More Stunning Body Painting: The M.A.C. Chinese Dress Exhibit

Body painting, body art or body makeup applied in a trompe l'oeil fashion on a naked or barely clad body never seems to grow tiresome . So, after sharing some of the amazing works by Emma Hack, Veruschka, Guido Daniele, and Temptu Paints with you, here's some beautiful body art of a different flavor.



For the opening of the M.A.C. cosmetic boutique in Shanghai a few years ago, talented make-up artists painted the bodies of models in the traditional 17th century Chinese dress referred to as Qi Pao or Cheong Sam. The event in Shanghai was called The Body Painting Cheong-sam Spectacular. Then the show appeared in February 2006 to simultaneously celebrate the Chinese new Year and kick off Olympus Fashion Week. Following that, it came to the United States to tour various Nordstroms, where it was called Chinese Dress.



Body painting is considered the haute couture of cosmetics. It combines the meticulous artistry of an oil painter with the special expertise of a makeup artist who understands how to paint human skin, said James Gager, the creative director of M.A.C.

The practice dates from ancient Egypt, when henna was the paint of choice, and has been practiced for centuries on clowns, mimes, opera singers and actors. It's now become very popular for the technique to be used in advertisements and magazine editorials and covers (who could forget that Demi Moore Vanity Fair cover? shown below)


above: Body makeup for Demi Moore's Vanity Fair cover by Joanne Gair

"Body painting is like a puzzle you are trying to work out on the human form," said Patrick Eichler, a senior makeup artist at MAC who led the team creating the peony qi pao, also known as a cheon gsam, on Ms. Ge. They practiced on her last week in a dress rehearsal for a body painting exhibition scheduled for tonight, marking the opening of New York Fashion Week. She is to be repainted today and appear with 11 other elaborately painted models in the show called "MAC Chinese Dress."



A few years later, the M.A.C. Cosmetics Chinese Dress Exhibition was shown at Nordstrom in San Francisco’s Westfield Shopping Centre. The body painting included the application of over 10,000 crystals as well. It was such a hit, the exhibition then toured various Nordstrom's in the US.

I have images from the exhibitions in both Shanghai and the US, so you will notice that in some instances of the same design, the models vary as does the body makeup slightly.





DRAGON
Design: Sue Wong; Lead Makeup Artist: Demia Keppel; Makeup Artists: Pam Jacobsen, Christine Biggers, MEgan Sutherland, Elisa Nunez, Sylvia Lee, Hallie Jacinto; Headdress: Stephen Jones


PEONIES
Design:Nadine Luke; Lead Makeup Artists: Glenn Moala, Jenn Karsten; Makeup Artists: Yvette Soares, Ignacio Maciel, Jack Caton, Rachel Ervin; Headdress: Stephen Jones




SUN FLOWER
Design:Nadine Luke; Lead Makeup Artist: Christine Salopek; Makeup Artists: Rosana Vares, Jorge Monroy, Noelle Barce; Headdress: Stephen Jones



LILY PAD
Design:Nadine Luke; Lead Makeup Artist: Victor Cembellin; Makeup Artists: Thang Dao, Shauna Pierce, Jennifer Ledo; Headdress: Stephen Jones



GOLD LEAF
Design:Nadine Luke; Lead Makeup Artist: John Stapleton; Makeup Artists: Janilea Mora, Selena Curry; Headdress: Stephen Jones



BLUE WILLOW
Design:Nadine Luke; Lead Makeup Artist: Louise Zizzo; Makeup Artists: Missy Olson, Kelly McCabe, Stacy Maki; Headdress: Stephen Jones



THE WAVE
Design: Nadine Luke; Lead Makeup Artist: Amna Pervez; Makeup Artists: Casey Wallin, Maranda James; Headdress: Stephen Jones




JUICY COUTURE
Design: Juicy Couture; Lead Makeup Artist: Kris Jorgensen; Makeup Artists: Alecia Littledale, Kimmee Park, Miriam Carvalho, Daniel Belena


THE FAN
Design: Nadine Luke; Lead Makeup Artist: Bryan Campbell; Makeup Artists: Manuel “Monroe” Casado, Melinda Cazarez, Beck Morgan, Nick Fancolli; Headdress: Stephen Jones




CHINESE OPERA
Design: Vivienne Tam; Lead Makeup Artist: China-li Nystrom; Makeup Artists: Melissa Kerekes, Sarah Pugh, Jeff Jarwin, Chase Alvarez, Caline Raab; Headdress: Stephen Jones



Here are some great "behind the scenes" shots of the MAC exhibit to kick off Fashion Week:






above: the talented Nadine Luke who served as the designer on most of the painted dresses in the exhibition.

M-A-C Cosmetics is not the only one to paint traditional Chinese dress on naked bodies, other artists have done the same. Here are a few examples for you:





From the Sony Fair 2006 in Times Square, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong:


Thanks to M.A.C. Cosmetics, China Daily and Xinhaunet.com for the images

The IKEA Billy Bookcase Turns 30 & Gets Its Own Book

The IKEA Billy bookcase is a legend by now. Spurring projects like Pimp your Billy,tons of fan sites, hacker sites and youtube videos, it's no wonder the world's best selling customizable bookcase now has it's own book celebrating 30 years of existence and over 41 million bookshelves sold.

The Billy:

above: the classic simple Billy in natural, white or black can then be customized with everything from glass doors, various shelves, tons of configurations and special stickers.


The Book (thanks to a reader, I now know there are 2 versions of this book, the one below in not in English and the one shown at the top of this post IS available in English):




above: The book celebrates 30 years of the Billy Bookcase

The Designer:



Created by Gillis Lundgren (above) in 1979, the bookcase is the bestselling single piece of MDF furniture in the world. Designed by only the fourth employee for Ikea, 41 million have been sold since 1979. The factory where the bookcases are made knocks out 15 Billys a minute; 3.1 million a year.

As it turns 30, some of the IKEA stores are celebrating with a 3 for 2 sale, special limited editions, events and of course, the book.

Special Limited Editions:


Designed by Annika Bryngelsson, the special edition, BILLY JADER is decorated with Shakespheare's love poems, while BILLY BJASTE was inspired by Japanese manga.





Download an animated Billy Bookcase screensaver for your mac or PC here.

See a video of What Your Bookcase Says About You and an article from BBC news here.

The Billy Ballet, an event to celebrate the 3 for 2 sale and birthday:



IKEA

When Gucci Isn't Luxe Enough As Is, Go To Republica

above: Republica adds a diamond and platinum buckle to a Gucci belt



If you're at all familiar with Stuart Hughes and his company Goldstriker, you know him as the ultra luxe purveyor of the world's most luxurious mobile phones clad in gold, diamond and platinum as well as some outrageous gifts like diamond studded golf balls and diamond chess sets.



above: some of the items available from Stuart Hughes and Goldstriker include a gold plated Bang & Olufsen Beo remote



His latest venture, along with his wife, Katharine, is a very high end fashion site called Republica in which they are customizing already luxe clothing and accessories with diamonds and precious metals.

With brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada and Cavalli, they are creating limited versions of some of their products by adding platinum, diamonds, gemstones, exotic skins and more in limited numbers to make them even more exclusive..... and expensive.




The site just launched on October 5th and there are very few items being offered so far (3 to be exact), but here's a peek at the first items being offered by Republica.

Gucci Belt with Diamond and Platinum Buckle:
The Gucci belt below has a buckle recreated by Stuart Hughes in platinum and diamonds and there are only 3 available.



The price? a whopping $168,709.00 USD

The Dolce and Gabbana belt shown below is also limited to 3 and has 53 indivually set diamonds of VVS1 quality totalling a carat weight of 26.5.


The price on the above D&G belt is $91,879.00 USD.

Python Skin Blackberry


The python skin blackberry has lots of VS1 diamonds on the front at the bottom as well as on the back and will run you $9,658.54 USD

If you've got that kind of coin (and God bless you, if you do) start shopping here.

Design That Speaks Volumes. Tiny Speakers With Huge Sound.

I get many requests for paid reviews and posts and turn them all down to maintain the integrity of the blog. Sometimes I find nice little packages for me in the mail, clearly from someone hoping to be added to the hip list. More often than not, the products aren't up to snuff.

But these warranted a mention. The line of speakers from Singapore Based XM-I are not only wonderfully designed (The x-mini even received the prestigious 2008 Red Dot Design Award) but they really work, and are priced right.

They've also received rave reviews from those in the know, so you can be assured from audiophiles far more respected than myself.




Check these out.

The Original X-mini:




The X-mini is the World's first pocketsize speaker with a built-in bass support and rechargeable battery. It strikes the perfect balance of pocketsize portability with uncompromising sound quality.

Pioneering a patented technology which enables an extendable vacuum to mimic the resonance of a sub-woofer, the X-mini is also equipped with high-fidelity speakers to ensure smooth delivery of the mid-highs. The in-built rechargeable batteries would also translate to zero cost on disposable batteries and increased daily convenience.

The X-mini II:



The X-mini™ II introduces a larger 40mm driver to project richer and fuller sounds resulting in superior end-user experience from its innovative capsule design. Not only does the new design deliver unsurpassed audio quality, it now performs even longer. Three times the capacity of its predecessor, the new X-mini™ II comes with a new built-in high capacity rechargeable battery capable of sustained output for 11 hours of nonstop audio pleasure.

A most distinctive feature is the all new system that enables you to connect one X-mini™ II to another, capable of forming an almost endless “daisy chain” of self-powered, bass-enhanced portable speaker system.



Finally to eliminate cumbersome audio cables dangling from the speaker, the connecting audio cable can be tucked neatly into the base for a cleaner and sleeker look.




The X-Mini Max (capsule version):



The X-mini Max (Second generation):



Thanks to Alexander Yap for the red X-mini Max II photos


•Pocketsize Portability
Small enough to carry around. Connected at the bottom by two magnetic base for hassle free storage and portability on a daily basis.

•Bass Xpansion System
Pioneering a patented technology, an expandable vacuum which mimics the resonance of a subwoofer

•In-Built Rechargeable Batteries
The in-built rechargeable batteries will translate to zero cost on disposable batteries and increased daily convenience

And keep an eye out for their latest edition, The X-mini Happy:



all images courtesy of X-mini and XM-I.




Shop for all the cool X-mini speakers here.


above: IM-X CEO Ryan Lee, photo courtesy of BusinessWeek

CEO Ryan Lee's speakers have made him one of Asia's Best Young Enterpreneurs, see the BusinessWeek article here.

If you are into loudspeakers, don't miss this post all about some of the most unusually designed speakers on the market:


Speaker Manufacturers Turn Up The Volume On Design