Having contributed to Twin issue IV with a series that captured young women who are fighting for their educational rights, Clare Shilland is back for issue XVII. Over the course of a sunny Saturday afternoon in Notting Hill, Clare shot sisters Lotte and Nancy Andersen, beautifully depicting the love and affection the pair feel for each other, as well as their distinct personalities. As Twin XVII hits the stands, we caught up with Clare to talk fashion, inspiration and capturing something you can’t use words to describe.
Do you consciously try to better the female gaze in fashion photography through your work?
I feel like I have always photographed women and girls in a very natural and strong way, showing them as truthfully as possible. So, I suppose I have.
In creating lookbooks for fashion houses, such as Marni and Aries, do you think of the clothes first?
Yes, it is about the clothes, but also about a particular girl (or boy) who reflects the brand. The casting is super important.Sofia at Aries and I have a similar taste in girls – usually ones who look like boys :). The casting is always the most important thing!
Your series have a filmic quality, and seem to build narrative around a character. Have you been working with film recently?
I was always very influenced by movies- so that’s probably why. I’ve been doing a few films recently – I love the one we did for Aries x Vans.
I love the picture of your sister outside McDonalds in Bromley. Do you think of those photographs differently to your commercial work?
Shooting my sister outside McDonalds in Bromley is my favourite photo ever. I hope to bring that beauty to my commercial work, but sometimes it’s hard when you have to please clients.
I met my husband on a shoot so that’s pretty memorable.
The beauty and rawness and awkwardness and the fact that you never realise quite how beautiful you are when you’re young. Those years make you what you are and I find it fascinating.
Your work appears in several magazines and books. Do you still find it exciting to see your work in print? What do you think the digital shift in publishing means for photography?
Yes, it’s always nice to see in print, especially when it’s something that is really considered and well designed. But the only thing anyone looks at these days is social media… so it’s going to become more and more specialist. Hopefully it will mean less waste and a few really interesting magazines out there.
Surrounded by the grime and grit of post-soviet Warsaw, Natalia Maczek and Katarzyna Kotnowska started by printing t-shirts for their own crowd, dressing the cities young clubbers and skaters in parodies of luxury designs. Since then, the brand has enjoyed unprecedented success.
Stocked at Browns, huge in Asia, and having generated major buzz at New York fashion week, MISBHV has quickly gained international acclaim. By celebrating their Eastern European influences with a sense of individuality and modern awareness, MISBHV has given the cool kids a sartorial concept they can get behind, playing by their own rules in fulfilling an agenda they never tried to conform to. Twin catches up with Natalia to talk real beauty, Warsaw style and building a new world.
You’ve just come back from your second show at NYFW. What was your experience like?
It felt really good. It’s interesting how all the different means of communication – the cast, the garments, accessories, music, space, scent, light and movement come together for a show.
What would your dream MISBHV fashion show look like?
We would like it to feel honest and real.
MISBHV, much like Vetements or Gosha Rubchinskiy, has made its name by making streetwear a luxury brand. How do you think the two work together?
Streetwear is by definition independent and rooted in real emotion. Luxury is often described by the impeccable craftsmanship. We would like to think of ourselves as a brand that can in the future marry both definitions.
You reject the ideal of polished and traditional beauty, both in your designs and your choice of models. What is beauty to MISBHV?
We believe that there is no beauty without honesty. What is beauty if you can not connect to it?
Warsaw, MISBHV’s hometown, is fast becoming a pioneering cultural center, going through a creative upheaval over the last couple of years. Do you think it will soon match the scene in Western Europe? Or is it heading in its own direction?
Because of the hardships of war and communism Poland will never quite match the art scene in the West. We should thus focus on creating our own identity. This is not to say that we support or approve of the domestic politics of the moment.
What kind of person do you have in mind when you design your collections?
We only make clothes that we like. It wouldn’t feel honest designing for anyone outside of our circle. We have a tight group of long time friends that we work with and we also have “muses” like Lera Abova or Sita Abellan.
Have you ever thought of collaborating with another brand?
Not really. We feel like our universe is still to be made. We need to create our own world first.
The story behind Tennis is very charming. The Denver-based band, made up of husband and wife duo Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, was born out of wanderlust. Sailing down the Atlantic coast, the pair embarked on their first attempt at making music together and created their premier album, “Cape Dory”.
Seven years later and now a “proper band”, they have come full circle: to create their fourth album, “Yours Conditionally” they sailed around the Pacific. Swooning love songs framed by dreamy melodies echo their romantic story but it’s evident that Tennis goes deeper this time around. Working out the complexities that define love, identity, and feminism, the latest album sees the band at their best yet, pairing their back-to-basics approach with a worldly confidence.
Twin catches up with Alaina to find out how it’s done.
Tell us more about the album title, “Yours Conditionally”.
It was about boundaries with regards to my relationship with the world. It included my marriage, my friendships. Over the years, I feel like I was unintentionally conforming to certain things and expectations and ideals of like how a woman should be, whether it’s a writer and a performer or a wife. I thought of how unromantic it would be if I signed a letter to Patrick, “Yours Conditionally”. And we were laughing about it but then he was kind of like, no, but that means so much.
So was it about a more mature and sensible love?
Exactly. I’m a little cynical towards romance and forever and all those things and yet here I am in this long term, straight, monogamous marriage. I try to challenge myself to do better. If I’m going to write a love song, I try to do something different. I want to write a love song that’s sincere and smart and not identity erasing or self-effacing, which love songs tend to be.
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How conditional do you think the record turned out to be?
I’ve actually made a conscious decision with this record to be a lot more open, taking more emotional risks, because I noticed that whenever I did do that with the song, I feel like people responded more, even if they didn’t exactly know what I was referring to within my own life. It’s like a symbiotic relationship. So I set that goal for myself, to do more work and be a little less guarded.
In terms of your process, were you looking to get back to the simplicity of the beginning?
That’s exactly what we were looking for. And I don’t think it had to be the sailing trip so much as it was eliminating the ways in which we were trying to prop up the expectations of the industry. We gave ourselves permission to undo everything we’d ever done for the sake of making whatever we wanted with the same sincerity and goal of just pleasing ourselves, as we had with the first record.
What was that like?
It just felt so good, I can’t explain it. It brought back the joy of writing, the freedom of the first record but with some measure of skill and ability of having made several albums.
Listening back to “Yours Conditionally”, how do you think your music has changed?
I definitely hear maturity. When I listen back to our previous records I hear all the ways in which we were experimenting and growing and trying new things. I hear that sort of transformation throughout all our records and this record is really a pleasure to sing because I was able to write myself in mind instead of pretending I was somebody else.
What are you and Patrick looking forward to as Tennis?
I am definitely looking forward to Coachella. That’s going to be a very surreal experience, especially having grown up going to the festival. I was nineteen when I went to see Radiohead, and now we are going to be playing on the same day as Radiohead!
That’s incredible, congratulations!
Isn’t it? It’s almost like a life achievement that I didn’t even know I would want. If someone asked me, make a list of life goals, I couldn’t have even thought of this one, so I am very pleased (laughs).
Started by Vanessa Carlos of Carlos/Ishikawa, Condo Art Fair sees 15 London-based galleries host 21 international galleries, joining together to create collaborative exhibitions across the city. Although only in its second edition, the fair has already almost doubled in size, adding prominent galleries such as Sadie Coles and Maureen Paley to its line up this year, alongside emerging galleries, such as Emalin and The Sunday Painter.
Londoners have a month to discover the spaces alongside each other, more than enough time to revel in the wide range of artists exhibiting in one city. The refreshing unification and generosity between the participating galleries allows for an enjoyable community atmosphere but also embraces individuality, with every artistic alliance creating an entirely distinct and original experience. Consider your new year cultural schedule sorted.
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