Monthly Archives: March 2009

re-inventing alexander mcqueen \/\/ a/w 09

March 18, 2009
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re-inventing alexander mcqueen \/\/ a/w 09

What happens when Amanda Lepore, MC Escher, and the ghost of McQueen season’s past collide on the runway? Duh, magic. Absolute and total magic. It looks like a car crash gone terribly terribly right, and I can’t get enough of it. Okay, so I’m actually pretty sure that Ms. Lepore herself was not in attendance at the show, but her lips are everywhere, on every model, black and bold, and cartoon hot. MC Escher printed fabrics and the ubiquitous houdstooth abound. Silhouettes so ruffled and flounced and corseted they could only be McQueen. The theme of McQueen’s A/W 09 collection is reinvention, and while I think of him as a designer who is constantly revising and reprising his own work diligently, the idea of renewal was definitely underscored here. Models paraded against backdrop of destroyed car parts with spraypainted soda cans in their hair. It wasn’t just Mr. McQueen’s ideas that were being recycled and reused, it was everything. Photo Credits: fashionologie

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faster faster \/\/ mark fast a/w 09

March 16, 2009
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faster faster \/\/ mark fast a/w 09

Mark Fast is a young upstart knitwear designer from Canada who is fast making a name for himself in the international fashion community. He grew up in some secluded forest fairytaleland outside of Winnipeg. The solemn quietude of his childhood pressed tightly against his growing genius, and he eventually found his way to London, where he studied at Central Saint Martins. Before setting out on his own, Mark did three seasons of knitwear for Bora Aksu. Fast knits all of his pieces himself on a domestic knitting machine. His innovative techniques, such as blending lycra with natural fibers, like angora and wool, or soft, sculptable fabrics, like viscose, result in pieces that are texturally complex, and that adhere to the body in extraordinary ways. Fast is all about creating pieces that transcend the trends. “I believe there is a growing interest in craftsmanship in fashion these days,” he says, “as opposed to quick fix disposable pieces. I am focusing on timeless classics.”  I, for one, hope to Christ that this is what timeless classics look like in knitwear from now on. Fast’s designs combine a comprehensive historical perspective with his modern sensibility. The end product is a line of super

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by popular demand \/ gareth pugh for men

March 14, 2009
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by popular demand \/ gareth pugh for men

So, I neglected to mention that Gareth Pugh also released his first-ever menswear collection for A/W 09, and it is every bit as swoonworthy as the women’s collection. With baited breath, I wait for a world in which all men dress like this. This leather jacket on the right is so effing hot, it’s black, metallic, quilted, and delicious. I’m totally nuts for the boots with that jacket, as well. To the knee, leather with studded straps? Yes, please. Are you shitting me with this jacket collection. I want every single one of these. I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot more of this structured, belted vibe in leathers starting now. Check a video of the runway show from The New York Times. Photo Credits: Raras Coincidencias Neoyorquinas

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oh my goth \/\/ rick owens f/w 09

March 10, 2009
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oh my goth \/\/ rick owens f/w 09

Remember in 1992 when Marc Jacobs sent all those ripped apart, layered looks down the Perry Ellis runway? The ones that simultaneously spawned nearly a generation of plaid-clad youth and also got MJ fired? Well, back in those days my all black, leather and lace aesthetic was deeply influenced by that grunge runway, and I have recently developed a deep nostalgia for those goth days. Nothing has hit a nerve more deeply than the Rick Owens F/W 09 line.   Whatever I actually looked like in my youth, this is what I was going for. I love the funnel neck leather jacket atop the black satin minidress atop the white cotton minidress atop the ribbed grey leggings with the always exquisite Rick Owens boots. I also love the sparse pale grey and black color palette that dominated his runway. It is my deepest wish that this is the runway that spawns a generation of admirers and teenage copycats. I mean, seriously, what would be cooler than a high school full of kids that look like this?   Photo Credits: fashionologie

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cocaine and high design: two great tastes that taste great together?

March 9, 2009
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cocaine and high design: two great tastes that taste great together?

I was just saying to myself to the other day…”Self,” I says, “What you need is a durable and stylish coke spoon. You’re better than this cut up subway straw.” I didn’t know that the complete and total fucking genius Ken Courtney, of Ju$t Another Rich Kid was listening to my oft-whispered prayer and busily collaborating and producing that very thing. Check it: Courtney teamed up with designers from Surface to Air, Terence Koh, Nice Collective, and Various Projects to manufacture this limited edition set of five piece set of designer coke spoons entitled He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not. I know, it’s really hard to see the details in the pictures, but let me describe for you the wonders within this specially produced steel box. Contents of the box: 1 silver replica of the infamous McDonald’s coffee stirrer 1 baroque skull multi-headed spoon (for sharing!) 1 key with a secret compartment 1 lubricated credit card 1 minimalist mini-spoon Ummm, who could ask for anything more? Better pictures? Say no more. A hardcopy? I’m on it. Photo Credit: This Heart’s On Fire

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whoa, that was fast.

March 8, 2009
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whoa, that was fast.

the gareth pugh collection video for a/w 09 is extraordinary. it’s dark, it’s got weird wet sound effects, and some of the shirts are nipple-less. who could ask for more? watch it @ show studio the women’s collection is fucking perfect. check it.

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the avant guardian still loves you…

March 8, 2009
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…it’s just busy working for other people right now, and flouting its cultural responsibility to represent interesting design. it will be back when the workload lightens, someone backs it financially, or the world needs it just a little bit more…

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