Mark Bode at China Heights and a lot of Tattoos too..

Well if it's Friday night it's China Heights; and this Friday it's international Graffiti, Comic and Tattoo artist Mark Bode. Talking with some of the people in attendance it is pretty clear that he is a legend in his genre and it was all pretty bloody cool at that; just like the crowd. Of course each different artist that exhibits at China Heights brings with them a different style of crowd and that's what I love. Having just delivered a Sydney 'Street Snap' for next months Nylon Japan  in collaboration with street style colleague Xiaohan Shen  and having marched and stood still all over Sydney in the often slim hope of finding Street Style; its nice to go out  and see so much style as well as great art all in one place.

Model Style - Model Lives - LMFF Sydney Casting

Well I know Street Fashion Sydney (SFS) does on occasion shoot a runway parade but we have never written up a casting before. And bless AMPR who have been inviting SFS to Melbourne; yes I hear you Melbourne-Fashion Festival events in Sydney for quite a while now! That even though we have never written anything up...until now about our southern cousins Fashion Festival down there... We are doing it now.. But not so much about the festival; more on that later; media pass return ticket and accommodation pending; we all have dreams! 

And I know a lot of you have dreams too, we all do; and have been watching Australia's Next Top Model and do wonder "what does a model wear to a casting", a real casting - not a casting you see on TV? So Street Fashion Sydney are taking you there with thanks to  L'Oréal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

This is as real as it gets.





But no matter how tall you are (and you are very tall indeed) or what you wear.. It all happens with the panel selecting the models - and good to see; model comp cards are still part of the currency of modelling! Its not all about pictures on the Internet you know. And if you keep scrolling down you will also see the room - long and empty - YOU ARE A MODEL YOU MUST WALK - HERE FIRST!, before walking on the runway... Lets face it; being a model is not as easy as people often assume. Its one thing to walk a parade not easy in itself; but before a panel before you can walk the parade; that's another type of fashion runway altogether!






But I have to say everyone was great; the models were lovely and friendly and the LMFF team was very friendly too. And who were the models? Well they were of course from Viviens, Priscillas, Chic and Chadwicks and; not surprisingly even in the small demographic (tall though they were) were also from around Australia and around the world - but then that is the world of modelling.

SNO + Rona Green 'Strokin'' at Australian Galleries

Last Thursday night I had the pleasure of attending the opening night of Strokin' by Rona Green and 'Alone Together' by Dean Brown at Australian Galleries in Glenmore Road Paddington Sydney. Both are highly distinctive shows (I have a sneaking feeling I saw Dean's graduate show on similar subject matter a few years back..) and I think definite must-sees if you are cruzing the Paddo area.
I asked Rona if any of the pictures were inspired by French Fashion designers... Apparently they were not though one of my favourits 'The Surgeon 2010' certainly reminded me of that English French Designer John Galliano who I am sure is a huge fan of Rainer Weiner Fassbinder's film 'Querelle' which the show reminded me of as well! I have posted a clip from Querelle way down below. Rona Green, http://ronagreenblog.com/.

And by way of attempting just a little bit to make up for my lack of posting; I also attended the opening of SNO 78 in Marrickville recently. This show which ends on the 4th of next month is quite thought provoking in a completely different way and is also highly recommended.

And for those who are wondering about  Querelle here is a taster; its Nautical but Nice & quite possibly NSFW...


More Street Fashion Sydney posts coming soon, and remember if you want to be an artist (as you can see above) or work for that famous mag Vogue; Black will always the New Black!

Woman’s Day Miss Country Girl Australia 2011 - SFS On-board for the Final

Woman's Day Miss Country Girl Australia 2011, thirty finalists, thirty Australian country girls putting their hopes on the line.. I am certainly getting the feeling that the beauty pageant has returned to Australia and is here to stay for the immediate future at least.

Yes this pageant has cast its net very wide indeed to let the girls who are not closeted in the city; a chance for country girls to shine and perhaps be the next Miranda Kerr, a country girl herself; top modelling talent is out there!

This was a very well run show (other than the inclusion of the very annoying steady cam operator who was everywhere-all-the-time); how so many young contestants managed this hours long final with its pretty complex E-on-its-back runway is a mystery to me but they did and they did it well. Or perhaps it had something to do with family support which I am pleased to say was very much in evidence on the night.

It is tough on the contestants, you do have to put your heart and hopes on the line. Congratulations to winner Belinda Adams and all the contestants; you are all winners in Street Fashion Sydney's eyes! I am very much looking forward to following the careers of those who made it through (and some who will make their own way). And I am equally looking forward to Miss Country Girl Australia in 2012.































Winners Parents, Mr & Mrs Adams.




All pictures copyright Kent Johnson and Soyoun Kim 2011 for Street Fashion Sydney.

Miss Country Girl Australia
www.misscountrygirlaustralia.com.au

Woman's Day www.womansday.ninemsn.com.au

Chic Management www.chicmanagement.com.au

Scoop Management www.scoopmanagement.com.au

Sea Folly www.seafolly.com

Forever New www.forevernew.com.au

Street Fashion Sydney's Photography & Art Roundup, Nov-Dec 2011

Looking at photography and art over the last 4 weeks; or something like that...

Well I clearly did not make it to every photography show in town in the last month but I did make it to a few and some other art events as well including Elodie Silberstien's White Ribbon Day performance piece which I had the pleasure of shooting the promotional photographs for..

But lets go back to the 11 11, always an important calandar day (forget fashion parades at Northies...) and the launch date for what I think it would be fair to call the most recent installment in North Sullivan's ongoing urban/community portrait project. This time titled 'Doorstop Portraits in Glebe' it was a porch project incorporating the immediate architecture or the 'sitters' front porch or veranda; all shot on an iPhone 4 (!!!) and beautifully printed. I have long admired much of the council housing of the Glebe area and North has captured this architecture as beautifuly as he has the residents themselves. Some of the shots are a wee tad on the sentimental side but what can I say, they work! Lovingly crafted community projects like this is something Sydney needs more of. You can still see much of the show online here, 'Doorstop Portraits in Glebe'.



Next up I attended 'Round 2' A.R.P Artists Residency Program on Oxford Street. I am becoming a big fan of Rachel Park's work since first seeing her installation piece at SNO in 2010. lets face it anyone who can use that much toilet paper is MORE than a legend in their own bathroom and Rachel is taking it to the world!

I can't say I felt the same about Anna Laerkesen's photographs from her 'Strangelands' series, one of which you can see reflected in the mirror in the gallery shot below. It was the first of two occasions reported here where I was quite deeply conflicted over what I saw, on this occasion a fairly low technical quality & inconsistency of approach to the photography that seemed to undermine the artist's intent. Or perhaps it was just me... How can you love waving toilet paper and be deeply conflicted over a few photographic prints? Well it's all in how you look at it.


I also took a look at Cherine Fahd's laneway text art which scopes about a modern paranoia; of course there were a few jokes made at the arts expense but I suspect Cherine would have been quite OK with that.




On 26th November as part of White Ribbon day Memorium #2. This would have to be one of the first times where part of the art was the delivery of information about the death of women (and some men) from domestic violence! The procession began with Patricia rather aptly singing Summertime (and the living is easy) from Porgy & Bess "...It deals with his attempts to rescue Bess from the clutches of Crown, her violent and possessive lover, and Sportin' Life, the drug dealer."








Next was Dan Stock's 'Echoes of Unknown Thought' at index space; large prints of Dan's photographs of rare (mostly military use) Valves; which for those of you unfamiliar with the history of electronics were the larger less stable precursor to the transistor-which eventually made portable computing possible! And this was the second look-at-photography this month that left me feeling a little uncomfortable with the technical side of the art process.

Still I got more of an impression that Dr Dan Stock was more of a fan of the Valve and the giant (or fairly large) prints were more of an Homage, a bloody big fanzine to 'The Valve' which was great as I am quite a big fan myself! Not to mention is was nice to talk to someone who knows that William Shockley (along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain) invented the first-world-powerhouse, the Transistor. And that Steve Jobs actually invented nothing at all...




And on Friday night I attended Alex Wisser's first solo at MOP gallery in Chippendale. Alex's large scale giclée prints were as beautiful and intoxicating as the works themselves; empty rooms, a distant past 'found' in the present as these homes were placed on the market.

The A.R.P., Dan Stock's, and Alex Wisser shows are on NOW!