BOYS KEEP SWINGING

BOYS KEEP SWINGING
Photographed by Sharif Hamza
Fashion Editor: Matthew Edelstein

SPREAD 1
Left: Chris wears a 3.1 Phillip Lim sweater
Right: Adam wear a Diesel jacket and sweatshirt

SPREAD 2
Left: Drew wears a Public School jacket and Acne Jeans sweater and pants
Right: Mitchell wears a Z Zegna sweater and shirt and 3.1 Phillip Lim pants

SPREAD 3
Left: Petey wears an Erik Hart jacket, Shades of Greige t-shirt and Ksubi jeans
Right: Tomek wears a Maison Martin Margiela sweater and sweatshirt and Ksubi jeans

SREAD 4
Left: Drew wears a John Varvatos shirt and Ksubi jeans
Right: Tyler wears a Burberry sweater, Rogues Gallery shirt and John Varvatos jeans

SPREAD 5
Left: Petey wears a Polo by Ralph Lauren jacket and Rogues Gallery shirt
Right: Tomek wears a Marc Jacobs jacket and Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt

SPREAD 6
Left: Lenz wears an Erik Hart sweater, John Varvatos shirt and Ksubi jeans
Right: Adrien wears an Acne Jeans trenchcoat and sweater, Rogues Gallery t-shirt
and 3.1 Phillip Lim pants

SPREAD 7
Left: Duran wears a 3.1 Phillip Lim sweater and Rogues Gallery shirt
Right: Theo wears a John Varvatos sweatshirt and Acne Jeans pants.
Stylist's own belt

SPREAD 8
Left: Adam wears a Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket, shirt and pants
Right: Tyler wears a Maison Martin Margiela sweatshirt and Rogues Gallery shirt

SPREAD 9
Left: Gordie wears a Converse by John Varvatos jacket and shirt and John Varvatos jeans
Right: Mitchell wears a Rogues Gallery jacket, shirt and pants and 3.1 Phillip Lim jeans

Hair: Anthony Campbell for Cutler/Redken
Make-up: Daniel Martin for Lancôme.
Fashion Assistant: Jason Rider

Models: Tyler Riggs and Chris Pulliam at Red. Duran Bunch, Drew Jenkins, Tomek and
Mitchell at Wilhelmina. Lenz, Theo and Gordie at VNY. Adam Trodd and Petey at Ford.
Adrien at ReQuest


VIEW ENTIRE STORY

BOYS KEEP SWINGING: VIDEO

Boys Keep Swinging - Sharif Hamza from Contributing Editor on Vimeo.


BOYS KEEP SWINGING
PHOTOGRAPHED BY SHARIF HAMZA
FASHION EDITOR: MATTHEW EDELSTEIN

VIEW ENTIRE STORY

MILES FROM NOWHERE

MILES FROM NOWHERE
Actor Matthew Gray Gubler heads upstate to road test the new Woolrich collection.
Photographed by David Swanson


David Swanson first started taking photos in 1997.
He purchased a disposable camera with the intention of photographing his band,
Whirlwind Heat and a girl he liked named Karleigh (now his wife). Since then
Swanson has been documenting Whirlwind Heat tours throughout the United States
and abroad. He has been commissioned by the band, The White Stripes to document
the recording of their albums over the past seven years. David has been published
in rock and roll magazines such as Rolling Stone, Mojo and NME. In September
of 2007, Swanson became photographer Terry Richardson’s full time photo/studio
associate. He currently resides in New York City.

www.david-swanson.com
www.whirlwindheat.com


Matthew Gray Gubler is a Las Vegas born director, painter, actor, and voice over
artist. His film credits include Alvin and the Chipmunks, How to be a Seriel Killer,
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and the upcoming 500 Days of Summer.
He can be seen every Wednesday night playing Doctor Spencer Reid on the CBS
television show Criminal MInds, and can be seen on youtube in his self-deprecating
mockumentary web-series “Matthew Gray Gubler the Unauthorized Documentary.”
He has directed music videos for The Killers and Whirlwind Heat. His record label
Corn Stalk Recordings releases it’s debut album by “Folded Light” in October.
For more info, and to see his paintings go to:

www.matthewgraygubler.com




VIEW ENTIRE STORY

TOO TOUGH TO DIE

TOO TOUGH TO DIE
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JAMES MACARI
FASHION EDITOR: MATTHEW EDELSTEIN

SPREAD 1
left to right
Ralph Lauren Black Label jacket. Polo by Ralph Lauren shirt and vest.
Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket, shirt and sweater. D & G jacket, shirt and
sweater.

SPREAD 2
left to right
Elie Tahari leather jacket. Yves Saint Laurent vest and A/X by Armani
Exchange sweater. Dior jacket and Marc by Marc jacobs shirt

SPREAD 3
left to right
Dior jacket and Marc by Marc Jacobs jeans. Yves Saint Laurent vest,
A/X by Armani Exchange sweater and Levis jeans. Elie Tahari jacket
and jeans.

SPREAD 4
left to right
Yves Saint Laurent vest and A/X by Armani Exchange sweater.
Diorjacket and Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt

SPREAD 5
left to right
Yves Saint Laurent vest and A/X by Armani Exchange sweater.
ElieTahari jacket, Levis shirt and Polo by Ralph Lauren sweater.
Dior jacket and Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt

SPREAD 6
left
Dior jacket and Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt and sweater.
right top: Yves Saint Laurent vest and A/X by Armani Exchange sweater
right bottom left to right: Dior jacket and Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt.
Elie tahari jacket, Levisshirt and Polo by Ralph Lauren sweater

SPREAD 7
left to right
Elie Tahari jacket and jeans, Polo by Ralph Lauren sweater and Calvin
Klein boots. Dior jacket, Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket, shirt, sweater
and jeans. Yves Saint Laurent vest, A/X by Armani Exchange sweater
and Levis jeans

SPREAD 8

A/X by Armani Exchange jacket and sweater

SPREAD 9

left to right
Dior jacket, Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt and D & G sweater.
A/X by Armani Exchange jacket and shirt and Levis jeans

SPREAD 10
Dior jacket and jeans, D & G sweater and Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt

SPREAD 11
Diesel jacket and jeans and Marc by Marc jacobs shirt

SPREAD 12
left to right
Z Zegna jacket. D & G jacket and shirt

SPREAD 13
left to right
A/X by Armani Exchange jacket and shirt, Levis jeans and Nike shoes. Dior jacket and jeans,
Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt, D & G sweater and Adidas shoes

SPREAD 14
left to right
Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket, shirt and sweater. D & G jacket, shirt and sweater

SPREAD 15
left to right
Opening Ceremony jacket, Acne shirt and jeans. Z Zegna jacket, Levis jeans, Polo by Ralph Lauren shirt and boots

SPREAD 16
Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket, shirt, sweater and jeans

SPREAD 17
Marc by Marc Jacobs jacket, shirt and sweater


Grooming by Daniel Martin for Lancome
Fashion Assistant: Victoria Cameron
Models: Laurent Albucher at Request, Jarek at DNA and Julien Sabaud at VNY
VIEW ENTIRE STORY

SPLIT

SPLIT from Contributing Editor on Vimeo.
DIRECTED BY BELL SOTO

EDITOR: PETER HASTORF
STYLIST: TIMOTHY REUKAUF
MODEL: BORYS, DNA MODELS
PRODUCTION: NO NAME PRODUCTION


CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

BELL SOTO

Bell Soto is a photographer and film / video director based in New York.
His work has been published in magazines such as Flaunt, Surface, Upstreet, Madame Figaro, Neo2 among others.
He has shot exclusive collections from designers such as Hedi Slimane for Dior Homme, Veronique Branquinho, Xaviel Delcour.
His personal work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the globe.

www.vimeo.com/bellsoto or site www.bellsoto.com


VIEW ENTIRE STORY

TURNING JAPANESE

VIEW ENTIRE STORY

THE MASK

VIEW ENTIRE STORY

STARMAN

VIEW ENTIRE STORY

SO SUBVERSIVE

SO SUBVERSIVE

CATOR SPARKS INTERVIEWS JUSTIN GIUNTA IN HIS MANHATTAN HOME
PHOTOGRAPHED BY TREVOR TONDRO



We all know the baroque and bling-ridden pieces that have shot Justin Giunta into
accessories stardom and created copycats galore. But this Renaissance man has a
lot more under his sleeve than baubles, bangles and a devil may care attitude.
His home is an exotic landscape of his own massive paintings and jewelry scattered
about but also full of eccentric finds he has picked up on his travels around the world.

Recently I sat Justin down (which is harder than you can imagine) and dug deeper into
the id of Mr. Giunta. Learning more about the man, his love of art and his obsession with four-horned goats.

Cator: I know jewelry wasn’t aways what you had in mind for a career. You are an artist at heart right?

Justin: Yes. I went to school at Pratt in 1997 on a full scholarship for art.
Then I gave that up and headed to Carnegie Mellon on another scholarship citing
a lack of stimulation! I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts and a Minor
in Critical Theory. For my senior year I headed across the pond to the Gerrit
Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam where I studied Textile Design and Painting.

Why Textile Design in Amsterdam?

A large part of my work at Carnegie Mellon was melding painting with fashion
and making my artwork into clothing. So I went over to learn more about patternmaking
and textile design while also honing in on my love of Dutch still life painting.

And when you graduated?

I came back to New York City and couldn’t get a job to save my life! Everyone thought
I would get bored too quickly. They were right! I started making t-shirts and chandeliers
to get by. I was just a boy from Pittsburgh with a suitcase and a dream…

Well when you’re from Pittsburgh you have to do something.

Ha ha. Yes, Mame said it best.

Your apartment is steeped in old world charm. Tin ceilings, brick fireplace, and
great hardwood floors. Do you know the history of the building?

Well I do now that someone posted a photocopy of the history of this building in my hallway.
Thanks Landlord. It was George Gershwin’s office. Built in 1840 in what was then


Tin Pan Alley. Now it’s the Flower District as well as the knock off jewelry district.
I now have the honor of seeing my previous seasons work recreated in plastic in
the wholesale shop three doors down from my house.

Tell us about your artwork? These massive floral
pieces rock.

The florals are a marriage of Dutch baroque made with contemporary art materials including
office supplies such as white out, carbon paper, Sharpies, highlighters and other things of questionable
archival integrity.

I notice lots of portraits. Friends?

Yes, sometimes when I am in the mood its fun. I have friends over all the time and since
I can never sit still it’s fun to do while catching up. It’s always a challenge but people are usually
up for it. One skill I have developed is to draw anything inanimate but to do a portrait with someone
staring at you is sometimes an uphill battle.

Do you have a gallery now?

For four years I showed once a year at a gallery in Paris and Pennsylvania. But I don’t have a
gallery now. At the moment my focus is on jewelry but my passion is painting. I need a
gallery since I have too many pieces in my house! I do sell a fair amount by word of mouth
and from what people see in my home and studio. Any takers?

How did you get into the chandeliers?

A moment of divine inspiration! Also I have a serious love of opulence and decadence.
The construction light cages struck a chord for me and enhancing them with old chandelier crystals
or Swarovski pieces is like looking backwards into art history and paralleling it to being part
of modern art. Recently I have been commissioned to do one offs one for Lauren Santo Domingo
and for Kelly Wearstler.

What’s up with the lampshades in the fireplace?

They stem from another moment of making nothing into
something. While working as a painter doing some faux finishing in a condo at the Dakota
I ended up rummaging through the trash and found a six foot tall Chanel box and a pile of
old lampshades. While the decision was hard I took home the shades and left the Chanel
box for the next dumpster diver. The different shapes sizes and textiles make an excellent
floor light that oscillates between cabaret lighting and a landing strip.

And tell us a bit about the German hunting lodge theme on your wall of stag horns and taxidermied animals?

All gifts from friends and family! I’m an Aries and a goat in the Chinese zodiac so I have
always had an affinity towards an animal with built in defenses. Hence my love of the horn.

So people see an old skull or dead animal and think of you? Charming.

I have become ‘the bone collector’. I get arm bones from Egypt, jaws from God knows where and antlers
from my brother. All I want is a full set from a four-horned goat. I saw one on a recent trip to a ranch in
Texas and have been dreaming of mounting one on my wall ever since.

Any favorites?

My godfather shot the birds so they are family mementos.
Also my friend Stefan painted the one skull referencing an old Austrian tradition where
graves would be dug up as a town grew and needed more space so they would save the
skulls and paint laurels and the persons name on them.

I notice you don’t have a TV. What do you do to unwind?

What’s unwind?! I rarely sleep. But when I do have time on my own I like to paint.
I also take classes at Parsons for etching. I loved Albert Durer’s and Goya’s etchings so I
thought, why not me? I always enjoy learning.

What is on Justin’s iPod at the moment?

My musical tastes are as diverse as Mos Def to Patsy Cline with The Kills in between.

You’re home is such a den of warmth and coziness every time I stop by. As much as people see you
out at social and fashion functions are you more of a homebody?

Absolutely. My home is my bunker. I entertain at home as much as possible.

And by the way what is that scent that is always
wafting through the air? Besides cigarettes!

The now cancelled Diptyque Cyprus that I adore. It smells like pot without even lighting up.
But I guess it’s cheaper to go to Italy and smell it for free than buy all those candles...

And you are quite the cook. How did that come about?

It’s a part of who I am. A tradition passed on from my Mama. My brothers and I are all very competent
in the kitchen. The love of food is from our Italian heritage but my mother’s knowledge of cooking really
instilled it in us.

Favorite dish?

Soup.

VIEW ENTIRE STORY

THE VIRGINS!

Rich Girls Video




LIKE A VIRGIN

Rarely do you meet a real New Yorker, never mind four of them in the same room. Or rather three, but Erik Ratensperger has, by association, received an honorary membership. By all accounts these veteran New Yorkers are not what one would call “Virgins.”

With an underground following comparable to that of Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground, these guys are the ultimate urban success story. Spurred on by the creative elite, The Virgins are the brainchild of Donald Cummings and Wade Oates. Cummings and Oates met on a photo shoot for Ryan McGinley, who became a large influence on the band. With Nick Zarin Ackerman on bass, and Ratensperger on drums, the Virgins came alive. One of their first bookings was supporting Patti Smith at an Agnes b. concert in Paris.

The Virgins have a sound that trills with the rhythms of old New York. We’re talking about the city the way it was before the glassy towers went up and a Starbucks opened on the Lower East Side. These boys would not be out of place on the set of Uli Edel’s Christiane F, Mary Ellen Mark’s Streetwise, Larry Clark’s Kids, or more simply, the 2008 version: The Virgins.

They are the sound of their generation, pouring out vocals about their antics on the streets, drug binges and sexual activity. With New York as their backdrop, they have the city on lockdown, and are set to do the same all over the world.

-ANITA BITTON
VIEW ENTIRE STORY

HOT NEW BOOK

VIEW ENTIRE STORY

HANGIN' TOUGH

VIEW ENTIRE STORY

YSL

FINE AND DANDY

Stefano Pilati is upholding the YSL legacy – and looking good doing it.

The occasion of an Yves Saint Laurent show in the fashion world has always been, to put it mildly, something of a big deal. Witness the 275-plus-look retrospective staged at the Pompidou Centre in 2002 for Saint Laurent’s last show – complete with big screen viewing for the few thousand fans amassed outside – and you get an idea of the reverential fervor evoked by YSL. The spectacle has never been quite as grand again, of course, but the Spring 2009 womenswear show in Paris on October 2nd will be the first since Saint Laurent’s death, and thus, in its own right, something of a milestone.

Stefano Pilati, who designs both the men’s and women’s collections for YSL, is familiar with great expectations. He assumed the YSL mantle as a relative unknown, and his first outings for the house were met with the scrutiny befitting the work of a freshman who’d skipped straight to senior year. (Not to make light of Pilati’s prior experience, which included stints at Giorgio Armani, Miu Miu, and Prada after a quickly abandoned beginning in environmental design.) Pilati stayed cool to the criticism, thanks, in part, to seeing panned elements of his collections appear en masse on runways a season later (check your girlfriend’s closet for a tulip skirt and you’ll know who made it first). Such composure is admirable considering that in addition to the legacy of Saint Laurent to keep him up at night, Pilati also had an impressive list of contemporary forerunners to contend with: Hedi Slimane, Alber Elbaz, and Tom Ford all took on YSL – with varying degrees of success – before Pilati stepped in.

Nine seasons later, Pilati’s collections have gained confidence and earned praise. The qualities that make the designer himself such a regular on the boîte circuit and a hit in the art world are increasingly evident in his designs. For menswear this means translating the enviably louche refinement typical of his own outfits into a look as distinctive as that of the skinny-jean brigade Slimane commandeered at Dior Homme. Dapper, elegant, and probably in possession of a yacht, Pilati’s YSL homme would fit in at the Factory (an Ought version, of course), and like any good Warholian, is totally cool with androgyny.

Blurring the male/female divide may be easier for women to embrace as a fashion conceit, but Pilati’s brand of gender-bending is more liberating than emasculating. The proof is in the man himself: Does anyone look better accessorized by a naked (or clad, for that matter) Naomi Campbell? Not that we’ve seen. And while some designers’ personal attire veers toward costume – Karl’s lace gloves and snow white coif; Marc’s rippling biceps; Alber’s jaunty bowtie – Pilati’s signature look is just impeccably cool.

As Saint Laurent once gave women the option to dress up in a tux, Pilati is now giving men the opportunity to experience the best of womenswear. Fabrics associated with the fairer sex – silk gazar and organza, embellishments like gold beading – get face-time with biker jackets and just-so-slouchy suits. The back-buttoning tunics that fared so well in YSL’s Fall 2006 women’s collection showed up for men in Spring 2007 – an in-house import, if you will – and are reason enough for men to pay attention to what the women are wearing on the runway come October. You never know when that sheer tunic might make its way to your wardrobe.

It’s nice to know that the designer at the helm of a house traditionally skewed toward womenswear is keeping an eye out for what works for the boys. Women have been raiding men’s closets for decades, after all, so it seems only fair for the other halves to get in on the action. But if this whole androgyny argument has left you numb, keep in mind that another part of Pilati’s appeal is the utmost confidence he projects in his personal aesthetic. It may seem trivial to place so much import on the way a designer dresses, but when the world of fashion starts to resemble that of football – with designers traded among houses faster than pant lengths can drop – a definable individual style serves as a calling card for what a person is all about. Where Saint Laurent had his square specs, Pilati has his rakish scarf; that the two seem of a sort is no mistake. Of course, having signed a multi-year contract with the Gucci Group in 2007, Pilati need not be concerned with the fickleness of parent companies; still, its unlikely he’ll suddenly go lax in the after-hours or on-the-job dressing departments. And neither should you.

-Alison Baenen

VIEW ENTIRE STORY