Lanvin for H & M

SEE THE LATEST VIDEO ABOUT THE H&M DESIGNER COLLABORATION.

babies.....be there or be OWNED.  this is going to be incredi-ballz. ♥♥♥

Denis Gagnon

Denis Gagnon exposed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

By Eva Friede, The GazetteOctober 19, 2010

MONTREAL — It was the dream of a lifetime for Denis Gagnon.


“I don’t think I’ll have another day like this in my life,’’ the designer said Monday after showing his spring collection of undulating fringe and sailor stripes in the light and lofty Glass Court of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The darling of the Quebec fashion scene, Gagnon had the opportunity to celebrate his 10th anniversary in business in high style, not only with the fashion show but with an exhibition of 20 works that opens Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010 to the public in the museum’s Contemporary Art Square.

It is a remarkable and perhaps first-time achievement for any Quebec or Canadian designer to be fêted and exhibited at a fine-arts museum. And it comes despite the well-known financial difficulties of Gagnon and many other fashion designers.

“Denis Gagnon deserves to be on display and deserves to be recognized,’’ said Nathalie Bondil, director and chief curator of the museum.

“He works so hard. He is so deeply involved in his creations. He is so demanding in his art. He has no compromise, always wanting to be avant-garde, always wanting to recreate himself, always wanting to innovate.

“He’s so radical.”

Guests – almost all in black – included a who’s who from the cultural, fashion and business fields: designers Marie Saint Pierre, Helmer Joseph and Philippe Dubuc; Mary and Peter Nasri of Bedo; architecture activist Phyllis Lambert; and photographer Heidi Hollinger in an ultra-short fringe piece from a recent Gagnon collection were among the guests.

Gagnon himself wore a Givenchy blazer – the first time he has allowed himself to buy such an item – over a sailor stripe top and long shorts.

The spring collection features 32 pieces: hand-dyed and bleached fringe pieces in cream or mossy and teal greens, zip trims, delicate silver chains, and more commercial but still avant-garde sailor stripes, some shredded or worked with leather and chains.

The showstopper, worn by Vania Aguiar, editor of Pure magazine and a former model, was a confection of white fringe and silver chains. The styling leaned toward a touch of punk, with spiked hair, and multiple rings on the models’ ears, lips, nose or eyebrows.

Sailor stripes became pervasive last spring on streets around the world, and have carried forward to next spring and summer on international and Montreal catwalks. “It’s the continuity of fringe,’’ Gagnon said. “I love it.’’

Last week, Gagnon explained the inspiration for the collection was Dans un jardin, with the sounds of children playing, church bells, music in the background, in a soundtrack designed by Christian Pronovost.

He worked all summer on the collection, sewing about half of the garments himself. One vest of swirling zippers alone took perhaps three days of work, he said. He also created intricate handbags of python and fringe and designed shoes for the show, which were produced by Aldo.

One bag had bleached fringes from white to blue swaying down perhaps 18 inches, with four heavy silver spikes anchoring the bottom of the bag.

The exhibition allows the public, as per Bondil’s goal, to view the artistry, skill and beauty of the designs.

Twenty pieces by Gagnon, arranged by theme – zippers, fringe and sailor stripes – hang from the ceiling at eye level.

The exhibition was designed with architect Gilles Saucier, not as a retrospective but to show the artistry of the designer’s recent work, Saucier said. The space is dominated by a massive inverted black pyramid suspended from the ceiling, upon which film is projected. The walls of the Square are covered in closeup photographs of his work: fringe suggesting wheat fields; a python chain for a handbag; all that intricately worked zipper.

Saucier said there are three themes to the space.

The source of inspiration is represented on the walls of the room, with images from his own work transformed and “transcended back to the memory,’’ he said.

The middle of the room is dominated by the “strong, energetic pyramid,” made of a stretch material called Extenzo, upon which images of city scenes and fashion shows, shot by Martin Laporte, are projected. That represents what is in Gagnon’s mind at present.

“Fashion exists because we want to change ourselves, we want to represent ourselves in a different way,’’ Saucier said.

Finally, the pieces from past and the current collections are hung from the ceiling. “It’s not nostalgic or retrospective. It’s a moment, which is now. Fashion is about what is now,” Saucier.

Bondil met Gagnon before the Yves Saint Laurent show at the museum in 2008. For the opening, she recalled, she wanted to wear a local designer, and not – as might be expected – YSL.

“Our duty, also, is to promote contemporary and local art,” she said in an interview last week. Yesterday, she wore Denis Gagnon for Bedo, a black dress with beaded shoulders.

It was Gagnon who suggested a “happening” at the museum to mark his 10th anniversary, Bondil recalled; from there came the notion of an exhibition in the new Contemporary Art Square, which is free to the public at all times and whose goal is to provide a venue for experiment and innovation.

Among the many innovations Bondil has spearheaded at the museum is bringing fashion into the fold: the Gagnon show comes after YSL, certainly one of the great créateurs of the 20th century, and before Jean Paul Gaultier, the enfant terrible of French fashion, whose work will be the subject of a retrospective here from June to October 2011.

“For Denis, to be between Yves Saint Laurent and Jean Paul Gaultier, it’s great luck for Yves Saint Laurent and Jean Paul Gaultier,’’ Bondil responded, asked whether the honour of being in such company could help Gagnon’s business.

It means a lot that a cultural institution values his work, she acknowledged.

Gagnon, 48, has had his share of ups and downs in his 10 years in business. He worked in costume design for theatre and cinema before launching a daring men’s line in 2000. The following year, he branched into women’s wear. And in 2005, he opened a boutique in Mile End, only to close it a year and a half later despite rave reviews. “Brilliant. I am in awe,’’ Holt Renfrew fashion guru Barbara Atkin declared after a show in 2005. He returned to the runway, more ecstatic reviews, a collaboration with Fullum & Holt leather makers and another deal with the Bedo retail chain last summer. But acclaim and status as cultural hero have not yet translated into financial success.

Bondil acknowledged how difficult the fashion business is, comparing the work of a designer to a painter. “A designer has to imagine several seasons every year. He can not stop,’’ she said.

“He has the pressure of a contemporary artist and the pressure of business.”

She said she was surprised to learn the extent to which even Gaultier – who is backed by the French luxury house Hermès – struggles from season to season.

Business is looking up, Gagnon said. He now has a president and team of staff for La Maison Denis Gagnon. “I am always looking for a backer,’’ he said, adding that a new chapter starts today as the museum show opens to the public.

Gagnon presents his spring collection in Toronto Friday, closing fashion week there.

Denis Gagnon S’Expose, translated as Denis Gagnon Shows All, runs at the Contemporary Art Square of the MMFA, Jean Noël Desmarais Pavillion, until Feb. 13. Admission is free.

© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette



Denis Gagnon for Aldo

totally valid and inspired designer, Denis Gagnon.  {side note, absolutely stunning website....seriously, check ca} with his 10 year anniversary just passed, he can pat himself on the back for a career retrospective that can be compared to that of some of my fav's.  however, we all know that in true, self-deprecating form, most creative people do not self gratify when it comes to their careers.  or much of anything else.  i can relate.  let's all do a happy dance and give thanks to one of Canada's finest which is SO close to my heart as he resides and breathes in my current city of residence.  Montreal, Quebec.  whaaa what. ♥

Bjorg

first of all.....i peeped a little of the above on BLEACHBLACK today.  amazing blog.  we could all learn a little from these ladies.

Bjorg - Bjørg grew up surrounded by the arctic nature in the North of Norway and began making one of a kind jewellery pieces in 2004. Her jewels are widely recognized for their playfulness and raw elegance.


Always unpredictable, balancing the fine and the raw, the jewels are made of natural, precious and pure materials. Bjørg releases one main collection per year which includes: necklaces, bangles, cuffs, chains, cufflinks, rings, earrings and pins. All hand-crafted .925 sterling silver, all platings are vermier (gold-plated silver), 3 micron – 18 or 23 carat gold.

This was a little blurb written up on NOT JUST A LABEL, but if you're interested, check out Bjorg's site directly.  Gorgeous jewelery.

NOT JUST ANOTHER LABEL

“Fashion finds its freedom in the art of individuals; NOT JUST A LABEL is a place for those who find their way off the beaten track, allowing them to express themselves in a community where everything goes...break the mould, redefine the expected, re-colour the palette, inspire and be inspired.”


NOT JUST A LABEL ("NJAL") is the leading global business directory for showcasing avant-garde fashion designers of today, nurturing the upcoming talents of tomorrow. It provides an outlet for talent to blossom; a place where visionaries meet collaborators dedicated to the creative spirit of fashion. The platform targets the most exciting avant-garde fashion designers, providing a stage where collections are showcased online. Numerous designers have already been discovered by international press and recruited by renowned retailers and prestigious fashion houses via the NJAL website.

Through an unlimited global showroom, matching demand and supply with individuality, creativity, diversity and talent, NOT JUST A LABEL provides a free tool that can be used by designers to present themselves along with their collections and sell them on a global basis. This is a unique way for industry participants and fashionistas alike to access the ideas of tomorrow’s designers.

The use of NJAL is completely for free for designers. NJAL's focus is to support designers and to spark a rethinking in the industry. The online shop revolutionises the way retailing works, giving designers the opportunity to cut out expensive middlemen. NJAL takes a commission off the retail price for all sales made through our platform; taking care of all administration and security NJAL sells on a global basis connecting end consumer and creator, providing designers with a flexible sales opportunity and a way to increase earnings due to a higher profit margin.

As a unique network of like-minded individuals with a profound sense of trendsetting, NOT JUST A LABEL also offers a rare opportunity to reach and interact with a global community of opinion makers. We offer a wide range of cooperation opportunities for companies, schools and media, both on our site and at related fashion events.

If you would like more information about NOT JUST A LABEL please contact us. Be part of it…be a black sheep yourself

all the things that i love about everything.  strength in autonomy and individuality.  art taking precedence over money or corporation.  much respect.  much love.  and heaps of support.  the revolution will not be televised.  xoxo

yellow, orange and red. red. red.

Triple Venti Decaf Sugar-Free Vanilla Soy Latte - how's that for pretentiousness?

red leaves
yellow leaves
orange leaves
fall is here
fall is here.

i can smell it
my dog can smell it
'a change is gonna come'
her sense of smell
is her highest
most enhanced sense
the one
that guides her
most heavy of decisions

eeney
meany
miney
moe
catch
a tiger
by the
toe

if he
holler's
let him
go
eeney
meany
miney
moe

out of my mouth
comes pouring out like honey
my sad stories
sometimes i think they're gone
buried
under a mountain
of happiness
and a lifetime
of sunshine

and then there they are
literally
the words
jumping out of my heart
onto an innocent
bystander
and they are caught
like frightened drivers
on an old dirt road
they don't know
how to stop the bleeding
they can't
identify
which bones are broken
or where my other
shoe went

"Sharon, turn the lights on HIGH BEAM so that i can see!"

but there is nothing to see
my injury
runs deep
as deep as
anything that has ever run deep
running
anywhere

words that are not
strangers to my mouth are
as follows:
rape
abuse
dysfunctional family members
manipulation
lies
broken promises
step-father
tragic accident
being a granddaughter widow of a living grandfather
alcoholism
drug abuse

and i am not the exception
everyone that i know
has a story
or
fifty
just like mine
difference is
they don't feel the need
to share

It's a story as common as a penny, son
It ain't really worth anything to anyone

Poor little sore little song
That aches like a muscle each time that it moves
Sad little song that you play
And you play and you play
And you play 'til you lose
While history is outside writing a recipe book
For every earthly pain
This song is inside finger painting dark swirls
Again and again and they all look the same 

~ Old Old Song - Ani DiFranco

i wonder why i do
i wonder if one
day i will just put them down
and find my hands free

that's the goal
that's the light

and until i get there
i'll take my
Triple Venti Decaf Sugar-Free Vanilla Soy Latte
that's what'll do it for today
that
and
love.

all the love that
you can throw at this ol' gal

thankful

Such an intent stare
One eye at a time
Your talons like fish hooks

You are a rare bird
The kind I wouldn't even mind
Writing in the margins of my books

Sometimes I see myself
Through the eyes of a stray dog
From an alley across the street
And my whole mission just seems so finite
My whole saga just seems so cheap

I mean I know that now is all there is
And love'll just makes you cry
So I live for the sight of a rare bird
Suddenly flying by

And I meet your stare
One eye at a time
Writing in the margins
Of my mind

Sometimes I see myself
Through the eyes of a stray dog
From an alley across the street
And my whole mission just seems so fine
My whole saga just seems so cheap

And that's when your song calls to me
From way up in a tree
And I look up
And the whole world
Is as it should be

- Ani DiFranco

i am thankful
for the perspective in my way
for the love in my
heart

for the family
in my reach
who are pillars
of love
and strength
to guide
me along
my way
like
water wings
on a child

for the friends
who remind
me
that everyday
is today
and now
and here
that all we have
is this
moment
that we choose
to embrace

to have come
so far
from there
to hear
to listen
intently
to my heart
and render
her
council
most important
among
the myriad
of suggestions

which is not to say
that my thoughts
don't stray

it just
is
to say
that i have
learned
to
love
what is good for me
and not
what isn't

collaborations

just a few things here and there that i love.  a little Covetist history for the books.  Marc Jacobs.  Daisy.  Sofia Coppola.  Marie Antoinette.  Virgin Suicides.  all incredible pieces of art.  all in my heart to this day.  for different reasons.  obvi. 

up early today.  bad dreams.  maybe these sweet images will render lovely to replace the bad ones in my subconscious.  xoxo

Shadow Boxer

i swing my stick legs 'round at the root

and pile drive each foot into a platform boot

and i'm up and i'm out

cuz i'm bouncing off the walls

and i come when i'm called

and you called

Ain't That The Way - Ani DiFranco

the rain comes down today
and i am feeling
a little rain
coming down
today

her cells
whispering
to her bones
connected
to her muscles

reminds me of one
rainy day
in particular
when we came home
we turned on
in the blue light of dawn
and made love

and the next morning
i slapped on my boots
and somehow knew
that this would be the last morning
i would see you
because i had to work
and you didn't
because
i brought a change of clothes
and you knew
because
the shoes
and bracelet
and feather
i left behind
will be all
that is left of me

these materials are as follows:
silver metal
faux leather
and like birds of a feather

we are similar
but not the same

and instead of compartmentalizing my feelings
i chose to feel them
and you couldn't choose

the sacred space that we created together
wasn't sacred enough
enough
enough
enough

for you
you
you
you

and in the end
your choice navigated our fate
in that sacred space
{the space when we drank down dreams
the space when we laughed
the space when we kissed
the space in the grass
the space on that warm summer night
the space when you stopped thinking
and your hair fell in my face
and your shiny new purchase
lay haphazardly
beside us
except a tiny piece of the arm cuff
was touching my leg
the space when you considered it
just for a second
and then dismissed it
just like you dismissed me}

and i don't regret a thing
becuse you never did figure out
what makes me cum when you call
and then
you just never called.

McQueen Memorial

February 11, 2010  11:22 am

" The news that Alexander McQueen has killed himself is particularly devastating because it always felt to me like he’d be the last man standing. He was restless, but so pragmatic with it I assumed he had what it took to endure the extreme situations he placed himself in. He was also an arch romantic with a pessimistic streak. It produced some of the most beautiful, shocking images in the history of fashion, but it’s a state of mind that can lead to endless disappointments. The death of McQueen’s mother last week would have validated his pessimism. It would undoubtedly have taken away his most vital support. It’s awful to imagine him trying—and failing—to cope, and one can only hope that, if he was looking for peace, he found it. For everyone left behind, there will eventually be consolation, however scant right now, in a body of work whose power will never die."

—Tim Blanks 



Bjork singing Gloomy Sunday



Daphne Guiness



Sarah Jessica Parker



"LONDON — About 1,000 people, some in homage plumes, nearly all in raven black, gathered here on Monday under the soaring dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the life of the renegade designer Alexander McQueen, whose genius remained resiliently set against the minor and the conventional.

Alluding to the joy he found in creating beautiful clothes and presenting them in extraordinary settings, Suzy Menkes, the fashion editor of The International Herald Tribune, one of four speakers, said of St. Paul’s: “It would have been his ultimate venue.”

Mr. McQueen was found dead at the age of 40 on Feb. 11 in his home in London, his death ruled a suicide.

The memorial service started promptly at 11 a.m. after a crowd of onlookers had gathered outside behind police barricades to watch the parade of arriving celebrities and fashion-world figures, many of them in town for London Fashion Week.


Inside the cathedral, two choirs led a clerical procession past Mr. McQueen’s family members on one side and his friends and colleagues on the other, seated in a facing semicircle. They included the designers Stella McCartney and Hussein Chalayan; the actress Sarah Jessica Parker; the models Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss; and the heiress and couture collector Daphne Guinness, who was somberly outfitted in McQueen tailoring with a black feather-shaped hat.

In his opening address, the Rev. Canon Giles Fraser acknowledged the two distinct spheres of influence on the designer.

“When he needed support and solace, he found it in his family,” Mr. Fraser said. “Which is why, despite the dazzle of his world, he never forgot his East End roots.”

Mr. McQueen’s father, Ron, who attended the service, was a taxi driver; his mother, Joyce, a social science teacher, died Feb. 2 after a long illness, a loss that was said to have left Mr. McQueen devastated. The service was full of the English pomp and circumstance to which Mr. McQueen was not immune. The London Community Gospel Choir performed “Amazing Grace” as a collection was taken to benefit, among other charities favored by Mr. McQueen, the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

The singer Bjork, dressed in a feathery gray and brown skirt and a parchment set of wings that framed her small, gold-capped head — presumably an allusion to the designer’s love of birds and falconry — movingly sang “Gloomy Sunday,” based on the Billie Holiday version.

Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue, observed in her address that Mr. McQueen was a man of profound contradictions. “There was no comfort zone with Alexander McQueen,” Ms. Wintour said, noting that people could be delighted, repulsed and amazed by his fashion.

Mr. McQueen altered the shape of the body using, for example, corsetry and anatomically correct breast plates as a recurring motif. He drew on Orientalism, classicism, English eccentrics and his ideas about the future, combining them in complex and often perplexing ways. At his last show, in October 2009, the models wore platform shoes that looked like the hulls of ships.

He was equally capable of belligerent and impulsive behavior; he was famous for not showing up for appointments and grand events alike.

Ms. Wintour recalled that when he was a rising star in the early 1990s, he failed to appear for his first photo shoot for American Vogue; she learned later, she said, that he did not want the British welfare authorities to see him pictured in a fashion magazine, as he was then living “on the dole.”

There were to be other vanishing acts in Mr. McQueen’s career. Yet when he came bounding into the Costume Institute gala a few years ago at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, turned out in tartan and escorting Ms. Parker, all was forgiven, said Ms. Wintour, who wore an embroidered McQueen coat over a bronze metallic dress.

“We always forgave Alexander,” she said.

There were only indirect references to Mr. McQueen’s private troubles — he had an acknowledged history of drug abuse and wild behavior — though the speakers noted that creativity was his main emotional outlet. And there was surprisingly little mention of his great muse, Isabella Blow, who died in 2007. Still, as guests entered the cathedral, among them the writer Plum Sykes in a McQueen black dress and peaked hat, a British editor murmured out loud, “I wish Izzy could have been here.”

As the service ended around noon, rays of sunshine broke through onto the checkered stone floor and a lone bagpiper walked slowly down the center aisle, past the congregation, toward the entrance to St. Paul’s, playing music from the film “Braveheart.” He was followed by the choirs and the members of the clergy, and was joined on the front steps by 20 pipers. As the guests filed out, many paused and listened, as did the crowd in the street below."

By CATHY HORYN

Published: September 20, 2010 - NY Times

however late i am in responding to this memorial, the sweetness that is intended still stands.  i love that the fashion industry extended their respect and condolences towards a man and a designer that was a force that will forever continue to be undeniable.  his work and triumphs will echo on in eternity.  as will his humanity and sadness. 

i have always been in love with his work and very compassionate towards those who cannot refrain from being exactly who they are.  no matter how exclusive in a way that reveres them as independent and separated from the herd.  more so in fact.  and he as well as his life's work, stands alone.

much love and respect.

rest in peace.

closure

once upon a time
there was a little girl
all she wanted
was to not fear you
she
wanted
to not fear
affection
love
warmth
comfort
expectation
truth
reality

squeezing her eyes shut
clenching her fists closed

at the frustration
she felt
for
the injustice in the world
for
the injustice in her life
for
the frightening nature
of all that is not good.
she carried that
around for many years
and it creeps
out
into the light
of day
occasionally
when she's not looking

but
in a way
it's a constant reminder
of her growth
of her struggles
of her strides
as a human being
as a woman
as the recipient
of all feelings
of the invited and
the uninvited.

the doors that have
closed
have revealed
a more wide
open
space
for her to breathe
where
the horses
run
caress
her tiny
fingertips
and the strawberries
bloom
free
and she
picks them off
the bush
barefoot
in her summer voile dress
with a small
row of lace
along the hem
{with tiny
chamomile
flowers
on her cotton
see-through
knickers}

her nails
with no polish
her hair
with no dye
her legs
slightly
unshaven
her eyes
shadowless
her hands
hover
over the tall grass
as
you watch
her back
and she turns
to coy
you a smile
[flash]
picturesque
in nature

and love
in theory

she has
by the skin of her teeth
released
the things
that bound
her heart

through
forgiveness
of
self

'it's as easy as
breathing for us
all
to participate'