\nWhat would a fashion
\ncatwalk show be without music? Each season, fashion designers not only
\ncurate a collection of clothing, but they have to consider the venue,
\nbackdrop, model casting, styling, and what soundtrack they want to animate
\ntheir collections. <\/p>\n
As part of FashionUnited’s new ‘Fashion Insider’ series, finding out
\nwhat goes on behind the scenes of fashion week, we spoke to DJ
\nQuestionMark, a London-based DJ, musician and producer, who has DJ’ed for
\ndesigners during London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week on the
\nimportance of music for catwalk, what exactly goes into making the perfect
\nclash between music and fashion, as well as how to break into the industry.\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I was sent to learn classical piano and flute when I was really young.
\nRandomly, I met a DJ when I went to a rehearsal with friends and that
\nopened the door to the DJ world to me. Through DJing, I had to do all the
\nresearch about what I’m playing, even what I’m collecting. The whole
\nprocess from digging, listening, researching and playing it loud to people
\ntaught me the reason why I like music so much. <\/p>\n
I majored in Civil Engineer at the National Taiwan University and I
\nspent most of my time making music. It turned out I had various experiences
\nin making music for different art forms, like designing sound for theatre
\nprojects, DJing in the club, playing the flute in both jazz big band and
\nclassical orchestras, as well as writing scores for short films and
\nads. <\/p>\n
For me, music is a powerful medium to break through all the boundaries
\nbetween different worlds. <\/p>\n
London Fashion Week has its unique vibe of how it’s open to conceptual
\neven experimental works. I start by talking with the designer about the
\ncore concept of the next collection, 6 months in advance from the show day.\n<\/p>\n
Discussion is a big part of my working process. Before I start writing
\nthe pieces, I’ll try my best to squeeze every conceptual extension from the
\ncore concept, including the forms of texts, images, stories, musical
\nreferences and even installations. Then I’ll spend time on framing the
\naural shape of the season, like a few key sounds, sounds of the train,
\nwater drops, animals etc. <\/p>\n
Collaborating with Apu is a long term project and a deep collaboration.
\nWe spent a lot of time learning from each other, from how we think and
\ncreate, sometimes it’s not all about music and fashion. For example, both
\nof us are anime fans, so we found artistic common ground from anime. It
\ndidn’t necessarily create the work, bit definitely helped the
\ncommunication. <\/p>\n
Clothing and music becomes two different mediums of the same art,
\norganically, they match each other in the end, because we created the
\nstories together. <\/p>\n
I have worked interdisciplinary for years, including with dance, figure
\nskating, theatre, fashion, hip hop party, and jazz concerts. The key to
\nmaking good work is to listen and listen carefully to what might inspire
\nyou. When I work with others, I listen to my collaborators, when I work on
\nmy solo projects, I look at myself and check my past again and again for
\ninspirations. <\/p>\n
For the creating process, there is no big difference to my other works.
\nThe only difference. and probably the biggest one, is working with Apu is
\nworking with ApuJan’s (as a brand) team. After all these years, we have
\nbecome like a family, the connection is way more closer than a professional
\ncrew. <\/p>\n
6 months – 3 months in advance – talk, think, discuss about the concept.\n<\/p>\n
3 – months in advance – making music demos look for musicians to
\ncollaborate. <\/p>\n
1 month in advance – final adjust of all the tunes. <\/p>\n
2 weeks – rehearse for the show. <\/p>\n
1 day before – final adjust of all the show including with the running
\norder. <\/p>\n
I have DJ’ed on other catwalk shows, but when I work with ApuJan, I’m
\nmore of a musical director, rather than only DJing.<\/p>\n
The most tricky part is to make sure the music matches the clothes on
\nthe catwalk. There is always a plan of how the music goes, but there are
\nalways accidents, some models walk too fast, some models walk too slow,
\nsome times the order changes at last minute because a certain piece took
\nmore time than expect. I personally think the all musicians playing on the
\ncatwalk need to know how to improvise so the music won’t stop. <\/p>\n
Additionally, as well as playing the music, my job includes timing the
\nmodels, quickly figuring out the average time it takes for each model to
\nwalk out and walk in. Then tweak the music strategy, and give instruction
\nto my band members. Maybe loop the following 4 bars and put solo on, or cut
\nthe next section and skip to the next tune. Most importantly, I still have
\nto finish the story I’m telling from my music. <\/p>\n
I would say, the most different part is to sort all the potential
\nproblems and make a good show no matter what. <\/p>\n
It’s really hard to tell to be honest, because every tune for ApuJan’s
\nshows has been original. There are so many memories in each of them, as the
\nteam spent literally hundred hours in coffee shop, my studio, and the
\nrehearsal room. <\/p>\n
The one that is most special would be ApuJan’s spring\/summer 2015 show,
\nwhere the only the sound I use is from a sewing machine. This is the most
\nstraight forward way to show what’s the relationship between the music and
\ntextile\/ clothes. The sewing machine was heavy and a little bit off the
\ntune, (I did my best to choose the one nearly perfect) but it still sounds
\nbeautiful and totally worth it! <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I am a classical trained flutist\/ pianist before I became a DJ, but
\nDJing gave me a big freedom of playing music. Plus, I can play flute solo
\non top of my DJ set. It makes my set sound fresh and it looks fresh as
\nwell. <\/p>\n
A good DJ needs to be good at reading people and communicate with their
\naudience with the music. I feel honoured and happy for being able to share
\nthe music I like to tell my story using music. <\/p>\n
Fashion is a good platform for trying out things, so be confident and
\njust do it. Teamwork makes dream work – respect everyone and keep the
\ncommunication smooth, clear and nice. <\/p>\n
Whatever happens, stay calm, that’s the only way to make a good show.\n<\/p>\n
Images: courtesy of DJ Question Mark<\/p>\n