Thursday, August 15, 2013

so modern art or future fossils?........

If you're an Instagram-er you will have no doubt stumbled across what has been so inspiringly named 'The Flatlay'. An assortment of food/clothes/shoes/jewellery/miscellaneous objects/expensive sunglasses arranged ever so delicately and precisely upon a, generally white, surface and photographed as if the camera operator were standing upon a chair. In fact I believe this is often the case in the flatlays involving sustenance of the food variety.

The emergence of the flatlay, and its ubiquitous nature on social media has led me to the question proposed in the title of this here jumble of words.

Is The Flatlay modern art or in fact an assortment of future fossils?

I'm no art critic, (I'm sure this is exceedingly clear), and to be honest most modern art confuses me as much as it intrigues me, but I do wonder: Is the flatlay art? After all, art is subjective and personal and inclusive and exclusive at the same time, all things I associate with fashion and now the flatlay too. The flatlay has a sense of the abstract, depending on what's included, and a sense of realism too, as obviously all items are in fact real. Yes my knowledge of what constitutes art outside of what appears on runways is dismal I know, but let's persevere if just for shits and giggles.

So is a random collection of items photographed and uploaded to social media really equivalent to say Monet's Water Lilies or Picasso's Guernica? Perhaps the answer is that we may not consider them art now, but like the comic book work of Roy Lichtenstein we will later on. I wonder, if the flatlay is in fact modern art, will it be as revered as the works of Renoir and Degas. Will copies of flatlays be found on the walls of the Tate and the MONA?

Will art lovers marvel at our fascination with seemingly meaningless objects? So many questions.



Or is the lure of the flatlay in fact more aligned with the archeology department, and should flatlays more accurately be described as future fossils?

Like scientists today have used fossils from a few thousand years ago to learn about a time in history far beyond our knowledge, will they too use these flatlays to discover more about society circa 2013?

Will future generations struggle to comprehend an abundance of green juices and kale chips, often pondering what that red triangular shaped fruit with the seeds on the outside could possibly be. I am of course assuming that Earth at some point in the future will be void of strawberries. Will they catalogue our fascination with leather and Karen Walker shades as obviously meaning an Earth that was both cold and really bright? 

So modern art or future fossils? Or both? Or just another iteration of a narcissistic society that created the selfie? Snuck that last one in right at the end.

Times like this I wish I had a crystal ball, or a DeLorean* or just some magical ability to live forever so I could see for myself.

For now, long live the flatlay. Cause what's life without selfies and flatlays celebrating ourselves and our ability to visually merchandise said selves. 

Thoughts??

xx

*you got the Back to The Future reference right, it's a classic of classics.

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

how i'd wear: the leather tee.......

Is there anything that encapsulates both a too cool for school nonchalance and a slightly scary sexiness like leather? Or more to the point, the leather tee? Perhaps the most modern of iterations, the leather tee takes what is a wardrobe staple and turns it into a wardrobe hero.

Hence today's rendering of How I'd Wear features this most wondrous example of the leather tee courtesy of a Mr Lim. This 3.1 Phillip Lim tee is quite close to being perfect, in my own humble opinion.

Take it's slightly slouchy fit, that's a nod to menswear in my book and anything that nods in the general direction of the boys department is a winner. It features slightly elongated sleeves which I appreciate because of the inherent versatility hence provided. It's a summer leather and a winter leather, see?

And it's got that quilted thing happening. Quilted leather. Surely any more words after those last two are simply unnecessary.

But the questions remains, how would I wear said tee. Well like this of course.



/ Dress: Dolce & Gabbana / Shoes: Nike / Sunglasses: Illesteva

Does it get more nineties then floral and layers? With Nike's? No, I didn't think so either. The juxtaposition of the floral and leather is a well worn one, but when it works it works. The Nike's, while keeping us grounded in 1998, also bring a little sports-luxe to the ensemble, and combined with the mirrored sunnglasses ensure we look inspired by the nineties and not transported directly from the nineties.


 / Ring: Lanvin / Shorts: Kenzo / Shoes: ASOS
/ Clutch: Mcq by Alexander McQueen / Sunglasses: Quay /

It's the cool look. As if I could resist, just like I can't resist those Lanvin rings and necklaces that are starting to drop. I mean surely if you're wearing it, it must be true. Aside from being cool, you could also make a case for referring to it as Gold......ilocks maybe? Goldie, goldfinger, goldmember - too far right. And sure while the gold makes a case for itself here, the main focus is those Kenzo shorts with the outside pockets. Am I right?

/ Shoes: Sophia Webster / Denim Jacket: R13 / Tote: Reason /
/ Jeans: Joe's Jeans / Sunglasses: ASOS /

Leather and denim. It's match made in heaven. And then you have double denim and leather, and there simply aren't enough words in the English language to describe the brilliance of that. Instead, let's talk about those shoes. Sophia Webster has the great knack of being able to create shoes that are at once ridiculous and covetable, my favourite kind. These ones might be from last season, but I'm still coveting.

Thoughts??

xx