I recently attended the preview of the Yves Saint Laurent Retrospective at San Francisco’s de Young Museum, and was absolutely spellbound by the finesse of the exhibition and the vast collection of the 130 Maison Haute Couture Yves Saint Laurent ensembles never before seen in the U.S. outside of the French house’s private archives. The exhibition celebrates his life’s work as a French couturier, as sadly, he passed away in June of this year, leaving behind a fashion legacy spanning four decades, and whose designs were so influential, that he helped redefine feminism as we know it today by modernizing the pantsuit, establishing its importance as a chic and socially acceptable fashion staple.
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Detail of work by Alex Pardee

Alex Pardee is an artist heavily influenced by the gore and goop of horror flicks from the 1970s and 80s. He’s done album artwork and worked with Upper Playground on a series of products including art, t-shirts, hoodies, prints, bandanas, skate decks and a book, Awful Homesick. Last week we attended the release party and art show of Alex Pardee’s Night of the Treeple collection that he designed for Hurley. The party/exhibition was held at On Six Gallery at Club 6 and featured the art of Alex Pardee, as well as a host of other artists interpreting Pardee’s “Treeple,”  including Skinner, Jon Dragonette, Robert Bowen and Sam Kieth.  Pardees’ work was frightful and eerie in a beautiful way, and the timing of the launch of the collection, with Halloween around the corner, was perfect.  Another standout from the show was the photographs of Jon Dragonette.  Two of the three photos were self-portraits and he actually handcrafted the masks and props used in all the shots.  The photos were large scale and he really brought Pardee’s “Treeple” to life.  Check out more pictures from the event and the “trailer” after the jump.

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Monsters, eyeballs, eyelashes, pink tongues and bossy bears will scare the hell out of San Francisco and charm it with complete ugliness and cuteness. Ugly Doll and Bossy Bear founders David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim will be celebrated at the double punch gallery by presenting some “things” from their collection of work from 2001 to 2008. This captures the best of what they made in the past 7 years of their collaboration as toy designers. The selection includes collectibles such as Kaiju, Noupa, Uglydoll vinyls, Choco and Minty, Bossy Bear and Spider Boom. Warning: some of the pieces are long sold out and very rare.

Opening Rececption: THURSDAY - October 2, 6-10 pm
(FREE ADMISSION)

Curated by Lian Ladia
Appetizers courteously provided by Cafe Divine @ North Beach

Regular gallery hours: 11am-7pm Monday - Saturday, 11am-6pm
Sunday, $2 Adults/ $1 Kids (14 under), includes a free gift !
October 2 - November 2, 2008

On Friday, August 1st, Liz and I had the pleasure of attending the opening of Mini Market, a curated gallery space and boutique brought to you by the ladies of Silverman Gallery and Look Boutique.  The space was transformed into a wood-framed, cellophane wrapped mart that housed some of the most unique and clever products I have seen in one space.  The night was filled with great treats, tasty bites, art on walls and art on nails.  The air was filled with music and some of San Francisco’s finest got together to take it all in.  The Mini Market is open through the end of August and you should definitely check it out if you’re in San Francisco. There are also special events scheduled including more nail art and homemade tarot card readings.

Mini Market Schedule of Events:

August 16: 11am-5pm - Design your own nail art by Tanya Wischerath and Homemade Tarot by Jessica Miller
August 21: 8-10pm Puro Punk Artist, Julio Cesar Morales looks at the influence of punk rock in fashion
August 30: Closing Reception from 7 - 10 pm featuring nail painting by Tanya Wischerath, Fresh local delectables by Keiko Takano and Homemade Tarot by Jessica Miller.

MINI MARKET
804 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA 9410

Check out the rest of the pictures and see more of the goodies after the jump . . .

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Hercules & Love Affair with Carolina Amaris

What better way to introduce myself than through an interview with Hercules & Love Affair for the M.I.S.S Crew blog. With pop, R&B and rap music dominating the airwaves it’s refreshing to know that people are appreciating this new but “classic� sound. When I got a chance to meet the band backstage before they went on at the Mezzanine in San Francisco I witnessed how relaxed and comfortable everyone was with each other. Andy sat and drank mate tea, while Kim Ann and Nomi giggled and checked their cell phones. I also got to meet the supporting members of Hercules & Love Affair. It really struck me to see how much individuality and personality each member has and yet when they got on stage there is complete synchronicity, enticing energy and an amazing stage presence.

I was hypnotized by Nomi’s ability to seduce the crowd, Kim Ann’s welcoming presence (its no wonder both boys and girls crush on her) and the way Andy holds it down – duh, he’s the maestro!

I put together a series of questions with you, the M.I.S.S Crew audience in mind, which I asked the group before they went on stage.

Read the interview after the jump . . .

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I was shopping in Downtown SF a couple of weekends ago. The sun was shinning, as much as it does during a summer in San Francisco, and I happily came upon these two gents. I stopped and had a listen. I enjoyed what I was hearing and seeing but had to keep on schedule so kept moving. After I finished my shopping list and headed back to the streets, there they were again! The had moved locations and set-up in front of The Gap. Since I was done with my “chores” I was able to hang for a bit, take it all in and shoot this little video…which makes me giggle watching all the people walking back and forth..cinematographer, I am not.

Read more and peep the video after the jump!

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There’s a new shop in town, the town of San Francisco that is. C.C. Rider has set up shop and has all sorts of West Side fashion staples for the ladies and the gents…vintage, Van’s, Cheap Monday, skinny jeans, all the accessories to polish off your look…there is a ton of stuff packed in this tiny shop. Only proving that old say “big things come in small packages” to be TRUE! Located at 260 Divisadero near Haight St. you should pop on in and say hey! See more shop picts and some of my come ups after the jump!

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I had the pleasure of attending the Vans Syndicate Exhibition in San Francisco for Adam from Slam X Hype since SF is a bit of a distance from New Zealand. The event celebrated the launch of the Fall Vans Syndicate line designed by designers and skaters like John Cardiel, Grime, Steve Olson, WTAPS, and Max Schaaf. The event was held at On Six Gallery on gritty Sixth Street and the PBR was flowing all night long. You can check out the feature that I wrote on Slam X Hype but here’s some stuff that didn’t make it into the feature (the fun stuff!).

Check out the rest of the pics after the jump. . .

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The pieces pictured above by Clare Rojas and Barry McGee were stolen from the Pressure exhibit at the San Francisco RVCA store.  They are part of private collections and have sentimental value to the artists - if you see these anywhere or someone trying to sell them be advised that they are STOLEN!!  Please click here to learn more about what you can do to help!

via Sketchypad from unaesthetic

Check out 307 Shotwell for more info on this event!