Sur La Rue: Vittie

Name: Vittie

Location: London/Lausanne

Which culture most influences your style: I tend to take a multi-faceted approach to fashion. I love African prints and vibrant colours and some aspects of London Street fashion because there are no rules!  That said, I also have an innate classic style which is interspersed with an occasional playfulness, depending on my mood, the occasion and the season. So really, my personal style is a cocktail of my international experiences having lived in several countries, some call it an “Afropolitan” influence but I shy away from labeling  because for me its just whatever I feel like wearing on any given day!

Ideal shopping experience (vintage, second hand, boutique, shopping mall, bazaar etc) and why: I have my favourite small French boutiques where I am likely to find pretty and uncommon pieces, and Portobello and Spitalfields Markets in London for hidden treasures made by small, independent designers. I occasionally browse through vintage shops when I can but I’m still yet to find an amazing bargain!

Otherwise I stick to boutiques and stockists for classic handbags and shoes from my favourite designers. I tend to go a bit crazy during their sample sales and other sale seasons! I have one favourite high street store which never disappoints, but that is a secret I’m not willing to share yet… J. I also get my African prints directly from local markets whenever I visit family in Accra, and I work with local tailors to create an outfit that works for me.

Why? Because I like to be different!

SLR street style fashion London Ghana switzerland
Sur La Rue: Gaia and Arianna

Name: Gaia Segattini and Arianna Rubiconti

Location: Italy

Which culture most influences your style:

(Gaia) Mens traditional clothing, Japanese fashion designers, origami, early American punk bands and 90’s Riot Grrrls, Blythe dolls.

(Arianna) Basically,I love music and I like people who do not seem to “act.” I’m fascinated by things which sound different,like “trashy” 80’s music to Jeff Buckley and Paul Weller. vintage cars,men suits,multicolor and geometry….. Jil Sander, Balenciaga, Bernard Willhelm, Junia Watanabe, Coco Chanel and many more

Ideal shopping experience and why:

(Gaia) Vintage because it always surprise you and it’s different from everything, handmade because it shows passion of the artisan, outlets because is (sometimes) the only way I can purchase something from my favorite designers that I could never get at retail prices.

(Arianna) I like vintage cause you can find something unique and often you can also smell a “story” or invent one. Outlets are “reality”….. they give you the chance to buy something beautiful with normal money. I like to buy things when I travel, I love to wander and find interesting shops; in general I’m fascinated by great stores with great designers but they also scare me cause I feel like “ok I can’t afford anything and the shop assistant already hates me”. In the end I do prefer small shops and I think that now is a period in which we have to face the reality: the lack of quality and the standardization of many mass-product is definitely boring. Handmade will become more important.

SLR street style Italy Fashion
Sur La Rue: Max

Name: Max Krüger

Location: Berlin

Which culture most influences your style: I cant lie, its the usual suspects: Europe and North America. South African fashion made a big impression on me too.

Ideal shopping experience (vintage, second hand, boutique, shopping mall, bazaar etc) and why: Finding accessories on markets and bazaars. Little things I can always wear, from places that have a meaning to me. For me they become more than just a thing that looks nice, as memories and feelings are attached to it.

SLR street style Berlin
Sur La Rue: Khara

Name: Khara

Location: Minnesota

Which culture most influences your style:

I get accused of dressing like some sort of cross between Sporty Spice and Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element. I look toward East Asia street culture for inspiration, and I’m a sucker for anything futuristic. If I could get away with it I’d probably dress like something out of Resident Evil. Utility, subtle originality and craft are characteristics I look for in clothing, regardless of cultural origin. I’m not so mentally organized that I think in terms of assembling outfits, I gravitate towards boutique clothing which means that I end up with items that present me with a sartorial conundrum (think metallic skirt or white tie). 

Ideal shopping experience (vintage, second hand, boutique, shopping mall, bazaar etc) and why: With the sole exception of shoes and underwear, second hand and vintage paired with the occasional bankrupting designer piece.  There’s a danger in expressing yourself through consumption and I feel uneasy siphoning money into the coffers of large companies because I’ve seen the women on those assembly lines. When I can, I buy clothing made through grassroots livelihood projects. The shirt I wore in the photo shoot was handmade by a teenage survivor of the sex industry in Seoul.

SLR fashion street style
Sur La Rue: Shala Monroque

Shala Monroque, the St. Lucian fashion editor, art curator and trend setter is a fashionable chameleon. Her style is youthful, chic and concise.

(photo credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

SLR street style Shala Monroque fashion
Sur La Rue: Giovanna Battaglia

Giovanna Battaglia is an Italian fashion editor and familiar face on many street style fashion blogs. Her feminine and classic style has me daydreaming about visiting Milano for the weekend.

(photo credit:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) 

SLR street style fashion Giovanna Battaglia
Sur La Rue: Inda

Name: Inda

Location: Lausanne, Switzerland via UK

Which culture most influences your style: Being a Brit with Indian origins and having a love for individualism sways me to certain colours and a style of how I dress. For me my clothes are an extension of how I feel on the day where I express my mood by picking an outfit. My influences or style I’d say are retro, simple high street style. I like wearing colours like deep purples, reds.

Ideal shopping experience (vintage, second hand, boutique, shopping mall, bazaar etc) and why: I love going to small boutiques for shoes especially in Nottingham, UK as I am not a fan of mass production! Two of my favourite places for clothes are Warehouse and Oasis, where you can find what’s fashionable but not too much of a fad. Overall my clothes are always comfortable that is my biggest ’ must have’ :-)

SLR fashion street style
Global Nomad: DJ Sarasa

DJ Sarasa (a.k.a. Silverboombox) is an international Hip Hop, Funk, Soul, House and Disco DJ and producer based in Tokyo, Japan. She recently launched a new clothing brand for women called Mynority Classics in 2010.  

Why are you a global nomad?

Because I can’t sit still!

What made you start this venture? Why are you doing this?

I was DJing for the 11th anniversary of a clothing line called MSGR. The president Katsuya Nakamura is a well respected producer/designer in the industry and we kept in touch after the party. After meeting many times he offered me to do a ladies line, which was one of my dreams. I had been having trouble finding the clothes that I really liked in the past, so I decided to make what I wanted.

What do you hope to achieve?

I would like MYNORITY CLASSICS to become a global brand which spreads messages from Japan. I can see all the true-school B-Girls rocking my gear, and someday making a movement of independent women across the world.

How long have you been working on this?

A year.

What is the most interesting discovery you have made since starting this project?

Boys are jealous of our brand. They are actually pissed that they can’t wear them!!

Where do you see this project in 10 years?

Still going strong. MYNORITY CLASSICS would be the biggest ladies brand that could crossover between the streets and the high-end fashion.

When did you start traveling?

When I was 4.

How and why did you travel for the first time?

My dad is working in the importing and exporting business, so I had to fly over with the family and moved to New York. The first time I traveled on my own was when I was in high school. I went to Canada.

In what places have you lived and what languages do you speak?

Japan, NY and Canada. I speak Japanese, English and conversational Spanish.

What’s your favorite city so far?

New York…. but I like Tokyo’s convenience too.

If you could only take one item with you to travel the world (other than your passport), what would it be?

As sad as it sounds, probably my computer… ha ha!

Give us your global nomad profile:

window or aisle? Window

boat or plane? Plane, need to be quick!!

train or bus? Train, I get motion sick with the bus.

walk or bike? Bike, need to be quick.

metro or trolley? Trolley sounds nice…. but metro.

tropical, temperate, polar? Temperate.

hotel, hostel or local’s apartment? Whatever suits the lifestyle of the locals and the culture.

must have fashion piece when traveling? My MYNORITY CLASSICS nameplate chain. Its made of real vinyl!!!

explore/map or tour guide? Explore with a map.

Global Nomad Fashion Japan DJ Sarasa street style music
Sur La Rue: Julia Sarr-Jamois

This week’s street style inspiration comes from Julia Sarr-Jamois, the London based fashion editor at Wonderland Magazine. Anyone who can make a sweatshirt and ripped jeans look chic has my vote!

(photo credits:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

SLR fashion street style julia sarr jamois
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