Fifth Floor is pleased to announce HEDVA | the first collection, a new body of work by HEDVA, an interdisciplinary design studio recently founded and based in Santa Barbara. Inspired by the intimate relationship one has with clothing, HEDVA strives to instill interactive, personal connections between fine art and the human body. The studio creates handmade, unique artworks that function as a kind of fashion-meets-fine-art, wherein the life and body of the wearer become the exhibition space for the work. The pieces are laboriously crafted by hand out of unusual materials, imbued with emotional, aesthetic, and intellectual concepts, so that the end result is a provocative combination of sculpture, fashion, design, and artisanal craft.

The first collection, a collaboration with artist Emma Garr,and Johanna Reed is structured around the aesthetic notion of what one’s thoughts could look like if worn on the body.  It is an exercise in creating wearable fine art garments that are transformed via thoughts and thus function collaboratively with their wearer.

For instance, a dress made of knotted bed sheets can be untied and reshaped to the wearer’s desire; the bed sheets themselves having sentimental value are dusted with perfume so as to evoke the psychology of memories attached to the material and scent. A skirt made of hand-sewn book pages can be irrevocably and intentionally altered if worn on a rainy day. A heavy cloak with enlarged, lambent head piece becomes an enclosed space, a lighted world unto itself, enveloping the wearer in a psychological and physical shelter. Here, the body is the exhibition space for the work, and the wearer is the artist. The work becomes alive the moment it interacts with the body, changing it from a static piece of art into something with multiple functions, as it records  and displays the actions and thereby thoughts of its wearer.

enjoy

-sgp

If you don’t adore legendary lensman for the NY Times Bill Cunningham it’s probably only ’cause you don’t know who he is. He’s been doing his "On the Street" photography column for the paper forever, which is, hands down, the best part of the Time’s fashion coverage. This past week he did his totally on-point column on the piping-hot fashion trend of "spidery" high heels combined with short dresses. He also talks about the demise of handbags as the centerpiece of the outfit.  It’s a must-see.

^^"People who complain that there is no fashion and no style…they’re nuts!" –Bill Cunningham.

In looking around at everyone’s coverage of NY Fashion Week, I stumbled across fashion photographer Sonny’s coverage of the Rodarte show. And all I could think was, wow, how’d I miss this?? The shoes, the leggings(!), the dresses(!!). I mean, you know how sometimes you see something and your eye feels a little startled and you get that butterfly feeling of excitement ’cause you know you’re seeing something that is a glimpse of what’s next? That’s how Rodarte’s collection felt. And their  leggings? Everyone else’s just officially got left in the dust.

^^Talk about mean and vicious!

Some white ones after the flip.

If you want, you can see photo stills of Marc’s collection over at Style, which has a cool feature that enables you to zero in on one or two of the model’s accessories. That’s where I pulled this bag image from.

Marc is to bags like Nike is to sneakers. He does what he does so well that he makes it look simple. Like he was born to do it. And okay, he doesn’t always hit a homerun–the Rolls Royce bag springs to mind, but he usually does. (And to be honest, this photo doesn’t even do the bag justice and it’s not even the best one in the collection.)

Lois: HighSnobette @ Hotmail dot com

I always love it when great causes and fashion find a way to cohabitate tatefully with no gimmick! Designers Againgst Aids, founded by Ninette Murk  has been able to successfully educate about aids with the help of designers who create various items for the sole purpose of aids awareness , we got to chat with Peiro & Michael ( below)

who showed us a full line of tees,intimates and apparel that designer like Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein Collection, Playboy Design, Girls from Omsk, Marc Atlan, Wayne Hemingway, Katharine Hamnett, Robert Smith (The Cure), Rogan Gregory, Chicks on Speed, Miss Kittin, Percy Irausquin, Christophe Coppens and Mingface have put their design stamp on various pieces for 2008

All the tees and sweatshirts are made of organic cotton in a fair trade community! love it!

look on the next page for more designs

Our beloved girl TooFly doing her thing on an international scale. And no surprise, she’s just as amazing there as she is in New York.

^^TooFly getting down at an all-female, graffiti event held in Berlin. There were women there from ALL over the globe–Australia, South Africa, Sweden, etc. Click on on TooFly’s site to see even more images by no less than the legendary Martha Cooper.

 Helmut Lang,the man  is Back! He is one of the very few designers whose lines I have loved entirely and whose designs I have been obsessed with…Years later after he left the brand who still holds his name, we clearly see how his aesthetic influenced fashion. He is opening in Hannover,Germany a month long multi media art installation, titled "All the same difficult" or "Alles Gleich Schwer" showcasing his thoughts and ideas:

"The continuity is illustrated by the fact that, what is important to me,is  expressing  the appropriate form, content and context of different forms of mediation and other dimensions." HL

via Artschoolvets

Following the announcement in February to cease production of Polaroid instant film, conceptual photographer Lynnette Astaire’s New Orleans inspired performance comes highly anticipated at this years Deitch Art Parade. In it’s 4th year, the annually curated event, sponsored by Deitch Projects, Paper Magazine and Creative Time, marks the beginning of the fall art season in New York City.

 The event is held on West Broadway in the Soho neighborhood of New York City. Past and current performers include Yoko Ono, Kenny Scharf, Scissor Sisters, and Steve ‘ESPO’ Powers. Lynnette’s piece, entitled "The Polaroid Funeral"  is a live adaptation of a self portrait session produced earlier this year. Classically trained in dance and music, this marks her debut in the art world as a performance artist.

Go Lynnette!!!

Our  talented ladies from The Younity have been busy painting up a storm in berlin check Their Site  for updates….I wish I could have been there…

* Photo Marc Baptiste

I recently found out about Esperanza Spalding ,a musical prodigee,and a Berklee College faculty  at  the age of  20!! She is  featured in latest issue of Trace Magazine, and I thought I had a huge fro’…

She plays the Bass while singing..amazing!!!