Wednesday, September 29, 2010

"In love, there is always one who kisses and one who offers the cheek."
-French Proverb


Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A Room Becomes Her

Literally, in British designer Mary Katrantzou's Spring 2011 collection from London Fashion Week. Katrantzou's interesting use of 70s interior design photography, by Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin, create an unforgettable trompe l'oeil effect.  Style.com quoted the designer as saying, "With this collection, I wanted to put the room on the woman, rather than the woman in the room," in an interview post runway show.
Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011 Look 1
Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011 Look 6
Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011 Look 8
Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011 Look 12
Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011 Look 22
Mary Katrantzou Spring 2011 Look 24
 The effect is eye-catching and artfully done prints that lend a hand to the wearer, as opposed to over-taking their frame. Not only were the prints reflecting the highly stylized interiors, but construction of the garments themselves built into the architecture of the rooms.  Chiffon sleeves used to emphasize curtains, a dining table cut away into a skirt, a necklace chandelier. Katrantzou successfully managed to take the abstract interiors and create a wearable scene in perfect symmetry while simultaneously complimenting the fashionista bold enough to wear an entire room. I am certainly lusting after this collection!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Kate and the Gypsies


This photo shoot featuring Kate Moss and photographed by Ian McKell for V Magazine issue #61, which hit newsstands a year ago in September 2009, reminds me of a story my boyfriend’s old Greek business partner once told me… There is a gypsy village in Greece near the town that Pete (partner) was born, where the gypsies have trained a bear to demand tips from visitors or else they will be swatted by the bear’s paw.  Now, normally this story would not be believable from anyone, except Pete. He doesn’t know how to lie, AND the bear is apparently declawed so it’s more of an invigorating swat then a brutal laceration to the face.








Now I may be biased because I am a huge Kate Moss fan, but the pictures are ultimately flawless, as Kate seems right at home and in her element amid the itinerant extras. It is said that Kate lived with the gypsies for two days during the shoot singing and dancing around the campfire, story telling and close contact.  I’m sure it wasn’t total squalor or dangerous seeing that she had an entire styling team and an RV with her for the photoshoot, but stylist Karen Langely’s edits and Kate’s dedication to learning the art of being gypsy lends itself to a successful shoot. 

Men in TuTu's... Check!

Here is a little something to wet your whistle. I apologize for not posting this week.


It is a photo shoot by photographer Christophe Kutner entitled Homme Dansuer.  I think the men are kind of sexy.... What do you think?













Check out more of his work on his website www.christophekutner.com, his work is beautiful.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

On the Snail Trail

I stumbled upon these incredible vintage VW buses and campers for rent last night while I was detoxing from a very undisciplined week of partying. The company aptly named Snail Trail is based just North of London and owned by a couple, Lucy and Steven Lord.  They personally prepare each bus or camper pre-rental to ensure a quality trip.  The VW buses are each given a name (such as Flo, Elsie, Ruby and Constance) and an adorable interior decorating revamped to match the color scheme of the exterior. 

Could you imagine renting one of these adorable campers or buses for a country getaway or even a photoshoot? What a magnificent backdrop. I wish I had known about Snail Trail this summer whilst in London. Enjoy the photos!

If you’re in the London area check out their website for rental details:

Kaleidoscopic Vixen

The below photo shoot was photographed by Elias Wessel for Vixen Magazine's June 2010 issue. Stylist Storm Pedersen and art director Sophy Holland mixed mountains of gems and jeweled frocks on cover model Lydia Hearst to create beautifully surreal and dreamlike images.  The surrealism is kicked up a notch, on top of the rainbow colored hair, with props including a black cat, a water soaked shower curtain, fruit and flowers in somewhat unlikely places and a wardrobe of knock-out glitzy and glamourous pieces. The overall effect of the shoot is phantasmagorical high fashion.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Murakami Takes Versailles


It was not a hostile takeover, more of collaboration, but the famed artist Takashi Murakami has installed an exhibition in the most unlikely place, the Chateau du Versailles. Murakami’s anime inspired artwork has graced similar unlikely places such as Louis Vuitton’s uber-luxurious handbags in a limited edition line back in 2007. Murakami makes a bold statement in the mixing of very different styles, Western elegance and sophistication and the Far East’s pop culture phenomena.  His sculptures fill 15 rooms in the chateau Marie Antoinette once ruled. The exhibition opened this week and will remain until December 12, 2010. 
 
According to the Chateau Versailles website, Mr Murakami had this to say about his newest exhibition:

“For a Japanese like me, the ChĂ¢teau de Versailles is one of the greatest symbols of Western history. It is the emblem of an ambition for elegance, sophistication and art that most of us can only dream of.
Of course, we are aware that the spark that set fire to the powder of the Revolution came directly from the centre of the building.

But, in many respects, everything is transmitted to us as a fantastic tale coming from a very distant kingdom. Just as French people can find it hard to recreate in their minds an accurate image of the Samurai period, the history of this palace has become diminished for us in reality.

So it is probable that the Versailles of my imagination corresponds to an exaggeration and a transformation in my mind so that it has become a kind of completely separate and unreal world. That is what I have tried to depict in this exhibition.

I am the Cheshire cat that welcomes Alice in Wonderland with its diabolic smile, and chatters away as she wanders around the ChĂ¢teau.

With a broad smile I invite you all to discover the wonderland of Versailles.”

"Dream as if you'll live forever.  Live as if you'll die today."
-James Dean 

Ultimate Fall Wardrobe Addition

I would absolutely love to add some of the looks from Alexander McQueen's Fall 2010 ready to wear collection. The collection, showed in a small and intimate presentation in March of this year, was his last effort as designer before he took his own life only a month before. It might seem selfish to want a piece of this collection specifically, seeing that the circumstances surrounding his death are incredibly heart breaking, but it is the last chance to embrace his creative genius and honor his last works.

The pieces are relatively mild in the shock and awe factor McQueen typically portrays. However the draping and exceptional tailoring in his ready to wear collection are tell tale signs of his grace as a designer and his innate ability to make incredible couture pieces. His right hand woman, Sarah Burton, explained to Style.com that the 16 looks in his Fall 2010 collection were 80 percent completed by the time of his death. His inspiration came from the Dark Ages, in which he sought the light and beauty of the era. McQueen's Fall collection is unmistakably "McQueen", but also appropriate for the average working woman.

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