Posts Tagged ‘ vogue ’

everything is C-41 processed.

Listening to: Peter Bjorn & John — Objects of My Affection

Soooooo. Back home for the holidays. Yay? Lots of driving. I finally got the CDs that I put on hold at the local library (I had to dash in 0.25 seconds before closing), which means I had to choose four CDs to exclude from my next iPod syncing. I received the terrible news that CARINE ROITFELD IS RESIGNING AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY DREAMS and the lady at the CVS ruined my black and white roll of film, so now its sad corpse hangs from my bulletin board. But I still have two rolls of color film, one from my LC-A+ and one from my FM-10, to share with you, so all is not lost.

 

2010
12/20
CATEGORY
Lomography
photography
3 comments

my magazines are far more fashion-forward than your air-mail hunter boots.

Listening to: Flyleaf — Fully Alive

Don’t you love getting mail? I definitely do — it’s one of the small joys of boarding school, knowing that someone cares enough (or lets you use their credit card enough) to send you a package. Mostly girls here order Hunter boots in all colors of the rainbow, oversized J Crew sweaters, and floral dresses from Forever21; some international students buy food they can’t get Stateside; I don’t order anything, because I am broke. Which, in retrospect, kind of saddens me — there’s nowhere to shop for clothes here, and as winter nears I’ve been feeling like I need a bit of a wardrobe update. The girl you see in the photo above (who is now one of the about three people on campus who are willing to model for me, so props to her) has the most amazing clothes ever, and it always makes me think, “Well, I don’t think that I could pull off anything as flamboyant as that fur-elbowed blazer, but maybe a new plain black sweater  would be nice….”

Anyway. Back to the point, which was: mail. I was super excited today because I got a package in the mail, and inside, along with medicine and enough gum to last me until December, was the October issue of Nylon and… the 90th anniversary issue of Vogue Paris.

To say that I’m ecstatic would be a major understatement. I haven’t even touched the Vogue yet, in part because I’m saving the best for last and in part because it’s HUGE. But I know what I’m going to be doing this Sunday (other than playing the Sims for several mindless hours, of course).

In other news, I think that I might have, erm, misplaced the camera shoe of the tripod I was borrowing from the photo lab. Whoops….

2010
11/04
CATEGORY
fashion
news.
4 comments

friday foofaraw 15oct.2010: photos and paris and parties, oh my.

Listening to: St. Vincent — The Party

Hello, daaahlings! It’s that time of the week again — yes, Friday, that day when you people get to start your weekend while I suffer through one more day of classes. You have had a good week, yes? (This would be where you agree with me). You probably aren’t famous enough to be invited, but the party of the year was held the last day of this past month.  To celebrate the 90th anniversary of Vogue Paris, Carine Roitfeld hosted a masked ball at the Hôtel Pozzo Di Borgo.


All of those famous fashion types were there, from supermodels to über-designers to those people who just seem to show up at fashion-related parties. Among the present were Jean Paul Gaultier, Freja Beha Erichsen, Lara Stone, Marc Jacobs, Dita von Tesse, Gisele Bundchen, Miuccia Prada, and Diane Von Furstenberg. Tyra, if you recall, made headlines a while back (what a sad, sad society we are) with her fishnet stocking-turned-mask, and Kate Moss decided to be a party pooper and didn’t wear one at all.

But in case you ever happen to be invited to such a Bal Masqué, this month’s edition of Vogue Paris has an editorial to tell you exactly how to dress.

Well, exactly how to dress if you have several thousand dollars laying around and don’t mind baring your breasts for a night. If you live in 2112 and are planning to attend, you might want to check out this month’s spread on the cosmetics of the future, featuring model Eniko Mihalik and shot by Mario Sorrenti.

But since I haven’t been attending any balls this past week, I got a chance to catch up on some reading. Yes, I got to read an entire book. Well, it was a very slender book. And to be completely honest, it was more of a graphic novel than fine literature. But it was still very good. It’s called Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jilliam Tamaki, and I think that you should all do yourselves a favor and go check it out. I, personally, cannot wait to head up to Montréal and go to a legit bookstore, not to mention to have time to read the books I buy (I’ve had The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest out from the library for about a month now, and fast-reader me is still on page 89).

During our radio show on Tuesday, my cohost and I had an involved conversation on the quality of songs which can be obtained free on iTunes. This discussion was prompted by the song The Ballad of You and I by the band Mêlée, which was free on iTunes this past week. It’s one of those free-but-destined-for-greatness songs, à la Fireflies by Ocean City, so you should go and give it a listen.

Well, I believe that this wraps up this week’s Friday Foofaraw. Now go forth, grab your good literature, pop your skincare pills, buy yourself a $2,000 mask and dance the night away… or stay in and do your homework, because that’s what I’m going to do.

2010
10/15
CATEGORY
friday foofaraw.
2 comments

french vogue, please don’t make me barf on your birthday cake.

Listening to: Pony Pony Run Run –1997 (She Said It’s Alright)

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Those of you who follow this blog or otherwise know me probably know that I have a slight obsession with Vogue Paris. Those of you who read Vogue Paris or are in tune with the fashion industry might know that this month is said magazine’s 90th birthday — yes, the French edition of the most important magazine known to fashion is nearly a century old. I, personally, cannot wait to go  back to Montréal and pick up my copy — and if only I lived in France, because every copy of the 90th anniversary issue bought there comes with a portfolio of oversized prints from the past nine decades. Until then, you can find a few images on Fashionologie.

The issue itself, for that matter, is supposed to be ninety kinds of epic. It’s 622 pages long (albeit with 276 pages of ads and 104 pages of well wishes from designers). Crystal Renn’s in it, and, in case you hadn’t noticed, Lara Stone is on the cover. Photography from both the past’s and the present’s fashion photography greats will be featured, including work by Helmut Newton, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Inez van Lamsweerde, David Sims, Steven Klein, and… Terry Richardson.

Ack. Someone gag me, please.

I’m sure that I’ve mentioned that Terry Richardson’s “art” makes me want to puke. However, I can deal with it in small doses — say, as an unnecessary illustration in an article on jewelry — by ignoring it. It’s like walking past a sewage treatment plant; sometimes you have to plug your nose and keep on walking. However, a seven-page spread is pushing it. Still, though, it could’ve been ignored, but…

…Remember how I mentioned that Crystal Renn has a whole spread to herself? Normally this would be a cause for gratuitous squealing of the stereotypically girly variety. Even as someone who admittedly values the photographer’s work over the model’s, I must say that Crystal Renn is about my favorite model ever, other than Lara Stone. Crystal Renn plus Vogue Paris should be a good thing.

But why does her spread have to be shot by Terry Richardson?

This makes me sad. I like Crystal. I hate Terry. There is an obvious conundrum in how I’m supposed to see the spread without having my corneas burned out by terrible photography. Actually, I have seen the spread; and it’s more horrible than you’d expect. Let me summarize it for you: fugly sweaters, immature sexual references, and copious amounts of food. Apart from the horrendous styling and the fact that Terry Richardson is involved, did they have to make the “OMG THE PLUS-SIZED MODEL IS SO FAT LOOK HOW MUCH SHE EATS” statement? Totally unnecessary, Vogue Paris.

Sigh. I know that I’ll still eat the French Vogue birthday cake. I’ll just have to try not to barf at the disgusting frosting.

2010
10/04
CATEGORY
fashion
3 comments

nymph-marie.

Listening to: Of Montreal — Labyrinthian Pomp

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Just a quick photo post. In the 15-minute window yesterday between the end of classes and my soccer game, I shot about 101 photos and decided which six I was keeping. Then, today, my photography teacher informed me that my styling and my photography style aren’t quite meshing. In my defense, I didn’t have much time or means to go all Grace Coddington on this one, but I like it. Ah well.

Coming soon: my pre-rant on the 90th anniversary edition of Vogue Paris, why I think it’s awesome, and why it makes me want to barf a little. Also, how I really don’t want Terry Richardson’s name to start showing up in my little sidebar tag cloud.

2010
09/30
CATEGORY
news.
photography
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that warm icky feeling.

Listening to: Modest Mouse — Spitting Venom

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First off: Preseason kills. I walk, sit down, and climb the stairs like someone several decades older. The coach still won’t give me a chance to play what I’m good at, which is goalie, so I’m just sticking to it until they make the official cuts tomorrow and I can release all of my passive-aggressive wrath.

Anywho. It’s time for my long-delayed assessment of the September issue of French Vogue. You know that feeling, when you want something SO badly and feel a mixture of happiness and disappointment? That’s how I felt with this one. For one, most of itwas amazing, in the photography and articles and everything, but one thing kind of spoiled the rest for me. And that one thing was Terry Richardson.

Why, Carine Roitfeld? Why did you have to incorporate so much of his work in places where others could have been used. For one, everybody hates Terry Richardson. He is a creepy model-molesting pervert. He even has a freakin’ molester song, for goodness’ sake. I could go on and on about what’s wrong with him as a person, but enough people have done that already. Now, I’m ranting about his “art”.

To put it bluntly, it sucks. If I submitted one of his pieces to my photography class, I would fail beyond failure. Everything he shoots (I won’t bother inserting any images or even linking to them, because I don’t want to sully the face of my blog — you can use Google, yes?) is the same. I don’t even mean the same as in he has a style, like Annie Leibovitz has a style or Richard Avedon has a style. I like to think that I have a style, but that has to do more with my own taste in images and less with my photos looking like photocopies of each other.

To clarify: Every photo by Terry Richardson has the same basic setup. Usually nude and/or underage-looking female model, standing in front of a blank white wall and shot with the highest flash he can find. They, as I once heard (read?) said, look like amateurish American Apparel ads. Not only are they all shot the same way, but they’re ridiculously uncreative in a composition/styling sense. I mean, I’ve seen people do some pretty creative things with a white wall and a flash bulb. But to see his “art”, you’d think that someone had a photography assignment due in fifteen minutes, was  only taking the class because it was supposed to be an easy A and was a horny misogynist to boot. Whenever I see one of his photos, I vomit in my mouth a little.

And that is how Terry Richardson turned my Vogue Paris warm-fuzzy-feelings into rather icked-out ones.

2010
09/09
CATEGORY
misc.
6 comments

sur la rue encore.

Listening to: Gogol — Start Wearing Purple

marion cotillard, taken for french vogue by mert alas & marcus piggott and rudely cropped by anwa.

I was eating lunch today when my friend the Newsstand Guy called me to give me glorious news: my French Vogue had arrived! He kindly put it on hold for me, and I picked it up about an hour. So far my favorite shoot is the one with Marion Cotillard — and it makes me sad that the September issue of Vogue Paris isn’t half as big as its American counterpart, because the photography is SO much prettier (in my opinion, at least).

Anyhow, I’m leaving sometime in the next five hours to drive to Montréal and then to school. Currently I’m trying to fit all of my shoes into the shoe caddy (it isn’t working). By some miracle I managed to fit all of my clothes into a bag and a half, my cameras into a shoebox (barring the LC-A+ and the D3000, which I carry around), and my books into a printer paper box. My room is a mess and I still have to pack my backpack… le sigh. At least by this time tomorrow I should be in my favorite city in northern North America.

Also, happy Labor Day to all it applies to! Have a great weekend!

2010
09/03
CATEGORY
misc.
news.
2 comments

hey models, you’re great and all but I’m the one pressing the shutter button.

Listening to: Blonde Redhead — Spring And By Summer Fall

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First off: AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH OMG OMG OMG SHINY NEW NIKON D3000 IN THE MAIL Y’ALL!!!!!

Now that the above inner girly squeal has been released, you have probably gleaned that my new camera is here. Not only is it here, but it is about 5,000 shutter actuations newer (read: better) than my borrowed-from-school one and came all pretty and packaged in its camera box with bubble-wrap. Which might not have been so interesting in of itself if I wasn’t so excited. My Vogue still isn’t at the bookstore here, so I’ll have to buy it in Montréal, but that inconvenience is trivial compared to the fact that I HAVE A NEW CAMERA.

But anyway. The original point of this post was to be a PSA-reminder/ mini-rant about something that irks me: fashion photographers. Or, more specifically, the visibility of said photographers.

Maybe it’s just because my stake in the fashion industry is the photography, but I don’t think that photographers get enough credit for their work. Now, I’m not talking about all of the big names out there — Steven Meisel, Anne Leibovitz, and Corrine Day (may she rest in peace), for example. Pointing out that they’re famous fashion photographers is like saying that Barack Obama is the president of the USA. The photographers I’m talking about could be likened to the governor of Minnesota — they’re definitely doing some work, but how much of the general public can name them off the top of their heads?

The fashion industry in the media is represented primarily by two groups, the designers and the models. These are the people whose influence is more visible and obvious — the clothes are everywhere, and the models are essentially the face of the industry. I could name individuals from both of these groups for quite a while, but even as one I could only tell you the names of a few photographers who aren’t deceased. The way it’s usually portrayed, one would think that models appeared dressed in designer clothing (never mind the work of the anonymous stylists), and the divine forces of the universe swooped down to distill their perfection into a series of images. For example, when discussing a new ad campaign, it’s refereed to as such: [Model's Name] for [Designer's Name]. I’m guilty of this myself, because sometimes it’s just too difficult to find out who framed, shot and edited the images.

It’s easy to forget that without photographers, nobody would ever know what the models and the clothes even look like. Magazines like the one-still-not-delivered-to-my-bookstore would be cover-less, spread-less and ad-less. They, in essence, would not exist, which is why I think it’s good to remember that someone had to work a camera for Coca Rocha to be a lady in Vogue Mexico.

(In Fashionising.com’s defense, they do credit both the photographer and the stylist. You just have to click through a few levels of links to see it.)

2010
08/31
CATEGORY
fashion
news.
5 comments

they really don’t want me to have that magazine.

Listening to: Yeah Yeah Yeahs — Dull Life

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Seriously, they don’t. The store has received two shipments this week, according to my new friend the Newsstand Guy,  and the September of Vogue Paris was in neither. Le sigh. But, mes chous, I will survive.

Anyhow. It’s getting veery close to school again, and I still need to organize my photography portfolio (and finish my homework, but that’s another story). My main problem is with deciding which photos are my favorites. I know that this shouldn’t be too hard, since it’s my choice after all, but I don’t want to have too many or too few. As well, it’s really hard to tell what my teacher will deem “good” or “AAUUGH THAT’S HORRIBLE GTFO”. It seems to depend on the weather. He’s also not a fan of “a bunch of pictures of the same person”, which is kind of problematic for me, because I tend to take portraits and there are only so many people whose portraits I can take (never mind like to take). And whenever I open my folders for this year, it seems like I have too few photos to choose from, or too many (it’s slightly oxymoronic, yes). I know I’m being whiny and such, but it’s really frustrating.

On a brighter note (it seems that many of my posts go this way), I ordered a new camera on Amazon yesterday. It’s a Nikon D3000, which means that I can return the one I was borrowing over the summer. My aspirational camera is the Nikon D90 or whatever incarnation it will take on next, and *one day* I hope I’ll be able to buy it for myself. As I was telling the neighbor yesterday, *one day* I will be such a great photographer that Nikon will just send me their prototypes for free and I’ll have to give them away because I’ll have so many. But that day is yet to come. And I definitely have to sort out my portfolio before it does.

Also, Nylon sent me their September TV issue, even though I canceled my subscription before my subscription counted. So here’s one of my favorite ads, partly because I’m lazy and partly because their spreads irk me for no apparent reason:

It’s my favorite because not only had I never seen an Alexander McQueen ad before, but I’d always assumed that nobody other than Lady Gaga wears it/ is able to pull it off in real life. I guess you learn something new every day.

2010
08/27
CATEGORY
misc.
photography
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model dance.

Listening to: Evanescence — Good Enough

Today I came across the following video on Dossier, and it totally made my day (night?). It features Crystal Renn, shot by Skye Parrott for the new Canadian magazine The Block. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I would be able to keep dancing like that with a straight face — even when I’m dancing alone in my room in the dark (and of course I mean this purely hypothetically) I grin like an idiot.

And, ah, I need to finish my summer homework instead of posting every day. It’s just so tempting. And my French Vogue still isn’t here yet.

2010
08/24
CATEGORY
fashion
misc.
1 comment
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