5 posts tagged "Ports 1961"
Mother’s Specialty Prints
Printed pants have been making their mark on both the runways and the streets for several seasons now, and they don’t seem to be loosing any ground. In Paris during the Spring ’12 shows, we spotted editors and models wearing leopard-print jeans, and wild pants of all sorts have popped up aplenty in the pre-fall collections (see Michael Kors, Kelly Wearstler, Ports 1961, etc.) as well. We were excited when we heard that one of our favorite affordable denim lines, Mother, has just joined the print pant parade. For Spring, Lela Tillem Becker and Tim Kaeding have created two print versions of the popular The Looker pant—one with a vibrant paradise scene ($250, available at Nordstrom and ShopBop.com mid-March) and another with orange and coral cherries ($230, in stores mid-February).
Photography’s Budding Talent
Why not say it with flowers this holiday season? No, that doesn’t involve picking up the phone and calling FTD, but rather a visit to the Meatpacking District, where Torkil Gudnason will be exhibiting his intriguing (and gift-worthy) floral images at Ports 1961 from December 2 through January 2. (The opening party is this Thursday.) The Danish-born, Brooklyn-based photographer is well known for his fashion and beauty work, but in the Hot House series, he focuses on a different kind of hotness: flowers. It’s an obsession that invites comparison to some past photographic masters, most notably Robert Mapplethorpe, though Gudnason brings his own approach to the subject. “I translate them into my own fantasy world,” he says. “Making them simple and graphic.” And according to the lensman, the attraction goes beyond the fact that buds and stems, unlike some of his commercial subjects, perhaps, have no ego. “I’ve been doing plants forever,” he says. “I was always attracted to them because they reflect something man-made, ironically, [just as] anything that’s man-made has a reference in nature.” At $450 to $2,000, a picture will cost you more than a dozen roses, but it’s guaranteed never to wilt.
Ports 1961, 3 Ninth Avenue, NYC, (917) 475-1022.
A Day In The Life: Lakshmi Menon
With campaigns for Givenchy and MaxMara in the bag—not to mention an extensive list of bookings this season—Ford’s Lakshmi Menon is one of 2009′s hottest models. Style.com caught up with the stunner from South India on one of her many sleep-deprived days of New York fashion week.
Here, we track her hour by hour.
8:30 a.m.
Backstage at Badgley Mischka, Menon carries on a digital dialogue with her agent via BlackBerry (an accessory as necessary to a model’s wardrobe as a chic carryall) while getting her makeup done. “It’s part of the job, staying calm,” she says. “The tough part is Paris fashion week, when you’re done with New York, London, Milan, and you’re completely worn out and people start pulling and tugging at your hair—that’s the real test.”
9:45 a.m.
Menon slips into her first look—a black wool coat, elbow-length gloves, and black platforms. “I’m going to test the shoes out,” she announces. “Just to make sure they’re not going to slip off.” Cue professional sashay.
10:15 a.m.
One of the first three girls in the lineup, Menon talks shop with
Georgina Stojilkovic and Sessilee Lopez. They debate hair extensions. Consensus: Horrible.
10:30 a.m.
She hits the runway.
10:42 a.m.
Show over, Lakshmi dons her street clothes—skinny jeans, black riding boots, and a T-shirt. “Quick and easy,” she says of the show. “That’s how I like most things to be. You prepare for almost two hours and then you’re on the runway for exactly 30 seconds and it’s over. That’s about as glamorous as it gets.”
10:50 a.m.
En route to Derek Lam, Menon hits traffic. “I don’t think there are any parties this season,” she says. “Everyone’s broke.” Plunking away on her BlackBerry, she makes plans for dinner that night at an Indian restaurant with friends. “It’s difficult to do the party thing, anyway, especially when you’re working. I mean, you finish shows at 8 or 8:30 in the evening and you’re kind of tired, you know? I prefer to give my body a rest.”
11:23 a.m.
Backstage at Derek Lam, a cramped labyrinth of rooms and corridors, Menon lands in the hands of famed makeup artist Tom Pecheux. “Tell them I’ll do the interview later,” Pecheux tells his PR rep, referring to a line of foreign journalists. “I have the golden girl here now.” He smiles adoringly in the makeup mirror at Lakshmi.
11:52 a.m.
Menon has a few bites of a ham and mozzarella sandwich. “Feeling sleepy,” she says from her chair. Pecheux finishes her face and she’s led over to hair guru Orlando Pita. Menon’s locks are swept into a high ponytail, the better to show off the collection’s high collars.
1:19 p.m.
Menon gets into her first look for Lam: A taupe double-knit dress with a single fox ring round the neck.
cute seat warmer alert
Sure, manipulating your iPhone from the front row is one way to keep your fingers deft when waiting for a show to start, but the goodie bag at Monday’s Ports 1961 show provided a way more old-school method of digital enhancement: knit and purl, baby! Wooden knitting needles adorned with a rainbow spectrum of deflated balloon bits (leftovers, we presume, from the latex jewelry on the runway) and a sizable ball of yarn awaited attendees on their chairs. To the relief of first-time knitters, an instructional clutch-size booklet (perfect for knitting emergencies) was also provided. Leave your e-mailing for the office; knitting in style is much cooler than a rhinestone-encrusted Sidekick. As are most things.
The Pile It On Pile Up
We’ve noticed a lot of great statement jewelry on the runways this week: wrist-consuming cuffs at Rosa Chá; Koi Suwannagate ‘s huge crystal butterfly that could have been mistaken for a Judith Leiber clutch; and the primary-colored, Native American-inspired finery at Ports 1961 by U.K. designer Lina Peterson. If you missed these, or if you can’t get enough, two more collaborations are worth checking out. (Editor’s note: These pieces, like the ones mentioned above, will most likely require their own jewelry box.)
This morning, look out for the bronze coil necklaces Californian Sonia Boyajian designed for friend Brian Reyes; his collection’s got an African bent, and Boyajian’s Alexander Calder-inspired necklaces are her take on the theme. The buffalo-teeth necklace that first caught our eye won’t be on the runway, but it will be available at Boyajian’s pop-up shop at 122 W. 44th St. until the end of the week. The incisors Boyajian picked up in a “random rock store” on the way to Arizona for two dollars a pop have been cluttering up her shelves for a while. Now, for a considerable markup, thanks to the 10-karat gold the teeth hang out with, they can be yours.
For something really limited-edition, Lizzie Fortunato’s origami necklaces for VPL (pictured) are a little too fragile to be considered family-heirloom material. “Obviously they’re not the most wearable thing ever,” Fortunato conceded about her paper cranes. For sale via special order—all the more reason to wear one while you can.