My ears are bleeding and I have consequently tuned out of my hated Renaissance class, turned my computer to record and gone on an adventure to a land of where Billy Crystal reigns, where there are always sequinned dresses and naked gold statuettes for all... but not really.
I only really care about the Oscars for the red carpet. The day after I may check over the winners maybe have a little discussion with myself about who should have won, but thats about it. This year seemed pretty safe. No swan dresses (Bjork and Cate Blanchett), no Haider Ackermann (Tilda), no... surprises. But anyway here are some of the night's best:
Trend: Whiteout
Rooney Mara continued her streak of edgy red carpet dresses in this stunning Givenchy Couture. Shailene Woodley looked grand in her Valentino Couture sheath, I like that she covered up and left a little to the imagination! Gwyneth Paltrow's cape didn't win her many fans but she looked statuesque in this Tom Ford gown from his recent collection. And Mila Jovovich surprised me yet again (I thought she was only good at killing zombies or whatnot) in her sequinned Elie Saab Couture confection.
Trend: Sing to me of Black and Gold, Sam Sparro
Anna Faris just looks adorable with her blonde bowl cut and DVF sequinned sheath. Jessica Chastain wins look of the night for me in her amazing gold embroidered Alexander McQueen gown. Despite thinking she has no talent, Angelina Jolie looked great in a sexy Atelier Versace creation. And Meryl Streep managed to match her Oscar in this lovely draped, lame Lanvin.
Mini Trend: Make mine Mint
I'm really in the mood to see The Artist and it's female lead Berenice Bejo nailed this Elie Saab dress in a faint mint along with Maria Menounos who looked very old Hollywood in her dusty mint Maria Lucia Hoha chiffon dress.
And all those other winners
Kristen Wigg was nice in her neutral J. Mendel while Emma Stone's crimson Giambattista Valli Couture dress dulled the redness of the red carpet.
Leslie Mann looked great in her royal blue Roberto Cavalli gown with light sequinned detail and then Elizabeth Banks stole the show at the Vanity Fair after party in an odd spotty green dress with strange feathered detail, but I loved it.
Listening to: the dullest lecturer on the planet destroying my love for the Renaissance Observations: I hate this class Craving: Anywhere but here and some moisturizer
2012 is looking like a killer year for films and as much as I don't want to hear the name Kristen Stewart mentioned again, I cannot wait for Rupert Sanders' re-imagination of the children's fairy tale, Snow White...
Ooooh Charlize Theron just oozes pure evil: "Lips red as blood hair black as night, bring me your heart my dear dear Snow White."
I found another editorial, this one from S Moda starring Codie Young in Viktor and Rolf, featuring extreme beauty looks that are very Snow-White esque.
Loving the gold and red with Codie's auburn hair and pale skin. My favourite image has to be the last one with the red dress and the crow perched on her shoulder... note the blood on her hands, maybe she was the one who cut out the pig's heart to give to her wicked stepmother. Oh and the one with the icy nails and the apple is pretty stellar as well
- Life is good
Listening to: "After Hours" - We Are Scientists Observations: Beautiful snowy day Craving: An affordable, clean, six bedroom house in the ghetto... is it so much to ask?
So David Fincher's adaptation of the worldwide smash hit and now cult novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is coming to theatres on December 21st.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see it, but I'm very apprehensive about how it is going to compare with the novel and the spectacular Swedish version that came out in 2009. The story of Lisbeth Salanader, miracle hacker and serial badass, is a dark one. One that Hollywood could either possibly enrich or grossly mistreat...
Rooney Mara, a relative unknown, beat out some truly big-time names to snag the coveted role of Lisbeth (a role originated by Swedish actress Noomi Rapace) and she's undergone a serious, almost unrecognizable transformation in preparation.
Rooney Mara before, pretty fresh faced and respectable...
Mara as Lisbeth Salander... alittle different eh?
Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish films
Obviously with this role comes a mountain of press; when the book of the new millennium is turned into a film, it becomes a pretty big deal. And you know you've made it big when you're wearing all black, have bleached eyebrows and a multitude of piercings and these guys come knocking down your door for an interview and a cover no less...
And as if that's not enough, H&M is launching their very own line of clothes based on the film, coming to stores on December 14th. I pulled a few of my favourite looks here for you... really into the earrings and the hoodie.
Point of today's post: I was pursuing the latest editorials and playing virtual dress up when I decided I wanted to compile my own looks for Salander. They're a lot less gritty than the character and obviously leather is a prominent feature, but these are some of the ways I picture Lisbeth... from hair, styling and attitude I feel like these photos capture a tiny essence of the worlds most polarizing heroine...
My favourite has to be the Givenchy (fifth down). I'm stuck in the jet lag limbo right now so I guess it's off to do some research for my last two essays, but in reality I'll probably end up sprawled over the couch downstairs watching early morning T.V. Huurraahhh for sleeplessness right?
Looking at all these collections for next spring made me realize that I was neglecting the very season we're in right. Fall/ Winter 2011 may have been shown last spring, but it is high time I started to sift through the trends and admit to myself that even though summer doesn't officially end until the 21st of September (which is soon), it was four degrees this morning... the time for sweaters and coats is here.
Winter brights are a big trend this season, however instead of just a boring post of several colorful looks I wanted to mix it up with a few colorful references I would throw into my show notes if I were a designer.
Just a couple examples of some one-color looks this winter: Gucci, Prada, Akris, Chanel, Gareth Pugh, YSL and Lanvin
A) I had a pretty glorious childhood. My parents love to read and story time was an essential ritual before bedtime. One of our favorite family stories is The Color of Things by Vivienne Shalom, pictured below.
The story concerns an evil scientific couple who hate color and build a device to drain it from the world. A little girl Jill comes to the world's rescue when she digs up her hidden paint box in the garden and with the help of the neighborhood children they begin to repaint the town. In the end color is all restored and the evil couple is forced underground to hide from the gloriousness of it all. I loved the book because I just wanted to be that little girl going around and painting everything the way I wanted it to be. Can you imagine, literally the world was her canvas.
This is the image that best sums up the story: Jill uncovering her box of treasured colors. The wonder reflected in her glasses is actually pretty moving.
B) I recently sat down with a couple friends and watched the two hour epic that is Pleasantville; the Gary Ross masterpiece about a fictional town depicted on television that suddenly becomes one boy's reality when he and his sister are literally thrown into the story. What happens next is unplanned and amazing. I strongly recommend that you see this film as it is a hysterical, yet surprisingly deep social investigation/ critique.
I'm hoping I don't give too much away, but as events change in the story the black and white television show starts to be shown in color, elements change very slowly... first a girl blows a pink bubblegum bubble, then there is a red rose, a green car and so on until people begin to become 'colorized'. This signifies that they have been 'enlightened', seen beyond their previous scope... and that's all I'm going to give away. Here are some screen shots from the film showing this:
C) As today was the last day of my first week of school and I've sat through all my new Art Histories I decided some investigation into some new artists was due. And I discovered a group of 'colorists' who were part of the Color Field movement, a branch of Abstract Expressionism simply characterized by their uses of large blocks of color. Duh, I guess I should have guessed. Some familiar faces from this group are Joan Miro (whose retrospective I saw at the Tate this summer), Mark Rothko and Morris Louis. However, some new 'guys' I'm interested in are:
Frank Stella, Harran II
Hans Hoffman, The Gate
Ronnie Landfield, Rite of Spring
Finding new art is awesome. Regardless of John Stewart and his 'Dick Jokes for Art History Majors' I love my major.
Haha, youtube it.
Anyway, the whole point of this was to introduce some of the brilliant colors for Fall fashion and without further more ado feast your eyes on some Gucci, Akris, Givenchy, Chanel, Mugler and much more:
I'd like to dedicate this post to a friend of a friend: I'm thinking of you, S.
So about once a week I love to take a trip to the Apple movies website to sift through all the new trailers, and there are some really good films coming out! I'm really stoked about all the potential movie watching I will be engaged in once exams are over and I can't believe that two weeks from now I'll be back home in England. This term has flown by... major swiftness.
Anyway I decided to celebrate my love for movies by doing alittle digging to find runway looks that compliment some of the up & coming films and also some of my older favorites... and let us away!
The upcoming
#1... I want to begin with this image that I was ever so lucky to snap, at the Rialto market in Venice this past summer
I apologize for the quality, but that man there... is Johnny Depp. Yes, I am fortunate enough to have seen him in the flesh although not as close as I would have liked. I was probably 15 feet away... give or take.
So what is the occasion then? Well Johnny boy is in this film called The Tourist, set in Venice (duh), co-starring the cool as a cucumber Angelina Jolie and the ever so fly Paul Bettany. It's an action something or other that I can't wait to sink my teeth into. IMPORTANT: Pay attention to the scene at 1:04...
Ok.... apart from the fact that A) 'Map of the Problematique' by Muse is one of my favorite songs of all time, B) I spent a month 'living' in Venice and could tell you were many of those scenes were shot and C) It stars Johnny Depp, this film actually looks pretty good.
Oh, I saved the best for last... so yes, I hope you were watching closely at 1:04 because...
We were there :) No big deal right?! Sorry, for this, I need to claim bragging rights. Alot of people in my class didn't think he was actually performing the stunt, but I definitely think it's him.
So I kinda had a hard time finding runway inspiration for this film cause all the clothes are so normal... except for his wonderful blue pinstriped pajamas, but luckily I found something. Here (from left to right) we have a spot on Etro Spring '09 pantsuit that looks as though they could be the female version of Johnny's, a Max Mara Spring '08 silky suit and lastly a classy and definitely not pajama worthy, but still cool for running around Venice, Armani Prive Couture '10 suit.
#2 Ok ok ok. It has a really really unfortunate name, but I think it looks absolutely unreal especially because it totes the acting chops of both Daniel Craig (yum) and Harrison Ford. Here we have... Cowboys and Aliens (major cringe, but at least you know what to expect, right?)
COOL! Defo looking forward to that... whatever it may be. And on the fashion front... easy peasy non? We've got D&G whose Spring '10 collection was heavy on the western and the denim. Derek Lam went pretty literal with cowboy hats and fringe for an '09 show, loving the metallic booties though. And the all American hero Ralph Lauren put the chic back into the ole West for this upcoming Spring '11 collection. I've never owned anything fringy or a big buckled belt, and now I really want one.
More stunning Ralph Lauren (left) and D&G (right) but they bookend a spectacular Diesel Black Gold Spring '11 leather mini that to me screams desert trekking and gun slinging.
For fun I wanna speculate about what the aliens will look like... I mean, will they be weird reptilian beings, slimey, goopey and amorphous or futuristic and sci fi? I leave you to ponder with examples by Rick Owens '11, Alexander McQueen '10 and Gareth Pugh '09 creations.
#3 A new take on a classic fairy tale, but with the director of the first Twilight film, who knows what this will be like. This new Red Riding Hood film will probably draw huge crowds of adolescent girls, but I'm actually alittle excited for it:
My family and I used to listen to Roald Dahl's 'Revolting Rhymes' when were were younger and our favorite was the version Red Riding Hood... the best part by far is: "That's wrong" cried Wolf. "Have you forgot To tell me what BIG TEETH I've got? Ah well, no matter what you say, I'm going to eat you anyway." The small girl smiles. One eyelid flickers She whips a pistol from her knickers. She aims it at the creature's head And bang bang bang, she shoots him dead.
Hours of endless fun off those tapes. Dahl is one of my all time favorite authors. My kids will read his books with relish. Anyway, here are my runway counterparts... So it's purple, but you can't mistake the imagery of the giant hood & cape combo, plus she's walking a pair of wolves: who else but Alexander McQueen from '02. Next is a wonderful crimson cape by Giambattista Valli from '08 and lastly is one of Pierrot's fairy tale themed looks from the '02 show.
We have another Valli creation and an awesome Zac Posen' 07 gown for when Miss Hood wants to go out and celebrate her cunning and survival.
#4 When introducing this film I need to clarify that these numbers are not a reflection of my personal favorites because if this were so, this film would be number one by far. Black Swan is what I can only describe as a psychological thriller, a ballerina film on acid. I remember when I first saw the trailer there were so many emotions running through me, I was totally electrified with excitement. Add I'm so excited that Natalie Portman is garnering Oscar buzz. I hope the film lives up to my expectations, especially because the Mulleavy sisters,who are behind Rodarte, designed the ballerina costumes!
Brilliant eh? I rustled (couldn't help a feather related joke) up some images of ballerina type dresses bordering on the cliche, but that's my job. Here we have an Alexander McQueen '08 dress that is not meant to recall a ballerina's tutu but with all its bunched up tulle how can you not think about that. Jil Stuart makes great wearable clothes and this look reminds me of great sportwear and the type of loose dress a ballerina wears to train in. Comfy. And then we have the full swan lake regalia (although I'm not sure they have pale green swans)... the feathery skirt looks like feathers or wings and could totally pass as a costume for the Royal Ballet.
Next we have a David Koma '11 swan lake-esque dress perfect for 'good girl' Portman, a rich, vibrant Lowe '10 figure hugging mini that is perfect for the 'bad girl' Kunis because it's sensual as opposed to the clean cut lines of the Koma dress. And Lastly I found an actual ballerina at a runway show from Talbot Runhof last season... pretty sweet stuff especially the ballerina haha, I'm kidding. I love the vibrant colors of the dress and the exquisite red ballet shoes, being on pointe in those would actually be fun.
#5 Last year a Colin Firth film graced screens everywhere and it blew my mind (Tom Ford behind the lens of a camera is just incredible.) Well this year he gets another chance at greatness in a period film about King George VI who suffered from a debilitating stammer and sought help to cure it.
Gee golly, the cast is brilliant, music is already making me teary and it seems to be right up my Dad's alley, that of inspirational films. So with all that you need excellent costuming, and I have that. It comes in the collections of three of my favorite designers: Jean Paul Gaultier, whose Fall '07 Couture show was all about princes of different nations and embraced royal culture with uses purple, crowns, epaulettes etc... Next comes Alexander McQueen's Fall '08 show whose themes included English royalty, militarism and the English dominion over India. Coincidentally King George VI was the last Emperor of India. And Mary Katrantzou wraps up these three heavy hitters with her Fall '10 collection with graphic military inspired prints.
Other honorable mentions are: Tron Legacy, a wicked looking sci-fi film continuing from where the first left off back in 1982. A Winnie the Pooh remake, my childhood is back! Jane Eyre, another retelling of the classic book. And The Eagle about a disappeared Roman legion and one young man's journey to find the gold standard.
Moving on to The Classics
#1... I only saw this at the end of my senior year, but it's the first sci fi classic:... The Matrix
Who else would I go to for over the top Gothic and leather... well Gareth Pugh of course. He nails the long trench coat, S&M leather, psychological mind bender look for both the guys: Neo and Morpheus and the ladies: Trinity.
And if there was any need for fabulous footwear, well then we could always turn to Givenchy.
#2 I love Tim Burton because he's not afraid to take risks and make eccentric decisions in film and this past spring his Alice in Wonderland was one of those risks. Need I remind you?
Let's dress up the characters! So here we've got a version of the Red Queen, Alice & the White Queen all found in Marchesa's Fall '10 show...
One of my favorite characters is the White Queen and I especially love her metal minions in the film... again I turned to Gareth Pugh who in '09 created some very Medieval characters that look like knights in armor... exactly the type that the queen (middle) has by her side.
And just incase you thought I forgot: here we have the Caterpillar a la Jean Paul Gaultier, she even comes with her own turban and pipe. Next we have Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum who came to life through Donatella Versace last spring (incidentally this entire collection as inspired by Alice in Wonderland). And last but not least is the Rabbit, impeccably dressed by Just Cavalli.
Loads of people were excited for the Alice in Wonderland film as you can see by this Stella McCartney necklace. All the major motifs on one gold chain.
Unfortunately I couldn't find looks for the Cheshire Cat or the Mad Hatter... I know right, two of the best characters. But, when in Brighton trolling the lanes this past summer I stumbled upon a store called Pretty Eccentric whose artful fashion and eccentricities make for some awesome headgear. Here's an awesome top hat that I think any Mad Hatter would be proud of. I apologize of the lackluster quality cause I shot it through the glass.
Cool eh?
#3 Last but not least... we thought it was going to be a trilogy but On Stranger Tides will be released next year. Yep, I'm talking about Pirates of the Caribbean
Now I couldn't tell if this was the original trailer cause it's been so long, but not to worry. I've got your costumes covered by none other thanMr. Jean Paul Gaultier and his Spring 09 collection... yeah it's pretty obvious what it's about.
Arrr matey. Where be my rum.... or my bed. It's late. Anyway, that's all folks
- Life is good
Listening to: sadly nothing I want to hear
Observations: The Prince of Egypt is one of my favorite animated films and I will make a pact to watch it at least once every year
Craving: The eleven days left of my 'sentence' a.k.a first semester to be over and to go home
