We would like to present to you Aitor Throup’s New Object Research Spring / Summer Men’s collection, The Rite of Spring. Manifesto below: This is a self-portrait. I have spent almost 15 years of my life crafting a creative ego which I feel was subconsciously necessary to protect me from judgement and opinion. Throughout my…
Thamanyah, the fashion label designed by Ahmed Abdelrahman, has been on my radar for quite a long time. There is uniqueness in Abdelrahman’s approach to taking the traditional Middle Eastern dress, making it modern, and mixing it with Western sartorial codes. In his hands a white kandora turns black and gets paired with a fine wool bomber jacket. Not only such a combination results in a new menswear silhouette, but also both the Middle Eastern and the Western staples acquire a new meaning. It is no wonder then that Thamanyah has acquired a cult following in both worlds.
Vestoj and StyleZeitgeist have teamed up in a dialogue and series of critiques of recent events in fashion media to raise more wide-reaching questions about the state of contemporary fashion media – and what that says about our industry at large. In our second installment of this collaboration, we examine the recent political faux pas of the Chanel and Louis Vuitton resort collections, and the fashion media’s sycophancy.
As you may have gathered we are always intrigued by cross-cultural conversations between fashion and other disciplines. But we recently came across one originated by a perfumer. It was from the French brand Liquides Imaginaires, whose author, Philippe Di Méo, teamed up with three ballet dancers and Julien Benhamou, Paris National Opera’s photographer to make a short film inspired by the Charles Baudelaire poem “Elevation.”
One of the things we love at StyleZeitgeist is bringing interesting people from fashion and other cultural realms together, especially when these people are musicians. Bryan Black, known popularly as Black Asteroid has played at some of our events, and his heavy hitting industrial techno has kept us dancing more than once well into the night.
We would like to introduce to you Blyszak, an ethically-sourced buffalo horn and metal eyewear brand by Andrew Blyszak. Originally intended for personal use, the brand launched last year as Blyszak found that the matte black design had a broad gender neutral appeal. The pieces are created in partnership with a London-based master craftsman utilizing now uncommon materials.
It is hard to believe that it will soon be ten years since I started my first venture www.stylezeitgeist.com, a forum platform for discussing avant-garde and artisanal fashion. It is equally hard to believe that StyleZeitgeist magazine, which began as its extension, but has took on a life all of its own, will turn five.
The new fashion exhibit Manus x Machina at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York explores the relationship between fashion made by hand and by machine. One of its sub themes is the marriage of the most traditional handwork couture methods and the most advanced technological methods of clothes-making. Amongst its selection are seven dresses by the Dutch designer Iris van Herpen, who stands peerless in doing just that.
There is a depth to her work that results in garments that are often called “otherworldly” or “futuristic,” though van Herpen will be the first to tell you that she sees them firmly rooted in reality. Another misconception, perpetuated by the fashion media that runs after trendy stories and by the general media that runs after sensationalist ones, is that van Herpen’s work centers on 3D printing. In reality, her work traverses a wide variety of techniques and materials in service only to two things; to give free reign to van Herpen’s imagination, and to transcend fashion itself.
We would like to introduce to you Diaboli Kill, a luxury jewelry brand designed by Angie Marei in New York City. Marei draws inspiration from old Hollywood, ancient Egypt, and occult movies as well as incorporating art deco to create her pieces.
This week the new fashion exhibition “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” opens at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It aims to challenge the notion, usually found in the popular imagination, that handwork and machine work somehow exist in the state of opposition.