Patti, How I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Ways....

My personal hero Patti Smith in Christian Dior ball gown, where she was quoted as saying she loved the architecture in a great gown.

Aw, man. You never believed what I missed. It was this great article in NyTimes Style section a week ago. Something relevant like that I try to post immediately, but I didn't have time last week to read all the way to the Style section. The article focuses Patti Smith's adept eye for fashion, something I've always wanted to talk about on this here blog, but never had the chance. I saw her speak not to long ago about her recent documentary at Film Forum. I was, like, all of three rows from her and was practically hyper-ventilating. My sister, embarrassed, kept exhorting me to calm down, but I couldn't. It was Patti! She's sooo cool! Just three rows away! Seriously. That's less than the six points of separation that anyone else is. Best music, and best fashion sense, ever. How is it that a being can be possessed with so much of both?

More Fashionable Patti:

From Archive of Ephermera. Caption on bottom says "publicity photograph for Patti Smith."

Iconic. Found on the blog DK presents.

This picture of Patti from contactmusic.com. I love how she's wearing the blazer and stripes, two very current trends, and makes it Patti again with her necklace and hat.

Lasting Effect

The installation view of “Eva Hesse Studiowork” at Camden Arts Centre, London. Photo NyTimes.

I absolutely love the artwork of Eva Hesse. Even though she only lived until 1970, I still find her work relevant today. The ephemeral quality of her work connects me back to thoughts about consumerism, environmental degradation, and the lasting value of things, all important discourse for today's age.

I had been meaning to scan these for a while. They are from an article in Feb 2010's National Geographic called "Lost Nomads". The article touches on a peoples who do not fit in neatly to the format of modern society in India. I found the article touching and the pictures captivating.

Red Is Always a Classic

What!? What was that!? I can't hear you! I'm listening to that La Roux! Okay, lemme turn it down. Oh, hey, I'm back. You know, I just can't stop listening to that La Roux. And I simply love this interview she gave at Style.Com where she talks about her look. One of my favorite parts of the interview is when she mentions how she used to have long hair, but didn't really feel as if that's who she wanted to be, so she cut it. She said the person who she is the most happy being is androgynous. I just love a girl who knows what she wants. In celebration of La Roux, one of my new faves, I decided to post what I think is her coolest video.

Color Stories: Mad Hatter

Picture from "Alice in Wonderland" found on NPR.com

Are you so happy to finally see Tim Burton's remake of Alice in Wonderland? I know I am. What I am most intrigued about is seeing what type of inspiration designers will be taking from the costuming in the movie. I myself have been feeling very stimulated about the colors so far. I made this color palette inspired by this picture I found on NPR just for you, dear readers. Do with them what you wish. Tell me if they fuel any of your creative projects.

Even Better the Second Time Around

M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel provide an excellent collaboration. Picture from NPR.Com

I was so excited to see the collaboration between Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward has resulted in another album: She and Him: Volume II. I've been listening to the album on NPR first listen. I encourage anyone remotely interested in music to listen. Her voice is sweet and melodic, and the arrangements are pop-confections at their very best. I assure you that in every way this pop chanteuse is one to watch.

When Bigger is Better

How do you make a movie with a wonderful story line, arresting characters, and with every shot being a singularly dazzling snapshot all on it's own? Most people are challenged with just one of these artistic processes. That is a question that we have to save for Wong Kar Wei another time. It was he who directed the movie from where I got these pictures, Chungking Express. I've been finding myself awfully attracted to huge hair as of late. It often seems the more ridiculous the better, hence making this character from the movie my new heroine. All pictures from Chungking Express.

Sarah Small's Tableau Vivant

Hi. I know you were worried about me 'cuz I've been gone for a while. No worries, I'm back now. Have you been wondering what I've been working on that has kept me away? Well, I'll tell you. If you look above you may notice the people with all of those crazy outfits. That is photographer Sarah Small's work, a Tableau Vivant called Delirium Constructions Part II. This was held in collaboration with Shara's Worden's event at the Tribeca YMCA last night, in celebration of Women's History Month. Shara also contributed her sublime vocals to the Tableau Vivant. Thanks Shara! See below...

First, Callie and Shara Worden enter the stage. Shara sings an operatic aria to set the mood. I'm not exaggerating when I say I saw tears come to peoples eyes when she sang. She holds Callie in a motherly fashion.

The singers stand before they exit the stage. These are the singers from Black Sea Hotel. Far left and far right you can get a feel for more of the dancers costumes.

Black Sea Hotel with their enchanting voices, Juliana Zarzycki, actress emoting to the left in green helped amplify the Tableau emotionally.

A beautiful example of the posing that was done. Tim Dax, body builder, interacts with these woman to create one story in the Tableau, and you can see one of the dancers and her incredible costume in back, yellow, and next to Tim Dax, in burgandy.

Everyone listens closely to Sarah's instructions and you can see close ups of the costuming. The Black Sea Hotel used their own costumes, bought in a village in Bulgaria.

Sarah give us all our pep-talk before entering the stage.

So, what is a Tableau Vivant you may ask? Good question, because I must have asked Sarah a million times to re-explain to me while we worked together. A Tableau Vivant is a theme used in the art world for hundreds of years, probably since the middle ages. It's basically a living picture. One example is a re-enactment of the Last Supper that takes place on Laguna Beach in CA almost every summer since 1933. Sarah uses this format to explore human interaction by grouping unexpected archetypes together to see how they and the audience react. I was the one doing the costuming for the event.

As you can see there are 15 + people in this Tableau Vivant. I know what you're thinking : Wow, that must've been a lot of work. Believe me, it was. But honestly, if you think it looks good, you can't really give just me credit. First, it was Sarah's concept. I just helped it come alive. And can I just give a special shout out to Ben and Ursula of UB Costumes and Dancewear? They are the ones who hooked me up with the amazing stuff that the dancers are wearing. That to me is what made this visually a success. So...that includes what I call the avant-garde tutu's, and leotards with sheer pants, and some easy stretch dresses. The dancers seriously looked so amazing, and their look and body language I felt really are what pushed the Tableau Vivant to it's very extremes.

I was so grateful to work with all the talented people involved with the Tableau Vivant...models, actresses, singers. Honestly, each person contributed to making a very moving experience. Thank-you everyone! And now, hopefully, with an example of the sort of visual work I can do, this can lead to more opportunities for costuming and styling work. Hit me up if you're interested!

Well Red

Paul Smith

Nicole Farhi

Marios Schwab

The runway often likes to sing its own siren song, and by siren this season, I mean siren red. While New York City seemed to tilt orange last Fashion Week, and there was plenty of that in London as well, designers just couldn't seem to let go of their "primary" (tehehe) urges and use this strong, bold red in their collections. All pictures Style.com.

Sheen, Not Heard

Paul Smith Women

Pringle Of Scotland

Aquascutum

Through-out the London shows I had be getting a distinct feeling that people were telling a story about texture. And in between long bouts of bouclé and teddy-bear fur I could see how designers also swung the pendulum the opposite away. Those designers wanted things so smooth, the were shiny. The shiny seemed to take things all things tasteful into more exciting territory. I say shine on designers, shine on. All pictures Style.com.

Graphic Designs

Peter Pilotto

Clements Ribiero

Antonio Berardi

All these graphic pieces are going to give me writers block. What to do when everything seems pieced together into such graphic shapes? Hopefully At you can at least enjoy looking at the pictures. All pictures Style.com

Back to Nature

Nathan Jenden

Marios Schwab

Erdem

Don't lie. We all know where you got this idea for your wacky biomorphic prints. We all saw Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 show last season, and we all know it RULED. And that you can never be him. But we respect that you tried. We will assume it's just homage to a great great man and look the other way. All pictures Style.com

Return To Simplicity

Antonio Berardi

Jaeger

Jonathan Saunders

There's something in the air. Think of it as a yearning for simpler times, an urge to get back to basics. With a number of designers in London and in New York exploring their roots, and simplifying color and silouette, you have to wonder. Whatever was going on the catwalks, it was an understatement. All pictures Style.com.

An Ode To Ice Dancing At Vancouver Olympics

I have been so excited about seeing how much fashion plays in the figure skating in the Vancouver Winter Olympics. This was a favorite performance of mine. Here Sinead and John Kerr skate to Linkin Park's 'Krwing'. The are acting a story where the man has fallen and the woman is his saviour. I found this performance very moving. I also love how contemporary the artistic choices they made were. Sinead looked like a stunning swan in her white dress, and John made an risky choice with denim. He showed that there's really nothing you can't do in a good pair of jeans. Here's a link if you want to check it out on YouTube. I highly recommend it.

And, I would love to celebrate more good fashion in the world of ice (there's a reason why I love it!) I love how all of these athletes have used fashion to enhance their performance in their sport.:

Evan Lysacek in Vera Wang...que sexy!

Johnny Weir in Rodarte, photo New York Times magazine. Just stunning.