Pop Music I’m Listening To 10/19/18

1. Ionnalee

I have fallen in love with Ionnalee! She is a Swedish popstar about to blow up. She makes spooky, synth-y power tracks that have the ability to both haunt and empower.

She is best known for her audiovisual project iamamiwhoiam released in 2009. She released a series of mysterious art videos under this pseudonym that had everyone speculating whether the artist behind it was Lady Gaga, Bjork,  Goldfrapp, The Knife, Trent Reznor, or Christina Aguilera.

She’s collaborated with Charlie Le Mindu and TR/ST.

Over the years she has worked with some big names in the music industry and is set on becoming a household name.

“Samaritan”

“Not Human”

 

2. Allie X

Another female artist that has been out for a while. She’s a Canadian-born LA-transplant singer-songwriter with unique vocals and killer lyrics. She is also a champion for LGBTQ rights (which I love!) It’s been a minute since I caught up with what Allie X was up to! Peep new track below:

“Casanova” ft. VERITE (warning: very catchy)

“Not So Bad in LA”

“Science”

“Little Things”

 

Honorable mention: Kim Petras

 

Back Back Back Again!

After a brief hiatus I am back to full time posting, friends. More irreverence, more underground, and more culture. Don’t worry, still the same amount of fucks given (none!)

 

And hopefully less back rolls…

 

xo Caroline

Natalie Andrewson: Illustrator

I recently attended the MOCCA Arts Festival in NYC where I got to check out some really great illustrators and cartoonists.

I was fortunate enough to have a guide who is an established cartoonist and writer within the field. She took me around to all the great booths to check out (as it was very overwhelming).

I got to (briefly) meet Natalie Andrewson who is a very sweet artist with a lot of potential. I could easily see her being commissioned to do some work for big cosmetic and fashion brands (since that seems to be the trend these days). I love her use of colors, as well as her girly, borderline-manga style of illustration. Peep some of her work below!

And please make sure to follow her at: natandrewson on IG.

(Photos courtesy of @natandrewson)

Party Etiquette

If you show up to a party and the person hosting is GENUINELY surprised you made it, you shouldn’t be there.

 

Cultural News Items

1. Clare Waight Keller’s takeover as Creative Director for Givenchy. While it may be nice for her to steer the brand away from the starfuckery it became under Tisci’s reign, Keller is going to need to bring a lot more heat than she had been at Chloe. When I think of the brand Chloe, all I see is a picnic basket – a straw basket with a French blue checkered picnic blanket and a carefree yet highfalutin attitude. Chloe is feminine and demure — to the point of quite possibly boner-killing. How can the brand go from former “bad boys of fashion” Galliano, McQueen, and Tisci to the equivalent of a human doily? The answer: SALES.

Chloe’s sales have been doing well in a time of fashion uncertainty – so LVMH brought Keller in. Too bad they didn’t realize it was because of ACCESSORY SALES at Chloe, not clothing.

They took a risk when they brought in Galliano, which paved the way for McQueen. What risk are they taking with Keller? It’s the same as the new CD for Christian Dior (or shall I say Christian SNORE) — is the fashion industry done taking risks??

AFTERTHOUGHT: While I am glad it’s a female CD, I am complaining strictly on her design aesthetic and how I don’t think it’s a fit for Givenchy.

2. Urban Decay launches a Basquiat-themed line of cosmetics. We get it UD, you’re trying to slip in some some social and racial commentary because they are hot ticket items these days. Yes, Basquiat included these themes in his work, but are you trying to imply that our current sociopolitical climate has reverted back to the 70’s/80’s? Bold would describe more than just the color palettes you chose for this “collaboration”.

It’s great that you are giving a platform for mass promotion of an artist that may not have gained as big of notoriety as Warhol. Basquiat was a quintessential “tortured artist” who died from a heroin overdose at age 27. His work was influential, and it’s always great to pay homage to the lates and greats — but is it a step forward? Would it perhaps have been better to feature a living artist whose work is culturally relevant and boundary-pushing?

I am sick of society putting drug-addicted artists on pedestals, as it can only encourage addiction in young talent. Not to mention your tagline for your mailing list/members is “Beauty Junkies: Addiction Has Its Perks”. (Also, the new collection drops on 4/20? How subtle.)

AFTERTHOUGHT: And yes I’m ignoring the fact that Ruby Rose is the face of the campaign — they did that on purpose to draw attention – no such thing as bad publicity!

 

An Other Version of Me

I wrote this the day David Bowie died. I wrote it imagining it being crooned over strong guitar riffs.

You got a type
And it’s got to be right
An Other Version of Me

Mimicked clones
Flaxen-haired clowns

Over the years and over time
Your history is marked by the same type
You constantly want the same light

You got a type
And it’s got to be right
An Other Version of Me

We look exactly the same
It’s kind of insane
Doing the same thing
And expecting a different outcome

 

1/12/2016

Lover’s End

I turned and looked back at him as I was leaving. I thought to myself it was the end of an era — brief, but still life-changing. I wondered if he would remember me — if I even mattered that much to him — if he thought about me this way — if he even gave our time together as much thought as I did.

I looked back at him with so much force behind my eyes I swore I felt the ground shake. Unfortunately he did not stir. He didn’t even look back at me as my eyes burned through the atmosphere like lazers. He did not burn.

I then knew I had made the right decision.

Italo Disco tracks: Far East Edition

I have exhausted my current list of italo disco tracks, so I decided to branch out into old international hits… just some creative youtube searching… this brought me to these tracks:

 

 

 

 

 

Pepto Inspo

I’m digging the work of Cheyco Leidmann.

I love the colors, glamour, sexuality, and touch of grit. Each piece is very visually stimulating and tells their own story.

They look like they should be italo disco album covers – which I enjoy.

Iris van Herpen Couture Spring 2017

Despite last week’s political upheaval, Paris Couture Week pushed forward and provided a much needed distraction for many journalists and media consumers. One designer who always presents awe-worthy pieces, Iris van Herpen, debuted her Spring 2017 couture collection on Monday — and it did not disappoint.

Ms. van Herpen is known for providing the perfect marriage of form and content: she utilizes new technologies to create unique — but still feminine — couture looks. While she may not be a household name (just yet), she is certainly lauded within the fashion and arts community for pushing the boundaries of design. She was one of the first designers to use 3D printing and laser cutting to create her work and continues to use these methods in highly innovative and artistic ways.

Her latest collection, “Between The Lines”, is quintessential van Herpen; she plays with optical illusions and unorthodox materials to produce wearable sculptures that all have a “biology” theme. Her most recent pieces evoke crustaceans and other arthropods through her use of printed lines and monochromatic color scheme.

Perhaps influenced by deep sea documentaries, her translucent-printed pieces were reminiscent of organisms found deep in the ocean (which lack pigmentation).

One simply cannot ignore the wavy laser cut silk dresses as they slinked down the runway. They appear to mimic ripples in water and conjured images of exotic jellyfish dancing in the deep. Even the still photos of the garments captured their mysterious movement.

The collection’s final look was certainly a showstopper; while it was reminiscent of bubbles, fish eggs, and other ocean “froth”, I couldn’t help but see a “Birth of Venus” moment — it was as if she was emerging from the ocean, waves bursting all around her as to present a beautiful woman.

The last designer to push the technological boundaries within a sea-themed collection was Alexander McQueen — so this collection comes as no surprise, as Ms. van Herpen interned under McQueen many years ago.   

There is no doubt that Iris van Herpen is a ground-breaking designer — here’s hoping the rest of the industry catches up to the technologies used in her work to produce more futuristic fashion.

Full collection here