Brothers Chris and Kirk Bray are the founders and creative team behind Billykirk, an accessories line founded on the principles of hand-crafted, timeless, quality leather goods. They’re also the perfect pair to feature in our “Things That Never Go Out of Style” series here on corduroymag.com…
Design darlings Rodarte and visual artist/photographer Todd Cole have teamed up for “Aanteni” — a high-fashion technofilm highlighting Rodarte’s spring/summer 2010 collection. “Aanteni,” which means “nowness,” stars model Guinevere van Seenus as she runs around the deserted grounds of a space lab in Hawthorne, California. The Rodarte sisters say the film was inspired by the pioneering spirit of the space race, which also inspired their latest collection of futuristic crochet knits, leather bandage dresses and distressed plaid.
The film is scored with an eerie soundtrack courtesy of LA-based experimental noisemakers, No Age. And even though the “plot” had has scratching our heads at times, the sheer scale and finale of this beautifully-shot clip will have you not only believing in Rodarte’s vision, but also in the wondrous possibilities of fashion, film and the future.
As signs of spring begin to show, thoughts of sunshine, bike-riding and short sleeves start to take over. And let’s be honest: getting that new “spring” ensemble feels pretty amazing. There’s lots of variations on the warm-weather outfit. But a great pair of sneakers will always be a constant. Lucky for the discerning sneaker-wearer, Converse has teamed up with one of the most iconic music acts in Rock & Roll history: Blondie.
Debbie Harry, the band’s infamous bombshell singer, has lent her image to the new Spring 2010 collection of Chuck Taylor All Star shoes (in stores now). Think classic “Chucks” with an 80s rock and roll twist. The sneakers come in both hi-tops and low-tops and are adorned with animal prints and the band’s album art, among other recognizable designs. Picture a little piece of pop culture history mounted to a rubber sole. It’s musical icon meets footwear icon, wrapped up in this perfect warm weather shoe. For availability and sizes visit converse.com and your local Converse retailers.
Björk. Sigur Rós. Múm. Being a band from Iceland can be a tall order. With so many big stars looming over you, how do you make a name for yourself outside the borders of the tiny nation? According to Seabear, you just go with the flow.
Everything about Seabear seems to have just come about organically, much the way their music feels. Sindri Sigfússon began writing music as Seabear around 2002. In the following years, he produced a few EPs and two LPs, picking up session players along the way. “After a while they just joined the band,” Sigfússon says, and eventually these players came to make up the seven-piece as it is today. As the band grew, so did their music. Each record was more delicate and detailed than the last, and the progression seemed natural. Their songwriting process was just as organic as their formation. Sigfússon talks about how the seven of them simply gather in their practice space and see what happens. He also waves away the fact that their lyrics are in English. Sigfússon was only following the musical heroes of his youth, saying, “I don’t think it matters if you sing in English, Icelandic, or whatever, as long as it’s done well.”
Their rise into the international consciousness is nearly as serendipitous as their creative process. Seabear got picked up by German label, Morr Music, a few years ago when the owner of the label caught a Seabear show in Berlin and “liked it, I guess,” says Sigfússon. Soon, their songs began to get picked up for soundtracks, including some high profile placements in Finding Neverland and Gossip Girl. “The money we got for Gossip Girl paid for a whole five-week tour we did,” the singer recalls. Since then, the band has received attention from all over the world and has had tours to match.
The band is currently promoting their new album release — entitled “We Built a Fire” — and the slew of tours that will follow (including North American dates this spring). Sigfússon, however, remains laid back about it. “I just hope people have fun,” he says.
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.
When designers Kari Sigerson and Miranda Morrison wandered past an open space for lease on the Upper East Side a few months ago, they knew they had to have it. But just what they would do with the space, on East 71st Street, was still a mystery. Well, consider the mystery solved.
The new Sigerson Morrison store is being dubbed a “laboratory boutique,” allowing the designers to sell and showcase some of their favorite products, in a relaxed and intimate manner. The store will sell Sigerson Morrison’s line of covet-worthy shoes and accessories, along with esoteric items that indulge and share the designers’ enthusiasms, like stationery, jewelry, books, fragrances and candles. The space will also host small shows and intimate exhibitions to promote collaborations with fellow designers and artists.
Sigerson and Morrison have selected wallpaper designer and artist Dan Funderburgh as the first to present his work at the boutique. The exhibition will feature a large-scale wall covering installation, as well as limited-edition prints and accessories for sale.
As for future plans, the designers won’t reveal what they have in store, though they say it will maintain the personal nature of the 71st street shop, adding, “The laboratory boutique is a place to explore what resonates with us.”
Funderburgh will be on hand for the opening reception tomorrow, from 6:30-9:00 p.m. The exhibition runs until April. The Sigerson Morrison laboratory boutique is located on 19 East 71st Street, in New York.
