As we noted previously, it has been a strange few weeks in the life of famed fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. For us, the photo above — which features the Kaiser awkwardly posing in a bedroom made out of 10.5 tons of Belgium chocolate alongside of a chocolate replica of supermodel Baptiste Giabiconi — is kind of the cherry on the crazy sundae. But really, should we expect anything less from the man who once told The Observer, “I think everyone should go to bed like they have a date at the door”? [via Boing Boing]
Well, the weirdest man in fashion is at it again. Karl Lagerfeld’s well-documented obsession with books — he apparently owns 300,000 of them, and photos of his library have been making the blog rounds for months — has inspired him to create a new, book-scented perfume called Paper Passion. According to Geza Schön, the perfumer working on the project, “the fragrance will have a fatty note” reminiscent of linoleum. Of course, Lagerfeld is hardly the first to make a book-inspired scent; in addition to the three TheIndependent lists, we’re partial to CB I Hate Perfume’s In the Library.
Meanwhile, Lagerfeld has also delved into the advertising arts. UnBeige points us to the first in a series of three commercials for Magnum Ice Cream, the frozen treat that kind of sounds like a condom brand. In this two-minute confection, Rachel Bilson (who appears in all of the spots) is a model who can do no right, infuriating a finicky photographer. But as soon as she spots a gent eating a Magnum and secures one for herself, she’s brilliant. This, from a man who subsists entirely on vegetables, Diet Coke, and the blood of virgins! Watch the ad after the jump and click here to check out the supremely bizarre making-of video.
Celebrities may live glamorous lives, but at the end of the day, we’d like to think that a good number of them curl up at home with a good book. And that’s why it’s so gratifying to learn that a completely unexpected famous person possesses a ton of books. We gained newfound respect for Karl Lagerfeld, for instance, when the Observer published a photo of his enormous (and, of course, gorgeous) home library. Curious to find out which other celebrities are bookworms behind closed doors, we rounded up ten photos of famous bookshelves, from Woody Allen and Oprah to Greta Garbo and Michael Jackson.
Here’s a little something wonderful: Courtney Love commissioned wacky animator Michael Mouris to make a film documenting her style evolution. It begins with Karl Lagerfeld, that paragon of sanity, staging a fashion intervention: “You’re drowning in the kook… Your lungs are filling with chiffon and lace and all that glitter, bead nonsense. You must come up for air before you die.” Later, Love wonders (and yes, in her world, this is a joke), “Why can’t I be dignified like Chris Martin from Coldplay?”
André Leon Talley, Love’s band mates, a “caramel” Birkin bag, a handful of Hole songs, a bowl of ramen, a “skinny little bitch” scarfing cake, and Michael Stipe (shouting some of his own “Losing My Religion” lyrics) all make appearances. It’s certainly goofy, but it’s also fun. Just watch it.
1. Facebook‘s 2010 privacy policy is longer than the United States Constitution. [via NYT]
2. FOX has picked up a new comedy from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz that will star Will Arnett and Keri Russell. [via Live Feed]
3. Watch Karl Lagerfeld‘s latest short film for Chanel, Remember Me. It’s like the inside of the fashion designer’s brain exploded. [via UnBeige]
4. Christina Ricci will make her Broadway debut in Time Stands Still when the Tony-nominated show returns on September 23. [via ArtsBeat]
5. Get a sneak peek at Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton (he gained 35 pounds for the part) and Hope Davis as Hillary in HBO’s The Special Relationship, which airs May 29. [via Faded Youth]
While no one is going to argue against the practicality of Old Navy (hey, even tech vests had their moment), it is clear that high fashion is often wearable (or in the case of The Devil Wears Prada — quite unwearable) art. But sometimes even these threads can get upstaged (theatrically speaking), and fashion shows become more about over-the-top production than the clothes. Case in point: Chanel’s RTW Fall 2010 show, which featured a 265-ton iceberg that was imported from Scandinavia and handcarved by 35 ice sculptors. In that spirit, after the jump we’ve rounded up some of the most outrageous runways shots we could find. Recession, what?
British fashion photographer Miles Aldridge credits luck for the reason he became a photographer. When he pitched photos of his girlfriend to help her become a model for British Vogue, the magazine’s editors ended up preferring his talent to her look. That was the mid-1990s, and since then, Aldridge’s career has skyrocketed. Working for Vogue Italia, Numero, Paradis, and The New York Times Magazine, he has established himself as an inventive artist with an acute sense of color and impeccable eye for style.
