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| Oct 08: Hint's resident Links reviewer has been waiting for a proper Prada website to write about since he auctioned off his nylon backpack on eBay—a very long time ago. Now, after endless placeholders and teasers, the Italian powerhouse has finally delivered. While there are those who might expect something a little more innovative from a house known for pushing boundaries in design, technology and even art patronage, the site does have a nice look and a few precious nuggets. As a somewhat scary welcome, Linda Evangelista—looking more than ever like a praying mantis—dominates the homepage in lacey looks from the current collection, reminding us who started the trendlet. But despite her virtuoso posing, the site's star turn is the 4-minute animation Fallen Shadows, scored by Antony Hegarty of Antony & the Johnsons and directed by James Lima, who was clearly in a Surrealist mindset, given the obvious echoes of artist De Chirico and the Dali-Disney collaboration Destino. Less enchanting but easily watchable are nine short films by young directors that challenge "the idea of a perfume for man" (there's something delicious about that phrase). And coming soon is a composite of the nine films by Oscar-winning film editor Pietro Scalia (he did Oliver Stone's JFK—one of the best-edited films of all time). The rest is what you might expect: collection footage (archival and new), party pics and an e-shop. There's also a link to the Fondazione Prada, which deserves its own story for the excellent work it does sponsoring contemporary art. We'll wait another age for them to update their website to tell you about it.
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| Aug 08: At a time when Koons and Vezzoli are hotter than microwaved lava and even real estate brochures look like a MoMA catalog, an alarming number of fashion domains are trying to pass branding for art. In most cases, the flashy result hardly justifies the visual excess, so our current amour fou is Yves Saint Laurent, a sparkling property that engages mind, ear and eye. In fact, the website echoes the mutimedia-friendly stance the iconic Parisian house has taken of late, thanks to its creative director Stefano Pilati, who—while enormously gifted from the outset—seems to settle into his formidable post with more aplomb every day. Rather than staging a show, for instance, Pilati presented his men's spring collection in seven video vignettes created by London music video factory Colonel Blimp. Those short films are here, dreamlike—and in one case unsubtly vaginal—landscapes set to carefully chosen soundtracks, e.g. Laurie Anderson's eerie "O Superman." Another addictive little movie, this time a seven-minute triptych featuring LCD Soundsystem's "Sound of Silver," showcases the men's fall line. The presentation is a little more conventional on the women's side, but far from ordinary with appearances and contributions by Kate Moss, Nick Knight and Inez van Lamsweerde, not to mention those hotly debated drop-crotch pants Pilati unleashed on the world for fall. Sections devoted to the house's landmark designs and the obligatory portrait of its late, great founder round out our heady excursion into the world of YSL, now firmly in the hands of another master.
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| Jul 08: While amazingly true, the story (on Hint) of how a designer once at home in the seedier scenes of L.A. climbed to the snobbiest precincts of Paris has been retold enough times to start sounding like hackneyed fashion lore. More tellingly, we know women and men rarely seen out of their Rick Owens, a testament to the unusual fervor the American designer inspires. But while Parisians can pay worship to the cult cutter and his exquisitely damaged clothes at his signature boutique in the hallowed arcades of the Palais Royal, Owenites back home have had to make do without a flagship. This month, that cruel injustice finally comes to an end with the opening of a Rick Owens store—only the second worldwide—on lower Manhattan's Hudson Street, at last rendering the full range of his oeuvre available Stateside. For a preview of Owens' unique universe, visit his website, a little revelation in itself. Fullscreen expanses of white space effectively set off the dark, raw feel of Owens' creations, while content is kept to a minimum—essentially look-strips of the various collections, including his furniture line. Owens explained the domain's simple concept to us on the eve of the New York opening: "I love browsing but rarely have the patience for anything too elaborate and complex, so I hope I'm excused in thinking of like-minded souls. I usually just want to get from point A to point B, and then get on with a nap." No complaints here—less is more sleep.
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more Link reviews >>
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 Hint Shop
If Rad Hourani were writing this blurb, it would be over already. That's because, for the soon-to-explode French-Canadian designer, it's all about extreme minimalism. Thus, the concept behind this one-size-fits-all, unisex, sleeveless T-shirt—printed with the dates and times of a calendar—is that it can be worn by anyone, anytime.
Shoptart
01, 22, 16. Nope, it’s not bingo night; it's the numerical filing system at Maison Martin Margiela. Adding to the mathematical fun is a new line of fine jewelry in absurdist proportions and scale. Also this month: Comme de Garçons for H&M, Louis Vuitton and more. By Franklin Melendez |
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