But the highlight of the evening was not his win nor was it J. Lo‘s rump shaking with her hubby Marc Anthony. It wasn’t the sterilized and cheesy group routine to Gaga’s “Born this Way” and it wasn’t the fact that the finale was an orgy of fame and shameless plugs. It was this:

James Durbin fills the much-needed void of Folsom Street Fair unicorns in the universe.

Click and enlarge if you dare

I was featured in this month’s 7×7 Magazine as the best dressed male at the Ruffian Threads & Heirs Launch Party — which happened couple of months ago (it’s kind of old news but my ego told me to post it on my blog any way), I have to say that I look like a troll in the picture they featured. For some reason, my feet seem really small and my head seems huge. Gigantic. Enormous. It’s like I am a bobble head.

But yes, I was featured in the mag — and big, BIG thanks to Jaclyn Binder for giving me props. I figured I should mention it since I allow myself a quarterly moment of vanity.

And P.S. — The words that came out of my mouth during that interview make me sound kinda douchy — but if the nozzle fits…

This past week, Walter Van Beirendonck was a special guest (along with a slew of others) during the Academy of Art University’s “Fashion Week.” I put quotes around “Fashion Week” because it wasn’t a full week — only four days.

But I digress.

The bearded and bejeweled (he wears some intense rings) artist is a part of the Antwerp Six — a posse of designers that includes Marina Yee, Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Dirk Van Saene (who was also a special guest last week). All of them fascinate me. They are like the cool art kids who sat in the corner of the cafeteria eating nothing but Skittles for lunch and listening to Fiona Apple, Pet Shop Boys and The Cure.

Dirk Van Saene (center) preps a bear to walk the runway at the Berkeley Art Museum as Walter (right) looks on

Needless to say, I admire Mr. Van Beirendonck (remember when I blogged about my penis scarf?). He’s esoteric. He’s interesting. He doesn’t take fashion seriously, yet the craftsmanship of his clothing is impeccable — luxury even. There is this bizarre combination of conceptual vision, pop art, absurdity and cultural commentary that melds together to create something that is off-center, but makes sense. It’s as if he is telling a joke to the fashion industry and they are laughing, but they just act like they get it. I’m not even totally sure if I get it.

Pieces from his GLOW collection

Bottom line: his work is so not boring that I can’t help but be interested.

While he was in San Francisco, I had a couple of encounters with him and contrary to my insecurity, I do not think I was stalking him:

1.) I met him for the first time during our luncheon with all the guests. Actually, I didn’t formally meet him. I just saw him walk in.

2.) I sat next to Walter and Dirk in a van ride on the way to a special “Rebel Rebel: Anti-style” discussion with designer Keanan Duffty. I introduced myself and talked about the weather.

3.) At the pre-reception of Graduation Fashion Show, I was asked to introduce him to some designers who were showing collections.

4.) After the show, I walked up to him, along with all of our special guests and gave them my thanks for visiting our school. This is when I thought I might be stalking him. I think he was taken by surprise that I bombarded him with my politeness, therefore he was creeped out by me.

5.) Our school also helped out with Walter’s re-staging of his S/S 2010 collection at the Berkeley Art Museum (where they used burly bears instead of waify supermodels). It’s a pretty big deal because he never shows in the U.S. I wanted to show my support so I went to MAC: Modern Appealing Clothing (one of the few stores in the country that carry his line) to buy a shirt. It just so happens that Walter and Dirk were there prepping for the show that was to happen on the following day. Again, I bombarded with my pleasantries.

6.) The day of his show at BAM, I, of course, saw them again. I tried to lay low and I think I succeeded. For some reason, if I said hi yet again, I’d be like that lady on Misery.

Even if I am an admirer, I am not a stalker. At his BAM show, I saw many people who were wearing pieces from his past collections. They were SO outrageous it made my Walter polo look tame. If I was a stalker, then I was in a room full of Walter stalkers.

I didn’t even get a seat at the re-staging of his “Wonderfur” collection because I was working the event for the Academy and trying to not look like a stalker — but I did get to stand near the door of where the models entered and exited.

Check out this clip from the finale.

Yes. That’s Walter underwear — and I want a pair.

I’ve been there a couple of times on my trips to New York, but never bought anything — mainly because the timing wasn’t right. Payday never landed on the day I visited the store.

But that’s another story. Check out the cool flyer:

Here is the 4-1-1:

WHAT? A.OK + The Seventh Heart Pop-up Shop. The event will also include
music, a selection of limited edition T shirts exclusively produced for the event and an after party at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge (133 Turk St.)

WHEN? 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, April 29

WHERE? 1592 Market St., San Francisco

So if things that end in “-ISCO” are “A.OK,” then Crisco is a suitable snack food, right?

OAK NYC [Official Website]

Now MAC isn’t your normal San Francisco store. It is the ultimate destination for label whores like myself. It’s kind of like a Barneys but a lot less corporate and a lot more counterculture. It where all the cool kids go to spend their rent money.

Anyways, they are an sartorially avant-gasmic goldmine when it comes to labels – particularly designers who rolled with the Antwerp Six: Dries Van Noten, Martin Margiela and, of course, Walter Van Beirendonck. In fact, they are one of two stores in the nation that carry Walter’s conceptual garb that gleefully violates runway.

His items are brilliant and delightfully offensive. Seeing his pieces gets me excited and actually makes me enjoy fashion rather than criticize it. It’s – and I don’t know if this is appropriate – euphoric and child-like. We’ve been working on a story for him in our magazine, so I have been intrigued about his work.

The store had a gaggle of items on sale from his Fall 2009 Glow collection. So while Cheryl ravaged the racks of Margiela, I violated the racks of Beirendonck and ended up getting this:

Yes, that’s a naked little man (or woman, depending on how you look at it) on the scarf. It epitomizes Walter’s playfully exhibitionist aesthetic – but that’s not his entire aesthetic. His style is provocatively sci-fi and very irreverent. In a nutshell, he has an anti-fashion appeal.

Anyways, people don’t really notice it until you point it out – which is what I did all day. I walked around my office (and to random people on the street) saying, “LOOK! MY SCARF HAS A PENIS!”.

Thus far, it is my best purchase from a winter sale.

I need a pair of leather gloves. And I need them now.

I have been on this search for a while and I still haven’t found a pair that fits me like – well – a glove. Either they are too loose, too tight or are just plain ugly. I want a pair of sleek gloves that are sleek, modern and give the slightest hint of O.J.

I don’t want a pair of fingerless driving gloves similar to those of Karl Lagerfeld. For one, I find fingerless gloves pointless unless you are a Pussycat Doll. Second, I don’t have a car with a wooden steering wheel that calls for a pair of gloves of the leather variety. Third, they wouldn’t keep my hands warm. Lastly, even though Lagerfeld makes them look “cool,” he just creeps me out.

To be more precise, I would like gloves like Watson’s (Jude Law) in Sherlock Holmes:

A while back I was at the Paul Smith when Scott Schuman came to our city for his book signing. After getting my book signed, I was browsing the leather glove buffet provided by the store and none of them fit me the way I wanted. I was chatting with some other event goers about my conundrum.

“I want some murderous, form fitting gloves that would make me look cool,” I said.

The gentleman I was conversing with looked out my hands and furrowed his brow and said – and I swear, he said it with a slight scoff, “You might want to look in the women’s section.”

Should I feel insulted by his comment about my abnormally dainty hands? Actually, I don’t think they are that small, but this dude made me feel hand-conscious.

And FYI – I did try on some women’s gloves and they were too small.

This leaves me with two choices: 1.) Find a person who makes custom gloves – would you call him/her a glove cobbler? or 2.) Find a protein supplement that immediately bulks up my hands.

Other suggestions are welcome.

The new bi-annual publication, Vintage Magazine picked up where the innovative magazine, Flair by Fleur Cowles left off. The mag “pays homage to timeless design, fashion, culture, and the creative possibilities of print.”

Thank God someone out there is reinvigorating the value of print.

Combining the DIY aesthetic of a punk era zine and the refined taste of a modern glossy, Vintage’s premiere issue explores the moods of Barbie (as in the doll), 60-year-old recipe cards, the anatomy of the Ferragamo wedge as well as a plethora of other curious and clever topics.

All the while, you can flip through the magazine and find peek-a-boo die cuts, witty hairstyle flip books and an entire story written on a 45 rpm record sleeve. It reminds us that print is not dead and that low tech luxury is quite classy.

Just because they value print, doesn’t mean they discount online. You can visit their website and follow them on Twitter.

Yes, I am an easy sell. No, I don’t want Tom Ford. I want his sunglasses (from his own collection, of course) that he wore in his shoot for GQ’s December 2009 “Men of the Year” issue. He was chosen as the “Crossover of the Year” for his Oscar-buzzing movie, A Single Man.

I really want to watch the movie, but I may want those sunglasses more. That popsicle looks good too.

Photos courtesy of Wire Image

From a certain perspective, the boys from Viktor & Rolf did the expected at Paris Fashion Week. They gave the fashion community something to raise their eyebrows at: a collection of gowns that look like they’d be more appropriate as A.) something you’d see in some sort of Cirque du Soleil freak show complete with dismembered and Swiss cheese evening gowns or B.) something you would see at Bath & Body Works (please reference this gigantic loofah) .

From another perspective, the boys presented us with something unexpected to talk about and make us play this “Why did they do this?” guessing game. Are all the sliced and diced garments a metaphor for our economy that is in shambles? Is it some sort of social commentary of how fashion can be self-mutilating? Or are they just saying, “Look at us! We’re cool and avant garde!” Or are they really, genuinely bored with fashion? Is this strategically cut up and ridiculously fun collection a slap in the face to people who take the world of fashion too seriously? The world may never know.

Looking past the loofahs and holey gowns, some of the pieces are actually wearable. It is no doubt that each of the garments are beautifully made, but the directional garments are the memorable ones. Whether that is smart or silly is for the general public to decide. Unless the world simultaneously decides to dress like Lady Gaga, I seriously doubt we will see that huge one shouldered gown that looks like a deep sea creature on the racks of Barneys. I don’t think it would even fit on a rack:

This guy can be easily forgiven. Even though the embellishments on his jeans are highly unnecessary, I just think he needs guidance.

This girl on the other hand….

This is just wrong. Especially since this picture was taken on Saturday when San Francisco was unbelievably warm. She was also walking about as if she were hot shit. I am sorry madam, furry boots and a summer skirt does not a stylish person make.