Over the summer, we brought y’all an exclusive first look at by-girls-for-girls street label MadeMe’s ‘Immaculate Collection.’ Inspired equally by late 70s punks and Catholic school girl plaids, designer Erin Magee (who also doubles as Supreme’s director of production and development, nbd) served up a fresh take on a not quite Virgin Mary. Today, we’re stoked to exclusively premiere MadeMe’s pastel punk follow up, presented as a digital zine shot by Petra Collins. The shoot documents an ultimate NYC girl gang’s slumber party turned nocturnal Chinatown hangout, and come next year, these images will be printed as an IRL zine.
Featuring satin bomber jackets embroidered with phrases like “pretty on the inside” (a line lifted from Hole’s debut album) and tight pink tees, these spring offerings see Magee transition from 70s tartan to full blown 90s turf. Which is fitting, because we’re also psyched to reveal that come next fall, MadeMe will release a collab with Kim Gordon’s highly coveted cult label X-Girl. We caught up with Erin to find out more about her days as a riot grrrl and why she’d stay up all night watching Almodovar flicks with Madonna. To paraphrase Courtney Love, “Oh MadeMe over, I’m all I wanna be…’
What were some of your inspirations for the spring 16 collection?
I’ve been calling it Pastel Punk. It’s like a cloud puking up a rainbow into a flower patch after a punk show.
Tell us about the zine. What made you want to release this shoot in printed form?
Everything young girls experience now is in digital format — nothing’s tangible. When I was a teen, I had some really great things I could hold onto, cherish and even worship. I still hold my Live Through This CD booklet very close to my heart. The zine should give girls from other places a window into cool, supportive, collaborative, smart young woman working together to make cool shit happen! The future is female!
Hell yeah! Did you read or make any zines growing up? What were your faves?
Magazines and the zine world was how I learned about a lot of things. I lived in the suburbs in Canada. Since there was no Internet then — or just really bad Internet — it was the only way I could get a hold of cool information. I had to intentionally go seek it out at record stores, shows or raves. It wasn’t like there was a TV sitcom on being a riot grrrl. Riot grrrl zines were the only zines I had.
How did Petra become involved with the zine?
She slid up in my DM’s! I felt really cool because I am such a huge fan of hers. The process was easy; Petra’s very professional and talented. I feel very lucky to have these photos as part of MadeMe history.
What’s the dopest thing about today’s young female creatives? What compels you to the girls you work with?
Young creatives, like all the girls we used in the shoot, are so much more advanced than I was at that age. They are so knowledgeable about art, fashion and music. They teach me a lot and they love information. Older people get a bit stagnant and young creatives today are so open to newness. It keeps things feeling fun and new.
Tell us about the zine’s visual vibe. What’s the story?
Petra mentioned that my leather jackets give her feelings of tough, smart, cool girls. So the concept is ‘girl gang’. We wanted to do a MadeMe spring 16 preview but also involve some of the iconic fall pieces. It’s a teen-dream slumber party turned late night hang-out in Chinatown. These two settings allowed us to play more with the clothes, lighting and overall look. It turned out great.
What was on the walls of your teenage bedroom? And if you could invite anyone in the world to a sleepover, who would you pick, what snacks would you eat, and what movies would you watch?
OMG I am such a freak. My room was completely plastered with every picture of Madonna I could get my hands on. I could’ve been on My Crazy Obsession. I was so obsessed with the idea of a powerful, smart, successful woman doing life her way; it’s all I ever wanted to be. So, I guess I would invite Madonna to my sleepover. She doesn’t eat junk food, so we’d probably be munching on raw broccoli, doing push-ups and watching a Pedro Almodovar film.
Inviting myself, hope that’s cool. What’s up next for MadeMe?
I need to get through today first! But we have a footwear collaboration coming out in spring 16 with Underground — some really sick creepers! And in fall 2016 — you’re hearing it here first — I am doing a collection with X-Girl!
@mademenyc
Credits
Text Emily Manning
Photography Petra Collins