Fashion Designer Kenzo Takada Exhibits His Paintings In Paris

above: Japanese fashion designer and painter Kenzo Takada poses with three of his paintings, on the first day of the exhibition. Wednesday June 16, 2010

Designer Kenzo Takada, who founded the upscale Kenzo label, has tried his hand at painting, with a Paris exhibition titled "Un Certain Style de Vie" ( A Certain Way Of Life) which showcases his eight self-portraits.


above: Japanese fashion designer and painter Kenzo Takada poses with one of his paintings, on the first day of the exhibition:" Un Certain Style de Vie", A Certain Way of Life, Wednesday June 16, 2010

The large-scale paintings shown at the Studio 55 gallery in Paris feature the Japanese-born designer in a series of flower-printed kimonos that recall the kinds of prints his label is known for.


above: detail of one of the 8 self-portraits in the Un Certain Style de Vie exhibit at Studio 55 in Paris

"Art and fashion are really not that different," Takada told The Associated Press in an interview.

A few of the self-portraits:


Details/close-ups:



Images from the exhibit at Studio 55:




Kenzo, who was born in 1939, leapt to fame in the 1980s with a high-end ready-to-wear line that gave Western garments an eastern touch. He says he started painting 10 years ago, after he sold his label to French luxury goods giant LVMH and subsequently retired.

The exhibit runs through July 10.

STUDIO 55 (en résidence chez Pierre Cardin)
3, 5 et 9 rue de Duras - 75008 PARIS
Métro : Champs-Elysées Clémenceau

special thanks to the Associated Press for info and some images, Pure Trend for some images and Getty images.

Earlier artwork by Takada:

PSST! By the way, the press keeps spinning this as if Kenzo had not ever created art before, but only clothes. Not true at all. You can see some of the couturier's previous art works, which were auctioned off in 2008 here.

Wearing Your Weaknesses With Cast Of Vices Jewelry

Whether you've kicked the habit, or still indulge, the jewelry from Cast of Vices is a hand crafted reminder of our vices, be them smoking, drinking, pill-popping, snorting - or even chewing on a pen cap.

Cast in sterling silver or gold, the pendants, bracelets and pins are detailed representations of our culture's obsession with self-medicating. The fly is said to serve as a reminder of the 'stench of our addictions' and is available on any piece shown.


Cigarette butts:

Beer Bottlecaps (Corona, Budweiser and Miller High Life):

Pills, pills, pills in gold or sterling silver:


Pills bracelet:

With flies:

Fly pendants and cockroach pin:

Pen cap and pouch pendants:

Vials with sterling silver caps:


All pieces are hand-crafted in the USA with sterling silver or 14k gold using the lost wax casting process.


To find your nearest stockist, go here.

Hyper Realistic Paintings Of Retro Barbies By Judy Ragagli

Artist Judy Ragagli paints original paintings of nostalgic Barbie dolls, from the retro years of 1959 to 1970. Whether it's Barbie in Bora Bora or Hollywood, on Prom Night or dressed for an Enchanted Evening, the paintings at first glance appear as photographs and upon closer inspection are incredible detailed oil paintings. Ragagli captures the smooth perfect plastic skin and uses colored backgrounds, clothing and/or venues- that compliment the clean and bright world of Barbie.



According to Judy, "I see nostalgic Barbie as possessing a soul and positive spirit; her true persona extends beyond the plastic facade."



Judy's goal, she explains, is to pay homage to this surviving icon of modernity, femininity and style. "I want my viewers to recognize Barbie as an important and positive influence within American society on both the individual and aggregate levels," she notes. By presenting nostalgic Barbie through portraiture in oil on canvas, Judy's aim is to create a vision of Barbie that is still and noble. I strive to elicit veneration for Barbie's legacy while painting a mark of beauty and grace into the world."

The paintings:













You may not be able to afford her original oil paintings which run approximately $3,900.00 but she offers fine art prints of her paintings starting at an affordable $150. USD.



This Limited Edition giclee on canvas, shown above, features a 1964 Barbie originally painted on canvas in oil by Judy Ragagli. "Platinum Swirl" is released in a limited edition of 50. The size is 20" x 16," inches, varnished with a UV protective coating and stretched on 1 1/2" stretcher bars.

Ms. Ragagli's paintings can also be viewed in the newly released hard-cover book titled EdgyCute: From Neo-Pop to Low Brow and Back Again by Harry Saylor.

Visit her website here

Nike 'Ballman' Made of 3000 Soccer Balls For World Cup

Nike continues to impress with more of their interesting and artful projects for the 2010 World Cup. In addition to the fabulous carved crayons, a giant sculpture comprised of almost 3,000 footballs (that's soccer balls for those of us in the US) designed by Leeds-based Ratcliffe Fowler Design hangs in the atrium of the Carlton Centre shopping mall in downtown Johannesburg.



'Ballman' as he has become dubbed, is a World Cup project for the leading sportswear brand.



Prior to being sea freighted to South Africa, a complete Ballman test build took place at Magna, the Science Adventure Centre and steel visitor attraction in Rotherham, UK. This was one of the few places in the UK with enough room to host the operation, which was co-ordinated by the Magna technical team, Transmitta.




Summit's project manager Jay Call studied the Carlton Centre's structural plans and discovered that the atrium of the building has a 12 x 12m steel grid, complete with 5 beams, 3m apart. Summit then designed an aluminum mother grid to fly below this, which is picked up on 4 x 5 ton hoists.



Once the sub-structure was flown at its 15m trim height, the bottom was filled in with flat panels and clad with moulded polystyrene - all with 537 holes drilled exactly in the right places for the 2x steel wire drops. This completely conceals all the metalwork and rigging, giving the appearance of a solid ceiling with the Ballman 'floating' in the air.



Ballman will stay in place for the whole World Cup tournament period, and when dismantled, the intention is that the balls will be given away. Jay Call commented: "It was a great pleasure to be involved in this project, which was different, challenging and extremely rewarding, both as a feat of engineering and a creative work for public enjoyment."

images and information courtesy of World Architecture News