After reading the brief of the monograph, I wonder how present the surf life is in your life. Have you always wanted to capture this celebration?

I grew up in a surf town on the East Coast of South Africa called Durban, and most of the cool kids in my school were surfers, so I guess I had an introduction to surf culture at an early age.

When I moved to Venice Beach California I was introduced to a few surfers through common friends, and they were quite open to being photographed. Each surfer introduced me to more surfers and the project grew very fast!

So, I know that you followed a group of young surfers from Venice Beach on their adventures up and down the coast. What were you hoping to witness? Could you elaborate more on “adventures up and down the coast?”

What I discovered very quickly is that all the surfers I was shooting lived out of their vans. They were literally surf nomads traveling up and down the coast, following the best surf. This lifestyle was really fascinating to me, and I was drawn to their philosophy of life and sense of freedom.

I did not have any preconceived expectations when I started photographing the surfers – it was more about shooting everything as it happened, like a surf diary. What surprised me about the surfers I was shooting was how quickly they opened up their world to me and how generous they were with their time. They made me feel very accepted and welcome.

That’s wonderful to hear! A side question if you don’t mind: for some creatives, water has always been their muse, a source of infinite healing and inspiration. Do you have the same affinity towards water? I am curious as I can imagine how it accompanied you throughout your project.

I guess I am drawn to water and the sea as I grew up by the ocean. I also spent months traveling up and down the coast of California watching and photographing the surfers in the water, so that felt very meditative and healing.

Water to me is linked to emotion in my psyche. I’m very drawn to photographing the emotion in people and the way they express themselves. I’m always trying to look beneath the surface with people. Also, I feel like shooting someone is like surfing – you are constantly navigating the waves of emotion with people until you find the perfect shot.

For me, the perfect shot is the one where you look at a portrait of someone and it takes you on a journey or reveals something very intimate or unexpected about the person.

Did you ever imagine van culture before your monograph? Did the actual one live up to how you envisioned it?

Before this project, I imagined living out of a van more as a form of homelessness or because of financial difficulties, but not as a lifestyle choice. After witnessing what I saw I could imagine many people being drawn to it, either as a travel holiday or more long term. It’s a form of “living the dream” in a way that is more unexpected.

Have you always been fascinated with van culture? Have you tried it before, or did you try it for this series?

I knew very little about van culture before this project, but now, it’s a dream of mine to buy a van and take a long vacation living out of it and traveling around the US or Europe.

I understand that Zack Raffin did the interviews for the book and to accompany your images, but when you spoke with the surfers, what stories stuck with you?

The stories that struck me were the surfer’s philosophy on life. They all had a kind of artistic and creative view of life, quite philosophical and introspective. I loved the way they described surfing and life as a “flow”. It seemed to be a common philosophy with all the surfers that I met: finding balance and flow.

The brief mentions that this is “a story of youth choosing to follow their dreams, living out of vans, existing for surfing and travel and freedom, and always chasing the best waves.” Touching on this, have you always chased your dreams? What do you live for today?

I’ve always been a big dreamer. I suppose that’s part of being an artist, dreaming big and living in your imagination. I realized at an early age that I was not good at many things, so when I finally discovered photography and that it came naturally to me, I focused everything I had on this newfound passion.

Today, I have to admit that I’ve already achieved all the things I wanted to achieve and more in my career as far as which clients or magazines I have worked for. Right now, I’m on a more personal venture of how I would like to communicate with the world and, in some way, inspire young creative people around me to also follow their hearts and creative passions.

Continuing the last question, how do you feel about the relationship between travel and freedom? When do you feel your most liberated self?

After traveling intensively for so many years for work, I guess I’m a nomad too. I’m used to being on a plane every week, so the feeling of travel and freedom are very linked to my experience. I love the feeling of arriving in a new place and the excitement of not knowing what will happen. In my work, I find that I always feel refreshed and inspired when I discover new places.

I feel most liberated when I have a camera in my hand; with nobody behind me telling me what do. That’s why personal projects are so important to me – they are a kind of reset and therapy.

Another side question: I read that you have always been fascinated by the dynamism of the human form in motion. Have you dabbled in any activities concerning movement?

Well, my father was a professional football player, and I grew up playing tennis. My whole family was involved in sports in one way or another, so I guess watching bodies and their movement was something that I observed from a very early age.

As far as any kind of dance is concerned, I cannot dance at all! Maybe that’s why it fascinates me to watch dance and to photograph it. I’m fascinated by watching people dance, especially contemporary ballet. I have many friends who are ballet dancers, and they are the most hardworking people I know, pushing their bodies to the limit every single day!

Your first monograph consists of portraits of the ballet dancers of the Paris Opera. This one focuses on surf life. Are you already planning the next one?

I have another project in my back pocket, one that I have started but still need to work on. It’s a very exciting and beautiful subject, but I’m saving the announcement for a later date.

What we talk about when we talk about Japan? As one of the main cultural output country in today’s world, it isn’t really hard to spot bits of Japanese culture in our quotidian life, whether traditional or modern. While traditional Japanese culture is deemed as profound and sophisticated, Japanese pop culture and its spinoffs are often the most playful, diverse, and probably, ubiquitous ones.

Aside from a variety of mainstream pop culture, the subculture that ramifies under also has an impactful presence; amongst them are the anime, manga and games. Often regarded as esoteric from outsiders, the revenue that these “Nijigen” (Two-dimension in Japanese, used to describe the virtual world in anime, manga and games) works generate is substantial. The term Otaku is coined accordingly to describe the die-hard fanatics with interests in anime and manga. Their passion is all-consuming, whether it be cosplay, Lolita, gothic or maid café, and their obsessions towards it is beyond fathomable.

Mesmerized by this distinctive social phenomenon, Australian photographer Irwin Wong turned his insightful observation on it into his latest publication. Living in Japan for more than 15 years, Irwin documented these eerie yet intriguing moments through his lens and compiled them to his new book “The Obsessed”. Accompany with on-the-ground interviews and cultural essays, “The Obsessed”, created in collaboration with gestalten, showcases a kaleidoscope of scenes and individuals drawn from Japan’s many countercultural group, pinpointing their place within Japanese society and global popular culture. As a thorough discovery unfolds, Irwin invites us to an in-depth gaze into the essence of these Japanese subcultures, and the lives of people who dedicate their passion and obsession to them.

Serene, romantic and immaculate, the silence of winter falls from the sky. Along with the snow, it mantles the tranquil villages, the gentle mountain slopes and the withered trees, turning the peaceful ski resort alongs the Alps into a dreamlike magicland. 

Mesmerized by the nostalgic and eternal feeling that snow has evoked, photographer duo Arthur Groeneveld and Bamboo Van Kampen, also known as Arturo+Bamboo professionally, have made this feeling tangible.

After the successful publications of “Summer Diary”, “Privé” and “Red Moon”, the Dutch photography duo came back with their fourth publication “Snow”. With intention to explore the intimacy and the emotions people have experienced in the Alpine ski resorts, “Snow” is a collection, or rather, an archive of images taken in the past six years that showcases the beauty of landscapes and the timeless pleasures of what winter sports are truly about.

People come and go. After the ski season, townships like Zermatt, Gstaad and St, Moritz will go back to their original solitude, waiting for the next winter when the ski lovers will flock. We had a chance to speak with Arturo+Bamboo, having them sharing their intimate stories about winter, their passion for winter sports and their fancy to snow.

How was the project “Snow” born?

“Snow” is a continuation of our ongoing research and documentation into dreamlike places and a certain sense of timeless beauty. You can even see our new book as an extension of our previous publication “Summer Dairy”: there are actually great similarities in life by the sea and life in the mountains – both are joyful places where people are again in touch with the power of nature. 

What is behind the choice of the location?

What attracted us about these legendary villages is their Alpine history, a timeless city where families return for generations and where you can find a cosmopolitan atmosphere. In addition, you feel fascinated by St. Moritz, Chamonix and Cortina thanks to the aura of having hosted the Olympic Games.

Other places because of their unique geographical location: Zermatt is located literally in the shadow of the Matterhorn and Courmayeur has a breathtaking view of the highest mountain in Europe: Le Mont Blanc.

From “Summer Diary” to “Prive” then to “Red Moon”, is there any connection between the previous projects and “Snow”?

Many! In all of these publications we hope to take the viewer on a certain journey. Somewhere special and in a very intimate way.

From black and white to red, from summery colours to wintery colours, the colours in all of your photo books are different (but all with a soft filter). Is there any meaning behind the colour selection? What are the messages you wish to convey?

This softness is key in our body of work as it shows the world in a more gentle way, it is like when you close your eyes a bit and look through your eyelashes so the hard edges of daily life make place for a more dreamy view.

It took you guys 6 years to realize this project, how important has the factor “time” been for this project “Snow”?

Time and patience was essential in the process of making this book: it would have never been possible to create SNOW within one winter season. Although we felt something was growing after visiting a couple of those legendary places, we became increasingly interested in really researching and documenting the history, lifestyle and traditions in Switzerland, France, Italy and Austria. Most of the places featured in SNOW are quite close to each other through the atmosphere and landscapes vary a lot.

What are your future plans? Could you spill a bit about your next possible publication?

We’re always working on new ideas for our next publications – even if we are still in the middle of the current one!

‘’There’s nothing quite like the power of nature shown through snow: it creates this silence, softness but also brings out that playful, childlike side that never fully leaves us as adults.’’

– Arturo + Bamboo

Since the appointment of Demna Gvasalia as creative director in 2015, Balenciaga has continually been challenging the very idea of what it means to be a luxury fashion house. The latest offering from their Balenciaga Objects collection, a handcrafted tiger sculpture, continues to embody this spirit of subversion. During Demna’s tenure, he has embraced the anti-consumerist stance of slow fashion, choosing to release only one haute couture range a year. Thus, as we arduously endure the wait between these collections, the Balenciaga Objects line is a welcome relief, allowing us a glimpse at the wider creative direction of the brand under Demna’s guidance.

The man behind the sculpture is post-modern artist Nik Kosmas, whose oeuvre sardonically observes the state of technology and the human experience in the 21^st century. Based in China’s mega metropolis Shanghai, Kosmas’ work is a physical, emotional, and spiritual journey inspired by science fiction, sports practice, and psychology. The sculpture itself would not have looked out of place in the brand’s SS22 show, with its sleek all black appearance resembling the ‘Cyber Goth’ aesthetic of that range. Despite the futuristic hybridity of the piece, its handcrafted nature stays true to the roots of the brand. Kosmas’s brass shaping of every aspect from the whiskers to the vertebrae reflects the ethos of bespoke luxury that has been at the heart of the brand since its inception.

Launching on November 20th, 2020, Balenciaga Objects is a category of items produced outside of the fashion collections. Having released various items of homeware over the last couple of months, ranging from laser-engraved glassware to reusable porcelain coffee cups, this latest venture represents a stylistic shift to the ornamental. The Objects collection now offers the decorative as well as the functional.

Presented on 38 x 27cm display platforms, there will be 15 numbered editions of the product released worldwide. Each model undergoes a meticulous process of craftsmanship; the individual components are shaped using the ancient technique of lost-wax casting, before being welded coated and glossed by hand.

As various fashion houses face accusations of lacking originality or recycling ideas, this release represents the latest in a long line of successes from the brand that just seems to keep getting it right. All that is left to do is to eagerly await whatever the next steps may be in this truly innovative era of the iconic brand’s history.

After a hiatus in 2020, ModaPortugal returned to Porto. Eighteen designers, hailing from six different countries (Finland, France, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom and of course, Portugal), gathered to Porto two weeks ago for the 7th edition of ModaPortugal Fashion Design Competition. These emerging young talents represent some of the most renowned fashion institutes across the continent. In their five days journey, they vied not only with their schoolmates and compatriots for the best collection of each country, but also for the “grand prix” that dedicates to the best collection overall.

To better understand Portugal’s robust textile and clothing manufacturing industry, ModaPortugal took these aspiring designers, along with panellists and my fellow press on an Industry Tour around the Northern part of the territory. Since the textile industry is one of the most polluting industries, the tour revolved around the initiatives that these textiles companies have taken in response to the environmental issues. The tour started with a visit to Riopele, an established factory with more than 90 years of history. Founded in 1927, Riopele is one of the oldest and most self-sufficient Portuguese textile companies. From spinning, dyeing, weaving, finishing to quality control and logistics, Riopele vertically integrates the entire fabric production cycle. Lately, Riopele has embarked on a new research: they collected the water consumed during the manufacturing process and tried to make use of it. 50% of the water consumption is now reutilized, successfully reducing the water pollution from their production process.

The tour continued with a visit to the family-owned factory of Pedrosa & Rodrigues, one of the most well-known jersey fabric manufacturers in Portugal. Pedrosa & Rodrigues blend jersey into high-end fashion; its clients include some of the major fashion brands in the world. Its newest movement is to collect leftover fabrics, grind them and spin new yarn out from them. This repurposing of discarded fabrics definitely makes the fashion industry greener and more environmentally-friendly.

After learning a bit more about the innovative projects that traditional textile companies in Portugal have taken, we visited RDD textile and Valérius Hub, an innovatory research center focusing on the repurposing of used fabrics and the development of sustainability textiles. In 2019, Valérius Group launched a brand-new project Valérius 360 – a recycling centre that realizes the ideas of RDD Textiles and Valérius Hub. Here, the factory collects cutting waste, overproduced textile products, unsold stock and recycled fabrics from Côte d’Ivoire, Turkey and other European countries, making them into recycled-yarns, jersey fabrics and even garments. Together with Valérius Hub, Valérius 360 wishes to build a community that contributes to the creation of a responsible fashion system, reducing more environmental impacts and driving the industry towards a sustainable future.

After a day of repose, the designers ushered in their biggest challenge of this trip – The ModaPortugal Fashion Design Competition. The day started with the students taking turns presenting their collections to the jury. The event climaxed with a fashion show during dinnertime. Models stomped on the aisles in the banquet room. Grotesque or artistic, theatrical or intricate, they showcased these young designers’ flourishing imagination and creativity. Among them, Juha Vehmaanperä (Finland), Mathieu Goosse (France), Paulo Mileu (Italy), Tiago Bessa (Portugal), Claire Lefebvre (Switzerland) and Jessica Zhou (United Kingdom) won the best collection from the country they represented, with Tiago Bessa from Portugal snatching the Best Collection of the year, keeping the grand trophy home in Portugal.

Looking back, I couldn’t imagine a better way to experience Portugal’s beauty and fashion all at once. It’s really impressive to see Portuguese textile companies taking initiatives on sustainability and eco-friendly fashion production, and to see the fashion industry supporting emerging talents. To summarize my experience at ModaPortugal, I think of the word “fascinating”. Porto’s view is fascinating, the “Azulejo” tiles on the church walls are fascinating, the serenity of the flowing Duoro River is fascinating; what’s more, It’s fascinating to know that even under an unfavourable macro environment, on the periphery of the European continent, a cohort of fashion talents is seeking to build a friendlier environment for the talents to come, and perhaps more importantly, for our Mother Nature.

It is indeed good news for you ski lovers! Do you find it hard to complete the perfect functional look that keeps you comfortable and warm while staying stylish on the ski slopes? Well, this season the Parisian fashion label Isabel Marant and online luxury retailer Mytheresa collaborate on the launch of an exclusive Snow capsule collection, which would definitely be the perfect touch to your ski wardrobe.

The Snow capsule collection, available globally from December 8th, 2021, comes along with a dedicated editorial story. Directed by Mytheresa Chief Creative Officer Julian Paul and shot by noted photographer Ferry van der Nat, the editorial features world-renowned model Heather Kemesky. It represents the first time that Isabel Marant designs a Skiwear-inspired pieces.

The collection, composed of 33 garments, has one fundamental watchword: contemporary. The modern and functional design protects wearers from the cold weather without being out of trend. Overall, it makes skiing and spending a cozy evening in the mountains with your friends and family an easy and joyful activity to partake. The palette consists of beige, burgundy and yellow with metallic touches, blend poetically with the niveous landscape in a ski resort.

Taking a closer look at the collection. Three down puffer jackets: one in monochrome and two colorful catch our eyeballs instantly. Along with two pairs of ski-trousers, they are the perfect protagonists of our outdoor adventures. Indoor, the comfortable loungewear sets composed of beige braided sweater and trendy overalls, offer us coziness on a freezing winter night.

The accessories and the shoes from this collection are also not to be missed. Warm gloves and hats that match with scarf and sunglasses, a shearling vest with leather lining, belts and socks adorn the look in the chicest way. And to complete it, we have the shearling snow boots with red shoelaces, the white sneakers with beige on the toecap and velcro fastening or the high model in beige and metallic color.

Holidays season is around the corner, are you ready to be the trendiest skier on the ski trail? Visit Mytheresa.com website to check out the exclusive Isabel Marant for Mytheresa Snow collection, it’s time to shine in the snow.

It was a mild September’s afternoon. Milan had finally cooled down a bit from the blistering heat. Sat in a corner window seat, I ordered a cup of iced coffee, waiting for this impending interview with Muzi. I adore Muzi’s music. He is without a doubt a music wunderkind. At the age of 30, he is already one of the most venerated and talked about musicians in South Africa. He has recorded and produced 4 albums, played several DJ sets in Berlin, done some overseas tours and has even graced the soundtrack of the sought-after Spanish Netflix drama “Elite”. His fine mixture of traditional African music and contemporary electro-techno sounds is beyond avant-garde. Wanting to immerse myself more into his musical approach, I tuned into the tracks from his latest album “Interblaktik” while waiting. With his upbeat African rhythm and overwhelming techno beat, the ever-lasting sweltering summer in Milan seems not to be so unbearable.

Tainting the familiar, conventional meaning of masculinity, Richard Kranzin subjects the term under his authority, twisting the established theories of how men should act and look to the benefit of the modern lifestyle. Under his direction, he infuses fragility into the cornerstones of masculinity, a testament to his compendium “Nudes”.

Rippling through the pages of his photo book, men display their virtue, virility, and vulnerability to the Berlin-based photographer. They distance themselves from how social media depicts them: Greek Gods who need to sustain their muscular, toned bodies, and nothing less than that. As Richard photographs nude men, he brews up new wisdom over masculinity: men as soft and non-sexualized beings with nudity as the highest form of intimacy.

Why did you want to explore the fragility of the masculine?

I think it comes from my childhood when my father told me to act more “masculine.” Being more sensitive or “feminine” as a young boy seemed to be something I should be ashamed of. Sadly, a lot of men can relate to that. Growing up and coming out as gay, I did not hide my vulnerable side; I felt free. Today’s perception of masculinity is changing in cultures around the world. Being masculine is becoming a very fragile statement itself and is seen from many more perspectives nowadays and showing that in my work can help to spread a new perception of masculinity even further.

How do you perceive fragility? What relationship does it have with masculinity?

When I talk about fragility in relation to masculinity, I mean the common stereotypical thinking of what masculinity is and what happens when you do not act that way. When you look closely at the young men I photographed, you might see through their stereotyped, hard masculine shell and into their vulnerable souls. The stereotyped masculine façade becomes fragile when the models are nude and bare in front of my lens. They show themselves honestly and not disguised by outside influences.

How has the perception of masculinity changed over the years through your photographs?

When I started taking photos, I was inspired by commercialized fashion photography. I was a model myself, so I knew what the industry expected from male models and how they should look like in photos. In the 2010s their manhood and “masculinity” were viewed to resemble that of classical Greek Gods. I was always much more of an androgynous model and had the opportunity to show much more diversity and emotions in my poses than other male models. These influenced the way I started to shoot with my model friends who were not androgynous in the first place.

Having a form like a Greek sculpture does not tell a story itself. I wanted to look into the souls of the people, and I still do. While my models mostly have these classical beauty face with “masculine” model features, I always try to capture them as authentic, pure, and soulful as possible to make the difference.

Was the use of analog black and white photography in your compendium intentional? Why?

Black and white imagery gives a sense of timelessness. I love the melancholic and nostalgic air that surrounds it. In terms of creating soulful and pure images, black and white pictures help put the focus on the subject. NUDES is shot in analog black and white film intentionally. The analog image offers unpredictability and rawness and using it gives me a great feeling, so I use it in every shoot now. It separates itself from the digitalized fast world we live in.

You mentioned that your models are cut off from their commercialized self-representations on social media, from their digital identities. What discoveries did you find out about their self-representations in reality versus on social media through photography?

It was so interesting to meet my models for the first time. I only knew them from social media, so all I saw was how they presented themselves and how they wanted to be perceived. Talking with and getting personal with them in a short amount of time opened us up. Also, the nudity benefits an open conversation that I have with most of my models during a shooting. It lets me see into their souls, something that social media can never do. I hope my photos can capture the intimacy and trust that are built in these short moments last long.

As you describe your photobook: My pictures invite you to dream of masculinity without sin, honest and authentically sensuous. Why did you say, “without sin”? Is it sinful to dream of masculinity?

Masculinity can be full of sins when the world talks about toxic masculinity, abuse, roughness, sexism, and crime in general. In NUDES, I want to create a dream bubble in which men do none of these things, a reason my book is bright, with few contrasts, and feels very airy. I tried to show masculinity as a soft, non-sexualized statement – without sin, so to speak.

During the shoot, you decided which position, posture, look, and mood the finished picture and models should convey, thus evoking rawness and intimacy. How did you establish your relationship with your subjects?

As I mentioned earlier, it deals with a lot of speaking with and explaining my project to them. During the shooting, I kind of let the models go with the flow. Not all of the poses are instructed; I let them move, and I adjust my photos around the mood. What I did was I gave them a mood or feeling, even putting on some ambient music to get them into a melancholic mood. I see myself more as a director, encouraging the actor in a certain situation to take on spontaneity.

Speaking of intimacy, how do you perceive and define nudity? In what way does it relate to non-intimacy?

Nudity is the highest form of intimacy to me. I do not like it when it becomes non-intimate and only focused on showcasing oneself. Being nude on photographs should always come with an intimate and personal feeling to it.

After this project, what is next for Richard? Are you planning to continue with the project?

Thinking about the future gives me a lot of pressure. My inspiration always comes from a kind of nostalgia that honors the past. My posts on Instagram are mostly images from previous years. I love going through my archives instead of chasing trending photos for the likes. It drives most of my models crazy to wait for so long before I post, but that is just how I work.

I am still taking a lot of new photos, but I am not thinking about a future project yet. It might be next year; it might be in five years. What I do is I look at a body of work from the last few years and then figure out how I can present it as a cohesive collection. This is how my books BOYS IN NATURE and NUDES developed. In both cases, I realized that this could become a publication, two years after having already shot them.

One long-term project I am working on is my first feature film as a director, but writing a script is not that easy. To let you in on the development, adolescence, fragile masculinity, dreamy nostalgia, and intimate emotion will always be a part of my work.