The Fashion Informer

Isabel and Ruben Toledo Talk Art and Fashion at FIT

If you didn't make the Ruben and Isabel Toledo talk at FIT last night, you can read all about it here.

Random Questions For...Gareth Pugh

The first time we experienced Gareth Pugh’s genius up close and personal was at his show in London in February 2007, when he wowed us with his fantastical harlequin/club kid fashion fairytale (and made us giggle at the sight of Anna Wintour almost getting conked in the head by a floating black balloon, which was deftly deflected at the last possible second by Hamish Bowles).

Black balloons continue to figure prominently in Mr. Pugh’s imagination, as witnessed by his latest outing, a video installation directed by Ruth Hogben that debuted at Milk Studios during New York Fashion Week, which we covered here last week and which you can see here at SHOWstudio.

The Fashion Informer caught up with the always charming Pugh backstage at said installation, where he was seated in a very official, Meet the Press-style antechamber off the pitch black video space, outfitted with director’s chairs and sleek black leather lounges, upon which sat Suzy Menkes, Susie Bubble and a host of other London-based well-wishers.

But before the Brits descended en masse, we nabbed a few minutes with our favorite fashion Goth (sorry, Rick!) to talk music, movies and manscaping must-haves.

So, Gareth…

WHAT’S IN CURRENT ROTATION ON YOUR iPod?
I don’t have an iPod.  Controversial [laughs]!  I don’t listen to anything when I’m in transit. In my studio I’ve got a laptop.  I’ll give you four songs I’m kind of into:  Joan Osborne’s “One of Us,” The Cranberries “Zombie,” Lucinda Williams, “Come On.”  And Hole, “Violet.” Top four!

WHAT WAS YOUR NICKNAME WHEN YOU WERE A KID AND WHAT’S YOUR NICKNAME NOW?
A nickname when I was a kid?  They were all really offensive because I got picked on really badly in school [laughs].  Now…do I have one?  I don’t know.  Maybe you want to ask my friends.  I don’t know.  They’re in there [points to other room].

WHAT MOVIE HAS MADE THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU?
Quite a few that I’ve seen that are quite beautiful.  These are very difficult questions.  My group is so surprised that I’ve never seen 2001: A Space Odyssey.  But I’ve never seen it.  Favorite films…  I love The Color Purple. I love The Color Purple. 

WHAT GROOMING OR BEAUTY ITEM CAN YOU NOT LIVE WITHOUT? 
There are a few [laughs].  I live and die by MAC Studio Fix.  Amazing.  Crème de la Mer.  I recently gotten given some and I’m very, very pleased about that.  Black eyeliner, black nail polish.  I got given some KO Knock Out – it’s a new brand, and it’s matte.  It’s amazing.  Although I haven’t got it on today.  I think the guy who invented it’s in New York so I’m going to try and stock up before I go back to London.  It’s completely black, like blackboard paint.  It’s amazing.

WHAT FREAKS YOU OUT? 
In a day-to-day way?  The one thing I really can’t stand – it really puts my teeth on edge and even to explain it makes me feel a bit weird – is that sound when you open a freezer door that hasn’t been defrosted properly and it sounds like [he makes a creaking, sucking sound]?  I can’t stand that.  I have to leave the room.  [He shudders.] That’s one of my pet peeves.

WHEN ARE YOU HAPPIEST? 
Probably when I can have a lie-in with my boyfriend and I don’t feel guilty about it.  It’s kind of nice because if I take any time off, I always feel guilty about it, so it’s nice to have guilt-free time off.

Stay tuned next for Random Questions For…George Esquivel.

 

 

New York Fashion Week Spring 2010 - Best Invites

On average, we probably get about 300 invites to various shows, events and launches during any given New York Fashion Week.  Here, our favorites from Spring 2010.

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

Fashion's Night Out Recap

So, better late than never (right?), here are some of Fashion's Night Out shots.  You can read our complete coverage over on VOGUE.COM. 

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

Guy Trebay is a Genius

I don't usually link to other writer's work, but this piece in today's Times on the Takashi Murakami party at the Boom Boom Room in the Standard Hotel is, by turns, hilarious, poignant and insightful in its dissemination of the inner workings of New York's fashion and art machine (and the incredible ego of many of its players). And, oh yeah, it's beautifully written to boot. Methinks Guy Trebay is a genius.

New York Fashion Week Spring 2010 - Days Eight and Nine

So I'm still catching up from yesterday (and the day before). Oy.  But here is the last round of front row reports from Oscar de la Renta, Anna Sui, Doo.Ri, Proenza Schouler, Ralph Lauren, Norma Kamali, Phi, Isaac Mizrahi, Calvin Klein and threeASFOUR - the latter of which was one of my favorite Fashion Week moments.  Yoko Ono on the soundtrack, in the audience and on the clothes (figuratively speaking). Genius!

I will post photos for all next week (I know, I know. Bad, bad blogger).  Better late then never, though...

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

New York Fashion Week Spring 2010 - Days Seven, Eight

Here are the latest Fashion Week show reports, where the New York trends are shaping up to include suede and leather for spring, killer platform shoes, lots of shine (for day and evening), navy and taxicab yellow, and the continuation of the harem pants trend (some with a gently carrot shape, others with an ankle-grazing drop crotch).  More on that after fashion season ends.

For now, here's the latest on Zero + Maria Cornejo, Julian Louie, Thakoon, Yeohlee, Vera Wang, Rodarte, Halston, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Betsey Johnson, Narciso Rodriguez, Baby Phat, Michael Kors, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Marchesa.  Sleep can wait!

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

New York Fashion Week Spring 2010 - Days Four, Five, Six

Where have I been you ask?  Running around town covering shows for VOGUE.COM, of course.  Which is where you can find my reports on Cynthia Rowley, Costello Tagliapietra, Juan Carlos Obando, Esquivel, Richard Chai Love, Karen Walker, Alexander Wang, Boy/Band of Outsiders, Poleci, Lela Rose, Derek Lam, Thom Browne, DKNY, Diane von Furstenberg, Y-3, Rachel Roy, Zac Posen, Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs, with coverage of Gareth Pugh's New York Fashion Week film debut thrown in for good measure.  No rest for the wicked during New York Fashion Week!  Photos will be posted next week when I come up for air.

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2010

Here are a few shots taken at tonight's Marc Jacobs show.  Enjoy!

 

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

New York Fashion Week Spring 2010

Talk about best laid plans.  Before Fashion Week started, I'd planned to post juicy tidbits, photos, reviews and blog entries each day about the comings-and-goings of the fashion flock.  But my eight-shows-a-day schedule has made that nearly impossible.  So for now, here are the most recent recent reviews I've done for VOGUE.COM - on under.ligne, Claiborne by John Bartlett, Lyn Devon, Nima, Vena Cava, Duckie Brown, Tom Scott, L.A.M.B., Jen Kao, Preen and Jason Wu - along with coverage of the FIT Couture Council luncheon honoring Dries van Noten, the Anna Sui/Target pop up shop party and, of course, Fashion's Night Out (because all work and no play makes The Fashion Informer a dull girl).  Happy reading!  

Photos © The Fashion Informer/Lauren David Peden

Random Questions For...Philip Crangi

Q: What do you get when you combine steel, gold and a myriad of constantly evolving historical/architectural influences?

A: Seriously cool jewelry that walks a razor fine line between tough and tender.

Meet Philip Crangi, the man behind said jewelry.  Crangi studied jewelry design at RISD and worked for William Lipton, Japanese artist Mariko Mori and sculptor Michele Oka Doner before launching his own eponymous fine jewelry line in 2001 with the help of his sister/business partner, Courtney, followed by Giles & Brother by Philip Crangi, a line of lower-priced silver and costume jewelry - which includes our personal faves: the Tiny Mustache earrings, which wink to Crangi’s signature upper lip decor.

Since then, Crangi has also designed runway pieces for Phillip Lim, Vera Wang, Shipley & Halmos,Sue Stemp and Jason Wu, among others.  He won the CFDA Swarovski Award for Accessory Design in 2008, designed a line of art deco-inspired jewelry for Atelier Swarovski for fall 2009, is designing the spring 2010 jewelry for the upcoming Michael Bastion, Boy/Band of Outsiders and Shipley & Halmos New York Fashion Week presentations and will be opening his own store in the Meatpacking District next month.

The Fashion Informer caught up with the always-charming mustachioed marvel at the tail end of summer to discuss his love of Led Zeppelin, his eccentric grandpa and the importance of good grooming scissors.

So, Philip…

What is your favorite off-duty activity?
My lawyers advise me not to answer that question.

What would you like to be doing if you weren't a jeweler?
I was actually just thinking about that very thing.  I would be an archaeologist.  I love digging in the dirt and finding buried treasure.

Coffee or tea?
Both.  It depends on the weather.  In the winter I love tea and in the summer, anything iced. 

When you were 9, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be an architect.  I was inspired by my grandfather who was a Buckminster Fuller inventor type, who lived off of the grid in the Everglades.  I loved that he lived on a compound building things literally in the middle of the Everglades.  He had a David Koresh-ian messianic quality to him – people would congregate around him despite the fact that he was very much a hermit. 

What movie can you watch over and over again?
Stardust Memories by Woody Allen.  The first time I saw it, I was way too young (in 1980 at 9 or 10 years old), and have seen it dozens of times since.  The story really resonated with me, as it is about the creative journey.  Also, the actress Charlotte Rampling is at the pinnacle of her beauty in this movie.  And she’s the most beautiful woman that has ever lived.  So…

How do you usually begin your creative design process?
My process either starts with a specific technique or a specific material, but it certainly can be both.  From that starting point, things begin to materialize.  Ideas and techniques find each other in the ether of my mind.  My fine jewelry collection is very much about pushing the limits of what materials can do, while the material informs me of what it wants to be.  

What's your idea of a perfect summer day?
Lying on the beach and smoking a joint. 

Any special challenges/rewards in working with a sibling every day?
It is almost all rewards with Courtney.  We know each other so well, both the good and ugly parts.  Because of our relationship, we are able to work together to build something bigger than ourselves. 

Do you have any hidden talents/abilities?
My favorite super power is that I have an impeccable sense of direction. 

What is your must-have grooming product?
My mustache scissors.  

What is your favorite work of art or piece of music?
I’m very fickle with that, as I have so many constantly sliding favorites.  I’m always surprised by Christina’s World by Andrew Wyeth.  Every time I see it, I think he is my favorite painter.  There is something so sad that permeates everything in his work.  I can’t help but lose myself in his artistry and craft.  He shows miles of landscape with 3 splashes of color on a white field – it’s brilliant. 

In terms of music, I always go back to favorites.  My favorite albums of all time are Tusk by Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin II. 

How do you keep your 'stache looking so fly?
With those mustache scissors!  Learning how to properly sculpt was a long and arduous road that I had to take by myself.

What one item of clothing/jewelry has the most personal meaning to you?
My circa 1930’s Zuni sterling and turquoise cuff.  Growing up, my parents owned tons of that kind of stuff because they were hippies.  I always hated it, and then when I was about 35 I became obsessed with that style of jewelry on my own.  I then starting looking and looking for it at Brimfield – and when I finally saw my bracelet, the person who made it started singing me a song.  It’s my power bracelet. 

How old were you when you got your first tattoo, what is it and what is its personal significance?
I got my first tattoo when I was 17 - the number 22 in red, given to me by my best friend.  It was the first tattoo he had ever given as a tattoo artist.  It looks like shit, but it remains one of my favorite tattoos.  22 is the day of my birthday and my lucky number.

What makes you nervous?
When I’m not inspired, and the fear that I will never be inspired again.

When are you happiest?
In the height of inspiration.  I feel most fulfilled when I’m working on something. 

Photo © Cass Bird 

Stay tuned next week for Random Questions For…George Esquivel.