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

Guillotine Pop-Up Store Launch

I've once again teamed up with Guillotine, by Lisa Jaffe, to help design their first pop-up store. The opening was a great success!

Fake Sartorialist Original Prints launched at the store, the next post will detail the launch of the online store>>>

There were a few different elements to the store:

1: Structure - I carried out basic conceptualisation for the materiality of the structure that creates the changing room and display areas within. Construction and design by Brendan Copestake and I. Inspiration by Lisa Jaffe, Sakura Butler and Thireshen Govender.

2: Window installation - by Tegan Bristow with needle and thread simulating a summer storm, and and led array programmed to simulate falling drops of water. All while a Guillotine piece rotates behind the rain.

3. Graphics: Me :)

4. Fake Sartorialist Original Prints capsule: Designed by Fake Sart of course.

Graphics

Entering the store

Cage structure enclosing changing room.

Cage structure showing inserted garments, orchids and fishbowls.

Fake Sartorialist Original Prints capsule.

Fake Sartorialist Online Store Link

Off the old block

Guillotine (Facebook page) Spring shirt for men and women.

I helped Lisa earlier this year with creating a short video for her Guillotine S/S 2010 show and making some hand outs for the show too. So I managed to convince her to repurpose one of her designs for men (there is so little stuff for us out there for us). Suffice it to say that I love it, so we did a little shoot and put this together (yes it's me as the lopped off head).