Here is a selection of images straight from the portfolio of the sought-after illustrator Steven Wilson. Because Steven’s impressive client list includes everyone from Coke to Nike, BBC and MTV, it is likely that you have already come across one of his beautiful works.
Steven is inspired by circus imagery, tribal art and 70s rock posters among other things, and he can often be found sifting through flea market stalls looking for obscure books to use as reference. All of this ensures that his work stands out. There is no question that his pieces define and represent a new wave of illustrated art. He has a particular passion for working on albums covers. By Brendan McKnight
Diane von Fürstenberg Studio’s
new headquarters fits perfectly in New York City’s fashionable
Meatpacking District, also known as the Gansevoort Market Historic
District. The new, six-story building is wedged between two historical,
landmarked facades that resemble the wall props in Cirque du Soleil’s
La Nouba. One corner of the structure is topped by a Olot, Spain-made
faceted glass sphere that is part of the penthouse suite and seems like
a gigantic diamond fallen from the sky.
In the design, New York-based WORK Architecture managed
to combine old and new, light and dark, openness and enclosure,
artistry and practicality. The building houses DVF’s flagship store, a
5,000-square-foot showroom and event space, offices and studios for a
120 people, an executive suite, and a penthouse apartment.
Inside the building, the chief feature is the “stairdelier,” a wide
stairway that connects the floors and distributes light throughout the
building. Flexibility characterizes all of the public areas. Pivoting
walls and built-in unfolding “steamer-trunk” structures allow for a
wide use of the space for fashion shows, photo shoots, events and
parties.
WORK was founded in 2002 by Beirut, Lebanon-born Amale Andraos and
Rhode Island native Dan Wood. Many of their projects are in New York,
but their work includes everything from a master plan of an Icelandic
town to a theatre stage set, from low-income housing towers in New York
to a luxury residence in Panama, plus retail, office and residential
projects around the world. WORK is also designing 14 DVF stores in 11
countries.
Diane von Fürstenberg was born in Brussels, Belgium, 61 years ago. She
started her fashion designer career in 1970. Famous for her wrap
dresses, which she started creating in 1973, she has become a veritable
fashion icon. She is also the current president of the Council of
Fashion Designers of America, the non-profit association of America’s
fashion heavy-weights. By Tuija Seipell
These cleverly playful (and let's be honest a little creepy) images are part of a print and poster campaign that has recently been launched to promote the new Ice Station Antarctica experience at London's Natural History Museum.
The family friendly exhibition is designed for children aged seven and over and enlists them as ice cadets to brave a variety of challenges including facing a stinking penguin colony, coping in sub-zero temperatures and surviving a snowmobile ride.
The portraits are by London based photographer Paul Thompson and recently won three Association of Photographers awards. By Brendan McKnight.
With the rise of Youtube and the ultra-connectedness of all forms
of media, there has been a big surge recently in fan made videos.
Arguably the first (and perhaps worst), was the infamous 'Numa Numa' video.
Fortunately, things have progressed enormously since then. Two
fan-video highlights from 2007 include Arcade Fire's 'My Body Is A
Cage' set to footage of Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time In The West'
and the Health track 'Heaven' constructed from slices of Werner
Herzog's documentary 'The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner'.
In the same vein as "The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner" comes this mesmerising skateboarding/explosion intro to the film 'Fully Flared' featuring the M83 track 'Lower Your Eyelids To DIe With The Sun'.
In the spirit of fan-made video's one of The Coolhunter's favourite music blogs - www.saidthegramophone.com
- recently held a 'Wonderful Video Contest' for fan-made videos. We've
picked our favourites here - amazing fan made videos
for The Knife's 'Still Light' and Justice's 'Waters of Nazareth'.
Since then, this unofficial
clip for Justice's 'Phantom Part II' has turned up - an inventive
re-imagining of the jelly-wrestle.
If
you have a fan made clip - email us and we will feature the best videos
right here each week. Contact us via the contact page at the bottom of
the site. By Nick Christie.
The annual Detroit Auto Show serves as a platform for American automobile manufacturers, specifically, to flex their muscles, so-to-speak – and this year the Chrysler Corporation did just that. Dodge unveiled three models of the Challenger that will be available in 2009: the SE (3.5 liter V6, 250 hp), the R/T (5.7 liter HEMI V8, 370 hp) and the SRT8 (6.1 liter HEMI V8, 425 hp).
Originally hitting the streets in 1970 at the dawning of a new generation of design in automobile manufacturing, the Challenger was one of the original American muscle cars (along with the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro). Power and steel were king, gritty, dirt solid performance ruled over clear smooth edges and lavish aesthetics. The auto industry in Detroit was destined to enter its glory days.
Now, almost 40 years later, the auto industry, especially in Detroit is facing more than a handful of obstacles – including attempting to recover from an arguably failed race to build the largest petrol-guzzling trucks on the market. Compact and fuel-efficient has been all the latest rage – but what about performance? Based on the model chosen, Dodge almost guarantees blood-pumping sensation. The SE model doesn’t come with racing stripes and spoilers like its two bigger brothers, and the less sporty version only has a single exhaust pipe in the rear, rather than duel pipes on the more powerful models.
Dodge believes a retro-styled coupe can deliver exactly what auto enthusiasts are seeking in the three Challenger models: a varying array of performance options and features including voice-activated MyGIG Multimedia and UConnect systems, Remote Start with Keyless Go and five-speed manual models get the Hill Start Assist. Time to kick up some dirt – driving’s about to get messy again! By Andrew J Wiener
Ah Presets, you haven't let us down. When a pre-release copy of The Presets new album 'Apocalypso' landed on the Coolhunter desk last week, it was with great anticipation that we gave it a first spin. And Bam! straight away, it hit us – that crispness of sound, Julian Hamilton's semi-comatose delivery and the wailing synths - it was indeed The Presets we have come to know and love. 'Apocalypso' is a more complete album than its predecessor 'Beams', the songs more fully formed and subtly layered.
With the pounding 'My People' a club staple for months now, the album's second single 'This Boy's In Love' has all the hallmarks of glittering synthpop classic with its rising verses and dream-like chorus backed by tear-drop piano keys. Elsewhere, 'If I Know You' sails by on skittering hi-hats and while Hamilton croons atop pulsating bass. On the album closer 'Anywhere', The Presets get emotional as sparse four-to the floor drums and empty vocals get overtaken by bouncy synth stabs and a New Order-esque, lighters-in-the-air crescendo.
The new album 'Apocalypso' drops on April 12, followed by a world tour. It's going to be a monster year for The Presets. By Nick Christie.
Since being established by Dennis Pahitis twenty years ago, Aésop skin
care has become an uncontested success story in the notoriously fickle
beauty industry – focused on providing its worldwide clientele with the
highest quality botanical skin care, rather than subscribing to
mainstream-cosmetic anti-aging hype. Aésop now have 78 international
stockists, plus 20 signature stores including stores in Paris, London,
Sydney and their most recent Melbourne addition, Flinders Lane.
In keeping with Aésop tradition – that every store is different;
conceived and designed individually so as that each store is a
reflection and celebration of its location – the Flinders Lane store
does not disappoint, providing its customers with a design and
infrastructure that is just as alternative as Aésop’s skin care
products. Located in one of Melbourne’s most interesting precincts, the
Flinders Lane store interior is made entirely of industrial-grade
cardboard; from the display shelving, to the massive eastern façade,
and even the counter tops– proving that cardboard can be both striking
and structurally sturdy if it’s engineered well.
Designed by local interior architects Rodney Eggleston and Anne-Laure
Cavigneaux of March Studios, the ambient new store has drawn attention
from all sorts of passers by. Store manager, Kate, says she wasn’t
expecting how amazed customers would be by the store’s design. “It’s
clear it’s a very tactile environment. Most people come in and tend to
want to touch it all.”
The Flinders Lane store is located at Shop 1C, 268 Flinders Lane,
Melbourne. For a full list of Aésop products and stockists visit www.aesop.net.au. By Anna Byrne.
We've often wondered how certain high-end brands manage to maintain
their global exclusivity especially as the number of millionaires and
billionaires continues to skyrocket. Drive down prominent streets in
Beverly Hills, Dubai, London and you're certain to pass more than a
handful designer Italian and German sportscars. Chances are the valet
parker at your local Ritz Carlton will have sat behind the steering
wheel of cars totaling more money than most of us could only dream of
making in a lifetime.
Thankfully the expert minds at Ferrari have devised a plan nearly
guaranteeing you'll have a difficult time parallel parking between the
same Ferraris your neighbours are driving around town. Ferrari
customers are undoubtedly accustomed to getting what they want out of
their cars, but now the ability to add personalisation has become
paramount - and here's all you need to know:
Book a trip to the Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy where you will
meet with a consultant in a special dedicated atelier area. Rivaling a personal fitting by Valentino for the Oscars, your
consultant will welcome you to the new One-To-One Personalisation
Program where you will design your own Ferrari 612 Scaglietti,
accessory by accessory, detail by detail.
The front-engined rear-wheel drive flagship Ferrari 612 Scaglietti is
the only two-door four-seater in the line. The 612 is available with
Ferrari's SuperFast gearbox that allows a driver to shift the paddle
shifters located on the steering column in an astonishing 100
milliseconds. Whilst shiftting away, the V12 is capable of reaching top
speed of 320 kph.
The new model comes complete with an electrochromic panoramic roof that
covers the length of the top of the cabin. With a turn of a knob, the
entire ceiling changes from opaque to translucent, instantly adjusting
the level of sunlight that may penetrate the interior.
OK, so we’ll admit that Ferraris are not quite as common as we make
them sound, but we’re also sure it’s refreshing for some of you to know
that with the assistance of a personal design consultant, you can soon
be cruising the streets in a truly unique Ferrari. By Andrew J Wiener
Royal College of Art graduate (UK) Cristian Zuzunaga has
devised a fabric based on a 'pixel' concept, which is being produced by
Danish manufacturer Kvadrat and sold through Moroso.
Hot Chip's new album 'Made In The Dark', is a
wild ride. From thepopping, stomping squelches and whistles of 'Out At
The Pictures', tothe LCD Soundsystem-esque groove of 'Ready For The
Floor', the albumjumps frenetically between styles and influences.
With
moments of delicate intimacy, soulful croons and
straightforwarddance-pop, Hot Chip truly are the kings of hipster
electro-pop.
Full of infectious, imaginative hooks and
schizophrenic mood and tempochanges, you can lose yourself in 'Made In
The Dark'. With somuch to process, it's an album that will reveal its
more subtleelements on repeat listens.
Music for sound-tracking times of bliss and glee. By Nick Christie myspace.com/hotchip
Alexandre Herchcovitch has come a long way since his humble beginnings
of making his mother's party clothes. Having launched his first
collection in 1994, things have only gotten bigger for the
Brazilian-born designer.
Trained at the Catholic institution Santa Marcelina College of Arts in
Sao Paulo, his designs have been sent down the runways of New York,
Paris and London. Best known for avant-garde designs and eclectic
prints, his trademark skulls became an icon of Brazilian youth in the
nineties.
2007 was a memorable year for Herchcovitch. It was a year of branching
out, particularly with his redesign of the uniform for McDonald's
employees in Brazil, and the opening of his first store abroad. In this
daring project, Herchcovitch chose Tokyo where a good part of his
collections are purchased and where he has become somewhat of a fashion
guru.
The 1,076sq ft store, which sits in the hip Daikanyama district carries
his men's, women's and denim collections and is operated in partnership
with Japanese fashion distributor and retailer H.P. France.
Changing the way the world thinks about Brazilian fashion, coupled with
his new Japanese store and concessions in New York, Herchcovitch is
fast becoming a big and serious name in the fashion world. By Brendan McKnight.
We're back to tell you about another missed opportunity to add another supercar to your fleet. Bugatti
has built the Veyron 16.4 'Pur Sang,' or 'pure blood.' The
Veyron, a special addition version, is one of the world's fastest cars
ever made with a top speed of over 400 kph. Again, all five models have
been pre-purchased for approximately $2 million each.
Bugatti has been off the radar for quite some time, but with the
introduction of the 'Pur Sang' clad in a revealing paintless carbon and
aluminium structure, the Volkswagen-owned manufacturer has clearly
repositioned itself among the world's most exclusive and exceptionally
engineered automobiles. By Andrew J Wiener
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The annual Detroit Auto Show serves as a platform for American automobile manufacturers, specifically, to flex their muscles, so-to-speak – and this year the Chrysler Corporation did just that. Dodge unveiled three models of the Challenger that will be available in 2009: the SE (3.5 liter V6, 250 hp), the R/T (5.7 liter HEMI V8, 370 hp) and the SRT8 (6.1 liter HEMI V8, 425 hp).
