Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone at the Beach

Leave it to Marc Jacobs to show up to the beach all fancy. Currently in St. Barts with husband Lorenzo Martone, the couple has been snapped up on more than one occasion happying it up on the beach.



With matching Louis Vuitton Graffiti towels that go for $650 a pop and not to mention the Hermes Birkin bag and Louis bag that the couple carries as, you know... a beach bag.

DIY FASHION:
"That Rihanna rain just won't let up!"
Proving once more the power of the modern day Blogger, Pelayo Diaz has ventured into another side of the fashion world. Photographed below in his un-usual but fashion forward attire, sans Mickey Mouse ears unfortunately.



Earlier this year, in fact only a few months back Diaz debuted a T-shirt he made on a lazy Saturday at home. A cross bearing and bordering safety pin (which he no doubt borrowed from his Fashion School) design which has since been remarkably popular in the fashion world. They have even stocked in-store, although you can buy it directly from Diaz' hit blog Kate Loves me, which has nothing to do with him being a handsome often scantily-clad model  Spaniard.






But even more remarkable was his Debut into the Music Video Fashion world where Rihanna has been making her name as a cutting edge and fierce Fashionista. Unlike the often contrived attempts from Beyonce and Shakira, Rihanna in my opinion makes it look more natural. And Lucky design student and model Pelayo Diaz can add her to his growing list of celeb interest. Featured below in the 'Hard' music video was the outfit of safety pins he was asked to make.






Go out and listen to her new CD 'Rated R' because it's exquisite and a must-have for your collection. At first I wasn't a fan of the above mentioned track but it's grown on me! So now that you've seen how far a simple DIY venture can take someone, why not pull out your bedazzler, safety pins or paper transfers and see what you can do?

JUDE LAW, DIOR AND THE KILLERS

DIORhomme - commercial

Jude Law in the latest commercial for Dior fragrances. Featuring one of the coolest and biggest bands out right now, The Killers . Enjoy.

Photo of the day

L’Officiel Hommes #18

The Muse - Baptiste Giabiconi

Muses have been useful to Artists for thousands of years. It started with the Greeks when they were said to be three in number, and by the Classical times of the 400s BC their triad and tripled to nine Goddesses who inspired by improvising song and dance, writing and traditional music.





These days however they inspire by being toned and gorgeous French models in a more modern way. Something Baptiste Giabiconi knows a lot about, being the number one muse on design-God Karl Lagerveld's list. 


Of that Karl Lagerveld had this to say:

 “I think after the ugly skinny boys of Hedi [Slimane’s] days…some ‘beauty’ was needed, but new beauty.” He likens Baptiste to a "boy version of Gisele Bündchen: skinny, skinny but with an athletic body — good for clothes and great with no clothes.” 

Later Lagerveld recounted when Naomi Campbell met Giabiconi in Moscow and told him  “It’s not right: We all have defects. You have none.” Which shows how even models are feeling envious of Baptiste.

Lagerveld in recent photoshoots (namely for Purple magazine) has been playing with the juxtaposition of masculinity and femininity. Karl Lagerfeld and art director Olivier Zahm wanted to portray the iconic Helmut Newton woman, and with Baptiste looking so great in stilettos that was that.

He also dresses (and undresses) his muse Baptiste on this peel-off cover of Wallpaper. Looking an awful lot like Lagerveld in a slick suit, high white color and slim black tie it’s easy to see what the inspiration for this cover was. Luckily Lagerveld himself isn't in a state of undress. 

But just this month Lagerfeld brought his show to Shanghai for the first time, where in addition to a pre-fall show he unveiled a new Chanel film. 


From WWD: 

"The show featured 71 looks and took place on a custom-built barge with a glass front facing out onto Pudong’s famous futuristic skyscrapers. The boat remained stationary during the show, which began with a screening of the film “It is a great idea to do it on a boat, with Shanghai in the background. It is quite unreal in a way,” said Lagerfeld."

Chanel Paris-Shanghai Pre-Fall 2010

Barbie and Ken by Karl Lagerfeld at Colette in Paris

However long this lasts we won't know. Muses come and go and for all we know Baptiste could be thrown out on his toned ass next week and replaced. What we do know is that Babtiste Giabiconi is at a very powerful place to command a career and he can securely enjoy being at the very top. He's not likely to go anywhere anytime soon though. 

Campaign Preview | Gucci Spring 2010

Summer is here, at least for Southern Africans. And since we're delayed by a few months in most season deliveries I guess this Gucci preview for 2010 means we're actually ahead! HA!

Photographed by Mert and Marcus who have shot campaigns for Dsquared, Just Cavalli and Calvin Klein among others. 

The cruise campaign as seen below was a strong indicator as to how the mega-brand wanted to show off their new ranges. Ultimately glam-less compared to the last season. Modelled by Ryan Kennedy, Natasha Poly and Snejana Onopka. 

Face Mask anyone?

When your girlfriend nags you to wear a face masque from time to time perhaps you should consider the alternative. Photographed by David Armstrong for the amazing Dazed and Confused magazine the new trend of masks in their tinny glory are making waves all over fashion editorials.

And while many, many people will obsess over the occult meanings of Lady GaGa's new video for 'Bad Romance' we noticed the head-gear worn by the male models. The piece is a Jaiden RVA James mask.

And of late the 'trend' of using a mask has been quite popular in editorials and on the runway. These images are from Vogue Homme in an editorial called 'Bondage Warriors'... which seems fitting, the last one is a graduation show for Jae-won-park.

And just imagine if you have a pimple and you need to hide it...!

Look of the day

{Wearing Dsquared2}

David West is your Weekend Special

Weekend Special: Fashion designer David West’s first store opens its doors.

“You don’t come around to see me in the week/ You don’t have a chance to call me on the phone,” sung Brenda

Fassie, the indomitable diva of South Africa pop, on her 1983 hit “Weekend Special.” It’s a line that could easily be applied to South African fashion legend David West, who disappeared from the local fashion scene 6 years ago.

Fashionistas who’ve missed his trademark combination of conceptual wit and fine tailoring have reason to celebrate. David West is back! His new venture? A David West store, aptly called Weekend Special, that trades on weekends from no.304 Albert Road, in the Woodstock “art district.”

Created in collaboration with production designer and long time David West model, Elmi Badenhorst, the shop pays  homage to its Woodstock location by using materials from local junk shops and architectural salvage yards.

Plus don't forget to visit this Saturday to get a free Ice-Cream upon arrival!

Visit the website and subscribe to the newsletter to keep informed about Weekend Special products and events. www.davidwest.co.za

The British Fashion Awards 2009 - Burberry on top!

Christopher Bailey must be pretty damn chuffed with himself. Not only did he turn Burberry around by saving them from financial ruin but he's doing exceptionally well with the brand too. He made Burberry the British icon it once was.  Proven last night when he won not only Brand of the year, but Designer of the year at the British Fashion Awards! When receiving the Brand of the Year award, Christopher announced that Burberry would be showing its upcoming Autumn Winter womenswear show in London during London Fashion Week.

And then on top of it all our Golden Boy's efforts were recognised by HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Bailey, who joined the company as creative director in May 2001 bur was this year made the brand's chief creative officer, attended a ceremony at Buckingham Palace to receive his Member of the Order of the British Empire from HRH The princess Royal.

"I am both honoured and humbled," Bailey told WWD, as he collected the honour for services to the fashion industry. "This award also recognizes the incredible team that I work with, and it is a privilege to be a part of Burberry, a great British brand." 

Bailey's parents joined him at the Palace to see him receive his MBE and were later enjoying a lunch to celebrate the victorious success of their son. I hope for his sake he follows this with a tall stiff drink and a holiday! Well deserved.

{Credits: Vogue}

Wishlist: 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe

Dear S.C... don't even worry about wrapping my gift this christmas. You can park it next to Marc Jacobs jacket.

Love, Marco

Advertising points to another, er... direction.

This has got to be the WEIRDEST advertising scheme I've ever seen in my life. Photographed by Bertrand de Pluard for WAD magazine. 


It's not safe for work and will probably offend some of you but it certainly "get's your attention"....


Let me know what you think...

{JUMP}

We are Awesome: Why yes, yes you are!

I guess these guys just know where to be at the right time. Once again I am loving what the team at WE-ARE-AWESOME are coming up with. Below is a photograph of a gent in Kloof street that they snapped up. Awesome all over if you ask me.

Personal Style: Andreas Stil

I am all for personal style. Even Ugly Betty has one, and we love her for it. I'm also a fan of photo-blogs of what you wear in your day-to-day. We are so diverse and complex as human beings that our clothing should be an extension of who we are. It already does... in case you were wondering.

I always appreciate the photographs that Jane posted on her Blog 'Sea of Shoes' but without her mothers huge collection of $400+ shoes it wouldn't be as fun to read for some. I don't post daily snaps for this very reason. Sure, my shoe collection is pretty damn awesome for my age but I don't have 300 looks a month to post. It would bore you, and it would bore me.

But Andreas Stil of Sweden, who doubles up as blog-model and Pop-idol contestant doesn't believe this of himself. His shrine to himself photo's capture him quite frequently in his digs and let's just be honest with ourselves and appreciate it for what it is. He's one of those gorgeous Swedes with great style and a couple items I'd love to own myself.

The photo's are beautifully taken, the subject is a natural in the setting and the clothing doesn't look styled or put-on. It's the kind of photographs I would take for an editorial.

With the above photo the success comes from the simplicity of it's execution. Rolled up below the elbow, vintage jacket you can buy for R200 on Long Street, simple slim leg black pants, low necked tee-shirt and rolled up boots. It's that easy.

Jcrew: Styling perfection

It's not couture. It's not cutting edge or likely to be seen in a GaGa video, but it's what we live our lives in. It's how the day to day man dresses, or at least should. I started writing for Man of the Cloth for this reason. Below is a Jcrew shoot that in my opinion was styled perfectly to show you the trends and just how to wear them. The Denim on Denim is perfection. Exactly how you wear it without looking like an idiot who can't tell the difference between fabrics and colours.

Take note of the rolls and lengths, these are suggested so play with it. I'm seeing it here and there but it's scarce so you can be sure you're one of the first here in Cape Town to be exercising these styles. The key is that you don't have to have brand new clothes or expensive ones for that matter. Thrift! Alter! Experiment!

Excuse me waiter...

Balance Wu and Chin Yang: Pepper fly





Epicurean irony

Finding bugs in your food isn't usually a sign of a good meal, but this fly-shaped pepper could add a bit of spice to your next dinner party.

{source} Monoscope

l'eau The One featuring Scarlett Johansson

Possibly the sexiest woman on the planet, Scarlett Johansson makes men all over quiver in this commercial for Dolce and Gabbana's fragrance L'eau The One. Seexxxxy.

This new era in the story of the one is once again captured by revered fashion photographer Jean Baptiste Mondino. His muse, and the unforgettable embodiment of l'eau the one, is Scarlett Johansson. A global icon, Scarlett fascinates audiences with her unique blend of beauty, charm and palpable intelligence. The original soundtrack for the advertisements was composed by the illustrious Italian composer Ennio Morricone: a haunting tribute to the enduring impression made by l'eau the one woman.

The Defensive End

Photographed by Massimo Pamparana and modelled by the Oscar Spendrup for a mens editorial for NEW WAVE in association with The Ones to Watch. Inspiring and twisted photography. Love it. Check out the awesome jacket in picture four!

The Military Band Jacket

Michael Jackson pulled a Van Gogh. He died only to have his Legend soar and re-ignite. His music however powerful, was forgotten by most with trials upon trials trying to bring him down, until his presence on MTV became nothing but an 80's weekend appearance. So while the world remembered their Fallen Idol and started to celebrate the music that shaped the 80's and 90's so did his style. Sure his brother Jermoron wears the glitter-glove in honor of Michael but I'm talking about the Military Band Jacket that we all remember of Michael's Style. Just perhaps without the sequins.



Music influences style and fashion. It's a cycle that profits one another. Madonna had the Gaultier Cones, Elvis had his jumpsuit and Britney, well hers was a school outfit but you get the point. Jackson made his Walk of Fame jacket a staple in any impersonators wardrobe. The man in the military jacket that commanded an army of fans.



When Michael Jackson's documentary-movie 'This is it' came out and the world was amazed by the chance to witness the man at work, I was watching his outfit changes too. Givenchy as I mentioned before were working on costumes for Michael. In Fact he was seen wearing both Givenchy and Balmain womenswear with slightly adjusted detailing to make it less feminin.



Designer Stella McCartney got in on the action too but sadly made this stunning jacket for kids and not for us big boys. But last year you may recall Dolce and Gabbana introduced us to this style which has been sold all over in stores like H&M and Top Shop. Fellow Blogger 00o00 even showed us this jacket as worn by designer Julian Macdonald at a fortnum & mason christmas party.





The question is will it ever make it to our shores in time? Woolworths, Country Road and Trenery are not likely to release this look and we can forget about Edgars ever getting to a level of great quality clothing and choice. All I know is this style is flying off international shelves, so you should probably expect to see it more in the coming months.