Lincoln Center, Past and Present@Arch

Robin Pogrebin writes:On May 14, 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, alongside John D. Rockefeller 3rd, thrust a shovel in the ground on Manhattan's Upper West Side to signal the start of construction on Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Photo: Eddie Hausner/The New York Times
Lincoln Center rose from a slum-clearance area on the West Side where acres of buildings fell, including this one razed in 1959 between 68th and 69th Streets.
Photo: Eddie Hausner/The New York Times
On Aug. 17, 1959, West 64th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam was closed to traffic so construction of Lincoln Center could begin.
Photo: Patrick A. Burns/The New York Times
A 1964 tour of Lincoln Center with the construction of the Metropolitan Opera House in the background.
Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln Center
On opening night in September 1962, the maestro Leonard Bernstein was the master of ceremonies and the New York Philharmonic and Juilliard chorus performed the National Anthem.
Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln Center

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center on opening night in September 1962, when it was still known as Philharmonic Hall.
The Metropolitan Opera’s baritone, Leonard Warren, sang the prologue to Leoncavallo’s “I Pagliacci.” The mezzo-soprano, Risë Stevens, sang the “Habanera” from Bizet’s “Carmen.”
Photo: The New York Times
Now Lincoln Center on Wednesday will announce a year-long series of events to mark its half-century of existence. The 50th anniversary will be celebrated amidst a construction site; Lincoln Center is in the middle of an ambitious $1.2 billion redevelopment plan that is not due to be completed until 2011.
Photo: Richard Termine for The New York Times
But portions of the project will be completed, including a refurbished Alice Tully Hall, a renovated Juilliard School and most of the fountain plaza.
Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln Center
By fall 2009, Lincoln Center hopes to open its new visitors’ space at the former Harmony Atrium, where for the first time audiences will be able to buy tickets to all of the center’s events, with discounts of up to 50 percent on the day of performances.
Photo: Courtesy of Lincoln Center
Yo-Yo Ma performs during a 2007 dress rehearsal inside Avery Fisher Hall.
“We hope the celebratory plans reflect what we’ve become,” Reynold Levy, Lincoln Center’s president said, “and what we hope to be.”
Photo: Patrick Andrade for The New York Times

@Source: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/17/arts/20080917_LINC_SLIDESHOW_10.html

Van Gogh at the Modern@Art

“Landscape at Twilight” (1890)
Roberta Smith writes: On paper, at least, “Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night” at the Museum of Modern Art reads like an obvious play for big box office and increased membership. But this exhibition largely dodges such charges and instead quietly displays 23 paintings, 9 drawings and several letters by van Gogh in six intimate galleries.
Photo: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

“Landscape with Wheat Sheaves and Rising Moon” (1889)

Van Gogh discovered new colors everywhere, and especially at night. Peripatetically, briefly yet fulsomely, this little show explores his special relationship with darkness. It provides a view of the tenderness, urgency and brilliance at the core of his art, as well as the openness to nature that set it aflame.
Photo: Kroler-Muller Museum, The Netherlands

“The Starry Night” (1889)

Unable to see clearly, he painted what he saw, ultimately pitting his colors against each other as if they were antagonists in a visual drama. He egged on their clashes with exaggerated daubs of paint, bringing backgrounds forward and giving each inch of canvas its own sense of life.
Photo: Museum of Modern Art

“Lane of Poplars at Sunset” (1884)

In the opening gallery, we see van Gogh in the Netherlands painting the farmlands and farmers of the southern Brabant region, where he was born. Here, van Gogh is starting to grasp the power of undiluted pigment in the dark. In the most prescient, touches of lurid orange signal the sun’s last rays among shadowy greens and blacks.
Photo: Kroler-Muller Museum, The Neterlands
Van Gogh often painted peasants, whom he admired for their closeness to the earth. In “The Potato Eaters,” the artist makes his sympathy with the harshness of rural life clear.
Photo: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

“The Dance Hall in Arles” (1888)
The night harbored some of his other subjects: urban dwellers relaxing in dance halls and lost souls drinking and drowsing in cafes.
Photo: Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Van Gogh painted “Night Cafe” over three sleepless nights. He was conscious that it both had the “ambience of a hellish furnace,” as he wrote to his brother, Theo, and that it used “six or seven reds from blood-red to delicate pink, contrasting with the same number of pale or dark greens,” as he wrote to his sister Wil, both on Sept. 9, 1888.
Photo: Yale University Art Gallery
In “The Starry Night Over the Rhône,” the stars bunch up in the sky like a chorus line in rehearsal while the lights of the town below conspire to extend their celestial glow into watery reflections. This work was made toward the beginning of the 12-day, or 12-night, stint of painting outdoors after dark that culminated in the hallucinatory fireworks of “Starry Night,” wheeling freely, splintering the velvety blue.
Photo: Musée d'Orsay, Paris
It is joined in the final gallery by three very different paintings. Van Gogh’s portrait of “Eugène Boch (the Poet),” at left, shows a thoughtful young man, depicted mostly in yellow, seen against a more restrained, but deeply blue night sky. “The Garden of Saint Paul’s Hospital” depicts dusk turning the shade of trees into darker ochres.
Photo: Musée d'Orsay, Paris, Reunion des Musées Nationaux/Art Resource
related
Finally, with “Gauguin’s Chair,” Van Gogh is back indoors painting by candlelight. The world he creates here is a rich assortment of browns, greens and blues, pierced by the light. One candle rests on the chair’s caned seat and is identified in the wall label as a stand-in for van Gogh’s absent friend. Does this mean that the second candle, keeping a safe distance in a sconce on the wall, is Vincent?
Photo: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

@Source: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/19/arts/0919-GOGH_index.html

Mixing Flavors in Taipei@Lifestyle

All eyes may have been on Beijing this year, but the little democratic island of Taiwan offers a melting pot of culinary influences. Virtually every cooking style of the mainland is represented, thanks to the waves of immigration that began in 1949, as well as Japanese and traditional Taiwanese fare.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times

Shrimp wrapped in crispy rice noodles and cucumber served with sweet custard and pomegranate seeds at C'est Bon. Chef Chuang Yue-jiau began her career selling lu rou fan, a typical Taiwanese dish, from a street stall.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times A woman walks past C'est Bon.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times
Spinach, tofu, fried ginger and pickled vegetables wrapped in pork at C'est Bon. Though the name of the restaurant is French, its Chinese name translates as the Way of Eating.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times
A cook ladles out hot soy milk in Yonghe Soy Milk King. This restaurant's offerings fall into a category of Taiwanese food called xiao chi, or small eats.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times
College students meet for breakfast in Yonghe Soy Milk King.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times

The sophisticated yet intimate restaurant AoBa has managed to polish up the humble, rustic street foods of Taipei.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times
Examples of xiao chi, or small eats: flash-fried cubes of fermented bean curd, above, called stinky tofu and sticky rice steamed in bamboo leaves for sale at a street stand.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times
Candied haw fruits for sale at a night market.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times
Diners eat a lunch of beef noodle soup at Old Wang Beef Noodle Soup King. This restaurant, which has no sign, is popular among businessmen and college students.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times
Women share a bowl of mian xian at Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle. This signature dish is made of thin rice noodles in a vinegary, glutinous broth, studded with needle-like bamboo shoots and Q-y curls of pig intestine, and topped with sprigs of cilantro, chopped garlic and chili sauce.
Photo: Christie Johnston for The New York Times

@Source: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/21/travel/0921-TAIPEI_index.html

DKNY秋冬裝 朝氣紐約風@Fashion

秋冬小洋裝仍是女生重點選項之一。超短而寬鬆既舒適又懷舊，編織單品更有秋意。照片／DKNY提供

DKNY秋冬強調朝氣的「紐約」風格。奢華織紋在珠寶般色彩和豐富編織技法下，流露出現代感的簡約和輕鬆，偶一出現的復古塊狀花樣，也不失甜美、懷舊。
女生仍以洋裝為重心，款式超短，也極寬鬆。強調立體，花苞型的輪廓；緹花織布、錦緞或是印花布料紛紛上陣。長羊毛背心、駝色大衣或漆紅燈芯絨風衣，展現女性化線條；而天鵝絨夾克外套，內搭寬鬆毛衣，可以選擇有垂墜感的男士打褶長褲配搭。且絲絨腰帶是不能少的配件。
今年秋冬DKNY男裝同樣以豐富材質取勝。整體線條則是上半身纖細，下半身輕鬆、舒適為主；傳統花呢、蘇格蘭彩格紋在駝色及基本黑色系的緩衝之下，閃耀中帶有沉穩都會男子氣。
@Source: 2008/09/19 聯合報 ╱記者袁青 http://udn.com/

緊身西裝 最Young的主張@Fashion

@Source: 2008/09/16 經濟日報 ╱于倩若
http://udn.com/NEWS/FASHION/FAS1/4518511.shtml

時尚業主管說，目前設計師款與奢侈品牌西裝市場的主要成長動力，來自25歲至40歲的年輕消費族群。
巴黎蒙田大道上的Dior Homme旗艦店，偶爾可見青少年與父親一同上門光顧。迪奧（Dior）董事長托勒達諾說，年輕人為特殊場合購買一套要價達1,300歐元或2,000美元的西裝，已不足為奇。
青少年只占奢侈品牌西裝銷售的一小部份，但對時尚產業而言是很大的鼓舞，因為這些人過去從沒被要求穿西裝，或不認為有必要穿西裝。他們不是還在求學，就是可能在廣告、建築、設計或網路公司等創意領域工作，直到前陣子仍偏好休閒打扮，但現在已開始尋找時尚宣言，並樂於打扮自己。
沙克斯第五大道副總裁兼男性時尚總監麥科說：「他們是『後都會美型男』世代，看Men's Vogue或Details時尚雜誌，不認為同性戀才對時尚有興趣。和女友一同購物，就像看電影般稀鬆平常。」
時尚圈主管說，青少年消費族群對西裝有興趣，得歸功於媒體對時尚的關注。從報紙到影音分享網站YouTube，時尚無所不在，年紀輕輕的男性不僅更早開始接觸時尚，也更常接收時尚訊息。
不過，他們對父執輩的西裝款式不敢恭維，喜愛較短又貼身的西裝外套、窄翻領和無褶窄管長褲。紐約設計師桑布朗（Thom Browne）是這種造型風格的先驅，2004年他以宛如縮水的短小西裝，搭配露出腳踝的無摺高腰西裝褲，驚艷時尚界。
他們也很清楚Dior Homme前設計總監Hedi Slimanej 颳起的時尚旋風，他推動由「猛男」進入「纖細型男」的男性審美觀，窄肩、平胸、犀利的西裝線條，只適合纖瘦、渾身上下找不到肥肉的男人穿，讓男性也開始減肥，只為塞進那看起來小一號的衣服裡。
此外，布萊德彼特、裘德洛和賈斯汀（Justin Timberlake）等男星在紅毯上展示剪裁細緻的服飾，無形之中也掀起新世代消費者的追隨熱潮。
年輕一代對時尚感興趣，尤其是重燃穿西裝的熱情，刺激西裝市場的銷售。倫敦哈洛德百貨公司男裝部助理採購克里說：「隨著收入可觀的年輕男性族群開始欣賞西裝的高雅，西裝銷售可望大幅成長。」

（取材自國際先鋒論壇報）

威尼斯建築展》波蘭旅館 最佳國家館@News

第十一屆威尼斯建築雙年展昨天正式開幕，展至十一月二十三日。今年共有來自五十二國的一百多件作品參展，其中波蘭獲最佳國家館，美國建築師戈雷格林恩獲最佳裝置獎，美國建築師法蘭克蓋瑞則獲終身成就獎。
波蘭館以「波蘭旅館：建築的來生」主題打敗五十二國，獲「最佳國家館」金獅獎。展館以「旅館」為意象，布置簡單，只放上幾張床，在牆上貼上攝影照，追蹤六棟建築十年之間的變化；精簡有力地批判劇烈的城市競爭中，建築不再永恆，功能意義不斷轉變，甚至成為城市不斷換裝的外衣。
美國知名數位建築師戈雷格林恩（Greg Lynn），則以「再生玩具家具」獲「最佳裝置獎」金獅獎。他透過數位設計，將色彩鮮豔的回收橡膠玩具材料，轉化成現代感的家具。
今年威尼斯建築展由美籍荷蘭建築師艾倫貝斯基策展，主題定為「他方：建築物之外的建築（Out There: Architecture Beyond Building）」。貝斯基期待建築師能正視「建築不只是房子」，探索環境、生態甚至文學藝術等其他建築課題。
因此今年建築展非常「不建築」。由新銳建築師石上純也策展的日本館，建築師「轉型」園藝家，在館外「設計」大片綠色植物。館內則空無一物，只在雪白的牆上淡淡畫上宛如鉛筆畫的設計圖，暗喻植物和建築「淡淡」的模糊界線。
過去極少涉及政治議題的威尼斯建築展，今年也出現濃濃的政治氛圍。去年俄國以「鐵路維修」為由，停止向愛沙尼亞出口石油。愛沙尼亞乾脆在國家館展區做了個超長的黃色油管，一路延伸到俄羅斯國家館之前，向俄羅斯「嗆聲」。
@Source: 2008/09/15 聯合報 / 聯合報╱特派記者陳宛茜／義大利威尼斯傳真
http://udn.com/NEWS/READING/REA8/4517387.shtml

鳥巢建築師 紐約蓋豪宅@Arch

瑞士建築師赫佐格和狄梅隆繼北京奧運「鳥巢」體育館之後，即將在紐約市大展身手，於曼哈坦推出創意十足的57層豪華公寓大樓。這棟半透明玻璃摩天大樓有如錯落堆疊的水晶盒，10月中旬即將動工，2010年開放使用。造價6億5000萬美元的大樓是這兩位建築大師的第一個摩天大樓作品，預定15日公開設計細節，其特色是使用懸臂樑支撐陽台，使整棟大樓看起來像「疊架在空中的房屋」，各層是不同大小的盒狀，並安排各種角度，讓145戶公寓各具特色和觀景角度。這棟大樓將有寬敞的黑色花岡石大廳，挑高5.4公尺，共有兩層舒適的休閒設施，包括23公尺游泳池、用懸臂樑伸到街道上方6公尺的戶外陽台、圖書館、放映室和健身中心。每戶公寓將有獨立陽台，公寓的設計包括雙臥室至五臥室，整棟大樓共有10戶頂層豪華公寓，售價自350萬至3300萬美元（約台幣1.1億至10.5億元）。這棟57層大樓將聳立於紐約市翠貝區，該區多半是兩層或三層的連棟式住宅，19世紀與20世紀初的建築物雜陳，最高的建築大約為25層。但赫佐格與狄梅隆表示，將力求大樓和原有景觀協調。赫佐格和狄梅隆在聲明中指出：「這個社區的特色是建築物大小不同。我們希望各建築物能夠對話溝通，維持協調。」赫佐格和狄梅隆目前正在設計倫敦的泰特現代藝術博物館，整個工程耗資1.34億英鎊，完工後堪與紐約現代藝術博物館、巴黎龐畢度中心相媲美。
@Source: http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url...4/2/15w4h.html

阿姆斯特丹 用美麗包裝儉約@Lifestyle

位於市區內的獨棟住宅，擁有街道邊的獨立門戶，附停車位，有些還附自有碼頭，居民可以駕著小艇在阿姆斯特丹的海灣悠遊。在一個歐洲大都會擁有這樣的房子，要付多高的價錢？這些美麗、舒適的房子不是豪宅，而是阿姆斯特丹市政府的國宅開發計畫，建給一般工薪家庭居住的中低價住宅。這個容納2,500戶人家的布雷諾／史伯倫堡住宅計畫（Boreno Sporenburg），是用棄置碼頭開發成的美麗住宅區，成為荷蘭人善用傳統智慧，堅持美感與環境，打造出來的都市更新經典範例。1989年，阿姆斯特丹市政府獲得中央政府補助，要把「布雷諾」與「史伯倫堡」兩個原本是碼頭的長條半島，改建成高密度的住宅區。依照規劃，該地每公頃要容納100戶，是一般獨棟住宅區標準容量的三倍。布雷諾計畫 都市更新究按照標準思維，要在都市興建這種高密度住房，只能用公寓大廈來解決。而由於這個公共住宅區的開發預算不高，該地很可能淪為一堆乏味、廉價的水泥森林，如同台灣常見的市景。但在這個擁有美麗河岸住宅的城市，當局決定採取創新作法。市政府大膽起用了當時沒什麼名氣的West 8建築事務所，委託他們規劃布雷諾／史伯倫堡住宅。West 8設計出一種門面窄小，但五臟俱全的三或四層樓獨棟房屋，可容納整戶家庭。狹長垂直的門面類似傳統的荷蘭房屋，一樓挑高3.5公尺以利採光。獨立大門通往僻靜的街道。窗戶的大小與形狀不一，錯落配置。停車位規劃在空地、集中式地下停車場或者獨戶的地下停車位中。靠水的住宅擁有私人碼頭。設計師運用磚牆、磁磚、玻璃帷幕與木面各式素材，讓房屋外觀看來設計十足，完全不像一般的公屋。各種材料巧妙地延展，用有限的預算達成最大的裝飾作用。房屋面積小，但空間感寬闊，設計感豐富。West 8建築師古茲（Adrian Geuze）說，最終的成果就是讓「人們可以住在街旁，享有自己的盆栽、長椅與行人空間」。即便地小人稠，居民也不必忍受封閉、廉價的公寓環境。布雷諾／史伯倫堡是許多新銳設計師的集體創作，West 8找來上百名設計師參與，設計出12種房屋的「樣式」，每個樣式錯開施工，讓鄰接的房子看來都有些許不同。這可避免街景看來筆直排列、死氣沈沈。但在建完250棟房屋後，開發商希望簡化流程，只採用其中最受歡迎的六款樣式，使得後續建成的區域不像前幾批那樣精彩。不過，良好的規劃營造出封閉親密的街道，居民在門前悠哉地擺設長凳、布置小花園，讓街景豐富起來。在布雷諾半島尖端，市政府規劃了60個空位，開放給有錢的市民興建自己的房子。這些住宅必須符合West 8設計的公屋標準，但外型可交給設計師自由變化。這些「設計師款」住宅就成為布雷諾／史伯倫堡最精彩的門面。最小的預算 發揮最大效用除了獨棟住宅，兩個半島上各有一棟暱稱為「鯨魚」的集中公寓。這兩棟公寓的屋頂設計出優美的折角，遠看像是一頭鯨魚。每個住宅單位都小心規劃，即便在一樓的住戶也能享有日照。建築中央是中庭花園，每戶都享有花園景觀。兩個半島的開發計畫1996年動工，2000年完工。現在，這個原本無人的廢地已變成令人讚嘆的新景點，當地房價上漲一倍，也影響周遭的東碼頭區。荷蘭人的精神在這個小巧的社區中展露無遺：簡約不等於呆板，儉省也可以非常美麗。

@Source: 2008/09/15 經濟日報 http://udn.com/ ╱陳家齊

LOUIS VUITTON 在旅途中看見藝術風景@Fashion

人生如旅途，尤其用以形容當時的旅遊風潮更為貼切。十九世紀末，巴黎的Saint-Germain鐵路線於1837年正式宣告馬車時代的結束，一年之後，歐洲一艘蒸氣船橫越大西洋到達紐約，海上航行的世紀開始，不久汽車亦登場。路易威登的靈魂人物路易威登先生，十四歲就來到巴黎成為工匠的學徒，後來更成為僱主的總助理，聰明的路易意識到，行李是每個旅行者不可或缺的必需品，他設計出一系列精緻的行李箱和旅行皮件，幸運獲得拿破崙三世的妻子也就是當時法國皇后烏捷妮的傳召到皇宮為她整理行裝，自從得到王室的委任，其他顧客紛紛湧現，路易威登自此成為社會名流的最愛。
LOUIS VUITTON能坐穩皮件之王的原因之ㄧ它在面對變化萬千中的世界總能作出相應的變革，當裙撑開始在時裝界式微，LOUIS VUITTON就開始設計衣櫃式皮箱：一面是懸掛式的衣櫃，另一面則是抽屜衣櫃式皮箱的巧妙儲存組合成真正的「旅遊家具」。路易威登行李箱瞬間掀起熱潮後，路易威登再推出另一款優雅兩色條紋質料製成的設計，以杜絕市面上出現的冒牌出品。接著在一八八八年推出全新圖案：在米和啡的棋盤圖案（Damier系列）上，定距印上 「L. Vuitton，Marque déposée」（即「L. Vuitton註冊商標」）的字樣。他的兒子喬治威登跟路易一樣充滿無窮創意，他設計出Monogram圖案組合：在四片花瓣外畫上圓圈、內有反白星形的菱形、星形以及L.V.字樣，並將Monogram帆布這種具紋理、赭色和咖啡色的質料用於旅行用品、行李箱和公事包等設計，Monogram的創舉成為今日路易威登的象徵，而後各大品牌均仿傚利用商標衍生裝飾性的圖案以表徵身份。一九二四年推出可裝載大量裝備的Keepall，標誌著大型行李箱演變成手提輕便旅行袋的重大突破，堪稱路易威登旅行袋的祖先。
隨着科技的進步，LOUIS VUITTON亦發展出一套全新生產哲學，工匠在最微細的細節中發揮熟練的技巧和創作精神，但較為單調乏味和一般性的工序則由機器代勞。路易威登以設計出輕巧、方便、具堅固度以抵受時間和旅途嚴格考驗的商品為原則，一百五十多年來，由第一件流動衣櫃以至用帆布和皮革製成的行李箱，路易威登在多樣化的產品中均顧及顧客之需，迎合在用途、衣著、旅行方式方面的轉變，在生活藝術上與時並進，不斷地轉變。
一九九七年，紐約設計師Marc Jacobs擔任藝術總監，開拓了路易威登的新視野，其中包括服裝、鞋履和珠寶首飾，徹底改變了路易威登的形象、專門店建築模式以至品牌的宣傳活動。他強調一個名牌必須與生活化的設計息息相關，以設計表現時代。開始與藝術家展開Monogram對話，不僅為LOUIS VUITTON帶來一個全盛的局面，也帶領著LOUIS VUITTON走向一個嶄新的藝術旅程。
@Source: DFUN 設計風尚誌 2008. Sep. No.24 / TEXT／陳錦晶；PHOTOS／LOUIS VUITTON

LV進軍日本30年 川久保玲party bag慶生@Fashion

川久保玲為LV構思特長提把的party bag。圖為LV總裁伊芙卡西爾（左）和日本名模富永愛提著這款新包亮相。照片／LV提供
有八雙把手的Monogram經典Speedy包，是川久保玲和LV合作六款包中最具視覺驚豔的系列之一。照片／LV提供

路易威登Louis Vuitton進軍日本市場30周年紀念，選擇了和日本當代時裝大師Comme des Garcons創辦人川久保玲 (Rei Kawakubo)合作慶生。
路易威登將於東京Comme des Garcons專門店以「店中店」方式，經營雙方合作的六款獨家Monogram手袋系列，也算是圓了1978年，初入行的川久保玲目睹路易威登在日本開設首家專門店時，許下對法式工藝，奢華尊貴的夢。這回法、日兩大時裝傳奇首度跨界合作，雖非空前亦不會是絕後，但仍是時裝界傳奇一章。
川久保玲將位於表參道附近Kottodori(骨董通)的Comme des Garcons專門店改頭換面，化身路易威登的經典Monogram世界，店舖中央陳列著路易威登古董旅行箱，和融合雙方創作火花的六款登場。Comme des Garcons川久保玲說：「我以這party bag系列祝賀路易威登進軍日本市場30周年。我盡量保留路易威登的傳統概念，變奏的部分全在於提把的設計，既可二合為一，也可以二分為八。」
川久保玲構思了兩款小手袋配特長皮手挽組成的，為經典的Monogram帆布賦予新貌；另外她將經典的Papillon手提袋綴上可愛動物吊飾；最新鮮的是Mini HL手提袋換上八條提把，效果最出人意表。除此之外，路易威登70年代兩款名作Petit Marceau及Sac 2 Poches也換上新樣式。
上述6款作品只限於Kottodori的Comme des Garcons專門店接受顧客預購，不接受電話或網上訂購。製作需時數月，隨貨品附送路易威登特製的皮套一個，皮套表面壓印路易威登及Comme des Garcons的品牌標誌式樣及證書。但由川久保玲精挑細選的Speedy及Alm等多款Monogram包則有現貨於東京店內陳列及銷售。相關資料，請瀏覽路易威登網站：www.louisvuitton.com

@Source: 2008/09/06 聯合 ╱記者袁青 http://udn.com/

Comme des Garçons collaboration@Fashion

The store's exterior on Kottodori
The entrance is characteristically minimalist

The interior of the store styled by Kawakubo herself

Kawakubo's Louis Vuitton bags are on the plinth to the right

If the adage is true that two heads think better than one then the creative commingling of Louis Vuitton and Comme des Garcons should be something very special. And indeed it is.

Louis Vuitton caused a stir last year setting up shop inside the LA MoCA during Takashi Murakami's retrospective. The temporary store within a store (or museum in that case) was clearly a success though because this is what they’ve done again. This time they’ve taken on retail guerrilla masters Comme de Garçons, opening a temporary store within their shop on Kottodori in Tokyo’s Omotesando district.

Kawakubo has redesigned the entire store in honour of Louis Vuitton’s monogram, celebrating the brand’s 30th anniversary in Japan. As well as an installation of the historic trunks in the middle of the store, Kawakubo has designed six one-off bags, inspired by her love of the brand, to be revealed exclusively in W*115, on sale on Thursday 11th September.

More than just an irreverent poke at the brand that made guerrilla cool, it’s the realisation of Comme founder Rei Kawakubo’s dream. The indomitable Kawakubo, one of Wallpaper’s Guest Editors for W*115, speaks of her time in 1978 when as a fledgling designer she witnessed Louis Vuitton’s first store opening in Tokyo. She was astounded by the level of French craftsmanship and historic luxury that she saw in the brand.

Speaking of the collaboration Kawakubo said: 'These are party bags to celebrate the 30 years of Louis Vuitton in Japan. it has been a remarkably exciting opportunity for me to have been able to participate in Louis Vuitton's traditional design and heritage.'

INFORMATION

Website

http://www.louisvuitton.com

Address

Comme des Garçons
Kottodori
Omotesando
Tokyo

@Source: wallpaper.com / 4 September 2008 | Fashion

Last Call / the McCarren Park Pool@Lifestyle

On Saturday Sonic Youth played the final concert at the McCarren Park Pool in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, before renovations are expected to begin to return it to swimmers.

Left, Patrick Barr handed out fliers to concertgoers.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

The pool has earned a reputation as the ultimate boho Brooklyn scene, drawing tens of thousands of people for weekly concerts, movies and other performances each summer, particularly for free Sunday shows put on by the Brooklyn promoters JellyNYC.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

Raul Roman Sr., right, a Williamsburg, Brooklyn, native, had gone to the pool to swim as a child and visited it recently for an opera concert. He would have gone more often if there had been classic-rock concerts, he said, and he was looking forward to taking his granddaughter to swim.

Still, he said, the changes in the neighborhood exemplified by the crowds in the pool — and the high-rise apartment buildings now surrounding it — had made the area safer.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

The new energy of the area was part of the attraction for Tina Thor, 45, a jewelry designer and manager for actors, who bought a $750,000 two-bedroom apartment overlooking the park last year.

“I love when there’s that music and there’s music from the kickball” games in the park, Ms. Thor added as she took her dog, Rickson, a Great Dane-boxer mix with a Louis Vuitton collar, out for a walk. “It’s so festive.” But, she added, “I’d still rather have a pool.”

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

Enid’s, a buzzy spot across the street from the park, had to hire extra waiters and cooks to deal with the pre- and postconcert crowds, said Sera McGovern, left, a manager there; now they will have to reshuffle that staff.

“I’m sad to see it go because it’s so good for business,” she said on Saturday, “but I’m kind of relieved that today is the last one. You get the floods of people all at the same time, and the bathroom lines even from people who don’t order. It’s so chaotic.”

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

The audience at Saturday night's concert ranged in age from second-generation rockist kids to 50-something Sonic Youth fans.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

For many locals, a trip to the pool became as much a weekend tradition as brunch or hangovers, a no-planning-necessary good time and a place to see friends and be seen.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

The McCarren pool phenomenon was among the best documented of the city’s summertime diversions. It attracted local celebrities: the audience for the last show included the musicians Norman Reedus and Rain Phoenix; the actor and musician Michael Pitt; Craig Finn, the singer of the Hold Steady, which played at McCarren; and Michelle Williams and Spike Jonze.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

Though Sonic Youth did not sell out, many people picnicked outside or stopped by the gates to listen.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

One man climbed a tree for a view over the fence.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

Backstage after the Sonic Youth show, Thurston Moore, whose band, left, has played at the pool every year since it has been open for music, said he would miss it.

“It’s always been kind of sweet — sweet sounding, sweet vibe,” he said. But, he added, “I’m looking forward to coming here and doing the backstroke.”

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

If renovation plans are approved by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, swimmers may return as early as 2011.

Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times

@Source: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/01/arts/20080901_POOL_SLIDESHOW_index.html

Whitney Museum of American Art, Downtown Branch@Arch

Whitney Reveals Piano’s Design for Downtown Branch
By Alec Appelbaum
Since 1985, the Whitney Museum of American Art has presented three separate expansion plans for its 42-year-old home in Upper Manhattan—all of which have fizzled. Once again, the institution is trying to increase its square footage, with hopes that an entirely new strategy will make the fourth time a charm. In late April, the museum debuted Renzo Piano’s scheme for a new satellite building in the city’s Meatpacking District. The unveiling comes less than two years after the institution purchased the 185,000-square-feet downtown site, where the Dia Art Foundation had originally planned to build a New York flagship museum. The city currently is reviewing Piano’s scheme after a community board approved it in June.
The 50,000-square-foot facility will include some 15,000 square feet of outdoor exhibition space across several stories. According to Whitney Director Adam Weinberg, the new branch will increase the museum’s capacity to exhibit its permanent collection, and will offer events that its uptown headquarters cannot accommodate. The project also allows the museum to return to its “downtown roots,” Weinberg says, adding that the pale cantilevered form of Piano’s design reflects “the roughness and simplicity” of nearby warehouses and cobblestone streets.
With five terraced floors situated above an all-glass lobby, the parallels between Piano’s vision and the Whitney’s 1966 Brutalist home by Marcel Breuer are telling. Piano’s shape, like Breuer’s, inverts the building as it climbs. But in contrast to Breuer’s solid granite mass, Piano envisions a light structure with big windows that offer river views and make art visible from nearby streets. Weinberg likens the design’s spirit to the Whitney’s first home, a Greenwich Village salon that evolved over time into an august collection of American art.
Weinberg has reason to stress downtown pride, given the opposition to earlier expansion plans for the institution’s Madison Avenue home. In 1985, Michael Graves’s proposal fell through when neighbors called it too radical; Rem Koolhaas’s 2003 scheme to expand into nearby brownstones cost too much; and Piano’s 2004 proposal languished amid local questions about its effect on nearby landmarks. In 2006, the institution purchased the site in the Meatpacking District, a decidedly funkier part of Manhattan. “This is a place for artists to hang out,” asserted Weinberg during a presentation to a community board, even showing a slide of notable artists who live within walking distance of the site.
Indeed, despite the new museum’s location next to an operating meatpackers’ cooperative, the recent announcement underscores the neighborhood’s conversion from industrial-era workhorse to fashionable residential enclave—a condition that suits Piano. “I love being in a changing place,” he says. “I love transformation.” Like other areas in Manhattan, the Meatpacking District has gentrified rapidly since the late 1990s and now draws tipplers and trendmongers. The museum will face the High Line, a historic elevated rail track that the city is converting into a park. Weinberg says he plans for exhibitions on the outdoor terraces, later opening hours, and more after-dark events once the building opens in 2012.

@Source: http://archrecord.construction.com/news/OnTheBoards/0808whitney.asp