"NO, I AM JUST WINDOW SHOPPING".

"Window shopping" is when one visits a store or mall to admire goods rather than to purchase them. The 'shopper' seems to be looking so intently at the glass in storefront windows that he appears to want to buy the window itself, hence 'window shopping'. Some time the seller ask: "You seem to be really interested in that dress. Do you plan on getting it?" and your answer usually is: "No, I'm just window shopping."

As many New Yorkers, window shopping it's my favorite past time, here in New York, specially by Christmas season, and  I love walking on my days off by Fifth Avenue and, of course, visiting my favorite windows at Bergdorf Goodman, where this year the subject is the Arts, where each window represents a different art forms, that underline fashion, as Architecture, Dance, Films, Literature, Music, Painting, Sculpture, and Theater.

THE ARTS: MUSIC.

• Everything shine on “Music", where  a trumpeting mannequin is surrounded by a gleaming texture composed of brass instruments. 

THE ARTS: ARCHITECTURE.

• In “Architecture” a glamorous mannequin is surrounded  by towers, Ionic columns, lamps and implements used by architects. 

THE ARTS: PAINTING.

• The colorless, hand painted  Dolce & Gabbana dress, that’s only available to the public by custom order, is the only fashion point in this window where the unpainted items are broken by the only segment of color, a colorful picture by artist John Gordon Gauld. 

THE ARTS: LITERATURE.

• On Literature, the background texture is full of portraits of Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare and Herman Melville and bust of Homer and Edgar Allan Poe.

THE ARTS: THEATER.

• This window epitomizes Theater shows of Broadway in  New York, Hollywood, Las Vegas, with their own language of lights flashing on stage and off, on the theater marquees. 

THE ARTS: DANCE.

• A dancer mannequin turning in complex and synchronized mechanism, simulating the antique musical coffers of our grandmothers, was the inspiration for this showcase.

THE ARTS: SCULPTURE.

• Could not miss the winter theme and this was precisely the subject selected for 'Sculpture', where a mannequin was framed and surrounded by stalactites and elaborate ice sculptures.

THE ARTS: FILM.

• And the seventh art could not be left behind reflected in this monochromatic and glamorous window that reflects the atmosphere of the golden age of cinema when the movies were in black and white.

If you are in New York, or you are planning to come over by Christmas season, do not miss going to  'window shopping' and visit Bergdorf Goodman's windows, that will be through January 2nd on 58th Street and 5th Avenue.

SOURCES:

• Blog Bergdorf Goodman.com
• The Creators Project.
• Photographs: Ricky Zehavi and Design & Trend- Meg Busacca
• Wikipedia.

DEATH BECOMES HER.

• "There is a charm and fascination in the manner and conversation of a widow which is known and appreciated by the other sex,"  Martha Louise Rayne. 

Mourning is, in the simplest sense, is synonymous with grief over the death of someone; But the world is also used to describe a cultural complex of behaviors, in which the bereaved participate or are expected to participate.
Customs vary between different cultures and evolve over the time, although many of the basic behaviors are maintained constant.

Mourning it is also the central theme of inspiration from this interesting exhibition, named Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire, on view through February 1, 2015, about the mourning costume and their social history, composed of about thirty pieces, accessories, often made of jet, and photographs related to the subject.

Focusing on the Victorian Era of the 19th Century in the United Kingdom and North America where mourning generally followed English forms, the exhibit is organized chronologically and features mourning dresses, from 1985 to 1915 and located by specific time periods: stages knows by such terms as "full mourning" when raven-black was the only color option and "half mourning" when dark, muted colors like gray and lavender could be introduced, exhibition which also includes mourning gowns by Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra.

Special caps and bonnets, usually in black or other dark colors, went with these ensembles. There was special mourning jewelry to complement the outfit as cameos or lockets designed to hold a lock of the deceased's hair or some similar relic that the wealthy would wear.

Formal mourning culminated during the reign of Queen Victoria, whose long and conspicuous grief over the death of her husband, Prince Albert, may have had much to do with it. Although fashions began to be more functional and less restrictive for the succeeding Edwardians.

Besides the costumes, props, photographs on the theme, the exhibition is complemented by informative contributions to inform the visiting about the subject, and famous quotes dynamically projected on the walls as one who Martha Louise Rayne wrote in her 1881 book "Gems of Deportment and Hints of Etiquette" that called me particularly  attention and  says: "There is a charm and fascination in the manner and conversation of a widow which is known and appreciated by the other sex".

I have to say that before visiting this exhibit I was very curious about it, because for nobody it's a secret that I love raven-black color, my favorite and present in all my collections, even becoming my regular daily uniform for me and many others around the world. 

Fortunately for us who love raven-black color, by the early 20th century, the black color as a rule only for mourning clothes was no longer to applied. And if we do memory the responsible for this change was the infallible Chanel that in 1926 brought the color black out of mourning away from the clergy, away from the shadows, turning it into the very essence of Parisian Chic, considered today the most chic, timeless and the most flattering of all colors. Not in vane Suzy Menkes wrote on December 12, 1983, at the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition staged by the Metropolitan Museum of Art: "Dressing in black means simplicity of line, perfection of cut and a touch of spirit".

SOURCES:

• Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.
• The little Vintage Black dress, Vintage Treasure, by Didier Ludot, Assoluline.               
• Wikipidia.
• Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of New York. 

IN MEMORY OF OSCAR DE LA RENTA.

• Fashion is about dressing according to what’s fashionable. Style is more about being yourself.” Oscar de la Renta.

• Oscar de la Renta (1932-2014).

KILLER HEELS.

"A shoe is not only a design, but it's a part of your body language, the way you walk. The way  you're going to move is quite dictated by your shoes"...Christian Louboutin.

• Christian Louboutin. "Printz," Spring/Summer 2013. Courtesy of Christian Louboutin. Photograph: Jay Zukerkorn.

THE EXHIBIT:

The picture above reminds me of the 'High Heels' movie, (in Spanish: Tacones Lejanos, meaning "Distant Heels") a 1991 melodrama film written and directed by one of my favorite movie directors, the Spanish, Pedro Almodóvar. But this picture is not a movie poster; it is the catalogue cover from Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe, an interesting exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, that show the  exploration, development and evolution  of one of the most faddish and provocative  fashion accessories: the High Heels. The exhibit starts with the platform shoes (Chopines) born in the 16th century as a symbol of wealth, to the glamorous 8-inch stilettos  used today on catwalks and red carpets. 

A shoe is a piece of footwear created and intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Through the ages, shoes, and specifically the high-heeled shoe, has gone through many shifts in style and symbolism as fashion statement, fetish object, and instrument of power. 

It is an item that talks about our personality and identity, with more function and conceptual meaning (protection, comfort, sexiness, and status) like no other fashion accessory where functionality and symbolism walk together. In this sense, I am completely in agreement with Christian Louboutin that "A shoe is not only a design, but it's a part of your body language, the way you walk. The way you're going to move is quite dictated by your shoes".

The exhibit displays more than 160 historical and contemporary heels grouped, according to style, inspiration, conceptualization and origin, in four rooms calls: Revivals and Reinterpretation, Rising in the East, Architecture and Spice walk. 

Original pieces from designers and houses represented include:  Blahnik, Chanel, Salvatore Ferragamo, Zaha Hadid X United Nude, Iris van Herpen X United Nude, Christian Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, André Perugia, Prada, Elsa Schiaparelli, Noritaka Tatehana, Vivienne Westwood, and Pietro Yantorny among others.  But, what's remarkable for me is  the story behind the concept design of the Planting Seeds shoe as you walk into the ground designed by Sputniko after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster .

• Rem D. Koolhaas. "Eamz," 2004. Courtesy of United Nude. Photo: Jay Zukerkorn.

• Winde Rienstra. "Bamboo Heel," 2012. Bamboo, glue, plastic cable ties. Courtesy of Winde Rienstra. Photo: Jay Zukerkorn.

• Sputniko. "The shoes to plant  seeds as you walk into the ground", 2012. Courtesy of Sputniko. Rachelle Blidner- AP Photo.

• Watch the following explicative video,  suggested by WSJ Live, with Jackie Bischof and Lisa Small, about the Killer Heels exhibition.

THE SHORT FILMS:

The video 'Spike​' by American artist Zach Gold, commissioned for this Killer Heels exhibition, welcomes when visiting the exhibit that also includes five more, specially commissioned  short  films, from filmmakers: Ghada Amer and Reza Farkhondeh, Steven Klein, Nick Knight, Marilyn Minter, and Rashaad Newsome.

• SHOWstudio Presents: Killer Heels - La Douleur Exquise, by Nick Knight / Georgina Goodman / Max Jacquard / Younji Ku.

Killer Heels exhibition was open to the public last September 10 of 2014 and will be on display through February 15 of 2015, on the Robert E. Blum Gallery, 1st Floor, at the Brooklyn Museum in NYC, located at the 200 Eastern Parkway.

After visiting this interesting and beautiful exhibit, created especially for all those who love the world of fashion, you may conclude not only  that change is the essence of fashion and that also it is frequently cyclical but also that: "High-Heeled shoe have been, are and will being the best and perfect accessory for any design and as such should being comfortable, functional and beautiful"...John Miranda.

SOURCES:

• Brooklyn Museum. Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe is organized by Lisa Small, Curator of Exhibitions, Brooklyn Museum.
• Sponsored by Nordstrom.
• Print Media Sponsor W Magazine.

BALENCIAGA & SNOW MOTTOS.

"The task of the designer is to be both architect, sculptor, painter, musician, and philosopher, and be able to cope with different problems of planning, shape, color, harmony and proportion".  Cristobal Balenciaga.

• Cristobal Balenciaga (1895 -1972), Spain.

• Carmel Snow, director of Harper's Bazaar, and designer Cristobal Balenciaga, 1952. Taken by Walter Sanders.

"Nothing is as mysterious as the simplicity". 
Carmel Snow.

• "Nothing is as mysterious as the simplicity ... As always, predictability it is that the influence of Balenciaga, penetrate deep and silently, to take over all the world of fashion". Carmel Snow. (1887-1961), Ireland.

• A Balenciaga dress that reflects their architectural style.

RISE LIKE A PHOENIX.

• Him is Thomas "Tom" Neuwirth, a talented Austrian Guy, that dreamed to become a fashion designer.

• And she is Conchita Wurst, the same Austrian guy that studied fashion before embarking on a singing career through the 2007 casting show starmania, the same guy who came to international attention when winning The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 representing Austria. Since then Conchita started as the title of their winner song says: Rise Like a Phoenix, where the beautiful lyric seem like inspired in his own life.

ON STAGE.

• Conchita Wurst on Eurovision stage singing Rise Like a Phoenix.

ON THE STREET ART.

• Now Paris is full of Street Art inspired in Conchita, underlining that he or she is a big celebrity that inspires, either those talented street Artists or either fashion designers like French Jean Paul Gaultier.

• And from the stage Conchita goes to the Street Art, and from these to the catwalk, or vice versa but Conchita now it's everywhere in Paris.

ON THE CATWALK.

• While Conchita was doing her new roll as fashion model, on Gaultier's catwalk, at the same time the musical theme Rise Like a Phoenix was the musical background at the end of this show.

• Conchita with Gaultier on the catwalk.

• Conchita Wurst as a fashion model at Jean Paul Gaultier Autumn Winter 2014 fashion show.

ON CR FASHION BOOK.

A month after closing Gaultier Haute Couture catwalk, Conchita was selected by another designer: Karl Lagerfeld, who was exhorted by their friend Carine Roitfeld  editor of CR Fashion Book, to capture the new fashion Icon Conchita Wurst in new-season Givenchy for the latest issue of her magazine.

• Karl Lagerfeld with Conchita Wurst, in the new issue of CR Fashion Book. Photo by Karl Lagerfeld.

• Conchita strike a pose as fashion model in the new Issue of CR Fashion Book. Photo by Karl Lagerfeld.

POIRET MOTTO.

"I am not a trader. The ladies come to me looking for a suit in the same way that they going to a distinguished artist to get from him their portrait over a canvas. I am an artist, not a dressmaker". Paul Poiret.

• In this picture above, costume designer Paul Poiret (1879-1944), and actress Joan Crawford (1904-1977) on 1928. 

AN ECLECTIC SHOW.

THE TEMPUS'S HOUSE.

Tempus is a latin word meaning time, but Tempus is also the name of a watches brand  produced by  the Tempus House, house that born in Italy, on the post-war era, inheriting the dedication and meticulous work of Alessandro Signori, a renowned artisan italian from a town near Milan.

Alessandro practiced alchemy with great skill and such was his reputation that this came to the ears of king Humberto I, who immediately commissioned him to do the mission all the locks of royal treasures.

The environment, like the art that the Etruscans left in Tuscan land, served as inspiration to Alessandro to commit to give to the Tempus House the values aesthetics and innovation plus a high component of accuracy and reliability which remain the basis in the development of this brand. So, the Tempus  Watches are for those who want to carry on your wrist more than a watch, an accessory that holds within it, the memory of a King.

• You can see all details and more information about of the last Tempus Watches 2014 collection on the following website:: Tempus Waches.

THE MIRANDA COLLECTION.

Last July 23 was a magic night, full of fashion, music, lights, and personalities, night for which were created minimalist outfits, basics and no basics, garments in stretch fabrics, wools and chiffons in neutral colors as Navy Blue, Nude tone and Raven, muted colors that scream on the catwalk, which served as a backdrop to show the only and unique accessories of the night, the Tempus Watches.

INVITATION CARD.

• And with the motto: "Your time is now", in invitation card, the Tempus House promoted its event to show the last Watches collection.

• The first time that I made an evening gown, was a tubular column purple color with an eclectic silhouette. And almost two decades after this happened, eclectic is the word who my great friend and right hand in all my fashion catwalks, fashion photographer and event planner, Gustavo Lopez chose to baptized the last Tempus Watches 2014 fashion show.

BACKSTAGE.

• The makeup  and styling for this event was in charge of two young and talented professionals. Here the makeup artist Camila Carvajal with model Anita Ospina.

• The styling and make up was perfect and here the makeup artist Hernan Restrepo is delighted with the beautiful face of Yekaterina.

• Eliana Hoyos on selecting the watches for the models Angelika Lange and Yekaterina Grigorenko.

ON STAGE.

• The singer Maria Camila Tapias, doing their performance, in John Miranda with only two Tempus Watches like accessories.

• While singer were doing her performance, models were striking a pose on stage to show the las Tempus Watches collection. Here Anita Ospina in John Miranda.

• I love this picture from Camara Lucida, here everything is perfect,  the model, the dress, the pose to show the watch. The beautiful model Anita Ospina was responsible for opening the fashion show.

• A beautiful close-up for a beautiful brunette, Monica Londono in John Miranda for Tempus Watches 2014 Fashion Show.

• I love Raven color and the beautiful Liza Monsalve looks stunning on it.

• Nothing better than a minimalist design to show a Watches collection.  On this picture Angelika Lange in John Miranda for Tempus Watches.

• On stage from left to right, Angelika Lange in John Miranda, Jefferson Rodriguez, Anita Ospina in John Miranda and Yekaterina Grigorenko in John Miranda.

• Russian model Olga Solovei in John Miranda, strikes a pose, on stage for Tempus Watches 2014 Fashion Show.

• Live music to show the latest collection of Watches Tempus. On stage Diego Gonzalez striking a pose with Olga Solovei in John Miranda.

• Saxophonist Juanito Rivera on stage of Tempus's show.

• This is one of my favorites outfits, a mermaid skirt in stretch fabric complemented with Colombian poncho in silk chiffon and Olga Solovei, looks stunning, striking a pose on stage.

• The Beautiful Monica Londono in, a nude color, negligee dress by John Miranda for the Tempus Watches 2014 fashion event.

PHOTOCALL.

• Eliana Hoyos, Tempus Watches general manager.

• Former model Isabel Cabrales, daughter in law of former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe.

• Journalist and model Adrian Lara, best known for the commercial of perfume 'Pronunciation' by Open English.com.

• My great friend, Gustavo Lopez, fashion photographer and event planner was the mastermind of this great event. Here with his '​​paisana' and socialite Marucha Kury.

• EVENT PLANNER: GUSTAVO LOPEZ.
• FASHION COLLECTION: JOHN MIRANDA.
• MAKEUP ARTISTS AND STYLING: CAMILA CARVAJAL AND HERNAN RESTREPO.
• MODELS: YEKATERINA GRIGORENKO - ANGELIKA LANGE - MONICA LONDONO - LIZA MONSALVE - ANITA OSPINA - OLGA SOLOVEI - DIEGO GONZALEZ - JEFFERSON RODRIGUEZ. 
• PHOTOGRAPHY: CAMARA LUCIDA.
• WATCHES: TEMPUS WATCHES.