The Shophound

Pop-Up Report: Ryantown At Earnest Sewn

British artist Rob Ryan has taken over the back room pop-up space at Earnest Sewn with a vast array of his signature stenciled artworks and textiles. Ryantown will be up through the end of May. Venture towards the far side of the rustic denim dealer, and you'll find a profusion of items ranging from the inevitable printed t-shirts to greeting cards, tote bags, painted tiles, pillows dishes and all sorts of other baubles and novelties. All are touched with what looks like vintage folk art patterns which, upon closer inspection, reveal poetic musings and inventive designs. It's one of the more charming pop-ups that Earnest Sewn has hosted, and definitely worth a visit for anyone in search of Mother's Day gifts.
Ryantown at Earnest Sewn through May 31^st, 821 Washington Street between Gansevoort & Little West 12^th Streets, Meatpacking District
Rob Ryan (Official Blog)

Costume Exhibition Du Jour:FIT Pours On The Seduction

If you haven't made it down to The Museum at FIT to see its outstanding exhibition, Gothic: Dark Glamour, then we strongly suggest you hurry on down there since it closes on February 21^st. While you are there, be sure to stop into the museum's Fashion and
Textile History Gallery on the street level for Seduction: 250 Years of Sexuality in Fashion, a survey of what constituted alluring apparel over the last two and a half centuries.
While our contemporary culture has no shortage of sexy clothes and the people who wear them (hello, Pussycat Dolls), it's always interesting to see how in times past the hint of a waistline, fabric softly draped over the bosom and a slightly low cut shoe equated major flirtation.
The show is pulled entirely from FIT's treasure trove of an archives, and runs until June 16^th which coincidentally is the day the museum's Isabel Toledo retrospective is scheduled to open.
Like all FIT's exhibitions, Seduction is free of charge, no small consideration these days.
Seduction: 250 Years of Sexuality in Fashion through June 16^th 2009 at The Museum at FIT Seventh Avenue at 27^th Street, closed Sundays & Mondays

Designer Tribute Department:Louis Vuitton RevisitsStephen Sprouse In January

If all goes as planned, January will be Stephen Sprouse month as the art, publishing and luxury worlds combine to pay tribute to the late designer. While lasting commercial success sadly eluded Sprouse, he has become an admired cult figure among the fashion crowd and especially with collectors who covet his increasingly rare original pieces.
Deitch Projects will open a Sprouse retrospective called "Rock On Mars" on Jan. 8 at its Wooster Street gallery and Rizzoli will publish "The Stephen Sprouse Book" shortly thereafter. Joining in the fun, and likely to garner the most attention, Louis Vuitton will be revisiting its 2001 collaboration with the designer with new versions of the graffiti monogram he designed as well as a signature day-glo rose motif that will adorn bags, shoes and a special capsule apparel collection that will all be available on January 9th.
The special collection was suggested by the gallery, and Vuitton will not be reissuing the original collaboration pieces, but offering new variations in a similar vein. “I tried to take what Stephen had done at Vuitton and then kind of flip it in my head, and make it Vuitton’s work for Stephen, not Stephen’s work for Vuitton,” creative director Marc Jacobs tells WWD, “I just felt it was a funny way to play with it, to pretend to be Sprouse for a bit, and use the work that he did, and then bring it back to the work that he did before I collaborated with him.” With Sprouse's heyday, the 1980's, an increasingly influential touchstone for the fashion world, a visit with the designer's colorful, rock-influenced aesthetic should be a welcome and timely distraction for our suddenly gloomy times.
To further promote the event, Jacobs has been photographed by Terry Richardson for Harper's Bazaar in his favorite outfit- nothing, of course- strategically carrying a Sprouse/Vuitton duffel, keeping the image publishable in a major national magazine.
Vuitton Brings Back Sprouse (WWD)
Marc Jacobs Exposes The Latest It Bag (Harper's Bazaar)

New York Nostalgia Moment: Keith Haring's 50th Birthday

Regular shoppers at the Bowery Whole Foods have been able to track the progress of a loving recreation of a Keith Haring mural at the corner of Bowery and Houston Street. Deitch Projects and the Keith Haring Foundation are sponsoring the artwork in honor of what would have been the artist's 50th birthday yesterday. Haring's appeal has proven to be remarkably durable since his untimely death nearly two decades ago, and his mural sized works mostly did not survive (although adventuresome art fans can find an original one preserved at a men's room in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center on West 13th Street too explicitly erotic to picture here). The cheery scene pictured above was originally created in 1982, but faded shortly afterwards.
For anyone looking for a more permanent souvenir, UNIQLO has a new batch of  tee shirts featuring Haring's designs specifically to commemorate the occasion while supplies last.

UNIQLO 546 Broadway between Prince & Spring Streets, SoHo

UNIQLO Goes Manga Mad

Today marks the debut of a feature we like to call Cell Phone Photo Show, otherwise known as "Our Camera Battery Died and the Other One is Charging". That would explain the somewhat substandard quality of the above photo, although the more we look at it, the more we like its increasingly abstract qualities.
We know that its barely a few weeks since our last UNIQLO post, but we are endlessly fascinated by the Japanese retailer despite the fact that they are always out of our size in the underwear that we like.
We are also fascinated by their UT tee shirts of which UNIQLO has just received a fresh shipment. Ths time there's an extra emphasis on Japanese manga art, and maybe we are still feeling the effects of yesterday's Takashi Murakami show, but we could have bought out the whole range. Somehow, it seems like a good time to wear a picture of a cartoon character whose cultural importance is completely obscure to us. So far, we haven't seen any of our favorite Astro Boy designs, but we usually pounce on those. To provide a proper setting, UNIQlO has cleverly covered parts of the store in manga cartoons. There was also a second helping of Keith Haring T-Shirt designs and more from Jean-Michel Basquiat, in a series apparently commemorating American artists of the 1980s who, sadly, met with early demises.
More pictures after the jump.

Murakami's Moment At The Brooklyn Museum

Now that we have all waded through the exhaustive coverage of the Louis Vuitton sponsored opening party for ©Murakami exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, anyone could be forgiven or thinking that the event was a great big Louis Vuitton boutique with a little art exhibition attached.
Lets get a few things out of the way. Those faux counterfeit vending carts we heard about were only set up for the opening party, so don't feel the urge to swing by the museum for a quick Vuitton fix. The much-talked-about Vuitton boutique inside the show is but a very tiny corner, and accessible only to those who have paid to visit the special exhibition. Murakami has called it "the heart" of the exhibition, and in many odd ways, it is. Interestingly, there is no sign or mention of the cashmere sweaters made in collaboration with French designer Lucien Pellat-Finet at around the same time as the handbag collaboration. Perhaps Vuitton as a sponsor banished all other designer labels from the premises.
There is, however, an entire exhibit to see aside from the merchandise, and it would be well worth visiting without a single handbag to purchase. We won't go into heavy detail about Takashi Murakami's work, but it is inspired in equal parts by traditional Japanese arts, manga and animé cartoons and commerce which all mix together to create a fascinating brew with meaning on many different levels for diverse audiences. It's an entertaining show, but if you care to look below the shiny surfaces, there are all sorts of hidden layers of meaning that can range from the humorous to the erotic to the downright disturbing. What seem like cute, animated children's cartoons reveal themselves to be about loss, war and isolation but also farting and pooping.
Like we said, there's a wide range there.
For those with no familiarity at all with Japanese pop culture, there are plenty of alarming aspects to the show, particularly its unique point of view regarding sexuality in many of the pieces. For that reason, despite the fact that the museum has special descriptions geared for young museumgoers, this may not be such a great show for kids. Much has been written about the large sculpture of a girl with streams of  milk emanating from her engorged breasts that create a jumprope. If that's not weird enough, few have mentioned her male companion who has made a lasso out of his own milky discharge. Together, they are enough to turn anyone into a stereotypical, giggling  Japanese schoolgirl, which is part of the point, but might be difficult to explain to a young visitor.
Murakami has created (with his workshop, it must be noted) special pieces tailored specifically to the museum's interior including wall coverings in camouflage which, upon closer inspection,  is formed by overlapping skull shapes.
Overall, it's a fascinating show, and even a bit draining, but even if you are lured there by accessories, you will now be able to place those colorful logo-print bags into a much richer context.
©Murakami at the Brooklyn  Museum runs through July 13^th

Louis Vuitton/Murakami Shop Confirmed for The Brooklyn Museum

NewYorkology has all the official details of the temporary Louis Vuitton shop opening in conjunction with the © Murakami exhibiton opening at the Brooklyn Museum next month. The shop opening on April 5^th will feature a selection of past designs from artist Takashi Murakami's previous collaboration with Vuitton as well as a new group of bags called Monogramouflage designed exclusively for the exhibition which launches on June 1^st before rolling out to select Vuitton shops. The shop will also feature special signed editions of the Vuitton items costing no more than an arm and a leg, we are sure. Murakami calls the Vuitton shop "The heart of the exhibition" and we are not yet sure if it will be open to those not visiting the entire show.
In addition to the sure to be mobbed Vuitton shop, the museum will be offering it's own assortment of Murakami merchandise starting on April 4^th including the Frazzled Kiki Stuffed Doll pictured for $35. While they are not exactly cheap, they are a far more affordable souvenir option than the handbags. The Museum Shop is now previewing it's selections online, and given the craze for all things Murakami, we expect that they will go fast.
Brooklyn confirms Vuitton/Murakami shop, exclusives (NewYorkology)
Brooklyn Museum Shop (©Murakami page)

It's Tee Time At The Whitney

Well, it's also the start of the Museum's signature event, The Whitney Biennial, but more importantly, in honor of the occasion, the Gap has collaborated with 13 artists associated with the exhibition for a limited edition series of printed t-shirts to be available at select Gap stores in mid-May. The roster includes well known artists like Kiki Smith, Chuck Close, Kenny Scharf and Barbara Kruger among others. Those willing to make their way to the museum on Madison Avenue will get a preview of of sorts, as the t-shirts are available there now for $28 in the bookstore.
The Whitney Museum 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street, Upper East Side

Holiday Displays: Honorable Mention for Damien Hirst

Tired of cheery Holiday Decorations?
Had enough of the piped-in Christmas carols that stream relentlessly from store speakers?
The Shophound has found a solution.
Formaldehyde.
We're not sure if the Lever House Art Collection's Damien Hirst installation entitled "School: The Archaeology of Lost Desires, Comprehending Infinity, And The Search For Knowledge" was specifically timed to offer a bracing alternative to the city's usual end of the year festivity, but it sure works that way. Just a couple of blocks off the season's beaten shopping paths, lies the startling display, commissioned for the gallery space that has been created from the Bauhaus-era landmark's lobby. Make what you will of the macabre schoolroom set-up created from Hirst's signature animal carcasses suspended in formaldehyde surrounded by medical cabinets filled with various boxes of pharmaceutical items.
What's notable about the whole scene, aside from being a rare opportunity to see a large scale work from the highly controversial British artist, is that instead of being tucked safely away within the walls of a museum or gallery, it is, as a result of the space's wraparound windows, almost completely on display at street level on Park Avenue. Walking down the street, it's impossible to miss the two sides of beef in the twelve-foot tank which appears to serve as "teacher". It certainly makes for interesting imagery for diners on their way to the Lever House restaurant across the courtyard.
Bon Appetit everyone!
School: The Archaeology of Lost Desires, Comprehending Infinity, And The Search For Knowledge by Damien Hirst at Lever House Art Collection 390 Park Avenue at 53^rd Street through February 9, 2008.

Fashion News: Coach & Kiki do The Whitney

It seems that nobody can resist the lure of the co-branded collaboration these days. This time, Coach's Reed Krakoff has decided to go in the direction of exclusivity instead of mass distribution. The company will produce only 100 units of its second collaboration with artist Kiki Smith, to be sold only at The Whitney Museum of American Art in conjunction with her upcoming exhibition, "Kiki Smith: A Gathering 1980-2005". The snakeskin trimmed canvas bag is decorated with Smith's sketches, and will retail for a whopping $1,300. High for canvas, and for Coach, frankly, but not so much if you think of it as a limited edition print from an important American artist. Perhaps it's not something you want to schlepp around with on the subway.

Krakoff, Kiki Smith Collaborate for Coach (WWD)

Speaking of exorbitantly priced handbags, Coutorture has coined the term "Vogue Warped" to explain the phenomenon among the fashion obsessed of completely losing all perspective of what things should reasonably cost. This is what happens when a canvas and leather Fendi bag (at left) suddenly seems to be bargain priced at $1000.
It's a disturbing concept that every New Yorker is familiar with. It usually starts with our rent.

Vogue Warped (Coutorture)

And finally, we had to do a double take when we saw the new edition of Vogue on the newsstand this morning. It's not that we were surprised to see Nicole Kidman on the cover. It's only like, what, her fifteenth Vogue cover or something. And we have to admit that if we were really shallow enough to concern ourselves with such things, we would be relieved to see that she seems to have abandoned the yellowy blonde hair color that always looked unflattering and fakey to us, in favor of something closer to her natural red. We're not even so disturbed by the silly armored bustier she is wearing. In fact it is perfectly in keeping with the current exhibition at F.I.T. We just can't get over the weird expression on her face. There's something off-kilter about it, and our question is, of all the shots they had to have taken, THIS was the best one?

Photo from Faded Youth, click for a larger view in a new window.