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Mar 2020
In the line of work I’m in, the image is super important. That’s both the imagined “image”—meaning status—or the definition of image as in photography. Fashion has always been about image-building and image-making, and it has been like that for over a hundred years.
However, in the roughly ten percent of those hundred years that I have been working in fashion, I have seen the image, and more specifically the use of that image, change. Socialites became influencers, photographers became social media users. The camera is everywhere, all the time, and it’s changing our lives more and more.
While ten years ago it would pay to send your designs to a stylist, who would then make sure they look decent in a magazine editorial, now it would definitely pay more to just send a seeding package to a celebrity you know. The directness and personal touch work a lot better. Hence the emergence of influencers and celebrity seeding. Again, it’s all about “the image”, it’s perceived more genuine when someone posts a selfie rather than a completely stylized photoshoot.
I have to stress that things are not always as they seem though. Because of our experience with social media, even the most DIY content from your little brother has become professionalized, curated and edited. Ten years ago people might have been hesitant to record or photograph themselves publicly, let alone share. Now, everyone is a content creator. Everyone films and photographs themselves, but even that weird selfie on the corner of the street has been taken at least 10 times before the final shot is selected and posted.
I guess what I am trying to say is that cameras have become so pervasive that you’re constantly being scrutinized (whether you like it or not). Many comparisons have been made with the Truman Show, in which Jim Carrey unknowingly lives in a real-life soap. I personally think that we’re not only the main subject of our real-life soaps, we’re also the directors and producers of it. It’s scary, but it also gives us more control over our own public image.
There is no way of avoiding being filmed or photographed nowadays. Especially when you work in the fashion industry. The only thing we can do is try to be more mindful of it.
Olaf.
03 Jan 2023
03 Jan 2023
“I studied industrial and fashion design in Berlin and Paris. Since then I’ve worked for over a decade as designer, design manager and creative director for a variety of European fashion brands. And since a couple of years as creative director for a brand in Berlin."
“After working nonstop in the fashion industry, I was longing to take my creativity out from behind a corporate computer and create something with my own hands which led me to experiment with clay. It initially just started off as some sort of meditational practice and developed over time into my passion and second business."
“As I had only worked for other people's companies, I eventually felt the urge to create a brand that would represent my own aesthetics and values that would help enable me to share what inspired me personally. Therefore, I decided to merge this idea with my passion for crafts and interior and started my own brand 2222STUDIO under which I design, make and sell interior objects. 2222STUDIO was inspired by my lucky number and time 22:22. Since I was a teenager, I have been superstitious about it and believed that catching this time over and over was no coincidence. I always felt compelled to make wishes for a whole minute until this magic alignment of numbers passed. "
“Just do it! I believe that it’s important to start somewhere with a vision and then figure things out along the way. Too much overthinking and doubting upfront will just block you. "
“That it's so versatile, creative, and that I am independent."
“Intuitive, meditative and passionate."
"Okwukwe Na Nchekwube by Celestine Ukwu & his Philosophers"
“Following and building a career for myself that reflects what I am passionate about."
“Taking on an order that exceeded my capacity and really challenged my entire setup."
“Mexico, Japan, Venice."
“Minimal and eclectic."
"All my Jackets and coats."
"I really like the work of Alicja Kwade. But my brain just picks up on everything that I see around me. It could be super and abstract, light, textures, shapes."
