Style Muse: Rock 'n' Roll Night Club (Saint Laurent SS15)

"I like your stye. A little Bowie, a little Bardot, and a look on your face that says I could kick the shit out of a truck driver" - Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley in The Runaways (2010)

Saint Laurent's Menswear SS15 bohemian street kid collection has forced me to practice my deep breathing skills way too often recently. Each one of the 68 looks in this collection has something notable to revel upon thanks to the designer Heidi Slimane. Allusions to The Ramones, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Mapplethorpe, Patti Smith, Mick Jagger, and even Nikolai Fraiture seemed to flood my brain with this assemblage. Copious amounts of silver chains, paisley prints, oxblood velvets, fluid chiffons, cowhide leather, and intricate gems adorn each wearer in an almost ritualistic fashion. And to top it off, all of the models wearing the designs were unapologetically young and full of (s)punk. 

When I first saw these designs I immediately thought of The Runaways club scene. The biopic of the '70s all girl rock band - fronted by Joan Jett and Cherie Currie - starts at its origins when Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) scouts out the underage Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) at a nightclub. With freshly bleached hair, a Bowie shag cut, severe blush contouring and a smart neck scarf - Cherie sips from a bottle of Mountain Dew fantastically all alone. That is how I envision all of these muses: night club wall huggers that know something you don't.

Another notable attribute to this collection is that Hedi Slimane effectively expresses the "bohemian" style without falling into traditional tropes and appropriations. You might see fringe, but you don't see ridiculous Native American moccasin rip-offs. Some of the models wear blanket ponchos, but are void of stereotypical "southwestern" prints. Instead of lazily browsing the '70s western influenced trends, Slimane dives deep into every fabric and accessory's lineage, so it appears. To put it simply: this collection is smart. 

(Runway photos from Style.com)

What sent me over the edge was the reference to '70s glam culture, notably headed by Bowie himself. You can find it in very small ways. My favorite was through the footwear worn by one of the female models, silver lace-up metallic boots peppered with dazzling red stars (subdued by an oversized printed pant). The glam emerges again through certain blazers, subtly in the velvet ensembles, and more pronounced in the later more flashy looks. Something about the silver and red pin stripe blazer reminded me of carnival season in the best way possible.

(The Runways, Cherie center w/ Bowie inspired metallic jumpsuit)

 (Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, Cherie Currie)

The collection in its entirety was impressive. Although I prefer a little more glam rock to my bohemian taste, it is undeniable that this body of work was completely successful. I enjoyed the intricacy of the  pieces and it was fun seeing such a young crowd of models bring them to life (ex. Jack Kilmer, see my Palo Alto Film Muse here). Although the line was debuted for Spring and Summer 2015, I know what my upcoming fall wardrobe will be inspired by.

-Lauren Rose

Curbside Fashion 

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Rock 'n' Roll Night Club Tunes

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Do You Wanna Touch Me - Gary Glitter 

You Drive Me Wild - The Runaways 

The Wild One - Suzie Quatro  

Hedi's Head - LiliPUT (Kleenex)

Cool Schmool - Bratmobile

Film Muse: Almost Famous (2002)

This post goes out to all of my rock 'n' roll lovers out there. 

May I introduce to you one of my most favorite films of all time - Almost Famous (2002)  dir. Cameron Crowe! 

Almost Famous is a coming of age story about a teenager who happens to get the opportunity to write a music review for the Rolling Stone magazine. He goes on a journey road tripping with the band "Stillwater" and meets their groupies, or "Band-Aids" as they like to call themselves. The movie unravels the pressure of musicians vs. the publicity, but most importantly, the strain of relationships of everyone on board.

 Love and rock 'n' roll, what more could you ask for? 

There are many things to love about this film. To start off, its pretty much a true story. Well, almost. Director Cameron Crowe actually toured with many rock bands of the seventies, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, and Led Zeppelin. Apparently, Crowe shared many of the same experiences that William, the main character, does in the film (those of which I will not spoil!). There is nothing better than having a director put his or her's heart, soul, and true experiences into a film. 

For me, the cast is what really makes this film. First of all, Kate Hudson - the perfectly fragile (yet head strong) groupie who acts as the band's muse, shines strongly. While we are talking about the "Band-Aids", I have to give it up to our girls Fairuza Balk (The Craft) and Anna Paquin (X-Men) as well. They played the most perfect blend of flirty and likeable characters, almost like "mama bears" to young William. Then we have Zooey Deschanel, who acts as the "cool older sister" type with impeccable music taste. But the real star of the film is Patrick Fugit who plays William. I think this was one of his first big acting debuts and this kid rocked it. Oh, and Jimmy Fallon is in this movie too. Basically no other film can be topped in terms of having an awesome cast. 

What I liked most about this film was the emotions that it embodied. You have the fragility of love- not just in us humans, but for the music as well. This ambience of the rock 'n' roll spirit blankets the film in a pure and nostalgic way. The viewer follows the heart break, the sense of longing, and uneasiness of the future in ALL of the characters. It's like you're going on this amazing ride for the whole film, but you know its going to end at some point - just like their tour. 

(Last words: I dig music!) 

Alright, I had to add this scene in really quick if you've seen the film (if not you might want to skip ahead). Can we just sit down and appreciate this part? The fact that a rock 'n' star could casually go to a party, jump off a roof and into a pool, and not be mobbed by fans is brilliant. I think this scene is perfect because it amplifies the RESPECT OF MUSIC. Not even the respect, but the love. I know it was common then as well, but our celebrity culture today really pushes the listener and the creator far apart. In this scene, they come together - even if the party goers still see him as "godlike", the amount of chillness is incomprehensible.  I just thought this scene was really humbling. 

Moving on. 

Overall, if you want to feel good - watch this film. Its heart wrenching and hilarious. The fact that a movie set in the '70s could be created like this past the year 2000 and still retain the original vibe is hard to achieve. To put it simply - this movie has soul. There is nothing more to say. 

Keep it cool, 

Lauren Rose

Curbside Fashion

Moodboard - S/S '13

(Left to Right: The Doom Generation still, Unknown, Pageant Girls by Petra Collins, Unknown Gwen still, Unknown Spice Girls Still, James Huang, Unknown, The Doom Generation Still, and Unknown)

  So I thought I'd make a moodboard for today's post. Since in my last video I talked about the glam '70s/millenia 2000s vibes I thought I'd show you some visuals that pretty much embody my brain at the moment. Actually, now that I look at this it's mostly focused on the millenia half but you get the point nonetheless.

I've been thinking about the summer recently and what I'm going to do with it.  I originally planned on taking summer classes at my college in May to get ahead, but I might not pursue it because the financial aid will be beyond shitty. Plus, I don't want to burn myself out for the upcoming school year. Which leads me back into the post vibe - road trips.

For those who haven't seen The Doom Generation, its a hyper stylized film about 2 teenagers who are trying to escape their seemingly messed up lives.  They encounter strange places and psycho characters along the way.  It makes me sort of reminisce on all of the absurdity that lies in the outskirts of the U.S.A. The joke shops, touristy destinations, etc. It'd probably be super depressing to constantly reside there (shown in the movie), but popping in on a road trip and leaving when you want just seems so appealing to me in a voyeuristic way.  

Something else I've been inspired by recently is the concept of Roswell New Mexico/Aliens. I remember staying up late and watching crappy reenactment shows about alien abductions on T.V. as a kid. It just makes me really intrigued how so many people across the world believe in it whole heartily and dedicate their lives to exploring the matter.

Anyways, I guess what this all comes down to is mystery. What's still out there? What can I document? Maybe that's what I'll do over the summer - get some money together and bum it across the U.S.A. More fashion inspiration on this topic will be coming soon!

Much love, 

Lauren Rose

Curbside Fashion 

(P.S. I watched this documentary called "Kurt and Courtney" on Netflix last night. I never knew there were hardcore conspiracy theorists that thought Kurt was murdered. I liked when they showed people from his past (his aunt/ex girlfriend), you can really see the impression he left - it's actually super depressing. Also Courtney is kind of displayed in a bad light (then again it's hard to make her seem like a saint), but her dad is the biggest asshole on earth. Wow. That is it, over and out. )