Photography by Ben Toms

Photos: Models.com / Click here for the first 4 covers!

Other icons photographed for the landmark issue include Tilda Swinton, Alicia Keys, PJ Harvey and Damien Hirst. The issue hits newsstands this Thursday, November 17th, and to further celebrate, each shoot and interview has been filmed as part of a webseries premiering on DAZEDTV.com.

Get ‘em at Solestruck for $424.95 a pop.

“The two worlds are just now beginning to come together and as we continue to push the boundaries, just like this virtual project, we will continue to explore what is possible and where fashion and technology will continue to merge. It’s exciting!…[Eventually] fashion and technology will become one, virtual fashion will become a core part of the fashion industry.” — Nicola on the relationship between fashion and technology [Dazed Digital]

Banana Flame's Webcam Social Shopper

AR is the wave of fashion’s future, adding another layer of interactivity and just plain awesomeness to the shopping experience. Adidas introduced sneakers last year, the Originals Augmented Reality Pack, featuring AR codes on its tongues that when scanned would lead to interactive games online. T-shirts by London’s Cassette Playa have AR codes that reveal horns and other weird shit on its wearer’s heads.

And in April, Burberry had an Augmented Reality fashion show in Beijing with hologrphic models catwalking side-by-side with their real life counterparts.

Fashion mags are also getting into the AR groove, with Dazed & Confused having implemented AR codes in its March 2010 issue that, when scanned with a webcam, made “the pages come alive on your screen, as a fashion film is superimposed on the magazine image,” explains the pub’s editor Rod Stanley.

As the idea of a virtual closet has tantalized me since the sartorial heyday of Cher Horowitz – everything inevitably comes back to Clueless — Augmented Reality offers a viable, though not completely perfected approximation. Though one can get the general idea of what a prospective purchase may look like via Banana Flame, the touch, the feel (of cotton) and the actual fit of the garment isn’t replicable…yet.

For now, Augmented Reality is this cool gimmick used to entice and intrigue — much like the current craze over 3-D — but unlike that gimmick, AR has the potential to completely change the way we shop — and you don’t need those funky glasses, either. [NYT]

RAD HOURANI

IMPORT ORIGINS: He designs in Paris, by way of Canada, but grew up  in Jordan of Jordanian/Syrian descent.

DEISGN SPECS: Unisex transformability is his calling card. With angular cuts and zippers that zip infinitely, his aesthetic rides the edge of mascu-femme.

FACT: While his runway looks may run into the thousands, he considers Rad Hourani his laboratory. RAD by Rad Hourani applies those concepts conceived in the lab to materials we mortals can (?) afford.

- Alexander Wang is following up his recent win at the CFDAs for Accessory Designer of the Year by taking the classy route: eBay. His new line of small leather goods will be available via auction, rather brilliantly, for 24 hours this Friday the 17th. [Fashionologie]

- Apparently walking around with a $2 million, 20.5 carat engagement ring  weighed heavy not only on Kim Kardashian‘s little finger, but her little mind as well. Problem solved: a decoy engagement ring made out of cubic zirconia… Meanwhile, Kim grow a pair. Someone would have to die before I ever took 20.5 carats off of my finger. And here’s a hint, it wouldn’t be me. [Radar]

- Prada dug up Tobey Maguire‘s career for their Fall campaign, shot by David Sims. [Design Scene]

- Gillette produced the world’s smallest ad by etching slogans like “Our best work is viewed up close” and “It takes extreme precision to work at this size” on the shaven hairs of a man’s beard. And then they left them around for you to find. Typical man. [Ad Week]

- Facing the prospect of a lifetime with this gem, Kate Moss piled 30 of her closest friends — including heir-heads Daphne Guinness and Jade Jagger — into two pink stretch Hummers over the weekend for her bachelorette party. 120 bottles of booze and  – I’m assuming, a Columbian childsworth of cocaine  – later, Kate emerged fresh and lovely from a short disco nap while the rest of her bridal party is still in the ICU. [Styleite]

Celebrities and Fashion have always been synonymous. However, today more than ever, fashion magazines are featuring more celebrities than immigrants trying to get into the USA for their Green Card. In many cases these highly regarded magazines are using celebrities more often than Super Models for their covers. There are many reasons for this and in my opinion some of those decisions have more to do with the Politics of Fashion than the notoriety of the Celebrity.

Why is it that some of the Biggy Fashion Mags don’t feature Super Models, but do feature Celebrities from all sectors of the Entertainment Industry?  I believe that it is because they can’t get the Super Models for their magazines. In fact their are very few magazines that can get Super Models and find it a lot easier to get Celebrities to adorn the covers of their ELLE’s, Marie Claire’s etc…

It is true that Celebs sell and can attract a large audience, but when it comes to the giants vying for THAT Top Model, that is where only a few of the Biggies like VOGUE, Harper’s BAZAAR, ELLE and a few other more obscure, but none the less important magazines like Numéro, V and perhaps L’Officiel can get on occasion.

Of course many would argue that the reason that this or that fashion magazine are shooting Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears or Paris Hilton is because they sell magazines. That may be true, but I am quite sure that if all of the major and lesser influential fashion magazines attempted to compete for the creme de la creme of the modelling industry and could only get models and not celebrities, that the King of the heap would surface really quickly. You would see immediately by the standard of the models acquired who really rules the game.

Thus again the reason why Celebs act as a great draw that diverts the attention from the obvious omission from the covers of “Fashion” Magazines of Top Models. Why would a major fashion magazine want to be judged by their peers and the public based on the fact that so and so was on this magazines cover but not on theirs? Celebs are a kind of “Hey we have Paris on our cover wearing Gucci” and not “Hey we could only get so and so and so and so competitor Fashion magazine knows that we could only get so and so because of you know why…”

I am not saying that celebrities should not be on magazine covers. I am saying that a Fashion magazine should be a Fashion Magazine and not a people magazine. Models are part of the Fashion landscape and I am hoping that we can get back to the epoch where fashion magazines did what they did and did it well and leave the people’s magazines to People Magazine.

And lastly, celebrities seem to be more accessible than agents representing those models most of the fashion magazines would love to get on their covers but won’t. They and their PR people understand that the exposure they garner being seen on the cover of Redbook could aid in them getting their next big part in that 2012 blockbuster “Calender’s End”*

So the next time you see the cover of a magazine with a celeb on the cover, you may want to ask yourself, “Did they because they wanted to, or because so and so didn’t want to”.

* (I made that up)

by:Benjamin Kanarek

The running film behind the DJ reminisced and recreated scenes from Dazed and Confused – think Parker Posy hollering, “Alright you little Freshman bitches. Air raid!” And then hosing down Wildfox-clad model freshman bitches, and driving around in cars the size of boats.

There was a dank playfulness in the air and it felt so Cal. Girls doing the no pants dance in shirts dedicated to the Stones and Hell’s Angels, and rose colored glasses enhancing the world of a floor length bird encrusted sequin topped column. And there were these shoes: a jagged architectural YUM.

The best friends behind the brand, Emily Faulstich and Kimberley Gordon are inspired by the playfulness of childhood activities like sleepovers, dreams, and apparently hazing. LA sunnies have got the laid back vibe and chillin’ slouch down to a science. And I think the Fall they’re dressing just happens to be 72 and sunny.

Photos by Jessica Lapidos

The makeup, which I doubt is actually tar, looks amazing. I can’t wait for part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows to come out next month; I am FREAKING out with excitement. This cover is so timely and perfect for Radcliffe.

LINK LOVE: YVY Mag

Shot by Rankin and accompanied by a printed iChat conversation between M.I.A and French director Romain Gavras, responsible for the controversial video for her “Born Free” video.

Other artists smashing through the limits of decorum this month are Jack White and Alison Mosshart’s band The Dead Weather, who whip up a musical storm while on tour in New Orleans; Harmony Korine’s wife Rachel Korine, who undergoes a transformation from pretty young woman to the degraded, crotch-thrusting OAP who steals the show in her husband’s VHS offering Trash Humpers; and Italian director Lucio Fulci, the “torture porn pioneer” responsible for the grisly Zombie Flesh Eaters.

This issue goes on sale June 17th.

Nicola Formichetti was born in Japan in 1977 to an Italian father and a Japanese mother and grew up between the two countries. His unique style is a result of his upbringing: internationally eclectic; modern and traditional; Eastern and European. Currently living between New York, London and Tokyo, he works as an editor on several fashion magazines, including Dazed and Confused, as well as being a consultant for a number of leading fashion brands, working on their image, business strategy, marketing processes or simply styling the campaigns.

Alex Kazemi: When and why did you decide you were going to be a stylist working in the
fashion industry?

Nicola Formichetti: It was almost ten years ago, maybe. When I was 22. I sort of fell into it really. I was working in a shop called the Pineal eye, selling young designers. I was the shop assistant/buyer. I met Katy England and Alister Mackie who were the fashion directors of Dazed and Confused then, they asked me to work on small projects for the magazine. What began as a small monthly column grew in to monthly projects. A few years later Jefferson Hack asked me to be the creative director of the magazine. Through the whole experience I started working for other magazines and pursuing other projects in fashion, creative consulting, opening a shop in japan, etc.

Kazemi: You work with Lady GaGa an awful lot… Tell us about your experience with her?

Nicola : Well, Its so much fun. working for her, for me, is an extension of what I have been doing. our work together is a pure collaboration between artists. The great thing about her is, she is able to bring one dimensional editorials in to reality. She gives purpose to fashion, she wears fashion, she lives fashion.

Kazemi: Do you have a favorite designer in particular that you like to dress her
in?

Nicola: The great thing about Gaga is that she loves to support the fashion industry in general. So, yes, we love working with the high fashion designers, custom making things for her because they have a great atelier for doing beautiful things, but the most interesting thing is supporting young designers, and she becomes sort of a platform. A walking canvas for young designers’ creations. She becomes this conceptual 3-d magazine, advertising platform. And the amount of interest that she garners for these young people is really beautiful.

Kazemi: Is there anything she says no to?

Nicola: I think, like any project, you edit. The editing is such an important process in the collaboration.

Kazemi: What was it like growing up in Japan and Italy? Do you think your experience growing up in such cultural elite fashion capitals has influenced your work/style today?

Nicole: Yes, of course, but for me it was more about going back and forth between these two cultures that filled my head with crazy ideas.

Kazemi: Anything you like to do when your not working?

Nicola: I’m always working!!

Kazemi: What does your personal style consist of?

Nicola: I don’t really have time to think about myself, so I pretty much stick to a uniform of all black, basics from Uniqlo, mixed with some vintage..pretty boring actually..

Kazemi: Is there anyone in the industry that you look up too and see as an influence?

Nicola: I look up to everyone really, from old school people to upcoming creators. I look up to people that are doing different things and challenging things. I’m very fortunate to actually be working closely with these people, photographers, and hair and make up. People that I respect.

Kazemi: Where do you see fashion in the future?

Nicola: I don’t really know what the future holds, but fashion has always been a very important part of our lives, and even with all of these changes and the economic crisis, I believe it will continue to be.

Hey boys and girls, it’s Rachel here from Q Models reporting here from Poland. I know most of you probably associate Poland with Greenpoint (if you live in Brooklyn anyway) and Pierogis. But I am actually here to scout for some fresh new faces for our men and women’s boards. Yep that’s right Poland has some serious hotties. In fact Q’s own Izabella Miko (of Coyote Ugly fame, pictured above) is from Poland.

Nonetheless, at first I was a little worried at first when I boarded the plane for Warsaw. In my Anna Sui minidress, thigh black suede high boots, and Tano handbag, I was the most glamorous traveler on the plane. If I were flying to Paris, that same outfit would have probably rendered me so last season.

But after conducting a little reconnaissance on the web, I realized I have nothing to fear. Between Warsaw, Poznan, and Krakow, I’m visiting nineteen agencies in five days. Some of the agencies’ models have gone on to shoot Gucci, Issey Miyake, French Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Numero Homme, and Dazed and Confused to name a few. Hot!

So after I shoot the breeze with the local agents, I’ll start meeting their models one at a time. I’m looking for the models to be tall, in shape, and photogenic (duh). People often asked what an agent is looking for but it’s really hard to say. But that’s kind of like asking what chocolate tastes like. Hard to describe. However I will say personality is really important. No one wants to hang out with Debbie Downer (or Donny Downer for that matter) for eight hours on a set. Boring!

Anyway I forgot my round hair brush, so I’m off to look for a brush (you don’t want to see my hair curly with bangs) and do a little boutique hopping while I’m at it.

Stay tuned to see all the gorgeous guys and girls I’m going to find!

Click through for gallery.

Cover girl Mia Wasikowska, star of Tim Burton’s upcoming Alice in Wonderland, talks to Dazed about her adventures through the looking glass in the March issue of Dazed & Confused, on sale today.  More here.

“There’s way too much celebrity in fashion. I don’t really like working with celebrities, so I try to stay away from that whole machine. But of course I have met some incredibly nice and creative people who just happen to be a ‘celebrity.’” Gaga is “so different” from other famous people.”

LINK LOVE: The Cut via Moment/NYT

Fred Butler’s accessories have been seen in publications such as Dazed and Confused, i-D and Vogue. as well as the music world with special commissions for Patrick Wolf, Skin, Lady GaGa, Bishi, Little Boots, Beth Ditto and La Roux.

LINK LOVE: Fred Butler’s Paper Folds

click ‘more’ to check out the interview

Fashion Indie: We’ll start off with an obvious question, how did you get involved in film production, specifically within fashion?

Jason Last: I’ve always had a very strong connection to sound and moving image, and the emotion it can carry, or the story it can tell. Fashion film is something that has come out of my passion for video and film making, as well as my love of fashion imagery. It is a combination of both things and is derived from my mind and sensibility as an artist, a director, and an image-maker. Fashion film combines the mediums that I want to work and create within: art, fashion, and cinema.

It was a natural progression.

For me, it is broader than just something being directly linked to the fashion industry. It is the use of fashion imagery, clothing, models, lifestyle, that can take on a cinematic form, whether it be narrative, experimental, music video, video art, or feature film. I am very open to the blurring of lines between the labels and genres that exist in film and art. I am always interested in experimenting and trying new techniques and expressions related to film and video.

FI: You’ve worked with some pretty amazing designers like Complex Geometries and Travis Taddeo. If you could work with any designers or brands, who would they be? Why?

JL: There are so many people I would love to work with, of course. Riccardo Tisci is one of them. I love what he is doing at Givenchy. There is a dark sensibility and romance I relate to in the work and the image he is putting out. It’s moody, it’s romantic, and it’s elegant…I see so much beauty, fantasy, and emotion in his work, and that is what I want to represent in my own work.

There are too many though. Every designer I work with is amazing.  I’ve been lucky to have been a part of some fantastic collaborations. I think the end result is successful because we share a vision and a sensibility towards fashion and art.

FI: Your videos tend to have this sense of dark and eerie feeling to them, where does this come from? What is the inspiration that drives your work?

JL: My work begins as images I want to see come to life and move, or stories I want to tell.  Fashion and art are at the forefront of my work; it’s what informs it. Additionally, my work is a personal creative expression, like any artist, or filmmaker, or designer. There’s always an emotional connection to the work I am putting out. I’m drawn to that kind of romance and drama visually. The color palette, the mystery, the mood and history these types of images hold and bring up in the mind of the viewer.

There is definitely a ‘dark fantasy’ element that inspires my work. Fashion imagery can be so powerful because of the world it can take us to and it’s limitless nature.Like watching McQueen’s last show and collaboration with Nick Knight, for instance. He brings us into the art of fashion. To this spectacle that is other-worldly. He pushes the way we look at fashion and fashion imagery through this merging of clothing, styling, performance, video, art, and new media.

He creates this sensation and intrigue through the grandeur of the spectacle with the darkness and mystery of what we are seeing and experiencing. He brings us into this fantasy world he has created for us, but we never lose site of what we are there to see.Inspiration comes from everywhere.  Whether it’s an Andrew Wyeth painting, music, or a dark Chanel silhouette as it moves down the runway.

It comes from fashion, art and real life experience. I always find inspiration in films and news media photography as well. I have this huge database of images I collect. It acts as somewhat of a mood-board for inspiring an idea or story and how I will tell it.

FI: I know you shoot stills as well, which do you prefer video or photo? Why?

JL: Video is really where it all begins for me. Whether I am thinking in moving or still images. I shoot video and I think mainly in moving image.

What’s so exciting for me about video stills is that I am able to capture this one fantastic frame out of all the movement. The image is unintentional, which I love. It’s this perfect image that you find later and it’s always there. A still image that can sum up the essence of an entire piece.

I also love the quality of video stills. The slight pixelation that occurs, especially when blown up into large format prints. For me, it’s gorgeous. But yeah, they go hand in hand. I couldn’t make stills unless I made the video.

FI: With magazines being phased out going digital, what do you think the future holds for artists like yourself who are really the pioneers of this shift towards fashion videos?

JL: I really do think fashion film and moving editorial are the future. It’s amazing to see how many print magazines are available in an online format, or websites that act as magazines (like online magazines Mykromag or Hint Magazine)

The potential that exists for web is astonishing. I think we will definitely see a time not too far from now where online magazines will include video in a major way. More than they already do. This includes editorials, ads, and features. I mean, photography is always going to be there, but I think editors and brands are understanding the power that film and video has in terms of reaching people in a way that it always has through motion pictures and television advertisements. It just makes sense with the way the web is going.

There’s an exciting future ahead for video and moving fashion online, with the idea of touch screen online magazines and interactive features. It’s the future.

FI: Dazed and Confused has already jumped on a bunch of your videos, where else can we see/expect to see your work being published?

JL: The web seems to be the most logical home for my work at the moment, beside galleries & film festivals that I am a part of. It’s where fashion film exists right now, and where it will continue to grow.

I’m working with several magazines at the moment like Mykromag.com, V, and Blend, whom I have a video stills print editorial coming out with in the new year, with an accompanying video. I’m also working with many blogs and online magazines collaborating on video projects.

I imagine a time when video stills will be pushed more for print, but for me it’s just as strong online. Unless I am printing large format stills and selling them as part of a series, which I love.

FI: Enough of the serious questions, let’s get to know the notorious Jason Last a bit better as a person rather than just through your work. Music always has been and always will be a major driving force in the fashion world. What’s been pumping through your speakers lately?

JL: Music is a major source of inspiration for me and my work.  I’ve always been obsessed with combining sound and moving image; and music videos. Gaga is on a lot…obviously… I’ve been listening to Rated R a lot too… I love my pop music.

The XX, Florence & the Machine, and Weezy have been getting a lot of play as well. I listen to Hot97 a lot here in New York.

I have my downtime classical as well.  It really depends what mood I’m in or I want to be in. You know?

FI: If you could shoot a music video for a nineties pop star trying to make a comeback who would it be?

JL: Sinead O’Connor. Does that count?

FI: Yes that counts….unfortunately (haha)

FI: You’re asked to shoot a video based on a horror film, what movie are you choosing? And, no, Catwoman doesn’t count despite being terrifyingly bad. Why?

JL: A friend of mine recently re-introduced me to the amazing work of Dario Argento & my latest film is based on his work.  I’m not all about extreme gore, but I do love the mystery and suspense he creates through his cinematography, and the shadows and use of color of his imagery.

I’ll probably end up making a slasher fashion film at some point, but a little camp at the same time. I live for dark beauty & strange imagery, but I don’t like getting scared.

FI: What can we expect from the notorious Jason Last in the near future?

JL: More films, lookbooks, campaigns, and a few really fun ones with choreography and color!  Lots of stuff coming out in the new year that I’m excited about.  Also, my use of video stills. It’s something I want to push and experiment further with. They are both video to me, but I love what can be done with video stills and I don’t think they are recognized or used enough yet.

I can’t even begin to tell all of you the level of respect I have for Mr. Last. I’ve been in love with his work for a long time, but you really can’t get a full appreciation for his work until you talk to him. He is a pioneer for the digital fashion world, and I think he is one of the few people who is showing the static fashion world that digital fashion isn’t something to shrug off. Thank you again to Jason for talking with me, and if you are interested in more of Jason’s work check out either his website or Vimeo page.

Dazed Digital took a second to sit down with the Norweigan designer Per Silverstein about his new line of clothing that contains a new sustainable fabric the world is yet to see.

Apparently, he has created a fabric that is made out of milk….yeah milk! My question is, Can vegans wear this? Get the full interview fromt he link below!

LINK LOVE: Dazed Digital

In the current issue of Dazed Digital, on newsstands on Nov 12, director Spike Jonze exclusively interviews his friend, the 81-year-old author Maurice Sendak.

Rachel Freire is a London based designer whose debut fashion collection was presented at London Fashion Week with On|Off in February 2009 at the Science Museum in London.  Already her work has been seen in publications such as Dazed and Confused, AnOther, Issue One, Timeout London, Juxtapoz, Illustrated Ape, Art Business Today and Metro London.

Educated at Central Saint Martins, her influences stem from her love of historical costume combined with futuristic imagery. Behind the dramatic silhouettes and decadent embellishments, the pieces are designed to be wearable, durable and flattering.

LINK LOVE

Taking inspiration from throwaway materials and Frankenstein’s legendary monster, Dazed & Confused this month presents its ‘Franken-Fashion’ masks project… a unique creative collaboration with some of the world’s top designers, including such names as Alexander McQueen, Gareth Pugh, Martin Margiela, Hussein Chalayan, Roberto Cavalli, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and Riccardo Tisci.

Each of the 13 designers involved created a mask especially for Dazed, using scraps lying around the designers’ studios – look out for rubber gloves, leather offcuts and even an old lampshade! Modelled by the fabulous Guinevere van Seenus, shot by Daniel Jackson and styled by Dazed senior fashion editor Karen Langley, while more Franken-fashion comes from Richard Burbridge, Magnus Unnar, Mark Pillai and Max Farago.

Turning green on the Hackney streets, Dazed also meets Laura Mulleavy of fast-rising label Rodarte to talk horror chic, while talented British actress Rebecca Hall take a break from theatre to discuss Dorian Gray, Woody Allen and sex dolls. Dazed also freaks out with the next generation of psychedelic artists, cutting up internet graphics and 80s TV ads to create mind-bending new works that reflect our media-saturated age. Meanwhile, the scuzzy musicians at the heart of the underground lo-fi music scene get real about whether it’s a movement or just a bunch of people making noise – with Wavves, Blank Dogs, Times New Viking, Woods, Kurt Vile, A Grave With No Name and many more.

Elsewhere in October’s Dazed, notorious installation artist Nancy Kienholz, cult comedy duo Tim & Eric, the world’s first black supermodel Donyale Luna, the Slits’ Ari-Up, Brigitte Bardot dressed as a superhero, and the most snappily dressed 60s apocalypse cult you’ll ever see.

The Dazed & Confused October ‘Franken-Fashion’ special issue is on sale on Thursday September 17.

Written by Dazed & Confused

SEPTEMBER 2009 / »DARK ROMANTICISM« PREVIEW#2 / SHOT BY CARLOTTA MANAIGO

LINK LOVE: coutequecoute

LINK LOVE: Live Journal

This androgynous shoot mixes authentic 70′s style punk leather jackets and studs with Chanel-esque gothic couture dresses and knits.

SOURCE: Coute Que Coute

Photography Mark Pillai / Styling Katie Shillingford

Titled ‘the ultimate robot woman is invincible’ this spread embodies all that is ‘new age.’

SOURCE: DAZED&CONFUSED

This month, expect steel tendons and X-ray vision as Dazed & Confused bows before the might of the man machine. Bestriding the cover is young French film star Gaspard Ulliel, who talks about his ambivalent relationship with the fashion world, and his latest English-language film The Vintner’s Luck. Styled by Jacob K and shot by Solve Sundsbo, this feature kicks off an eye-popping exploration of this season’s best menswear

Rankin is an amazing photographer who also happens to be the creator and owner of Dazed & Confused. Love it.

Check out some of his most iconic photos as chosen by the folks at Trendland:  www.rankin.co.uk

LINKAGE: Rankin Photographer / Publisher

Inspired by the ancient civilizations referenced in the Spring/Summer 09 Collections, Dazed & Confused this month summons ‘Divine Power’ and sets about channeling everything that is awe-inspiringly ancient and majestic about the worlds of fashion, art, music and film at the moment.

Model of the moment Lakshmi, creative director Nicola Formichetti and photographer Josh Olins combine their godlike touch to create this issue’s highly dramatic cover shoot, while fashion editor Katie Shillingford even gained access to the inner circle of Stonehenge for her unprecedented shoot with photographer Mel Bles. Acclaimed photographer Ellen Von Unwerth meanwhile makes for the town of Bedrock in her Flintstones-inspired shoot with stylist Joanna Schlenzka.

Above text via the press release

Rankin Shoots The Gossip for the May Cover of Dazed and Confused.

LINKAGE: Gossip Cover Shoot

The Fashion Editor of Dazed & Confused rocks this little Christopher Kane screaming gorilla top outside of the Stella McCartney show. You know you want it.

LINKAGE: ROAR//

I’m not completely sure what’s going on in this Dazed & Confused spread from the February 09 issue, but it’s crazy… and I like it. It appears to be a bananas Carnival, Brazilian jungle party extravaganza that I totally want to be a part of. Love that the photos are in black and white; it makes them that much more intriguing. Another job well done by the art department at D & C.

GALLERY: Dazed & Confused, February 09

Thanks to Trendista for the photos.

This D&G spread in the January 09 issue of Dazed & Confused has me saying “I’ve seen better.” When I think of D&G’s models, I think of women, not girls. This underfed gal they chose for the spread does nothing to highlight the Italian brand’s aesthetic or sex appeal, but it might sell a few more lines of coke. And the photos are below average in artistic value compared to what I usually see in Dazed & Confused; the only one I really like is the last, with the hair and skirt blowing upward. Maybe the two just don’t work well together, but I hope to see things back up to par for both D&G and the magazine in the coming year.?

Thanks for the photos Fashion Copious!

Cole Mohr

Ash Stymest

Tyler Riggs

Josh Beech

Dan Felton

I was flipping through old issues of i-D, Dazed and Confused and Men’s Vogue while I was home in Buffalo over the holiday weekend. I knew I spotted a trend among male models, but it didn’t hit me until I saw Cole Mohr on the Marc by Marc Jacobs billboard in SoHo one last time…

The Trend: baby-faced, skinny, tattooed, pierced, punk rocking models who look like they just got kicked out of the high school homecoming dance for reeking of cheap beer. Bingo. 

Punk boys have been all over the editorials and up and down the runways recently. I absolutely love the awkward, but adorable, high school dropout look…and It looks like I’m not the only one! With Marc Jacobs and Hedi Slimane as avid fans of this look, it seems that the baby-faced punks will be scoring high fashion editorials and shows for years to come. But sorry ladies, just because you look like a prepubescent rocker doesn’t mean your gauged ears and inked arms are fully acceptable in the high fashion industry. It’s unfair, I know…but that’s just the way it is. 

Thanks for the photos Models.com! 

Cool spread from Dazed and Confused. There really isn’t much more to be said.

Thanks to The Fashionisto for the pics.

I finally figured out what Rihanna’s inspiration was for her newest hit single “Disturbia.” Chris Cunningham recently photographed an “anti-fashion” spread of fashion and music icon Grace Jones for the newest issue of Dazed and Confused. According to We Make It Good, the spread is a collaboration between the artists and the “results come across a little more like Chris Cunningham microwaving Grace Jones’ stem cells with a digital heat lamp.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. And if you haven’t already poured yourself a tall glass of water to wash this all down with, the increasingly disturbing contorted poses will have you thirsty for your innocence. 

If it weren’t for the frightening, almost toothless, face of Ms. Jones, the pile of unknown human muscle and her distraught faces, I think i’d actually like this spread. On a more positive note, I did appreciate the image where smoke is billowing from Jones’ face, the simple backgrounds and the eerie lighting techniques. The last image actually had me reminiscing on my own childhood where mashing your faces against the car window was the funniest thing in the world. Throw in a pair of boobs and an elongated belly button and you’ll laugh just as hard as I did. 

Thanks We Make It Good! 

Kendra Spears for the Akiabara Ad Campaign.

Kendra Spears in Trovata S/S 2009.

Kendra Spears for Ford Models contest.

Like any sane person, I deleted my Myspace account once I realized that I wasted at least four hours each day changing my layout design, took pathetic photos specifically for new Myspace defaults and stalked my ex-boyfriend to see who he was macking on that week. Now granted, I’ve been Myspace sober for over three years (thanks to Facebook. damnit) but Kendra Spears, the new face all over the runways, owes her whole aspiring career to Myspace. 

Say sayonara to the typical college co-ed and hello to the winner of Ford Models’ Myspace.com contest! So she didn’t win the $100,000 contract with Ford Models, but who can complain walking for Gucci, Hermès, and Valentino in Paris and Milan? Recently the 20 year old Portland State University student has been working on shoots for Dazed and Confused, Italian Marie Claire and an upcoming BCBG ad campaign. 

Anyone else wondering why Kendra Spears didn’t wind up in New York Fashion Week last month? Well, according to bookers, they aren’t too keen on Spears’ Cindy Crawford lip mole. Well too bad for us here in the States, it looks like European bookers know a pretty face, mole or no mole, when they see one! 

Thanks NY Mag!

Our little runway fainter, Abbey Lee Kershaw rocks some killer Gareth Pugh looks for this month’s issue of Dazed & Confused. It looks like she’s staring in some sort of Japanese slasher flick but the images are undeniably sick.

Abbey you just became my new Aggy.

Missoni:

Dazed and Confused:

Gender has seemed to find its way into a ton of ads and print lately. Marc jacobs recently featured Cole Mohr in dresses with handbags showing off his feminine side. Same goes for Luke Worhl who was shot in heels and a feather boa for his Dazed and Confused photoshoot. Then there was Missoni who recently did a photoshoot that was very sugguestive towards lesbianism. The images show one girl assume the facial and body language that a male would display while the other still seems to maintain her female aspet of relationship. 

These days, anything goes when it comes to gender, sexual preference, or fetishism. So why not display this in advertising? Bigger name fashion houses like Missoni are even playing on this idea, probebly haveing something to do with how much lesbianism has been in the news lately (think Lidsay and Sam). Whatever the reason, these ads are surely very attention driven. 

The August 2008 issue of Dazed and Confused Magazine features this truly unique and trannitastic photo shoot of Luke Warrol. Because I am that kid who judges books by their covers, when I first caught a glimpse of these snapshots I thought it was Agyness Deyn. I mean these pictures fit the Agy stereotype of no chest, short bleach blonder hair, and super skinny. Thank god I decided to read the article for once because I’m really getting tired of writing about Agyness (unless she is naked and jumping off buildings again). These pictures really have sparked my interest in the Dazed and Confused August issue, be sure to get a copy of your own because I hate sharing!

Shout out to our friends over at Brandish for the snapshots.

Here is preview of the latest Dazed and Confused, which is guest edited by Vivienne Westwood. Where else are you going to find tribal, victorian, punks in the 21st century. Only from the mind of Vivienne Westwood. Making her the biggest female pimp of fashion.

Westwood is the only designer who can actually use fashion as a vehicle to talk about politics.

[the fashion spot]

Whenever I see, shorts and shorts and Converse I think of the movie Dazed and Confused. If you haven’t seen the film-it’s a bout teens in the 1970′s driving around Texas and getting hammered. Here are two retro pieces that are always in style.

KRITIK Solid Samantha Short FREE SHIPPING at shopbop.com. Retro-cool style with a flattering, updated fit. Terry short with drawstring and ribbed banding at waist. Contrast trim throughout. 8″ rise. 3″ inseam. 80% cotton/20% polyester. Hand wash. Made in the U.S.A. – Red

Converse Chuck Taylor All Star High Sneaker FREE SHIPPING at shopbop.com. This classic Converse style is one of our longtime loves. Canvas high-top sneaker with lace-up tie at front and logo at ankle. Rubber side wall, toe cap, and sole. Imported. This item cannot be gift-boxed. Sizing note: These shoes run big. We recommend sizing down one half size. – Optical White

Images from Dazed & Confused June 08