Melissa Spring/Summer '08

by Phuong-Cac Nguyen

The thought of plastic shoes, as in jellies, makes some of us run for the door. But Brazil's Melissa (also known for their eye-catching revolving store design) has been gladly enlisting legions of shoe-crazy females to their cause. The latest, 100% recyclable footwear made via injection molds features seven new models under the theme "Bedtime Stories" and is about to hit stores for the spring/summer season here in Brazil. These designs are super sexy, despite any bad connotations with the nasty "P" word.

But how they fit is key. Melissa's shoes are surprisingly comfortable and come with well-placed air holes (and no joke: each shoe has been made to smell like a mixture of jelly beans, lollipops and gumballs for an association with happy memories), so sweat-conscious feet shall not fear.

In fact, the new looks are all about airy sandals, wedges and kitten heels in glossy, bright, solid colors, designed (as usual) by some of the biggest Brazilian designer names, like Alexandre Herchkovitch, Triton and Isabela Capeto (pictured above left), to keep models current. Melissa's press material brags about its sustainable development process, but it would be a fresh of breath air for them to come up with an easy recycling program for customers.

Tip: Opening Ceremony's NYC store carries the brand regularly.

Also on Cool Hunting: AH Tennis

Interview with Murray Moss

by Ami Kealoha

Freshly back from opening a version of his museum/store in L.A., we rang NYC-based proprietor Murray Moss to check in with him about his first-ever space outside of Manhattan. Mr. Moss filled us in on the renovation process, Donut shop architecture and "leaners." He also made the unavoidable reference to walking in L.A. and, thankfully, didn't bring up the whole burnt piano thing (not that we didn't love it).

Hi Murray, how are you?
I've been running around. It's so crazy. I've been in L.A. a solid three weeks opening the store and at the same time doing the first installation. Now I'm just going to breathe for a moment.

But you know L.A.'s perfect. That's what I've come away from this whole experience with. The first thing everyone wants to know is, how does it rank? It's a classic New York-L.A. thing. I was really happy to be there, but you can't make any comparisons. People kept saying to me, “Chill out.” First of all, I've never chilled out a day in my life. And I thought, “How can they say that. We have to get something done!”

I'm glad you brought that up. I wanted to ask you about how your experience has been different in L.A.
I never really thought about it, but I knew. My instinct was that I wasn't going to copy it. Look, our business is showing things because we don't make anything. We don't design. Really it's about how you show things. In New York it's about being on Greene street in Soho in a 1890s cast iron building with people living above you. When we started it was a gallery district—we were between Pace and Metro—and now it's something else.

In L.A. we first picked the space because we liked that it was in the fashion district. We almost signed a lease in a sofa district, but we decided to do a place where you're not pegged. So we decided to go Melrose. I liked that Marc Jacobs was there, Theory and Helmut Lang's coming—it's more like people with their eyes open. Also what I like about it is it hasn't happened yet. It's nicer to do your thing rather than crashing.

In New York, not to be presumptuous, but we created something. It just seemed more energetic on Melrose. Now we'll be part of L.A. history.

And the space in L.A.?
It's very beautiful to me because it's sort of raised a step up. Unlike New York where we had to make stages, you're automatically at the perfect viewing height and you see a perfect shot of it from the street. What was amusing to me was, how do you attract attention and make a window display when in L.A. really nobody's walking? When I was walking there the other day, I ran in to one other person and they were from New York!

Continue reading...

Kaiserin Magazine

by Ami Kealoha

Eclectic, crazy and refreshing, Kaiserin Magazine should be on everyone's required summer reading list. Founded in 2006 by Arnaud-Pierre Fourtané and Didier Fitan, this French-English bilingual biannual calls itself "a magazine for boys with problems and all the girls who like them." It features the work of both established and emerging artists, photographers, authors, designers and illustrators who address homosexuality in their work.

The second issue—called the Ecstasy Collective (or L'Extase Collective for our baguette-wielding friends)—is out now and features diverse content including a hysterical shower orgy photographed in the basement of the Warhol Museum by Bruce LaBruce (pictured below right), black and white sketches of organic and fluid forms by Matthieu Levet, and a series of photographic portraits of ex-lovers by Nicolas Wagner. My favorite feature from Issue 02 is "Voisinage/Neighborhood", the series of ghostly photographs by Christian Siekmeier of different living spaces around where he grew up with childhood crushes posing inside. (Pictured below left.)

The Kaiserin website has additional content under their Galleries section: music, videos, and artwork that complement the print version. Issue 02 is available worldwide at select retailers or from their online shop.

by Andrew Tilbury

Neon Graveyard

by Lost At E Minor

An insight into the flashy history of Las Vegas, Neon Graveyard is a photographic collection of disused billboards and signs shot by Carl Lukasewich at the Reed Whipple Cultural Center.