Forbidden Love IX

1. Undercover editiorial
2. Walter Van Beirendonck by Ronald Stoops
3. Devok Aoki, i-D April 2002

Tribal becomes the most extreme when applied to one's face. In that context, we may refer to Cher's character in Burlesque: 'When you are painting on makeup, you are like an artist, but instead of painting a canvas, you're painting a face.'
/HORST

View all parts of Forbidden Love

Forbidden Love VII

Komakino Spring/Summer 2012

To be arrogantly honest: Horst foresaw it, Horst wanted it, Horst did it. And it has happend. It has become what it deserved to become. It will soon be appearing on bicepses and tricepses.
/HORST

See part I-VI.

Intrigue, das Ränkespiel

Jean-Paul Gaultier Spring/Summer 1994 & Paolo Roversi

The beautiful thing about fashion is that you will never be satisfied. Each obsession will find its continuation in another obsession. Fashion is the eternal search for perfection in that exact moment. And therefore it is fundamentally needed.
/HORST

Forbidden Love VI

T-shirt Helmut Lang



Decisions have to be made. And words are taken seriously. A six-lettered term to define cultures, subvert cultures, undergo cultures. Tribal.

/HORST

Forbidden Love V

Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2004

I've finally understood the origin of my appreciation for tribal. It's the resemblance to arabic typefaces and calligraphy. And there truly are ways of adapting this aesthetic principle to fashion. Issey already knew this in 2004.
/HORST

See the whole series Forbidden Love

Body Modification

1. Hedi Slimane Diary
2. Unknown
3. Death Becomes Her

By the way: What happened to implants? A topic that dominated my late teenage talkshow afternoons. The mainstream has mutated its principle into contraception. But what is its current status in subculture?
/HORST

Comme Comment

Comme des Garçons Spring/Summer 2008

Some might have noticed that Horst is currently having a little Comme moment. Comme ci, comme ça. Come on. Comment ça va? In fact, Rei Kawakubo is the dadaist of contemporary fashion.
/HORST

Forbidden Love IV

Photos David Armstrong for 032c

An obsession becomes manifest when returning to one's mind with consistency and ruthlessness. An obsession might also become hurtful to an extent of unsatisfied desire. So one question remains: Yes or no?
/HORST

Hunk Arena

Top Givenchy Spring/Summer 2009
Bottom Unknown

Givenchy, hit me baby one more time. Recalling the wrestling suit. A true slap in the face. The furious but tender kind that feels best. Leaving behind red cheeks and dirty thoughts.
/HORST

Stud Safari

Givenchy Spring/Summer 2009

Still in love with this collection. Especially today when temperatures hit high. Evoking the image of sweltry hot desert nights. Muscular nomads sleeping in white tents. Wearing nothing but the tattoos on their skin and lace shorts.
/HORST

Image credits Catwalking

Ink Survey

Photos Unknown, Hedi Slimane, Ignazio Lozano

As long as I don't hear any protest, the promotion of war painted bodies will proceed. I am curious: Who really is tattooed? Whose skin is showing indigenous artworks? Whose back is decorated by a slag tag?
/HORST

Le 23 Dimanche

Collections Wooyoungmi, Ryunshu, Qasimi

Paris is going all leather, And tribal. De mon plaisir! Do I have to feel wrong and guilty if I like that? Will I go to goa techno parties all summer? Probably not. But I will dream of it. Peut-être.
/HORST

Medusa: Main Corpus

Top Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2010

Medusa's snakes have chosen me. An eternal spell engraved onto my skin. Tattooed by a thin frayed layer of organza. The prophecy of our precedent prequel has fulfilled itself. And I devote myself.
/HORST

Derezzed II

Photo Unknown

And this is how you combine tribal with Chanel.
/HORST

P.S.: I hope everyone recovered from last night's confession.

Suggestion #6

Tribal tattoos

Yes, it's quite obvious but I wish for more tribal tattoos in our society. Especially amongst the intellectual elite. I do admit to enjoy looking at a phenomenon called 'slag tag'. So please, do me the favour.
/HORST

Forbidden Love III

Isn't it nice to have obsessions? Some unfulfilled fantasies. Things that shouldn't be but manifest themselves irreparably. Just like a tribal tattoo on tanned skin.
/HORST

Gravure

1. Marios Schwab Spring/Summer 2011
2. Antonio Miro Fall/Winter 2005
3. Jean Paul Gaultier Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2002

I've always fancied a sheer, tattoo-printed shirt. Most notably due to my restless obsession for tribal. In that sense, I appreciate Marios Schwab's latest homage to biker chic. Don't stop believin'.
/HORST