Dear Shaded Viewers,
Salone has ended but I really want to draw your attention to a very interesting project I got to discover during the past week. Hogan Rebel, urban brand and “brother” of Hogan, presented
“THE REBEL JOURNEY – DREAM, BELIEVE, AND CREATE”, a project that represent all the iconic rebels of yesterday, a journey in search of today’s ones. Rebels are the most creative characters, rebels are artists, rebel are exponents of new cultural stakes, rebels are luminaries who have left their sign with their beliefs. This adventure has been enclosed in a book published by Electa and a series of videos that will be launched online on therebeljourney.com.
The first video, directed by Bruno Miotto, starring milliner Nick Fouquet was presented during Salone, on that occasion I had the chance to meet this incredible artist that is Nick. He has a studio space in Venice Beach, California, located on the historical Boulevard, Abbot Kinney. Situated in the back garage of a bungalow shop focused on showcasing local artisans, Nick and his team create handmade extraordinary hats with vintage pieces. A typical bohemian location for a very charming artist like he is. He likes to describe himself as part human part animal, with French origins and a Huck Finn spirit, part Native American and part psychedlic adventurer. What sets Nick’s creations apart are the unconventional methods he follows, like setting hats on fire or painting them by hand, leaving each one perfectly unique. Unique enough that Madonna and Pharell wanted to have a customized hat of his. Watching the video takes you to a world of passion, the quest for creating the perfect hat becomes an act of love, getting out of your bed and smile for what you are going to do. That makes the difference, I got it. So nothing to do with Alice in wonderland’s Mad Hatter imagery, even if he feels himself like that.
If you are mad enough to go after your dreams and get out the comfort zone of what you already knew or had, you win your freedom to express yourself. Being mad is about finding who you are, exactly how Erasmus of Rotterdam used to declare in his masterpiece “Praise for Folly” back in 1515. Being creative and being full of choices and dreams to fulfill, this is life or as it should be. We are all mad here too Nick. Thanks for remind it to us.
Later,
Giorgia
video: The Rebel Journey – We are all mad here – starring Nick Fouquet
