PLASTIK 22

There is an art to being particular*.Ever since I’ve learnt how to master it, it makes me feel like I am one step ahead of everyone. As an editor, you develop a razor-sharp eye and an ability to capture l’air du temps. In today’s world of excess and access, finding the devil in the details seems harder than keeping up with everything that’s going on. During “the festive season,” your job gets even harder. You are overwhelmed by a sea of collaborations, bombarded by an ocean of promotions, brainwashed by notions of what you think you might need.

Christmas is the new Mardi Gras –we feed on it like no-one’s business. Santa is getting fatter each year. They have not only invented the means but also the needs: the wish list, the gift guide, the limited-edition-this-and-that, the Black Friday, the Cyber Monday…retailers would do anything to get you spending your hard-earned cash. Sales people spot you from afar with their laser-beam eyes, and just as they are coming towards you (tense music playing) you ward them off with two brutal words: JUST. LOOKING. Done! And if there is a chance for Round 2, you are protected by one lethal weapon – the customer is ALWAYS right. It is in our nature and psyche to be repelled by an act of desperation. Yet, in the midst of all this madness, HOW DO YOU PRESS THE PAUSE BUTTON? In the old days of VHS and Walkman, we had to push Pause before we hit Play. The tape or cassette needed its time to digest the command before it executes it. This seems like a privilege today. We eat up words, fast-forward through films, and if there is a slow song once in a blue moon, we remix the hell out of it.

“Work hard, earn big” does not apply to this day of age. Success is measured by the amount of likes you have on Facebook, the followers on your Twitter account or if you become an overnight Instagram sensation. We have created a million ways for exhibitionism, but not one system that governs the social decay. Yet ART remains the only cultural arbiter of our time. In this issue, we question its endurance against the nuisance of politics and commercialism. But then there is the art of choosing what to take in despite all temptations and all sorts of pollution. Being particular has always been the cornerstone of our magazine’s vision. We CUT, EDIT and SELECT for you to enjoy the finer things in life. Just like a simple chemical equation, we SEPARATE the nylon from the fiberglass…and all that remains is PLASTIK*.

PaulA thomas

Feature

Tall, tanned, young and not-so-lovely…Cameron Diaz’s femme fatale character in Ridley Scott’s the counselor demands a matching “killa” wardrobe. Creative director at Thomas Wylde, Paula Thomas, jumped to the mission, with scissors in hands and a lot of Hollywood flaire, creating some of the most iconic looks in the history of modern cinema..