London Art Fair 2012

The London Art Fair opens its doors today at the Business Design Centre in Islington, with the participation of 100 galleries and 1000 artists. The premier art fair is for once more showcasing the best from modern art in the 20,000 sq ft location fo BDC in two sections:

Twelve Calendar

Berlin Fashion Week is starting today, so i suppose we are all anticipating for the great avant-garde capital city to reveal its new gems for next winter. One of the week's hottest projects is the Twelve Calendar, a collaboration between Derzeit Magazine and photographer Lena Emery, showcasing 12 of the best new models and labels from Berlin.

Born Sleepy by J.W. Anderson

J.W. Anderson's menswear collection for next fall is called Born Sleepy, and has big retro vibe with amazing knits, graphic prints, flared pants made out of tech materials and a bright colour palette. I just love the brand's spooky, ironic campaign, shot by Alex Sainsbury, featuring model Oliver Greenall from Elite London.

Taste.IT

Milan's Men Fashion Week is ending today. Have a look at its coolest boys posing for Luca Finotti's camera during the castings.

The Empire of Death

For three years Dr Paul Koudounaris, a specialist in Baroque culture and lector at major universities in Los Angeles, travelled the world to document various religious shrines decorated with human bones, crypts and remains from the sixteenth and seventienth centuries.


A new exciting exhibition is coming soon at Les Art Decoratifs museum in Paris, featuring the work of reknown artist, photographer,illustrator, graphic designer and filmaker Jean-Paul Goude. A long time partner of Grace Jones with whom has a son, Goude has created several videos and thrilling images of the famous muse and singer, that have been listed as classic in the history of art. He has also woked for luxury brands like Chanel, Perrier and Citroen and is the official photographer of the Galleries Lafayette ads for the past ten years.

(Image above: Grace Jones portrait, New York 1982)

Jean-Paul Goude portrait
 Mao bathing, 1972

The exhibition has been designed as a giant installation featuring the most important drawings, inspirations, films, objects and photos of his work.

Carolina, 1972
Grace in constructivistic maternity dress, in collaboration with Antonio Lopez, New York, 1979


Azzedine Alaia and Farida, 1984

Running from the 11th of November 2011 to the 18th of March 2012

Grace Jones for V Magazine, January 2008
Laetitia Casta for Galleries Lafayettes, 2003

All pics courtesy of Les Arts Decoratifs

Miguel and his friends, 1975
Mia Frye for Galleries Lafayette, 2008

 Below you can enjoy an extract of the So Far, So Goude documentary:




 A seductive, mysterious short film by Jai Lennard, featuring supermodel Kirby Kenny. Genious direction and great music adorned with black lace and red hot lingerie by La Perla.

Enjoy:


Kirby Kenny from Jai Lennard on Vimeo.


A new lingerie capsule collection by Marie Jo L' Aventure in collaboration with avant-garde designer Veronique Branquinho was unveiled last month at Schellebelle, Belgium. The designer got inspired by the paintings of famous Rennaissance artists like Cranach, Giorgione, Raphael and Durer, sketching beautiful lingerie pieces over their heroines' naked bodies and creating contemporary sensual artworks, planned to be exhibited at the Antwerp Fashion Museum from the 4th to the 16th of October.


The collection consists of beautiful couture pieces in 50's style, corsets, padded bras and high or low briefs made from fine and luxurious materials like grosgrain, satin silk and micro-fibre in jewel tones of emerald and onyx.


Available in specialty lingerie boutiques from mid September 2011.

Veronique Branquinho by Marleen Daniëls
All pics courtesy of the designer


 A great music promo for Black Black Hills' debut single The Celebration directed by brilliant Film Directing trio Blac Ionica. Inspired by British folklore and pagan-esque ceremonies, the film tells the story of an illegal metal detectorist waking up the dark forces in his attempt to discover a hidden treasure.
Beautiful music, fantastic british landscape and a thrilling story.

Enjoy:


Black Black Hills - "The Celebration" from Blac Ionica on Vimeo.


For all the fashion book collectors out there that are desperately looking for their new perfect, precious piece, here's a fresh little diamond: the Loris Azzaro book by Assouline, edited by famous fashion historian Jeromine Savignon on the occasion of the house's fiftieth anniversary. All the story about the genious man from Tunisia that rocked the world with his ultra-glamorous, over-sexy, jet-setting creations and perfumes during the 70's and 80's can been seen through the pages of this luxury edition.


His designs were an exotic mixture of his Sicilian heritage and his experience from Tunisia enriched with his love for beautiful women and good living. The result was some really extravagant and sexy creations, adored by superstars like Raquel Welch and Sofia Lauren, featured in the pages of Vogue magazine and shot by famous photographers like Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin.


Loris Azzaro, that handsome, always tanned guy with the pool-inspired, chic designs has been one of the leading and most inspiring designers of the 20th century reminding us of a fashion world than once existed and will hopefully exist in the future.




Regarding menswear collections, i believe that this was a really hot and interesting season with several exciting designs. However, if i had to choose, i would vote Sruli Recht's collection as the best one and him as one of my favourite new designers.

After his very succesful collection for this Fall, Sruli returns with a second even more brilliant and well-structured, complete menswear line titled Cast by Shadows.

The collection is inspired by the view outside Sruli's window: water, mountains and mist, the typical Icelandic landscape that always gives a special character to his creations.

Consisting of 44 styles, the line includes all the essential garments to create a total look from coats, jackets and cardigans, to trousers, shorts and leggings fully accessorized with sandals, eye-frames, bags, hats, gloves and silver jewellery, all made in Iceland.


The material selection comes from nature, as in his previous collection, with linen, cotton, silk and timber complimented with Icelandic reindeer skin, horse skin and shark skin, while the colour palette is kept quite with cream, white, light grey and navy blue.



All garments are created in-house with the usage of special sewing techniques and advanced technology, most of them constructed from one pattern piece and one piece of material. A typical design of this special process is the Fourteen Years jacket, named after the culmination of the designer's 14-year patternmaking experience, constructed with one single side seam.




Closing this piece about Sruli Recht's new summer collection, i couldn't resist but post this beautiful poetic passage featured in his press release which i loved:


tireless tireless, oh endless black swimming
ceaseless and breakless in these ever dark currents
and these excellent hard gestures of the minimal stark winnings?
for the half shark, half man - that is the motion’s beginnings
...and lost in the spinning, hard swells in the deep end
sharp spells where I descend, I feint to defend,

and start to ascend
for that is the devotion, of the half stark wired man
the inflicted warm presence of the needles’ marked measure.
these moments I treasure. and the others - forced to surrender
bang bang, on my chest, the emotional slang where it rests.
these moments I treasure.
and the others - forced to surrender
bang bang, on my chest,
the emotional slang where it rests.


Lookbook credits:


Photographer - Marinó Thorlacius
Models - Emil Þór Guðmundsson, Helgi Hjörvar
Stylist - Megan Herbert
Lookbook Layout - wearenotyou



srulirecht.com
showroomromeo.com


A short documentary film about fashion's most controversial persona.

By Daniel Gianini.

Enjoy:

RICO ZOMBIE BOY from danielgianini on Vimeo.


I recently posted the Acne Resort S/S 2012 collection and i know you loved it. Here is the behind-the-scenes video featuring creative director Jonny Johansson. I'm sure you'll love it even more.

Enjoy:

ACNE Resort 2012 - Behind the Scenes from Marius Crowne on Vimeo.


Le Chateau de Versailles is hosting a major fashion exhibition inspired by Marie Antoinette's wardrobe and the French culture of the 18th century. The exhibition features 50 extravagant gowns and accessories by the greatest couturiers and fashion designers of the 20th century like Christian Dior, Azzedine Alaia, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Alexander McQueen for Givenchy, Vivienne Westwood, Thierry Mugler and many more.

The exhibition The 18th Century Back in Fashion will last by the 9th of October 2011.