United Nude

Remember Ralph Fiennes character in David Cronenberg's movie "Spider" and how he wore his shirts? It may sound odd, but when I saw 'the Cup' (above) by United Nude from their Spring Summer 08 collection it made me think about that character. And only because its so unusual to see echoing shapes like this (and it might have something to do with the fact that I am a costume designer, but I digress). The shoe is actually a classic mule with a peep toe and the 'cup' part is a heel cover with ankle strap. Slip on your choice of heel from the selection of 3 different colours that you get with each pair and you've got yourself a customized shoe! The Cup comes in two heel heights: 'Hi' and 'Mid'. Be sure to check out the Mono Jane too. Lastly, I want to mention that United Nude do the most scrumptuous winter boot ever! They are called the Sharpei Bubble High and they are practical sexy and warm.  After the winter we've had this year-they will be on my wish list for next year!

Radar: JPG Magazine

I just discovered JPG Magazine. The tagline is "Your World In Pictures" and its a photography mag unlike any other. Its collaborative and community oriented. The content-photographs and the stories behind them-are submitted by readers and then voted on by other members for inclusion in each issue. You can find photo essays like "Storm Chaser" by Ryan McGinnis or this one by Eamonn Aiken which is a poignant commentary on the footprint of industry past and present called "Brooklyn Nights". There's plenty of fun stuff like the picture above by Simon Christen too.

Going Against The Grain

Fashion is almost always so ephemeral its ridiculous. But every so often you come across a maverick like Thomas Maier, designer for Bottega Veneta, whose conscientiousness, level headedness and modesty is, well, exquisite. So says Ruth La Ferla here.

Radar: Freedomwig 2

Martha Rich is brave and silly. And awesome. Last year she did a painting a day called Freedomwig. This year she decided to re-visit the concept but do a painting a week. Its called Freedomwig 2 and you must check it out.

From Indexed

From Indexed. Killer.

New 'Heroes' Series: Melanie Janisse

Today I'd like to introduce a new series called 'Heroes'. The series will consist of people who are leaders in their fields or are trail blazers breaking new ground. They are courageous, talented and warm hearted people worthy of recognition.  Some are artists or creatives, others are social minded entrepreneurs, bottom-line philanthropists or behind-the-scenes geniuses. Some are modest, others are flambuoyant. The one trait they all share is a deep desire to improve their lives and make the world a little better-even if that's only one person at a time. 

To start all of this off, I'd like to introduce you to Melanie Janisse. Melanie just oozes talent. She is an incredibly talented writer, photographer, painter, accessories designer and entrepreneur. No joke-she does it all. You may know Melanie from her vintage clothing boutique Melanie's Closet, but did you know that she will soon be debuting a new series of amusement park inspired paintings and that she is now represented by Canvas Gallery ? And that she's just about to publish her first book of poetry (!) called 'We Sink We Swim' with Guernica Editions (disclaimer: I edited her book)? Somehow Melanie finds time to create incredible handmade corset belts (she's wearing one in the photo above), necklaces, pins and earrings made from re-purposed leather jackets under the label Clothes Horse (disclaimer: I wear my belt every day). What I admire most about Melanie is her dream to create a vintage clothing store/design studio that would sponsor, house and employ young women struggling with sobriety.  What a superstar. Check out Clothes Horse at Etsy and visit Melanie's Closet at 829 Dundas Street West 416-532-4231

The W&G Store is Up!

Here are two of the styles of the W&G vs. BITNB t-shirts I was telling you about in earlier. While its not officially-official that Well and Good is open for online sales, check out the complete line up here.

Blood is the New Black vs. Well and Good

This just in! I am thrilled to tip you off to a great new initiative that combines a few of my favorite things:  art and t-shirts! Local sweetie Steve Ferrara of Well and Good and Mitra Khayyam of Blood is the New Black in Los Angeles have joined forces to launch a t shirt collection featuring the artwork of Toronto artists Elicser, Dean Drever, Talia Shipman and Adam Hilborn. I have seen the samples and they are amazing! The t-shirts come in super soft cotton in men's and women's short sleeve crew neck styles in sizes XS to XL. The women's style is slim and hip length. The artwork is digitally printed (very cool) or screen printed depending on the artwork. No details on retail outlets yet but they will be sold at wellandgood.ca soon. Both W&G and BITNB are devoted to showcasing emerging artists in their respective countries. Stay tuned for pictures of the tees and for details about the Toronto and Los Angeles events (!) showcasing the work of the artists.

Well and Good is Alive and Well

Let me be one of the first to tell you that Steve Ferrara's artist collective and community oriented enterprise is back up with a brand new website at www.wellandgood.ca. Designed by Transmitter Studios the website will be the place to check out up and coming local and Canadian artists, awesome curated events (more about this shortly) and buy some really great art! Featured artists include "Stencil Queen" Lease, the gifted photographer Che Kothari, and the multi talented Luna Simic and more. Support collaboration. Support creativity. Support your community. Support Well and Good.

Miroïke

And speaking of new shoes...I just bought an incredible pair of  boots at UPC* by Miroïke.  A young Berlin based fashion label, these boots were made by hand in thin pleated lamb nappa (crinkled almost) and lined in silk. The sole is traditional oak tanned leather and the craftmanship is incredible. Read this for coverage on their fashion show in February at Berlin Fashion Week. Ulrike Seidel and Ramiro Calderón Alvarado formed the fashion label in Berlin in 2004. Both are graduates from the Berlin University of the Arts and they studied under Vivienne Westwood. Her influence is unmistakeable. *Kudos to the lovely Maha and Anat at UPC for bringing the line to Toronto. If you're not familiar with this boutique you must check it out at 128½ Cumberland Street, just below street level. You'll get incredible customer service and a curated approach to fashion the likes of which you won't find anywhere else in the city!

Stepping Out

Today is Easter Sunday. There was a time in our parents day that hats would be on parade as a show of spring but I think the more modern equivalent are shoes. Bill Cunningham muses here in his weekly Sunday feature 'On The Street' that there might be a new category of shoe that just might be afoot. Is the new shoe destined to take the fascination away from handbags?

Radar: Clare Tough

From The New York Times Style Magazine Women's Fashion Spring 2008

Go here to see the online version of this article.

When Fashion Has Nothing To Do With The Clothes

God bless Cathy Horyn. Yesterday in the Style section of the New York Times she wrote a frank article commenting on the "cronism and delusion in fashion". Entitled "My Invitation Isn't in the Mail" she surmises that fashion shows are never really about the clothes but more a demonstration of the designer's power as defined by their invitation list and seating plan.

Which reminds me, L'Oreal Fashion Week is upon us March 17-22, 2008.

Be sure and check out Cathy Horyn's blog On the Runway.

From ffffound

You Are What You Share

Charles Leadbeater has a new book coming out this week in the UK. Its called "We Think" and its about the web culture of participation, sharing and collaboration and the influence that may have on information distribution and the pusuit of truth and knowledge. Download the first three chapters for free here and watch an animated concept of the book here.