From Earth: Modern Art From Traditional Hispanic Papermaking Roots

I recently checked out an inspiring, colorful installation at the Latino Art Museum in the Pomona Arts Colony - a thriving art community east of Los Angeles. The artist, Elena Osterwalder creates a color-drenched atmosphere with her rich, handmade cotton papers dyed with organic colors.

At first the concept seems simple enough, but I learned that this paper-making tradition has deep historical and traditional relevance. The Amate paper, which is what Osterwalder recreates, is centuries old to the native Otomi people of Mexico and was believed to have spiritual and healing properties that transcended its biological nature.

Some of the natural dyes used in the installation include indigo, turmeric, campeche wood (which gives of black or navy blue colors) and cochineal - a parisitic insect that grows on cactus which gives a wide range of colors - including bright reds and purples - when dried and ground with other materials.

If there's a color you really like, you can even buy the paper for $5 a piece.

Will Cotton Bakery at Partners & Spade

I was showing a couple of my favorite destination shops around town to my visiting friend Amelie and I brought her to Partners & Spade on Great Jones Street, off the Bowery.

Following the branded food trucks and the overall food obsession extravaganza going on, founders Spade and Sperduti had created an in store bakery; the Will Cotton Bakery. This one was not only the sweetest to date but it was also supported by original artwork by the artist. For baking in the holiday spirit, head over to Dylan’s Candy Bar on 60th street and 3rd avenue on December 6th for the RxArt’s Gingerbread House Party hosted by Will Cotton.

West Coast color

IMAGES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Wayne Thiebaud, East Portero, 1998, Oil on Canvas, Private Collection, © Wayne Thiebaud/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NYWayne Thiebaud, Two Kneeling Figures, 1966, oil on canvas, Collection ofPaul LeBaron Thiebaud, © Wayne Thiebaud/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Painter Wayne Thiebaud's works offer a vibrant and inspirational color palette that is unmistakeably Californian in it's point of view.

Saturated and glowing, his varied subject matter, whether he's painting cupcakes or tower blocks, or bathers on the beach, all twinkles fiercely, magnified by the bright light of the West Coast and popping with pulsating outlines, at times green, purple and bright blue.

You can see over a hundred of his optimistic, sun-kissed works at the Pasadena Museum of California Art now through January 31st.

Behold the $3 million bra

This morning we were backstage watching preparation for tonight’s Victoria’s Secret spring 2010 fashion show. The models, swarmed by TV cameras and various human handlers, were wearing silky pink robes that will arrive in Victoria’s Secret stores tomorrow.

The theme behind the spring show (and we saw lasers during rehearsal) is Magical Journey: “It’s about a woman traveling all over the world, including outer space,” said Monica Mitro, EVP of Public Relations.

15 seconds of fame

American Eagle Outfitters celebrated a new flagship and retail concept last night in Times Square. This gigantic screen you see below – showing Entourage star Adrian Grenier on the red carpet – is part of the store’s "15 Seconds of Fame" feature. Customers will be able to photograph themselves in-store and see their image projected in Times Square for 15 seconds…a good example of the current shift towards more experiential retail.

Kimberly Ovitz, pre-fall 2010

When we interviewed top department store buyers about the spring 2010 runway shows, a new name kept popping up alongside along side mentions of Isabel Marant and Alexander Wang…Kimberly Ovitz. So we jumped at the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the LA-based designer’s first pre-collection (for pre-fall 2010), her 4th season to date.

A somber palette of black, white and neutrals kept the focus on dramatic draping and textural details – from a twisting t-shirt dress that can wrap any way you like, to a chunky black sweater knitted in a plaid pattern. It looks like wrapping and cocooning silhouettes will stay strong for next fall, and Ovitz herself emphasized that this collection is all about “easy dressing and being comfortable.”

To that end, the black dress shown below can be worn as pictured or, if you’re in the mood, the other way around with its plunging V in front.

Tim Burton at MoMA

Our trends teams have cited the gothic fantasies of Tim Burton as inspiration and this morning we saw the Tim Burton exhibition at MoMA, which features early sketchbooks and amateur films, paintings and concept art.

One highlight is reading Burton’s early, personal poems and stories. There’s a rhyme about his disappointment in finding that a “blind date” could actually see, and a mock horror story (written for school) recounting his visit to the doctor for a tetanus shot.

Only one non-filmic work – a revolving “Carousel” that Burton created in 2009 – was set to music, and it occurred to me how closely I associate composer Danny Elfman’s madcap orchestras (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas) with Burton’s whimsical take on the grotesque. The use of Elfman’s eerie music is especially effective here, in a dark room lit by fluorescent paintings and the revolving carousel.

And the carousel, revolving in the dark to circus-like sounds, reminds me of the effectiveness of uncanny, sensory experiences, which we've heard are increasing museum attendance around the world.

Tim Burton, Carousel, 2009

LAFW street hair style

Androgynous hair styling was one of the biggest fashion statements on the streets of LA during LAFW. I witnessed many girls sporting the half shaved head, countered with a long flowy mane which has been made popular again by model, Alice Dellal and superstar, Rihanna. One of my favorite and most creative 'dos was worn by Janessa, designer for LA brand, Han Cholo (picture on far right). She created clean sides and top volume by twisting her hair up into a mohawk fro-top.

To see the full report on cutting edge LAFW street style, log onto http://www.wgsn.com/ .

LA recreates fall of Berlin Wall

Last night the Wende Museum in Culver City rebuilt the Berlin Wall across Wilshire Blvd, in Mid-City and then tore it down at midnight, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The roaring party started in the evening and completely stopped traffic on Wilshire. Partygoers enjoyed music, film and food and made the event seem like one giant block party in front of the LACMA.

I pushed my way through the crowds around 11pm and got a chance to see artists Shepard Fairey and Berlin-based Thierry Noir's completed wall panels, which stood side-by-side with the faded and patchy graffiti panels from the original wall in Berlin. Though created more than 20 years apart, the past and present artwork both showed the fight for freedom, artistic and personal expression and the importance of individualism.

The party was streamed live to the city of Berlin and was the largest display of the former Berlin Wall to date.

A smart assortment at Nolita's Babel Fair

A great little Nolita boutique called Babel Fair opened last week, carrying international brands that you won’t find elsewhere in NYC - ashborn Jeans out of Korea, Alessa from Brazil and Paris-based Rime Arodaky, from a former assistant designer at Sonia Rykiel.

What the store’s owner Erica Kiang does especially well is slip non-branded product that she finds around the world into the mix, like a rabbit fur vest from Bolivia or a traditional, hand-loomed top from Mexico. An ostrich leather bag from South Africa is trendy enough, but it's also exceptionally cheap, having been found locally by one of several trend scouts around the world feeding style info back to Kiang.

The cowhide bag below, made in Bolivia, goes for $249.

Sniffing out the future of luxury

Here’s a snippet about the future of luxury from Luxury Lab’s Innovation Forum, hosted today at the Renzo Piano-designed Times Center in NYC.

Chandler Burr, a perfume critic for The New York Times, told us why the Hermès fragrance Osmanthe Yunnan (released in 2005) represents a revolution in the luxury market: “Perfume used to be about the ego of the creator. But smell this and people don’t say, ‘Your perfume smells fabulous.’ They say that you do, because the scent is translucent, subtle. This is what the new luxury is.”

On a related note, Hermès International reported this morning a 10.2% increase in 3rd quarter revenues.

Bauhaus at the MoMa

Our East Coast content team went to have a look at the Bauhaus exhibition at the MoMa in New York.

MoMA director Glenn Lowry clarified the purpose of the exhibit by saying "The most important idea behind the exhibition is that of the school as an experimental laboratory."

IMAGES FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Palucca Tanzt by Marianne Brandt (cut and paste newspaper clippings with ink); Chair by Marcel Breuer with textile by Gunta Stolzl; Unsere irritierende Grossstadt by Marianne Brandt (cut and paste newspaper clippings on gray cardboard)

“The content of the exhibit is as much student work as masters’ work…it is a portrait of a school," said Barry Bergdoll, co-curator and The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design at MoMA.

The word Bauhaus has always referred to the German school founded by Walter Gropius, but has often mistakenly been used to refer to style. The principle behind the school was to dissolve distinctions between fine art, craft and artistic mediums, and to get rid of those hierarchies, so the Bauhaus represented a fresh and playful attitude towards creativity.

The numerous works on show are examples of endless hours spent elaborating in different media and techniques. The result is a truly inspiring exhibition.

Bauhaus 1919–1933: Workshops for Modernity is showing at the MoMa between November 4th, 2009 and January 25th, 2010

The legacy of Kodachrome

image credits: hothardware.com, wired.com

Kodachrome's deep and vibrant palette has always offered endless color inspiration. For years, songs have been written about it and photographers have waxed lyrical about it.

However, since Kodak's decision to discontinue the production of the iconic film was announced, all we are left with is a look back at the film's unmatched quality in color photography.

The complexity of the film comes from the fact that the base was a black-and-white film that was coloured through a very detailed process.

I included examples of the film's early examples in my seasonal color inspiration research as nothing offers a more true and unique color than a photograph taken with Kodachrome.

Here's what Paul Simon has to say about it:

“Your Kodachrome slides may outlast your digital images.”

"Kodachrome, it gives us those nice bright colors
Gives us the greens of summers,
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph
So momma, don’t take my Kodachrome away."