The Best Music Tracks from London Fashion Week

Courtesy of Burberry, Style.com

*Listen to the songs by clicking on the different iPods.

Even though London Fashion Week is over and we're onto Milan I feel like it always takes me another week to properly digest everything I've seen at the shoes. Including the music. If you talked to my flatmate he could tell you I have been repeatedly streaming the same part of the Burberry show just to listen to "this song I loved". I could not, for the life of me, figure out who was it by. The same happened with another two tracks – one from Acne and one from Roksanda Ilincic. Thank God for mobile phone apps that can recognise songs! They have saved me a whole lot of effort.
Needless to say, I bought the songs off iTunes as soon as I made sure that I had got them right. My absolute favourite, 'Numb' by Marina & The Diamonds, just gives me goose bumps. I guess it's a combination of how good the song is and the memory of the velvets and rich colours from the Burberry Prorsum show.
'Remember (Walkin' in the Sand)' by The Shangri-Las, from the Roksanda Ilincic finale, really makes me want to dance and brings back the luxe sportswear and exquisite coats from the collection.
And from the Acne finale,  'Blue Monday 1988' by New Order, which even creative director Johnny Johansson could not resist shaking it to as he took a bow.

Lana del Rey wears Antonio Berardi in her 'Born to Die' video
Courtesy of The Communications Store

You must have been living under a rock not to have heard of Lana del Rey. I don't know where she came from but her first single 'Video Games' literally took the world by storm. I first found out about her when I watched her perform the song at 'Live with Jools Holland' two or three months ago. I was just as much in awe of her voice as I was of her style. There is something about her that makes clothes special, a sort of exquisite vintage feel that looks incredibly current and modern.
The video for her second single 'Born to Die' was released yesterday and I have watched it 4 or 5 times since last night. The photography is unbelivable. I love the symmetry of the Parisian palace where the video was shot and I love Lana's beautiful Antonio Berardi SS11 dress. Berardi is such a great choice for her because it's all about incredible elegant subtle designs. I really really hope we get to see her in one of the long-sleeved embroidered pale pink numbers from the SS12 collection!
You can watch the 'Born to Die' video below. Remember to turn the HD on, it's SO worth it!

'Marry the night' and Lady Gaga's influences
Screen caps, Style.com, Zimbio

You know I am a big fan of dissecting videos. Whether it's only the fashion like I did for one of Beyoncé's last videos or laying out visually where Gaga got inspiration from for her Alejandro video I simply can't resist making a collage about it.

My favourite Gaga video to date has to be the Judas video. I appreciated the breakthrough of Bad Romance (especially the plethora or McQueen) but Judas was culturally interesting. He cleverly mixed references to Catholicism mixed with nods to popular culture.

For Gaga's latest Marry the Night video Nicola Formichetti and his creative team have done something similar but perhaps not as risqué as before. An 80's Madonna is probably the strongest influence of this new video. Followed by Fame, the über popular TV programme from the same decade. The perfectly timed choreographies in odd layers of tops were pretty much brought into fashion by the show. My favourite look from the whole video is the Atelier Versace embroidered light denim combo that reads surprisingly current and sort of reminded me of this.

Some of the other dance scenes were more reminiscent of Michael Jackson's videos. The dancing in backstreets is in keeping with the general 80's aesthetic of the video.

The only more forward-thinking looks in the Marry the Night video are the music-less opening scenes, which weirdly enough I quite enjoyed, the ballet shots of Gaga in a very Daphne Guiness hairdo and heel-less platforms, and the closing shot of the Fame Monster in one of the Paco Rabanne looks she wore at the EMAs this year.

Britney's new video, 'I wanna Go', came out today and it looks like we've finally got out old Britney back. The vive of the video is very 'Do Something', which is also one of my favourite music videos by her.

In terms of fashion she is taking baby steps. But she is taking them. The first scene is a close up of her Christian Louboutin leather studded stilettos as she walks into the press room. The rest of the outfit is also a bit more old Britney but she looks pretty awesome in it. And I love the fake colourful highlights, they're pretty old fashioned but they really suit her, no?

Otherwise the video is pretty fun. My personal favourite is when she says "f*ck you" to the journalists and all her "daring" moments throughout the video. 

Who knows, maybe after two or three more videos she'll be back up to her old standards of unique awesomeness. You can't tell I'm a fan at all, right?

Thoughts?

With every new Lady Gaga video I realise the reason why I love her is not quite her music. Her videos, on the other hand, and Nicola Formichetti's styling for them do really appeal to me. And I think, in terms of the clothes, the Judas video is the best one yet. Yes, even better than Bad Romance. Sorry, Lee.

I was fascinated by the contemporary take of the religious references. Because I grew up in a Catholic environment and it was easy for me to identify symbols such as the blue veil of the Inmaculate Conception and the Sacred Heart. Contrary to a lot of opinions online I thought Formichetti's work (especially the blue hood with the bandana) were edgy, controversial and full of life.

Jesus' look was extremely well achieved. It seems like Riccardo Tisci only designed his Givenchy version of the crown of thorns to be on this video. It also fit perfect well with the video's aesthetic that mixed the old and the new and very much reminded me of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. There are a lot of rock and roll and gritty elements, which were sort of contradictory yet not incongruent at all.

[Vevo]

The only reference I didn't quite understand was Gaga in white, as a sort of Mary Magdalene dressed like a gipsy bride. I simply don't get why she dies. But I guess not everything is supposed to be straight-forward.

I also really enjoyed the more scarce 18th century notes of ruffled sleeves and golden ringlets on her hair. Those bits really reminded me of 'Interview with the Vampire' and help increase the contrast between new and old fashion elements in the video.

And finally, the 'Birth of Venus'. It totally escapes me why this little scene was included in the video or how it adds to the story line but I can't say I don't like the nod to Botticelli.

To make sense of all my blabbering click here to watch the video, which would be a shame not to watch in the highest HD.

Britney's new video for my favourite song of the record 'Til the world ends came out today and she opens it staring into the camera and wearing one of Burberry Prorsum's studded biker jackets from SS11, which to me can only be a good omen. The video looks amazing with a hint of I'm a slave for you and a kind of raunchier nod to the famous Oops! I did it again red catsuit. I really liked the styling of the video because, even though it's very Britney, it's a lot more high-end than what we're used to. Correct me if I'm wrong but that might even be an Alaïa belt she wears with the red outfit. Add to all of this her pretty face and an incredibly catchy song and you've got yourself a hit.

Click here to go and watch the video. I have this song on repeat in my brain.

[Pictures: Youtube screencaps, Burberry.com]

Best dressed of the weekend: Jessie J

I spent a big part of my Sunday night watching videos of Jessie J on youtube. I didn't know who she even was until I saw her perform on Graham Norton a couple of weeks ago. On Saturday she was SNL's musical guest (a very big deal!) and she was incredible on stage. I really like her music, kind of a vintage R&B, and her style. She combines a kind of cabaret/pin-up aesthetic with very contemporary clothes that are often extremely tight or see-through —e.g. leotards or bodysuits— and yet she looks classy and cool unlike Nicki Minaj, whose style I simply don't get. Her fuchsia leotard look for SNL reminded me a lot of Versus famous FW10 line and Louis Vuitton's FW11 one, of which I hated everything apart from the corset shorts. And I liked how it was combined with patterned tights that I thought to be thigh-high boots very similar to the amazing Patternity ones I saw a while ago at Selfridges and. And it works as a bonus that she has this amazingly straight and shiny bobbed hair, which is 100% natural!

You can watch her SNL performances here and here. Are you a fan?
I'm off.

[Pictures: YouTube Screen caps, Style.com, patternity.co.uk]

Would you hold it against me, Lee?

Earlier this afternoon Giulia and I had a little discussion over bbm about Britney, her comeback and her new video. Like me, she was happy of how the V magazine cover turned out because it reminded her so much of the old Britney, who we both loved. Talking about the 'Hold it against me' video we differed a little. Giulia really liked it and, while I can never dislike something Britney makes, I wasn't totally keen on it. I was especially horrified by the big diamond white dress she wears together with diamond necklace and diamond cuffs. So I watched the video again, with an open mind. Now I can at least say that I don't feel as bad about it because not only is wasn't nearly as atrocious as I remembered but there was kind of a homage to McQueen's famous S/S99 collection. Whether intentional or not this nod to the genius gives Britney enough brownie points (in my book, anyway) to even up the score and increase her chances of the comeback she truly deserves. What did you think of the video?

I'm off.

[Pictures: Screencaps from VEVO]

Born this way

Lady Gaga's music videos have become a bit of a thing inside the fashion/creative industry. We look forward to what Nicola Formichetti will do for her in terms of styling. I have to say that this time I was neither amazed nor surprised by the clothes. Yes, it all is incredibly visually pleasing but I think it has a lot more to do with Nick Knight's direction than with the clothes (accessories, hair, mae up et al.) than any other thing. I did really like the 'Born this way' video because not only I quite like the song but it also had some very McQueen references such as the kaleidoscope imagery, which Lee used for his prints in the famous collection worn by Gaga on 'Bad Romance'. I also found pretty cool the fact that Raquel Zimmerman (below, duplicated) does a little cameo.

My second favourite thing, and probably the most expected part of it was the heavy presence of Thierry Mugler fw11 menswear, as it was the first collection to be designed by Formichetti (he is clearly the creative director, not the designer. Alas, no one has yet coined a term such as 'creatively directed'). I thought it worked just great with the video and, after all, Nicola is becoming known for trespassing the boundaries of roles and becoming a bit of everything —stylist, creative director, entrepreneur, media expert. I was also happy to see Rico, who was the star of the Mugler fw11 show and kind of stole a bit of Gaga's spotlight on the video.

As I said, the photography in the video is absolutely phenomenal, as it could be expected from Knight. And this might just be me but were there some James Bond and Sin City references? I loved the black and white shots as much as the very plastic coloured ones and the intro and finale as a clear nod to Pink Floyd. You can watch the video here.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Vevo screencaps]

Giabiconi turns pop star

I know I said this week updates were going to be back to normal but I didn't anticipate the second wave of attacks from my cold. I'm still battling it out and I'm not in full-blogging mode yet but I woke up this morning and found this and there was no way in hell I was not going to post it on soVIPzone an leave a couple of comments with you.
Yes, you're eyes are not playing tricks on you, Baptiste Giabiconi (aka: Kaiser Karl's favourite toy) is now a pop star. I encourage you to watch the whole four minutes of video in HD and full screen. I covered my face for the most part of it but maybe you can get through it? First of all, who thinks that a man can wear so much jewellery? (unless it's Lagerfeld himself, of course). Secondly, why would they make it say that unnecessary line in English when he obviously has the thickest French accent? Which leads me to my fourth question, why the Americana/motel/desert theme? They should've shot it in St. Tropez or Cannes, maybe Karl could've directed it? How much of what he wears is Chanel? And, is the motorbike the one we saw the last Cruise 2011 show? And finally, anyone out there who thinks this could be a success?

I'm off.

Runaway

When I first heard about Kanye West's latest video I got very confused as to what the nature of the video was. I could not quite figure out if it would have music and be played on MTV or if he had ventured into the difficult world of short films. As it turns out, he did both. The full version of Runaway is 34:32 minutes long but it's also been edited in a video version for TV, which runs for 4:38, and an extended video version, 8:29. My advice is to watch the full length version, put it on mute and play some nice music you like on the background. From a short film point of view it is a stunning piece of work, with incredible photography and beautifully produced. I was personally blown away by Kanye's directorial skills, which just as his dress sense, exceed his musical ability. The concept is a little sci-fi with the right amount of avant-garde and I was mesmerised by the colours and landscapes just as much as I was by the art direction and the costume design (by Phillip Lim and Martin Izquierdo).

















As a music video, however, it simply sucks. Not only the song is extremely monotonous and nonsensical but the part of the film chosen to go with it has the exact same characteristics so that you enjoy those 4:38 minutes as little as possible. Which is a shame because the ballet dancing is a fantastic part of the film and it feels very current set against the worn out green inside of a warehouse.Do turn back the sound at about 26:50 to listen to the only decent track throughout the whole film. It still sounds a bit like Kanye but it's a lot more Imogen Heap than him.
I definitely think he has found his path in life with this kind of thing. As much as it pains me to admit it he has a very good eye for art. So do us a favour, give up music and make more of these.
I'm off.

[Pictures: screen caps from video]

The Sound of Pre-Fall

I have a weird fixation with music videos I can't really explain. When I like a video I go in a kind of trance, as if I were hypnotised. Needless to say, this phenomenon is strengthened if the styling in the video is particularly good. Well, that was exactly what happened when I watched 'Just be Good to Green' the new Professor Green single featuring Lily Allen. The track is a cover of the 1983 S.O.S. band 'Just be Good to Me' song and it's not very good but quite intoxicating and catchy. The video seems overly chic for someone like Professor Green (who is, essentially, a chav) but it all works mixed with Lily's flair.

You can watch the video in higher quality here.

Lily looks absolutely beautiful in the video. The short hair and the dar eye-shadow look stunning on her. And the fashion is quite remarkable as well. She first wears the super cool Pre-Fall Louis Vuitton cape Kate Hudson wore a while ago. It looks much much better on Lily (like so many things) because she wears it a casual way instead of dressing it up too much like Kate did. The she changes into one of my favourite sheer Chanel dresses from the Pre-Fall collection. The dress looks so much more flirty on Lily than it did on the catwalk and she combined it with lime green platform shoes very similar to the sculpted 'Imperiale' YSL pumps she wore last year to the V festival. She just keeps getting it right.

I'm off.

[Pictures: Screen captures from video, Style.com]

Alejandro: the old and the new

The hype around every one of Lady Gaga's videos grows with the release of each one. I Have to admit I always get a little excited to see them for the first time but this time it was different. I can't remember how long ago it was when I read that Steven Klein, my favourite photographer, was directing her 'Alejandro' video but ever since then I literally couldn't wait. I won't admit to the number of times I have watched it since yesterday but, believe me, you'd think me a freak.
Anyway, the Gaga and Klein combination very much delivered. The video is, visually, one of the best things I have seen in music in a very long time. The Klein aesthetic covers every single shot and light choice and mixes influences that Gaga and himself share as well the ones ever-present in all his work.

Gaga's first couple of outfits consist of a black cape (top picture) and a lace outfit both custom made Alexander McQueen pieces as well as a Philip Treacy for Alexander McQueen custom made hat. It is no secret Lady Gaga adores McQueen and we have often seen many of his pieces in her videos. This is brought to the maximum with Steven Klein, who was close to the designer (and Daphne Ginness) and who shot editorials (like the one above for W back in 2002) and adverts for him.

If you follow Klein, you'll know he is known for having a fixation with, among others, horses, Madonna, religion and sex. In 'Alejandro' the references to Madonna are endless. Gaga's "blasphemous" scenes from the video have so much in common with Madonna's 'Like a Prayer' video from 1989. crosses, rosaries and religious attire irreverently mixed with sex, custom made Atsuko Kudo (nun outfit), Hussein Chalayan (leather jacket) and custom made Jaiden RVA James (hooded dress).

'Alejandro' switches between Madonna eras mixing all the different aspects of the singers that characterise Gaga. Suddenly we're in the 'Vogue' video from 1990 where Gaga more literally replicates Madonna's black suit and famous (Gaultier) pointy bra. Once again, more genius styling from Mr. Formichetti -Dolce & Gabbana waistcoat, Fracesco Scognamiglio trousers, gun bra custom made by David Samuel Menkes and Calvin Klein underwear.

Again, the Steven Klein point of view is so present that many still shots of the video could very well be editorial pictures. The 'bed theme' has been such a recurrent one in his work, from Madonna's W editorial in 2002, to the Beckham's for the same magazine in 2007 or some of his more recent work. If you look at the 'bed dancing' scenes in 'Alejandro' you might even see some resemblance with Britney's 'Me Against the Music' video, a suggestion from Maddona?

Click here to enjoy the video in HQ. Here to go to Steven Klein's website. And here to check out Nicola Formichetti's blog.
I'm off.

PS. I really liked the Evandro Soldati cameo. Have a look at some of his work here.


[Credits: NicolaFormichetti.blogspot.com, Style.com, StevenKleinStudio.com. Screencaps from youtube videos.]

Lagerfeld Confidential: the music

I just watched 'Lagerfeld Confidential' for the fifth time. I originally thought of making a post about the film but I realised how pointless it'd be now that the film has been out for three years. One of the things I love the most about the documentary, apart from Karl's priceless quotes, is the music. I don't know if Karl had anything to do with the selection of the music but I do find some sort of link between the taste in music of the film and that of 'Les Musiques que J'aime' (a double CD with Karl's favourite tunes). In any case, I thought I'd share my three favourite songs from the documentary with you as I can't seem to get them out of my head or my Spotify. (Click on the iPods to listen to the music)

            

If you haven't watched 'Lagerfeld Confidential' yet, please do. Not only it is an absolute pleasure to watch but the style of the editing and the shooting are very interesting. And you'd be dead if by the time it ends you don't feel an unstoppable rush of inspiration that makes you draw, rethink your life or have a dance to Duran Duran on the sofa.

I'm off.