Dazed and Confused, magazine dishing out both thought-provoking and artistic fashion editorials, is a publication I highly anticipate every month - I always look forward to seeing what concepts the fashion editors came up with. Lensed by Max Farago, Lakshmi Menon, Amanda Norgaard and Yuri Pleskun appear through the pages of that jam-packed September Issue (in which you can also come across a bunch of new rising stars such as Julia Nobis, Caroline Brasch Nielsen or Emily Wake, my personal favorites) in a black and white, youthful, easy on the eye story.
I adore this set of photographs for it sends me back to another era. An era when as a teenager, simple, harmless acts were enough to feel like catching a glimpse of freedom ; an era when you hadn't to dumb yourself down, to embrace a decadent way of life, to reject your inner self in order to melt into the crowd. The portrait of Amanda caught off guard while laughing, exuding spontaneity, therefore takes on new significance as it seems to rise up against nowadays' be-what-you-are-not diktat. In the light of the title of the editorial, I daresay my interpretation isn't too far-fetched. Bande à Part. Three drop-outs who stick together against the reigning shallowness.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost into the narrative, letting my imagination fire up picture after picture. This editorial, though hidden behind the mask of simplicity, has something to say, and this is the umpteenth proof that fashion doesn't necessarily come down to showcasing clothes on a runway or in magazines, and selling a particular way of life through those clothes. Fashion can be used as a platform to emphasize life's concerns, to open up our minds, to call upon us to take a good look at the mirror. Isn't it, as well, the primary use of art?
8 comments:
I really like your blog...Specially what you write.
I'm just starting one, and i would love to follow you. xxx
I agree! Like a younger version of theimagist.
(I don't know if I have to post on my blog or in yours my answer! I'm so new!)
I think that the production looks a bit poor...I loved the little black dresses and the swimmsuits, but not so much the rest of it.
@ Anonymous
Thanks a lot for the support :-) Though I can hardly believe my blog is nearly as worthwhile as The Imagist.
The ambiance does remind me of the "Czech Mate" ed by Michael Thompson in its depiction of youth, filled to the brim with enthusiasm not yet spent and porcelain skin a stranger unto grief.
And by borrowing the functional element of graphic novel, the gap in narrative works wonder on the mind isn't it? Comic artists often endure the indignity of having to mingle with pornographers and children's book authors in the bottom rung of the artistic hierarchy, and it seems that fashion photographers are viewed with similar disdain by mainstream society. Yet ed such as this one or many of Meisel's eds in Vogue Italia or Roversi's proved otherwise.
Another aspect that intrigues me is the lack of self-awareness in the models as if the era of public validation and visibility by means of social networking sites is still miles away from shore. The inference is less about bereavement for a begone era but more as a nostalgia for a vanishing present. But then again, there were probably people in the Bible lamenting for "kids these days" also.
And thanks for your message on tumblr. Don't know if you ever did receive my reply since tumblr been having loads of technical difficulties lately.
@ Le Mort Joyeux No I haven't received it, but if you don't mind reposting it I'll gladly read it!
Hello again, is there a send a message or ask button on your tumblr? Sorry... I'm a complete village idiot when it comes to technology.
It's okay! Follow that link : http://thecopyofanimitation.tumblr.com/ask
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