Hasselblad, which was founded in Göteborg, Sweden, produces some of the world's most lauded cameras. Used for purposes such as the Chanel photoshoots of Karl Lagerfeld and photographing the moon landing of Apollo 11, the name Hasselblad instantly evokes images of premium quality, pristine visuals and appealing design. But how did a once-humble Swedish camera firm stake such a lofty place in the photography world over the past 80 years? How do cameras costing up to $47,000 find favor in an era where everyone is a "photographer" thanks to smartphone cameras ever-increasing power? 

The brand's cameras are compact and boxy from a design standpoint. One of their main advantages comparing to the other manufacturers is the viewfinder, which faces from the top down. "If you're using a Hasselblad, you're looking down rather than at the subject. It slows down everything, and gives that extra breathing room to the photographer," says photographer Janet Beckman. Tyler Shields seconds Beckman's comments, saying "There is something real to the image, and when you print the images, that's when you see a whole different dimension of it." 

While Hasselblad was originally founded in 1841 and developed its photography division in collaboration with Kodak in the late 1890s, its rise to popularity in the mainstream began with the 1600F of 1948, the world's first medium format SLR. Later, the 500C line from Hasselblad - still its most iconic products - debuted in 1957. However, in 1969, when American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were the first to get on the surface of the moon, the founding moment of the business was in. A 500C accompanied the three astronauts to their destination and captured some of the 20th century's most iconic photos. This was a byproduct of NASA's partnership with Hasselblad, which began in 1962, and aimed at producing lighter, durable cameras that would perform in the uncertain outer space environment. The 500C was used back on Earth to photograph everybody, from Jimi Hendrix to the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. 

Later, in the 1990s, Hasselblad and its X-Pan, developed in partnership with Fujifilm, made history again. Although it was a typical 35 mm camera, it had the incredible ability to create a panorama picture of 65 mm, almost twice its size. Moving on to 2016, Hasselblad's X1D — the first-ever mirrorless medium format camera, made history. This was followed by the H6D400C, the $47,000 USD model. With technological features such as a dynamic range of 15 stops for unprecedented versatility and unbelievable accuracy, the H6D400C makes a powerful claim as the best camera on the market today and secures the place of Hasselblad as a photographic creativity paradigm.

Thierry Mugler, the world-renowned fashion designer and photographer, would use Hasselblad for shooting his campaigns.

Hasselblads have photographed everything from music icons to the first man on the moon.

HASSELBLAD: THE H6D400C $47,000 USD MODEL

Today Dior's Women's Artistic Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and the house's CEO, Pietro Beccari, revealed through a live conference that Dior's Cruise 2021 collection would be seen digitally on live models without an audience on July 22nd in Lecce, Italy. The move comes in response to the annulment of the originally planned show due to the Covid-19 pandemic on May 27th. 

Through explaining the reasons for the rescheduling and live models at Piazza del Duomo in Lecce in the Puglia area of Italy, Beccari opened the meeting. 

Luxury is emotions for Maria Grazia and I, and when it comes to fashion there's nothing that holds the emotion of a true fashion show, a live performance where art is performed without a safety net. 

Beccari went on to express how supporting fashion on a local and global scale is important for Dior's house. The Cruise collection focuses on the artisans who produce the clothes and accessories, as well as on the "gang" that showcases the collection, i.e. the production team, from models to photographers. "We think this opportunity will be auspicious for the future, a good incentive to continue with a certain optimism," Beccari explained. Beccari shared, moreover, that the collection allowed himself and Chiuri to pay homage to their Italian roots. "For both of us, support for our country is important, (as is) support for the Puglia region, which has been so badly hit by the crisis and on the brink of bankruptcy, but with a strong will to fight." 

Chiuri, whose father had come from Italy's Puglia region, went on to share: 

What was very important to me - to convey how much craftsmanship value there is in Puglia, and how important it is to invest in this especially for younger generations. We are a company that works with people all over the world, so many people depend on our work. It's a collective project involving many people and I found a great sense of sisterhood and brotherhood among those people who decided to work with me anyway despite all the difficulties and this general sense of unknowing and uncomprehending. 

– Maria Grazia Chiuri, Women's Creative Director at Dior 

While other design houses choose virtual experiences to take them off the calendar, Dior has adapted its standard resort show to capture the delicate balance between old and new. The town of Lecce serves as the ideal model for the series, as it shows the animation of modern life inside frameworks of the old world. The series is also inspired by tarot cards, which were used in the mid-15th century, as enjoyed by the founder Christian Dior himself, yet another way of looking back on history when moving forward. 

While speaking to the future shows of Dior, Beccari indicated that July's couture 2020 show will not be live, as for the plans of the house for the September Spring 2021 RTW series, "we hope to have some audience, if not a full room," Beccari said.

Rick Owens, Alexander Wang, Mugler, Courreges show are going to take place later this year. Stay tuned! We are going to keep you updated!

Dior Will Go Ahead With a Cruise Show in Puglia — Sans Audience.

DIOR’S CRUISE LIVE SHOW WILL BE HELD IN LECCE, CAPITALE DEL BAROCCO

Despite the coronavirus pandemic little by little getting under control, the French luxury goods company Chanel predicts that the lingering economic effects will affect the luxury sector for at least the next two years. 

“We expect that the global climate will continue to affect the luxury segment negatively for at least the next 24 months,” says Chanel's CFO Philippe Blondiaux in an interview with Reuters. Despite these predictions, the group has seen a growth of 13 percent since 2019 and expects to be profitable at the end of the year. Previously having to shut down many of its retail locations, nearly 85 percent of the group's stores have now reopened, with a massive sales bounce in China going over 100 percent for a few weeks. According to the CFO, activity is beginning to resume in Paris, Milan and Berlin too. "This incredibly strong performance with the local clientele will not be enough to compensate for the absence of international business, the absence of international visitors and the fact that our duty-free business is still largely closed," said Blondiaux. Chanel has agreed to reduce promotional expenses and advertisements, slash inventory, as well as reworking fashion shows to prepare for the bleak future. 

Looking at the bigger picture, consulting firm Bain & Company says the $310-billion luxury goods market can see revenues fall by up to 35 percent this year.

Chanel S.A. It is a private French company owned by Alain Wertheimer and Gérard Wertheimer, grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer, who was the couturière Coco Chanel's early business partner. Chanel is a luxury company focusing on high fashion and ready-made clothes, luxury products, and accessories. From her time as a chanteuse, Gabrielle Chanel earned the nickname Coco in her youth. As a fashion designer, CC catered to women's taste for elegance in dress, with shirts and suits, trousers and skirts, and jewelry of simple design, that replaced the opulent, over-designed, and constrictive clothes and accessories of the 19th-century fashion. Fashion models, actresses, and icons have personified the Chanel product brands, including Catherine Deneuve, Carole Bouquet, Nicole Kidman, Anna Mouglalis, Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Tautou, Kristen Stewart, Keira Knightley, Jennie Kim, Cara Delevingne, Marilyn Monroe and others.

Looking forward to hearing from big fashion houses such as Alexander Wang or Mugler about their future plans and prognoses.

Despite predicting a profitable year overall.

CHANEL: CORONAVIRUS WILL AFFECT LUXURY SEGMENT FOR AT LEAST NEXT TWO YEARS

Last week, Apple leaker Jon Prosser reported that the upcoming augmented reality glasses of the tech giant would support prescription lenses at various price points, but a new patent granted to Apple this week now suggests that due to its auto-adjustment technology, the device may not need prescription lenses at all. 

Last Tuesday, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted the patent for a "head-mounted display device for retaining the portable electronic device with display." Although patents for a device had been filed numerous times before, the latest filing focused on the ability of its lenses to adjust automatically according to the user's eyesight. "The optical subassembly consists of at least one dynamic optical component and where the processor is setup to adjust the dynamic optical component based on the prescription information," the patent read. "For instance , if a user is myopic in one eye, the optical module associated with that eye may modify the displayed image to correct the myopia of the user," it continues explaining. “The system can determine the correction required for each eye, if any, using any suitable approach. For example, the user can enter a prescription for glasses or contact lenses which indicates the correction needed."

Of course, the device is still in its patent stage, and so far everything related to the Apple Glass has been just rumors, as the tech giant has yet to announce their intentions for introducing AR glasses, so brand fans should certainly stay tuned for more updates to come.

Jon Prosser suggested that Apple would call the smart glasses "Apple Glass". That would be an unusual choice of name given the similarity to Google Glass, a product that existed long before the start of Apple's work on AR glasses. 

It is said that the glasses will look identical to normal glasses, with both lenses to feature displays that may communicate with gestures. There will be an opportunity to get the glasses at a potential starting price of $499 with no prescription lenses. 

Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-respected Apple analyst, expects the AR glasses to be marketed as an iPhone accessory and will primarily take a display role in offloading computing, networking and iPhone positioning. Apple will sell the AR glasses as an accessory to keep them sleek and lightweight. Prosser claims the glasses will look identical to those of Ray-Ban Wayfarers or the glasses Tim Cook wears.

A report from DigiTimes suggests Apple's AR glasses will be launched in 2021, and Ming-Chi Kuo expects a 2022 launch at the earliest. Leaker Jon Prosser claims that in March or June 2021, Apple will announce its product, which may mean that the glasses will be shown in 2021 and released later in 2022. Hoping to see fully digital 3D Rick Owens, Mugler and Courreges shows by that time through Apple glasses, as if you are inside the Palais de Tokyo or by the Canal Saint-Martin.

Doing away with the need of prescription lenses.

NEW PATENT GRANTED TO APPLE: AUTO-ADJUSTING LENSES FOR AR GLASSES

YouTuber Funk Turkey produced a new fake Nirvana song with A.I. programming. This is the latest Turkey's endeavor after a flurry of other mock tracks mimicking the likes of AC/DC, Metallica and Nickelback, to name a few. 

The song is called "Smother," a three-minute concoction of Nirvana-esque tropes that tries to mirror the distinctive personality of the legendary band. Turkey notes in the description of the video, "using lyrics.rip to scrape the Genius Lyrics Database, I made a Markov Chain write Nirvana lyrics." Generating lines like "I could eat your heart-shaped box for food" and "You never lost control," lyrics reappropriate familiar keywords from some of Nirvana 's greatest hits. 

Next, Turkey used "cheap" equipment to mix the music and vocals to resemble that scratchy Seattle grunge sound of the 1990s. "All the music/vocals I recorded, mixed, and mastered in my kitchen, on a sparkly red cheap Stratocaster, a lousy mic and an old copy of ProTools," the YouTuber explained. "The vocals are doubled, compressed slightly and run through an emulated reel-to-reel and tube saturation for a bit of extra warmth and grit."

"All lyrics provided by Hal 9000 (AKA lyrics.rip). Guitars are the aforementioned Stratocaster bounced hard left and right. Flanged Stratocaster through a Fender twin is dead center in the mix. Bass is a no-name bass run through amp emulation. Percussion is Superior Drummer 2. I know Dave Grohl hates computer drums but it's the best thing I got, so sorry Dave. I still love you."

Kurt Cobain was an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the Nirvana rock band's frontman. Through his fear-fuelled songwriting and anti-establishment persona, he was often heralded as Generation X's spokesperson. Cobain's compositions broadened the mainstream rock music thematic conventions. 

Born in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987 Cobain formed the Nirvana band with Krist Novoselic and Aaron Burckhard and established it as part of the music scene in Seattle which later became known as grunge. Nirvana has achieved worldwide success with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their critically acclaimed second album Nevermind (1991), having signed with major label DGC Records. While Cobain was hailed as Generation X's voice following the sudden success of Nirvana, he resented this, feeling that the public had misinterpreted his message and creative vision. Significant works of Nirvana written by Cobain include "Come as You Are," "Lithium," "Polly," "Something in the Way," "All Apologies" and "Heart-shaped Box" to name a few.

Cobain has struggled with heroin addiction and chronic health problems such as depression during the last years of his life. He also suffered from the personal and professional pressure of fame including tabloid attention to his 1992 marriage to Courtney Love. Cobain has been found dead at his home in Seattle at the age of 27 on April 8, 1994; police concluded that he had died on April 5 from a self-inflicted shotgun wound. 

During their first year of eligibility during 2014, Cobain was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside Nirvana's bandmates Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl. Rolling Stone included Cobain in their lists of the 100 Greatest All Time Songwriters, 100 Greatest Guitarists and 100 Greatest All Time Singers.

With the help of AI in the future, will we be able to create Rick Owens, Boris Bidjan Saberi, Mugler and Courreges collections by ourselves? Will they be as good? What do you think? Share your ideas with us!

YOUTUBER CREATED FAKE NIRVANA SONG WITH AI

Cheyna Carr is enigmatic; you won't find the Los Angeles-based photographer's biography online, and her website is under construction. She says directly when asked for an introduction of herself and her work: "I am Cheyna, and my creations is the result of using the medium to understand myself better." 

This mystery is intentional; but not for the reasons that one would assume. Carr explains: "I have simply not been asked much about my work, nor have I put a great deal of effort into speaking publicly about my work. I have trouble talking about my work because it comes from dark places I haven't grasped fully." Carr's photographs are melancholic but serene; they capture nature at its most sublime: running water and rock faces, mountain ranges and deserts, depths of forest and ravines. Her general lack of human intervention in her images provides them with a grounding quality. 

"I would receive endless questions about how to get to these places when I used to geotag them but my personal focus wasn't on where I was visiting — it was how I felt in those places. I stopped sharing the locations, the questions slowed down and more intentional conversations began. I didn't know that would happen, but I'm glad it did."

Although the landscapes have been playing muse to artists over the years, Carr's work has something special about it. When asked if there is a group of photographers she thinks her work is associated with, she replies: "The journey I followed was very isolating and disconnected from people, so I have to say that for a while I had hardly paid much attention to the work of others. I never studied photography and when I did, I just bought a camera, and jumped in my car. I've been motivated by inspiration from other areas of my life."

Cheyna Carr first came up with photography when her mother encouraged her to use a camera during the summer holidays. "I think partly to keep us out of boredom she assumed we would have," Carr explains. These analogous experiences of her youth led to her later purchase of a 35 mm film camera. "Shortly thereafter, my out of town trips would become more frequent and extensive," she tells us. "I couldn't describe myself in such a way that photography had become an outlet and I feel fortunate to have stuck with what seemed to be real to me. I didn't have the support to do so, and I was taking photos for a long time without anyone knowing. 

Carr's images share a feeling of intensity that is hard to identify. "For about four years now, I have taken photography more seriously and the major growth of my practice may be that I have gained a deeper understanding of what I've been taking photos of. I feel that ultimately I need to articulate those thoughts to others and start being able to do so. My work is very personal — I do what I do purely for myself, but other people can relate in some way with hopes."

Have you seen Thierry Mugler's series of images taken by the designer's models in front of the notable world's architectural objects?

Kering has approved the appointment to its board of three new directors. The French luxury goods behemoth has announced the arrival of actress Emma Watson, businessman Tidjane Thiam, and entrepreneur Jean Liu to its board of directors, after their names were proposed to the group on 12th March. 

"The mutual wisdom that comes from a range of backgrounds and the diversity of interactions are critical to our organization's future. I am proud to add these outstanding talents to the squad," said François-Henri Pinault, CEO and Chairman of Kering, in his statement. 

Watson will also act as Chair of the Committee of Sustainability. While best known for her role as Hermione Granger in adaptations of the Harry Potter film and parts in movies like Little Women, in recent years she has turned her attention to activism on issues related to the environment and women's rights. Since 2014, she has been a UN WOMEN Global Goodwill Ambassador, and has edited a sustainable fashion issue of Vogue Australia. Watson also spoke recently in support of trans rights after Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling made transphobic comments.

Kering appointed Thiam to preside over the Audit Committee. Formerly CEO of Credit Suisse Group AG, the French-Ivorian banker is currently serving as the Special Envoy of the African Union on COVID-19, and is a member of the International Olympic Committee. 

Liu is president of Beijing-based transportation company Didi Chuxing, and through DiDi Women's Network has advocated the empowerment of women in tech. Liu also serves as a founding member of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum advisory board, and is an active member of the board of trustees of the Asia Society. 

Kering, which owns brands such as Gucci and Balenciaga, has contributed around $1 million USD in recent months to counter coronavirus spread. Because of COVID-19, it reported a 15.4 percent drop in revenue for Q1 2020 in April.

Do you think Rick Owens, Mugler, Victoria Beckham or Alexander Wang Houses are going to have big nameы on Board of Directors this year? We will keep you updated, stay tuned!

KERING ADDED EMMA WATSON TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The sublime Coliseum Theater in London was hosting three exceptional ballets last year: "McGregor + Mugler" – the British choreographer Wayne McGregor with costumes designed by Manfred Thierry Mugler – followed by "Radio and Juliet" from Edward Clug – with music written by the iconic band Radiohead – and "Faun," the remake of a piece produced by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.

Although the name Thierry Mugler has been used in fashion worldwide since the 1980s, most people are unaware of what has become of the man behind the house bearing his own surname. Manfred Thierry Mugler has changed his look absolutely, and is now a director of the music hall. His return to the stage last year was taking place through the medium of dance: the former fashion designer was tasked with creating the costumes and art directing the ballet "McGregor + Mugler", choreographed by the immensely talented Wayne McGregor, who recently performed with his piece "Tree of Codes" at the Opéra de Paris. 

The performance created by Wayne McGregor and Manfred Thierry Mugler at the Coliseum Theater in London was part of a triple show with two other equally remarkable pieces: beginning with "Radio and Juliet", a new interpretation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliette" as a modern ballet by Romanian choreographer Edward Clug. It was completed with a soundtrack that cleverly blends rock and electronic music. The second part, Faun, was a recreation of the 2009 piece by Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui performed by two of the legendary Bolshoi's principal dancers revisiting Nijinsky's masterpiece, L'après Midi d'un Faune. Its costumes have been created by the British designer Hussein Chalayan.

The three ballets have been performed in 2019 at the Coliseum Theatre in London.

Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France. His interest led him to focus more on arts than on school; he started learning classical dance at the age of 9. At 14, he had entered the Rhin Opera (Opéra national du Rhin) ballet corps. Around the same time, Mugler began intensive training in interior design at the School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg.

What was Manfred Thierry Mugler’s new theatrical project?

MANFRED THIERRY MUGLER’S BALLET PROJECT

In May 2018, I realized that I left my bag full of Hasselblad movie cameras and lenses on a train from Venice to Rome, that was an unfortunate incident. I still had the digital camera I was using for personal travel, and I said to myself, "Why not trying using a digital camera for my project of ambient portrait and street photography?" To be honest, I felt a little carried away with the technology that is so user friendly and convenient. 

I bought another Hasselblad and more lenses after my return from Italy, before going to Appleby Fair to document the travelers and gypsies, however, it turned out that I shot thousands of color images with my digital and just about a dozen or so with the B&W film. 

Armed with a short wide-angle zoom lens and a quick 8 frames per second option, it allowed me to capture the people's spontaneous moments in their surroundings. I enjoy paying attention to the layers, space, composition, and spontaneity, as well as adding a mood to depict emotion and stories. 

For the past ten years, Irish travelers have been the main topics in my project so my relationship with them has become very close.  I had to earn their trust at first, and respect them. Travelers have shunned from the public for decades because of discrimination and media labeling. I would be giving them photos for their time, in exchange. Images are very valuable to them as the old ones have been lost or damaged as they move from one location to another. 

There are so many things happening in traveling communities - suicide rates are higher and mortality rates are lower than among settled people due to health problems, poverty and discrimination. I feel there is more to learn about them; the have a fear of losing their culture and identity as the Irish Government seeks to make them fit into modern society. A small number of travelers prefer to settle in government-provided housing, but the majority like their nomadic culture and keep camping and traveling where they can. 

This causes a lot of problems as some stopping sites are overcrowded, so the travelers often make illegal encampments on the side of the roads, the council has to get the police involved, this is a long-standing issue, yet to reach a solution to satisfy all parties.

PS. Can you imagine if designers such as Andre Courreges or Thierry Mugler got inspired by the Irish travelers' style? That kind of collection undoubtedly could be coherent with the nowadays' 2000s tendencies in fashion.

Since 2009, Joseph-Philippe Bevillard has been documenting Irish Travellers using a B&W medium format film camera.

IRISH TRAVELLERS BY JOSEPH PHILIPPE BEVILLARD

The expression "all you need to make a film is a girl and a gun" is credited to Jean-Luc Godard, and contradicts his insistence that "c'est Griffith qui a dit ça, ce n'est pas moi" ("it was Griffith who said that, not me"). 

Godard seems to have first attributed this phrase to Griffith in 1964, announcing his upcoming film "Bande à part" in media. 

"What do moviegoers want?" asked Griffith. "A girl and a gun." It is to satisfy their wishes that I've made, and that Columbia will be distributing, "Bande à part", a sure-fire story that will sell many tickets."

Commentators who picked up on Godard's phrase retained the attribution, but Pauline Kael's piece "Godard among the Gangsters" in "The New Republic" in 1966 left Griffith out of the competition: "Jean-Luc Godard intended to give the public what they wanted. His next movie was about a girl and a gun".

In 1965, Claude Lelouch made "Une fille et des fusils" ("a girl and some rifles"), a Godard's "Bande à part" homage-cum-pastiche featuring girls and guns, and a close up of a newspaper with an advert for "Bande à part".

Godard himself followed "Bande à part" with other girls and guns featuring films, e.g. "Pierrot le fou" (1965), "Made in USA" (1966) "And La Chinoise" (1967), "Alphaville" (1965).

The tastes of the public shift but what draws them most is what our master D.W. Griffith did. So, more than forty years ago, Griffith defined: "A girl and a gun," that is, eroticism and aggression. 

From the outset René Clair featured girls and guns in his movies. The best combination of "girl and a gun" in Clair's oeuvre is a film he envisaged but did not direct, Augusto Genina's "Prix de beauté" (1930) in which the girl is Louise Brooks. 

When Griffith spoke of "a girl and a gun," he defined what it was that attracted the screen's vulgar attention. 

"As for the public, it plays its usual role of imposing its sentimental routine on those whom it considers to be suppliers of pleasure, and not entirely wrong. The public are demanding a girl and a gun," Griffith said. "That's sufficient to ensure it gets them."

Designers Thierry Mugler and Andre Courreges have made references to the Nouvelle Vague's A Girl and a Gun in their 1970s collections.

"Girls with guns" is a genre of film which first appeared in the early 1960s.

Last year, in a lavish display at the Grand Palais in Paris, Chanel presented their cruise collection with a set that transformed the cavernous space into a train platform, with the railways acting as the frontiers of the catwalk. There was Claudia Schiffer, and Keira Knightley too, applauding the candy-bright jackets that many fashion critics thought was a genius stroke from the new creative director (or in Chanel's vernacular, artistic director of the fashion follections) Virginie Viard. It had been a scene, as they say. 

There are really special things this year. Chanel made the decision in March to cancel their cruise show, which would have taken place in Capri – the perfect setting for a holiday collection, one might imagine. For a company that has in the past set their clothing collections against such backdrops as a rocket ship, a store, an airport, a circus, a man-made beach and a library, canceling it entirely is a first, and one that the brand hopes not to repeat. 

"It's a shame for everyone," says Chanel's global fashion president, Bruno Pavlovsky just days before the house's cruise collection will be presented as a series of online content entitled Balade en Méditerranée. Instead of a decadent set on the sun-drenched Italian island, the brand showed a range of silhouettes and videos on their web platforms on Monday, instead. 

"We'd been working on the collection and show for the past six months, we were so excited to go to Capri. One of the things about Capri that would have been so incredible is its natural beauty; the lights, the color, the Mediterranean's unique beauty, particularly at this time of year."

"The brands must decide what they plan to do. Any label can do whatever they want. But I think Paris has a good mutual interest in promoting the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Style [which is organizing Fashion Weeks]. Brands can decide not to participate but that will make life more difficult at the end of the day."

We are hoping to see Courreges and Mugler's online shows as soon as possible. We will keep you posted.

Pavlovsky: Our mindset is to be careful, we don’t want to go too fast. It’s not about celebrating so much but about getting back to something much easier, more normal, by September.

"Black has a spectral nature — on the one hand it's very dominant, powerful, and intimidating, while on the other it's kind of vulnerable, melancholic, and sensitive." For London-based photographer Marcus Schaefer, the color black has a compelling power — it can articulate the complexity of emotions and translate them into avenues of personal escape. 

Hailing from southern Germany, Schaefer took up photography as a creative venture to explore the world around him during his student years at the Academy of Fashion and Design in Munich. He slowly matured his photography style after improving his skills and understanding the industry through an internship at a photographer's studio, one that embraces the emotional dimension of black and white aesthetics. 

With competition on the market steadily increasing, and amateur content threatening the value of photography, Schaefer addresses how uphill battles are attempts at individual communication and unique storytelling. "Although photography offers a variety of freedoms, in a digital world flooded with images and other artists trying to do the same, it is still very hard to find your individual voice," he says. The photographer's driving force is counteracting these emotions with a sense of excitement and a growing desire to capture his current state of mind. "Being a freelance photographer can often come with a lot of downtime between jobs and also the accumulation of creative energy and ideas that urge release," he adds. 

Schaefer is finding avenues of escape and communication through the visual aesthetics of black and white photography in a world overwhelmingly dominated by color images. His photographs are questioning the false preconception that black and white photography is obsolete and less expressive by exploring intimacy, openness and abstraction. The photographer places the black color at the core of his work, using it as a central component of his visual messaging. Black is newly interpreted in creative ways, as the absence of color and the absorption of light. To create a complex network of new meanings in the images, Schaefer overturns the paradigm of black and white — black acquires weakness and softness, becoming the object of a modern embroidery of representation. 

His work is never merely conventional, as shown by the selection of images in this feature: philosophical pictures, traversing between figuration and abstraction, offering delight in the imperfection. There are also still lives and images of the scenery, which establish a picture of seductive allure. Schaefer's compelling commitment to monochrome and the emotional tenor casts a unifying net over the disparate genres of photography. The heterogeneous images, grouped together, extend the creative potential of the medium, conveying both the arenas in which Schaefer participates and the spaces he deliberately creates for his art. 

Schaefer's artistic work reflects tranquility that is sensual and haunting. "The photography has a spectral nature," he says. "It may have a dark dimension that consumes it — something between life and the afterlife. I'm very intrigued by that and it's very much in line with my obsession with the 'black' non-color." Schaefer explores this 'between' experience; his surreal images torment us with their eerie reverberation of the unseen. This spectrality is accentuated through image manipulation. With poses, arrangements, mirrors, distortions, altered light levels and minimal retouching, he adds a surreal twist, creating an interplay between fiction and reality. 

Schaefer does not care about technical perfection; instead, he is intrigued by spontaneity and imprecision. "My approach to photography and the techniques that I use are often meant to encourage the error in a picture in order to obtain unplanned and unintended results." The element of error in all his creative endeavors is fundamental. "Working on my drawings helped honor this particular 'error' in photography, as these mistakes occur a lot when I draw," he explains. Schaefer is also a painter and a drawer, beyond photography, he uses his holistic understanding of art to inform his photographic choices and evocative storytelling. "Drawing helps me to understand my photographic path, and to guide it." "Over time, charcoal drawings have become my visual compass and I now consider them to be some kind of umbilical cord connecting those two worlds of me." 

Photography and drawing merge seamlessly into his work, creating new concepts within his work while arresting all feelings and capturing his individual truth perception. "I want to allow one form to merge into another and to create a certain otherworldliness by blurring outlines and modulating tones," he continues. This results in images that are almost a hybrid type of painting, containing complex, whimsical, and abstracted compositions that unleash his intuitive style and energize it further. "The very notion of a managed chaos, the harmonious arrangement of objects and the interplay of lights and shadows have become firm components in both mediums of my artistic vision," he continues. 

"I prefer not to film the exact image of something, but to capture my own perception of what's in front of my eyes. It's more about creating a particular atmosphere or feeling than static reality reproduction." His pictures extend the reality of their subjects while telling us something about how the photographer relates to the world. He gives the viewers the ability to own fragments of his own reality in this. "I love to take the viewer on a journey through my mind and the visual world; to produce images that channel my energies of visions and thoughts, rather than capturing the exact likeness of life as we know it and live it every day," he continues. 

What distinguishes the work of Schaefer is not only the virtuosity with which he presents comparisons, but the fact that he creates imagery in direct dialog with one's own emotional domain. Not only does he imprint on the photos his creative personality but he wants his pictures to reflect the emotions that created them. "My drawings and photographs both depict an emotional communication with the audience — the perception of individuals is never really identical and that's what I love about them," he concludes.

Oftentimes, fashion designers find themselves in photography creating beautiful visual range coherent with their collections. Hedi Slimane, Thierry Mugler are amongst them. You should definitely check out Hedi Slimane's photo diary. What do you think about his art?

Schaefer is being intrigued by how we experience imagery in today's digital world; one that is characterized by the multiplicity and ease of capturing, circulating, sharing and disposing images.

MARCUS SCHAEFER: EMBODYING EMOTIONS VIA PHOTOGRAPHY

On 22 May, the digital catwalk show was live-streamed via an IGTV video, as Hanifa's founder Anifa Mvuemba showcased the looks of her ready-to-wear Pink Label Congo clothing line in the form of 3D renders draped on "ghost" models. 

While many would assume that the virtual catwalk was a result of the current Covid-19 quarantine conditions, Mvuemba said that during the sampling process of the brand she has been using virtual figures in her work for quite a while as mockups. 

"I wanted all of this to be part of our marketing campaign," she explained. 

"When the Covid-19 stay home orders unexpectedly occurred I was already working on these creations and saw it a chance to innovate and inspire given the constraints." 

"During those times, the 3D designs kept me sane and intrigued," the designer added. 

While Mvuemba did not disclose the exact method of development, she compares the framework of working with a 3D model to work with a human model. 

"I'm always wilful about the model's shapes and curves," she said. "Same as our garments, our 3D models are inspired by women because we are designing for women." 

Mvuemba also mentioned that she was initially afraid to go through her virtual fashion show in the light of the pandemic. 

"News came out about how bad things were and I started to feel very depressed about how everything is going on," she said. 

"I began to feel like maybe making and posting a new collection online would be disrespectful when people were facing very challenging realities." 

Despite her doubts, Mvuemba agreed to go ahead with the virtual display – in which more than 10,000 spectators tuned in – to make her work more open by giving everyone "a front-row seat" 

"We understand that some people may never experience a week of fashion or a showcase of Hanifa, so we wanted to make a show for our audience on a daily basis," she said. "It was then that Instagram was the obvious alternative." 

Soon after the show, Twitter and other social media platforms shared clips of the virtual garments, so they went viral, hailed as "groundbreaking." 

Mvuemb's capsule collection was inspired by her hometown in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and more specifically the "majestic women" who live there. 

She incorporated the country's elements into the detailing, stitching, and color of the garments. 

"The red symbolizes suffering, the blue symbolizes peace, and the yellow stands for hope, both Congo flag colors," she said. 

The ribbed Kinshasa Backless Mini Dress – named after the capital of the country – features a tritone palette taken from the Congolese flag, designed to "mirror the strength of the Congolese people's past." 

"The A-Line silhouette personifies releasing past pain and our backless design invites future peace and hope," the product description reads. "The exaggerated sleeves lie for an added layer of tension over your fingertips." 

Other important pieces included a wide-leg denim jumpsuit, a white stretch-satin skirt designed to highlight "the strength in the hips of a woman," and the floor-length silk Mái gown printed with a Congo River image closed the show.

"I expect women to gage meaning from every collection," Mvuemba said. "Hanifa is about more than just clothing. We are creating women who aspire to be limitless." 

"When each piece was created, I have been reminded of the stories my mom told me about the women she knew back in Congo," she said. "Women who suffered a great loss but still, gathered every ounce of strength to show up every day." 

"My hope is that these garments are going to inspire all women to stand tall in their power and use their history, beautiful or painful, like the Democratic Republic of Congo, to reshape their future." 

Mvuemba often refers to her research on the colonial inequalities in Central Africa, and to raise the consciousness of the corruption, bribery and forced labor of illicit coltan mining in the DRC – a mineral used as a condenser in electronics such as mobile phones and laptops. 

She hopes that her job will be "part of the solution".

In collaboration with Responsible Sourcing Network, Hanifa released their Collette t-shirt, which will see 20 percent of the proceeds donated to organizations that combat illicit coltan mining. 

Coronavirus has affected many fashion brands, unable to host any physical shows in which to showcase their collections. Big fashion houses like Celine, Courreges, Mugler, Rick Owens are among those.

Invisible models wore 3D-rendered garments in a virtual display that has been kept on Instagram Live by Congolese company Hanifa to showcase their new fashion line. 

HANIFA'S 3D COLLECTION GOES LIVE ON INSTAGRAM

Alessandro Michele, artistic director of Gucci, has announced that the Italian brand will ignore the "stale" deadlines of the fashion calendar, holding shows only twice a year instead to reduce waste. 

He explains Gucci will abandon the traditional fashion rota of staging five shows a year under the cruise, pre-fall, spring-summer and fall-winter seasonal labels. Instead, on its own terms, the fashion brand will be presenting shows regularly only twice a year. 

"Two appointments per year is more than enough to allow time for creative thinking and to give this system more time," Michele said on Monday 25 May at a virtual press conference broadcast from his Rome studio. 

The decision, he says, comes in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic which led him to rethink the sense of his actions and to change a lot of things in the way he worked. 

"Our history is littered with crises that did nothing to teach us," Michele announced. "With economic collapses and social devastations which have been tackled by imposing the same recipes they originated from." 

"This present, therefore, encourages us to have additional responsibilities. This situation has somehow amplified such transformative urgency that can no longer be delayed. I will abandon the worn-out seasonal ritual." 

The Italian brand has no plans to arrange a show in September – when Milan Fashion Week would usually showcase their new collection. 

"It's an audacious but necessary foundational act that aims to build a new creative universe," he says. "A universe that becomes necessary in the subtraction of events and oxygenates by the multiplication of words." 

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the news of Gucci comes at a time when fashion weeks across the globe are starting to move into digital formats.

Saint Laurent have recently announced they are going to stick to a similar schedule. Waiting for the official statements from big brands such as Rick Owens, Mugler, Courreges, Victoria Beckham. Will keep you updated.

GUCCI ABANDONS THE RITUAL OF TRADITIONAL FASHION SCHEDULE

The fashion industry's "enfant terrible," Jean Paul Gaultier's career began with a film: "Paris Frills" by Jacques Becker. He has been taking constant inspiration from the silver screen ever since, paying tribute to the cinema in his designs as well as working with costume designers.

Gaultier grew up fascinated by the bourgeoning popular culture that he witnessed through the small screen lens. When the young designer saw the French film Falbalas (or Paris Frills) broadcasted on television, he was instantly agitated by the moods of Parisian fashion depicted therein. 

Epicurean love story by the British film director, Peter Greenaway, The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (1989), is a phantasmagoric and visually lush movie that proved to be a perfect vehicle for the costume designs of Jean Paul Gaultier. According to Helen Mirren, who was starring in the film, Greenaway and Gaultier shared a similar sensibility, each sharing an original, fearless to be controversial and personal, an intensely visual approach.

Pedro Almodóvar might say the same. The Truth or Dare documentary, which followed Madonna on her Blond Ambition tour, inspired Almodóvar to offer Gaultier to create costumes for his Kika movie. This was the first of many collaborations between the director and the designer, both of whom have been named as the awful children of their industries. 

The French directors Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet recognized a kindred spirit in Jean Paul Gaultier after watching Greenaway's The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover. As the designer shared his appreciation for their first feature, Delicatessen, Caro and Jeunet invited him to create the costumes for the second feature film of the duo Le cité des enfants perdus. 

Luc Besson's 1997 hit The Fifth Element is the most well-known film featuring Jean Paul Gaultier's costumes. A spectacular, action-packed full-of-adventures movie stars Bruce Willis — who appears as the avatar of the designer, wearing a cut-out orange top with bleached blond hair — and Milla Jovovich as the fifth element that is going to save the universe. 

Gaultier was drawn to the highly visual way Besson's characters were expressed. In Besson's movie, you can always read Gaultier's thought: "before saying a single word, you must be able to read the personality of the character just from their look." 

Jean Paul Gaultier continues to design film costumes and, most recently, revisited his work with Almodóvar in Bad Education (2004) and The Skin I Live In (2011).

French designers Andre Courreges and Thierry Mugler have also been involved in costume design not only once throughout their careers.

Falbalas, the film that inspired Gaultier to embark on his fashion odyssey.

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