photo: Bettina Rheims
I was very happy about the news that Milla Jovowich is the face of the new ad for the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. The result that you can see here for me was more than disappointing. That’s why I wanted to post this old but still amazing photo book by Bettina Rheims. She took pictures of sexy Milla and a lot of other well known faces without any retouch and with a simple sensuality. I really really love it. More pictures after the jump.
There is a Berlin-based street artist that fights the general beauty-dogma with Disney stereotypes. For sure I like the approach of the Fight Lookism movement, even though I think they should do more art and write less texts. Normally I would say that this type of gender/political/critical movements are much more serious in Germany than in other European countries . But I think that the Fight Lookism guys seem to be very relaxed. Let’s see if they do some crazy stuff to argue with the fashionistas next week.
I hate most of the TV shows that getting really successful these days. I hated Big Brother, hated Germany’s search for a Superstar and definitely hated Germany’s Next Topmodel. Some of the reasons I am explaining here. But I am intrigued by beauty contests with a special twist. Like the Miss Landmine Election initiated by the Norwegian artist Morten Traavik. In 2009 his project was prohibited by the government of Cambodia. I think that the idea is great and that it gives people without hope something back: The feeling to be beautiful. I think that should be something that Fashion Week should also be about. Some photos of Miss Landmine after the jump.
Street artists who jump through the night to take their revenge on society have always had something romantic for me. That’s also why I am a big fan of the following ad-busting artist: Princess Hijab loves to put some nasty black paint over the pretty western faces of Parisian ads. Putting the face behind a painted veil should definitely demonstrate that the discussion between western and oriental believes about culture are not getting to a right result. Even if I am not so sure what kind of message Princess Hijab actually has on her mind with her art, I love the way she takes my attention and makes me think. For a more traditional approach you might perhaps check out the Veil-Fashion-Blog (no kidding). More pics of the ad busting work of Princess Hijab after the jump.
Marlene Haring
I told you already that things are getting hot in town. The fashionistas are filing their claws for the upcoming fashion week. Since I am always kind of unprepared for this kind of event I often realize that I miss some critical point of view here in the German fashion circus. Why for example didn’t any designer protest when the Senat decided that the tent has to move because fashion is not a form of art or culture and that’s why it shouldn’t be over the memorial stone of the Nazis burning the books. Perhaps because the fashion industry is more industrial than cultural even from the designers point of view. In the art world on the other hand there are strong voices that critizise the fashion industry for producing false believes about self-image and beauty. Little by little I want to present to you some of these artists, so that this time we might think about Fashion Week a little less industry-related but as an opportunity to discuss different oppinions of our personal aesthetic. Above you see the artwork of Marlene Haring: Because every Hair is different.
Five years ago I wrote for the first time about Princess Hijab – a street ad-busting artist (like Vermibus from Berlin) who changes the look of advertising fashion campaigns by painting a veil over the pretty photoshopped faces of the models. Because of the current Fashion Week I was looking back into old articles and realized how on the edge her art is in this particular time. Even if she seems not active as an artist any more, I wanted to look deeper into the meaning of her artwork to see if it could help me with my thoughts about the current political situation.
Read the results of my thinking after the veil. 😉
This week’s Cinéma de Mode celebrates the late ’90s anti-fashion aesthetic, with the enigmatic fashion film Surface, directed by filmmaker Michael Cleary and stylist Alister Mackie. The never-before-seen movie throws us back into the past with the icon of the ’90s teenage generation: the rebel, self-determined and delicately sexy Chloë Sevigny. Shot in London over 15 years ago and recently edited into black and white footages, Surface appears as an intimate and unconventional fashion film inspired by Sevigny herself, telling a poetic and confused monologue through Sevigny’s own soft and airy voice. Enjoy some ’90s nostalgia after the jump.
Last year I had my focus on the anti-fashion aspects during fashion week. This year everthing is about Vintage. Ok! No big surprise. But yes! I have some vintage pearls up my sleaves that have to be disclosed to you. And some vintage events as well so stay tuned for my daily updates!
My first recommendation is an amazing vintage shop in Mitte called XVII. They have everything. From crazy Thierry Mugler Vintage-Avant-Garde chic to grandma’s treasures from the cellar. The owner is the beautiful Nadine who participated also in the Vintage Smackdown. They also have a really nice event there this week. More pictures of the opening, the clothes and the address after the jump.
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