Emily

Photos: me
Model: Emily at Nevs
Styling: Natalie-Anne Hasseck
Skirt and jewellery: Toujours Toi/Family Affairs

Yvan Rodic

Most people reading this blog post will at some point have looked at the websites of either The Sartorialist, Garance Dore, Jak & Jil, Vanessa Jackman, Hanneli, Nast, All the Pretty Birds, Stockholm Street Style or, one of my personal favourite, the magical and continuously flourishing Turned Out. Since the emergence of street style photography the fashion industry has been forced to rethink the way it operates, opening its exclusive doors to more people and bringing fashion to a new audience. It’s an interesting time but I keep wondering how long fashion and “outsiders” can work successfully in tandem. Mixing sensitivities is not so simple and I’m not sure it appeals to a lot of the big brands (although the lure of some of these blogs' impressive readership numbers and loyal followers is of course incredibly attractive). Right now it’s a win-win situation. Street style photographers are able to step into an invigorating, absorbing creative world and in return brands will profit from the increased exposure. But what about quality control? Everyone seems to either be a street style photographer or a fashion blogger these days. Will standards plunge? Or is it not that straightforward… Street style photographers are a bit like space invaders, springing up constantly (some of them with their impossibly robust egos) outside already overcrowded show venues. But one person who deserves a standing ovation for not having succumbed to marketing ploys and who is still delivering a thrilling insight into the fashion business after all these years is Yvan Rodic. The missing link in my introduction list above. He is the only street style photographer to bring us exciting images that sparkle both in terms of execution and interest. His blog (not to be confused with his other Internet adventure called The Face Hunter) presents a cavalcade of beautiful and vivid creatures who actually exist in real life and don’t always work in the fashion world. They’re not all stylists, models or fashion insiders. What makes Yvan Rodic stand out in a sea of copycats is the contrasts and contradictions between the inspiring girls and the world they actually live in. He doesn’t just show us pretty little things. He highlights the buildings, streets, food, interiors, vegetation, objects, everything that can potentially provide a glimpse into the cities and countries he visits, opening up altogether further territories. Look at his photos and feelings of fun, immediacy, enjoyment and passion are palpable and unmistakable. He is a singular talent who moves in a parallel universe, avoiding the limelight others court. His blog is like a heady teenage intoxication, a mixture between alluring authentic fashion moments and wonderfully atmospheric and unusual viewpoints of the places he visits across the world.

All pictures courtesy of Yvan Rodic

Family Affairs

I can’t explain what it feels like to wander around the enormous old house on Crooms Hill and see the thousands of objects, stuffed animals, antiques, flowers, paintings and drawings on display. 1940s colours, 1970s wallpapers, bright quilts, embroideries, China and antique textiles scattered on every available surface. A sombre and mysterious setting and a fascinating insight into eccentric England.
A treasure trove in which we were quite adept at making our own entertainment, taking pictures and dancing around in Toujours Toi clothes.

Photography: me
Clothes: Family Affairs
Models: Claire, Laetitia, Nina

Jacques Magazine

Jonathan Leder, in addition to being a fantastic photographer, is the mastermind behind a beautifully produced magazine focusing on eroticism. “Jacques” marks the emergence of a new generation of publications borrowing from more old-school and authentic imagery and concepts. With a little bit of scholarly care you can trace influences that will take you beyond such obvious candidates as Playboy and Hustler and into such esoteric company as seventies or eighties issues of Zoom, LUI, sixties glamour models, David Hamilton, Carlo Mollino polaroids, pinups and vintage cars. The main achievement of Jacques magazine is that it has no connections to enduring current titles in our culture but still manages to be intriguing, impressive and successful. It also helps that everything seems to be shot on film and that all the imagery reflects a quaint fondness for the poetic and soft focus. The quarterly publication is clearly in revolt against the lack of refined adult magazines and their homogeneity. Forget the glossy idealized fantasy, the awful dreary uniformity, hyper-real plastic physicality, a world of artifice and welcome the vision of beautiful un-retouched natural women, sufficiently humane and familiar, a flashback to a golden past. Jacques is like a jolly production, a curiosity you collect and cherish. It’s a wonderfully concocted and small exploration of the sixties and seventies culture of eroticism without the clichés.

This post is for you, Tommy!

All pictures courtesy of Jacques Magazine