Pirate Radio Por Favor!

For those who have yet to see the indie flick Pirate Radio, take this time to navigate to your Netflix account and queue this movie! Not only does this film feature the wonderfully talented Phillip Seymour Hoffman and British eye candy aka Tom Sturridge, the soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal! Click here for a full track breakdown.

This ensemble comedy is about a band of rogue DJs during the sixties that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that wanted classical music, and nothing else, on the airwaves. Throughout the film you experience unapologetic laughter, trials and tribulations, genuine heartache and joyous triumphs.

What I love most about this film is that it brings me back to the good ol’ days when Almost Famous came out and all I wanted to do was stay home listen to the soundtrack and swoon over Patrick Fugit’s schoolboy charm. Although I am much older, I feel the same way about this soundtrack and Tom Sturridge. Don’t hesitate, just watch and find out yourself!

Peace&love,

Devin

COACHELLA <3

Roid Rage

Alex White Edits from Paris Fashion Week:

Lanvin+H&M=Love

I am more than thrilled about this collaboration. Alber Elbaz is genius for doing it and I love him even more because I can now afford to cover myself in Lanvin! H&M you have my full attention and respect. See you November 20th!

Back from the dead

So I have been an absent mother to my beloved blog lately and I am finally alive and kicking once again. To explain my absence I must let my readers know that I just recently got a job reviewing albums for Indie Shuffle, an awesome music website that introduces its readers to up-and-coming artists or artists that have been around and have recently released a new album. This is something that I have been wanting to do for a long time so much of my extra time goes towards writing new album reviews and finding emerging musical talent. But fear-not Nights in Shining Armour readers! I am back and ready to fill you in on haute fashion and rad music for you viewing (and listening) pleasure.

If you’re interested in checking out my first 3 reviews for Indie Shuffle, click the links below and ‘like’ them

Gauntlet Hair Review

Interpol Album Review

The Union Line Album Review

XOXO,

Devin

Young Man

If you haven’t heard of Young Man listen up! The impressive melodies and captivating guitar lines of Colin Caulfield, an English/French lit major and a shape-shifting singer-songwriter, has all the ingredients needed to compete with the latest and greatest. With sounds similar to Animal Collective and Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Caufields true self shines through in his cryptic lyrics telling his own stories of what it’s like being a Young Man. With song titles like “Boy”, “Home Alone”, “Bedtime” and “Playtime”, the suite of songs when played resonate with the fact that growing up is tough and becoming a man can be even tougher. Click here to listen to some of his latest songs.

Ooh I love it!

Just recently I was asked by my friend Maurice to be a contributing blog writer for a California-based website Oohilove.com. This website is dedicated to informing their fashion fluent customers about designer goods that you can bid on; it’s like a fashion-only Ebay! When introduced to this website I immediately fell in love and didn’t even hesitate with my automatic ‘YES’ response. The purpose of the blog is to let its readers and followers in on current trends, up-and-coming trends, future bids, and fashion tips. To check out the blog click here.

If you love fashion at an affordable price then you gotta check out this website, I promise it will change your life.

Paris Fall Fashion Report

Last week in my Current Designers class we watched Video Fashion Daily that focused on the 2010 autumn/winter ready-to-wear in Paris Fashion Week. In the beginning Marc Jacobs, speaking about his collection for Louis Vuitton, describes the collection as the looks to the classic film “And God Created Women”. To me, this collection was extremely feminine with its pleated skirts, busty necklines, earthy tones, and belted waistlines to accentuate a woman’s curves. I really enjoyed this collection a lot, but it comes as no surprise to me that Marc Jacobs does an outstanding job. Another thing that really stood out to me with this runway show was the music that was selected. I thought it was very well suited for this collection and really tied it all together.

Alber Elbaz from Lanvin took his expertise in designing architectural pieces for the women’s body to the next level with his unique draping and African vibe in the clothing and music. The first thing I noticed about the collection when it came down the runway was of course the black wigs that all the models were wearing, they gave off a very sexual and powerful aura to the whole collection which gave it a great dynamic. You could tell that Alber Elbaz really wanted the collection to be cohesive and well thought out.

Designer Riccardo Tisci had the right idea when he designed this collection for Givenchy. Although I wasn’t too fond of the red Mickey Mouse gloves that the first model was wearing, I thought this collection was very consistent and had sexy and sporty details worked into it which was nice. The tailoring in the coats was very well done and I liked the fact that he did a variety of separates. You can tell that he was thinking more consciously about whether the garments would be wearable or not when he was designing which is a good thing to have in mind.

My overall favorite though has to be Balmain’s collection for this season. Christophe Decarnin really shook the house with his sexy short dresses in a spectrum of colors. This rock and roll inspired collection is glitzy and extremely glamorous with the immense use of gold, brocades, and frock coats. When first viewing this collection my eyes lit up with excitement and all I thought of was sequin, fringe and lamé dresses galore- what more could a woman want?

xo,

Devin

United Streets of Fashion

For the past 11 weeks me along with about 20 of my fellow Fashion Marketing and Design classmates have been arranging and getting everything ready for the annual Art Institute of San Francisco  fashion show to take place at the San Francisco Design Center Galleria. It was a long and grueling 11 weeks but we managed to get everything ready for the big day! The ‘United Streets of Fashion’ was the name of the show and it included over 100 amazing pieces designed by 26 student designers. With all of the major press coming to the show and a judging panel featuring Project Runway Season 7 contestant Amy Sarabi, Arts of Fashion Foundation President Nathalie Doucet and Cali Vintage’s Erin Hagstrom, we knew we had to make it something to remember and something to live up to for years to come.

The looks were grouped into 9 different scenes with names I picked such as “Terminally Chill”, “Electric Ladyland”, “Lust For Life”, “Deadbeat Summer”, etc. My partner and I’s task for the show was to pick out the music for the models to strut down the runway to, a job that we both were extremely excited to do. With all of the truly outstanding pieces that came down the runway I imagine the judging process must have been a tough one.

To see a full press synopsis on the show check out:

• http://7×7.com/blogs/glamwatch/art-institute-fashion-show-refined-rock-n-roll
• http://www.stylewylde.com/fashion/2010/6/20/art-institute-students-thrill-audience-with-united-streets-o.html
• http://www.examiner.com/x-45355-SF-Fashion-News-Examiner~y2010m6d17-Emerging-designer-talent-from-the-United-Streets-of-Fashion

Photos by: John Agcaoili

Me, Clarissa and Josh at the DJ table. Photo by John Agcaoili

If you were at the show and enjoyed the music here are the songs we picked:

1. Matias Aguayo- “Rollerskate”
2. Donald Byrd- “Love Has Come Around”
3. Billy Idol- “Eyes Without A Face”
4. Heartless Bastards- “Brazen”
5. Lo-fi-FNK- “City”
6. Tim Sweeney- “Beats in Space 5.18.10″ @ 40 minutes
7. Tim Sweeney- “Beats in Space 5.18.10″ @ 46 minutes
8. The Dead Weather- “Hang You From The Heavens”
9. The Avalanches- “Electricity”

New Yorke

What do you get when you take Radiohead’s electronic Einstein, Red Hot Chili Peppers animated bassist, Beck’s master drummer, a longtime music producer, and one brilliant percussionist? You get the musical splendor of a group called Atoms For Peace, a name that derives from a title of a speech delivered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in 1953. Composed of Thom Yorke, Flea, Joey Waronker, Nigel Godrich, and Mauro Refosco, these gentlemen have put together a supergroup of true musical genius and let the world in as they take their show on the road on an eight-date U.S. tour leading up to their performance at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival this weekend.

On Thursday, April 14 my friend and I went to see Atoms For Peace play at the Fox Theatre in Oakland. Me, I have been a diehard Radiohead fanatic for as long as I can remember and my respect for Thom Yorke has been never been replaced by any other musician that I can recall. To say the least I was having an out-of-body experience when I was finally standing front row anticipating Yorke’s arrival on stage. The energetic opener, Flying Lotus, brought a smile to my face with his wide smirk and catchy Lil Wayne and Radiohead mash-ups, you could tell that he was thrilled watching his fans dancing in the audience and grateful for the fact that Thom brought him along for the ride, for which he thanked him at the end of his set.

When Atoms For Peace finally reached the stage, Thom walked quickly to his piano and began playing the opener to The Eraser. Throughout the coarse of the show, they performed all the tracks from The Eraser album and added a couple of new ones for the audiences pleasure, a few B-sides and unreleased tracks, and ended their last encore with Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. PURE GENIUS. All I can say is that after witnessing this groups musical chemistry firsthand, it was an out-of-body experience and something truly atomic.