Lookbook 54
a collaboration with Roxane Zargham
2008
7 x 10 inches & 3.5 x 4.5 inches
116 pages & 32 pages
edition of 100
$30
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What is the most reductive form that can yield the most variety in meaning? Possibly the white t-shirt. Tight it is James Dean, huge it is hip hop. It’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it.
In LOOKBOOK 54, fifty-four different characters are created with nothing but one XL white t-shirt and common household supplies (binder clips, safety pins, duct tape) used as styling aids. All accessories serve a function and the shirt is never cut or permanently altered. The book is designed such that each sheet has the front and back of each look, but then these sheets are nested one inside another into a single large pamphlet bound together by an (archival) plastiband. You can view the 54 looks by flipping through the book to see juxtapositions of all fronts and then all backs, or you can remove the plastiband, take apart the book, and instantaneously see the two views of each look. Kind of just like the rollovers above.
The patterned backdrop used in the shoot is another way one thing can behave like many things: it is oriented vertically when the shirt is styled as a dress, horizontally when styled as a top, and diagonally in the accompanying booklet LOOKBOOK 54 COMPANION, which features accessories, make-up, and hair styles all created with office supplies. For safekeeping, the two books are packaged together in a resealable polypropylene bag.
For the discerning collector, there's the very Special Limited Edition: signed copies of LOOKBOOK 54 and COMPANION accompanied by an XL white t-shirt for reference, research, and further experimentation; housed together in a sewn-by-the-artist drawstring bag made from the photoshoot backdrop. The edition is limited to the supply of original fabric, and is available for $350 exclusively through Booklyn. Proceeds from the Special Edition benefit that very same not-for-profit and help subsidize the publication of inexpensive RC editions such as this one. Plus it is super rad. E-mail to place your order!
The vivacious and talented Roxane Zargham collaborated on the shoot and took all the photography. Much fun was had. Thanks Rox!
WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT LOOKBOOK 54?
"A cheeky lesson in styling... with a nip here and a tuck there, Larned creates a brand new cast of colorful white tee characters" - THE FADER MAGAZINE, issue 54 (ha!) page 44
"An awesome fashion spectacle... totally inspirational, and incredibly DIY" - FASHION FOR WRITERS
"Bold, whimsical, and deceptive in its simplicity... here, form and function are indivisible." - THE ENDLESS BOOKSHELF
