Year: 2011

you can become the “greatest” not just by what you do, but sometimes by what you chose not to do…


talk about heroes (P.S. here’s a spelling trap for you, it’s heroes with an extra e, not heros, i guess they had some extra e’s lying around when they came up with that one. go figure why?) here’s a man who stood for something and was willing to sacrifice for it. what loser celebrity today does anything to that extent? if they take on a cause, it’s from the safe list of PR approved deeds that will surely bring them praise; like saving cats, or collecting a child from every race, breast cancer, and so on. no one takes on anything that would potentially hurt their career. not that that should be the good reason, but trust me that its no coincidence that those causes are all socially approved. ok, maybe you can spare sean penn on this one. by dd

CATEGORIES: f#@k your heroes... look at ours

the samurai collection: fall/winter 2012

why isn’t anyone doing a serious samurai collection. this would be awesome.  let’s see who could do it…rick owens maybe? rei kawakubo maybe? hussein chalayan? givenchy? sorry what they did had nothing to do with this… the trick is not to kack it up by making it weird or what has become to be known as “modern” – meaning crap. just great fabrics, dim colors, and simple but well cut well cuts. samurai style. by dd

CATEGORIES: fashion mens

history of hip hop: tougher than leather, run dmc


add that to the greats. i was never a hip hop fan and i’m still not. hip hop to me, lacked everything i loved about reggae and embodied everything i hated about pop. hip hop started in bronx when jamaican transplants brought their block parties with them to bronx. they played their 45’s and toasted over them. the kids picked that up and rap, hip hop were born. it was a form of music that required nothing but a turntable and a mic. unfortunately the consumerism of the american culture lacked the socio-political debth and street savvy of kingston and the ethereal rasta culture. so it didn’t take long before its demise, instead of social issues and a humble side of love the music became about hoes, stupid pride and money. when it was about politics it was for no more than a moment. we will spare run dmc in this categorical dis and leave the rest to suburban kids and their baggie pants from gap. by xy

CATEGORIES: album covers, music

le cabinet de curiosités: thierry despont, claudio bravo, manolo valdez with steinitz gallery

dayassi olarte de kanavos at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

wooden books in wooden shelves

creative director ucef hanjani and kimberly norcott at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

mechanical insects

francesa vuillemin david victor rose at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

original map table belonging to napoleon

pilar molyneux juan pablo molyneux at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

mitchell alfus michaela cordes at the le cabinet de curiosités exhibit

last night we stopped by marlborough gallery artists/architect thierry despont’s opening at the mercantile exchange which was transformed into an 18th century french residence peppered with everything including a renaissance bulls head, various mechanical insects, and an original map table belonging to napoleon himself. the original 18th century wall paneling containing the show belong to the steinitz collection and were transported exclusively for the show from france.

the topic of the show “le cabinet de curiosités” was a brilliant one and one i’m obsessed with.  the lighting and mood were appropriately set with dark walls and sage green panels. my favorite pieces were the monochromatic parcel painting by chilean painter, claudio bravo, that reminded me of christo and jeanne-claude in their puritan form. also the beautiful wooden bookshelves, fully equipped with “wooden” books, by spanish artist manolo valdez. i simply wanted to drag them back home with me. the mechanical over-sized insects were created from various industrial pieces and while quite immaculate, i have personally developed an new affinity for the real specimens from amazonia. it was a beautiful transformation and worth a visit… the only thing missing was some krug champagne… the show is on until january 31st 2012. by xy

CATEGORIES: backstage, ny places