[BerlinRocks]

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Originally Posted by softgrey oh- berlin!... is that pic with the jkt inside out styled by stephan linard? i don't even know his work...but that image is styled beautifully... very cool... i also love the first one ... total culture clash..the hassidic costume mixed with cowboy boots and wings... priceless... ray petri was so supremely influential... all very nice examples my dear... thank you very much for posting them... ...

the jacket inside out is a recent picture and i do not think by stephen linard. don't remember who styled this though. the photog' is carter smith.
rizzo did it too. but i've chosen this one because it's HQ - only ....
(check rizzo's thread i've updated it quite a lot)

the cowboy boots with wings is stephen linard.

here is a page for stephen linard : http://www.geocities.com/theblitzkid...henlinard.html (including personal style and fashion work)

[pucci_mama]

Quote:

Originally Posted by softgrey maybe the challenge is that as you get more advanced... you can add more and more unusual pieces... and still manage to look chic ...? *now THAT's a challenge...is it not?!?... so...maybe part of the motivation behind this is challenging yourself... not just challenging others... because i guess in the end... the motivation is still personal... isn't it?... because it's still about personal style... so it's quite personal...yes?... so maybe that's part of the reason it's so hard to define...

I always thought of avant garde as having a certain elegance and restraint to it... it certainly does not seem random.

I certainly applaud people that do it, its such a refreshing take on style.

I just wonder how one come to the conclusion of being an avant garde dresser. Is it planned that one shops for certain brands such as Junya? Hmm, it's very interesting for me.

[wheneveriwakeup]

Estella was lovely too, soft...
I love when she makes appearances in WAYWT these days...
Melisande is another member who comes to mind...

Love Lori G... leopard with polka dots... looks so natural and 'right' together... Camilla Nickerson has great avant-garde style, too...
And much like Lori, it is rare to see a photo of her..

Whenever I stumble upon these rare individuals, I always admire the obvious complexity and thought behind the look, but am totally floored by how effortless it looks. As if these individuals wore born wearing these clothes. It's miraculous.

I also feel that these individuals have a certain energy. There are many ppl who try to do avant garde but they typically end up looking as if they are wearing costume or the look gives off the feeling of being contrived + unnecessarily complicated... I feel that one must have a healthy level of creative energy as well an innate sense of style, balance, color, scale, and aesthetics to truly achieve this level of dressing. It starts from within...

I'll be back w/ imagery later...

[softgrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pucci_mama I always thought of avant garde as having a certain elegance and restraint to it... it certainly does not seem random. I certainly applaud people that do it, its such a refreshing take on style. I just wonder how one come to the conclusion of being an avant garde dresser. Is it planned that one shops for certain brands such as Junya? Hmm, it's very interesting for me.

i don't think it is ever planned...
not by the real avant gardists...
it's just something that one is compelled to do...
there's just something inside you that has to come out...


and as we have mentioned several times here...
it's not about wearing certain brands/labels/designers...

ie-just because you put on a piece of junya doesn't mean you are suddenly avant garde...especially if you just wear it with jeans...that's not especially creative or interesting and it certainly isn't new or different...
*it's funny that lately a lot of the more avant garde brands are getting more and more attention...it's almost as if some people think that they can 'buy' cool...
but- you can't...
and really cool people don't need labels to prove it to anyone...

[softgrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wheneveriwakeup Estella was lovely too, soft... I love when she makes appearances in WAYWT these days... Melisande is another member who comes to mind... Love Lori G... leopard with polka dots... looks so natural and 'right' together... Camilla Nickerson has great avant-garde style, too... And much like Lori, it is rare to see a photo of her.. Whenever I stumble upon these rare individuals, I always admire the obvious complexity and thought behind the look, but am totally floored by how effortless it looks. As if these individuals wore born wearing these clothes. It's miraculous. I also feel that these individuals have a certain energy. There are many ppl who try to do avant garde but they typically end up looking as if they are wearing costume or the look gives off the feeling of being contrived + unnecessarily complicated... I feel that one must have a healthy level of creative energy as well an innate sense of style, balance, color, scale, and aesthetics to truly achieve this level of dressing. It starts from within... I'll be back w/ imagery later...

great post...
i couldn't agree more...
it's so much more complex than it seems...
there is a whole thought process behind it...
but i think that it actually DOES come naturally to these types of people...
i don't think they can help it, to be honest...they HAVE to dress this way..
so that's why it looks so 'normal' on them...
i think that they would actually look odd and uncomfortable if they were dressed in 'normal' clothes...
ie-jeans and a t shirt...


Camilla Nickerson is another really good example...
we should try to find some interesting pics of her......

[runner]

sometimes it could be the progressive art of solitude, in order to actualize yourself and be more whole, which is almost impossible as long as you follow the herd, conventions, etc.
it's personal and individual.
but maybe it also has something to do with pushing the boundaries of human experience, in this case, with the art of dressing.
true innovation for the human race usually comes from the lonely mind of man.
some of you might be trying to progress at once as an individual and as our species.

[luckyme]

runner, thats a great thought track. i believe its true that that some of the most profound concepts are born from a lonely tormented mind. perhaps there is a certain "freeness" to experiment once the confines of society are left.

evolution works in strange ways...

softgrey, there is a great photo of camilla nickerson in a 2006 junya jacket that speaks volumes, her confidence shows (which i think it takes quite a bit of to pull off avant-garde).

[wheneveriwakeup]

One of the main misconceptions regarding avant garde styles is the belief that one must only wear Yohji, Junya, CDG, Margiela, Limi Feu, Tao, Jurgi, etc... that's totally false...
These designers happen to be explorers of avant-gardism... however, simply wearing their designs does not necessarily translate into an avant garde style of dressing.

Using Bizzy as an example again - I don't think I've ever seen her wear any of the designers above. Actually, she tends to wear a lot of contemporary brands but she has still managed to cultivate a very avant garde aesthetic without the aid of avant garde designer pieces...

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sea of Shoes Jane tends to wear lots of Margiela, Yohji, CDG, etc. However, I wouldn't call her style avant garde. She is ecclectically nostalgic, imo, if that makes any sense?
She looks great either way, though!

I also find that avant garde styles tend to defy the usual restraints placed amongst other styles of dress. There is not a set of rules for how an avant garde dresser should look or what they should wear. I think the only elements that unify avant garde dressers are elegance, simplicity, and most importantly, a sense of timelessness. All else is up for individual interpretation. I find that very refreshing since many other styles of dress are so precise and constricting and as a result, ppl end up looking like one another. Whereas avant garde dressers, though essentially avant garde, all tend to look incredibly different from one another.

To give a universal example, the current style that most ppl are going after is the fashion editor / Alex Wang / Olsen twin / Rick Owens / model / Balmain look...
This style of dress has become so constricting that all attempting it look uncannily similar, even the individuals at the source of it all. It is the idea that you have to have these shoes, this jckt, this bag, this dress, these jeans, this jewelry, etc. in order to achieve this look. However, with avant garde dressing, none of these restrictions exist. Articles of clothing are merely vehicles.... where these vehicles take the wearer is up to the individual behind the wheel. It's unexpected; not contrived... that's why it's so beautiful and moving... it's kind of a personal journey...

So really, there is no need to wear head-to-toe Yohji or CDG or Margiela to be considered an avant garde dress. Yes, these designers are certainly avant garde and pioneers of the entire movement, but the fact that you dont have to subscribe to any designer or article of clothing is exactly why it's probably so difficult to accurately pinpt what makes an avant garde dresser an 'avant garde dresser'...

[Inaya]

great thread, soft.

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Originally Posted by softgrey i think a lot of the people who do this do it in a subtle way... and also..i don't think they necessarily like the camera or want the attention... ...

indeed... I would say that most people who are truly of an avant garde style are not lovers of the spotlight. the want for attention, opinons and acceptance, imo, is basically the antithesis of someone who is avant garde.

runner does have a great point as well. how can the clothing speak for itself if the wearer is too loud?

[wheneveriwakeup]

Here are some photos I've collected over the years...

257584654_2328fd336e.jpg
Camilla Nickerson

17m.jpg
Camilla in Junya... she looks so natural + elegant... on another person it could have ended up looking like something out of Blade Runner...

6a0105364db45b970c010536fcfe86970b-pi.jpg
I love this woman. Her use of texture, color, and print is incredibly arresting... the silhouette is lovely as well...

rainy day.bmp


lovely couple.jpg
Note the woman's look... there is something so retrained about the look. It is perfectly executed and romantically subversive.

TIBI.jpg
Margiela Tabi boots in practice...
A very tough shoe to pull off, but she manages to do so with grace, wit, and pure style, imo...

blizzard.jpg
Fantastic mixture of prints and energy, but there is nothing overt about it all...

sources: flickr, style, thesatorialist

[wheneveriwakeup]

^ Excluding the 2 Satorialist shots, all of those photos are, at the very least, 2 years old or more... I think all of them still look very fresh and modern...

[pucci_mama]

... I love Camilla Nickerson.. she has just this natural edge abour her..I guess her looks helps her in this

[luckyme]

these are some i've collected as examples...to boldly go...

garancedore.fr
thesatorialist.com

[softgrey]

i think that last girl is the complete opposite of avant garde...
she's wearing all the labels...sure...
but they are all 'trendy' pieces...
that is not a look that comes 'from her soul'...

it's not very original or unique..
case in point...
lucky- don't you actually have that exact outfit???
...

and i have to say...
i have seen a number of people walking around the city with that look...

and to be honest...
i feel the same way about kate lanphear...
she has a great look and she has an edge...
but i would call it trendy...and almost mainstream actually...
it's a classic punk rock look...

[softgrey]

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I love this woman. Her use of texture, color, and print is incredibly arresting... the silhouette is lovely as well...

that is melanie ward...
another of the world's greatest stylists...
she used to work very closely with helmut lang......

also a designer who broke new ground with his work...
i do miss him...

i adore all the examples you posted wiw..
*i actually have that pic with the umbrella stuck on my wall..