Jena Malone for Twelv Magazine

Michele Lamy : Behind The Inkblots

In an industry which capitalizes on and idolizes the unique,  Michele Lamy exists as one of the last purely individual and eccentric personalities possessed by the fashion world. Best known as the gold-toothed and heavily inked (both through the numerous tattoos covering her body as well as her signature ink-dipped fingers) muse, wife, and creative partner of fashion designer Rick Owens, Lamy manages to stand alone in her own right through a barrage of projects and titles undertaken during the past years. These varied titles include that of clothing designer, performer, film producer, restaurateur, stripper, and defense lawyer, and showcase not only an appetite for experiencing the unique facets and frameworks of life, but also illustrate the enormous breadth of her interests and experiences within multiple realms. When asked about her life and the beginnings of the journey which led her to where she is today, Lamy replied: “In my twenties, I wanted to escape my rich provincial upbringing, so I abandoned studies as a defense attorney to striptease. I was involved in the May, 1968 protests in Paris, and in the early seventies I wanted to be Bob Dylan. My thirties were spent living the Californian Dream surrounded by artists, and giving birth to my daughter Scarlett Rouge. My forties were an entrepreneurial era in Los Angeles where I met my honey, Rick Owens, and I will spend my fifties enjoying life with him.”

            From a conventional standpoint, Lamy and Owens seem quite the eccentric pair, yet in reality, compliment each other surprisingly well both professionally as well as privately. With Owens running the business from a design and creation standpoint, Lamy has worked feverishly behind the scenes of the company in what she termed the role of "Head Honcho", performing a broad range of duties and roles. "I'm in the kitchen, and loving it. I don't have a specific hat," states Lamy. "Or I do have a bunch of hats."  These “hats” that Lamy refers to encompass her active and administrative role in Owens’ recently launched furniture line, as well as her role in charge of construction of their first fur atelier, affectionately and appropriately referred to as "Lamyland", a term coined by Rick.

With such a close and symbiotic connection, it should appear that the two work and exist in a sublimely united cohesive bond, yet rumors still abound regarding the nature of their relationship, as well as whispers of Owens bisexuality, which interestingly enough, led to the pairs first meeting as facilitated through a past boyfriend of Owens and mutual friend of the pair. When asked about these rumors and statements, Owens replied “Frankly, in the beginning, I made a point of bringing up my sexuality just because I wanted it before anyone else could. I was with Michele and hated the idea of someone whispering to her “you know, I think your husband’s gay”. I was going to say it first. I didn’t want anyone to think they could embarrass me or Michele. We met through my boyfriend, one of her best friends. So it's true I'm bisexual. It's supposed to be the other way around, isn't it? People are against bisexuality. It's either shit or get off the pot. It would be great if things were that black and white, but life is all about ambiguities, and sometimes you have to make up the rules as you go along. It would have been easy for me to be completely gay. There was nothing holding me back. In fact, I started out assuming I would be a gay guy who didn't really have relationships, but who would have sex anytime, then it just kind of happened, and I really can't imagine having a relationship with anyone else. It's been almost fifteen years. God, who knows what that would be in fag years?”

When asked how they themselves see their relationship interactions, and the way that they complement as well as even each other personally, privately, and professionally, Owens is quick to reply: “It’s kind of like asking a fascist and a gypsy to organize a war together, she’s just so generous and so flexible with deadlines and I’m not. She likes the complexity and eccentricity of working with artisans and I don’t always have the patience for that. The furniture is customized, esoteric, involves rare materials. She loves that.”

Gold teeth, furniture, sexuality, and business roles aside, one thing seems to stand out about the two above all else, that being the love that each has for the other and the way that their eccentricities and quirky personalities seem to strengthen that bond. When asked about his wife, Owens affectionately replies that he sees Lamy as “a mesmerizing sphinx” endearingly going on to add “ I’m so fascinated by someone who acts completely on instinct and feelings, where I’m so pragmatic and sensible and kind of, compared to her, boring and conservative.”

Conservative and boring, Rick?  Those are two words that one would never ascribe to you.  -- Stephen Fisher-- 

Blurring the Edges: Postmodern Thought and Idea as Expressed Through the Work of Jean-Paul Gaultier

Blurring the Edges:

Postmodern Thought and Idea as Expressed Through the Work of Jean-Paul Gaultier

The scene is set and the camera rolls. In the center of a predominately male bar, a uniform-clad sailor saunters his way across the room, garnering lascivious and sexually charged gazes from the other male drinkers and sailors before disappearing behind a beaded curtain with a fellow seaman. Once inside, the stunning sailor makes his move and locks lips with the other male, and after pulling away, removes his uniform and hat to expose a corset, revealing that “he” is really a “she”, and that your views of gender roles and forms have been challenged before your eyes. The scene that you have just witnessed is a commercial, and the mastermind behind the production is Jean-Paul Gaultier.

In the realm of fashion, many names stand out displaying the characteristics of the postmodernist movement, and do so in each their own way. Rei Kawakubo excels at delivering a sense of intertextuality and confusion in her use of style bricolage. Through both pop culture as well as perceptive expectations, she challenges the realms of preconceived rules of proportion, form, and “beauty”, while others such as Tom Ford harness the powerful imagery of Guy Bourdin to express the naked and arched body of Sophie Dahl as one of power rather than objectification. The aforementioned express these postmodernist ideas well through their own execution, yet none come close to the extent expressed by that of Gaultier, and the way that he has influenced fashion and the way that we think about what we see. In this paper I will showcase the immense similarities between the postmodernist school of thought and the “marin terrible”, in the areas of third-wave feminist expression, his use of bricolage and cultural influences, and most importantly his amazing and creative use of gender identities and the way that we react to them through visual and emotional means, an area that he has systematically examined and toyed with for years.

When most people think of Jean-Paul Gaultier, one image seems to stand out above all else, that image being his iconic cone-shaped corset worn by Madonna in her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. Though this piece of clothing is aesthetically and structurally attractive, it is the attatchment and expression of the postmodernist ideal of third-wave feminism and the implicit sexual empowerment that allow it to stand out within the context of postmodernist thought and idea. Through the use of the female form as a vehicle of empowerment , a woman who was previously objectified and overpowered by the constrains of pre-set rules and narratives of what a woman’s role in society was, could now express her sexuality and individuality while telling the world that she was in control, yet was exhibiting her body by her own will rather than being involuntarily exploited. This image of a corset as less of a fashion tool used for building a clothing foundation on, and more of a statement can clearly be seen in the enhanced cones which blatantly call attention to a part of the body that is overtly feminine, yet in many areas had been downplayed or covered up. By offering the corset as a sexually charged form showcasing the breasts as a “female weapons” , yet also presenting it in a sublimely feminine color of pink and incorporating the traditional form and boning, the viewer is reminded that the wearer is first and foremost a woman, yet also is in control of her body as well as how she is perceived and categorized as. This presentation also ultimately challenges the rules of the classical 19^th century view of how much skin a woman can show before being labeled a loose or promiscuous woman vs. that of a modern and independent female, and deconstructs the socially dictated rules of structural garments, their need to be hidden on the inside rather then shown on the outside, and the preconceived notion of 19^th century beauty for which they were originally invented.

The form of sexually empowering clothing for women by Gaultier exists in many ways throughout his career, another of which being that of his preoccupation with masculine inspired details on female clothing that lends a sense of authority and power to the ensemble. In a look from the F/W09 womenswear collection, tapered trousers are accented by suspender-inspired straps in a stereotypically masculine and powerful worsted pinstripe fabric, which are then paired with a matching jacket exhibiting a broad-shouldered fit. This fit and combination of design elements and semiotics inferred lends a “power-suit” characteristic to the look, and challenges our internal dialogue of what a woman should be expected to wear, and what is perceived as distinctly masculine or distinctly feminine in terms of detail, proportion, and design. This internal toying of ones reactions also seems to empower the woman through the use of visual cues and assumptions, allowing her to express herself and remain both a woman and a power object. Another great example of this empowerment through traditionally masculine objects can be found in the leather freeform bra worn by Madonna during the production of her “SEX” book. In this example a framework of suspenders are utilized on a bondage-type appliance which allows the bare breasts to be fully exposed for all to see. Through this garment, the third-wave feminist ideals of the exposed yet forbidden are showcased within the framework of a masculine form (suspenders), allowing a great deal of messages to be inferred by a single piece of clothing and imagery, imagery that helps to exhibit the intended reaction and symbolism both visually as well as psychologically.

While extreme and overt images of feminity and power are some of the historical hallmarks of the Gaultier name, ideas like that of bricolage are just as prevalent, allowing Gaultier to exhibit some of the most diverse and sometimes controversial collections of our times. Since Gaultier began, he has always been influenced by many themes and styles, yet manages to mix them together into a synergistic blend of bricolage that seems to typify the rejection of meta-narratives of what the proper attire is for the lady of yesterday as well as today. Where once there existed a strict code of what a woman was expected to wear for the occasions of daily life, usually including preconceived rules for even the matching of items to one another, there now exists in Gaultier’s design aesthetic a desire for the melding of styles and trends into a separate entity of dress, devoid of the cultural and traditional dictations of society that once existed.

Throughout his carreer, Gaultier has not been one to take a demure approach or to shy away from controversial imagery or themes. This courageous and pioneering spirit can also be viewed in the way that he seems to possess an innate knowledge of pairing styles and cultural aesthetics that seem to exist world from each other and mixing them to create a very post-modernist style of bricolage and harmony. In his A/W10 collection, Gaultier takes traditional silhouettes and fabrics associated with the tribes and people of the Mongolian steppe, and pairs them with a very western and tailored construction tequnique and style. The resulting product is then mixed with items such as tailored furs, opaque and vividly colored tights, and western evening dress, creating an entirely new visual aesthetic through the melding of currently existing and separate style categories.

In the F/W07 haute couture collection of Gaultier’s work, the ideals of bricolage reach a new height, as he presents the female form encased in a cocoon of neoclassical, religious, and Renaissance imagery and accessories. Overtly feminine fabrics and laces are expertly and meticulously tailored into garments reminiscent of Catholic Saints, also including printed images of neoclassical art and design. This melding of imagery lends to them a Juilet-esque aesthetic of virginal purity and youthful innocence, further heightened by the addition of lace mantillas, plexiformed halo headpieces, and floral crowns, which is then turned on it’s head by the addition of body conscious fit, and a general silhouette that seems to bounce from sexy to saintly through the accompanying imagery. The end result of the garments represents a very postmodern ideal of bricolage, coupled with the playful toying of Christian and traditional European ideals. This presentation forces the viewer to test the waters of their own boundaries of sanctity, religion, and Christian iconography, while also calling into question the impact that clothing can have on the emotions and psyche of a target audience and asking, “is it acceptable to present a woman as a religious saint, and if so, why is that wrong?”

My favorite, and possibly one of the best examples of postmodern ideas at work within Gaultier’s world can be seen in his explicit manipulation and focus on gender, gender roles, social expectations, and what we deem to be acceptable in society in relation to masculine and feminine narratives. Gaultier has challenged the boundaries of gender, with a direct rejection and declassification of separate feminine and masculine style, attacking historically masculine and feminine archetypes and icons with a concept less concentrated on what is right and wrong, and instead celebrating individuality and expression of a universal form.

During the F/W10 menswear collection, a male model was sent down the runway in a satin undershirt, a tailored skirt, and boxing gloves. This use of traditionally feminine clothing items and fabrics, set against the uber-masculine sport of boxing allowed Gaultier to examine the way we perceive traditional expectations of what a man should wear in order to “be a man”, As well as how we connect the ideas of what a boxer should look like through our own hardwired semiotics. This adverse connection between the feminine to enhance the masculine is also evident in the S/S10 collection of menswear, in which slightly androgynous men were sent down the runway in sequined and jean bustiers, a move that makes one question the ideas of masculinity, femininity and empowerment, bringing up the question “if a woman can use a bustier to empower herself sexually, why can a man not use one as well?”

A secondary example of Gaultiers’ playful use of gender and psychological factors can be seen in both the Man-Object collection of 1982, and his most recent collection that ultimately challenged our beliefs in what masculine archetypes represent when coupled with gender differentiations. The Man-Object collection of ’82 featured female models smoking pipes and male models in transparent lace skirts, both of which took a preconceived gender action or image and placed it within the context of the opposite gender context to create confusion and also a sense of disorientation of the usual norms of society. The most recent collection of F/W11 was however in my opinion, his most brilliant in terms of execution and imagery. The show starts with the hyper-masculine theme and icon of James Bond, sending men in razor-sharp tailoring down the runway as a homage to the iconic and virile stereotype of the character. As the show continues, the lines of the tailoring soften as well as the fit and exposure, with the trousers beginning to slim and ultimately being replaced by neoprene thigh-hugging pants, justaxposing the feminine fit of the pant to the overtly masculine and pronounced genitalia clearly outlined through the neoprene. The gender stereotypes further heighten as a sunglass-clad male covered in a full beard walks the runway in a suit jacket, shorts, and fishnets accentuated by a Walther PPK strapped to his thigh, and sublimely culminate as a gorgeous blonde “Bond Girl” stalks the runway in stiletto’s, a lush fur coat, and a golden gun in hand to close the show with a bang. The show-closing “Bond Girl”, is in fact 19 year old Serbian male model Andrej Pejic, an androgynous model placed in a wedding dress in a previous collection, and used by Gaultier in this collection to further drive home his very postmodernist perception of what we think about gender, what we perceive as traditionally male and female, and to attack our existing narratives of why men have to always be “masculine” or women “feminine.”

In the realm of postmodern thought, many things are in flux, yet some remain constant such as those covered above. Gaultier has shown the common public that social dictations and norms are not only able to be broken and toyed with, but can be done in such a way that allows deeper introspection and examination of those boundaries and lines. Where once there stood a defined standard for proper continuity and decorum, there now exists a mixture of styles that create a new aesthetic formed by a need for visual harmony and cohesion despite the effect of conflicting style messages and cues. In addition, where there once stood very well defined gender roles of what a man should do to be perceived as a man, and what a woman should do to be a woman, there is now a blurring of gender lines and a questioning of what it means to be each, and why those dictations must or should be followed, leading the individual not only through a path of seeking out the answers to these questions but also to the formulation of new assumptions based on universal acceptance of ideas rather than areas of conformity. This new uniform conglomerate of areas and ideas has been widely accepted and utilized by such innovative designers as Jeremy Scott, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Junya Watanabe, Marc Jacobs, Viktor & Rolf, and Riccardo Tisci, changing the landscape and emotional direction of fashion, and asking the question of “if boundaries exist, why should they be followed?”

--Stephen Fisher 2011

Panthere de Cartier Ring

I have always been a sucker for beautiful, iconic and classic jewelry craftsmanship, as well as new and eye-catching creations, yet it seems that the two are rarely synergystically executed in products that bear the characteristics of both. Leave it to the legendary house of Cartier to blend the two into one divine and iconic piece. Bearing the classic "Panthere" form that has become synonymous with the design house, Cartier has crafted a ring as awe-inspiring and regal as the namesake feline. Drawing from a ring design first introduced by Cartier back in 1914, this ring combines strong angular lines, coupled with the addition of peridot and expertly applied enamel details, and has recently garnered a renewed attention since being featuring in Vogue in 2005, and gracing the delicate fingers of Kristen Stewart for a Vanity Fair shoot. The “feline motif is a tribute to devastating seduction, mysterious beauty and untamed character” states the company, adding to the already enticing aura of the piece, and giving even more reasons for the woman with an extra $20,300 burning a hole in her Herrera pockets to pick one up on her next trip down Fifth.

Urban Battlefield - Combat Inspired Footwear With an Urban Twist

With the city heating up, and the slow (and wet) progression into the summer months now upon us, one of my favorite recent trends of the season is making it's mark on the fashion battleground, that being combat inspired boots with shorts. This trend has been seen pacing the catwalks of Givenchy, Rick Owens, Damir Doma, Kris Van Assche, Balmain, Maison Martin Margiela, Ann Demeulemeester, and Dior Homme, yet remains fresh and current due to the creative interpretations offered by each design house. Whether offered in military form (Balmain), refined and urban form (Demeulemeester), avant garde form (Doma), or classic chic with a twist (Givenchy), these boots can be dressed up or down, and paired with everything from a pair of Lanvin shorts, Oak jersey cutoffs, black skinny jeans, or even one of Tisci's kilts, a la Marc Jacobs. I have included some of my favorites, yet with so many to new options introduced this past season as well as being introduced in the upcoming seasons, it will truly be a battle to pick just one (or three).

Left to Right

Ann Demeulemeester $816.00 - Givenchy $442.00 - Damir Doma $860.00 - Balmain $1290.00 - Maison Martin Margiela $601.00

-Stephen Fisher-

All shoes featured can be found at www.LUISAVIAROMA.com

(Limited sizes available)

Moto à la Mode

Italian hand-stitched leather, diamond quilting, subtle sculpting, and a stacked heel. These are not style terms usually associated with mainstream motorcycle accessories, yet Ralph Lauren has managed to do so with the creation of the Caruthers motorcycle boot. The designer best known for his classic and refined lifestyle and clothing empire has now taken it one step further, and created a boot that is equally at home on the open road as well as the city street. With equestrian inspired details such as a sculpted calf, stacked leather heel, hand-finished buckle details, and quilted shin plates, the boot calls to mind the traditional leather shinguards worn by polo players, yet melds these visual and functional qualities into a product geared toward a rider of a different type with the addition of a reinforced leather plate to resist the abrasion of countless stylish upshifts. Priced at $1200, and embodying the refined and rugged spirit of the Ralph Lauren brand, these boots are sure to garner attention both on the road as well as off, and remain a versatile and stylish staple for years to come.

-Stephen Fisher-

My Latest Obsession: Cire Trudon Candles

In the year 1643 in France, the legacy of Cire Trudon candles began when a wax merchant named Trudon began crafting candles on the eve of the reign of Louis XIV. Originally, he created candles for the many churches in Paris, but as word of the quality of candles spread, the merchant was soon asked into the homes of the nobility to create candles for some of the best households of France as well as the Royal Family. Louis XIV, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette all burned Cire Trudon candles, using the same recipe used today to light the palace of Versailles and ultimately the last sad hours of the lives of the French royal family. After the Revolution, Napoleon turned to Cire Trudon candles for lighting, gifts (he presented his son with a Trudon candle on the night of his birth emblazoned with a gold medallion bearing the silhouette of the Emperor)and for ceremonies, and now I have one burning too!
Cire Trudon is the oldest candle maker and wax manufacturer in the business, and is entrusted with the business of such fashion houses and perfumers as Kenzo, Guerlain, Hermes, and Dior for creation of candles. The company’s beautiful flagship store is on Rue de Seine in Paris, but thankfully available also at Bergdorf Goodman in the City, as well as their newly opened boutique in Nolita.
Several things set Cire Trudon candles apart from the rest. Since Trudon was originally a wax merchant, it’s no surprise that the wax in these candles is of the highest quality. Based on a traditional recipe, it is made with no artificial substances, fillers, or paraffin, but instead uses100% vegetable wax for the purest candle and the cleanest burn. Each Cire Trudon candle also has a pure cotton wick that is woven right in for the longest burn time possible. The company was also green long before environmental consciousness was a trend – all Cire Trudon candles are free of pesticides, allergens,chemicals, are biodegradable, and free of substances listed on the Greenpeace OSPAR list.
The scents of Cire Trudon candles also set the brand apart, offering more traditional and time-tested scents that evoke times past rather than blending into the sea of similarities offered today. My candle is the ‘Ernesto’ fragrance, and inspired by the famous revolutionary of the same name. The dramatic scene evoked in the description of the candle on the company's website describes the bold, yet refined and masculine scent embodied within the wax. “…In a hotel of Havana, sizzling under the stubborn sun of the Revolution, fierce overtones of leather and tobacco meddle with resolution the waxy silence of wood. Breaking out of the cool dimness, sly grimaces emerge, framed by the smoke of cigars and the barrels of guns….”

The perfect companion to my office desk as I study, Ernesto delivers, yet does not overpower, lending to the air just enough fragrance to entice the senses while also calming the spirit.

Cire Trudon candles can be purchased online at www.bergdorfgoodman.com

-Stephen Fisher