Okay, you can’t keep the clothes, but you can keep the faith: yes, „we are living in a material world”, but the guys at the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent were kind enough to let us all enter the magical world of the Master, who’s pieces of perfection enchanted the fashion lovers for over four decades. Even the famous fans, actress Mena Suvari and pop princess Kylie Minogue would be amazed by seeing such a high concentration of “chic” in such a small p(a)lace.

The Salas Recoletos museum of Foundation Mapfre gives home for the breathtaking exhibition of the immortal fashion dictator, where all the dolls are dressed for success, and all the guys are, well, of course, gay. Just a few corners away from Madrid’s (in)famous gay village, Chueca, 150 original creations of beauty, luxury and art, over 80 hand drawn sketches, classic photos, and vintage fashion videos are showing us the deep impact of Monsieur Saint Laurent on the Universe of couture, organised in eleven thematically set up sections, from Haute Couture to Prêt-a-Porter.

The exhibit, previously presented only in Paris’s Petit Palace, and welcomes all empty wallets and glitter-filled imagination.

Have a look, darling!

Travelling to London there is nothing more stressful than walking in to a fully packed, crowded shopping temple, and try to see trough the mess the sales-hunters built up in the name of the new year resolution: changing their wardrobes, entirely. Well, okay… the chance of meeting Katie Price in real life is actually more stressful, but let’s not be pessimists. Back to style: who wants to wear the discounted stuff, anyways, knowing that it just a matter of time, when will it appear on a stranger on the street in front of us, or – even worse – on one of the party people, rocking your fav club, wearing the exact same outfit as yours. However, no one can leave the Brit’s capital at this time of the year (and any other time, of course) without stuffing a huge bag full of clothing and accessories… it’s London, baby! In the city, where Johnny Rotten, Twiggy, Debbie Harry and Harry Potter are the local heroes, you don’t need to go “bling-bling” to get attention: forget the high streets and get yourself into the much less posh, but much more interesting style-states: charity shops. In the UK the charity shop phenomenon is larger than life and cheaper than dirt: you can dress up from top to bottom, for 22 Sterlings. Walking around East London, from Hackney Central up to Clapton Pond there are five treasure caves, each and every one of them is supporting a different organisation. Civil rights, animal care, homeless issues, and religious foundations are the inspirations for the dedicated volunteers to collect money in these small shops, presenting a wide range of goods: not to be missed vintage stuff from local old peeps, and brand new goodies from youngsters who just didn’t like their Christmas presents as much as they love to do good. True fashionistas must check out the bookshelves as well: fashion photography and illustration albums are often sold for ridiculous prices.

Check out the listing here, and you’ll understand why Oxford and Regent streets are full of tourists, while the real cool Londoners are hopping on bus 38, heading to Hackney with an organic textile bag and a huge smile on their face… almost covered by a “to-die-for” vintage sunglasses. And where did they get them? The answer is always charity shops, my love!

Milan Fashion Week… via FTV

In connection with footwear, the Italian woman is perfect from the top of her head to the tip of her shoes. Hence, if you aim to travel to Milan think hard about what you pack in your suitcase, since pretty accessories in this city are not enough, even for mere survival. A unique attitude is inseparable from quality clothing in Italy. Rumour in rather high circles has it that Allegra Versace, the omnipotent heiress of the fashion empire, learnt the alphabet of fashion before the regular ABC … “Armani, Barocco, Byblos, Cavalli, Dolce, Exté, Fendi, Gucci, Missoni, Prada, Trussardi, Valentino, Versace”. Easy and rhythmic, or perhaps ‘easy peasy’, like the sound of shoe heels hitting the streets of Milan.

Shopping in luxury

The mission – what else could we call a shopping trip to Milan? – should start in the Quadrilatero, the city’s famous fashion quarter. Luxury is the motto. Glittering diamonds, jewellery which has been dreamt up and sculpted in gold by the most prominent masters, fine fabrics and pretty accessories, including footwear, which can justifiably be called works of art. Via Montenapoleone is the most famous street in the Quadrilatero. The boutiques and stores of Gucci, Versace, Ferragamo, Prada and Valentino can all be found here. The street is crossed by Via Sant’Andrea, where the might of Italian fashion can be compared with French legends, since here a Chanel boutique allures fashionistas. If you are content with window-shopping, Via della Spiga should not be missed. After all, the windows of D&G, Krizia, Bvlgari and Chopard offer nothing short of a museum visit. Via Manzoni houses a real designer’s universe, the Spazio Armani. Besides the salon we can also visit the Armani Casa, selling furniture and objects for the home, and if you want to relax with a taste of creamy cappuccino there is nothing better than the Emporio Armani Café.

Weekdays alla Italiano

If you can do with less luxury, make your way to the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the street of sophisticated style – this is where the Max Mara and Pollini boutiques are, but on the way to Dome Square stores serving a wider public can also be found. The Corso Buenos Aires lays claim to being Europe’s longest street, full of irresistible stores from beginning to end. Lovers of everyday elegance can pick and choose at leisure from the selections of Benetton, Sisley or S.Olive. Via Torino and Corso di Porta Ticinese emphasise the trend for young fashionistas, so it’s no surprise to find these streets filled with students and teenagers. The nearby Navigli is the citadel of vintage fanatics, Piazza XXIV Maggio, its centre, offering alternatives for those who want to stand out in the crowd – crazy accessories, second-hand clothes shops and eccentric home design stores. Everything is here which is needed for emphasis – Italian fashion may be classic, but we can indulge in anything.

Antique and modern

The mission simply cannot be complete without a visit to Milan’s noted markets. The Fiera di Senigallia has grown into a real institution. Every Saturday morning the Viale d’Annunzio fills with life, colours and scents, and the whole neighbourhood echoes with the characteristic cries of flea markets. This one is a real cultural melting pot, since merchandise from India, South America and Africa can be found here, alongside new and used clothing, books, comics and rare records sold by local traders. While marvelling at the variety of goods you are followed by Senegalese musicians creating a perfect harmony. The Mercatone del Naviglio Grande is held on the last Sunday of each month in the area of the Alzaia Naviglio Grande. The market features antiquities and bric-a-brac of four hundred antique dealers, and you can also purchase magnificent pieces of jewellery –which you are not likely to encounter adorning anyone else!

In the wake of disappearing colours

So what’s the latest fashion? “Everything is about detail,” asserted Roberto Cavalli at his latest show. “Today all fashion has to do is transfer traditional clothing into the everyday and cleverly fuse the genuine with the fake – be it jewellery, leather or textile. Dare to experiment and forget grey.” The new collections of some fashion houses have shown almost shockingly bold reds and blues, and the conquest of huge, colourful shopping bags on the catwalk seems to continue. The message of the new season is – today’s individual is searching for the garment that is her perfect fit in every sense. The solution, according to the greatest gurus, is returning from the 1960s: perfectly tailored suits with slender lines, dresses of velvet and taffeta, convincing the enthralled audience that there is not a single item they would not like to wear – immediately. That’s the feeling which can only be described as the Milanese miracle.

This entry was published originally in the Hungarian fashion and trend magazine, Fashion Street.

Rob still got it…

How do you feel when you’re offered parts that aren’t entirely normal?

Zach Galifianakis (ZG): I only get … I really haven’t been offered a lot of parts except by Todd, but they’re never normal. But I prefer that … I like it.

Robert Downey Jnr (RDJ): This just reminded me … it had the potential to be like some of the films tonally that I’d grown up really enjoying, and that impacted me. But it had its own sensibility, obviously as it’s a Todd Phillips movie, and then it was just an incredibly creative venture.

How did you develop your screen chemistry?

RDJ: (Looks at Zach) Don’t just stand there with glistening eyes, answer the fucking question!

ZG: Yes, sir.

RDJ: He’s formulating his answer to the question now, while he stumbles getting ready to answer the question.

ZG: I think you’re seeing the chemistry in action, this is basically how it went down each morning: insults, insults, insults, and then somehow magically and beautifully some of that energy was put into the movie, quite honestly. Pretty good answer, huh?

In comedy how far is too far, and that’s for everyone but especially Zach?

RDJ: He’s the wrong person to ask.

ZG: I think with Todd’s movies, that’s the whole point, to go too far. Sometimes in comedy I would imagine you have to do that because so many beats have been done in movies before but the good thing about Todd is that there are things, like a masturbating dog, that you haven’t seen since the old silent films.

Is it true that you were allergic to the dog?

ZG: I have an allergy to certain … Yes, I got a hair in my eye and my eye got big but there’s not much of a story there.

Robert, this is a question not about this film…

RDJ: What is the pertinence? What the fuck is wrong with you people, can’t we just talk about what we’re going to talk about?

It’s about your career?

RDJ: I’m sorry, go ahead.

You’re very successful right now…

RDJ: Yeah, right now. I love the preface. What’s with the passive aggression? What’s the fucking question?

And you’ve had ups and downs in your life...

RDJ: Oh fuck, here we go. Couldn’t have called it.

Was it a hard struggle, when you came back after years of…

RDJ: Next question please.

Zach, your character seems very camp in the film. What is this very gay thing what you are doing?

Director Todd Phillips (TP): He’s not playing a gay.

Yes, I know that, that’s why I don’t understand why is he acting like very stereotypical one.

ZG: I think the character is theatrical and emotional and a little show offy and if that’s gay then I’m gay. Todd and I discussed that, we didn’t want him to be seen either way.

TP: We wanted to make sure he came off as asexual but we made a point of pointing out that he lost his virginity at nine-years-old to Sheila Pimples, so there’s a badge of heterosexuality I think.

RDJ: There was more to that, wasn’t there?

TP: Well it used to be his dad’s secretary but people had issues with that.

ZG: Heart of gold but slow typist.

You’ve worked with Todd on three films in short space of time, so is he the love of your life?

ZG: To be honest, Todd is the … (rattles cup and saucer in mock embarrassment) I’m very fortunate that Todd and I got to meet because I don’t think I would have been given this big an opportunity from other directors who saw what he did … whatever he saw. And we do work very well together and I’m very appreciative and I do think about it every day, because he texts me to remind me!

Robert, you spat on the dog, how did it take to that?

RDJ: I think one of the things I love about Due Date is that I get kicked off the plane and then the guys says: “The person you travelled with …” And I say: “I’ve never met that dipshit in my life!” And he says: “He had nothing but nice things to say about you.” And Todd Phillips said: “Just to make it definitive that you don’t want to hang out with this clown anymore, just spit in his dog’s face.” It was right after lunchtime and I said: “No, isn’t that going too far?” And he said: “Spit in the dog’s face … I love dogs, he doesn’t mind.” So, I spat in the dog’s face and Sonny [the dog] was just like: “Ooh, what happened? Did he have to get something out of his throat or something? I hope he feels better …” And I was thinking: “My God, what is wrong with us?” That’s the great thing about comedies and particularly with Todd being at the front of that bloodline right now, I see the process both on the set when we were figuring out what to do with the scenes and then at early test screenings and stuff. There was this thing that we all agreed was hugely outrageous, this moment in act three when I finally asked him: “How did your Dad pass away, I never knew?” And Zach turns to me and says: “Oh, sharing needles …” You’re thinking: ‘That’s so wrong!’ But Todd says: “Well, let’s see what the audience thinks …” And they were like, ‘That’s sick, I’m going to walk out!’

ZG: I thought it would be funny to see on the credits ‘Due Date, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jamie Foxx … a dog … Zach Galifianakis’.

Are you more comfortable in comedy or drama?

RDJ: I’m equally comfortable doing any medium. The thing about comedy, if that’s what you want to call this – I call it spectacularity – is it’s more light-hearted and Todd runs a set that is just a very small group of people making fundamental decisions with a very trusting studio’s money. My dad was saying to me, and my dad was a maker of underground films back in the late ‘60s and stuff, and he said this reminds me of the kind of stuff me and my friends would be doing if we had the opportunity nowadays. So, keep hope alive.

What was the first meeting between the two of you like and is it true Robert that you wanted to punch Zach?

RDJ: (Smiling) Susan was there, my wife, and she was worried for me, I don’t tend to recognise people and I didn’t know exactly who Zach was yet. (Looking towards his wife) What was my reaction? I looked like I was going to drop him on the pavement? I don’t like punching Zach … but it has to be done.

ZG: He doesn’t punch me, he pinches me …

RDJ: I do pinch him … Yes (pinches him again)

ZG: And it drives me absolutely (swerving the pinch) … absolutely insane!

Travel with Benjamin…

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is curious indeed: the story starts in 1920’s after the World War as a little baby boy is born into the body of a nearly hundred year old Metushelah. His mother died while she was giving birth, and as his father, after seeing the baby with his all-wrinkled skin, decides to get rid of his own flesh and blood as soon as possible. After finding his new home with a family who knows exactly how is it to be different from all the others, we discover the secret: the strange little old boy is actually growing younger and younger as the years go by. The Forrest Gump-like storyline gives us the impression that we are all relatives, friends and mentors in this adventouros life. And although we feel we are a part of his path, we can never be as close to him as a little girl… woman… old lady, who has to go climb all the stairs of heavens and hell if she doesn’t want to give up on her loved one.

Anyone who saw the fantastic movie, “Babel” knows exactly how the chemistry works between Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Not just because she is pretty, tall and has an appearance of a queen, and he is charming and handsome as he has ever been, but also because both of them are shining with the glow of the classic Hollywood stars, and never seem superficial for a single second. Through three and a half-hour long movie, the actors and the creators are spoiling us with so many colors that the film never seems boring or heavy. Of course it helps a lot, that the movie is flawless also from a virtual point of view. The excellent work of the visual artists, designers and the entire crew is deserving every single technical Oscar which the film was nominated for. It also worth every minute what the make-up artists spent with applying the mask on Pitt, for turning him into Benjamin Button… it took five whole hours every single day.

The screenwriter Eric Roth based his story on a novel by Scott Fitzgerald, and even if the title is the same, the dramaturgy is as different as it can be. In the original story a sage was born old, with knowledge and wisdom, and later on he dies having forgotten everything, without even understanding how does it happen – he is just getting lost in the dark. Roth decided to introduce his own Benjamin as old man only in appearance, but with the mind of a newborn baby. This small twist entirely changes the character of the hero: it seems like Benjamin has nothing to loose and he is becoming younger, more handsome, and also wiser. But towards the end of the story, Roth decides to change his tune again, and now the little hero is suddenly loosing everything: his wisdom, his intelligence and most importantly his capability for being in love.

The plot ends in our days, as the Katrina hurricane destroys New-Orleans. The dramatic ending is not only spectacular but it works as an amazing metaphor: we usually deal with the acceptance of death in our own silent and personal way, trying to think about it as a natural part of life. But to loose our loved ones while we are still alive, can cause a real storm inside. A storm which in the end can be more devestating than the death itself…

My confessions on Leo…

Leo is a student whose wide eyes and curly hair project sensitive boyishness. He is vaguely aware that there’s something wrong with his relationship with beautiful Andrea. What’s worse, Leo’s mom is pressuring them to get married. Uncomfortable with Andrea’s requests for sex, Leo pretends he has to study. He goes to hide in the apartment he shares with a pothead who spends his days watching “Star Wars.” Away from everyone’s prying eyes, Leo searches online for friends. Timid and awkward at first, he invites one or two men to his room, only to have them leave when he says he just wants to talk. Then Leo stumbles into old girlfriend Caro, who has become listless and chronically depressed. As they grow closer, he finds that she, too, has a repressed secret. Leo’s visits to an understanding therapist, plus his new love for a candid man named Seba, help him begin to answer his questions about himself.

As the festival’s official site describes, the film explores the moments of unexpected connection that can lead to confession and acceptance. Love, loss, grief, guilt, desires, and fear are all more easily managed if we have the courage to face them.

You can catch the movie in Budapest…

…on the 21-22nd of May, in Művész cinema, at 20:30
23-24th of May, Puskin cinema, at 20:30
25-26th of May, Művész cinema, at 17:00
28th of May, Toldi cinema – ask for the details about the all day workshops and talkshows.

Hello, stranger…

Rachel  was born in northern Russia in 1890, and died in Tel Aviv in 1931 of tuberculosis, which she contracted while working in schools for refugee children during World War I in Russia. All her poetry was published under her first name only, sometimes spelled ‘Rachel’, sometimes ‘Ra’hel’.  Rachel immigrated to Palestine in 1909, during the period of Ottoman rule, and lived for nearly four years at an agricultural girls’ school on the shores of the Kinneret. In 1913 she traveled to France to study agronomy, and spent the war years in Russia. The poet returned to Palestine in 1919, to Kibbutz Degania, but soon left, as her illness prevented her from working with children, and made physical labor an impossibility as well. She lived out her last years in loneliness in a room in Tel Aviv, and was buried at the Kinneret.

Most of her poetry was published in her last years, her language is so simple and clear, her descriptions deep and emotional; her love poems emphasize pain, loneliness and longing, while the rest often treat the strong connection to the landscape, to biblical figures, to human fate and the puzzle of death. I’m so proud and happy that she is not lonely anymore… I’m her new neighbor.

“Spring and early morning –
do you remember that spring, that day? –
our garden at the foot of Mount Carmel,
facing the blue of the bay?

You are standing under an olive,
and I, like a bird on a spray,
am perched on the silvery tree-top.
We are cutting black branches away.

From below, your saw’s rhythmic buzzing
reaches me in my tree,
and I rain down from above you
aragments of poetry.

Remember that morning, that gladness?
They were – and disappeared,
like the short spring of our country,
the short spring of our years.”

Rachel Bluwstein – Our Garden

Caught in the Middle…

As contestants contort their bodies to fit through cut-out shapes in an advancing Styrofoam wall, it’s almost more fun to see them fail than to succeed. Hole in the Wall takes its cue from silly and sometimes outrageous Japanese game shows. The American version of this human Tetris game is over stylized and over produced, and as Carrie Grosvenor’s telly critics says: it actually is funny.

Contestants wear silver spandex suits accented with their team colors, while the kinda bitchy hosts, Balázs and Jani tells them that “It’s time (pause) to face (pause) the hole!” To be honest I don’t think I ever enjoyed so much falling into the pool, since we had a cute, blonde Baywatch kinda lifeguard, who always pulled me out of trouble…

What do ya all think? Did I look like the Tin Man… or more like Posh Spice?

Jealous, Paris darling?

Bingo… it was me. And trust me, these dolls are ready to take over the world! In the school where all the guys are cool and all the girls are hot, Regina Feld had it all: blond… sexy… and she was dating with the most popular guy from the basketball team. She thought she will be the queenbee forever… well, she was wrong! ’Cos a misterious stranger is about to turn her world upside down! Since every school has it’s own rules… especially the really posh ones, instead of a new mate she gets only new hate. If you wanna play the game, you got to know: if you play by the rule, you’re a damn fool. The question is: BFF stands for best friends forever… or brutal foes forever?  One thing is for sure: our cheerleader is not so cheerful now… and defenetley not a leader.

Starring the super sexy blonde ambition: Lilla Labanc…
Love… Fight… Jelousy… Passion…
Dream.net!

A foxy comedy what you just can’t miss!

Happy birthday, Sylvia, princess of honesty.

“I love people. Everybody. I love them, I think, as a stamp collector loves his collection. Every story, every incident, every bit of conversation is raw material for me. My love’s not impersonal yet not wholly subjective either. I would like to be everyone, a cripple, a dying man, a whore, and then come back to write about my thoughts, my emotions, as that person. But I am not omniscient. I have to live my life, and it is the only one I’ll ever have. And you cannot regard your own life with objective curiosity all the time…”