Illusion issue

Editor in Chief Charmaine Mainoo

Fashion Team

Olivia AlessandraEmma Whitemoss

Art and Culture

Adrian RichardsonDavid Pustansky

Contributing writer

Caroline Gritthifs

Contributing Photographers

Kim Jobsonwww.kimjobson.com

Emy Louwww.emylou.co.uk

Oscar Lattorre-Boschwww.latorre-bosch.com

Charmaine Mainoo

David Oslandavidolsanphotography.com

Kaleidoscope print garments by Melissa Tincello [email protected]:Olivia Alessandra :[email protected] & makeup: Rachel Williamson www.londonhairandmakeupartist.comPhotographer: Kim Jobson www.kimjobsonphoto.com Model: Jessica Tinkler

interview

why I’m interested in it is maybe more of a fascination. But also besides the fascina-tion of how you see your body change, it is also a fascination of how come it’s (like it is) now. Of what’s happened before, so for example, if there is a war and in the war the soldiers got their faces blown away, what does it tell (us) about their identity? Or what does it tell about why we do the things we do? So besides the visual aes-thetic part, it is also the psychological part that I am interested in that I try to translate into the images.

David: And why do you create collages as your medium?

Ashkan: Actually, after graduation I did paintings and drawings, and I discovered collages through my girlfriend. I tried to cut things, and I discovered that it was easier for me to achieve what I had in my head. So when I was painting, it didn’t come out the way I wanted it, and (with) colleges I had more control. How far I came with it, because I thought after a year or two you just kinda bump the ceiling and then it’s over, and you’ve done everything that was possible with it, but it’s actually not true. There are so many levels you can achieve with it. Besides that, I sometimes feel like a recycler. Everything that’s printed around us; the newspapers, the books, everything’s that printed about our past I can in some way recycle it and tell different stories.

David: And how do you find the images that you use in your collages?

[At this point Ashkan took his webcam to show me around his studio.]

When we are born our bodies are a blank canvas, and as we journey through life we decorate it with the experience of living. Internationally renowned artist Ashkan Honarvar creates collages with a focus on the human body, and in particular how the experiences of war and disease affect our body and our lives.

David: Hi, how’s it going?

Ashkan: Good how are you?

David: I’m good thanks. OK to begin with, could you tell us a little about the work that you do?

Ashkan: Yeah, they’re all handmade collages, and usually they are about the human body. So how for example diseas-es, or war can affect the body. That’s more the aesthetic part of it, but usually I try to have a concept or story behind it, and that’s different with each project.

David: You say you’re interested in diseases and the body. What got you interested in that subject matter?

Ashkan: Actually they are not always literally images of diseases and bodies. It’s actually more like the interest in how you can deform the body, and transform the body so it still looks logical. So (I) just play with the anatomy and change it. That’s actually the core of it, and around that it’s connected to war and diseases (and) how our body can reflect our surroundings.

Usually the surroundings that reflect the body are war and diseases, and the reason why I’m interested in it is maybe more of a fascination. Where does it come from? Usually the surroundings that reflect the body are war and diseases, and the reason

ASHKAN HONARVAR INTERVIEWBy David Pustansky

David: Lastly are you able to make collages full time as your profession?

Ashkan: Yeah, I’m thankful because I just moved to Norway from the Netherlands. I’m actually from Holland.

David: You’re well travelled then?

Ashkan: (Laughs) Yeah, and it’s really beautiful here, but I can do my work everywhere. The only things I need are my books, a table and a cutting knife. I’m lucky with the galleries that represent me. I can always make new things. I scan them in and I put them on the website. From there the galleries can say “I want this or that” and I send it to them. There’s one in Canada in Ottawa, another is in California, and the third one is in New York. Those three are the core and around that I have one time group shows and exhibitions everywhere, but I’m lucky to have those three.

David: That’s great. Thank you Ashkan, and good luck with your upcoming projects.

You can check out Ashkan’s work athttp://www.ashkanhonarvar.com

Ashkan: I collect so many books. [He showed me a large collection of books on shelves] These are the inspirational books, I’ve got magazines from the sixties, books from a hundred years ago, a lot. This is the inspirational wall [He showed me a wall covered in pictures and artwork, which included a painting he did before he became focused on doing collages] and he is a painting I did before, but I don’t do it (paint) anymore. Here are some recent projects including this (picture) of Michel-angelo’s statue (Of David). I just cut it out, and it’s one big puzzle. The images come from books from all around the place, and I’m aware of the copyright issues so the trick is to use the image, but don’t use it in the same meaning as its source material.

David: So using the pictures in a different con-text allow you to use otherwise copyrighted images?

Ashkan: Yeah exactly. You need to change the context, and you’re also not allowed to make a hundred copies of it.

-So if it stays one unique piece then you have the artistic freedom to do it. And also (you have to) change the context. If I use a book about construc-tion work, the final product shouldn’t be about construction work. There is just this one big grey area. Even Jeff Koons got sued for a collage he made.

David: This may be a ‘What came first, the chick-en or the egg?’ situation, but do you see images and then get an idea for a piece or do you have an idea first that you seek images for?

Ashkan: It’s so different sometimes. I buy a lot of books, and sometimes there’s just one small image that triggers the whole project. I’m also a big movie fan, especially French sixties movies. Those movies, they can also trigger a whole project. Or sometimes I see a documentary, and get really fascinated by it, and then I go searching for books, so it can be either way around.

Nowadays I just buy every kind of book, and I’m so confident that you can make collages of everything. Like books with car parts, books with shells, everything. (Laughs) It’s just one big huge puzzle that needs to get fit together.

Image by Afshan Honarvar

If you haven’t heard about him. You will.Sid Sriram’s smooth, velvet like vocal makes him a serious contender to challenge some of the industry’s biggest names. Off The Hook caught up with the LA based artist for lil’ chitchat!

SID SRIRAM INTERVIEW

By Charmaine Mainoo

Tell us about your musical background...

I started singing when I was 3 years old, Indi-an Classical music. I taught myself R&B stuff by listening a lot when I was younger. I went to Berklee College of Music and graduated in August 2012 with a degree in Music Production and Engineering. Basically…music has always been my life.

You effortlessly (and successfully) manage to combine both Rnb and Indie in your music. I use the word ‘effortlessly’ because your sound is so authentic and unforced. Do you feel your background has helped shaped this?

Definitely, I think growing listening to such different types of music and having a strong foundation in Indian, as well as Western music, really gave me a holistic grasp of music. That really enabled me to envision how my music would mix such different forms together.

What are your influences?

Carnatic music, Radiohead, AR Rahman, Stevie Wonder, Kanye West, Bob Dylan, Lauryn Hill and No ID.

Who do you like to listen to when you’re just chilling out?

Hmmm…recently I’ve been jamming to a lot of Kendrick Lamar (more his ‘Section 80’ Mixtape than the album), but also some Miles Davis and Bon Iver recently.

You’ve done some impressive covers on YouTube; a personal favorite is ‘We all try’ by Frank Ocean. You have a fantastic following on the Internet. How important is social net-working for rising stars?

Social networking has leveled the playing field. If you show up on the Internet with amazing and dope content, people will grav-itate towards you. I’ve decided to stay inde-pendent a little longer, just because I know how much more of a following I can acquire using social networks/media. So yeah, it’s very important.

What would be your dream collaboration?

Kanye West!

What would be an average day in the life of Sid Sriram?

Wake up, coffee, voice exercises, send emails, make/produce music, write and read some-thing. And then…write some more, practice some Indian classicalMusic, go for a drive to clear my head, listen to music for a while and go to sleep!

I checked out West Coast Nightfall - Part 1: Before Dusk, which is pretty refreshing. What next from you? When can we expect part two?

Part 2 will be released in early 2014 and it’s going to be a game changer for music. I am sure of it.

Go check out http://sidsriram.com

FASHION BRAND - VERAMEATBy Olivia Alessandra

Handcrafted fine jewellery with a playful yet fero-cious edge…

“Each piece of VERAMEAT jewellery mirrors a self-suf-ficient life form with a sculptural presence”… an efficient description for such a complex and unusual brand.

I first discovered VERAMEAT whilst trawling through Instagram on one of my daily style hunt binges! It stood out to me immediately with its delicate and dainty ring designs, a characteristic I’m not usually drawn to in jewellery, but these were something else. The subject matter mixed with them being hand-crafted by fine materials, these pieces scream organic but they’re so glamorous at the same time. Maybe it helps that animal motifs – both faces and prints – are so hot right now and I cannot get enough of them, but there’s definitely something unique about these pieces that draws you in due either to complete admiration for the craftsmanship and creativity or simply because deer antlers and dogs’ faces are so cool at the moment.

Both layering of small rings and an overload of giant cocktails rings are huge right now, and personally I don’t feel I have enough fingers anymore for all the ring candy I want to weigh my hands down with!

One piece of advice to anyone wearing a ring with a face, motif, or anything that has a “side up” to it – wear it away from you! I cannot stress enough how much of a pet hate it is to wear something facing you, the rest of the world sees it upside down!

Either way, you cannot deny the talent involved in capitalising on the life form in such an artistic way, taking subject matters that usually seem morbid or grotesque, such as any section of a carcass like the spine, small bones, the skull or brain, and turning into a piece of art that can be worn, loved, admired and envied.The biggest ideal I’m drawn to in a fashion design-er – whether it’s sculpted jewellery, printed t-shirts, or hand-crafted handbags – is the artistic presence behind every design.

Perhaps this is due to my own art school beginnings but I cannot help but admire and adore a piece of clothing that’s been made from an artistic point of view – as opposed to simply trying to make some-thing on trend or fashionable. In my eyes, true fashion designing talent begins with the very crux of design, which is art itself. Whether its creator derives from sculpture, print, paint, or photography, a truly desirable, enviable, and wearable piece of clothing will always have raw artistic foundations. Every piece of original cloth-ing or accessory should have a sculptural presence

pulsating through it.

Not only are the pieces original, artistic and won-derfully crafted, but also their customer service standards appear to be skyrocketing. If your desired item isn’t in stock they will go out of their way to find you one. If you like a piece but want it in a different material, they are happy to create you one. They will add different chains to your liking, gift-wrap anything and post anywhere in the world. If nothing else, I admire this kind of loyalty and true willing to get people the exact item they wish for, as it shows a crystal clear love for and unquestionable faith in the product they are selling.

This is why I love this jewellery and brand so much, it really is like owning wearable art that you can show off and admire all day long. So whether it’s a dinky dinosaur eating fried chicken, a hippo/shark hybrid necklace, a vam-pire crown ring or a puppy knuckleduster ring, VERAMEAT is definitely worth investing in so that when we’re 80, our grandchildren can find these crazy and timeless pieces of sculpted jewellery to show off to the next generation of weirdoes!

Dainty finger, pinky, and fingertip rings are everywhere right now and these would be an eye-catching addition to any finger party!

How about this spine bangle to put the chills of envy down anyone’s backbone?

Photography:Charmaine MainooStylist: Iffat RajHairstylist and MUA: Amanda ThorellModel: Louise Hyde

60 SECS WITH MIBBSBy Charmaine Mainoo

I love the LA west-coast feel in your music, You manage to successfully mix the old with a new fresh twist. What do you think of the LA music scene?

I really love the fact that the world is tuning their ears to the LA hip-hop scene. We’ve been making good music out here for a while and it’s good to finally see us LA rappers getting back to the top spots in the music industry.

I’m playing a lot of music out of the iPod right now. Not necessarily just hip-hop. In fact hip-hop is the least. Recently I’m playing Rhye, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Mibbs, some of Kanye’s new album, old Wu Tang and a bunch of instrumental music from various producers and artist.

Who are you playing on your iPod at the mo-ment?

I would tell young artists to understand the business and psychology of the music industry before just putting out music. If you’re in it to win you must put together a strong team because it’s pretty much impossible to do it solely by yourself. It’s about who you know. Build relationships and grow them.

Can we expect to see you in London any time soon?

I’d love to get out there to London soon. Get me out there so you can feel that FREEBASS in person!

http://mibbsovereverything.comhttps://www.facebook.com/MibbsOverEv-erythinghttps://soundcloud.com/mibbsoehttps://myspace.com/mibbsoe@mibbsOE

Describe Mibbs in 5 words?Gemini, versatile, energetic, creative and su-perstar!

As much as I love Pac Div, I’m really feeling your solo project! Is the solo ‘thing’ perma-nent or can we expect new material from you all?

Yes, the solo music thing is permanent.Of course Pac DiV is still the crew and we will always make music together but we all under-stand the importance of doing our own solo ventures.

How did your collaboration with Scoop dev-il come about?

Scoop Deville and I met in 2012 through my girlfriend who’s also his lawyer. He came over to our apartment and we hit it off pretty well. We had good conversation about music and understood each other really well. Two weeks later we started out work on FREEBASS.

You’ve had some really good features. If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be?

With Pac DiV I’ve collaborated with a lot of dif-ferent artists. My dream collaboration is yet to be seen, honestly. But if I had to say, at the end of it all, I’d like to get in the studio with Jay-Z.

Who/what influences your music?

I’m influenced by a bunch of things. Real life, hip- hop, R&B, alternative, dance, my dad’s and mom’s, movies. So much inspiration to draw from, it depends on how I feel.

DAVID SCHOLES INTERVIEW

Q: I love your work! It’s hard to believe you’ve had no formal training. You are one of the few people that naturally have ‘the gift’! I read in the history section on your website that you ‘didn’t realise’ your true potential until 2012, what influenced that realisation?

A: Hi, and thank you for your appraisal I really appreciate the kind comments. I had recently been made redundant from my job as a Business De-velopment Manager early February 2012. After a chance visit with my daughter to the Tate Gallery Liverpool, I remember walking around the building looking at all the Art and thinking to myself “this is something I can do”. At School I had sketched, painted and doodled as every child did but I felt I was different to the other kids and I immersed myself totally into my Art. My Teachers recognised me as having potential but like most state schools at that time little was done to develop or encour-age my ability, Art it seemed was not associated with occupation but, merely a self-expression. I left school at 15 discouraged and I suppose that influ-enced me to postpone my artistic endeavours and follow a different career path, in almost 30 years I never touched brush to paint.

Q.How do you work? What materials do you use?

A: I work from my home and use the conservatory which is now known as the ‘studio’ to paint in; it’s not huge at 5M X 4M but works out great for me at the moment. I use a trusted supplier from Germany for the canvases via internet and the paint I buy from my local Art shop to support and promote lo-cal business, nothing extravagant in fact, the paint is classed as student quality which I find amusing but does the job very well indeed.

My favorite pieces have to be ‘la obsession’ and ‘la indulgencia’, what was the Inspiration?My favorite pieces have to be ‘la obsession’ and ‘la indulgencia’, what was the Inspiration?

A: Wonderful question what is inspiration, what does inspire an artist to paint. I suppose for me anyway the answer comes from within. It’s a bit like cooking a meal for a loved one, beautiful presenta-tion, cooked to perfection, exquisite to taste but remove the passion and the desire to make some-thing nice and the dish is tasteless and bland.

Art or painting is no different and I paint with a desire to create beauty whether expressed realis-tically or abstract so that the observer can feel an emotion by looking at it. La Obsesion was truly re-markable because she initially started off as a real-ism painting based on a dream I had of someone drowning. I had almost finished the mouth when I received the sad news that my Mother had passed away, I finished the painting in three hours. I don’t really know what I did in that time but La Ob-sesion is the result. La Indulgencia is one of my favourites because she is the first colour painting I did and is my guilty pleasure. Based on a photo-graph, I wanted to try and communicate her spirit or self-emotion through the canvas to show the observer the act of indulgence beyond the meta-phor of colour, I really loved painting her.

What’s an average day like in the life of David?

A: Usually I’m up and about around 6am scram-bling for coffee and toast. During the week I only paint on two days due to holding down a part time job (starving artist) it’s at the weekends the magic happens. I actually have the finished painting in my head before I commit to canvas. Sometimes I paint for a couple of hours and sit and stare at the canvas reflecting on what I will do and have done, other times I can paint 16 hours straight!

The Icon series is amazing, definitely lives up to the title, your choice of black and white really works, it reminds me of black and white photographs. Timeless. Which is true to the word Icon, was this deliberate?

A: Thank you, after Avalon my first painting, I wanted to continue with the monochrome be-cause I believe it to show more depth and clarity in the composition of the painting and chose Mar-ilyn and Amy to reflect that. I wanted to reproduce their beauty as artists whilst trying to capture the qualities which made them superstars in the first place and because they are legend. All too often tragic demise befalls greatness but I wanted to capture them at their very best.

Which artists do you most identify with?

A: To be honest anyone can paint, but not every painter is an Artist and I truly believe that, if I was to look for shadow, depth , enormity of subject

-and sheer brilliance for inspiration I would look to the Artist Caravaggio but for bold and stark abstract lines then Picasso or Van Gogh would be in there, someone not afraid to look to the inner child, Picasso actually wrote “…it took me 4 yrs to be able to paint like Reuben’s but a lifetime to learn to paint like a child”…But there are many, many brilliant Artists today like Emma Grzon-kowski who paint from inner emotion and the fabulous Ciara McAvoy the Movie Poster Artist. There are so many I could not do them justice by beginning to mention them here.

What research do you do (if any)? Are the peo-ple you draw real people? If so, do you work from photographs?

A: More recently I begin new work with an outline created in my mind, an idea, sometimes it just comes to me and other times I have to wait, sometimes weeks before I have an inkling of what I need to do. Once I have the likeness or idea I look for images on the net and break them down into segments. I eventually end up with many different pictures which I then arrange into a collage. I then Photoshop the images into a single image and use that as my guide. Obviously for certain images e.g. Amy and Marilyn I use the originals but I do end up changing the contrasts and lighting as well as using my own style of painting to lend it a certain ‘je n’est ce qua’. Working with real people would be great and I would love to be in a position to employ a model or perhaps a muse, who knows in the future? The only condition would be that they don’t mind being covered in paint!

What advice do you have for other up and coming painters?

A: I’m sure this stands true for most Artists but I paint because I love too, I am thrilled when complete strangers leave such wonderful and kind comments on my social media and it’s for that very reason I do it. It stuns me that within only a year I have a worldwide fan base, it’s truly amazing.So for anyone thinking of dabbling I’d say do it, if it’s from the heart and no other reason do your best work and show the world.

What advice do you have for other up and coming painters?

A: I’m sure this stands true for most Artists but I paint because I love too, I am thrilled when complete strangers leave such wonderful and kind comments on my social media and it’s for that very reason I do it. It stuns me that within only a year I have a worldwide fan base, it’s truly amazing.So for anyone thinking of dabbling I’d say do it, if it’s from the heart and no other reason do your best work and show the world.

Are you working on any new projects?

A: I have a lot floating around but I am revisiting La Incognita with several paintings in monochrome and colour and other stuff I haven’t thought of yet, but I aim to complete at least two paintings a month. I have recently enjoyed an Exhibition ‘FACES: A PRI-MORDIAL FORM’ at the Lloyd Gill Gallery in Somerset which featured three selected works. I also have up-coming exhibitions in London mid-October featuring selected works and Barcelona in 2014 with brand new work.

Thank you Charmaine , I really enjoyed our tête -à – tête!

You can check out David work on his webistehttp://www.davidlscholes.com

Mary KatrantzouMary Katrantzou is a Greek fashion designer, born in Athens and currently lives and works in London. In 2003 she moved to the United States and attended Rhode Island School of Design to study architecture. Following this, she transferred to Sain Martins College of Art and Design where she completed both a Bach-elor and Master’s Degree. During her studies, she sold some of her unique prints to American fashion designer Bill Blass and soon learnt that she wanted to focus her prints on fashion rather than interiors. As well as collaborating with Greek fashion designer Sophoa Kokosalaki in 2006, in 2008 she opened the Saint Martin’s graduating show and her collection was nominated for the Harrods and L’Oreal Professional Award. From this, her first Prêt-à-porter collection was shown at the AW08 show of London Fashion Week and highlighted her signature style. The collection was themed around l’oeil prints of oversized jewellery, which created the illusion of wearing giant statement neckpieces that would realistically be too heavy to wear.

This was the beginning of Mary’s career in fashion and since then icons such as Anna Dello Russo have worn her pieces and her collections are now available worldwide in over 200 high end fashion shops such as Harvey Nichols, Barneys and Selfridges. In 2010 she also launched a collection for Topshop and her pieces were sold out within the first few days of release, so I don’t think I am the only one that is hoping she will launch a collection with them again soon! This year’s spring-summer collection is inspired by postage stamps from around the world as well as bank notes that are no longer in circulation, which already accentuates her unique and signature style and proves that this lady can turn ordinary objects into the most coveted prints.

MARY KATRANTZOUBy Emma Whitemoss

Find out more at http://www.maryka-trantzou.com/ and watch this space!!

Photographer:Davis OslanModel: Sophia DisgraceMUA: Silvia SaccintoHair stylist: Ash KaurFashion: Cat Yap and Erica Cindy

Tell us about yourself. How did you start your own fashion line?

I’m a Japanese fashion/textile designer with an international background. I recentlygraduated from London College of Fashion where I earned a Foundation degree in Arts and Design and BA degree in FDT: Surface Textiles.

During the courses I improved my garment construction skills, gained textile knowledge, and specialised in knitwear. This is how I began developing my fashion portfolio which gave me the opportunity to collaborate with others.

What makes your creations so unique? Tell more about your collections.

Growing up as a third culture kid, I have always been open minded about newexperiences and exploring curiosities. Inspira-tions are collected as a hobby and for projects I like juxtaposing the ideas to form a unique concept or a story. For example, once I de-signed a collection based on a theme which merged contrasting historical periods titled “If Marie Antoinette lived the Space Age”.

What inspire you when designing clothes?

My work tends to encapsulate an aesthetic with a balance between organic and structural elements. Therefore, the inspirations are usual-ly taken from nature,historical references, cultural artifacts, textures, technology, and juxtapositions of all discov-eries that trigger my interest of the moment. I try to keep myself updated with market trends, but I will manipulate the details to depict my vision and personal inspirations.

Whom would you love to see in your dress-es?

I would honestly love to see anyone who appreciates a well-made dress in my garments. So from celebrities to my neighbours, if they

Some of my works are dramatic, some are commercial, but all of them are comfortable to wear. Therefore, some might be more pref-erable for performers or models foreditorial photo shoots. Then there are others that can be added to someones personal wardrobe for daily wear.

Who is your ideal woman? What describes her?

To me, an ideal woman is someone who has an optimistic flow of energy. A person who can find the best in things will be able to embrace the confidence in themselves too. As a designer I think it is an honour to have my garments desired by people like that be-cause their positive mood will compliments the product. Also, hopefully vice versa, the garments will give the woman a sense of satisfaction.

What’s your next goal? Do you plan to take it to the next level and have your out-fits produced commercially?

Since I have been educated in English my whole life, I would like to stay abroad for my career. Therefore, my priority at the moment is to find a job in the UK until my student visa expires. Stepping into the industry would give me further insight intothe real market and I love working with other creators. Producing my own projects are fun, but I also like being able to communicate with people to bounce back ideas.If working in the market leads to having my outfits made commercially, and seeing it being purchased by customers, it would be an amazing achievement.

Interview conducted by David Oslon

Erica Cindy- Fashion Designer

Are we so conflicted by how beauty is portrayed that we don’t see that we are indeed…beautiful?

In our modern day society, Photoshop enhanced beauty seems to be the new ‘it`. “Abra ka dabra”, illusion achieved! That said, I would ask the question…“what is real”?

We are fortunate that we have so many areas that can be ex-plored in our search for perfection. To create what is believed to be beautiful (on the surface at least). The enhancements can be obvious, but what about the essence of a person? Does inner beauty get reflected on the outer core? Are we truly the face that people see or do our mask-like smiles hide the ‘real’ us from the world?Do we chameleonise ourselves so we can blend into different scenarios, a face for different occasions? It seems we have the option to accessorise the clothes we wear, to match the smile we portray!

Image by Nate Frizzell

THE TRICKERYBy Adrian Richardson

…“A Fashion Brand That Deters Away From The Ordinary And Creates A New Dimension”…

VA-Garments is a unique British brand that has recently stormed the fashion industry. Established by three exceptionally fashionable and exceedingly innovative young men from South East London, together they united to build a distinctive brand in a bid to break away from the stereotypical urban trends affili-ated amongst common society which in turn enables a brand that reflects their personalities while simultaneously changing, if not breaking, the common obscured perceptions of modern youth culture and what is socially accept-able. VA-Garments emulates style, class, and individuality. Day by day these three young men are excelling within the urban fashion industry. Characteristically VA-Garments are recognised for their creative and experimental designs built up of unique block geometric cuts, with a combination of primary and secondary colours. Now it is time to pick their brains and see what really rattles their creative cages. This is an all access granted inter-view with Vidal, Idriss, and Alan who together are known as the sustaining force behind the VA-Garment brand.

Interview conducted by Caroline Grithifs

Tell me a little about yourselves, who are you and what do you do?

We are Visual Artistic Garments and our names are Alan, Vidal and Idriss. We love Art and fashion and believe the world would be dead without imagination. I met Vidal and Idriss while at the University of Bedfordshire in London where we came to discover we had a lot in common and decided to create a lifestyle brand. The vision from the start was to create a lifestyle.

What does fashion mean to you?

Well, fashion for me has always been about being comfortable in what I wear.It’s also been a sense of escapism where I can break away and show who I am and what I’m really about! …They always say don’t judge a book by its cover but the truth is, people always do. With that being said VA-Garments is here to de-molish those premature thoughts and percep-tions laid out.

What made three Young men come together to create a fashion brand?

Vidal: You know a lot of people ask that question and they are always shocked to see three young men of colour working so well together.But I guess it goes back to being at university where we had no options after we finished, plus, we were all a bit frightened of what was on offer in the job market as the country was in debt…

Idriss: Yea, so we decided to create our brand and work together as a team and achieve won-ders with what we had around us at the time and I guess from there we slowly grew.

Alan: I have always been into design and from an early age I was already designing and painting. I had a good eye for colour and texture.... and I’ve always wanted to be a part of designing something different to make the eye wonder. Fashion was something that I picked up, as I grew older, as for many teens. I stopped wearing baggy jeans and hoodies and moved to fitted items of clothing. I used to wear black a lot, but that changed when I started to break up my items of clothes and think about the outfit as a whole. I wanted to create products and implicate colour, print, cut and form in an experimental and unique way, and give a fresh and innovative alternative to our urban society.

How would you describe your brand and what it represents?

At Visual Artistic Garments we create visually stim-ulating garments, unique for their cut and con-struction coupled with characteristic and quirky VA-Garments designs.

Can you describe your basic design process?

Vidal: Our basic design process is first and fore-most research. We start with personal influences taken from each of us and then we put together a large mood-board which we add to throughout the design process. This helps us to start drawing innovative and creative pieces. We always try to create something that’s never been done before, which means that we do a lot of trial and error pieces because we are all perfectionists at heart and sometimes the design process can be quite tedious where there are three guys involved…. *laugh out loud.

Idriss: we try to reflect into today’s society and on what we feel we believe that fashion should be in fashion culture today.

What factors do you consider when design-ing your pieces?

Vidal: Well there are so many factors that we have to consider, usually we do plenty of re-search. Research into what colours we want to use, what fabrics and prints we would like to test and add to our collections, and how is the fab-ric we choose going to fit our consumers?

Idriss: We need to make sure that the shapes and cuts we choose will compliment our cus-tomers. These are just a few of the factors that we have to consider. The list is never ending to be honest.

Alan: I think about fabric, texture, and colour.... most important is fabric quality.... and having to be in the right mind frame...i.e. going to muse-ums and researching on different cultures.

What are your favorite colours to work with and why?

Vidal: At the moment I would say black and red are our agreed favourite colours to work with, mainly because they are dominant and can be placed with any other fashion item.

Alan: I would say black, because black is classic, it is timeless.... its not sessional and it can be worn anytime of the year. I also love the colour grey, its a neutral colour.... it can offer a sooth-ing, cooling presence.

What matters to you most as a fashion de-signer?

Alan: That I am able to re-create my ideas, and to have a feeling that people actually like my ideas, not only in the UK but overseas...lso hav-ing creative control.

Vidal, Idriss & Alan: we can all say that the most important factor for us all is making sure peo-ple consume our products and wear them with pride.

What are some of your favorite fashion mag-azines, books, and websites?

Vidal: At the moment Vogue, Complex, ID, Dazzed and Confused are the favorite picks, but this list is always changing as our research is constantly expanding.

Idriss: It’s important that we are always in the fashion loop; you know this is what aids in keep-ing VA-Garments fresh and in demand!

Alan: Also Elle, and GQ

What advice do you have for aspiring fashion designers?

Alan: Simple, chase your dreams, because you should be scared of a day job. Trust in your struggle... because people’s prob-lem is not achieving goals, but setting them. GO FOR IT!!!!

Idriss, Alan & Vidal: “See your ideas through and don’t give up on your passion”

Website: www.VA-gltd.comBlog: VA-Garms.wordpress.comTwitter: @VA_GLTDMySpace: www.myspace.com/visualgarmentsInstagram: VA_garments

Clockwise from left

1 – Seafolly tropical goddess twist bandeau swimsuit – House of Fraser2 – Tropical print shirt – Forever213 – Iris printed illusion bodycon dress – forevernew.com.au4 – Multicoloured tropical fruit crop top – Debenhams 5 – Paradise City muscle tee – nastygal.com6 – Moschino Cheap & Chic tropical blazer – Harrods7 – Oneoneseven neon wildness skirt – theiconic.com.au8 – BB DAKOTA palm frond print shirt – Nordstrom9 – Line & Dot tropical paradise blazer – piperlime.gap.com10 – Michael Kors tropical print pleated maxi dress – psyche.co.uk11 – Christopher Kane jacket – thecorner.com12 – Knitted tropical parrot sweat - TOPSHOP13 – Just Cavalli mulit-colour stretch mini skirt – stylebop.com14 – Anna & Boy Aloha tropical print bomber jacket – matchesfashion.com15 – Just Cavalli Tropical tshirt – farfetch.com16 – Motel Mollyanna dip hem dress in new world print – motelrocks.com

TROPICAL

In the season 5 finale of Sex and the City – I Love a Charade – there is one line that has always stuck with me. Samantha (Kim Cattrall) has thrown a Hamptons party of epic proportions to which all the usual glitterati have attended. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) has gone public for the first time with her new boo, whom she is somewhat ashamed to show off. Harry (Evan Handler), now co-starring in the brilliant Californication as Charlie Runkle, brandishes his tropical print shirt with an adorable smugness about him that we all so loved about Harry.

Charlotte: Ugh! Take off that tropical shirt! Don’t you know they’re out of style? Harry: It’s not tropical - it’s Tiki!

Charlotte: Well, Tiki it off!

It tickled me then and it tickles me now, it was just a golden Charlotte/Harry moment that made us all adore them so much. Now – down to business. I spent my family Christmases in Florida for about ten years from the age of 9. It was such a surreal experience at first; my father and I would make bets on wheth-er it would be warm enough to swim in the sea on Christmas day – and then the same bet on New Year’s Day. Some years we managed it. It was always warm and often hot. I’d be lounging by the pool, congratulating myself on attempting to sit still long enough to sunbathe, and all of a sudden amidst The Beach Boys you’d hear Jingle Bells, White Christmas and – my personal favourite – Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.

I’d hear my mum chuckling to herself on the next lounger at how odd it was to suddenly be reminded it was December.

My dad would feel the strongest of needs to “blend in”, so with that notion in mind he’d brandish a Hawaiian shirt once his Italian skin was sufficiently mahogany. I can’t say I was particularly scarred or really bothered by the shirts. I mean, what’s more embarrassing than any parent themself? Having said that, my mother did find some stonkers at the many ginormous bargain stores we’d frequent for a laugh. Somehow, Brits get kicks in the states when we’re reminded of our small statures and small island. One garment in particular that has resonated all these years is a white crew neck sweater with Santa in board shorts on a deck chair with a palm tree covered in glitter with (literally) gold sand, also in glitter, with “Happy Holidays” scrawled across the top… although there’s a high chance I could get away with wearing that these days, it really has left a vivid scar upon my pre-teen memory!

Anyhow, I digress. My point is that I was sub-jected to such an abundance of tropical, Hawai-ian, and Tiki shirts during my adolescence, that I honestly thought these words would never form inside my head – mainly because I could never see the trend in any other way than the retired, leathery Floridians’ staple piece – but I hereby declare that I am head over heels for tropical.

The stigma towards Hawaiian shirts has often cropped up on television, informing us that it is a dreadful fashion piece… even Homer Simp-son has an opinion on the matter! It seems to me though, that fashion faux pas are a trend in themselves these days. The current state of the high street really seems to insist that anything goes right now. Who are we to argue? Let’s embrace it and experiment while there’s little danger of looking foolish! It has always been to my belief though, and something I always advise people who question how I “pull that off ”, that winning the gamble of whether something is hot or not is very simply ,CONVICTION.

TROPICAL SAFARI

If you wear it with conviction, how can any-body argue with you?

Anyhow, I digress. My point is that I was subjected to such an abundance of tropical, Hawaiian, and Tiki shirts during my adoles-cence, that I honestly thought these words would never form inside my head – mainly because I could never see the trend in any other way than the retired, leathery Floridi-ans’ staple piece – but I hereby declare that I am head over heels for tropical.

The stigma towards Hawaiian shirts has often cropped up on television, informing us that it is a dreadful fashion piece… even Homer Simpson has an opinion on the matter! It seems to me though, that fashion faux pas are a trend in themselves these days. The current state of the high street really seems to insist that anything goes right now. Who are we to argue? Let’s embrace it and experiment while there’s little danger of looking foolish! It has always been to my belief though, and something I always advise people who ques-tion how I “pull that off ”, that winning the gamble of whether something is hot or not is very simply ,CONVICTION. If you wear it with conviction, how can anybody argue with you?

I really believe that’s what’s happened to our generation, and this is why we can (and do) wear absolutely anything we want. We are a bullheading, cocky generation in that we do not take no for an answer, we believe anything is possible and we appreciate the sheer bril-liance of trends that preceded us, so instead of struggling to find new ones we use them all at once, and boy can we pull that off!

I think what’s intrigued me most about this trend rolling around in such a hip way, is the mixture between tropical prints, animal prints, and traditional chain and foliage scarf

prints to make up one vast and outlandish brand of print I like to call Tropical Safari.

Just Cavalli’s SS13 line up epitomises this, and I am completely smitten with every sin-gle crazy print he’s blessed us with this sea-son. There is such an abundance of pattern and colour but somehow it just works and only makes you crave more. If you walk into Desigual this spring ,you’re really not sure if you’ve entered the jungle or an underground club. It’s truly enthralling!

I have a feeling there will be a million ways to go tropical this summer. There are so many different styles and ensemble vari-ations, that I think we will be seeing this pattern across the board, getting in on the action of every trend, such as flowing bohe-mian maxi dresses, grungy body suits with cut off denim vests, and capped sleeve shirts and blouses. Everyone get your experimental hats on, throw caution to the wind and just throw all those patterns together and create some-thing amazing to brandish with conviction.

Written by Olivia Alessandra

Most film-making is a collaborative process. I say most, because there will be those out there who will create a film where they play all the characters with the camera set up on a tripod or those very patient people who will do months and months of animation all by themselves to create a four min-ute masterpiece. Exceptions like this aside, film-making is usually a collaborative process, and can range from a team of under ten people filling the roles of writers, directors, actors and other crew, to having dozens, hundreds or even thousands working on a project from page to screen.The first step to making a film comes in either one or two ways. Either, one, you’ll have an idea for a story you want to tell, or two, you’ll simply know you want to make a movie and then try to come up with an idea for a story. Either first step is fine, but both have their challenges. In the initial stages of making a film, it’s all very well deciding that you want to make the next Transformers or Lord of The Rings, but films of their nature require a budget of millions which are going to be far out of the realms of possibility. On the flip side, it can be great to search for an idea knowing the limitations of your budget, crew, cast, locations etc., but the risk of an idea written to match what you have available, may never feel as exciting as the idea you’d want to do in an ideal world where you have all the resources you could dream of.I’m afraid to say that when it comes to independent film-making, the practical limitations you face must always come first.

If you were writing a book or creating a graphic novel, you could let your imagination run wild because words or drawings of Sci Fi and fantasy subjects are just as costly as showing two people sat on a park bench. When committing these ideas to screen, you’ll quickly find that the park bench is much more practical than giant robots and orks. That isn’t to say that a lack of a Hollywood budget will relegate your film to become mundane and uneventful, but one of the biggest mistakes made by independent film-makers is over- ambition.Before you talk about casting, or posters or distribution, you should be talking about the story and the practicalities of filming it. A good script based on a great idea can be ruined because you wrote something in there that you have no means of filming with a DSLR camera and no other kit. A smarter approach may be to look around yourself, and start thinking about what you do have to fit your budget. It doesn’t matter if you have a budget of zero or ten grand, as a writer of an independent film you should aim to use every resource you have at your disposal, and not ones you don’t have. For example, writing a film with a cast of hundreds will be a nightmare for whoever is casting the thing. Likewise writing in that really exciting scene where the ‘tank storms the embassy’ is logistically crazy...that is, unless you have an uncle who happens to be a diplomat and former Sergeant...who, for some reason has his own tank. A tense discussion between two actors playing heads of states over whether they should drop a nuke can be just as tense and exciting as seeing the special effect of the explosion.

INDEPENDENT FILMMAKINGBy David Pustansky

Once you get your head around the idea that you should only write what is possible to achieve you’ll very quickly get your imagination going to find ways to make the simplest things more interesting. Often times horror films are made on a small budget, and sometimes these can be the best examples of how limited resources can be used to the best effect. Paranormal activity was an incredibly cheap movie to make by Hollywood standards, and instead of oodles of expensive CGI, the film makers achieved believable ghostly special effects by having doors close on their own and lampshades wob-ble. How did they actually do this? By manually closing the doors and wobbling the lampshades, but doing so in a way that the stage hands doing this couldn’t be seen on screen. Easy. The Saw series was hugely successful, but the first film (which is arguably the best) was filmed en-tirely within a warehouse. Most of the film happens in one room. The later, higher budgeted films sacrificed character development in favour of increasingly elaborate and expensive effects.The more creative your thinking becomes, the quicker you’ll start finding practical ways to have just as interesting and gripping stories as anything you’d see on TV or in the cinema. Of course the initial story and writing of it is just the beginning of the process, but it’s the one that if you get right will allow a smoother ride for all other challenges that follow.

The Liability

From the big budget blockbuster to a much smaller scale film, The Liability stars Tim Roth (The Incredible Hulk, Lie To Me) and Jack O’Connell (Skins) as an unlikely pairing of an experienced hit man and would be young offender tagging along on his latest hit. O’Connell plays Adam, a youth whose days are spent being little more than a delinquent who is the bane of his mother’s older and powerful boyfriend’s existence. Despite this Adam is the hero of the story as it’s quickly established that his would be step father Peter (played by Peter Mullan) is the antagonist of the story who sends Adam to be the driver for Roy (Roth) who is a typically shady gangster figure. Whilst the pair naturally hit a rocky start to things it doesn’t take long before the two find some common ground and when Adam discovers that Roy is actually a hit man Adam fully embraces the opportunity to learn the killing trade. This leads to some very successful moments of dark humour as they collaborate to dispose of a victim. The way the scenes play out is reminiscent of two people struggling to take care of the most normal and mundane task, which makes the grim body disposal all the more humorous. Of course this humour can’t last long and within minutes the duo are interrupted by the seemingly innocent bystander Tallulah Riley who turns out to be a formidable nemesis for the remainder of the movie. The film becomes a game of cat and mouse, though the roles of who is the cat and who is the mouse frequently change. This ensures that the film stays engaging and you’ll be interested to see how it all pans out in the end, but it never be-comes edge of your seat intriguing or laugh out loud funny to fully recommend. A decent watch, but not one to keep returning to.

FILM REVIEWBy David Pustansky

Described as the hippest street artist since Ban-sky, its no wonder JR has an international buzz.

Everywhere, from the slums of Kenya to the Israeli west bank barrier has been graced by his art, JR fly-posts enormous monochrome pho-tographic prints on buildings, bringing art to improbable places. And importantly, he brings his art to people unlikely or perhaps unable to go to art galleries.His signature mix of photography and graffiti sprinkled with super ambitious projects makes him an exciting artist to watch. Described as an ‘Urban activist’, JR successfully manages to give a face toThe unprivileged. There’s something about the eyes in JR’s portraits that scream un controlla-bly for your attention. In a way this humanizes those portrayed. You feel a sense of comfort and warmth in contrast to the surroundings they

28 Millimeters, Face2FaceNuns in Action, Separation Wall, Security Fence, Palestinian Side, Bethlehem , 2007

The Wrinkles of the CityLa Havana, Rafael Lorenzo y Obdulia Man-zano, Cuba, 2012

28 Millimeters, Women Are HeroesCollage in Bô City, School, Sierra Leone, 2008

JR ARTISTBy Charmaine Mainoo

Photographer - Emy Lou

Models - Ashton Lee Parks & Agnieszka Koniuszek @ Lenis Model Management

Hair stylist - Emmanuel Esteban - www.eestebancoiffure.wix.com/estebancoiffure

Stylist - Lucy HeatherMakeup - DianaAssistants - Sophie Amelia Collins & Alexander Barnes

Shawn chrystopherInterview By Charmaine Mainoo

60 seconds with American MC Shawn Chrystopher.We discuss his music, working with Timbaland and his hidden talent...

When did you pen your first song?

I was 10 or 11. It was called “Time” or some shit like that.

How would you categorise your style of mu-sic and what/who influences you?

I put “real” as the genre of my last mix-tape just because that’s the only way I knew how to describe it. I write about real stuff that happens to me andthe people around me. I’m influenced by all great artists, not just in music… from Basquiat to Quincy Jones.

What item can you not live without?

Probably my computer, I do all my beats, edit all my videos, and record all my sessions. As long as I’ve got a computer, my company [Hon-our Role] staysA float.

If you were to dabble into another genre of music, what would it be?

Probably some soulful electronic style music, like a James Blake or Gang Colours.

You’ve directed a few videos, is film some-thing you’re interested in?

Always. I took classes in high school and col-lege. I’ll end up doing features before it’s all said and done, but I direct my own videos just because I can’t trust anyone else to have the same vision I have when i write my song.

(check out Shawns short film ‘black and white’ http://bit.ly/blacknwhitefilm)

What hidden talents do you have?

I’m a pretty dope DJ. I DJ at my friends’ kickbacks, or at the house. One day I think I’ll start off my concerts with a DJ warm up set, we’ll see.

When did you decide music is what you want to do?

Middle school. I did a school assembly, hit the stage, and told myself I wanted that feeling for the rest of my life.

What was it like working with Timbal-and?

Dope. I learned a lot from him, on how to perfect my music, how to create and main-tain my own sound. It’s all about the com-pany you keep. Tim’s been working with the same people for over 15 years, so I keep my team tight and never rotate the people around me.

When can we expect the LP?

The Lovestory LP*, *July 23rd*. The date is set in stone. Ready for the summer!

Check out Shawns websitewww.shawnchrys.com

Dionne SylvesterBy Charmaine Mainoo

Last Bank Holiday, I had the pleasure of meeting you at Spitalfield Market! I fell in love with your stall, everything from the intricate little cups, to your handcrafted cards. For those who don’t know about your brand yet, how would you describe it? What do you do?

Thanks so much, I’m glad you like it!My brand... is quirky, unique, vibrant, but still elegant.

I work on all areas of my brand from designing, making and selling, so I’m always running around. I brought my equipment to print onto the ceramicsand textiles, so everything is made in my studio.

I particularly liked the print on the cushions which you explained to be based around ‘illusion’, what was the inspiration?

I am inspired by magic eye patterns, optical illusions and inkblot tests. I like using these themes as custom-ers/viewers always see something different within my work, so its always changing to each perspective. Also, I add hidden images in prints, to see if people can see it.

How long have you been doing this? What’s your background?

I started to make my own products summer last year and have been developing the range ever since. I’m always designing and thinking of different products to add into my range.

I have a fine art and crafts background and I graduated from University College Falmouth in Fashion Design, 2010. I found out how much I loveprint/surface design. By the second year of my final term I discovered that I had the desire to de-sign and print my own textiles from my doodlings in my sketchbooks. I soon realised I could make every garment into a walking colouring book, hence, I fell in love with printed textiles. I was very lucky to go to Falmouth as the equipment facili-ties were amazing: giving me time to experiment and develop techniques that I still use to this day.

Have you any plans to get online?

I’m a bit of a technophobe... but I’m on instagram - ‘dionnesneons’ and I have an esty shop, so have a look, esty.com/dionnesneons. But, its all verynew to me and I’m still finding my feet with it.

Where can people find you?

I’m going to be at Spitalfield trading at the new Style market on Saturdays and Wednesday and Friday weekdays; plus online as mentioned above, so check me out.

Olivia Alessandra pays homage to one of the greatest...

TIM WALKER

As a photography major in university, devoted and forever faithful wife to clothes, swearing on Vogue as my bible (I can practically use them as pillars in my house to hold up the ceiling), Tim Walker is most definitely on my list… Walker scored his first Vogue shoot at just 25, and has continued to entrance the world with his stories, visions and creations. I always knew that his truly captivating and hyp-notic images were a major part of my deeply set Vogue addiction. Even when you read an issue over the course of the month to ration the high and delay the come down in wait for next month’s score, all you ever want is more.

So many of you Voguies out there will know ex-actly what I’m talking about. The ones who stack them under the bed, against the dresser, hide them in the bath for visitors a la Carrie Bradshaw, bankrupt yourself buying bookcase after book-case, have them banished to a treasure chest like I did, line each and every corner of the room with them to spread them out to avoid parents, part-ners and friends figuring out that you could’ve mortgaged your house with what you’ve spent on them over the years (especially when you decide the international Vogues are an absolute life or death emergency all of a sudden in case something fabulous was shot in Italy this month that your life would be so bland without catching a glimpse)… I’m clearly having a Vogue trip just writing this article, and short of rehab my only other option is to roll on with the topic in hand…

Having studied photography (which unfortu-nately means I was surrounded by imbeciles) I feel quite passionately about people buying cameras and taking photographs of their bike, their dinner, their garden, their pets, their car, a girl in front of their car, a girl on top of their car, a girl next to their car in front of a wall of graffiti, discovering the Macro setting like it’s an innova-tion they’ve pioneered, using a fish eye lens so as to put even less effort into clicking that little button set to general automatic and autofocus… and popping a little watermark of their name at the bottom with the word “Photography” next to it as if its their degree title or surname.Having studied photography (which unfortunate-ly means I was surrounded by imbeciles)

I feel quite passionately about people buy-ing cameras and taking photographs of their bike, their dinner, their garden, their pets, their car, a girl in front of their car, a girl on top of their car, a girl next to their car in front of a wall of graffiti, discovering the Macro setting like it’s an innovation they’ve pioneered, using a fish eye lens so as to put even less effort into clicking that little button set to general automatic and autofocus… and popping a little watermark of their name at the bottom with the word “Photography” next to it as if its their degree title or surname.

If only these kids would take two minutes out of believing Intsagram is for budding professional photographers and go to a gallery or open a book or a magazine, they might realise that truly inspiring, artistic and talent fueled photography to be in awe of, comes from a little more than the wildflow-ers in a field in which you walk your dog… Just look at Walker’s “Floating Drive In” taken in Florida in 2005, its sheer ridiculousness as a concept makes it truly spellbinding and somehow completely enviable as a day out! I mean… that’s how you take a picture of a car!

Looking back over Walker’s Vogue cover ar-chive, it’s almost too much to take in at once. From Vivienne Westwood camouflaged in orange roses, to that absolutely jaw-drop-ping image of Lily Cole shot in India in 2005, wearing the most unbelievably fairytale bright blue Stella McCartney dress cascading as if a waterfall as she perches so effortlessly on a beautifully ornate wrought iron spiral staircase.

There’s one from 2007 of Sasha Pivovarova as one of the most unimaginably ethereal scenes as she attempts to sail a little wooden yacht into the pristine sunset on a gorgeous-ly placid lake, while equally dream-like, Coco Rocha in a billowing yet delicate dress with her feet cloaked in dry ice as if sat on a cloud in a shoot very aptly titled “Curiouser and Curiouser”.

Gazing through Walker’s extensive back catalogue of “stories” (there’s really no other way to describe his shoots), I feel completely hypnotised as always when daydreaming over his images… you just get so lost in his work, staring at every little detail, hoping you never need to peel your eyes away. He creates the most fantastical works of art, com-pletely mysterious, enticing, entrancing and just truly wonderous to look at. My biggest conflict is always how many pages I want to tear out and pin on the board so I never need take my eyes off them, but can never bring myself to commit the most blasphemous crime of defacing the Holy Book of Vogue in such a way!

I could continue this literary orgasm for pages and pages, most of which would read like a nonsensical, drug-induced musings of how truly fortunate we are to have such a talented photographer living, breathing and working in our day. I often feel cheated for missing out on the live feed of the careers and scandalous lives of the great artists over time, so it’s always pretty boom to be able to appreciate talent as it develops before our eyes.

In the interest of the theme of this issue of ILLUSION, exploring shapes, colours, patterns and dimensions, what I shall leave you with is this image that is continuing to capture my attention and succeed to constantly hypnotise me every time I catch sight of it, often losing time because I just can’t take my eyes off. It’s an image that practically makes me lost for words from one of 2011’s British Vogues shot in Africa, of Agyness Deyn… truly brilliant…

IMAGE 1

LILY COLE ON OLD VOGUE COVER, LONDON, 2004

IMAGE 2

FLOATING DRIVE-IN, FLORIDA, USA, 2005

IMAGE 3

LILY COLE IN STELLA McCARTNEY

GOWN, GUJARAT, INDIA, 2005

Bondax Producers

The duo recently signed to Relent-less Records, which is also the inde-pendent record label that published albums by So Solid Crew and Roll Deep.

We’ve been searching high and low for the freshest up-and-coming UK artists to share with you this issue. So without further ado… here are our official summer 2013 picks…

Ady SuleimanSinger/Songwriter

Ady’s colorful, soulful vocals mixed with fresh mellow acous-tic sounds, definately makes Suleiman one to watch this year. He’s already caught the attention of some of the top industry insiders.

HOMEGROWNBy Charmaine Mainoo

XXXYProducer

Manchester based, producer XXXY is known for refining the sound of UK Ga-rage music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESe-hV0OB26U&list=PL1D7C04D775280E37

Jacob BanksSinger/songwriter Birmingham based singer/songwriter re-corded his debut EP ‘The Monologue’ and released it in January of this year. He was the first ever unsigned act to appear on the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge and has said that he will be releasing a joint EP this year featuring artists such as Wretch 32.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7P-gEO1Ok9w

Home Groove Project

The duo successfully manage to blend dance, groove and funk creating a chilled ‘kick off ya shoes’ kind a sound. Expect crisp production, catchy melodies and bad ass base!

https://soundcloud.com/homegroove-pro-ject

L.MarshallSinger/songwriter

He has already had chart success and hasn’t even released an album yet!With two top 5 singles under his belt, Marshall has penned the two hits by Wretch 32 and Lo Loick Essien. We are excited to see his next move and will be interviewing him in coming weeks…stay tuned.

For those who haven’t heard your music, explain your sound in 5 words:

Classic R&B with a twist

Do you write you own music? If so, what inspires you?

I do write my own music. Inspiration can come from anything. For instance, a movie, a dream, or even the weather. But most of the time it comes from listening to other people’s music. I could be hearing a line or a chord that triggers a whole new idea in my head.

Are there any UK artists you would like to collab with?

I would absolutely love to work with Craig Da-vid. My life would then be complete… ha ha :-)

I hear so many different influences in your music, which artist has influenced you the most?

It’s really hard to pick just one. There are at least 5 artists that have influenced my music, and still do today. Those would be Boyz2men, Craig David, Joe, Brian McKnight, and Brandy.

When did it all begin? When did you realise you had a voice?

I grew up listening to Boyz2Men. I remember the first time I heard the “Evolution” album.

That’s when I fell in love with music. I would play the CD over and over again for hours and hours and try to sing like them. Eventu-ally I thought I sounded good, so I found the courage to sing for some people. Unfortu-nately they all started laughing really loud cause I sounded horrible… ha ha! I got really discouraged and basically quit singing. Then Craig David came out with “Born To Do It”. I was absolutely obsessed with that album. It made me fall in love with music all over again. I would skip school just so I could stay home and listen to it. I would lock myself in my room for days in a row and sing all of his songs. Then one day I was walking home from school and there was a bunch of girls standing in the front of my house and staring at me. And as I passed by they said: “We love your voice. We’re waiting for you to get home so we can hear you sing again”. It turned out they would pass by on a daily basis and stand outside my window just to hear me sing. That’s when I knew I might have something… ha ha ha!

Who are playing on your iPod right now? What influences your music?

Definitely, 90’s and early 2000 R&B. I hardly lis-ten to new music that comes out these days. I find it very hard to get inspired by today’s music. Sometimes it feels like everything that comes out is starting to sound the same!

http://www.semmusic.com

INTERVIEW- SEM

I met Phil and Leanne at separate times. They were friends of friends who, although stayed peripheral, have always been so nice, genu-ine and welcoming, I regard them with great respect and well wishing. I met Phil first, around his other band mates at the time. What strikes you first and foremost is this guy’s ridiculous smile. You’ve never seen anything like it, it just never ends, and never leaves his face. It practically leaves an imprint on your own face because you end up smiling just as much in reflection.

I first met Leanne at one of Phil’s gigs while he was still in his old band, Elsid. This night was hilarious, I’m not sure if I got the fancy dress memo but Leanne was Minnie Mouse and just looked the bomb. Funnily enough, her smile was equally infectious and endless. Both of them unexpectedly so, (I mean, we are in Brit-ain after all, we tend to reserve our smiles lest we make too many friends in a day)! But this was when I decided I liked this couple.

I first saw them play together some time after. It was in what can only be described as a room above a pub in town. I didn’t know she could sing before this. And she quite simply blew me away.

Roughly 5 or 6 years on and they’re married, so very happily, and now on a wonderful path of making music together. Besides this, Leanne loves art and fashion, while Phil simply lives and breathes music, writing music forfilms and animation. They’ve been together for 7 and a half years and married almost two, and hope to live out their dream of touring and trav-elling, ideally in the southern states of America from where their inspiration was bred.

I’ve been in talks with them for a couple of months now, finding out what it is to be on a song-writing journey…

Leanne:“I think about writing and performing music about 75% of my day.I’m sat here now on my lunch break from normal-ity, aka, the 9-5 grind.I’m sat in our staff canteen with my laptop, keeping to myself and trying to write lyrics for our new song. Sometimes it can be hard to write in this environment because you don’t want to become too emotional, because that’s what song writing is, emotional.

I don’t think I could ever just sit and try a -

‘catchy’ tune with the ambition of relating to the masses. I have to pull from my own experiences or it’s just not going to have that personal feel that as a fan of music, I love myself. Can you imagine Etta James, Amy Winehouse or Joni Mitchell singing about a fake life? Just to sell?

‘I cried for you on the kitchen floor’ - A line from ‘I Told You I Was Trouble’ byAmy Winehouse, isn’t for some dramatic ef-fect, this is actually what she did for three days straight. That’s why she sings it with pain in her voice. When she would sing live, she re-hashed those days and tortured herself.

Some of Etta James’ best material was in her later years when she had lived her life. One full of confusion, self-destruction, drug abuse, failed relationships, and the rocky road of success and failure. The knowledge and suffering in her voice as an older lady make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The impressive, belting notes have been replaced by deep and wise low depths. So real.”

Phil:“When I sit down at a piano I don’t see the keys I’m supposed to play or the scales music fits into. I find a chord that I’m feeling like and I make a statement of that feeling around it. The chord already exists and someone has written it down somewhere, but I had to find it for myself. I play by ear and feeling. I’ll listen to what Leanne’s singing or I’ll just think of how I’m feeling and I play. It’s because I’m self taught. I taught myself guitar this way and I taught myself most things in life this way. Music has always been on in the background and I’ve spent my life figuring out the certain sounds that go together to make you feel like laughing, crying, dancing and fucking. I’ve always been shy explaining how I felt and I don’t think it’s something that’s really encour-aged, it makes other insecure people feel as awk-ward. There’s something about expressing your deepest feelings through music though that’s internationally welcomed. If I were to put into words something pretty tragic that’s happened to me, I’d judge myself and expect to be labeled an attention seeker

Yet when it’s put to music it’s socially accepted and becomes profound. I don’t have a diary, the appropriate blog or feel at ease tweeting. That’s what The Brookes is for me. We’re writing about every success and failure that’s made us, the things we don’t necessary feel comfortable telling people, and we’re putting it into song.”

Leanne:“Today I’m feeling like a really small fish in a huge ocean. We have so many sounds, textures and influences to draw from that it’s hard to cram it all in. We have very broad taste from the soothing sounds of jazz, to the erratic charm of bands like Faith No More. We never want to be a pigeon in a hole, more like a flock of seagulls gliding through the sky, dipping and diving into different terrains and landscapes.

We know how hard it can be to get your mes-sage across though, when you can’t define your own sound. We’ve been in that boat before, the question: “What genre are you?” the an-swer: “I don’t know... a-guy-and-a-girl-singing-and-playing? Is that an option on YouTube?” Although a definition of our material isn’t something that we want to create, when we actually have a think of our favourite artists and albums, there is always that red thread that runs throughout, bringing it all together like an egg in a cup cake mix. It’s an incredibly crucial ingredient if you want a consistent end prod-uct. I think our secret ingredient is ‘feeling’ - but there is not a genre for that, perhaps we should create our own? But then we can’t really tag that on Tumblr because no one will find it. What a strange world we live in. The domination of the internet and the tagging generation.

I just want to make music and let people make up their own minds, #freedomnolongerexists.”

You listen to them talking together in prac-tice, jamming at their house and literally you can hear that they simply live and breath each other and music. I really have always believed we were each put on this planet for one specific reason that applies only to the individual, and this was theirs. I can’t express how much luck I wish them, but I don’t actually think they need it because from what I’ve seen so far, they’re so very good at making things happen in spite of-

-their surroundings and circumstances. I can’t wait to attend their first gig in Cardiff this coming Sep-tember. I’ll be there with smiling bells on.

The Brookes:Website: http://www.thebrookes.net

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/the

brookesmusic

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/thebrookesmusic

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/thebrookesuk

First Gig: The Full Moon, Cardiff, Saturday September 14th

Article and interview conducted by Olivia Alessandra

Finding new brands is my most favourite part of my day. I don’t quite know what I’d do with-out my phone these days, or the internet for that matter. Brand fishing seems to scratch the never-ending shopping itch that I simply cannot indulge in scratching these days (not like I used to when I was a rich student anyway). Therefore finding new brands and deciding which is more rad than the other so I can pass it onto you love-ly readers really brightens my week. So many, many… many hours of Instagram loitering later, I found my gem for this issue, the next big streetwear brand from London. They are The HUGE.

Who are The Huge?

We are a two man company who love art, fash-ion and good music with practically no fashion industry background but willing to deliver a good looking and affordable clothing label that “hits you” as soon as you see it.

What drove you to create your own label?

I couldn’t really find a comfortable tee with great design. And when I did, it cost a lot. A friend of mine is an artist and I love her stuff so one day I thought I might as well put it on t-shirts. Asked her, she agreed and there I was, starting my own clothing company. lol

Where was the gap in the market you felt you ought to fill?

Like I said I could not find a good looking and comfortable tee for a reasonable price so I thought I can fill this gap with my own stuff, a perfect t-shirt that you can wear with your designer jacket or with your favourite jeans. I felt that there wasn’t enough cool, any occasion wearable lower-midprice t-shirt brand.

I’m a big fan of art meeting fashion, and you guys seem to be nailing this concept. What kind of art and artists are you drawn to?

We love minimalistic, contemporary, modern art but street art is the one we love the most.

HUGE CLOTHINGBy Olivia Alessandra

Couple of our friends are graffiti and street artists so we were around it from a young age. Can’t say I have any favourite artists because there’s so many and so good.

As a straight-to-the-point realist, I am in love with all of your hilariously blunt slogans. How important to you is it to hold your own and not feel pressured into becoming too polite and conservative?

Very important, that’s one of our priorities basically, that’s what I think differs us from other labels and we will keep it “our way” regardless of what some people might think. Personally, I think there is “no such thing as bad publicity”, the more people will talk about how rude and maybe insulting the tees are, the more publicity we get. Oscar Wilde once said: “The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about”

Do you enjoy the potential feather ruffling that may occur from wearing your designs?

I love it. Can not wait to see someone wearing a t-shirt saying “fucking HUGE” or a bag that says “fucking love this weather” in London and see how people react. I will actually wear some my self to experience it first hand.

My favourite word right now is YES, more people should say it more often. My favourite design of yours therefore is the ABSO-FUC-KING-LUTE-LY tee. What’s yours?

My favourite word atm is HUGE, I use it instead of great, awesome, fantastic, wicked, like some people say that’s massive, I say that’s HUGE, fucking HUGE! :D Therefore my fav design is…you guessed it! Fuck-ing HUGE!

It’s still really early days for you yet, what are your next steps?

Our next steps are to get our website up and run-ning, which includes getting the photos done and most importantly the web store

because atm we sell stuff on asos marketplace, etsy and via e-mail. ([email protected] in case some readers would like to order some fucking huge stuff ) and most importantly get known.

Time travel 5 years. What’s happening?

There is no more oil, global temperature has risen by 6 degrees and people are traveling to space for a holiday. LOL. Well I hope by that time we will have much bigger collection, including different garment and accessories and not only t-shirts, we work with more artists, our stuff is stocked on the shelves in the shops and not only online and we might have one of our own some-where in London.

Would you consider collaborating with guest artists to push new slogans and more collec-tions?

Definitely yes, as a brand new label on the scene we would consider collaborations that could “push” us out of our comfort zone to “see” things differently but not as far that it would change our concept and look.

Finally, I have to ask, what is so fucking huge that you had to coin that as your brand name?

Well, it’s the word itself, HUGE, as I am using it in-stead of awesome which I think our stuff is. There isn’t any deep thought behind it.

These guys are so brand spankin’ new that their website isn’t yet complete, but ordering is no problem.

Find them at…

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thehuge-clothing‎ Twitter: @thehugelondonInstagram: @thehugelondonEmail: [email protected]

It’s that time of the year which can only mean one thing…summer swag! The OFH ladies were asked to list their favorite trends for Summer 2013…

Seeing as absolutely anything seems to go this year with regards to colour, shape, print, and style, I figured a bite sized trend report may not be the easiest thing to do this summer. With that in mind, I’ve realised more and more lately, how I keep surprising myself with the outfits and pieces I’m steering towards. Now more than ever I seem to be completely carefree and daring with the new things I’m trying out - it must be the knock-on effect of the sheer diversity this year - and I’m constantly surpris-ing myself with what I’m enjoying wearing and the things I’m wanting to buy. It was puzzling me for a while, why I was feeling almost naughty with my outfit choices and then it hit me - these aren’t new things at all - they’re items and outfits I vowed never to wear again some 15/20 years ago! Seeing the tail end of the ‘80s, and really rather too much of the ‘90s, I saw some ghastly things that even at my tender (albeit vain) age of about 4-9 years old, I could most definitely say with convic-tion, that these monstrosities needed to be de-stroyed from existence. Well my darlings... how tables turn!! Fashion can make you just the biggest hypocrite of all time, and it definitely does this to me several times a year. All too often these days, I am wearing pieces of clothing that I said so, so, viciously once upon a time that I would never disgrace myself as to go near such a thing again. I have a little giggle when it does happen, and strut out of the house as if those thoughts never occurred, moreover, that I’m the one who’s pioneered this fabulous turn of events…you should try this attitude with any new outfit you’re test running, because trust me, this is how you pull stuff off – sheer vain arrogance!

In light of this horrific bout of fashion backtrack-ing, I am honoring my summer trends with my top 6 revivals. Now, not all of these did I veto from day one, some I simply hung up, assuming there was no longer a place in the world for them, and nev-er would there be again. Perhaps I’m just a little dramatic, but what’s life without a frequent vow of contempt or a mental breakdown due to your appearance that day!

TIE DYEThis is my most ultimate crawl-back of all time. I have to admit my own mother called this one a couple of years ago when she started tie-dying old t-shirts. “Mum, you’re such a lost hippy, tie dye vanished years ago, and with good reason!” Sorry, Mum!!Get your hands on these delicious t-shirts, Vans & shorts all from http://www.teestodyefor.co.uk/

I have been wearing them with EVERYTHING this summer – under hot pants, dresses and skirts, and with big t-shirts and trainers. I didn’t include them in my top 6 because I don’t feel enough people have caught on yet as I’m still getting questioned as to why I’m wearing them!

S/S13 SUMMER FAV’S!By Olivia Alessandra and Emma Whitemoss

OVERSIZED JACKETS

Well, this one’s more embar-rassing as it was only about two years ago that I remem-ber spluttering at someone’s insanely large denim jacket, haughtily voicing that it can only make one look frumpy. Now, I’m hunting eBay to find old Levi’s jackets in large in or-der to bleach, patch, and stud.

DUNGAREES

Apparently, when I was about 2, I had some pink corduroy dungarees that I wore on a daily, and I also apparently insisted I dressed myself in my outfit of choice from the minute I was able to utter any string of words to my mother (the first being “no”, so I’m told). I honestly never thought these babies would come back around, but what a fabulous way they’ve done so! All hail the traditional dungaree overalls, skinny jeans dungarees, dungaree shorts, dresses, and skirts… they are just the epitome of casual-fab-ulous, right?

CROP TOPS

Aaah the crop top. We can all envisage the entire wardrobe from “Clueless” and “Clarissa Explains It All” can we not? The crop top in the ‘90s was the ultimate taboo if you were at your boyfriend’s house (according to my most trustworthy source of American ‘90s kids’ dra-mas, sitcoms and soaps) so for it to return to the masses in this day and age of “my weight is not your problem” baffles me somewhat. I’ve always kept a close watch on my abdom-inal area, mainly due to some 20+ years of dancing, but I’ve always been cagey about brandishing my midriff to the world. Howev-er, these days, I figure I’ll throw caution to the wind and risk upsetting the boy’s family while I still have it! It’s going to look a hell of a lot

S/S13 SUMMER FAV’S!

Sheer/MeshWith the unpredictable English weather sometimes it’s really hard to decide what to wear! Too many layers and it ends up being sunny, or not enough layers and it’s cold and raining!! This is why I love this trend...CHIFFON. Thin enough to keep you cool for when the sun makes an appearance, but surprisingly thick enough to keep you warm if the miserable weather doesn’t pick up. This is a winner for me. Most of the high-street have caught onto this trend including River Island and Urban Outfitters by combining chiffon with other fabrics such as fine knits and jersey to keep the look updated and fresh. From the classic chiffon shirt that is a winner through every season to the printed kimono, there are just so many ways to work this trend. (please see pictures included in email)

← River Island Mesh insert crop top

Urban Outfitters Mesh Sleeve Fine Knit Jumper. Now on sale £22.00!!

Comfort is KeyYes, it is nice to look good and feel great in what you are wearing, but it’s also important that we feel comfortable! I have seen so many over sized tee’s, skirts, casual jumpsuits and the ‘pyjama look’ trousers running up to this summer that it makes me realise everyone else thinks this is important too! Sometimes you just want to be comfy in what your wearing.. so what better than layering a pair of baggy printed trousers with an oversize tee and statement necklace for a comfort-able, care free and on trend look? Or how about wearing an oversize tee as a dress with tights?

Summer in the Shadows... with a splash of colourIt may sound ridiculous but blacks/greys/navy are going to be a hit this summer. Think lightweight fabrics with embellish-ments, use of different fabrics and texture. Just because its summer, it doesn’t always mean bright bold colours, sometimes a subtle look works better - black suits every-one and so many ways you can work it. Brighten up the look with bright coloured jewellery and accessories, such as a printed silky scarf or bright statement shoes.

Big, Bright, Bold JewelleryJewellery seems to be getting bigger...and better! I love a statement necklace and with so many to choose from this season it’s left me lost for choice! I believe that jewellery can make an outfit, and with the bright col-ours that can be seen this summer, it really confirms this!

Prints!Every year prints make a big impression no matter what season were in.. and I am loving all of the prints that are around this summer! From H&M’s Concious Col-lection to the Aztec, paisley, geometric and floral prints that can be found in all other stores on the highstreet, it’s easy to dress on trend but stay on a budget. Tie Dye is also in again, and if you are shopping on a budget, this is something that can easily be done at home. ‘Print on print’ is also another big trend that is out this summer, but if you arn’t daring enough for this yet then subtle prints work just as well!

I bought this Top from a char-ity shop for £4.50 and used an old unwanted necklace to put a chain around the neckline.

VENUE: Bells of Shoreditch, 48 Kingsland Rd, E2 London, UK

DATE/TIME: Thursday 8th August 19:00 - 01:00

PRICE: £15 + £1.55 booking fee

BOOKING SITE: http://www.in-side-music.co.uk/

London’s wildest night out - every Friday night in June, July and 2 August at ZSL London Zoo. Featuring improve comedy, roving perfor-mances, pop up bars and street food. www.zsl.org

FESTIVAL OF NEIGHBOURHOODFriday 31 May 2013 - Sunday 8 September 2013What makes the perfect neighbourhood?Allotments, a local beach, street parties and fam-ily games on the village green…?This summer we’ve asked artists, designers, architects and community groups to help turn Southbank Centre into London’s friendliest neighbourhood. Join in with activities, watch events and explore the colourful, imaginative free installations around the site.At Festival of Neighbourhood with MasterCard, there’s always something to do.See below for our festival highlights, and check out our What’s On section for every event com-ing up as part of the festival.

WHATS ON IN THE CITY?

The Museum of Everything is the world’s first and only wandering museum for the undiscovered, unintentional, untrained and unclassifiable artists of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.Established in 2009, the museum has welcomed over 500,000 visitors to its ambitious installations across the globe and is one of the leading international advocates for self-taught and non-traditional art. Collaborators in-clude major artists, curators, writers and thinkers, along-side institutions such as Tate Modern, Garage Center for Contemporary Culture and Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli. Recent projects in 2013 include instal-lations in Paris, Moscow and Il Palazzo di Everything at the Venice Biennial.It all started with Exhibition #1 - The Museum of Everything’s inaugural show in Primrose Hill - where the very first room contained sculptures by Nek Chand. This collaboration with Hayward Gallery is a recollec-tion and celebration of that special time, in association with the artist himself and the Nek Chand Foundation.To find out more about The Museum of Everything, visit their website at musevery.com.

Self-taught artists and fringe physicists, dodgy dream-ers and visionary engineers – all of them dare to think differently in this latest instalment of the Museum of Everything’s explorations of outsider art that creates Wild science, eccentricity, and a world turned in-side-out. Hayward Gallery, London SE1 (southbankcen-tre.co.uk), 11 June to 1 September.

Summer Exhibition 201310 June — 18 August 2013 In the Main GalleriesSponsored by Insight InvestmentNow in its 245th year, the Summer Exhibi-tion remains a much anticipated highlight of the arts calendar, serving as a unique window on to all areas of the contem-porary art world. It is the world’s largest open-submission exhibition, displaying more than 1,000 works in all styles and media, including painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, architectural models and film.

www.offthehookdigital.com