Eclectic Society | Online Fashion, Trend and Lifestyle Magazine

listen to: space ducks by lo-fi icon daniel johnston

Space Ducks comic drawing by Daniel Johnston

"I'm living my life in vain, and where am I going to?" sings Daniel Johnston in the moving song through which I discovered this unique songwriter/artist/character a couple of years ago: and the fascination began… His songs, his drawings and the little I knew about his life led me to listen more and more and recently watch the 2006 documentary "The Devil and Daniel Johnston". An interesting, quite disturbing, and shattering film revealing the journey and the intriguing facets of the man, who remains just as enigmatic. Read more

meet fashion design duo fyodor golan

“There is a little ‘Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde’ in all of us” - Golan Frydman of Fyodor Golan

As intellectually stimulating as they are creative, Eclectic Society's Porschia Thomas recently had a chance to catch up with the men behind Fyodor Golan. Immigrating from the contrasting backgrounds of Israel and Latvia and seductively collaborating with Smiley and Co. on their latest collection, contradiction is definitely the mode of operation for this fashion house. The Fashion Fringe Award, the youngest designers to be a part of Fashion In Motion at the V&A in London and frequenters of Vogue, clearly the Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde scenario is working. Here are some words shared with the young designers. Read more

humans of new york by brandon stanton

“There are so many bodies that I want to paint.”

Photographer Brandon Stanton has been taking portraits of New Yorkers for his personal project "Humans of New York" since the summer of 2010. Setting out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers to initially create a census of sorts, the project has now taken a life of its own as he started collecting quotes and stories from his nearly 5,000 subjects. More that just becoming a great source of street style, these portraits give us a poignant glimpses into the lives of the eclectic, intriguing and amazing individuals that reside in New York City. Read more

books for a fantasy filled summer with author jay swanson

Book Extend by Yasuko Furukawa

Mystical, magical, futuristic, apocalyptic, this is one eclectic list of summer reads. Eclectic has teamed up with Vitalis Chronicles author Jay Swanson to bring you a list of books for the ultimate fantasyscape as you hit the beach this summer. Swanson is currently living in Paris, but originally hails from the Pacific Northwest, like some of our favourite authors (Frank Herbert, Tom Robbins, Chuck Palahniuk, Ursula K. Le Guin, Sherman Alexie). This week, Swanson releases his third installment in the Vitalis Chronicles the Steps of Krakador, but he took some time out of his busy schedule to talk books with Eclectic. Read more

listen to: misses by girls in hawaii

Misses the latest video from the upcoming Girls in Hawaii EP Read more

hyères 2013: petros efstathiadis, jury grand prize in photography

Man-with-Apples-Liparo-Petros-Efstathiadis.

Man with Apples, Liparo, 2008 Petros Efstathiadis

“This is the year that Greece is going to win.” When these words resonated, April 28^th, Petros Efstathiadis closed his eyes. Being the only Greek in the competition, he realized that he was wining the Jury Grand Prize of Photography of the 28th International Festival of Fashion and Photography in Hyères. Here’s the story. Read more

eclectic giveaway: $100 giftcard to shopbop.com

To celebrate Spring Summer 2013, Eclectic Society has teamed up with Shopbop.com for your chance to win a $100 giftcard. Shopping online has changed the way we dress and express ourselves. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, my fashion was limited to what I could find in charity and vintage shops, trips to the department stores were very uninspiring, and I spent my days flipping through magazines with stocklists that would require a flight. Fast forward, and now we have Shopbop that ships worldwide for free and easy returns! Now in Paris, as I wait for some of my favourite designers to get stocked here, I just go online. I'm sure similar stories are repeated around the world. Read more

album release: trouble will find me by the national

Trouble Will Find Me album cover

Brooklyn based American indie band The National is releasing their sixth album, Trouble Will Find Me. The album release is the 20th May on i-tunes via 4AD Records. The album is full of guests including Richard Reed Parry of Arcade Fire. If you don't know this indie band that has been on the scene for the past decade, their sound has been compared to Joy Division and Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Read more

danze by mark pillai

In the search for my Spring wardrobe inspiration, I stumbled upon this editorial shot by photographer Mark Pillai and styled by Claudia Carretti entitled simply, "Danze". From the Italian magazine Amica's March 2010 edition, model Masha Kirsanova takes to the stage with elegance and poise. The flowing clothes seem to accentuate the body in its natural grace and femininity. Of course, a dancer I am not... but I'm quite sure that one need not be to appreciate the beauty of these images. Read more

eclectic’s top ten: anticipated films at cannes film festival 2013

Festival de Cannes is more than film premieres, celebrities, and beautiful gowns. Many of the films at the festival will be popping up in cinemas during the next twelve months. Eclectic has put together a list of our most anticipated films at Cannes 2013 from both the Competition and Un Certain Regard. This year's jury is headed by Steven Spielberg, jurors include Nicole Kidman, Lynne Ramsay (who directed our 2011's Cannes fav We Need To Talk About Kevin), French actor Daniel Auteuil, Ang Lee, and Christoph Waltz among others. One film that isn't on our list is Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac, it didn't make the festival selection("Nazi" gaffe 2011 maybe). Other critics' lists include James Franco directing and starring in As I Lay Dying, Marion Cotillard in The Immigrant and Alexander Payne's Nebraska, but we narrowed it down to just ten..... Read more