Feelings & Company

Some pictures speak to the mind, others jump almost directly to the heart (via the eye, of course). In other words, if some fashion stories are deliberately thought-provoking and pushing the viewer to question himself on a certain topic, others seem to be made for the single purpose of visual pleasure. Both are usually relying on the emotional charge included in the photographs yet handle it in very different ways. We often tend to consider the second ones more lighthearted, sometimes frivolous or even commercial (“these images were only created to sell clothes”). The truth is never as simple and actually belongs to the feelings of whoever sees the editorial. It’s less about the initial point of the photographer or the editor than the amount of goosebumps one gets in reaction to the final result. That was my first thoughts when I discovered the main fashion spread from current issue of Harper’s Bazaar Brazil. Needless to precise the series doesn’t pretend to reflect a societal point of view or philosophical matter. Needless to spend three lines to tell you about a plot that doesn’t even exist — all you see is Tati Cotliar, photographed by Fabio Bartelt, dancing in leather outfits after a vintage rock-chic makeover by stylist Flavia Lafer. Then, my only remaining idea was as trivial as “and, so what?”. Does the absence of artistic statement or spiritual aura diminish the pleasure of looking at pretty pictures? Certainly not. It’s summer tomorrow and we might have other targets than getting a headache when we open a fashion magazine. You’ll rarely read this from my texts, but let’s put it clearly: it’s not always a dirty thingy to take it easy.