Avant-Garde Magazine - Issue 1

ISSUE 1ARE YOU AVANT-GARDE OR DERRIERE?

PATTI! GET INSPIRED by the prodigious Patti Smith THE PALM BEACH STORY: Fall Fashion Film Noir Style • PUNK! Up your style

MOMENTS OF CLARITY: Elegance made affordable DEMOISELLE: by Chesley McLaren • ARTSY SET: Q+A WITH COLIN KILIAN

PLUS FALL FASHION REPORTS FROM PARIS TO NEW YORK!

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EDITOR IN CHIEF/FOUNDERfolana miller

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

ART DIRECTOR/DESIGNERmatthew rippetoe

FASHION EDITORrenessta oldsashe davis

BEAUTY EDITORgil aldrin

AVANT-GARDE MAGAZINEwww.avantgardemag.netinfo@avantgardemag.net

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Who is the Avant-Garde woman? She is a trend-setter, loyal friend, super brainiac and a true fashionista! She wears

what she likes, not what is dictated by celebrities or, ahem, the fashion media. She is a metropolitan woman who practices yoga in the morning and plays Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at night. The Avant-Garde woman is just as comfortable traveling on a G6 as she is grappling with anxious commuters on the subway. Her iPod shuffles between Placebo, Edith Piaf, Metallica, Nina Simone and the Wu-Tang Clan. She is an artist, entrepreneur, investment banker, athlete or lawyer. She easily floats between art parties in Williamsburg to gallery openings at The Met. She is not defined by anyone.

The Avant-Garde woman defines herself.

Tell me, are you Avant-Garde or Derriere?

Warmly,

Folana

FALL/WINTER 2011

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18TOC >> fall/winter2011

Fall runway report 6

Editors picks 10

Demoiselle 12

Colin Kilian - artist Q&A 14

Film noir 18

Patti 34

Punk 50

Moments of clarity 60

Beauty editorial 69www.avantgardemag.net

www.avant-gardemag.tumblr.com

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www.avantgardemag.netwww.avant-gardemag.tumblr.com

shibumiPR

www.shibumiPR.com

always look good with us!

FALL2011

FASHION REPORTWHAT IS THE AVANT-GARDE WOMAN WEARING THIS FALL?

Lots of leather, denim, fur and hats! Choosing the top looks for the Fall was really quite easy. We know you want to be super comfortable and mobile (moving easily

from day to night) however you don’t want to sacrifice comfort for style. Designers from Paris to New York managed to merge flexibility with panache. The designer who made us swoon: Dsquared2 completely knocked our socks off! Perhaps it is our crush on Clint Eastwood or maybe it’s the way they perfectly blend our faves: denim, fur and black leather! So what should you be wearing this Fall? Four looks from the Fall RTW 2011 Runway that (with a little creativity and mixing/matching) will carry you straight through Spring. Let the drooling commence!

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FASHION REPORT

PRADAPHOTO BY: CHRIS MOORE

DSQUARED2PHOTO BY: KARL PROUSE

DSQUARED2PHOTO BY: KARL PROUSE

ALEXANDER WANGPHOTO BY: KARL PROUSE

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FOLANA

FOLANA MILLER

Fashion Photographerwww.folanamiller.com

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EDITOR’S PICKS

Essential pieces for your Fall/Winter wardrobe inspired by the uber-rocknroll-parisien-chic de

French Vogue Redactrice en chef Emmanuelle Alt.

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1 MATT BERNSON BOOTS$218, WWW.ZAPPOS.COM

2 ELIZABETH AND JAMES BOOTS$285, WWW.ZAPPOS.COM

3 NANNETE LEPORE CLUTCH$255, WWW.ZAPPOS.COM

4 RAG + BONE BOOT$595, www.lagarconne.com

5 ISABEL MARANT BOOT$770, www.lagarconne.com

6 FAITH CONNEXION$1,330, www.net-a-porter.com

7 SONIA RYKIEL JACKET$3,235, www.net-a-porter.com

8 MAJE DRESS$650, www.net-a-porter.com

9 ETOILE ISABEL MARANT$385, www.net-a-porter.com

10 BOY BY BAND OF OUTSIDERS SHIRT$470, www.lagarconne.com

11 DION LEE$600, www.net-a-porter.com

12 CARVEN COAT$1140, www.lagarconne.com

13 MOTO SKINNY JEAN$75, WWW.TOPSHOP.COM

14 KITTY KITTY GOLD CHAIN$195, WWW.STEPHMANTIS.COM

15 GRAYMATTERCO HANDBAG$250, WWW.GRAYMATTERCO.COM

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DEMOISELLEDEMOI

Jeff Brown

By: Chesley McLarenWritten by: Folana Miller

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SELLEDEMOIDEMOI McLaren’s meticulously assembled garments are as fun

and theatrical as they are landmarks in fashion history. “I love to tie in the historical elements to my clothing.” The racks in Chesley’s Upper West Side studio are filled with one of a kind silk gazaar petticoats, silk tafetta dresses, mini poof shorts made of duchess satin and wool satin garbadine knickers with ribbon lacing. Although the stand-out piece is clearly the Footman Coat made of dressmaker muslin and satin organza with bound seams in red silk worn by a form in the corner. “Oh this was an idea I came up with while I was working as a fashion illustrator. Louis Vuitton, my client at the time, held a cocktail party introducing their new line. I was there signing my drawings for the guests. I figured I needed an official artists smock for the occasion,” recalls McLaren. The garment is so beautiful in its simplicity and detail. Not only a great piece to pair with a pair of blue jeans but a real work of art and architecture. “This piece is really one of my favorites,” McLaren says of the Smock coat which has two red paint brushes elegantly peeking out of the pocket. “I made a total of five coats from muslin with the thought that the customer could buy this version or the coat could be remade in another fabric.”

Although McLaren custom designs couture pieces for the most photographed socialites in New York City, she has never received the retail attention or the financial backing needed to expand her line. “I am working now on expand-ing Demoiselle to a ready-to-wear and accessories line.” Al-though that would mean working with a manufacturer with which she has not had great success. “I am extremely picky about how every seam is stitched so I really only trust my two dressmakers with the line. The detachable ruffles on this smock coat take a full day to sew.” It has been difficult explaining this fastidious process to clients who are becom-ing more and more accustomed to getting everything now.

McLaren now more than ever understands the need to push the fast forward button on her RTW collection al-though she will continue to create her romantic couture line for her most decadent customers. “I am an artist who makes clothes,” says the lively McLaren with a childlike whimsical energy that makes her designs so special. Bette Midler, a loyal client, says it best “Chesley is a heroine at our house. Her designs are mischievous, beautiful, provocative and most important great, great fun.” See more from Demoiselle at www.chesleymclaren.com. AG

CHESLEY MCLAREN has a Napoleon Complex. Not in the “I’m short so I have to be mean” sense. “I am inspired by Napoleon’s style.I love Louis XIV too.”

AG

Aude Boissaye

Karen Odyniec

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AVANT GARDE: When did you realize you wanted to pursue art as a life time study/occupation?Colin Kilian: I have been doing it compulsively since I was very young. I decided to pursue it as a career when I was 14 years old. I had become angry with the stifling, institutional nature of my surroundings going to public high school. I judged society as a whole to be this way and attempted to escape. I stopped going to school, ran away from home and did a lot of ridiculous things. It became rapidly apparent that I did not have anywhere to go given my resources at that age of a skateboard, $14 and half a pack of

cigarettes. I realized that I had to accept my surroundings and do something with them. I decided then to take artwork seriously and make that my way out so to speak. This pretty much remains to be my strategy and outlook.

AG: Why art? Did you like any other subjects in school? CK: I was naturally capable with it. It had a visceral kickback and a cerebral, expansive feeling. I enjoyed making paintings of my dreams and things like that. I also enjoyed the accomplished feel-ing of making accurate still life drawings and portraits - although today that type of thing seems completely inane to me. I guess it feels rewarding to really dig into and learn anything, so I enjoyed that sensation. No I was not interested in the other subjects at school in this way.

AG: Why not?CK: They were taught in an uninspired and banal way. The purpose of the classes seemed to me more geared towards getting you used to taking instruction and being subservient than about any sort of content. There were some exceptions; you can’t really present math in any way other than what it is, so the content speaks for itself. But for the most part the level of instruction was basically just insulting. It was very difficult to take anything seriously in that environment.

AG: What was your first medium?CK: I have no idea. Thinking.

AG: You attended Pratt after high school. What made you choose Industrial Design as a major as opposed to Painting?CK: The energy of the design department was very high and the work being produced there was dynamic and intriguing. I was drawn to that intensity without having any interest in the subject of Industrial Design. I still have no interest in that field and have since become a visual artist. I think that the principles I learned in the design department along with the drawing skills were a good foundation to explore the general scope of visual art. I have trouble shaking the highly stylized instruction from that place though. It is like trying to get rid of an accent or something. It is very annoying. Being in a regimented educa-tional structure in college caused a lot of frustration for me. I have since exploded wanting to express certain things that I had no outlet for there and this formed a major driving force behind my visual art practice . Maybe if I had gone into the fine art

Colin Kilianvisual artist

artist profile

“All art is autobiographical. The pearl isthe oyster’s autobiography.” - Federico Fellini

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department I would have been frustrated in a different way and become a designer. Who knows. It all leads to the same place in the end if you keep pushing it.

AG: What artists have had the greatest emotional impact on you? Which artist influences your work most? Why?CK: Anybody doing anything at a high level in any field is what impacts and influences my work most. I am not influenced by aesthetic concepts any more than I am by other concepts. There isn’t a specific artist with an outstanding influence on my work. The impetus for new ideas can be triggered by many things. A rainstorm has the same level of impact on me as a museum ex-hibit, if not more.

AG: What did you do after you left Pratt?CK: I went to work with a production designer for large scale theater. It was very inspiring. He was extremely driven and talented and was a living example of achieving something of a high magnitude through a creative medium. I got to design for intense projects with astronomical budgets at a young age. This had a huge impact on me. I also learned how to fabricate from highly skilled people which was inspiring in another kind of way. Learning about the reality of how to bring ideas to fruition. Learning a structural/mechanical vocabulary to work with. This kind of opportunity is very important to someone at that age. I hope to offer the same to younger artists when I am more estab-lished. There is no replacement for it.

AG: When and why did you decide to leave the theatrical design field and do more fine art?CK: I entered into theater by accident and stayed there cause I thought it was a good place to realize my creative ambitions.

Unfortunately I experienced a succession of projects that didn’t go anywhere. I poured tremendous heart and effort into these situations only to have the plug pulled and be left with absolutely nothing. This became maddening after several years. The break-ing point was working as a technical director for a downtown theater production. I put in something like 15 - 24 hours a day for 4 or 5 months and received payment of $1,500. This was after being off and on homeless for a number of years largely due to my interest in theater. The total package just became too ridicu-lous for me. I made more money and encountered more intellec-tual stimulation in two weeks of working for a moving company than I did working on that last production and I was able to eat food while doing it. I discovered that the day to day process of making theater is largely clerical work, basic manual labor and technical in a not very interesting way. It’s also unnecessarily stressful given what you are actually doing. I decided it would be a more enjoyable path towards realizing heavy hitting creative work to build myself up as an individual through the gallery system. The concept of a field of work is completely arbitrary to me anyway. I enjoy being a visual artist tremendously. There is a certain flare to theatrical productions that is incomparable to anything else so there is always that pull. The problem is that theatrical productions require a lot of scut work and the reliance on other people and institutions. This makes a large portion of the process non creative and the structure and security of the project volatile.

On the other hand I did do one successful production with a multi media dance company that was immensely rewarding. I also realize that doing something at a large scale in any field re-quires a lot of uninteresting process. It’s all just a funny equation about daily quality of life vs. creative magnitude. Trying to figure out the sneakiest way to be happy while being creatively chal-

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lenged. I may get back into theater. But not now. I need to restore my synapses and essential organs first.

AG: What kinds of projects are you working on now? Which proj-ects are the most challenging? What is your process?CK: Right now I am working on the content for some gallery shows. I am also building a very ambitious collaborative project. It’s all challenging in different ways. You can take anything with a certain degree of freedom and turn it into a trial of whatever level of diffi-culty you want it to be. It is presumptuous of me to try and describe process. I do not intellectually understand what I am doing in a similar way that a bird does not intellectually understand the physics of flying, but knows what it feels like and how to do it. I have yet to be able to explain it in a satisfactory way. Maybe that’s why doing it continues to be compelling. Anyways I would need to write a book to be able to really get into it. Something to do when I am old and bored. I am not so hot for theory, intellectual criticism and analysis right now. I am more interested in experiencing and doing.AG: It is quite ironic that so much of your work now involves Physi-ology, Physics, Biology - all subjects you dismissed when you were in high school. CK: Yes. When I talk to people in different fields it becomes appar-ent that we are working with similar concepts and thought process-es. Which makes sense because all subjects are essentially different manifestations of the same thing at a fundamental level. When you think about the process of smashing dirt around on paper or arrang-ing shapes together in space until something pings in your head, it logically follows that anything you create that rewards you in this way is going to have some kind of parallel with another field or ap-proach - given the nature of reality and what we actually are. I have definitely noticed the trend of all fields converging. There is a lot

of published discourse about this. It is a very exciting and engaging area. I hope to collaborate with people from other fields on creative endeavors soon. I have recently initiated a project structured to encourage this type of interaction.

Yeah it would have been great to have learned about things in a more inspired way in high school. I definitely think that public education needs a major overhaul. But a lot of institutions need a lot of work and are emergent prod-ucts of human evolution to begin with,

so we can’t expect them to just materialize in some kind of ideal platonic form. Also a school system that would work for me would not work for very many other people. I don’t know what the effect of being educated in one of the more holistic methods would have been on me.

AG: You should be a teacher! CK: I would teach, but the institutions available to do it in are filled with a bunch of nonsense that I don’t want to be regularly exposed to. I will probably teach in retirement when I have the patience to tolerate that kind of thing. Right now I am doing, which is a com-pletely different mentality. I think that’s just as valid of a contribution and a more appropriate thing to be doing at my age.

AG: What shapes your work ethic?CK: The general attraction to high energy situations. The natural reward of pushing, exploring and expanding creatively. Wanting to make more money to be able to expand in other ways.

AG: What is the inspirational force behind the pieces you are working on now?CK: Distilling what I have been doing for the past 10 years into something fundamental and then expanding it again from that. Developing roots of ideas that have formed through working on a lot of different projects and filtering out things that weren’t inter-esting or that I became disenchanted with. Fusing together things that I have experienced in deeper states of consciousness with the acquired skills and evolved concepts from the span of my career to create new kinds of forms. I don’t care what these forms are applied to or how they are made public at this point. I just enjoy getting in there and doing it. AG

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artist profile - Colin Kilian

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Dress - Cody SaiBelt - MjolkBracelet - Delphine Charlotte ParmentierPurse - Henrik Vibskov

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FilmNoir“You have no idea what a long-leggedgal can do without doing anything.”

- The Palm Beach Story

Photographer: Folana MillerFashion Editor: Renessta Olds >>

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Coat - Graeme ArmourJumper - Btochu WalkerShoes - Barbara Briones

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Dress - Amy Winehouse for Fred PerryTights- FalkeShades - KBLShoes - Nina ShoesGloves - Stylist Own

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Coat - Graeme ArmourJumper - Btochu WalkerShoes - Barbara Briones

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Coat - Graeme ArmourJumper - Btochu WalkerShoes - Barbara Briones

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Jumper - Alice RitterTurban - Selima by VBelt -Cody SaiPendant - Carolee LuxShoes - Nina Shoes

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Jumper - Alice RitterTurban - Selima by VBelt -Cody SaiPendant - Carolee LuxShoes - Nina Shoes

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Jacket - Graeme ArmourLeoprd Top - Daang Goodmann for TRIPP NYC

Pants - Grame ArmourShoes - Nina Shoes

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Lace Blouse - ErotokritosPants - Graeme ArmourShoes - Barbara BrionesCocktail Hair Piece - Selima by V

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Lace Blouse - ErotokritosPants - Graeme ArmourShoes - Barbara BrionesCocktail Hair Piece - Selima by V

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Cape - Winter KateTop - M.Patmos

Pants - Brochu WalkerShoes - Nina Shoes

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Dress - Project AlabamaJacket - Graeme Armour

Belt - MjolkTransparent Shine Tights - Falke

Shoes - Nina Shoes

Model: Nina KuznetsovaHair Stylist: Damon AlfonsoMake up Artist: Gil AldrinProp Stylist: Vanessa BaranPhoto Assistant: Boris EyzenFashion Assistant: Amelia Schussler

FilmNoir

These Icon illustrations are from a collection called Fashion Follies -A pictorial frolic of the masterful, theatrical and P. T. Barnums of our time.

A valentine to the fashion world by Chesley McLaren www.chesleymclaren.com

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“In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.“

- Patti Smith

FuckClock

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FuckTank: The Outcast

Vest: Cody SaiJean: BDG

Necklace, Bracelets, Ring: Kelacala Q

Photographer: Folana MillerFashion Editor: Ashe Davis >>

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Jacket: Vivienne TamShirt: Vivienne TamPant: Cody SaiBracelets: Anastasia Savenko, Kelacala QRings: Anastasia Savenko, Meghan Patrice Riley

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Coat: Stylist’s ownNecklace: Kelacala Q

Ring: Anastasia Savenko

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Jacket: H+MShirt: Stapleford

Trouser: Citizens of HumanityShoe: Stylist’s own

Necklace: Kelacala QRings: Anastasia Savenko, Kelacala Q

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Shirt: American ApparelVest: H+MPants: Vivienne TamBoot: Stylist’s OwnBelt (worn as necklace): Danica CosicNecklace: Kelacala QBracelet: Kelacala QRings: Meghan Patrice Riley

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Tank: The OutcastJean: BDGNecklace, Bracelets, Ring: Kelacala Q

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Jacket: Charles and a HalfLegging: Zelis VelezBelt: Danica CosicBoots: VintageNecklace, Bracelets: Kelacala Q

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Jacket: Levi’sShirt: BDGShorts: Cody SaiBelt: Danica CosicBoot: VintageBracelet: Anastasia SavenkoRings: Anastasia Savenko, Meghan Patrice Riley

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Make up Artist: Gil AldrinHair Stylist: Tracina DilligardPhoto Assistant: Vincent AhnShot at 3rd Ward StudiosModel: Daria S.

FuckClock

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Necklaces: Anastasia Savenko, Kelacala Q, Andrea BocchioBracelets: Kelacala Q

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PUNK!PUNK!PUNK!

AmandaDress - CluBelt - Mjolk

Necklace - Circa Sixty Three

AlinaDress worn as top - Clu

Skirt - Daang Goodman for TRIPP NYCBag - Cheap Monday

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PUNK!PUNK!- Billy Joe Armstrong

“A guy walks up to me and asks ‘What’s Punk?’. So

I kick over a garbage can and say ‘That’s punk!’. So

he kicks over a garbage can and says ‘That’s Punk?’,

and I say ‘No that’s trendy!”

- Billy Joe Armstrong

PUNK!

Photographer: Folana MillerFashion Editor: Renessta Olds >>

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1) AmandaJacket - Blank Silk

Gold Sequence Pants - Daang Goodman for TRIPP NYCBoots - Nina Shoes

2) AlinaJacket and Pants - Daang Goodman for TRIPP NYC

Earrings - CruxBoots - Nina Shoes

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Dress worn as a top - CluLeather Skirt - Arielle MartinEarring - CruxBoots - Nina Shoes

Top - Arielle MartinsLeggings - Daang Goodman for TRIPP NYC

Necklace - Forever 21Bracelet - Danika

Boots - Model Own

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Jacket - Arielle MartinDress - CluNecklace - Circa Sixty ThreeBracelets - Stylist ownTights - H&M

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Models: Amanda Lesnick, Alina RockMake up Artist: Gil AldrinHair Stylist: Tracina DilligardFashion Assistants: Darnice Osborne, Amelia Schussler

PUNK!

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Dress - Cody SaiEarring - Crux

Ring - Club Monaco

CLARITYofMoments

“Simplicity, clarity, singleness: These are the attributes that give our lives power and vividness and joy as they are also the marks of great art. They seem to be the purpose of God for his whole creation.” - Richard Holloway 

Photographer: Folana MillerStylist: Ashe Davis

www.ashedavis.com >>

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CLARITY

Dress: H&MEarrings: Forever 21

Bracelets: Stylist’s Own

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Dress: ZaraEarrings: BloomingdalesBracelets: Forever 21Necklace: Stylist’s Own

63ISSUE 1Bra: Betsey Johnson

Skirt: ZaraNecklace: Stylist’s Own

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Dress: H&MCuff: Forever 21Shoes: Forever 21

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Blazer: ZaraBlouse: B.B. DakotaShorts: H&MBracelets: Stylist’s Own

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Blouse: H&MPants: ZaraBracelets: Stylist’s Own, Forever 21Shoes: Aldo

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Top: H&MSkirt: Zara

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Dress: H&M

Makeup artist - Gil AldrinHair Stylist - Laura CastellanoModels - Polina Such + Elizabeth Resch

for Agency Models NYCPhoto assistant - Danielle C. Grant

Shot at Thompson LES Hotel

CLARITYofMoments

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1 Graftobian HD Foundation

3MAC Prep + Prime Transparent Finishing Powder

2 Makeup Forever Camouflage Cream Palette

4 MAC brow set

5 MAC Fluidline

6Cover Girl Lashblast

7 Makeup Forever Roughe Artist Intense Lipsticks

8 C.O Bigelow Rose Salve

9 Q-Tips - for cleaning shadow/liner

10 Baby Wipes - cleaning,removing/liner

Top Beauty Productsby Gil Aldrin, Beauty EditorWe asked our Gil Aldrin, who works as the MUA on all of our shoots, what’s in his beauty bag...and what should be in yours!

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A woman harvests the jasmine which enters into the composition of Chanel N°5 fragrance on September 7, 2011 on the plains of the French riviera town of Roquette-sur-Siagne. Since 1921, jasmine plays such an important role in the composition of Chanel’s world best selling perfume that Coco Chanel’ successors decided to secure supplies thereof by signing an exclusive agreement with one of the producer of the region that farms five hectares of jasmine and produces 20 to 25 tons of flowers per year.

Fun Fashion Fact!

ISSUE 2May 2012

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sideman creative

sidemancreative.com