macaroon love

Macaroons are the most delicious, delicate and pretty little things ever. I've been obsessed ever since my first visit to Laduree in Paris where you can get the best macaroons money can buy. I've discovered a couple of places to get really good ones in Auckland though: Philippe's Chocolate and French pastry shop in Grey Lynn and the Vaniye stall in Alexandra Park farmer's market on Sunday mornings are definitely worth a visit.

Blacklog Feature: Massey's Tenth Edition: Zhang Shuai

Zhang Shuai

It's great to see that New Zealand's tertiary fashion courses are unearthing and nurturing an increasing number of talented young designers; AUT, Whitecliffes and Wellington's Massey Creative Campus are all fostering talent that augurs well for the future of our fashion industry. Recently students of Massey's four-year Bachelor Of Design (Fashion Major) held their end of year show entitled "Tenth Edition" - in commemoration of the campus's 10 years of existence. This year Karen Walker was invited to moderate the marking of the final year collections and offer an unbiased view. She was impressed by the standard of the fledgling designers work and we have been too, so over a series of posts, we thought a short interview and showcase of the work of four of the best from the 4th year show would be in order:

Zhang Shuai

Can you describe in one sentence what you have learned at the course? I have learned how to be creative in fashion design and enhance the diversity of design.

Who or what is your biggest inspiration? My inspiration is the thorny rose for women - luring and enticing, but resolute and self-protected as well.

How would you describe your style as a fashion designer? In my design I want to show really strong-looking and high fashion.

How would you describe your style personally? Personally, I like to put on a different style everyday, but at this stage I prefer womenswear in a men's style.

What does fashion need more of? I think fashion is not just about clothes or art. It can promote economic growth so we need more people to give more passion to inspire a fashion designer's imagination and power.

Photo Of The Week: Girl Meets NYC

Girl Meets NYC = Susannah Cole doesn't post very often but her images are worth the wait. She adds some beautiful words too...here are our photo(s) of the week from Girl Meets NYC...

Black 11 - the digital version

Black 11 is on sale now in New Zealand and will be in Australia shortly. We've had a number of enquiries since receiving a bit of attention across the internet over Black 11 from people wanting to know where and how they can get a copy of the mag in their territory. US Vogue we are not but anyone, anywhere in the world can buy a digital version of the issue right now by simply going here to Zinio.co.nz. You will have to join Zinio and download the free Zinio Reader (takes only a few minutes) and the digital issue costs only NZ $10.00. Every little bit of content is there, is zoomable, all of the urls are live and overall it is actually a very nice digital experience. So if you live in Alaska or Antarctica, or Argentina - this is your best bet - and within half an hour of reading this you could be reading Black 11...

Tickl-ed Pink and ReelFilm - bringing back the art

The good folks at The Impossible Project have advised this week that they will be sending down the first batch of their exciting new instant film at the beginning of 2010 and we will be sending that out to a bunch of our key photographers to shoot a themed editorial for issue 12. It seems the impending re-establishment of the much-loved film format is also creating a flurry of activity online and they have drawn our attention to Tickl Magazine, an instant film treasure trove that describes itself as "a naughty bookazine, plain sensual and frankly arty." Polaroid has always been seen as a sexy format and Tickl, and it's contributors clearly understand this well. If Polaroid is art, then Tickl is Polaroid.

Also this week, Auckland photographer, musician and behind-the-scenes bFm personality Josh Hetherington (below) announced the launch of ReelFilm.co.nz - a website dedicated to the lost art of Super 8 filmmaking. Josh is offering a Super 8 service to shoot weddings and other special occasions and given that the capturing of a wedding or special event can sometimes be a deflating experience, this seems like an interesting alternative. Hetherington adds the right tunes to his edits to as the montage film on the site's front page shows.

So good to see sites like Tickl and ReelFilm wearing their passion for these pure, simple yet astonishing formats on their sleeves...

so fresh and so clean clean

I love men's colognes and often choose them over women's perfumes, preferring to smell clean and subtle over sweet and flowery. I also love a boy who takes pride in his scent and think it's so important to always smell good. Waiting for my delayed plane in Sydney airport the other day, I had a good hour to do some research into colognes. Of course you can never go past a Jo Malone or Comme scent, but for a bit of a change here's what I recommend for your boyfriend's christmas present this year:

1. Lanvin L'homme Sport.

This fragrance is incredibly clean and fresh; exactly how a male should smell.

2. Burberry For Men.

When I sprayed this one I immediately thought this smells like something Comme des Garcons would create. It's so cinnamony and musky and delicious.

3. Acqua Di Parma Colonia

This one reminds me so much of my French grandfather. It's a classic, sophisticated and luxurious scent.

A little bit of trumpet blowing...

It's hard to do something well in New Zealand, to believe your are as good as anyone in the world, to have big dreams, and still live in New Zealand. Ask Graham Henry. Ask Peter Jackson. Ask NO Magazine. We briefly saw the new issue of NO today and it is fantastic, as each issue of the fledgling magazine has been. It isn't easy to publish a quality fashion and culture magazine in this country when the prevailing influences are: television, trends, rambunctious commerce and the hand-me-down edicts of other cultures which are fed to the unsuspecting populace like baby food. If you are going to do something outside of the New Zealand Square, you must think outside that square, and the good people of NO are. Here at Black we have also followed that vision from day one so we appreciate seeing it in others. You have to believe, almost blindly, in this country - and with Issue 11 we feel we are now getting the response that we have sought for so long. Since the release of Black issue 11 we have been humbled by the international response and (continued) posts on sites like Fashion Gone Rogue, The Fashionisto, F-Tape and Models.com among many, many more - it makes it all worth while. It's deeply rewarding for us, our contributors and we hope it will be inspiration for our friends at NO. Just do it. So that's our trumpet blown, we're hard out on Issue 12 and it's all just getting better...Grant & Rach x

Dunedin, the model factory...

We've said before here on Blacklog that Ali McD is a scouting/casting genius and today's email from the southern model maven reiterates that. In such a small city she still manages to find world-class models on the street, in the malls and the supermarkets of a city about the same size as Cambridge (UK) and Cole Hillman: age 21, height 6ft has it all...bring it on Ali you legend you...

At last!

For some time now Auckland has lacked a bar/restaurant/cafe/watering hole that you can pop into after work and snack on a good sized meal, created on the barbecue, alongside a quality beer or wine that doesn't break the bank. Enter Ponsonby Social Club on a Tuesday or a Sunday. The Barbie is set up in the courtyard and manned by a quality barbecurist (is there such a word?) and for only $7.50 you can tuck into a scrumptious (above) roll/bap with sausages from Westmere Butchery and salad. The menu on those days is built around the barbie and is all super affordable. Fill the gap? You bet. Perfecto!

Reason To Believe

We've recently re-discovered Bruce Springsteen's magnum opus Nebraska. The album was recorded by Springsteen and the E Street Band but it was deemed that Bruce's original demo tapes; folk music with little more than guitar and harmonica, loads of passion and a fine voice was better. What an inspired choice. The Boss, irrespective of his hanky pants and bad dance moves can write a tune or two, and on this album virtually every track's a winner in a gentle, folksy-rock way. A twist in the tale is that during the recording of the demos Springsteen heard the seminal electronica of Martin Rev and Alan Vega's Suicide who, alongside Kraftwerk are the underground Godfathers of the genre, and State Trouper is an obvious homage to Frankie Teardrop. Country fans will love the eponymous Nebraska, Atlantic City and Reason To Believe. Nebraska was recorded on a Portastudio which made a small recording apparatus renaissance in the early eighties and it lends an intimacy that most modern folk bards would die for. Pure song writing at its best.

banana milkshake

I've been obsessed with banana milkshakes lately. They are so easy to whip up and they make the perfect cold and refreshing sweet treat. My simple recipe involves a blender and some delicious ingredients:

1 banana

1 cup of milk

1 scoop of good vanilla ice cream

1 tablespoon of honey

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Black 12: Masha and more

Issue 12 of Black Magazine is well under way with a number of shoots in production or completed and the editorial template well advanced. In Sydney, two of Australia's finest fashion stylists, David Bonney and Paul Bui will each be contributing to Black for the first time. In London Robert Erdmann has completed his first shoot for 12, this one a cutting-edge beauty shoot with Katie Felstead, Kirsten Piggott and Lyndall Mansfield. In Paris Paul Empson, June Nakamoto and crew have just shot Masha Novoselova (above) for Issue 12. Masha appeared in a single shot in Black 9 as a model in Karen Walker's New York Fashion Week show of that season. She is well established, is known for her "lips and body" and in recent times has amassed a plethora of commercial editorial and campaigns but she was perfectly in synch with Paul's requirement for this editorial. Paul casually described the shoot as "off the hook" and given the quality of our Paris team's past three shoots that's saying something...

Flickring Nick

Here's our photo of the week by Nick Weihe which we found at COACD. He takes photos of the things we all do; family, friends, animals, bikes, skies, hedges, rivers...and does it well.

Get on the ModaCYCLE

Karen Walker S/S 2010 Image: Frida Henry

ModaCYCLE is an international fashion site which offers alternative coverage of developing and established designers from around the world, including our own Karen Walker (above). The site has been created by a group of fashion photographers who "wanted more out of the industry in which they work" and showcases a high standard of catwalk photography. Editor Charles Beckwith is well aware of the bunfight photographers experience on the podium at the end of a runway when 200 snappers are vying for the same space and in many cases, the same shot, and encourages his team to think outside the square. A good example of this thinking can be seen in Sandy Ramirez's capture of the Argentinian showcase at this season's New York Fashion Week. Ramirez used a Sigma DP-2, a camera "half the size of a fist" which produces images "big enough to print on a door." The image below is from that showcase and features fashion by Benito Fernandez. It's refreshing to see thinking outside the very small square of the catwalk photographer's podium...

Tree People!

I wandered in to Wunderkammer yesterday to congratulate them on the fantastic black metal Christmas tree they had erected across the road. So metallic, so black, so curious, so Wunderkammer. Of course, it wasn't them. Telecom it seems have erected the tree. It was not designed as I was told on the street by an overseas artist but by local artist David Eversfield and team and there are now two of them, one in Auckland and one in Wellington. Endearingly, it is surrounded by four red phone booths that kids can go into and call Santa. How cool is that?

Dear fabulous tree creators, I have returned home tonight to discover that the tree was installed at Vic Park last year and is indeed a thing of beauty at nights as the clip below shows. Please accept my apologies and thanks for brightening up the Christmas season with your art.

Grant

Workshop & Helen Cherry store opening show pics

As mentioned in the post below Workshop & Helen Cherry opened their new store at 74 Macelvie Street, Ponsonby last Friday night. It was a swell party and featured a show of new seasons Workshop Denim and Helen Cherry. We're big fans of both ranges. The Helen Cherry range is one of her best yet and Chris Cherry is pushing the denim strongly...love the denim shirts..all pictures by Olivia Hemus.

Hunterman From The Hills...

Image: Go Go Paris

...well mountainous Switzerland anyway. Swiss national Yvan Rodic started the Face Hunter blog in Paris but has since travelled the world covering street fashion from his new base in London. Face Hunter is wildly successful as a style report and broadly admired as there is no doubt the man takes a mean street pic and has an eagle eye for personal expression, oh, and he's in Auckland this week as a guest of Designer Direction and Plaything/Slam X Hype. If you don't get along to the invites-only gig and want something more than the online experience then the good news is that Thames & Hudson will be releasing a 320 page book (above) of Yvan's fashion vision in March 2010...Eye candy for the style hungry indeed.

Beam Me Into Ponsonby

Tonight, we were fortunate to be able to help Workshop Denim & Helen Cherry open their new store in Mackelvie Street, Ponsonby, and celebrate a new era for the iconic New Zealand fashion labels in Auckland's new fashion centrality, Ponsonby Road. The venue is not short on size or stature and resonates all that is good about both brands and their collaborative history. The work of artist Martin Popplewell is ubiquitous, with a substantial painting on the building's exterior, features and finishing around the room, a hand-painted Workshop logo on the building's facade, and a to-die-for rug near the changing rooms - all extending a love affair with collaborative art projects that has spanned three decades for founders Chris & Helen Cherry. Embellishing the family name tonight was head music man Dylan Cherry and his friend Jake and a bunch of hard-working staff and crew who have put in long hours of effort to ensure that this is the ultimate local store for the brand. Perfect then, that tonight should also signal the arrival of another new partnership, with one of the world's great car companies, BMW. The picture above was taken yesterday, of Helen alighting her new BMW in a pair of Alexander Wang's - which of course are only available at Workshop & Helen Cherry...more pics of the night to come.

Daul Kim

It's weird to think that the beautiful girl we're all going to be seeing for the next 3 months on the cover of Russh magazine is no longer with us. Daul Kim apparently committed suicide in Paris yesterday at the age of 20. How incredibly sad.

Love Want More

Tonight in Sydney, Imogene Barron and Bec Parsons release the second of their Love Want "self-published creations." This time they have joined forces with Bartolomeo Celestino and art director supreme Jonathan Zawada to take the whole shebang to a new level. Other contributions or appearances come from Ben Sullivan (with whom Barron teamed for the current issue of Black), stylist Talvin Charter, creative of many talents Axel Moline and the fabulous Hannah Holman (above) whom we are sure you know by now. Hopefully Love Want will be available in Aotearoa soon but in the meantime as their strapline says "Love Want leaves you wanting more."

The Bux Dean Starts Here

We received this image a couple of days back from Bux Dean with little explanation but when a photograph is this good, who needs one...

Gimme

I love love love and want want want one of these new Alexander Wang bags. You can order them from the Opening Ceremony website for a pretty price of US$795. Combined christmas and birthday present for the next 2 years?

From Paris With Love

AGATHA Paris, Vulcan Lane, Auckland

I popped into the new AGATHA Paris boutique in Vulcan Lane today - across the way from the iconic Zambesi store - and was immediately struck by the smart, clean, Parisian presentation - the boutique was created in Paris and then shipped to Aotearoa, and it shows. The walls are painted an opulent blue, the display cases are all superbly lit and the jewellery and accessories on display are just what New Zealand needs, French flair that is accessible and affordable with a broad range of styles and concepts on offer. We particularly like the way necklaces and pendants are hung on the wall in such an easy-to-see way. AGATHA Paris's six annual collections all reflect the trends from the world's big fashion houses, and with 260 boutiques around the world and over 1,000 AGATHA Paris designs sold every hour, they are clearly onto a good thing.

We like what Asia-Pacific director Renaud Litre has to say about the new Auckland store: "It is wonderful to be bringing a slice of Parisian style - along with a large helping of AGATHA Paris's chic and sassy spirit - to Auckland with this new, Australasian-first boutique. I know New Zealand women will find AGATHA Paris as much of a delightful discovery as their peers around the world have, and I look forward to seeing how New Zealand's style and fashion leaders influence AGATHA Paris in years to come." That's not just refreshing, it's encompassing. Congratulations Mitchell, and welcome AGATHA Paris...

AGATHA Paris

35b Vulcan Lane,

Auckland Central

Ph: 302 1100

Here's the local Facebook page

Be My Lover

With summer just moments away, I'm on the search for beach and ocean attire. This Lover bikini is perfect don't ya think? I love the fact that the bottoms are high waisted - out with the skimpy bikinis I say. Lover's Spring/Summer '09/10 collection is the perfect mixture of femininity and practicality, with pretty floral one-pieces and leopard print bikinis. Luckily for us Aucklanders, it's now possible to purchase the range from their online store.

Sartorial Sixties Sindy

"Who's the swingingest girl in town? Who rates high on everyone's best-dressed list? Sindy, of course! She has complete wardrobes of casual and smart go-ahead clothes that match the exciting and fascinating life she leads." So says the intro to the The Sindy Set booklet which accompanied the original Sindy doll set of the late sixties and early seventies. Produced by Pedigree Dolls Ltd in London, Sindy was always far more fashionable than Barbie back in the day - although Barbie has enjoyed some fine collaborative fashion in recent times from world-class designers. The Churchword has in her collection this original New Zealand Sindy doll replete with some of her fabulous fashion-forward outfits so we thought we could dress her up on occasion and pop her up here on Blacklog to showcase some of her rather desirable wardrobe. Here Sindy wears her "Weekender" outfit - blue jeans with yellow stitching, blue, white and red striped cotton jersey top, pea coat with front fastening in wool and white sneakers - matched with a B.O.A.C shoulder bag. Hair & make-up by Sindy herself, of course!

Shiny, Black and Rare

We love the way Webb's Galleries are opening up the nature and content of their auctions. The latest interesting auction to emerge from the auction house, and contender for the best black image sent to us in recent times, centres on important and vintage motorcycles. Held off-site at the excellent Deus Ex Machina on Wed Nov 25 at 7pm, this rather beautiful Velocette and many other rare bikes will go under the hammer. You'll need deep pockets, as the title says; these are important motorcycles, but even if if you are not a buyer the event is sure to be aesthetically pleasing on the eye.

Black 11's Internet Connection

Following our appearance on America's influential style blog Fashion Gone Rogue last week we were inundated with international visitors and curious fashonistas wanting to know more about Black from New Zealand, and Black 11 covers and/or editorial are now featured on a number of blogs around the globe. Our friends at F-Tape in London have gone a step further and published a feature on the issue which, suffice to say, we are excited about. Black 11 is on sale nationwide in NZ now, so go grab a copy!