The lost episode opens with Kirk, Spock and Bones beaming down to a retrofuturistic planet. Gareth Pugh has engineered a “progressive” race that lacks the ability to emote. “Everyone is perfect here”, says Kirk rhetorically, “too perfect“. A philosophical debate about human emotion breaks out in the background between Spock and Bones. Conveniently, the Gareth Pugh race has a dire conflict that can only be resolved with Kirk’s human emotions, revealing that the race isn’t so progressive after all. The show comes to a close with everyone back on the bridge of the Enterprise poking fun at Spock, the scene fading to black with a close-up of the captain’s grin.

Exoskeletal for Spring/Summer 2011 at Gareth Pugh

Gareth Pugh S/S 2011

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I am so impressed and inspired by Renata Morales’ Fall 2010 collection. The output from her Montréal atelier over the last three seasons shows a delightfully idiosyncratic and highly technical style. It is a rare treat to find designers who aren’t slaves to the trend weathervane; who blaze their own trail. Below are some looks from her Fall 2010 collection.

From the Renata Morales Fall 2010 collection modeled by the stunning dancer, Mistaya Hemingway.

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Bumped into a great interview with writer Alan Moore (but aren’t they all, though?) on The Quietus, which is coincidental because I am currently swimming upstream through Moore’s Dodgem Logic #3. It arrived by slow boat two days ago:


Wraparound cover art for Dodgem Logic #3 (April/May 2010), drawn by Moore himself.

My reaction to The Quietus article’s title - referring to Moore as a hipster - was knee-jerkishly negative until I read through the interview and now understand the connotation: Moore as autodidact and not Fauxhemian (I prefer “Doucheoisie”):

[Hipsterism] used to be a fashion statement, but it was information as a fashion statement which is probably going to do you more good than the clothing you wear. I got an incredible education starting from the point at which I was thrown out of school. Now, I could probably hold my own intellectually with most people who have had university or college educations. And indeed some of them will have done courses on my books. So, despite the fact my ‘education’ ended at 16, I had hipsterism, which was wanting to be hip, and that led me to read this incredibly diverse array of books on science, mysticism, science fiction, literature, art… I would find out about these movements that I had heard about, and it’s given me a pretty comprehensive education. Now I am an autodidact, which is a great word… I learned it myself.

“Information as a fashion statement”? Can self-education be fashionable if it can’t be commodified; if it can’t be worn, drunk or tattooed on? (Interestingly, Moore is listed as a “Notable Autodidact” in the Wikipedia entry for “Autodidacticism”.)

Look at THIS fucking hipster. Photo of Alan Moore from “Hipster Priest: A Quietus Interview With Alan Moore”.

Fernanda Yamamoto’s Summer 2011 collection is sweet to both mind and eye. Her debut at São Paulo Fashion Week earlier this month is an interpretation of aerial photos of the city. “I was inspired by the city of São Paulo but looked at it from a different point of view. The clouds played an important role in the inspiration, specifically because I looked at some images of clouds reflected in buildings.”

Fernanda Yamamoto Summer 2011

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Diego Diaz’s photographs are washed in a dreamy light. The overtones of much of his work reflect the essence of Màlaga, Spain - his hometown and biggest inspiration.

“Out of Paparazzi” by Diego Diaz

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Recently learned of the South African label Black Coffee through the May-June 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. Jacques van der Watt and Danica Lepen have designed some great coats for their Fall/Winter 2010 collection that are worth a look. A sample below from the February show at Bryant Park:

Bella Naija has a good summary of the collection as well as many more quality photos like those above.

Came across the stunning Icelandic model Svala Lind while slouching around the Internet:

Photo of Svala Lind by Kristinn Magnússon for Icelandic label Kow, detail

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A little late to the party as her show was last September, but I love the following photos of Nadia Napreychikov’s designs for her graduate collection:

Getting a Dovima vibe from Nadia Napreychikov’s graduate show design detail

A look from Nadia Napreychikov’s RMIT University graduate collection

From Nadia Napreychikov’s RMIT University graduate collection, detail


A look from Nadia Napreychikov’s RMIT University graduate collection

Napreychikov’s statement regarding her graduate collection via RMIT University:

“An assessment of the common understanding of footwear; this collection is a materialization of a widespread obsession with shoes. Shoes are no longer simply garments worn on ones feet, an accessory, or an object of triviality. They become their own entity – the stars of the show.”

Equally awesome is her blog, Di$count. The rest of her wonderful collection can be found there and is not to be missed.

The Autumn/Winter 2010/11 shows at Paris Fashion Week come - for better or worse - leather bound. Also, “tribe” and “tribal” are words that often get tossed about in reference to this season’s collections. Sarah Mower of Style.com quoted Rick Owens as saying that his women are, ‘a sect of nuns with inner discipline’. Well, naturally I think Dune:

Punk Bene Gesserits at the Rick Owens A/W 2010/11 show

All photos from Style.com

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“I want to make a dress which can be exhibited in her living-room rather than kept in her closet.” This is the solitary statement on Bonkuk Koo’s blog. His beautiful dresses are staggeringly complex works that should not be shut away in a closet, out of sight and out of mind. “It is not just clothes for wearing, it’s art that people can get a lot of emotion and energy from.” Whether they are displayed in a gallery or on the body, Koo’s dresses cannot fail to be regarded as outstanding artistic achievements.

a dress by Bonkuk Koo

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