Defined by The "Authorities"

As defined by the Oxford Dictionary

Fashion: the popular style of dress, customs, etc. at a given time
Architecture: the art or science of designing buildings
Design: a combination of lines or shapes to form a decoration
Culture: the appreciation and understanding of literature, arts, music, etc.
Technology: the scientific study of mechanical arts and applied sciences

As defined by Wikipedia (abbreviated)

Fashion: a prevailing mode of expression, but quite often applies to a personal mode of expression that may or may not apply to all. Inherent in the term is the idea that the mode will change more quickly than the culture as a whole
Architecture: the art and science of designing buildings and structures
Design: the process of originating and developing a plan for a product, structure, or component
Culture: refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance
Technology: a broad term dealing with the use and knowledge of humanity's tools and crafts

If there was ever a doubt...

From the new architecture curator at the MOMA, Barry Bergdoll, on the power of urban and architectural symbols as recent catastrophic events have demonstrated:

World Trade Center & Hurricane Katrina
" The World Trade Center was clearly chosen by the terrorists because of the place it had gained in the public imaginary, just as the flood in New Orleans struck a very particular cord with the imagination of the world. Even if much of New Orleans was terribly ordinary, its appeal was for its very distinctive culture, architectural and otherwise—a quality that’s growing ever more rare in a world of increasingly homogenized spaces, forms and experiences. It remains to be seen in both cases whether something genuine, with the potential for creating new vitality and new resonance—rather than a controlled themed environment—can be achieved."

New Year's Resolution ~ 2007

What's in store for 2007?

What design concepts will make me a better person?
hmmm...I wonder, but I am always a sucker for chic and sexy.

3 Key Elements of Notable Architecture

1. A Vision
2. Artistic Talent
3. Power Brokers

If you read between the lines in this article on design in Los Angeles there is plenty of evidence.

In the Mist of Holiday Parties, Land Development Projects Prevail

In the past two weeks I have been bouncing from one holiday party to the next. I can't even eat the food. The other day in my delirious holiday party craze I craved cheetos and now my stomach hated me and continually muttered "never again" under its breath.

It is sometimes a mystery how any work gets done around the holiday season, especially around government bureaucracies or universities, but it does, or so certain news stories give that impression. Does it matter if this work got done before or during the holiday season? No. Is it a good idea that it gets news coverage during the holiday season? Yes, because this the time of year people get yearn for the case ADD and look for valid distractions. In my case I am a sucker for news stories from respectable publications such as the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

This story from the NY Times deserves a mention just because it talks about a Mexican architect, Enrique Norten, on his way to the revered status of an international signature architect and in turn probably national hero, and his participation in Rutgers University's growth vision.

Across the country, the LA Times reports on the 3 Mega-Projects that could, if their visions achieve what they promise, reshape the car and urban culture that defines Los Angeles today. From my cynical realism it sounds like certain big egos are trying to make a legacy in the city’s historic suburban fabric and convert parts of the city into urban hubs. Considering the locations, 2 in downtown and the other by Universal Studios, of the 3 projects (L.A. Live, Grand Avenue and Universal City) I can’t help but wonder if they build it, will they come? And how long will it take for them to come?

Fashion 101

~ Timeless and guaranteed elegance ~

One Word: Cashmere
One Concept: any Tone

Take Note: What I want for Christmas

All I want for Christmas is at least a week at the new Hotel Marques de Riscal that just opened in the town of Elciego.

It was designed by Gehry, one of my favorite 'signature' architects, over an ancient winery and holds a wine therapy spa. The mere thought is relaxing.

The Palette Entourage

Color makes all of the difference, especially if black is in the mix.

Fashion: the Mode & DNA

I just saw a great exhibition at the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) - "Breaking the Mode"- the pieces were great and no where near the commercial fabrics we see on a regular basis or the ultra magical haute couture wear that would otherwise be expected to be on display. To me it seemed as though a geometric theme, or rather genius, defined the pieces within the exhibition. My favorite contrasts were the particular pieces displayed in two different modes: one on a hanger and the other on the shape of the female body. It was clear; the pieces had a life of their own. The exhibition included designers that have challenged the traditions of shapes and forms in fashion.

There is another great exhibition on fashion across the pond. "Fashion DNA" is currently in process at the Nieuwe Kerk Museum in Amsterdam until October 22nd. Here the theme is Identity; the role of fashion on human identity, also known as human nature. I would go if I had the vacation days.

Le Vintage

Vintage is timeless. It is always in, otherwise it is not called vintage.

East Coast perspective on West Coast Cultural Elitism

Must read: Washington Post article about architectural differences and basically cultural snobbery between the OC and LA: Rhapsody in Orange County

The piece compares concert halls, architects (Pelli and Gehry) and the nouveau riche's insecurities and contributions to the art world.

Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

"Visitors from Los Angeles, the older and more glam neighbor to the north, scoffed with condescension...what would you expect from Orange County, an insufferably vulgar place of rich old men and trophy wives and idle youth bored with dropping C-notes in the Louis Vuitton shop? It's a wannabe place."

"But even if the two buildings are in different leagues, it's worth comparing them, and what they tell us about American cultural life. You might say that Pelli's [in the OC] hall and Gehry's hall [in LA] are bookends on a continuum of American cultural life. One building is an efficient space for a young orchestra, the other a destination venue for an institution that has effectively worked its way into the top ranks of American musical life. Pelli's hall marks an exuberant stage of naive youth, while Gehry's suggests the self-confidence of a cultural organization that has long outgrown the kind of civic bluster one heard in Orange County."

And let us not forget:
"Almost every institution in the rarefied world of American High Culture was built by exactly the same forces that have come together in Orange County's new concert hall: big bucks from the nouveau riche and a huge cultural inferiority complex."

Car culture turning up the need for architectural symbols:
"Orange County is building new cultural institutions because traffic has choked off its access to old ones."

All that being said:
"[While] Gehry hall, despite its dramatic exuberance, exudes a kind of Apollonian calm...Pelli's concert hall captures the energy and brusque pragmatism of art in the age of unsentimental capitalism."

Fall Hues It is all about Glamour

Rich and royal purples; plush and simply Fabulous.

Design & Political Aid

My new building was designed with attached parking, how convenient. The parking spaces are somewhat difficult to get into on a first try, but at least I do not have to worry about finding a parking spot every night on the streets.

I have learned that even though most apartment buildings in West Hollywood have incorporated parking amenities to their residential structures, parking is still in high demand; and on certain streets it is more than just a commodity, you must have a parking permit and a parking permit can only be obtained if you legally own or lease living quarters in the appropriate parking district. I know it is nonsense, but this is the result of living in a capitalist society that is run on democratic principles and that constantly pretends to offer fair solutions that really only translate into adquiring payments for the sake of convenience.

It seems to me that at one point a group of people must have felt entitled to have more convenience no matter the price and then everyone else was manipulated to comply. I don't want to inconvenience my guests so I was suckered into using the beauracractic establisment and paid for parking permits.

WeHo (aka West Hollywood)

I moved from one saturated housing market to another saturated housing market, oh yes, I did this on purpose.

As a femme of le monde my standards are higher than most; I want to live in West Hollywood, but the problem with this aspiration is that I am not the only one, and the places on the market are not up to my standards (at least none of the ones I have seen) and I really don't want to pay New York City prices (because this is just a whole other philosophical discussion). Basically once you get a place in West Hollywood, you don't want to move for two main reasons, the neighborhood is adorably accomodating and RENT CONTROL (need I say more).

Until I find a place of my own, I will keep to the basics and repeat the following words:
Safe Chic Spaces

The Perfect Gift: The September Edition of VOGUE

Georgie is definitely a man after my own heart...
I'm moving to LA and he decided to get me the new VOGUE, you know the September issue, the huge 700-pager that covers the latest and greatest styles for the next two seasons to help keep my nerves under control during my long flight back to the left coast.

I was tempted to flip through it, but then I told myself....RESTRAIN, IT WILL BE WORTH IT

Optimism

Just the Basics

Design over Location?

The cost of design...

In this case, it is more like the cost Real Estate and its three main principles:

Location
Location
Location

Basically any decent location in places like New York, Paris, London, Rome, Los Angeles and other metropolitan areas are just so coveted that it is really hard to find anything that is reasonable priced.

Is $3000 a month for a basic two-bedroom apartment with no living room in New York City obnoxious or what?

The worst part about it is the demand is high enough that developers see no reason why their supply should not exceed record prices. Nowadays, every price has to be over the top, even when the design is below par.

Oreo Cookie Birth - The Place

I said I would follow-up, a little late, but I found it.

As it turns out, The Oreo was born in Manhattan, like many other legacies. According to one Nabisco employee, oreo cookies were first produced in 1912 at the National Biscuit Company facility in Chelsea.

Sally's Victorian Camel

I love the vision Sally conveys:
Victorian with a psychedelic edge

Pyramid its Legacy in Cancun

After cruising down the Hotel Lane in lovely Cancun there was no doubt in my mind that the Mayan pyramid has played a major role in the architectural designs of Cancun's finest buildings (all Hotels); many of which were destroyed in the fury of Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

The tourist moguls of Cancun capitalize and exploit the legacy of the Mayan people. The locals, which I found out where mainly implants from different parts of Mexico and the world (yes, there is a lot of migration to Cancun) survive on the backbone of tourism. Everything in Cancun is for the tourist, the American or Foreign tourist. It's about selling the product of paradise with a mix of a long forgotten past that they hardly know anything about, and if it weren't for the fact the images speak enough to incite most to pay a hefty sum for the sake of 'culture' they wouldn't make as much money as they do.

Now if they could only sell some decent Mexican food, I would go back more often.