You've Changed For The Better

I've never been a Paul Smith fan, but it appears with Menswear Spring 2011, the preverbial pole has been removed from his ass.
It's fun, young, relevent, relaxed and, for a change, cohesive. The most impressive thing is his use of colour.. I LOVE it. I'm so used to Smith throwing in some hideous hot pink crap somewhere and messing it all up. But no, it's tasteful, cool and still light hearted.
Plus, the best of the best 'badboys' of modelling are featured. It's pretty much a guarantee that I'll like any collection that features Dan Felton and Yuri Pleskun... (apart from Dries Van Noten S11, that bleached denim was nasty!)

See the full collection here

You're Squashing Me

BLACK – Masters of Black in Fashion and Costume @ MoMu - Mode Museum Province of Antwerp

[From Coute Que Coute]
Throughout Western history, at different times and for widely diverse reasons, fashion and costume have turned to black. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Antwerp became one of Europe’s most important centres for dyeing fabrics black. As a result, the city has an historic connection to the colour. During that period, the aristocracy and wealthy citizens often had their portraits painted dressed in black, following the fickle and ever-fluctuating dictate of fashion as determined by the prominent royal court of the moment. For a long time, deep, richly dyed black fabrics were a luxury. Only in the second half of the 19th century would new dyeing methods make the colour accessible to a wider public, whereupon black could be found in almost every wardrobe, more so because it could now be worn by anyone in mourning.

A new highlight for black was its major role in the emancipation reform dress of the early 20th century, and a little later, in the modernity of the 1920s, reaching its apex in Chanel’s ›Little Black Dress‹, the paragon of modern elegance. Black continued to be a presence in the fashion image and took on a variety of new interpretations, such as those of the existentialists and beatniks of the 1950s and diverse subcultures from the 1960s and 1970s. Although the 1980s were known for their colourful style, a new avant-garde of Japanese designers, including Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) and Yohji Yamamoto formed a counterweight with their striking use of black. Momu’s latest exhibition illustrates the historic phases of the colour black, with examples from painting, historic costume and contemporary fashion. It also looks more deeply into the textures and the potentials of black in diverse materials, including fur, leather and lace. In addition, the exhibition includes masterpieces by contemporary designers who, like the city of Antwerp, have a special connection to black. Silhouettes by Belgian designers such as Ann Demeulemeester, Olivier TheyskensDirk Van Saene, as well as the international couture houses of Givenchy (Riccardo Tisci), Chanel, Gareth Pugh and more, make this exhibition an intriguing experience worthy of its name: »Masters of Black in Fashion and Costume«.

The exhibition »BLACK – Masters of Black in Fashion and Costume« will be opened until August 8th, 2010!

MoMu – ModeMuseum Province of Antwerp
Nationalestraat 28, B-2000 Antwerp and

Something Lovely This Way Comes

I suddenly realise what I've been craving: a new film from Sofia Coppola.

Set for release in December, it features a score by Phoenix and stars the perfectly cast Stephen Dorff (yet another of my teenage crushes).  Also, it's set at the Chateau Marmont, which I recently had the displeasure of visiting. Oh Hollywood... you are ridiculous... Which I hope this film highlights! 

Trailer has just been released:

JUSTIFY MY LOVE

So I've had a huge crush on Givenchy for years; but with this collection, I offer my entire being whole-heartedly to Riccardo Tisci. The man is a genius. A sexy, sexy genius. Observe:

So Fucking Hard

NEWSFLASH

Black lipstick makes you look fat.

and

'Magic Happens' bumper stickers make you look fat.

and

Fishnet stockings make you look cheap AND fat.

OBSESSION: The GROWLERS

The Omelette... Stinks.

An old favourite.
From 'Naked' by Mike Leigh

I've been dreaming of a time when
The English are sick to death of Labour and Tories
And spit upon the name Oliver Cromwell
And denounce this royal line that still salute him,
And will salute him forever.


- "Irish Blood, English Heart"

Don't wanna kiss, don't wanna touch. Just smoke my cigarette and hush.

I'm super excited that Steven Klein is directing the new Lady Gaga Alejandro video. Even though I hate the song. I was completely irked by it from the very first moment I heard it. Way to make the Madonna ripping off completely obvious i.e the standard La Isla Bonita style song.
Anyway, it'll probably grow on me, as it kinda sounds like All That She Wants by Ace of Base [my secret shame]. And Steven Klein is a fucking amazing photographer.
If you're not familiar, you probably are, y'know the mega Italiano Madonna D&G campaign?

And his film stuff is possibly even better. These are my favourites... can't you just imagine the natural progrssion into Gaga by these 2 vids combined?

HERO SPOTLIGHT: Diane Arbus

I just stumbled upon an Arbus image: the iconic 'Boy With Toy Hand Grinade'. I haven't laid eyes on this in years:

It instantly brought back memories of all those afternoons I would spend laying on the carpet in my High School Library pawing over her book.
Come to think of it, I'm so surprised my school even had that book!
I think I became somewhat obsessed with her work, probably because there were few other photography books. Anyways, I haven't thought about these images in so long, my love affair has rekindled.
I'mma go buy me some prints.

ALL GROWN UP

I've been waiting to see what Tavi G will look like when she's all 'full size adult'. But apparently it's already happened! She looks stunning. That said, it's hard to NOT look super-cute in Miu Miu.

WANT.

THE ‘FREJA’ LACED ZIP BOOTS BY ALEXANDER WANG
via Jak & Jil 

Profit Off Our Blood

I can't believe this song was released 10 years ago. It still feels just as relevant, and probably always will.

look at where the profits are
that's how you'll find the source
of the big lie that you and i
both know so well.
in the time it takes this cultural
death wish to run its course,
they're gonna make a pretty penny
and then they're all going to hell.
he said the chickens all come home to roost
yeah, malcom forecasted this flood.
are we really gonna sleep through another century
while the rich profit off our blood?
true, it may take some doing

to see this undoing through,

but in my humble opinion
here's what i suggest we do:

open fire on hollywood
open fire on MTV
open fire on NBC
and CBS and ABC
open fire on the NRA
and all the lies they told us
along the way
open fire on each weapons manufacturer
while he's giving head
to some republician senator

and if i hear one more time
about fool's rights
to his tools of rage,
I'm gonna take all my friends
and I'm gonna move to Canada
and we're gonna die of old age.