• I stumbled upon an interview with artist and writer Justin Chance, who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a BA in Visual & Critical Studies from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His series of quilts are fascinating, combining his love for making with his interest in painting.


    These quilts are so ethereal, like stitched together memories, assemblages of random fibers and feelings coming together to tell a new story. I love the colors and textures he’s able to achieve, they’re so stunning. I keep seeing a resurgence of tapestries and knit pieces living on walls as fine art, which I think is great. Pieces like Chance’s are beautiful because of the warp and weft of the material. They’re imprecise and a bit chaotic and it leads to such gorgeous character.

    Justin Chance Quilts Together Moments of Memories and Nostalgia
    Justin Chance Quilts Together Moments of Memories and Nostalgia
    Justin Chance Quilts Together Moments of Memories and Nostalgia
    Justin Chance Quilts Together Moments of Memories and Nostalgia
  • Coming up in the world of blogging and Tumblrs and all that it’s awesome to see that Justin Saunders has found such success with JJJJound. Started as a mood board of items and objects, it’s over the years become one of the most sought after clothing and accessory brands. Noah Johnson went deep on the JJJJound world for GQ, profiling Justin and his crew about the work they do, the whats and whys, and how it all works.

    JJJJound Interview - Justin Saunders - Photos by Samuel Fournier


    The line below was really what I found to be most impactful, Johnson speaking about the path he’s taken, as well as the roads he has yet to travel.

    “But the true brilliance of JJJJound might be something that no one saw coming, not even Saunders. JJJJound was an education for the internet. It was a visual guide to the rules and patterns of good design that Saunders has lately been employing with the products he’s developed. He spent years building a customer base, drawing them into his world with images long before he ever thought about making clothes. And now he sits at another pivotal moment. There are a number of ways he might grow the brand, including expanding JJJJound’s distribution channels in Europe, where demand is high. Retail stores might also be on the horizon. “I’ve never gotten to this level of the video game,” he tells me. The blog worked without words, but the brand now has a story to tell. “With my approach to things, how do we communicate that the product’s good?” he says. “I’m not very forthcoming. I’m kind of a shy individual, more private. But a lot of people want to know more.””

    JJJJound Interview - Photos by Samuel Fournier
    JJJJound Interview - Photos by Samuel Fournier

  • It was September of 2019, I was visiting Paris for the second time, and Schiaparelli, the famed couture house, was debuting a new collection from their recently appointed creative directer, Daniel Roseberry. I had just came from seeing Emily Bode showing a small collection of Bode at an American’s in Paris event, and I wandered over to Place Vendôme to see what Roseberry had dreamed up.

    Daniel Roseberry's debut Schiaparelli collection at the Palace Vendome
    Daniel Roseberry's debut Schiaparelli collection at the Palace Vendome


    What I saw was astonishing, to say the least. At the time, I wasn’t super familiar with Schiaparelli, or the visionary work brand founder Elsa Schiaparelli had done. Nonetheless, I could tell this was something different. It was high fashion mixed with absurdity, with whimsy. It was meant to be fun and playful and gorgeous.

    Rachel Tashjian this week released a fantastic look at the meteoric rise of Roseberry, who since that debut collection has continued to do marvelous work, continuing to show everyone that his bag of tricks runs deep. Funny enough, I think it’s actress and director Natasha Lyonne who sums up what makes Roseberry’s vision so special:

    “Really what you’re talking about is world-building,” Lyonne says. “How do you break space-time and how do you do it in a way that is comedic, but that sort of transcends that, so that people can meet you at whatever level you’re at?” There are jokes and existential inquisitions for viewers versed in quantum physics and a beautiful relationship for those who aren’t.”

    Daniel Roseberry photographed by Alejandra Loaiza
  • The New Yorker released an immense article by Rachel Syme profiling American fashion designer Thom Browne and his slow burn career and the world he’s built. It’s a really great read, he has such a unique mind and POV, and honestly, he’s probably the most inventive American fashion designer. What adds even more emphasis to the story are the accompanying photos shot by the never-boring duo of Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari.

    Cattelan and Ferrari have such a unique, oddball point-of-view of the world, which really does feel like it has a kinship to what Browne is doing. Which manifests in these hyper-real (their distinct style) editorial that gives a Looney Tunes feeling to suits and garments that cost thousands of dollars. It’s absurdism at it’s best, rather than falling into a realm of being corny or trendy. I hope they collaborate on more projects.

    Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari Photograph Thom Browne for The New Yorker
    Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari Photograph Thom Browne for The New Yorker
    Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari Photograph Thom Browne for The New Yorker
    Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari Photograph Thom Browne for The New Yorker
    Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari Photograph Thom Browne for The New Yorker
    Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari Photograph Thom Browne for The New Yorker
  • I’m such a fan of Salman Toor, I’ve written about his work many times at this point, and so I was happy to see that Art21 had created a video interview with him. Before this, I hadn’t actually seen Toor speaking, and it was fascinating getting to see him exist, and hear him talk about his work. He captures such an interesting world of queer friendships, as well as the stresses and anxieties of being queer in such a turbulent time in the US. Anyhow, I really like being able to see a glimpse behind the curtain of creatives and this is a really lovely profile.

  • I’m incredibly excited for Róisín Murphy’s upcoming album Hit Parade as it’s co-produced with one of my other absolute faves, DJ Koze. So I was thrilled to see Philip Sherburne’s epic profile on the singer for Pitchfork, titled Life, Death, and Disco in Ibiza With Róisín Murphy. It goes in depth on her long rise to stardom, and the lengthy and wild production of the album, which gets me even more hyped than I already was:

    “Hit Parade has Murphy showcasing the range of her voice not just stylistically, flipping from ballads to bangers, but in the way she explores every aspect of it: sandy, breathy, severe, gentle; caterwauling, cooing, hissing, belting, pleading, celebrating; leaping for joy, scowling with dejection, slipping wantonly between notes. Aided by Koze’s liquid blend of vintage soul and digital mischief, she locates entirely new pockets of marbled texture and elastic timbre in every drawn-out syllable.”

    Róisín Murphy, photograph by Nik Pate