david

jenny

charlotte

meghan

tao

nicolas

arthur

rock it: hardwear

marcel @dna by ben toms

far north of one's imagination

watching the far north movie based on sara maitland's novel in a local indie theatre tonight made us think of the unbearable addiction to the non-caucasian type of beauty we've been experiencing for ages. such women, misterious and graceful, will always fascinate us. with a touch of allienation and self-conciousness they seem to have a natural gaze with a distinct hint of darkness and secret. it was no big surprise a new b&w editorial in dazed&confused made our day (editorial-wise at least). one of the coolest characters in the industry, elite's super-girl daul kim rocks katsuyo kamo's creations within an excessive 'everything will do' mourning aesthetics. shot by ben toms and styled by karen langley, these black'n'white portraits depict kamo's unbearable talent of growing a world out of one's head. by the way, he's the man behind headpieces at jun takahashi's undercover shows and just recently has almost stolen the show with his laser cut paper flora headpieces at chanel haute couture. speak of tricks of imagination.

beautiful boys

the very first time i saw the video london-based photographer/director toyin ibidapo created for kim jones' fall-winter 2003/04 presentation (nicola formichetti styled) i've been totally fascinated by her aesthetics. toyin, as she usually calls herself, is a regular contributor to dazed&confused and a woman behind the 'cult of boys' project. her imagery and films explore the complicated topic of young boys' beauty and their perception of own personality and presense. traditionally supported by etherial yet dark sounds by dannish music artist  martin juel 'doi', these shorts create atmosphere of humbliness and insecurity modern youth experiences so much. as toyin puts it in interview by showstudio's penny martin:

i'm obsessed by beautiful boys, boys who are effeminate but don't necessarily know it. androgyny is intriguing to me. it's an incredibly distinctive look that a lot of straight men can't handle. 
the boys i photograph, the chosen ones!, need to be able to project this, to show the world that there's something special about the way they look. they've got to stir up those special feelings, let me observe their teenage years, their puberty, provoke questions. is he in the prime of his beauty? how will he grow? what will he be like in a couple of years? will he maintain what he has now?'

being a huge fan, i've collected toyin's works for some time. her dark, thought-provoking, sensual depiction of broken beauty is everything someone like me may ask for.

toyin's films can be found here

non-it boys and girls

when dazed&confused team announced their teenage takeover issue it was just a matter of time for a real buzz to roll over. the issue has finally appeared on the newsstands and it is worth the buzz. featuring hedi slimane's photographic talent and his signature aesthetic of broken (or somehow spoiled) youth, the latest dazed&confused represents a new take on its classic, ever changing rebellious british kids. leaving all sociology and psychology behind what you see is what you get. so they say. yet, supported by traditionally incredible styling by nicola formichetti, these black-and-white images capture the very spirit of the non-it teenagers. maybe these are not the most objective representatives of what's hot/what's not in today's london and outskirts of the city, yet these are the faces that send out a certain message. it's a question how to read these signs, so everyone is free to decide on his own.
the austere series of pictures portraying two girls, jessie dunne and atty swire, wearing vintage wedding dresses from beyond retro, made fakefur/ous think of a perversed idea of strength versus weakness that is so typical for slimane's works. it's quite intriguing that images of the girls speak about sin, violence and forbidden gestures much more than about chastity and light. but it doesn't get vulgar nor offensive. dealing with symbols and signs, slimane gives the viewer his own perspective on the object which doesn't nessessary deal with reality. as everything he does, this is a documentary on the verge of a dream. as anything in fashion photography, it can hardly get better than this.