Saturday, January 29, 2011

BLACKLOG EDITORIAL #6: Stolen Girlfriends Club AW 2011 by Yasmine Ganley


Lovely red leather, creamy knits, fur, black and white on a rainy day. Stolen Girlfriends Club AW 2011 as seen through the lens of Yasmine Ganley and styled by Rachael Churchward, Caitlan and McInnes @ Nova hanging out in the rain after "Last Night's Party."

Photography: Yasmine Ganley
Fashion editor: Rachael Churchward
Hair & make-up: Natalie Dent using M.A.C Cosmetics
Models: McInnes and Caitlan @ Nova Models
Fashion assistant: Jessica Grubisa
All clothing and accessories by Stolen Girlfriends Club, her boots by Jeffery Campbell, his creepers by T.U.K


Friday, January 28, 2011

BLACKLOG EDITORIAL #5: Zambesi Man AW11 by David K. Shields

Shirt and jacket by Zambesi Man, hat by Margiela
We are excited to announce that Adam Bryce founder of Slam X Hype - and one of the most sartorially sharp New Zealanders we have met - is joining Black as men's fashion editor. Adam has previously styled for i-D, British Vogue and Dazed & Confused among others prior to starting Slam X Hype in 2003 and more recently publishing The New Order magazine. Last week he teamed up with photographer David K. Shields to get back on the horse as it were and shoot David Kemp @ Nova in a few pieces from the latest Zambesi Man A/W 2011 collection. David's haircut by the talented Tom @ Ryder and grooming for the shoot by David K. Shields. Thanks to Bo Hendgren @ Absolute Essentials for use of her farm. All clothing by Zambesi Man unless captioned underneath image.


Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Classic: Comsat Angels - Independence Day



Looking forward to playing with Children's Hour at Laneways in Auckland next Monday and have been slotted into an early 80's mindset this week as a result. Here is a tune that brought Rachael and I together back in the day, a post-punk classic that is also quite simply a great tune with the inimitable lyric "Can't relax because I haven't done a thing, and I can't do a thing because I can't relax..." Comsat Angels, Independence Day, timeless...this video from 1983 but the song itself came out in 1980.

NoLa Bel: Taking your hands on a trip

Last week we noticed a striking sculptural ring on the hand of our friend Briar. It turns out the ring was in fact five rings sitting together and was designed by fledgling Auckland label NoLa Bel. Briar passed on the lookbook and the fabulous skull packaging for the range entitled "I saw this while I was away." The label describes the rings as "architectural postcards for the hands of the adventurous and brave! We simply had to know more and tracked down Karamia Müller and Nicole Allan, the creative design team behind NoLa Bel:


We like the way the rings are named after cities or places like Alexandra, Vancouver, Jordan, Agadir. Have you been to these places? Nicole has been to Vancouver and I (Karamia) have been to Agadir - we are both keen to go to Alexandra and Jordan...Have you actually shaped the rings off the skylines of these places? We designed the rings and then named them after places that reminded us of them...

Monday, January 24, 2011

Dem Bones, Dem Bones...


Let's face it, in the stony little town of Bedrock there is really only one key accessory for any self-respecting hipster girl like Pebbles that wants to look the part alongside Bam Bam in his matching Tigersaurus cap and shorts - a Bedrock Bone in the hair. So entrenched is the symbolism of the iconic cartoon series that Monique Saville's real life Bedrock Bones seem eerily familiar, although Saville's cute-as-a-button range encapsulates necklaces, pendants, bracelets and other bright bone accessories not seen on TV but that would spice up any trip to the bowling alley or Diner-saurus nonetheless.  Bedrock Bones are available now at all Ruby Boutiques, Ruby online store, M.A.D.E in the Britomart, Guilty As Sin (Palmerston North & Napier) and Belle Bird in Dunedin....Yabba dabba doooo...

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Wonder Woman! Wonder Woman! All the world is waiting for you...



...and the power you possess, in your satin tights, fighting for your rights, and the old red, white and blue.

She's quite a gal that Wonder Woman, able to "make a hawk a dove, and stop a war with love" no less so who wouldn't want a bar of her? Certainly M.A.C do. The cosmetic giant is, as always, prepared to venture where others fear to tread. A perfect partner for Wonder Woman then! The packaging for the colourful new collection from M.A.C mirrors the bright Lichenstein-esque pop sensibilities of the famed American Amazon and includes; super-sized Mineralize Skinfinish, bold Eye Shadow quads, Pigment, Opulash, Lipsticks and over-sized Lipglass, jumbo-big Powder Blush and Penultimate Eye Liner and Nail Lacquer and Lash. Phew.., but let's face it, Diana Prince (let alone her alter ego) has always had superb taste in cosmetics, even when she was "stopping a bullet cold" or "making the axis fold." The collection and a selection of fierce pop accessories go on sale in NZ across all M.A.C locations on March 4, 2011...

Monday, January 17, 2011

The Rise and Rise of Androgynous Andrej

Andrej by Thomas Lohr for i-D Magazine
In 2008 Joseph @ Chadwick via the crew at 62 Models sent through some Polaroids of a brand new model they had scouted in Melbourne called Andrej Pejic. Black fashion director Rachael Churchward was so taken with his look she immediately booked him for a men's fashion shoot with Russ Flatt for Issue 9 of Black 9 (alongside Michael Whittaker). Chadwick/62 flew him over straight away for the shoot and all and sundry were taken aback with Andrej's natural beauty and farouche androgyny. Andrej has since had a meteoric rise in the world of modelling walking for the likes of Paul Smith and Jean Paul Gaultier, shooting editorial with big names like Steven Meisel, Willy Vanderperre, Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, Thomas Lohr and most recently Juergen Teller. Teller shot him for the brand new Marc by Marc Jacobs campaign and it sounds like it was Jacobs himself who was keen on the new poster boy for androgyny. It is a long way from his humble beginnings in Oyster and Black to a current ranking of #17 on Models.com (and rising fast) but there is no doubt Andrej's look is utterly unique and his future looks stellar...

Andrej by Russ Flatt for Black #9

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Pauline's a dream...

Pauline by Jean-Francois Campos for Flair Magazine, Nov 2010
We're pretty sure Pauline Van der Cruysse is one of the most beautiful creatures to currently walk the Earth. The Black 13 cover girl is starting to shine and 2011 could well be her year. Here are recent images from V Magazine, Bon International and Flair that prove the point. Discovered by V Man fashion editor (and Black 11 cover stylist) Tom Van Dorpe in a Belgian supermarket, Pauline is all class....

Saturday, January 15, 2011

BLACKLOG EDITORIAL #4: Taren Cunningham in Kiri Nathan by David Shields


Late last year, for the fourth year in a row, Rachael Churchward teamed with Adrian Hailwood and Murray Bevan to judge the fantastic Manukau fashion meets art and culture show Cult Couture. Over recent years one name has started to stand out from the many contestants - Kiri Nathan. This year she also won the award for biggest fan club - half of the Nathans from up north must have been there cheering her on! Once again David K Shields has taken these incredible images of Taren Cunningham dressed entirely in Kiri Nathan. Hair and make-up by Stacy Lee Ghin.



BLACKLOG EDITORIAL #3: Alys by David Shields


She appeared in the current issue of Black in a bold editorial by Jason Capobianco, David Bonney, Gavin Anesbury and Nicole Thompson. While he was recently in Sydney, Black incumbent photographer David Shields and H&M artist Dean Rushworth took the opportunity to also capture the beautiful Alys @ Chic Management for Blacklog.  We'll post another Blacklog editorial shortly from the prolific Mr Shields and then next weekend we're shooting a double header with stylist Adam Bryce teaming with Shields for a men's editorial and Rachael Churchward teaming with Yasmine Bryce on a women's shoot.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Fashion Fluidity


HOME by MOTEL COLLECTIVE from Yasmine Bryce on Vimeo.

Whilst Nick Knight has been shooting fashion films for many years, and the idea of shooting fashion in moving image is certainly not new, there is no doubt there has been a proliferation of fashion films due to the advent of HD in (stills) cameras. Canon's D-Series in particular has turned many photographers into budding, or successful directors. Already used to the superior lenses and handheld camera work implicit in photographic practice, many photographers have made the transition to director of photography in double quick time and many have also discovered there is more to making films than shooting them. Great to see plenty of fashion and art films being made locally by photographers like David MandelbergDerek Henderson, Garth Badger, Daniel Max and Yasmine Bryce among others. Bryce and Amy Fraser of Motel Collective directed Home (above) which imparts beautiful music and editing by Motocade's Eden Mulholland and stars Erynne Mulholland and Charlotte Holmes

Below: Garth Badger's beautiful Lili (@ Red 11) styled by Barry Betham with make-up by Melina Strachan. Music by Moby.


LILI from Garth Badger on Vimeo.

2011, the year of the fashion film?

Sunday, January 9, 2011

The Lady's Gaga...


Still struggling with her music to be honest but there is no doubting Lady Gaga is a one woman visual symphony and every step she takes in a promotional sense is a giant leap forward for popstar-kind. Shot by the legendary Nick Knight and styled by the almost-as-legendary Nicola Formichetti this is one of the better promo pics of a pop star to accompany the release of a new pop single - ever. Born This Way is on sale globally Feb 13 with the album of the same name to follow in May. Knight, foundation lensman for the twin towers of indie publishing, i-D and Face Magazine is also the founder of the fabulous Showstudio. Good to see he has added a worthy strapline to the site too; Showstudio - The home of Fashion Film. Indeed...

Twenty Eleven!

Kia ora, gidday, bonjour, talofa, 'sup! We hope you have had a nice a break and, if you are in NZ you are enjoying the summer weather. To our friends and family in Queensland, no such luck, we hope the rain abates. May 2011 be a good one for you...Grant & Rach x