reinterpreting darkness

i love the visual aspect of music makers. a lot.

i like most when i can immediately equate an aesthetic sensibility with their music.

on that note, the night before last, i watched these: 

"The Next Day", David Bowie

”ファッシオン　モンスター”、きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ

「"FASHION MONSTER", Kyary Pamyu Pamyu」

it should be noted, i guess, that it isn't my first time watching these music videos, but watching them both one after the other served as an inspirational forefront for this look.

i'm really fascinated with the use and interpretation of darker, sinister elements in any creative endeavour. Bowie and Kyary could not be more opposite as artists, but there is something to be said and applauded (i think) about their love for theatrics.

walking between the cute, the shocking, the macabre and the sardonic was what i was trying to get at with this look, i guess. maybe i'm just overanalyzing and just wanted to put a more girlish look together but using items that employ more "grown-up" darker elements to them?

(honestly though i think i'm still riding the cotton-candy flavoured high of Kyary's live concert i went to go see a while ago in Singapore, combined with listening to David Bowie's latest album on repeat right after. i just love them both so much!! in different ways but equally ardently...!)

ファッシオン　モンスター: Alexander McQueen scarf // McQ by Alexander McQueen tshirt // Uniqlo skirt // Givenchy backpack // HappySocks socks // きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ x adidas originals sneakers

this skull-print scarf is wholly overexposed as an item, i know. but it serves its purpose rather well, doesn't it?

these collaboration sneakers were sold out in Tokyo when i was there, but i happily came across them while i was in Singapore! they remind me of the gleefully gory Gloomy bear!!

kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it?

maybe my mind is in a dark place right now 

but simultaneously i can feel the constant urge to laugh to keep from crying; that sort of feeling. 

i don't know. maybe i just like an overstimulated brain.

(unnecessary sidenote: blogging is hard, major kudos to those who do it persistently and a hell of a lot more consistently than i do)

individuality is an illusion

PUNK IS DEAD

i'm in a bit of a rut, dear reader.

i've recently read several pieces in which Nicolas Ghesquiere reveals his reasons for leaving Balenciaga, Rei Kawakubo expressing (very frankly) the problems of corporate control in fashion and a statement from Riccardo Tisci saying something similar. as a still-aspiring creator, i have been feeling immensely discouraged and "angry at the system", so to speak. mediocrity is thriving and it just seems like with each passing day, passion and truth in any form (at least within the fashion scope) dies a slow, painful death. 

this leads me to some angry, extremely discontented thoughts on the latest Met exhibition - PUNK: Chaos to Couture.

ANARCHY IN THE UK: The Sex Pistols

i don't consider myself a punk by a long shot - i'm not nearly as brave or as angry or raw (although i rather wish i was). 

but the thing about something as incredibly pure as Punk is its raw honesty in expression. it was a brief, bright cultural flash of youth and rage and rebellion that has become to heart-wrenchingly romanticized in a nostalgic haze. having said that, that is exactly what makes it so inspirational to begin with. so while appropriation runs rampant in fashion especially and will not stop anytime soon, this exhibition is shaping up to be far too sterilized, monetized and a shamelessly decadent bastardization of the movement.

i feel like this exhibition has stolen and censored everything that was beautiful and honest about Punk.

what was even more disheartening was when there was confirmation of such things. the curator himself, a self-professed prep (and looks it, too), proudly states something akin to "we are interested in punk as an aesthetic, not an ethic." 

i wanted to hurl.  

Punk died a whole new death as those words were uttered. 

reading about these criticisms were about the same time election results in malaysia were announced and needless to say, what a black day indeed. i broke out a lot of the black that lived in my cupboard. 

in spite of all the doom and gloom of anything with a soul dying and the false idols who replace them leaving an awful taste in my mouth, i have to believe that there will be a moment of rebirth, or at least that there would be at least a few who would carry on being true. 

the perfect examples would be the people who supply most of the black and "punk" things in my cupboard.

long live the last of the true fashion punks!!

The Godmother of Punk: Dame Vivienne Westwood

The Original: Rei Kawakubo

"The spirit of punk lies in not ingratiating oneself to to preordained values nor accepting standard authority." ~川久保 玲

when i choose to wear their brainchildren, i like to think i can at least feel and hopefully exude a bit of the rebellious spirit they try to keep alive. 

i'm not a punk; i'm not brave or outrageous or full of anger at the world. but it makes me feel like i can be stronger if i feel like i can be. 

TOKYO RUNWAY☆

how do i begin to describe the pure, undiluted, girl-driven fashion fest that was 「TOKYO RUNWAY」。。。？

it was made by girls, for girls. completely and brilliantly unapologetically so. 

the event was held in yoyogi stadium on the 20th of march that ran for the whole day. it is open to the public, but tickets often sell out quickly online. i'm likely to keep reiterating this, but this was FASHION FOR THE PEOPLE in its purest, pastel-coloured, candy-flavoured self. mothers were there with their daughters, there were groups of friends, couples, business partners - all were present and accounted for.

attendees were greeted with goodie bags from the various sponsors of the event, and additionally lured in with celebrities, idols and music acts. 

idol worship: Yumemi Nemu 「夢眠ねむ」 &  Mogami Moga「最上もが」

models as celebrities: ViVi model Lena Fujii

the runway shows, which were speedy, hefty, heady in their execution, the models are celebrities in their own right within this realm; they wink and smile and wave, all while perfectly coiffed - not a single hair or lash out of place. 

the brands that showed wholly embodied aesthetic singularity as a brand strength. the cuter brands dripped with saccharine sweetness and the edgier ones with airy, trendy confidence. as the brands were the point of the entire display, the clothes were almost like costumes as the models cast for each brand showing took centre-stage. each niche was clear and the audience responded appropriately. guest models from China and Thailand were also on the roster. their look and feel were so similar to the local girls' that the shared aesthetic allowed for a seamless, cohesive show.

"Once you have reached your audience in Japan, you don't need anyone else."

"Don't feel sorry for their lack of international presence, the girls and designers can live off the love they get from those at home!"

it still rings true; the devotion and excitement in the air in the stadium was positively intoxicating.