Masters of black

another incredible exhibit i experienced in antwerp was the "black, masters of black in fashion and costume" exhibit at the mode musuem.

its concept was to illustrate different historical phases of the color black, combining historical clothing, fashion and paintings - all of which were included in the curation of the exhibit. featuring garments by: givenchy, adriaen hannerman, viktor and rolf, bernhard willhelm, anthony can dyck, gareth pugh, olivier theyskens, alexander mcqueen, ann demeulemeester, yves saint laurent, raf simons, yohji yamamoto, and chanel, it was an incredible collection of some of the most masterfully created and displayed garments i've ever seen.

these pictures don't even kind of do the exhibit justice. it was enormous, and broken down into 22 different categories: black, a colour?, black dye, noble black, black and white, fashionable black, men in black, black in the children's wardrobe, comme des garcons, junya watanabe, mourning or fashion (pt. 1), gareth pugh, film noir, raf simons, mourning or fashion (pt. 2), christophe coppens, romance & rebellion, ann demeulemeester, modernity: the little black dress, masters of light, masters of light: embroidery, masters of light: feathers & plumes, masters of light: texture, masters of light: lace, and masters of light: 3-d.

SUCH a wonderful treat. i purchased the exhibition book and will treasure it forever and ever.

enjoy the photos!

black exhibit:

tell what/where it was, and the way they broke down the categories into the different historical phases of the color black.

Yves Saint Laurent au Petit Palais

i. cannot. wait.

ysl tuesday

i just thought i'd post this in homage to my cheeky declaration of "ysl tuesdays" a couple weeks ago.

warhol and yves - oh, to have run with yves' crowd in the 1970s.

silent

brandon and i sat down in the studio last weekend with a bottle of champagne and went through our favorite blogs and sharing our all-time favorite editorials, and she shared with me this steven meisel tribute to ysl, "silent," which was in vogue italia aug 2008.  considering my obsession with ysl, i was a little embarrassed that i'd never seen it.  shot exquisitely, it's a beautiful homage to one of fashion's most magnificent individuals.  

lady baba

stylist catherine baba is making the rounds - from jak & jil, to twentythirtyforty (love my ladies), to meeeeeeeee.

the first thing i thought when i saw this picture:

was, "oh hi, loulou de la falaise."

who i love, of course. both for playing muse to my dear yves, as well as for being completely and perfectly fabulous. don't even tell me for a second that she doesn't make you want to live in a turban - and i am a lady who loves herself (embarassingly enough. i can't quit it.) some big ole' 80s hair.

more of lady baba:

photo sources: twentythirtyforty.net, jak and jil

chanel's jade collection

check out my chanel jade collection blog post on secondcitystyle.com!

illamasqua

i don't usually write about makeup, not because i don't love it, but because my makeup rarely changes from day-to-evening. i love product, but i don't have scads of it, mostly because i'm just kind of lazy and like to get ready as quickly as possible...short hair, lots of mascara...GO!

but when i saw this photo, and then saw that it was the campaign for a new unisex make-up line, illamasqua, i was instantly intrigued.


illamasqua was conceived by british makeup artist alex box, who wanted to explore a darker, slightly gothic approach to makeup, allowing people to discover and create their alter egos. the gothic (i always tread with caution when using this word, especially as i get questioned often about whether or not i'm "goth" simply because i sport black hair and naturally pale skin. it drives me fucking crazy) inspiration totally erupted when ysl debuted noir lips and hair last february, and really meshes with a universal need for change that's definitely a current permeating mentality.

ysl hair/makeup, rtw fw 08/09

their collections include: noir, 1920s berlin, siren, fantasy, romance, porcelain doll, and neon jewels. there's no doubt that it's entirely costumey and definitely on the more avant-garde side, but it's so refreshing to see new concepts come to fruition.

who doesn't want to transform into an alter ego every once in a while?