March 6, 2012 0

Notes on Photography

By in Column, Photography, Writing

“Can you make me famous?” a model insists, while trying to arm twist me into creating an image that will propel him to the fabled pages of Vogue and into a Prada campaign.

I tried to gently explain that it takes a lot of time and testing to get there, and models don’t always have the ability to control their fate; simply being “hot” is not enough.  I started working with food shortly after that conversation happened for the third time in a row, with three different doe-eyed faces. A model concerned with fame never makes good pictures, and they have yet to give me the look I need to move forward. It’s allabout the picture and I have yet to have a kiwi, pomegranate, or alligator claw be concerned with their own stardom.

cover picture for notes on photography

That being said, I’m ready to get back to testing and creating fashion images.  Working within the photo and working with single ingredients and patterns has taught me about filters and backgrounds, sculpture and transformation.  Food is ever patient and finding the prefect subject is as simple as going to the farmers market or grocery store or taking walks in Chinatown.

When I started reading Just Kids by Patti Smith, a book about her youth and relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe – her roommate and occasional lover – I thought the process of creating work would be wholly different and unique to a bygone era.  It’s not. Creating work, finding resources and models, discovering patrons and buyers, getting a gallery  – it’s all the same.

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February 21, 2012 0

Let’s Welcome the Architect Girl

By in Column, Well, Writing

It’s taken awhile but we’re entering a new age in fashion focused on modernism, architecture and sadly climate change. I talked to one creative director who pondered the almost ubiquitous looks strutting down fall’s runway of vests, bare arms and shortish skirts. After many seasons the spikes and armor are falling off and leaving behind maroon, burgundy and sometimes crimson in their wake – a fashion scab. Gold and red, are becoming the combined colors of the moment.

the architect girl

Start of Michael Bastian, Fall Fashion Week 2012

Shiny things, from bow ties and breastplates, are not just for the Blonds anymore. Marlon Gobel, sponsored by Swarovski did just that. Having handprints on your outfit might be a great way of flirting (DVF & Rodarte), but at any moment I expect Vidal Sassoon to rise to prominence and give us the five-pointed cut. Will a new version of The Factory begin and who’ll be our next Andy Warhol? Luxury is yawning ever so gracefully; trying to make it’s way back into a recognizable statement to differentiate the classes. Appliqué prints made to look like your grandmother’s couch are out.

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February 10, 2012 3

As Fashion Changes, So Do Bloggers

By in Column, Writing

The Huffington Post was a large part of my life, but things change and mergers happen. I was one of the first few bloggers to be invited in when the site moved beyond politics and one of the first to be allowed into the Bryant Park tents to report on the once rarefied world of fashion.

My lexicon and understanding grew, my desire to create better work with newfound partnerships increased. The site helped me grow as an artist; with an ever-increasing roster of readers and opportunities to connect.

Encouraged to write and cover anything that my heart fancied and editorial nose sniffed out, I listened to some great stories and was invited to important shows, watching a myriad of ateliers unfurl their latest work. The mystery of how hemlines rose and fell unraveled before my eyes. At the start, editorial freedom was encouraged. As Huffington Post grew, however, it became impossible to balance the needs of the site, my own, and almost impossible to read – ever changing tea leaves of the industry. In the end, I was offered a PR-funded trip to Toronto Fashion Week and Diesel wanted me to go to Milan. The site said no and made it clear this was simply a platform for self-promotion and press trips were no longer allowed. On the flip-side, if I had deep pockets and sponsored my own trip I could write about it.

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