Is Ugly Actually Ugly?

“’Ugly is attractive, ugly is exciting. Maybe because it is newer,’ says Miuccia Prada. SHOWstudio explores fashion’s fascination with deliberate awkwardness and vulgarity. Just as Umberto Eco asked in his celebrated work ‘On Ugliness’ SHOWstudio will question if, when manipulated by the right designer or when backed up by a luxury label, repulsiveness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.” –SHOWstudio

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The other day I happened upon a new SHOWstudio project that dissected our current fascination with “ugly.” After reading through the various essays, I phoned my friend to get a clearer perspective on the subject. The discussion, which I’ve posted below, is our input on the matter.

Menswear Monday: Munsoo Kwon SS15

Munsoo Kwon’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection, “Kite Flies over Han River on a Lazy Afternoon” merges visual experimentation with progressive tailoring to create a novel collection that embodies the dichotomous nature of the Han River and reflects the contemporary evolution of men’s fashion.

Knock On Wood

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This gorgeously crafted clutch by textile design and development team, Tseler+Mendelovitch is constructed of 100% ebony wood. This particular type of wood is exclusive in itself as it takes over 100 years to mature. Truly a limited edition collectors’ item, this clutch is far more than just aesthetical statement piece. The accessory embodies the directional progression towards sculptural design through natural, sustainable resources.

Constructed of: Paper

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Designer Bea Szenfeld and photographer Joel Rhodin collaborated together to capture the Szenfeld’s all-paper Spring/Summer 2014 collection, “Haute Papier.” The revolutionary collection featured rivetingly sculptural pieces made entirely of paper. Geometric shapes and wildlife motifs brought life and eccentricity into the novel collection. The stunning installment was held at the infamously decadent vintage store, Decades, in Los Angeles.

Menswear Monday: Andrea Cammarosano FW14/15

It’s always an exciting and refreshing moment when I happen upon new local talent, especially when said-talent is a fashion design instructor at Academy of Art University. Andrea Cammarosano, a San Francisco-based fashion designer, is the latest installment of “Menswear Monday.” The Italian-born designer’s Fall/Winter 2014-2015 collection, “We Are Not Afraid of Ruins,” is a high aesthetic menswear collection that not only looks good, but feels good too.

SHOWstudio: Knight and Foxton Collaborate for #asif

 

The talented and eminent Nick Knight joined forces with stylist Simon Foxton to create an arrestingly optical fashion film for VMAN magazine that illustrates and explores the extraordinarily graphic language of the digital domain. Knight, Foxton, and the SHOWstudio team collected and manipulated imagery from the Internet and reinterpreted the curated data into a culturally relevant film titled “#asif,” that exemplifies our digital reality. The creative team also shot and styled a complementary editorial that parallels the Internet-focused video.

Menswear Monday: Ximon Lee

Recent Parsons graduate, Ximon Lee, used the tattered and heavily layered clothing styles of children in Moscow as his inspiration for his graduating thesis collection, “Children of Lenengradsky.”