Sunday, June 01, 2008
RIP YSL
Yves Saint Laurent, the iconic French designer who revolutionized fashion by putting women in pants without sacrificing their femininity, died Sunday in Paris. He was 71. Saint Laurent's three-letter monogram is perhaps as synonymous with — and significant to — 20th-century style as T.S. Eliot's is with literature. He was "unquestionably the greatest designer" from the 1950s to 2000, says Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at FIT (New York's Fashion Institute of Technology). Saint Laurent's influence and magnitude is eclipsed only by Coco Chanel, Steele says. "Just as Chanel brought modernism into women's fashion, you could say Yves Saint Laurent brought fashion up to a kind of contemporary life. "Most designers are incredibly lucky if they can contribute one thing to fashion," Steele continues. "But he was like Picasso: He contributed to so many significant movements." He championed women's liberation in the 1960s and '70s and the era's youth-led street culture (from mod to hippie). He shepherded the rise of ready-to-wear with the 1966 launch of his Rive Gauche line. He celebrated the globalization of style, fused fine art with fashion (as with his 1965 Mondrian shift) and injected vivid color into a historically staid industry. "All of those things are part of his legacy," Steele says. "It's impossible to imagine contemporary fashion without this man." Indeed, when Saint Laurent, long plagued by depression and drug and alcohol addiction, famously bid adieu to his art at a Paris press conference in January 2002, he read a statement from behind his trademark thick, dark-rimmed glasses. "I tell myself that I created the wardrobe of the contemporary woman, that I participated in the transformation of my times," he said. "For a long time now, I have believed that fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves." ... Long a wardrobe mainstay of socialites, including the late Nan Kempner and Talitha Getty, Saint Laurent has recently been embraced by young and edgy Hollywood, including Kirsten Dunst, who donned a vintage flapper-esque gown to this year's Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute ball, and Chloë Sevigny, who wore a vintage black-and-white graphic one-shouldered sheath to the 2007 Golden Globes. Gucci bought the YSL brand in 1999, a year after Saint Laurent had ceased designing the Rive Gauche collection. Ready-to-wear is now designed by Stefano Pilati, a former protégé of Tom Ford's (Ford, as YSL's creative director from 2000 to 2004, headed the line previously). The couture arm of the company, the branch that turned out hand-wrought, multi-thousand-dollar garments, ceased production in 2002, when Saint Laurent retired. At the time, Bergé, who remained his business partner after their romantic relationship ended, blamed in part the current culture of sneakers and denim — ironic considering that Saint Laurent often said he wished he'd invented jeans. "They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity — all I hope for in my clothes," he once said of blue jeans. Aside from creating his now-ubiquitous trousers and tuxedos, Saint Laurent is also credited with coining — and abiding by — one of his industry's most oft-repeated mantras: "Fashions fade, style is eternal."
Yves Saint Laurent was truly a fashion genius ... he will be sorely missed. [Source]
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When Cougars Attack
Photo credit: Splash News
Clearly, Linda isn't letting the fact that her son is rotting in jail keep her from having a good time with her boy toy. I'm sorry, there is just too much grossness going on here for me to write another word. [Source]
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The TV Guide: When A Strangers Calls
Let me be clear here ... the movie isn't anything to really sing about. It wasn't really that horrifying in the end but it managed to use all the classic horror conventions very well. The movie was full of suspense and was adept at utilizing the "now you see them, now you don't" trick that tends to cause gasps in the audience. The killers were highly organized and the victims were kind of stupid ... but in a horror film, you kinda need that to happen for the whole thing to work. I couldn't really understand why Liv Tyler's character never thought to put on shoes before she started running for her life or why her phone wasn't charged or why her first call wasn't to 911 but those dumb things kinda hafta happen for a movie like this to last as long as it does (also, a paring knife is not a weapon, sorry). While I wouldn't say it's the best movie or even the best horror movie, I did have a good time, I was sufficiently creeped out and I did enjoy myself.
After the movie came the dancing ... we all convened at Cherry Pop to celebrate Darion's bday and this is what ensued:
Twas fun, twas fun ... but I'm still in pain so I'm not really in the mood to dwell.
Tonight, Steph, Alek and I are seeing Sex and the City ... wee!!!
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Les News: Ashlee Cancels, Shania Retreats, Kurt Goes Missing
- Ashlee Simpson cancels her summer tour; disappoints 1s of 5s of people.
- Charlie Sheen got hitched again.
- Shania Twain returns home to Muskoka, Canada after splitting with her cheating hubby Mutt Lange.
- Is Robert Downey, Jr. on track to play Hugh Hefner?
- Kurt Cobain's ashes have been stolen from Courtney Love's home.
- Woodstock opens as a museum.
- Alanis Morissette is 34, Heidi Klum is 35, Morgan Freeman is 71 and Andy Griffith is 82 years old today. Click HERE to find out who else is celebrating a birthday today.
- Are we ready for a Beverly Hills Cop 4?
- Just who is gonna sing the 007 theme song?
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Hot Dude Of The Week: Jason
Photo credit: All American Guys
Okay, so we have have just seen Jason featured as the Hot Dude a few weeks ago (remember the eyes?) but this photo was just begging to be posted. David Beckham caused quite a stir when he famously donned a pair of Armani Undies for their new ad campaign but I think that our boy Jason here fills out the Armanis very nicely as well. MMM MMM. Yeah, I'm not sure there will be many complaints about featuring Jason again so soon ... right? Enjoy!!! [Source]
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Mayerston Arrive In LA
Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin
I don't believe the couple have been seen together since they were caught canoodling in Miami, FL a few weeks ago. Since then, John and Jen have been spotted in NYC separately but they haven't been seen together ... until now. The couple has been holed up in Jen's SoCal home trying to avoid being see together ... which seems so foolish to me. The more they make a thing of not being seen, the more they are going to be hunted. Silly celebs, when will they ever learn? [Source]
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Who Is African?
Photo credit: Splash News
Click above to find out who it is
While I am still very dismayed that this actor is even wearing a shirt in the first place, I suppose kudos are in order for this actor taking a stance and publically proclaiming his support for the Keep A Child Alive organization's I Am African campagign. Even tho it is a great shirt with a great message, I think it's time that this actor take it off already ... geeze. [Source]
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Tour Of Duty
Photo credit: Wireimage
Prince William is heading to the azure waters of the Caribbean as part of a two-month deployment in the Royal Navy despite his request to be as close as possible to conflict. The assignment beginning Monday will see the second in line to the throne spending much of his time trolling the West Indies aboard the HMS Iron Duke, a frigate on hurricane relief duty and counter-narcotics patrol. Rear Admiral Robert Cooling, assistant chief of Naval Staff, said William "commendably wanted to be as close to the front line as possible." But officers decided he could learn more in a short time by serving on the Iron Duke than by being sent to the Persian Gulf, where the Royal Navy is engaged in a number of operations. There was also concern that placing William, 25, in the Persian Gulf might draw unwanted attention from Britain's enemies. "We clearly wouldn't have put the prince in the way of a particular threat, and we wouldn't want his presence in a warship in a particular region to have drawn attention from those who might not wish him well," Cooling said. Senior officers stressed in a pre-deployment briefing that William will not receive special treatment during his Navy assignment, which will include shoreside training followed by a five-weeks at sea. "The rules that will apply to Prince William will be exactly the same as the rules applied to any junior officer," Cooling said. However, he said, the prince probably would not take part in boarding parties if the men are likely to come under fire while attempting to intercept drug shipments. William is an officer in the Army, but he has been spending time in other branches of the service to round out his military experience. He made headlines during his stint with the Royal Air Force, landing a Chinook helicopter on his girlfriend Kate Middleton's lawn and using the military chopper for other questionable trips, including picking up Harry and flying to a stag party on the Isle of Wight. On the Iron Duke, William is scheduled to spend time in every department, including weapons engineering, logistics, operations, and the ship's helicopter flights. There will be no special accommodations for the prince, who is expected to bunk with other junior officers, and there will not be special security while he is at sea, Cooling said. Commander Simon Huntington said the prince would in essence receive an abbreviated version of the normal two-year training most young officers receive. "These warships are not like cruise liners," said Cooling. "It's going to be a lumpy ride. He doesn't know if he's susceptible to seasickness, but if he is, there are pills that can help. It's nothing to be shy about. It happens to the best of us. Nelson got seasick." Seasick or not, no one is suggesting that the future king will have to do kitchen duty. Someone else will have to wash the dishes and peel the potatoes.
While I find it very commendable that Prince Wills is making every effort to serve in as many branches of the British military as he possibly can, I do have a hard time believing that he is taking the work seriously. Even Harry's stint in Afghanistan seemed to me like a very expensive frat boy-like camping trip ... but with real weapons and military machinery to play with. Even still, devoting this much time to the military must be difficult in some respects, especially for someone of Royal upbringing. While it kinda feels like Wills is just playing dress-up, I have to give him props for making the effort nonetheless. Have fun with all those sea men, Wills :) [Source]
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A Universal Fire!
A fast-moving blaze Sunday on the back lot of Universal Studios destroyed several movie sets and damaged a video vault before firefighters contained it. Three firefighters suffered minor injuries, fire officials said. No other injuries were reported. The fire destroyed an area called New York street, which includes movie-set buildings designed to look like the New York cityscape. Hours after the blaze started, the area looked charred and resembled a "disaster movie," said Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge. LaBonge said he could see the smoke from his home Sunday morning. "I looked out my window at the Hollywood Hills, and it looked like a bomb had exploded," he said. Despite the massive blaze at the Southern California site, which includes an amusement park, officials still planned to hold the 2008 MTV Movie Awards there later Sunday. The awards show was scheduled to be broadcast live from an amphitheater at the park Sunday afternoon, an MTV representative said. "The areas we are utilizing for our production were unaffected, and the 2008 MTV Movie Awards will go on as planned," an MTV spokesman said in a statement. "We're working closely with authorities to make sure everything operates smoothly." More than 400 Los Angeles-area firefighters were called to battle the fire on the back lot, adjacent to the theme park. The blaze began around 4:45 a.m. PT (7:45 a.m. ET). At a news conference Sunday morning, fire officials said the blaze was contained. Still, large plumes of smoke rose from the blaze that continued to burn at a video vault. Between 40,000 to 50,000 videos and reels were damaged, but there are duplicates stored at a different location, according to The Associated Press. "Fortunately, nothing irreplaceable was lost," said Ron Meyer, CEO of Universal Studios. "The video library was affected and damaged, but our main vault of our motion picture negatives was not." The set where the movie "The Changeling," directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Angelina Jolie, was recently shot was "completely destroyed," Meyer said. Another movie set called the "Courthouse Square" was destroyed, Meyer said. Numerous movies have been shot in the area, including scenes from the 1985 hit "Back to the Future," Meyer said. The "King Kong" exhibit also was destroyed, fire officials said.
It's pretty remarkable, the smoke from this fire could be seen from almost all parts of Los Angeles. I don't live that far from Universal Studios, so the smoke was especially thick around here. Thus far there have been no reports of causalities and it's heartening to know that nothing irreplaceable from the video vault was lost. It's sad that King Kong and the Back to the Future courthouse were destroyed tho :( [Source]
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