Rodarte & Black Swan

The fashion community started buzzing when the first images of Natalie Portman in Black Swan were revealed earlier this year.  Now, with the wide release of the film this Friday, it seems Kate and Laura Mulleavy are still the talk of the town.  

Kate and Laura Mulleavy - Rodarte

Having had the opportunity to screen the film, the costumes are just one of the many elements that went into creating this art/ballet/psychological thriller.  What Kate and Laura were able to do was to combine the tone and elegance of the ballet world with the all-consuming narrative woven by Darren Aronofsky - essentially creating costumes that reflected both the beautiful and dramatic struggle of our main character as well as the fine line between real life and fantasy.

Natalie Portman - Black Swan

Like many of his films, Aronofsky layers intricate details about character, human nature, love, hate, and passion into the film Black Swan.  Natalie Portman plays a budding ballet star who's life seems to begin imitating art after being cast as the lead in Swan Lake. Stuck between the desire for perfection and the trappings of real life, Portman's character delves deep into the psyche of the "artist".

To experience the costumes first hand, be sure to see the film this weekend and keep an eye out for possible nominations come award season!

[Photos via: Fox Searchlight] 

The Aesthetic Omnivore wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday. Regular posts will resume next week.

Buzz: Acne Store

Ella Alexander of the UK VOGUE.COM called it "Acne Domination". She was, of course, referring to the July opening of the first Acne store in London during fashion week.

Designer Blake Kuwahara had a chance to visit the store and see first hand what all the fuss was about.

Leave it to the Swedes to open a minimal yet warm and inviting "studio" as they call it (not a store) on Dover Street just a few doors down from Dover Street Market.  Four floors- one each dedicated to denim, accessories, womenswear, and menswear- with their tall ceilings, large vertical, leaded glass windows, and whitewashed walls and floors is a place you not only want to shop but to live.  My criteria for a great store is one that you could just add a kitchen and call home.  This one even comes complete with a landscaped rooftop terrace and large canvasses by artist Jeremiah Goodman. - Blake Kuwahara, London Oct. 2010

New Obsession: Houzz

I first stumbled upon Houzz while searching for new and interesting iPad applications.  Originally attracted to the striking photo ideabook that marries the Houzz imagery with the iPad's remarkable interface I was intrigued and started looking more into exactly what "Houzz" was all about.  It's more than just a site for photos but is actually a great resource that bridges the gap between professional interior designers and today's design enthusiasts.  The Houzz photo library shows innovative and original design photography that is meant to inspire and showcase some great design work from interiors to exteriors and baby rooms to great rooms.  The user can generate images based on different filter categories and then "like" an image to start creating their very own, personalized "ideabooks".  

House Beautiful Bath

Mark Brand Architecture

Dumican Mosey Architects 

Check out Houzz and try it out for yourself.  While I may not be currently working on a redesign project for my own home, I can certainly find ways to keep myself occupied for hours on the site.

Get the iPad application here.

eARTh

An amazing event is taking place this month called 350Earth.  Art installations are to be erected around the globe on the eve of the United Nations climate meetings on November 20th.   This is an unprecedented event that is aimed at drawing attention the world's ever increasing climate issues and a one-of-a-kind art exhibit that will be seen from space.

This November 20-28, 350 EARTH will launch the world’s first ever global climate art project. In over a dozen places across the globe, citizens and artists will create massive public art installations to show how climate change is already impacting our world as well as offer visions of how we can solve the crisis. Each art installation will be large enough to be seen from space and documented by satellites generously provided by DigitalGlobe.

350 EARTH will be the first-ever global scale group show on the front line of climate change—our polluted cities, endangered forests, melting glaciers, and sinking coastlines. People around the world are invited to take part by attending signature events, submitting their own art, and spreading the word about the project.

350 EARTH will take place on the eve of the next United Nations climate meetings in Cancun, Mexico where delegates will work to create an international climate treaty. Our politicians have all the facts, figures, and graphs they need to solve the climate crisis. What they lack is the will. 350 EARTH will demonstrate the massive public support for bold climate action and the role that art can play in inspiring humanity to take on our greatest challenge: protecting the planet on which we live.

For more information and to spread the word about the upcoming event, please visit www.earth.350.org

What does 350 mean to the earth?  Find out here.

[via: www.earth.350.org and www.npr.org]

Manhattan's Long Lost City Hall Subway Station

Originally built in 1904 by the Interborough Rapid Trasit (IRT) Company, the City Hall station on the "Manhattan Main Line" was intended to be the showpiece of the newly created subway system in NYC.

Designed with brass fixtures, arched skylights, and tiled ceilings, it is still considered one of the most aesthetically spectacular subway stations in the world of mass transit. This "secret subway" stop had been out of circulation for many years.  Increased subway use demanded newly designed trains that couldn't make the sharp curve at standard speeds past the Brooklyn Bridge stop and the station was shut down at the end of 1945. 

Plans to open the station as part of the New York Transit Museum were halted after security issued were raised following the September 11th attacks in NYC.  

However, the website Jalopnik is reporting that you can now stay on the train as it makes it's standard turnaround giving riders a brief glimpse of NYC history.

A must see!

For more history and pictures, check out the NYCSubway website.

[via NYCSubway.org, Wikipedia, Jalopnik]

available photo credits: John-Paul Palescandolo

Lust Must: Range Rover Evoque

The Milan contingent has been chosen -  selected by Land Rover, Neil Barrett, Sergio Cerruti, and Francesca Versace are officially some of the first tastemakers to test the new Range Rover Evoque.

40 "City Shapers" (as they are called) have been chosen to sculpt and define the image of the Evoque - a new mid-size SUV from Land Rover.  These VIPs are participating in the "Pulse of the City" campaign which is an interactive guide promoting the new vehicle in 10 major cities around the world.

You can download the application here to follow the journey of each City Shaper as they experience the new Evoque first hand.

Fashioning Fashion: LACMA

Having had the opportunity to visit the new Resnick Pavilion at the LACMA museum in Los Angeles, I had to check out the exhibit entitled "Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700 - 1915".

Having recently acquired a profound collection of women's, men's, and children's garments and accessories  from the Age of Enlightenment to World War I, the exhibit takes a detailed look at the evolution of textiles, trims, and tailoring over 200 years.

Definitely not to be missed.  If you're in the LA area, be sure to visit this and the other exhibits at the new Resnick Pavilion.

Check out the "Fashioning Mannequins" post on the LACMA Blog for a detailed view of bringing this exhibit to life.

The exhibition is curated by Senior Curator Sharon S. Takeda and Curator Kaye D. Spilker and is organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Must See: LACMA Resnick Pavilion

LACMA: Resnick Pavilion

The Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion, a key feature of LACMA's ongoing Transformation, dramatically expands the museum's exhibition space and also further unifies the western half of the museum's twenty-acre campus. The new building, which opens to the public with a free community weekend October 2-3, 2010, is designed by Renzo Piano, founder, Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

The building is named in honor of long-time patrons Lynda and Stewart Resnick, whose $45 million donation was the lead gift in Phase II of LACMA's Transformation campaign. The Resnicks' generosity was further demonstrated by their promise of works of art valued at $10 million. Mrs. Resnick, a LACMA trustee since 1992, is currently vice chair of the museum's Board of Trustees and chair of the Acquisitions Committee. She and Mr. Resnick are leading arts philanthropists with wide-ranging charitable interests that span from medical research to education.

The Resnick Pavilion, a single-story, 45,000 square foot structure, is the largest purpose-built, naturally lit, open-plan museum space in the world. When it opens, it will house a trio of exhibitions that highlight both the diversity of the museum's encyclopedic collection and programming, as well as the flexibility of the new building: Eye for the Sensual: Selections from the Resnick Collection; Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico; and Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915.

Soucre: WWW.LACMA.ORG