Sneakers from the NikeCraft collection.

“I don’t want to sound like a Luddite, but I’m very skeptical of big business,” the artist Tom Sachs said, talking about NikeCraft, a small collection he did with the shoemaker that he introduced with his exhibition, “Space Program: Mars,” now at the Park Avenue Armory.

Mr. Sachs is no Luddite, and he has raised enough questions about consumerism over the years to be wary of his own motives in collaborating with a major brand. I happened to drop by the Armory as Mr. Sachs was finishing the installation for Tuesday night’s opening, and with a schoolboy’s enthusiasm (and a nerdish pocket protector poking out of his shirt), he led me into a room that had the gear on display. I was bowled over.

I first met Mr. Sachs a decade ago at a gallery in Paris, where he was exhibiting his Chanel guillotine and a scale model of a Nazi death camp created from a Prada hat box. The work was disturbing, partly because it so impishly dealt with the strange and terrifying aspects of brand worship, especially luxury brands. Nowadays almost no one questions their dominance (and that may be even more frightening). Mr. Sachs didn’t seem a sucker for fashion, though. A sharp observer maybe, but not a follower.

The NikeCraft pieces grew out of a conversation he had with Mark Parker, Nike’s chief executive, three years ago. They spent hours talking about the merits of individual handcraft versus factory production. Mr. Sachs was interested in technical materials used for NASA and the military, but also in notions like durability and reuse; he recalled how his father used to sand down the bottoms of worn sneakers and attach a less-worn tread.

At one point, Mr. Parker told him, “If you think you can do better, why don’t you try.”

Mr. Sachs made visits to the Nike headquarters in Portland, Ore., and their folks came to his studio.

“I’m really surprised and pleased that they turned out so well,” he said of the products, which include a pair of sneakers (the Mars Yard shoe), two jackets, and lightweight carry bags that make use of air bag material and, in some cases, rip cords and grappling hooks. Bricolage is a big part of the “Mars” installation, with space vehicles transparently made out of plywood and screws, and Mr. Sachs has given that feeling to NikeCraft. Indeed, with the tote and backpack, there’s a sly sense of overdesign, not unlike you might find with an overly worked designer handbag.

Mr. Sachs seemed to enjoy the design process, saying, “I was immediately challenged by how complex it is to produce with a team that isn’t mine.” It was interesting to him how certain ideas got lost or ignored in the process. He recalled how a sample maker in a Vietnam factory just decided to eliminate a detail. “He said, ‘That’s a stupid idea,’ ” Mr. Sachs recalled, chuckling. At first the artist was annoyed (“Give me that guy’s number”), but the sample maker also made suggestions that were incorporated in the final design. As Mr. Sachs said of the process, “It’s not this autocratic vision.”

The olive-green Chester coat.

The jacket styles are striking. The Marsfly golden-yellow windbreaker comes with sleeve and hood tension pulls, Kevlar stitching and leather trim for the cuffs and visor brim. The leather bits were added by hand in New York. The olive-green Chester coat, in a three-layer waterproof fabric, is plain enough to look elegant over a business suit. Mr. Sachs had the lining printed with essential scientific information, like the entire periodic table. It’s handy for settling a bar-room argument, he said.

“A good part of what drives the fashion business is perceived obsolescence, but it can have a destructive impact on consumers,” Mr. Sachs said. There are also ecological issues. “The answer is we have to make stuff that lasts.”

With a limited production, NikeCraft is pricey: from $ 385 for the sneakers to $ 700 for a lightweight tote. Items are available for sale at the Armory and at Union, in Los Angeles, as well as boutiques in London, Berlin, Paris and Tokyo.

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Planet Fashion Gets Some Fresh Looks is a post from: DM Art Studio

Robert Caplin for The New York TimesJanelle Monáe with Ted Gibson at the awards.

Essence magazine handed out its first Best in Black Beauty Awards on May 8, honoring what it called innovators in cosmetics, skin care, nails and hair.   The event, at the Dream Downtown hotel in New York City, drew a fashionable crowd of beauty industry veterans, style editors, celebrity makeup artists and hairstylists.

The honorees included Ted Gibson, a noted hair stylist; Pat McGrath, a makeup artist; and Lisa Logan, a manicurist. The event was hosted by Essence’s beauty director, Corynne Corbett, and June Ambrose, a stylist and host of VH1’s “Styled by June.”

Robert Caplin for The New York TimesMikki Taylor (in purple print), the former beauty director at the magazine, in the audience at the Essence Best in Black Beauty Awards.

Mikki Taylor,  the magazine’s trailblazing beauty director for 30 years until she retired in 2010, was also present. ”I had goosebumps the entire time,” she said. For decades Essence offered beauty tips for African American women that were not available in other women’s magazines, including advice on hair relaxers and deep tone concealers.

Robert Caplin for The New York TimesUrsula Stephens, at left, checking out the the Twitter feed from the event with a guest.

Among the first to arrive was Ursula Stephens, a hair stylist who transformed Rihanna’s medium-length locks into a bob. “Essence is the stamp of approval for black beauty,” Ms. Stephens said, who wore a mustard-colored bandage skirt, a peplum blouse and sky-high platform pumps.

Mr. Gibson, who has been lobbying for an Academy Award category for hair styling, was thrilled by the honor. “To be recognized by the leading black publication in the world, it means something,” he said. Janelle Monáe presented his award, and gushed about Mr. Gibson’s work. ” Whenever Ted did my hair, I knew I was in good hands,” said Ms. Monáe,  who wore a shiny black tuxedo with her signature red lipstick and up-do.

Style veterans and trendsetters weren’t the only ones being celebrated. Balanda Atis and Janine Cherette, color cosmetic scientists from the L’Oreal USA Research and Innovation team, also won awards. The two spent seven years interviewing thousands of women of color worldwide, and used their feedback to expand foundation shades. As a result of their research, Lancôme added new shades to the Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra 24H Foundation.

After the speeches, guests networked at a cocktail party and were invited to create their own gift bags from the winning products. That’s when the real fun started.

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Essence Hands Out Black Beauty Awards is a post from: DM Art Studio

David Carlo PhotographyShoppers at the opening of the What Goes Around Comes Around pop-up shop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Williamsburg has long been an alternative fashion mecca for those with a predilection for vintage shopping. The Brooklyn neighborhood is a natural destination for haunts like the new What Goes Around Comes Around pop-up shop, the first-ever in the area for the 19-year-old vintage lifestyle brand.

The boutique, which may become permanent after its initial three-month run, is nestled in the heart of Williamsburg at 184 Kent Avenue between North Third and North Fourth Streets. It features both vintage pieces and the What Goes Around Comes Around ready-to-wear collection with discounts of up to 90 percent.

David Carlo PhotographyInside the What Goes Around Comes Around pop-up store.

The store houses vintage pieces like Levi’s cut-off shorts, as well as boots and bags, in a modern and minimal retail space with high ceilings, large windows and white cement pillars. The interior mirrors the fresh and inventive ways that hipsters re-imagine vintage pieces with contemporary flair. The founders, Gerard Maione and Seth Weisser, have over 20 years of experience in vintage retail combined, and they recognize that Williamsburg is relatively new territory for the brand. They have locations in SoHo and Hollywood. Mr. Maione and Mr. Weisser promise to listen to customer feedback and tailor the shopping experience to appeal to their new clientele.

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Coming Around to Williamsburg is a post from: DM Art Studio

A sketch by Elsa Schiaparelli.

Once Elsa Schiaparelli got going, she didn’t quit. She was enormously innovative from the start of her career, in 1927, as visitors to the new Schiaparelli-Prada exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will readily see. She created severely chic suits as well as witty party clothes and accessories for at least two generations of irreverent women.

On Monday, as designers around town were fitting actresses for clothes to wear to the Costume Institute gala, Diego Della Valle announced that he would revive the Schiaparelli name. This wasn’t exactly news — he has owned the name since 2006 — but the exhibition offered a fresh hook.

The next day, over coffee, Mr. Della Valle sketched out his plans for a revamped Schiaparelli. Joining him was Farida Khelfa, a former model and a well-known figure around Paris, whom he hired as a spokeswoman. He still must find a designer.

The previous owner, an Italian woman, held the Schiaparelli name for about 10 years, he said, without producing anything and without really trying. “She didn’t need to sell it,” he said.

Mr. Della Valle is the founder of Tod’s. He has a long history making shoes for designers, including Azzedine Alaïa in the 1980s and early ’90s; in 2002, he revived the Paris brand Roger Vivier, hiring the talented Bruno Frisoni as designer and Inès de la Fressange as spokeswoman. In the lastyears he has acquired three floors at 21 Place Vendôme, the house where Schiaparelli had her boutique, studio and salon. Renovations should be done soon.

“I think it’s possible to do an incredible, small, charming luxury business,” he said, adding that he’s not interested in turning Schiaparelli into a big brand. “We don’t need another company like that today. We want to be a little out of the system.”

The new Schiaparelli perfume.

He does not plan to wholesale the line to other stores. He wants to create demi-couture fashions, shown to editors and private clients in the house (ideally during the couture shows), that will use the best craftspeople. In other words, he would rather make one great-looking blazer than a range of them. He will also sell perfume and accessories, including new versions of Schiaparelli’s jewelry. For some items he expects to use e-commerce.

Reviving dormant brands, even ones with a rich design history, can be tricky. Vionnet is on its fourth designer, though it now seems to be moderately successful. Mr. Della Valle is an expert at leather goods, but has little experience with high fashion. He did not seem concerned about this, insisting that Schiaparelli can be a different business model. And he said that it can make money: “Not right away, but, yes, eventually.”

Yet, as he knows, everything hinges on finding a designer. And that is difficult. Editors have recommended people. (He is not using a headhunter.)

Asked if he might consider John Galliano, Mr. Della Valle pulled a good poker face. There have been rumors, he said: “One week it’s Galliano, the next it’s someone else.” He expects to hire someone by September. Finding someone with the skill for Schiaparelli is hard enough, but many designers are used to perks and big budgets, and these don’t seem things they will find in a brand trying to create a new experience.

Ms. Khelfa, smiling, now spoke. “They won’t.”

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Keeping Schiap Small is a post from: DM Art Studio

Tonight, Lincoln Center will once again be filled with stars and socialites dressed to the hilt as the New York City Ballet opens its spring season. But true fashion lovers should look not to the plaza but to the stage for the most exciting designs. In an usually fashion-focused gala, the Rodarte sisters have created the costumes for Benjamin Millepied’s new premiere and Gilles Mendel has supplied the designs for Peter Martins’s latest work. And in perhaps the most significant move, the classic costumes for Balanchine’s “Symphony in C” have been revamped with crystals by Swarovski.

Erin Baiano for The New York TimesCostume sketches for the new costumes for New York City Ballet’s “Symphony in C” by Marc Happel in collaboration with Swarovski.

First created in 1950 by famed City Ballet designer Barbara Karinska, known simply as Karinska, the famous white and black costumes have shown off the dancing of such greats as Patricia McBride and Edward Villella, Suzanne Farrell and Mr. Martins himself, Darci Kistler and Jock Soto, and many others. This year, Mr. Martins asked the designer Marc Happel to start over. His only condition, according to Mr. Happel, was that he wanted a more modern, yet still timeless look.

Paul Kolnik/New York City BalletMegan Fairchild and Benjamin Millepied in the New York City Ballet production of “Symphony in C.”

“I was very nervous,” Mr. Happel said recently at City Ballet’s costume shop, “because you’re following in the footsteps of a famous designer.” He spent more than a year on the designs — agreeing to keep the black and white palette in homage to both Karinska and Balanchine — and he said he took inspiration for the geometry of the crystals on the tutus from a Dior dress, known as Junon, which features a skirt made of petals with the crystals changing in gradation from pale to dark at the edges.

Mr. Happel made other changes, too. The original “Symphony in C” costumes were the first to feature the powder puff tutu, a softer, less severe tutu and very different from what was previously seen in Russia. For this version, the tutus have 14 layers, which are scalloped, giving it an even lighter look.

A touch of blue is another new element that Mr. Happel introduced. “I remember when I saw it, the scrim in the back is a beautiful blue, so we decided with the crystals on the tutus we’d use a little blue.” Hundreds of thousands of crystals were used in the making of the more than 40 tutus and costumes for the men. New headpieces were also created by Robert Sorrell and the earrings are by a former City Ballet dancer, Jamie Wolf.

Like so much in ballet, what appears on stage masks all the hard work that goes on underneath the surface and the process for getting those crystal patterns on the tutus was no easy feat. Mr. Happel first created a prototype of the pattern with each crystal set by hand. These were then sent to a company in Rhode Island, which created a computer generated version of the pattern to be sent to Austria. There the individual plates were built, and the layer of pattern was then transferred by heat onto the individual tutu skirt. Mr. Happel hopes all his hard work will have a lasting effect. “These will now take on a life of their own at City Ballet,” he said, “and they will be what we think of as ‘Symphony in C.’”

New York City Ballet’s season runs through June 10.

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

New Costumes at City Ballet is a post from: DM Art Studio

There’s no dearth of street style content on the Web these days. But what you don’t see much of is street fashion that captures many varied parts of New York City and the people who live here.

Today we’re introducing a new video series called “Intersection: Where Culture Meets Style.” Every other Tuesday, we’ll show you the individual style of a New Yorker who we have scouted on a corner in one of the five boroughs (yes, all five). New Yorkers’ style is as diverse at the neighborhood they come from, and we want to record it.

We visited Fort Greene, Brooklyn, first, where we met Brit Cato, a fashion stylist. We caught her hoofing it down DeKalb and Carlton Avenues, iPod buds in ears, wearing her boyfriend’s sweater and a pair of vintage clogs.

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Coming to a Corner Near You is a post from: DM Art Studio

After working the cocktail room at the Met gala last night, I dropped into the Temple of Dendur to see if dinner guests were comfortable in their $ 20,000 seats, or whatever one costs these days. I ran into Julie Gilhart, the former Barneys fashion director, who had a manicurist apply the letters AMAZON.COM to her nails. Amazon wants to play with the high-fashion people. Then Alber Elbaz of Lanvin came over and introduced his date, Emma Stone. Her red minidress looked like the rippled surface of a flowered bathing cap.

“Can I touch it?” I asked.

“Sure, go ahead,” Ms. Stone said without hesitation.

I squeezed the plastic hem.

“It’s rainproof,” Mr. Elbaz said, unnecessarily.

Jennifer S. Altman for The New York TimesEmma Stone Alber Elbaz.

Everyone was tucked into his or her seat at the long dining tables. There was little elbow room — it was almost economy-class seating —m and I wondered where the women with trains had stowed them. They would surely have to sit with their feet planted in several yards of tulle or feathers. Some of the trains were so wide and stiff that during the crowded cocktail period you had to work up a plan of retreat if blocked by one. Crossing these hedges was not an option.

Jennifer S. Altman for The New York TimesCate Blanchett in Alexander McQueen.

The clothes were not more elaborate this year, but the Surrealist spirit of the Schiaparelli-Prada exhibition had seemingly encouraged a great deal more sequins, beads, embroidery and shapes verging to sculpture. Here and there, in dark suits, were the tall spikes of athletes, and the thin sliver of Cate Blanchett in a black feathered McQueen dress, with tiny, elongating pencil lines at the corners of her eyes. Once or twice the actress contently patted her flat tummy, and then headed toward dinner with the sureness of a woman whose dress or Spanx will never be in her way.

A number of women — Miuccia Prada, Stella McCartney, Phyllis Posnick of Vogue — wore pants. This was a nice change. But for sheer comfort and ventilation, there was Marc Jacobs’s black lace shirt dress (Comme des Garçons), worn with white boxers and his own pilgrim-buckle shoes.

See More Gala Photos in a Slide Show

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Fashion Forward in Comfort at the Met Gala is a post from: DM Art Studio

Randy BrookePhilip Treacy, a milliner, shows fashion students how to create beauty from common objects.

Philip Treacy, the milliner responsible to so many trembling heads, including some royal ones, was giving a hat-making demonstration when Suzy Menkes and I walked in. Ms. Menkes and I had just wrapped up a 90-minute dish with journalism students at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. The school held its fashion graduation show on Thursday, and Ms. Menkes and I, along with Mr. Treacy, Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, and Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, a prominent retailer, were there to there to meet students and talk about our jobs.

Randy BrookeMr. Treacy showing his creation.

In a small amphitheater, with a rapt audience that included Ms. Burton, Mr. Treacy gave something like a cooking demonstration, except with feathers, wire and silk chiffon. He had collected a few useful things at a local Walgreens — a curling iron to turn average-looking feathers into quivering spirals, food gelatin to mold a piece of chiffon (purchased at a nearby fabric shop) into a seemingly wind-borne object. Mr. Treacy rarely gives this sort of hands-on talk — massaging raw swatches of cotton organdy into delicate curls while he chatted about working for Karl Lagerfeld or some of his well-known clients — and afterward we all thought he should have his own television show.

“Oh, no,” Mr. Treacy said, very gravely, shaking his head. But he did make a good case for how one can create all sorts of beautiful things from common and even tacky objects. I’ll never look at a curling iron in quite the same way again. Find me a feather!

Randy BrookeA look from Rabot and Seltzer.

Ms. Burton has a connection to Simon Ungless, the director of the academy’s fashion program; she has known him since she was a student at Central Saint Martins in London, and Mr. Ungless was a friend and early collaborator of Lee McQueen’s. “Simon is so inspiring,” Ms. Burton said, after we had looked at the students’ portfolios and were about to watch the runway show. He certainly put together a strong group of graduates this year. Twenty-three fashion and textile students participated, along with a couple of fine-arts students majoring in sculpture or jewelry design.

Maria A. Romero’s doll film shot off large LCD screen.

Among the standout presentations were photo-print dresses based on 1960s horror film, by Renata Lindroos and Mina Fadaie; a clever take on the eternal fashion theme of “Grey Gardens,” by Kim Tran and Orly Ruaimi; embossed felt garments, based on Chinese stone carvings, by Zhangchi Wang; neo-Art Deco and embellished designs by Jacqueline Rabot and Julie Seltzer; and miniature garments with religious overtones by Maria A. Romero.
Ms. Romero’s dolls and fantastical dresses were the centerpiece of a film created with students from the animation program. Her work was extraordinary — so imaginative and well done, and a different way to view fashion. It made me wonder why a designer hasn’t thought to do something like this, to break the monotony of standard presentations and boring films. Ms. Burton chose Ms. Romero, and Ms. Wang, to be interns at McQueen.

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Chapeaux, Chapeaux is a post from: DM Art Studio

Vogue, via Associated PressVogue, May 2012.

Beginning with their June issues, the editors of the 19 international editions of Vogue magazine have made a pact to stop using models under age 16 or those who, from the viewpoint of the editors, appear to have an eating disorder.

In a somewhat unusual announcement, unusual in that the magazines are wading into a controversial issue, the Condé Nast International chairman, Jonathan Newhouse, said on Thursday, “Vogue editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the well-being of their readers.”

For decades, fashion magazines have been criticized for upholding an unrealistic standard of beauty, and even more so with the widespread use of digital retouching that often results in images of models and celebrities that have no basis in reality. While Vogue editors like Anna Wintour, of the American edition, and Franca Sozzani, of Italy, have participated in recent efforts by the Council of Fashion Designers of America to promote healthier behavior in the modeling industry, the magazines have not typically issued their own standards.

The fashion council released its own guidelines to designers and modeling agencies last season, asking them not to use models younger than 16 on their runways, and most have complied. The designer Marc Jacobs, however, disagreed with the council on that point and did use some models under that age, represented by Ford Models, in his show.

The Vogue announcement included the following six-point pact.

“1. We will not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder. We will work with models who, in our view, are healthy and help to promote a healthy body image.

“2. We will ask agents not to knowingly send us underage girls and casting directors to check IDs when casting shoots, shows and campaigns.

“3. We will help to structure mentoring programs where more mature models are able to give advice and guidance to younger girls, and we will help to raise industry-wide awareness through education, as has been integral to the Council of Fashion Designers of America Health Initiative.

“4. We will encourage producers to create healthy backstage working conditions, including healthy food options and a respect for privacy. We will encourage casting agents not to keep models unreasonably late.

“5. We encourage designers to consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes of their clothing, which limits the range of women who can be photographed in their clothes, and encourages the use of extremely thin models.

“6. We will be ambassadors for the message of healthy body image.”

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Vogue Adopts a 16-and-Over Modeling Rule is a post from: DM Art Studio

The CMYK shoe by hamansutra.

It was serendipitous that a headphone cable fell on top of Haman Alimardani’s shoes while he was D.J.-ing one evening. The accident lent itself to his artful design: the CMYK shoe by the New York-based fashion label, hamansutra. The shoes feature stereo mini-jacks for laces.

A fresh take on the nerd-chic trend, the CMYK shoe boasts cowskin leather and a thin, comfortable sole.

Their aesthetic will likely find fans in the trend-conscious crowd, but Mr. Alimardani insists the shoes have lasting appeal. “The construction makes it timeless,” he said. “The leather is so soft it feels like a second skin. It’s important to me that the shoe follows the foot’s organic shape.”

Being organic (not in the eco-friendly sense) is a major part of Mr. Alimardani’s creative process. He conceptualized the shoes so each detail represents one of his most treasured art forms. The flexible structure is a nod to traditional dance shoes. The microphone jacks are an ode to his work as an internationally acclaimed D.J. And the name speaks to his love of graphic design. CYMK is the color model used in printing in which all colors are described as a mixture of these four: cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and key (black). Naturally, the unisex shoe is available in each.

Mr. Alimardani imagines the shoe as a “communication-based fusion of fashion and sound.” What genre of music, then, do the shoes remind him of? “Soul music,” he said. “Marvin Gaye. Timeless but at the same time, creative.”

That should give hipsters something to listen to as they step out in these innovative flats.

CMYK shoe by hamansutra, $ 350, at cmyk.hamansutra.com.

Source: blogs.nytimes.com

Stepping to the Beat is a post from: DM Art Studio