Subculture Capital: Valerie Steele Dishes On The Fine Line Between Fashion and Reality, And Her New Book About Queen Of New York Nightlife Susanne Bartsch →

Fashion and nightlife are enmeshed in a seductive tango that relies on the notion of the pleasure. I often wonder if the pleasure of fashion is about dressing for yourself or for being seen? One could make the same argument about going out on the town. Indeed, there are many ways fashion and nightlife mirror one another. Each is an art as well as enterprise; each is mercurial; each can convey status and each sets and rejects trends, most typically from the ground up. Click here to read our conversation with Valerie Steele. 

Read Our Round-Up Review of Paris Fashion Week 2015 →

Again, I will have to touch upon what makes this particular round unique to the industry and important for fashion. But honesty, do I actually need to make an argument concerning Paris and its total domination of conceptual fashion? OK, here’s an argument for you: Raf Simons, Rick Owens, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yammamoto, Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela, Junya Wattanabe, Olivier Rousteing, and need I continue? A lot happens at Paris: some bad, some good, and some utterly transcendent. It’s too much to write about really. It’s the longest of the fashion weeks and it can be easy to forget about incredible shows mere days after they happened. Today as I am baffled yet excited over the announcement of Demna Gvasalia of Vetements being named creative director to Balenciaga while former Balenciaga godhead Nicolas Ghesquiere continues to alter the fabric of what we know to be Louis Vuitton, I almost forgot that Rick Owens put on the funniest and most conceptual collection of the week. So another season is over, and the buying begins. See you at the menswear shows. Click here to read the full review. Text by Adam Lehrer. 

Read Autre's Favorites from Milan Fashion Week

Oh, Italy. The land of luxury behemoths. Young fashion people scoff at Milan, but Milan is planting itself once more at the forefront of conceptual fashion. Versace and Prada will always be doing their thing. Damir Doma decided to leave the herd of Paris and create his architectural garments in Italy. Arthur Arbesser is injecting youth and idea-driven fashion into the city revitalizing Iceberg and launching his own brand. And, less we forget, Alessandro Michele is the hottest designer in fashion at Gucci. It feels like people are ready for Italian fashion again, and they certainly want Gucci to be relevant again. We’ve had so many years of “cool” and “arty” brands out of Paris and London that maybe the coolest thing to do right now is to pay heed to the luxury giants of Italy. It’s hip to be square, motherfuckers. Click here to read the full review.

We Love Gucci's Cruise 2016 Fashion Film Directed By Glen Luchford with An Incredible Joy Division Cover

Following a guest into a dance party in a villa outside Florence, the film directed by Glen Luchford captures the contemporary essence of Alessandro Michele's Cruise 2016 Collection for Gucci. Directed by Glen Luchford. Music, "She's Lost Control," performed by Alive She Died.

Read Our Round-Up Review of 2015 London Fashion Week →

London Fashion is Autre Fashion - if that makes any sense. Basically, the fashion coming out of London is on-brand with the message that we are trying to set forth at Autre: the contrast of high and low culture, freedom, expression, sexuality, and you know, being fucking weird. It’s been a pleasure to watch these young designers grow into their roles as international arbiters of taste. It’s not hard to imagine JW Anderson’s brand growing into Yves Saint Laurent levels of label endurance while he simultaneously re-brands Loewe into an ultra desirable fashion label. Simone Rocha is bringing a romance back to fancy clothing that has been missing for some time. KTZ is still killing it. Burberry puts on a very fun show for a juggernaut mega money brand. And the best part is, there is always a new crop of Central Saint Martin’s graduates looking to enter the fashion system and re-shape it in their visions. So, yeah we love London. Obviously we get excited about Paris, too, but there is such a youthful vitality going on in London fashion at the moment made all the more exciting by its defiance of the city’s astronomical living rates and housing costs. These designers express their creativity in any way they can or they starve trying. Literally. So, I (Adam Lehrer, fashion editor at Autre Magazine) teamed up with new fashion correspondent Julianna Vezzetti to discuss the SS 2016 London collections. Click here to read the full review.

Check Out The First Collection of the Persona Series Photographed by Natalie Yang

The designer of the Persona series wants to remain anonymous, but Autre was fortunate to get its hands on some photos of its first collection – photographed by Natalie Yang. PERSONA: Series 1 exists as part of a larger collection of series and iterations. Equal focus is placed on the piece, the presentation and the performance. Series 1 introduces the class photo. Pieces from each series will be sold in limited quantities in unconventional spaces. Click here to email for more info and click here to follow them on Instagram. 

Read Part Two Of Our Round Up Review of The Last Few Days of Fashion Week →

And so it continues. Save for a few massive outings from Alexander Wang and Givenchy and some surprisingly inventive collections from newcomers like Baja East, the first few days of NYFW are always a bit slower than the days to come. And then WHAM! It’s like your internet browser is getting assaulted Battlestar Galactica premiere style with the endless updates of amazing collections from the best fashion labels that the US has to offer. It feels like it’s been a particularly strong year, all things considered. Here is what I’ve liked. And by extension, what Autre has liked. Click here to read the reviews. 

Dover Street Market Holds An Open House During Fashion and Art Week Featuring JK5, Willy Vanderperre and More

At DSMNY’s Fashion Week Open House on Thursday, the store introduced some amazing installations: a ground floor installation designed by exciting new Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele introduces Gucci’s Cruise 2016 collection, longtime Raf Simons collaborator and photographer Willy Vanderperre was hanging out signing copies of his new IDEA book ‘636,’ London heritage label Labour and Wait launched its first US shop within the walls of DSMNY, designer Jeanne Signoles was in store celebrating the US launch of her luxe-meets-function bag brand L/Uniform, and John Galliano’s first collection for Maison Margiela was commemorated with a visual installation calling back to Martin Margiela’s famous experiments with paint. All of these installations and appearances were fantastic; Rei Kawakubo accepts no less. But it was particularly heart-warming to see one of my favorite artists (and full disclosure, good friend) JK5, aka Joseph Ari Aloi, giving birth to his installation on DSMNY’s 5th floor. Read the full review here. photographs by Tenlie Mourning

Tattered to Shreds: Read Our Interview of Patrick Matamoros of Chapel NYC on the Perfect T-Shirt →

The first time I met Patrick Matamoros, we decided to drive to Malibu – to John Frusciante’s house – to shoot a wet t-shirt contest fashion editorial with some of his incredible vintage tees. He had just come in from New York where he would sell his tees either on the street or in pop up shops throughout the city – and often got arrested for not having a merchant’s license. There were original Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm Mclaren seditionary tees with Minnie Mouse getting fucked by Mickey, and Snow White getting gang banged by the Seven Dwarves. Click here to read the full interview and click here to shop for some Chapel NYC's vintage tees now available on Autre. 

Gloss Explores The Glamorous and Dangerous Work of Chris von Wangenheim

The first monograph on notorious photographer Chris von Wangenheim, whose shocking work epitomized the glamour and excess of the 1970s and reflected the fashionable underworld living life on the edge. Between the years 1968 and 1981, photographer Chris von Wangenheim shocked the world with a body of work that explored sex, violence, and danger in the realm of high fashion. Von Wangenheim’s dark photographs were emblematic of the time—an era that encompassed Deep Throat, the sexual revolution, punk, and porn—and continually challenged the viewers’ taste by its stylized depictions of suggestive (and often harrowing) narratives. His images appeared in every top fashion publication—including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue Italia, and Interview—and he produced unforgettable campaigns for Dior and Valentino until he died in a car accident at age 39. This book, the first monograph on von Wangenheim’s career, contains over two hundred provocative and iconic images from this tumultuous era, including never-before-seen outtakes from memorable shoots with such supermodels as Christie Brinkley, Lisa Taylor, and the late Gia Carangi. Drawing on interviews with models, editors, art directors, and photographers who were influenced by him, the Padilhas revive von Wangenheim’s explosive depictions of the glamour and excess of the 1970s for a contemporary audience and reveal how his work continues to inform fashion imagery today. Click here to preorder the book. 

Run(a)way Fashion Art Show Featuring Clothing by Barf Queen, Agency and More at Night Gallery In Los Angeles

"Forget the runway, come run(a)way to a place where fashion has been wrestled from the talons of Vogue, torn to shreds, and redistributed amongst the munchkins." Barf Queen, Agency, and Dopp Doolittle present a unique one night only tradeshow fashion orgy at Night Gallery in Los Angeles.

Blending Art and Fashion: Samuel Gui Yang Private Preview of Untitled (Ephemeral Study 1) In Los Angeles

Garments encased in giant blocks of ice, immersive sound, dance and photography – recent Central Saint Martins graduate Samuel Gui Yang brilliantly explores the nature of fashion as art, its ephemerality in culture and the notions of 'fast fashion' in his first "collection" as a designer. Instead of taking the runway route, the Shenzhen, China born designer and artist has chosen to collaborate on an installation that exemplifies his collection in the form of an installation. Wellington-style boots, tunics, and over garments are trapped in giant ice blocks that will melt over the course of the installation. Hart + Leshkina create a series of imagery and posters that line walls and pedestals. Chris Peck creates a sound installation that culminates in a dance, performance choreographed by Milka Djordjevich, with three female dancers to evoke the tension and restrictive nature of Yang's rubber pieces that almost look alien and marbleized. Autre was lucky enough to attend the private preview of Yang's first installation and performance, but it will be on view until September 5th with a closing event at 2736 S. La Cienega Blvd in Los Angeles. You can RSVP here. 

See Our New Editorial Shot By Chris Jarvis Using the Environment of Kent, England As His Natural Prop Master →

Chris Jarvis is a photographer based in Kent, England who uses the surrounding landscape as his studio and natural prop master. The following editorial, entitled Reclamation Playground, features selections from Yllin collections – the brightly colored panels starkly contrast against the manic walls of antiques, collectables and furniture. See the full editorial here. 

The Other Half of the Antwerp 6: Read About Belgium's Unsung Fashion Heroes That Continue To Influence Today

When it comes to fashion, the Belgians will continue to be a driving, influential force. With a round of fashion weeks upon us in September, there will undoubtedly be a few references to these sartorial geniuses from this unlikely creatively kinetic country. Sure, the Martin Margiela and Raf Simons stars burn the brightest – especially at retrospectives like the one that is on view now at the Bozar Center For Fine Arts in Brussels – but the credit for laying the first fashion stakes belongs to a band of misfit outsiders known as the Antwerp 6. Here, our fashion editor-at-large, Adam Lehrer, explores the life and works of the more unknown members of this fashion collective that may not be household names, but are just as influential and still worth talking about. Click here to read.

Eckhaus Latta's New Fashion Film "Roach" Perfectly Captures the Lonliness of A Post-Internet World

Ever wonder what life was like through the hole of a pierced septum? Directed by Alexa Karolinski, Eckhaus Latta's fall/winter 15 collection film is a pastiche of diary-esque snapshots of the human condition in an era where binge watching television is a reality and reality itself is a virtual mirage set against the backdrop of green screens in a darkened room. Eckhaus Latta has a distinct history for pushing the boundaries when it comes to projecting their sartorially visions - each one of their fashion films finds a way to capture the essence of the collection in a distinct thematic way. For "Roach," the label has tasked Dev Hynes to create the soundtrack and Nora Slade to read a poem penned by the designers for a romantic ambiance that has us yearning for shelter as the impending winter gets closer and closer.