In many ways 2017 has played out like the opening of Love Actually, in that, while unprecedented levels of political and horrors at home and abroad (Donald Trump being elected as President of the United States being just one of them) it was also a year which saw the widening of society to accept, and champion the many diverse individuals that make up society. It was a year of hope, love and a refreshed sense of community, as well as destruction and devastation. This cultural revolution was seismic and long overdue; the fact that it happened, though, at least ensures that while the struggles to ensure fair and diverse representation, pay, the future looks just a little bit brighter – even if Trump is still in power.
One of the many exciting new voices to have emerged this year is the 19 year old trans model Maxim Magnus. Her journey began at 14, when she started transitioning, and five years later she has already partnered with Gurls Talk to speak on their panel in Berlin and has featured in campaigns for the likes of My Theresa x Valentino and MAC Cosmetics, as well as opening the first show at fashion week this year.
As such, Maxim has become a leading voice in the LGBT community, inspiring others with her personal story as well as her activism through her Instagram page. Twin caught up with Maxim to talk about her journey so far, the role fashion can play in activism and what’s in store for 2018.
What were your experiences of growing up as a trans woman?
Growing up I was always a very happy child, even though I knew something about me was ‘different’; I never made anything of it. When I was 13/14, I realised I was in the wrong body and something had to change. Finding out you’re stuck in the wrong body is awful, but it’s even worst when you realise it in the period where everyone around you is starting to develop and starting to do things you can’t do, like having sleepovers, or talking about boys, etc. All very superficial things, but very important things to a person of that age. I had been bullied before coming out as trans, so when coming out, I was always really defensive when talking to people about it. I think growing up trans made me grow up a lot quicker than the people around me, because I had to deal with issues teenagers shouldn’t ‘normally’ have to deal with. I constantly had to think about how I was presenting myself, doctor’s appointments, depression. Even though I had a lot of friends growing up, I experienced loneliness a lot.
Were you instinctively drawn to fashion as an industry, and how did you get into modelling?
I have always gravitated towards the fashion industry, probably since the moment I could talk. From a young age I would look at all of the fashion magazines or go through my mom’s closet and I would get so excited to get dressed every morning. When I was a teenager, I used fashion to show people my true identity and gender. I was always really fascinated by models, but never thought I would be able to be one. It was one of my teachers at Conde Nast who approached me and told me to start modelling.
How do you see fashion and activism aligning?
When you look at the history of fashion, it is very clear that fashion and politics are close. What happens in the world affects the fashions of a certain period. Right now, human rights are more talked about than ever before and the fashion industry is supposedly full of the most open and creative minds, therefore it would only make sense that these individuals are the ones speaking up. The industry is also highly influential, and it has an enormous platform to reach people, to me, it only makes sense to use that platform for the greater good, as well as to show the beautiful creations made by these artists.
Who are your favourite image makers?
My taste in photographers really varies. I love the old-school classics from Helmut Newton, but then I also love the amazing fantasy world of Tim walker, and the raw over-exposed mind of Juergen Teller. I am absolutely obsessed with photography, I could talk about my favourite photographers for ages.
What changes have you observed over the last 5 years both within the transgender community and society as a whole, and what are you most proud of?
In the last 5 years, the community has gotten so much exposure. When I started transitioning around that time, there was not as much information about the community as there is now. I think rights-wise a lot has changed as well and I’m super happy that parts of the world are finally embracing the community, even though there is still a lot of work to do. I’m super proud of all the individuals who have powered through and become their beautiful selfs, because it is hard; even in today’s society.
You recently worked with Gurls Talk – what was that like, and how did you find the reception amongst that community?
Working with Adwoa and her team was one of the best experiences, and probably my highlight for 2017. They welcomed me with such kindness and they were so open-minded, it was amazing to work with a group of people who have the same mindset as me. Dr. Lauren and Alexa, who were also part of the panel are also two amazing people and I loved working with both of them. After the talk, some girls came up to me and they were crying, that really touched me – I never want people to cry when they listen to my story but it’s nice to know that a) people can relate to my story and b) that what I’m doing is actually helping some people.
What are your views on how the industry moves the conversation forward and enacts positive change over the next 5 years?
I think the industry has to want to change, and they shouldn’t do it just because people are telling them to or because it will bring them good press coverage. Just the same way that I don’t want to be hired as a model solely because I am trans. I think the industry owes it to the world to use its platform to talk about these issues, and to embrace every type of human being – this doesn’t just go for the trans community. I can only hope that the industry will move towards a more diverse range of humans, as fashion should be inclusive.
What’s in store for 2018?
I have a lot planned for the new year. Firstly I hope to graduate from university. After that, I hope to be able to fully focus on modelling and activism. Right now, I use my Instagram platform to get my message out there, but I would like to do a lot more in I can only hope that the industry will embrace me, but so far I have gotten so many amazing opportunities which I am so grateful for.
Mimi Wade is one of the most exciting designers to have come out of London in the last few seasons. With her hyper feminine, seductive and playful designs she has created a new space for women to enjoy dressing up, and in doing so invites women to enjoy their bodies and the power they hold.
A Central Saint Martins graduate who came through the Fashion East platform, you can expect exciting things to come from Wade in the seasons to follow. Twin caught up with Mimi to talk about her grandmother, Hollywood and carving a new fashion structure.
Your last collection was inspired by your Grandmother’s Hollywood home, can you tell us a bit more about what the place was like?
Her house is slap bang in the middle of Hollywood, movie posters and lobby cards adorn every inch of wall space, mixed in with numerous photographs of herself , portraits by different artists and ex-boyfriends (including Cecil Beaton, and one by Matisse -not actually of her but one which bears a very striking resemblance) film stills – it’s all very ‘Sunset Boulevard’ !
Hollywood is infinitely seductive, why do you think that is?
The possibility in the air, that’s very seductive. People flock from all over the world to the city to pursue their dreams. In the same way that movies promote fantasy and detach us from reality, so does Hollywood. It is both trashy, dangerous and completely magical.
You embrace femininity and sexuality in your designs – what about that kind of aesthetic interests you?
There have been times where I’ve felt undervalued for embracing and embodying my femininity and it only made me want to continue to push further. Women are too often underestimated, especially beautiful women who embrace their femininity and sexuality. My grandmother had a boob reduction, died her hair an unflattering colour and tried to rid herself of her stereotypical bombshell looks in an attempt to get more fulfilling roles in the movies – it’s frightening how often women are put in a box because of the way they look. Take Hedy Lamarr for example- she is responsible for inventing wifi and yet she is often merely remembered for being beautiful. Things need to change and I want to be part of it.
Aside from personal experience, who or what do you draw aesthetic inspiration from when you’re building a collection?
I watch a lot of films, I collect packaging and movie memorabilia, I take pictures and draw a lot, I look at vintage clothes.
You graduated from CSM and then did Fashion East, what were the biggest challenges of launching a label in London? What were your biggest learning curves?
I’m still learning a lot, mostly from my mistakes!
What are your favourite materials to work with?
I have had an ongoing sponsorship from Sophie Hallette since St Martins, they make the most exquisite lace in Paris which is a joy to work with. I also love painting on leather.
When did you have the most fun designing?
My graduate collection at St Martins, having the freedom to design something with no commercial constraints whatsoever was pure joy.
All you want for Christmas is….?
A lilac Birman kitten.
Where do you want to take the brand in 2018?
I’m restructuring the way I show collections, I’m not going to be a slave to the schedule anymore. In 2018 I’m doing things on my own terms. I’m launching my website and e-store in the new year too which I’m really excited about.
Celebrate the festive period at this Friday, 15th December with a Harley Weir book signing at Claire de Rouen.
Harley Weir’s new book, Paintings offers a different focus for one of fashion’s most iconic contemporary photographers, shifting the subject matter from humans to paint and texture. The images contain the same energy and precision as her portraits, playing with rhythms and juxtapositions within a more confined space.
Stop by the hallowed book shop this week to pick up your own copy – and browse the rest of their beautiful stock (including, of course, Twin).
Opening during Miami Art Week, the LOEWE Foundation‘s ‘Chance Encounters III’ (the third in its series) brings together work by captivating artists– Sara Flynn, Richard Smith and Lionel Wendt – who together offer a rich fabric of work from across continents and time.
Continuing the brand’s commitment to craftsmanship and creative culture, the launch of the new exhibition symbolised an evolution of the connection between the house and artists; using the themes of shadow and the relationships between forms as the main aesthetic tenants, the works span fabrics, ceramics and photography.
“Art and craft are always at the centre of my creative process and these exhibitions are an exciting way of exploring artists that are important to me.” Said Jonathan Anderson at the opening of the exhibition. “I love the unexpected things that happen when people from completely different worlds are brought together, the antagonism can create something completely new.”
Open until February 2018, this exhibition offers a compelling display within the beautiful surroundings of the LOEWE Miami Design District store. If you’re in Miami, visit.
Rose McGowan was awarded Time Magazine’s Person of the Year award 2017, an acknowledgement of the incredibly brave and powerful work that she, and the many other women who spoke up against sexual abuse in the wake of the Weinstein scandal, have enacted this year.
“I’m not saying things that are earth-shattering. I’m just the only one saying them” McGowan commented in an interview with The Fall earlier this year – speaking then she couldn’t possibly have known the cultural shifts and change that her actions have since engendered. Because of women like McGowan, and those who followed from her lead, 2018 looks set to welcome a new era for gender equality where previously engrained cultures amongst elites from all industries have been broken, we hope, for good.
Chanel and Izzy head to to Wales for Marques’Almeida Resort 2018. Shot by photographer Masha Mel, the campaign embodies the carefree, joyful ethos of the brand. In stores from mid December, enjoy a flavour of what’s to come below.
“I always felt that members of my family were eccentric characters that could have starred in their own movie” says Bobana Parojcic. The Serbian make-up artist paired up with photographer Sarah Louise Stedeford, along with stylist Lee Trigg and Tom Wright, to celebrate her family’s rich history within the settings of their home in Oxford, The Palace Hotel.
Nostalgic and vivid, the photographs pay homage to the transitions and journeys at the heart of the family story. “The women in my family were always powerful, strong role models that held the family and glued everything together” adds Bobana as she recounts her family left behind communist Yugoslavia to make a new life in England in the early 1970s.
Having settled at The Palace Hotel, the space has come to represent not only where Bobana’s family built their home, but also a haven of conversations, memories, events and romance.
A graduate from Royal College of Art in 2016, artist Nadine Shaban works across fashion, sound and performance to create idiosyncratic works. Having recently teamed up with Axel Arigato for a new exhibition in the brand’s Soho space, Twin caught up with Nadine to talk about approaching space, working in flux and externalising emotion.
Your new exhibition is entitled ‘Let Me Breathe’ – what inspired this title, and what were you responding to?
A feeling of being trapped. By situations, pressures and expectations. Wanting to run away from it all. As well as this my work has always been very material based and by the end of my last project I felt very frustrated by the mass of plastic and fabric I had built up around me. I wasn’t enjoying the project and it was beginning to feel like a lot of unnecessary stuff that was just adding to the accumulation of things we have in our lives which we don’t need. I sometimes dreamed about burning it all once the show was done. I’m going through a love hate relationship with my practice it at the moment. This exhibition does involve a lot of material, but I’ve used it to communicate a feeling of suffocation.
Your interest is in creating work that is in flux or transition– what about movement and change interests you? How do you approach a static object to begin to move it towards something else?
My work is a reaction to my experiences and how I see things and that is something that is always changing. It is the physical actions involved in making work that is an important part of the process for me. Tearing, stitching, mixing and thats about movement. I transform a static object by taking it apart or manipulating it into a different shape. Or more recently working with performers to make the pieces move.
What are the most instinctive materials to work with?
I find I’m very drawn to synthetic materials and materials related to construction. The synthetic aspect is very distant from where the work begins; inner feelings. This contrast allows my work to act as a mask and gives a concrete way to externalise and express what is inside. I often use materials found on building sites because of their relation to transformation and incomplete states and holding things together.
How have you found your practice evolving since you graduated?
I’m open to collaborating. I used to find it very difficult to work with people and would avoid it. My work was something I needed to have complete control over. I find now that collaborating makes projects more fun and allows for further development. And I don’t worry so much about the outcomes of my work, I’m better at trusting my instinct. I guess I’m less precious about it.
You have collaborated with a range of designers, what about your practice aligns well with clothes and the body?
My work is very textural and sculptural so it lends itself to clothing. The contrast created between the heavy and synthetic materials against the natural body creates a mask. I get consumed by my work so I like the idea that a body gets consumed by it. Combining my work with the body also helps to communicate some of the emotions it is related to.
Tommy Zhong SS18
How did the collaboration with Axel Arigato come about? What about the brand aligned with your aesthetic?
The Lobby London approached me to see if I’d be interested in collaborating with Axel Arigato. Their brand has a very minimal and fresh aesthetic, which compliments the mixed media aspect of my practice. The store is very spacious and white with some industrial textures, which makes it an ideal place to present my slightly chaotic work.
You talk about art being a hiding place – how do you approach empty space when you’re thinking about your next work?
My interaction with materials is a bit like having a conversation; it is how I translate what is inside of me. This initial process only really happens when I’m on my own in my own space. But from it comes lots of experiments in the form of small objects. Once I’ve found what is effective I can use this as a starting point to look at how it can be developed on a larger scale.
What keeps you interested in larger scale installations?
A desire to create a space that people can become immersed in, be overcome by and take them away from their everyday life. I want to find a way to translate the energy and world that I get lost in when I am making work to people viewing it.
Kick start the festive season with a trip to the Marques’Almeida Christmas market this weekend. Expect archival M’A pieces from seasons past, as well as AW17 designs. The brand has teamed up with illustrator Helen Bullock to create über fashionable postcards and prints, and you can also book in for Christmas braids.
Marques’Almeida Christmas market SHOWstudio Illustration Gallery 15 Floral St, London until December 2nd.
To mark the start of the festive season, Prada has released two new films directed by the legendary Autumn de Wilde. Divided into two films, ‘The Postman’s Dreams 2’ (a sequel to de Wilde’s first collaboration with Prada in 2015), and ‘The Postman’s gifts’.
Preoccupied with themes such as desire and the pursuit of satisfaction, de Wilde’s sharp, playful hand is at her masterful best. While Elijah Wood plays an enigmatic postman, it is the Prada Galleria bag that stars as leading lady throughout. Fantastical and maverick, these are an early Christmas treat.
A new Noisey documentary goes deep into the underground grime scene to spotlight on its stars – Blackpool’s kids. And while these stars are barely in their teens, their lyrics are ferocious and sharp; their delivery quick, charismatic and harsh.
Premiering on Nowness last week, a new film by Rosanna Webster and Phoebe Henry captures the spirit and energy of Cuba, offering a vivid, energetic portrait of a country in flux.
The film is rendered in deep, rich colour, with a buoyant soundtrack that, along with the fast-paced narrative, sweeps the viewers into the heart of the country.
“Cuba gets under your skin; it’s a complete sensory overload, chaotic, colourful, unapologetically loud and in your face.” The pair said of the film, adding that “Life spills out on to the streets, people constantly approach you. The culture has a tempo and a pace that gets under your skin. We were instantly immersed in this and wanted the film to encapsulate this uninhibited, vivacious and spontaneous culture.”
“The first time I spoke to Liv I knew that we had something special to create.” Says director Emil Nava, the brains behind videos of stellar hits such as Selena Gomez’s ‘Kill Them With Kindness , Aluna George’s ‘I’m In Control’, and Calvin Harris’ video for ‘This Is What You Came For’.
The partnership between director Emil and the 19 year old Newcastle-born singer has seen itself manifest in a new, long form video release to accompany L Devine’s latest EP, ‘Growing Pains’.
A truly exciting name to watch, Devine got her first break after she uploaded a Beyoncé mash up onto YouTube, attracting the attention of American producer Mickey Valen. After having saved up three months rent, she traded northern life for London – and the gamble has paid off.
Marrying a knack for astutely evoking relatable scenarios with catchy, memorable melodies, L Devine makes the kind of modern pop that is easy to get excited about. For the launch of her new track, the singer partnered with Emil Nava to create an evocative video that brings together a melange of important women from the singer’s life. “Each of the women in the video has lived life with no restraints, and certainly never let their gender get in the way of working hard, doing what they love and being who they are.” Says the singer of the new film. Rooted in real life experience, the video brings Devine’s close friends and family into the story, harnessing the candour of shared memories and experience of love, sexual curiosity, and transition into adulthood against the sometimes stark, sometimes electric backdrop of the city.
Following on from the success of ‘School Girls’ earlier in the year, this new video, shot on 16mm film, perfectly captures the twilight moments between adolescence and adult life. Check out the full version below.
SHOWStudio’s Lou Stoppard and academic Adam Murray have joined together to co-curate a new exhibition, North: Identity, Photography, Fashion, which opens this week at Somerset House, having transferred from the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool.
The exhibition brings together designers, fashion photographers and artists, with contributors that include Raf Simons, Jamie Hawkesworth, Glen Luchford and Turner-prize winning artist Mark Leckey. At the crux of the exhibition is a desire to explore the mythology around the North and its culture, decodifying the traditional narrative around the region and instead investigating how it has really influenced contemporary style.
In a post-Brexit era, the exhibition is both timely and surprisingly overdue. As Adam Murray notes in his essay ‘The Constructed North‘, since Agyness Deyn’s rise to stardom in 2008, ideas of the North have long inspired and informed the zeitgeist. However the personal, more visceral experience of the area and its influence has yet to have been investigated – until now.
North: Identity, Photography, Fashion is at Somerset House until 4th February 2018.
No stranger to innovation, Kenzo has launched a new initiate to give young talent a platform to make it in the industry.
Kenzo Season Zero sees three emerging film makers – Mati Diop, Baptist Penetticobra and Eduardo Williams – explore the question of ‘How do we inhabit the earth today in 2017’ working with A/W17 collections. Working across the broad theme of humans and their relationships with our world, the films weave fiction and documentary, telling stories o places such as Bolivia, France, United States or Argentina – and the compelling narratives of everyday life within them.
Amélie Pichard celebrates sexy. Her shoe brand does too. Presented with her footwear, you meet a brand that has titillating sensuality at the core, partnered with the somewhat odd bedfellow of comfort – not necessarily a predictable alignment but refreshing nonetheless. Here is someone who is making a damn good stab at constructing the feeling of sexy, rather than simply the look of it. Aiming to exact empowerment and pleasure to women through artisanal technique and a certain retrograde sensibility, Amélie has opened her first shop, in the wake of her successful online business and a celebrated Pamela Anderson collaboration. Locking herself into bricks and mortar signals something new for the Parisian designer: cementing herself as part of the modern heritage of her city. Amélie wishes to be the female version of Hugh Hefner, to praise the natural sensuality of women. Her aim? To herald the woman: to celebrate sexy for the self.
She is free. This is the very first thing to realise. My girls, the Pichard girls, know what they want, when they want. I don’t do things because there are rules – I don’t care about that. Pamela Anderson was my first muse: for me she is the perfect Pichard girl because she is complex, a woman, a mother, an activist, a girl boss: exactly what I love. I don’t like girls who don’t work. What does sexy mean to you? Sexy for me is everything. For me it is so important, but it must be a natural sexy – it’s not about clothes or makeup, it is about attitude. When I look at your shoes, it is like you are trying to change what sexy means, and twist how it is traditionally a male-dominated word. Your brand seems sexy for itself… Before, to be sexy, women wanted very high heels. For me it is the opposite, because if you cannot walk properly because of your shoes, you are not sexy. For me, women wearing trainers can be more sexy than women who can’t walk in their high heels. I do shoes for the girl who has her bicycle, who needs to go food shopping, who needs to live and work.
In my shop, it is a lot of things, because I am obsessed with Hugh Hefner – I want to be the female version! I want the most beautiful guys working in my shop, at the door of chez Pichard. I put a bed in the shop because I wanted to make a shop not just for shoes: a place where people can stay and live, chill, and the bed was the way of doing this. The shop is a mix of the 70’s and a bar tabac, because the French spirit is very casual, and I also love contrast. That is why the front of the shop is green, like the bars of Paris, while inside the first thing you see is a bed dressed in Pink, in varying textures.
Hugh Hefner made something crazy. He enjoyed sex, he enjoyed women, because women are the most beautiful things on the earth. I have a big collection of Playboy at my place – for me it is my favourite magazine.
I make shoes to tell stories. Before this, I was making clothes, but I felt a bit lost as it wasn’t very artisanal – I love artisanal creations more than fashion. I love the way you make something. One day, I discovered the last shoe factory of Paris, and I fell in love with what they were doing. I saw one of the workers working in an atmosphere of the smell of glue, of dust, making these tiny and delicate shoes, and I just thought this is so cool!
It is always women of the past, who aren’t in our world anymore – they are from a time long gone so I can’t meet these women, I don’t know these women: it gives me simply fantasy, and everything starts with fantasy. Sometimes I just need to see an image – you know the movie Paris, Texas ? For five years I fantasised about this movie, despite having never seen it, just pictures – after that I designed a whole collection around the images I knew. For me it is all about fantasy, and telling a story I want to tell that is always between the past and the present. Once I have finished designing, shaped by the past, I will imagine the shoes on my friends who are modern and contemporary: if the shoes appear right then I am happy.
The launch of the shop – it was crazy because we made a fête au village, so all the street was totally full! We partnered with the bar opposite us and had a Claude Francois impersonator perform.
Bumbags are back, but Miu Mui has made so much better than the average offer. Introducing the Miu Rider: ostensibly your everyday, hip swinging, but rendered with such decadence and craft that it is elevated to something else entirely.
What were you doing at Halloween? If the answer didn’t involve hitting up the Twin x Browns East party, something must have gone spookily wrong in your evening.
Bringing together some of London’s fiercest creatives, the night saw live performances from the likes of Skinny Girl Diet and Stefflon Don (the 25 year old rapper about to start working with Drake).
Set design by Alice Kirkpatrick saw the space in Shoreditch transformed into a Stranger Things, 80’s themed haven – with a vintage MR2 providing endless Instagram fodder. Scents by Timothy Han and films by Emily McDonald worked to create eerie, surreal vibes that, coupled with cocktails served in IV drip bags and tattoos on the house, made for a night to remember: the most fitting tribute to a new issue of Twin magazine you won’t forget.
Rhythmic and undulating, Mel Bles’ Islands series of photographs captures the soulful connection between the body and nature. This new exhibition sees the fruition of what began as a mediation on the image as a two-dimensional object, evolving into a powerful sequence of bodies and landscapes connected by rich, inky lines.
Throughout the photographs, Bles captures the softness and intimacy of the female form; bodies are juxtaposed and composed against landscapes, holding the two in perfect tension without falling into traditional sexual or romantic tropes.
Mel Bles, Islands
The process of making the images themselves are also a study in texture. Some photographs are presented in the ‘purest form’, while others are offered in stages of alteration – revisited, reprinted, rephotographed on an iPhone, taken to a scanner, or upturned. The result is to offer miniature landscapes in and of themselves, which lure the viewer in individually as well as forming a powerful series in all.
Mel Bles, Islands
Mel Bles, Islands is on at the Webber Gallery, London: 20 October – 25 November 2017
We’re a little bit obsessed with Acne Studio’s Musubi bag collection, and couldn’t be more excited about the latest designs which launch today.
Offered in ‘Maxi’ and ‘Mini’ styles, the new additions for FW17 come in soft hues of aqua and macadamia, as well as jet black and ‘storm’ blue. Featuring a twisted knot motif inspired by the traditional design of the Japanese Musubi bags, Acne has ensured a dreamy marriage of two great minimalist aesthetics.
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