Jolie Laide

Photography: Nick Smythe
Styling: Linda Baylor
Model: Aleksandra Semechkina

THE ANTI-RACHEL ZOE

What do the movies Girl, Interrupted, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Tank Girl, and A Single Man all have in common? Costume designer and styling whiz Arianne Phillips of course!

Considering that Tank Girl (both the comic and the movie) has been hugely influential on my personal style, and that the character of Lisa Rowe from Girl, Interrupted I kind of always wanted to be just because of her swag, I was absolutely delighted to come across an article from the August 16, 2009 New York Times Style magazine which profiled both Phillips' career trajectory and unique attitude towards the industry in which she works.

Daphne Merkin interviews Arianne Phillips, who has been working with Madonna since 1997 on everything from CD covers and videos to TV appearances and concert tours. Despite the implied glitz and glamour of working with Madonna, Phillips declares that she does not do red carpet dressing or event styling, and is uninterested in the so-called "Sex and the City culture." (A-MEN!)

Characterizing herself as "sympathetic and unthreatening," it should not be doubted that within that unassuming exterior is a well of ambition, tenacity, and imagination. According to Merkin's article (posted in full below) Phillips moved to New York City in 1985 with nothing to show save for a portfolio of her friends modeling thrift store clothing. After a few false starts, including a cold call to Arthur Elgort's studio, where he told her to seek out younger more experimental photogs to work with, Phillips landed an internship at a fashion news television program, which led to her styling midnight photo shoots at the Palladium and eventually to a gig dressing Lenny Kravitz. Although his record company was less than enthusiastic about her vision of "a Jackson 5 silhouette with a little Bowie thrown in," what is notable is her use of vintage clothing in the styling process: something that while now is commonplace, at the time was unusual.

Her career took off after working with Kravitz, and Phillips went on to do the costume design for movies, befriending Courtney Love on the set of "Larry Flynt," who introduced her to Madonna.

What I took away most from the article, besides the sense that Phillips is kind of a wallflower who prefers to stay in reality while creating worlds of fantasy for her clients, is how important research is to forming her visions. From her beginnings as a Rocky Horror Picture Show fan (seeing this movie was a watershed moment for me as well), to priding herself on being knowledgable of the "sub-sub-sub-culture" of obscure musicians and artists, Phillips still relies on plentiful culuture references to inform her work. She states that research is everything, and that she and her assistants create reference books that contain multimedia collages, with images gleaned from biographies, periodicals, photos, and art books. Armed with ideas about the desired look and feel she wants for a project, Phillips then goes "hunting and gathering," calling in clothes from designers and vintage dealers across the country, as well as thrifting in remote places like the San Bernadino Valley.

Phillips is a truly inspirational figure to me, because both her work and her perspective speak to the nerdy, punk-rock, eccentric girl who loves to express herself through the transformative power of fashion, which is kind of me in a nutshell. I identify with the conflict Phillips feels as a member of an industry that has become less about creativity and more about celebrity. The rebelious stance in opposition to such "Devil Wears Prada" buffoonery is also resplendent in the strong and autonomous leading ladies that Phillips has clothed throughout her career: Althea Flynt, Tank Girl, Lisa Rowe, June Carter-Cash, and Charley all jump off the screen as bad-ass bitches with the help of Arianne Phillip's impeccable styling choices.

TAKE YOUR FACE OFF

Found this hiding in the back of our medicine cabinet and couldn't get over the hilarity of the name of this product. The irony persists in that I've heard that the texture of these make up remover towlettes is akin to sandpaper soaked in olive oil, which seems to me like something more suited for, say, removing varnish from furniture. Note the fear in the model's eyes on the box. Her face is about to be taken off by some bottom tier beauty product that, if it doesn't completely sandblast your skin, will probably leave an archipelago of pimples in its wake. If I knew how to use photoshop I'd probably try to include some spiffy product demonstration before and after pics, the latter sans face of course.

Untreated mental illness

Don't ignore the warning signs. If a proper intervention, perhaps some medication, had come along sooner, or if I had thought to myself that the madness was real: not normal thinking and weird behavior has been there all my life, since a child. As an adult I've been a whirlpool of manic energy and I hurt everyone who loves me and I can't love anyone else but at least I've found one person who doesn't judge me and just accepts me with all of my flaws and craziness. And until I get my hands on obamacare and some Prozac, I'm just saying that I think if my parents hadn't been so adverse to medicating me, or if I had known then what I know now about bi-polar disorder, things might have turned out differently for me.

Entrepreneurial Advice from Chris at Love Brigade -- Exclusive Interview

Any brand with a creative director who goes by "Tiny Pants" deserves a closer look. Located at 230 Grand St. in Brooklyn, Love Brigade is a company founded by a crew of Brits-turned-Brooklynites, who have managed to turn their wholesaling company into a storefront operation and destination for anyone in the Williamsburg area looking for a shopping experience that combines urban sophistication with gritty charm. The hard working individuals behind this company undoubtedly have valuable advice to offer regarding some of the elements involved in beginning a fashion brand, and I was lucky enough to be able to sit down with the creative director -- Chris "Tiny Pants" Dang -- for a quick interview. His eloquent responses and pragmatic business sense provide much inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs.

LB: Tell us a little about the origins of your company. How did you get started; was there any business or brand that you all looked to for inspiration?

CD: The brand Love Brigade started when Alyssa [Key, CEO] was in fashion school in London. She and Jamie [Rockaway, VP] began working on a fashion label, which they then brought to New York, where I was. We continued to develop the brand and began selling it to other retailers, then opened an online store, and later started selling out of a small loft space. As we grew, we decided we needed a larger space and a better way to commune with the neighborhood, so three years ago, we found this space, which used to be a bodega, renovated it, and set up shop. All of our patternmaking is done in house, but we outsource to domestic manufacturers for the actual production because it is a priority of ours to support American businesses. Some of the brands to which we have looked for inspiration are Diesel, and a smaller brand called All Saints, the latter of which has actually become friends and mentors to us.

LB: What sort of advise would you dispense to a young entrepreneur who is about to start his or her own business?

CD: Do your homework! Make sure you have the money to accomplish your goals, and in the best scenario situation, try to make sure you don't owe money to anybody. We have had success because we have built our business on equity -- putting a lot of our own money into it instead of going into debt. We also have no investors at this time.

LB: How do you select merchandise for your store?

CD: We sell primarily our own Love Brigade branded clothing -- women's and men's apparel -- and we also stock a small selection of lower priced t-shirts made by local companies, jewelry by local artisans, and select vintage pieces. We consider ourselves to be a lifestyle brand, and our aesthetic could be described as "hipster chic:" edgy, utilitarian pieces for men, as well as fashion-forward and flirty pieces for women. Each season we develop three characters for both the men's and women's lines that we seek inspiration from and which will dictate the merchandise that we offer.

LB: Describe a typical day in the life of a small business owner.

CD: There are lots of e-mails and phone calls that are done on a daily basis -- as a product driven business we concern ourselves with marketing and public relations most of the time (our rolodexes and cell phones are our most useful tools!) The creative process really only takes us about a month per season, and the rest of the time is devoted to more business oriented undertakings.

LB: What have you found to be the most effective methods of promoting your business?

CD: We have gotten real results from staying local and making sure that our business has a special relationship with the inhabitants of our neighborhood. Williamsburg and New York City in general has many great opportunities for businesses to participate in local events, of which we try to avail ourselves of.

LB: What was the largest challenge you had to overcome in order to get to where you are now?

CD: Keeping open and consistent communication with the other owners regarding our vision and mission statement has been challenging, considering the fact that it is always evolving and changing.

LB: How long did it take before you began to see profits? Was there a "tipping point" so to speak?

CD: I conceptualize "profits" as not only sales volume, but subjectively, as a personal satisfaction with the way the business is being run and the way it is developing. That being said, the business is now at a point where we can live comfortably off of the profits. Beginning the business online I feel had a lot to do with getting things off to a profitable start.

LB: What has been a guiding principle that you have followed on your path to success?

CD: Maintaining a high level of honesty, not only amongst the owners, but between us and our customer base -- we want them to trust us to always provide a certain level of merchandise, in both quality and aesthetics.

LB: Do you have any plans for expansion?

CD: Well, the general idea is that we're always expanding -- we do plan to open stores in other cities. Our current mission is to completely dissolve the wholesale business and put all our focus on the retail end. We feel that we have become a strong enough brand that we don't need a middleman, so to speak, and want to work on selling our brand exclusively through our own Love Brigade stores.



Many thanks to Chris for taking the time out for this interview! I wish all the folks at Love Brigade much success, and I highly recommend this place as a great spot to check out numerous hard-to-find indie designer labels that hail not only from the NYC area, but from Italy, Japan, Los Angeles, and beyond. The store decor is another attractive feature of the business, with vintage furniture, quirky tchotchkes, and taxidermy galore.

Wants, Needs, and Vivid Dreams

Obscure 70s Canadian Folk Groups

I stand to inherit a seriously MEGA record collection from my rents someday. As I was perusing the vinyls one day, my real cool Dad (by the way, I have found that most of the chicks I really vibe with are also members of the cool dads club. coincidence? I think not) suggested I check out this group I had never heard of before. As soon as the needle hit the groove (heh) I was locked into this trance-like state of musical euphoria. You know, where the music that's playing is not just background noise but it is commanding all of your attention and entreating you to listen and follow every heart-breaking measure.

Folk music, man. I know that in some incarnations it can become a little whiny, starry-eyed, overly-plaintive, etc. but it will seriously always have a special place in my heart.

This was the debut album from the folk-psych duo Alan Fraser and Daisy Debolt (seriously with a name like that what else do you do in life besides sing in a high, clear voice?) Put out on Columbia records in 1971, all of the tunes are original compositions, with the exception of their haunting cover of The Beatles "Don't Let Me Down." There is so much dissonance in these tunes that they break away from being blithe country songs. There is a real salt of the earth feel to the lyric content, as well as the transcendentally harmonious vocal delivery. This is the kind of music that can't be contrived or highly produced because it is just what pours out of some North American musicians who have lived simple and humble lives and grown up playing and listening to the very same homespun music. What strikes me most about this album, however, is the use of Ian Guenther's fiddle. As a classically trained violinist, I know it as an utterly melodic instrument. However, Guenther manages to turn his fiddle into a percussion instrument, lending a feeling that is unique from country or bluegrass fiddle because of the halting rhythm and meandering patterns he takes in his accompaniments. Seriously worth a listen.... here's the link to a direct download for all you pirates out there.

6 Degrees of Music Separation

Remember that "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon" Game? Being a total music nerd, I thought it would be a fun challenge to try and connect two seemingly unrelated artists through their various endeavors in as few steps as possible. Ready? Ok.

Spice Girls to the Dead Milkmen in 5 Easy Steps!
1. Spice Girls starred in the movie SpiceWorld (how could we forget that cinematic gem?), which also featured Meatloaf as the unflappable bus driver.
2. Meatloaf sang on the Ted Nugent album Free For All
3. Ted Nugent frequently covers "Soul Man," a tune penned by Isaac Hayes, during his live performances.
4. Isaac Hayes wrote the original film score for the movie Shaft
5. The Dead Milkmen have, on their record Soul Rotation, a song called "Shaft in Greenland," (sample lyric: "The world's full of danger/You do what you can/You feel like a stranger/Like Shaft in Greenland")

and there you have it. This is fun. Please give me suggestions on artists to try and connect, and I'll keep on thinking about Herb Alpert's recorded instrumental hit "Rise," which was sampled in 1997 by Notorious BIG for his song "Hypnotize."

Joining the Tired, Huddled Masses

Deleted the FB account a month back cos it was getting too damn depressing. Was having major Holden Caulfield-phony-hating-syndrome every time I would cruise around and witness these embarrassing displays of people's personality adverts. Between these social networking sites and the cell phone texting era, I think we've just reduced our interactions to these inauthentic gasps and desperate displays. It's all so inarticulate and non-commital, and .... christ I'm sounding like a cranky senior citizen rambling on about the way they don't make things like they used to. Fuck that rant -- if you're as nihilistic as me I'm not saying anything new to you here.

Anyway, this is my attempt to have an internet presence again, because god knows if I'm not google-able I might as well not exist in this world. I love how "blogging" has become this completely legitimate form of journalism, and how in this day and age everyone is so exhibitionistic and willing to put their thoughts, interests and whatnot on public display ... because we think someone else might be interested? I guess as egotistical as it is, it's the same as making art -- one has to have a bit of ego going on to even feel that what one has to say is worth being heard. And now that the media is so democratized, everyone has the opportunity to be heard. The answer to the riddle has finally been answered -- regardless of whether anyone is listening, when the tree falls it does make a sound. Well here I am and I sure as hell have spent enough time logging hours as a voyeur myself, so it's about time I join this giant game of "look at me, look at me." So look at me and I don't really care if you don't like what you see. If it doesn't taste good, spit it out.

I do a lot of shit and have interests that run the gamut from 70s German cartoonists to all of my really cool and creative friends in New York City who are making moves and trying in some way to impact this vast cultural landscape. So that is what may be expected from Minnie Ma'am. Oh, by the way the origin of that name is that that is what I used to call my pacifiers when I was a wee one. Pretty cute huh? See, I was a born copy writer. So for my amusement probably more so than for yours, here it goes