What Can She Give You?

British photographer Glen Luchford captures the ever-after muse of fashion, Ms. Tilda Swinton, in a pensive piece about love and wigs styled by Katy England.



via Dazed Digital.

Dream A Little Teen Dream.

My heart just skipped a Tiger Beat! The photographer Stuart Sanford is releasing a limited edition line of t-shirts featuring the dreamy images of some of the '80s most posterific, baby-faced idols. So far you can sport a cotton ode to Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Noah Hathaway, or (my favorite) Chad Allen.

Knowing Stuart's work there is some underlying conversation here about the objectification of young boys in a homoerotic context, but I'm gonna ignore the slightly creepy aspects of these photos (especially the MPG one) and instead revel in the flood of teeny-bopper magazine memories this whole project sparked and leave it at that.

Halloween Couture.

Forget Ricky's. If you need a mask for New York's best damn holiday (second only to annual Gay Day) Alexander McQueen's got you covered. Dazed & Confused Magazine presented 13 top fashion designers with briefs detailing a challenge to create a mask for model Guinevere van Seenus. Most of the designers got scrappy and used leftover materials from their A/W09 shows to create their pieces. Here, take a look at what your inner couture customer wants to wear for Halloween:

From top: Masks by Roberto Cavalli, Riccardo Tisci, Peter Pilotto, Martin Margiela, Alexander Mcqueen, and Jean-Charles de Castelbajec.

Check out the full feature, including interview with the designers about their creation, on Dazed Digital.

Pop Goes Africa.

Pop'Africana has designated itself as "The Africana Book of Style" and I'm not gonna argue with the semi-annual art/fashion magazine. Their images and sensibility are poppin' fresh.

Find out more about the printed pub on their website and via Dazed Digital's interview with founder and visual director Oroma Elewa.

Don't Look Away.

I found out yesterday that a third childhood friend of mine lost a parent to cancer. I'm 27, my friends are in their late twenties and to be losing parents this young, and at such an unforgiving rate is alarming to say the least. Please, please inform your parents and beloved friends and family of cancer screening procedures and encourage them to utilize good medical care to keep aware of the states of their bodies. It's frightening to go searching for something so daunting, but in the case of cancer, what you don't know will kill you. Here is a link to screening centers and events nation wide.

Although rates of cancer seem to be rising, so do rates of survival. Nearly ten years ago fashion photographer and SHOWstudio founder, Nick Knight, completed a ground breaking project for Dazed and Confused magazine that highlighted the altered, but resilient beauty of breast cancer survivors.

Using female survivors who had had single or double mastectomies, or reconstructive surgery in the face of their battles with the disease, Knight presented a photo essay where the women's physical form was both central and secondary. If you didn't know that these women were survivors, the essay may have looked like any other high fashion editorial shoot of sexy, strong images. Key in to the fact that the women are cancer survivors and the scene takes on entirely new, profound meanings. You see beauty through strength. You see defiance of norms. You see character, divinity, and the preciousness of life. It's an astounding work that deserves another look, and the folks at Dazed Digital are highlighting it on their website as an important selection from their archives.

Knight worked closely with the charity Breakthrough to produce the shoot. If you are able to, please volunteer or donate to their important cause. To view the entire project, including a related video piece as well as interviews with Knight and the participating models, follow this link to the SHOWstudio.com archives.

All The Cool Kids Live In London.

Mary Katrantzou is a Greek-born designer who studied textiles at Rhode Island School of Design (that's RISD to you!) before transferring to London's genius lab Central Saint Martins (that's Wonderland University to you!) to finish out her degree. She knocked some British socks off with her graduation show at the storied London school by sending tromp l'oeil, over sized jewelry painted on jersey dresses out into the fashion universe. People liked it. She's on the up and up. She just did her show at London Fashion Week and Dazed Digital has excellent backstage photos of her unique looks. You take a look:

Photos by Kasia Bobula for Dazed Digital.

A Little Dolly'll Do Ya!

Ok, so you know how the economy is in the pits right now? You know how everyone is being so practical-minded and all? Thinking about the bottom line? I'm feeling a backlash brewing. I predict absolute mayhem will follow all of the recession repression that is inevitable for the next few years. Who will dress the manic masses when they need to break free from black shift dresses and all-purpose pants? It will be Jean Paul Lespagnard! A funny man with a tacky plan. His Dolly-Parton-meets-circus-clown clothes designed for an imaginary muse named Jacqueline who fries frites in a Belgian street-side stand for a living, won him the Hyeres Prize (both the official award and the Public's Choice) at this past year's festival. Here are the looks that got him the gold:

Part of his prize was to design a capsule collection for European retailer 1,2,3. For this collection, Lespagnard has died Jacqueline's hair and taken her out of the frites shop. She's now on a journey to find her dashing Rocky suitor in ensembles that veer a little more Flashdance than 9 to 5 (you will be really sad if you don't click that link right there). Here are the newest Bealsy outfits:

You can see more about Jean Paul Lespagnard's newest collection at Dazed Digital.

One/One-Thousand: Hedi Slimane

Hedi Slimane shows the January Dazed and Confused readers that he's a talented man. On stands December 18th, the mag will feature the clothing designer/photographer's incredible photos as well as essays, and covers created by and focused on young Londoners. Silmane's portfolio, is pure energy and beauty.

























Youth in all its glory. These photos are the filmic love child of Bruce Weber and Inez & Vinoodh.

Color Storm

Before the fashionistas invade Tokyo for Japan's Fashion Week (show season is like a really slow-paced Olympic event for the high heeled set!) there's still more to explore elsewhere. Ann Torfs is a talented young designer from Antwerp whose Frida Kahlo/Gypsy mash-up aesthetic totally caught my eye on Dazed Digital.


The images above are from her Kaleidoscope Alchemy show from a little while back, but her vision remains the same. Once the rest of the world catches wind of her charming color storm, I'm sure there will be much more coverage of her shows. Stay tuned.