Freitag, 26. Oktober 2012

Wgsn Interview

Hi Y'all. I know I haven't been here for ages. I will make up for it with this short Interview I did for the internet fashion-bible WGSN (http://www.wgsn.com/). it's subscription only, so I give you this:

MAV!N - Pop vintage
By Marieke van Helden, WGSN, 05 October 2012

MAV!N is a freelance artist. He describes his style as "crazy, sexy, cool street poet", referencing his
Polish and African roots, love of vintage and upcycling.
He also owns the store LeMagass. He's also a singer/songwriter for deep-house project MANHOOKER (Manhooker)
and has featured on the Massimiliano Pagliara track Fade The Light.(Massimiliano Pagliara - Focus For Infinity ALBUM)







MONTHLY SPEND
Clothes: €50
Accessories: €20
Food: €200
Going out: €100
Music: €50
Technology & apps:
€50


Style

What style tribe or style tag would you give yourself if you absolutely had to:
crazy, sexy, cool street poet

What three things define your look: cultural background, dance music and dreams
Describe your personal style:
to fully understand my style, I have to take a step back and explain. I was
born in Poland, as a child of an African father and a Polish mother who met in the creative underground student-scene in Warsaw. I grew up with my grandparents in Poland and they taught me to experiment with everything on a daily basis. Materialistic consumption in general wasn't a possibility, hence not a priority. In order to possess something, we had to create it with alternative materials. That included food as well as clothes, toys and books. Everything was either used or self-created. Traditional Polish folklore was something both my grandmother Monika and my mother's younger sister Agnieszka (who is like an older sister to me) brought into the house and my beloved grandad's carpentry and technical-mania balanced my upbringing. I ended up seeing loads of handmade objects, recycled and upcycled items. While my granny would sew and knit all the time, my mother would rebel against all that, by listening to forbidden Western music, especially disco and Marvin Gaye and Bob Marley, and going to experimental gatherings that idolised world music and Afro beat. She exchanged her hard-earned money for a Halston
blouse or lipstick from Helena Rubinstein or Maybelline in a KOMIS shop (consignment shop specialised in selling Western brands for an exorbitant amount of money, often imported or brought in by private persons in commission). So, my personal style could be described as a big city, street-cred neon VOODOO-PRIEST, a pan-European Sitting Bull inbetween two cultures, using six languages. A dreamer, some call it visionaire, who is busy creating something new from the old, banging on bass drums, singing melodic hooks and fatally optimistic


Describe your work/design ethos:
my vintage store offers 80s disco chic meets 90s rave lifestyle. I am
also working on an upcycling brand that will create unique items inspired by that era. Generally, I'm stuck in a timewarp that influenced me growing up in Berlin as a teenager. I like to call my brand/store a hybrid of the last decade. To put it simply - the illegitimate lovechild of Bill Cosby and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Favourite item in your wardrobe:
it has to be either my BOY London cap or my self-made faded black-towhite ripped denim shorts

Basic you can't live without:
Luster's hair moisturiser and sheen spray, a black or grey hoodie, and my
Nike Dunk High Vandal silver red trainers and tube socks. L'Eau D'Issey by Issey Miyake

Top three must-haves for 2012:
penis-jokes T-shirts, Aztec prints and a felt hat or chapska

Top three must-haves for a festival/night out:
since I don't really do festivals or mass-gatherings anymore, keeping in mind that I belong to the Love Parade generation and I try to avoid the masses, I like to go to
selected small happenings with 50-100 people that are like-minded and I can easily talk to and exchange
ideas. I like to dress to impress, so a high-buttoned silk shirt, a funky hat, jewellery and pants with nice
buttons or zipped-details make it impossible to get wet/sweaty or mud-dirty

Top three style icons/influences:
Prince, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Cameo singer Larry Blackmon
Top three shopping fixes/stores/online retailers:
Mayflower Vintage, Pane & Vintage, Schuhtütehemd, flea markets and my own store, LeMagass




Top three brands:
Mademe clothing http://www.mademeclothing.com/
88tees http://www.88tees.com/index.php
bitchingandjunkfood http://bitchingandjunkfood.com/


In your opinion do you have to have money to have style?
absolutely not






Lifestyle


Describe a typical day/weekend for you:
I work in my store from midday til I drop, so going out is a pretty
big task, since my energy level is highest in the morning and really low at night. I'm a day person, period. The night is for sleeping and dreaming, but if I really want to see my favourite artist or good friends (most of them are DJs, producers and artists) I will close the shop punctually at 19:00 and then go to meet them straight away. I don't like going home inbetween since I would never leave the house after I come home and start reading my emails or eat dinner or take a nap. That would slow me down. On weekends, I need to go outside of Berlin to get inspiration and buy some new items for my shop around Brandenburg. After that, I am busy washing, ironing and preparing the new clothes for the shop, which usually includes Mondays, too...
Favourite hangouts in Berlin by night:
Paloma Bar, Soju Bar, Kleine Reise, Kantine (Berghain) (thank god u didn't ask me for the X-Rated ones, haha. there are a few I like), Sir Iwan, Flamingo, Tape Club (for the HORSEMEAT DISCO parties), Cocktail D'Amore (Discodromo and Boris DJ sets)
Favourite hangouts in Berlin by day:
Friedrichshain Volkspark, Plötzensee, Boxi
Perfect night out:
discovering a new cool spot by surprise, meeting interesting people and dancing to a
great DJ set. Kim Ann Foxman, Julius Petit, DJ Wawashi, Rotciv are my favourite DJs right now. I can't lie, I need some of my favourite tracks to be played to make me instantly lose control
Worst night out:  
a crowded hipster party with expensive drinks, cloned posers dressed by a lookbook
...and laptop live acts playing noisy fruity-loops. Worst case scenario: the DJ playing a 128kb YouTube playlist
+ aggressive girls spilling a beer or burning a cigarette on you

What do you love about Berlin:
the "I don't give a fuck" attitude
What do you hate about Berlin:
the "I don't give a fuck" attitude
Favourite bands/musicians right now:
Kim Ann Foxman, Snax, Azealia Banks, Light Asylum, Massimiliano Pagliara, Max Skiba, Pan K, The Rimshooters, Roisin Murphy, Hercules & Love Affair, Bat For Lashes, Wet Nails, Discodromo, Rotciv, Rafael Postpichil, Drop Out Orchestra, Snuff Crew, Wolfram


Top three must-view magazines:
Hercules
V

Top three inspirational artists:
Nadir Tejani, Armando Berneth, Hood By Air

Top three things that would improve your life:
I should say free internet everywhere, less globalisation and instead more of a focus on handmade, homegrown talent and variety/uniqueness, but I will go for friendly, open-minded people, an international law of a minimum wage for artists and more women in politics

Top three habits you’d like to lose:
smoking, eating out (fast food), stop using Facebook non-stop
Events that you look forward to in 2013:
my new shop, my first proper record and hopefully performing live (be scared. If you're scared go to church, cause MANHOOKER hurts)

Mittwoch, 8. Februar 2012

LeMagass LOVES Michelle Staffage Accesoires

LeMagass is officially supporting the fabulous MICHELLE STAFFAGE accesoires!
check out her website here: michelle staffage

we love her feathered head-gear sooo much, we decided to feature it for our VALENTINES DAY window.
come by and see, try and maybe BUY the beautiful, unique handmade pieces...
U will be the star of the next party with one of those FOR SURE! <3 <3 <3




Happy Valentine (spread love, and apart from the obvious AMOUR-of-choice put a HIGHLIGHT on your family and friends in particular)...

Dienstag, 17. Januar 2012

TOAST & JAM (Berlin Fashion Week 2012)

http://www.facebook.com/events/262790380435239/

LeMagass will be there to represent! Columbia Club, Tempelhof. Opposites the BREAD & BUTTER

by the way, make sure to visit me in my LeMagass SHOP on Alexanderplatz (Karl Liebknecht Strasse 13), in the BERLIN CARRÉ shopping center, situated towards the back entrance from Rochstrasse, opposites KAISER's... I have a temporary store there this year.



c u soon
MAVIN

Dienstag, 16. August 2011

Prinzessinengärten, alst sunday (14.08.2011) pics

thank you all for coming. see you there very soon (in 3 weeks!). this sunday there will be the NOWKOELLN Flowmarket. get ready!!! meanwhile, here are the pics:



Mayflower Vintage (Luca is the man of leather, vintage and art!)
Mayflower Vintage (Luca is the man of leather, vintage and art!)
 Giulia (Pane & Vintage)
 Giulia (Pane & Vintage)





Montag, 15. August 2011

:::::: MAD on(n) a Vintage trip ::::::

Happy 53rd Birthday, Madonna !!!






celebrating Madonna's Birthday this week, I'm gonna sell loads of 80's inspired Madonna items the next sunday on the NOWKOELLN Flowmarket at Maybachufer. 
Join me (LeMagass) and Giulia from Pane & Vintage for a real Cicconalicious 80's revival. Be the first 'LUCKY STAR' to get the best goods and come early. 
Those who have experienced the dissapointment of losing their beloved WOW/LeMagass/Pane & Vintage- item to another quick customer in the past know you should be dunkin' fast! 

I sell to everybody, but the ones who can decide immediately, without loads of bargaining (and I always give good bargain promotion prices for the ones who are nice/or those who are loyal customers). Be decisive, be unique, be LeMagass... 

can you believe I once have given over 50 EUR off a purchase at my LeMagass booth to a couple who bought some silk blouses, some sunglasses, a couple of pants etc. ? :-) You can't say I'm no good, right? LOL :-))))


expect some fluorescent accesoires, big hats, suits, tees, nice high-waisted retro pants and some lollipops!


strike a pose
MAVIN

Montag, 6. Juni 2011

PRINZESSINENGÄRTEN, Kreuzboerg Flowmarket (yesterday, 5.6.2011)

LeMagass was there all by himself (apart from MaMa(gass) who came by with some nice coffee and a cake to make sure her son doesnt melt away like a McSundae) ...

It was a great experience again. loads of nice people, loads of killer bees (due to the botanic garden that was used as a fleamarket place) loads of fresh air, too much sun (YES; mark my words, TOO MUCH DAMN HOT SUN- must've been around 35°C) and no roof over my stand. still it was a success and I'm looking forward to do the stand next time around AGAIN :-)

here are some pictures: