6 posts tagged “fashion”
i dug up an old book (and an old jacket that i'm guessing inspired helmut lang's thumbloop phase) i bought in new york back in 1998 at maybe the hippest store i've ever shopped: 'hotel of the rising star' at 13 prince st (probably the original five green inspiration), run by a bunch of architects who sold their ORFI label (organization for returning fashion interest) and a wonderfully carefully curated collection of things including event horizon, edited by michael tarantino and inspired by a michelangelo antonioni essay (event horizon was a series of exhibitions organized by the irish museum of modern art exploring the european identity). the fifth artist page is an essay on 'calendar' by atom egoyan:
"The idea of a nation is something which fascinates me. If we are to presume that a nation is the result of a collective projection, then it is clear that the idea of national territory is more of a pyschological concept than it is a definition set by physical borders."
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"In conceiving 'Calendar', I wanted to find a story that would deal with these three levels of Armenian consciousness: Nationalist, Diasporan and Assimilationist."
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"The metaphor of seperation in the film ... is intended to emphasize the precarious nature of national identity."
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"Taken outside of its source, national identity can become contrived and absurd. Yet what is the 'source' of something so complex and profound? Is it limited to a physical dimension? Can it be defined by other means? These are questions which I am still asking, and I'm excited that 'Calendar' has helped me to begin to answer."
A. Egoyan
with vm's massive capex outlays funding all these new stores, suspensions on dividends last year, i wonder if there's a risk of over-stretched finances here. the vm stock was one of the worst performing on the kuwaiti exchange in 2007 although its bounced back in 08 (still at below ipo levels though). '07 revenues were around US$25 million (net income around US$2.7), and current assets were around US$42 million. investments in bahrain and damascus and even doha will not generate returns anywhere near dubai / kuwait / saudi levels and all of the new stores will take some time to start contributing positively to the bottom line. 2008's q1 numbers are only in the black thanks to 'other income' of US$2.5 million. lets see if the group can match the visionary fashion plans with prudent financial planning. i certainly hope so. villa moda is an all too rare example of regional companies innovating and building exciting world-class brands rather than simply franchising. sheikh majid is a visionary who is considered an inspirational role model for many of us working in the fledgling 'cultural' industry in dubai and the wider region.
legend. made no money. changed the fashion game (a few times). made deadly serious clothes (over and over). nazi serious. kept awesome company (gluckman, holzer, mapplethorpe, weber, bourgeois. of his contemporaries, only sander, slimane and margiela come close.
atom egoyan steve albini frederico fellini john cassavetes marcel proust le corbusier jim jarmusch tom waits eames john lurie terrence malick elia suleiman bernard tschumi emir kusturica will oldham arto lindsay terry jones flood joerg koch jenny holzer francois truffaut tim burton kelly reichardt spike jonez rick rubin jean eustache thom mayne chris marker prince martin margiela daniel lanois steven soderbergh christopher doyle paul o'fflyn oliver assayas zaha hadid john peel juergen teller archie shepp lars von trier bill evans jean luc godard rem koolhaas sonic youth larry clark michael brook aaron katz eric rohmer michael mann ry cooder noah baumbach abbas kiarostami evan parker david cronenberg andre balazs werner herzog samira makhmalbaf helmut lang wong kar wai mohsen makhmalbaf martin scorsese wim wenders wes anderson ken burns hedi slimane steve pinker harmony korine luis barragan brian eno jil sander thelma schoonmaker venetia scott francis ford coppola oscar niemeyar james yancey richard linklater
