At just 21-years-old, designer, model and entrepreneur Judson Harmon confidently stands with two feet firmly planted within the ever-evolving fashion industry. After opening ØDD—a boutique and styling house in NYC’s Lower East Side neighborhood—in October 2012, Harmon continued to impress this past February during New York Fashion Week with the dramatic debut of ØDD’s namesake collection, which included FW13 womens and FW13 mens capsule collections. Brimming with conceptually-driven designs for “men, women and the inbetween,” the ØDD storefront stands to introduce Harmon’s own designs alongside a slew of avant-garde labels and arts-inspired jewelry designers both known and new.  Interview here.

This year, for its production of “The Marriage of Figaro,” the L.A. Phil sourced talents from across the pond, tapping Azzedine Alaïa for costumes and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel for the set.

If you’ve ever wanted to see how to own an interview, read the interview linked from Vivienne Westwood’s portrait.

In the 1937 Springfield Union-News, Dr. Seuss’ sister Marnie noted of her brother, “Ted has another peculiar hobby—that of collecting hats of every description. Why, he must have several hundred and he is using them as the foundation of his next book. I have seen him put on an impromptu show for guests, using the hats as costumes. He has kept a whole party in stitches just by making up a play with kitchen knives and spoons for the actors.”  To mark the 75th anniversary of his book, The 500 Hats of Batholomew Cubbins, the New York Public Library is exhibiting some of Dr. Seuss’s hats.  Slideshow linked above.

In the decades before the Roaring Twenties, nice girls didn’t wear makeup. But that changed when flappers began applying cosmetics that were meant to be noticed, a reaction to the subdued and feminine pre-war Victorian attitudes and styles typified by the classic Gibson girl.

Before the 1920s, makeup was a real pain to put on. It’s no wonder women kept it to a minimum. The tubes, brushes and compacts we take for granted today hadn’t yet been invented. Innovations in cosmetics in the ’20s made it much easier for women to experiment with new looks. And with the increasing popularity of movies, women could mimic the stars—like Joan Crawford, Mae Murray and Clara Bow, an American actress who epitomized the flapper’s spitfire attitude and heavily made-up appearance.  Fun Smithsonian article linked from Miss Crawford above.

In the age of instant uploads and where who is in the front row is more important to media than what’s actually on the runway, one writer asks are there too many runway shows?  Article linked above.

Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez’s label Proenza Schouler comes into its own as the fashion house weathers the startup years, corporate changeovers and business expansion under the watchful eye of some seasoned allies.  Great article linked above.

Finally sat down to watch Bill Cunningham: New York. Which was wonderful and sad all at the same time.  Roger Ebert’s review sums it up perfectly, “It doesn’t matter if you care nothing at all about clothing, fashion or photography. You might still enjoy ‘Bill Cunningham New York,’ because here is a good and joyous man who leads a life that is perfect for him, and how many people do we meet like that?”

“There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love. That leaves no other time.”  The Smithsonian curates their 10 favorite Coco Chanel-isms in time for the legendary designer’s 129th birthday.

The surprisingly stylish Knight’s Armor Hoodie will keep you warm and help you slay some dragons.  More pictures linked above. 

The phenomenal success of the Met’s McQueen retrospective means more and more museums are programming high fashion exhibits (like the Dallas Museum of Art’s Jean-Paul Gaultier retrospective above). The decision has left many museum professionals grappling with strategies for presenting it, funding it, and connecting it to their missions. Great article linked above.

Design for a handbag by Leonardo da Vinci.  The 500-year old drawing is one of tens of thousands included in one of the codexes that were the artist’s notebooks/sketchbooks.  A luxury leather studio in Florence is putting the bag into production for the first time this month.

Yves Béhar, founder of San Francisco-based Fuseproject working from a commission from the Mexican government has designed pop-infused, customizable glasses for Mexico’s kids.  The specs can be produced for $5.00 and help reduce the stigma of wearing donated, recycled frames that have traditionally deterred many students to not wear their glasses.  More info linked above.