Issue 19 —
It seems like everything is being redefined these days. Business models, political power, production (think 3-D printing)—all powered by the Web. For style, however, everyday reinvention is simply business as usual. Throughout this issue we’ve searched for new classics. True classics will always be timeless, and heritage—especially in menswear—has blossomed in popularity. But our focus turned to the innovators—those who look to the past as a source of inspiration yet push new developments, with a lasting impact.
December 2011 110 Pages
Black Americans Couch Surfing Mixed Up Momo Taro Culture Clash Rhythm Is A Dancer Tribute to The Unsung Heroes of The Night Gallery
Peter Van Rhoon
Kanako B. Koga
Our Take —
Code is specific for a number of reasons. For a start, it is strongly connected with publicly funded efforts to regenerate Amsterdam’s infamous red-light district in the heart of the city as a hub of young Dutch fashion creativity. As the hookers are moved out, the fashion kids are moved in. Secondly, as the name indicates, it comes from a Dutch position – mostly arising with the art world and local fashion teaching institutions with their conceptual approaches to fashion- in which fashion can be something documented rather than prescribed.
,In this mindset, in which fashion is something that belongs to society and not the authorship of individual designers, numerous practitioners in the Netherlands have engaged with documenting and profiling the dress codes encountered in daily life rather than prescribing what the public should wear.
Code originally raised the same discussion in the form of a magazine. Time has seen Code move from being an experimental project to a mature, zesty mag with a youthful identity. The original tenet of engaging with real people and existing scenes is the thread that draws all disciplines – fashion, design or lifestyle- together with art direction that is compact and energetic without being fussy.
