The one-two punch:
So the question is this: How is it that Apples in Stereo is the coolest band in the universe?
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After spending a long, long weekend taking in the sounds (and more amusingly, the sights) at the annual Pitchfork Music Festival here in Chicago, I’m needing some recuperation time from all the rock.
One of the stranger sights seen at this indie rock hipster heaven?
Some guy wearing an Arising! tour t-shirt. (Note, the baseball style, not the one pictured.)
I don’t know if he was trying to be ironic.
The Stickman Steve blog, which claims “I abuse the news” in its byline, reports that “Billy Corgan Does Not Look Like Himself Lately” at the recent premiere of “Iron Man.” Nevermind the fact that reliable ol’ BC is sporting the stripes he’s so popularized FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF. The statement is just completely inaccurate, and easily fact-checked for anyone with the following:
What’s hilarious though, is his allegation that Corgan is trying to “look Abercrombie and Fitch.” See here for his Photoshop jokey-joke:
Really? Is that what A&F preaches these days to the teenage mall hordes? Thin, bald men in stripes and cropped pants? I thought they proffered fewer clothes and more smut:
For the record: The day Billy Corgan or Jimmy Chamberlin pose a la A&F is the day I tender my HU resignation.
Gawker Media Network’s Jezebel blog gives Billy Corgan a style thumbs-up for sporting this red-carpet ensemble in Los Angeles at the “official premiere” of the new movie:
Whoah: It’s Billy Corgan. He can wear whatever the fuck he wants. Especially when it involves a stripey shrirt, cropped pants, and a hat.
UNWORN AND UNWASHED and yours for 99 cents (or the high bid) plus $10 for shipping (to the U.S., anyway) from Stockholm. Thnks fr th fk mmrs.
One of my favorite snark-blogs, Geekologie, alerted me to a new way I can play Cherub Rock for Guitar Hero — it’s called AIR GUITAR and they made a t-shirt for it. Looks like it’s t-shirt week on Hipsters United!
What a concept. Air guitar for Guitar Hero addicts who are playing a video game version of air guitar-ing-ing. Err..
They’ve come a long way, baby.
The Smashing Pumpkins have been indubitably tied to fashion - well, at least since Mellon Collie brought financial stability and catapulted them into the Public Eye. But what has impressed me most in the span of their career is the penchant for drama - not simply vain haute couture - that drives their style. They’ve toed the avant-garde line during the Adore and Machina eras with Jean-Paul Gaultier jumpsuits just as dramatically as their fun, costumed tour looks (Jeff Schroeder’s cape, anyone?). The infamous Zero shirt became an icon for moody American teens and the black and white stripes so prevalent last year have started turning up in droves at the Swedish mega-retailer H&M. Let’s hope the mental-ward scrubs Billy Corgan sported last year will never achieve popularity beyond Britney Spears.
But what is this history of this fashion fascination? What is their relationship to cultural couture?
As far back as 1995 and 1996, the Pumpkins worked with Arianne Phillips, a then-barely-known but now Oscar-nominated costume designer. Presumably, Phillips worked with them on their music videos and touring garb as that was her primary focus at the time. In this 1997 article from the New York Times, she explains her perspective on the relationship between fashion and music:
“Getting” a subject’s cultural context, whether it is a portrait she is styling or a character she is defining in a film, is her signature. For instance, she came up with the idea of dressing Ice-T in a policeman’s uniform on the cover of Rolling Stone when his controversial song ”Cop Killer” was released, in 1992.
‘I got disillusioned with fashion for fashion’s sake,” she said. ”The great thing about musicians is, you have an art base to work with. If I work with a new band, I’ll ask for a tape, and they’ll say, ‘Why?’ I’ll say, ‘I’m dressing a band.”
Regardless of the fact that Ice-T now plays a detective on Law & Order: SVU, I would surmise that the cultural contextualization Phillips sought to achieve resonated with the Pumpkins early on. They went on a year after this article was published to perform at the 1998 VH1 Fashion Awards after their music video for Ava Adore received a nod for “Most Stylish Video.” Download their performance of Crestfallen here.
More recently, the band has worked with Elise Overland, who just showed her collection at New York Fashion Week this month. VH1 gave an interview with her recently, in which she discusses her relationship as a designer to the music world — check out that interview here. However, Billy Corgan is not the only band member soliciting designs for the band from Gaultier and famous costume houses, though. The entire band has always been active in the fashion community.
Former guitarist James Iha and designer Anna Sui grew their friendship in the 90’s, with Iha modeling looks for her runway shows and designing t-shirts for her quirky line. Iha, a very public fan of fashion, frequents NYC’s Fashion Week, making numerous appearances at shows for Anna Sui’s collections as well as Benjamin Cho and others. [pictured at left during Fashion Week, Fall 2006]
Former bassist Melissa auf der Maur also follows designers closely. In a fantastic article for W Magazine, auf der Maur explores her love for fashion, reveals how she met the Smashing Pumpkins in 1990, and jokes about cruising local malls’ Sunglass Huts with James Iha on the Machina tour in 2000. Citing Michelle Mason, Arianne Phillips, Zaldy, Olivier Theyskens , and Versace as some of her favorite designers, she too modeled runway fashions for Theyskens and did print modeling for Calvin Klein. She elaborates on her taste in a New York Times Arts Feature - and on her first fashion mentor, Courtney Love:
Ms. Love introduced Ms. Auf der Maur to arena rock, but along the way Ms. Love also opened the door on the world of fashion. Ms. Auf der Maur, who was a thrift-shop devotee who had never worn makeup or tweezed an eyebrow, now wears the clothes of several designers she counts as friends. She even got a taste of the runway in 1999 after the Belgian designer Oliver Theyskens made her a dress she loved, a racy update of a Victorian gown, and asked her to model it in Paris.
“I couldn’t resist,” she said.
The current look on the Smashing Pumpkins tour features Corgan in a floor-length silver frock, emblazoned with varying icons depicting Saturn or the curious “999.” The futuristic look is not surprising to fans, however. We’re used to the theatrics - personally, I think they’re quite fun. In fact, now that I think about it, isn’t the look a kitschy, futuristic Rocket-Music-Video-meets-Machina-Mystery?!
Billy Corgan on the Pumpkins’ now-completed preparations for Europe:
We are very excited and feel this is a strong step forward towards both the future and honoring the past… Oh, and I got new clothes :) everybody else too!
Their sartorial mystery tour starts tonight in Prague.
