mr. jt

courtesy of popsugar

damn, no one can rock a vest like justin timberlake.

exhibit a.
exhibit b (picture above).
exhibit c.

he's a making a ridiculous face in that picture, but his look is young, preppy, casual but urban and very appropriate for a relaxing dinner with friends. thank you for not wearing a wife beater and flip flops. style exists in young hollywood and we can all learn a thing or two from mr. timberlake.

ankle injuries

"ankle injuries"
fujiya & miyagi
dir., wade shotter
2007

"fell in love with a girl" rip off or inspired homage?

whatever it is, i can't stop watching this video and the song aint too bad either.

fact: the group is named after a japanese record player and pat morita's character in "the karate kid."

coming soon

"talk to me"
dir., kasi lemmons
2007

don cheadle with an afro and pinky ring + classic american dream gone wrong story set against the backdrop of socio-political movement + my favorite spinners song + chiwetel ejiofor's reliable presence + taraji p. henson's revolving display of wigs = this film has my ticket

the bomber

courtesy of just jared

now that's how you wear a leather bomber jacket.

thank you jude. we can learn so much from you.

fall into the gap: pt. 2

courtesy of the sartorialist

for all of you out there who have become disappointed and dismayed with the declining relevancy of the gap, i come bearing good news. gap, to many, has lost its luster since the infamous 2001 debacle of leather pants and other trends that fell to the wayside soon after their introduction. it's even more difficult to keep with the american apparel's that have stolen their cotton t-shirt thunder or the h&m's and zara's that bring affordable renditions of the high fashion trends within months of their runway debut. gap is like britney spears or whitney houston right now. they were fun for a bit but since they've been distracted with other things (diane sawyer interviews, drugs, bad husbands, train wreck in the making children), the musical landscape has changed significantly and people want to hear that new fergie or nelly furtado jam instead whatever they could possibly be conjuring up. but americans love a good comeback after a significant fall from grace.

it was announced last week that patrick robinson, former chief designer for perry ellis and paco rabanne, has taken over as chief designer for gap's women's and men's apparel, accessories and intimates lines in north america. this is a fantastic shift in the dying direction gap has taken in the past few years. for those you who are not familiar with mr. robinson, he is the current designer of the target go line, which i will admit i have looked at and think is exactly what women who shop at target would like and buy in bulk. he's married to virginia smith, an editor at vogue. and oh yeah, his afro is amazing. i don't think i would ever have the patience to grow one myself, but if i did i would want it to look like his. black straight male designers are rare in high fashion, making him that much more of an interesting commodity. his sporty but sexy cuts should appeal to new and old gap consumers, establishing him as fashion's newest messiah.

his spring/summer 2006 collection for paco rabanne:

it was a favorite of mine at the time and i think we can see trends of jumpers with pockets, the skinny pant, and voluminous minidresses that he was executing so effortlessly and naughtily almost two years ago before they trickled down to the current affordable worlds of malls and department stores.

i'm most excited to see what he has in store for menswear because if we can infer anything from the photo above, i might be spending more time (and money) at the gap than usual.

the touch, the feel

don't you love when your knowledge of popular culture is so vast and geeky that it allows you to connect the dots in respect to a particular artist's work? spotting the style and wit of others as appropriated in the capable hands of a new visionary is the ultimate reward for the consumers of popular culture as i am proud to be. i recently noticed an odd theme running through the works of david bowie, rei kawakubo, and francois ozon: hands on the body. who inspired whom is up for debate but i find their inclusion of one of my favorite body parts really surreal and beautiful.

as evident by my todd rundgren homage from last night, i watched an infomercial for the dvd collection of wolfman jack's iconic late night show "the midnight special". there were so many delicious sights to gaze upon (gladys knight in full afro dueting with ray charles, the albino rock star edgar winter, the elaborate space age bondage costumes of labelle), but aside from mr. rundgren, the sight of david bowie in his waning ziggy stardust phase was something to behold. it's been said, but i will reiterate that he looked like some polysexual alien witch dotcor. the cherry red hair, the glam makeup, the exploration of gender, art, and the future in his performance had me in awe. his costume in particular was the most arresting part of his performance with those sparkly golden hands clasping to his alien bosom. what an interesting addition i thought to myself, but mr. bowie isn't the only one who recognizes the odd power of 3D hands attached to clothing. rei kawakubo of comme des garcons for her fall collection accented her pale, girlish dresses and shirts with hands that appeared to bulge from beneath where they might be tickling the eastern european models lithe little bodies. it also made me think of that incredibly erotic scene on the bed in francois ozon's "under the sand" starring sex goddess charlotte rampling. her character fantasizes for a brief moment of gentle hands stroking her laid out and clothed body. it's so hot that it prompts her to masturbate. genius.

take a look:

"jean genie"
david bowie
the midnight special
1973

looks from comme des garcons by rei kawakubu
fall 2007


"under the sand"
dir., francois ozon
2000

what do you think it all means?

scarf

"can't tell me nothing"
kanye west
dir. hype williams
2007

this song is extremely underwhelming and the video is limp on style and execution, but i will say i love that scarf he's wearing in the video. the summer scarf and t-shirt look on men can be a tricky combo but mr. west once again proves he is hip-hop's true dandy. i bet it's either louis vuitton or gucci.

don't worry kids, this isn't the lead single from the much anticipated "graduation" album, but a single from a mixtape to promote the album that doesn't come out until early fall. thank you wikipedia.

hello

"hello it's me"
todd rundgren
the midnight special
1973

i obviously can't sleep.

i'm such a sucker for late night nostalgic pop music infomercials.


p.s., i love this song.

control

i don't think my generation of moviegoers appreciates the fine art of movie posters. i can thumb threw vintage movie posters for hours. i hate to sound nostalgic but how can you resist the sight of a seductive sue lyons in those heart-shaped sunglasses or those sanguine stained lips with the graphic goth background? so much of film these days is the bottom line and part of that is very obviously and very plainly featuring the big distracting visage of the star in the poster. they want you to see the movie because jennifer aniston has pretty hair in it, not because there is something alluring or intruiging about it.

i adore this poster for anton corbijn's debut feature film "control" for everything i think is missing in movie poster art. it's bold, moody, and beautifully composed. it may feature the lead actor of the film, but because he's an unknown actor we are not commenting on what he did in us weekly last week. he's isolated on one side of the poster suggesting the solitary and private pain ian curtis endured before his death. he's cool looking like a rock star with his dangling cigarette, but slightly odd looking juxtaposed against the towering cityscape. the simple font only adds.

the film gained mostly positive reviews:

"Somber, sad and compelling, Ian Curtis biopic "Control," about Blighty '80s post-punk band Joy Division's lead singer, is a riveting, visually arresting portrait of a soul in torment."

--russell edwards, variety

it's almost as if he's describing the poster. i think this could be one of the films to watch this year.

check out a clip from the film here.

talk talk

i love movie talk. like any art, film (when it's good or bad, but mostly good) is meant to provoke and inherently elicit a response. engaging in a dialogue about film can expand your mind and perhaps gain a new perspective on the art, but also realize their relevancy in the world and times we're living in. while reading some the cannes wrap ups, i stumbled upon this wonderful conversation between new york times critics manohla dargis and a.o. scott that ranges from what's missing in american independent cinema, the possibility of achieving reality on film, and the supposed international style of commercial film.

listen to it here.

in other news, cristian mungiu's "4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days" won the presitgious palme d'or at cannes this weekend. the new york times describes it as "harrowing and brilliantly acted (...), a stark image of life under totalitarian rule without political grandstanding or sentimentality." some of the articles i've been reading about the win have suggested that it cemented the emerging presence of romanian cinema in the current international film landscape. do we have a new country to gorge on its unearthed cinematic delights?