As part of our new summer US project States of Independence we've invited our favourite 30 American curators, magazines, creatives and institutions to take over Dazed for a day. Today, as part of our State of Fashion week, the radical New York-based brand, store and online phenomenon VFiles is curating our content – from the debut of new show Intern Files, where hopefuls battle it out for a coveted position, to Preston's favourite Model Files picks.
What is VFiles? Well, it’s kind of a hard question, considering that they manage to straddle social media, online shopping, reality TV, DJ competitions and even shows at New York fashion week – and that’s barely grazing the surface. So for their takeover day, we invited VFiles to define themselves in their own words – breaking down their brand into a dA-Zed guide, from trending tags to their favourite model poses.
If you’ve never experienced a single design by VFiles BFF Andre Walker you should know that Walker is an outrage. His unorthodox designs made him a perpetually emerging fashion designer until he left his namesake to become an independent creative director and consultant for Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, and Kim Jones. His list of credits date back to the 80s; he staged his first runway show in the Oasis, a Brooklyn club, at age 15. Walker had brief stints at WilliWear and Patrick Kelly but ultimately acquired his cult status with his own label. Check out his personal archive on VFiles here!
Delve into creative director Andre Walker's personal archiveAndre Walker personal archive images
In a culture spinning with trends and antitrends and antiantitrends ad infinitum, there’s a sense of masochistic satisfaction in indulging The Basic. So this is the first trend we’re choosing to highlight, it’s like the Book of Revelation in trendform, the natural conclusion to a seemingly unending circle of cultural appropriation. Go ahead, hang that Audrey Hepburn poster, order that Oprah chai (venti), and bask in the relief that comes with being completely basic :).
“I love vulgarity, but a certain vulgarity.” Saint Tropez born Carlyne Cerf De Dudzeele brought hip hop style to the masses in the early 90s. Dudzeele is known for her heavily accessorised street-style-meets-Uptown culture clash, and she famously put acid wash and puffer jackets on the cover of Vogue. Let’s not forget the more recent Footballers Wives for V 66, in which sexy soccer moms with Jlo glasses and LV bags breast fed on bleachers while texting. One to move with the times, she recently claimed, “I love the Internet, I’m obsessed with it.” All hail queen Carlyne!
Classic Carlyne styling models in Chanel for VogueNadja Auermann and Claudia Schiffer by Steven Meisel for Vogue, 1994
Circumstantial VFiles personality Danielle finally got her shot at fame with her manic streetwear incarnation of a home shopping network, which debuted this summer. High on nail polish remover and fueled by YouTube haters, Danielle identifies and creates weekly trends like farmcore, basic goth, and “the boyfriend shoe” while presenting new items in the VFiles Shop. In her own words “It’s all just prep for my Mob Wives debut.”
One thing fashion excels at is presenting tits in the least sexual way possible – hence, fashion tits. When TV shows censor mammary glands, fashion tits should be an exception. That said, they’re a key component of editorials and fashion shows the world over – how else are designers to show of that sheer blouse or whatever. Long live fashion tits.
Kendall Jenner gets her fashion tits out for Marc JacobsKendall Jenner for Marc Jacobs AW14
If there’s one thing we love in a fashion show it’s GIMMICKS! Gimmicks in fashion are an infinite well that never EVER runs dry. From nuanced gimmicks like celeb models to the more elaborate like building a fully functional carousel, gimmicks will no doubt continue to escalate until we hit some sort of gimmicky critical mass — someone will, like, literally vacuum seal models like smoked salmon and send them onto the runway... oh wait that already happened.
Vac packed models at Iris Van HerpenIris Van Herpen AW14
When does hair become a Hair Problem? When it's 5 feet high? Hacked to bits? Caked in mud/glitter? Wrapped around one’s nude body like in that one Shel Silverstein poem?
My beard grows down to my toes, I never wears no clothes I wraps my hair Around my bare And down the road I goes.
– Shel Silverstein
Ya know, now that we think about it, most hair problems are also hair solutions — it’s all relative.
These women do definitely not #wakeuplikethisVFiles hair problems
Luka’s like a VFiles golden boy, and now a certifiable New York City It-Boy. When he’s not modeling for Hood By Air or ASSK, he’s probably lurking the VFiles Shop with Mike The Ruler or Ian Connor.
The VFiles fam welcomed Junglepussy almost two years ago when she debuted the video “Cream Team” on an early version of the site. Since then, JP has blossomed before our eyes, and is poised for bad bitch stardom. Follow her on VFiles for exclusive photos and all her new material — hey, we even accidentally posted a stream of her new album, Satisfaction Guaranteed,a few weeks before it was released. Her followers noticed, lol.
When we saw the tracklist for Lana’s latest album, ULTRAVIOLENCE, we thought it must be fake. The titles were truly, brilliantly, so unequivocally LANA. So we cracked the LDR enigma machine like some neo popcultural windtalkers. Give it a try and create your own tragic hit, baby.
Lil Miss RepulsionVFiles, Lana Del Rey title generator
Sometimes trends are dancing right in front of your face like it’s 1998 and the we all fail to even recognise it. Thanks to SAFEHOUSEUSA on VFiles, the midmacarena trend has been identified and acknowledged, now a pillar in the posing pantheon alongside blue steel and broken doll. AYY!
Trya shows off her best midmacarena poseVFiles, Tyra Banks
You know that guy who let you into Le Bain last night? Nodel. That girl who helped you at the OC sample sale? Nodel. That Bushwick “performance artist”? Yup, NODEL! One does NOT an agency need to score a CK one campaign — all you need is an iPhone, and Instagram account, and an insatiable thirst for attention.
Preston is an accidental casting director with an encyclopedic knowledge of the modeling industry. He’s the casting director of DIS Magazine and he’s from Arkansas, seriously. Preston, while often playing the fool of his own endeavors in the webseries Model Files, is in fact a champion of equal representation in the modeling industry. Also, his day rate is $425 which is a bit steep, tbh.
Perhaps the daily rate helps maintain his beautiful locks?VFiles, Preston Chaunsumlit
Here at VFiles we hold no animosity toward other websites, in fact, being second to the greatest website ever to grace God’s green internet would all we can ever hope for. Meet our buddy Q, he happened to start WSHH back in 2005, when the “Shovel Girl” video was just a twinkle in his eye, and nary a comment section death threat had yet been uttered. He is #GOALS for real.
Probably the most influential show of all time. Or at least, it’s had the most impact on designers of late. You know that quote about the Velvet Underground, something like, "They only sold 30,000 copies of their first album, but everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band." It’s kinda like that, except with fashion and everyone who saw that collection started a totally derivative print heavy streetwear line.
SUCH FASHION, a new series of fashion films exploring the most fashionable elements of fashion's fashion films — finally a show that truly adheres to the principle of “Form Follows Fashion.”
If you don’t have a TMI you’re probably a nobody and possibly smell bad. TMI’s are short video interviews in which fashion and pop culture's most relevant characters reveal just a little too much information. Take a look at this “Best Of” playlist featuring Ladyfag, Martin Margiela, The ATL Twins, and way more.
U IS FOR UNIVERSITYOF VFILES
Contrary to popular belief, being smart is in fact pretty hot. So grab your moleskine, forge that Adderall ‘script, and get #learned at VFiles U. In the first of many VFILES UNIVERSITY lectures to come, cofounder of MTV, VH1, I Heart Radio, and all around awesome dude John Sykes stops by Columbia Business School to discuss the interrelation of pop culture and commerce.
VFiles Made Fashion gives young designers an opportunity to show on fashion's biggest stage – New York Fashion Week. Designers are chosen through a global usergenerated search on vfiles.com. See what went down behind the scenes with this season's designers, ASSK, Melitta Baumeister, and Hyein Seo.
Fashion's most oppressively creative genius and one of the revered ‘Antwerp Six’, Walter Van Beirendonck launched his first collection in 1983. From 1993 to 1999, Van Beirendonck worked under the label Wild & Lethal Trash – or ‘Walt’ as it was known – staging elaborate fashion shows which often resembled warehouse raves.
The internet’s favorite 17-year-old Swedish rapper played a private show for VFiles’ second birthday party at the shop at 12 Mercer Street. Pour some lean in that AriZona and peep the full show with Yung Lean and his crew of Sad Boys.
Oh you got the new Rick Owens x Adidas? That’s cool, I rock Z COILS u fuccboi. Step your game up. Aside: Everyone knows that fashion starts from the unlikeliest sources, and Z COILS are a pretty good case in point; also, it’s the only “Z” word we could think of. Thanks for reading! xo VFiles
