 |
I suppose it was only a matter of time before I encountered BDSM paraphenalia at Rudy’s on Melrose. Though I hadn’t imagined it would be worn by dear Leon, who cuts my hair every, like, eight days.
I thought he was wearing some sort of Nom de Guerre or Rick Owens contraption. Turns out it’s an American Apparel white button-down and a leather harness from Rough Trade. He also wore a foxtail keychain hanging from his back pocket. Werq.
Stopping by my ghetto neighborhood liquor store for a bottle of much-needed pinot grigio after work yesterday, I came across the new face of Christian Audigier—a bus stop ad campaign, to be exact, and a cross between Sense and Sensibility and Jersey Shore. I’m sure Audigier is trying to show some sort of evolution to the brand, if one that still calls for gold-foiling (hey, if it works for “The Situtation,” it should work for the rest of us).
Inside the store, however, I saw a far less pretty side of the brands he’s cultivated over the past decade: Ed Hardy T-shirts, on sale for $9.99 — or so a hand-drawn cardboard sign announced. I suspect they’re counterfeit, but it was still creepy to see T-shirts once incredibly featured in the Macy’s Men’s Store windows at the Beverly Center not long ago now sharing shelf space with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and male enhancement pills. Then again, it’s where they’ve always belonged.
I’m watching pre-coverage and surveying the interminable press releases that hit our inboxes to see if any influential gent has the cajones to defy Danny Glover’s boycott of Hugo Boss, usually one of the more common sites on the red carpet as far as tuxes go. In case you missed it, Glover called for jihad against the label after it closed a Cleveland factory and laid off workers (the company said in a statement that the facility was not “globally competitive”). According to Glover:” “[T]he workers are productive and the plant is profitable. But Hugo Boss has decided that it can make more profit by moving production to Turkey or Eastern Europe.”
When unemployment figures haven’t dipped anywhere near pre-recession numbers, it’ll be interesting which actors are nevertheless swayed by Hugo Boss to wear what are, quite honestly, extremely well-crafted and beautiful tuxedos. I’ll be watching, as apparently will the Service Employees International Union, which is united in the boycott.
It’s surprising to see just how many boutiques are opening in Los Angeles—especially when the spectre of recession and declining home values are, like Snooki, not going away anytime soon. Of the smart shops set for launch so far this year, I’m particularly excited about one: EPIC, or the Echo Park Independent Cooperative. You’ll hear more about this amazing concept on our site next week. I hate to be a shill, but I’d recommend adding yourself as a fan to their Facebook page—particularly if you’re a fan and supporter of L.A.-based designers.
Years ago, I met one of the co-owners, Tristan Scott, while selling a heap of clothes from the nether-regions of my closet to Buffalo Exchange, where Scott was a buyer at the time. Within 30 seconds of meeting him, I thought to myself, This kid’s going places. Looking forward to checking out his upcoming store; few Angelenos know more about local fashion than Scott. I expect to be dazzled.
Fashionista has a great post about scores of Kell on Earth fans freaking out when Bravo recently nixed its 10pm timeslot for The Real Housewives of [Insert Latest Metropolitan Area to be Exploited Here]. A few sample tweets:
kelli1118: @peoplesrev NO #KELLONEARTH tonight?? I might just die!!
LovelyMissTyne: @peoplesrev wait?!!! What no Kell on Earth??!!! NNOOOOOOOO!!! Why no showing tonight? When’s the next episode??
DJGulia: ahhh why is #kellonearth not on tonight? Am I going to have to actually read a book at 10pm?
aoliver03: Looked at my dvr to sadly see Kell On Earth wasn’t on last night. Cmon Bravo less Housewives more Kelly Cutrone
She has her moments, but I can’t quite stomach watching the show because Cutrone reminds me that like her interns, I too am undeserving of real love and must run outside and put a paper bag over my head whenever my tear ducts sending a fax to my brain reading Release the floodgates? But to each her own. —Krista Jennings
I recently heard that Johan and Marcella Lindeberg, the husband-and-wife design team and creative directors behind Justin Timberlake’s William Rast line, have packed up and moved back to New York after after a stint as Bel Air residents, right on the golf course to be exact. I wrote about their entree into the L.A. design world last March, and found them to be dynamic, warm and buzzing with passion about the brand. Their new home’s initial decor, not so much: Marcella ripped out a field of carpet and painted the walls of their Westside digs matte black. “I’m very happy in that house, though I never thought I’d be living on a golf course,” Marcella said.
But apparently the duo has moved back to SoHo to work on Paris68, a women’s line that debuted this month. I’m told they remain involved in William Rast, however, and travel to L.A. frequently. Which is definitely a good thing.
The messages left in lipstick (I think) and marker on the late designer’s Melrose Ave. boutique’s front door are really touching, especially walking past them in the evening, as I did over the weekend while on my way to a dinner. Hard to imagine whether the deaths of any of his top-flight competitors in the industry would elicit the same response. —Paul Dexter
Considering Pam Anderson was recently hawking in her perfume at Rite Aid appearances, this is actually a step up. The PETA spokesmodel starred in Vivenne Westwood’s new trashy-sticky spring campaign shot by Juergen Teller, who has worked with Marc Jacobs on his ads since 1998. More kooky shots are available on Westwood’s site, which bizarrely asks you if you’re on broadband or a modem upon entry. If you’re a fan or consumer of her design, we’re guessing you haven’t had a dial-up connection since 2000.
“Well, when you think about it, the giant beauty corporations behind brands made everyone believe for decades that fashion designers had an authority to design perfumes as well as clothes. When you think about it, this is weird no? How would Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein know how to create a perfume? So I don’t think it is more insane to think that Britney Spears or Paris Hilton can do it too!” — Fabrice Penot, co-founder of the luxury cult perfume house Le Labo, to Australian Vogue.
82.10. Does not compute.
That was Johnny Weir’s score for his amazing performance in last night’s short program, eight points shy of leader Evgeny Plushenko, whose spastic arm movements can hardly be called graceful.
While reporters talked incessantly about his “outrageousness” and “flamboyance” (words seething with subtext), Weir turned in one of his finest skates to date, complete with a pink shoulder tassel whipping around with each jump and spin. Not sure why the judges didn’t appreciate the all-around package. But eight points out of the lead doesn’t necessarily mean Weir is exiled from the podium come tomorrow night’s long program.
Nearly all of the skaters were dressed like divas, but few brought the arias along with them (Evan Lysacek being a notable exception). So thanks, Johnny, for making skating worth watching.
