The journey of Progressive Art

We’ve just concluded two-and-a-half years of the Progressive Art project. Our three-day residency at the Ants space in Johannesburg, South Africa, was a huge success. When we started Phsics Media our goal was to become an incubator where young people from different backgrounds could engage with our content and be inspired by it. Progressive Art is our most successful project since our inception. We're grateful for all our friends who've helped us bring out the best of this story. Not to say we didn't face any hurdles along the way, but we pulled-through until the very end. Part one of the Progressive Art film is now live on our channel.

We're excited to go back to work on our sixth-annual project which is called “The Space Between Colour”. The trailer for it is due to be released later this year. The Progressive Art story matters because it proves that with a little bit of faith, a lot can get done.

Progressive Art Residency @ Ants 03-05 February 2017 

 

our guest performer on the opening night Thandi Ntuli 

 

artwork by our resident artist Nia Keturah 

our Progressive Art magazine issue 

 

our Progressive Art capsule collection 

 

more artwork by our resident artist Nia Keturah  

Peace and love - tebs

The Faith of Dreams tour: Progressive Art Amsterdam Screening

I just got back from what was probably one of the most gratifying trips of my life. In the six years of Phsics Media’s existence I never thought we’d get to a point where we’d be hosting our own events in places like Amsterdam. The flight from Cape Town to anywhere in the world takes a lot out of you. I arrived there on a Wednesday, which also happened to be the day of the Kings birthday, and was surprised by how welcoming the city is. I linked up with Joya Mooi for the first time and I got to learn about her more as a person. I then had to meet with the venue owners of the theater we were screening our film at. It was weird for me to attend a meeting that was set for 9pm. But I guess that’s what’s great with travelling; it opens your mind to how things are done elsewhere.

On event day, which was on a Saturday, I woke up having a panic attack. My friend Sanjeet was with me at the time and we weren’t in Amsterdam just on a social level, so we took event day to visit famous places around the city that we didn’t get to see. At about 5pm we took the Uber to the event venue, a ride which typically took 8 minutes from the hotel. But our Uber ride ended up taking nearly half an hour (we had scheduled a pre-screening at 5:30 to check any technical glitches) because of road closures. We get to the venue ten minutes before 6pm, and some of our guests were already in the theatre screening room. So we just did a one take check on the audio, visuals and lighting. Then Joya walks in, greets me with a warm smile and tells me to relax. I really did have to relax but things weren’t going exactly as I would have liked them to. So about 15 minutes in, we started with the screening. 

When we finished screening our film, people from the audience came up to me to tell me how inspired they were by our story Progressive Art. As a storyteller, that is the most gratifying feeling in the world! I don’t want to give much away, but we still have 3 more cities to go and I look forward to connecting with everyone. Amsterdam was amazing. See you soon - Tebs

Vidur: The finer attributes of Contemporary Menswear

Menswear can be courageous. A lot of details that didn’t previously exist are making their way into “contemporary menswear”. There are a lot of layers, fluidity, structural minimalism, and bright natural colours. My assessment would be that these clothes are ‘constructed’ piece by piece.  Vidur is a contemporary menswear brand headed by RCA graduate Raj Mistry. Founded in 2012, the brand’s other co-founder has a background in music, and I think that aesthetically, Vidur has succeeded in carving-out a distinctive awareness around who they are and what they stand for. I would like to discuss two of Vidur’s distinguishing characteristics which I feel bring light to their design philosophy; the integration of athleticism and functionality, and the use of natural materials. 

We are currently witnessing a period of experimentation in the menswear design scene. My reading of the situation is that dressing down is central to this experimentation. Athletic silhouettes are not new to contemporary menswear. In my very short life, I recall an era in the late 90s and early 2000s when dressing down blue denims with Nike Airmaxes was very popular. This grew to be normalized through brands such as Common Projects who designed and made sneakers that didn’t feel ‘sporty’ at all. In 2015, I still like to wear my Adidas sneakers to the office either with raw denims or chinos. This is because of how functional it feels. Vidur have made this element of “functionality” to be at the core of their design philosophy, and this is refreshing and relevant.

Vidur also use natural materials in their garment making. This is important, particularly the use of natural colour. Indigo dyeing is one of the oldest traditions in the world. It’s nearly impossible for large-scale clothing manufacturers to use natural indigo partly because of its scarcity, but mainly because it’s a lengthy process. So these manufacturers use artificial indigo dyes. Major problem with that is once the artificial indigo dye is used, the water can’t be reused (because it’s contaminated). This may seem like a minor issue if you’re dying small amounts, but if we’re talking about millions of tons of clothes dyed in artificial indigo each year, how much of that water goes to waste? Vidur are clear about how they are constantly engaging with their manufacturers and mills to keep the natural composition of their clothes at an optimum. The use of natural materials is becoming just as critical as a brands other unique selling points.

I believe that this brand will continue to cause global headwinds. In 2013, they were selected by Vogue Italia as “one of the menswear talents to watch”, and after discovering them at last month’s Copenhagen Fashion Week, I agree fully with Vogue Italia’s endorsement. Keep going Vidur.

SS14 Lookbook credits: 
Photographer: Harry Sleightholme
Model: Suren @ AMCK 

SS15 Lookbook credits:
Photographer: Jamie Stoker
Model: Eliot @ SUPA
Grooming: Dan Delgado
Styling: Charlotte James