Ready, Able

Emeralds

Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They have the most beautiful, most intense and most radiant green that can possibly be imagined: emerald green. Inclusions are tolerated. In top quality, fine emeralds are even more valuable than diamonds. Governing the fourth chakra (heart), astrological signs Taurus & Gemini, and the birthstone of May, as a power stone, it offers physical, emotional and spiritual balance.



The name emerald comes from the Greek 'smaragdos' via the Old French 'esmeralde', and really just means 'green gemstone'. Innumerable fantastic stories have grown up around this magnificent gem. The Incas and Aztecs of South America, where the best emeralds are still found today, regarded the emerald as a holy gemstone. However, probably the oldest known finds were once made near the Red Sea in Egypt. Having said that, these gemstone mines, already exploited by Egyptian pharaohs between 3000 and 1500 B.C. and later referred to as 'Cleopatra's Mines', had already been exhausted by the time they were rediscovered in the early 19th century.



The green of the emerald is the colour of life and of the springtime, which comes round again and again. In ancient Rome, ancients associated Emerald with the Greek goddess Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. In addition, it was believed that wearing an Emerald would improve one’s memory and intelligence, enabling one to think clearly about the past, present, and future. Today, this colour still occupies a special position in many cultures and religions. In every language, there were reports of the emerald helping eyesight. The Sumerians said that if an emerald was worn in a ring on the little finger of the left hand, it would cure inflammation of the eyes. During the time of Hippocrates, emeralds were crushed into a fine powder and made into an eye lotion.



Emerald helps ease emotional upsets & assists understanding changes and new directions taken. It can also be used as a cleanser to rid yourself of any lingering negative energies & offers bliss and loyalty to its owner during transitional times in life. They bring truthfulness and are symbols of love. Today, they represent the balance between Perfect Love and Perfect Trust while carrying the virtue of Protection.

Tech inspired

London-based designer Brooke Roberts has shifted her label with her last two collections to concentrate on fusing science and fashion within her codes of luxury knitwear and digital print. For A/W 10-11, she sued something called ChemDraw, ENEAS and Photoshop. Of which, I only knew one out of the three. The others, I haven't a faintest clue, though Brooke thankfully enlightens us further on her blog


Brooke of course didn't just pluck this medical scan from nowhere. She happens to be a trained radiographer as well which is where she got hold of this and other scans to form the basis of her collection. From the brain scans of last season, she's turned to the side view of a sinus. Yes, the above picture is a sinus. The pieces have been quilted along the lines of the pattern as well as incorporating a 3-D surface effect and a slight shimmer achieved by a mix of five yarns (cashmere, techno-plastic!!! and viscose…). The laser-cut metal embellishments at the bottom on the bodies are actually titanium plates used to fix broken bones.



I can of course recognize the fact that these are beautifully engineered knitwear pieces that don't require the medical history to back them up. Though of course, if I ever owned a piece, I'd love to keep pointing out the fact that it's a scan of a SINUS and might even harass a few people on the bus to tell them this.

Sweet Feet

I'm not sure how the fashion industry feels about food on a whole but one thing's for sure, they do have an ongoing love affair with macaroons. The head honchos at Laduree must be rubbing their hands together with glee at the fashion industry's cooing love of these pastel baked delights, all the way to the bank. There's already been various forms of macaroon jewelery (both real and stimulated) and now, we have the Nike Air Royalty Macaroon line.





These berry ones are coming out along with a pistachio pair on March 21st in the Nike Sportswear 1948 store and Offspring in a run of 22 pairs each and I believe more shades matching these macaroons are dropping on April 1st.

Valley Girl, 1983

Sedmikrásky, "Daisies", 1966

A few favorites for always & always...

Spinthread

Love these embroidered cubist art necklaces by SPINTHREAD. Check out some of her rad creations.

Tsumori Chisato

'If Vivienne Westwood and Celia Birtwell had a child, raised it in Japan, and reared it on a diet of manga cartoons and Disney films, that child would grow up to be Tsumori Chisato. With Pierrot dolls, gypsies, and circus performers all jostling in her latest collection as inspirations, resulting in a whirl of stripes, bright colors, and intricate illustrations, hers is not an aesthetic for the minimalist. But a glance at the very colorful audience attending Chisato's show proved that there are plenty of people who are happy to think of their bodies as canvases for clothes, as opposed to thinking of clothes as canvases to flatter the body.

In fact, like Birtwell and Westwood, Chisato can be deceptively restrained with her everything-and-the-kitchen-sink style. Well, mostly. If any woman out there felt that her life was lacking a double-layer ruffled mini cape in orange and purple, this gap is now filled in her wardrobe. Yet, these occasional slips into OTT-ness aside, Chisato almost always thinks carefully about the effect of the clothes on the onlooker. Thus, there were some terrific color combinations once the monochromatic opening section passed, such as a purple jacket with black frogging and a large brown cape with heavily stitched red pockets. A black velvet bolero crusted with gold trim looked particularly good over a paisley playsuit, with the former playing down the intensely patterned nature of the latter, and the latter adding some fun to the sober glamour of the former. Chisato's skill with patterns has attracted the canny attention of Le Petit Bateau, and their collaboration will be in stores in November.

The theme of the collection was circus, which must be up there with rockabilly and the film Belle de Jour as an overused fashion inspiration. But true to form, Chisato used her inspiration as a mere starting point, morphing quickly into hippie gypsies in paisley and woodland fairies wearing long, luxe gowns. Aesthetically, it was a treat, and it left one grateful that Chisato had found fashion in which to channel her clearly abundant energy and imagination. If she had turned instead to, say, literature, she'd probably be churning out 2,000-page sci-fi fantasy novels.'













Written by
HAILEY FREEMAN

One in a zillion

How big is a zillion? "It's an extremely large, indeterminate number", Dictionary.com says. And how rare is an all-black penguin, rather than the black-and-white tuxedo-like colorings on most of the adorably big & wabbly birds? It's a one-in-a-zillion mutation, scientists say. On a recent trip for National Geographic Traveler magazine to the continent that is the world's southern tip -- Antarctica -- Contributing Editor Andrew Evans spotted one...

Tropicola

Anyway

'People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway! If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway! If you are successful, you will win false friends and enemies. Succeed anyway! The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway! Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway! What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway! People really need help but may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway! Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you’ve got anyway!'

Extracted from
YOGA TO THE PEOPLE

Home Movies from Video Art Legends

Imperfect As They Are. PowerShovel/Superheadz, in association with the New Museum, along with Tokion magazine, are presenting a night of art from some of the world’s most innovative video artists. Using the Digital Harinezumi camera (the Japanese digital answer to the Super8), more than 15 international artists have created films exclusively for the event.

Bruce La Bruce, Jonas Mekas, Albert Maysles, Agnes B, and Mark Borthwick, Harmony Korine, Miranda July, Mount Eerie, Erroll Morris and more.

This event will bring together a living museum of top artists, where Art and the artists collide for a one-night meeting that will turn the New Museum to the center of the Arts world if only for one evening.

Friday March 19th 6:30-8:30pm @ New Museum

Skate Witches

Holy Macaroni! Skate Witches?!
Basically, what you need to know is this:

1. They don’t take no crap from no one.
2. They want to run all the wimp boy skateboarders off the streets.
3. If you don’t have a rat, you can’t be one of them.

Seriouz bidnez

I am the decisive element

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."

Quote by
GOETHE

Kumi Yamashita

Incredible shadow art by Kumi Yamashita. You should watch the video below to fully appreciate Kumis' work.







Kumi Yamashita also makes other incredible things, like these portraits completely detailed with thread.





And portraits created by removing threads!



And rubbings! This one was created rubbing on a credit card!

Te Quiero Pero Por Otro Lado

Music by
SAVATH & SAVALAS

Modern Dancer, 1896

Psychoanalysis

"This series is about how those in power have used Freud's theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy." - Adam Curtis

Episode 1: Happiness Machines

Episode Two: The Engineering of Consent

Episode Three: There is a Policeman Inside All Our Head: He Must Be Destroyed

Episode Four: Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering

Yayoi Kusuma

She never exhibits her original works for they are too precious to her

Patternity

The latest wall comes courtesy of Patternity, a highly addictive website as well as operating studio and shop where you could quite easily drop a couple of hours on as they pick out geometry, pattern sense, and symmetry in all walks of life. What with a ton of Ikat/Aztec/random geometric shapes flooding vintage and some designers' work? It makes for the fairly pattern-tastic wall on Supermarket Sarah and a few of the items I fancied, such as the cream cropped jacket on the left hand side, which has already been sold.



Patternity's products are screenprinted, such as these lovely tights and slot right into the affordable category. Just as Sarah's own choice of vintage pieces!



Dress by RCA grad Siofra Murphy. Now, the following image, I'm not exactly sure what it is, if it is animal, mineral, or some kind of deformed vegetable but Georgina Bacchus' creation which was used in a Tinie Tempahs' video is most definitely patterned.

PS 22 Chorus

No one does a remix quite like PS22- These kids ruuuuuule!!

My Uncencored Point of View

'There has been quite the commotion over the recent articles about me in the New York Times and The New York Daily News. As only a few select statements of mine were printed I find it necessary to properly express my point of view, without outside editing. I'm a 21 year old model, 6 inches taller and 10 sizes smaller than the average American woman. Yet in another parallel universe I'm considered "fat"... This was the subject of major discussion this week and the story that was spun was: "Coco Rocha is too fat for the runway". Is that the case? No. I am still used and in demand as a model. In fact I find myself busier than ever. In the past few years I have not gained an extreme amount of weight, only an inch here and there as any young woman coming out of her teenage years would.

But this issue of model's weight is, and always has been of concern to me. There are certain moral decisions which seem like no brainers to us. For example, not employing children in sweatshops, and not increasing the addictiveness of cigarettes. When designers, stylists or agents push children to take measures that lead to anorexia or other health problems in order to remain in the business, they are asking the public to ignore their moral conscience in favor of the art. Surely, we all see how morally wrong it is for an adult to convince an already thin 15 year old that she is actually too fat. It is unforgivable that an adult should demand that the girl unnaturally lose the weight vital to keep her body functioning properly. How can any person justify an aesthetic that reduces a woman or child to an emaciated skeleton? Is it art? Surely fashion's aesthetic should enhance and beautify the human form, not destroy it.

There is division in the industry in this regard. Although there are those who don't consider a model's wellbeing, I have had the honor and privilege to work with some of the greatest designers, editors, stylists, photographers and agents who respect both new and well established models alike. I know there are many others out there who I haven't worked with who also agree with me on the stance on this issue. The CFDA has tried so very hard to correct these matters. As of a few days ago at their annual meeting they found everyone in the room in agreement on changing the sample size as well as booking models over the age of 16. It's great to see how many people's hearts are in the right place because we must make these changes for the next generation of girls. As a grown woman I can make decisions for myself. I can decide that I won't allow myself to be degraded at a casting - marching in my underwear with a group of young girls, poked, prodded and examined like cattle. I'm able to walk away from that treatment because I am established as a model and I'm an adult... but what about the young, struggling and aspiring models?

We need changes. I'd prefer that there would be no girl working under the age of 16, but if that has to be the case then I'd love to see teens escorted by a guardian to castings, shows, and shoots. The CFDA has set codes in place for their members and I'd love to see the entire industry follow. Society legislates a lot of things - no steroid use in sports is one example - its only reasonable that there be rules of conduct to keep the fashion industry healthy. In the past, models have spoken out on this issue, only to be accused of saying something because their careers were on the brink of extinction. This is not so in my case. I actually first spoke out about this two years ago at the peak of what a model would consider the ideal career and indeed there was a reaction - those who were the worst offenders suddenly asked me to work for them! This was a public relations ploy and I wasn't prepared to fall for that. I said "No, lets go a few seasons, lets see if you change, then I will work with you". They didn't change. I haven't worked for them.

Of my generation of models I'm exactly where I need to be in my career and I'm grateful to use my position to actively speak out against this with the support of the CFDA and Vogue. My sincere hope is that through our efforts young models will one day be spared the humiliation, the risky weight loss, the depression that comes along with anorexia and the misery of abandonment by an industry ashamed to see them turn into actual women. There are natural human standards in how we treat one another and how we treat children. There are those who continue to trample on these standards but there are also champions of a better way. I hope that the continued efforts of the CFDA and all those who hold these values in regard will sway the opinion of those on the opposing side of the industry to ensure a true change for the better.''



Written by
COCO ROCHA

Beach House for Soirées de Poche

'Beach House recently performed for La Blogotheque's Soirée de Poche segment. In front of a small coffee house, the Baltimore band played-- out of order-- the first five tracks off their excellent Teen Dream LP, and they're just as beautifully meditative here as on record. You also get to hear Victoria Legrand speak some rather fluent French.'



Photo by
SETH MOONEY

Words by
PITCHFORK

Science Poems

1–3 by Marc-Olivier Wahler of Palais de Tokyo

'OK Do met Marc-Olivier Wahler, the director and curator of Palais de Tokyo, to talk about his recent exhibition trilogy in the intersection of science and imagination, and about practices of curating and interpretation. We also asked him to name the 3 most interesting areas or concepts in which art and science meet. Wahler’s 1–3 list links to our forthcoming Science Poems exhibition and publication.'



"The artist gives tools for people to view reality more acutely."

Could you name 3 interesting and meaningful areas or concepts in which art and science meet?

Marc-Olivier Wahler:

1. Science fiction

Remember when Blade Runner had to decide whether he was a replicant or a human being? I think it’s exactly like art. Visually, there was no difference between a replicant and a human being so his decision was totally subjective. From the moment he decided that he’s not a human being anymore, he completely changed his state of mind. And when you decide that for instance a table is a piece of art there’s no going back either.

2. Quantum physics

Quantum physics is concerned with multiple realities – or according to another interpretation there is only one reality but an infinity of universes. If parallel universes existed, it would mean that in those everything would be visually identical while aspects such as gravity and density might vary. I like to picture a replicant of our universe, society, environment and art where gravity is slightly different.

3. Electromagnetics

One of the main topics of my curatorial practice this year. I think that the visitors of Palais de Tokyo mostly focus on the artworks, but for me what happens in between is totally part of the exhibition, too. What I’m talking about is the empty space or the negative space around the objects on display. In physics, this space can be called the electromagnetic field. I mean, an artwork is not only about its material form but also about the aura and the radiation it can emit.

Words by
ANNI PUOLAKKA & JENNA SUTELA

Illustration by
LAURA LAINE

Quote by
MARC-OLIVIER WAHLER

Thoughts

'You are today where your thoughts have brought you;

you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.'

Words by
JOHN ALLEN

Rita the Flower Girl

At Nina Ricci this season, Peter Copping collaborated with Rita Saardi, a designer I've loved for her unabashed romance in her bow-decked, flower-based dresses. Fortunately, Copping loved it too and asked her to work on the floral decorations that adorned the bust, the hips and a spectacular flowing skirt. She speaks about the collaboration and the sheer excitement of it all in her blog, "Rita's Mood And Inspiration". It's pretty much the stuff of fairytales...
I'll let Rita do the talking here:

'... So I ended up with this beautiful palette of colors... the "bouquets" were taking shape in front of me and I honestly fell in love with these... the color palette from the Nina Ricci collection was so beautiful, unfortunately quiet often when you see the pictures of a catwalk on Style.com or other sites they loose a lot of details and sometimes a lot of colors... In the belts for example I even used flowers in velour, taffetas and a hand wrinkled fabric that I shaped myself all in different colors so the result was really a color and texture explosion... something you loose in a picture of a catwalk... After several days of cutting meters and meters of silk chiffon, organza, tulle, ribbons and organdy, all my flowers for Nina Riccis beautiful "Winter Garden" were ready I could finally join the team in the studio and the best part of the collaboration started there... 4 days before the show...'