When Fashion looks good, it looks good. Model Anja Rubik works it in this video by Nick Knight's ShowStudio from 2009... yet still looks so so very in-the-now. This piece may be 3 years old now but it feels cool and fresh... not unlike the wind blowing Anja Rubik's hair and clothing.
One of the original visual provocateurs, Grace Jones has never shied away from a compelling - if sometimes disturbing - image. Her beautifully unique looks, avant garde sense of style and penchant for collaborating with equally forward photographers and videographers has resulted in a career that can certainly inspire present day mavericks. This 2008 video by director Nick Hooker is a strong example of her distinct style, where the creative result is more important than any sort of easily-digestible public image. In it Ms.Jones' strong silhouette is warped to hyper-human lengths, in stark black and white... a perfect complement to the sound of "Corporate Cannibal." One could argue that it's just a funhouse mirror distortion technique, but it's a modern and beautifully original visual that easily puts many present day videos to shame, 4 years after the fact. You don't need tons of costumes, phalanxes of backup dancers or hours in hair and makeup to make a video as memorable as this.
Cast of Vices is an aptly named brand. Their collection of jewelry and accessories is molded (sometimes, perhaps, literally: "cast." Get it?) off the idea of things that pertain to the grittier, low-brow elements of urban life. Drugs, cigarette butts, beer crowns, vermin - everyday items that you might find littered about in your local ethnic bodega -are the unlikely inspirations. But the tongue-in-cheek twist is that everything is recreated and re-imagined in luxurious materials: cockroaches, crack vials and drug tablets are recreated in sterling silver and semi-precious stones, to hang and adorn your necks and outfits, while the ubiquitous plastic bags a neighborhood grocer might toss your deli sandwich or soda in are recreated in blind-embossed black lambskin leather.
The dichotomy is as much fun as you can get in jewelry and accessories. The net effect? Edgy urban accessories with all the trappings of a potential crime scene, but sans all the grime. I think they're perfect for the former punks who've grown up but still love a wink-wink, nudge-nudge reference to wear on their sleeves, or anywhere else they might want to show a bit of subversiveness.
Check Cast of Vices out on their website here, for more images of the accessories range (quite a bit), as well as stockists.
In a world of illustrators and artists all vying for attention, Ruben Ireland stands out by fading to black: his quirky, stylish illustrations are at their most striking when favoring the darker end of the scale. Often featuring soulful-eyed, raven-haired gamines wearing masks or equally mask-like dark eyeshadow, there's a quality to his drawings that's as romantic as it is foreboding.
Judging from the stylized imagery and prevalence of swans and rabbits, Ireland may be inspired by equally dark movies like Black Swan and Donnie Darko (although there's definitely a stylized dark version of Uma Thurman from Pulp Fiction). But even if he takes inspirations from them, the resulting imagery is uniquely his own.
I can go on about what I think makes his work so appealing, but methinks it best to just let you marvel at the work and decide for yourself. And you can marvel at Ireland's visions as much as you like by purchasing prints in various sizes, at prices ranging from $18 for 8" x 10" mini prints, to $65 for 27" x 36" gallery prints. From Society 6.
My mainstay go-to brand is Robert Geller, whose clothes I've been wearing since he started his eponymous brand in 2007 (which was covered here first, in my blog), but even before that when I caught a glimpse of his talent back in his days as a partner at Cloak back when I bought near-entire collections in 2003. But while he and I have become friends, it has no bearing on the fact that I love his clothing. I normally just buy from the main line but the secondary line, aptly called Robert Geller Seconds, has beguiled me this past season.
Comprised mostly of basics like tees, tanks and athletic wear, Seconds may look fairly simple but the details are still very much in keeping with the Robert Geller aesthetic. With clean lines but interesting details and fresh proportions, these are wardrobe staples that look fairly nondescript until you put them on. Tank tops are fluid and skim the body in ways that no Hanes garment will, shorts are more like plus fours re-purposed for leisurewear, and interesting details like articulated knees make the track pants equally at home underneath a blazer as they will on a rugby field. I don't like too many logos or tricksy details, but I do like design that enhances and sets clothing apart from the norm, as Geller has done with these not-quite-basics. They're perfect for fashionable layering.
After last year's obsession with prints and patterns, I found myself wanting a new sartorial austerity... blame it on the fact that mainstream fashion caught up to what I was doing, and when I see it on editorials and store mannequins ad nauseum, I'm over it. Whereas last Fall I put together complex outfits involving carefully blended leopard prints, plaids and colors, this year I only wanted solid blacks and neutrals in clean, simple shapes. But that doesn't mean I want to sacrifice good design, and which is why the RG Seconds pieces brought the perfect punctuation to my wardrobe simplification this year. I'm particularly taken by the training pants, which feature complex seams on the knees and a fashion-forward carrot fit. Perfect at the gym, they also provide the ideal casual counterpoint to blazers and sweaters, especially with the popularity of sweatpants as a fashion trend this season.
Try not to go by how these items look on the models some retailers use to show this line, as they take on a more fashion-forward look on lean silhouettes versus the more active body types. The Robert Geller Seconds line is available at many retailers, but Revolve Clothing currently has them on sale, and are priced depending on the pieces. Get the Fall 2011 versions here now before they sell out.
Talk about minimalist animals (minimanimals?): these wall decorations use what seem to be the fewest possible delineations to suggest a modern trophy head.
The taxidermy theme is apparently still alive and kicking, but cardboard puzzle renditions are no longer as fresh (hey, it's been a few years now, so yeah). Wire furniture has been having a moment lately, and Bend Seating extends their design reach from your floors to your walls. Doubling as decorations and coat hangers, the Geometric Animals line does add a modern twist to the trophy heads trope. I think the Mama Bear and Bear Cub versions are particularly cute, although the water buffalo might work if you have a bit more wall space to fill.
Prices range from $99 - 149, and can be ordered in white, black and orange enamels. Check them out, at Bend Seating (who make very comfortable and compelling wire chairs, also worth perusing).
Staples are very old world desktop to begin with, so it's fitting that these staple removers look so old school as well, cast as they are in the images of predators baring their fangs - I feel like they belong on some musty old library desk somewhere in a stately home in Massachusettes. But it's exactly that look that makes them so charming, especially in world of modern computer desktops and sleek futuristic surfaces. Actually, it's probably because of modernism that there's been such a reactionary interest in vintage-looking design ranging from hipster taxidermy to moustaches and artisanal clothing. So okay, these are right on trend.
I should have published this before Christmas as they'd make a lovely Christmas present, but methinks they'll make a charming gift anytime, including for oneself. I mean, how fun would it be to remove staples with one of these little critters? Not necessarily cheap at $78, but good, fun design should be worth an investment. Check out the full assortment of staple removers on the Jac Zagoory website here.
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