“We all get dressed for Bill.”

I KNOW THIS IS NOT NEWS. If you already saw the documentary on New York Times fashion photographer Bill Cunningham, feel free to disregard. This is for those of you – including those sitting in Fashion Snoops‘ New York office – who have yet to see the flick (which is still playing in select theaters). I saw it on my most recent trip to NYC and as a former New Yorker, it put me in an especially New York frame of mind. Bill Cunningham New York is marvelous film that uncovers the man behind the camera and New York culture by way of street fashion and select personalities in a way that no one else has come close to. Sure The Satorialist and friends all have published books in line with our current obsession with street fashion. Bill has been doing it since 1978. I would have loved to hear his thoughts on today’s state of everyone as a street photographer, but he would have probably dismissed it with a waving hand gesture and gotten back to business. I found it so charming that he’s mostly removed from the scene (always in his signature blue smock), yet documents it beautifully – he gets what happens without the hype and his dedication to his work rivals only a select few. As Anna says, “We all get dressed for Bill.”

3 Strangers in 3.1 Phillip Lim

This week Phillip Lim debuted a short film featuring his Fall 11 menswear collection on Nowness.com. We’ve long been a fan of Phillip Lim, and his menswear collection is quickly rising to the top, not to mention that he was recently nominated for the Swarovski Award for Menswear at the CFDA Fashion Awards. In the film, 3 strangers walk around in Phillip Lim threads set to a concrete urban architectural background and climactic piano and string music. Titled “Weavers” and directed by Andrew Paynter, the film puts texture at the forefront with an emphasis on details, which otherwise go unnoticed in the runway shots.

Ermenegildo Zegna’s 3-D Fashion Show

Fashion has had its moments of 3D in the past (heck there’s also been 4-D), however up until now no one worked with James Lima (you know, of Avatar fame) on a fashion show. Although they say it’s the first 3-D fashion show, I believe Burberry had that title in February 10. NEVERTHELESS, the effect at Zegna looked pretty interesting.. as in I’m sure no model has ever appeared to have walked from the Great Wall of China onto a runway. The China connection was a celebration of Zegna’s 20th year of business in China. While the reference wasn’t reflected in excess on the surface, silky shirts, uniform jackets and utility belts nodded modestly to the Chinese Revolution.

DIOR HOMME: The Time I Had Some Time Alone

Dior Homme just released a video to highlight the Spring 11 collection. Kris Van Assche worked with photographer Willy Vanderperre on the 55-second short in which model Victor Nylander tosses and turns while sleeping on a homeless-like mat.. and wearing a Dior Homme suit no less. The film has a gritty sort of quality, shot in black and white with that old school crunchiness of a record player in the background as well as playground sounds, skateboarding and deep breathing. And from the likes of the tossing and turning, it was a pretty sweet dream. Select stills from the film will be used for print ads.

Opening Ceremony, Tokyo

明けましておめでとうございます｡

That’s HAPPY NEW YEAR (!!!) in Japanese. I just returned from my holiday vacation in Tokyo and figured I’d start off 2011 with a favorite. While everyone is in high sale mode, Opening Ceremony in Shibuya was pretty amaze across all 7 floors.. yes 7, which pretty much makes it my favorite OC store ever (never mind the constant fact that EVERYTHING they sell turns to gold). From the Rodarte Black Swan window displays to Pendleton fever and Junior High cork board/lockers, who cares if it’s sale stuff. These are by far some of the best visual merchandising displays out there!

In other OC news, the new Spring 11 video Billy The Kids is out. Cue cardboard cutouts, storytelling rhymes, Elvis and Bill Murray. Totally lost in translation, how apropos.

To Appreciate Street Art..

One must see Exit Through The Gift Shop. It just came out in theaters in France last week, so if you already saw it, please disregard.

I’m not going to get all into it but like, WOAH. This is the kind of documentary that makes you really appreciate the subject matter, which in this case is guerilla street art. The story goes like this: Amateur filmmaker finds his niche capturing and befriending REAL street artists on film for the first time, like Banksy, Shepard Fairey and Space Invader. After his first failed attempt at doing a documentary, Banksy challenges said amateur, “Mr. Brainwash,” to go back to LA and try creating his own art. ASSHOLE goes back to LA, employs an entire team of graphic and installation artists and knocks off pretty much ALL of his street art idols, yet achieves commercial success – as in he did the cover for Madonna’s Greatest Hits collection (shame on you Madge). Banksy himself said at the end of the film that he “always encouraged everyone to make art, and [he] doesn’t really do that so much anymore.” I say, Mr. Brainwash should be blacklisted from the art world, but it does go to show you that unfortunately knock-off artists have a place in our society. Below, the real innovators of street art.

BANKSY

SHEPARD FAIREY

SPACE INVADER

Ralph Lauren’s 4-D Experience, Beyond Fireworks

You absolutely NEED to take 8 minutes out of your day to watch this video. It is AH-mazing. It is WOW and then some.

In celebration of Ralph Lauren’s 10 years of polo.com, last night the Ralph Lauren flagships in New York and London held identical 4-dimensional installations on the facades of each store, featuring total groundbreaking technology that is nothing short of spectacular. You do not need to be a Ralph Lauren fan to appreciate this.

I am still in awe of just how beautiful this installation was, and I didn’t even see it in person. The techno mastery is beyond my comprehension and puts any and every other light show to shame.

First off, transforming any facade into a Beaux Arts building is nothing short of an architectural masterpiece, not to mention the glorious chandeliers that staged a brief runway show.

I liked the buildings “wrapped up” in a RL horseshoe belt or dripping in ties.

And then the polo players that phased into the logo.

The triumphant soundtrack was all the more fitting particularly at the end with a rolling collage of Ralph Lauren brand imagery.

The cameo of Ralph waving out the window at the end was a little cheeky, but ultimately the show was spectacular beyond belief. It’s impossible to watch something like that and not come away with appreciation for what is one of the world’s most successful brands. Ralph Lauren has always been at the forefront of technology and I look forward to seeing his universe evolve into the next decade of digital mastery.

Rag & Bone Documentary by R.J. Cutler

While the documentary on everyone’s mind as of late should be CBS’s Fashion’s Night Out Special which airs on September 14th, a new documentary on Rag & Bone was released yesterday on the brand’s website as well as on Starbucks’ frappuccino website. Ok so the sponsor tie-in isn’t exactly so appealing BUT the documentary was filmed by R.J. Cutler of The September Issue.

I’m not in love with the For The Love of Fashion title but the 10-minute video served its purpose as it followed designers Marcus Wainwright and David Neville prep for their Fall 10 show this past February. They talked about their inspiration behind the collection, the brand’s aesthetic, styling the collection, walk throughs and then a count down before the men’s and women’s shows. Anna sighting ensured!

Being There, By Band of Outsiders’ Scott Sternberg

Behold the film from Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders. Set to a somewhat melancholic concerto piano, Sternberg goes deep with thoughts like, “It’s not a conscious effort to reject the standards of fashion.” Highlights include a lego-head man in a suit, perhaps plagued by society norms and a desk job. The film presents an honest and real vision that really resonates with customers and is part of what has made the brand achieve much success since its CFDA win for emerging menswear 2 years ago.

http://vimeo.com/14006162

Feel The Film: Burberry

Burberry was one of the first luxury brands to “get it” in terms of relaying a luxurious lifestyle on their website. Art Of The Trench deserves all the endless praise it has achieved from the beginning, especially with relaying the brand’s heritage message to today’s street-obsessed culture. But now chief creative officer Christopher Bailey is up to something else with true WOW factor, that extends beyond the brand’s 3-D runway show in February and previous video look books.

Burberry’s Fall 10 ad campaign, shot by Mario Testino, is now digital and interactive on burberry.com. The photos below don’t do it justice – it’s something you need to see and “feel” to believe. The way you could move the screen to see different views, models walking, picking up bags or trench coat collars, is really kind of amazing. It’s as if you are going deep into the depths of every image to uncover another layer which would otherwise go unnoticed. The music set to this new feature really helps push the “feeling” element forward.

I can only expect that from this initiative, once Fall product is available, there will also be a link from the interactive campaign to buy product, much like the video look books did in the past.

In related news, Bailey has also launched an initiative that channels his passion for music. Burberry Acoustic features hand-picked emerging British bands which so far include Life in Film, Mitsy Miller and Ramona.

While there is no real visual evidence of a marketing tie-in on Burberry Acoustic, apparently some band members are wearing Burberry pieces mixed in with their own clothes. While that’s all good and fine, the recent Spring 11 menswear show video has also been added to the same area of the site. Placing runway right next to new music videos has me kind of puzzled. I’m all for groundbreaking fashion films, technology and music tie-ins; my only concern would be that too many different types of media might become overwhelming to the customers, depending on placement. For example, will customers be able to shop from the ad campaign, video look book, runway and by category? When it comes to videos, I feel like maybe 1 or 2 media formats are enough, more than that may become a bit excessive.