FILEP MOTWARY

INTERVIEW: PAOLO ROVERSI TALKS TO FILEP MOTWARY

Dear iDEALS, Paolo Roversi is the past and the future in one. He never set out to be a fashion photographer, though he is one of the most referenced in the world. His is the great paradigm of signature; of identity. He is the only photographer who truly owns his colour palette. The young man who left Italy to conquer, by chance, la mode Parisienne has become the inspirational story of our times. Despite his precision and constancy over 47 years of photography, he continues to surprise. His sweet voice salutes me on the phone; my heart beats faster when I ask my first question for Dapper Dan's issue 04…

Exclusive self-Portrait for Dapper Dan © Paolo Roversi

All the rest image selections, are magazine scans.

Motwary: Mr Roversi, why do you think photography has been such an interesting art form for so many years?

Roversi: I think photography is such a fantastic medium. When it was first introduced in the 19th century, the first important thing about it was that it became a vehicle for presenting reality. Paintings and sculptures were just representations, no? Photography is exactly a mirror; it reflects the form identically to what it really is. I think this is the magic about it. For me it’s something more, though. It’s a revelation and many other things.

Guinevere Van Seenus by Paolo Roversi, Vogue UK June 2009

Motwary: You have insisted on working with a Polaroid camera since the ’80s. How did this obsession start?

Roversi: As soon as I discovered this type of film I was enchanted by it. Even now I still feel this way and I cannot justify the reason. You know how you fall in love with something—maybe it was the colour, the contrast. It became my palette immediately. I also started to work with this camera for its size, the 8×10 format. Taking pictures one by one is a slow procedure. I found my way through this camera— how to work. It was the ideal way to express myself. By now, I know it very well. It has become a part of my skin; my blood.

Motwary: How do you cope with current demands for digital photography, retouching and video? Do you feel threatened?

Roversi: No, no. I am not against any new techniques. I work with Polaroid, but I also work with film, photo booths and plastic cameras, even. I have no complex about trying new things because at the end of the day, we are talking about new techniques. Everything is about the light. I wouldn’t mind if there was no more Polaroid, because I can always find a new way to tell my story.

Motwary: There is an obvious consistency in your photographs. What makes your work so interesting, do you think?

Roversi: [laughs] I don’t know if it is interesting! I hope it is, at least for somebody. I think my photography is honest—it’s a reflection of who I am, what I feel. By using the senses, I try to be a bit more personal; to show a piece of me in my work.

Motwary: With your older work, the passage of time makes it look more current than when it was first published. How do you look at your past photographs?

Roversi: They are part of my life, my photographic life. I do go back to them, but not because I don’t want to live in the present. Every time, I hope that my next picture will be the best one, that tomorrow I will take another one and another one. But when I look at my old work I am touched, because I have memories attached to each one, and the feelings come out again. Sometimes I even see them in a new way, more exciting than when I shot them. When I take a picture I am always surprised, and this makes me happy, because the result is always different from what I expected.

Motwary: So, in a way, you seek advice from the “old” you about how to be the “new” you.

Roversi: Yes, exactly. Sometimes I find things I didn’t notice when I first took the picture.

Motwary: How do you always manage to photograph the most exquisite garments in the market, and how does couture help you create your images?

Roversi: I always say that the designer is the composer of the music, and the photographer plays the instrument—is the interpreter of the piece. I am the player and the designers are the composers, and it’s very important for me to have this music in front of me, playing it the way I like it, and within it, to create this certain kind of woman or man.

The dream of couture is very important in what I do. Some designers, like Yohji, Margiela, Galliano, they inspire me so much. They all showed me a different way, a suggestion, full of feeling, another perspective with which to look at a woman or a man and how to portray them. You know, my favorite fashion picture is always a portrait of a woman, but with such beautiful dresses, the idea of the portrait is always changing. Thanks to them, I have a different point of view.

Motwary: Your models, there’s always something very honest about them.

Roversi: I work in a very simple way with them. When I discover them, I always try to find something that touches me in their faces, if there is a deep exchange and a little mystery about them. They make me dream: through them, everything becomes exiting. I am very seduced by the strange beauty they offer and the question of whether I can touch or not, whether I can discover or not. The truth is, I like to be lost when I look at them.

Motwary: I would like to ask about Nevio Natali. It was in his studio that it all started for you.

Roversi: That was a long time ago. But still in my heart. Although Nevio was a commercial photographer, he was the one who showed everything to me. As you know, I never went to photography school. He taught me all the basics at his studio: the speed, the use of film, the lenses, how and when to focus—everything. And it’s very important, as technique alone is not enough to express oneself in this language.

Motwary: Why would an Italian choose Paris as his base?

Roversi: It was by chance, honestly, but I guess I can say the same of most of the things in my photographic life. Many of my pictures happen by chance. And it was by chance that I met this other photographer in Italy, who asked me, “Hey Paolo, why don’t you come to Paris?” So I came. When I arrived, fashion did not interest me at all. It was in Paris that I discovered fashion, through some friends of mine who were working in the business. Then I discovered the magazines and the great fashion photographers: Avedon, Penn, Newton, Bourdin. I was immediately carried away by all this wonderful work of theirs, and by the magazines, their creativity, their elegance. Of course, I was seduced by Paris too!

Motwary: Has your view of the city changed over the years? Do you ever intend to depart?

Roversi: No, I don’t think so, though every time I go to Italy I ask myself, “Why do I live in Paris?” Because I love my birthplace.

Motwary: Your family is there, no?

Roversi: Yes, and it feels like my country, you know? Italy is the home of the language I can express myself with the best, my food, my sky, my clouds, my wind and my fog. Because where I lived as a child used to be very foggy in the wintertime.

Motwary: Are your origins reflected in your photographs?

Roversi: Very much! Sometimes critics see this influence and I go, “Wow,” because I see it too. Within them I carry my childhood, and things like the Byzantine mosaics from Ravenna, or a painting of a Madonna as it was placed in my mother’s house, even the hair, this kind of thick texture. But really, I don’t want to analyze this too much. I like things to be left unexplained.

Motwary: What is your perspective on gender? If you could eliminate it from society, would you do it?

Roversi: This is a good question! But I think I would keep it as it is. Motwary: When is the moment a man or a woman looks most beautiful? Roversi: When they are in love. Or, even better, when they make love.

Motwary: Do you compromise with your stylists?

Roversi: No, I do not compromise, because we work together. Fashion photography is a result of teamwork and I always try to keep the energy and the creativity, the style and everything that the stylist creates, and to enrich the story with anything anyone in the team can bring to it. I don’t want to direct too much or be too powerful. So it’s a question of keeping it together and analyzing it in order to get a good picture that will satisfy us all… that we all have the same dream.

Motwary: Why do you work mostly with women? Is it intentional, or simply a matter of commission?

Roversi: It’s a matter of commission, since I work mostly with women’s magazines rather than men’s. There are many more men’s magazines now than when I started. Maybe there was L’Uomo Vogue back then, though I’m not sure…

Motwary: How different is it for you to express yourself through moving images rather than photography?

Roversi: Sometimes it is different, sometimes not. I think that photography and film are very close, though in film I find it difficult to keep it relevant to my photography. It all depends on the story, the script. I have not done so many films yet—they are so few compared to my photographic work.

Motwary: What about social media—do you think the industry is shifting from the print to the web, from the time- less to the ephemeral?

Roversi: This is already happening anyway, so even if I say yes or no, it’s better or worse, it wouldn’t change anything. Anybody can see how things are moving right now. Of course I was educated to see a photo-graph as an object rather than an image, not just a Polaroid floating on some computer screen. One can smell and touch, worship and frame a photograph; put it on a wall, on a table, in your pocket. Things have become much more ephemeral these days. Things appear and disappear on the screen of an iPhone or a computer, and see you later! I really miss the family album and the pictures you put in a wallet. Now every- body has a screen. One of my favorite memories of my father was the picture of us, his children, in his wallet. I’m nostalgic.

Motwary: How did you feel when fashion started taking a more flashy, commercial turn about a decade ago, with Mario Testino and then Terry Richardson?

Roversi: This is good! I think it is how this business works. Fashion is moving every month, and the same goes for fashion photography. The worst thing for someone in fashion is to be called a ”has-been”. All these people bring new, fresh things in. It’s not a question of quality any more. It’s about new energies, new ideas.

Motwary: Agreed, but in the ’70s or ’80s, for example, we had craftsmen like Guy Bourdin or Helmut Newton. Is fashion becoming more laid-back?

Roversi: Of course I am not going to compare Testino to Newton—each of them has his own vision and approach. Indeed, things have become easier with all these new cameras and technology. The quality too. But this is part of the times we are in. If you compare the way Balenciaga or Dior made a dress back then to how it’s done now, you can see that nothing is the same. It’s not about the flash, it’s what our times demand to see. Everything is faster now. You know, Guy Bourdin could take three or four days on 10 pages or even more. Now Testino or Richardson has one day for 20 pages. So yes, times have changed.

Motwary: How do you see the future of photography?

Roversi: I don’t have a crystal ball in front of me. [pauses] I’ll go upstairs, take the next picture and I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you tomorrow.

**Interview originally published in Dapper Dan, Issue 04, October 2011. Special thanks to Stella Roversi

INTERVIEW: KRIS VAN ASSCHE TALKS TO FILEP MOTWARY

Balancing a nostalgic sensibility with radical modernism, Kris Van Assche has created a distinctive, refined world of nonchalant elegance. His latest show for Dior Homme, for autumn/winter 2011/12, offered a strict outline for the modern man who wants to dress in fluid forms.

Boys strolled down the catwalk in wide-brimmed hats and drapey cloaks, chandeliers and fireplaces in the background. The Belgian-born designer graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and moved to Paris in 1998, where he worked with Hedi Slimane at Yves Saint Laurent and then Dior Homme. His own label was first introduced in 2005; two years later, he was appointed artistic director at Dior Homme...

Motwary: Hello Kris, how does this phone call find you?

Van Assche: I’m good, thank you.

Motwary: How would you describe the Dior Homme man for autumn/winter 2011/12?

Van Assche: I have been at Dior for four years now, and I had to struggle with this heritage, and how to present a new “story” for Dior. I concluded that it is not so much about the silhouette or certain details. It is much more about the artisanship, the way the clothes are made. This is the real heritage of the house. The atelier and its expertise was more of an inspiration than just the means to execute a design. Before, a designer would just go to the atelier with a drawing and expect them to make it. Now, I go with a drawing, but I ask them to make the best out of it and really include their opinion as part of the creative process.

I see a return to what we might call “essential”, and I think this is also what has changed since the crisis. Fashion, for me, was never about extravaganzas. I don’t really like clothes that only impress on the catwalk. Now I feel increasingly at ease with just concentrating on what I see as essential, the quality and the way clothes drape on the body. So, yes, there is a form of simplicity, and it goes together with the idea of using only a few colours—whatever really seems necessary. People have said that it’s quite strict, religious even, and it makes me laugh, because frankly it has nothing to do with that. It’s about the perfection of the clothes, getting the shoulders right, seeing how it fits perfectly on the body. It has more to do with precision than strictness. But I guess that’s where my Belgian roots come out—I hear it all the time!

Motwary: That contradicts something you once said in another interview—that you don’t have a sense of humor.

Van Assche: [laughs] I don’t know. I am quite serious about what I do, but I hope there’s some humour in me.

Motwary: Is the collection a reflection of the economic down- turn that is still haunting us? How do you respond creatively to a crisis like that?

Van Assche: There is no definition of how one should react to the crisis—any crisis. One could be tempted to work on more classical lines that should be easy to sell. But maybe people wouldn’t buy them because customers are looking for more exceptional pieces instead. There is no manual here. Personally, my reaction to the crisis was to try to define myself.

Motwary: Is there any tension between the idea and the execution, in terms of the time that separates them?

Van Assche: Oh yes! It is the big frustration of my job. First, you have this initial idea and ideal image of how the clothes are going to look on the catwalk, the show itself, the models. Then you have a thousand technical things that alter all of the above: putting on the zippers, the buttons, choosing the fabrics… There is a lot of detail that alters the dreamy vision you have in mind at first. I always say that developing a collection is five months of struggle not to lose the initial idea. There is even the possibility of things going wrong two days before the show. You have the pieces you like, and they look exactly as you had them in mind, and then you need to find the right boy to fit the jacket. The wrong choice of model can be fatal for a look.

Motwary: How do you find the right boy?

Van Assche: It’s really very difficult. Truly, I spend a lot of time doing the casting. Every time I have this specific type I am looking for. For my own label I have 25 models, so for Dior I use 40 or 45—it’s a lot. There are always 15 who are good and three I really like and see as perfect for the concept. I always wish I could clone those three.

Motwary: Who is the Dior man?

Van Assche: There is not one type of man, and certainly there is a difference between Dior Homme and my own label. For Kris Van Assche I become the client—I make clothes that I want to wear myself, things that are very close to my personal tastes. At Dior, I have a more spherical point of view, in order to satisfy the diversity of their clients. We have the younger customers, who tend to choose pieces that are much more crazy than anything I would wear, but there is also the traditional type who wishes for a tailored suit, a politician or a businessman, maybe. In order to make the perfect suit, I always push myself to get inspired by the challenge and bring out more tailored pieces, like a tailored jacked worn inside out.

Motwary: What’s the balance between refining the signature of the house and doing something new each season? Or lets say, how high is the pressure to do something completely new every time?

Van Assche: At Dior the pressure is huge! Dior Homme had its own success even before I arrived, and it was my task to define a new story, a new outline.

Motwary: Although it haunted you in the wrong way, in the beginning...

Van Assche: Yes. When someone is asked to take over a house, it is usually because it’s already dead or slowly dying. That would have been easy—all I would have had to do is throw everything in the garbage and start over. The previous Dior Homme was such a cliché; the downmarket brands were copying it. Dior had to remain a leading brand and move towards a new phase. I saw it as a great challenge to create a story for such an important house, never mind the pressure. Commercially and financially, it’s a big business and no mistakes are allowed. There are a lot of people working for Dior. I was very aware of all that and I think that together we worked it out. Now that I’ve found this new silhouette that I am very comfortable with, I don’t necessarily change it every season. I redefine it, making everything more evolved, but staying loyal to what I started eight seasons ago: luxury, comfort and exquisite craftsmanship.

Motwary: Do you consider yourself lucky?

Van Assche: [laughs] Of course I am lucky to be able to do this job. I am lucky to have my own label too—it’s very hard for a young designer these days. A lot of people would probably like to be where I am, but I worked very hard, for many years, to be where I am today—since I was 18 years old and still at the Academy. I don’t see time just flying by; my life is completely devoted to what I do. So yes, I am lucky, but nothing fell into my hands either.

Motwary: How do you balance your role as creative director of Dior Homme with running your own label? And how do you balance it all with a personal life?

Van Assche: Obviously it took me some time to find a balance, but the good thing about it is that both labels are in Paris. It’s only a 20-minute drive from one office to the other. What I do is spend two or three days at one or the other, wherever I need to be the most at the time. It allows me to work constantly with both my teams, and I’m very proud of all of them because they know how to continue what they are doing even if I am not there.

The teams are really strong; they allow me to be flexible. Right now a three-week holiday sounds like a good idea, especially after the shows, but the truth is that I cannot take it because I will definitely regret it for the whole next season. A few days off do just fine. I’m also aware of the fact that I’m the very first step of the whole process. If I am late, the whole chain will be late: the design process, the making, the price-tagging, the deliveries, the sales.

Motwary: Christian Dior never created anything for men. Do you translate the history of the house of Dior into a masculine vision, or is it purely your own ideas for Dior Homme?

Van Assche: The Dior atelier is about craftsmanship. This is a very important point to make, since not many menswear labels work in such a way. In Dior the customer can find quality and creativity, all in one piece of clothing. Of course I spend a lot of time going through the archives of Monsieur Dior, but I don’t really relate to it, or to couture as it was back then. There is a great deal of respect for beauty and M Dior’s view of modernity, and that certain kind of elegance, which comes naturally to me. Today, Dior Homme is about what I think his message would be for the man of today.

Motwary: In what way can one still make a statement with fashion today? For example, in the 1980s and ’90s, Katherine Hamnett’s slogan T-shirts literally conveyed a message. A printed sentence on a shirt doesn’t really mean the same thing any more.

Van Assche: It has become much more subtle and much more difficult. I don’t really know how people go about it, but personally I feel clothes should underline one’s personality and not the other way around. When you have a lot of choice, it becomes difficult to pick. Some people choose certain labels because they want to express though them a certain power. Others go for a total look, which conveys the message of the designer, not the wearer. I prefer to see people mix and match to achieve something that really represents them.

I don’t like logos, never did, and I’m happy that the trend is almost off the map.

Motwary: What is the meaning of fashion now?

Van Assche: Fashion is totally necessary, even if it’s considered superficial by some. Life is tough for everybody. We constantly work, are stressed, are in a rush to get things done—so all the simple things that embellish everyday life have become really impor- tant. Fashion is one of the things that can make a dull day seem beautiful. Clothes make you feel nice. No one can deny that.

Motwary: Are you following the rise of the fashion bloggers, or the fashion film mania?

Van Assche: I’m obliged to follow them, although I try not to feel victimised by it. The fashion bloggers are often the first to know the news, but also the first to spread false rumours. I follow them from a healthy distance. There are some very talented and inter- esting ones, but they are only a few. There is a lot of rubbish on the net. Fashion films are something I quite like, as a matter of fact. I feel that fashion should always be in touch with new technologies. I’ve been doing these videos with the Belgian photographer Willy Vanderperre for Dior. 

I’m very proud because through them, I can show the clothes with movement and music, from different angles, and so on. It’s another way of expanding the message.

Motwary: How do you see the future of fashion? And what about young designers who are truly talented but have no financial support?

Van Assche: I have no worries for the future of this business. It’s always been, and will forever be, a tough place to work, but it will also remain active forever. Clothes are the only way for a person to complete his personality. As for the creative youth, I can only speak for myself. As a young designer, I had to find investors who believed in my work and helped me to push it further, and I think this is still the way it works for others.

I would advise young people to start by working in a big company for a few years, to see how this industry really functions. Fashion is not about parties and famous models. It’s a tough business and it should stay that way.

Interview originally published in Dapper Dan, Issue 04, October 2011. Photography by Vassilis Karidis. Styling by Nicholas Georgiou. Modeled by Dan Felton at MGM

*Portrait of Kris Van Assche by Paolo Roversi

SOME/THINGS PRESENTS: SUZANNE VON AICHINGER TALKS TO FILEP MOTWARY AND POSES FOR RENE HABERMACHER

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INTERVIEW: OLEG MITROFANOV TALKS TO FILEP MOTWARY

Dear iDEALS, a while I was introduced to Oleg Mitrofanov's project "I HATE MY COLLECTION" through an Athens based friend and was immidiately stimulated by the whole concept it is based on.

Mitrofanov describes his route as a life "full of coincidences". Born and raised in Moscow, first studied International Law at the  Moscow State Academy before moving towards a completely opposite direction, Fashion.

By chance, Saint Martins' Andrew Whittle invited him for an interview along with his non-existing portfolio and some time later he was accepted in LCF for some sort of pre foundation course. In London, as he states, he met his best friend Pierre, who actually taught him a lot, without him he would never be able to get into CSM. Then Judith introduced him to Thomas Persson and a collaboration with Acne Paper followed whilst being at Saint Martins....

FilepMotwary: Oleg, what is your project about?

OlegMitrofanov: It is a documentary about Central Saint Martins college of art and design, and people who went through it, at the end of the day that what makes the college's history. You see the college has moved to a new location in Kings cross and the new chapter in CSM history has started. I think it is a good time to talk about CSM influence on British and World fashion, and it was enormous. I also would like to look in the future and try to find out what awaits CSM in its new home.

FM : When did you start the documentation and how the idea originally came from?

OM : I started filming about a year and a half ago, I had to have a break in between as I had to graduate from Saint Martins. So now I am trying to get funded to be able to complete it. Well the idea came from a very ordinary conversation with a very extraordinary friend, and then I researched it, and realised that actually none done a documentary about Saint Martins before.That's how it all started.

FM : What is the aim you have making this documentary?

OM : Well you see because I have been working on this for a while my aim changed few times, or developed rather. At the begining I thought it just sounded like a fun project to do, but the more I researched Saint Martins history and its present the more I realised that what I really want is to tell people what Saint Martins is about, to tell it's story and to remind people that it is about being yourself, being original and creative. To inspire people in a way.

FM: What were the difficulties that you found along the way from the beginning to the end of filming, editing etc.

OM : Where do I start here. This is my first big project, I have never really done anything like this before, it is a big learning experience for me. Obviously I make mistakes during the process, but sometimes they are good mistakes that change the direction of the film. But I have an amazing team and a had a lot of support so far.

  
FM: How many people worked on this project and when will it be released?

OM : I haven't actually finished it yet, but if everything goes well I hope I release it in 2012 at some point. The permanent team is very small it's just me, Judith Watt who actually talks to people in the film and Markys Nylaander, who is the director of photography. Home.corp which is a production company helped me to make the trailer. But I guess once I find a budget I can extend my team little bit

FM: How do you think the fashion world will receive it?

OM : I jokingly say it will be the British response to the September issue, and I am not even British. We shall see, I hope I won't dissapoint! I have some pretty amazing people lined up and some fantastic stories.

FM: What will your next projects will be?

OM : I would like to develop this project further and perhaps make an exhibition and a book about it, that will compliment the film. You see I always wanted to write a book, curate an exhibition, if not about CSM then about something else and also I always dreamed to stage an opera.

‘I HATE MY COLLECTION’ is the first feature length documentary about the world most famous fashion school – Central Saint Martins. The college is such an important institution whose influence in fashion has been a vital part of British culture for the past 60 years.

It has been a crucible of design and art talent, from Amanda Lear to filmmakers Derek Jarman and John Maybury to fashion designers Bill Gibb and Katharine Hamnett to Galliano, Stephen Jones, John Flett and Rifat Ozbek. While its more recent Alumni is topped by the late, great Lee McQueen, it has continued to irritate, agitate, cajole, push and propel creative vision from the newer voices of Jonathan Saunders, Richard Nicoll and Christopher Kane. It is telling that that all came from a rundown building in Soho, where so many tutors worked for the love of it. There was no‐where else like it in the world and a film that cherishes its past and looks to the future is long overdue.

Directed by a former CSM student Oleg Mitrofanov and narrated by Saint Martins lecturer, celebrated fashion historian Judith Watt. Filledwith anecdotes and untold stories from world famous designers and per- sonalities about their student life the film gives an insight to the London most famous talent factory.

The new chapter of Saint Martins history has started when in the summer 2011 the college moved to the new purpose built building at King’s Cross. The question that everyone is asking is ‘will Saint Martins survive the move?’ How important was the old run down building on Charing Cross road?

Antonio Berardi, Antony Price, Bobby Hillson, Julie Verhoeven, Howard Tangye, Katharine Hamnett, Stephen Jones, Manolo Blahnik and Niall McInerny. Potential interviewees include: John Galliano, Hamish Bowles, Christopher Kane, Richard Nicoll, Amanda Lear, Rifat Ozbek, Louise Willson, Christopher Kane, Jonathan Saunders, Louise Goldin and many others...

www.olegmitrofanov.com

www.ihatemaycollection.com

**Thank you to Panayiotis Nicolaou

INTERVIEW: INGE GROGNARD TALKS TO FILEP MOTWARY

Dear iDEALS, Inge Grognard’s career as a make-up artist started in the mid-eighties along with her husband, photographer Ronald Stoops, collaborating with pioneers like Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, Martin Margiela,Dries Van Noten,  Walter Van Beirendonck , Dirk Van Saene, Marina Yee or what the world knows as ANTWERP SIX +.

Throughout her career Inge work along with Raf Simons,Véronique Branquinho, Jurgi Persoons as well as for shows like the young Christian Wijnants, Bernard Willhelm, A.F. Vandevorst, Marcel Marongiu, Rick Owens, Kenzo, Anne Valérie Hash...

Grognard’s work – especially the more personal projects with Stoops - are often exhibited in museums or art galleries and allowing Inge to have a variance of outlets for her artistic drive.

Her first publication "MAKE -UP" , released in 1998 was distributed in Belgium, Paris, Rotterdam and Tokyo. As a result, a small retrospective on Make-Up appeared in Purple Magazine. Her desire not to "limit" make-up art to the fashion world alone is also demonstrated through her collaborations with the theatre.

Inge lent her skill to a dance theatre play called Rain, directed by the infamous Anna Theresa de Keersmaeker. Throughout her career, Inge has enjoyed working with a fine array of photographers: Nick Knight, Terry Richardson, Corinne Day, Juergen Teller, Jean-Baptiste Mondino, Jean-Paul Goude, Bettina Rheims, Tesh, Miles Aldridge, David Armstrong, Satoshi, Horst Diekgerdes, Katja Rahwles, Anouschka Blommers & Niels Shumm, Karen Collins, Paulo Sutch and Michel Momy. Her work has appeared in magazines such as, Vogue (British, Italian and Japanese versions), i-D, Dazed & Confused, Purple, Self-Sevice, Numéro, Another Magazine, V and A Magazine. Ad campaigns that she has worked on include: Chanel’s “Chance” perfume and Chanel’s Haute Gamme 5 Elements Jewelry line, Galérie Lafayette, Nina Ricci, Ungaro, Stella McCartney and Haider Ackermann Furthermore, Inge’s talent can be seen in the music videos of Bjork (“Pagan Poetry”) and Marilyn Manson (“This is the New Shit!”).

Inge lives with her husband and cats in Antwerp, Belgium and concentrates her activities between Antwerp and Paris.

All photos by Ronald Stoops©

FilepMotwary:Thank you for this great opportunity. What are you up to these days; Will you be at the Paris fashion week?

IngeGrognard: Preparing some money jobs and thinking about a make up idea for the A.F Vandevorst show, 29th of September in Paris.

F.M: It came as a surprise when I found out that you are married to Ronald Stoops. I guess it all makes sense to me now. How did you guys meet in the first place?

I.G: We met a long time ago in Antwerp through friends and directly had a kind of match, I was still studying and Ronald was busy with music, chess.... and lots of other creative things. After getting married (we did it in 3 months) he went back to school to study photography.

F.M: How has this relationship evolved through the years and has become such a strong reference? You have a very strong reputation, not only in Antwerp but also in the world.. Also, how can a “relationship” or a common acquaintance, friendship help in one’s work?

I.G: We work on specific ideas when we are invited to participate in a project or an exhibition. We are influenced by things happening in the world, in music as well as in our own private life. Working commercially together is about being honest to each other, about liking or not liking; and we try always to go for a strong image at the end.

What we do together is only possible because we know each other so damn well that there is a lot of space to discuss and for intense brainstorming. Sometimes this is missing when you work with other people every now and then. Working together with Ronald for such a long time is really a privilege, I am totally aware of that.

FM: Inge, how do you manage working on so many different ideas at the same time? What is the routine you follow prior a show or a photo shoot?

I.G: I try not to accept everything anymore; a good balance between creativity, and experience is what is important for me to go further with a project. So I have time left to empty my head and fill it again with new things.

FM: Belgium is mainly known for giving birth to some of the greatest designers in the 1980’s who are now legends. You basically started your career with them… How would you describe that period of your life?

I.G: Knowing the "Antwerp Six +" and was indeed very important. We all started together and there was still so much time to learn. Nowadays it doesn’t exist anymore, which is a pity.

FM: Every year, Antwerp reveals new talent. How do you see the present of fashion now? What it is that intrigues you the most?

I.G: Every year I see (Inge serves as consultant for the final show at the Royal Academy of Antwerp) fashion students at their last year. Some of them have incredible talent but I’ also aware of the difficulties they have to get across in real life .I see revivals but also freshness and that gives me a really good feeling and sometimes a push to continue.

F.M: What are the differences in make-up between a young designer and an established one?

I.G: An established one knows the possibilities and a young one still has to learn.

F.M: How important is make-up in fashion?

I.G: We are a part of the image they want to show.

F.M: Last year, David Flamee arranged and sent a signed copy of your published anthology with Ronald Stoops; and although I have a wide collection of books, I consider it as one of my ten favorites. It has so much emotion in it! Could you please share with my readers and me the need you and Ronald had to share these works with us as well as to describe your own feelings when looking at your work in a “frame”?

I.G: To share is to inspire, the same inspiration we had from other books and movies, music etc... Now it was our turn.

F.M: What has Stoop’s vision offered to your own?

I.G: It’s a vice versa thing, we never could have made some of our images with other people (smiles)

FM: How far can you go in order to help a garment with your make-up?

I.G: It can make it stronger but the other way round, when a garment is already so strong to see that less is better.

FM: What has this business taught you?

I.G: To believe in myself and that there is no need to “kill” anyone , there is still space left.

FM: Your morals?

I.G:Stay honest with everything you do in life and don’t do something to another what you don’t like for yourself.

F.M: Your next plans?

I.G: Thinking about new ideas and going to the Biennale in Venice.

Photo of Inge Grognard, selfportrait

Note: Inge Grogrard is reprsented by JED_ROOT.INC

LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME / ETRO

Photo by Filep Motwary© for Splash

INTERVIEW: TER & BANTINE TALK TO FILEP MOTWARY

Dear iDEALS, Ter et Bantine was born in 1992. A pragmatic dreamer, Manuela Arcari looks at the world around her and condenses her observations in a sign retaining a quality not usually associated with fashion design: dignity. She designs for a woman who is real, not fictional, living real-life, concrete situations.

For this polymorphous character, Manuela creates clothing that erases pre-conceived distinctions. Design is controlled but not monastic; pureness, sometimes, opens up to decorative abandon, in a new way. The tone is assertive, but not oppressive; severity includes grace, femininity has the dry anti-romanticism of masculinity. The expression is fluid: an open, inclusive language.

Manuela Arcari knows when to stop. She also knows that silence speaks volumes, and seduces. Sensuality not always, and not necessarily, means baring it all. On the contrary, shyness and reticence can be truly seductive: in this case, in fact, it’s the mind, not the eyes, that fills the gaps. Ter et Bantine is a style – reductionist and raw, concrete and cerebral, pure, subtle – in which what is not there is just as important, or maybe more important, of what is there.

The infinite possibilities of this modular style highlight the personality of the wearer, not the ego of the designer. The tone is concentrated, rarefied at times, yet, between the folds, the clean cuts and the geometries, one can discover memories and emotions. Simplicity, after all, is complex, full of nuances. She is the author: her precise, decisive look of a woman who creates womenswear does not translate into a formula; in fact, she offers infinite ways of being. Ter et Bantine is a wardrobe: an open repertoire of possibilities. Construction is the result of intense study, because the body and its movements are not abstract concepts for Arcari.

 
FilepMotwary: Mme Arcari, what were your inspirations for Summer 2012 what will people see in Milan in September?

ManuelaArcari: I haven’t quite decided yet, to be honest. What I do know is that I’d like to create a virtual full stop to the path chosen during the last collections, which, I do believe, culminated with resort. A complex patchwork of fabrics, colours and meaning, however chaotic, but present in all ethnic cultures. I’d like to offer two partial but parallel views, which underscore each other through their diversity.

F.M: You just launched your first resort collection. What is it about and what was the aim of a pre-collection for Ter Et Bantine anyway?

M.A: We strive to become more and more precise, entering into detail, to be ever more competent within today’s dynamics. In the US resort collections play an important part, commercially as well as culturally. Responding to certain seasonal sensibilities is par for the course. Being a small company, moreover, and having to work fast, compels us to keep things simple without drama, which is part of my DNA.

F.M: How would you describe your process while working?

M.A: Each season I concentrate my efforts on attempting to find a new suitable formula, which then is applied mathematically to each collection.

F.M: What’s the best and worst thing about the fashion business, for someone like you?

M.A: Actually, to me fashion still is the fascinating, immediate, territory of research.

F.M: What is missing from fashion right now?

M.A: An independent, authoritative label.

F.M: Do you envision yourself designing things besides clothes, at least in the future?

M.A: I wouldn’t mind tackling the world of furniture and interiors, since a home and everything connected with it fascinates me. Ultimately one’s home is once’s most important outfit.

*Thank you Mme Enna Halie

INTERVIEW: MARIOS SCHWAB TALKS TO FILEP MOTWARY / PHOTOGRAPHY BY RENE HABERMACHER

*Marios Schwab interview is a collaboration between Un nouVeau iDEAL and TheStimuleye.com

Marios Schwab portrait by Rene Habermacher

Marios Schwab is known for his unique interpretations of natural forms and his ability to dress the female body in a way that he only knows.
While the world of fashion turns its attention to ephemeral trends, we decide to interview Marios and hear him analyze the Schwab philosophy, his position at Halston and the analysis of his very first Resort Collection, one day before its revealed to the public and press.
His collections are based around reflecting the inner structure of a garment on the outside, a theory that helped to define him as one of London's most exciting designers - a position he continues to hold.
A distinction and Best Student Award graduate of Esmod, Marios moved to London in 2003, where he completed an MA in Womenswear Fashion at Central Saint Martins, studying under the guidance of the formidable Louise Wilson.
Two years later 2005 saw him launch his own label, showing for two seasons with Fashion East before making his on schedule debut at London Fashion Week for SS 2007
Since the Spring of 2009, he was appointed as the creative director of HALSTON in New York.
Schwab's designs are sold all over the world, in shops ranging from Dover Street Market, Harvey Nichols and Browns in London, to Maria Luisa in Paris and Barneys in New York.
Photographer Rene Habermacher met with him in London for the creation of the pre-collection’s look book

Marios Schwab portrait by Rene Habermacher

FilepMotwary:How are you today Marios, what have you been up-to since this morning?

MariosSchwab: Pretty much like I came from Paris and immediately started working on the main line…It’s a non-stop situation right now because I just did my first resort collection which was in a way an experiment in terms of getting in right with timings and deadlines, a completely new experience for me. Also we are producing this collection elsewhere outside the UK.

FM: You just photographed your first pre-colection for Summer 2012 yesterday with Rene Habermacher?

MS: We started shooting on Friday; he came over to London and shot the collection in my Studio.

Marios Schwab's very first resort collection, photographed by Rene Habermacher.

FM: What is your pre-collection about?

MS: I went to Vienna for a weekend where I visited Kunsthalle and saw these amazing series of Vanitas paintings from Dutch painters. For me they always have this feeling of seduction and mysticism that I really like and the hide-reveal again which I am so obsessed about. I wanted to create a print that kind of works color but still within a black background...
It all started with creating the print with artist Tom Galland, who is a friend living near by and with whom we work on numerous collections together. The outlines pretty much echo shapes that have a classic sort of detailing from Maris Schwab, torn down so it becomes easy to wear and accessible for the younger girl that wants to buy, but not necessarily can afford. It’s about clothes for someone who doesn’t want to wear something that is too tailored.

FM: How did you decide to add a pre-collection in your work? Was it after popular demand? What it the aim of a pre-collection anyway?

MS: Yes first comes the “demand” as you said because the main line concentrates on tailored pieces, cocktail pieces mainly, and has the element of fabrics that are more sculpted.  There was an easy-wear-feeling missing. You know, easy things that make more sense in a resort collection rather in a mainline. Fabrics like jersey, which is great to wear, in a good quality and good price. Its something that was requested from the top floor but also the feeling of having to return back to something that is a little bit younger was very very important to me.

FM: How is this collection pricewise?

MS: Well it starts from 200 GBP and reaches s 750 GBP. That was the main point, to put very interesting detailing from the DNA of Marios Schwab-keeping the outline and fit on a friendly price. It is quite an interesting thing to do I guess because when you start a collection with this thought pros-mind-set becomes automatically an interesting project.  I was concentrating on dresses that you can put on daytime and also in a club or to go travelling with and I think this is something I would like to concentrate on at this point and turn it as the signature of the resort

FM: Marios, it often seems that you manifest an idea way ahead of its time, even two seasons before others pick your ideas later.
How do you work, develop these ideas and where you withdraw your inspirations?

MS: Well it’s a lengthen process because I always like to bring in the surroundings of my own life, or what I hear in any sense politics, stories, everyday life, as its an emotional story developed into garments. I don’t know how to explain it really. It usually starts with materials and then it develops into proportion and sectioning of the body in a certain way.
Last season how it started for example, was after a documentary I watched about ancient Greece and the oracle temples. There was this amazing building- I don’t remember where it is now-but it was saying that “nothing in excess.” And it kinda gave me the idea that basically its very much about what we are right now: overloaded with information but also we want so much out of everyday life, some can afford it, some cannot. For me, the process of it was to take this theme and create something that is beautiful with craftsmanship.
So I started reading essays about craftsmanship, then I came across the work of Adolf Loos, an architect from Austria who worked on finding the meaning of decoration and its meaning in society.
To cut the story short the collection was based on minimized craftsmanship and how it becomes an over precious part of each garment. So really framing the details on specific parts of the body that becomes precious at the same time.

I like to place things where they don’t belong from time to time. Broking was one element but also the status of symbols like a pearl necklace and how it can be re-translated in a modern way. Within this season, the Vanitas paintings for me meant life, beauty but at the same time possessions and darkness. It’s so beautiful and it reminded me of Victorian wallpapers, bursts of flowers with a dark background. All these harmless detailing in the collection like elastics that wrap around the body and create the draping reminded me of my earlier works since Spring Summer is very much about the inside outside, how you can retranslate draping without looking like a retro reference, you add a utilitarian element to it but then it’s a little bit more modern.

FM: In the last five minutes you used the word “craftsmanship” for more than five times. How important is craftsmanship in your work?

MS: It’s the most important thing for me. The way I learned the trade was going to Austria at the age of 15, surrounded by manic women, teachers that knew everything about traditional techniques, probably not very used these days unless of course you work for a couture house. It became my obsession and also something I am very much fond of. I like the humbleness of a craftsman and the sound of craft. I feel so comfortable sitting next to a person that is s specialized and so focused into his work. There is certain romanticism in it that I always go back to. I like sitting in a studio surrounded by the fabrics I just got from the manufacturer and then turn them upside down doing things I didn’t even suspect. I get a kick out of it, not to buy something that is finished but apply something to it.
I guess that can be said about women or the girls that inspire me. It’s a woman with personality- I don’t like women with no character. I don’t see a woman only as a body to dress. I see her as a strong persona that has a little bit more that just attitude. For me, women should be running the world at this point.
I like women who are intellectuals and private at the same time … I make a subtle story each time for them that does not overload their personality, enhances their personality.

FM: While having a closer look at your past collections, I noticed that you continue to focus on the women’s body structure, emphasising on the waist and shoulders. Though now, your work has become more confident and much more strict than before…Do you agree, how do you see your work through the years?

MS: Basically the starting point of a collection is always a naked body –in that I draw around the bodylines that are very much continued over the years I have been working. Whenever I dress a body I like to reveal what I also hide under a garment. From an architectural and proportional point of view it’s the most interesting part for me. What you cover you can reveal in a very sophisticated way on the surface of the fabric but also the cut.

FM: There was certain toughness in your winter 2011-2012 collection with the use of leather and all…

MS: The winter collection indeed had a feeling of toughness and that’s a classic element I guess in Marios Schwab that contains this femininity within something that is the good girl and the bad girl together. There is the prettiness and a sexual element within something that is sometimes quite strong and tuff. And I like to mix leather in a sense that you take the lady completely away from clothes. I don’t like ladies. I like to have a non-pretentious woman and I think that when you look closely to the garments you can see that they are not pretentious and that’s very much about the aspect of Schwab. My dresses need to be appreciated close by and I like that they don’t scream aloud but at the same time with a closer look you learn to appreciate them, their line and the detailing.
Taking elements that are very lady like and gentlemanly, for instance the broking and the pro necklaces kind of annoy me when I see them on women cause they are just too preppy.  I use them in a way that they become almost irrelevant of their status, hidden behind seams or they grow out of a seam either the are attached in a different way and become a utility, not just decoration. This is something I like doing also, using decoration at the same time in a functional way.
Remember the metal piece from an earlier collection of mine? The point wasn’t to create something shiny with a reflection in order to simply impress the guests of the show.
I thought of it as a garment that gives you this extra support when you dress up and feel you are wearing “something”. Psychologically, in some dresses this is missing, also in fashion these days.

People used to take time to prepare themselves, so I tried to modernize this vintage routine within this shiny dress.


Patterns at Marios' Studio

FM: How has your involvement with Halston help your own brand you think?

MS: I think it is such an interesting thing to work for another brand, with another team, travelling in a different country to produce a collection, which proved to be such a precious part of my Halston commitment. Basically you have a team that works abroad, that you are not very close to most of the time, you have different deadlines than your own. All these made me feel much more strong.

You know also since I am the only designer there, I don’t have a team that designs alongside me which is exactly the opposite from what happens at Marios Schwab. It surprised me quite a lot. I always thought that it was going to be hardcore, working for two brands at the same time. It is hard but not as difficult I had in mind it would be.

FM: Crazy in what sense?

MS: Meaning the sense of “switching off”. I was surprised on how I could switch off from my collection, going to Halston do something else and then back again and back again… I felt a little bit scared before taking the job. It’s indeed a huge responsibility but you learn to do it, that’s it. Its pretty much like “you have to get on with it”!

Butterfly Collection of Marios Schwab

FM: What made Halston such a rarity as a House?

MS: Halston as you know was concentrating on enduring fashion and I’d love to see Marios Schwab doing that,..
Halston encloses a story behind it that you can always see something else if you try looking closer. At his time Halston was creating, he offered something that was a very subtle, a minimal way of looking glamorous by wearing something simple and yet looking beautiful and seductive and expensive and clean. He had a very modern way of making clothes.

The principle probably is the attractive one, what it was all about. But it was also attached to Studio 54, a very special place of that era and it was in everyone’s expectations. People just love it and for them Halston is attached to Studio 54.



Greek coffee cups at the studio

FM: Do you think your customers understand you better than your critics? Also how do you respond to bad criticism?

MS: I don’t read reviews anymore because it just confuses me. After a show you are very tired and very emotional and personally the last thing I want to do is read criticism, good or bad.  One critic can lift you up or drag you down which sometimes its not very relevant to a person that works in a very personal way and in private. I go meet people, the consumer, and the woman who wear what I create. You want to hear both at the same time, it normal but when you are still conquered by the after show adrenaline, you can’t just bother with that.

FM: You belong in the Kane, Katrantzou, Pugh and Pilotto generation. It’s somehow like the “Antwerp’s Six” story. What in your opinion, all of you offered in fashion that was missing at the point you appeared?

MS: I think quality, good fit within something that is very special and still acceptable and wearable. London at the time was about things that were more phantasmagorical..

FM: So you are saying that you guys made the difference?

MS: I’m not speaking about the rest, but yes I think that was what was missing at the time without pointing out someone specific.



FM: Let me do that (laughs) all you have to do is agree or disagree (laughs). You all came at a point where as you said everything was very phantasmagoria and finally we had some wearable clothes coming from London, which was not the case before.

MS: Yes, London started having a good balance. More than anything, the overall look was a little bit overwhelming. But I have to say that London is very special on that and supports all kinds of new developments, new ideas in fashion. It has to be said; you can’t really find that anywhere else’s in the world. Many people wonder, “What’s this thing about London, anyway?” But its true, London within this experimental nonsense or sometimes good sense it creates certain movements and in a way creates the platform for all of us to stand onto tomorrow..


FM: What would be a designer’s weakness you think? What’s your weakness in that case?

MS: Deadlines (laughs), free time. I can never organize myself to have a life. In this business you become very critical about what you do. It’s the mentality of living in your own bubble, creating for somebody else can be quite intimidating at some times, for others as well..

FM: How difficult is for a designer to cross lots of different ages in one collection?

MS: It’s a matter of confidence of the client. If you see a curvaceous person that wears a skin-tight garment, regardless of her age, whether she is a young girl or a woman and she has the confidence and attitude that matches the whole personality and appeal its instantly a success. This equals that the designer must have done something right.

FM: Would you tell a client if she doesn’t look good in your dress?

MS: Yes if she would ask me I would definitely tell her my opinion. If she didn’t, then why I would I tell her if she is happy with it? It’s her choice and one needs to respect that.

FM: How do you see the present of Fashion?

MS: Shall we move to the next question? (Laughs). It’s interesting because it’s changing and its not changing at all. I think what changed is the way we get informed, how we advertise, and talk about things, how we buy things.
Everybody has a question mark about what they are doing these days…
The non-interesting part of this global change is throughout this financial downhill, the how quickly we gain information around us can make things very boring and very …
Things are supposed to be fast in fashion and although it seems that way, there is no new development in music and so many other creative sectors; and that is a shame because people stopped thinking unnaturally and they want to get into so many different characters since there are surrounded by so much information and don’t know how to handle it. They don’t have the time to study the new, see it from a distance, observe it, analyse it. It’s not a concrete period, there’s no certain opinion about things. You want to dive into so many different things because you have no other option.


FM: It takes one bad collection to take a designer out of the spotlight you think?

MS: I don’t know how it is but I wouldn’t see it that way I don’t know. You can have a bad collection because you decided to go on extended holydays and have a bit of a life.
Its interesting to mention that fashion can be such a fluff in the air. People think Balenciaga is amazing and next season they think Givenchy is the most interesting thing…sometimes it can become a little…I don’t know how to explain.. Do people have an opinion at the end? In previous decades or centuries this wasn’t much the case.

Things were very specific. I’m talking about how people dressed, the way people reacted on fashion, art, their opinion…It was about dressing up your own way, to look pretty your own way and the way they looked upon things. Its not about buying the total look its about buying items from a collection in order to combine them with what you already have and make your look your own.

FM: You own your own company—nobody owns you. How’s that for a responsibility considering the reality of the fashion houses today?

MS: I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing, no. The point is that our times as it is, its quite difficult to increase your team members, the structure, to tap into things you always dreamed of, like the way you want your company to spread out…
It’s not easy to do it by yourself without investment, or being helped by another source. It would be a shame to only be able to create clothes and not a whole product, that doesn’t only concentrate on fashion, not being able to communicate it right. Sometimes you don’t have the time or the money or both. But help must be welcomed.

FM: I am curious to know, how many people work for you?

MS: Hold on I need to count…Five full timers, mainly administrative and office work.  I have one assistant that concentrates on fabrics and the boards.

FM: Do you give chances to interns?

MS: YES!! Yes!! Interns are so important, I like teamwork and when I refer to the team as always say “we”. It’s confusing for people. Who’s “we”?
I see myself as a craftsman, as I said before, I like to work within like a team that creates something that needs to be educated to us , to find our how its done and how its made and it takes a team of people that are special and committed to do that .
You can drive people crazy when you just give directions and not get involved in the making with them. For us especially, as we make all the samples in-house and it can get a little crazy. Students and the team that is here for years working with me seems like a family, we get emotional and fun and relaxed at the same time.
What I want from a student is to learn something special while running around in all the sections of the company, doing things, the boring jobs even,.. They need to have a complete idea on what it takes to be a designer because their time will come to open their own business.
Fashion is neither a fantasy nor a party…



Vintage print of a portrait of Marios Schwab by Paolo Roversi

FM: Do you ever let yourself go? Is there anything in your personality that you really have to keep a tight grip on?

MS: The most important thing for me is family. They are part of what I do. My dad and mother enabled me to leave home at 15 to do what I wanted to do, feel free. They are critical about my work, which is very very important for me.  Sometimes my mom doesn’t like certain things as she is a woman with style and she was the first who gave me the inside of quality and aesthetics.
In my private life I collect images I find beautiful. I like a variety of things, I love the impactful emotion when I sit on a beach somewhere in Greece, or sitting with old women on an island’s quiet little street, hearing them talk …Easy things and simple like that…
I like creating through emotion and experiences, history, the women I met n my life, their attitude, character. It can be very cinematographic. I build up a whole fictional character, created from my acquaintances with different women throughout my life.


FM: What was the last thing that Stimulated you?

MS: …my boyfriend..

INTERVIEW: SUZIE Q & LEO SIBONI SHARE THEIR VISION SECRET MYSTERY GENIUS WITH STIMULEYE.COM

Interview by Antoine Asseraf / THESTIMULEYE.COM

They’re not even close to turning 30. And yet they are releasing their third fashion film superproduction, IS THIS REAL LIFE for designers Mastori and Motwary, on Vogue Italia; and doing the cover story for UNDER THE INFLUENCE, out on Friday. They are… Suzie Q and Leo Siboni.

Still from IS THIS REAL LIFE by Suzie Q & Leo Siboni, for Maria Mastori & Filep Motwary’s NUPTIALIS.

Antoine Asseraf: How did the two of you meet ?

Suzie Q & Leo Siboni: We met while studying at Ecole des Gobelins, Paris, in 2005. At first we helped each other out for our personal projects, and then in 2007 we started working together.

AA: And what was your first project as a duo ?

S.Q & L.S:It was a photo series for the fashion magazine DOUBLE, named SCREENPLAY. We used different films by John Ford, projected as a background. The idea was to establish a relationship between John Wayne and the model.

AA: At Gobelins, did you both study photography ? And why did you start with fashion photography ?

S.Q & L.S: Yes, we both studied photography. For us fashion is a way to experiment, fashion imagery is about mise-en-scène, putting the clothes forward. Paradoxically, what we like the most are the constraints.

It helps you create, pressures you to act quickly. It’s rather intense.

AA: Funny that your photo series should be about cinema…

S.Q & L.S: Cinema inspires us a lot. We work more and more with the idea of an image within the image, of a certain depth, a frame within the frame. In the end I think we’re attached to the idea of the screen.

AA:If I’ve understood correctly, since you graduated from Gobelins, one of you started working while the other kept studying by doing a program at the Paris Beaux-Arts ?

Leo: Yes, Suzie works on sculptures and installations, while I’m working on some cinema projects.

PURSUIT, by Suzie Q & Leo Siboni.

AA: Let’s get back to your first big project, PURSUIT. How did this come about ?

Well we had just won the Picto prize for Screenplay. We won the opportunity to do an exhibit at Passage du Désir / BETC, so we decided to make a film for this exhibit. We’d been thinking about making a video fashion editorial for a while. PURSUIT is inspired by a sequence in DIE HARD with Bruce Willis. It’s a bit of a remake, but with models instead of actors, and a banquet room instead of the Nakatomi building set.

We thought the original scene was very fashion – the character is walking on the table as on catwalk. And then we played with cuts, changing the clothes in the midst of the scene. You can see the girls are changing outfits all the time. We wanted to have the ability to extract images directly from the film, so we worked on a RED system, which allows the film stills to be very high res.

AA: And how do young graduates like you get hold of RED system, how did you even know about it then ?

Leo: At the time I was a digital assistant, I was interested in technical equipment, the newest types of cameras. One day, talking to this guy, I said “Imagine one day, it’ll be awesome, we’ll be able to get hi-res stills from films.” And he told me it already existed, it was called RED.

So given that we had an exhibit bringing an audience of 600 people on the ground floor of a major advertising agency, we set up a partnership.

 

PURSUIT, by Suzie Q & Leo Siboni.

AA: Clever. Was it natural for you, going from photo to video ?

Leo: Yes we already had experience, from school and from some experimental films I made on my own. Suzie and I watch a lot of films which helps, but the big difference with photo, is that you are really working with a big team, so everything must be thought out ahead of time, or else it doesn’t work.

AA:When I came to you to make a film for Light Series in Milano, I would have never imagined something as strong as BLACK LIGHT… what happened between the 2 films ?

S.Q & L.S: Well PURSUIT allowed to be discovered by a production company, Moonwalk films, which was a real help. They helped us making BLACK LIGHT – casting, post production, etc. They also helped us get a crane for 2 days of shooting. It’s important to have a producer that believes in what you do and is willing to help.

AA:What was the inspiration for BLACK LIGHT ?It reminded me of DOGVILLE, but then there’s this light installation at the end…

S.Q & L.S: DOGVILLE inspired us for the set.
The rails are inspired by Carlos Reygadas’ fim JAPAN.

 The light installation however… We were both assitants to different photographers for several years, so I think it’s an accumulation of different things. Black lighting was mostly a way of showing the clothes in a different way. Then we had to find how to go from black light to normal light, so we were tempted to make the link with lightning, as if there was a storm.

AA:I remember the 1 minute format frustrated you at first, and yet this duration, which is a bit like advertising, made many of the Light Series films stronger. Do you feel at ease in the advertising format, or you feel drawn to the feature film.

S.Q & L.S: In the end it’s interesting to concentrate and boil it down to the essentials.

AA:So now let’s talk about this new project, IS THIS REAL LIFE. I know that Filep contacted you to make a film around his NUPTIALIS dress — what in his universe interested you ?

S.Q & L.S: We accepted the project because we thought it was a challenge, the dress already tells so much by itself, it’s very detailed, impressive. We created a simple universe to let the dress stand out, it’s almost a character in itself.

AA:There’s something very Lynch-esque in the film, some LOST HIGHWAY references, what were your other references ?
The little girl made me think of Mr OIzo/Quentin Dupieux’s RUBBER.

S.Q & L.S: Well,  KISS ME DEADLY and TERMINATOR 2. I haven’t seen RUBBER.

Still from IS THIS REAL LIFE by Suzie Q & Leo Siboni, for Maria Mastori & Filep Motwary’s NUPTIALIS.

AA:Well in RUBBER there is this notion of screen within the screen, you have the film characters, but also a group of spectators who are abused but nonetheless try to follow the plot, and it’s not always clear who can and cannot “see” the spectators.
That’s interesting, I’m going to have a look at it…

S.Q & L.S: We’ve been wanting to put the spectator inside the film for a while now, to create a distance and a touch of humor.

AA:Let’s talk about humor and dialogs actually, they are both rare elements in fashion – there’s usually no talking and not much fun.
It’s your first time using dialogs, correct ?

S.Q & L.S: Yes it’s the first time with dialogs and intentional humor… though some people were laughing in front of PURSUIT, maybe because it was a remake… We wanted to start introducing that dimension even if there aren’t a lot, they’re not meant to be taken too seriously, they act more as a reminder that fashion is a fictional universe, sometimes surreal.

AA: Do you continue working on print as well ?

 
S.Q & L.S: In pring advertising we’ve worked with Levis’, Rolex and Mango. For editorial we work with Double and now we just did a series for UNDER THE INFLUENCE.

THE HEALING POWER OF ELECTRICITY, in UNDER THE INFLUENCE magazine, by Suzie Q & Leo Siboni.

AA:Like BLACK LIGHT, this series integrates Suzie’s installation work…

Suzie: It’s the result of different ideas we had shared, I’m quite sensitive to the universe of theater in my art, but it was Leo who thought of having tinted mirrors.

AA:I think it’s interesting because it works in a purely photo context, without the cinema aspect of your previous work.
Do you think you could make a fim without a story ?

S.Q & L.S: Well there is still the idea of the screen within the screen. But making a film without a story means relying entirely on aesthetics, while Cinema is an aesthetic at the service of a narrative.

AA:The last thing which stimulated you ?

S.Q & L.S: SERPICO by Sydney Lumet. Great film.

UNDER THE INFLUENCE magazine, cover by Suzie Q & Leo Siboni.

 

IS THIS REAL LIFE on Vogue Italia

UNDER THE INFLUENCE,
La Folie issue,
out July 1st, 2011

 

       

BLACK LIGHT, by Suzie Q & Leo Siboni, part of "LIGHTS" series, a commisioned project by ASVOFF in collaboration with Vogue.it , sponsored by SAMSUNG

INTERVIEW: TAKASHI NISHIYIAMA TALKS TO FILEP MOTWARY / DAPPER DAN ISSUE 03

Takashi Nishiyama, a 23-year-old designer inspired by computer games and monsters, is the winner of this year’s ITS competition: a seal of approval bestowed by judges including Viktor & Rolf and John Galliano. Nishiyma’s collection features voluminous layers of dark fur, drowning the models in monster silhouettes; it is simultaneously fantasy and nightmare.

Motwary: How does it feel to win ITS?

Nishiyama: It was a very nice experience indeed. It’s a good way to be accepted alongside graduates from the finest schools, such as the Royal College of Art and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. I’m honoured.

Motwary: What happens now?

Nishiyama: I think that somehow my award could give hope to students and young designers in Japan, because I am the first nominee from a Japanese school and the first Japanese kid to win. I want to keep contributing to the Japanese fashion industry, help bring out a real creative platform for young people.

Motwary: What has changed for you?

Nishiyama: Being broadcast in the foreign media is a special experience. Plus the prize money will help me produce my collection and make the idea a reality!

Motwary: What inspired this collection?

Nishiyama: I suppose my background helped me to create an original collection. I have studied at two fashion schools in Japan. First, at Bunka Fukushoku Gakuin, I learned pattern and sewing, and then at Coconogacco, I learned how to design. Recent competitions around the world have shown a tendency to award wearable collections. I tried to add a taste of experimentation to the real clothes, in garments that are wearable. I liked that Viktor & Rolf were judges and that they loved it! The theme of my collection was “Monster Hunter”, because

I wanted to reflect contemporary Japanese pop culture at an international competition. Monster Hunter is a Japanese TV game in which the players hunt monsters to collect new weapons. I was inspired by this game a lot, and by Japanese commuters, who enjoy playing games on the train. So the story of my collection is about salary-men fighting with monsters, and wearing the details of these monsters on their own uniform. On my clothes, one can easily see monster parts alongside formalwear. I have tried to describe the backside of Japanese culture.

Motwary: It makes sense. So are you dreaming of a future in Europe or will you stay in Tokyo for now? How does Tokyo support you as a young designer?

Nishiyama: Unfortunately, ITS and Hyeres are not well known in Japan, so it was less well covered by Japanese than foreign media. I don’t have founders or sponsors, though I’m thankful to have much advice and co-operation from older designers like Yoshikazu Yamagata. I might need to find backers to work on the international stage soon.

Motwary: What is the mythology behind your inspiration?

Nishiyama: I love this Japanese monster movie you may know, called Godzilla – I’ve seen the movie many times! As a kid I enjoyed collecting monster dolls and playing computer games with monsters. I have just loved monsters since childhood.

Motwary: What was your childhood like?

Nishiyama: I loved mixing colors paints with my hands. I also loved drawing and paper-cutting, which often would culminate in the creation of original monsters.

Motwary: Where do you see yourself in five years?

 Nishiyama: I cannot be sure about five years from now. I want to try to show my collections to the world in order to introduce Japanese culture. I dream of making more impressive shows. The outline is for sure as important as the way of showing it out. I believea fashion designer must be an entertainer and a dream-maker.

Motwary: Who do you look up to in the business?

 

 Nishiyama: When I first saw the shows of John Galliano in a video, I got so impressed and I started dreaming. His collections themselves are a performance. They give the opportunity to others to dream, and I am one of those others. I admire someone like him, who is successful as fashion designer and entertainer alike. 

*Special thanks to David Flamée and Makoto Fukuda

Interview originally published in Dapper Dan, Issue 03, March 2011. Photography by Genevieve Majari