Going up?

I joked with my friend once that I would love to ride the elevator at the Conde Nast building (after feasting in the cafeteria of course) up and down for a day just to see what happens in the world's most fashionable shafts. Well, now I can have that experience and still hang on to my dignity.

Introducing @CondeElevator's Twitter feed. It's every bit of crazy goodness that 4 Time Square employees overhear on their way up the building. It's fantastically full of all the fashionese and fat phobia you would expect.

Meow, Quack, Grace.

I happened to be at the same fashion exhibit in the same gallery as the epically orange haired legend that is Grace Coddington a bit back, and I'd like you to know that she keeps her iPhone ringer set to quack. She's quite the animal lover actually. Here she is on Martha "made it" Stewart's talk show talking up her cats and cat book and cat necklace. Cats!



Here are the kitty photos of Karen Elson as Ms. Coddington for Vogue ca. August 2008.

Meow.

Swoon Worthy and In Vogue.

Oh dear, I haven't had a crush on a moviestar like this since Kirk Cameron's Bop centerfold was scotch taped to the top of my bunk bed (um, thank God that didn't work out!). I've fallen hard and I can't get up. His name is Sam and he's in a little movie called Avatar; maybe you've heard of it? Here, this is what he looks like:

Ah, a little scruff, a cute smirk, a broodiness. It's all quite amazingly delightful, no? I love his voice too. A little raspy and full of Aussie. Hot. Hot. Hot. Apparently he has fans like me over at Vogue too. He's in the January issue and there's a behind the scenes video of his shoot on their website.

Dapper with a dangerous edge; he's the man of my dreams. I'm in love. Tell me that's not the finest specimen of maleness you've seen in a while. Can't wait for him to come at me in 3D at the IMAX. Ok, I'm done swooning...for now.

Wait! No I'm not. Here's a few more:

Ok, now I'm done.

d'Ys The Man.

d'Ys and a creation for Kawakubo.

There are haircutters; they work in your local mall, know how to operate a pair of scissors, and love to give blowouts and blunt cuts. There are hairdressers; they work in salons outside of malls, make sure your scalp is massaged by the shampoo person, love executing a good razor cut, and will primp you til you look marvelous. There are hairstylists; they charge a bunch of cash, snip with precision, wear cool clothes, and have private studios above the ground floor in Manhattan. Then, there is Julien d'Ys. He's a hair sculptor and, well, he's one of maybe three names that the fashion world turns to to create magic.

Magic hair sculpture in Vogue.

From runway shows to museum exhibits, Julien's work is as much fine art as it is hair styling. He's spun magic for Galliano, Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garcons, and countless editorials for the heavy hitter Vogue photographers, like Meisel and Elgort. Mr. d'Ys is also gifted with a sketchbook. His drawings have a classicly cool fashion illustrator's touch and they've been used in print and on the walls of the Met for the Models as Muse exhibit. His work speaks for itself; take a look:

Julein's drawings in the final room at the Model as Muse exhibit.


Julien explaining his art to Hamish Bowles.

How does he do that cotton candy hair? I wonder...

Just A Suggestion.

I want to be this illustration.

In the fashion business, the ability to convey clothing through art on paper is extremely important. How else does one get an idea from the mind of the designer to the needle of the seamstress? Putting dresses on paper is quite a skilled talent, requiring a knowledge of how much detail is enough. This talent isn't just for designers either. The job of a fashion illustrator is to dedicate their artistic skills to rendering the glitz, glamour, and gild of the sartorial world in ads and publications so that Conde Nast doesn't have to shell out boatloads of cash for photoshoots every time they want to show you something. Well, also, the illustrations are completely gorgeous works of art and are a nice, occassional break from envy-inducing supermodels. Fashion Illustration runs the gamut from super souped-up (think collages of fabric, glitter, flourecent colors) to paired down (think, well, Mats Gustafson).

Gustafson renders Yamamoto.

Simple suggestions of simple outfits.

Mats Gustafson was born in Sweden in 1951, but New York can now call him its own. He studied costume design at the Scandinavian Drama Institute and had his first illustration published in British Vogue in 1978. He soon moved to New York and started contributing to Interview when it was under the guidance of Andy Warhol and then he hit American Vogue. Now he works for many designers and fashion houses through both editorial and ad campaigns.

A face in ten lines or less.


A portrait of Linda Evangelista.


Papercuttings.


Watercolor washes.


Work for Tiffany.

The thing about his work is just how much it conveys with just so little. Some whispers of watercolor perfectly shape an iconic Yamamoto ensemble, some cuts of white paper instantly become a perfectly pleated, plisse dress. The simplicity of his work is remarkable, and it creates a mood that induces just as much envy in me as the photoshoots dripping with supermodels. I want to be a Gustafson; I want to be that sophisticated, elegant, and chic.

Vogue's HeART.

Annie Leibovitz, Grace Coddington, and Lady Gaga make fashion. Cate Blanchett shows up too. Who could ask for anything more?

Full Of Grace.

Grace loves kitties.

I saw The September Issue yesterday morning with my wonderful friend Blaire, and since I'm a cheap chica we took advantage of AMC's $6 before noon deal. Hence, we found ourselves in a dark theater with Anna Wintour while the majority of the city still slept, or slurped mimosas through a hangover straw at brunch. I for one found the film very worth my early rise and shine, and I think Blaire did too.

The September Issue that the documentary swirls around. Grace didn't love Sienna...

I was going to live Tweet my viewing, but I realized that if I had some d-bag next to me fiddling with her glowy phone through an entire film, I'd be super annoyed and decided to forgo the electronic connection. Besides, I was too enthralled to peel my eyes away from the screen for very long. There were so many wonderfully delicious moments in this film and nearly all of them starred the oh-so-inspiring and utterly lovable Grace Coddington.

Marc Jacobs loves Grace.

Just who is Grace? She's the magazine's current creative director. Working under the dictatorial guidance of Anna, she oversees the ins and outs of many of the magazine's photo spreads.

Examples of shoots from the Vogue archives overseen by Ms. Coddington.

She pulls together stories based on a theme, gathers clothes to fit her narrative, helps cast the models, directs the photographers, and approves the images. That's a lot, but actually that's not all. She also dresses the models, styles the shoots, laces corsets, and buttons, and wraps, and...well if you need a fashion related thing done, she does it.



And she's been doing it for years. She's been at American Vogue since 1995, before that she was under the umbrella of British Vogue, and before that she was a well shot young model. She knows this business inside and out and she's not even a bit done making brilliant things happen within it.

Grace in her modeling days.

Her eye is sharp and her sensibility is romantic. She keeps her senses perked for inspiration that may strike in any, tiny way, through any narrow conduit. She's a true example of someone born to do what they do. Her work means a lot to her, and seeing her fight the good fight in it's honor against her boss is remarkable. She pushes when it's time to push and warmly embraces when it's time to comfort or concede or console. She's a perfect foil to the galaxy-large egos stomping the halls of her office.

A wonderful shoot from the August '08 issue of Vogue starring Karen Elson as Grace.


The book published by Edition 7L featuring thirty years of work by Grace. Click the image for ordering information.

Her shoots are gorgeous additions to the annals of fashion photography and I hope she continues to do her thing for years and years to come.

OMG. SRSLY. OMG.

I know, the story is so old...Anna Wintour is a cold, bitchy boss who tortures her skinny employees in various ways while they bleed, sweat, and cry over fashion editorials. I know. You know. We know. However, the chance to witness Wintour in action, behind her desk, rolling her eyes, glaring blankly, and hurling curt insults? I'm so all over The September Issue like LV logos on Andre Leon Talley's water bottle case! So on it. Here's the trailer. Watch it and get excited and then come see it with me this weekend!



Sweet dreams, fashionophiles!
xoxo
The Other Anna

Cozy Beach.

This photo from Garance Dore's style collage in Australian Vogue is gorgeous. The colors? The cozy sweater on a cool beach at dusk? That beautiful, simple cocoa-colored hair? Yes, please to all of it.

It's Like Riding A (Dream) Bike.

Couture season always gets me into a built-to-order kind of mood. I start craving customization. I want options and I want to say what goes where and what looks like what. It's just the diva in me. Thanks to Urban Outfitters Bike Shop, I can exorcise a little of that diva demon and wind up with something that will get her some exercise too. Check it out...

You can build your own bike! All the parts have different color options! You can change the color of the front tire, the back tire, both tire rims, your seat, your chain, your handlebars, and your pedal crank. I mean, come on? That's cool, right? Click the pic to make your own colorful creation. It's $399. No sneeze, but an absolute steal compared to this awesome yet $3,200 Benedict Radcliffe Fluoro bike commissioned by Andy Spade for his Partners & Spade concept store.

I saw this crayon-colored two wheeler on the Style.com site as a "Vogue's Most Wanted" pick and I was all like, "Damn! That's cool!" then I saw the price and I was all like, "Damn! That's rich gear!" then I remembered the UO Bike Shop and I was all like, "In your face, Vogue!". Ok, not really but I did get rather excited that even high concept, designery, customizable, cool stuff is becoming more and more attainable for the average Joanne. I know $399 isn't pocket change, but it's doable if you save your allowance. Go babysit. Eventually you'll be able to ride your (dream) bike to go babysit.

One More Thing Before I Go...

Why should Wintour be warm anyway?

I just watched the 60 Minutes piece on Anna Wintour, and I have to throw my two cents into the fire. Wintour is the head of the most influential, successful, widely known fashion magazine in the world. I really think that all comments regarding her bitchy, cold, wintry persona are quite sexist. Normally I'm of the overly optimistic crowd who hopes that everyone acts like they gently consume rays of sunshine and rainbows for breakfast, but in the fast-paced, high-stakes game of the media business, there isn't room for cozy, maternal, gentleness. Heard any male CEOs held to standards of warmth lately? I haven't.

Watch Anna's episode here, in case you missed it.

I admire Wintour for her shrewd, quick, decisiveness, and think it is well within the demands of her job. She runs an empire built on image and the assertion of her taste as the taste to have, and she succeeds. I like to poke fun at her persona as much as the next fashion fan, but underneath the teasing is true admiration and respect. I mean every hair on her head is in place, she wears runway-fresh Prada to work, and she keeps a team of stilettoed, skinny chicks scurrying through the Conde Nast hallways as if their lives depended on it, because well, they do. It's impressive. I wouldn't enjoy having to be that tightly wound all the time, but she seems to like it. And she's damn good at her job. Truth be told, I found her surprisingly smiley in the interview portions of the piece. At work it was a different story, as it usually is in business. In the end I say save the expectations of kid gloves for caretakers, give Wintour her feirceness and let her do her job. Just don't expect me to want to work for her-which I say with all due respect, Ms. Wintour!

Ok, Jamaica! Here I come!