Obviously III

1. Jeff Koons Large Vase of Flowers, 1991
2. Finale at Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2012 show
3. Raf Simons' heartbreaking good-bye, Jil Sander Fall/Winter 2012
4. Jeff Koons Sacred Heart, 1994

Flowers and hearts, from Jeff to Raf. Now that the Dior rumours are finally confirmed, we can move on. And discover further, visual tributes. A sign of new, strictly self-referential commercial heights?
/HORST

Any Body

Jeff Koons Jeff and Ilona (Made in Heaven), 1990

Taking the ready-made, adding the Pop concept of mass production and creating the pornification of kitsch. At the same time, exposing himself in the most extreme depiction of a self-portrait. What could easily be judged as simplistic, remains a complex intellectual and artistic achievement.
/HORST

Image source The Jeff Koons Show

A Short History Of Manga In Popular Culture

1. Dripping Lazers Graduate Collection
2. La Blue Girl
3. Self Service Magazine

I strongly believe in the comeback of Manga and will further explore its use in contemporary art and fashion. Most probably, 'sexualization' will become a core motif. In the first instance, I'd like to draw your attention to the reanimation of Anime by Dripping Lazers.
/HORST

Wanderlust

1. Gerhard Richter 'Mountains' 1968
2. Lanvin Fall/Winter 2010
3. Christopher Shannon Spring/Summer 2011
4. Gaetano Pesce 'Montanara' couch

I got lost in the monotone mountain world of Gerhard Richter. A wanderer in the mood for water-repellent Gore-Tex and neoprene. But it was just a quantum mirage. In reality, I got lost in crinkled white sheets.
/HORST

Post Paris XIV

A false encyclopaedic guide to the menswear collections, presenting:
Raf Simons Fall/Winter 2012

1. Philippe Starck Gnome Table
2. Undefined furry object
3. Steven Meisel Vogue Italia, 1992

A collection of gnomes. An army almost. And they exclusively wear shorts in winter. Ironically, it is not a joke. So we are left with one choice: Commit to the ludicrous in all seriousness. Or have a laugh.
/HORST

Insanity Line

Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2012

Join the Balenciaga love cruise. A 48h round trip, drinks included. Throw yourself into layers of leather and polyethene. Enjoy our drag show on deck 7. Or treat yourself with an excessive shopping spree at one of our manifold discount boutiques.
/HORST

Image credits Style.com

Happiness Factory

Meadham Kirchhoff Spring/Summer 2012 & Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2010

Everyone smiled. Even Anna Wintour. So there is a rumour: Edward Meadham and Benjamin Kirchhoff will take on Dior. Balloons, candy, roses. Frills, lace, organza. Powder, glitter, rainbows. Thoughts?
/HORST

Laminated Veneer Fight

Proenza Schouler Spring/Summer 2012 vs. 1935 Retro Kitchen

Like most of the times, Proenza Schouler looks like the pictogram of everyday reality. Brutal in its choice of pattern, postmodern in its distant reference to the aesthetic codes of mainstream. Put shortly: American Kitchen Camp.
/HORST

Evolution

1. Christopher Kane Spring/Summer 2012

2. Lebbeus Woods Radical Reconstruction, 1997

3. Roderick Hietbrink The Others, 2011



Interstellar clouds have been replaced by dystopian tube structures. The living organism covered in metallic stretch velvet. In an absurd surrounding, the ironic remains. Survival of the fittest.

/HORST

Welcome To The Camp

1. Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2011 & Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2002

2. Yohji Yamamoto Spring/Summer 2008

3. Issey Miyake Fall/Winter 2001

4. Junya Watanabe Fall/Winter 2003



Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. When the usage appeared in 1909 it denoted: ostentatious, exaggerated, affected and theatrical. By the middle of the 1970s the definition comprised: banality, artifice, mediocrity and ostentation so extreme as to have perversely sophisticated appeal. I am pseudo-intellectual camp.

/HORST



Source Wikipedia

Tropical Heat

1. Martin Honert Fata Morgana & Kenzo Spring/Summer 2012
2. Henri Rousseau Éclaireurs attaqués par un tigre & Givenchy Spring/Summer 2012
3. Andreas Gursky Beach & Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2012
4. Jeremy Parnell Big Chook & Prada Spring/Summer 2012

It's about beaches and jungles, flowers and sand castles. Childhood memories, vacation traumata and global warming are melting and diffusing into each other. Just like a bar of rainbow coloured ice cream. In 2012, men wear Hawaii shirts, bermuda shorts and (hopefully) banana skirts.
/HORST