THE AWESOMESTS

I am snarky... But I earned it

“The two things that excite me and make me vibrate, are the aesthetic feeling, beauty is what moves me and after that intelligence.” Ricardo Bofill

Mantra

‘I KNOW THINGS AND YOU’RE WRONG’ – MICHELLE VAUGHAN

Scenario Framing

For like Woody Allen, the Awesomests believe that not only New York is a city that appears at its most romantic and compelling in black and white, but the entire world.
A highly cynical crowd who, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, were the teenage boys and girls filling up the malls or forming a new subculture. They spent most of their times outside with front doors rarely locked. When home, they were either glued to MTV or the landline keeping it busy for hours at end. Having been conditioned to shop within the confines of giant shopping malls, they continue operating with a similar mindset — expecting eloquence and specialisation; they cannot cope with the demands of activities, situations or challenges outside their established codes.
Today, the Awesomests hold a substantial level of personal growth and achievement; they know who they are, but neither have time, patience nor interest in pursuing things outside of what they came to believe as their perfect truth. This persona profile has been exposed to pop-culture for a few decades now with a ‘been there, done that’ attitude and they are not persuaded easily. They are the progenitors of grunge, and in the near past, they were the inspiration for the norm-core tribe (be wary of calling them that though!).

Behaviour

In the entry-level career days, they were the early adopters of the raw-edged seaming of Donna Karan’s signature Seven Easy Pieces— a pulled-together philosophy of dressing that featured jersey dresses, suits with stretch, and leather trenches to make the clothes work no matter where in the city you were headed, day or night.
Think of them this way: they had the privilege of experiencing an analogue youth along with a myriad of subcultures. This was followed by the digital era in which they grew up bit by bit. This eccentric upbringing provided them with a rare view on history, an emotionally-balanced understanding of the present, and an explicit idea of the future. The Awesomests are the definition of cool: they have lived it first, paid for it, and built their own truth. There are no rainbows and butterflies in their daydreams. There is, however, an endless repertoire of psychedelic real stories where they were the protagonist.


Left & center image: Donna Karen original seven pieces. Right image: Hillary Clinton wearing Donna Karen dress to her first state dinner as First Lady in 1993 Published 28 September 2015 Written by Carly Stern For Dailymail.com

Interest

We are not your JNCOs, Airwalks, and Oakleys 90’s teenagers. We are real woman and men with actual curves, beer bellies and real life. We just ask you to give us something with decent quality that fits the rest of our staple wardrobe. Our sexiest items? The secrets we will never share with you. We could tell you two words though: Larry Clark. No, google it!
Lately, the best weekends are spent with friends and kids playing video games. NES Mini anyone? OMG! Again no way. F***ing google it. Then, chilling home watching a documentary film. BTW, have you seen ‘The centre will not hold’? No? Great, we have to make a night out of it.

What makes them leave their bed in the morning?

Urban love affairs. Urban energy, chaos and design.

What keeps them up at night?

It was just over twenty years ago when we didn’t even have dial-up AOL yet. We need NOT be reached every damn minute of the day.
We still cannot believe that it’s been almost two years since David Bowie, Princess Leia, George Michael and Prince left us. We ao relieved to leave 2016 & 2017 behind. We hated them with passion. On a similar note: what the hell happened to MTV!!
Death, you ask? We are not obsessed with neither ageing nor dying. We have lived life to its fullest. What we care about though, is HOW we will die. And most importantly, that the kids we are leaving behind, if any, are not STUPID.


Kurt Cobain’s early draft of Smells Like Teen Spirit. Original source unkown

Persona codes

My Daily Affirmation

For every new cellulite, stretch mark and wrinkle I have a fabulous story that would rip your heart to pieces. Tell me if you can beat that girl with high cheekbones plumped with baby fat!

My Anthem

Smells Like Teen Spirit

My Staples

Agnès b. striped t-shirt
Play Converse - Comme des Garçons
Levis 503
Calvin Klein underwear
Jil Sanders coat
Margiela boots
Donna Karan Asymmetric jersey dress
Boyfriend blue, white, and striped cotton shirts
Lolita Lempicka 1990s silk chiffon dress
GAP Jumpers
Prada Bag
Eres Swimsuit

On my Dressoir

Estée Lauder Happy Perfume
CK One Perfume
Shiseido red lipstick
Vidal Sassoon shampoo
Niod – Sanskrit Saponins
The Ordinary – Granactive Retinoid 5% in Squalane
The Ordinary – Vitamin C Suspension 30% in Silicone
Clinique skin care

In my Library

Nan Goldin – The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
Eric Payson – Ghostplay
Douglas Coupland – Polaroids from the dead
Frank Lebowitz – The Frank Lebowitz reader
Sylvia Plath – The Bell Jar
Vladimir Nabokov – Lolita
James Joyce – The full collection
Susan Sontag – The full collection
Joan Didion – The full collection
Bertrand Russell – The full collection
E. M. Forster - Howards End


From left: Fran Lebowitz, Joan Didion, and Bertrand Arthur William Russell

In my Film Library

Kids by Larry Clark (1995)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Schindler's List (1993)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
Fargo (1996)
Se7en (1995)
American Beauty (1999)
The Godfather: all three Parts
Goodfellas (1990)
Fight Club (1999)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Heat (1995)
Trainspotting (1996)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Scream (1996)
Casinò (1995)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Lolita (1962 & 1997)

In my Netflix List

Stranger Things (with Winona Ryder, what did you expect!)
Twin Peaks (My god David is back)
Slate
Sex and the City
Friends (1993)
Family Guy
Comedian In Cars Getting Coffee
Black Mirror
Curb your Enthusiasm
Mad Men
The Simpsons
Seinfeld

In my Spotify List

1980’s Cult Soundtracks
The Smashing Pumpkins
Pearl Jam
Counting Crows
Nirvana
Oasis
Radiohead
Franz Ferdinand
Pixies
Sade
The Smiths
The Chemical Brothers
The Dust Brothers
Sonic Youth
The Stone Temple Pilots
Lauryn Hill
Blur

On my Wall

Liu Xiaodong, Fat Grandson, 1996
Juergen Teller – Young Pink Kate, 1998 // Color photograph
Dash Snow – Selected Images (Polaroid Enlargements), 2000s
Collier Schorr – Die Zwei (Spring Break) (C), ca. 1995// Chromogenic color prints
Ryan McGinley – Car Service, Brooklyn, 1999 // Chromogenic Print


From left: Liu Xiaodong, Fat Grandson 1996, Juergen Teller – Young Pink Kate 1998, Collier Schorr – Die Zwei 1995

My Gadgets

Nintendo – NES Mini
Kindle
Latest iPhone
Macbook Pro 13’
Ipod Mini

My Muse

Him: Jason Lee, Woody Harrelson, Christian Slater, Keanu Reeves, Beastie Boys, and Andre Agassi
Her: Winona Ryder, Helena Christensen, Isabella Rosselini, Uma Thurman, and Christy Turlington


fin. . .