The flurry of printed matter from Urban Outfitters never fails to impress me, and even if there's an aesthetic 'off' note (for me, the jury is still out on the spring 2011 lookbook shot by Harmony Korine), the fact remains that UO seem to put collaboration and freehand interpretation first and product second. Say what you will about Urban Outfitters 'hipster' intentions or pretensions (again, the jury is out...), somehow their lookbooks, with their lovely paperstock and heavy scent, keeps them firmly on my bookshelf where others have fallen by the wayside and have been disposed of. I suspect this is down to the work of art director and designer Monica Nelson who has been working with Urban Outfitters since 2008. **EDIT** Trust me to trust the wise words of Its Nice That. The art director of most of UO's printed matter including this Martin Parr lookbook is in fact Joanna Ewing. Apologies for the mis-credit.
Their latest lookbook to have dropped through is their summer 2011, which follows the ambitious Harmony Korine effort, with another surprising collaboration with documentary British photographer Martin Parr. You can brush up a bit using Wikipedia but a quick click on his website will immediately tell you that Parr is not yer' average photographer where good and proper taste rules all. Actually a lot of his work leaves you feeling slightly dirty. Not because his work is necessarily pornographic or gratuitously violent but because he captures mundane life with a satirical eye - you don't know whether he's laughing at his subjects or celebrating them. He's probably most famous for his "The Last Resort: Photographs of New Brighton" series where you get a feel for all the unintentionally funny trivialities that day trippers go through when out on a typical British seaside resort...
Since then, Parr has travelled around the world photographing the nouveau riche at Goutte d'Or, how Chinese people hang out on their own native beaches and the tourist industry of Machu Picchu. Perhaps his collaboration with Urban Outfitters isn't such a surprise when you read one of his blog entries that documents his jaunt around the recent Paris Fashion Week in March, where he was both bewildered and enchanted by high fashion all at once (he hadn't a clue what Celine was...). For the lookbook, he was tasked with placing Urban Outfitters high summer items in the context of Marrakech in Morroco, and I think he's done it in the a way that is instantly recognisable as Parr, whilst at the same time making the objects at hand covetable as well as looking a bit funny against their backdrops. Once again the ridicule of tourist trap surrealities, a common theme in Parr's work, is at play here...
Aleph by a Peace Treaty necklace in amongst dentures...
Banana yellow and banana phone along with token monkey...
What's interesting in this collaboration is that the product comes off looking covetable, showcasing a range in Parr's photography that may well open him up to more fashion commissions should he desire it. I've come away wanting this Deena & Ozzy transparent bag.
This shot is priceless but it's a shame these Jeffrey Campbell shoes are somewhat problematic. I'm probably in the minority of fashion bloggers who DON'T own a pair of Jeffrey Campbell shoes but I don't generally have a problem with their designs. This however takes the biscuit. They are of course a complete rip-off of the 1938 Salvatore Ferragamo rainbow shoe designed for Judy Garland. Alright, alright they copy designer shoes and they have named the shoe 'Salvatore' but why pick such an ICONIC design especially when Ferragamo themselves have re-issued the shoe as part of their Ferragamo's Creations line? Baffling...
On a more positive note, the other things that I'm keeping an eye on include this Cambridge Satchel Company vivid orange satchel...
...as well as these Bass for Rachel Antonoff loafers.
In other UO printed news, these images have been around the block a bit, but I did want to applaud the diligence of their latest Around the World project, which is sort of a replica of the Boutiques section of UK Urban Outfitters (probably hearing cries from State-siders who complained about UK UO stocking designers), selecting a similar wave of designers from around the world but for this second round of 'Around the World', UO have worked with up and coming photographer, also from around the world to shoot these designer pieces...
The pairings are striking and have had me flicking through the lookbook at least once a week since I got the lookbook a few months ago...
Charlie Engman from Chicago shoots Stockholm's Rodebjer S/S 11 collection, which I loved when I saw the show last summer...
Roman Noven and Tania Schlegova from Kiev, Ukraine uses compelling photo collaging to depict another Swedish brand The Local Firm...
Of all the photographers featured, I'm most familiar with Korea-based Hasisi Park who gives Aussie label Shakuhachi's clothes, an eerie blue tinge...
You've got to be impressed with the photo commissioning when they go to Harbin in China to find photography duo Zhang Jungang & Li Jie to shoot British label YMC in an unexpected way...
Same goes for Mariam Sitchinava of Tbilisi in Georgia who took on the innocent romance of French label Sessun...
