After the Soviet invasion, just days before Ariana Delawari’s birth, her father’s entire family fled Afghanistan. Many of them found refuge at the Delawari home in Los Angeles, where baby Ariana was welcomed by a huge extended family. Her name, Ariana, is the ancient name for Afghanistan. “I think those early years really shaped me,” […]
Natstya wears Fur Ohne Titel Shirt Topshop Hat Gigi Burris Emil wears Hat & jacket Michael Kors Hat Michael Kors Jacket Isabel Marant Shorts Blumarine Boots Topshop Unique Bandana American Eagle Outfitters Emil wears Hat Michael Kors Shirt Proenza Schouler Tank Uniqlo Jeans Aprill77 Bandana American Eagle Outfitters Boots Frye Stylist’s Archive Belt Natstya wears […]
Dress Yohji Yamamoto Belt used as headpiece Lara Bohinc Bracelet on belt Medecine Douce Dress Bowie Shirt Burberry Belt used as headpiece Lara Bohinc Sweater Alexander Wang Shirt Palmer//Harding Pants Alexander Wang Belt Yohji Yamamoto Necktie used as scarf Miu Miu Shoes Christian Louboutin Vintage comb from propagandahair Green dress A.F. Vandevorst Purple dress Issey […]
I-Pose is the latest addition to SOMA’s ongoing tradition of introducing unique, cutting-edge features to our magazine. This section portrays the winners of our online competition, where SOMA readers posed as their favorite icons. In this issue, we featured young creative minds from Tokyo and asked them to explain the reasoning behind their choices. Text […]
When the Sex Pistols splintered in an explosion of backbiting, recrimination and lawsuits, it seemed unlikely that John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) would ever be able to top the band’s musical and social impact. He confounded expectations by starting Public Image Ltd, in hindsight, PiL can be seen as the first post-rock band, the progenitor […]
1. What’s your connection to the music industry? 2. What was the first concert you attended and where? 3. What is your favorite venue in Milan to play or see a show? 4. What album are you currently obsessed with? 5. What musician’s style do you envy the most? Photography by Lara Ferri Simone 1. […]
As Mimi Iwasaki’s instructor, Michael Carbaugh, suggested to her during her junior year at the Academy of Art University, “inspirations are strongest when they are personally related to you.” It’s a good thing Iwasaki comes from a line of artistically inclined people. Her father, a talented illustrator, chose to focus on music, while her grandfather […]
Rumi Iwasaki only just graduated from San Francisco’s Academy of Art University and showed her very first runway collection at The Cannery this past May, but her unique take on menswear speaks of an aesthetic that is finely honed and developed beyond her years. Iwasaki, who counts disparate talents Hedi Slimane, Ellen von Unwerth, and […]
In the heart of SoHo’s cobblestone streets, among the designer shopping destinations and luxury condos, the latest and greatest retail attraction is a building made of paper. To differentiate the new Camper House of Shoes, Shigeru Ban Architects and longtime collaborator Dean Maltz Architects opted for understated simplicity. Shigeru Ban’s first retail project in the […]
High Concept Shoes for High Fashion Feet The genre of sculptural shoes is, by definition, an attempt to elevate the design identity of an otherwise basic accessory. The approach undertaken by Gio Metodiev is to offer boldly visual statements. His Gio Diev collection is shaped by personal passions, merging craftsmanship with architectural and artistic inspirations. […]
Rising above the surplus of twee screen printed tees offered at your local indie boutique, are three companies using high-grade fabrics and apparel design techniques, along with fresh aesthetic sensibilities, to create T-shirts that transcend the mundane. Golden Goods USA reconceptualizes the standard conference/corporate giveaway tee—the boxy, made-in-china polo or crew sporting a requisite left-chest […]
Nestled between Hollywood and downtown LA, the La Brea Design District has an oddly under the radar reputation for designer shopping, cafés, food trucks and vintage. The neighborhood’s newest attraction, Sonos Studio, is a 4,000 square-foot showroom and multi-functional art space with a particular focus on the audio arts. A producer of wireless audio systems, Sonos […]
Tattooist Saira Hunjan is well known among celebrity circles as “the girl with the golden needle,” and her work is permanently displayed on people like Kate Moss, Sam Taylor-Wood and Jude Law. Having lived in London all her life and graduated from Camberwell, she’s been tattooing for just over 10 years. Her technique is unique […]
Loreen is navigating through rush hour traffic in Stockholm. The phone picks up the noise of honking horns, squealing breaks and revving engines. Every so often, she leans out the window and delivers a few choice words to a passing driver in rapid Swedish. Then she laughs, “Doing an interview while driving is maybe not […]
Folk songstress Anaïs Mitchell weaves emotional stories throughout her albums, tales that convey the singer’s dark romanticism, despite the breathless innocence of her voice. The disparity between her vocals and her lyrics endows Mitchell’s compositions with a profound resonance. Mitchell’s latest album, her fifth to date, focuses on the complexities confronting America, and those at […]
The Malaysian indie singer-songwriter Yuna is on a charm offensive. She enchanted Malaysia with her soft, powerfully emotive vocals and warm acoustic guitar; won over audiences on her recent U.S. tour with Graffiti6; and has fans and critics everywhere raving about her music, including the Grammy award–winning Pharrell Williams, who produced her new single, “Live […]
Trippple Nippples have been rocking clubs and astonishing audiences in Tokyo with their chaotic-come-beautiful live shows since 2005 and have recently begun to turn heads overseas. Led by three female Japanese vocalists/dancers and backed by an American and two Australians on instruments, the band plays each and every gig differently. Costumes, props and routines—theirs really […]
Currently residing in London by way of Tokyo, the band Bo Ningen is a psychedelic four-piece with the greatest hair and one of the most distinct looks in rock and roll. But their luscious locks are not all that these guys have going for them: The fact that a Japanese band singing in its native […]
A pioneer and visionary in both fashion and music, VERBAL has inspired a generation of Japanese youth since his musical debut in 1999. Thirteen years down the line and with a handful of successful musical projects and his own label under his belt, he remains one of the most respected and hard-working musicians in Asia. […]
“I was always attracted to powerful female voices,” says ZZ Ward, a singer, songwriter and guitarist intent on redefining the blues for a new generation by blending traditional sounds with the beats and rhythms of hip hop and rap. “There aren’t a lot of singers out there with the sincerity and commitment of Etta James […]
As a child, when Luke Rothschild was sent to his room for misbehaving, he would collect pots and pans and take them with him to “make sounds.” His earliest memories center on him making music, but he was also constantly drawing, forever painting and always creating. This childhood preoccupation with several media proved strangely prophetic. […]
A beacon of cool in Dallas amid Main Street’s trite and unappealing nightlife, the Chesterfield opened in December 2011, updating classic bar theory with approachable refinement. Co-owner Eddie “Lucky” Campbell takes inspiration from the pre-prohibition era’s golden age of cocktails. Campbell explains his view: “The period between 1890 and 1910 is when barmen became craftsmen […]
Bethany Cosentino, along with Bobb Bruno, writes and performs music under the name Best Coast. The Only Place–the duo’s Jon Brion-produced follow up to their breakout debut Crazy for You–dropped in May, 2012. Cosentino’s Capsule Collection recently landed at Urban Outfitters and Best Coast just wrapped a West Coast leg of its North American tour. […]