Mal - Aimée

Photographed By Pauline Forje

Frozen Time

Photographed By Isabel Nilsson

"When we consider how great our sorrows seem, and how small they are; how we think we shall die of grief, and how quickly we forget, I think we ought to be ashamed of ourselves and our fickle-heartedness. For, after all, what business has Time to bring us consolation?"

- The Memoires of Barry Lyndon A review in quotes.

The Death Of A Vampire

Photographed By Ellinor Forje

“I am nothing, lifeless, soulless, hated and feared. I am dead to all the world. I am the monster that breathing men would to kill.” 

This self-reflective declaration, spoken by one of Victorian literature’s most infamous characters, Bram Stoker’s antagonist, foreshadows the vampire’s cultural fate centuries later. In his existentialist speech to his beloved Mina, he anticipates a world that would metaphorically drive a stake through his heart, leaving the archetypal vampire, once feared and revered, to bleed out under the knives of modern literary taste.

Outside the Coop bookstore, manager Nancie Scherier sits with her significant other, enjoying ice cream on a warm July day. She wears a black tailored dress paired with an oversized black bag, her hairstyle reminiscent of “Vogue’s” Anna Wintour. “She's a tremendous reader,” notes her companion Rick. Scherier counts Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries among her favorite works in the vampire genre. She also appreciates Stoker’s Dracula, stressing “Yes, ”as in “Yes I do,” when asked. She is, however, not a fan of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, despite its commercial success. While the Coop does not release sales figures, Scherier confirms that Stoker’s Dracula no longer commands the shelves as it once did.

Given the enduring public fascination with vampires, evidenced by the circulation of 1,100 new vampire titles in 2010, and acknowledging that Stoker’s work helped establish the modern vampire, one might justifiably ask: “When and how did the prototypal vampire in literature and film become obsolete?”

Vampires have captivated human imagination across cultures and epochs, appearing in ancient Assyrian, Indian, Greek, Babylonian, and African folklore. Anne Rice revived the narrative in her bestselling Vampire Chronicles, while 5.3 million viewers tune in every Sunday to HBO’s critically acclaimed series “True Blood,” drawn to the living-dead inhabitants, and the “fang bangers” of the fictional town of Bon Temps. The literary evolution of the vampire, from mythological creature to resident of a television township, was first paved by John Polidori’s The Vampyre: A Tale (1819).

Yet it was Stoker’s portrayal of a nocturnal, mortifying, enigmatic, aristocratic, narcissistic, heterosexual alpha-male that crystallized the vampire as a quintessential figure from the late nineteenth through the twentieth century. Dracula became synonymous with the word “vampire,” his image immortalized on screen, from F. W. Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu to 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, starring Gary Oldman.

By the late twentieth century, however, the allure of Dracula had diminished. The 1992 film marked the last significant cinematic adaptation of Stoker’s novel. Contemporary audiences, captivated by the $300 million success of Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Amazon’s current “Bestsellers in Vampire Romances,” demonstrate a shift toward vampires reimagined as sensual, romantic, and often domesticated figures. Freudian psychology frames the vampire as an embodiment of two fundamental human impulses: Eros, or sexual desire, and the tension between the wish to die and the longing for eternal life. Yet modern society no longer finds these qualities fully encapsulated in a single archetypal character. Social paradigms demand diversity, a need presciently recognized by Anne Rice in the 1970s. Her Vampire Chronicles introduced a multi-dimensional cast of vampires varying in race, sexual orientation, and psychic complexity.

“We saw the remorseful vampire,” observes Dr. Sue Schopf, referring to Louis in Rice’s novels and his lament over the loss of humanity. Schopf, seated behind a Victorian-inspired desk reminiscent of the 1994 Interview with the Vampire set, is striking in her black curls, gold jewelry, black coat, and red chemise. Speaking with a southern accent, she emphasizes the final “t” in Lestat and the last four letters in Nosferatu with a Southern belle inflection. Schopf contextualizes Stoker’s Dracula within its historical moment, marked by female subordination, colonial rule, ecclesiastical influence, xenophobia, homophobia, and limited scientific understanding. Yet, she notes, evolving cultural landscapes demand new vampires—hence the flamboyant, homosexual alpha-male Russell in “True Blood,” who declares, "Mine is the true face of vampires!"

Post-September 11 uncertainty, the age of terrorism, and economic instability fostered a desire for a less threatening, more family-oriented vampire. In Harris’ and Meyer’s narratives, some vampires eschew human blood entirely. In The Southern Vampire Mysteries, for instance, vampires may subsist on the synthetic substitute “Tru Blood.” Despite transformation, the nocturnal creature remains vital. Many of its defining traits were catalogued, or invented, by Stoker in his 1897 novel.

Chapter 18 outlines Dracula’s perceived strengths and weaknesses, a framework both adhered to and adapted by subsequent vampire literature. A recurring motif, as seen in Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, holds that a vampire’s power grows with age. Dracula is 113 years old this year. When he marked his centennial in 1997, writers including Stephen King and Naomi Wolf paid tribute at the “Dracula Centennial: Aesthetics of Fear Conference” in New York.

Nonetheless, considering the cultural spectacle surrounding an undead figure’s birthday, has Count Dracula truly fallen from grace?

“How has he fallen from grace, was he ever 'in grace?' asks Harvard Professor Davíd Carrasco. “You might say that every generation gets the Dracula it ‘deserves' meaning the one it creates. Therefore Dracula is a 'mirror' an aesthetic mirror of different subcultures that flock to his story and then project their own fears and desires onto his nocturnal powers. Like all these heroes of our unconscious made conscious: He will rise again,” Carrasco continues, emphasizing the word, “will.”

An Alternative State Of Shock

Photographed By: Elvira Gligoric
Make-up: Gabriella Mattson
Clothes Provided By: Shock
Styled By: Ellinor Forje

A few years ago, on my way into town, I noticed a girl in a striking purple velvet coat. Her style resisted easy definition. It was alternative, certainly, but more than that, it felt like a deliberate fusion of influences, a quiet refusal to belong to any single aesthetic. She had gathered fragments from countless subcultures and made them entirely her own. One individual, her own tribe.

She told me she had found the coat on a website called Drac -in- a -Box. What stayed with me was not just the coat, but her observation, people often admire such pieces, yet rarely buy them. They hesitate, convinced it is not “them”, that anything tinged with goth or morbidity lies outside their identity.

I was reminded of a gift I once bought for my brother, a beautifully understated shirt in a soft beige grey, with a delicate pencil sketch of Mickey Mouse at its center. At first, he refused to wear it beyond the privacy of his home. He insisted it wasn’t for him. This, from someone who had grown up loving Disney. It took some persuading to get him to wear it to work, just once, on a casual Friday. The response was immediate and enthusiastic. From that point on, the shirt moved effortlessly through his life, worn to work, to social gatherings, to nights out. What had once felt like a risk became a staple, validated by the approval of others.

Designers such as Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood have long drawn inspiration from the streets of London, from those who dress instinctively, without waiting for permission. Yet when these same ideas appear on runways or in glossy magazines, they are suddenly deemed acceptable, even desirable. We forget that the originality we admire was always present, long before it was curated and endorsed.

So why the hesitation?

Independence in style begins with a willingness to step beyond what feels familiar. Seek out what you instinctively resist, and wear it with conviction. What once seemed foreign may, in time, feel entirely your own.

Giveaway

Photographed By Ellinor Forje

ENTER TO WIN A PAIR OF BOOTS
A new pair of boots, perhaps? The boots by Pleasure, worn by the model in the blog entry "Alternative State Of Shock" can be your fair weather friends. You just need to answer a series of questions, and complete a sentence. The boots are the actual boots worn by the model in the fashion shoot, and come in the size:

US 10
UK 7.5
EU 41
CM 26

About The Competition

It's simple. Complete the sentence; "If the boots were mine, this is how I would wear them..."

You are allowed to use any medium, as for example poems, drawings, photographs, vlogs etc, to present your style. As long as it's descriptive, any thing goes.

Your competition entry should be sent to p@gmail.com with an address specification as to where you want the boots sent.

The competition is open until Cinderella or Dorothy comes along. The boots will be shipped to where ever you are - free of charge!
Break a leg.

The Emperor's New Clothes

Illustrations By Ellinor Forje

“Look at the Emperor’s new clothes. They’re beautiful.”

That was exactly what I thought, before sitting down to recreate one of the photographs from a Valentino campaign I had seen in Vogue a few seasons ago. The other illustrations are sketches of editorial spreads I’ve encountered and admired across various magazines.

I love Valentino. I love the way he celebrates the hourglass silhouette, a reminder that I have yet to watch "Valentino: The Last Emperor". In the documentary, we are told, through Giancarlo Giammetti, that Valentino’s love of colour, pattern, and fabric is matched only by his devotion to le bronzage.

Such vanity, perhaps.

But then again, it is a kind of vanity that feels permissible when your name is Valentino Garavani.

Fashion Is Dead

Photographed By Fohnjang Ghebdinga 


Fashion remains dead. And we have killed it.

Could it be?

Today, I came across an interesting blog with the captivating title, Fashion Doesn't Exist. It made me plunge right into a fashion existentialistic state of shock. Did it never exist? Or did it, and we killed it? If no, then what? If yes, then how can we comfort ourselves, the fashion murderes that we are?

Aquarelle Sur Papier

Illustrations By Ellinor Forje

Watercolour on paper. Spring 2009.

The Measure Of A Chef

               Photographed By Ellinor Forje

 

Pooja Dhingra is funny, a fact her classmates at Le Cordon Bleu readily point out. Yet she appears entirely oblivious to her own charm and to the ease with which people are drawn to her. Her English carries the lilt of a Bollywood actress, and her beauty is quietly blossoming. Dhingra seems to embody a line from a Britney Spears song, poised delicately between youth and self assured womanhood.

Her personality is an intriguing composite of culinary icons. She possesses the assertiveness of Gordon Ramsay, albeit without the expletives. She carries the approachable, almost archetypal appeal associated with Jamie Oliver. She also exudes a certain sass and sensual confidence reminiscent of Nigella Lawson. Though only half Lawson’s age, Dhingra is equally ambitious, with expansive plans and a clear awareness of the obstacles that lie ahead.

Currently completing a Diploma in French Pastry at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Dhingra intends to return to India to establish her own chain of pastry shops in Mumbai. She is under no illusions about the challenges she will face as a young woman entering a male dominated business landscape. "People don’t take you seriously," she said, in a soft spoken voice, yet firm in her speech. At times, when reaching out to potential business contacts, the response has been abrupt dismissal; "My father would have to call," she said.

Raised in a family deeply rooted in the food and catering industry, Dhingra did not always envision herself as a chef. After high school, she briefly pursued law in India, only to realise within a month that it was not her calling. She withdrew from the programme and moved to Switzerland to study at Cézar Ritz Colleges. In 2007, she graduated with a Bachelor of International Business in Hotel and Tourism Management, and in 2008 relocated to France to refine her pastry skills. She does not regard her brief foray into law as wasted time. "By trial, that’s how you learn," she said.

Looking ahead, Dhingra plans to establish a centralised kitchen in Mumbai, from which pastries will be distributed to her various outlets. She has already conceptualised her brand. "French technique, Indian flavour," she said, and continues, "the key will be to find a common ground, you have to tweak the recipes to suit the ingredients available in India, and the temperature." Her menu will also feature chocolate pralines, inspired by her internship with chocolatier Jean Charles Rochoux during her year in Paris. Her venture will be named Le 15, after the arrondissement where she lived and spent most of her time.

Catherine Baschet, development manager at Le Cordon Bleu, speaks with enthusiasm about Dhingra’s entrepreneurial drive at such a young age. "She's very focused and determined at the age of 23," she said. Having already collaborated with Dhingra on a workshop project in India, Baschet anticipates further partnerships.

Dhingra represents a generation of highly educated young women steadily reshaping India’s business landscape. Despite this, she remains modest about her achievements. "I don't think I am an inspiration yet. But, hopefully one day I could be." she said.

La Pâtisserie

Photographed By Ellinor Forje

Gate 38

Photographed By: Elvira Gligoric
Make-up: Gabriella Mattson
Styled By: Ellinor Forje
Modell: G.S
Clothes By: My Wardrobe

"I've had some of my best conversations with strangers, she said, because they have no idea who they're dealing with."
-StoryPeople

Gate 38, is an art gallery located in the central part of Malmö, Sweden (just a stone's throw away from the Danish capital). And the artwork decorating the walls of its interior space, is as colourful as its owner, Monika Österheim.

Österheim likes meeting new people, "Everything is about encounters" she said. That is why she likes travelling. A few years ago, on of her journeys to the U.S., she came across an exhibition showcasing StoryPeople, and decided then that she had to meet its creator. The rest is art history. Today she has distribution rights to their products in Sweden. And about a week ago, the man behind the brand, the business partner of four years, Brian Andreas made a visit to the gallery, in lieu of the city's Culture's Night.

Gate 38 , is named after the street number its gate, or grind in Swedish, is located on. The gallery hosts 5-6 different exhibitions a year, along with other special events. The work by StoryPeople is always on display.

Another artisan, who also has a steady exposition at the gallery, is photographer Jan Olofsson. Olofsson's 43-year-long career in England is reflected in the images he's taken of some of the biggest personalities in music history. He recently collaborated with designer Soheil Norozi of L'ecole National to make his art, wearable.

Wearable art, is an art form highly appreciated by Österheim. "I'm a runway freak" she said, and further elaborated that she obsessively watches the Internet to catch the latest news in the world of haute couture. Karl Lagerfeld is ingenious and energetic." said Österheim. And she's as passionate about music as she is clothes. She frequently listens to old school Soul, Blues and Rock music; as well contemporary music. "New things spark my curiousity" said the gallery owner, and added, "Life has so much to offer".

38's Guide

Photographed By Elvira Gligoric

Art gallery owner, Monika Österheim, offers some pointers on how to become that successful person you want to be.

1. Be passionate about what it is that you want to achieve. Your vision has to be strong. But allow for flexibility. Don't be afraid to fail. The journey is everything. The goal itself, is nothing. There are no short cuts. Work hard and never give up.

2. Be open minded. The most fantastic opportunity is usually just around the corner. Find good people to work with. And Don't be afraid to ask people for help. You'll be amazed over how many people are willing to lend you a helping hand.

3. Don't be afraid to be who you are. It is from there that the personal and unique arises. Know your competition. And always trust your intuition.

In other words, do what is you.