PEOPLE OF NOTE: ASHER YASBINCEK, WILL MCDONALD & TOM WEATHERALL BY ROBBIE FIMMANO
In the nineties, Australian drama Heartbreak High enthralled a generation of teenagers who saw their own lives played out on the small screen. Sure, those fictional teens may have been a little bit edgier, their clothes a touch cooler and their sex lives a lot more active, but there was an authenticity and grit to the characters that struck a chord. While not all the storylines from the Hartley High of the nineties remain relevant, first love and heartache are the touchstones of teenage experience making it ripe material to rework for a Gen Z audience via a Netflix reboot.
THE ART OF TAKING UP SPACE – MIA DENNIS BY AMELIA DOWD
The role the body plays in fashion in recent years has witnessed a myriad of combative shifts. Publicly, a movement has rippled across the industry, calling for greater representation of marginalised groups. The campaigns and clothes within the fashion world began to acknowledge the folly of the beauty standard that dictated it for decades. Amelia Dowd captures Australian model Mia Dennis, whose rising status is carving out space for curve and queer models alike.
OPENING ACT – A PROJECT WITH BIANCA SPENDER BY JESS RUBY JAMES AND DYLAN BUZOLICH
Bianca Spender’s meticulously crafted collections have always proved testament to her industry pedigree and well practiced expertise. Her uniqueness lies in her ability to imbue each collection with meaning - her garments, in all their wonderfully draped and tailored lyricism, do so much more than clothe the body. Spender’s AAFW show earlier this year was no different. With a mission to celebrate the courageousness of women, her spring summer collection has a lot to say. To mark its official launch, SIDE-NOTE sat down with Spender to reflect on what it meant to present the opening show and the figurative space she’s claimed for her eponymous fashion label.
COCO BEACH BY THE POOL – A PROJECT WITH CHANEL BY DAPHNE NGUYEN FT. FERNANDA LY
From the birth of the bikini, to the advent of the hot girl summer, the formula for the perfect summer has always centred around the pursuit of effortless joy, a motivation captured in photographer Daphne Nguyen’s portraits.
THE FEMININITY OF FUTURISM BY MIA RANKIN, FREDDIE FREDERICKS AND BIANCA FARMAKIS
Inspired by women who embody a femininity and attitude that exists outside the bounds of earth, Photographer, Mia Rankin and Stylist, Freddie Fredericks capture the otherworldliness of futurism and mythology championed by female icons of popular culture.
TRUE TO FORM – A PROJECT WITH BASSIKE BY DAN GOODE
When Deborah Sams and Mary Lou Ryan co-founded Bassike in 2006 their intention was pure and without precedent - high-quality basics, honestly made. The brand name’s creative play on ‘basic’ would set the tone for the product; an offering that added interest, and integrity, to everyday essentials.
A MORNING WITH CLARE SMYTH AND HUBLOT BY DARREN MCDONALD
Darren McDonald captures internationally renowned chef and Hublot 'friend of the house', Clare Smyth, in the kitchen of her first restaurant outside of the UK.
THE ENDURING ALLURE OF THE SHIMMERING SILVER SCREEN
There’s a cathartic feeling watching a film affords. Be it the promise of unparalleled creativity, a sweet story that boasts enduring emotional impacts, or the simple joy of being bathed in the technicoloUred lights of a fantasy world that we somehow relate to, escapism and human intrigue has be transfixed by the cinematic world for decades. Bianka Farmakis reviews the best of Melbourne International Film Festival.
PAPER SHOP BY DANIEL GOODE
Daniel Goode takes us inside the eccentric and chaotically beautiful paper shop run by Augustine Muela Peres’ in Newtown, Sydney. Bianca Farmakis unpacks some of his ideas for 2022 and beyond.
COME TOGETHER – A PROJECT WITH AJE BY LUKE SCHUETRUMPF
Inspired by the notion that the best creative pursuits are born from the melding of creative forces, nuanced with sentiments of opulence and eccentricity, Aje partners with SIDE-NOTE to honour 'Provenance' and the ritual of the dining table, a centrepiece for the meeting of minds. To mark the launch of the Colombe d’Or inspired, Provenance collection, Karla Clarke catches up with co founders Adrian Norris and Edwina Forest.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: JILLIAN NGUYEN
With a feature film and hit TV series already under her belt, and several more projects in the pipeline, Melbourne based Jillian Nguyen is a powerhouse performer. Ted Min captures Nguyen on the streets of her hometown for SIDE-NOTE’s PEOPLE OF NOTE series.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: MEG MAC BY ROBBIE FIMMANO
Emerging from her self-imposed hiatus with one buried album, one new album, and a fresh sense of direction, Mac finally feels back in control. SIDE-NOTE caught up with Meg Mac as she prepared for her Sydney Opera House performance, the final of her sold out national tour.
COMING OF AGE BY ANNABEL NEWLAND
Annabel Newland unpacks the idea of a coming of age and romanticised nostalgia, questioning if these youth milestones really hold the same gravitas that we are conditioned to believe.
“IT” BY DAPHNE NGUYEN AND ISABELLE TRUMAN
“Throughout history, certain women have captivated society, influencing artists, designers, musicians and the masses long before Instagram created an economy out of it. But defining exactly what it' is about these It Girls is no easy feat”, writes Isabelle Truman. Daphne Nguyen shoots New Zealand born Ch’lita in “IT” for Edition N°15, IDEATE.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: MITZI RUHLMANN BY MICHAEL BRUNT AND BIANCA FARMAKIS
Off the back of the 2021 Foxtel series, Love Me, SIDE-NOTE chats to rising talent, Mitzi Rhurlmann on landing her career-shifting role. Lensed by Michael Brunt and written by Bianca Farmakis.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: MEGAN MACKENZIE AND CATHERINE VĂN-DAVIES
Commercial surfing has long been epitomised by a masculine bravado and an air of nonchalance. Theatre veteran Catherine Văn-Davies, and newcomer Megan MacKenzie inject new life to the story of 70s Australian surf culture in ABC’s Barons. Lensed by Julian Schulz, interview by Annabel Newland.
BASKING IN THE SUNROOM BY BIANCA FARMAKIS
Bianca Farmakis sheds light on Sunroom, a female-led, sex positive subscription-based platform that explores the freedom of sexually liberated content and the resulting empowerment of previously censored conversations and careers.
PAST FORWARD BY LUKE SCHUETRUMPF
While the process may be analogue and near extinct, the development of stills in a dark room offers photographer Luke Schuetrumpf a world of creativity to develop not only his images but his conceptual process. Matilda Dods writes of Schuetrumpf's recent pursuit and the importance of the dark room as a catalyst in pushing creative boundaries.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: BOYS OF BARONS BY ROBBIE FIMMANO
Exploring 1970s Australia, a time categorised by fluidity, free-love and rebellion, Barons is a television series that charts the tension between two friends on the precipice of billion-dollar success, and the idea of a chosen family. SIDE-NOTE sits down with Lincoln Younes, Ben O’Toole, Alexander England and Kick Gurry - friends, former house mates and co-stars.
A FRESH TAKE BY NICOLE BENTLEY
There is something energising about discovery, the sheer thrill of the new that breaks from the norm and ushers ideas out of thin air. Nicole Bentley captures fresh faces Evie Ashby and Eva Hardwick and talks to Tatiana Farley on the genesis of her process.
LIGHT THEORY BY MICHAEL COMNINUS
An idea can deliver clarity where once the world, or instance, felt overwhelmingly opaque. To possess an idea is to possess a torch, deliverance from mundanity, inequity, apathy or looming deadline. Australian photographer Michael Comninus considers the role of light in the evolution of his aesthetic with Egyptian model Leila Greiss.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: CHARLEY BY JULIAN SCHULZ AND GRETTA RAY
"Charley's fiercely unwavering passion for her refined, commanding pop project is the breath of fresh air that the Australian music industry needs in 2022”, says fellow musician, Gretta Ray. Julian Schulz captures up and coming pop singer Charley, for our latest PEOPLE OF NOTE profile.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: THOMAS COCQUEREL BY MICHAEL BRUNT AND BIANCA FARMAKIS
From the Golden Age to the Silver Screen, film and television has long afforded us an escape from our realities. And in a time when the world in which we know has dramatically changed, period drama ‘The Gilded Age’ has found space to flourish in the endeavour of escapism. Michael Brunt captures Australian actor Thomas Cocquerel on the eve of the release, directed by Julian Fellows.
SCENT OF HOME BY SAM WONG AND NAT TURNBULL
When an exterior space transforms into something unfamiliar, the walls that close you in offer comfort and exhalation, and scents can offer a subconscious agreement of surrender. A surrender to a memory, place, or moment, surrounding you with a peculiar common safety that the outside can not offer. Nat Turnbull and Sam Wong explore the idea of comfort at home though a sensory journey, posing the question, how are our homes defined by smells?
CONSCIOUS SELF – A PROJECT WITH CHANEL BEAUTY BY DARREN MCDONALD
A departure from excess and artifice, a feeling for the future and a reverence for the au naturale — CHANEL sets its sights high as its cultivates a change in atmosphere with the new, enduring beauty of No.1.
A NEW LIGHT – GEMMA WARD BY KELLY GEDDES AND JACK BIRTLES
When we shoot the 33 year old in NSW’s Fingal Bay, the stirring stillness of her adopted locale seems worlds away from the frenetic mode of the early 00’s. Less waif and more whole, it is as if the devoted mother of three finally feels seen.
THE PURSUIT OF EASE BY GRACE O’NEILL AND HOLLY GIBSON
For the last two years we haven’t been in the throes of war, but at times it’s felt close. The idea that in amongst that chaos we should still spend time seeking out pleasure for pleasure’s sake
SEA. LARA WORTHINGTON BY DARREN MCDONALD
The gravitational push and pull of the moon is such that it sways the tide as it orbits around the earth. For six hours the ocean will creep up the shore, before receding for another six hours, and on and on it goes. Much like the ceaseless lunar allure makes the waves, the siren call of the sea is as constant as it is crisp — a formative blue interlude that reminds us who we are. Darren McDonald shoots Lara Worthington in Sydney, Australia.
PEOPLE OF NOTE: CLAUDE SCOTT-MITCHELL IN PARTNERSHIP WITH JAN LOGAN
Sans makeup and social media Claude Scott-Mitchell is a clean break from the standard code of conduct for someone of her age and vocation, opting to express herself through character arc rather than publicise her private moments. JAN LOGAN’s newest collaborator is quietly chartering her own path to greatness. Dan Roberts shoots Australian actress, Claude Scott-Mitchell.
THE OUTER LIMITS OF INNER SPACE BY EDWARD MULVIHILL
I cannot recall a more noisy time than this: 24-hour news cycles, facts, stats, personal truths and untruths.
Nothing is ever old any more, always news.