Be the Death of Her

Like a horseshoe crab coming to shore to find its mate, Anita felt the need to trawl the shore of Venice Beach every 6 months. She would leave a planned dinner, walk out of an art-house film, jump out of a moving vehicle, whenever she felt the calling to get her heels covered in the salty-fresh spray in the Pacific Ocean.

Today, Anita had attended the opening party for the new Vogue Los Angeles magazine. Mingling with all the usual suspects, Karl, Anna, Anna, Giorgio, Lady and the sorts, when the tingle in her heels began again. She brushed the feeling away as she smiled at Gandy's come-on: "your face looks absolutely radiant today...". She smiled and nodded staggering to the bar asking for a Martini with extra salt edging. Her Prada pumps were driving her crazy, she knew buying a size smaller would be the death of her.

The pulsing electro-hip-hop beats were driving her crazy, it all sounded like noise to her. She wondered the dance-floor in a daze, party blacked out, spinning around dizzily, the tabloids marked her as the soul of the party as her layered tissue-dress fluttered about the room.

Thirty minutes later, without any recollection of how she had gotten there, she was wondering wading in the sea shore with her wet Pradas, feeling the refreshingly cool water on her burning heels. She wondered about, dazed, until the burning sensation and primal instinct faded away. On her way back to find a taxi, she took a shortcut through the skate-park, that due to recession cutbacks hadn't had its lighting repaired since January 2010. 

Her bright red pump got caught in a grind-rail, she lurched, the sharp red stiletto heel snapped violently, she lost her balance, her perfectly manicured hands swung out, the tissue-dress fluttered beautifully (just as the shopping assistant had said), the dress fluttered beautifully to the concrete floor... billowing lightly around her recently... alive... body.

Images by Sonny Vandevelde - Autumn/Winter 2011

Left to right, top to bottom [Martin Grant, Foaming Waters of the Errol Dam by the US National Archives, Victor & Rolf, Victor & Rolf, Moonlight by the State Library of New South Wales)

Foxtale

Ivanov Asen is a Bulgarian dandy. He is known for his refined language and love of leisurely hobbies. His favorite hobby, fox hunting, had ket him interested for many years, that is until he caught the-big-one. Around four years ago on a casual fox hunt, between sartorial blog surfing, Ivanov came across the biggest fox he had ever seen. Its was a majestic thing, larger than a wolf, with a tail that must have taken considerable shampooing and conditioning to keep its lustrous sheen. He cocked his gun, aimed with precision, shot, and brought it down.

Ivanov commissioned a collaboration between the the town's best hat maker and taxidermist. The result (as pictured) is a hat/sculpture that defies gravity. Talk of this hat soon spread through the town, not for its towering majesty,  or gleaming sheen, but rather for the occult affect on its owner. Ivanov could be found walking about at the most ungodly hours. That autumn Ivanov set many trends: blood splattered tote bags, live rodent charm bracelets (customizable), teeth-torn boxer-briefs, piglet espadrilles. In the end he took the trend search too far. Chanel dazzling red lipgloss was no longer red enough for him, so he went to his closest cosmetic store and bit of the proprietors head in order to get the perfect glossy red lip that only fresh blood can achieve.

Images by Sonny Vandevelde - Autumn/Winter 2011

Left to right [Cerruti, A street in Torshavn - Cornell University Library, Galliano, 

Galliano, Kris Van Assche]

Image close-up

Part of the Fake Sartorialist-Sonny Vandevelde collaboration

Afterfashion

Antonio had wandered the cemetery's paths for years after he was assassinated by (the then un-and-coming male model) John Castings. He was strangled backstage right after the Thierry Mugler 2011 A/W show had been completed. It was hailed as his best performance to date, the best male catwalk ever performed.

Antonio never heard the praise. Two weeks later, his soul awoke to a grayscale world bound by a rusty fence. There were lots of others around him, mostly old and badly dressed. Cardigans seemed to be the most popular piece of attire. Antonio was teased by all the other spirits. His pink puff socks, permed hair apron and purple drawstring pants were never meant for the afterlife. So he wandered about mostly alone, giving himself pedicures, manicures and cleaning the cobwebs out of the plastic bag that had lead to his death.

1. Soulland A/W 2011 (Coute Que Coute),  2. Dinu Bodiciu MA Collection (Style Bubble), 3. Springfield Cemetery (New England Oddities), 4. Smoke (Henrik W. Jensen) 5. Thierry Mugler A/W 2011 (Jak & Jil), 6. A Tough of Pink (Jak & Jil)

Rearden Style

 Walking away from the first production run of Rearden Metal, Rearden knows that industry will never be the same again. These metal foundries will soon all be replaced with Rearden Metal. Once cooled and tempered it is almost indestructible, non-corroding and has a green-blue sheen.
Rearden never was one to walk around the factory floor worrying about what he wore. As a molten metal droplet fell on his leather pants, he simply brushed it off, welcoming the singed leather that was left behind. The truth was that almost all of his clothes were covered in grease, eaten by acid, worn by years of use. People never noticed that, his intense presence completely overwhelmed the visual reality that surrounded him. It was as if a cloud of fog and style enshrouded him wherever he went.

1. Versace A/W 2011 (Vogue), 2. Electric phosphate smelting furnace (The Library of Congress), 3. Versace A/W 2011 (Vogue), 4. Versace A/W 2011 (Vogue), 5. Red Dress (Jak and Jil)

Yamamoto Escape

 Kevin had just finished the most daring act of cyber-fashion-hacking of the century. Everyone knew that the Yamamoto collection would be a glowing blue for Q3/4 2245(seasons had not existed for over four decades at that point). The whole of New San Francisco had even changed its entire glow for the collection.
Kevin, once an employee at Yamamoto Inc. had been betrayed by its lead designer. Having invented the light suite, Kevin wanted the worldwide recognition that he deserved, for 12 seasons they were all the rage, and the trend only seemed to be intensifying. As its creator, it didn't take much for kevin to program in four colours that are guaranteed to destroy any collection: conjunctivitis-pink, varicose-aqua, gangrene-green and jaundice-yellow.

1. San Francisco (Wikimedia), 2. Jesse Carter by Sopie Kinachtchouk for Fantastics Mag (Fantastics Mag), 3. Tron (Disney), 4. Sky (Fake Sartorialist)

Thus Spoke Hot Air

 Paris isn't known for dry winds, but as Ignatia got off her air-shuttle bus she was assaulted by a dry, cedar-wood scented, breeze. She had arrived at the Brazil House in the Cite Internationale, ready to start her philosophy masters degree. She was carrying a case full of books: Kant, Nietzsche, Hegel, Locke, Rousseau, Heidegger, Husserl. Her heart was heavy, and the breeze felt to her like she was being burnt from the inside by a cedar-wood blaze. She glowed red, splintered and cracked, then dimmed, cooled and flaked away. She emerged new, fresh, ready for her studies.

1. Ranya Mordanova shot by Aingeru Zorita for Metal Magazine No.22 (Paper Mode), 2. Brazil House, Paris (Fake Sart), 3. Ranya Mordanova shot by Aingeru Zorita for Metal Magazine No.22 (Paper Mode), 4. Dree Hemingway shot by Inez van Lamsweerde for Purple Magazine (The Photography Link), 5. Stefania Bosio - Ornamental MTO Jewelry (Style Bubble)

Day 15 - Instamatic

Donatella worked for years in the competitive world of fashion. She once bit off part of Vivienne Westwoods ears for a photo-shoot. Her life was full of drugs and electro-pop beats. After her third visit to the Betty Ford Center Donatella knew that sneaking some coke in the children's visiting room was the lowest she could ever go. So she left early, got half her deposit back and bought a large farm with a city view.
Here she lived in a cave and communed with nature. She didn't smoke dope anymore, now she pounded the fibers into papers and fabrics. She spoke to animals and harvested her own soy beans. She hand sewed everything she wore. But there was just one problem in Donatella's life. She was just out of range of a cell tower for wireless data connection for her mobile, so she couldn't send any vintage Hipstamatic photographs of her alternative lifestyle to any of her friends. So she got a cab back to civilisation, bought some hard drugs and forgot the wonderful life she had made for herself.

1. Manuella Coatigan (Style Bubble), 2. Cliffs (Field Museum Library), 3. To Be Adored S/S 2011 (Style Bubble), 4. Shoot by Tom Marshak (The Photography Link), 5. Sophie by Hanneke van Leeuwen (The Ones2Watch), 6. Crow in flight (Richard Heeks), 7. Skyline (J. Barry)

Day 14 - Day 13

There once was a satirical fashion illustrator that though it would be an interesting challenge to create 24 images in 24 days. He was happy while he was making that decision and planning for it. He was happy on the first day, and on the second, even all the way up to the 5th. On the 12th day the sleep deprivation began to hit him, that was when his true love said to him: take a break. So he decided to make a making-of video of his 13th days work.

See Day 13 - Tentacled Conspiracy 

Day 13 - Tentacled Conspiracy

It was just his normal way back home, he had taken the shortcut many a time before. Today, though, was not a normal day. Each step Chris took sank him deeper into a paper puddle. The sun was shining and birds were flying about and Chris was sinking ever deeper into a puddle that didn't even get his sweatpants wet. For a second he was afraid that someone was trying to mug him for his man-purse. That was until Paul, the world cup predicting octopus, fell at terminal velocity onto his head. Out of sheer luck the Sartorialist, Face Hunter and Jak and Jil were all there to take this synchronous shot. Coincidence, I think not.

1. Chris Brown by James Demitri (The Fashonisto), 2. Leni by me in Sydney (Face Hunter), 3. Ilona by Filippo Del Vita for H Mag (The Photography Link), 4. Octopus (Suntimes), 5. Birthday Blues (Style Bubble), 6. YSL Stalion Pump (Jak and Jil)

Day 12 - Looking for Bears

Amanda was trained in the art of the woods from as early as she could remember. One of her very first memories was of husking out a raccoons fur to make a hat with. Over the years she had collected fox-tails from her uncles, cousins and other close family, creating her prized possession: A Fox-tail Fan. It was so luxurious and thick that many a stranger had tried to buy it off her.
Even though she was so spectacularly beautiful and resourceful, Amanda was still a lonely woman. After years of hunting in the wild for her man, she was going to her last resort, online dating. So she asked a friend of hers to take a profile photo for her. She planned the shot to the last detail: A velvet dress with and scorched natural scenes, the neoprene inner from a hitchhiker that died in an avalanche, a gold threaded necklace that the made herself in a furnace, her fox-tail fan and her best friends in the world Mike and Tina (well Tina was taking the photo, Mike and Tina are married and they are both bears).
Her profile description read:
Alone and looking for a SWM bear

1. Bryanboy wearing Martin Margiela (Bryanboy), 2. American Black Bear (Field Museum), 3. Suburbia by Patric Lindblom (The Ones2Watch), 4. Liu Wen by Greg Kadel for Vogue Germany Nov 2010 (Paper Mode), 5. Wood by Olivia Frolich (The Ones2Watch)

Day 11 - Cosmic Encounter

He plummeted towards earth, reaching terminal velocity. His kevlar space suit began to peel of his body, vaporizing into the atmosphere. His hair vanished in a burst of flames. Like a comet he colided with the earth, landing bruised, naked and hairless, newborn into the world. 

1. Will Lewis for Bailey (The Fashonisto), 2. Thome Browne Mens SS 2011 (Vogue), 3. em>48 Cowboy look (The Fashonisto), 4. Maison Martin Margiela F/W 2010 (Lynn & Horst), 5. Abbey Lee for ID by David Bailey (Paper Mode), 6. Planetary Nebulas (Smithsonian) , 7. Cat's Eye Nebula (Smithsonian), 8. Eric Ramos by Steven Chu (The Fashonisto), 9. Ink in water (Flickr-Sam Leivers)

Day 10 - Quarry Style-Off

Dorian had always been ahead of the trend curve in the quarry down town. He was the first to wear braces, the first to bring back espadrilles, he even took the bold step from boxers to boxer briefs. He liked being the one that everyone looked to for fashion guidance. Unfortunately one day, Bob down in the stone polishing section, started coming to the quarry wearing his snake leather red stilettos.

Dorian went home that night in a rage. He tore through his wardrobe, yanking Chanel boleros off their hangers, rummaging through his sheer underwear drawer. He needed to come wearing something revolutionary, something completely ahead of its time. He spent the whole night preparing, matching colours and fabrics.

The next morning he arrived with the Vangelis Conquest of Paradise theme song blasting out of his jawbone jambox. He was wearing a pair of Diesel distressed jeans, unbuttoned and left loose around his thighs, 2xist no show white mini briefs, a purple silk package support system and lastly 10 meters of the finest, lightest, most luxurious indian slik wrap around top. Even though the gusty wind in the quarry meant that he was fighting with his own top half of the time, Dorian left home happy that day knowing that tomorrow all his coworkers would be trying their best to keep up with him.

1. Tobias Sorensen by Agata Pospieszynska (The Fashionisto), 2. Quarry scene (Galt Museum), 3. Liu Wen by Greg Kadel for Vogue Germany Nov 2010 (Paper Mode), 4. Shoulder jacket (Style Bubble), 5. Red pumps (Jack and Jil), 6. Coco tea cup (Style Bubble)