Actress Tilda Swinton Kills It In These Fabulous Fashions Shots by Craig McDean

above: Tilda Swinton in Mark Fast

She may look a bit alien, but Scottish actress and artist Tilda Swinton knows how to strike a pose.  The muse for many fashion designers, you can see why in these stunning photos. AnOther Magazine has a flashback section in which they show the best bits from their archives and these images stopped me in my tracks. They are from the magazine's S/S09 issue's cover shoot, in which Tilda was photographed by Craig McDean and styled by Panos Yiapanis wearing some of that season's most exciting new designers and looking like a million bucks. May be a few years old, but Tilda, the photography and even the fashions hold up nicely.


above: Tilda Swinton in Craig Lawrence


above: Tilda Swinton in Peachoo + Krejberg


above: Tilda Swinton in Mary Katrantzou


above: Tilda Swinton in Louise Goldin


above: Tilda Swinton in Peter Pilotto

Read the article and interview with Tilda in AnOther Magazine here.

Infiniti Q50s Get Fashion Makeovers by Thom Browne and Zac Posen To Be Sold On Gilt.com

Two of the hottest designers in the high-fashion world, Zac Posen (who some of you may know from his red carpet gowns and/or his role on Project Runway) and Thom Browne, The New York fashion designer and recipient of the 2013 CDFA Menswear Designer Of The Year award, have each designed a special 2014 Infiniti Q50. The specially outfitted (pardon the pun) cars will be available in December via the online luxury site Gilt.com (if you don't belong, click here for an invite code ) where the two buyers will also receive a $10,000 Gilt.com shopping credit, as well as a style consultation. The cars will be priced at $75,000 each.



The Zac Posen Infiniti Q50:











The Thom Browne Infiniti Q50:













the press release:
The Infiniti Q50 had a new look revealed in New York City, thanks to two of the hottest designers in the high-fashion world. The cars were unveiled to media at the Infiniti of Manhattan dealership located in the city's famed Hell's Kitchen area.

"I was totally blown away when I saw it; the ombré-effect that we created [with the exterior paint], and set out to create, really worked as an object. That emphasized the movement and the shape of the car, which is what was most important to me," said Zac Posen, fashion designer.

Posen dresses some of today's hottest celebrities. He and his contemporary, Thom Browne, each took a turn at outfitting the newest addition to the Infiniti lineup. These custom-tailored cars feature elements exclusive to each designer's aesthetics.

"In talking to Infiniti at the beginning and really learning their design philosophy, and that being very individual, very secure and confident in being an individual, that was how I approached this initially, and wanted to do something as conceptual as possible for making sure the customer saw something that was really unique and individual," said Browne.

The Thom Browne 2014 Infiniti Q50 exterior features a chrome finish. The vehicle is accented with his signature red, white and blue stripe throughout, from the seats to the floor mats, and stitching on the steering wheel. There's also Browne's hallmark sterling silver ring encircling the gear-shift handle.

With a more feminine flair, Posen's creation displays a unique paint application that evokes the back of a glamorous silk gown. The interior's inspiration?

"Then I opened the door and got into what I call the red-carpet interior. Working with very luxurious materials, the shagreen handle, the shagreen stick, it's all piped in leather that contrasts it. And playing with tonality of reds," said Posen.

Gilt.com joined with Infiniti to offer these luxury sports sedans; both brands say the partnership just made sense.

"Gilt and Infiniti have very similar customers. They are very fashion savvy, tech savvy, they like new things and we think this is a great partnership," said Kelly MacDonald, Infiniti Marketing.

The two buyers of these 2014 Infinitis will also receive a $10,000 Gilt.com shopping credit, as well as a style consultation.

"From here the cars are going to five events focused around Gilt City shopping events. We'll have Thom- and Zac-designed concept rooms to house their cars in five cities. So next week it goes to Dallas, then Chicago, then New York, Miami and L.A., from now until December. We have a chance to bring the cars to life so people can see them in person," said Clara Pang, business development, Gilt.

These Infiniti Q50 packages will be sold for $75,000 each on gilt.com in December with a portion of the proceeds benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

To learn more, visit here

images and info courtesy of Infiniti

A Look At The Punk Movement's Impact On Fashion and Culture From The Met. 45 Images.

Organized by The Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art is PUNK: Chaos to Couture. The exhibition, on view from May 9 through August 14, 2013 (preceded on May 6 by The Costume Institute Benefit Gala), examines punk’s impact on high fashion from the movement’s birth in the 1970s through its continuing influence today.




In this post, I will be sharing with you many images from the museum's exhibit and views of the gallery, courtesy of various sources along with the Museum's description of the exhibition.



above: Punk fashions by Chanel, Rodarte and Gianni Versace

“Punk’s signature mixing of references was fueled by artistic developments such as Dada and postmodernism,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “so it makes sense to present this exhibition in a museum that also shows the broader output of those movements. Indeed, that dialogue between art and fashion is what makes The Costume Institute so singular. Projects like this don’t happen without sponsorship, and we greatly appreciate the generosity of Moda Operandi, and its co-founders Aslaug Magnusdottir and Lauren Santo Domingo.”


above: Sid Vicious, John Lydon aka Johnny Rotten and Paul Cook from The Sex Pistols.


above: a gallery view of the exhibit. "No Future" is a Sex Pistol's song from their most famous album Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols


“Since its origins, punk has had an incendiary influence on fashion,” said Andrew Bolton, Curator in The Costume Institute. “Although punk’s democracy stands in opposition to fashion’s autocracy, designers continue to appropriate punk’s aesthetic vocabulary to capture its youthful rebelliousness and aggressive forcefulness.”


above: Punk musicians Richard Hell, Joe Strummer and Patti Smith in the late 70s.


above: musicians Gary Wilson, John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) and Joe Strummer

The exhibition, in the Museum’s second-floor Cantor galleries, will feature approximately 100 designs for men and women. Original punk garments from the mid-1970s will be juxtaposed with recent, directional fashion to illustrate how haute couture and ready-to-wear have borrowed punk’s visual symbols, with paillettes being replaced with safety pins, feathers with razor blades, and bugle beads with studs.




Focusing on the relationship between the punk concept of 'do-it-yourself' and the couture concept of 'made-to-measure,' the exhibition will be organized around the materials, techniques, and embellishments associated with the anti-establishment style. Presented as an immersive multimedia, multisensory experience, the clothes will be animated with period music videos and soundscaping audio techniques.



Organized thematically, each of the seven galleries will have designated punk ‘heroes’ who embody the broader concepts behind the fashions on view. The first gallery will be devoted to CBGB in New York City, represented by Blondie, Richard Hell, and Patti Smith.


above: a reproduction of the bathroom at CBGB, the popular underground club

Next will be a gallery inspired by Malcolm McClaren and Vivienne Westwood and their Seditionaries boutique at 430 King’s Road in London. The Clothes for Heroes gallery, embodied by Jordan, will examine designers who extend the visual language of punk, as it was originally articulated by McLaren and Westwood, by merging social realism with artistic expression.



above: Vivienne Westwood fashions

above: A reproduction of the King's Road boutique.

Do-it-yourself, punk’s enduring contribution to high fashion, will be explored in the four final galleries: D.I.Y. Hardware, focusing on couture’s use of studs, spikes, chains, zippers, padlocks, safety pins, and razor blades, with Sid Vicious as its icon; D.I.Y. Bricolage, highlighting the impact of punk’s ethos of customization on high fashion, including the use of recycled materials from trash and consumer culture, as epitomized by Wayne County; D.I.Y. Graffiti and Agitprop, exploring punk’s tradition of provocation and confrontation through images and text exemplified by The Clash; and D.I.Y. Destroy, examining the effect of punk’s rip-it-to-shreds spirit, typified by Johnny Rotten, via torn and shredded garments associated with deconstructionism.

D.I.Y. Hardware and D.I.Y. Bricolage:





D.I.Y Graffiti and Agitprop:





Designers in the exhibition will include Miguel Adrover, Thom Browne, Christopher Bailey (Burberry), Hussein Chalayan, Francisco Costa (Calvin Klein), Christophe Decarnin (Balmain), Ann Demeulemeester, Dior, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana (Dolce and Gabbana), John Galliano, Nicolas Ghesquière (Balenciaga), Katharine Hamnett, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren (Viktor & Rolf), Christopher Kane, Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons), Karl Lagerfeld (Chanel), Helmut Lang, Martin Margiela, Malcolm McLaren, Alexander McQueen, Franco Moschino and Rossella Jardini (Moschino), Kate and Laura Mulleavy (Rodarte), Miuccia Prada, Gareth Pugh, Zandra Rhodes, Hedi Slimane (Saint Laurent), Stephen Sprouse, Jun Takahashi (Undercover), Joseph Thimister, Riccardo Tisci (Givenchy), Gianni Versace, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, and Vivienne Westwood.


above: punk fashions by Commes Des Garcons, Givenchy and Jordan


above: punk on the runway; Commes des garcons, Maison Martin Margiela and Helmut Lang


above: punk fashions by Junya Watanabe, Hussein Chayalan and Ann Demeulmeester

The exhibition is organized by Andrew Bolton, Curator, in the Met’s Costume Institute. Photographer Nick Knight is the exhibition’s creative consultant working with exhibition design consultant Sam Gainsbury (who was creative director for the Met’s Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition in 2011) and production designer Gideon Ponte (a set and production designer for photo shoots and feature films including Buffalo 66 and American Psycho).

All mannequin head treatments and masks will be designed by Guido Palau, who also created treatments for Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty and last year’s Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations. The design for the 2013 Costume Institute gala benefit will be created by Nick Knight, Sam Gainsbury, and Gideon Ponte with Raul Avila, who has produced the benefit décor since 2007. Additional funding for the gala benefit will be provided by Givenchy.



above: A book, Punk: Chaos to Couture (Metropolitan Museum of Art) with an introduction by Jon Savage, and prefaces by Richard Hell and John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols), will accompany the exhibition. This publication will be illustrated with photographs of vintage punks and high fashion. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the $45 catalogue (hard cover only)  is only $28.86 here at Amazon

The exhibition is made possible by Moda Operandi with additional support provided by Condé Nast. Images in this post came from the following various sources: Getty images, AP Photos,  New York Magazine and, of course, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

NY Mag's The Cut has a fun article and slide show that shows you what celebs wore to the opening and how they gave their own homage to punk. Check it out here.