IM // UR | romeuuu: Bright Young Thing

BEFORE TODAY by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

It doesn’t take much to make me feel stupid. Trying to find the words to describe the debut album of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti at 4AD is just one of many examples I could give you. To me, ‘Before Today’ sounds like an album that Kevin Barnes could be recording if he loved goth bands more than funk ones. Or like the cold wave genre entering a multicoloured psychedelic stage instead of glazing at it's own depression. Don’t mind my threadbare examples; this is the album that will make it onto every interesting top 10 of the year and you don’t wanna miss it.

WE // R \\ WEARING

I can't resist (probably overpriced) basics-with-a-twist. My wardrobe, full of T by Wang, Oak, Bassike and yes, American Apparel is proof of this; and since in Australia, a new favourite has emerged in the form of Nathan Smith. His selection of supersoft tees, tanks and dresses have sucked me into buying multiples of a number of styles in different colourways. You just can't go wrong with these though! Addictively and endlessly wearable - and not in actual fact, overpriced in the slightlest - Nathan Smith is the way forward for your wardrobe.

WE // R \\ WATCHING

I don’t think any series will treat teenagers the same way that Freaks and Geeks did almost 10 years ago. Although relying on every teen American cliché they could, this series was the closest thing to reality you could get whilst still being something fun and interesting to watch – cause, you know, life is boring. With bands like The Who, The Clash and XTC being either part of episodes or the soundtrack, this 80’s based cult show was short-lived (only 18 episodes), but long enough to enrich the careers of some young actors (i.e. James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps and, erm, Linda Cardellini) and is greatly missed. Can we have a movie about them meeting again in the 00’s?

WE // R \\ GOING

Once, a friend of mine wanted to take me to this 'cheap Chinese restaurant', situated in the heart of Liberdade, a Japanese neighborhood in São Paulo. When we got there the place was packed, but because it looked cheesy and kinda poor, I didn't want to wait it out. It took another friend for me to go back there and fall in love with it. Now, every time the mood for some freshly made noodles (you can watch the chief making the noodle dough through a window) framed in some horribly painted pink walls takes me, I go for Rong He. Did I mention the food is also incredibly generous and cheap?

WE // R \\ READING

The ultimate in peeping tom into other, cooler, more fashionable, richer, quirkier and more-hipster-than-thou lives is Todd Selby's The Selby. Having previously been an internet only voyeur's dream, Todd has just last month released The Selby Is In Your Place, a coffee table tome full of twee drawings, colourful interiors and people showering. Half of the images in the books are favourites from the website and the other is stuff he hasn't published online yet. So go check it out, maybe buy it if you can to make your crappy coffee table in your crappy apartment that little bit cooler with pictures of someone else's cool stuff.

romeuuu: Bright Young Thing

Thursday // May 14, 2009 at 20:19 // filed under Fashion // Art

romeuuu is a 20 year old boy from Santa Catarina, Brazil, and I daresay he's one of the bright young stars of tomorrow. Not that he hasn't been found yet, as he's usually taking his arty collages to websites like São Paulo Fashion Week and magazines like Catarina, and of course they're in his spectacular monthly online magazine, U_MAG. It's just that this creative can (and will) make him go much further.

What he does basically, are high fashion collages, in mostly black and white. But as we learnt from the years that we've been following his work, it's always evolving. From his most experimental ideas, filled with a '90s anarchy essence, to his more commercial work - and even these are more daring than the tired and tiring fashion market in Brazil, his own style is always evident. Coming out of the countryside just makes himan even more interesting case than he is already.

U_MAG is one of the places he made to express his ideas and try new things. The online magazine was created by him in 2004, will be published from this month here at I M // U R. To welcome him, we asked him to design a new background and logo for us. The result is this solid urbanity that frames this very post that you are reading on the website. We also did a mini-interview with him that's illustrated by some of his work. Check below and show the boy some love.

Revista Catarina (cover)

How did you start?

I started to make the (handmade collage) collages a long time ago, but only after a while did I start to take it seriously. Then I started using the computer, instead and I tried a more personal style. Then, in 2004, I created the U_MAG so I could use all these collages.

The first issues featured much more collage than nowadays and were much more experimental. And now, as the magazine is changing - I'm focusing on more fashion editorials and etc - I'm staring a new project called From Brazil, With Love with daily work. It is still in beta, though.

Editoral with Rogerio Cavalcanti photo @ Casa de Criadores

What are your biggest influences?

I like a lot Peter Saville, Fabien Baron, '80s fanzines, I love '60s cinema, cubism, the first editions of The Face by Neville Brody, '90s video clips, albums cover (...) Anything can influence me. It's a huge list!