Meet the Creatives Pushing Culture in Europe's Hottest Neighbourhoods
Converse and Highsnobiety have joined together this fall to create a new kind of publication—an international zine that gave voice to four upcoming creative forces from some of the most progressive and creative neighborhoods in Europe: Kreuzberg, Berlin; Navigli, Milan; République, Paris; and Lewisham, south London.
This was the next logical stage of Converse’s Public Access project, a creative platform for big ideas and diverse voices that celebrates those who are changing culture through bold creations and storytelling.
Photographers, designers, artists, and stylists crafted something in their own neighborhood that was informed by their passions and experiences, and shaped by their cities and their friends. The results were compiled and assembled by Highsnobiety, unedited. The whole project was designed around the Converse One Star—the low cut sneaker that became an icon in the early '90s and which returned earlier this year with on-point collabs from colette through to Tyler, the Creator himself.
The below is a sneak preview of the final product they created, direct from the hearts and minds of each individual. Public Access will be available at select locations across London, Milan, Paris and Berlin, as well as Converse flagship stores. These are the four creatives behind Public Access.
Ryan Hawaii
Artist, designer. Lewisham, London. @ryanhawaii
London-based visual artist and designer Ryan Hawaii blew up on the UK scene after coming up with the tongue-in-cheek political slogan, 'David Cameron hates the mandem', as a way to lightly protest against the then UK Prime Minister. Labeled 'DIY', 'punk' and 'renegade', his work uses physical elements like apparel, as well as collage and paint to mess with the viewer's perspective.
Maria Vittoria Reale
Stylist. Navigli, Milan. @mariavittoriareale
Upcoming stylist and fashion professional Maria Vittoria Reale applies her distinct aesthetic and sartorial taste for an exclusive shoot with her friends on the streets of her city, Milan. While one of the 'big four' fashion cities, "in my opinion, Milano is so underrated compared to the other 'fashion cities'," she comments. "One of my goals is to show the world and the fashion community that Milano is alive, now more than ever."
Roman Gonzalez
Skater, photographer. République, Paris. @gonzox1000
When he's not skating across Paris, the reclusive, underground skater and blobys crew member, Roman Gonzalez, applies his distinct and subtly subversive photographic eye to the streets of the French capital. Understated and minimal, his photos playfully mess with perspective: distorting, deleting or adding to digital images to create something playful that comments on the urban space around us.
Steffen Grap
Skater, publisher, photographer. Kreuzberg, Berlin. @steffen.grap
Seriously productive Berliner, skater, photographer and designer Steffen Grap captured himself and those of 030 crew during the weekend they launched their own zine, Slinky. "The story should be about my gang and I. So I decided to capture them for a weekend while doing what we are doing all the time. I just wanted to show a natural recap of our everyday life."
For more on Public Access, check out the two Public Access web shows, one co-hosted and created with Maisie Williams in London followed up by Miley Cyrus in LA. Public Access zine drops soon.
