Just attended what we thought was the Paco Rabanne fashion show here in LA, and it was actually his apprentice. Fashion shows blow me away sometimes with the things that people create. Who would actually wear some of these pieces. Couture is one thing, but if it’s Ready to Wear? A girl strutting the runway in a gold shiny onzie with some hip tassels is not what I nor a lot of my fellow comrades would call hot.

People watching at fashion shows is even better. You’ve got all the fashionistas that wear some pretty bizarre attire and think they’re all that and a bag of chips. I think that is almost more of a show than the actual show.

I worked at back stage at the fashion shows in Paris for two seasons. It was a great time! Trekking across the city to each nostalgic venue leaves me with many fantastic memories. Not that LA is any Paris, but I thought the shows here would be a bigger production. The big Paris shows have all the top models you see in Vogue and every high end clothing campaign you see. The backstage energy is super fun, especially getting to chat up the models. The hair and makeup can get a little freakish especially when it’s designers like Galliano, The above shot is of Tiiu backstage at the Galliano show. She’s a sweetie.

Here’s a few more shots from one of the shows a couple years ago.
http://www.nickonken.com/Stories/GallianoBackstage/

Just finished washing Cashback for probably at least the 10th time. That film for me is one of the most inspiring films I’ve seen visually. Check out the making of here. If you didn’t catch my previous post, check it out here.

Grand Avenue plays the song at the end, called "She". I’ve scoured iTunes and Amazon, but can’t find this one song but you can check it out on their myspace page. The rest of the album is fantastic. They’re like Coldplay meets Mat Kearney. I’m definitely adding it to my list of  music faves.

Checked into the Ace Hotel in Portland last night. Fantastic little eclectic spot right in heart of downtown Portland. I love Portland as it has great restaurants, micro beers, coffee shops, etc. It’s very neighborhoody and community oriented. I have a great group of friends to visit here. Kudos to Portland.

The hotel has a vintage/retro designed look. It’s fit for the hipster traveler. If you’ve ever been to the Standard downtown LA, The Ace reminds me of a vintage version.

Here’s the room:

My brand new (RED) Converse arrived in the mail today. I’m pretty stoked on them. You can design your own Product (RED) Converse on the Converse website. You can now spend money on shoes for a cause, and on top of that you can create your own custom shoes.

Design is progressive and inspirational. The Product (RED) campaign was inspired and created by Bono. A hip way to give back to the world. Sometimes I wonder if giving back has gotten too hip. Doing it just for the sake of being cool leaves me with the question: Is it better to give out of hipness than to not give at all?

All in all, I think the Product (RED) and the One campaigns are great.  Either way, it’s inspiring to see design helping to change the world.