For Hire

Monday, November 29, 2010

peace & love & free gift wrap cyber mondays!

That's right, at IdilViceFashionRocks.com Cyber Monday is a day to celebrate the holiday season and so we are offering free gift wrapping all day long! Along with our usual Peace & Love - the one we've got all year round! Simply enter code 'wraprocks' at checkout to receive free gift wrapping.

On this occasion, I am very happy to present to you the very first image of our Yoko Ono inspired photo shoot by Carl Posey with beautiful model/actress Sandra Martinez, who is showing off her own Beatles Tunic Dress. Check it out!

So we hope you remember during these busy holidays, what is really important after all. Make it a peaceful and loving time for all.

Special thanks to Diana from Revival Vintage for all the authentic 70's accessories.



Thursday, October 14, 2010

decorate with contemporary art

Darren Henault's dressing room.
Alex Prager photograph, his work is in the Museum of Modern Art's "New Photography" show.


This years Kips Bay Children's Charity Decorator Show House was delayed due to some NYC style real estate conflict, but like every year it is forecasting some great decorating trends. Contemporary art was an item in several rooms - most likely resulting from designers carefully attended to relationships with galleries. Two of my favorite rooms where centered around pictorial art. Right up my alley!


Elizabeth Pyne - focusing on younger clients - made a bed-sitter covered in acqua and gold linen.


In a sitting room by Ed Ku and Etienne Coffinier, a piece by Norman Mooney, an Irish artist living in Brooklyn.


Well worth a visit! The Kips Bay Decorator Show House, to benefit the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, is open through Nov. 11. Cost: $30. Kipsbay.org




Wednesday, October 13, 2010

fashionable sparkling water


I am a big sparkling water fan. Primarily because I really like to drink it (you can't satisfy me with sugary soda) but also to try to ward off and dilute any bad ingredients that I might take in with the water that comes through the faucet at home, which I already filter. My favorite of all is Valser Wasser, but that is exclusively available in Switzerland to the Swiss citizens and since I reside in the US, I have got to go with others, until they are importing it (they are importing Rivella, so it shouldn't be too long). But I also like to change it up. Mostly it's the kind that contain at least some per centage of calcium. I drink Perrier, Pellegrino, Blu Italy, Gerolsteiner and many more... Sure, they all taste different.

So for me, water is already very fashionable but when I saw the Missoni Pellegrino at Pastis in the Meatpacking District, I knew a new wave of fashion waters has arrived. I am pretty sure Missoni pays Pellegrino to be on their branded bottle. A nice and easy way to promote Italian fashion. Pellegrino water is available everywhere in New York and it is a healthy beverage. I wonder if we see Gucci Pellegrino or Prada Pellegrino in the near future... what about Giorgio Armani Pellegrino? Maybe Pellegrino has to pay them... Anyway, I just wanted to fill you in on maybe the most fashionable drink in Manhattan today.




Monday, October 11, 2010

chocolate as an antidote

I am Swiss and I love chocolate! Hah! Surprised? Formerly known as a sort of sin and a bad nutritional choice, it has since been categorized as one of the great antioxidants to benefit our health (at least the dark chocolate). I use it in the studio as a quick pick me up in the afternoon and as a treat before bedtime.
In my teens and beyond I favored the milky kind chocolate while my mother preferred the dark bittersweet ones, which I always thought of to be pretty close to disgusting... well times have changed and so did my palate.

Nowadays I indulge in the darkest of chocolates, the more per cents of cacao the better! When I got wind of the Antidote Chocolate that my colleague Red came up with, all I wanted was taste it.

My opportunity came last week when Red announced the launch of Antidote Chocolates:

At the launch from left to right: Awa Kamara, Red Thalhammer, Nadine Buchler, Armando Forlin and IdilVice.


After tasting the 5 different kinds of flavors, I give the Antidote brand a thumbs up!

Antidote chocolate is made with raw and roasted organic cocoa, for a full aroma profile and potent health benefits. The 84% dark chocolate bars are flavored with dried fruits, flowers,spices and nuts. Named after Greek goddesses with the spirit to relieve body, mind and soul. Check out the different flavors! What's your favorite?




Friday, October 8, 2010

seriously, all you need is love

John Lennon Tunic Dress from the Fashion Rocks collection by IdilVice, photo by Carl Posey.

You know all you need is love but if you absolutely have to have something else, then maybe, how about this cool John Lennon tunic dress? An exclusive limited edition. More John Lennon clothing designs! Peace & Love.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

too cool for school

Fall's here and kids are back to school. Fashion Week has passed and it's time to exchange summer clothes for fall and winter styles in our closets. Here is my tip on where to go style wise right now: Preppy is cool! I've included some university crests in the IdilVice skirt collection: Yale, Harvard, Brown University, Penn State and more - They are fun and so easy to accessorize!





In a snap you've got yourself a whole new look for fall! Take a crisp bow tie button down shirt (will work with so many other looks this season) under a blazer, a high boot (you can wear the one from last season) and some color accents will work just fine to bring this look together. Too cool for school maybe.... but just right for the streets - Check out preppy!




Saturday, September 18, 2010

lady gaga the new liberace?

To be honest with you I never thought about it, but when I heard that the Liberace Museum in Las Vegas is closing next month and the reasons given for it's demise, among others, were general loss of interest and the fact that Vegas has to keep up with the 21 year olds, comparisons were made to Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga is the new Liberace! Well, sort of I think. There are many similarities. The piano, the showmanship... they both know how to go to extremes and they love to shock, each within his/her generation. So it's only natural that when we are looking towards our own Liberace (Lady Gaga), the original one is slowly forgotten...

...Liberace and his Emmy's...

I remember the Liberace Museum in Vegas, it was one of my very first encounters with American Pop Culture. I surely was impressed by all the glitz and glamour and all at once it was clear to me that here in America, one can go this far, his/her own way and I thought that was simply amazing. Talk about inspiration! There it was right there.


Not only did Liberace have rhinestones on his wardrobe, he had cars covered with it!

For me Liberace has therefore a special place in my heart and nobody can take his place. The idea that Lady Gaga is the new Liberace is exiting, as she is showing new generations what is possible and continues the history of pop culture!





Tuesday, September 14, 2010

nyc fashion night out look

Ahhhh, it's been crazy lately in the NYC, especially with Fashion Week underway, it's bustling in the town and everybody is looking his/her best. So the recent Fashion Night Out event left us wishing that this way of celebrating style and fashion would happen more often. Once a year? It's a good start but certainly not enough to get folks back into the stores... Anyway, we had a blast (my favorite stop was Issey Miyake in Tribeca) and Carl is developing his images of that night and we'll be seeing more soon but here is one of myself and my outfit of the night that I really like.

...IdilVice Fashion Night Out NYC, photo by Carl Posey...

We'll also be seeing The Swiss Federal Design Price winner of 2010 Armando Forlin, who is currently in NYC enjoying his 6 months in the Big Apple. How exiting!




Friday, September 3, 2010

e-40 and björk?




I just was told about this E-40 video “Spend The Night” and was surprised and pleased to hear Björk's voice mixed in with all these male rap voices... can you believe this? Quiet a mix! Makes me wanna spend the night, right?





Thursday, September 2, 2010

mother teresa or womans rights and how fashion saved a day

...Mother Teresa supporters in front of the Empire State building in New York City, August 26th...

It's pretty hard to imagine that one would have to decide between Mother Teresa or Womans Rights. What?! But that is exactly what happened on August 26th. New Yorkers had to decide weather the Empire State building should light up in red, white and blue (honoring the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of American womans right to vote from 90 years ago) or prefer the colors blue and white (Mother Teresa's missionary order colors seen on her gown) to celebrate another 26th of August, 100 years ago, when Mother Teresa was born.

Well New Yorkers did not literally have to decide (it's not like we can ever vote for which colors are lit), but they had to make up their minds on which side they would be on, in case someone asked. Mother Teresa's 100th birthday or the woman voting rights law anniversary. Sheer craziness!

It is safe to assume that Mother Teresa would not have wanted a controversy and I think woman in general rather make a compromise in place of arguments (maybe... or maybe not?) As a matter of fact, the Empire State was lit in red, white and blue that night. To add some balance, I pulled out my red & white Mother Teresa outfit. Have a look...


...IdilVice fashion show featuring the Mother Teresa outfit in red & white...

Mother Teresa comes to mind, even though the colors are not the original missionary order colors, so maybe colors do not matter that much after all anyways.


...IdilVice wearing her red & white Mother Teresa outfit on August 26th...



Wewh! Fashion saved this day!



Tuesday, August 31, 2010

a look back to summer 2010

Yes that's right although we still have high temperatures of 90 degrees, we all know that Summer is on it's way out, sooner rather than later... I don't know about you, but I really, sincerely enjoyed Summer 2010! It was warm and beautiful and it smelled so good! The many weekends at the beach, my birthday, swimming, biking, my summer wardrobe... I really loved it, maybe more than ever... I had a clear vision of style and it was easy... I can't think about not being able to wear my eggshell colored converse high top sneakers and my vanilla cotton shirt and it's gonna be hard to store my gradient printed sheer cotton pants and my wide rimmed sun hat... not to mention my red Woodstock Tunic Dress, which I wore over cropped pink tights with my silver Sketcher Tone-Ups (they might actually have caused my knee and ankle to be a bit sore, so don't wear them for extended periods of time, O.K.? They however sure add a nice bit of height for a flip flop!) I'll miss my soft pink shorts (I will look forward to wearing the matching sports blazer though, I never wore it because it was simply too warm) I will try to sneak my wooden bangles past labor day.
I'll be glad to skip sun lotion and mosquito spray, but I will miss my easy breezy summer style! Of course I am also looking ahead to Fall and Winter... I have so many new designs and I guess all I have to do is get into the mood and I am sure that will happen as soon as the temperatures drop... it'll be all good... but for now, I'll still enjoy to the fullest every day over 70 degrees and up!

Sunday, July 4, 2010

fourth of july style


I am currently at the pool and planning a day at the beach... In my bag are lots of sun lotion, a bottle of Moet, hair bands, pins and coconut cream (for my planned braided hairstyle), a ton (yes, too many) red, white and blue bangles and this Barack Obama Dress for the firework BBQ tonight... what are you wearing?


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Wednesday, June 9, 2010

reality check


And so here it is, the new Star Trek clothing category shop banner! It's been a long process and as always interesting to see what comes out after all the work. Post conception, make up, hair styling and shoot, pictures are cropped and graphics are added. And suddenly there it is, gracing the shop! It is a great experience for a designer to see their clothing on a real person, far away from the mannequin that it's been fitted on, not to mention the impression of an initial sketch. A picture teaches you a lot about a garment and its fit and purpose and a final photo shoot definitely belongs to the process of fashion making. To see your clothing on models moving over the runway is an equally satisfying and eye opening experience for a designer. One that makes you better in your craft over time. Because you'll start to design with the end picture in mind, you are concerning yourself with the 'big picture" early on. You may even already think about pairing it with other garments and all this preoccupation will undoubtedly lead to a better end result and concept, if you will.

...Jessica Calle wearing the Mr. Spock Peplum Skirt by IdilViceFashionRocks, photo by Carl Posey...

We have to keep in mind that photos communicate. Pictures can sell something for example, but not only that, they can be helpful to a designer in many other ways too. Once a piece of clothing is worn by a model it says a lot more about itself then if it would be on a hanger or laying flat. You can see proportions and fit and the visual even gives you ideas about how to wear a certain piece. So yeah, definitely go ahead and take lots of pictures... my advice is to have a professional photographer take them (you've got plenty of other things to worry about during a shoot), because they have an understanding of light and proportion as well as location and concept, trust me: you do want that taken care of. After all,these photos are also going to serve you as an incredible souvenir from the past.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

hippie summer fashion

Yes, I said I was real busy lately and had no time to write... je m'excuse! Nowadays in this economy it's no joke and if one wants to survive he or she better invests a damn large amount of time and sweat into the business. This blog is part of that business, but I admit: it's not priority. I just really love to write and talk about my business so I do want to continue posting when the time allows...

So, right now 2 of my main Bernina sewing machines are in for a tune up (as always in Spring, but one of them has an issue most likely bigger than a regular service can take care of, so I am just hoping my mechanic can take care of it sooner rather than later :/ and weirdly still today, after all these years, I am shocked to see empty tables when I walk by the sewing work space. I am simply not complete without these incredible tools. Well, hopefully there won't be any pressing fashion matters before Memorial Day... But, it's not all bad, because I do have some time to blog now!

I wanted to show you some of the images from our new Spring photo shoot. You'll see, my hippie inspiration continues... Jimi Hendrix on a fringed kaftan and a super hippie Madonna on a woven jacket! O.K. here we go: a couple new pictures from our Spring campaign:


NYC model Jessica Calle in the Madonna (Celebration) Woven Jacket, photo by Carl Posey.


Jess with guitar rockin' out in our purple Jimi Hendrix Kaftan Dress, photo Carl Posey.


So all you really have to do is slip on one of these, turn on the music and relax. Enjoy Summer time! If you are more into skirts, you'll digg our One-Of-A-Kind pleated minis or our fabulous floor length hippie patch work skirts... their all in our New Arrivals category.
O.K. guys and girls, stay tuned for more hippie treats this Season!


And "pssst", I 'm not really supposed to tell you yet, but in one of the next posts, I'll put the spot light on Zimmermann & de Perrot, a Swiss theater troupe which is really good. They had their US premier here in NYC earlier this month. Because Zimi (Martin Zimmermann) and Dimi (Dimitri de Perrot) are both friends and we were roommates in Zürich more than 20 years ago, I was invited. So you'll get the inside scoop and you'll see some images (with ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov) from their NYC photo shoot with photographer Carl Posey.




Thursday, May 20, 2010

What's happening?


Maybe you ask yourself why I have not posted in so long. It's because I've been crazy busy. There's not other reason. I am writing this at 2AM in the morning after a very long day and I am about to slip into bed... I just thought I'd say "hi" real quick and post an image. You may want to hang on, I've so much great stuff to blog about, once I get to it!




Saturday, April 17, 2010

in new york city

In New York City one has plenty of opportunity to wonder where people are coming from, yeah right, most of them are of course just tourists wandering around the stores on Broadway taking advantage of the weak currency of that Dollar nowadays, well great, we can surely use that kind of influx here in the Big Apple. And NY is the biggest melting pot of cultures.

But I am talking about another stranger here. It's the souls you meet that seem like they are not part of the big movement, even though they are probably your neighbors, maybe have been living here longer than you, yet they are somehow left behind, at least that is what they seem to be, maybe they are just ahead of the rest. But these characters whom you encounter once in a while are standing out of the crowd because they are not like everybody else, there are plenty of them, thanks goodness!


The other day we were taking a bike ride in Battery Park, taking a few breaths of fresh air on a bench, discussing the days developments and this young woman in a red rose printed dress walks by - and made us smile - carrying a sign that read: "Stress Stops Here". She's just spreading a good vibe she says... reminding the people to take a deep breath and relax.

How cool is that? Heh? Only in NYC? Maybe not, but definitely in NYC.


...so stress stopped right here...




Thursday, April 8, 2010

being a step ahead by taking a step back


For a fashion designer it is already 2011. Yes it can be weird to work on designs to be worn in a year from now. You're always hushed to the next thing before you can really enjoy that moment. As an independent I can control the design schedule a bit more, but let's be honest, you've got to think ahead and sometimes that means to just really be in the now. Because people who do not worry about fashion (they could be your customer), they have to catch up first.



As much as it is shameful to be catching up on an ongoing trend, it can be frustrating to be ahead all the time. And sometimes I just wanna make a piece of clothing for right now! That could mean I've got to take a step back. "What is she talking about? It's confusing!" you may say. So let me show you a situation like this on an example.

I am rediscovering a print from 2 years ago. It feels right to me now.

It just happened yesterday when I was on my usual sneak peek tour through the garment district. Those of you who have been following some of my work, know about the cool Sunglasses photo printed fabric. Well, when I chose it for a dress 2 years ago, there was another print from the same manufacturer, the Sandals photo print. I preferred the Sunglasses one over the Sandals one then and never looked back, but on my stroll yesterday this print looked like now to me, I wanted to make something with it to wear this Summer 2010. And that is what I mean when I say: "Sometimes I have to take a step back to be ahead", which could be what I am feeling right now.

It's intuition I believe. Anyway, now that I have picked the fabric, I've got to get inspired to come up with the type of garment it is going to be and that - you bet - is a whole another story! It may inspire you or you may have a suggestion... please feel free to comment on it :)



Monday, March 29, 2010

karl lagerfeld spotted in manhattan

O.K. I am running the risk of a Karl Lagerfeld overdose! On my blog??! Jeez! Well, screw it, I've got to post this one, it's Karl Lagerfeld shooting the new Chanel campaign in Manhattan of all places! I thought he was a French designer??! So is he moving to Manhattan? Is he going to move his business to the Big Apple? Now?! I guess NYC has gotten bourgeois enough for him by now!?

Anyway I could not believe my eyes walking through the LES... You can see Karl yielding his camera atop an industrial lifter!



The question that poses itself automatically is: "Is he wearing his glasses while shooting?" "Yes, he is." Goodness I am still in shock! But, frankly, it's just another photography job lost in the city's fashion industry!!


Thursday, March 25, 2010

karl lagerfeld quotes in case you care...

Here is a little treat for you in the midst of the afternoon, may it lighten you up a bit! Karl Lagerfeld's recent quotes! He's hilarious as ever. He doesn't stop. It's like he goes against what everybody else says and thinks as a principle. No BS. Gotta love it!

by YM Ousley

At this point, we’re not sure Kaiser Karl could say anything that would shock us. He famously chided curvy women looking for some representation in fashion as fat mothers sitting with bags of chips in front of the television, then went on to surprise everyone by shooting the curvy burlesque star Miss Dirty Martini for V’s size issue.

Karl Lagerfeld and Bruce LaBruce

In Lagerfeld’s latest interview we find out who still sends faxes (Karl and Anna!), why he doesn’t believe in gay marriage, his own personal burka and other gems that could only come from one person. Our picks for the most interesting excerpts:

on his omnipresent glasses

BLB: I like that you make it clear that you don’t want to be photographed or filmed without your sunglasses on. I don’t either. Who would?
KL: They’re my burka.

BLB: Exactly. A burka for the eyes.
KL: A burka for a man. I’m a little shortsighted, and people, when they’re shortsighted, they remove their glasses and then they look like cute little dogs who want to be adopted.

speaking of adoption

KL: I don’t like the idea of taking people out of their lives and their contexts. If there were a child I wanted to adopt, I would try to find the family of the child and give them the money for an education in his life and his context. [Don't look for Christmas cards from Angelina or Madonna in his mailbox]

on being judgmental

KL: I have not one prejudice. I don’t judge things. [ed. note: really?]

on legalizing gay marriage and taking up the cause of gay rights

BLB: You are against the idea of gay marriage. I totally agree with you on that.
KL: Yes, I’m against it for a very simple reason: In the 60s they all said we had the right to the difference. And now, suddenly, they want a bourgeois life.

For me it’s difficult to imagine—one of the papas at work and the other at home with the baby. How would that be for the baby? I don’t know. I see more lesbians married with babies than I see boys married with babies. And I also believe more in the relationship between mother and child than in that between father and child.

KL: I’m in fashion. Politics is not my job. I don’t vote in France even though foreigners here can. I will never vote in my life.

on porn

KL: I admire porn. And I personally only like high-class escorts. I don’t like sleeping with people I really love. I don’t want to sleep with them because sex cannot last, but affection can last forever. I think this is healthy. And for the way the rich live, this is possible. But the other world, I think they need porn. I also think it’s much more difficult to perform in porn than to fake some emotion on the face as an actor.

on fur

KL: That’s why I always say, when people talk about not using fur, “Are you rich enough to make an income for the people in the north who live from hunting? What do you want them to live off of when there’s nothing else to do?” It is farmers who are nice to the cows and the pigs and then kill them. It’s even more hypocritical than hunters. At least the hunters don’t flatter the animals.

on modern communications

KL: …I hate telephones. I prefer faxes because I like to write. People I’m really friendly with have faxes. Anna Wintour has one. We speak via fax. And in Paris I send letters to people. I have somebody to deliver letters all over every day.


He's so old school!



Friday, March 19, 2010

the runaways

It's true, The Runaways inspired woman of all ages in the 1970's and beyond! They were pioneers in many ways and left a deep impression on me as a young girl. I adored their rocker looks and style. Now the movie is coming out, so treat yourself to some female trouble this weekend!




Wednesday, March 17, 2010

which oh which skirt to give away next?

Please, I need a hand on deciding which skirt to give away in our next sweepstakes!

Please go to IdilViceFashionRocks.com's Skirt Category and see which of the skirts should be in the next Give-Away! Then come back and leave your pick in a comment below this post. That way you'll get a chance to win your favorite! Let's go!



Saturday, March 13, 2010

it's on - gaultier vs idilvice...

This one's gonna be fun you know it. This should have been posted way sooner but it's been crazy lately. NY Fashion Week was on and with that the best parties in the world! Plus I've been busy designing new clothes and there was no time to write. As of late, I am additionally experiencing the corporate backlash of taking control of the internet. All sorts of companies trying to get a piece of IdilViceFashionRocks and all... I'll be talking about this a bit later. But now, on a slightly lighter note, I finally made it to put this one down. I planned it weeks ago, when I first saw the JPG men's show in Paris. Ironically both JPG and I were featured in the same TV program earlier this year.

I used to intern at Jean Paul Gaultier. Many years ago. I adore this man. Does he adore me? Yes he does. Look, it's a fact that designers cross each others ways frequently, in a mental way. Creatives think alike. And of course we are all inspired by what we see. We are also pressed to come up with smashing ideas at least twice a year, a pace that can be deadly, especially for creatives who usually need time to "listen" to themselves and "marinate" thoughts, before they can take shape. So with this incredible time line chasing us, it is no secret that we can't always be original and if it happens that ideas get translated, transformed and reissued it should not be taken personally. That of course is not always easy to do, as we know that there's usually more to it than just a simple mind cross when established high end designers - which we "intern" with - dish out concepts from independent ones such as myself. But again, it's a fact we've got to live with for the rest of our lives. Check out JPG fashion presentation for Fall 2010. A similar theme originally staged by me in 1997 - almost 13 years ago - in Zürich at Kaufleuten. The name of the show: Vice Troop Body Culture S/S 1997.

So you think you get the real deal all the time? You probably don't. Not always. The interpretation of Jean Paul's "Body Culture" - or "Coutorture" - was of course as always impeccable and so I can't stay critical any longer. One thing though: I look better in the bath robe ;-) what do you think?


IdilVice in her brand new velvetine French terry two-tone colored Troop Vice embroidered cropped and top stitched bathrobe shown in her fashion show presentation in Zurich in 1997, left. And Jean Paul Gaultier in an old lumpy no name bathrobe... not sure where he got it from...at his men's fashion presentation 2010 in Paris.


Well, whatever you might think, stay with me and let's look at some other parts of the shows and compare them, if you will.

Left: JPG men's fashion 2010 hoods with towel around the neck and on the right: IdilVice photo shoot with hoods and towel around the neck in boxing position 1997.


Tough IdilVice Troop Body Culture boys with embroidered belted French terry bathrobe coats and suede leather shorts, in 1997.


...tough JPG boys with coats and boxer shorts, 2010.


Left: IdilVice Body Culture trompe l'oeil printed woman's body suit, 1997 and right: JPG men's trompe l'oeil printed body suit, 2010. I must state here that JPG is one of the pioneers of trompe l'oeil.


Classic black & white elements such as stripes and plaid mixed in with sportswear at IdilVice 1997, left and right: JPG, 2010.


Left: baggy shorts and wrist bands at IdilVice 1997 and right: baggy shorts and wrist bands at JPG in 2010.


From head to toe in sporty white at IdilVice Body Culture 1997.


From head to toe in sporty white at JPG in 2010.


Plus we even both put our men in wrap skirts...


But only IdilVice put her man in a bikini top ;-) .....


... and only IdilVice had piercings in her body suits ;-)


Thanks goodness Jean Paul overlooked some details!




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Monday, March 8, 2010

spring is in the air


Spring hasn't arrived yet, but it sure is in the air - Finally!

I'm enjoying the warm sun outside the office... wewh! Shakin' off that Winter blues! I hope you do the same :)






Thursday, March 4, 2010

earth walk 2010

Remember the snow man I made a few weeks ago? Well, that was not the only time I have been playing in the blizzard. This photographer Carl Posey just posted an incredibly beautiful story on his blog called "Earth Walk Twenty Ten" featuring me in it (you might not recognize me). The pictures are amazing! The story lives up to it's title. Check it out!






Sunday, February 21, 2010

paris in new york, february 2010



Malcolm McLaren says good art is banal. He named his new movie "Paris City Of The XXI Century", not because it is the city of the 21st century, but so that people have a reason to go to see it now. The feature length film is basically a repeatedly (sometimes annoying and also amusing) repetitive edit of old - I am talking about 1920's, 1950's and 60's up to I believe he said 1985 - French commercials, underlined with music mostly from his album Paris from 1994.


Photo stills by Carl Posey of "Paris, City Of The XXI Century", by Malcolm McLaren, the US Premier at The Swiss Insitute in NYC.

I thought the mix of visuals and sounds were extraordinary and it felt like the video that could have easily accompanied his 1994 compilation.


Photo stills by Carl Posey of "Paris, City Of The XXI Century", by Malcolm McLaren.

But I am not here to critique the movie, as I had way too many of these addictive St. Germain cocktails to recall more than a few striking visuals.



I am suspecting that it was meant to be like that. Malcolm wanted everybody, except himself (sipping from a bottle of Poland Spring all night) to be toasted and watch his stylish retro movie.



The crowd, not surprisingly a pretty stylish crowd (it's Fashion Week in New York), mixed in with now older 80's punks or Generation Xer's.



I think I remember Malcolm mentioning banality in context with the Sex Pistols as well. He loves the color grey in fashion. Grey pants, grey sweater even grey socks. And he loves to talk and listen to someone talking about him, but who doesn't like that? It's like butter on ones soul.




I sported a Malcolm & Me badge (a laminated photo of me and Malcom hanging out at the after party of Pipilotti Rist's "Pour Your body Out" opening at MoMA). Once I entered the Swiss Insitute's locale on Broadway I went to say 'Hi" to Malcolm and gave him a copy of the badge.


Me holding up my Malcolm & me badge.

The idea of the badge displays my conceptual and commercial interpretation of art in connection with my Fashion Rocks clothing collection.



I adore Malcolm's image as the cruel manager of the ultimate punk gods and former business partner of Vivienne Westwood.



And I guess I appreciate that he can nowadays - in the post punk era - make sure punk ware is not sold as original if it isn't indeed the real thing. Read "Damien Hirst Got Punk'd" the embarrassing story of Mr. Hirst who bought - for an incredible high number of a quarter of a million dollars or something - what he believed were original punk items on Ebay which Malcolm later declared all fakes.

I also love to see him here in NYC and he can make more music if it were up to me!


My Malcolm & Me give away/promo cards.


Merci, au revoir et à bientôt!





about IDILVICE

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New York, NY, United States
Just like the rare Swiss mountain flower Edelweiss - a symbol of prestige and distinction - the clothing brand IDILVICE (pronouced "Edel-vice") was born in the mountains of Switzerland and since then it's flourishing on the concrete of Manhattan and recently even in the rolling hills of the San Francisco Bay Area. However as the spelling indicates, the label is not meant to be associated with too much folkloric alpine tradition, but rather and probably in the contrary, with unconventionality. The IDILVICE label was founded in 1995 by Swiss Native fashion designer Idil from the city of Saint Gallen, Switzerland, who's foundation dates back to the 7th Century and which became famous for their quality textile products, especially embroidery textiles, which are still popular with Parisian Haute Couture designers today. In search for something less traditional, Master Graphic Designer Idil ventured out to New York City where she fell in love with American Pop Culture.