A Case Of You

Another one of my favorite artists of the year.  He's definitely one of the most exciting artists to have released music this year.  His way of bending genres and flipping between dub step influences and creating some of the most beautiful ballads I've heard in a long time is unlike anything I've heard.  He rose to fame by covering a song by Feist, "Limit To Your Love".  Here, he covers the amazing Joni Mitchell and brings a new anguish to this song.  Don't get me wrong, even trying to come close to Joni is usually a massive mistake in my eyes, but James manages to take this song to a new place.  This video also plays a huge part in that sentiment.

You Can Count On Me

A psychedelic treat from Panda Bear - the new video for "You Can Count On Me", the opening track from the album, Tomboy.  This is one of my favorite albums of the year.  Does the fact that Panda Bear is a project by Noah Lennox of Animal Collective fame have anything to do with it?  Maybe.  There are similarities to their sound, but Panda Bear pulls most of their references from hip hop and R&B in this album, taking it to a very different direction from the otherworldly sound that Animal Collective has been building upon for several years at this point.  Ok, I'll stop blabbing now and let you enjoy!

Givenchy Womenswear Spring 2012

I've had Givenchy on my mind all day.  I was in Chicago shopping for work and tried on 6 or 7 pieces from their Fall collection and it brought this collection to mind.  I'm surprised I haven't blogged about it already!  

You all know that Riccardo is my biggest design icon right now.  I can't say full heartedly that every collection has been a winner.  He's had moments where he's trying to be everything to everyone.  His strongest moments have all happened when he's hyper focused and really zoning in on an idea.  This collection was one of those moments.  He's self described this collection with a story about a mermaid meeting a grungy surfer.  There are definitely some oceanic references in this collection - mainly in the organic peplum shapes and fish tail hems, but most literally in the amazing shark teeth necklaces.  What really amazes me about this collection is that it references an emerging trend that was used on several runways throughout Paris, but he does them in such a way that has become part of the Givenchy DNA, that it becomes somethings so singular that stands on it's own.  This collection was a knockout in my eyes.  

Chanel Pre Fall - Paris Bombay

Only Karl Lagerfeld would allow such an opulent and over the top set and collection to happen in a time of economic uncertainty.  I guess that's why we love him, right?!?


Karl does no wrong in my eyes.  He's been around for such a long time and continues to have his finger on the pulse, pushing a house with such a recognizable DNA further.  The section of the show with the white sweaters was a bit of a step in the wrong direction, but the other pieces in this collection were spot on.  I am especially in love with the mummy wrapped skirts, which actually remind me of a traditional short from Thailand.  The jewelry is all gorgeous.  I'm also completely in love with the dreds!

I Follow Rivers

This is my top video of the year, hands down.  Not only that, Wounded Rhymes is also ranked as my #1 album release of the year.  Lykke doesn't even know how powerful of a spell she cast on me this year.  It's such a transformative album.  I mean, this album caused a dramatic change in my fashion choices for the year.  Lykke is to thank/blame for my neo goth phase - think skinny jeans, Rick Owens tops, cloaks made in Berlin.  Yeah, it's serious!

Lovely Owl

I've always been fascinated with these creatures.  The owl that's being petted in this video almost looks like an animatronic robot!  

Pleasure Principle

FANTASTIC live performance by the one and only Sufjan Stevens performing Pleasure Principle.  It's such a beautiful song.  That little smile at the end of the video KILLS me!

VESSEL

Zola Jesus is amazing!



ZOLA JESUS "VESSEL" MUSIC VIDEO from FUTURE PRIMITIVE FILMS on Vimeo.

LumiBots

Pretty cool!



*new* lumiBots documentation from Mey Lean Kronemann on Vimeo.

VOMIT

It's been a while since I've posted anything!  I'm glad I'm beginning once again with this amazing video of Girls performing Vomit live.  I love their new album!

Dancing on Her Own!!!

I know that I'm tardy for the party, but still felt compelled to post the latest video from Robyn.  She's another one of my favorites and at the complete opposite side of the musical spectrum from Lykke Li, yet they are both from the same country.  Call Your Girlfriend was my favorite song from Body Talk Pt. 3.  It's an excellent track and I love the perspective from which the song was written - the girl who's the cheater telling her man to call his girlfriend and break up with her.  That takes some guts!  Plus, the video is pretty amazing.  It's just Robyn dancing on her own.          She even busts out the Electric Slide!  I mean, who does that?!?  Robyn, that's who.

JEROME

Lykke Li has turned out to be one of my favorite musicians of the year.  Wounded Rhymes is definitely in my top 5 for the year and may just end up taking the top spot for me.  It's an extremely powerful album that moves between some of the darkest and most beautiful moments I've heard in a very long time.  Jerome is one of my favorite songs on the album and this video captures a different side to this song.  The coven of girls is AMAZING!!!!  Enjoy!

Givenchy Men's Spring 2012

I know that this collection is one that you either love or hate.  I don't think I need to say what side of the fence I stand on.  Riccardo is letting some light into the darkness.  This collection continues to maintain the street edge that Riccardo has brought to Givenchy menswear, but elevates it with a superb use of color and unexpected finishing details.  There is a complexity to these clothes that is usually lost in the layers of black, so it was nice to see the amount of work that really goes into these clothes.  I know it's not for everyone, but he still managed to incorporate the key trends of the season through print and color use and still managed to make it all his own.  Bravo!

Riccardo is a BEAST

I love this man!  Riccardo can do no wrong in my eyes.  This image captures everything about his Fall 2011 collections for Givenchy so perfectly!

Lindesfarne

Navajo Nation

New York Fashion Week has come to a close.  New York was actually a surprise this time around, with many houses showing some pretty directional collections.  In my mind, New York is all about commercial access versus showing the future of fashion.  The trend the surprised me more than any other was a study on American heritage.  This is a trend that has been part of the high street trends for 2 years now, so I thought it was done and it was time to move on.   Proenza Schouler managed to take an existing trend and turn it on it's head.  The American Navajo trend has been in the market since Opening Ceremony started their incredible collaboration with Pendleton two years ago.  Since then, it's been part of American streetwear and is one of the strongest trends to hit the market in a long time.  Because it's already caught on, I never thought a fashion house would go anywhere near it, but I was proven wrong, and thankfully so!  I know I've said this for the past three seasons, but this was definitely Proenza's strongest collection to date!  They managed to reinvent and invigorate an existing trend and make it totally their own.

MUGLER

Absolutely beautiful ads for the new Mugler collection by Nicola Formichetti.  Campaign model is Rick Genest, who Nicola discovered through Facebook.  He has quite the career ahead of him now.

Need You Now

Video for one of my favorite songs of the year thus far!  I'm going to see Cut Copy on April 12th.  All of you Seattle kids should check them out!


Cut Copy - Need You Now from Cut Copy on Vimeo.

Lotus Flower

What an unexpected surprise!  Radiohead releases a new video on Wednesday and out of nowhere, they decide to drop a new album yesterday!  It's a brilliant piece of work.  Of course, I'm bias, being that I'm a huge Radiohead fan.  Enjoy!

Weekend

I'm not lying when I say that this is my absolute favorite new song of the year!  Smith Westerns are really rocking my world and I'm so amazed that these 20 year old kids created this music!

Satellite

I'm so excited that The Kills are releasing a new album this year!  Here's the first new single off the album.  I think I'm gonna need to see them live when they come to town.

Under Cover Of Darkness

Download the new Strokes single for free!

Sasquatch 2011 Line Up

This wonderful video alone makes me want to go!  I think I may, I do live in Seattle, after all, and I hear it's completely gorgeous out there!



Sasquatch 2011 Lineup from World Famous on Vimeo.

The Wilhelm Stream

New song from James Blake's upcoming album release.  He's one of the most experimental artists to hit the scene and I can't wait to hear his full length album!

Spirit Animal for February 2011

Well, she's really been my spirit animal for some time, but I'm going to really dedicate this month to Nicki.

That Robyn is a BAD GAL

God, I love this woman!  Awesome new video for "Bad Gal", by Savage Skulls & Douster, featuring the ever incredible Robyn.

Alexandre Plokhov Fall 2011

Video presentation for the debut of Alexandre Plokhov's namesake collection.  Some of you may remember him for his contribution to the cult menswear brand, Cloak, which just so happens to be one of my favorite male brands of the 21st century.  It was a brilliant flash in the pan!  Most recently, Alexandre was at the helm of menswear for Versace.  I would say he's responsible for taking the Versace man into a very modern place.  I'm excited to see Alexandre starting on his own line.  I expect to see great things in the future!



ALEXANDRE PLOKHOV FALL/WINTER 2011 Directed by Douglas Keeve from ALEXANDRE PLOKHOV on Vimeo.

For Heaven's Sake

Courtesy of Damien Hurst

Jil Sander Fall 2011/12

And so it begins!  The Fall 2011 menswear season kicked off this week, first starting off in Florence with Pitti, then traveling to Milan for the menswear shows.  One of the first collections to show in Milan is Jil Sander.  Jil Sander always has a minimalist take on fashion, with a slow and methodical evolution of the brand from season to season.  This season, the structured rigorous suiting that we've seen in the last several collections was replaced with an ease and unstructured quality.  The silhouette evolved to have more ease, the shoulder was dropped a bit, everything was less snug. The biggest update for me came through in the use of color, which will be a major trend for this Fall season. For the past three menswear seasons, color has become very somber, taking its direction from a very strong military influence. Last season, we saw some of the more directional brands begin to play with color, including Jil Sander. This season, color took a dramatic shift, with most of the collection playing between the expected dark palette of black and navy and injecting some super saturated brights and primary colors. Overall, the effect is quite refreshing. It's good to see designers realize that we men need some fun in our lives, too!

My House

This is the first single and video for the new album from Hercules and Love Affair, slated to be released this year.