meet the multi-talented BO PRESSLY

Sometimes the best laid plans go astray and this is one of those times so I decided to go ahead and introduce you to Bo Pressly who might just be a triple threat as dancer, model and choreographer.

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These interviews are difficult when the subject is a bit tight lipped but since I have found that the internet is a wonderful source of information as is my web of contacts so I took it upon myself to sort of fill in some of the blanks.

Bo is a country boy and a city boy who always seems to have a full agenda and no wonder when it is explained to you that it took several years to choreograph one of his short films and make it come to fruition. He has residences in NYC and upstate New York as well as a dwelling down south so you might say he is a man of the east coast.

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I do hope that your interest will be piqued and that you will research him even   further than I did... take a deep dive and meet Bo Pressly!

Jeffrey Felner: Can you give us a brief history as to how you arrived at this stage of your life/careers?

Bo Pressly: I’ve been dancing professionally since I was 18 and made my New York City debut as a dancer in 2012. Since then, I have danced with numerous companies and have created countless new works with choreographers and directors. In 2015 I made my first movement-based film and became totally captivated and enthralled with the medium. Modeling and photographic work was always secondary to concert dance. The two worlds seemed to collide when I stepped onto the modest set of Dance of the Neurons. There, for the first time rehearsed/codified movement met with the command of being in the now which is a film/ photography set. It was the first revelatory click in my career leaving me with a vision for not only myself as a dancer in the 21st Century but for the art form of dance itself. 

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 JF: Did you have any idols/mentors from any creative areas that influenced your development and why did you choose them?

BP: Jiří Kylián and his work has left an indelible mark on me. His innovation of dance and his vision for what concert dance can be is endlessly inspiring. His commitment to bringing the art form into the future along with other movement artists that create moments that have never been done before are most inspiring.  Hyonok Kim is absolutely a mentor of mine. She has unequivocally changed the trajectory of my career and has opened my eyes to the possibilities of what dance can be. Her commitment to dance as well to the innovation of the form helps inform my moves within the medium.

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 JF: If you could have a dinner party with any 5 people, who would they be and why?

BP: Oh, and the dinner party of five would consist of Jim Morrison, the Dalai Lama, Diana Princess of Wales, Amy Winehouse, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. I find each of them prolific in their own right. The conversation would be worldly, truly humanistic in nature and very informative.

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 JF: Do you have any dream project or collaboration; what or who it be with and why?

BP: Hard to pin down just one dream collaboration, but if anything, this existence has taught me it’s this: “the more specific you get with your dreams the more quickly they manifest.”  So here goes:  A full length film with a truly revolutionary vision. A world created; One enshrined in beauty, music, and movement. An elaborate narrative told without the use of dialogue. An innovative film that honors the past, informed by the past, yet completely abandons the past. A new vision created for today that inspires the audience for tomorrow.  If I could team up with say any team dead or alive it would be this Count Luchino Visconti to direct the film, Eiko Ishioka for costuming, J.S. Bach to compose the score and my friend Andre D. Kim for cinematography. All of these individuals have created work that is truly timeless and transcendent. My goal as a creator is to remove you from your current existence and surround you by a world of beauty, serenity, and connectivity to the universe. This team would and could undoubtedly create something galactic. 

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 JF: Where is your focus today and how do you see your trajectory for the future years?

BP: My focus today is a heavy task… processing the chaos that is our world and through its digestion creating beauty. I want to make every moment more beautiful than the last. With this set intention I see the trajectory of my career advancing in film, photography, innovative theatre, and tangible bits of transcendence I create through my object d’art. 

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https://www.instagram.com/bopressly/

ROBERT FAIRER, McQUEEN UNSEEN, JOHN GALLIANO UNSEEN, MARC JACOBS UNSEEN .SCAD MUSEUM

 I cannot be more thrilled than  to say that I played  some small part in bringing  this exhibit to life, I am humbled by the friendships of the entire Fairer Family and to Raf Gomes of SCAD who believed in my ideas and made it happen! thank you to Rosemary Feitlberg for this wonderful interview...

PLEASE CLICK THE LINK AND READ ALL ABOUT THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME SHOW..... Backstage Fashion Photographer Robert Fairer Shares Backstage Stories – WWD

SPRING 2022... Lessons learned

After 4 major fashion capitals paraded their designers’ newest creations, I thought I’d share what I learned after a seemingly more arduous and lengthier season of the fashion cycle:

·       Designers should not speak as their words rarely make sense with the work they present and if that isn’t bad enough, they get lost in their own pseudo intellectual jibber jabber. The best idea would be to shut up and just let the clothes do the talking!

·       Apparently, most designers seem to think or make believe that this pandemic is over and things shall return as they were ... of course that would be a gross inaccuracy as this pandemic state, while not as severe as it was, is still with us and things will NOT go back to life as we once knew it. Hence showing clothes as if it was just another spring season doesn’t cut it unless one is in complete denial.

·       Reviewers should be forced to offer an opinion and not speak of venues, front rows, inspirations and influencers.  What ever happened to wearability, salability, fit, merchantability and appeal?

·       Heritage brands only exist in name (for the majority) these days as so many designers seem to think they use the archive but if that’s the case how come the clothes, they design have no recognizable signature linked to that brand?

·       Then we come to the definition or how does one design sexy without the obvious nudity, sheerness, second skin dresses, tits and ass?  Apparently, it is defined only at its most base level by the vast majority of designers the world over.

·       Make no mistake there must have been a memo sent to each designer that it would be in their best interest to show bare midriffs, bra tops or bandeaus and my question when, if ever, did you see or will you see women who can afford these collections baring those particular areas of their body during daytime hours or for that matter in the evening and we are not talking at the beach?

·       Since politically correct and politics have entered into the fashion world, I would like to know what is attractive about squeezing a token size 14-16 or 18 into a size 10 dress so that she looks like a sausage in a weenie skin? Are we supposed to think that this is fashionable or that larger women have no mirrors in their homes and lastly how many of these collections ever cut above a size 12 for production?

·       Models have become wind up robots who walk a straight line and exit ... no emotion, no extra bodily movement and absolutely never a smile... in fact they look miserable in the clothes they are wearing. While on the subject, what has happened to perfectly groomed models with make-up and perfect hair as that too has fallen by the wayside. Last aspect is staging which is haphazard at best... day clothes with evening clothes with clothes of no discernible reason.

·       The last issue I will address is shoes... so many look at though they are wearing boxes or books on their feet and if not, then skyscraper stilettos that hurt just looking at them.

I could keep going but think I will end it here and you can add to the list if you are so inclined...feel free!

CHANEL spring 2022

How sophomoric to think that a show’s excitement is created by how the venue is set up... Virginie or whomever staged, choreographed and styled this show sure got it all wrong when trying to recapture any excitement. I digress as I will speak first of everything BUT the clothes... like long straight hair does not equate to young unless you mean 16-year-olds, booking second and third rate “models” is no asset when all they all they had to do was watch REAL models (Marpessa, Dalma, Evangelista) work a runway in the 80s. A head/hair flip doesn’t make you model, knowing how to capture attention in a way that doesn’t suggest imitation but in fact is genuine certainly would have helped. Apparently, Madame Viard didn’t learn all of Karl’s tricks of the trade.

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The clothes: well, so yes, they were sort of Chanelish some more than others and some ridiculously not at all ... I did get a good giggle at the double-breasted blouse and mid-calf sequin wrap skirt on a full figured “model” complete with sheitel! Shirting patterns at Chanel... not! Then there was this tsunami of horizontal stripes and embellishments; now anyone who has ever spent a day selling clothes to women of $ubstance knows that a horizontal emphasis is the kiss of death. While we are on the subject let’s talk about those clumsy fat Louis heeled sandals when only ONE cap toe flat was shown in the first look.

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There were a few good pieces in the mix but nothing outstanding and certainly nothing to scream about unless in disgust.... a butterfly print at Chanel... where did that come from unless she wanted to go the whole 9 yards and do a sequin butterfly top that was all the rage around 35 years ago. The excitement on this runway left us forever when Karl left this life and she apparently is no match for what he knew and it does not matter how long she was his so-called right hand.

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I say no matter how long you stand in a garage; you won’t become a car!

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PS. This collection should ONLY be seen in motion and she did do one  right thing  and that was pile on the accessories

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Akris spring 2022

If you came looking for bra top, bare midriffs and sex for sale clothes, you might turn around and leave now as that is not what Albert Kriemler has delivered with this collection or any of his previous collections for that matter.

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If you’ve come to see slick, clean, urbane and sophisticated clothes for women who need no bells and whistles to feel well dressed ... then you’re at the right place.

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One might go so far as to say it’s minimal and possibly even make a comparison to the original Jil Sander if Jil was more constructed and sharper edged. Akris has come a long way from making matronly old lady clothes and receives very little attention for the mastery the designer employs in every collection.

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Akris dresses women... real women ... not showgirls, not wanna be hookers and not those who wish the limelight but women with discerning taste who wish to be admired for their wardrobe choices and not pointed at as some kind of fashion freak.

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The images speak for themselves and while some might say it’s boring or doesn’t set the world on fire, well, to each   his own. You can keep the Givenchys and Stellas and Loewes and I’ll take Akris ten times over!

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Schiaparelli Spring 2022

I think for the first time, before writing a review, I did some research about the eponymous designer and came up with WHAT WOULD ELSA DO or WWED?

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Obviously, Roseberry and Schiaparelli are acquired tastes but then again, she was never really about mass appeal.

“Dress designing, incidentally, is to me not a profession but an art”

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Roseberry has most definitely taken on her persona when designing his collections for the brand and while some of it may be totally outrageous while other parts of it divinely simple, they are all part of the Schiaparelli mystique which he embodies in these collections.

“In difficult times, fashion is outrageous”

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Well, we are in difficult times on most fronts, including fashion, and these clothes reflect that outrageous aspect. Roseberry appears to design with an incredibly free hand which certainly explains so much about the collection. The span of the collection is from the somewhat simple LBD to the audacious and brash circus stripes, powerful florals and mind-boggling embellishments and jewelry.

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“Fortunately, or unfortunately for me, I am always at my best when I am unhampered: when I can let myself go and have a little fun.”

                                              

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Well, I’m guessing Roseberry has his fun and perhaps hasn’t even scratched the surface of what he is hiding inside but one thing we do know is that he keeps the brands DNA close at hand and retains the integrity of the maison unlike so many others of his colleagues.

PS... what I did  find a  bit odd  were the Chanel  references  given the 2 designers prickly relation!

Balenciaga spring 2022

Get moose! Get squirrel! Send Demna, aka the grim reaper of fashion, back to Siberia before this virus spreads!

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He has completed the desecration of one of the most fabled names in the world of fashion. The fawner will drool, the trendoids will go broke trying to own it and damp Depends are the order of the day for the fashion media.

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He has made a mockery of fashion; Rochester Big and Tall for Men and Women. looks like a death march to me so I think their next store opening should be in a dumpster or perhaps in a mausoleum with a red interior. Aside the from the fact that shock the value is over, he is a caricature of what he has already done and thinks he is a star which the vaunted media elite has made him.

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I have chosen not to waste any more words as it all speaks for itself and those who find this worthy of any favorable words! Enjoy it!

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PS...  Morticia and Elvira  are on their way for their fittings! and ixnay on the jiffy pop  dress

Elie Saab spring 2022

Let me present exhibits A through I which represent a collection that is held together with forethought and planning, Saab is no Johnny one note, he brings sexy without skin, he brings glamour without klieg lights and most of all he offers up wearable clothes for day and evening.

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That said, we have rarely seen this in NY or Milan and not so far in Paris either; he is known for dresses and he convinces you that indeed he is a master of a dress including the 2-piece variety. Some might say it is a lot of generic looking pieces but what you cannot deny is that they are impeccably finished and all wearable for all types of bodies... well at least most!

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The cohesion of the collection is done so well and seemingly effortlessly. He reminds us that it is possible for Spring 2022 not to do bra-lets and bare midriffs or any sort of bells and whistles; just purely beautiful clothes for women of discerning taste.

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No, I have not forgotten that the pandemic era is not over yet but I would tend to think that his ladies circulate in circles where much of the dressier looks can go to private dinners and small celebrations without looking like a wedding cake.

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Call me old fashioned but bring me Saab and leave the meager talents of a Raf and Pierpaolo far in the background as their clothes won’t get much further than the runway and truthfully speaking serve no purpose.

Valentino spring 2022

Okay, I give up, not that I had high expectations from this man but what was this? How many audiences is he “speaking” to and where are they wearing these stratospherically expensive, unflattering and unattractive clothes? Aside from the color palette which was kaleidoscopic to say the least, I want to know what’s the message here?  Where’s the brand DNA....  it sure isn’t gladiator sandals or Doc Martens!

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You would think that a brand of this stature, which has been fading fast, would avoid fingertip length sleeves, puddling pants and floor sweeping jackets, not to mention blue jeans.  Rompers? ... really! Who needs generic clothes at this price from this brand ...maybe he thinks that separates in taffeta are luxe ... well, they could be but not here?  In essence this collection is about color and fabric and surely not about design.

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I might also wonder about the styling... some models look like painted ladies and others look like no makeup and might I ask what woman carries a leather bag with a chain strap when wearing an evening gown? There are pieces that look like they came from Chicos and lots of pieces that look like some signora whipped them up on her Singer... no pattern necessary! Hair dyed to match the dress; it’s like amateur hour at FIT.  with nearly 100 exits one would think they might organize how this collection was shown instead it looked like who ever got dressed first or grabbed whatever outfit they wanted was pushed out no matter if supposed daywear or evening wear ... what are they thinking

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