If you’ve checked out our A/W 2011 lookbook you’ll no doubt recognize that our latest customer profile features artist Toyin Odutola. Toyin and I have been friends since the early 00s when we met on Livejournal via an art community Brannan and I had created to feature non-digital artwork. (Damn, I miss the intimacy and camaraderie of ‘ol LJ!)

She’s always been so supportive, and it’s been just awesome watching her develop as a contemporary artist who is already rep’d by the well known Jack Shaiman gallery in NYC. I highly recommend paying a visit her site to see and learn more about her conceptually and physically complex work.

Like me, Toy favours an androgynous silhouette, so I really love how she paired the (now sold out) Osei-Duro Nigerian Eyes Print Dress with long shorts, and flat boots. She also snagged an Osei-Duro bogalon bag while she was here in September. (All images that follow, courtesy Toyin Odutola) Enjoy!

1. What’re you wearing (at time of interview)?
I am wearing my basic uniform: A black thermal sweatshirt, blue jeans, a worm-out brown belt and a pair of paint-spotted hiking boots.

2. Draw a picture of yourself in your favorite piece of clothing/outfit
Currently my favorite clothing item is really a vital accessory for me. I am prone to neck cough and colds, so I’m a bit of a scarf hoarder. This summer my friend Maebel sent me a lovely scarf from her shop KIDAN which I wear practically every day. It’s ornate and delightfully decorative, but it is also very utilitarian, for it’s thick and smooth feel, which keeps my neck warm and comfortable.

3. You’re currently finishing up your MFA, but you’re basically a full blown studio artist now, and your debut show sold out before the opening. Tell us about your work!
Yes, it’s quite the juggling act, but I am grateful for the opportunity to be doing work that I truly enjoy. My artwork consists of mainly pen and ink portraits exploring what it is like to exist in a time when history, information and the state of the nomad are collapsing into one in our time. It could be read as identity art, but I feel the narratives I explore go a bit deeper than that. In the end, I hope for people to understand that the essential components of a person are more important than the perceptions imposed on her/him.

4. What do you find yourself thinking about obsessively that’s a major influence on your creative process?
I am a mess in all other aspects of my life. There is so much randomness, spontaneity and chaos everywhere, that I absolutely must have control and containment when it comes to my studio practice. My studio for all intents and purposes is a haven for me and it must be orderly and organized in order for my creative process to flourish. I find that if my surroundings in the “workspace” are unkempt it will reflect on my artwork. It’s funny, for when it comes to my sleeping quarters—wherever they may be, it’s like a hurricane went through it.

5. What do you think should be required reading?
This is a difficult question. I used to read voraciously, unfortunately I hardly read consistently at all. So if anything, I can only recommend the books that I have read more than once in the past. I can’t say whether any of my favorite novels should be required reading; however, I often find that reading Zadie Smith’s ON BEAUTY speaks volumes to me–even now. Although WHITE TEETH had a profound effect on me, I related more to the characters in ON BEAUTY, for their honesty regarding class, education (mainly academia), race, the impact and reception of art history in contemporary society and the complicated relationships (family, friends, etc.) entangled within all of those elements. 

Very happy to announce that our A/W 2011 Lookbook is now live! And our model is none other than the super talented, up-and-coming artist Toyin Odutola who is currently finishing up her MFA at California College of the Arts.

We met back in the early 00s on Livejournal (snicker) and after a year or so of me badgering her, she was gracious enough to come visit us and be our model. We all had so much fun and she makes everything look amazing. Do check it out!

As per usual, we also have new arrivals this week – some fresh clothing and accessories from A’N’D and brand new A/W pieces from Correll Correll

I deal frequently with aerial photographs in a practical capacity and usually from the direct overhead perspective, but these oblique angle photos (1st image from the marvelous Hindsvik shop, 2nd from mosdurf, and 3rd from Jakob Wagner via Behance Network) makes it all fresh for me again.

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