Is it possible to love everything in a designer’s collection? Color us naive, but we can’t seem to stop thinking about Patrik Ervell’s latest offerings for fall/winter 2010. After watching the video below, we’re pretty confident you’ll agree with us that Ervell’s line of modern-chic menswear is worthy of admiration. It’s simple and classic, yet unmistakably fashion-forward and sophisticated; it’s the type of clothing we want to fill our closets with and wear over and over again. Check it out for yourself:
It feels like decades ago since the likes of Tony Soprano, Carrie Bradshaw, and James McNulty roamed the cable television landscape, hiding bodies, sipping martinis, and taking down drug lords in an attempt to win over our collective hearts and minds. Let’s face it; today Don Draper is king. But with a slate of new shows both large in scope and budget, HBO is on the verge of a renaissance. But before Scorsese moves from the big screen to the small with Boardwalk Empire, and the team behind The Wire takes us behind New Orleans’ post-Katrina shutters in Treme, HBO is ushering in the new guard with notably lighter fare.
How To Make it In Americais the cherry on top of HBO’s brand new sundae, a rolicking romp through the streets of New York’s voguish downtown scene . Created by Mark Wahlberg and the rest of the team that brought us Entourage, and chock-full of that same youthful energy, this show is still markedly different. Whereas Vince an the gang are reaping the spoils of success, HTMIIA’s heroes spend their days looking for it in the deathly gallows of the city’s seemingly inpenetrable fashion world. Ben (Bryan Greenberg) and Cam (Victor Rusak) are the quintessential New York underachievers; young, handsome, charming, talented and living in a city where less is never more. They have direction, they have ambition, all they need is a plan. We watch as they beg and borrow their way towards the top of the denim food chain (there must be a better name for their line than Crisp), and if they ever get there, we may just have to tune out. You see HTMIIA is all about the struggle, about negotiating one’s way through the new American economic minefield. In a day and age where television grasps at the tailcoat of high art, HTMIIA does just the opposite. It takes a bunch of handsome people, places them in the epicentre of cool, and just lets the wheels turn. It may not reveal any sacred truths on the human condition, but it’s a helluva lot of fun to watch. How To Make It In America airs Sundays at 10 on HBO.
Singer-songwriter Greg Laswell has the kind of deep and textured voice that grabs you from the first note of a song to the very last hum. The California-native has released three albums in his stellar career, all of which fall under a hauntingly moody and lush blanket of music and lyrics. Laswell has a rare ability to convey raw emotion and intimacy through both his voice and his songs. He’s been compared to artists such as Jeff Buckley and Ron Sexsmith, but the truth is, Laswell stands out because he’s able to look outside himself and see his life as a viewer — making his autobiographical music a soundtrack that we can all call our own. Listen to Laswell’s rendition of Kate Bush’s “This Women’s Work” off his “Covers” EP, below, and look out for his new album, “Take a Bow” due out this spring.
Brothers Chris and Kirk Bray founded their leather accessories company Billykirk over ten years ago in Los Angeles. Since then, the design fiends have been churning out timeless accessories with a heavy focus on quality and functionality. This short documentary produced by the folks over at The Scout, finds the boys in their Jersey City studios, and beautifully captures them in their natural habitat doing what they do best. Check it out below.
Like the song below? It’s an acoustic version of “The Ghost Who Walks,” the first single from model-turned-singer Karen Elson’s debut solo album, set to be independently released this summer. Sure it’s easy to be cynical about Elson’s musical foray (see: Carla Bruni), but musician-husband Jack White produced the single, and watched over the recording process at his Third Man Studios in Nashville. Elson wrote and recorded 11 tracks in all for the album, which is still untitled at this point. Color us intrigued…!
We’re working on a feature with Elson for the next issue of Corduroy. Keep your fingers crossed that it works out! In the meantime, check out the haunting video for “The Ghost Who Walks” below:
