going through the motions

lauren rosen

I have this thing for people walking past walls and I love it when my friends like to take part in my creative visions. for months now, I have been walking by this striking retna wall and I don't know why I kept saying to myself it would be really interesting if someone chic would stride by. so with that in mind I thought I would just do that. through my dance class, I have met someone really nice friends and I love that they like to take part in what I do. my friend lauren rosen is an amazing dancer and she has such presence when she moves and I knew that if she wore my norma kamali crop top with matching black skirt it would look quite stylish with that wall. lauren even added a little something else by incorporating her very own christian louboutin black boot heels, which I thought was the perfect finishing touch with the outfit. even though the concept is quite simple I think sometimes you have to take the time to find the beauty in the everyday as I believe with the right dress and wall you can create such magic. I don't know why this felt like a moment from luis buñuel's 1967 film belle de jour but it just did. that film will always be a major source of style inspiration to me and I tend to make everything I do cinematic, so that is probably why I had it, in mind. maybe it was also lauren's body language or that norma kamali ensemble with sunnies. she very much exuded qualities of catherine deneuve's character in the film that I so loved. well whatever it was, it was pure noir chic to me and I was so happy to make this a vision a reality. a big thanks to lauren for taking part and I can't wait to do more photo projects with her again....such an inspiring day we had, with styling and taking photos!

a moment in paris

photo by francesco carrozzini

the references that go through my mind can range from all over the place from film to fashion and everything else in between. recently, I was looking back on an editorial from the vogue italia april 2013 issue entitled a moment in paris. the layout features supermodel karolina kurkova dressed impeccably in black wandering around the streets of paris. I love the dark mood of this layout and it feels very reminiscent of the work of helmut newton back in the 70s and his vogue paris days. either way, this was my favorite photo from the editorial and I love the way karolina kurkova looks walking on those stairs from a distance, with that ethereal lace black dress, boots, and beret. for some reason, I had this image in mind with my friend lauren and I wanted to create my own los angeles version. I don't know if there is any actual connection between the two images, but this served as loose inspiration for me. as I stated before I don't know why I have a thing for people walking past walls or stairs in the right outfit, but I guess I just love the mystery of it all and somehow I like to capture it. either way, if you have never seen this vogue italia editorial do check it out. personally, I think it takes noir chic to the next level and I love seeing paris through a vogue italia point of view.

murakami moment

photo by cristhian barron

last weekend, I finally got to check out the broad museum, which opened in downtown los angeles, late last year. getting into the museum has been quite a challenge, but my friend had two tickets and he cordially invited me. of course, I knew that I would be inspired and overwhelmed by an enormous amount of contemporary art, so I knew that I had to dress appropriately and when I say appropriately I mean all in black. after all, that's what I do. walking through the museum, I discovered a lot of new artists that I wasn't very familiar with like julie mehretu and robert longo, but I also got too see some of my favorites, like julian schnabel and john currin. those two were definitely the highlights. at any rate, the most surprising of them all was when I got too see the work of takashi murakami, as I was never really was a huge fan. I believe marc jacobs designed a louis vuitton bag based on his art work, which I never quite understood as that bag and pattern was just not my style. at any rate, walking through the room of his art and sculptures was kind of like being in a japanese animated cartoon, so my friend and I tried to style something with an asian aesthetic. on that day, I wore my norma kamali butterfly coat with my new zero black silk dress and decided to spread my arms to create a japanese silhouette. what I find interesting about my pose is that it almost coordinates with the design on the wall, as you will see three kimono outfits in the corner. how this all works together is quite uncanny, but I like the unexpected noir chic that I brought to this takashi murakami art piece. I still do not know if I like his artwork, but I do know that art influences fashion and I guess you could say it goes the other way around, as well. sometimes, you just have too see it in real life and put it all together to find that creative blend!

that coat though

photo by kuba dabrowski

I was hoping that this year I would be inspired by the red carpet, but it turns out not so much. I don't want to be negative about celebrities, but I don't look to star style like I use to, and I find myself more inspired by what I see on the street and of course what I find through street style blogs. case in point, a couple of weeks ago I found myself browsing through the WWD site and stumbled upon this photo of a girl in a black coat. what I found so striking about her coat was the pattern, color, and those pleats. I couldn't find out if it was issey miyake, but I just thought the texture seemed like something from his line. I also just love the fit of this coat its quite eye catching and I know if I saw this woman walking on the street I would definitely do a double take. I am obsessed with black coats and I find myself never bored by this look. I mean there are so many ways to wear a black coat and this one is really something special. there is a definite japanese look to it, but also very parisian, as well. after all, this was snapped during paris fashion week way back in 2014. interesting, how I found this outfit now and even though I found it a little late I am just admiring this coat and with those sunnies, it is complete perfection. I guess while some people are looking to the red carpet for style inspiration I am going to stick with finding those random sartorial moments on the street. personally, I think that's where all the real style happens!