Author archive for antoine

  • EYE CANDY

    rocky

    - by antoine

    The Stimuleye presents Chase The Cool, the first music video from the first of EP of Rocky.

    CHASE THE COOL, written & directed by Antoine Asseraf & Rene Habermacher.

    Your EP is very diverse sonically – is it because you’re still experimenting, or because you refuse to choose one style ?
    Let’s say you can find in Rocky the influences we wanted to play with: House, Pop, R&B. All these musics are not so different, they all have their roots in African American music.

    Lille, Paris,… is it important where you’re from?
    No. Today you can make the same music whether you’re from Lille, Paris or Madrid. Even though it’s true there isn’t the same energy in a big city like New York as in… Paris.

    Singing in French…is it taboo for you ?
    Not at all. We’re thinking about it for the next EP.

    What’s it like playing the Olympia concert hall Jouer à l’Olympia? Inès, you mentionned you had already sung there before the Inrocks Festival…
    You can say what you want, the Olympia isn’t a venue like any other. We were lucky enough to play it twice (the first time opening for The Shoes) and it was a great experience each time. The mood is peculiar, and you always get a reaction when you tell your family you’ll play there.

    What’s your process, from writing to production ?
    There are no rules. But generally we start from a base by one of us, we push the production further and Inès tries to lay down some vocals. We go back and forth like this a few times, until we like it enough to play it to Pierre Le Ny, the Art Director of the label, who’ll put it in the trash.

    Sometimes, when he thinks the track is cool, he’ll send it Guillaume Brière (half of the The Shoes), who finalizes it and puts it on a record.
    At least that’s how we do it now. It’s simple to tell, but in fact each step comes with its share of tears and despair.

    Where did the name Rocky come from?
    We wanted a name that was cool, easy to remember, that would work in any language. This one was already part of the collective imagination, so the work was already done, which made it easy. We also liked the idea of highjacking an already ultra famous name from its origins. It never fails to trigger people to ask us about the name.

    What is the last thing which stimulated you ?
    TRUE DETECTIVE !

    Rocky by Rene Habermacher
    
    Rocky, by The Stimuleye.

    Rocky Tour Dates

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  • EYE CANDY

    rocky

    - by antoine

    Label G.U.M. and The Stimuleye present Rocky’s first EP,
    produced by The Shoes‘ Guillaume Briere
    Cover by René Habermacher.
    “Chase The Cool” video by The Stimuleye, coming soon.

    Rocky EP1 by René Habermacher

    ROCKY EP1 by René Habermacher.

    (more…)

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  • EYE CANDY

    all eyes on hyères

    - by antoine

    Last Hyères before it turns 30.

    For its 29th edition, Villa Noailles director and Fashion + Photography founder Jean-Pierre Blanc invited the American duo of Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, Kenzo designers and Opening Ceremony founders, to preside the Fashion Jury.

    Amidst hundred’s of applicants from 55 different countries, here are the 10 finalists they picked.

    Official lookbook by The Stimuleye.

    Hyères Festival of Fashion + Photography 2014

    Hyères 2014 - ALL EYES ON HYERES - by The Stimuleye.

    All 10 designers were selected on the basis of a dossier and a full outfit, first by art director Maida Gregory-Boina, Maria Luisa buyer Robin Schulié and The Stimuleye colleague Filep Motwary, then by the jury presidents and their guests: Jay Massacret (V Man), Eric Wilson (InStyle), Carol Song (Opening Ceremony) and actress Chloé Sevigny.
    (more…)

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  • EYE CANDY

    valli mythologies

    - by antoine

    The Stimuleye presents a new film for Giambattista Valli’s fifth haute couture collection for Fall 2013, following last season’s Jonas Mekas-influenced film The Other Side of Paradise.

    This season, the themes are goddesses, fine porcelain and… Lee Radziwill makes a sublime and subliminal appearance.

    Giambattista Valli Haute Couture 5

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    THE OPPOSITE OF GLOSSY

    - by antoine

     “Nobody wants to invade Marseille” claims Rudy Ricciotti,
    architect of the MuCEM.

    And yet everyone is flocking there since the Museum of Civilisations
    of Europe & of the Mediterranean, dubbed MuCEM, opened its doors just weeks ago, the first national museum to open in the Phocean city, a project 11 years in the making. 

    Having shot & directed the introductory ad campaign for this new institution, The Stimuleye introduces you to the man who designed it, a man as famous for the fights he picks as the building he designs.
    Exclusive photos by René Habermacher.

    RUDY_RICCIOTTI_MUCEM_731_THE_STIMULEYE_RENE_HABERMACHER
    Portrait of architect Rudy Ricciotti by René Habermacher.

    One side is the Fort Saint-Jean, linked to the city by a pedestrian steel bridge. A fort not unlike the Bastille – a bastion to defend Marseille against itself – the Fort Saint-Jean had been closed to the public for centuries.

    On the other, also connected by a massive steel bridge, is Ricciotti’s creation, facing the Mediterranean Sea.
    Refusing “architectural bling,” Ricciotti chose to have the new building dematerialize itself to complement the Fort Saint-Jean.

    No reflections – leave it to the sea.

    C1_MUCEM_1333_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYEC2_MUCEM_1423_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYE
    C3_MUCEM_1362_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYEC4_MUCEM_958_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYE
    The concrete filigree lace of the MuCEM, a second skin like a screen that allows views, light and air
    to pervade the space. Photography by René Habermacher.
    
    TV spot for the MuCEM's launch, directed by Antoine Asseraf with SayWho and Agence White.
    BIRDVIEW_MUCEM_1321_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYE
    The MuCEM's a porous monolithic body planted on pier J4 in the Mediterranean sea, connected to the Fort Saint-Jean
    with a 115m long slender pathway made of massive cast iron. Photography by René Habermacher.

    Antoine Asseraf: Can you elaborate on your theory of world being split between two sides, matte and shiny ?

    Rudy Ricciotti: Shiny is conceptual distance, reason, power and self-assurance.
    Matte is frontal narration, intuition, defeat and regret.
    Pick your side… I did.

    AA: Mediterranean is a concept going beyond “local” but stopping short of  “global” — how do you situate yourself, and the building, within that notion ?

    RR: The South is a travel certificate, not a birth certificate.
    The inhabitants of Munich are more mediterranean than those of Grenoble.
    The Valais region in the south of Switzerland more latin than the Vaucluse in the south of France, etc.
    The MuCEM is mediterranean through anxiety and existential difficulty.

    AA: What is your relationship to monumental architecture ?

    RR: You are talking to me, you fucked my wife ?

    A1_MUCEM_623_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYEA2_MUCEM_919_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYE
    A3_MUCEM_1157_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYEA4_MUCEM_687_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYE
    Top left: "Notre-Dame de la Garde" looming over Marseille and the the seven-level, 40 000 square meter
    structure of the MuCEM. Photography by René Habermacher.
    B1_MUCEM_904_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYEB2_MUCEM_640_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYE
    B3_MUCEM_1347_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYEB4_MUCEM_796_RENE_HABERMACHER_THE_STIMULEYE
    As massive the volume of the MuCEM may seem at first, it is the use of negative space that gives the building
    the air of the metaphysical. Photography by René Habermacher

    AA: What is the last thing which stimulated you ?

    RR: A fish soup made by my partner…
    Read my last pamphlet to smile:
    « L’Architecture est un sport de combat » [Architecture is a combat sport], edited by Textuel.

    MuCEM

    With SayWho & Agence White

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  • RETINA

    HYERES EXPRESS EPILOGUE

    - by antoine

    The 28th edition of the Hyères Fashion & Photography Festival is over, but the spirit remains…

    Featuring jury interviews, concerts and awards, of course.


    28TH INTERNATIONAL FASHION & PHOTOGRAPHY HYERES 2013
    HYERES EXPRESS
    06 AWARDS
    07 MOOD

    A THE STIMULEYE PRODUCTION
    directed by Antoine Asseraf
    filmed & edited by Julien Pujol & Thibault Della Gaspera
    coordination Clementine Colson
    interviews Filep Motwary
    sound design Ça Va Chéri

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  • EYE CANDY

    HYERES 2013 EXPRESS 04 DESIGNERS + 05 FASHION SHOW

    - by antoine

    Hyères Again. And Again.

    28TH INTERNATIONAL FASHION & PHOTOGRAPHY HYERES 2013
    HYERES EXPRESS

    A THE STIMULEYE PRODUCTION
    directed by Antoine Asseraf
    filmed & edited by Julien Pujol
    coordination Clementine Colson
    interviews Filep Motwary
    sound design Ça Va Chéri

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    HYERES 2013 EXPRESS 03 EXHIBITIONS

    - by antoine

    Besides the photo and fashion competitions, one of the Hyères festival’s strongpoints are the original exhibitions it curates. Amongst this year’s shows, Lacoste designer and 2002 Hyères winner Felipe Oliveira Baptista, up and coming photo/video/grapher Pierre Debusschere, 2001 Hyères winner photographer Charles Fréger, and ROUGH PROOF, a look at the early works of Guy Bourdin with special pieces from the private collection of Marie Laure de Noailles… of course.

    A THE STIMULEYE PRODUCTION
    directed by Antoine Asseraf
    filmed & edited by Thibault Della Gaspera
    interviews Filep Motwary
    coordination Clementine Colson
    sound design Ça Va Chéri

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    HYERES EXPRESS: PIERRE DEBUSSCHERE

    - by antoine

    Having seen his work evolve over the years, we are proud to announce Pierre Debusschere’s new project premiering at Hyères Fashion & Photography Festival, an installation featuring original photo and video, “I know simply that the sky will last longer than I.”

    Pierre Debusschere, Portrait by Filep Motwary.

    Is this your first solo show?
    I did small solo shows before but i like to think of this one as my first one because it is the first time the work has been thought of for an exhibition medium.

    How does it feel exhibiting alongside someone like Guy Bourdin?
    It is already an honour to be present at the Villa but even more to be next to Bourdin.

    Your subjects-models are worked in a way to look like paintings, what is your aim exactly ?
    The painting, the Flemish painters are a big influence for me, there is no specific aim linked to the painting besides the connection to my inspirations.
    The technique that looks like paint that you are referring to is there more in the idea layers, different layers that gives the image different steps of reading.

    Photo by Pierre Debusschere.

    Photo by Pierre Debusschere.

    Your show’s theme is beauty versus ugliness. What are your true influences? Is it connected to the work of Umberto Eco ?
    Beauty versus ugliness is one of the themes worked in this show, the idea of what is beautiful or ugly today. Yes it is linked to Eco’s work, reading his book
    on ugliness helped me a lot in this show.

    Your work is tied to the digital medium. Can you imagine yourself working in a previous era ?
    For sure I can see myself working in a previous era, it is not about digital, it is more about the medium that fits the time, the idea of NOW.

    Photo by Pierre Debusschere.

    You have created yourself a whole structure with 254 Forest, which allows you to do an original photo series, a book, an installation and a film… How important is organization to be an artist today ?

    Yes I would not have been able without my team to create the photo-series, the book, the installation, the film, the soundtrack and the website !

    It is always about Team work for me and I’m really grateful to have them besides me. Organisation is a big part of the work, even more for project like this when we created all this body of work in 2 months. Today you need to be able to react really fast because of the technology era we live in, so that’s why a team is important too !

    You need to be present on every aspect of production at the same time ! But then we can not forget sometimes that we need to disconnect ourselves 😉

    PIERRE DEBUSSCHERE

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  • EYE CANDY

    HYERES 2013 EXPRESS 02 DESIGNERS

    - by antoine

    The festival is about to start. In 1 hour the jury headed by Felipe Oliveira Baptista will discover the 10 designers in competition for the first time.

    A THE STIMULEYE PRODUCTION
    directed by Antoine Asseraf
    filmed & edited by Julien Pujol
    interviews Filep Motwary
    coordination Clementine Colson
    sound design Ça Va Chéri

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    HYERES EXPRESS 2013/ JURY PREVIEW / IMRAN AMED

    - by antoine

    One of the most unexpected and influential sites in fashion today is Business of Fashion. Imran Amed, its founder and editor, answers our questions before joining the Hyères 2013 Fashion jury.

    Photo by Scott Trindle.

    AntoineAsseraf: Along with Industrie Magazine and the rise of the fashion blogger as a class, your blog has drawn attention to a lot of work, which was heretofore considered a bit peripheral to a designer’s raw talent. What do you make of a place like Hyères that still somehow naively stresses the belief that talent will find its own way? If you were to create a Business of Fashion competition/festival, how different would it be?

    Imran: At BoF, we firmly believe in the power that lies at the intersection of creativity and business. Both are essential to a successful fashion enterprise, and one can’t work without the other. It’s a true symbiotic relationship. If we were to do a BoF festival therefore, it would be a combination of creative fashion presentation and business plan pitches, and the judges would come from both sides of the industry.

    FilepMotwary: It seems to me that many of the young designers who dream of a future in fashion are unaware about “the business” of fashion in general. Should they worry of how things have evolved, and turned the industry into this huge marathon of task, values that need to be constantly re-valued, trends that suffers from the lack of longevity etc…?

    Imran: I tell my students that once they start their own business, they will spend 90% of their time managing the business, and only 10% of the time designing. This balance is not something that has necessarily changed in recent years, but it’s true that there is more and more for a young designer to do in the global, digital fashion world in which we live today.

    Sean Santiago: The internet and its popular content-sharing platforms, i.e. Tumblr and Pinterest, are destabilizing traditional revenue streams faster than new ones are being created. How will original creative output find funding in the future and do you see crowdsourcing methods such as, for instance, a Kickstarter campaign, possibly becoming necessary to the creation of original artistic output? Or will a big brand always foot the bill when it comes to fashion-related content?

    Imran: Brands and designers could certainly fund portions of their businesses — say specific collections or products — via crowdsourcing platforms. But ultimately, I suspect that they will need to turn to traditional forms of fundraising (selling equity or taking loans) in order to fund the business over the long term. A young fashion business is highly cash flow intensive, and therefore will likely require stable and planned funding in order to fuel growth and expansion.

    Malibongwe Tyilo: BOF is recognized as one of the boldest voices in fashion writing, often publishing pieces that might not be appreciated by some PR people. Considering how important PR has become to design companies, how does that affect how the design businesses deal with you?

    Imran: We are bold, but I believe we are also fair and balanced. Part of the role we see for ourselves at BoF is to surface and shed light on important industry issues that merit wider discussion and debate.

    If we can do so in a way that is balanced and fact-based, then most PR professionals seem to respect us for that.

    Certainly, there are some who would prefer to control all the communication about their clients, but this is misguided and unrealistic.

    28th International
    Fashion & Photography Festival
    Hyères 2013
    April 26>29

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  • EYE SCREAM

    HYERES EXPRESS 01 PREVIEW

    - by antoine

    Less than 48 hours before the beginning of the festival, we bring you our first HYERES EXPRESS video, a quick preview with the people who make the Hyères Festival – founder and director Jean-Pierre Blanc, photography director Raphaelle Stopin, and fashion director Maida Gregory-Boina.

    A THE STIMULEYE PRODUCTION
    directed by Antoine Asseraf
    filmed & edited by Thibault Della Gaspera
    interviews Filep Motwary
    coordination Clementine Colson
    sound design Ça Va Chéri

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    hyères express: felipe oliveira baptista

    - by antoine

    “a screen to the brain” is what Felipe Oliveira Baptista wants to show us in Hyères. 

    Winning the Hyères award in 2002, then the ANDAM Award, “FOB”, as he is nicknamed, made himself a name showing in Paris over the last 10 years, and is now also the creative director of Lacoste.

    As he prepares his return to Hyères, this time as Jury President, he faces the inquiries of our team of bloggers…

    by The Stimuleye

    Felipe Oliveira Baptista by René Habermacher.
    Filep Motwary: If I asked you to look back to the beginning of your career and compare how the industry worked then to how fashion functions today, what would you say are the biggest changes? 

    Everything has speeded up a lot, more collections, pre-collections, collaborations & capsules. Internet gave way to a whole new way of spreeding new talent, ideas and concepts. it is a very different landscape from the beginning of the century. On the other end, we seem to live in an era where there is too much of everything and by the time something new is found, it is already finished.

    Warhol’s 15 minutes have turned into 15 seconds.

    Antoine Asseraf: Winning Hyères + Winning the ANDAM + Consulting for other brands… is that the only path for French-based designers to establish themselves today ?

    I think Paris is the toughest fashion week for a youg designer. Between all the big houses and a strong presence of other international designers, it makes the spotlight smaller; so Hyeres & the Andam are a great help to get your name out there.
    As for working for other brands, if you are independent and do shows, it is almost mandatory.

    Sean Santiago: How do you keep a sportswear brand such as Lacoste relevant on an international scale, and is international appeal vital for a successful brand? Where does that appeal come from – catering to diverse markets or maintaining a uniquely French aesthetic that people find desirable?

    Lacoste is relevant on an international scale with more than 1500 shops world wide. We create a base and main message through the show collections, pre- collections and advertising campaigns, but there are regional adaptations done to answer local needs.

    Bruno Capasso: You being Portuguese felt any difficulties to enter in the market, even though you have a British training? What do you think of Portuguese fashion today? Which are the things that need to be improved so they have more global approach? 

    I don’t know…I do not think my nationality went for or against me, I  believe individuality is stronger than one’s nationality.

    Vogue.de: You are going to have an exhibition at Hyères as well. What are you going to display? 

    “A screen to the brain” is an installation made of 100 different sized screens that go through the creative process of a collection: references, collages, drawings, videos to the pages of fashion magazines.

    This installation will evolve and will be shown again in a FOB exhibition starting next october in MUDE, Lisbon.
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  • EYE 2 EYE

    hyeres express: maurice scheltens & liesbeth abbenes

    - by antoine

    “The specialty of Scheltens & Abbenes is to meticulously arrange objects” claims the biography of photography duo Maurice Scheltens & Liesbeth Abbenes. Working since 2002 as a duo, the minimalist compositions they painstakingly compose have earned them attention from clients and editors alike.

    As part of the Hyères 2013 Fashion Jury, they answer the questions of the blog partners – Un Nouveau Ideal by Filep Motwary, *Fruitpunch by Sean Santiago, BRRUN by Bruno Capasso, Vogue.de, Malibongwe Tyilo and The Stimuleye, of course.

    by The Stimuleye

    Liesbeth Abbenes. Photo by René Habermacher.

    Filep Motwary: How does a garment get your attention? What are you searching for while on set?

    Maurice ScheltensA sensitivity in material and design. Looking at a garment it often tells if the designer understands it’s own work without stopping to early (or to late) in the process. This attitude is connecting in the way we are also trying to stretch our own sensibilities.

    Sean Santiago: Your work is striking in its simplicity and for its reductive qualities – is fashion more interesting to you in theory more often than in its execution?

    We are more interested in what we see then in what we know or should know. After ‘building’ is the moment of truth. Our curiosity by testing an idea for it’s visual qualities is the driving force. That is also why we keep on searching, experimenting and checking during the shoot instead of making photographs from a sketch made on the drawing table. This doesn’t mean that thoughts or drawings as they are can be beautiful and interesting to. It’s a matter of where to put all these aspirations.

    by The Stimuleye

    Maurice Scheltens by René Habermacher.

    Antoine Asseraf: As jury members used to shooting Fashion as objects, can you abstract the mise en scene, the show, the person to judge only the garments ?

    Actually we see the same struggle and solutions in the garments as we face while shooting fashion or any other object in front of the lens. Maybe it’s a healthy distance that we have looking at fashion because we’re not ‘over informed’. We’re responding to what we see with the same critical eye as we do in our own work.

    Bruno Capasso: How do you work as a duo – do you have 2 distinct visions ?

    Our collaboration has been growing over the past ten years. It’s an evolution in which we grow individually towards each other and makes it difficult to say what comes from who. Individual credits would be out of place. See it as a chess game in which one makes a move and the other responds onto it… on and on.

    Hyères 2013 Fashion & Photography Festival

    Scheltens & Abbenes

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  • GOOGLY EYE

    welcome to marie laure’s

    - by antoine

    The Stimuleye is proud to present the Hyères 2013 teaser trailer – Welcome to Marie Laure’s, starring Suzanne von Aichinger as the reincarnation of the legendary Marie-Laure de Noailles. Of course.

    International Fashion & Photography Festival 2013
    Hyères – Teaser

    April 26 – 29, 2013
    Villa Noailles, Hyères

    http://www.villanoailles-hyeres.com/2013/

    Film by Antoine Asseraf & René Habermacher
    starring Suzanne von Aichinger
    as Marie Laure de Noailles

    Styling by Suzanne von Aichinger
    assisted by Simon Gensowski & Laure Grandon

    Hair by Panos Papandrianos @ CLM UK
    Make-up by Min Kim @ Airport Agency

    Sound design by Ca Va Cheri

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  • GOOGLY EYE

    the rainbow is a monster

    - by antoine

    Arrrgh follows Rrrrip.

    “Arrrgh – Monsters in Fashion”, a fashion exhibition featuring the clothes of Bernhard Willhelm, Walter Van Beirendonck, Rick Owens, Filep Motwary, Hyères graduates Jean Paul Lespagnard, Mareunrol and Mads Dinesen, and a 360 degree film installation from Bart Hess, is now opening at the Gaîté Lyrique digital center in Paris.

    “Arrrgh” follows in the footsteps of “Rrrrip – Paper Fashion”, another internationally touring exhibit by Greek collective Atopos, whose founding member and curator, Vassilis Zidianakis, we met before the exhibit opening.

    
    Left: Pictoplasma "Pictoorphanage Les Petites Bonhommes", 2006.  Right: Manon Kuendig "Collection BLOWJOB", 2011

    Antoine Asseraf: What was the starting point for this exhibit ?

    Vassilis Zidianakis: In Hyères in 2006, where I was in the fashion jury. One of the designers, Amandine Labidoire, had a sketchbook with characters that started something in my head.

    Then I asked Pictoplasma to write a text on character design, they saw my research on the subject and instead proposed to do a whole book about that idea, which became NOT A TOY, and then led to this exhibit.

    
    Craig Green "BA Collection", 2010 & "BA Collection", 2012

    When does this phenomenon start, in the 90’s with Leigh Bowery, Margiela, Walter Van Beirendonck… ?

    Internet is the real starting point – avatars, different identities. People don’t show their face and instead create a character.

    In fashion, you could say it started with Comme Des Garçons for the shape, and Margiela for the face – because when you hide the face you create a monster. But Schiaparelli, who was close to the surrealists, had already tried that, and you find it a lot in ethnographic clothing: each civilisation has costumes to dress up and become someone else. Today, it’s become a bit like Halloween, and clothes that are not meant to be worn on the street, but to go to parties, take pictures, it’s very marketing associated.

    Character design as a whole comes from marketing, in the US and Japan – products talk to you, like yogurt, clothes, Michelin…

    You also have to see the evolution of what we consider “monstruous”. For example, hoop dresses from the 18th century which are too wide to fit through a door – don’t you find that monstruous ?

    
    Left: Projection by Bart Hess. Right: Bas Kosters "Collection Le Salon Explosif", 2007
    
    Left: Alexis Themistocleus "Freaks", 2010. Right: Heiniek "Foamboys x Hyperbole@ Ludwig- TEDX AMS", 2012

    Besides the rise of internet, the 90’s are also a decade of video games becoming mainstream, the emergence of adult animation…

    It’s the idea we wanted to explpore with NOT A TOY, which led to this exhibition. If you read vinyl sex objects, it says “THIS IS NOT A TOY”, it’s for grown-ups.

    Ultimately I’m very happy to show this outside of a fashion context, in a place like Gaîté Lyrique which is more technology related. The exhibit isn’t directly linked to technology, but shows the influence of technology on our bodies.

    What is different about this exhibit than what was shown in Athens ?

    After 3 years of research, we made a show at the Benaki Museum in Athens. Since then, a lot of new things have been produced around the idea, so for the Gaîté Lyrique we doubled the number of exhibited pieces on display.

    We also commissioned Bart Hess a video for the 360º room, a special costume from Craig Green which serves as visual identity for the exhibtion,
    and the fashion show of Jean-Paul Lespagnard which will be part of the parallel program.

    
    The Brainstorm Design "How To Make Friends And Have A Social Life", 2013

    Tell me more about the ancient Greek notion of “monster”…

    Today “monster” has a negative connotation. But the original Greek word, “teras” (which gave “teratogen” and “teratology”) indicates a physical phenomenon in need of an explanation. So for example, to the ancient Greeks, a rainbow was a “monster”.

    A bit like a UFO ?

    yes, unidentified, and needing to be explained by us.
    the theme of the monster is really about difference, about what we’re capable of accepting, because we’re attracted to strange things, but don’t know how to communicate with them.

    ARRRGH ! MONSTERS IN FASHION
    February 13 to April 7, 2013
    Gaîté Lyrique
    3 bis rue Papin, Paris.

    
    Left: Rozalb de Mura "Collection The Remains", SS2010. Right: Mask available at the museum store
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  • EYE SCREAM

    this hyères : full circle

    - by antoine

    Full circle.
    For its 28th edition, the Hyères International Fashion & Photography Festival made a daring choice.

    As presidents of the fashion and photo juries and guests of honor, they invited 2 young individuals, each recognized in his field, but with one thing in common: they won Hyères.

    Yes, this Hyères, festival graduates Felipe Oliveira Baptista (2002) and Charles Fréger (2001) return, not as young hopeful nominees, but as still-young confirmed professionals, now presiding over the juries.

    Felipe Oliveira Baptista The Stimuleye Hyères 2013

    Hyères 2013 fashion jury president Felipe Oliveira Baptista. Photo by René Habermacher.

    the stimuleye fashion photo gif

    Hyères 2013 preview. Visual by The Stimuleye.

    And the nominees are…

    FASHION SELECTION
    Tomas Berzins & Victoria Feldman, Latvia + Russia
    Henning Jurke, Germany
    Camille Kunz, Switzerland
    Yvonne Poei-Yie Kwok, The Netherlands
    Xénia Lucie Laffely, France – Switzerland
    Satu Maaranen, Finland
    Marion de Raucourt, France
    Damien Ravn, Norway
    Shanshan Ruan, China
    Xing Su, Canada

    PHOTO SELECTION
    Lena Amuat & Zoë Meyer, Switzerland
    Emile Barret, France
    Petros Efstathiadis, Greece
    David Favrod, Switzerland
    Dominic Hawgood, United Kingdom
    Grace Kim, USA
    John Mann, USA
    Anna Orlowska, Poland
    Peter Puklus, Hungary
    Eva Stenram, Sweden

    Hyeres 2013 selection
    Fitting Model at the fashionselection at Felipe Oliveira Baptista's headquarters.
    
    Where is JP Blanc there are always flowers.
    
    The fashion selection meeting, with jury members, festival director JP Blanc and blogger Filep Motwary.
    
    Photography selection: Portfolio of Dominic Hawgood, United Kingdom.
    
    The entry of Petros Efstathiadis, Greece.
    
    Prints of Eva Stenram, Sweden.

    Full jury and exhibit lists coming soon, but we’re happy to report that fashion photographer and film maker Pierre Debusschere will be among this year’s exhibitors.

    28th International Fashion & Photography Festival
    Hyères 2013, April 25 -> 29
    at Villa Noailles, Hyères

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    hanaa

    - by antoine

    It’s not everyday that an Arab woman is chosen by a major cosmetics brand as its global spokesperson…

    The Stimuleye presents “Hanaa”, a film by Antoine Asseraf & René Habermacher, starring Tunisian model Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, spokesperson for Lancôme.

    Antoine Asseraf: Where are you from, and how were you discovered ?

    Hanaa Ben Abdesslem: I was raised in a town on the sea coast of Tunisia named Nabeul. 
    I dreamed of becoming a model since I was very young.

    In 2009, I participated in a reality TV show for models in Lebanon.  There I met Sophie GalaI, who would become my manager, and in 2010 she presented me to IMG Paris, who in turn presented me to Carine Roitfeld, at the time Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris.

    Through her introduction to Ricardo Tisci , I was chosen as a Givenchy fashion show exclusive that same season.
       
    AA: You’re becoming an icon representing the “middle-eastern woman” in the fashion world and beyond,
    but which people are icons to you ? Can you tell us a bit about your relationship with Farida Khelfa ?

    My icons are the Tunisian women in the fashion industry, whom I admire and whose accomplishments I respect, such as Liela Menshari, Hermes window designer — she received the Golden Dido Award for her contribution to Tunisian culture and influences in world, and Afef Jenifen, who fought for Arab women’s freedom of choice and continues to defend their rights.

    Farida is a great support and she always has good advice, such as “stay true to yourself.”

    HANAA
    a film by Antoine Asseraf & René Habermacher
    starring Hanaa Ben Abdesslem
    styling Yoko Miyake
    hair Nicolas Eldin
    make up Tracey Gray Mann
    production by Clast
    postproduction by The Stimuleye
    text by Omar Khayyam
    sound by Gnawa Diffusion
    thanks Sophie Gallal

    Look 1: Dolce & Gabbana
    Look 2: Jil Sander by Raf Simons
    Look 3: Chloé
    Look 4: Stella McCartney

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    the museum of everything

    - by antoine

    Art. What is it ? Where does it start, and where does it end ?

    In today’s contemporary art “market”, it seems no one bothers asking the question anymore.
    Art, as it would appear, is whatever is made by a self-claimed artist, whatever is recognized by the market.

    Enter The Museum of Everything.
    Premiering in Paris at the new Saint-Germain location Chalet Society after several exhibits in London, this groundbreaking, sprawling, multi-level and multi-layered show changes the game.

    Forget the market.
    For founder James Brett, it’s about special things, made by special people, people who haven’t gone to art school or thought of showing their work, much less of selling it.

    The museum of everything by Antoine Asseraf

    Antoine Asseraf: What started you on The Museum of Everything project ?

    James Brett: I don’t come from a particularly artistic family and my parents never taught me what creativity meant – but as a child I had a lot of it and it always got in the way.

    And so I worked in different industries and was working in film, and I remember meeting a very interesting photographer, the late Bob Richardson. He was the father of Terry Richardson. Terry’s a terrible photographer (sorry!) but Bob was a genius. He was the first person who really told me that “You don’t choose it, it chooses you”.

    In the same way, I can’t really tell you why I started The Museum of Everything. I didn’t set out to do it, I wasn’t interested in art, exhibitions, nothing. But I was working in film and I know film very well, I studied acting, so I’m creatively interested. And in my travels I started to see artworks, first of all by people in the American South, that was just cool and graphic. I always liked graphic novel and comics as a child – and as an adult frankly – and they started speaking to me.

    The artworks were cheap, really like 20-25 bucks, and the more I looked the more I found. I started finding better examples, and realized there was a whole history in America of folk art, African-American art and self-taught art which seemed to come from the individual, it didn’t have the pretension or the words of formally-trained artists, and it was immediate. As a film-maker I loved that, because I’m not really interested in what you are or what you say, I’m interested in the stuff, in what you do.

    As I continued I saw there were some other areas that had a great psychological depth. For example, the work of Henry Darger. I discovered there was a word for it, Art Brut, of which Dubuffet was the proponent. And that also interested me because in my youth, I was fascinated by the mind, how the mind works, and why we make the choices we do, all of this sort of existential philosophy of life.

    Prophet Royal Robertson
    untitled (NO DIVORCE WHORE's ALLOWED), c 1980
    © The Museum of Everything

    (more…)

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  • EYE CANDY

    jean paul lespagnard: from b to a

    - by antoine

    B is Belgium.

    A is Africa.

    Leave it to Jean Paul Lespagnard to connect the 2 in a fresh way for his SS2013 collection.

    You can also see one of the key outfits from the collection in action, as worn by Lynsey Peisinger, in the FIAC Paris 2012 teaser…

    FIAC 2012 official teaser by The Stimuleye. Pants/overalls by Jean-Paul Lespagnard.
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  • EYE 2 EYE

    cécile bortoletti: homodiegetic serendipity

    - by antoine

    Beyond its famous fashion & photography festival, Hyères’ Villa Noailles hosts throughout the year a number of photography, fashion, design, architecture and film-related events.

    For the annual photography commission, fashion photographer Cécile Bortoletti captured the Mediterranean flora of Hyères over the course of one year, her visions now revealed to us in a new exhibition, “sur-nature”…

    by René Habermacher

    Sur-Nature exhibition poster. Picture by René Habermacher.

    Antoine Asseraf: The title of the exhibition is “sur-nature” [“over-nature”]…

    Cecile Bortoletti: It’s a contraction of “super-nature.”

    AA: But there’s also a reference to the super-imposition which takes place in some of the pictures…

    CB: It was rather complex to get a complete vision of nature around Hyères, very bountiful, luxurious…

    I live in the countryside, i take pictures of special moments, but to do something like this, like a one year long walk, I had never done. I had done a series of trees at night for a UNESCO/CNRS exhibit about black matter, with a more scientific aspect, but it wasn’t so scattered in time, with all the seasons, like this project.

    RH: What was the challenge compared to your editorial work ?

    CB: Managing time… I’ve never worked one year on a project. Even if you know the end date, the exhibition date, it’s difficult to manage it. When you work in fashion, you’re on an addict schedule, everything is last minute, very fast.

    And here i was working alone, with a lot of time, many kilometers to explore, time to think, changing weather and moods, and each time I came I thought it was better than the previous time.

    It’s a matter of stimuli. I learned many things but I was happy that it ended, it was very intense.

    Sur-Nature exhibition view. Photo by René Habermacher.

    AA: You’ve come to Hyères for a long time… did some things still surprise you ?

    CB: Now I know it much better, I can find my way, and I’ve discovered the salt marshes and its flora, with impressive survival strategies. I didn’t know about that at all, it was a bit like desert flowers…They’re emotional because they look fragile but in fact they’re tough.

    As a whole the exhibit shows the fragility of nature, because many times one week later flowers I had shot would no longer be there.

    by René Habermacher

    Cécile Bortoletti and the salt marsh flowers. Photo by René Habermacher.

    (more…)

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    FIAC 2012 art fair

    - by antoine

    The time to FIAC is now. The Stimuleye presents 2 films in partnership with Saywho:

    A portrait of sculptor Jaume Plensa, whose statues are installed place Vendôme.

    The opening day of the FIAC fair, with interview of director Jennifer Flay, artists Xavier Veilhan and Matthieu Laurette, and featuring Michele Lamy, Emmanuel Perrotin and many others

    FIAC 2012 OPENING VERNISSAGE BY SAYWHO from SAYWHO on Vimeo.

    Jaume Plensa from SAYWHO on Vimeo.

    fiac channel on saywho
    fiac site

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  • EYE CANDY

    Do You Wanna FIAC with us

    - by antoine

    The Stimuleye is very proud to announce the first ever teaser for one of the biggest art fairs in the world, the Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain (FIAC), in collaboration with Saywho, choreographer Lynsey Peisinger and designer Jean-Paul Lespagnard…

    DO YOU WANNA FIAC ?

    TEASER ANGLAIS FIAC 2012 from Saywho.fr on Vimeo.

    Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain
    October 18-21, 2012
    Grand Palais + various sites in Paris

    VOULEZ-VOUS FIACker ?

    TEASER FRANCAIS FIAC 2012 from Saywho.fr on Vimeo.

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  • GOOGLY EYE

    coming soon: princess cornflakes

    - by antoine

    Coming this week, a special collaboration with Vogue Italia,
    Princess Cornflakes.

    Princess Cornflakes poster by The Stimuleye

    More to come…

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  • EYE CANDY

    film of the season: Shangri-La

    - by antoine

    The Stimuleye is proud to announce another collaboration with Kiko Mizuhara for Vivienne Tam Fall/Winter 2012/13.

    Shot in temples in Kyoto, here is Shangri-La.

    SHANGRI LA
    a film by Antoine Asseraf
    for Vivienne Tam Fall Winter 2012/13
    starring Kiko Mizuhara

    music Ça Va Chéri
    postproduction Clast
    assistant Jack
    creative direction Hatsumi Yamada
    production Hiromi Otsuka

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    face 2 face : rad hourani & filep motwary

    - by antoine

    Just before leaving for some much needed holidays, The Stimuleye is happy to announce a new interview series in collaboration with Un Nouveau Ideal’s Filep Motwary.

    A-referential, Unisex, Anti-Trend, Feature Film… wunderkind designer Rad Hourani is first to go FACE2FACE.

    Creative Direction: The Stimuleye

    Assistant: Jean-David Alimi

    Sound Design: SOSSOON

    Thanks: Robin Meason / Creative Door.

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  • EYE CANDY

    la jolla fashion film festival

    - by antoine

    the stimuleye is happy to report that, after winning the Best Fashion Award at last year’s La Jolla Fashion Film Festival for La Main Dans Le Sac, we are in the selection again this year.

    My Garden, for Vivienne Tam, starring Kiko Mizuhara is one of the 60 films selected from over 6000 in consideration…

    La Jolla Fashion Film Festival opens today at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art,
    in La Jolla, California.

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  • EYE 2 EYE

    the ANDAM

    - by antoine

    230 000 euros for a young designers… who says the French don’t support talent ?

    For 23 years now, the ANDAM prize, created by Nathalie Dufour and presided by no less than Pierre Bergé, has rewarded promising Paris-based fashion designers, regardless of nationality.

    The first winner : Martin Margiela in 1989.
    Since then, Viktor & Rolf, Christophe Lemaire, Felipe Oliveira Baptista, Gareth Pugh and last year Anthony Vaccarello have received the prize which includes not only a huge amount of money, but industry connections whose worth money cannot measure…

    The Stimuleye presents : ANDAM 2012.

    ANDAM
    Association Nationale pour le Développement des Arts de la Mode
    2012 FASHION AWARDS
    05/07/12

    GRAND PRIZE: 230 000 EURO
    Nominees: Cédric Charlier, Julien David, Thomas Tait, Calla Haynes, Vika Gazinskaya, Andrea Nicholas Taralis
    Winner: Julien David

    FIRST COLLECTION PRIZE: 60 000 EURO
    Nominees: Calla Haynes, Pièce d’Anarchive, Céline Méteil, Jacquemus
    Winner: Pièce d’Anarchive

    more info: http://www.andam.fr

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  • EYEdoll

    charlotte rampling

    - by antoine

    “the last thing which stimulated me:

    the gaze of my cat upon me this morning”

    charlotte rampling by antoine asseraf
    Charlotte Rampling by Antoine Asseraf for Vogue.fr,

    See the full interview on Charlotte Rampling’s exhibition at Maison Européenne de la Photographie on Vogue.fr.

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  • EYE CANDY

    design parade 7

    - by antoine

    When we say “Hyères” we often mean “the fashion and photography festival” organized by the Villa Noailles.
    But we shouldn’t.
    Because for the last 7 years, there’s been another “Hyères” in Hyères :
    Design Parade.

    10 young design-ers, eye-popping exhibitions dedicated to furniture and industrial design, a special focus on the art brought back by the Noailles’ African expeditions in the 30’s, and already a spin-off event, Tapis Parade (Carpet Parade).

    Design Parade 7 visual

    Design Parade 7.
    masque dogon
    «Dege» Mask, Dogon, collected at Opti, Mali, in 1931, 'bois de tage', Musée du quai Branly.
    Tapis Parade
    TAPIS PARADE - Anémones Jekyll, François Dumas, La Chance.
    
    Fanny Dora
    Daedaleas, Fanny Dora © Charles Negre, ECAL 2011.
    francois azambourg
    Grillage, fauteuil, François Azambourg, Ligne Roset © Jean-Pierre Lemoine.

    Design Parade 7
    Opening Friday June 29th
    Until September 30th.
    Villa Noailles, Hyères
    Var – France.

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