THE PEOPLE ISSUE
Features
Raw Edges
A Marriage of Work & Life Littered haphazardly with wood cuttings and blue prints—all the necessary tools needed for conceptualizing creative ideas—the small North London studio is the backdrop to Shay Alkalay and Yael Mer’s designs that run the gamut from cork lamps to plaid benches for their label, Raw Edges. In a partnership that [...]
Stronger Space
With the rise of the figure of the freelance curator, curating has ventured out of the museum into galleries and beyond—to the extent that those who take themselves to be on the very edge of hip go so far as to claim that they “curate” menus and music playlists. Architecture writer and curator Carson Chan [...]
Three to Watch
The only constant about the artistic landscape in Berlin is that nothing stays the same. Sure, there are common practices in the city: a rich culture of artist-run project spaces, hybrid/mixed-used venues and an unusually high concentration of artists who regularly DJ. However, mostly due to the financial precarity of earning a living here, it’s [...]
Into the Abyss
48 Hours in Berlin It’s 6p.m. on Saturday and my boss, a 50 yr-old Canadian art dealer, has turned on the techno music, filling the gallery with deafening electro-beats. This announces his plan for the evening: it’s his ritual warm-up before heading to Berghain, Berlin’s most hedonistic nightclub. I’ll probably wind up there too, but [...]
Melting Point
Levi’s denim trucker jackets and rolled shorts Pins and Needles floral blouse G-Star denim shorts Rodebjer floral silk blouse Diesel matic jeans Minnetonka Moccasins shoes Le Mont St Michel sweater Levi’s studded jeans Minnetonka Moccasins shoes Levi’s x Opening Ceremony denim “Onesie Skirt” Levi’s cut-off vest and bootcut jeans G-Star denim shirt Reformed lace shorts All [...]
Mary Katrantzou
Snapshots by iconic fashion photographers Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin are typically synonymous with the glossy pages of high fashion magazines like Vogue, or they hang idly on the barren white walls of an expansive gallery. Trendsetting London-based fashion designer, Mary Katrantzou, has taken these stylized photographs to another level, splashing them on her latest [...]
Siki Im
Among the most buzzed about fashion designers in NYC, Siki Im designs for an intelligent and articulate audience. In his own words, “He or she is well traveled and educated; has values but also loves to be challenged and takes risks; someone who gets bored easily and has humor, too; someone who is not so [...]
Kimiko Yoshida
Misfit Monochromes Kimiko Yoshida’s face practically disappears into a black background—her eyes and lips being the only clearly discernible features. Painted a dusky gold, her lips perfectly match the intricate headdress she wears in 01 Painting (Goddess of War Athena), a large-scale photograph that references Gustav Klimt’s renowned “Pallas Athene.” Like a monk repeating a [...]
Polly Morgan
A blurred line between morbid & magnificent Dead finches lay strewn about an East London studio in a macabre amalgamation of feathers and skins and bottles of solutions. In Polly Morgan’s seemingly sordid world, death can be beautiful and taxidermy is an art form. Morgan is a master of this embalming method as art pieces [...]
Portraits of London Creatives
London is known for its experimental and inventive designers—the city’s roots in fashion history and its creative energy have made it a top and unique fashion center of the world. SOMA had the chance to photograph a few of the city’s out- standing artists who have the creative talent and eye that will make a lasting impact in the fashion world.
Lori Goldstein
Lori Goldstein is a master storyteller. Through the medium of fashion, this uber-stylist and industry insider spins unforgetta- ble tales of high society and everyday women, full of gorgeous fantasy and provocative scenarios. From Versace’s legendary Jacqueline Susann-inspired campaign with Steven Meisel, to her latest work with Annie Leibovitz on the Jones New York “Empowering [...]
Christophe Lemaire
Christophe Lemaire, as it turns out, is not effusive about fashion. He’s measured, and thoughtful, and opinionated, and smart, and funny, and kind, and generous—but no, not effusive. And he’s not interested in fame or celebrity. He wants to design and produce the best, and he wants to like what he’s doing. Which—when you think [...]
London’s Mixed Media
Thumbing through the pages of this issue, it’s clear that we’ve inadvertently chosen London as our current favorite design center. The sprawling metropolis is constantly thrumming with new artists and designers hoping to make a splash. SOMA had the chance to photograph a few of our favorite artists, putting the spotlight on them and leaving [...]
Girl At The Bottom Of The Sea
The green movement has picked up steam in recent years, buoyed by the tragedy of natural catastrophes like hurricanes and earthquakes—as if to say, see? our industrialized human actions are truly upsetting the balance of planet earth. Ironically, it is industry itself—in the form of consumer culture—that has helped anchor the green movement into our [...]
Conversations With 3 Designers
One very rewarding aspect of being a designer is connecting with other designers and being a part of a creative community. I love starting dialogues with the peers I admire most and learning about their inspirations, processes, projects and experiences. Nolen Niu, Patrick Norguet and Marc Thorpe are three unique and talented designers who I recently had [...]
Jihae
Jihae’s own Vintage dress Raquel Allegra Lace bandeau Jihae’s own Jewelry worn throughout With her new album, Fire Burning Rain, South Korean born artist/musician/muse Jihae moves away from the more traditional, though no less compelling, musical concepts of her 2008 release, Elvis Is Still Alive, and embraces her surreal side. “This is more heavy beat [...]
Britain’s Next Wave
England’s reputation as a crossroads of musical styles and ideas is personified by the fact that listeners on this small island have always greeted new sounds, be they wildly experimental or founded in classic technique, with open ears. Nothing is considered out of pocket, as long as the quality is there, creating one of the [...]
Hurts
Elegant Look, Poignant Tunes, Heartfelt Emotion Theo wears :Grey suit Richard James, Roll neck Hugo Boss Adam wears : Roll neck Hugo Boss Hurts were being hailed as Britain’s next big thing before they’d played a single gig. The Manchester based duo—singer Theo Hutchcraft and guitarist/synthesizer wiz Adam Anderson—captured the public’s imagination last summer with [...]
The Wonderful World
The Wonderful World @ 4th & Bleeker From Susie Bubble to Bryan Boy, the dub-dub-dub world has exploded with style queens eager to share their tips, trials and tribulations about fashion with an ever-growing virtual audience. Yet, among the millions on offer, few inject a sense of humor or intimacy alongside the latest snap of their [...]
Charlotte Gainsbourg
A Portrait of an Ethereal Icon Dress, Rodarte. Charlotte Gainsbourg answers her phone with a breathy and distant hello, as if she were in the middle of packing for a flight or stepping out of the shower. The actress and musician has been running a very brief public relations circuit from Los Angeles to New [...]
The Green Sensibility of Ross Mirkarimi
American politics with artistic merit What kind of person fights to get plastic bags banned from grocery stores? Having visited the Fresh Kills landfill in New York a few years ago, I was struck by the image of plastic bags swirling everywhere—like a million scenes of American Beauty projected onto a mass of human waste [...]
Keeper of Secrets
Photography Jason Frank Rothenberg Behind the runways with Ruth Finley Ruth Finley is probably the most unlikely famous person in fashion that no one outside of fashion has ever known. And even though she knows everyone in fashion, it’s hard to even understand what she does or how she does it. For more than 60 [...]
Michelle Monaghan
On the move: From mega blockbusters to the indie gem Trucker, Michelle Monaghan is navigating a new direction for her career on the silver screen Michelle Monaghan is not what one might consider a house-hold name. Yet, there is a good chance that if anyone has been out to the movies in the past five [...]
Modern Day Romantic
Robert Geller sat next to his older sister on a flight from Germany, en route to London Fashion Week. It was 1989. He was 13-years-old, The Cure was in his Walkman, and he had no idea what he was about to experience. During the trip he saw a few runway shows and visited Yohji Yamamoto [...]