ODDA 26 Duane Hanson

The new issue Spring/Summer 2024, The Growth Journey discusses all the different forms of “Travelling” within our lifetime; how we evolve, change and mature, as well as paying homage to the world we live in, what we see, what we touch, what we smell and ideas of “time” in a sort of form that has no shape.  

Our body changes; our skin changes; our way of thinking also changes… Personally, I'm a travelholic. Before I started my career in Fashion, I never thought I could be in so many different places as I am today. And again, I'm not only speaking about how much l travel to different countries–which I do a lot–but how my mind can portray my ideas and my dreams within different spaces at a time. And how I connect my emotions, as well as my empathy, with other cultures, other ideas and other points of view that I did not have before.

For this issue, we have three covers–covers that connect with the codes of ODDA since we launched 12 years ago: Past, Present and Future. Since I was 21, I've been very much “connected” or conscious of this trip called “Life,” and very aware of how time travels through our body as well as through our actions and decisions. 

Monica Bellucci is a reference within the cinema industry, but not only that, she is also a very private woman and passionate about her family. She celebrates some of her career achievements as well as never forgetting what brought her to where she is today. Next September, she will incarnate the wife of “Beetlejuice” and today, she is filming in Paris, where she lives. For this story, the images provide a sense of “Eternal Beauty.”

Jeremy Pope could be considered one of the most complete entrepreneurs of our current era, and future. Actor, singer, dancer, strong performance skills… Jeremy has shaped the meaning of the word “Artist” and has joined forces with Fendi for their S/S 2024 campaign. For the cover story, shot in Los Angeles with Ryan Pfluger, we explore the simplicity of his persona surrounded by nature. 

The last cover has been created with the help of Gagosian gallery. You will discover one of the most acclaimed art pieces from one of my favorite artists of all times, Duane Hanson. Since I encountered his work, I have been personally attached to what he created, his life goals and what his work represents to us all. For the cover, we couldn’t choose another piece than “Tourists,” a piece that was molded over two real people in 1970 and, in my opinion, cannot better express how we all feel when we are a tourist somewhere for the first time. How weirdly we are dressed, how wrong we are to expect what we will see and how it is never that way…and so on. 

Speaking about Gagosian, for this issue we explore more of the famous gallery, established in 1980 by Larry Gagosian in LA. We share a selected few of their 19 exhibition spaces across the globe, the energy of the galleries and get to know more about the artists–such as Adam McEwen or the legacy of the late Simon Hantaï.

We travel to Mexico City, by the hand of Louis Vuitton, to discover the S/S 2024 collection by Pharrell, as well as spending time in the Canals of Amsterdam with Loro Piana, portraying the “two sides” of the city–as there are not only canals out there… 

In Los Angeles, we explore some of the most iconic cinemas in the city, including the Chinese theater, where you can find the handprints of stars like Marilyn Monroe. 

This is also connected with a project with Loewe, where AI artist RickDick has created an “illusion” of some of the most iconic Loewe pieces like the “Flamenco” Bag. 

We also traveled to Tokyo to discover the new Trade Museum of Comme des Garçons as well as the latest Black and Girl collections, both photographed in the iconic Omotesando and Shinjuku areas of the city. 

Our story “Burn me up or let me go” is dedicated to candles and what they make us feel. We also speak with bedwear brand Magniberg about all we do in bed… And this takes us to fragrances, in particular to Miss Dior, launching the new edition of a fragrance started in the ‘40s by the hand of Monsieur Dior and now, Francis Kurkdjian is building the future. Also, together with the Miss Dior of today and tomorrow, we explore some of the Heritage bottles from the ‘40s and ‘50s, as well as gaining an understanding of what the fragrance does to your persona. 

When it comes to Fashion, Diane Pernet, founder of ASVOFF has seen it all. She is one of the first figures I remember seeing in the industry when I started nearly 15 years ago. 

Always extremely polite, very discreet, very observant together with big notions of what Fashion is, where it is going and where she stands. We also visited Erdem Moralioglu at his studio in London, and, in the same city, we spent a day at Kew Gardens discovering the different species that originate from across the globe, as well as their scientists and the heritage of the botanic garden. 

Oh, do you have a Lonely Planet guide at your house? I'm sure you do… In this issue we meet Co-founder Tony Wheeler as well as the current Vice President of Content at Lonely Planet, Nitya Chambers.