• photography Joseph Cultice
    fashion Adam Ballheim Studio / The Only Studio
    bodysuit & stockings Rui

    The Rebirth of Moxie Raia

    Written by Valeria Bartocci by Sandra Myhrberg

    The singer and songwriter Moxie Raia started to give us a glimpse into the future when she released her single “Love Language”. We were not surprised when she captured us completely this time with her newest release “Not the One”. Looking back at her journey as an artist we can now see that Moxie is giving us a new version of herself where she is in control over her visions and which face, she wants to show fearlessly for the world. It's clear that she is here to stay.

    You just released the single “Love Language”. What inspired you to write that song?
    I co-wrote the song with two people and we were really writing about a girl who is very self-assured, confident, trusting, and committed in her relationship but also very focused on work. Her partner is always worried about what she is doing, where she is, and with whom. The partner is saying” it is just my Love Language”, to be all over you. What the girl is feeling is that Love Language is making her worry because usually, it is the people that are always possessive over you, that are not being honest themselves.
     
    Listening to your song, it sounds like you were dating a narcissist, do you think your music could help someone that is in a similar situation?

    Yes, I think so, because this is a situation that is more normal than we think and as a listener you can relate in some way and not feel alone.  Sometimes you can also be in denial of what is happening in the relationship, or maybe you just don’t understand the situation and only blame it on yourself. One of the biggest lessons I learned from that past relationship, was that when someone is so possessive over you and super worried about what you are doing all the time, they're usually the ones messing around.
     
    I love the video to Love Language. It is so different from all of your past music videos, is this the new you?

    Totally, the past two years I learned to let my soul free. I’m in creative control now, and I have a relationship with my label and management where I can execute my visions and not have to water it down or change it or not be completely myself.
     
    What is the most important thing you need in order to get into a creative space?

    I like to keep my mind in a positive state. Even though I’m creative when I’m sad, in order to create music, I need to feel that connection with the universe or a higher power. That energy is what inspires me to create.  
     
    A typical day, something that you can’t live without?

    That connects to the previous question. I definitely need quiet; I definitely need time alone and that is when my most creative thoughts come. So, whether that’s in the morning or after a really long day, I need at least two hours a day where I'm in my own thoughts, my own quiet.
     
    Do you have a moment where you knew your life would drastically change for you as an Artist?

    Recently I have connected with so many amazing people that have become my team. I am so grateful for that because we’re all on the same page so it feels really powerful. I’m really excited for all that’s coming and I feel that shift happening.
     
    What do you want your listeners to feel when they hear your music?

    I want them to feel their own inner power and strength. I think humans are way more powerful than they are brought up to be - I have this superhero alter ego that I sometimes rely on to remind myself of my own higher self. Her name is Carbon, and I hope some of her energy comes through in the music. 
     
     
    Who is your biggest icon growing up, and now?

    I have had so many growing up who even inspire me today - Stevie Wonder, Al Green, a lot of Motown music. As I got older, I got more into Lauryn Hill, Jazmine Sullivan and Kanye West. Those were and still are some of my biggest influences.
     
     
    Where is the weirdest place you came up with lyrics or melody?

    I often come up with a lot of things when my brain is occupied doing something else. So, like when I'm driving or when I'm cooking. Music is on my mind nearly 24/7 but if I’m doing something else like taking a shower, driving, or cooking my brain is totally off music so better ideas come.

    How would you describe the way you dress and do your makeup; does it shape you as an artist?
    I love to mix masculine and feminine energy in the way I dress. There is something about that balance to me that feels really good. 

    How do you navigate in a music industry that is mostly dominated by men?
    I just remind myself that women truly own all the power. Yes, there are a lot of men in high positions but women are driving forces in those same spaces. It's something that needs to change and we are starting to see this shift happening. However, I don’t let it decide or disrupt my mission and purpose. 
     
     
    Did you stay in quarantine, if so, you must have had a lot of time to reflect on what you want for yourself this next decade, anything you want to share?

    I definitely did a lot reflecting over quarantine. I have felt a shift within myself - I feel more present, and grateful for what I do have. That faith is the foundation I am building on top of now.

    To listen to: Not the One

    bodysuit Ezgi Cinar
    dress Marcell Von Berlin
    top Alabama Blonde
    skirt Vex
    rings Lilian Shalom
    dress Alabama Blonde
    cuffs Nadine Aysoy
    rings Lillian Shalom
    earring Lilou
    photography Joseph Cultice
    fashion Adam Ballheim Studio / The Only Studio
    makeup Satya Linak
    hair Tracy Moyer / The Rex Agency
    stylist assistant Elisa Jane
    body suit Leather Designs
  • photography Felicia Kyrling

    copy Ksenia Rundin

    The Artist and the Art, an interview with Carolina Falkholt

    Written by Ludmila Christeseva by Thea Undemo

    Carolina Falkholt inaugurated nordic dust and rain season with the extravagant, mysterious and gracious transparency of her outfit. She met the audience of the CFHILL Art Space within the frameworks of her solo exhibition “You can dance in my park” / “Du får dansa i min park”, with the power of the beguiling female gaze - something that I am personally missing in Sweden. I enjoy the combination of an undefeated femininity, sexuality, and punk elements which take the form of elegant tattoos puncturing deep into the female skin.

    What did you have for lunch today? Where do you stay?
    I had oysters and I am staying at the Bank Hotel. 
     

    Oysters and champagne, perhaps?
    No, actually I am not a drinker. Here, at the vernissage, we serve Kombucha to our guests. And some sweets, of course. 

    We sit on the sofa and this spontaneous conversation would last only for 10 minutes but reveal several intersecting aspects. Carolina is wearing a transparent long black dress made of sequin organza. Underneath one could witness black stockings with a floral motif. (Oh, I love stockings!) in fact, I am curious to learn more about this sensual fashion style and what inspires it. 
    My mother recommended me a fashion boutique where I found this dress. It is well suited for this exhibition project. It allows the focus to be on underwear. I also like the voluminous details which offer freedom and elegance to the movements.
    This lovely hat was borrowed from my friend in New York and I still have to return it.
          
    On one of her forefingers, Carolina has a motif that strongly reminds me of some patterns I could recall from the Soviet period. During the entire conversation, her hands speak with her, adding an artistic allusion to the moment. I also pay attention to the snake and sword on the one hand.
    Observing Carolina’s heavily embellished fingers, my eyes were caught by one of her intriguing accessories. It was a ring made from a medal by a Belarusian jewelry designer, who had been wearing his own creation for twenty years before selling it to Carolina Falkholt. Being a Belorussian in my blood and soul, I was happy to find out that Carolina visited Belarus in 2011, where she was engaged in a graffiti project and met amazing artists and designers.

    In Belarus, I made a graffiti work with my hands, each of them represented a letter and constituted my artist’s name or alias - Blue, which I use to sign my murals with. I remember that my work did not survive through time. It was painted over with simple geometrical shapes which could be perceived as an art movement per se.

    Unfortunately, Carolina’s art piece “The Arcade Project”, committed by Y-gallery (Minsk, Belarus) didn’t remain in Belarusian art history. It was sanctioned by authority like many other artistic avant-garde interventions, once even including Marc Chagall.
              
    Carolina is also aware of the current political situation in Belarus and expresses her support for the Belarusian women leading the revolution: “Dictatorship is something outmoded. Hopefully, the situation will change very soon. I still remember how dangerous it was for artists to be artists and this is still happening in Belarus today. I wish I could contribute”.
        
    Graffiti is a language to reflect cultural conditions and social dynamics. It is also an efficient communication tool to reveal power structures in a society, provoking a variety of reactions. According to the curator Konul Rafieva, in September 2019 in Baku (Azerbadjan) by the invitation of the Swedish Embassy Carolina Falkholt would paint a Transgender mural, causing outrage in overwhelmingly patriarchal Azerbaijan. The Swedish artwork became considered not to confirm the cultural standards and was, therefore, removed before the festival even ended.
           
    Autumn 2021, you will start the master program at Valand Academy and you just launched your first solo show in Stockholm at CFHILL Art Space, run by Anna-Karin Pusic, Michael Storåkers, and Michael Elmenbeck. There is a theory that art that belongs to the public spaces is impossible to scale down to a canvas format. We are also aware how free spirit get framed by institutions. What principles form your professional development?
    Since my drawings consist of scales themselves, I don’t see the problem. The principles that frame me are in my work. The master program of Fine Arts is seen as a possibility to re-visit my work from an academic perspective. This is a possibility I am looking forward to. Perhaps, it is not for me. I don’t know, yet I feel inspired and curious.
           
    Answering my question why there are not so many female artists joining the path of graffiti (or at least I personally do not know so many names, if someone asks me), Carolina Falkholt ensures me that there are many of them today, “But you don’t see them because they are all anonymous since they are out there illegally and hardcore.”
            
    By then, a lot of people came to the exhibition’s opening despite heavy rain and Carolina was invited on the stage where she channeled her feminine voice through a dj controller turning it into a confession and a dialogue with another self. At that, neither style followed the frameworks of Swedish femininity nor her poem fitted into “the Swedish “lagom” format that implies just good enough”. I left the venue inspired and curious about Carolina’s next step of artistic development.

    Du får dansa i min park”, Carolina Falkholt
    CFHILL Art Space
    August, 27 – October, 2, 2021

    Michael Elmenbeck and Carolina Falkholt / CFHILL Art Space
  • Marimekko Spring/Summer 2022

    Written by Fashion Tales
    Marimekko premiered its Spring/Summer 2022 ready-to-wear collection with a digital film at Copenhagen Fashion Week on 12 August 2021.
     
    The first Spring/Summer collection led by Creative Director Rebekka Bay explores Marimekko’s theme for 2022: NEW FOLK. The collections reference recurring elements and similarities in folk wear around the globe, in Spring/Summer 2022 focusing
    on botanical expressions seen in fashion and nature alike.
     
    In the collection, the botanical theme is brought to life especially through designer Antti Kekki’s abstract prints and motifs inspired by plants, foliage, and flowers. The volumes and details of the season’s silhouettes also reference the natural world with petal-like shapes and textural, uneven surfaces. In the color palette, vibrant chlorophyll greens, muted rosy hues, cornflower blues and pale c alendula yellows all reflect nature’s mesmerizing splendor.
    In addition to introducing newness, the collection will also feature familiar, recently updated Marimekko archetype silhouettes, including the A-line shape the brand has become famous for.
     
    “I am increasingly drawn to the idea of finding meaning in repetition – for example in music, the way songs are built on patterns and themes that repeat. It is present in nature too. At Marimekko, we add to the building blocks of the brand each season, everything working together as wardrobe over time and for years to come. It’s about seeing the beauty in perfect imperfections,” says Rebekka Bay, Creative Director at Marimekko.
     
    The season’s materials play with dense, papery cotton qualities. The crispness of cotton is balanced with sophisticated linen and Tencel blends, offering a lightness and airiness to the collection with crinkled and pleated qualities mimicking dried petals.
     
     

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