Naomi

Photography by Naomi Wong

Arvida Byström for Lula Magazine

Arvida Byström is an artist and occasional model/musician of Swedish descent who divides her time between London, Stockholm, and L.A. Her photography has been exhibited all over the world and she’s curated shows in London, Stockholm, and Denmark. Her photographs are tongue-in-cheek, unconventional, and frequently pastel. She is unapologetically feminist in her work, and incorporates technology in her methodology and sometimes as props. Mainstream fashion mags are known for presenting a very narrow definition of beauty (young, white, hairless, and skinny), and as a result alienates and shames real women who don’t fall within those narrow parameters. Byström clearly isn’t interested in following suit, as she works with models of all ages, shapes, sizes, and colours, and has photographed such “controversial” symbols of femininity as pubic hair and period blood. Quelle horreur.

This particular editorial appeared in a recent issue of Lula magazine. Not only is the styling beautiful, the diverse casting and art direction are very inspired as well. Byström’s photographs makes great use of colour, specifically sugary shades of pink, baby blue, and soft lavender.

The decision to work with pastels and girl tropes is very much connected with her feminism. There is an outdated idea that traditionally “girly” things shouldn’t be taken seriously, and that strong, intelligent women can’t also be girly and participate in activities like dressing up, gossiping, and getting their nails done. This is fundamentally anti-woman. It perpetuates the myth that things associated with girls are inferior, and that women are one-dimensional types, rather than complicated individuals who are capable of having a wide range of interests and passions. Why can’t a woman who loves shopping also be a computer programmer? Why are sexually attractive female DJs & producers constantly fighting to be taken seriously or have to prove to the world they didn’t just coast by on their looks? Much like Petra Collins, Tavi Gevinson and the Ardorous crew, Byström fucks with these biases in her work. And the love she’s showing to women of all types is more meaningful and positive than anything I’ve seen in the pages of Vogue.

Images via Arvida Byström

Oversize

Oversize
Model: Marie
Styling: Christina Van Zon
Photography: Lara Alegre
Appeared in: Vein magazine

So much talent in this big wide world, or so it seems, especially at 3am when I should be asleep but instead I’ve been sucked into a deep Tumblr rabbit hole. I’m often surprised that despite all the hyperbolic warnings about the end of print publishing, the frequency at which new fashion magazines are poppin’ up doesn’t appear to be waning. There are people out with with a passion so consuming and a vision so singular, they would dedicate their time and energy and hard-earned day job salary to this beautiful, perhaps meaningless pursuit.

Sometimes I forget that’s sort of what we’re chasing after too.

Vein magazine is a Spanish fashion publication dedicated to “the celebration of youth, independence, and freedom”, whatever that means. I think the more important thing is that their editorials are bitchin’. Published by Barcelona’s ABHFYA and with the financial support of H&M Studios, Vein releases four times a year and enlists creatives from all over Europe, including my current obsession, Berlin stylist Christina Van Zon. Everything about this editorial works—the use of sharp angles and lines in the photography, delicate flower petals that reflect the voluminous layers of the clothes, the subdued tones, the quiet beauty of the model. Good work like this inspires me to keep following my dreams, and yes, to also put on my most shapeless sweaters and coats.

Street Scene

I love you, Internet, for sharing with us all of your riches. Some of these riches can be seen here, taken from a few of my favourite places to visit to find inspiration in my daily life. One thing I love about street style is that it gives us the opportunity to see how people clothe themselves beyond our immediate environment. The differences are cultural, class-based, and also related to climate. (I don’t need to explain how the moderately-incomed folks find inspiration/aspiration from expensively-dressed industry people, shot outside of shows during fashion week.) Seeing how Kaitlyn Ham from Modern Legacy is dressing herself these days in Australia is especially a welcome change. I am legit so sick and tired of layers and hats and scarves already and it’s not even January.

Images via modern legacy, eckhaus latta, tommy ton, emma elwin, soop soop, anOther mag, dazed digital, oyster mag, the haute pursuit, maria van nguyen, cos, and tumblr

Light and Dark

A few of my favourite fashion shots right now, courtesy of Tumblr, Love Aesthetic, Modern Legacy, Vanillascented, Tommy Ton for style.com, Vogue, Purplemagazine, Tank magazine, Artyfilles, and the Row. Happy weekend!

Local Inspiration

There’s absolutely no question that sporty casual is a personal style choice fully endorsed by The Pack. I was pretty much hooked from my first pair of Air Force 1s. Recently shhrug spilled the beans on a newly-discovered tumblr, curated by the owner of Toronto boutique SOOP SOOP. Aside from running a pretty au courant vintage + new retail store (stocked with a plethora of 90s track jackets and Calvin Klein jeans), owner Christina Pretti also maintains the boutique’s companion tumblr, filled with carefully selected street style images that align with the SOOP SOOP brand. I wasted a good couple of hours gaping at the images last weekend and selected some of my favourites / future outfits. If you think this is as tight as we do and you live in the city, you should definitely drop by the store.

PUNKT

It’s often hard to pinpoint the origins of obscure editorials one stumbles upon during late night tumblr binges. You know how it goes. It’s 2am, you should really be sleeping, and some exquisite photo strikes you that’s been endlessly re-tumbled and shared without credit. You surrender and simply *heart* the pic, wondering for too long about who the stylist and photographer were, where the rest of the photos are, why you’re not sleeping when you have to be up in a mere three hours… And then there are those special times when a kindhearted internet kid links you to the source of an amazingly styled spread. Such was my luck in being linked to newish Milan-based online magazine PUNKT. I forget how I finally got there, but I know it was thanks to some kindred fashion nerd who knew the importance of web citations. ❤

Black, white, and grey

Black, white, and grey happen to be three of my favourite colours to wear. And, as you can see here, they are absolutely dreamy in photographs. Click after the jump for even more monochromatic inspiration