Karping about with Kapura

Last week we popped into our favourite watering hole, Ponsonby Social Club, for a quick tipple while the motorway was congested with traffic and met Kapura Kaka, from Matawaia, Northland. Having studied fashion design at AUT and graduated from the fashion degree programme in 2009, the talented young designer has since been working on a small denim range for girls and guys, a fresh take on the classic five pocket cut. We were impressed with her concepts and lateral thinking and wondered what her influences might be: "My influences are always growing and changing" she enthused "I like to check out photography and art books and also like conceptual designers like Aitor Throup, Comme Des Garcons and Margiela." Kapura has "a huge passion for the denim fabric" and wishes to learn and create new denim concepts from her space within the SOBI collective group in High Street. We also loved the energy of her look book starring consummate barman Johnny Harnett and fellow fashion designer Ella Moore. Shot by James Watkins and styled by Kaka, Moore and Sera Taylor, Karps is indeed, a breath of fresh air....

Black 13: Michael Schwartz shoots Sara Blomqvist in Berlin

Above: Armani Jeans campaign and Muse editorial

Black NYC photographer Michael Schwartz knows a good face when he sees one, and clearly Sara Blomqvist has a wonderful visage. The Swedish native has had a short but stellar career sprinkled with achievements; face of Armani Jeans, Missoni and one of the faces of D&G as shot by Mario Testino. Her photographer role call is also starting to build; Mert & Marcus, Peter Lindbergh, Steven Meisel, Sebastian Kim and Craig McDean, she has walked for established houses from Lagerfeld to Louis Vuitton. Schwartz captured her strength in a tough editorial whilst on a sojourn to Berlin for Black 13.

because i'm in that kind of mood ... david lachappelle

I adore David Lachappelle, always have. In fact, I credit a good friend back in 1998 for introducing me to the glory of David Lachappelle - thanks Jared.
David's images are so iconic, so magical, so radiant that you cannot help but stare for hours and want to be in them.
Today, I'm just in that kind of mood to look at these beauties for hours on end.
Enjoy! These are my faves...













i also highly recommend listening to this song today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n__LafGVUc

Stichbury in New York

 Estelle1_Stichbury studio

 Mr Phil McEwan

Zach Klein

If you are going to be in New York for New York Fashion Week, Sept 9-16, then we urge you to visit wonderful New Zealand artist Peter Stichbury's first solo exhibition in North America. The Proteus Effect, a series of paintings and prints that showcases Sitchbury's unerring penchant for hyper real portraiture, runs from September 10 to October 30 at Tracey Wiiliams Ltd gallery, 521 West 23 Street, New York, NY.

Unknown Pleasures with Hooky

Unknown Pleasures, cover by Peter Saville

A couple of months back after reading The Hacienda - How Not To Run A Club we asked Bernard D.McDonald if he could 'hook' us up with an interview with Peter Hook, Joy Division and New Order's bass playing stalwart, so taken were we with his ingenous account of the legendary club and its machinations. Of course Barney is an expert on everything New Order/Joy Division so we're very excited to be running that interview in Black 13. Timely too that Hooky will be arriving in Aotearoa to play Unknown Pleasures, one of the greatest albums of all time, in its entirety at The Powerstation on Saturday, October 2. Captain Hook and a group of musicians and friends will play the album plus two of our favourite JD singles Transmission and Love Will Tear Us Apart. We've already seen some negative comments about the gig online, but hell, if anyone can do this, it's Hooky. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster, Real Groovy and Marbecks. Can't wait...

JUST ANNOUNCED: Support acts will be Die! Die! Die! and that legend in his own lunchtime, Harry The Bastard.

Secret Garden Party, Cambridgeshire, UK

Cast aside all your inhibitions and dive into the extraordinary and magical world of the secret garden...I wanted to write about Secret Garden Party as it is probably one of the most beautiful, colourful and visually stimulating festivals I have ever been too. Set in a 10 acre landscaped garden, bordering a river and lake, it is just 70 miles out of central London in Cambridgeshire, but feels in the middle of nowhere. It was inspired by the Burning Man festival in the US - where it is all about being involved in the festival - not only being performed to, but being part of the performance too! However it is essentially British full of eccentric characters willing to take part. Festivals generally have evolved over the years from being about the music to becoming a full on experience involving the arts ……. a fairground and playground for adults, a fantasy world where people can escape for a few days.




The beauty of Secret Garden Party is that it is all fancy dress and attracts a wide variety of people from all different walks of life. This year's theme was 'Fact or Fiction' with the festival exploring the theories, fantasies, mysteries, legends, visions and illusions that create a rich world somewhere between reality and fiction. As well as music there's loads of activities for kids and adults alike, making it more of a party experience for all ages, and with the idyllic English summer we have been having, 2010 set the stage for one of the garden’s best years yet!

‘It is conceived as a moment in the year where you can connect to your creative powers, explore your wildest fantasies and meet thousands of people who want to meet you.’

Compared to somewhere like Glastonbury, it is a small festival and it is easy to get around and experience everything on offer. It welcomes small, lesser known bands, as well as some of the more famous names such as the Gorillaz Sound System headline, featuring music of Gorillaz mixed and remixed with a visual display, plus Mercury Rev and many more. A good friend of mine Scarlett from Scarlett Black also played on the second night.


For me one of the highlights of the festival was taking a swim in the lake on Saturday morning with the rest of the revelry; girls were jumping in, some still in their fancy dress from the night before, some without clothes at all!


Another of my favorite moments was dancing on the Pagoda at sunset on the first night - the Pagoda was situated on the edge of the lake, while the dance floor was on the lake - with the effect of being on a boat.


The Madame Geisha tent was where I spent my last night dancing on the stage dressed as Dita Von Teese with my Honorary ‘husband’ Marilyn Manson. Madame Geisha specializes in disco and 90s classics, and was a perfect way to end the festival.


Being a fashion designer - festivals are one of my favorite places to go for inspiration - I love the way that everyone has their different take on putting together their own personal look. People come into their own at festivals and aren’t scared of expressing themselves. I tried to capture some of the best moments when I could, so here they are! Come next year and experience the magic.






Overall, this is true festival eye candy. I wish I could have seen more acts and maybe tried to decipher the line up more…..but again I like the wandering about and the whole discovery of it all.

http://uk.secretgardenparty.com/2010/

Interactive Eniko

Our New York Editor Valery Gherman has been busy on all sorts of projects lately, including Black 13 of course, but we were particularly interested in this one for the venerable Show Studio. Photographer/film maker Barnaby Roper teamed with stylist Keegan Singh, Valery and Black New York hair stylist Tuan Anh Tran to shoot mega model Eniko Mihalik in a studio. The difference is that the whole thing is interactive, you can set off a few different beats then every key on your keyboard cuts between a variety of short clips making Eniko quite simply dance around at your fingertips. It might take a wee while to load but it's a fun, fresh idea and you can record your own 'track' so to speak, however, this isn't easy and it takes a little practice to create something meaningful...

Skin Deep

Above: Shadow Dress Photo by Stephen Tilley

We are really liking the look of 'Skin' - the third season collection from young Auckland designers Hopetown. Ruth Ellison and Aria Campbell have celebrated all things epidermal with the range in a colour palette of natural tones; nudes, peaches, marles, pistachio and spearmint - and a range of shapes and cuts that create the illusion of a "protective shell." Materials in the range include aged leather, gauze, perforated cotton and lush silks which "mimick the various temperatures and and areas of skin." All-in-all it's a cohesive and accomplished range from the young duo who are clearly showing they have what it takes to step up to the big league. Congrats...

Black 13: Paul Empson & June Nakamoto shoot Dioni Tabbers

Black Magazine's Paris-based stalwarts Paul Empson and June Nakamoto have shot Dutch beauty Dioni Tabbers in a French field setting for Black 13 and as usual Paul has an epic eye for a powerful fashion shot whilst June delivers beautiful fashion. The Dutch beauty is a favourite of Ellen von Unworth who is making a habit of capturing Dioni's sexiness, as the two images above from Vogue Italia's July 2010 issue confirm.

Valentino, Couture Masterclass

Phenomenal. Inspiring. Magnificent. Gorgeous. Legendary. These five words go some way to describing the Valentino Restrospective; Past/Present/Future which opened at Brisbane's GoMA gallery last Friday night but only some way. Valentino Garavani requires little introduction to fashionistas as one of the world's great designers and the only designer to have been recognised by the French government as an official haute couture house outside of France. His life has been a sparkling cavalcade of fabulous women; Jackie O, Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor, Nicole Kidman and Cate Blanchett head up a raft of movie stars, princesses and socialites who quite literally loved Valentino - many became close personal friends. Walking into the exhibition the stature of the garments themselves is overwhelming. This is fashion as art, and art as fashion...Blacklog readers, New Zealand or Australian who have been considering a weekend away in the next few months, we encourage you to make the trip to Brisbane to see this. It will be well worth your while.

Each of the garments has been 100% hand-sewn by Valentino's army of artisans and to see the absolute mountain of work, time and craftmanship that has gone into each creation is breathtaking, like great art should be. Every piece also has a life, and provenance, of its own and whilst the fashion trends that emerged through the five decades of Valentino's work are there for all to see, every garment on show transcends time, genre and trend effortlessly.

Above and below: Jackie Kennedy-Onassis's wedding gown

If fashion can tell a story, then each of Valentino's creations are a book unto themselves and there is a library of stories on offer. Anyone who has seen Valentino; The Last Emperor will remember the scene when Andre Leon-Talley enters the atelier to be given two kaftans, his signature look, by Valentino. It is only upon seeing the exhibition that we realised why he was so excited and happy with the gifts. The kaftans have been made from the same material as two of Valentino's quintessentially '60's pieces, one of these pieces is below and the other stands to its side.

We have a new appreciation of detail in fashion. The gown above has been encrusted with a sea of beading that is almost impossible to comprehend unless you see it with your own eyes. The man hours involved in sewing each of these tiny beads and sequins is mind-boggling.

The gown (above) was worn by the model's model, Veruschka, who was one of Valentino's many muses in the late '60s. The work (below) of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierre Paolo Piccioli is one of five gowns from the pair who assumed the mantle of creative directors at the House of Valentino after his retirement in 2008, and was equally fabulous to the eye. The house is in safe hands...

The white (and black and white) ranges of the '60's showed that, whether working in vibrant colour like Valentino Red or monotone shades, the great designer was often at the forefront of the fashion of the time. The '68 white collection was legendary for the near complete use of white in perhaps the most psychedelic year of all time. Valentino created masterpieces, no matter the palette or contemporary trends.

As we have said above, it is the detail in each creation combined with the masterful understanding of form, silhouette and tailoring that fascinates and enthralls. The remaining pictures on this post speak for themselves. Magnificent...

Valentino Retrospective; Past/Present/Future

Gallery of Modern Art, South Bank, Brisbane, Australia

August 7 - November 14, 2010