{Spring 2009}UK £14 / AU $30

A Big Breath Florence and the Machine

Can we weather the storm? David Johnston

Essay The man who built his own house

Visionaire Danish fashion photographer Lars Hansen

20 Cement TownReport by Hans Loos

24 One on one withJon & Annie

32 A Big BreathFlorence and the Machine

38 Closet talesInsider secrets on the box

40 Tracksuits of St Mary’sScorned, adored, and defiantly immortal

42 VisionaireDanish photographer Lars Hansen

46 Drama QueenAustralian designer Jessie Hill

56 Rolling FlashRevival of the ultimate stone

{Spring 2009}

60 Sound as everTrashbags meet one prissy miss

66 MattijsDutch designer Mattijs van Bergen

70 Martin GrantThe man who built his own house

74 Can we weather the storm?by David Johnston

80 DelugeInspiration by Edward Mordin

82 LuxPhotography by Christina Seely

88 Irene Grishin SelzerConcrete Lover

96 Thenby Christopher Ferguson

112 Blueyby Kristina Soljo

118 Henry Mooreby Harold David

128 Exitby Derek Henderson

136 White Lightby David Manelberg

152 Night Wandererby Pierre Toussaint

162 Drawnby Bec Parsons

170 Son Mediaby Derek Henderson

182 Section 6by Christopher Ferguson

Danish fashion photographer Lars Hansen remembers the day he was bitten by the photography bug like it was yesterday. . .

“I was thirteen years old and I had a girlfriend living fifteen miles away. I was riding my bike to her place, And was in a special mood, ready to explore the world with my new camera strapped around my neck. After ten miles I took a rest in the grass, lying there looking at the sun. There were flowers and insects so I started taking pictures of a little fly on a flower. I got carried away. The light, the composure, the colours, the smells... everything! I went on and on for hours. I couldn’t stop. I really liked my girlfriend but because of MY opening to the photography world I came six hours late.”

Girlfriends may have had to take a back seat in Lars’ life but only because his work appears to be a naturally occurring obsession; the need to photograph flows and art ensues. Lars’ work has a timeless quality and an aching moodiness, the narrative performing on the page. He plays beautifully with light and shadow. Shafts of light falling onto his models with inspired precision and his use of muted, murky colours set against splashes of colour, creates a nostalgic glamour.

Educated in Denmark and graduating in 2000, Lars started his studio the same year with a portfolio that includes work for magazine titles like Esquire (his ‘playground’), Arena, Harpers and Queen and portraits of some big personalities, including the late Michael Jackson, Depeche Mode and Will Smith.

Though his style is his own, Lars studies the way different artists go about their craft. Subtle traces of those he admires can be found in his own work. Steven Klein’s stories, Paolo Roversi’s romantic flair, Anton Corbikn’s highly contrasted

portraits and David Sims’ ability to capture movement are inspirational to Lars and manifest themselves in an ingenious, understated manner. Lars creates fashion photography with a story. Much of his work in menswear has the shadowy film noir feeling of the 1940s. Elegantly handsome men against dark cityscapes and rustic backdrops; the contrast of a striking ‘signature’.

The look was created working at night using film lighting techniques. Typically, when lighting a fashion shoot the model is illuminated, then the background. To get the essence of film noir the traditional concept was inverted. The room was dimly lit with spots of light and the model worked into the various light settings. Lighting technique and the use of contrast is an important aspect of Lars’ photography and one that allows him to produce emotionally moving images wherever the location.

Although having worked in stunning settings, Lars maintains, “most of my best pictures are still made in a stinky back alley near my home - good pictures are everywhere.” If you have Lar’s talent, that is…

Words by E

lly King | Styling by Augur Inc. | Photography by L

ars Hansen