Vin, by Mariano

As if the last post wasn't enough, here's Vinnie Woolston through the lens of Mariano Vivanco. Our boy Vin..awesome!

Celebrating Mariano

We remember Mariano Vivanco as a photographer-about-town in grunge-era Tamaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. He has since gone on to forge a highly successful international career and developed long term partnerships with the likes of Dolce and Gabbana. This F.TAPE interview by Alize Morand is well researched and informative, as we have come to expect. Viva Vivanco.

Dimmer's Gordons Masterpiece

Our good friend Paulie McNeil alerted us to this homegrown gem. Shayne Carter proves why he is one of the greats of New Zealand music and the band aren't far behind in this black and white live clip shot at Wellington's Bodega earlier this year. Covering the seminal Machine Song by The Gordons Dimmer give the great song a spirited workout imbued with respect. Invigorating stuff and Shayne at his best.

Top Five Indie Tunes at Black HQ this week

The Horrors - Sea With A Sea.

At first we liked this because it sounded like Chris Matthews singing in the North Head tunnels but we have grown to like it more because it is a a nice little musical eight minute journey that spans 90's trance, early electronica and Bunnyman-esque 80's production.

Son Volt - Down To The Wire.

This is simply a great slow rock song. Nice harmonies and singing that invokes the gamut of ethereal singers from Bob Segar to Harry Nilsson - which can only be a good thing.


Lake Inferior - Spiders

We've blogged this already but we love it more and more as tune. Spector-esque vocals a la Here We Go Magic but underpinned by a smooth-as-silk bassline. Just lovely.

Grizzly Bear - While You Wait For The Others

Is it just us but does anyone else think that band du jour Grizzly Bear owe more than a little tip of the hat to early Split Enz? This tune though is more complete than your average Split Enz track and the entire album Veckatimest is a wonder. Indie album of the year to date? Probably...

Eels - Fresh Blood

As major fans of the TV series True Blood we are already half vampire. At least. Whilst the intro music and titles of the HBO gem are as good as it gets in TV land, this tune by the venerable Eels is vampire heaven and would slot into any scene on the show. Classic.

Sneaky Squizz - Black 11 - 2

We have the hi res in from Robert Erdmann, via Allan Finemore at Epilogue, for Robert's Paloma Faith shoot and it's a lovely thing indeed...here's a sampler...

Easy Inc.

Infinitink is a new concept in tattooing; it purports to be the worlds first permament, yet more easily removable tattoo ink that is 3 to 4 times more removable (by laser) than conventional tattoo inks. The ink which has been in R&D for ten years has been developed by a Harvard Dermatology Professor and a Medical and Engineering Professor from Brown University and uses food grade ingredients, and D&C (drug and cosmetic) grade colourants. It is also deemed to be safer than conventional inks. We have to fess up and say we don't know whether this is anathema to hard core inkheads or the best thing since the regulation of parlour hygiene standards but it looks pretty smart. Infinitink is currently in use by Hamilton tattooist Nadine Bryant.

The Hailwood Quadrant

Image from the most recent Hailwood collection

The Quadrant has long been a fashionable destination for those working in the fashion, music and entertainment industries. The nicely-priced hotel delivers all the necessities with a stylish smile so it makes sense to hear that Adrian Hailwood has landed the contract to design the new staff uniforms for the hotel to be unveiled during Air New Zealand Fashion Week 2009. “It has been a great challenge to interpret The Quadrant brand and drag it into a pair of trousers, a dress or a scarf leaving that specific touch of an Adrian Hailwood collection” says Hailwood “The result has surprised everybody and the greatest achievement is seeing the young staff of The
Quadrant loving their new Hailwood uniform”. Great to see a hotel and thinking outside the square and even better to see Adrian get the contract.

Black 11 - On Set: Constance Jablonski Cover

Continuing with on-set, behind-the-scenes shots, here are a few from last weekend in New York. Photographer Michael Schwartz, stylist Elizabeth Sulcer, make-up artist Valery Gherman and hair stylist Tuan Anh Tran variously work on model Contance Jablonski for one of our Black 11 cover images.

Elizabeth Sulcer, a stylist for the amazing Self Service, has recently been made the new host of Vogue.tv, US Vogue's online tv site. Her witty writing and reporting for BlackBook at various fashion weeks and cutting edge fashion editorials - often with photographer Seiji Fujimoro - no doubt helped her cement the position.

Getting Closer To Rita With Lisa

We love this. New Zealand jewellery designer Lisa Hoskin has created a special range of pendants, available exclusively at the Auckland City Art Gallery store, that incapsulates the work of great New Zealand painter Rita Angus, quite beautifully. The pendants feature three Angus paintings from Auckland Art Gallery's collection - AD1968, Central Otago and Fog, Hawkes Bay. The works are showcased in a glass crystal dome, framed in hand-crafted glass beading and mixed with a copper base. The limited edition pendants are available at a contemporary price too - between $215 and $295 each. Something old, something new, something pretty, just for you.

Young Blood, Old Soul

Like our Wine Editor Chris Williams, Oliver Scutts is a young man who quite simply loves wine. His brand Rochfort Rees is certainly a breath of fresh air - yet it is air that is imbued with the mountain winds of the Queenstown/Wanaka region and his brand is one that is steeped in family tradition. Oliver's forefather, one William Rees, just happened to be the first European settler on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. He built the first buildings there in 1861 and is rightly known as the father of Queenstown. In 1862 the gold rush would have surprised lesser men - hundreds, if not thousands of men converged on the town overnight - but it invigorated William Rees who offered his woolshed and farm to the diggers earning him a "reputation for fairness and forthrightness."

Generations later Peter Scutts, and now his son Oliver, continue the pioneering spirit with their wine-making and brands. To date Oliver has released an Awatere Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2008 and an Otago Pinot Noir 2009 vintage. Rochfort Rees; what a great story, concept and legacy.

Cut From The Same Cloth

In the spirit of the Anzacs, Together Alone: Australian and New Zealand Fashion is an historical, Tasman-spanning exhibition of eight of New Zealand and Australia's finest fashion labels. Opening in October, the National Gallery Of Victoria showcase over 40 pieces by Australian labels Akira, MaterialByProduct, Romance Was Born and Toni Maticevski alongside New Zealand labels Doris de Pont, Nom*D, World and Zambesi. The exhibition runs at the Myer Textile & Fashion Gallery, Fed Square from October 1 and entry is free.

Credits:

TOP: Toni Maticevski, Melbourne fashion house
Dali Goddess evening dress 2007 summer New York Fashion Week September 2006)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists, 2007
©Toni Maticevski

BELOW: Doris de Pont, Auckland fashion house
Outfit 2007 winter, Sampler collection
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased NGV Foundation, 2008 (2008.249.a-g)
© Doris de Pont

Real Groovy Nev

The Nev

In the latest issue of Black original rude boy photographer Gavin Watson talks about his teenage years and capturing 2 Tone style as worn by his elder brothers and friends, including a wee guy called Nev. This immediately set off an association in my head with Neville Staple, original rude boy and founding member of The Specials who are of course, almost on our doorsteps. Ska fans will no doubt descend upon Real Groovy in Queen Street at 2 pm on August 1 as Neville completes a signing session for his biography Original Rude Boy. As the bio says "Raucous and charming, Original Rude Boy is the story of a man who did too much, too young."

Ones 2 Watch!

New Zealand agency 62 Models & Talent will be pleased with the attention prestigious emerging model site The Ones 2 Watch (Models.com) are paying two of their models - Chloe Graham and Emily Triggs. The site says about the New Zealand girls "It’s called the Land of the Long White Cloud, but New Zealand could be renamed the Land of Incredible Beauty!" Aww shucks...

Fix It Good

Image: Claire Mossong

We like what we see at Fix Up Look Sharp. The site houses a banquet of work and musings by local emerging creatives including Black 10 contributors Sam Montgomery and Sophie Donovan, our old friend and erstwhile Cantabrian Morgan Hammond, the infamous Sarge, Jay Reeve, Luke Thompson and many more. Some nice tunes on the playlists too...

Do You Want To See Us At Work?

People often ask us about behind-the-scenes, on-set images on Black shoots so we have started capturing an image or two but at the same time we wonder how interesting it really is to see us setting up lights, touching up models faces or matching garments. This image of Craig Owen shooting fashion with Rachael Churchward for Black 11 at Kingsize Studios was a particularly nice piece of timing on the Sony Alpha and the images below show Rachael and (bottom) make-up artist Viriginia Carde at work. Let us know if you would like to see more...

Hot At Mag Nation This Week

Under The Influence is a French-based tome that, although only five issues old, is already proving to be an alternative to the many titles populating the European magazine landscape. Like many French titles Under The Influence celebrates fine fashion, photography and art - yet it is also a magazine that appears to think deeply about life, in an Olivier Zahm/Purple way. This text from their website, about marriage, is a case in point "Marriage is no longer proof of your wealth and success and procreation no longer the only option; reproduction not as half of a partnership but alone as a whole in one’s own image-egotism or true human nature: can we really separate the two?" Issue 5 of Under The Influence is on sale at Mag Nation now.

Black 11 - The Schwartz Report #2, Constance Jablonski

Constance Jablonski in V Magazine

It is time to tell you about our second Black 11 cover girl, the beautiful Constance Jablonski. Ranked number 36 in the world at Models.com, Constance is a dichotomy of hippie goodness and femme fatale that ensures every image we have seen of her is different. Schwartz, Gherman and co shot the cover and profile pictures in New York on Friday.

Base New World

As we mentioned a couple of weeks back Base FM has moved out from under the George FM umbrella and is doing it for themselves down in Rose Road, Grey Lynn. The station's Jake Jones was chuffed that we'd posted about the move and promptly sent us through some pix, the one above featuring the one and only Manuel Bundy in the new studio - which listeners are most welcome to pop into. As they say on their website "it's almost professional."

Fireside Favourite

It's the middle of winter here in New Zealand. It's raining and blowing a bit, the macrocapa is crackling on the fire and the cats own the couch. Perfect then for Lake Inferior's Spiders, a tune which starts out inwardly and ends up outwardly with some groovy bits in between. Their Last FM profile is laconic "Lake Inferior is Lake Inferior" it says. By the look of the images on their MySpace site, they look good live too.

Karen's Kaori Monster Mash

Kaori is a Japanese Karen Walker fan that has literally created a monster. It seems the Nagoya children's book author and illustrator made the cute little creature for Walker's daughter Valentina along with a 3D soft toy and the designer turned him into fine jewellery.

Kaori's Monster is available now at Karen Walker jewellery outlets.

Wooden Handlebars? Florian Kallus's Design Delights

We quite regularly receive email updates from German designer Florian Kallus about various new pieces he has created, and we are beginning to look forward to them. Today he sent us a pic of his wooden cycle handlebars known as The Purist which would surely attract the attention of many a Fixie or cycle enthusiast. A simple idea yet we haven't seen it before. We also love his Karton Chair (below) and the Xbein Desk (bottom) is just lovely.

At Last; The Australian Man Online

Academy For Men is a rare thing indeed in Australian and New Zealand fashion circles, an online publication aimed fairly and squarely at men that also mirrors, or surpasses, the standards on show in contemporary international men's fashion media. You can go to the site and download the pdf version of the magazine which is about 30mb in size and contains some great cutting edge photography, fashion, music etc but above all else creates a presence for the fashionable Australian man. And, at 144 pages in size for the latest issue, that's nice, for free.

Congrats to Rhys Ripper and the crew behind Academy For Men. Here is the blog.

It's Dark In There

The pop up stores keep on popping up. Latest to emerge is The Darkroom which 'takes over' the Children Of Vision space in St Kevin's Arcade, Karangahape Road. The store opens 10am Friday July 19 and will stock existing COV lines (A'N'D, Bernard Willhelm, Romance was Born, Gary Bigeni, TV etc), Jimmy D and goods available at General Cucumber.com - Cybele, Deadly Ponies, Deborah Sweeney, Jaeha, Lonely Hearts and more.

Black 11, The Erdmann Files #5, Evelina Mambetova

We have to say we're excited to have Evelina Mambetova in the upcoming issue of Black. The Ukranian beauty shot a directional spread for our beauty section in London last week with Robert Erdmann and hair legend Sam McKnight. She apparently got the call to be in London within 36 hours while she was upstate New York relaxing with friends. Thanks to the concerted efforts of Carol and Jaimie at Premier Models in London Evelina made it to the shoot on time, and Sam and the crew were able to frame her unique face with amazing hair and colour.

The Metal Guru

Brilliant ex-pat Kiwi jeweller William Llewellyn Griffiths has come a long way since his Lorne Street days. Now based in Melbourne, his gothic, tattoo and biomechanic-inspired work known simply as Metal Couture has gained traction all over the world and is now worn by the likes of Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen and Naomi Campbell - among others.

His genius with metal has also lead to collaborations with designers including Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and renowned shoemaker Terri de Havilland and it has of course featured here in the pages of Black Magazine several times.

The good news is that William's Metal Couture is now available in New Zealand exclusively from The Tattooed Heart studio, 202 Karangahape Road, Auckland. Prices start at $85.

Sneaky Squizz - Black 11 - 1

Rachel Clark comes back to Black

Valery Gherman, our New York Editor, continues to oversee and deliver wonderful editorial for each and every issue of Black Magazine. It's like a big fat fashion love letter from the Big Apple to Aotearoa, and back again, twice a year, always. We're excited by the first full shoot in from Valery for Black 11 which features one of our favourite models Rachel Clark. Shot by Minoru Kaburagi and styled by Tom Van Dorpe contributing fashion editor to Muse, Wonderland and L'officiel the shoot sets the fashion editorial tone for the rest of Black 11 perfectly. Here's a snippet of Valery on Stylecaster.

Interview: Morning Glory's Charlotte Ryan

Morning Glory pool, Yosemite National Park

We thought it might be nice to have a few short interviews here on Blacklog - just chats with people we like or people who are doing something we like. The first person that came to mind, possibly because we were listening to bFM at the time was Charlotte Ryan - the soft-spoken, easy-to-stay-tuned-to host of daily 10am-noon slot on bFM, Morning Glory. Charlotte is the consummate radio host; possesses a broad knowledge of music and musical history, adept at interviews, able to construct her shows ahead of time and above all, engages.

The Christchurch native has a background in band management (Shapeshifter, Ladi6 and Verse 2) and worked as a publicist at FMR and then Warner Music before having her baby girl Annie. In searching for a picture that we felt would encapsulate the vibe of the show we came across the image above of the famous Morning Glory pool at Yosemite National Park in the USA which seemed, somehow, perfect:

Describe Morning Glory in five words...Great Music and Entertaining Features

What does New Zealand radio need more of? Me! ...nah, just jokes. I love the creative ad writing on bFM - no other station would have me in fits of laughter during the ad break - other stations need better, funnier, creative ads.

I have most enjoyed interviewing..........and why? I find interviews very interesting because you never know what sort of personality you are going to encounter from the interviewee. I have really enjoyed interviewing lots of local artists, some of my favourite international artists that i have interviewed have been Bjorn Yttling (Peter Bjorn and John) Jolie Holland, E from The Eels, Squeak E Clean (N.A.S.A.) and Aaron Dessner (The National). Interviewing is a skill I'm still trying to master, but when an interview flows in the right way it can be extremely rewarding.

I would most like to interview.........and why? Phil Spector. I am currently reading The Rise and Fall of Phil Spector by Mick Brown - he is a very interesting character who has been involved with some amazing music. Spector would not be allowed to bring any guns to the interview.

How much planning do you do before each show and when do you do it? I am such a geek and prep for at least 2 hours each night once my Annie has gone to bed. When prepping, I often get distracted by interesting music blogs - usually when I am supposed to be preparing for an interview. I can also spend ages hunting for a particular song i want to play...this is usually the case for my cover songs (I start off each show with a new cover song)

Do you see yourself having a long and prosperous radio career or is Morning Glory a stepping stone to other things? I would LOVE a long and prosperous radio career... for me, playing great music and broadcasting is a dream job.

The most interesting new music is coming from? Morning Glory... tune in.

Your top five tunes this week?
The XX - Crystalised
Here we Go Magic - Fangela
Bibio - Fire Ant
Animal Collective - Daily Routine (Phaseone remix)
Grizzley Bear - Two Weeks

Five old school tunes that continue to ring your bells?
The Cure - A Forest
3Ds - Hey Seuss
Can - Mother Sky
The Clash - This is Radio Clash
Carlton and the Stones - Never Give Your Heart Away

Top five NZ tunes this year so far?
Coco Solid - Turtle Pizza Cadillac
Lawrence Arabia - The Undesirables
Bachelorette - Mindwarp
Wild Bill Ricketts feat. Connan Mockasin - Siamese Dream
Drab Do Riffs - Motorscoot Scoot

I never thought I’d like them but now I do...
Bon Iver

Number one tune of 2008?
M.I.A. - Paper Planes (DFA Remix)

Morning Glory, bFM, 10am - 12noon, Monday - Fridays

Talk About Scrub Up!

I'm not usually one to get excited about deep cleansing scrubs but after a number of weeks using the Shiseido Men version I feel compelled to write about it. It is actually a pleasure to use; it foams up big time so you don't need much to give your face and neck a good cleansing, it is deeply refreshing and utilises a "triple cleansing action with large botanical scrubbing beads, microbeads, and refining granules" and best of all it really does leave your skin feeling (and looking) smooth and refreshed.

Black 11, The Erdmann Files #5, Paloma Faith

We've just received the second Robert Erdmann shoot in from London, a fabulous fashion foray that features Paloma Faith the actress and singer whose debut single "Stone, Cold Sober" entered the charts at number 17 last month. In short, she's hot. Her acting credits include St Trinnians and Terry Gilliam's upcoming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. In much of the publicity material we have seen to date she loves to dress up and is highly fashionable. The Black 11 spread is a perfect encapsulation of the singer's fashion ebullience and is styled by Kimi who also styles for Love Magazine. Both images here by Pavlunka.

What I Wore To Work Today

Stylists spend a lot of time running around town getting in and out of cars, riding lifts, opening boots, carrying bags and searching, always searching. Today was one such day for The Churchword so we snapped some of the folks working downtown on the new Sony Cybershot. Two posts up on The Black Eye now.