When we decided to do a whole issue on pop culture, it sparked fierce debate within Team BAZAAR. Should it be about the mainstream or the subcultures that exist around it? What artists should we talk about and how does fashion sit within all of this? The breadth of the topic is enormous so we did a curated take, to capture our version of the cultural zeitgeist for the 21st century.
This issue celebrates the styles and works of some of the most popular artists. From our title masthead adopting a font that’s influenced by Roy Lichtenstein’s comic strip work, to our cover shoot celebrating the raucous, sexy and provocative sass of animal print, there’s a whole cacophony of trends and visual excitement to tempt you with this month. Colour brights practically jump out of our Style pages, where the whole ’80s fashion revival starts with biker shorts, analogue TV stripes, Atari arcade game motifs and animal print everything. It seems designers today want us to embrace the golden age of hair spray, wide shoulders and neon colours. After attending the recent fall/winter 2019 shows in Paris, it looks like these trends are here to stay. Think an updated version of Melanie Griffith from Working Girl for style #inspo. If that larger-than-life, fabulous personality runs contrary to our current laissez-faire Hypebeast streetwear mode, then it’s time to rethink because camp is back with a vengeance.
Turn to page 86 to read our take on the 2019 Met Museum’s theme on camp—an over-the-top dramatic style that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And finally, if there’s anyone who’s a pop icon phenomenon himself, it’s the late, great Karl Lagerfeld. When he passed in the midst of London Fashion Week on 19 February, the whole fashion world came to a stop. Many Houses paid their respects—from photographic tributes at Chloé to the grand use of black tweed bouclé at Balmain to the gentle walk of Penelope Cruz as she sauntered down the Chanel runway with a single white gardenia in hand. Read our tribute to the Kaiser on page 44. He was the go-to for sartorial discourse, for ironic appropriation and for endless pop culture innovation. I miss Karl dearly but at least I know that his genius and wit will live on forever.
—Kenneth Goh, Editor-in-Chief
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Photographer by Claire Rothstein. Styled by Windy Aulia. Model: Sam Rollinson/ Select Model Management. Makeup: Kirstin Piggot/Julian Watson. Hair: Anna Chapman/Julian Watson. Manicure: Michelle Humphreys. Set designer: Tara Holmes. Set assistant: Lauren Bouch. Director of photography: Luke Glover. Digital technician: Rob Self. Contributing market editor: Charly Suggett. Styling assistant: Dani Kleinman.
