When Ma$e rapped, “Harlem on the rise”, he may have been on to something. Slowly, the once severely impoverished neighborhood is morphing into a new Williamsburg, of sorts, just with — at present — fewer liberal/fine arts grads on fixed-gear bikes. Still, the new crop of Harlem-based rappers (and unlikely fashion darlings) are perhaps an indication that, for as much as things may have changed, Harlem hip-hop hasn’t strayed too much from its roots.

A$AP Rocky is an anomaly. With his gold fronts, hazy instrumentals, and “purp” references, there are elements of his sound and persona that are decidedly more Houston than New York. But while his affinity for Raf and Rick Owens may put him in better stead with the fashion set than your average MC, initial reactions by many in “his own backyard”, so to speak, have been mixed.

I grew up in Harlem during pretty much the same time as Azealia Banks and the A$AP crew. We were all children of the nineties, when nobody applauded you for being different, or marveled over your nonconformist sartorial choices. No one appreciated my fondness of bindis, and pink mascara, or my love of the Chili Peppers and Daria, though I doubt most even knew what those things were (whereas at school, on the Upper East Side, my Buffalo Boot-wearing, Manic Panic-tinted-hair having, elementary school classmates didn’t seem to notice or care).

Click here to view the embedded video.

Even during the early days of the Bad Boy dynasty, with all of its glitz, the dress code was more flashy than flamboyant. Yeah, Diddy wore that epic, shiny, red suit in the “Mo Money Mo Problems” video, but that wouldn’t have even happened had stylist June Ambrose not twisted his arm. Even still, that was just TV. In the streets, it was all about labels, and (highly visible) logos. Nike “swooshes”, and Jordan “Jumpmans”, LVs, and interlocking Gs, and Cs, Tommy Hilfiger anything, and other designer goods of questionable authenticity.

I started this article with every intention of giving Lana Del Rey the benefit of the doubt. Fuck da haters. Lana or Lizzy or whatever she wants to be called is an incredibly talented, hot babe doin’ her thang, and that is just fine by me. However, when trying to source the video of Del Rey (pre fame, post pseudonym) being adorable and not emo promoting Keds sneakers that has recently surfaced from the deep dark depths of the interwebs, I found that every single link had been blocked on by UMG based on “copyright grounds”. It took me a solid 30 minutes, employing my very best cyber stalking team (spoiler: it’s just me) to find a watchable copy of the short film, featuring an almost unrecognizable Lana Del Rey with shoulder length, bleach blonde hair and (as much as I hate to be part of this pointless discussion), notably thinner lips (you can watch the video here).

My problem is not with Del Rey’s physical appearance. Considering the video was first uploaded in 2009, it’s not at all surprising that her look has somewhat changed in the last 3 years (I was working the fake tan and padded bras pretty hard back then… Eek). My greatest concern lies in the fact that despite the bullshit about “copyright grounds” (which I can only assume officially relates to an unreleased song used as the soundtrack) the only reason I can come up with for UMG’s black list on the Keds video is a conflict with del Rey’s current image.

The Keds promo sees Del Rey flitting about Coney Island in a pair of heart shaped sunglasses, chowing down on cotton candy, working the camera as she rides a ferris wheel, cheekily crooning her soulful melodies and basically being really freaking cute. Also she smiles a lot. I thought she was too damaged to smile?? While there are certainly aspects of the Lana we know evident here (her ongoing fascination with film and romanticism is clear when she quotes Francis Ford Coppola, “If you sit down to write at the same time every day, then the muse always knows where you are”), there is hardly anything left of this lively, charming version of Del Rey, instead replaced by the new pouty, expressionless persona we have been told to embrace.

When Del Rey first popped up on the radar of People-Who-Spend-More-Time-Online-Than-Off (me), I loved her. I blogged about her. I used a lot of hearts and smiley faces when I wrote about her. I started wearing liquid eyeliner again. But as whispers began to surface about Del Rey’s whole “Gangsta Nancy Sinatra” thing actually being carefully crafted by a publicity team, I kind of wished that I had kept my feelings to myself and was free to listen to “Video Games” on repeat in the dark for 6 hours without feeling like a gullible schmuck.

I understand that almost every entertainer is pressured to conform to a character at some point in order to achieve mainstream success. I even kind of get that to fill a gap or tap into a niche audience, they need to be marketed accordingly. What I don’t get and refuse to understand is the unique qualities and personality of an individual being completely flattened out for the sake of an image. Isn’t it the “real life” human aspects of celebrities that endear them to us and make them relatable? As hard as it was to watch her incredibly awkward, cringe-worthy performance on Saturday Night Live earlier this year, at least then we were rooting for her, because she came across as a real, flawed person; and real people fuck up sometimes. If the strings of the Lana puppet are in fact being pulled by a team of image-makers, dulling the charisma that Del Rey exudes so naturally in this Keds commercial has been a crucial error. Despite (or perhaps in spite of) her rapid mainstream success, she has lost a lot of her original audience because of it.

It’s not Lana Del Rey’s past as Lizzie Grant that we should be scrutinizing. Whether or not this included thinner lips and bleached out hair, even superstars and mega-babes are allowed to try out as many different versions of themselves as they like before they find the one that fits; we’ve all been through some pretty weird shit. But as much as we might want to run from the problems and mistakes and heartbreaks of our past to become better versions of ourselves, there really is no way to erase the people we used to be, especially with the ever-growing prevalence of our Internet presence. Perhaps the mystery surrounding Lana Del Rey’s past is all part of her schtick, but from what I can tell, I think I liked the old one better. I really tried to love you Lana, but I think you might have lost me.

So Cannes is happening, and yeah you guessed it, attractive famous people are wearing clothes, and we, in turn, are judging them. Kat George and Amy Smith had so much fun tearing apart the gowns of the MET Ball they’ve decided to rip into Cannes too. Click through for some fan girling, snide commenting and general pow-powing over the gowns of Cannes…

Inspired by King of kook, director Wes Anderson, Need Supply Co‘s Spring/Summer 2012 campaign video, For All Time is a perfect reflection of Anderson’s iconic style which has transcended film techniques and become a pop culture phenomenon.

Drawing on inspiration from films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Rushmore and even animated gem Fantastic Mr. Fox (we’re looking at you brown linen shorts suit), the collection consists of preppy high school inspired garments with a distinctly Anderson edge. Sweat headbands and radical retro sunglasses, constant accessories in Anderson films make a welcome and unexpectedly stylish addition to the collection which encompasses traditional sportswear meets heartland America nuances.

Signature Anderson characters are represented throughout the film from the stone faced Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) to tennis prodigy Richie Tenenbaum (Luke Wilson) as well as probably the coolest and simultaneously weirdest 15-year-old to rock a suit to school, Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman), and of course, Steve Zissou’s (Bill Murray) infamous beard.

Directed by Duy Nguyen at The University of Richmond, and set to an upbeat soundtrack from Creation, the bright film highlights the rich color palette and use of texture and pattern in the collection while creating a cohesive and super cute and quirky story that wouldn’t seem out of place in Anderson’s back catalogue. While we wait for Moonrise Kingdom, this can tide us over.

Pink hair has thus far symbolized the punk rock queens of the 80s, the grunge-fiends of the 90s, pop stars experiencing psychosis in the aughts, and now the queens of the Top 40 charts have taken ownership. Here’s a look back at some of the best, worst and most iconic magenta to pastel pink strands of the century.

The neon lights of NYC inspire the deepest of culture, the throes of fashion, and the cutting-edge of art. The lights of Broadway, Chinatown, Lower East Side bars. And sometimes the flashing lights of a police car mid-arrest work too. In a place like New York you just go with it — the city infiltrates your work, and you’re better for it.

Neon City Lights is a photoshoot-cum-fashion film from French Brooklyn-based photographer and director Guillaume Miquel, who organised and shot the film while participating in a fashion photography workshop at the ICP. Integrating the city culture and his experience in fashion media, Guillaume decided to create an editorial fashion film — short, sharp, sweet, edgy, and perfect for digital media.

Managing to gather together some models (Frenchie Lea Manon and New Yorker Wendi Lui), designers (Joel Cidenzi, Zenam Couture) and stylist Nurra Barry, the shoot became much more “independent fashion film.” Shot in NYC’s Chinatown and Lower East Side, they crew had to work around the spontaneity and interruption that is in the city’s nature.

“We had to be fast and deal with rain, low light and ‘night’s world’,” Guillaume said.  ”In some shoots, those flashing lights are from a police car that was carrying out an arrest right next to us.”

“We shot with light equipment and a small team to remain quick and spontaneous. Like most of these films we also used the existing light and dealt with the elements coming from reality and our actual environment.”

Apart from Guillaume’s inherent French influence, he cites the photography of this film as inspired by Asian directors like Wong Kar Wai or Hou Hsaio Hsien. The unnatural light and distorted reflections create a moodiness and sense of body and space that is confident — dragging you in, but only showing you glimpses of a whole story. Light is constantly featured as a part of the city and a part of the clothes.

“There are two aspects of light that I consider: the way it reveals the fabrics, color or transparency of the pieces and the dramatic effect that light can give to a story — the mood of a shoot,” Guillaume says. “The fashion films are often silent movies. Then the light, just like the attitude of the models or the decor, plays a very important role in the narrative.”

“Here the idea was to use the ‘natural lights’ of the night: colorful neon lights, and play with reflections and transparency, with sober outfits, black and white.”

“I wanted to create an atmosphere of blurred memories, like a partly erased story that the viewer could try to recover.”

Imagine it’s a warm, summer night. You’ve borrowed your parents’ car, squeezed in too many of your friends and you just want to kill some time because when you’re young, time seems endless. Also you’re really good looking. That’s how we felt upon first viewing of Percival’s latest film for SS12, directed by Chris Gove and Luke Stenzhorn, the brands’ designers. Talk about jacks-of-all-trades.

Mixed with more contemporary/generally steezy pieces, the clothing featured subtly nods to elements of 50’s style bowling threads you can imagine being worn by the Bob’s and Mike’s of the world. However in Percival’s style, they are anything but tired. Their modern interpretation maintains just the right balance of cool without tipping the scales to op-shop disaster, as is often the case when vintage prints and styles are appropriated for the present.

The film itself follows a group of cute boys and the token mega babe girl doing what hot young people do in a lonely bowling alley on a Friday night, and reminds us of those lazy summer nights when you have nothing to do and nowhere to be. The cinematography is definitely its strongest point (props to D.O.P/Editor Laurence Halstead), and Glove and Stenzhorn have really utilised every aspect of the location to creative a visually dynamic piece, in a warm palette lit by garish arcade neon reds.

Imagery of the flashing games, team ping-pong and lazily rolling bowling balls combine to create a sense of contemporary nostalgia; there’s something familiar about this place we’ve never been, and those people we’ve never met. You can practically taste the bottomless soda topped up with cheap flask vodka.

There’s a resounding theme to my contributions to Portable.tv of late. I lady crush. Hard. Meet two of my favorite crush-worthy gals. Chloe and Parris Gordon — the sister duo behind Canadian fashion line Chloe Comme Parris —  have every quality a proper lady crush should obtain. They went from students at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design to full-blown fashion powerhouses before both of them had even graduated, making things happen for themselves like proper independent ladies (thanks Beyoncé) of the 21st Century. And though their killer style and assortment of bad ass accessories might make them appear like unapproachable “cool girls”, the pair have the charm and genuine nature of a true Canadian.

This month, Chloe Comme Parris took part in FashionMagazine.com’s video series, collaborating with fellow “cool girl” Sarah Elisabeth Blais on a great new fashion video for their ultra-covetable Spring 2012 collection. I spoke to the designing duo about their inspiration for the video and how they feel about fashion in the digital age.

Portable: What approach do you take when creating a fashion film to go along with your collection? Is it something you’re thinking of when you’re designing each season?
Chloe Comme Parris: Video is a part of the process for us, it’s not the first thing but more and more we are aware of its potential and excited to explore different ways of utilizing it. For us video is always in the back of our mind because we are always thinking of movement when planning the collection.

Usually it’s a collaboration, we seek out photographer /videographer that we like and look for or someone who compliments our work. We approach it like creative collaboration – where two artists or a team of people come together to create something beautiful.

P: How do you feel about the movement towards film over photography for fashion? We like the movement.

Chloe Comme Parris: We love the experimental nature, the chance for something to go in a million different directions. We like it because it can be expressive and tends to be more unexplored. Anyone can delve into more exciting ways to present an idea. Sometimes with a single photo that is all you get – with video there is room for so much more with music and editing etc.

It seems like a natural progression the way that technology is moving. It’s being used for the promotion of everything from political to artistic endeavors. YouTube is such a phenom, so why not. It’s also a great way to see another side of our collection. In photos head on can be stagnant. It’s important for us that the details can be viewed, and that movement from all angles is visible. So yes, we dig that it is becoming more and more the norm to see moving images rather than stagnant ones.

** Loving this: Givenchy couture video is unbelievable.

P: What made you decide to work with Sarah Blais on this project? Was it a collaborative effort or did she come to you with an idea in mind?

Chloe Comme Parris: Randi [Bergman, Editor of FashionMagazine.com and a fellow awesome Canadian] presented us with the idea and Sarah then chose to work with us. We took a look at Sarah’s work and then decided it was a project we really wanted to take on! Creatively we brainstormed some ideas together. Sarah then developed her own storyboards, decided on props, the studio and interpreted the line how she saw fit. Basically the SS12 collection was the inspiration / her muse.

P: What’s next for Chloe Comme Parris?
Chloe Comme Parris: S/S13! AND CCP really tackling and breaking into the New York market. Establishing ourselves in the New York market is high on our list.

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Last night New York City played host to the iconic MET Ball, and y’all know what that means. Celebrities wore dresses and the rest of us became hyper judgemental fashion critics. Amy Smith and I, obviously, had quite a few things to say, so click through and find out what we thought…

Australian label Ksubi managed to do two things with their SS12/13 collection and matching runway video from Mercedes Benz Australian Fashion Week. Firstly, the iconic denim label seems to have succeeded in doing whatever it was Kanye West was attempting to do the past two seasons in Paris, namely, create sleek, sexy sportswear with a luxe/glamour edge. Hats off to Ksubi for showing Ye not only how it’s done, but for making it look pretty damn easy all the while.

The second thing is taking .gif culture and giving it a great big cuddle. The Lorin Askill directed runway video is shot in .gif style, with the image stuttering in the style of the iconic format, and lending itself to the newstalgia of 90s culture. We love this innovative mix of influences, and the way Ksubi always manages to stay one skip ahead of the sword.