On 19 February 2015,  industry stakeholders and fashionistas were invited to the latest Gucci runway, as usual. They were all sitting around a squared catwalk, waiting for the beginning of the gossiped show, but no one of them knew what to expect.

At the time, Gucci had been caught in a storm, when the creative director Frida Giannini and the CEO Patrizio Di Marco – a former couple- were fired on the spot. Not surprisingly, one should comment: Gucci’s finances lay in a pool of tears, while the house’s very design had been outdated and flat for a long time now. Despite the fact that she was meant to stage her last catwalk before leaving, Giannini walked out of her office just 10 days before the fashion show. No doubt, what happened later became a twist that rewrote the brand’s fate. But above all, it was the snapshot of a  revolution that claimed a new chapter in the fashion industry.

Gucci Before Christ: The Jurassic Era

If you’re wondering.. yep, I’ve referred to him as ‘Christ’. And not -just – for his looks.

The truth is that Alessandro Michele has mirrored a shift that was taking place in the whole fashion culture. A twist in target, in the message, in the representation and in the narrative. Not for nothing, 2015 saw several giant designers depart their positions of power as well as the entrance of streetwear into high fashion. The world was getting ready for the upcoming GenZ.

Can you even remember a Gucci collection before Alessandro Michele?

Surely, Tom Ford’s oversexed campaigns still stick in the memory of every naughty Millennia. But then?

The orgiastic 90s: the Tom Ford signature

90s at Gucci were synonymous with sexiness, under the reign of the iconic Tom Ford. When the creative director joined the team, the house had already one foot in the grave: A new interpretation of the brand heritage was needed. It came in the form of a jet-set style. Provocative, minimalist, and focused on pure silhouettes, Ford’s collections were aspirational, hard to afford, and dedicated to wealthy and 30+ customers. After all, It was the time of perfect supermodels’ bodies and classist fashion, and his style perfectly fitted with the zeitgeist of the times. The characteristic aesthetic was echoed in each Adv campaign, where almost-nude bodies were shot in orgiastic scandals. Is there anyone in the fashion world that has forgotten the infamous campaign, featuring the G logo on female pubic hair?

Going the Way of Dinosaurs: Giannini’s Ice Age

Frida Giannini slowly stepped away from Ford’s signature sexiness, while keeping an ultrasophisticated buzz around her design. The results? It’s hard to find someone that can remember her creations in Gucci, which dropped down into anonymity. Her fashion was way too self-referential, always reshuffling old collections in the archive, while keeping conservative imprinting that clearly split the notion of beauty and ugly. Nothing compared to the contemporary aesthetics of the anti-aesthetics – and excuse the pun!

Giannini’s design, in an attempt to bring to light the house’s heritage, became outdated. She wasn’t able to meet the needs and imaginary of changing fashion culture.

The ship was sinking.

Melting of Glaciers: New Forms of Fashion

All the guests that joined the FW2015 menswear – just a bunch of days after the Giannini departure- were aware of the chaos that was left behind. Who would be the next creative director? Till then, not a name, nor even a murmur.

And then… A pale, ephebic model with blond, long hair stepped into the catwalk, wearing an elegant red shirt edged with a feminine pussy bow. Yes, a pussy bow in a menswear Gucci collection. Each outfit was a celebration of androgyny. The line between genders was inexorably blurred, intertwining a nostalgic feeling and a hefty dose of newness- simultaneously!

“Am I in the right show? No fooling, is it Gucci?”

When was asked to curate the runway, just five days before the deadline, Michele took his risks, literally making a tabula rasa. The work done untill then under the direction of Giannini was thrown in the trash, and every single detail, from the very design to the model casting and even the seat arrangement, was reformed. Creating a fashion show from sketches in 5 days was a miracle. Or a race against time.

The result? A stunning fashion moment!

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way” the authority of Tim Blanks commented. At the end of the show, an unknown Alessandro Michele with his close team of designers appeared on the stage, thanking the audience. And while the world was starting to wonder who was that mysterious character, his revolution had already begun.

GucciLand: the Reign of Alessandro Michele

The fact that the new creative director has brought completely a different buzz to the Gucci house is now carved in stone.

The sexy silhouettes and the impossible-to-achieve Parisian, jet-set lifestyle gave way to a nostalgic, exoteric, and – above all – genderless aesthetics, which immediately became Michele’s signature.

In a world of exclusivity, we wanted to focus more on inclusivity. Inclusion in fashion is about how we embrace opportunity for co-creation, to recognize the power of capital, and to bring together a cross-generational and a multicultural audience
Robert Triefus, Executive Vice President of Brand and Customer Engagement, 2019.

The whole narrative has been subverted. The designer skilfully read the claims of an emerging generation that was slowly but surely taking over culture via socials, and gaining purchase power.

Rethinking the Creative Process

With a unique understanding of Gucci’s heritage and codes, Alessandro Michele brought an impressive growth of its name and finances within a few years.

Michele masters massive, creative compilations, that bring together a vintage feeling with a pondered hybridization of styles and cultures. And such an approach allowed him to adapt the brand to unexpected collaborations, from North Face’s experimental partnership to the Hacker project with Demna’s Balenciaga, or to the Adidas-Gucci marriage.

Quality over quantity. It seems the new mantra when it comes to the creative process. Michele can be defined as one of the first pioneers that have criticized and subverted the industry’s seasonal rhythms, reducing the number of collections from 4 to 2, and experimenting with new formats to communicate them. But the seismic shift toward contemporary culture is witnessed by the blending of styles, arts, academic issues, and social discourses.

Styling Evolution: the Gucci Casual Chic Era

Long story short. While working under Frida, Michele was appointed as creative director of the heritage porcelain house Richard Ginori. The vintage and delicate aura, proper to the historical brand, has been reflected in his style. Indeed, porcelain colored is the skin of his models on the catwalk.

Ford’s sexiness and Giannini’s sophistication were left behind in an outdated era. Gucci was opening up to new creative horizons and younger, genderless clients. Is there a better example than the success of the Princetown Fur Loafers to explain the switch toward the casual chic era?

Gucci became intellectual, rather than carnal. Romantic, rather than sexy. Maximalist, rather than minimalist. Deeply rooted into the culture, rather than into the mere appearance. Inclusive, rather than exclusive.

Hybrid Narratives: the Serial Fashion Film

No need to be an expert to get the creative director’s love for cinema.

Recently, we fed our eyes – and souls – with his tribute to the legendary Stanley Kubrick, in both the Epilogue fashion film, featuring his collab with Adidas, and in the following Twinsburg collection.

But it was back in 2020, at the dawn of a pandemic that forced the industry to go digital, that the genius of Alessandro Michele eradicated any traditional blending between the two arts.

The GucciFest has been an innovative fashion film festival through which the Maison has launched its new collection, by pushing the fashion storytelling toward a new format, the fashion series.

Overture of Something That Never Ended has been a mini-series masterpiece featuring the performer Silvia Calderoni at her best, with the participation of muses like Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, or Florence Welch. Directed by the rebel, award-winning Gus Van Sant, the 7 highly aesthetical episodes inquires with a new eye at restlessness and social anxieties, within the inevitable Gucci nostalgic frame.

Which new horizons do arise when fashion leaves its comfort zone? What life do clothes get when they stop walking down the catwalk? These are the questions that come to my mind in a present that is uncertain, but pregnant with premonitions
Alessandro Michele

Gucci Philosophy: The Zeitgeist of Times

For many fashionistas, clothes are just a matter of style and taste, and the best critique they can do is an “I like it” or “ I don’t”. Realizing that many of those people operate within the industry was to me as painful as a knife in the back. I’m talking about that kind of superficial fashion enthusiast that can get just the kind of Ye West design. Functional and pleasant to the eyes, but representing just one specific identity, merely contradictory for the contradiction’s sake – I won’t repeat here the bullshit that was printed in his Yeezy season 9 t-shirt, but the idea is quite clear.

Well, for those people, Gucci’s philosophy is a mystery.

Behind its visual blending, Alessandro Michele’s design is deeply rooted in phiplosophy and sensitive to contemporary social and artistic disocurses.

Stunning is that feeling raisin when, looking at the new Gucci collection, your brain struggles to find the real meaning beyond the mere garments.

In this sense, a must-quote is the Gucci A/W 2018. The Milan Fashion Week saw a procession of eerie transhumans, some with a third eye, carrying baby dragons or replicas of their own heads under arms. Alongside, plenty of references to disparate cultures were melted into the collection, mirroring the ways in which we construct our identities.

It’s a positive concept, recalling the Haraway Cyborg Manifesto: Michele staged the infinite possibilities to liberate identity from natural and social confines. And the keyword was “hybridization”.

We exist to reproduce ourselves, but we have moved on. We are in a post-human era, for sure; it is under way. […] There’s no more just being girls or boys today. Now, we have to decide what we want to be.

The aim was to stage an army of a-gendered, no-human beings. Melting together multicultural, divergent influences. It is an immediate metaphor for an emerging way to address contemporary identities, undergoing self-regeneration. His post-human models – at time trans-human- are chimeric, fluid identities, that mirrors the contemporary human cognition and physicality, in the informational and biotechnological incorporation era.

Gucci’s pluriverse engages with subjectivities through new ethics and politics, that disregard the traditional categories of identity, crowning fashion as powerful political language.

What can we say… It’s the end of an era. Michele, you will be missed.

Back in July, the Burberry catwalk was officially announced after a series of showings off-calendar. After making a couple of rounds in Milan and Paris, JW Anderson has finally returned to the British Fashion Council schedule, while Raf Simons fashion house was excited to showcase its first overseas runway.

And then the pillar of english politics, history, and culture died, leaving the world in respectful silence. Rest In Peace Queen Elizabeth II, with all the honors. But after 10 days of national mourning overlapping with the whole fashion week period, what happened to all the promises of renewed energy in the english fashion industry?

When the news of the Queen’s passing hit the shelves, many shows were rescheduled or canceled. The first to fall being those big names that were the pride of this edition: Burberry, Raf Simons, Ahluwalia, Nok Nok, or Max Hosa – just to quote some.

The British Fashion Council’s directions didn’t take long to come, ensuring both brands and media would stage shows with consciousness and a certain respect for the national mood.

London Fashion Week… Just a Business Affair?

“We recognise that there is an extraordinary hard work that goes into preparing for London Fashion Week with many new developing businesses that need access to international trade”

Stating the Fashion week’s business-to-business nature and the necessity to stick to commercial objectives, the BFC suggested delaying whatever was consumer-oriented content or initiatives. Parties, new openings, performances, street style and backstage culture… adios!

(… In theory! ).

The fact is that PR agencies and professionals have shed double tears: one for the queen, the other one for the British Fashion Council’s statement. If fashion weeks were just a B2B matter, the impact of a monarch passing should have been close to Zero. But that’s not really the case, and firms had to take the delicate decision of whether to cancel the show, reschedule it or go ahead with maximum discretion. Let’s not forget that the British Fashion Council has also asked brands to hold off the runaways image releases, as a sign of respect.

But, we can’t ignore the fact that fashion weeks haven’t been a business matter since social media’s takeover. More or less 10 years ago – you can do the math yourself.

Gone are the times when fashion shows were meant to just raise orders from international buyers! The success of fashion weeks and runways is also measured in terms of engagement, reach and press coverage. Otherwise, what are the PR agencies working for? Why the hell should a brand invite influencers? Why repost the coolest people on the street?

Even recently, the pandemic has revealed the irreplaceability of catwalks as the main marketing events, where beyond the 12-minute runway – Yes Man, that’s the average time of a fashion show!-  the post-show networking is often the main point.

Long Live… the London Fashion Week

In the end, it was a great edition despite the hard premises. The contribution – and the collection! – of Johnatan Anderson, founder of JW Anderson has been completely and utterly unforgettable. It seems that in the midst of the emergency, the British Fashion Council had a call with fellow designers to decide the fate of LFW. According to Sara Mower, Anderson has taken a resolute lead in carrying on with the shows, caring about those emerging brands that couldn’t afford to cancel.

Many showcasing brands have fiercely held the fort and perfectly represented that distinctive open-mindedness and vibrant experimentations characteristic of the London fashion scene. Baguette bags, cut-out dresses, tight and shining fabrics, wide length and low waist trousers, platform shoes… this edition was an ode to the Y2K, with a remarkable GenZ twist!

For those Millennials that remember the 2k-o’clock-end-of-the-world fear, the infamous Aguilera trousers, or the daily denim abuse… This LFW was all about your (and our) nostalgia!

We couldn’t miss the TNC’s fave, of course. But this time, taking into account those hard conditions, we want to prize the brands that massively punched above their weight and the adverse circumstances!

Just keep your panties on, and enjoy the journey!

JW ANDERSON: belting on Y2K

Vegas vibes on Saturday night! JW Anderson’s catwalk was staged in the heart of Soho, just a step forward from the iconic flagship store. After Chanel, which with its Cruise collection brought the audience to the heart of Montecarlo, it was the Northern Irish designer’s turn to drive the audience toward the gambling world… May there be a new trend in the air?

What has been made clear is that Anderson is pushing on the Kidult trend, already encoded in his pigeon bag on the last collection. Still, this time he brought it to a heavenly level, matching it with a critical point of view on the present, human consciussness. His collection embraces the internet 2.0 and demode computer features (hey, remember the y2k?!) to reflect on the complexity of contemporary reality.

“I like this idea of a transient moment in time. I’ve been exploring this for several collections. Are we falling into our screens, becoming our phones? I think it’s really like an alternate universe, and there are layers and layers and layers to it. I think it’s probably about realism. I don’t think it’s about futurism. It’s more about a reflection of ourselves somehow’

reports Mower.

Layers upon layers… Of chaotic events, of newness, of trends. Bizarreness has become part of Anderson’s signature. Drawing “from stock digital pictures you find on the internet and can buy for a dollar”, his collection has featured a metallic- egg dress, alongside a halterneck top made of anachronistic keyboard letters, goldfish-in-plastic-bags dresses, planet’s map, or sunsets prints.

KNWLS: the playful-punk nostalgia

South London-based label KNWLS closed Day 1 with a SS23 line that smelled like the good ol’ underground spirits. The duo Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault have translated ultra-low-rise jeans, lacework cutouts, bleached patterns, and acid-washed denim into stern elegance. Continuing their collaboration with the accessory designer Marco Panconesi, KNWL has staged an ode to the artful Punk, proper of the early 2000s’ London pop-grunge scene.

No doubt about the next beauty trend the brand has kicked off: The breathtaking models’ hair was densely drenched in glitter: shades from electric blue and brassy copper ended into iconic tight braids, thanks to the mastery of Eugene Souleiman.

Love Letters From SS Daley

The SS23 of the LVMH Prize 2022 Winner Steven Stokey Daley has given voice to queer women in a patriarchal contemporaneity. And he did it by putting his specialty in place. After all, Daley’s signature is constantly flirting with a class Ideology that criticizes British elitism via the theatrical, bespoken garments.

The “Vita” collection is based on an exchange of 19th-century love letters, between the author Vita Sackville-West and socialite Violet Trefusis. A dramatic bell kicked off the show, and the models started to recite the secret love notes, each of them grasping a candle.

Muted blazers, wide-cut shirts, sweater vests, and – the ubiquity of Kidult trend- bunny ears and bags… Daley opened the doors to the author’s garden. And the audience? Just in silence, breathing the romance and despair in each seam.

Despite all the premises, London Fashion Week has staged an incredible cauldron of creativity. And now that it has come to an end, its role in setting the next season’s must-have trends is undeniable. Get ready to get Punk’d, and open up your wardrobe to the biker style while playing with wired Y2K-inspired looks. Don’t forget to show off your belly, and flash meat through cutouts dresses and flirtatious formalwear, claiming the freedom of your body. And above all, embrace fluidity, and rewrite those norms that seek to bound your gender identity.

It’s not a new trope in the industry: it is enough to say Moschino and it’s done! Also, the jewelry market has made childhood tropes a proper style, injecting a playful feeling into everyday life. The iconic Éliou design is quite an obvious example, due to its joyful signature. Approved by authorities like Harry Style, Bad Bunny, and Angus Cloud, Éliou is making a statement: the plasticky-like necklaces are spearheading the kidult jewelry trend, combining lightness and carefreeness in its handpainted ceramics details.

But why has this trend invaded the whole market? Why have fashion houses chosen this historic moment to highlight the kidult topic?

Here, once again, your TNC Trend Hunter got you covered. Relax, smile, and enjoy the behind-the-scene of cultural forces that have led the childhood trend in the latest catwalks.

The Kidult Trend: This Is (Not Just) a Bag!

How to explain this specific trend? I guess a riddle would fit perfectly the speech!

Magritte set the fashion something like 100 years ago. Let’s make a step back into his This is (not) a pipe – Man, I assume you all well know it! Otherwise, Google or a history of art book must fulfill the gap! –

The paint has made the public question the reality they were looking at. What you assume is a pipe, it’s actually something else: a representation of reality itself. You can’t smoke it, you can’t touch its rounded wood nor smell it.  But this is not the first idea that pops into your mind when you are in front of it.

Imagine, late in July, you were at the JW Anderson catwalk, where the hype-discussed clutch bag was shown. The first thing one would say is “ it’s a pigeon”.

No, it’s not. It’s a bag. But its real essence and meaning are hidden behind its representation.

Let’s make a step further. Is it a bag? Here, according to Magritte, you can swear it is!

But what, if you ask the same question to a trend forecaster?

THIS IS (NOT JUST) A BAG.

Or rather, this container is the catalyst of specific contemporary happenings and cultural features.

And that’s exactly how a trend works, finding its representation through fashion items. Pop culture and collective social behaviors have always been primary drivers of influence over fashion, affecting the way we communicate our identity.

Given this, how can we explain this kidult bag trend?

A Runaway From Hard Times

At the beginning of June, at the graduate show of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Demna – of course, who else?! – was spotted with a Lay’s chips bag, used as a purse. It was symptomatic of the season that was about to start.

Behind the scene, the jewelry and accessories industries were already playing with childhood tropes. At that moment, with all his provocation, Demna just spoiled what was already taken from contemporary culture and brought to the ateliers’ tables.

Louis Vuitton’s Strange Math collection confirmed it: as never before, the fashion giant has directed its craftsmanship toward imagination and childhood naivety, presenting – among others-  truck-toy and paper-boat-shaped bags.

Childhood memories have been a dreamy runaway in the hardest moment of the pandemic. And with the recession at the door and all the crisis it has carried, the Kidult trend is a reminder of the gold, old days.

So not surprising to see then the Casino items in the Chanel collection or plushes bags on the Thom Browne catwalk.

In the last 2 years, according to Toy R. US, adult enthusiasts increasingly bought toys as a coping mechanism during hard times. A third of Lego players are definitely adults, as well as the main collectors of pop culture and tv show gadgets, like One Piece, Ninja Turtles, Hotwheels, or Star Wars.

Feeling nostalgic? That’s exactly the point!

Y2K Kidult Nostalgia 4 Our Lost youth

Nothing new, since this feeling with a good bunch of vintage, has always affected fashion and trends. But in this specific case, the connection seems to be stronger than before.

Not a secret that when the world was finally reopening the door to life, fashion trends started to embed that feeling of resilience and change. Just think at the fun prints and energizing colors that would make the wearer’s soul a little lighter, in a time when we all are under immense pressure and rushing for setting an uncertain future.

A quarter-life crisis? Not really. Rather it’s an answer to the historical moment… with a stroke of humor and style!

September is knocking at the door. If that marks the end of the summer for anyone, with its slow and relaxing vibes, for all those fashion obsessed, it means just one thing… Fashion Weeks! Now more than ever, the series of catwalks that will take place in Amsterdam is focusing on The Zeitgeist of these times, Fashion Circularity. The final program is a sustainability triumph. Finding its expression through different arts and craftsmanship, it calls for a critical change in the industry. It’s not a coincidence that since 2021, AFW collaborates with EarthToday. EarthToday is a community of active changemakers, committed to saving the 50% of the planet in the following 30 years: for each visitor, 1m² of nature will be protected.

We wouldn’t miss it for the world! On top of that, while preparing the best outfits to showcase in the streets of Amsterdam, we have already made our TNC must-see selection!

MARTAN: From Hotels to Amsterdam Fashion Week

Set the alarm, and don’t be late! The first catwalk will be among the most promising ones.

Martan production is prompting a new way of creating luxury. What Diek Pothoven is pursuing is kinda magical: A circular fashion brand that turns luxury hotel waste into colourful ready-to-wear garments. Interdisciplinarity is the keyword for the brand. Making use of his experience as a film and show director, Pothoven explores the meeting point between concepts and arts as an answer to contemporary twenty-twenties claims.

The runway will take place at 4 pm on the 31st of August at the Grand Hotel Amrâth Amsterdam, located in the former Shipping House. As you may have already guessed… The location isn’t random! The whole collection is made of the 5 stars hotel’s leftover bedlinen and tablecloth, inspired by the Art Deco style that has always characterized the historical building.

1/OFF PARIS: The Aethernal Fashion Cycle

From the Amrâth, quickly grab a taxi and run to the next show. At the heart of Amsterdam Noord, in the Contemporary Art Space, 1/Off Paris dressers will be setting up the finishing touches to show to a wider public a new horizon on the up-cycling movement. The brand’s vision, pursued by its founder Renée van Wijngaarden, is built on the assumption that fashion items should be part of an eternal cycle of inspiration. 1/Off Paris design practices embrace this concept at its best, reimagining leftover fabrics and high-end vintage clothes into unique pieces. Drafting from the legacy of giant designers like YSL, Chanel, or Burberry, the brand re-imagines iconic clothes into new garments. Bridging past and future in a sustainable fashion ecosystem.

“Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything transforms”.

1/OFF Paris

LICHTING Rising Stars: The Crème Of Fashion Academies

Hot things on Friday! Lichting is bringing the Dutch raising stars to the spectating world. A step back for those that haven’t heard about it… What is Lichting?

It is a love affair between fashion academies and the very industry. Its central show is dedicated to the best student outcomes from each of Holland’s seven fashion academies, introducing them to a wide audience of new-talents-hungry fashion professionals, from journalists to CEOs. In other words, Lichting will present la crème de la crème of 2022’s national education! We’ve already got an eye on our faves; Enzo Aït Kaci De Tandt, Lotte de Jager, Rowen Lammers, Signe Munch Grønlund, Pablo Salvador Willemars, Denzel Veerkamp will exhibit at 5.30 pm, in Capital C, Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Fashion Week: More Than Catwalks

The Fridays we Love

As professionals and fashion geeks, our interest in catwalks during fashion weeks is rather obvious. But also in workshops, labs, collateral events, and – OF COURSE – the parties! We knew already you were looking for them… Worry not, we’ve got you covered!

Friday morning is the time of the Adyen building. Here the Lichting 2020 and 2021 winners will be performing on a catwalk together, opening the dance of our fave AFW day. Do not run away at the end of the show, because Darwin Winklaar (NIÑO DIVINO) and Roxane Mbanga have prepared a performance and an installation, bringing attention respectively to childhood dreams and women’s histories.

ATELIER RESERVE’ X BUD: Beer+Fashion 4 Sustainability

In between fashion and art, Atelier Reservè x Bud will kick off a one-of-a-kind exhibition. Yes, you read it well and I get your perplexity. What could a beer giant and fashion brand can have in common?

Again, circularity is the key. The Reserveboys, the visual artist Alljan Moehamad & designer Deyrinio Fraenk, are used to creating collections from vintage materials and fabrics. On the other hand, Bud is known for its exploitation of 100% sustainable energy in production. The perfect marriage, one would say, finds its expression in an interdisciplinary exhibition on Friday night, bringing together music, dance, and fashion.

Are you going to miss it? I don’t think so…

And Then Comes Saturday

And we all know what that means: closing party!

Hosted in the FOUR Amsterdam at Van Baerlestraat 9-11, the creative direction of the party is curated by the beauty partners MAC Cosmetics, Wella Professionals and Sebastian Professional, while LVMH will bring drinks and champagne. Not that bad, isn’t it?

So now that you have the official schedule, the TNC selection, and (hopefully) the ticket… Without further ado, I’ll say:

See you there!

It truly has been Popcorn time for fashion soap opera lovers!

When it comes to Ye, you can expect nothing but the unconventional. But what happens when such genius and recklessness meet the corporate systemic structure of Gap Inc.?

More than mere rumors, the interviews made by the fashion gurus Friedman, Testa, and Maheshwari for The New York Times seem to confirm that Yeezy x Gap has been an ‘arranged marriage’. And Demna? The spice that lit up the spark.

The fashion industry is already questioning the marketing objectives of a 10-year-secured, unusual partnership. After all, everyone is asking… How the hell did it happen?

Yeezy x Gap: The Unusual Engagement

It was 2020, and the corporation Gap Inc – the parent company of Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta- was sailing in troubled waters: a long-lasting downtrend in the company’s finance and the premature departure of its chief executive was causing the boat to leak. Just so you have an idea, the same year Gap Inc. announced that they would close around 350 Gap and Banana Republic stores in North America in 4 years. Business-wise, the company needed a long-term twist!

Picture this: Some centuries ago in some remote land far far away, tradition saw any suitor negotiating the dowry with the bride-to-be’s family. Sort of halfway between courtship and a commercial agreement. “I’ll take care of her, pay for her bills and love her forever. In exchange for….”

Well.. that’s more or less how I could imagine a negotiation between Gap and Kayne in an 1800s novel version. But the fact remains that Yeezy x Gap collab was meant to bring $1 billion dollar in Gap’s annual sales. Or at least, those were the premises when in June 2020 a 10-years-engagement between the parties was announced.

Gap’s objective was to raise sales through Ye’s popularity and influence… And that’s a quite self-evident strategy. But hype lovers had to wait almost a year for a couple of Yeezy x Gap drops online. Needless to say, they sold out in less than a breath!

The first Yeezy x Gap piece, the Round Jacket, was launched in June 2021. A bunch of months later, a cotton hoodie followed up. Though, the considerable delay suggested that something was going on in the Yeezy x Gap house.

It was a hazardous bet to make those two worlds co-work. Just in that period, Kayne’s socials swung from a presidential candidacy to his personal problems with the Kardashian Goddess, passing through the outing on his bipolar disorder, while the corporate side was struggling to find a way to cut their losses.

Ye Demna Gap: The Epic Threeway

We can say that Gap wasn’t all that ‘happy’ about Kayne missing deadlines. I can guess his perfectionism and experimentations implied a series of unusual delays in the corporate schedule. In the end, between the two drops, Gap hired the chief executive Leonardo Lawson, to mediate between the corporate and the creative approach.

But by that time, Ye had already texted Demna.

The affinity between the two talents is worldwide knowledge since 2015 when they worked together on the first Yeezy collection in Season 1. In this round, in march 2021, Demna was called to bring structure to the brand, with his innovative view on experimentation, atelier culture and patternmaking.

In other words, Demna was called to light the spark and to make that relationship work. Was that the beginning of a couple’s therapy?

The creative director of Balenciaga isn’t definitely new to the unconventional and unusual. Just think about the revolution he set off in haute couture. We all know he was the perfect fit to make things work!

Demna and Ye started engineering the prototypes in the Balenciaga studios in Paris and Zurich. Once ready for the launch, the Gap team industrialized them. With the three-way partnership new formula, the ball started rolling.

The first Yeezy Gap Engineered by Balenciaga designs were dropped online in late February 2022. In May, a second collection was released and sold out on the GAP website. And then came July.

A New, ‘Engineered‘ Birth

July’s headlines were crowded with the mantra Yeezy-Gap-Balenciaga. In New York Square, the first physical Yeezy Gap store opened its doors to the hype lovers. The second collection has also been restocked on the Balenciaga website, while a virtual game experience was developed for online users and in-store customers.

Finally, the collab has been bearing fruits.

The collection was meant to reflect Gap’s “timeless silhouettes translated through the lens of Ye and Demna’s vision of utilitarian design”. But actually, the unique touch and approach of the Ye+Demna combo have been quite evident.  Among the pieces presented, is the iconic Round Jacket: which comes in black and skilfully redefined by Demna, has become a signature piece in Kayne’s portfolio.

Stripped to basic and naked form, the first Yeezy x Gap physical space is a dystopic environment that literally screams “KAYNE” in its essence. Black walls and long industrial tables were the perfect frames to present the collection. In black-duty refuse sacks no less.  A unique environment, that heavily defines the identity of the brand: utilitarian, essential, and unconventional.

Yeezy x Gap after Balenciaga

So, now that the relationship seems to be on the right pathway, it is time for Demna to leave. What’s going to happen?

Time will tell… After all, who is really able to predict Ye’s next steps?

“This was just step No. 1. He needed a starting point, and that was my challenge: to give him the starting point. But he is still miles and miles away from where he wants this to go.” commented Demna.

On the Gap gaze, the ‘enginereed’ formula has assembled structure for new collaborations. And the premises for an open, fluid ‘relationship’. ‘Fluid’ is the proper word used by Mr. Lawson to define the whole collab with Kayne.” [It ] has been about being fluid,” and “creating new ways of doing things”. But one should wonder whether such fluidity will meet profits. Skepticism around Gap-Kayne’s long-term benefits has been raised among industry experts and analysts.

But what is sure is that fans and hypebeasts… are already belting on the next love triangle.

The whole western world is documenting an edited history on social media, one pic at a time. Between us… Rare, almost mythological creatures are those who still haven’t taken, edited, and posted a photo in 2022. After all, post it or it never happened, right?

Documenting our life online inevitably incorporates photography, whose democratization has never been as wild as it is today.

New representations and idols have been raised through online networking. Now, we all know that movements from popular, ‘lower’ culture have always been an engine for change and influence in the arts – or more frankly, they’ve been influencing the ‘exclusive, upper culture’. This is no a secret, kilometers of literature have been already written about it.

In this sense, photography isn’t an exception.

iPhone in Hand: Democratic or Popular Photography?

Let’s name the revolution sustained by social media: photography democratization. Or is it its vulgarization?

On one side, it has finally given credit to minorities, practices, and discourses that do not find space in western institutional exhibitions. On the other hand, it has crowded our daily life with visuals of all kinds, creating a bulimic image culture.

“I do think that the essence of creativity has been greatly influenced by social media and that its presence frequently reduces the creativity of the makers. We are overwhelmed by images on a daily basis and many of these are so similar that photographers become less likely to challenge themselves in their own authentic creativity and prefer to safely follow the trends. Which ultimately ensures that art/photography inspires you less and doesn’t stimulate certain emotions.”

Nina Pus, head of photography at Czar Amsterdam.

Social media practice has somehow changed the way we perceive photography, connecting it to the logic of Likes.

Fun Fact: There was a moment, a bunch of years ago when an impressive number of amateurs started to define themselves as ‘photographers’ or ‘models’ on their Instagram profiles. In both cases, it seemed that owning an iPhone was enough ‘to be’ a professional. I’m sure you’re chuckling… Everyone knows what I’m talking about. Literally, it was a boom of online self-proclamation. – For the record, the phenomenon has evolved over the years. Isn’t now the time for questionable ‘public figures’ and ‘artists’ in contentless profiles? But that’s another story…

At the end of the day, if many of those profiles were just a swing and a miss, others really kick-started a proper career, bringing about different aesthetics and new photography trends in the arena. But, in the eye of the hurricane, the fact that many of those self-proclaimed photographers have never engaged with a camera outside of their mobile still stands. Is owning an iPhone enough to be considered a professional photographer?

Beyond an automatic and questionable “that’s unfair for professional photographers who spent a lifetime studying lenses and angles”, the real issue here is the death of photography as we knew it.

Back in 2013, the old guard, award-winning photographer Antonio Olmos commented to the Guardian “It’s really weird. Photography has never been so popular, but it’s getting destroyed. There have never been so many photographs taken, but photography is dying.”

After 9 years… Is that true?

Social Media has turned over a new page in contemporary visual culture. The early concerns regarding the weak line between amateur and professional, the integrity of the art, and the preservation of industry structure and job market. All of them seem to be quite dated speeches today.

The bond between social life and technology has reshaped the way we think and practice photography. In other words, like every other medium in contemporary history, photography has readapted itself to the changes ad trends of the social media era.

Social media has rewritten three key aspects of photography as an art and profession: its market, aesthetics, and timing. There is no doubt that the profession of photographer has faced a crisis, but it’s pretty much the same for musicians, writers, designers, etc. Well, it’s pretty much the same for all the creative industries.

As Nina Pus pointed out to TNC, if the positive aspect of social media is its ample reach, on the other hand

“There are so many creators and it is not so much about the content, but mainly about how you present things and this is what mainly affects the number of followers. […] The marketing world responds to trends and I think that has changed the essence of aesthetics in photography, unfortunately”

‘The Medium is the Message’ theorist Marshall McLuhan would comment.

And, when asked if Stories and Lives on social media are influencing the photographic process, Nina has no doubt.

“100%. Image & Concept falls into total oblivion, because of the continuous desire to feed your following with “entertainment”. Photography is also aesthetic of course, but because the essence of the aesthetic has changed over the years, I think it has become more difficult for some creators to challenge themselves in the narrative process.”

Instagram aesthetics have invaded the online marketing language. Well-known and iconographic images are exploited to better engage with users. And the entertaining and narcissistic dimensions play a key role in sales. Just think of Shein, the fast fashion colossus that has replaced any traditional, flat e-commerce pictures with content-based images. Its marketplace in the app is reminiscent of an influencer feed much more than that of an eCommerce. Haven’t you noticed?

Stepping away from mere capitalism for a second… How has Instagram photography affected the art of shooting?

A great answer was provided by Amsterdam’s Huis Marseille museum director Nanda van de Berg, on the occasion of the collective exhibition ‘Infinite Identities – Photography in the Age of Sharing’, in January 2021.

“The word ‘Instagram’ is off-putting, but this new medium invites artists to look at the world around them and develop a new iconography. I compare it to the impact of the polaroid or the handheld camera, and how these formats enabled new ways of looking.”

But it would be reductive to limit the discourse to the field of art or advertising. We shouldn’t forget the main, basic function of a camera: Documenting Life! Outside the creative field, the influence of social media on photography has been going a little bit further. Like, for example, rewriting a new page of contemporary photoreportage, in documentary photography.

The immediate nature of social media, based on real-time stories and lives, is revolutionizing the timing of the photographic process. Within this wave, the war and crisis reportage has taken on a completely new meaning throughout the current Ukrainian war. The video of the refugee Amelia, the 7yo Ukrainian child singing ‘Let It Go’, as well as the picture of 109 baby strollers into a square in Lviv and many other thousand stories. All of it has been documented and spread around the world, becoming ‘ a powerful ammunition in an information war playing out on social media’. And it is the journalist Megan Specia highlighting that. That’s not chicken feed!

Let’s not forget that changes are uncomfortable, especially when discarding the old traditional system. Lazing in complaining is as useful as grumbling about the weather: with or without your approval, social media will continue to revolutionize the image market. The same goes for photography! It is your choice at the stake, you can just ignore the changes and struggle in an old career, or embrace the opportunity to create new art forms and languages.

Up to you!

Ok, let’s reformulate the question. Truth be told, you already can. Or you’re probably doing it already… With your avatar, your digital skin, in virtual realms. In all those immersive games that make us feel like the Metaverse is a step closer.

Inevitably, in the Metaverse, we’ll be styling our identity in the same way we style it now in everyday life. But with a tiny, little difference. In the digital realm, possibilities are unpredictable and ‘styling’ won’t refer to the mere matching of garments and items. You can transform the digital body itself.

Now, how far would you go in reshaping the limits of flesh and bones in the Metaverse? How far would you go to transform your digital body?

TNC unveils the influences that are already leading to different forms of body dysmorphia online. From die-hard social media habits to the influences from body dysmorphic art, passing through gender equality claims. We delve into the top trends influencing the construction of your digital body in the Metaverse, diving into their rooted origins.

That’s a frank talk on social anxieties and contemporary issues that also affects the construction of YOUR identity online right there.

Feeling overwhelmed? Worry not, there are plenty of rooms to escape the tagline.

So relax, close your eyes, accept the inevitable, and imagine what your digital twin would look like.

Metaverse Social Life: It’s all About your Digital Skin

Whether you go to virtual malls, concerts, or cinemas, your digital body represents you and serves the social purpose of interacting and communicating to others exactly what you want to be and appear.

In building your digital body, you filter the information you want to give. Regardless of whether that info reflects the actual body or not, since your digital ID is in any case verified in blockchains.

Despite your conscious filtering, your final digital body will say a lot about you. Even if you didn’t intentionally mean for it to do so.

We will spare you the philosophical sermon. Let’s just say that when you are there at your desk, selecting the features and equipment of your digital skin, the digital body you’re creating is affected by the same influences and social expectations that impact your physical body.

But your digital body has potentially no limits. Digital skin customization leaves much more room for personal uniqueness and identity affirmation.

You can edit it, filter its morphology and functionalities, and reimagine a completely new creature. All of it is thanks to the countless creative possibilities in the digital realm. The Metaverse seems to be open to new forms of digital bodies: cyborgs, monsters, hybrid creatures, and whatever you could imagine. We definitely got it.

At this point, visualize your ideal digital body and tell me… Are you exploiting those possibilities?

The PERFECT Digital Body. All you’ve ever dreamt of

Strike the best pose, suck in the tummy, eyes down and chin up, shoot, pick the perfect pic, filter it, cut it, maybe better B&W… Then and only then you’re ready to post a new, edited version of yourself on the social media jungle.

Everyone does it. You too, admit it!

It’s a reflex as old as the history of pictures on social media. And old, bad habits are hard to kill.

Now that the Metaverse – or better, immersive digital environments, are rewriting the rules of social networking via blockchain interactions, many have already started customizing their virtual body. After all, isn’t digital skin customization the central point of the top online games?

From Digital Dystopia Art to Games, we are having an overdose of hybrid, reworked, and re-imagined bodies. But when it comes to avatars and their use in social interaction in the Metaverse, it seems that users tend to fall under the same tagline as in any other socials 2.0. One thing is to play as Super Mario. It’s another to create an avatar that acts as your actual self.

We want to present the best version of ourselves. Kardashian-ified bodies, 6-pack abs, whiter skin, and inflated lips. All of this to stick to irrealistic and unattainable beauty canons that hardly sexualize and label the body. Same old story.

The same old story that points to the Metaverse as the next venue for body dysmorphic disorder.

On the other hand, the exact opposite could take place too. You might want to represent your flesh exactly as it came in the world. Not something all that hard to achieve apparently, since many platforms and companies are already enhancing photo-realistic, full-body digital scans for a lifelike virtual-twin avatar.

But what happens if your body is meant to be a flag for social validation? The gamer Kirby Crane has provided a valid example:

“My goal wasn’t so much to explore the philosophy of avatars but more to explore the representation that’s available in current avatars and see if I could portray myself accurately,”

says Crane, who describes himself as a “fat, gay, pre-medical transition trans man.”

Recreating his body in 10 different games, he experienced first-hand how customizing your avatar can be a real struggle. Technology is there to allow you to reshape it as you want, but the same social inequalities translate to online tools.

Some games didn’t let him have breasts on a male character, and in other platforms he just burst out of his clothes as he was trying to make the avatar bigger.

Is it surprising though? Not really.

But we’re not here to brush Barbies. It’s time to fight those inequities now, while the metaverse is a giant work-in-progress hub.

So… how can we escape this tagline?

Digital Dystopia Art is lighting the way for your Digital Skin

Social Media’s impact has always been a trap for body representation. As social interactions in the Metaverse become the zeitgeist of this era, breaking the past and fostering nonconformity online should be the priority.

So, stop re-creating natural and social limits on your avatar! There’s another, creative option that allows us to escape such dangerous constrictions.

You’ll be surprised to know that the solution was already thought up some 37 years ago by Donna Haraway. Yep, more than 30 years, when the word ‘Metaverse’ still wasn’t even featured in the original Snow Crash science fiction. With her Cyborg Manifesto, Haraway shook the collective consciousness, boosting the figure of the Cyborg as the best example to move beyond the limitations of traditional gender and identity.

“A cyborg is a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction. Social reality is lived social relations, our most important political construction, a world-changing fiction. “

Donna Haraway

We’ve all been cyborgs for a while. Our devices such as our medicines are all extensions of our bodies. At the dawn of the Metaverse, we build our avatar, and somehow, we are building our social presence online. We are building an extension of our identity, our digital skin. So if we are already hybrid creatures, why the hell should our digital body be bound to old, sick limits?

Digital Dystopia art, in this sense, is boosting different aesthetics, and it is providing new sources of inspiration for your digital skin. Like Haraway, many digital artists have embraced Body Hybridization as a form of expression.

And with no further ado, here are some digital art trends your digital avatar could be inspired by!

The CYBORG. When Digital Body meets Techs

Blending the body with techs has been a must since the 80s. Prosthetics, chips, implants, and whatever electronic device was possible to conceive with a bit of imagination, melt all together into the figure that is the cyborg. Becoming a recurrent topic in contemporary art, from the performances of Stelarc, or Harbisson, to the iconic H. R. Giger artworks, the cyborg couldn’t be missed in digital art.

Undoubtedly, Marc Tudisco is among those artists that are making of the Cyborg, a proper statement.

On top of that, very interesting experimentations are coming from the genius mind of Nick Knight for ShowStudio. Recently announcing his new collab with Jazzelle Zanaughtti while teasing the audience with one, basic question:

How far would you go to transform your digital body?

The BIOMORPHIC CYBORG. Digital Body meets Nature

Haraway didn’t limit her speech to the mere meeting between human and machine. She alluded to the breakdown between any organism and machine, promoting cyborgs that take shape after biomorphic hybridization. Again, the topic has found a new fortune in digital and visual art.

The outstanding artist Jon Jacobsen has already made it a signature in his creations, playng with different and unpredictable references to reshape the limits of body.

More recently, the emblematic work of the visual artist Curry Tian, “The Impurity of the Body” is definitely worth a quote.

And what about playing with both influences? The unique aesthetics of Brandon Allen Bolmen, alias Maskarade, takes the best from the meeting point between body, nature, and the cybernetic. His bodies are in continuous evolution and transition, embracing the fluid essence of contemporary identities.

Those are just a few possibilities you can explore.

But we hope you got the point. Do not limit yourself to old standards and mental boxes. The Metaverse is now, and it’s also up to you to contribute to achieving that freedom, negated i traditional social media practices. And that freedom starts with your very digital skin.

Can my digital self be my real self?

Yes, as long as you accept the fluidity and the contradictions of each built identity. Including yours.

Ready your pen and paper TNCers, photography golden tips are about to rain all over!

Everyone has that friend obsessed with a specific, recurring number. I had a friend who was crazy about the number 22, and actually, the number seemed to pop up everywhere when I was with him. Trust me, this story can make you freak out and doubt your friend…that is until it happens to you.

My personal obsession has been a name. Or rather, a photographer. But also, an art director, graphic designer, and full-time artist.

My obsession has been Calvin Pausania.

Was I reading about the latest Naomi Sharon music? Calvin Pausania was there.

Was I picking my fave Converse? Calvin Pausania has been collaborating with the brand for 3 years.

Was I diving into Frenna’s latest project for Havana Club, Toast to the Culture? Again, Calvin Pausania’s lens captured the moment.

At the end of the day, I didn’t need to even read the name: I could recognize his incredible, vibrant photographic style among thousands. It struck a chord with me. And there, on the third cockcrow, the hands were already googling…

To Lead an Orchestra, You Must Turn your Back on the Crowd

Opening Pausania digital museum, you come across his tagline.

Self-taught photographer, Class of ‘94, Calvin Pausania dropped out of the art academy just a few weeks after his first class. His climb from the days of curating Dutch music covers in 2013 to the conquest of worldwide streetwear labels has been nothing short of outstanding.

The idea that takes place is one of a rebellious genius, a ‘multi-instrumentalist’, that has escaped formal education against any reasonable advice, to find his personal art. Indeed, as it often happens within the editorial environment, it’s quite normal to expect to e-meet an eccentric character. But, since the very first sentences of our talk, Calvin has turned down this misconception, proving that artists do not need a big ego to succeed: Talent silently speaks for itself.

His photography merges architectural prospectives and graphical distortions, blurring the lines between digital and real. Each shoot is a bite of broader, conceptual storytelling that pushes the boundaries of gravity.

The Story Beyond the Myth: How Did all of It Start?

How could Calvin manage such a range of different artforms? It seems that Passion is the proper word to describe this inception. At the age of 19, Calvin attended an art course and he immediately fell in love with graphic design and its linkage with the world of music.

“Graphic design was everywhere around me. I saw every artist having his own single or album cover. It sounded very interesting in that kind of artform. So, I just started to do it. […] It was my first source of inspiration; but when I started posting on Instagram, one music artist reached out to me. On Instagram, I wasn’t interested in making photos of what I was doing in everyday life. I just wanted to show the talent, you know. So, because of that, the ball started rolling. That was 2013.

When I went to art school in 2015, I already was working with several clients. Sometimes I wasn’t able to attend classes and teachers thought I wasn’t fully focused. Which was true!”

Here, the myth of a rebellious, enfant terrible fails, revealing the measured and pondered decision to focus on his rising career. By the end of 2016, Calvin Pausania was already a full-time artist, working as art director and graphic designer for the Mustard’s 10 Summers Records.

It wasn’t a bad decision, after all!

Still, the background in design permeates his current photographic works, informing a unique dynamic and vibrant style.

The role played by graphic design and architecture is a very important one. I grew up with them. I grew up being amazed by buildings, but also by graphic design, obviously. It has made me learn. You get a lot of education from them, especially about composition.

“If you need to work in a certain square for an album cover you need to make sure that within that square all the information is there. It definitely makes you look at photography differently. And basically, that’s also the reason why I stopped doing graphic design and moved into photography.

Especially in the music industry, we received photos and we needed to make something like a collage or graphics to create a single cover. I was used to working with photos of other people took, but I felt a lot of times that composition and information weren’t there. I started to make my photo on-site and make my own version of conceptual art. In the same style of graphic design. And there the blend started.”

In 2017, all the creative process was in his hands from the get go. It started as an exploration and experimentation to understand what kind of photo and angle the graphic work needed. But it ended up being a proper lightning strike with photography.

What Are Your lenses Seeking to Grab?

“I combine the words ‘Motion’ And ‘Emotion’ in (E)Motion. I always would like to tell a story with a series of photos. And sometimes I do it even in commercial campaigns, depending on what the client wants. That’s always really nice to tell a story from multiple angles”

If Emotions and Movements are the keys, then the next medium to bring in conversation comes quite naturally: in the last two years, Pausania has started embracing video direction.

“I’m branching out more medium, but it is still not something that I post a lot. I’m learning as I go. And I think it can bring my work to new heights. We will see what the future holds” – And he seems quite serious about it!

But, generally speaking, what makes a good photograph is hard to say: Calvin belongs to that branch of artists that recognizes the subjectivity of art and tastes.

“You can never, really, please a crowd. But I suggest to find your own style. In photography as well as in other forms of art. Because that’s what keeps you going! That’s what keeps everything in one style. And this way, the art that you put out, is true to yourself!”

The true self of Pausania is unveiled by his main inspirations: his everyday life. From the music to fashion and the architectural buildings reflected in the composition, Calvin breathes inspiration in from his surrounding. He melds them into a perfect blend that captures the essence of contemporary society, blurring the lines between the real and the digital.

What’s the meaning behind it?

“The blur between digital and physical is our current life because of social media. Here, you never know if something is real, or if it really happens or not. I’m inspired and sensitive to everything around me, the current state of society is one of them”

How Do You Choose Your Subjects for Your Independent Projects?

“It depends, sometimes it’s a real-life situation and sometimes I’m very inspired by an unknown topic. In the first case, I’m able to really capture that memory and give it a special place. In the second case, I’m able to learn about a topic and create new memories.”

Impossible to forget is his Amnesia / Unknown Memory. A deep exploration of the symbolism of flowers encoded in the story of Alta. Due to the touch of a poisoning flower, a new, powerful version of herself takes control: Nova.

‘Touched by a poisonous flower. A new reality led by an unknown memory. Do I trust myself well enough to control me?’

Nova represents the inner journey in an unknown, yet familiar self: She finds out that this new version has always been there; she just couldn’t connect with it before. It is a journey through unknown memories.

Pausania’s works count also many artistic collaborations, where the art of blending arts can’t be defined as anything other than incredible. And it seems to be a matter of personal and professional connections.

“Every talent has its own characteristics, they own their story. By embracing that, you find a certain connection that you can only have with one individual. This makes every shoot unique.

[…] That specific story shapes something that you cannot create with someone else.

It’s always like exploring, I got this feeling. It’s always like exploring you and new people.”

Take Notes! It’s Raining Golden Tips

FIND YOUR OWN STYLE!

“It is the most important thing! Find your own style, keep it, and stick to it! And it goes with every type of art, whether you’re into sculpture or photography. If you’re operating within your own style, you’re true to yourself, and you will get an audience. So if you stick to that, and you improve your quality, the right people will find you, and then you are in your niche. But if you mimic, and if you do a lot of different things, people won’t understand.”

Yes man, that’s a critical point for any emerging talent!

Pausania teaches that pleasing the client doesn’t mean sacrificing your personal style. Rather, a balance between commercial requests and artistic expression is necessary.

What’s his secret?

“It happens sometimes that I’m pushed in a certain direction. For instance, when I have a lot of commercial clients in a row. Sometimes they just pick something that you’ve done before, and they want just a new version of it. So, I’ve been recreating a lot of older work.

If I find myself working on too many client projects, and I lose a little bit of focus…

…That’s when I work on personal projects to really put out there what I really want to make!

And it also helps my client work in the end.”

“There’s an artist for every client. If the work doesn’t fit my style, I think someone else could make it great. And just accepting a client and shooting something that’s not true to yourself, just because of the money… In the long run, could not be beneficial for you”

Follow your own style, never stop learning and exploring, dive deeper into your passions, and find your own community. Those aren’t slogans. Those are the keys to make of your art a living.

You’ve got the golden tips now… What are you waiting for?

Digital art and fashion are reshaping the meaning of the body. We can literally choose a new face and skin every day, rethinking any natural imposition over flesh and bones. In the virtual world, garments and accessories have substituted the body itself, leaving room for diverging forms of expression and self-affirmation.

It is a fact: styling one’s personal identity is already a must in the metaverse building community.

But, in a place where everything goes and everyone could potentially be free from any physical constrictions, it seems that real-life, infamous items are still persevering in the collective – virtual- imaginary.

Surprisingly, the Mask mania is taking digital assets by storm. And nope, the pandemic has nothing to do with this.

For this Cool Hunting piece, TNC takes you deeper into the meaning of the mask in the time of the Metaverse.

Identity and Privacy Online: Two Sides of the Same Coin

The exciting thing about the creative and art industry is the new identity potential enabled by the multifaced metaverse. In a word we could say it’s all about fluidity. Wanna have multiple identities in your social media platforms? Wanna change gender every now and then? Wanna get a little weird? Perhaps be a cute unicorn? Wanna be a shark?

You can!

But… Would you let all the people around you know your fantasies? Your boss, your colleagues, your old granny?

Probably not. Or at least, most people wouldn’t dare do it out of fear of judgment.

But how, then, your community can be sure that’s you interacting with them?

This is where personal identity and institutionalized ID converge in the same concern: Safety and Security. This is where our research behind the Mask starts.

The bond between Mask and Identity is nothing new. Anti-surveillance fashion has been a thing in physical streetwear for quite some time already. Just think about how covered faces have become the Demna signature and not much else needs to be said. But the rise of the Metaverse and digital assets have brought a new wave of conversation around this issue.

When it comes to NFTs, Identity is one of the most valuable assets in the implementation of ID security and privacy. From exclusive Metaverse communities to 3D, minted art and digital fashion, the matter has permeated all aspects of this revolutionary culture, finding powerful representation in digital, creative masks.

NFTs that secure user ID have already gone mainstream due to Twitter’s efforts. Its hex profile pictures unequivocally highlight a minted image. Among Bored Apes and Doodles, it’s hard to find a profile that has minted the user’s real face. In fact, it’s been taken a step further: NFTs’ private social platforms have bounded their core storytelling to the meaning of a covered face.

An example? The Mask Billionaire Club. Doesn’t the name ring a bell? Unsurprising really, it’s privileged info for the select few, although for the next generation of billionaire entrepreneurs and blockchain investors, the project counts with 3.333 NFTs Luxury Masks in OpenSea.

“Since the time of the Pharaohs and the Mayans, the greatest of this world have worn masks during ancestral meetings. This custom has endured through generations, wars, diseases… until today. The Mask Billionaire Club continues the tradition: take off your surgical mask and put on your best suit.”

Told you, the pandemic has nothing to do with all this!

Rather than digital assets, those masks visually stage the freedom to choose who you want to be, your personality, and the ability to connect with the community while preserving anonymity.

All New on Digital Art and Design Front

Still not convinced? Well, one swallow does not a summer make. So we went deeper in our research, spotting the trend among designers and 3D artists that have made the mask their signature.

The brand Sixth Réseau Paris is a one-ok-a-kind streetwear project which is prompting a new NFTs collection: Golden full helmets, tight, elaborate masks, and virtual glasses that draw inspiration from popular online culture, digital art and traditional underground fashion.

Antoni Tudisco doesn’t need further presentations within the industry. His 3D art is a collision of street style and surrealism, featuring masks and helmets that reshape personal traits and become the main medium for expressiveness.

And what about the Faceless.NFT projects, seeking to create an exclusive, Luxury Metaverse?

The list goes on and no, no doubt about that. But, as a mere list, it would just detect the mask trend, it wouldn’t explain what the hell it means. Worry not though, we’ve got you covered. For the occasion, TNC has had an exclusive chat with artist and designer Reece, aka Oil DZN, who gave us the ins and outs of the meaning behind the use of masks in his digital production.

“We all wear an individual mask in the form of our face. Wearing a mask removes this identity and replaces it with a community-wide look, evoking a feeling of belonging and equality amongst Broskis holders and wearers of the mask irl. My digital art is made with the goal of bringing together like-minded individuals from radically different backgrounds”

Bold and detailed, his work critically rethinks the best of streetwear and the branded imaginary while making the body behind commodities disappear. A mannequin-like skin is revealed.

Unquestionably, the focus is the aesthetic and its relationship with the bodily, physical features of a user.

“The use of the Mask within my NFT designs allows each piece to be defined purely by the fashion and not by relation to the physical attributes of a character. This approach has allowed my followers to choose a favourite from my Broskis NFT collection, based on the fashion/ look/ colours they relate to the most”

Explains Reece to TNC.

Unveiling the deeper matter of identity affirmation, seeking to aim for a safe zone, freed from social judgment and inequality. That’s the final objective for Reece. After all, that should be the final purpose of contemporary art as a whole.

“My eventual aim is to sell the masks available in my art, alongside the collection and one day run public Broskis events and meetups where everyone can be anonymous and attach their identity to the way they put together an outfit. I love playing with the concept that without facial identity we are left with other elements that can tell us who a person is, such as the way they dress and accessorize an outfit, this is a huge part of our individual identity and is often overlooked because the person is commonly judged on appearance despite having insane levels of style. The masked approach helps remove any prejudice attached to race, nationality or disability and could allow people who would not normally communicate due to pre held prejudices, talk and discover a new angle on certain life issues”

If in the physical world we express our identity within society by styling our body, in the virtual realm of Oil, it seems that the garments substitute the body itself.

What is left is the pure self. What is left is nothing, but the mask.

A huge surveillance mirror cage, white tiling, and lights make one recall the padded cell of a psychiatric hospital. A dark and dirty glass box stands in the centre. The models step in, their movements are unusual, weird, while the bandaged head suggests a post lobotomy recovery. This is a performance.

Corsets and architectural garments, enriched with oyster shells and luscious feathers gleam before the audience’s eyes. This is fashion.

As soon as the last model leaves the stage and the lights turn low, a brightness starts to burn in the dark box while an uncomfortable heartbeat. An artificial breathing echoes through the audience. Dramatically, the sides of the box shatter to the ground, revealing moths fluttering around the masked and gasping body of Michelle Olley. A live, contemporary reinterpretation of Joel Peter Witkin’s 1983 Sanitarium. This is art.

I hear you fashion maniacs, jumping out of your skin!

That was the day in which the vibrant London fashion scene was shaken, dismantled, and resembled by Alexander McQueen. What was that? A catwalk? A performance? On that day the surveillance mirror cube staged “a coup de théâtre that has made ever-living history”. And that was the Vogue fashion critic Sarah Mower talking. That was quite something!

With the Voss show, McQueen marked a new era in the creative industry. Fashion stole languages and practices of contemporary art by questioning the crossover of beauty and gender, social boundaries, and mental health. In between the performance and the art installation, the catwalk rewrote the rules of the fashion game.

Fashion and art are undeniably tied together, inspiring one another around in a circle, feeding each other’s mastery, and pushing boundaries in a new cultural shift. So, with London Fashion Week coming to an end, TNC wants to celebrate this intersection, giving space to the new generation of designers that have melted artistic forms of expression with their craftsmanship, while inquiring about current, social practices.

Marie Lueder: “Let Your Eyes Be the Lens”

Inevitably, the works of Marie Lueder struck a chord with us!

Having graduated from London’s Royal College of Art in Menswear, Marie Lueders has engaged with different forms of art to question gender roles through fashion. As part of the DisoveryLab, Marie Lueder presented her SS23 collection in the Synthetic Fire fashion film: A recorded performance inspired by the scent of communion.

The film opens with a radio recording room; the speaker’s lips leave a message in slow motion: “you only know yourself what makes you happy, and …”. Suddenly, the spectator is thrown into a giant field; the dug sign of a spiral, Lueder’s signature, stands out against the green grass. At its heart, performers start a dance reminiscent of ancestral movements. The collection is slowly unveiled through the alternation of close shoots on details, confused mobile voice notes and – again- the radio speaker.

In the field, a subtle sound is already suggesting what comes next, recalling the gentle and somehow reassuring fire burning, and drawing the audience into the fire ritual.

“Taking the soles both spiritually and physically. The soles of your foot. Surrounding them around something that’s much freer than we’ve ever wished to be or hoped to be”

Feel the ground, feel what you walk on, leaving a mark.

The artist and designer artfully plays with different media and formats, mixing radio recordings, TV news, and dancing performance in the field. Aiming for a feeling of safety inspired by the scent of communion.

“Let your eyes be the lens”

Mastering the art of storytelling and acting as a sculpture over the body, Lueder’s creations represent a mind-armour for the wearer, preserving his identity against social imposition over gender. Confusing the borders between performativity and performance, her films are rather a conversational interaction between collaborative bodies and experiences.

Olubiyi Thomas: “The Eye Is Not Just a Lens, but a Projector”

Cutting his teeth in the Alexander McQueen house, the Lagos-born Olubiyi Thomas is the fashion designer that focuses on the node of performance, heritage, and identity. For this edition of LFW, his mastery has sewn together with an incredible number of ethnic references, celebrating freedom in self-expression and multiculturalism.

If the SS23 catwalk can be defined – with no doubt – as a proper masterpiece in Avant-guard aesthetics, what has also enraptured the public by the heart was the live performance. The garment, the body and the movement: three key elements that act as one during the ancestral dances of Nathan Goodman and Lulu Wang, that explore and rewrite the linkage between African culture and British Post-Colonialism. Like a Phoenix, rising from ashes, their bodies are on fire, talking about liberation and new life.

“It is a Yoruba philosophical concept through which the Yoruba of Nigeria conceive the power to make things happen and produce changes.”

All around the runway, some messages recall the ancient, cave paintings, giving us the key to a broader reading.

After almost 23 years since the McQueen revolution, the bond between art and fashion has been sealed for a new generation of designers that have brought different forms of interaction to the game. Boosting that traditional blending, and bringing into conversation different media to claim the freedom of identity expression.