Dope Ambition

I’m starting to think Kanye West’s name should have been “Kanye the Creator,” had OFWGKTA’s Tyler not already snagged the title. I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the next year, he came out with a cookbook (we’re going to cook to one song, and one song only), produced a movie, dropped another album, resurrected someone from the dead and/or invented the cure for cancer. There really is no stopping the man.

Well, ladies and gentles, the rumors are true: Mr. West is debuting his fashion label, titled Dw, at Paris Fashion Week on October 1st. People seem confused as to why Ye would take such a career-defining debut to Paris, but why is that a surprise? The man name drops Paris on a very consistent basis, and the city is called “City of Light.” Where else is Kanye expected to shine?

So, what do we think: will the collection be a romantic ode to Paris, an oversexed collection of cleavage and leg, or an architectural, theatrical parade of futuristic garments? Tell me what you think. The world is on its toes, anxious with speculation…precisely how Ye would have it.

I am usually not a big fan of designer-specific fashion editorials; they’re often stale and predictable. If the essence of style is to mix and match textures and price points, then why are we being shown consecutive looks practically duplicated item for item from the runway? But we already know the answer to this question; it’s all solely for marketing purposes. To please a designer is to remain in his/her inner circle, and the big bucks are in the big labels.

Well, 10 Magazine is no exception to the rule, but at least their art director knew to inject the spread with phenomenal splashes of cartoon art from pop artist Barry Reigate, whose past works include one of my favorites, “Criminology”, a cluster of breasts and and gloved hands a lá Mickey Mouse, piled on top of one another  with nipples popping out, ready for the next squeeze.

In this Louis Vuitton-saturated editorial, shot by Christian Anwander for 10 Magazine, Reigate’s signature humor is seen in floating logs, clown faces, and Candyland-like bubbles, all of which take center stage over pieces from Louis Vuitton’s Fall 2011 collection.

The shadows in the background give this spread an especially theatrical element. I wish more magazines would cut the designer themed bullshit…unless they do it like this. Then I don’t mind so much that <insert luxury label> is getting all the love.

via fashiongonerogue, Criminology image via saatchi.co.uk

For those of us who don’t live in nudist colonies and/or the Playboy Mansion, we wake up every morning and we dress ourselves in clothes. The threads that weave their way around our bodies collectively form our sweaters, pants, lingerie, skinny jeans, etc.

I was recently inspired by an extreme close up of a knit I found on a blog, and searched the ‘nets for others. Tweed, in particular, is texturally entertaining. That harsh looking woman in a Chanel jacket that just passed you in Soho? Her structured, almost unfinished look is really comprised of thousands of little wollen strands, woven together to give off a rough texture that somehow equals basket-woven beauty to the naked eye.

Trust me, I know I sound like a certified nerd but, we knew this, right?

images via entwinements, rdujour, nataliehirsh, toocutemag

Came across this guy’s portfolio today and swooned a bit.

I want everything I read for the next week to be in this type face. Every sign, every license plate, every book, every tattoo.

The other day I stumbled upon apparel, home design and accessories site Poketo via an item I saw on svpply. While I admit I find joy in unhealthily creeping on design sites that offer candleholders for $8,000 and Kleenex dispensers for even more, Poketo has that whole “affordable” thing going for it, and, you know, I appreciate that characteristic in an online store.

Husband-and-wife design duo Ted Vadakan and Angie Myunghe started the brand/store in 2003; the couple has collectively worked with clients like Nike, Weezer, Arcade Fire, MoMA, etc, and their line for Target verged on Missoni-style cult status. In other words, they’re kind of a big deal and they know their shit when it comes to aesthetically pleasing trinkets, clothing items and accessories that are sure to tickle our fancy on a regular basis. Why traverse the crowds of baby hipsters and their parents at Urban Outfitters when you can purchase something more ethical and arguably better looking online? Their limited-edition, exclusive artist vinyl wallets are especially rad.

With that said, check out our top picks for 10 items under $100 on Poketo.com. If you like, scoop up. If you don’t…stop frontin.’

Upcycled Leather Clutch (made from recycled leather sofas) – $48

Esther Pearl Watson “Unlovable, Lovable” Wallet – $20

Striped Fleece Packbacks – $58

A New Twist Scarves – $20

hexagon Pentagon Watches – $75

Icon Clocks – $37

“5 Minute Candles” Matchbooks (4) – $6

Draw Your Mind Journal – $22

Cast Iron Tool Bottle Openers – $25

DIY Shower Curtain – $33

UK-based digital mag Blanket Magazine has long been a source of design inspiration online since 2006. The mag features artists, photographers and graphic designers, which obviously all translate easily to an online setting. Personally, however, I can get lost in the myriad websites and digital-only magazines that spotlight design. Seeing and touching and holding the beautiful images printed on a page allow for a new sort of admiration for the designers, artists and photographers whose work I may otherwise bookmark and forget about.

For Blanket Magazine’s first print edition, Typographer/Illustrator Daren Newman designed an ethereal cover of looping white swirls and letters against a minty green backdrop. And if you know me at all, this color green is my absolute favorite for its soft timelessness. Inside the 68-page magazine you’ll find everything from features on the “art of collaborating online” to profiles on photographer Percy Dean and designer Jason Munn.

Check out some of the pages inside. You can scoop directly from the website.

I’d like to be patriotic and firmly claim that American designers this season and last absolutely wowed me with their forward-thinking designs and their abilities to rise above seasonal trends. But I’d be lying.

The truth is, some of the most standout designers during the month-long fashion week shows are often found in London, which is precisely where many a snobby, stiff critic refuses to look. As admirers of fashion as an art, we can appreciate other designers like Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons for their abilities to sidestep trends, and set them instead. (Hello: bold stripes, couture-skirts-meet-Tshirts, bananas, etc). But these designers are backed by large companies with even larger stakes in the labels (LVMH and Onward Holdings Company, respectively). There is an expectation to perform, to meet standards, to progress. And while no designer wants to disappoint, designers backed my so much money have specific clients to please, with whom they must maintain relationships. Yes; Prada’s Spring 2012 collection of periwinkle blues, browns and black was a breath of fresh air against a sea of neon hues seen at NYFW.

But then we must remember: that ubiquitous sea of acid hues and highlighter colors we saw saturate the runways for Spring 2012? Christopher Kane did that last year. He set a trend followed a year later by seemingly half of the designers at New York Fashion Week. And it was evident. But reinvention and progression comes with artistic freedom. Unlike some of Kane’s “superiors,” he and his sister Tammy maintain complete ownership of the label. And so, every season, Kane and his sister consistently manage to wow fashion editors and admirers alike with innovate designs that may garner something slowly fading in fashion: awe.

For Fall 2011, Kane  featured extremely wearable dresses complete with plastic straps filled with encapsulated liquid. Clutches of the same variety were tucked under arms and have since shown up on countless wish lists in magazines and fashion blogs.  Jaws dropped, and magazine editors flocked to his frocks for their fall fashion editorials.

This season, Kane approached Spring with a fresh, if not incisive take on florals and pastels. Florals for spring, new? Well, yes…when Christopher Kane’s strategic genius is at work. His dresses were cut in sharp, non-flowing silhouettes, featuring 3-dimensional flowers appearing almost as if they were plucked and pressed between wax paper. The fabric surrounding these sharp florals was a blend of 70 percent aluminum organza; it didn’t move much, and it wasn’t supposed to. The rigidity of his origami-folded, crisp white shirts were tucked into pastel brocades. The look was reminiscent of the expensive couch you were told never to sit on, no matter how tempting, and in this case, the thick brocades were sliced with precision at architectural angles; they were not alluring, but intimidating in a way fashion should be at times. There was nothing soft about Christopher Kane’s florals, nothing nostalgic about his otherwise vintage prints, and paired with stark white athletic sandals, even the collection’s base shunned romanticism.

…And the fashion world fell to its knees. Tim Blanks of Style.com called him a “maverick mind who finds beauty where others don’t even begin to look,” and the perpetually bored Cathy Horyn also sings his praises. Am I done kissing his ass? I guess, for now…until American designers copy his color palette/cuts/silouettes again next season.

There may be other designers whose looks are rack-ready and easily imitated, but I doubt you will see a knockoff of one of Kane’s pieces on a rack at Forever 21. He’s too precise. He knows what he’s doing.

see what I mean?

image credits in order of appearance: christopher kane spring 2011, origami photo, christopher kane fall 2011 , Spring 2012 images

Oh, hey, guess who’s back. Let’s not make a big deal out of it…yet. I am going to have a big party and everyone’s invited. But I’ll save all of that for later.

On another note, I recently quit my drug of choice, coffee, and switched to tea. I’d like to claim the switch was because of some health issue or something meaningful, but really, I was whitening my teeth and needed to lay back on the joe. Since the beginning of August, I have become quite obsessed with perusing local markets in search of the best teas, and so far, a peppermint tea I found at the Essex Market in the Lower East Side has particularly tickled my tea fancy.

You can understand, then, why I became giddy and gushy when I spotted these bad boys on Etsy. Right now I am still drinking from a Duane Read to-go coffee cup. It’s sad. I want Lionel Richie and Mr. T to accompany my morning tea drinking sessions. There’s nothing quite like Lionel Richie’s face at 6 a.m., smelling like peppermint.

If you’re as into it as I am, check it out here. We salute you, LennyMud, Etsy retailer.