F*ck ready to wear, get ready to rumble!

At last! Downtown style darlings House of Diehl have perfected the cocktail for a fashionably good time. The recipe? A little event they pull together every year called STYLE WARS. The Toy Plane scored access to House of Diehl’s STYLE WARS: STYLE BATTLE CHAMPIONSHIP earlier this month at legendary Don Hills in New York City. Hosted by Surface magazine and featuring a panel of stylish VIP judges Jenny Shimizu, Claw Money, Elettra Rossellini Weidemann & Rebecca Weinberg, STYLE WARS has grown into an international fashion party and competition like no other.

So what exactly is Style Battling? Let’s revisit that cocktail recipe analogy again, shall we? Mix 1 part thrift store shopping, 1 part hip hop battle, add a dash of Project Runway style drama, killer DJ's, and more than a few splashes of fresh talent. Then shake well and pour over a crazy hyped audience. That is Style Battling. Like some sort of high art boxing match using live mannequins, designers go head to head in 4 minute rounds of cut and sew -or in this case cut and tape- fury. Making use of everything from vintage clothing and random lamp shades to plain old trash these kids turn crap into incredible- and sometimes incredibly odd- new garments. Newbie designers battle for bragging rights and a chance at global exposure with a tour and spread in Surface Magazine.

House of Diehl creative partners (and the evenings MC’s) Mary Jo Diehl and Roman Milisic opened the show by crafting a spacesuit-slash-cocktail dress out of ‘I HEART MY CLEANERS’ hangers and Scotch Tape. Dope yes, but they weren't the ones competing. So for the next hour or so, crowd and judge watched and cheered for a way too easy newspaper dress, a tragically charming Karate Kid inspired jumpsuit thingy, and a Berlin Wall/Set it Off get up (the latter being the authors personal fave). But in the end there could only be one winner. A cute little duo of stylish vixens with a line called Dominique Auxilly trumped the night by turning paper strips into an animated tennis skirt and a frumpy 80’s wedding dress into a swanky vintage Chanel inspired cocktail frock. Kudos cuties!

Check out House of Diehl to see where the STYLE WARS tour ends up next.

P.S. Check out  HAEtv coverage of StyleWars and live interviews with some of the designers and judges!

TEAR DOWN THE WALLS!

FEMI KUTI & THE POSTIVE FORCE AT THE AFRO-BEAT FESTIVAL IN NEW YORK CITY

With the rise in popularity of global music stars amongst younger, more adventurous music fans strictly American dominance of the airwaves is slowly fading away. Whether in a genuine search for the next funky sound or just to ‘keep up with the Jones’ more listeners are reaching beyond local borders to discover new and old music.

Any self respecting music lover worth his weight in salt is at least familiar with the music of Femi Kuti, son of the late legendary Afro-Beat King, Fela Kuti. In the 1970 & 80’s Fela -inspired by the sounds of highlife and the funk of folks like James Brown- electrified the contemporary African music scene with a mix of Afro/Pop/Funk/Jazz that would forever solidify Nigeria's place on the world music map.

Femi’s sound has and probably always will hint at his fathers legacy and although that is a great complement, on DAY BY DAY, the first studio album in seven years by the reigning King of Afro-Beat (released in the US by Mercer Street Records) Femi Kuti is more determined than ever to etch his own mark. As Femi reaches back to Nigeria's big band roots with DAY BY DAY he simultaneously pushes his genre forward with new sounds that are pure jazz, pure gospel, pure soul and pure black.

The Toy Plane had the pleasure of catching Femi Kuti backed by his army of fresh young musicians, Positive Force, earlier this month at the Afro-Beat festival in New York City. Femi rocked a solid two hour set full of frantic rhythms packed with a political and sensual energy that for the congregation in assembly was nothing short of a religious experience.

Photos gracefully provided by Kwesi Abbensetts http://www.spaceshipgeorge.blogspot.com/