Some of us were left drooling, earlier this week, when we spotted the teetering, space-age platforms/heels that were unveiled by Alexander McQueen at Paris Fashion Week. His bejeweled platform-clog amalgamations were the first thing I noticed while browsing a slideshow of images from McQueen’s runway show (see image #3). I imagined myself walking into Orchestra Hall this evening, waving hi to Judy Dayton as I strutted along in these bad boys—a bold statement meets a mighty workout, by anyone’s measure.

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When the documentary Unzipped came out, I had to scour the small town I grew up in to find a copy. It was 1995 and still a few years before words like YouTube, NetFlix, and amazon.com would become a part of popular vernacular. The Douglas Keeve-directed film, which follows designer Isaac Mizrahi through the process of creating a fashion collection, was my first real look inside the fashion industry. It provides a witty peek into the life Mizrahi while he searches for muses, refines fabrics, and fits models. Unzipped removed the veil on the fashion industry and what it really takes to create a beautiful collection—even if it was, as one critic at the time put it, “a line of Eskimo fashion knock-offs.”

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If you’ve ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at a fashion magazine, here’s your chance to sneak a peek: A new documentary called The September Issue follows the most talented, influential staffers of Vogue magazine as they work on the September 2007 issue, their thickest to date. All the while, the camera catches glimpses of their scared, skinny 20-something underlings bobbing and weaving to get out of the way.

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Macy's Glamorama, the year's best fashion and music show, is just a few short weeks away! While I have yet to decide on what I'll be wearing, I've already received a preview of the fashions that will be coming down the runway at the Orpheum Theatre. A week ago, I dropped in on Macy's fashion and trend corespondent, Laura Schara, to take a look at what she is pulling together for the show.



Make sure to buy your tickets for Glamorama now.

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In today's New York Times Thursday Styles section, Eric Wilson wrote on of the most succinct stories I've ever read on how trends are created. If you've ever seen The Devil Wears Prada, you might remember Miranda Priestly's lecture directed at Andy Sachs's ignorance in regards to the fashion industry:

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It’s worth noting that the Walker Art Center is screening a series of films by an important filmmaker, artist, and fashion photographer, William Klein. Unfortunately, I failed to note the screening of Klein’s seminal fashion flick, Qui Êtes-Vous, Polly Maggoo?—a 1966 film that’s currently on loop at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, along with its Model as Muse exhibition. Although Maggoo screened at the Walker last week, I finally got around to watching my screener last night.

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Of all the people I look up to, no one inspires me more than Anna Wintour. I've been reading Vogue since before I can remember, and her unique ability to promote the very best of everything is unsurpassed.

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Just yesterday, when I stopped into the new I Like You store, in Northeast Minneapolis, I was reminded of the D.I.Y. sensation that is vintage buttons. I found heaps of hairpins, brooches, and earrings fashioned out of Bakelite, resin, and fabric-covered vintage buttons. Suddenly, these modest fasteners are all the rage!

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When some folks think of Rewind, the excellent vintage store on Johnson Street in Northeast Minneapolis, they think of young, hipster fashions: fluorescent '80s earrings, chunky plastic belts, minidresses, and whatnot. But that’s not necessarily the case. In my experience, the spread is equally thick with sophisticated clothes.

Just yesterday, I stopped by to explore the newly expanded Rewind—it recently doubled its size when it absorbed the vacant retail space next store (note: a recession success story). Among the treasures I found, a vintage silk Versace blouse and this awesome neutral trench from the bygone Minneapolis department store Schlampp’s. Nothing more than $30! 

 

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The intersection of art, history, and fashion—it’s one of my favorite things in the whole, wide world. With any luck, you’ll start to find me, on occasion, parsing the meanings and the histories behind the clothes we wear. For now, you can get a little taste by watching this video with the fabulous local costume designers who worked on Grey Gardens. We talked specifics: How does the central character Little Edie “shop her closet,” as the experts are now prone to saying? For that matter, why is she the perfect fashion icon for these uncertain times?  

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