Lowbrow Reader no. 6

We interrupt our usual announcements to inform you that the sixth issue of the Lowbrow Reader is just out. Albeit dealing with comedy rather than fashion, with contributions from John Waters and Justin Bond of Kiki and Herb, as well as longer articles from Neil Hagerty and our own contributor (as well as editor of the Lowbrow) Jay Ruttenberg, this issue is not to be missed. The heavily illustrated journal can be found in larger stands and independent book and music stores across the United States and in London, as well as directly on their site, www.lowbrowreader.com

Nieves Library at Ooga Booga

The LA concept store and art space Ooga Booga is presenting a one-month exhibibition of artists' books and zines published by the Swiss publisher Nieves. Alongside books and zines by the Zurich-based publisher in the main shop, there will be a zine reading room in a temporary annex across the hall, where one can find rare and out-of-print titles by many Nieves-related artists. The exhibition, which opens Thursday March 6th, will be open through April 3rd.

While there, don't forget to look through Ooga Booga's otherwise vast collection of rare fashion and art books and zines, as well as their great selection of clothes and accessories by Susan Cianciolo, Bless, Opening Ceremony and many others.

Francesca

Ann-Sofie Back Interview

Ann-Sofie Back, Fall/Winter 2004. Tweed fold hat, and “sad shirt in spandex.”

Fashion Theory just published an interview I conducted with the designer Ann-Sofie Back in its December issue (Volume 11, issue 4). The interview came out of Fashion Projects’ long-standing interest in the designer’s work, which started with Patty Chang’s interview with Back in our first issue.

For those who are not already familiar, Fashion Theory is an academic journal on fashion as an interdisciplinary area of studies. It’s published quarterly by Berg and was started in 1997 by Valerie Steele, who is currently the director and chief curator of the Museum at FIT. The only journal of its kind, it is an indispensable resource for fashion scholars and students. It is generally available in academic libraries and/or via Ingenta and other online academic indexes (which are accessible free of charge through subscribing libraries). Individual subscriptions are also available through the Berg website. There is currently a promotional sale going on and it might be a good time to subscribe if you are interested in fashion curation, as there are two special issues coming up on the topic—one edited by Valerie Steele and the other by Alistair O’Neil, who is a freelance curator, author and head of the BA in fashion history and theory at Saint Martins.

Francesca

Austrian Fashion

Hartmann Nordenholz, Photo from Unit F's Modebuch

Austrian Fashion seems to be expanding its reach. This is undoubtedly, in part, due to the protracted support from cultural institution like UNIT F, which was founded specifically to promote Austrian fashion together with the countries’ solid training grounds—and particularly Vienna’s University of Applied Arts and its conjoining museum the MAK (the Museum for Applied Art).

Among the fast-establishing Austrian designers is Ute Ploier—one of the finalists of the Swiss Textiles Award. Mario Schwab, who won the award—albeit strongly associated with London—counts some Austrian relations as well: His father was Austrian and he began his fashion training in Salzburg.

There are many other designers who enrich the Austrian fashion scene: Wendy & Jim, Carol Christian Poell (who is based in Milan), Claudia Rosa Lukas, Fabric Interseason, Rosa Mosa, and Hartman Nordenholz.

Many of the designers can be found under one roof in a showroom in Paris sponsored by the Austrian government on occasion of the city’s fashion week. Additionally, two books on Austrian fashion have been recently published: the Austrian Fashion Guide and Modebuch, which places current Austrian design in the context of the city’s museums, schools and in relation to previous decades and particularly the work of Helmut Lang, who wrote the book’s introduction.

Another way to keep up-to-date with new developments is to sign up to Unit F’s newsletter “Short-Cuts.”

Francesca

Summer Readings

Serah-Marie McMahon of Worn Journal interviewed Fashion Projects for the Indie style issue of Broken Pencil—a Montreal based journal on independent publishing. Besides the interview, the current Broken Pencil issue (which is mainly available in the US via their website) covers topics ranging from the Houston-based guerrilla knitting collective Knitta Please to a history of indie typography. Further summer reading is provided by the fourth issue of Worn Journal (the Montreal-based style magazine), which features, among other things, an interview with Caroline Weber and an article on Sonya Delaunay. Also of notice is an article on slow fashion written by Kate Fletcher and published by the Ecologist. (For an excerpt of it see below.)

http://fashioninganethicalindustry.org/!file/factsheet13slowfashionkatefletcher.pdf/