Tokyo Diaries XVI

A mental travel preparation.



Factotum Spring/Summer 2014

Eager to meet, learn from and become a hara-kiri school boy. Adapting to his uniform of tie, knee socks, flowers and books. Reading. Smiling. Observing. Thinking. Studying the art of studying.
/HORST

Prada Fantasies II

Prada Fall/Winter 1999

Prada collections that I missed and am missing. Prada collections that were to early for being late. Great Prada collections that should belong to me and our collective heart forever.
/HORST

Real Fantasy, 2013

or 'Piece Of Me'

Top Prada
Trousers Acne

The best collection ever created. Prada Fall/Winter 2008. A historical moment, impossible to be restaged or relived. A real fantasy and wet dream come true. Men in ruffled skirts, sparkly cummerbunds and extravagant bibs. A radical truth.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art V

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)


1. Mark Rothko Untitled, 1969
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

The style of paintings and digital works that build the layers of Prada's new 'salary men' have a tendency for - and present the cohesive idea - of 'abstract gesture'. Some references are literal (pattern), others are analytical (layers) or conceptual (collars) - but overall they function as exercises in turning flat reduction into 3D reality.
/HORST

"Prada Banality", Post-Painterly Art IV

or 'Fashion For Intellectuals' (FFI)


1. John Baldessari Valise/Serpent/Fist, 2009
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

And with each exit, each look that was proposed upon the sensitive psyche of her mindful audience, Miuccia Prada, together with her team, made art history. Each outfit resembled a room in a well-curated exhibition. While the artworks slowly evolved from Minimalism to Pop Art to New Realism.
/HORST

A Short History Of Typography In Popular Culture VI

1. Xander Zhou Fall/Winter 2013
2. David Salle Tennyson, 1983
3. Klar Fall/Winter 2013 & Xander Zhou Fall/Winter 2013
4. David Salle Mingus, 2010
5. Xander Zhou Fall/Winter 2013
6. David Salle Good Bye D,1982

Presenting: A pop song, a duett: 'Boys Will Be Boys' (Tennyson Remix) by Xander Zhou and David Salle. A double feature block-letter buster: 'Klar Mingus', a horror movie, and 'Wicked Cine Clubs', a high-school drama with explicit 'undressing' scenes. This fall, everywhere nearby you.
/HORST

Post London

A false encyclopaedic guide to the London collections, presenting:
Marques'Almeida Fall/Winter 2013

1. Elad Lassry Woman (Puzzle), 2010
2. Hans Arp Maskenspiel, 1932
3. Anselm Reyle Untitled, 2012

Andy Warhol's Do It Yourself (Landscape) from 1962 has not only perpetuated the 'organic school' of Arp and Aalto, it has influenced generations after and anticipated the idea of post-digital DIYPBNCP ("Do It Yourself Paint By Numbers Camouflage Puzzle") as seen at Marques'Almeida.
/HORST

Now & Then VII

1. Acne Spring/Summer 2013
2. Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2012

There is a close connection/appreciation between Acne Studios and Raf 'Sandior' Simons. In this case, the almost unnoticed 'look 24' from 2012 delivers the main theme for 2013: block striped pyjamas. We might sleep, but our vision does never escape.
/HORST

Reversed Prophecy

1. Yves Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane Spring/Summer 2000
2. Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane Fall/Winter 2002

À propos Lamé: opposed to what was delivered, admittedly, this is what I hoped and longed for. A return to the luxury of camp. Instead we got dusty sincerity.
/HORST

Helmut Dialogues

1. Helmut Lang Fall/Winter 2004
2. Jil Sander Spring/Summer 2010

From Balenciaga Questions to Raf Simons' continuous dialogue with the/his admittedly admired master Helmut Lang. This time, it is not a story of plagiarism but an attempt of communication and the search for a lost father.
/HORST

Identity Crisis

1. Raf Simons Fall/Winter 2013
2. Prada Fall/Winter 2013

After a recurrent tribute to Helmut Lang via Jil Sander (the cross, the show credit print), Raf is channeling Miuccia. Just like Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin in Big Business (1988) someone swapped bodies. But somehow something got lost in transmission. And comedy turns into grotesque horror, see The Fly (1958).
/HORST