youthquake twentyeleven

in the mid-1960's, editor-in-chief of vogue diana vreeland famously coined the term "youthquake" to describe the explosion of fashion, music, and art all influenced and created by the rock-and-roll youth culture. these were the heydays of the beatles, the stones, and motown; when the miniskirt changed the rules and pop art changed the meaning. in the magazine, vreeland showcased this movement through the thin-railed physiques of jean shrimpton and penelope tree, while also exposing the birth of the modern "it" girl through socialite edie sedgwick's trademark black tights trend. this period was the beginning of downtown mixing with uptown, the center of clashed cultures, the middle of parties-in-snapshots, designed in mary quaint and betsey johnson and emphasized by a powerful group of twentysomethings and teens, who had the world in the palms of their hands. in a profound way, vreeland described the scene: "more dreamers. more doers. here. now. youthquake 1965."

although there isn't as much exposure on it, it's hard not to notice the amount of young people who have an immense amount of power and influence. think of the success of social networks, the usage of indie rock in television commercials, rap music's dominance amongst the world's audience. think of the rebirth of pop, the clothes the first lady wears, and the tiny film movements that nobody hears about. there is a hum of a generational pull, trying to grab the world for all we can and shake it with peace and sense. we are anxious, eager, emotional, and ready. yet there's no one there to pay attention. whereas the 60's generation had a legion of patrons and adults baffled by every single thing the youth was up to, ours is discarded and ignored, lumped easily into a category of "spoiled, narcissistic brats." yet what is youth but self-absorption and beauty? the thing about our generation is that we simply accept the fact we will one day fade into ugliness and want only to keep that image of greatness for as long as we can. and underneath that philosophy, there are many artists, engineers, innovators, and geniuses exploding, taking over already or bubbling under the radar.

here i've collected whom i think are the youth that represent whom we are and where we're going, of the old and the new, the classic and the freshies, the cool and the cooler. these are the jumpers, the movers, the ass-shakers, the dreamers, the lovers, the hope for an artistic and beautiful future for our generation. powerful pioneers they are (and in no particular order), youthquake 2011.

lady gaga



many call her the "future queen of pop," but at this point, she's practically there. after having the first top 40 hit, not to mention #1, that uses the word "transgender" and have it stay at the top for six weeks, stefani joanne angelina germanotta currently has the world pegged underneath her nine-inch alexander mcqueens. known for her colorful and elaborate couture fashion, social activism, and intensely catchy melodies, lady gaga is the strangest new breed of a pop star that the world has encountered. we have odd internet sensations like bieber and even ms. rebecca black, however both are tres aw-shucks and "normal" in their kohl's t-shirts and processed beats. whereas, gaga relishes in her evocation of gay subculture, 90's club kids, and medieval macabre, always flirting with the idea of depravity but always giving a bubblegum wink attached. in someone else's hands, this would be disastrous and pathetic (see ke$ha), but gaga manages to stomp in paris fashion week and mention smoking weed while writing lyrics like "it doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M," without anyone batting an eyelash. with her cinematic, dark music videos and obsession with warholian cynicism, lady gaga has come to reinvent what it means to top the charts and still be true to yourself.

mark zuckerberg



let's see, shall we? he's the youngest billionaire in the world. he created the most popular social network and one of the top three most popular websites in the world. his life was heavily dramatized in an oscar-winning film. he dresses in a hoodie all the time. am i missing something? oh yeah, and he chooses to live in a normal house in an upper-middle-class palo alto neighborhood. in many ways, mark is unlike the former young internet tycoons who got their money and spent it lavishly. he is economically-intelligent as he is mathematically; a modern geek, completely nerdy but almost remarkably charismatic. his company, facebook, is the envy of middle-aged ceos and has an staff of technical go-getters, who dress in jeans and have a beer cooler at the office. he has changed the way we look at ourselves, our world, and everyone else. in many ways, mark has caused a influx of inward reflection, but he's also connected families and lovers and friends and is completely fascinating in his humility and awkwardness because of it.

nicki minaj



a lot of the time, she still seems like a mystery even though she's everywhere and was on everyone's song for the last two years. she is pretty much the most popular female rapper in the game at this point, but even more important, one of the most popular rappers in the game at this point period. but popularity has nothing to do with why she's shaking shit up. with her various split personalities (count them: roman, lewinsky, harajuku barbie, ninja, onika...) and fascination with wigs of bright and neon hues, nicki minaj has proven herself as the spastic colorful robotic space poetress, spitting rhymes about everything from anna nicole smith to shaka zulu, making weird yet humorously insane faces in between interviews, and calling/quizzing her sometimes-devoted fans via ustream, as she climbs her way to respectability and appreciation. for all of her good-doing, she is much attacked for ruining hip hop and the image of young women, but the funny thing is nicki is just doing the opposite. i'll admit her debut was not my cup of chamomile, yet her mixtapes and guest-raps have proven how vital and truly interesting this girl is. she has embraced her fans in a true modern fashion though she also never has to worry about anyone talking about her personal life as she avoids bullshit controversy and the gushiness of new lovers. in fact, nicki has repeatedly mentioned how money is her true love and that she only works to achieve it, which is no less american than apple pie. there is something old-fashioned yet modern about a girl who just wants to make it with no frills attached and honestly, i can't help but admire the harajuku barbie.

alexander wang



it's kinda amusing. for the longest time, when i would think which designer was most in tune with what the modern youth was all about, i thought marc. marc with his grunge collection of 1992, marc with his bourgeois-bohemian look of 2005, marc with his fragile austerity in 2010. it was all leading up really to someone else being more aware, more sidewalk, more smoky dancefloor. someone else who knew what was going on because he was young himself. enter alexander wang, the bubbly wunderkind of the fashion industry, who started his brand a few years ago after dropping out of parsons and has never had to worry about spare change since. anchored by the elite at vogue, alexander has become the posterchild of modern coolness with his loose-fit garments, carefree sensibility, and eye for everything of-the-moment. it's almost as if he makes his clothes right in the middle of crowded, decadent parties of drunk, stoned beautiful children and then puts them out to show soon after, always giving off this feel of immediacy and truth. this is a designer who does not have to send assistants to view what everyone is wearing; he is already aware.

coco rocha, chanel iman, hilary rhoda, and jessica stam






there is one thing about our generation: we are not known for our supermodels. the molly ringwalds and ally sheedys knew they were being compared to cindy and naomi. the rachel leigh cooks and melissa joan harts knew they couldn't match up to kate and jamie. but the leighton meesters and kristen stewarts don't think about their supermodel counterparts. they don't even know who they are. well, i do, and i've noticed how over the past 5 years, there have been a consistent batch of girls who have graced magazines, spearheaded campaigns, and walked in almost every show. this group of dominating amazons includes the icy coco rocha, cherubic chanel iman, bombshell hilary rhoda, and ethereal jessica stam. in an industry addicted to the next-big-thing (which usually means a 15-year-old girl from okie-doke land), these girls are veterans and have survived the storm of transition without worry by making smart business decisions like joining with designers to create limited lines or adorning wings in the name of lingerie. although they each have a different distinct personality and look, all four have remained on top and have created a blueprint for what it means to be a model in this increasingly-commercialized world, while also masterfully keeping their dignity and normalcy in tact. in fact, a tweet from ms. rhoda just the other day mentioned eating bugles, a staple for 90's kiddom, aptly describing them as a "childhood favorite." talk about gorgeous nostalgia.

xavier dolan



a true cinematic wunderkind, he is the same age as i am and he's already filmed and starred in i killed my mother and heartbeats, two feature movies about what it means to be young and slightly obsessive. there is something vaguely retro about the french-canadian director's personal style, a fair mix of the new wave dandyism of the 1980's and a charming disaffection of 1950's rebel culture, yet his films take their cues from the artistic nouvelle vague of the early-to-mid 60's, often with the use of hand-held camera and slight nihilism mixed with joie de vivre. many are quick to discard his films as "pretentious" (the most popular word of all-time) yet those same people fail to remember what it is like to be 22, have many ideas, and the desire to formulate those ideas into something beautiful. instead, they present themselves as old and out of touch, while mr. dolan continues to do as he wants because he has nothing to lose. and such is the sweetness of being young.

drake



previously on this blog, i mentioned my transformation from mere admirer to solid fan after listening to his mainstream release thank me later. and almost a year later, i still see him as someone unique and brilliant, a completely new type of rapper who has in many ways become a spokesperson for the young and pop-melancholic. over the few years, there has been an infiltration of rappers whom are in their 20s, unabashed potheads, and rely on sub-countercultural ideals to provide the beat of their songs. yet even as drake has the ability to blend in with this mostly-talented group of neo-slackers, his ultraclean, college-boy appearance sets him apart and allows him to outshine their odes to drugs with his odes to self-doubt. it is almost uncomfortable as to how bare and depressing some of his subject matter is--from aborted babies to distressed mothers--though it is that sadness that makes him so amazing and true. he has nothing to hide and nothing to hold back. he is simply drake, the undisputed king of teary-eyed rap.

tavi



so young (14!) she makes you feel like a ne'er-do-well, tavi gevinson is the wildest creation of the 21st century: the internet celebrity. not only does she have a popular fashion blog that began when she was just a tween, but she is also considered a reputable source of opinion when it comes to style by top garment voices. perhaps it is because she's young and fashion tends to lean toward the youngest creature around for inspiration, yet i also believe it's because she represents all of the fashion-conscious children that are continually raised each year with an incredible knowledge of designer names and labels. in the haute couture capitals of milan and paris, it is normal to see well-dressed adolescents parading around. however only in the past three decades has it really affected the lives of american kids. dating back to the early 90's, gucci and prada became household names and from then on, each generation has been aware of the latest pair of $300 shoes even if they couldn't afford them. tavi is a descendant of all of this and wears her badge proudly. on her blog (and subsequent teen lifestyle magazine), she identifies herself with daria, posts images of courtney love's kinder-whore baby-dolls and rayanne from my so-called life's plaid shirts, and frets about high school issues. in a lot of ways she is like me and my friends at her age. but none of us were able to interview couturiers nor go to fashion week, and that's what ultimately makes this freshman so interesting. in the 60's, she would've been a flower child, but today, she is a style junkie. and it's better that way.

odd future wolfgang kill them all



i once said these guys were gonna rule the world someday and it seems like they're already on their way faster than i'd ever imagined. they've been on so many magazine covers i haven't even been able to keep up (after billboard, all they need is rolling stone to get a top 40), have shown up at basically every media festival in the past 4 months, and following their ringleader tyler the creator on twitter is like watching the invention of an add-ridden celebrity in a mad, twisted, enchanting way. their songs are like the beach boys after a few drops of codeine and their live appearances on tv have the lovely awkwardness of school talent shows. there is something strikingly familiar about this group of rambunctious californian skaters, as if one has known them personally and have on one or two occasions smoked a blunt with them. they are the keepers of the true counterculture of today, creating a career out of their dreams while staying as transgressive as they've always been. i only hope their mainstream debut keeps the pattern going. swaaaaaaag.

zoe kravitz



there is always that muse who enthralls and inspires nearly every person they encounter just by the way they look. it may be on purpose but it is mostly purely an accident of birth, something one cannot avoid or change. and when your parents are an actress (lisa bonet) and a rock star (lenny kravitz, dur), it would be unlikely for you not to be that muse of the moment, the girl who has "it," that undefinable quality of charisma and appeal. with her show-hopping lifestyle and effortless frocks, zoe kravitz has presented herself as one of the most interesting girls to become a slight tabloid fixture, always not giving a shit and never apologizing for it later. she has never displayed that attitude which is a tendency of those who have grown up with rich, famous parents of overindulgence or the need to impress. instead, zoe seems to be level-headed, self-aware, and free-spirited, moving with the wind and allowing it to take her wherever it pleases. along with her budding acting career and the coveted position as a style goddess, she has the potential of someone we will see very much of in the future, an energetic personality to join the constellation of stars.

joe swanberg



starting in the earlier part of the last decade, there was an intensely quiet film movement that took off from the eastern and northwestern borders. comprised of young, art-school educated twentysomethings, the movement was dubbed "mumblecore" because of the bad-quality of sound on the movies, often making the characters sound as if they're mumbling. though that term was a derogatory phrase invented by yet another eye-rolling elder who could not take the plotless stories, overt sexuality, and blinding truth that those films possessed, and still do. these films are a far-cry away from the cleverly cute stories of wes anderson and the offbeat satire of david o. russell. instead, you have the low-fi fuzziness of realism, typically devoid of artifice and winks, showing you that somewhere, these stories are happening to someone. in the middle of this sleeper circle is joe swanberg, the director of the technological cautionary tale lol and the backstage story about a young actress and her new marriage alexander the last, which i think is his best so far. his movies particularly have gained attention for their realistic sex scenes, though it is the essence of our time as we burst away from the puritanical views of neoconservatism. what joe is doing is giving a glimpse at modern young life, whether it be etching out a career of your own or whether a long-distance relationship really can work. he is showing something that hollywood fails to realize, which they try to encapsulate horribly through asthon kutcher and justin timberlake films. if only they realized that joe could do what they can't with a much lower budget and a much keener insight. although they do tend to eventually realize that . . . when it's too late.

vampire weekend



it's remarkable that in a market so dead, there is a least one modern band that can prove that there is still decent rock out there. rock has had a turbulent time over the last five or six years. in the mid-aughties, there was a surge of british and american bands that took influence from new wave and postpunk to create a brilliantly muted scene that fizzled out two years later. then many of the best groups disbanded from blood brothers to pretty girls make graves, leaving the jonas brothers to be some of what was defined as rock music. vampire weekend has always been somewhere in between the scene of 2005-2006 and the sheer modernity of "the moment." grads from eastern colleges, they represent the near-crumbling brooklyn-hipster climate with a detached sense of humor. their first album made them the u.s. equivalent of the arctic monkeys, but their second album takes them further, a collection of dreamy, whimsical beach vibes postmodernly set in 1980s palm springs. it feels like regret, wealth, eloquence, and flash, all combined in one dazzling, melodic hue that makes you bob your head in solemn sweetness. even if i prefer louder, heavier sounds, they have enough power not to be so brash and to be whom they want to be and whom they ultimately are. don't be surprised if their songs become the thing of late-night pub drunkenness.

jason wu



there's really not much more i could say about this kid. he designed the now-famous inaugural dress for michelle obama and has been treated like a prince every since by fashionistas around the world. he has designed dolls of the famed transgender model amanda lepore and drag queen rupaul. in fact, he was designing dolls since he was a little boy and became creative director for a toy company in his teens. in other words, he's a true prodigy, that rarefied person who has talent and has been able to use that talent to propel him into a huge success. much more low-key than other young designers, it's almost hard to realize who he really is, but his clothes speak for him with their mismatch elegance. he is able to mix colors and prints that don't seem to go but actually make sense in his tailored hands, creating something new and fresh that goes over the head of dozens of style veterans. with his attention garned by the wealthy on capitol hill and ability to turn oddness into greatness, it's wild to imagine his abilities to ever render him successful.

adele



soul came out of britain with a vengeance over the past four years. from the mid-century pop angst of duffy to the slurry barroom confessions of amy winehouse, there has been a gracious parade of singers from mother england whom know something about the blues and twist it to their own satisfaction. adele is one of the foremost artists to come from this breed, captivating most people with her 2008 single "chasing pavements" which introduced her gentle style of evoking the oldest of jazz sirens while staying very entrenched in millennial confusion. in a lot of ways with her most recent album 21, she has become the kind of singer that reminds one of a blissful apocalypse, in which if the world were to end, you would desire to listen to her tender harmony to relax your tension. without being the trainwreck genius in which winehouse embodies too well, adele comes out of her songs with a softer intensity and with the weariness of someone too mature to fit her age, causing one to think twice about each lyric and wonder where that pain came from.