Edgy, creative, and chic, Bond No. 9, a boutique perfumery in New York, been concocting some of the most intriguing and memorable, utilizing what else but the geography of the great city as theme. Things are about to get more interesting as the perfumery team up with the Andy Warhol Foundation and fashion a scent fitting for the Pop-Art icon.

» Bond No. 9

» Andy Warhol Foundation

Citizen M, a Dutch-based hospitality management corporation, recently introduced a new concept in hotel experience. Partnered with Philips, architects from Concrete, and furnishing label Vitra, Citizen M’s hotels will permit guest to enjoy luxury amenities at very affordable prices. It will also translate into savings on operating costs for hotel owner.

» Citizen M Hotel Group
» Philips
» Concrete Architects
» Vitra

Los Angeles’ Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) will host a retrospective of Japanese pop-artist Takashi Murakami. The exhibition, titled © Murakami, will feature some 90+ works in a multitude of mediums from the early 90s to present, including the premiere of Murakami’s latest animated short, kaikai & kiki More than 20,000 square feet of exhibition space, plus a mini-boutique by Murakami collaborator Louis Vuitton, were used.

The exhibition opens today and will remain till February 11th of next year. MOCA also created a special online presentation of the exhibit, which consist a video interview with fashion designer Marc Jacob, behind the scene look, and much more. The online presentation will be updated regularly for the duration of the event.

MOCA Los Angeles
152 North Central Avenue | Map
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Event Date: 10.29.2007 ~ 02.11.2008

» MOCA Los Angeles - © Murakami

Some 40 years ago, when men’s grooming comprised of 3 tools only: the razor, the cologne, and the aftershave, a gentleman by the name Baxter Finley had the foresight to create a line of grooming products solely for men. Over the years, the brand that Finley established, Baxter of California, has not only added more product offerings. It also adopted the easily identified cool-turquoise blue as the brand’s signature. Today, Baxter is not only known as a market pioneer but a label with premiere skincare products for men.

You can find Baxter of California at finer establishments such as Arrive (Miami), Freemans Social Club (NYC), and Legion/Alpha (LA). You can also purchase directly from Baxter through their online store.

» Baxter of California

Child stars growing up to become has-beens starring in the weekly shenanigans of The Surreal Life is no surprise to any of us. Fortunately for us, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen have moved from the living room of Full House to conquer the world of fashion. The mini-tycoons have had incredible success marketing their clean and sweet image through fashion, toy and furniture lines that were all targeted at idolizing tweens.

In 2005, the twins assumed a decision-maiking position of their empire, Dualstar. Fashion-lovers may not admit it, but the Mark Kate and Ashley are fearless when it comes to fashion; they play with proportions (those killer Balenciaga booties they wore with everything or the Chanel carry-alls that they take quite literally), pair luxe fox furs with white cotton undershirts, and last but not least their must-have accessory for every season - a gigantic latte.

With the launch of their new line, The Row, we can finally see the essence of their eclectic but perfectly balanced style slink into select department stores and boutiques. They chose to impress with whispers of fancy French seams and fine fabrics rather than shouts of prints and unusual silhouettes. The slim-cut blazers and suitably young furs that the girls have been seen wearing also shows up in their look-book. It’s obvious this line comes directly from the veins of the twins, reflecting their fashion commandments of everyday sophistication, understated elegance, and playful versatility.

» The Row by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen

Skylight Studio
275 Hudson Street | Map
New York NY 10013

Event Date: 11.07.2007 | 7 pm - 10 pm

» REGeneration Gallery

» Virgin Mobile

With every season that rolls in on the runway, fashion designer Hussein Chalayan transforms himself into an installation artist that runs on the slippery fuel of philosophy, modernity, and human interactions. The Cyprus born designer received his formal education in both his motherland and London, graduating from Central St. Martins College of Art and Design in 1993. Having won numerous awards and the recognition of the fashion world, Chalayan is still taking us by surprise with each passing season – on and off the runway. The designer’s Fall 07 show wove together the innovative use of high-tech materials and a refreshingly deep introspective perspective of human interactions with clothing.

This time around, Hussein Chalayan has combined his powers with SHOWstudio’s director Nick Knight, New York based musician Antony Hegarty, and last but not least, the oh-so-important audience of web-crawlers (us), to create a film. The project consisted of several components, beginning of course, with Chalayan’s s/s 08 collection, entitled Readings. From that, Chalayan provided readers with an accompanying paragraph describing the central concept of the collection and the film project. He wanted to bring to light the relationship between humans and the icons that they worship – from ancient times when the idolization of figures was for religious reasons, to present day where people shroud themselves with the religion of celebrity worship. Taking it one step further, Chalayan pointed out that idols would not exist without an audience to worship them.

Nick Knight clarified the less literal description by Chalayan and assigned all readers of SHOWstudio to come up with the various sounds/noises that could accompany the collection. Finally, Antony Hegarty pieced the shards together to form a slightly dizzying film that not only displays the creative genius of Chalayan, Knight, and Hegarty, but also the highlights the vital presence of an audience that may (or may not) idolize the artists.

» Hussein Chalayan

» Hussein Chalayan : Readings