http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/ 2007-07-08 19:17:31 http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/1190/ The crowd has, in the main, been very well behaved at Fashion Week this season--with a couple of notable exceptions. Exhibit 1: The guy with the gold grille, red hair and the walking stick at BOXeight Downtown. He was unmistakable if you saw him, a strange cross between Boy George and Jaws from Moonraker with his mouthful of metal. Picture him, walking around, looking crazy. As a good reporter I felt compelled to ask what the hell his deal was. ME: "Who are you" CRAZY, taking my hand in his: "Here's all you need to know. It's in your hands." At this point I realized I was not dealing with any of the usual self-promoting Fashion Week bores, and put down my notepad. But I coudn't keep my eyes off those teeth. I haven't seen many skinny red-haired white boys rocking that much dental gold in a long time. ME: "Are they real grilles?" I asked. CRAZY: "Yes, they cost me told $30,000." Amazed, I asked if I could touch them, and he said yes - but only with my tongue, lips or face. I will say, dear reader/s, that I rose to the challenge, and did indeed make out with the craziest man at fashion week, all in the name of Metromix and reportage. And yes, the gold was for reals. I justified my actions to my boyfriend by describing the incident as less makeout, and more performance art. I wish I had a photo of this special gentlemen (who was spotted peeing in the BOXeight garden not long after our embrace), but my camera had died. I do, however, have a photo of someone who was almost as funny. Here he is on the left, having an Ed Hardy lovefest with some other guy at Smashbox. This fruity-breathed Cassanova asked every single girl that walked past him for their card and number (including me, naturally I gave both). He was so over-friendly, he became a source of amusement for all around. He was the rep for a water company, and as one photographer asked him "are you sure that's all thats in that bottle?" 2007-10-17 16:50:00 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/1189/ Models were plus-sized, snowy haired, stubbly-faced (and female), cracked-out and hypnotizingly non-traditional at last night's Grey Ant show. The show (and the clothes) was one of the most innovative of I've seen at Smashbox, and made me very happy to be writing about fashion in LA at this time. Grant Krajecki, founder and designer of the LA-based label, normally shows alongside Marc Jacobs and Phillip Lim in New York. But he was brought back to LA this season by fashion powerhouse, Kelly Cutrone of Peoples' Revolution. Smashbox made a wise move in hiring her as a consultant, as she has singlehandedly transformed LA Fashion Week this season, bringing back big name designers like Jeremy Scott, Heatherette, Grey Ant and Petro Zillia to LA. I made friends with a writer for an Irish magaine called Image, who was writing a story about the fashion scene in LA. I told her she should speak to Cutrone, which she did. Apparently Cutrone was frank, honest and illiuminating, and talked about her vision for LA Fashion Week at length. She said she had initially wanted to have Valentino show here, except then he went and announced his retirement. Can you imagine...Valentino? In LA??? Keep on keepin' on Kelly, we like your style. 2007-10-17 16:23:53 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/544/ Women's Wear Daily reports that Balenciaga's studded leather gladiator sandal is footwear of choice for fashion editors sitting front row at New York Fashion Week. Why, NYC, why? With all those humps and bumps and studs, they're more stegasaurus than sandal, don't you think? Nicole Richie and Kimberley Stewart have also been photographed out and about in these prehistoric atrocities all summer long. Listen&mdash;I'm sure an actual gladiator would find them useful, especially when trying to kick someone to death. But ultimately, I think they'd look best around the neck of my boyfriend's bull terrier, Bruce. 2007-09-07 23:08:00 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/540/ I just interviewed awe-inspiring jewelry designer Jules Kim of Bijules NYC, who is creating far-out gold and silver pieces in the shape of ice picks, grenade launchers and dental retainers. Kim, who has diamond-encrusted teeth, is beloved by MIA and Gwen Stefani and other divas of infinite hotness. She told me how she's just cast a new piece from her recently-deceased aunt's false teeth. Here's what the 27-year-old East Village innovatrix said in our AIM interview: juleskim(10:03:33 AM): i paid ode to my aunt winnie by casting her false teeth and studding them with gems juleskim (10:03:33 AM): its ok juleskim (10:03:38 AM): death is part of life juleskim (10:04:04 AM): winnie used to take her teeth out and talk to my twin and i juleskim (10:04:09 AM): gummin it out juleskim (10:04:13 AM): f--kin hilarious Look out for the full interview on the Metromix style page soon!!! 2007-09-06 23:58:00 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/538/ 25 years of stars, hearts, rainbows and clouds, and the Care Bears are still going strong&mdash;and not a wrinkle in sight. Were you a Tenderheart bear fan? Or perhaps, like me you were a Grumpy Bear kinda girl. Do you remember when Carole King sang the Care Bears movie theme song, "Care-a-lot"? And did you celebrate when the politically-correct Amigo Bear was born in 2006? This year, to mark their 25th birthdays, the Care Bears have a new movie, called "Oopsy Does It". I'm not sure why I care about Care Bears, but I do. 2007-09-06 23:24:13 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/528/ Style Ryder commands you to encase your private parts in items from the new intimate apparel collection by Diesel. I'm especially fond of these tighty-whities (not a snip at $35), which emulate Calvin Klein's "brand-name-on-the-elastic" underwear from the 1990s. You remember Marky Mark with his Calvins sticking out from under his jeans? Swoon. And if you're really really old like me, you'll also recall how sexy 1990's squatter chicks used to wear nothing but a pair of Calvin Klein men's shorts underwear with fishnet tights and steel-toe Doc Marten boots, and maybe a few dreadlocks and a maroon wool halterneck bikini top. Today, the same outfit would give me hives. But back then? Hot! 2007-09-05 15:49:00 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/523/ In a sparkly stroke of marketing genius, fuschia-haired jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino has teamed up with internet phenomenon Jeffree Star and the AFI's Davey Havok for a giant video campaign promoting her next jewelry collection, called "Tokyo Hardcore". Here's Davey, looking typically emo-tional: The teaser that was released on Tarantino's Buzznet.com page features Havok playing an angsty rock star (hard to imagine, I know), lip-syncing to Pulp's "This is Hardcore" (best. song. ever.) while intermittently making out with an insanely hot young Japanese model. Alfonso Campos, Tarina's business whizz husband, invited Havok to play the part after meeting him at a Camille Rose Garcia opening. Havok, being a friend of Jeffree's (you see how incestuous the fashion world is?) decided to give it a whirl. The move represents part of a general new approach to fashion marketing...one which ventures beyond catwalk and catalogue and steps into the world of film, or so-called "fashion cinema". Susan Ciancolo screened a short abstract film at one of her recent fashion shows, in which the actors wore items from her collection. Tarantino has taken things a step further with her series of MTV-friendly videos, due to accompany the launch of her Tokyo Hardcore collection. Getting Jeffree Star involved was a very smart move, not least because he has 15 million or so MySpace friends who faithfully track his every move, and who probably enjoy buying pink and shiny jewelry...like Tarantino's! I am constantly amazed by the fame that Jeffree Star has achieved, through just working the MySpace. Sometimes it makes more sense if I think of him as the gay Paris Hilton, savvy and vacuous, a poster-child for the OxyContin generation. Do check out user comments to the video on Buzznet. I especially enjoyed Star's bitch-slap to a female fan named "cerealwars13", who dared to question Davey's "man-whore" presentation in the Tokyo Hardcore video. Star's response begins "you're a piece of fucking shit". Meeooow, ladies!!! 2007-09-04 22:56:00 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/519/ Guess what, another streetwear store hit Fairfax...NYC's ALife opened up on Saturday and the sneaker freaks were more rabid with consumerism than ever. Or was that just the triple-digit heat? 2007-09-03 23:50:01 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/514/ I know I am probably the last person in L.A. to get on the romper bandwagon, but when I saw this little turquoise number at American Vintage in Los Feliz, I just couldn't resist. ($32). Then I spotted some bad-ass cowgirl boots for $55 and thought "why not?". And while I'm at it, I should probably get a nice new vintage brown leather clutch ($15). Right? I asked Robert, the kind young man behind the counter with a wooden spike through his septum, if he thought the romper suit made my bum look...bountiful. He promsied me it looked good. I still wasn't sure. ME: "You mean it? You're not just saying that?" ROBERT: "Yes honey, your ass looks great." ME: "I dunno..." ROBERT: "Trust me, I know these things." ME: "How do you know?" ROBERT: "Because I'm black." There was no arguing with that, so I went ahead and made my purchases. I am going to wear my new outfit tonight - Margaret Cho is presenting a preview of her all-new Sensuous Woman show at the Gay and Lesbian Center in Hollywood, and then after that, it's the Arthur Mag "Back To Life" party at the Little Joy, celebrating the un-folding of our most favorite pretentious music publication. Mazal tov Jay Babcock. 2007-08-30 17:22:00 none <bloguser@vmix.com> http://blogs-losangeles.metromix.com/51/post/504/ Julie Edwards, drummer for the Pity Party, (on the right there) is unstitching her beloved Little Knittery from its current premises inside Steinberg & Sons in Los Feliz, and will re-open in a hot new space on Glendale Blvd. in Atwater Village. It was supposed to open tomorrow, but the re-launch was postponed until Sept 5 because of "boring and yukky" technical issues. I'm not sure for the reasons behind the move. When I spoke to Suzy from Steinberg & Sons a couple months ago, there was no mention of it. New digs are located at: 3042 Glendale Blvd. LA, CA. 90039 323.663.3838 HOURS mon-tue CLOSED wed - fri 12 - 7 p.m. sat 12 - 8 p.m. sun 12 - 5 p.m. 2007-08-28 17:14:00 none <bloguser@vmix.com>