Underwear So Cool You Could Wear it Outside

March 19, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: A Trip to Tulum with Photographer Brianna Capozzi

≪ Previous: Malcolm Stuart Makes Mall Airbrush Art, Only Better

This season, basics brand The White Briefs has teamed up with American industrial designer Stephen Burks to launch "A Free Man," a collection of comfy and playful men's undergarments. Founded in 2009 by Swedish designer Peter Simonsson, the White Briefs is known for eco-friendly production, locally sourced fabrics, and simple silhouettes true to the brand's name. Yet this capsule collection is anything but neutral. "I wanted to do something more hybrid and expressive," Burks said via email this week. "The opposite of the ubiquitous white T-shirt. Underwear so cool, you could wear it outside!"

The capsule collection re-vamps lightweight layering pieces, injecting night shirts, T-shirts, singlets, shorts, and pants with fluorescent neon hues, bold chevrons, and broad, abstract strokes, among other pattern play. “The concept Peter and I came up with one sunny afternoon at Café Gitane [in New York], surrounded by Luc [Levy]'s Moroccan travel paraphernalia, was a colorful, very graphic, kind of updated contemporary occidental wax print," Burks said. But when asking themselves who they envisioned wearing this collection, the answer was simple: “A man so fashionably, spiritually, and intellectually free that he might find himself sleepwalking in his underwear, safe from harm in a bright yellow chevron boubou."

Shop all The White Briefs x Stephen Burks HERE

Photo courtesy of The White Briefs

A Free Man Dressing Gown in Blue/White

A Free Man Dressing Gown in Yellow/White

A Free Man T-Shirt in Star White/ Blue

A Free Man - T-Shirt in Star White/ Orange

A Free Man - Singlet in White/Pink

A Free Man - Singlet in Star White/Grey

A Free Man - Shorts in White/Yellow

A Free Man - Shorts in White/Grey

A Free Man - Pants in Star White/ Orange

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A Trip to Tulum with Photographer Brianna Capozzi

March 19, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Mini Martha: Paris Bakes Brownie Pretzels

≪ Previous: Underwear So Cool You Could Wear it Outside

Hello Tulum! On a recent vacation to the Caribbean locale, OC friend and photographer BRIANNA CAPOZZI––the mastermind behind our Adam Selman editorial––worked her magic on another shoot. In typical Capozzi style, the photos are awkwardly beautiful, with the photographer's pals standing in strange and enticing poses among cinder block shacks, white-sand beaches, abandoned cars, and lush greenery. The gorgeous colors show off the best of our SS14 selection, with pieces from Norma Kamali, Patrik Ervell, Kenzo, and Opening Ceremony.

Photography: Brianna Capozzi
Graphics: Ed Benitez

Opening Ceremony Celia Crepe Crossed Front Dress in tiger red

Opening Ceremony Taebaek Twill Slim Shorts in navy and PATRIK ERVELL shirt (online soon)

NORMA KAMALI swimsuit (online soon)

Opening Ceremony CELIA CREPE PLEATED PANTS in peony blue

Sen Wye Iris Satin Maxi Skirt in silver

Kenzo shorts (online soon)

NORMA KAMALI swisuit (online soon)

PATRIK ERVELL top (online soon), NORMA KAMALI swimsuit (online soon), Opening Ceremony Celia Crepe Pleated Pants in black

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Mini Martha: Paris Bakes Brownie Pretzels

March 19, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Most Wanted: adidas x Opening Ceremony Taekwondo Platforms

≪ Previous: A Trip to Tulum with Photographer Brianna Capozzi

What's the only thing better than a warm brownie? A warm brownie enveloped in a crunchy pretzel crust! Snag our resident baking babe MINI MARTHA's recipe below.

I have no clue what force compelled me to make these, but last week I was daydreaming and the thought popped into my head of mixing my two favorite deserts: pie and brownie sundaes. I thought about the idea of them for days, wondering how I would execute it. Finally, it came to me. While it might be weird to put a brownie in a pie crust, who could complain about a brownie in a pretzel crust?

I knew using regular brownies would make this tart a little dense and too sweet, so I used a spin-off of Ina Garten’s brownie pudding, a mousse-like concoction with a super gooey inside and a crispy top crust. Just remember to top this off with some vanilla ice cream and hot fudge (from this recipe) or some melted Nutella once you're all done!

Brownie Pudding Tarts with Pretzel Crust

Pretzel Crust:
2 cups of finely crushed pretzels
¼ cup of powdered sugar
1 cup of butter

Brownie pudding:
1 cup of butter
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 cups of sugar
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
½ cup of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1. Start with the pretzel crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, crush the pretzels until there are about equal amounts of small pretzel pieces and pretzel powder. Continue to do this in batches until you have 2 cups of the crushed pretzels. Then pour this in a bowl and mix in with the powdered sugar. Melt the butter and pour it onto the pretzels and powdered sugar. Stir the mixture until it comes together. Using either large muffin tins or mini cake pans with removable bottoms, press the pretzel mixture up the sides of the pans until reaching the top and then press more of the pretzel dough into the bottom of the pan. Repeat with all the pans until the dough is gone. Place the pans in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes until the tarts are slightly golden in color. (If the dough starts to collapse into the center while cooking just take the tarts out of the oven and using a jar press the crust back up the sides.)

2. Now onto the brownie pudding. Once the tarts are out of the oven, turn the heat down to 325 degrees. First melt the butter and set aside to cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the eggs and sugar. Beat the eggs and sugar on medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes until the mixture is thick and light in color. While this is mixing sift together the cocoa powder and all purpose flour. Once the eggs are done whipping add in the vanilla extract and continue to mix until combined. With the mixer on low slowly add the cocoa and flour mixture. Mix until just combined and then slowly pour in the melted butter and mix until everything is incorporated.

3. Scoop spoonfuls of the brownie pudding into the pretzel tart crusts. Place the tarts in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until there is a hard crust on top and when the tarts are moved the filling does not jiggle. Remove the tarts from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes. Then remove the tarts from the pan, top with ice cream and hot fudge, and eat!

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Most Wanted: adidas x Opening Ceremony Taekwondo Platforms

March 19, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Sorelle Made Me Love Hoops All Over Again

≪ Previous: Mini Martha: Paris Bakes Brownie Pretzels

"Most Wanted" presents our favorite and most coveted items available at OC.

It's finally the first day of spring and to celebrate, we're pulling out the socks and sandals look with these new adidas Originals x Opening Ceremony Taekwondo Platforms. Get your high kicks even higher with the major sole on this pair!

Shop all adidas Originals x Opening Ceremony here.

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Sorelle Made Me Love Hoops All Over Again

March 20, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Bites on a Budget: $4 at Arepera Guacuco

≪ Previous: Most Wanted: adidas x Opening Ceremony Taekwondo Platforms

Back in the day, my jewelry routine went something like this: I would hide my door knocker earrings that I bought from the mall in my book bag until I got safely to school so my mother wouldn't see them. I would then replace the elegant, age-appropriate pair she preferred with another with my name, MECCA, sprawled across them. Oh, the horror! In the years since, I've ditched jewelry altogether as it reminds me of my naughty teens. That is, until New York label Sorelle hit Opening Ceremony last year. Their dainty hoops are the best of both worlds––elegant in a way my mom would love but still eye-catching enough to get me noticed.

This season, Sorelle has expanded beyond earrings, adding necklaces and rings that are perfect juxtapositions of feminine and masculine. Last week, I caught up with designer and OCer Francesca Grosso about the new pieces, a diamond pinky ring inspired by her dad, and her gorgeous lookbook, styled and shot by OCers KINDALL ALMOND and BROOKE GARDINER.

Shop all Sorelle HERE

Mecca James-Williams: Your collaborators on this collection are all from OC, from the styling team down to the art directors. How did this come about? How did it affect the styling?
Francesca Grosso: It’s funny because every time I make a collection it somehow works out that I end up teaming up with people that work at Opening Ceremony. Is it coincidence? I would say no. But more so that there are so many talented people under one roof and it’s kind of fun.

In terms of the styling, it was about capturing that young Aaliyah vibe. That young girl on the street who just kinda throws in her iPod and she’s listening to Souls of Mischief or she’s listening to an old Nas throwback song. You’re like, she’s so pretty but she gives me this edge.

Is the Sorelle girl one girl or does she change every season?
It’s funny because SS14 is my third collection and I think it took me three seasons to figure out who the hell the Sorelle girl was. Was she me? Was she an Opening Ceremony girl? Was she a girl who bartends part time? And this season I feel like we really captured who she is. The pieces are thicker; they’re more masculine. We all may not be tomboys, but we experience that moment in our lives where [we say], “I want to mix things up a little bit. I want to be boyish.” It’s almost as if the [Sorelle] girl went through her boyfriend's closet or his underwear drawer and started taking his things.

Let’s talk about the OC exclusive piece, the ISA BALL CHAIN BAND. How did it come about?
We were bouncing ideas back and forth with the buyers and since this season was so minimal and so simple, especially with all sterling silver, I actually suggested [doing a piece] in rose gold. It’s not the everyday thing, but it [has] that beautiful shine. It’s a really pretty, feminine material. It’s like a little cupcake. Really something different.

Tell us about the diamonds. Now you have diamond encrusted pinky ring, correct?
The pinky ring goes back to the whole manly [aesthetic]. I grew up wit

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Bites on a Budget: $4 at Arepera Guacuco

March 20, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Take 20% Off iPhone and iPad Accessories!

≪ Previous: Sorelle Made Me Love Hoops All Over Again

BITES ON A BUDGET is a toothsome and tasty series where members of the OC family forage for great food––under $10!

These days, acclaimed eateries are blooming like daisies on even the most unassuming corners of Bushwick. AREPERA GUACUCO is one of my new favorites. Concealed in a strip of 99 cent stores and laundromats on Irving Avenue, its 41 dish menu will get you going H.A.M on zesty Venezuelan snacks, every time.

When I hit up this joint on a recent weekend, waiting for these snacks was a mildly stressful experience given the lines pouring out the door. But nearly everything I tasted was worth it. Among the street food-esque small plates were empanadas, arepas, plantain appetizers, and velvety fruit smoothies. I went for a sweet and salty combo: the salted beef empanada ($4.00) with the ambrosial Cocada ($4.00) milkshake, infused with bursts of cinnamon and brittle coconut flakes that I couldn't help digging around for at the bottom of my glass. My more health-conscious pal gave the fruit and veggie Tres en Uno smoothie ($6.00) a spin, along with a buttery Arepa.

For those seeking more O.G Venezuelan cuisine, definitely don't miss the national dish the Pabellon Criollo (at $12.50, one of the menu's most expensive items). It's a veritable feast, stacked with plantains, rice, beans, salted beef, and smoky aged cheese.

AREPA GUACUCO
44 Irving Ave
Brooklyn, New York
MAP

Two delicious smoothies, the Cocada and the Tres en Uno

The salted beef empanada

An arepa

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Take 20% Off iPhone and iPad Accessories!

March 20, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Turning Internet Images into Itokawa Film

≪ Previous: Bites on a Budget: $4 at Arepera Guacuco

Last year, Experian Marketing Services found that iPhone users spend an average of one hour and 15 minutes on their phones each day. We know you spend that time checking important things like the OC Blog, Instagram, and Facebook, but when you're not, you shouldn't have to stare at a plain old device! So today through Monday, March 24, you can get 20% off select iPhone and iPad cases and accessories to spruce up your daily tech grind. Plus, we'll throw in free ground shipping with your order! Might we suggest adding a glittery sleeve from OC to your phone, or pampering your iPad with a luxe pebbled leather case from Alexander Wang?

Shop all iPhone and iPad accessories here.

*Free ground shipping only for orders within the contiguous United States. Offer is not valid in stores and cannot be applied to previous purchases. Offer ends Monday, 3/24/13 at 11:59pm PST. Offer is available online only and is applicable only to select merchandise. Offer cannot be combined with other discount offers.

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Turning Internet Images into Itokawa Film

March 20, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: PRE-ORDER: Opening Ceremony & Magritte Birkenstocks

≪ Previous: Take 20% Off iPhone and iPad Accessories!

Like many good things, British brand Itokawa Film began as an exchange of ideas between two friends on the Internet. "[James Ari King and I] would spend hours taking pictures and reworking them on the computer, sending them to each other," designer Samuel Membery said. "It started out as a loose back and forth of images and developed into a brand with a concise vision."

That vision is stark and dark, true to the brand's HTTP beginnings. Its first collection, now available at OC, was inspired by the subversive underworld of internet hackers. "We found images on the Internet, as well as created our own. We'd made a few hundred and then decided to do something with them, but we didn't know we were going to make clothes."

But Samuel's eight years of fashion design training made clothing a natural choice as a vehicle for the art the duo created. Working with artist James' self-taught ability to manipulate and create images, Itokawa Film was born. "The images are important to the concept, as well as the overall styling of the look book, and film collaborations... It's all part of creating the world of Itokawa Film." But don't expect them to stop there, Samuel expressed a desire to branch out into furniture, jewelry, and more. "I'm hoping it can become a lifestyle, so that people who like our aesthetic can have more than just clothes."

To celebrate the creation of this world and its place at Opening Ceremony, James and Samuel produced an OC-exclusive video in collaboration with Listen Studio. "It's more of a mood video, as it doesn't show the whole collection. Listen Studio does interior and furniture design, and they worked with us on the set, making it resonate with the surfaces of the prints that James made. The chrome tubing has a reflective quality that worked with the colors, and they moved around to create a mood that emphasized our collection."

Watch the video below, and shop all Itokawa Film here.

ITOKAWA FILM SS14 for Opening Ceremony from I T O K A W A on Vimeo.

Photo by James Ari King, courtesy of Itokawa Film

liquid print sweatshirt in black/silver

liquid print t-shirt in black/white

lightning print t-shirt in black

front pleated shorts in black

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PRE-ORDER: Opening Ceremony & Magritte Birkenstocks

March 23, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: OCTV Presents: How To Make the Perfect Tortilla with Danny Bowien

≪ Previous: Turning Internet Images into Itokawa Film

Slip your feet into the Surrealist movement. The final pre-order on the Opening Ceremony & Magritte collection begins today with the printed Birkenstocks. As part of our year of Belgium, we've created a collection dedicated to one of the country's greatest artists, René Magritte. We've printed reproductions of the artist's most iconic Surrealist paintings on classic Birkenstock styles, giving a whole new meaning to the term "wearable art."

Pre-order Opening Ceremony & Magritte for WOMEN and for MEN starting today until Sunday, March 30, 2014.

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OCTV Presents: How To Make the Perfect Tortilla with Danny Bowien

March 23, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: pushBUTTON Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

≪ Previous: PRE-ORDER: Opening Ceremony & Magritte Birkenstocks

The tortilla is one of the few American foods that you can actually find everywhere: from truck stops to taco stands to Michelin-starred restaurants. But what makes a tortilla perfect? Danny Bowien of Mission Cantina, our favorite new LES restaurant, has the answers. Hint: they involve machinery from Mexico, corn from South Carolina, and an overnight bath of calcium hydroxide (that's the stuff the Aztecs used for those OG pre-Columbian tortillas). But mostly, the perfect tortilla takes an amazing and unusual obsession with quality.

Watch more OCTV HERE | Read more of OC's food-filled adventures HERE

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pushBUTTON Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

March 23, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Bleu Indigo Revisits Traditional French Dyeing Techniques

≪ Previous: OCTV Presents: How To Make the Perfect Tortilla with Danny Bowien

pushBUTTON's Fall/Winter 2014 show at Seoul Fashion Week was a blending of masculine, feminine, prints, and patterns—par for the course for this brand. But there was a sense of grandeur and excess that you couldn't quite put your finger on. That is, until a baby blue shirt walked down the runway and you caught sight of the phrase "Supernormal Stimuli" on the back, which also served as the collection's title. The psychology term describes a situation when you're exposed to a stronger version of a stimuli you've already perceived, and it elicits a greater response. This term was put in action for this collection, exaggerating familiar shapes and patterns—bomber jackets and tailored trousers featuring pinstripes, leopard print, and a sparkly textured knit—to an extreme. Bright colors, sculpted shoulders, and oversized draping did their part in creating a bold, glamorous collection. Topped off with giant cat-eye sunglasses for both men and women, as well as felt fedoras with a heart-shaped brim, the looks had an air of Hollywood decadence to them. But although there was a current of excess running through the collection, at no point was it too much. Or was that just supernormal stimuli in effect?

Photos by Jiho Hwang | E-MAIL US to be notified once the Fall/Winter 2014 collection hits OC!

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Bleu Indigo Revisits Traditional French Dyeing Techniques

March 23, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Christopher Kane Gives Us A Botany Lesson

≪ Previous: pushBUTTON Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

What made Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. album cover so American (besides the title)? It's the Boss' outfit: perfectly faded Levi's with a baseball cap tucked into the back pocket. BLEU DE PANAME––or “jeans of Paris” in colloquial French––also knows the power of workwear to conjure up a nation's heritage. The brand's new capsule collection, Bleu Indigo, draws on the uniquely French utilitarian tradition of hand-dying with indigo, creating pieces that masterfully revisit and reconstruct traditional French silhouettes.

All six pieces at OC––including a T-shirt, a scarf, and a shawl collar cardigan––have been soaked carefully several times in indigo dye and progressively oxidized to create deep, rich blue hues. On the rack, the colors are vibrant. But like your old school uniforms, the garments age with wash and wear, their dyes naturally running and fading according to the lifestyles of their wearers.

Shop all Bleu de Paname HERE

Photo by Melchior Abeille. Courtesy of Bleu de Paname

Bleu Indigo Cardigan in Indigo

Bleu Indigo Sweatshirt in Indigo

Bleu Indigo Tricot Long-Sleeve Tee in Indigo

Bleu Indigo T-Shirt in Indigo

Bleu Indigo Trousers in Indigo

Bleu Indigo Scarf in Indigo

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Christopher Kane Gives Us A Botany Lesson

March 24, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: A Ping Pong Match Between Photographers

≪ Previous: Bleu Indigo Revisits Traditional French Dyeing Techniques

Somewhere in between sneaking out for lunch and soccer practice, I spent my time at Barnstable High School cramming for the AP Biology exam, a whopper of a test which ran the gamut from recessive traits to ribosomes. CHRISTOPHER KANE’S Spring/Summer 2014 collection would have been the ideal cheat sheet. The collection playfully subverts spring’s most notorious cliché—the flower—by conjuring up academic associations, incorporating textbook botanical diagrams and petal-shaped cutouts in order to draw parallels between the flower and female anatomy.

Kane’s reputation for reimagining femininity by blending elegant fabrics with bold, innovative forms is manifest in this collection, which includes billowing lace skirts, organza appliqué arrows lifted from photosynthesis diagrams, and hidden mini-pleats that add dimension and graceful movement. In addition to these more conceptual takes on flowers, Kane also includes large-scale graphic depictions of stamen, stigma, and stalks (all properly labeled, no doubt) as throwbacks to academic visual culture. Take your pick of spring's freshest florals at OC NY, LA, and online!

Shop all Christopher Kane HERE

BUTTERCUP SKIRT in yellow and BUTTERCUP SWEATER in white. Photos courtesy of Christopher Kane

LACE FLOWER EMBROIDERED SWEATSHIRT in mint/white.

PLASMA LACE PETAL SKIRT in lilac/ iridescent

PLASMA LACE PETAL TANK in lilac/ iridescent

Arrow Diagram T-Dress in white

Double Pleat Mini Skirt in white/mint

Flat T-Bar Sandals in red

Flat T-Bar Sandals in white

Flat T-Bar Sandals in black/white

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A Ping Pong Match Between Photographers

March 24, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: What is GCC? Find out at MoMA PS1

≪ Previous: Christopher Kane Gives Us A Botany Lesson

“Let’s do a Ping Pong now!” photographer Nada Lottermann exclaimed with a grin as she thrust a Fujifilm Instax camera into my hands. We quickly traded instant images before the camera was passed along. Over the course of the opening celebration for Ping Pong at the new BOLD Room gallery in downtown Los Angeles, nearly everyone had the chance to participate in his own game of photographic “Ping Pong.”

Lottermann and Vanessa Fuentes make up the German photography duo Lottermann and Fuentes, the two inseparable friends behind Ping Pong. The show is presented by the Galerie fÜr Moderne Fotografie, based in Berlin, where the gallery also calls home. Its first show in Los Angeles was initially inspired by separation anxiety––Lottermann and Fuentes, nearly constant companions, would send each other snaps whenever they happened to find themselves apart. “We are just like a couple!” Lottermann joked about their bond.

The idea is easy: shoot an image, pass it along, and ask for another in return. Each “Ping” receives a “Pong” with a little help from the duo's friends, who include esteemed photographers Juergen Teller and Maxime Ballesteros. What started as a show of 20 images ballooned to 56, with the last one arriving at BOLD Room only three days before the opening. The resulting collection of playful images flirt from the walls and beckon to the crowd. Although Lottermann first thought to start with analog cameras and send each image by mail, the project quickly evolved over the course of three months through the wonders of modern technology––all the participating photographers traded images by email.

For Lottermann and Fuentes, this week’s show is just the beginning. They envision Ping Pong as an ongoing project and welcome more participants from all over the globe. The duo has their eye on a second show in Berlin with the Galerie fur Moderne Fotografie.

Through March 28, 2014

BOLD ROOM
958 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90015
MAP

For the exhibition Ping Pong, German photography duo Nada Lottermann and Vanessa Fuentes (above) shot images and sent them to photographer friends around the world. These partners then sent back images inspired by the first ones. The pairs are now on display at BOLD Room, a new gallery in downtown LA.

Nadine Fraczkowski took this photo after Lottermann and Fuentes sent her the above portrait of themselves.

"Ping" image by Lottermann and Fuentes

"Pong" image by Frank Seidlitz

"Ping" image by Lottermann and Fuentes

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What is GCC? Find out at MoMA PS1

March 24, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Steve J & Yoni P Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

≪ Previous: A Ping Pong Match Between Photographers

What does GCC stand for? If you follow politics, you probably know the acronym as the Gulf Cooperation Council, the inter-governmental body and consortium of six countries—Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Oman—that cooperates on trade, security and economics. But it's also an art collective. This Sunday, nine artists––FATIMA AL QADIRI, Khalid Al Gharaballi, Nanu Al-Hamad, Sophia Al Maria, Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Monira Al Qadiri, Aziz Al Qatami, Barrak Alzaid, and Amal Khalaf––unveiled a show at MOMA PS1. The part speculative, part-real collective describes itself as a "delegation," and creates work that oscillates between the aesthetics of diplomacy, the undocumented culture of award-giving in the Gulf, and the elite forms of speech that separate ministers from the common citizen. Their photographs, videos, and installations depict places from the alpine slopes of Morschach, Switzerland to Kuwait's national assembly, intertwining as a cohesive study of contemporary Gulf culture.

GCC: Achievements in Retrospective runs through May 25, 2014 at MoMA PS1

Photos by Lina Michal

The GCC "delegation" at MoMA PS1 on Sunday

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Steve J & Yoni P Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

March 24, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Rapping, Body Painting, and Performance Art at PS1

≪ Previous: What is GCC? Find out at MoMA PS1

Modern-day activists were the muses of Steve J & Yoni P's Fall/Winter 2014 show at Seoul Fashion Week, according to the designers' press release. The Korean duo's collections always mine youth subculture: last season was longboarding, this season it's punk for the fashion set. Think dense florals and camouflage patterns on comfortably tailored separates and sweats, or coats with high necklines that covered half of the models' faces (a nod to the anarchist's bandana). A chain motif appeared on several garments, and OC friend Joomi Lim added her signature spike jewelry to the mix. But despite all the angst, the shapes were classic, perhaps because you want your wardrobe to be easy when you feel like you're fighting all day. As a T-shirt we saw on the runway put it, "Nevertheless, life goes on."

Photos by Jiho Hwang | E-MAIL US to be notified once the Fall/Winter 2014 collection hits OC!

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Rapping, Body Painting, and Performance Art at PS1

March 24, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Kaal E Suktae Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

≪ Previous: Steve J & Yoni P Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

On an infamous episode of Thailand's Got Talent two years ago, one contestant covered her topless torso in paint and made a painting with her breasts. The incident ignited debates on TV and in newspapers over that age-old conundrum: what is (good) art? New York-based artist Korakrit Arunanondchai might not have the answer, but he clearly is interested in the question. This Sunday at MoMA PS1, as part of a performance that also included his twin brother Korapat and performance artist Boychild, Korakrit recreated the episode onstage, covering his body in paint and smearing it against a canvas.

Arunanondchai, a Thai native who attended RISD and Columbia, staged the performance as part of his solo show at PS1, which opened earlier this month. As it started, a fog machine encased both the stage and the onlookers in smoke and the clear voice of Jaki Doyka bounced of off the high ceilings of the dome. The fog returned for the performance "Painting with history in a room filled with men with funny names 2," where Korakrit and Korapat rapped with a whole group of denim clad, e-cigarette smoking boys in the background, called the Bangkok Boys. We later discover that one of these were none other than Boychild, as she ends up mid-stage stripped of her denim jacket and covered in paint by the Arunanondchai twins.

And as I watch the performance, completely mesmerized in the strobe light after almost an hour and a half inside the dome (not to mention the videos of dripping rainforests and tranquil beaches) I thought to myself: could this be one of those defining art performances that ends up in history books, like Shigeko Kubota’s vagina painting or "The Monotone Symphony" by Yves Klein? At the very least, it was good art.

Photos by Lina Michal

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Kaal E Suktae Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

March 25, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Need a Lesson in British slang? Talk to Magda Archer

≪ Previous: Rapping, Body Painting, and Performance Art at PS1

Kaal E Suktae's Fall/Winter 2014 show Monday at Seoul Fashion Week was a vibrant, luxurious throwback to vintage aesthetics. The looks were an amalgamation of influences, with references to several decades providing retro touches to the designer's signature futuristic style. Contrasts abounded in the collection: the silhouettes were masculine and feminine, soft and structured all at once. Alluring velvet and satin finishes sparkled against the matte wool and leather pieces, making the monochromatic looks as visually exciting as the color-blocked ones. A simple hand-drawn pattern became eye-catching and dynamic when repeated on sleek puffer jackets and bold platform booties. But perhaps the most interesting juxtaposition was the reappearance of Spring/Summer 2014's garter belt accents, bringing a detail reserved for undergarments to the forefront of an otherwise covered-up collection.

Photos by Jiho Hwang | E-MAIL US to be notified once the Fall/Winter 2014 collection hits OC!

The designer, Lee Suktae, backstage

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Need a Lesson in British slang? Talk to Magda Archer

March 25, 2014, 9:00 pm

≫ Next: Bites on a Budget: €7.50 at Mogg & Melzer

≪ Previous: Kaal E Suktae Fall/Winter 2014: Seoul Fashion Week

Here in the UK, we have plenty of funny little sayings. To any non-Brit, they wouldn't make much sense, but to us these colloquialisms can express meaning in the clearest of ways. Magda Archer is an artist whose love for tongue-in-cheek British phrases has become the defining feature of her work. Among my personal favorites of hers included in Scream Editions' pop-up gallery in London are Toffs Love Dogs (translation: "posh people love dogs"), Shut up for a bit (a phrase my own grandmother uses to this day, which essentially means STFU) and Text me yeah?

Full disclosure: Magda is my aunt. But she never ceases to impress or surprise even those who know her well. When I visited her studio last year, I discovered an impressive collection of scrapbooks and pez dispensers, as well as paintings with titles like Bet Your Mother Works At McDonalds. This year, she has branched out into screen printing, with encouragement from Scream Editions. Its pop-up gallery is now displaying all six of her prints, in addition to an exclusive two-color print titled Stay Fresh––only £45 while limited stocks last!

How do these niche Britishisms pop into Magda's head in the first place? "I've no idea where I get most of them from," she said. "Some must be overheard, others come into my head at the most inopportune moments. I've got notebooks and scraps of paper dotted all over the place with words and phrases in. I even write on food packets and sometimes my hand. I love slang and current expressions—I just love words, really."

So what's Magda's favorite British saying? "I quite like 'I wiped my mouth and walked away,' [which means] 'I'll put that rather tricky experience behind me. 'Give over,' meaning 'stop it or leave me alone,' is a firm favorite too."

Through April 18, 2014

SCREAM EDITIONS POP-UP GALLERY
20 Foubert's Place
London
W1F 7PL
MAP

Photos by Eloise Moran

OC London's Hannah checking out some of Magda's work!

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Bites on a Budget: €7.50 at Mogg & Melzer

March 25, 2014, 9:00 pm

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BITES ON A BUDGET is a toothsome and tasty series where members of the OC family forage for great food––under $10!

Brätwurst, Wienerschnitzel, and Haribo Gummy Bears. Those are just three examples of German foodstuffs that one might encounter on a trip to Berlin. Reuben sandwiches and New York cheesecake, on the other hand? To this New Yorker, those seem more suited to a Lower East Side deli than the European capital. Yet, they’re exactly what I found when I visited Berlin's Mogg & Melzer for lunch last week. Just two years old, Mogg & Melzer has taken culinary inspiration from traditional Jewish-American eateries like Carnegie Deli, serving everything from roast beef sandwiches to smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels.

Of course, many of the food American delis are known for originated in Central and Eastern Europe, and the word delicatessen itself is German. But deli culture as we know it came to be in early 20th century New York. It's this culture that Paul Mogg and Oskar Melzer, two German natives, wanted to emulate. Housed inside Jüdische Mädchenschule, an old Jewish girls school in Mitte, Mogg & Melzer shares the building with a stable of art galleries and restaurants, as well as Museum The Kennedys (remember “Ich bin ein Berliner”?).

In contrast to the hustle and bustle of the average New York deli, Mogg & Melzer is relaxed. But it's not without its Americanisms: according to a friend of mine who’s made the restaurant her regular hangout, it’s actually quite chic to request your coffee and food “to go.” Plus, in true heartland fashion, Mogg & Melzer forgoes portion control in favor of stuffing its Reuben sandwiches full of saltbeef and mayo (€13.50) and loading its vegetarian option with clumps of avocados, lentils and chipotle (€6.50). Our server even warned us about our rather gutsy order of two French onion soups (€7.50 each), two sandwiches, and an extra side of coleslaw. “You have to leave room for cake,” he said shaking his head. Don't worry, we did.

MOGG & MELZER
Auguststrasse 11-13
10117 Berlin
Germany
MAP