SOLE II SOLE: Davis by Ruthie Davis
In 2006, Long time fashion executive Ruthie Davis (helmed design reigns at Reebok, Tommy Hilfiger and Ugg Australia) introduced her own brand of handcrafted Italian-made shoes under the name Davis by Ruthie Davis. The collection is a high-style/high tech merging of the designer’s personal style - referencing architecture, modernism, and future technology with a lifelong love for 1960s Italian cinema and the larger than life heroines of childhood comic books. Her shoes are innovative in form, function and materials and always radiate a sexy elegance. —(from Designer’s Online Bio)
Styles Ahead Xtra: Susan Lee
Recent Parsons New School of Design graduate, Susan Jina Lee, is priming her place in sartorial heaven through her funtional and simple men’s knits and leathergoods. Although the 23 year old designer has yet to make a large scale impact, her attention to detail and classic color pallette will definitely speak to the man concerned with quality and transitional wares. The leather pieces (pictured after the break) made of pebbled lambskin and printed cow-hide, were inspired by the gears of a watch’s movement. Lee is on the cusp of something great…but only time will tell. —J. Dwayne Joseph
SOLE II SOLE: Reebok x Basquiat
Athletic footwear brand Reebok is paying tribute to the legacy of Jean-Michel Basquiat this fall with a capsule shoe collection. The trainers feature the prints of Basquiat’s most well known pieces—including his signature crown. Over two decades since his untimely death in 1988 (due to an accidental drug overdose) the neo-expressionist and graffiti artist has managed to remain a significant inspiration and reference in art and pop culture. Under the tutelage of the legendary Andy Warhol, Basquiat’s work found immense popularity throughout Europe and New York throughout the late 70’s and 80’s. Strong expressive lines, the black identity, skeletal figures and street life were trademark themes of his work. All of which are tastefully displayed on the shoes. This homage is nothing short of sublime. -J. Dwayne Joseph
Wale + Mark Ronson @ Hudson Hotel
Last night, Wednesday July 22, celebrities and underground music enthusiasts celebrated the first-ever SVEDKA VODKA SESSIONS, an emerging artist concert series presented by Giant Step, at Private Park at the Hudson Hotel. Hip-hop sensation and TRACE magazine favorite WALE performed in an intimate outdoor setting following a set by special guest DJ MARK RONSON. Partygoers were treated to specialty SVEDKA Vodka cocktails including the “Pink Ginger” as they enjoyed live music at sunset. TRACE was there and loved the show - Nigerian-born, DC-raised WALE’s energetic live performance rocked the crowd. His latest track, Chillin’, (a club-mix featuring Lady Gaga) is currently climbing the Billboard Top 40. Set to release his debut album “Attention:Deficit” in September, which features production from Dave Sitek, Justice, Kanye West, and Mark Ronson (he is signed to Ronson’s label, Allido Records), WALE mixes elements of hip-hop and rock with lyrical skill, fluidity and style.
Download free mixes from WALE straight off his website.
Check out the video from last night with WALE here!
-Courtesy of Morgans Hotel Group
The GOOD Music Family.
- Courtesy of Sigourney Salley
Frankie Finch: I’m Every Woman
Arranging a lunch interview with Frankie Finch on Sunset Boulevard seemed a like marvelous idea, save for one minor oversite: There’s no Sunset Boulevard in Brooklyn–at least not the sunny LA one we’re referring to! After a few minor schedule adjustments, I was able sit down and have a most pleasant, laughter filled phone interview with the one-woman empire herself–Frankie Finch.
Selah Says: Before I delve into questions about the Frankie Finch Empire: Who is Frankie Finch and where did you come from?
Frankie Finch: Frankie Finch grew up in Miami and LA. She’s an entrepreneur, a hustler, she’s a go-getter, she’s a creative queen—anything that has to do with creativity, music, and fashion, fused together—that’s what she is.
The Xylopholks go to India!
You’ve probably heard them in Union Square, or maybe on your way to grab a Hero sandwich in a bodega in Queens, or while waiting for the subway train in Brooklyn. Or maybe, if you’re not in the New York Metro area, you’ve watched their Youtube videos on repeat, caught a glimpse of them on MTV, or read the NYMag feature on their fashion sensibilities. They are The Xylopholks, a furry-costumed ragtime band who have been spotted all around town. These musicians aren’t just in it for a gag - they’re actually good. Very good. Led by virtuoso xylophonist Jon Singer, a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and Queens college, and Bridget Kearney, a graduate of the New England Conservatory, The Xylopholks are a troop of talented young musicians who Erik Bryan from The Morning News described as “an artistic assault on the sensory order of nitrous oxide… they are perfection”.
Singer, who spent time studying percussion in South India, is now headed back to India on a Fullbright Scholarship to perfect his (some would argue, already perfect) craft in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The Xylopholks will be touring Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, among other cities, in the Spring of 2010, and all of the insanity will be documented by award-winning filmmaker Martha Shane, and proudly sponsored by TRACE magazine!
In honor of their trip, our fun-loving, animal-costumed friends will be performing tomorrow, Tuesday, July 21st, at the HOUSE OF YES in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (342 Maujer St), in order to raise fun (and funds!) for their trip to India. I’ve seen them several times in concert, and the show they put on is amazing - the fact that they manage to beat out great tunes in 90 degree weather wearing thick, furry costumes is a talent alone.
The evening will feature Heather Masse, Tiger Lilies, Lady Circus, and of course, The Xylopholks. This is an event you don’t want to miss - plus, FREE BEER (sponsored by Colt 45)!
So come out to Williamsburg to support The Xylopholks and their India-bound adventuring (all in the name of good, quality, classical ragtime).
For more information on The Xylopholks, go to their website here .
French Connection
It’s Bastille Day and we’ve decided to celebrate one of France’s best and brightest. Manhattan-based Sylvie Guieysse, who has been living in the financial district with her husband Antoine Gervais, an executive at Moët Hennessy, for the past three years, launched her first Couture line in Paris, developing eight collections and crafting what she calls “a very personal style, a fusion of influences, bright colors, and geometric lines.” The buzz has been building at trade shows and at retailers like Nest Interiors in Chelsea and Home and Haven in Carroll Gardens for a couple of seasons, so we decided to sit with the self-proclaimed “happy seamstress” for a chat about inspiration and travel.
TRACE: How did you get interested in world cultures?
When I was five years-old, my parents bought me an atlas and it was a shock; a feeling that the world is a huge place, with so many places and people to discover. When you get to meet a lot of people, you realize how ancestral fabrics are part of people’s lives, and how they allow them to express their emotions. For instance, a sari will be very different if the fabric is chosen for a wedding or for everyday life. When I was eight years-old, I told my nanny, who was from Portugal, that I loved the color purple. She was surprised, and said that in Portugal, purple is the color for mourning. It was the first time I realized that colors had different meanings for different people. Also, my grandmother was a seamstress, and I learned from her how to choose a good fabric, and identify, through emotion and training, how a fabric should feel and whether it would be soft enough and so on. My grandmother is very detail-oriented, and my mother, who used to paint a lot when she was younger, would explain to me, in graphic detail, the beauty that could be extracted from the orange color in the sky. In my work now, I get attracted to colors that bring back some of these visual cues that appeal to me. I never try to create something weird, just beautiful objects that I like.
TRACE: How do you see your work evolving over the next few years?
Recently, I’ve been thinking about going back to fashion and making clothes, but pillows, and table linens and tapestries are keeping me quite busy at the moment.
For more information, go to http://www.sylvie-pillows.com
Interview Claude Grunitzky
Photography Mikaela Gauer
MWM Lives in a “Parallel Universe”
If you are not familiar with the prolific work of Matt W. Moore (MWM Graphics), maybe it is about time that you get acquainted. Truth be told, you have probably unknowingly seen his work before. You were probably momentarily arrested by the intensity of what can only be the called - the sheerest form of “Vectorfunk”.
To write about all the work that has been done to this point would require at the very least a full 24 hour, non-stop sit down conversation. But by all means, if you feel so compelled, you should visit his site and get a glimpse of his work that has garnered a continual stream of accolades, interviews, and nods of approval from the world of art & design. And it is true that his work has pretty much been seen on every corner of the globe. From his annual limited edition art books, to all the signature Vectorfunk merchandise available to his dedicated & new followers, Matt has made himself into a veritable solo, one-stop shop of marketable creative genius.
Insider: Crystal Streets Sets Trends
Everyone had a fitted cap, a throwback jersey and a white t-shirt. Therefore, everyone followed stylist Crystal Streets. An urban culture was based off a Crystal’s imaging work with Jay-Z. “I think that period of time was so surreal. I didn’t realize the impact I had on setting trends at that time. I was so passionate, young and hungry. I didn’t realize at the time how much influence we had over our audience. It was definitely a great time in my life! It molded who I am as a stylist today“
Creating a culture with her style as a nucleus, Crystal began to expand her style, giving credit to Vivienne Westwood’s designs as her main muse. “I’m a huge fan of the designer- the femininity, the structure, the fabrics… love it!” She also finds inspiration through her world travels with various artists. “Europe is so much more fashion forward than the US and has so much fashion history. The richness of their culture definitely translates through their style and fashion.”
Tokyo is one of her favorite places to find inspiration. She notes a tiny district called Shibuya where the women are undeniably styled with a mix of so many different elements (socks, jewelry, different patterns). Her high-street style is created through a mix of elements from Century 21, Dolce and Gabanna, Vivienne Westwood, Martin Margiela, Pucci and Valentina. Currently, Cyrstal is working on her own jewelry line- LyraLoveStar, a very celestial and inspirational line designed for young women to follow their dreams. Having people follow her vision seems like no huge task.
Get in line…
- Courtesy of Syreeta Lockett