style council

White Light, Hot Chocolate

Doug Aitken’s Happening at the Schindler House/MAK Center this past Saturday was a very elegant, civilized affair…that is, until musician Ariel Pink (an LA Weekly cover boy, no less) started humping and possibly maiming a mummified cutie onstage, rubbing his chocolate smeared limbs all over her bandages. Definitely more eating-the- brown-acid than exploding plastic inevitable, the performance probably wasn’t what the guests had in mind when they showed up to the venerable modernist institution for an open-air celebration of Aitken’s new book, Broken Screen. But that was just fine with the host, who stood at the front of the stage grinning throughout, even when a misty rain started to fall.
    I could not hum you an Ariel Pink tune if you put a gun to my head – actually, what I remember most distinctly is the smell of chocolate emanating from his body - but as far as atonal cacophonies go it was pretty damn entertaining. The performance was the kooky culmination of an event whose purpose was to bring Broken Screen’s theme – how non-linear narratives serve and reflect the experience of artists in the 21st century – out of the academic realm and into the party realm.The vibrant crowd (I was glad to see the adorable Devendra Banhart milling about) was made that much prettier by soaring illuminated bamboo, watery projections in the foliage, beats from DJ Tim Sweeney, and nice fruity cocktails. In the courtyards, outdoor fireplaces blazed, and people lounged on bouncy white rubber tubes. In fact, due to the ultra coziness of the setting and the property’s labyrinthine qualities (it’s said that Rudolf Schindler and his ex-wife both lived at the house for several decades but communicated only via post), I completely missed the panel discussion with Kenneth Anger (John Baldessari and Andrea Zittel also participated in panels). Luckily I don’t have to kick myself too hard because there’s a great conversation between him and Doug in Broken Screen.
    A film maker best known for Scorpio Rising (1964), a fetishistic biker daddy hallucination set to sugary pop songs like “Leader of the Pack,” Anger talks with Aitken about mythology and dreams, working alone, and how he could never be a “fucking whore” for MTV, despite practically inventing the music video form. Their interview closes with Anger reflecting that if he had to do it all again he doesn’t know if he would choose to be “such a maverick and a loner.” He adds, “Life doesn’t get any easier.” It’s kind of heartbreaking, coming from an artistic visionary who’s approaching 80 years of age. But it must have felt gratifying to be celebrated at the Schindler House in “Hollywood Babylon” itself, the town where he grew up (he was a child movie actor) and whose mythology he helped to create. Apparently Anger now lives in my hood, Echo Park; maybe one day I’ll run into him and invite him over for tea – or better yet, hot chocolate.

My Fashion Week Haute List

Between all the schmoozing and the boozing, the cruising and the perusing (someone stop me, please), it was near impossible to find the time to do any actual writing about fashion. Now that I've had a few days to process the peculiarly exhausting whirlwind that is LA Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios, I offer you dear Style Council readers a selection of short but sweet reviews of some of the hits and misses I saw on the catwalk.

KARA SAUN

Project Runway yields a true fashion talent! I always felt that Project Runway was a quality reality show, and Kara Saun's first full collection, titled 2056, proved that the producers knew what they were doing. Working with luxury fabrics  in rich colors, Saun's retro-futurist looks were strong, sexy and feminine enough for the hottest replicant heartbreaker (although Saun says she wasn't directly influenced by Blade Runner she does love the film - and it shows). Bring on the backless! You can read my more in-depth piece on Kara Saun here.

ALAN DEL ROSARIO
Del Rosario was all about the Latin flava, like, literally: his show began with a priest stalking the catwalk as Latin benedictions blared through the speakers. This was the set-up for a collection that sashayed back and forth between Spanish and Italian influences, flamenco ruffles and castanets one moment, tight La Dolce Vita cocktail dresses the next. I loved the overall vibe of the roses and the lace and the ringlet curls, but some of the floor-length gowns were more unwieldy than Scarlett O'Hara's curtains. Tight leather dresses with flowing chiffon skirts would only look good on a Playboy playmate. I think the designer would have benefitted from some editing, but by the looks of it, the wildly applauding crowd didn't agree.

URIEL SAENZ
Saenz's downtown L.A.-inspired collection shared its '40s-meets-the-future feel with several other designers, but the Angeleno also sent out some wildly inventive silhouettes, like this cream colored wool gown with a lace train. There were always elements that made you stand and take notice (the absence of seats being one element), such as the quilted panels on a suit, an oversize hat, ribbons trailing from the shoulders of a top, or the unexpected pairings of fabric textures, like taffeta and nubby tweed. It takes a daring person to wear clothes like these, but Saenz definitely seems poised for a successful future as an avant garde fashion darling. Which probably means: no more LA Fashion Week for him, but that remains to be seen.

COREY LYNN CALTER
Calter, pictured here with her insanely cute baby, got us in the mood for wintry mountain tops - from the Alps to the Himalayas - by opening her show with a magical flurry of snowflakes that fell on my pad and left little wet imprints, much to my delight. Oh, and I loved her clothes, too. There were slinky empire waist dresses cut from a perfectly thrown together jumble of patterns, paired with cozy Mongolian-looking fur vests and baggy tights like the ones I'm coveting in the Prada ads. Some of the dresses were mid-calf length and brightly embroidered - just ethnic-inspired enough to appeal to everyone's inner hippie chick. The accessories were fun, too: big, colorful round beads and knotted silk necklaces. Footwear ranged from green galoshes to dainty pumps, depending, no doubt, on the weather.

BEBE
Fashion Week's final runway show, the first couture collection from  Bebe, brought out big names like Courtney Love and Frances Bean, and new company spokesmodel Mischa Barton, who wore a purple piece from the Fall 2006 collection that can only be described as a silk romper, with little banded bloomers in place of a skirt. Designed by David Cardona and style visionary Arianne Phillips, the entire collection was based around the shape of the tulip, and the garments did evoke the simplicity and grace of that flower, with flowing bias cut silks, layered petal skirts, and elegant asymmetrical necklines. Models wore their hair in simple side chignons, with red lips and fuck-me pumps that screamed Robert Palmer. And on the subject of screaming, is it just my subconscious reacting, or are those tight patent leather gloves totally sadistic? LaToya Jackson, in the bottom right of the picture, clearly intends to place an order.

Meghan Fabulous— The Name Says It All...

                                                                                                  Meghan's show during fashion week was  my favorite! It was by far the sexiest stuff I saw. The theme was "James Blonde." Vagenious! While so many designers this year went for the fairytale, damsel in distress, princess waiting for prince charming thing, Meghan went tough girl.  This gal doesn't take any shit. She might rob you blind while you sleep. She will definitely break your heart. And you like that. The line was sexy, mysterious, and unexpected. Isn't that what you want when you get dress up? I LOVED it. There were de riguer trench coats,
silver pistols hanging from necklaces, and handcuffed purses draped around arms. It was femme fetale through the decades, A 20s flapper number, 60's minis with kimono like sleeves, 70's Charlie's Angel style halters... There were goddess dresses and lots of  leopard and lace. What else would a secret agent wear ? Bond women were hot, but they were tough and dangerous. They don't need your help. They are women who can do it all on their own. Did I mention this was my  favorite show this season? Also Meghan uses older models in her shows which is so goddamn refreshing!  These dresses look great on anyone...Rock on sista for giving the support. Speaking of support... Holy tits! Tara Reid kept the girls up way past their bedtime.

Alias Hair

At Meghan, the Bond seductress gets a little twist. Sean James of Fred Segal beauty snipped and shaved wigs as he explained, "it's not about recreating the Bond girl, it's supposed to look like a wig, that's something wrong, something's a little off. This chick is decieving you, she's in a disguise, maybe she's a redhead under that wig. It's more Alias," he says. Anthony Keidis was kicking it backstage at Meghan, then chick above is his model girlfriend who doesn't smile.

No Yana K "Butt" Plenty Karl Giant

Somewhere between this post and the last one you would have seen some pics and read a little write-up about the latest from Yana K. But I got on line with 30 others waiting to check in after a few minutes of waiting were told the list was closed and that Smashbox had taken over. I tried to track down a rep to get my ticket, she handed me one, but it was like a rubber check and it bounced at the velvet rope. About 50 people were waving tickets and were all still denied admission. I was tired, I'm not going to fight people to get me into a show. Lucky for me, that gave me time to go backstage and hang out with Karl Giant of Smashbox, who was doing make-up for the Meghan show. I love Karl, he showed me his Spiderman undies and gave me a make-over, that included dangerous eyes. The theme of Meghan's show was "James Blonde" and Karl demonstrated the Bond Girl vibe of the make-up, tan skin and smoldering eyes, the kind that can set men on fire.

To get properly smoky eyes, line the inside with black, then brown on the lash line and smudging black below that. He mixes a little pink color under nude lipsticks to give the lips some life. Smashbox  has a lipgloss called "pout" a perfect light white-pink, the shade that was all the rage in the 60s, put that on first, then cover with a nude gloss.  "The look is 'I'm dangerous, I can't be trusted, I might knife you,'" Giant tells me. This chick's middle name is Danger!

His Cortship

Backstory: For the LA Weekly's latest fashion issue (hits the streets this coming Thursday March 30th), I decided to do a package discussing age in fashion, and the whole notion of dressing one's age. Caroline wrote a funny piece on granny chic (Steffie wrote a kick ass profile of Petro Zillia and discusses MLF syndrome, and Lina wrote a defense of the baby doll dress) Be sure to check it out. Anyway, for the photo shoot for granny chic, I decided it should be an ode to Harold and Maude, one of my all time favorite films. Not only is the spirit of the film appropriate, but Maude is the ultimate hot granny. So we shot a gorgeous young girl, my friend Heather Davis, dressed as a Maude-esque character and we shot scenes at Hollywood Forever cemetery. We found a new Harold, a Bud look alike, Pete.

I was actually carrying some of the photos with me to show the girls. We headed over to the VIP Lounge after the Jennifer Nicholson show. Our friend spotted him. Casually she says, "the dude from Harold and Maude is here." WHAT!! How fortuitous! what serendipty. I hunted him down, thrusting my hand in his, shaking his and introduced myself breathlessly. I gave him the backstory and pulled the photos out of my bag. He smiled and sighed when he looked at them and said, "that's exactly what Maude looked like to Harold."

Herrrre's Jennifer!

It must be tough being Jack Nicholson's daughter, it's your big night showing at LA Fashion Week and all eyes are darting around the main tent lookin' for your Big Daddy. But Jennifer Nicholson's line has been getting plenty of buzz. A fight almost broke out at the entrance to the tent. People pushed and nudged like it was a Stones concert. Lara Flynn Boyle was there with a very Reality Bites era haircut. The photographers who were spread out around the runway suddenly drew together like magnetized neutrons, the swarm could mean only one thing—big daddy had arrived.

The proud daddy waved off photographers, didn't answer any questions and watched (across from Lara Flynn.) as the show began. Lina Rinna sat next to me and gave a running commentary. "Oh, yeah, that's nice. I like that. the color is great." She was like the John Madden of fashion week.
Jennifer Nicholson's line was fairy-tale inspired, diaphanous princess nightie dresses, sheer minis and skirts embroidered with standard fairytale paraphernalia, mushrooms, bowls of porridge...

This is like the third show I saw that was inspired by fairy tales this fashion week, it seems the fashion zeitgeist is about true love and the search for the happily ever after. Jennifer's  logo features two seahorses, creatures  known for their monogamy, and the dad actually carries the baby. Hmmmm....

Bayou Buh-bye

I can imagine Bradley Bayou's sophisticated evening wear on my mom more than myself, but his show yesterday (one of the final presentations during the last day of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios) did have a few moments that made me sigh with desire.

Namely, two soft and billowy gowns with delicate spaghetti strap tops, high waisted belts and long pleated skirts in shades of burgundy and mocha. They were sexy, subdued and most importantly they looked comfortable.

The same can't be said for most of Bayou's other pieces though, many of which were encrusted with busy doodads including beads, feathers and sea-shells.  Some of them looked heavy, some of them made noise as the model swayed down the runway. Dramatic? Yes. Flattering? Well, sometimes.

The best stuff had a decidedly Audrey Hepburn feel. Hair was upswept, shoes were dainty and there were many full skirts and cinched waists. 

Bayou used to work for Halston and perhaps that 's why he tends to over-embellish his designs. But this is 2006, and people don't dress like Cher or Joan Collins anymore.

These days, according to his bio in the show program, he works with a lot of celebs including Halle Berry, Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah, and indeed, his stuff does have a red carpet-ready vibe, but nothing was terribly original or exciting.

The runway music was a lot more interesting. Sexy, upbeat electroclash and rock/techno melds that made ya bop in your seat. Too bad it didn't go with the show whatsoever... way too edgy for the elegant styles on display.

Actually the music would've been a perfect fit for the BeBe show later that night, where I met up with Linda and Steffie. Well tailored dresses, skirts and blouses in hues of purple, red and black accessorized by vinyl gloves, Princess Leah hair and Madonna-esque black tights cut at the knee (guess that look really is coming back). It was hot to trot.

A final word on LA fashion week. I didn't go to a lot of shows this time out but the long lines, constant celeb sightings, and most importantly, the enthusiasm (people actually got up and clapped earnestly when a look they loved came down the runway... in LA. Hell, people don't even do that at more visceral events like concerts these days...) suggests that maybe, just maybe this LA fashion week thing's gonna work out.

Til next season...

Seymour Stein Loves The Flairz

Aussie kid band The Flairz has a fan in legendary A&R man Seymour Stein, who told me this morning he was highly impressed by the pre-pubescent trio when he saw them at South by South West. "They're great," Stein told me on the phone (I'm interviewing him for the Icons issue of Swindle magazine). "They need to work on their songs, but they're great."

By the way, Stein, founder of Sire records, knows his shit when it comes to this kind of thing - he's signed a few small bands in his time, you know, like The Ramones, The Pretenders, Depeche Mode...oh, and he discovered Madonna.

After we hung up I called Style Councilor Steffie straight away - she had blogged about The Flairz a few days ago after seeing them play at the Troubadour. I told her that if she ever gets bored of journalism she should seriously consider a career in A&R, seeing as she (not a millionaire) and Stein (a millionaire) clearly have the same taste in music.

Posted by Caroline Ryder

Romance Not Dead At Chulo Pony

Vancouver-based womenswear line Chulo Pony is a favorite of the Weekly - our stylist pulled a whole bunch of their pretty patterned skirts and delicate sheer blouses for our upcoming fashion issue. We love the look because it is feminine, sassy and wearable - the sort of stuff that looks casually fab during the day, but which can easily be adapted for the evening with an updo and some knock-out accessories.

Capes have been popping up all over the place, and this show was no exception, Chulo Pony opting for crushed velvet over the heavier lambswool found on the runway at Morphine Generation. Fabrics were feminine with more than a splash of Victoriana - think lace detailing, chiffon blouses, ruffled trims. Colors were muted - creams, beiges and dusky pinks. Chulo Pony girls are cool yet understated - they don't need to scream "look at me", because they already know you're looking at them...

The Toronto Star named Chulo Pony, now availble in Fred Segal, the Canadian label "most likely to score big in the U.S.". Designers Chris Kopeck and Crystal Heald said they were "terrified but excited" ahead of this, their first US show. And you can't help rootin' for them - they may be Canadian, but their line, which is chic in an airy, insouciant kind of way, is totally L.A...

Posted by Caroline Ryder