Esquire Indonesia, 87th Editon (May 2014)

Esquire Indonesia 87th edition. Cover courtesy of Esquire.

Review
Jose Mourinho as the cover story is a wise and perfect choice because we already feel the atmosphere of the biggest soccer event. As we all know that in June 2014, FIFA World Cup will start and choosing one of the best soccer coaches as the cover story is a perfect choice. Plus the news about FIFA World Cup itself on page 152-153 is good, because it’s necessary to write about it on May issue, a month before it starts.

I’m quite entertained by the Short Story (Cerpen) section; it is a light reading that can boost the mood of the readers. The story itself includes traditional dancing and culture from Java, Indonesia that have their own meanings so we can obviously learn something from that.

The Style Runway section explains the exact amount of information that the readers need to know. For me the essence of a lifestyle magazine is to spread different information and knowledge in exact amount, and people want or need to know about that. Writing about Versace and Dolce & Gabbana Summer collection is also a wise choice because those brands have a lot of customers worldwide, and also they inspire another brand to create a collection like them (they have influence in the fashion industry). Even Dolce & Gabbana is currently facing a problem about tax; we can’t deny that their formal menswear is one of the bests.

Style Runway section featuring Versace and Dolce & Gabbana. Courtesy of Esquire.

The Esq. Style section on page 118-125 is perfect and since it’s taken from the U.S. Esquire April 2014 edition it has a different atmosphere or theme from the second shoot that is placed on page 126-133. The second section of Esq. Style, anyway, has great shots. They could be more interesting by adding a little artsy inspiration to the images so they could become equal with the first section of the shoots.

Flaws
Even though the magazine is perfect, I found a few flaws inside that are quite disturbing. First thing that I figure out is the mistyped page number. In the table of contents the cover story is written on page 114. But actually, the cover story is placed on page 144. It’s a small flaw, but it’s quite important since it’s the reader’s guide to find the cover story.

Second thing that I recognize is the placement of watches in Style Watches section, page 72-73. We all can see that the half-up of the pages have so much empty space. Maybe it could be fixed by rearranging the position of the watches, or by adding some props to cover the empty space.

Overall

Esq. Style section. Courtesy of Esquire.

This is a good issue. Beside things that I explain above, we can still get a lot of tips; from how to wash your jeans properly until knowing the importance of wearing perfume, plus how to choose the right one.  Introducing traditional culture to today’s society is one of the strong points. Esquire is still one of the best lifestyle magazines for men and this issue proves it.

In Vogue: The Editor's Eye

I know I’m late but in fact I just finished watching this documentary. It tells us about the fashion editors of Vogue that produce amazing images in Vogue magazine. Before I watched this documentary I only knew Grace Coddington and Tonne Goodman. But after watching it, I got amazed by flawless images that Vogue has produced under previous fashion editors. They knew exactly about the way to get the exact images that could represent the statement of fashion on their era. And as one of the most successful magazine in the world, Vogue shows us about their professionalism not only in the quantity of the pages, but also the quality of the contents and the images.

The Editors
 My favorites are Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele and Phyllis Posnick. Reasons: Carlyne is a unique and has a strong character, in her life and her ideas of producing fashion images. I agree with her about her statement saying that “It is all about the attitude” and her statement saying that she adores streets. Her famous Vogue cover, the Lacroix Couture t-shirt combined with a pair of jeans, still got me and I think it’s brilliant. I think no one ever had a thought of wearing a couture collection in the street and combine it with a pair of blue jeans, without makeup and hair done.

Phyllis is my favorite too because she has a bold statement when it comes to fashion images. In my opinion she’s able to give artistic yet disturbing interpretations about fashion images, so that the readers could stop from flipping pages after seeing her shot. And I also think that that is one of the most important things when it comes to fashion images, when it is able to provoke you in so many ways.

The Photo Shoots
Steven Klein has been my favorite fashion photographer because he is able to express his character into his images. Everybody knows that an image was shot by Steven Klein on the first time they see it. For me he represents darkness and the different color tone in the picture. And in this documentary, Tonne Goodman and Steven Klein once worked together and produced an amazing fashion image that I adore.

As you can see in the picture above, Steven Klein put his bold character into the image, and Tonne Goodman also put her character into the set, and the model that represents an American girl. And for the final words, I cannot forget about what Anna Wintour said in the documentary:

"You have to do something that’s gonna really make people stood up and think, and be shocked, and confused, and angry, and ‘What is Vogue doing?’, and cancelling their subscription."

Related: Catastro-Vogue

Reasons Why Donatella Versace Is Still Relevant As the Queen of Fashion

Donatella Versace

I remember the first time I’m completely in love with Versace, it was men’s SS12. I was shocked with the spirit of freedom and creativity Versace had in that time: the underwear, sunglasses, and even gladiator shoes. Since then I always look forward to Versace shows, especially their menswear collection and their Atelier. And now, celebrating Donatella’s 59th birthday I made a list about how Donatella is still relevant as the queen of fashion.

1. She Carries The Legacy of Versace

Versace Logo

After the horrible homicide of Gianni Versace in 1997, Donatella continues to manage Versace. It was a hard time for her because it’s hard to lose her own brother. She had to learn everything Gianni did with Versace. She owns 20% of total Versace’s market share. Donatella carries the name of the brand as her surname; she carries the legacy of Versace, replacing its original founder Giovanni. As we know brands that are on par with Versace like Alexander McQueen and Coco Chanel haven’t been maintained by their own original founder or people that have a close relation to the brands. Versace still has Donatella, Gianni’s sister.

2. Limitless Creativity

Versus Versace, a collab with J.W. Anderson

Versace is now famous because of its own trademark in fashion world. Their womenswear collection, their menswear collection, and their Atelier collection bring their own spirit every time their show held. Donatella takes a big part of every decision taken in those collections. Her creativity became the unique character of Versace collections. A lot of collaborations especially with J.W. Anderson for Versus Versace (the collection and show I like the most) also makes Versace look super creative by expanding their collection by doing collaborations.

"(Fashion) It’s not intellectual; it's not art or science - it's about giving people pleasure, making them feel gorgeous. That is what people react to."

3. Trademark Style

Blonde, leather, and heels: Donatella

Inevitably Donatella has her own unique style. Leather is one of her trademark, proved by her showing up in several shows and events wearing leather dress. We also can’t deny her original hairstyle that once became really famous, her straight-blonde hair. Donatella carries the uniqueness of an Italian woman especially with her accent. Once in an interview she said “I can give up anything, but not my high heels.”

4. Ability To Choose Perfect Muses

Lady Gaga for Versace Campaign

You name it – MIA, Nolan Funk, and even Lady Gaga – they’re so perfect wearing Versace collections. Versace x MIA once became viral with their collection for youth, the different motifs for different clothes made the collection unique. Nolan Funk and Lady Gaga became the muse for almost the same time, while Nolan is the icon for their menswear collection. It’s quite different with Lady Gaga where reportedly Gaga is able to boost Versace sales by keep wearing their collections; wearing legendary silk shirts on the streets and her music video, and also wearing Gianni’s last collection in her music video The Edge of Glory.

5. Survival of Her Own Depression

Ups and downs - a strong woman

If the music industry has Lady Gaga and Demi Lovato as the icon of ‘bullying survival’, in fashion world we have Donatella. After the shocking death of her brother Gianni in 1997 Donatella suffered from depression. She started using drugs, cocaine, and pills to make her stay sober. In 2004 Donatella flew to rehab on the night of her daughter’s 18th birthday. "I had the best time of my life. You just feel more awake, more aware. Unfortunately, it doesn't continue like that. So I just kept doing it, every time I was in New York, in Los Angeles, mostly at parties." Then she realized that using drugs led her to a breakdown and became incoherent.

Based on these 5 quick facts, I still consider Donatella Versace as the queen of fashion. She holds the legacy of her family name, and she has a strong mental to struggle in this business. Happy birthday, Donatella.