Fashion Overload

Ralph Lauren At The Olympics

The Ralph Lauren attire designed for the US team at the Olympic Open and Closing ceremonies have gotten folks a little worked up. True, they do look pretty cheap. There is also the fact that RL had the goods manufactured at an operation (sweat shop?) in China and not on American soil. I don't necessarily see the need for controversy. The suits aren't nearly as objectionable as what some of the Project Runway designers produced in a similar design challenge on the Bravo program.

Reflecting the brand's trademark sensibility, the Opening Ceremony uniforms evoke the heritage and legacy of the 1920's and 1930's. With a polished and tailored silhouette, the ensemble is comprised of a white cotton shirt and ivory cuffed pants, complemented by a wool navy blazer, with the iconic Polo Pony and the 2008 U.S. 'Look of the Team' logo. The outfits are accented by  with red, white and blue silk ties and scarves and classic canvas sneakers with red and blue lateral stripes, topped off with a white twill "newsie" hat. In addition to designing the Official Opening Ceremony Parade Outfits for the U.S. Olympic Team, Polo Ralph Lauren has also created their Closing Ceremony Parade Outfits, as well as an assortment of village wear pieces. Lauren also created pieces for George H.W. Bush, the U.S. team's honorary captain (and the grandfather of Lauren's girlfriend, Lauren Bush). Bush Sr. is getting his own opening ceremony uniform, his blazer embroidered with his title. The items are available for sale online HERE (click images to enlarge)
 

Killing with Karl

J'adore Karl Lagerfeld. The man expertly designs over 30 lines of clothing and accessories, moonlights as an advertising and editorial photographer, and is an occasional film subject. This septuagenarian makes Martha Stewart look like a major slacker.

In an announcement this week, Kaiser Karl gave me yet another reason to love him. It seems that he'll be lending his voice to an infamously violent video game. That's right, he is the radio DJ and host of  "K109: The Studio" in Grand Theft Auto IV, due out April 29th. The asexual Lagerfeld described his relationship with Rockstar Games as "friendship at first sight." The iconic designer also filled my heart with campy glee when he explained that it was the exceptionally offensive possibilities that initially attracted him to the gig:

"They are the games of our times. Those games in a way changed the world...They had written a politically incorrect dialogue...I loved it, [particularly] in a time when everybody wants to be so politically correct when they talk...I prefer to be in a video than to play with it. I would love to be a very nasty, politically incorrect character."

There is a name for the magical place where I'm able to mow down pedestrians, slaughter and mutilate hookers, all while listening to Lagerfeld babble in his heady French accent.

I call that place heaven.