The day has finally come for the Brooklyn Artists Ball and the third and final group of artists that I was lucky enough to speak with who are designing a table for this evening’s festivities is Brooklyn-based duo, FAILE. I am a huge fan of street art and when it comes to the contemporary movement, FAILE are world-wide leaders. Though their work is often exhibited in non-traditional art contexts, their creative process begins much like that of any other artist, with image making; “Whether we’re working on a theme or series or just individual pieces, it all begins with images, pattern and language. Once, we’ve created this visual vocabulary to pull from, these works become the basis for the paintings, printmaking and sculpture.” In the end, their collection of pieced-together images is, “Akin to an urban tapestry where you’re left with fragments of the city – pieces of image and typography that create new narrative meaning through abstraction and juxtaposition.”

FAILE’s art is able to build a heightened connection with the observer oftentimes because of its placement in atypical settings; “Much of that originally comes from working on the street and directly connecting to people in public spaces, that parlays into exposure through social media and hopefully popular culture as a whole.” Their success in doing so is, in part, because of their ability to force onlookers to see somewhat familiar images in an entirely new light, “Also I think the combination of many recognizable elements in a work that all come together to create a greater whole is something that resonates with people in today’s world.”

Although their original creation for the Brooklyn Artists Ball may not be displayed on the streets of New York, they are using familiar design techniques, nonetheless; “Our table at the Brooklyn Museum is based of a style of wood paintings we’ve been doing for a few years now. It really is this combination of many individual painted wood works that create this larger assemblage.” Their inclusion of their trademark quilt-like patterning and, Prayer Wheels – that they started creating in 2008 – “That stem from the question: “What do we pray for in a modern society?” are sure to speak to their artistic aesthetic.

Ultimately, the project for the museum not only makes sense for the pair as artists, but also as individuals, “The Brooklyn Museum represents the part of New York that we call home. It’s basically in our backyard and really feels like it promotes the part of the city that we connect with most. It’s the museum we bring our kids to, and the museum that has inspired us with many amazing shows over the years.” This special bond is one that I can’t wait to see play out this evening at the party and after-party. I hope to see you all there!

When it comes to fashion it feels like the past three runway seasons designers have been emphasizing the art of layering and mixing of patterns. For Fall/Winter 2013 Jeremy Scott and J.W.Anderson, in particular, took the FAILE route through their use of colorful, segmented patters and visual patchwork/overlays. FAILE-like graphics command as much attention walking down the runway as they do hanging buildings or sculptures. Hopefully some street art-lovers will sport similar trends once these looks hit stores in the fall.

The second artist in my three-part lead up to Wednesday’s Brooklyn Artist Ball is Alison Elizabeth Taylor. Alison, like Njideka Akunyilli, is designing a table for the evening inspired by the “encyclopedic collection of the Brooklyn Museum.” She will be, “Riffing on various artworks, by abstracting details and fragments into minimal contours and forms.” Then, incorporating her trademark style, she will, “recreate them in marquetry, a medium that usually appears in a museum as a decorative flourish on a princely piece of furniture, in this installation it will be used to interpret a variety of works from many different cultures and eras into a common visual language.” Her admiration for the diversity of the museum’s collection is evident in her well thought-out design and inclusion of others’ works as part of her own.

Oftentimes the most refreshing, forward thinking designs have classical elements – take the fashion world’s revisiting of the single-sole pump, longer hemlines and a more tailored take on feminism; i.e. The New Look-esque construction as shown by Raf Simons at Dior. Just as Ms.Taylor’s use of a classic technique like marquetry helps in creating a unified vision across each of her projects, there are designers who utilize classics season after season to produce a collection that ultimately looks modern and fresh. For fall 2013 Belstaff, The Row and Hermès all utilized classic construction and shapes to produce collections that felt remarkable modern.

First, Belstaff has resurrected their four-pocket jacket in a big way, showing that the classic design has universal appeal for both men and women. Their fall 2013 show was all about elevating staples through texture, color and minute modifications.

Although The Row hasn’t yet amassed an archive similar in scale Belstaff, Mary-Kate and Ashley utilized the same classic tailoring techniques that their clothes will undoubtedly inspire a few years down the line. They challenged themselves in construction of common shapes like the blazer as well as Asian-inspired cuts that have found their way into their collections the past few seasons.

Lastly, Hèrmes – one of my favorite Fall/Winter 2013 shows – a house that specializes leather goods, utilized their trademark skin in every possible way on the runway. Hèrmes designer Christophe Lemaire looked to the brand’s history as masters of cut and craftsmanship to put out one of the most modern looking collections of the Fall/Winter 2013 season.

The first participating artist in my three-part table series leading up to the Brooklyn Artist Ball is Njideka Akunyili.

I was initially attracted to Njideka’s work because of its collage-like imagery. Her ability to mix patterns and images all while putting a strong focus on a single color-way gives her work an added dimension. Her creative process is an extensive one, often, “Beginning each piece from one of such varied points of inspiration, [she] approaches different facets of themes [she] has been investigating for several years. Next, [she] does multiple initial sketches to plan the overall compositional shapes, rhythm, value and colors of the piece.”

The most defining characteristic of her work is, “The synergy between its form and content. [She] transfers photographic images of Nigeria into larger painted compositions in order to create a space that fluctuates between traditional Western perspectival illusion and a flat picture plane. This flux recapitulates the phenomenon of syncretism and the people who live in this third space of constant negotiation and fluidity.”

Her tremendous support of the Brooklyn Museum is evident through her involvement in the event and the high praises she gives the art institution. In her words, “It is a museum that has something for everyone and speaks to the diversity of Brooklyn, as evidenced by its exhibition Connecting Cultures: A World in Brooklyn. The museum does a laudable job of engaging and celebrating Brooklyn artists through the Raw/Cooked program, the recent Go Brooklyn open studios and the Artist Ball.” The constant mix of iconic pieces by both young and established artists is the perfect compliment to Njideka’s continuous efforts to incorporate elements that are both old and new into her work.

Like the very museum she is honoring next Wednesday, Njideka’s table design for the evening blurs the line between the past and present while breaking down cultural boundaries. Her table, Compound Transplant, “Was inspired by a striking display of plastic containers for sale along the side of a highway in Eastern Nigeria [… and] evokes themes of cultural fluidity and globalization by restaging features characteristic of Nigerian houses and roadside retail stalls.”

Immediately upon seeing Njideka’s work, two fall 2013 collections came to mind – Junya Watanabe and Givenchy. First, Junya Watanabe’s on account of his always effortless mix of contrasting patterns and textures. Both Akunyili and Watanabe play with layering – Junya on the body and Njideka on a canvas – and often counterbalance extensive use of patterns with bold, bright, solid colors.

Of Njideka’s work featured, I am most drawn to those that bare monochromatic qualities. Her two paintings below – one primarily red and one yellow – resemble two of the color stories Ricardo Tisci played with for fall. Both sets of looks and Njideka’s paintings get a majority of their depth through the mixing of complex patterns and a strong focus on a single color way. Can’t wait to see which runway looks are perfect compliments to her table design come Wednesday!

Brooklyn Artists Ball from GuyManly on Vimeo.

I am so excited to announce that I am on the host committee for this year’s Brooklyn Artists Ball After-Party. The event is only one week away – on April 24th – and the New York art community is buzzing with excitement.

Not only has the Brooklyn Museum exhibited some of today’s most established artists, their position as a driving force in the Brooklyn art world keeps them constantly searching for the new and the next. This mentality attracts an exceptionally creative group of artists and art lovers alike, all of whom will be together next Wednesday evening for a night of celebration.

This year, the party will pay homage to both the established and the new, recognizing three acclaimed contemporary artists – Vik Muniz, Wangechi Mutu and Roxy Paine – as well as countless others who are producing original work for the evening.

In addition to an installation by the amazing Luis Gispert (whose work I previously featured here) artists are also contributing to the evening’s ambiance through custom table designs. I was lucky enough to speak with a few of the participating artists – more to come this week – about their work, why the Brooklyn Museum is important to them and the inspiration behind the look of their tables.

Tickets for both the dinner and after-party are selling fast so if you haven’t purchased tickets yet be sure to click here.

There are so many interesting, talented people involved and attending the event that it is sure to be an amazing night. Hope to see everyone there!

Just as the weather is warming up leave it to Daphne Guinness to bring the water that one typically finds at the beach or pool into a studio. Last week as the city was getting progressively hotter instgram was on fire with the latest collaboration between Ms. Guinness and photographer Nick Knight.

The two played with the concept of water, transforming the liquid into a solid with the help of designer Iris Van Herpen. For this project, Knight began by photographing the fashion icon as she was being splashed with black and clear water. The resulting images were then passed on to Van Herpen to reference and bring the liquid to life in dress form.

In an effort to make sense to one of the world’s most unpredictable elements, the three joined forces in a project they are calling Splash! Following the initial studio session and the completion of the garment, Knight will shoot Guinness wearing the water-dress, which will then be on display at SHOWcabinet starting in June, and the project will come to a final culmination this fall at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. For more information regarding Splash! click here.

Bergdorf Goodman is the epitome of luxury, located on one of the busiest blocks in New York City and most iconic corners of any city in the world. When I was a young girl the first thing I would make my mom do each visit to New York was take me over to Bergdorf’s to see what the fantastical window displays had in store. Like the always-ornate windows sprawling the 5th Avenue storefront, Bergdorf’s is more than just about fashion. From a shopper’s perspective, no other retailer in New York, let alone the world, provides the same experience as one gets at Bergdorf Goodman. As a retailer, BG transports shoppers to a fashion wonderland that doesn’t feel like a store; take the homey-vibe of the second floor shoe salon or the BG restaurant on 7 that seems like a mere extension of your own dining room. Luckily, the retail powerhouse is now moving from its trademark location of the past 111 years and onto the big screen.

Filmmaker Matthew Miele has been working on the documentary – appropriately entitled, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s – for over two years. Over the course of several months Miele interviewed everyone from fashion legends such as Iris Apfel to actors, socialites and countless of Bergdorf’s top vendors – from established, international fashion gods like Karl Lagerfeld and Giorgio Armani to members of New York’s new guard such as Thakoon, the Proenza boys and the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I saw a rough cut of the film in September but after six additional months of editing the completed piece is finally coming to New York theatres on May 3rd.

My favorite storyline of the film has to be the piece centered around one of Bergdorf’s unstoppable forces who is fairly unknown by the public – senior director of visual presentation, David Hoey. Matthew was lucky enough to get full access to Hoey and his creative team as they spent months designing and prepping the install of Bergdorf’s 2011 Holiday Windows – dubbed Carnival of Animals. There is nothing like the day right around Thanksgiving when the purple curtains come down and the windows are revealed. Crowds of people gather all day in the freezing cold to get a glimpse of each window’s opulence. The excitement transports me back to my childhood when I would make visits to store and not even go inside. There is no doubt a similarly enthusiastic crowed will be gathered around theatres come the film’s release in less than one month!

Does anyone even wear pajamas to sleep anymore? It seems the lightweight nightwear has moved up in the clothing hierarchy and earned top honors in recent seasons as acceptable street-wear. While the trend has been in existence for a few years now, fall ’13 showed little backing down. In New York, PJs exploded over the runway at Marc Jacobs from shirts and shorts, to pants and dresses.

In Paris, Marc showed an equally bedroom-wear-inspired collection at Louis Vuitton. Looking back at the past four years of Vuitton runways, Jacobs showed PJ-pants for spring/summer 2009, an entire oriental-inspired look for spring/summer 2011 and a blue two-piece ensemble in LV’s trademark cheetah print for resort 2012.

Jacobs seems to be such a fan of the casual everyday-wear that he himself spent fashion month in the comfy separates – gone are the days of his trademark kilt, 2013 is the year of Pajamas.

Marc Jacobs – as the designer and the man – isn’t the only one embracing casual. Marco Zanini included four PJ looks in his fall 2013 collection for Rochas while last fall Pucci’s Peter Dundas also showed pajamas under more formal outerwear.

Looking back at 2012, the queens of cool, Pheobe Philio and Stella McCartney, showed nightwear turned daywear for Céline resort and Stella spring/summer, respectively.

Lastly, on the topic of pajamas, who could forget spring/summer 2009 Dolce & Gabbana where ever model seemed to be wearing something silk and patterned with contrast piping.

If Jacobs’ decision to sport nightwear for all three of his fall/winter 2013 bows has any connection to his personal Mickey Mouse T at his spring/summer 2007 show and subsequent Mickey shirt for Marc Jacobs spring/summer 2013 (pictured below), prepare to see plenty of more pajama dressing on the Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton runways in the years to come.

The color that many recognize as cobalt is known formally in the art community as IKB (International Klein Blue) developed by French painter, Yves Klein. Klein first mixed the color, made up primarily of the blue pigment Ultramarine, at the start of his career and registered the unique shade as IKB in 1960. The color covered everything from sculptures and furniture to women’s bodies – Klein would often paint a female’s torso and lay them directly on his canvases (pictured below). Unfortunately, his time as a working artist was cut feverishly short due to a string of heart attacks in 1962, but nevertheless, his work made enough of a cultural impact in a few short years that the term IKB is still used today.

This season, the spring 2013 runways from New York to Paris saw pops of Klein’s iconic color. Beginning in New York, Joseph Altuzarra showed pieces accented with rich blue fabric while in London, Tom Ford used the same hue for two looks in his women’s presentation as did Antonio Berardi. In Milan, Gucci sent a collection of monochromatic looks down the runway, two of which were head-to-toe IKB. Finally in Paris, designers from Stella McCartney to Hermes and Elie Saab featured the iconic shade in their collections for spring.

The color made such a statement on the runway that Gucci even shot the two monochromatic IKB looks for their spring 2013 ad campaign. No woman can resist Klein.

Collectively, both the fashion and art worlds are about the new and the next. When artists and designers show work that is considered groundbreaking by modern day standards, the question is, is it truly something that either industry hasn’t seen before? Looking at the most recent Paris collections from a beauty standpoint, the hair at Givenchy (pictured below) immediately caught my eye. The helmet-like ringlets compressed to the models’ heads and then spray-painted was a fresh take on beauty that could only be the product of an innovative mind like Ricardo Tisci. As I took a closer look at the backstage shots, the hair began looking more and more like dried, shriveled up flowers. Seeing, instead, a bouquet atop each head took me back to the golden age of magazine covers.

Right around the time of the Second World War and during the heyday of Surrealism, Salavdor Dali was accepted as a great talent not only in the art community but the fashion world. In addition to his close relationship with designer Elsa Schiaparelli and his collection of surrealist jewels (previously featured here), he guest edited a few, select issues of Vogue. His art appeared on covers, including the June 1939 issue (above, left), which depicts a woman jumping rope in the background and a girl sitting with a flower bouquet for a head in the foreground.

Fast-forward to the iconic Louise Dahl Wolfe photograph of Ivy Nicholson on the April 1958 cover of Harper’s Bazaar (above, center) featuring Nicholson with a flower-like helmet. This image was clearly inspired by Dali’s cover and subsequently influenced countless fashion photographs in the later years; most recently, Elle Fanning’s cover of New York Magazine’s Spring 2013 fashion issue, photographed by Will Cotton (above, right).

In addition to the photograph’s influence on Givenchy’s fall show, these same flower-like ringlets also made their way onto the McQueen runway, under Sarah Burton’s ornate crowns (pictured below).

This wasn’t, however, the first time the celebrated Dahl-Wolfe photo has been referenced, who could forget John Galliano’s floral-inspired penultimate couture collection for Christian Dior. For fall/winter 2010 Galliano sent floral looks down the runway, accompanied by petal-inspired hairpieces (pictured below), a subtle ode to Dahl-Wolfe.

Similarly, in Karl Lagerfeld’s spring/summer 2009 Chanel couture show (previously referenced here, pictured below), models wore paper flowers atop their heads, morphing from delicate tiaras into floral hats and a flower helmet – worn by Feja, Karl’s bride for the season, in place of a veil.

Lastly, milliner Philip Treacy took a cue from Dahl-Wolfe and created a floral helmet (pictured below), which was most recently worn by Lady Gaga (for a bit of pop culture).

Season-after-season there is always a trend so widespread you wonder if the entire fashion world pulled from the same inspiration board. For fall/winter 2013 designers from New York to Paris looked for innovative ways to show fall’s favorite texture – fur. While there are still enough classic animal coats to go around, it looks as though there will also be plenty of fur tops, skirts, dresses, cuffs, gloves, bags and shoes to keep the entire fashion world warm come 2013’s chilly winter months.

Beginning in New York, Marc Jacobs, Thakoon and Cushnie et Ochs (pictured above) all showed looks of monochromatic fur separates while Joseph Altuzarra (pictured below) showed sculptural dresses with fur sleeves and black and white gloves/fur paws.

In London, J.W. Anderson (pictured above) made up for his sleeveless fall tops and short dresses by doing them in elephant grey and black mink.

Moving on to Milan, Miuccia Prada accented her fall jackets for her namesake label (pictured below) with thick fur cuffs in contrasting hues.

For Acne’s premier Paris fashion week show, models were accessorized with fur necklace-collars and fur trimmed heels.

Both Jean Paul Gaultier and Clare Waight Keller for Chloe (pictured above) sent fur skirts in varying lengths down the runway while Phoebe Philo at Céline and Richard Nicoll (who shows in London) explored the concept of a fur dress (pictured below).

Isabel Marant showed black and cream boots covered in fur and pony hair while Karl Lagerfeld used little to no fur this season at Chanel except for colorful hats in various hues – that bear a striking resemblance to the bright bobs from the fall/winter 2012 Comme Des Garçons show.

Marc Jacobs showed his fall/winter collection for Louis Vuitton on the final day of Paris fashion week and kept the season’s hottest trend alive with fur-accented dresses and reinterpretations of classic LV bag – such as the speedy – using fur and muted tones.

While almost every designer this season used fur in some capacity, Giambattista Valli and Consuelo Castiglioni for Marni showed the most fur-accented looks. Along with his collection for Moncler Gamme Rouge, Giambattista used the texture for his own line on everything from dresses, to collars, shoes, bags and belts.

The Marni show was so furry that it was at some points reminiscent of Lagerfeld’s Chanel iceberg collection from fall/winter 2010. Nearly every one of Castiglioni’s 42 runway looks was shown with a furry coat, top, scarf, collar, hem, gloves, purse or boots. Sorry PETA, fall 2013 is not the season for you…

The trickiest part of a good season of shows – fall, especially – comes when having to choose a favorite. While I like different collections for different reasons, it was hard to choose one, two, or even three that stood out to me – so I have compiled a top ten list. After much deliberation here are my standout collections for the fall/winter 2013 season and my favorite looks from each show… Enjoy!

Joseph Altuzarra showed one of the most cohesively wearable, yet modern collections of the entire season. His cinched waists, fur sleeves, discrete pops of color and cropped jackets over longer, interior pieces stood out amongst the slew of oversized coats and forgiving cuts many designers showed for fall.

Phoebe Philo, the queen of tomboy separates, made this coming winter the season for feminine minimalism. Her past fall collections have been a slew of black, navy and camel but for 2013 the primarily light pallet with few patterns and pops of color was a fresh take on cold weather dressing. I can’t wait to get my hands on a below-the-knee skirt and oversized clutch come fall.

When it comes to mixing colors, textures, patterns and prints no one can do it quite like Givenchy’s Ricardo Tisci. For fall, Tisci showed everything from sheer to fur; entirely black leather looks to flowers, plaid and even Bambi, all accompanied by the perfect mid-calf, non-platform skin boot and bright, flower-filled helmet hair.

Haider Ackermann’s collections are nothing short of perfection but typically look as though they require a team to drape, button, zip, and pull each look to make it appear as it was styled on the runway. For fall 2013 he opted for a few more user-friendly ensembles – like two dream collar-less fur coats and the most simple, sleek black velvet gown in the history of fashion (all pictured below) – giving women hope for a more simple season ahead.

No one can compete with the house of Hermes when it comes to quality and craftsmanship. While it may have taken former Lacoste creative director, Christophe Lemaire a few seasons to find himself following Gaultier’s departure from the French house, his fall 2013 collection was the epitome of what a chic French woman – or any woman, for that matter – should wear each and every winter.

As if Marc’s Olafur Eliasson-inspired show backdrop didn’t shine bright enough, the accompanying looks in his fall/winter 2013 collection were filled with boy shorts, pajama tops, oversized coats and floor-length dresses all made of shimmering fabrics and a never-ending string if sequins. My favorite evening look of the entire season (pictured below, middle) walked in the show and his makeshift-looking animal stoles were such fun amongst the abundance of more serious fall furs.

I always love what Nicola Formichetti puts out for Mugler. This season, his soft color pallet and monochromatic, exaggerated skirt suits were futuristic classics in the making.

No single designer can set a season’s trends quite like the brilliant Miuccia Prada. Her modern day Hitchcock show filled with pops of red, rich blues, oversized bags, unexpected fur cuffs and off-the-shoulder necklines epitomize chic for fall 2013.

Jack and Lazaro’s fall collection for Proenza Schouler was the perfect downtown meets uptown mix. Their muted color pallet of boyish, oversized separates were made lush by expensive fabrics and textures – leather, ostrich, fur, feathers and chains; their conservative heels will also make for the perfect shoes to run around in come fall.

I have always been on the fence regarding Rodarte but Fall 2013 has converted me into a major believer. The entire show beginning with the dozens of monochromatic layers to sheer fabrics and colorful patters were made all the better when topped off by their incredible barbed wire accessories.

Before I attempt to address some of the fall/winter 2013 fashions shown over the past month, there was one exciting trend that literally shined brighter – in Marc Jacob’s case – than the clothing on the runway. From Rodarte and Marc in New York, to Christian Dior and Chanel in Paris, fashion designers turned to art as the backdrop for their latest collections.

Kate and Laura’s Fall/Winter 2013 collection for Rodarte was my favorite of their’s to date. In addition to the perfectly layered looks and barbed wire accessories, their runway was scattered with Dan Flavin-esque light sculptures, the ideal compliments to a clean yet edgy show.

Marc Jacobs closed New York fashion week this season at the Lexington Avenue Armory with a groundbreaking collection, per usual, and an even more unbelievable backdrop. Marc took a cue from Danish artist Olafur Eliasson’s 2003 installation, The Weather Project, at London’s Tate Modern. Eliasson took over Turbine Hall at the Tate and installed a radiating yellow sun-like disk. In turn, Marc showed on a round runway amidst a yellow, glowing circular backdrop. The perfect sunset to the New York shows.

For Raf Simons’ second ready-to-wear collection for Christian Dior he drew inspiration from Andy Warhol’s fashion illustrations and devised a setting to compliment the delicately painted runway looks. Simons transformed the show’s backdrop with large shiny spheres similar to the legendary silver clouds that filled Warhol’s ever-famous factory.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Coco Chanel’s first boutique and Karl’s 30th year designing for the house, Mr.Lagerfeld went global. The spinning sphere amidst the Grand Palais was covered in Chanel flags, each signifying a modern-day Chanel boutique or retailer. While the globe may not have been directly linked to the work of photographer Andres Gursky, it brought me back to the ocean images in Gursky’s Satellite Series that were shown at Gagosian New York in the fall of 2011.

Lately I have been digging deep into the world of video art, which prompted me to rediscover Proenza Schouler’s promotional video, Desert Tide, this weekend. Desert Tide (shown below) was released in November 2012 featuring animated versions of looks from their internet-inspired spring/summer 2013 collection. While the SS13 show, in particular, lends itself extremely well to animation, looking back at past collections I wish they had explored video in spring/summer 2010, collaborating with one of my favorites in the field, Takeshi Murata.

Murata’s work, Cone Eater, from 2004 is a 4-minute abstract digital video (pictured above) featuring a kaleidoscope-esque stream of colors and symmetrical images similar to the patterns used in Proenza’s spring 2010 collection (pictured below).

In the hope that they will continue producing promotional videos there is no better artist to collaborate with for their fall 2013 collection (pictured below) filled with winter white than Jordan Wolfson.

Wolfson’s 22-minute 2009 animation, Con Leche, features milk-filled diet coke bottles marching around abandoned Detroit sidewalks (pictured below). The hand drawn cartoons juxtaposed against raw footage of Detroit, is the perfect compliment to Proenza’s downtown meets uptown aesthetic. Fingers crossed that a collaboration is in the works!

I was first introduced to the work of sculptor Johan Creten last month when visiting Galerie Perrotin in Paris. Ironically, that same evening I had the pleasure of sitting next to monsieur Creten at the Sidaction Gala. Johan is of Belgium decent but currently resides and works in Paris. His ceramic sculptures have been widely exhibited in major cities and galleries around the world – his show at Perrotin will be up through the 23rd of February. While Johan’s work spans a variety of subject matters, I am particularly drawn to his series of female torsos. Though the torsos themselves are odorless, Johan’s decision to use certain flowers and colors is to allude to a woman’s natural scent.

Although Johan’s work resides in a number of Chanel boutiques across the world – such as a sculptures made of white ceramic camellia flowers in Beverly Hills and a rose gold-plated bronze piece in Shanghai (pictured above) – his torso’s remind me so much of the intricate bodices’ of certain Alexander McQueen gowns (pictured below). Johan began constructing his series of flower torsos in the late nineties, preceding McQueen’s work of a similar style, but still fun to compare nonetheless!

On Saturday Alexander Wang held his final solo runway show before debuting his premiere collection as creative director of Balenciaga. For fall/winter 2013 he, like many other NY designers who have shown thus far, was feeling for fur, black and grey, and the statement coat. While I loved the runways accessories – furry mittens and asymmetrical heels, in particular – and his venture into unexplored, drop-waist territory, there were classic Alexander Wang shapes that emerged throughout the show and even a few subtle odes to his predecessor at Balenciaga, monsieur Nicolas Ghesquière.

This weekend I was browsing my W backlog and rediscovered one of my favorite spreads of all time. For November 2007 Dennis Freedman teamed together John Baldessari, one of the most influential artists to emerge since the mid-sixties, and fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti. Baldessari reinterpreted Sorreti’s photographs into his trademark appropriated images. This spread was genius. The perfect way to start the beginning of fashion week!

I was recently introduced to the series, Memory Ware Flats by the late artist Mike Kelley. Kelley’s installations – which were frequently compromised of stuffed animals and other toys – often, feel very whimsical in nature. This particular body of work, which he began in 2000, reminds me so much of one of my favorite books as a child, I Spy. The series is about re-examination and re-use of everyday objects that people otherwise cast aside. Each ‘paining’ is comprised of tiny household trinkets that come together to make a larger overall statement. From a far the canvas may not look like much, but as you get closer more intricacies begin to appear, much like the tiny dots that make up Seurat’s masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

This idea is very similar in nature to the art of couture. If I learned anything from attending last week’s shows it is that pictures do little justice. Just when a dress appears to be a print, up close you find that rather than fabric the entire look is made up of individual sequins. Or, as was the case at Valentino, there could be tiny butterflies stitched beneath layers upon layers of tulle. In both art and fashion work comes along that is so intricate where just when you think you have seen everything in a piece, you find something new and exciting to explore.

It is hard not to applaud Louis Vuitton for their continuous support of the art world through their never-ending string of collaborations. Despite their mod spring/summer 2013 runway collection, their latest set of partnerships is anything but that. The Parisian house has tapped into the world of street art releasing a limited addition collection of four scarves designed by three graffiti artists – Os Gêmeos, Aiko and RETNA.

Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, known as Os Gêmeos, are identical twin brother from São Paulo, Brazil. Their work often features a slew of yellow-skinned characters and in keeping with their signature style (pictured below) the two developed a yellow sun and moon mosaic, signifying equilibrium and balance, for their silk square scarf.

Aiko, a Japanese-born and Brooklyn-based street artist, is known for fusing the old with the new (pictured below). Her scarf features a mix of traditional Japanese icons juxtaposed with contemporary, pop-art elements – one of which being Louis Vuitton’s renowned cheetah print.

RETNA, who has been on the street art scene since the mid-1990s and is based out of California, takes influence from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics as well as Arabic, Hebrew and Asian calligraphy (pictured below). His cashmere and silk stole, available in two color ways, features his interpretation of the Louis Vuitton motif in his signature style.

It is not the first time RETNA has worked with the fashion house. In October 2012 the artist made his way to Miami to transform the façade of Louis Vuitton’s temporary space in the design district (pictured below).

Louis Vuitton isn’t the only commonality these three artists share. Os Gêmeos, RETNA and Aiko have all had the honor of exhibiting their work on the Bowery Mural Wall located at the corner of Bowery and Houston in New York City – Os Gêmeos in 2009, RETNA in spring 2012 and Aiko just after in July. Currently, the wall is displaying the work of street artists and twin brothers How & Nosm; maybe there will even be a LV scarf of theirs to come!

All four scarves are available through February at select LV stores and online.

Since returning home to grey weather from sunny Miami I have been longing for greenery and warmth. Looking at artist Paula Hayes’ unbelievable terrariums (pictured above and below) has given me the nature fix I have needed the past few days while adjusting to leaf-less trees and barely-there grass. I have never been a fan of foliage at home but Hayes’ delicately designed terrariums have made me a believer that some plants can prosper indoors.

On a fashion note, Raf Simons took a cue from Hayes’ botanical art at his ultimate runway show for Jil Sander. Simons adorned his Fall/Winter 2012 runway with forward-thinking floral arrangements contained in glass boxes as opposed to vases (pictured below).

All this talk of glass got me thinking of the abundance of clear materials designers have used for spring. While no one took the Strefano Pilati route sending models down the runway as avant-garde nuns in clear capelets (pictured below), a majority did explore plastic as a material in accessory design.

Ricardo Tisci’s runway shoes at Givenchy – now available for pre-order on Luisaviaroma – are part plastic as is Raf Simons’ costume jewelry for Christian Dior and a majority of Charlotte Olympia’s spring clutches (all pictured below).

Some styles of Nina Ricci’s plastic shoes for spring bear a striking similarity to the sandals I am most excited to wear once the weather becomes warm by Céline (both pictured below).

While the house of Chanel has dabbled in plastic accessories in the past – first in Spring/Summer 2007 and then with Karl’s version of a ‘carryall’ for Fall/Winter 2009 – my favorite transparent endeavors are in the form of a plastic-covered tweed hat and clear LEGO clutch both of which will be in stores this spring (all pictured below).

Lastly, it seems as though Prada’s influence – Prada’s Presence – spans further than the world of ready-to-wear and into accessories. An ode to Miuccia’s Spring/Summer 2010 collection can been seen in the shoes at Michael Kors and the bags at Burberry.

Happy 2013 everyone! In honor of the new year I have spent today browsing the past twelve months of fashion shows.

I am gearing up to travel to Paris later this month for my first couture fashion week! I can’t wait to see what the couturiers have in store for 2013 – minus my beloved Givenchy, the only house not showing this season. Until then, here are some of my favorite art-inspired looks to walk the FW 2012 and SS 2013 runways.

This holiday season I have fallen in love with the work of Brooklyn-based artist Mickalene Thomas. Her strong, often embellished-aesthetic seems the perfect fit to celebrate the start of 2013. I have grown to love her collage-inspired paintings and I see so much of Pam Grier circa her Foxy Brown days in Mickalene’s portraits. You may also recognize the background in Din, Une Très Belle Négresse #2 (pictured below, right) from Mickalene’s Nancy Gonzalez bag she customized for the TWOxTWO auction in October; previously featured in Croc for a Cause.

Not only does Ms.Thomas currently have a show running at the Brooklyn Museum, Mickalene Thomas: Origin of the Universe – closing January 20th – but her work is also on display in a two-gallery exhibition at Lehmann Maupin in New York City. Both shows are entitled Mickalene Thomas: How to Organize a Room Around A Striking Piece of Art and will be on view through January 5th. Before I left the city for the holidays I had a gallery day and visited both Lehmann Maupin locations at 540 West 26th Street and 201 Chrystie Street. It was quite a treat to view Ms.Thomas’ portraits and short film in Chelsea and to see her large-scale landscapes and interior scenes at the Lower East Side location.

Mickalene has been getting a tremendous amount of press over the past few months, most recently in the January 2013 Art and Fashion issue of W Magazine. Actress Jessica Chastain models in four art-inspired covers, one of which (pictured above) was inspired by Ms.Thomas’ work. The accompanying spread (pictured below) shows Chastain posing in a setup similar to Thomas’ Untitled Room Installation at Lehmann Maupin’s Chelsea location.

W Magazine styled Chastain in current looks by Versace and Lavin for the Thomas-inspired shoot, but I can’t help but see Louis Vuitton SS10 (pictured above) and Marc Jacobs SS11 (pictured below) when looking at her work. While I did covet Louis Vuitton’s foxtail keychains from SS10 for a short time, Marc’s SS11 collection is still one of my favorites to date. Fingers crossed Mickalene is on Marc’s radar for a future collaboration. My mind goes wild dreaming of what Ms.Thomas could do with free reign of the LV and MJ archives.

Merry Chirstmas everyone! I hope your holiday season has been relaxing and filled with fun and family. I have gotten my hands on some amazing new art and fashion books that I am very excited to share. To celebrate Christmas 2012 I have included some of my favorite red and green works from various artists below. Enjoy!

The holiday season is well under way and with Christmas next week this is sure to be a busy weekend for last-minute shoppers. For all those present-procrastinators out these I have put together a list of my favorite gifts I have found to give and receive this holiday season.

1. These Takashi Murakami pillows liven up any room and always put a smile on my face.
2. I am obsessed with Ray Geary’s Pill Studies that can be found at Grey Area in NYC. In a pair they make the perfect bookends.
3. Somehow I never knew that the trademark aroma of Colette, Paris was sold as a candle. Ironically, I discovered this while shopping at The Webster in Miami two weeks ago. I am typically not a candle lover but it is the perfect year-round scent.
4. I find myself lately using two or three small money pouches as opposed to a full size wallet. Comme des Garçons makes my favorite alternative and this new star pattern is at the top of my wish list.
5. KRINK‘s Steele Tip Paint Markets are fun to play around with and perfect to decorate holiday gifts.
6. I love collecting films to watch over my holiday break. This season a few on my list are Ai Weiwei’s Never Sorry, Marina Abromovic’s The Artist is Present, In the Mood for Love and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover.
7. The limited edition Kiehl’s by Kenny Scharf collection is the perfect holiday update of all of my favorite products.
8. I used to love russian dolls as a child and I think these Lanvin ones are the perfect new addition to my collection.
9. As if Eddie Borgo‘s jewelry isn’t already amazing enough, he has outdone himself with his premiere collection of jewelry boxes. They are available online in thirteen different colors and skins, but grey and red croc are my top picks.
10. There is no better time during the year for new books than around the holidays. The Kate Moss book is a must-read as well as Terry Richardson’s Terrywood, and for any art-lover, Taschen’s Art of the 20th Century is a favorite of mine.

11. I am a sucker for patterned scarves, particularly during the cold winter months. Proenza Schouler recently launched a limited edition series of seven patters that are the perfect alternative to my favorite cheetah scarves by Louis Vuitton.
12. I am still obsessing over Olympia Le-Tan’s book-clutches; the pieces in her christmas series are the perfect accessories for the holiday season!
13. I have been longing for a Maison Michel hat or headpiece. Just One Eye has my favorite selection online.
14. Natalia Brilli makes the most amazing leather accessories. I have been eyeing her laptop sleeve and small travel bag.
15. I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these t-shirts or totes from Rop Van Mierlo’s collaboration with Marni. The animal portraits originally come from my favorite picture book by the Dutch illustrator, Wild Animals.
16. These motocycle pants by Belstaff have taken the place of my row leather leggings. They are perfect for any occasion, day or night, during the holidays.
17. Lisa Marie Fernandez bathing suits are my go-to for any vacation. I am obsessed with her black one piece and the collection she did in collaboration with Peter Pilotto.
18. Whose fashion team are you on? Les Plus Dorés t-shirts are the perfect present – I live in my Tisci T – and are now available online at V-Files.

Hew Locke is a British contemporary visual artist whose work spans all mediums. Amongst his sculptures is an ongoing series called House of Windsor that he started in 2002. His use of found objects and shrubbery to depict Queen Elizabeth II’s head takes me back to the first time I saw Jeff Koons’ Topiary Dog seated in front of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao as a child.

I vaguely recall a fashion spread a few month’s back that used Locke’s How Do You Want Me series (pictured below) as inspiration to showcase the abundance of patterns for Fall.

It is that time again to talk about hair. Although Locke’s art is striking, no one likes their own hair to feel as dry as arid flowers and leaves, which is why Paul Mitchell’s Crunch-Free Curl Definer (pictured below) is a lifesaver come winter. The dual-formula made of hydrating cream and smoothing gel tames hair and banishes frizz. For the final leg of Paul Mitchell’s Truth About Curls Campaign ‘like’ the facebook page here or click to submit your own Curl Confession and the chance to win four must-have products.

With all the talk of Barneys’ Electric Holiday campaign I’ve embraced this holiday season as being one with a contemporary edge. Between walking the streets in Chicago and New York I’ve been seeing the retailer’s glowing black shopping bags and modern Disney caricatures everywhere – bravo to the person who decided to put Minnie Mouse on a Paris runway in Lanvin and Mickey in Balenciaga.

Tis’ the season to opt out of tradition and forget the conventional tree and light up lawn decorations. Instead, use fluorescent light fixtures to spread electric holiday cheer. Embrace the urge to be innovative and look towards artists like Dan Flavin and Anselm Reyel who utilize fluorescent light as a medium in their work. Here are a few others who I am looking towards for inspiration in my quest to fashion a Christmas tree out of glow sticks and a light bulb wreath.

It has bee just over a week since Balenciaga announced that their long-time creative director, Nicolas Ghesquiere, would be moving on. The announcement was harder for me to handle than living without power and water during the hurricane. Needless to say, I have increased my Balenciaga runway archive browsing since hearing the news. It was hard for me to choose favorites in each collection, but I managed to gather some top looks from every runway show dating back to Spring/Summer 2000 (all pictured above and below).

If there were anything that I wish Nicolas had done more of during his time at Balenciaga it would be artist collaborations. He has worked with French artist Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster on countless Balenciaga boutiques (pictured above) and who could forget Cindy Sherman’s portraits featuring looks from Fall/Winter 2007 (pictured below).

Judging by the clear Mondrian references in the video for Balenciaga’s Florabotanica perfume (pictured below), art is everywhere. While any hope of a Ghesquiere for Balenciaga x Wade Guyton partnership is long gone, his clothes will live on.

There is not better way to start a week off than with new art. Artist Jacob Hashimoto works in primarily large-scale installations that explore the intersection of painting and sculpture. His Japanese heritage is apparent in his use of screen painted bamboo and paper kite-like disks. He then compiles these disks onto wires, hanging them in multiple layers on evenly spaced rods. The solid and patterned disks of varying sizes form as a result, one very dense, three-dimensional image. It intrigues me to think about how many new figures would emerge through taking the work apart layer by layer – a bit like for Fall/Winter 2010 when Viktor & Rolf undressed Kristen McMenamy on the runway unveiling an entire collection worn underneath her first look.

The initial Hashimoto piece that captured me was Superliner (pictured above). Through the cluster of patterns and the layering I immediately saw continents on a globe, which reminded me so much Alighiero Boetti embroidered map series (pictured below). It was even more amazing after researching both artists how many similarities I found between their works; sometimes alike shapes, color, or even subject matter

These next four works (pictured below) are some of my favorites, both because I love the shade of red used and they remind me so much of Spring/Summer 2013 Prada.

Lately, I have been on an old Hollywood kick and most intrigued and inspired by the film The Women. Not only was an all female cast madly innovative for its time – 1939 – however the fashion was some of costume designer Adrian’s best work while at MGM.

The Technicolor fashion show sequence in the film highlights his designs better than any other motion picture. His clothing stood alone, not only giving new life to the characters, however propelling the story forward in a way that fashion is no longer used for in films; proving why to this day Adrian’s role in the history of cinema is unmatched. While his legacy merely lives on through his films, his designs have both stood the test of time and serve as a constant source of inspiration for modern day influencers; in fact, a friend once told me that Azzedine Alaia has the largest privately owned collection of Adrian gowns.

The storyline of The Women was incredibly provocative for the time with three very empowered female leads – Mary, played by Norma Shearer; Sylvia, played by Rosalind Russell; and Crystal, played by Joan Crawford. Each character’s persona reminds me of a different body of work by female photographer, Valérie Belin.

Belin’s soft, somewhat blurry images in Têtes Couronnées 2009 (pictured above) represent Mary. Mary is a member of the wealthy, aristocratic class who looses her husband in an affair.

Sylvia, Mary’s cousin, is an unrelenting gossip and always the instigator. She is a member of the upper class but has two sides to her, just like the double exposure of Belin’s images in Black Eyed Susan 2010 (pictured above). She hides behind a flowery exterior while causing havoc.

Lastly, Crystal is responsible for destruction. She is out of place amidst high society, while her passive, seductive attitude gets her noticed by men and loathed by women. She is the provocative women who every husband wants, like those photographed in Belin’s series Untitled 2007 (pictured above)

It is hard to believe that just one week ago I was home, brushing off the idea of a hurricane affecting downtown Manhattan life. Unfortunately I was sorely mistaken come last Monday evening when power, running water and cell phone reception became things of the past. While I did get through a few old films using the battery life I had hoarded on my laptop, once that disappeared I decided to get lost in, what else, my library of art books. Due to the circumstances, I explored the work of two photographers in particular – Robert Polidori and James Casebere.

Canadian photographer Robert Polidori is best known for his interior and architectural shots. You may recognize his work as he photographed Botegga Venetta’s Fall-Winter 2011/2012 ad campaign featuring Isabeli Fontana at the 16th century Palazzo Papadopoli in Venice, Italy. In 2005, Polidori took a trip down to New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina to shoot the devastation. His most recent book of work, After The Flood, documents his eerie trip down south (pictured below).

American-born photographer James Casebere has focused his work since the late 1990s on the destructive nature of water. He has captured images of interior flooding in buildings around the world. Don’t the below photographs remind you of Chanel’s flooded runway from Fall/Winter 2010?

I am always awestruck looking back at the hair and makeup in Jean Paul Gaultier runway shows. Between the hair top hats from Fall/Winter 2006 couture or the hair crowns that adorned a few lucky models’ heads walking in Gaultier’s Fall/Winter 2007 couture show, nothing screams couture quite like a custom hat or crown of hair.

Similarly, late Japanese pop artist Nagi Noda was made famous by her hair sculpture hats. The unisex headpieces were most notably featured in her AMAZING Poodle Workout Video and then in multiple collaborations thereafter. Noda’s animal hair hats is her most famous series, including a lion, bear, birds and a dog among many others.

Whether you wear a crown atop your head or are eating a bowl of hair spaghetti Nagi Noda-style, no one likes frizz. Luckily, Paul Mitchell’s Ultimate Wave Gel Cream (pictured below) is here for your hair’s every need. Beachy waves are no longer solely for the summer months but can now be achieved during the driest winter days thanks to a great product. There is nothing better than a head of texture-filled frizz-free hair all year round. Once you use Paul Mitchell’s Ultimate Wave Cream-Gel to achieve summer-like waves sans the beach it is time to go social. Submit a pic of your Curl Confession on facebook HERE or to twitter using the hashtag #curlconfession.

Appropriation is the use of borrowed elements of preexisting objects with little or no transformation to create a new work. It can been found in all forms of art – from a musician sampling an old composition, or a milliner like Philip Treacy creating a new place for a lobster or soda cans atop a woman’s head – but it has been most popularized through the work of visual artists.

One of the first, and most celebrated, examples of appropriation in art came in the early 20th century with Dada artist’s Marcel Duchamp’s series of found, un-altered objects dubbed Readymades. Duchamp’s Readymades were classified into different categories depending on their complexity – Readymades, Assisted Readymades, Rectified Readymades, Corrected Readymades and Reciprocal Readymades. Fountain (pictured below) from 1917 is Duchamp’s most famous gesture of mockery, while a few years later in 1919 came his equally popularized Rectified Readymade, L.H.O.O.Q. (pictured below).

Since Duchamp, hundreds of other artists have utilized appropriation in their work. Andy Warhol capitalized on the iconic Campbell’s Soup Can (pictured above) throughout his career while Damien Hirst is the modern day king of appropriation by way of his work with butterflies and prescription pills (pictured below).

Hurricane Sandy has quarantined me to my apartment, forcing me to be crafty using found objects in my closet. Behold, my ode to appropriation in my new Proenza Schouler Planters (pictured at top), Alaia Trash Can and Chanel Piggy Bank (pictured below).

While Georgia O’Keeffe may have pioneered deer-art, so to speak, artists and fashion designers alike have been embracing the woodsy animal for a few seasons now. An ode to deer can be seen on the runways of McQueen dating back to the mid-nineties and have continued through to today – mainly in the world of accessory design. Artists from Japanese sculptor Kohei Nawa and sculptor Sherrie Levine to photographer Ryan McGinley have taken notice and featured the rustic animal in their respective mediums.

I have recently fallen for the work of Ryan McGinley. Although I think his use of color and natural light is what makes his photographs so stunning, there was something about this black and white (pictured below) that captured my attention. Maybe it is the simplicity of the image or the striking resemblance – in the most flattering way – between India and the fawn. Beautiful.

McGinley even cast Bambi to star alongside Sigrid Agren in his F/W 2009 ad campaign for Stella McCartney (pictured below).

Artist Sherrie Levine featured the skulls of two related animals – a steer and an antelope – in her series of skulls cast in bronze, while jewelry designer Aurélie Bidermann accomplished a similar look – for one of my favorite pieces in her collection – using a taurus head.

Alexander McQueen was a longtime patron of deer and antlers. He first paid homage to the animal by way of a Phillip Tracy headpiece in his F/W 1996-97 collection, Dante. Then, for F/W 1997-98, he sent out a horn-blazer in It’s a Jungle Out There and almost ten years later, for F/W 2006-07, one of his most celebrate looks from Widows of Culloden was an entirely lace and ruffle gown complete with a veil held in place by antlers (all pictured below).

My love of deer this season can in large part be attributed to the seven bags below. Proenza Shouler, Lanvin and Alexander Wang all utilized the unique, sometimes spotted fur in their FW 2012 accessory collections. It is hard to choose a favorite although I have had my sights set on the black clutch by Proenza since first spotting furry the beauty in Barneys.

Thursday evening marked Bergdorf Goodman’s one-hundred-and-eleventh anniversary soirée. Today, Bergdorf’s is thought of as more than a retail store. When it came to honoring their past 111 years of ruling luxury in New York City, BG chose to celebrate at another iconic New York venue, The Plaza – the same place, in fact, that their fiftieth anniversary party was held sixty one years ago. While a lot has changed since its founding in 1901, The Bergdorf’s institution still lays claim to some of the most valuable real estate in New York City, with iconic windows spanning an entire city block on 5th avenue. The unveiling of their much-anticipated holiday windows is just a few weeks away, but I am hoping their over-the-top fete was an indication of the extravagance that is to come next month. The party was filled with Bergdrof’s friends, family, local and global vendors, models, celebrities, artists and everyone in between. As if my never-ending instagrams were not enough, see some of my additional photos from the perfect night of celebrating fashion!

There is no denying I love a good Prada moment. Whether worn by men, women and children or on mannequins behind glass partitions – a la Impossible Conversations – the genius of Miuccia Prada in the world of ready-to-wear is irrefutable. Through her quirky designs, Ms.Prada has forever changed the industry and has carved out a place for herself in fashion history – having impacted, as a female, how women today dress comparable in magnitude only to Coco Chanel.

Ms.Prada’s presence in fashion each season spans further than the Prada runway in Milan and Miu Miu in Paris. Her designs, past and present, dictate movements in fashion that have greater longevity than, say, “Red is the color for spring”. Her ability to withstand seasonal trends while spotting what the fashion world will be yearning for in a year or two and giving it to them in the present is the trait of a true fashion genius. Just you watch, in a few seasons everyone will be doing fur for spring and silver leather socks with split-toe boots. Regardless of whether designers have caught on to Ms.Prada’s ways, plenty fashion houses looked to past Prada collections for inspiration this season. For Spring/Summer 2013 we saw references through cut, fabric, color and pattern to Prada shows dating back six years. Take a look at a few of my favorites below…

It is hard to talk art and fashion and not mention one of the three Olympia’s above. Each has captured a niche in their specific field that has changed the industry over the past few seasons.

Few pieces are higher on my wish list right now than an Olympia Le-Tan book clutch (pictured below). The designer launched her namesake accessories label in 2009 combining her love for literature and embroidery. There are too many amazing options to choose from but the pieces are produced in such limited quantity the problem is tracking one down.

Charlotte Olympia, AKA Charlotte Dellal, is the queen of footwear. Her designs (pictured below) whether printed or solid, heels or flats are always whimsical in nature and have been embraced by the fashion elite.

This past September the two British-born accessory queens partnered together for a limited edition Charlotte’s Web-inspired collaboration. The footwear designer created a collection of pumps to go with Le-Tan’s embroidered clutch version of the book (pictured below).

The fashion and art worlds alike seem to be enamored by Swiss artist, Olympia Scarry. Scarry primarily works in large-scale sculptures, photographs and performance art and the occasional fashion piece – such as a project with the House of Dior (pictured below) which was part of a traveling exhibition that opened in Shanghai in 2011.

A few more works by Olympia Scarry…

I didn’t think there was any bit of surrealism left to reference in fashion, but leave it to Phoebe Philo to explore yet another fresh idea, fur heels – which have hardly been attempted since Elsa Schiaparelli’s 1938 Monkey Boots. Though reviews have been mixed regarding Philo’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection for Céline, I went gaga over her runway accessories because they are so clearly inspired by German-born, surrealist artist, Méret Oppenheim. Oppenheim’s most celebrated work, Object (pictured above) – consisting of a fur-lined teacup, saucer and spoon – is a sculpture from 1936 that now belongs to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Whether you love or hate of the $4,000+ mink heels (pictured above) or sandals (pictured below), there is no denying that they have been the most talked about shoes to walk down any SS13 runway. The act of using a fur-lined utensil is an ode to excess and somewhat sexual like a woman’s high-heel, yet so grotesque, similar to the thought of those amazing shoes ever encountering the sidewalk, or – gasp – a nasty puddle amidst the rainy months of spring.

The surrealist-inspiration didn’t stop at fur shoes, Philo also sent out red toenail-pumps with wooden heels (pictured above) that had to have been inspired by Oppenheim’s Fur Gloves With Wooden Fingers (pictured below), also from 1936. Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “But what about those toenail loafers Comme des Garçons launched just a few season’s back?” Those are yet another genius creation to come from the mind of Kooky-Kawakubo rather than a direct reference to Oppenehim’s Fur Gloves. But I like where your head is.

Philo is no stranger to wood. Some of my favorite looks to date from her time at Céline have been the three wooden ensembles she showed for Fall/Winter 2011 (pictured below)

Similarly, Kate and Laura Mulleavy also explored wooden fabrics for their Spring/Summer 2011 Rodarte collection.

Spring/Summer 2011

On the topic of wood – and in keeping with the theme of German artists – I am so excited to final share these pieces by Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani (pictured below). I discovered the duos’ work this past May at the Hamburger Bahnhof museum during my trip to Berlin and I have been waiting for the perfect opportunity to post them. I think their use of wood as opposed to canvas is innovative – to the extent of fur as opposed to leather – as refreshing. I love the simplicity of their etchings against the natural texture of the backdrop. Simply beautiful.

In keeping with Swarovski’s century-long tradition of couture collaborations, in 2007 the House of Swarovski launched Atelier Swarovski. Atelier Swarovski is a luxury crystal accessories collection that partners with a new set of forward-thinking designers, artists and architects each season to each create a limited edition Atelier Swarovski capsule collection. Each season offers a variety of styles at a range of prices all in keeping with the individual designer’s aesthetic. You can shop the current collection online and see my favorite pieces from the last four seasons above and below.

Renowned costume designer Michael Kaplan is to thank for some of contemporary cinema’s most iconic characters. Kaplan has worked on films such as Blade Runner and Fight Club (both pictured above) among many others, and has partnered with Atelier Swarovski on a capsule jewelry collection. For Spring/Summer 2011 Kaplan turned to science fiction and fantasy for inspiration to create cut crystal and metalwork pieces (pictured above).

Designer, artist, architect and filmmaker Arik Levy worked with Atelier Swarovski on a set of pieces for Autumn/Winter 2011. Levy’s multidimensional skill set and artistic style led him to create a ‘RockCrater’ collection that explored the natural world through jewelry with exposed crystal-encrusted interiors.

Famed costume designer Zaldy has worked with the likes of Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger and the Scissor Sisters and has designed two collections with Atelier Swarovski. His first, for Spring/Summer 2012, focused on the form of dynamic concave and convex shapes all made of baguette crystals.

Architect Greg Lynn worked with Atelier Swarovski on their most recent set of collaborations for Autumn/Winter 2012. He is celebrated for breaking boundaries through unconventional architectural figures and his debut jewelry collection plays with the idea of old and new, setting clusters of raw stones in smooth, contoured forms.

Architects Hariri & Hariri’s sensual modernism aesthetic has been celebrated through their conceptual, residential, commercial and institutional projects but never before through jewelry. Their Parametric Collection for Atelier Swarovski plays with the relationship of nature and technology similar to their architectural designs; you will find countless similar shapes and lines when comparing the two.

Designer Kostas Murkudis designs for an edgy, sophisticated woman. For Autumn/Winter 2012 his use of bullet shape settings serves as the perfect contrast to the beautiful colored crystals and beads to offer a hard, feminine feel.

We’re approaching the end of fashion month and while spring ready-to-wear trends have taken shape, one thing is for sure in the world of accessories, SS13 is the season for Donald Judd-inspired footwear. Famed minimalist sculptor Donald Judd’s most celebrated body of work, Stacks (pictured above) uses spare geometric forms to create a unified whole, similar to the cutouts of his boot counterparts. Judd depends on blank space to inhabit the nature of his work just as the boots below rely on the wearer’s foot and leg to maintain appropriate form.

Few designers have attempted a proper gladiator sandal since Mr.Lagerfeld nailed the style in his 2007 Chanel resort collection – a shoe that my mother made clear was entirely inappropriate for a fourteen year old to own yet I yearned for nonetheless. It seems to me that spring/summer 2013 is my season for footwear redemption. In addition to a pair of the boots below all you need is Alexander Wang’s SS13 look 27 and fingers full of Repossi’s Berbère rings to truly do Judd justice.

You can’t talk curls during fashion week and not mention street style-fixtures Haya and Sama Abu Khadra. The duo’s signature manes have been sitting front row for season now while on buying trips for their Saudi Arabia-based lifestyle boutique. No two identical twins have garnered this much buzz since Diane Arbus’ portrait Identical Twins, taken in 1967 (pictured below).

I previously featured the work of French duo Les Lalanne HERE last week, but the pair’s sheep series is their most celebrated body of work. The furry sculptures were made famous in part by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge and have been coveted by Lalanne-lovers ever since. Regardless of their beauty, sometimes even Lalanne sheep can have a bad fur day, but now there is a shampoo that can fix that…

If you have curls like the Abu Khadra sisters or feel like you are wearing a Lalanne sheep atop your head Paul Mitchell has the answer. As part of Mitchell’s The Truth About Curls campaign one of the four new products launched is a Spring Loaded Detangling Shampoo. This rich lather is perfect for gently cleansing curls and preparing them for a frizz-free finish and shine. To try all of the new products for yourself ‘like’ The Truth About Curls’ Facebook page and use the “Find a Salon” locator tool to track down a salon near you. Happy shampooing!

This past summer Gucci decided to ‘go-green’ in the windows of their New York City Flagship store on 5th avenue. On display were three of their most iconic handbags – The Jackie, The New Bamboo and The Stirrup – in massive form made entirely out of recycled paper (pictured below). This window display garnered so much attention that Gucci launched a Cut & Craft contest on their Facebook Page. I was so intrigued by this project that I had to have a go at it. Gucci provides the stencils for these three iconic styles leaving it up to the individuals to color and construct. I, however, couldn’t find my crayons so I decided to dedicate each bag to a different artist and use their work as the foundation for each mini purse (pictured above). The Jackie (far left) is constructed using Andy Warhol’s camouflage prints, The New Bamboo (middle), is made of patterns by Ellsworth Kelly and The Stirrup (far right) is the work of Chicago-based artist, Dzine. Click HERE to fashion your own minis and a chance to win a spot on the cover of the Gucci Facebook page.

Gucci isn’t the only fashion house exploring the art of paper, however. One of John Galliano’s most celebrated collections while at the House of Dior was for spring/summer 2007 couture, in which he was inspired by origami, the art of paper folding. Just a few seasons later, Karl Lagerfeld constructed an oasis of paper flowers as the backdrop for his spring/summer 2009 Chanel couture show. Each look in the entirely black and white collection was paired with a paper headpiece, ranging from delicate tiaras to a helmet of paper flower petals (pictured below).

Marc Jacobs is known for providing an ever-present bridge between art and fashion. In this instance, that bridge happens to be made of paper and was part of the fantastical set artist Rachel Feinstein dreamed up for Jacobs’ fall/winter 2012 show. Feinstein collaborated with the designer on the dreary, Tim Burton-esque set (pictured below) made entirely out of construction paper as the backdrop for his fall, Anna Piaggi-inspired collection.

Photographer and sculptor Thomas Demand is a pioneer in exposing the art of paper. Demand’s photographs (pictured below) are merely the byproducts of weeks spent constructing full-scale sets out of paper and cardboard. His work is extraordinary; especially considering the life-size environments he erects are immediately destroyed after a photo is captured. In the right hands, paper has the power to transform. Now that I’ve completed the Gucci bags it’s time to start work on my dream setting…

Before Riccardo Tisci launched the massively successful Great White-T at Givenchy I was rocking sea creature-inspired t-shirts from my local aquarium. Yes, that blonde bombshell in the upper left hand photo is Minnie Muse circa 2002, just moments after putting the final staple into my very own homemade hammerhead. Just recently did I trade in the massive six-foot long paper shark sculpture for a more manageable pair of Givenchy’s Shark Lock Fold Over Wedge Boots. I am proud to say my love of sharks dates back to the late 90s, even before Tisci made Great Whites the ‘it’ animal for fall.

The fact of the matter is that as of late it seems both the art and fashion worlds alike have been bitten by a Great White. While Damien Hirst’s 1991 work The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (pictured below) featuring a 14-foot Tiger Shark preserved in formaldehyde may be historically the most celebrated example of ‘shark art’ countless other artists have explored the underwater creatures since.

In 2003, towards the end of François-Xavier Lalanne’s life, the famous French duo, Les Lalanne, unveiled a collection of painted bronze sharks ranging in size from petite to life size (pictured above). The world of street art is not missing out either thanks to the work of cantstopgoodboy. The California-based artist has adapted his acrylic and mixed media techniques in a series of shark-driven works (pictured below). Lastly, New York-based artist Cordy Ryman’s work Shark Fin Soup (pictured two below) is amongst the lot of works being auctioned off at Dallas’ 2×2 for Aids and Art benefit in October.

Although Givenchy spearheaded the shark-trend in fashion, countless other ready-to-wear and accessory designers have turned to these same sea dwellers for inspiration. Check out my shark-inspired must haves below…

1. Petite Fin Stud Earrings by Dezso by Sarah Beltran
2. Single Shark’s Tooth Necklace and Multi-Shark’s Tooth Necklace both by Aurélie Bidermann
3. Bear Trap Bangle by Eddie Borgo
4. Shark’s Teeth Skull Ring by Alexander McQueen
5. Shark-print Sweatshirt by Givenchy
6. Gold Nophobia Double Bite Shark Tooth Cuff by Tom Binns
7. Gold Shark’s Tooth Pendant Necklace and Black Ponyhair Mini Shark’s Tooth Pendant Necklace both by Givenchy
8. Shark Teeth Skull-Clasp Clutch by Alexander McQueen
9. Gold Baby Shark Tooth Necklace by Dezso by Sarah Beltran
10. Shark Tooth Tanzanite Earrings by Dezso by Sarah Beltran
11. Large Shark Tooth Closure Shoulder Bag by Givenchy
12. Brown Shark Lock Leather Bracelet and Orange Shark Lock Leather Bracelet both by Givenchy
13. Bronze Shark Teeth Print Shirt by Paul Smith

Just when Jackson Pollock’s ‘said to be’ final work, Red, Black & Silver, was supposed to go up on the auction block yesterday, September 20th, through Phillips de Pury & Company, it was pulled from the catalogue pending further authenticity research. The tale of this mysterious painting was covered extensively in the September 2012 issue of Vanity Fair. In short, the story goes that Pollock created the small, unsigned work for his mistress, Ruth Kligman, just weeks before he was killed in a 1956 car crash. Thus, Red, Black & Silver has never been authenticated as a true work of Jackson Pollock by neither his widow, Lee Krasner, nor the official Pollock-Krasner Authentication Board.

Unfortunately the painting will not be up for auction until at least early 2013 but it just so happens amidst this art world shake up that red, black and silver have been key colors among the SS13 collections – see below for a few standout looks thus far. I can’t decide which I am more anxious for, seeing how much Red, Black & Silver sells for, or learning the price of one of Proenza’s red and black runway looks that I am coveting for spring.

Each year Two x Two, a noted Dallas, Texas-based organization holds their annual TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art benefit gala and art auction. This year, thanks to a partnership with accessories designer Nancy Gonzalez, fashion is playing more significant a role than ever. Together, the two have commissioned ten of today’s leading contemporary artists to custom design a one-of-a-kind signature Nancy Gonzalez Leaf Tote bag to be sold at auction on October 20th. Matte white crocodile was used as the skin for each tote and in turn the artist’s canvas. Whether it is Kaws’ simple black slashes or Jenny Holzer’s embossed white leather lining, each work is entirely in keeping with the individual artist’s style while still maintaining the integrity of the esteemed Nancy Gonzalez brand.

This partnership gives collectors and fashion lovers alike the perfect excuse to purchase a new piece of contemporary art as well as a Nancy Gonzalez crocodile tote; not to mention it is for an amazing cause. 100% of the proceeds from the evening will be benefiting TWO x TWO for amfAR and the Dallas Museum of Art.

While I hope the future owners of each priceless piece will never burden them with the contents of one’s handbag, I couldn’t help but peruse the latest SS13 collections to find the perfect accompanying looks for each piece (see above and below). Be prepared to to spot Shala Monroque or Dasha Zhukova sporting one of these bad boys around Art Basel in December.

I’ve always admired true color blockers in their fearless cobalt blue pants, red jackets, yellow shirts and green shoes. I, myself, have never been successful in my attempts but these J.W.Anderson sweaters – previously featured HERE – are the perfect introduction into a life of color blocking. I decided to give the fall trend a go on a breezy day in NYC.

The balloons in the photo above came about thanks to one of my favorite works by British filmmaker, Runa Islam. Islam was nominated for the 2008 Turner Prize for her style of short films that are often displayed in overlapping layers and on multiple screens. My favorite of her works is a two screen projection titled What Is A Thought Experiment, Anyhow? (stills displayed below). In it, Islam uses the sporadic nature of balloons as a means of exhibiting time and space. In the latter portion of the film, their simplicity and colors contrast all of her attention to formal detail in the museum backdrop. Either that, or… Islam captured a surprise birthday party the surrounding sculptures threw for their buddy the Winged Victory.

One of my favorite escapes since I was a child has been La Colombe d’Or in Saint-Paul de Vence, France. For years now La Colombe d’Or has been my version of what I imagine most kids envision when they think of a mystical fairytale in a far off land. The town of Saint-Paul de Vence, which was once a struggling artist’s community, has transformed into an epicenter for original works by the likes of Picasso, Léger, Caraccio, Chagall and countless others. In short, when some of the most renowned early to mid-twentieth century artists were nameless, they would seek refuge at La Colombe d’Or and donate a – then valueless – work in exchange for food and a place to sleep at night. By way of this trade La Colombe d’Or has amassed a priceless archive of painting and sculpture. Since I was a child I have dreamt of opening the pages of a fashion magazine and seeing a spread juxtaposed against their amazing collection, specifically sculpture. While rumor has it due to theft a few years back, all of the pieces on display are replicas of the real works given to La Colombe d’Or by the original artists, it is still thrilling to feast each summer with our dear friends in the garden amidst a colossal could-be-original work by Léger or a César sculpture.

While, as you know, I rarely feature photos of myself on Minnie Muse, I would love to become less camera shy and in doing so I took the opportunity while staying at Hotel du Cap to emulate the amazing Chanel Resort 2012 campaign – specifically Karl’s shot of Joan Smalls on the jungle gym, pictured below. While I fail miserably to appear remotely as graceful as Ms.Smalls, I do feel a bit more comfortable looking back knowing I was wearing one of my favorite suits EVER by Lisa Marie Fernandez. Although swimsuit season has come and gone, I highly recommend you invest in a LMF suit for any future winter getaway. My next purchase will be a simple one-piece like THIS or one of her amazing suits in collaboration (because we all know I love a collaboration) with Peter Pilotto which are both available on Net-a-Porter.

When I think hair I think of performance artist Nick Cave and his amazing Soundsuits. Even before Cave’s Where The Wild Things Are feature in the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar his influence in the fashion world has been evident for seasons now. His furry creations preceded everything from Martin Margiela’s famous SS09 Wig Coat to Alexander Wang’s gothic Installation 10 currently on display in his Mercer Street flagship store.

While Cave’s designs can do no wrong it is time for the fashion world to bid adieu to stick-straight hair ensembles and embrace curls, just as I have for fall. Paul Mitchell’s The Truth About Curls campaign is to thank for my swift transition from relaxed beach hair to a tamed Diana Ross-esque mane. It is important to love your hair and take care of it. That is why Paul Mitchell launched The Truth About Curls campaign and corresponding curl-specific treatments. Of the four amazing new products, my go-to for fashion week will be Paul Mitchell’s Frizz-Free Curl Therapy. My hair already has a healthy wave so any conditioner that hydrates and tames frizz without weighing hair down is a perfect match for me. To learn more about The Truth About Curls campaign and to submit your own Curl Confessions be sure to visit the website and Facebook page… Maybe Nick Cave will even embrace the movement towards curls and construct a curly Soundsuit in honor of the campaign!

Happy September to all! It feels good to be home after an incredibly extensive two-week hiatus/vacation. As is the case every August, I made an end-of-the-summer journey to Europe with my family and roughly 25 pounds of magazines. In years past I’ve traveled both ways with the added weight but this trip, on account of a majority of the publications reaching record numbers, I decided to forego bringing them home and instead have a little fun of my own. Though there were plenty of editorials to look at and stories to read, the amount of ad pages was overwhelming. To get a visual understanding of the ratio of ads to editorials, I enlisted the help of my friend Maggie and after five hours of cutting, tearing, sorting, stacking and counting our work was done. The photographs show editorial pages on the left and advertisements on the right for six leading publications. While there was a point when I thought I was over September, my excitement soon returned after realizing I would have W and V waiting for me at home and a few European magazines still left to purchase.

Two weeks ago I had the unbelievably exciting opportunity to interview world famous photographer, Thomas Struth. Ever since developing a curiosity spanning outside of the fashion industry and into art, I can remember admiring Mr.Struth’s work. He has amassed quite the portfolio since the start of his career over thirty years ago. After dabbling in the arts and studying painting under artist Gerhard Richter, Mr.Struth turned to photography. In the late 70s he began photographing cityscapes around the world, but his interests soon expanded, leading to the start of his Family Portrait series. As mentioned below, his portraits are an ever-growing body of work, in contrast to his Museum Photographs, his most celebrated series, and one of his latest projects, Nature and Politics.

You may remember, HERE, when I compared Mr.Struth’s family portraits to the portraits shot at the end of Givenchy Couture each season. Although he is a photographer at heart, I was eager to discuss the role that fashion plays in his existing bodies of work. Our conversation, transcribed below, was an exciting opportunity for me to learn more about his career and philosophy behind photography. Since speaking, I have grown an even greater admiration towards both Thomas Struth as an artist and his work as its own entity.

Minnie Muse: How does your background in painting effect how you photograph?
Thomas Struth: Studying the history of painting taught me that pictures are constructed. Every element in the picture lets us reach an overall balance and an overall dynamic of information. You know when you take away an element all the other elements change, as well; I think that just made me very aware of how pictures are constructed.

MM: How do you choose the families photographed in your portraits?
TS: Family Portraits is a very small, still developing body of work. I never reach out so much to find families, I live my life and occasionally there is a new family or new people who I find interesting. The number of family portraits grows exponentially much slower than, for example, when I was working on streets, or the museum pictures, that was much more proactive. Sometimes, on occasion, I will make a photograph of a family who asks me, but that is very rare. I will only do that when I think there is something interesting or I see in that family something that somewhat touches me.

MM: What if you could photograph any family in history?
TS: I’ve never thought about things like that, I am not so good with famous people. Normally, photographing very well known people, it is very problematic, and when I got this request to take a photo of the queen, I thought I just could not say no, I might have been a coward in a way.

MM: You have photographed countless urban spaces, what made you want to explore a rural environment, like the jungle?
TS: Well, when you make pictures one thing is the dynamic and the reasoning of what leads you to make the picture, but once the picture is made, then the question is, what do you do with it? You study and observe what the reaction is with the picture. With the paradise photographs, the idea was that I wanted to make the pictorial structure very complex and detailed, where the observer could not ever completely see every detail and so the observer would be forced to lose himself or herself in the observation. I thought the most obvious object to do that would be forest, and then I thought that to do the forest would maybe be too easy because you have the sort of vertical stance. Then I thought maybe the jungle would be the best because of the very dense complexity of structure. I think in the end the effect that these pictures have is so evident and yet the structure is so complex that usually they make the observer very calm.

MM: How do you choose which paintings to photograph people observing in your museum series?
TS: This is all limited, or mostly limited to the figurative work, because that is the only kind of painting with the doubling effect, the situation of figures in the painting and the situation of figures in front of the painting. I select quite intuitively the pictures, the paintings that I like a lot. When I started at the Louvre I looked at Delacroix because I love Delacroix’s work, but then I found it too evident or too obvious. For example, Death of Sardanapalus (1927) is a vertical painting with a big bed and two naked women and a kind of a pale looking man, it is a fantastic painting but it would have been too obvious in a photograph, so I picked Théodore Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa (1819) because it makes for a more interesting combination.

MM: Does anyone style your portraits?
TS: I almost never interfere with what people wear in the family portraits, except when there is a certain pattern in a t-shirt or dress that I know will be visually too magnetic to an unjustified degree. For example, if someone were to wear a Burberry-style pattern, something that would be visually attractive for the eye but had nothing to do with the dynamic of the family, eventually I would say, maybe you can change into something else. But I would say 95% of the time I did not do that, I just left everything how it was.

MM: What role does fashion play in your photographs?
TS: For fashion I am interested in messages, in subject matter that is timeless. For example, in my street photographs, in my early ones, you see that all these cars are from the late 70s, so they don’t exist anymore, but in clothing, it is a bit less dramatic, even though in fifty years when you look at the family portraits people might dress differently, one day you will see it.

Greetings from France! It feels amazing to be in such serenity, regardless that our annual voyage overseas means the end of summer is near. Amidst yesterday’s packing madness, I stumbled upon photography gold. Yes, that is the Jordan clan above circa 1993 in full denim glory; that would be me in front as a tiny, little thing being held up by my grandpa. I’d love to say this is how we dressed every evening in the 90s, but truthfully we were all in costume for my parents’ Country Western Party.

I was surprised to find the above photos and learn that Mary-Kate and Ashley’s How The West Was Fun was not my primary introduction to western wear. Looking back, all I can think about is that if we had a horse we would be the perfect stand-ins for Laurie Simmon’s 1979 Cowboys series (pictured below).

The fact of the matter is that everyone loves hoedown apparel. Whether it be the Jeremy Scott number that Leigh Lezark wore to Derek Blasberg’s 30th Birthday – I feel a bit odd knowing the amount I do about that party, thanks to Mr.Blasberg himself who wrote features for a few publications – or Jean Paul Gaultier’s SS06 collection shown in his hay-filled atelier, each season someone, somewhere toys with western/farm/hoedown inspiration. To this day, no show has measured up to Chanel’s SS10 Farm Collection, but for AW12 it was Isabel Marant’s turn to have a go. While I wasn’t initially a fan, I have warmed up to certain pieces as they begin to trickle into online retailers. Thanks to Net-a-Porter I find myself developing a hunger for one of her suede, fringe coats or a new pair of trusty Marant boots. Continue checking Net-a-Porter for the latest Fall pieces from Isabel Marant and more… Happy shopping!

I recently rediscovered the work of Berlin-based artist Mari Kasurinen after featuring her My Little Damien Hirst unknowingly HERE prior to my trip to Germany. Ever since returning from Berlin after seeing the Art and Toys show I have been drawn to the lighthearted nature of toys. Kasurinen’s entire My Little Pop Icons series is brilliantly playful serving as the perfect means of bringing together fashion and art. Her decision to start this body of work came when looking at the influential nature of both children’s toys and pop culture. She toys with, quite literally, the idea of materialism and excess. Now that every major fashion house has launched a children’s line, naturally it seems that My Little Pony apparel and such is the next step. Besides, a few years back I would have killed for my American Girl Doll to sport a Gaga-esque meat dress.

To date, Karl Lagerfeld and Vivienne Westwood are the only two designers to be ‘My Little Pony-fied’ but I’m hoping they are soon joined by an inked up My Little Marc Jacobs, My Little Peter Dundas complete with a perfectly styled blonde mane and two very prim My Little Viktor & Rolf’s.

I’ve been getting my LONDON ON with all of the Olympic fever as of late. This constant talk of competition got me thinking of which Londoners would win the fashion Olympics for best artistic inspiration. It was a close call and after many heats here is who came out on top.

The gold goes to newbie British menswear designer Joseph Turvey. I was first introduced to Turvey’s work just days ago in THIS Style.com feature. I am usually not drawn to clothing sporting massive faces, often thinking they serve as a distraction more than anything, but there in an innocence in these sketches pictured above that I love – I am particularly eyeing the backpack. All of Turvey’s sketches bear striking similarities to my favorite portrait artist, German-born photographer Thomas Ruff. Ruff’s subjects prove awkwardness can absolutely be beautiful. One day I dream of displaying one of these wonderfully uncomfortable shots in my home but until then, a Turvey piece hanging in my closet will be just fine.

Coming in a close second is Mary Katrantzou for her amazing Candida Höfer-inspired dresses. Although Katrantzou has been around for a few seasons now, I can still remember first spotting her wildly whimsical pieces at Colette a few years back. To date, her dining room series is still my favorite, but no matter what theme each season brings there is always an ode to Höfer’s symmetrical prints. Höfer is a German-based photographer known for her works of elaborate interiors. Both women’s use of balanced lines, depth and color make them the perfect European pair.

Shop Mary Katrantzou at Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Net-a-Porter.

Just behind Turvey and Katrantzou is fellow Brit J.W. Anderson with the bronze. Anderson’s mod pre-fall collection must find a place in everyone’s autumn wardrobe, particularly those amazing sweaters of his. Everything from the colors to the clean lines in his color-blocking reminds me of the work of yet another Berlin-born artist, Daniel Pflumm. Pflumm’s minimalist light-boxes are part of his Censored Logo series produced in the late 90s. These pieces challenge the authority of corporate identity just as Anderson’s simple designs prove that chic needs no logo.

Shop J.W. Anderson on Net-a-Porter.

After spending the weekend in Chicago for Lollapalooza it was nice to return home from a hiatus to find my feature up on Barney’s blog The Window. It was such fun being able to contribute to one of my favorite blogs. Click here to access the full feature, and here to shop all my fall favorites and more on Barneys.com!

I can still recall almost ten years ago when Louis Vuitton’s now flagship store on the Champs-Elysées was, at the time, a massive monogram trunk. A part of me was hoping the LV panels would never come down but since the store’s opening, countless other fashion houses have hopped on the designer scaffolding bandwagon. We now live in an age where there is as much talk about the outside of a store under construction as what is opening in the space. Take the recent dropping of Yves to just Saint Laurent at the brand’s future Mercer storefront which has garnered nearly as must buzz as Heid’s much anticipated debut runway collection. But alas, Tiffany has revolutionized the world of scaffolding once again in the weeks leading up to their long awaited return to Soho; the neighborhood where the brand began almost 175 years ago.

Rather than shielding their new store from the public by way of a massive Tiffany Blue box, the luxury brand has taken an even more artistic approach to construction. Tiffany has partnered with four contemporary artists to decorate the outside of the storefront prior to their September opening. Each artist has been given the theme True Love as inspiration as well as two weeks to install and show how they interpret the meaning of love. Danielle Dimston was the first to show on July 16th and Ellis Gallagher came shortly after on July 27th. Gallagher’s work is still on display but will be replaced on August 8th by Danny Roberts and the final artist in the rotation is Natasha Law on August 17th. Head to Tiffany Soho – 97 Greene Street – to see it all in person and maybe catch a glimpse of an artist in action.

It is no secret I am a huge fan of Rei Kawakubo and the entire Comme des Garçons empire. Her FW12 collection was nothing short of perfection so imagine my excitement when discovering this weekend that a few pieces, like the looks shown above, are now available for purchase on Barneys New York.com!

Rei is so inspiring, in large part, because of her artistic vision. Comme has worked with incredible artists in the past like Ai Weiwei, Eli Sudbrack, Quay Brothers, and Cindy Sherman (pictured below), yet Kawakubo’s most celebrated collaboration to date came with the launch of PLAY by Comme des Garçons in 2002.

Thanks to artist Filip Pagowski’s logo, PLAY has amassed a cult-like following similar to that of Polo circa the 1980’s. The small street-wear line has grown immensely in the past decade, making it increasingly difficult to find a piece in my closet without two perfectly inward-slanting eyes.

I typically loathe a logo, preferring my clothes to only reveal their make on the inside tag, but, there is something about Pagowski’s whimsical design granting it an exception. I am a bit of a striped shirt snob and since discovering the perfectly aligned horizontal pattern on Kawakubo’s shirts I have hardly looked back. Find my favorite striped top and all the PLAY basics (shown below) on Farfetch.com.

It was great fun to flip through The Gunter Sachs Collection catalogue a few weeks ago before the lot was actioned in late May by Sotheby’s London. Sachs, who was known as a playboy, had a sizably amount of erotic art to match his reputation. The sale well exceeded expectations (fetching over 56 million dollars) and three of the biggest surprises of the evening ended up being three of my favorite pieces. The Allen Jones works (shown above) were expected to garner around sixty thousand dollars a piece when in actuality they sold for 1.32 million, 1.23 million and 1.53 million dollars, respectively. Each work was an addition of six total that the artist made in 1969. I had known little about Jones prior to seeing the Sachs collection and I wasn’t an immediate fan, but after imagining the pieces scattered around Peter Marino’s office or in the film A Clockwork Orange they quickly grew on me.

I really hope a magazine that next profiles Peter Marino (possibly for his upcoming documentary set to be released in 2013) will use Jones’ work as inspiration for a shoot; I’d love to see the world’s greatest architect mimicking the the sculptures in his entirely leather ensemble. All the talk of Peter and his uniform got me thinking of which leather pieces I am most excited to bring out once the weather cools. I came up with a few, below, that will be wardrobe staples come September.

1. Rick Owens and Junya Watanabe are the two masters of leather. Rick’s classic black leather jacket is the first piece I take out in the fall and the last to get put away come summer.
2. I have worn Alexander Wang’s black velvet backpack for two years now and I hope to soon add The Row’s leather backpack to my collection.
3. There’s nothing wrong with a woman in men’s clothes. This Givenchy jacket is the perfect example of a piece made for either sex.
4. I am not typically a fan of Louboutin’s unless it is a clean black leather pump, which he does so well.
5. Lanvin’s perfect long leather gloves.
6. The Row’s black pencil skirt is number one on my wish-list for fall.
7. Shorts give you the perfect excuse to wear leather even when the weather is still warm, this pair is by Alexander Aang.
8. Alexander Wang’s chic leather answer to a ski jacket.
9. The perfect clutch for fall, by Alexander Wang.
10. Givenchy’s long leather gloves with pony hair detailing are perfect for day.
11. These leather shorts, by Haute Hippie, are another solution for the warm weather.
12. The Row’s leather sleeveless top can be worn alone or will be great with a top underneath come winter.
13. Finally, the reason why I am so excited for fall, Givenchy’s black leather shark tooth boot.

I love how Riccardo Tisci shows Givenchy Couture because Couture is an art that should be an intimate experience. Tisci first made the changeover from a traditional runway show to showing presentation-style for his fall 2010 collection. Each subsequent Couture collection has been shown in the same format and as the clothes get more exquisite each season so does how the collection is photographed. Nothing gets my heart racing quite like clicking through the front and back views of the tenth look of the presentation in anticipation of the concluding ‘family portrait’. Each season I find further similarities between this final portrait and the work of German photographer Thomas Struth.

Struth’s work is vast. He is best known for his museum photographs, in addition to his jungle series, cityscapes and family portraits. Each Givenchy Couture collection since fall 2010 has had a different hint of Struth; most notably, for fall 2012 Tisci staged the shoot with a Struth-like jungle backdrop. Now, after shooting portraits for the Queen of England and artist Gerhard Richter, it is about time for Struth to photograph a family all outfitted in straight-off-the-‘runway’ Givenchy Couture.

Reviewing the Resort 13 collections this past weekend got me thinking… Where will Karl hold his Chanel R14 show?? He has done posh venues season after season – Versailles, Du Cap, St.Tropez, Venice, Etc. – that I think next year it is time for Chanel to go rugged; moreover, hiking clothes may be the only market left for Mr.Lagerfeld to explore. The beautiful landmass pictured above (and below) is sculptor Robert Smithson’s most famous work, the Spiral Jetty. Located just off the coast of Utah in the Great Salt Lake, the Jetty was completed in 1970 and has evolved overtime with the changing climate. It has seen every season and, at points, has been completely submerged under water due to the changing lake levels. Although the structure may be manmade, it has grown to look entirely organic in it’s environment. I find it to be one of the most beautiful sites in the world. Assuming the Jetty is dry and walkable next spring, I think it would make for the most spectacular runway.

Smithson and his wife put out the most amazing short film, appropriately entitled Spiral Jetty, which I saw last Fall and highly recommend. It documents how the Jetty was constructed and offers footage of the structure from each and every angle. I have yet to visit the land-art, but hope to one day walk it’s spiral.

As you may have seen from this week’s tweets, I made the unfortunate mistake of leaving my laptop in East Hampton while I spent the week in the city. Being without a computer for the past few days has freed time for activities – like watching movies – that are usually compromised to allow for my massive internet browsing habit. I decided on two films that I think historically have had the greatest influence on fashion, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and Luis Bruñel and Salvador Dalí’s short film Un Chien Andalou.

Blade Runner has served as inspiration to designers for years, but the character Pris‘ makeup is unquestionably the most replicated aspect of the film. Fashion has seen this trademark black line over the eyes on both men and women every season and FW12 was no exception.

The Balenciaga runway, along with countless others, have been invaded by sic-fi-inspired looks for seasons now. Ghesquière used Blade Runner as a reference most notably in his collections for FW 2007 and FW 2012, pictured below.

The opening of Impossible Conversations and the relaunch of the House of Schiaparelli have brought surrealism back to the forefront of fashion. I watched Bruñel and Dalí’s short film Un Chien Andalou this week and got totally inspired. His use of the human face and bugs, while at times gruesome, was equally exciting. His influence outside of the art community was apparent in the days of the surrealists and still holds true today.

Elsa Schiaparelli was the first to commission Dalí to design jewelry. His fascination with nature and humanistic features, as exhibited in his film, was later incorporated into his designs (pictured below). Who knew Dalií was the originator of grillz?

Season after season designers have turned to Dalí and other surrealists for inspiration. It was particularly evident at both the Ready-to-Wear and FW12 Couture shows. Giambattista Valli adorned his models in gold branch necklaces and butterflies while Alber turned Dalí’s delicate pieces into statement costume jewelry at Lanvin.

My all-time favorite example of surrealism invading the runway was a product of the always offbeat Rei Kawakubo. Her use of lips as an accessory to the face in addition to the model’s own was striking.

Nothing makes me happier than such a successful couture week. A disappointing show is always hard to take, but considering the massive amount of work that goes in to producing each piece of couture, a failed collection is that much more upsetting. Surprisingly, all of my favorites blew me away. I chose my standout looks to feature below…

Raf Simmons’ long awaited premier Dior collection (pictured above) was well worth the 18-months of mediocrity at the house. Simmons’ use of couture techniques while staying true to his minimalist nature showed extreme self control. I’m a fan. Not to mention, many of his silhouettes brought back fond memories of my all time favorite Balenciaga collection, FW 2006 (pictured below). The final exciting surprise of the week was waking up to see photos from Maison Martin Margiela’s first couture runway show! Looks like the Antwerp crew is taking over.

The Always major Givenchy…

A few more favorites from couture…

Happy 4th everyone! In honor of Independence Day I spent last night constructing fireworks out of my mom’s spare Chanel buttons. She keeps her entire back stock in a baggie and cherishes them nearly as much as the garments they come from. Why, you might ask? Few people know that just as Chanel reinvents ready-to-wear each season, they also entirely redesign their trademark buttons. No button is ever repeated. Meaning, she isn’t all that crazy for keeping such a close watch on her collection. I’m hoping one day to fashion a necklace out of them. Until then, I’ll just have to admire their intricacies from a far. Can’t wait to see what little beauties adorn each jacket in Karl’s futuristic, Marie Antoinette Cruise 13′ collection. I look forward to watching fireworks tonight and imaging that each falling light is a different, new button design.

I have been so intrigued by Dustin Yellin’s work since meeting him a few weeks ago at Chanel’s Black Jacket dinner. Yellin’s glass pieces excite me in so many ways. His creative process and use of space is new and exciting. To produce one sculpture, Yellin creates countless two-dimensional images on layers of glass and proceeds to create a glass cube with images inside that appears three-dimensional. The resulting sculptures appear so raw and untouched. I am particularly drawn to his pieces inspired by nature.

Whenever I get excited about an artist I always think about how their style can be used to showcase fashion. I can’t help but fantasize about Yellin creating a series of work, in keeping with his nature sculptures, inspired by all the flower pieces shown for fall. Imagine the amazing floral looks from Comme and Dolce frozen in glass cubes looking as if they are growing from some psychedelic grass (inspired by Reyle’s Disco Hay). I tried my best to bring this dream gallery show to life in the images below…

Yves Saint Laurnet’s Mondrian Dress from FW 1965 personifies the intersection between art and fashion. This grid-based print revolutionized the fashion world then and is still admired today – but really, how could you ever go wrong with a shift dress from the 60s? Similar to Saint Laurnet’s forward thinking, countless designer have taken on the task of reinventing a classic fur coat for fall using geometric shapes and bright colors.

While just a few seasons ago fashion houses were using patchwork as a way to lessen the amount of fur used for a garment, this season is all about unnecessary -but always welcome- excess. While Phoebe Philo used strips of fur as the main ingredient in adding cohesion to her Celine collection for Fall, Peter Pilotto relied on colorful fur to transform his summery dresses into cold weather material. Few things get me more excited than amazing coats for fall.

Drooling over these fur blocking pieces from Celine. I can’t seem to help but picture Snoop Dogg in the fuchsia and navy piece on the right…

Even Ms.Prada embraced the fur blocking trend in her recently shown Men’s SS13 collection…

Now, the even more exciting part. I was first introduced to the work of Richard Artschwager in October and immediately fell in love with his interpretation of sculpture. Just as countless designers have modernized a classic for fall, Artschwager reinvents simple shapes, like cubes and chairs, by way of colors and clean lines. His very contemporary take on furniture suggests him to be a modern day Lalanne – yet another source of inspiration for Mr.Saint Laurent. When I was scouring countless collections for examples of fur blocking, every piece I saw in some way reminded me of Artschwager’s work.

Artschwager’s cubes…

This is a fashion editorial begging to be done! Check out how even more major these Givenchy looks are alongside Artschwager’s tricolor chair. I really hope a publication with an insanely large budget does an Artschwager x fur blocking spread for fall!…

Two very exciting fashion house-artist collaborations have been recently announced. The featured artists in both instances, Yayoi Kusama for Louis Vuitton and Hiroshi Sugimoto for Hermes, originally come from the Far East.

Marc Jacobs, arguably the most influential man in the fashion world, can be credited for introducing the works of various contemporary artists to the consumer market through luxury goods. In the past, Louis Vuitton has done large-scale collaborations with artists such as Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami, and Richard Prince. Kusama, who has previously outfitted a Louis Vuitton bag in her trademark dots, as seen in the Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton documentary, will now transform an entire collection of clothing, accessories and leather goods with her endless spots – pictured below.

Not only do Marc’s collaborations excite both the fashion world and consumers, they are in turn inspirational to fellow artists. Take street artist Zevs, who applied his drip technique to Murakami’s Louis Vuitton logo design for his Liquidated Version show in 2011…

Photographer Luis Gispert also used two of Jacobs’ previous LV collaborations – Stephen Sprouse and Takashi Murakami – in his Decepción series of pimped-out car interiors…

Comparisons to Murakami’s work can even be made when looking at Kusama’s rainbow dot series…

I look forward to passing endless rows of street vendors in the city later this summer to see Kusama’s dotted bags scattered amongst other LV monograms. The first of Kusama’s capsule collections for Louis Vuitton is set to hit stores on July 10 and the second, of primarily leather goods, will be available in October.

More recently than the Kusama collaboration, Hermes announced an exciting partnership with Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. Sugimoto is famous for his colorful Polaroids which Hermes will print on large silk scarves. While one typically associates scarves with keeping you warm in the cold winter months, Hermes’ decision to market the pieces as art as opposed to fashion is a smart one, considering they’re said to retail for just shy of $9,000. The collection of 20 different images will be called Colors of Shadows and are part of the Hermes Editeur series.

I especially love Sugimoto’s images because they look like modernized versions of works by one of my favorite artists, Mark Rothko.

I’ve decided to start a category within Minnie Muse called The Art of… as yet another way to share some musings concerning everything art and fashion; and what better a time to launch than now that Spring 12 sale season has begun. Sure, there are some basic shopping tips that every one, even online shopping armatures, should know – such as taking advantage of sites like Polyvore and ShopStyle come sale time– but there is one trick that I discovered that revolutionized internet shopping for me.

When looking back on my quest in Spring 2010 to try and track down Alexander Wang’s much-coveted cheetah wedges, I realize how tricky the Internet can be. I remember finding the spotted pieces of perfection on Barneys.com during English class one morning. Within minutes the shoes were sold out and the light at the end of the football-dome shaped tunnel (keeping with the theme of Wang’s SS10 show) was slowly fading. That story has a happy ending but I was put in a similar situation this past January when finding my dream belt by Isabel Marant on Net-a-Porter. It was a few days into the start of the sale and my size was already gone. Although I was checking daily to see if anyone had made a return, nothing had changed. It wasn’t until my trip to Europe later in the month that the belt became mine. When I logged on to the Internet in Paris to check Net-a-Porter, unbeknownst to me, my computer recognized I was over seas and thus connected me to the European Net-a-Porter site. Not only did I find my belt in the correct size, but a few other key pieces that had been sold out in the states for weeks. What a simple change that could, and did, make all the difference.

Since then I have been making sure to check on occasion to see if they carry anything major in Europe that wasn’t bought for – or is available in – the states. Now that sale time has commenced on both the US and International site, I thought it time to share my little trick with my readers. There are still plenty of pieces of perfection available here and in the newly launched European sale on Net-a-Porter, so act fast and happy shopping.

Here is a quick tutorial on how to change your location:
Begin by signing into you account and clicking on your current location in the upper left hand corner…

Click on the International Site drop down menu…

Choose your country and begin browsing…

One of my favorite memories from our recent trip to Berlin was visiting the Sammlung Boros. The Sammlung Boros is an old Bunker turned private home and gallery. After being built in the early 1940s as a safe house, the building took on many roles – going from a prison, to banana storage, to a rave club in the early 90s – before being purchased in 2003 by art collector Christian Boros. There are still a few bunkers scattered around the city that are now either privately owned or up for sale. It was quite jarring to turn the corner and run into such an intimidating structure amidst the many quaint, surrounding buildings.

After acquiring the bunker, Boros spent four years renovating the inside and constructing a modern home atop the building. Now, Boros lives with his family in the penthouse and uses the stories below to house his insanely major art collection. The private gallery is open for viewing by appointment only. We were lucky enough to get a tour during our visit by our new best friend and manager of the Sammlung Boros, Hans.

The portion of Boros’ collection we saw was curated to compliment and highlight the space. These pieces – primarily sculpture and light installations – have been up for four years and will be taken down this summer to make way for a new group of work from Boros’ collection to be on view. It is exciting to know that during my next visit to Berlin I will be able to see entirely new art on display, however upsetting as a few of the works were created uniquely for the space and thus will be destroyed during the changeover. Oh well, if only I too could hire Anslem Reyle to come paint on my walls only to cover up his work a few years later. Maybe someday…

Doors from the original bunker.

A set of photographs of the space taken just after its time as a club and prior to Boros’ renovation.

Christian Boros has the largest, privately-owned Olafur Eliasson collections in the world, so it was quite appropriate that Eliasson’s fabulous disco ball-esq glass piece is the first major work to greet visitors.

This room was originally two separate stories but Boros had to break through the floor/ceiling to accommodate these two amazing works by Anselm Reyle.

Light installation by Anselm Reyle.

Custom work by Anselm Reyle.

Some Anselm Reyle disco hay.

Leave it to Elmgreen and Dragset to create this terrifyingly realistic hospital scene.

Work by Anselm Reyle.

Olafur Eliasson’s DNA.

Kitty Kraus’ light boxes.

Work by Robert Kusmirowski.

An Olafur Eliasson installation. When the fan is on, depending on where you stand in the room it alters its rotation, sometimes leading to collisions with the walls.

I do not recall this artist’s name, however there is an very interesting story behind this piece. The point of the work is to prove how corrupt the art world is. The artist invited individuals to a gallery show in an empty gallery. It turned out very few people realized there was actually no work on display, they just saw the invitation as an excuse to party. The artist then used trash from this ‘party’ – such as the bottles below – to construct works for his show.

This work by Santiago Sierra was another installation made uniquely for the space. Sierra is famous for his ‘permanent’ works often highlighting corruption and poverty, thus it is appropriate that in order to fit the four structures pictured below, Boros needed to modify the physical makeup of the bunker.

Work by Sarah Lucas.

Work by Bojan Sarcevic.

Wall by Tobias Rehberger.

This unknown artist did a series of twelve vases all representing twelve of his closest fellow artist friends – the vase below is Elizabeth Peyton. The owner of each vase must sign a contract upon purchasing the work that they will always keep the depicted artist’s favorite flowers fresh in the vase – Peyton’s happen to be Gerbera Daisies.

Work by Manfred Pernice.

Hans amongst a few Tobias Rehberger lamps.

More lamps by Tobias Rehberger.

A portrait by Tobias Rehberger.

Final piece; a skull by Kris Martin.

Happy Birthday to one of my all time favorite designers and people, Alber Elbaz. Alber is one of the kindest, most generous people I know and in honor of the Lanvin designer’s birthday I took one of my animals – after countless hours of pattern making and sewing – and AlBear-ified him; bow tie and all! Doesn’t he make the cutest teddy bear?? Take note Lanvin!

Wednesday evening marked the opening of the Little Black Jacket exhibit in SoHo. The book, which will not be available until late August, is in essence a picture book for fashion-minded adults. The 100 portraits inside were shot by Karl Lagerfeld and styled by Carine Roitfeld from May-October of 2011 in three different cities – Monaco, Paris and New York. Despite a very high demand, the actual jacket used in the photos, which was from Chanel’s Resort 2012 collection, will not be available for purchase. Three iconic images from the show – Vanessa Paradis, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Elle Fanning – are available as posters free of change for visitors to take and use in anticipation of the book’s publication. The traveling show will run in New York through Friday, June 15th at the Swiss Institute gallery space at 18 Wooster Street in SoHo.

Olivier Theyskens

Poppy Delevigne

Posters

With Alexander Wang

Peter Marino

Michelle Harper

There is nothing like the inspiration that comes from seeing an artist at work. Art & Toys brought out some of today’s top street artists to Berlin not only to show their support, but to create one of a kind works in honor of the show. You were briefly introduced to a few of Buff Monster‘s and Pete Fowler‘s pieces in my previous post, but take a look below to see them at work.

Pete Fowler

The pattern on the sculpture that Pete is woking on was done completely freehand with no stencil. Fowler mixes his paint entirely by hand and uses a fine bristle brush.

Buff Monster

I am a huge fan of Buff Monster and even have one of his pieces, bought at Art Basel, hanging in my bedroom. It is always exciting to meet artists, much less one who’s work I wake up to each morning. He typically paints on a canvas but chose to spray in honor of the event. You can check out how the final piece turned out on his site.

Berlin was filled with so many unexpected surprises, the most memorable of which happened on our final day in the city. After hearing that Collectors Room Berlin has opened its doors to Selim Varol, a 39 year old native of Düsseldorf and lover of toys, we were determined to get a sneak peak of the Art & Toys show before heading back to New York. Turns out our relentless attitudes paid off and we were lucky enough to get a private tour of the gallery space on Friday, our last day in Berlin and just 24 hours before the show opened to the public. There were still a few works to be hung and toys to be placed, but considering in total there are more than 3,000 pieces on display, the space looked amazing even with a few bare spots on the colossal walls.

The modern simplicity of the gallery space is a perfect compliment to Varol’s collection. He has been amassing toys and street art since purchasing his first piece by KAWS almost fifteen years ago. Since then, his collection has grown exponentially and has become less of a hobby and more of a lifestyle. Varol now calls many of the artists his close friends, some of whom made the trip to Berlin for the opening and produced special works in honor of the show.

Art & Toys will be up at Collectors Room Berlin through September 16th. I highly recommend you check it out if want an excuse to start a toy collection; I have already added a few more small Bearbricks to my ever growing windowsill of trinkets.

The toy that started it all. Varol began his collection after purchasing this piece, by KAWS, in Japan in the late 90s.

Toys by various artists

Toys by Joe Ledbetter

Visionaire’s designer toys

Selim Varol working on his Joe Ledbetter installation…

… Finished product

Skateboard wall

Shepard Fairey Gallery

Piece by Zevs

Majority of work by Blek Le Rat

American Depress by Dface

All work by JR

Patriotism Buff Monster Style

Various Artists

Complete Bearbrick collection

All pieces by KAWS

Final gallery

Art Inspiration Board

Following the MET Gala last week there were a few other small events I attended in celebration of Impossible Conversations. The first was a very intimate evening at the Tisch residence with Ms.Prada – hence the picture above. I was floored/honored after asking for a photo with the notoriously camera shy designer that she agreed without hesitation (I suppose the great lengths I went to to obtain the look from FW12 worn that evening turned out to be well worth it). It was surreal to see the designer in a relaxed environment with such few people.

The following morning I attended the curator-lead walkthrough of the exhibition for the Friends of The Costume Institute. Like the occasional spaz that I am – or possibly I was still on a mental cloud from the prior evening – I showed up without a memory card in my camera. Thus, I have no photos to attest to what a wonderful morning it was, but I do have a few special anecdotes. Andrew and Harold (Head Curator and Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute) spoke about the process of designing the exhibition from when it was a mere idea to when Miuccia herself walked through for the first time.

The exhibit opens with the Impossible Conversations short film by Baz Lurhmann. In it, actress Judy Davis portrays Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia plays herself. All of Miuccia’s dialogue was written using her own words from countless conversations with Andrew to which he compiled into a script. The filming was done by Mr.Lurhmann at The Carlyle hotel on two separate occasions. For the first, he was there in person to read Sciaparelli’s lines across the table from Miuccia, but for the second he was in Australia filming Gatsby and thus was virtually there by way of Skype.

After the film comes the clothes. In the gallery Waist Up/Waist Down – Head Up/Knee down, they highlight Prada’s amazing skirts and shoes while juxtaposing them against Schiaparelli’s beautiful jackets and famous hats. Harold told a great story about how Ms.Prada requested that a pair of shoes be changed because without the contrast of the blouse she originally put with the look it appears too lady like and thus not Prada.

Later, they pay homage to Miuccia’s ealr years designing women’s wear. Andrew mentioned it was a dark period for Ms.Prada both literally and figuratively, she used minimalism to hide behind; the basic, black Prada dresses of the early 90s were certainly worlds apart from this fall’s colorful, patterned-filled collection.

While Miuccia denies looking to Schiaparelli’s work for inspiration there are undeniable similarities between the two thanks to the great Yves Saint Laurent; he used Schiaparelli as a muse and Ms.Prada looks to Yves’ work season after season. Andrew and Harold discussed how both women’s work are a bit oxymoronic. Schiaparelli was constantly praised for her craftsmanship while most of her techniques are those of someone who is not really interested in technique. Similarly, Prada is a woman who is fixated on the idea of ‘Ugly Chic’ and sees a beautiful woman in a beautiful dress as a cliché.

The final gallery in the exhibition showcases looks from some of Schiaparelli’s and Prada’s most career-defining collections. The pieces on display serve as the perfect final impression of the exhibit celebrating two of fashion’s most prized female designers.

Take a cue from Sarah Burton and forget tradition this Mother’s Day. Skip the simple bouquet and instead go for a flower that will never die and will always maintain its shine. I am referring to the two petal dresses and metal flower belts (pictured below) from Alexander McQueen’s FW12 runway collection. These Fall looks, along with a few others, were on display at a Luncheon hosted by Burton last Wednesday in NYC. The small party showcased the best looks from FW12 runway as well as the entire Pre-Fall collection, which was shown in an intimate presentation. It was incredible to see upclose the craftsmanship and attention to detail that embodies Alexander McQueen.

Burton is not only an unbelievable talent but equally as kind and humble. She is the female Alber Elbaz in terms of her amazing generosity and genuine interest in others. It was a surreal moment to walk through the collection by her side and hear personal stories about each look. Check out pictures from my day with Burton below…

With Sarah next to one of her favorite looks from Fall 12…

Despite my plan to focus my MET post around where the party really happens – which, oddly enough, is typically in the bathroom – the museum finally caught on and placed guards in both restrooms this year. It was a relief to not have to walk through plumes of smoke and navigate around the likes of Ricardo Tisci and Giambattista Valli in the ladies room, but nevertheless not as entertaining. Regardless, the party still lived up to its reputation as Party of the Year. Impossible Conversations is a complete departure from the dramatic aesthetic of last year’s Savage Beauty exhibit. It always excites me to learn more about somewhat mysterious designers, like Schiaparelli, especially when using such a celebrated female, such as Miuccia Prada, as a basis for comparison. The exhibition is geared towards those who love and appreciate both current fashion and its history. More to come on specifics of the exhibit but for now check out some highlights from Monday evening below…

My sister, wearing Roland Mouret, and me, in Prada

Each year the crowd outside grows bigger and bigger, the new entrance this year, however, made it nearly impossible to catch a glimpse of anyone.

Schiaparelli Lips…

Receiving line…

The always cheerful Suzy Menkes

With Stella Tennant in Chanel

I don’t quite get it…

Was hoping Grace would take a cue from Anna Dello Russo’s Gareth Pugh helmut and rock one of her prada-inspired headpieces…

With MET Gala virgin Haider Ackermann

Dolce Dolls vs. Mugler Mafia

Jeff Koons

Mark and Lorenzo

At least he didn’t go commando

Linda’s beautiful Elsa Schiaparelli-inspired Naeem Khan creation…

Even non-Vogue staffers (who were told to wear pink/red) embraced the color of the evening

Dinner…

Get ready for a whole lot of Prada! I feel like I can’t escape talk of the Italian fashion house in anticipation of Ms.Prada’s soon-to-open exhibition at the MET’s Costume Institute. But not to forget people, Miuccia is only half of the equation, Elsa Schiaparelli’s work will also be on view in the exhibit which opens May 10th and runs through August 19th (all assuming no one ‘pulls a McQueen’ and requires an extension to keep up with the enormous demand). Nonetheless, in honor of tomorrow night’s fête, or as some know it, The Party of the Year, Prada enlisted American Vogue’s Creative director Grace Coddington to curate the FW12 looks on display in all of their New York boutiques. Special fall samples were brought in specifically for display and each store even received an early delivery of a limited amount of Pre-Fall pieces. In addition, I was told Grace brought the styrofoam head pieces on the mannequins (pictured below) with her from Vogue. The orange one bares a slight resemblance to Grace, no??

I was browsing through the Cindy Sherman MoMA exhibition catalogue the other day and came across a few of my favorite images from the exhibit. The two photographs below are some of Cindy’s earliest prints on display and some of her best. Both images – Untitled #488 and Untitled #489 – (or as I like to call them: Cindy Cornucopias) are works from 1976. There was a really great piece written in reference to her career before photoshop and the techniques she had to utilize to produce images with with more than one of her. My boyfriend and I were bored one day and decided to use her 1976 works as inspiration for a shoot. Taking into account Cindy’s many fashion-related projects – an image from her Spring 2005 Marc Jacobs campaign is currently my phone background – we, or rather I, wondered what Cindy might do if she collaborated with a house like Céline, for example. The product of our/my inquiry is pictured above. I am wearing all SS12 Céline with the exception of my favorite leather pants from The Row.

And don’t forget, if you have yet to visit the MoMA the exhibition runs through June 11th so head on over.

Sample sales are always tricky because more often then not, as is the case with most sales, you end up buying for the bargain not fit or quality. Last Tuesday was Gaultier’s friends and family day for his end-of-the-season sale which was an exception to all sample sale rules. I don’t know how much was left towards the end, but the preview had some great pieces that would be welcomed additions to any women’s closet.

Galutier Patterns

I have always shied away from wearing orange and yellow but these delicate blouses made me give the latter color a second thought.

The perfect Yves Klein blue hoodie

Busted… The real inspiration behind Alexander Wang’s SS12 tropical prints.

I tried so hard to make this harem shell – yes, harem – work, but I was swimming in it. Everything from the colors, to the crew neck, to the open sides was perfect… Expect the fit. I hope the owner wears this insane piece proudly over a bathing suit on a hot summer day in St.Tropez.

A few weeks ago I was looking through some 2011 exhibition catalogues and came across one from Maurizio Cattelan:All (pictured below), which hung at the Guggenheim from November 11, 2011-January 22, 2012. It was exciting to walk up the spiral of the museum for once without a majority of the floors being under construction. The winter-time exhibition has unfortunately come and gone, just like the cold weather, and despite a rainy forecast for the next few days, New York has been rather pleasant. Seeing as how spring has already sprung in the city my closet has officially made the warm-weather changeover, meaning all winter jackets have been safely stored until the next unexpected snow storm. The above photograph is my interpretation of Cattelan’s ALL using my favorite transitional accessories for spring and a tree in Central Park as their support. Fingers Crossed I won’t have to retrieve my parka any time soon!

A friend recently turned me onto the work of New York-based, multi-medium artist Rashaad Newsome. I first fell in love with Newsome’s collages because they remind me so much of Riccardo Tisci’s patterns for Givenchy (pictured below). His art is largely inspired by New York and African American culture which is becoming increasingly relevant in the fashion industry thanks to Tisci’s countless hip-hop collaborations — Watch the Throne anyone??

(UPDATE 4.20.2012: Yet another Tisci collaboration announced with New York-based contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley)

Givenchy patterns by Ricardo Tisci

More of Newsome’s work…

My sad attempt at staging my own Newsome/Tisci-inspired collage…

I was so excited to find volume three of Between The Lines at Colette in Paris. Between The Lines is a coloring book with over one hundred pages filled with images by contemporary artists. The book is yet another example of RxArt’s brilliant initiative to use contemporary art to spread joy. As stated in their mission statement: RxArt is a non-profit organization whose mission it is to improve otherwise sterile environments through contemporary art, promote healing, and inspire hope. This volume of Between The Lines boasts pages with work by 60 contemporary artists, including, Ricci Albenda, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Andisheh Avini, Alyson Shotz, Ivan Navarro and Rob Pruitt. I was holding off starting coloring until the F/W 12′ shows had come to a close to use as inspiration. Take a look below at images from the book and see which of my favorite Fall collections made the cut. To see a full list of participating artists and to purchase the RxArt coloring book click here. Happy coloring!

I was so excited to see that the Visionaire + Mike Gallagher’s collaborative space, VFILES, is finally open at 12 Mercer in Soho. I’ve been awaiting the unveil of the space since wanting to go to Gallagher’s a few months ago only to find it closed. Michael Gallagher is the king of vintage fashion magazines. His previous shop in the East Village was the envy of the fashion industry and designer’s first stop each season for inspiration. Although I was never lucky enough to visit his original space, the new VFILES shop is fantastic. The vintage periodicals are categorized and all kept in pristine condition. I was so excited to find an Art and Fashion-themed copy of L’OFFICIEL from 1990 and the American Vogue from the month and year I was born in, January 1993.

Don’t you love those moments when you realize at the time how magical something is? Yeah. Me too. Fortunately that happened today during my morning with Alber. I first met the Lanvin designer and his partner, Alex, two years ago at dinner in Paris with a mutual friend. Alber was one of my first interviews when I started Minnie Muse and to this day one of my favorites. I love that even after 10 years and at the height of his career he still embodies the brand and has such an infectious mentality that makes everyone want to become part of the Lanvin family.

I hadn’t seen him for almost a year and was so excited to reconnect when I heard he was in town. My mom and I made our way over to the Lanvin boutique early this morning for a very small book signing in celebration of Alber’s 10th anniversary at the fashion house. The book is itself a piece of art.

The spectacular new volume is filled with over fifty pages of single quotes and hundreds of photographs offering a rare glimpse inside of Alber’s extraordinarily creative land at Lanvin.

Haider Ackermann like Tilda Swinton

Pants like Emanuelle Alt

Chanel à la Astrid Bergès-Frisbey

Street Style like Daria wearbowy

A red lip like Linda Fargo

Black like Rei kawakubo

Hats like Brigitte Bardox

Céline like Gaia Repossi

Skirts like Carine Roitfeld

The short film above was the product of a very spontaneous idea my friend Nico and I had one night when discussing how we would contribute to NYU’s Gallatin School’s fashion show. The event took place on February 1, 2012, and this year’s theme was gender in the fashion industry. Rather than designing looks for the evening’s runway show, which unfortunately is neither of our talents, we chose to make a short film interviewing industry professionals discussing the role of gender in the art world and fashion industry. We were so lucky to have gotten the chance to speak with such amazing leaders in their respective fields. A big thank you to Eddie Borgo, Chadwick Bell, Keegan Singh, Roxanne Lowit, Eric Fischl, Andrew Bolton, and Julius Poole for their participation. Check out the piece above.

Monday evening marked the opening of Liu Bolin’s latest work exhibited at the Eli Klein Fine Art Gallery located at 462 West Broadway in Soho. Bolin is a Chinese artist/photographer dubbed The Invisible Man due to his style of painting himself into the background of his photographs to the point of being almost nonexistent. Bolin was also the master behind the Lost In Fashion spread in Harpers Bazaar’s March 12 issue where he painted the likes of Angela Missoni, Alber Elbaz, Jean Paul Gaultier and Maris Grazia Chiuri & Pierpaolo Piccioli into fashion-inspired backgrounds. The party on Monday was hosted by Gaultier and Glenda Bailey to honor of the unveiling of the fashion photographs full scale. In addition to the four prints from Bazaar, the Eli Klein Gallery is also showcasing highlights from Bolin’s already momentous career. See if you can spot The Invisible Man in the below…

In case you missed Bolin’s Lost In Fashion spread check out the images below of Angela Missoni, Alber Elbaz, Jean Paul Gaultier and Maris Grazia Chiuri & Pierpaolo Piccioli. All four photographs are hanging in the Eli Klein Gallery.

After a ten-day hiatus in the form of a trip to the West Coast I am finally back home and slowly returning to my New York routine. Although it was hard to leave California with so much left to see, it was comforting to come back to equally blue skies and warm weather. Amid my LA venture I spent a few days with my best friend at her home in Newport. I had always wanted to experience the OC, if not for the beaches than for the A’maree’s.

There are only a handful of boutiques in the US that are comparable to the European high fashion powerhouses like Dover Street Market and Colette; A’maree’s is one of them. I spent time with the owners, Dawn and Denise, last March in Paris and felt foolish being such a fan of their store without ever actually stepping foot in it. Rest assured, I can now speak from experience that it is everything I imagined. The newly renovated space is suspended over the marina complete with portholes on the floor (see above). Dawn and Denise have stocked their palace with goodies from the likes of Alaïa, Comme, Céline, Dries, Lanvin, Rick Owens, Margiela and The Row. I especially loved all the amazing jewelry and interior pieces. Everything looks so fresh when seen in such a naturally beautiful and stimulating environment.

Urban Zen Furniture

I love the exposed bulbs in these chandeliers that line the store

Amazing skin pieces

The best of SS12 Céline shoes

I am typically not a fan of boutiques that serve food but this open kitchen is an ultra chic solution to satisfy hungry shoppers

Golden Goose sneakers

A’maree’s is located at 2241 West Coast Highway in Newport.

The finale of my Kérastase trilogy has finally arrived. Thakoon was the third show I covered backstage for Kérastse at New York Fashion Week. The inspiration behind the collection was Audrey Hepburn, and to compliment the clothes Thakoon worked with hair guru Odile Gilbert to create a look that was both polished and elegant, with a bit of an edge. Odile crafted very sculptural hair made up of a small chignon with a sharp, asymmetrical part. To achieve this look, the Kérastase experts used Volumactive Mousse and, everyones favorite, Double Force Hair Spray. All you need are a few Kérastase products and you can look like a FW12 Thakoon girl even before the collection hits stores.

Eddie Borgo’s geometric jewelry designs have always reminded me of the work of one of my favorite artists, Olafur Eliasson. For Spring 2012 Visionaire co-founder, Cecelia Dean, was the perfect choice to model a collection that epitomizes the intersection of art and fashion; Borgo cited the work of Robert Mapplethorpe as a primary source of inspiration during his design process. The spring campaign video that launched in early February on EddieBorgo.com and on Style.com brought back such fond memories from the Eliasson exhibition in 2008 at MoMA entitled Take Your Time. Eliasson uses severe shapes and colors to engage and captivate the viewer. Borgo’s short film used these techniques to produce an equally beautiful and mesmerizing effect.

Eliasson’s Color Tunnel at MoMA

Eddie Borgo stills…

The story of the Dubbel Duffel’s revival is truly a modern day fashion fairy tale; but instead, the lucky young girl happens to be a man, China Young, and the fairy godmother is the über chic Huberto Leon, co-founder of Opening Ceremony and creative director of Kenzo. The saga goes as follows… On one fine summer day in 2011 China was doing some innocent thrift store shopping in the magical land of Brooklyn, New York, when he stumbled upon gold in the form of a 1976 nylon duffel bag (another detail that I can’t recall being in any Disney classics).

“What is this?” he thought, “I must investigate”.

To China’s surprise this sturdy nylon satchel was not just one bag, but two! Eager about his find, China purchased the mysterious piece of luggage and took it over the bridge and through the woods, but instead of heading to grandmothers house, he ended up at Opening Ceremony, where young New Yorkers go to find salvation.

As a man trained in the craft of luggage, China used to work for LeSportSac, he knew his new investment was a special one. Huberto, a longtime friend of China’s and nurturer of everything retro, was enthusiastic about reviving an old classic. With some research, China found that just a few years after its inception, Dubbel Duffel had been cast away by its evil stepsisters and left abandoned to fend for itself. Lucky, help was on the way for the lifeless product. China and Huberto worked together to restore the brand and make it practical by today’s standards.

The magical men worked with factories and pattern makers alike to reengineer the forgotten bag. The resulting fabric is an indestructible twill nylon blend that comes in four colors: purple, red, navy and black. The bag’s multipurpose make allows for it to expand to double its capacity. The two sizes available in the premier collection are medium and large, serving as the solution to unisex travel. The medium style converts from a duffel into both a backpack and a messenger bag, while the large morphs effortlessly from a standard duffel to a large messenger.

The Dubbel Duffel is the epitome of a modern classic. Since its resurrection that bag’s first season was picked up exclusively by Opening Ceremony and a full line is set to launch next fall… And they all lived happily ever after in their new homes.

Dubbel Duffel’s are sold exclusively at Opening Ceremony stores and online.
Click here to buy one, NOW, and show all your friends. They’ll think its magic or something!

Dubbel Duffel tutorial by China Young…

Small Dubbel Duffel to backpack…

Large Duffel

The look at Jill Stuart was hair of my dreams. Odile Gilbert and her team constructed the perfect compliment to the effortlessly chic clothes shown on the runway. To achieve this relaxed, undone feeling with the hair, they used Kérastase’s Mousse Substantive, Fiber Architect and Double Force Hairspray. The Mousse can be used on both dry and wet hair and is a great way to take away frizz and give texture. The Fiber Architect heals and seals hair giving a natural shine while protecting it from damage done by heat. The double Force Hairspray is incredibly light and long lasting. This look is even easy to achieve yourself thanks to these three essential Kérastase products. I couldn’t help it after seeing how perfect the models looked and I ended up leaving the show looking like a Jill Stuart girl compliments of Kérastase.

Tuesday evening marked the VIP opening of Cindy Sherman at MoMA. It was such fun to celebrate with Cindy on such an important night in her already momentous career. Clothing plays a increasingly crucial role in Cindy’s constructing of new personas. It is easy to see through Cindy’s work how fashion and art are so interconnected. She utilizes the former while it is apparent the fashion industry takes cues from her, as well. Having already done collaborations with Comme des Garçons, Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga and Chanel it is exciting to think about who will come next. Check out some of the prints exhibited at the MoMA and which designers most likely feed off Cindy for inspiration.

Cindy Sherman runs at the MoMA February 26th -June 11th.

As my million tweets last week may have hinted, I did some backstage coverage of a few Fall 2012 shows for Kérastase Paris. The first of three was SUNO at Milk studios on February 10th. It was great to meet the Kérastase team especially the queen of hair, Odile Gilbert. Odile, who has been with Kérastase for two years, works closely with designers to complete the look each season for their runway shows. She takes the spirit of the collection and translates it to hair through a process that begins almost two weeks before a show. The final style is usually decided upon two days prior to the runway. This season at SUNO Kérastase helped to create a fresh, innocent and sophisticated look. Stay tuned to see footage as well from Jill Stuart and Thakoon…

Among the many shows and events that NYFW brings Polyvore Live was a major highlight of the past week. Being one of 25 fashion bloggers chosen to walk in the first ever Polyvore Live fashion show was incredibly exciting. Both Polyvore and COVERGIRL sponsored the event that brought fashion and social media lovers to the show and their computers to view the live streaming catwalk. I wore a red cocktail dress by Vengsarkar Budhu that was perfect for the Valentines Day-eve event. A big thank you again to Polyvore and COVERGIRL for bringing fashion and social media to a forefront through an ever-growing network of bloggers. I can’t wait to see what the next Polyvore Live show brings…

Click here to view the runway video and more pictures from the show.

Last night marked the opening of Eric Fischl’s Portraits exhibition at Mary Boone’s Gallery. It is the first time Boone has dedicated both her Midtown and Chelsea Gallery spaces to one artist. The opening party was at the 24th street location with a reception following at the Boom Boom room. Eric’s portraits are truly breathtaking. He does it for me with art what Nicolas Ghesquière does season after season with fashion. Both are so innovative with color and technique to the point where it is hard to understand why others even bother. In my ultimate fantasy world I would be in the background of Eric’s painting entitled The Gang (pictured below) wearing a SS12 Balenciaga mega-brim hat. One can only dream…

With Eric.

Anh Duong

Christy Ferer

I am a bit of a loser in the presence of artists and turn into the paparazzi type. It is hard to help myself from clicking away if I see Andres Serrano and Chuck Close talking or when I catch Cindy Sherman prepping for a bike ride.

Eric’s work will be on display at both Mary Boone Gallery spaces until March 17th.
Chelsea: 541 West 24th Street
Midtown: 745 Fifth Avenue

Tomorrow marks the official start of New York fashion week and fashion month soon after. My premiere show of the season, Chadwick Bell, will appropriately be my first ever at Lincoln Center and his first time showing there. I couldn’t be more excited to be part of such a momentous moment in Chadwick’s career. At his Fall 12 collection preview last week I was thrilled to see so many amazing jackets, sweaters and dresses alike in the perfect shades of burgundy, deep turquoise and emerald green. There is nothing I love more to accompany my black wardrobe than a few rich, jewel-tone staples and lots of texture for Fall. Not to mention, his inspiration board was pretty rad. It is hard to go wrong with a collection that sites Rothko and old pictures of Anjelica Huston as inspiration. Maybe Chadwick will even throw together a red suit worthy enough for Chas Tenenbaum.

Walking down the street in London my mom and I happened upon the most adorable family of life size gummy bears. It turns out the sculptures were in the window of the Halcyon Gallery and were done by the Italian artist Mauro Perucchetti. We couldn’t get over how cute and whimsical each family was. I preferred the smaller group as the larger ones made me feel a bit like I was in a game of life-size Candy Land. Too bad the pieces were actual art and not just colorful, gummy sugar. It wasn’t until after the gallery that we recollected my last ‘jelly’ obsession was in lower school when the Jelly Kelly was first introduced. I could’t wait to get my hands on the knock-off Hermes handbags; I even used the mini purses to carry my lunch to school. They’re in storage now but maybe in 50 years they will be what a Jetsons lunch box circa 1960 is today. One can only hope….

These crystal apples below are also done by Perucchetti and are part of his Garden of Eden series. Do they not look like a Judith Leiber handbag display?

Hi to all. I hope you like the new site design! I just returned from a very fun trip to Europe. Plenty of things to share but I thought I would start off with two of my new favorite shops we stumbled upon. The photograph above was taken alongside a women named Sophie Reisinger who is a personal shopper and Parisian fashion expert. My mother and I ran around the city with her one day on a hunt for Paris’ best vintage stores. We ended up finding some amazing pieces, both old and new. Sophie introduced us to one of our new favorite stores GISELE\SO’ located at 50 Rue De Sèvres, which has everything from Chrsitopher Kane to Valentino to McQueen. The owner, Gisele, does an amazing job filling the space with the rare pieces one sees on the runway but can never actually track down.

With the sweetest boutique owner ever, Gisele.

Please. Please. Please. If you’re in Paris and are in the mood to buy you need to stop by GISELE\SO’. You’ll find so many unique pieces that you would never stumble upon in the states or at similar stores in Europe… Just a few days into our trip we took a day adventure to London to see some friends. Atop my list of immediate stops was Dover Street Market. To my surprise and disappointment DSM was closed for renovation until the following week. My hopes for London were dashed until we discovered the John Rocha boutique just a few doors down at 15a Dover Street. I wasn’t familiar with the Asian designer until I stepped into the space that I can only describe as the most amazing lovechild between Rick Owens and Rei Kawakubo. I found a black shearling/leather reversible bolero that needed to come home with me, but there were countless other pieces of perfection. Take a look below…

Last week’s Friends event at The Costume Institute was a discussion with two of today’s most influential men in fashion; designer Thom Browne and writer Glen O’brien. The format of the talk was very casual but incredibly interesting and informative. Thom spoke about starting his line because was tired of seeing men dressed casually. He wanted to dress young kids in something they would otherwise run from because they associated suits with older men. His reason for making the proportions of his pieces more severe was to update a classic way of dressing. Thom’s goal in design is to make beautiful pieces that are still cool enough where people don’t feel like they are dressing up. While he did recognize that due to their cut he may have to start marketing his jackets as boleros, he also said his pants are going to stay short because to him a man’s ankle is equivalent in sex appeal to a woman’s cleavage. for Thom style is not a trend but rather an aesthetic and there is nothing cooler to the man than individuals who have their own look. For him, the perfect look is a shrunken grey suit, but for others it could be something completely different, they just have to not use clothing to hide behind but rather to better shape who they are.

With Thom, my friend Lauren, and The Costume Institute’s Andrew Bolton

Last week Milly hosted a blogger party at their Madison Avenue Flagship boutique to get a first look at the new collection. It is always fun to dress up and celebrate the holiday season with fellow bloggers. The store looked great and it is definitely worth the trip to see the new holiday collection, there are some really great pieces for the cold months ahead.

The children’s clothes are a highlight…

I was so lucky to get to style myself during the party in two looks; one for the holiday season and one day look. This dress was my favorite piece I saw. I love the length and the interesting back, it is the perfect party dress for these cold months ahead.

1. Chanel beauty comes out with the best exclusives. I am obsessed with their new Mat Top Cote and this limited edition black Eyelash Curler.

2. I love receiving great fashion and art books to add to my collection. This holiday season, Carine Roitfeld’s irreverent is on the top of my list.

3. Along with my main wallet I always carry around a Commes des Garçons Small Pouch. It is perfect for holding immediate cash and cards or to throw in an evening bag… And they come in such fun patters and colors!

4. Eddie Borgo can do no wrong. I wear his gunmetal and pave cone bracelets everyday, but if you’re looking for a new staple necklace, his Pyramid Chocker is perfection.

5. Proenza Schouler knows how to do accessories better than anyone. The medium size PS1 in pony hair is the perfect day to night bag for winter time.

6. Tom Ford Beauty just launched in time for the holidays at Bergdorf Goodman. He’s been teasing us for a few seasons with lipsticks and such but his entire collection has everything a beauty lover needs. I love his skincare, but my favorites pieces to start with are the Lip Colors and Ultra Shine Glosses.

7. Sunglass Hut always sets the best glasses trends each season. I love all of the nude frames they have been offering. Neutrals, particularly these ivory Prada’s, are great for any time of year.

8. I always love browsing through the gift guides on Style.com. This Sonia bolero by Muzungu Sisters is Margherita’s Missoni’s pick for the holiday season.

9. Everyone needs something to commemorate Gaga’s Workshop at Barneys New York. The toys, specifically this Little Monster Set, are my favorite of the exclusive items.

Happy shopping!