TAKE MY PICTURE from GARGAE MAGAZINE

It's funny because Tim Blanks has blatantly blurted out so many thoughts I've had in my own head about fashion blogging for a long time now. In essence, it's almost all the same thing and in hindsight there are billions, perhaps zillions of fashion blogs out there geared towards the same people. It's almost always recycled material from other websites, and if it isn't, you're out there just like thousands of other photographers taking a bunch of photographs of the same people wearing the same things and practically delivering identical material. Like Tim Blanks, I too feel embarrassed for these people who put themselves out there in front of these street style photographers, and I pity those who are a part of the fashion industry that have little to no choice. Not that this is the core of the issue here, but back to the basics of blogging and what it seemingly so long ago used to be, how are you supposed to bring something fresh and original to the table, and how are you supposed to build an audience if it's already so spread out and in your face as it is? I suppose taking several different approaches can make your blog more original, if only it was so simple. I inadvertently discontinued blogging for a few months because of how uninspired I was by the simple thought of what fashion truly meant to me, and what it began to turn into over the past few years. Sometimes I still find it difficult to be inspired, but what I've found more approachable and even more motivating is personalizing my material as much as possible so as to not be a recycling bin of sorts, not just for my own personal integrity, but for my viewers as well. It's just so interesting to read and know that there are people out there feeling the same way about this. So then what happens next? What will become of fashion over the next decade? Will it merely continue to grow and expand, or will it explode to the point that it deters photographers from street style photography and fashion blogging altogether? At some point or another things do change and even sometimes collapse. I guess this is more of a food-for-thought kind of a thing, but it's fun as well as interesting to consider what could or may happen within the coming years of the ever-growing fashion industry. X

LOCAL ACT: JEAN JACKET

Here's some relatively recent news in the Miami music front: the new local act Jean Jacket consisting of Harlowe Gee (vocals, keys, producer) and Steph Taylor (back-up vocals and keys). Upon first hearing Jean Jacket's album k cpu, I remember feeling like I was being taken for a ride. The album slowly pulls you in to its first song "Sea Foam" and takes you on a truly inspiring experience that up to now I've found incomparable. It's not necessarily the kind of music you'd go out to see and *rage* to, but the kind you can comfortably get lost in and feel really good inside of (think Radiohead and Washed out). There are definitely more than a few songs on the album you will find yourself bobbing your head to (She Wants the Sea, Code Red, Please, Super Party Cups) and nearly all of them are capable of getting stuck in your head because they are so damn catchy. The album according to Harlowe is said to be inspired by Miami itself "...pink sunsets, palm trees, champagne, and just feel-good vibes". The album isn't entirely a happy-go-lucky experience though, you will find yourself enthralled by the dark undertones that speak of a love lost. Towards the end of the last song "Super Party Cups" you'll feel the album pulling you out at a fast pace, a truly perfect exit I can never seem to get enough of. For more info on Jean Jacket check out their Facebook Page, Spotify, iTunes, and their website for upcoming show dates where you can also download k cpu for free! Happy listening XXX

 

Base Magazine No. 05 + Song of the Day

         

Sofya Titova for Base Magazine No. 05 by Maria Molko

MORE BAGATIBA

I did it again- except this time I got the "perfect dangle earrings". This is the third Bagatiba item I've purchased, and I can't help but to feel the same way every time I'm about to open one. The fact that all of her jewelry fits into these tiny brown envelopes (stamped with a wax seal to boot) enhances the experience because I'm always pleasantly surprised by how dainty it all is. These earrings are no exception, and the pictures above barely do their teeny-ness justice. X

SHORE THING + Song of the Day

Emily Meuleman for Elle Netherlands March 2013 by Barrie Hullegie

Abbey Lee Kershaw in Our Mountain's IV Horses music video

As you may already know, or not know, Austrailian model Abbey Lee Kershaw has long given up her modeling days and joined her semi long-time boyfriends band Our Mountain. In a way it's cool that she dropped her career to be in a band, especially considering her complaints against modeling and the fashion industry (as well as her own struggles and weird diets), but it's unfortunate since she'd quickly become a favourite of mine fast. I'd love to see her in editorials again but from the looks of it, I don't think that'll be happening anytime soon. Below is the latest of Abbey and Our Mountain; the "IV Horses" music video featuring the band standing nude with bleak stares at the camera. I'm not sure if I even really like this...

PARTIMI AW13

Emily Meuleman for Partimi AW13 Discover Film by Karoliina Barlund

These prints are absolutely stunning. You can see the photographs here X

Tom Dixon: Scented Candles

Tom Dixon Scented Candles; London, Royalty, Orientalist

Who is Tom Dixon? He seems to me to be a multi-faceted industrial designer who not only makes insanely cool light fixtures, but also amazing smells. Smells, you ask? Yes, smells in beautifully crafted candles. I came across them for the first time over the weekend at The Alchemist, and it was really difficult for me to leave the store without one, but I did. Not only are the way these candles encased intriguingly beautiful, but the scents themselves are each decadent in their own way. My personal favourite of the three is called LONDON, which my mother and I described as a "cool" smell. How can something smell "cool"? I didn't think it was possible until Dixon achieved it and plopped it into this copper vessel. His website describes it as: the smell of red brick, London parks with crocuses and nettles and the salty smell of the Thames at Dagenham.

U+MAG No.101

Emma Arvida Byström by Sanna Helena Berger | Michelli Provensi by Cecelia Duarte

The first cover features artist/model/photographer Emma Arvida Byström whom I've admired for several years now. She has cool youtube film projects and a tumblr you can visit here. The second cover features model Michelli Provensi, whom I'd never heard of up until now. There are two other covers you can see for issue No.101 at U+MAG's official website. And below you can see Arvida in action wearing clothes by COMME Des GARCONS, ACNE, and Maison Martin Margiela. It's a little lame and slow but I think the point here is to enhance little details of the fabrics in an overtly simple manner. Enjoy X

"Audrey Hepburn" in Galaxy chocolate's new commercial

Pretty amazing but I still don't think anything can compare to the real Audrey Hepburn.

The Verge:
If the success of a commercial is measured by the number of heads it turns, then Galaxy chocolate's latest ad is nothing short of triumphant. Set against the idyllic Mediterranean coastline of the 1960s, the company's one-minute spot features ostensibly authentic footage of Audrey Hepburn — the late film and fashion icon whose slender, elfin visage evokes a Golden Age beauty that, for most, is beyond the realm of imitation. Yet that's exactly what production company Framestore pulled off for Galaxy, thanks to advanced VFX techniques and a meticulous attention to detail.

Framestore began by searching for a suitable Hepburn double — someone, ideally, who would "share as many of her features and characteristics as possible." Once identified, the doppelganger's face was scanned using a facial action coding system that allowed Framestore to extract the muscle movements and textures needed to build a more faithful, CG Hepburn. Upon the completion of live shooting along the Amalfi Coast, the team returned to its in-house Capture Lab to further refine their actress' face, smoothing out transitions and expressions for animation.