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Alexander McQueen and Dries Van Noten were the two shows I was most excited to see during my first Paris fashion week.

To me, McQueen represented the drama of fashion. He represented the conflict and harmony of being a craftsman and an artist - Savile Row training, runway dreaming.


There are people in fashion I always figured I'd meet sooner or later.
I'd meet them in a very natural way (introduced by a mutual friend at a party or something) and the encounter would be so much more meaningful that way. McQueen was one of those people I felt I had time to meet. I almost wanted to save him for later. Not a conscious effort but just a concept. Well...I'm sad that won't be the case.

I hope we all remember him for the genius he brought to fashion.




ps. I'm rereading what I wrote and what has been written on other sites and blogs.

All very nice but I still feel so unsatisfied, so empty, even a little mad.

When a bigtime movie star or politician dies someone like Tom Brokaw has always been there to help put it into perspective.

If it was a sports star, fans would talk about it for days on talk radio.

However, for someone that loves fashion Alexander McQueen is just gone and no one seems to be able to make sense of it.

There doesn't seem to be anywhere to turn to make it feel right or understandable.

I don't have any answers for you either. All I know is this sucks.

Yes, I know I have been a little heavy on the mens photos lately but NYC fashion week starts tomorrow!!

I love seeing ladies wearing regular length sportcoats again.

Please, no more of these tiny, short-waisted jackets that every corporate attorney wears. I saw a great women's jacket (a suit actually) at the Marc Jacobs show last night and it looked so fresh. It was a DB with deeeeep back vents (my passion) and a firm shoulder- I'll post a shot of it tonight.

Thanks everyone for all your great suggestions on books about modern manners. I can't wait to get a few and brush up on a few things before my next big dinner party.

For me, this is blogging at it's best. Being able to create a community of individuals that share information and ideas that can make the community as a whole a better place. Thank you.

One of the things I mentioned yesterday, was the "manner" of a person. "Manner" or "grace" is not something that you can learn from a book. Unfortunately, it is something you just have to be or to develop.

A great scene of modern grace on '30 Rock' the other day:

Liz and Jack went out to dinner at a very chic restaurant. As they sat down at the table, Jack immediately moved the candle from the center of the setting to the side of the table. Liz looked at him kinda funny, not understanding why he did that but, not really caring either. Later, however, when Liz reached across the table to steal some of Jack's food (as she always does), she realized he moved the candle so her sleeve wouldn't catch fire when she reached across the table. Jack's manner and grace were so attuned to her as a friend, that he knew her moves before she did. That tiny gesture ended up becoming the pivotal moment of the episode and changed the course of their business relationship.

I'm telling you guys again, women notice the small stuff. They notice the gentleness/gentlemenliness more than if you use the right fork at dinner. I'm a very lucky man, Garance notices every little kindness I offer her, she doesn't miss a thing. Knowing that makes it so much more rewarding to do even more little things for her. I'll be honest, my biggest obsession in life right now is not better shoes, more suits or a bigger career but, to simply be a more graceful man for my graceful woman.

So women, in the spirit of grace, manner and Valentine's Day, take a moment and share with us men some of the little kindnesses that your man has done for you that made your heart flutter. Us men might learn something and you might gain an even more graceful man, a gentleman.

Editor's Note: For my gay readers, I can only write this as I know it, a man loving a woman. Don't let this keep you from joining the conversation. If you have tiny acts of kindness from a boyfriend to a boyfriend, or girlfriend to a girlfriend, please share with us!
Grace is Grace.
It doesn't matter who you're lovin', it's how you're lovin'!

So....now what?

I was talking to a retailer yesterday who said that her McQueen business was growing faster than it ever had before.

However, she sees no other option than to close the business of McQueen.

Who could take over? Should anyone takeover?

I'm sure Gucci has invested millions in this business but, this isn't the same as finding a replacement for an old house like YSL or Kenzo.

This is different, very different.

I think the closest correlation to this would have to be Moschino. And still after all these years, no one has been able to replace him, just a design team. Do we really want this to be the fate of McQueen's business?

I mean, come on, who could possibly keep the spirit of McQueen alive? He was so unique that his replacement could never get out of that shadow.

But again, Gucci has already spent millions and, in this economy, can anyone just walk away from a growing business?

So....now what?

Has anybody else been reading Red Robin? I ask because I was particularly wary about that book coming out of Battle for the Cowl. I've always been a big fan of Tim Drake since I started reading comics (he's my Robin after all) and I was a bit concerned about the direction they seemed to be taking him.

Seemed was the operative word, of course. Because things in Red Robin have rarely turned out to be what they seem. I thought we were getting a story about Tim Drake by a writer/artist team that didn't really get the character. But as the most recent arc has wrapped up I've really reconsidered my initial assessment.

Red Robin is a really good superhero book. It's solid on action, solid on characterization, even if Tim seemed off in the beginning. But really, who wouldn't be off after what he'd been through?

Oh, and this Marcus To guy is something else. The book has improved by leaps and bounds since he took over as the artist.

Now, do I think the book will last as long as Tim's previous solo outing? Probably not. But I still thing it's a good book. If you're a fan of Tim Drake it's got everything you could possibly want.

I have only one thing to say: Thursday Night Thinking!

Sensational indeed.

I actually shot this in Milan a few days before I shot Kanye in Paris . Like any artist I follow my inspiration and lately I've been feeling for portraits. I think it started with that "Red on Red" portrait in Sydney. Right now I love the idea of a dramatic face surrounded by an equally dramatic fur...a very modern John Singer Sargent vibe.

Regarding the Kanye shot. Yes, Kanye is having a tough time right now but I think that makes the portrait all the more moving.
For those of you that think the Kanye shot was a celebrity grab and a change in direction for the blog, go check the archives. I've shot Kanye about ten times over the last two years and his inclusion hasn't changed anything in this blog (if anything it enriches it with a wider stylistic offering).

Is Kanye a Sartorialist? Who is? I wrote in my book that I appreciate and relate to his struggles to find is own style vocabulary. Haven't we all gone through that? Am I a Yohji or an Armani was mine. I know Kanye a little bit and that portrait captures something in him I haven't seen before. Whether you like him or not is up to you. That shot is just a simple portrait of a man in a difficult moment in his life and as a artist I would be crazy not to react to that moment (especially if it falls within a mood I'm feeling). I love the contrast that these two portraits create. And lets be honest, we can't assume that this woman is any more or less refined or graceful than Kanye. I think the not really knowing makes portraits all the more fascinating

I wish I had more to say about this lovely woman but she spoke almost no English. My good friend Renata (who you'll see in another shot very soon) was the person who really helped make this shot happen. I love the calm poise of this shot even though there are about two hundred people right behind me moving out of a fashion show very very quickly.

I'm going to drop Outsiders.

The book has been a schizophrenic ride from the beginning, but under Dan DiDio and Phillip Tan it seems to be reaching a new low.

Sure, the book has been in some weird places the past few years. But under Peter Tomasi and Lee Garbett/Fernando Pasarin it seemed to have stabilized. Characters I didn't normally care about became interesting and characters I hate became tolerable.

But all of that seems to have been wiped away in a single issue. Geo-Force is more annoying that ever before. Katana is acting very strange. Owlman (one of Tomasi's best creations for the book) and Black Lightning are being played like chumps.

Now, it's possible that this is all part of some larger more grandiose plan. But if it is I'd like to get a hint that we'll be reaching a status quo that's acceptable to me as a reader. But all the hints were the other way. That's why the book is going into the discard pile.

Any other readers of Outsiders dismayed at the recent turn of the events? I mean, is the book really any good without Alfred?

Where to start?
- the "retro" extended shirt collar
- the 3-pc. suit worn without a hint of stuffiness
- the simple brown/grey color story
- the playfulness of purple socks


But the single most important element of this look!

- the masterfully/effortlessly rolled (almost punched) brim of his hat. Really, doesn't that one element of his look tell you everything you need to know about this gentleman?

The thing with Alessandra is, when I think of how to describe her style I wouldn't use descriptions of her favorite colors, proportions or genres.

I would have to use terms like sexy, approachable, androgynous, playful. Funny how someones personality can actually become their style. Sounds simply but it isn't.

RRARRR!

Black Lantern Azrael back again. And for the record? I hate you all. Please tell me that elicits some rage.

Anyway, it seems they're doing a whole story about Batman's stupid corpse. Why wasn't there a story about my corpse? I don't even know how I ended up dead anyway. They didn't find my body. It's obvious I was alive.

RRARRR! Are you feeling some compassion for my pitiful plight? No? No rage or compassion, huh? Definitely no love here either... I can't think of any reason for avarice. And there's nothing here to hope for. I suppose my only hope is to elicit...

RRARRR!

Please tell me that got some fear out of some of you. No? Dang... I'm not very good at this...

Yargh! I did it again. I keep meaning to not let every Friday through Sunday slip by without me doing a post. But sometimes these things happen. I've got good reasons but I won't go into those here and now.

Anyway, lots of comic book news has come out in the past few weeks. DC has been announcing things like nobody's business. Blackest Night is coming into the home stretch. And I'm still not sure what the DCU will look like once the dust settles.

They're calling it Brightest Day, of course. But things can't be too bright. If everything is great then there won't be any conflict. And you know as well as I that stories thrive on conflict. Comic book super-hero tales are no exception.

Take, for instance, Deathstroke's Titans. I don't know if it'll be any good. I probably won't buy it. But it will definitely kick off in-universe conflict -- and it will carry the Brightest Day banner.

Where are some other potential sources of conflict? Well, on the Green Lantern front I believe Geoff Johns has already hinted at conflict with the return of Evil Star. That should keep the "New Guardians" busy for a while. At least as long as Johns continues his tradition of turning also ran villains into powerhouses.

There will be conflict in the Superman universe as well. The New Krypton story may not be completely over by the time Brightest Day hits. And even if it is, there's always Lex Luthor. You can always count on Lex Luthor to create conflict.

Oh, and one of these days Bruce Wayne is going to return. And when he does you know the Joker will be following right behind.

So really, Brightest Day doesn't look too bright. And for that I'm very grateful...

As usual: Thursday Night Thinking!

I don't think mirrors work that way...