Brilliant

I've always loved Anna Sui. When her La Brea store closed down I was devastated, only to be elated yet again when she re-opened on Sunset...my excitement was short lived and quickly followed by shock and deep depression when that store too closed down with no notice. She never re-opened and I still don't know what happened, but in the end it's okay since the stores demise has inadvertently saved me a lot of money and it's now one more place for me to visit when I'm in New York and Tokyo.

I'd read about her on going lawsuit with Forever21 a while back, but I had no idea that three years ago, guests at her Spring 2008 runway show were gifted this hysterical shirt she had made.


The t-shirts were printed with an old western-style "Wanted" poster on them that featured a portrait of Don Wong and Jin Sook Chang, the deeply religious founders of Forever21, depicted as "Don Cassidy and the Sundance Jin." Since the founders are well known for printing John 3:16 on their shopping bags, Sui included an appropriate verse for them at the very bottom of the shirt: Exodus 20:15 "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL".

Brilliant.

I found out about the shirt a few days ago via the "ForeverUnfair" blog, who have just recently posted a great Sweat-Free Shopping Guide. The blog also offers an informative list of links (minus Peta, sorry I just can't) to sites that cover topics ranging from drug offenders in our jail system to whaling commisions. I don't know who runs the blog, but I have a lot of respect for what they're doing.

Daphne Guinness, My Hero

It's been three years since Isabella Blow’s death, and it was recently decided that her entire wardrobe would be auctioned off by Christies in order to raise funds to pay off all her debts. Her fashion archive includes some of John Galliano’s early work, pieces by Hussein Chalayan and Giles Deacon and over fifty hats by Philip Treacy. Alexander McQueen makes up for the largest portion of her collection, consisting of well over ninety of his outfits.

While it's understandable that Isabella's debt's have put her family in a financially strenuous situation, the notion of this auction was still completely horrifying to me. The idea that her life's collection (her life's work in essence) would be picked through and spread thin amongst who know how many people was unsettling. To clarify, I never knew her, but was a huge admirer of everything she did and stood for. In my teens I'd scour news stands looking for photos of what ensembles she'd put together and articles on people and designers she thought were note worthy. Those who didn't follow Isabella's life and career wouldn't understand the issue with this type of auction.

So in mid June when I read that Daphne Guinness had put a stop to the sale and purchased Isabella's entire collection her self, a sense of relief came over me. Daphne being a very close, old friend of Isabella's understood the urgency of the situation better then any living person could. “The auction would not be merely a sale of clothes; it would be a sale of what was left of Issie, and the carrion crows would gather and take away her essence forever. It needs to be kept whole, it is like a diary, a journey of a life, and a living embodiment of the dearest, most extraordinary friend.”

On July 3rd, Daphne wrote an article for the Financial Times explaining in depth why she had to call the auction off. It is a must read in my opinion.

Aurel Schmidt for Opening Ceremony

Cigarette butts fashioned into an "E"?

I need you so bad.

$60

O P E N I N G C E R E M O N Y

Style Icon : Anna Piaggi

c. 1974

c. 2008

All About the Shoes

the show was incredible...

the presentation was phenominal...

the prints are gorgeous...

the hair was perfect...

the concept of live streaming the event was brilliant...

BUT THE SHOES KILLED ME DEAD.

little works of art.  completely unreal.

What a shame that Lady Gaga Twittered to her million followers that McQueen was going to premiere her new single during the show's live stream, thereby causing the site to crash and ruining the finale for everyone. Thankfully, the show is still up in it's entirety and available to watch on the SHOWstudio site, sans Gagaites.

Rather then look through a bunch of stills, I highly recommend seeing it all for yourself. There's also a 30 minute interview with McQueen that photographer Nick Knight filmed four days before the show. If you're a fan it's well worth a viewing. 

Alexander McQueen - Best Collections

I can't WAIT to see what McQueen has in store for Spring 2010.

Forever in Love with Spring 2007