Introducing Fashion-Photography Femme Fatale: JULIE RIEMERSMA
25-year-old Toronto-based Julie Riemersma lives to become a full time fashion photographer. Julie talks about her love for fashion, photography and the culmination of her two passions in ‘Pollock’.
So Julie, tell me - how did it all start?
I started using my first film camera when I was six or seven. I took pictures of ‘Sailor Moon’ on TV and of my grandmother drawing. I've always loved taking photos, but after a particularly stressful last year of high school I turned away from my expected path of a medical career to pursue being a fashion photographer. It practically happened on a whim. I decided not to live with any regrets and here I am!
And how have your pictures changed since you started studying photography?
I consider details much more now as I take a shot, especially the light. There is a lot more precision involved, but sometimes you still have to work with what’s available. When I get to a location and the light is difficult or low I still get to use my problem solving skills!
What is the most difficult part of being a photographer?
Probably the fact that you are your own boss. You have to be motivated, every day. You never have any real deadlines other than the ones you set yourself, so you have to be quite disciplined. In the long haul, it gets exhausting to continually try to get yourself out of bed, caffeinated and at the desk by 9am.
And the best part?
Shooting! All the pre- and postproduction nitty-gritties fade away when I have my camera in my hand. It’s a kind of high and it’s what I try to stay focused on. I also love collaging in Photoshop, and creating abstract and different art and fashion. Ideas for shoots tend to pop into my head randomly and are most of the time inspired by details in the everyday.
Tell me a bit about your portfolio. Is there a message in your pictures?
I try to capture beauty and, if I possibly can, also to capture a piece of my subject’s soul. I have a lot of images and concepts in my head and much of my upcoming work will be about getting what I imagine out of my head and on to film.
I’ve always loved fashion, since I first got my hands on my mother’s Vogue magazines. As someone who aspired to become a professional photographer, fashion seemed like the best way to combine commercial opportunity with the artistic expression I was seeking. When fine art and fashion meet, they create enduring and stunning images. That’s the vision.
I believe your fashion series ‘Pollock’ is a great expression of this vision! Can you tell me a little bit about it?
The name of the series is ‘Pollock’ since it was inspired by the American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock. I was brought in by Lydia Chan who thought up the concept. She has an incredibly creative mind and is perfectionistic in the execution of her ideas. She did all of the styling and created much of the clothes and all of the headpieces – by hand! It was shot on a very stormy day in the driveway of a suburban home. We kept having to interrupt the shoot to bring all the equipment inside to avoid the intermittent showers. In terms of the artistic outcome, the postproduction work is really experimenting with the shots. I wanted to see how we could play around with blending modes on the shots I took of the plain driveway and background. My favourite part is the way in which unexpected details came across. For example, the way in which the greys contrasted with some of the fabric creates a quirky effect, which I really like. All shots can create unexpected originality and I like to capture as much of that as possible and that’s what I hope comes through in ‘Pollock’.
Sure! And finally, what would you say has the largest impact on your work?
Current events have a big impact on my work. To me, modern women are pushing back on a patriarchy that uses sexuality to sell. I think women are, and always have been, beautiful subjects for art and “sexy” should not be the main selling point. Women can be intelligent, eccentric, cute, badass or whatever they like and I try to incorporate that into my shots. I try to make it more about the specific subject and her unique style, and less about what is generally considered to be the unobtainable “perfect woman”. In the future I want to be able to incorporate even more abstract concepts and ideas. To me, photography is an important mode of expression and I will continue to highlight social issues in my works, creating awareness about the issues that are important to me to get across. That’s what matters most to me and what makes me love what I do.
Model: Saki Wani
Stylist: Lydia Chan
Photographer: Julie Riemersma
Makeup and hair: Christina Nguyen
Stylist Assistant: Jacqueline Chow
Leutton Postle, Knitting a Labour of Love
Renowned for its colourful designs and eccentric patterns, luxury knitwear label Leutton Postle boasts distinctive collections in a characteristic aesthetic. Founded in 2011 as a “labour of love” between long-time friends and academic peers Sam Leutton and Jenny Postle, the brand has since garnered a celebrated position in the realm of contemporary fashion design.
Sam and Jenny met in 2005 while working toward their BA at Central Saint Martins. Similar tastes and like interests in knitwear brought them together, resulting in a collaborative union between the two young designers. “We always liked a lot of the same things and that just grew as we progressed through college,” Jenny explained during an interview with ROOMS. “That being said, we do also have very clear differences in taste.” However, even with apparent individual preferences, the two were undeniably cut from the same cloth. Thus, following the success of Jenny’s MA/ AW11 line – a collection of avant-garde garments adorned with thoughtfully mismatched patchwork – and upon Sam’s return from Shanghai, where she spent time exploring knitwear innovation, the pair set to begin their first joint undertaking: their SS12 Collection.
Featuring intricate, polychromatic patterns, a playful plethora of textures, and asymmetrical silhouettes, the SS12 Collection made its debut at London Fashion Week in September of 2011. While, once on the runway, the collection appeared effortlessly seamless and polished, preparation for the show was anything but. While Sam notes that, “in a very disorganised manner we manically knitted [the] collection” and Jenny recollects the process as “total mayhem,” their debut proved to be a huge success, with big names like Vogue and Grazia taking notice.
Although the label’s exciting debut put Leutton Postle on the map, the up-and-coming duo remained humble and determined. “Showing in London was the biggest extravagance really, and we also did Paris Fashion Week and worked with PR, but we didn’t do anything dramatically different or off the wall to get attention – just knitted!”
And knit they did.
In the three years since its premiere, Leutton Postle has presented five additional collections, each incorporating a unique twist on the label’s characteristic approach: a focus on pattern, texture, and colour. In fact, to Sam, the presence of vivid, saturated colour is just as important to the design process as it is to the finished garments. “While I just love colour, I think I work with colour more that I actually wear it. If you’re looking at colours all day, it’s certain to have a positive effect on you.” Undoubtedly, this colour-centric outlook explains the inexhaustible prevalence of bright hues and vivid tones characteristic of the Leutton Postle label.
In addition to this emphasis on aesthetics, there remains an inherent commitment to quality and extensive attention to detail in their designs. While the label has undoubtedly seen massive success on the glitzy catwalk, Jenny and Sam also pride their garments on their everyday, ready-to-wear possibilities. “We love to cater to all sorts of men and women with different styles. Knitwear is so versatile so people can tweak it to match their own styles.” That is why, in addition to its seasonal collections, Leutton Postle has recently opted to collaborate with accessible brands outside of the fashion realm – the most recent being Kopparberg, a celebrated cider company.
Given Leutton Postle’s quirky aesthetic and Kopparberg’s Scandanavian roots, the two brands teamed up to create a festive, cosy knit jumper. “Kopparberg wanted to collaborate with a knitwear label for their cosy Spiced Apple Cider. It seemed like the perfect fit. The jumper is typically Leutton Postle in that it is patterned and very colourful but with a little twist, as we took inspiration from Kopparberg’s heritage, the town itself, and traditional Swedish knitwear patterns.” Like all of Leutton Postle’s designs, this knit conveys an innovative, re-imagined approach to fashion. Jenny notes that, “it was really fun to work on the deconstruction of the Swedish knit, as it's such a recognisable textile pattern in its original form.”
So, what’s next for the designing duo? In addition to collaborations and, of course, new collections, both Sam and Jenny have been experimenting with fashion film – a feat that Jenny calls “a huge step for us that has really shaped our last 2 years.” Still, not all of Leutton Postle’s planned projects are as fashion-forward or even as obvious. When asked what is next on the agenda, it became clear that the pair is eager and excited to try on different hats. “I’d like to make my own alcohol,” Sam proclaimed. “I have a really good idea, but it’s a secret for now.”
Clearly, Leutton Postle has a thing or two up their sleeves.
The Elegant Simplicity of Amelie Bahlsen’s Liquid Boxes
Born in Germany and based in New York, fashion designer Amelie Bahlsen uses experimental patterns to produce unique and chic garments.
With exquisite yet understated materials and obscure, striking silhouettes,Bahlsen seeks to “translate abstract and conceptual ideas about space, perspective and three-dimensionality” in her work.
Bahlsen’s interest in fashion materialized after high school. Excited by her newfound passion, she enrolled in Berlin’s Mediadesign University, where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design. Following a subsequent internship with Ame Souer in Paris, Bahlsen migrated to New York to study at Parsons School of Design, where she received her Master’s Degree in Fashion Design and Society. For her thesis project, she designed and created her Liquid BOXES collection – an array of dresses featuring bold accents of color and overlaid in distinctive white sheaths.
Bahlsen discusses the conceptual nature of BOXES with ROOMS:
My thesis collection Liquid BOXES is about the idea of three-dimensionality and perspective translated into garments. What happens when you sew a perspectively-drawn box in fabric? How do those shapes collapse on the body? I aimed to answer these questions with the dresses whose pattern construction was in fact based on cubes and boxes.
With their geometric focus and inherent exploratory nature, her BOXES garments are clearly conceptually striking. They also, however, boast a stunning aesthetic:
To emphasize the depth and the different shades of white there are two layers of dresses: a printed undergarment and a white overlay. The prints are made by ink and food coloring dropped in water and contrast the straight and graphic elements of the white ‘box’-dresses nicely.
By juxtaposing the flowing, abstract nature of the colorful patterns with the pieces’ stark, clean contours, Bahlsen’s work conveys an undeniable interest in experimenting with fashion. With her innovative focus, refreshing aesthetic, and distinctive style, Amelie Bahlsen definitely thinks outside the box.
amelie-bahlsen
Shades of White: The Runway Dominator for SS15
From the lightest white to the darkest white, this shade has not been missed on the runway for the Spring/Summer 2015 collections. With it’s simplicity and clean effect, white has been observed in almost all the fashion shows this season.
French fashion houses such as Lanvin, Hermes, and Celine have all featured this pure and soothing shade. Clean cut, yet floaty materials were seen to be paired together with this elegant colour. Minimalism was the ‘Big Boom’ for this SS15 Ready-To-Wear collections.
For instance Balenciaga used geometrical mesh cut materials to emphasise texture and transparency, while showcasing different shades of white and neutral colours. Loewe’s runway was dominated by oversized, loose and light fabrics used on high waisted trousers and tops. Light white cotton and linen combined together with leather gave this collection a modern yet realistic feel. The white craze also took over Hermes. The ‘Wrapping’ style has been effectively combined with this colour. As always uber-feminine chiffon gowns from Valentino have been featured with lace and floral details, brining the real spring/summer mood into play. Alber Elbaz, the much adored designer of the Lanvin fashion house started the show with super sleek Grecian dresses in white, black and navy. Details such as the ‘thigh slit’ and the animal print belt, took these dresses to the next level of chic. The message for us from the Fashion Houses this coming season would have to be ‘Go All White’. Fashion trends will always change, but no doubt this colour will always remain dominant in the fashion industry.
From Bed Linens to Statement Pieces: The Fashion of DUVET DAYS
While you may have thought the cartoon-covered pillowcases and dinosaur sheets of your youth were merely a thing of the past, fashion label Duvet Days has brought them back in a big way.
When reminiscing about your childhood bedroom, embarrassing posters and strewn-about toys inevitably come to mind. But what about your old bed sheets?
Whether covered in busy, colorful patterns or decorated with contemporaneously popular cartoon characters, your old bedspread undoubtedly made a bold statement about your prepubescent interests. And, to London-based fashion label Duvet Days, they still can.
Specialising in upcycled, unisex clothing, Duvet Days repurposes old blankets and pillowcases into casual garments. Ranging from trousers to cropped tops, each retro-inspired creation features simple lines and basic silhouettes to complement the boisterous patterns and nostalgic decorations. To founder Emma Graham-While, this balance is key, as she emphasises that “it’s important to let the print talk”. In addition to its appealing aesthetics, each piece is 100% upcycled and, thus, entirely eco-friendly.
Whether worn as daily getups or lazy loungewear, Duvet Days’ wistful blast-from-the-past collection is sure to jog your memory.
ANDREA JIAPEI LI
I BECAME VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT FASHION BECAUSE I LOVED HOW IT COMBINES BOTH ART, CREATIVITY WITH FUNCTIONALITY
Earning her stripes as a breaking new talent in her native China, Li elevated her dream of becoming a fashion designer to New York, where as well as graduating from Parsons has also showcased at New York Fashion Week. Here, Li gives her honest overview on sacrifices, the best piece of advice she’s received from her mentors as well as finding her individual identity.
How did you kick-start your career?
I just graduated from the MFA program in fashion design at Parsons, so I’d say that my career is really just starting out. I obtained my undergraduate degree in fashion design in China, and founded the label Nothing Clothing while in school, which I was very fortunate to have the backing of several independent retailers. Upon graduation was when I decided to come to New York to pursue an MFA at Parsons.
Why did you decide to break away from China and relocate to New York?
The MFA at Parsons was a very exciting opportunity as the academic excellence and achievement of the fashion design program are highly recognized around the world. Also New York is one of the major fashion capitals and home of a lot of young fashion brands that I’ve frequently followed.
How did your interest in fashion come about?
Growing up I always loved to paint, when I was in high school I became very passionate about fashion because I loved how it combines both art, creativity with functionality – fashion design to me is a form of art that can be constantly observed and admired in daily life.
Who are the influential figures in fashion you look up to?
I wouldn’t necessarily consider her as my role model but Phoebe Philo is a designer that I’ve always admired. I think she is very forward thinking and modern in her creations, transitioning this ethos to her own personal style – to me she embodies both the elegance of a European woman and the cool personality of a New Yorker.
Building your career can be very time consuming. What sacrifices did you make to get to where you are today?
I think the sacrifice that most designers and fashion design students have to make is slashing the time spent with friends and family. Designing a collection is a lengthy and sometimes lonely process in the sense that one has to completely shut down and have some time alone in order to fully explore themselves to conceptualize and design a collection. Then of course there were countless late nights when my friends were out partying and I was working to a deadline cutting patterns.
Have their been difficult times in your career and how did you overcome them?
What I found the most challenging during my two years at Parsons was the process of transforming abstract inspirations and ideas into the actual design and garments. Yet this difficult time allowed me to discover and explore my own design identity.
Living in New York must give you plenty of fresh ideas for new collections. What inspires your work?
I get a lot of inspirations from my surroundings, whether it is music I listen to, movies I watch, places I visit or people I meet. New York is such a diverse and vibrant city where there is always something going on, living in the city alone is already a great source of inspiration.
What are your stand-out moments of your career to date?
It was the greatest pleasure to have my collection open the Parsons MFA show at Milk Studio during New York Fashion Week. The graduate collection was the culmination of my two-year study at Parsons and I was very grateful to have the opportunity to not just share my work with industry professionals and the media, but also to have my collection open the show.
What is the best piece of advice you have received from your mentors?
Design not only for production, but also for fun. I think as a designer it is very easy to get absorbed into the design process and become very product or goal-oriented. As I work on a collection I like to remind myself that the process should be enjoyable and only if I enjoy the process and have fun with it can I come up with a collection that I love.
There are many young people who are desperately trying to breakout in the industry. What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a fashion designer?
It may sound cliché but I’d say try to stay true to yourself. It could be tempting to follow trends or be influenced by what is popular, but at the end of the day it is the designer’s own design identity that matters the most.
What projects are you working on right now?
I’m working on the Fall/Winter 2015 collection now and I’m really excited about it. In terms of style and aesthetics I’d like it to be a continuation of my graduate Spring/Summer 2015 collection, but definitely with new silhouettes and focus on fabric innovation.
Valeska Jasso Collado Debuts Out of this World Collection
Inspired by interior design and interested in bold, lively shapes and forms, Valeska creates distinct and undeniably modern garments.
With their quirky color palette, playful silhouettes, and unorthodox materials, the pieces presented in fashion designer Valeska Jasso Collado’s graduate collection for the University of Westminster further blurs the already-evasive boundary between high fashion and contemporary art. Inspired by the eccentric shapes and bold hues characteristic of Memphis Furniture, an innovative yet classic American interiors company, Valeska’s avant-garde line boasts a peculiar and exuberant aesthetic.
Comprised of latex-laden forms and stiff-yet-streamlined contours, Valeska’s collection proves that fashion is not limited to traditional fabrics and textiles. Using metal, foam, and latex, she creates pieces that are as playful and fun as they are edgy and fashion-forward.
Given the garments’ unconventional composition, Valeska employed a very unique process to create the collection. Using foam as the foundation, she then applied latex and structured each piece with distinctive folds and puckered pleats reminiscent of origami. The final product – a line exhibiting saturated, sugary colors, sleek and slick textures, and out-of-this-world construction – portrays Valeska’s experimental, original, and unabashed approach to her work.
A new cosy knit to spice up your winter wardrobe
Luxury knitwear label Leutton Postle has teamed up with esteemed spiced apple cider brand Kopparberg to make your winter a little bit less chilly with a new winter knit
Luxury knitwear label Leutton Postle has teamed up with esteemed spiced apple cider brand Kopparberg to make your winter a little bit less chilly with a new winter knit.
Merging Leutton Postle’s characteristic aesthetic – a vibrant colour palette and bold, quirky patterns – with Kopparberg’s Swedish origins, this new piece is sure to be the apple of your eye this winter.
Like Leutton Postle’s other signature creations, this limited edition woolen knit “draws on a range of influences to create wearable, craft-led collections that are unlimited by trends”. Featuring an abstract, Scandinavian-inspired pattern in ‘Falun red’ and a large, deconstructed ‘fair isle’ star motif, the offbeat knit reimagines traditional winter wear. Unisex in design, everyone is sure to love this cosy creation.
While luxury fashion and spiced cider may appear to be a peculiar pair, the two brands share a very similar approach to their products. Promoting “virtues of simplicity and uncomplicatedness” since emerging in 1882, Kopparberg stays true to its cultural roots and boasts time-honored quality. While, having only made its debut in 2011, Leutton Postle does not have quite the history, it undeniably shares the sentiment, representing “a labour of love and a shared creative vision that can be seen in the extraordinary attention to detail in each garment”.
Ultimately, given each brand’s commitment to quality, you can be sure that this new knit will make the perfect cold weather companion.
A work in review: NATALLIA PILIPENKA
There is little that conceptually links Natallia Pilipenka’s seven collections. The fashion designer reflects on different moments and struggles in her life through her passion, making clothes. Pilipenka has had a need to create since her youth: she started with crocheting and expanded her practice to embroidery, knitting, and sewing. Pilipenka completed her studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology and has received various awards throughout the years. Currently, she teaches fashion design at Parsons The New School For Design and participates in InvestFashion.
Pilipenka draws much inspiration from her Ukrainian background; however, she thanks New York for giving her creativity boundless energy. She explains, “NYC is everything, and such a unique city in this way. There is a certain aura of romanticism, dream, opportunity, speed, and raw beauty here. I love the pace of it, it always keeps me busy and the amount of inspiration that I come across every single moment is inspiring by itself.” Like the frantic rhythm of New York, Pilipenka’s process bears no structure. Her practice begins with an idea, which leads to a combination of research, experimentations, obsession, possibilities, and decisions. Each of Pilipenka’s seven collections carries a style contrasting to that of the last, like that of Madonna’s on every new album release. The only theme one can find woven through her collections is her passion for the craft.
Pilipenka’s latest collection, ‘Erased’, is the most serious of all of the designer’s work. “Erased” is her thesis for the MFA Fashion, Design and Society program at Parsons. The designer plays with the ideas of “removal” of something while “highlighting” something else in order to explore themes of identity. Pilipenka was inspired by deconstruction in text and art, in particular the works of poet Stéphane Mallarmé and painter Robert Rauschenberg “The ‘Erased de Kooning’ painting by Rauschenberg presented me with an idea of forced collaboration, as well as the question of whether or not you can remove one’s identity from their work.” Pilipenka pushes the idea of forced collaboration with her choice of technique and fabrics such as devoré, airbrushing, textile, yarn combinations, and knit stitches. Dueling relationships through out her aesthetics, black vs. white, flowing vs. structure, also reveal an exploration of the self in the designers work.
Although Pillipenka’s work seems to take a creative 180 with every collection, it is the quality and love of her craft that remains consistent. Her work portrays issues that were of importance to her at the time, something she needed to resolve at that particular moment.
Making a splash at NY FASHION WEEK
While New York Fashion Week is no stranger to the glitz, glamour, and genius of the world’s most celebrated designers, this year, the legendary Ralph Lauren has taken the catwalk by storm – literally
While New York Fashion Week is no stranger to the glitz, glamour, and genius of the world’s most celebrated designers, this year, the legendary Ralph Lauren has taken the catwalk by storm – literally. Using CGI technology, Lauren presented his Spring 2015 collection in a very big way: in lieu of a traditional runway, Lauren opted instead to project a combination of live footage and computer-generated graphics onto a massive screen of water in Manhattan’s Central Park.
Reaching heights that even New York City would be proud of, each projection featured larger-than-life footage of Polo-clad models strutting before artificially-created scenes of the city – including, among others, a lit up Brooklyn Bridge, the streets of SoHo, and, of course, Central Park. Although the depicted scenes of New York are entirely fabricated, the models that complement them are the real deal. Using the same green screen technology popular and increasingly prevalent in Hollywood, Ralph Lauren’s team was able to transport the models into these surreal settings, transcending the traditional catwalk and contextualizing his collection within new and exciting realms.
While New York Fashion Week has come and gone and, having made it splashy debut on 8 September, Ralph Lauren’s tech-savvy show has since dried up, the spectacle has been immortalized as myriad images and videos available at the click of a mouse. Although laptops and tablets are not yet hologram-compatible and water screens aren’t quite household objects, at this rate, who knows what the future holds for technology and fashion shows?
One thing is certain: New York Fashion Week 2015 has some big stilettos to fill.