With his galvanized personal aesthetic, Rick Owens has little to prove each season other than delivering loyal disciples more of what he does best. Of late, his menswear collections have carved a clear niche of tempered luxury – high drama colliding with the tension of the street. Today his mind remained firmly on course, channeled it seems through industrial zones and historical operas, between Eastern and Western cultures to balance his wickedly modern androgyny with the sartorial authority of days gone by.

In cropped blazers, peak-hooded duffel coats and squared leather blousons, the Rick man played an illicit game between boyish innocence and hardened tailoring. Discreet cashmere layers were belted high on the torso, while slick leather jackets cut away in a trapezoidal flare, trimmed in dull satin or hinged mirror panelling. The skirt returned as a major theme over scrunched slim trousers in bleached denim or mastic black leather, striking an elegant minimalism when paired with the season’s fine knit turtleneck sweater. Rare tonal contrasts were delivered as stark whites and ash greys – that lined a sweeping duster in richly textured wool or trailed off a wrapped gilet like an obi sash.

Olivier Theyskens has revealed the most dramatic edge to his dark side yet, in a recent series of fashion images shot by Paris- based photographer Monika Bielskyte, for the third volume of SOME/THINGS. Granted access to La Coupole – the secret stage of the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris – the pair choreographed some theatrical magic of their own, working with an eclectic array of vintage and designer pieces to transform the designer with gritty but spectacular results.

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Dan Thawley: What inspired you to shoot Olivier?
Monika Bielskyte: Olivier is a very complex person and a beautiful man, but it wouldn’t have occurred to me to propose him to model since that’s really not something he would have normally accepted. However, as we were working on a special feature on Julien Claessens’s work, Julien was showing me his old archive images and I saw this image of Olivier where he really looked like a bird, a very strange, beautiful and slightly alien creature— which is the quality that makes me love almost all of julien’s portraits. So when I saw that image, all of a sudden Olivier seemed like an irreplaceable casting for the editorial we wanted to shoot in Théâtre de la Ville.

DT: What was the significance of the Théâtre de la Ville as a location?
MB: Théâtre de la Ville has long had a program consisting of some of the most groundbreaking and seminal choreographers in the world. La Coupole is a very special place because it’s where most of the creation happens. It’s a rehearsal space where no one but the choreographer and his team are allowed to enter, a quiet rooftop, full of atmosphere and ghosts, with a sublime view of Notre Dame and la Seine, heavy black curtains and worn-out floor— so different from so many spiritless theatres of today.
Personally, Théâtre de la Ville has a very deep meaning for me because it’s really through attending its program, from my first years in Paris, that I was introduced to the magical work of Pina Bausch, Sankai Juku, Hofesh Shechter, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, Akram Khan and other choreographers that had an undeniable influence on the way I work with movement when shooting.

DT: From where did you draw your inspiration for styling Olivier?
MB: The theatre, to my knowledge, has never previously accepted the shooting of fashion editorials. So this project, from its very conception, had to be something much more— a portrait, a performance, a moment in time showing a face of Olivier different to the fashion face we know him from. Olivier had accepted to do this shooting on the condition that we do something really different to anything he has done before – he didn’t want anything sweet and ‘nice’, nothing even close, as we joked, to the ‘fantasy boy’. He wanted it to be strong, intense, emotional, a performance project instead of a classic pretty portrait. So we tried to create a bit of a pièce de théâtre and, as conventional styling just wouldn’t have worked, we had to look for something really fresh yet timeless— not a very obvious combination when you think of it.
The main inspiration sprang, of course, from Olivier’s own work— dark, moody, yet very elegant and sophisticated. Olivier brought his personal selection of things— feathers, a gorgeous tiny padded vest which looked like it came straight from the Victorian era, a customised Rick Owens jacket, Carol Christian Poell shoes… and I had dug into the Théâtre de la Ville costume archive to choose some incredibly beautiful and delicate torn dresses from the Sarah Bernhardt era, as well as several personal archive pieces belonging to Michele Lamy, Josephus Thimister and myself… and all that we mixed together with pieces from the Autumn/Winter 2010 collections of Haider Ackermann, Ann Demeulemeester, Nicolas Andreas Taralis, Kris van Assche and, of course, pieces from the Yohji Yamamoto archives. It was all mainly feathers, sheer tops, long pleated skirts— a lot of Japanese influence in the styling, almost feminine pieces, but that create a very masculine ensemble.

DT: What is your favourite piece in the styling?
MB: Definitely the vintage Revillon ostrich vest from Rick Owens’s rack of his personal inspiration pieces. It was all damaged and so old, yet the way it moved and reflected the light was pure magic, the way it was twirling around Olivier’s face, body and hands, it truly looked like it was alive— an art piece, not fashion.

DT: Were any of the pieces particularly rare or hard to acquire?
MB: None of them were really hard to acquire but a couple were really hard to work with! The vintage Josephus Thimister shirt dipped in wax started to crack, peel off and melt (in the images one can see white bits of it looking like snow on the theatre floor!), and it was a terrible hassle to clean Olivier’s skin from it once we were done with the look. Gustavo Lins’s personal 19th century metallic corset was also difficult to deal with since it was so rigid and so fragile at the same time— I was quite afraid we might break it!

DT: How did Olivier react to becoming the subject rather than the creator?
MB: He was definitely very much a creator! I was just interpreting his movements through the images but it was definitely all about him, that’s for sure! Fashion-wise, Olivier’s input to the styling was also undeniable— I may have planned or envisaged many things, some came alive when he put them on and the others didn’t so, once again, it was very much about him— not seasonal trends on him or my own art shooting or anything like that. It was very much his performance, my portrait of him via his performance. You know, Olivier can be really sweet, but he also has a very tough personality and really knows what he wants and what he doesn’t want and so it is impossible to push him in a direction he doesn’t feel like going. I could ask him to move where the light was or look at the camera once in a while, but I had to adapt myself a lot, much more than during any other editorial I had shot. I think, shooting him, I could maybe only compare to shooting Brett Anderson, who is another amazing artist we feature in ISSUE003. They are both very self aware, but they also let a magic moment happen in the image— one only has to know how to go around them, silently, without too many commands, following every movement they make, being attentive to every single detail.

DT: What are your feelings upon finishing the images, were you happy? Were there unexpected results?
MB: Yes, indeed, very happy. I was unsure if Olivier would be happy, but he said he liked them because there was something bird-like about the movements, that it really seemed like it captured instances of a performance rather than still, dead images.

DT: Did you shoot his portrait for the Lift Hand Portrait exhibition at the same time? What did you try to convey with the hand portrait, what symbolism and emotion?
MB: The hand portrait was shot at the same time as part of the editorial/portrait of Olivier. Only later when Masahiro asked me to contribute something for their hand project— which I couldn’t refuse because it is simply one of the most beautiful stores in the world — I couldn’t think of anything better than that image.

SOME/THINGS 003 is released on September 15th, 2010.

Read more about the Lift Hand Portrait exhibition here.

Last thursday, Tokyo institution Lift opened the doors to their newly refurbished Lift Étage boutique in Daikanyama, celebrating the renovation with an exquisite temporary installation of hand portraits. Founders Minami and Masahiro Tsunoda collected a series of over twenty five photographs from their exclusive list of avant-garde designers, with the only conditions being ‘a black and white image of your hand’.

Their images came in from across the globe with many creative, sensual interpretations of Lift’s concept. From Ann Demeulemeester‘s crisp white table cloth and her porcelain hand grasping a feather, to Rick Owens’ lavish fur background and the gnarly, adorned hands of his wife Michele Lamy dipped in tar, a wide range of aesthetics have been broadcast through this seemingly narrow slate. Choosing to represent their profession, some designers toyed with the tools of the trade, grasping thimbles, fabric, and dressmaking pins (in the case of Dries Van Noten, above).

The overall effect is emotive and somewhat imposing, especially considering the dramatic highlight of Masahiro’s own hand, carved into a 2m high wooden sculpture that stands at the store’s new entrance.

Masahiro Tsunoda talks about the ‘Hand Portraits’ exhibition:

Individuals have their own icons. It can be a face, fingerprint… In opening this installation, we have put focus on “hands” as they form very important part of designs of the creators. We create sketches, write research reports, and make art works through this privilege we are born with. Each hand is different from one another, making it our biggest symbol of identity. Unfortunately, the image of hands, in other words, “the icon of creation”, is slowly fading away from people’s minds. To remind this maximum, but minimum source of creation we would like to present art exhibition created via the icon of individual people.

Participating designers:

CAROL CHRISTIAN POELL / UNITED NUDE / REINHARD PLANK / DRIES VAN NOTEN / ANN DEMEULEMEESTER /INES KAAG & DESIREE HEISS BY BLESS / KIMINORI MORISHITA BY 08 SIRCUS / SYBILLE WALTER & SAMUEL DRIRA BY ENCENS / JAS MB /MAURIZIO AMADEI BY m.a+ / STEPHAN SCHNEIDER / INCANATION / RUGGERO GUIDI BY GUIDI / DAMIR DOMA / GIORGIO BRATO / ISSEI AND SUSANNA BY LUMEN ET UMBRA / CORNELIAN TAURAS TEAM / TOMOAKI OKANIWA BY THE VIRIDI-ANNE / YOKO ITO BY INDIVISUAL SENTIMENTS / MIHARA YASUHIRO / OLIVIER THEYSKENS BY MONIKA BIELSKYTE / ALESSANDRO TINELLI / GUSTAVO LINS / ALEXANDER FIELDEN / RYUSAKU HIRUMA BY SAK / RICK OWENS / LUTZ / LUCA LAURINI BY LABEL UNDER CONSTRUCTION / LOST & FOUND / MUÑOZ VRANDECIC

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The ‘Hand Portraits’ exhibition runs from August 20th at the new Lift Étage store.

Moncheri 3F-2,20-20 Daikanyama-Cho,
Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo 1500034 150−0034
東京都渋谷区代官山町
20−20モンシェリー代官山3F-2

http://lift-net.co.jp/

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Above: Dries Van Noten’s hand portrait at Lift Étage, Tokyo.

Above: Rick Owens’ hand portrait with wife Michele Lamy at Lift Étage, Tokyo.

Above: Stephan Schneider’s hand portrait at Lift Étage, Tokyo.

Above: Ann Demeulemeester’s hand portrait at Lift Étage, Tokyo.

Above: Damir Doma’s hand portrait at Lift Étage, Tokyo, photographed by Sybille Walter.

Above: A wall of hand portraits at Lift Étage, Tokyo.

Above: A wall of hand portraits at Lift Étage, Tokyo.

Above: The 2m high carved wooden hand of Lift director Masahiro Tsunoda, at the entrance to Lift Étage, Tokyo.

Above: ‘Hand Portrait Project’ by Muñoz Vrandecic,   photo ©Muñoz Vrandecic.

Above: A view inside the newly refurbished space of Lift Étage, Tokyo.

When one steps out of Hasselt train station, it may seem the entire city is alive with ULTRAMEGALORE, the new fashion and art exhibition curated by Belgian model Hannelore Knuts at the Mode Museum in her hometown. A large white billboard of Hannelore in Vogue Paris greets you on the adjacent street, followed by a long procession of yellow flags lining the high street.

Upon entering the museum, Hannelore’s face is no less evident (rather, very much more so) and quite rightly so in a retrospective project such as this, celebrating a decade-long modelling career and a colourful personal journey alongside it.

Hannelore by name, ULTRA-MEGA-LORE by nature.

The 800sqm Mode Museum has had no exercise of minimalism wrought upon it, but an explosion of colour, light, sound and film that overwhelms in its small details and larger visual impact alike. Impossible to describe and document in one story, A BLOG will feature three days of ULTRAMEGALORE, beginning with fashion and running through the art and photography elements, for a holistic view of the entire exhibition.

From the entrance hall and a life-size Hannelore on the cover of Vogue Italia December 2005 to the attic room creaking with mannequins and magazines, Hannelore has unearthed a ten year legacy in the fashion industry with an impressive archive of her personal garments, and couture pieces borrowed from the designers closest to her. From the first garment – a Maison Martin Margiela artisanal leather waistcoat – to the final dress – a Christian Lacroix ceremonial wedding gown – each piece is imbued with a ‘Hannelorian tale’, whether it be a piece she wore in its catwalk debut or something her beauty and charisma inspired as a muse.

Above: Maison Martin Margiela artisanal leather waistcoat.

Above: Christian Lacroix wedding dress as worn by Hannelore.

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With a face that captured the shift in classical beauty and a turn towards more avant-garde models, Hannelore’s fierce lust for life coupled with her dashing looks – a pointed nose, strong chin and big, bright eyes – became an instant hit with a slew of designers across the world. From Belgian designers like Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten, to Paris stalwarts such as Azzedine Alaïa and Jean Paul Gaultier, Hannelore quickly became a regular fixture on their runways and in their campaigns. With some, Hannelore became more involved than just a model, becoming a muse and even collaborator on projects – particularly with Azzedine Alaïa and Haider Ackermann.

As such her personal style has become an intermingled mix of all these disparate aesthetics, resulting in a fluid femininity that is roughed up with a rock-star edge and a colourful eclecticism. The garments on show are a rare mix of new and old pieces, from established designers to younger names, from New York to Paris and back to Antwerp. The variety and scale is imposing: ranging from piles of designer shoe samples straight off the catwalk, to playful costumes worn by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, fanciful couture looks from Lacroix, eveningwear from Hermès, and t-shirts from Bernhard Willhelm.

Downstairs the fashion is separated into designated rooms (for those designers who Hannelore holds nearest and dearest), and upstairs the attic holds the majority of the archive, with little rhyme or reason to its colourful chaos. Despite a loose colour and thematic grouping, visitors are left to scour through a haphazard mix – piece after piece of personal belongings and borrowed archives –  with the unusual sights of a stepped wooden Hussein Chalayan skirt circled by high heels, a Haider Ackermann jacket casually draped over a vintage television set, and mannequins wearing Prada or Rick Owens surrounded by smashed shards of mirror on the floor. If not pure high fashion, it is certainly pure Hannelore, and she makes no apologies for that.

See our fashion photo gallery below, with art and photography to follow in the coming days.

Azzedine Alaia:

Jean Paul Gaultier:

Haider Ackermann:

Artwork by Haider Ackermann with accompanying song “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone.

“Birds flying high, you know how I feel. H.”

Hussein Chalayan:

The attic and beyond:

Above: Bernhard Willhelm tee shirts.

Above: Costume designed for the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O by Christian Joy.

Above: Maison Martin Margiela bead waistcoat over Ann Demeulemeester dress, Haider Ackermann wrap neck dress, VPL padded shift dress.

Above: Hermès Spring Summer 2006 dress, as worn by Hannelore Knuts in the show.

Above: archive Yves Saint Laurent red dress and cape, in the Juergen Teller room.

Above: A selection of personal and borrowed archives, including a leather hooded jacket by Ann Demeulemeester and the green 3-d print parka and dress worn by Hannelore in the Prada Fall Winter 2004 show (far right).

Above: A selection of personal and borrowed archives, including a python jacket from Revillon by Rick Owens (far left), star corsets by Francesco Scognamiglio (centre) and lace pants bodysuit by Haider Ackermann (far right).

Top image: Hannelore Knuts in Jean Paul Gaultier by Jean Baptise Mondino, Fall Winter 2004.

There are few stylists who identify with the inate darkness that resides in much of Proenza Schouler’s work. Most prefer to take the literal route, integrating the polished yet off-kilter garments into bold, modern and colourful images.
Panos Yiapanis is one man whose taste lies on a more shaded path, and working with the likes of Rick Owens and Riccardo Tisci, he helps to realise their designs with his potent, subversive aesthetic.

For A#9, Panos has styled and photographed pieces from Proenza Schouler’s Spring Summer 2008 collection – taking their tall military hats and an embellished tunic from the fairground to the battlefield. Panos shot the plumed and badged millinery on a faceless hatstand, side-lit to cast bright highlights on the cascading blonde hair and metallic accents against the inky black backdrop. The effect is archival and historical, as though each piece sits preserved in a museum, like costumes from a bygone era and a forgotten war.

Photography & styling by Panos Yiapanis, assisted by Mikolai Berg.

Last night the MoMu fashion museum in Antwerp opened its doors on the new ‘Masters of Black’ exhibition celebrating the world’s darkest fashion – from historical costume to cutting-edge couture. Lurking in the shadowy rooms are many of the finest pieces from designers close to our fold, with stunning creations from our curators and their collaborators.

Belgian fashion holds a strong presence in the exhibition, as does the Paris catwalk, and the ceremonial and formal clothing of bygone eras. Artworks from the Belgian masters from 17th century to present day accompany the works, with pieces by Goethe and Van Dijck complementing the clothing, and adding historical weight to the exhibition – with the context of black textile dyeing in Antwerp during these times. Separated into thematic areas, the exhibition explores the concepts of specific designers and wider themes such as ‘Romance & Rebellion’, texture, film noir and the ‘Little Black Dress’. Mannequins are swathed in the most luxurious of black fabrics – from heavy wools to the lightest silks, techno-synthetics to feathers and fur. Both embellishment and minimalism are celebrated, though the favour certainly swings to the former, with decadent displays of beading, jewellery, pleating and ruching.

A stunning ballgown from Givenchy haute couture by Riccardo Tisci stands guard over the exhibition, and a final salute comes from a simple shift dress with asymmetric pleating from Yohji Yamamoto, (above). Comme des Garçons takes centrestage with deconstructed silky jackets, next to Junya Watanabe’s thick quilted dress from FW09. Ann Demeulemeester personally styled her own display, using a mix of new and older pieces for a sparkling, gothic display featuring chainmail, crystal beading, leather coats and a coque feathered waistcoat. Raf Simons‘ has taken over the circular anteroom for a dramatic display of capes, and Nick Knight’s film for Gareth Pugh plays in the cinema room.

Other screens dot the exhibition, showing videos from Comme des Garçons and Raf Simons, and several mannequins revolve in a soft, eerie movement. Accessories lie trapped under glass cabinets – with feathered fans, ebony hair combs and other vintage pieces, and a leather-covered skull from Natalia Brilli.

Other contributions from our collaborators include a cut-out skull dress from Undercover’s Jun Takahashi,

a fluid wool skirt and jacket from Haider Ackermann,

black bow dresses from Dirk Van Saene,

and a triangular-shaped mourning dress from Viktor & Rolf.

The exhibition is directed by Kaat Debo – editor of A#6 & A#7, with scenography conducted by Bob Verhelst. The delicate balance of history juxtaposed with contemporary references is refreshing, offering new context to catwalk garments and allowing the viewer to think deeper and darker into the world of black fashion – where it began, and where it is going.

Masters of Black in Fashion & Costume

25/03/2010 – 08/08/2010

MoMu|
28 Nationalestraat,
Antwerp 2000 Belgium

www.momu.be

We are happy to announce the special partnership of Belgian model Hannelore Knuts and the ModeMuseum Hasselt in Belgium for a unique exhibition from March 27th 2010, displaying works from a wealth of international creative talent. With a distinguished modelling career spanning a decade, Hannelore has worked in the most prestigious fashion houses, crossed paths with many of the world’s best fashion photographers, and met many interesting artists from Belgium and elsewhere along the way. As well as a learned photographer, Hannelore is currently the model ambassador for Antwerp-based AIDS awareness charity, Designers Against Aids.

Curating the exhibition herself, Hannelore has called upon ‘connected souls’ to contribute to ‘ULTRAMEGALORE‘, including A#3′s Haider Ackermann – from whose magazine comes the above poster image by Inez Van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin.

The exhibit will include a fashion selection from the likes of Jean Paul Gaultier, Prada, Rick Owens and several Belgian designers, such as Haider, A.F Vandevorst and Maison Martin Margiela.

Complementing the physical garments will be fashion photography from the likes of Juergen Teller, Ronald Stoops, Miles Aldridge, Alex Salinas and Serge Leblon.

Also displayed will be artistic works by Kendell Geers, David Sherry, Luc Tuymans, Elizabeth Peyton and more.

ULTRAMEGALORE promises to be a landmark event for the small museum, located in Hannelore’s birth city of Hasselt, and is set to attract significant critical attention for the exciting content and scale of the project. While Hannelore insists it is not retrospective nor homage to the ‘supermodel’, we are promised a confronting insight into her artistic and cultural sphere. One surely not to miss.

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ULTRAMEGALORE – Fashion Icon Testimony
(27th March – 6th June 2010)
Modemuseum Hasselt
Gasthuisstraat 11
3500 Hasselt
Belgium

www.modemuseumhasselt.be

The raw, untreated hide of an alligator  thrown amongst an array of exotic skins and delicate fabrics. Dark shades and gradients of mottled colour sweep across the leather – tea browns, murky beige and scaly lines of deep grey. Underneath, the oily shine of eelskin glimmers in the low light, and a dull beige crepe de soie gives the opposite effect, in this image photographed by Mario Palmieri.

This is how American fashion designer Rick Owens chose to define his personal vision through an object, a question asked of Olivier Theyskens, Azzedine Alaïa and himself for A#3. The alligator skin is rare and precious, intricate in its anatomical structure, yet here is rendered unpolished and entirely lifeless – awaiting Rick’s transformation into a svelte gilet, a panelled jacket, or the trim on a shoe. It represents Rick Owens in its contradictions, in the sombre melange of glamour and grunge that have made his daringly dark silhouettes so popular the world over.

Be it the shark-fin heel on an a platform boot, the luxury of cashmere knitwear so long it drags across the ground, or a cotton jersey hoodie lined entirely in fox, Owens creates a unique and avantgarde mix of comfort, wearability and unswerving elegance.