Nicole Kidman Tribute: Chanel N°5: The Film (2004)

by Cláudio Alves

If someone asked me to come up with the definitive image of Nicole Kidman, I'm not sure I'd gravitate toward her work in movies or TV, nor even her red-carpet appearances. Instead, my mind would instinctually drift to that shot of industrial-grade glamour that once played at every primetime ad break. It's a Moulin Rouge! reunion and, in its way, a miniature remake with a contemporary twist. It's fashion distilled into a dream, a bespoke Lagerfeld-designed wardrobe, and a fragrance we can only imagine through the screen. It's Old Hollywood resurrected for 180 seconds of hyper-artifice and soft-focus glow, so beautiful it makes your heartache. It's Chanel N°5: The Film, of course…

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The MET Gala meets the Movies

by Cláudio Alves

MIDSOMMAR (2018) Ari AsterThis Spring, the Costume Institute at the MET is putting on an exhibition titled "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion." It's all about garments that, through the passage of time, have degraded or become too fragile to wear and exhibit by traditional means. They are slumbering, but through technological wizardry and museum magic, one hopes to breathe new life into them. From pepper ghosts to glass coffins, replicas, and immersive soundscapes, the MET will deliver visions of the fashioned ephemeral cataloged through an appeal to nature. The exhibit has three elemental parts– earth, air, and water –underlining the connective tissue between the pieces and the natural world, where decay is an essential part of existence. In some ways, it's a look at notions of impermanence through fashion.

Fittingly, this year's MET Gala has a dress code defined as "The Garden of Time," a novel by J.G. Ballard that considers similar themes. However, because stylists and celebrities are literal to a fault, this has resulted in florals and flowers as far as the eye can see – the red carpet turned into a Midsommar cosplay convention. If you're dissatisfied with the offer, why not scratch that sartorial itch through cinema? Here are some possibilities…

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Scarlett O'Hara's Best Looks

by Cláudio Alves

Since 1939, Gone with the Wind has been re-released countless times in American theaters. This year, it's enjoying another of those on April 7th, 8th, and 10th to celebrate the picture's 85th anniversary. While defined by gross politics and a nostalgic view of the Confederacy that was already cause for contestation by some in the 1930s, it endures as a symbol of Old Hollywood craftsmanship at its peak. Indeed, it's difficult to think of a production that better exemplifies the sheer ambition of the studio system, its grandeur, and stunning spectacle. Technical ingenuity abounds, as does an eye for powerful imagery. It's so beautiful that some of its shots endure as cultural artifacts, even when divorced from their origin.

Today, I want to celebrate one aspect of its splendor near and dear to my heart – the costumes by Walter Plunkett. Specifically, I've given Scarlett O'Hara the same treatment Bella Baxter got, and ranked her ten best looks…

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Drag Race RuCap: “See You Next Wednesday”

Like last year, Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are following and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen…

In design challenges, these two are unbeatable. They're dressmaking monsters!

CLÁUDIO: Another design challenge! What’s this, season 3? 

Regardless of repetition, it’s time for this year’s batch of queens to refamiliarize themselves with the sewing machines, for Drag Race has devised a challenge to celebrate Neo-Goth style. But of course, it’s closer to a Tim Burton lovefest, complete with Wednesday references and whatnot. Indeed, as much as I appreciated Kaia Gerber’s presence on the panel, MTV should have found a way to nab Colleen Atwood as the episode’s Extra Special Guest Judge - now there’s someone who knows how to make magic happen with black fabrics and a spooky outline. But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself...

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Drag Race RuCap: "Welcome to the DollHouse"

For the next few months, Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves will be following and recapping RuPaul’s Drag Race season sixteen…

At long last, Law Roach makes his Drag Race debut.

CLÁUDIO: Hi Barbie! This week on RuPaul’s Prison Experiment, our host and MTV have figured out how to tap into the frenzy unleashed by Greta Gerwig’s plastic fantasy without the need for something as bothersome as copyright payments or bending the knee to the Mattel Empire. Then again, this episode might be the twins’ fault since they did parade through last year’s finale red carpet with doll doppelgangers. In any case, whether Queen Barbie or Princesses Sugar and Spice are to blame, “Welcome to the Dollhouse” is a fun hour of television. Or, at least, I had fun. What about you, Nicky Doll?

NICK: I had a lot of fun with this episode! As much as it pains me to say this after Ms. Meating has left this televised coil, “Welcome to the Dollhouse” is my favorite episode of the season thus far. . . .

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