ART | BENDA (Ben Liu) × ELLE China

BENDA was invited by ELLE China to create a small comic about fashion icons, also interviewed for talking about style and icons.
ELLE Magazine, fashion illustration by Ben Liu, Fashion Icons including Audrey Hepburn, SheRa, Lady Gaga and SailorMoon, Natalie Portman as ELLE cover girl




Thank you to ELLE editor Neo & Mr.Black

Um, a little bit of the story:

The girl went to a beauty shop which sells the models of big fashion icons. People can get inside the model and when they come out they`ll turn into the style of what they buy.

So this girl wanted Audrey, but the sale said that Audrey is extinct coz her style is too classic in nowadays. And then the girl asked for Ladygaga, then the sale told her that gaga is so popular that was sold out.

The girl was leaving, dissapointedly. Then he met an agent who searches model for making this kind of model to produce. And he asked if she want to be the model of next season. She wondered why. He said that she's different from all the other girls on street(which all look like ladygaga).

So she was happy, saying: No.thanks!







【自信妙方】少女多思,少女多梦,少女觅自信。

 

 

ELLE : 为什么想到这样一个故事画出来?

 

Ben Liu : “我是谁?我为谁?我为(wéi/wèi)谁为(wèi/wéi)谁?

 

总会听身边的朋友抱怨自己的缺点和不足,希望拥有他人的优点,无论男女老少,华人老外,似乎别人的总是好的,总能有让自己不自信的理由。我们生活在大众传媒的世界里,时尚潮流左右着个人的审美与选择,你我或许都会有徘徊于主流非主流中的迷惑,坚持;嫉妒,羡慕;自卑与自信。做自己心目中的自己,还是做其它人心目中的自己?或者对某些人来说,做其它人心目中的自己也就等同于自己心目中的自己。我是谁,我为谁,我为谁为谁?很拗口是吧?J女为悦己者容与否?其实也算是个老生常谈的问题了。

 

最近一直沉浸在怀旧的风潮中,不免会有想纪念一下儿时回忆的冲动,而浮现脑海的莫过于各个时期的Fashion Icons。这个Icon的定义不仅仅局限在着装上,也涵盖了她们的性格与态度。其中当然也包括80后最熟悉的希瑞和月野兔:披着设计前卫的战衣捍卫正义的英雄女性;还有“停止生产”的优雅经典,赫本与邓丽君:连接艺术与时尚的慈善大使;再有就是个性率真的Kate LanphearAgyness Deyn以及当下大热的Lady gaga同学:我行我素,自创一派。

 

当代的美容科技蓬勃发展,也给我们提供了更多的选择,而在这些选择与被选择中,我们何去何从呢?于是这个故事就有了雏形。

 

 

ELLE : 你最欣赏的女性是谁?

Ben Liu : 我欣赏的女性有很多,但他们大多拥有共同的特点:独立大气,外柔内刚,自信真诚, 富有爱心,大智若愚,善解人意。其实这次出现在故事里的时尚模型都是我很欣赏的。如果一定要说欣赏的,还是邓丽君


ELLE : 她身上什么品质是最吸引你的?

Ben Liu : 真善美。她或许不是倾国倾城的美女,但是从内在流露的真与善造就了她的美:她有北方女子的大气。南方女子的温婉,传统女性的端庄,现代女性的奔放;而这种立体的美在当今近乎绝版了……

 

事业上她自信洒脱,生活中她低调谦逊。作为一名艺术家,她对事业执着并勇于突破:勤奋苦练掌握七门语言,歌曲风格多样,真情流露,毫不造作;牢记民族的根,不愿随波逐流,在排外的日本坚持旗袍亮相,首创日本本土歌手都没有的辉煌纪录;生活中的她热心慈善,关心社会,希望在中国大陆建一所妇女学校。总之,多面了解她之后会发觉她的精神是值得学习和传承的。

 


ELLE : 在你眼里,漫画是不是一种很青春的表达方式?

 

Ben Liu : 这个问题“青春” 的含义在这里如果是 “流行”,或者说“更普遍被年轻人拥戴”的话,我觉得漫画应该算是“青春”的。其实漫画的年纪可能不轻了,也有很多种类和用途,不过现代人可能很容易把“青春”和“漫画”联系起来,当然这个漫画应该多指卡通连环画。我个人当然很喜欢这种表达方式,但是他绝对不是唯一的表达方式,我愿意尝试更多的方式,来表达不同主题和内容。当代艺术似乎进入了一个表达手法多元化以及种类界限模糊化的时代,Roy Lichtenstein用放大的漫画打破了漫画本身与美术馆纯艺术作品间的隔阂,从这个意义上来讲,漫画挺“青春”,因为它“叛逆”了一把。现代人生活节奏加快,读图时代继续担当着漫画的“羊胎素”。

 


ELLE : 为什么你风格偏少女漫画?

 

Ben Liu : 风格多服务于主题。《ELLE》是女性杂志,为了配合“她”的风格以及“少女”的主题,自然决定了选择这样的风格。其实在着手这个故事的时候并没有刻意考虑它的风格,而且我的风格应该也不算是标准意义上的少女漫画,只是可能个人受少女漫画风格影响较多,并且热衷于表现女性主题,所以自然比较偏向这一风格吧





Comments

  1. The artwork is promising, I just wish I could understand the dialogue!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looking forward to some new artwork. Your panda theme is a hit over here.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much, Graham!

    Um, ok, I can translate a bit for the story:

    The girl went to a shop which sells the models of big fashion icons. People can get inside the model and when they come out they`ll turn into the style of what they buy. So this girl wanted Audrey, but the sale said that Audrey is extinct coz her style is too classic in nowadays. And then the girl asked for Ladygaga, then the sale told her that gaga is so popular that was sold out. So the girl was leaving, dissapointedly. Then he met an agent who searches model for making this kind of model to produce. And he asked if she want to be the model of next season. She wondered why. He said that she's different from all the other girls on street(which all look like ladygaga). So she was happy, ans saying:No.thanks.

    ReplyDelete

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