Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Democracy

Guns N' Roses have a residency at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.  Fans can count on a hard charging, never-before-seen stage spectacle and a set list created exclusively for The Joint.  The show is amazing!  Check out this photo gallery from their show this past Saturday night, November 17th.





Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The Dior Rodeo Drive Flagship

A few weeks after creative director Raf Simons made his ready-to-wear runway debut for the French fashion house, Christian Dior raised the curtains last Thursday on a completely renovated Rodeo Drive flagship.

Dior has a long history on Rodeo Drive, where it has operated the 5,000-square-foot location on the prestigious 300 block since 1990. The company’s chief executive officer Sidney Toledano suggested the store is more important than ever as the profile of Los Angeles rises.

Architect Peter Marino compared the decor to a private home or apartment with an incredible collection of furniture and art — more than 20 pieces are situated throughout the store.

The store is divided into five salons. The front one, which has a towering ceiling, houses handbags, small leather goods and watches. The room features a film of Dior in various settings, a bench of interlocking ginko leaves made out of aluminum by French artist Claude Lalanne and a rotating chandelier by Lee Bul with crystal, glass, steel, aluminum, acrylic and wire.

The center of the store has a salon dedicated to shoes and another dedicated to a bag bar with exotic and specialty bags, and other novelty accessories. Art in those salons includes a piece on the ceiling by Rob Wynne of hand-poured mirrored glass in a cosmic pattern, a tapestry by Pae White that resembles crushed foil and wall-mounted, hand-blown, dented silver mirrored glass by Jeff Zimmerman.


The salon with RTW currently has the cruise collection, and the fine jewelry salon is at the back of the store. A VIP area is on the second floor. Some of the pieces contained in those rooms are a couch crafted out of nickels by Johnny Swing, a desk lamp and mirror by Veronique Rivemale, a stainless steel sculpture by Joel Morrison and a fireplace by Juan and Paloma Garrido topped with framed pictures of Christian Dior and Princess Margaret to foster the store’s hominess.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Maggie Coulombe - Maui

On Thursday July 19th, Mouche Gallery Beverly Hills, presented Arno Elias "Escape With Me" Exhibition special, unveiling of "Andy in a Soup Can" by Stephen Verona & Fashion show by Maggie Coulombe with hair by Christophe to benefit The VH1 Save The Music Foundation.  Here are some highlights: 





Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Mouche Gallery - Mick Fleetwood "Rythm of a Rose" Art Exhibition


Monday, June 18th was the grand opening of Mouche Gallery in Beverly Hills.  Mouche Gallery features really cool and unique photos of rock bands, as well as photos taken by some great public figures who are also exquisite fine artists.  One of these fine artists is Mick Fleetwood known as the drummer and co-founder of the band Fleetwood Mac who presented "Rhythm of a Rose" Art Exhibition and appeared in person to support his work and the Gallery's opening night.  In his photos, Mac Fleetwood gives breath to the life of a rose.  His unique approach to photography comes from him traveling the world and observing our planet from his very unique point of view.  You can see a sample of his work here.  I highly recommend visiting Mouche Gallery and seeing the rest of the exhibition.  They have assembled a stunning collection of works and I am sure you will find other treasures while you are there.  As for me I could not resist including a photo of my favorite band here.  :)

"The world of nature is something I have always been passionate about and it has been a huge inspiration for my photographs.  The camera lens is like a magic window that transports me into a secret world.  In that world I observe shapes and details that I might not generally see even though the subjects are right before my eyes. I am fascinated by the intricate structure and design found in nature, and through my photography I hope to unveil this invisible world that sometimes goes unnoticed."  -Mick Fleetwood 

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Some Other Little Black Jackets

Find the one that describes your style the best. 


Balmain

Gucci

Armani

Dior



Lanvin

Dolce & Gabbana

Versace








 








Friday, June 15, 2012

The Little Black Jacket


Karl Lagerfeld promoted the New York opening of The Little Black Jacket—an exhibit of photos, styled by Carine Roitfeld, of celebrities wearing the classic Chanel piece, due out in book form this fall.

The title refers to Chanel’s iconic black tweed jacket and Mr. Lagerfeld, in collaboration with former longtime French Vogue editor, reimagined ways (120 of them) the jacket could be worn and interpreted.

The little black dress and the little black jacket are two must have pieces in your closet.  These are two of the pieces that you should invest in and buy from a designer brand.  And we owe all this to the house of Chanel.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Notre-Dame de Paris





I just finished reading "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo. There is a reason why some books become classic and never lose their relevance. Victor Hugo is a great and timeless writer and one of my favorites. Some might already know the story of this book, but what is great about reading it is the characterization and the way they all interact. It is so rich and effects you in the deepest way. La Esmeralda is beautiful inside and out. Phoebus is handsome on the outside, but so empty on the inside. Quasimodo is ugly on the outside but a good person inside. Maybe he would be smarter if he was not deaf! I like the sense of justice he gives the reader at the end of the book. Claude Frollo is the evil priest! Ugly on the outside and inside. However, one of the characters that touched me a lot is Jehan Frollo, son of a richman who run through his fortune and the younger brother of the evil priest. He chooses to become a tramp and confesses: "I am a tramp to my heart's core, a con man in my soul, a born crook." I don't think it is a good thing to become or want to be a tramp, not even Jehan who grew up under the pressure from his family. This sentence touched me because of the people who are born into a body with a soul or desires that don't match. For those who have to endure arranged marriages and are born into families with complete different view of looking at life. Or to live in a body that they don't recognize and don't feel at home in. My respect goes to the individuals who choose their own way and have the courage to live life the way they want to, even if they have to make difficult decisions to get there. Even if they have to decide between their vision and family.



Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Capitalism Rules

I have been at my current job for the past two and half years.  It is a French company and in the past few months the company has been going through a lot of changes including hiring a new creative director.  Being an objectivist and having read the greatest book ever "Atlas Shrugged", I am experiencing first hand, in a smaller scale what went down in the 20th Century Motor Company.  The company is trying to bring a socialist vibe to the American side of the business.  It is so sad that after all that has happened in history, the European companies refuse to take a good look at how great capitalism worked in the nineteenth century in America and what a superior political system it is.  It is of course even sadder that our own current president is clueless about this and terrifying how he was able to get elected.  However, this is going to require another blog!  Capitalism not only motivates growth and hard work, also works best with human nature.  When the best of us choose to think and work hard and achieve more, that person should be rewarded accordingly.  The company is making some really bad decisions and changing policies for no good reason.  Change is not good, if it is not for the better!  To change the commission structure and to make it team effort to be making the high commission is making the best people leave.  When the highest producers do not get rewarded for their efforts and have a cut in pay for the lack of results from other associates, that is the end to team work and team spirit, not to mention growth for the company.  At the end I want to salute the American attitude for wanting to be free, an individual and to make money.