Photo By Gail
Writing about Alex Katz’s work, Frank O’Hara identified his wife Ada’s complex role in her husbands iconography: “the heads and figures of Ada give this beautiful woman, through his interest in schema, a role as abstract as that of Helen of Troy; she is a presence and at the same time a pictorial conceit of style.”
Continue reading Modern Art Monday Presents: Alex Katz, The Black Dress
All Photos By Gail
Olivia Chang’s deep-rooted respect for nature and appreciation for childhood delights inform the designs for her label, Daupinette. The ensembles feature the self -taught designer’s signature preserved botanicals encased in nontoxic resin discs, connected by silver-plated stainless steel jump rings and hardware for a thoroughly unique look for spring!
Continue reading Eye On Design: Botanical Chainmaille Dress By Olivia Cheng for Dauphinette
Photos By Gail
In 1963, Gaby Aghion (House of Chloe) hired the young, then-unknown Karl Lagerfeld to join her team of stylists. Together they established Chloe’s unique position between haute couture and the everyday accessibility of ready-to-wear, a niche that she called “pret-a-porter de luxe.”
Continue reading Eye On Design: ABC Dress By Karl Lagerfeld for Chloé
Photos By Gail
African American designer Ann Lowe (1898 – 1981) learned to sew from her dressmaker mother, Janie Cole, and her grandmother, Georgia Thompkins. One of her earliest pleasures was crafting fabric flowers, a skill that became one of the defining characteristics of her beautifully constructed occasion gowns for debutante and brides. This Evening Dress designed by Lowe for A. F Chantilly (1968) presents a terrific example of this skill.
All Photos By Gail
In 1988, film director John Waters created a new level of shock by making a family friendly, PG-rated movie. Set in 1962, two years before the Civil Rights Act, Hairspray centers on Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake), a self-identified “pleasantly plump” teenage girl, who attempts to racially integrate a teen dance show.
Continue reading Pink Thing of The Day: Tracy Turnblad’s Roach Dress from Hairspray