Saturday, April 30, 2011

Monolythic I



1. John Chamberlain Trumpery Praxis, 1984
2. Helmut Lang Spring/Summer 2004 campaign

The result of a multiple hours image research. Loosing the source. Investing even more time. Retriving the origin, its name, its year. And recalling even more aesthetic material.
/HORST

Image credits YHBHS

Friday, April 29, 2011

Blow Job





1. Mikael Jansson Lara Stone for Interview Magazine May 2011
2. Jeff Koons Caterpillar & Acrobat, 2003

The quote of a quote. When woman ride inflatable dinosaurs. When lobsters do a handstand. When pop becomes post-pop. And everything is done in a consciously obvious manner.
/HORST

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Ode To Blue




i-D Magazine Beach Issue 2003

This spread is proof that a man only needs two things and one colour. Maison Martin Margiela, Helmut Lang and blue. Period. House down. Exclamation mark.
/HORST

Via S·S

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Girl Groups



Photos Halston & TLC

The saga of colour continues. Already indicating the dominance of pastels. Pale pink, aqua blue, soft orange. Personally, I'm tending towards aqua. And in my girl group are still two spots to fill. So who wants to audition for the pink and orange part?
/HORST

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Deconstructed Triptych







1. Kasimir Malevich Selected artworks
2. Jenny Postle Graduate Collection
3. Comme des Garçons Fall/Winter 2011

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Taking the principle of collage and multiplying it in itarative rows of three. Irregular rows of cloth and colour. Layered geometric shapes. Three lines of text.
/HORST

Monday, April 25, 2011

An Open Letter To Frida Giannini





Gucci Spring/Summer 2003 - Spring/Summer 2005

The essence of the house of Gucci becomes manifest in one recurrent garment. The silk kimono. With Tom Ford leaving Gucci in 2004, also the men's robe disappeared. Herewith I kindly request a revival.
/HORST

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Anacrusis



1. Dries van Noten Fall/Winter 2011
2. Tom Ford Unknown collection

Same same but different. As the men's robe seems to be a Tom Ford signature, I've decided to investigate further on this (mostly bare chested) subject. Results will supposedly be shared here.
/HORST

Friday, April 22, 2011

Irrational Poets



1. Damir Doma Fall/Winter 2011
2. Allen Ginsberg, still taken from the movie picture Howl

Formal and conservative on the top, derangedly casual at the bottom. Shirt, tie and cotton shorts. I've verified this composition as the perfect look for the next couple of pre-summer days. Underwear as outerwear.
/HORST

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Conversion Rate




Preen Spring/Summer 2004

Nudity. In a figurative sense. And maybe the best Preen collection ever. Admittedly quite Helmut-esque. As it becomes manifest in the use of bandages, straps and suspenders.
/HORST

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Alternate Demand



MTWTFSS Spring/Summer 2011

Desperately seeking Strawberry Blonde. The platinum days are over. Spring demands fruitiness. Including one's hair colour. If anyone knows how to achieve this hue of gold, professional advice is always welcome.
/HORST

Monday, April 18, 2011

His Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy



Kanye West x Céline Spring/Summer 2011

Cross-dressing just got a whole new dimension.
/HORST

The Horst Interview: Bless


Bless N°00 Fur Wig (1996)

Bless nourish their strength and relevance in the contemporary context on the intangible. As thoroughly inherent in every piece, concept or wearable art installation. An interview about apples, gimmicky-ism and the near future.



Bless N°10 Scarfs Unlimited (1999)

As a little warm-up: What is your most beloved collection piece so far?

Always the newest but of course also eternally the fur wig.

It’s stated that you are aiming for simplicity and comfort in your designs – which then appear to be complicated and über-conceptual. Could the subtle anti-usability be seen as a mind test for the wearer?

Our clothes might be unusual to look at and indeed difficult to hang but very simple to wear. It’s true, some of the clothes require a certain openness and willingness to think different but once getting used to them they are not complicated pieces at all. In the end, we are more interested in how things look after wearing and washing them for a while, or to reflect what kind of look would be perfect for a concept, either as camouflage or as second view eye-catcher.

As individuals you appear quite classic and decent, dressed in neutral, non-gimmicky garments. Is the vibrant and surreal appeal of your designs an ironic projection onto ‘others’?

We wear mainly our clothes. So we take it as a compliment that you speak of non-gimmicky garments which proves that once you wear it a bless product doesn’t seem complicated anymore.



Bless x Weekday Spring/Summer 2011

Your latest collection for Weekday was inspired by the perfect weekend trip. What does it fundamentally consist of?

Good weather, food and more than one person.

Maybe a picnic? Which makes me wonder: what fruit would describe you best?

An apple – sweet and sour. Sometimes with red cheeks, sometimes green.

If you had to compare the collection with a painting, which would it be?

Luckily your question is hypothetical and we don’t have to.

You like horses, don’t you?

Not as much as our sons.

Any aversions, any fetishes?

Pink clothes for girls, our 4-zipper purses.

How does your home look like?

A wooden floor, lots of light and a very comfortable big bed.




Bless N°29 (1999)

What would one see on your kitchen table if we went straight to your place right now?

We both don’t have a specific kitchen table but eat on big tables that are in our living rooms. Those tables are so spacious that they partly contain work units. So you might find a mini office on one side of the table, a bottle of water, eventually some fruits and food, depending on what time of the day you pass by. And a candle.

What would be lying on the bedroom floor?

Books, a water bottle, a lamp.

Who’d be hiding in the closet?

Everything you shouldn’t see as a non-family member.

A controversial question: do you like clowns? There are only two groups of people: people who love clowns. And people who hate clowns…

They are a more tragic than funny in general. We don’t hate them. We are just not attracted by them either.

What kind of figure would be closest to the Bless context?

Morihei Ueshiba.


Bless Spring/Summer 2010

What random fact would you like to share with me, right now?

Vacation are aproaching...

Your favourite joke?

The one with the cow called bless. But we forgot how it went.

Surrealism is…

What we would never dare to guess.

Pop is…

What we liked when we were 13.

Bless is…

A visual substitute to make the near future worth living for.



Bless N°26 Cable Jewelry (2005)

Final question: Is your cable jewelry still available?

Yes.

And are you, too?

Depends in what sense.

Vielen Dank.
/HORST