Fashion: Interview - Louis Philippe De Gagoue

Our newest interviewee has everything a fashion addict could ask for. He is a blogger, a personal shopper, a model, a law student and of course a stylist, yet this guy is so different from what you find on various fashion platforms all over the internet. He prooves that a unique style combined with a happy smile and being unafraid of trying new things are the key to success and an expressiv look. Louis Philippe De Gagoue took some time to answer questions for Project Quality, so be ready to dive into the world of this extraordinary young man and find out more about him and his journey in the fashion industry.

Fashion: Steven Tai's Bookworm Invasion

Sometimes all you need is just a little luck - Project Quality did have that little luck. Drawn to a designer because of an outstanding collection we spotted at a showroom PQ happened to run into the incredible designer Steven Tai. Of course we checked out his great bookworm-inspired collection, talked to him about it and got to enjoy his amazing runway show later on as well.

Fashion: THE SHIT Fashion Show and Afterparty

Tired fashionistas squeezed their sore feet into heels on the last night of Berlin Fashion Week without complaining (unless they were wearing flats) and gathered all their strength to dance the night away one last time. There's a new label in town and it goes by the charming name THE SHIT. You can think what you like about Photographer/It-Girl/Blogger/Model/Designer/Musician Bonnie Strange, but you can't deny that she has her own stlye - and a lot of humor. So when Miss Strange decides to start a label with Laura Cherrygrove, you can expect something special. And special it was.

Film, Art and everything in between: Panda Kids

There are many ways to prepare for an interview. Reading articles, interviews and blog posts are the most common among them. But to prepare for my meeting with Laura Cherrygrove and Joost Leliveld I did something every single one of you has probably done before: I stalked them on Facebook.

Fashion: Highlights - EDGED Showroom Berlin

Edged Showroom in collaboration with Fier Management opened again on time for Berlin Fashion Week to present the Fall/Winter ‘12 collections of various labels and gave the opportunity for dialogue with the people behind the clothes.

I admit to spending more time than I should have in the dark cellar with students of the University for Applied Siences Trier, where they presented their graduation collections using film and photography. Each designer presented one outfit from their collection, hung from the ceiling above three screens sunk in the floor showing images of naked people sleeping, shifting in small boxes.  Small screens connected to ipads on one side of the room gave you the opportunity to see the complete lookbook, but what really made me stay down there for a long time was the lookbook in motion that was projected on the wall. Tobias Benz, “the master” as the graduates called him created all this. “It was more of a side project for fun.” he said. The fun he had was captured beautifully by the images, models danced across the wall, the clothes whirling around them.

All videos on  Vimeo

Fashion: Interview - Katja Will

"C'est Tout! Coco Chanel knew it."

C'est Tout - That's all is the name of Katja and Michael Will's label. Long silk dresses, leather skirts, simple cuts. The clothes are fun, beautiful and elegant. The designer Katja Will kindly took the time to tell us about inspiration, her thoughts on fashion bloggers and style.

 

Fashion: Letters From The Past - A Look at 1950's Fashion

“Dear Poppy,

I am writing down what I remember about 1950’s fashion…”

A week before receiving my parcel, I was on the phone to my grandma, asking for her help with an article about fashion in the 50’s. I made a few notes while we were on the phone and she promised to send some pictures and magazines.

The letter she sent with the parcel made all my notes completely worthless and let this article practically write itself, which is why I will quote a lot of what she wrote down for me and only add a few notes.

“During the war we had clothing coupons which restricted what we could buy, but afterwards we had what fashion called ‘New Look’. Skirts were longer as that was good for trade. If you were short of money you altered the clothes you had. You will see on my photo, that my dress had a coloured band of material near the bottom to make the skirt longer.”

As I mentioned before, my grandmother sent me some magazines. There were three in the parcel, Woman’s Weekly from 1955,’56 and ’57 - all contain articles about cleaning, love stories, recipes,  beauty tips and of course a lot about alterations.

Fashion/Photography: Interview - Victoria Leeds (stylemarmalade.com)

"It’s about the eye and the sensibility to capture beauty in the ordinary, the occult."

Only blogging for about half a year, Victoria Leeds has already been featured in Vogue Fr., ASOS and MTV Style to name a few. Her style is a mix of old and new, pretty girl meets tomboy, fairytale meets rock festival. The mexican fashion blogger and photographer who lives in London has taken the blogosphere by storm with her unique style and dreamy pictures.

Here we offer you a little peek inside the mind of Victoria Leeds.

Fashion: Interview-Hanna Janzen (WEMAKETHECAKE) + GIVEAWAY

George, Gina & Your Mother

The slogan on simple cloth bags is probably the coolest parody of George, Gina & Lucy bags around. WEMAKETHECAKE bags were suddenly everywhere on fashion blogs and over the shoulders of stylish young people on the street. The brand of the two girls Hanna Janzen and Inga Stichling who finished school this year became well-known all over germany and beyond. We asked Hanna Janzen some questions about fashion, success and inspiration.

Fashion: A Head Filled With Fashion

Why we create it and it creates us

I recently realized something: amazingly many articles on this blog have something to do with fashion. And that is why I, probably unexpectedly, also felt like writing about it. It’s not like I never think about it, but the best ideas always come to me in calm moments.

First of all: Most people in my life are unusually closely linked to fashion. Not always obviously, but in some way it plays a role for almost everyone- in the haziest shapes. And that is not at all self-evident; I do not belong to a higher, elite, posh group, who you are more likely to think of as influential on today’s superficialities. But wait, did I just say “superficial”? Aha, well that’s the first aspect – and prejudgment in my head. Does it always have to be superficial? Well, whether it’s good or bad, it is what we wear: Our clothes, all kinds of accessories, our hair and whatever else we chose for or to influence our appearance. It is the surface of what we are, but it goes deeper, we connect so much more to everything we wear.

It is not just clothing, because clothing is clothing, no matter what it is like. When we talk about fashion, we mean things we like, things we think look good, feel good. It is our taste that leads us, our instinct for style- our sense of aesthetic.

Because we do live in our time and take in everything that happens around us, we become a clear view of what is going on in the world. What we make out of that is our own fashion. That is why fashion is also always spirit of the era; a way of life, maybe the most visible part of it.

It is what you get when you read between the lines of our life. A way to catch the way of life and spirit of the age, wrap it up and make it visible for others.

It is good that there is something like fashion. Yes, we should enjoy in consciously, we should develop it, develop in it, because one day someone will say: “So that was your era?” And how could you feel better about it than if you yourself were a part of it and lived an experienced all those things.

Do not forget: Fashion influences us, but we also influence fashion. Because we create the era in which we live. We are a part of the whole thing and the whole thing is no more than what we are.

Fashion is the way we feel while living our lives.

Fashion is…

…good-looking

…the taste of an era

…things we like

…a vicious circle that was started to make money.

What does fashion mean to you? How do you feel about it? How does it influence you? We would be very interested to hear about it- Write to us, comment on our articles, send pictures of what makes fashion special to you!

Kilian.

Photography: Tell me...with Wallace Chapman

...When and how you got into photography.

Wallace Chapman: That’s a really good question because I came late to it and it wasn’t part of growing up. I’ve always loved film and images, and I always loved looking at the window on the world and just observing. I think I was on the bus looking at people go by, and I just saw each window as the frame in a camera. I realized slowly that I was extremely drawn to the single image –a moment in time, rather than moving film. It was almost an epiphany – “ I am going to get a camera. “ In 2005, instead of going out to buy a digital snap, I ventured out and bought a 35 mm rangefinder camera – a new model of a fairly old way of shooting photos. A voigtlander bessa L. Entirely manual. I use digital now, but it is still a manual digital camera.

...How you got into street style photography.

Wallace Chapman: I have always loved street photography, using cities and urban-scapes as the backdrop. I mean...it really is the ultimate canvas – there is a lot going on, yet at the same time, you have to find THAT moment to make it work. So it isn’t necessarily easy. Around early last year I moved to focusing on people in the street and portraits, and then by extension street style. But for me it’s always the people first and the fashion second. I’d be lost at a fashion show, but a gorgeous person in the street? No problemo !

...What it's like walking up to strangers and asking them for pictures.

Wallace Chapman: At first it was downright frightening to be honest. And there is always that element of having to psyche oneself up for going out on the town. As a guy I always try to make people aware that it’s for a street style site, and that I’m not a stalker or a freak or wanting to convert them ! Ninety five per cent of people say no problem.

...The best and worst part about being a streetstyle photographer.

Wallace Chapman: The best part is knowing you’ve captured something really special in the day. The worst part of knowing you’ve captured something special in the day but the light has been too shit, too bright, too dull. There are so many variables in the street photography- that’s part of what makes it very exciting !

http://www.streetandcityphotos.com/ 

Fashion: Interview-Mauri Müller (mau-fashion.com)

Almost 3000 fans on Facebook, about 1700 followers and over 500.000 clicks speak for themselves and are a clear symbol of success. Success that belongs to a fine young man from Moers. After presenting Dustin Hanke to you, we'd now like to present another star in the fashion sky - Maurizio Müller

Maurizio Müller, who has with his 18 years a lot of fashion addicts under his spell, is a fashion blogger on his blog www.mau-fashion.com. It is almost impossible to not know him if you really want to know about the newest fashion trends and events.

Mauri took some time to answer questions for Project Quality, which some of you may have asked yourselves.

How would you describe your style and how do others (family, friends, internet community)
describe your style?

Mauri: I can't really define my style because I get inspired by a lot of different things and my style could all of a sudden change from one day to another. Also I can't really tell how others describe my style. Many find it extraordinary and sometimes quite daring.

How and when did you take your interest in fashion ended up blogging?

Mauri: When I was 10 or 11 years old during a vacation in Sardinia I would go shopping with my aunt 2 or 3 times a week. That's how it all started. It really caught my interest at the age of 13. At this time I started watching my first fashion shows on FashionTV. Since I've started my blog in april 2009 to educate myself and to gain more knowledge about fashion, it has all been taken to a whole different level.

Could you imagine being an idol to others and affect them with what you do and what you've achieved?

Mauri: I could not think of anything better!

If you could crown a fashion queen and a fashion king at this very moment who would you crown and why?

Mauri: Fashion queen: Lady Gaga if it's about art. Many see her as an insubordinate and artificial doll. To me she is like an expressionistic piece of art.
Based on what I saw at the royal wedding (Will&Kate) I have to say that David's style develops gradually. He's like a wine who displays his full flavor with maturity.

What has been your most beautiful experience that you associate with fashion?

Mauri: There were two wonderful phone calls. The first one was the call when I was told that I won a photo graphy contest which allowed me to go to the fashion week in berlin. That was two years ago and I can still remember it clearly. The second phone call gave me the opportunity to go to New York to be part in a project as a blogger.

What is your favorite store in which you could go shopping for hours, days or even months?
Which store is a complete no go?

Mauri: Weekday! I can always find something nice there! I can't really tell which store is a no go to me because when you go shopping with an open mind you can always find something. Even if it's just socks!

If the world was going to end tomorrow - what would you wear?

Mauri: Nothing, I think I'd celebrate it best when I'm naked.

What's your understanding of fashion in connection with art and quality?

Mauri: When fashion is artistically valuable and of a top quality we speak of what designers have been  trying to realize. Only a few succeed in achieving those goals. To me Givenchy, McQueen (by now Sarah Burton) and Gaultier belong to those people. Especially in couture we can find a lot of art and quality!

Fashion: Interview - Dustin Hanke

London, Paris, Milan, New York - which fashion enthusiast doesn’t dream of seeing the anticipated new collections in the various fashion capitals, being at fashion week or even becoming a part of the fashion industry and always being up-to-date with the latest trends and events.

A young, stylish guy from Goslar has gotten very close to all this by scillfully using the universal wonder weapon of the 21st century – the internet.

Dustin, Fashionblogger on shiggersonstreet.com , has become a sensation because of his, for Germany, very untypical style that he presents on his blog. This seemed to be his key to the fashion industry, which enabled him many things others will never experience.

Dustin took some time to answer questions for Project Quality, which some of you may have asked yourselves.

How would you describe your style to somebody?

Dustin: The standard question and I still have no idea how to answer it.

I wear whatever I like every day and so it always looks different. One day it may be many brown tones on other days black and white. What I really can’t stand are too many colours and prints. So I like it clean and simple.

Where does inspiration for your ideas come from?

Dustin: Mainly from the internet. I follow around 200 blogs, which I read day by day, that’s very inspiring. I also read many magazines and look at a lot of editorials.

How and when did you discover your interest for fashion and how did you end up blogging?

Dustin: The whole thing happened barely two years ago. I guess you could say I just woke up one day and it just thrilled me. I started reading blogs regularly, ordering magazines and looking for fashion features online. Once I was full of inspiration I finally started my blog.

How does it feel to get such great feedback about your blog and suddenly being invited to fashion shows and events? How do the people around you deal with it? 

Dustin: It’s an amazing feeling. Sometimes I wake up and all I can think is ‘wow’. I still can't quite fathom what possibilities have been offered to me. All the positive feedback makes me proud and motivates me a lot. It would be terrible, if I didn’t care as my readers are the ones who have made all this possible. I think some people are jealous of what I do, what I experience, the way I come across. But that’s not right. Sure, some jealousy will always be there, but I’m just a normal human being and many others live the same life I do. I’m not better than anyone else.

Compared to other countries how could you describe the street style in Germany?

Dustin: Sadly I find Germany quite boring most of the time when it comes to street style. The people who really dress well show themselves too rarely. I’m personally inspired by cities like London, Stockholm or Copenhagen.

Is there any piece or accessory you really want to have right now?

Dustin: Yes! SO MUCH! I’m afraid I have a talent for always liking the most expensive stuff. So my closet always has to wait for quite a long time for the things I want. At the moment I really want the ‘Anouck’ Boots by Alexander Wang, but I can’t find them anywhere.

If the world was going to end tomorrow - what would you wear?

Dustin: Comfortable shoes!!!

What's your understanding of fashion in connection with art and quality?

Dustin: Unlike fashion I have been interested in art all my life, but fashion and art go hand in hand. Most clothes by great designers are art in my opinion. Every designer expresses how he feels or thinks through his clothing. Artists do the same thing. It should never lack in quality when it comes to both.

Thanks again to Dustin for this interview and you absolutely have to check out his blog http://www.shiggersonstreet.com/ !

Fashion: Stacey Hendrickson (casper&pearl)

Stacey Hendrickson, an eighteen year Australian fashion designer is making quite a name for herself and for her label, casper &pearl. The South Australian based brand began at the Gilles Street Markets, where she sold altered vintage clothing and handmade garments. Just three months later her clothes are selling out over her Facebook page and being seen on International fashion blogs.