a material world

dripped on drive

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:10:00 +0000

Last year, I had a very long and violent crush on some paint-dripped Sergio Rossi heels...

I've gotten over it, but my dripster love flared up anew when I saw this incredible little number on the Staple Design blog. Jeff Staple has the best taste... when I bumped into him at MAGIC last year while nabbing one of their luggage tags, I may have hyperventilated a tiny bit.

Artist Krink did his magic on this Mini Cooper, and goddamn it's the only time I've liked one of those goofball cars. Seriously, how cool?!?

this is the best shot, where it's on its "canvas."

comme des garcons plus converse all-stars = aww.

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:38:00 +0000

I actually called For The Greater Good in DC and put the one pair in my size on hold so that I could call back, buy them and make my sister pick them up for me. Then I remembered that chucks don't look that good on me and that I purposely collect Keds instead. Damn... guess I just saved a ton of money. Something in me just still wants to give them a hug.

pic: thanks to the always charming frank the butcher at concepts, where you can also snag them for lots of money.

hello, kitty

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

in case you're wondering where to find me tonight...

Hello Kitty is turning 35, and there's no better venue for her birthday party than Royal/T, Culver City's own art space, store, and Japanese-inspired "maid café." Celebrating the adorable pop icon's massive influence on art and culture, Three Apples (a reference to Hello Kitty's weight) features one-of-a-kind displays, events, and a Sanrio pop-up shop where fans have the opportunity to stock up on Hello Kitty-related bounty. Over 30 artists, including Gary Baseman and Luke Chueh, interpret Hello Kitty in an art show curated by owner of JapanLA, Jamie Rivadeneira, with a portion of proceeds going to charity. There's also an apartment installation and a Hello Kitty retrospective, honoring the enduring celebrity of a childhood legend.

When

Oct 23 – Nov 15

Daily (10am–10pm)

Where

Royal/T

8910 Washington Blvd

310.559.6300

[thx flavorpill]

unashamed fashion fangirl night

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:08:00 +0000

a little excited to see scott schumann (the sartorialist) signing his gorgeous new booky at the bev center tonight. normally i avoid crowds like the plague...but this might be worth it. 8-10 pm, level 7! see you kittens there.

probably going to say hi to old friends at the new satine space, and maybe opening ceremony if i feel dangerous....

fabulosity friday : warped modern

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:57:00 +0000

[thx: thedayafteryoudie]

[thx: nosigner]

TONIGHT: Maxine Dillon's Spring 2010 Installation @ LA Theater

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:00:00 +0000

Very pleased to announce where I'll be this eve: my friend Maxine's supercool installation of her Spring 2010 line at the L.A. Theater! I consulted with Maxine last season on her mission statement and collection description before her BOXEight runway show (previously she was a Gen Art Fresh Face in Fashion), and she very nicely asked me to do it again this season. FUNNNN. Fun because I love that kind of project, and extra fun because it meant I got to see the lookbook ahead of time... and the collection is SO good! Am kind of covetous now. Can't wait to see it & report back!

Maxine Dillon Spring 2010 Installation

Wednesday Oct. 14th 5pm-6pm

The Los Angeles Theater
615 South Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90014

The installation will be in the grand ballroom in the lower level of the theater.

Where The Hyper-Chic Things Are

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:18:00 +0000

I get that "Where The Wild Things Are" has somehow become the most insanely hip piece of media currently sweeping the globe (off the top of my head: art and costume exhibit installation at Space15Twenty, collab skateboards with Spike Jonze's co. Girl Skateboards, collab sneakers with Lakai, songs by Karen O, and much more at colette's W.T.W.T.A. gallery, including "Wild Things," an adaption of the original story by Dave Eggers, for chrissakes).

So, yes, I get it. But it didn't REALLY hit me until I took a closer look at the Opening Ceremony x Where The Wild Things Are capsule collection. Yes, most of it is ridiculous. Yes, it seems like just a random way to justify coming out with goofy clothes (see Fig. 1: Chloe Sevigny). But LOOK AT THIS TOTALLY BITCHIN' WILD THING DRESS YOU GUYS:

[o.c. didn't give me enough resolution here, but you get the idea. it is awesome.]

I would wear that in a heartbeat. Maybe for Halloween... or to go see the movie premiere on Friday... or maybe just all the time. Especially with those shoes.

Anyone else with me? Shall we all congregate in a bizarre fashion blogger posse standing in line at the Arclight wearing multi-hundred-dollar monster costumes and heels? Clearly a good enough excuse to hit up Opening Ceremony... we'll figure out the Visa bills another time.

* * *

More hyper-hip silliness:

[Bearbricks x WTWTA - pic: hypebeast]

[eternally hip Kime posing with the Christian Joy x WTWTA costumes at her Space15Twenty bash]

amelia earhart: so hip right now

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:02:00 +0000

OK, so, you guys, Amelia Earhart is totally hot right now. Gala just wrote up Skin.Graft's lovely fall line of leathers, which includes the very-AE-inspired masterpiece above. [credit: chinashop]

Reminded me of the New Yorker article in the 9/14 issue about, uh, Amelia Earhart. There are some more books coming out about her or something, and with the whole Americana trend continuing on in seeming perpetuity (Opening Ceremony x Pendleton, blah blah blah), makes perfect sense. Here's what TNY had to say about our girl's style:

Even in her late thirties, Earhart looked like an adolescent boy who had chopped off his own hair. She was lanky and nonchalant, with no hips or breasts—no visible womanliness—to speak of. One learns from Butler that she flew wearing men’s underpants (they were apparently superior to a woman’s for the purposes of a quick pee). For public appearances—at White House dinners, in a ticker-tape parade, on the lecture circuit—her wardrobe was unfrilly but elegant, and for a while she designed and modelled her own fashion label, an undistinguished line of tailored dresses and soft, two-piece ensembles. But in her flight gear—a jumpsuit or jodhpurs (“breeks”); flat, lace-up knee boots; a white shirt and a man’s tie; a bomber jacket or a leather coat—she seems, at least by the codes of this century, flagrantly androgynous.
Earhart herself were aware that there was something troubling about her appearance that had to be neutralized. Her photo spreads, Lubben writes, were often laid out like a book of paper dolls, in which pictures of the cavalier in trousers and leather were juxtaposed with pictures of the well-bred lady in a long skirt, a fur wrap, a girlish middy, or an evening gown, her arms full of flowers.

Whatever, I'll let you ponder the sociological implications of what her style meant then and now and stuff, but check out how insanely hip the woman is. Dear god.

Really, Balenciaga?

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:27:00 +0000

I'm not sure what to make of these new hi-tops from Balenciaga F/W'09. On the one hand, I usually love everything that comes from Nicolas with unreserved abandon. However, this shoe just makes me think of pocket lint, and costs about $500.

Is it a totally failed attempt by an avant-garde designer to cash in on the streetwear craze, or could it be a secretly mocking comment on the state of fashion, implying that the whole designer sneaker culture is really just, well, much ado about pocket lint?

Via Slam x Hype

Discuss: Steven Alan S/S 2010 Video Lookbook

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:21:00 +0000

Steven Alan Spring 2010

For their Spring/Summer 2010 collection, homespun-luxury brand Steven Alan decided to unveil their lookbook in the form of a long, rambling video sequence instead of a glossy (or, considering it's Steven A, probably matte and raw-edged, perhaps with hand-stitched binding) book mailed out to retailers. It's basically an unstructured day-in-the-life of two exceedingly carefree and apparently jobless New Yorkers, who are way more relaxed, healthy-looking and tic-free than your average Manhattanites, and who also happen to deck themselves & their friends out in the entire Steven A. S/S10 collection by the end of the (looonnnnng) video.

Interesting concept that capitalizes on the popularity of internet video, lifestyle marketing and general hipsterdom? Yes. Does it work? Not sure. I can't help cringing at its hyper-calculated casual dialogue, and its envy-inducing idyllic landscape. I also am slightly weirded out by the inane party conversation that must have been designed to fit some notion of cool. All this careless tossing oneself around and asking coy/languid questions doesn't really inspire awe in me...but they must have done a focus group or two, no? Am I just a snarky meanster with twisted insides, or do you think the S.A. team may have overdone it a tad, too?

But I have to admit that they've made the clothes look awful nice.

video source: hypebeast

Really, Proenza Schouler?

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:52:00 +0000

scuba influences? REALLY?

http://www.style.com/fashionshows/complete/S2010RTW-PSCHOULER

new favorite thing

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:46:00 +0000

["untitled (computer)," brian alfred, 2000]

I've completely fallen in love with Brian Alfred after finding his book "There is a Light That Will Never Go Out" at Colette. Simple, melancholy city landscapes that strike some personal chord for me. There's something I can't explain that I love about the weird desolateness as well has humanness of cities and utilitarian objects, which is, I guess, why I never tire of walking around, even in ugly neighborhoods. Colette's book description reads:

New book from american artist Brian Alfred gathering 20 prints 38 x 28 cm.

limited edition of 1000 copies signed.
printed in Japan.
Published by utrecht.

Of course. Printed in Japan, only available in, uh, Japan. Or Colette. THANKS BRIAN ALFRED.

In the meantime, I've now fallen in love with the video, which, maddeningly, can't be embedded. Just click it and watch.

There is this one, which is entirely different...but amazing....

["what do the spaces and structures we create / say about who we are?"]

skyscrapers & studs

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 06:28:00 +0000

this weekend's lesson: skyscraper heels are best worn on top of a skyscraper.

a ridiculous weekend. normal blogging to resume shortly. oh, i guess it's relevant here that dieu and i did see the september issue, and it was good. i want grace coddington to be my friend real bad.

andre: "you know what, it's a famine of beau-ty. A FAMINE of BEAU-ty, honey."

"The Hills," immortalized 4evs

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:56:00 +0000

fantastic.

According to the Times' The Moment, "This isn’t a hidden episode of “The Hills: Vancouver”; it’s the latest exhibition by the local artist Karin Bubas, who has captured the principals of “The Hills” in chalk pastels, and whose show “With Friends Like These…” is on display at the Charles H. Scott Gallery through Sept. 13."

I think what makes these so wonderful is how they capture the static expressions that these characters deploy over, and over, and over, in their attempts to act real. They're real people whose lives aren't real enough to be "reality," so they act the parts of characters who are meant to be real...and end up the realest done in chalk pastel.

fashiontoast with butter

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 04:05:00 +0000

How fabulous is Rumi of fashiontoast?

(very.)
(just look at that angle and that expression and that light.)

She's also doing a tee collab with Borders & Frontiers, and her design of a blurred b&w image of a storm through a windshield is awesome; goes with my new love for b&w photos on tees.

She also has a captivating recent post of Kate photos, of which this one sent me into a ten-minute daydream about my time in Kenya when I slept under that same old-fashioned mosquito canopy. Merci Rumi.

working a fashion tradeshow has perks: free stuff

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 19:29:00 +0000

For the past 3 seasons, I've been part of the team that designs and executes S.L.A.T.E., the select streetwear section of MAGIC in Vegas. This time I was there for almost a week - multi-day setup plus 3-day show, oooof. Despite 15-hr days and walking miles across concrete convention center floor and staying working til midnight putting up foamcore...this season was still my favorite show so far. The mood was more positive all around than last show (which was in mid-Feb/recession freakout time)...we hosted a big party with Stussy at the Hard Rock (where I stayed, and which is more hilariously ridiculous than I even expected)...I pulled in Adidas Originals, Hot Air and Crooks & Castles for a VIP gifting event...got to meet a bunch of designers I'd been corresponding with...and I ended up with some pretty sweet swag at the end.

full whored-out-by-MAGIC regalia (thanks brand partners!): Lira tee, Married to the Mob jeans, Urge snakeskin flats

my daily necklace: badge, keys to the claw arcade game, Xlarge lanyard (thanks), and resin bowtie from Mr. Tastees (borrowed for a photoshoot and the sweetheart owners gave it to me)

I'm terrible at photoshoots, especially those involving my Canon and the self-timer...but I actually really love this Lira tee we had for Wednesday.

too impatient to take a better shot of this oh-so-meta tee from HomeRoom

oh yah, I totally rock out in my bedroom every morning in my Xlarge tee, free gigantic headphones and Zodiac boots, oh yah.

the lovely Melissa, new head of branding for the relaunch of Zodiac boots (!!!), gave me this pretty damn awesome pair before they even are released...

rainbow row: the pantone swatch

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:39:00 +0000

so much of a pun it's almost too much...but really, such a perfect concept that it's shocking these are only mock-ups. [full story: we made this / pantone swatches]

until someone at swatch picks up the idea, i'm making do with a new wrist candy from flud. the strap of my trusty men's timex from target finally started to disintegrate, and working with streetwear has finally rubbed off on me enough that i've caught the rainbow bug. see:

i kind of want to get a set of pantone color chips for myself now, just to have around. we have a set at work, but what's a girl to do when she wants to lose herself in marvelously organized colors at 9:55 pm on a saturday night?

read dis now

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 05:49:00 +0000

Main Street, Rapid City, South Dakota

The unintentional social documentation of Google Street View. Thought-provoking, sobering, extremely well-written. For my next sociology research project all I'll need is to spend some quality time on GSV.

[hollywood backwash dot com]

Simon Doonan defends Ed Hardy. Really? YUP!

The dotted line to reality TV has made Monsieur Audigier and his clothing line the bête noire of the fashion cognoscenti. The hipsters who wear Current Elliott jeans and tote Alexander Wang vest-bags would rather jump in a lake of boiling cheddar than adorn themselves with cheesy Hardy-wear.

Am I wearing it? Not yet. Do I defend it? Absolutely!

Simon is the only person who could actually make this point successfully. Love himmmm.

could you fit your life into 100 square feet?

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:01:00 +0000

--> That's the inevitable question when you look at Michal Wolf's fascinating work "100 x 100," which I stumbled across via the very good Good.

100 x 100
photographs of residents in their flats in
Hong Kong's oldest public housing estate:
100 rooms,
each 100 square feet in size.

some are amazingly house-like.

some are otherwise.

some inspire envy (is it shallow of me to want that desk? and what a comprehensive, efficient setup he has! I love it.).

some inspire one to mix one's plaids:

almost every one has a TV.

all make me think: what is it about the "normal" way of life in the U.S. that makes living in a 10'x10' space so unfathomable? of course we could all do it, but the sheer volume of stuff we have each lovingly accumulated over time makes it seem incredibly difficult. funny that the NOT-acquiring strikes one as harder than the acquiring....

anyway, go look at all 100 photos, and see what you think.

keds for opening ceremony.

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:49:00 +0000

keds is collab-ing with opening ceremony on a new set of sneakies. i looovvvve keds, and for a while was trying to collect them (i made it to 3: purple vintage, gold perforated, and olive green. then i ran out of shelf space.). i also love opening ceremony, so in principle, this should be great.

but i'm kind of mehh on them. seems like another underwhelming americana-themed remake. on the other hand, i'm kind of feeling the acid-washed blue ones w/ the stripy laces...they're just so silly. and you know i love silly.

[source: hypebeast]

How To Be a Vidal Sassoon Hair Model

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:46:00 +0000

1. Have a random run-in with a guy who asks you if you've ever considered being a hair model

2. There's a first time for everything
3. Look at the Vidal collection for the upcoming season
4. Get very scared
5. Do it anyway.

ok, I was going to keep on with this faux instructional thing, but I think the joke is over. the point really is: receiving a new look courtesy of the genius senior stylists at Vidal Sasson was THE COOLEST THING EVER. really. I highly recommend it to everyone.

first there was a major consultation to determine how to create a look that was inspired by the mid-season '09 collection (whos inspiration, in turn, was an amalgam of post-WWII themes: Dior's New Look and uber-femininity, Bettie Page's erotic/powerful pinup innovation) but that would work on me. they decided to go with a modification of the lookbook's sharp bob & a combination of several colors of the season: lilac, sea grey, and ruby.

me staring downward while the crew analyzed my hair. they told me i was a "good chocolate." immediately got distracted thinking of whether i'd be a sea salt truffle or a snickers.

then this happened. the parts I photographed were in the salon, but much of t happened on stage to present the collection to the academy, which means I got to hear the colorist and stylist explain what they were doing to my head in very fancy haircutting language that I could barely decipher. then we had a runway ending and photoshoot. whenever the photos are done I'll get em and post em. for now here are my crapster ones.

bleach left me very skunkified

those foils HURT. so much metal weighing down one side of my head.
when i tried to move my head the other way, my neck cracked about 7 times.

I ended up with something somehow both subtle and totally futuristic.

it's the most amazing thing anyone's done with my hair, ever. the fine layers of color fall different ways depending how you part it, and create these amazing gradations of grey and purple and plum, all on my boring old dark brown head. all day today I felt like Calvin wearing his lucky rocketship underpants, with all these tones hidden in my hair that only I knew were there. such a cool experience & am super excited to work again with master stylists Kenny & Nathan. thanks, guys!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:51:00 +0000

sorry, that was awful...

but yes today is Vidal Sassoon runway show & photoshoot day! one half excited (this is awesome), one quarter guilty (had to take off work), and one quarter terrified (oh god, what are they going to DO?).

TBA...

pizza party / cowabunga

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 07:46:00 +0000

saturday night at our house

concept: everyone bring a pizza

result: everyone brought a pizza

great success!

Recession Hits Corporate Branding (#ilovethisstuff)

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:44:00 +0000

[a little swing over to my marketing side today...]

A bunch of random articles I've read today from wildly different sources confirm the same thing: ITE (In This Economy), corporate branding is taking drastic measures to make itself more comforting, friendly, and less "hi-I'm-a-retail-monolith-and-I've-come-to-take-all-your-money." According to this NYT article, ld-standby brands like Wal-Mart, Stop & Shop and Woolworths are all softening their logos by subbing in lowercase instead of uppercase, curves instead of corners, and a general feeling of cuteness.

“The economy is the No. 1 influence this year,” said John H. Bredenfoerder, a color expert and design director at Landor Associates, the brand-consulting company that produced the new Cheer detergent emblem. Amid all the gloom, he said, “people need a little joy in their lives.” ...Mr. Bredenfoerder said that blue was also gaining as a stand-in for the environment (think of earth’s blue orb as seen from space, or clear blue waters) as well as for fresh optimism. But please, make it a joyful sky blue — not dark, corporate-titan navy.

I'm not really a fan--come on, Sysco, don't you think the old logo had a bit more oomph behind it? And did you really have to get rid of the silly/awesome little cube symbol? Curved lines are overrated!--but it definitely is interesting. Starbucks is also adapting in its own way via logos, or lack thereof...more below.

[source: staple design's blog]

As for Starbucks, the logo that used to signify Seattle cool (I remember when my mom actually ORDERED a Starbucks coffee mug and some coffee from its Seattle outpost. I am THAT OLD, you guys.) now is a not-so-cool symbol of overpriced hegemony. This Mother Jones article reports that Starbucks cafes in Seattle are now actually experimenting with HIDING their logos entirely ("Stealth Starbucks"):

"Think of it as the Red Scare in reverse: Worrying whether the hipster at the cafe is secretly a communist is about to be replaced with worrying whether the hipster cafe is secretly a Starbucks. Yesterday, the chain revealed that it's dropping its name from a location in Seattle's trendy Capitol Hill neighborhood and replacing it with '15th Avenue Coffee and Tea.' That's right, the people's coffee provider is going underground."

interesting, non? what do y'all think of the logo waffling?

On The Prospect of Being a Hair Model

rkandersson@gmail.com (Material Girl) — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

A few weeks ago--actually, while hanging out at that Esquivel Shoe event--a dapper guy approached me, introduced himself as one of Vidal Sassoon's head colorists, and asked me if I'd ever considered being a hair model. Uhhh, no, I'd have to say that particular thought had never occurred to me...but I gave him my card and promptly forgot about it.

Fast-forward to last week, when Mister Colorist Guy actually calls me, explains that he's hoping I'm still interested in being his permanent hair model (apparently, my "look" is "very Vidal Sassoon." And all the time I thought it was just "very giant Suri Cruise."), and that if I accept the role, I'll have free color and cuts at Vidal from here on out. Considering my current state of mild hair boredom and less-mild wallet emptiness, of course I said I'd come meet with him.

Rolled over to Vidal in Beverly Hills today for our consultation & was presented with a slightly daunting lookbook for the next season's looks. Suddenly I'm not so sure about this whole endeavor. I mean, I knew he would be looking at changing my color, but to this?

I mean, this girl rocks it, but I'm not sure I could pass a reflective surface and keep a straight face if I had this creation on my head. I'm much more in love with these next looks from the collection, but not too sure how they'd work out on my brunette head...

this is like what the color inverse of me might be, if my cheekbones were actually visible

paging gala darling!

Oy vey. This is a struggle, kids. It goes against every grain of my being to pass up a free ANYTHING, especially a free anything swanky in the BH...but this freebie is more of a commitment than your average sample of a molasses-carob-spirulina bar at Whole Foods. And let's keep in mind that I don't exactly look like an obvious choice for purple-hair vixenry (see below, in which I attempt to look as wholesome as my friend's ridiculously cute baby):

I AM, however, much more in love with looks from the current/previous season at VS. Maybe Mister Colorist will still deign to bring them out for me? We have a phone date, so I'll do my best. I mean, this look's color (below) is sort of subdued yet also utterly rainbowy, which is insane, and which I am very into. Cool, right? (I wouldn't mind her awesome top, either....)

I've also been toying w/ the idea of super pale silver white/grey. maybe a front chunk or like highlights or something. thoughts?!???