Japan ~ I am praying for you

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa  by Katsushika Hokusai
From "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji"; 1823-29 (140 Kb); Color woodcut, 10 x 15 in; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Led Balloons

Photo of the 2008 display of three works in the Cantor Roof Garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art: “They are mischievously meaningful works. With its pneumatic, sausagelike parts, “Balloon Dog (Yellow)” is a sly Trojan Horse: it seems innocent but is loaded with aesthetic and erotic perversity. “Sacred Heart (Red/Gold)” acidly comments on the commercial debasement of emotional and religious experience. “Coloring Book” reflects the youth-obsessed infantilism of modern culture and society.” (Source - NYT)

L'Eléphant Blanc, Yves Saint Laurent, Spring/Summer 1958

Amazing what can be made out of silk, metallic thread, glass and plastic.
The Dress is part of the collection from the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

To the left, to the left

My MET Gala 'American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity'

On my way... I wore a Oscar de la Renta Gown, Jewelery by Lorraine Schwartz.
Knuckleheads
Taking a breather..
New York's Finest.. they were happy.
Usher and Tamara Mellon
The red carpet

Gayle King and I. She has a great attitude and is so warm.
The receiving line.


'Keeping it real'

Jennifer Lopez


My dinner. Nobody really ate. Those gowns are TINY. And I am tiny already.

Moises de la Renta and Bill Cunningham of the NY Times.
Maggie Gyllenhall - stunning.
Oprah Winfrey
Lady Gaga strutting her stuff.


Me and Maggie Gyllenhall - she is adorable. Love her.
Mariska Hargitay and Moises de la Renta.

If you are in New York, watch classic fashion movies at the MET in July

Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo ?
Pre-screening discussion with Harold Koda, Kohle Yohannan, and Dorothy McGowan
Directed by William Klein, 1966, 102min
In this excoriating satire of the fashion industry, Polly Maggoo is a 20-year-old Brooklyn-born fashion model in Paris, on the runway at the big shows where magazine editor Ms. Maxwell is the reigning opinion maker. The ridiculous passes for sublime. Polly becomes the subject of an episode of a vapid TV news documentary series called "Qui êtes-vous?" and is pursued by the filmmaker and by the prince of Borodine, a small country in the Soviet bloc. We watch as the documentary is shot, we await Polly's arrival in the principality, we observe a lunch in the suburbs, and we learn of her childhood. Is there more to Polly than her pretty face? Is anything below the surface?

http://www.metmuseum.org/tickets/calendar/view.asp?id=2764

This is an all-time favorite of mine:
Funny Face
Pre-screening discussion with Harold Koda, Kohle Yohannan, and Carmen Dell'Orefice
Directed by Stanley Donen, with Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, 1957, 103 minFashion photographer Dick Avery, in search for an intellectual backdrop for an air-headed model, expropriates a Greenwich Village bookstore. When the photo session is over the store is left in a shambles, much to salesgirl Jo Stockton's dismay. Avery stays behind to help her clean up. Later, he examines the photos taken there and sees Jo in the background of one shot. He is intrigued by her unique appearance, as is Maggie Prescott, the editor of a leading fashion magazine. They offer Jo a modeling contract, which she reluctantly accepts only because it includes a trip to Paris. Eventually, her snobbish attitude toward the job softens, and Jo begins to enjoy the work and the company of her handsome photographer.

http://www.metmuseum.org/tickets/calendar/view.asp?id=2763

Both Movies:
In conjunction with the exhibition, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion.
The exhibition is made possible by Marc Jacobs.
Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.

I don't like Francis Bacon

I went to see the Francis Bacon Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum. I didn't like anything about it.
Francis Bacon (British, 1909–1992)
Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne Standing in a Street in Soho, 1967
Oil on canvas; 77 15/16 x 58 1/16 in. (198 x 147.5 cm)
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie
© 2009 The Estate of Francis Bacon / ARS, New York / DACS, London
Francis Bacon (British, 1909–1992)
Study of a Baboon, 1953
Oil on canvas; 78 1/8 x 54 1/8 in. (198.4 x 137.5 cm)
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. James Thrall Soby Bequest, 1979
Francis Bacon (British, 1909–1992)
Jet of Water, 1988
Oil on canvas; 77 15/16 x 58 1/16 in. (198 x 147.5 cm)
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill
© 2009 The Estate of Francis Bacon / ARS, New York / DACS, London