R.I.P. B.I.G.
It was all a dream...Today marks the 13th anniversary of the death of The Notorious B.I.G., and the Atlantic (of all places) has a nice little round-up of tributes.
The Whitney (Houston) Biennial
Jeff Hnilicka is curating the Whitney Biennial. In his own words "The Whitney Biennial is a survey of the most culturally innovative works relating to the career, the life, the woman: Ms. Whitney Houston." It's about time. Get your submissions ready.
Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie
Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie is exactly what it sounds like: miles and miles of vintage book plates— some of them hand-colored and hand-lettered, all of them exquisite. This is one tradition worth reviving.
-Molly
Girls' Studies
Is Elline Lipkin's awesome academic tome Girls' Studies a harbinger of things to come? Will universities host seminars and grant degrees in the subject of Girls' Studies? Cross your fingers, ladies.
-Molly
Renewal Score of the Month: Koos Van Den Akker
We found this amazing jacket at an estate sale in New York during one of our monthly scavenging trips. We search high and low for amazing pieces, and boy did we hit the jackpot with this one!
Koos Van den Akker is a Dutch designer who we've looked to a lot over the past couple of years, and his claim to fame was the sweaters he created for friend and dedicated fan Bill Cosby. These sweaters, best known as “The Cosby Sweaters” have been an obsession of ours for quite some time now, and we're going full-force with this inspiration for fall!
Van Den Akker's painterly delight in mixing colors, patterns and textures in unusual, often one of kind garments make his works highly collectible, visually stimulating, and always a sought-after treasure.—Urban Renewal
sXe
Sober Living for the Revolution maps the history of straight edge from Ian MacKaye up until the present. -Molly
Wave of the Future: Nautical Stripes
Nautical stripes have been worn by everyone from Audrey Hepburn to the Ramones—making them less like a fashion trend and more like a fashion staple. The classic way to wear nautical stripes is in a boxy, boatneck top known as a marinière, a style popularized by none other than Coco Chanel, who modeled the look off of French sailor shirts. Stripes are showing up on everything from tops to skirts and bags this spring, and the WSJ offers a great overview of the trend here.
Felt Food Pancakes
Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday, aka Pancake Day, but if, for some reason, you're cutting carbs, these look pretty tasty.
Girl Power
Marisa Meltzer's Girl Power is like the charismatic, sharp-witted synthesis of every 'zine you ever read in the nineties. -Molly ***UPDATE: On February 17th, Space 15 Twenty presents Marisa Meltzer and DJ Mo Herms in a celebration of Girl Power. Rock on.
Vinyl
Vinyl is an exhibition of records curated and amassed by Guy Schraenen over the past 30 years. Dating back to the 1920s and throughout the 20th century, the collection shows LPs from both an acoustic and a visual angle through close to 800 albums. Check out the exhibit beginning on February 19 at La Masion Rouge in Paris. (Via manystuff.)
Bohemian Rhapsody Icon: Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin was the embodiment of the 1960s: passionate, free-spirited and excessive to a fatal flaw. Her bluesy, throaty voice and powerful stage presence put her on par with male contemporaries like Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger and Joe Cocker, which was unprecedented for a woman in rock 'n' roll.
Her style was an extension of her personality—hippy, but no wallflower-child—and she was usually decked out in beads around her neck, wrists and fingers, flowing scarves and long loose locks, vests, feathers in her hair, tye-dye, velvet, bell-bottoms and anything else she fancied. A lot has been written about how Joplin never considered herself pretty, which is especially sad consider that her beauty, grace and style still have a little bit of fashion's heart. See more.
R.I.P. J.D. Salinger
JD Salinger, author of iconic American novels The Catcher in the Rye and Franny and Zooey, died at age 91. Salinger was a known recluse, and hadn't published anything since 1965. (Via The New York Times.)
Re:Collection
Been looking for a good online archive of Australian graphic design from 1960-1980? Done.
Lauren Bacall
Rita Hayworth
Christian Dior
The Golden Age: Beauty
Forties-era beauty was all about sleek pin curls, flawless skin, and bright red lips. The look was epitomized by sirens Lauren Bacall and Rita Hayworth, and could be seen on SS10 runways such as Christian Dior. So the perfect accessory for peplums and Peter Pan-collars? The perfect pout. Shop The Golden Age.
Sarah Larnach X Ladyhawke x Haiti Relief
Sarah Larnach has been one of our favorite artists since we discovered her work on the Ladyhawke album cover. We were saddened to learn that Sarah is one of the many people worldwide affected by the Haiti earthquake—Sarah's sister was working for the U.N. in Haiti and has lost her husband and two of her daughters to the tragedy. To raise money for rescue efforts in Haiti, Sarah is auctioning the original painting that appeared on Ladyhawke's Paris Is Burning single, and will donate all of the profits. The auction ends in less than eight hours, so the clock's ticking on being able to help out and snag original, rare art at the same time.
The Golden Age Fashion Icon: Slim Hawks
Slim Hawks was a model, well-known socialite and fashion plate in the 1940s and 1950s (There she is with Jimmy Stewart, above), and her legend was a big inspiration for some of our retro looks this season. Hawks was pursued by Clark Gable and had a fling with Ernest Hemingway, and Truman Capote even used her as basis for a character in his novel Answered Prayers—it wasn't a flattering portrayal. But Hawks was not the type to care what others thought, and in her autobiography, she wrote "God blessed me with a happy spirit and many other gifts. What I was not blessed with I went out and got. Sometimes the price was too high, but I've never been much of a bargain hunter." You go girl.
Haiti Disaster Relief Text Donations
Donating money to disaster relief in Haiti is as easy as sending a text. The New York Times has a good list of organizations that are taking donations through the Mobile Giving Foundation, including the Red Cross.
Virgin Galactic
Yesterday, in the Mojave desert, Richard Branson unveiled SpaceShipTwo, the world's first manned vessel for commercial space travel. To book a spot on the first commercial flight into space will set you back about $200,000, but seriously—if you can afford to drop that much, why the hell not? You can arrange it directly through Virgin Galactic, or through your "local accredited space agent."
Iggy Pop Book Signing
There's no better place to be this weekend than Miami, and if you're lucky enough to find yourself in the South Beach vicinity, stop by the Urban Outfitters store, where Iggy Pop will be signing copies of The Stooges: The Authorized and Illustrated Story by Robert Matheu. Also, check out Jen's rad interview with Iggy.
Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History
Who Shot Rock & Roll: A Photographic History, 1955 to the Present opens today at the Brooklyn Museum. One of the first major museum shows to give rock 'n' roll photogs their due, this is something we can't wait to check out.
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