THE INTERNET - WHO IS THAT SPOOKY WOMAN AT EVERY FASHION SHOW ON EARTH?

There are about four million boring fashion blogs, and most of them are retarded, done from emailed press releases and blog surfing. They’re full of the celeb stuff you’d find on Perez Hilton, rants about some £2,000 shoes, and a load of bum-licking copy about some designers you’ve never heard of and definitely will never care about. Odds are, if the blog’s not from New York, Paris, or Milan, said writer will also be deluded about the global significance of whichever designer it is he or she is talking about. However, Diane Pernet’s A Shaded View on Fashion is very different, a crazed encyclopedia of fashion. Diane travels the world’s fashion junkets picking up on just about anything related to fashion and just about every half-decent designer she can find, posting endlessly about her discoveries. It’s an unhinged Rubik’s cube of trends presented to you by a woman who lives beneath a veil. We had a chat.

Vice: Hi. So, you’ve got a massive blog, but beyond that, your glasses, and the thing on your head you always wear, people still know jack-all about you. But everyone is curious.
Diane Pernet: My look has evolved, I’ve worn black since since the late-70s, it’s a personal statement. I write, I travel, consult, and make films. I edit my blog, A Shaded View on Fashion aka ASVOF. I make films, and I am the co-editor in chief for ZOO Magazine. ASVOFF, my fashion film festival has travelled all around the world from Riga to Tokyo, Seoul to Mexico City, London, Rome and to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.

Didn’t you used to have a label in New York or something?
I had my own label under my own name for 13 years. Then I moved to Paris, designed costumes for a few films, worked as an assistant producer on the Canadian Broadcasting Company’s Fashion Files, was a fashion editor for four and a half years in Hong Kong before the magazine folded when China took over. Then I wrote a style column for Elle.com called Dr. Diane, moved to Vogueparis.com for about three years, and then opened my own blog in 2005 before I started the film festival.

Why did you leave NYC?
I left at the end of 1990 because the city had basically gone to hell. It was like Blade Runner. AIDS had killed off more than half my neighborhood, the homeless were taking over the streets, crack, drugs, and crime were epic and basically I was living to leave, so finally I decided to move to Paris. It took me four years to eventually move. New York was my life and it was where I had my business, but I have no regrets.

When and why did you start a Shaded View of Fashion?
I launched A Shaded View on Fashion to report on things that I found interesting around the world. The world is always what has interested me, not just New York, Paris, London, and Milan, but all over the planet. I’m on a mission to find that creativity and promote it to inspire and to be inspired at the same time.



Was it hard at the start?
When I started my blog I did something called life blogging, which involved a Nokia and life blogging software. I would report from wherever I was instantly posting it to my site. After a few years of doing that and super high phone bills, I stopped. I thought it was a bit of a gimmick. I use my digital camera now and post from my computer.



What’s the most fun time you’ve had with your blog? Probably the best was a month ago when I went to Tokyo and met Arākī and he took me and my friend Akiko to his favorite karaoke bar; maximum capacity--15 people. A lot of exciting things are happening outside of the major capitals: Artists and designers in Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Korea, Romania, Thailand, Rome, things are happening everywhere. I cover as much as I can. Next month I’ll go to Poland. I’ve never been there.

DARYOUSH HAJ-NAJAFI

Comments

[mrm]

first photo looks like something straight out of a matthew barney film.

[jaded]

I disagree. In 1990 the city was in its peak! everyone loves some good crack and homeless people

[Karen]

For someone so into fashion why does she dress like a dormant volcano? As a matter of fact, why do 90% of fashionistas dress in all black? They are obsessed with clothes but wear the same thing everyday. I don't get it.

[anonymous]

i am so over people that commit their lives to blogging. her geisha widow/wedding dress is the least of her problems.

[kool fartz]

She left NYC right before hip hop really started jumping off, thereby missing the birth of an iconic artform and culture.

And this is a "trend-spotter"? Kinda dropped the ball on that one, hmm?

[dylan]

she mad ugly under all that shit, for real for real.

[FaceKick]

"She left NYC right before hip hop really started jumping off, thereby missing the birth of an iconic artform and culture."
That doesn't mean everyone has to like it. I think most hip-hop fashion is retarded myself. The music, on the other hand, can be pretty cool, at times. Besides, I think she's managed to do all right for herself despite having "dropped the ball", what with the film festival she runs and the incessant jet-setting to/from new york, milan, london, paris.

[diane pernet]

Actually hip hop was happening at the Roxy in the 80's. not really sure how I dropped the ball but hey, you have a right to your opinion. DP

[Xhhshsjxhgdgdd]

Bitch needs a new face!

[yourash]

diane's shit is tight. do you even look at her blog? i love the hilarious/ gorgeous video stuff she was doing at hyeres. she's smart and her taste is impeccable, outrageous, interesting, full of life, and probably better than yours.

[captain cheesepuff]

i thought this lady was like 80 years old but the close up doesn't look that way.

[winston]

what's wrong with that guys teeth? Yuck!

[nadiv]

Someone's out there doing exactly what it is that she wants.

[sean john]

I think hip hop is in in 90s. But i think now its no more.

-missey-

[G]

Diane Pernet is an Icon of fashion.

[tim]

Diane is brilliant. Love

[luv]

i met her today and she was so inspirational