Style Like U » Author

RZA

lily — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:51:18 +0000

occupation: founder of the Wu Tang Clan, composer of film scores, actor, aspiring movie director, author of “The Tao of Wu”

“I look for the understanding of things. I don’t judge.” RZA

When I was interviewing RZA for this site, I kept thinking royalty, in the ideal sense, noble, and captivating. RZA is mesmerizing, handsome, articulate, learned, gentle, soft-spoken, and humble. In his presence, you feel as if he should be on a pulpit, and that anything he dons becomes something akin to the regality of a velvet cloak. Ever a relucant icon, he is simply dressed but unfailingly elegant. His home is filled with his omnipresent extended family, his beloved chess boards, and his voluminous collection of books. RZA’s own style, as well as that of the Wu Tang Clan, is seen through the rebirth of the Wallabee, Asian-influenced embroidery on camouflage, colorful Timberlands, and few make a doo rag look as classy (I cant’ stop envisioning how drop dead chic Rza would be in a tuxedo with his do-rag, something he told me he does wear). Most of all, his aesthetic is based in his passion for drawing from all cultures. It is beyond impressive that he is self-taught in almost every subject, including medicine, and understood Freud at the age of 9, even while stuggling to survive in the worst adversity. This philosophical approach to knowledge is evident in the iconic Wu logo – a W made up of an axe, blade, sword, eagle, and a phoenix. Wu Tang is also famous for popularizing the hoodie, and RZA has taken this one step further, designing his own fur hooded sweatshirt. RZA’s real name (to hear more about the derivation of his pseudonym, check out the picture captions) is Robert F. Diggs, after Robert F. Kennedy and JFK. In his youth, he was first embarrassed by the name’s slavery-based derivation, but now sees it as honorable, not only because of the idealogy of its namesake, but also for the name’s roots in British aristocracy. His unquenchable thirst for knowledge has led him to see the good in everything. However, the power behind RZA’s magnetism, in my opinion, is that he doesn’t equate success with fame. Despite all of his accomplishments, he still doesn’t see himself as successful – just blessed.

Edmundo Desnoes & Felicia Rosshandler

elisa — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:43:32 +0000

occupation: Edmundo is a novelist and collage artist. Felicia is a novelist and photographer.

When Elizabeth Burns, who we featured, recommended Felicia and Edmundo to me for our site on style, I had no idea that I was walking into a movie-worthy love story, one that spans oceans and covers over sixty years, in addition to encountering a couple with an abundance of class, taste, and accomplishments. Felicia escaped the Nazis at 10 years old, fled to Cuba, fell in love with Edmundo at 16, and left for NYC at the age of 17 with her family. Edmundo left Cuba after the revolution in 1979, relocated to Manhattan, and 45 years later, after other marriages, they finally consummated their relationship and have been together ever since. She has written an autobiographical novel, “Passing Through Havana”, that deals with escape from Nazi Europe to landing in sunny Havana, and discusses blooming adolescence under the Batista dictatorship and her eventual move to New York. Edmundo is the author of one of Cuba’s most famous books, “Memories of Underdevelopment,” that was made into a film and was recently chosen by critics to be the most important Ibero-American film of all time. To get the full experience, please watch their video. It is hard to do justice, in writing , to Edmundo’s passion for life and culture, including style and the power of black. To support his belief that “first impressions” matter and that “surface is depth”, he refers to Picasso’s Guernica, Spanish nobility, the Surrealists, and the poetry of Ralph Waldo Emerson (kind of a dream as the author of this site). Felicia is equally mesmerizing in her composed manner and classic beauty, with tips on everything from the attributes of a pin on a lapel to the virtues of the timeless scarf. She is compelling with her life story that spreads over continents, in addition to her fascinating photographic documentation of the flawless Barbie doll and its unconscious symbolism. One of the most satisfying aspects of documenting all of these amazing people for me has been the connections within this evolving social community of artists and talent. When I was filming Sophia Lamar, who is our previous headliner, she began to tell me about how much she admired a particular Cuban writer, Edmundo Desnoes, who’s movie was shot in her doctor’s office where she grew up in Havana.

Edmundo’s Links:
Check out the Trailer / Teaser for the movie “Memorias del Desarrollo” based on Edmundo’s Novel.
Add Edmundo on Facebook!
Check out Edmundo’s his book “Memories of Underdevelopment” on Amazon.

Felicia’s Links:
Click here for more info on Felicia’s Book, “Passing Through Havana”
Click here to read a conversation Felicia had with Otium Magazine.

Beatrix Ost

elisa — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:35:18 +0000

Beatrix had me when she claimed that her greatest inspiration is the warmth of people. I have thought about it so many times since. It’s such a joyful and open way to live life, and you can see it in her glow and feel it in her presence. She is the living embodiment of style, and being in her space puts me on a high. Not only does she give attention to every detail of her apartment, cooking, painting, and writing, but more then anything, I wish I could get it together to design my own clothes like she does. We haven’t had a chance to photograph her on her farm yet, but it’s equally as amazing. Nothing that she owns or does is without meaning. She supported a family of Tibetan monks for a year, by commissioning them to make the rug that is now in her living room, and the rug is inscribed from a page in her personal notebook! I am most obsessed with Beatrix’s long and purple-tinted, snow white hair and fantasize about my own looking like that one day.

Beatrix’s favorite designers are Comme Des Garcons, Vivienne Westwood, Azzedine Alaia, Yohji Yamamoto, Ronaldus Shamask, and Philip Treacy. She can’t live without her lipstick, and her signature’s are her rings and ankle boots. Her first book is called “My Father’s House: A Childhood in Wartime Bavaria”

Beatrix’s Favorite stores are Barney’s, Issey Miyake, Christie’s, Mood Fabrics, IF Boutique, INA, Tokyo Joe, Tokio 7, Resurrection, and Yu.

Heron Preston

elisa — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:55:48 +0000

I totally relate to Heron’s love of the connectivity between creative people, especially within the density of cities. He had this incredibly novel idea to publish “The Young and the Banging,” a yearbook which brings together some of the new up-and-coming thinkers and artists of New York City. He will be doing more of them in many different cities, with London on deck. He is a mover and a shaker, with a vision to start a new model of an advertising agency, by utilizing a rotating group from the pool of “The Young and the Banging,” for fresh and of-the-moment ideas. I met him after shooting a few people from his book for this site, and I was so excited to meet someone else who is inspired by people, like I am. Heron can pull off anything from Ralph Lauren head-to-toe, to a Coogi sweater. I am fascinated by how unexpected his style influences are, like the elderly Chinese on the bus in his neighborhood in Chinatown. His tattoos are artful explanations of some great life stories, especially the one about how his birth certificate dates him 100 years older than he is!

Heron’s favorite stores are Double RL, Uniqlo, Supreme NY, Ralph Lauren, Uncle Sam’s Army Navy Store, Colette, and Ken Claude.