Timur Kim was the Central Saint Martins graduate who made his name with floor length denim frocks; modern, exciting, something different from the norm, they offered a new take on an everyday texture. Like that Britney dress if Nicolas Ghesquière had been responsible.
Two years and several collections later, he has just launched a slightly different ‘something different’: the selfie tee.
He tells Clash: “One day, in a café, my friend suddenly started pointing his phone at me. I said 'don't!' but he replied 'you wish! It's a selfie'. I realised that his outfit would go unnoticed in the picture and the idea was born.”
Concentrating his efforts on the area around the neck, said idea sees 100 large handcrafted cotton tees with bib like decoration, varying from monochrome logo necklines to a reproduction of the caviar tin print first seen on a LFW show invite.
“Thanks to social networks and sharing,” he notes, “this type of portrait has found momentum in recent years but as a concept, the 'selfie' has always existed. Take a look at your family albums and most likely you will find one or two old photos like this. It existed even before cameras went massive; artists like Degas used to portray themselves in a similar way.”
Admitting it’s a bit annoying (possible understatement, depending on the output of those you follow on Instagram/Twitter/Facebook), the Russian-Korean designer feels to treat it like any other trend of its kind would miss the point: “Trends come and go. Selfies are here to stay. I wanted to fill them with more fashion. After all, in what other industry could you get away with such inward-facing tendencies?”
Truth.
Personally, selfies aren’t his bag (Clash checked, Clash found no arms outstretched MySpace 2.0 photos on his feed), but as for celebrities, he shares a favourite with (seemingly) the rest of the British media; for her “irresistibly cute grimace” he picks Cara.
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