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Patterns Of Strange

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Fingerprints aren't just for iPhone 6 recognition access this season—they're also the motif we're wearing all over our bodies. With an Opening Ceremony Fall/Winter 2014 collection inspired by the hand in Antwerp, Belgium, the unique identifier no longer needs to go underappreciated. 

Each fingerprint-themed piece in the collection represents a different aspect of the finger and the ridges and lines that consume it. Intricate fingerprint textures are woven onto asymmetrical Circle Skirts while realistic prints swirl around Skinny Jeans and Shirts. The Fingerprint Tubular Jacquard Dress and multitude of OC Logo beanies available have exaggerated, digitized fingerprint patterns that will have hands grasping to touch. Certain subtle pieces, such as the Fingerprint Jacquard Chestplate Coat that displays panels of white swirling whorls, allow for a minimal look that juxtaposes the more blatantly obvious clothing in the collection. 

No matter what look you're going for, it's for certain that with pieces this good, others might feel the need to get a little handsy.

Shop all Opening Ceremony fingerprint here


From Left: Opening Ceremony Fingerprint CDC Short-Sleeve Top in grey/white, Fingerprint Tubular Jacquard Flare Skirt in green, Fingerprint Skinny Jeans in white, Fingerprint Tubular Jacquard Flare Dress in cobalt (available in stores), and OC Logo Fingerprint Beanie in red.

Carol And Humberto Take The White House... For A Fashion Education Workshop

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Eva Chen, Cecilia Dean, Anna Wintour... at quick glance, surrounded by chandeliers and design luminaries, you'd think we were back at the Met Ball. Only this time, the fashion crowd was mixed in with 150 teenagers invited by none other than Michelle Obama.

On Wednesday, we had the privilege of visiting the White House for an event organized by the First Lady which paired fashion innovators with groups of students aged 13 to 19. In our case, we led a workshop on inspiration: how to find it, cultivate it, and channel it into concrete achievements. Speaking of inspiration, we also managed to sneak away for a few minutes to explore the White House. See our snaps above...

Carol and Humberto at the White House Fashion Workshop, an event organized by First Lady Michelle Obama which paired fashion innovators with groups of students aged 13 to 19.

Many thanks to Michelle Obama for inviting us to the White House and giving us the opportunity to share our stories. 

Hillary would definitely approve.

We wonder how many mirror selfies have taken place in this room.

Carol and Brian Phillips in the Red Room, where we spent the day mentoring students

Cecilia Dean, Edward Enninful, and Eva Chen (in front of a portrait of First Lady Grace Coolidge)

Bill's got his eye on you. 

Carol and Humberto with JFK

A retrospective of all the gowns Michelle Obama has worn in the past, many from designers attending the event. 

The Blue Room, known for its color and unusual egg-like shape.

Humberto in the Red Room
A panel, consisting of Jason Wu, Tracy Reese, Prabal Gurung, Jenna Lyons, Lilliana Vazquez, and Diane von Furstenberg, discussed all things fashion and business. 

This fence doesn't look high-security, but we have a feeling climbing it would be a bad idea.

Yes, we had to: a shot of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial

Humberto in front the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool

Brian and

Into The Fray: Marques'Almeida Fall/Winter 2014

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“What would happen if you remade Almost Famous in a dystopian future?” That’s the question London-based design duo Marta Marques and Paulo Almeida seems to be asking with their Fall/Winter 2014 men's and women's collections. Stonewashed denim and colorful furs mix with frayed edges to create garments that pull from the past and seemingly the future. The label takes pieces as classic as denim capris and button-downs and cranks up the bizarre factor with extreme silhouettes and lots of unraveled hems. It’s all one big, beautiful time warp, and we can’t get enough.

The birth of Marques'Almeida happened back in 2009 when Marta and Paulo graduated with distinction from CIMEX Fashion School in Portugal and both moved to London to test out their fashion chops with some big players: Vivienne Westwood for Marques and Preen for Almeida. They joined forces at Central Saint Martins while both studied in the MA Fashion program, and the rest was denim-fueled history.

Today, their women’s collection is rife with twisted versions of '90s and '00s wardrobe staples. The denim jacket gets an iridescent exoskeleton in the Fitted Collarless Jacket. Capris have a new, grungier lease on life in Crushed Velvet. The Lamb Fur Jacket is one of the collection’s most out-there garments, yet still stays sneakily grounded in the Marques'Almeida aesthetic with its denim lining. Mini purses in pony hair and sheepskin echo the soft, fuzzy vibe.

The men’s collection, exclusive to Opening Ceremony, features a classic trench in frayed denim with the Denim M76192. Garments like hoodies and sweatpants also get the denim treatment with the Denim Hoodie and Frayed Waist Denim Trousers. Top it all off with a sense of humor with the Long Lamb Fur Collar and you’re all set.

Shop Marques'Almeida men's and women's
The Long Lamb Fur Collar in red and the Denim Pocket Overshirt in stonewash denim
The Fitted Collarless Jacket in stonewash metallic
The Denim Ho

The Art Of Being Passive Aggressive

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"I’m not mad. I don’t care." I’ve said those words and I’ve lied about them, like the women who came before me. My grandmother has this slow blink: You can’t tell from any other part of her body that she’s upset, except for the way her eyelashes sweep her lower lids. My mother, too, knows how to contain her emotions in a deliberate and circumscribed manner.

Likewise, writer and performance artist Kate Durbin choreographed a public art piece in Union Square Friday that represents how smartphones intersect with the fraught relationship between women’s inner emotional worlds and their outer embodied manifestations. Durbin had more than a dozen young women take to the park, in identical wigs, white sport bras, and underpants, Hello Kitty stickers stuck to their limbs, to selfie (if that’s even a verb) for an hour straight. Durbin was their goth queen mother taking selfies alongside them in a black-and-white Hello Kitty dress and long white wig. #helloselfienyc was the second iteration of a performance Durbin first did in LA’s Chinatown back in July. In both performances, the women were instructed not the speak to the audience directly. They could only communicate through their phones. Durbin described the piece as “passive aggressive performance art.”

As I watched the women IRL, I also checked the URLs they were sharing their selfies at, like the event’s Facebook page. I very closely watched Labanna Babalon squat on top of her phone to frame some up­skirt-style shots, but I never noticed the period­-blood stain on her crotch until I looked later at the selfie she posted. Surprisingly, a lot of the women later talked about feeling extreme emotions. From the outside looking in, they mostly looked bored. One woman told me she was so overwhelmed “but not in a bad way” that she almost cried and her chin started quivering. I’m not sure any of the audience crowding around the half-naked girls noticed a chin quivering just like I’m pretty sure my grandfather rarely notices my grandmother’s slow blink.

The “Hello Selfie” performance exemplified how smartphones provide another posture of indifference for young women—try not to cry or look awkward, just stare at your phone and pretend you’re reading a text message—but also an outlet for sad girls who don’t get to be sad except for online. Feeling shitty? 'Gram a pouty photo. Online, you can see someone’s insides from the outside.

The gaze has long been a hinge or pivot point for the internal and external. Hannah Wilke’s performances often got at those murky spaces between the binaries of artist/subject, inside/outside, and body/self—how they inform each other and fold in on each other. “Through her myriad and often contradictory presentations of herself, Wilke solicits this gaze,” writes Amelia Jones, “grafting it onto and into her body/self, taking hold of it and reflecting it back to expose and exacerbate its reciprocity.” With her selfie-centered project, Durbin updates the exploration of these spaces for the 2.0 generation.Writer and performance artist Kate Durbin's #helloselfienyc, a choreographed public art piece, got at exactly how smartphones intersect with the fraught relationship between women’s inner emotional worlds and their outer embodied manifestations. Photos

AIDS Is Not Over, OCLA Shows Their Support

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Who: (from l to r) Lindsey Ortega, Daniel Wing, Greg Luna, Heidi Gaudet, Erika Flynn, Mark Saldana, Casey Rea, Bertie Jimenez, and Daniel Buezo
Where: The Los Angeles AIDS Walk, a fundraiser that supports over 20 various AIDS service organizations around Los Angeles
When: Sunday, October 12
Why: Because, as the T-shirts custom-made by OC's art department declare, AIDS is not over! Opening Ceremony friends and family raised more than double our goal, turning up to complete the 6.2-mile walk. The funds raised will go towards helping people affected by HIV access treatment, improving public policy related to the disease, and preventing its spread.

Sunday, ten OCLA-ers walked 6.2 miles to raise money for the fight against AIDS. Photo by Stryder Bartow


The White Cube Goes Pink, Furry, And Psychedelic

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“To fathom Hell or soar angelic, just take a pinch of psychedelic.” In 1957, psychiatrist Humphry Osmond coined the word to describe his experiments using hallucinogens, and since, tales of trips the world-over have never been the same. Yet, since its first usage, “psychedelic” has come to refer to more than drugs. Psychedelic art, music, and fashion alter our perceptions of the external world without necessarily altering our brain chemicals (though, as generations of stoned Dark Side of The Rainbow viewers would attest, the two often pair well). 

Last Thursday, Red Bull Studios New York invited guests to travel into an "exploration of psychedelic consciousness in contemporary art," a.k.a the exhibit Spaced Out: Migration to the Interiorcurated by writer/Brooklyn Rail founder Phong Bui. With works by Charles LeDray, Peter Saul, and Rona Pondick, the exhibit wasn't just a collection of trippy-looking objects. Rather, it aimed to provide a cohesive psychedelic experience, fusing individual works into a vivid, sensory, and yes, mind-altering, whole.

Take the installation by Jim Lambie, for instance, which covered the entire floor of the gallery with colorful stripes of tape. In another room, walls, floors, and ceilings were coated with fluffy pink shag carpeting (most definitely Diddy-approved). In the midst of these tactile installations were 2-D paintings and sculptures. Swiss pop artist Sylvie Fleury—the inspiration behind one of this season’s Eastpak x Nicomede Talavera backpacks—contributed Later, Later, an acrylic painting resembling polka dot disco balls (or maybe Technicolor boobs). Takeshi Murata's video installation, Shiboogi, meanwhile, displayed oozing pixelated colors, old infomercials, and vintage news blurbs.

Another standout piece was Bruce Pearson’s Inhale, a mesmerizing, computerized glass installation that moves in a calculated formation to form the word "INHALE." "When you look at this piece for awhile, it becomes very hypnotic,” Pearson told us at the opening.

What's the point of being hypnotized by art? “Art is so important to our culture because it invites people to reflect and think about greater, wider interpretation,” Phong Bui explained. “Our experience changes each time we look at art. It gives you a sense of the human heart and freedom. Art is not just made for the elite, upper-class. Art can be different metamorphoses; it cannot be an assumed, one-dimensional rhythm.”

Spaced Out: Migration to the Interior runs Wednesday-Sunday 10AM to 6PM, through December 14, 2014

Red Bull Studios New York
220 West 18th St.
New York, NY 10011

Secret Tickets To A Secret Venue? We're There

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In the heyday of the '90s, cult NYC clothing store Liquid Sky became the first so-called "rave emporium" in America. If you were someone of a certain age, you'll remember the husband-and-wife duo, Rey and Carlos "Soul" Slinger, and the DJ scene they created in the city, selling both rave gear—baggy pants, neon necklaces, mini backpacks—and secret concert tickets to an exploding fan base. 

So, Opening Ceremony was pretty excited to discover the infamously anonymous dance musician ZHU would be performing in the US for the first time next month and that we would be the exclusive sellers of the artist's limited-edition 7" vinyl. The best part? Each record will include a ticket to one of his hush-hush performances in New York next month—exact time and location undisclosed, though through various wheatpastes spotted throughout the city, we do know that these will take place November 21 and 22. 

For the unanointed, a refresher course on ZHU. Since debuting his then-anonymous Outkast medley "Moves Like Ms. Jackson" earlier this year, ZHU has amassed over 117,000 followers on SoundCloud while international hits like "Faded" have seen nearly five million YouTube hits. The craziest part of his fame is that we know next to nil about the talented artist, except that he's an American male (even his Pandora station reads "No bio available"). In the vein of like-minded dance musicians Daft Punk and SBTRKT, ZHU prefers to let his talent speak for itself—refreshing in an era of oversharing and image-conscious promotion.

Check out the world premiere of the Tomek Ducki-directed video for ZHU's "Paradise Awaits" below, and if you're in New York, mark your calendars: ZHU's tickets and vinyl for those upcoming performances will be available starting this Thursday, 5:30 PM EST, exclusively at Opening Ceremony's flagship store. 
 
Above, the world premiere of ZHU's "Paradise Awaits" video



Tickets for ZHU's November 21st and 22nd performance dates will be sold exclusively at Opening Ceremony's flagship New York City location, 35 Howard Street, starting Thursday, October 16 at 5:30 PM.

Performances are intimate; tickets are limited and will be available on a first come, first serve basis. Tickets will be limited to two per person.

A New Food Magazine, In Feminist Form

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To render: In the food world, it means to “cook the fat out.” In the fashion world, to depict or to illustrate. And in the case of RENDER magazine, a new feminist food publication out of Portland, it might just mean to change, to disrupt.

“You just see a lot of magazines focusing on dieting, and there are a lot more issues to be talked about,” founder Gabi de León says. Looking at the latest news out there—food-shaming forks, You Did Not Eat That, and Blake Lively’s Preserve, to name a few—she might just be right. So, in RENDER’s debut issue, Flesh, they chat with a butcher about the ethics of whole butchery, look into how masculinity plays into the Paleo Diet, and pick apart the politics of being overweight. "It's important that people... are cognizant of how their own participation in foodie culture can contribute to latent forms of overlapping classism racism, sexism, and sizism,” editor-in-chief Lisa C. Knisely writes in a feature, which we've excerpted above.

“While in college I was struggling with an eating disorder for a while, and I was pretty much fixated on food, so I read a lot of food magazines,” de León says. “I noticed the way magazines were marketed toward women, focusing on homemaking and lots of dieting, and I realized I wasn’t okay with that.”

After an internship at Bitch magazine, de León turned her senior thesis into a full-fledged magazine, bringing on Danielle Knott as executive director. “Women have been predominantly the tastemakers in the domestic sphere for so long, so food is so intrinsically tied to the female experience, and I think that is underexplored,” Knott says.

The first issue dropped in September in Portland (and hopefully makes its way across the country), the second and third issue are already underway, themed Root and Timing, respectively. “For Root, we’re looking at wintry root vegetables, but we’re also looking at some history and origins,” de León says. Expect pieces questioning the role of authenticity in cooking, plus a history of beer brewing. As for Timing, the team plans to tackle the longstanding issue of balancing work and family, interviewing chefs who have successfully straddled working full-time in a restaurant kitchen and motherhood.

“I liked the word Render because it’s a food term, but it also relates to rendering an illustration, so how you portray something,” de Leon says. “I wanted the women to be portrayed in the kitchen realistically, not, like, perfect.”

Scroll through the images above to read an exclusive excerpt from Render's Flesh issue


The cover of Render's latest issue. Photos courtesy of Render

An exclusive excerpt from Render's latest Flesh issue

Print Screen: Proenza Schouler Fall/Winter 2014

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Who said New Yorkers don't know how to do color? This Fall/Winter 2014, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the beloved Proenza Schouler boys, were color starved and pattern crazy.

Inspired by artist Ron Nagle's glazed and curiously distorted ceramics, specifically those showcased at the 55th Venice Biennale, this season has you seeing some intricate, visceral, and yes, trippy prints. The designers experimented with patterns like speckle- and crackle-print and tigerlike wood-grain. Pioneering the art of juxtaposition, the duo paired said prints with Working Girl-era silhouettes, hitting the mark with draped shoulders and pinched pleating with the Boucle Jacquard Jacket. For the Flock Print Crepe Suiting Pants, a woodcut-like animal print finds its home on a high-waisted, tapered leg cut that would impress past, present, and future art dealers.

Shop all Proenza Schouler here


Flock Printed Wood Grain Dress in nude/black/crimson Boucle Jacquard Jacket in aqua/black Wool Cashmere Rib Sweater in light grey melange Boucle Jacquard Skirt in aqua/black Splatter Print Long Skirt in black/white Flock Print Crepe Suiting Pants in slate moire Viscose Crepe Short-Sleeve V-Neck Dress in black Wool Tweed Cropped Jacket in dark brown

OC Premiere: Fade To Mind's Rizzla Remixes 'Trigger'

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Imagine if someone created a chopped 'n' screwed version of Maluca Mala's dembow-tinged dance banger "Trigger." Now picture if that same person proceeded to speed up the refix to the pace of a reggaeton song being fast-forwarded while blasting from the nearest car. The end result is the perfect music medium—and Fade to Mind affiliate Rizzla's personal concoction.

Since Maluca's single "Trigger" premiered as an exclusive preview in the B&O PLAY x Opening Ceremony collaboration video, the New York-native has had hips shaking and tongues wagging with her self-described "ghetto-techno" sound, saucy beats, and no-holds-barred lyrics. With her distinctive sound, it's no easy feat to hop on one of her tracks and re-introduce a fresh new perspective. Enter Rizzla.

Rizzla, as recognizable for his frenetic mix of house and Caribbean beats as he is for getting rumps shaking at Opening Ceremony afterparties, lends his signature "kunq" sound to the Maluca song. Rizzla's signature global sound permeates throughout the remixed track and the sped-up, slightly distorted, electronic treatment gives the song an undeniably climactic tone, with Maluca's echoed vocals playing underneath distinct synth beats.

Listen to the Rizzla reworked jam below, in the shower, or anywhere really—but the reverb assuredly sounds best blasting from some B&O Play x Opening Ceremony headphones.

Shop all B&O PLAY here

Cover art for Maluca's single, "Trigger" by Kari Altman. Photo courtesy of Kevin Amato

Silicone And Candy Colors: Xiao Li Fall/Winter 2014

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Latex, silicone, mesh, and cast rubber? China-born, London-based designer Xiao Li has garnered countless awards for her insanely inventive designs and materials, and we're not surprised. Fresh out of the Royal College of Art, Li questions form and shape, playfully manipulating garments with the eye of a fashion designer and the hand of a sculptor. For Fall/Winter 2014, the 3-D nature of her garments shines through: On one sleeveless vest, the studs and zippers of a classic perfecto are cast in cobalt blue rubber. On another jacket, a traditional chunky knit is joined with futuristic honeycomb mesh in a time capsule-ready pastiche. Talk about mixed media­­—this is wearable art. 

Shop all Xiao Li here 


The Netting Embellished Knit-Sleeves Jacket in white and the Pencil Skirt in dark blue (sold out) Embellished Overalls in blue/white Embellished Low V-Back Dress in white Sleeveless Vest Jacket in dark blue Ruffle Netting Fitted Embellished Skirt in white/blue

Lykke Li Learned Transcendental Meditation Thanks To David Lynch

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Since creeping onto the indie music scene with her innocently breathy confessional "Little Bit," from her 2008 debut album Youth Novels, Lykke Li has gone from taxi cab performances and Drake covers to the iconic MTV Unplugged stage and teen vampire soundtracks. Hailing from the music-centric land of Sweden, which has produced exports such as Mapei and Lykke's producer Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John, Lykke's unique voice and coquettish charm has gained her a worldwide following and cemented her place as an unassuming siren to constantly watch. 

Since her meteoric rise both on and off the charts, Lykke has continued to release a string of heartwrenching, pain-stakingly honest albums that speak to a generation of lovelorn listeners. Completing her triptych of a discography that focuses on the issues of self discovery and dangerous lust, Lykke's third album, I Never Learn, is her most personal work yet. I Never Learn strays from the hand-clapping and punchy tunes strongly present on her earlier albums and investigates Lykke's darker side with songs like "Gunshot" and "Heart of Steel," which continually exhibit Lykke's emotional depth and vocal range. 

While on the US leg of her world tour, we caught up with the kazoo-loving, Swedish chanteuse to talk dirty humor, tour wardrobe attire, and transcendental meditation with David Lynch.
 




CHLOE DEWBERRY: You recently released your third album, I Never Learn. What do you feel is the most important thing that you actually did learn about yourself while making this album?

LYKKE LI: I think the title is very telling for that topic. I Never Learn is kind of what I learned—that there is no end and there is no beginning. Whether you chose the path of becoming an artist or trying to be an artist or ultimately being a human being, you can’t perfect something; you have to kind of ride the waves and ups and downs. As long as you continue forward, you’ll be all right.

Between releasing your new album and touring endlessly, you've had quite a busy and packed year! When you’re not creating albums or performing, what's your favorite thing to do in between?
When I’m not making albums, I’m touring or I’m in films or I take photos or write poetry. To be honest, I haven’t had much time to do anything. Mostly I do like to be at home, which I never am. If I can, I love being at home, seeing my friends, and having dinner. I haven’t really been home all year so what I’m most looking forward to is taking a walk in the park with a friend.

Can you give us a little insight into what your tour/travel wardrobe usually consists of? What do you normally bring on tour with you? 
I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to create my own wardrobe. I travel with a “show” wardrobe, which consists of black, silky, shiny prints. My suitcase is filled with books. I like to travel

Wardrobe MVP: The OC Varsity Jacket Is Back

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Among its various achievements, Harvard is known for its rigorous academics, its settings in critically acclaimed films like How High and Legally Blonde, and, most crucially, inventing the varsity jacket. In fact, the Harvard baseball team created the original letterman jacket—which looked more like a sweater with patches—in 1865, and since then, the jacket has evolved into a staple for jocks, street-style stars, and celebrities on and off campuses.  

This season, the classic Opening Ceremony Varsity Jacket gets an elongated touch with an extended fit that touches just above the knee. With an added color palette consisting of marble green in addition to the classic black and heather grey, the outfit variations and color combinations are as seemingly endless as a Criminal Law 101 lecture. The classic wool body and contrast leather sleeves are also back with a subtle updated feature—the Opening Ceremony cube patch and a multi-colored heart patch that stands out against the stark-black leather.  

With the Opening Ceremony Varsity Jackets making a triumphant return, you no longer have to be a student athlete enrolled in an Ivy League school to look like it. 

Shop all Opening Ceremony men's and women's 



OC Exclusive Varsity Long Jacket in marble green  OC Exclusive Varsity Long Jacket in black/multi OC Exclusive Varsity Jacket in heather grey multi OC Exclusive Varsity Jacket in marble green  in black multi

Sensory Overload: Isabel Lewis' Occasions

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Frieze Art Fair opens to London’s public today, promising a visual feast—and infinite Instagram opportunities—to 70,000-some expected attendees. Meanwhile, as part of Frieze Projects, a satellite sidebar, Berlin-based, American artist Isabel Lewis is creating work that caters to the four other senses. Somewhere in between parties, performances, and exhibitions, Lewis' Occasions offers a restorative treatment to fairgoers by fusing performance, hospitality, dance, discussion, and DJing into one event.

The first "occasion" was held last night at The Old Selfridges Hotel’s raw, industrial space, where Lewis transformed 240 square meters of concrete into a leafy oasis punctuated by plants, furniture, music, dance, smells (oranges, lemon, and a hint of bubble gum punched the palette), socializing, and free-flowing booze. The effervescent artist darted from her DJ booth to dance on tables (we couldn't help but remember she's Twin Shadow's sister) to engage attendees in discussions on everything from philosophy of gardening to love.

We caught up with Isabel to learn more about the performative process of hosting an "occasion." Catch it again tonight at Old Selfridges Hotel, Friday at Fenton House in Hampstead, and at a final location to be announced later this week.



KAM DHILLON: 
Why do you choose the word "occasion" to define your work?
ISABEL LEWIS: The term occasion deals with a question of format, which is incredibly important to my work. I come from a background in dance and theater, and I’m working more increasingly in a more contemporary art and music context so it's a strategy to negotiate these differences. I wanted to create a format that could connect to these different genres and content forms, and an “occasion” seeks to stake out its own space within these categories. It also evokes the social behaviors of a social occasion, like a dinner party or something familiar that you’re hosting at home. We can understand the codes of the occasion, just as we understand the codes of the theater, or an exhibition. So, using the word "occasion" hands subtle cues on how to behave in a space.

What should we expect?
Inside the occasion format, I’m hosting and I’m directing the flow of the event. I want there to be time for the visitor to be with themselves or be with one another. What it retains from the exhibition format is the liberalism of being able to come and go. Another difference to these other formats is that the occasion wants to address the whole human sensorium.

Do you ever have expectations for how you want an "occasion" to play out?
I try to stay away from expectations, but my hopes are that people will feel welcomed by the space, by my presence, and that they might linger for a while. I’m trying to create a space for connection and a certain quality of attention. I set my occasion into motion like a DJ would arrange their set. It’s precisely the type of work where having any kind of expectation might trip me up. If I did, I'd probably fail at the task of being present. This doesn’t mean that I won’t plan ahead when it’s all happening. I might already be thinking about what would be appropriate in the next moment.

How did you develop smells with olfactory sorceress Sissel Tolaas to work inside the occasion format?
Sissel is an incredibly talented Norwegian artist/scientist interested in the sensuality and capacity of the body, as well as the informational and emotional strata embedded within smells. After

Ammerman Schlösberg Takes Comic Con

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Besides Opening Ceremony, where else in New York can you find bows, latex, leather, cuties in glitter makeup, studded jewelry, sex toys, and sky-high platforms all in one place? Comic Con, of course. We're long-time fans of the gathering of all things camp, cult, and comic, and this year decided to send two like-minded correspondents to document it: design duo Ammerman Schlösberg. If you've seen Liz Ammerman and Eric Schlösberg's latest collection, you'll know they've got their cosplay, video game, and medieval fantasy references down pat. Scroll through their snaps above, and read about their trip (and tips for incorporating Comic Con style into your IRL wardrobe) below.

Shop Ammerman Schlösberg here

OC: What did you two wear to Comic Con? 
ERIC SCHLÖSBERG: I woke up in the mood for something classic, so I went the Catholic school boy route. I wore a black Comme des Garçons pleated kilt, a white Ann Demeulemeester button-down under a striped vintage Gap sweater, an old cross I bought from Search & Destroy, and a white beanie I found at a gas station. 
ELIZABETH AMMERMAN: I unfortunately didn't have time to make a costume, but luckily our Fall/Winter 2014 collection pulled heavily from video game cuties (especially Amy from Soulcalibur), so I decided to just wear Ammerman Schlösberg. I wore our Fur Collar Leather Trench Coat and our Amy top, which is a faux-corset covered in pearls, mink pom-poms, rosettes, and bows, with billowing bell sleeves, lol. I also wore a vintage leather lace-up mini-skirt and my platform Stella McCartney boots. I couldn't resist buying an elf ear cuff from the cutest faery stall, so my look became very dark faery, Renaissance, video-game romance, lol! 

Any notable booths, exhibitors, celebs, or panels? 
EA: Obviously the faery/elf ear-cuff stall was perfect. Eric called the girls working there "forest punks." I also was obsessed with this hentai [erotic anime] vendor. I regret not purchasing this poster with two nurses having way too much fun! There were also these Celtic handmade leather journals at another vendor I LOVED. One had an ornate metal coiling snake with different crystals for each chakra inbetween the coil—it would have been a beautiful book of shadows. I was basically in heaven; it's everything under one roof that I love. 
ES: I fell in love with the group of elves Liz bought her ear cuff from. They were SO cute and they were TOTALLY forest punks... "The Elven Clan" is what they called themselves. I kind of regret not getting one, too. Also, I couldn't take myself away from the erotic manga booth in the back of the convention, lol. 

Best outfit you saw?
ES: My beautiful partner Liz, duh! 

In a past interview, you told us about the video game and cosplay vixens who inspired your Fall/Winter 2014 collection. Favorite characters of the moment?
ES: I'm OBSESSED with Scarecrow from Batman! He's such a freak!
EA: I'm still obsessed with Marie Rose

What -270 F Really Feels Like

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Sky High on Health reports on nutritional, wellness, and green lyfe fads both crazy and helpful.

If Austin Powers taught me anything, it’s that shouting is a temporary side effect of the unfreezing process. He wasn’t wrong. Only three seconds out of the ice-cold Cryosauna and I am indeed having difficulty controlling THE VOLUME OF MY VOICE. That’s because I am pumped—every muscle, every nerve ending, and every hair on my body has turned into a miniature icicle, standing up straight and fierce and ready to conquer the world. I am The Hulk and I’ve just walked through a wall. I am Muzzy and I have just eaten all the clocks in the world. And I am Mr. Freeze, invincible to all inclement weather.

To what do I owe these newfound superpowers? It’s Cryotherapy and it’s shagadelic, baby!

The Cryosauna—with its sleek cylindrical shape, futuristic mood lighting, and eerie white fog bubbling up like a cauldron from a certain Shakespearean play—looks like it’s about to take me back to the future. Though, its resemblance to a time machine may not only be in aesthetic: One of the benefits of the three-minute cold blast treatments is a reversal of the aging process. That's right, in addition to its most popular use as a treatment for muscle soreness and joint-related injuries and disorders, the cold of the cryosauna stimulates collagen production and revs your metabolism while decreasing inflammation, leaving you looking like a contestant in Toddlers & Tiaras when your years suggest otherwise.

KryoLife, on 57th Street, is the only place in New York City you can visit for these treatments. Rumor has it that the icing of injuries and cold-water immersion has been an effective recovery technique for athletes since Spartan-times. But, modern-day cryotherapy, which uses liquid nitrogen (and time machines) in replace of water, which can freeze muscles temporarily rendering them ineffective, was developed in Japan in the 1970s. By eliminating moisture, the risk of hypothermia is drastically reduced and the post-cryo lag-time is diminished. While widely regarded as a mainstream treatment in Europe for sports-related injuries, training, and degenerative joint disorders, the cryo-movement is still under-the-radar stateside. Perhaps that's why the cost is so steep, at $90 for one three-minute session! And, of course, like most things—long-term results are usually only seen with long-term use. For recovery from a specific injury or ailment like arthritis, one session a day for consecutive days until results are seen is recommended. For maintaining that "fountain of youth" glow, one session a week should do the trick. Translation: better start saving, honey!

The cryo-look is chic. Upon arrival, you are told to remove all your clothes except your underwear and to use the towel provided to dry any moisture on the skin—crucial for preventing frostbite. You are given white tube socks, white clogs, and a white robe (which comes off once inside the cryosauna). You also are given two pairs of white gloves to wear—the first a thin, flimsy pair with delicate fingers and the second a thick, wooly pair that better resembles oven mitts. Very avant-garde. Very The Leftovers.

As I prepare for my treatment, I think about those that have come before—will I enter now, only to exit 1,000 years later, preserved in perfect form à la Futurama? Or, will I meet the

Want Henry Rollins' Tats? Get 'Em Pain-Free

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During a 1997 interview with FHM magazine, legendary punk rocker Henry Rollins revealed that the first time he got a tattoo, he was just 20 and chasing "self-definition." For him, "tattooing was a way to not look like my Dad." 

No fear there. Rollins has made a name for himself since the early '80s, when he was the frontman of the legendary punk band, Black Flag. In the years since the band parted ways, he has gone on to become a human rights activist, aspoken word artist, and even an actor.

For Black Flag fans queasy about going under the needle, you can now pay Rollins tribute in a less permanent way. Exclusive to Opening Ceremony Online, Deer Dana has produced a tee featuring accurately placed, hand-drawn images of Rollins' sleeve, chest, and back tats, all sourced by the cult fashion label, Obesity + Speed. (Fun fact: Lyz Olko of Obesity + Speed has a Black Flag tattoo.)

Rollins' recognizable "Search & Destroy" (a reference to the proto-punk Stooges' anthem) ink is present. So are his Black Flag logo tats, the Misfits skull logo, and the black widow with wraparound text that reads "Creepy Crawl." Now you can look like a badass without the commitment, or worse, without those fake tattoo sleeve shirts

The Deer Dana Rollins tee is available exclusively on the Opening Ceremony website!  

Shop all Deer Dana here 

The "Rollins" long-sleeve tee features Henry Rollins' signature tattoos printed onto white cotton fabric in precisely accurate spots.  Photos by Dana Veraldi  Henry Rollins Tattoo Long-Sleeve Tee in white

Alma Restaurant: Foraging The Coast

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When you imagine a chef creating a dish, you don't immediately think of a trip to the beach with friends. But that's exactly what makes Ari Taymor different from so many of his contemporaries. Alma, the restaurant he co-owns with partner Ashleigh Parsons in downtown Los Angeles, serves food that's personal: pared-down, ingredient-driven dishes made from foraging trips up the California coast and mornings scouring local farms. The style has amassed accolades (Ari was named Food & Wine's Best New Chef of 2014), and tables at Alma are as hard to come by as a wild chanterelle in a dry spell.

This month, in collaboration with director Andrea Sisson of Lauren-Edward Film and Culture Studio, we traveled up to Rincon Beach with Ari, Ashleigh, and farmer/forager Courtney Guerra to uncover the inspiration behind one of the restaurant's most beautiful dishes, Central Coast. Named after the shoreline from which its components originate, it features cod, radish, verbena, and coastal herbs. Or, at least it did the morning we made it—the mix shifts depending on what exciting ingredients the team finds each day. Watch the above video to see how it all unfolds... 
 

Anything But Boring: Patrik Ervell Fall/Winter 2014

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Understated? Yes. Utilitarian? Yes. Boring? Definitely not. Patrik Ervell’s FW14 collection proves that normcore isn’t dead—it’s evolving. In fact, we would go so far as to say this collection warrants its own style category: it’s more paternal, with novelty-print sweaters and sensible-cut jeans, yet modern, with leather accessories and slim-fit button-downs. Ervell's bi-coastal background can be seen in this collection with just the right mix of simple and complex, of mature and youthful, of classic and edgy. Our response? “Come to daddy.” 




The video above, directed by Daniel Sannwald, features members of the London-based Random Dance Company. The choreography was improvised with the intent for the two men to blend together in a "digital, post-human identity." The clothes featured are from Ervell's FW14 collection. 


Shop all Patrik Ervell here Zig-Zag Pattern Sweater in ivory/navy Plaid Club Collar Button-Down Shirt in off white Button Collar Shirt in black Cotton Jeans in black Leather Sport Cap in black

Will Thompson Would Be Lisa From 'The Simpsons'

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It’s no secret that Opening Ceremony surrounds itself with the most unique personalities in the game—staff included! If you’ve walked into any of our brick and mortars, you’ve definitely said hello to a few friendly faces. As part of our weekly #OCFaves series, get to know our team as they pick out their favorite new arrivals and turn 'em sartorial.


Who: Will Thompson from OCNY men's shop 
Where are you from? Jersey City, New Jersey 
Tell us what you’re wearing here: I'm wearing a Band of Outsiders Polka Dot Merino Beanie and the Acne Studios Maik Anorak is layered underneath the KTZ Mirrored Towelling Wide Dress. I'm also wearing Raf Simons' Sterling Ruby Jeans and Alexander Wang Kaleb Speckled Sheepskin Boots. 
And your personal twist? My gold rings
If this outfit were a Simpsons character, it would be: Lisa
Favorite fashion slang: "One-off" 
Song or mixtape you’ve been obsessed with lately: "A Place Like This" by Majid Jordan and Dom Kennedy's From The Westside With Love II
Last movie you watched on Netflix: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
iPhone or Android: iPhone
iMessage or FaceTime: FaceTime, definitely
Last good art show you saw: Jeff Koons at the Whitney Museum and Nick Cave at Jack Shainman Gallery
Favorite spot to people watch: The dollar pizza spot on 6th Avenue and 8th Street. Mad stuff goes down there...
Biggest fashion pet-peeve: I'm so in love with the industry that nothing bothers me. 
Favorite emoji icon: The flame! 


OCNY men's shop associate Will Thompson in his #OCFaves. Click through the photos to shop (items not listed are available in stores and online soon). Photo by Michael Elijah   Band of Outsiders
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