May 17th, 2012
In case any further proof was needed that cleavage is back, here’s LOVE’s first video for its iPad app, debuting any day now from the iTunes store, alongside its fourth issue, “The Gorgeous Issue” (out now). Katie Grand styled Elle Macpherson in Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Nina Ricci, and Macpherson’s own line of lingerie. Macpherson channels sixties sweater girls in a hip-shaking short shot by Sharif Hamza, who’s lensed editorials for Interview and international editions of Vogue, and videos for Dior Homme and Dazed + Confused. Aside from reminding us all why Elle’s now and forever “The Body,” it’s also one of the better arguments we’ve seen for the rat’s-nest bouffant. Check out the exclusive debut, below.
May 16th, 2012
Peter Doig (among others) for the Art Production Fund, Target, and Standard Hotels for their Artist Towel Series towel, 2009
The late Tsuguharu Foujitas with Raf Simons for Jil Sander menswear, Spring 2010 shirts, pants, and knits
Scott Campbell for Louis Vuitton menswear, Spring 2011 tattoos (Campbell also created two collaborative bags for the Spring ‘11 menswear collection)
Rosson Crow for Zac Posen, Spring 2010 dresses
Photos: Courtesy of Keds (Keds); Marcio Madeira (Zac Posen; Jil Sander); KT Auletta/Courtesy of Opening Ceremony (Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony); Gianni Pucci/GoRunway.com (Louis Vuitton); Art Production Fund (towel)
If Marc builds it, they will come. The contemporary artist/fashion label complex, that is, which Jacobs sent to new heights with his accessory collaborations with Louis Vuitton. Yes, artists and designers had collaborated before—including Dalí and Schiaparelli way back when—but the runaway success of Louis Vuitton’s Murakami bags (and the follow-up Richard Prince “joke” bags) has given contemporary artists a new form to play with and, just as importantly, a new revenue stream. The latest is the conceptual art star Jenny Holzer, who’s teaming up with Keds to create kicks this summer. (Artist’s canvas, taken literally.) The high-top and low-top styles are emblazoned with PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT, a phrase from Holzer’s text series Survival. They’ll be available online and at select Bloomingdale’s locations in July. The footwear brand is giving back to the art world, too: Keds is sponsoring the Whitney’s summer season.
$70 to $75, available at select Bloomingdale’s locations and www.keds.com beginning July 8.
PLUS: Click below for a few of our favorite recent art/fashion collabs.
The late Robert Mapplethorpe (and the Mapplethorpe Foundation) for Chloé Sevigny for O.C., Resort 2011 tees
May 16th, 2012
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / GoRunway.com
In her review of the Spring ‘11 Peter Pilotto collection (pictured), Style.com’s Maya Singer takes issue with some of the ladylike dressing trends that have been swirling around the Spring collections in New York and now in London. “So many of the new ‘ladylike’ collections come off as a rebuke,” she writes. “Straighten up! Button that blouse! Cross your legs! You can practically feel some headmistress of the zeitgeist rapping your knuckles. Too many designers are not so much making clothes for grown-ups as admonishing their customers to grow up. The effect, ironically, is infantilizing.”
Pilotto and Christopher De Vos’ collection is held up as an exception—they’ve “figured out that looking like a lady doesn’t have to mean dressing like a priss”—but many of the studiedly proper collections we’ve seen over the past few weeks do have a bit of a schoolmarm vibe. That said, after several seasons of body-con dressing, they also come as a bit of a well-kempt relief.
What do you think? Are you ready for the new proper dressing, or do you miss the romper-stomper regalia of seasons gone by?
May 15th, 2012
PRODUCT DETAILS
If a Chanel shoe and a Christian Louboutin shoe had a baby in the form of an espadrille, it would be this.
-Chain accents on the ankle strap and toes
-Tall espadrille wedge with chain detail
I was super jealous when I saw The Hills star Audrina Patridge wearing the Christian Louboutin chain espadrille on the red carpet of her 25th birthday party in Las Vegas. It’s a spring/summer style staple. I want it and need to have it; however, it’s completely out of the budget. A summer shoe for $650? Are you nuts?
-Comes in black, white and tan
By Sasha Charnin Morrison for UsMagazine.com. To read more of the Recessionista blog, click here
PRODUCT DETAILS
-Cushioned insole; metallic sole.
-Heel height: 5.25″ with a 1.25″ platform
I just love it and knowing that it has a life span of a few months, spending $129 doesn’t seem too harsh. $64? Even better. Patridge’s little black tiered dress along with minimal accessories make the shoe look that much better. Simple, chic and something I actually can’t wait to order!
Chain Wedge Sandal, $64
Buy it here
-Sandal with chain link detail along the 5″ wedge heel and along the straps
-Leather-look
-Metallic stitching throughout the wedge with small buckle closure
-Imported
-Comes in black
I also found an even cheaper version of the fabulous shoe on Spiegel.com for $64!
Low and behold this replica from Bebe - the Thea Chain Espadrille for only $129; and it’s hot!
Bebe Thea Chain Espadrille, $129
Buy it here
May 13th, 2012
Figures only account for the first two days after the rapper's death as Nielsen SoundScan - the company which tracks US music sales - collects weekly data until Sunday.
In terms of digital downloads, the group also sold 151,000 tracks - up from 14,000 the week before.
The other albums to return to the chart included compilation Solid Gold Hits at 51, Paul's Boutique at 56 and Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 at 107.
The rapper, better known as his alias MCA, died on 4 May of cancer aged 47.
The Beastie Boys have returned to the US album charts following the death of band member Adam Yauch last week.
The trio's albums collectively sold 55,000 copies in the two days after Yauch's death, compared to 4,000 the previous week.
Online music streaming site Spotify also said it saw a 17-fold increase in people listening to Beastie Boys songs after Yauch's death.
Seven of the group's albums entered this week's Billboard 200 chart, with their debut 1986 record Licence to Ill the highest entry at number 18.
The band's fourth album, 1994's Ill Communication also came in at 109, with Check Your Head at 124 and The Sounds of Science at 141.
Sales for the group's music is expected to be higher next week.
The most popular track was Brass Monkey from Licensed to Ill with 15,000 downloads.
May 11th, 2012
For his upcoming collection, Jeremy Laing worked with fellow Torontonian Jaime Sin on a few silver pieces as well. Sin’s main occupation is DJ—she’s done the music for Laing’s shows for the past few seasons—but she’s launching her line on Laing’s girls, some of who will be wearing the geometric pieces Sin and Laing co-designed (above).
Photos: Steven Torres (Jen Kao); Courtesy of Jeremy Laing; Courtesy of Rogan
‘Tis the season to make jewelry. More and more of New York’s ready-to-wear designers—suffering, we’re sure, from an overabundance of free time—are adding custom or collaborative jewelry to their collections for the Spring ‘11 season. And if you’re a fan of silver, you’re in luck.
Jen Kao has collaborated in the past with other designers on jewelry for her namesake label, but this Spring, she steps out on her own, launching a collection of sterling silver bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and even a belt that pick up Spring’s romantic theme. “When I can be, I am always head-to-toe in jewelry, but it still always feels like there’s an essential piece that’s missing. I particularly love pieces that become such a part of you that you don’t ever want to take them off,” Kao says. “I wanted to design jewelry that speaks the same message as the clothing: personal, easy dramatics.” The weird, slightly supernatural romance of her current theme—”the youthful kismet of desert princes meeting zombie brides,” she says—was replicated in a gift to editors: a dangling pendant from the upcoming collection (above), complete with a hand-penned poem.
And for Fashion’s Night Out, Rogan Gregory and Pamela Love put their heads together for some limited-edition jewels, too. The engraved lockets from the new ROGAN vs LOVE collection are inscribed with dark, allusive phrases—”What Have Your Eyes Done To Me?,” “Don’t Stop Love,” and “Don’t Cry” (above). They’ll be available for $435-475 on Fashion’s Night Out at the Black Carnival, the Bond Street block party co-hosted by Rogan, The Smile, and Oak.
—Matthew Schneier
May 10th, 2012
We always thought of Jen Brill as a Proenza girl—she’s friends with the designers and often steps out in runway pieces before anyone else. We’re also accustomed to seeing the Chanel beauty ambassador in one of Karl’s creations. But we can’t help but notice the style setter’s feeling Christopher Kane of late. She’s worn the Scottish designer twice already this week. At the RxArt benefit she helped throw on Monday night, she wore a bright yellow dress from Kane’s Spring ‘11 “Princess Margaret on acid” collection, with a Fall ‘10 embroidered coat (center); and last night at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering benefit, she went for a leather-and-lace look from Fall ‘10 in black (right). For our part, we always thought the two were a natural fit—we asked Brill to model the T-shirt Kane designed for our tenth anniversary at our Tommy Ton-lensed shoot back in September (far left).
Photos: Tommy Ton; Neil Rasmus/BFAnyc.com; Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene
May 9th, 2012
our editor recommends
THR’s pick of the week for industry dining revives the historic Ye Coach & Horses in Hollywood as another British pub, under a new name and new ownership.
The Quick Pitch: Partners Sean MacPherson and Jared Meisler—the team behind Bar Lubitsch, the Roger Room and new Italian restaurant Il Covo, among many others—have taken over the old Ye Coach & Horses in Hollywood (long a favorite of everyone from Tom Waits to Quentin Tarantino), glamming up its interior a bit in the process. They’ve brought on Spotted Pig vet Ralph Johnson for the modernized menu of classic British pub grub, from fish & chips to Welsh rarebit.
May 8th, 2012
Hilary Rosen's remarks that Ann Romney "had never worked a day in her life," and instead elected to stay at home and raise her five children, has prompted public and political backlash, apologies and a cross-current of interest group furor.
The Democratic strategist was heavily criticized for saying on air that the wife of GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney had chosen being a stay-at-home mother over working.
our editor recommends
May 7th, 2012
Way back last October, a curious trend emerged from the Spring 2010 shows. Call it a case of cat-scratch fever—designers and hip girls were all feeling cats. Paris was just about meowing, with Miuccia Prada’s kitty-print collection for Miu Miu, which found (alongside daisies and reclining nudes) cartoon felines printed on collars, dresses, tops, and accessories. (At Azzaro, Vanessa Seward heard the mewling, too: She commissioned Kuntzel+Deygas, the graphic designers behind the sleek opening credits to Catch Me if You Can, to create drawings based on her own cat, Monsieur Jo.)
Ever since, the cats have been on parade, appearing in ads (costarring with Kristen McMenamy in the spooky, Steven Meisel-shot Lanvin Fall 2010 campaign, pictured), in editorials, on influencers, and even at a few high-profile weddings (Charlotte Olympia designer Charlotte Dellal put her adorable flower girls in kitty headpieces for her May stroll down the aisle).
Click here for a slideshow of our favorite cat-inspired pieces and feline-loving ladies of 2010. And by the way, as usual, the Chinese numerologists saw this one coming. It’s the year of the biggest cat of ‘em all—the tiger.
—Matthew Schneier
Photo: Steven Meisel/Courtesy of Lanvin