A MEDIOCRE SUCCESS

Mediocre Success is designed for those of us that like our accessories to be simple, functional, and above all tactile. These days there is such an abundance of clutter surrounding our lives that it becomes useful to compartmentalise our belongings in order to be organised. Mediocre Success does just that, by providing intricately designed pieces for storing and wrapping up, all the important bits in your handbag. Mediocre Success is designed by the savvy Swiss native Eveline Erni who studied fashion design in Milan and has since worked as a stylist for various menswear labels. It is stocked in select concept stores such as The Hunter in Berlin and Vestibule in Zurich. She creates everything from wallets, travel holders, vanity bags, to i-phone holders, USB-stick holders and passport pouches. I met up with Eveline in Dublin while she was working as a costume designer on a short film. Below she tells us a little more about her design background and her decision to follow the accessories route of design practice.


Style-Sphere: Where did the name Mediocre Success originate?Eveline: I was looking for a name that encourages one to think about what lies beneath the brand - it had to be a name that could stand for any kind of product. Mediocre Success, sounds confusing because it has negative attributes so I figured it would be the best name ever!

Style-Sphere: What is your design background and how did you decide to enter into the realm of accessory design?Eveline: I studied fashion design and received a scholarship for a leather accessories course. Following my studies in Milan, I worked for several years for other companies in this particular area. I then realised that I had sufficient experience to launch my own label. I believe that the design process is all about your passion.

Style-Sphere: What accessories designer to you admire the most and why?Eveline: I truly admire all accessory designers who possess a strong conceptional approach to design such as, Maison Martin Margiela or Costume National.

Style-Sphere: If you had the choice to stock Mediocre Success within any store in the world, where would you choose?
Eveline: I would have to choose stores which carry a clear statement and believe in promoting a strong concept such as: Park in Vienna, Circus Store in Dublin, Frip in Milan or Merci in Paris.

Style-Sphere: What are your future aspirations for Mediocre Success?
Eveline: I would hope that Mediocre Success will become recognised as a label with a unique style and a design aesthetic that highlights individuality and functionality.

http://www.mediocresuccess.com/

POSTER OF A BOY

Darragh Shanahan is the Jack of all artistic trades; drummer, photographer, and creative director to name just a few of his career endeavours. He forms one part of the über cool band Dark Room Notes who are presently taking these shores and beyond by storm. He is also the photographer responsible for capturing Style-Sphere’s blog profile photograph and therein lies the story of how we first met and collaborated. One random night, after an even more random chat, we decided upon doing a fashion shoot together. A date was set and a meeting point decided upon. The spontaneity of our first collaboration developed over pints outside a Dublin nightclub. I provided the face, the fashion, and the theatre, while he came equipped with a snazzy vintage camera, charisma, a pair of ray-bans, and a box of smokes. I showed up at the shoot armed with costumes in superpower colours of gold, royal blue, and red á la Wonder Woman. Below Darragh discusses the symbiotic relationship between fashion and music and shares his precious style notes with us.


Style-Sphere: Earliest fashion memory?

Darragh: Probably getting a school uniform, I can remember asking my mother to take in my trousers so they were drain pipes, they're the first item I had any influence on changing how it fit me. There was also a yellow t-shirt with a cartoon rodeo on it I had as a young boy, I set fire to it and myself while playing with matches, I actually told the Garda that I was attacked and they went looking for this guy I called Joxer Lawlor, I'm scared for life.

Style-Sphere: Who are your style icons and how do they influence the way in which you dress?

Darragh: Everything is a style influence to me but probably film would be my biggest style icon. Watching how people interpret an era or watching some contemporary piece (check out The Jacques Cousteau Odyssey) is a great source to remind me that fashion is a language is so many ways.

Style-Sphere: Has your personal style evolved since the early days of Dark Room Notes?
Darragh: I've always been a one for natural selection, I'm a warrior, I don't shop a lot so my experiences bring clothes to me, and the people I meet share a lot. So if you start hanging around with a band it changes things, you meet designers like Pete Reddy who has been wonderful with his cast offs, Arran from the band showed me a new way to look at colour, the stage brought drama, the road brought the need for comfort, the photo shoots brought character and writing about it brings reflection, I've rediscovered nudity.

Style-Sphere: How would you describe the overall image of DRN?Darragh: It's evolving.

Style-Sphere: What has been the most outlandish outfit you have worn while performing in DRN?
Darragh: Green eyeliner, Mohawk dusted with green eye liner, a black Perspex magpie silhouette on a chain around my neck with a leaf going through the nadir, black Speedos, karate shoes called Men Shoes that have white cotton soles and a smile.

Style-Sphere: The latest video 'Shake Shake my Ceiling' set in Berlin follows you on your dancing journey through the city of Berlin wearing a pair of very slick shoes. Tell us about your look in that video and your reason for choosing to shoot in Berlin? Darragh: I am a big fan of scarves, gloves, hats, shoes and sun glasses for the reasons I talked about in your icons question. Over time I've put them together in different ways, certain combinations stick with me. Berlin was selected because of the director Rory Breslihin, he wanted to shoot in this bar called Dr Pongs. So we did, and the idea wasn't working, but for a few weeks before we left I couldn't stop dancing to that song and just for a laugh Rory agreed to dance around Berlin with me. You should see the out takes! x

INTRODUCING: ARTIST DARKO DRAGICEVIC

On my first encounter with the artist Darko Dragicevic he was wearing a fantastic Bernhard Willhelm check shirt and shopping for some Henrik Vibskov pieces. For Darko, clothes aren’t merely clothes but art in themselves and his interest in fashion lies far beyond the scope of a fondness for good design aesthetics. He prefers fashion that has a strong concept, an impacting ethos, and above all he admires designers who are multifaceted like design genius Henrik Vibskov. (C)Branka Dutina.

A native of Belgrade, Darko attended the New York film academy and his work as a film director in several different projects brought him back to Europe where he currently resides in Berlin. Darko devised the ‘Taste of Life’ exhibit in New York in 2007, the exhibit consists of 12 video pieces which are followed by 12 tracks and 12 pages from a selection of published works. The principal plot concerns time and physical absence in the domestic space such as ‘the apartment in the big city’. Under the name SCHNITT, Darko along with Berlin based architect Branka Dutina, organised and facilitated the ‘Taste of Life’ exhibit in and around Berlin. The moveable exhibit took place within a camper van positioned in various locations around Berlin. The exhibit is scheduled to wander further afield in the coming months. Below is an interview with the artist.



Style-Sphere: How did you conceive the idea for the 'Taste of Life' exhibition?
Darko: By observing what was going on in the boxes being called the apartments in the big cities…At the time I used to live in New York, so the concept of the space and everything that’s been happening inside of it was more dramatic than now. Then when I came to Berlin the idea of the videos was adopted to this place and it slightly changed. Many new things were born inside of SCHNITT, in collaboration with the Exhibit Architect Branka Dutina.



Style-Sphere: Has living in Berlin changed your overall outlook in your work ?
Darko: No, I wouldn‘t say so. The basics will always remain the same. My work is who I am and I don‘t believe that people change.



Style-Sphere: What element of the Berlin lifestyle has mostly influenced your development as an artist?
Darko: It’s structure. Buildings and people. It’s past. It’s landscape of diversities.



Style-Sphere: 'Taste of Life' is essentially a mobile exhibition, what places do you aspire to travel to next?
Darko: Places that would bring something new to the ‘Taste Of Life‘. Places with a completely different landscapes or social structures.Places where I could have a byte of something unexpected.



Style-Sphere: 'Taste of Life' took place in a camper van. Whilst living within the exhibition, what music did you play the most? what food did you eat? and what did you wear?
Darko: Apart from the music used for the videos, I was mostly listening to Cat Power, David Bowie, Bebi Dol, M83 and Bach played by Glenn Gould. I was eating whatever I had in the van or what my friends would bring over. That was always a surprise! The clothes I wore weren’t that impressive as I’ve mostly had to think about how cold it was both outside and inside (the doors were open for the visitors). It was always the same: military coat, scarf and hat, pants or jeans and warm shoes.

Style-Sphere: How would you describe Berlin in three words?
Darko:Bad news!Good news!Bad news!

Chez Limehouse Magazine

Limehouse Magazine is the latest freesheet to hit the streets of Dublin with the hope of filling the much needed void within the creative press industry. The magazine is the brainchild of sister duo Katie and Lucy Smyth whose mission is to provide a platform for emerging and established artists, illustrators, musicians, and designers to demonstrate their work. The dynamic duo respond to an interview below.

Photo: Toni Ireton (c)/styled by:Naomi Beauvoir Black

Style-Sphere: What was the impetus for launching a new freesheet magazine in Dublin?
Limehouse Magazine: We had the idea about two years ago, to form a magazine that would be a mixture of many disciplines - art, photography, fashion, writing, etc. We both knew so many creative and talented people who found it hard to find a platform to get their work shown on a wider scale. We thought we'd try and make a platform that combined various types of work. Because we're sisters, we thought it would be nice to work on something together. Thus, Limehouse was formed.

Style-Sphere: What do you hope to achieve with the magazine?
Limehouse: We hope to build a strong sense of community among creatives. To be a way for anyone and everyone to get their ideas and work out there.

Photo: Toni Ireton (c)/Styled by: Naomi Beauvoir Black

Style-Sphere: What was the most exciting thing about launching a new magazine onto the Dublin scene? Tell us a little about the reaction you have received so far?
Limehouse: We had no experience in putting a magazine together, so everything seems exciting to us right now! I guess we were surprised at the positive response we're getting, people seem to love the idea, so that's pretty exciting too.The most exciting thing is the talented contributors we keep coming across, finding new ideas and ways of thinking, new bands, new artists - well how could that not be exciting?

Style-Sphere: What is the ethos of Limehouse Magazine?
Limehouse: The ethos is to be a platform for people to get their work shown on a larger scale, to entertain inform and inspire readers. I guess to document life in a way, without taking ourselves too seriously!

Style-Sphere: What elements inspired you to create the obscure yet quirky content in the magazine?
Limehouse: The content is generally down to our contributors, and what we find interesting and would like to read.

Boy by Tom Meade / Scabgate by Vinny McEntee

Style-Sphere: Can we expect the unexpected in Issue 2?
Limehouse: We want to make each issue fresh and exciting. As we we are just finding our feet in issue one, we hope for issue two to be a bit tighter. We have some great ideas and articles coming in - lets just hope that readers find them as entertaining as we do!

Diana Orving:The Drape Expert

(1) When did you decide to pursue fashion design?
Actually, I never did. It just happened. My ambition was to become a dancer or choreographer . The fashion design was only an interest. I started to sell handmade one-offs to small boutiques in Stockholm, when I was 15 years old. Then I hurt my knees and I realised I wouldn’t be able to work with dance. I created more and more clothes and got really good responses from stylists and media. I guess I got more and more interested in what I created and also found ways of integrating my influences from literature, dance and art into my work. Two years ago I decided to take it more serious and started with production. I started to work with agents in Japan, USA and Canada, so it feels really exciting that my clothes are now being sold outside Sweden. Swedes have a great sense for fashion, but the market is too small for good quality avant- garde brands.

(2) How does living in Sweden effect your work?
I think Sweden is quite calm and sometimes a boring place. Being bored is sometimes really good for your creativity. At the moment I really love Stockholm and I am not bored at all. I work in a wonderful studio in central Stockholm, which I share with 40 other artists, writers, photographers and designers. I get really inspired by all those creative and talented people. There are vernissage parties, book launches and clubbing almost every night, so you need to be really disciplined to keep focused on your work!…But I work constantly and love it.

(3) Draping appears to be a recurrent theme throughout your SS 08 collection, where does this design technique originate?
I have no formal education, so I didn’t learn any of the rules when I started creating clothes, I developed my own techniques. The method of creating directly on living bodies rather than on paper is essential for me. I always get inspired by bodies and their movements. I think that in some kind of a way that I make clothes that encourage movement, every piece should ask for altering. Often when using the draping technique the result can never be directly cut out or even closely foreseen. Instead it’s a paradoxical process of constantly improvising and following the fabrics own characteristics.



(4) Is there a story behind the beautiful print that you used in the SS/08 collection?
The print visualise my process that I explained in the previous question. When I start a new shape I work with fabric and drape it on a mannequin, on a friend, or on myself. The prints are photos of some of my draping experiments. I like the way people first think the print is a big flower, then, they look closer and realise it is something else…..


(5) Mannequin Neutral and The Seven Person Costume are your two previous art installations, do you plan to create more in the future?
Yes, definitely. During the process of my AW/08 collection I worked with actresses from the Swedish Royal Dramatic Theatre. I organised workshops where we talked, wrote, and improvised. Instead of having an ordinary fashion show they showed the collection on stage. I draw inspiration from personal stories, expressed in the way that all people stage their personal persona whether they have formulated an interest in fashion or not. Fashion is interesting because everyone can relate to it. Fashion is about dreams and shortcomings.

(6) Who is your favorite designer/artist?
My favorite artists are Sophie Calle and Louise Bourgeouise. I love their work!

Interview by Ciara O Donovan (Style-Sphere)