The invites have started arriving for the shows and presentations taking place during New York Fashion Week and this year, more designers have opted for email invitations and “save the dates” over physical invites in the mail. While we are always a fan of snail mail, this e-invite from Band of Outsiders caught our eye today. As we’ve told you before, Band of Outsiders designer Scott Sternberg is a big polaroid fan, so it’s fitting that the invite for the LA-based label’s presentation takes the form of a vintage polaroid picture. We also love that the info is displayed on the marquee — a great touch. So, what shows are you looking forward to attending or reading about during New York Fashion Week? What do you think of the move to e-vites over actual paper invites? Post your comments below…

We first caught a glimpse of Toronto-based painter and illustrator Nicholas Di Genova’s work passing through a local gallery early last year. We were immediately struck by his intricately textured work and immense attention to detail, which draws inspiration from everything from Japanese anime to animal compendiums. Now, Di Genova is bringing his work to New York City, with a solo show this Thursday at the Fredericks and Freiser Gallery in Chelsea. The show, dubbed “Chimera,” features 14 pieces that Di Genova has completed over the last year and a half, and includes the stunning ink on mylar flower web seen above. It’s work that blends technical skills and know-how with a strong, well-conceived vision to create something that’s undeniably spectacular.

The opening reception for “Chimera” takes place this Thursday from 6-8 pm at 536 W 24th Street. Check out the flyer below for full details. For more details on Di Genova’s work, check out his blog at www.skeletonhug.blogspot.com. And make sure to pick up our next issue of Corduroy to see more from this talented artist.

We were lucky enough to interview painter and visual artist Greg Lauren for our very first issue of Corduroy and he’s been a great friend to the magazine ever since. Now, he’s due in town next week for the opening of his new exhibition, entitled “Counter Couture.” Held in conjunction with the French Institute Alliance Française (the largest French culture center in the U.S.), the exhibition features Lauren’s tongue-in-cheek reinterpretations of fashion, using sculpted paper “clothing” and real accessories.

The “White DB Dinner Jacket” piece (seen above) was created with oil and acrylic on paper, thread and finished with mother of pearl buttons, everything entirely hand-sewn. Other pieces similarly showcase the deft mixing of Lauren’s strong artistic technique, with a whimsical (and not entirely off-trend) view of haute couture. The goal is to speak to the theme of fashion as a developmental force in the shaping of one’s identity, and perhaps, have some fun while at it.

“Greg Lauren: Counter Couture” takes place from February 4th to March 6th at the FIAF Gallery, located at 22 East 60th Street in New York. The opening reception is this Wednesday night from 6-8 p.m. For more information, check out Lauren’s website or visit fiaf.org.

Earlier this month, five multidisciplinary urban and architectural design firms chosen by the MoMA presented their visions for the future of New York City’s waterfront in the face of global warming –- in particular the rising sea levels and torrential storms.

Organized by the museum’s Chief Curator of Architecture and Design, Barry Bergdoll, the teams used P.S.1, MoMA’s innovative young affiliate, as an incubator to develop infrastructures that will adjust the metropolitan’s coastlines and urban structures to the consequences of climate change. With a specific area assigned to each team -– from the bottom tip of Manhattan to parts of Brooklyn, Staten Island and New Jersey — all came up with solutions to accommodate rather than ignore the process.

The Liberty State Park area, with 68% of its land submerged, was envisioned as a water park with nature viewing platforms and education centers, as well as a research hub for urban coastal adaptation and experimentation (photo above), while the downtown core would be suspended over Venice-like canals to absorb high-tide waters. But our personal favorite is the firm Skape’s plan to fill, or rather refill, Red Hook’s polluted Buttermilk Channel with oysters – and reestablish an industry, oyster farming, that was thriving in the area 300 years ago. Not only would these little marine habitants feed off the water’s toxins, but their eggs would float into nests settled at the entrance of the Upper Bay to harden as they grow into porous walls to protect the area from high tides. And no, they would not be edible any time soon.

These designs, results of an eight week in-residence collaborative workshop at P.S.1, will be exposed in the MoMA’s exhibit, “Rising Currents: Projects for New York’s Waterfont” opening on March 23rd. For more info check out the MoMa website.

(photo courtesy Architecture Research Office)

-Chloe Roubert

We popped into Stephen Bulger’s gallery in downtown Toronto a couple months ago and spent some time chatting with Bulger about his lengthy career in art and his fondness for photography, as well as some of the plans in store for his beautiful gallery space. Now we’re seeing a few of those plans being put in motion. The gallery is hosting its first exhibition of historical Canadian photographs in a group show opening next week entitled “O Canada.” The gallery will feature its collection of vintage photographs that span nearly 150 years in the country’s history. It’s a trove of analogue representations of the land, the people and the events that have shaped Canada’s unique cultural landscape.

In addition to the photographs, the gallery is hosting a series of FREE Saturday afternoon screenings at Camera Bar — the intimate viewing room and lounge space owned by Bulger next door. The screenings will highlight favorite Canadian films, and they begin on January 23rd at 3:00 p.m. with Donald Shebib’s Goin’ Down the Road. Other films slated to be shown include Guy Maddin’s The Saddest Music in the World and Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter.

The “O Canada” exhibition and accompanying screenings run from January 23rd to February 27th. Details and full schedule on the flyer below:

(Photo credits above: Photographer Unknown, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Arrive for the Coronation, 1937/Photographer Unknown, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, circa 1911)

- TC