November 11th, 2011
Text: Gabriel Knowles
Kirin Big In Japan is back for another year and this time it’s open to the public for the very first time. With performances and exhibitions from some of Japan’s finest underground acts including avant garde khoomei singer Fuyuki Yamakawa, acclaimed dancer Yuko Kaseki, Osaka based electronic musician OVe?NaXx, Onnacodomo’s make believe world and possibly the world’s only band with a guitarist on stilts, Kyozin Yueni Dekai.
Kirin Big In Japan
Sydney: Wednesday November 16 2011, from 6pm
Melbourne: Saturday November 19 2011, from 6pm
rsvp@ksubi.com
August 23rd, 2011
Text: Sunday Ganim Images: Sunday Ganim & Note To Self
Max Olijnyk is a man of many talents. He can skate, sew, write and photograph – an incredibly humble guy, and known to be pretty funny. Sunday Ganim sat down with Max recently and, over tea and snacks, they discussed the origins of his creative endeavours, the projects he currently has on the go and how a serious accident a few years ago helped him to achieve a balance between them all. Continue reading…
August 11th, 2011
Text: Millie Stein Images: Douglas Lance Gibson
In 1912, the Austrian artist Egon Schiele penned a letter to ‘Dr. E’ regarding Schiele’s painting ‘Revelation’.
“The revelation of a living being,” he wrote. “A poet, an artist, a sage, a spiritualist, as you will. Have you ever felt the impression a great personality makes on the world?”
On a wall-length bookshelf in the Lover studio, Nic Briand and Susien Chong keep a book of Schiele’s work. Surrounding it are monographs from key creative figures of the recent past (Ed van der Elsken, Kris Kool, Harmony Korine, Poiret) plus the occasional iconoclast (Patty Heart, by way of a 1974 copy of Newsweek).
I don’t know if Briand and Chong have ever read Schiele’s words. In fact, I prefer to think that they haven’t, and that the book exerts a silent and pervasive influence as they spend their days drawing inspiration from great personalities – which, in their case, are simply those that are real. Continue reading…
August 2nd, 2011
Text: Adriana Giuffrida Images: Suleyman
Men everywhere, rejoice. Pageant – the brainchild of Amanda Cumming and Kate Reynolds – hits stores in September.
Cumming and Reynolds met at art school in 2000, and their journey has taken them from Melbourne to London and back again. During this time, they have worked with incredible contemporaries who, as well as shaping their knowledge of the industry, inspired them to launch their first collection at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week in Sydney earlier this year.
What Pageant have produced is like a breath of fresh air – from its colour palette to its fabrication choices to the style of its design. Adriana Giuffrida chats to the pair about the path of their creation, their future endeavours and how they manage to find the time. Continue reading…
June 9th, 2011
Posted by: The Blackmail
June 9th, 2011
Text: Louise McClean Images: Provensen
I chanced upon a shoe label, Provensen, not so long ago when I was visiting a friend. She was sporting the most amazing, ultra-stylish pair of desert boots I’d ever seen and I instantly wished they were mine. When asked where she had made such an outstanding purchase, she mentioned that her boots were made by a talented young Sydneysider which, for me, was an interesting discovery. I had always been aware of the scarcity of local brands that provided beautiful and interesting footwear which explored ideas outside the sphere of typical women’s shoe design. My friend then proceeded to deliver the devastating news – I wouldn’t be getting those boots because they were from last season.
But we can all breath a sigh of relief, because whether or not you have a pair of these genius desert boots, Provensen’s Faye Montalban has so much more genius to offer with her second season (about to hit stores). The Provensen style illustrates untethered imaginative freedom in every element – conceptually and in the use of colour and materials, that really set these shoes apart. Faye’s proclivity to push creative boundaries not only tests herself but the women she makes shoes for. But the results are undeniably beautiful, easy-to-wear shoes that radiate character and had me running to the nearest stockist to get a pair. Continue reading…
May 24th, 2011
Text: Adriana Guiffrida Images: Jordan Askill
It took one beautifully fine yellow gold love heart ring to draw my attention to Jordan Askill’s work, and from there the fascination has only grown stronger. Jordan has an uncanny gift for transforming jewellery and sculpture into pieces that resonate on a level akin to an emotional journey, leaving the viewer or wearer – more generally, the recipient – with the feeling that they are part of something very special.
Jordan combines traditional jewellery-making techniques with very modern technology, and these methods have had a resounding effect on his work to date. In short, the intricacies he creates must be seen to be believed.
I caught up with Jordan to discuss his work and its intrinsic message. Continue reading…
May 17th, 2011
Text: Millie Stein Images: POE
About a month ago, with very little fanfare, a shop called Poepke launched the first season of their in-house label, POE.
With one look-book, a short introduction far too congenial to be called a press release and some space made among Poepke’s racks of Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester and Bernhard Willhelm, POE took its place.
Sometimes barely announcing oneself is a bold statement, and POE’s relative insouciance gives a good insight into its ethos and intention. This is a label that focuses less on whether clothes maketh the woman than it does on who maketh and weareth the clothes.
Fresh from a stint at Eley Kishimoto in London, Olivia Mai is the sketchpad behind POE’s clever and sweetly wearable first collection. While she has obviously taken notes from her time at EK – a lighthearted approach to detailing and eye for contrast are two of POE’s calling cards – POE’s Spring Summer 2011 collection strikes a unique balance between thoughtfulness and spontaneity.
I caught up with Olivia Mai, well into designing POE’s second season, to talk inspirations, resignations and old London town. Continue reading…
May 13th, 2011
Posted by: The Blackmail
A little while back we reported on Perks And Mini’s first collaboration with US street wear giant Stussy. The collection is available this weekend from P.A.M’s new Sydney store located in the old Monster Children Gallery space and at Someday in Melbourne. View the look book shot by Peter Sutherland here.
P.A.M Sydney
Suite C 20 Burton Street
Darlinghurst
