tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41290456921377923202023-11-16T06:41:11.745-08:00Carla SeippFreelance fragrance, fashion and arts journalist for Basenotes, Twin, A Shaded View on Fashion, Dazed Digital and more.Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-69319900700189889162019-10-22T08:10:00.003-07:002019-10-22T08:10:43.390-07:00New WebsitePlease note that I have since moved my online portfolio to: <a href="http://www.carlaseipp.com/">www.carlaseipp.com</a>, where I will be posting all future work.<br />
This blog will no longer be update but please feel free to have a browse through.<br />
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<br />Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-73344532153924442062019-05-08T04:43:00.002-07:002019-05-08T04:43:31.135-07:00Unisex 2.0: The Bright and Bold World of KIERIN NYC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">New York City: an endless flow of bright lights, frenetic energy and fast moving crowds clutching onto their grande lattes in a fabulous flurry of big-city madness. The city that never sleeps, where ambitious ingenues come to fulfil their dreams and a whirlwind life plays out amongst the skyscraper landscape. It is this megatropolis that inspired the birth of all-gender fragrance brand KIERIN NYC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“New York City is more than just its streets and icons. It’s the life and energy of the people there who embrace a common culture of respect for the individual, a spirit of determination and individuality. It's about diversity and people coming together to do great things. That’s what our fragrances are, good vibes only,” explains co-founder Mona Maine de Biran.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The vegan, cruelty-free and sustainably sourced range is comprised of four scents created in close collaboration with perfumer Mathieu Nardin. Each pays homage to a different Big Apple life scenario.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Nitro Noir, a gourmand floral chypre, conjures up late nights awash with seductive notes of pink berries, orris and patchouli. 10am Flirt — a lush green floral bouquet of gardenia, fig, cashmere wood and sandalwood — is reminiscent of a walk along the High Line. Sunday Brunch opens with an energetic burst of bergamot and lemon, refined with earl grey tea and jasmine for an uplifting floral best shared amongst friends at mimosa hour. Rounding off the collection is Santal Sky, a smooth blend of cardamom, saffron, sandalwood and vetiver evoking meditative strolls through the city parks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In contrast to the traditionally minimalist unisex aesthetic, KIERIN NYC takes a more vibrant visual approach. “I don’t see why we have to take the sex out of the equation,” Maine de Biran states. “We can celebrate masculinity and femininity in a way which is all-gender inclusive. We’re the next generation of unisex. It's no longer about playing the middle but boldly bringing it all together in a way that hasn’t been done before and being a modern expression of the New York City lifestyle.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Even the brand's UK debut didn't play by any of the rules, treating guests to miniature tattoos at local studio Velvet Underground instead of a traditional launch event. “We’re not trying to be a fragrance that’s a laundry list of ingredients or projecting aspirational values, but inspiring people by connecting them, encouraging them to use their voice and make the fragrance their own,” she adds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In line with KIERIN NYC's inclusive approach, while each fragrance is a high-quality artisanal product, its co-founder emphasises the importance of a renewed focus on the uplifting experience of olfactory enjoyment in place of industry pedigree.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“Ultimately what it boils down to is fragrance makes you happy," she says. "I consider being an outsider a real advantage. I am not the perfumer, I am the editor, a storyteller, an activist entrepreneur. This is my platform, my voice to primally and viscerally connect people’s olfactory senses with their third eye, inspire them and help them to enjoy life through the power of scent.”</span>Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-84584436685265692712019-05-08T04:40:00.001-07:002019-05-08T04:40:15.739-07:00Pressing the Olfactory Reset Button<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Top-notch raw materials were the reserve of the industry elite — until now. Ostens is the fragrance house of Laurent Delafon and Chris Yu, who as founders of United Perfumes have worked with brands such as Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Tom Dixon and Diptyque. Together with Laboratoire Monique Remy (LMR), the premium naturals division of IFF, the brand is offering novices and connoisseurs alike the opportunity to explore raw materials in all their glorious facets and creative incarnations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">During a recent introductory masterclass at Ostens’ Marylebone boutique, attendees were immersed in the world of the glorious rose. From smelling the round and creamy santifolia to the green and spicy Damascena varieties, to explanations of extraction methods, terroir differences </span><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">and sustainable production futures, no question was left unanswered.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“LMR is the Rolls Royce of natural ingredients. It is quite a revelation, when you smell an ingredient with that level of purity, it is like smelling it for the first time,” Delafon states. “By bringing the ingredient to the fore, we are hoping to press the consumer’s reset button.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Ostens offers the raw materials in two formats, a Préparation (a singular note fragrance oil), as well as an Impression (eau de parfum), which allows a selected perfumer to interpret the raw material with complete creative freedom.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In the case of the rose, Yu and Delafon decided on a Turkish variant, the Rose Isparta. “Originally we both hated roses, it felt old-fashioned, corny and predictable,” Delafon states. “But when we discovered LMR and their amazing ingredients, we fell in love with this oil. It is very elegant, but also fresh and contains red fruit and lychee aspects.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The perfumer chosen to transform this specimen to their own liking was none other than Dominique Ropion. His Impression layers the Rose Isparta with pink pepper, patchouli, labdanum, and cashmeran for a scent containing ample amounts of depth and richness without being overpowering. It’s an exquisite olfactive representation of a company that aims to democratise the world of fragrance for all through remarkable creations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Aside from rose, the Préparation and Impression are also available in vetiver, cashmeran, jasmine, patchouli and cedarwood options, interpreted by renowned noses Bruno Jovanovic, Alexis Dadier, Domitille Michalon-Bertier and Sophie Labbé.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“Our ambition with Ostens was to bring those wonderful ingredients to the general public and lift the veil on the creative process of the perfumer,” Delafon explains. “It’s about beauty being recognised by everyone, not just industry professionals, and experiencing something really beautiful and special.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the original article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/features/3706-pressing-the-olfactory-reset-button">here</a>.</span>Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-82517688770438841202019-05-08T04:32:00.000-07:002019-05-08T04:32:13.128-07:00The Olfactory Occult of Sixteen92<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Named after the year of the Salem witch trials and with fragrance monikers such as Wicked and I Saw Goody Proctor with the Devil, Sixteen92 clearly has a penchant for the supernatural spectacle. Founded by former opera singer, advertising creative director and fine art photographer Claire Baxter in 2014, the indie company won this year’s Art & Olfaction Award for Bruise Violet, a Babes in Toyland inspired scent with notes of red lipstick, iris and dusting powder. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The two newest collections are based on classic horror films (such as The Exorcist, Halloween and Poltergeist) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula respectively. Curious noses can expect to find intriguing compositions including sweet ozone, chrysanthemum and cracked porcelain (The House is Clean); jasmine tea, plum and black violets (Mina Harker); and black amber, opium and blood musk (Vlad Dracul). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">But it’s not just the spooky side of things that this versatile, Fort-Worth based brand draws inspiration from, with other fragrance ranges influenced by the likes of 90s girl rock and Greek mythology figures. Other fascinating olfactory creations juxtapose the sweetness of kettle corn and spun sugar with the metallic undertones of machine oil and rusty metal (Shadow Show), or the moody notes of ocean air and damp moss with the juvenile saccharinity of saltwater taffy (The Awakening).
In the following interview, Baxter discusses her obsession with the Wiccan world, striking the balance between artistic vision and wearability, and the yearlong struggle of capturing the smell of winter in the desert. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>First off, what is your most poignant olfactive memory? </b></span><br />
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It’s not a single memory, but more of a collection of memories of fall throughout my childhood. Here in Texas we’re lucky to get about four weeks of real autumnal weather, so I have a little anthology of fond memories of raked leaves, pumpkin patches, new flannel sheets, marigold flowers, late harvests and the first wood fire of the season. That one morning each year when I walk outside and get the first flash of all of these scents together is something I look forward to every year, and it instantly takes me back to childhood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>Where does your fascination with history, lore and magic stem from?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">About as soon as I could open books by myself I picked out compilations of ghost stories, urban legends and all of those stories that have been passed down for generations to get kids to behave. My grandmother had a collection of illustrated encyclopaedias, and the pages about vampires, ghosts and witches were read so much that I probably had them memorized for a time. I still have those books actually. When I was in the fourth grade I discovered the Salem witch trials. I did a big report on the history of witchcraft persecution, which caused a bit of an uproar with a couple of my teachers, I guess because it was considered ‘inappropriate’ for a ten year-old to be discussing ancient witch-hunting and torture practices. But, you know, I just thought it was all super interesting and didn’t think anyone would misinterpret my enthusiasm. The whole situation was a formative experience for me, and a lesson that sometimes people in power can be wrong — a bit of an allegory to the trials themselves, now that I think about it …</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>How would you describe the voice of Sixteen92? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Enchanting, curious, polished, and of course, a little bit weird.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>How did your background in branding and photography help you develop your vision? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It was actually a pretty seamless evolution for me. To be frank, after years in the advertising industry I found myself exhausted by working on other people’s brands and decided to shift my focus towards something tangible of my own, under my own control and vision. I’ve always been an artist. I was always happiest working for myself on my own projects with only myself to answer to, and all of the challenges and thrills that brings. I have a love of business and brand management, and been fortunate to have seen firsthand — and learned from — the stories behind the successes and failures of brands I’ve worked with. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>How did it feel to win the Art & Olfaction award for Bruise Violet?</b></span><br />
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Insane. I had no idea what to expect, and I had a panic attack when I got word that Bruise Violet was a finalist. I mean, I’m just a weird indie perfumer. I don’t have retail distribution. And my perfume is up there listed with all of these amazing works? I couldn’t wrap my head around it for a while, and still sort of can’t. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>What has been the most difficult concept to materialize through scent? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">There’s one that I’ve been working on for a handful of years — the scent of winter in the desert. Creosote bushes and frost-covered rock, the dry chill of the Davis mountains at altitude, and miles of nothing but cold sand. I’ve spent a lot of winters in west Texas and eastern New Mexico and have very distinct scent memories tied to that area. It’s an ever-changing formula that I come back to periodically as time allows, and I’m not sure I’ll ever get it quite right. I’m also not sure how wearable a fragrance like that would even be, but one day I might actually get it finished. I enjoy working on those hyper-real atmospheric types of scent because they always present interesting challenges, but I don’t release many of them because they often end up more as conversation pieces than traditionally wearable fragrances.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>What challenges do you see in the growing popularity of niche fragrance? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I’m not sure whether I’m the most qualified to answer this sort of question since my brand is relatively young. I will say that one of my own increasing challenges over the past couple of years is finding a balance between wearability and artistic vision. On one hand, I like to make what I like, and I’m certainly aware that not everyone can or will like or appreciate every concept. On the other, niche and indie perfumery in general has seen such a growth in customer base that I sometimes need to tell myself to rein in the weirdness a little bit, and remind myself that people will actually want to be able to wear what I’m making. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>Given that the inspirations for your scents range from 90s punk rock bands like Bikini Kill and Hole to Greek mythology figures like sea nymphs to the (predominantly) women involved in the Salem witch trials, how much do strong female characters inspire and inform the work that you do? Or would you say that your creative process is independent from a gender factor? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">That's really funny, I had not actually considered how many of my fragrances draw from female inspiration. It's not something I'm conscious of while working on new fragrances, but I suppose it's true that I tend to personally gravitate my interests towards, and thus draw inspiration from, strong female characters and themes. I believe fragrance itself is genderless. I dislike categorizing my fragrances themselves as ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ or even ‘unisex’, since people should be able to decide these sorts of things on their own by simply wearing what they like. I like to approach composition in a similar way — I nearly always compose the fragrances themselves independent of gender, and that might be largely because I have personally always been quite fond of wearing fragrances that are marketed as ‘masculine’ or ‘unisex’. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>What has been the most profound customer reaction to one of your scents? </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">I can’t really choose a single standout story, but I love the occasional notes I receive from customers letting me know that a fragrance conjured a cherished memory, or helped them to create a new one, or reminded them of a distant place or loved one. Fragrances are little personal stories, so I am always thrilled and humbled to be given a glimpse into a customer’s world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><b>What fragrances and projects do you have planned for the future?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Aside from our usual calendar of scheduled seasonal releases, I am working on a tarot-themed collection that will eventually feature all 22 cards of the major arcana. Tarot has been in the planning stages for nearly a year, so I’m excited to be in the home stretch for the first group of them — the first set of three should be ready for release later this fall or winter. I’m also working on a licensed collaboration with a musician I’m quite fond of, and there will hopefully be more of that type of project in the queue for later on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">View the original article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/features/3543-the-olfactory-occult-of-sixteen92">here</a>.</span>Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-77757358081844418882018-04-03T06:45:00.000-07:002018-04-03T06:46:17.446-07:00Janette Beckman: A Career in Pictures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Run DMC, Public Enemy, NWA – what sounds like a top trio of hip hop’s finest is actually just the beginning of the roster of famous names that Janette Beckman has photographed. Not limiting herself to one music genre – she started off photographing punk bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash for publications such as The Face and Melody Maker – Beckman has an eye for capturing musicians and influencers of the moment in their element. The Londoner’s extensive portfolio of work also includes the documentation of various subcultures, from east L.A.’s El Hoyo Maravilla gang to Teds proudly presenting their Elvis Presley records on the streets of London.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Meeting Beckman at her Lower East Side studio on a hot summer’s day, it’s easy to see how she manages to capture her subjects in such a natural and laid-back manner. With her wildly curled raven-coloured locks, friendly smile and relaxed attitude, the photographer immediately makes one feel comfortable in her presence. Slouched back in a chair, her two cats freely prancing around the open loft space, she recounts each experience with the same enthusiasm and excitement as if it had just happened yesterday. Nowadays she may be photographing her subjects on a Fuji XT1 digital camera instead of her trusted Hasselblad, but her images have the same subversive edge as ever. Flipping through her four published volumes of work, Rap, Portraits & Lyrics of a Generation of Black Rockers, Made In The UK: The Music of Attitude 1977-1983, The Breaks, Stylin’ and Profilin’ 1982-1990 and El Hoyo Maravilla, Beckman contemplates her earliest artistic influences, the changing face of photography, and creativity on both sides of the pond.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Can you tell me a bit about your upbringing and how that affected you as an artist?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I grew up in North London and went to a kind of a hippie school from the age of 4 to 17. It was very artsy, and that really shaped my trajectory and life. My mom was always interested in art, so we went to museums a lot when I was a kid; we visited France and looked at the churches and art there too. She was also a bit of a painter and I used to go to these classes in Hampstead with her at night and paint. So I grew up with a lot of art around. I was always drawing at home, cutting pictures out of magazines and making a big pin board in my room. And I got a little Brownie camera, and was taking snaps. I started doing portraits of people. Going to the beach, I would be sitting there with my uncle and drawing him. I was just really into it. No parent wants their kid to be an artist; it’s not the greatest way to make a living, but there really was no stopping me. So in the end, I ended up at Saint Martins. It was just an exciting time because it was very experimental. It was a foundation course that I did there, but it really shaped me. Basically you’re at college doing anything you want. I made a bunch of friends immediately. It was also very political at the time and we were all into leftie magazines. There was about eight of us and we would go to Patisserie Valerie on Old Compton Street every morning to talk about politics, art, plotting the downfall of Western society or whatever we were doing at the time. But we were also drawing the whole time. I lived in this semi-squat in Streatham. My rent was £5 a week and it was full of other students, so we used to do what students do: sit around drawing each other, go to jumble sales and smoke pot. It was definitely a hybrid art environment. The foundation course itself was very free form – you had to attend classes, but it was more about being in the environment. We were all hyper into our art, doing little performance pieces on the street, those crazy things. At that time David Hockney was really big and I thought I wanted to be a portrait artist like Hockney, but I never thought my drawings were quite good enough. So after Saint Martins I decided to go and study photography at the London College of Printing, which is now the LLC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>I think it’s interesting, though, because if you look at painting versus photography, there are some parallels in terms of composition, use of colour, things like that. So those skills did transfer.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Totally, it’s about looking and documenting. When I do portraits now, it’s all about the relationship and I think that’s the same. I still go to the odd life drawing class to keep up. It wasn’t like the drawings I was doing were imaginative or conceptual. I just liked to sit and draw somebody and that morphed into taking portraits.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Your work is a documentation of the time, but then obviously has an artistic value as well. How do those two things come together for you?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I love to take portraits in the street and I’m always aware of the surroundings, what’s going on in the street, in the background. It makes a timeline. I took a picture of Futura and Dondi, two really famous graffiti artists, and an English dumpster which they tagged; this makes a whole story. I would always find walls that had things on them. It was a document of the times because that stuff isn’t there anymore. As much as I love my studio pictures, this [gang] project I did is a prime example. I took this picture of three girls who were part of this East L.A. gang called the Hoyo Maravilla. I spent the whole summer going there and shooting them. I recently reconnected with them a couple of years ago. They’re all fully grown women now: one of them works for the D.A.’s office, one works in rehabilitation for gang members and the other drives a Mercedes and has a big office job. We timelined the photo as I thought it was taken in 1982. They asked me if I remembered what colour the car in the photograph was. If it was blue, it was 1982, and if it was gold it was 1983, because somebody was shot in this car, the car was covered in blood and they had to repaint it. So you know, things like this can really make a timeline, and obviously clothing, style, the way the kids are, their attitude. It gives a lot of flavour. Here’s a picture of Run DMC, on the street they grew up on in Hollis, Queens, in 1984. I had never been to Hollis and got this assignment. I just had a phone number and met someone at a subway, I wasn’t expecting this tree-lined street. I grew up going to the National Portrait Gallery a lot and looking at paintings done by artists in the 17th and 18th centuries. Those were the things that influenced me, portraits of life in those days. And I guess I somehow try and make portraits of what life is like today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Was there a specific photographer that inspired you?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I got this August Sander book out of the library when I was in college and loved it so much, I never brought it back. He photographed working people, where they worked, on the street. They are simple photographs and not posed, people are just looking in the camera, [it’s] very natural. Irving Penn’s portraits; Avedon; Cartier-Bresson; William Klein – they mostly photographed people in environments, too. Even now, I’m the New York editor of Jocks&Nerds magazine, and we do a lot of portraits. I try to put people where they live. I get an assignment to photograph somebody and they’re like, “Oh, should I come around to see you,” and I say, “No, that’s okay, I’ll just come around to where you are – on the street where you live, in the living room, around the corner in front of a deli.” Signage, cars going by, taxis… all of that stuff means a lot to me, getting that flavour of the city.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>There’s this very stripped back aesthetic to August Sander’s work and it’s an interesting contrast to what we have nowadays. There are still a few photographers that keep it in that natural environment as so much of it is Photoshopped, with colour filters or the backgrounds added in.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I shoot digital now, but I don’t do that much to my pictures. I tweak the contrast a little bit, but I don’t approve of that [excessive digital alteration]. I grew up shooting film, where every shot has a dollar value to it. You had to be a lot more careful and I still work that way now. I don’t shoot hundreds and hundreds of shots. It’s not that hard, you just have to stop and think for a minute. I’ve been lucky, because I do portraits, I have someone’s attention, be it for five minutes or two hours, and we can figure stuff out. I think it’s important to compose and get it right the first time. Photoshop is an incredible tool, but it’s pretty horrendous the way they make everyone look like they are 20 years old. It’s really strange – in 100 years, when people look back they’ll say everybody just looked like Barbie dolls. I understand people want to look young and beautiful, but old and beautiful is great as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>With punk and hip hop being more male-dominated fields back then, how was it for you getting into those scenes and photographing them?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">When I started at Melody Maker, there was only one other woman working there. It was all guys and they’re more or less rocker types that went down to the pub and got drunk. I was an art student, wearing white Levi’s and a Madness T-shirt. I felt more like I didn’t fit in because I was so artsy and they would make comments about my style, with me being there dressed in my pyjamas and sneakers. I thought I looked cool and they were like, what’s wrong with you? But all the bands were cool with it because a lot of the punk bands were former art students. I never felt discriminated against particularly as a woman. Melody Maker was more of a rock magazine and because I was into punk, mods and all the new genres, when those assignments came up they were just like, “Oh chuck them to her.” That was fine by me, I got to photograph Boy George, the Sex Pistols, I got all of that stuff. When I came to New York in 1982, it really worked to my advantage that I was a woman. I’d go up to the Bronx to take a photograph of Afrika Bambaataa, he was expecting some American male photographer and I’d turn up. I was like a stranger walking around in their land and because I was a woman I was less threatening. I was photographing a lot of African American culture and because I wasn’t from here, I got what they call a “hood pass”. I was very curious about them and they were curious about me. It was exactly the same when I went to photograph this East L.A. gang. They’re like, “You’re not American, what are you doing here?” I brought a box of my punk and mod photographs. I would say, “These are the gangs in England, I want to photograph you and take these pictures back to the people in Europe.” They got that concept. People were always really nice to me and respectful. Even some of the rap artists that were so-called dangerous or scary, I never had any problems with whatsoever. I think they didn’t look at me with the same expectations they would have had if I was American.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>What were the most memorable moments and people you encountered?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I worked a lot with Salt-N-Pepa. The first time that I shot them was for a British magazine and they hadn’t even put out a record. I don’t know how this magazine had heard of them. I was living over on Avenue B and had them come over. It was a hot summer’s day like this and we took a walk in the neighbourhood. They were just giggly girls and we were just hanging out and having fun. I was taking pictures of them in front of various murals and little stores, this that and the other. We got along really well and that led to a long relationship. I did a lot of album covers for them, it was always super chill. They had their own style: jackets made by this guy Dapper Dan in Harlem, earrings and gold chains.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>Yeah, it was very DIY and just small communities back then.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Totally, just turn up and take pictures. This guy Just-Ice, I was working for his record label, Sleeping Bag Records, and they told me they wanted me to do the album cover for him. He was this big guy, completely scary. I was like, whatever. So he comes over, a nice guy, very polite, we do all the shots and end up going to drink Long Island Iced Teas in the bar across the street. I remember he had these gold caps and had to take them out and put them in his pocket because we were eating taco chips and he didn’t want the chips to get on his gold teeth. This is supposed to be this guy who possibly might have murdered somebody, but obviously it turned out he hadn’t. A few days later somebody is ringing at the studio door and it’s him. He’s got this box and inside is this little tiny kitten he’s just adopted. He said, “I got this little kitten and wanted to show you. I’m going to call him Money Clip.” There were a lot of stories like that. Things that were supposed to be frightening were not really frightening to me. I mean, these L.A. gang girls, they apparently used to go to school with razor blades in their mouth because there’s so much violence there and they could just whip out these razor blades and cut people up. I’m just sitting there listening to these stories and taking pictures of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">View the full article <a href="http://1granary.com/interviews/janette-beckman/">here</a>.</span><br />
<br />Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-83367090096667349482017-10-04T06:15:00.002-07:002017-10-04T06:15:40.365-07:00Stephen Dirkes of Euphorium Brooklyn on crafting scentscapes and olfactory deconstruction<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Founded by Stephen Dirkes in 2015, Euphorium Brooklyn has already garnered a cult following for its deep, multi-faceted and no-holds-barred scents. A creative polymath with a background in music composition and film production, Dirkes has applied his love of fragrance to art installations, multi media projects and teaching the Perfumer’s Library perfumery program at FlowerSchool New York.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The brand’s concept stems from his stop-motion film project, Euphorium Bile Works, which depicts the story of an 1860s Brooklyn fragrance factory focused on transcendental sensualism run by Etienne Chevreuil, Dr. Christian Rosenkreuz and Rudolph Komodo. Dirkes’ meticulous attention to detail sees the narrative for every fragrance release interconnect with all three creators.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The scents themselves retain an ode to classic perfumery while still being wearable enough for a daily, offbeat olfactory experience. Creations include USAR, an Indonesian vetiver-inspired fragrance with lime, ginger, and agarwood accents; CHOCOLATL, a hedonistic cocoa, clove and coffee creation; and WALD, a beautifully realistic forest scent comprised of smoky fir, cedar, juniper and damp earth notes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dirkes found his inspiration for the brand’s recent release, BUTTERFLY, at the New Town Creek waterfront in Greenpoint. The result is a fougere scent comprised of the olfactory plants that sustain butterfly life — violet, lilac, lavender, mint, sage and moss to name a few. The corresponding special edition kit, comprised of an 8ml EdP decant and curated seed packet, combines both sustainability and scent in one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In the following interview, Dirkes discusses the process behind his newest fragrance, creative cross-pollination and constructing an idiosyncratic olfactive aesthetic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>What made you want to structure Euphorium Brooklyn around the work of three fictional perfumers as opposed to the traditional route?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The Euphorium Brooklyn perfume house, its perfumers, and the fragrances in the collection are all aspects of story telling and are all telling the same story. I became a perfumer to specifically tell the Euphorium Brooklyn story and that research evolved into a life of its own. I can't really say that there was much of a choice on my part, as I had no intention of setting up a perfume house in any other way. I love perfumery and the history of its materials, but beyond that, I'm not so interested in commercial perfumes or the business structures of contemporary fashion/beauty brands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>As someone who also works as an artist, teacher and musician, what in your eyes is the role of today's perfumer — storyteller, educator, olfactory chemist or something else?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Speaking in regards to the current trend of perfumer-driven niche houses, what is new and important is that the perfumer becomes more creative by controlling the narrative. Perfumery becomes more artful, in that it is the perfumer who is deciding both what to express and how to express it. These creative expressions are brought to market and noses around the world get to vote on what becomes successful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">When the perfumer embraces the creative responsibility from beginning to end as an individual creative voice, it becomes much more possible to create original work. That isn’t the case for a corporate perfumer executing a brief within a traditional structure of a client marketing team, brand managers, fragrance developers, assistants, etc. Traditional fragrance industry structures bring a scent to market in a manner much more similar to creating a breakfast cereal than an artwork and corporate perfumers are often placed in the role of specialty chemist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Not only is the perfumer's creative and artistic role of storyteller made possible by niche perfume houses, it serves to motivate and reward more and more idiosyncratic, iconoclastic, and unique stories being told. Consumer expectations of the perfumer's creative role rises and the art form of perfumery begins to drive all sectors of the market, from hobbyist to independent and corporate perfume houses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Your latest fragrance, BUTTERFLY, has a much more lightweight and playful palette compared to some of your earlier fragrances. In an interview you once said that you embrace the idea of working with things that take you out of your comfort zone. How did the work on BUTTERFLY fit into this mantra, and also into the pre-existing catalogue of perfumes?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Composing BUTTERFLY EdP, I wanted to explore the same Euphorium Brooklyn conceptual ethos with a lighter olfactive palette. Similar to all of the other Euphorium Brooklyn fragrances by it being a manifestation of the personal history of the perfumer, BUTTERFLY also refers to the botanical or natural history of an environmental landscape.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I often present multiple, widely varied scents simultaneously to obligate the smeller to analyze or deconstruct what's going on and did not want to shy away from the complexity of the preceding Euphorium Brooklyn fragrances. Complexity can often lead to density and it was a challenge to create several micro-transitions within a note or cluster of similar notes over short spans of time with the added challenge of maintaining the clarity required to make a lighter, brighter summer accord.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">While conceptually remaining true to form, I did force myself out of my ‘comfort zone’ to attempt to overcome some technical challenges and personal issues. Although early curation of fragrance notes as per butterfly habitat led to an inspiring and varied fragrant palette of mint, floral, and aquatic notes, these are also some of the most difficult families of scent for me to embrace. It became an interesting challenge to ‘make sense’ of these scents.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It was very important for me to launch the BUTTERFLY SET to take both conceptual and practical aspects of that fragrance to its full circle conclusion by pairing the fragrance with a seed packet. It is a positive fulfillment of the first inspiration for the Eau de Parfum to become an environmental call to action.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>You previously stated that materials are often overlooked in favor of the narrative in fragrance. How do you strike the balance between those two factors?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I don't really see it as a balance, in that the stories and the materials are totally integrated. The stories are often about the materials themselves and reflect the histories and origins of the characters. I involve the personal history of the characters and their regional origins to inform both the choice of perfumery materials used and the stories behind the fragrances. I can’t get into something without a concept, it's just bad art-making. If I'm not trying to do some art-making, what's the point?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>How do all eight scents work together to express the ideology of Euphorium Brooklyn?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Euphorium Brooklyn has a very clearly defined olfactive aesthetic and each one of the eight fragrances adds to the richness of that aesthetic while further defining it. Each scent makes a bold statement in terms of the richness, complexity, and density of the accord. The fragrances all reference a geo-specific or environment scentscape that further unites them expressing the Euphorium Brooklyn story. I involve the personal history of the characters and their regional origins to inform both the choice of perfumery materials used and the stories behind the fragrances.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I evolve each fragrance by using a combination of natural materials and single molecules in dense clusters to achieve fragrant and durational effects throughout the collection. I employ high quality natural materials to emphasize the raw, pure, and powerful sensation of smelling them straight from the source. As the characters had very influential pursuits and areas of study outside of perfumery, I wanted all of the scents to also express the conceptual, mystic, scientific, sensual and euphoric aspects of the perfumer's interests.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>As a self taught perfumer, what figures and creative movements have had the most profound influence on your work?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I began my interest in perfumery with the specific terms of fragrance functioning within the context of multi media storytelling. I began my music studies with 19th century operatic composers and the conceit of a ‘total art’ in which the vision of a singular voice would take overall creative responsibility and have, in one way or another, continued to explore that notion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>You admire Harry Partch for his "determined pursuit of creative vision at all costs". What have been the biggest hardships you faced building Euphorium Brooklyn?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I don't think that I've suffered any hardships with Euphorium Brooklyn. Difficulties, set backs, & challenges yes… Harry Partch is admirable in that his creative vision was unstoppable and he rolled up his sleeves and made the instruments he needed, taught musicians to play them and was able to further his work with a certain amount of dogged self-reliance and convection.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Euphorium Brooklyn has been a creative joy for me to evolve. Commercially there is tons of room for improvement, but my focus has really been on the creative aspects of the brand. I'm a pretty self-motivated beaver and am happy to push my choo-choo train up the hill when required. That being said, I've been so overwhelmed that people out there are into it and Euphorium Brooklyn has a mini fanbase in the niche corner of niche. I am so happy to have only worked with really supportive retail partners and have gotten generous feedback and advice from fragrance industry mentors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Having just started teaching the Perfumer's Library perfumery program at FlowerSchool New York, what are the biggest misconceptions people have about creating scents?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I am obsessed by fragrance and love to interact with people about it. Teaching students and creating the Perfumer's Library perfumery program with FlowerSchool New York gives me fantastic feedback from a wide variety of people. I'm always impressed by how instinctively people explore making scent when provided with the materials, tools, and techniques to get going. Even within the already interested community of people I interact with in New York City's fragrance world, I think most people underestimate how fun and rewarding trying it for yourself can be. One common misconception about perfumery I hear is the general idea that ‘naturals’ are safer than molecules, which is untrue.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Since you apply your love of olfactory pursuits to many different projects, how do you see your body of work as opening up the limitations of the often insular world of niche fragrance?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Euphorium Brooklyn came to be as a perfume house and I'm interested to recognize and preserve its function as that. I don't want to take away from the core story or force the story into other directions as the single repository for all the ways one can explore olfaction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have a long career of creating as a composer, film maker, and new media artist. Once developing some technical skill to express myself in olfactive terms, it was very natural to apply those skills outside of a perfume house context. I don't feel as though I'm trying to “expand on the limitations of niche fragrance". Olfactive art exhibitions, multi media collaborations, and events can have different objectives, explore different concepts and exist outside of the perfume house. There is a lot of cross-pollination and all work informs you. I am grateful that small successes with Euphorium Brooklyn allow me to take on projects outside of niche perfumery. I try to focus on education and study, fine art/olfactive art exhibitions, and collaborative events. This variety of endeavor maintains a high level of curiosity, excitement, and growth. The creative metabolism of a professional here in Brooklyn can be manic and that can fuel and inspire you to rise to the occasion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Given your love of raw materials, what is your single favorite smell of all time and why?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Java vetiver! It's a wonderful complex little forest of scent that ranges from bright green tinselly aspects & warm amber tones to smoky leather & deep dark rooty notes. There's also a great history and culture around it in Java. I really got to know and love vetiver when I lived there myself, but it has been a material that I've always loved at many different times in my life and many different locations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>What can Euphorium Brooklyn fans expect in the future?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So much going on! I'm composing music for a little ballet I'll film at the end of the summer to tell perfumer Etienne Chevreuil's story of the inspiration for BUTTERFLY EdP. I was so pleased with the new direction that BUTTERFLY took in terms of exploring lighter, brighter aesthetics and will continue in that direction for two more fragrances. I'm leaving NYC to do a residency at Santa Fe Art Institute to work on some olfactive/multi media installations and will have another gallery show here in New York this winter. This fall, The Perfumer's Library perfumery program I put together for FlowerSchool New York starts up and I've created 8 classes, with each one centered on a different fragrance family.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the entire article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/features/3533-stephen-dirkes-of-euphorium-brooklyn-on-crafting-scentscapes-and-olfactory-deconstruction">here</a>.</span></div>
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<br />Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-31166231521033856912017-09-12T09:48:00.001-07:002017-09-12T09:48:26.621-07:00Building a Fragrance Democracy, One City at a Time: Nick Steward of Gallivant on the Wonders of Wearability and Everyday Appeal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">True to the dictionary definition of its name, Nick Steward’s new line <span style="color: black;">Gallivant</span> is sure to offer many a delightful olfactory pursuit. Created in collaboration with perfumers Karine Chevallier and Giorgia Navarra, the range consist of the energetic and bright citrus Brooklyn, unconventional green rose London, delicately wafting white floral Tel Aviv and spicy amber-scented Istanbul.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Each scent comes in a sleek 30ml size flacon, retailing for $95 each. There is something refreshingly democratic, accessible (and travel-friendly) about such a product, which in turn offers all the more opportunities to enjoy each consecutive olfactive journey. “You can mix and match your fragrance wardrobe as you do your clothes and food — there’s a fluidity to Gallivant,” Steward comments.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Given his own multicultural upbringing, the former creative director of L’Artisan Parfumeur wanted to emphasize the concept of universal communication, even in the now often jargon-jammed world of niche perfumery. “Fragrance is something really beautiful that we are passionate about. Given that, don’t we want to invite more people into our world, rather than make them feel stupid because they don’t know the notes or how to pronounce certain words? I don’t like that kind of elitist attitude,” he states.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Not only is the packaging modernly minimalist, the fragrances themselves are equally subtle, with Steward commenting that “perfume doesn’t have to be loud to speak, sometimes you need to listen close to the skin for it to express itself.” Take for example the noisy and constantly buzzing city of Brooklyn, which was translated into an uplifting orange, magnolia and musk concoction. “Brooklyn was never going to be grimy as some people imagine I would have done. Like the American Dream, it was always going to be something optimistic,” he says. Fittingly enough, the independently owned, Boerum Hill-based boutique Twisted Lily recently hosted Gallivant’s stateside debut. “Places like Twisted Lily are really important gateways to discovering this kind of perfumery. I think it’s the time where we need to get back in touch with business actually being about human connections,” Steward explains. “My hope with Gallivant is to create a brand which people can feel close to.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Next stop on the voyage is London, a melting pool of grit-meets-glam set to to the soundtrack of Pet Shop Boys’ West End Girls. The traditional English rose is given an edge thanks to rugged suede and gin-laced cucumber notes. Despite the name of style icon Kate Moss being on Steward’s mind during the creation of the scent, even this one reads universally unisex. He notes that “there was a really positive energy in the co-creation of these fragrances. I tried to balance my own tastes with those of Karine Chevallier and Giorgia Navarra, hopefully that has made for genuinely unisex fragrances. I also believe people are much more open minded than we give them credit for. A lot of men, if you tell them it is a rose or floral, might be put off. But if you just spray it and they smell it, most people don’t have the binary that we think they have.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Speaking of florals, Tel Aviv is awash with a plethora of them: jasmine, ylang ylang, rose and freesia. “Tel Aviv for me was quite an emotional one to work on, full of a lot of memories,” Steward reminisces. “There is something really comforting about it at the same time. And I’m actually not the world’s biggest fan of jasmine, of itself. It can feel very introverted and dense sometimes, but in this it’s open, fresh and fruity.” Said sheer complexity is gained through notes such as clementine, blackcurrant bud and deer’s tongue absolute. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The last stop on the olfactive odyssey is filled with the patchouli, myrrh and cardamom notes of Istanbul. By incorporating lavender, geranium and thyme, there is a fresher kick to this composition which veers it away from a cliched oriental territory. “Istanbul has an incredible history as a meeting point between cultures, so I wanted to reference that on some level,” Steward explains. “Sometimes there is a slightly stereotypical view of what Istanbul is and then you go there and realize it’s a mega city of 18 million people that stretches physically from Europe across the Boszporusz into Asia.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Despite each scent having its own distinct personality and unique namesake inspiration, a vibrant modernity unifies the Gallivant line-up. Much like travel itself, once reserved for only the upper class elite, it offers an exciting and welcoming opportunity to explore. “I want Gallivant to be an invitation for people to travel the world in their senses, broaden their palette, mix things up,” Steward concludes. Thankfully of us fragrance nomads, with two additional releases on the horizon, the</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the entire article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/features/3465-building-a-fragrance-democracy-amp-comma-one-city-at-a-time-amp-colon-nick-steward-of-gallivant-on-the-wonders-of-wearability-and-everyday-appeal">here</a>.</span><br />
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Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-52458063384231803962017-08-14T07:58:00.000-07:002017-08-14T07:58:07.794-07:00Parfums de Marly launches Delina<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Housed in a pale millennial pink bottle, Parfums de Marly’s newest female fragrance, <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/ID26151986.html">Delina</a>, has all the makings of a modern classic. The fruity floral scent, created by Quentin Bisch, opens with crisp top notes of bergamot, rhubarb and lychee before developing into a heart composed of Turkish rose, peony and lily of the valley. The combination of quirky and feminine components alike rests on a base of vanilla, musk, frankincense and cashmeran.<br /><br />There is an approachable playfulness to Delina which gives it a youthful edge while still commemorating the brand’s rich heritage. Parfums de Marly pays tribute to Louis XV (and his in-house perfumer Jean-Louis Fargeon) as pioneers of perfumery and advocates of the equestrian world, with each scent being named after a different horse breed. “With Delina, we wanted to remain true to ourselves whilst creating an elegant, fruity floral fragrance. It is sweeter and therefore appealing to a larger audience, although the dry down makes it a very Parfums de Marly fragrance. It is young and sexy with class and elegance — a mix of all of those things,” explains Nicolas Parat, the brand’s sales director.<br /><br />Launched exclusively at Bloomingdale’s in the US, the scent is already shaping up to be one of the brand’s best sellers alongside the saffron, almond, and amber-infused Pegasus and lavender, violet, and cardamom-laced Layton. “For us, luxury is rarity. We’re not a mainstream or commercial brand, so by using lychee and rhubarb, we wanted to create something special,” Parat comments, “To wear something elegant yet rare, that is not widely represented, is the ultimate luxury.”<br /><br />Available at Bloomingdales (US), Selfridges (UK) and <a href="http://www.pmarly.com/">http://www.pmarly.com/</a></span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the entire article<a href="http://www.basenotes.net/perfumenews/3478-parfums-de-marly-launches-delina"> here</a>.</span></div>
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Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-47010881104337629352017-04-06T22:10:00.001-07:002017-04-06T22:10:07.098-07:00Clara Molloy of Memo Paris on the Artistic Originality of Tuberose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The secluded town of Marfa, with its scorching temperatures and dry landscape, would probably be the last place one would associate with a luscious white floral fragrance. However, for Memo Paris this creative contrast turned out to be the perfect inspiration. “I loved the name Marfa even before going there and I was not disappointed - the landscape is as beautiful as the name,” says co-founder Clara Molloy.<br />
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After Les Echappées, Cuirs Nomades and Graines Vagabondes, the fragrance house has now inaugurated its fourth collection, Art Land, with Marfa, a concoction of orange blossom, tuberose and white musk. But how exactly does one recreate the olfactory landscape of a place almost devoid of all natural vegetation, save for the odd cactus? “We were looking for a ‘sand effect’ because of the desert, an element of softness. But we were also looking for heat, and for originality. This side would reflect the art part of Marfa,” Molloy explains.<br />
Out of all the fragrance’s components, be mandarin, ylang ylang, agave or sandalwood, there is one in particular that takes center stage. “With the tuberose we found a flower that had sophistication and a different vibe than all the others,” she states. “You cannot hide a tuberose in a fragrance, it is always noticeable. I thought that was interesting because good art is also like that – it stands on its own.”<br />
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Seeing as this is the first scent in the Art Land range, it’s only natural to wonder what other fragrances Memo Paris has up its sleeve, to which Molloy simply responds, “I wish I knew! You cannot predict where and when inspiration comes. The collections are a way to stimulate our imagination, it is like changing the language you usually use, speaking French then Russian then Spanish…” No matter which language the house decides on next, it will be intriguing to see which cultural capital becomes the successor to this beautiful debut.<br />
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View the entire article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/bn15_content.php?id=3315-clara-molloy-of-memo-paris-on-the-artistic-originality-of-tuberose">here</a>.Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-1305934961724137782017-04-06T22:07:00.002-07:002017-04-06T22:07:36.896-07:00Parfums Quartana Interview, Part Two: The Creation of Les Potions Fatale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In Part 1, Joseph Quartana explained the story behind each of the nine scents in his Les Potions Fatales collection. In the following interview, the Six Scents and Parfums Quartana founder discusses the deeply personal process behind his latest range of fragrances and redefining gender in perfume.<br />
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<b>First off, how is Les Potions Fatales different from your previous projects like Six Scents?</b><br />
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This is the first time I’ve explored a singular concept in perfumery. All of the Six Scents were of collaborative nature and about trying to get the designer’s unique vision across. I spent a lot of time selecting those specific designers because I felt like they have interesting visions. They were all influential enough in the industry that they should have a fragrance but are not necessarily big enough to do so. That was the whole sort of spiel.<br />
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<b>Six Scents also built on your background in fashion.</b><br />
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Absolutely. I was a buyer for 14 years so that was a logical extension of the work I was doing already, just more curatorial.<br />
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<b>So how did that shift from a collection like that to Les Potions Fatales happen?</b><br />
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I was actually going to relaunch the best sellers of Six Scents, this was in late 2013, but at the time my business partner and I decided to go in separate directions. I had just closed my shop, Seven New York due to a landlord dispute/nightmare, and Six Scents was suddenly penniless after our "divorce" so I was at a crossroads. In short, I lost 15 years of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars, so I was really angry. This whole collection was a catharsis of all the venom that had built up. So it comes from a real place. After I finished the collection I felt so much better. I got it out.<br />
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<b>Each fragrance has a dedicated perfumer with their own signature style. How were you able to keep the common thread flowing throughout the collection?</b><br />
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I told them two things: first the guiding principle behind the development of this is the notion of the femme fatale. Beautiful but deadly, just like a poison flower. It's deceptive. That's really what we were going for from the packaging to the films to the formulas. Secondly, I told them to think about gasoline — which is sweet smelling but you know it's toxic — so that they didn't waver too far from the original concept. That's how I held it together.<br />
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From a merchandising perspective they're all going in different directions. We did this on purpose, we didn't want there to be any overlap. It became obvious what they were going to be once we looked over all the folklore and had this holistic picture of it. For example, Bloodflower should be a gourmand, Venetian Belladonna is a fruity floral, Digitalis is a green, spicy aromatic. They fell into line in that way, it was a happy accident. We did a lot of field testing with both random people and creative professionals. I didn't want to hear that it smelled like something else out there. If we got that feedback, we had to go back to the drawing board and pivot it.<br />
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<b>Fragrance itself is about deception in a way, because what you smell in the beginning is not what you smell at the end.</b><br />
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Absolutely. It's not necessarily what we think it is. Another thing: perfumers traditionally were also the poison makers in the royal courts. So historically there's always been a huge connection between the two crafts. David Apel, who did Digitalis, was fascinated by that concept. It’s so fundamentally rooted in the history of perfumery and yet no one has done it. It’s been staring at us in the face, so much so that we didn't see it.<br />
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<b>In terms of gender assignment, some of the scents have a femme fatale and others a more unisex character.</b><br />
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Well, there's the flip side of the femme fatale concept and that’s the metrosexual movement, men being held to the same beauty standards as women. It’s a pretty recent phenomenon, this didn't happen in the 1950s. So our men's scents are pretty "boys". The folklore ultimately dictated what the gender would be though. All of them are unisex except Venetian Belladonna and Midnight Datura, which are definitely more on the feminine side.<br />
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<b>It's interesting that a lot of them are unisex because floral scents were traditionally seen as more feminine. Obviously there has been a shift with that.</b><br />
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Well, in this case just because they are based on flowers, doesn't make them necessarily floral; it's the folklore we interpreted. But yeah, commercially it's been a huge hang-up for men to wear a floral but it's been changing. With this whole collection I wanted to make it dark and romantic. Perfumery lends itself to that concept so naturally, right?<br />
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<b>Usually with flowers, there's this idea of them being a delicate object which has a vulnerability to it.</b><br />
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At the same time they have a wicked power to seduce and, in the case of these, to literally kill. That's a serious power. I look at them as strong. As a male I will be the first to admit that these are feminist and female empowering.<br />
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<b>From the films to the packaging, it’s all one unified concept.</b><br />
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Nothing is arbitrary. This is the result of me really meditating for hundreds of hours on the folklore and visual symbolism. Me sitting in my local bar every night until four in the morning staring into the bottom of my wine glass and jotting stuff down. It just came alive, I don't know how else to put it. The packaging is an extension of all the research. The sleeve is symbolic of the hallucinations you get from being poisoned with the flowers. The colors were selected through a blindfold test. I had people smell the fragrance without knowing anything about it, and asked them what the first three colors were that came to mind. I wanted them (the boxes) to look like they smelled, sort of a synesthesia effect. The box front badge design is supposed to be a combination lock. We were inspired by Hellraiser. In the film there's this mystery box which is where the demons come from, it's a Pandora's box of sorts. and we chose a blue amethyst inspired vessel because that was what the ancient Greeks used to hold their poisons. You've got multiple layers to the unveiling of the experience, like an onion.<br />
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<b>Throughout the three years of creating the line, what’s been the most fascinating thing that you've learned?</b><br />
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For me personally, that I can actually see a project through with this degree of scope, from start to finish. I've surprised myself. I've never worked on something this long in my life, this was a fucking journey [laughs]. I would liken the whole process to writing an album with nine different songs. I was reading up biographies on Depeche Mode and followed a lot of how they went from one album to the next. What I was setting out to create with this collection was cult items. I didn’t expect them to be successful in the beginning, but instead and hopefully 10 years down the road. And that’s just like the Depeche Mode albums, when they first came out they were hated, except by the most avant-garde people. You should see the early reviews, they’re so scathing. They stuck to their guns, didn’t listen to critical reactions and their fan base just snowballed from there on out.<br />
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<b>In a way, it’s good if a fragrance is polarizing. I would rather have something that gets love or hate reactions than just the average, middle ground.</b><br />
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Absolutely. That middle ground is the worst insult. I really prefer a scent which elicits a reaction. It’s like effective art in that way. You might not like it, but does it strike you? Do you learn something about yourself, does it have a jarring effect, does it stop you in your tracks? That’s the power of a good fragrance, and I’m all for it.<br />
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<a href="https://six-scents.com/collections/potions-fatales">https://six-scents.com/collections/potions-fatales</a><br />
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View the entire article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/features/3422-parfums-quartana-part-2-amp-colon-the-creation-of-les-potions-fatale">here</a>.<br />
<br />Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-29207627032271133812017-04-06T22:03:00.004-07:002017-04-06T22:03:52.419-07:00Parfums Quartana Interview, Part One: Nine Tales of Deadly Deception<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As far as inspirations for a perfume line go, Breaking Bad is pretty much the pinnacle of badass-ry. And just like its source material, the Les Potions Fatales collection by Parfums Quartana is highly addictive and undeniably captivating. “I was watching an episode of the show, and in it the protagonist Walter used lily of the valley to poison Jessie’s girlfriend’s son, Brock. A lightbulb went on in my head. I thought to myself, why hasn’t anyone done poisonous flowers in perfumery yet? That’s when the eureka moment happened,” Joseph Quartana explains.<br />
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Packaged in psychedelic original artwork by Aersoyn-Lex Mestrovic, each of the range’s nine eau de parfums explores the folkloric, mythical, and biological traits of its namesake flower. “The notion of deception is the concept that runs through the entirety of the collection. Things are not what they seem,” Quartana adds. In the following text, the brand’s founder depicts the narrative behind each scent.<br />
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The Tale of Fiery Seduction: Venetian Belladonna<br />
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“We wanted it to be straight-up super slutty and seductive. Firstly, venetian belladonna was equated with aggressive female sexuality. Secondly, it was used by the witches of Italy to put seduction spells on men. So we put plum, honey, all of these feminine notes into it. The witches would also drop it into their eyes, partially because it was considered cosmetically attractive to have blown out pupils, but also to have black masses. They were putting a hallucinogen into their eyeballs, so we made the scent psychedelic in that way too. Styrax progeny, which smells like something is on fire, was added into the dry down. The idea is that once the witch seduces you, she burns you with her hellfire. It’s also a symbol for the fire of passion. There is both the literal aspect of hellfire, and then the symbolism of passion.”<br />
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The Tale of the Rageful Hunter: Wolfsbane<br />
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“Wolfsbane was used for the extermination of the wolf population by dipping the arrows into the poison. It was also used for warfare in the same way. With this scent we were trying to capture the virility of a hunter, the rage of a warrior and the ferocity of a wolf. It's so vicious and intense. I wanted it to be a macho scent, so dripping with raw male sex appeal and rage that you don't know if he's going to kill you or fuck you. That's what we were going for, and making it opulent. Not only in the sense of dark, rich woods but by literally having symbols of wealth in there. That's why we added black truffle to reinforce this excess of luxury. We also wanted it to be so full of rage as to be psychedelically intense and got that twist by incorporating absinthe into the heart note.”<br />
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The Tale of the Deflowered Floral: Lily of the Valley<br />
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“Lily of the Valley is a light floral. Muguet was always used to celebrate innocence in spring time. It's said to come from the tears of the Virgin Mary and used in May Day festivals all over the world. Lily of the valley flower was one we really struggled with. We could not decide on a concept, after two years we were not happy with it and kept going in circles. Finally, we just focused very strictly on it being toxic, because no one has focused on its dark side. You have tons of lily of the valley fragrances out there, but they're all quite floral, innocent, spring-time bullshit. So we wrapped it in a black little veil, dirtied it up with cassis on black leather, corrupted its innocence. I liken it to the wedding dress the next day. It's a floral scent that's deflowered. It's not virgin anymore.<br />
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The Tale of Wicked Liquid: Hemlock<br />
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“In ancient Greece hemlock was used to execute prisoners, most famously Socrates, by inducing vertigo and ultimately death. It’s name is derived from the Greek word for ‘konas’, which means to whirl about, so we added a black vinyl accord to suggest a wicked black liquid. The flower itself grows in green fields, so notes such as crushed leaves and patchouli were added to create a vegetal backdrop.”<br />
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The Tale of Forest Fairies: Digitalis<br />
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“Digitalis in small doses was used for the treatment of heart conditions. In moderate doses it was a hallucinogenic drug, used to summon fairies in the forest and alter one’s state of mind. We wanted to evoke a magical wooded stream through ozonic notes and the scent of wet moss, plus give it a sparkling and bubbly quality with the incorporation of floral notes like iris, jasmine and neroli.”<br />
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The Tale of a Gothic Vampire: Bloodflower<br />
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“Each of the fragrances vary in a spectrum of being very loyal to the folklore all the way over to being completely imaginary, like in the case of the Bloodflower. For me and the perfumer Alexandra Carlin, the first thing that came to mind is the album Bloodflowers by The Cure. So we went into a gothic direction with it. Our concept was to make it really vampiric. We had to add a blood accord, but had to make it more palatable. I was back home for the holidays in Jersey with my very Italian family and what we drink after the meal on Christmas Day is black sambuca. It smells like licorice and anise. I thought, let's try throwing it into the Bloodflower recipe and see what happens. It turns out it really blended nicely with the clove, orris and rose. Suddenly it all harmonized. It transforms the blood accord into sweet blood that you want to lap up. You, the smeller, become the vampire.”<br />
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“One of the fascinating things about bloodflower as a flower is that it's eaten by the monarch caterpillar before it transforms into a butterfly. This notion of metamorphosis is why the fragrance transforms so quickly into this very sweet drydown. And so the accompanying film is really about that metamorphosis, the idea of spiritual ascension, shedding the body and finding the white light.”<br />
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The Tale of the Drunk Moon Goddess: Midnight Datura<br />
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“Midnight datura is a white flower that only blooms at nighttime and is known to glow in the moonlight, hence it's nickname 'moonflower'. It figures into lunar worship and witches used it to hunt and worship the goddesses of the moon, Diana and Artemis. Midnight Datura is an homage to Diana; we imagined many daturas glowing in the moonlight, which is why we made it a super floral scent with 10 different flowers. We gave it a powdery note to suggest the glow. Initially I had some reservation about using powder as an accord as it screams grandma to me, but in this case, the perfumer, Lisa Fleischmann, is only 27 and this is her debut fragrance. Point is, if powder is ok for a 27-year-old, well, then everything old is new again. The femme-fatale here, like Diana, is on the hunt, she's a little drunk (hence the rum note), and wishes to open her flower after midnight. It’s unapologetically sexual, much like Venetian Belladonna.”<br />
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The Tale of Medieval Masculinity: Mandrake<br />
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“Originally Mandrake was shaping up to be a female fragrance, then Carlos Vinals and I had a eureka moment, like wait a second, Man-drake. So we shifted it back over to the masculine side, mainly with the addition of the leather. There is one accord in the scent called deadly addiction accord, that's basically a creamy gourmand wood. With Mandrake, the root is as important as the flower. It's said that when you pull the root out of the ground it emits a sonic shriek that is fatal. In folklore, mandrake was actually used as a kind of medieval Viagra, a fertility enhancer referenced by Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This whole fragrance is really a celebration of the male phallus.”<br />
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“It's also said that if you mix mandrake with milk and verbena you can summon a demon. The creamy gourmand wood aspect is the milk, and then the aromatic aspect that also simulates the scream is the verbena. It's a sexual male fragrance. And to really emphasize the root aspect we added birch leaf and root, which, combined with the creamy gourmand wood, captures the effervescence of root beer. Mandrake itself also smells like apple. It's one of the only poison flowers we really liked the smell of, so it became the essence of a heart note and we reinforced it with pomegranate and rhubarb.”<br />
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The Tale of Narcotic Nectar: Poppy Soma<br />
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“Poppy Soma was done by Emilie Coppermann, who was the understudy of none other than Jean-Louis Sieuzac, who co-created Opium for YSL in the late ‘70s. She wanted reinterpret her mentor's original vision and update the concept for 2016. Our version is vastly different. Poppy Soma is the sweet white sap that bleeds out of the bulbs, which is collected and refined into black tar opium (that is then smoked). Ours is just that, the before and after of the nectar, its sweetness, and the pungent smoke that is then consumed as a drug. It's dream inducing, literally narcotic, and as the Chinese used it for sex, we wanted to impart a warm sensuality to it as well.”<br />
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View the entire article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/features/3421-parfums-quartana-part-1-amp-colon-nine-tales-of-deadly-deception">here</a>.<br />
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Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-9273978618644568492015-04-27T22:23:00.001-07:002015-04-27T22:44:16.265-07:00Dom Perignon & Iris Van Herpen - Metamorphisis<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dom Pérignon has teamed up with Iris van Herpen to explore themes of evolution, transformation and renaissance for their latest Creator collaboration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The fruits of their labor - the Dom Pérignon Limited Edition by Iris van Herpen gift box set and a bespoke sculpture entitled Cocoonase - were unveiled at Pioneer Works Center for Arts and Innovation in Red Hook, with the entire site being immersed in the metallic green color of van Herpen's design for the night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In the following interview, the ANDAM Fashion Award winner and Pérignon's Chef de Cave Richard Geoffroy discuss futuristic innovation and the beauty of creation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How did this collaboration come about?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Richard Geoffroy: Dom Pérignon was drawn to working with Iris van Herpen because of how she pushes established boundaries. She innovates in terms of techniques, technologies and materials, and her creative curiosity extends beyond the world of fashion into all art forms. She revels in contradiction, much like Dom Pérignon, with one foot firmly planted in traditional craftsmanship and the other in futuristic innovation. She is a perfect example of the Power of Creation that Dom Pérignon inspires.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Iris van Herpen: I am so honored to collaborate with Dom Pérignon, which is an exquisite icon and an undeniable symbol of creation and metamorphoses. It is a pleasure to work with a Maison that encourages and inspires creation in all its forms. Dom Pérignon exudes mystery and paradox, embodying its own distinct style yet always reinventing itself. I was strongly attracted by these qualities, as I always want to push fashion to the extreme and embrace contradiction and new forms of expression. Dom Pérignon’s Power of Creation is linked to venturing beyond the frontiers of the known, and inventing extraordinary experiences, sensations, emotions and images. I express this in my work by constantly experimenting with my own creation and in collaboration with other artists and visionaries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What was a key moment in the collaboration?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Iris van Herpen: The most heartening and joyful moment for me was visiting the graceful landscape and monastery of Epernay, experiencing the magical tasting with Richard and hearing his beautiful words. This day was so inspirational for me. One thing he said to me I found particularly mesmerizing as it was a true difference between our worlds of creation in between all our similarities; it is the memory that is in the essence of all his creation, it is the experience and moments of joy that leave traces of memories. He somehow focuses towards the inside of the body, where I focus on the outside of the body. This beautiful difference in creation I found very inspirational and it was the start of my research into fossilization, where change is shaped by time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What is the link between the worlds of fashion and champagne?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Richard Geoffroy: Those who create fashion and those who create champagne do so for the audience who will appreciate and interact with the design or the wine. Our creations are very personal – whether they are creations that we wear on our body to express ourselves, or creations that we physically consume – and both are centered upon forging an ever-greater connection with our followers and lovers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">http://www.domperignon.com/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">http://www.irisvanherpen.com/</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Later,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carla</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Read the full post here: http://ashadedviewonfashion.com/blog/dom-pérignon-iris-van-herpen-metamorphisis</span>Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-68123866903153370722014-07-31T18:08:00.002-07:002014-07-31T18:08:24.975-07:00A Gnarmads Life for Boys By Girls Magazine<div class="content-container bluegh" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #5f6062; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 20px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"> If you think the guys behind Gnarmads are just another two Larry Clark-esque kids splitting their time between the half-pipe and house parties, you are in for a big surprise. Whilst these guys are about as laid back as they come, make no mistake about it, Bodgand and Matt Kruz are in it for more than just a few kickflips.<br /><br /> Kiev-born Bogdan and Brooklyn-born Kruz first bonded over their love of skating on a Sunset Park basketball court over a decade ago. Today, the 23-year-olds spend their time skating, biking and giving back to their community through various charity and mentoring projects. “Skateboarding has no boundaries. Race doesn’t matter, age doesn’t matter - if you share a love for skateboarding, that automatically connects you,” Kruz comments. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As Gnarmads (inspired by Bogdan’s ‘gnar’ knee tattoo and both of their nomadic lifestyles) the two have launched the world’s first mobile skate shop, Tre Truck, collaborated with the Create Skateboard Foundation on children’s skating programmes, and put on a skateboard contest in NYC’s Coleman Park Skatepark among other things.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">This month sees Bogdan and Kruz set off on their biggest adventure yet: a cross-country bike journey from NYC to San Francisco, with all benefits proceeding the Stoke Organization’s youth mentoring programs. “Skateboarding teaches you how to keep going no matter how many times you fail. There are tricks that I’ve practised for months, walking back every single week with failure and wanting to break my skateboard and quit. But then the next day you wake up and that rush is still there. That's why we are now riding our bicycles to San Francisco: we want to just keep pushing forward,” Bogdan says. In between the 4,000+ miles on their way to California, Gnarmads will make pit stops in 13 different cities to do skate clinics and organise jams to showcase local skate culture, documenting their journey through photos, videos and written content in the process. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: transparent;"> As with all things the two have pursued thus far, there seems to be an accompanying sense of ease and positivity even to this very ambitious project. “We’re planning to be on the road for at least four months,” Bogdan explains. “We are not even trying to plan anything after that - anything could happen. This is probably going to be the biggest adventure of our life.” Support the project</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><a href="http://www.gofundme.com/gnarmads" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #414042; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">here</a><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent;">and for regular updates follow Gnarmads’</span><span style="background-color: transparent;"> </span><a href="http://gnarmads.tv/" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; color: #414042; margin: 0px; outline: none !important; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">visual diaries</a><span style="background-color: transparent;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Read the entire post<a href="http://www.boysbygirls.co.uk/index.php/news/a-gnarmads-life"> here</a>.</span></div>
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Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-53593916968198817292014-07-16T18:05:00.005-07:002017-09-21T07:33:35.895-07:00Nastasia Alberti Interview for A Shaded View on Fashion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Annin Arts is bringing art to the masses, literally, with their latest exhibition #MYNAMEIS. The show sees five artworks by Nastasia Alberti, Duval Timothy, Kevin Morosky, Annie Mackin and Gillian Wearing displayed on single billboards throughout London. While #MYNAMEIS brings up intriguing questions surrounding a different kind of interaction with art outside of exclusive gallery walls, its main focus lies in the importance, perception and burdens of names.</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">London-based artist Nastasia Alberti chose Slutever blogger and Vogue columnist Karley Sciortino as her subject, depicting the writer in a sepia-toned portrait. In the following interview, Alberti discusses hours of location scouting in public libraries, the single image that inspired her to take up photography and why art consumption needs to catch up with our busy schedules.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>When was the first time you realized you were interested in photography?</b></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I start being interested in it when I was about 13 or 14 years old. I can remember that moment exactly: I went to an exhibition with my family and saw a Francesca Woodman photograph, the one where she's disappearing into the wall. That image had a very strong impact on me. Somehow it was showing what I was feeling. From then on, I wanted to do the same.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>How do you go about creating your images and what inspires them?</b></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I usually get inspired by my own life. I try to talk about emotions, about feelings.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>What was the working process on this exhibition like?</b></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It was really quick. The first aspect was choosing the girl and then timing. When George Annin told me about the exhibition and the subject that Gillian Wearing wanted us to work with, I got a bit freaked out because it was far away from what I usually do. But once I passed that stage it was really fun. I proposed my idea of working with Karley Sciortino to the gallery and they completely supported me, which was great. So then it was only a matter of organization, I had to go to NYC to see her.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>Talk to me about the composition and overall feel you were going for in your photograph.</b></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I wanted something moody but peaceful in her expression and an image that somehow would show Karley as a strong person. It was very important that she was seated at a desk surrounded by books. We walked around in the NYC library for hours to find the right place. I really wanted the photo to remind people of those old portrait paintings of writers, where they were always pictured sitting at their old desks with glasses on, looking very wealthy and serious.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>How do you see the photograph interpreting the themes of the exhibition?</b></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I really wanted to create a piece on the expectation that goes with names, the idea of clichés and stereotypes that a name can bring. Everyone in the show has done such a different and personal piece of work which is really awesome.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>What was the collaboration with Karley Sciortino like and why did you choose her as your subject?</b></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It was so much fun! I love her so much. We basically hung out in NYC all day talking about our lives and taking some photographs. She is the best person to work with because she is very open. She trusts you to do whatever you think is best. When I decided I needed to talk about stereotypes and clichés that came with a name I needed someone with a strong image. It obviously needed to be someone that when you say their name you have an image of said person pop up in your mind straight away.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I thought of Karley straight away because she is the perfect example. I feel that she is one of the best writers of our generation, and she's so smart, but as soon as you mention her name the first thing people seem to have in mind is not her writing but more her boobs, her sexy clothes, her hair, etc. Just because she talks about sex does not mean that she only has to be this sexy girl. It's so cliched and one-dimensional. People have put her in that box : the super sexy writer who talk about sex. So for me, depicting her in a classic portrait looking so different was thrilling, because this seems to be the image that writer should have, which is also a cliché. It was also important for me to work with a woman.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b>How do you see the public’s interaction with these images, displayed on billboards throughout London, differing from that of a gallery setting? Do you think these kind of shows are perhaps more relevant to our times?</b></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I think it's a brilliant idea, it is relevant to our times and an easier way to consume art that matches our busy lives in this ever-changing social climate. I have a tendency to think that gallery shows are always a bit too snobbish, and not that open to everyone. For me this setting is so much more open, you don't need to take your Saturday off work to go to a gallery, you can just walk to your shop and see art. It's so smart. Everyone is included in this; you can be a young kid and still have access to it. I love that idea.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What are your upcoming projects and goals for the future?</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></b><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Recently I've been very interested in working in cinema, on set photographs. I would really like to do that for a bit. I'm also gathering more material in order to hopefully publish a book by the end of next year. My biggest project at the moment is getting my US visa as I would like to settle down in NYC for a long time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">#MYNAMEIS is on display until July 7 at the following locations:</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Karley Sciortino by Nastasia Alberti - 129/127 Hackney Road, E2 7QS - Billboard no 0237</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Gillian Wearing by Gillian Wearing - London Bridge Station, SE1 9SL - Billboard no 1331<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lateefa Smith / Chang Jian Wen by Kevin Morosky - 178 Westbourne Grove, W11 2AD - Billboard no 1458</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Annie Mac by Annie Mackin - Camden Town, Camden Road Station, NW1 9LS - Billboard no 1105<br /> </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">'London Bridge Arizona Arizona London Bridge' by Duval Timothy - London Bridge Station, Duke Street Hill, SE1 2SW - Billboard no 8171</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.nastasiaalberti.com/">http://www.nastasiaalberti.com</a></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.anninarts.com/">http://www.anninarts.com</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.anninarts.com/"><br /></a></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Later,</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carla</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the full article <a href="http://ashadedviewonfashion.com/blog/nastasia-alberti-power-clich%C3%A9s-importance-public-art-and-collaborating-karley-sciortino">here</a>.</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><br />
Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-77796941411966097002014-07-16T18:03:00.000-07:002014-07-16T18:03:43.259-07:00Beautiful Savage: The Man Issue for A Shaded View on Fashion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Most magazines, upon releasing an edition called The Man Issue, would probably scout a cover star with A-list credentials, a six-pack and expertly coiffed hair. Then again, Beautiful Savage isn't like most magazines.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For the cover of its third issue, the independent art and fashion glossy chose model, DJ and Lana del Rey music video regular Bradley Soileau. With his delicate features and heavily tattooed exterior, Soileau is the perfect embodiment of the issue's theme of modern masculinity. Inside the magazine, readers will find interviews with the likes of JD Samson, Sebastian Errazuriz, Asher Levine and Theo Gosselin. "The whole magazine is about telling stories about people who do beautiful and challenging pieces of work. I never worked at a magazine before, and I was like, 'fuck it. let's just make something really dark and cool'. Beautiful Savage, was a name I chose to represent visually stunning works that possess subversive or challenging themes," explains the magazine's editior-in-chief Chad Saville.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The story behind the birth of Beautiful Savage is just as unconventional as its content. After suffering from a spinal cord injury that nearly left him paralyzed, Saville was inspired to start the magazine in February 2013. "My friends, a bunch of photographers, artists, and basically art and fashion nerds, would hang out with me a lot and like take out my trash and make my bed for me. And I sort of rediscovered journalism through my love of art and fashion and magazines. During that time, the only thing I would do is take pictures and hang out in art galleries," he explains. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In the end, it begs to question: what is the ethos that lies at the heart of Beautiful Savage? "Our mission is to connect with jaw-dropping artists and to tell their story. We're not really interested in who's a celebrity, or the illusion of exclusivity, or fashion parties and all that stuff," Saville says. "It's more about, who really are the important artists, independent or otherwise, and what makes them remarkable."</span></div>
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<a href="http://beautifulsavage.com/" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s linear; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s linear;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">http://beautifulsavage.com</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Later,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carla</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Read the full article <a href="http://ashadedviewonfashion.com/blog/beautiful-savage-magazine-man-issue">here</a>.</span></div>
Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-82424624395200830372014-07-16T17:58:00.002-07:002014-07-16T17:59:37.907-07:00Giovanni Sammarco Interview for Basenotes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">The story of </span><a href="http://www.basenotes.net/person/954" style="background-color: white; color: #417394; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Giovanni Sammarco</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">’s company is best described as one of a road less taken: originally (and still currently studying as) a law student, he soon transitioned into perfume-making after discovering the world of fragrance and has since relocated to Switzerland to create artisanal fragrances without EU restrictions.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">Today the exuberant Italian sells perfumes, raw materials and bespoke fragrances through his online store, the three scents under the </span><a href="http://www.basenotes.net/company/103937" style="background-color: white; color: #417394; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Sammarco</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;"> brand name being </span><a href="http://www.basenotes.net/ID26137016.html" style="background-color: white; color: #417394; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Alter</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">, a feminine concoction of sambac jasmine, rose, incense and mimosa; </span><a href="http://www.basenotes.net/ID26137009.html" style="background-color: white; color: #417394; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Vitrum</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">, a smoky mix of rose and vetiver; and </span><a href="http://www.basenotes.net/ID26137017.html" style="background-color: white; color: #417394; line-height: 21px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Bond-T</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">, a gourmand scent with notes of cocoa absolute, patchouli and osmanthus.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">In the following interview, Sammarco discusses his love of animalic raw materials, the challenges of running an independent perfume company and why nature is the master perfumer of the world.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">Tell me about your journey from law student to self-made perfumer.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I don’t know exactly how it all happened to be honest. I was often asked about it and sometimes I thought about creating an intriguing story to tell..but the truth is that it was all spontaneous. After my masters degree, I began to be interested in the perfumery world and then one thing led to another.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">As a company that sells tinctures such as civet and ambergris, what is your opinion on the synthetic alternatives to these materials? Are they a more sustainable solution or a soulless fragrant alternative?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">For me, synthetic substitutes of animalic raw materials are not a suitable solution. If you smell the naturals and the synthetics you will notice immediately that these are two different worlds. If you use them in perfumes, the difference is clear: only the natural ingredients have the soul and power to excite and give life to the perfumes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">What are the challenges of running your own company and creating on an artisanal level?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">There are many challenges. The first is to sell. Being independent, there is a lot of competition and you have to find your space in this world.<br /><br />If you really make everything on an artisanal level, this means that you have to take care of the administrative side of the work; you have to stay in contact with suppliers, couriers, public offices and Alcosuisse.<br /><br />Also, obviously you have to create the perfumes, bottle them, prepare the tinctures, develop new ideas and products, promote yourself, follow perfume blogs and communities, choose fairs to attend, and last but not least, look at your bank account balance.<br /><br />Making everything by hand gives you total control of the production process and quality, but it’s not easy.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">Seeing as you also create bespoke fragrances, what are your thoughts on the idea of finding one’s signature fragrance in a store-bought version? Can one’s true signature fragrance only be found in the highly individual art of bespoke perfumery?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I think that one of the leading values in perfumery has to be freedom. If one finds their signature fragrance at a store, then that’s great and it does not have lesser value than a bespoke fragrance.<br /><br />A perfume must give us positive feelings, so if I find my perfume in a store, why not?Bespoke creation is something different, not only a signature fragrance but more a tailor-made perfume because you (the client) are the creator together with the perfumer and you can also choose to have exclusive use of the final formula. Only when both say its okay is the perfume really finished. This requires a lot of time and many meetings, but the perfume will be tailored to you and nobody will have the same perfume.<br /><br />I also create so-called mini bespoke fragrances for those who want a personalized fragrances but can’t afford a fully bespoke creation or have a lower budget. Mini bespoke is a single bottle of personalised perfume: no meetings, the customer tells me their preferences and I will work on them and send them samples of different trials. The mini bespoke doesn’t include the exclusivity of the formula.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">Each one of your fragrances really harnesses the natural power of raw materials - from the moist, earthy smell of Vitrum to the rich cocoa notes of Bond-T and the lush florals of Alter. Do you think there is any connection between these olfactory experiences and the fact that you create them in the nature-entrenched world of Switzerland?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Here in Switzerland, especially where I live, in Appenzell, nature is part of my daily life. Here it is easy to come across cows, goats and sheep and the mountains are around the corner. I love this place and the strong contact with nature that the Swiss have. I usually search for farmers to buy fresh milk, cheese and eggs from, and every time I discover a new world of smells and tastes. And yes, I think this influences my work and my connection with raw materials, because I never forget that nature is the master perfumer of the world.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;">Bond-T, Alter and Vitrum are all very individual fragrances in their own right, but what would you say is the Giovanni Sammarco olfactory trademark?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I don’t know if my creations have an olfactory trademark. I think that the common thread is something dark and animalic. I love to work with animal scents and even when I don’t use them in the perfume I like to create a sensual and dirty effect.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><b style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; line-height: 21px;"><br />What is the one scent that sticks out in your mind to this day?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The smell of raw goat’s milk. I had searched for it for a long time and found it yesterday on a farm here in Appenzell. I did not imagine how tasty it is. And its smell is really amazing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the full article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/content/2011-Giovanni-Sammarco-on-the-challenges-of-independent-perfume-making">here</a>.</span></div>
Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-28170214046340647952014-07-16T17:54:00.001-07:002014-07-16T17:54:05.120-07:00Twisted Lily Boutique Opening Report for Basenotes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAu8LV9y6qG3QP6nlHY0g4QSC_PvmZDBq_2Tik2LXm9RUzca-YDxcbTuZYdfalt5fCL-opru9tztlB5HCjMFHtIcekdqq_31Bqkqby1fhmCTLbRku_2F_SkM_dj8JekxVxsfbaT0b4ho/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-16+at+8.52.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAu8LV9y6qG3QP6nlHY0g4QSC_PvmZDBq_2Tik2LXm9RUzca-YDxcbTuZYdfalt5fCL-opru9tztlB5HCjMFHtIcekdqq_31Bqkqby1fhmCTLbRku_2F_SkM_dj8JekxVxsfbaT0b4ho/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-16+at+8.52.53+PM.png" height="544" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Twisted Lily Fragrance Boutique and Apothecary can best be described as the NYC version of perfume nirvana - think sleek wooden floors, purist white walls and rows upon rows of niche fragrances.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">At the boutique’s opening in Boerum Hill this past week, guests were greeted with Pear & Olive martinis (inspired by Josh Lobb’s creation of the same name for his Portland-based brand Slumberhouse) and introduced to the store’s 30 different fragrance brands, ranging from Brooklyn natives D.S. Durga and CB I Hate Perfume to French provocateurs Etat Libre D’Orange and all-natural brands like Providence Perfume Co. and Undergreen.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Twisted Lily is the exclusive NYC carrier of brands including Maison Dorin, Jardins D’Ecrivains and Smellbent, plus the first store to bring Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Amouage, Montale and Penhaligon’s to the BK. Presenting an all-around approach, the shop also offers home fragrances, bath and body, make up and skincare products from a range of indie brands like Rouge Bunny Rouge and In Fiore.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #3e3e3e; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The founders behind the boutique are Eric Weiser and Stamatis Birsimijoglou, who previously created the popular e-commerce site Parfum1.com. “Our philosophy for Twisted Lily is Think Global. Act Local,” explains Weiser, “it’s not about the immediate sale but building relationships and discovering the language of perfume with our customers.” This friendly and sample-happy environment makes the visit to Twisted Lily one of calm olfactory exploration, rather than profit-orientated pressure. Birsimijoglou perfectly sums up the ethos of their endeavour by stating: “We are firm believers that individuality is the spirit of fragrance—and no two people should smell alike.”</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #3e3e3e; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">View the full article <a href="http://www.basenotes.net/content/1808-Twisted-Lily-Fragrance-Boutique-and-Apothecary-opens-in-Brooklyn">here</a>.</span></span></span>Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-9695907511706583092014-07-16T17:50:00.002-07:002014-07-16T17:59:09.857-07:00JC de Castelbajac Resort 2015 Report for A Shaded View on Fashion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38JheSx11MuXrb5yrs4uX4PGwyjaoDILt1Gzn0L2Y8qsS5cefUrOCTMyGjDIO7Pvb8dSyIL8WfW2LpeKSYVkRA1dxYHuux6JrKvTK9aw891cU9E6KmDNJvliqChNLxKTJj7DkdDMTc_U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-16+at+8.49.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi38JheSx11MuXrb5yrs4uX4PGwyjaoDILt1Gzn0L2Y8qsS5cefUrOCTMyGjDIO7Pvb8dSyIL8WfW2LpeKSYVkRA1dxYHuux6JrKvTK9aw891cU9E6KmDNJvliqChNLxKTJj7DkdDMTc_U/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-07-16+at+8.49.20+PM.png" height="346" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jean-Charles de Castelbajac put his own upbeat spin on French Riviera elegance for the Resort 2015 season. Inspired by the paintings of Henri Matisse and illustrations of Jean Cocteau, the designer infused classic and casual pieces such as jersey shift dresses and silk jumpsuits with a new livelihood thanks to trompe l'oeil prints, 3D shoulder details and cane weave cutouts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">More restrained silhouettes and colors such as cream and olive were contrasted with splashes of red and quirky parasol prints for a collection that managed to be simultaneously chic and cheerful.</span></div>
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<a href="http://jc-de-castelbajac.com/" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-transition: all 0.2s linear; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.2s linear;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">http://jc-de-castelbajac.com</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Later,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carla</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the full article <a href="http://ashadedviewonfashion.com/blog/jc-de-castelbajac-resort-2015">here</a>.</span></div>
Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-13156708087817214862014-03-18T23:42:00.002-07:002014-03-18T23:42:53.492-07:00Diane Pernet on the Future of Fashion Film for Dazed Digital<div class="embed-content" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #222222; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 24px;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 0.85em;">After making pit stops in Milan, Tokyo and Moscow, </span><a href="http://www.ashadedviewonfashionfilm.com/" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 0.85em;" target="_blank">A Shaded View on Fashion Festival</a><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 0.85em;"> unveiled its NYC edition this weekend, presented in partnership with FIAF and Kering. Aside from the eclectic mix of fashion films, the event also featured talks with directors Mike Figgis and Jerry Schatzberg, as well as a screening of Schatzberg’s pivotal film, </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 0.85em;">Puzzle of a Downfall Child</em><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 0.85em;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“It was a big deal for me to do ASVOFF here. I think it’s really important to show the diversity of what you can reflect on fashion through film,” Pernet says. “That’s the whole DNA of the festival, the diversity and as well the international aspect. Every time the festival travels, the idea is to inspire and be inspired; to get more directors to submit films and more collaborations between directors and designers. It’s just about always trying to push the level up, up, up.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In celebration of ASVOFF NYC, Dazed asked founder and fashion film pioneer, Diane Pernet to chart her five favourite fashion films from the festival’s selection.</span></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">THE FOUR DREAMS OF MISS X - SHADOWS BY MIKE FIGGIS, STARRING KATE MOSS</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-size: 0.85em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“I think it’s so amazing and figuring that when she was filmed, because it’s night vision, she was walking in total darkness. It’s just her and him. It creates such a mood and shows a product well. It’s a film first. And okay, the fashion is a protagonist but it’s not like, “Here’s the product”. It has no sell-out date. It’s absolutely as valid now as it was when it was made. It’s her first acting role and he’s such a brilliant director. Even when she bumps into something because she’s in the dark, it’s great. And playing with the voice, these are things you can do in film, you can’t do it in a photo shoot.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 0.85em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“I just love that film. I never tire of looking at that. Again, it’s really constructed as a film. It’s not a photo shoot, it’s a film and you get totally into the characters. They look great, the way it builds up with the sense of humour, because I think humour is something we’re really missing in fashion. I like the character development, the scene with the dog in the park, the washing the car and then the end, the dress. How much better could you show fashion? That was so good. It’s all about desire, isn’t it? The idea of doing a fashion shoot or a fashion show, it’s want and desire on one level or another and that crystallised it for me. And the actors, they’re bonafide actors, the script is great and you can’t help but laugh with it.”</span></span></div>
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<strong style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I WANT MUSCLE BY ELISHA SMITH-LEVEROCK, FEATURING KIZZY VAINES</span></strong></div>
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<span style="font-size: 0.85em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“That film has a special meaning to me. Everybody has a different concept of what beauty is, and this particular woman, she looks so powerful. I like what she said, just her approach about power and her sense of beauty, which is, like anything, so open to interpretation. What I might think is beautiful, you might think is hideous or vice versa. The way that the soundtrack was too, the credits, the colour – the whole thing I just loved it. And again, it has no sell out date, it will be as relevant in ten years as it is right now, all of those films. To me, that is what I’m looking for, which in a way maybe is the opposite of what fashion is supposed to be. Fashion is supposed to have a sell out date, otherwise the industry doesn’t continue. But I think there should be no sell out date for concepts and brands.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 0.85em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“I’ve loved Erwin Olaf and his work for a long time. I’ve seen a lot of his films. He’s had maybe four films in my festivals over the years. This one was in You Wear It Well, which was in 2006, my festival before ASVOFF. I like the way the set is, the tension sort of builds up. It’s very stylised, very provocative in its own way. It just leaves you wanting more.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 0.85em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“It’s fantastic because you have the story of these widows that after they became widows had to wear white, they could now wear colours. It’s celebrating the widows of Varanasi. It’s also interesting to me because Manish was on the jury for ASVOFF three years ago. He got so into the whole process, that’s what inspired him to make a film. (The making of the film) was under the worst conditions like a low budget and they hadn’t had so many monsoons in forty years. Bishi (Bhattacharya), she’s got an amazing voice and an amazing presence. They’re a great match. It’s a beautiful story and you really see the clothes. And all those things that happened by chance like the guy in the red toga walking by, there are all these little incidents. Even the fact that the rain was so intense that where you had those pyres, normally you would see them from the ground up, you only saw from the top because the water was so high. It was really hard to shoot. You see all the water in there, it was a mess, but they did it with passion. They almost got electrocuted in the boats, but they did it a hundred percent. He couldn’t believe it when he won three prizes, he was totally shocked.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the full article <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/19269/1/diane-pernet-on-the-future-of-fashion-film">here</a>. </span>Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-57583589613165171212014-03-18T23:30:00.003-07:002014-03-18T23:30:48.772-07:00Unzipping the Universe for Dazed Digital<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQM3zo_8HKfN7M_LhyzI24DlLD5fUwutkJccMIExd-S2qh7sJddksvBRlPorFZix6FZZqAtDddbxz4BSWyMrdCrX21CixpFeTR5-Y9aLoIIP9QA1AFYRhKzp-spuWeDNXBN4OPk1FOJms/s3200/Screen+Shot+2014-03-19+at+2.29.51+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQM3zo_8HKfN7M_LhyzI24DlLD5fUwutkJccMIExd-S2qh7sJddksvBRlPorFZix6FZZqAtDddbxz4BSWyMrdCrX21CixpFeTR5-Y9aLoIIP9QA1AFYRhKzp-spuWeDNXBN4OPk1FOJms/s3200/Screen+Shot+2014-03-19+at+2.29.51+AM.png" height="378" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Since its inception in 2006 the ITS ACCESSORIES awards, organised in partnership with fastening manufacturer YKK, has been a champion of young and innovative design talent. Past winners of the competition’s YKK award (a €10,000 cash prize which sees finalists integrate the company’s fastenings into their product) have shown that a plethora of creative possibilities lie in between the zipper’s two seemingly simple rows of metal teeth, from Percy Lau’s horizon-enhancing eyewear, to Benjamin John Hall’s resurrection-exploring footwear and Laura Amstein’s graphically-moulded accessories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In anticipation of this year’s awards, the latest creative to interpret YKK’s fastening object is filmmaker Justin Hantz, who has previously worked with the likes of Kool A.D. and Islands alongside creating films for brands including Hex and Alien NYC. The resulting clip can be best described as a psychedelic, action animation trip. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The zipper is utilised as an active portal on this visually-stimulating voyage, revealing one dimension of 3D effects and trippy optical illusions after another, each one more intense and kaleidoscopic than its predecessor. Prismatic colours, geometric shapes and swirling zips collide with intensely saturated clouds, free-floating Grecian columns and spiralling vortexes along the way, proving once again the infinite possibilities of creation that one humble fastening can bring.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">View the full article <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/19087/1/unzipping-the-universe">here</a>.</span>Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-90647308594543993092014-02-04T21:27:00.001-08:002014-02-04T21:28:08.055-08:00Billy Kidd on Transcience for Anothermag.com<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Fashion and art photographer Billy Kidd discusses the transformative powers of decay, Renaissance art influences and the need for a reevaluation of beauty</div>
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New York-based photographer Billy Kidd, who has shot campaigns for the likes of Nike, Anthropologie and Eres plus photographed figures including Jeff Koons and James Franco, coincidentally discovered his craft whilst studying for a degree in computer engineering thirteen years ago. Entirely self-taught and the recipient of five PDN awards, Kidd has already exhibited his artistic endeavors at venues such as Clic Gallery and 10 Corso Como.</div>
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His sophomore solo exhibition, Transience, is a vivid visual study of beauty and mortality, placing the youthful curves of black and white nudes alongside heavily colour-saturated, yet simultaneously dying, flower still lifes. The fluid curves of the female body are mirrored in the soft shapes of wilting petals, both still bearing their organic imperfections, be it in the form of a birthmark on the lower back or veins tracing their way through the decaying floral matter. Following the opening of his show at Masters & Pelavin Gallery, Kidd sat down with AnOther to talk about the challenges of time in photography and the construction of beauty through life.</div>
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You decided to specifically pursue fashion photography early on in your career. Is there one favourite fashion image that still resonates in your mind today?</div>
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There is no one image but one man: Irving Penn. I especially like the portraits of his wife, Truman Capote, and his still lifes for Vogue.</div>
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What was the biggest challenge of creating this series?</div>
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Time was and still is the biggest challenge. I'm trying to catch these flowers at the right moment in between life and death. Too early and it's just a pretty picture of a flower, too late and you've lost the flower's character. Sometimes I would leave my camera pointed at a flower for days in front of a window waiting for it to sit just right.</div>
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How did your love of sculpture and Renaissance art influence the look of the nude photographs?</div>
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I think that comes out in my editing process. I'm a very organic shooter, often letting the model start to twist, turn and exaggerate her body. I'm sure subconsciously, the small directions I give send them into that realm, although in the editing process I often look for the more full bodies — the image you could feel with your hands.</div>
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The message behind the photographs is especially interesting given fashion's obsession with youth and Photoshopped perfection. Can you elaborate on the themes of beauty, decay and imperfection in this exhibition?</div>
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I feel we need to reevaluate how we link youth with beauty. As a flower dries and decays, the multitude of veins running throughout the petals and leaves begin to emerge in stark contrast to the body of the flower. The shape and feel of the flower is beautifully transformed in its maturity and eventual death. A shallow beauty can become a deeper, more fascinating beauty through life, akin to a pretty young girl becoming an even more beautiful woman who has realised that potential. You really do have to see the show in person. I arranged the images in such a way that the nudes of young women would reflect in the image opposite it, always a decaying flower and vice versa. My favourite combination is the duotone red/white rose which I have reflecting against the headless torso with a long scratch down her body. When standing in front of the nude, the flower perfectly reflects in the shadow of her body.</div>
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How do you find contrasts feeding into your work, i.e. beauty versus imperfection, youth versus death?</div>
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We have to be careful with the question because it implies that beauty is a constant. Imperfection is defined as an undesirable feature. Yet that undesirable feature may be the thing that another finds beautiful. So in a sense beauty can not be defined but can only be what that person believes beauty to be.</div>
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Transience marks the part one of a series, with the follow-up set to depict older women and seedlings. What can you tell us about this photographic sequel?</div>
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It's to drive home the fact that beauty is life, not youth.</div>
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Billy Kidd: Transience is at Masters & Pelavin, New York City, until December 7.</div>
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Read the full article <a href="http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/3151/Billy_Kidd_on_Transcience">here</a>.</div>
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Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-88802339220328325822013-10-20T08:33:00.002-07:002013-10-20T08:39:54.051-07:00Jordan Sullivan: The Young Earth for Dazed Digital<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After artistic endeavours like capturing New Mexico’s Indian summers for <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/11306/1/jordan-sullivans-ghost-country"><span class="s1"><i>The Ghost Country</i></span></a>, Jordan Sullivan’s latest project saw the Houston-born photographer leave behind the desolate American desert for the scenic splendour of Iceland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The resulting volume one of his <i>Wandering Days</i> book series, <i>A Young Earth</i>, mixes Sullivan’s evocative landscape imagery and voyeuristic portraits with poetry, prose and historical fiction anecdotes. The photo-text novella tells the story of two twenty-something Americans attempting to come to grips with their own mortality, friendship and destructive love triangles of the past - all whilst trekking through the idyllic Icelandic landscape.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dazed Digital caught up with Sullivan to speak about the recreation of forgotten family photographs, car breakdowns in the middle of the Nordic mountains and trips from heaven to hell and back. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dazed Digital: Where did your inspiration for the story come from?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jordan Sullivan: I don't usually work from inspiration, I just work every day. I do follow paths and ideas, and have always been interested in the idea of ending at another beginning - the end of youth, the end of love, what comes next, the new worlds we discover when we finally move on. I knew this story needed to deal with death, specifically dying young. My friends and I were confronting some of the same things the characters in my story are, at least with regards to getting older. The specifics of the story were a little hazy until I started shooting it and looking at the images. I tried to let the feeling I got from the final pictures guide me when writing the text, though I did have this dream of a guy driving his friend to the afterlife. They get in a car and drive to this dead end, the man drops his friend off and then drives back to earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">DD: What were the most memorable moments during the production of this series?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jordan Sullivan: Sleeping on the sides of roads, watching the yellow moon rise, running out of gas in the mountains in a snowstorm 200 miles from the nearest town, being in one of the most strange and beautiful places in the world with my best friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">DD: What compelled you to create a novella as opposed to a photography-only book, and how did the creative process differ when thinking about the combination of text and image, as opposed to just the visuals?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jordan Sullivan: I have always had an interest in the interaction between image and text. I love stories and fiction. Growing up, I was always reading and watching films. I sometimes feel more like a writer or storyteller than an artist or a photographer. <i>The Young Earth</i> is as much a novella and a poem as it is a photography book in my mind. The challenge was to create images that illustrated the feeling of the story rather than just the action or the plot. The book needed to flow like music in that way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">DD: How did the surroundings of Iceland inspire you as an artist and why did you decided to set the story in this specific location?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jordan Sullivan: Iceland is one of the youngest bodies of land in the world, so it seemed to have potential to act as this mirror for the inner lives of my characters, both of whom were leaving their youth. The story needed to be shot in an empty and open space, as well as a very beautiful space, and I didn't want to shoot it in America. I wanted these men to be in a completely foreign place. I wanted to go somewhere I had never been before as well, a place I couldn't imagine. Iceland is a place one would go on vacation and that was important because the two men in this book are very much on vacation in some ways, albeit their last. Iceland is a realistic place that they would visit, and realism is at the core of all my work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Those were always the most beautiful to me. In some ways I imagine some of the pictures in <i>The Young Earth</i> as those photographs - the forgotten ones, the ones that didn't make it in the family or vacation album. I wanted this story to sort of be like this mundane document of a vacation that turns into this whole existential and tragic thing. I really love that film <i>Gerry</i> by Gus Van Sant, where these two friends just go hiking and get lost and the film becomes this massive portrait of life and death and survival, but in this really quiet and understated way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">DD: Does shooting the images in 35 mm and Polaroid as opposed to digital film make the process feel more precious in a way, or was there another reason for choosing this medium?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jordan Sullivan: When I shot this a year ago, I didn't really know how to use a digital camera and didn't own one. 35mm was all I really knew how to shoot. Also, my vacations with my family were always shot on film, so I wanted to bring that quality to the book. Both the characters in the story are children of the film era, children of the 90's. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">DD: In the images human and nature, the tiny object and the panoramic landscape appear to contrast one another. What was your intention when using these two ‘opposites’ throughout the series?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jordan Sullivan: I wanted the pictures to seem as if they were shot from multiple perspectives - first, second, and third - so I needed vast, intimate and omniscient views. Some pictures could be from the narrator's perspective, others from the earth's perspective. There's very much a back and forth between the portraits and landscapes. I wanted the images in the book to sort of grow like a vine, tangling all these people and places together. The characters in the story are trying to connect with themselves, the world and their past. I wanted to express that pictorially through all these different juxtapositions of people and nature. Also, the idea of time in a landscape is very interesting to me. My friend Emma Phillips, who is a wonderful landscape photographer, introduced me to this, and I really thought about it a lot when making <i>The Young Earth</i>, as well as the ways in which a place or a person can trigger a memory. A place can very much embody the feeling of a person and vice versa. We are always existing in so many places at once; the present and the past, our internal and external spaces, are constantly colliding wherever we are. The narrator of the story is simultaneously exploring all these parts of the world and himself. He's coming to grips with the inevitable death of his best friend, looking at this foreign place, roaming through landscapes, investigating the history of that land, and recalling his own history, the things he's buried, forgotten and been too afraid to confront.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">DD: How do you see the overarching themes of mortality, friendship, love, youth and beauty portrayed in the final images?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jordan Sullivan: The last chapter of the book is my favourite. It's filled with light and joy. It's a beginning of sorts. I wanted the end to be a celebration filled with hope and light and colour. I love that scene in Akira Kurosawa's <i>Dreams</i> where the funeral procession is a parade with singing, dancing and laughter. <i>The Young Earth</i> is in many ways a celebration of endings and death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">DD: What can we expect next from the <i>Wandering Days</i> series?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Jordan Sullivan: <i>Wandering Days</i> is a quartet of books. The second I finished shooting in NYC recently, the third will be shot in Naples, Italy this summer, and the fourth will be shot in the southern United States. It should keep me busy for a while.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Jordan Sullivan's The Young Earth is published 31 October, available for pre-order from Amazon or Barnes and Noble.</i><br />
<i>For print sales please contact Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art:</i><a href="http://www.phhfineart.com/"><span class="s1"><i> </i></span><span class="s3"><i>www.phhfineart.com.</i></span></a></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.jordan-sullivan.com/"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">www.jordan-sullivan.com</span></i></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Read the full article <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/17487/1/jordan-sullivan-the-young-earth">here</a>.</span></div>
Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-19582123727769022692013-10-20T08:25:00.000-07:002013-10-20T08:25:07.294-07:00Siki Im SS14 Show Report for A Shaded View on Fashion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Upon entering the abandoned car park venue of the SIKI IM SS14 show, it became evident that this wasn't just going to be your run-of-the-mill, three-piece suit routine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Instead, models appeared to have just (stylishly) escaped from the psych ward — Saran wrap adornments and all. The collection, entitled <em>Remorse</em>, was inspired by the themes of crime, judgement, guilt and regret, as well as the following excerpts from Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel <em>Crime and Punishment</em>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">"He was standing over the river, he may have sensed a profound lie in himself and in his convictions. He did not understand that this sense might herald a future break in his life, his future resurrection, his future new vision of life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">He looked at his fellow convicts amazed: how they, too, all loved life, how they valued it! It precisely seemed to him that in prison they loved and valued it even more, cherished it even more than in freedom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be punishment—as well as the prison."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The collection took on garments otherwise reserved for wear in penitentiaries and hospitals but liberated them into becoming something more: medical scrubs transformed into silky nylon tunics and straitjackets into slim-cut blazers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Paper-nylon raincoats hung asymmetrically off of the body as if to hint at the sense of dysfunction present within its wearer, a majority of the cuts were "oversized like prison uniforms", and as an ode to the body art of the incarcerated, Im collaborated with tattoo artist MxM Maxime Büchi on a range of tattoo prints for the season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">All in all, this collection managed to take on a very poetic, and at times disturbing, subject matter and translate it into beautifully thought-provoking pieces. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.sikiim.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">http://www.sikiim.com/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Later,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carla</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Read the full article <a href="http://dianepernet.typepad.com/diane/2013/09/siki-im-ss14.html">here</a>.</span></div>
Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-68194235192422157102013-10-20T08:21:00.002-07:002013-10-20T08:47:23.079-07:00Hiroyuki Ito Interview for A Shaded View On Fashion<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumMjhHdWt681ZvnLrt_R2XNaonzZE2pi8gZcdXAzWJEna4G_7me8f0y_EFo4-ZU-EUSUqZiCiUYayPoNGsO8gpOgi54wuy7inLj7Wyz3g0ldtVcb5iqRedhs8Tam5BnXniz5HRT3QZSM/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-10-20+at+11.18.13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumMjhHdWt681ZvnLrt_R2XNaonzZE2pi8gZcdXAzWJEna4G_7me8f0y_EFo4-ZU-EUSUqZiCiUYayPoNGsO8gpOgi54wuy7inLj7Wyz3g0ldtVcb5iqRedhs8Tam5BnXniz5HRT3QZSM/s640/Screen+shot+2013-10-20+at+11.18.13.png" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Dear Diane and Shaded Viewers,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As a freelance photographer for The New York Times, Tisch School of the Arts alumni and NYC resident for almost 21 years, it's safe to say that Hiroyuki Ito knows his artistic way around the city. His latest exhibition sees the Tokyo-born creative bring together both geographical aspects of his life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In A Clueless Spectator, Ito captures the diverse moments of everyday urban life, whereas Red Rain follows him on a journey as he revisits his home country for the first time in 20 years following events of tragic personal loss. However different their themes may seem, both exhibitions offer a chance to experience the photographer's poignant and striking imagery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How did you first get involved in photography? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After I moved from Tokyo to New York in 1992. It was one of the random classes I took when I was a freshman at college.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In the exhibition intro to A Clueless Spectator you wrote: 'I photograph almost mechanically with no sense of emotion'. Can you elaborate on this statement?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I try not to place an emotional emphasis on what I photograph. Things already are what they are before I run into them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Especially your Red Rain series draws on a lot of personal and painful experiences. How does this vulnerability feed into your work and how does it feel to publicly portray this side of yourself?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As a photographer I shoot out of joy most of the time. Obviously it wasn't fun to shoot my father's funeral but I could have been more devastated if I weren't able to digest what was going on by the sheer act of photographing what I experienced. It wasn't a personal art project. Things happened and I kind of had to react. To this day, I can't exactly judge the Red Rain series objectively. But I have never lived my life objectively, so...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How do the A Clueless Spectator and Red Rain series stand alongside each other? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">They are basically the same thing. Looking at Red Rain and A Clueless Spectator side by side, I was struck by how unoriginal my visual style is if I ever had one. I never invented any new vocabularies of photography but used what was available. But again, I was never big on originality. I don't mind talking out of stolen cliches. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What would you like readers to take away from both exhibitions?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Even after answering these questions, I am not even sure of what these pictures are for. But somehow I desperately want people to see my photographs. What is my problem?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">“Red Rain” and “A Clueless Spectator”: Two Series by Hiroyuki Ito </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">September 3 to October 10, 2013 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">New York, NY 10003 </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.hiroitophoto.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">http://www.hiroitophoto.com/</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Later,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Carla</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Read the full article <a href="http://dianepernet.typepad.com/diane/2013/09/hiroyuki-ito-discusses-his-latest-exhibition-and-vocabularies-of-photography-interview-by-carla-seip.html">here</a>.</span>Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129045692137792320.post-79317296880886673562013-09-05T17:53:00.001-07:002013-10-20T08:49:28.511-07:00The World Through the Lens of Lucy Luscombe for Twin Magazine blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaT-1xigR6FAcf4glwgM7bHgTu98EGIvg1xfSfiW-wbK2QOot2WzviStiru71eGzkcqobJ1AGoGpCogZpRP7dkMHfI7WjzHXEZZUm7-GEvla64thp4ZTXByyHMo9AyqyJkMhFt9xwAcM/s1600/Screen+shot+2013-09-05+at+20.51.37.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaT-1xigR6FAcf4glwgM7bHgTu98EGIvg1xfSfiW-wbK2QOot2WzviStiru71eGzkcqobJ1AGoGpCogZpRP7dkMHfI7WjzHXEZZUm7-GEvla64thp4ZTXByyHMo9AyqyJkMhFt9xwAcM/s640/Screen+shot+2013-09-05+at+20.51.37.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lately we’ve been glued to our screens thanks to the work of film writer/director/producer Lucy Luscombe, who has recently garnered accolades such as the BFI Future Film Award and Outstanding Female Talent Award at Underwire Festival for her work. From the trials and tribulations of a young gymnast in Candy Girl to late night occurrences in a Dalston kebab shop inAgain Sometime, the CSM graduate’s films offers a captivatingly honest insight into the everyday challenges of human existence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Twin spoke to the promising talent about her earnest beginnings, the inspirational factor of failure and the future of the British film industry…</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What initially sparked your interest in film?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />I’ve always been interested in ‘moments’; creating or recreating them. I remember finding a lot of fleeting situations/moments significant growing up and sounding pretty spacey when trying to explain why. In film you can take that moment, light it, slow it down, blow it up and say ‘that’s why’. Equally, if you’re told ‘don’t sweat the small stuff’ a lot, film is a good place to sweat it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What was the first piece of cinematic work you ever made?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />I made a lot of questionable video art at St Martins: a lot of raw meat, wedding dresses and Bataille. Pretty earnest stuff. A highlight was ‘My womb/ the mosh pit (Beat down)’. Not sure how cinematic it was.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sum up your style of directing in three words.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />One. More. Take.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">How has working as an actress informed your work?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />I know how to talk to people and get the performance I need. I don’t force anything because I know what that feels like as a performer. I’m better at reading the person when they walk through the door and knowing what they can give me or what they can’t – that’s the foundation and the performance is the surprise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">From late nights in Dalston to coming-of-age flicks, there is a very personal sense to your work. How much of your films would you say is autobiographical and where do you get the inspiration for your work from?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />I’d like to think my work is quite human and that comes from a personal place or from listening to people, properly. I suppose I’ve also always been fascinated by failure – it’s managed to seep through a lot of pieces and like anyone who’s serious about making art and making sacrifices for it, they’ll know that’s personal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Since your early beginnings, how have you seen the London film industry develop?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />The old gatekeepers have lost a bit of dough and there are new exciting funding bodies who want to make interesting work, whether it’s through brave brands or online magazines. Specifically in features, where once you needed a lot of money, there is now cheap equipment that allows you to tell the story you want without going through a funding application process that wants to know everything from your grandparents’ ethnicity to your sexual orientation. Theres a ‘get up and go’ mindset emerging, most notably from filmmakers such as Tom Schkolnik (The Comedian). Sure, there’s an issue with quality control but there are great curators out there . If you wanted to make ‘The Fast and the Furious UK edition’, however, I think the British film industry would be a bad place to start.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In the day and age of rom coms and reality television, how important do you think it is for film to tackle serious subject matter such as human existence, identity and disillusion?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />There has always been banal entertainment and who am I to tell Joe Bloggs what he should watch when he gets home, I don’t know what kind of day he’s had, and if it’s been pretty shitty I wouldn’t judge him for watching TOWIE to switch off. Film/television/theatre/musicals can offer an interlude to be numbed or moved, enlightened or educated. My interest lies in questions of human existence, identity and disillusion, but that’s my privilege and laughing at Kim Kardashian’s swollen ankles is Joe Bloggs’s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">What are your future projects, goals and plans?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br />I’ve got some music videos and a fashion film coming out which I’m pretty excited about. There’s also a beautiful short story I’m adapting to keep me fresh while developing a feature.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.twinfactory.co.uk/index.php/the-world-through-the-lens-of-lucy-luscombe/"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Read the full article here.</span></a></div>
Carla Seipphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01364763361674073314noreply@blogger.com0