THE PEOPLE ISSUE
Building a Beautiful Business
Text by Karena Akhavein Photography by Peter Cervieri In her former life as an actress, one of Jennifer Yen’s roles was that of a scaly villainess named Vypra. Today, as founder of pūr~lisse cosmetics, she is a decidedly smooth-skinned businesswoman committed to doing good. When we caught up with the peripatetic Yen, she was vacationing [...]
Glory Days
Text by Ashley Brewster In the cyclical world of fashion, everything that is old eventually becomes new again. Over the past few seasons, ’90s minimalism has made a strong comeback. Labels like Alexander Wang, Helmut Lang, and Olivier Theyskens’ Theory have championed this chic back-to-basics movement — after all, there is only so much neon [...]
Emilia Wickstead
Text by Katia Ganfield New Zealand designer Emilia Wickstead’s innovative take on traditional garments is to gracefully manipulate them with a modern, British twist. “I’ve been [in London] for 15 years so I’ve been inspired by having English friends, by entertaining in the English countryside… it’s all triggered a lot of ideas. And obviously, I’m [...]
STREET PULSE: AMSTERDAM
1. What is your current obsession? 2. To which decade do you feel you most belong? 3. Bad habit? 4. On which activity do you find yourself spending the most time? 5. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Dileila 1. Fashion 2. 2000 3. Not being [...]
Not Cycling, But Cruising
Text by Jay Riedl Photography by Che Thomas Carr The Dutch do it, the French do it, and now New Yorkers can do it, too—zip around the city with style and ease on a bicycle made for commuting, errand-running, meeting for coffee, and handling mean city streets. The cruiser—a style also known as the urban, [...]
YESTERYEAR DRESSES
Text by Jay Riedl Janice Huminska claims that her dress designs appear fully realized in her dreams. She never sits down to design a season of clothing, instead making dresses as they appear to her mid-slumber. Providing she has been sleeping well, you will always find something new when you visit the Huminska [...]
KEATON HENSON
The evasive and enigmatic artist provides sounds and answers that force you to feel as he feels: lonely Text by Katia Ganfield Photography by Olivia Beasley Music is something to be loved, an ethereal substance of infinitesimal vibrations that evokes the pain and glory of its human producers. This is where Keaton Henson’s gentle folk [...]
KOTO BOLOFO: Dream Weaver
Avoiding the label of designer, this photographer transforms photographic qualities into dimensional garments that capture more than just attention Text by Michael Cohen Photography by Koto Bolofo Photographer Koto Bolofo is prized for his ability to present honest beauty. His signature is to forsake gimmickry, respecting subjects and composition. He works in film rather than [...]
POWER & ROMANCE
Disregarding the conventional elements of fashion photography, architect-turned-photographer But-Sou Lai has perfected the art of the imperfect Text by Lynn Wang Photography by But-Sou Lai Fashion photography today is obsessed with artificial perfection. Mise-en-scène and composition have become just as important as models and the clothes they wear. The majority of fashion editorials today involve a large [...]
TAKING CARE OF ACNE
SOMA talks to the Persson behind Acne Paper When he was a small boy growing up in Oslo, Norway, Thomas Persson was always drawing, constantly making things, forever creating. His love of clothing comes from his grandmother who was delighted by her grandson’s interest in fashion. “She is French and, like most French women, it [...]
UNIQLO HITS NYC
Fifth Avenue is getting a fast fashion facelift. But among the throngs of retailers investing in flagship stores deep in Tiffany territory, one is standing out. Meet UNIQLO, the Japanese retail giant whose latest U.S. store resides at 53rd Street & Fifth Avenue. The three-story glass cube invites us into another world—an enormous 89,000-square-foot flagship [...]
TADASHI SHOJI
For more than 30 years, Tadashi Shoji has crafted impeccable and elegant garments for women. Born in Sendai, Japan, Shoji apprenticed under artist Jiro Takamatsu, then costume designer Bill Whitten, before debuting his own, Los Angeles-based design studio in 1982. These days, his designs are red carpet fixtures, worn by Dita Von Teese, Octavia Spencer [...]