Hasta La Ideas

Three exhibitions of photographs, films and fashion from Annie Lenox’s union jack pant-suit to Daphne Guiness’ personal McQueen collection

With the Spring/Summer 2012 Fashion Week in full swing in Europe right now, groundbreaking style is taking center stage on more than just the runways. While “Fashion in Italy: 150 Years of Elegance,” celebrates the country’s long-term evolution in styles and trends, and the birth of Italian prêt-a-porter, here are three more fashion-focused exhibits going on at museums around the globe.

The House of Annie Lennox at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Like many musical artists before and after her, Annie Lenox seamlessly integrated a unique personal style with her work as a musician to create an iconic pop star persona. This one-room installation, created in collaboration with Lenox herself, features photographs, costumes, and various mementos and ephemera chronicling the Scottish-born songstress’ four-decade career, including her years as one-half of the Eurythmics before continuing on as a solo artist. The collection presents Lennox’s personal style as one that dances between both genders. Though glam rockers Elton John and David Bowie most often cited for their Brit-inspired ensembles, visitors will be pleased to see the vivid union jack menswear-style suit, which she donned in 1999, alongside dazzling sequined dresses. Open through 26 February 2012.

Irving Penn and Issey Miyake: Visual Dialogue at 21 21 Design Sight, Tokyo

Encompassing 13 years and more than 250 photographs, the artistic partnership between Irving Penn and Issey Miyake, two creative giants in their respective fields, was an unlikely and curious one. After seeing Penn’s photographs of his garments in an American Vogue editorial, the Japanese designer asked Penn to shoot his entire collections, which he did from 1987 through 1999, resulting in an incredibly comprehensive compendium of images. What’s even more impressive is that during their 13-year collaboration, Miyake and Penn chose not to interfere with each other’s process. Miyake shipped his collections to New York, giving Penn complete artistic license during his photo sessions, while Penn never attended any of Miyake’s runway presentations. In addition to photographs from this period, the exhibition also includes an animated film short by cartoonist Michael Crawford.
Open through 8 April 2012.

Daphne Guinness at the Museum at FIT, New York

Thanks in part to the recent, record-breaking Alexander McQueen show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Daphne Guinness, a friend and steadfast patron of the late designer, has become a popularly-known figure for her boundary-pushing taste. A champion of emerging designers, specifically those who embody a dark, avant-garde aesthetic (such as McQueen and Gareth Pugh), the brewery heiress’ has contributed 100 pieces from her own closet, including haute couture ensembles from Chanel, Givenchy, Lacroix and Valentino, as well as two dozen Alexander McQueen garments that have never been on display before. Accessories aren’t any less dramatic: consider her signature soaring heel-less platform shoes, or her dazzling “body armor” jewelry for a lesson in how not to be a wallflower. Several films by Guinness are also on display, including “The Phenomenology of the Body,” an examination of the politics of clothing.
Open through 7 January 2012.

Images in order from top courtesy of Image © V&A/La Lennoxa, The Irving Penn Foundation and The Museum at FIT.

An NYC exhibit displays 3,000 works from English punk band Crass’ seven-year reign

Though London’s famed punk venue The Roxy is now a decidedly sober Speedo Swimwear outlet, in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the U.K. was in the midst of a royal cultural battle between the Thatcherite establishment and a new breed of shock-and-awe artists and musicians. At the forefront of the movement, the English band Crass’ two-chord rant Banned from The Roxy was somewhat of an anthem for the times.

Preserved for posterity are 3,000 fanzines, flyers, posters, manuscripts and original works of art sent to the band between 1977 and 1984. These punk artifacts have been collected and cataloged by visual artist Gee Vaucher, who collaborated with the band and still resides at Dial House, a collective in the Essex countryside.

These works have crossed the Atlantic for a special viewing from 30 September-20 October 2011 at Boo-Hooray in NYC. The gallery has also published a limited edition (250 copies) catalog along with 500 pressings of a 7-inch vinyl recording featuring Crass’ Penny Rimbaud, with cover art by Vaucher.

An opening reception will be held from 6-9pm Friday, 30 September 2011. RSVP online at Boo-Horray. See images in the gallery.

Vatican Ferraris, other gorgeous mid-century cars and more at the U.K.’s biggest vintage car show

The annual vintage car show at Goodwood is so much more than that. With races, air shows, thousands dressed in period costumes and even a working ’50s-era supermarket, the event provides a playground for those in love with bygone ways of life. As the guest of Veuve Clicquot, it was hard not to also be taken with the scene, arriving in high vintage style in Pierre le Gloahec-Hénanff’s gorgeous (and appropriately champagne-colored) Jaguar E-type. The MoMA-approved aggressive bonnet and beautiful wood interior make it easy to understand why so many are such big fans of the car—Pierre’s driving (he used to race Jaguars and now spends his days at Le Petit Hôtel des Hortensias in Brittany) didn’t hurt either.

We knew we were off to a good start when stopping for gas along the way, we ran into friends of his who brought a Vatican Ferrari (the manufacturer used to give the Catholic city cars). The pair, dressed in full vestments, caused a passerby to pee her pants from laughter.

Proceeding to the plot of land known as Goodwood, we started seeing vintage planes zip across the sky. The open airspace is just one of the impressive features of Goodwood, which dates back to 1697 when the first Duke of Richmond established it as hunting grounds.

At the Revival, you have your choice of activities—shopping, eating, visiting the recreated Tesco—but we headed to the space Veuve hosts near the track to watch the races. When the vintage race cars aren’t speeding around what has been called the most beautiful track in the world, you can go check them out in the barracks.

There, you have the chance to see some of the most famous winning models, a vintage car-lovers dream. It’s tough to pick a favorite, but the 1956 Ferrari 860 Monza is definitely up there.

Of course, just a year older, the Type Ferrari 250 TR57 is stunning too.

Fast-forward to 1961 and you have Ferrari’s 250 GTO SWB “Breadvan.”

Following that year, Ferrari made this yellow-and-green 250 GTO.

But not all the stunners were Ferraris. For a futuristic vision that dates back to 1954, there’s the Mercedes Benz 1196 Streamliner.

This ’57 Aston Martin DBA1 also caught my eye.

And the blue 1951 Maserati A6GCM, as well as its little brother from 1953, are both Richmond Trophy-winners.

Bugatti’s 1947 Type 73C has the distinction of having earned a Goodwood Trophy.

Chronicles from America’s disaffected, pre-digital youth

On the brink of adolescence my best skate buddy Tim and I found a statue of the Virgin Mary with red paint on it in the woods. Convinced that this was the site of a recent Satanic ritual, we gathered the other neighborhood kids and went with flashlights in the dark to investigate further. As we huddled around, I spent most of my time trying to feel up the girl who lived across the street from Tim. I was making serious headway when we saw a car pull up at the edge of the woods and hit the brakes. Convinced it was the Satanists, we scattered like rats.

Experiences like this made me naturally inclined to love the new book, Live…Suburbia!, a collaboration between Max G. Morton and Anthony Pappalardo. Anthony grew up not far from me, and we actually share some friends, although we’ve never met. But clearly we shared more than that—skating, trying to impress girls, looking for porn in the woods, rumors of suburban Satanism and a love for the rebellion of rock, specifically metal, punk and hardcore. Max brings a darker, if not unfamiliar vibe to the collection of short stories and photos that make up the narrative loosely centered around drugs, family life and metal, calling to mind the older burnout kids who all somehow looked like Metallica’s Cliff Burton.

Live… Suburbia! are the stories of Max and Anthony’s youth, of my youth and the stories of a million kids like us that knew that there had to be more out there than what people were telling us at school, in church or on the news. Disaffected youth rebelling through skating and punk rock might be an old tale, but what’s most fascinating about this collection of stories is the era when they took place.

This was a time without Internet, without the constant, ubiquitous ability to know everything about anything at any time. The bands we loved had to be discovered through commitment and caring meant devouring mixtapes, scouring Thrasher magazine, combing over liner notes, collecting fliers and doing our best to glean any and every piece of information from any source we could. This lack of readily-available facts also created an incredible culture of rumor, with Skinheads and Satanists and druggies allegedly lurking around every corner, and sometimes they actually did.

Punk and hardcore purists will enjoy the points of reference and personal tales, but ultimately these are stories about the mystique of rebellion and the passion it took to pull it off in a time before it was made easy. Live… Suburbia! is out on 27 September 2011 and is available for for preorder from Powerhouse Books and Amazon.

All photos from Live…Suburbia! by Anthony Pappalardo and Max G Morton, published by powerHouse Books.

Soothing scents from the Amazon’s most fragrant stick

Also known as “holy wood,” Palo Santo wood sticks have been used for centuries by indigenous Amazonians hoping to ward off evil spirits. As we recently discovered, they also lend a more practical service by freshening up your house with the slightly sweet smell they emit when lit. Unlike traditional incense sticks, the little logs burn slowly allowing them to be used many times. The soothing scent is also harnessed for homeopathy, helping with colds, asthma, arthritis and other ailments.

Special permits are required to harvest the wood, leading to strict laws surrounding the export of the sticks. We picked up some at NYC’s Love, Adorned shop but also found a few online purveyors following fair trade practices, including Ellaflor and Floracopeia.