CODE Magazine 18

WE ARE ANIMALS

Code_W10_DP1_244x305_NL.indd 2 26/02/10 14:47:56

PEOPLE

010

011

012

BARBARA COUTINHOOne of the most exciting design museums in the world is located in Lisboa, Portugal. With it being the stage for the Portuguese Fashion Week,, it was time to have a chat with 38-year-old museum director Barbara Coutinho.

CUBIC ZIRKONIA”Our music makes the audience horny.” What more can we say?

014

016

002

code page

CONTENT

INOUE BROTHERSLondon based Inoue Brothers are not only as friendly as they appear, they make some very fine knitwear too.

SHUBANKAR RAYA chemist turned artist turned marketeer, Ray, was born in an Indian communist family, and is now responsible for the brand communications of G-Star RAW. Never predictable.

NOKOA denim label that is not allowed to be called denim label. Meet Noko from Sweden and denim made in North Korea.

STYLE

018

028

044

058

096

038

116

118

ROLLER DERBY What happens when you mix a DJ, cheap booze, a famous drag queen, a rowdy audience and a bunch of sexy girls on roller skates with a penchant for violence? A great night out at the Montreal Roller Derby.

NEW DEALAn homage to the creative and liberal face of Holland.

FROM LODZ TO WARSAWLodz and Warsaw: only 2.5 hours from each other.,two different worlds. Lodz, the art city with the movie penchant, and Warsaw, ‘where everything is possible.’ are both booming.

DON’T WATCH THATThe story of two London photographers who’ve been documenting grime from the beginning and who became founders of an online television channel. CODE documents a tiny part of their world.

COLORBLINDAlmost 10% of men are color blind. How does the world look through their eyes?

COLLAB

074

082

K-SWISSSimply a californian sports company.

ORIGINALS: 10 CITIES, 10 PEOPLE, 10 ORIGINALS10 photographers curate 10 true originals. A collaboration with Adidas.

REPORT

076 THE DARK SIDECharlie Dark and the Cult of Running

Plus some of the finest running gear for this season

INTERVIEW

070 FROM BERLIN WITH LUVBerlin became home for creatives in self chosen exile worldwide. CODE reports on one of them, the extraordinary Mz. Sunday Luv.

BRANDS

106 CODE BRANDSOur favorite brands of the moment.

ART

121 CLOSE UP AND PRIVATEA first visit to Sergei Sviatchenko’s offbeat blog Close Up & Private is a strangely comforting experience. Scrolling trough the many close-ups you get a sense of nostalgia and wonder.

INTO THE LIGHTThe sunglasses special. With among others…more than 20 special sunglasses.

STOREDWhat’s in store? Some of the best shops in the world.

SNEAKERSThe coolest sneakers of this season selected by Raju ‘Ilovesneakerz’ Doerga.

BUY

003

page

005

pagecode

EDITORIAL

image

KAREEM BLACK

After the most convincing winter in ages, spring has finally come. Looking outside at a sunny and crisp, blue sky I can’t help but feel our world has been fundamentally altered. It’s a feeling that first hit me in September of last year. Recession was tearing apart some old structures, reinforcing others, and generally accelerating the change that had been in the air for years. Change is hardly ever pleasant. But always exciting. And this era of transformation especially has been pretty wild.

So since this past year was the most transformative in ages, we chose and dedicated this issue’s theme to the new order. Working on this issue has made me reflect on other big, ‘transformative’ years: clearly 2001 (things did not change for the better then), 1999 when the Internet bubble burst (no idea if this was good or bad), and, of course, 1989 when the Wall came down. The latter sparked a sense of triumph and radical economic growth for the West…. Erhmm, what is history doing in a fashion magazine? Well, obviously history, economics and style have everything to do with one another. And especially right now when all the rules, from marketing to distribution to production, are up in the air. Yup, the old familiar structures are still there, but the paradigm of the remix is all prevalent. (Read Matt Mason’s ‘The Pirate’s Dilemma.’)

It was also time for us at CODE to wake up to the new world. We’ve long been focused on delivering our content in the beautiful interface that is a high-quality magazine and we will continue to do so, but it was about time we woke up to digital reality. With CODE being published twice a year, we’ve been busy working on a new digital platform that is about to go live any day now: Documenting Style. It will be a new space to explore, share and connect. A project in process.

What’s more, this September will mark five years for CODE—reason enough for some special collaborations. Can’t say much more about it at this time, but stay tuned. There’s some fun and exciting stuff ahead.

Peter van RhoonEditor in [email protected]

‘New Order’

Publisher

Editor in chief Creative director

Fashion director

Production / Ass creative director

Ass Production

Editorialcontibutions by

Photography

Copy Editing

CODE Magazine BVPO Box 696541060 CS AmsterdamPhone: +31(0)20 4085511Fax: +31(0)20 4082280www.codemagazine.eu

Peter van Rhoon

Kanako B. Koga

Nadine van Asbeck

Pit BomansFleur van den Berge

Jason Jules, Victor Verbeek, Raju Doerga, Mo Veld, Tom Ryling, Marlo Saalmink, Caia Hagel, Ina Sotirova, Aaron Richter

Kareem Black, Tyrone Lebon, Ben Rayner, Brooke Nipar, Tim Georgeson, Uzo Oleh, Tim & Barry, Carolin Leszcinski, Bianca Pilet, Amit Berlowitz, Lis Timm, Christian Knorr, John Londono, Ben Sullivan, Jens Andersson, Tine Claerhout, Albrecht Gerlach, Madi Ju, Cindy Heijnen, Alex Salinas, Tiago Miranda

Aaron Richter, Anneke Bisschops, Teri Duerr

Styling

Type design,Art direction &Lay-out concept

Graphic design

Printed by

Head of sales

Subscriptions

Clyde Semmoh, Jason Jules, Ann Binlot, Valéria Siniouchkina, Melanie Brisson, Patricia Giesbers

Toko (www.toko.nu)

Toko (www.toko.nu)

CODE Magazine is a carbon neutral production printed by Chevalier International (FSC and ISO 14001 certi ed)using vegetable inks.

Patrick Ho [email protected]

Want to subscribe to CODE Magazine? Go to www.codemagazine.eu For questions regarding subscriptions send an email to: [email protected] Want to cancel your subscription send a letter regarding ‘CODE Magazine’ to:S.P. Abonneeservice, PO Box 1052400 AC Alphen aan den RijnThe NetherlandsTel: +31 (0)172 476085

AAcne: www.acnestudios.comAdidas: www.adidas.comAlife: www.alifenyc.comAmerican Apparel: www.americanapparel.netAnd Beyond: www.andbeyond.nlArc’Teryx: www.arcteryx.comAsics: www.asics.nl

BBack to noise: www.backtonoise.comBarton Perreira: www.bartonperreira.comBellerose: www.bellerose.beBenetton: www.benetton.comBjorn Borg: www.bjornborg.comBronson: www.bronson.be

CCalvin Klein: www.calvinkleininc.comCamper: www.camper.comCazal: www.cazal-eyewear.comChristian Louboutin: www.christianlouboutin.comClae: www.clae.euClarks: www.clarksoriginals.comCock and Bull Story: www.cockandbullstory.itColab: www.colab.com.auConverse: www.converse.comSuperdry: www.superdry.comCutler and Gross: www.cutlerandgross.com

DDay Birger et Mikkelsen: www.day.dk

Denham: www.denhamthejeanmaker.comD&G: www.dolcegabbana.comDiesel: www.diesel.comDita: www.dita.comDopechef: www.dopechef.co.ukDr. Martens: www.drmartens.comDsquared2: www.dsquared2.com

FFabric Interseason: www.fabrics.atFi Chachnil: www. chachnil.comFilippa K: www. lippa-k.comForest & Bob: www.forrestandbob.comFresh Cotton: www.freshcotton.com

GGeorgina Goodman: www.georginagoodman.comGeox: www.geox.comGirls From Omsk: www.girlsfromomsk.beG-Star: www.g-star.nlGourmet: www.gourmetinyourface.com

HHackett: www.hackett.comHixsept: www.hixsept.comH&M: www.hm.comHouse of Holland: www.houseofholland.co.ukHugo Boss: www.hugoboss.comHumor: www.humorclothing.comIIchi: www.ichi.bizInsight: www.insight51.com

JJC de Catelbjac: www.jc-de-castelbajac.comJeevice: www.jeevice.comJuun.J: www.juunj.com

KKaren Walker: www.karenwalker.comKiliwatch: www.kiliwatch.frKomono: www.wearekomono.comKsubi: www.ksubi.comKuyichi : www.kuyichi.com

LLee: www.lee.comLeg Avenue: www.legavenue.comLevi’s: www.levistrauss.comLin: www.linfashion.comLinda Farrow: www.lindafarrow.co.ukLuLuLemon: www.lululemon.com

MMaison Martin Margiela: www.maisonmartinmargiela.com Mads Norgaard: www.madsnorgaard.comMaharishi: www.maharishistore.comMaria Mudman: www.mariarudman.comMoscot: www.moscot.comMustang: www.mustangjeans.com

NNieuw Jurk: www.nieuwjurk.comNike: www.nike.com

Non by Kim: www.nonbykim.comNorse Projects: www.norseprojects.com

OOntour: www.ontour.nl

PPatta X Huf: www.patta.nlPaul Smith: www.paulsmith.co.ukPeak Performance: www.peakperformance.comPetit Bateau: www.petit-bateau.comPuma: www.puma.com

RRalph Vaessen: www.ralphvaessen.comReebok: www.reebok.comReplay: www.replay.itReserved: www.reserved.comRiedel: www.riedellskates.comRodeo King: www.rodeoking.com

SSamsoe Samsoe: www.samsoesamsoe.dkSjaak Hullekes: www.sjaakhullekes.blogspot.comSpicePR: www.spicepr.nlStamp’D: www.stampdla.comStussy: www.stussy.comSuper: www.retrosuperfuture.comSurface to Air: www.surfacetoair.com

TThe Hundreds: www.thehundreds.comTom Ford: www.tomford.com

UUrban Ears: www.urbanears.com

VVans: www.vans.comVintage Pierre Cardin:www.pierrecardin.comVivienne Westwood: www.viviennewestwood.co.ukVon Zipper: www.vonzipper.com

WWesc: www.wesc.comWig Anthology: www.wiganthology.comWrangler: www.wrangler.comWunderkind: www.wunderkind.de

YYarn Unit: www.yarnunit.com

ZZipper: www.zipperstore.nl

0-90044: www.0044paris.com

006

code page

COLOFON

GO FORWARD, MOVE AHEAD. THE WHIP. ONE STEP AHEAD.

nixonnow.com/whip

code

DECODED

Introducing some of the contributors for this issue.

AARON RICHTERAaron Richter grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, but now calls Brooklyn home. A displaced writer and editor, he has worked for such publications as Rolling Stone, Spin, BlackBook, URB, Ponytail and DIW. Richter now works primarily as a photographer, shooting models and musicians, but in his spare time, he still edits magazines and steers the art direction for self-titled, a web-based publication he helped launch in 2008. Aaron is CODE’s new copy editor. Aaron enjoys kissing his girlfriend, reading Norman Mailer, re-watching DiG!, and the words ‘rad’ and ‘satiate’—though not necessarily used in the context of each other. www.aaronrichter.com

JOANNA MROCZKOWSKAJoanna Mroczkowska is a Warsaw-based freelancing, fashion-obsessed journalist. In addition to being an “opinionated alcoholic” (her words) who is attempting to finish the last semester of her journalism degree at Warsaw University, she’s also CODE’s Warsaw blogger. For this issue Joanna produced the Warsaw section of the ‘Lodz to Warsaw’ feature, a production which involved some semi-illegal shooting in a museum in Warsaw. She is also a “kind and loving person” (again, in her own words).

AMIT BERLOWITZPhotographer Amit Berlowitz, was born in Connecticut, USA, but lives and works in Tel Aviv. Her aesthetics on one hand destabilize, while on the other simultaneously induce a sense of peace. For this issue of CODE Amit was flown from sunny Tel Aviv to minus mucho Poland and survived the challenge gloriously. “I had a fantastic and inspiring experience,” said Amit. Her images seem to position themselves at the fine line between photography and video art, making Amit a wonderful match for cinematographic Lodz. www.dimanches27.com

CAIA HAGELMontreal based Caia Hagel immersed herself for this issue of CODE in the Montreal roller derby scene. Hagel’s personality profiles, travelogues, and art critiques appear from time to time in magazines and on television networks internationally. Hagel seems to collect awards. She won amongst others ‘Best Feature Article’ at the New York Folio Media Awards for her profile on Rem Koolhaas, and the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. Her chapbook Acts of Kindness and Excellence in Times Tables is available at www.thecupboardpamphlet.org.

CAROLIN LESZCZINSKIGerman Carolin leszczinski (36) studied photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Akademie in Amsterdam before moving to New York in order to continue studying at the School of Visual Arts. After that, she returned to Berlin and shot for several international magazines. Her work was selected for the Festival de la mode et de la Photography Hyere, France. One of her long-term projects is to photograph rodeos throughout North America. Carolin loves horses, her dog Austin, and real cowboys. For this issue of CODE she shot wild girl Mz Sunday Luv.www.surrendertome.de

JOE HOLBROOKJoe Holbrook is a painter whose work recreates his world with detail and vibrant energy. For this issue of CODE he was responsible for the drawings in the ‘Into the Light sunglasses special.’ Though originally from the south of London, Joe has recently found himself living in Amsterdam for love and work. Together with Dutch artist Jeroen Smeets, he runs YOUR:OWN gallery. The Amsterdam gallery recently invited nine artists to exhibit solo shows and Joe will end the series with his own portrayals of the group for his upcoming closing show at the space. www.joeholbrook.co.uk / www.your-own.nl

WHO THE F IS CODE CONTRIBUTORS

008

page

Joanna Mroczkowska

Aaron Richter

Caia Hagel

Amit Berlowitz

Joe Holbrook

Carolin Leszczinski

Pho

to: C

atha

rina

Ger

ritse

n

BEST BRANDS. BEST BUYERS. BEST BUSINESS.

W W W . B R E A D A N D B U T T E R . C O M

“HOME IS AN ABSTRACT WORD FOR US.”Inoue Brothers

010

pagecode

PEOPLE

image

TYRONE LEBON

text

TOM RYLING

Back in London after a trip to South Africa, designers Satoru and Kiyoshi Inoue are prepping to unveil their upcoming projects. Using fashion, music, art and design, the Inoue Brothers—as they’re known in the industry—will create a tribute to the continent that “emphasizes its contrasts and challenges.”

Born to Japanese parents and raised in Copenhagen, the multimedia artists (who now split their time between Copenhagen and London) created the term Scandinasian as a means of exploring Scandinavian simplicity and Japanese sensibility within design. The duo’s eponymous fashion line draws inspiration from around the world; past collections have been made with fabrics sourced from the Bolivian Andes and manufactured by indigenous communities. “Our philosophy is based on approaching every project through utmost human respect, transparency, creativity, dialogue and teamwork,” says Kiyoshi.The brothers’ work has steadily achieved more recognition and garnered many fans, including Comme des Garçon’s Rei Kawakubo, with whom they created a Christmas knitwear collection in 2008 and

whose London-based Dover Street Market store was among the first to stock the Inoue Brothers’ early collections. Since childhood, the brothers have always had a collaborative drive. “In 1997— Kiyoshi was in high school—we designed, produced and sold study-trip uniforms,” says Satoru, referring to a trip that Kiyoshi financed, with his brother’s help. As professional designers, they’ve worked with such names as Anthony Keast, with whom they run Environment, their salon and store in London; South African artist duo Gazelle; film director Lars von Trier; and Nicholas Taylor of the ’80s New York band Gray. With Taylor, the brothers developed an exhibition that explored the legacy of Jean-Michel Basquiat, who also played in Gray. “Through Nicholas Taylor, we were inspired to rediscover the courage and boldness it takes to truly be creative and free,” Sartoru says, “and to remain uninfluenced by marketing strategies, sales forecasts, profit margins and all such elements that suffocate modern art.”

www.theinouebrothers.net

WE LIKE THIS KIND OF UNEXPECTEDNESSShubankar Ray

011

pagecode

PEOPLE

image

BEN RAYNER

text

PETER VAN RHOON

The laws of communication and distribution are rapidly changing and everyone, from individuals to companies big and small, has to navigate their way through this new reality. G-Star is one of the larger players that showed the ability to reinvent itself during the most recent fashion week. Shubhankar Ray is G-Star’s Global Creative Director.

Shubhankar, I couldn’t imagine there were two people with the same name when I was researching you on the web. Are you also the artist that painted ‘Spirit of the Tree?’No, that’s not me.

Good that we’ve set that straight, I was already starting to worry a bit. But who are you then?I was born into a fourth-generation, freedom-fighting family from Calcutta. When I was two and a half years old I moved to England, during the ‘70s. I grew up very much as a product of first-wave immigration.When I was around 18, I was working at the Hacienda [a legendary club in the ‘80s—ed.]. I was the guy collecting the glasses. New Order owned the club and all the people like me, the kids who then were 18,19, 20, were later going to become the Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, etc. That moment was just a special moment in time. I was studying chemistry and, by accident, got exposed to that culture. When those things get inside you, it’s difficult to get them out again.

What was the bridge from chemistry to art?In science there’s a degree of creativity, there’s a degree of experimentation and the outcome is often unknown. Same as in art. But apart from that I guess I’ve been lucky. When I was working as a research scientist at a subsidiary of Nestle, I got disillusioned with the job. So I started to study for an MBA and work on their ad campaigns, and later got a job at Levi’s, which was just switching from being a product-oriented company into a branding-oriented one. Then I moved on to work for Caterpillar as creative director, and after working at Camper I arrived at G-Star. The most striking intervention for G-Star was to take something as mass-product as denim to New York Fashion Week and apply a super specialist approach. This ended up in Dennis Hopper doing live poetry on the catwalk. So we brought a bit of high art into it, without pretending it was high art. Right now we’re working on a project at the New Museum in New York. This is going to be the reverse of Raw Nights. Raw Nights was taking a nightclub, stripping it and redesigning it, and turning it into a museum experience with pop-culture curators who do something they are not used to doing. But The Raw Salon idea for the New Museum is the other way around. We want to put in curators from the world of fashion, art and music and expose them to the [museum] audience. We like this kind of unexpectedness or forbidden combinations.

www.gstar.com

“NOKO JEANS SERVED AS OUR ALIBI”Noko Jeans

012

pagecode

PEOPLE

text

MARLO SAALMINK

Made by reclusive communists who aren’t even allowed to wear the clothes themselves, Noko Jeans began about two and a half years ago, when three young Swedish advertising executives, fascinated by North Korea’s inaccessibility, decided to draft an e-mail. The correspondence resulted in heavy negotiations through Stockholm’s North Korean Embassy, and the aforementioned execs—Jacob Åström, Tor Rauden Källstigen and Jakob Ohlsson—eventually traveled to the hermit state itself. Over a bottle of vodka, the country’s local regime agreed to open exporting channels with Sweden—which came as a surprise, considering that jeans are a faux pas in North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, where they are considered a symbol of Western imperialism. “Noko Jeans served as our alibi to get in touch with the North Koreans,” says Källstigen. “In the end, our attempts to get closer turned into this very project.” Following the negotiations, the businessmen found a mining company’s textile branch, located just outside Pyongyang, where the jeans would be manufactured under humane conditions. The owners developed a code of conduct to ensure that production standards are well above par. “We are very inspired by the North Koreans, especially by how they are able to exist in such seclusion,” exalts Källstigen. Along the way, Noko Jeans has worked closely with the creative trust of graphic designer Jonas Nordin, photographer Erik Wåhlström and

fashion designer Julia Hederus, whose own menswear line is stocked by Oki-Ni.The team’s clean designs feature a hidden amulet, fluorescent stitching (a symbol for the country’s starlit skies) and pockets lined with subtle waves, incorporating the look of the unfinished Ryugyong Hotel towering over Pyongyang. Noko Jeans come in two styles: Kara is a tight, higher-waisted, feminine fit; Oke is a slouchy, relaxed model (both are available in black denim—meant to recall the dark Korean night). The brand’s “Made in North Korea” tag and its exclusive sales in revolving pop-up arenas led shoppers to swarm Noko’s initial production run of 1,100 pairs. What’s next? Noko Jeans caused quite the stir in Sweden, when the retailer PUB pulled its jeans off the shelves (the department store did not want to be associated with the politically volatile North Korea). In a way, Noko must overcome such attitudes in order to put the focus on the brand’s once-unthinkable achievement. “Noko Jeans is a unique story, process, journey and a never-ending road of fascinating obstacles that never ceases to amaze us,” says Källstigen.

Noko Jeans are currently only available online. www.nokojeans.com

superdry.com

“THE CONCEPT FOR MUDE IS WORKING IN PROGRESS.”Bárbara Coutinho

014

pagecode

PEOPLE

image

TIAGO MIRANDA

text

MO VELD

In the pit of Lisbon’s Pombaline center, design and fashion museum Mude sits atop the ruins of an old bank. Bárbara Coutinho’s job, as the institution’s director and curator, is not just to steer and maintain a notable cultural destination but, in doing so, ultimately to revive downtown Lisbon. It’s a task that’s completely up her alley: Coutinho, now 38, is studying “new exhibition spaces and strategies for 21st-century museums” for her contemporary-art-history PhD in museums and architecture.

Banco Nacional Ultramarino’s former headquarters is not just any old building in any old city center. After an earthquake and tsunami completely swept away Lisbon in 1755, Pombaline was rebuiltaccording to highly modern square-peg city planning and has since become an architectural landmark. Mude, which means change in Portuguese, opened to the public this past May on two of the building’s eight floors. The bank, occupying the entire block, left the property to the city’s rescuing hands, and when Lisbon purchased important pieces of 20th-century furniture and couture designs from private collector Francisco Capel in 2002, Mude began as a space to house the collections. “We - me and my team - decided not to aspire to a white cube, but to respect the preexistence and personality of this place,” Coutinho says. “In the current state of economic crisis, we all have to try and be more creative. We work with what exists. Each floor is 1,500 square meters of open space, with only a few columns; the first two are open now, on the street level and first floor. Mude’s concept is to be a place

for showing the collection, but also to work with the contemporary, to bring the main issues of our time in.” Coutinho wants the space to be open and resourceful, as well as reach into other cultural areas like science, music, dance and literature. She expects the museum to be open completely by 2012, including all eight floors, with a shop, restaurant, auditoriums and various workspaces. Until then, the “work in progress” is open to the public while Coutinho and her crew attract clusters of fans: In March, Mude hosted part of Lisbon’s Fashion Week as a “lab platform” for young Portuguese designers; its Moda Lisboa program included three fashion shows and two installations. Following Moda Lisboa, the Bosnian-born, Lisbon-based artist and fashion designer Lidija Kolovrat will teach a series of master classes, and soon the permanent exhibition will acquire a special place by the late Alexander McQueen. To Coutinho, fashion is as much a key ingredient in the broader cultural dynamic as any design discipline. “It’s all part of the culture of design, of how the creative processes develop,” she says. “Fashion was a major part of the cultural dialogue in the 20th century. Think of Chanel and Schiaparelli who were so closely related to the key artists of their time and collaborating with them, or Balenciaga who was an architect.”

www.mude.pt

“IT DOESN’T HAVE TO MAKE SENSE.” Cubic Zirconia

016

pagecode

PEOPLE

image

BROOKE NIPAR

text

VICTOR VERBEEK