Confessions from the Velvet Ropes

080 Barcelona Fashion Fall/Winter 2009

Above: Finally! The new denim animal masks for men hit the runways of Barcelona last week.

Dear Readers,

My report on the latest edition of 080 Barcelona Fashion can be seen here on A Shaded View.

Later,

Glenn

David Hemmings in his Turin apartment in Profondo Rosso; Antonioni's Le Amiche

Above: A blood-less scene from Dario Argento's "Deep Red."

I'm on my way to Barcelona tomorrow to cover 080 Barcelona Fashion for ashadedviewonfashion.com, Diane Pernet's fashion/design/travel blog. My next assignment after that is to cover Seoul Fashion Week March 26 - April 2. (Unfortunately, Prada Transformer's unveiling has been postponed until April 25 so I will miss it). Between those two destinations I'll be making a 3-day pitstop in one of my favorite cities in Italy, Turin, to visit my friends Barbara and Elena. I've been to Turin twice and I find it to be a very elegant city, full of baroque cafes, strange architecture and a unique cinema museum housed in a former synagogue. (The Bunuel screening room, where all the seats are toilets, is not to be missed). Turin is also known as the witchcraft capital of Italy and is a part of both magic triangles (black and white magic) with four other cities: Lyon and Prague (white); London and San Francisco (black). Also home to the famous Shroud and an alleged statue of Lucifer in the city's "black heart", Turin is a city not loved by many other Italians--they consider it a strange and evil place. (Maybe they just don't like all the French influence--Turin is close to the border of France).

I wanted to post a clip from Michelangelo Antonioni's 1955 film "Le Amiche" (still above) which was filmed in Turin, with lots of beautiful, atmospheric shots of the city's streets and piazzas, but I couldn't find one. Talky and fast-paced, "Le Amiche" was made before Antonioni developed his signature minimalist, languid style of filmmaking. "Le Amiche" concerns itself with the changing roles of Italian women during the conservative '50s. It's sort of an Italian, proto version of "Sex and the City"--for viewers with patience and an intellect.

The above clip from Argento's 1975 film "Deep Red" (also shot in Turin) happens to have an Antonioni connection: Argento cast David Hemmings in the lead role because he admired him so much in "Blow-Up." In this scene, Hemmings is stalked by the killer in his apartment located above the piazza near the end of the via Roma. I would have preferred to post the clip where Hemmings tours the film's haunted house, the art nouveau landmark the Villa Scott, but it's not on YouTube. I suggest renting the film.

I am looking forward to my return trip to Turin.

Later,

Glenn

Fashion is Danger by Flight of the Conchords

This video kind of reminds me of the guy I wrote the book about, Thomas Onorato.