FASHION FROLIC

Photo: Fashion in Film

Photo: Apple

1. The new year has been a tumultuous rush of experiences thus far. This past week, I was given opportunity to contribute to one of the [many] design, fashion and lifestyle publications', both print and online, I always hoped to aspire to. And, in impending weeks, I hope to go beyond personal commentary and delve deeper within the throes of creative nonfiction and immersion journalism through more freelancing. This past fall, I began writing more in-depth profiles, pondering everything I had eschewed in previous months. There are various, dissimilar voids in my writing I would like to fulfill in the future. At the moment, I'd like to get back to writing, in general. I haven't had the time or energy to sit down and write something, anything, worthwhile. 

2. I haven't picked up a camera in an embarrassingly long time. Recently, I purchased a Canon EOS Rebel XSi with the hopes of setting time aside to get back in the swing of digital photography. I'll never forget the first day of Digital I four years ago, being sent on a "natural" shoot and falling in love with the camera. My professor took one look at my unedited slides and told me I had a gift - of which I should pursue, full force. But I didn't. And though I have zero regrets as to the course I did choose, I often wonder where that path would have taken me. The fashion photographers' whose shoots I have been fortunate enough to witness this past year possessed such intense energy; a vigor beyond simply shooting gorgeous photographs.

Where does that come from? The camera was a course that became a hobby and then died. Whether I was talented or not is yet to be seen. I produced a portfolio of black and white images I often flick through out of nostalgia, but I have much to learn. 

Although my personal music collection is seventy-five percent trippy neo-psychedelia, the remaining quarter is comprised of classic rock and a few of the latter's current prototypes. In a demographic of young people whose parents are diehard Dylan and Morrison fans, this is hardly surprising. Yes, they loved 'em, but I've developed a kinship with the classics (and, subsequently, recent rockers who can hold their own to the originals) all my own.

While visiting a friend in Brooklyn last week, I paid visit to the neighborhood's namesake museum for Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present. Not expecting much beyond the usual, beautiful, well-publicized images of history's most famous rock artists, I found myself flooded with the opposite. It was just what I wanted to see - or rather, feel. Rock photography shouldn't be gorgeous, perfect and everything that pretension wants it to be. It should, however, evoke everything the exhibit's photographs did - fury, passion, anger and sex.

The images were intimate and the artists portrayed ran the gamut - from Ian Tilton's heart-stopping shot of Kurt Cobain crying backstage to Max Vadukul's infamous (but, nonetheless, sexy, raw and everything she encompasses) Rolling Stone photograph of Amy Winehouse in bed on her wedding day. Private moments like these offer a poignant peek into their lives - and, ultimately, rip the shiny façade off archetypical rock photography of which we are accustomed.

Photo: Brooklyn Museum

Exhibit: Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present

Dates: Through January 31, 2010

Venue: Brooklyn Museum

Address: 200 Eastern Parkway at Washington Avenue

Brooklyn, NY 11238

Telephone: +1 718 638 5000

Hours: Closed Monday - Tuesday; Wednesday - Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; Saturday - Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Photo: Benetton

This past week, I received news that a piece I had randomly submitted, months before, to COLORS, will be published, in print, in a forthcoming issue (2011). It isn't a fashion-related piece; in fact, it's personal and extremely raw. And even if you're all about fashion, I think you will appreciate it. Just months before, I had been digging through archives of COLORS for a paper for my capstone j-course. If you're unfamiliar, it is a multilingual quarterly culture publication developed in Italy by Benetton. It's satirical, witty and everything I adore. 

I received five messages within the past month asking me about the direction of my blog. One person spoke of how I seem to focus "solely on film" and haven't been posting anything directly fashion-related. The others were similar. I'm flattered that each of you messaged me (I have readers?!) but the truth is that while I titled this blog FASHION FROLIC, and my original posts were pure fashion, my interests and experiences have changed since February of 2009. I still love fashion, and everything it entails. But my thoughts are focused more on style, trends, art and culture as a whole. I'm not sure if I'll change the title or create an entirely new blog, but it is changing.

Photo: fashiontoast

I was unhappy with my genetic makeup when I was a child, and would often wish I looked like my much less international classmates. But finally - through various experiences, travels and, yes, publications - I discovered that beauty truly is multifaceted. With the influx of Eurasian models like Devon Aoki, Alexa Chung, Jessica Michibata and Rumi Neely gracing covers and editorial spreads on a monthly basis, perhaps other young girls will take comfort in their own skin, too. Cliché it may sound, but life is too short not to love who you are.