Animals again

I can't get enough of Japanese artist Nagi Noda's animal wigs.

They are made from human hair, each one is a work of art

Nagi Noda (1973-2008)

xx

 

 

  

  

 

  

  

  

 

Love is in the air

I was thinking today about how much I love Baz Luhrmann movies, particularly Moulin Rouge.  I don't know many others who share this love, lots of people have said to me that they found the music annoying, or Nicole Kidman, or the theatrical over the top fast forward magic eye buzz of it all. But I liked these things, in fact I think it's probably one of the most visually spectacular films I've ever seen.  I love the detail in all the costumes: lots of colour, jewels and intricate embellishments. I love the men in black tuxedos and Kylie as a fairy and all the bursting into song. It's just a beautiful film..

Moulin Rouge wasn't the beginning of my love affair with Baz though, how could it be when the amazing Strictly Ballroom and Romeo and Juliet came before?  These two movies are both totally captivating, romantic and stunning.  I love in Romeo and Juliet that all the Montagues wear Hawaiian shirts (probably the only time I have ever liked a Hawaiian shirt on anyone), and Tybalt (generally) and all the religious iconography throughout the movie:

       

       

       

       

Strictly Ballroom plays on the grossness, craziness, and crassness of the ballroom dancing industry in Australia. I love all the tantrums and bickering, all the character's names (Tina Sparkle), the orange tan and severe accents. In amongst all this there is of course Fran, the one who steals the show, love love.

xx

Karen Walker in NY

The images from Karen Walker's New York Fashion Week show are out, and after looking at the collection I though a post was in order. This is the designer's eighth season in New York: a pretty amazing and inspiring feat!

p.s. I have an exam tomorrow, so I'm going to make this very, very brief. My highlights from the collection are..

xx

SUITING:

FLUFFY STUFF:

ACCESSORIES:

 

COLOUR PALETTE: 

 

To see the full range, click here

xx

Gimme

For Christmas last year my older brother gave me a copy of POP Magazine (Issue 21: above).  It was such a great gift, I love magazines, particularly big, glossy, bi-annual, 300+ page fashion magazines that keep you entertained for hours.

A great gift says a lot, because there's nothing stranger than getting a gift from someone really close to you which leaves you wondering - do you know me at all? 

But a gift is a gift, right?  WRONG. A bad gift becomes clutter in you room, which slowly builds as the years go on. Unused and unappreciated items peep at you sadly from the bottom drawer, which gets shut again quickly in a cloud of dust.  These things can't be thrown away either, because that would make you not only ungrateful, but also callous, and at risk of being exposed when the gift-giver asks you if you're using it/wearing it etc.

So thanks Chris, I love this magazine.  I was reading it today (well.. looking at the the pictures), two months on from Christmas.There's so many interesting shoots and articles, on the cover (above) is a 13 year old German girl named Tavi, who has a fashion blog called STYLE ROOKIE  which is cool.

xx

Lonely love

Lonely Hearts is without a doubt one of my favourite New Zealand labels. Every new range they bring out is a stunning mish mash of feminine prints, boxy blazers and oversized dresses. This season is no exception - and I want it all !

The range was introduced at  NZ fashion week last year, and their show was unique because instead of having a runway, they played a beautiful video of the collection on a circular configuration of TVs.  There were so many people there it was pretty impossible to move, but I think that really sums up the popularity of this brand and the people behind it. Read about them in the January edition of RUSSH magazine (above), and take a look at their Winter 2010 collection (below):

xx

Lonely Hearts: What is Your Damage from Nik Riviera on Vimeo.

Hello stranger

I was sitting in Albert Park today, watching people pass by.
I’ve always been:

a) A bit of a creepy starer

b) Really interested in people.

I think it’s because we’re all so different. 
There is no one else quite like you, because life is entirely yours. 
But then – if it’s all down to choices – why can’t we all be the people we want to be?

I love that we’re not. Limitations are great, they make us want to overcome them and do more. If we all had everything we wanted, there’d be no drive.

Some say that everything we are as adults can be traced back to childhood, which, in a lot of ways, is true. When I have a family, for example, I want to have dinner every night around the table; because my family did and I think it made us closer. But what about all those oddities with no traceable source? I hate cold foods – refrigerated savoury meals. Coleslaw and potato salad are at the top of my list. Why? I don’t recall ever being subjected to them at Granny’s or overindulging to the point where foreverafter even the smell of mayonnaise made me want to vomit. This isn't revealing stuff, I just love individual eccentricities.

We’re not all aliens though, there are common threads which bind us. If I had to think of a common characteristic in all the people that I admire it’d be a little bit of stress. Not in the debilitating, nail biting, everything-in-a-snappy-tone way. Just in the sense that some people have an urgency about them, which propels them to do as much as they can in the time they have. Maybe I should stop ranting (and start stressing).
xx

Cup of tea please

Everyone thinks their friends are the greatest in the world.

I definitely do.

It’s the same as parents who all seem to believe that their baby is unusually clever.

Everyone thinks their friends are the best, and that’s the way it should be, because friends are one of the best parts of life.  They’re all unique and somehow perfect.   

The listener, the drinker, the shopper, the academic - for every mood there's a friend to match. It's unlike anything else, friendship is based on a natural connection and the details are secondary.  If we screened our friends the way we do in relationships the world would be a harsh place:  Imagine if you considered (before committing to a friendship), the other person’s interests, appearance, taste, politics, and ambition?

  

On paper I think a lot of friendships seem a bit mismatched, which is probably because there's no formula or process in place, you never know who will become your friend. Some of your greatest friends in the world will be people you haven't met yet, some of them will be people you've known your entire life.

I think Lesley Arfin put it perfectly when she described her old friend Bobby:

‘Bobby and I disagree; we go for months without talking and our interests have dissipated through the years quite a bit. Yet I still love him the same, maybe even more.. I feel safe around him, but he doesn’t take care of me.  I feel secure because our love for each other, as friends, is unconditional’.

xx

helpful stars, helpful planets

I just read a full page write up in RUSSH magazine on what 2010 holds for me according to astrology.

Afterward I felt nothing.  No huge revelation, no gasp of relief, nothing. That’s because I basically don’t believe in star signs, and why I continue to read them I have no idea. 

Every magazine, newspaper, or paparazzi rag I get my hands on, I routinely flick to the star signs.  Sometimes my friends and I will read them together:

‘It’s bad luck to read your own’,

‘I’m on the cusp but have always felt more like a Virgo’. 

This type of talk is always bandied about, but what does it really mean? And where does all this come from?

Reading star signs (then laughing about their absurdity) is one of the many things I seem to do a lot without really understanding why I bother in the first place.  It’s the same cycle as drinking too much, wondering why I drink too much, vowing to never do it again, and then doing it again the following weekend.

I think what really gets me is the safety net of lists employed by astrology writers out there: ‘life, travel, work, or romantic situations may change this month’. Surely something in that could vaguely apply to everyone?

Or maybe I’m just being a kill joy, after all, star signs are pretty harmless. In fact, I’ll probably be eating my words by the end of the year, because lucky Librans like myself have the biggest prize of all in store:

‘By the time you reach New Years Eve 2011, you may realise that almost every area of your life changed and became revitalised’.

xx

Pretty basic

I have decided to start a regular post about personal style and the inspiration behind it.

When it comes to fashion, I think most people get ideas from their friends, acquaintances, or even people they see on the street.

(I know I do anyway)

In honour of this, each post will be a small collection of photographs - taken on the streets of Auckland - of people who inspire me with their own unique style.

xx

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

Laneway II

When you buy a ticket for an event like Laneway, you are basically paying to get spoiled. 

In one glorious day you get lots of space, lots of sun, lots of friends and lots of bands. More importantly, lots of good bands.

This was the first festival of its kind to take place in Auckland and I am hoping, after its success, that there will be plenty more in the future. A great mix of local and international acts filled two stages from midday til late. All the bands gave fantastic performances but if I had to pick highlights I would say the best acts were...

Street Chant

These guys were the first band to play which meant a smaller crowd than their epic performance deserved. I really like their energy and crazy shows, looking forward to seeing them again when they open for The Dead Weather (March 17)

The xx

I wasn't very familiar with this band before today, but now I’m a huge fan. Their sound is really simple and subtle and intense, listen!

Florence and the Machine

Of course! She was never going to disappoint, but her performance was honestly more than I had expected. Some music gives you shivers, that’s the effect it had on me. I also loved the way she swung between her huge singing voice and her quiet, British, between-song-banter voice. It always helps when they seem like a cool person as well as a great talent. 
xx