Le Derriére Cri 1

LDC revives the tradition of rigorous satire and critique within the theatre of fashion, photography, and contemporary culture. Le Derrière Cri purposely strays from the classic magazine model of interviews, articles & reviews, instead using the vehicles of the editorial industry to subvert the image-making economy we so take for granted. Written by anonymous insiders, pseudonymous provocateurs, and authors attributed with academic precision, LDC’s contents include true stories, academic musings, works of complete fiction and blurry spaces in between. Visually, LDC draws upon the incestuous beauty of the fashion industry itself, resulting in works that nurture surrealism in its purest form.

For the premiere issue of Le Derrière Cri we examine the underpinnings of fashion through two thematically linked ideas: Repetition as one of fashion’s main devices to create newness, leading to the slippery and hyper-abundant term ‘Chic’.

Ukrainian photography duo SYNCHRODOGS goes derrière-mad with Chic Asses, followed by a series of confessional articles: first an exploration of the magazine’s rather contentious title (L.E.D.E.R.R.I.E.R.E.C.R.I.), next a bemused study of a sycophantic fashion assistant and a tell-all of the perils of being a Fashion Triennale director, as BENI BISCHOF’s defaced fashion ads punctuate and estrange the editorial flow one sausage at a time. MICHAEL ROCK and ELIZABETH ROCK trace IntelliChic, the blockbuster campaign that was never meant to be. Photographer LAUREN LANCASTER capitalizes on a 300% credit to all-star minimalist designer JIL SANDER, followed up by a gruesome wedding story by a well-known stylist featuring the same sartorial centerpiece. Artist ANICKA YI investigates the noosphere of global scent horizons with AARON MCELROY’s lurid floral portraits. QIU YANG undresses a Lynchian centerfold in a 26-page story entitled Chic-At-Large, and larger yet, a notable design director dishes on the peculiar insistences of his rather famous ex-boss. Associate Editor BEVERLY LIANG and fashion theorist CHRISTINA MOON unpack the popularity of Blondness accompanied by BLOMMERS SCHUMM’s blonde hair color portrait series. An anonymous Lawyer / Model muses on her double life of litigation-slave and hobby-model, and ANICKA YI prologues with her ominous and beautiful artwork The Closed Mouth Gathers No Feet. ANJA ARONOWSKY CRONBERG exposes the power structures of ‘chic,’ illustrated by JENNIFER LIVINGSTON’s glossary of fashion poses with ALI MICHAEL and fashion editor HAIDEE FINDLAY-LEVIN. SOL SPREZZATURA collages rants on media culture and privacy with NICHOLAS ALAN COPE’S luscious, architectural and highly phallic lipstick photographs. Not to be upstaged MEINKE KLEIN features “real homosexuals” extravagantly styled in bohomo-chic looks. And we close with a dedication to America’s Charlie Chaplin of photography ALFRED GESCHEIDT, whose work has been a huge inspiration in the creation of this magazine, profiled by documentary filmmaker HARVEY WANG.