the denise van leeuwen issue

I've recently become acquainted with the work of Dutch illustrator Denise van Leeuwen. Working with recycled paper, fineliner, coloured pencils, photoshop and mainly graphite and inspired by fashion and advertisements of the 1960's, amongst other inspirations, the illustrator creates images with quirk and charm, very eclectic and diverse in their range and scope, some professional commissions, others personal work and drawings for friends and family I love this hand generated aesthetic and the characters and their emotions she portrays.

all images sourced from http://denisevanleeuwen.com/

the blah blah blah issue

Having a closer look into the work of former Raygun magazine (as mentioned in my previous post) Art Director Chris Ashworth, I stumbled across another magazine in this same vein, produced by Ashworth, Britain's answer to Raygun magazine, Blah Blah Blah. The magazine was short lived but nevertheless has some more amazing explorations into typography and graphic design layout to draw inspiration from.

all images sourced from http://www.chris-ashworth.com/

the raygun issue

California based rock-and-roll magazine was an alternative magazine, first published in 1992 that was known for its experimental exploration into typography and graphic design in its layouts, as well as its approach to advertising and choice of content, often introducing artists such as Bjork, Radiohead and Beck before any other magazine had heard of them. Unfortunately the magazine ceased to exist in 2000 but it was a forerunner in experimental magazine publishing and though sometimes (ok, often) unreadable, its covers, spreads and layouts are so visually exciting and expressive it really doesn't matter to me.

I think its a brilliant magazine to draw inspiration from for this punk/grunge alternative aesthetic and hand-generated feel.

all images sourced from http://www.chris-ashworth.com/

the tales of the unexpected issue

As a youngster I always had a love and fascination for the tales of Roald Dahl, so imagine my delight when I stumbled across this editorial by UK Vogue in honour of the great author himself. For the editorial which featured in the Vogue Fantastic Fashion issue Vogue enlisted the help of Tim Burton (me likey) as well as an entourage of other well known quirky characters such as Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton and musician Lightspeed Champion. I love the way the already obscure tales of Dahl have been appropriated to create brilliant, highly stylised images of high fashion. It's a visual delight, every image making the viewer look twice and just that little bit closer to figure out just exactly what is happening in the frame.

Tales of the Unexpected

Photography by Tim Walker

Written accompaniment by Sophie Dahl (daughter of Roald)

all images sourced from http://trendland.net/2008/11/11/tales-of-the-unexpected/

the hard as nails issue

Ok so, i'm probably just a little too obsessed with Dazed and Confused but I just thought i'd share another great editorial of theirs, this time from a back issue. From the July 2009 issue, an editorial depicting the modern day punk, rips, studs, leather clad and all. I love the styling and the photography of this shoot, it creates a persona for each of the characters depicted, they transcend from models to individuals with their own personalities and emotions.

Hard as Nails

Photography by Ben Toms

Styling by Katie Shillingford

all images sourced from http://www.dazeddigital.com