Hasta La Ideas

(Photo: Gregory Bojorquez)

As we reported a few days back, the regrouped Red Hot Chili Peppers recently unveiled the cover of their forthcoming album, sharing that it had been designed by none other than Damien Hirst. Now they’re apparently continuing on their path of hiring celebrity artists to market their materials, as TMZ, found by way of ArtInfo, reports that they band has gotten Mr. Brainwash, aka Thierry Guetta, to promote the album by way of street art. According to the gossip site, Guetta “wouldn’t specify how much he’s getting paid for the gig, but tells us, his job is far from done…in fact, he and RHCP are teaming up on several more projects.” That extra income is sure to be good for the artist, made famous in the documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, following the recently-lost copyright suit against him brought on by photographer Glen Friedman. So why did the band ultimately decide to go with Guetta, as his artistic brand is less than stellar following both that recent lawsuit and his not coming off so well in the very film that made him a household name? Our guess is that Banksy just decided long ago that he was a one band-that-was-at-its-most-famous-in-the-90s man and would only work with them. And after all of this hiring of celebrity artists, we think the Guardian hit the nail on the head when they write, “All they need now is a music video by Matthew Barney.”

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Six years ago, if you had asked a random person on the street if they were excited about retail giant Target‘s redesign of the prescription bottle, you likely would have received one of two answers: 1) “Why would I be excited about the redesign of a prescription bottle?” or 2) “Who are you and why are you asking me weird questions?” There’s a chance you might also get slapped. But once Deborah Adler‘s brilliant retooling of something so familiar was released, the world went gaga for it. We ask now if we are on the cusp of the same thing with bottles of soda. In case you missed the stories about it in Plastics News or Packaging Digest, the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group has quietly been rolling out new packaging for its entire line of soft drinks, which includes brands like 7up and Canada Dry (the eponymous brands in the company’s title will not be redone…yet). Redesigned by the Kansas City based firm R&D/Leverage, the new bottle is referred to as their “Legacy” model, a departure from the “Splash” bottle they’d been using since 1995 (the packaging from most every other soft drink brand is very familiar, so you’ll understand what we’re talking about here). The new “Legacy” features a more sports drink look, with a larger top and a more easily gripped middle. The bottle was developed over 28 weeks between the firm and the company and “included comprehensive qualitative and quantitative consumer validation — everything, including consumer shopalongs.” It’s been rolling out across the country since April, but unless you spend as much time in the soda isle as we do (we have a problem), you might have missed it. So will this re-do change the face of soda bottle design as we know it, or are we just talking about this because we think it’s funny that we stumbled across outlets like Plastics News and Packaging Digest and we have a soft spot for trade magazines? We’ll leave that up to you to decide.

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How’s the old saying go? At first you succeed in lipstick, sell sell again? Such is the case with designer and occasional award-winning film director Tom Ford. Women’s Wear Daily reports that, following the success of a range of lipsticks baring the designer’s name, a larger line, featuring a full range of cosmetics and skincare products, will be released this September and will all, apparently, be as colorful as his lipsticks. Ford told WWD, “My intention was to do color cosmetics out of the gate, but not everyone else was convinced that I had a voice in color until the lipsticks started selling out again and again.” When asked why he himself appears in the print campaign for the new products, alongside model Lara Stone, he responded, “I’m not in the ads because I’m vain. A lot of people still don’t know who I am, and the product sells better with me in the ads.” By that logic, this writer fully expects to be called in for the next campaign, since no one knows who he is either. Granted, this writer is not anywhere capable of looking as handsome as Mr. Ford on even his worst days, and instead looks something akin to a boiled, pale fish, even when wearing something of the designer’s creation, but we can’t see how that in any way relates. We’ll be waiting patiently by the phone.

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You’ve worn her clothes, you’ve eaten off her dishes, and if you’ve been lucky enough to fall ill in Cleveland, you’ve even gotten the chance to sport one of her hospital gowns. But with so much Diane von Furtsenberg to go around, one question remains: what about the children?! That, of course, is immediately followed by another question: won’t someone please think of the children?! Sure, we adults can consume as much von Furstenberg as our wallets will allow (well, except for we men, but just go with it — we’re trying really hard to cleverly segue here), but the poor, innocent darlings haven’t been allowed to experience her work…until now (segue complete). Gap has announced its latest partnership with a fashion icon, this time with von Furstenberg, who will be designing for the retail giant’s GapKids and babyGap lines (just like Stella McCartney did back in 2009). The collection is set to be released in March of next year, giving the presently childless ample time to conceive and deliver a baby in order to get in on this action. Here’s a bit from the announcement:

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to build on Gap’s successful past collaborations and develop this collection with Diane, a true American fashion icon and inspiration to women around the world,” said Art Peck, President of Gap brand, North America. “I’m also looking forward to offering our customers an exciting collection that applies her signature approach to print, optimistic color and femininity, mixed with our expertise in great quality premium children’s clothing at accessible prices.”

Diane von Furstenberg comments, “As a proud mother and grandmother I am so excited to create a capsule collection for children with the superstar retailer, Gap.”

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Remember last year when Lady Gaga was named the rebooted Polaroid brand’s Creative Director? Or earlier this year when, at the Consumer Electronic Show, the three products she’d reportedly helped develop for the company received their high-profile debut? Well, hot off the heels of the release of Gaga’ new album, the first fruit of that collaboration were finally made available this weekend for public consumption. Zdnet reports that the GL10, a mobile printer from its Gaga-connected Grey Label line, has been made available for purchase at Bloomingdale’s flagship store in Manhattan and for pre-order on Polaroid’s site, shipping sometime in early to mid-June. While aesthetically appealing, and technically interesting, in that the small device will print wirelessly from cell phones, cameras, or anything with Bluetooth connectivity, to this writer, it isn’t the most thrilling release. While we’re sure they’ll sell, both to the gadget-inclined and the Gaga-enthused, we’d much rather have seen a quicker release of the GL20, a pair of glasses with a camera built in that allowed users to immediately display photos onto the lenses themselves. It’s an utterly ridiculous product, and likely won’t sell as well as something that’s occasionally useful in the real world, but surely would have captured a bit more attention and excitement than a mild-mannered printer. But we’ll reserve any more judgment than that until we’ve seen the GL10 in the flesh.

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