November | 2013 | THE HARLOW

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COMME UN COLLECTIONNEUR

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Marco Maggetto

Every time I stop by a Comme Des Garçons shop it’s a pleasure. Whenever it’s the perfume store in Paris, the Dover St Market in London, a multilabel boutique or the fantastic Chelsea New York Flagship Store, it’s entering Rei Kawakubo’s world. Spectacular clothes and, more than everything, happy memories. All those years of my youth spent in desiring Japanase clothes, all those impossible prices (until late nineties production was entirely made in Japan- imagine costs for transportation and custom that were applied). All those happy friends, artists, galleries owners and employees, dealers, socialites faithful to the brand and perfectly comfortable in wearing black skirts and a over sized black coat. All the gossiping about “the genious”, her aura, her strong character that made of Kawakubo a mith. She was a legend 20 years ago, the best to buy, and astonishingly still is. Her clothes, except collaboration lines that are now more accessible, are forever. None trash a Comme Des Garçons coat or a jacket or skirt, because everything can be worn even after 30 years (Comme was founded in 1973 in Tokyo and launched globally in Paris early eighties). So I decided I wanted to be a collector. I said myself that it would be cool: whenever old and fat and horrible, I would always have some black exceptional pieces to wear and feel special in. But. Can I be more naive? My inspiration and mission crashed after only two days of researches,during which, I realized the following : the world of Comme’s collectors is immense and very wealthy. It’s populated by fast and more obsessed than me persons. They can pay a vintage mint condition item the double of the price of a new one. If they are not around my age, the romantic nostalgic part, Oh oh, they can be aggressive as hell bidding in the night on ebay or waiting the last 5 seconds to win. They are conscious and competitive. They buy everything, because they wear everything head to toes. In few words, the Comme collector is like Kawakubo herself: a difficult, strong and determined person. And whenever you’ll decide you want to be one, mail in and we will give some surviving tips. You cannot make it without.

Photo: deatil of a multilayered dress from SS 1998.

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TEN THOUSAND WAVES

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Isabella Cecconi

A film installation projected onto nine double-sided screens arranged in a dynamic structure, this will be Ten Thousand Waves by Julien Isaac. Interweaving the contemporary Chinese culture with its ancient myths, Isaac recounts the story of 16th-century fishermen lost and imperiled at sea. Central to the legend is the sea goddess figure who leads the fishermen to safety. Shot at the Shanghai Film Studios, actress Zhao Tao takes part in a reenactment of the classic 1930s Chinese film The Goddess. The installation is staged on the streets of both modern and old Shanghai, including music and sounds that fuse Eastern and Western traditions. Ten Thousand Waves was conceived and created over four years. The audience will move freely around the place with the ability to watch from whichever vantage points they choose. Can’t hardly wait!

November 25, 2013–February 17, 2014

www.moma.org

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BALLET SCHOOL

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Maxim Deluxe

are a Berlin-based three-piece group consisting of vocalist Rosie Blair, guitarist Michel Collet and Louis McGuire on drums. The band have been playing together since December 2012. The amalgam of diverse influences of the three members briefly summed up is 80′s pop, shoegaze and RnB and the result is a vibrant and colourful new sound, created to be experienced live. Ballet School are out with the new amazing EP ‘Boys Again ‘ via Bella Union Records . Listen on Soundcloud.

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CUT THE RIBBON, LE CROQUE-MONSIEUR!

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Be ready because this Cut The Ribbon is yummy. It’s about the Croque-Monsieur (aka, the Crunch Mister)! If you put grilled ham and cheese (Emmental or Gruyère) together, add some béchamel sauce and use good and soft bread, the result is a typical French sandwich. There’s not a name to whom this invention can be appointed to, there’s rather a place. In fact, this particular sandwich’s first recorded appearance happened in a Parisian café of Boulevard de Capucines 1 in 1910. A croque-monsieur served with a fried egg or poached egg on top would be later known as a croque-madame (but this is another story). In times the croque monsieur would have different names: in English ham and cheese toast in America, the Monte Cristo or in Spain the bikini! The origins of the word, however, remains unknown, the most common being a joke that the meat inside the sandwich was human flesh. The croque-monsieur would even become such a hit that even Marcel Proust mentioned it in “In the shadow of young girls in flower” in 1919 : “Now , coming out of the concert, as , by taking the path that goes to the hotel , we stopped for a moment on the dike my grandmother and me to exchange a few words with Madame de Villeparisis which announced that she had ordered for us at the hotel croque -monsieur and eggs and cream … “. Aren’t you hungry yet? We are!

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EVERYTHING WAS SLEEPING AS IF THE UNIVERSE IS A MISTAKE, RONI HORN

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Have a walk downtown Chelsea and stop by Houser & Wirth Gallery. Roni Horn, born in 1955, is all in there. Major American Artist, who’s muse is Iceland and its particular geography, geology, climate and culture is exhibited with ‘Everything was sleeping as if the universe were a mistake’. Gallery is filled with large format drawings and two multi-part sculptures that continue Horn’s exploration of the nature of perception, memory, and identity. Horn’s glass installations are a symbol of perfection and a symbol of the relationship of time with space and light. They peacefully lay in the gallery floor and shines brutally. Glossy, absolutely natural but artificial at the same time, they are an experience to be walked through. A must seen, until the 11th of January 2014.

Hauser & Wirth, 511 West 18th Street New York

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ARCTIC DESIGN WEEK

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Editorial Staff

The world’s northernmost design week is will be arranged in Rovaniemi for the sixth time on 17–23 February 2014. The week will be packed with events, seminars, discussions, networking and a variety of other events. The central idea for the week is to present Arctic design expertise as well as bringing together experts for networking. The event also strives to support enterprises with the strengthening of the design business of the Arctic. Admission will be free for the public.

The week will have the cooperation with the University of Lapland of Applied Sciences, Pilke Science Centre, Arktikum, and a wide variety of corporate partners.

Arctic Design Week 17 – 23 February 2014

www.rovaniemenkehitys.fi

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THE TEA PLANT IS A CAMELLIA

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Luisa Fazio

The flower of Camellia brings to mind Marguerite Gautier, heroin, sinful protagonist of the novel by Alexandre Dumas, “The Lady of the Camellias”. She could only tolerate this flower, the other flowers made her cough. Many camellias (as an example Camellia japonica and Camellia sasanqua) have become plants of great ornamental value. Since half of the XIX century we have seen beautiful gardens with flowers in bright, quirky, fascinating colours. Surprisingly, one species of camellia, Camellia sinensis, is the Tea plant. From the leaves that are left to dry on racks, we extract the most popular and more ritual drink in the world. It’s a drink discreet and innocuous that never comes in conflict with any culture and religion. Tea reminds us to the Orient (evergreen plantations expanses that fascinate even the most casual traveler). In China it is the plant of civilization, in Japan is the king of the famous ceremony which induces to calmness and meditation. In Russia the samovar puffing, in North Africa is the hospitality in the desert, in the UK it’s tea-time. It is the trait d’union of the two worlds, East and West. Initially it was considered to be a medicinal taste of bitter chicory, then it became a beverage voluptuous drink by nobles, rich and ordinary people. A “sweet dew” as it would call Buddhist monks used by them for its stimulant properties that helped them to stay awake during meditation. There’s something for every taste: aromatic, black, green, red, white. Everyone is free to drink as chosen, even if the orthodoxy says that to ensure the persistence of the original organoleptic characteristics, it should be drunk pure. No sugar, no milk, no lemon (the real tea-tester does not add anything). And dutifully prepared with only water source. The ideal would be to water dripping from stalactites in the caves of mountains. Tea with jasmine fragrance, delicate or intense aroma? The important thing is to sip it in friends company or in complete idleness to get enjoyment, benefit and carefree. Good relax!

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HOLT IT WITH REGARD, VITTORIO CICCARELLI

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Enjoy the very last Hold It With Regard with Vittorio Ciccarelli.

http://www.galerie-sakura.com

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KAROLINA JONDERKO

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Isabella Cecconi

Neat, clean, creative, direct, light, positive, attractive. This is what I thought when I first saw one of Karolina Jonderko’s images. Her photography is sharp and has, since the very beginning, given me the idea of realness. There’s a perfect balance of composition, of rule of thirds, of close ups. The result is brilliant, haunting. The Harlow has had the chance of a brief interview with her. What follows is a written conversation we had. We invite you all to discover this amazing artist of morbid eloquence, it’s well worth watching.

What is photography to you?

For me photography is a voice. I’ve never been good with words. Photography gives me the chance to communicate with people and express what I want to say. I read pictures as if someone was telling me a story. No matter if it’s a single image or a photoreportage. Photographs tell us something about the photographer who took them. Continue Reading →

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NADINE SHAH

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Maxim Deluxe

British born by way of Norwegian and Pakistani parentage, is a vocalist/pianist from a small town called Whitburn. She signed with R&S imprint Apollo Records and is out with her amazing album ‘ Love Your Dum and Mad ‘. Listen the single Dreary Town on Soundcloud

NADINE SHAH

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CUT THE RIBBON, SOLITA SOLANO

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Editorial Staff

For her funny and particular Spanish-Italian sounding nickname, she was born Sarah Wilkinson in Troy-New York, in 1888. For her signature bob and red lipstick. For her adventurous years in the Philippines, in China and Japan where her husband was working as an engineer. For her career as a writer with 3 unsuccessful books and the one she started as a theater critic for the New York Tribune. For her freelance contributions to the National Geographic Society and The New Yorker under the name of Genêt. For her love for Paris and her friends, the intellectual-lesbian circles of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Natalie Clifford Barney, Romaine Brooks and Djuna Barnes. For being a trustworthy and superb editor of Anderson and Hulme’s books. For being a secretary for Armenian philosopher and writer Georges Ivanovič Gurdjieff. For being incredibly powerful and being photographed by the best of her years. For having a complete life where she tried everything. For these reasons and many more, Solita Solano is a whole Cut The Ribbon.

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RUBY HELMETS

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Editorial Staff

When seeing them you just want to buy a motorbike and ride away! Cool helmets, with character and soul, original in shape and design. Ruby Paris, reflects ideas of the collective unconscious: being glam and being at ease. Their quality in manufacturing and finish, the wide choice of materials such as the carbon fiber shell and the sensual backbone or the Nappa lambskin on the side of the face are characteristics of comfort and safety. Parts are of titanium and the chin strap is closed with a double-d buckle making it clever. Ateliers Ruby do possess a great allure. Back in 2007, the first Pavillon helmet appeared in a shop off la rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. Later on, the Belvedere model arrived bringing a retro-futuristic visor. In the last 5 years, the Ruby team have released new collections becoming a must and trademark. We simple love it. Come on, ride on!

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RED? A MANIFESTO

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Editorial Staff

What color is that? It’s Rosso Valentino!”.

Red holds strong in Chinese cultural history. It is often associated with bringing happiness and it is, of course, a symbol of fire, good fortune and joy. Unlike the Western opinion on this pigment and its use in costume, red is a traditional shade used for bride’s wedding dresses in China.

Sexy, confident, bold. Red is the color that makes you stop. With its voluptuous hue, its vivid tones it can make a woman radiant. If it’s the poppy red, Valentino’s trademark and timeless statement, then that woman will be a goddess. Few days ago, in Shanghai, Valentino’s talented duo, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli created and presented a ‘season less’ collection where the signature color had a leading role. It was a defilé, a mix of pret-à-porter and haute couture. A real delight in contamination: flowers, studs, camouflage, all combined and linked to a solid color red. The result? Opulent but light, severe and extremely grand at the same time. Always reminding us about their conservative yet modern approach, the catwalk was a statement of ageless elegance and constant evolution of Chiuri and Piccioli’s creative path. It was rock, it was classy, it was out of time, it rolled like a river in flood, luxuriant and attractive, sublime. A multifaceted collection, elegant and glamorous yet playful and, already available at the new Shanghai flagship store.

No one does red like Valentino!

www.valentino.com

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SOPOPULAR

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Marco Maggetto

Daniel Blechman was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 1971. He moved to Berlin with his family when he was very young. Raised in a city that was still divided, he decided to moved to UK in the 90ies to study at Richmond University where got a bachelor in Interior Designing. Back in Berlin, Blecham turned his sensibility toward fashion and started to work as a Managing Director for a boutique where he was introducing the first collections of emerging designers (Simons, McQueen). In 2000 he started to work as a stylist for international agencies and in 2008 he launched SOPOPULAR, his fashion line. Sopopular is men’s fashion reduced, cleaned and revisited with classic cuts and narrow silhouettes all mixed up with edgy street wear elements and futuristic design details for a more modern and cool effect. Sopopular’s production is made in Germany and purpose a different approach to the masculine wardrobe with recurring themes like spectacular prints and multidimensional fabrics. Continue Reading →

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THE TURDUS MERULA OF CHARLES AND RAY EAMES

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Luisa Fazio

He surely can’t be “classidied” in any professional category. Charles Eames was everything: architect, inventor, designer, scientist, director, professor. An eclectic artist and a brilliant “creator.” In 1941, he married artist Ray Kaiser, becoming a single entity: “The Eames”. Everyone knows the legendary Eames Chairs. A tribute to their appearance, philosophy, look. They were beautiful, simple, practical, elegant, sophisticated, different. In addition to chairs, their house in Pacific Palisades, California, designed and built by them in 1948, was model of simplicity and diversity so much to become a typical image of textbooks. A Mecca for architects and designers from around the world. But looking at its interior we discover a blackbird, a Turdus merula. For more than 50 years it has found its ideal habitat in the living room of the Eames. It is a piece of American folk art, a rare and precious artifact very dear to the Eames. A souvenir from the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States (The handicraft product was created by Charles Perdew in 1910 which left his “normal” job to devote himself full-time sculpturing birds, especially using pine). It’s a part of their crowded interior collections of pieces brought back from their long travels and that has often peeped in their photo shoots. Continue Reading →

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HOLD IT WITH REGARD, VITTORIO CICCARELLI

Posted on November 15, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Friday, Hold it With Regard, Vittorio Ciccarelli.

Vittorio Ciccarelli, he was born in Naples in 1980, he lives and works in Aversa, Caserta. Vittorio is an architect with a great passion for art and loves to conducts experimental researches in the photography field. Started as an auto didactic, Ciccarelli has attended several workshop to professionalize his job and passion. Harlow just adores him: his sincere and sexy approach, his bold and secure eye. His use of colors, his simplicity, his over the top irony. Hype realist in some moments, new Dadaist in others, Vittorio never miss his intent of celebrating beauty while deconstructing. Everything is in discussion, even the most unexpected object. Vittorio Ciccarelli is represented by Sakura Art Gallery, Paris.

http://www.galerie-sakura.com

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SHINE BRIGHT LIKE…DIAMONDS AND PEARLS!

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Isabella Cecconi

Sensual, voluptuous, Belgian! This is Marc Lagrange; one of the most original and talented erotic photographers with a distinctive approach to settings, to sexy scenes, to timeless images. Combining glamour with alluring heroines, Lagrange creates a personal and sophisticated photography. His new book, Diamonds and Pearls is a little treasure to have, a jewel for home coffee tables and for luxurious eyes. We love it!

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THE BOOMCASE

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Take a vintage suitcase and make it an irresistible “boombox”. Handmade in California since 2009 the Original Rechargeable Vintage Suitcase BoomBox works with any device and also has a headphone output. Plug your phone, iPhone,iPod,computer into the AUX port and play your music for over 18 hours on a single charge.

“Discouraged from always having to buy 12 “D” batteries for my BoomBox (which didn’t sound that great), I decided to build my own. I have been building portable battery powered speaker systems since 1999. When it came time to make my own Boombox I had two goals: 1.) It had to have a built-in rechargeable battery. 2.) It had to sound great. Each BoomCase is a one of a kind piece. No two BoomCases are the same.”

http://theboomcase.com/

Photo: 1920′s Authentic Vintage Louis Vuitton Suitcase turned BoomCase! Featuring a 200 watt Amplifier, Two 10″ Woofers,Ribbons Tweeters and Horn Mid/Tweeters One 5″ Mid-Range.

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ALEX ISRAEL

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Editorial Staff

He is in every collection that really matters. His signature pastel colored panels are dreamy, calming and remind us of his beloved California. Los Angeles, where he was born in 1982, is his main inspiration. Israel, who started his career as assistant to Jason Rhoades, creates art that riffs on Hollywood culture and the cult of celebrity. His installations and videos are focused on symbols, from sunglasses to director’s chairs to celebrities. Lens, for example, was an installation at Laxart that consisted of a 2 meters sunglasses lens made of UV-protective plastic. Israel is a sunglasses freak ( he is the founder of Freeway Eyewear, a Los Angeles-inspired sunglasses brand) and find poetry in the way they change our view, block our eyes from others and make us rich, powerful, mysterious. A concept that is represented also in his Self-Potraits series, featured here. Keep checking his work, he is a raising star.

http://www.peresprojects.com/

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BLOOD ORANGE

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Maxim Deluxe

Devonté Hynes has produced a lot of music , some for others and some for himself under the name of . “Cupid Deluxe” is the new album by Blood Orange and it’s out now on Domino Records. Follow on and listen on SOUNDCLOUD.

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VERMOUTH, THE PLEASURE OF DRINKING

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Editorial Staff

He didn’t cut a ribbon, he sipped it! In 1786, Antonio Benedetto Carpano invented the commercial model for what we know today as red vermouth, possibly even coining the term “vermuth.” The Carpano brand, Turin based, was formalized some years later by Carpano’s nephews. The red vermouths of subsequent producers, such as Cinzano and Gancia or Martini, were their own riffs on what Carpano first successfully marketed. A contemporary expression of the product that was Carpano’s original commercial vermouth is nowadays still existing. The Vermouth was made from white wine added to an infusion of herbs and spices in more than 30 varieties. It was sweetened with spirit, which he believed would be a more suitable beverage for ladies than the local red wines. Inspired by a German wine fortified with wormwood, an herb most famously used in distilling absinthe. Carpano gave bartenders a range of options in making drinks, formalizing Turin as capital of the Royal Italian Family and of aperitif!

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RAVAGE!

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Life is too short to wear boring clothes, useless eau de parfums. There’s beauty in their style in their choices, in their being so mannishly essential and gently exquisite. Pleasure, comfort and self-confidence. RAVAGE, the pseudonym of two well known artists and designers, experts in the domain of Man’s Fashion and founder members of Trend Union, launches a collection of six perfumes named: ‘Les Parfums de Monsieur’. Six aspects of the life of a Gentleman: ‘le Nez de Monsieur’, ‘l’Amant de Monsieur’, ‘les Larmes de Monsieur’, ‘la Vie Secrète de Monsieur”, ‘le Rêve de Monsieur’ and ‘le Blanc de Monsieur’.

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STRAIGHTFORWARD, RIKA

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Marco Maggetto

On Sunday night I was watching the EMA’s and I realized…I’m not a teenager any longer. How sad. Not even a twenty something to tell you the truth. Everything seemed foolish and over the top to me. A full fanfare. Outfits, lights, choreographs were over the top. So no wonder the pop music world is not my cup of tea any longer, it’s just a matter of hormones. The show was amazing in a way and I was laughing at every single pop star’s outfit, Eminem excluded. To me, they were all wearing impressive and exaggerated Halloween leftovers costumes. If the EMA is done for young people, and fashion is a big part of it, do they really want to see that? Being young is about being complicated, complicating simple things and being attracted by complicated stuffs. Being mature is about dreaming to be young again and live easily, straightforward. I like when it’s cool, and young and uncomplicated like the brand Rika. Take the “Marlon Sweater” in this picture. It’s rock, it’s girlish, it’s simple, it’s no Halloween. It’s just an ironic sweater worn with a white shirt and a black skirt. Is there anything more perfect than that? In times where brands are forcing decorations to capture clients, Rika delivers a clothing line that likes to whisper instead of shouting. Founded in 2005 by ex Svedish stylist Ulrika Lundgren, Rika is working with success on clothing modern pieces and amazing handcrafted chemical free leather accessories for a modern woman that is bold and high-spirited.

http://www.rikaint.com/home/

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THE FUGU, DELICIOUS BUT PROHIBITED TO THE EMPEROR

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Luisa Fazio

I have always been fascinated by people from “the Rising Sun”. Their extreme pursuit of harmony, purity and refinement, their being a living ikebana, a fair balance, a simplicity in gastronomy. In fact, Japanese food is sophisticated, light and fat-free. The white flesh of the puffer fish (fugu in Japan), has the particularity to swell up like a ball – ingesting a large quantity of water – when attacked or captured. It is one of the many delights for palate. But its meat is to be considered “more delicious” than those of other fishes especially because you try to consume it in the thrill of risk. It’s a shiver of Russian roulette. “Make-or-break” occasion! We are facing a real “forbidden fruit” that leads into temptation true gourmets. Puffer fish contains tetrodotox in ovaries, liver and skin: a poison thousand times more powerful than cyanide that can kill a human being in a very short time. In Japanese restaurants where fugu is served, fugu-chefs must have a government license stating particular cooking skills in cutting that fish. They must carefully separate damaged and poisonous parts that from edible ones. This is a painstaking work, precise and meticulous, an art of great mastery. The pleasure is guaranteed by the fact that they must leave small and right amount of toxin in meat in order to give a slight dizziness and a tingling of the tongue. Pleasure and ecstasy, but not death. Despite aspiring chefs are prepared by a hard and long training and successful completion of a complex theoretical and practical examination (only 30-35% of test takers pass the test!) every year, many people die because of fugu, in spite of any antidote. I would eat sushi and sashimi twenty for seven. But when I discovered the existence of this Japanese delicacy I thought: courage, direct to Osaka (here you will find the best licensed restaurants with specialized chefs serve fugu). Waiter please, I’ll have a fugu sashimi! And here I would see coming all to myself a large ceramic plate with floral motifs full of fugu-sashi: thin slices, almost transparent white meat arranged radially like to remember a chrysanthemum. Oh my God, in Italy it is the flower of death!

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DAN CRETU

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Luca Andriani

When a good photographic eye and a strong imagination get together, you can probably be considered a creative of respect. Dan Cretu, to me, definitely is a beautiful mind. His last works deserves particular attention as it pertains to the creation of shots of everyday objects using fruits and vegetables. Note that each composition is the result of an assembly of real elements without the use of post-production. Each object is composed and shot. Inside his tumblr you can also see other compositions that testify his absolute imagination and creativeness . Enjoy!

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HOLD IT WITH REGARD, VITTORIO CICCARELLI

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Second Hold it With Regard in good company of Vittorio Ciccarelli.

Vittorio Ciccarelli, he was born in Naples in 1980, he lives and works in Aversa, Caserta. Vittorio is an architect with a great passion for art and loves to conducts experimental researches in the photography field. Started as an auto didactic, Ciccarelli has attended several workshop to professionalize his job and passion. Harlow just adores him: his sincere and sexy approach, his bold and secure eye. His use of colors, his simplicity, his over the top irony. Hype realist in some moments, new Dadaist in others, Vittorio never miss his intent of celebrating beauty while deconstructing. Everything is in discussion, even the most unexpected object. Vittorio Ciccarelli is represented by Sakura Art Gallery, Paris.

http://www.galerie-sakura.com

fauteuil-ingrid-roche-bobois-10952822mushi

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BONJOUR INGRID!

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Great allure, easy, full of design. This is Ingrid by Roche Bobois, the result of a search for contemporary classicism. Here the idea of classicism is not simply the repetition of classic stylistic features but rather the evocation of an idea of balance and proportion. Ingrid is clean and sophisticated, discreet, slender. A wood frame with a soft colourful heart (fabric are by Sonia Rykiel). It is suitable for both home use and for furnishing common spaces. To us? A coup de Coeur!

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CUT THE RIBBON, JOHN DELOREAN

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Editorial Staff

In years where cars are not selling, re editions of old model seems the only option. Minis and 500s, it looks like we are in the sixties. But we are not. We were supposed to drive flying cars (that’s what they told us at school) and here we are, driving the same old models. Off course those cute compact cars have been upgraded, but here at the Harlow we are into new aesthetics and progress and we can’t help but wonder, where is the future? It’s better to look in the past and particularly to this whole Cut The Ribbon who was John Delorean. Born in 1925, he was an engineer known for developing the Pontiac GTO muscle car, the Pontiac Firebird, Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevrolet Vega, and the famous DeLorean Dmc-12. And here is the ribbon. That futuristic car famous for it’s gull-wing doors with a fiberglass “under-body”, to which non-structural brushed stainless steel panels where affixed, the car that became iconic in the Back to the Future film trilogy. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro the Dmc-12 was a success and three cars were plated in 24-karat gold and sold in minutes. John Delorean was arrested in 1982 for drug trafficking in an attempt to raise funds for his struggling company, which declared bankruptcy that same year. He successfully defended himself against the drug trafficking charges, showing that his alleged involvement was a result of entrapment by federal agents. The story of DeLorean Motors ended with just one model produced but the Dmc-12, and the futuristic vision of its creator, remains intact.

“If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits eighty-eight miles per hour, you’re going to see some serious shit.” Doc Brown, Back To The Future

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DE KOONING @ GAGOSIAN

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Just ten paintings by master Willem de Kooning, created between 1983 and 1985. The exhibition will highlight the famous and critical three-year period of the last decade of de Kooning’s long career. A period where he radically transformed his style. It will be a selection of de Kooning’s most interesting and rarely seen works with the public. The works commonly part of his “late style” are a mirror of de Kooning painterly qualities. Prismatic colors gets in love with whites, with surface and space. Looking like stripped-down, crisply graphic formats, there are lines of vivid color causing a buckle and turn in space, shaping an elusive figuration.

Ten Paintings, 1983–1985
November 8 – December 21, 2013

Gagosian Gallery – Madison Ave. NYC

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MONEY

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Maxim Deluxe

The last British next big thing comes from Manchester and made his debut with the intense “The Shadow Of Heaven” by the influential London label Bella Union (Beach House, Department Of Eagles, Fleet Foxes, John Grant, Midlake). arrive for the first time live in Italy with their dark and epic sounds halfway between Wu Lyf and Fleet Foxes. Check tour dates and follow on LONELY SEXY DEATH.

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THE FASHION WORLD OF JEAN PAUL GAULTIER: FROM THE SIDEWALK TO THE CATWALK

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Marco Maggetto

He is one of my favorites ever. His pieces are still in my wardrobe surviving years and years of Feng shui. You have to make space to the new sometimes, but when the time of toss or give comes, you never even doubt about pieces by Gaultier: too painful, they recall good memories. That’s him, the French fashion master of game and transformation. A poet, one of the very first designers that based his career on the diversity of global cultures. A designer that made his outing before starting his career, in years where even the most clearly gay of them was silent about it. Galutier’s full of freedom and bonne humeur designs are crucial, extremely important to describe a part of our history and that’s why The Brooklyn Museum is hosting The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk. It’s the first international exhibition dedicated to the French Couturier and it features 140 haute couture and prêt-à-porter ensembles. From his earliest to his most recent collections, the exhibition explores how Gaultier’s avant-garde designs challenged societal, gender, and aesthetic codes in unexpected ways. Exhibition is curated by Thierry-Maxime Loriot of the MMFA.

Brooklyn Museum from October 25, 2013 till February 23, 2014.

Photo: Tanel Bedrossiantz, 1992 by Paolo Roversi

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HORST P. HORST

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Isabella Cecconi

We have an entire year to get ready for the retrospective of the work of magnificent master photographer Horst P. Horst. German American, he spanned his career for six decades, photographing the exquisite creations of couturiers such as Chanel, Schiaparelli and Vionnet. He launched many models and experimented with early colour techniques. His pictures are meticulously composed, lit by great art and keenness. The exhibition will display Horst’s best known photographs alongside unpublished and rarely exhibited vintage prints. From surreal to still lives, from portraits of Hollywood stars to nudes and nature studies. A creative process through archive film footage, original contact sheets, sketchbooks and letters.

6 September 2014 – 4 January 2015

http://www.vam.ac.uk/

Continue Reading →

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THE CATCLUB, UNITED BAMBOO

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Editorial Staff

Your love for the “little tiger” is now en vogue. From Chupette Lagerfeld on, this last period had been a constant “Year Of The Cat”. Plenty of websites dedicated to them and plenty of offers for feline lovers. From food to accessories, the noble companion is, more than ever, an inspiration. To celebrate the cult of the cat, United Bamboo has created a small collection of greeting cards and wrapping paper designed by Studio Lin, a collaboration with Chen Chen and Kai Williams, and some life-size cat pillows to cozy up your home. Adore and the clebrate the feline domesticated as early as the Neolithic, just around 9500 years ago.

http://shop.unitedbamboo.com/

Photo from the UB Cat Calendar.

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MANDRAGOLA, THE MOST POWERFUL TALISMAN !

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Luisa Fazio

If you are in a cemetery, or in the ruins of an abandoned city, and you seem to see a shadow, it won’t be a ghost. It’s a careful and enterprising seeker of a special and unusual plant, a more “virtuous” and portentous talisman known for over 3000 years. It’s the Mandrake! (Mandragora officinarum L. belonging to the Solanaceae family, a close relative to the potato, it grows throughout the Mediterranean basin and it seems that prefers humid places, dark and gloomy spaces). It’s a very, very capricious plant in need of a lot of attention. In all ancient traditions, for its eradication difficult, it shall be used of numerous rituals through which ensures that the plant will certainly be cared for, treated well and respected. It has to be fed twice a day with milk and cookies, bread and meat. A sort of vegetable man! In case of negligence, we earmuffs and protect our ears! The demon that dwells in the plant will emit a cry of despair, “a cry that will be fatal to those who will listen!”(cited in Harry Potter and the chamber of Secrets – herbology lesson of the students on mandrakes replantation). It’s a multi-faceted herb.

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BROODS

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Maxim Deluxe

The brand New Zealand talent with only one song out have done speak about them. Listen ‘ Bridges ‘ on Soundcloud

November 25, 2013–February 17, 2014

Ten Paintings, 1983–1985 November 8 – December 21, 2013

Ten Paintings, 1983–1985
November 8 – December 21, 2013