Monthly archives:February 2016
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8 years ago
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Kiev, Ukraine–based knitwear designer Anna Marinenko of Ohhio crafts the most massive and burly 100 percent Merino wool blankets, scarves, and more, that look ridiculously lush and comfortable, available on Etsy.
Photo Credit: Ohhio
And what's extraordinary about these oversized items is that Marinenko weaves them with her bare hands instead of using knitting needles, thereby creating a warm collection of comfort that features a hefty 3-inch-thick stitch.
Photo Credit: Ohhio
Image of Anna Marinenko with another designer, a photographer, a model, and a stylist
Photo Credit: Ohhio
According to Slate.com, Marinenko also sells colossal and peculiar-looking wooden knitting needles, along with huge spheres of super-thick yarn for consumers who wish "to make the chunky knits themselves."
However, as Ohhio's motto goes "we knit emotions," pointing to the brand's passion for creating "comfort, beauty and style using simple elements and honest materials." As stated on their Facebook page, "we believe, Ohhio blankets all designed to please the eye, the hand and the heart," later adding "all we knit is love."
A Model wearing chunky knits, holding humongous knitting needles, standing amid oversized balls of yarn
Photo Credit: Ohhio
A cozy cat bed Photo Credit: Ohhio
Image of large knitting needles Ohhio sells
Photo Credit: Ohhio
And her decadent designs are attracting high-profile RTW designers like Christian Siriano, who just featured Ohhio knits in his recen[...]
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8 years ago
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Documentaries have traditionally fallen into two categories: straightforward accounts that tell their story using photo/video/audio snippets plus interviews (think Ken Burns), and those that use re-enactments and other creative devices. Recently, there have been some very innovative examples of the latter category (Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the narrative/doc hybrid A Woman Like Me). Now we have Andrew Shapter’s The Teller and the Truth, a haunting and evocative film about the 1974 disappearance of Francis Wetherbee, a young Texas bank teller whose car was found submerged in a nearby river, but whose body was never found. Though it looks and feels like a real-life chronicle, The Teller and the Truth is something else entirely.
The film starts off like a typical documentary, becomes a sort of true-crime whodunit, and ultimately ends up a highly romantic speculation on what might have happened to the lovely Wetherbee. It’s as intriguing for its unorthodox handling of truth-versus-fantasy as it is for its subject matter.
Apparently Shapter first came upon the long-forgotten story of Wetherbee several years ago when he saw a striking black and white print of a sad-eyed young woman taken by his photographer uncle and mentor. The photo had been shot a week after its subject was briefly taken hostage by a masked bank robber -- she was unhurt but reportedly traumatized -- and two weeks before she mysteriously disappeared. Shapter, who had previously made the documentarie[...]
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Just before the release of their new record, Syracuse's synth popper’s Ra Ra Riot played a stripped down show at Brooklyn’s Rough Trade. Vocalist Wes Miles, guitarist Milo Bonacci, bassist Mathieu Santos, violinist Rebecca Zeller, and drummer Kenny Bernard joined the audience on the floor of the venue, standing maybe a foot from the front row. The band formed a haphazard circle of mic stands and instruments. In that formation they looked more like a handful of buskers than a band. It was an excellent setting for the soft vocals and synth-soaked songs of the new Ra Ra Riot.
The show was part of a Rough Trade sort of bundle sale. Copies of the band’s album, Need Your Light, that were sold at the record store/venue came with two wristbands. The wristbands allowed wearers to not only get into the in-house show, but also to have their copies signed by the band afterwards. The gig was otherwise closed to the public and a great way to see the band in such a small setting before they come back to New York to play Webster Hall in March. This kind of show has become something of a staple on the Rough Trade schedule. Artists like Odesza, Kendrick Lamar as well as Yelawolf have all done similar in-store performances paired with signings to help promote new releases. Next month, Santigold will hold one of her own for her new album 99 Cents.
Ra Ra Riot’s evening performance preceded both the release of their record and the band’s tour with Sun Club and everyone’s new favorite[...]
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8 years ago
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There was once a professor who consistently lamented people not spending time with a work of art. She felt that consuming art became speedy, mediums were not fully appreciated in their details, and therefore a lot of great artwork may never get proper recognition. It's safe to say this is true for many people, and even those like myself who studied art have definitely overlooked pieces due to the extreme saturation of available art to see, especially in a metropolis like New York City (though it is something I greatly try to avoid while in a space.)
I was stuck in front of Scott Williams' painting 50th Street Maspeth this past weekend, due to the intimate space at Art101 being packed with people, but I'm glad I was. His work first appears like an impressionistic modern landscape - a view of the street, cars parked, sunny day, fence to the side - but the more I stared at it the more odd I found it. I noticed his use of perspective is based on traditional one-point perspective yet it is shifted off to the side thereby disrupting the everyday banality of this type of setting. Furthermore, his use of oil paint appears both deliberate, in regards to shadowing and color, and accidental in regards to the application of paint itself. This imbues the scene with a sense of randomness and further complicates it. He writes of his "chance" paintings - "For on site, 'plein air painting', a map of Queens and Brooklyn was marked with gridded coordinates. Throwing numbered and lettered coi[...]
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8 years ago
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On February 14, celebrated fashion designer Tracy Reese's intimate Fall 2016 collection paid respects to her hometown of Detroit, while tipping its hat to new innovations in runway presentations. And as part of all the newness, a nine-minute film called Detroit Love Story, helped to round out the loving tribute to her beloved city.
Design elements in Reese's Fall/Winter Ready-To-Wear includes bold patterns like florals, plaid and herringbone, and retro-inspired polka dots, calf-length coats and garter socks.
Find out more about Reese's fashionable hometown love affair after the jump!
Photo Credit: New York Magazine
The mini-movie was followed by a relaxed piano-accompanied showcase of Reese's latest designs. The untraditional presentation points to a "runway fatigue" that's now taking hold in the design world. Take designers like Vetements, Michael Kors and Rebecca Minkoff, for instance, who are eschewing the customary fashion schedule for see now, buy now looks. Designers like Reese are interested in changing the way new designs are showcased.
"Doing the same thing season after season doesn't seem relevant," Reese tells Vogue. "This felt like the right moment to do something different."
Below: Images from February 14 Tracy Reese showcase
Photo by Robert Mitra/WWD
But what's also noteworthy about this creatively nostalgic showcase is its tribute to a city that typically gets a bad rap. In one sweeping moment, Reese helped us to see "the motor city" throug[...]
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8 years ago
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Danish director Tobias Lindholm’s masterful new film, A War, is an exceptionally intelligent and sensitive depiction of the War in Afghanistan, both the complicated moral issues faced by occupying troops and the toll on their families back home. That’s not to say that this Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film isn’t gripping or that its action sequences lack punch – one battle sequence is particularly pulse-pounding and stomach-churning. Shot in a straightforward style, the movie is never spectacular or overblown; Lindholm largely lets the situation's drama speak for itself. A War follows CO Claus Pedersen (Pilou Asbæk, who previously starred in Lindholm’s A Hijacking) and his unit – who are trying to weed the Taliban out of an Afghan province while protecting civilians – as well as Pedersen’s family in Denmark.
The tense vibe of the film is set early on when Claus’s unit is out on patrol. Sure enough, a young gunner is suddenly caught in a mine explosion, a horrific scene that brings home the unpredictability of the unit’s every mission as well as its close camaraderie. The CO – a tough but decent sort – is sympathetic to one soldier (Dulfi Al-Jabouri) who is badly shaken up by the incident, putting him on camp duty for a few weeks. Claus himself will replace both men on patrols, though it is not his usual role.
Meanwhile in Denmark, his wife Maria (Tuva Novotny) is dealing with their three young children, one of whom is having disruptive behavioral issu[...]
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