Lou.

Lou Reed died yesterday at the age of 71. He was the lead singer of the Velvet Underground – a band who was managed by Andy Warhol – and had a long career as a solo artist with a fan base that included David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Patti Smith (not to mention that he was married to performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson). He was also a true pioneer who wrote lyrics that dealt with homosexuality and drug addiction at a time when these subjects were very much taboo. He also had an iconic, signature style that captured his dark, rebellious side.

1983

1970s

1970s

1975

2013 cover of The Times featuring a portrait from 1975.

Hedi Slimane for V magazine, 2013.

1972 album Transformer, shot by Mick Rock.

With Andy Warhol at a release party for Rock and Roll Heart. New York, 1976.

With David Bowie and Iggy Pop. London, 1972.

With Mick Jagger and David Bowie after Bowie’s last performance as Ziggy Stardust. London, 1973.

©Transformer, by Lou Reed and Mick Rock.

Madonna: Addendum

Yep, here we go again, another Madonna-related post. But don’t worry, fashiondotblog isn’t slowly turning into a fan-blog. I just thought that these pictures would go nicely with the one I showed you a couple of weeks ago; and then, I mean, come on: Just look at her! How could I not show you these photographs?
It’s hard to imagine that 30 years ago, her style got everybody up in arms; and compared to today’s silly shenanigans of a Lady Gaga, this seems utterly tame. But back then, her style was provocative, shocking and just really, really unique. The media couldn’t stop writing about her look and adults were really pissed off. Every girl and every woman on the planet was trying to imitate her style, to tease her hair just like her, to layer ripped jeans over lace leggins, to crop her t-shirt just to the right length, to pile on bangles and belts and necklaces just like she did.
Today, if you’re dressing up for an 80s-themed party, you’re really just dressing like a young Madonna. That just goes to show you how lasting and deep her influence and legacy has been.

©Richard Corman

Hilarious

http://vimeo.com/40089417

Now this movie is just insane. It’s supposed to be a fashion drama, but it’s basically an overlong ad for Elite Models with the best and worst the 80s had to offer: Campy, kitschy visuals, spandex, ribbons, thong leotards, synthesizer music, big hair and loads of eye make-up: And this is just the first 15 minutes. Now I’m not telling you to watch the whole thing, but do skip forward to 08:50, where you’ll find a young Steven Meisel in all his glory insanely yelling “Nastier, stranger…wilder! wilder! sicker!” to a pack of 80s supermodels such as Paulina Porizkova, Kelly Emberg and Carol Alt. No, really, watch this segment. It’s just too much.

Nostalgia

As a teenager in the early 90s, I was literally obsessed with the reigning supermodels of the time: Cindy, Linda, Christy, Naomi, Claudia.  I mean, I even bought Cindy’s workout video, with no intention of ever doing any of the exercises; I just wanted to ogle her. For me, these women epitomized everything I thought you had to be to be successful and loved: tall, thin, beautiful; admired by men and women alike. They were the embodiment of beauty and glamour and everything I didn’t even dare dreaming of ever becoming. I collected everything I could possibly find about them and tore out every picture, ad, article and snippet I could find in fashion magazines. I had literally binders full of stuff about them. But the mother-of-all of everything these supermodels represented really were the 90s Versace campaigns shot by Richard Avedon. I don’t remember even particularly liking the clothes, but no one could ever be any more glitzy and sexy than these women. So, in celebration of my youthful enthusiasm for these over-the-top images, here a trip down memory lane.

Spring 1987Even though this ad is from the late 80s, I really just had to show you Christy’s and Cindy’s baby-faces.

1990Don’t even mind Christy here: What kind of god-awful watch is this?

Spring 1991Look at that hair! Are we still in the 80s?

Fall 1991Helena Christensen, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington. Did anybody say fierce?

Fall 1992Yee-haw! Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Yasmeen Ghauri and Christy Turlington shot by Irving Penn.

Spring 1993Playing in the sand: Stephanie Seymour, Naomi Campbell and Shalom Harlow shot by Richard Avedon.

Fall 1994It really didn’t get any better than this: Nadja Auermann, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Stephanie Seymour shot by Richard Avedon.

Fall 1994Oh, just Christy and Claudia hanging with a bunch of chiseled naked dudes.

Bonus 1994What? Just some friends waiting for the soccer game to start!