You're viewing the classic version of The Blackmail which was in use from July 2009 until August 2011. The latest version of The Blackmail is now here.
This weeks Cheeky Freak Of The Week is agent Dale Cooper played by Kyle MacLachlan in the hit 90s television series Twin Peaks. Created by the ever amazing David Lynch, Twin Peaks revolutionised television drama, paving the way for an abundance of incredible series that followed. If you haven’t revisited this show, or if you never visited it in the first place, do yourself a favour and watch it from start to finish. Amazing!
Tonight in Melbourne, head to Sorry Grandma for the Bang Gang Halloween Rave… a wild night I’m sure!
In Sydney tonight, head to Tricky Disco at Good God… we still have two tickets up for grabs… email prize@theblackmail.com.au to be in the running! Same time, same place Saturday night, get your best Twin Peaks/Halloween outfit in to gear and head down to Jingle Jangle for the only Halloween party in Sydney worth a damn this Halloween! Damn good coffee!
Still feeling uninspired over the whole Halloween costume extravaganza? Never fear, breathe in, breathe out – clarity of mind is key to avoiding such costumery mishaps such as Li-Lo’s wobbly ‘Mean Girls’ corpse bride gaffe, and although spooky undertones are key, take care not to misinterpret the vibe with an unsettling ‘lecherous-uninvited-drunk-uncle-bert/Sin-City-yellow-man‘ get-up. One needn’t look ghastly in order to appear ghoulish!
Thankfully our beloved designer ingenues are no strangers to ‘theme dressing’, and have provided us with many points of inspiration on this most hallowed of holidays. However, please note in advance that Halloween is no time for “sexy” dressing. Hallows eve is a sacrosanct celebration of the dead and dying – an abominable occasion that encourages us all to embrace ritual sacrifice, pagan misdeeds, and the resurfaced mutilated corpses of the living dead. This is not a call for Naughty Nurses or Promiscious Police-women! Sexy themes are a no-no!
That said, we have pretty free run of every dress-up dream in the dictionary. McQueen’s Manson-esque cellophane sex-dolls, Rodarte’s mystic Apocalypto, and Hermes’ airbourne aviatrix all get the thumbs up. I’m also an BIG fan of the tongue-in-cheek pun-friendly frippery that goes on at Marc Jacobs’ fancy dress Holiday gala event – the industry’s most memorable masquerade of mummery. On this occasion MJ has turned out such crackers as 2005’s adorable Prize Pig, the unforgettable walking Camel Toe, and hubba hubba Heinz Hot Sauce. Good luck ghoulies!
Check back each Thursday for more on the fashion world from Billy Bride
This week is my last guest appearance on CC Bakes as the lovely Ms. Bakes will be back next week with some incredible delicacies from her trip I am sure.
This week I wanted to show you a website called Luxirare.
It is quite an interesting concept as it is updated weekly and combines my two favourite things, fashion and food. The idea is that both fashion and food are a luxurious and sensual experience. Each week they focus on concepting new ideas for cuisine and clothing. The latest update on parfait is quite incredible.
They have derived a process of taking liquids and forming them into caviar bubbles that hold juice inside. What follows is an incredible presentation of parfaits that are unlike anything you have seen before.
Each post treats food preparation as a form of science, and the presentation is quite incredible.
When you’ve got the skills to influence Greg Wilson, Ivan Smagghe, Simon Baker and James Murphy you must be doing something right. Dicky Trisco is doing just that and then some with his own remixes and label, Disco Deviance. Anyone who’s in Sydney this Friday will be lucky enough to catch Mr Trisco along with Spruce Lee, Kali, Matthew Trousdale, Don & Johnson, Disco Not Disco and the Loin Brothers at Goodgod Small Club from 10pm until real late. 53-55 Liverpool St, Sydney.
Thanks to the crew at Picnic Social we’ve got five double passes to give away for this Friday night. That means you could save yourself $30! Just email prize@theblackmail.com.au to be in the running.
This week The Wiz speaks to Sydney based bespoke suit tailor Patrick Johnson of Suit Shop and who we featured in the premiere issue of The Blackmail about his current top five style icons from around the globe…
5. Tom Wolfe – Writer
Mr Wolfe is a true modern dandy, one of a handful of Americans who have a natural flair for dressing well without looking to contrived. He has a fondness of detachable stiff collars. This clearly distances him from the unbuttoned American culture where everything is made for comfort.
4. James Harvey-Kelly – Photographer
Much like the Duke and Agnelli, James has a intuitive approach to dressing. James always looks like he dressed in 30 seconds but his natural ability to use colour and patterns means he always catches your eye. Unlike so many men his clothes look like they belong to him. Behind his carefree facade he has a vast knowledge of art, music, tailoring… elements of which come through in his dress.
3. Lapo Ellkan – Playboy
Lapo has taken the style mantle from his grandfather, the late Gianni Agnelli. Although his style is much younger than his late grandfathers, he follows the same ‘no rules except quality’ philosophy. Lapo wears Agnellis old suits with flair and confidence, using his own touches to create a unique look that although rooted in classic sartorial dress is young and playful.
2. The Duke Of Windsor
He may have been a political nightmare but the Duke is said to have influenced the dress of more men in the last century than any other man. He was the jazz ages golden boy and like Agnelli, Edward did not follow rules or codes, instead he trusted his own instincts and the workmanship of quality craftsman. He would mix checks and stripes with ease, blend city and country attire and create new collar shapes and suit cuts. The Duke once asked his tailor to make his dinner suit in dark blue instead of black because he observed that dark blue is blacker than black under artificial light. Soon every style concise man was wearing dark blue dinner suit.
1. Gianni Agnlli – Industrialist
To me Agnelli is the best of modern classic Italian style. He had a playfulness, masculinity and confidence in his dress. His suits were always classic and elegant whilst he used various accessories to create his look. He did not follow any rules, mixing country elements like ankle boots with his classic Milanese Bespoke suits. He would wear his watch over his cuff for practical reasons of course. Surely the richest man in Italy wouldn’t do this for any other reason.
This weeks Cheeky Freak of the week is Melbourne artist Callum Morton who’s monument Valhalla is currently on display next to the National Gallery of Victoria. Originally exhibited at the 2007 Venice Biennial, Valhalla is Morton’s defaced reinterpretation of a family home built by his architect father in the 1970s. The monument looks like it was left to fend for itself in war torn Iraq for the last 30 years and features a walk in marble foyer with less than life size lifts. Incredible! More images.
If you’re in Melbourne this weekend head to the Arts Centre forecourt next to the NGV between 8 and 11 for your last chance to see Valhalla which ends Saturday. Also check out Ricky Swallow’s show The Bricoleur at the Ian Potter Gallery, Fed Square.
If you’re in Sydney head to Some Type Of Wonderful Friday night at China Heights featuring work from Mario Hugo who we feature in our current issue and Jonathan Zawada who we featured in our premiere issue back in July. As for Saturday night, Pod Wars is back by popular demand and aptly themed Peace and Love. Get your ipod and your worn out flares and head to the Cricketers Arms for some warm happy feelings!
The crew down over at Lifelounge are pretty obsessed with their typography, so much so that they had to put on their very own typographic exhibition. Either that or they didn’t want to waste such a good name.
I’m loving the simply blissful new palette we have been dealt for spring! Spumescent sherbet shades abound in a celebration of confectionery colour that will satisfy the most insatiable sweet-tooth. Designer deities Viktor & Rolf led the pack at Paris, with an effervescent wardrobe of frothed fantasies, and an exquisitely ornamental beauty rhetoric to match. V&R built upon recurring S/S themes, combining brilliant shades of turquoise and teal, with sea-foam phosphorescence and iconoclastic corals. The end result was a sophisticated graduation from the ‘Neutrals’ trend of last summer, and the duo’s unchecked success has most definitely set the tone for the season to come.
If the stellar V&R show only served to whet your appetite for more saccharin sensations, these frosting-friendly products will soon have you whipped into frothy peaks! The much-hyped minty fondant ‘Jade’ nail lacquer from Chanel has set forth a cosmetic extravaganza, with Dior’s ‘Sweet Orange’ and M.A.C’s ‘Peppermint Patti’ padding out the polish trend. Benefit’s ‘Posie Tint’ will transform your cheeks into cherubic cupcakes, and Chanel’s glitter sprinkled ‘Poudre Universelle Libre’ is like candy for couturiers! So hit the beauty counter early this month, for a sublime sugar rush that will put your dentist out of business.
Check back each Thursday for more on the fashion world from Billy Bride
Over the weekend, I went back to Melbourne, in which I always relish trying some new restaurants that may have opened since my last visit. This time it was Hellenic Republic, the second restaurant of George Calombaris, who I later found out is actually a family friend, very exciting! This left many opportunities for my parents to discuss this amazing coincidence with every waiter that crosses our path, anyway, lets get back on track. I’m not going to lie, I’m not as big a fan of Hellenic Republic, as I am of The Press Club and their amazing value for money lunch that they offer, BUT it still has its high points.
The decor is amazing, with a quite relaxed cafe style set-up with many ‘Evil Eyes’ around to ward off any bad vibes that might be coming their way. The tapas style menu at the start is incredibly delicious, my favourites being the beetroot salad and of course the saganaki with peppered figs, so delicious! The mains were a little bit of a let down, the snapper wasn’t cooked very well, but the lamb was delicious with a tzatziki sauce. The desserts were also great – the Loukoumades (doughnuts) weren’t as good as my Nonnas, but that is tough to beat, but the custard filled pastry was absolutely delicious.
The Hellenic Republic is definitely worth a visit, and you can tell that George is really honouring his family a bit more with in restaurant, with more true to form Greek food than the modernity of The Press Club. Enjoy!
This week, Adriana steps in for CC Bakes who is on a three week gourmet tour of the globe. Check back next Wednesday for another delicious taste from Adriana Giuffrida
This week in place of the Wiz Quiz, we asked Huw J Bennett, one half of Sydney label Vanishing Elephant to tell us about his blog Cultivate Modesty.
Cultivate Modesty initially started out as a travel diary that I worked on while I was away selling collections – hence a salesman’s diary. I had just come to the end of 2 months of travel and wanted to showcase my favourite bars, restaurants and sites I saw whilst I was away. I had also been archiving various photo’s and really wanted to incorporate these into the blog. At first my posts were quite themed but now it is an over all mood board.
I guess it is a summary of my own needs vs wants. Someone recently told me when they visit the blog they’re struck with instant lifestyle envy, however in many ways this goes against what I’m trying to do. Mostly the blog is meant to be about great photo’s, people that inspire me, amazing landscapes and cities as well as shoes I want to wear, but don’t necessarily need.
