Neon Animal Print? But of course.

Thanks to our fabulous eye for fashion and oozing charisma another case of the style gods smiling upon us, what started as just an admirer's portrait of Mercedes Hart (pictured above) turned into so much more!

But let's start at the beginning. Remember our Amanda Uprichard shopping spree around the new year? Well apparently we love her so much that we are drawn to her designs without even knowing that they are hers!  Mercedes first caught our eye with her vibrant yellow and blue Amanda Uprichard hoodie paired with an amazing cross, which was handmade in Mexico for Virgins, Saints & Angels. Sadly, you can't see the cross too well here but not to worry - we will be following up in a couple months with a post on Virgins, Saints  Angels and their designs!

Another fun fact - as it turns out, Mercedes is featured in the collage of photos as taken from Diplo's 128 Beats Per Minute and on display at Milk Gallery. We all know how it goes (or, in our case, pretend to) - she just happened to be hanging out with Diplo and Shane McCauley in Mexico City at a Major Lazer party, where Shane just happened to snap her photo, which just happened to be so effortlessly amazing...

Virgins, Saints & Angels: http://www.vsadesigns.com/public/

Milk Gallery: Cliff Watts' "Wood Water and Rock"

We admit it, we have two fixations in life: the Milk franchise (Gallery, Studio, you name it), and headwear. So you can imagine our excitement on Tuesday when we strolled into Milk Gallery for opening night of Cliff Watts’ book only to discover a space full of not only provocative photographs, but also be-hatted attendees. We saw fedoras galore, pageboy caps, turbans, and the fun fedora meets Robin Hood hat pictured above. 

Milling about, vodka in hand, we basked in the beauty of both the crowd and the exhibit. Another important takeaway we gleaned from the event is that the 90’s truly are having a resurgence, particularly when it comes to a high waist above which peeks out an exposed midriff. Although we may change our mind and ultimately champion this movement, our initial reaction is that we are not yet ready to return to Sweet Valley High.

On the other hand, there were no such sartorial distraction in Watts’ photos, which portray nudes in the wilderness. From afar, it appears at times that the two have indeed become one. Don’t take our word for it, though, check out the exhibit through February 4^th at Milk Gallery (

450 West 15^th Street

).

Letters to Haiti - An evening to benefit LakayPAM

           

          Some of the models in attendance, including Coco, Behati,

           Karlie, and Hilary Rhoda.

                                                                                                                                            

Fashionable luminaries convened last night at Milk Gallery for an evening hosted by Coco Rocha to Benefit LakayPAM. At every turn, the whitewashed gallery walls were offset by the glow of groups of models interspersed with designers. Coco herself seemed to emanate light as she floated throughout the room, pleasantly chatting with guests (with her mom looking on with pride). The definitive sign that Coco had achieved her goal occurred moments before the premiere of her husband James Conran’s “Letters to Haiti.” With the lights dimming, Karlie Kloss stepped her elegant foot into the lobby, greeting some expectant attendees at the foot of the lobby stairs. In the well-founded fear that the movie might begin before Karlie entered, posed for the press, and joined Coco in the front row, a fellow guest hissed to those in earshot “Will Karlie get in here, can’t she see Coco’s trying to save the world?!” Well done Coco, Mission Accomplished.

The movie itself was moving, with heart-swelling instrumentals accompanying scenes of devastation and vibrant orphans (all of which are up for adoption) sent to the mountains of Haiti. These feelings were mirrored in the photos up for auction, taken by Behati Prinsloo on her trip to Haiti with Coco, which is the subject of “Letters to Haiti.” LakayPAM (“my home” in Creole) is a non-profit that help poor abandoned and orphaned children, ranging from newborn to 10 years old. For more information, check out http://www.lakaypam.org.

 

Designer Zac Posen