NEW YORK FASHION WEEK STREET STYLE 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHANITA SIMS
FIND THE COMPLETE PHOTO SET HERE.

HIGHLAND

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INTERVIEWED BY RICH AYBAR
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTELLE DE CASTRO
STYLING BY MICHELLE CARIMPONG
GROOMING BY KERRIE JORDAN 
MODEL: MATTHEW LOGOS AT REQUEST MODEL MANAGEMENT 

The brains and creativity behind menswear label Highland come from Mike Franks, Lizzie Owens, and Cramer Tolboe. From its inaugural Fall 2010 collection, Highland has gone from strength to strength with completely cool, easy-wear designs born out of the trio’s love of function and dynamic details, and inspired by the freedom of the American West.

Rich Aybar is the stylist to world-renowned designer Rick Owens. His other clients include Givenchy, MGMT, and Highland. 

Find the editorial and interview in full here.

PLANTS AND ANIMALS

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INTERVIEWED BY GRADY MITCHELL
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SHAYNE LAVERDIERE

Plants and Animals are Warren Spicer, Nicolas Basque, and Matthew Woodley. The Montreal musicians have been sharing their sound with the world for over 10 years. The Lab asked Woodley to tell us all about their latest album, evolution, and the literal depths the band has gone to to put on a great show.  

THE LAB MAGAZINE—You’ve described your music as “post-classic rock.” How would you spell out the Plants and Animals sound to someone who missed out on that classic era? 

MATTHEW WOODLEY—It’s probably about time we made that disappear from Wikipedia. It’s ironic and funny and light-hearted and means about as much as it doesn’t mean at all. Classic rock is The Beatles and CCR, right? Post rock is a nineties subgenre. One night way back, outside a bar where we had just played, a friend said we had a classic rock sound. I said we were post-classic rock. He laughed and it stuck. Everything comes from the classical and the blues and we’re no different. It would be great to invent a new subgenre but that’s not our priority so much as making something honest and exciting and maybe even goosebumpy at times.

TLM—Plants and Animals started out as a purely instrumental group. When did you decide to begin writing lyrics, and what was the catalyst for this change? 

MW—We made Parc Avenue, which came out in 2008, over two years. The singing emerged over that time. It started as “oohs” and “ahhs” and gradually evolved into real words. It’s sort of like the fish coming out of water in the olden days, but faster. The fish was like, “This is the future,” and the fish grew lungs and legs. At first it was kind of awkward, but eventually it learned to run and start fires. 

TLM—The release of Parc Avenue got you nominated for the Polaris Prize and two Juno Awards, and launched you to opening spots for Grizzly Bear and Gnarls Barkley. You’d been together almost five years at that point. Did that sudden spotlight change the band at all? Did it make recording a follow-up more difficult?

MW—We wanted to be a full-time band. We worked very hard, built a boat, caught a wave and rode the wave. Then we came home and started on record number two, post-Parc Avenue. That whole recording process was quite a different experience because we were now a band with history and a reference point. People had an idea of what Plants and Animals sounded and felt like. That’s a brand new thing for a band and I think a challenge for a lot of them. Before there were no people and our idea of ourselves was a lot more innocent.

Find the complete feature here.

MARGARET DUROW

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INTERVIEWED BY AMY WOODROFFE

Margaret Durow is a Wisconsin-based photographer. When she’s not taking poetic, moving photographs, she studies Biological Conservation and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

THE LAB MAGAZINE—Although your images have an intimate and personal quality, the universal themes of love, time, and memory that are present are easy to relate to. Can you explain whether accessibility is a conscious goal or if you think it’s the natural result of honest storytelling? 

MARGARET DUROW—I take photos so that I can look back at them later and remember how I felt. I’m not trying to create photos for other people, but I am trying to express to them how I feel, and make them feel something when they look at my photos. I think strangers have felt the same emotions I have, so I share my photographs with them online. I hope that when people look at my photos they understand that the feelings are personal to me – I want the image to make them feel what I felt, but also make them feel something personal for themselves.

TLM—Would you say your images directly document your feeling about each moment, or do you use the camera to intentionally manipulate these moments, creating and emphasising certain emotions? 

MD—When I experience anything, I think about how it makes me feel and want to remember that feeling. I look around and see that the visuals, the light, the colors, etc., express emotion. When I’m taking photos, I have to make a choice about which emotions to remember and which visuals I will use to create a photograph that represent them. I want to create beautiful poetic images that don’t just capture or mimic reality, but that show my feelings and create a new feeling for the viewer.

TLM—Some of your images capture what seems to be pain and sadness. How does it make you feel to record such moments and is there an element of catharsis?  

MD—I take photos to remind me how I felt even if the feeling isn’t good, because I still find beauty and poetry in pain and sadness. Photographing not only happy emotions shows me that there are always ups and downs, and sometimes the best way to get through bad times is to accept how you feel, allow yourself to feel and express it, and create something new out of it – a way to look at it more objectively and move on. 

Find the complete interview here.

SMOKE FAIRIES 

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INTERVIEWED BY LAURA MARLING
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAX KNIGHT

Meeting at school at the age of 11, Smoke Fairieswas born out of Katherine Blamire and Jessica Davies’ years of travel, songwriting, and friendship. Years on, the British duo’s unique approach to blues and folk has earned them support from Richard Hawley, Jack White, and Laura Marling who interviews them here. Their latest album, Blood Speaks, was released in 2012.

Laura Marling is an award-winning British folk artist. She exploded onto the popular radar in 2008 when her debut album Alas, I Cannot Swim was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. She has since released two follow-up albums and a fourth record is expected in 2013.

Find the complete interview here.