Showing posts with label vogue hommes japan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vogue hommes japan. Show all posts

20.6.09

VidFlip: Vogue Hommes No. 2



mondblog VidFlip: Vogue Hommes Japan No. 2 from Raymond Navarro on Vimeo.



Vogue Hommes Japan Issue No. I was no disappointment. Finishing the first flip through the premiere issue, you pretty much know it was a must-have and that you’d probably got a new favorite mag in your hands.. that you likely can’t read. The cover was so obviously foreign, so definitely refreshing and Hedi Slimane's photography, Nicola Formichetti's styling and the altogether moment in men's fashion seemed in sync with Ash in “Samurai Fiction.”

With last year's American presidential election gaining international attention and the last superpower falling into deeper debt/shit, one could’ve spotted the American trend just as Luis Venegas' decided on an all-American Electric Youth! Issue, Vogue Hommes Japan's staff drafted the The Americas issue's editorial calendar and Raf Simons sent down red, white and blue color-blocked suit.

To say the least, the issue is better than good. Department pages make references to designers like Romain Kremer, Bernhard Willhelm and Mihara Yasuhiro, and tell on Gang Gang Dance, Ricardi Tisci and American designers Tim Hamilton, Robert Geller and Patrik Ervell. Shun Watanabe styles the proclaimed "It Boys" Simon Nessman, Matvey Lykov, Jethro Cave along with, of course, one or two very exposed others and the Venetia Scott’s photography and Alister Mackie styling combination steals best editorial with simple, steel portraiture of some numb, resilient Euro-looking youth clad in — what else but — stars and stripes.

The "Go West, Young Man" ed' shot by Slimane, styled by Formichetti had its moments with Hood By Air masking and the captures of a brazen bald eagle and limp American flag waving somewhere up above. The main detraction was the modeling; it was — truthfully — awkward, amateur and came with no sense of personality. Some were, in fact, kind-of candid shots but their with all the options they had, why they had to put so many... dull, dead shots must be beyond me. It seemed the number of photos on the 28-page spread also diluted the series and elements just didn't seem to align well enough to leave too grande of an impression.

The "Generation Soul The Season 09" casting, though, was, man, so tight. Marcus Lloyd and Saleiu Jalloh from red alongside DNA's Marcel Castenmiller made a harmony in Josh Olins' studio shoot. Other models in the shoot, Shih Han, Ali Mehrabian and VNY's Robert, struck some effortless looks and poses in N.Hoolywood, Raf Simons, KTZ, Commes des Garçons Plus Homme, Damir Doma, Maison Martin Margiela, Number (N)ine and damn.. Patrik Ervell, Marc by Marc, John Lawrence Sullivan, Thom Browne.. I mean, fuck. What’s good? What’s there.

The minimal print design associated with many men's magazines isn't too exciting but still not at all offensive. Set designs by Gary Card, though, are some of the more striking visual appeals The Americas issue had to offer. The Tim Burton-inspired looking hands cradling designer scents is somewhere at the top of my list for shortest, most memorable editorials featuring zero models.

One strange, can’t help but notice promotion made its way as an editorial in Vogue Hommes Japan. My guess is Dior Homme paid for the six-page advertisement/editorial styled by Shun Watanabe and shot by Karim Sadli. The clothes looked better than ever before, and I was surprised to see something mildly hot help in heat up the issue. With sinking sales and dips in advertising, we'll likely be seeing the likes of these promotional editorials in other fashion publications. I still can’t decide if I mind. Guess not too much.

Well, check out the ‘flip and enjoy. And if someone finds the editorial feature on Raf Simons' Art List, please forward it my way. I'm missing out on so much not with Vogue Hommes Japan not knowing Japanese.





5.1.09

Meet a Model: Ashley Stymest
Vidflip: Vogue Hommes International





You're likely to know a thing or two about Ash Stymest of MODELS 1. Since in demand by Hedi Slimane himself, Stymest has quickly since then made rounds through big British mags: i-D, Dazed and Confused to Arena Homme Plus, Another Man; become cover star of Electric Youth!, Vogue Hommes Japan's premiere issue and was one of the first and few males to walk Balenciaga menswear down the runway of the SS09 show. Stymest comes in after the established edgy, tattooed, guy-you-might-know aesthetic worn down by the very-exposed Josh Beech and Cole Mohr. None of that takes away from the Brit's look or skill. I'd almost venture out to say Stymest does a thing or two better than Mohr or Beech but ultimately it's hard to compare any two models when the variables of photographers, creative directors and others on set are taken into consideration. I hate to even lump all these individuals in one post out of my respect for their work but it is undeniable that their appeal to the school-gate fetished menswear scene 10 MEN'S Claudia Croft claims has helped "[relegate] all other aesthetics to cheese-ball status" in the BOYS TO MEN article of issue 16.

More is left to be said about these lean, lanky, pale with the promise of youth look on today's runways. Croft claims these "skinny boys" with the "aching romance, unrequited lust and fumbling experience of a teenager" have got their days tallied because they lack "the one thing we all need right now": confidence. The world's muddled politicians, global economic instability in this "post-boom" era call a crave to something "tougher," "more resilient," and "more optimistic," claims Croft. It seems the 10 MEN's office has got a big hankering for the muscle-y men types that I've got nothing against, but what I do have is a problem with Croft's argument.

Call it confidence out of naïveté, but its still confidence. Part of Ash's charm, I believe, is the fact he's got a look that LOOKS like he's just been plucked out of southeast London. He skates, he bikes, he plays drums — tell me if that's doesn't carry the confidence of youth people would love to escape to.
Maybe I could relate to Ash better than Claudia Croft, therefore like him better, because of my own age and interests.. or maybe she’s more vexed by the "Bambi-eyed boys" donning swimwear as oppose to her "honed hunks" than I really know. But I do know that she’s really making it seem as if the 10 MEN mag crew are the ones you fear leering at you in the gym.

For now — check out the interview with model cohort Tyler Riggs at Pony Ryder, check out the Ash and Eliza Show Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 and enjoy this VidFlip of the premiere issue of Vogue Hommes Japan. It includes photography by Hedi Slimane, Sølve Sundsø, Daniel Sannwald, Nan Goldin, styling by Nicola Formichetti, Shun Watanable and work by many other talents that helped make the premiere issue a must-have. I was (so) lucky enough to get it as a birthday gift.



VidFlip: Vogue Hommes Japan, Issue 1 from Raymond Navarro on Vimeo.

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