Corduroy at Le Westin Montreal…

August 29th, 2010

There’s something to be said about contemporary institutions and businesses that pay respect to the past. It’s something that made even more compelling when the past is steeped in rich tradition and heritage. This, we discovered, during a recent impromptu visit to Montreal, and a stay at the beautiful Le Westin hotel.

Housed in the former headquarters of The Montreal Gazette newspaper, the hotel took careful pains to acknowledge and honor the three heritage buildings they took over just a few years ago: the first Montreal Star building located on St-Jacques Street that dates back to 1899; its art deco-style extension designed in 1929; and the main Montreal Gazette building built in the 1950s. The buildings, situated among the cobblestone streets of Old Montréal, were once actively serving the presses of The Gazette, which rolled for more than 100 years. In addition to keeping the original elevator banks, many original window frames, and even an old Canada Post mailbox in the lobby, the hotel has accented its decor with work from Quebec and Canadian artists preserved from the original heritage buildings.

The modern accents are equally as stunning, with a glass bottom swimming pool that hovers high above the hotel’s indoor entranceway, a large-scale and textured painting that greets visitors as soon as they step inside (photo at left) and a massive art installation piece titled “Icicles,” that hangs precariously over the main lobby. Created by artist Kelvin Goddard from the “Unit 5″ art/metalworks studio in Toronto, the piece is made up of 50,000 pieces of individually hand-cut aluminum shards, hanging on 600 strings. This piece is 21 feet long and 13 feet wide and reportedly took workers more than five days to install.

We wanted to find out more about Le Westin’s novel design and its unique relationship with its building’s storied history, so we caught up with Robynne Moncur, the lead designer on the project.

Find out Moncur’s personal connection to the building and see more photos from Le Westin, after the jump…

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Joe Mac Comeback

June 21st, 2010


We make it a point here at Corduroy to not only introduce you to new faces in every issue, but also to re-acquaint you with a couple of old favorites. Check out these photos of singer Joey McIntyre (shot by our creative director Peter Ash Lee at Artistic Cube in New York a few months back) and then tell us whether or not you’re liking this new look for the “New Kid.”

We interviewed McIntyre for our latest issue of Corduroy, as he arrives at an exciting crossroads for both his personal life and career. With a new solo album out (his fourth original studio disc) and an infant son to look after, there’s a lot to look forward to, and a lot of new decisions to be made. Pick up Issue 7 of Corduroy online or at your local bookstore to read the full story and to see more photos from the shoot.

In the meantime, one more pic after the jump.
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Corduroy Launch Party Thanks

June 14th, 2010

We didn’t mean to cause problems. Honest. But when we heard rumors that the line to our Issue 7 Launch Party had wrapped around West 15th Street (and this was at 9:20 — only 20 minutes after the doors had opened), we knew we were in for quite a night. Fortunately for everyone involved, the party inside lived up to the hype. With drinks flowing and BP Fallon, Sean Lennon, Adam Green, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Lenny Kaye and (our gracious host) Irina Lazareanu performing, it felt like an old school New York party — the kind of gig where people rocked out unpretentiously, and intimately, among a gathering of their closest — and coolest – friends. Hopefully, they also got a chance to view some of the gorgeous prints up for auction (with proceeds benefiting micro-lending non-profit Kiva) and grab a copy of the magazine or two to peruse in calmer and — dare we say — less debauched settings.

A HUGE thank you to Milk Studios and We Work for sponsoring the event. Their replica “office space” at the event (above) proved to be a hit with savvy partygoers looking for a quiet spot to relax, or curious artist-types wanting to check out the stylish boutique digs. When you find such great partners to work with, it’s hard not to believe in the power and spirit of the artistic community. The whole idea was to build a collaborative event that would link the art, music and fashion circles with a deserving charity. And thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and all the artists and musicians involved, we’d like to think, on some level, that we accomplished our goal.

And as far as Peter goes, it’s still hard for us to fathom how he was able to make it 3000 miles across the Atlantic to New York, but couldn’t make the 20 miles from JFK to Milk. Irina and her friend (Corduroy’s fashion director) Liz McClean, as well as BP Fallon, spent the entire day at the airport waiting for him, and talking to customs officials, but sometimes things just aren’t meant to be. We take it as a huge compliment though, that he was willing to fly all the way here to support the magazine and make a charity appearance for Kiva. In the end, Pete was sent back to London, but not before asking, we imagine, what the heck he had gotten himself into? We feel like he probably wasn’t the only one thinking that on Thursday night. And well, all we can do now is shrug a little, smile a little, and say, “if you thought the party was good, just wait until you read the magazine!”

Check out some photos from the event after the jump:

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Launch Party Tonight!

June 10th, 2010

We’re celebrating the launch of our new issue with a concert and charity art auction. More guests and surprise performer to be announced at event. Hope you’ve RSVP-d! We’ll see you tonight!

20 Photographers + 20 Women They Love

June 6th, 2010

For our fashion section this issue, we decided to do something a little different. Instead of publishing entire 6-8 page spreads from one or two artists, we asked 20 of our favorite photographers to each send us a single portrait of a women who they find inspiring. We wanted to understand the ideas of being “fashionable” and “inspiring” from each of their perspectives, and get a sense of who their “ideal woman” is.

20 photographers and 20 women captured in 20 pages of beautiful and stately portraits. Featured work includes:
Sarah Sophie Flicker + Yelena Yemchuck
Emma Willis + David Roemer
Juliette Lewis + Peter Ash Lee
Jenny Shimizu + Jake Chessum
Paz De La Heurta + Richard Kern
Theodora Richards + Marcelo Gomez
Irina Lazareanu + Alexandra Carr
Jamie Bochert + Samantha Rapp
Veronica Webb + Annelise Phillips

To see the complete story with all 20 photographers and muses, make sure to pick up Issue 7 of Corduroy.

(above portrait of Juliette Lewis taken by Peter Ash Lee)

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