Outlasting this chill is made easier with the help of Ronaldo Fraga. His summer 2013 collection is my little shot of sunshine.

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Was on a Lovecraft pilgrimage in Providence, RI today when, summoned by air conditioning, I drifted in to the Rhode Island School of Design’s Museum of Art and overheard that today is free day. So the elevator breezes me up to the third floor, the doors open, and to my left there are blown-up 1954 René Bouché illustrations for Vogue and on the wall ahead are cycling movie clips of stylish people drinking. Whoa. Ok. It’s the museum’s “Cocktail Culture” exhibit. It’s outstanding, and tomorrow’s the last day (10am-5pm).

Red silk dress with cartridge pleats from the “Cocktail Culture” exhibit at the RISD Museum of Art. Designed by Norman Norell and Anthony Traina (under the Traina-Norell label), ca. 1949. From InStyle’s great slideshow of the highlights. The exhibit ends tomorrow (July 31st).

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From my notebook. To be fair, though, most people here have been very friendly. Which is nice. (Excess yellowing is from a bad scanner at the local FedEx Office. Which sucks.)

Favorite looks for the F/W 2011-2012 season come from John Rocha, Junya Watanabe, Valentino, Mary Katrantzou, Thakoon and Alexander McQueen. Trends include Medievalism, moulded hourglass shapes, fuzzy skirts and oversized, misshapen coats. And the humble tie stain makes an appearance at Anne-Sofie Back.

John Rocha Fall 2011

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Fashion week is now running its course in Milan, where apparently there is a, “fashion for the people movement” underway - designers bringing the goods closer to the end user by staging their shows in public venues. “Roberto Cavalli and Frankie Morello will strut their creations in public venues, including a transparent hall built in the central Duomo cathedral square”. So, fashion week is being marketed as a more transparent, all-inclusive event aimed to dazzle tourists and followers of fashion alike. But remember that there is still a wall there, even if you can see through it. In Milan there are much more intimate experiences to be had, such as visiting Selene Giorgi’s workshop where there are no barriers to separate you from the designer and her clothes.

Selene Giorgi in her atelier.

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Before we’re caught in the rip current of Fashion Week, a few words of appreciation for Txell Miras’ Fall/Winter 2011-2012 collection. Miras’ stubborn achromatism highlights her talent for layering fabrics and textures. Most of the looks are modern (”modern” here being interchangeable with “post-apocalyptic”) and, as always, her patterns keep the eye busy.

Fortunately for the models, they were all supplied with miners’ lamps to puncture the gloom. Some favorite looks and pieces:

Detail shot of above.

Great jacket patterns:

Love the exaggerated cowl hoods:

I first came across a spread by Japanese art director and graphic designer Yuni Yoshida in the April 2009 issue of SO-EN magazine. This month Yoshida and her work are featured in SO-EN’s “New Generation 2011″ issue, in which she takes it to the next level with a little help from trick make-up artists Mika + CHISHIN.

Art direction for “Trompe-l’oeil” by Yuni Yoshida. SO-EN magazine, April 2009

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This should be interesting. In 1985, Malcolm McLaren commissioned a screenplay from Alan Moore for a film he was trying to get made called, Fashion Beast. The story is supposed to be loosely based on the life of Christian Dior and is, “…an updating of the Beauty and the Beast fable set in the fashion world”. Fashion Beast was never made into a movie, but next year Avatar Press is planning on releasing Moore’s screenplay as a 250-page graphic novel adapted by Antony Johnston (who adapted Moore’s Light of Thy Countenance - well worth the read) and drawn by Facundo Percio. The script can be downloaded here.

A page from Fashion Beast without colors or lettering.

Or an alternative title: “Cubist Fashion Photography by Gilles et Dada”

From Gilles et Dada’s “Crash” campaign

Found via hobbyprincess.com.

Picked up the premiere issue of Amelie G magazine, a stylemag here in New Orleans. Flipping through it I was immediately impressed by the fashion photography of Que Duong. Visiting his website, I couldn’t help but notice the following statement:

My name is Que Duong and I am from New Orleans, Louisiana. I was born in Vietnam on April 25, 1987. When my mother was pregnant with me, a fortune teller / village witch doctor told her that I will grow up to be an average person. This is my journey to prove her wrong.

“Poppin Mary” by Que Duong

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