Diane, A Shaded View on Fashion

Summer Selections June 3 - July 31

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Vincent Gagliostro in front of one of his photographs.

photo by David Gil

Later,

Diane

Build Invisible at B O U D I CC A. [7th Saturday]

DENISE MARCHEBOUT FOR THE FACE HUNTER SHOW

MEXICO CITY.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=35110199

SEXICO CITY.

Jean-Paul Lespagnard does Paris-photos by laetitia bica

Dear Shaded Viewers,

Jean-Paul with his hot chocolate at les Deux Abeilles and his show and tell at the festival d'Hyeres

Yesterday Jean Paul was in Paris and we met for tea and cakes at my favorite neighborhood tea salon, les Deux Abeilles, JP showed me the images from his new look book. If you did not follow my Hyeres 23rd edition report, here is a recap: JP won the public and the 1,2,3 prize this year and ever since he has been solicited by pr's, commercials and the press. He's even been told that he reminds one seasoned fashion insider of a young Jean Paul Gaultier.

I asked JP who he was thinking about when he designed his collection: "There is this hysterical character I'm always thinking about. Like the person who's got the freedom to wear what ever 's going on in their head, whenever they want to, wherever they want to." The 'teepee' print dress is cut from a child's tent, the volume is purposefully extravagant, the bracelets are made in the form of frites.

JP loves his country, Belgium, the land of the 'pomme frite'. For this collection,
"Ich will nen Cowboy als Mann", he imagined a colourful character called Jacqueline, who runs a well known 'fritkot', where her admirers come from a far to sample her crispy french fries. Jacqueline has two passions in life: the kitsch Danish singer Gitte and a deep fondness for Texas; in particular rodeo clowns-the men relied upon to distract the bull when the cowboy falls to the dust.

Her wardrobe is the epitome of her passions: Jean Paul Lespagnard combines the clown's stripes, the cowboy's trousers, and Texan shirts with a large serving of 100% Belgian fantasy. Behind the counter, Jacqueline is always ready for the day a man in cowboy boots will carry her away from this place.

Tonight he is giving a big party in Brussels to celebrate his Hyeres experience.

JP with the creative director of the festival d'Hyeres, Maida and JP with Jean Pierre Blanc, the founder and director of the festival and Thierry Dreyfus, Lighting maestro.

Jean Paul Lespagnard will be in Berlin from August to October making the costumes for a dance performance by Meg Stuart which will open the festival of Gratz, I'm looking forward to that.

Jean Paul Lespagnard

Later,

Diane

NVU with Carri Mundane aka Cassette Playa-photos by Melanie Bonajo

CARRI MUNDANE with AFRICAN BOY for Exatitudes photo by Ari Versluis

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I've been loving the energy of Cassette Playa ever since I saw her first collection in London and have been following her escalating career ever since.

DP: How was your most recent Tokyo experience? Any funny stories you can
tell me? Did you sign lots of autographs? Did anybody ask you what
your blood type was?
CM: HAHA KINDA I DID SIGN A FEW AUTOGRAPHS LOL N HAD ONE GUY + GIRL RUN DWN THE STREET AFTER ME TO GET A PICTURE.AND WHEN I WALKED IN ONE SHOP THE GUYS EYE BALLS NEARLY POPPED OUT! WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF THEY D STARTED BLEEDING. I WISH I HAD THAT KIND OF SUPERHERO POWER..WALK IN ROOMS AND MAKE WALLS BEND AND SHIT.. ONE DAY :)

CM: I LOVE TOKYO!!! ITS TOTALLY HOME TO ME.. IT’S SO NOISY (IN EVERYWAY..SONICALLY N VISUALLY) BUT THERES A HARMONY ITS TOTALLY FUTURE..
I FIND A KIND OF PEACE IN ALL THAT NOISE..

I MET SK8THNG ..DESIGNER AT BAPE AND BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB..= TOTAL GENIUS :)
THAT WAS MY HIGHLIGHT :) THAT AND THE Akihabara's Electric City REGION - THE COMPUTER GAME ARCACDES..N HANGING OUT WITH VERBAL FROM TERAKI BOYS (FUCKING COOL) AND HIS WIFE AND OTHER FRIENDS.. EVERYONE IS SO AWESOME/NICE.

DP: To someone that does not know you, how would you define the Cassette
Playa universe and how did you come up with that name?

CM: T E C H N O /// T R I B A L // P O S T I V E // P R I M A L

ITS LIKE A PARRELL UNIVERSE WITH WARPED REFERENCES INHABITED BY A PIXEL WARRIOR TRIBE.
I SAY PARRELL COS ITS LIKE VIRTUAL REALITY, U DNT HAVE TO STEP OUT OF THIS REALITY TO ACCESS. LIFE IS LIKE A COMPUTER GAME.. WE ARE ALL CHARACTERS IN OUR OWN GAME FIGHTING TO GET NEXT LEVEL .
THIS IS THE UNIFORM FOR THAT GAME..4 PIXEL WARRIORS.. ITS ABOUT BEING PROUD OF WHATEVER IDENTITY YOU BUILD FOR YOURSELF. THE COLOURS ARE LIKE WAR PAINT.THE PRINTS SYMOBOLSIM/CODED COMMUNICATION

THE NAME COMES FROM MY OWN NAME AND ALSO REFERENCES MY INTEREST IN TECHNOLOGY BOTH RETRO AND FUTURE

I TAKE INSPIRATION FROM STREET/SKATE/SPORTS CULTURE.SUBCULTURES AND TRIBES BUT ALSO MUSIC, ANIMALS, COMICS. COMPUTER GAMES, SCIENCE AND SCIENCE FICTION

DP: You’ve been working with videos to express your world from early on
How do you plan to translate this into a computer game? Are you?
working on this idea or is it still a dream?

CM: VIDEO IS A PERFECT MEDIUM BECAUSE IT ALLOWS ME TO BUILD A COMPLTETE AND INFINITE WORLD

THE ANIMATION AND FILMS I'VE MADE REFER DIRECTLY TO THE PRINTS AND COLLECTION . IN FACT THE PROCESSES ARE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME. FOR EXAMPLE IN BOTH SS07 L.S.I AND SS08 FUTURE PRIMATIVE THE DIGITAL PRINTS FEATURED WERE CREATED USING CIRCUIT BENDING AND DIGITAL FILE CORRUPTION. AND THE VIDEO FOR AW0708 WAS MADE IN THE SAME WAY.

I'M WORKING ON THE COMPUTER GAME /// BUT RIGHT NOW I'M MORE INTERESTED IN MAKING REAL LIFE MORE LIKE A COMPUTER GAME :)!

DP: Recently you decided not to show full collections every season, what
made you take that stand and what is your new plan of action?

CM: YEAH SOME PEOPLE SAID THAT WAS SUICIDE BUT I BELIEVE IN MYSELF ENOUGH TO KNOW ITS ACTUALLY THE OPPOSITE :)
I JUST FOUND SHOWING SEASONALLY TOO RESTRICTIVE, WHEN I HAD SO MANY PROJECTS AND IDEAS I WANTED TO EXPAND ON. I THINK SHOWING SEASONALLY IS KINDA OUT DATED NOW, CULTURE HAS ACCELERATED, PEOPLE ESP MY GENERATION WANT THINGS MORE INSTANTLY AND MORE OFTEN.

THE WHOLE WAY WE SEEK N CONSUME INFORMATION HAS CHANGED. COMMUNICATION HAS CHANGED ..MY PRINTS/DESIGN EXPLORE THIS CONCEPT. AND UTIMATELY I WANT EVERY PROCESS / EVERY PART OF MY BUSINESS TO REFLECT AND DEFINE THAT.

DP: You sell at some of my favorite shops: Dover Street in London,
Colette in Paris, Seven in NYC and Side by Side in Tokyo, how do the
markets differ in the way they buy you.
CM: APART FROM CLIMATE WHICH OF COURSE DICTATES, ACTUALLY IT'S NOT SO DIFFERENT, I THINK THAT IS INTERESTING, THE INTERNET HAS REALISED DREAMS OF A GLOBAL COMMUNITY AND WHEN YOU TRAVEL YOU REALISE THINGS AREN'T SO DIFFERENT, YOU FIND YOUR TRIBE EVERYWHERE YOU GO.

DP: Nicola Formichetti, Fashion Director of Dazed & Confused owns Side
by Side in Tokyo, which came first, the press on you in Dazed &
Confused or the shop? How did you meet Nicola in the first place,
and what does he mean to you?

CM: NICOLA STARTED IT ALL :) HE WAS A BIG HERO OF MINE WHEN I WAS STUDYING. I HAVE ULTIMATE RESPECT FOR HIS VISION AND DRIVE. HE'S AN ARTIST AND A BUSINESS MAN, TOTALLY UNIQUE AND FUTURE.
IN MY FINAL YEAR I DID A SHOW (@ KASHPOINT WITH GARETH PUGH AND SOME FRIENDS) AND INVITED HIM, HE BOUGHT MY GRADUATE COLLECTION FOR SIDE BY SIDE WHICH WAS JUST OPENING. HE/SIDE BY SIDE CONTINUED TO BUY AND SUPPORT ME EACH SEASON RIGHT UP TO NOW :)

DP: How did you get involved with MIA and the other groups that you work
with? How do you work together?
CM: I' VE KNOWN M.I.A ABOUT 7 YEARS // WHEN SHE STARTED DOING MUSIC I STARTED WORKING WITH HER. I WARDROBED GALANG AND I MADE HER AFRICAN PRINT TRACKSUITS FOR TOUR AND PRESS. MORE RECENTLY I STYLED SOME SHOOTS FOR HER, MADE SOME GRAPHICS, I ALSO SPENT A MONTH IN INDIA WITH HER WHEN WE DID BIRD FLU AND GOT TO WORK ON THE BOYZ VIDEO IN JAMAICA. WORKING WITH MAYA IS THE ULTIMATE COS SHE IS THE ULTMIATE ARTIST, SHE IS FEARLESS AND TOTALLY COMMITTED TO EVERY AREA OF HER CAREER AND IDENTITY. SHE'S PUSHING BOUNDARIES SONICALLY AND CULTURALLY AND SHE STILL AS REAL AS EVER, SITS AND CHECKS HER MYSPACE, MAKES HER OWN GRAPHICS, CO DIRECTS HER VIDEOS.

I WORKED WITH KLAXONS AT THE START OF THEIR CAREER. WE MET THROUGH FRIENDS AND I WORKED ON ALANTIS TO INTERZONE VIDEO. THEY ALSO WORE CASSETTE PLAYA ON THEIR FIRST NME COVER
IT JUST FELT RIGHT WE HAD THE SAME REFERENCES AND NRG BUT I FELT WEIRD ABOUT THE WHOLE NEU RAVE MACHINE, IT WAS EXACTLY THAT A MARKETING MACHINE THAT I HAD NO CONTROL OVER.
THEY REALLY TOOK THINGS NEXT LEVEL, I AM SO PROUD OF THEM.

I HAVE ALSO WORKED WITH SCOPE AND DJ MK (HYPEMAN + DJ FOR DIZZEE RASCAL), BOY BETTER KNOW (JME MODELED IN MY SS07 SHOW / SKEPTA WORE MY TEE IN ROLL DEEP CELEBRATE VIDEO), RUFF SQWAD, TEMPA T, JAMMER, AFRICAN BOY, NU BRAND FLEX. GRIME IS THE ONLY FUTURE AND TRUELY BRITISH MUSIC AND SUB CULTURE TO COME OUT OF THE UK IN MY GENERATION. I 'M TOTALLY INSPIRED BY AND WANT TO SUPPORT THIS SCENE.

I WANT TO DO MORE MUSIC VIDEOS // AND THERES A FEW BANDS AND ARTISTS I'M REALLY EXCITED BY AT THE MOMENT/THAT I WANT TO WORK WITH :)

Carri Mundane aka Cassette Playa at the Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition at Maureen Paley in London a few nights ago.

DP: I remember sitting at a dinner for Jeremy Scott next to Ben Reardon
at I-D, it was early on in your career, and he was telling me how
you came to the office with a shopping bag with all your belongings,
that seems far away now but how did it all begin for you and how did
you end up in Reardon’s office in the first place?
CM: HAHA I D'NT KNOW ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR OCCASION I THINK THAT WAS WHEN I WAS LIVING WITH BEN, HE GAVE ME A ROOM FOR A MTH AND HALF WHEN I WAS HOMELESS AND DOING L.S.I (SS07)
HES SO AWESOME ;) AND I REALLY VALUE THAT HE BELIEVES IN ME AND WENT ALL OUT.

I FIRST ENDED UP AT THE ID OFFICE WHEN I HAD A MEETING WITH HIM AND DEAN TO SHOW THEM MY BOOK, I MET TERRY AND GOT SO NERVOUS I WALKED INTO A DOOR. I 'M AWKWARD/ KINDA SOCIALLY RETARDED SOMETIMES. BUT THAT’S OK. I'M OK WITH WHO IAM // GEEKS RULE THE WORLD/ ALL MY FAVOURITE PEOPLE ARE SPECIAL (NEEDS)

Carri Mundane at the British Fashion Awards

DP: It was not that long after the shopping bag incident in the I-D
office that you were nominated for Best Menswear designer against
the established names Christopher Baily and McQueen, how did that
feel? Which came first that nomination or the Rolling Stone’s Best
of Rock 2008 listing you as the Best Fashion Designer? What kind of
Recognition does that bring to you and does it physically change
anything in your life or in your bank account?
CM: MENSWEAR DESIGNER OF THE YEAR WAS LAST YEAR AND SUCH AN HONOUR.
ROLLING STONE WAS THIS MTH :)
BOTH ARE PRETTY SURREAL :) !!

DP: I am really looking forward to your party in Florence, can you give
me a hint as to what is going to take place and tell me something
about the exclusive new silk digital collage Utube Utopia tees that
will be revealed?
CM: THE UTUBE TEES ARE DIGITAL PAINTINGS/COLLAGES BASED ON ABSTRACT NARRATIVES FORMED FROM YOU TUBE THREADS.
ITS A LITTEL DARKER THAN B4.. THE TRIBE BECAME A CULT !!

DP: How does it feel to be showing in the ‘Fashion V Sport’ exhibition
at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum? Is this your first museum show
and what comes next for you?
CM: I M REALLY INTRESTED IN WHEN PERFORMANCE / SPORTS WEAR BECOMES SPORTS CULTURE/FASHION.
SPORT AND STREET CULTURE IS SO IMPORTANT TO ME BECAUSE CP ISNT FANTASY ITS VIRTUAL REALITY. IT’S KEY TO ME THAT MY WORK IS OF THIS WORLD AND ANOTHER. CASSETTEPLAYA IS LUXURY BUT NOT ELITIST.

IT S REALLY EXCITING TO BE SHOWING IN THIS CONTEXT. THE V+A IS SO ESTABLISHMENT BUT WILLING TO TAKE RISKS/THINK FUTURE . I RESPECT THAT.
I M ACTUALLY PLANNING MY OWN GALLERY SHOW / EXHIBITION LATER THIS YEAR ..

I ALSO WANT TO MAKE MORE VIDEOS ..MUSIC VIDEOS AND DIGITAL MEDIA ART, TAKE MY PRINTS 3D (IE SCULPTURES / INSTALLATIONS/ JEWELERY / TOYS),THE CP NIKE BLAZERS DROP EARLY FALL, LOTS OF COLLABS AND PROJECTS THIS YEAR, RELAUNCH THE WEBSITE AND WEBSTORE..IN THE FUTURE MY OWN STORE ///////

SO I GUESS THIS IS JUST THE BEGINING :) LEVEL ONE :)

CARRI MUNDANE

WWW.CASSETTEPLAYA.COM
www.myspace.com/cassetteplaya

Later,

Diane

all photos except graphic by MELANIE BONAJO

Daniel Firman at Palais de Tokyo and Gaspard Yurkievich at l'Hotel con't

Dear Shaded Viewers,

The highly solicited winner of the public and the 1,2,3 prize at Hyeres festival was in Paris for a few days on appointments and we met up for tea and cakes at les Deux Abeilles. Jean Paul Lespagnard thought that the deco fit well with him so he arranged a bit of a mise en scene.

Jean Paul Lespagnard at les Deux Abeilles

Shoji in his Cosmic Wonder coat and Sayoko on the terrace between the two museums.

After tea I went to meet my friends Sayoko and Shoji on the terrace between the Modern Museum and the Palais de Tokyo. While we were waiting for Shoji, Sayoko and I visited the Modern and I have to say that I hated the art so much it made me feel like a vampire had just sucked all of my blood. At least it got a reaction. When Shoji arrived we went to see SUPERDOME exhibition which will continue at the Palais de Tokyo until August 24th. The highlight of the exhibition was Daniel Firman and the amazing upside down elephant. If you are in Paris it is a must see.

Mathias Ohrel


Daniel Firman-WURSA

At a distance f 18,000 km from the earth, the elephant Wursa could balance on her trunk. It is on the basis of learned scientific calculations that Daniel Firman reached this conclusion, and came above all to produce this extraordinary work which confounds all our certainties regarding the gravitation of bodies. The life size creature's precarious equilibrium seems to put us in danger. The hyper-realist sculpture borrows from the skills of a taxidermist which gives us the opportunity to seesaw between a proven scientific phenomenon and the real and physical putting of the world into perspective. Wursa, conjures up a Russian Sputnik and the conquest of space, is fixed in her position as if one of her acrobatic feats had been arrested by the pause button: this vision enables the artist to offer a novel physical and psychological experience.

The Shock Doctrine , to coincide with the latest book by Naomi Klein. Whether hit by the tsunami in Sri Lanka or the hurricane in New Orleans , Klein observe the same things. The victims of these catastrophes are hit a second time by an "economic shock treatment". At the heart of disaster capitalism these disasters and other traumatic episodes have made it possible to drastically speed up the take-over of the planet by the many adherents of ultraliberalism.

Gaspard Yurkievich

Gaspard Yurkievich

At the same time as the Palais du Tokyo exhibitions the Parcours in Saint Germain des Pres was going on and the highlight was a visit to the l'Hotel, famous for being the resting place of Oscar Wilde. Gaspard Yurkievich was the first designer ever to be invited to exhibit his work there. With the leopard carpets and the old world charm, l'Hotel was a perfect match. Unfortunately my pics are out of focus , should have used a flash but you can get the general idea. Gaspard has been designing shoes since he was a child and can come up with 100 ideas over night. Here are a few surrounding the bed. Meanwhile an excellent and very sensual film was being screened. It will end up, no doubt, at You Wear it Well 3 and be screened at the Jeu de Paume 26, 27 and 28th of September when we launch the next edition of You Wear it Well.

Before leaving l'Hotel we went to visit their swimming pool.

Later,

Diane

The neon behind me was created by Daniel Firman for the Lacroix exhibition at the 2007 festival d'Hyeres.

Daniel Wakahisa wearing traditional Ainu costume

Dear Shaded Viewers,

I met Daniel Wakahisa on my last trip to Sao Paulo, he is Brazilian Japanese and back in Japan at the moment connecting with his roots and wanted to know if he would see me again this year at Sao Paulo fashion week. I was indeed invited to both Rio and Sao Paulo but unfortunately can not go because the dates do not work for me this time.

Daniel in Hokkaido (north of Japan) wearing traditional Ainu (the indigenous people who lived in Japan before the japanese arrived) outfit in a village known as Porotokotan.

Later,

Diane

Daniel Firman at Palais du Tokyo and Gaspard Yurkievich at l'Hotel

Dear Shaded Viewers,

This is just a teaser , my evening started at the Palais du Tokyo with my friends Sayoko and Shoji. The highlight at Palais du Tokyo was Daniel Firman's amazing elephant and for the Paris Parcours where art mixes with fashion, it was Gaspard Yurkievich's exhibition at l'Hotel. To be continued....

Daniel Firman's elephant

Daniel Firman entrusted the execution of his work Wursa (at 18,000 km de la Terre) an elephant balancing on its trunk, to the famous taxidermist Jean Pierre Gerard. I will show you a few of the stages tomorrow.

Later,

Diane

photo by Shoji Fujii

Carlos Diez presents designer Manuel Albarran in his shop.

Well, there's not much to say, the temporary shop of Carlos -Market of Meat- is hosting another activity. Manuel Albarran is a genius making crazy complements with metal.

Don't miss it if you are around...
best>>>m<

Summer Selections June 3 - July 31

Art work Vincent Gagliostro