My First Award

I'm one of those people that are not used to get awards. I'm one of those that playing the lottery doesn't mean such a thing, but a plain loosing money in the lottery...
When two days ago my dearest Mahret from F&Art wrote my name in her Rockin' Girl Blogger award I couldn't believe my eyes and had to click twice on my name to see it was true.
THANKS my dear Mahret for such a thing, it means more than you think to me :)
Now it is my turn to give the award to 5 faves of mine, and here I go...

Parallel Entity: for giving me that special point of view in fashion and design matters.





Diary Of A Third World Fashionista: For showing me that you don't need to live in Paris or New York to have a fashionista life.

Scout Holiday: For showing me that NY can be cool, indeed.

Ropa Vieja: Because I just like her, and she does like the same things i do.

Montmartre's Sketchbook: For being elegant, stylish and cute.


And of course there are other blogs that i would give my award, but they have been awarded already because they're good and people thought of them before me.. The Coveted, F&Art, Style Bubble, Bored & Beautiful ... and ALL my links, because otherwise they wouldn't be there.

Free and Exciting, and Stylish People Involved

If there is something I like most of summertime in NYC, is all the free concerts that bloom during this time.
Last Sunday my dear ones, The Fiery Furnaces, played at The Socrates Sculpture Park, where one can enjoy the best outdoors sculptures in the city while looking at the most amazing waterfront view.
Eleanor Friedberger was stunning in her simple outfit: striped tight jeans and cowboy boots, loved the mix.

Friends Tim, ex drummer of Diamond Nights and Ted, American Apparel's VIVA radio dj, were among the public, two very elegant men, as you all can see.

The average public was quite stylish but because I'm shy and can't ask for a picture, didn't take any picture at all. Shame on me.

No Comment

HANDBAG: 32 EUROS
FOOD FOR A WEEK: 4 EUROS

SUNGLASSES: 24 EUROS
ACCESS TO WATER: 8 EUROS

AFTERSHAVE: 35 EUROS
BASICS FOR A NEW HOME: 6.50 EUROS

* source

Poltock & Walsh

Two British designers, Fiamma Poltock and Katie Walsh whose London-based label Poltock & Walsh is to keep an eye on, are going to show their SS 08 during NYFW at the Style 360 event, an alternative fashion week destination produced by the publishers of Elle magazine, Hachette Filipacchi.
This event doesn't have a website yet so all I know is the info they sent me via e-mail, which is what I'm telling you here. I answered their e-mail requesting an invitation to attend Poltock & Walsh show but their answer was, the show is at its capacity ... which is bad news for me, but a great one for them, and I can't wait to see what these two girls offer us for the next summer. At least something good, I'm sure about that.

Paper Dresses and Art Magazines

Irana Douer is one of those people whose life has been attached to mine without even knowing it.

I was following her own online magazine, Ruby Mag, for quite a while but I didn't know who the person behind it was.
A very good friend of mine turned out to be a very good friend of hers and what's most amazing, a very dear one was once involved in some way with her.
One day Irana contacted me because of Milkshake Chocolate and from there on we started to unpuzzled our connected lives.
She runs her own magazine, she makes beautiful paper dresses and here she talks about her life in great Buenos Aires, Argentina.


When and Why did you decide to make Paper Dresses?

I started one Saturday night when I was very bored at home and I had tons of brown paper and I started doing a collage that looked like a skirt and so I turned it into a skirt. Soon I started trying doing other paper outfits and enrolled myself in a sewing class but I didn’t last long. I must admit that fashion design is not for me. The few classes I attended I learnt to do children wear and so I made a few kids dresses out of paper and draw on them as if they were canvases.

I know there's a very sad story behind the dresses...

Well, I was invited to be part of an art show in another city in Buenos Aires (for those who don’t know, Buenos Aires is not only a city but a whole province/state) and I went there for the opening and came back home. When the show was over the curator gave the pieces to another artist in the show who lives near me and told me about it later. A few months passed by and I didn’t claim the dresses and then I went away (to Cuba and Europe) for about 3 months.

When I got back I contact the artist who had my dresses and he said he couldn’t find them and he thinks he might have thrown them away. I know I waited too long (about 6 months) to claim them back but I wouldn’t expect him to throw them away, specially since he’s an artist too and he should have some certain respect for artworks. If he didn’t want to hold them for me he should have reached me but he never did so and it makes me really sad and angry.

Do you have a favourite fashion designer?
mmmm I don’t think so. I used to be more interested in fashion design but not nymore. I mean, I do like nice clothing but I’m not into deigner clothing. Still, I love shoboshobo’s jumpers and all those one of a kind /artsy kind of clothing.

A favourite artist?
that’s a tough one! Right now I’m obsesed with Richard Colman’s art. And Roger Ballen.

Tell me about your latest trip to Cuba...

I had a good time in La Habana, i felt I was living in the 50s. the buildings, the cars, everything is old but amazingly beautiful. And the ocean is amazing! You can see your feet even if the water is up your neck (fish and all kind of underwater creatures intrigue me but scare me so much). But the whole trip wasn’t that good for me because it was more of a family trip and I don’t like resting. Being still bores me…I’m more of a city person. I should go back on my own someday!

That is why 4 days after coming back home I left to Europe for 2 months on my own.

What are you reading right now?
I just finished “No one belongs here more than you.” Stories by Miranda July. I didn’t like her movie that much but I must admit she has a very weird and funny imagination so I thought I should try her book. I thought it was pretty good.

Latest movie seen and enjoyed?
I recently saw (for the second time) “Santa Sangre” by Alejandro Jodorowsky. It is insane.

What are you working on right now?

I haven’t done any silkscreen in a while so I’ve been thinking of doing some work using that technique. I’m also preparing a new book for Ruby (my magazine) and I’m planning a new trip for the summer (your winter). I’m also attending school so I try to do everything all at once.

I know one of your latest projects are the hand drawn tea cups, one of them has a girl whose nose is bleeding…I'm very curios about it. ..

Most of my latest work has been about sad and/or hurt women. Some of them have bloody noses, other have black eyes. Other are just crying. I try to show phisically their internal pain.

Where do you make the cups?

Oh well, I don’t do the cups. They’re not handmade, they’re drawn. I buy plain ceramic tea cups and draw on them. My mom used to paint on ceramics and then quit and so she gave me all her materials (pigments, oils, everything needed to work on ceramics). I do everything at home and after I finish working on them I send them to a special oven for ceramics for getting the ink “fixed” and that’s it.

Tell me 3 things in your room you couldn't live without. Why?

I have EVERYTHING in my room! I work there, I sleep there, I have my computer! I need everything in it!

Well…that’s not 100% true though. I’m a “things” person. I like having stuff, paintings and art pieces from other artists, letters and packages, books, things from my trips, papers, papers and more papers and it is very hard for me to throw things away. but here is my top 3:

1- My computer

2- My art materials (specially my acrylics and 3 brushes I love the most)

3- My small art collection (I’ve been trading art and buying some pieces and I have made a small but amazing art collection which I hope to increase little by little. Hopefully I’ll have a special room for them someday)

For Heaven's Sake

Customizing vintage clothing and making a living with it seems like an all girls' dream.
Carissa Ackerman, a stunning blonde who decided not to dream but to live it through and through, moved with her boyfriend from NYC's Chinatown to über-hipster Williamsburg to open a store that would serve as a home, working place and friends' meeting point; Mandate of Heaven.

I have had the pleasure to work with her a couple of times, styling her designs and having the impression of dealing with the wardrobe of some 50's bombshell film.
If you happen to be around, go and take a look; not only her clothing will make you feel sexy and good, this woman's world has some kind of attraction that's unique.

TFB is the new TFS

When back in December last year I posted a call for someone to invite me to be part of TFS [The Fashion Spot], the über famous site for fashionistas and fashion victims around, and dearest Estella Mare did it so, I didn't know things were going to be the way they are ... With this I mean, for some strange reason, I don't quite like TFS. I know it's a great source for all kind of pictures and info, but the true is, I don't visit it very often but when i do, I never get satisfied.


The Fashion Box comes to the rescue. TFB is a forum moderated by Moni from Miss At La Playa, whose purpose is to share fashion pictures to all the fashion lovers in the world.
The quality of the images is unbeatable and so is the selection of them; editorials, Ad-campaigns, Backstage images, Runways ...
This is a very exquisite source of very good stuff.

Open Your Eyes To The Fashion World, Don't Do Like Me

Some times negative comments lead you to positive experiences, as it happened to me not long time ago.
In a recent post in Almost Girl about this upcoming NYFW, dear Julie posted about the craziness of the schedule in such an event. My comment (double comment actually, I had some problems with the first one and thought it wouldn't show up...) criticized the lack of interesting designers in this year's program. Julie, smartly, sent me a personal email telling me how wrong i was and afterwards she wrote an amazing list of amazing designers who will show during NYFW.
I was very touched and thankful and so i said to her, because she opened my eyes and forced me to see the fashion world beyond the wall I put on myself.
One of the designers in the list was 20 years old Patrik Rzepski, a very young Jil Sander-like designer whose work reminds me the very first of the German, with a modern twist in the shape and irregular line of the garments.
These are pictures of her Autumn Winter 07-08 collection.
My request to attend her SS:08 fashion show has been sent already in an URGENT email, and hopefully my prayer will be answered in a positive way. Keep fingers crossed.

Bloggers that Say Good-Bye

A fashion blogger's life can seem exciting and easy, but looking at how blogs are closing these days make you think that maybe it's not. Cool Like Cholé, Tag Sale Tales, Haute Hipster... are just the latest to say good-byes, but not the last I'm sure.

Blogging is something you might think as a pass-time and experiences-telling, but talking with others bloggers about their blogging life shows that behind each blog there's more than just logging.

Bloggers give a great deal of their personal time to find new talents, to interview people and to, basically, inspire other bloggers and support new trends, designers or artists.
Some bloggers use their blogs as a playground for their opinions, but others use them to show to the world their skills as journalists, their ability to express opinions freely, something that the "official press" seems to lack of.

Fashion bloggers look for a change in their professional life and it is not rare to witness how some of them actually get it. That gives other bloggers the hope, and new people get into the network.
Unfortunately not all our hopes have a happy ending, but as dearest Jennine, from The Coveted says, we are working on it.

From Pixels to Paper

Unfortunately I don't check my iqons* profile too often; i guess the navigation of this site is not easy and i get lazy about it. I say unfortunately because when i do, i might admit that nice surprises use to await for me.
Yesterday, one of those rare days of checking, i got in my bulletin an invitation for the launch party of the first printed edition of Stimulus Respond, a made in England online publication.

The event will take place in September 24th at The Studio, in London, there will be DJs, music and other stimulation for your enjoyment! - what kind of " other stimulation", i wonder, but i wish i live in London.
Soon-to-be just printed magazine, will be available at news stands and by subscription only, although the website will still feature some selected material.
In their last online issue, available here, interviews to all's favourite Sandra Backlund, Swiss couple and designers Damn Romance, (to keep an eye on), or Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft, among with articles, poetry and all kind of journalist eye candy.

Prada in the Middle of the Desert, That's It

Marfa, this little town in West Texas where I have spent some good 5 days in a wedding, is not only known by movie buffs, but also by Art-meets-Fashion freaks.
In our way to Marfa from El Paso late at night we saw a bus stop lighten up, or so we thought. It was strange to think of it as a bus stop though, because it was literally in the middle of no where. Even stranger was to hear someone in the car mentioning, " I think that's the Prada store" ...
Incredulous we pulled over and came back to the place; he was right, it was a Prada store, a Prada window's displayed, to be exact.
We took some pictures and we even saw a bullet mark in the window; I guess we weren't the only ones to want the inside merchandise.

The day after we investigated a little more about this store, asking the locals and the people at the wedding.
They enlightened us about this art installation called Prada Marfa from Berlin-based artists Elmgreen & Dragset who chose this location between the towns of Valentine and Fort Davis in West Texas for it. The place wasn't deserted even before, as there was located the then-famous Oasis Gas Station...
I investigated a little more in internet and this GREAT interview to the artists in KultureFlash came up.

So yes, it's Prada. And not, it's not a store. It's Art. Indeed.

* nightlight picture by me
* daylight picture by source

Marfa Mon Amour

I'm going to Marfa, a little town in Texas, for 5 days to enjoy a friend's wedding. I don't know if i will have access to internet or not, but i will try to keep updating.

If you are a movie buff, you might know Marfa ... it is the town where American director George Stevens shot Giant in 1956, with Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean and Rock Hudson ...
I will stay in El Paisano Hotel, the same hotel where the crew was staying at the time .. ^_^ quite exciting. ... Bon Voyage!

Yours Truly in Pimp Guides

The name of the magazine, Pimp Guides, might be a little suspicious, but they're fun and free and just published an editorial i did two months ago with photographer Jonathan Beck Leder, THE LONG WEEKEND.
We went to shoot at Woodstock, upstate New York, where we stayed in a very vintage cabin, all 70's and wood. It was a long weekend indeed. But I can't forget the last day, when the sun came out finally after two days hidden in the rain, and we discovered a pawn in front of the house. It was fun and some of us ended up taking a swim there.

In you live in London, please take a free copy of the mag to enjoy the editorial. For those less fortunate, like me, we can go to http://digital.pimpguides.com/# and click on VIEW LATEST ISSUE. The editorial is under the name of THE LONG WEEKEND in page 57 to 64. HOPE YOU LIKE IT! ^_^

Can't Buy My Love ... ?

Dearest Sonia, Japan-phile as no one, always in search of J-things to awe her soul, sent me the link of THE GREAT HAPPINESS SPACE [Tale of an Osaka Love Thief], a documentary by Jake Clennell who won the Best Feature Documentary Award [Edinburgh International Film Festival] and the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You [Gotham Awards] for it.

It took me some time to decide to watch it, due to the length of it, 1h 15min, but yesterday I bought a vanilla milkshake late at night and put the video on. And once finished, i say, it worths every single minute of it.

Clennell, who at the time was working as a DP (Director of Photography) in the production of a film about Japanese high school baseball in Osaka, got very interested for the crowd of young and very stylish male youngsters who used to hang out near one of the bridges of the city, approaching all the ladies that passed by them.
His first interest came because of the look of these boys, alas, fashion is important, and then he decided to investigate a bit more about this scene.

The kids, he found out, were what in Japan is called 'club hosts', professionals of the art of seduction, workers of private clubs whose salary depends on how well they get to entertain and seduce these women who would pay high sums in exchange of company and fun, getting to the point of paying to $10,000 a night to gain more time with them.. but who's able to pay that amount of money?? ... Jake decided to make a film.

The documentary uncovers the reality behind this scene; who is who, who tricks who, who is lonelier than who, who really needs company ... and it is quite surprising, and it's all i will say, to find out that the girls are prostitutes themselves, the only ones able in a country as Japan, to earn money enough to pay for company, and the ones lonelier enough to need to pay for it.

Matvey

Working in men's wear magazines as a fashion editor is my goal, so when I have the chance to do male editorials is like a big present in someone's birthday; i get excited and happy.

Last week I worked with Russian male model Matvey [Fusion] and Prague-based American photographer David Surowiecki.

The experience was fantastic in spite of some unexpected police visit when we were finishing our last take in the shooting ...
Matvey, here by COACD, is such an amazing model; he's young and yet so professional, and i had a fun time talking to him in Spanish (he's Russian ...). One of the very few models that don't care to change clothing in the middle of the street even if that means to remain in underwear whilst the stylist tries to find the next pants to wear, soon, somewhere ... that was me, of course.

I wish the best for him, and hopefully we will work together again. Bravo Matvey!

** All pictures in this post taken by me... the styling is mine too!!
The best pictures were those taken by David, of course, very soon on the web.

Two Italian Masters

It gives me great pleasure to recognize, with no help other than my brain-archive, the inspirations behind shows, windows or editorials: my head is not that empty after all... The current mannequins featured at Prada in Soho, remind me quite a bit to Greek-born, Italian-blooded Metaphysical Art's father Giorgio De Chiricho's disquieting dummys ...

The color palette is mostly the same; earthy oranges, sandy browns, cream and off whites ... and the mannequins themselves can't be more alike.

L.A. Woman

Summertime... and I, more than ever, look west to contemplate La La Land ladies and their always glowing mood and skin ... i deeply envy the laid back chic and effortless hip of L.A. women.
Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light ... ?

Some instances ...

KATE HUDSON
















CAMERON DIAZ
















PENELOPE CRUZ
















CORY KENNEDY
















LIZ GOLDWYN
















KIRSTEN DUNST