You may think I am embarrassed by old Rod Stewart for his spikey mullets, his rumored chugging of man juice, his leopard prints and his tight butt in tight pants. But that is all the stuff what I love about him.
I'm embarrassed more by the Starbucks CD king he's become and his groady son. Forever Young was my checking out point. Give me tiny underpants and loads of hairspray any day!
Madmen creator Matt Weiner hasn't only given us an exquisitely styled TV show, he's also responsible for the precocious, dapper and most fashionable eight-year-old on the planet, Arlo. In a recently article in GQ, the diminutive stylisto wears an all red velvet ensemble for Valentine's Day, a brilliantly paired mix of plaids, a top hat, breeches and ascot, “'I've worn this to school about 12 times.' he says of this outfit”.
Since the slideshow hit GQ's site, tons of fashion blogs have picked up the story and Arlo, born 2001, only to be born again this year as an official style icon. Way to go, little guy!
Any fan of MST3K must bow down to the original, Joel Hodgson. It was his idea that began the late night cult classic show's epic eleven year journey to nearly two hundred episodes and a feature film. Hodgson was an affable host who adorably according to wikipedia “began his career in seventh grade as a magician and ventriloquist.” Inspired by Silent Running, Joel created the robots we've all come to know and love so well with his own hands.
It's so sad to hear then, that contrary to what he claimed back when he left the show -that he had other plans (which eventually included a cameo on Freaks and Geeks and this week's funny pick, Cinematic Titanic), he really left his robots and hand made career behind because of conflicts with his neo-dadaist producer, Jim Mallon. (Take a look at Mallon's Statue of Mendota stunt).
It's nice to see the riffing format back again with his latest project though in silhouette, you can't ever see his signature sleepy eyes that were so charming. Read more about Cinematic Titanic and Mike Nelson's Film Crew and Rifftrax in this week's funny section.
Chris Benz really stood out in the sea of blacks and grays this season in New York with a bright, fun-time collection that caught my eye and made my heart pitter-patter. The water color print is fantastic; really, the stuff of dream outfits and the unusual combination with a maxi bronze glitter skirt is genius. Sure, not each and every piece is as stunning and perfect, but the yellow and green make me smile and the ruffles are actually flattering.
Plus, the dude's a babe (bonus Hunk of the week!… and what's the deal this decade with fine men making fine clothes – not that I would ever complain about such a phenomenon? who hails from Seattle and used to look totally cool in elementary school. He told Teen Vogue, “My signature outfit was an OP top knotted with baggy neon–striped bicycle shorts. The look was kind of Saved by the Bell!”
There is a Courreges coffee shop in Paris, but in two short days we weren't able to stop in (another one for next time) but it shows that the spirits of country's master of futuristic fashion is still alive and well in Paris.
To me, Courreges represents a different part of French style than the simple, elegant but easy minimalist tradition: a part that is bold and a little crazy (but still uncluttered); a part that shook the world of fashion to its core in the mid sixties with a vision of the future that still feels ahead of its time.
He may not have actually made the fashions in 2001: A Space Odyssey, but I think it's fair to assume Kubrick was inspired by his space age vision.
The label still exists but here is the tragic story (according to FashionSpot):
“In 1985 Courreges had to sell control of his fashion house to the Japanese ready-to-wear firm , ITOKAN who agreed to support the loss-making couture side of the business. The money continued to flow down the drain. In 1985 the couture side of Courreges' business was closed, with virtually no consultation. Courreges was aghast and went on strike to gain public sympathy. This he achieved in a way that could only happen in Paris where even today, couture is considered the single truly artistic form of dressmaking. Everybody, including the French government which thought that ITOKAN had given a promise to maintain Courreges' couture, was shocked – but powerless because Courreges had signed away control to the Japanese firm .
Courreges later died of cancer ( and indeed a broken heart ) and his wife continued with the house for a time , only to be sacked by ITOKAN when business did not pick up .
That's why you see items labeled ' COURREGES ' in the Far-East , but seldom in Europe or the USA.”
I have no idea if David Bailey was actually as coolly and aloofly hip and frisky as the character he inspired in Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up, but let's assume so. After all, he was married to and/or sleeping with the era's great beauties including Catherine Deneuve and supermodel Marie Helvin. But, beyond his personal life, it's his seminal images that he's most famous for, though he did become as much of an icon of the swinging sixties as his celebrity subjects.
If I had about $6,000 burning a hole in my pocket, I'd be tempted to own one of his most famous works, David Bailey's Box of Pinups, a collection of stunning portrait photography of the famous (Mick Jagger), the beautiful (Bailey muse Jean Shrimpton), and the notorious (gangsters Ronnie and Reggie Kray).
I'll also be on the look out for back issues of the awesome and slightly more affordable magazine Ritz Newspaper that Bailey created in the seventies. The little known publication (at least little known today in the US) has been credited by The Times with inventing celebrity publishing. It may sound like a dubious honor, but celebrities were much cooler back then.
Bailey has said, “I've always tried to do pictures that don't date. I always go for simplicity”. He still works in the industry today and is known by admirers as the Godfather of Cool.
Why do I mention him now?
It lacks reason, but Child's Play, the film for which the awesome Dourif lends his voice, is getting a remake. No word if the 7th Heaven mom will return.
Here's what I said back on 7/24/06:
One of the greatest and most fun actors our nation has to offer and he is still mostly a B list character actor; recognizable but not known. The first time I took real notice and needed to learn the name Brad Dourif was his
brilliant and creepy performance in The Eyes of Laura Mars.
You may recognize him from a myriad of places: As the voice of Chucky, as the doctor on Deadwood, as Wormtongue in Peter Jackson's most inspired bit of casting in Lord of the Rings, in David Lynch's Dune and Blue Velvet, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, as the Gemini killer is the flawed but worth renting Exorcist 3, in one of the best X-Files “Beyond the Sea”, and other tv shows like Star Trek, Tales from the Crypt, and Wild Palms.
In short, he has had an awesome career and I can't wait to get his autograph at a nerd convention. (Which, by the way, if anyone knows when one is in the NY area, let me know).
I'm well aware that Yoko, the woman blamed for the inevitable break up the Beatles, is the butt of tons of jokes, and I know there's a lot of animosity towards her and her kind, but when I look at images like Annie Leibowitz's final photograph of she and John Lennon, I'm filled with a wistful love of love. Taken the same day he was murdered, Yoko said this of the photo:
“Why wasn't I told that John will be taken away from me soon after, without even a chance for me to say goodbye?” she says. “That's what I think about now when I see it.”
I look upon this picture as one of the most romantic images of our time. Lennon insisted that his wife be included in the picture, despite the fact that the magazine did not want her on the cover; in light of the tragic event later that day, the editors relented and chose to respect his wishes.
I was really hoping to discover a forgotten gem when I recently Netflixed Thank God It's Friday, a nerds-on-the-town disco movie where Jeff Goldblum is the hottest man in town (he plays a sleazy club owner) and Donna Summer (who I adore) is a struggling semi-crazy just trying to get her foot in the door. Far from a gem, it's at best mildly entertaining – but it does feature some fashion wows, courtesy of the Commodores.
True, “Too Hot to Trot” may not be their most dynamic hit, and it definitely pales next to the film's big Donna song, “Last Dance“, but from the round shaded glasses and wide striped fitted rugby casual wear of Thomas McClary – and I'd like to reiterate just how much I love a collared, fitted rugby on a man (see David Hockney for another great example) – to their space age on-stage get ups that seem inspired by current minor obsession and (Commodores contemporary), Buck Rogers, these men are flashy fashion mavericks.
Garrett Brown has a resume to impress that includes dozens of major films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Rocky, Xanadu, and, undoubtedly one of the most amazing movies ever made, The Shining. I recently watched the new Blu Ray disc which not only features an amazing HD transfer of Kubrick's horror masterpiece, it also includes a commentary track from Brown, which is how I became an instant admirer of the man. See, not only was he the primary Steadicam operator for every movie that employed one for a couple decades, he invented the thing.
A Steadicam is defined as:
A stabilizing mount for a motion picture camera, which mechanically isolates the operator's movement from the camera, allowing a very smooth shot even when the operator is moving quickly over an uneven surface.
It revolutionized filmmaking and the essence of its genius can be seen in those famous shots tracking Danny as he wheels around the halls of the Overlook Hotel, though he invented the stabilizing mechanism while shooting Bound for Glory. Brown's commentary on the impressive new Blu Ray edition of the Shining is extremely interesting and informative. Since his initial stroke of genius that earned him a technical Oscar, he has also invented:
FlyCam: A closed loop, stabilized tracking camera system
SkyCam: The first suspended flying camera system.
DiveCam: The first dropping vertical camera system.
GoCam: The ultra-light high speed camera tracking system.
SuperFlyCam: An ultra-light stabilized 35mm wire-borne flying camera.
MobyCam: The first submarine tracking camera system.
MoleCam: Coming Soon to a Field Beneath You!
This man is awesome.