In my current visit to Tel Aviv, I can’t ignore but noticing a common trend. Vintage! Or was it because I was visiting the old port in Jaffa the other day, where a busy, colorful vintage and flea market scene was taking place. I guess Tel Aviv is getting Vintage, and the more I saw it, the more I liked it. After a long shooting day in Jaffa, I met few friends for an early dinner. We were at that great restaurant, that holds a variety of old furniture, plates and kitchen ware. So eclectic! When I got my mint tea with the check, the waiter got it with a Nancy Reagan image! We couldn’t help but laughing how vintage can you go! Food was great, by the way :-)
My Laundry project started with one image. (above) I was walking in the quiet alleys of Jaffa on a Friday afternoon. It was two years ago, when I came for a Holiday visit on April. I love Fridays in Tel Aviv. It has a special atmosphere you don’t have anywhere in the World. The city slows down bit by bit, getting ready for the Shabat (Saturday, a day of relaxation). There is less traffic on the roads, public transportation disappears, people drink their coffees in the neighborhood cafes, gathering the Weekend’s newspapers under their arms, getting ready to have a nap after a long week of work. Tel Aviv’s beach is slowly getting empty from visitors and the sun has its own rhythm.
I was in Jaffa, waiting for a friend to join me for a shoot when I’ve heard a woman’s voice over my head. I lifted my head up and saw her hanging laundry. I waited for her to finish and then a breeze came and gave life and animated the laundry. Someone once told me that these images look like color marks in water. I couldn’t agree more.
Since then, ‘Intimacy under the Wires‘ project has become very popular. And in every visit to Israel, I keep coming back to these quiet alleys of Jaffa, the mixed city of Arabs and Jews, looking up the crumbling balconies to find laundry.
I am really excited to be featured in one of my favorite online Interactive magazines in Israel. This is a short article/interview with me for Zooz Interactive Magazine, Issue 8, in which I am talking about what inspires me in New York, the city I live and create in, and what ‘moves’ me forward. Obviously, Street Art.
I also mentioned a great video clip which inspires me every time I watch it. ‘The Beat of New York‘ by Tim Hahne.
I’m really excited to be featured in one of the most innovative, cutting edge interactive magazines in Israel and talk about my photography and my love of Street Art in the streets of New York City (p.18-19)
Issue no.8 is all about global cities in the World and the Art scene in them. Make sure to click on the link and turn on the volume. It’s an audio visual experience.
Drinking my morning coffee at the neighborhood cafe, running my morning run in Jardin du Luxembourg, visiting foundation Cartier instead of foundation Henri Cartier Bresson. Rue Vavin, Rue de Bac, Rue de Montparnasse, Cimetiere du Montparnasse, Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise just before sun down. 3 underwear and 1 bra at Oysho in Rue du Rennes. Invalides at dusk. Candles and perfumes at Astier de Villatte, crashing a cocktail party at Parfums Jovoy at Rue de Castigliore and getting tipsy from a merlot. Bubbly champagne with a local friend next to Pantheon, Cheese and baguette for dinner, soupe à l’oignon for dinner, chocolate noir pour le dessert. Quick coffee with Paris Trikkes, Quick walk to St. Sulpice while eating pistachio and chocolate Macarons. Great Pastries at Laduree, Rue de Buci’s food market, Boulevard Raspail’s stands. Walk along the crowded streets of Le Marais. M. Chat, Fred le Chevalier, Space invaders and Jef Aerosol at Place Starvinsky, just behind the Niki de Saint Phalle fountain. Food market at Les Enfants Rouges, Rose wine in the afternoon. Hotel de Ville at night. Guided tour at Mama Shelter hotel. Floral suitcases at the Merci store at Boulevard Beamarchais, color beads at BonTon next door. Pont de Bir Hakeim in a very sunny day. Marc Jacobs and Louis Vitton at Les Arts Decoratifs. Rue st. Honore on an empty Sunday. Barefoot lunch along the Seine river on a very sunny day. Oberkampf on Monday, crepe suzette for lunch, graffiti walk along Canal st. Martin. Seafood lunch outdoors. Gallerie Wallworks at rue Martel, semi private tour with a local French. St. Sebastien Froissart, Sweet Honey bread for breakfast, Colette store at rush hour. The Conran shop, Petit Pan and so many I can’t even pronounce. Glittery tour Eiffel after midnight, foggy Boulevard Montparnasse at sunrise. Laughing a lot with a good friend and making jokes of almost everything we cross by. Catching up with old friends, and finally meeting with new ones. Getting the answer of how many space invaders are in Paris and around the World, without really making an effort….Priceless.
There are those who associate the words ‘Japanese Fashion’ with a Kimono. There are those who would associate the words with Issey Miyake or Yohji Yamamoto, the two well known Japanese fashion designers, and there are those who would come up with the Harajuku Girls phenomena. All associations are true and valid
The Japanese women might be the only ones for whom the world’s most prestigious fashion designers have opened stores in Japan and designed special collections to fit their slim figures and their exquisite taste in Fashion. In the last decade, the number of working women in the age group of 35-45 is only growing stronger, due to the increase in employment opportunities for women and the changes in gender perception. These women are working longer hours, earn more and they want to promote and develop not only their career, but also themselves. They worship everything that has to do with luxury brands and their quality, and they invest a lot of effort, time and money in their appearance. A so-called consumer society.
One of the most influential Fashion companies in Japan, which has a great impact on how the Japanese woman will look, is H.P France. Don’t let the French name fool you; The company was originated in Japan and is now one of the major corporations that imports clothing, shoes, jewelry and fashion accessories of designers from Europe, North and Latin America as well as representing some local Japanese designers.
A brief History: The company was founded in Tokyo in 1984 and opened its first boutique, Lamp in Harajuku. Lamp was a combination of a clothing store and a gallery, showing Art works of young Japanese artists. (This combination was actually the beginning of a concept that combines Art and Fashion together and supports Art projects in various galleries. including the Art gallery in New York and Tokyo under the name HPgrp Gallery). In 1989 the company started working with buyers and fashion designers in France and right after opened an office in Paris, dealing mainly with importing clothes by young designers from France to Japan. A few years later, the company expanded its areas of operations to sell fashion accessories and jewelry and was able to create a buzz among Japanese women.
In 2001 a representative office was opened in New York and the company opened a special department of imported jeans. Among other things, the company began to import brands and young designers clothing from Argentina and Brazil and opened a public relations department to manage its own marketing, which focuses on marketing planning, graphic design, store and window design and maintenance of the company’s Web sites.
H.P France is currently employing approximately 600 employees and represents approximately 40 brands from around the world. It has 54 clothing stores only in Tokyo and additional 34 stores in other areas of Japan, Paris and New York
In addition, H.P. France is responsible for the establishment of a professional guide for manufacturers of fashion and exhibition. It is a great supporter of the Arts and has two galleries (New York and Tokyo) and for the last two years has launched and stood behind Shibuya Fashion Festival, which is the equivalent of Fashion Week in New York, Paris and Milan.
There is a big chance that in one of your subsequent visits to Tokyo, you will come across at least once, one of the 54 stores of H.P France, which are spectacular and inviting. Each boutique has its own unique identity and design. Only the words H.P France below the logo of the store, divulge the origin of the store. Beside the clothing, H.P France has a very popular line of accessories and accessories stores spread across the city. There is also a designated store for the Home, called H.P. Deco, which includes furniture, table ware, pillows, lamps, rugs, you name it.
Fashion Trends: While I was having a guided tour at the company’s headquarters and showroom in Harajuku, where I was walking among countless clothing racks, hangers, and shoes, it felt as discovering a magical treasure of the upcoming Spring-Summer collection, and I was lucky enough to get a glimpse of the upcoming Fashion trends: There is no doubt. It is going to be a quite colorful season or as described by one of the staff, ‘there will be many surprises in terms of combinations of colors, and it will not be boring, for sure’
Bold Pastels: There will be a great use of pink, yellow and turquoise blue colors, as well as lilac purple, mandarine orange, light peach and mint green.
Romantic- Modern style: A combination of classic elements such as floral lace, floral prints, fabrics with rounded trims with waves and geometric patterns together. The trend is to wear only one item or one print of bright color or floral print to create maximum performance.
Retro prints: Such as large flowers, geometric shapes, bright colors and airy patterns. Relaxed and fit
Pleats and pleated fabrics: Mostly skirts and dresses and the use of airy fabrics like chiffon or silk
High Waist: Pants or skirts will be waist high or above the waist, causing the small Japanese women to look taller
Gloss and shiny: A combination of one shiny color item to upgrade and complete the look
It is definitely going to be an interesting Spring and Summer season in Tokyo and I can’t wait to take more pictures.
