Monthly Archives: January 2010

givenchy.gangstar

Posted on January 31, 2010 by MH| 2 Comments

Fuck Gaga. Fuck Bey. Ciara wins the fashion Grammy’s with Givenchy.
Hands down.

Colbert agrees.

→ 2 Comments

Posted in fashion, musicology

MH.edits : jan.10

Posted on January 30, 2010 by MH| 1 Comment


1 Comme des Garcons bustle coat
2 Stella McCartney wooden wedges
3 3.1 Phillip Lim grey alpaca scarf
4 Viktor & Rolf navy wool cardigan
5 Jackson small hunter green calfskin L-zip clutch
6 Jean-Michel Cazabat buckle boots
7 Eight Below Zero by Dave Ulrich round frame tortoise shell sunglasses
8 Alex B long sleeve tee
9 Docksta “Gunilla” clogs
10 Vintage Shofar bag
11 Ann Demeulemeester black open weave wool sweater
12 Bottega Veneta tan braided bracelet
13 Vintage Ann Klein lion necklace
14 Alaia black wool-blend leggings
15 Vintage rabbit fur coat

→ 1 Comment

Posted in fashion

wonder.woman

Posted on January 30, 2010 by MH| 1 Comment


Miss Jackson in Hannah Marshall

→ 1 Comment

Posted in fashion, musicology

face.tat

Posted on January 30, 2010 by MH| 3 Comments


The ever-popular prison tat goes high brow (literally) for Rihanna.
Luckily hers has a pull-away tab for when she realizes she looks foolish before 10pm. Wish the same could be said for Weezy’s.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in fashion, ish, musicology

kale.couture

Posted on January 29, 2010 by MH| 4 Comments


photo (top) courtesy of style.com
via givenchy couture / spring 2010 / paris

→ 4 Comments

Posted in fashion

mimi.saves

Posted on January 27, 2010 by MH| 4 Comments

World Premiere: “Up Out My Face (Remix)” -
Mariah Carey & Nicki Minaj

One of the best songs of last year (#18 to be exact) finally gets its remix and video treatment. With fellow Barbie girl (Nicki Minaj) in tow, Mariah lets all her skeptics know she’s smarter than them. The use of cascading words may be broke and campy, but she’s smart enough to use humor instead of cash in this recession. I guess you could say Mariah ultimately wins here, especially since she skimped on paying a director (she just asked her hubby) and, in turn, probably saved a bundle. Only question: about the color scheme…did Target sponsor?

→ 4 Comments

Posted in musicology

givenchy.girl

Posted on January 27, 2010 by MH| 10 Comments


I love that Riccardo Tisci’s new get-it-girl is Ciara. I mean, how Smoke & Mirrors is that?? Tisci debuted his spanking new Givenchy muse last night at a private cocktail party for the R&B star celebrating Couture Week in Paris. It’s just one of the many reasons I keep the line so close to my heart. WORK!


photos courtesy of wwd & yb&f

→ 10 Comments

Posted in fashion, musicology

aqua.vit

Posted on January 27, 2010 by MH| Leave a comment


Celebrating Swedish pride/Restaurant Week NYC at Aquavit
Join in on the celebration here.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in ish

break.a.leg

Posted on January 26, 2010 by MH| 1 Comment


Gwendolyn Huskens‘ ‘medic aesthetic’ footwear makes injury look good.


photos courtesy of design boom &  l’instant magic

→ 1 Comment

Posted in fashion

wu.tles

Posted on January 26, 2010 by MH| 1 Comment

World Premiere: Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers –
Tom Caruana presents… Wu-Tang Clan vs. The Beatles

The Grey Album was so 00′s. DJ/Producer, Tom Caruana, took gritty 90′s Wu-capellas and macerated them skankily (or rather unrecognizably) with Liverpool’s own interviews, samples, and back-tracks to create a Blakroc-sounding 27 song mixtape. (Highlights include: “Run” and “Got Your Money”) The finished product is a start-to-finish listen that’ll rob your innocent eardrums of anything you’ve heard in the last month or so. Do you like it raw? Download the full mixtape or stream individual tracks here.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in musicology

inter.vention

Posted on January 26, 2010 by MH| 2 Comments

From this…
[vodpod id=Video.2936273&w=425&h=350&fv=width%3D320%26amp%3Bheight%3D273]

to this…

[vodpod id=Video.2931165&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Song of the Day: “What Would You Do?” – City High

→ 2 Comments

Posted in song of the day

commercial.confusion

Posted on January 25, 2010 by MH| 1 Comment

This is scary – I can’t tell if this new AXE product is real or fake.
(‘Cause real men don’t use loofahs?)
Just like that Taco Bell “Drive-Thru Diet” commercial. Gets me every time.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in ish

wild.wood

Posted on January 25, 2010 by MH| Leave a comment


Last Wednesday I went to The Box for Sophomore‘s lookbook film (by Cass Bird) unveiling. Unexpectedly, the short film ended up being a one-off carbon copy of the funniest, rarest doc around; Wildwood, New Jersey. Big ups to Mel Ottenberg who styled the mini-vid. Take a trip back to the early 90′s and compare the two below…

[vodpod id=Video.2930689&w=425&h=350&fv=id%3D15202%26amp%3Btype%3D10201]


→ Leave a comment

Posted in fashion

twist.tie

Posted on January 25, 2010 by MH| Leave a comment



Henrik Vibskov‘s sweater knit waist-tie pants are LIFE.
They remind me a great deal of a pair of sweats (below) I acquired at the amazing Zipper boutique in Amsterdam. They’re made entirely of reconstructed vintage hoodie pieces. How eco…


photos (top) courtesy of assembly new york

→ Leave a comment

Posted in fashion

oops.oh.my

Posted on January 24, 2010 by MH| Leave a comment


Oops! (Oh my…) there goes my dignity down the drain.
Smoke & Mirrors enters the twittersphere today.
Follow me @ smokeMHmirrors

→ Leave a comment

Posted in ish

done.up

Posted on January 24, 2010 by MH| Leave a comment

World Premiere: “As We Enter” – Nas & Damian Marley

Da word is out… Dementia.
Distant Relatives drops April 20, 2010.
Either move on or move on it.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in musicology

chill.ette

Posted on January 23, 2010 by MH| Leave a comment

The blade I shave with:
close shave
every time.

photo courtesy of jennifer kobrin vintage

→ Leave a comment

Posted in fashion

hot.steppa

Posted on January 23, 2010 by MH| 3 Comments


Song of the Day: “Here Comes The Hotsteppa” – Ini Kamoze

People still weary of the connection between hip-hop and high fashion: listen no further – “Here Comes The Hotsteppa” by Ini Kamoze was the first to be adopted by the fashion community successfully. So successfully, in fact, it went to #1 on Billboard in 1994 after being featured on the soundtrack to Robert Altman’s Ready to Wear (Pret-a-Porter). The Salaam Remi-produced dancehall track was also featured on Jock Jams in ’95, but it was Altman’s initial nod that blew Kamoze up instantly.

→ 3 Comments

Posted in fashion, song of the day

mc.knight

Posted on January 22, 2010 by MH| 1 Comment


21st century visionary, Nick Knight, takes Alexander McQueen‘s latest season to the wild side. As if it weren’t wild already, McQueen‘s works get the full-on “Knight” treatment with a tangled and slightly camouflaged Raquel Zimmerman, slithering serpents, and those infamous snakeskin platform hooves. Look for Lee’s new ad in next month’s glossies.

photo courtesy of tfs

→ 1 Comment

Posted in fashion

flashing.lights

Posted on January 22, 2010 by MH| Leave a comment


I would trade half my wardrobe for this vintage Issey Miyake jacket.
It looks so much like Vegas’ flashing neon lights.

photo (top) courtesy of resurrection

→ Leave a comment

Posted in fashion

look.out

Posted on January 22, 2010 by MH| 2 Comments


Look out for this month’s Dazed & Confused where stylist Katie Shillingford and photographer Josh Olins get together with Viktor & Rolf‘s chainsaw-ed Cinderella gowns for some vintage-inspired beauty shots. Lush.

photos courtesy of tfs

→ 2 Comments

Posted in fashion

track anatomy: stargaze

Posted on January 22, 2010 by MH| 2 Comments

“Your Love” – Nicki Minaj

“No More I Love You’s” – Annie Lennox

“Starz” – Jaylib

 “The Stars Are Out Tonight” – Starcastle

(Dedicated to my girl, Lea, who brought this track back to my attention. Keep bangin.)

→ 2 Comments

Posted in track anatomy

albert.watson

Posted on January 22, 2010 by MH| 1 Comment


One of my all-time favorite rock’n'roll/fashion photographers, Albert Watson, has finally launched his website. After working on over 40 Rolling Stone covers, countless Chanel campaigns, and his “Las Vegas” series (above), he’s opened his e-folio for the world to see. He’s known for snapping notable shots of his era’s most legendary; from Alfred Hitchcock to Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger to Snoop Dogg. His work has somehow always felt deeper than that of his peers, consistently bleeding the lines between the commercial image and high art. He’s undoubtedly one whose shaped how we see and understand photography today.




photos courtesy of albert watson photography

→ 1 Comment

Posted in ish

clarissa.explains.it.all

Posted on January 18, 2010 by MH| 3 Comments



→ 3 Comments

Posted in fashion

artist spotlite: pogo

Posted on January 18, 2010 by MH| Leave a comment

We all knew music sampling was big business, but this artist takes it to a new medium entirely. Pogo (a.k.a. “Faggottron”) is YouTube’s answer to Prefuse 73. The Australian audio-video artist takes bits and pieces of his favorite Hollywood blockbusters to create equally fantastic musical compositions. As ambient as Stephane Pompougnac’s Hotel Costes, he’s known for seamlessly blending chopped cinematic samples and mid-word blips to compose symphonies from a single scene’s sounds. Even his basslines are recycled, borrowing acoustic backdrops from the silver screen’s often-missed scores. Hear it here first.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in artist spotlite

googly.giles

Posted on January 16, 2010 by MH| 2 Comments


I love Giles‘ humor. He can’t help but not take fashion too seriously. His latest pre-fall presentation shown yesterday at a fine china factory in Florence boasted fluoro-wigs, wacky headpieces, and googly eyes aplenty. Styled by Katie Grand (of LOVE magazine), this year’s International ANDAM award recipient continued his winning streak with performance-art-ready works. Here are some behind-the-scenes shots of the insanity.



photos courtesy of LOVE blog

→ 2 Comments

Posted in fashion

best.albums.09

Posted on January 13, 2010 by MH| 8 Comments

SMOKE & MIRRORS’
best albums of 2009

Continue reading →

→ 8 Comments

Posted in musicology

line.0

Posted on January 13, 2010 by MH| 2 Comments


Martin Margiela may no longer be manning his Maison (established in 1989), but his Artisanal archive and mentality are still very much alive. Exclusive e-tailer, YOOX, has purchased his most inimitable pieces from the elusive couture division and are selling them (all for four digits or more) to the public for the first time in history to support the Rosa Spier House in Holland (a residence created for retired musicians, artists, and academics). Take a peek at some of my favorite repurposed pieces by clicking here.


photos courtesy of (top) ASVOF, (bottom) YOOX & Alvaro Villarubia

Continue reading →

→ 2 Comments

Posted in fashion

no.panty.lines

Posted on January 10, 2010 by MH| 1 Comment


Protect your fingers from panty lines with Delfina Delettrez‘s new “Saffo” ring. Where’s Sisqo when you need him?

photo courtesy of lvr

→ 1 Comment

Posted in fashion, musicology

meet.garrett

Posted on January 10, 2010 by MH| 2 Comments


I went to college with illustrator Garrett Pruter but had never met him in person. I discovered his work on the web’s whim and was instantly drawn to his “Asylum” series’ sketched-on collages (similar to Holly Fulton‘s window-lined deco-city prints). In his own words: “Using found photographs of 19th and 20th century insane asylums, I expanded them through detailed mark-making. Varying from crude to obsessive, I’ve mapped connections between mental and physical space, authority and anti-authority, nostalgia and imagination.” I’m considering commissioning him to wallpaper my apartment in doodled windows.


photos courtesy of garrett pruter portfolio

→ 2 Comments

Posted in ish