Sunday, July 18

Hear all the music with Beats by Dr. Dre



If you think you heard it all just try Studio or Solo from Beats by Dr. Dre. Not only will catch your eye from far away but the feeling is incredible. Visit their website at beatsbydre.com


"People aren’t hearing all the music. Artists and producers work hard in the studio perfecting their sound. But people can’t really hear it with normal headphones. Most headphones can’t handle the bass, the detail, the dynamics. Bottom line, the music doesn’t move you. With Beats, people are going to hear what the artists hear, and listen to the music the way they should: the way I do."- Dr. Dre.


And bellow Lady Gaga wearing the Heartbeats By Lady Gaga, the new addition to the family. Explaining her motivation behind creating the headphones, Gaga says, “In the deepest hour of the night, I confess to myself three things. I would die if I was forbidden to write, forbidden to love, or forbidden to fashion. Heartbeats embody the trinity of my human being, with one additional vow: that SOUND matters. Wear Heartbeats, love each other and celebrate the art and lifestyle of music.”


Saturday, July 10

Ride with style, Ruby helmets by Jerôme Coste



Inspired by Steve McQueen, science fiction, mechanical beauties and the great tradition of French luxury, Jerôme Coste has dreamt up Ruby, a brand established in 2008 which keeps heroes and heroines moving quickly and safely day to day.  Made from carbon fibers for maximum strength and ultra lightness, these retro-chic helmets are designed as jet helmets without a chinstrap, with a rear fin, a chrome plated trim around the edge, a steel badge and a claret-colored lining made from Nappa lambskin as a tribute to luxurious, vintage sports cars.


Karl Lagerfeld has already made a collaboration with Les Ateliers Ruby for his Autumn/Winter 2009-10 show in Paris. The program looks to feature a selection of limited edition colors in editions ranging from 12 to 100. In conjunction with the project, Lagerfeld has also created a drawing expressing his vision of the Ruby Woman which has been turned into a silk scarf, limited to 500 pieces.


"Now everyone is on scooters, even chic women, so we had to do the helmet." Karl said.


Ruby has partnered with the Parisian artist HONET (HNT) for his very first designer's edition. And with the Anglo-Japanese designer couple: Wakako Kishimoto and Mark Eley, most famous as Eley Kishimoto for his second designer's edition.



Jerôme ventured into other off beat interpretations of Maison Martin Margiela with a signature carved helmet. The carbon shell is varnished then covered with broad lines of paint with a “meudon white” effect, the pure but imperfect white’s that are the “Maison’s” universal hallmark.


Just browse their website and ride with style at ateliersruby.com, shop at the boutiqueruby.com ... I want mine in a red box.


Wednesday, July 7

The playful VitraHaus by Herzog and de Meuron



Following up on my previous post about the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron,  ellauniverse.herzog-de-meuron, enjoy their VitraHaus at the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. The actual building is designed as randomly piled houses with pitched roofs covered in charcoal stucco and stark white interiors. The object of the house is to display Vitra's Home Collection targeted to  individual customers with an interest in design. Visit their website at vitra.com and  vitra.com/vitrahaus/


Actually the VitraHaus connects two existing buildings, the Vitra Design Museum by Frank Gehry (1989) and the Conference Pavilion by Tadao Ando (1993). The entire concept and the primary purpose behind the design of this five-storey building is the showcase of furniture and objects as if they are in your home, in a welcoming domestic scale. Just wait until the dark sets in and watch the house light up the campus.



Don't miss the walkthrough of the VitraHaus in the video vimeo.com/12645187 and learn more about the project at yatzer.comdezeen.com and the video bellow.

Monday, July 5

Beauty has no time by the eye of Toni Frissell



Antoinette Frissell, born in 1907 in Manhattan, was best known as fashion photographer Toni Frissell. Her initial job as a fashion photographer was for Vogue in 1931. She later took photographs for Harper's Bazaar. Her fashion photos were often notable for their outdoor settings, emphasizing active women, making them updated even today.


Lady in the water, shot in Florida and published in Harper's Bazaar in December 1947. This image was later used as the cover for the album Undercurrent by Bill Evans and Jim Hall, the album Tears in Rain by This Ascension and Osvaldo Golijov's "Oceana," and also for the album Whispering Sin by the Beauvilles.


Above, Lisa Fonssagrives at Victoria Station in London and the photos bellow, all captured between 1947 till 1951 and shot by Toni for Harper's Bazaar.


In 1941, Frissell volunteered her photographic services to the American Red Cross. Later she worked for the Eighth Army Air Force and became the official photographer of the Women's Army Corps. She took thousands of images of nurses, front-line soldiers, WACs, African-American airmen, and orphaned children. The last one is Toni surrounded by children during WWII.


Toni also photographed the Kennedy's Wedding, Jackie throwing the bouquet and cutting the cake in 1953.