“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]

Charles Youssef may have only just graduated from CSM but his ambitious, bold, innovative MA Womenwear collection has grabbed the attention of some of the industries greatest minds, like Nicola Formichetti and Jane How – and it has launched Charles as one of the most exciting new talents of 2010.

Dazed Digital: How old are you?
Charles Youssef: 28

DD: Where were you born and what was life like for a young Charles?
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The rugged and svelte menswear Whillas & Gunn, the brainchild New York based ex-Sydney resident Richie Whillas, emerged from the ashes of renowned family run Australian workwear label Kakadu. Taking the meticulous eye for detail and hardwearing elements of Kakadu and twinning it with a contemporary eye for sartorial style and tailoring, Whillas & Gunn are breaking with the tradition of tough clothing lacking shape, giving it a contemporary edge. With the label hitting stores this Winter season, Dazed Digital caught up with Richie Whillas to talk about the family business.

Dazed Digital: So, what’s been going on?

Richie Whillas: Working hard…hardly working! I can’t tell these days because I’m having a pretty good time of it of late.

DD: What was the inspiration behind the label?

Richie Whillas: Well… Whillas and Gunn is an off-shoot of Kakudu with rich working class values and heritage and vast resources in outerwear manufacture and distribution. This is combined with a passion for escapism, be it in the city or the country, and the contemporary silhouette. We aim to form a style with no boundaries, be it geographical or otherwise.

DD: Is it a contemporary spin off Kakadu?

Richie Whillas: Kakadu Australia is a family company since 1972 and is now in its third generation. Basically Kakadu has a deep archive of outerwear garments and fabrications. We’ve built off the same foundations and archives from Kakadu’s rugged outerwear, but with a polished fit for today’s man.

DD: What does the family think about the fashion orientation of the Whillas & Gunn?

Richie Whillas: My rather massive family is pretty proud and excited to see the new generation join the company and take it into the next 40 years.

DD: I heard on the grapevine that the factory you guys have can treat any fabric given? That true?

Richie Whillas: Yeah. We have a wax machine that my uncle designed. We can wax all kinds of fabrics, though naturally with some working better than others depending on the construction of the fabric. We’ve got some pretty interesting combinations we’re working on to be unveiled over the coming seasons. Keep an eye out.

DD: In your opinion, what’s the most exciting thing you’ve seen sartorially this year?

Richie Whillas: I’m liking three-piece suits, tapered trousers and bow ties at the moment. But I still don’t know how to do the suckers up though!

(dazeddigital.com)

A rugged yet wearable collection, with that “old West” type of feel.

LINK LOVE:Men: Whillas & Gunn’s Wilderness Collection

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Damon Dash is building a new collective in New York that is a far cry from the Roc-A-Fella days, the label he infamously co-founded in 1995 with Jay-Z and Kareem Biggs, an empire that would net him an estimated wealth close to $100 million. His split from Jay-Z, Roc-A-Fella, Roc-A-Wear, his ex-wife model and designer Rachel Roy and their own fashion company fortunes left Dash with a public beat down and the need to reinvent himself for 2010.

Read the interview on Dazed Digital

Dazed Digital spoke to Deacon about how Italy itself as a place has become central to his development as a designer and a brand. Read the interview here.

Photographed by Yelena Yemchuk and styled by senior fashion editor Karen Langley, Courtney talks exclusively to Dazed about why London has the best musicians, how she overcame her demons, and why her name will always split a room.

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.

Guillaume Henry, former assistant to Riccardo Tisci, brings new life to the house of Carven.

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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!

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Check out an interview with Yvan Rodic, the man behind the camera of Facehunter.

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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.

Soldiers, sailors and other heroic figures of masculinity evoke the rebellious spirit of the 50s movie stars. Photography by David Armstrong. Styling by Robbie Spencer.

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Click here to view the Dazed Digital exclusive collaboration between Lady Gaga and fashion filmmaker Kathryn Ferguson, displaying a very different side to this year’s most exhilarating pop phenomenon.

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DD asked thirteen of today’s most imaginative designers to create a mask from scraps for the current Dazed October issue.

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The latest spread for Dazed Digital focuses on some of the hottest new jewelry designers from around the world. The shoot was done by Saga Sigurdardottir, and styled by Anna Trevelyn. The designers behind the pieces are Mouton Collet, Tobias Wistisen, and Phillippe Roucou.

Gallery: SPREAD UM: Jewels In A Dark Crown

via Dazed Digital

Check out the entire article on Dazed Digital!

Why Topshop?
Barbara Hulanicki: Because they asked!

As simple as that? Were you ever tempted to launch on your own?
Barbara Hulanicki: Yes! I hate production! I know too much about it and it’s a nightmare. It’s really much more fun this way. It’s just designing and they (Topshop) do all the work.

How did the collaboration work?
Barbara Hulanicki: I first met Charlotte Henson from Topshop because I had an illustration exhibition and she asked whether I’d like to collaborate. I just sent her a ton of drawings that they sifted through. They worked very much to see what was missing at Topshop, where there was a gap and looked at the things that were selling. So they worked from a really practical point of view.

Did you reference Biba in any way?
Barbara Hulanicki: Actually I was asked not to do anything that looked like Biba. I was like “Ok!” but I think I picked quite Biba-looking things in the end. There was a lot of Biba publicity at the time you see.

What do you think of the current state of Biba (having changed designers twice)
Barbara Hulanicki: It’s resting at the moment isn’t it? Somebody else will think they can recarnate it I suppose. They do every two or three years. Some business man comes along and thinks “Biba – a couture house!” but they get it all wrong.

Do you think the Biba legacy lives on in our shopping culture?
Barbara Hulanicki: Really, we came up at the time when there was nothing as far as (high street) fashion. We were the first mass producing company that did mass at really good prices. Prices for women that had jobs, lived in bedsits and had left home. There’s a very strong legacy that lives on at Topshop actually.

When we say mass production we automatically think of Primark.
Barbara Hulanicki: Yes, that’s mass mass. Some of it is incredible! Great shoes!

What pieces do you think will fly off the rails?
Barbara Hulanicki: Everyone seems to be going for the shoulder pads. When we started, shoulder pads were a bit off-centre and they were a bit frightened and now everyone’s straight for the shoulder pads.

Barbara Hulanicki for Topshop on sale in stores nationwide and online on Tuesday 28th April.

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

LINKAGE: Gossip Cover Shoot

The collection consisted of basket weaving and lots of pink, white and black woven dinner jackets, quilted tuxedos and a Rocky Balboa t-shirt added in for good measure. Backstage photography by Giovanni di Nunzio of Dazed Digital.

GALLERY: Dolce & Gabanna

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Fashion designers and architects each proffer aesthetic pleasure while satisfying fundamentally functional and practical needs for shelter and clothing. But the best of them elevate basic needs to the divine level of art. Nina Stotler’s applauded new collection of silver and gold hardware-inspired jewellery for her Von Kottwitz line might not have any more use-value than other decorative wardrobe details. But they brilliantly highlight the value of use.
For Stotler, the essentials of her line are derived from her remembrances of Berlin’s ravaged but stately and sleek architecture, which she saw as a child visiting her mother’s native country and the site where her parents met. Von Kottwitz, named after Stotler’s mother’s maiden name, was founded in 2004, four years after Stotler graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, where she studied sculpture and we met one another. Since then, she has worked as a trend-spotter with Peclers Paris trend network, and she currently serves as the Youth Culture Editor of Stylesight.com while also acting as an editor at Anthem magazine. Here we re-connect to talk about the inner mechanics of her industrial aeasthetic.

How has your thinking shifted from collection to collection?
Nina Stotler: I began with a much more baroque feeling, a feminine and vintage look based on found objects and embellishment. After working with burnished metals and classical signifiers like cameos, I moved on to a collection focused on oversized crystals and heavy metals called the Galaxy Collection. From there, I took the heavier, metallic aspects in a more functional direction with Industry, my latest work.
-Keep reading on Dazed Digital

It has been in the works for a long time but finally SHOWstudio has launched the Insensate; a two minute short film by Nick Knight and filmmaker Ruth Hogben which was filmed during the cover shoot for the October issue of Dazed.

A gothic fairyland was conjured up and taking center position is Gareth Pugh’s autumn winter 2008 collection. The film’s soundtrack has been specially devised by artist Matthew Stone.

Thanks Dazed Digital

Trompe d’oeil is an effect that designers like to employ to look intelligent and to add a surrealist edge to what they are doing. However, little known label British label Insideout have made trompe d’oeil their calling card over the years and rather than using the effect as a one-off shock tactic, instead their garments have perseverance, precisely because they are so dedicated to their very specific printing technique. James Woolfin and Yvette White, who met whilst studying fashion textiles at Central Saint Martins have explored numerous details of clothes and have been transferring those details via lifelike monochromatic prints that look like distressed photocopies, on t-shirts, vests and dresses. The form and shape of garments is not meant to be the main focus as you immediately try to make out what is being depicted. A loose piece of thread hanging off a knit, sequins falling off, rips, worn out areas in fabric; these imperfections are made beautiful when printed.

Their S/S 09 collection is as always a continuation of those instantly recognisable details. Zippers are slashed all over a t-shirt. Loose knit mohair is replicated on a jumper that looks so lifelike, the fluffy threads look instantly touchable. A close-up shot of a trench coat results in a dress that makes you wish such a trench dress actually existed. Other textures such as enlarged sequins, deconstructed shirt layered over one another and snagged muslin are also replicated. insideout could probably play around with these textures with real McCoy fabrics but then how else would they keep people guessing at what they might replicate next.

-Via Dazed Digital

On Saturday night Another Magazine held a dinner to launch its new autumn issue, coinciding with the start of New York Fashion Week. For the venue, founder Jefferson Hack chose artist Dustin Yellin’s studio in Red Hook, and for the entertainment, modern dance troupe Stephen Petronio Company. Guests at the party, which was sponsored by Bamford, included Craig McDean, Leigh Lezark, Veruschka, and Mark Ronson.

Also in issue 15: Another Magazine embarks on a very special road trip with cover star Scarlett Johansson… takes a fantastic voyage through the archives of the most beautiful woman in the world, Veruschka…. and delves into the brilliant mind of Miuccia Prada via her art collection. Plus a brand new 30-page literary supplement.

Thanks Dazed Digital

Frida Ringstrom is a Swedish designer who found the inspiration for her new line from stuff she ran over with her car, yeah we’re talking roadkill. Frida recently sat down with some folks over at Dazed Digital, and this is what she had to say about her new line.

“I became interested in the stiffness and all these crazy angles their dead bodies had,” says the 25-year-old, who designed an overall as a template for all the pieces in the collection, using the same pattern over and over again and moved it around to distort the arms, legs and back by sewing them in unusual directions. The whole collection is knitted, and Ringstrom worked with washed-out colours to get a used, pale feeling. “I make all the materials myself for the collection by using hand knitting machines and I sew it together by hand. I wanted the collection to have that handcrafted feel.”

Where are you based?
I’m studying at the Beckmans College of Design in Stockholm, although I’m originally from Gothenburg.
 
Why menswear?
At the moment I find men cooler to dress. I feel more free when I can’t use myself as a point of reference.
 
How would you describe your style?
Fun, weird and at the moment my work is a lot about simplification.
 
What inspired you to put teddy bears heads in the collection?
I don’t like the whole model/catwalk thing so I thought it would be fun to do something different.
 
What inspires you at the moment?
Paper artworks you did when you were a child, like snowflakes, cut-outs dolls and garlands.
 
Who are your favourite designers?
Oh, there are lots of people to admire, but at the moment Im more interested in what artists do. But Ive always been a fan of Patrik Söderstam and Henrik Vibskov.
 
Can you ever see yourself having your own label?
Yeah! But I’d prefer to start something with someone, I think it gets more interesting if you collaborate.
 
What are your plans for the future?
Finish school, get an apartment and work all over the world. And realize all these projects I have in my head.
 
Are you involved in any outside projects in other fields?
I’m doing an art project in collaboration with Hanna Lindblom, which is an ongoing project. Right now its about developing a method of making clothes in a new way and not work with traditional pattern cutting or draping.

Thanks to Dazed Digital for the amazing content.

Dutch conceptual designers Gerrit Uittenbogaard and Natasja Martens have been operating under the name G+N Fashion Fugitive since 1998 and choose the Internet as the main platform for their multi discipline fashion related projects.

Gluejeans are a radical new approach to denim. They are not stitched, but glued at all the seams. The ultra-strong glue comes in different colours like red or black, creating a distinctive interplay of lines. Each pair is hand-made in the Netherlands, and can only be ordered at the G+N red light district fitting room on Oudezijds Achterburgwal 66 in Amsterdam.

Keep reading on Dazed Digital.