Oh Yes Oh My

Nanna of Oh Land

Fame. It's a strange thing. It can arrive at any moment, with a prolonged buildup, or without any notice whatsoever. One moment your friend can be a gogo dancer at your party, or putting on guerilla fashion shows in your college canteen, or making weird two headed dolls in his bedroom, and then all of a sudden they are doing duets with Boy George, or getting nominated for CFDA Awards, or collaborating with Anna Wintour and Barneys. How does it all happen? A little over two years ago we did a party with Nanna Fabricius, a.k.a. Oh Land, a relatively unknown Danish singer-songwriter, who had her first ever U.S. performance that very evening. Only about seventy or so people attended, but everyone had a sense of the immense talent in the room.

Since that performance, Nanna has been named one of Time Out's most stylish New Yorkers, and has graced the pages of Vogue, Elle, Teen Vogue, and pretty much every other major publication out there. The attention is well deserved: the music is infectiously catchy, simultaneously graceful and danceable, and Nanna's voice sends chills down my spine. Please take a moment to watch the video below, and I'm sure you will agree with me. Nanna and her boyfriend Eske Kath are in the midst of a week long residency at the Charles Bank Gallery, and I stopped by on Tuesday, and took some photos of the installation and the performance. She will be performing two more free shows at the gallery at 8pm tonight and on Friday (I might even try to go back again!), and I highly suggest you make it over there to see her if you are in New York.

A pile of houses--part of the installation created by artist Eske Kath






The video for Sun of a Gun

-Tiffany

Objet d'Art

A couple of weeks ago, I wore my Mary Katrantzou dress to the National Arts Club, where I felt so at home in my environment that I almost blended in with the wall paper. Shortly thereafter, I got to view her Fall collection at the London Showrooms event, and found that it may as well have been inspired by the National Arts Club. While last season Mary focused on the interiors of lush, well decorated rooms, this season she chose to go inside the rooms, and examine what luxurious objects and trifles the residents of those places might own. There are plenty of wall paper patterns and decorative moldings mixed with fireplace mantels and scenes lifted from vases. There are shimmering glimpses of chandeliers adorned with Swarovski crystals, knit dresses that look like panels from a wall tapestry, tile repeats, and a curious pair of koi fishes which look like they belong in someone's private rock garden.

All of these items are pieced together as if the designer had ripped apart the pages of a stuffy Sotheby's catalogue and put them back together in a more delightful fashion. In fact, some of the clothes themselves are worthy of an auction catalogue given the immense amount of embellishment on several of the showpieces. One dress, covered in crystals and three-dimensional sequin rosettes, comes to mind in particular. It was recently borrowed by Anna Dello Russo, who might have had to hover in mid air while she sat in order not to crush the delicate flowers. Clothes as gorgeous as these are definitely worth suffering for.

-Tiffany

A Spoonful of Socker

Shirt courtesy of Astars, Acne jeans, T by Alexander Wang bra, Dieppa Restrepo brogues, French and English Confectioner's backpack, Slow and Steady Wins the Race sunglasses, Devaki hat, scarf courtesy of Post Fire Dew, Annti Asplund broken cross necklaces, Ben Amun spike necklace, Triskaidekaphobia matchstick cross necklace.

I've been wearing some variation of this outfit for the past week straight. I hesitantly picked up the Acne jeans at the Creatures of Comfort sample sale a few weeks ago, and even though they're two sizes too big, and Jimmy refers to them as my "gross jeans," they've quickly become a favorite. They're perfect for the chilly weather-- it might be officially spring, but in New York it still feels like February. In fact, I've been checking, and it's been pretty much the same weather here as in Stockholm, which completely defeats the purpose of uh, not being in Stockholm.

Speaking of Stockholm, I wore this outfit to visit a new Swedish candy store, Sockerbit, which recently opened in the West Village at 89 Christopher Street. Swedish candy is one of things that Jimmy misses the most about Sweden, and Sockerbit (which means sugarcube) has managed to import nearly all of our favorites, with the exception of salty black licorice, which is apparently illegal in the U.S. (?!!?). I secretly suspect it's really because most Americans would leave the store running if they got a taste of that stuff, which may or may not come covered in table salt, and is definitely an acquired taste. Anyway, if you stop by, I suggest you try my favorites: Polly (chocolate covered nougat), Center (hazelnut filled chocolates), Geisha bars, Daim bars, and Lakerol licorice. I embarrassingly spent almost $20 on candy, and the two of us nearly finished the entire lot in under three days. Needless to say, I will be returning for more soon, probably as early as this weekend...



Swedish Easter eggs waiting to be filled!


The Polly chocolates, the gummy hearts, and the sweet and sour gummies in the center row are all favorites of mine

-Tiffany

The Shape of Things to Come

Meghan from Shape Shiftr recently emailed over the latest Fall collection lookbook, a dreamy pastiche of vivid colors inspired by the Mexican "Day of the Dead" holiday. While the collection is infused with bold hues, the garments retain the signature draping that create the constantly changing silhouette shapes (hence the name of the line). I love the assortment of colors, but my favorite piece is the pale blue button down shirt dress that has a bit of a babydoll feel to it. Paired with some of this season's technicolor eye makeup (a look I suggest you lift directly from this lookbook), and you're ready to go!

-Tiffany

-Tiffany

She Came From Outer Space

While I sadly did not get to make it out to Stockholm for Fashion Week in January, Stockholm is slowly making its way to me via my gorgeous friends at W29 Showroom, who are always the best resource for Scandinavian fashion in New York. Rodebjer is one of my all-time favorites, and every time I think our friend Carin Rodebjer has designed her best collection yet, she manages to one-up herself. I was bowled over by her Fisher's Island inspired collection last season, and for fall, she's completely changed directions and gone for a spaced-out, seventies-vibe, inspired in part by the strong, cool ladies of that era, including Charlotte Rampling and Nico. The collection also seems to channel Ziggy Stardust era David Bowie, with whopping doses of future-infused glam. In recent collections, Rodebjer has expanded on her range of colors and prints, and this season she's introduced a rainbow hued galaxy print, as well as some shockingly bright metallic leather accessories, which are somehow completely chic and not at all tacky. I'm totally obsessed with the pink metallic heels and the silver boots, which add just the right amount of dazzle to any outfit. I was kicking myself for not ordering anything for spring, but I'll make sure not to make the same mistake this time around.

-Tiffany

Crystal Method

Lab grown crystal necklace and matching silver rings

Designer Fannie Schiavoni is probably best known for her labor-intensive chain-mail style pieces, assembled loop by loop to create slinky body chains, and other forms of modern body-armor. While most of her pieces are still based on the chain-mail concept, Fannie's expanded her collection with a chain mesh shirt, several cuffs and necklaces adorned with shimmering scales, and most intriguingly a necklace dripping with what appear to be chunky silver rock crystals. Upon close inspection, one realizes that these metal crystals are each unique, and Fannie explained that they're lab-grown crystals made out of base metal, and each grew into their own unique shape and form. I admit, I don't really understand the science behind the process--who knew you could manipulate metal to grow in an organic matter? Nonetheless, the results are spectacular, and the faux rocks have formed themselves into a variety of geometric and architectural shapes that resemble inverted pyramids and mazes. Additionally, they have a mesmerizing iridescent gleam, and you don't need to know the chemical formula to appreciate their beauty.

Scaled necklaces in silver and black

The designer Fannie Schiavoni wearing a chain mesh top from her collection

A body chain, assembled loop by loop

-Tiffany

The Empire at the End of the Decadence

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of stopping by the Verlaine studios to preview the Fall collection. While I had browsed through the lookbook, most predominantly black collections fail to register very well in photographs, and I couldn't really get a sense of the dense textures, angular dimensions, luxurious hidden details, and of course, the general grandeur of the garments. Designed by a small collective of designers, each piece is put together with meticulous attention to details. For example, one pair of paneled pants is made up of over sixty pattern pieces, and the interior seam bindings are hand-dyed even though they are invisible from the outside. While the garments are constructed with clean lines and have a minimalist feel, they also carry a sense of high drama, and my favorite pieces include a floor-sweeping cocoon-like wool coat that envelopes the wearer, and an extra chunky hand-knit sweater that feels like it weighs about twenty pounds.

-Tiffany