Photography | Quite Continental

NYFW Recap: Veronica Beard Fall 2013

18/02/2013 § 1 Comment

You may recall we’ve discussed in the past my love for Veronica Beard, the womenswear collection helmed by two sisters-in-law with backgrounds in finance and fashion, both named Veronica Beard. Stopping by their New York Fashion Week presentation, I was happy to confirm that the qualities that I noticed (and fell in love with) in earlier collections have become even more refined and nuanced, culminating in a luxuriously complex F/W 2013 that was heavily inspired by the pioneering spirit of the American West.

As far as presentations go (e.g., jostling for position in cramped quarters with harsh lighting and bored models) Veronica Beard was almost like a society event, a much-needed and cherished breath of fresh air during a very fast-paced week. Upon entry at Bill’s Food & Drink — after waiting to check in behind Aerin Lauder, natch — we were greeted with flutes of champagne and small bites before heading upstairs to view the collection. It was also my first time in the space since Bill’s Gay Nineties closed and Food & Drink opened in its place. The update honors the spirit of the old watering hole while smoothing out some of the rougher edges with a bit of manufactured nostalgia. While sticklers for authenticity who enjoyed Bill’s Gay Nineties probably won’t be satisfied with the changes, I believe it a very respectful refurb, indeed.

Staged among the gallery walls of the second floor, the models blended seamlessly among portraits of stately gentlemen and antique maps. While the room was a bit full, I could tell from my very first glance that the Veronicas had put together something amazing. Effortlessly blending masculine detail with feminine sensibility, the sumptuous textures of fur, silk and lace called to mind a woman with a maverick spirit and a taste for refined adventure, and with the collection’s saturated palette of reds, golds and greens, you could almost see her blazing her own trail through the untamed and wide open spaces of the west.

My personal favorites in the collection included the brick bi-color herringbone long and lean jacket with waxed canvas patches (shown above), the charcoal brushed tweed double breasted jacket with leather sleeves (on the model wearing the fedora below), and that gorgeous gold velvet lamé gown with its open back (shown last). As Veronica Beard is a collection that grew up around a single blazer launched in 2010, I continue to believe that the tailoring is what the Veronicas do best, but with each collection they show all signs of the ability to truly do it all.

For more information, visit Veronica Beard.

All images by Mariah Kunkel.

On The Docket: Ezra Stoller at the Yossi Milo Gallery

30/01/2013 § Leave a comment

TWA Terminal at Idlewild (now JFK) Airport, Eero Saarinen, New York, NY, 1962

Recently opened and simultaneously placed on the docket, the Yossi Milo Gallery in Chelsea is currently showing a collection of photographs taken by Ezra Stoller (American, 1915 – 2004), one of the most influential photographers of modern architecture. Entitled “Beyond Architecture,” the exhibit highlights the photographer’s range by juxtaposing Stoller’s rarely-seen images of industry and transportation alongside his well-known architectural photography. Initially I most looked forward to Stoller’s photos of iconic modern New York buildings like the UN and the TWA Terminal, but I find that I am increasingly drawn to the narrative quality of his photos of working class Americans, their places of work or business, and their homes. The exhibit is a fascinating look at a mid-century America through Stoller’s inestimably talented eye, and I won’t be missing it.

Ezra Stoller: Beyond Architecture
January 24–March 2, 2013

Yossi Milo Gallery
245 Tenth Avenue
Chelsea

United Nations, International Team of Architects Led by Wallace K. Harrison,
New York, NY, 1954 Guggenheim Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright, New York, NY, 1959 Seagram Building, Mies van der Rohe with Philip Johnson, New York, NY, 1958 Pepsi Cola Building, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, New York, NY, 1960 CBS Columbia, Long Island City, NY, 1954Olivetti Underwood Factory, Louis Kahn, Harrisburg, PA, 1969 Duplan Silk Mills, 1943 John Hancock Chicago construction, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill,
Chicago, IL, 1967 John Hancock Building, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Chicago, IL, 1970

All images by Ezra Stoller, via Yossi Milo Gallery.

Like Marlene on a Monday

28/01/2013 § 4 Comments

Dear Vogue Spain, please exit my brain.

In an editorial featured earlier this month, Vogue.es drew inspiration from 40’s film noir — namely the Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd classic The Blue Dahlia — to put together a series of looks in the spirit of Ms. Lake, Marlene Dietrich and Gene Tierney. You can probably guess whose look immediately caught my eye. Also doesn’t hurt that Ms. Dietrich happens to be my birthday twin. Imagine that. In any event, these gorgeous photos have inspired an earnest need — like you wouldn’t believe — for a stole. Perhaps this winter shall be known henceforth as the winter of the stole… Thoughts?

Red velvet suit by Gerard Darel. Photos by Azahara Fernández, via Vogue.es

Capote on Ice

28/01/2013 § 5 Comments

Admission: I’ve never been ice skating. I suppose I could blame it on growing up in Los Angeles, and my parents’ extreme aversion to a vacation spent anywhere other than a tropical climate — but since I am (technically?) an adult now, I really can only blame myself. Especially when New York City has so many beautiful places to tie on a pair of skates (see: Bryant Park, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Chelsea Piers, the Standard Hotel). Perhaps I should make it a mini winter resolution of sorts to finally get myself on the ice.

Providing a bit of sartorial inspiration for my skating kit, Life Magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt captured a 35 year-old Truman Capote skating at Rockefeller Center in 1959 — perhaps giving new dimension to his very famous bon mot, “New York is a diamond iceberg floating in river water.” I couldn’t find the article they correspond to, but I have to believe that Truman in his Fair Isle sweater is reason enough to call your attention to them.

All images via the Life Archive.

At The Weekend

14/01/2013 § 8 Comments

A few scenes from the weekend, spent kicking around
the city in rather unseasonably warm weather…

QC: At The Weekend 1

Happened upon the Bloomingdale branch (c.1898)
of the New York Free Circulating Library.

The Met…

…and the other Met.

The best kind of tents and street style photographers
flocked to Lincoln Center this weekend.

As I mentioned, I made it to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts for an excellent exhibit on Katharine Hepburn’s costumes for stage and screen. Incidentally, I discovered I had unwittingly purchased the accompanying book some months back: Katharine Hepburn: Rebel Chic. Do give it a look, it’s quite good — especially if you didn’t make it to the exhibit!

While there was plenty to love about the exhibit, my absolute favorite part was when I overheard an older couple discussing the trousers that Katharine tended to wear. The wife, who you can see above, wore a fedora and what looked like a man’s overcoat. When she said she wanted a pair of pants just like Katharine, her husband immediately said that he thought she would look amazing in them. Sort of completely made my day.

On my way to catch Amour at Film Forum (which I highly recommend!), I nipped into the newly opened Houston Hall to sample some of their house drafts. Not only is it a formerly abandoned FBI garage complete with exposed trusses and industrial touches, it’s also the largest — and prettiest! — beer garden I can think of downtown. The Standard had better watch their back.

Flat whites at Laughing Man Marketplace in Tribeca.

Hope you had a lovely weekend!
xoxo. M.

Photos of me taken by the inestimably talented Tara Cole.

McQueen Trumps All

09/01/2013 § 2 Comments

Last weekend like a proper New Yorker, I attended a brunch of the “all you can drink” variety and the service was so efficient that it proved impossible to keep track of how many glasses of champagne we actually had. And as half-full glasses were filled over and over, the conversation slowly and predictably degraded from such high-minded topics such as art, current events and important life decisions to…the most attractive people of all time. I hear this is a common side effect of champagne.

While my initial choices were cast aside as a bit conventional and surprisingly boring (my deepest apologies to Jon Hamm and George Clooney), when I mentioned Steve McQueen there was a murmur of immediate approval — here was someone who everyone agreed upon. The next time when I’m faced with this question, I’ll just go ahead and play my trump card early.

From the February 1965 issue of Harper’s Bazaar, a trifecta of icons:
Steve McQueen, Jean Shrimpton, and Richard Avedon.

Via TFS.

Ralph Lauren at Downton Abbey

19/12/2012 § 1 Comment

Ralph Lauren FW 2012

A private showing of Ralph Lauren Collection Fall/Winter 2012 at Highclere Castle, the real-life stand in for Downton Abbey? Evidently my invitation was lost in the mail, but at least we have these gorgeous photos taken by Chris Allerton to comfort ourselves with.

Images via Ralph Lauren.

Where Do Santas Come From?

11/12/2012 § Leave a comment

Santa.

In the early 60s, America’s “No.1 Santa” (of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade fame) set up shop in Albion, New York and created the country’s only school of its kind, to certify Santas for department stores. These photos, taken for Life Magazine by Alfred Eisenstaedt of the graduating class of 1961, were too good not to share. After paying $75 and attending a five-day course, newly-minted Kris Kringles received a Santa’s Helper degree, well-armed with the history of Santa Claus, practice applying makeup and selecting costumes, and how to be properly jolly — even if they found a crier or a beard-puller on their lap. If you’d like to read the original article the photos were shot for, you can find it here.

Santa.

Santa. All photos via the Life Archive.

A Prayer for the Wild at Heart

04/12/2012 § 1 Comment

Maiyet.

Maiyet

Maiyet.

Mixing equal parts Isak Dinesen, Amelia Earhart and Katharine Hepburn, the campaign for Maiyet FW 2012 is exactly the sort of thing that my African safari dreams are made of. Featuring the Daria Werbowy in Chyulu Hills, Kenya, photographer Cass Bird has gorgeously captured the free-spirited — yet refined — essence personified by the collection’s deft combination of luxe textures and tailored details. And can we please talk about that wide-brimmed fedora, and how badly I need it in my life? Such perfection…!

For more, hop over to Maiyet.

Atelier || Lotuff Leather

30/11/2012 § 3 Comments

As I previously mentioned, a few weeks ago I was pleased to accept an invite from Lotuff Leather to visit their workshop in Norwalk, Connecticut. I was very excited to seize the opportunity to meet the fine folks behind the brand and witness firsthand the craftsmanship that goes into every single piece of leather that bears the Lotuff name. Fair warning: this is about to be a bit of a photo-palooza, but there was just so much to see and love – I hope you will indulge me!

Lotuff, a New England-based luxury leather goods brand founded by brothers Joe and Rick Lotuff nearly four years ago, is a brand you need to firmly place on your radar. The Lotuffs, along with creative director Lindy McDonough and a whole host of highly skilled craftsmen and women, take great pride in producing some of the very finest leather items made in America, using techniques honed over decades – and in some cases, generations – of combined experience. A men’s brand at heart, the all-leather bags, briefcases and accessories that Lotuff creates epitomize the elegant meeting of timeless style, functionality and quiet craftsmanship.

Not only was I inspired by the passion I heard from Joe and Lindy as they discussed their values and goals for Lotuff, but they also deeply affected my personal concept of “luxury” – calling into question some of my own assumptions about the true worth of some of the high-end bags I have lusted for in the past. My day in Norwalk reinforced the notion that luxury is not achieved by the mere application of a name or a high price point to an item. But rather, an item is properly considered luxurious in relation to the process, materials and skills that go into its creation — and seeing up close the massive amount of pride that each of the Lotuff craftsmen and women pour into their work brought this into sharp focus.

While this fuller concept of luxury appears to have taken hold in some #menswear circles, it is interesting to note that the majority of women continue to be fine with paying top dollar for cheaply manufactured status accessories. Indeed, it is difficult to decouple this tendency for status from womenswear’s obsession with fast fashion. For those of us who find ourselves frequently left wanting by the “it bag” of the moment, the premiere women’s collection by Lotuff is a godsend. And my leather-scented day spent trying out all the gorgeous prototypes? Heaven indeed.

For more information, visit Lotuff Leather.