Sofia Coppola and Thomas Mars
It comes as little surprise to learn that Sofia Coppola, a filmmaker for whom music often plays a scene-stealing role, enlisted Phoenix, the French rock band fronted by her boyfriend Thomas Mars, to score her new film, “Somewhere.” What is surprising, however, is that the creative collaboration between the couple, who now have two young... More
It Happened One Night
“I think part of the purpose of museums is to serve friction,” said the artist Doug Aitken. “Things that make you wake up, that make you think.” Museum fund-raising galas, however, are better known for serving bland cuisine and excess, so when Jeffrey Deitch, the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art’s new director, invited Aitken... More
Closet Visit gives readers a peek inside
For women, one of the fastest ways to get to know a new friend is to look through her closet. Sifting through the layers of silk, sequins, cotton and wool, we can learn about our new acquaintance’s past, her obsessions, her quirks and the things we have in common.Los Angeles artist, photographer and fashion lover... More
Fruit Force
On a breezy Sunday afternoon, families, artists and gardeners roam the grounds at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where a different sort of art has cropped up altogether: A potato field grows between two buildings; ailing strawberries are nourished through an elaborate system of IV bags near the main entrance; and a soil-... More
Los Angeles Dispatch: Will Lemon
Most makeup artists consider the skin their canvas, but William Lemon III takes the idea more literally. Lemon, who is also a musician and painter, created a water-based acrylic body painting technique called skin printing, and he has used it to cover Marc Jacobs’s naked body with hot pink Stephen Sprouse/Louis Vuitton logos, and to... More
L.A. Femme
Vanessa Bruno likes to say that she makes “easy clothes for difficult girls.” But in the Parisian designer’s world, “difficult” doesn’t mean someone who must coordinate her outfit with an alcohol monitoring anklet but a woman with original taste who wants her clothes to reflect her individuality. “For me, it’s about personality,” says Bruno, a... More
“Kids” Sounds All Right
You won’t hear a single Who riff in Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids are All Right,” but the rock ‘n’ roll title fits nonetheless. As with Cholodenko’s other features “High Art” and “Laurel Canyon,” this is a story of unconventional characters: a lesbian couple, their two teenage children, and their sperm donor; and their musical tastes... More
Janelle Brown on the Pursuit of the California Dream
There are infinite variations on the California Dream, but most Angelenos would probably agree that fame, fortune, sunny skies, golden statuettes and prime real estate are key ingredients. They’d also likely agree that the dream’s shadow side only makes it that much more alluring. With her second novel, “This Is Where We Live” (Spiegel &... More
Yves Saint Laurent at the Petit Palais
To wander through the Yves Saint Laurent retrospective at the Petit Palais in Paris is not just to receive an infusion of fashion history and a privileged peek into the wardrobes of some of the world’s most chic women, although it definitely offers that. It even features a salon set up as the “dressing room”... More
Zainab’s Multicultural Chic
Just a stone’s throw from Pink’s hot dogs and set off by a bright orange awning, Zainab is an oasis of eclectic glamour on a gritty stretch of Melrose Avenue. In the six months since boutique owner Zainab Sumu moved her operation from a private, appointment-only salon in Hollywood to a 1,300-square-foot ground floor retail... More
Keeping “The Runaways” Raw and Real
In the opening scenes of “The Runaways,” Floria Sigismondi’s ode to the all-girl hard rock band, the characters played by Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning could be almost any teenage girls living in the Valley circa 1975. Fanning is sitcom-cute in a plaid shirt, miniskirt and knee socks; Stewart sports a T-shirt and jeans. But... More
“Electric Car” Director Greens Events
“The greenest event is no event at all; just everybody stay at home,” says “Who Killed the Electric Car?” director Chris Paine. “But,” he adds, “I’m not a purist like that.” Paine, in fact, is a regular fixture on Hollywood’s green social scene, often pulling up to premieres and parties in his show-stopping Tesla, but... More