Creepy Christmas NYC 2011

Looking around at department store windows this holiday season, there seems to be a creepy slightly dark inspiration going around.

Growing up on Long Island I remember every few years during the holiday season my parents would take my sister and myself into Manhattan to experience the city in all it's holiday splendor (this was most common the years family was visiting from Chile.)  The Rockefeller Christmas tree among others were usual stops on our itinerary but my favorite was always the holiday windows. Window displays were always a huge deal to me any time of year but especially during the holidays.

So here are a few pix from this years holiday windows that I would say embodied a slightly creepy vibe. You look and decide for yourselves. 

The Macy's holiday windows below reminded me of Edward Scissor Hands shaving ice sculptures creating snow and the factory scene with all the gears and gizmo's. 

The next picture is of the Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows. Black and White is an unconventional choice for holiday decoration. This window reminded me of that creepy feeling I get when I walk through the dim taxidermy exhibitions at the Museum of Natural History. I love that feeling and love this window although I'm not too sure little kids could appreciate it.

This last window is one of the most interesting, it's Barney's Lady Gaga window. The entire display is or appears to be made of hair! ranging from golden to platinum blond you can find them all here. Again, I love the concept but not too sure it says "Happy Holidays" 

Aside from these windows, of course there were plenty that screamed holiday cheer but it was these that made me wonder about our society and department stores today.

The Body Grotesque: My Final IDS Project

I thought it would be appropriate to post a few pix from my final IDS 2D collection presentation. The collection objective was a narrative, to create a story. I started with the concept of Frankenstein.

My story grew into a tale of a mad designer who digs up and sews together the corpses of Mary Shelly, author of Frankenstein and Rose Bertin, couturier to Marie Antoinette. He brings the creature to life and flee's, returning to the world of high fashion leaving his creation in a run down atelier to fend for herself. Instinctively the creature begins to create. Infusing aspects of Mary Shelley's romanticism and horror with the grandeur and elegance of Rose Bertin she creates a paradox of a collection. When the creature who's been cast away from society because of her monstrous appearance discovers her creator, she terminates him and then herself leaving behind only her creations in the run down atelier. When the story breaks of the murdered haute couture designer an investigation ensues and the narrative comes to light shocking not only the fashion world but the world of science and media as well. The fascination leads to exhibition and makes the history.

Long story, I know, it just grew on it's own. Aside from other concepts, my narrative led me to ideas of the body and silhouette. Because Frankenstein was made up of various stitched up corpses and animal parts, it was fitting to address freakish and grotesque body silhouettes. I wanted to do this but with the added elegance and materials Rose Bertin would bring, here was the outcome...

Thanksgiving NYC

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC is one of the most televised Thanksgiving events in N.Y. Every year we tune in as my mom preps Thanksgiving dinner. This year I had the pleasure of going for the first time with my niece and my sister. It was great fun and is something every New Yorker should definitely do at least once. Being that I'm the worst picture taker alive I don't have much to share but here is one of my niece standing as a smurf float passes by.

Here's another of my mother's delicious Thanksgiving table (sans le gigantic turkey, I'm not sure where it was at that point) 

and lastly a pic I took of my family huddled around the table...

...Just our traditional Thanksgiving we enjoy every year, I couldn't imagine a Thanksgiving any other way and hope to share many, many more with the people I hold dearest to my heart... I cherish my family & our traditions a lot, although I'd never let them know it lol.

They're my heart.

18th Century New York

Of all the historical era's my favorite by far is the 18th Century. Touted as the age of enlightenment it was also an age of extravagance. Lately I've been watching a lot of movies from my period film collection because I all I have in my workroom to keep entertained is my old Mac from high school. While watching Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci.

 I was really drawn in by the recreation images of New York City during the 18th century. So being that we have to stick to ideas about the body or New York for our blogs, I thought it would be an interesting way to merge my love of all thing 18th century with my love of my favorite city in the U.S. Here are some images from the movie recreating NYC.

It's a good film thats definitely worth a watch if you haven't seen it.

Taking a more factual look at 18th century New York I found these etchings. The first is of Federal Hall at Wall Street from 1789.

Here are two other views. This Federal Hall must have been an important building in NYC during the 18th century because it is one of the most easily found images of 18th century NY.

The next images were the most interesting to me. The first is of a theatre and the second are actual garments 18th Century New Yorkers wore.

I really enjoyed searching for images of 18th century NY. In the future I would love to design an 18th century inspired collection.