On The Road Again: back to NY and all its ruthless modernity

Seconds after touching down in NY I realized that it would be very dangerous to live permanently in Paris. I would turn into an alcoholic spendthrift, an overdressed dandy and a relentless nightcrawler! Maybe it was the wealth (pun intended) of all those big money status labels. Perhaps it was because the collision of all those international degenerates looking to blow off steam after a month of trudging through the trenches of NY and Milan . Whatever the case, Paris partied like there was no tomorrow this past fashion week and our Hiss Squad had 5 banging bashes to choose from for the title of "Best Paris Fashion Week Party"

Angela Lindvall: PH: Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for Purple Spring/Summer 2008

It was the McQueen after-party. The trade in hiss was heavy. My jaw was dropping every three lines or so as my brain stored the details for later use. The thing about trading hiss is you have to give some to get some. So I put forth the news posted here on TI that Inez and Vinoodh had flown Art and Commerce to take up with the new agency, The Collective Shift. My fellow trader-as they say in NY-gagged, choked, sputtered and coughed. "WHAT!!!!", he exclaimed. I had won the duel. Thank you my sweet anonymous poster for that particular grenade. It's war in the trenches of Paris gossip you know.

Sigue Sigue Sputnik is the bomb, right this minute!

A flock of my English pals are headed over the Channel this morning to come party. Jefferson Hack's having a dinner this weekend so that will mean everybody will end up on the carpet at one point. God knows everybody DID at Richard Mortimer's party at La Perle. Except there wasn't the carpet. Just the gutters of the Marais. Hack's hell bent on bringing back an 80's moment called Sigue Sigue Sputnik. And he's succeeding!

Self Service: Malgosia Bela:The Beautiful Solipsicism Of It All PH: Katja Rahlwes

Humor, Sexuality and a perfect understanding of form from Elmgreen and Dragset

How odd! Most of my interaction this Paris Fashion Week has been built around breakfasts/lunches/dinners in these places of conspicious social display. Which is why it was such a relief to escape to the Emanuel Perrotin Gallery and peruse a really brilliant exhibition of work by Elmgreen and Dragset, the duo known for their provocative installations and performances. I've been hearing the buzz on "Side Effects" since the men's shows, but seeing it in person gives you a good laugh, even as you admire the quality control the artists muster. This exhibition features, as the press release explains, " a new series of abstract, human sized sculptures, dressed according to the following famous fashion designers Vanessa Bruno, Alberta Ferretti, Antonio Marras for Kenzo, Sonia Rykiel, Henrik Vibskov and Gaspard Yurkievich." What makes the work even more fashion ironic is that Sofia Sanchez and Mauro Mongiello have photographed the sculptures in various settings such as parks, clubs, and the streets. And I must say the sculptures do make for fantastic models. The show runs until March 8th and when the monograph comes out, I'm first in line.

All this parisienne extravagance certainly puts you in the mood for some decadence which is where lovely Joe Lally comes in. He lensed this edit exclusively for TI and pulled in a brilliant team of collaborators, plus some fun jewelry to create this very special moment.

DECADENCE
Images JOE LALLY
Editor KITHE BREWSTER

Hair TUAN ANH TRAN @ l'atelier

Model ZAC TAYLOR @ PUBLIC IMAGE WORLDWIDE

JEWELS PROVIDED BY SUSAN LOWRY

TI loves the music of machines in the midst of Paris' boulevards

I walked all over the 16th this morning as the sun came up over Paris and the first patisseries opened their doors. I drifted around with my Bose clamped on my head before settling into a little neighbourhood cafe with the new Self-Service to do a bit of early morning people-watching...the businessmen all in their sober, good coats and their weathered briefcases...the cool students with their motor-cycle helmets, skintight jeans and their well-draped scarves. The tourists were not yet out and the locals all dashed around ignoring the towering landmarks like the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower. I had this track on loop, so it becomes TI's Paris FW 08 anthem.

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the wickedly witty Ms Poppy Delevingne

Raymond Loewy's legendary design for the Shell Oil Company:1967

Did you know the father of industrial design was French? The things you can discover on an Air France flight! But Raymond Loewy has an excellent case given his design for everything from Lucky Strike cigarettes to the Shell Oil Company logo to the Air France signage. TI is influenced by his MAYA principile (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable) principle referenced in the lead quote which proves this visual genius also had an arsenal of literary dexterity to boost his skill set. Loewy's book (sadly out of print but begging to be reissued) is a great example of that dry Gallic wit which I'm learning to love this week. raymondloewy.com does a champion job of chronicling the oevure, but but the book with that "lipstick to locomotives" blurb! I would have given a left pinky to have come up with that zinger! All hail!

Aline/ Elite Paris: One Mgmt NY scores Look 1 at Balenciaga FW 08

Information, that most modern of commodities, knows no borders or time zones. 7 hours ago the Balenciaga finally dropped the veil of mystery and the images are in rapid global circulation. Aline is Girl 1. The leather that the Hiss Squader foresaw was PATENT-leather, which makes it all the more of a revelation and a must-have. The baroque influences that Ghesquiere image-manages so well showed up , as our hiss-squader predicted in the contorted layering and twisting effects as well as in a kind of photo-print fabric.