CREATIVE WHIZZ KID:
CHRISTIAN VINE
How
old we're you when you developed a style that felt like your own, and what
impact did the media & advertising have at this time?
I
started to grasp the idea of ‘personal style’ when I was about 11 or 12 when
skateboarding was huge in Australia. I really got caught up in the expressive
style of the sport and destructive behaviour that came with it, which was easy for
me because I was already a shithead of a kid. I would watch skateboard video’s
non stop, watch video hit’s every Saturday morning and ate cereal 3 times a day
to Malcolm in the middle’s theme song narrating my mood. I loved life and
started having compulsion’s to express creatively every day at this point. Mum
and Dad weren’t super wealthy so I never got over the top nice clothes earlier
on which was fine for me because I spent most of my time destroying them. Every
so often my friends and I would steal super baggy clothing from weekend markets
and sag around in them all day at the skate park and exploring the
urban/natural environments in which we lived.
I
never really gave any consideration or care to the products we were wearing
because we got them for free or super cheap so everything got ripped and
scuffed. While I kept my skate face on through school and moving around a lot of
things were happening on the sidelines, collections of large plastic insects
and dinosaur toys grew abundant in my room. Fathoming life without toys never
sat with me, I couldn’t give them away like most other kids growing up instead
I would dissect the huge bags of toys from my favourite to least favourite in
groups. Delicately I would pull the figurines apart and tie string or anything
roped/linked around the different loose parts to make necklaces and rings. I’d only
wear my jewellery in my free time and at the skate park where I was free to
swing my toy heads around my neck at every pop of the deck without anyone
questioning my methods. I did fear from being accused a mutant or something at
school so I hid my jewellery under my clothing which I now look back on and
feel I should’ve just mutanted the fuck out. I distinctly remember a feeling like
the jewellery gave powers and made me more confident just knowing my skin and
the plastic were intact. I guess that was a chapter of my life where I felt
more satisfied in collected styles at once because it was the first time I
formulated my own get up and felt comfortable in it.
If you could only dress in shades of one colour for the rest of your
life, which would it be?
I can honestly sum this up
with a great quote from Yohji Yamamoto “Black is modest and arrogant at the
same time. Black is lazy and easy – yet mysterious. But above all black says
this: “I don’t bother you – don’t bother me.”
I can safely say that black would be my choice when it comes to being
covered forever in it’s mystery. Black represents the beginning of time for me,
it was the canvas in which everything was made on and defines half of the
physical world with white. I feel like people pay more attention to the individual
as apposed to their clothing when black is present. There’s less distraction
from pattern and colour leaving more room for the person to be present, but
still allowing great enigmatic possibilities for the opposite to work with.
When I’m wearing black I feel random people’s assumptions about who I
could be in this complex society run wild and this is somewhat empowering for
me. I’m addicted to the unknown and I like making other people feel it and question
it for better or worse, either way the experience is something new like a gift.
I really appreciate minimal aesthetics when it comes to my personal clothing ‘saying
little but giving more than enough to talk about’, is what blacks perplexing
shade expels to it’s audience, or at least I think it does =)
Do
you dress for yourself, others or the occasion?
I
find that most of the time I dress for myself unless I’m in an extremely
professional environment where clients are on the line, but I find that I need
to first impress myself before I can start caring what anyone else is going to
think about my get up. Most of my time is spent painting murals outdoors
designing in the studio or meeting up with people to talk art and ideas so I
don’t necessarily need to dress to impress, I always stick to the clean black
look.
Ultimately
I think as soon as we have enough money to start buying clothes for ourselves
we begin to consider how our family, friends and general public are going to
react to our choices. In the past I used to really care about others people’s
reactions to my attire, which I think was a good thing at the time. I used to
wear some pretty atrocious fabrics and quickly learned what worked well for me
on a personal and public level through various eccentric trials. A lot of the
time I enjoyed dressing against the grain just to see people’s reactions, any
reaction was a good one for me, I think this is something that still
subliminally rules my life. Now days I generally like the idea that what I choose
to wear could provoke comment and sometimes create a conversation but still go
unnoticed if need be.
My layered black clothing composition
plays different roles for different social situations but never changes it’s
aura. From my painting work environment to classy dinners then casual catch up’s
with friends everything stays black creating the illusion of formality and
helps me stay in tune with my calm side being an ADD possessed vessel.
What
inspires your main & most obvious output of creativity? Does the same
inspiration also influence your wardrobe choices?
Clothing
is a huge part of my inspiration when it come’s to putting my brush to paper,
most of my artworks incorporate the human figure with stylistic fabrics defining
its existence among my compositions. Architecture, natural life and unworldly objects
also inspire my artwork and clothing, I really enjoy breaking things down to
admire the simple truths and characteristics of an item.
Most
clothing I source for myself is put in my illustrations as well as my fashion, both
share an evolving connection and constantly glean the art world for inspiration.
I like to feel connected to my creative side 24/7 and dressing with the same
aesthetics I use in my black and white artworks help me to stay in touch with
my childish side and feel mentally balanced.
Is your style a product of organic development or conscious
construction?
I feel everything that happens in my life is somewhat an organic development, I
don’t necessarily believe in fate but I do believe that a person’s life is
constantly being introduced to different scenarios that act on a timeline being
random sometimes. I feel the same way about fashion and pretty much everything
that has ever existed, start and finish are so similar with experimental
toppings in the middle making it an organic art form. My style is consciously
constructed every time I wake up in the morning to put my clothes on or buy
products from clothing stores and online sources. When looking back on my
fashion it grew and changed over long periods of time, reflecting an organic
simulation and similar to evolution.
First was sports clothing
then Hip Hop and Punk clothing through schooling, which then moved into less obvious
styles through University. Studying fine arts at RMIT really helped me question
labels, symbols and other miscellaneous definitions as products, I felt
uncomfortable wearing certain materials and labels just because it was over
promoted or the fabrics were poorly made but appealed to a popular genre of
clothing. Now days I’ve completely disconnected myself from major clothing
brands unless it’s collaborated with talented designers or the fabrics have a
unique taste without the walking advertisement feel. Small company’s, sects,
art groups etc who work hard and deserve respect for innovative design will
always have my support and love.
Looking back on my
stylistic journey I feel settled in knowing my escape from less conscious
decisions about clothing, wearing all black is a point in my life where all my
past colours have mixed together and collected to create this illustrious dark
shade. Just like mixing all the colours from the colour wheel with paint,
eventually you’ll get a dark grey black tone.
Instagram: @soleveins
Email: christian.vine20@gmail.com