When I saw that designer Paul Smith had posted a photo of his 5th Ave. storefront with Robots in the window, I just had to post about them. Created by Gordon Bennett, his one of a kind Robot Sculptures use found objects both old and new. These are just RAD.
design*byproxy

Hello,

My first blog of many to come from sunny (and finally, not so dusty) Sydney, Australia. We have just recovered from the worst dust storm in decades. Although it was a photographer's dream, for museums and especially ones which house and display fashion - red dust is a nightmare. Anyway, the dust is now under control and spring is well under way.

 

Just to give you a brief intro to my vintage clothing collection, The Darnell Collection, it is vast! Over 5000 pieces including day dress, ball gowns, wedding dress, undergarments dating back to 1800, furs, hats (200 of them) and handbags (166!), shoes, jewelery, and more. The collection is housed in a beautiful modern building in the 'garment district' of Sydney, Surry HIlls, and I have huge storage areas and a gallery where I mount 4 exhibitions a year. 'Fashion in Colour' just ended and "Dreaming of Dior" is about to begin. Not only am I the curator of The Fashion Gallery but I also teach the history of fashion to students at ESMOD Australia, a French based fashion school. (ESMOD stands for Ecole Superior de la Mode). The school opened in February this year. 

 

Spring is a busy fashion time in Australia and especially Sydney. The Vintage Fair begins in 2 weeks. It is a fun 3 day event with over 60 dealers, guest speakers (I am one), make-up demos, music and jitterbug dancers, book launches, and more. My friend Nicole Jenkins who owns the very popular vintage shop in Melbourne called Circa Vintage launches her book, "Love Vintage". Look out for it - it is full of vintage dresses, tips and so on from an Australian perspective. I am also hosting a vintage fashion parade at an Art Deco Collectibles Fair in the Blue Mountains next weekend - 2 hours west of Sydney. My friends and even my 10 year old daughter and several of her schoolmates are joining in as models. They will wear 1920s - 70s all made up and accessorized. Vintage is huge over here as you can already tell. People live and breath vintage in Sydney.

 

So my blog will keep everyone up to date with whats happening in fashion over here whether that be vintage or current fashion. I will give you tips on the hottest vintage shops, up coming museum displays of vintage fashion (just in case you are coming over) and any good fashion gossip I hear. So, until next time. Love, Love, Charlotte

Designer and tastemaker Katy Rodriguez has a new line coming out.   Her and Mark Hadddawy own the store Resurrection in LA, which caries vintage beauties, books and accessories.   Great stuff, well edited.   Her line is absolutely awesome, pulling from the 80's, 50's, and punk styles. I might just have to get myself a few pieces!

I am a huge movie buff, and I am always excited to see behind the scenes photographs from when the movies were being filmed. The man who pretty much invented the common day process of photography for film stills, Bob Willoughby, is having some work put on display at the Celebrity Vault. He has captured some of the most interesting film stills from some of the coolest films ever made, mostly from the great era of film that included Judy Garland, Katherine Hepburn, and John Wayne. He also got some epic film stills from working on "The Graduate"! If you like movies, I would definitely check out his work!!

Bob Willoughby is an accomplished photographer, whose images have been seen in print and exhibitions worldwide.  His photographs are included in the collections of The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., The National Portrait Gallery, London. The National Media Museum, Bradford, UK. The Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris. Musee de la Photographie, Charleroi, Belgium. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, Beverly Hills. CA, The Museum of Modern Art, Film Department, NYC, The Tate Gallery Collection, London, & The Musee de la Photographie et de l'Image, Nice, France. He was also presented with the Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Still Photography for Motion Pictures, in New York in 2004. Celebrity Vault has worked with Mr. Willoughby to select twelve of his finest images to produce in large format (40"x30"), in editions of only 12. Each print is produced by Bayeaux Ltd. in London and hand-signed and numbered by Mr. Willoughby. This collection is unparalled, below are a few of the selections. Please feel free to contact us for additional information or to reserve a work. All the best, Sarah O'Donnell Asst. Director, Celebrity Vault phone: 310.858.7815 email: sarah@thecelebrityvault.com

If you miss the little stonehendge pillars and witty bantry of David St Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnell, nows your chance to revisit the classic. "This is Spinal Tap".   Even after the glam and glitz of the 80's heavy metal scene died down, Spinal Tap remained a must see film and an infamous name. Now, two decades later, they're at it again. The band has reunited and released a follow-up album titled "Back From the Dead". The album includes some classic tunes plus some new ones, an hour long dvd, and a rockin' diorama that you can assemble and put on display on your mantle! The album is available on Amazon and Itunes, as well as hmv and play.com. 

Today we went for grilled cheeses at lunch (we have been on this kick since thinking heavily about attending The Grilled Cheese Invitational coming up on April 25th - please check out this site for info: www.grilledcheeseinvitational.com) and I was reminded of the classic Friday night ritual that has been going on in Burbank for many many years - the Classic Car Night.  It is every Friday night, in their back parking lot from 6pm to 11pm.  The cars actually start rolling in at 3pm to get good spots.  I swear this is still a really cool thing to do on Friday night if you are in the neighborhood and like the beauty of the classic car.  I absolutely adore the amazing paint jobs and really friendly folk.  The Valiant pictured below actually has a push-button transmission...frickin' cool.

This is exactly what Los Feliz needs!  A new store with $26 vintage tee shirts, a decent sized collection of hats, Samurai movies, household supplies that double for stash cans for your weed, and plenty of old shoes.  Vermont will be forever changed by this new store...I mean where has everyone in the neighborhood been shopping for Adidas caps?  Ok, honestly, I was hoping for a bakery...but in case you are out for a movie at the Los Feliz 3 this week, drop by on this Wednesday (April 8th) at 8pm for their grand opening party - FREE BEER!
PopKiller Dept, 1856 N. Vermont Ave, L.A. 90027