France is hardly known for its bonhomie. Foie gras, the guillotine, and doe-eyed nymphets, yes, but not for giving visitors the red-carpet treatment. And it was the carpet—a ratty navy and purple one—that reminded me of that Gallic offhandedness last time I passed through Newark. I was booked on L'Avion, the lavender-heavy all-business-class French airline that operates a shuttle service from NYC to Paris. (It rents planes from Lufthansa, hence the occasional untranslated Achtung sign onboard.) The problems, of course, started at check-in.

While limited-edition artist collaboration T-shirts are certainly nothing new, the Gap's line features images by a surprisingly contemporary group (and their work's not half-bad, either). Among the 13 contributors are Rirkrit Tiravanija, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Hanna Liden (pictured), who are helping the basics company finally compete with, say, RVCA.
$28-$38, gap.com

A dilemma for serious media junkies: The 80-gig iPod can't hold all the songs and videos you need, but you can't get more storage without buying a clunky (read: immobile) device. A solution: the Mvix MV-2500U, a 250-gig portable multimedia hard drive. Unlike most in its category, it's pocket-friendly—five inches by three, and only a half inch thick. It can play just about any file format you need, including MP3s and high-def video, which you can watch by plugging it into your TV or laptop. The only drawback: It lacks an external LCD screen for watching movies on the train, so don't throw out that iPod just yet.

Offering industrial retail design (think poured-concrete floors and exposed beams), Tesla's first dealership opened in L.A. last night. The 10,000-square-foot space features the company's Roadster, a 100-percent-electric car that goes from 0 to 60 in under four seconds and gets about 221 miles of driving per charge. It also has the benefit of not looking like that other rechargeable vehicle—the golf cart.
Tesla flagship store, 11163 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA, (310) 473-8337, teslamotors.com

Plataforma Arquitectura has published pictures of Alberto Mozó's new offices for BIP Computers in Santiago—an impressive three-story building constructed of laminated wood, featuring exposed rafters and a winding interior staircase. It's more treehouse than cubicle complex (which, we imagine, can't hurt staff morale). The structure's already earned some high-profile admirers: How many office buildings are endorsed by noted architecture critic Kanye West?

Cult street-label Acronym has drawn raves for its utilitarian design and military-influenced style. The line's Berlin-based designers, Michaela Sachenbacher and Errolson Hugh, won't change that with this, their partnership with Italian mainstay Stone Island. The nom-de-collaboration? The Shadow Project, a four-piece collection that includes two jackets, a vest, and a shirt that can be worn separately or as a unit. Made of breathable fabrics, they offer protection from the elements—and Teflon-coat Acronym's already considerable reputation.

[Sportswear International]

In Notes on Fantomas, a new show named after the fictional French criminal, renowned artist and fashion photographer Yelena Yemchuk explores everything from the climax of E.L. Doctorow's The Waterworks to fables she heard during her childhood in Kiev. Her vibrant, Sendak-style watercolors are filled with lithe people in various states of dress—some could have been styled by Marc Jacobs himself—who frolick and fight with foxes, frogs, bears, fish, and fowl. "In most Ukrainian folktales not everyone lives happily ever after," she says. "They're all pretty crazy." Like a fox, we guess.
Notes on Fantomas, May 3-June 1, Dactyl Foundation, 64 Grand St., New York, NY, (212) 219-2344, dactyl.org

To launch its new art project Global: Local, Chronicle Books made an unusual choice: sponsoring Untitled, an exhibit of blank books. Some explanation: The show is a collaboration with the hipsters at Citizen: Citizen and concerns, as Chronicle puts it, "book-like objects" created from the mock-ups publishers use to preview their products before they go to press. The results are curiously beautiful, totally unique, and (naturally) available for purchase.
Untitled, tonight through May 10, Chronicle Books, 680 Second St., San Francisco, (415) 537-4283, chroniclebooks.com

Between Iron Man's presumably big debut and next week's opening of Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy at the Met's Costume Institute, men in tights are having a moment—and you can expect to see even more of them in the years ahead. Judging by this Hollywood Reporter story, however, Marvel is starting to scrape the bottom of the superhero barrel. (Nice-looking barrel, by the way.) Here, a list of the uninspiring comic book movies coming soon to a multiplex near you:

-Nick Fury
-The Avengers
-Thor
-Ant Man
-Captain America*

(*Actually kind of cool. But as THR points out, "Captain America is a prime property but is perceived as a tough sale overseas." How far we've fallen.)

Tomorrow is LACMA's inaugural (and aptly named) Art Book Swap. There, you can exchange your old tomes for new ones, all donated by hip galleries, retailers, and publishers, including Beautiful Decay, Mary Goldman Gallery, Peres Projects, and D.A.P. Think of it as an arty twist on recycling.
Art Book Swap at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd. on the North Piazza, Los Angeles, (323) 857-6000, lacma.org; newartdealers.org

New York photographer Michael Cogliantry's exhibit The Furry Kama Sutra opens today at Portland's Nemo Gallery, and the work is, er, exactly what it sounds like. Still, you don't have to be a fetishist to get a kick out of Cogliantry's amorous animals—and it's not like you haven't seen these positions before. (Frankly, the background decor is more offensive than the fluffy love.) We're just grateful that two bunnies didn't attempt anything with one cup.
The Furry Kama Sutra at Nemo Design Gallery, 1875 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR, (503) 872-9631, nemodesign.com

That question is posed by a well-meaning (and, it must be said, somewhat portly) gentleman during Sunday's second season premiere of This American Life on Showtime. He's speaking to a subject of one of the show's beautifully photographed, if meandering, profiles, a Middle Eastern native who travels the U.S. with a "Talk to an Iraqi" booth. For the expert answer, and a preview of season two, check out the trailer below:

If you notice London looking a little artier this weekend, here's why: The inaugural Cans Festival kicks off tomorrow. In essence, a bunch of the world's best-known graffiti artists (including some guy named Banksy) are coming to paint the town red—and, we suspect, a number of other colors—during a three-day street-art battle. Admission is free, but be warned: One of their "rules of engagement" is "We have a lot of security."

Nearly a decade has passed since his last feature, but it's good to know Harmony Korine hasn't lost his sense of absurdity. His latest, Mister Lonely, is out today, and (as we mentioned before) concerns a Scottish village of celebrity impersonators. "I wanted to see James Dean tending sheep, the Pope doing dishes, Sammy Davis, Jr. smoking a joint, and Marilyn's dress floating up in the woods," the director says. The results? An often hilarious, sometimes dreamy film, replete with images like nuns flying through the air on BMX bikes. Diego Luna's sweetness—and sweet dance moves—make him a perfect Michael Jackson impersonator, particularly when he and his beloved (Marilyn Monroe, played by Samantha Morton) perform for a group of doped-up seniors at an old folks home in Paris. Just one question, though: Why Michael Jackson? "He's an incredible abstraction you can project images on," says Korine. "The world's greatest eccentric." We suspect Mister Korine's not too far behind.

Opening today in Los Angeles: Crown Bar, the latest from the gentlemen behind Winston's and The Dime. The menu features American bistro fare, and the design is subdued Hollywood glam—think dark woods, amber lighting, and, uh, Samantha Ronson already booked to DJ. It won't be long before you'll need a SAG card to get a seat.
Crown Bar, 7321 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

[Eater L.A.]

"After Sputnik" is the theme of N.Hoolywood's spring/summer collection, which takes cheeky pride in sending up Cold War politics (the T-shirt, pictured, sums up a certain relationship between America and the Soviets). The line comes from Daisuke Obana, whose Tokyo-based store is decorated eerily like an L.A. estate from the forties—at least it was the last time we checked. The spelling of Hollywood, of course, is entirely his own.

[Hype Beast]

Perhaps the worst wine pairing this side of arsenic: Ducati and Desmorosso, the motorcycle brand's first official vino. Either a testament to Italians' notedly cavalier stance on roadside beverages or a call for the creation of designated riders—either way, we're staying off the road.

Entermodal has a funny way of doing business—its portfolios and wallets (pictured) are made from recycling the company's bags, which have a life expectancy of 50 years. Seems like that might discourage sales of the smaller items, but the Portland, Oregon, company is acting in the name of sustainability and, of course, quality. Its handmade lines are made with the fewest seams possible, boosting the products' durability (and good looks). Sure, a weekender bag will run you roughly $1,300, but look on the bright side: When you're ready, send it back to them and they'll make you a couple of wallets out of it. Try getting a deal like that from Vuitton.
Wallet, $250, available exclusively at Odin, 199 Lafayette, New York, NY, (212) 966-0026,entermodal.com

If you want to match your lighting equipment to your Modenese sedan (and, hey, who doesn't?), Italian lighting designers Lumina have created a lamp (pictured) inspired by the grille of the Maserati Quattroporte. It even includes the brand's trident badge, but fear not: It's officially licensed.

Something tells us the same can't be said for this new pair of Nike Dunk-inspired sneaks that (finally!) detect if a live Wi-Fi signal is nearby.

Sony's new Bravia 2.1 home theater system (helpfully dubbed the DAV-F200) does a lot of things right, but ultimately has a fatal flaw: no Blu-ray support. Too bad, because it looks freaking cool. (It's U.K.-only for now, so maybe it'll be Blu-ray-ready when and if it crosses the pond.)

[Engadget]

Virtually, at least. True to form, the obsessive-compulsive food bloggers at Ed Levine Eats have compiled "The Real-Life Restaurants in New York City from Grand Theft Auto IV"—including "Bean Machine," a dead ringer for the Rock Center Dean & DeLuca.

Swiss automaker Weber Sportscars unveiled the "Faster One," a street-legal vehicle that can hit speeds over 248 mph (similar to another make we took for a spin). What else do you get for $1.5 million? All-wheel drive, for starters—not to mention 900 horses under the hood, an ultralight carbon chassis, and an aesthetic that appears to have been lifted directly out of Akira. The jury's out on whether you have to be a cartoon to drive it.

[Baller Ride]

Keith Haring's Bowery Mural was up for only a few months in 1982, but now you have a second chance to see it in person: The artist's foundation is re-creating the work in time for what would have been his 50th birthday. It doesn't officially open until the 4th, but we spotted it last night—suddenly that corner is very orange. The piece is one of the only Haring murals in the city: To view another, go to Harlem River Park, where the artist adorned the wall of a handball court during the peak of the city's eighties drug crisis. It's called, of course, Crack Is Wack.

Pictures of the company's first-ever clamshell phone have just leaked online. (And we know: They look like they were taken in the men's room at RIM's HQ.) Nicknamed the Kickstart, the RAZR-like shell includes an external touchscreen, a trackball, and a Pearl-style keyboard. Early reactions are mixed—for the record, we like the execution but question the concept—but you probably have some time to think on it: The release date remains TBD.

Also: AT&T announced today it will follow Verizon and offer live video for your phone via the aptly named Mobile TV. The service launches May 4 and will be available on two phones: The Samsung Access and LG's new Vu.

[Boy Genius Report via Gizmodo]

Stock of Japanese curios running low? You're in luck: Tonight, Kidrobot opens its new (and larger) NYC store, now featuring two levels of inscrutable tchotchkes and Day-Glo apparel. The move seems to be a part of some sort of international hipster exchange program: Tokyo just got a branch (pictured) of NYC-founded sneaker haven Alife. Listen closely, and you may just hear a thousand New Edition-crowned heads exploding.
Kidrobot, 118 Prince St., NYC, kidrobot.com; Alife Tokyo, 3-15-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo, (03) 5775 0200

Missing from Brea, California: Several of the city's public sculptures, reports the WSJ. But the massive installations weren't stolen for their beauty, or even for gallery cache: The pieces were nicked for scrap. With the price of copper climbing to $4 a pound, the sculptures (some weighing hundreds of pounds), have become a metallurgical cash cow for would-be Thomas Crowns. The proposed solution? A phalanx of deterrent cacti. What's next, a leash for the balloon dog?

The Whitney just unveiled sketches for its first satellite museum, which has been in the works for more than 20 years. Designed by Renzo Piano, the new Gansevoort Street space will actually have far more square-footage than the Madison Avenue location—50,000 to the older building's 32,000. The plans are still preliminary (expect more natural light, for instance), but here's hoping it doesn't take another two decades to get the thing built.

[NYT]

The New York Times has a solid investigative piece today on the cars congressional representatives lease on Uncle Sam's dime. (True to character, Charlie Rangel has a 17-foot Caddy DeVille he says is "like an airplane.") But what really, er, drives the point home is this chart, which compares the rides by make, fuel efficiency, and monthly cost. It also has us wondering: What's with the America-hater who leases a Nissan and a BMW?

Australian agitators Ksubi—whom you might remember from that time they released a live-rat surprise on the runway during fashion week—just won a Down Under design award for "The Bombed Maché" (pictured), their "homeless chic" concept store located in a tony neighborhood in Melbourne. We know what you're thinking, and the answer is yes: As a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, so Australia is becoming Derelicte.

Italian designer and Memphis Group cofounder Ettore Sottsass died in Milan last year on New Year's Eve, but the 90-year-old was working right up until the end—a 2007 London Design Museum retrospective was even called A Work in Progress. Today some of his best stuff goes on display in NYC. Sadly the show doesn't include Sottsass' most famous piece—1969's portable plastic Valentine typewriter—but it does have a sizable sample of his playful, po-mo creations. Witness his laminated wood Nefertiti desk (which bears some resemblance to Rem Koolhaas' CCTV headquarters) or his early seventies line of rarely seen Flying Carpet furniture. The latter falls on the right side of shagadelic, so you might need some really good stuff before achieving liftoff.
Friedman Benda, 515 West 26th St., NYC, (212) 239-8700, friedmanbenda.com

The title of A.E. Hotchner's new book, The Good Life According to Hemingway, is somewhat misleading—it could just as well have been called Hemingway Was a Big Ol' Bitch. But we're glad this isn't the usual collection of tepid aphorisms designed to encourage young writers to "hone their craft." That has much to do with the fact that "Hotch" not only knew the man personally but traveled around the globe with him for 14 years, scribbling down his bon mots and bitcheries on cocktail napkins, matchbooks, and menus. From his opinion of even kindly critics—"[they] make me sick; camp-following eunuchs of literature"—to his instruction to movie producer David O. Selznick to take a proffered $50,000 bonus and "have it all changed into nickels at your local bank and shove them up your ass until they come out your ears," this is a Hemingway we can relate to. In addition, there's a killer collection of 150 photos from Hotchner's personal archives, many of which we'd never seen before.

Have a look here >

It's getting harder and harder to make a splash in luxury-crammed Dubai, but we bet Donatella Versace can do it. Italy's blondest couturier unveiled plans yesterday for the Palazzo Versace Dubai, a 1.4-million-square-foot hotel and residence to be outfitted exclusively with the Versace Home line. Amenities include a Versace boutique, male and female hair salons, and—you guessed it—a "scuba lagoon with a simulated tropical marine environment." Given the rumored sale of Versace's Lake Como estate to an unnamed Russian multimillionaire, is Donatella crafting herself a new lair? Hard to say, but safe to assume she won't be bunking in the just-announced Dubai tower designed by Christian Lacroix.

[Fashion Windows]

Of all the intimate experiences a guy can get for 15 bucks, a beard trim is my favorite. Sure, I could just buy a clipper and clean things up myself, except a) I'm lazy, and b) the experience at Freemans Sporting Club is impossible to replicate. The hipster barbershop's throwback environment centers around men talking about manly things—think Mel Brooks movies, Stan Bush's "The Touch," "the woman in the pink dress." Of course, it's easier to hear all that when you have a towel over your eyes, which is the first thing that happens after your barber leans you back in the chair, dentist-style. (Said towel did, sadly, cause me to miss the pink-dress beauty.)

Last time I went, my barber was Van, an agreeable fishing enthusiast from Westchester. He started me off with a second towel—this one warm, wet, and smelling of shaving cream, which got my beard a-tingling. After a minute or so to soak it up, he removed it and started with the clippers. I know I'm conforming to the Freemans urban-hillbilly stereotype here, but I prefer to keep things on the gruff side, so I had him leave some growth on my face before using an electric trimmer for a bit of texture. After all that, he shaved the edges on my neck and cheeks, and I completed the transformation from mountain man to refined mountain man—a crucial distinction. Especially when hoping to impress women in pink dresses.
Freemans Sporting Club, 8 Rivington St., New York, NY, (212) 673-3209, freemanssportingclub.com

As you might have read, Banana Republic recently launched Monogram, the three-decades-old company's first upscale collection. The standout piece from last night's runway show was the Monogram 30th Anniversary Trench (pictured), a limited-edition overcoat that impressed the skeptical fashion elite in attendance. Credit the British: The trench's bright-red cashmere lining was inspired by the colors of the Queen's Guard, not to mention those double-decker buses. Monogram's first flagship store opened in London last March, and it looks like Banana Republic's already turned redcoat.

Greg Armas helped launch a Southern California retail renaissance with Scout LA, a store known for featuring up-and-coming labels alongside vintage designer items (we know: just what L.A. needed). Now the former gallerist is trying his hand in the Big Apple by opening Assembly. Pairing uneven wood floors with vintage furniture and exposed brick—in other words, exactly what you'd expect on the Lower East Side—Assembly carries a mix of coveted international labels (Henrik Vibskov, Chronicles of Never) and homegrown talent (Corpus, Endovanera), plus a gold mine of vintage footwear and vinyl records from nearly every era. Finally: one-stop shopping for prewar oxfords and postwar albums.
Assembly, 174 Ludlow St., New York, NY, (212) 253-5393, assemblynewyork.com

[Refinery 29]

Marfa's best known as the home of large-scale installation art, but lately the West Texas town's staked a claim to Hollywood glory. (That's what happens, we guess, when the Coen brothers use the town as a backdrop and win an Oscar for their pains.) The inaugural Marfa Film Festival starts tomorrow, and while the lineup doesn't include No Country for Old Men, the fare on offer is diverse enough to keep any cinephile's interest, from the requisite shorts to Dennis Hopper's rarely seen 1971 film The Last Movie. Your best bet? Outdoor screenings, south of the town, of There Will Be Blood—on the set of There Will Be Blood. Beer and barbecue will be available, but milkshakes are strictly bring-your-own.

Political strife doesn't always produce great art—Lions for Lambs, anyone?—but in the case of Paris' May 1968 demonstrations, the message made for a stunning medium. The Atelier Populaire's anti-Gaulliste posters, displaying the furious energy of the disenfranchised masses, go on view tomorrow at London's Hayward Gallery. In conjunction with the show, Paul Smith will be dedicating the windows of his boutiques in New York, L.A., London, and Paris to the work, and offering a limited-edition book of the prints in-store. Not to undercut the revolutionary spirit, but pricing, we're guessing, will be more '08 than '68.

Sharp just announced it'll be bringing Wi-Fi-equipped TVs stateside for the first time. Its new X-Series LCD HDTVs will come with an optional wireless video transmitter, which will let you send (supposedly) uncompressed HD content to anything within 100 feet. Good news if you want to watch hilarious viral clips on the big-screen or, more likely, see some of the Web's increasing stock of high-def video on something other than a laptop. But don't chuck your Vizio just yet: Price and availability remain TBD, and other companies have promised (and failed) to deliver wireless HD.

[Engadget]

We've already told you what we think of the Bugatti Veyron, but next year you'll be able to feel how 1,001 horsepower feels with the wind in your hair: Left Lane News reports the automaker is releasing an open-air version. The extra cost of removing that pesky roof? A mere $117,000.

And look out, Autoblog: Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters just started a blog, Welcome to the Fast Lane.

Smart's tiny, green-minded Fortwo is arguably the most anticipated automotive import of the year, and it's not hard to see why: It gets a ridiculous 40 mpg. Still, I felt a little silly squeezing my 6'2" frame behind the wheel for a test drive, but my legs stretched out to comfy cruising length once I got the seat back and the top down. Yes, the dorky eco-friendly machine is also a convertible.

The car itself sits low, but the seats are high—helpful when trying to see around a semi, and also in case said semi should come crashing into you. (Toward that end, it's also made from triple-reinforced steel, which sounds more reassuring on paper than when you're behind the wheel.) And make no mistake: It has some hop. While its 71-horsepower, three-cylinder engine is nothing next to, say, the Bugatti Veyron's, it felt super-responsive, picking up at the flick of an ankle. I'm told it can hit 90 on the highway, but the company wouldn't let me test it outside of Manhattan. That's probably for the better: The Fortwo was designed for city traffic, where it zips and dives like a city bike with a roof.

The biggest surprise? When I finally got to parallel park (a satisfying experience in and of itself), a couple of attractive, fashionable Chelsea women in high heels smiled and waved at me. Maybe size doesn't matter after all.

Giving the candidates a high-fashion makeover isn't the most original concept, but Simon Doonan nails it in this week's Observer, thanks to his less-than-enthusiastic approach. (Choice excerpt: "'How can you, the creative director of Barneys, not wish to see a fashionable gal in the White House?' 'Because I'm not retarded, that's why.'") Unfortunately, the full range of brilliantly low-fi illustrations—think John McCain in head-to-toe Thom Browne—only appears in the dead-tree version.

Eric Fischl is usually pigeonholed as a painter of gin-soaked suburbia, but a new monograph shows how reductive that view really is. Eric Fischl 1970-2007 contains more than 250 of his works, including bronze sculptures, canvases inspired by trips to India, and revealing portraits of friends like Mike Nichols and Steve Martin, who wrote the book's afterword. That alone might justify the $85 price tag—in discussing a 1982 Fischl entitled Barbecue (from his private collection, of course), Martin subtly sends up just the sort of obtuse essays one usually finds in a book like this. He also reveals his picks for "the three finest female fantasy asses in all of art"—all by Canova, unfortunately, not Fischl.

Click here for a slideshow >

Although it's lost respect as a currency, the greenback itself is still an international symbol of style. Martin Margiela gussies up his latest wallet with the bill, emblazoning the outside with a cheeky trompe l'oeil play on a wad of folded cash (pictured), which opens to reveal a leather interior. But note, the U.S. Mint he isn't—a close look reveals the dollars are $11 bills. It's also available in a euro model, for those who like to fit in when they're abroad.
About $325, available at oki-ni.com

Making summer chores eco-friendlier isn't exactly on the top of our list of things to do, but we're nonetheless intrigued by the Neuton CE 6.2. It's one of the first electric lawnmowers not to require a clunky (and dangerous) cord—instead, it's powered by a removable, rechargeable battery that lasts 45 to 60 minutes per charge. (Too little for your Amagansett estate, sure, but more than sufficient for the weekday manse.) It also makes a perfect housewarming present for the neighbors: Not only will it encourage them to keep their grass kempt, it won't irritate you either—it's the quietest mower on the market.
$479, neutonpower.com

Not seen at Baselworld or SIHH: LED watches, the gold standard of the seventies. Back then, everyone from Tiffany to Girard-Perregaux tried their hand at a digital model, with varying results. (Check Breitling's combination of an LED screen with its hallmark dial to see where it all went wrong.) A selection of the best are on view at Watchismo, with rare specimens valued up to $20,000. As Pulsar's original ad proclaims, they're surprisingly useful to the top executive. You know, like the typewriter and the carbon copy.

The hype's been irritating, but Grand Theft Auto IV, out today, lives up to it. Its 60-plus hours of game-play revolve around organized crime in the trashy but gorgeously rendered Liberty City—the nom de game of NYC. Once inside, you're inundated with media: TV, in-game Internet, radio (including DJ Karl Lagerfeld), even comedy clubs.

But, as with the other titles in the 11-year-old series, the real draw is the lawbreaking. As former Serb soldier Niko Bellic, you're charged with stealing and killing your way to the top, a satisfying experience that's enhanced by a bevy of new features. (One rather realistically simulates drunk-driving—who says gaming's bad for kids?) The game's claim on instant-classic stature is sealed by the sophisticated plot; kill someone and you might just regret it later. Think of it as the new morality.
Grand Theft Auto IV, $60, for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, rockstargames.com/IV

Meet the Uno, a new motorized unicycle—just the thing for when your Segway's in the shop. That it actually has two wheels only deepens the mystery.

[Selectism]

The Nissan GT-R (a.k.a. Godzilla) finally comes stateside this year, and (of course) Jay Leno has already managed to snag one. Below, a clip of the comic grilling the company's product planner, John Weiner, before taking the coupe for a test spin. (Also: Looks like Jay could use Style Guy Glenn O'Brien's advice on how to wear denim on denim.)

[Autoblog]