Models in masks at Missoni in Milan.

While I'm usually not a fan of masks, nor costumes, nor really anything that might potentially cause a nightmare later on that evening, Missoni recently spiced up its S/S 11 show with masked ushers. And the creations by artist Aldo Lanzini are freakishly beautiful. Just call me a mask convert.

PS. Check out some of Lanzini's other work at his website. Both the site and the portfolio are sort of amazing.

[via Cool Hunting]

Mylar balloons & ornate hats.

Classical references, mylar balloons, ornate headgear & translucent skin pepper the fantastical, odd work of RISD grad and Brooklyn-based painter, Robin F. Williams.

I am just a little obsessed. And looking forward to seeing more from this young, fresh artiste.

Vampire Weekend. Tonight at the Bowl.

Are you ready for a dose of preppy pop, Hollywood?

I am.

Gucci brings it in Milan.

Frida Giannini brought it this week to the Gucci runway in Milan. She brought it hard. She brought it in bold color. She even brought neutrals and blacks that somehow spoke more to an S&M aesthetic than to safe khaki.

Heart. Covet. Need in my life.

View the entire collection on Style.com.

Serj Tankian's new album & the origins of hummus.

Last night Serj Tankian (System of a Down) celebrated his new solo album, Imperfect Harmonies, with a preview hosted by Logitech at Downtown's Watermarke Tower. Up in the penthouse suite, Serj, his band, and about 50 guests enjoyed an intimate listen to the new tunes.

Sure, we think Tankian's music is amazing, but the real reasons we love the artist...

* He's political. In addition to the many organizations Serj stands behind, he and fellow musician Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) founded their own, Axis of Justice, to fight for social justice.

* Tankian's concern for others knows no species-defined boundaries. He's a vegetarian.

* He's well groomed. In pictures, videos, and certainly last night, Tankian's facial hair is always styled just so. And we can't help but to respect a man who respects himself and his goatee.

Things that defined the party...

* A view that inspired even the fearful to step onto the small ledge for a look at the city below.

* Military cut jackets. Serj was sporting a beautifully cut one himself and some guests followed suit. No pun intended. Okay, maybe a little bit intended.

* Multinationalism. Serj is Lebonese, born to Armenian parents who fled the genocide, and moved the family to Los Angeles in the '70s. His band hails from Armenia, Italy, and Indiana. His security is from Brazil via the UK. I am from Long Island. The list goes on.

* A recurring conversation about the cuisine of Armenia. Okay, to be fair, this wasn't necessarily organic conversation. I kept bringing this one back up. To everyone I talked to. Why, I asked, is hummus served by Armenians, Russians Greeks, Lebanese, and Israelis?! I would not give up on the quest for truth at the party as I figured--if not here amongst so many Lebanese and Armenian, where would I ever learn the answer to the most pressing culinary question I've ever almost cared a lot about!? As it turns out, at least according to one guest who spoke with the semblance of great authority, hummus originated in Lebanon. The proof? The word 'hummus' is actually Arabic. And according to Serj's brother, the best Lebanese food in LA is to be found at Carousel in Hollywood and Skaf's in Glendale. You're welcome.

* A look at the new Ultimate Ears by Logitech custom in-ear monitors. These rad earbuds are saving musicians' hearing by creating molds customized for each user. An audiologist was even on hand last night to take custom measures of guests' ears. And for those of us who don't need the $1000+ models, UE has now launched a series of earbuds for consumer use, starting at just $19. Count me in please.

To order Serj Tankian's album, Imperfect Harmonies, click here.

[This post orginally appeared on Stuff I Like]

Thank you Marchesa. Silhouettes will never be the same.

From the runways of New York Fashion Week, may I present to you my absolute favorite collection. Of all time. Brit designers, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa, have changed the way I will look at shape and silhouette forever and ever, amen.

I would wear these elegant gowns and cocktail dresses to your wedding, I would wear them to my wedding, I would wear them to the bloody supermarket if I didn't think you'd spill your Trader Joe's sample meatball on me.

A few of my favorite looks below...

View the entire collection on Style.com.

Blood by The Middle East. A music video worth watching.

If all lyrics were written like this, I'd listen.

grandfather, gentle soul, you'll fly
over your life once more before you die

And if all music videos looked like this, I'd watch them.

Calling all pretty young things. Today at LAXART.

Are you one of LA's few residents who is not here to act, model or get discovered walking your dog at Runyon Canyon? Perhaps you've been curious about the casting process--the styling, the anxiety, the deep breathing, the stage mothers. Oh, the stage mothers!

This is amazing. Today, artist Charlie White is executing a one-day performance in the form of an open casting call at LAXART to find one very special 'California Girl.' Girls between 13 and 16 are being sought for an LA billboard as part of LAXART's Billboard Project. Guests can attend the call and peep the whole day of shenanigans through a windowed wall.

I have no idea how White put the word out about the call. And I wouldn't want to taint the integrity of the artistic experiment by guessing what you might see there. But...did I say stage mothers?!

TODAY, September 11
9 a - 5 p

LAXART
2640 S. La Cienega
Los Angeles, CA 90034

In Italiano.

voglio imparare l'italiano. proprio come il pulcino da mangiare amore pregare. solo il fatto che non riesco a leggere questo blurb sto scrivendo è estremamente interessante per me. Potrei dire qualcosa - qualcosa di geniale, qualcosa di folle, qualcosa che si vuole citare me in un secondo momento. in italiano.

Love--recorded, animated, & sure to make you cry.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

You may have heard stories from StoryCorps on KPCC. The non-profit roves the country allowing folks to record their stories--the happy ones and the sad ones--in a portable recording studio.

Danny & Annie's story is simple: love, cancer, more love, death. It's the kind of simple story that Hollywood has told over and over, but adds bells and whistles and melodrama too. There are no bells necessary here. This story will make you cry, even without a Nicholas Sparks ending on it.

[via VSL]

COMEBACK : 3 entries found (submission to Longshot Mag)

Last Friday, my good friend and fellow event producer extraordinaire wrote me an email. It was brief. "i really think you should submit something to this...longshotmag.com"

My submission to the new magazine, which is written, edited and printed within 48 hours, was not brief. Though it didn't make it into the print edition (tear), and is not the polished piece of literature I'd generally like to share due to Longshot's 24 hour submission deadline, I figured 'why deprive the world of these 1000 words related to the issue's theme: COMEBACK.' And so, here it is--just as it was submitted to Longshot.

And P.S. Please do be sure to support Longshot. Find Issue 1 here.

COMEBACK : 3 entries found

Come.back.

1. : A sharp retort.

Derek lacked the social graces that get most people through their daily exposure to other humans. If someone, for instance, was in an elevator with Derek and felt compelled by the silence to ask him ‘how’s the weather today?’ Derek might respond ‘You were just outside. Did you exit the building in a giant, weatherproof bubble or are you just an idiot?” Derek didn’t understand the point of small talk or niceties. He didn’t get that telling someone she looked nice wasn’t just a reiteration of what “she should have been able to see herself if she owned a mirror,” but one of those ‘things’ you say to people who expect you, from time to time, to say something pleasant and uplifting. And so it was that Derek remained, more often than not, single.

In the Spring of the same year that Derek had spent the entire Winter reading ‘Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus’ in the hopes of maintaining a relationship for more than a single evening, Derek met a woman. Veronica was lovely and patient and had recently lowered her standards. And Derek, fresh off his read and smitten with Veronica’s shapely physique, thought he might apply his new understanding of women and court her.

“I like you,” he told her one day, though he could not imagine that his constant efforts to undo her blouse had not indicated just that many times over. And Veronica, so impressed by Derek’s expression of sentiment, became prematurely excited and replied, “I like you too Derek. I like you so, so much. Your dark eyes. Your brooding expression. Your non-ironic undertaking of the emo lifestyle. Do you mean that you might be interested in taking things between us a step further?” For which Derek was not prepared with an answer from his recent read.

“Next step? I don’t understand. Is that code in Venus for taking our clothes off and moving to the bedroom? That would be great as I’ve got dinner plans at 8 and am on a bit of a tight schedule.”

To which Veronica had absolutely nothing to say. But then she did.

“Goodbye, Derek. And, in case you’re unclear, in Venus, ‘goodbye’ is code for ‘you need serious counseling and to revisit childhood trauma that has made you the totally insane, detached and sad man you are today.’”