the genius of daniel archam

danielarsham.com

jokul, iceland

CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE TO READ MY COMPLETE INTERVIEW WITH OAKAZINE

Name, age, date of birth, star sign

William Graper, 25, April 2, Aries.

Where did you grow up? How did your early environment influence you creatively?

I was born and raised in Sarasota, Florida on the Gulf Coast. There are five very outspoken and strong-minded kids in my family, and I think early on we all learned to create unique and original ways of being seen and heard. Dinners were spent performing around the table or making jokes. My mother was largely influential in my personal style and taste. Her attention to aesthetics and home decor gave me a passion early on for fine things, beautiful clothes and etiquette. Our personal styles are very different now, but she was really the one who instilled the importance of surrounding yourself with beauty in your everyday life.

When did you start expressing yourself stylistically? When did you first discover fashion?

Growing up my mother took great care in dressing all of us, but it wasn’t until I came across my sister’s Donna Karan red puffer vest (can you imagine?) that I really started to understand the influence that “fashion” has on others. I remember being in awe of how cool she looked and as a young, closeted kid I could identify with that desire to fit in. Branding myself through my appearance and sense of style became powerful for me very early on.

Any early fashion periods/looks that you regret?

A/X ARMANI EXCHANGE. (Although, I do wish I had some of those ribbed, logo sweaters today.)

Favorite designers and why. Favorite collections by them?

Personally, I am inspired by designers who work to evolve minimalism without compromising the cleanliness and toughness of what makes it so important. RAD HOURANI, HELMUT LANG: FALL 2003 and SPRING 2004, and GIVENCHY BY RICCARDO TISCI: FALL 2007 really do it for me. As a stylist, I love mixing monochromatic elements with the printed and bizarre. The Florida in me gets off on designers like Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli and Moschino. They allow me to play dress up and experiment, which helps to keep my everyday wardrobe simple and to the point.

VMAN, PHOTOGRAPHER BO EGESTROEM

halloween, 2010; with nicki minaj-jason

steven chu photography; stevenchustudio.com

Le cimetière orthodoxe, Aralsk, KZ, 2003 by Claudine Doury