my 2009 tribute to that taco bell dog

At the end of each year, tributes are usually paid to the ones that passed away or the few who did something ground breaking. As always, there are many things to be remembered about 2009, but - understandably - I didn't want to go through all of it here... Now, I previously stated that I am not in particular a dog lover or anything, but there are a rare couple of times when I talk about dogs, cute ones that is. So at the very end of this year 2009, my tribute goes to Gidget, that tiny dog famous for appearing in all the Taco Bell commercials - yes, he's dead.

Gidget - think gadget - appeared a few times on IdilViceFashionRocks clothing (the pictured Taco Bell Sweater below unfortunately has long sold out and is indefinitely out of print) because I felt he rocked, in some ways... He was cute as heck wasn't he? Or she, excuse me.

...idilvice wearing the taco bell sweater with gidget as a mexican revolutionary in a beret...

...all these incredible photos are by carl posey...

Althought Gidget had a few stand-ins during his modeling years, we loved him because he was a Mexican revolutionary wearing a beret or a bandido wearing a sombrero. His advertising catch-phrase was "¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!" ("I want Taco Bell!" or "I love Taco Bell!")

Gidget grew popular, so much so that toy figures of the dog were produced, and "Yo quiero (X)" became a recognized piece of pop culture. The dog also started another catch phrase: "Drop the chalupa!" Wewh - I almost started eating that stuff after that, honestly.




This dog even had a noted crossover with my favorite monster in the 1998 Godzilla film! Anyway, not sure if Gidget ate that Taco Bell stuff herself but on or around July 21, 2009 he was euthanized after suffering a massive stroke. Oh... he was only 15 years old. But hey, we had him!





R.I.P. Gidget!

lady gaga raw

After her performance last night at the AMA, Lady Gaga has my vote. When I first heard of this glam rock lady who got her name from the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga", I thought she was a new talent from England, judging by the techno dance music she was known for. Little did I know that she's a New York kid! Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, from Upstate NY.

While I simply adore her produced persona, I thought it was interesting to show this performance from NYU, years back.

Lady Gaga Raw. Great voice. She looks nothing like the produced persona that she is now, but if I may point out that she is barefoot on the piano, that may give away a little bit of where she would head later down the road. Great!

...lady gaga performs at bazaar restaurant at an early stage in her career...

sweet anticipation

Past feelings and thought processes can seem unreal, disconnected or simply overrated if looked over years later, have you experienced that?

I am now living and working in these United States of America since the year 1992, well rather, that was when I first put my pretty little feet onto this gravel, it took a couple of years for me to figure out how to live and work here, but putting details aside, it was 1992. That's 17 years ago honey and soon it'll be 18.

So from almost a fifth of a Century ago, here is a picture of me put "en scene" in 1992, a time when I already visited New York once and knew I was going to live there. So it was in sweet anticipation that I made this self portrait. I think it is adorable how much work I put into it, dressed as Wonder Woman - note the apples on my head and the big apple bag - "Just how sweet is it that they call New York the Big Apple?" - must have been what I was thinking...

And you guessed right, that is King Kong in my hand! Handmade by Jack Fäh a fellow from my hometown St. Gallen who was good at these kind of things. All that was missing was the skyline and sure enough I managed to paint that mural... I have a masters in graphic design, in case you didn't know. So yeah, that was done in a snap!

And all this because of a little sweet anticipation about moving to New York City - It's grand!

best looks of the week

This is the first post of a planned new sequence or column of "Best Weekly Looks" here at IDILVICE. People from around the world with styles I love. I hope you enjoy!

...this girl pretty much sums it up! great interpretation: white socks, type of shoe, length of pants, hat, pose... mj i really want u back too...

...simply so cute! love the black accessories stacked on a simple old joy division t-shirt...

...this guy somehow has got the look together... it helps that he's got those heavy eyebrows and a dope haircut...

rockin' print mix puzzle

There are a few magazines I would never throw away (besides the ones that have articles about idilvice in it) if they were the last thing I had to come back for, in case they would not fit in my car when I moved or whatever dreadful situation would present itself that would jeopardize the glorious fact that I own them. These magazines found a very special place in my heart because they had something in particular in them that strikes a nerve and had a major influence on me at the time and later remind me of the fascination I had with it.

One of these glossies (Vogue Italia, 2007) is the one with this Steven Meisel photo spread in it:


Yes, that is right, I will never give it away, you bet! The execution of the images is incredible. Now there is a dazzling puzzle version available at Art + Commerce!

deja vue

...idil Vice's Elvis Presley Petticoat, 2001...

Anna Sui surely deserves her Lifetime Achievement Award (!!!), given to her during this years CFDA ceremony at the Lincoln Center, which is like the Oscars and Emmy's, an important chance for industry members to celebrate themselves and others, sometimes, it's for no good reason. Molly Sims appeared in a Dolce & Gabbana dress with Marilyn's face printed on it and spectators had a deja vue:

...dolce & gabbana 2009...



...Marylin Monroe Dress, idil Vice, 2002...

in almost just a pair of my favorite underwear

The wonderful world of old pictures from the past! Ah, the nostalgia! The proof of life happening!

I think I told you about the boxes full of magazines and pictures that I have stored. Yes, there are days when I have to fulfill the difficult and exhausting task of finding something in those vast archives and - once I get over the first annoyance of the fact that I must face it nonetheless - I stumble over old pictures and other keepsakes... and all of a sudden my heart starts to beat a little faster. My life in pictures, long forgotten, before me...

It's been a while that I have been thinking of posting some of these pictures on my blog, to kind of showcase the evolution of my own personal style and what might have been inspirations for the idil vice line, but before I have them all scanned it will take some time and so I thought I share them as they become available.


Here is one I found of myself in just a pair of my favorite Calida underwear and a sequined idil vice top from years back...

go nude!

Don't worry, y'all! They're not real!! The piercings nor the nude body... it's all fake! Gain with no pain!

This body suit/sun suit is really cool. Almost exactly 10 years ago, I designed it as part of the Vice Body Culture Collection of which I will post about some more later on. I sold a few of them back then. There was also a dress version, without piercings, which was worn by a TV hosts and has caused sheer outrage by some very conservative Swiss citizens.

Vice Body Culture Fashion Show at Kaufleuten in Zuerich, 1998.

Being so busy with "Fashion Rocks" at the moment I almost did not realize that there is a sort of comeback happening with the nude suits. People from allover the world have been ordering them and I found myself pulling out the hammer, eyelets and rings again... so I just wanted to fill you in on that this "nude-thing" seams to become some kind of trend again: