meghan mctavish and things

“…A text with an address two hours before service and novelty masks provided upon arrival (to be worn all throughout the meal) give it a Marco Polo meets Eyes Wide Shut appeal…”

I recently had the tough gig of dishing on the underground restaurants (click) sprouting up around the globe. Bringing new meaning to the term collaborative consumption these DIY-restaurateurs are serving up more than just home cooked meals to a group of total strangers, offering fine soul food on a McD’s budget.

“I have fond memories of hanging at the beach with my girlfriends.We were nicknamed ‘the ladies of leisure’ because we’d just grab our boards and a cooler with drinks and surf for hours.”

Stephanie Gilmore (A.K.A four-time women’s surfing world champ) hit Sydney recently to promote the new (cue plug) Nikon COOLPIX AW100 (end plug). We ate oysters on Bondi Beach, rated Kelly Slater’s hotness from 1999 to now and she shared some of her fave surfing spots and shots (click)

Having grown up in Hong Kong I’m a city girl at heart but my uncle, Bob McTavish, is a bit of a surfing legend (click)  (shameless namedrop) which helped me feel a bit more inner circle. Kind of sad that I couldn’t riff on any of my own surfing stories since I’m still a massive novice. (Read: Can only get up on whitewash. I know, don’t make that face).

“Car boot sales”

My first few minutes with British designer Henry Holland (House of Holland) revealed his more lo-fi picks for London’s best fashion fixes.

A few minutes more revealed the stylemaker’s penchant for painted chevrons and a rather embarrassing incident with a Shell tracksuit…

Is there a trend past or present that you absolutely hate?
HATE – leggings. Unflattering on about 95% of the people who wear them.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever worn?
Best thing I’ve ever worn was a Burberry suit that I borrowed for the Met Ball in NYC it was silver hand painted chevrons and it made me feel amazing and I often feel uncomfortable in a suit.

And the worst thing?

The WORST was this Shell (as in the petrol company) suit tracksuit I had when I was a kid.

Where will you be in 5 years? 10 years?
In 5 years I hope to be doing what I’m doing as I love my job so much. I’d like to be continuing to build a brand that I’m proud of – maybe get married and get a puppy at some point too. In 10 years time I want be semi retired on a beach in the Caribbean.

And if you weren’t designing what would you be doing?
Fashion journalist. I got my degree in journalism and was working in magazines before I set up my label. I loved what I was doing so I’d happily go back
to that.

“…The trip has confirmed my belief that Australia isn’t behind in fashion. You get exactly the same trends we get, but in different seasons. For instance, if we’re getting colour blocking in winter, you’re going to get a bit of that, but in a summer version. If anything you’re kind of exactly on par with Europe but have more choice…”

Gok Wan might be the king of light and fluffy fashion TV but when it comes to looking good after a long-haul flight the British tastemaker confesses that packing his suitcase is a serious business. Recently the global roaming fashion stylist gave me his never-fail guide to looking great after a flight. Hot tip: A cocktail or two can come in handy.

“… Not necessarily, I think they are great for people that aren’t as open with their sexuality as I am. For people who want to feel comfortable being free to express themselves knowing it is completely acceptable. I guess the only time I would consider staying in one is if I was in a country where I didn’t feel safe to be who I am in that regard.”

Ruby Rose and I pow-wowing on the LGBT hotel trend. Click here for more. 

So a few weeks ago I exchanged words with Weiden + Kennedy creative director Kenzo Digital (click), otherwise known as the video artist behind Beyonce’s living-music-video-esque, ubiquitously revered performance (here) at this years Billboard Music Awards. 

Kenzo has also created video geniosity for President Barack Obama and is just now putting the finishing touches on concert documentary for Kanye West so you can gather that if anyone’s getting “up there” in the visual art game, it’s him.

It’s light, it’s fluffy and the edited for travel version is here (click) but anybody interested in hearing about exploitative 2005 hip-hop, recontextualisation, or just want tips on where to hang in New York then read on.

You’ve garnered a huge amount of attention since your Beyonce collab, how were you approached by her team?

 Beyonce’s choreographer Frank Gatson reached out to me.  We spoke about different ways to approach the concept.  I came back the next day and met with Beyonce and we started from there. 

Did she put any creative restrictions on how far you could push her?

It was a collaborative effort.  I wouldn’t say there were restrictions; in fact it was the opposite.  She is a great performer and being able to collaborate with talent who dances and performs so masterfully really just opened up many possibilities for me creatively. 

What would you say if I said “visual artists are the new rockstars.”

I’ve never actually heard that before.  There is no question that we live in a visually driven society, and that video and the moving image has taken on a new meaning and function in the world.  We are fast trying to inject ourselves into the narrative, and the people that can create that mythology can create worlds. 

Your most recent work City of God’s Son blends opera and hip-hop and video samples to create a narrative. How to you even concept a project that looks and sounds as ambitious as that?

It comes from a combination of things.  Growing up as a kid my childhood fantasy movie stared all my favourite rappers who were like my heroes at the time (Nas, Jay Z, Ghostface, Biggie, Raekwon).  As I got older I and started making films years later, that kind of crime imagery was exploited by pop gangster rap in like 2005.  That imagery was exploitive, ignorant and most importantly boring.  So I wanted to still tell that story but find a whole new medium to convey it and give some real depth to the characters.  From a concept stand point, as a visual artist it was an opportunity for me to comment on our over reliance on visuals, and make something that was visual through audio to show how under developed some of our other senses have become. 

How do you imagine people will interpret the film?

It is a really unique experience.  I film experience unlike anything else really. I can imagine its kind of like if you could breathe underwater.  At first you would probably freak out a little getting used to it, then after you intuitively adapt to how to explore the world it becomes liberating and a sensory awakening experience of sorts.

Do you think there is ever a line artists can cross when it comes to sampling and appropriation? If so, how do you stay careful not to cross it when re-contextualising a video or piece of music?

Yeah absolutely.  Sometimes I think a simplistic nod to an original is great, especially when it is properly contextualized.  But there are a lot of cheap rip offs in everything from music, to film, to art.  I think great appropriators are able to really add to new value to the original and expand upon or recontextualize the original meaning.  I think a masterful sampler intimately knows what the source is and how he’s playing it, you have to have a full spectrum understanding to do it justice. 

You’ve done work for L’Oreal, H&M and the Obama campaign. Are you careful about who you align yourself with and is it difficult to maintain creative integrity when cash and politics get involved?

It’s new and unexplored territory out there.  To me I look at working with brands as part of being an artist in this era which is a vastly different experience and world than that of many of the artists I look up to from previous generations.  I’m not saying its what everyone does or should do but it’s a new path that I don’t think was there before like it is now. 

I can say for me it’s a combination of things.  I like telling different kinds of stories, some are best expressed through film, other music, and others through more concept driven art.  That being said I’m looking for different kinds of challenges from different projects.  With commercials I’m just trying to make short films that are fun to watch and have an interesting take on the brand, I’m not looking for a chance to make an artistic statement.  To me it’s just an opportunity to work on my craft, and learn other ways of filmmaking that’s at a bigger scale budget wise. 

My independent projects never stop, if anything it just makes me better at what I do when I work with no compromise, and that’s always when I make my best work.  I recently creative directed the most recent Jordan commercials for Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul for ad agency Wieden + Kennedy NY, who I joined about a year ago as a creative director. 

To me the land scape of all moving image communication commercial or not is all shifting in the same direction and it is a credit to Wieden + Kennedy that they work with some of the more non-traditional filmmakers and artists like myself to help define how art and commerce merge through the moving image by supporting our vision in various ways and plugging us into brands that we naturally speak the language of like Nike or Jordan in my case. 

How much did/does New York City and the world in general influence your work?

I love New York, its my favourite city for sure.  I am addicted to the visual textures of the city, the chaos, and it has some of the best food in the world.  I would also love to live in Paris, I get the same bombardment of visual textures from cities all over the world, but Paris is on another level.  I would love to live out there to make work and just see how it effects me.  For me there is no lack of inspiration in NY. 

Do you visit local galleries, museums or are there books that inspire you?

Sometimes, I definitely go in phases.  If im in the middle of concepting something I don’t like to look or think about anything other than what I’m working on.  The whole process of thinking it through on your own terms is very important to me.  Sometimes its just nice to walk around the MET and listen to music.  I mostly opt for just walking around the city though, that really does it for me. 

Where are your favourite places in the city to…

Eat:  Torrisi, Kanoyama, Baohaus, and Ippudo 

Shop:  A bunch of different places, I like Opening Ceremony and Supreme, and always Raulph Lauren

What’s next after City of God’s Son?

I have many projects in the pipeline, everything from TV projects, to short films and video art projects.  After the Beyonce project I hopped on this concert documentary project I’m directing for Kanye West that’s gonna be cool. 

“I am shooting this video for kanye tomorrow and it is very time consuming. Can we interview Tuesday? Thanks again”

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