I am always surprised to see the outcome of collections inspired by the great Robert Mapplethorpe.
Because I don't find any of the sexual tension, the energy or the crude beauty in this collection made by LDSS.
Mapplethorpe is one of the greatest photographers of his generation and he managed to turn something very rough, dark, dirty into eternal poetry.
I feel bad for Mapplethorpe...seeing his named soiled with this pathetic collection.
Do you really like Mapplethorpe, dear Ludovic ? Then maybe use models that ooze some real Mapplethrope energy. Putting poorly executed chaps on fragile twinks isn't a doing a Mapplethorpe collection.
The casting is wrong, the styling is wrong, the accessories are cheap and all the BDSM details are an insult to what real and fine BDSM gear.
This is a Pinterest collection of a fashion student who has fantasies about gay saunas. It's clearly not executed by someone who experienced the scene, that kind of gear and the emotions of being sub/dom.
The collection smells like soap when Robert's work was about sweat, tears and other body fluids I won't mention here.
And to finish my critic, a beautiful picture to remember the power of photography in a world where cheap imagery is celebrated
artgallery.nsw.gov.au