60 and up

Models from Yohiji Yamamoto, Etro, and
Ann Demeulemeester

Gray is the new black at the European men's shows.

flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood

The guy just can't catch a break. Maybe he needs to a taste of his own medicine...

milan: prada

A look from Prada Spring/Summer 2009
via Frillr
A polo that could easily be a polo dress with matching grandpa socks. Miuccia, you naughty girl you.

212 crew

Dear the Most Faithful of Readers,

I must confess that I've been contributing to another blog. Don't worry, The Look-See will remain the primary blogging focus in my life and should continue to grow in the direction it sees fit. I've thought about hosting guest bloggers to mix things up and in the past I've collaborated with Bitch, Please and Gold Digger, but I'd thought I'd make some new blogging buddies and be apart of a larger blogging community. You can read all about art, fashion, and media at the 212 Dressing Room Blog. All of my posts are tagged with my name at the byline.

Keep Reading.
W.

milan: versace

Electric relaxation is an apt hybrid of words to describe Versace’s spring 2009 men’s wear collection. A men’s wear collection minus neckties, shirts unbuttoned to the sternum, pants that were the opposite of stovepipes, wispy summer scarves, and an overall lightness in being culminated in a redefinition, or refinement depending on how you want to phrase it, of what we think of when it comes to casual menswear. This Versace man is confident, comfortable, at ease, all qualities that are certainly attractive. Perhaps then it makes sense that Donatella dedicated this collection to “the man of the moment”, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. I’m not sure that I could see Obama sporting a tank with a screen-printed plume of smoke coiling up his abdomen, but the strength in these clothes is what people see in Obama—refreshing, cool, and powerful without waving a big stick.

Over the past few seasons at the women’s and men’s labels, there has been a relatively dramatic aesthetic shift at Versace. The new Versace ideal is someone who wants bold, streamlined clothes that exude a certain kind of purity in their subtleness and sensual tailoring. Trenches with interesting flap details, snappy little Army influenced jackets, and a white button down with a zipper slashed across the arm showed the influence of former Cloak designer and current creative contributor to the men’s wear line, Alexandre Plokhov. His strength as a tailor with a sharp edge was beautifully put to use in one button suits (Who wants to bother with more than one when you look that good?) and slim shawl collared suit jackets paired with shorts. Call it a new Casual Friday uniform, but Versace supplied the goods for men who want to look effortlessly and casually put together.

Donatella is smart enough and respectful enough not to forget the roots of the brand. The creamy color palette and electric sheen on the clothes would be perfect for any true Milanese playboy. For next spring, throw away those ties and maybe every man can have a taste of this good life Donatella promises.

the woman

Charlize Theron in Narciso Rodriguez
at "The Late Show with David Letterman" in New York
3 things:
1. Who ever was privileged enough to zip Charlize into that dress is one lucky son of a bitch.
2. Told ya Narciso understands a woman can look as sexy going as she does coming.
3. If only her new movie was getting as good of reviews as she looks in this dress.

P.S. I haven't seen a big summer movie since "Iron Man" and I can't wait until "The Dark Night." Do you think "Wanted" will hold me over?

the man

Clive Owen in Giorgio Armani
at the Giorgio Armani Spring/Summer 2009 collection in Milan
And I thought I perfected the shades of gray look.

man at work

New York Rangers left wing Sean Avery
photographed at the Men's Vogue closet
I didn't know interns were allowed to work topless at Men's Vogue.

milan: alexander mcqueen

Body by God, clothes by Alexander McQueen was the vibe at his spring 2009 menswear collection. The relationship between man and his body has definitely changed over the last century or so, especially in this crazy new millennium of “metrosexual”, sexual fluidity quickly becoming the norm (Does anybody know what team anybody plays on anymore?), and womenswear influencing menswear more and more (Who wore skinny jeans first?), it would only take a mind like Alexander McQueen’s to shake it up and break it down in a way you’ve never thought of.

The body was supreme focus of the collection, inside and out. Nude was the prominent color, established by the turtleneck and blazer combo at the start of the show. From there on out, real and designed flesh made an appearance on shirts, bodysuits that looked like something Slim Goodbody might wear, and nets of flesh colored fabric that exposed the torso underneath a suit jacket. McQueen also played with screen-printed shirts that looked like blood was dripping down the body but in fact was a sanguine plume of smoke (A new trend he and Donatella are trying to start?). A cloud of smoke looked like a ribcage on a suit jacket. Such innovative ideas are part of McQueen’s bark, but his bite is in the classic tailoring of the sharp jackets and pants in the collection. They may not look like something every man would want to wear, but any man can’t resist good tailoring.

For such a naughty collection, it’s hard to imagine this sort of exposing of the male form will attract a wide male audience. McQueen has never been synonymous with commerciality, but these aren’t clothes intended for the masses, and yet their base concept will more than likely be highly influential. A man who wants clothes from this directional provocateur will recognize that it’s going to be all about the body come next spring.

first look: the curious case of benjamin button

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
directed by David Fincher
December 19, 2008

This looks way more surreal than I could have imagined it.

sweat until my clothes come off

Looks from Roberto Cavalli, Neil Barrett, and Missoni
Spring/Summer 2009
The menswear shows started this week in Milan and it looks like an oversized grandpa sweater is essential for next spring. Chunky sweaters for spring? I guess hell will have officially frozen over by next year.

could have been a contender

Top ten lists are meaningless. Speaking from a true fiend for end of the year top ten lists, they never have the permanence they wish to pronounce. The other week I stumbled upon my top ten list from years past and it made me wonder if those films were truly the best representation of film that year. Some yes, others obviously no, but more importantly, it affirmed the idea that the maker of the list is always more than welcome to revise that list. I'd hate to assign a number to one particular film that wasn't on my 2007 list because the next time I have to profess the best of the best and the number frustratingly eludes me, I'll smack myself on the head for placing it at seven or thirteen, therefore I will say Cristian Mungiu's "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" belongs in the overall canon of the best of 2007. Due to a limited release that never included my city, I wasn't able to see the movie until last week when it was released on DVD. It was more than worth the wait.

A.O. Scott of The New York Times has ruminated before on the supposed New Wave happening currently in Romanian cinema. What exactly denotes a New Wave? Is it a group of filmmakers of the same generation consciously or unconsciously making films that reflect their culture, nation's politics, gender issues, and history? If so, we can look to filmmakers like Mungiu, Cristi Puiu, Corneliu Porumbiu, among others, who in recent years have been making films that have a certain look and mood to them. My first attempt to penetrate this world was Cristi Puiu's "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu", a film so bleak and harsh about the bowels of the Romanian healthcare system, that I found it difficult to finish. The story occurs in the span of just one night, a night that is a virtual tour in hospital hell for a man without insurance or available bedside manor. It's unnerving, sad, dark, and for a movie filled with such jolting images, it leisurely takes it time to unravel the complicated world of a man on the verge of dying and being turned away for treatment. Mungiu's film, "4 Months", is no less of a joy ride as we watch a woman help and deal with her friend's illegal abortion.

What sticks from Mungiu's film is the unexpected narrative device of following the friend (Otilia) of the woman (Gabita) who had the abortion, not choosing to exploit the recipient for dramatic purposes. There are many moments that smack the viewer in the face in their grim reality, but for the most part Mungiu is more curious about the psychology of his characters, not their physical actions. Taking away the most sympathetic character for a majority of the film and replacing her with the friend that helped organize and produce the abortion is such bold and brilliant move, that you wonder why no one else has ever thought of it before. They haven't and thus the morality play of an abortion becomes much more complicated because so often we think of the woman receiving the abortion as the one that has the only one that has to emotionally and psychologically process the experience (which she totally does), but what about others that might be involved in the equation? It's a fascinating question that thankfully Mungiu never answers not out of ambivalence, but his proposition is best left up to the audience and their own warring opinions about a woman's right to choose. Yes, the film involves an abortion and yet it's also not about abortion. Choices, consequences, humanity, decency, good vs. evil, these are all classic elements of storytelling, but Mungiu makes them fresh and invigorating in such a challenging piece of work.

I don't want to give away too much for those of you who have not been fortunate enough to see the film, but aside from the content, Mungiu constructs such daring and concise shots that there's clear evidence a true filmmaker is on the cusp of a promising career. Shot mostly in handheld, there are scenes that are very evenly composed such as a chilling scene in which Otilia briefly leaves Gabita to join her boyfriend's mother's birthday party. She sits center frame quietly and still, her brain going over every nightmarish scenario that could possibly be happening to her ailing friend. It's more potent than any of the film's more gruesome scenes. The film works in a controlled nightmare sort of way. A dream of a nasty process that no one should have endure, but Mungiu creates such beautiful images of such an ugly event that a delicate balance exists. Exploitation this not, electric filmmaking is more accurate. Such a film doesn't deserve quantification. A list is just a list, right?

yes, another model post

Chanel Iman, Jourdan Dunn, and Arlenis Pena
photographed by Norman Jean Roy, July issue of Vogue
Three beautiful, happy looking black models in the same editorial in Vogue? OMG, indeed!

courtesy of the fashion spot

call it like it is

Doutzen Kroes
at the Whitney Young Contemporaries Art Party in NYC
"(...) She's the most stunning, perfect human being we have ever seen in our lives. We are not exagerrating."--Britt Aboutaleb of fashionista.com on Doutzen Kroes

saul bass-ian?

Now that's what I call a movie poster.

via Cinematical

the island

You'll have to excuse the lack of posting lately. I have been completely, head over heels, absofuckinglutely enamored with "Lost." I know I'm four years too late but I just finished season one and I think it's safe to say I'm officially hooked.

p.s. If you ruin anything for me beyond season one I will hunt you down and kill you. I wish I was joking.

first look: miracle at st. anna

"Miracle at St. Anna"
directed by Spike Lee
September 28, 2008

Another big budget genre picture for Mr. Lee? If we're judging by the last one he made, he'll make us proud.

hot child in the city

"Summer Camp"
Daria Werbowy, Kate Moss, and Lara Stone
photographed by Bruce Weber, July issue of W
I guess we know what Bruce Weber and a few friends did on their summer vacation...

extras

"Dailies Gone Wild"
from the "There Will Be Blood" DVD Extras
Pay close attention to when "cut" is called at 2:17. I mean, if you were that little kid wouldn't you be amused at the huffing and puffing of Daniel-Day Lewis?

WANT. WANT. WANT.

Rag & Bone
Bowling Shirt in Navy, $128
If only I spent that Economic Stimulus check on discount designer goods, I could wear this while sipping mojitos at a cookout. Damn me and my financial responsibility.

the loser returns

He's baaaaaaaaaaaaack.

how to turn 80

As a subscriber of Interview I've noticed a change in the past two issues. There are new photographers, interview subjects I'm not entirely familiar with, a graphic black and white design scheme, and less emphasis on celebrity interviewing celebrity. The intersection between art, glamour, and the exchanging of ideas in form of a one on one conversation has been freshened up by newly appointed editorial directors Glenn O'Brien and Fabien Baron. Charlie Rose gathered O'Brien, cover subject Marc Jacobs, contributing fashion editor Stephanie Seymour, and publisher Peter Brant for a discussion on the synthesis of art and business, the legacy of Warhol, and the future of magazine's new life.

so far away

I could really use a vacation. A few weeks on the beaches of Rio De Janeiro would suit me just fine.

The question of the day: If money wasn't an issue, where in the world would you want to vacation?

battle of the bands

"24 Hour Party People" (2002)
directed by Michael Winterbottom

"Control" (2007)
directed by Anton Corbijn
I hate picking sides. However, after finally catching Anton Corbijn's "Control" on DVD, I couldn't help but think of how vastly different the band and Ian Curtis were portrayed in Michael Winterbottom's ode to Manchester and post-punk, "24 Hour Party People.' Corbijn goes for the emotion and human drama while Winterbottom goes for Steve Coogan (that's in no way a demerit, Coogan is a comic genius). Die hard Joy Division fans (I suppose you might put me in that category) might have problems with Corbijn's choice of contextualizing the Ian Curtis drama into a kitchen sink drama, but I found it to be effective, rousing, and entirely engaging. The contained and yet physical performance of lead Sam Riley as the tortured rock god is nothing short of revelatory. He imbued Ian Curtis with the weight and doe-eyed vulnerability not only as a put upon artist, but as a father, husband, and human being desperately trying to do the right thing. It's a sensational performance as someone inhabiting the life of someone relatively well known, especially when it's actually him and his band performing the songs. Although there are quite a few domestic squabbles in the film, Corbijn reigns in the emotion when necessary and presents the story as is, not as an overly sentimentalized and canonic portrait of a dead musician. Curtis' life is filled with unsaid things and missed moments, beautifully captured by cinematographer Martin Ruhe in crisp hues and shades of black and white. Comfortable sharing his words with the world, Curtis was never comfortable sharing himself to the world. Conflicted with a lover, uncertain about his relevance in music, and bereft of any sense of himself, Curtis and the film simply want you to be enveloped by the music and that is what we still find deeply fascinating.

it's never too much for my hilary

Hilary Rhoda at the CFDA Awards in NYC
Monday June 2, 2008

Oh my heavenly
What privilege do we have
It occurs too rare

much love.
w.

the vixen

Ursula Andress in Elio Petri's "The 10th Victim"

This just went right to the top of my Netflix queue.

the tailor, the magpie, the foodie

Reasons to love the winner of last night's Council of Fashion Designer of America's International Award, Belgian designer Dries Van Noten:

*He has a funny name. It's pronounced Dr-ee-z Van No-ten.

*He was apart of gang of avant garde Belgian designers known as the Antwerp Six that staged their own shows during London Fashion Week in 1988 to garner attention for the emerging and progressive talent coming out of their native country.

*His Fall 2006 menswear collection was a sleek and dapper homage to Brian Ferry set under a canopy of upturned umbrellas.

*"I just wanted to give the audience a bouquet of flowers."--Van Noten, on why he often chooses floral prints. He has a 60 acre estate outside of Antwerp, where he tends to his own garden.

*For his 50th fashion show, Van Noten hosted a three course formal dinner at an abandoned factory 40 minutes outside of Paris for 500 guests at a table that stretched 490 feet long. And what was for desert? Fashion, of course.

*He's remained truly independent over the past two decades, never advertising his brand and continues to be entirely self-financed.

nose candy

"Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)"
N.E.R.D.
directed by Diane Martel

Great, a music video that looks like The Cobrasnake.

NO!

"Untitled"
Viktor & Rolf

I didn't really care for the collection, but this is pretty amusing.