My Thoughts on Wang-ciaga

"Alexander Wang on Monday became the first designer of Asian descent to enter the highest ranks of Parisian high fashion when he was named creative director of the storied house of Balenciaga. "
                                                                                            -NY Times

Ok, first off I guess we'll ignore Kenzo,  a Parisian high fashion label founded in 1970 by a Japanese designer, Kenzo Takada, and recently rejuvenated when LVMH (who owns the line now) brought in Opening Ceremony prodigies, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, both of Asian descent to be the new creative directors. Oh Grey Lady. Fact check much?

But more importantly, how did this pairing come to be? Many industry insiders are grumbling that this a thinly veiled attempt to bring in a designer who can craft an 'It Bag' since most houses depend on handbags and shoes to make money. Balenciaga currently has none of those but behind Alexander Wang is the widely popular 'Rocco', 'Diego' bags and 'Anouk' and 'Amber' shoes featured all over street style blogs. Make no mistake PPR, which owns Balenciaga, is betting the house on proven accessory cash cow know how

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Nicolas Ghesquière left Balenciaga on such a high note built on seasons of pushing silhouettes to new limits. Volume shouted with striking, architectural constructions of shape that seemed other-worldly. Funny, the same was said for Cristóbal Balenciaga when he freed women of classical silhouettes, crafting instead volumes for women to utilize like armor

(Nicolas Ghesquière for Balenciaga, Fall 2012)

In stark contrast, Wang had popularized the street urchin chic of slouch and burnout stretch jersey. How will this translate to the house the cocoon coat built?

(Alexander Wang, Spring 2012)

Finally, and it needs to be said, especially with Wang entering "the highest ranks of Parisian high fashion", there's a quality issue giant white elephant in the room. Balenciaga under Ghesquière was made in France, Italy or throughout Europe. Wang's line is made in China (or possibly US sweatshops?) Will clients be willing to ante up for inferior products rushed to increase margins?

 (Above Wang Photo Credit: Flare.com)

Rumors

Nicolas Ghesquière being courted by LVMH? Or just having a social Thursday night dinner with Arnault and Dior chief Sidney Toledano? 

Alexander Wang the front runner for the opening at Balenciaga? Or just The New York Times' Cathy Horyn throwing her contender into fashion's favorite game of who's on first? (We at It Can't All Be Dior hope she's purely speculating)


Keep those rumors flying, fashion folks, and we will, of course, continue to report on the Balenciaga saga. 

Raf Simons Takes Dior!

"Bonjour, Dior!"

The who will replace Galliano tour de force has circulated mountains of rumors over the last year+, most we chose to ignore (Alexander Wang? Really?), but if the source is none other than The New York Times, you can bet it's pretty on point:


"On Wednesday, the Paris fashion house will announce that Raf Simons will take over immediately as artistic director, replacing John Galliano, who was fired from Dior last year after he made anti-Semitic remarks. His first collection is planned for July at the fall haute couture shows."




Wow! Go ahead Raf, your designs have never seemed the obvious heir of Monsieur Dior, but I look forward to what you'll wow us with and to the denouement of this absurd "Guess Who?" carousel of couture.






Original Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/12/fashion/simons-to-take-over-at-dior.html?_r=1

Hedi Back!

According to The New York Times, Hedi Slimane is officially back as head designer of YSL (the announcement will go live tomorrow supposedly), this time not just menswear, but the whole kit and caboodle

Are we excited about this? Hell yeah! Slimane's last design gig, as creative director for Dior Homme, was one of the sexiest, sleekest tenures in recent history. If even a morsel of that energy goes into Saint Laurent, we're guaranteed and refreshing shot of sleezy, smoke filled room sexiness in our Le Smokings of the future. 

Can't wait. 

Last Nite's Party: A Real Bad Blackout

Last nite Mr. G and I went to a haunted house called "Blackout". Like everything in New York, it's got a gimmick  you gotta walk it alone (also like everything in New York, but I digress)

The waiver you sign beforehand also warns that you must wear a protective mask, will be bound at one point and oh yes, you'll encounter "Sexual and violent situations"

Quick reminder of the rules of Blackout:  · YOU MUST WALK THROUGH ALONE.  You will be prompted to do certain actions. Please do exactly as you're told. This is for your safety.  · There is absolutely no speaking allowed inside. You can, however, scream as loud as you'd like.   

"SAFETY" may have been the, ahem, safety word but from the moment I stepped into the dark room with a chair getting a full body massage from behind, the only word that sprang to mind was "yuck"



                              



Ok I promise not to give away any "scares" but let's put it this way, if you haven't had a date in awhile, "Blackout" could suffice as a quick thrill. The sexual content you might encounter is actually all you encounter. Scares like so many creative concepts in modern pop culture are replaced with overt sexuality. Everyone is touching you, poking you, waving they bits around and as my grandmother would have said just "a little too much"

(Oh girl! Really?)

There was nothing scary about any of this, but I honestly did think about yelling out "safety" to end the ick.


One of the more pitiful moments was the room with a bucket ass naked actress chained to the floor. She's writhing around begging you for the key you just had to unpleasantly unearth from the preceding room. I kept saying to myself "Key, honey? You don't need no key, you need a new agent!"



I couldn't believe The New York Times called this disjointed string of gross outs "the extreme theater event of the year".  But then a Grey Lady might enjoy a grope in the dark.


Website for tickets and other reviews: http://blackoutnyc.com/

Book Club: Shock Value

Hey, you got your horror movies in my biography!

That's right two great tastes that taste great together: my love of slasher flicks and trashy bios. Here New York Times writer, Jason Zinoman fleshes out the creepy, oozy secrets of how landmark horror was made on the cheap by men with ideas. 

Some classic scares visual valentines to the genre (In Halloween, John Carpenter cast horror icon Janet Leigh's daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis in the role of babysitter stalked in the suburbs by an evil anonymous force that felt universally relatable) 

(Hollywood royalty)

Sometimes horror was a gateway to turn the profits into capital for their real movies. George Romero only made Night of the Living Dead so he could funnel the low-budge horror profits into a serious drama. Instead, with social implications he swears kinda just fell into place, the Dead became a huge hit of the 60's and redefined horror in its wake. No longer were the lines of  good versus evil so clearly defined. And no longer was the hero guaranteed to live

                                               



Wes Craven was just a boy with a domineering religious mother who needed to show the everyday horrors people can justify. His debut, Last House on the Left, turned the tables. Within a flash, sweet, everyday parents find their inner maniac and violently murder their daughter's attackers

(Don't know who Joe is, but I know Craven's one hell of a salesman!)

"Shock Value" also explores the political in-fighting between these close-knit directors, writers and producers. There's so much backstabbing, idea stealing, betrayal and intrigue in this great group of masterful thinkers. Juicy! Like a big breasted teenage slut taking a shortcut home

("Doo, doo, doo... just walkin' through the woods...")

(Shock Value by Jason Zinoman, $12.99 hardcover at Barnes & Nobles, http://www.barnesandnoble.com/)

DON'T Let The New York Times Discourage You

(Why does the picture to thiis NY Times article have to have an immigrant worker tinge?)

I've had my issue with The New York Times before and I truly understand that this article on people starting up a "Plan B" job as a new career path after the "Great Recession" was meant to be an earnest warning, but as someone who has recently started their own successful self-employment, I say: go for it!

Like the people interviewed in this piece, I drudge through the running around, the spreadsheets and the long hours but unlike most of the subjects I work a 40+ hour job and still do freelance styling and writing on the side. In addition! But I never would say it's too hard or try to dishearten anyone from following their dream. Only through your own business and own projects can you honestly be independent. 

But like anything in our instant gratification society, if it takes some work, we gripe. We are not interested in investments. Elbow grease is purchased away with Swifter mops and dusters. And a whole generation has been handed awards "just for playing". All this makes us forget that the sweetest fruit is one sewn by hand.


Let me make this point clear: I love my day job and I am hooked on the intrigue of my side projects, but nothing feels directly fulfilling like a sale on my Ebay store. That's 100% me: My eye, my hunt, my skill for knowing the market and researching competitive pricing, for writing engaging copy, for showcasing the best attributes of clothes and shoes through my styling and copywriting skills. Is it long hours and hard work? You betcha. But for my dream, I have all the Time(s) in the world.



Original New York Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/fashion/maybe-its-time-for-plan-c.html?_r=1&ref=fashion

Say It Ain't So

"RuPaul on Drag: 'If I never did it again I'm fine with that'"

-From The New York Times "At Lunch with RuPaul"

This isn't all that surprising as Ru has increasingly shown up in full male look

(RuPaul on The Wendy Williams Show)

But still one can't help but feel an era comes to an end with this declaration. Hopefully one of his "Drag Race" ladies will be ready to carry the torch. 

Bergdorf's Windows are a Fright

Well they're actually just about PHOBIAS and feature paintings and sculptures by my friend, artist Mark Gagnon

Bergdorf had commissioned a whole windows worth of paintings from Mr Gagnon back in 2008 and it was such a successful collaboration, that they turned to him once more to paint fashionable interpretations of many common fears like spiders, drowning, tornadoes and Nuclear war

A talented painter, sculptor and mixed media artist, Gagnon's client list also includes (but limited to) Cartier, Barneys, Target and illustrations for publication such as The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Wallpaper and many more

Make sure to stop by Bergdorf Goodman's windows or pop over to their blog to check out more:

http://blog.bergdorfgoodman.com/windows/fearless


And to see more of Mark Gagnon's work, check out his Tumblr: http://markgagnon.tumblr.com/

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow!

(These thieves must be stopped in their tracks!)

The New York Times reported this week about a ring of thieves weaving a national crime wave for hair extensions. Since March news has been coming out about robberies from hair salons in Texas, California, Michigan, Illinois and more. Some have even resulted in violence like the burglary in Dearborn, Michigan that ended in the death of the beauty shop owner!

All this for "Remy", the most coveted of human hair from India that goes straight to the street or black market for huge profits

(Just look at that bounty!)

And like drug addicts mugging victims for cash but ignoring fancy watches, these thieves have repeatedly passed over flat screen TVs, digital cameras and even whole cash registers for the profitable Indian hair extensions

(That little birdy ain't gonna protect you, Princess!)

Yikes, what's next street scalping? Indian ladies and anyone with thick dark locks (r'uh-r'oh) better be on the watch!

Cintra Wilson Finished Being Critical?

"This will be my last dispatch as your Critical Shopper. This column has been a singular joy and privilege to write, and I will miss your readership. Whenever you find the mate to your perfect bondage-boot hidden under one of the couches at Barneys on sale day, I will be with you in spirit"

And just like that my favorite bitter pill of a professional shopper, Cintra Wilson, signs off at The New York Times?

And with a review of the United Nude store on Bond Street? Really? I mean an architectural shoe line is nice and very Cintra ( a self-professed shoe maniac) but a bit of a weak fade out if you ask me.

Come back and be mean to the rest of the Manhattan Mall!

Afterall, Roundabout hasn't even been reviewed yet!

Last (?) Critical Shopper: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/fashion/31CRITIC.html?_r=1&ref=fashion

New York Times Uses Bedbugs as an Excuse to Get Bougie

The New York Times ran an article today that was completely misleading and biased. The whole angle of this article is that 

"No one is more anxious [about bedbugs] than those shoppers who live to scout secondhand clothing shops and used-furniture stores"

Now I will not deny that second hand, vintage, resale and consignment shops stand the same chance as any store to be infected by these devious critters since they are worming their way everywhere and are becoming an epidemic in New York. 


But I would like to cease these scare tactics based on preconceived notions. "Second hand" already has a large stigma in snooty old New York, why feed into this snobbery, NY Times? Especially since nowhere in the article was there any proof of bedbugs in any of the thrifts they interviewed: Beacon's Closet, Housing Works, Goodwill... all of whom have taken extra precautions to prevent bedbugs. 


Lastly, this article is ignoring a glaring fact: all reports of bedbug infestations have come from NEW retail stores like Abercrombie, Hollister, Victoria's Secret, as well as shiny NEW movie theaters and offices. 


Barron details a second hand shopper's debate over a couch asking

 "Was it worth feeling jittery and jumpy about something whose history she could not know?"

Well if you pick up something at a box store or boutique, how well do you know its history? How well do you know the history of anything you buy? Believe it or not that sparkly skirt and well tailored pants had a life before you, no matter where you purchase it.


This author is just showcasing his own distaste for secondhand and passing it off as journalism.


Jose Medellin, a spokesman for Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, put it best in the article when he reminded the reporter

"Obviously, these bugs do not respect economic level or social status or neighborhood — they found them in Abercrombie & Fitch"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/nyregion/02bedbugs.html?src=mv&ref=nyregion