I love statement jewelry, especially pieces made by those with a strong streak of creativity and an eye for sculptural forms.
Mariam Nassir Zadeh, Totokaelo, and Creatures of Comfort seem to get the right mix.
Arielle De Pinto, Manu, Anndra Neen and Samma are a few designers that I really love.

Every time I wear this necklace people ask me if I made it myself.
Unfortunately the answer makes me feel like a failure.
You can find Lauren Manogian’s (Manu) work at Bona Drag, Pour Porter and Anica.

This piece (I forget who made it) is from Maryam Nassir Zadeh.
I love the look of oxidized materials. This looks like a treasure dug up in the Southwest.

Peppercotton (crystals in a mesh tubing)

Lizzie Fortunato “Mad Men” necklace.
Available at Anica in San Francisco.

I forget who made this

Samma.
Available at Domahoka and Maryam Nassir Zadeh and Anica

Arielle De Pinto.
I have two of my friend’s web necklaces (thought I lost one and then it resurfaced a year later). All of Arielle’s work is amazing.

Available at Lambs Ear, Creatures of Comfort and Totokaelo.

Broken Fab

Anndra Neen.
Sold at Ten Over Six, Kirna Zabete and Roseark.

Below is the fashion editorial Elizabeth Weinberg and I collaborated on. We shot it upstate with the help of Turner and Erica’s styling genius.

I just uncovered this super quick sketch I sent her when I had a “vision” for our first collaboration. A year later…and it happened! Someday I’ll do another shoot where the flowers and trees are 2-d. As if the shoot was one big theatrical set.

Hopefully, you will notice all my props! There are ones I sourced: a bow and arrows from Fredricks and Mae, an early 1900′s willow rocking chair, and Native American inspired rugs and drums.

And there are those that I made: a painted walking stick and axe, beaded necklaces, a teepee constructed out of branches from the forest and a drop cloth that I painted with various geometric patterns, and of course the toilet paper “installation.” I created it to look as if a gang of teen pranksters were unleashed upon the forest.

It was DEFINITELY the most fun part of the day. There’s nothing like tp-ing the hell out of the woods. It brought me back to high school. I am an expert at this sort of stuff.

Here are some of the references Elizabeth Weinberg and I sent over to Tokion before we worked on a fashion editorial for their September issue. Turner and Erica Blumenthal styled it and our lovely models were Matthew Mosshart (Alison Mossheart from the Kills is his sis) and Tilda from Img.

The images are ultimately going to run elsewhere (ummmm long story!!), but for time time being… I thought it’d be fun to share what I was channeling.

We were going for images inspired by sixties documentary photography, in particular those of hippie encampments like the Mystic Arts Commune. We used bows and arrows by Fredericks and Mae, I created a teepee, painted axes and walking sticks, and covered the forest with toilet papered streamers. It all looked amazing!

Tilda Lindstam at IMG (one of our models)

Antique Navajo patterns. Reference for my teepee

Pippi Longstocking. My all time favorite muse

Bows by Fredericks and Mae. They were kind enough to loan me masks, a bow, and kites as well!


60′s psychedelic interiors and teepee inspired shelters. The book Spaced Out is good reference.

Nomadic fashions, fur, braids, lots of jewelry

My moodboard (including fashions by Rag and Bone, Suno, and D&G’s Fairisle looks)

Working on some fun projects involving prop styling and illustration. Until I can post the images, here are things I’m currently inspired by.

Kleenex / Liliput album covers, especially their Dadaist theatrical outfits made of cardboard

Bleached out cotton gauze that looks like constellations. This jumpsuit is by Electric Feathers and sold at Maryam Nassir Zadeh

Twiggy’s amazing headress in Ken Russell’s “The Boyfriend”

Sunglasses that flip up, especially those in “Postcards from the Edge”

Look at these coats! Don’t you want to crawl inside everyone one of these warm snuggly oversize soft things? I do. We are hopefully pulling some Burberry for our upcoming shoot and I hope it’s not too hot that day, because I plan on pretending I own it and wearing all over that woods upstate.

I need. Don’t even care which.

James and I recently collaborated (for the first time) on this Refinery29 fashion editorial inspired by summer’s prevalent graphic, “ethnic,” and “tribal” prints. Rachel Hill, one of my oldest New York friends, styled it, Elsa Canedao created a complex array of braids for the three girls and Chichi Sato supplied the amazingly bright makeup and bold nailcolor.

I found a ton of amazing models by calling around different agencies with our pitch and ultimately chose three girls (Annaleise, Fabienne, and Mariana) from Trump, Supreme and Next.

The backgrounds are 12′x12′ acrylic paintings on set paper, created by sourcing African mudcloth, moroccan textiles, some prints from John Robshaw,and various woven fabrics. I tiled, cropped, rotated, enlarged, changed the colors and projected them the last few nights that lead up to our shoot.

.

What resulted were 10 really strong bold images that I’m super happy with.

Here are some iphone pix i took while working and during our shoot!

I hope I get to do something like this for Dazed and Confused or i-D down the line!

Painting #2. Was going to fill in the outlines but I think i’ll leave it as is, the colors look nice

First: blue & green

Then added red & pink acrylic (taking a break before I hit up yellow)

Obligatory detail shot

On to the last one. I like the toile look when it’s all blue.

Added red. Now it feels more John Robshaw

Work in Progress

Acrylic drippy paint on white set paper. 9′ x 9′

First look.
On set with Nicholas Suttle, Ian Bradley, Jillian Halouska, and Anne from Q models

Elizabeth Weinberg collaborated with me on my first foray into prop making. It was a portrait for Death and Taxes featuring El Perro Del Mar.

Tomorrow morning we’ll be having another go of it. We’re traveling an hour upstate to a secret cave and doing our first fashion editorial together. Our 15-passenger van will include Billy Keith doing hair, Jenna Rainey styling, two beautiful models from IMG, Nadja Nebas our make up artist, Elizabeth and Me. The shoot is themed around light; exploring shadow and reflections and inspired by Jen Kao, Cushnie et Ochs and Jeremy Scott’s recent collections. And Lady Gaga (obviously).

I made several headdresses in gold and silver backed mirrors. Lots of faceted shapes. I really hope they photograph ok in the caves!

The whole process has been a learning experience; finding people to collaborate with, calling modeling agencies, creating pdf pitches to send around and shop our idea. But now that I’ve worked it out I know it’ll just be that much easier when I do another shoot next week.

The first version of these were originally created for Lindsey Thornburg.

There are more where these came from. I’ll post more after the shoot.

Some of the collections i’ve really been feeling.

Headdress research

Siouxsie Sioux is a reoccurring woman in my arsenal of eternally inspiring ladies. There were a couple years where I listened to girl punk (Riot Grrrl which lead to the likes of Kleenex and The Slits) in High School almost exclusively. Then Crass and Siouxise and the Banshees took over my life when I was sporting a bowlcut and wearing dolly dresses. Kinda inappropz, but whatever!

Lately, the clothing I’m channeling is either inspired by Kelly Bundy (slutty 90′s bodycon numbers), floral and crushed velvet ala 1993 Contempo Casuals and witchy lace frocks, and lots of monochrome androgyny stuff. Now that I am in possession of a pair of black leather pants, early Siouxsie, Debbie Juvenile, Sue Catwoman and Westwood’s Seditionaries inspired looks seem highly appropriate. PS did you know Adam from Adam in the Ants used to be so PUNK? I will post some photos later. What a babe.

Looking for a vintage amazing band tee but none fit the bill. The likelihood of finding one from the Delta 5 is slim to none. I may end up just making one on Zazzle. HA!

Amazing punk flickr sets here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/romanywg/sets/72157602289036890/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/agallix/sets/322013/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seditionaries_punkpistol/

Check out http://www.raystevenson.co.uk/ for some great photos (although, small)

And if you wanna buy the original Seditionaries clothing: http://punkflyer.com/seditionariesclothing.html

In my studio it’s been an all out exploration of hard edged things, celestial iconography, geometric shapes, day glo, pyramids, sparkles. Sometimes this leads me to iconography of the early 60′s and the space race, other times into disco era album art with its shiny surfaces, silver, mirrors, and flares.

These two images are from darklorddisco

Right now I’m channeling an old obsession of mine: art school early 80′s complete with angular music, geometric shapes, day glo, early computer graphics. Cyber punk, Neuromancer, films like Blade Runner and Liquid Sky, bands like the Lemon Kittens, Lene Lovich.

Yesterday while on a fashion editorial shoot at Milk Studios (I made the props- will post them soon), the make up and fashion styling reminded me of early new wave and especially the characters in Liquid Sky. It’s unsurprising that nobody had a clue what I was talking about when I recalled the little known 1982 b-movie totally themed around heroin, orgasms, and aliens. But if you were a fan of Adult. and heard their cover “Me and My Rhythm box” or shopped for huge UFO pants in the East Village circa the 90′s, you’d instantly recall this “classic” and the store that shared the same name.

other geometric and inspiring images from darklord disco. i love:

When I was a very impressionable youth I got WAY into Deee-Lite. World Clique, Infinity Within, even Dew drops in the Garden. Actually, “Groove is in the Heart” is still one of my favorite songs. Ask anyone.

1990. Year of Technotronic. Snap! Toms Diner… This little gem

This came next. Definitely bought it from Columbia House

I was sifting through images of “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead” and landed into the lap of Lady Miss Kier (birth name Kierin M. Kirby. Um, how is this real?). She totally did the sixties mod thing ala the B-52′s but so much more through the eyes of a club kid on acid.

Did you know she started out as a punk? Me neither…

Paging Siouxsie and Sue Catwoman

Orange spandex and pigtails and a baby tee covered in huge sparkly butterflies? Sure, why not.
I distinctly remember going to Wet Seal and lusting after babytees. One in 17 I still remember said “Man Trap” and had a girl with an illustration of literal beehive on her head. Was Mantrap a brand like X-Girl?

baby barrettes. chunky sneakers. crop top. must be the 90s.

Of course she would love LL. And of course he’d love her. All the gays do.

Hey, I was just here. Is that me and James and our new Italian friend? Could be!

Most of these images come from this flickr user and this website and uuiuu’s tumblr

Last night my friend and old studio mate, Rebecca Turbow, had her Fall 09 presentation. It was her biggest collection to date and the event was a total success, building on the momentum from last season’s Bowery Electric showing.

Usually I’m in the thick of all the preparations, the fittings, the drama; but now that I’ve moved out of our hectic studio, I got to experience everything like the rest of the audience. It was so nice to see her collection as a total surprise.

She’s showed a lot of party dresses in rich fabrics, grey and black (yessss!) blouses, wool coats and swingy capes, well-tailored slacks, menswear, and some interesting jewelry and distinctive hair accessories. Super wearable, very cute, I will own a few most definitely.

It all took place at the Moeller Snow gallery, on Bond street. Totally packed full of friends and really cute kids. Unfortunately my camera’s battery died, so I only have documentation by other people.

That is some epic chain headgear ala Yokoo. Although, I’m certain Rebecca has no clue who she is.

Unfortunately, the boys’ looks are lost over there in the corner

Oh, look who it is. That’s Andrew next to me, thinking, “halp! don’t do this to me!”

Dude. It was Packed the entire time! I am so proud.

First two photos from Best thing today, more photos here and others by Rachel

I think I’ve decided I’m not really into Alexander Wang.

Today I braved the rain and made my way to Tribecca for his sample sale. The elevator doors opened onto the 3rd floor and there was Wang, casually talking to some cute brunette and avoiding the fray three floors above. His epic showroom, with fancy Chesterfield couch, looked just as the Selby showcased.

Despite the sale opening to the public at 3, I showed up at noon. Racked mentioned that the press preview started at 10 and they weren’t checking ids. So, I get there and it’s pleasantly pretty mellow. It’s picked over a bit from all the hungry fashion editors two hours earlier, but I found a lot of things in my size (4) and that I had seen online and always wanted to try on. Girls were going bananas for the distressed shorts but I realized, that’s not really me, sorry. Actually, nothing really did it for me.

The cuts were anti-boob, the tent dresses made me look like a secret fatty, the silk tanks had cheap looking hems. Maybe it was the prices, which while 50-75% off, were still too much. The vest dress was 325, a drop-waist wool skirt was 180, a black cocktail dress 220, tanks 80. The skirt I really liked actually, but the credit card minimum was 200. I’m not going to unload 325 on a dress I’m lukewarm about, so I left empty handed and assume the annoying orange Long Island girls next to me snatched my finds.

Here are some things I tried on and passed. Surprisingly, none of the skirts I can find online. Maybe they were for next season.

The Sundance Channel recently aired “Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton,” a documentary I finally watched tonight rather than brave our first snow of the season. The film is awesome, with an upbeat and free spirited tone and, thankfully, it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Jump cuts, whimsical camera editing, and silly video effects infuse a doc I found both inspiring and informative; especially since I worked alongside a fashion designer for several years.

The director, Loïc Prigent, clearly enjoys exploring Jacob’s creative process, both house’s production challenges, and the insane pandemonium in the months, days, and finally minutes counting down to two fantastic Spring 2007 collections. The film showcases Jacobs’ numerous references and highlights how they are ultimately interpreted and remixed as well as featuring interviews with artistic collaborators and inspiring friends like Elizabeth Peyton, Sophia Coppola, Murakami and Yayoi Kusama.

Order the doc on Amazon

Tomorrow, bright and early, I am hitting up some sample sales. I really shouldn’t. I don’t want anything (ok ok aside from rainboots, a gray wool coat, a tiny floral skirt, and a Woolrich Woolen Mills coat for the boyfriend).

Past sales have resulted in many crazy pieces and the majority of non-vintage items in my wardrobe. An Alexander Herchovitch black and white seedbeaded jacket that is so heavy it’s the punchline of key practical jokes, several Vena Cava and Lyell silk blouses and jackets, pairs of Sigerson Morrison heels, Alice Roi bouses, and most everything I have by Built By Wendy.

So, I will, like an idiot, brave the cold and hit up the Steven Alan Sample sale bright and early. And then maybe these:

SALES
Jill Stuart : 60% off the Entire Fall 08 Collection Thursday and Friday. 100 Greene St 11-8
Steven Alan: 30-75% off. Thursday through Sunday. 87 Franklin Street. 8:30-8 » Continue Reading…

I am trying to get work through the efforts of a creative staffing agency. They listed a job that requires “hand drawn packaging” and I want it. I want my art on perfume, some blush, and a carton of ice cream!

I gathered together a gaggle that showed I can draw. Here are a few.

I bring you newly minted model Rachel Ballinger. First brought to my attention last year when I stumbled into her Bushwick house party and she was rocking the most insanely bright pink lipstick that nobody else could pull off.

She’s the girl in the new Opening Ceremony and Rebecca Turbow look books. And she looks so good. There are tons of party pix featuring her on Kathy Lo’s website (think the Cobrasnake but all NY kids). Here are some I like best.

From the house party in question. Via Kathy Lo

I would like this jacket please. And not the pleather version at Urbn.

from Rebecca Turbow’s look book for spring. i die.

All last year I was decked out in one of Rebecca’s samples. A black wool swing coat that garnered compliments whenever I wore it. I think it’s time to be retired and move on to this gray number. It originally was to have a patterned lining that is visible if you roll the cuffs and button them. But due to retarded factory mishaps, it’ll now be a nice white cotton. Lucky for me, I like white better. It makes it seem crisp and cleeeeeean.

via Safe Clothes