Christopher Esber. Images and text by Jean Kemshal-Bell.

As if on cue, after weeks of rain Sydney’s skies cleared to welcome in the Spring 2013 collections. With heavyweights Dion Lee and Josh Goot off the Australian Fashion Week schedule, it left the next generation of bright young stars to shine. Ellery, Zimmerman and Magdalena Velevska were highlights but it was Christopher Esber, with his superbly precise, nearly clinical collection, that stole our hearts.

Alice McCall

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Bec & Bridge

Christopher Esber

Ellery

Lisa Ho

Magdelena Velevska

Maticevski

We are Handsome

Zimmerman

Shirt, Thomsen. Shorts, Sarah Wayne. Necklace and ring, Les Nereides. Wedges, Asos.

Photography by Andrea Pola
Styling by Marie Dehe
Hair and makeup: Sess for Mademoiselle MU
Model: Angelique Brochery

Dress, Ysterike. Sunglasses, Persol.

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Left: Top, Toupy. Skirt, Manoush. Right: Dress, Ysterike. Scarf Epice. Socks, H&M. Shoes, C. Petula.

Left: Stevie Dance. Image by Maya Villiger. Right: Collage from Shop Ghost.

Stylist and editor Stevie Dance’s instantly recognizable, light-infused aesthetic evokes an ethereal purism that is as light and delightful as the chiffon seen dancing in the wind of several of the videos she worked on for Russh magazine, for which she served as editor-in-chief from 2009 to 2010. Now a freelance stylist and contributing editor to Oyster magazine, Stevie has taken her captivating vision and turned into the website SHOP GHOST. Resembling an online scrapbook of sorts, the site combines moodboards, offbeat styling bullets and original interviews with industry friends to curate an online shopping experience that connects the dots between online style stalking and commerce.

Jodie Kharas: Where did the name SHOP GHOST originate from?

Stevie Dance: I was brainstorming online ideas when I was out in Seattle on a job and we were staying in a haunted B&B. It was charming but undeniably full of spirits. I called my assistant one night as I was browsing online trying to ignore the creaks in the room, and somewhere in that SHOP GHOST came about.

Jodie: In an industry that is so saturated with new ways of marrying style and commerce, your concept is pretty fresh. Did you set out to do something new?

Stevie: I just felt that most people I knew were spending time browsing online in an unedited, pretty aimless way. I wanted to provide something that felt personalized and intentional.

Jodie: What triggers the “Ghost Loves” collages?

Stevie: They are regular inspiration boards, but twisted and dreamed up so they feel like ours. My editor and right-hand-man, Steff, is a wiz on Photoshop now!

Jodie: You are potentially doing the designers you feature a huge service by linking fashion consumers to products featured on their e-commerce sites. What was your reasoning behind such a direct link from wish list to checkout?

Stevie: I love being inspired by online content, but I always felt there was a step missing. I wanted SHOP GHOST’s online pages to really work for the reader and provide solutions and suggestions. I wanted to offer our readers ways to digest the inspirational aspects of the site within their own lives.

Jodie: Your website bio reads “creative consultant and stylist,” which came first?

Stevie: Oh, I don’t know… I always wanted to be a film critic. I somehow put my hand up here and there and I ended up doing this. I love working with images and people, and fashion allows me this. Styling is a great tool for self-expression.

Jodie: What was the last amazing thing you saw?

Stevie: My mum visiting me in New York [and we] walked up and down Bleeker Street looking for Simon and Garfunkel records, and [there were] those beautiful crab apple trees blossoming early in my favorite Twelfth Street garden in the Village.

Jodie: Who are your favorite designers/brands?

Stevie: Pedro Lourenco, JW Anderson, Dries Van Noten, Leutton Postle, Kenzo, Josh Goot, Lover, Stella McCartney, Delfina Delettrez, A.P.C., vintage [Martin] Margiela….

Jodie: What is good style?

Stevie: Wearing your clothes, rather than letting them wear you.

Jodie: What are you excited to wear this summer?

Stevie: A hat.

Left: (on Stella Maxwell at Ford Models) Shirt, model’s own. Blazer, Helmut Lang. Vintage bolo tie, stylist’s own. Right: (on Natalia Siodmiak at Supreme Models) T-shirt, vintage ’95 (customized by stylist). Pants, American Apparel. Pendant, Prete Bruno.

Eight aspiring models show up for what they think is a go-see. An hour later, they are dressed up by a sort of fairy godmother, who has replaced the customary ball gown and glass slippers with ripped jeans, ethnic prints and bolo ties. Photographer Van Sarki plays Prince Charming. This is a New York Cinderella story.

Photography by Van Sarki
Styling, Hair and Makeup: The Sherwin Associates

Left: (on Liv O’Driscoll at IMG Models) T-shirt, BLK DNM Navy. Headscarf, vintage Geoffrey Beene. Choker, vintage by Prete Bruno. Right: (on Erika Linder at Next Models) Jeans, Ksubi.

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Left: (on Cris Urena at New York Models): Blouse, vintage. Pants, Nicki Cozzolino. Right: (on Josephine Keuter at New York Models): Blouse, Nicki Cozzolino. Cutoffs, Ksubi. Jacket, vintage.

Left: (On Charlotte Wiggins at Supreme Models) Corset, blouse and pants, Nicki Cozzolino. Right:(on Dani Seitz at IMG Models) Shirt, BLK DNM. Pants, Nicki Cozzolino. Earring and pendant, Lee Brevard. Ring, NAGICIA by tricia kim from LEELA showroom. Hat, vintage Stetson

Directed by Riccardo Bernardi
Styling by Alessandra Faja
Hair and Makeup by Claudia Bianco
Model: Valentina at Boom Milano
Music by BaTa Project

Left: Dress and shirt, Joseph. Right: Sweatshirt, Lee. Skirt, Miu Miu. Shoes, Nike.

Photography by Sohrab Vahdat
Styling by Ruth Higginbotham
Hair by Paul Donovan using Bumble & Bumble
Makeup by Attracta Courtney using Chanel Cosmetics
Model: Johanna Jonsson at Elite Stockholm
Photographer’s Assistant: Theodore Fallstrom
Stylist’s Assistant: Francesca Pinna

Left: Top, Maison Martin Margiela. Jacket, Louis Vuitton. Right: Jacket, Acne.

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Left: Bra, Miu Miu. Jacket, Sandro. Right: Jumpsuit, Wrangler Bluebell.

When looking to create a video to showcase her current collection, jewelry designer Michelle Lane tapped into her editorial past. As a stylist for Nylon and Teen Vogue, she had greatly admired Swedish-born, Paris-based photographer Louise Enhörning’s work but location had prohibited collaboration. This time around, Michelle resolved the continental divide by selecting to shoot in the City of Light. Set to a soundtrack composed by Annie Hart of Au Revoir Simone, the film—making its editorial debut here—captures the covetable aura of Paris in the springtime with the model Pihla Hintikka dreamily absorbing the city’s charms, both in Marais and on Il Saint Louis, in ladylike looks by the Australian brand Lover and, of course, accessories by Michelle Lane.

The last week of April, Hong Kong played host to Liberatum, a cultural event that gathers artists, musicians, filmmakers and visionaries from a menagerie of disparate creative disciplines for three days of enlightening conversations and performances. The festival, founded 11 years ago by Pablo Ganguli, has previously been held in Turkey, Morocco and India, and featured the likes of Italian Vogue editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani, Courtney Love and Kirsten Dunst. Highlights from the Hong Kong edition included talks from Pharrell Williams and producer William Orbit, Nobel Laureate Sir V.S. Naipaul and Paul Schrader, among others. And while the city was abuzz with chatter about the above-mentioned superstars’ lectures, the festival’s exhibition, held in the Lane Crawford offices, was not to be missed.

Spread across the Chinese mega-retailer’s 29th floor, the exhibition—which included everything from cellist Gerald Peregrine playing while locked in a cage to a display of emerging Chinese designer Six Lee’s end-of-the-world-inspired menswear collection to artist Svetlana K-Liè’s raw photographic expressions of contemporary femininity—was a veritable smorgasbord of creative fare. And at the center of the show was “Bourdin, Ses Films,” an installation of iconic fashion photographer Guy Bourdin’s rare cinematic experiments. Guy, who passed away in 1991, was famed for his dark, sensual photographs, which frequently appeared in French Vogue in the 1970s. He was a pioneer of surreal eroticism in fashion photography and his life, riddled with turmoil and loss (he was rumored to have mistreated his models, had a slew of affairs and endured the suicide of his wife and two girlfriends), was often as chilling as his images.

Renowned pianist, composer and co-curator of Liberatum, Rosey Chan worked with Shelly Verthime (who has been touring the films internationally since 2009) to create the installation, which consisted of fragmented clips from Guy’s fashion shoots as well as his home videos. Projected on three walls of a dark room, footage from a Geisha-inspired Vogue shoot or of nude models posing provocatively for the photographer’s lens was juxtaposed with shots of his children playing in the field and his wife lounging nearly naked by a waterfall, giving the viewer a peek into the icon’s complex psyche. Marking the first time the films were shown in Asia, the installation reverberated with compositions by Claude-Achille Debussy, Johann Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin and Victoria Bond. Played by Rosey on loop, these harmonies served to enhance the films’ eerie melancholia. “I think when people walk in, even though these are not images of people they know, they can relate to the films because they draw signatures to one’s own memories, journeys and life. And with the music, I hope that they’ve walked away feeling that it’s touched them emotionally in some way,” the musician explained.

Meanwhile, filmmaker Mike Figgis—known for everything from American Gigolo to the short video presenting Lanvin’s H&M collaboration and a zealous Guy Bourdin fan—worked with Shelley to edit and compile the clips, which were shot between the 1960s and 1980s. “Watching the films, you start to get a sense of what his process was like and that’s interesting because when you just know the still photographs, that’s a very formal projection of someone’s work,” the auteur elucidated, adding, “The films are quite amateurish. They’re a bit out of focus, covered in dust and stuff. There’s something rather evocative about it—and he had such an influence on the fashion world. Every time I do a commercial, I get a moodboard that has a Guy Bourdin.” Naturally, Guy played a pivotal role exploring sexuality, and perhaps, one’s demons through photography during his reign, but, as Mike noted, ”He’s still a major visual contributor to our [contemporary] palate.” And it was indeed a treat to experience his tormented moving visions firsthand.

Right: Sweater, Pas de Calais. Dress, Julien David. Boots, vintage. Socks, stylist’s Own. Necklace, Erickson Beamon.

Photography by Samantha Casolari
Styling by Doria Santofler
Hair by Benjamin Thigpen
Makeup by Katie Mellinger
Model: Ivory at Ford Models
Stylist’s Assistant: Ilyssa Satter

Bra, Deborah Marquit. Shirt, Topshop. Dress, Opening Ceremony. Jeans, AG Jeans.Shoes, Bess. Headpiece, Sasha Samuel. Bracelets, Assad Mounser and Erickson Beamon.

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Left: Sweater, Porter Grey. Pants, Joseph. Skirt, Natalie Otero. Boots, vintage Doc Martens from What Goes Around Comes Around. Socks, stylist’s Own. Necklace, Erickson Beamon. Bracelet, Tom Binns.
Right: Sweater, Martel. Headpiece, Sasha Samuel.

Left: Dress, Marc Jacobs. Shirt, vintage. Vest, stylist’s Own. Sunglasses, Mercura.
Right: Jacket, Burning Torch. Sweater, Acne. Skirt, Joseph.  Earrings, Erickson Beamon.

Dress, Marc Jacobs. Flannel Shirt, Vintage. Vest, Stylist’s Own. Sunglasses, Mercura.

Left: Dress, Mother of Pearl. Shirt, Pas de Calais. Jacket, stylist’s Own. Sunglasses, Mercura.
Right: Dress, Imitation of Christ. Sweater, Martel. Headpiece, Sasha Samuel.

Left: Dress, Opening Ceremony. Shirt, Topshop. Headpiece, Sasha Samuel.
Right: Dress, Imitation of Christ. Sweater, Martel. Shoes, Converse. Headpiece, Sasha Samuel.

For Dossier Issue 9, Andrew Kuykendall shot Ashley Smith in Palm Springs in the dreamy fashion editorial titled “Zabriskie Point.” Simultaneously, he and his team worked with Jean-Pierre Caner on a fashion film, released today and featured here.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Caner and Andrew Kuykendall
Shot and edited by Jean-Pierre Caner
Styling by Djuna Bel at Giant Artists
Hair and makeup by Daniele Piersons at Aim Artists
Production by Meghan Gallagher at Connect the Dots Inc.
Stylist’s Assistant: Sara Medd
Music: “Velvet Water” and “The Emergency Kisses” by Stereolab from Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night