LA NOUVELE NOIR...

                                        Men look from the 20’s

I love jazz music and I love the 20's Fashion, to me the era when women and men were best dressed and the era that was the base and birth of the contemporary man look. I think that if I had lived in a bygone era, was in the 20s, in the Jazz Age.

The Jazz Age was a feature of the 1920s (ending with The Great Depression) when jazz music and dance became popular.

When I say Jazz, is coming to my mind the King Of Jazz Louis Armstrong (1901 – 1971), who was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana, whom coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" trumpet and cornet player, becoming a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the focus of the music from collective improvisation to solo performance.

With his instantly-recognizable gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also skilled at scat singing (vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics).

Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general. Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross over", whose skin-color was secondary to his music in an America that was severely racially divided. He rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African-Americans, but took a well-publicized stand for desegregation during the Little Rock Crisis. His artistry and personality allowed him socially acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a black man.

At Milan Fashion Week (MFW), the design duo Dsquared2 have presented his Fall 2013 male collection, named La Nouvelle Noir (The New Black), inspired in the Jazz Age, highlighting the fashion of the 20s Jazz scenes, but with a new language because they mixing the impeccable 'Gatsby' men look from the 20’s with Denim fabric, giving an affordable and wearable aspect to the new collection that for sure will have a great acceptation between the young guys.

This catwalk featured with all ebony models to accent the leitmotiv Le Nouvelle Noir. 

The reinvention of the double-breasted coats, long until hips, is a focal point of this collection, giving to this garment from the 20's, a contemporary and modern vision.

Like at the 20s when the round frames (horn rims or metal), were worn by men and women with no style difference between the sexes, the models wore on the runway.

Key items from the Gatsby' men look, like the classic vest or sweater vest, are present in the new DSquared2 collecion.

The combination of textures, and colors with the denim fabric, give to this collection, the accentuated and subtle combinations, of current fashion trends.

The colors palette are composed mostly of 'tinta unita' colors (solid colors), monochromatic tones, black, brown, camel, blue, salmon, red, ivory,  white, red, and greens both military and textures like Scottish.

The military tendency is present in this look with a khaki shirt, the cargo pants, braces connected with belt, handbags and Army Berets.

The models complemented the look donning mohair 10 gallon Fedora hat.

When something has a good fashion language, we do not need to talk much about it, the collection speaks for itself.

Enjoy the collection...

THE GREAT GATSBY...

This will be a year with a Gatsby flavor, and one sample of that is The Great Gatsby (2013), the romantic drama film, with adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name, (book that is stands as the supreme achievement of his career), and co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby), Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, and Jason Clarke.

Movie that follows the story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

Filming began on September 5, 2011, in Sydney, Australia. Originally scheduled for a December 2012 release, but on August 6, 2012, it was reported that the film was being moved to a summer 2013 release date, due to conflicts in the production schedule. In September 2012, this date was confirmed to be May 10, 2013.

And following with the Gatsby subject, like in his menswear collection, which they named La Nouvelle Noir (The new Black), designers Dean and Dan Caten, the design duo DSquare2, retum again for the new fall 2013 women collection, the Jazz Age like subject but focusing this time in the 'Gatsby' silhouettes from men and women.

Sleek beaded and rich embroidered, sequin, feather dresses are the focal point taken from the 'Gatsby era'.

But what I think is the best contribution from this collection, is the decidedly masculine look on the catwalk where designers used the Gatsby menswear to re-create the new Gatsby girls.

Like in the menswear collection, models were donning their colorful oversized Fedoras, and we have to give a special mention to the double bow ties with a femininity touch.

I love this slightly olive dress with a militaristic inspiration, accessorized with a leopard Army Beret.

A glam mix collection where mixed of masculine and feminine silhouettes and mix of rustic with ultra bright textures: silk with wool, and silk with jerseys.

Worthy of mention is this large cardigan without buttoms accessorized with a double brooch over the subtle silk dress.

The color palette is large and rich in inks and  tones like ivory, antique pearls, charcoal, oxford gray, misty blue and green, olive, green Egyptian, savannah green, burgundy, turquoise haze, ochre, mystic gold, plum royal, purple cream, dark purple, berry wine, and the eternal black.

It is a rich collection, colorful, plenty of textures, mixed silhouettes, a Gatsby Glam collection.

Enjoy the collection...

'A TEMPLE OF SPIRIT'...

“I want a Temple of the Spirit" said the baroness Hilla Rebay von Ehrenwiesen (1980-1967), to the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. 

The baroness was a notable woman abstract painter in the early 20th century. After immigrating to the Unites States in 1927, she may be best known for helping Solomon R. Guggenheim collect the art that formed the basis of the Salomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and for select Frank Lloyd Wright, to design the new museum, which became a modernist Icon in New York.

Solomon R. Guggenheim, (1861-1949) a cooper magnate and enlightened patron of arts, was already the proud owner of a collection of Old Masters and had been introduced to modern when he meet the baroness in 1926, who had opened his eyes to the work of Delaunay, Gleizes, Chagall, Kandisky and Bauer. 

“I do not want to found another museum such as now exist in New York…no such building as is now customary for museums could be appropriate for this one" he said.

In June 1943, Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) received a letter from Hilla Rebay, the art advisor to Solomon R. Guggenheim, asking the architect to design a new building to house Guggenheim's four-year-old Museum of Non-Objective Painting.
Wright made no secret of his disenchantment with Guggenheim's choice of New York for his museum: "I can think of several more desirable places in the world to build his great museum," Wright wrote in 1949 to Arthur Holden, "but we will have to try New York." To Wright, the city was overbuilt, overpopulated, and lacked architectural merit.

The Architect, who was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as the "Greatest American architect of all times, drew up plans which focused in the importance of natural light. As well as the glass dome over a central court, which figured in all the early proposals, Wright recommended a strip running along the walls, providing a constant source of daylight, modeled in his own studio in Wisconsin. Another concept which figured prominently in Wright’s plans was that of an open space, without partitions, which a wheelchair could traverse from one end to another. In these original plans, Wright wrote the words “Constant Ramp”, the idea of a building with a 'spiral' born.

The 'spiral' design recalled a nautilus shell, with continuous spaces flowing freely one into another.  Even as it embraced nature, Wright's design also expresses his unique take on modernist architecture's rigid geometry. 

The building is a symphony of triangles, ovals, arcs, circles, and squares. Forms echo one another throughout: oval-shaped columns, for example, reiterate the geometry of the fountain and the stairwell of the Than Hauser Building. Circularity is the leitmotif, from the rotunda to the inlaid design of the terrazzo floors.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Hilla Rebay, Solomon Guggenheim at the unveiling of the model for the Guggenheim Museum, August, 1945.

It took sixteen to complete this controversial project, to the first plans to the final building. This was due to a violent confrontation with the building authorities and with the director of the foundation, James Johnson Sweeney, who succeed Baroness Rebay in 1952, after Guggenheim died in 1949, and who felt that Wright’s proposals might cause problems in terms of conserving and hanging the collections. 
The Guggenheim Museum opened October 21 of 1959, and ironically the Baroness was not invited to the inaugural ceremony. She never set food inside the Guggenheim Museum.

The Guggenheim Museum is essentially made up of five major private collections: 

• Solomon Guggenheim’s Collection of Non- Objective Paintings (Kandinsky, Bauer, Moholy-Nagy, Leger, Delaunay, Chagall, and Modigliani).  
• Justin K. Thannhauser’s Collection of impressionist and Modern Art (including a large number of Picasso’s early works). 
• Karl Nierendorf’s German Expressionist Painting (including over 100 works by Paul Klee).  
• Katherine S. Dreier’s Historic Avant – Garde Paintings and Sculptures (Brancusi, Mondrian). 
• Count Giuseppe Panzadi Biumo’s Collection of American “Minimal Art” from the 1960s and 1970s (Robert Ryman, Dan Flavin). Currently the Museum owns more of 5,000 paintings, sculptures and sketches ranging from the Impressionist to present day.

This “Temple of the Spirit” is totally monastic white, like a Sanctuary, y besides keeping art work, some times the museum became a big background, like a movie theater, where it’s projecting, the most creative videos, like in October 21 of 2010 when it took place, the YouTube Play Biennial of Creative Video, when the Guggenheim seemed like a big Temple in moving. Watch the following video...

In the following video The Guggenheim looked like a opera theater where the ramps, were like the 'palcos' in a teather, full of people, watching  the spectacular show of  videos and artists, when they were celebrating the  YouTube play Biennial, event which was streamed live to a worldwide audience at youtube.com/play. 

The Guggenheim is located on 5 Ave. with 87 Street, in the area called the 'Museum mile' in New York City.

CONNECTING THE DOTS...

"Stephan Weiss ‘connected the dots’ in his art and in his life – always seeking to make harmony out of creative chaos. He was a teacher, loved the artisan hand, and it was his illness led to our urgent call to change the healthcare system, as well as to ‘care for the nurses,’ as he asked me to do. Stephan’s spirit is at the core of all we do at Urban Zen".
Donna Karan.

Donna Karan and Stephan Weiss

Donna Karan married artist Stephan Weiss in 1983, four years after her divorce with Mark Karan. A sculptor and painter, Stephen co founded the Donna Karan Company with his wife and helped the fashion house by negotiating licensing agreements and structuring the departments. 

Born in Manhattan, Stephen attended the Pratt Institute and in the beginning of his career, worked for his father's drapery company “I. Weiss & Sons”. The talented artist Stephen died due to lung cancer in Manhattan in 2001.

Donna Karan referenced her late husband, the sculptor Stephan Weiss, when she said he was inspiring and guiding her to “sculpt the body with expression.”  And that was what she did for her fall 2013 collection,  sculpt  the body, which was the  base for this collection, with meters of jersey capes assymetrically draped around  the body.

The background, texture, line and color palette of the new Karan collection, were inspired in the textures of Weiss sculptures, palette which is 'strictly neutral', with earthy tones ranging to the black to rust, with shades of stone, camel, and rich chocolate brown but is the “seven easy pieces” concept launched for Karan in 1985 and that she resumed again twenty three years after, a leitmotiv for the new Karan Fall 2013 ready-to-wear collection.

Flexibility is important for Karan, and we can see it, in the seven individual pieces that could be mixed and matched to create a fully and integrate wardrobe that transitioned effortlesssly from day to night.

"These are clothes for women like me, who live and work 24/7 with passion and dress with emotion" said Karan.

Focal point in the silhouettes were the portfolio skirts, with or without draping, the double - breasted coats with round sleeves, the embroidery leather tanks, the stretch jersey dresses for day at night magistralmente draping and complemented with assymetric capes.

The  Weiss sculptures lines are present in this beautiful dress that sculpted the body mixing matte with shine abd sheer with skin.

The bustier made  in mini straps of leather fixed by diamonds, the draping dresses, the ponytail hair style, and the music bring me back to the gladiators in the Roman era.

Metal architectural  accessories complement  the looks

I love the Silk Velvet Devore Burnout that Karan used in degrades effect for this stunning and impeccably collection, that combines languidness, structure, and touch of raw texture charged in dramatic and elegant silhouettes.  

Through this collection Karan and Weiss are still connected but not by dots, but the heart, soul and the spirit.

Enjoy the Collection...

GEOMETRY 101...

Lygia Clark  (1920 – 1988) was a Brazilian artist best known for her painting and installation work. 

She was often associated with the Brazilian Constructivist movements of the mid-20th century and the Tropicalia movement. Even with the changes in how she approached her artwork, she did not stray far from her Constructivist roots. Along with Brazilian artists Amilcar de Castro, Franz Weissmann, Lygia Pape and poet Ferreira Gullar, Clark co-founded the Neo-Concretist art movement.

The Neo-Concretists believed that art ought to be subjective and organic. Throughout her career trajectory, Clark discovered ways for museum goers (who would later be referred to as "participants") to interact with her art works. She sought to redefine the relationship between art and society. Clark's works dealt with inner life and feelings.

The folds and architecture of her sculptures were echoed in Rodriguez’s designs.

Narciso Fall 2013 collection at New York Fashion week is all  Geometry 101, where the  source of inspiration was: Brazilian artist Lygia Clark, whose work he encountered at the São Paulo Biennial last year. 

An strong point in this collection is the diagonal line, that is present in his minimal and angular silhouettes giving asymmetrical cuts from the waistline to the hems, and folding the fabrics back and forth creating layers to give shape to their angular A-line tunics and slip dresses and white dresses.

Colorblocking turning out a collection of dresses that featured big blocks, "tinta unita" (tone-on-tone) or contrasting hues.  black color is back in the new collection, with a series of partially embroidered looks in a high-tech, laser-bonded fabric that was a mix of materials like charmeuse and latex, but I like the effect of mixing crepe and silk. 

He started out in stark black-and-white, but he gave the same valor to the cognac, tangerine, midnight blue tones.

"I came back and everything in my life was about color and asking how do you mix color in interesting ways, which is sort of a different road for me" Rodriguez said.

     Cutaway jackets came lapel-less, with narrow sleeves.

One favorite look to me is this 'timeless' symmetrical sleek bustier, 'palabra de honor' neckline (Strapless), with those slim, short trousers  that elongates the silhouette of every woman. Definitely this collection is pure 'Geometry 101' wearable.

Enjoy the collection...

THE ENDURANCE...

Celebrating its 30th anniversary, at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Nautica unfurled its Black Sail 2013 collection inspired by the nautical expeditions of the legendary Antarctic explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922), the Anglo-Irish polar explorer and one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antartic Exploration like when, after the race to the South Pole ended, in December 1911 with Roald Amundsen's conquest, Shackleton turned his attention to what he said was the one remaining great object of Antarctic journeyin, the crossing of the continent from sea to sea, via the pole. To this end he made preparations for what became the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–17. Disaster struck this expedition when its ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed before the shore parties could be landed. There followed a sequence of exploits, and an ultimate escape with no loss of life, that would eventually assure Shackleton's heroic status, although this was not immediately evident.


NAUTICA 'ENDURANCE' COLLECTION

In this collection highlights the biker jackets, shorter nautical tops, oversized parkas and longer leather coats, slim legging pants or jeans. 

A focal point was the fact that 'Nautica' reinvented sweatpants with a slimmer fit, showing trendy looks, which complemented it with appropiate Hip-Hop sneakers or boots.

Nautica this time showed  more trendy looks and fashion forward designs that builds off of the brand's seafaring sport heritage like were usual in before collections. The collar with thermal hood or textured fur neck it is  a focal point  in this collection.

The collection is high end but commercial, impacting, versatile and very wearable, so the Nautica man is ready for any adventure either on the "Seven Seas", the ski trail or snow-covered streets.

The Nautica boys are ready for a new Endurance expedition.

Enjoy the collection...