A La Mode

Today I had planned on writing about Brent Green's "Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then" which just finished a two-night stint at The Kitchen.

Last night was the second time I've seen it. This one with live accompaniment.

I figured I'd be able to pull together something cogent after having already screened it once. No, it's still a little raw. Maybe it's for the best. Maybe there are no words to do it justice.

And then, I had planned on a tribute to Fashion Week for Sunday by showcasing some Covarrubius drawings.

I can't find the book, though.

I did find this uncredited illustration in another book. I like it.

The designers are credited as is the magazine in which it originally appear.

L to R: Molyneux, Beer, Doucet, Jenny, Doucet, Beer, Molyneux, Beer, Molyneux from "Art-Gout-Beaute" 1921

And I had always planned on sharing our pencil sharpener. A gift many years from Kate Hambrecht.

It was being discarded when she worked at Cosmopolitan Magazine.

We are certain that models used it to sharpen their pencils.

Fat Thursday

In the tradition of being late for holidays, we wish you a happy last day before Lent.

This is a piece about New Orleans troupe Fi Yi Yi we did with Gail Levin for Prospect.1.  Half for them/half for ourselves if the accounting means anything.

 

Ben Shapiro shot this.  He did a very smart thing (and I was smart for thinking of it independently).

These interviews are done casually, in an on the street documentary sort of way.  While these guys were talking and making costumes they were also making loads of background noise.  Drumbeats in and out, singing, Michael Jackson on the radio -things which make it impossible to edit.

But there was a "full" take of a performance they did just before the crew left.  We were able to use this as an audio bed.

That gave us a few things.

1) It muffled and devoured the other ambient sounds.

2) It established a finite length.  Especially important, considering the lengthy and entertaining speeches Victor Harris gave.

3) It gave us a structure to build to.  The narrative is kind of rambling -but if we end with footage of the performance, that doesn't matter.

Hail To The Couturier!

A few years ago when we were slated to go to Sundance for our work on the opening night film, I daydreamed about asking Isabel Toledo to make me a suit for my stroll down the red carpet.

We had worked together (with her husband/collaborator Ruben) on a 30 minute film about haute couture and I helped them out with some other stuff.

Even if could've afforded it before (with my imaginary friend discount), there's little chance I could scrounge up the scratch now, since she designed Michelle Obama's inauguration dress.

Here's a clip from FashioNation, this features Sonia Rykiel.  It was designed by Ruben Toledo, most of this animation is by Mary Varn.

i is a chav innit

We've been doing a lot documentary work.  I'm very happy about that. 

And some feature film work.  That's also something we set out to do.

The one big let down, and maybe this is related to the economy, is that we haven't done as much fashion animation as we had hoped.

We did a couple commercials last year for a high-end Orange County mall, not the volume of work we'd hope but not barren. 

The FIT gallery is around the corner from the studio.

This fall they a had terrific exhibit of Madame Grés which has been replaced with "Gothic".

Who doesn't love the gothicals?

Dames in black satin comin' at you.

The exhibit steers clear of the "gross" gothic -tattoos, dreadlocks and other unpleasantries.  We are treated to the "laboratory" -a series that includes goggles, metallic exoskeletons and mummy-like leather hoods.

The opening gallery introduces the historic reference to "goth" -Victorian corseting, vampire chic.  These are matched with a Givenchy from the 50's and a sexy Mugler from 1981.

A few hoods, a few too many Gallianos (their camp seem gaudy and out place with sly humor and tailor sexiness everywhere else) and several standout pieces from Rick Owens (new to me), Alexander McQueen and Yohji Yamamoto.

As sexy as the Demuelemeesters and (lone) Balenciaga are, they're nowhere close to the cool sexiness of gothic garb a Dame Darcy original: