Jean Paul Gaultier Exhibition Brings His Cheeky Brand of High Fashion to the High Art World

The first-ever exhibition devoted to the designs of the fabulous French couturier will debut in November 2011 at the Dallas Museum of Art. "The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk" covers the designer's vision since his early “enfant terrible” days in the 1970s to the present, as one of fashion's reigning talents.

Organized in collaboration with the Maison Jean Paul Gaultier, 130 ensembles and accessories from his couture collections & prêt-à-porter have been organized into six different sections: “The Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier,” “The Boudoir,” “Skin Deep,” “Punk Cancan,” “Urban Jungle,” and “Metropolis”.

Each explores a theme that influenced his creative development, from the streets of Paris to taking flight in the world of science fiction. The various sketches, stage costumes (Madonna lent two of her iconic JPG corsets from 1990's Blonde Ambition Tour), excerpts from films (Pedro Almodóvar, Peter Greenaway, Luc Besson, Marc Caro, and Jean‐Pierre Jeunet), runway shows, concerts, dance performances (Angelin Preljocaj, Régine Chopinot, and Maurice Béjart), televised interviews, music (Yvette Horner and Mylène Farmer), and in particular, fashion photography provide a comprehensive peek into Gaultierland, highlighting the unexpected and often cheeky ways his avant-garde designs have taken on social mores and aesthetic codes.

And 30 animated talking mannequins, including one of Gaultier, add a touch of lively fun with their lifelike presence and spontaneous commentary!

The 424-page exhibition catalogue includes over 50 exclusive interviews with Gaultier’s colleagues, mentors, muses and various artists he's collaborated with, among them Pedro Almodóvar, Catherine Deneuve, Helen Mirren, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Madonna, Martin Margiela, Pierre Cardin, Dita Von Teese, and the always-fascintating Valerie Steele, fashion historian and Director of New York’s The Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology).

EXHIBITION DATES:

June 15, 2011 Premiere: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
November 13, 2011 - February 12, 2012: Dallas Museum of Art
March 2012: de Young Museum, San Francisco
September 26 - November 18: Fundación Mapfre Instituto de Cultura, Madrid, Spain
February 9, 2013 - May 12: Kunsthal Rotterdam, the Netherlands
June 2013: Arkitekturmuseet, Stockholm

Fore info or to buy tix: DM-art.org

- Lesley Scott

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Gorgeous Sustainable Cashmere: Good for Goats & Fab for Fashionistas

When it comes to cashmere, worse is better, as in winter weather & the resulting wool. 

And the worst & best can be found in Mongolia, where the average temperatures in winter can dip below -20C. "To put our cashmere in context," explain Nick Falkingham & Adam Holdsworth, the duo behind Pure Collection, "conditions in Scotland are not as intense and goats quickly revert to a long, coarse coat. Consequently, the cashmere has an inferior quality."

How the cashmere is collected also affects the quality of the final yarns. Once spring has sprung and the goats no longer need their winter coats, the cashmere fibers are carefully combed from the animals. Each goat produces different quality fibers which also adds to how time-consuming and labor-intensive it is to produce the raw materials that go into the luxurious sweaters & knits we all love so much.

Plus, there's the cost to the environment, which Pure began addressing almost a decade ago. "Working closely with the herders, our purpose was to tackle the root cause of desertification caused by over-grazing of the cashmere goats in the Mongolia grasslands." Since 2003, the company has been attempting to source 100% of its cashmere from goat herds farmed sustainably, a goal which they finally reached in spring 2008. "It was Adam's father who establish our relationship with cashmere when he first traveled to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, when it could only be reached by train," they add. "He met a family of nomadic herders who traveled the endless steppes of this vast inaccessible country, carefully looking after their goats in the often inhospitable conditions. He saw how carefully the looked after their goats and was impressed with the quality of the cashmere they produced, and began to trade with them. It is his relationship that ensures our cashmere is bought from the finest source in the world."

Fabulous cashmere is a fashionista must-have, be it a chic scarf, a sexy dress, snuggly leggings or the Winter Wardrobe 101 foundation piece: the sweater - whether you choose a v-neck, a crew, or a very Grace Kelly'esque cashmere scoop neck sweater.

- Lesley Scott

A Fab Leopard Sweater & 5 Different Ways to Wear it

GET THE LOOK: Sure you need to make sure your closet is stocked with those workhorse basics like a perfect-fit pencil or A-line skirt, great jeans for both flats & with a heel, a classic trench, and snazzy white buttondown shirt or blouse, but none of these items really have the power to make a girl's heart skip. What does? Fun pieces with some flair & pizazz. Like this Parisian-chic leopard sweater by Étoile ISABEL MARANT which confers instant Rive Gauche panache on the wearer! But only if you end up getting a lot of wear out of it. Here are five ways we came up, each of which makes the top look completely different & shows how versatile it can be for any number of occasions. Our point? If you stumble upon something fabulous and it just really calls your name, it could turn out to be one of those pieces that really makes it easy and breezy to get dressed. So even if at first glance it seems frivolous, think about which of your various wardrobe workhorses you could pair it with - you might be surprised at how many combinations you come up with. If you've fallen completely & madly in love with something and aren't quite sure, here's our handy rule-of-thumb (in the spirit of our undying love of everything Chanel): if you can think of 5 completely different ways you might wear it in the next two weeks or month, then fergawssakes, buy it. You won't regret it!

LOOK #1: LADYLIKE LEOPARD Preen belted full-skirt, Eddie Borgo rose-gold earrings, Gucci silk scarf all available at NET-A-PORTER.com; Tory Burch faux-python bag & Valentino studded shoe - farfetch.com

LOOK #2: LAZY-DAY LEOPARD Marni by Current Elliot boyfriend jeans with polka dot lining, Keds "Champ" canvas shoe, Retro Super Future sunglasses, Nialaya Labradorite-bead bracelet, Proenza Schouler leather "paper-bag" tote - farfetch.com

LOOK #3: NEON LEOPARD Matthew Williamson wool mini skirt, Tory Burch "Elias" suede sandals, Michael Kors watch - NET-A-PORTER.com; Gucci "1973" bag, Zoe and Morgan 22K gold-plated hoop earrings - farfetch.com

LOOK #4: NOUVEAU LEOPARD J.Crew cropped "Aviator" pants, Belle Sigerson Morrison flats, Yves Saint Laurent "Chyc" mini bag, YSL ring, Chan Luu 14k gold & lapis lazuli earrings, Retrosun Vintage Christian Dior sunglasses - all NET-A-PORTER.com

LOOK #5: LOUNGEY LEOPARD J.Crew jacket, Roland Mouret cropped pants, Valentino lace peep-toe booties, Meredith Wendell leather & canvas satchel, Miu Miu plexiglass & brass necklace - all NET-A-PORTER.com

- Lesley Scott

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A Most Holly Jolly Fall Fashion Trend: Wear Red + Red + More Red

GET THE LOOK: It used to be that mixing your reds was considered as bad (worse even) than wearing white shoes in winter. Oh, for shame. Happily, the fashion forces that be are more enlightened these days and red on red on red is not only not a faux pas, but actually encouraged. So go ahead, mix your tomatoes with your cranberries, your chilipeppers with your cherries, your plums with your strawberries and enjoy a tasty fruit-flavored fashion fiesta!

SHOP THE LOOK: Zero+MariaCornejo cocoon-coat, Carven gargoyle-intarsia sweater, Stella McCartney trousers, Mulberry leather gloves, Artemis Wragge "Excelsior" cashmere scarf, DKNY color-block bag, Jimmy Choo "Gilbert" pointy pumps - all available at NET-A-PORTER.com

- Lesley Scott

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Take a Tour of Susie Bubble's Suitcase!

They've filmed inside the closets of Nicky Hilton, Kimora Lee Simmons, Kelly Osbourne, Bethenny Frankel, Johnny Weir, and Joan Rivers & given the rest of us (as in an astonishing 3 millions views worth) a fun peek into the inner fashion lives of the rich, famous & flat-out fabulous. Like Susie Bubble, the beloved blogger whose kooky take on personal style who is being featured in the latest installment of Bluefly's fun & award-winning Closet Confessions series.

For Episode 15, Bluefly finds out what she brought along to wear for the month-long odyssey of Fashion Weeks that kicks off in New York. Taking the cameras past her closet to her suitcase, Susie presents the designer collectibles she has amassed from trips around the world, and shares some of her packing secrets - from the expected (clothes that don’t wrinkle & bags that expand) to the more offbeat: cardigans that can double as skirts! "We knew Susie was the perfect choice for the latest Closet Confession because she’s completely in control of how she presents herself via her wardrobe,” observes Bluefly CMO Bradford Matson. "Even in a tinsel headband or skirt cardigan, her clothes are never wearing her."

- Lesley Scott

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Trousers that Vibe to a Tribal Beat - Without Making You Look Like You Wandered Off the Fashion Reservation

GET THE LOOK When Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez hit the road for Georgia O'Keeffe country, they fell in love with both Santa Fe and Native American blanket designs, inspiring them to create their own digital version for Proenza Schouler. "Then we exploded them and we pixelated them," McCollough explained in an interview backstage after their Fall 2012 show. The result? Pants that are fabulously cool. Paired here with a handspun Rodarte cardi (also very cool), some oxidized-silver cut-out earrings (marvelously cool), and the piece de resistance: Azzedine Alaia booties with whipstitch trim (supremely cool).

SHOP THE LOOK: Proenza Schouler cropped trousers, Mm6 Maison Martin Margiela button-down blouse/bodysuit; Rodarte loose-knit cardi, Barbara Biffoli "Ovali" earrings, Azzedine Alaia booties - all available at farfetch.com Lem Lem striped-cotton tote - BrownsFashion.com; "Ram's Head White Hollyhock and Little Hills" (1935) by Georgia O'Keeffe

- Lesley Scott

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How High is Too High for a Heel with the Telltale Red Sole?

"Practicality is not that great of a quality," muses shoe designer Christian Louboutin in the new issue of ALEXA, New York Post's high-end fashion broadsheet. "If we dressed up for purely practical reasons, we would be wandering around in mud-colored sacks and woolen socks. We would look like I don’t know what. Bears?"

Happily, fashionistas needn't worry about the threat of unchic wildlife replacing Louboutin's signature sole anytime soon. "I would never get rid of it," he exclaims. "Out of respect to the Louboutin women, and the men who love them, I would never think of doing that...The [red sole] is iconic, it’s my trademark and it’s an important sign. It flirts."

And towers.

When asked about his dislike for flats, he replies: As I'm working I’m singing that Supremes' song to myself, 'Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.'"

- Lesley Scott

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A Fendi Fragrance as Opulent as One of their Fanciest Furs

As Fendi fashion is to ferosh fur & luxe leather, so their new Fan di Fendi is equal parts glam (the glittery gold flacon), gaudy glitz (the large logo), and g-g-good stuff: an artsy perfumed ode to everything fab under the Roman sun (& starry sky) distilled into a fragrance redolent with rich notes of Damascena Rse, Pink Peppercorn from Reunion Island, Yellow Jasmine, Indonesian Patchouli, Pear-blackcurrent & a soft leather accord. Available at Sephora.com.

- Lesley Scott

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A Clever, Colorful Way to Solve Gaposis from YSL Spring 2012

Wrap-dresses & -tops especially are notorious for gaping open & generally misbehaving, and the solutions are typically pretty clunky: pinning (which fools no one), double-stick tape (ugh), or camis - which are fine in winter, but less so when you aren't in the mood for so many body-hugging layers. For Spring 2012, Stefano Pilati showed this very 30s scarf solution, which made us smile as well by reminding us of those goofy but enthusiastic style guides from the 80s & 90s that promised to spill the secrets of scarf-tying...all 18 ways to Sunday worth.

- Lesley Scott

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Kristen Stewart in November Glamour - She Cleans Up Well Fashionwise at Least

"Hmm…good relationship advice for me tends to be being honest and knowing yourself. Don't be an asshole. That's my advice. Don’t be mean. Don’t take sh*t. Don’t settle."

- KRISTEN STEWART
interview in Glamour November 2011

The Oxford English Dictionary contains entries for almost 175,000 words in current use and estimates the number of distinct English words at around a quarter of a million. Which is why it's so puzzling when celebs swear in interviews appearing in publications with decent circulation & newsstand numbers. Most everyone swears in daily life, but when you chose to represent yourself that in print - why look dumber and more coarse than need be?

Just sayin'.

- Lesley Scott

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