There’s no such thing as too much
Fräulein is a Berlin-based fashion magazine with an eye for ostentatious editorial. One feature, titled ‘There’s No Such Thing As Too Much’ shows the Spanish model Sita Abellan wearing only a white Marie Antoinette wig and a pin-striped suspender belt. Another piece shows off the artwork of Chris Drange, who mostly paints Kendall Jenner and Emrata, surrounded by flower emojis.
Drange’s work accompanies an excellent essay by Diana Weis, who argues that building yourself a fake face out of makeup is an art form, and authenticity is inexcusably dull. Weis references Susan Sontag’s essay ‘On Camp’, making the point that the turn to artificiality lends strength in hard times. The celebration of excess is joyful, and infectious.
Another great piece in this issue profiles ‘Exactitudes’, by Dutch artists Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek. The duo travel the world photographing groups of people who dress in the same way, arranging subjects in identical poses on a 3 x 4 grid. Looking at these pictures, at first you assume each page contains 12 images of the same person, in slightly different outfits. It’s only when you look a little closer that you can see that these are actually completely different people, dressed so similarly it is genuinely shocking. The project, Versluis and Uyttenbroek explain in the accompanying interview, is about trying to understand people’s need for individuality while simultaneously needing to remain part of the group. I found looking at the pictures strangely mortifying: any faith you might have in your own uniqueness will, when confronted with this project, take a knock.
