fontastic friday: bubble

Pankstrasse on the U8 (Wedding), Rosenthalerstr. (Mitte), Brunnenstrasse (Wedding)

The NYTimes is calling the economic bubble in Japan "Japanification". I always thought that meant something else.

fontastic friday: shanghai express

from top to bottom: Kastanienalle (Prenzlauerberg), Münzstrasse (Mitte), Brunnenstrasse (Wedding)

I can't help but giggle when I see an umlaut (ü) in this font. Maybe because multiculturalism is still a foreign concept here.

Flipping through Keri Smith's awesome book "How to be an Explorer of the World" today ("exploring" is a big theme for AW11/12...think The North Face meets Uniqlo), I found out that I've been practicing exploration #13 here on this blog! So now, I will take Smith's advice and record where I've been finding these things.

i don't own a white shirt

This piece on "menswear in the movies" (yes, I read flare.com, need my cancon!) gave me some titles to add to my videobuster list. However, I think #10 is streaching it a bit.

As a replacement, how about Whoppie Goldberg in like, every movie she's ever been in? The menswear look is so much a part of her personality, that just seeing her in a dress gets her a laugh (or an Oscar nod...)

fontastic friday: Cube

A little cancon for you to start the weekend off right.

book trailer

Books just refuse to die. Check it out- an author of an actual book made it to the cover of TIME magazine:

fontastic friday: dude, where's my car?

gotta love the german title :"Ay Mann, wo ist mein Auto?"

apparently, german licence plates are coded, so you know where the driver is from, so like a "B" means they are from Berlin etc... pretty clever.

banksy, the simpsons and asian stereotypes

Too bad this wasn't some underground viral...it was the actual opening for Sunday's show (which I can't bare to watch with German overdub). Something weird about hiring someone to criticise you publically as a marketing ploy.

sally jane video

My absolute favourite blog is Sally Jane Vintage. It's one of the first places I look when I sit at my desk in the designroom to research trends.

Today Jennifer introduced video to her content, and I am over the moon. This lookbook for her vintage shop made my morning. A little too long, but does it's job: I feel like buying something old.

Sally Jane Vintage: Lace Factory from Tom b. on Vimeo.

fontastic friday: a river runs through it

fontastic friday: the good german

I'm going to dedicate fridays to awesome fonts that bring me pause. Berlin has some awesome typefaces, and this article got me thinking about movie poster fonts...

So here's the first installment of fontastic fridays, a space dedicated to lettering and the films they remind me of (...of which they remind me? oh man, gramatical errors in post about letters).

"...gently down the stream..."

sunday bunch at radialsystem includes live music, free 20 minute massage and a boat trip on this adorable schooner...






our trendsetters across the pond are in the throws of London Fashion Week, and TOPSHOP is streaming the shows they sponsor live from their website.

oldenberg bahnhof

pitched a feature film at the first Oldenberg Film Festival speed fest event. the train station was sexy.

RUNaWAY

4ourth row at berlin fashion week @ the RISTO show.



here's the cinematic part of this post. not new, only just now took my breath away.
http://www.marcjacobs.com/#/en-us/marcjacobscollection/women/fallwinter10/runwayvideo

hand-held horror

The jittery camera really adds to the creepiness of this collections' film. I was relieved when she rescued herself and the bunny.

As much as I love me some mori girl digs, I'm too wigged out after watching this to wear anything from them this season (I may try to make my own crocheted headscarf though).

A haunting promotion that does more for brand recognition than sales. Gutsy -worth a bookmark.

living the dream

I saw this picture on The Selby (I can already see myself spending full days trolling this site!) and thought, "That's it. Contentment. This is what it's all about".

The messy desk, the photos children and grandchildren and satisfied customers...collected over decades...framed uniformly, the kid's artwork, the humble smile...This. Is. It.

If you are not convinced, watch this film about Martin Greenfield from Galen Summer.

Lessons from a Tailor. Directed by Galen Summer from Ed David on Vimeo.

Something about tailors. I've always found the best ones to be stubborn, quiet, and composed. What is it about making clothes by hand that makes a person so wise?

goin' down the road

Heading to Ottawa tomorrow to visit friends so good I like to call them family. After I'll be driving to Toronto to visit the real deal.

Everytime I drive to Toronto, I'm reminded of one of the best Canadian films of all time, Goin' Down the Road. It's about two Maritimers that truck it to Toronto in the hopes of a better life. I too moved to Toronto at one point to follow one of my many, many dreams, and while I have no regrets, there is something about that city that reeks of it (and not just during the garbage strike).

I don't blame the city, it's a wonderful, multicultural mecca, and Kensington Market is my home away from my home away from home. Its just that the expectation is too high, but you need to look like your not expecting anything from anyone. It's definately a "collar up, hands in pockets" kind of town...

Oh man. I'm starting to sound jaded. I blame Berlin. (that's right, I'm dissing two cities in one post!)

Tell me what you love about Toronto!

question and answer

After watching Coco, the Chanel story, Jena recently asked her readers "What is one of your life goals that you really want to make happen?"

I spend a lot of time asking myself this question, and like Miss Modish, have spent too much time researching design school (and I already work in a designroom! talk about two steps back).

I have so many things on my list of things I'd like to be: filmmaker, crochet fashion designer, installation artist, freelance journalist, novelist, mother, actress, activist, healer in a commune...the list goes on.

But after watching this video here, I may have found a future career path that could encompass all these things.

Here's to undefinable spaces, fashion blogs that are about so much more, and friendships that make dreams come true. (a very Hollywood ending to this post, wouldn't you say?)

yikes

Am I the only person working in fashion who never heard the term "edit" applied to a dress? Ever since finding this Jill Sander promotion for the film "I am love" starring Tilda Swinton, I'm seeing the term everywhere.

Oh and, how embarrassing is it that I thought "deadstock" was a fashion trend, like "mod" or "rockabilly"? I kept seeing vintage dresses, shoes and hats on etsy with no other connection except that they had "deadstock" in the description, and I was like, "wow, what an ecclectic mix - green velvet doc martens, prairie western bouse and black leather chaps. The things these deadstock kids can pull off!"

I'm going to start using my new, fancy, fashion vocabulary in the designroom. Three points to anyone who can use them both in a sentence.

The Harvest

Ever since discovering I am a mori girl, my wardrobe seems to make sense. I've always envied goths and punks for their ability to create a uniform, with a closet full of mix and match items (although if I were a goth, I would organize my black clothes according to level of fading, as opposed to Roy G. Biv ).

More so, I love pretending I am part of an international community of like minded people. People who "look like they live in the forest", crochet, and love bunnies and vintage (okay, "used") clothing as much as I do... We would travel by bike from all over the world to meet in Humbolthain park for a big hippie-nerdy-cool picnic, complete with cupcakes, devils food eggs and fried chicken (Caribbean-Canadian mori girls are not vegan, and since I'm probably the only one in this sub-category, I think its more than fine).

Susien Chong, one half of the creative couple behind the Australian brand Lover, must be a mori girl. Thanks to Rhiannon for starting the breadcrumb trail that lead to this post :)

I need leather suspenders to lift my lonely spirit today.

The Harvest. Film trailer. from LOVER® on Vimeo.

runway two ways

A video of Stella McCartney winter 2010 runway show is online.

Is it a criticism of the collection when I'm much more interested in watching the people in the front row than the mini dresses? Who is sitting next to Beth Ditto and what are they jammering on about? Why are so many people dropping their programs...is that a sign to their photographers or what? Or is it the secret shopping language of fashion editors, like "That dress is mine! Called it, stamped it, no take backs!"? I'm left totally distracted.

Of course, when I hear Ms. McCartney talk about the show, I'm in love again. Maybe the people who take care of the video content for the Stella McCartney website should take notice - the clothes can speak for themselves, but we can't hear them over the crowd.

the big switcheroo

Mr. Film is Fashion is away for the weekend, so I've taken over the apartment with my wardrobe. That's right...let the sunshine in! First phase of seasonal wardrobe switchover.

I'm trying a new system from tchibo this year...it involves vaccuum sealing, and I don't usually handle the vaccuum (I'm on bathroom duty).

Simultaneously packing for a 3-week trip to Ontario, thinking about the epic travel wardrobe in this Meg Ryan film. I hope I'm wearing something as functional as this next time Air Canada/Lufthansa loses my luggage.

vintage shopping with bob

Bob Wiseman, and old friend of my sister and musician extrodinare, played the the most wonderful show at Madame Claud's on Tuesday. The next day, we went vintage shopping together in Mitte. I tried on a wool dress, and while I'm not so into geographic piping, the cut was exactly what I like to rock, batwing sleeves, belted waist and circle skirt with pockets. I was like, "its conservative, but sort of awesome." Bob was like, "Yeah", and I remember thinking, this is what I miss about Canadians.

The clincher was the tag: first of all, 100% wool, and the other "Louis Féraud, Paris" and "Made in W. Germany".

I didn't know about Louis Fèraud, or that his is credited for discovering Brigit Bardot and being her "hausschneider" in the 1950s.
I never thought of myself at a "bombshell", but the Bardot silouette is definately something I've been moving towards in the last years. Now I'm going to have to incorporate the headband.

Brigitte Bardot et Dario Moreno (1959)
von jmp83990

Bob got a rad orange tie and a bunch of other goodies. I hope he wears it on stage.

the trouble with eyewear...

I recently had a discussion with the fashion PR agency we use at my day job about how difficult it is to present a new collection of eyewear. A runway show doesn't really work because, unless the models are naked, you aren't going to notice the tortoiseshell frames (actually, even if they are naked, you probably aren't looking at the girl's glasses). You're left with coolness-by-association.

Case in point: the Berlin-based eyewear brand Mykita paired up with fellow Berlin label c.neeon on the runway during January's fashion week. Check out the video of the show...are you looking at the glasses? Okay, now you are 'cuz I told you to, but you see my point (pun absolutely intended).

Now let's say for arguments sake Sarah Jessica Parker were to wear said brand of sunglasses in the upcoming Sex in the City movie? You'd take notice right?

Oliver Peoples takes it one step further. Instead of waiting for Patricia Fields to call, they made their own movie trailer starring their glasses (oh yeah, Shirley Manson and a surprisingly sexy Elijah Wood are in there too). Love it.

(thanks for the tip Richard!)

c.neeon featuring Mykita from Mary Scherpe on Vimeo.

fashion comin' at ya!

I love a good gimmick as much as the next guy so I really hope this isn't lame. The first ever*** 3D fashion film to present the next NADA collection? I'm intrigued, all the more so because Nada Shepherd is Canadian.

Unless you have tickets to the premiere on March 17 at the Scotiabank Theatre**, your have to wait until March 18th to check it out here.

And if you love free stuff that are also gimmicks, send a self-addressed, self-stamped standard number 10 envelope to NADA Fashion Designs Inc. 51 Bulwer St., 1st Floor, Toronto ON, M5T 1A1 and they'll send ya a pair of 3-D glasses. Like I don't have a drawer full of 'um already.

** oh how I wish it was being held at one of the old Festival Cinemas like the Royal, where I used to serve popcorn and watch films for free.

*** can you still call it a first after the Burberry live stream at London fashion week?

calypso

Is it just me that finds it strange that a brand called "Calypso St. Barth" features fashions from "from exciting destinations like Rajasthan, Marrakech and Bali"? Egal, when I look at the new SS10 collection, I feel like I'm in French West Indies, sipping milk from a coconut in my camilla crochet short dress.

The black and white parts of the Cruise 2009 video have mysterious silent film feel... maybe because I just saw the new "direcor's cut" of Metropolis with a live orchestra at the Babylon Kino in here in Berlin...

how to tie a scarf

I know linking to The Satorialist is like quoting from the bible, but maybe you just skimmed past this post (like I did Leviticus).

On my list of 1000 x Pi projects is a documentary about tying scarves. Since moving to Berlin I have seen so many wonderous ways to knot, wrap and otherwise MAKE an outfit with a piece of draped cloth. I rarely leave the house between September and May without something around my neck. My latest fav is a meter and a half of purple plaid raw cotton my mother sent me for a sewing project, that rescued from my "to do" pile and put into action.

So, since the scarf doc is waiting patiently under "produce feature film", "learn Turkish" and "build shoe shelf", here's the next best thing.