re.route

This version of the blog and URL will no longer be updated…
follow your urge over to http://smokeandmirrorsblog.com
for the reincarnation of S&M
xMH and AOL StyleList

welcome.spring

artist spotlite: the weeknd

The Weeknd: House of Balloons Download

Want to leave this artist spotlite as mysterious as TheWeeknd’s sound itself. Download their free mixtape now to hear what the fuss is all about surrounding Drake‘s latest co-sign. The future of R&B is here MF.

exo.tica

Burberry Prorsum‘s S/S ’11 Exotics
(click images to enlarge)

photos courtesy of burberry

track anatomy: queen.breaka

Vodpod videos no longer available.

iris.van.herpen: retro.spect

Iris Van Herpen / Escapism Couture / 2011

/////\\\\\

Iris Van Herpen x United Nude / 2011

/////\\\\\

Iris Van Herpen / Synesthesia Couture / 2010

/////\\\\\

Iris Van Herpen / Crystallization Couture / 2010

photos courtesy of iris van herpen

 

janet.live

Saw Miss Jackson live in concert for the third time last month! What made this outing so impressive was the intimate setting and non-stop hit repertoire… for most artists, selling out Radio City would be a big deal, but, for the soft-spoken Janet Jackson (whose played to stadiums worldwide for decades) it was a stripped-down, zero-floss production. Everything was on point: from the fanatical crowd to the choreography all the way down to the costumes (designed by Todd Lynn and Donatella Versace) and did I mention she sang live? (Pretty amazing for a woman who revolutionized the art of the lip-synch in the mid-80’s: Janet Jackson headset, anyone?) As she’s done with all her world tour stops thus far, she dedicated one of her 35+ #1’s to NYC – we got Luther and Janet’s early 90’s duet, “The Best Things In Life Are Free” (below). I’ll let my man, Michael Eric Dyson do the rest of the commentary… (below)

Vodpod videos no longer available.
Song of the Day: “The Best Things In Life Are Free” –
Janet Jackson & Luther Vandross

Opening: The Pleasure Principle


Feedback: bustin’ out!

Stop pressurin’ me!

Performing Scream for the first time live in concert

Rhythm Nation on dat ass

Finale: Together Again

haider.ackermann.f11

Haider Ackermann / Fall 2011 / Paris Fashion Week

Haider Ackermann is on a roll. Much like last season, his fan base is growing by the minute, especially due to current rumors of his move to Dior or Givenchy. Whether or not this is true, he showed what will go down as his most divine collection yet. His latest outing proved to be another magnum opus, brimming with his signature aesthetics and edged-up glamour. Beginning with darks and jewel tones, the palette progressed into new territory – ivory. Vibrant, luxurious silks reflected light up and down the female body to create an ultra-slimming effect undoubtedly a ‘pro’ in most women’s minds. Leather jackets offset by exuberant velvet and silk wide leg pants and scarf collar tops felt perfectly edited, refined-yet-edgy. [Read the rest of my review on TheFashionSpot here.]

genuine.ginuwine

Song of the Day: “Differences” – Ginuwine

Vodpod videos no longer available.

roll.wit.me

baby.got.back

photo courtesy of jpg archive

see.it.now

Go see Ceremony…in theaters now!
Read my interview with director, Max Winkler, on V here.

get.in.check

WORLD PREMIERE: “Make Some Noise” – Beastie Boys

The Beasties know how to do lo-fi right.
The original white boys that could return later this year.

ver.goodness.sace

fab.core

Hard Fab



Soft Fab

touch.down

photos courtesy of vogue nippon

the.magnificent

World Premiere: “Shame” – Jill Scott (Feat. Eve)

She’s BAAAAACCCKKK and betta than eva. Jilly’s been my girl since the 8th grade. Nothing comes between us two. Especially after this one where she experiments with a definite hip-hop-induced early-90’s sound (partially courtesy of guest MC, EVE). Watch for JS’s new album dropping this spring.

red.rum

fiend4.6

Vintage YSL Rive Gauche silk striped buttondown

Givenchy Couture ’11 kimono

Vintage Cross Colours tee

Challah Bread ring

Barbara Bui F/W ’11 patent wedge point bootie

Christopher Kane F/W ’11 jelly bag

“Scary Spice” doll

Reed Krakoff F/W ’11 croc wedge boot

Alexander McQueen ‘Savage Beauty’ retrospective book

Holly Fulton F/W ’11 “Lips” mongolian fur clutch

Vintage Comme des Garcons button-back shirt

Chicks with Super Soakers

Full Haider Ackermann S/S ’11 gittup

Emilio Pucci S/S ’11 electric blue bells

Roberto Cavalli‘s own baubles

ThreeASFour “Kidney” bag
(available exclusively at planetofstyle)

Vintage Alaia fold-over belt
Vintage Halston tie-dye chiffon pants

Chloe F/W ’11 snake wrap-a-round bracelets

LD Tuttle S/S ’11 wedge bootie

Boob clogs

new.yawk.city

photos courtesy of farm6 flickr

miss.lopez

World Premiere: “I’m Into You” – Jennifer Lopez (Feat. Lil’ Wayne)

Really feelin’ this JLO summer jam which hearkens back to her good ol’ days when she looked like a wet, greasy cholita, loved rhinestone initial jewelry, and wasn’t seen without a pair of hella-hoops… even if spring in NYC has been postponed until further notice… JLO‘s there to keep me warm. On The 6 and J.LO are still in my 6 CD disc changer. And you know this, man.

hello.dolly

Russian Vogue‘s 10th Anniversary
Limited Commemorative Edition Designer Russian Dolls are killer.
Can you tell who’s who? See if you were right after the jump.

support.japan

learn.2.fly

Song of the Day (Drag Race Edition):
“Even Angels” – Fantasia

This one goes out to my boy Alex…
Pump that gas, take out that trash:
Even angels learn 2 fly.

laundry.dai

never.will.it.stop

Song of the Day: “Don’t Stop” – Kevin Cossom (Feat. Fat Joe & Bali)

The Kevin that keeps on giving…
unlike other Kevin‘s I know. Pft.

vuitton.imals

Thanks to my girl, Julia over at Modelizing for these incredible LV window pics.

photos courtesy of modelizing

scogna.ish

One of my favorites, Francesco Scognamiglio, debuts his latest adverts.

photos courtesy of francesco scognamiglio

track anatomy: lo.lambada

pro.tractor

bande.des.quatres

Bande Des Quatres is the latest in ringometry – a science providing fingers with the happiness they deserve. By turning ring’s structure on its backside, Erin Wahed has created the “flying” adornment. Rings that appear to be hovering beneath your knuckles? Gimme dat!

photos courtesy of bande des quatres x hugo arturi

celine.f11

Celine / Fall 2011 / Paris Fashion Week

Let Phoebe Philo teach you a lesson or two about creating a global lifestyle brand. She’s done so in only a few collections at Celine and this season is no different. If anything, she’s signaling a broadening of the brand; adding to her color scheme, increasing the amount of buyable coats, and styling the collection as if it were for herself. (Philo knows best.)

Philo’s Celine is a packaged look – this season, its backbone is a tight turtleneck that appears under car-door-inspired coats, lush pieced furs, and latch-strap jackets. Pants came relaxed and wide-legged. Skinny versions were slit at the bottom to appear petalled above the ankle and came replete with leather paneling made to look like luxury automobile interiors. Beautifully colored sweaters harkened back to Philo’s classic personal style, while woodgrain-printed dresses and tops debuted a new sense of modernity.

[Read the rest of my review on TheFashionSpot here.]

givenchy.f11

Givenchy / Fall 2011 / Paris Fashion Week

Riccardo Tisci’s Givenchy has always been influenced heavily by symbolism, love, religion, music, and animals. This collection boasted pieces of it all – both in literal and conceptual depictions – to foster what could be his most marketable season to date. And to think it may be his last at the legacy-laden house: he’s been buzzed about leaving Givenchy for Dior since the Galliano controversy erupted before Paris Fashion Week.

For Fall 2011, Tisci took Givenchy to the streets of East Los Angeles, where Cholo (and Chola) street gangs hold fort. Influenced heavily by hip hop (Tisci was just recently commissioned to design Kanye West and Jay-Z’s collaborative album cover, which looks strikingly similar to the collection at hand), this season was a beautifully executed, at times quirky, take on street aesthetics gone luxurious. See, for example, the gaudy symmetrical silk-print baseball jackets (to which he’s been developing for seasons now – see his Pre-Fall collection) that looked straight from Gianni Versace’s 1990s baroque print archive, to which The Notorious B.I.G. wore famously.

[Read the rest of my review at TheFashionSpot here.]

press.daze

As if I didn’t wake up to my face every morning, my friends felt the need to plaster it all about the web this week. Alex Catarinella, a fellow freelancing pal, gave a nice Q+A with yours truly on the What Goes Around Comes Around blog (one of my NYC go-to vintage emporiums), and my boy, Jordan Bach, shouted me and the latest mixtape out on his personal blog, TheBachBook. Have a look. Thx boyz! It means a lot. Find a snippet of my conversation with ACat below…

Q: How has your passion for urban music influenced your fashion?
A: Music is always a part of my psyche. But it’s funny because the whole idea behind my blog and its title is that I fool a lot of people when they first see me – it’s Smoke & Mirrors – or all something of a facade – they think “oh, that kid’s an indie rock fan or is really into this, that, the other” – when I grew up primarily listening to black music. I consider my second mother to be Janet Jackson. I love hip-hop and don’t really dabble much into what ‘my look’ provides as my musical preferences. I wear skinny jeans and bellbottoms, vintage rock tee’s and heels, have long hair, which to most would signal “rock fan” – but honestly, I just love the silhouette and floppiness to it. I do, though, have an homage to hip-hop on my right wrist – it’s a fake Jacob watch that’s too ridiculous not to wear. Haha. I think the idea of unexpectedness is something fashion preaches. I like the fact that you have to get to know me to reveal you were wrong about me all along. Smoke & Mirrors is just that: What you see isn’t always what you get. This little white kid from Buffalo, NY, CAN and DOES love what you thought he couldn’t. It’s empowering in that way and it’s something I live by. [Read the rest here.]

fix.d

Apologies for the lack of posts in the past week.
Things were broken, but now they’re fixed.
Expect new ish this evening. xMH

fry.day

Big ups to Ark Music Group…

YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!!!!!!

nate.the.great

A sad day for hip hop…
Rest In Peace Nate Dogg
…I’ve always admired you.
Regulate
1969-2011

the.blog.made.me.do.it.vol4

The long overdue fourth installment in the ‘Blog Made Me Do It‘ series: Master & Commander, was formulated by scientists to rock boats and make waves, all the while throwing passengers overboard. Tested by infants and hoodrats alike, it’s been approved to knock blocks, rattle cribs, flip chips, and turn tricks. Culled from the digital depths; the sprawling, essential 41-track set brings together hints of trance with street sounds to create lawlessly commanding rumble muzik. In other words: it’ll change your life. Featuring unreleased productions by Timbaland, Araab Muzik, Jahlil Beats, Bei Maejor, Polow da Don, Tricky Stewart, Los da Mystro, Duke Da God, and Boi-1da, with appearances by Jazmine Sullivan, Slim Thug, Vado, Ace Hood, Styles P, Young Jeezy, Keri Hilson and newbies: Tory Lanez, Meek Mill, Kendre, ZayBucks, Britney Mac, Six, The Dean’s List, and more. Warning: not approved for chumps, pregnant women, non-believers, and those with epilepsy. Remember where you it heard it first & bang on MF. (click the link below to download the .zip file)

Sample some tracks below…

Smoke & Mirrors presents…
The Blog Made Me Do It, Vol. 4: Master & Commander
An MH Mixtape

View tracklist after the jump.

come.sail.away

You asked for it…
and tomorrow The Blog Made Me Do It series sets sail again.
Adjust your speakers accordingly.

super.cat

Song of the Day: “Dolly My Baby” – Super Cat
(Feat. The Notorious B.I.G., Third Eye & Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs)

mcqueen.in.zoom

Alexander McQueen / Fall 2011 / Paris Fashion Week

Is there anything better?

photos courtesy of globalvu, tFS, & style.com

phone.sex

Song of the Day: “My Love Is The Shh” – Something For The People

Phone sex is still the shit, I mean shh. This one goes out to my boy, Martin at Mykromag, who reminded me how obsessed I was with this song growing up. Oh, and Girl 6 ’cause I still haven’t seen it since my mom won’t let me…

rip.big

Still B.I.G.

maison.martin.margiela.f11

Maison Martin Margiela / Fall 2011 / Paris Fashion Week

Dresses that peel away like pages of a book to reveal a mismatched under layer and became something of a dress suit? You’ll only find it at Margiela. Conceptually intriguing, this clothing experiment garnered some rather outstanding results. It was all in the details, it seemed, since what looked from afar like a simple sweater set peeled like paint from a wall when eyed up close.
[Read the rest of my runway review on TheFashionSpot here.]

decida.style

Ever wonder why Robyn’s looked so FIRE lately?
Peep my interview with Robyn’s stylist/creative director, Decida, on V here.
Be sure to check out Decida’s personal blog here.

photos courtesy of (top) shaon chakraborty & (bottom) 2faced1

balenci.challah

(top) photo courtesy of style.com x balenciaga f/w ’11

beautiful.lie

Song of the Day: “Beautiful Lie” – Ryan Leslie

The perfect song to phase out Paris Fashion Week …

marani.f11

Marani / Fall 2011 / Milan Fashion Week

photos courtesy of marani x mel bless

pucci.f11

Emilio Pucci / Fall 2011 / Milan Fashion Week

For Fall ’11, Peter Dundas saw his woman as a taut, top-heavy, European bombshell. One whose more apt to dress up than down and looks to be more than comfortable within her own skin. So much so, in fact, she’s amped up her most erogenous feature – le bust. Examine the low-cuts and cinched waists meant to accentuate her hourglass shape, symmetrical Rococo-like treatments used to center the eye, lace peek-a-boos set to frame the breasts, even the positioning of certain sequins – they’re all adept plays on morphing the bustline. Even in his signature asymmetrical backless gowns with Ibizan palettes, Dundas still kept focus on the bosom. Suiting, which appeared slick and ultra-fitted, played upon the theme in a more literal way, flashing cleavage in unbuttoned blazers to purposely reveal the common denominator.

[Read my full review along with more collection pics at TheFashionSpot here.]

francesco.scognamiglio.f11

Francesco Scognamiglio / Fall 2011 / Milan Fashion Week

In his ninth season showing, Francesco Scognamiglio speaks glamour fluently. But, he’s perhaps at his best when he’s most flagrantly sexual. We are speaking of a man who made his name dressing the queen of all kink (much like Jean Paul Gaultier) – Ms. Madonna Ciccone, during her Hard Candy promo’s. This outing proved to be a lighter, subtler affair from the start with muted gray and light taupes leading into bright white’s and cream’s…

[Read my full review and view more collection pics on TheFashionSpot here.]