If anyone should oppose this merger let them peak now or forever hold their peace. Alas, if only such words were proclaimed when this dude decided to be all P-Diddy and J-lo and Stefani… and try to take the place of this man.

Still, Halston would probably be pleased, the star-romancer that he was (he was much too caring and loving with his stars to be called a fucker). After all this is the man who named Warhol as a top friend (would probably be number one on his myspace page), ate White Castles by the dozen with Liz Taylor when she needed it, did cocaine and downed scotch with Liza Minelli when she needed it (not to mention turning her from a shy psycho bag of fun to a well dressed psycho bag of fun), and made the famous Jackie O. pillbox hat.

Outside his personal life, he was a genius to boot, in both fashion and marketing. He made the first simple yet status dress: the classic tie waist shirt dress that everyone with style was wearing at one point. He deformalized the runway, adding music and a casual attitude to the models. He was even way ahead of his time in the way his career was ended. He accepted an offer from JC Penney and lost backing and clients who found it too cheap.

These days H&M, The Gap, and Target are all laughing all the way to the bank by using big name designers for little price goods. Halston was America's first big name celebrity designer and I hope his legacy is carried off with as much grace as women carry off ultra suede.

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Posted on April 23, 2007

Aside from making me feel old and unaccomplished (he is a much younger RISD alum than me with an already impressive body of work), Wiseman is busy making unique lighting pieces.

The one pictured, (my very favorite) was made custom for a couple in Brooklyn and it was inspired by charm bracelets. I first knowingly saw his work at the underwhelming Cooper Hewitt “National Design Triennial”. His ceiling porcelain canopy was one of the most memorable pieces even if its lack of proper display made a lot of people I was with miss it all together.

You may have also seen his precious kitschy deer head at a hip design shop near you. I think his work has grown more sophisticated since then and I'm curious to see what other wonders await us. His work is featured on the cover of Interior Design magazine, The New York Times, and Elle Girl of all places.

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Posted on April 9, 2007

I'm never embarrassed by what I wear, but I'm not so blind as to be unaware that most people wouldn't be caught dead in some of the loud and proud dresses I wear.

I choose to believe it's just because no one but me can carry them off. Anyone who knows me is familiar with at least one of my many bright polyester dresses. I honor the man who made my ballsy wardrobe possible, the man that laid the foundation for synthetic fibres and the invention of polyester.

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Posted on March 26, 2007

Time is good to outlaws. Kelly is generally considered an Australian folk hero with movies, books, and TV shows honoring his contribution to the resistance to colonization. But there is no getting around the fact that in his time, despite the positive changes that were made to how the police handled the colonies, Kelly was a criminal.

But as all things, with time and interpretations of the past, even criminals can become folk heroes and even I can list Kelly as a fashion icon for A. his particularly impressive beard; B. his handcrafted body armor he wore during his shoot out arrest and C. his ability to capture the imaginations of film makers, writers, and singers to this day.

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Posted on March 12, 2007

Josef Frank , despite having his heyday in the 1940's is everywhere these days, inspiring design bloggers and humans alike with his Swedish ways and whimsical and delicious fabric designs. He is more now than now, and has quickly become one of my most favorite designers of all time.

And retailers agrees, you can now purchase Josef Frank textiles from svenskttenn.se. (Honestly have you ever seen anything so fantastic!) And Anthropologie is selling expensive upholstered furniture that I would quite frankly die for.

You can see his influence on contemporary designers as well, like this ubiquitous homage pattern by Deadly Squire (RISD alum and Les Savy Fav singer, Tim Harrington and wife Anna) that is making the rounds (at a much more affordable price, I might add).

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Posted on February 26, 2007