Break up Lettre

WRITTEN BY DANIELLE MEDLAND

Thursday 11:48 PM

Hi Reality :P

What’s happening? Things feel weird between us lately. I know you feel it too. The distance between us just keeps getting bigger, we’re fighting more often and harder, you’re starting to feel like a stranger. I’m confused. I remember 1999, the Y2K hysteria. In you I found safety, you were a haven, a paradise amongst the stars in a world corrupt by the digital. While everyone else fretted at the threat of its loss, we laughed, knowing we had something unbreakable by time or tech or the trivialities of modernity. It’s something pure,

it’s timeless, it’s transcendental. We’ve outlived trends, good and bad, we wore the skinny jeans and the sequins and the shutter shades, we revealed in our sameness and our simultaneous occult... What they do we do better, what they feel we feel deeper, what they think we thought first. 🧠🧠💣

It’s been us forever, you and I, intertwined, inseparable, intrinsic. It’s never felt weird before and I don’t know what to do... You’re my other half, you’re the thing that wakes me up in the morning, what closes my eyes at night. I feel like I’ve never lived without you, and I feel like I never could. You’re fun, you know I think you’re fun. We have fun, we sing, we dance, we meet people, we move, we’re spontaneous. And you’re smart, you keep me on my toes, you make me think about things. I never know what you’ll do next, you’re enigmatic. You’re raw, real, authentic. You’ve never told a lie. I’ve never trusted anyone the way I trust you, you are truth materialized. I love you Reality. Things like this should never change, but I’m watching it happen, I don’t understand it. You seem different. I don’t really know how else to say it, how else to process it. It used to be so magical, every moment we spent together felt eternal, every hour felt like minutes, we turned months into seconds and years into days. I was never happier than I was when I was doing nothing with you. you made time fly. And I guess nothing is forever, as you always said, change is the only promise. It’s natural, it’s inevitable, I’ve learnt to accept it, even expect it. I know nothing is permanent, I know that nothing is ever too good to be true. You taught me this stuff, you held my hand through every problem, and you got me through it. We did it together, we got lost, we found our way back. And here I am, wondering what happened to you, wondering why I can’t seem to love you the way I used to. You’re being different, your lust for life is gone, we aren’t having fun anymore. Every day seems the same, time has slowed down, you seem bored of me and I am starting to think I might be bored of you. I don’t understand it at all. Maybe this is just a phase, and maybe it’s all in my head—you know how I get. Maybe we’re just going through a dry spell, it’s happened before, but not really like this. I’m nervous Reality, I don’t know what’s in my head, I don’t ever want this to end. But it isn’t the same, I don’t want to keep going like this. We’re changing.

Delivered

Friday 10:32 PM

I’m sad again...It’s supposed to be us vs the world. U keep me sane; I don’t know how to live without you. I need you. This cannot end. There is nobody else like you, you’re divine, you’re the whole world, the sun, the stars. Nothing else could ever compare... You know what they’re like. Phony and terrible. Evil. Fake. U hate them more than I do, u woke me up to it. I don’t want to be like them, I don’t want to live in that simulation, I want to keep this, the real deal, you’re the only thing keeping me grounded. I need your authenticity, your honesty, your clarity; I need yours to keep mine. I don’t understand how you’re staying calm right now. I’ve always admired that; u don’t get worked up like I do. When my world stops moving, when everything collapses, yours keeps spinning, you keep moving. I’m upset, sad, I’ve been having a hard time functioning again. I keep listening to the playlist u made me, all the old stuff, I’m looking at photos, trying to remember what I can. Every time my phone buzzes I hope it’s you. 🥺 I’m staring into

the screen the way I used to clutch my pager, the way I used to refresh MSN, the way I still check my story views every time... some things never change. I miss u right now I’m sorry for being like this again, I know it’s a lot, I just have to get it off my chest, I hope I’m not bugging you... we need to talk more, to sort this out,

let me know when I can see u this week goodnight<3🌟🌟

Delivered

Sunday 01:28 AM

That last message was written in a moment of weakness ♀️ do not take advantage of my fragility. I’m mad, reality. You’re making me feel insane. I can’t keep clinging to u like this – I’m upset, you’re giving me the same answers as always. I am tired of being told to think, to use logic, to be reasonable. To chill out. To see the truth. U go on and on about the truth, the difference between us and them, that we are real and they are fake. I used to get it, I used to understand your hatred for the superficial. But I look around now, at what we do, what we’ve become, and I’m angry. This is not what it used to be, we are no different than anyone else. You’ve become Banal. We wake up and go to work and get home and drink beer and watch tv and go to bed and do it again. We get paid biweekly and we spend it all in days, we’re in debt, we’re bored, we’re broke. You buy my love, you make promises in gifts. We own everything, we own 3 of everything, sometimes 5. You’re greedy and mean, you’re a workaholic at everyone else’s expense. You’ve made every day feel the same, like concrete and plastic packaging, like being stuck in traffic for hours, like corporate Christmas cards and the music that plays when the bank puts me on hold. And you tell me I’m crazy and dramatic and overreacting all the time, that I’m mentally ill, you put me on those meds, said I was chemically imbalanced, that I could be normal again if I just took the steps to be. You told me to ground myself in U, that if I tried, I’d be able to see the truth again. U boast the truth, boast that it’s all that really matters, that its loss is the fastest route to misery. U boast truth, but now I see; it does not exist.

Everything is subjective. Everything is relative. Reactions are just emotions; you stole the truth and replaced it with a twisted version of what life used to be. You act pure, holier than thou, like you are the realest of deals, the only authentic thing left. But you are what you hate, your intentions are imploding, you’re trying so hard to stay intact that you are becoming a simulation of what you once were. You’re your own mimesis, there is nothing genuine about you anymore. So there’s my truth, and yours is different. If all truths are different how can any be true at all? How can I live off of anything but the way I feel? You made me feel so crazy, so emotional, dramatic, depressed, insane, clingy, all of it. I have been depressed Reality. But how could I be anything but depressed living like this? You are a void I’m mad at u, and I don’t think I’m going to calm down this time.

Delivered

Monday 02:45 PM

This is not something I want to be blunt about, but given the recent past, I feel like I must be: Life Is Dragging Us Down Different Paths. We Want Different Things. Maybe we always have – my emotions have always been too much for you, my dreams too big, my heart too fragile. Where I care about us, you care about yourself, we have different priorities, we want different things. Your obsession with subversion is driving me insane. You are logical, I am not, you believe there is sanctity left to the physical world, I do not, you are cold, stoic, apathetic, I am not. Like we’ve said so many times, people change, I have, you have, we are not one, we are two, two who no longer belong together. No more games, this is the finish line, it’s done, it’s over. It feels like all of human history is coming to an end, that’s fine, we need something else. Thank you for loving me while you did but shame on you for making me feel the way you did, I deserve better, you deserve something else. I want peace here, I want to move on. I don’t hate you but I certainly don’t want to think about you anymore.

Delivered

Wednesday 04:16 PM

Hey reality, it’s been a while, I have some stuff to tell u, I feel free,

I’m doing the things you said I shouldn’t. I’m going to larp I’m going to live rpg I’m going to explore I’m going to go online I’m going to go virtual I’m going to do it! 🤳🎧

U said it was godless, fake, unnatural. That it was pointless if it couldn’t be touched, that it was pretend, child’s play, a useless fantasy. That all this tech was destroying humanity, that we were better off without it. U said only to believe what u can see, and here I am, I see it and I believe it. There is magic and it’s real and it exists when you said it didn’t. You set rules, called them space, time, physics, science, said that they couldn’t be tampered with, that everything had to exist within their constraints. You were wrong, rules are to be broken, these ‘rules’ are just tools we can use to find meaning, to build beauty, fantasy, wonder. It’s magic and it comes from our computers. They’re made by people, the smartest in the world – to build a platform is to build a universe. You say that it’s unnatural, that the physical is more meaningful than the digital, that it’s inhuman. But I’m learning, and I disagree now. The web is the most human thing in the world, it holds paintings and books and conversations, stories and games and movies and memories, all together at once -- The very things u worship: it turns them to gold, makes them immortal. It’s the closest thing we’ll ever have to paradise, it’s beautiful in ways life with you hasn’t been in so long. I want to be online, I’m going to be.

The web lets us be whoever we want, it lets us craft image beyond our physical forms and means. Image is all we have left, the last standing vehicle for identity. Art, literature, media: all expressions of the persona, reflections of their creators. We’re all curators, craftsmen, larpers. You condemn delusion, but if everything is fake, how can anything be fake at all? You are a contradiction of yourself reality, you do not exist to me anymore.

Delivered

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Originally published in LIGNES DE FUITE vol.3

LIGNES DE FUITE Vol.3

Buy Now

3d meta love

Fashion Editorial by Nima Mardaneh, Samuel Arsenault-Brassard, and Milan Tanedjikov

Models Raya & Mackenzie // Belt Dries Van Noten // Gloves Rick Owens // Padded Tee Comme Des Garcons // Trousers Fecal Matter // Belt Stylists Own

Models Nyaluak Gatluak & Raya // Top Alexander McQueen // Gloves Stylist Own // Dress Fecal Matter // Vintage Pumps Alexander Mcqueen

Models Teo & Kaleb // Vintage Coat Alexander McQueen // Raver Pants Tripp Nyc // Loafers Martine Rose

Models Nyaluak Gatluak & Markus // Full Look Fecal Matter // Vintage Button Down John Galliano // Vintage Shredded Denim D&G // Shield Sunglasses Balenciaga // Shoes Stylist Own

Models Kaleb, Teo, & Mackenzie // Mesh Shirt Jean Paul Gaultier // Vintage Shredded Denim D&G // Vintage Mesh Turtleneck Jean Paul Gaultier // Jeans Junya Watanabe // Dress Shirt Alexander McQueen Blazer Comme Des Garcons Homme // Trousers Adidas By Lotta Volkova // Shoes Stylist Own

Models Teo & Mackenzie // Leather Pants Gucci By Tom Ford // Shoes Martine Rose // Bag Dior By John Galliano // Sex Belt Stylists Own // Vintage Jacket Jean Colonna // Rosary Gucci By Tom Ford // Bb Rain Boots Balenciaga // Underwear Model’s Own

Models Kaleb, Mackenzie, & Raya // Dress Shirt Vaqar // Tie Valentino // Pull-On Boots Rick Owens // Hair Piece Ann Demuelemeester // Skirt Junya Watanabe // Heels Alyx // Gloves Stylists Own

Models Nyaluak Gatluak, Markus, & Mackenzie // Top Alexander McQueen // Gloves Stylist Own // Vintage Jacket Jean Colonna // Rosary Gucci By Tom Ford // Bb Rain Boots Balenciaga // Underwear Models Own

Creative Direction: Nima Mardaneh, Samuel Arsenault-Brassard, and Milan Tanedjikov

Styling: Nima Mardaneh

Photography: Samuel Arsenault-Brassard and Marie-Eve Desrochers

Video: Samuel Arsenault-Brassard Sound: DEBBIE DOE Hair & Makeup: Dyamond Models: Nyaluak Gatluak, Markus, Raya, Mackenzie, Kaleb & Teo Layout: Milan Tanedjikov & Raphael Viens

Production: Milan Tanedjikov

Photography & Production Assistant: Giovanni Caci

We would also like to extend a special thank you to the team at WIP for being such gracious hosts and providing us with such a wonderful space to work in.

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Originally published in LIGNES DE FUITE Vol.3

LIGNES DE FUITE Vol.3

Buy Now

Becoming The Archetype

A Recent Graduate’s Guideline for Ascension Written by Giovanni Caci.

There exists a perception that the System governing the fashion industry is corrupt, capricious, and consistently seeks to reinvigorate Itself by any means necessary (1). Such sentiments are spread to dissuade You, the recent graduate, from fulfilling your potential and achieving success. On the contrary, the System has been the driving force for progress and provider of resources and infrastructure for countless generations within the great Industry. Analogous to a commemorative statue triumphantly erected in a capital city, the System embodies a legacy that required decades of dedication to perfect for the benefit of those who choose to embrace It and for those on the outside who profit from Its contributions. Rather than floating aimlessly around the System’s periphery, all recent graduates, including Yourself, must contribute to Its growth by achieving the task of every aspiring fashion designer: to ascend to their ideal status.

Prior to attempting to reach the highest position that the System has to offer Its prodigies, You must understand what the Ideal is, its role, and must be privy to the most efficient way in which the title can be awarded. The ideal is a version of a persona that the System refers to as an Archetype, which is both a set of patterns that connects individuals across cultures and the embodiment of the absolute version of a social type. Millions of people around the globe share a common pattern that pivots them towards a specific framework (2).

None are exempt from this principle; all are a part of a social type that is either newly formed through contemporary circumstances or one that is historic and more recognizable. What is universal among all Archetypes is that they have an absolute form that their adherents must strive to become. This process of emulation is a top-down phenomenon that the System facilitates to ensure the steady upwards flow of both creative ideas and potential prospects in the hierarchy. There must not be a period of stagnation. Each Archetype at the top of the System has its own half-life and, eventually, is exhausted to the point that it must be replaced. What is required from You, the recent graduate, is to be the force that advances this procedure of alteration at the top. Before You accept this task that the System has generously offered to creatives for generations, it is essential that You first recognize where You stand in relation to Archetypes and their tremendous role within the System.

IDENTIFYING THE ARCHETYPE WITHIN YOU

The System thrives on the introduction of new Archetypes to sustain the industry itself. To be

an essential component to the System, You must identify the Archetype to which You have been

assigned.

There are numerous Archetypes currently achieving high status and recognition(3), such as the Eastern European Gopnik type, which has once been held down in the social hierarchy but is now being

replicated by high-class society. Its recent acclaim has produced variants such as the Slavaboos and Kalinkas in Western Europe, who merely imitate the Gopniks, yet are vital to upholding the popularity of

the Archetype. The System supports this phase of imitation to maintain the Archetype’s trickle-across

momentum until change is required.

The flow through which the System functions ensures that trends constantly trickle across the social hierarchy from the wealthy to the lower classes, which in turn forces the former to adopt a newer trend to disassociate themselves with those below(4). Such a robust circulation of constant creative change can only be generated within the System’s far-reaching, highly- efficient, hierarchical arrangement. If disrupted, the System and, as a consequence, the entire fashion industry will collapse.

To ensure a steady influx of new ideas entering the System, You must work to be the ideal version

of your social type and introduce a unique differentiation of it. You must become divergent

to the contemporary trend and reinvigorate the fashion world without obstructing the System’s

progressive nature. Finally, You must take the role that the Archetype assumes, which is referred to as

an Iconoclast.

Iconoclasm may be regarded as the progression from one entity to another, newer entity. In antiquity, the term was used to describe the dismantling of statues, iconic images, and artifacts associated with a fallen regime(5). In our great profession, an Iconoclast is a champion of change who both deconstructs and supplants outdated ideas. Thus, rather than the outright desecration of a statue, You are to respect its integrity and simply embellish it with a more contemporary ethos, thereby restimulating the fashion industry. The process of iconoclasm is vital: alternative ideas must be advocated since the vast majority of fashion is mere emulation by those at the bottom, thus saturating the industry with repetition. As a consequence, our industry is overruled by very few popular Archetypes that overshadow those desiring growth.

Throughout Your development remember that, similar to the aforementioned statue, the System—the overseer of the most important creative industry in the world—must be maintained. Thus, once the Archetype is identified, You must enact change at the top of the System’s hierarchy and maintain

the flow that society necessitates. It may seem an arduous task, however the System has been proactive in assisting You with this endeavour by maturing You through Its multiple institutions. Before ascending the hierarchy, You must first appreciate the total, unmatched service that the System provides the industry.

THE SYSTEM AND ITS MANY SERVICEABLE PARTS

It must first be reaffirmed that the System’s goal is to foster creativity and create an environment that facilitates Your success. To guarantee that creative minds are nurtured at all stages of development, the System has in place resources such as the finest schools, grants, scholarships, and

numerous competitions to which they can apply and improve their craft, among many other assets that You and countless others have been the beneficiary.

As a recent graduate, Your career began at one of the System’s great educational institutions, which was tasked with ensuring that You and other carefully-selected talents were constantly encouraged to be alternatives to the status quo. You were taught to seclude Yourself from others and embrace that which makes You unique, then to yearn for acceptance and share Your viewpoint with the world. The System rewards those who succeed in their transformation.

For healthy change to occur within the industry, a new idea must be introduced to disassemble that

which is old and outdated. To be the catalyst for this change, all that is required is that You follow the

System’s reputable path to success. To do otherwise would result in the failure to achieve your destined

status. You will then inevitably work outside of the System’s scope, causing your career to plateau,

constantly descending the hierarchy and used within the System’s workforce as one of the many

who imitate those at the top to produce fast-fashion. Thus, everything must occur within the System,

nothing may occur without It. The System is the total solution for all who strive for greatness. It is the

benchmark for advancement in fashion, constantly generating new content by allowing the creatives

who provide Its lifeforce such as Yourself with the opportunities needed to succeed. Such consistent

progress cannot be attained in our industry without a well-organized mechanism governing it.

As is the case with all mutual exchanges, what is expected from You in return is reciprocity. The

System cannot continue to provide without the creatives who benefited from Its selflessness to

constantly ensure that It has absolute support.

HOW YOU CAN BENEFIT THE SYSTEM

The System is the cord which secures together all segments of our industry. Without Its binding force,

the industry’s parts will fragment and inevitably collapse.

The System is designed to accommodate all temperaments, personality types, and diverse

groups into its folds. This is achieved through a perfect balance of both organization and creativity.

One cannot function without the other, and a slight imbalance would enable an industry that will

be either far too restrictive, resulting in the total stagnation of our industry, or far too chaotic, which

will cause instability and lack of infrastructure. Thus, the System is in perfect balance and must not be

compromised.

Those who have decided to work within the System have successfully ascended to the top of

Its hierarchy. Our most contemporary example is Georgian designer Demna Gvasalia, who has used

the tools within the System to his advantage and achieved the highest status available. His path

began similar to Yours: educated and trained at the highest level in The System’s institutions then

gradually built his reputation. Accomplishing his task as an Iconoclast, Gvasalia’s ideas now trickle

downwards and across to the masses, where they are being reproduced by all levels of the industry. So

long as the System is upheld, many more like him will continue to succeed, including Yourself.

Similar to Gvasalia, once Your task as an Iconoclast is complete, You must then become the System’s

custodian and secure Its preservation for the collective good. You must endorse Its traditions and

embrace the cycle that has guaranteed the success of all the great fashion designers of our century to

continue.

FINAL WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

You have a difficult, yet necessary task to accomplish. Throughout the process, You must

remain humble, creative, and observant of the System’s codes and guidelines aforementioned. In

so doing, You will become the Archetype who will reshape the future of our great industry and receive glory, status, and recognition.

The Pantheon of Idols awaits You.

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1 Priest, Ann. “Uniformity and differentiation in fashion.” International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology (2005).

2 Adamski, Adam. “Archetypes and the collective unconscious of Carl G. Jung in the light of quantum psychology.” NeuroQuantology 9.3 (2011): 563-571.

3 Versluis, Ari, and Ellie Uyttenbroek. “Exactitudes.” Exactitudes. https://exactitudes.com/collectie/

4 Diantari, Ni Kadek Yuni. “Trend Cycle Analysis on Fast Fashion Products.” Journal of Aesthetics, Design, and Art Management 1.1 (2021): 24-33.

5 Frank, Sybille, and Mirjana Ristic. “Urban fallism: Monuments, iconoclasm and activism.” City 24.3-4 (2020): 552-564.

Image credit: Jessy Colucci