The plot thickens...
I found this image of the Karla's/Denise's building on the cover of the Hashimoto Art Gallery 2017 Annual. I have to do some more research; but that's definitely the building. The Hashimoto Gallery has locations in New York City (natch), San Francisco and Los Angeles. So another Haute Art connection. The plot thickens!
I found this image of the Karla's/Denise's building on the cover of the Hashimoto Art Gallery 2017 Annual. I have to do some more research; but that's definitely the building. The Hashimoto Gallery has locations in New York City (natch), San Francisco and Los Angeles. So another Haute Art connection. The plot thickens!
It made the cover, no less. I'll do a little research and see if I can't find out more information. I feel like Nancy Drew!
But let's go back to Italian menswear, shall we?
Here's another brand that's a bit too pricey for my purview; but the brand that would be my "go to" if I had my druthers: ARMANI
Here's another brand that's a bit too pricey for my purview; but the brand that would be my "go to" if I had my druthers: ARMANI
Comfort food? Try comfort clothes! These togs are everything that Prada isn't (although the price-point is about the same, perhaps Armani a bit more realistico). Can't you just feel the buttery drape? The (un)structured roominess? The luxe drappeggio?
Now, of course, Armani was famous for the 80's, Reagan era "Power Suit." The Power Suit was the Big 80's go-to garmenting. Yuppies (look it up whipper-snappers) and those Octogenarian Entrepreneurs who wanted to look like they'd just scaled the cliffs of "Business" Olympus. Business was Big in the 80's, especially Big Business. Everyone was seemingly in Business and made it their business to make it everyone's business. The Armani suit with it's powerful lines and linebacker like padding (shoulder pads were HUGE in the 80's, for men and women; and lasted for most of the decade's entirety) and majorly padded price tag (hey, you were nobody if you couldn't drop several grand for a suit--both men and women (women were totally into suits in the 80's). But was the Armani suit as boxy and business armor like as we remember? Let's take a look:
Now, of course, Armani was famous for the 80's, Reagan era "Power Suit." The Power Suit was the Big 80's go-to garmenting. Yuppies (look it up whipper-snappers) and those Octogenarian Entrepreneurs who wanted to look like they'd just scaled the cliffs of "Business" Olympus. Business was Big in the 80's, especially Big Business. Everyone was seemingly in Business and made it their business to make it everyone's business. The Armani suit with it's powerful lines and linebacker like padding (shoulder pads were HUGE in the 80's, for men and women; and lasted for most of the decade's entirety) and majorly padded price tag (hey, you were nobody if you couldn't drop several grand for a suit--both men and women (women were totally into suits in the 80's). But was the Armani suit as boxy and business armor like as we remember? Let's take a look:
I'm gonna have to go with "no." Despite the pronounced shoulders (and here they are done amazingly well); I would say the classic Armani suit is decidedly roomy. By the late 80's, Armani was "softening" his look, removing even more of the structure, I would say to the point of near casualness:
Armani did make suits that were a bit more fitted; but I chalk that up to the double-breasted tailoring. Personally, not a fan of the double-breast for men. A wee bit too Al Capone for this boy.
Now a brand that I can afford, that started in earnest around the same time as Armani, is Calvin Klein. Now, I would argue that early on, Klein and Armani were doing nearly the same thing, except on different continents. And it seems to me there was a lot of cross pollination. Particularly Klein's designs for men from the late 70's through the early 80's. A lot of similarities. As a matter of fact, I sort of collect Klein from this period. He did a mens sweater collection in the early 80's that must've featured a good fifty or more designs. This one, frinstance:
Now a brand that I can afford, that started in earnest around the same time as Armani, is Calvin Klein. Now, I would argue that early on, Klein and Armani were doing nearly the same thing, except on different continents. And it seems to me there was a lot of cross pollination. Particularly Klein's designs for men from the late 70's through the early 80's. A lot of similarities. As a matter of fact, I sort of collect Klein from this period. He did a mens sweater collection in the early 80's that must've featured a good fifty or more designs. This one, frinstance:
Here's an early Klein look that is very Armani or vice-versa:
So, when I sell that million dollar screenplay, I'm off to Milan and a private fitting with Armani, for my very own suit. They actually offer this service on their website. Armani himself probably isn't going to be coming at you with the tape measure, but how old school is that? Not that I would want a custom Armani suit, really. I mean, I don't wear suits. It would just go to waste in my closet. And you know, weight fluctuates; ain't nobody got time for that! But some of those drapey, loose fitting jackets with a lot of breathing room? Oh yeah! I've come across several articles lately about the "relevance" of Armani. Was he too 80's? Is the power suit dated? I would argue that with Armani, the answer is no. You could throw on a circa 1980 ensemble of his and still look fabulous. Even more so in his early 90's stuff. I recently acquired an Armani suit jacket from sources I must keep hush-hush; and even though it's not quite the right size...gah-dang it looks good! I'll put it on and take some pics of it on the Kroger cam and post them later. So back to Prada Saugus; and Prada in general.
Apparently it's official that The Devil Wears Prada is getting a sequel. I'm there, unless Meryl is not on board. There's no point in doing it without her.
Apparently it's official that The Devil Wears Prada is getting a sequel. I'm there, unless Meryl is not on board. There's no point in doing it without her.
But what is this sequel going to entail? I mean, there was a sequel book. I've never read either book...but of course I have ideas for this project!
SEQEUL IDEAS!
So, any sequel to TDWP is going to concern, I would think, rivalries between the three female leads of the fist movie. Like, Miranda is still the reigning Queen of Vogue--err--Runway Magazine. Meanwhile, Andrea is the Chief Editor of her own magazine, Elan. Emily Blunt is now a super successful clothing designer. Andrea and Miranda are both battling to get her on the pages of their magazines; but she has an axe to grind with both of them (remember when she got that Paris trip pulled out from under her?). Meanwhile, Stanley Tucci is still slaving away for Miranda, who is punishing him for forgetting his place. She makes him do menial tasks like give her pedicures, shine her shoes and scrape the barnacles off her yacht. One day she sends him to Balenciaga to pick up a gross of opera gloves and as he's dashing back to the office, he gets hit by a rickshaw and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he's extremely butch and no longer gay. Andrea and Emily (who are still his buddies) work together to make him gay again. How? By taking him to a "Gay Camp" in the Catskills, which is housed in an old Borscht Belt resort. The program is called: "Pray the Gay to Stay!" But is not being gay so wrong? After having his way with Miranda on her desk, he leaves to start his own magazine, a fashion glossy for butch, straight dudes; which, when you think about it, is still kind of gay. It's called, Virilite (with an accent on the "e"). The movie climaxes at Fashion Week in Billings, Montana, which Stanley orchestrates and is a wild success. The ladies from Manhattan decide to open a high fashion dude ranch and work for Stanley, who is thrown from a bucking bronco and hits his head again. This time, when he wakes up, he's bi-curious.
Or...
When the mysterious PRADA/SAUGUS sign appers on the Karla's shoe building in Saugus, Mass, Miranda sends Andrea, who is now her features editor, to check it out and write an article about it. As Andrea is snooping around, she goes inside the building and finds a second sign: ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO PURCHASE HERE. Andrea realizes that Miranda literally is the Devil and that the Saugus Prada boutique is a portal to Hell itself! When Miranda finds out that Andrea is on to her, she banishes Emily and Stanley to Hell via the portal, by luring them in with promises of raises and a Prada sample sale. Andrea enlists Simon Denny to journey to Hell with her, find her damned friends and take on Miranda in a hellacious battle royale in the circles of Hell. Who will win? Andrea and her pals or the Evil Miranda, Mistress of Fire and Brimstone? And more importantly, WHO WILL THEY WEAR???
Or...
Stanley Tucci's soul gets trapped inside the Prada Saugus boutique while he's doing some urban spelunking on his way to Ogunquit. It's up to the ladies from Runway magazine to save him! Inside, they find a paralell universe...or better yet, the MCU Multiverse; since Disney now owns TDWP IP; as it was a Fox joint and now Fox is a Dizzney joint. All the more money to be made! The ladies (and Stanley) of Runway magazine are sucked into an event horizon and find themselves battling Darth Vader and whatever it is they call the bad guys in that Universe, alongside the X-Avengers to save the Universe and the MCU and the...whatever...but first, they need to give the X-vengers a fashion makeover, affording the production an intergalactic fashion show, a la The Fashions of 1934, a property nobody remembers that Dizzney could just steal from Warner Bros.!
SEQEUL IDEAS!
So, any sequel to TDWP is going to concern, I would think, rivalries between the three female leads of the fist movie. Like, Miranda is still the reigning Queen of Vogue--err--Runway Magazine. Meanwhile, Andrea is the Chief Editor of her own magazine, Elan. Emily Blunt is now a super successful clothing designer. Andrea and Miranda are both battling to get her on the pages of their magazines; but she has an axe to grind with both of them (remember when she got that Paris trip pulled out from under her?). Meanwhile, Stanley Tucci is still slaving away for Miranda, who is punishing him for forgetting his place. She makes him do menial tasks like give her pedicures, shine her shoes and scrape the barnacles off her yacht. One day she sends him to Balenciaga to pick up a gross of opera gloves and as he's dashing back to the office, he gets hit by a rickshaw and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he's extremely butch and no longer gay. Andrea and Emily (who are still his buddies) work together to make him gay again. How? By taking him to a "Gay Camp" in the Catskills, which is housed in an old Borscht Belt resort. The program is called: "Pray the Gay to Stay!" But is not being gay so wrong? After having his way with Miranda on her desk, he leaves to start his own magazine, a fashion glossy for butch, straight dudes; which, when you think about it, is still kind of gay. It's called, Virilite (with an accent on the "e"). The movie climaxes at Fashion Week in Billings, Montana, which Stanley orchestrates and is a wild success. The ladies from Manhattan decide to open a high fashion dude ranch and work for Stanley, who is thrown from a bucking bronco and hits his head again. This time, when he wakes up, he's bi-curious.
Or...
When the mysterious PRADA/SAUGUS sign appers on the Karla's shoe building in Saugus, Mass, Miranda sends Andrea, who is now her features editor, to check it out and write an article about it. As Andrea is snooping around, she goes inside the building and finds a second sign: ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO PURCHASE HERE. Andrea realizes that Miranda literally is the Devil and that the Saugus Prada boutique is a portal to Hell itself! When Miranda finds out that Andrea is on to her, she banishes Emily and Stanley to Hell via the portal, by luring them in with promises of raises and a Prada sample sale. Andrea enlists Simon Denny to journey to Hell with her, find her damned friends and take on Miranda in a hellacious battle royale in the circles of Hell. Who will win? Andrea and her pals or the Evil Miranda, Mistress of Fire and Brimstone? And more importantly, WHO WILL THEY WEAR???
Or...
Stanley Tucci's soul gets trapped inside the Prada Saugus boutique while he's doing some urban spelunking on his way to Ogunquit. It's up to the ladies from Runway magazine to save him! Inside, they find a paralell universe...or better yet, the MCU Multiverse; since Disney now owns TDWP IP; as it was a Fox joint and now Fox is a Dizzney joint. All the more money to be made! The ladies (and Stanley) of Runway magazine are sucked into an event horizon and find themselves battling Darth Vader and whatever it is they call the bad guys in that Universe, alongside the X-Avengers to save the Universe and the MCU and the...whatever...but first, they need to give the X-vengers a fashion makeover, affording the production an intergalactic fashion show, a la The Fashions of 1934, a property nobody remembers that Dizzney could just steal from Warner Bros.!
As Bette Davis was in that, how about when Meryl gets sucked into the black hole, she transmogrifies into Bette Davis, affording her the opportunity to do what could only be a killer impersonation and a GUARANTEED OSCAR (TM/REG./PAT-PEND) nom!??!
Stanley Tucci, seen here in a scene from The Devil Wears Prada 2: Black Hole Souls
TDWP2 - ANCILLARY MONETIZATION -$$$
There must be a Prada tie-in, natch, with a spashy campaign featuring Meryl, Anne, Emily, Stanley and Simon. Oh, and is Adrian Grenier going to be in this? Maybe he's now Stanley's character's lover. Works for me! They will be featured in the pages of Vogue, with Anna Wintour's full endorsement and announcement that she condemns ALL FUR, even FAKE FUR. Even FELT! The cast of the movie will sport Prada's new line of sustainable garments, made from 100% recycled Cinzano umbrellas and Campari ashtrays.
TDWP2 - ANCILLARY MONETIZATION -$$$
There must be a Prada tie-in, natch, with a spashy campaign featuring Meryl, Anne, Emily, Stanley and Simon. Oh, and is Adrian Grenier going to be in this? Maybe he's now Stanley's character's lover. Works for me! They will be featured in the pages of Vogue, with Anna Wintour's full endorsement and announcement that she condemns ALL FUR, even FAKE FUR. Even FELT! The cast of the movie will sport Prada's new line of sustainable garments, made from 100% recycled Cinzano umbrellas and Campari ashtrays.
The Meryl Streep/Prince Capsule Collection for Prada for Walmart
Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway present the Jane Hathaway Collection for Prada Outlet
Stanley Tucci undershirts for Prada's Basement
And so on...
Finally, if none of these ideas fly with the production team, how about at least the premiere at Prada Marfa? I mean, there's lots of parking!
Finally, if none of these ideas fly with the production team, how about at least the premiere at Prada Marfa? I mean, there's lots of parking!
And if not there, how about Prada Saugus? I mean, before it's reclaimed by the earth. Works for me!
Ciao bambinos!
CFR 8/11/24
CFR 8/11/24