Michael Jackson

The King of Pop is now living in history.

That small, framed picture on my grandmothers piano magnetized me immensely when I was a young girl. Michael Jackson. Back then, I am sure I did not quiet grasp how big of an icon he really was.

Years later when my grandmother died, my family asked me (I was already living in the US) what I would want from her house as a keepsake and I did not have to think long and said: "I want the picture with Michael Jackson from the piano!" And so it has been in my possession for years now, framed hanging always on the wall in all my different apartments, I never failed to bring it along. Needless to say I am a big fan of Michael Jackson.



To have this personal piece of history means a lot to me and I like to share it here and now. Pictured backstage at a concert in Switzerland are my uncle Dr. Rudy Meyer (a surgeon of Mr. Jackson), his wife, his son and girlfriend and my aunt Estelle Hoefflin surrounding Michael Jackson. We never found out who the little girl in the picture is...

R.I.P Michael Jackson

10 most inspirational tweets

As you know, I am on Twitter. 55 followers and 63 updates. I am trying to figure out who I do want to follow... which basically means to have to put up with whatever they are twittering about at any time (which sometimes feels a bit like Facebook's "10 Things You Did Not Know About Me"), so this is a decision not to be taken lightly (I have stopped following a few people, because I could not take their tweets).
I follow a lot of fashion people. It's my job. One of my favorite people on Twitter is Karl Lagerfeld (you know he is going to tweet something funny, you can almost hear the German accent). Check out some of his most inspirational tweets so far:



1. The most important thing is to do things, not to have done them.

2. Success nullifies. You then have to do it again, preferably differently.

3. If I read too much or know too much it's not because I want to talk about it, it's only because it's interesting for me.

4. I think I'm going to have a dinner party where no one speaks. I'll give all my guests pens and pads instead of the usual dinner conversation.

5. I have no scene. I go everywhere. I adapt.

6. I love to photograph architecture because I can do it with nobody, all alone with my small camera. For fashion, I need millions of people.

7. I only wear the latest thing. It's my job.

8. Sometimes it’s easy to have ideas, but somebody has to find a way to do it. Often those responsibe for finding a way don’t have the idea.

9. I hate the word “avant-garde.” It was used, overused, and often used for useless things. So I do not use that word any longer.

10. On this day each year (Jan. 1st), I soak the previous year's calendar in my mother's favorite perfume and then set it ablaze. Here's to a fresh start.


Hilarious! Follow Karl!

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...

pre-computer workspace

Another picture from the past... how can I tell?

...on my work table in my apartment in Zurich circa 1991...

photo by Chrigel Braun

Well, while I already seem to be a rock 'n' roll junkie (I have a Suzi Quatro in silver leather body suit poster), my now ever so present laptop is missing in this shot and where is my cell phone, my ipod??!
Plus, I'm still smoking "Parisienne Mild" Cigarettes (A Swiss cigarette brand of British American tobacco) and what about that Heintje poster??! I forgot about Heintje in the meantime, but I am just reminded that he is a cult figure in Europe, at the very least in Germany.

Get a taste of Heintje! It's "Kitsch" as one would label it in Germany.

And yes, I hate to say: that cool 70's hippie leather jacket (purchased at the Bangkok Weekend Market, I'd say it's the very best in the world) does not fit anymore (come on, it was tight then!) - my bad - it would be right on target this season!

There are other indications of times past, such as the corner of the Adriano Celentano movie poster "Innamorate Pazzo" starring Ornella Muti. Hillarious!

Get a taste of Italian Comedy!

I was not a fashion designer yet and working as a graphic designer (my original masters degree) for the Ad Agency Young & Rubicam in Zurich. We were still ordering text, cut and paste it with 3M spray can glue (also on the table) and then took a repro photo. This process is so old school, unimaginable today! But that's all we knew and I loved it...

Now it's time I go check my email, which undoubtedly must have come in while I was re-searching the past.

tv star in idil vice fashion

I really was not aware of Jessica Lowndes until l I saw her wearing The Beatles Strawberry Fields Printed Dress! Her name surely will sound at least familiar to me now!

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...

round sunglasses

You all must have seen the John Lennon Poster (Mr. Lennon’s image, in round sunglasses) allover the NYC town, peering at us from subway walls and billboards since May, publicizing a Lennon exhibition at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex in SoHo. That show ignited requests for round sunglasses at stores around the city.

...john lennon and yoko ono...

The hot eyewear look of 2008 was pretty much defined by plastic Wayfarer knockoffs, garish neon trapezoids often seen color-coordinated with a plaid shirt and sneakers. Or else it was “shutter shades,” those ventilated blinders popularized by Kanye West (that was really too much).

It's 2009 and sunglasses must be round! Why? Only last year round sunglasses were considered square?

...a pair from the linda farrow collection...

Round frames last appeared as a fashion trend about two decades ago. In 1989, when Alain Mikli introduced a thick-rimmed version. One of my very first were Mikli's!

Before that, they were a defining element of hippie style during the 1960s counterculture movement — just about the only time that round glasses could be described as an unqualified fashion hit. Throughout the last century, round glasses have been associated with celebrated architects, literary stars and intellectual thinkers — Philip Johnson, Le Corbusier, Dominick Dunne, Gandhi — almost all of them men and rarely a figure noted for his cutting-edge personal style.

...hippie...

And yet something about the style, as uncommercial as it may seem, has clicked with designers. Or, as it turns out, several things happened at roughly the same time, in 2007 and 2008, that help explain why you are seeing round sunglasses again.

The story of round would not be complete without a nod to the hippies. This year’s Broadway revival of “Hair,” while not exactly fashion friendly, had its first performances last summer at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. At a preview last May, its cast performed at the Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before an audience that included a spectrum of international fashion designers.

...photograph by Mr. Sidibé...

Remember the black-and-white portraits taken in the 1950s and ’60s by the Malian photographer Malick Sidibé, who was given a lifetime achievement award at the Venice Biennale art fair two years ago? That was when Mr. Sidibé, now in his 70s, began to have an unexpected fashion moment. Designers sought out monographs of his work, notably a 2004 edition published by Steidl that conveyed the exuberance of postcolonial West Africa with images of stylish young men and women, many of them wearing incredible sunglasses.

...another Sidibé photograph...

But it was not Mr. Sidibé’s influence alone that set off the trend. John Lennon deserves some credit, too. In July 2007, Mr. Lennon’s name was again in the news when a pair of his wire-rimmed round glasses were sold at auction, drawing bids of more than $1.5 million, the BBC reported, though the final sale price, which was never disclosed, was believed to be far less.

But it also just makes plain sense that round glasses would return because they mesh with other eyewear themes occurring at the moment, like vintage, geek-chic and Hollywood.

This round shape is the most natural shape for designers to embrace and maybe, another signature Lennon style — an upside-down pear shape — would be the next big thing after that?

to be or not to be on that list

It's rough these days, you don't need me to tell you that. It's to buy or not to buy. But in any case, I always thought it's a good thing to be on the list, good times or bad. When you go to a night club, being on the list is a treat, sometimes it's a must to get in to party, "hey"! To be on Schindler's List would have been a great thing, which would have most likely saved your life!

Yeah, lists rock, but recently I have been on a list that I was not sure to be pleased to be on, right? I mean, can you imagine to be (or rather have your merchandise be) on a list of things that will not be bought? Ever heard of that one?! Well, let me tell you, I have been on a list like that and I was like: "What tha heck?!"


So this girl named Lexi put up this blog site "Not Buying" where she lists all things she desperately wants but will not get. Yooh, that's a first for me!

It's a sign of the time guys, so even though I don't want to be on that list, I kinda think it's great to be on it at the same time :) I mean - come on - Lexi adores the Beatles Hippie Tunic, and if the economy would be as usual, she'd have purchased it, right? So it's cool! "Yes, I want to be on that list!" The question is: "To buy or not to buy..."



Lexi told me in private she still might buy it... ;-)

taking back sunday

That's right, I am taking back Sunday on Wednesday! I discovered this fantastic embroidered patch (yes, I collect them) and knew where it was going to be patched on. I've been telling you about my soft pink shorts haven't I? Weeeell... let me start from close up and zoom out, guys.. girls!







Yes, that is the full on soft pink canvas suit I've been waiting so long to finish up. I love it! There is no other 2 pieces of clothing I adore more right now (the printed animal pants come very close)... of course the pieces can be worn individually. What a great basic! I was actually thinking of putting one more patch on the jacket... a very sweet Grateful Dead Bear patch... no sure if I should leave the jacket plain instead.... uuuh! So many decisions to make... What do YOU think, dear reader?

perfect summer dress

Now maybe you have just like me been on the lookout for the perfect summer dress..?? Something for when I am not in the mood for the trendy shorts... Ummmh,.... I found it! It will be perfect for all the outdoor concerts this Summer, not to mention the hot, humid and sweaty days in the city... of course I'll bring it to the beach too... P.E.R.F.E.C.T.!

John Lennon & Yoko Ono 'Bed-In' peace & love scene, hippie, anti-war protest, photo printed dress by Fashion Rocks.