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Synopsis
Clearly the product of a magnificent obsession, this two-book set is a monumental, beautiful, and impassioned encyclopedia of the history, art, and meaning of camouflage.
Review
Disruptive Pattern Material is a massive, comprehensive, and illustrated history of camouflage — as quirkily personal as it is definitive. Put together by Hardy Blechman, the man behind the fashion label Maharishi, the book sprawls through two volumes of over 900 total pages (in its British edition — the one worth owning, even if it is expensive), including a series of deeply researched essays and over 5,000 eclectically juxtaposed images of damn near everything camo.
The first, much larger volume is divided into three sections: "Nature," "Military," and "Culture." Beginning with wildlife photos and a discussion of Darwin may seem like overkill, until you take in the point that camouflage is about how you are seen — zebra hides, for example, work because lions are colorblind. The military use of camo began in WWI in response to technology that changed how the enemy could see the battlefield. Yet Blechman's heart is clearly tied to its latest development, the appropriation of camouflage by contemporary designers and artists. The "Culture" section is replete with photos of art and artists, of clothes by labels including Maharishi, Sty, and A Bathing Ape, and of mainstream consumer products.
The first book is so thorough that, by the end, you've almost forgotten where you began — which is why the second is so essential. With more than 200 pages of photos of the "Military Camouflage Patterns of the World," organized by country (Libya, Sweden, Germany, Indonesia, and the Philippines are all stand-outs), it reminds you of the special friction between war and art.
There's an odd, ridiculous irony to learning to spot "rare" and conspicuous varieties of the very pattern that's supposed to hide itself, but, from the lavish production values to the audacious scope of the project, Blechman's obsessive enthusiasm makes this tome impossible to overlook. (OZ)
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Synopsis
Bret Easton Ellis nails the world of fashion and Western society's cult of celebrity to the wall in this harrowing, hallucinatory tale of club openings, first-class travel, and political violence.
Review
Victor Ward, the narrator of Bret Easton Ellis' 1998 novel Glamorama, is a middle-tier male model and a generally famous, gorgeous, and young New Yorker making his bid for legitimacy by opening a hot new club. As the big night approaches, the novel's chapters countdown from 33 to zero — an appropriate stylistic choice, but one of the first clues that the author is not only skewering a dangerous obsession with appearance, he may have fallen victim to it himself.
Victor is vacuous; half of the people he interacts with are trying to tell him to open his eyes — that he's on thin ice. And that's before the stress-induced psychotic breakdown that causes him to start hallucinating a plot line in which his life is a film, and he's traveling with a crew. During the run-up to the disastrous and delightful spectacle of the club's first night, he starts "taking meetings" with the imaginary director and cinematographer; later, crew members warn him in ominous tones to keep up with the script rewrites, there is danger ahead.
In the book's second and third sections, Victor travels to Europe in search of an old friend (and the $300,000 he'll get if she comes back to the US). Aside from a send-up of the empty lives of the beautiful people, these concluding pages reveal that all of the novel's intriguing, surreal touches were evidence of the shaky central plot point: the models Victor has befriended are international terrorists, nihilistically but stylishly striking a blow against the hand that feeds them. Ellis has earned his right to test the boundaries of realism, and he incorporates some genuinely brilliant conceits into the story (it's cold all the time; there is confetti everywhere). But he becomes obsessed, like the vapid people he's chronicling, with how good he looks doing it. Yet by almost ruining the end of this book with his own ego-trip, his satire is actually vindicated — style does not win over substance. (BB)
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| PHOTOGRAPHY |
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InTents
by Patrick McMullan
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| Published: |
2004 |
| Pages: |
352 |
| Publisher: |
powerHouse Books |
Links:
Look inside the book
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Synopsis
From pre-show frenzy to the designers' runway bows, Patrick McMullan's photographs, peppered with commentary from fashion industry players, bring a decade of colorful tent shows to life.
Review
Ten years after the 7th on Sixth party started, Patrick McMullan corrals the New York fashion world — from stylists, models, and make-up artists to buyers, editors, and celebrities — into a behind-the-scenes peek under the smartest-looking big top in town. McMullan, a photo-chronicler of New York society since the late '70s, began shooting the Council of Fashion Designers of America's presentation of runway shows in temporary tents at Bryant Park in 1994, and from the allure that's captured on film, it's easy to see why he returned, season after season, through the next decade.
McMullan's photographs make the tent shows seem thrilling, and anyone who's actually seen him at work will tell you that he appears to be thoroughly enjoying himself as he coaxes inner beauty from his subjects. From 1994 snaps of a young, grinning Leonardo DiCaprio at a Maria Snyder show and Cindy Crawford locking lips with Richard Gere at an Isaac Mizrahi event to a 2003 shot of Nas and Kelis front-row at Baby Phat, as well as countless other off-the-cuff pictures of stars from the years in-between, he portrays the tents as the hot spot to see and be seen.
A seeker of the sensational, McMullan doesn't let security stop him at the stage door — rather, he penetrates the inner realm where things really get cooking and the layers of artifice are peeled away, revealing the primping and prepping of brief-clad models that makes for a lively affair. Nothing escapes his discerning eye, whether a bountiful bunch of Krispy Kremes or makeshift signage separating the guys from the gals. McMullan gets it all, from start to finish, giving the reader the exciting sense of being there, in the lovely thick of it, with him. (PL)
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MORE FASHION BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Grace: Thirty Years of Fashion at Vogue
by Grace Coddington, Michael Roberts, Anna Wintour (2002)
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An impressive photographic journey through Grace Coddington's 30-plus years at Vogue magazine, Grace reminds us why she's considered the industry's premiere stylist — and these images, from collaborations with some of fashion's most legendary photographers, are there to prove it. (JC)
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Excess: Fashion and the Underground in the 80s
by Maria Luisa Frisa, Stefano Tonchi (2004)
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This exhibition catalog explores a broad mix of art, fashion, music, media, celebrity, and design from a decade of booming business, when the conservative politics of Reagan, Thatcher, and others provoked a colorfully creative rebellion. With some 700 images and 20 essays by influential tastemakers, Excess thematically presents an A-list of people and brands related to an explosive era. (PL)
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Fashioning Fiction in Photography Since 1990
by Susan Kismaric and Eva Respini (2004)
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Blurring the boundaries between fashion and art, this MoMA exhibition catalog features stylish editorial work and advertising campaigns by artists such as Tina Barney, Philip-Lorca Dicorcia, Cindy Sherman, and Larry Sultan alongside artistic magazine spreads by several fashion photography greats, including Steven Meisel, Mario Sorrenti, and Ellen von Unwerth. (PL)
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ART
Big Up
by Ben Watts (2004)
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Kicking it up from the street, Ben Watts' photo-filled book mixes graffiti and hip-hop with skateboarding, wrestling, and pimping to present an underbelly of urban youth culture, where fashion trends are often born. Recently re-issued in handy paperback form, Watts' visual diary — collaged like a scrapbook and overlaid with scribbled notes — expresses the energy and optimism of kids who are making it. (PL)
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NONFICTION
The Classic Ten: The True Story of the Little Black Dress and Nine Other Fashion Favorites
by Nancy Macdonell Smith, Nancy Macdonell Smith (2003)
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Nancy Mcdonnell Smith, the features editor at Nylon magazine, has penned a delightful tome for curious fashionistas. Historical tidbits and quotes are mixed with analysis as Smith weighs in with the ten items every woman must have: a suit, a cashmere sweater, high heels, blue jeans, pearls... we've said too much already. (JC)
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NONFICTION
Tom Ford
by Tom Ford (2004)
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There's no question about Tom Ford's historic fashion contribution as the former creative head of Gucci. As his tenure came to a close last year, he put out this timely picture book, which chronicles many sexy highlights from the house and designer that defined a decade. (JC)
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Shriners
by Lisa Eisner and Glenn O'Brien (2004)
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For an all-around trendsetter, photographer Linda Eisner's choices of fashionable subjects certainly fall left of center. She previously tackled line dancers and cowgirl chic in Rodeo Girl; this year, it's rhinestone hats and the curious sartorial influence of the fraternal order of the Shriners. (JC)
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NONFICTION
The Perfect Fit
by Meghan Cleary (2004)
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Meghan Cleary delves into the inner workings of women's minds, hearts, and soles, through
their choice of shoes. From the "Stiletto Girl" to the "Ballet Flat Girl" to the "Sneaker Girl," her surprisingly accurate profiles outline each type's overall character, and provide tips on everything from wardrobes to dating to careers. (JC)
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NONFICTION
Dreams Through the Glass: Windows from Bergdorf Goodman
by Linda Fargo, John Cordes, Ricky Zehavi (2003)
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When it comes to window displays, Bergdorf Goodman sets the bar, and, in this book, Linda Fargo lifts the veil behind the magic with an inside look at how each fantastical vision is created. Lively snippets from her last seven years as the iconic store's creative director reveal a world of textured, wild, and innovative creations. (JC)
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FEATURE
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If clothes, accessories, design, and the people who make them are more than a passing interest, discover JC Report. An email magazine, also published by Flavorpill, it filters the latest in global fashion trends into one beautifully packaged drop in your inbox. A must-read for fashionistas — real, imagined, and aspiring — this bimonthly report by insider Jason Campbell serves up a selection of hot features from around the world, as well as news, interviews, and upcoming events. And like Boldtype, it's free — sign up here. (MM)
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BOOK NEWS
A few notable bits of recent book news.
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Did Alexander Pushkin write erotic poetry? (Scotsman)
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Baudy verse allegedly written by the giant of Russian literature has thrown the Moscow
literary world into a tizzy that's legal as well as cultural, since booksellers are prohibited from selling pornographic material.
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Peter Jackson to direct The Lovely Bones (BBC News)
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The director of The Lord of the Rings has signed on to film Alice Sebold's harrowing bestseller, but he will finance the project himself to escape studio pressure.
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A whole volume of TS Eliot's letters is ready to be published (Guardian)
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However, Eliot's widow will not let anyone see them so long as she lives.
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And now for something completely different (Boston Herald)
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Monty Python's Terry Jones has ruffled feathers in England with his racy historical novel, Who Murdered Chaucer? A Medieval Mystery.
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Levy wins the double crown (Reuters)
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Amidst the usual controversy, the Whitbread Prize was awarded to
Andrea Levy, who also picked up the Orange Prize for Small Island —
the first time any writer has won both awards.
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There is a light that just might go out (Scotsman)
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The Godrevy Island lighthouse that inspired Virginia Woolf's most famous novel could be turned off.
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The search for the Great American Idol has begun (San Francisco Chronicle)
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The Quills, a new group of national book awards, will be decided by the general public,
voting in bookstores and online. Viewers and readers will be spared Dale Peck's turn as the new Simon Cowell, however, since only the award ceremony will air on NBC in October.
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