backstage

tom sachs space program mars: nasa meets nike, meets krink ink, meets tupac, meets playboy. it was one hell of a party

may 15th opening night at the tom sachs show at the new york park avenue armory

i’ve had eggs and bacon with buzz aldrin himself (no shit!) and i still found this to be pretty exciting

gravity defying counterfeit nike high-tops courtesy of mister tom sachs, i so wanted this one

authentic nasa fridge… the final frontier

i suppose you cant take your samsung point-and-shoot to the moon now can ya!

nasa taco truck, brilliant.

i’m not sure so don’t quote me, but i think this is john fuckin luries stinkin’ air jordans

thanx dre we missed you that night but you where there in spirit… and well as a ban-saw!

this was funny, vintage 60’s-70’s playboy issues painted in official nasa silver. upon exit of the show you walk through a metal detector while 3 mustache-laden nasa officials are busy reading playboys with the nasa silver cover

mars yard shoe, cause you won’t need high tops all the way up there. i was actually wondering that night what nike had to do with nasa and all? and the funny thing i learned was that nike has been and does actually supply nasa with many of the astronauts high tech fabrics and get-ups…

jerry-rigged nasa suit by tom sachs

nasa krink-ink, i mean you’re not gonna go all the way there and not tag shit.

maybe i can explain kl… so last week we somehow got on the premier nights invite list by mistake, sorta like peter sellers in blake edwards’ film “the party.”  it was a hike to the peak of manhattan, but it was tom sachs, and i was curious what sort of shenanigans he’d be up to in new york now that jeffrey‘s has flocked to la. i remember mid-way climbing up mount everest in the cab that i thought damn this better be worth it… but you know i grew up admiring nasa, wanted to be an astronaut, had every book on nasa and it’s space suits, and i even named my dog after the first dog in space… so why not? once there i stepped over the slimy olivier zahn, said hi to robert longo, pushed aside kanye west, hugged mario sorrenti, kissed bill cunningham’s forehead and grabbed some popcorn. the show was great and i had a big smile walking around. but while tom’s work is more trendy than serious and he has a bit of a frat boy humor for my taste, he does make me laugh and the show in a way made my grey week a bit more nasa red. i highly recommend all you art lovers to check it out. the show, at the park avenue armory is up till june 17th so hurry. by dd

CATEGORIES: art, backstage, ny places

ras beatle!

backstage at the roxy, 1975.  photo by kim gottlieb-walker.  two gentle souls engage in a once in a lifetime meeting.  “ras beatle!” was marley’s response when told that harrison was in attendance at the show and wanted to meet him. by sv

CATEGORIES: backstage, fashion blokes: men of style

le cabinet de curiosités: thierry despont, claudio bravo, manolo valdez with steinitz gallery

dayassi olarte de kanavos at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

wooden books in wooden shelves

creative director ucef hanjani and kimberly norcott at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

mechanical insects

francesa vuillemin david victor rose at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

original map table belonging to napoleon

pilar molyneux juan pablo molyneux at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

mitchell alfus michaela cordes at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

last night we stopped by marlborough gallery artists/architect thierry despont’s opening at the mercantile exchange which was transformed into an 18th century french residence peppered with everything including a renaissance bulls head, various mechanical insects, and an original map table belonging to napoleon himself. the original 18th century wall paneling containing the show belong to the steinitz collection and were transported exclusively for the show from france.

the topic of the show “le cabinet de curiosités” was a brilliant one and one i’m obsessed with.  the lighting and mood were appropriately set with dark walls and sage green panels. my favorite pieces were the monochromatic parcel painting by chilean painter, claudio bravo, that reminded me of christo and jeanne-claude in their puritan form. also the beautiful wooden bookshelves, fully equipped with “wooden” books, by spanish artist manolo valdez. i simply wanted to drag them back home with me. the mechanical over-sized insects were created from various industrial pieces and while quite immaculate, i have personally developed an new affinity for the real specimens from amazonia. it was a beautiful transformation and worth a visit… the only thing missing was some krug champagne… the show is on until january 31st 2012. by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, ny places

fashion is so senseless and shallow… unless you’re one of the three… or maybe four

waris ahluwalia and threeasfour designer gabi

threeasfour designer adi gil with her usual “naughty” smile

sean lennon and the lovely charlotte kemp

patterns by threeasfour using a range of religious icons

patterns patterns patterns

threeasfour angel… designer angela

photographer, amazing artist, and fabulous cook, mark borthwick with threeasfour designer gabi

the show unfortunately did include a few models!!

yoko ono who had in the past collaborated with threeasfour


our good friends, the vanguard designers of threeasfour did what they always do best. create a show that will at least draw your attention to something worthy, something beyond your selfish extravagances. something that is effecting us all. the show was about one such region: the middle east. some have accepted violence and rancor as the inevitable conclusion when disparate ethnic and religious groups come together. but threeasfour is living proof it’s not—among them, they represent an israeli, a lebanese, and a russian, all of different backgrounds, who have come together to create. may the next generation have more of these than ours. photo credits tamara weber. by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, fashion

New York Fashion week: many fantastic men, so few gentle women! l’officiel at boom-boom room and fantastic man at cielo

the hand that rocks the cradle is mine

handsome photographer

paper vixen and vogue contributor lynn yaegeri stole terry’s glasseslovely yana k sans her usual red lips

karen collins and ucef hanjani

fab photographer hanuk mid-kiss

JLG and his ever present aton camera

joey jalleo and friend

beyonce and pod

lovely mister richard chai sans bike

and my favorite picture of the night

 

so it was the battle of the magazines night and looks like commercial rag l’officiel won the boom boom room over fabulous mens mag fantastic man which had its party at cielo. not that we are so keen on boom boom room but if you “have to” do something in the retched neighborhood of meat-packing district then you might as well head to the top. i was to meet a friend, and not excusing myself, but i really went there for that. he showed up at 1:30 and after a few drinks we ended up at cielo and then the standard grill at 3:30 for a late night food fest. we are still working on shedding those pounds. in any case not sure why “fantastic man”, which we quite like, would pick a place like that and in that area? but probably the idea was to keep it in the same hood and encourage some party hopping which it indeed did. the parties were fun, and i can’t complain about the music being retro this round, but it still wasn’t right either. i felt like i was in ibiza circa 2006… except i wasn’t. i have to say music is the hardest, and the best i’ve heard was about 2 years ago at the women/supreme management party when chris gay was there. i even got the dj’s name afterwards, i was trying to track down every other song they played. cielo was packed to the gills and unless you were into that “karate class smell” the crowd and the sweat was a bit challenging. after all best to stay home or stick to wooly. all photos by our lovely friend: hanuk.  by dd

CATEGORIES: backstage, fashion mens, ny places

Shiver me timbers: pirates/sailors/rockers at the wooly watering hole on bastilles day

barnaby roper, camilla staerk and eric-adolfsenaly, walk with me…. sailor/rock star, sune rose wagner of the raveonettes and yana Kterror of the high seas; lila wolfe and “captive”david thielebaul and friendunidentified flying objectkaren collins and ucef hanjanithe dapper cobi leviunidentified flying objectkerry youmans, yana k and betressa mandelbaumcamilla staerk and nicolas makhatadzea broken victor glemaud and monique nguyenrichard chai and friendskate shelton and friend

 

 

vanitas staring the royal danish ballet’s rising stars, josephine berggren and hilary guswiler

 

our dear camilla does it again. fun debauchery and the usual suspects at the wooly on bastille day. always fun always easy. the gathering was to celebrate the preview of fashion designer, camilla staerk’s autumn/winter 2012 collection which was the basis of the film vanitas (above) by director barnaby roper, styled by sarah ellison. the film was inspired by photorealist painter hans henrik lerfeldt known for his over-sized insects juxtaposed with classical beauties… in this case, the royal danish ballet’s rising stars, josephine berggren and hilary guswiler. music score by sune rose wagner of the raveonettes. by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, ny places

summer selecta at 675 hudson

675 has been known in some circles, for over a decade, for a series of wild and unexpected pop-up shindigs. new york times once made the error of writing it up in 2008 causing repeated raids by new york’s finest. the digs stopped, but once in a while the doors open to a certain “friends and family”… transient dj’s, the ceft coalition, known to have frequented the premises was once again present this summer. not quite sure what was more impressive the music selection or the horse they came on. vintage norton courtesy of shadi and company. by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, ny places

nars cosmetics: new york launch party for “makeup your mind” the book and the interactive website

 

francois nars, the lovely and talented grace coddington and underwear giant calvin klein who seems to be getting younger by the day

london “it” girl alexa chung whom i ran into at old navy over the weekend in ny… that made her quite cool to be sure

the launch event at cedar lake nyc, that’s me in the black suit and white shirt

lake bell and francois nars

the very blond erin fetherston

ok the twins where not a stunt act but rather the djs from paris: ladies and gentlemen, les jumeaux

francois and amanda lepore keeping it real as usual

catering was supplied courtesy of martha stewart – that’s a joke.

makeup artist bad girl sarah sophie flicker

how to become a narsissist: the new interactive website with the same name as the book, where you can follow instructions and upload your picture for a chance to win 1 of 12 prizes


ok as always we are a bit behind schedule, recovery has its own perils… last tuesday nars cosmetics held their launch event at cedar lake in nyc to celebrate the launch of the book “makeup your mind: express yourself” (good thing there is no tax on word count) and its corresponding social media website makeupyourmind.com. the event was done as expected of nars, fully polished, and star studded with francois celebrity friends. everyone from the cheerful and talented simon doonan, to carol alt, elise overland, and anna sui turned up for a drink and a quick makeover. i ran into the lovely gender bender model andrej pejic who was charming and tall as usual. he looked rather flat next to amanda. the drinks were colorful and cold, i had a couple of champagnes, and eyed the under-lite trays of yellow tale sashimi’s swimming by. the event was from 7-10 followed by an after party which i wasn’t invited to. i dashed out at around 8:30 to make room for the ever flowing fans, as the party must go on… the instructional book “makeup your mind: express yourself” finally available was beautifully design by baron & baron and the website which contains the instructions “makeup your mind” was designed and produced by ceft and company new york by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, beauty