Sport & Style

Oh what?  I did an interview awhile back with Stephanie from the sport and style blog SOUTHBOUND SUAREZ  which was just recently posted.

Check out an exert from the interview below:

First and foremost: favorite sport, favorite team, and favorite athlete:

Snowboarding-because it makes me feel like I’m flying, St. Louis Cardinals-because I went to college in St. Louis and that team truly brings the city together,  and Michael Jordan-the only athlete I’ve ever had on my Valentine’s cards.

How does sport translate into your personal style?

I incorporate a lot of 80s and 90s athletic wear into my every day style. It has been said that I might have one of the best collections of crazy color blocked vintage ski coats…EVER. I like loud colors and patterns, and it’s also important that my clothing is functional and versatile enough for the sports I participate in every day, such as sitting in front of a computer, tap dancing, and practicing parkour as I make the trek from  the last parking spot on the Nike campus to the 4th floor of the Michael Jordan building.

How do current fashion and streetwear trends influence your work designing for basketball?

When designing basketball apparel, I definitely take into consideration current streetwear trends when relevant and look to runways for upcoming trends. Actually, attempting to translate trends that seem the least relevant to basketball can produce the most interesting and unexpected results. My basketball designs are a carefully considered mix of fashion elements, the latest sports technology, and the bold Jordan aesthetic.

What is one of the biggest challenges in designing for sport categories?

The biggest challenge is always to make clothing that functions at the highest level possible for that sport and at the same time, make it look cool enough that people will want to wear it regardless of playing the sport it was designed for.  That is a challenge I love to take on.

To read the full interview go here: SOUTHBOUND SUAREZ/ Andrea Forist

*All opinions and view expressed are those of Andrea Forist and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Nike Inc. or the Jordan Brand.

Spring Break: Big Sur Edition

Oh hey!  So I just recently returned from my own little spring break sesh. in Big Sur (Spring break forever!)   I met up with my former LA crew and we spent our time taking in live music at the Henry Miller Library,

Henry Miller Library

Beach House

Night Jewel

Bat For Lashes

practicing yoga on purple sand beaches,

hiking by the ocean,

water color painting rocks and sticks outside our cabin,

interpretive dancing around the fire, styling photo shoots in the woods and stargazing while soaking in hot springs set on ocean side cliffs. 

What?! Epic.  Seriously.  Big Sur is magical.  GO!

For more MAGIC, check out some of the work created during the trip by my amazing friends photographer Kelly Lee Barrett (with some fashion styling by Kaycee Krieg) and graphic designer/ light painter extraordinaire, Darren Pearson!

Photos by Kelly Lee Barrett:

Photos by Darren Pearson (Darren “paints” with led flash lights and uses a long exposure to create these) :

Spring Break Forever

So I saw Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers” about 3 weeks ago and I am STILL thinking about it.  AH!

I have encountered the most polarizing reactions every time this film has come up in conversation.  The director’s deliberate decision to title the film “Spring Breakers” and use Disney/ mainstream stars like Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, and James Franco definitely lured many unsuspecting viewers into believing they were going to be watching a sugary-pop easy to understand film (like something from the National Lampoons series)… and of course what they were met with instead was a Harmony Korine film: a brazen, quirky, and at times uncomfortable art film.  haha!  SO brilliant.

Obviously, I was somewhat prepared for this and knew what I was getting into.   I’ve seen some of Harmony Korine’s other work such as Trash Humpers (where a group of people wear old person masks and go around humping things… shot on VHS) , Umshini Wam a bizarre short film with South African rap group Die Antwoord, and Kids (which Korine co-wrote and is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen).   The thing that has stood out to me about Korine’s work (and what made me want to see this movie without knowing anything about it other than that he directed it) is his ability to really affect his audience.  He makes you feel uncomfortable, and through that discomfort he provides imagery and subject matter that stays.  After you watch one of his films, you keep thinking about it.  It jarrs you.  It wakes you up…  and I personally like being shaken awake from time to time.

All of the characters in Spring Breakers seemed like exagerated caricatures rather than real people.  They existed in an alternate reality that was both dreamy and gritty at the same time and this reality became increasingly more quirky and seemingly self aware of it’s absurdity as the film progressed.  The absurdity level reached its peak when James Franco’s character “Alien” (basically the rapper Riff Raff) sits at a white baby grand piano, ocean side, playing a Brittany Spears ballad while the 3 girls dance around in pink ski masks, holding guns and singing along.  I felt like laughing and crying at the same time.  It was AMAZING.

And I will say, that during the film there were multiple moments where I felt kind of bored and uncomfortable (as I expected).  There was a lot of repetition- visually and verbally with phrases dubbed over the scene played over and over.  When I left the theatre though, I did have a feeling that I liked the movie overall.  My friends and I stayed seated for a moment after the movie was over to process it and THEN we danced down the empty movie theatre halls out to our car as that La Roux song played alongside the credits.  And THEN the really interesting thing that happened is, as days went by, I just kept finding myself thinking about this movie and appreciating it more and more.  I kept imagining that dreamy and gritty world of purple and pink neon and tacky ocean- inspired decor and kept hearing “spring break forever” on repeat in my head…  And I’m not mad about it.

Fav New Music: Bat For Lashes

Going to see the lovely Natasha Khan (aka Bat for Lashes) perform next month at my favorite venue in the world!  SO STOKED!!!

Her latest album The Haunted Man is incredible.   I’ve literally been listening to it nonstop for the past 3 weeks.  I’ve liked the music she’s put out in the past, but I wasn’t completely into it all of it.  The song “Daniel” from her prior album “Two Suns” is AWESOME, but it was basically the only one of her songs that would get added to my playlists…  UNTIL NOW!  Ah!  I was just passively listening to “The Haunted Man” on spotify a month or so ago because I figured it was worth checkin’ out, and I was totally caught off guard by it.  Like “Daniel”, much of the music on this album builds and builds until you want to dance or sing along.  You should listen to it very LOUD to achieve maximum effect.

I also recommend listening to the entire album from start to finish in its intended sequence.  But, for a preview, check out her video for my favorite song, “All your gold” which besides great music, also features beaches, bizarre dance moves, and op art inspired fashion:

and here’s a nice interview with Natasha where she talks about how she views her growth as an artist

Ice Ice Iceland

Oh yeah,  I went to Iceland a few weeks ago for the Iceland Airwaves music festival…

Iceland Bound

What the f*ck is Iceland Airwaves?

Iceland Airwaves is a music festival that takes place over the course of 5 days in a variety of music venues, bars, clubs, coffee shops, and museums, around the city of Reykjavik, Iceland.  It was started in 1999 in an airport hanger and has since grown into a world renowned festival bringing in legit acts, often just as they are on the cusp of making it big.  For instance, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah played Airwaves in 2004, The Bravery in 2004, and The Rapture in 2002.  Other bands who have played the festival include: The Shins, Dirty Projectors, TV On The Radio, Florence and the Machine, Hot Chip, Flaming Lips, Wolf Parade, Bloc Party and Fatboy Slim, along with Icelandic bands Björk, Sigur Rós, múm, and more.  Because Airwaves is committed to booking independent artists from all over the world, and also because Iceland is so AWESOME, the festival attracts an international crowd of hipsters (in a good way).  Rolling Stone magazine called it “The hippest long weekend on the annual music-festival calendar.”  I can’t disagree.  From Wednesday thru Sunday I was surrounded by young, beautiful, and fashionable people speaking a myriad of languages and had the opportunity to see some fantastic new music.

Phantogram at Iceland Airwaves 2012

Sigur Rós light/ fog projections and lasers at Iceland Airwaves 2012

Besides the amazing music, the festival is set in Reykjavik, which is maybe the most adorable city I have ever been to.  The city center feels very intimate and is easy to walk around.  The buildings all have colorful roofs, and the streets are INCREDIBLY clean.  I felt like I was at Disneyland.

My friend Brennan in front of a typical building in Reykjavik

Downtown Reykjavik

Reykjavik Cathedral

Me in front of Harpa concert hall

Inside Harpa laying on a bench staring at this mesmerizing ceiling

There were also a lot of independent Icelandic designer boutiques and a lot of street art.

Storefront for Icelandic Designer, Mundi

Reykjavik Skate Park Graffiti

broken mirror street art

mushrooms on mushrooms.   a heavily used motif in Iceland

Oh, and everyone was wearing these Icelandic wool “lopi” sweaters.

Traditional Icelandic Sweaters

After spending a few of my days exploring the city (and all night out seeing music), I went on an adventure into the countryside.

Icelandic horses chillin’ by a river

Viking Hobbit Holes

Crazy natural Rock formations

Brennan looking small next to some giant rocks

majestic waterfall

… the Blue Lagoon

guy drinking a beer in the blue lagoon…yep.

Mystical windblown waterfall sunset

Ah!  These photos really only offer a tiny glimpse of how INSANELY magical this country is.  According to my tour guide “54% of Icelandic people believe that elves live on the island”… maybe that fact illuminates the magic even more than the photos…

Conclusion: Iceland Airwaves = recommended for full immersion inspiration from music, art, fashion, architecture and nature all at once!  ahhhh!

Craft Night Feature

craft night sign making

Here’s an exert from an interview with me for thefoxed.com about an event I created and have hosted for the past 4 years in multiple cities: Craft Night.

L: What inspired you to host Craft Night? 

A: I was originally inspired by the time that I had spent in art school, being in the art building with classmates staying up all night drawing a piece of velvet, or sewing a satin “opera coat” for 36 hours straight. I wanted to re-create that energy that I felt working on a project in the same space as other people who were also creating something. It didn’t matter if I was working by myself and no one was talking, or if we were all working together and making silly jokes. Just being around other artists, or really, just being around people who have the motivation to make something and follow through with it is really inspiring. Then what happened after I started craft night in Los Angeles, is over time, it became kind of a mini artist collective.  We had a solid group of creative people with diverse skill sets who started collaborating with each other to work on all kinds of things like stop motion animation, light painting, costume designing for performers, commercials, and on and on. One person would have an idea for something they wanted to create and they would get other crafters to help make it happen. Then what started to happen is when someone in the group would get a paid job they would bring other crafters in on that as well.  Craft Night PDX is still a youngster, and right now it is just more about setting aside time every week to simply MAKE SOMETHING.

Go here for the full interview and more pictures!

Big Sur

Awhile back I did a post about the time I spent in Big Sur last summer (here) and I mentioned I would follow up with more artwork that I knew would be coming out of it.  Wellllll, the time to follow up has finally arrived!!

Check out this video directed by Car Nazzal put together from footage she shot after the Little Dragon show at The Henry Miller Library:

You should check out her director reel (below) and her vimeo (here: http://vimeo.com/carnazzal/videos )  for more of her work.  She is RAD.

ALSO, the group got together again in Big Sur this past weekend!  I was unfortunately unable to attend, HOWEVER I am sure there will be more art inspired by this latest Big Sur adventure and I will share as soon as I see it!

 

YEAH!!!!!