one female designer in a man's world

Men's fashion is on! Even I have just announced the launch of the Fashion Rocks Men Collection. Men's fashion - and woman's by the way - is dominated by male designers, that is a fact. It's therefore all the more refreshing to see my feminine self featured among some high profile male designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Paul Smith and Kenzo in this People Magazine type Swiss National TV show from just a couple of days ago. See for yourself:

relax and bake

That's right, relax....... You don't have to run around like crazy during the last days of the year. Bake some cookies, enjoy your tree, listen to easy listening, go for walks in the snow or just chill!



My grandmother who was from Basel always made a variety of cookies and stored them in the dark cellar for freshness. They where there protected from the heat and the light but certainly not from our hungry children mouths! Then again, that is what cookies are here for. To be eaten.

So whenever she sent one of us down there to make a cookie plate, it was an adventure! Nicely stacked and packed into different tins covered with silk paper. Tons and tons of cookies! There were Mailänderli, Brunzli, Zimtsterne, Anisbrötli, Spitzbuebe and many more Swiss traditional cookies. Did we know that we were privileged to taste them all? No.

Nowadays with my grandmother gone, I can always call on my mother who continues the traditions of baking and knows most of those recipes by heart. I guess my favorite would be the Zimtsterne cookie - a cinnamon star cookie - it's something out of this world - You've got to try it!

Here are the ingredients you need to make 40-50 biscuits:

3 Egg whites
A pinch of salt
300g Powder sugar (0.7lb)
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 Tbs Cinnamon powder
1 - 1 1/2 Tbs Kirsch
350g Finely ground almonds (0.8lb)
3/4 Tbs Lemon zest
A bit of plain flour

1. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt until stiff and standing up in well-defined peaks.
2. Sieve the sugar and progressively incorporate it in the egg whites while continuously beating.
3. Set aside 1/2 cup of this mixture for the icing (at the end).
4. Add the cinnamon and kirsch to the leftover egg mixture.
5. Delicately incorporate the almonds and lemon zest to the mixture and "knead" very lightly.
6. Roll the pastry (1/3inch thickness) on a floured surface.
7. Cut out stars using a cookie cutter.
8. Place the cut out shapes on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
9. Brush with the leftover 1/2 cup icing mixture (see point 3) and refrigerate.
10. Cook in a preheated oven 250°C (500°F) for 3-5 minutes.
11. Detach delicately with a spatula.

I enjoy them at any time of the day (pretty healthy snack besides all the sugar) alone or with a hot chocolate, coffee or tea!

holidays à la swiss miss

...martina struck pictured with her alphorn and idilvice in the meat packing district on a recent photo shoot for schweizer illustrierte (switzerland's people magazine)...

Correct. Martina and I, we're both Swiss misses. We found each other here, far away from our homeland, by chance and due to the fine ear and thanks to the good old American forwardness of my hubby Carl, who instantly recognized Martina's Swiss accent - unmistakably standing out - and said "Grüezi!"

So we learned that Martina is not only Swiss, she even owns an Alphorn and knows how to play it. Well, that's an understatement! Being the president of the International Alphorn Society, which mission it is to enrich lives by providing opportunities to develop and encourage a greater appreciation of the Alphorn though instructions and performance, Martina Struck, together with her production staff, arranged a booklet containing sheet music of the most beautiful melodies of the season for the quartet with some duet opportunities. This collection of European/American Christmas/Chanukah songs is believed to be the first of its kind.

So there you go - Swiss miss or not - check out how holidays blend with Alphorns in this repertoire, or download some Alphorn tunes.

...alphorns rock! martina with alphorn dressed in a traditional zürich uniform (zürcher tracht) and idilvice in a rolling stones dress from the fashion rocks collection...

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

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.

idil vice's homeland

Check out this travel video of Switzerland in the 1950's....it's my homeland! Discovered by Reto Caduff.

design preis schweiz

In case you are wondering: I am currently working on entering the "Fashion Rocks" collection for the Design Preis Schweiz, a Swiss design competition which recognizes extraordinary works in several categories.

• The Design Preis Schweiz is intended to highlight the importance of Swiss design.
  

• Economic and cultural relevance are the features sought after.

• In the light of top quality prize-winning work, the innovative effect of design as a business success factor will be reflected.

• Interdisciplinary contacts will encourage dialogue between designers and companies.

• Support will be provided for new visions, research projects and implementations in keeping with the market, enabling them to achieve breakthrough.

• The Design Preis Schweiz both observes and makes an impression on the market, honors outstanding achievements and sees its role as that of giving uncompromising encouragement to adventurous ideas which will create new paths for the future of design.

I was nominated to design the clothing concept for the Expo'02 in the year 2000. Here are a few of my concept ideas:



I think that this concept was right on target. The Swiss Flag - a bold white cross on a fire red background - since then became a widespread logo, which adorns many products. In the years before the Expo, you would not get the feeling that the Swiss would wear that logo on their shirts as proud as they do now. In fact, a couple of years before Expo, when I designed stage outfits for the Swiss Brit pop music band Lovebugs (my cousin is playing bass with them) they refused the outfits adorned with the tinly little red logos and said they were not the nationalistic kind to wear that. Fair enough, I thought. In any case: it is now officially cool to wear the Swiss flag.

I also used a similar idea for a clothing concept I was commissioned to design for Swatch:

switzerland illustrated

A short version of the planned article in Schweizer Illustrierte was published last week due to the actuality of the running NY Fashion Week. Go to the e-magazine article!

fashion rocks rockstar magazine

Yeap, just came hot off the press! Fashion Rocks collection featured in Rockstar Magazin! Thanks to my all time top photographer Carl Posey and Swiss connection PR genius Arnold Meyer.

poison yellow!

I know you were expecting more black, after I just announced that the last post "black" would lead into something darker... but I take a turn right here in the name of actuality for a second or "a post" and talk about The First Lady Michelle Obama's choice of color.


I took a good look and I saw a yellow with a tad of green in it, which led me to my declaration of The First Lady's deux piece (although I could see some additional layers underneath the coat) being a sort of poison-isch yellow. The choice of green gloves may have supported the fact that there was indeed green in that yellow, it may even have brought that shade out more in the midst of all the yellow.

It's really hard to criticize that wonderful Fist Lady of ours and I am not doing that, besides having been accused of doing exactly that. But hello, I can't believe the inability of people to admit that she chose a uncanny green-isch yellow for her day dress. Why can't everybody just admit it and be comfortable with the fact that she did choose one of those colors with a bad rap (I'm not even saying that, but that is what all the commotion is about).

Surely she can wear it - it looked great - everybody agrees! Why is everybody still tip toe-ing around not being able to admit that they were a bit shocked with the choice (BTW, it also was not a traditional lace - in the contrary to wide believe - but a so called acid-cut or Giupure 100% woll fabric, which looks like lace and was also used by Miuccia Prada in her 2008 collections).

miuccia prada giupure 2008

Now, I really loved the unconventional choice, as I always do. But most people say: Oh no, this is yellow, not green, a very nice pastel color, very beautiful, no poison in it, noooo! Oh please...!

Anyway, what's the point? It does not really matter. As long as I knew what color it was. Hey, I did not go to art and graphic school for 5 years for nothing! When I got the letter from my mother, containing all the relevant Swiss news paper clips (they mostly contain imminent news about fashion, views from Europe about the USA or family related news) of the recent month, I was surprised - well then again, not so much - that the lace fabric of Mrs. Obamas dress was from Forster Rohner Textile, the world renowned, famous lace producer out of my hometown St. Gallen. Yes, that's right!

Needless to say, I was very fond to read how it's Creative Director Hans Schreiber described the shade: A mix of mustard yellow, yellow daffodils, lemon grass green and gold. I knew it! There IS green in it! I must have felt it, coming from my home, where Forster Rohner stands for: always special, unconventional and fast forward quality.

Good choice, Isabel Toledo (the designer of the outfit)!

Mrs. Toledo reportedly went to St. Gallen herself, last year and bought 12 meters for the price of 190 CHF (Swiss Francs) each. My mother told me on the phone today that by now the famous wool Giupure is selling for CHF 500.-/meter (a meter is just a bit more than a yard), cheez!

swiss art is huge in ny and more

Well, let me tell you: it must have been one of my favorite nights in a loooong time! You can start kissing my butt, 'cause yeap, I'm hangin' with Pipi!

11/19/2008. MOMA. NYC. Pipilotti Rist. The most well known contemporary artist from my own home country Switzerland, opens the exhibit of her new video installation at this NY institution with about 2000 invited guests. I am one of them :]

So, the art piece is amazing, not to be missed! You will feel relaxed and guided with very tasteful imagery. Huge screens around 3 corners bedazzle you with colorful video footage by the famous artist. Very pleasing indeed. You can take your shoes off and get comfortable....

But you know me, I am always inspired by all the behind the scenes happenings and besides Pipilotti's art, which is mostly flawless to me, it is her own personality and her figure in the art world that interests me.


So, you can imagine, I jump on this opportunity to chat with this lady, which does not appear in my new hometown that often. As I mentioned to Pipi (that is how we call her), I always will remember when she called me years ago, must have been in the late 1980's or early 1990's, begging me to hand over my bras for her art installation... imagine! Well, I thought this was for a good cause and handed her about 3 or 4 of my favorite vintage bras... how could I? Never got those **u**ers back! She was not much of a celebrity, much less an artist you heard of and "only" known for her role in the punk band Les Reines Prochaines and I can hardly explain how proud I am of her since...

We come from the absolute same corner of this world and boy, do I love it when they say, we are a bit alike...??!! It's frankly a bit true. She wears the exact same outlandish clothes as I and we both love uniforms... we also both have clear blue eyes, mouse gray hair (my hairdresser calls it middle European brown). We used to wear the same glasses, until of course I changed to my new frames a few months ago. It all boils down to the fact that it is time to make an Idil Vice outfit for Pipi. She had the nerve to claim that once she had enough money she would buy an outfit from me!! Pipilotti of course is a millionaire.


Betcha, the first thing I am talking to her about is the clothing she is wearing... girl, what in the world?? I said: "O.K. Pipi, explain this outfit, yeah I know it is vintage but..." Pipi: "Oh no, idil, this is not vintage. I had it made in India, I asked this tailor to make me a police uniform with this table cloth" (she appoints me to touch it, and indeed it's probably the roughest thickest cotton cloth you can imagine and so) he supposedly said: "but this will be a crazy outfit!" And she responed: "I like it crazy looking."
I think Pipi would be an excellent fashion designer, one got lost on her, but don't tell her, I will loose business! Arghh! So we chatted about, yes, how this tailor tried to make this outfit less crazy by bringing some sort of order in it by sorting and applying the white blocks on the fabric to specific places, to create some sort of balance, an everyday challenge for a fashion designer, very underestimated...
Man, I love it, you follow, to be able to have this kind of discussion with one of the biggest artists of our generation is priceless.


O.K. just to show you guys what I mean with our similarities especially in garment choices (she may not agree), but look at this outfit... similar, if more refined.... at the very least, the color and graphic theme would be quiet similar... and so on...


Guys, let me just stop talking and show you some images of this truly inspiring night for all of us!



...and off to the after party at Pravda, another - if not as sophisticated - NY institution itself..

Can you believe that I am holding Malcolm McLaren's arm??? It's out of this world!!! Now this must be my absolute favorite and most treasured picture in the whole wide world (already saved it on my external and a bunch of cd rom's).

Did I mention huge?

a kiss from pipilotti rist

Yeah, right! How did that happen?? Why is the most important contemporary Swiss artist kissing idil vice? You will find out once I finish writing this exiting post about Pipilotti's MOMA opening in NYC, on November 19th, 2008.

• Pipilotti Rist's atrium installation at MoMA

  

  19 November 2008 – 2 February 2009

  ‘Pipilotti Rist: Pour Your Body Out (7354 Cubic Meters)’, a huge panoramic projection twenty foot high and two hundred feet long, has been created especially for the Museum’s Marron Atrium. Using video, sound and sculpture, the artist immerses the viewer in a vibrant multi-sensory experience.

In the meantime, go ahead: go wild in your fantasies...

multilingual

As I am multilingual, Native Swiss (from the German part) living and working in the USA for a decade and a half, English being my now second language (you be the judge, read my blog), speaking fluent Italian and just about well French, some words in Spanish and Turkish, I am thinking of adding another language to this blog... German, ja, das tönt wirklich nicht schlecht, neh, that way I won't have such a hard time anymore when I return to good old Switzerland speaking Swiss German. I am searching for words sometimes and das geht ja nun wirklich nicht, denn ich bin ja Schweizerin und natürlich stolz darauf! Also ja, jetzt ist es raus und ich werde mich bemühen diese Übersetzungen zu machen, wenigstens teilweise, huh? Bis bald auch auf Deutsch, gell?

Falls ich das dann manchmal vergesse oder eben einfach keine Zeit dazu habe dann übersetze den Text doch einfach selbst hier:

dictionary

swiss press

Below is the current weekly issue of Anzeiger, the magazin of the Eastern region of Switzerland, which includes my hometown and Kanton St. Gallen. I am especially proud of this article (It's all about me!!) because during all these years in the fashion business, I was reminded and learned, again and again, that St. Gallen, besides being one of the most beautiful towns in the world, is also the place of origin of the most pricey and highest quality fabrics in the entire world!

"This one is expensive, it's Swiss!" I hear from countless fabric dealers in NYC's Garment District. And whenever I came across a piece of Swiss fabric, it was true: The do not compare to anything. They are smooth, crisp and mostly detail oriented.

Some of the most regarded St. Gallen textile firms are Jakob Schlaepfer, Bischof Textil and more..

Examples of Haute Couture designs by Jean Paul Gaultier and others using Jakob Sclaepfer textiles from St. Gallen.

Can you imagine that I, growing up there was not aware of this world famous export? It shows in a way the character of the people in St. Gallen and maybe in the rest of Switzerland as well: The got it, but they don't flaunt it! Well, it's served them well so far and they have been the quiet leader in all things design and manufacturing.