Crate Lung x Wonder Fair

Wonder Fair will host on December 23rd a Pizza Party (meet and greet) with the Salt Lake City art co-op Crate Lung. Those who can stop by are encouraged to bring t-shirts, bags, paper, accessories, or anything else flat enough so that it may be screen printed with designs created by members of Crate Lung, Asteroid Head Art Club and the Fresh Produce Art Collective for a $3-$5 fee. Word around the campfire is designs from  Jouvelt, b. d. eek and Scott Starrett will also be available at the event. If you can’t attend but still want to see all the screen printing fun, check back after Christmas because The Rathaus will have plenty of photos.

posted by: Brent Carter

Pre-Fall or Posthaste Marketing?

As though the onslaught of fashion designers and fashion shows and fashion weeks isn’t enough, the industry seems to have invented yet another avenue to push their agenda on us: the Pre-Fall Collection. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a fashion lover and a fashion follower. I check Style.com to keep up with the latest collections and read numerous fashion blogs daily to understand the public’s reception of these collections. The internet has transformed an industry previously available only to those with the ability to attend these exclusive shows into information for the masses. But when does free information become too much information?

To my knowledge, and correct me if I’m wrong, if you want to stay up to date with fashion you will have to follow the Fall Ready to Wear, Fall Couture, Resort, Spring Ready to Wear, Spring Couture, and now the Pre-Fall collections. Not confused yet? Let’s mix it up a little more. For example, many of you right now are dressing for cold weather so you will probably want to reference the Fall 2008 collections for inspiration (or for purchasing if you are so able). But the Fall 2008 collections did not come out in Fall 2008, these shows hit the runways earlier in the year between January and March. However, since then we have seen the Resort 2009 and the Spring 2009 collections. And now before we are hit again with yet another season of Fall collections, we get the Pre-Fall collections. You may find yourself wondering if you are really keeping up with the trends of Fall 2008 if you are following the trends of Fall 2008.

I know for most fashion lovers and followers it is not this cut and dry. Inspiration can come from anywhere and most of us do not blindly follow the cues of the fashion industry. But all business works to make a profit. And if your business is not profitable you can always work on your marketing. More collections mean more shows, more wears, more parties, more magazines, more everything. Maybe the well established fashion designers and design houses have found themselves facing competition from the little guy. Just as the internet has provided a new outlet for high end fashion designers, it has also given independent designers a cheaper and easier way to show their work to the general public. It seems as though the fashion industry is attempting to distract us from this newer and more affordable market.

So, as you search for fashion inspiration or a place to spend your hard earned cash don’t be afraid to turn away from the never ending collections supplied by the high end fashion world. Supporting independent designers creates more opportunities for entry into the industry. But for the die hard fashion fans like myself who can’t help but look in both directions, we’ve just got some more homework to do because as we know, we are slaves to fashion.

by: Tricia Rock

Minus Story Daytrotter Session

Illustration by Johnnie Cluney

Last April, before he formed Hospital Ships, singer/songwriter Jordan Geiger recorded four songs at Futureappletree Studio 1 with his previous outfit Minus Story, and as of December 12th those songs can be downloaded from Daytrotter.com for free. Just another free music tip from your team here at The Rathaus.

Looking for even more free music? Checkout the Daytrotter site for an archive full of recordings by hundreds of other artists.

Daytrotter is the website for Futureappletree Studio 1, a recording studio in Rock Island, IL dedicated to capturing intimate performances by some of the top indie musicians working today.

posted by: Harold Johns III

“Tower of Tomorrow” by William McDonough

What better to fill the empty lots in our urban jungles than the metaphorical tree designed by William McDonough which he calls the Tower of Tomorrow. Its vegetation-covered roof hopes to transform the city’s upper canopy in order to systematically recycle rainwater while also reducing the urban heat island effect created by the tar covered rooftops most buildings employ.

In a project commissioned by Fortune Magazine, green-guru McDonough has created another conceptual building with feasible roots. Biomimetic functions prevail throughout the exterior and interior of the building, including: self-cleaning interior spaces from plants filtering the air, the aerodynamic shape reduces wind load on the facades, and a water reclamation system redistributes greywater for toilets and other non-potable systems.

posted by: s.a. johnson

New Links: Fashion

The Rathaus has added a new fashion section to its preferred links. Read on for a full listing and description of the featured fashion sites.

-

lulu and your mom

Looking for a personal touch and some quippy humor with your fashion? Lulu is your girl. While her eye for the latest hip designers and trends are enough to keep any young fashionista up to date, her anecdotal stories and commentaries on life are entertainment for all.

-

Sally Jane Vintage

If you love vintage you’ll love Sally Jane. Her personal insight on how to buy, wear, watch, and read all things vintage is an inspiration to the style seeker on a budget. And for an added bonus, get sneak peeks on the wears she will be selling in her Ebay store.

-

Kingdom of Style

Queen Marie and Queen Michelle of the Kingdom of Style entertain with their fashion industry updates and DIY projects. The fashion focus covers everything from established high-end designers to the lesser known fashion newcomers. And with Queen Michelle’s edgy personal style and ever-impressive DIY projects, any fashion lover and do-it-yourselfer is sure to find inspiration.

-

Modepass

Interested in joining an international fashion community? Modepass is a great resource for networking in the online fashion world. With a similar setup as Myspace, the site allows you to create your own page where you can include descriptions of yourself and what you do, links to your own sites and stores, and pictures of anything fashion related. Modepass also goes one step further, allowing members to start and join groups covering various topics and write and share original articles.

-

Fashion 156

Fashion 156 is a free online fashion webzine that according to Founding Editor and Creative Director Guy Hipwell was created “as a platform to promote new and existing talent, and is always looking for photographers/designers/writers/make-up artists etc to collaborate with.” Each issue centers on a unique theme hoping to keep you even more up to date than its glossy competitors. The site also includes a daily blog featuring fashion snippets from its contributing members.

-

Calikartel

According to its site, “Calikartel is a web magazine dedicated to showcasing avant-garde photography that inspire our readers worldwide.” Daily updates of fashion editorials are enough to entertain fashion lovers and photographers alike.

-

Chictopia

Chictopia is an online fashion community. To learn more, click here to read a previously published Rathaus article on Chictopia.

-

posted by: Tricia Rock