Live from Butō fashion

Yesterday my friends from Ergo Sum went live for the first time at the Culture Center of Spain in Tegucigalpa (CCET) so of course I wouldn't miss the chance to shamelessly plug myself in. And you know what? Gimmeabreak. Between freelancing [read: unemployment] and general frustration my choices are either intruding other people's projects or just calling it quits, getting huge tattoos and embarking on the performative life of a self-destructive punk. And yes I know that went well for Rico Genest but I don't think Formichetti is looking for a second zombie boy to inspire Lady Gaga or another Thierry Mugler collection or whatever gimmick he's pulling now. So butting in it is. Which I did wearing this

I cut a pair of green pants because I've been wanting to wear those leather Zara moccasins with shorts for a while. I also cut a white t-shirt into a tank top and put a thrift plaid shirt on top. I've done done lots of cutting lately I think I'm going through this cray cray Britney phase. Anyways live radio is tons of fun but it's also about listening attentively as portrayed in the next graph

So about freelancing. The pros are I get to mock my friends when I'm staying over and it's late and they have to work the next day, I just stretch and yawn and go "well, I'm too pretty to work" and then I tell them their thighs are touching. My friends hate me. The cons are I depend on checks that might be signed when the boss comes back from whatever island she's over-tanning and ordering sugary drinks at. So while I keep on being poor I might as well catch up with mags and stuff. I was just surfing through some eds and found the first butō-based editorial I've ever seen, starring Sui He and Aline Weber for V magazine issue #71 Summer 2011 photographed by Glen Luchford with styling by Beat Bolliger.

It's supposed to be inspired by Kazuo Ohno who along with Tatsumi Hijikata, is the legendary Japanese dance master that initiated the butō movement. It started after World War II as a form of protest against authority and also as a reaction to the contemporary dance scene in Japan which was either westernized or too classical (called "Noh"). Butō is grotesque, playful and whimsical, absurd, hyper-controlled. The dancers wear white make up in their hands and face, messy hair, props, ragged loose clothing. Kazuo died last year at the age of 103, among his many pieces there's this beauty called "The Written Face"

The ed seems to be inspired by his slightly more dark and abstract dances like "The Dead Sea" or "Mother". It features outstanding pieces from Commes des Garçons, pants by Balenciaga and YSL and a signature Haider Ackermann silk belt, among others.

The complete editorial can be seen here. I personally think Sui He is perfect cast for this and also I'm rooting for her now. She's featured in Vogue China's next September multi-girl cover by Inez & Vinoodh, in the main page between Du Juan and Fei Fei.

Etro SS 2012

Lately I've had what I like referring to as "late night writing parties".

It's been years trying to write formally but I never really felt it was good enough. I always got these boosts to write short stories after reading people like Saramago or David Sedaris, which kept words flowing for some weeks until fuel ran out and I was left feeling gimmicky and unworthy. Then my friend Oscar suggested that maybe real life interesting enough as to write about it, that I should give it a try. So I did.

The only issue is there's not much I can show to people who know me, which isn't really a problem at all. It can be one of those posthumous pieces, kind of a Sylvia Plath suicidal thing. I just re-read The Bell Jar, the one you can see in the first jpg. I'm currently readin William T. Vollman's Poor People. Next is Murakami because I'm a hipster like that.

Totally unrelated, the Etro menswear Spring 2012 show was held in Milan last June 20th. The venue was awesome. A background was made with these huge curtains that had silhouettes of beach elements projected on them, a spiral-shaped sandy runway allowed front-row sittings for many and the lightning was soothing.

The only bump was the soundtrack. Live piano, cool idea, etc. but what came out sounded like a mix of elevator and mall music. Anyways, I love paisley. My personal favorite piece of clothing is this oversized blue paisley shirt I wear only at special occasions

Therefore I love Etro, I believe all those prints really make sense when put together. This collection had something else to it though. Maybe it was the Mediterranean chill vibes or something but the 54 looks felt incredibly weightless despite the heavy layering and fabric richness

Still quintessentially Etro (people should use quintessentially more. Such an posh unused word. Impale is also a sadly forgotten haute verb), preppy hippie chic, etc. The bags were drool worthy

The thing about these kind of creative combinations is that they provide hope to those of us who can't afford Balenciaga. I'm pretty sure similar less luxurious pieces can be found cheaply (my blue shirt costed me about $3.00) at the salvation army and second-hand stores, so during the next few days I'll be performing some field research in downtown Tegucigalpa to find some of these places and I'll share them here. May it turn out better than that time I tried to open a "People Preaching in Public Places" section on my tumblr amen.

Issey Miyake SS12

Like dog years, fashion time differs from real life time in many ways. You can say for example, "Freja and Arizona? They've been dating for a couple of weeks!" but in lesbian fashion time they already took a gondola down the Arch of Love in Venice and locked lips as a signal of eternal love. Someone even made a tumblr about it. Take my case: a normal un-fashion person would say it's been a month since I lost track of mags and seasons, but in fashion time I was actually in cryogenic status. Maybe I missed Ymregeddon, or the second coming of Werbowy, only Moloch knows.

Menswear Spring 2012 happened a month [read: eons] ago and I admit it lifts me up to see that not even style.com has reviewed some of it, like Issey Miyake for example. The show was choreographed so that all models went up front, chatting, moving around, and then one by one started walking down the runway. I dig Juan Manuel Arancibia's laid back attitude, some of the others looked a bit stiffed.

I loved the palette (that's French right?) and how the 31 looks collection transited from strong fully printed pieces to a more playful vibe to a sporty vibe to a vibrant vibe (so many vibes omg). The thing is I want them all.

Even Lachowski looks neat and interesting and not Brazilian soft porn twink the way he usually does. There was an interesting point in which unknown model on left below and another unknown model walked with these small squares of black fabric on their hands and then they stood and unfolded them and these coats appeared. I dig it but I wonder how much of that is really up to the fabric and how much depends on Issey's miraculous ironing techniques. I made a gif which is very lame but at least you can see what I'm talking about.