FASHION Magazine

Eight years ago today, R&B starlet Aaliyah’s fast, shimmering career crashed to a halt. No? Too soon? Luckily, there are more sensitive commemorators of the young honey’s almost-iconicism—after all, she had the range of a soprano, the brassy lure of Janet Jackson, the street-noir style of a sexy thug. And, if you recall, killer singles. […]

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“Sold at Starbucks,” for almost any artist, is the kiss of death—and yet, it can’t quite kill the beats of one irrepressible Anjulie (anjuliemusic.com). The young Guyanese-Torontonian’s eponymous world-pop debut is out now, on Hear Music, and in serious rotation. If you love M.I.A. and/or Corinne Bailey Rae, lend your ears to slinky new single […]

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Challenged to dress a local musician for the stage, the four remaining Off the Cuff competitors were back with new work on on August 2. Heather Rappard dressed her musician, a harpist, in a floor-length midnight blue gown–but was again warned by judges to step up her technical game.  Bree Mackin, paired with Mary Stewart, dressed the guitar-strummin’ songbird in a bubbly party dress trimmed in black lace that unfortunately won’t take her to the final round.

What’s a Milks and Rectangles look like?

You can spot a milk (or a rectangle, as the case may be) a million miles away. These four 20-something, East Coast based band members, Justin Uyterlinde (guitar), Mike Carver (drums), Christian Ledwell (guitar and vocals), and Brandon Williams (bass and microKORG) are easily identified in their baseball tees, suspenders, vests, Ray-Bans, shaggy haircuts and awkward Michael Cera-esque grins that inevitably melt even the most cynical and jaded of hearts.

Fashion bloggers are notorious for getting style crushes on certain starlets and singers to the point of almost obsession. Heather and Jessica of Go Fug Yourself fame are shamelessly impressed (and dare I say in love) with the style prowess that is Anne Hathaway and there are whole sites devoted to the fanatical fan worship of the sometimes stylish and sometimes questionable Olsen twins. As a blogger based on Canada’s East Coast, my style crushes tend to be a little more homegrown. My current favourite is the always-impeccable singer/songwriter Jenn Grant.

Issey Miyake speaks out for the first time on his experiences as a child in Hiroshima. “I have tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to put them behind me, preferring to think of things that can be created, not destroyed, and that bring beauty and joy. I gravitated toward the field of clothing design, partly because it is a creative format that is modern and optimistic.” [NYTimes]

Giambattista Valli has signed a licensing deal with Italy’s Mariella Burani Fashion Group. He isn’t saying yet what’s in store, just “I want to be known for all the parts of the wardrobe, not just the cocktail and evening dresses.” [StyleFile]

We eagerly await Tilda Swinton’s appearance in Pringle of Scotland’s Spring 2010 ads. [The Cut]

Although FASHION can’t endorse the unsafe summer pastime of riding around city streets in creaky vintage cruisers, with a straw hat instead of a helmet, and headphones in both ears, we can say this: if you’re going to do it, do it listening to Regina Spektor. The pianist-chanteuse’s newest offering  waltzes out today, just in time for cotton dress weather.

Here in the Culture Department, we’ve already declared the Lioness single “You’re My Heart” to be a summer party must-play. We were hoping the music video would teach us all the accompanying disco-shimmy moves; instead, it’s more of an open-heart surgery instructional. But don’t try this at home, unless you want surreally scary results. Directed by band member Jeff Scheven and inspired by German expressionism of the 1920s, the mini-movie plays like an opiate-induced trip through consciousness. Favourite part: roaring frontwoman Vanessa Fischer designed all the romantic, retro-futuristic costumes herself. We’d like to place an order for our own silver, hyper-shouldered dresses now, please.

Video after the jump.

I love it when a band sounds the way they dress. It feels honest rather than calculated, simple rather than complicated. For example, The White Stripes sound like lovers of dramatic color schemes, Emily Haines sounds like a romper-wearing cool kid, and Charlottetown’s newest band The North Lakes sound like the earnest, sheepish, shy, cardigan-wearing group they are. Remember The Wonder Years? The North Lakes are the band whose music would have been playing in the background when Winnie Cooper dumps Kevin for the first time. They wear button-ups and grandpa’s sweater, polka dots and wire-rim glasses. Basically, they dress and sound like your first heartbreak.

Despite the chilly weather, summer’s here and we’re getting ready to inaugurate the season in style! First, we’re booking a pass for Suoni Per Il Popolo (June 3 to 30, suoniperilpopolo.org), Montreal’s coolest avant-garde music festival. Soul-rock lovers will flock to TV on the Radio’s concert tomorrow, free-jazz aficionados are dying to get a ticket for Dave Burrell (June 6), and French pop freaks are heading to Pas Chic Chic (June 5).

Sounds like we’re under new MGMT: Cambridge-bred cool jammers Passion Pit (above, myspace.com/passionpitjams) and their first full-length, Manners (Frenchkiss Records), have all the hallmarks of this summer’s it-band. Like the “Kids” kids, they’ve got psych-rock heroes (it’s one fantastic trip from the Beatles to Animal Collective) and ridiculous pop hooks. They, too, mix synthy disco with sweet-voiced children in chorus. And their first single, “The Reeling,” is as crankable—and endlessly remixable—as “Electric Feel” ever got.

Summer’s at last on our shores, so bring in the rock-and-rolling tide of hot afternoon singalongs. The brighter, the better—this is no time to be cool about what’s on your iPod, no matter how much you really do like Patrick Watson.