Interview with Theo Kogan!

Okay, so I feel really lame and I must apologize to Theo because I haven't made the time to post this! I did a random question interview with theo via e-mail and here are the results. I just want to let you know that it was total on the spot and random questions plus the good ones I had I tried to remember,'cause my computeer crashed. Enjoy! Oh and Theo will be performing with the Big Art Group on Thursday April 15th at the Abrons Art Center in the Lower East Side...I'm going to be there..and if you can make it,so should you!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?profile=1&id=1039720225#!/event.php?eid=324082722953&ref=mf




C.A.: I've noticed you have a tattoo of a cupcake on your shin/leg area what prompted you to get such a tattoo?

Theo: Because I hate cupcakes? Nooo! Because I love them so much! That tattoo makes me happy just like cupcakes do, and it is also a friendship tattoo with a cup cake loving friend.

C.A.: So many people including myself look to you as a role model and inspiration what do you say to people that look to you in such a way?

Theo: Thank you! It makes me feel real nice and warm and fuzzy and also silly, I appreciate it more than you will know.


C.A.: What and who inspires you to create music, your fashion style, and all around molded you into who you are today?

Theo: Edward Gorey, Bugs Bunny, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, Horror Movies and candy.

C.A.: Given the current state of economic hardship, you launched a make up line named Armour Beauty. You've always straddled different bodies of work modeling, acting, performance artist, etc. etc. what prompted this leap into this field? What are your thoughts on these economic times and the Obama administration?

Theo: UGH. What a mess Obama inherited. I really hope it doesn't get even messier. I am worried about what he is doing in Afghanistan and Health Insurance and I am extremely disappointed that Gay Marriage was denied in NY recently. The powers that be need to let it happen already and move on.
As for Armour Beauty, it was always a dream of mine to have a makeup line, and with help from my friend Allison it became a reality.I love makeup. Simple as that, a dream that became a reality with a lot of hard work.


C.A.: Theo and the skyscrapers is your newest musical endeavor...you're lyrics are haunting, dark and apocalyptically happy is that even a word? Apocalytpicly.LOL where do these songs come from?

Theo: You know, it's all creative expression, a feeling, a fantasy, dark moments... they have to come out, but I think we do it in a fun way.

C.A.: You've been a vegetarian or vegan correct me if I'm wrong please, but what caused you to live such a conscious lifestyle?

Theo: Yes, both. I am what I call borderline Vegan now. What started me many moons ago was finding the smell of meat absolutely repellant and also seeing the film Faces Of Death. I also love animals beyond. I have three vegan recipies in the new book put by Heidi Minx called' Home Rockanomics' out on St. Martin's Griffin

C.A.: Music, Art, and Fashion play a key role in people's everyday lives, who would you say are your favorite musical artist, artist and fashion designers?

Theo: With Fashion these days I look to Japan. And I love Alexander McQueen, Gary Graham and Rodarte. Both my grandmothers helped form my fashion sense as well. One was more on the glamour side; one was more on the tomboy side. Art - I love Mark Ryden's work



C.A.: Known for setting your own rules, what advice can you to give to people out there who want to go out there on their own and "make it”?

Theo: Make like Nike and JUST DO IT!
Leap into the void people, leap into the void. If fear comes a talkin’, just tell it you cant hear what it's saying.


Okay this is the part of the interview that I like to call the quick fire question and answer period!! I love Top Chef so I stole the quick fire from them...ha ha. So I will type a word or words and you as fast as you can answer them with the first things that comes to your mind.

(I love top chef, btw)

13? Yes

Fashion? Definitely

Bunnies, Kitties, Hippos? Cute!!

Favorite Color? All of them

George Bush? No, absolutely not.

Music? Yes, more please

Coffee, Tea, or Me? Coffee and tea and thee

Chocolate, Vanilla, Marble? Yes! Yes! Yum!

Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen 1969-2010



It’s sad and unfortunate we lost such a seminal figure in the fashion world so soon. I’m a fan of Alexander’s and cherries so it seemed fitting to marry the two together. I chose to use a red plaid cupcake liner because when I saw one of his collections, can’t remember the year, but needless to say it had lots and lots of plaid and patterns. He often used black so naturally I wanted to use a chocolate cupcake. I didn’t want to make it too simple so I added a couple of dark sweet cherries, pitted of course, to the batter. I garnished it with a simple cherry butter cream and a cherry or two, and a red candy show piece.



Alexander McQueen shows are known for their emotional power and raw energy, as well as the romantic but determinedly contemporary nature of the collections. Integral to the McQueen culture is the juxtaposition between contrasting elements: fragility and strength, tradition and modernity, fluidity and severity. An openly emotional and even passionate viewpoint is realized with a profound respect and influence for the ARTS and crafts tradition. Alexander's collections combine an in-depth working knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, the fine workmanship of the French Haute Couture atelier and the impeccable finish of Italian manufacturing.



In less than 10 years McQueen became one of the most respected fashion designers in the world. In October 1996 he was appointed Chief Designer at the French Haute Couture House Givenchy where he worked until March of 2001.

The wonderful world of Patricia Field!

Patricia Field Cupcake




I love love love love love love Patricia Field she’s an amazing designer and costume designer. She’s an Academy Award Nominee and Emmy Award winning woman. Most people know her from her work on SATC aka Sex and the City, and also on ABC television show Ugly Betty. She opened a boutique in 1966 in NYC Greenwich Village. This location has been there for 44 years now and is a mecca for celebrities, fashion forward thinkers, and NYC “scenesters” she’s also opened two other stores in the NYC area.



I was thinking how would I make a pat field cupcake? Well being a rather forward and innovative thinker I remembered that Patricia’s hair is bright red, what else than a red velvet cupcake. I know most cupcakes of the red velvet persuasion have chocolate, but I really didn’t want to put chocolate in it. I wanted to keep the bright hue of the red food coloring in the finished product. I also took to looking at current and past collections to decide on a cupcake liner. I couldn’t just choose one so I chose two, why not? I thought I used a purple foil liner and red polka dotted liners for these delicious treats. The icing choice would be my next obstacle…..traditionally red velvet cakes are served with a “cooked” icing. Which sounded weird…why would you cook an icing? So I did, which reminded me of when my mother would make red velvet cakes for me and my brother as children. She’d alternate between a cooked icing and cream cheese, but I really didn’t want to make two different icings, thinking I was being lazy I made both! The cooked icing is present on the purple foil lined treats, and the polka dotted ones have tofu cream cheese frosting.



Here Is a link to Patricia Fields online store:

http://www.patriciafield.com/

I recommend for you eco friendly people out there that like to use reusable bags to pick up this little gem: http://www.patriciafield.com/images/view.aspx?productId=838 . I’m waiting for mine to arrive so I can take it to pick up my latest supplies for the cupcakes!!!

Heatherette

Heatherette



Okay the now defunct label Heatherette is so amazing. I know I should be like fashion and current, but I could not when it comes to this amazing label. Owned by Traver Rains and former club kid Richie Rich, located in NYC their designs were bright, flashy and trashy….”Flash and Trash” seemed to be their mantra for a while there. Their creations were worn by the likes of Foxy Brown, Anna Nicole Smith, Jenna Jameson, Lydia Hearst, Pamela Anderson, and who could forget Paris Hilton. They took color and function and turned the dial all the way up…blowing our minds and eyes with amazing women’s and men’s lines that featured anything from t-shirts to dresses to underwear. I like to think of their line as fun and flirty..their runway shows were often over the top and outlandish which seemed to suit both fellas.



I chose to use a clean vanilla cupcake with an purple and white striped cupcake liner. With their flare for color I couldn’t resist but using colorful butter creams for the tops. Taking my sugar spinning class really helped me create this “candy glass” I figured their clothes were edgy and often sharp witted pieces so why not make colorful, sharp, edible candy glass? I used food coloring on the baking sheet and poured the clear mixture over it to create a running effect on the finished glass. There is no website for the clothing line so sorry folks you’re just going to have to settle for the pictures.

Chanel Cupcake

Chanel Cupcake



Founded in 1910, the small shop selling ladies headwear had moved to the up market Rue Cambon within a year. The house became especially famous with the elegant little black dress and its signature Chanel No. 5 fragrance. Chanel revolutionized haute couture fashion by replacing the traditional corset with the comfort and casual elegance of simple suits and dresses. She introduced to the world her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and signature “little black dress” in 1926, introducing a more sultry and seductive definition to “sexy.” She had numerous other major successes that changed the fashion industry including the ever popular "'Chanel suit'", an elegant creation composed of a knee-length skirt and trim, boxy jacket, traditionally made of woven wool with black sewing trim and gold buttons, worn with large costume-pearl necklaces. Elite women of high societies around the world began to flock to the now legendary Rue Cambon boutique to commission couture outfits from her. The House of Chanel became an icon of elegance and from then on, the name “Chanel” became synonymous to elegance, wealth, and elitism, as well as the ultimate sign of French high class, la coquetries




I remember seeing photos of Jackie Kennedy-Onassis in the infamous pink Chanel Suit with matching pillbox hat. Ever since then I’ve been in love with both…well chanel secretly, not Jackie. Like most of chanels fashion I associate it with black and white, except the pink of Jackie O! So I made a ½ chocolate and ½ white cupcake for this homage. The liner is a simple black silhouette of a cupcake liner and the ½ chocolate and ½ vanilla butter cream seemed fitting. What more do I need to say about chanel? Really it speaks for itself.



Here is the link to the Chanel website for those interested:
www.chanel.com

YSL

I'm dedicating all this months cupcakes to the memory of my late grandmother Maria De La Luz Aviles-Escamilla. Who instilled in me without passion and determination nothing is possible..Te Amo Abuelita!



Yves Saint Laurent a.k.a. YSL


There is no denying that I’ve always had a unique idea of what fashion is to me and to individuals. Anyone who knows me knows that I can be quite shy, and don’t always vocalize my ideas and reasons behind my choices. I don’t feel like fashion is something that needs to be explained or even defended. Fashion is what you make it to me! I find that you can be influenced from a great collection from a world famous designer to even a stain on a white t-shirt.




I chose Yves Saint Laurent as one of my influences in fashion because they’ve always taken risk and a nice approach to putting together “looks” for fashion forward people that are everyday individuals, not just looking for that one nice outfit for an event.

They are designed for both modern women who have a keen sense of freedom and follow their instincts with assurance, captivating others with their elegance, as well as men who prefer a nonconformist look and assert the different facets of their personality in a modern and sensitive way.



Founded in 1961, Yves Saint Laurent is one of the greatest fashion names of the late 20th century. Throughout the years, the groundbreaking designs of the Couture house created innovative pieces of clothing.
Yves Saint Laurent was the first Couture house to launch, in 1966, the modern concept of luxury women's prêt-à-porter, in a collection called « Rive Gauche ». It was followed in 1969 by a « Rive Gauche » men's ready-to-wear line. The Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche boutiques were soon opened throughout the world, allowing fashion-conscious working individuals to wear the Yves Saint Laurent designs. This represented the first step in making luxury labels accessible to a wider public.




I chose to use a chocolate raspberry cupcake because like most of YSL’s fabric choices they’re usually black. I figured I would put a small amount of raspberry preserves in the batter because raspberries to me seem very regal. I was heavily influenced by this photo especially the lace, it inspired me to take a course in spinning and working with sugar. A quite daunting task at that; I had many burns and scorched pans due to many attempts at getting it right! I was thinking to myself it wasn’t going to happen and I screamed “Fuck It!” I quit thinking I would be defeated and took to it again and again. I made an amber colored sugar and took out the picture and made what I thought would be an interesting topping to the cupcakes Much like the woman’s hat in the picture that is what I was thinking when I placed the sugar sculptures atop the chocolate raspberry butter cream. I even took some of the liquid sugar to glue on silver and gold candy embellishments to make it more sophisticated and to give you a visual “Hard on“ to put it lightly…ha ha ha ha. I chose a black and gold plaid cupcake liner for this particular cupcake because I remember seeing a vintage 80’s YSL blazer as a teenager in a clothing store.



Here is a link to the YSL website where you can see a preview of the Fall 2010 collection
http://ysl.com/us/en/index.aspx

Tease!

Hey everyone filmed this short video teaser for the blog a couple days ago! Hope you stick around to see what these beautiful gems turn out to look like! Also, a short interview with the beautiful and amazing Theo Kogan will be posted as well!