WORDS & FILM INTERVIEW by STEPHANIE MALIK

IMAGES & FILM by HARLEY WEIR

As part of a behind-the-scenes film for i-D Magazine, I interviewed Edward Meadham and Ben Kirchhoff, head designers of Meadham Kirchhoff, backstage at their larger-than-life runway show at London Fashion Week. In the unexpectedly insightful, and endlessly quotable, interview Barbie is considered a “weird cultural icon” on a par with “Coca-cola”, “God”, and “McDonalds”, while monsters are named alongside 70′s nightlife as a source of inspiration. Most surprising, however, was when it was revealed that this collection is in many ways a celebration of ideas that the reclusive designers themselves find utterly alienating. In the ultimate example of irony, we find that the creative minds behind this glitzy collection inspired by fun, extroversion, and nightlife are actually self-proclaimed loners, and, to be honest, pretty awkward (albeit endearingly so).

Unfortunately, due to various technical difficulties, the sound quality for the film was less than desirable, resulting in a final edit where ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” drowns out large sections of the interview. This was truly a shame as I think the majority of press coverage that Meadham Kirchhoff’s remarkable show has been receiving fails to penetrate its sparkly veneer. By electing to exclusively focusing on the sheer glamour of it all, the press seems to have to some extent obscured Meadham Kirchhoff’s artistic vision, or at least, to have only told half of the story. (Although, to be fair, all of that glitter was pretty distracting….)

Thus, in an attempt to rectify this situation, I’ve chosen to publish the write up, along with a transcript of my interview, here as an exclusive on I Think You’re Swell. You can also watch Harley & I’s film for i-D Magazine below, as well as see several of Harley’s amazing photos from backstage. Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

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EXCLUSIVE BACKSTAGE INTERVIEW WITH MEADHAM KIRCHHOFF A/W 2012

The atmosphere was intense backstage in the final moments leading up to the spectacular debut of Meadham Kirchhoff’s A/W 2012 collection. With glitter strewn all over the floor, teeth being painted, and models dressed in everything from tinsel trousers to monster-faced coats, backstage was truly a spectacle in itself. Amidst all of the chaos it was no wonder that after the plan for prosthetic caps had to be abandoned at the last minute, Edward asked if anyone had any ibuprofen (it was decided that the prosthetics could not survive the scrutiny of the HD cameras).

Suddenly Ben, whom had up until that point had been largely quiet whilst pensively observing the goings-on, jumped up to deliver an impassioned speech to the models just before their final run through.

“It’s not a freak show. You look the way you do because you are beautiful, not because you are trying to be impressive freaks. It’s not about the audience thinking that you’re something that you’re not. It’s about you, and what we’re trying to make come through is your personality and your individuality.”

Profound words, ones which I think suffice to show that despite the fact that this collection is conceptually centered on the ideas of fun, glamour and nightlife, it would be a mistake to think Meadham Kirchhoff are anything less than sincere about their work.

In conversation Meadham Kirchhoff come across more like artists than stereotypical fashion designers, consistently speaking of their show as though it were purely a platform for expression, rather than a platform for advertising. Speaking to them about their show instinctively felt like a discussion of something closer to an art exhibition than an industry event. Meadham Kirchhoff do not simply stage theatrical shows, they curate an experience.

Even when discussing their collection, it is clear that their artistic vision is privileged over meeting any industry expectations.  “We’re not going to churn something out for the sake of it”, Ben commented, adding “it puts you through pains and stress and whatever else, but it has to be right.”

This sort of attitude on the part of contemporary fashion designers is as refreshing as it is rare. If there is anything the majority of shows at London Fashion Week this season made clear, it is that what has come with the economic downturn is that most designers (or at least those given shows at LFW) will ultimately cater to the best-paying customers– who at this point happen to be largely from the Middle East and China–and, moreover, will do so at whatever aesthetic sacrifice. (This discussion, however, warrants another article in itself, which I plan to write soon.)

In this fascinating interview, Meadham Kirchhoff reveal that their striking collection was not merely an exercise in extremes, nor an attempt to please the fashion industry, rather the collection was in many ways a testament to everything the designers take themselves not to be.

–Stephanie Malik

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INTERVIEW

SM: So is your creative process more a result of looking at references or is it more a result of isolating yourself from trends?

Edward: “Both.”

Ben: “Yeah both.”

Edward: “I totally look at references.”

Ben: “We do not look at fashion at all.”

Edward: “I do not look at fashion, but I do look at references and I do isolate myself, and I think it comes from both.”

SM: For this season in particular were there any highlighted references for you?

Edward: “Trojan, Leigh Bowery, the Coquettes.”

Ben: “Roxy Music.”

Edward: “Monsters.”

Ben: “Nightlife.”

Edward: “The 70’s generally, glam, the idea of fun, the idea of nightlife…the idea of all of these things that I’ve never experienced really.”

SM: So it is supposed to be fun and humorous, but at the same time…

Edward: “Provocative. It’s supposed to be fun. I’ve kind of realized that my only way of being fun or charming or anything other than silent and alone–the only way I communicate that—is through the shows.”

SM: So do you view the shows as a chance to let everything out, like a cathartic experience and otherwise view yourselves as quite quiet?

Ben: “We’re not lonely, but we are loners.”

Edward: “Solitary.”

Ben: “Yes, solitary is a better word. I have a close knit group of friends that I like to see and I never really extend it very far, so the idea of being in a room full of people having fun, I don’t really know how to take part in, it’s very alien to me.”

Edward: “I just said to everyone else, the last five collections have been about everything that I am, and this collection was about everything that I am not.”

SM: What was the significance of the Barbie pins?

Edward: “Barbie had to be there somehow, she’s important.”

SM: Why is Barbie important?

Edward: “Why is Barbie important? Well in the way that any other weird cultural icon is, like Coca-cola or God or Madonna, McDonalds…it’s the same thing, no?”

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Recently I assisted with this film for William Richard Green’s A/W 2012 menswear collection, which was not only part of the collection’s presentation on Menswear Day at London Fashion Week, but also premiered earlier this week as an exclusive on Dazed Digital, the website for London-based fashion magazine Dazed & Confused.

Given that Will’s inspiration for the collection was the football hooligan scene in the late 80′s and early 90′s, the initial reference points for the film were British drama Elephant (the original one from the 80′s directed by Alan Clarke, not the 2003 version) and this unexpectedly controversial music video by French electronic duo Justice, in which a group of menacing young men walk around terrorizing everything and everyone in their path.

As the aesthetic for the film required a particular kind of football punk look– very much esoteric to Britain–we cast models that we felt could convincingly portray these sort of tough “lad” characters (to use a British term, almost “chavy”). (Interestingly, one of the models had recently actually come out of prison!)

Film still from Elephant (1989)

What I think sets this “fashion film” apart from others is that it manages to be more than merely a moving lookbook. As is probably obvious given the lighting, which is often very dark, conveying the mood of the collection actually took precedence at times over simply showing the clothes. The film’s director, Morgan O’Donovan, also did a brilliant job executing the Clarke-style observational documentary techniques using his steadicam.

The music was actually composed by the designer himself, credited under the alias Joe and Will Ask, the name of Will’s successful dance music project (I know, as if he wasn’t already talented enough!). The spoken word overlaying the music is writer and art critic, Richard Dyer, epically reading, of all things, a geography book.

DIRECTOR//Morgan O’ Donovan

FILM CREW//Alistair Allan, Stephanie Malik, Vasilisa Forbes

MODELS//Ben @ Elite Model Management, David Valensi @ AMCK Models, Caleb Dobie @ D1 Models, Jack Appleyard, Joshua Van Egdom

these kids looked cool so yeah, they got two pics.

she’s my favorite of the night. doesn’t she just look so happy? being happy is nice.

bold.

two pics, why not?

sup matt.

this dude was terribly wasted and bro’d out. i watched him spill a drink on a girl’s head. dead serious. it’s funny, but it sux.

dientes bonitos!

i had fun at this party. the djs were awesome!

-antwan

Cover Photographer//Yves Borgwardt

Œ Magazine: proving that the printed word– or, in this case, the printed image– isn’t going down without a fight.

WORDS by STEPHANIE MALIK

IMAGES COURTESY OF ΠMagazine (credits below)

In this special edition of Editorial Lust, I would like to introduce ΠMagazine. Πis an independent fashion magazine based out of Berlin, which aims to provide a window into the dynamic and experimental world of Berlin fashion by showcasing exclusively German, and typically Berlin-based, designers.

Recently I had the pleasure of meeting the Œ Fashion Director, Rainer Metz and publisher, Arne Eberle when I was viewing the LAURENCEAIRLINE collection in the COLLECT showroom during Menswear Fashion Week in Paris. I was in Paris, in large part, just to DJ for the Œ Magazine party the night before, alongside my friend Vasilisa Forbes (whom you may be more familiar with as her character ‘Vee’ in Vice Magazine spoof-show Dalston Superstars #yesitsajokeVeeisFICTIONAL). At the showroom on the day following the party was actually the first opportunity I’d had to see Œ in the flesh. I was instantly completely blown away.

On first skimming, what stands out immediately is how utterly distinct the editorials are from one another and yet still manage to share some key elements: unrestrained and genuinely original styling, obvious artistic sensibility,  and somehow even evokes a sense of humor and approachability through its quirky props, among them: cheeseburgers, babies, fake breasts, and what is possibly a litterbox?

As if the striking, if not brave, editorials weren’t already sufficient for setting this magazine apart from the rest, Issue 2 contains no less than 7(!) different types of paper. Each paper is specially selected to compliment a particular editorial, in order to maximize its expressive power in print. The papers vary from the traditionally glossy, to the matte finished, to even the light pink/newspaper-like. The special attention to paper selection is surprisingly effective at drawing out the different moods of the different editorials, and successfully distinguishes each of the editorials from one another in a way I have never encountered in any other print publication. This individualization enables each editorial to stand independently, rendering each worthy of appreciation as an object-in-itself.

Another distinguishing feature of Œ Magazine as a print publication is its totally unique binding; in German this type of binding is called “offene fadenheftung”, in English is called “open-thread stitching”. Open-thread stitching allows one to see intimately into the bare construction of the binding along the spine, which also has an unexpectedly colorful and glossy finish (the colors on the binding match the color-scheme of the inverted triangle found on the cover).

The imprint of the magazine makes clear that Œ “largely refrains from ‘describing’ current trends and ideas in fashion” in favor of “showing fashion by purely focusing on images”. So, in continuation with that ethos, I will refrain from describing the images I have selected from two of the editorials found in Issue 2 (And yes, it was an unnervingly difficult process to narrow it down to just two editorials!).  Needless to say, despite the strength of the following images, one has not really “seen” the editorials until they have been viewed in their entirety and, of course, on just the right paper.

–Stephanie Malik

London Stockists: Beyond the Valley, Charlotte Street News, No-One

Other stockists in Europe and Japan can be found here

**Note that while there are presently no stockists in the USA, readers can order the issue directly from the Πhomepage: http://www.oe-magazine.de/ (shipping is 5.50 Euros).

Cover Photographer:     Yves Borgwardt
Model:            Ani K / Iconic Management
Styling:             Saskia Schmidt
Hair&MakeUp:     Gabrielle Theurer, Saskia Krause

KNITTED KNIGHTS:
Photographer:     Robert. G. Bartholot
Models:            Eva Vuillemin-Erdt, Daniel Donskoy / Izaio Models
Styling:             Harald Erath
Hair&MakeUp:     Harm Neitzel

Objet trouvé:
Styling and Photography: Rachel de Joode

all images by Chelsea Pfohl, check out her blog here.

-antwan

I go on at around 11pm and stay keepin it trill til about 1am. My girl Erin should be there throwin’ some tracks on the grill so cum git phuck dup and dance your feet off. It’s Lexi’s bday too, so yeah, you know we’re goin’ in. black out type shit.

-antwan.