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QRATED and Oge Araraume sit down to discuss everything QRate and streetwear... QRate's Creative Director delivers her expert opinions and analysis on everything streetwear. Unpacking the cultural importance of budding brands and identity and the long-lasting love affair between luxury design and sneaker culture, Oge examines why QRate is just getting started. Having risen to fame at the helm of the QRate conglomerate - revered for her unique style and elegance of new-wave luxury, Oge has become a creative force in the fashion world. A multifaceted artistic creator, she's worked with multiple brands and creators in the past including Net-A-Porter & Martin Rose. Continuing her work with QRate, Oge continues to innovate streetwear for a new cohort of fashion enthusiasts. Combining strategic prowess with unmatched aesthetic elegance, style and flair, Oge continues to curate and deliver fashion brands and apparel which effortlessly encapsulates the beauty and allure of streetwear. In an era where designs and collaborations barely go beyond standard logo slapping and reworked colour schemes, Oge is proof that staying unique to you, is more important than what is simply accepted. All curated capsules and collections from Oge are available on shopqrate.com. QRATED END.

A spotlight on Iretidayo Zaccheaus Dubbed 'Industry Lion,' Iretidee is the founder of Street Souk - an annual convention that focuses on celebrating the vibrant and growing streetwear culture in Nigeria. Masterfully synthesising Nigeria's vibrant streetwear culture to create a space where creatives can express, enhance and showcase their creativity. Built upon a core philosophy of community & collaboration, Street Souk opts to disrupt the shallow obsession for foreign streetwear brands in favour of nurturing local Nigerian streetwear brands and fostering close relationships with their target audience. To mark Episode 1 of QRATED, we sat down with the company's founder Iretidayo Zaccheaus to talk about her hobbies, inspirations and get her take on the current streetwear market in Nigeria... QRATE: What's inspires you to keep Street Souk going? IZ: The brands make Street Souk what it is. Seeing the growth of brands from the 1st year to the 3rd year. Their success stories and how they completely reach a new target audience, and they say, "yeah, it's because of Street Souk." Opening doors for them, helping them achieve their objectives, Street Souk put them in a position where they can collaborate with another brand, which then elevated them etc. Just coming to Street Souk and seeing what other creative people are doing also. I feel like, that's the main motivation for me. Seeing the brands and the community grow together. QRATE: What are your thoughts on the integration of streetwear and high fashion in Nigeria? IZ: In Nigeria, I wouldn't really say it's gotten to the level it is everywhere else but then you've got brands like Ashluxe that are really redefining streetwear. There's a lot of potential and room for growth. It's definitely growing but we're not quite there yet. QRATE: Why do you think this is? IZ: There's really only 1 brand that has got the facilities and resources to produce luxury streetwear. Cause luxury streetwear is about the thread, the materials and where you source it from etc. So yeah, it's different. QRATE: How far away do you think brands in Nigeria and Africa are from achieving this? IZ: It depends a lot on the GDP [Gross Domestic Product] of the country. What's the point of selling $500 t-shirts that only 2 people can afford, when you can sell $50 t-shirts that 500 people can afford. QRATE: Do you think it's a matter of price-setting and strategy that's limiting the Nigerian streetwear industry? IZ: First and foremost, it'll depend on the vision and idea of the brand. Do you want a streetwear brand, or do you want a luxury streetwear brand? I'll give you an example. Off-white and Supreme are not the same. Off-white is a luxury streetwear brand, high-fashion brand, it is owned by New Guard, based out of Italy. Whereas you have Supreme, it's real skate culture. Real skateboarders. Real skaters. So they are not going to have the same price point. Supreme t-shirts and an Off-white t-shirt are not going to be the same quality either. These are important things to remember. Personally, I feel like I'm still in the streetwear-streetwear scene. It's just more of what I like. It feels more original, authentic, unforced. QRATE: What would you prefer for a Nigerian brand? IZ: It's up to everyone's preference really - it's not about what I prefer. But personally, I feel like I'm still in the streetwear-streetwear scene. It's just more of what I like. It feels more original, authentic, unforced. Do you know what I mean? With a lot of luxury streetwear brands, it's getting to a point where you're creating something for a certain consumer base but they're not really about this culture like that, so what's really going on here? But hey, that's a conversation for another day. QRATE: What's the end goal for Street Souk? IZ: I just want Street Souk to be the driving force of African streetwear. Not Nigeria, but Africa as a whole. Broadening the African streetwear community. For example, you've got the Japanese streetwear community, which is crazy. Everybody wants a taste. Everyone's wearing BAPE [Bathing Ape] now. Why? Because it's fire, it's cool. Pharrell and those guys were wearing it back then, brought it back to America and it went crazy. So why can't that happen with African streetwear? Because there's also stuff that brands like Supreme have created that we can see where they get their patterns from. Making Ankara t-shirts, that's Nigeria, that's Africa. So we've got the authenticity, we've got the resources - to an extent. Everything I think we need to be on that level, we've got it. So why not. They steal everything from us, it's crazy! QRATED END.

Oct 1, 2020. Nigerians around the world celebrated Independence Day. The day Nigeria gained her independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960. Oct 3, 2020. Nigerians around the world unify to amplify the social movement in Nigeria that started on Twitter, calling for banning of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian Police Force. What is SARS? The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) was a branch of the Nigeria Police Force under the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID). The Squad came into being in 1992. The squad was created as a faceless police unit that performs undercover operations against crimes associated with armed robbery, car snatching, kidnapping and crimes associated with firearms. SARS has been alleged to be engaged in human right abuses, illegal stop and search, illegal arrest and detention, extrajudicial killings, sexual harassment of women and brutalizing many young Nigerians. The human rights abuses of SARS are seen in trending videos on social media. #EndSARS In 2017, Segun Awosanya actively took up the #ENDSARS campaign on social media alongside other activists and it later culminated into advocacies and protests in a call to end the police brutality and scrap the notorious police unit. On Saturday 3 October 2020, a video started trending on social media showing a SARS police officer shoot a young Nigerian in front of Wetland Hotel, Ughelli, Delta State. It was alleged that the police officers took away the young man's vehicle - a Lexus SUV. The trending video caused the resurgence and amplification of the #EndSARS movement - especially on Twitter. The campaign resonated with young people all around the country as they are main the victims of the SARS abuse. Widespread protests over Nigeria's hated Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) are a sign that the country's massive young population is finding its voice and demanding reforms in Africa's most populous country, which has been characterised by poor governance since its independence 60 years ago. As protests were continued in different parts of the world on 11 October 2020, Nigeria's inspector general of police, Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, announced that SARS was being dissolved. But protests continued in Lagos, Abuja and Kwara on Monday, with young Nigerians saying they would continue to take to the streets until the entire police force was reformed. In reality, it goes beyond just the disbandment of SARS, because the wave of protests has given a platform to a section of the country's young population - who are dissatisfied with the consistently bad, inadequate and incompetent system of government they have been accustomed to their whole lives. What have I benefited from this country since I was born?" asked Victoria Pang, a 22-year-old graduate, who was at one of the protests in the capital, Abuja - and one of the many women who have been at the forefront of the demonstrations. "Our parents say there was a time when things were good, but we have never experienced it," she said. THE YOUTH ARE TAKING BACK THE POWER These peaceful protests - organised by the youth, led by the youth and executed by the youth feel that this is the beginning of something special - a revolution you might say. More than 60% of Nigeria's population is less than 24 years old, according to UN population figures. Although there is a high level of organisation, the #EndSARS movement and its supporters are adamant there is no one leader but rather, everyone who supports the movement is a leader. They have been able to pull together everything from water, food and banners to arranging bail for those arrested. Money has been raised through crowdsourcing - some of the donations have come from abroad, mostly from Nigerian IT firms, whose staff are easy targets of profiling by security personnel. Gone are the days where football, reality TV, social media etc. are the priority. Our eyes are open! We care about our future! We are our future! What can you do? You can support and stand together with our brothers and sisters in Nigeria against police violence, too: Donate to the fight against police oppression and brutality Share news about Nigeria and SARS on your social media platforms Stay educated and up-to-date on the news and protests in Nigeria Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2020/10/five-demands-from-endsars-protesters/

Designers throughout the ages have often referred to clothing as a form of wearable art. In the same way that a conventional artist might create a painting or sculpture, a designer might create his or her clothes. To some extent, both mediums require a certain amount of hand-craftsmanship and attention to detail. Art and fashion are both creative outlets and have more in common than one might think. The concept of wearable art has been commonplace in the high fashion industry, with designers like Alexander McQueen and Rei Kawakubo leading the charge. As for streetwear, the two sectors never seemed to cross paths until recent years. For me, one of the most interesting collaborations in recent years was Nike’s work with Tom Sachs.  Tom Sachs is a contemporary American artist who lives and works in New York City. His work touches on both the disposable nature of consumer culture and the fetishizing of it in the modern world. Sachs describes his work as “bricolage,” the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that are available to an artist. Essentially, it’s a fancy French word for DIY. Employing a variety of materials, including bronze, plywood, automotive paint and glue, Sachs reconstructs or repurposes luxurious or iconic brands and objects from history and pop culture, for example, in his first major solo show, he combined fashion and violence, creating objects such as the Hermès Hand Grenade and Tiffany Glock, both of which were made with Hermès and Tiffany packaging. An ongoing theme in Sachs’ work in outer space. His obsession with space culminated with his Space Program in 2007 wherein the artist created a life-size replica of the Apollo Lunar Excursion Module from plywood and steel. Tom Sachs also collaborated with probably my favourite artist of all time, Frank Ocean. When Frank released Endless in 2016, one of the artist’s signature boom boxes made its way into Ocean’s visual album. In an interview with Pitchfork, Sachs also explained that he collaborated with Frank on his Boys Don’t Cry zine and was even acknowledged with a “special thanks.” In 2012, Nike announced that they would be collaborating with Sachs to create an artisanal capsule collection, NIKECraft. The collection, which was inspired by Sachs’ work with experts at NASA, consisted of various items of clothing; the most famous of all the Mars Yard shoe. This project served as further experimentation for Sachs who made use of materials that had never been used in sportswear, taken from automotive airbags, mainsails for boats and the spacesuit itself. In 2018, yet another model of the Mars Yard Shoe was created, but this time with a completely different design and purpose. The Mars Yard Overshoe, or March Yard, as it was nicknamed was meant to serve as footwear for unfavourable weather —he basically just wanted to ensure that his feet would remain dry in the winter, hence the shoe’s unorthodox knit collar and the nylon membrane that surrounds it. It acts as an upgrade from the previous silhouette with a host of industrial details. Most notably, the shoe is enclosed in a waterproof covering, complete with adjustable pull tabs at the top for an adjustable fit. What's most interesting about Sachs’ work for Nike is the fact that, just like in his sculptures, the process is the most important aspect. He is known for his transparent approach to his work—every element of his process is on display in the product, which is never quite finished. He creates a shoe that is almost deconstructed, removing all elements that are meant to beautify it and keeping only the functional aspects. Sachs’s works are emphatically process-oriented, an expression of the artist’s DIY spirit, divulging even the flaws of his complex and labour-intensive projects. He carries this same spirit into his work with Nike and it will be interesting to see what else NIKECraft will come up with in the future.

In today’s fashion market, it is essential to be innovative as trends are ever-changing. In a world where practically everything is at our fingertips, the vast majority of modern consumers are not easily wowed, and this goes for basically everything. So, for burgeoning streetwear designers, it goes without saying that to achieve mainstream fame and success you essentially have to be extraordinary. For the brand SP Badu, however, it is by doing the opposite that they have been so successful. Founded by Spencer Badu, the Toronto-based brand produces clothes that can be worn by both sexes. Badu says that he aims to build a holistic wardrobe for the people who support his brand, and to find a grey area between menswear and womenswear, whilst still maintaining an element of style and comfort. This is one of the reasons I found this brand quite intriguing. Of course, SP Badu is yet to achieve mainstream and commercial success, but that does not take away from the essence of a brand whose innovation is not in the clothes themselves but in Instead of creating clothes that adhere to the rules of fast fashion, focusing primarily on being trendy and catching people’s attention, Badu has chosen instead to break societal norms and creates items of non-conformist clothing that will ultimately be able to stand the test of time. The Canadian-based brand has been seen on the likes of A$AP Rocky and Young Thug, both of whom are arguably some of the most influential figures in popular culture today. The designer himself has stated that he finds gender-specific clothing boring which to an extent I agree with. Ultimately, the distinction between menswear and womenswear is extremely restrictive and prevents designers to experiment to the best of their ability. I believe that it is a distinction necessary for traditional high fashion houses, however for newer brands, streetwear specifically, the lines become more and more blurred and justifiably so. He sees fashion as a more accessible art form and like many traditional artists, believes that with experimentation comes identification. Essentially, he is trying to say that by experimenting with designs and ideas, one can find the true essence of their brand. Badu is also inspired by brutalist architecture which informs the lines and shapes of his garment. In this sense, he can be compared to the likes of Virgil Abloh and Raf Simons who have some background in architectural studies. He also says that he is inspired by Rick Owens, suggesting that designers who can build a cult following around the clothes they make act as sources to draw from. The designer also speaks of the lack of representation in the fashion industry today, an issue that has plagued the industry for a long time and does not seem to be disappearing anytime soon. Badu stated that despite the importance of the “Black Dollar” and how much we as black people invest in the industry, we are not represented. Instead of simply complaining about it, Badu has chosen to be the change that he so desperately seeks; the vast majority of his campaigns are full of people of all races.  It will be interesting to follow SP Badu and see where the brand goes and how it evolves over the years. From what I can tell, it is evident that Badu is not after fame or recognition but instead sets out to create clothes that reflect his views and tastes and ultimately to be as authentic as possible.  We must remember that, in an age where gender rules and norms are broken.

In the last two years, a niche style of dressing has infiltrated both the high fashion and streetwear markets. “Dad fashion” is back in style and it is becoming more popular than ever before. The trend spans from clothing to footwear. In way of clothing, a pair of baggy jeans, a white vest and occasionally a blazer is practically the uniform of supermodels nowadays. Full tracksuits are also coming back in style, and not the juicy couture ones popularised in the 2000s, I mean Tony Soprano-Esque outfits; just look at singer Billie Eilish’s entire wardrobe. As for shoes, the dad aesthetic manifests itself is chunky and conventionally ugly shoes, the most accurate representation of which is the Balenciaga Triple S trainers. As much as this newfound aesthetic has sparked the birth of many new styles, it has also seen the revival of fads once thought of as unappealing and frowned upon by many. For those of us who followed Emily Oberg during her complex days, the rise of the dad clothing doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as her entire aesthetic embodied that. She also had a brand called “Sporty and Rich” which although didn’t take off very much showcased sweatshirts and shorts that could easily be rocked by many fathers. For me, the most unlikely pioneer of the “cool dad” aesthetic was Steve Jobs. The former CEO and creator of Apple famously wore the same, staple outfits: a black turtleneck, baggy jeans and a different edition of New Balances, usually grey ones. Although it may not have been apparent at the time, this style of dressing became more commonplace in the late 2010s; I even took inspiration from this tech genius. What was once thought of as being uncool as it was so closely associated with fathers is now all the rage. I remember a time in 2015 when I tried to purchase a pair of pink New Balance 990s and had to search the depths of the internet just to find them. Now, there is a wide range of these shoes sold in the top streetwear stores: from Kith to Dover Street Market to Selfridges, just to name a few. The brand themselves have even gone so far as to use this new trend as a form of marketing; their new ads show the grey 990s with the slogan “Worn by supermodels in London and dads in Ohio.” Another brand that’s now found its footing in this dad craze is sneaker brand Asics. The shoes that I once associated with P.E while I was in school are now being worn by all my friends and young famous people alike. The brand even collaborated with Kiko Kostadinov, a collaboration that was coveted, it had people queuing up just to buy a pair of the shoes and of course sold out extremely quickly. I think the reason for the return of this trend is the newfound focus on comfort in the fashion industry. As much as latex and leather outfits are aesthetically pleasing, they lack a certain level of comfort and practicality that appeals to the masses. The dad aesthetic can also be seen as a new form of minimalism. Simply put, old men are lazy and their outfits don’t require much thought, therefore whatever they piece together carries with it a certain level of simplicity that is close to the now popular minimalist trend that we see more often. As weird as it may be that my dad is now a source of inspiration for my outfits, this trend is the pinnacle of the 90s comeback as high fashion and streetwear have somehow managed to make the most obscure things fashionable and hip (as dad would say).

In the past two years, there have been a lot of changes in the high fashion industry. The rise of streetwear amongst teens and adults alike has caused the two branches of the industry to merge, blurring the lines between the two distinctions. One of the main reasons for the newfound popularity of streetwear was designer Virgil Abloh. With Off White, Abloh created one of the first brands that fell under the “high-end streetwear” category, which essentially acts as a limbo for overpriced streetwear clothing. Due to his connections in the fashion world and the fact that his clothes were loved by the wealthy masses, Abloh was quickly able to rise in the ranks and now, his collections are displayed every season during Paris fashion week.  A story like this surely serves as a source of inspiration for other streetwear brands, who desire the same level of fame and cultural acclaim that Abloh has been able to achieve. In a way, he paved a way for these brands as now, not only do we see high fashion brands taking inspiration from streetwear brands but some go so far as to collaborate with them. To me, these collaborations seem bittersweet because while it’s cool to see some of my favourite streetwear brands work with some of my favourite high fashion designers, it almost seems highly unnecessary. On one hand, it exposes these brands to a new clientele that they otherwise would not have access to but on the others, it devalues the high fashion market. With streetwear brands, as much as the designs can be well thought out, it does not compare to the work that is supposed to go into creating and creating a high fashion runway show. Streetwear is a branch of the industry-driven predominantly by hype, whereas, at the core, high fashion is meant to be a display of a designer’s creative skill and his/her team’s craftsmanship; the ability to create works of art with fabric. Recently, however, because of the influx of streetwear, the industry becomes more and more hype-driven, with the uninspiring and messy collection being thrown onto the runways.  So here are some of the top fashion collaborations to come out of 2017 & 2018: Louis Vuitton and Supreme  This collaboration was the first of its kind and was unveiled during the Paris Men’s Fashion Week in January 2017. The collab occurred under then artistic director, Kim Jones, who is himself a huge streetwear fan. This collection, although quite offensive to look at, became the brand’s highest-selling and was only just recently overtaken by Virgil Abloh’s designs.  Polo Ralph Lauren and Palace This collab dropped on 9th November 2018 and was a pretty weird one, to say the least. Ralph Lauren is one of the most traditional and classic brands that I associate almost immediately with my parents and the outfits I was forced to wear at 7 years old. So, the fact that they collaborated with Palace, one of the most popular skatewear brands at the moment, was strange to me. I will say though, there were some items that I wanted, most of all the sweater with a skateboarding Ralph Lauren bear. Burberry and Gosha Rubchinskiy This is yet another weird ass collaboration to come out of 2018 as Gosha Rubchinskiy, the Russian streetwear designer, teamed up with British fashion house Burberry for his Fall/Winter 2018 collection. Now before I found out that Rubchinskiy was a total creep, I was actually a pretty big fan of his clothing. His graphic tees with Russian lettering were all the rage in 2015 and I was very much all for it. That being said, this collaboration did not sit well with me as not only was it unnecessary, the clothes were pretty ugly. With all that being said, it is safe to say that High Fashion becomes more surprising and unpredictable as the days go by. It will be interesting to see what else these designers have in store for us and just how far they can push the boundaries before completely desecrating the industry.

Undercover is a high-end streetwear brand, founded by Japanese fashion designer Jun Takahashi in 1993. Although the term “high-end streetwear brand” may seem like an oxymoron, more and more brands fall under this category nowadays. Other examples include Vetements, Kith and most famously Off White. At the start of the year, during the Fall Menswear fashion week, the brand displayed its collection to viewers in Paris. Despite my reservations and opinions on brands that fall under the same category as Undercover, this collection was poignant and left a great impression on me. In my opinion, the whole idea behind high-end streetwear is not only stupid but extortionate, as designers put high fashion prices on clothing that lack creative depth. The Undercover Fall show was based on Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork Orange. The novel, which was adapted into a film in 1971, is a work of dystopian literature and tells the story of Alex, the young protagonist, who is fascinated by ultra-violence and acts of obscene rebellion, only to be reprimanded by the state and condemned to extreme psychiatry. The film became a cult classic, however, it received much backlash and criticism from contemporary viewers due to its graphic and almost unsettling content. As shocking as such a film might’ve been for viewers in the 70s, watching it nowadays garners almost no reaction from me. If anything, it is relatively tame compared to other more graphic and violent films I have seen. As well as the references to Kubrick’s revered film, Takahashi also included some references to 17th Century Baroque art. The invitations for the show included a cropped version of painter Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus which served as a hint for what could be expected in the show. The outfits displayed on the runway included cloaks tethered by ropes, feathered bowler hats and business-like gauntlets. The entire collection was a hybrid of 17th century “streetwear” adorned with references to A Clockwork Orange. The bowler hats and feathered masks were similar to the outfits work by Alex and his comrades in the movie. In addition, fragments of Nadsat, a Russian based dialect coined by Burgess for the novel and used by Alex and his friends throughout the book and in the movie. We also see prints of Alex himself and in one look, the face of Beethoven, the classical composer whose music Alex takes a strong liking to. Overall, we found this show to be incredibly creative and well-executed. The clothes did not possess any signs of great craftsmanship, the creativity and the individuality behind the concept of the runway show were for me the most important elements. Of course, it is important for a designer’s ready to wear collection to translate well on and off the runway, but such statements are rarely made amongst the high-end streetwear collective. References to popular culture and art history are two things that never fail to grab our attention and, ultimately, our admiration.

When one thinks about streetwear, one of the first brands that come to mind is Supreme. It is one of, if not the most, famous streetwear and skating brand in the western world and has been around since 1994. Founded in New York by James Jebbia, which started of as a brand that caters to the skateboarding, hip hop and youth culture, in general, has become a billion-dollar world-famous company. It is also known for its collaborations with world-renowned brands such as Nike and Louis Vuitton, the latter of which gave the brand newfound fame and clientele that it otherwise would not have. Its logo is simple yet striking: the brand’s name in white against a red box. What many people don’t know is the origins of said logo.  Barbara Kruger is an American contemporary feminist conceptual artist whose work was popularized in the 80s. Kruger grew up in a lower-middle-class household then attended Syracuse University, the School of Visual Arts and Parsons School of Design. At Parsons, she took courses with graphic design and art director Marvin Israel and photographer Diane Arbus. Despite never finishing her fine arts degree, she was able to land a job with Condé Nast Publications through connections and quickly became chief designer at Mademoiselle. As a young woman working in the male-dominated art world, Kruger drew inspiration from movements including second-wave feminism to create her poignant work. Sources of inspiration included artists such as Magdalena known for her large-scale textile pieces, and John Heartfield and Hannah Höch, photomontage artists who respectively created antifascist and feminist work in pre-WWII Germany. From her choice of the artist, it is evident that Kruger’s art is motivated by her discontent with the establishment, be it capitalist or patriarchal.  In the late 70s and early 80s, she arrived at her now signature style, which often critiques capitalism and patriarchy through word/image juxtapositions that draw inspiration from graphic design, photomontage, Russian constructivism, conceptual art and poetry, among other forms. Said signature style consists of her placing the white Futura Bold Italic font in a red box on top of a pre-existing image, often from various advertisements, serving as a seemingly obvious critique of the image. Although Jebbia has never stated Kruger as his source of inspiration for his brand’s now illustrious logo, the uncanny resemblance is an automatic giveaway. What I find most interesting about Supreme’s appropriation of Kruger’s work is the fact that they have taken the work of a feminist and anti-capitalist artist and profited off it, thereby promoting the same institution against which she protested so publicly. In 2013, Supreme hit Leah McSweeney of the brand “Married to the MOB” with a $10 million lawsuit for copyright infringement after McSweeney did a parody of the brand’s logo as “Supreme Bitch.” Just try and ignore the crippling irony for a second as what is most important in this was Kruger’s response. As Complex covered the story, they naturally wondered what the artist’s thoughts on this situation were, and to their questions, she responded in an email: “What a ridiculous clusterfuck of totally uncool jokers. I make my work about this kind of sadly foolish farce. I’m waiting for all of them to sue me for copyright infringement.” - Kruger’s response to Supreme via a blank email with a Microsoft Word document attached, the file name “fools.doc. In addition to this badass reply, Kruger recently made other statements against the brand. In November 2017, Kruger created a performance art piece in the form of a drop, in collaboration with the skate brand Volcom. People paid $5 to be able to buy clothes and skateboards embellished with the artist’s work. This was a direct criticism of Supreme as they are known for their occasional drops that sell out almost immediately and have hundreds of people lining up outsides stores for hours on end, some even waiting overnight. She also plastered various skate parks across New York City with her art and created limited-edition Kruger-branded Metro Cards. Unfortunately, the vast majority of streetwear enthusiasts not only have no idea the origins of their beloved brand’s logo but also just don’t give a shit. I find it quite shocking that this isn’t common knowledge because it should be. While Kruger is well revered among the art world, her work has been unable to attain the mainstream “clout” that artists like Murakami and Warhol are privy to. It is because of this that so few people are aware of James Jebbia’s blatant theft of her work and also why she is never credited for Supreme’s fame. The misappropriation of her work serves as a conversation starter for artist-designer collaboration, and why artists should be given credit where credit is due. Alas, this is a conversation for another day.

On the 19th of February 2019, the fashion world was shocked when news broke that the legendary Karl Lagerfeld had died from complications of pancreatic cancer. Lagerfeld’s death caused a great deal of upset and anguish amongst the fashion industry because he was such an influential figure in modern fashion. It was so beautiful to see designers, creative directors, fashion editors and models alike coming together to grieve the loss of such a well-known figure and sharing stories on how he had impacted and changed their lives. The German designer’s entrance into the fashion industry began when he entered and won a coat design competition in 1955, sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat. Soon after this, he was hired by Pierre Balmain and worked as his assistant then apprentice for three years. It was under Balmain that Lagerfeld was able to attain some of the skills that would help propel his career in the fashion industry and help him to become the celebrated icon that he was. After working with Balmain, Lagerfeld became the artistic director for the French brand Jean Patou in 1958. Here he designed 10 couture collections spanning over a 5-year tenure and honed his talent as a craftsman and couturier. In 1964, he went to Rome to study art history and work for Tiziano, whilst freelancing for an array of brands including Chloé, Valentino, Charles Jourdan and Valentino. During all this time, Lagerfeld remained a relatively unknown figure, except to those who possess vast knowledge about the fashion industry. It wasn’t until 1967 when he was hired by Fendi that Lagerfeld began to gain critical acclaim. He was initially hired to modernise the brand’s fur line but due to his ground-breaking designs. Lagerfeld remained at Fendi until he died. The height of Lagerfeld’s fame came when he was hired by Chanel in the 1980s. It was a decade after the death of the brand’s founder, Coco Chanel, and it was considered to be a nearly dead brand due to lack of a cohesive creative vision. Lagerfeld’s work at Chanel had an undeniable impact on the fashion industry. Coco Chanel believed in the empowerment of women through clothing and was a revolutionary in her own right as she was able to create clothes that were both feminine, liberating and inspiring. Lagerfeld is known to have said: “what I do, Coco would have hated. The label has an image and it’s up to me to update it. I do what she never did. I had to find my mark. I had to go from what Chanel was to what it should be.” He believed that the highly effeminate and ladylike image that Chanel had at the time did not apply to the modern fashion climate. Instead, he wanted to experiment with fabrics and styles and, create a more sensual and slightly provocative version of this established fashion house. The most iconic change to Chanel under Lagerfeld was the creation of the now-famous interlocked “CC” logo, as a representation of the founder’s name. Also, Lagerfeld was able to stay ahead of trends, making striking designs whilst keeping an element of the traditional Chanel, through his use of tweed and pearls. For me, his incorporation of classic Chanel designs during the grunge movement in the 90s was inspired and something very few designers were able to execute with such finesse; a true testament to his creative genius. Lagerfeld also redefined fashion shows by creating the most extravagant, creative and impressive shows possible. Every season, he never failed to transform Paris’ Grand Palais to match his unique vision, be it a carousel, a decadent buffet or a man-made street with peaceful protest. My personal favourite was the Chanel supermarket for their Fall/Winter 2014 show, where he recreated a traditional market embellished with the brand’s monogram. The most recent Autumn/Winter show, which fell after his unfortunate death, was one of his most astounding, creative and well-executed shows to date. The show’s alpine theme served as a magical and ethereal backdrop for the elaborate designs which highlighted the glamour and chicness of “chalet life.” The show’s finale saw many models shedding tears, mourning the loss of such a loved figure. Although he was not there, his presence was certainly felt. For me and many other fashion lovers, Karl Lagerfeld’s influence on the industry is undeniable. He was outspoken, eccentric and insanely talented. One could even argue that he was a jack of all trades, as he dabbled in not only design but the creative direction and even photography. I was first blown away by his immense talent when I saw his Little Black Jacket exhibition at the Saatchi in 2012. Here, he displayed 100s of black and white photographs, taken by him, of his favourite muses dressed in this iconic jacket. What I found particularly beautiful was the diversity of the photographs, although all models wore the same jacket, the effect and style of each differed greatly, which is a reflection of his range and talent. Like with many great couturiers before him, Lagerfeld’s death was met with great sadness and also uncertainty about what the future of the most famous fashion brand was. I do believe that his impact will be long-lasting and it is safe to say that no one will ever forget the flamboyant German man with white hair and sunglasses. Before his death, Lagerfeld said, “I would like to be a one-man multinational fashion phenomenon”. Without a doubt, he will be remembered as such.

The title of this piece is a quote from artist Henri Matisse, which means “Impressionism is the newspaper of the soul.” In the same way that newspapers report events from a political standpoint, impressionists do it from a personal one. Impressionism is a 19th Century artistic movement that was born and bred in the French capital city, Paris. The term “Impressionist” was coined by reporter Louis Leroy, after an exhibition containing Claude Monet’s “Impression, Sunrise.” For Leroy, the work lacked substance and depth, giving away only an “Impression” of the intended subject matter. It is interesting to think that something that was meant as an insult was transformed as a means of identifying one of the most famous and influential movements in art history, and my personal favourite. The middle of the 19th century was a time of much change and unrest in France. With constant shifts in power, the most dominant and consistent force of power was the Académie des Beaux-Arts. This was an esteemed artistic institution that dictated the rules contemporary artists were expected to follow. The standards set were often consistent with traditional French painting, with predominantly historical and religious subjects that were expected to be highly stylised and idealised. As well as enforcing said rules, the Académie held an annual art show, the Salon de Paris, in which artists could exhibit their work and win prizes, commissions and ultimately fame and prestige. The Impressionists, on the other hand, cared less about the notoriety of being a conventionally established artist but focused instead on creating works motivated by personal feelings and experiences. One of their main influences was poet Charles Baudelaire, who in his work “The Painter of Modern Life” encouraged modern artists to create works with more realistic and personal subjects. As a result, they were more inclined to paint landscapes and contemporary life rather than follow in line with their contemporaries at the Académie. Due to the modernisation and expansion of Paris, brought about by Emperor Napoleon III and carried out by architect Georges-Eugène Haussmann, there was increasing poverty, illness, and general unease amongst its modern citizens. The city was growing in size and wealth, and its entertainment industry blooming, and while the bourgeois was profiting from these improvements, those who were less educated and well off did not reap such benefits. Also, the growing size of the city emphasised the disconnect between its citizens and heightened the rising feeling of depression and isolation. Parisians would often take advantage of lavish clubs, inexpensive prostitutes and an obscene amount of absinthe to mask their sadness. With this in mind, it is no surprise that the Impressionists felt contemporary life would make a much more interesting subject matter than historical or religious works. With an abundance of material in their everyday lives, it would be illogical not to take inspiration from it. Baudelaire also encouraged artists to act as “flâneurs” painting works “en Plein air.” They would wander the city streets, with painting materials in hand, ready to capture any moment that inspired them. Due to the lack of French paintings depicting contemporary subject matter, the Impressionists took inspiration from photography and, somewhat surprisingly, Japanese woodblock prints. The composition of these Japanese works was the primary influence for the Impressionists as they highlighted space and enlarged landscapes. The Impressionist style was characterised by loose brushwork, with the paint being applied impasto (the paint was layered on very thick, creating the illusion of depth). In hindsight, the Impressionist influence on modern art is undeniable, with artists like Monet, Manet, Degas and Cezanne becoming some of the more revered and celebrated names in the art world. However, like with most artists, this fame was posthumous, and the majority of these painters were unable to reap the rewards of their talent while they were alive. They were rejected continuously from the Salon de Paris. However, it got to the point where there was enough independent work that needed to be exhibited, and the Salon des Refusés was created. Here, some of the most famous impressionist paintings were displayed, and at some point, it even garnered more attention than the traditional Salon de Paris. The reason for my love of Impressionists is their confidence, independence and creative rebellion. This was a group of artists who were in the midst of one of the most unstable periods in French history and were not confined by societal norms and expectations and were more inclined to create works that they were passionate about. They possessed immense talent inaccurately portraying the contemporary climate and established a precedent for using art as a means of social commentary, something very few artists before them had done.

It’s safe to say that 2018 was a pretty strange ass year, dominated by Trump’s tyranny, Brexit and Mark Zuckerberg’s robot-like disposition at congressional hearings. On the other hand, a lot of positive things came out of 2018, like the “Me-Too” movement which set out to expose sexual predators, Saudi women being given the right to drive and, my personal favourite, a black American woman marrying into the British royal family. With this in mind, it is important to think of events, both good and bad, that excited, shocked and disappointed the fashion world as a whole. So, in this post, I picked what I think were the three most important events of the 2018 fashion calendar. 1. Edward Enninful’s British Vogue After his confirmation as editor-in-chief in April 2017, Enninful released his inaugural magazine in December of 2017. This cover, with model Adwoa Aboah on the cover, set the precedent for what could be expected from the new and improved magazine in the New Year. When I was younger and developing my interest in the fashion industry, Vogue was my go-to magazine. However, after a while, I felt that it became less and less interesting and appealing as the style of writing and the content seemed to become less relatable. My interest was once again sparked when I saw that a West African man was set to head the most prestigious fashion magazine in the world. What I find most appealing about Enninful’s Vogue is his ability to pay homage and respect to the magazine’s heritage whilst simultaneously appealing to the younger generation. As I see it, Enninful has perfectly united the dichotomy between the older and newer readers. With the inclusion of a more racially diverse set of models, mentions of up and coming designers and a stronger online presence, Enninful was able to attract the youth, such as me. One of my favourite issues was the May issue, where young models from different Ethnic backgrounds graced the double spread cover. It was highly inspired and the epitome of the sort of inclusion I wish was seen across the board in the fashion industry. I give Enninful an 11/10 in his first year as editor-in-chief, and I can’t wait to see what else he has planned for his tenure. 2. Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton When it was announced that Kim Jones would be stepping down as artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear, there was much speculation and buzz as to who would take his place under the prestigious fashion house. In March 2018, the public learned that Virgil Abloh would be the new artistic director and this news was met with both shock and praise. Abloh, who, like many modern designers had no traditional fashion education, and was rather trained an architect. He made his start in the fashion industry by interning at Fendi with his close friend, Kanye West. He then went on to establish his first brand, Pyrex Vision, which he described as a couture streetwear brand. After this came the reason for his mainstream success and fame, Off-White which is seen as a high-end streetwear brand. This brand put Abloh on the map, essentially making him the leading figure in highly-priced streetwear. For this reason, I found it interesting and almost shocking that LV would choose Abloh to lead such a prestigious brand. I think they were inspired by the changing climate of the fashion industry, with more and more high-end brands being influenced by streetwear. His appointment did ensure his place amongst a small and elite group of African designers who headed high fashion brands, with the likes of Ozwald Boateng and Olivier Rousteing. His inaugural show fell during Spring/Summer 2019 Menswear Paris fashion week and it was a momentous occasion, to say the least. Held in the gardens of the Palais-Royale, the collection as displayed on a sprawling rainbow catwalk, with many items based on the Wizard of Oz, a story that closely resembles Abloh’s rise to stardom. Despite my personal belief that Abloh doesn’t possess the talent or skill to head the menswear sector of such an established brand, his appointment is a huge milestone for the black community. It will be interesting to see how far Abloh will go with Louis Vuitton and what he has in store for the rest of his seasons as artistic director. 3. Hedi Slimane’s Disastrous Debut Like with many unexpected changes in the fashion world, the news that after a decade as creative director of the French fashion house, Céline, Phoebe Philo would be stepping down from her role was met with much upset. There was equally a certain level of excitement in anticipation as to who would replace the celebrated designer. In January 2018, it was announced that Hedi Slimane, who had previously worked at Dior Homme and Saint Laurent, would assume the role of creative director. Now, I was super excited for Slimane’s tenure because I loved his work under Dior Homme. I felt as though his stint was a testament to his craftsmanship and talent as a designer, as menswear is a hard sector to master. His work was sleek, simple and classic, so one would hope that he would apply the same to his work at Céline, right? Well, when his inaugural Spring/Summer 2019 collection was displayed in Paris, it was met with immense outrage from the fashion community. Slimane had said before the show that his style significantly differed that of Philo’s and as a result, his clothes would be quite different. However, even with this in mind, no one could anticipate the complete desecration of the precedent set by Philo. Essentially, Slimane recreated his 80s-style disco clothing that we saw while he was at Saint Laurent and while it worked at the time for that brand, it was certainly not applicable here. Some argue that the main reason Slimane’s collection was such a disastrous failure was that he is a man, and as a result is unable to appropriately create practical but chic clothing for a female clientele. With all this in mind, it’s evident that 2018 was a monumental year in the fashion industry, considering that this is only a fraction of the important events that took place last year. What I think is most important for us to take away from these events is the rapidly changing climate of the fashion industry. There are much modernisation and development to the sort of content that we see every day in fashion and it is inspiring but also emphasises how much more needs to be done in order for the fashion industry to be as relatable and accessible as possible.