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Australian designer and creator of the Shadows & Dust line, Stephen Jones, isn’t too bogged
down with the idea of shouting from the rooftops the Shadows & Dust name, or of even opening
his own flagship store for that matter. For this man, being able to interpret beauty and to produce
an actual thing of beauty is what is at stake. A die-hard romantic and aesthete, Jones’ inspiration
for his line comes from memories of his childhood, from the women that motivate him, from art
and poetry. Jones, an Australian original who spends a bulk of his time enjoying the Indonesian
sun, has shown his work at New York Fashion Week, has been featured in Vogue, The Sartorialist,
Harper’s Bazaar and Black Magazine. His line is currently being sold in stores in Australia and
Japan, including Royal Flash, the fantastic high-end store in Japan. Jones took some time to talk
to Fashion Q&A about what it is that inspires him to produce the beautiful work that he makes, his
ideas of the Australian style aesthetic, the problems with his helicopter and Judy Jetson.
down with the idea of shouting from the rooftops the Shadows & Dust name, or of even opening
his own flagship store for that matter. For this man, being able to interpret beauty and to produce
an actual thing of beauty is what is at stake. A die-hard romantic and aesthete, Jones’ inspiration
for his line comes from memories of his childhood, from the women that motivate him, from art
and poetry. Jones, an Australian original who spends a bulk of his time enjoying the Indonesian
sun, has shown his work at New York Fashion Week, has been featured in Vogue, The Sartorialist,
Harper’s Bazaar and Black Magazine. His line is currently being sold in stores in Australia and
Japan, including Royal Flash, the fantastic high-end store in Japan. Jones took some time to talk
to Fashion Q&A about what it is that inspires him to produce the beautiful work that he makes, his
ideas of the Australian style aesthetic, the problems with his helicopter and Judy Jetson.
Written by Alexander Patiño, Junior Editor
FQA: The words alone, ‘shadows’ and ‘dust,’ immediately connote a sense of mystery. Looking
at your women’s wear, the line seems to be a beautiful mingling of both hard and soft; sharp
lines and flowy contours. The clothes seem to speak a language of deep femininity and bold,
strong character. Why ‘Shadows’ and ‘Dust’ and does your name say something about the
woman your brand is trying to appeal to?
STEPHEN:
The shadows, the dust, is from my childhood existence, in Country Australia. It’s a particularly
poetic region of Australia, where folklores, writers, and theatrical criminals articulated themselves.
Although there is a short history in Australia, it is colorful, and it seems the landscape of my
younger years truly influenced my brains. No reality, just freedom to wander through a surreal
youth.
As for the clothes, the occasional saturated stain of color in a chiaroscuro collection is like an
inflammation, a tiny conflagration behind the eyelid. Draping soft folds of leather from the
vertiginous angles of porcelain-skinned doyennes, lines that are like exposed nerves, illustrates
the true intentions of Shadows & Dust.
at your women’s wear, the line seems to be a beautiful mingling of both hard and soft; sharp
lines and flowy contours. The clothes seem to speak a language of deep femininity and bold,
strong character. Why ‘Shadows’ and ‘Dust’ and does your name say something about the
woman your brand is trying to appeal to?
STEPHEN:
The shadows, the dust, is from my childhood existence, in Country Australia. It’s a particularly
poetic region of Australia, where folklores, writers, and theatrical criminals articulated themselves.
Although there is a short history in Australia, it is colorful, and it seems the landscape of my
younger years truly influenced my brains. No reality, just freedom to wander through a surreal
youth.
As for the clothes, the occasional saturated stain of color in a chiaroscuro collection is like an
inflammation, a tiny conflagration behind the eyelid. Draping soft folds of leather from the
vertiginous angles of porcelain-skinned doyennes, lines that are like exposed nerves, illustrates
the true intentions of Shadows & Dust.
FQA: Having come from a diverse background, what is it that fed your desire to start designing
and constructing Shadows & Dust? Did you always have a hunger to design or did you become
cognizant of your penchant for design only after being immersed in a fashionista’s lifestyle?
STEPHEN:
Well, the current situation of Shadows & Dust starving for their own ideal of art is not due to a
baroque fashionista’s mind, but an idea longing for coherence, conceived as a composition of
discrete elements. This longings purpose is beauty, this desires satisfaction is beauty. Its time is
a pure distillate of inactivity locked in a stasis induced by the beauty.
and constructing Shadows & Dust? Did you always have a hunger to design or did you become
cognizant of your penchant for design only after being immersed in a fashionista’s lifestyle?
STEPHEN:
Well, the current situation of Shadows & Dust starving for their own ideal of art is not due to a
baroque fashionista’s mind, but an idea longing for coherence, conceived as a composition of
discrete elements. This longings purpose is beauty, this desires satisfaction is beauty. Its time is
a pure distillate of inactivity locked in a stasis induced by the beauty.
FQA: Anyone that has been to your BlogSpot could see that
apart from being a fashion visionary, there’s a bit of poetry
infused in your life and in your clothes. A point of focus of this
poetry could be read in the strict black and white palette in your
line. What does this stylistic and poetic choice mean to you?
STEPHEN:
We all enjoy the difference of perception, whether a sharp mind or
a dull mind. As in the poetry of Goethe’s, Byron or William Blake, a
dull mind would envy the poet and some of the delightful things
that happen to him, and a sharp mind will envy the power of
imagination, which is capable of turning a fairly common
experience into greatness. Whether a fine landscape on a dark
day, or a color palette consisting of only black and white. The sun
doesn’t have to shine everyday or we would all have bad
complexions, and that’s bad for our Vanity.
apart from being a fashion visionary, there’s a bit of poetry
infused in your life and in your clothes. A point of focus of this
poetry could be read in the strict black and white palette in your
line. What does this stylistic and poetic choice mean to you?
STEPHEN:
We all enjoy the difference of perception, whether a sharp mind or
a dull mind. As in the poetry of Goethe’s, Byron or William Blake, a
dull mind would envy the poet and some of the delightful things
that happen to him, and a sharp mind will envy the power of
imagination, which is capable of turning a fairly common
experience into greatness. Whether a fine landscape on a dark
day, or a color palette consisting of only black and white. The sun
doesn’t have to shine everyday or we would all have bad
complexions, and that’s bad for our Vanity.
FQA: Joan of Arc, Catwoman, Judy Jetson, Tina Turner ala Mad
Max Beyond Thunderdome. All different kinds of women could’
ve influenced the Shadows & Dust aesthetic. What women
come to mind in your creative process? Who are the muses of
Shadows & Dust?
STEPHEN:
Joan of Arc, yes, because she was an amazing individual, and
she has a statue of herself in a pleasant location, the others: No,
because they don’t have statues of themselves, except in some
crazy person’s private garden. Who is Judy Jetson? The muse is
the photographer, that sweet thing could break your heart with just
her voice. You don’t want to see her dance, I actually forbid her to
dance, it’s too much for me and anyone else who witnesses such
a beautiful act will turn to stone.
Max Beyond Thunderdome. All different kinds of women could’
ve influenced the Shadows & Dust aesthetic. What women
come to mind in your creative process? Who are the muses of
Shadows & Dust?
STEPHEN:
Joan of Arc, yes, because she was an amazing individual, and
she has a statue of herself in a pleasant location, the others: No,
because they don’t have statues of themselves, except in some
crazy person’s private garden. Who is Judy Jetson? The muse is
the photographer, that sweet thing could break your heart with just
her voice. You don’t want to see her dance, I actually forbid her to
dance, it’s too much for me and anyone else who witnesses such
a beautiful act will turn to stone.
FQA: As an artist, you’re bound to find inspiration from other artists’ work. Is there a certain
artists’ work, like a music video or film that has moved you in such a way that made you say,
‘I wish I could’ve given this project its sense of fashion’?
STEPHEN:
I did “bump” into the director of “Dead Man”, Jim Jarmusch, one of my favorite movies, he looked
me up and down, and either because he liked my bear jacket or he wanted a cuddle. I had no
words, cause of my shyness, and I was talking bear language that day. He would have
understood, but in the moment it’s hard to gauge these types of responses. Of course he would
of understood, hes a talented man. Opportunity lost!
FQA: Looking at your Shadows & Dust campaign, the photography and the clothes seem so
beautifully intertwined, as if both the line and the specific vision spawned from the one same
thought. How has it been to work with Amanda De Simone, who shot your campaign? How
do you work together to have your works coalesce so well?
STEPHEN:
Love is powerful. At the moment it has to travel the great sea, as shes in NY and I’m
somewhere in Indonesia eating my banana.
artists’ work, like a music video or film that has moved you in such a way that made you say,
‘I wish I could’ve given this project its sense of fashion’?
STEPHEN:
I did “bump” into the director of “Dead Man”, Jim Jarmusch, one of my favorite movies, he looked
me up and down, and either because he liked my bear jacket or he wanted a cuddle. I had no
words, cause of my shyness, and I was talking bear language that day. He would have
understood, but in the moment it’s hard to gauge these types of responses. Of course he would
of understood, hes a talented man. Opportunity lost!
FQA: Looking at your Shadows & Dust campaign, the photography and the clothes seem so
beautifully intertwined, as if both the line and the specific vision spawned from the one same
thought. How has it been to work with Amanda De Simone, who shot your campaign? How
do you work together to have your works coalesce so well?
STEPHEN:
Love is powerful. At the moment it has to travel the great sea, as shes in NY and I’m
somewhere in Indonesia eating my banana.
FQA: Clothes can embody entire
nationalities. A look can be wholly
‘Americana,’ another can be very ‘Euro.’
Would you say there is an Aussie look?
What would that encompass?
STEPHEN:
I don’t live in Australia, just have a passport.
In terms used in the “Philosophy of Art,”
Sydney is “Essentialism,” the fashion is there
to provide a significant aesthic experience.
Melbourne is “Cognitive;” certain features of
human’s minds, its evolution, its perceptual
structure, that shed light on its fashion, the
concept of fashion, its value to us, and its
ability to represent or express that which is
independent.
FQA: While here in the States we are all
gearing up for another chilly winter season,
Aussies are getting pumped up for a fun
summer months to come. Do you spend
your summers at home or do you have a
staple holiday retreat?
STEPHEN:
Our factory and all its workings are on a
Tropical Island somewhere in Indonesia.
We have all the fancy things, pools,
motorbikes, helicopter with no motor, and
massages every second day. Ideal and
romantic. Australia is the most beautiful
country there is, but not for the reasons that
are broadcasted. Wild things, spiritual things,
beautiful things, all that have absolutely
nothing to do with fashion.
nationalities. A look can be wholly
‘Americana,’ another can be very ‘Euro.’
Would you say there is an Aussie look?
What would that encompass?
STEPHEN:
I don’t live in Australia, just have a passport.
In terms used in the “Philosophy of Art,”
Sydney is “Essentialism,” the fashion is there
to provide a significant aesthic experience.
Melbourne is “Cognitive;” certain features of
human’s minds, its evolution, its perceptual
structure, that shed light on its fashion, the
concept of fashion, its value to us, and its
ability to represent or express that which is
independent.
FQA: While here in the States we are all
gearing up for another chilly winter season,
Aussies are getting pumped up for a fun
summer months to come. Do you spend
your summers at home or do you have a
staple holiday retreat?
STEPHEN:
Our factory and all its workings are on a
Tropical Island somewhere in Indonesia.
We have all the fancy things, pools,
motorbikes, helicopter with no motor, and
massages every second day. Ideal and
romantic. Australia is the most beautiful
country there is, but not for the reasons that
are broadcasted. Wild things, spiritual things,
beautiful things, all that have absolutely
nothing to do with fashion.
FQA: Your brand is being sold in stores in
Australia and Japan and is doing very well
for itself, gracing spreads in Bazaar, Vogue,
and The Sartorialist. Are you planning on
expanding your line to other countries and
what about your own flagship store?
STEPHEN:
As I mentioned before I’m starving for this
“ideal of beauty” business. That’s ok though,
it’s a choice. The happiness we receive from
ourselves is greater than that which we
obtain from others, a toothless old man once
told me. He didn’t have any money either.
FQA: Where would you be right now if you
didn’t have your creative juices flowing into
the Shadows & Dust line? Is there
somewhere beyond the fashion realm that
you feel you could thrive in just as
successfully?
STEPHEN:
Furniture design, I actually do it now for a
hobby. Or a religious nut, that’s slowing
lurking in my closet. Oh yeah, I want to own
my own Soda Water business, so I can bathe
in the bubbles when I please. And theres the
Tennis season I want to play in Buenos
Aires, and let’s not forget the statue of
Stephen somewhere. That’s about all my
aspirations, done the other things I wanted to
try except get my helicopter working.
Australia and Japan and is doing very well
for itself, gracing spreads in Bazaar, Vogue,
and The Sartorialist. Are you planning on
expanding your line to other countries and
what about your own flagship store?
STEPHEN:
As I mentioned before I’m starving for this
“ideal of beauty” business. That’s ok though,
it’s a choice. The happiness we receive from
ourselves is greater than that which we
obtain from others, a toothless old man once
told me. He didn’t have any money either.
FQA: Where would you be right now if you
didn’t have your creative juices flowing into
the Shadows & Dust line? Is there
somewhere beyond the fashion realm that
you feel you could thrive in just as
successfully?
STEPHEN:
Furniture design, I actually do it now for a
hobby. Or a religious nut, that’s slowing
lurking in my closet. Oh yeah, I want to own
my own Soda Water business, so I can bathe
in the bubbles when I please. And theres the
Tennis season I want to play in Buenos
Aires, and let’s not forget the statue of
Stephen somewhere. That’s about all my
aspirations, done the other things I wanted to
try except get my helicopter working.
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