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?
