serge on screen

after the che, frida, johnny cash and so on, it’s now serge gainsbourg’s life to be on screen. it’s been a while since i first heard of this movie, and it eventually hit the screens these days. as you can guess, every serge fan can be skeptical about such a thing, and i recently heard an interview of jane birkin saying she was uncomfortable about it, so i really don’t know what to think of it. i’ll check it for sure with my repetto’s on! by pp’

serge on screen

after the che, frida, johnny cash and so on, it’s now serge gainsbourg’s life to be on screen. it’s been a while since i first heard of this movie, and it eventually hit the screens these days. as you can guess, every serge fan can be skeptical about such a thing, and i recently heard an interview of jane birkin saying she was uncomfortable about it, so i really don’t know what to think of it. i’ll check it for sure with my repetto’s on! by pp’

lady gaga Dissected: why this bad romance with art sucks

first i have to ask myself this: why even bother with a post on lady gaga? well the answer must be the same as george mallory’s when asked why he climbed mount Everest? “because it’s there.” well maybe im giving her too much credit but lady gaga is indeed hard to miss. i suppose that’s an achievement by itself these days, to be famous for no particular reason… at least gaga is doing something. even paris hilton ‘respects’ her (now THAT… means something). but what is this “something”? for me its the holly and the unholly mixture in this calculated cocktail that is scary. the mixture of things i love and the things i passionately hate all mangled into one. almost impossible to decipher. a hotdog made out of culture. it sure has fooled a lot of people but here’s why…

calculated bottom-rack pop – candy coated with a shinny facade of top-shop art:
active ingredients: tear off a page from a matthew barney catalog (its ok to be weird, just soften barney a bit so its digestible) + chop some vito acconci (be sure to wash and disinfect all grit) + a dash of warhol (the bit everyone knows about will do fine) + artifically colored dark lyrics (just dark enough – but not too dark) blend with inactive ingredients: blatant commercialism (feel free to put madonna to shame, get 4 brands to sponsor the same video why just 1) + perfect USDA supermarket approved pop vocals (so middle management and cab drivers alike can get into the groove) + emulate michael jacksons moves, again (as best as you can. no need to try hard, no one will know) + grate 5 crates of marketing spin-masters + top with colorless, tasteless, water soluble shinny gelatin.

enjoy. by dd

lady gaga Dissected: why this bad romance with art sucks

first i have to ask myself this: why even bother with a post on lady gaga? well the answer must be the same as george mallory’s when asked why he climbed mount everest, “because it’s there.” well maybe i’m giving her too much credit, but lady gaga is indeed hard to miss. i suppose that’s an achievement by itself these days, to be famous for no particular reason… at least gaga is doing something. even paris hilton ‘respects’ her (now THAT… means something). but what is this “something”?  for me, it’s the holy and unholy mixture in this calculated cocktail that is scary. the mixture of things i love and the things i passionately hate all mangled into one. almost impossible to decipher. a hot dog made out of culture. it sure has fooled a lot of people but here’s why…

calculated bottom-rack pop–candy coated with a shiny facade of top-shop art:
active ingredients: tear off a page from a matthew barney catalog (it’s ok to be weird, just soften barney a bit so it’s digestible) + chop some vito acconci (be sure to wash and disinfect all grit) + a dash of warhol (the bit everyone knows about will do fine) + artificially colored dark lyrics (just dark enough, but not too dark) blend with inactive ingredients: blatant commercialism (feel free to put madonna to shame, get four brands to sponsor the same video, why just one) + perfect USDA supermarket approved pop vocals (so middle management and cab drivers alike can get into the groove) + emulate michael jackson’s moves, again (as best as you can. no need to try hard, no one will know) + grate five crates of marketing spin-masters + top with colorless, tasteless, water soluble shiny gelatin.  enjoy. by dd

Barely private: by sante D’Orazio – ed ruscha

was never a ‘huge’ fan of sante’s work, but that said, this book looks rather promising. hand written notes and outtakes fill the 300 pages of this new release. a second volume of photo-diary-scrapbook, covering 1997 to 2008 with an author credit by ed ruscha, including subjects such as: kate moss, naomi campbell, claudia schiffer, diane kruger, tricia helfer, stephanie seymour, liz hurley, jay-z, mickey rourke, angelina jolie, christina aguilera, pam anderson, keith richards, axl rose, damien hirst, julian schnabel and many more. a bargain at $39.99 available at taschen. by kl

Barely private: by sante D’Orazio – ed ruscha

was never a ‘huge’ fan of sante’s work, but that said, this book looks rather promising. hand written notes and outtakes fill the 300 pages of this new release. a second volume of photo-diary-scrapbook, covering 1997 to 2008 with an author credit by ed ruscha, including subjects such as: kate moss, naomi campbell, claudia schiffer, diane kruger, tricia helfer, stephanie seymour, liz hurley, jay-z, mickey rourke, angelina jolie, christina aguilera, pam anderson, keith richards, axl rose, damien hirst, julian schnabel and many more. a bargain at $39.99 available at taschen. by kl

Waris Ahluwalia’s love letter of a book: to india with love

waris at the pierre hotel in new york for his new book “to india with love”
natalie portman, waris whluwalia

james ivory page from the book to india with love

photographer karen collins, kimberley norcott

aslaug magnusdottir, president of house of waris with ucef hanjani

my favorite room at the pierre where salvador dali spend days chasing the mocked up clouds

author tina bhojwani, president and CEO of louis vuitton daniel lalonde, designer/author waris ahluwalia and author mortimer signer

since the crash of the economy it seems like we are all attending more parties rather than pulling late nighters. that, i assume, is the silver lining in all of this. the good news is that not all parties are just to wine-and-dine new yorks newest most-needy-class. this was waris’ week. this shindig, at the newly re-opened pierre hotel (owned previously by the 4 seasons group) had something substantial behind it, an effort to remind us of not only the beauty of india, but to support the victims of mumbai’s 2008 terrorist attack.

the book is filled with memories and photographs of contributors like silvia fendi, elizabeth hurley, natalie portman, owen wilson and the like from their past visits to india. owen wilsons photo taken by his mom was one that stood out for me. unfortunately the book, published by respected publisher assouline, was rather disappointing for its lack of attention to detail and their hack-saw compositions. the love put in by waris and the gang somehow did not translate into the assouline’s team. that said, i personally bought 2 books and highly recommend a copy as the proceeds will go directly to the victims of the attack. hard cover $49.95

contributors include: Adrien Brody, Kenneth Cole, Silvia Fendi, Diane von Furstenberg, Elizabeth Hurley, Evelyn Lauder, Natalie Portman, Rachel Roy, Owen Wilson, and Matthew Williamson, among others. to learn more mumbai: we got your back. by dd

Nike: easy-breezy tennis V’s

white and gery nike velcro tennis classic V


i don’t know why but im really into easy-breezy cover-girl mode (sorry j, i’m stealing your line here) and loving these nike tennis-classic Vs in white and grey. the lack of color, and the simple shape accented by the velcro is the easy look i need with comfy jeans and a thick sweater. i know they look like the ones i already have and posted earlier this year, but against everyone’s wishes, i still like them new and white. available at mita sneakers ¥ 7,870 (approx $90 USD). by dd