Archive for the ‘Fashion’Category

I AM CRIMPS FASHION WEEK

FASHION ACTIVISM from Shine Promos on Vimeo.

Black fashionista have taken there protest beyond the blogsphere to the street to voice the vehement dismay over the recent controversial hiring of a white fashion director, Ellianna Placas at Essence Magazine this past summer. The announcement stirred some old wounds and created a tidal wave backlash for Essence is known as a fertile training ground for many young black women seeking entry into the world of magazine fashion. Marc Baptiste well-known for his exciting fashion photography took his beliefs a step further when he captured the cultureversy on film of the fashionista protesting at this year’s Mercedes Benz during Spring/Summer 2011 Fashion Week. About 20 bodacious black women dressed in black with dark shades, slowly marched through the streets in silence from Time, Inc. the offices of Essence magazine to the new site of Fashion week at Lincoln Center. In the same spirit as Martin Luther King, who marched in the 1960s in Memphis with a group of Black garbage workers with picket signs reading (I Am a Man), these young women demonstrated using a similar signifer “I AM Fashion,”  each individual sign identified former fashion editors of Essence such as Susan Taylor, Iona Dunn Lee, Harriette Coles and Micheala Angela Davis, this is just a short list of the fashion directors who have served over the years. At issue  in this postracial society is while black women grace the covers of ELLE, VOGUE or BAZAAR magazines, few get have access to top positions as Fashion Directors in magazines or blogs. The likelihood is the storm will not cease and these sistas will be marching again when the Fall 2011 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week rolls around. To view Marc Baptiste film click on the Fashion Activism link above.

05

10 2010

THIS WEEK’S BUZZ: Harlem’s Fashion Row

It has been interesting to see how far fashion week has come in NYC, or perhaps not come.  While this Fall Fashion Week is now being held in its new location at Lincoln Center, however most fashionistas tend to stay centrally located in the midtown area. Sad because they are missing out on a fabulous bustling hub of fashion designers blossoming uptown in Harlem. This Friday, September 17, from 8-10PM is Harlem’s Fashion Row at the Studio Museum in Harlem, featuring the Spring 2011 collection of four locally based fashion designers, Niiamar, Telfar, Sammy B and Viscera NY.

If you’re still eager to see more then make sure to stop by 56 Hamilton Terrace right near City College to view, “Finding Style in Time.” This phenomenal vintage collection goes back as far as the 1890s, and you can slowly browse through four floors in a stunning Victorian Townhouse each floor is staged with fashions in a stylish decor setting  reminiscent of the clothing’s era. The exhibition was curated by the Fashion Design team of Randal Jacobs and David Melton will be on view through 19 September, 2010. Featured here is Ms Lana Turner  not to be confused with the legendary film starlet. This Lana Turner is our very own Harlem resident and she has amassed a stunning collection of vintage clothing that rivals the art philanthropist Millicent Rogers whose fashions were featured in American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum this past summer. Ms Turner is widely knows as a social maven not just in Harlem but throughout New York City, she’s even hob-knobbed with street fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. Take it from me a lover of vintage clothing who’s seen Ms Turner private collection this is a rare experience to view.
Admissions is Free… Stop by 56 Hamilton Terrace btwn 141st and 145th streets NYC, 10031
It’s time to head uptown for happenings this Friday night in Harlem.

Harlem’s Fashion Row from CJ Something on Vimeo.

14

09 2010

Spare Beats: Happenings Around Town

This spring there are a lot of events occurring around NYC with film, visual art, design, food and more. Here is a breakdown of the ones that I’ve been able to find, and some are all free! Please leave a comment if I’ve left anything out.

Social Dramas and Shimmering Spectacles: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema
May 19 to 27

Celebrate and explore the rich influence of Muslim cultural and social traditions on the cinema of Bombay at Lincoln Center. http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/bombay.html

Chaudhvin Ka Chand
M. Sadiq, 1960, India; 169m
Fiza
Khalid Mohamed, 2000, India; 170m
Garm Hawa
M. S. Sathyu, 1973, India; 146m
Jodhaa Akbar
Ashutosh Gowariker, 2008, India; 213m
Mammo
Shyam Benegal, 1994, India; 124m

May 21st and 22nd – Costume Collections: A Collaborative Model for Museums
The Brooklyn Museum and the Costume Institute are hosting a 2-day symposium about their new costume collaboration. I’m looking forward to seeing both exhibitions this spring!

Fredrick Levore at University of the Streets
We hope you can play your part in the audience and enjoy an incredible evening of live music featuring: Michael Feinberg on bass, Daniel Platzman, drums Richard Louie, piano Alex Pope Norris, brass Emily Greene and Tatiana Kochkareva vocals.
Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 7PM-11:30PM; located at 130 East 7th Street (Avenue A) New York City.

COLLABORATION: 
KARIN FONG OF IMAGINARY FORCES
THURSDAY 17 JUNE 2010 6:30–8:00PM

Join Karin Fong, founding member of Imaginary Forces and renown title designer, as she discusses the collaborative nature of designing cinematic experiences in its many roles.
As director and designer for a wide range of projects, spanning the worlds of fashion, entertainment, advertising, live-action direction, video games, experience design and environmental installations, Karin’s work carries a unique stamp whether it features the Marines or stop motion claymation figures.
AIGA/NY event

Black Brooklyn Renaissance: Black Arts and Culture, 1960–2010. The summer season gives ample evidence of the renaissance at work: the Black Brooklyn Drum Call, a concert featuring Toshi Reagon, an exhibition featuring the work of six Black Brooklyn photographers, the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival along the Dumbo waterfront, the annual Tribute to Our Ancestors of The Middle Passage in Coney Island and so much more. summer event calendar

17

05 2010

On Point: Len Davis Limited Artist Edition for the Gap

The GAP tees are now in stores. After a few delivery issues snafus from their factory, they finally arrived.  I want to thank all of you for your patience and support.
Gap (RED) is featuring a few artworks by Len Davis for their Limited Artist Edition Spring/Summer line. One of the three t-shirt designs are in Gap stores today.  The other two designs will be in stores on May 10th.
Look for the in-store signage for Gap (RED) Limited Artist Edition tees.
All proceeds go to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS in Africa. http://www.joinred.com/Learn/HowRedWorks.aspx

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03

05 2010

DESIGN: Paperdolls and The Sunday Times

If you ever thought paper dolls were just for little girls, think again! Instead of Ilisha Helfman recycling the pile of Sunday Times Magazines that litter her house, this Graphic Designer and toy maker has created an exuberantly colorful line of paper dolls that function like puppets with moving parts. These dolls are made from the award-winning NY TIMES covers designed by Design Director Arem Duplessis. I’m sure Arem would be pleased to know his cover designs have found another use. Crafitinista Ilisah Helfman’s paper doll kits are sold at Leafpdx, a store she owns with her husband, Joe Freedman. Check out these wonderfully crafted interactive paper dolls. Before you throw out your Sunday Times, maybe you too will find another use for it besides fodder for the landfills.

01

05 2010

PERCEPTION: Blackface and Afros Take Center Stage

Apparently French Vogue has  featured Dutch supermodel Lara Stone in Blackface in the fashion spreads . While Marc Jacob’s Spring collection for Louis Vuitton has shown his models sporting huge Afros styled wigs like political activist Angela Davis, and blaxploitation film actor Pam Grier on this springs Paris Fashion runways. What’s up with all this appropriation of black culture? And blackface haven’t we passed this or does the presence of white models in blackface makeup underscore the lack of black models on the runway? Or is this some fantasy being played out by fashions designers just to call attention to this seasons fashions.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/zandile-blay/black-face-in-italian-vog_b_320328.html

01

05 2010

ON POINT: Paper Eyelashes Elevate Design

Featured on ECOUTERRE.COM

Move over false eyelashes make room for paperself from China, these floral designs are part of an old tradition of masterful paper cutting skills. These eyelashes are reported to be as delicate as lace, and each pair is intricately crafted using different motifs such as peonies (for happiness), peach blossoms (romance), and horses (success).  Although I’m not sure what happens if you shed a bucket of tears or get caught in the rain.

05

04 2010

Art: Sofia’s Culturaversy

LOOSEWORLD X Sofia Maldonado Part 2 from LOOSEWORLD on Vimeo.

Visual Artist Sofia Maldonado was commissioned by the Times Square Alliance to create a mural on 42nd Street is creating a big  hoopla over her choice of artistic vision. Apparently, some feminist (both white and black) along with Black professional groups are not  in thrilled of her street style art depicting young Latina and Black Women in scantily style dresses which viewers are calling hoochie mama’s. Some passers byer fear her work is a throw back to the bygone days of the old Times Square when prostitutes and pimps roamed the neighborhood made it an undesirable place to visit. Despite all of the controversy Sofia stands behind her work as does the Time Square Alliance. I visited the mural a few days ago and while the style might be construed as suggestive to some, as a Black woman I didn’t find her work offensive. For me her work is full of colorful lively figures with a touch of the fantasy of female hip-hop performance we often see in hip-hop and NeoSoul music videos.

The mural is part of Times Square Alliance art projects, which commissioned Sofia. More on this culturaversy from FOXNEWS.

If you’re interested in voicing your opinion or just nosy and want to see what other people are saying, check out the Times Square Alliance blog.

15

03 2010

ART: Nick Cave’s “Soundsuits” Shimming Down

In the areas of fiber arts and performance art, one name reins supreme: Nick Cave. Not to be confused with the musician, Nick Cave, the fiber/performance artist creates “sound suits from found objects, including beads connected like tiny seeds of creativity, glass or plastic pieces strung together to form intricate patterns that suggest Brazilian or Caribbean carnival themes. These suits might also be layered with twigs and flowing hair, which from a distance looks like trees dancing in the woods, from some weird fairy tale.

This Cranbrook Design school graduate—who also serves as chair of the Fashion Design Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—has created new artistic boundaries as he adapts old with new art techniques. With a unique mix of fibers and other materials, he has produced furniture, clothing and much more. This new relationship between contemporary art, crafts, and fashion was evident in the 2007 “Radical Lace and Subversive Knitting” exhibition mounted by the Museum of Art and Design.

Soundsuit: This funky style is made of a diverse collection of found objects.

But this movement of sorts almost didn’t happen.

Sometime in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the interest in knitting started to fade, followed closely by the dwindling number of yarns shops throughout New York City. Today, knitting has emerged as a viable fiber art form, with a different twist that leans towards free-form, stylized garments, or products that are a combination of materials. These materials feature a mix of fibers with varied textures, as well as found objects from nature, even buttons or beads.

Cave’s work has forced other fiber artists and artists in other disciplines to reexamine their own material references. Whether you have the experience of witnessing Cave’s suits in performances, or as immobile figures in a gallery, you can still experience the sound and visual dialogue his pieces provoke. His work speaks to viewers with a cacophony of sounds heard over and over again.

Nick Cave's "Soundsuits" at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City

Cave had previously danced with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. One day he began to pay attention to the cacophony of sounds that came form his costume, which was mostly made of twigs. As he moved his body, each twig bushed against another and produced barely audible but regular sounds. Similar sounds came from other dancers who were gyrating to the beat of accompanying drums.

He had found a muse who would inspire his new art form—himself.

His canvases of his own or other dancers’ bodies expanded to include skintight leotards, to loose fitting garments with deep hoods. His materials now include beads, bangles, and sequins. No objects are off-limits; nor any subject. He has pulled together references from the social and political issues of the day, using for example, his own state of blackness as a silhouette; and in a nod to the Rodney King trial, a piece that expresses the freedom—or lack thereof—of the black male body, this time tied with materials that look like rope. The most ornate work can resemble over-sized deities, similar to spiritual figures from the African Yoruba tradition, or the Brazilian Candomble.
Nick Cave is represented by the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City.

more links to Nick Cave soundsuits.

15

03 2010

PERCEPTION: Homeless and Chic Fashions in China

Who is this mysterious man dubbed the Handsome Vagabound!

I inadvertently stumbled across this hot tip on The Independent World, about China’s hottest fashionista. Apparently, a handsome 30ish young homeless man is being touted as one the sexiest fashion victims. He’s even mustered a huge internet following throughout China. News items on this man have been posted on Blogs and newspapers, discussing his brawny looks and “bohemian” style of dress. His groupies have called him the “Handsome Vagabond,” “the Beggar Prince” or “Brother Sharp.”  According to, The China Daily, netizen’s have dubbed him as the “most handsome underdog of the century.” Read on you decide.

Below are images the Handsome Vagabound morphed into Advertisements using photoshop.

Handsome Vagabond morphed in Dior Ad.

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08

03 2010