Dear Carioca chasers & cachaca shakers,
My reports on the latest addition of Fashion Rio are up on A Shaded View:
Fashion Rio part 1: Bossa Nova album art exhibit
Fashion Rio part 3: ABIT lunch in Santa Teresa
Fashion Rio part 4: La Isla Bonita Extra, Mayan knitwear, haute Venusian thrift
Beijos,
Glenn Belverio
Dear Mile-High Millies,
From the beaches of Brazil and Phuket to the delightful dystopia of Red China to remants of the German Democratic Republic, it was another year of exciting global adventures. (Unfortunately I didn't get to see Diane Pernet this year....but hopefully in 2012!) Here are some of my highlights from 2011.
In February, I was invited to Madrid to cover Cibeles Fashion Week for Diane Pernet....(my early morning view from my suite at the Puerta America Hotel.)
My suite at the Puerta America was designed by Jean Nouvel and featured Japanese-style sliding screens made of heavy glass that are printed with photos by Araki.
Madrid is better known for the energy and party-hard attitude of its people, but there's also some pretty Moorish architecture to look at.
In April I jetted down to Brazil's equatorial north coast, to Fortaleza, which boasts some of the country's most beautiful beaches with the cleanest water.
A typical beach dish, this northern Brazil specialty features creamy shrimp served in a pumpkin shell from a pumpkin grown at a nearby farm.
In May I was booked the long way to Singapore (through Frankurt--ugh!) but it was worth it just so we could try the (overpriced) famous Singapore Slings at the flagship of the legendary colonialist Raffles hotel empire. I made new friends, including Kristen Lum and Alice McInerney who both live in Beijing.
Singapore is glutted with luxury shopping malls but because I don't like to shop, I sought out the city's temples. This Burmese Buddhist temple had a psychedelic vibe.
Of course no trip to Singapore is complete without dinner at Jumbo Seafood so you can stuff yourself with chili crab.
After Singapore, I took a jaunt up to China to visit some friends in Beijing, including Beijing Design Week creative director, Aric Chen, who was my host in Dongcheng District. Here's a shot of the vast main courtyard of the Forbidden City.
I was thrilled to be able to climb and hike along the Great Wall of China in a remote area, completely free of tourists.
Beijing's drag shows are a curious affair: The queens put on earnest, satire-free vignettes that pay homage to classical Chinese motifs as closeted, and probably married, Communist Party cadres attempt to bed the queens and every other local gay boy in the joint.
Me with one of the performers outside the club. She and her pals tried to drag me up on stage but I was having none of it.
Later in the year, in September, I passed through Berlin (thanks to the lovely organizers of MQ Vienna Fashion Week) to visit my friends Isabel and Vaginal Davis, and to take a little history tour.
We had a late dinner with the inimitable Dr. Vaginal Davis at a 24-hour cafe in Charlottenberg.
I was mad for the monumental Stalinist ghost town that is Karl-Marx-Allee...
"Sensurround sound in a two-inch wall....I was waiting for the Communist call. I'm looking over the Wall--and they're looking at me!"
Full moon rising by the former-GDR's iconic TV tower.
Me and pop Poe somewhere in a deserted gallery on Karl-Marx-Allee...
After Berlin, I flew to Vienna for fashion week....and had some time to wander around the cobblestoned streets of Spittelberg...
I love Austrian food and this savory goulash made with chunks of beef, kielbasa, boiled potatoes, a fried egg, pickle and a rich sauce did not disappoint.
In Vienna, I also wandered around the lovely gardens of Belvedere Palace.
It warmed my heart to see traditional, un-ironic Austrian folk clothing in the shop windows of Vienna's trendy shopping area. Take that, globalization! (Don't tell me that they only sell it for the tourists--I don't wanna know.)
I stayed in the suite that Katy Perry lives in at Le Meridien when she's in Vienna. Lucky for me she was out of town, because the room had a large patio with a glamorous 19th-century view!
After jetting back to NYC from Vienna, I was back on another trans-continental flight three days later, Beijing-bound. After my trip to China's capital in May, I wanted more of this fascinating ancient-futuristic metropolis. Here's the view from the oh-so-chi-chi Capital M restaurant on the edge of Tiananmen Square. From left: The Arrow Tower, Qianmen Gate and Chairman Mao's Tomb. This was our view during a rather boozy Boys-in-the-Band gathering, fueled by "Glamour Cocktails", with Beijing's #1 dandy, Jeffrey Ying, and our friend Adam. The Russian hostess, who had the charming disposition of a Siberian prison guard (not that there's anything wrong with that), tried to give us the bum's rush in melody due to Capital M's ridiculously early (2am) last call. Nevertheless, we lingered past 3.
A few days later, our merry troupe made an ill-advised journey to the Summer Palace, which was overrun by Chinese tourists on holiday. We sought refuge in the luxe lobby of the Aman Summer Palace Resort for harmonious cocktails and zen gossip. Pictured here: Jeffrey Ying and Nancy Stout.
I'm a huge fan of the Olympics and for me, Beijing's opening ceremony and architecture made 2008 the Olympics to end all Olympics. So it was imperative that we visited the site of the much-ballyhooed stadiums in the north end of the city.
Detail of the "Water Cube", or National Aquatics Center. It brought back fond memories of all the sizzling-hot swimmers in skimpy Speedos.
I was over the moon for the futuristic design of the Bird's Nest interior.
View inside the Bird's Nest Stadium. The pattern of the white seats, sprinkled among the red ones, is meant to evoke flocks of birds taking flight.
Beautiful, clean design.
Nancy talked Jeffrey and I into taking the notorious Bullet Train out to the city of Tianjin which, as you can see, was smothered in a ghastly shroud of acrid smog that day. Take a deep breath and smell the empire that conspires to rule the world!
Somehow through the haze we found one of Tianjin's most (in)famous sites: an odd-ball "museum" made out of thousands of broken plates and vases, allegedly from the Tang and Qing Dynasties. (Emphasis on allegedly.)
In November, Diane Pernet sent me to Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of MIFA to attend Malaysia International Fashion Week.
Macaque monkeys run rampant at the Batu Caves.
View of the Prime Minister's office from Putra Mosque in Malaysia's federal district, Putrajaya.
After Malaysia, I enjoyed some downtime on the private white-sand beach at Amanpuri Resort in Phuket, Thailand.
"Night of the Iguana" is evoked at the hilltop CC Bloom's Hotel in Phuket.
Thanks for taking this trip with me.
Love,
Glenn Belverio
Dear droogies, snail-swallowing gladiators and Long Island Lolitas:
It was time again for my annual holiday tree-trimming party at my apartment in the East Village and because I'm a hopeless cinema fan-fag, I chose Stanley Kubrick as the theme. My guests rose to the occasion with clever ornaments and even a few Kubrick-esque looks.
Christine applies a Clockwork Orange-style bottom lash to singer Carole Pope.
Since Christmas is really a pagan holiday, this guest showed up with one of the ritualistic orgy masks from "Eyes Wide Shut" which I do find mildly terrifying, especially since I didn't know the guy wearing the mask! I thought it might be a fashion designer whom I gave a bad review to in the past arriving to exact some revenge.
Me sporting my first-edition "A Clockwork Orange" cover-design t-shirt and my Phuket tan.
Because it's just not a party without a pair of cheeky fag Lolitas! Raul and Christopher Voigt attempt to channel the long-gone days of when they were jailbait.
"Anger Scale" author Katie Degentesh channeled Shelley Duvall's style from "The Shining."
Artist Scott Neary gets the Obscura Prize for resurrecting a little-known Kubrick film (his 2nd feature), "Killer's Kiss." Many of the scenes of this gorgeously shot, low-budget noir gem from 1955 were shot around the East Village. I watched the film yesterday on Nextflix instant watch and was in awe of the moody black-and-white photography of New York, not to mention the hot and hairy lead actor who plays a washed-up boxer. The penultimate scene of a spine-tingling duel in a mannequin warehouse is not to be missed. (This clip is of the film's chase scene through, I think, Brooklyn.)
Hands down, this was my favorite ornament - the monolith from "2001: A Space Odyssey." It was created by Evan Schafer, who is the boyfriend of Grazina Snipas, a graphic designer whom I sometimes work with at Moxie Interactive. (I also love the skull bracelet ornament that Doreen Oakley donated for my tree.)
Lolita sunglasses and the bone from "2001", also created by Evan Shafer. Now, whenever I think of the flying bone scene in "2001" I think of the hilarious moment in "Good Bye, Lenin!" when a budding GDR filmmaker is editing a wedding video he shot which he turns into a "2001" homage but cutting a shot of the bride's flying bouquet (the bone) with a shot of the lit wedding cake (a stand-in for 2001's spaceship.)
Nancy Stout was inspired by the wardrobe of "Barry Lyndon."
Katie brought an adorable stuffed owl ornament.
Spartacus tribute #1 by Carlos...
...and Spartacus tribute #2 by Corey Sabourin.
Carole Pope brought a less sinister "Eyes Wide Shut" orgy mask..
Artist Rupert Goldsworthy created a tribute to Wendy Carlos, the transsexual composer responsible for the iconic electronic Beethoven soundtrack of "A Clockwork Orange."
Artist Scott Taylor and fashion designer Sylvia Heisel made a Kubrick double header...
Dominique Guihenneuc made this very witty ornament that is a nod to the chess game between Shelley Winters and James Mason in "Lolita." This piece is Winters' queen and the notes read: "You're going to take my queen? That was my intention."
Jack Nicholson looks on at a young Kubrick in a piece made by Nancy Stout.
Astronaut food from "2001"....
A gaggle of poets showed up and I was half-expecting a prosecco-fueled reading of HOWL or "There was a man from Nantucket" underneath the mistletoe: Drew Gardner, Mel Nichols and Katie Degentesh.
Artist Scott Neary
Artist Scott Taylor, fashion designer Sylvia Heisel, and author Nancy Stout
Artist Rupert Goldsworthy and publicist/playwright Jay Blotcher
Me & Rupert
Filmmaker Vincent Gagliostro & Jay
Adrienne Lloyd who plays bass in Carole Pope's NYC band with Carole.
Doreen Oakley stopped in to show off her bag before dashing out to prepare for her costume-making-magic at the NYC Ballet.
Jay & I
Meanwhile, in the Mao Room....
In a metaphor of the New China, the Great Helmsman is overwhelmed by Christmas Capitalism.
On the other side of the Mao Room, Lenin looks on stoicly...
Nancy's ornament of Stanley Kubrick on the set of "Barry Lyndon" in 1975.
Thanks for reading.
Love,
Glenn Belverio
Dear Readers,
My reports on my recent trip to Southeast Asia are up on A Shaded View on Fashion:
My roundup of Malaysia International Fashion Week
My trip to Putrajaya, Malaysia's planned city
My stay at Amanpuri Resort in Phuket, Thailand
My "Night of the Iguana" holiday at CC Bloom's Hotel in Phuket
Love,
Glenn Belverio
Putrajaya
Batu Caves resident
Black-slate-lined pool at Amanpuri
Me poolside at CC Bloom's
I was recently in Kuala Lumpur for Malaysian International Fashion Week where one of my self-appointed assignments was to report on contemporary Muslim fashion in a country where Islam is the state religion. Of course, Malaysia is more liberal than many Muslim countries, so here women are not required to cover their faces (only their hair--the catwalk look above is meant to reference a broader aspect of Islamic attire).
So I was delighted to find out that the Islamic Fashion Festival, founded in KL in 2006, was being presented at fashion week. The festival, whose slogan is "Discover the Beauty of Modesty", has a website which provides some intriguing analysis of Islamic fashion: "When she covers herself, she puts herself on a higher level and respect for her intellect, her faith, and personality will take precedence over her beauty."
Sounds a bit like what American feminists wanted in the '70s and '80s, minus the covering-up and faith parts. And then there was the advent of "intellectual fashion" from Japan and elsewhere in the '80s--the decidely sexless yet beautiful designs of Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and others. But the philosophy of the Islamic Fashion Festival--whose goal is to create a forum for intercultural and interreligious exchange--combines a pre-pro-sex feminist attitude with unwavering religious commitment and political discourse.
"The myth of the conquering sword must be laid to rest; a new iconic narrative must carry the story of Islam. The black hijab itself is emblematically decried as a symbol of oppression instead of being accepted as a cultural and personal expression of modesty....The terrorist's mask overshadowed the real face of Islam."
Back in 2001, Spanish designer Miguel Adrover was pilloried by half-baked feminists and misguided Zionists in the New York fashion establishment for both his Egyptian collection (Hal Rubenstein denounced it as "anti-Semitic") and a subsquent collection inspired by Islamic clothing. The latter had the misfortune of being shown on the day before the 9/11 attacks.
In a surreal moment that I'll never forget, I had an argument about Miguel's Islamic-themed collections with Hilary Alexander, who pens fashion for the right-wing rag The Daily Telegraph. We were at the Marc Jacobs party near the foot of the World Trade Center on the eve of the attacks and Hilary was denouncing Miguel's vision with the usual Western-centric argument about "women's oppression."
"When Hussein Chalayan did Islamic fashion he made it modern and sexy by pairing the chador with mini skirts," she opined. I told her it was unrealistic to think that an ironic gesture shown on a runway in Paris or London would "liberate" Muslim women from their countries' dress codes. When I pointed out that what Chalayan had done was really postmodern and not "modern" she retorted, "Well, Miguel Adrover's collection was PRE-MODERN!" and then she turned on her Louboutin heels and stormed away. And there you have it: a prevelant Western attitude. Islam is "pre-modern" and primitive. But fashion will "liberate" us all. (A dubious assertion that "Sex and the City 2" tried to make.)
Immediately after 9/11, people in the U.S. press began referring to Miguel's beautiful but ill-fated clothing as "the Taliban collection", demonstrating how very little Americans knew about Islamic culture before 9/11. Miguel essentially became a lightning rod for benighted fashionistas' fear and anxiety about Islam. I was one of the first journalists to leap to Miguel's defense.
In an article for DUTCH magazine, I interviewed a bunch of designers about how they were dealing with 9/11 (which happened right in the middle of fashion week). In defense of Islamic clothing, Miguel told me, "There is so much pressure for women to be sexy in America. I think a Baywatch bikini is more oppressive than a galabieh." I've always been struck by how much truth there is in that statement.
Of course, it now must be reiterated that Malaysia is one of the most liberal Muslim countries in regards to women's human rights. I'm not endorsing the repressive controls imposed on women in Saudi Arabia (or, for that matter, the anti-Semitism that is preached by some of the imams there) and I am still haunted by video footage of women rendered inhuman by burqas and viciously beaten by members of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Women's image and identity in Islam differs from country to country. And I do not approve of the meddling by condescending and imperialistic Western feminists and politicians on the issues of women in Islam. Therefore, I am pleased by the discussions launched by the Islamic Fashion Festival in Malaysia and hope they will broaden people's perceptions in and outside of the Muslim world.
http://www.islamicfashionfestival.com.my
Glenn Belverio
November 2011
Above: Opening Ceremony for Beijing Design Week at the China Millennium Monument
Dear Readers,
Here is a roundup of stories on my recent trip to Beijing:
Beijing Design Week Opening Night in Dashilar Alley
The surreal Opening Ceremony for BJDW at the Millennium Monument
Beijing Design Week at 751-D Park
Wuhao Pop-Up Teahouse in Dashilar Alley for BJDW
Me at the Wuhao Pop-Up Teahouse during Beijing Design Week in Dashilar Alley
The bizarro China House in Tianjin
Photo: Glenn Belverio
Dear Wiener Schnitzelistas,
My reports on this year's edition of MQ Vienna Fashion Week are up here on A Shaded View on Fashion:
Brazilian Designers at MQ Vienna Fashion Week
MQ Vienna Fashion Week 2011 Roundup
A look from Brazilian designer Fabio Gurjao
Me and my new Austrian friends in the front row
Later,
Glenn Belverio
Above: Inside the Forbidden City
Dear Readers,
Here is a roundup of all of my stories on Beijing from my recent trip in May on A Shaded View on Fashion:
Greetings from Behind the Bamboo Curtain
A Postmodern Maoist Moment at 798 Art District
Hiking on the Huanghuacheng Section of the Great Wall
North Korean Cuisine & Showgirl Couture
A Visit to Wuhao Curated Shop in an Historical Chinese Garden
Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City & the Beijing Subway
The Hutong of Beijing, the Bell & Drum Towers, Lama & Confucius Temples
My Last Night & Morning in Beijing featuring a Beijing Drag Show
The delightfully desolate "Yellow Flower Fortress" section of the Great Wall of China
Me, a kiwi martini and the Beijing night.
Later,
Glenn Belverio
Dear mermastic and mermazing creatures of the deep and shallow,
It was my favorite day of the summer in New York: the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, which is actually the sort-of first day of summer when the mermaids march across the beach and throw fruit in the sea as a pagan gesture to celebrate the solstice. I was a bit bummed before we set out for Coney because I read during the winter that my favorite bar in New York, Ruby's, had finally and sadly been evicted from their legendary space on the boardwalk....but halfway through the parade my friend Nancy suggested we walk over and see if by some miracle there was a new bar there that might be tolerable....and lo and behold, the old Ruby's was still there!
Turns out there were so many protests from all the Ruby's regulars that the landlord agreed to renegotiate their lease....so they have another year here and it will be a year-by-year situation moving forward. My Mermaid Parade coverage this year is sort of in reverse....here are my photos from the during and post-parade gathering at Ruby's which was definitely the best celebration I've experienced at Ruby's since I've been hanging out there for the past 10 year or so....spirits were high, everyone was in a great mood and it was the best costume party I've been to in years. My parade photos follow.
My friend Nancy on the right with our new true blue gal pal. After hanging out here for a few hours, Nancy--who is a left-wing documentarian of the Cuban Revolution--pronounced Ruby's revelers "the new America."
Me and a bat-winged clown.
This guy's headpiece seemed inspired by mermaids from Mordor (click photo to see details)
America may be an empire in decline but what makes this country still great is the freedom to deep-throat a corn dog anywhere you please, with liberty, justice and saturated fat for all.
"I don't give a crap if you don't like my hat, because I know it's amazing."
While Nancy and I were sitting on top of the freezer and sipping our New Moon ale, Nancy turned to me and said, "There's a gay in here." I looked over and sure enough, it was Misstress Formika in all his Dior glory! I'm pretty sure those shades were the only high-fashion accessory in the joint.
I can't visit Coney Island without sucking down some fresh raw clams at Ruby's....slurrrrp!
This was the first year they had helium balloons at the parade....I didn't mind because they weren't annoying branded corporate cartoon balloons like the ones at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Somehow Marge Simpson ended up with an entourage of sea horses...
The pair of tropical fish were probably the highlight of the parade and the crowd went wild when they came careening down the boardwalk at high speed. A genius couple were riding bicycles inside them and they wove around each other erratically to mimic the movement of fish swimming.....the fish above nearly went off course and almost crashed right into us!
The hula-hoop girl was a major crowd-pleaser.
I thought this blond superhero was adorable.
A bit far from the sea, Nancy and I spotted this lone mermaid as we exited the subway in Park Slope/Gowanus on our way to visit our friend Christine after the parade.
Previous coverage:
Thanks for visiting.
Love,
Glenn Belverio
Dear Readers,
I was in sultry Singapore last month to catch some catwalks and to visit some temples. My full reports are up on A Shaded View on Fashion:
My whirlwind tour of Singapore's Buddhist & Hindu Temples
Love,
Glenn Belverio
