spaceage

#very #aesthetically #pleasing

tom sachs x nike + slovakian gas station by atelier sad 

crazy/sexy/cool

The Givenchy Fall/Winter 2012 ad campaign (styled by Carine Roitfeld) is so rad.

Its dramatic,intense and angsty and so poignant its almost brutal. I would've probably used different looks, but the collection is just so next level all the way around!(YO RICKY HOOK A BRUTHA UP WITH THE WHOLE COLLECTION THO, NAHMEAN?). 

Tisci and Roitfeld perfectly captured a hyper-stylized version of the isolation in which much of modern youth is acculturated to living by setting the campaign against the darkening stormy sky in a vacant parking lot .

 The campaign perfectly captures the Tumblr-Generation,  moshing in the dark, wearing garish, nebulous outfits. 

Riccardo Tisci says to WWD: “[to] convey the euphoric energy of a rave… It is about happiness and the freedom of expressing yourself with your body. It shows a dynamic, happy and fun world, which is what fashion needs.”

Tisci x Roitfeld are an unstoppable team.

~~~

Also is it just me or do these look like screencaps of what Lars Von Trier would've come up with had he directed  "The Hunger Games"?

~

I made 2 playlists that I feel captures the vibes of this pretty well.

I made one to encapsulate the rave vibes and the other to go along with the teen angst.

Enjoy.

1. Youthglitch

2. Subsequent

~fin~

teee

Summer's here. I need more t-shirts.

1,2,3

riff raf pt. 2

Fall/Winter 2012 saw Raf Simons at a turning point at both his namesake label and Jil Sander. 

At Raf Simons it saw him going back to the youth cult that made him who he is today, pushing his brand to a more personal and extreme place. "Change, energy, freedom, protection." were his exact words. Awkward schoolboys in oversized coats and shorts came down the runway, hiding behind their long bangs and clouche/beanie hybrids. 

In "The Season Of The Suit" where severe and structural reign supreme, Raf opted for lightly tailored and almost streetwear-ish proportions. Raf gave seemingly basic pieces new life with distinct takes on cuts and shapes. Like with the shorts, they came looser in the waist and slimmer in the leg (CREATE). Raf sprinkled the collection with pops of color, from the dyed tracks of hair, coming from the neckline of some of the tops to the dyed animal hide covering the entire back of some of the coats (ENERGY). Raf punctuated the looks with running shoes, the result of another Asics collaboration, to give his boys a chance to run away if they needed to, also a nod the name of the collection, "Run Fall Run" (FREEDOM). One of the main things Ilove about the collection was the outerwear. Raf said one of his main reasons for going back to designing for his "youth cult" is because he felt protective of them, which I sensed in how he literally cocooned the models in heavy wool, animal hides and my personal favorite, the teddy bear coats (PROTECT). 

A very radical departure from the very sophisticated, gentlemenswear he's been showing lately, Raf seemed to just want to take the severity out of menswear.

But at Jil Sander, Raf took severity to heart. 

A subversive interpretation of masculinity, esteem and lunacy. 

Raf's man at Jil Sander, obviously a high-standing member of the 1%, doesn't want a black suit. He wants a black leather suit with a black leather trench and a black leather sweater--Oh and a black leather lunch bag. He could have been a banker, he could have been a serial killer. He could have been both, fleeing the underground parking deck where he left the dead bodies and going to his high-rise corner office to change into the clothes he has stashed at the office (most likely more black leather will be involved.) 

 

The Jil Sander man likes his tailoring, extraordinary and his blacks, absolute. Or maybe I'm interpreting it wrong. Maybe he's less American Psycho, more The Matrix, scouring the Space/Time continuum searching for the truth. I would guess it takes structured tailoring and the darkest black to navigate the Matrix. But none of that explains the sailor collars and sweaters embroidered with patches of childlike renderings of dinosaurs, whales and boomboxes....hmph maybe its all just some sort of existential allegory (as with most of Raf's collections.) Maybe, because after all this is his last collection at Jil Sander, this was Raf's metaphoric 'fade to black'.

photos

riff raf

If you follow me on twitter, or even if you've followed this blog long enough, you know how much I love Raf Simons. 

No. 

Fuck that.

My love for Raf is unfathomable. I don't even know how deep it goes. Raf never fails to just amaze and electrify me, at his namesake label as well as with his tenure at Jil Sander. I can firmly say that I believe Raf Simons to be the best menswear designer in the field right now. His flawless execution coupled with his ability to materialize such intimate and seemingly inexpressible ideas with pin-point accuracy is no less than awe-inspiring.

From the music at his shows (he bounces from shoegaze-y remixes of bands like Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails to even playing Nicki Minaj at his Fall/Winter 2011 show.) to his modern and unparallelled way with fabrics, shapes and colors. He can design a perfect collection for both Ravers and Businessmen/women...simultaneously! My favorite thing about Raf though, is his dedication to every genre, nook, cranny and side pocket of Youth Culture. From the unruly, riotous youth of his Fall/Winter 2002 show ("Woe Onto Those Who Spit On The Fear Generation...The Wind Will Blow It Back") to the murderous, sexually perverse college kids of his Fall/Winter show ("Virginia Creeper") and even the "Hippies" at his Spring/Summer 2004 show ("May The Circle Be Unbroken"), Raf knows how to effect and affect. He knows how to look at the world and point out exactly how it effects today's youth and bring it to life. Raf has strayed from that a bit over the years, much to the chagrin of my Raf-loving peers and I. He's become a bit more formal a bit less subversive (though never commercial or boring) in , but I don't blame him, everyone has to do what they have to do in the age of the "Recession" (capital "R" used for extra emphasis and propaganda pushing.)

The announcement of Raf's departure from Jil Sander seriously made me sad. He brought so much to the house when he took over as Creative direcor in 2005. He brought meaning to the brands trademark minimalism. He made color resonate with minimalism and his gritty, visceral Germanic extremism mesh perfectly with high fashion's "In Crowd". I'll miss seeing that at Jil Sander but I do believe he will absolutely SLAY at Dior (I'm practically dying to see his couture collection!). His last three collections at Jil, which he self-titled his Couture Trilogy, gives me faith in him.

Truth is, Raf will be good anywhere.