FashionIndie » studio 54

INDIE NEWSROOM: Sex and the City Prequel on The CW…Snooki, Unmasked…Versace x H&M Sells Out — Again

Lester Brathwaite — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:56:44 +0000

- The CW has greenlit a pilot for The Carrie Diaries, a prequel to Sex and the City based on Candice Bushnell‘s book of the same name. The series will chronicle young Carrie Bradshaw‘s senior year in high school as she takes her first stilettoed steps through New York in the early 80s. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the young Samantha Jones storyline where she’s blowing rails and everything/one else at 54. [The Hollywood Reporter]

- Snooki proved that there’s an actual person underneath all that tanner, bronzer, concealer, foundation, toner, shadow, blush, lip gloss, lip stick, mascara and whatever else she cakes on to step out of her hobbit hole. And that person is adorable. And 5 years old. [Refinery29]

- André Leon Talley thinks Republican candidate-in-training Rick Santorum is a dick and is not afraid to tweet about it. But in all fairness…Rick Santorum really is a huge dick. [Jezebel]

- Emanuel Ungaro‘s really going through it. Not only is the label not showing its fall collection next month and cancelling its pre-fall show scheduled for next week, but it can’t fill orders for its spring collection either. [WWD]

- Brad Goreski revealed his latest gig via Twitter — she’s styling J. Brand‘s fall 2012 show. [StyleCaster]

- Just hours after debuting online, Versace for H&M’s Cruise Collection has already sold out. That is before it shows up later today on eBay. [Huff Po]

Where There’s Le Smoking, There’s Bound to Be Fire

Lester Brathwaite — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:04:10 +0000

Along with the bikini, the wrap-dress and the tranny heel, Le Smoking is the greatest sartorial invention of the past 50 years. And it would behoove every woman to have one in her repertoire. Created by Yves Saint Laurent in 1966, Le Smoking forever changed the women dressed by simply giving them a tux all their own. It was further immortalized by a series of photos by Helmut Newton in 1975 and when Bianca Jagger made it her signature in the heyday of 54. Now 400 years later the trend is still going strong.

Bianca Jagger, 1979

Bookclubbin’: Maxim’s: Mirror of Parisian Life

Lester Brathwaite — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:04:32 +0000

Think of Maxim’s as the Studio 54 of the 1890s. But instead of Halston, Liza and coke, there’s Charles Frederick Worth, famously infamous courtesan Liane de Pougy and opium. That magically hedonistic time known as the Belle Epoque in France saw the establishment of a pillar of Parisian society, Maxim’s. More than a restaurant, it was the social meeting ground for generations of artists, nobles, diplomats, stars and folks of less reputable distinction. It has survived two world wars, multiple owners and Mick Jagger showing up in sneakers and 120 years later it’s still the place to see and be seen. Assouline’s Maxim’s: Mirror of Parisian Life by Jean-Pascal Hesse examines the people, the historical and cultural events and of course the food that distinguish the rich history of the restaurant at 3 rue Royal.

Sam Edelman Brings His New Purse to Studio 54

Jessica Lapidos — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:24:48 +0000

I still remember my first pair of Sam Edelmans – ivory ballet flats, gold chain links, toe cleavage – at the very start of the ballerina shoe explosion. At point of purchase, I thought Sam Edelman was a woman, was surprised to find out he used to be the Sam in Sam and Libby. Point is, Sam Edelman has blossomed into a hit shoemaker since its inception in 2004, and rather than resting on his laurels, he’ll be resting on our shoulders as the brand extends to handbags. Will I remember my first Edelman bag like I do the shoes? Seeing as the inspirations behind the different facets of the collection are Studio 54 and Parisian streets, it seems quite likely.

Discoteque means cheetahs on chains and colors in the clutch. It also means little nibblies inside not meant for the eyes of authority, just you, Liza and Jerry in a bathroom stall.

Now see what ensues when Sam Edelman goes expat.

Amber Valletta Is Literally 120 Years Old

Lester Brathwaite — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:00:08 +0000

With the aid of some expert make-up and prosthetics, supermodel Amber Valletta gets buried in the sands of time, aging 100 years — and looking impossibly chic along the way — in Steven Klein‘s brilliant editorial for W, “One for the Ages.”

Hands down my favorite spread so far in this, the September issue season, Klein, Valletta and Edward Enninful envision an eternal heroine and her struggles over the course of a century, featuring looks by Chanel, John Galliano, Miu Miu, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tom Ford, Givenchy and Alexander McQueen.

“September 29, 1929: A month before the stock market’s Black Tuesday, our heroine’s opium-tinged 29th-birthday party in the Blue Room rolls on.”

Studio 54 Lives On…If Only On Satellite Radio

Lester Brathwaite — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:33:55 +0000

The Marc and Myra Show on SiriusXM Satellite Radio takes you behind the velvet rope and inside the coke spoon of Studio 54, with guests including Carolina Herrera and Pat Cleveland.

Carolina Herrera, owning the world

Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell’s Studio 54 was one of the greatest moments in New York City nightlife when everybody who was anybody would don their glittery best and dance the night away to the toot-toot-beep-beep of the thumping disco beat. Now, doorman Marc Benecke and Rubell’s former executive assistant Myra Scheer take us back in time with their talk show premiering this Sunday at 10 pm on Sirius XM Channel 15.

MUSE OF THE WORLD: Macy’s to Be Quarantined Over Bieber Fever…Naomi Does the Time Warp…Marc Jacobs’ Legal Woes Over Workplace Hoes

Lester Brathwaite — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:01:24 +0000

- Hide your genitals and cover your ears, Bieber Fever is coming to midtown. [Fashionista]

- Naomi Campbell is digging her coke spoon into a big ole pile of Studio 54 nostalgia with her just-announced denim line with 70s style staple, Fiorucci. [Styleite]

- Urban Outfitters‘ board is not only racist, but also in denial about it. Other objects of their incredulity: evolution, the Holocaust, homosexuality and quality fabrics. [The Cut]

- Supermodel Liya Kebede will be giving face for L’Oreal, her first gig as a major brand ambassador. [Fashionista]

- A teaser of Nicola Formichetti‘s homoerotic film for Mugler Mens debuted today and I’m already on board. [Hint]

- The disgruntled and dismissed Marc Jacobs employee who’s suing his former employers over the alleged sexually-charged atmosphere, Patrice Lataillade, is being sued by Marc for more or less embezzling money and inflating the company’s profits. Both sides says the other is lying/deflecting/hamming it up but no one’s paying attention to poor Helena Bonham Carter who apparently lost her shit while all of this was going on. [Styleite]

Tom Ford Gets Up Close and All Kinds of Personal with Lara Stone

Lester Brathwaite — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 10:54:05 +0000

The ads for Tom Ford’s new line of cosmetics are out and they feature the iconic designer getting some serious face time with a gorgeously painted Lara Stone.

Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the ads could easily have been ripped out of a 70s fashion mag, which is precisely the aesthetic Ford was going for with his collection. Informed and heavily inspired by the 70s and Studio 54, Stone looks like a latter day Jerry Hall so temptingly close to Ford’s bearded bravado.

Ford explained his propensity for placing himself in his ads to WWD:

“I’m not in the ads because I’m vain. A lot of people still don’t know who I am, and the product sells better with me in the ads. The old designers — Yves [Saint Laurent], Giorgio [Armani] and Ralph [Lauren] — occasionally used to do it.”

Yves, however, probably wouldn’t approve.

Photos: Image Amplified

Net-a-Porter Ranks Most Powerful Blogs, FashionIndie Snubbed Once Again

Lester Brathwaite — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 10:30:41 +0000

Online super retailer Net-a-Porter asked a panel of industry experts, including Paper Magazine‘s Mickey Boardman, gal about town and Harper’s Bazaar Editor-at-Large Derek Blasberg and Bloglovin’ founder Mattias Swenson to select their top ten favorite blogs. If FashionIndie hadn’t done enough coke at 54 to powder the nose of every actress in Hollywood ten times over thus rendering all emotions dead below the larynx, our feelings would be super hurt right now. Check out the list below, if you care to (you shouldn’t).

1. Jak & Jil

2. Hanneli

3. Bryanboy

4. Garance Doré

5. Style Bubble

6. The Sartorialist

7. Business of Fashion

8. Style Rookie

9. The Coveteur

10. Yes! A Bunny Stream of Conch

I’ve never even heard of that last one — nor did I care to — but what do you think of this list? [Net-a-Porter]

Tom Ford’s Youthful Sissy Shenanigans Once Landed Him in the Emergency Room

Lester Brathwaite — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 10:16:58 +0000

Every little gay boy obsessed with fashion, beauty and glamour inevitably attempts to bring those elements into her everyday life. Whether she tries on her mother’s heels to catwalk down the hallway when no one’s home; vamp like Bette Davis in All About Eve with a faux cocktail and faux cigarette — soda and licorice are great substitutes — in her limp, little gay hands; or like a 14-year-old Tom Ford, don cucumber slices over her eyes to, as Ford puts it, “camouflage the bags.” Unfortunately, Tom was unaware that his eyes were allergic to said cucumbers and ended up in the emergency room with his eyes swelled shut.

Ford relates this particularly hilarious anecdote while discussing his new beauty collection that includes a line of color cosmetics and skin care. “I’ve cared about cosmetics and makeup since I was a kid,” says Ford, referring to an adolescence obsessed with the glamorous guests on The Merv Griffin Show, such as Hollywood modeling agent Nina Blanchard, and Vidal and Beverly Sassoon. So powerful was this fixation that Ford still identifies strongly with the 70s. His ultra-colorful cosmetic collection recalls the heyday of Studio 54 and its coterie of glamour goddesses, like Jerry Hall, Lauren Hutton and Bianca Jagger.

And while his cucumber experiment might have gone awry, Ford has not forsaken his beauty regimen. He uses his own skin care products such as the Traceless Foundation Stick for the corners of his eyes and nose, and he sometimes sleeps in the oil-based serum, Intensive Infusion Concentrate Extreme.

I’m assuming the effect is similar to this:

[WWD]

Bookclubbin’: Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations by Elizabeth Walker

Amanda Gabriele — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:34:15 +0000

Great style transcends space and time. From a 19th century Indian colonel in head-to-toe tartan to a 70s supermodel in bright yellow plaid, significant fashion statements will always circle back around. Elizabeth Walker explores this trend phenomenon through historic photographs in her gorgeously-done coffee table staple Style Book: Fashionable Inspirations (Flammarion 2011). If you’re ever wondering how to wear that menswear-inspired suit, vintage fur shawl or those sky-high platforms, let style icons like Diane Keaton, Elton John and Sue Coddington be your guides.

“‘One picture is worth ten thousand words’* and these carefully selected images are set to inspire anybody fascinated by either fashion, foibles, or simply the photographs themselves,” Elizabeth Walker says in the book’s introduction. “It is all about stylish contrasts, strange situations and rarely glimpsed pictures; all set to get the mind buzzing and the creative juices flowing.”

*Frederick R. Barnard 1927 Printer’s Ink

It’s difficult to put this amazing book into words when the story in-between the covers are told through photographs. And so, here are some of the coolest images that will surely inspire your wardrobe this week.

Rolling Stones Brian Jones sports a striped suit in 1967.

Lauren Hutton rocks a menswear-inspired look at Studio 54 in 1978.

Kate Moss wears a white fox wrap at Mario Testino’s London exhibition in 2002.

Diana Ross wearing a graphic black and white jumpsuit in 1983.

Joan Collins looking gorgeous in high-waisted jeans in 1955.

And there is more where that came from. Walker explores 13 trends that have been relevant since the 19th century until modern times.

What owning this book says about you: I love fashion history and the evolution of trends throughout the years. I’m a classic girl always looking for ways to update a definitive dressing movement.

What your dinner guests will say upon seeing this book on your coffee table: This book goes so well with the vintage clothes in your closet. I love Oscar Wilde in that fur coat!

How this book will make your fashion brain grow: By learning where trends came from and how they’ve evolved throughout the years, you’ll find new ways to recycle your classic pieces. True style comes through knowing the art and adaptation of fashion through time.

If you like this, you’ll love: American Fashion, Special Edition by Charlie Sheips

Boutique Critique:: Court: Look 5

Jessica Lapidos — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:50:13 +0000

Shop owners Lisa Fuller and Nicole Tondre do more than simply run their deeply designed Soho boutique, they’ve also created some of the top merchandise in it. These women have put their knowledge of fit and sales further into business and designed their own line of jeans. With a slew of varying washes, ankle-lines and a touch of stretch, these jeans are about to get seriously courted.

If you’re courting Court, go now and get 15% off when you mention FashionIndie.

LOOK FIVE: Disco Diva Off Hours

The Foxy Bellbottoms: Court, $117

This look started with the house-made jeans. Except for my super wide-legs, I’ve been rocking skinnies for the better part of a decade. Only now am I remembering the joy of a good flare, and it’s bringing me back to a day after Studio 54 brunch. Though these are built differently than the bells of our past, they seem to expand with less resistance.

The Burnout Shirt: Mink Pink, $60

Cropped to just below the waist and pre-worn-in, this tee wants you to just hang out in it. It’s no muss, just a well proportioned texturized t-shirt.

The Chill Out Tunic: Seneca Rising, $118 (originally $165)

Designer Andi Ballard’s aesthetic stems from her personal collection of thrift store finds and older bro’s hand-me-downs, all of which equal a soft layerable compilation of visceral favorites. Made from a blend of Tencel and Rayon, the hand feels well worn like a washed silk. It looks real relaxed here, but let down the sleeves and button it up for a suave effect.

The Striped Wedges: 80/20, $118

Multicolored stripes of varying widths on a canvas and cork wedge seem born to live beneath bellbottoms. The bit that peeks out the hem shouts Sun, Sun, Sun like Jakki in a disco fever.

The Leather Hair Corset: Court, $48

You’ve been seeing this hair tie by store owner Nicole Tondre all week. The way it brings my hair off to the side gives me those Native American vibes, like I could weave a tribal tapestry on a hand loom. Well, maybe if I make that tapestry a reality, and the traditional leather tie will keep my hair out of my face while weaving. AKA I’m going back and buying this. Now.

Court | 178 Mulberry Street, New York, NY 10012, (212) 925-1022

The Long, LSD-Fueled Road to Becoming Jerry Hall

Lester Brathwaite — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:57:30 +0000

Jerry Hall has one hell of a life and career. The quintessential supermodel, she started her journey with a trip (an LSD trip) and along the way she roomed with Grace Jones, was a muse for Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol, married Mick Jagger and became a regular at Studio 54 all while (allegedly) sober.

Jerry Hall always looked like Jerry Hall – that incredible head of hair, that flawless complexion, cheekbones from which the world hangs – but it wasn’t until she took LSD that she even considered modelling as a viable path:

‘ “A boy gave me a quarter of a tab. I didn’t know what it was!” she says. “I actually had never taken drugs and was very nervous. And I never did take drugs [afterward] ever, ever. But I locked myself in the bathroom and spent the whole night staring in the mirror, going, ‘Oh, my God.’” She runs her fingers over the contours of her face. “All of a sudden, I thought, Wow!” ‘

Similar story, I once took shrooms and realized that I could taste colors. Red tastes like pennies.

Jerry, along with her sister Terry, ended up in Paris, where they roomed with a young Grace Jones. Jerry and Grace would put on cabaret shows for their friends, which I’m hoping involved a “Who’s On First”-type skit performed with Jerry straddling Grace, who would be on all fours wearing nothing but a saddle and a strap-on horse tail.

Sisters reunited, and it feels so good, c.1985

Hall met Dalí at a club that she and Grace would frequent. He asked her to come to Spain to film her wearing only a white veil. She turned down the famous artist’s request because she had promised her dear old mother she wouldn’t pose nude. They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore. Unless you count her pillowy-lipped daughter with Mick Jagger, Georgia May.

Which I don’t.

Jerry, however, is very proud that Georgia May and Lizzy have followed in her long, graceful strides and shares this anecdote:

“I gave them all these films to watch. Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, and Mae West. Actually, they both shot with Karl Lagerfeld, and he was saying to them, ‘Okay, be Bette Davis in The Letter.’ And they knew what to do! He said, ‘Oh, my God. I never work with girls who know what I’m talking about! Your mother trained you so well.’ So funny!”

Jerry Hall sounds like the best mother ever. Meanwhile, Karl Lagerfeld could tell me to be Bette Davis in anything and I’d be ready at the drop of a hat.

Read more about Jerry Hall’s life, loves and locks in Harper’s Bazaar.

Photos: Harper’s Bazaar

Nixon Inspired the Wrap Dress and Other Things Learned from DVF and Iman

Lester Brathwaite — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:32:25 +0000

On last night’s Watch What Happens Live, Andy Cohen invited fashion icons Iman and Diane von Furstenberg to shoot the shit, impart some wisdom and solve world hunger. According to DVF, the best snack that won’t make you gain weight are your nails. Problem. Solved.

Julie Nixon was the first “celebrity” DVF saw wearing her designs and subsequently inspired the wrap dress.

“She wore a little wrap top with a matching skirt and I thought that was really nice. That’s when I decided actually to attach it and turn it into a dress.”

Well, at least that presidency gave the nation something worth remembering. Speaking of remembering, Iman and DVF take us down memory lane to the first time they met. It was over 30 years ago at Lord & Taylor when DVF spotted that stunning giraffe glide into the room – “this extraordinary creature. You’v never seen anything so beautiful in your life.”

She approached the extraordinary creature and asked if she was a model – duh – then asked her for her number. Iman kneeled in an “extraordinary” way and they’ve been friends ever since.

According to Iman, however:

“I don’t kneel for anybody like that except David Bowie and Diane von Furstenberg.”

Andy tried to touch on their time at 54, but they both pleaded the 5th. I’ll just assume that means they can’t discuss it lest they face federal imprisonment and/or deportation.

Check out the Bravo website for some more iconic wisdom and the video below for an Iman-tage of the super’s greatest moments from The Fashion Show so far. One word: amazeballs.

LINK LOVE: Bravo TV

Raindrops On Roses And Ruben and Isabel Toledo

Abe Gurko, IMeanWhat.com — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:36:53 +0000

Toledo Towels.

Bright Stephen Burrows and warm woolen mittens…

Though white paper packages tied up with strings are not on my list, these are a few of my favorite people. Unless you are dead, you know that Target is opening its first store in New York City…East Harlem to be exact. Although it is still a bit of a schlepp for me, seeing that I am a devout downtown-ite, the great news is that the Target folks had the where-with-all to engage designers that would resonate in their new neighborhood. Most notably, Stephen Burrows and the illustrious Isabel and Ruben Toledo. When Target launches those limited edition designer bits with the likes of Zac Posen or Alexander McQueen, that stuff doesn’t really float my boat. At least now, I get to crow about Ruben and Isabel Toledo’s swimwear collection and Stephen Burrows’ signature hand print T-shirts. Why? Because I lerve them. I have known Stephen since the early days of Studio 54…I was a Burrow-ette. And as for the Toledos, well, name me one other couple in the fashion industry that is as admired, respected and talented as those two, besides maybe Inez van Lamsveerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Go ahead….name another couple on that level…you see…ungats? Sorry, but Katy Perry and Russell Brand do not cut it.

Stephen Burrows…work.

Most importantly, these groovy designers are donating a percentage of sales to their favorite charities. Isabel and Ruben Toledo have selected El Museo del Barrio, while Stephen Burrows is supporting The Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem. So, check out some of the pieces that my peeps are doing…and buy, buy baby.

OK, I love the swimsuits…but can you make something for me, please?

LINK LOVE:Raindrops On Roses And Ruben and Isabel Toledo

OUT WITH AARON K: Nutty-Acting

Aaron K, Nightlife Personality — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:29:05 +0000

I’m always surprised at how busy and nutty-acting everyone gets during Fashion Week prep. Everyone is in a huff. I’ve seen a lot of models in Soho, they’re almost all in huffs. Except for the “It” models, you know like Ash and Jethro. I bet they’re never in anything like a huff, they’re only in magazines. Is Cole Mohr still “It”?

Anyway, I got invited to the model casting for Duckie Brown. It made me feel a little special, but whenever I told anyone they sort of laughed. Everyone thought I was trying out to be a model, I wasn’t. Duckie wanted me there to cast models, and pretend to DJ. I really like pretending.

It was self-defeating though. The casting, I mean. I was the short, pasty, black-clad kid with grandma glasses and bad hair. Everyone around me was 6 foot tall, healthy, fit, and beautiful. It was awful, and amazing. Amazing because they were changing and naked and trying on great clothes.

Two boys I party with came on a go-see. Is that an official term? Go-see? Or did Tyra make that up for America’s Next Top Model? But, right, Jace and Harvey came on a go-see. It was nice seeing them out and about during the day. And I think both of them were cast, because they have amazing walks and are so handsome.

Oh. Did anyone see that Craiglist missed connection from Tuesday? A friend posted it to my Facebook. I think someone I know, a boy, gave a man a blowjob at the Box while his girlfriend watched. It all happened on the balcony, I mean, I must have been a few feet away. Was it you? Tell me the truth. I need the scoop.

I think it’s a good nightlife when things like this can still happen. It reminds me of Studio 54.

It’s so sad that the Ruff Club is ending. I don’t know what else to say. It’s the end of an era, or something. There’s a rumor that Peaches Geldof and Jethro Cave will be there. That they’re going to DJ. I love Nick Cave, and his son Jethro is amazing. I didn’t know that Peaches is still around. Can I have her job? What is her job?

P.S.

I forgot to mention I met Christopher Sauve and Julia Frakes yesterday while creeping Soho with Alex. Chris was the nicest, like so pleasant. Julia was a button, but I kind of think I squeezed her hand too hard. Alex thought her pants were a great Beacon’s find, but of course they were Erin Wasson. Nicollette said Julia was a downtown luminary.

I guess she must be if she’s curating a collection at Screaming Mimi’s for Fashion’s Night Out. I’m jealous, wish I was curating a collection.

Did you know that even the Disney Channel changes its New York programming before and during Fashion Week? I told you, nutty-acting. Everyone.

Blast from the Past: Betsey Johnson Show at Studio 54

Lauren Garroni — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:45:54 +0000

Here is an old video I dug up on the YouTube of the first, if not one of the first, Betsey Johnson shows. It dates back to 1977 and of course took place at Studio 54. I must say Betsey’s runway shows have improved from this one. The models are uncoordinated and unsure of what they are supposed to be doing, however I think it’s the massive amounts of coke they did before the show that has caused their jilted moves.