solsken. » Fashion

Minä Perhonen

solsken — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 07:35:53 +0000

I can’t help but feel instantly charmed by fabrics from Minä Perhonen, a clothing and textile design house from Japan. If the brand sounds familiar, you may have seen or heard of its collaborative projects with Danish textile and furniture manufacturers Kvadrat and Fritz Hansen.

The folk-inspired designs blend frolicsome graphic patterns with plucky colors and rich textures. Take a peek at the following sampling; don’t these swatches beg to be touched? To see the company’s entire range of textiles, clothing and furniture, visit the Minä Perhonen website.

Bird

Festival

Fogland

Forest Parade

Oasis

All images © Minä Perhonen, used by permission.

Nick Cave + Wighnomy Brothers

solsken — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 08:23:58 +0000

This weekend, I checked out the YBCA party where I caught the Nick Cave exhibition. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, Cave combines Leigh Bowery‘s outrageous fashions with the obsessive embroidery skills of Francois Lésage, brought to life with the sweeping fluidity of modern dance (Ronald K. Brown and Arcell Cabuag performed at an earlier date in the soundsuits).

I met up with my favorite queen — decked in black, sporting a silver wolfhead fingertip and ready to impale new victims — and together we jiggled to Honey Soundsystem under video projections showing the soundsuits in action.

Later, we hit up Kontrol‘s fourth anniversary party just as the Wighnomy Brothers went on. Admist the sea of crappy music out there, the German techno duo still manages to produce some of the best dance music in the industry… Robag Wruhme, the group’s main musical genius, is a longtime favorite and I was most excited to see him live. His solo and extensive remix work are not to be missed.

Wighnomy Brothers at Sunset

On Sunday, I went to Treasure Island where the Wighnomy Brothers played a second set at the Sunset party. The two are so cute when they dance, like little techno bears! Robag ended the set by putting on Carmen McRae’s “I Left My Heart In San Francisco,” much to everyone’s delight. As we were leaving we paused to look out at downtown San Francisco, framed by the beautiful bay and its two iconic bridges, blissed by the late afternoon sun.

Submerged Visions

solsken — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:25:11 +0000

I recently happened upon Zena Holloway’s exquisite work in photography. Shot underwater, Holloway’s work captures fugitive moments of fanciful visions, freeform in composition and suffused with mercurial light:

Holloway has also made several short films which give an animated grace to her still photography.

A.P.C. founder Touitou to release new DVD

solsken — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 23:39:11 +0000

A little bird in NYC informed me that A.P.C., the French line made famous for its understated, impeccably constructed garments (not to mention its legendary dark-rinse denim), will soon release a new, nature-based multimedia piece.
A.P.C. founder Jean Touitou — who, after decades in fashion, has remained committed to unpresuming simplicity over celebrity — is now authoring a DVD of his journey to the North Pole, and it’s set to karaoke music. Can’t wait for what sounds like a creative gem.

Shigeru Ban, James Turrell, Zaha Hadid design for Louis Vuitton

solsken — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 20:38:33 +0000

Louis Vuitton has retained 9 of the world’s greatest artistic minds to reinterpret selections from its classic handbag collection. Shigeru Ban, James Turrell, Robert Wilson, Zaha Hadid, Sylvie Fleury, Bruno Peinado, Andr???e Putman, Ugo Rondinone and Tim White-Sobieski have offered their individual artistic versions of the tony line, which are currently on display at Espace Louis Vuitton Paris until the end of the year.

Espace Louis Vuitton
60, rue de Bassano
101 avenue des Champs-Elys???es, 75008 Paris
Open: Mon-Sat 12-7 pm, Sun 1-7 pm

More info and pictures available at LVMH’s online Magazine.

Apollo Braun | Fashion Week NYC

solsken — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 08:05:41 +0000

Hey all you tragic hipsters (or $$ uptown hipster wannabes), NYC fashion designer extraordinaire Apollo Braun is hosting his biggest and baddest fashion show yet!

For this Fashion Week 2006, his two fashion lines will be presented: the street-chic Apollo Braun line and the haute-couture Doron Braunshtein line. Promoted by party monster Toshi (toshifilm.com). Oh, and did I mention you can also party all night with the open bar…?

Get your tix now.

Friday, February 10th, 2006
10 pm
The Puck Building, Grand Ballroom floor
295 Lafayette Street

Claudy Jongstra @ Moss | NYC

solsken — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 19:36:43 +0000

Never Felt Before! The extraordinary textiles of Claudy Jongstra
September 9-October 19
Opening night: Thursday, September 8, 2005 7-9 PM

Moss
152 Greene Street @ Houston Street
New York, NY

For those of you who have never experienced Moss in NYC, be sure to stop by on your next jaunt to Soho. The mecca shares the block with other renowned design outlets, but none come close to the selection, quality, and presentation carefully produced each season by Moss’s designerati team.

Moss’s next event is the debut solo exhibition of textile designer Claudy Jongstra. This Dutch-born fabric maven has constructed felts that include not only wool from her own flock of rare Drenthe Heath sheep, but also organza, rag linen, cashmere, and alpaca.

Her impressive cliente ranges from haute couturiers Christian Lacroix and John Galliano to industrial designers Hella Jongerius, Ettore Sottsass, and Jasper Morrison. She has also collaborated with architects Steven Holl and Will Bruder to create acoustic-enhancing materials for residential projects.

Jongstra will celebrate the the US launch of her first publication, Matter and Meaning, on the exhibition’s opening night. To be added to the guestlist, simply drop an email to: rsvp@mossonline.com.

A Music Vid Like No Other…

solsken — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 15:01:09 +0000

“Moskau” by German super dance stars Dschinghis Khan!

Sole Design by Rem D. Koolhaas

solsken — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 19:37:44 +0000

It all started off with one architect’s broken heart and his desire to create something meaningful from his loss.

Rem D. Koolhaas, the punky nephew of Pomo megastar Rem Koolhaas, has launched a new shoe company called United Nude. Each shoe is inspired by a mid-century modern design concept. This is reflected in every step of the design process, from conceptual charrettes through the customized packaging of each shoe.

Take for example the heel of the ‘Eamz’ shoe, which gives direct reference to a chair by Ray and Charles Eames. Also in the collection is the Mobius shoe, whose lines are literally translated from the Barcelona Chair, designed by former Bauhaus director Mies Van Der Rohe for the International Exposition in 1929.

My personal favorite is the ‘Porn’ shoe. This sexy design features two independent pieces: a highly arched footbed that slides into a wide loop which provides both heel and upper support.