I am in love with this personal and creative approach to marketing. European clothing brand Edwin invites different photographers to interpret each of their seasonal collections.  The most recent SS11 release is just as beautiful as past iterations with work by photographer Benjamin Robinson*.  Although I do love The Selby,  I prefer Robinson’s approach to environmental portraiture…natural, authentic, romantic and real.

Via the Edwin SS11 catalog:

All of the following photographs were taken in London where we were lucky enough to be invited to friends homes and places they felt were important to them. The photographs were not retouched, leaving the imperfections of life and dust present. The sun shon, then hid behind clouds, spring showers would open up on us and finally the sun would shine again. In essence, a true representation of a spring-summer season and capturing images of real people in their city.

*I couldn’t find Robinson’s work online, so if you have a link to his portfolio, please pass it along. Thanks.

I’ve been admiring the French illustrator and style blogger, Garance Dore‘s site for a few years and thought I’d share a little of its goodness.  For those of you who are still discovering the lovely photos and documentation of her global travels with boyfriend Scott Schuman (better known as The Sartorialist), enjoy.

Designer Gretchen Jones has crafted an ethereal, mystical world for her beautiful clothing line MothLove.  Aside from the fact that I fell in love with a ton of pieces during my recent introduction to her work (esp the blazer she designed and was wearing), I was most impressed by the way she had cohesively branded her business. The overall look feels like a natural extension of her own personality and vision, the ideal way to market yourself, in my opinion. The video she has running on her site does a great job of encapsulating the overall feel of the clothing, and it represents Gretchen’s mellow, friendly vibe as well.

From her site…

You can find Gretchen working on a her record collection, daydreaming about rides on a 67′ BMW R60/2 600, contemplating the metaphysical, playing with her long hair, wearing pretty lingerie, working too late, trying to eat healthy and somehow, always wishing she was sun bathing by the river…Mostly in her mind, and sometimes outside of her studio.

Coming next month, a new book titled Fräulein by photographer Ellen von Unwerth. Femininity, eroticism and all the naughty bits are on display in this gorgeous collection of photographs published by Taschen.

“Ellen von Unwerth was a supermodel before the term was invented, so she knows a thing or two about photographing beautiful women. Now one of the world’s most original and successful fashion photographers, she pays homage to the world‘s most delectable females in Fräulein. This celebration of our era’s sexiest female icons includes Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Vanessa Paradis, Britney Spears, Eva Mendes, Lindsay Lohan, Dita von Teese, Adriana Lima, Carla Bruni, Eva Green, Christina Aguilera, Monica Bellucci and dozens more.” Taschen

Von Unwerth started her photography career in 1986 and has since shot both stills and film for the most noteworthy of publications and brands like Vogue, W, and Clinique.

Online magazine Test is where high-end experimental fashion-related films and photography projects call home. You won’t find this work on the pages of Vogue and Elle, but you will recognize the names of in-demand photographers, stylists and filmmakers. The site is curated by British Vogue art director Jaime Perlman and the content is fresh, emerging, and experimental.  Test is “a visual platform that fuses a combination of new and established artists on a constantly changing series of image-led projects.”

Gorgeous installation for Hermes by renowned Japanese artist Tokujin Yoshioka on display in Tokyo through January 19th.

“On designing a window-display of Maison Hermès, I intended to express people’s daily ‘movements’ with a suspicion of humour. There are moments when I perceive a hidden presence of a person in the movements born naturally in daily life. I created a design where one can perceive someone behind the scarves as if life were being breathed into them. The window is designed with an image of woman projected on to a monitor. The scarf softly sways in the air in response to the woman’s blow.”

The still photos (via Hermes) are beautiful, but you can’t fully appreciate the genius of the project until you see it in motion:

Tokujin Yoshioka

Photography ©  Maurizio Cattelan

Legendary Italian photographer Maurizio Cattelan shot the iconic visage of Linda Evangelista for W magazine’s Art Issue. Above are some of the shots currently featured on the magazine’s website.

An excerpt from an interview with DesignBoom:

DB: Do you have any preferences?
MC: No, anything goes.

DB: Do you have any pets?
MC: Does bacteria count?

DB: Can you describe an evolution in your work from your first projects to the present day?
MC: I try to move sideways: so there are no evolutions, only digressions.

more here.

Reiss of London is promoting their new denim collection “1971” with a beautiful film now posted on Dazed and Confused‘s site to promote a t-shirt contest of the same name.  According to Reiss, 1971 “marks when the company was founded but also captures the ethos and spirit of a time when music and fashion started to make heady connections, and musicians began to establish themselves as bona fide style icons.”