Designer Mark Fast will lend his design talents to a different type of setting next month as part of Toronto art festival, “Luminato.” The London-based, Canadian-born knitwear designer is teaming up with cosmetics giant Lancôme, for a one-time installation called “The Ascension of Beauty.”
The structural design will see Fast construct a rope sculpture and fashion a dress out of lycra, viscose and Swarovski elements, in an interpretation of the Lancôme Rose. The design is meant to reinterpret the brand’s iconic symbol, while showcasing Fast’s vision of the modern women and ideal beauty and femininity. More noteworthy, perhaps, is the fact that this is a chance for Fast to fuse his love of fashion with art and architecture. While he’s known for his complex and highly-detailed dresses, Fast is taking his visual expression beyond garments for the first time. Knowing the time and energy he puts into his clothing, it’s a safe bet that this art installation will be just as stunning as any of his collections on the runway.
“The Aecension of Beauty” will be presented in Toronto’s Brookfield Place, Allen Lambert Galleria throughout the 10-day Luminato festival from June 11th to June 20th. For more information, check out the Luminato website. Though nothing has been officially confirmed, Fast is expected to be in Toronto for the opening.
The sub-headline to this entry should say “prepare for lineups,” because honestly, after seeing the line of people curled around two entire SoHo blocks last fall, we weren’t sure we were prepared for such social and shopping anxiety — and on a weekday no less! We ended up walking down the street to Unis, where we had the entire store to ourselves and found a great deal on a pair of comfy, soft-washed shirts. But that’s neither here nor there (And we got totally jealous when we heard our friends talk about all the deals they found once they actually got into the OC sample sale).
For those who are willing to brave the lineups this week, Opening Ceremony is promising up to 90% off brands like Alexander Wang, Jeremy Scott, Erin Wasson x RVCA, Band of Outsiders and more. The sale starts tomorrow morning at 11 am (though the line will start forming much earlier) and runs until Sunday night at 7. It takes place at the Opening Ceremony flagship, 33 Howard Street in New York. Details on the flyer below and on the Opening Ceremony website.
One of our favorite photographers, Richard Kern, is in Toronto this weekend to launch a new exhibition at Studio Gallery. The retrospective will feature Kern’s photography and films, which are known for their highly-stylized and often sexually-suggestive nature. Still, if there’s a misconception about Kern’s work, it’s that it’s “trashy” and “pornographic.” Far from being low art, Kern’s photographs showcase his eye for the avant-garde, while displaying a boldness and honesty rarely found in modern-day portraiture.
Kern himself will be on hand at the opening reception tomorrow night, as well as for a book signing and conversation moderated by Bruce La Bruce on Sunday. He’s also working on a new series of photos while he’s in town, promising to cast local Torontonians as “models.”
We’ve been a fan of Kern’s work for quite some time, and were thrilled that he photographed actress and model Paz De La Heurta exclusively for the next issue of Corduroy, as part of a special fashion story on “muses.” Make sure to pick up the issue when it comes out! In the meantime, the opening reception for Kern’s exhibition takes place tomorrow night from 6-11 pm. His artist talk and book signing takes place on Sunday from 7-9 pm. Admission is $10. The show itself is free and runs until May 30th. Details on the flyer below and at studio.to.
It turns out trunk shows aren’t just reserved for ladies who lunch anymore. Barneys New York is giving everyday fashion fans a chance to get first dibs on the fall collections, with a one-day trunk show event dubbed “Trunk-a-Palooza.” Taking place this Wednesday, the event will feature ten fall/winter 2010 trunk shows happening simultaneously. Among the designers participating: Corduroy faves Shipley & Halmos and Rag & Bone, as well as Alexander Wang, Richard Chai, Vena Cava, Helmut Lang and 3.1 Phillip Lim (photos above). Many of these designers will also be on-hand to show their collections to shoppers personally. In addition to scoping out the new pieces before they hit the store racks, there will also be limited-edition items available for sale.
The event takes place this Wednesday, April 21st on the Co-op floor of Barneys flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York. Drinks, designer appearances, and live music from DJ Beverly Bond between 5-8 pm. Details online at barneys.com.
Last night jangly left-coasters The Morning Benders played songs from their acclaimed new disc Big Echo for a doe-eyed crowd at Toronto’s Drake Hotel. The bay area four piece’s transporting set exuded a lazy charm that had us craving some lump crab on a pier somewhere. We had to settle for corner pizza instead. As expected, the show’s highlight was Big Echo’s standout track and unlikely internet meme “Excuses”, which had the crowd in full sing along mode. We were able to catch a bit of the magic which you can view below, and be sure to check out our exclusive interview with lead Bender Chris next week.
When Andy Warhol went to write in his diary on March 8th, 1981, the pope... Read More...
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