kanye's way or the runway

Frock and Roll is back from the dead again, bringing you some breaking news. Kanye West, fresh off the release of his Auto-Tune-heavy sad song album 808s and Heartbreak, has announced that he not only wants to volunteer his services as a fashion intern, but might take some time off from music to do so. I applaud him taking this dream seriously (he's already designed men's shoes for Louis Vuitton) and joining the ranks of unpaid interns everywhere, but this just screams Sean Avery, Part Deux. Can you see Kanye schlepping Starbucks and spending hours organizing the showroom, like a real intern? That will teach you how the fashion industry really works. All bitterness aside, let's face it -- Kanye's clothes would be the shit.

[Showbiz Spy via The Cut, photo credit: 1]

After a brief hiatus, Frock and Roll is back WITH A VENGEANCE. In September, the world turned its attention to the creative elite, as designers in New York, London, Milan, and Paris, along with a number of smaller markets, presented their spring 2009 collections. Designers invest countless hours and thousands of dollars to insure that their clothing debuts in the best possible light, and music helps to define the mood and inspiration of the collection. Read on to hear about the songs used in some of my favorite designers' spring shows.

3.1 Phillip Lim
The fashion world's love affair with MGMT continues (Frieda Giannini even dedicated Gucci's latest men's line to the band). This time, Phillip Lim selected their hit "Electric Feel" along with Radiohead's "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi" to compliment his Andalusian-inspired collection. He could've have set the scene better by picking out a few songs with latin flair such as Tilly and the Wall's "Bad Education," but maybe I'm just being picky.

Alexander Wang
New York's resident cool kid, hailed in the glossies as the new Marc Jacobs, didn't fail to disappoint. You know you've made it in the fashion world when A-Dubs (aka Anna Wintour, Vogue's editor-in-chief) makes a front row appearance, and the music was just as edgy and fun as the clothes. The sassy, high energy set included Santogold's "You'll Find A Way" and "Handful" by Kelis.

Boy by Band of Outsiders
Scott Sternberg's line is all about classic clothing with a retro feel and a playful twist. The music played during his non-runway presentation hits that note straight on. Check out Magnetic Fields "Absolutely Cuckoo", and "Noah" by Devendra Banhart. And yes, that is Kirsten Dunst in the photo.



Zac Posen
The dashing Zac Posen must have a thing for Stockholm sweetie Lykke Li. His models walked exclusively to her quirky, catchy "Dance Dance Dance" and "I'm Good, I'm Gone." But her tunes were a perfect backdrop to the cute cocktail dresses and red-carpet-worthy gowns that graced the stage.


Other notables: In a case of forgivable nepotism, Charlotte Ronson roped in her brother, accomplished DJ Mark Ronson, to spin a mix including The Pipettes, Lily Allen, and Sigur Ros; DVF showed her super girly side by closing with Diana Ross's "I'm Coming Out" ; Marc Jacobs wins the Unexpected Music Selection Award by rocking out to Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue."

UPDATE: You asked, I answer. Click here for all of these songs organized into one folder for easier downloading. Due to the limitations of our free account, you will still have to get each file individually, but this at least makes it slightly more convenient.

Credits: all photos, style.com. check out vanity fair for the complete list of music compiled by heidi smith.

After New York Fashion week flew by (and then everyone in the industry customarily ignored London's time in the spotlight), I'm restless and desperately need a break from style.com slideshows. Just my luck--the creative geniuses at Prada commissioned the band Antony and the Johnsons to compose a piece representing their Fall/Winter 2008 collection, and produced an animated vid to go with.  (The video for "Fallen Shadows" finally hit the net in conjunction with their fall merch rollout.)

The video incorporates the overall surreal, dreamy vibe of the collection, as well as directly referencing the ever-present guipure lace and organic shapes critics raved about this fall (see photo above).  This collaboration is the sequel to last season's "Trembled Blossoms," featuring music by Cocorosie, although this time around, the animation takes a backseat and the music can be appreciated as a stand-alone piece.

Antony and the Johnsons can also be heard covering Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" for the I'm Not There soundtrack.  Their 5 song EP Another World is set to be released Oct 7, with a full album, The Crying Light, to follow in January.

credits: photo, video can be viewed and downloaded for free (in quicktime, ipod, and prada phone formats) at prada.com.  thanks to michael, whose title idea was probably better than mine.

Welcome to my very own column, FROCK AND ROLL, which hits the internets every Wednesday.  Each week I'll discuss something related to the intersection between music and fashion.

This week: the Sri Lankan songstress M.I.A.  I figured she would be a good choice since, thanks to the movie Pineapple Express, the rest of the country just discovered "Paper Planes."   What do you know, she just came out with her own clothing line!  It seems to me like M.I.A. herself is the only one who would (read: should) wear the "mexico body," a $100 onsie emblazoned with a frenetic print. 

Here's my take on how to translate M.I.A.'s 80s neon mishmash style (her Myspace might be dangerous for epileptics) into something fun for the rest of us.  Wear with confidence.

     

silk romper, chloe, on sale (haha) for $866.25, and magenta skirt, 3.1 phillip lim, $311.25, at netaporter.com.  converse high tops, $49.99, journeys.com.  headphones, and belts, $10 each, fredflare.com.  dries van noten bangle necklace, roughly $830, and balenciaga t-shirt dress, brownsfashion.com.  collage created on polyvore.com.