Alexander McQueen’s Final Show
Armand Limnander of the New York Times Style Magazine was recently invited to view some of the last pieces that Alexander McQueen had been working on before his death. For fifteen minutes, in a grand Paris drawing room, Alexander McQueen came back to life. The short commentary features a slideshow of McQueen’s final collection.
Says Limnander, “Artworks by Jean Fouquet, Sandro Boticelli, Stephan Lochner, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes and Hieronymus Bosch were captured digitally and transferred onto red, gold and silver dresses embellished with ornate embroideries. At this point, not much more can be said about the brilliance of McQueen’s work.”
Alexander McQueen's last collection. Photograph: Catwalking.com
Oscar Feast!
My friend Nancy is visiting from out of town for the weekend and so on Saturday night Alastair and I decided to take her to our very favorite Denver restaurant, Potager (see Alastair’s very favorable review here). It was, and it pains me to say this, a little disappointing. The appetizers — wilted savory greens, spinach and mushroom toast — were both fantastic. The main courses, however, not so much. The shellfish stew was more broth with scallops and mussels than it was stew as I understand the term, all topped off with a saffron aioli, which proceeded to disintegrate into unappetizing floating clumps in the broth. I like mayonnaise in pretty much any form but this was distinctly unappetizing. Nancy and Alastair both got the roast chicken and while the bird itself was well cooked, the jumble of accompaniments just didn’t work that well, and seemed to be different from what usually comes with the chicken. This time: arugula, dried apples(?), pine nuts, olives, and about fifteen other things. One got the impression that Potager might have been trying to clean out its fridge. The flourless chocolate cake, however, was divine. And the service, as always, was fantastic.
Alastair's Sardine Toast with my Canadian Flag Cocktail Napkins and Grandmother's Monogram Plates
But after a disappointing dinner Alastair and I felt duty-bound to prepare something pretty fantastic for the out-of-towner, especially as we were going to be settling in for a long night of Oscar-watching chez moi. And a veritable feast it was! We began with Alastair’s signature sardine toast: sardines, lemon, mustard, minced onion, oil, and butter, all combined and then toasted on a baguette. Delicious.
Caesar Salad with PLENTY of Anchovies
Loyal DOD readers may recall that Alastair and I have ordered a number of disappointing Caesar salads of late, so I decided it was time to make it right. I used my grandmother’s recipe for the dressing (as well as her bowl), fried my own croutons (pictured below) and Alastair brought over plenty of anchovies. It was all topped off by some grated parmesan, and I have to say it was pretty amazing. Tangy and salty and crunchy and thoroughly unhealthy, the croutons particularly. I think it was seeing the amount of butter and oil I used that might have given Nancy a heart attack, not the croutons themselves.
Homemade Croutons cooked in a gallon of oil and pound of butter
English Cucumber
We finished the meal with a delicious pasta salad prepared by Alastair: shrimp, dill, and English cucumbers, all tossed with perfectly cooked shell pasta and a tangy lemony dressing. Unfortunately my pictures of this scrumptious concoction all came out blurry. Maybe a consequence of all the wine we had consumed by that point?
On to the Oscars: We began eating and drinking and watching at 4:00 as E! began its red carpet coverage. I always find these things a little bit painful as the hosts bend over backwards to ingratiate themselves with the celebrities. Though we were grateful it wasn’t Joan and Melissa Rivers, Ryan Seacrest wasn’t much of an improvement. I just felt embarrassed for him. That said, he was leagues better than the horrendous Kathy Ireland, Sherri Shepherd, and Jess Cagle, who were hosting ABC’s half-hour coverage before the show actually began. Ireland, looking far too skinny, was, in a word, wooden. And yet absurdly peppy at the same time!!!! All inflection seemed to be thoroughly rehearsed. Please take her away and never let her do this again!
The awards went to the predicted winners. There weren’t really any surprises. We all cheered for Kathryn Bigelow as much for the fact that she beat out her ex-husband, James Cameron as for her being the first woman to win an Oscar for directing. Suck it, Jimmy! And I loved Sandra Bullock’s remarkably gracious acceptance speech, as she wittily acknowledged the other actresses in her category, gave a shout-out to mothers, and spoke about her own mother’s influence, particularly her insistence that no person, regardless of race, religion, color, class, or sexual orientation, is better than anyone else. I am also very much a fan of the format where each best actor/actress nominee gets a little speech delivered by someone who knows them. Many were quite touching.
As for dress, the real reason to watch, it was the general consensus of the room that the following looked horrible: Vera Farmiga (even though we love her); SJP (who fiddled with her neckline the whole night and seemed to have bathed in bronzer); Charlize Theron (who has to really work to look bad); Zoe Saldana (were those ornamental cabbages on her dress?); Kate Winslet (great from the waist up but otherwise seemed to be wearing separates, not a dress; maybe a twinset?); and Miley Cyrus. We were fans of the sartorial choices of Sandra Bullock, Rachel McAdams (Canadian!), Queen Latifah (all hail the Queen!), Carey Mulligan (hair, not dress), Julianne Moore, Helen Mirren, and Oprah Winfrey. George Clooney’s hair was horrendous and his attitude even worse. And finally, James Cameron’s wife needs to investigate the power of food; not only is it tasty, it also covers up your jutting collar bone!
Nice Collective Spring 2010: The Gathering
Okay, I promise to make this the last post regarding my obsession with military-styled clothing for men… Via Cool Hunting comes this rather stunning video from my San Francisco-based fashion hereos, Joe Haller and Ian Hannula of Nice Collective. It was shot at a stylized ‘military encampment’ in northern California for their Spring 2010 collection. Digital artist Andrew Jones’ gorgeously-animated digital projections play out on the faces and bodies of the models. I imagine this is what it’s like tripping on acid during a camping excursion on the Russian River… Excellent soundtrack too.
Nice Collective Spring 2010
Fashion’s Military Invasion Rolls On
As New York Fashion Week comes to an end, I’m thankful for another week of Olympic coverage to help fill the void left in my life. What, no more Runway Reports with sultry audio commentary courtesy of Cathy Horyn? Well, yes… but that doesn’t mean I have to give up. That said, I’m a big fan of military trends, such as field jackets, and especially fond of epaulets… as any friend of mine can attest to. So, I was happy to read Ruth La Ferla’s recent look into the fixation with uniforms in popular fashion, Fashion’s Military Invasion Rolls On, for the New York Times, especially on the heels of my last post.
Three military-inspired looks from Rag & Bone’s Spring 2010 line, below. For a slide show of Rag & Bone’s Fall 2010 line, click here. With looks like these, you can be sure that I’ll be stopping by Rag & Bone the next time I’m in New York. In the meantime, I’ll be dropping by Cherry Creek’s Lawrence Covell at 255 Steele Street to take a look at the few pieces starting to arrive now…
Rag & Bone Men's Spring 2010
Nau Vice Blazer
For spring 2010, Nau offers this vaguely military-chic look, with shaped cuffs, a rear right-side zippered pocket, and a tall collar. A modern blazer with casual style, Vice makes use of double weave 80/20 recycled poly/organic cotton. It sounds perfect as the weather warms and I transition to slimmer jackets and blazers (okay, obviously not yet). Priced at $225 this is a must-buy, at least for me! Versa, the women’s version, is styled more like a smart riding blazer and is built from 100% recycled polyester.
Nau adheres to three credos: beauty, performance, and sustainability. Unfortunately, the men’s line can’t be found anywhere in Denver. (Women have slightly more luck). I found it somewhat surprising, particularly given the smart design, eco-friendly materials, and simple care. The clothing is equally at home in a storm or on city streets. However, a call to The Garment District revealed their plans to carry the fall 2010 clothing line for both men and women. Looks like I’ll have to settle with a visit online for now.
CultureHaus Saturday Night at DAM
On Saturday night the DOD boys (and a very good lady friend of ours) attended CultureHaus’s big event at the Denver Art Museum: a celebration of the current DAM exhibit, Embrace, a multi-media show in which 17 artists have taken over the Libeskind-designed Hamilton Wing with their installations.
CultureHaus bills itself as the DAM-affiliated educational and social organization for the “young at heart” to appreciate art. They sponsor talks and social functions for their members, and for anyone else willing to buy a ticket. This particular event was probably attended by between 200 and 300 people and it was a relatively young crowd. It was also a badly dressed crowd. Or, at the very least, it was a crowd that had taken this opportunity – oh so rare in Denver – to dress up! Now in many ways we applaud this as there is far too little dressing up done in the relentlessly casual Mile High City, but sometimes people get a little carried away. There were a number of young and not-so-young women who had worn skin-tight or skin-baring clothing that seemed more appropriate to wearing out to “the club.” It was just a little too well lit at the DAM for this sort of attire: lots of strappy, slinky dresses and what one friend of mine calls “novelty tops”: minimalist blouses of somewhat complicated construction that do not really resemble blouses in the traditional sense. The men tended toward a uniform of jeans, blazer, and button-down shirt, the DOD boys among them. Some paired this with ties; most did not. One intrepid fashion innovator even paired his with a small mink stole (more on this below). One trend I have been noting of late is the blazer with deconstructed or unfinished edges that almost look fringe-like with threads hanging from every edge. I’m not yet sure what I think about this. On the other hand, I do know what I think about blazers with all kinds of graphics all over the back, including words and phrases and images (eagles and falcons tend to predominate). I saw one last weekend in SF with the word “Arrogant” in huge letters across the shoulders. Horrible. Unsightly. Unfortunate.
I could go on about the art – and indeed we took a stroll through the exhibits, one of which, “The Bathers” by John McEnroe, is featured above – but I’m just not very good at talking about art. That’s Alastair’s department but he seems to be silent of late. Instead let me discuss the food. The passed appetizers (how I love a passed appetizer!) were quite tasty: mini crabcakes, barely seared tuna with wasabi on salty chips, and mini cheeseburgers. Very nice. But the stationary appetizer stations were a disappointment: the customary vegetable and cheese plates, pita and hummus (really!?), and great big chafing dishes of meatballs in sauce. Snore. My great complaint of the evening, however, has to be the fact that while the event ended at 10, the bars closed at 9:30. Employees were literally packing up even as the party continued on, and some of us wanted a refill!
Post party many headed over to the Living Room, a spacious bar on Broadway, for cocktails. It was crowded and sometimes difficult to get the bartenders’ attention, but otherwise quite fun. The highlight, however, occurred at the end of the evening. Mink-stole boy (MSB) had also migrated to the Living Room and ‘round about midnight seemed to have gotten into something of a scuffle with another patron who had either made fun of – or actually interfered with; I wasn’t sure – the stole. MSB was not going to take this lying down. I had a front row seat as he got up in the face of the mink anti-fan: “You don’t mess with the mink stole! This was my grandmother’s mink stole! You want to take this outside? Come on buddy, let’s take this outside.” A puffy-haired, white-loafer-sporting, mink-stole-wearing aesthete screaming about his grandmother’s fur and threatening to take out another bar patron is not something I expect to see again soon. In short, it was fantastic. Who knew this was possible in Denver?
Design After Dark
So much fun did Alastair and I have on Friday night at Design After Dark that it’s taken us till today to report on it. DAD is the big fundraiser for the Denver Art Museum’s Department of Architecture, Design, and Graphics, and this is the third year in a row that Alastair and I have attended. And aren’t we glad we did!
The event was packed, filled with the art and design crowd of Denver (yes, such a thing exists! we promise): architects, fashion designers, graphic designers, furniture designers, artists, and all kinds of admirers and fans. One of the things this means is that some of the people were actually well dressed! I know, I know, difficult to believe; this is Denver, after all. But when you get this many design-conscious people in a room you actually get some decent outfits as well. People’s clothes fit! (Including men’s pants and jeans; on this issue, see Alastair’s recent post here.) And some might even be called fashion forward. Alastair and I don’t flatter ourselves that we necessarily fit into that category — we dress ourselves in the well-fitted grays and blacks of the sophisticated urban homo; tasteful and understated without pushing the envelope too much — but we recognize interesting fashion when we see it. And it was there to be seen this past Friday! Of course because there are so few chances to dress up in Denver, some people took this as an opportunity to go a little overboard. Word to the wise, ladies: prom dresses are for one occasion only. And some of the boys suffered from the opposite problem, natch: jeans and sloppy shirts untucked. This is Denver.
DAD winner by Semple Brown Design and Cataform
But enough of dress. This years’s DAD theme was SKIN and so all contributing designers fashioned a composition with skin as its theme. These pieces were offered up in a silent auction, as were many other items (at least twice as many as last year) donated by local businesses and individuals: artwork, furniture, gift certificates, accessories, you name it. The auction process could have been a little more streamlined, it must be said. There was some confusion about when it actually closed, meaning that some people bid within the allotted time but had their bids discounted by overzealous auction-closers with red markers. Yours truly lost out on a truly bizarre looking lamp that I thought was a lock. Alas…
The drink — wine, beer, and vodka cocktails — was included in the price of entrance, doing away with the complicated drink-ticket system of years past. Wise move, planners! And while the food was just as tasty as last year, there was definitely less of it. Some of us need to buffer that open bar with a little sustenance! That said, it was all tasty, especially the Asian-themed table complete with any number of dumplings, won tons, crab rangoon, and spring rolls. All in all, the DOD boys had a fantastic evening.
We wish all DOD readers a great weekend as we jet off to opposite coasts for some more fun and excitement away from the surprisingly design-conscious state of Colorado!
Lauren Hutton on Project Runway
Hutton in a recent GAP ad
You know things have gotten crazy when Alastair and I post twice in one day (see below), but that’s the kind of mood we’re in: excited for Design After Dark tonight (a fancy social event in Denver! a chance to dress up in this city of constant casualness!) and still reeling from the wonderfulness that was Lauren Hutton on Project Runway (and Models of the Runway) last night.
Hutton in earlier modeling days
That’s right, la Hutton was on PR as the guest judge. And about time! We are very glad that LH never stepped in to fill Janice Dickinson’s shoes on America’s Next Top Model (too lowbrow), but that doesn’t mean she has to confine herself only to selling her line of makeup on the Home Shopping Network. That’s right, LH hawks makeup on TV and many of us probably also remember her turn as the spokeswoman for Hormone Replacement Therapy before HRT became linked to the possibility of higher rates of breast cancer. But before all that Lauren Hutton was the original supermodel (take that, Janice Dickinson!), signing on to be the face of Revlon in 1974, the first time a cosmetics company would associate itself with one model only. She graced the cover of Vogue 28 (yes, that’s right, 28!) times. And of course she also acted, hosted a talk show and a travel show, modeled for J. Crew, and for many years has devoted herself to causes benefiting the environment and women’s health. In short, she’s a wee bit of an icon.
Hutton as Judge
Well, last night, she finally graced the guest’s chair on PR. And it was well worth the wait. Wearing a simple blue button-down and what looked like a suede blazer, LH was her casual non-flashy gorgeous gap-toothed self. And the voice! Just as gravelly as ever. Though at first she was hesitant during the final deliberations, telling Heidi “You go first,” she warmed up considerably, noting of Amy that she “gloried” in the burlap assignment and paying particular attention to the fact that the seams in Pamela’s dress were not so flattering to her model’s ass.
But the best part must have been when Lauren popped backstage to see the models after the show was over. I was worried that they, children that they are (well, save Brandise [32] and Alison, who is clearly lying about her age) might not even know who she was, but oh no. Cerri’s exclamation might have summed it up best: “Sweet Mother of Jesus, it’s Lauren Hutton!” One of them even shed tears. Lauren’s advice to the aspiring supermodels? Work four times harder than anyone else. After all, she explained, she was shorter than her competition and had a “lopsided face” and yet she became, well, Lauren Hutton.
La Hutton was clearly the high point of last night’s hour and a half so far as I’m concerned. The designers all did a good job with their potato sacks, Jay and Mila particularly (I didn’t care for Amy’s dress as much as the judges did). Ping’s contraption was kind of a disaster, and while Pamela’s was a little trashy looking, at least it covered her model’s ass. If I was surprised by anything it was that Pamela was kicked off instead of Jesus or Ping. I see the hand of the producers here: Ping is loony and Jesus (easy on the eyes) brings in the gays. Buh-bye Pamela. The other surprise of the evening was that Ping ditched Elizaveta, despite the model’s loyalty to Ping in the model-chooses-designer twist at the beginning. And for Ping to do so without shedding a tear signals something of a transformation. Not that I disagree with Ping’s choice, but when did she become so hard-hearted?
OK, that’s enough. I have other design choices on my mind; I must select my outfit for the big event tonight!
Jean Genie
Blake and I spend a significant amount of time lamenting over the unusually large number of ill-fitting men’s jeans in this town. We’ve discussed writing an entire entry on the subject. Hell, we could start a series with all the material at our fingertips, Denver.
In the meantime, I thought I would share with you Guy Trebay’s recent Fashion Diary for the New York Times, “Read My Hips: These Are Jeans That Fit.” Why are blue jeans, that most blameless and universal item of apparel, the one thing men always get wrong? Click here to read more and perhaps we’ll see you tonight at Design After Dark.
Models of the Project Runway Premiere!
The Cast of Season 7
Like other homosexuals across North America, Alastair and I were glued to the screen at 8:00 MST last night for the season premiere of Project Runway. Well, I was; Alastair arrived precisely at 8:01, which meant I was running down the stairs to let him in just as it began. “It’s already started. Run!” I yelled as I opened the downstairs door. And to his credit, and never a great one for exercise, Alastair ran. We were also joined – mid-runway show – by our southern gal pal, Bonita Lou (but this time I had left the door open for her so I didn’t have to miss one single minute).
Anyone who has bothered to read this far does not need a recap of how Project Runway works – is there any sane person left in this nation who has not enjoyed its wonder? – so let me cut to the chase. I believe I can speak for Alastair when I say that we are excited for the prospects of this season, more so than last. Three reasons: More talent. Crazier people. Much more model drama.
The Models of the Runway, Season 2
And here I am willing to go on record (albeit pseudonymously) and say that I am a convert to Models of the Runway. Lifetime – while it may make me sit through trailers for “The Pregnancy Pact” (dear god, has it come to this, Camryn Manheim?) – has been pretty savvy in its development of this sister show for PR. If you’re in for one, why not stick around for an additional half hour? Especially if you think you might learn something extra about PR itself. And of course you do. They are also well aware of a sizable chunk of their demographic: the gays. And what is Models of the Runway but an upscale version of the perennial gay favorite, America’s Next Top Model, except with actual models? Well played, Lifetime.
OK, some initial thoughts, in no particular order:
Back to New York! Amen.
We’re thrilled that, at least for the first episode, Heidi and Tim were joined by both Michael and Nina. Too often last season was one or the other absent.
Anthony is all kinds o’ gay. And that’s fantastic. He wears it well.
Ping is more than a little loopy. Also fantastic. All the better for us.
Seth Aaron needs to pick one first name and ditch the other. Haven’t the gays gotten over this silly habit yet? One is enough. (Jay and Janeane also seem to have two names but they don’t insist on being called both at all times.) He also needs to fix his hair, which is not nearly as “rocker” as he seems to think.
Janeane’s crying jags will start to wear pretty soon. Get a hold of yourself!
There are some pretty cute boys this time around. And I do mean “boys.” They just get younger and younger! (Or maybe it’s that I get… No, I won’t think of it that way.) We’ll see if they last.
As for the models: Allison may claim to be 23 but she kind of looks like a 40 year-old housewife from her native Ohio.
Brandise, 32 (!!!) and proud of it, is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and you know how I love a Canadian!
Sophia, while meeting with the approval of the ornery model coach, Anastasia, and quickly becoming one of Alastair’s favorites, definitely rubs me the wrong way. The woman was apportioning out clothes hangers within minutes of arriving in the Flatotel. Really??
But the one to watch – only for the sheer crazy factor – is Alexis, from right here in Denver! She proudly told the camera that her religion was witchcraft. She’s a witch model! (A witchodel?) But fear not: she only practices white magic, not black. Phew!
As for the verdict: Bravo to Emilio for winning, deservedly, in our humble opinion. Seth Aaron’s Avril Lavigne-inspired silliness was not to our taste, but you can’t pick ‘em all. (We had him pegged for the bottom three.) And Christiane – who not only created a loud mess of a dress, but also was rather cocky about it – was a great choice to be first off. We were disappointed to see the designers exhibit so much loyalty to their models right off the bat (especially as the previews make it seem like this is not going to last and indeed that at least one model, in a total twist, is going to reject her designer!); Kelly was tall and beautiful and deserved to stay. Alas…
Not all that surprisingly, we are hooked and will be back next week to see what happens. Stay tuned…
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