RAF SIMONS REVAMPS HIS WEBSITE

Yes. I am not sure if they hired someone new to make the new website, visually it's largely the same. Boy, a long time Raf Simons friend and model (Raf has used many of the same guys as models throughout his career, some of them are his friends) was responsible for creating the first one. I think the best feature of the new website are the videos from the old fashion shows - it not only lets you see the dynamics of the shows, but also peek at pieces that were never produced. AW 00-01 is my favorite. Enjoy.

http://www.rafsimons.com

THE ONE TO HAVE - ANNE FONTAINE WHITE SHIRT

Men aren't the only creatures that need a cool white shirt. I think having a great white shirt in one's wardrobe is equally important for both sexes. It is a versatile piece that can be a gateway to both dressing up and dressing down. For any woman who is equally bored with the standard offerings of juvenile chain stores and stuffy Brioni types, take a look at Anne Fonatine. She is a French designer whose preoccupation has been a white shirt. I must say she's perfected the art. Her offerings are always unique, but rarely flamboyant. They will make you stand out from the crowd in a sophisticated and subtle way.

IS IT WORTH IT?

My big theme right now is the rise of design culture among the masses. I even might write my Master's thesis on that. I am all for it when it's good; when the pure intention is to democratize design, to make low-priced items more beautiful, more interesting, better quality. Beautify the world - isn't that part of progress? Once we've fed, clothed, and sheltered the world, isn't making it more beatiful the next logical step? I say, yes. But recent developments in the high-design-for-the-masses world leave me a little disconserted. Take the Viktor & Rolf collaboration with H&M, for example. I looked at the designs on the website, and they are pretty lame - the gimmicky arrows, the bow ties, etc. I cannot speak for the quality, but I would assume it's pretty atrocious, like most of H&M is. Yet, look at the stampede in the H&M store in Amsterdam, and in London (thanks, Susie_Bubble for the link) during yesterday's debut of the collection. Not a pretty site, eh? Do these people look like dignified humans or like participants of the proverbial rat race? Some of these garments showed up on Ebay within hours.

Today a huge discount Japanese retailer, Uniqlo, that is another player in the huge high street market opened their first flagship in New York. Massive lines are reported. A.P.C. warehouse sale that started today in Williamsburg is the same story - lines out the door and down the block. Are clothes really worth it? Is it really a sign of progress that people behave in such debased ways to be in touch with design? I think being human is more beautiful than the most beautiful article of clothing in the world - let's get our priorities straight.

"Helmut Lang" - Coming to Stores Near You

That's right, in quotation marks, because I will not view it any other way. I am a long term admirer of Helmut's work, and the fact that it is becoming a jeans'n'tshirts line under Link-Theory is just heart-breaking. You can read the latest article on the demise of the label in The New York Times. I highly doubt that a Lang customer, who admired not only Lang's clothes, but his vision, his minimalist-with-a-quirk philosophy that made his clothes intelligent and intriguing, will come back for this. Will they find a new clientele? Maybe. Oh, and no disrespect to Mr. Calvos of Habitual, but saying that Helmut made the decision to leave when he sold his company is a lie. Helmut made a decision to leave when the Devil started interfering with his creative process. They might have as well fired him. Oh, and it would do Mr. Calvos good to learn the difference between the terms Modernity and Modernism.

I absolutely disagree with Mr. Wilson. Helmut's last collection's that featured bondage details were one of his best. What killed Helmut is dilution of the brand under the "auspices" of the Prada Group management.