Unraveling the Mystery that Is Rad Hourani

Since his Paris debut in 2007, Rad Hourani has been like a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma under a black leather tunic. Now showing in New York, he's as abstruse as ever, his models—male and female—giving nothing away as they storm down the runway sheathed in all-black, armor-like uniforms, as if they're some chic army from the future. With a photo exhibition coming up in New York and a film script in the works, it seems there's yet another layer to Rad, one which I try to unravel...

The first fashion show I ever attended was yours. What was your first show?
Oh, wow. The first show I ever attended was Chanel when I first moved to Paris. I got a call from Chanel saying that Karl was amused with the portrait I did of myself looking like him. They invited me to the show and it was lovely. It was like a concert, with what felt like thousands of people and a great energy.

Besides more Rad Hourani, what do you think the New York fashion world needs?
Honestly, I think New York is perfect just the way it is—energetic and powerful!

What's the most beautiful photograph you've ever seen?
I think that I haven't seen it yet. I think beauty is everywhere, but perfection is nowhere. I'm a perfectionist, but I don't think perfection exists. These mediums that I use, fashion and photography, give me the illusion that perfection exists. I'm still looking for that one photograph and I hope some day I'll create it.

What's your guiltiest pleasure? We won't tell anyone.
Sleeping in! I love to do it, but I always feel so guilty when I do.

What is the best dream you've ever had?
I have so many dreams about flying. It's the most exciting dream when I'm flying. It's such an airy and amazing feeling. There are no limits and you can go around the planet in one day. You know, you feel alive.

What's one question you wish the fashion press would ask you?
That's a good question because sometimes I find it so repetitive. Sometimes it feels like I could cut and paste the answers. I rarely prepare myself for interviews and so I try to answer in a spontaneous and curious way. It's fresh rather than programming yourself. It's the same with the clothes.

You show in New York, but your studio is in Paris. How does that work?
After my debut collection in Paris in 2007, I was invited to show in New York. I like the idea of being from nowhere, but being everywhere. I don't really like it when designers are only from one specific city or culture. I don't want to be put into one category.

Home is where your heart is.
Yes! I don't feel like I need to have one home. My home is everywhere I go, on the street, in a restaurant, a store, a hotel. I don't function in the way that I need the security of one home to go to each night.

The models in your shows and photos are androgynous beauties like Nick W. Who is your favorite new beautiful boy?
I don't think I have one. I just like working with fresh energy that doesn't have a past or a reference, whose potential nobody else seems to realize. When I first shot Yuri Pleskun, I was so excited to create images that were modern to me. I'm happy to see that he's so successful today. We've used so many models when they first started, I can't remember all their names!

How did you get into photography?
When I was eleven, my dad gave me a camera. I took tons of pictures of my friends. I was asking my friends to pose, but I had no idea there were such things as photo shoots or fashion. Recently, I had a flashback of myself as that kid. When I take a picture, it just happens. I try to think of nothing.

What are some other projects you're working on?
I'm writing a script for an hour-long movie that begins filming next year. I do videos and I work on composing music when I have the time. I had my first solo exhibition of photography in June in Paris and I'll be concentrating more on that this year, as well as another exhibition in New York. I do as much as I can!

What is one last thing we simply must know about Rad Hourani?
There are many things, but let's keep it a mystery! 

Visit Rad Hourani

• Posted September 01, 2010
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Mark Fast Actually Loves Lady Gaga

In the past year, two tremors have rocked the London fashion scene and designer Mark Fast's place in it. First, his last two catwalk shows have seen a near-sacrilegious mingling of plus-sized models with the regular minus kind, making his already-clingy Lycra knit dresses a big, bold statement on their more-to-love figures. And second, he denied Lady Gaga the use of his garments, for fear of...well, you can read his answer below. Both intensified the spotlight on the East End-toiling newbie—and helped him nab cushy sponsorships.

Next month, Fast will show his spring '11 collection at London Fashion Week's Somerset House, which has the fashion crowd wondering if another faux pas will rock their worlds. We caught up with Fast to talk about his newfound fame and just how fast he plans to go...

Would you say you're part of an East London group of designers? You all seem to work on the same block—Shacklewell Lane, to be exact. Why is that?
Not just the same block. In fact, at the moment, most of us are in the same building. I think East London has a great energy and mix of cultures. The designers I know show such a great absorption of culture, and this is a great place to do it. Also, there is a grimy cool edge here, which is very London fashion.

You’ve worked with Lancôme, Topshop, and Swarovski, to name a few. How important are collaborations for new designers?
Collaborations are an amazing way to make one's dreams come true. I would never be able to afford 10,000 crystals for my dresses each season. Swarovski allows me to create what I see in my head without compromising on creativity because of the cost. I also work with MAC on my shows and they are an incredible support. When you have collaborations you get introduced to really professional and creative people and products. There is a great trust between me and my sponsors. We feed creatively off each other. It is also a great way to see how your vision can be immersed into high-end or high-street possibilities.

Are you ever inspired by your Canadian roots? What about a lumberjack line?
Ha, very funny! But yes, that would be a great idea! I am very fond of my Canadian culture. I love the peace of the nature there.

Earlier this year you made the decision not to loan dresses to Lady Gaga. What was your rationale at the time and did she say anything to you about it?
I love Lady Gaga. She's a great performer. At the time the request was made, I didn't feel like she had the right image for the brand. It was really blown out of proportion, actually. I find it so silly that people would focus on that. It happens every single day in fashion that requests get declined for one reason or another.

Out of everyone you’ve dressed, who has been your favorite?
Rihanna, because I love her vibe and music.

What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you right before show time?
Finding out that Mary Katrantzou, who showed after me, had the same music as me.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever thought about sending down the runway?
A mannequin wheeled down by someone, with a drawing of a dress pinned on it.

Can you give us any hints about your next collection?
Well, I haven't had such a catwalk as I will have at Somerset House. I am going to have a great lighting rig. The production is going to be hot!

Your second line, Faster, seems to be doing well. Any plans for another line?
Not So Fast, dresses that take many weeks to make.

What’s one thing we don’t know about Mark Fast?
My middle name is Knits.

Visit Mark Fast

• Posted August 25, 2010
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Heaven Tanudiredja Makes Jewelry That's, Well, Heaven-Sent

Harboring a strange and lifelong fascination with French military jets, Balinese-born Heaven Tanudiredja took off to study fashion design in France, but landed in neighboring Belgium. Close enough. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Antwerp with a degree in menswear, he held stints with John Galliano, Dior Couture and Dries Van Noten, with whom he often collaborates. In 2007, taking a detour from fashion, he launched a jewelry label, known for its high-end beadwork and, of course, a recurring jet motif.

More recently, South Korean men's designer Juun J asked Heaven to create the jewelry for his spring '11 collection in Paris—a mere month and half before the show. The result: giant, hyper-masculine, highly sculptural, altogether mind-blowing pieces...

Tell us about the collaboration. What's the concept?
I started with a basic color scheme of black and white. While I was looking at old images, I came across a series of tattoos. I wanted to emulate this in my jewelry, so that the wearer has a very decadent tattoo which they can put on and take off.

How did you and Juun J meet?
Juun contacted me initially and it has been a very happy pairing.

How did it go working on the collection together?
He asked me quite late in the day, less that two months before the show! I got to work straight away, making samples according to his brief and then we continued to swap ideas until we were both happy with the finished pieces.

How did you first become interested in jewelry?
It's so often overlooked in fashion, but it's incredible. The level of work and quality of materials that go into these tiny pieces is incomparable to anything else in fashion.

Where do you normally look for inspiration?
My main source of inspiration is always the body. When you are designing something worn next to the skin, it becomes a very intimate object. I am always so conscious of that.

Why have you switched from designing menswear to jewelry?
I guess it started from my fascination with craft and detail, things which are also important with menswear, but it seemed to be a natural progression for me.

What are your plans for the future?
Plans are in the works for my womenswear line. It's so exciting! I'm just about to expand my studio so everyone will be in the same building. I'd also like to be doing more jewelry collaborations. I would love to work applying my beadwork to bags, etc. Maybe some of that will transfer into my womenswear, too.

Who would you like to collaborate with next?
I'd love to work with Azzadine Alaïa. I think it would be a wonderful combination of textures. Textures are suprisingly important in jewelry design. I would also like to do some sort of collaboration with someone like Topshop, just for fun.

What are the difficulties facing designers today?
People are so used to buying items made in factories that they often won't see the merits in buying a handmade item. In terms of quality, individuality and value, a handmade item will win every time. That is why I am so passionate about it. All of my pieces are made painstakingly by hand, but when I see the end result, it is always worth it.

What keeps you going?
Coffee, cigarettes, my daylight lamp for beadwork, and seeing Heaven Tanudriuredja pieces tucked into boxes and ready for shipping.

Heaven Tanudiredja is available at Barneys New York, Liberty of London, Maria Luisa in Paris, RA in Antwerp, or by visiting his website.

• Posted August 23, 2010
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Meet the Fashion Darling of French-Canada

We'd like to introduce you to Denis Gagnon, as he'd probably be too shy to do it himself. We met the bashful, French-speaking créateur on a recent trip to Montréal, sponsored by the Festival Mode et Design. A local favorite for the past ten years, Denis possesses all the hallmarks of his transatlantic counterparts—the daring of Rick Owens (his own fave), the eccentricity of Alber Elbaz (his signature glasses are Lanvin wayfarers replaced with prescription lenses), the reclusiveness of Martin Margiela (well, not quite as much)—but with an edge unique to Quebec.

In the video below Denis gives us a tour of his fall collection: shimmery dresses draped and layered out of peek-a-boo fringe, skirts sculpted entirely from zippers, expertly crafted leather jackets and pants, and gloves fashioned out of his very own animal-skin rugs, yanked right off the studio floor. (He also gave us a preview of his top-secret spring '11 collection—expect more gorgeousness.) We know the video is sideways and shaky, and the sound quality sucks—apologies. But in a way, it's only fitting for Denis, whose designs themselves are often skewed, requiring closer, tilt-of-the-head inspection. But if it's too much to bear, here's a proper video of the runway show at Montréal Fashion Week, so in-demand they showed it twice.

On October 18, Denis will not only present his anticipated spring collection, but also launch a four-month-long retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts, the MOMA of Montréal. Considering the next designer to exhibit there is Jean Paul Gaultier, the first stop in a multi-city tour, a showing in the museum's grand galeries seems only natural for one of our northern neighbor's foremost artistes.

• Posted August 17, 2010
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Men's Designer Boris Bidjan Saberi Sees a Better Future

"My romantic side always thinks about a nicer, better world," says Boris Bidjan Saberi when asked what fashion needs now. "Maybe people will come on my boat one day and we can build a second arc," he adds jokingly. A funny idea, but to the German-born men's designer of Persian descent, anything is possible. Since he debuted at Barcelona Fashion Week in 2008, Saberi has sought a futuristic ideal through artful interpretations of men's silhouettes.

For his fall collection, shown in Paris, enormous sculpted jackets looked as though they were made from one continuous piece of leather, in some cases obscuring the face so as to resemble male veils. Loose-fitting pants worn under asymmetric layers—in his signature scaled-back palette of black and nude—achieved an easy, nomadic feel. It would seem these are clothes intended to be worn in a utopian (and possibly sandy) future, where clothes are minimal, well-proportioned and work in harmony with each other.

Not that the future couldn't use a superhero. Saberi's would be called Wanja, and "he would fight with his best friend against the dark side, with a lot of well-made steel arms." We're not sure about the steel arms, but the black leather cocoon-like sheath? Yes, please.

Visit Boris Bidjan Saberi

• Posted August 09, 2010
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For New Berlin Label Don’t Shoot the Messengers, It's All In the Delivery

Hailing from New Zealand and Canada, respectively, Kyle Callanan and Jen Gilpin ended up in Berlin, where they met, discovered a shared aesthetic and founded the label Don’t Shoot the Messengers. “The name came from a long conversation about the label," they say, "and how we wanted to look into things that were sort of unconscious and untouchable, like mercury. You can see it, but it moves away from your finger when you try to touch it. Also, by association, Mercury is the messenger figure [in Roman mythology], which is where Don’t Shoot the Messenger came from.”

Attitude is key and black dominates, with nude accents the only chromatic concession for fall, their second season. Darkly feminine, the collection—a mix of aggressively cut lamb leather and soft, shimmery silk—is at once elegant, sexy and raw. “We like the contrast of things, line and shape, always looking into geometry and its relation to the body. Leather and silk are our base notes, along with straight lines and curving forms, tailoring and draping.”

In short, don't shoot the messenger because the messenger (who is not Shannon Doherty, by the way) brings good things.

• Posted July 29, 2010
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Manish Arora Lives in a Fantasy World

Launching in New Delhi, but soon showing in London, then Paris, where he's currently on the prêt-à-porter calendar, Manish Arora has a resume that reads like a world map—and a colorful one at that. Although rooted in practicality, he says, his designs evoke a kaleidoscopic fantasy world full of searing colors, wild animals and surreal shapes. His skirts for spring '09, for instance, were made out of miniature, but working, carousels. For fall '10, he showed more of his signature fractal-like prints—worn with neon Louise Brooks bobs—in a sort of futuristic Bollywood. Dazzled by his collections, we wanted to know how his vivid imagination ticks...



Your prints are so vibrant. What color do you like the most?

Bright Indian pink! But I love color on the whole, all tints and shades. The more the better, accented with gold or silver.



Do you design more with an eye toward the past or future?

I design toward the future and at the same time I incorporate traditional Indian techniques in surface ornamentation.



If you could create a fantasy world, what would it look like?

Bright, sparkly, colorful and Space Age.


At times your clothes have featured prints or images of wild animals. What animal are you most drawn to?

I like tigers. They’re so regal. I love the contrast of the black and orange in their coats. Not as a garment though—just wild and free!


What is the most decadent or extravagant thing you’ve done?

I really don’t remember. I’m a pretty simple person. I strongly believe in practicality. I guess my need for extravagance is satisfied when I design my clothes. 
 


What are your thoughts about doing couture?

I would love to do it. If time permits, one day I will.


What was your most beloved storybook when you were a child? What is it now?

The Ugly Duckling. Today, Alice in Wonderland.



Is there a specific time or place when ideas come most freely?

As an artist, you can find inspiration from almost anything, from eras and civilizations to people and places. The list is endless. You always come across things that strike that cord with you. This is fashion, always evolving, constantly on the move.



What is the scene for a young designer starting in India? What was your experience?

I consider myself a young designer because I’m still in the process of evolving. But on a general note, nowadays it is very difficult for new designers in India to make a mark, as there is a lot of competition that’s growing by the day. 


What is one fashion question you wish the press wouldn’t ask?

One question that I don’t appreciate is when the press compares the styles of two designers. A lot of work goes into creating our pieces by translating our individual ideologies into reality. In my opinion, unless a design has been knocked off, two artists should never be compared.

You've worked with Reebok on a limited-edition shoe. Any other collaborations in the works?

I love collaborating with brands and artists. It takes your scale of designing to the next level. Currently I’m doing a project with Nespresso. Also, I designed an elephant [sculpture] for auction for the Elephant Parade in London.

• Posted July 24, 2010
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Jewelry Designer Elie Top Goes Over the Top for Lanvin

Meet Elie Top, the 33-year-old designer behind Lanvin's fantastic, over-the-top jewelry. Dapper and self-effacing, Top was one of fashion’s best-kept secrets who now finds himself one of its fastest-rising stars.

In the dozen or so years since he began as an intern illustrator in Yves Saint Laurent’s atelier, Top has helped put jewelry center stage not just at Lanvin, but across the board, and his quirky tribal-industrial fall collection is a stunner—a cross between an H.G. Wells time machine and a medieval torture device (those metal chokers could do some harm!).

Add to that hand-faceted, jeweled carafe-stoppers for Baccarat, not to mention design stints for names we’re not at liberty to mention, and it’s clear why Top is coming out on top—even if his feet remain firmly on the ground. “Big rocks don’t interest me,” he says. “What interests me is character.” You can see a lot more of his character when he launches a semi-precious jewelry line of his own next year. In the meantime, here he reflects on his cosmic-grandma baubles for Monsieur Elbaz...

How did you get your start?
I met Albert Elbaz at YSL Rive Gauche [in 1997]. When I arrived in Paris at 20, and my first job was in M. Saint Laurent’s studio, mostly working on illustrations. Then Alber asked me to work on jewelry, plus some belts and bags. When Tom Ford took over, I left Rive Gauche and went to YSL couture, but also went freelance. When Alber went to Lanvin, he called me. Aside from Chanel, jewelry had no real presence. Alber totally relaunched that.

What did you learn from Yves Saint Laurent?
I learned that everything has a purpose and there is no room for useless detail. He would spend hours choosing the right black crêpe and perfecting the cut. No act was gratuitous. Alaïa works that way, too, on the body. There is a continuity, and I like that. It’s more interesting than changing every season.

What were your inspirations for fall?
It’s a tribal collection heavily influenced by an industrial theme, but it’s a bit of a cabinet of curiosities because there’s a cosmic side to it. It’s very 3-D and high volume, kind of far-out with lots of mixes, like leather and rhinestones. That was an interesting exercise, because we wanted to do massive stuff that wasn’t heavy—and I usually do stuff that’s heavy, like my cuff for the Baccarat Bouchons collection. 

Tell us about your process.
Alber lets me do my thing, and then we talk about it. What’s great about Alber is that if something works, he really pushes you. He asks for a lot and it’s always interesting. For my part, I think its interesting to take something common and then do something unusual with it. For example, I like taking something that’s not directional, that’s had a previous life, like something grandma wore that you’ve had around forever. That way, it has personality—a bit like Loulou [de la Falaise].

Any challenges?
The trap of designing is that you become enchanted with the picture, but it doesn’t always work in reality. It’s easy to get caught up in the design itself and forget reality. There’s a lot of economy in getting just the right line.

• Posted July 15, 2010
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Look Book Look: Pleasure Principle

Behold Pleasure Principle's men's collection for fall—or a small selection of it—with all the Druid  hoods, mummy  draping and ghastly silkscreens you've come to love and expect. In stores at the end of July.

photos Francois Hugon
model Nick Palmer

• Posted June 22, 2010
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Graeme Armour

“He was soft and romantic, then hard and dark,” says Scottish designer Graeme Armour of the late Alexander McQueen, under whom he apprenticed during his fashion studies at Central Saint Martins. "It's something I find in my own work." But while McQueen is the progenitor of the fierce/fragile dichotomy that underlies the aesthetic of a new generation of provocateurs, Armour's hard-edged elegance is all his own. For spring, Armour’s acuity for elaborate detail plays out through the evolution of his zipper motif, a signature of earlier collections. Here, zippers are coiled into petal shapes or used as trim on modernist black, white and gold leather dresses, resulting in a tactile hybrid of utility and femininity.

"I love the feeling of sports mixed with elements of couture," says Armour. In other words: "cool, expensive, experimental and fun"—which is also how he describes the type of woman drawn to his clothes. After all, this is a man whose first widely coveted garment was a pair of gold pants consisting of delicate leather foliage resembling the underside of a mushroom. "I produced that collection for £1250 right on my kitchen table," he says of his 2009 debut. Among Armour’s early adopters were Kate Bosworth, Cheryl Cole and the always intrepid Lady Gaga.

With plans for a resort collection, an exclusive Japanese “jersey” line and, of course, spring 2011 well under way, Armour is quickly rising to the level of fame enjoyed by fellow Scottish designers Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders. "The Scots are having a moment, and quite rightly,” he says. "The glamour of dress and excess are part of the Scottish culture,” he notes, quipping, "Some Scottish women look like the daughters of Valentino in a country that has no sun!"

photos: Saga Sig
styling/make-up: Elisabet Alma Svendsen
model: Azila @ FM Models

• Posted June 04, 2010
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