CLAIR OBSCUR

Fashion photography is not known for its adherence to reality but there are times when it can all feel a touch too straight-forward. The harsh snapshot grittiness, the slick airbrushed fantasies – all tricks of the trade used to the point where they feel familiar. We travel from point A to point B on a linear path that creates either a hackneyed story or an vaguely persuasive advertisement. Editorially there is very little to comprehend beyond the basics of who shot, who styled and who modeled. Rarely is the viewer asked to go further – to take their own thoughts and feelings and apply them to the subjects at hand.

BRIDE & PREJUDICE

It has become almost cliche to talk about Vera Wang and wedding dresses in the same breath. The designer’s signature white dresses have become the gold standard by which trips down the aisle are judged but such a rarefied position can be a double edged sword. The bridal market is known for its adherence to tradition moreso than its commitment to innovation and one might expect the queen of said market to find herself mired in the conventional when crafting her collections. Many designers reserve their truly challenging work for their mainline while their bridalware tends towards the orthodox. Vera Wang ( Vera Wang Bridal 09 Slideshow ) is smarter than that – she knows that the same women who enjoy the romantic deconstructed pieces she shows for ready to wear will crave the unexpected if and when they choose to get hitched.

ART IMITATES NOTHING

The cynical view states that there is nothing interesting happening in fashion right now. While this may occasionally prove truthful every so often there comes an instance where someone does something wholly different and completely thoughtful editorially. Something that is not memorable because of the clothes or models but transcends to that next level wherein it is just plain unforgettable. AnotherMan enlisted painter “Christian Schoeler and photographer David Benjamin Sherry to collaborate on a truly unique project. Sherry photographed the artist clad in the seasons wares and Schoeler created several of his signature dreamy paintings of boys on the cusp of manhood.

BETWEEN THE LINES

Truly effective cosemtic statements are often as simple as they are beautiful. Some of the most strikingly minimalist makeup on the F/W runways was at Costello Tagliapietra ( Costello Tagliapietra F/W 09 Makeup Slideshow ) where the models wore an inventive mix of drawn on black drawn on brows and winged eyes with an unorthodox reddish brown lip. Usually the influences behind runway makeup are fairly straight forward but this was something altogether different from anything that’s been seen in awhile. On the one hand it its dramatic – you can’t miss the black acccents on the eyes but on the other hand it’s almost nothing at all. A touch of liner – a swipe of lipstick – truly a five minute face if there ever was one. The effect was ravishing and served to provide a touch of harshness to a decidedly feminine collection.

OUTSIDE THE SQUARE

“Most people wouldn’t recognize good design if they tripped over it.” – George Lois

While it’s far too early in the game to make defeatist statements like “the magazines is dead” the golden age of publishing design feels long gone. A glance at the newsstand (a real newsstand, not the fancy international bookseller) can be an altogether painful experience. Most mass market magazines have all but given up on the idea of breaking new ground and even when they do it’s usually hidden between the nooks and crannies rather than on the front page.

It’s telling that when we look back at pioneering art director George Lois’ work for Esquire it seems incredibly fresh and poignant almost 40 years later.  The covers hold a special reverence given their sharp take on everything from politics to film and fashion. These were the kinds of covers that hit you with a visual punch – a woman shaving, a man applying lipstick, a college freshman facing down a giant swine -all images designed to grab your eye and catch your attention.

SMELL-O-VISION

Those familiar with decade old periodicals will tell you that there is a certain aroma that surrounds them. Something not altogether unpleasant but certainly nothing worthy of being turned into a perfume. The idea of a magazine having a signature scent is an unusual one at best – how do you distill the essence of a publication into olfactory notes? Is Vogue’s classicism a dash of gardenia paired with an undercurrent of amber? Would Purple’s cutting edge blend of sex and art be an earthy blend of patchouli and sage?

THE SHARPER IMAGE

Every designer wants to create the official look of the future. Most of the time this amounts to creating a great many things in metallic silver that are either completely unwearable museum pieces ready for the archives or just plain blinding in their chrome colored fancy. It would see that all ideas about what the future are pay homage to either an old episode of ‘The Jetsons’ or some variant of Nicolas Ghesquiere’s more playful moments. Rarely do we see a vision of what’s next that is both user friendly and appropriately modernist, which is why Sharon Wauchob’s F/W collection was such an utter treat. ( Sharon Wauchob F/W 09 Slideshow ) The Scottish designer’s mix of girlish glee and daring fabrics was a completely welcome  surprise.

A DOLL’S HOUSE

The story is all too familiar – stunning young ingenue hits the scene, her long legs and flowing blonde locks catch the attention of industry insiders and soon she’s embraced by fashion world. She becomes a muse to designers, makeup artists and fans around the world. Soon she is rewarded with choice bookings and endless luxuries. Her name is a legend unto itself and though she’s had a little work done over the years her face (and body) still represents the stuff of dreams.

BASTERDIZATION

Quentin Tarantino knows how to keep us on our toes. With each new film the director expands his kinetic vision into something boldly different yet quintessentially Quentin. Every project makes a daring visual statement whether it’s a pastiche play on kung fu genre constructs (Kill Bill), a taut tale of the perfect crime gone wrong (Reservoir Dogs) or just a little story about a few days in L.A. (Pulp Fiction) the art direction, costuming and set design within his films is always pitch perfect.

Which makes us more than a little eager to see what he’ll do with his next film ‘Inglourious Basterds,’ a madcap spaghetti western-esque World War II story about a band of Jewish soldiers out to bring down the Nazi’s by any means necessary. It’s one of those just crazy enough to work concepts that gets cineastes buzzing due to it’s sheer inventiveness.

STRUCTURALLY SOUND

From the moment the latest edition of Numero premiered with the word “architecture” written in bold on the cover some of us (namely me) have been waiting to see just how the theme would be interpreted visually. Fashion and architecture are intertwined elements of design but it can be hard to truly illustrate the idea of architecture in an image. How do you take a three dimensional concept and essentially flatten it? Add to this the pressure of conveying the idea through clothing and it presents a unique challenge.