Fiorucci Imagery

It is right there beneath the surface. Whenever TI looks at the kids on the streets these days with all that color clashing, all that kitsch all that vibrancy we feel the tremors of a Fiorucci comeback. Founded in 1967 in Italy by Elio Fiorucci to bring the style of Swinging London to young Italians, the New York off-shoot of the shop (in Bloomingdale's) during the 1980's saw the likes of Marc Jacobs and a young Madonna and ID mag's Terry Jones, gallivanting through the premises. You could fully sense the influence that Fiorucci aesthetic had on the early imagery of these generation-defining mavericks. Early Madonna was a walking Fiorucci pastiche and the early Marc Jacobs exhibited a penchant for kitsch that he later refined into a kind of jaded irony as he grew older. Also cruise any of the first 15 issues of ID magazine online and you'll see color strategies and graphic design motifs straight out of Fiorucci.
How NY needs a store like that once more! The amount of failed "Colette's" clogging the retailscape of NY cries out for correction. The Fiorucci comeback attempt of the late 90's was the wrong time and the wrong place but TI is convinced that if the brand doesn't sense its moment, a hundred imitators are about to raid its archives and make bank on all those fun ideas. Keep your eyes on those SS09 runways and you'll see what we mean.

Madonna:Meisel. Vanity Fair April 08: via the fashionspot/vanityfair.com

TI loves the mad mixing of influences and references going in in the KMBA flyers. Viva NY!

A great part of the myth of NY living (which I'm getting into again) is the dream of walking through the night dressed with as much freak appeal as you want to. Its about walking into a cavernous black hall with the speakers pumping a baseline so deep, it threatens to obliterate your heartbeat.You descend to the dancefloor and grinding on that pit is a multi-cultural , polysexual mixed bag of fashion students, art school drop outs, trust fund brats, club kids, drag queens, sexy babes, boy toys and uhm...models (preferably of high campaign distinction). Ruling above it all is usually a god-like figure...the legendary DJ.

The Most Recent Triumph: PH: Meisel Vogue Italia Dec 07

This is what the love of fashion can spawn. Our very devoted fashion contributer Max, has just outlined a veritable THESIS on directional fashion photographer Steven Meisel. Intense no? If Max does pull it off, this could well be a scholarly book sold in college bookstores worldwide. Make room Madonna!
The Imagist.

Image from The Face styled by Ray Petri

We took an earlier look at the work of ex-Buffalo member, Judy Blame. Now Max , one of our fashion correspondents weighs in wonderfully on the legacy of Buffalo's founder, Ray Petri.

Early 1980’s through mid 1980’s – Ray Petri/Stylist for THE FACE MAGAZINE. The various editorials that Ray Petri created for THE FACE MAGAZINE during this time period were groundbreaking and still are influential to this day. He was inspired by street culture, ‘bad boys,’ Jamaican Ragamuffin culture, East Indians, blacks, punk whites, rude boys, mods, New Romantics, boxers, Bob Marley’s BUFFALO SOLDIER song, Vivienne Westwood’s Buffalo collection, Malcom McClaren’s BUFFALO GIRL song, and Native American imagery, resulting in a fashion movement labeled “BUFFALO”.

Images from The Face styled by Ray Petri

The editorials he created during this period jump started and influenced major industry people such as Jean Baptiste-Mondino, Mark Lebon, Jamie Morgan, Cameron McVey, Naomi Campbell, Neneh Cherry, Massive Attack, Bomb the Bass, Nellee Hooper,