>> Apparently Sofia Coppola likes New Order with her Marie Antoinette...
There's a new trailer out. And oh yes, this is fashion-related, you just have to see the number of shoes they flash on-screen to know what I mean.
>> David Downton, couture illustrator extraordinaire, recently shared his favorite fashion moments from the past ten years. My two favorites involve mishaps with dresses -- they show just how ridiculous fashion can be sometimes. But that's why we love it, right? And now, for David:
> After the huge extravaganzas came the intimate shows, back in the salons. We were so close to the models that I had to tuck my knees up under my sketchbook and before I knew it my pen had been abducted by the folds of one of the dresses. I was too afraid to see if it leaked but if there was a Jackson Pollock moment in fashion that year, I’m the one responsible.
> Apart, that is, from John Galliano’s for Dior at the Paris Opéra, which opened with a thunderclap. The first model ran up the enormous sweeping staircase like a reverse Cinderella. The train was so massive it was still at the bottom when she was at the top. Then she began running through the galleries and the dress sent everyone’s champagne glasses flying. All you could hear was the sound of glass shattering and little cries of distress as champagne hit cloth.
Can you imagine all the snooty people horrified at their expensive clothes being ruined by champagne? Now that's just funny to me.
But speaking of David, his artistry really is wonderful -- and he has an exhibition going on, "Couture Voyeur," which includes his drawings from Paris fashion shows, 1996 to present. At the London College of Fashion, April 25 to May 18.
>> Dita Von Teese has certainly reached maxed out her it-girl status as of late -- I feel like every single magazine I pick up lately has an article or a photoshoot of her... or both. I guess it could have something to do with her new book just coming out, but gee whiz, I feel like she's getting attention to rival Kate Moss (an exaggeration, I know, but you get the idea).
Maybe it all has started to run together because she's always got her forties pinup image going on -- she is Dita, not a model, after all -- so they can't make her hair super frizzy and paint her eyelids blue and take her picture. That said, I love her look, and I love the attention she's getting -- because she's definitely not your typical "it" girl. I mean, she dyes her natural blonde hair black, for crying out loud -- not the usual other way around.
>> Speaking of Mario Testino... and Vogue... the May 2006 Cover for Vogue Paris has shown up, looking like an eighties Cindy Crawford throwback. Meet Anna Mariya Urazhevskaya (or just Anna Mariya), who you will also be seeing in upcoming Blumarine and Kenzo ad campaigns. I have to say, I'm not usually a fan of close-ups, but if I'm going to be looking at someone's face this close on a cover, it might as well be Anna Mariya's. Yeah, it's not my favorite cover ever, but it will do -- we have to pick our battles, right?
I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I was requested by Vogue to take them down due to copyright issues. Thank you for understanding.
>> I thought I would take a closer-up look at why I really can't stand much of American Vogue anymore, since I complain about it so much.
In the May 2006 issue, we're off to a bad start with Anna Wintour's letter from the editor -- she comes off as cold, stony, curt. She says things like: "I am most sympathetic." Who talks like that? First sign that Anna needs to loosen up a bit. She also comes off as pretentious -- granted the letter is an account of her London Fashion Week, but it just seems like she needs to inform the world that she knows lots of important people. In fact, the whole issue seems like that -- a veritable display of the fact that Anna knows a lot of "important people." The whole issue is about everyone involved in the Costume Institute Gala. Sure, I like to see what everyone wears to the Gala as much as the next person, but whole freaking articles on every single person involved -- is that really necessary? I personally don't care. Sorry.
Not to mention the stories are always by the same people: Hamish Bowles, Plum Sykes, Andre Leon Talley -- Anna's little posse. I know Hamish Bowles and A.L.T. are important editors, but that's the point: they're editors. Writers write. Editors edit. Fine if they want to write every once and a while but... a little variety of opinion could perhaps be nice? And Plum Sykes, she doesn't really have an excuse... as contributing editor, she's supposed to be a writer. But here I am, tapping my foot, still waiting for a display of writing that convinces me that she is indeed the writer she purports to be, and that she deserves the position of contributing editor at Vogue.
While we're on the same people doing the same things over and over, Mario Testino does like every Vogue shoot ever. And Caroline Trentini -- she has an editorial for the SEVENTH MONTH in a row.
As for the feature -- Keira -- well, you've seen that. It looks like they picked out the same outfit from as many different designers as possible. That's creativity at its best. And the catch of the Keira interview -- the first sentence -- the part that's supposed to make you read on, goes a little something like this: "Grand Bahama Island is a curious hybrid of pastel-painted toy-town architecture, great wastes of mangrove forests, and highways with romantic names like Doubloon Road, Spanish Main Drive, and Midshipman Road." Wow, Hamish, you passed your SAT vocab section with flying colors! Other than that... snore.
Sorry, I think it's going to have to stop there. I just got too bored. But I hope you can get the general idea.
Don't worry -- there were a couple of things I liked. There was a good interview with my favorite Erin Fetherston, and a Dior Haute Couture dress on Stella Tennant that is absolutely beautiful. Oh, and the article by Marina Rust about eyelash extensions -- that was actually an enjoyable read.
>> This editorial, "Morph," is one of those that I hated at first. But then I let it sit with me, because I have confidence in Inez and Vinoodh and their abilities. And while the clothing may not be much to look at (most of it is black), and Daria's hair is offputting at first, both together give this a very avant-garde feel. And the movement -- that's what gets you about this editorial. It's not the usual "Oh me, I'm laying on a chaise lounge and making my pouty face for the flashing light" stereotypical pose -- it's very jerky, very puppet-like. It's nice to see a model do some out-of-the-ordinary poses, to get dragged out of the picture frame, to contort her face into something a bit grotesque. Because as they say, different can be beautiful, too.
From May 2006 W
>> A leather messenger bag in a cool minimalist shape (I love the placement of the strap) to start off your manic Monday...
>> It's that time of year again -- time for the Hyeres Festival, which spotlights ten young fashion designers and ten young photographers in a prestigious competition. Above and below are promotional pictures for two of the designers (I thought the pictures themselves, regardless of the clothes, were pretty stinkin' cool). The runway shows are April 28-May 1 at the Villa Noailles in Hyeres, France. There will also be exhibitions, including one by Ann Demeulemeester, which are admission-free and open until early June. More information and promotional pictures ici (it's in French and English, don't worry).
>> It's okay if you're shocked at what I'm about to say, because honestly, I'm a little shocked myself. Lately I've been craving fringe. Yes, the fringe that reminds you of flapper dresses and bad cowboy outfits and eighties dance costumes and way too many tacky bags. The craving, it just hit me one day -- I let it sit because I thought it would go away. But then it didn't. Seeing this fringe jacket in the April i-D didn't really 
help the whole fringe exorcism cause either. So I did the proper thing, and 
went to Ebay, and found myself a nice slouchy navy fringe bag (leather, $16!). Because what can you do when you have a craving but satiate it, right?
Oh, and while I'm admitting things, I might as well have you know that I think I'm moving into a bit of a seventies bohemian phase. The fringe bag started it all, but now I want Charlie's Angels-style high-waisted pants.
