At Sunday's Grammys, Prince's old backing band, The Time, is getting back together for a one-off performance. The actual song remains undetermined—though Rihanna is confirmed for guest vocals—but we're more concerned with what dapper singer Morris Day will wear. Here's hoping he resurrects the outfit (especially the zebra-stripe lapels) from 1984's "Jungle Love" video:
The company announced today that it will stop making its signature film and camera. (Bad news for this guy, we assume.) To pay our respects, we present this vintage ad, which probably has both the hottest girl and the best guitar solo ever used in a camera commercial.
The Whitney Biennial is still a month away, but you can preview work from one of the included artists this weekend. For his eponymous show, opening tomorrow, 34-year-old New Yorker Seth Price has gone back to a form that hasn't been popular since the 1800s: woodcuts, though his process has given them a modern twist. He cut the final pieces—some, like Gold Key (Blue 2),above, are printed on plastic or metal—with computer assistance, and the images themselves were found through Google image searches on phrases like "touching" or "eating." Maybe this is what they mean by "don't be evil."
Seth Price, Feb. 9 through March 8, Friedrich Petzel Gallery, 535 W. 22nd St., NYC, (212) 680-9467, petzel.com
No, that labor skirmish you might have read about hasn't ended, but two premieres this weekend should tide you over until it does. Tonight, VH-1 premieres Free Radio, about a drive-time talk show host doing clueless, Alan Partridge-like interviews with celebrities. (The first episode stars a surprisingly game Kiefer Sutherland.) Given the show involves neither Flava Flav nor rehab, we suspect the channel won't keep it around for long.
And on Sunday, IFC's underrated The Whitest Kids U Know returns for a second season. You can preview some of the sketches now, including "Dino Rap," below. A poor man's Andy Samberg tune? Maybe, but right now we'll take what we can get.
It's part of Lars Nilsson's first—and, it turns out, last—collection for Gianfranco Ferré. The company just announced it has ended its relationship with the Swedish designer a mere five months after he was hired, according to WWD. (The house's eponymous founder died last June.) This news comes after reports that Nilsson was running behind schedule on the brand's womenswear collection, which will still be shown as scheduled on Feb. 18.
After months of online teasers and trailers, Rockstar has finally put up an official site for Grand Theft Auto IV. (Our favorite bit so far: reimagining Stomp as Banging Trash Can Lids for an Hour.) The long-delayed fourth installment hits shelves April 29 and is set in a fictional place called Liberty City—though that skyline looks awfully familiar.
The booming vintage watch market is about to get another outlet: A 3,000-square-foot Patek Philippe salon inside Tiffany's Fifth Avenue boutique, which has sold the watchmaker's wares for 157 years. Patek will launch the shop with a three-day exhibit including more than 400 timepieces, beginning with the April 24 opening. Time, as they say, is ticking.
Our fifth and final entry: Erinn Einhauser from IMG. She had apparently just changed from heels to Tory flats, if you're into that sorta thing.
With In Bruges, the debut film from playwright Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell goes a long way toward redeeming himself for Alexander—hell, maybe even Miami Vice. As a hit man exiled to the eponymous Belgian city, Farrell settles into the movie's oddball comic rhythms like they were an old pair of (currently stylish!) pajamas. You heard it here first: This guy could be huge.
The movie opened this year's Sundance, where Filmcatcher.com had its coming-out party. The indie-friendly download site (still in beta) offers more than 400 features—including most of the Criterion Collection—for just three bucks a pop. Sadly, the catalog doesn't include S.W.A.T.
And there's more where that came from, in three galleries of vintage paperback covers—forties mysteries, fifties and sixties mysteries and sixties and seventies Scholastic Book Club covers—posted by (as always) some dude on Flickr.
This week William Rast—the line co-owned by Trace Alaya and Justin Timberlake—presented its first collection since Johan Lindeberg took over design duties last November. His charge? To move things forward while still reflecting J.T.'s Tennessee upbringing. Earth tones dominated, as did a heavy emphasis on workwear. The cuts were a little bit Justin (full-legged pants) and a little bit Johan (wide-lapel blazers), and there were also copious military-inspired details like badges and epaulets. "This is all about Justin, his style, and where he is from," said Lindeberg. The designer, according to Timberlake, "has been a blessing, because he understands how to make it work for mass production. We had 10,000 ideas but didn't know shit about making them work on a large scale." Along those lines, the brand will now embark on creating its first-ever ad campaign, which, like the clothes, will be out this fall.
Spotted at this week's Stockholm Furniture Fair: the Brain Lamp by Alexander Lervik. It uses a replica of the Swedish designer's actual brain, created from an MRI. A total of 100 will be made, though one's already reserved by the hospital that gave him the brain scan.
It's not shaping up to be a great year for car shows, as last month's Detroit offerings proved. (A new Honda Pilot? Wake us up when we start to drift into the median.) But as the press previews wind down at the Chicago Auto Show, two highlights give us some hope for the future:
First, starting in June, you'll be able to order up the YES 3.2 Roadster (above), a fast and light small-batch bottle rocket that comes tuned in three configurations: a 255-horsepower model, a 355-hp turbo one, and a 415-hp hi-po version with a top speed in the 200 mph neighborhood. Yes—get it?—it's a stupid name, but that and about $78k are a small price to pay for a unique piece of high-performance German machinery. (And act fast: Only 50 will be brought into the U.S.)
Second, BMW dropped this bombshell: It will return to the American Le Mans race series in the 2009 season with a new car (pictured), based on its just-released M3. As those familiar with the ALMS rule book know—anyone?—this means that BMW will have to actually sell a street-legal version of the racer to average Joes. Well, those with above-average bank balances anyway.
To paraphrase Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, criticizing Donald Trump's hair is a bit like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500. Still, at last night's Michael Kors show, it was out of control even by the Donald's lofty standards: shaggy and mulletlike, flipping up over the collar, like an up-do. Which left us wondering, maybe it's real after all?
Later this month, NBC will air a two-hour Knight Rider remake. (The bottom of the barrel? Consider it scraped.) KITT's voice will sound familiar—but instead of using Will Arnett's soothing rasp, as was originally planned, the show will employ Val Kilmer's. Turns out GOB Bluth has a conflict of interest: He's the voice of GMC Trucks, which won't let him "play" a Ford Mustang on the show. Let's just hope his next role doesn't require him to wear a sweater from J.Crew.
[Variety]
This is Anna from the HL Group, spotted outside the G-Star show, at which Dennis Hopper recited Kipling. But we won't hold that against her.
All the way back in the mid-nineties, Scotch mavens went nuts for Black Bowmore, quickly buying up every available bottle of the dark single malt. Its origins go back even further—to 1964, when distillery workers on the island of Islay decided to age their wash in four oloroso sherry casks. The contents of the first three casks were used to fuel last decade's boom. The sweet, rich elixir left in the fourth goes on sale next month.
Some 827 bottles will be available worldwide—we only get a chintzy 80—at $4,500 a pop. Expensive, sure, but the stuff is truly riveting. That signature Bowmore Band-Aid aroma (trust us, it's much better than it sounds) hits the nostril first, followed by plenty of salt air. Taste, meanwhile, is all of the above, plus a complex toffee-chocolate and mango, with a little walnut in a sultry, smooth texture. Translation: pretty much what a $4,500 Scotch should taste like.
Black Bowmore, $4,500, available in March at Park Avenue Liquor, 292 Madison Ave., (212) 685-2442, parkaveliquor.com
At last summer's Venice Biennale, Juergen Teller's guest gig at the Ukrainian Pavilion was one of the fair's major hits. Starting tonight, the arterati have a chance to revisit that show's moody snaps a little closer to home. The show will also feature some fashion-week-appropriate snaps like his Victoria Beckham-starring ad work for Marc Jacobs and candid, previously unseen portraits of MJ with Teller's kids. And starving artists, take note: For one night only, hot dog cart legend Rolf Babiel (a fellow Teuton) will be dishing up sausages on the street outside the gallery to anorexic, arty types. And yes, Posh, we mean you.
Juergen Teller: Ukraine, tonight through March 15, Lehmann-Maupin Gallery, 540 W. 26th Street, NYC, (212) 255-2923, lehmannmaupin.com
A couple stars of the Paris Maison & Objet and Cologne IMM furniture shows are finally making their long-overdue stateside debuts: Pop and Lizz (pictured), two chairs designed for Italian brand Kartell by product designer Piero Lissoni, will be sold at the company's NYC Soho store. But the wait's not over yet: The minimalist furniture will go on display next Wednesday but won't be sold for another eight weeks. Good things, those who wait, etc.
Lizz, $285, and Pop, $2,050-$8,800, available at Kartell, 39 Greene St., (212) 966-6665, kartell.it
Looks like Shaq's about to be traded—so naturally, we wondered what that meant for his Royal Oak Offshore, introduced last fall in the colors of his now former team, the Miami Heat. We're told the limited-edition chronograph has probably sold out. Even worse, should he be considering a follow-up, his new team is the purple-and-orange-clad Phoenix Suns.
We know you're wondering one thing this fashion week: How will the weak dollar affect my fall wardrobe? Fortunately, Portfolio's Fashion Inc. has the answer: According to an anonymous "head of menswear at a major U.S. department store chain" (hint: not Sears), shops will be carrying a lot of domestic-made clothes, which are now cheaper than their foreign, euro-based rivals. Given it's already something of a golden era for American menswear, this seems like good news to us.
Nautica, Perry Ellis, Patrik Ervell, and Duckie Brown don't have a whole lot in common, but in their fall shows, all four (clockwise) presented models wearing nylon jackets under wool coats. File this under reporting, and not endorsing.
Coming soon to the Interwebs: The Icahn Report, a business blog from billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn. The site will address corporate governance and the stock market, but won't include, say, investment tips. We were hoping it would be LOLCats, nothing but LOLCats.
[WSJ]
Gucci just launched Guccilovesny.com, but Yohji Yamamoto is showing some love for the Big Apple, too. For yesterday's opening of the new Y-3 store in the city's Meatpacking District, the designer created an exclusive line called "Nice to Meet You." It includes a 50-pair run of high-top sneakers made from Japanese denim, but we were more intrigued by the nicely detailed hoodies (pictured). Milton Glaser must be proud.
This is Simona from Diesel. We photographed her right before the deluge—just after the shot, she was hit by a fashion mob of buyers and editors. We're pleased to report she's doing fine now.
For Modern Menswear, author Hywel Davies spoke to designers from more than 36 labels, both big (Marc Jacobs, Raf Simons) and getting there (Victor Glemaud, Duckie Brown). But his biggest get might be that press-shy Belgian, Martin Margiela. "The whole interview was done by fax," Davies says. "At least the PR people know I'm a big fan." The book officially launches tomorrow night with a party at Paul Smith's Floral Street boutique in London, but American readers will have to sit tight: It doesn't hit shelves here until April.
Omega's wares have become a little easier (if not cheaper) to buy: The brand just opened its first ever vintage store, located inside London's new Somlo Antiques shop. The place will sell restored watches from all eras—including the 1957 Speedmaster, though apparently not Marcus Wainwright's beloved 1971—and coincides neatly with the brand's 160th anniversary.
(Plus: Check out our chronographs Hotlist.)
[TimeZone]
Sometimes looking effortless comes from an actual lack of effort, and in that spirit we're introducing "Accidental Icons," a celebration of men whose sartorial choices are inspired, inimitable, and completely unintentional. First up: NBC political guru (and dry-erase board enthusiast) Tim Russert.
Like basketball fans staying up for a Lakers playoff game, East Coast political junkies will probably put in a late night waiting for West Coast primary results tonight. And the man who will make doing so a pleasure? Russert. Not only is he the brightest commentator in the game—sorry, Halperin—he easily outstyles his square-jawed, blow-dried rivals. Credit a look that embodies that election-year buzzword, authenticity. From his messy hair to those diagonally striped ties slightly askew, everything about his clothes suggests a man too hurried to show exactly one half inch of cuff. Sloppy? A little. But it's also a subtle reminder that Big Russ has some important shit going on.
Last year at this time, fashion week was buzzing over new nightspots like GoldBar and The Box, not to mention three Inns that were must-visits for the, ahem, in crowd—Beatrice, Waverly, and LW12. But as this year's invitations arrived, there was a distinct venue déjà vu—2007's places were hosting 2008's parties. Which led us to ask: Where are all the new bars? And more importantly, why aren't they opening during fashion week anymore?
We talked to some nightlife vets about our own theories—a sluggish economy, the city's nightlife reaching a saturation point—but no one would go on the record for a "negative" story. So consider instead the week's sole new opening: Mansion, a dance club taking over the old Crobar space. It's also a transplant from—horror of horrors—Miami.
Although reports had the company dropping out of the handset business, it looks like Motorola's sticking around for now. The newest evidence: this online ad, supposedly a teaser for its long-rumored ZINE Z12 media phone, which is alleged to have Wi-Fi, GPS, and a five-megapixel Kodak-derived camera and could be unveiled at next week's 3GSM phone show in Barcelona. Just one hint, guys: Drop the annoying nicknames already.
[Electronista via Gizmodo]
Spotted among the pretty girls at Patrik Ervell's show: British dance group Hot Chip. Such scene-making serves as a kind of fashion-world anointment, of course, and their timing couldn't be better—the band's third LP, Made in the Dark, comes out today and consists of the kind of melodic, multilayered dance music that you often hear at, well, fashion shows. But the album isn't (just) pure exuberance—melancholic tunes like "We're Looking for a Lot of Love" and "One Pure Thought" provide a welcome touch of blues. Gold-foil hoodie optional.
Fashion week tends to bring a different kind of social striver to Manhattan's nightspots, so we polled a few of our favorite gatekeepers to see what they thought of the twice-annual change in the crowd.
"They are better dressed than your typical bridge and tunnel crowd," said a 1 Oak bouncer of the impatient fashionistas, who were lined up Saturday night for the Rock & Republic after-party. "Better-dressed, but otherwise it's the same shit."
Doorman Tony Montana (actual name), who worked the B. Michael party at the Plumm on Thursday night, said he is certain that the fashion week crowd is more obnoxious than the Jersey or Long Island clubbers. "You'll get a whole lot more attitude from fashion folks," he explained, "but I think that mostly comes from their desire to be noticed." To keep them pacified, Montana says he is quick to praise both clothing and style. "Even if it's horrible, you tell the girl she is wearing an 'interesting' dress."
Donald Tucker has been working as a New York City bouncer for ten years, most recently at Room Service. He says he prefers the familiar B&T crowd over the fashion week hangers-on for the simple reason that he doesn't have to listen to 100 résumés over the course of a night. "People coming from fashion shows are like, 'I'm this model' or 'I'm this photographer.' But I have to tell them, 'Hey, sorry, my subscription to Vogue ran out last month. Now get back on line.'"
Up next is Cynthia Leung, from the Patrik Ervell show. We snapped two shots before she told us, "Okay, that's enough—I have to go back to work."
That seems to be the message of the new Gucci flagship, opening Friday in Trump Tower. With a whopping 46,000 square feet, it's the largest Gucci retailer on the planet (with prices to match). The three glass-enclosed floors include a second-level men's ready-to-wear salon appointed with smoked mirrors and dark rosewood underfoot. It's not all about profit, though: To inaugurate the store, the label will donate all of the proceeds from its Gucci Loves NY line—think luggage, toiletries bag, briefcases—to the care and maintenance of the playgrounds in Central Park.
Gucci, 725 Fifth Ave., NYC, (212) 826-2600, guccilovesny.com
Hemingway was once famously challenged to write a story in six words, and the result was "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." That tale (and the one behind it) inspired online lit mag Smith to ask readers for their own six-word stories. The result (boiled down to nearly 1,000 tales from 15,000 responses) is Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs By Writers Famous [Dave Eggers, Richard Ford, George Saunders] and Obscure [yours truly]. In six words: Gimmicks should always be this fun.
Looks like new creative director Patrick Robinson is taking the mass retailer back to its early-nineties glory days—in terms of design, if not (yet) in terms of sales. His first collection for the brand (which we saw this weekend) includes a somber color palette with some grunge-style plaid shirts and floppy knit hats. But not everything was retro—the khakis will have a slimmer fit, and the Pierre Hardy desert boots (part of his second collaboration with Gap) were distinctly modern. Look for the shoes, and the clothes, in stores this fall.
Buried among this week's DVD releases—Across the Universe, anyone?—is the American debut of The Thrill of It All, a so-called "visual history" of Roxy Music. The two-disc set collects a bunch of the band's live performances (including Brian Eno's last show) and most of their videos. Thanks to their artier instincts—to say nothing of Bryan Ferry's sartorial flair—the group were always as interesting to watch as they were to listen to (in a good way). Consider this a perfect time to catch up.
Worth revisiting in light of Sunday night's upset: Michael Lewis' fascinating 2004 profile of Eli Manning for The New York Times Magazine.
Because fashion shows have more to look at than the clothes, we're introducing "Girls With Headsets," a fashion week feature on the lovely young women charged with herding unruly editors into their seats.
Our first is Jory Wood, spotted at the Z Zegna show. She was too busy to talk, but we did get her to crack a smile. You're welcome.
A couple of worthwhile store updates in this week's DNR: Zegna has renovated its three-year-old Fifth Avenue flagship with an all-new third floor, which will be home to made-to-measure, couture, and formalwear clothes. The space also now sports a fabric-themed decor. "Everything in the store is interwoven," says rep Anna Zegna. Hey, with clothes like these, they've earned a bad pun or two.
Also, Cloak's old shop on Greene Street finally has a new occupant: Swedish label Acne. The boutique—its first in America—opens in March and will sell sportswear alongside its reputation-building denim.
It does: Last night, sweatshirt enthusiast (and Pats coach) Bill Belichick exercised his right to bare arms, completing the look with a pair of pleated khakis. No wonder he left the field early. (Well, that and his humiliating defeat at the hands of Strahan and co.)
If there were any dilated pupils on the Zegna runway Saturday afternoon, don't blame the lighting. We spotted a gaggle of those chisel-faced Adonises smoking funny cigarettes outside. But it was before they were in the first looks, so all was legal—with Gildo, at least.
Welcome to "It's the Stupid Economy," an ongoing series on stuff related to an economic downturn you may have heard something about lately.
Remember those prerecession glory days (say, last month) when flaunting your S Class or 7 Series felt like good, clean fun? How times have changed: Suddenly, taking a $100,000 car with the same chassis as a Bentley Continental GT and slapping a VW logo on it might actually make sense. That would certainly explain rumors that VW chief Stefan Jacoby is planning on reintroducing the once-mocked Volkswagen Phaeton to U.S. shores.
The talk of this week's Stockholm Furniture Fair? Believe it or not, a high-design hotel from Clarion. The Hotel Sign, opening tomorrow, is the work of Swedish architect Gert Wingårdh, best known stateside for D.C.'s award-winning Swedish embassy. He's given a leaning granite-and-glass facade to the 558-room building, which will also house the first international outpost of Marcus Samuelsson's foodie hot spot Aquavit. Each floor is furnished by one designer, including Arne Jacobsen and Bruno Mathsson, whose "clean and ergonomic designs," Wingårdh says, impart "a strong sense of hominess." We hate to make a "home Swede home" pun, but …
Clarion Hotel Sign, opening tomorrow, Ostra Järnvägsgatan 35, 46-8-676-98-00, clarionsign.com
