition devoted to Alexander McQueen at its Costume Institute. In London, the Victoria & Albert Museum will take a special interest in designer Yohji Yamamoto in March, and in Paris, the Museum of Quai Branly shows the close relationship between East and Christian Lacroix. Long past, fashion photography has been considered as artistic. It is not surprising then that the clothes themselves would enter in the spheres of Fine Arts. To when the creation of Fashion gelleries ? It is nearly here : some brands have already launched short-lived concept stores, mixing clothes with contemporary exhibitions ...

Sergio Rossi "Idol" bodice

 The dialogue between art and fashion started with the artists themselves. Painter Dalì influenced designer Elsa Schiaparelli, but he was a designer himself : he created jewels, and many other artists did the same ( Cesar, Picasso and Arman to name few ). The March issue of Vogue Paris incidentally pays a tribute to the famous artist and finds its inspiration in surrealism.
Not surprising then that jewellers and designers would venture in the world of sculpture : I have already told you about Jordan Askill, but the Fashion Week also reavealed Erickson Beaman, and brand Sergio Rossi launched a surprising line of accessories, close to classic Greek sculpture.

Elle Fanning in a video for Rodarte

Then, Contemporary Art starts to blend in with Fashion : when art performer Olympia Scarry wants to create an art statement at Art Basel, she chooses to appear in a burqua at Playboy's party. But not an ordinary burqua : this one was a piece of black lace and silk custom-tailored by Riccardo Tisci himself ... The designer, at the head of the Givenchy House of Couture, has already expressed his will to send fashion back into the world of luxury and, inevitably, of Art.
Indeed, each Art can easily flirt with Fashion : you can see my article on Architecture and the Lourenços, many singers are moving Music closer to Couture, Comics are often seen in t-shirts, and Dance is in the spotlight since the success of Black Swan ( with costumes by Rodarte ). The 7th art is not forgotten : talking of Rodarte, we have spotted actress Elle Fanning in their last video, a genre which grows faster in the Industry, with Tom Ford distinguishing himself in the cinema. From here, we can imagine more meetings with poetry, literature, gastronomy, television and more ... Imagination has no limit, and so is Art. So, let's create !

Spotlight : The Great Circus of Ruth Hogben

Insensate

 You've already read about Ruth Hogben on this blog (see my article "A Future without Catwalks"). A full article on this artist sounds pretty obvious after my yesterday's philosophical thinking on body and fashion.

Ruth Hogben wanted to be a photographer at first, and she had the luck to become the assistant of one of the contemporary top dogs of this art, the famous Nick Knight. One day, while the master was shooting model Lily Donaldson, Hogben decided to use the photoshoot to make a short video. Interested, Knight decided to encourage his pupil in the way of fashion video, and they repeated the experience, within the framework of the website SHOWstudio.

Ruth Hogben

 The duo have then worked for all the rising stars of fashion and design industry : Alexander McQueen, Lady Gaga, Phillipe Starck ... While Knight was shooting designers Rick Owens for magazine Arena Homme (2009), or Martin Margiela's strange hair clothes ( Make up your mind, 2008), his assistant built an impressive self career of fashion filmmaker. For Punk's heir Agent Provocateur, she created a serie of video entitled like a song of Billy Idol, White Wedding (2008), with kitsch and burlesque collages of Kate Moss in lingerie. More than clothes, what fascinates her the most is the body, the aestheticism and eroticism of its movement, as Buttock proves it. A whole video dedicated to this specific body part with a tribute to burlesque and SM, which seems to have escaped from a bobo documentary from Franco-German channel Arte. Not really my cup of tea though.

Perfect



Gareth Pugh A/W 2009

 What I admire the most in Ruth's work are her more "personal" videos ( understand without the visible influence of Nick Knight ), especially the ones she did for designers Pheobe Philo for Celine and Gareth Pugh. Perfect (2010), her video for Celine, focuses on the discreet elegance of the brand and the sensual body language of the model in a succession of peaceful portaits which delicate light reminds us of Renaissance's paintings. But with Pugh, the filmmaker reaches her height. The unusual shapes and the materials used by the British genius create a genuine alchemy with Hogben's fascination with movement and light.

Gareth Pugh Pitti Immagine 2011

Insensate (2008) is a modern version of Shakespeare's suicide scene of Ophelia. Water, and liquids in general, are a recurring tool in Hogben's videos. For this one, she told us a dark tale, mixing mythology, vampiric imagery and horror movies ( listen to the music ). She starts playing with the Chiaroscuro, a technique used in painting and photography to accentuate the silhouettes. It's a game of shadows, of light and of darkness : the videos are either too dark or too bright, and as Pugh's clothes, often in graphic black and white. The only notable explosion of colours in Hogben's filmography are Frieze (2009), an acid trip in a pop and country music (!) universe, and Untitled (2009), which might have inspired singer Kesha.

Joie de Vivre

But aside her use of classical arts ( painting and classic sculpture ), she seems extremely influenced by burlesque, circus and fun fairs. It is clearly visible in Clown (2009), where model Carmen Kass plays a strange creature, mix of Commedia dell'Arte, of Moulin Rouge's dancer and of prostitute ( the video starts with the words "Dark Annie" which refer to Annie Chapman, a victim of Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper ). In Joie de Vivre (2010), she pictures model Raquel Zimmerman ( who, really, is of all the best parties ) as a sinistrous Marylin Monroe and as a dark gogo dancer. Everything is dark, especially the not-so-visible-but-latent humour. In her latest videos for Pugh, the models are puppets with broken joints, dancing robots, hula hoop players, actors of Kabuki theatre or even women cut by a digital magician. 

Rick Owens

Ruth Hogben's universe has also to do with contemporary ballets, danced on intense electro music ( often made by Lukid ), with the inflatable capes of Gareth Pugh as tutu. The models are moon-walking on the screen, alone or multiplied ( a good way to be sure the dancers will always be synchronized ! ) and offer to the viewer images of a breathtaking beauty.  This beauty remains in the recent video for Gareth Pugh 2011's collection, but one cannot but notice that the artist doesn't renew herself a lot. The effects are the same, the movements too. Take a look at those two images, extracted from her 2009 and 2011's movies. Very similar, isn't it ?

Gareth Pugh 2009 and 2011

But considering that Ruth Hogben is still young and that her career is already impressive, I guess that her talent will find many new forms in the future, and even if her last video is nothing new, I am still an admirer of her sense of aesthetism and her phantasmagoria. Few are able to do such gorgeous fashion ( and artistic ! ) videos and to make Gareth Pugh's clothes more desirable and fantastic than they already are.
 http://showstudio.com/contributors/27349
 All images are Ruth Hogben and SHOWstudio all rights reserved.

Gareth Pugh Pitti 2011 and Clown



Trend : This is What I Call Summer

A priori, the fashionistas who follow this blog may not have a faint idea of who John Simm, Philip Glenister and Marc Warren are. You usually don't find them in the pages of fashion magazines. They were recently featured on GQ mag, so perhaps your boyfriend or brother would know them better. The last time those three brilliant English actors were in the same fiction, it was State of Play by Paul Abbott, and it was pure genius. So I was pretty thrilled when I've learned that they will re-enlist for a new Sky fiction, which was also a dark humor thriller. Everyting I was waiting for. But, you would ask 'how is that related to fashion ?' And then, I will answer : because the guy who directed the promos already made that before :

"Model Eaten By Shark" David LaChapelle

Yes, the provocative, twisted, sexy, most famous fashion photographer David LaChapelle. Yes, the one who usually shot Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell, Alexander McQueen and Uma Thurman. I don't know who got this brilliant idea at Sky, but kuddos. The result is a serie of short videos in the classic plastic mood of the master, with a sexy model, a cut foot, Tony Blair, guns and loads of humour noir. Aesthetic and fun, everything you're expecting from LaChapelle and the perfect antidote to the boring campaign of Louis Vuitton Resort 2011. I like my fashion better with a twist of madness ...
This also heralds a great success for Mad Dogs, the Sky serie, a sort of Very Bad Things with an English flavour ... A comedy that will certainly raise the temperature of the Spring ( in UK first and hopefully in Europe and USA after ).

Spotlight : The many arts of Jordan Askill

 Jordan Askill is not just a sculptor. He's not just a brother. He's not just a jewellery designer either. Because Jordan Askill deserves more than one label. Even his name on the new NEWGEN's list is not enough to describe the huge talent which this Aussie artist possesses.
After earning his stripes in his hometown of Sydney, working at Ksubi and on many other projects such as costumes for a dance company, the third Askill brother flew to Paris, which is unfortunately a passage obligé for the young designers.

Boy

 There, Jordan Askill worked 3 years for the prestigious Dior Hommes. But soon, the young artist decided to play by his own rules. At the same time sculptor and designer, Jordan created a singular universe where you can meet the gods of your childhood, plastic knights and horses, head of boy dolls, all floating in a different weightlessness. His creations share a unique poetry, a mix of melancholy and passion. Static or in a latent movement, the sculptures and the jewels remind us our former toys, which we've imagined they could move when we weren't looking.

Costume for Sydney-based dance company "Are we that we are"

 This idea of motion is also developped by the artist with his brothers, directors Daniel and Lorin, in short films, video installations, commercials and more. But there is no risk that Jordan would spread himself too thin. He is heading toward a precise goal, motivated by a special energy. The artist perfectly masters the techniques of the past and the present, and seems determined to used them for the art of the future.

If you wish to encourage this newcomer in the world of fashion, you can find some pieces on the website of French retailer Colette.fr. I guess that with an helping hand of NEWGEN, we will hear more about Jordan Askill in the future : why not a desirable collection at Topshop ?

http://www.askillprojects.com/jordanaskill.html

This year I have decided to back my articles with mood songs. Horses of Patti Smith looked like an obvious choice for this one, perhaps not only because of the title but also the odd energy.

Decoding : When Fashion meets Contemporary Architecture, the Lourenço family

Pedro Lourenço's Jacket

 The first collection presented at the last Fashion Week of Paris has been quite a revelation for many fashion critics. Indeed, they were first skeptic, they thought they were going to see another teenage designer. But Pedro Lourenço, 19 years old only, forced them to change their mind in just one show. It was not a complete challenge : the young Brazilian designer is definitely not a novice. His Parisian show was already his tenth one, as he has presented his very first collection at the age of 13. That sounds young, but not for the son of Reinaldo Lourenço and Gloria Coelho, two of the most famous designers of Sao Paulo. As you might have guessed, fashion is a family business for the Lourenços.

The Wyly Theatre of Dallas by Rem Koolhaas and Joshua Prince-Ramus

 Pedro is a very serious boy, talking with ease of both the commercial and the artistic aspects of his work. Down to earth, he favours quality to an unbridled creativity, but he is aware that his clienthood is attracted by his most futuristic pieces. So, for Paris, he has developped a very matured line, constituted of architectural and military strict dresses, structured with black leather lined with neoprene and geometrical effects which have been described as venetian-blinds. But the secret of the neofuturistic appearance of his work resides in his main influence : in fact, he eagerly quotes Oscar Niemeyer, his compatriot, who is a worldwide famous architect, considered as a pioneer. I can't help but also see the grooves of Dallas' Wyly Theatre.This influence of contemporary architecture is very vibrant in Lourenço's work, both conscient and unconscient, and it can easily be explained by his heritage.

Reinaldo Lourenço - Shigeru Ban

 A quick look at his parents' work is enlightening. Reinaldo Lourenço, his father, seems to be a master of architecture, with some woven dresses which directly connect him with the genius of lightness, the Japanese Shigeru Ban. In both men's work, the attention of the details reveals a will of space and of agility. Reinaldo's woman is fleeing the fetters and is yearning for appeasement. His clothes looks as organic as the material used by the Zen architect. We could also find the troubling sensuality of the Pompidou Center of Metz, in the east of France ( designed by the Tokyo's master in collaboration with French architect Jean de Gastines ) into some dresses of the son, the fitted uniforms imitating the curves of the roof structure of light wood.

Gloria Coelho - Zaha Hadid in Beijing

 On the side of the mother, Gloria Coelho, the choice goes on metal structures and a more futuristic relief, which is not without reminding the last collection of British Gareth Pugh, another architectural designer. Perhaps it is already the hand of Pedro, who has handled his mother's line "Carlota Joakina" for years, but I recognize the Walt Disney Concert Hall of Los Angeles in those stratums of brushed metal. They are also close of the work of another famous woman, Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, especially with her project of the Chaoyangmen SOHO III in China.

Pedro Lourenço AW 2010 - Oscar Niemeyer

 Both Reinaldo and Gloria are harden craftsmen who perfectly know how to use the futuristic shapes that attract the public's eyes. Pedro has grown up with this experience, and with his modernity and talent, he already masters the tools that other designers take years to learn. The young man is not a privileged, even if he is given an attention and an help ( his stylist is Brana Wolf, his protector, equally famous Brazilian designer Alexandre Herchcovitch ) some others fail to receive for their first step into the Industry. But even if he used the same room as Yves Saint Laurent, offering himself a unique jewel case to his first media-covered collection, the Brazilian gifted child knows he will have to work hard. He has received the tag of "New Nicolas Ghesquière" : already, the industry tries to format him.

Pedro Lourenço AW 2010 - The Pompidou Center of Metz by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines

 But if Pedro has got actually some likeness with the designer of Balenciaga, he is determined to impose his personal style. His Spring/Summer 2011's collection is already a new step toward assertiveness. This time, he chosed to marry a white and denatured leather to an almost invisible tulle, revealing bodies with the same elegance as the mashrabiyas used by French architect Jean Nouvel for his Louvre of Abu Dhabi. The collection and the museum are very similar : white, with an openwork design, almost austere, but also sensual, the dome of the building echoing the laid bare curves of the women. The unity is less rigid than his Autumn/Winter 2010's collection, and also closer to ready to wear.

Pedro Lourenço SS 2011 - The Louvre of Abu Dhabi by Jean Nouvel

 But if the ghost of Balenciaga has to haunt Lourenço, I would prefer to associate his creative approach to those of the avant-gardist André Courrèges, a French designer well-known in the 60s for his structured yet liberating clothes. He is the one who established the miniskirt and wanted to create clothes which will make the women free, before the moral revolution of May 1968. The Asian purity of Pedro Lourenço's new collection follows the step of the black and white lines of Courrèges, heralding a promising fashion adventure.
The French timestamp is already on the South American young talent, since he has worked a month at the house of couture of Giambattista Valli. But it is very improbable that Pedro Lourenço would forget his Brazilian origins, he who honours this continent, still neglected by the almighty Westerner fashion world. Hopefully not for long ...

Pedro Lourenço SS 2011 - André Courrèges

The official website of Pedro Lourenço is not yet avaible but here's the address : http://www.pedrolourenco.com/ ( I hope they will correct the mistake of "Coming soon" with two m )
His parents' websites are working but they are only in portuguese, and his mother's is not updated ( the date is 2008 ). They definitely need a good spotlight.
http://www.reinaldolourenco.com/
http://www.gloriacoelho.com.br/

Decoding : The artist, the editor and the blogger

 Some weeks ago, a picture surfaced on the web have created such a sensation. We could see Anna Wintour, the editor in chief of American Vogue with her iconic pageboy bob cut, except that it has been dyed, and she was now sporting animal print hair with some odd bunny hears.
But soon, viewers have realized that this picture was merely a very faithful painting, coming from the exuberant imagination of a Swiss artist, Saul Zanolari.
This 33 years old phenomenon is an already renowned digital magician, who excels in merging photos and paint and whose world would have amazed Sigmund Freud. Zanolari's creatures are insolent dollies with gigantic plastic heads, fake eyelashes which would make Katy Perry green with envy, and moustaches. Yes, you've read it right, moustaches, even pornstaches, especially worn by the most famous models of the world.

 The surprising vision of Linda Evangelista as a udder with a moustache, which ranks directly after the work of Salvador Dali, will leave you flabbergasted, and quite excited. The burlesque and exhilarating show goes on with Kate Moss as a bird eating a worm, a devilish Marilyn and other funky fashion icons and drag-queens.
But what led the artist to strike at Anna Wintour ?
Sure, after all those years, the boss of Vogue needed a good make-over, she who has already been decked out with horns because she was suspected to be the devil out of the Devil wears Prada. But I am tempted to put another theory forward, purely far-fetched I admit.
Maybe Master Zanolari was celebrating the new Anna, the 2010's live wire vintage. Indeed, this year, the 61 years old editor has let her hair down ( everything is in the hair ) and offered us some memorable times, such as this delicious photo, taken during the Fashion Week.

 But my favourite remains her speech at the Teen Vogue's Fashion University, the last 24 October, in New York. There, the most famous fashionista of the world told the kids that the best thing that could happen to them is to be fired. Ah. Oh, said the world.
But no, Anna Wintour didn't go berzek, nor is developing the first symptoms of Alzheimer, as some tactless journalists have murmured. Neither she is the devil, advising people to loose an insecure job they have struggled to get, in a period of crisis and unemployment. I think that the piece of advice was good and of the best intentions. Sure, life is challenging and the more challenge you get, the stronger you become. But that was working in the 80s, when the population was smaller, when there still was job offers and when the bosses weren't afraid that hiring would ruin their budget. Now that half of the graduates are unemployed after university, as well as almost 10% of the population, I think that Anna's tirade is very outdated.
But don't misunderstand me : I respect her.
I think that Anna Wintour is the grandmother every fashion blogger dreams to have. Ah, watching her knitting a D&G sweater under our Christmas tree, while eating the foie gras ice cream she has prepared just for us ...

But as every grandmother, we are nodding to her pieces of advice with a tender smile which means "That's cute, granny, but the world has changed, things are not the same anymore !".
I'd love to be fired. You know why ? Because it would mean that I have actually managed to get a first job. And by job, I mean a real one, with a salary and health insurance, not another internship. A job that would not lead me to precariousness because I have to pay a scandalously high rent just to live in the city, because all the good jobs are only in big and expensive cities. Being fired would mean that I have had the opportunity to prove my value at work. No, instead, all I can do is the photocopies, and writing the more I can, waiting for someone to have the courage to give me a chance. It is not as easy as Anna thinks. My father is not a tycoon of the British press, I didn't grow up in London nor get prestigious first jobs thanks to my family. I couldn't even pay the school of journalism !
But I don't complain, I am not jealous. I am aware that I have to work harder, to surpass myself everyday. I am an hard liner. Just like Anna Wintour. And I am also an agitator. Just like Saul Zanolari.
So, it is my time to give a piece of advice to Lady Wintour : you should consider following the make over tips of Saul because it would give you a brand new step into modernity and reality.
Oh, and perhaps you could also think about hiring more young writers ? My curriculum vitae can be found in the "Who's Sam ?" section under the header ...

http://www.saulzanolari.com/
Saul Zanolari's artwork is used with the agreement of the artist.
This article is featured on Saul's website here : http://www.saulzanolari.com/decoding-the-artist-the-editor-and-the-blogger/

Tribute : Fashion Illustration, the Lost and Found Art



Cédric Rivrain

  Life is full of coincidences. While I was looking for material for my article on illustration, I realized that my last follower was incidentally one ! His name is David McGrievey ( http://www.davidmcgrieveyillustration.com/ ) and his old-fashioned drawings have illustrated W, Glamour, Spanish Vogue and Bloomingdale. Oh my, that's a follower I'm proud to have. I am always very humble in front of illustrators, because drawing is an art I adore, I would love to master. That's why I wanted to make an article on this under-appreciated genre.
Once upon a time, when cameras didn't exist, magazines used illustrators to recreate trendy outfits for their readers. I was the time of elegant silhouettes, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, and other "black and white" icons.

David Downton - Lauralaine

 During these hours of glory, the great names were Rene Gruau, most famous for the adds of Miss Dior perfume and Rouge Baiser lipstick, Joe Eula, Yves Saint Laurent's illustrator, Tony Viramonte, Antonio Lopez, a regular of Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazzar, and the famous Jacqueline Bissett. But, with the development of technicity, photography became almighty, and the illustrations were relegated to the horoscope pages or to art classes teens. But, now, Fashion tries to find itself, and is experimenting through art. In spite of digital art, fashion illustration insinuates itself back into the pages of the magazines.

ëlodie

 The new generation is torn between old-world aesthetics and modern lines. David Downton ( http://www.daviddownton.com/fashion.html ) prefered 50s women, with their hats and tiny waists.
Others are mixing academic drawing with modern designs, such as Frenchies Cédric Rivrain ( http://www.cedricrivrain.com/ ), inspired by models such as Kate Moss, Monsieur Qui ( http://www.myspace.com/monsieurqui ), who invade streets with melancholic beauties, or ëlodie ( http://www.elodie-illustrations.net/ ) and her gorgeous women.

Monsieur Qui

 But, illustration can overtake photography by its power to show what eyes can't see, and only imagination can. So, they are numerous to follow the path of contemporary art, and to offer us silhouettes that comes from the universe of dream and fantasy. My favourite among us is definitely Finnish artist Lauralaine ( http://www.lauralaine.net/ ) and her tiny feet/big hair figures, which are closer to poetry than anything. She took magazines by storm, and I hope to see more of her art in the future.

Petra Dufkova

In order to continue this travel in the world of beauty at the point of a pencil, I suggest you to look at :
- Book 100 Years of Fashion Illustration, Cally Blackman
- Nina Borowski's article http://nina-borowski.livejournal.com/558.html
- Illustrator Sophie Griotto's website http://www.sophiegriotto.com/
- Illustrator Petra Dufkova's artwork http://www.illustrationweb.com/illustrators/home_large.asp?artist_id=3348
- Illustrator Akari Inoguchi's gallery http://www.akariinoguchi.com/
- Illustrator Cécile Mancion's blog http://www.cecilemancion.com/blog/
- The Fashion Week Illustrée, French website http://www.fashionweekillustree.fr/
- http://www.fashionillustrationgallery.com/
- http://www.antoinettefleur.fr/
- http://www.erlikh.com/