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See a New Clip From the Upcoming Amy Winehouse Documentary

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In a new clip from the controversial upcoming Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy, her manager describes the singer's early hesitation to call herself a songwriter, despite her obvious ability to write poetry. We also get a glimpse at hand-written lyrics for her song, "Cherry." Out July 3rd in the UK (with a US release date coming later), the documentary from BAFTA-winning director Asif Kapaida has not gotten the support of the Winehouse family, who told the Guardianlast month that the "film contains some basic untruths....There are specific allegations made against family and management that are unfounded and unbalanced." Watch the trailer for Amy here.

[Via Pitchfork]



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My Fall Fashion Favorites

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The world may be mired in Chinese aesthetics at this moment in time but I noticed a few other vibes for fall that I thought were really good and worth noting.


EVERYONE'S MAD FOR PLAID
Marc Jacobs, Public School, Simone Rocha, Chanel, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger


STRIPPED
Proenza Schouler, Suno, Proenza Schouler, Dior


FRINGE-Y
KTZ, Gareth Pugh, Tom Ford


FASHION ARMOR
Lanvin, Iris van Herpen, Claudia Li, Hood By Air, Fendi, Gareth Pugh


CAPES
Versace, Junya Watanabe, Marc Jacobs, Marc Jacobs, Duro Olowu, Gareth Pugh


PUFFERS
Fendi, Gareth Pugh, Moschino


SEEING RED EVERYWHERE
Junya Watanabe, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Gucci, Gucci, Valentino


(BLUE) DENIM DELUXE
Moschino, Tom Ford


GREEN WITH TEXTURE
Prada, Dior, Kenzo


BOLD AND GRAPHIC
(1, 2, 3) all Versace, (4, 5, 6) all Valentino


THE SHE-MAN
Chanel, Thom Browne, Ralph Lauren


FEMME AND FLORAL
Suno, Dries Van Noten

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Let Clean Bandit's Remix of Rae Morris'"Love Again" Kickstart Your Weekend

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UK singer-songwriter and pianist Rae Morris has been getting steady buzz ever since Zane Lowe christened her track "Closer" his "Hottest Record in the World." The dance-pop singer, whose sound evokes contemporaries like Kiesza or Marina and the Diamonds, just came out with a new EP, Skin, and we're pumped to be premiering a remix of album track "Love Again" by British electro-orchestral foursome Clean Bandit. The group, who won a Grammy this year for their smash "Rather Be" ft. Jess Glynne, off their debut album New Eyes, add a pulsing beat and house-y synths to the ballad and, according to member Jack Patterson, some midi saxophone.

This isn't the first time they've all worked together. "Rae and I wrote 'Up Again' together last year and she is featured on the song on our album," Patterson tells us. "We've been in love with her voice ever since, and it was really exciting to remix this track. I love the original, and had a lot of fun contrasting her pure angel tones with my nasty midi saxophone." For her part, Morris says that she "love[s] what Jack has done with the chorus melody...Part of me wonders why I didn't do that in the first place!"

Give the track a listen above and let it sweep you into the weekend.


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A$AP Rocky Premieres a New Song Ft. Miguel, Mark Ronson...and Rod Stewart (Huh?)

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At a lecture last night for the Red Bull Music Academy, A$AP Rocky premiered a new track, "Everyday," and it's got quite the interesting set of collaborators. Mark Ronson, Miguel and Rod Stewart(?!) all appear on the song, which will be on Rocky's upcoming album A.L.L.A. The song opens with Stewart's trademark huskiness from his 1972 track, "In a Broken Dream," before veering into a hip-hop jam anchored by Rocky's slick flow, Miguel's smooth crooning and Ronson's church music-in-outer space production. Give it a listen, above.

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"If You're Reading This It's Art": Everything We Saw and Heard at Last Night's Art Openings (Incl. Drake)

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BFA_12224_1505960.jpgArt x Fashion, Art x Music, Art x Celebrity -- we're no longer surprised by collaborations happening across genres. Last night's art events were a kickoff to the intermingling of species that usually come with NYC Art Week, which begins with Frieze fair opening next Thursday. In Chelsea, openings brought select crowds, but an eerily low energy. The buttoned-up Upper Manhattanites at Morgan Lehman's Kim McCarty show were content to be in one place, observing her beautifully delicate large scale watercolor portraits and playing on the hand-crafted dominoes table, part of Edra Soto and Dan Sullivan's exhibit in the back room. Yancey Richardson Gallery drew a younger crowd showing Matthew Jensen's Instagram-ready photography focused on images of the sun, either reflected on water from an aerial view or blaring out in a white heat. The room felt hotter too -- it matched the imagery, yes, but also increased the sluggishness of an already quiet Thursday night. Where was everyone?

It only took two subway transfers and a 15 minute walk to find out where the art world elite were hiding. Across the island and 50 blocks up, Sotheby's S|2 gallery had created the ultimate concoction of art world collaborations: a large group show of many iconic African American artists, from Basquiat to Kehinde Wiley to Kara Walker, with a soundtrack curated by the one and only Drake (and, like seemingly every other party in this city these days, sponsored by Beats by Dre). With individual headphones next to the artworks, I Like It Like This allows the viewer to experience both the visual and auditory in a clash between high brow auction house art and hip-hop music chosen by a contemporary rap star. A regal Kehinde Wiley portrait pulses with power when paired with ASAP Rocky's "Multiply"; Nick Cave's vibrant soundsuit seems like it could have never existed without the corresponding sounds of Kendrick Lamar's "Fuck your Ethnicity." Whatever Drake's prior knowledge of art may be, his curated sounds are, surprisingly, as powerful as the works themselves. So much that you can almost imagine him alone with each piece, listening intently to the art for inspiration, perhaps shedding a signature Drake tear.

BFA_12224_1505957.jpgBetye Saar and Drake

At last night's opening, however, there was little opportunity for the attendees to listen intimately to the sounds he'd so carefully chosen. Who can be bothered by art when the deity himself is right there in the room? When Drake arrived to his own opening, a bubble of body guards moving around him, and it all made sense: this is why you travel all the way over to the last avenue on the Upper East Side (that and for the mini tacos and mac and cheese squares being served). Vashtie, who Drake handpicked to DJ the event, played similar tunes as those on the headphones, but the intimacy of the one-on-one art/sound experience was gone. Club kids, gallerists, rappers like Swizz Beatz, an absurd amount of people in wide-brim hats, and buzzy photographers and artists like Michael Avedon and Jeanette Hayes milled around waiting for Drake to do something. Sometimes he'd go look at a piece of art and whisper something to his friend bubble, sometimes he'd take a picture with a fan.

But mostly, Drake just stood at the DJ booth in his white denim jacket looking very sad. Was he upset that no one was listening to his hand picked art sounds? Was he missing his Instagram girlfriend? At one point a small woman with long grey hair came over and touched his arm, the body guards miraculously parting for her entrance. It was the artist Betye Saar, whose piece, Birth of the Blues, was featured in the show. Drake bent down and gave her a hug, smiling for what could have been the first time all night. Maybe he wasn't sad, maybe he was just bored.

Photos by Madison McGaw/BFA.com


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Watch Tina Fey Strip Down to Her Shapewear For David Letterman

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Tina Fey made her 20th, and final,  appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman last night and really brought the heat. After Letterman tells her she looks wonderful, Fey reveals that this will be the last time she wears a fancy dress on a late-night talk show, and that she's always made a special effort to get dressed for Dave alone.  And apparently this goes for the personalized "Bye Dave" shapewear Fey's wearing under her fitted dress, which she strips down to for a special send-off. It's awesome.

Letterman's final Late Show show airs May 20th.

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Done to Death's Chris Black Has Some Advice For Know-It-Alls Who Don't Know It All

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Screen Shot 2015-05-08 at 1.56.56 PM.pngWe live in strange times, in which non-famous people with sizable Instagram followings are hired as spokespeople by brands, the nauseating term "influencer" is everywhere and "network" continues to flourish as a verb. Perhaps no one is more familiar with this moment than Chris Black, founder of the consulting firm and publishing company Done to Death Projects as well as the well-read men's fashion-wear blog Words for Young Men. Getting his start in Atlanta's music scene before moving to New York and consulting for brands, Black has been in the trenches of social media and the "personal brand" long enough to know exactly how not to behave, both online and off. His new book, I Know You Think You Know It All, is a quasi-etiquette guide for people "who refuse to admit what they don't know." Its 414 tips range from the common sensical ("Never get a logo tattooed on your body") to the more advanced ("Don't ever use the word 'curate' when mentioning your social media accounts"). Black, who delivers these lessons with tongue firmly planted in cheek -- the first tip is "don't take yourself too seriously" and the last is "nobody likes a know-it-all" -- took our call to elaborate on a few of our favorite pieces of advice from the book. He'll be discussing it further at BookSoup in Los Angeles this Saturday; check the flyer below for details. 

"There's nothing worse than a rich guy who loves nerd culture."

I've kind of listened to a lot of podcasts and stuff. I just can't handle the Nerdist guys talking about, "Oh, I was at Comic Con and blah blah..." You know what I mean? It's like, "Dude, shut the fuck up. You're rich. Shouldn't that buy you some taste at some point?" I listen to that podcast fairly often 'cause they have crazy guests, and they were very early in podcasting and I will give much respect to that, but the Star Wars, Comic Con, Avengers stuff? That's the least-cool shit in the entire world. I hate it. I was listening to another podcast, Girl on Guy, with Aisha Tyler and she had Daughtry, from American Idol as a guest. He's like this Americana rock guy, but it was very similar. He goes, "All I wanna do is be a comic book artist." And I'm thinking, "What the fuck are you talking about? You're already a somewhat successful musician." I just don't understand that.

"Sending work emails late at night makes you seem like a crazy person."


If I get an email at 3 a.m. and it's not from someone on the West Coast, I'm like, "What are you doing? It could've waited." Nothing I'm doing, nothing that anyone in this office is doing, is urgent enough for that. We're not saving lives. I think New York specifically breeds some of that: people think that what they're doing is very, very important. And that can be a good thing, but I also think there's a line. If you get up at 8 a.m. and send that email, it's probably better than doing it at 3 a.m. It also just burns people out to get those emails. Let's say you get an email at 1 a.m. and you're at a bar. Like, really motherfucker? Because then you feel responsible -- you feel like you need to respond right then. And I pride myself on being a very fast email responder, but not with that kind of shit. I draw the line.

"Only do karaoke in a small room with people you know."


I mean, I think everybody can agree with that. I went to a karaoke place in Chinatown recently for an engagement party, and it was awful because there were no rooms -- just a regular shitty bar with somebody singing very loudly, very badly. The fun of karaoke, if you find that fun, which I don't, is to be in a room where the door closes and you can do whatever the fuck you want. That's kind of the whole point.

"Not everyone can be an 'influencer.'"
 
The Internet is just breeding monsters out there. I don't want to live in a world where things are based on social media numbers as opposed to skill or quality of work. But that's what happens: "Oh, you've got half a million followers on Instagram? We're gonna pay you this much money." And that's all it is. None of it matters. I think it takes a very certain kind of person to have that level of Kardashian-like engagement. Someone whose followers will say, "I'll buy it if you say so!" That's not really a reality.

"Talk on the phone in public as little as possible."

I was just going nuts on a plane. My wife and I were sitting behind this woman, and as soon as we landed, she's on the phone. And I'm a loud person. I have a deep, loud voice. She was screaming. And it was about the most unimportant shit you can think of. I just don't understand that -- you can't wait 15 minutes? Ten minutes? It's just an etiquette issue. I don't talk on the phone in public. I don't even answer my phone in the office. I share an office with two people, and I'll go outside if I absolutely have to take a call.

"Try not to be overly concerned with networking. Definitely don't throw the term around."

It's crazy because it's an acceptable thing to talk about. Why can't you just meet somebody and like them? Maybe something comes of it -- maybe it doesn't. I don't understand the necessity to make it a thing. The "meet-up" is the lamest thing in the fucking world. I love meeting people. But I've never had to call it anything or make a more serious effort to go do it. It's like speed-dating or something. It's just a strange, forced thing.

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Watch Zebra Katz X Leila's Fiery New Video for "You Tell Em"

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"Tell these bitches not to fuck with me,"Zebra Katz growls over a pounding bass from the London-based producer Leila in his new video for "You Tell Em." And, watching Katz spit on a mountain of volcanic ash flanked by a cadre of glowering, fire-spraying women, it seems doubtful any bitches will be fucking with him in the near future. Part of of his Nu Renegade collaborative EP with Leila, out now, "You Tell Em" is the perfect anthem for going hard this weekend.

[Via Fader]

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Inside Artists Space's Massive New Tom of Finland Show

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The name Touko Laaksonen might not mean anything to you but the Finnish artist’s alias "Tom of Finland" is synonymous the world over with the muscle-bound gay hunks in skin-tight denim that were the artist’s trademark.

This summer, Artists Space is hosting Tom of Finland: The Pleasure of Play, the first-ever comprehensive show of Finland’s work including collages, gouaches, and childhood drawings along with a cavalcade of the x-rated drawings that have made the artist a legend. Artists Space is also selling a custom Tom of Finland t-shirt by 2015 Paper beautiful people Eckhaus Latta. Laaksonen, who studied advertising and worked at the ad agency McCann Erickson until the '70s, was a fascinating character who bonded with another gay icon, Robert Mapplethorpe. It was the American photographer who helped Laaksonen get his first gallery show in America in 1980. Now nearly 25 years after his death, Tom of Finland is getting the retrospective treatment his legendary status demands.

Preview images from the show below, which is open June 14th through August 23rd.




Tom of Finland
Untitled>, 1947
Gouache on paper
11.38 x 8.13 inches
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles







Tom of Finland
Untitled, 1953
Graphite on paper
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles


Tom of Finland
Untitled, 1962
Graphite on paper
11.63 x 8.25 inches
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles


Tom of Finland
Untitled, 1967
Graphite on paper
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles


Tom of Finland
Untitled, 1967
Graphite on paper
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles


Tom of Finland
Untitled, 1975
Gouache on paper
10.5 x 8.5 inches
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles


Tom of Finland
Untitled, 1976
Graphite on paper
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles


Tom of Finland
Untitled, 1985
Graphite on paper
11.75 x 8.25 inches
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles


Tom of Finland
Untitled, ca. 1975
Mixed media on paper
11.63 x 8.25 inches
Courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles


Eckhaus Latta x Tom of Finland
Artists Space T-shirt Edition
$100
Available at Artists Space Books & Talks, 55 Walker Street
Photography by Peter Tomka

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Watch Lana Del Rey Perform Unreleased Track "Serial Killer"

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Last night, Lana Del Rey kicked off her Endless Summer tour (featuring Courtney Love and, at later dates, Grimes) in The Woodlands, TX and she had a few surprises in store for the crowd. During her set, she performed unreleased track called 'Serial Killer' -- a song she recorded in 2012. The video, taken by a fan, captures Lana's angelic vocals over a mostly silent crowd. Her fourth album, Honeymoon, is due in August but until then catch Lana in a city near you for her tour, which ends in West Palm Beach, FL on June 16th. Watch the performance above and listen to the recorded version of 'Serial Killer' below. 

 

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The Best, Worst and Weirdest of the Week

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Most Touching Mother-to-Daughter Mother's Day Gift: Tina Knowles' Open Letter for Time. Mama Knowles wrote an open letter addressing her "four incredible daughters" Solange, Kelly Rowland, Angie, and Beyoncé and it's one big heart explosion. -- Tené Young

houseofvans.pngBest Countdown to Summer:
House of Vans' Almost Summer shows. After seriously the worst winter ever, it seems like we're officially out of the woods and Spring is here to stay. House of Vans is helping us count down to summer and savor these glorious few weeks that aren't humid as hell with an Almost Summer concert series. The whole shebang kicks off this weekend with the Julie Ruin, Bleached and Youth Code and goes through June 13th, with headliners Parquet Courts, Pusha T and more. -- Elizabeth Thompson 

THIS. 😍😍😍

A photo posted by Rob Allen (@modaonline_rob) on


Best Met Gala Meme: This one featuring Sarah Jessica Parker and Rihanna. --T.Y.

Screen Shot 2015-05-08 at 6.38.21 PM.pngNon-Costume Institute Fashion Exhibit of the Week: The new Chanel No. 5 exhibit that opened earlier this week on Tenth Ave. and 14th St. in Manhattan. Open from noon-8pm, the exhibit is an ode to the iconic fragrance and will pay homage to the scent's floral notes by giving out flowers to mothers on Sunday as a Mother's Day treat. -- Abby Schreiber


Best "Did That Really Happen?" Moment of the Week: Anna Wintour's 'Comedy Icon' sketch on Late Night with Seth Meyers. The Vogue editor-in-chief and fashion icon made an unexpected cameo in a sketch with the late night host poking fun at herself. The rumored ice queen became the queen of comedy and was, dare we say, funny! -- T.Y.

Screen Shot 2015-05-08 at 6.42.29 PM.pngDesign Porn of the Week:Wes Anderson's new café in Milan, which is basically a fever dream of mid-century modern Italian design. -- A.S.


Best Way to Say "I Love You Mom": Cam'ron's Mother's Day cards. Cam'ron is expanding his entrepreneur skills by producing his own line of greeting cards. The rapper created his version of Mother's Day cards featuring his own mom. Hallmark better step it up! -- T.Y.

mommie5.gifCampiest Way to Celebrate Mother's Day in NYC:
Hanging out at the W New York - Downtown. The hotel is tipping their hats to Mommie Dearest by having drag queens recreate some of the movie's most memorable scenes for guests and visitors. -- A.S.

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Coolest Graffiti of the Week: Ren & Stimpy Mural. Street artist JerkFace created this mural of the popular '90s animated characters outside of Grandma Rose's Pizza in Brooklyn, NY -- T.Y.

Screen Shot 2015-05-08 at 6.58.37 PM.pngPhoto by Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

Best Reason to Start Giving Yourself At-Home Manicures: The New York Times'devastating two-part investigative series on the abysmal work environments nail salon employees endure in New York City. From working long hours for little or no wages to experiencing dire health problems from chemicals in various acrylic nail treatments, the series should be read by anyone who goes for mani/pedis within the five boroughs. The Times also has a list of questions to ask your local manicurist to help determine if the salon you're going to is ethical. -- E.T.


Jam of the Week: Azealia Banks, Gucci Mane and Quavo's remix of Fetty Wap's "Trap Queen."-- A.S.
 

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Listen to Prince's New Song for Baltimore

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Prince has released a bouyant new track for the people of Baltimore, where he's playing a "Rally 4 Peace" concert tomorrow that will stream on Tidal.

"Baltimore," according to its description on SoundCloud, was recorded at Paisley Park and features Prince on all instruments with additional vocals by Eryn Ellen Kane.

Listen to the track below and read the lyrics, via Pitchfork and Jezebel.




NOBODY GOT IN NOBODY'S WAY   
SO EYE GUESS U COULD SAY      
IT WAS A GOOD DAY     
AT LEAST A LITTLE BETTER THAN THE DAY IN BALTIMORE     

DOES ANYBODY HEAR US PRAY?     
4 MICHAEL BROWN OR FREDDIE GRAY
PEACE IS MORE THAN THE ABSENCE OF WAR     
ABSENCE OF WAR     
R WE GONNA C ANOTHER BLOODY DAY?     

WE'RE TIRED OF CRYIN'& PEOPLE DYIN'     
LET'S TAKE ALL THE GUNS AWAY     
ABSENCE OF WAR- U AND ME     
MAYBE WE CAN FINALLY SAY     
ENUFF IS ENUFF IT'S TIME 4 LOVE     
IT'S TIME 2 HEAR,     
IT'S TIME 2 HEAR     
THE GUITAR PLAY! (guitar solo)

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The Sunday Funnies

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Kids hook their moms up to lie detectors and ask them questions about sex and drugs. The "....and coke" mom is our favorite.  [TastefullyOffensive]


The cast of Saturday Night Live apologized to their moms for the awful things they did as kids and it was very sweet.

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Where does the time go?? [Mlkshk]



Nicklegraph. [FYouNoFMe]

144QE.gifDivine. [Mlkshk]

tumblr_ncc3vfaNtr1qzn5n8o1_1280.jpgUnfortunate. [AfternoonSnoozeButton]


In case you missed it, here's Tina Fey stripping down to her Spanx as a special send-off for David Letterman.
 tumblr_ng14chWNXa1rsxqqio1_500.jpgWhere is the lie? [FYouNoFMe]

tumblr_no18zgn4ea1qhvrzyo1_1280.pngThe Guardian's politics page has been so dark lately. [LaughterKey]


The narrator of this video comes close to ruining the whole thing, but here's a delightful clip of a male orangutan who is now a surrogate mom to some tiger cubs.
 
tumblr_no0z4oqRKx1r1kbq4o1_500.pngAn Ultron never tells! [AfternoonSnoozeButton]

144OL.gifMom game strong. [Mlkshk]

tumblr_ninl02ptAG1qzn0kbo1_400.gifAnd Kathie Lee was never the same. [TheClearlyDope]

1459V.jpgWhen Ophelia is being a total b. [Mlkshk]

tumblr_nntyybjctc1qep5zro1_500.jpgHappy Mother's Day! [AfternoonSnoozeButton]

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The Kid in Mark Ronson and Mystikal's New Video for "Feel Right" Is Spectacular

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It's never fun to creak your way into Monday, but Mark Ronson has us covered this morning with the delightful new video for "Feel Right," featuring Mystikal, off of Uptown Special. The video features a little boy lip syncing the track at a school talent show -- this kid is a tornado of charisma and just dethroned the girl from the "Work It" video as Cutest Scene-Stealing Child in a Music Video Ever  -- and includes cameos from Florence Henderson, Bruno Mars, Ronson and Mystikal. Watch above.

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Tommy Hilfiger On His Punk Roots and Starting From the Bottom

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What do you wear to meet Tommy Hilfiger, the fashion legend who this year celebrates the 30th anniversary of his all-American brand? (Needless to say, he was the guy I had to talk to for our American Dream issue.) I chose a navy polo covered in nautical flags as a nod to the man who made the preppy look cool. Hilfiger arrived to the Palm Court in the Plaza Hotel, fresh from the opening of his second Paris location, in a chic navy blue suit -- a far cry from the rock 'n' roll stylings of his early days in upstate New York. Nibbling on an egg-salad sandwich (me) and a bagel and lox (Tommy), we had a great chat about Hilfiger's history, his musical tastes and even his tattoos.

Do you feel like you are the American Dream?

I've been so lucky. Growing up in a large family in small-town Elmira, New York, my parents didn't have a lot of money. My brothers and sisters and I had to work from a young age. I worked in a sporting-goods store when I was 14. I worked in a gas station, and I had a newspaper route before that. I didn't know what I really wanted to do, but I did have a dream to be successful someday.

What inspired you to go into retail?

In high school I started listening to the Beatles, the Stones, Hendrix and the Who. I wanted to be a musician but I couldn't sing or play the guitar, so I really wanted to look like a rock star. I grew my hair really long and I started wearing bell-bottoms and really cool clothes. It was the late '60s.

Did anyone else work this look in Elmira?

A couple friends and I were the only ones. We were the weirdos. We took a summer off and went to Cape Cod, where I worked in a boutique selling candles, incense, posters. When we came back to school, we were wearing hip-huggers, wide belts, fringe vests -- really cool, fun stuff. So we decided to open our own shop. We all put our money together, bought about 20 pairs of bell-bottoms on St. Mark's Place and opened a small shop we called People's Place. Our rent was $50 a month. We painted it black, burned incense, played rock music and set up shop. I kept thinking that if some of the jeans we were buying from manufacturers and the streets had an extra pocket, if they were a little bit more faded, had some more studs or fringe or patches, they would be better. So I started sketching, and I thought, This is really fun. I hired local seamstresses to make clothes for me. I heard about Halston and Bill Blass and thought, That's what I want to do. My parents and everyone I knew said, "You have to go to design school. You need money and connections. There's no way you could do that." And I said, "I know I can."

How old were you then?

I'd just graduated from high school. My parents wanted me to go to college. I went for a semester and dropped out. I hated it, and my store was doing really well. So I opened more stores on college campuses. I created a whole line of clothes and put them in my stores. Then I sold my business, moved to New York City and started designing clothes. I started Tommy Hilfiger in '85. By that time, the hippie trend had come and gone and I was designing for a company in California, so I was spending some time in L.A. I decided to redesign all the preppy clothes that I'd been brought up wearing that I hated. You know -- boring khakis and ill-fitting button-down shirts. I decided to redesign all the classics.

That's still kind of what you do: this dichotomy between rock 'n' roll and preppy.

I think you can be preppy rock 'n' roll, preppy surfer, preppy biker, preppy sporty, preppy minimalist. You could be preppy in many different ways, because preppy really in a sense means classic. I have done that for 30 years now. 


When did you stop dressing like a hippie? 

I came to New York every week in the '70s to buy new items for my stores. My business partner and I used to go to Max's Kansas City to see Lou Reed, David Bowie, the New York Dolls, Patti Smith... We saw this whole scene happening, and then we went to CBGB's during the punk days and the whole selection in my store went from hippie to punk. 

Did your personal wardrobe get more punk?


Absolutely. 

I want photos!

But then Studio 54 opened and we would go four nights a week. Then it went from punk to glam and disco. It was tighter, cleaner jeans, sleeker, chicer, more dressed-up fashion. 

Is the word "American" part of your DNA?

It means something different now than it meant years ago. Because our business is global, we're transporting America around the globe. We're loved in India, China, Europe, Turkey, Greece and Central and South America. I really believe in what I call "F.A.M.E.": Fashion, Art, Music, Entertainment. That was what Andy Warhol was about -- bringing celebrity, entertainment, sports, artists and fashion people all together and creating pop culture.

I loved your last fabulous show: the football extravaganza. Do you feel like the show is more important than ever?


I think it's important to keep the halo over the brand. Our business outside the US is much, much bigger, so during Fashion Week New York, editors come from all over the world and want to see the show. And I want to give them a show. Every season we think, "What do we want to do next that still has a connection to our DNA?"


Now let's get onto something really superficial. Do you watch Real Housewives or any reality shows?


I don't watch it regularly, but if I'm flipping through the channels and if I see the Housewives of Beverly Hills, I'll sit and watch for a while.

What sign are you? 

I'm an Aries. We're opposite on the spectrum, but we do get along. 

Opposites attract. In other news, I've seen pictures of your son; he has a lot of tattoos. Do you have any?

[pointing to each shoulder] One here and one here. A couple of years ago my son Rich, who was a tattoo fanatic, said, "You don't like tattoos, do you?" I said, "I like them, but not for me." We went to a tattoo place and he said, "Come on, Dad, just do a small one." So I did.

And how did you pick what to do?

My kids' initials and my wife's name.

Aw. You want to get more or are you done?

Not unless I tattoo my eyebrows and my hairline. Just a joke!

THilfiger_Hand.jpg

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Saint Laurent Star Gaspard Ulliel On Playing a Dark Genius

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DSC02403.jpgGaspard Ulliel is one of those actors who can lose himself completely in a character, often becoming uncertain of where he ends and the other begins. So it makes sense that you might not immediately recognize him from role to role in such films like A Very Long Engagement, Paris, je t'aime, Hannibal Rising and, most recently, in the Yves Saint Laurent biopic in which he stars as the late designer. His preternatural good looks can also be found splashed across billboards for Chanel or covering some of the biggest fashion magazines in the industry. But don't let the pretty -- and malleable -- face fool you, Gaspard is a gifted talent on the cusp of breaking out stateside with this newest part. We had the chance to speak to the actor about his new movie and hear about what it was like to portray a fashion legend.

After shooting a film like Saint Laurent, do you ever feel like a character's personality or traits start to become your own?

After a shoot, you just want to move on and take a breath of fresh air. Especially when it's a part like [Yves Saint Laurent] that is very demanding and very intense. But I think some of the experiences of the character are still here inside of me in some small part of my mind, I'm just not conscious of it. During the entire shoot, I would come back home at night with this fear of actually losing some part of the character, so I would just try to stay as close as possible to it and really focused the entire time.

Was that hard?

Pretty hard, yeah, but also great because it's such a complex and rich character to portray. It's not only an iconic figure, but also a very interesting and complex human being. Pierre Bergé, his lover, used to talk about him as someone who was born depressed, and it's true. It's a totally different way of experiencing things. I think it was important to show his dark side and to uncover his neuroses, insecurities, doubts, delusions. Because that's what made him what he is, and that's what made him great, in a way.

Part of being a genius is nothing's ever enough.

You're always just seeking more.

And perfection.

Yeah, it's perfection, but you can never really achieve it. And in the end, it's also about trying to find your own true self. That's what Yves Saint Laurent said in his famous speech when he decided to retire. He said that he understood that, in the end, life is about this one very important encounter -- when you actually meet with who you really are. What I liked in this film is it's not just a straightforward biopic in the way you would expect it to be. It's more like an odyssey into the mind of a tortured, creative artist. As the film progresses, we go deeper and deeper into his mind. So for me, it was very daunting and very exciting to portray. In the specific decade we focus on, it was both the peak of his career and the peak of his emotional journey. It's also this specific moment where he had this affair, or love story, with Jacques de Bascher. I think this man changed a lot of things in his life and also in his creations. It showed how emotions and art are inextricably linked.

That's what struck me most about the film -- it made this icon into a real person, and a deeply flawed one.

I think one of the aims was to try to get people moved by this man and his flaws. But also, we never wanted to go so far as to actually explain his neuroses, his insecurities. It's not about explaining how he became like this. When you talk about such an icon, you just want the mystery to remain, and I think Bertrand Bonello, the director, achieved that. When you watch the film, you spend two and a half hours in a very intimate relationship with this character and after you exit the screening room the mystery is even bigger. You have to fill in the gaps.

Did you know much about Saint Laurent before you took this role?

Well, I thought I knew a lot, but I ended up discovering a lot of things on his life and his work preparing for the role. One important step in my research was to try to understand what that period [1967-1976] was really about. So many things were changing, the way of living, the way of enjoying life differently and fully, it's just after [the student protests in] May '68. It implies a lot of things and it affected a lot of his creations, too. In the end, what I realized working on this movie is that Saint Laurent's greatest talent was to actually be able to seize the essence of an era and respond to it in his fashion.

Do you have a favorite design?

I really like the first collection we show in the film, the "Liberation" collection, which was a small scandal at that time. It was the first time someone really showed a woman in such a provocative way, very erotic. Today, you can see everything [on the runway] and here it's just suggested, but it's way more powerful. This freedom he gave to women in his clothes was also very provocative at that time, making women very strong and powerful. It's another take on feminism. He was the first one to think about clothes for women that they could wear to go to work, or to walk in the street, or to even go in a club at night. Just to have pockets for the first time!

Did you do anything different to prepare for this role from what you've done in the past?

It actually changed the way I now consider the entire process of preparing for a role. I tried to do a lot of research, learn everything about this man, but at some point, I felt I was buried under facts and details. That's when I decided to change direction and step back from reality to clear some space where I could fantasize about the character and reinvent my own version of this man. That's when I realized a big part of my work was to actually go dig inside my own memories, my own life, my own emotions and inject it in my performance so that it would feel more truthful and real. In the end, that's what cinema is about. It's about seeking the truth through artifice and lies. It's a big challenge to actually be portraying such an iconic figure that just passed away very recently. It's someone who's still very present in the collective memory and I knew there would be a lot of expectations.

Did you feel any anxiety about those expectations?

Yeah, of course! But part of my job was to actually go through this process, this journey that allowed me to free myself from that pressure and those expectations. To be able to make it mine.

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Marilyn Manson Is "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" In His New Video

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Though Marilyn Manson is known for wearing a pentagram ring in his daily life and is a member of the Church of Satan, he shrugs off suggestions that he's an actual Satanist. Our Spring Issue cover star recently told us, "I may have this ring, but Satanism, shit like that, it's whatever." This ambivalence, however,  hasn't stopped Manson from continuing to take creative inspiration from the dark side. The new black and white video for his Pale Emperor single "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles," directed by Francesco Carrozzini, opens with Michael K. Williams as our Faustian narrator and shows Manson presiding over his various disciples of the damned all without smearing his MAC Diva lipstick. Watch above.


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Hear a New Song By Mac DeMarco, "The Way You'd Love Her"

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Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 2.52.48 PM.pngCanadian cigarette-loving big kid Mac DeMarco has a new album out this summer, Another One, and just shared opening track, "The Way You'd Love Her." With the fuzzy, hula-sounding chords and Mac's lilting voice, it's the kind of track that'll make you want to crack a can of Budweiser and zonk out with friends on the beach.

Another One will comes out on August 7th via Captured Tracks and you can catch Mac at Webster Hall on Tuesday, August 18th.


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Our Mega Guide to all the Fun at Frieze New York

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We hope you're well rested, because this is one incredible week for art fans in New York City.  The FRIEZE art fair has been building momentum for the past three years, and this year's edition on Randall's Island won't disappoint.  Plus there are tons of satellite fairs -- including an "invasion" of our turf by the folks from Art Miami -- and gallery openings, auctions, pop-ups and much more.

10168c4eddbc0ae503e4dc07366af2ee4c92e650.jpgFRIEZE New York opens for "invite only" VIPs and collectors on Wednesday, May 13th, and then it's open to the public for four days starting on the 14th.  Over 190 galleries are exhibiting in 2015 and, as usual, there are cool side-projects including a "Tribute to Flux-Labyrinth 1976/2015" where contemporary artists will construct a maze of narrow corridors and obstructed spaces for you to explore.  Elsewhere, look for several "clandestine rooms" by Aki Sasamoto and "underground environments" by Samara Golden.  If you need to chill after these mysterious challenges, look for one of the free massage chairs placed around the venue by Korakit Arunanondchai.  There are also daily talks including one called "Ask Jerry" with New York Magazine's art critic Jerry Saltz on Saturday at noon and a talk-show panel hosted by the artist/comedian and 2015 Paper Beautiful Person Casey Jane Ellison on Friday at noon.  A single day ticket is $44 and the hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, except Sunday, when things shut down at 6 p.m. The full schedule is HERE.

Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 4.18.21 PM.pngMaripola X

For the first time, the folks behind Art Miami - that city's longest running art fair -- will host a New York spin-off on Pier 94 (12th Avenue at 55th Street) with over 100 galleries showing works from May 14th (VIP Preview) to May 17th.  FRIEZE VIP cardholders get in free and there's also a courtesy shuttle service from the FRIEZE ferry dock on East 35th Street.  It's open from noon to 8 p.m. daily, except Sunday until 6 p.m. A single day ticket is $25.  On Saturday, May 16th, 3 to 6 p.m., photographer and designer, Maripol, will sign copies of her limited-edition book MARIPOLA X  in booth #B19.  The book includes unreleased photos and poems chronicling the early-80s NY underground. Also: NYC's Keszler Gallery is showing several works by UK artist Banksy and The New York Academy of Art has a special exhibition of alumni work curated by Natalie Frank.


Gerard-Quenum-La-Cour-du-Roi-2013-acrylic-on-canvas-130-x-170-cm.jpgGérard Quenum, 'La Cour du Roi', 2013, Acrylic on canvas, 130 x 170 cm, Courtesy of the artist and Art Twenty One

Another fair making it's NYC debut this year is the "1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair"
happening out in Red Hook at Pioneer Works (159 Pioneer Street, Brooklyn) from May 15th through May 17th.  The fair was founded in London in 2013 by Touria El Glaoui to showcase emerging contemporary African art. Sixteen galleries will be on hand with works by over 60 artists.  The award-winning London architecture and design studio RA Projects will do the lobby and exhibition spaces for the fair.  A single day ticket is $10 and it's open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. (6 on Sunday).

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NADA returns to Pier 36, Basketball City (299 South Street), for the fourth edition of their New York fair. The not-for-profit collective offers a great mix of global galleries and special projects including a fashion show on Thursday, May 14, 7 p.m., featuring limited-edition clothing designed by artists including Cheryl Donegan, Amy Yao, Sarah Braman, Bjorn Copeland and Daniel Heidkamp.  Richard Haines will be on-hand to document the show with his drawings.  This is a collab between NADA and Print All Over Me and was curated by Sam Gordon.  Admission to this fair is free and it's open to everybody, so check it out on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m., or Friday thru Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (5 on Sunday).

The fifth LIC Arts Open runs from May 13th to May 17th with tons of open studios, exhibits, music etc. happening throughout Long Island City.  The complete list is HERE. Flux Factory (39-31 29th Street, LIC) is participating with a BBQ, artist talks and an exhibition by Roopa Vasudevan on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Sixty-one exhibitors are showing at the Spring Masters New York art and design fair at the Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Avenue).  This fair opened last week, but you still have a chance to check it out before it closes at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12th.  Tickets are $25.  Acclaimed architect Rafael Vinoly did the booth layout.

4928h.jpgBerndnaut Smilde,"Nimbus"

NeueHouse (110 East 25th Street) is once again the official VIP partner for FRIEZE and will host the VIP lounge with music, food and cocktails; plus artist talks including David Salle in the fair lounge on Sunday, May 17, 11 a.m., and Stephen Posen and his son, Zac, on Tuesday, May 12, 7 p.m., in their 25th Street location.  Also at 25th Street, on Wednesday and Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde will present "Nimbus," creating artificial indoor clouds.

Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 4.51.08 PM.pngThe local auction houses are hosting their contemporary art auctions this week with Bonhams on May 11, Sotheby's on the 12th & 13th,  Doyle on May 12, Christie's on May 13 and Phillips on May 14th & 15th.  Swann Auction Galleries (104 East 25th Street) hosts theirs at 1:30 p.m. on May 12th and it includes several items in what we like to call the "never throw anything away" category.  There's a 1984 invitation to Keith Haring and Larry Levan's "Party of Life" at the Paradise Garage that's estimated to go for between $1,000 and $1,500.  Haring printed the invite on a cloth handkerchief.  Also up for bidding is a leather jacket from the collection of a "door girl for the Danceteria VIP room Congo Bill" that includes tags by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Futura 2000, Fab Five Freddy, Ad-Rock and many other downtown notables.  It's estimate is $5,000 to $8,000.  You can check out all the cool items in this auction HERE.

FRIEZE week also overlaps with NYC X DESIGN, New York City's official celebration of everything design related, featuring hundreds of showcases, fairs and events all over town from May 8 to 19.  These include the Collective Design Fair which runs from May 13th to the 17th at Skylight Clarkson Square (550 Washington Street); WantedDesign in Brooklyn at Industry City (274 36th Street, Brooklyn, from the 9th to the 19th and also in Manhattan at 269 11th Avenue from the 15th to the 18th; plus ICFF, the "luxury/high end" furniture fair at Javits Center from May 16th to 19th.  Check out the massive list of events HERE.

RISD hosts a private reception on Sunday evening at the WantedDesign fair in Industry City, Brooklyn, with RISD President Rosanne Somerson.  RSVP only.

8921d146-a290-4486-b24a-cf39fcbc48e4.jpgAby Rosen and Vito Schnabel are hosting a pop-up exhibition called "First Show/ Last Show" on Saturday, May 16, 5 to 8 p.m., in the old Germania Bank (190 Bowery).  That's the former home of photographer Jay Meisel, recently purchased by Rosen's RFR Realty for a reported $55 million.  Schnabel curated the show featuring artists including Harmony Korine, Julian Schnabel, Mark Grotjahn, Ron Gorchov, Jeff Elrod, Joe Bradley and Dan Cohen.  

main.gifMoMA PopRally (11 West 53rd Street) presents "Serendipity," featuring the films and photography of Awol Erizku on Sunday, May 17, 7 to 10 p.m.  This includes the premiere of the LA artist's new film; plus a sound performance by MeLo-X, a DJ set by Kitty Cash, open bar and access to the museum's latest contemporary art exhibition: "Scenes for a New Heritage."  $25 tickets are HERE.

W Magazine and Stefano Tonchi celebrate their May art issue at the "premiere" of Ian Schrager's newest hotel, The New York Edition (5 Madison Avenue) on Tuesday night with Q-Tip spinning the tunes.  Invite only.

Maiyet, Conscious Commerce and Milkmade host a cocktail party on Wednesday -- also at The NY Edition -- with Alexandra Richards on the decks.  Again, it's invite only.

Sunglass Hut (496 Broadway) and Mr. Brainwash launch their new collab collection on May 14th.

Rachel Libeskind and Swaai Boys present "Ancient Baggage: Recent Discoveries in Ritualistc Objects" on Thursday, May 14th, 8 p.m., in the Sheltering Sky lounge at the McCarren Hotel & Pool (160 N. 12th Street, Brooklyn). This is Libeskind's performance piece that deals with "the rituals imposed by the suitcase" in a colab with experimental music from Swaii Boys.

aligleighbowery.jpgLeigh Bowery by Michael Alig.

The SELECT Art Fair (548 West 22nd Street) runs from May 13th to the 17th in the old DIA building in Chelsea. Several floors of galleries -- including "one entire floor of Brooklyn-based galleries" -- will be on hand; plus there's an exhibition of Michael Alig's prison artwork. Check out the daily rooftop parties in a maze structure called "You Are Here" designed by the art duo TROUBLE, featuring DJs, bands, performances etc. including Blondes on May 13, Jungle Pussy on the 14th and James Chance on the 15th.  A day-ticket is $20.

Peter Brant, Interview Magazine, Paul Kasmin Gallery and 1stDibs celebrate FRIEZE with a private cocktail party on Thursday evening.

TUMBLR hosts a private "unveiling" of Richard Phillips' new studio in LIC on May 14th, 7 to 10 p.m. Invite and RSVP only.

The Standard High Line (848 Washington Street) and High Line Art host a private cocktail party on Tuesday for Rashid Johnson's "Blocks" commission on the High Line.  Invite only.

Denis Gardarin Gallery  has a pop-up exhibit by French artist Mathieu Mercier from May 13th to the 16th, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, at Skylight at Moynihan Station on West 33rd Street.

Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 5.26.02 PM.pngCanadian artist Daniel Mazzone has a pop-up called "Torn Apart" on Thursday, May 14th, 7 to 11 p.m., at Carriage House Center (149 East 38th Street).  Mazzone's "collage portraits" of historic figures often incorporate personalized elements relating to the subject.


SAVETHEDATE_HP.jpgR & Company (82 Franklin Street) has a solo exhibition by LA-based designer David Wiseman called "Wilderness & Ornament" featuring cast bronze works and porcelain decorative walls.  Check it out during their normal business hours all week.

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The Van Alen Institute hosts their "Celebrate Spring" benefit party and their on-going auction on Wednesday, May 13, 6:45 to 11:30 p.m., at the Surrogate's Courthouse (31 Chambers Street) with a seated dinner and performance by My Midnight Heart; plus DJ David Pacho and the "dystopian funk super group" LA-BAS.  You can get tickets HERE and bid on auction items now through May 20th via Paddle8. There are lots interesting things up for bidding including a "hot tub roundtable" with architect Charles Renfro at his fab Fire Island beach house and a private fitting with menswear designer Patrik Ervell in his NYC studio.

Several art jewelers and street artists have hooked-up to create some unique works that will be on view starting Saturday, May 16th, 6 to 8 p.m., at The Gallery at Reinstein Ross (30 Gansevoort Street) in a show called PLACEMENT.  Some of the artists participating are Skullphone, Logan Hicks, CYRCLE, ASVP, Arthur Nash and Tara Locklear.  Have a look before the end of June.

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No Longer Empty will present a big multi-media group show called "Bring in the Reality" at the Nathan Cummings Foundation (475 10th Avenue, 14th floor). The exhibition features works that "speak candidly, freely and boldly...works that speak truth to power."  Participating artists include John Ahearn, Mel Chin, Tim Collins and K.O.S., Dread Scott, Nari Ward and many more.  The opening is May 12th, 6 to 8 p.m. and you should rsvp to exhibits@nathancummings.org if you plan to attend.  It's on view through the summer, but, again, you should make an appointment via the same email address.














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In Da Club: The Best Looks We Saw at Pop Cube, a Party Hosted by PC Music and SOPHIE

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In our new series, 'In Da Club,' we're sending photographers around to shoot the coolest fashion spotted at the best parties.

We sent Krista Schlueter to Pop Cube, a party hosted by UK-based kawaii-pop label, PC Music, and one of their marquee artists, SOPHIE, as part of the Red Bull Music Academy. Held inside Fort Greene's BRIC House, the party brought the PC Music aesthetic to life and the guests got the memo, channeling the label's signature twisted cutesiness with looks that variously featured animal ears, pastel hair, Tumblr print-style tracksuits and more. Below, we feature our favorite looks of the night and talk to the people behind them.


Mooch Ling, Head of bipling.com

"My style is British museum chic."


Left: Matt, 24, Sociologist

Right: Vince, 22, Artist


Left: Matt Holmes, 21, Photographer and Stylist

Right: Ponibbi, 21, Producer/DJ

"I wore this tonight because it was something that I could dance in." -- Ponibbi


Gage of the Boone, 30, Performance artist/party organizer

"I made this outfit and it was simple to wear."


Dev Hynes, 29, Musician (Blood Orange)


Left: Yelena Perlin, 27, Art Director

Right: Eric White, 26, Photographer(On his look): "Hip dad, cool dad." -- Eric White


Jen Lu, 31, Art Director

"I just wanted to wear something shiny."


Tim Nolan, 44, Creative Director

"I just wanted to look good with Jen."


Bryn Taubensee, 25, Stylist

"I like cheap, shitty things from eBay."


Ida Chelengar, 24, Commercial production and music producer

"I am into all-white looks and I have aqua hair to match my Internet personality."


Beau Burrows, 26, Director

(On his look): "anagnorisis and perimeters."


Ary Warnaar, Musician (Anamanaguchi)

"I wore this because I wore it yesterday and didn't have the option to change."

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