Dior ft. Dan Witz: a partnership to keep an eye on

For the Dior Homme 2017-18 winter season, Kris Van Assche has unveiled a true ace in the sleeve: the collaboration with Dan Witz, pioneering of the street art US artist. The unique and pure Dior style combines, in this collection, a set of different inspiration and visions, reinterpreting the men’s dress with tight jackets and urban-taste trousers, traditional colors such as black, red and white come alongside electric and distinct nuance. The partnership with Witz has brought a breath of freshness, of extraordinary eclecticism, with jackets, suits, bags, sneakers in the super cool Mosh Pits press, a real must of the American artist. Curious and disruptive skateboards, with Hardior and Mosh Pits silkscreen printing, combine street culture with the Dior homme elegance and style, freely and towards all the roads of fashion.

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Cher and the rapper Future star in “Meet me in the Gap”

Gap has just launched the new advertising campaign for 2017 Fall collection, Meet me in the Gap!                     Gap celebrates the encounter of different personalities who find out that what they have in common is far more than what distinguishes them. These unexpected meetings take the form of mini-music clips directed by Director X. The videos portray what is the true essence of Gap: uniting whatever the differences are. People always have something in common with each other, even if it is hidden. Cher (singer) and Future (rapper) have been invited by the brand to cover ‘Everyday People‘, a song by Sly and the Family Stone. People who belong to distant universes find an opportunity to unite their voices in this adv campaign.
Three basketball players, two tip tap dancers and a DJ star in a second video, ‘Bounce Meet Bounce Meet Bounce‘, to create a unique rhythm with the sounds of their own worlds.

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LOCO DICE, THE ONE WHO TURNS LIFE INTO MUSIC

His career has arisen somewhat by lack or by chance and it has increasingly become more and more overwhelming. It’s that of Yassine Ben Achour, better known as Loco Dice, an internationally renowned Dj, who is very much sought-after by consoles from all over the world. Born in Tunisia, he was adopted by German parents and he grew up in Dusseldorf, surrounded by music and records, his great passions. His history as Dj starts from the hip hop and culminates in techno music, going through house music genres. It is a history not only made of important collaborations with famous music artists like Snoop Dog, but also full of emotions, journeys and different influences. Inspired by all that surrounds him, Loco Dice goes on working hard to realize his dreams still unrealized. The Dj will play at the Paradise stage during the Festival BPM in Portugal on 15th September  and at Social Music City in Milan on 16th September. You can’t miss it.

Everyone knows you as Loco Dice, where did this name come from?

Loco Dice has two origins. Dice was there first and it comes from my early days when I used to play backgammon on the streets of Tunisia. Dice was how my friends back then used to call me. Loco appeared years later, one night in Ibiza when I climbed the roof of Space Club, determined to take down their logo. My friends below shouted „Dice! Dice!“ while the security shouted „Loco! Loco!“. I didn’t run away with the logo, but Loco Dice stayed.

How did you start your career? And when did you figure out that music would become your life?

I was always surrounded by and interested in music. I danced a lot, spent my time and money in record stores, and at some point I was the kid in the hood who had records. When a local youth club got rid of it’s resident DJ, they asked me to come and play. That was in the early 90s, the next step. And here I am still playing and producing.

Is there a club or a place where you would like to play but haven’t had the chance to yet?

There are so many places that I didn’t discover yet, that are unknown to me, but I am working hard to visit them and play there.

From who and what do you take inspiration for your music?

I take my inspiration from my travels, people and the world around me, food, scents. I basically take inspiration from everywhere.

Can you give us a song that excites you or reminds you of a special moment?

That special song is Bob Marley „Could You Be Loved“. It reminds me of my country, family, childhood, and it holds memory of many moments in my life. It’s a song that makes me happy.

What is your relationship with fashion? How important is it to you?

I like fashion, but I am not a fashion addict. I like to look for clothes and accessories, combine and wear them, I like to create my own stuff. It’s similar to the way how I deal with music.

You’re Serán Bendecidos world tour begins in Milan just before fashion week, will you stick around to catch some shows?

The Serán Bendecidos tour actually began in Barcelona during Sonar, and I’m happy that it continues in Milan. I’d love to catch some shows, but I don’t know yet if I can make it. I’m deep in production process and It basically depends on my studio schedule.

Tell us an accessory you cannot live without.

I have many accessories that I’m known for. There is always something: a cap, grillz, bracelets, rings… you name it.

What are your dreams and ideas for future projects?

There are lots of dreams, and I work hard to make them come true. Like the dream I’m living now.

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RAF SIMONS PRESENTED HIS SPRING 2018 COLLECTION FOR CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC

The Spring 2018 CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC collection takes its inspiration from cinema, from the dream-factory of Hollywood and its depictions of both an American nightmare, and the all-powerful American dream. Thriller heroines, heroes and antiheroes. The aesthetic codes of movie protagonists are endlessly remixed, their meanings given new interpretation and celebration.

Drawn from the same source material, but created separately, artist Sterling Ruby’s site-specific installation for the Spring runway show underscores these themes.

Mid-century American couture silhouettes are rendered industrial, reiterated in nylon, rubber specially-molded in Ohio and hand-painted leather. Lumberjack checks are used for tailored men’s suits. Pom-poms are reappropriated for fringed dresses, handbags or keyrings, and nightgowns become evening-gowns. Material surfaces are disturbed, distressed, rubber-stamped, faded and splattered. The collection’s dominant colors are safety orange, yellow, black, overwhelmingly red.

In exploring America, Raf Simons found Andy Warhol – an artist whose work has helped define both the contemporary identity of American culture, and also the world’s perceptions of it. In a unique collaboration with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, this collection incorporates a selection of Warhol artworks as placement screen-prints.

Photo Credit @Giovanni Giannoni

www.calvinklein.com

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HOROS: Kai Dunkel’s new collection

HOROS like a dance through mysterious underworlds that lead to a non-place where everything can happen. This is the background that Kai Dunkel, the founder of the homonymous German brand launched in 2015, has selected to present his collection called HOROS for the Fall/Winter 2017-2018. Kai Dunkel can be identified by his unique and innovative cut, characterized by contrasts and different materials put together. All the items are made in German, and the brand’s ultimate priority is the quality of design and tailoring. The purpose of Kai Dunkel is to bring fashion to further level, creating urban styles, that look behind, anticipating future trends. The fascinating stories told by his collection contribute to create a developing cosmos, in which the person is absorbed. The designer, together with the director Nico Meyer-Brenkhof, has chosen the fashion film as the means of creative expression for his collection, confirming, one more time, the interdisciplinary vocation of the brand, which is articulated through various forms of art. Kai Dunkel’s characteristic element is contrast, expressed by structured black items with strong controlled seams that manifest confidence and authority, alternated with white fabrics which, on the contrary, represent man’s vulnerability when he lost control. The continuous transformation opens the doors into untold destinations and new possibilities that create a fluid sequence of unexplored spaces. The strong contrasts underlined by layers of different fabrics give the collection its unique and distinctive character. The design’s quality and tailoring techniques are an added value for the collection, designed in order to protect those who wear it against unknown dimensions.

kaidunkel.com
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Jewelry that strikes the senses

Audacious, challenging, talented. She is Betony Vernon, an American designer who lives in Paris, sexual anthropologist, writer and teacher of sexual well-being. Her creations have been showed in many international exhibitions, from London to Paris and also in Milan. With her jewelry collection “Paradise Found – Fine Erotic Jewelry”, her mission is that of removing the society’s taboos about sex and spreading a freer and more conscious image of sexuality, linked to the self-acceptance and to the well-being. MANINTOWN interviewed her to satisfy some curiosities.

You define yourself a “sexual anthropologist”. Why did you choose to study human sexuality?
Like pretty much everyone else I have always been fascinated with sexuality, and this fascination was never inhibited. I consider it one of the upshots of not having much parental guidance when growing up. When I started to design the Paradise Found Fine Erotic Jewelry collection I was actually quite naïve in thinking that everyone viewed the sexual experience as I did. I just wanted to have fun, explore and enjoy myself. I started to design my Sado-Chic collection 25 years ago as a response to the market at the time. It led me to understand that our sexuality affects every aspect of our lives. Over the years, I also became aware of how our sexuality is shaped by religion, politics and the establishment in general. The study of human sexuality informs all of my work and it inevitably led me to deal with relationships and the disappointment of sex as much as the pleasures of sex. Ultimately I strive to dismantle the pleasure taboo. It’s impossible to hurdle sexual limits if we are not aware of how these limits were imposed upon us, and thus my fascination with sexual anthropology. I am constantly asking myself how our sexuality has been shaped over the centuries. This is essential to understanding, reshaping and redefining our sexual identity today.

According to you, how can a harmonious intimate relationship be reached?
Positive intimate relationships are hinged on the openness and willingness of partners to explore and experience the sexual realm together. Being open to experimenting new sensations and situations is crucial to an enduring intimate relationship. In fact, like any other relationship, intimate relationships need to be kindled and nourished. Newness is crucial to sexual excitement and this requires that we have the knowledge, understanding and a sense of adventure to constantly renew our relationships. I also believe that learning to treat the entire body as a sexual whole is fundamental to enhanced sexual satisfaction. It requires that we learn to use the tools and techniques of full body stimulation. This is the heartbeat of my book The Boudoir Bible – The Uninhibited Sex Guide for Today (Rizzoli.)

What is the link between design and sensuality?
As a designer I believe that it is my duty to make every day experiences more exciting and sensual. No matter what I am designing I aim to engage the senses and whenever possible reinvent the sensorial experience. My designs stroke the senses. For me design and sensuality are interdependent.

Which is the main function of your erotic jewelry line?
The function of my erotic designs is to enhance the sexual experience. My aim as a designer is also to dissolve the age-old idea that sex is something cheap or dirty. I want to elevate our sexuality as something sacred. I create a durable and body safe response to a market where these values are rarely taken into consideration. I invite my collectors to reevaluate sexual aesthetics. I aim through my erotic jewelry and jewel tools to bring full body stimulation, which was and still is considered by many to be “deviant” or “perverted”, into the realm of the acceptable and perfectly healthy sexual behavior.

Which is the most representative piece of your collection?
Well, I think it would be The Boudoir Box. The Boudoir Box is an object that I kept secret for 18 years, and today it’s part of the Medusa exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. Exhibiting this piece was a difficult decision to make but I came to terms with the fact that it was time for me to stand in the light. I used the Boudoir Box to travel with my work for private appointments with collectors before there were any suited retail venues. I must say that retailers were unnerved by my work at the turn of the century. The Boudoir Box can hold from 21 – 70 pieces from my erotic collection and it includes one of the objects that I believe best represents the entire collection. It is called The Petting Ring. Its shape “forces us” to make the Chi-Mudra gesture, which we normally associate with yoga, meditation and a one-pointed focused mind. A good lover is also in the moment and focused on the pleasures of the senses alone! The Petting Ring is dedicated to the gentlemen and it brings a whole new dimension to male masturbation.

Can jewelry make women more confident?
Absolutely, I witness it all the time, for example when I put a Lovelock Collier around a woman’s neck. She immediately straightens up and smiles because she feels beautiful and sexy and thus empowered. The same goes for men. Empowering people is a huge element of what I do.

Your tricks to seduce a man?
Dress to undress… it makes you feel sexy! But most importantly love yourself, take care of yourself, seduce yourself, and you will inevitably seduce others.

What do you think attracts men to women?
It’s all about chemistry at the end of the day, I know this doesn’t sound very romantic but we all know that when there is no chemistry, there is no desire. One of the questions I am most often asked by people is how to keep desire alive. Desire stays alive when we keep the child spirit within us alive, because the child in each and every one of us is playful, it wants to learn, it wants to explore and discover, it wants to love and it does not question whether or not that love is merited. The child spirit also wants to enjoy life, and this is very attractive.

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