Fresh off our VMP DRAG FASHION FLAUNT at this year’s Vintage Marketplace, we can’t stop thinking about how incredible drag queens are, especially those of the {PAST} who paved the way for the {PRESENT} culture and creativity and will continue to invoke its {FUTURE}.
We know everyone who is anyone keeps up with RuPaul’s Drag Race, and the past season’s ALL STARS edition featured a wickedly hilarious Snatch Game that had Brooklyn babe AJA take on one of Herstory’s most legendary queens – founder of the House of LaBeija, and star of the cult 1968 documentary “The Queen”, Crystal LaBeija!
And she took her on with gusto and glamour, and also delivered this beautiful spirit back into the forum of the mainstream…much in the way Jinx Monsoon brought us Little Edie of “Grey Gardens”, and Sasha Velour took on Marlene Dietrich; keeping these divinities alive for younger generations is absolutely key!
How sad it is when you hear a young man or woman denote they have no idea who these iconic legends are . . . stay educated, kids!
“The Queen” is a fabulous film directed by Frank Simon, and provides an up close and candid look at the behind of the scenes of the 1967 All-America Camp Beauty Contest in New York City. It is a wonderful portrait of a time gone by. . . New York City is rough and tough, and men from all around America shack up in tiny hotel rooms in anticipation of the pageant discussing the difficulties of being gay in America. They are all fabulous, and its wonderful to see their final transformations from the male versions of them you see in rehearsals. This transformation truly proves the power of style and image to invoke strength from within.
Illustrated herstory by Laurel Lynn-Leake
By far, the most fabulous moment has to be Crystal’s freak out when she is named fourth place storms out and then rips everyone a new one backstage. Absolutely ICONIC…you are going to have to see it to believe it! And if you are a fan of Drag Race, you will really appreciate what Aja brought to the table even more.
We stumbled upon a full version of the film on Youtube, so check it out below and enjoy!
+Look out for Andy Warhol’s cameo (he was a judge in the pageant)+
We love moments like this in pop culture where the {PAST} races into the {PRESENT} and ultimately shapes our {FUTURE}. . . rebel queens like Crystal LaBeija will live on far past those who chose not to be the truest, most incredible versions of themselves.
I don’t need you to tell me I’m beautiful! I KNOW I’M BEAUTIFUL!!!
And really, we should all fell this way! Screw the haters- you rock!
Listen to that spirit within you, and let it free…
“A chance to sit quietly and find out who you are; where you’ve been and where you’re going.”
-Ira Levin, Rosemary’s Baby
{published in 1967}
I called this an interlude because of its sauntering sweet nature between the high stakes and drama that is”Rosemary’s Baby”.
Polanski’s iconic film had many claiming he had beckoned the murder of his glamorous superstar wife, Sharon Tate just months following the film’s release, with this chilling tale of a wife sold to a coven of witches to give birth to the child of Satan!
The myth of the curse on the film was further perpetuated when John Lennon was murdered just outside the historic and now notorious Dakota building (below) just across the street from Central Park in New York City.
in·ter·lude
noun \ˈin-tər-ˌlüd\
3. a musical composition inserted between the parts of a longer composition, a drama, or a religious service
So enjoy this brief interlude, and sail away with this new vintage classic. . .
Here at The Eye of Faith we worship the spirit of individuality. Escaping the everyday, and letting your uniqueness shine is something Andy Warhol superstar Jackie Curtis was no stranger to.
Born February 19, 1947 in New York City; Jackie Curtis slayed the scene with a gender bending style and booming persona that should never be forgotten.
That’s why we’re bringing her from the clutches of the past to the forefront, and it’s no better time, really; gender is undergoing quite a shift in this last decade, and many changes are still abound.
Our faithful correspondent John Wisniewski spoke with film maker and author Craig Highberger whose 2005 film “Superstar in a Housedress” explored the star’s groundbreaking art and life!
{ J.W. } What interested you about the life of star Jackie Curtis, Craig?
{C.H.} I grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is Andy Warhol’s hometown. My Uncle Sam Highberger had gone to Carnegie Mellon University with Andy and was in some of his classes and talked about him and so I became aware of and I loved Warhol’s art and that whole world. I also loved new wave cinema and without telling my parents I snuck out to these film screenings at Carnegie Mellon of Warhol’s films “Chelsea Girls” and “Flesh”.
And in “Flesh” there is this scene I will never forget, in which Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling, in drag, are sitting on a couch reading a movie magazine and chatting while nearby Joe Dallesandro is getting a BJ from Gerri Miller! I was 16 years old and I mean this was just fabulous to me!
In high school I was very aware of what was going on in New York City, pop art, Max’s Kansas City, the Warhol scene. I knew I wanted to be a part of that. There was a magazine out of New York called “After Dark” magazine that had these really hot photos of Joe Dallesandro, and Jackie Curtis, Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling by photographer Jack Mitchell. I wanted to go to film school in New York and meet Andy Warhol and the Superstars and that is just what happened.
I was a freshman at NYU the fall of 1972, it was just a few years after Stonewall and gay liberation was happening and the first NYU gay student group wanted the University to allow the group to meet officially on campus and the administration did not immediately agree to this so there was a big demonstration announced – a sleep-in, actually in the basement of my dormitory at NYU and Jackie Curtis showed up for it in his signature drag, because Jackie knew that there would be press coverage and maybe TV cameras and Jackie was a publicity hound. And I was just entranced, I recognized him immediately and introduced, told him I was from Pittsburgh, that I loved Andy Warhol, that I loved him (Curtis) in “Flesh” and “Women in Revolt”, that I was majoring in film and television and wanted to film his plays and performances documentary style.
We became instant friends. And I went around with Curtis to parties, to Max’s Kansas City, we hung out with Holly Woodlawn (who is still a great friend), Candy Darling, and I met Andy Warhol a couple of times.
In 1974 Jackie played the starring role in his play “Glamor, Glory and Gold: the Life and Legend of Nola Noonan, Goddess and Star”, it was off-Broadway at the Truck and Warehouse Theater on the Lower East Side across the street from La Mama directed by Ron Link. And I told Ron I wanted to film the entire play and he allowed me to if I would show it at cocktail parties for his prospective backers. So I did that.
Everything about Jackie was amazing and exciting and I really wanted to make a documentary about Curtis’ life from the moment I met him. I loved Jackie.
{J.W.} How and when did Jackie Curtis meet Andy Warhol?
{C.H.} Jackie told me in August 1967 he and Candy Darling were walking in Greenwich Village and Jackie saw Andy Warhol and Fred Hughes coming out of the Leather Man store on Christopher Street.
Warhol had just bought some leather pants. Jackie ran up to Andy and introduced himself and asked for his autograph on the shopping bag Curtis was toting around. Warhol asked Jackie what was in the bag and Curtis told him it was satin shorts for the tap dancing scene in his play “Glamour, Glory and Gold” which was opening in September, Jackie invited him to come.
Jackie told me he went to the Factory with four tickets and gave them personally to Andy Warhol. He came and afterwards congratulated Curtis, the author and the start of the performance, Melba LaRose, Jr. played the lead Nola Noonan, and Candy Darling played Estelle and was reviewed as a woman. Curtis asked Andy Warhol for a review quote and Warhol said of the play: “For the first time, I wasn’t bored” which they used in advertisements!
{J.W.} Jackie starred in the Paul Morrissey directed film “Flesh”. What was that like for Jackie? How did this film come about, Craig?
{C.H.} Warhol’s “Flesh” was Paul Morrissey’s response to “Midnight Cowboy” which was filming on location in New York City in 1968. Morrissey knew that Hollywood would tone down the subject matter and nudity and wanted to do something more gritty about a hustler (played by Joe Dallesandro) working the streets trying to raise money for his wife’s girlfriend’s abortion – talk about controversy in 1968 – that very concept was designed to stir up publicity and fill movie theater seats, especially with Warhol’s name attached to it.
Warhol and Morrissey already knew Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling and so Morrissey came up with an idea to have them sit on a couch and talk extemporaneously about a movie magazine while Joe Dallesandro is getting a blowjob from Geri Miller practically next to them in the same room!
This was Jackie’s dream, to be in a movie in theatrical release on the big screen, and you bet that Curtis went to every screening and that it propelled him into more self-publicity (I believe this was the moment Curtis had 1000 Jackie Curtis shopping bags printed up which were sold in Greenwich Village head shops)!
{J.W.} Could you tell us about The Jack Mitchell Archives, Craig?
{C.H.} When I first began thinking about making “Superstar in a Housedress” I knew I would need lots of archival photographs of Jackie Curtis, and Holly Woodlawn and Candy Darling, Andy Warhol and the whole crowd. And I immediately thought I need Jack Mitchell photographs, he photographed them more than any other photographer. But how was I ever going to afford license fees? I got on Google and did some research and found that Jack Mitchell had retired in 1995, he lived in New Smyrna Beach, Florida and he did not have a website. So I thought I will offer to do a website for him and to be his webmaster in exchange for the rights to his photographs. And that is just what happened.
Jack and his partner Bob Pavlik came to the opening night of the film at Film Forum in New York and everyone was there, they were very impressed, and loved the film and seeing his photographs in a feature length film in a theater with a packed audience. And the film toured film festivals and we had a theatrical run and it was broadcast on cable and Jack loved it all. It brought him new attention. And I called him and said I know what my next documentary subject is and it is you!
+Jackie Curtis by Jack Mitchell+
I want to do a film about your life and work. And he was very pleased and excited. He put me in touch with people who were old friends and people he had photographed who loved his work that I could interview on camera, like Broadway diva Patti LuPone, playwright Edward Albee, Alvin Ailey dancer Judith Jamison, famed choreographer Merce Cunningham, and many others.
And I made the film “Jack Mitchell: My Life is Black and White” and Jack said that it was the greatest honor of his life. He and Bob came to the opening in New York and they came to film festival screenings and Jack did Q&A sessions afterwards with me and he loved it so much.
About a year later Jack and Bob called me and told me that they had decided to leave me Jack’s archives, the entirety of his life’s work, all the vintage photographs, his negatives and color transparencies, his files and memorabilia, everything. Bob died in 2009 at the age of 77 during an operation. Four years later on November 7, 2013 Jack died just weeks after his 88th birthday. I was there with him when he passed away and moved his archives to a vault.
A few months later I began the full time work of cataloguing and digitizing everything. It is a huge job. Jack Mitchell’s career as a professional photographer began just after World War II, when he moved to New York City and continued for about the next five decades. The negative files are almost 6000 photo sessions and there are thousands of boxes of color transparencies as well. There are 77 boxes of vintage prints. I have been working on it for almost two years and have many years of work left. It is very exciting and I make new discoveries with every box I open and every negative file that I scan.
{J.W.} What was Jackie Curtis’ finest hour?
{C.H.} Jackie Curtis’ finest hour? Any of the countless hours Jackie performed – whether is was in his hit play Glamour Glory and Gold, or Cabaret in the Sky, Vain Victory, or singing at his grandmother’s Slugger Ann’s Bar – Curtis was an incredible star of amazing brilliance. So many people remarked upon his being a genius: La Mama founder Ellen Stewart and comic icon Lily Tomlin among them.
Jackie Curtis had an electric charismatic magnetism that enthralled and thrilled audiences. I loved Jackie. Jackie put all of himself into every performance for the love of the art, and that is why it is really impossible for me to zero in on one performance, one hour, one moment. Now that he is gone, I think of him and a whole kaleidoscope of incredibly beautiful moments of sublime artistry blossom in my mind. As others have said, he was sui generis – absolutely unique.
{J.W.} What will your next book be about, Craig? Any other projects that you wish to tell us about?
{C.H.} I have been working on the Jack Mitchell Archives (cataloging boxes of vintage prints, and scanning negatives and color transparencies) since Jack’s death two years ago. There is a lot of material for my memoirs including several years I spent running around with Curtis. I am going to work at what may be my memoirs, but potentially could take a new form (film or multimedia) because I have the journals, and visual and audio elements as well.
Writers of ‘HAIR’ Gerome Ragni (L), Galt Macdermot (C), and James Rado (R)
If you know us, you know that our tagline in life and business both is “Escape the Everyday” . . . and as of late, we have been living out this philosophy not only in our day to day conjuring our many style spirits who help us guide our way through our destiny, but journeying into the past performing in Hamilton Theatre Inc.‘s production of “HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical”!
Aaron is “Woof” and Paul is an exciting, fun member of the Tribe, and having the chance to bring this iconic piece of art to life has been a rejuvenating, invigorating, and educating experience.
Before production began, we had been doing tons of research on the original show, its history, and the time period it portrays (a tribe of hippies in 1968 New York City) in preparation for designing costumes for the production, which then inspired the decision to be an even more involved cog in the wheel.
For three months our cast and crew have worked tirelessly to ignite the fire that initially made ‘HAIR’ such a phenomenon almost fifty years ago. Here’s some photos from TIME magazine before the original show hit the Broadway stage:
Ironically, the anti-establishment ‘HAIR’ became one of the biggest mainstream successes of Broadway history, and also brought this alternative culture to the masses in a huge way.
Before there was even a barometer of “hippie” style, ‘HAIR’ put its stamp on the vibe with designs by iconic costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge (best known for her Academy Award winning designs for 1974’s ‘The Great Gatsby’).
We use the word “timeless” a lot in this forum, but the word could not be more appropriately paired with this show.
Today, our world is as chaotic and confused as ever; and ‘HAIR’ fights against this conflict with love, happiness, and perhaps, utopian ideals that might never truly win the fight, but at least, keep the fight going.
Tickets are selling fast, so if you are local, do visit the website and order them ASAP. If you can’t see us in person, we encourage you to feel the vibe anyway, and enjoy this wicked quality video of the 1968 West Coast cast of ‘Hair’ performing some of the show’s iconic jams on the “Smother Brothers” show.
There probably isn’t an aesthetic that struck a chord so controversial in fashion as the notorious 90s inclination towards the new look: Heroine Chic. We are starting to see a bit of a return to this vibe in some of the world’s most prestigious runways, not surprising as the 90s is taking the 21st century by storm these days.
According to Wikipedia, heroine chic is defined as:
We found this throwback video of a 1997 episode of Fashion Television (I miss you!) on the death of fashion wunderkind Davide Sorrenti who had been one of the industry’s top photographers for this new look.
Taking photos of his friends in New york City inspired by the images of Larry Clarke and Nan Goldin, and coming from a lineage of art/fashion, he quickly became the go-to for this latest look until his untimely death at only 20 years old from . . . you guessed it!
HEROINE! (Not doing very well for the cause . . . )
“We were poking fun at fashion” – Corinne Day, 1997
Out of the 80s which was all about glam and excess, Corrine Day in particular, stripped down her editorials to the basics, and instead of big butts, red lips, exaggerated bosoms, and endless hair; she chose young nymph-like beauties with a more natural essence and a bit of grit for a more realistic aesthetic that was really a rejection of the then standard of beauty.
It’s hard to get the joke when you use the words ‘Heroine’ and ‘Chic’ together, and then you think of the deaths of so many talented young people (first supermodel Gia Carangi, actor and E.O.F. Style Idol, River Phoenix, rock star Kurt Cobain, and of course, ‘heroine chic’ proprietor Davide Sorrenti) during this time, making it impossible to reject the realities that this truly was a problem in the industry. However, I think it is a shame to bash the entire industry and pigeon hole this aesthetic and its creators and muses as – EVIL.
After all, in the end – they are images. You take them as you do, and thats that.
“Is Heroine Chic even real?”
That’s a brilliant question Jeanne Beker asks in this clip, and its what I kept asking myself as I watched it. After all, even Bill Clinton had something to say about this trend and its abuse on younger generations who could be susceptible to the cool factor of the fashion industry essentially embracing drugs.
However, it wasn’t the photographers or models or industry people coining the phrase, it was simply a term coined by the media which quickly turned into a frenzy – on the verge of a witch hunt.
There will always be that push against changing times, and interestingly enough today we are seeing the shift realized towards more “full” sized women in the mainstream of the industry. But, in the end, what does that prove?
It is always important to push healthy body image, but honestly, some of these girls (and boys, too) cannot help being that thin, so I always find it unfair this constant scrutiny on body types. Perhaps, the less we made an issue of either end of the scale, there wouldn’t have to be a problem at all.
The truth is we don’t want to accept each other for what we are, which is absolute crime.
In the end, I guess this clip posted initially by Dazed & Confused Magazine really just got me thinking, and would definitely have me thinking for a while. There’s no denying this controversial era absolutely broke down walls in the realm of fashion imagery, and brought a rebellion to the forefront that continues to this day.
Nobody is perfect, and that’s what I think this era really tried to capitalize on in the simplest way.
Milla Jovovich interviews at Fashion Out Loud circa. 1996 ft. Davide Sorrenti
The elusive world of fashion will probably always have some sort of bad rep, and that’s fine.
But don’t be silly enough to only look at the surface.
{French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ miˈʃɛl baskija]; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988}
1. artist. style icon.
2. academic; a little underground; a little street; archaic African; American hip-hop; Classic; Refined; Cultured; Gritty; Nitty; Bad Ass; Post-Punk; Anti-Conservative; Painted. Layered; Tough; Rugged; Tribal; NYC.
3. timeless.
4. cool.
+
I don’t listen to what art critics say. I don’t know anybody who needs a critic to find out what art is.
Angela Xie photographed by Aaron Duarte, styled by Paul Heaton & Aaron Duarte /The Eye of Faith {Vintage} in collaboration with Style at MAC.
We are pleased to announce some new additions to the {SHOP}. Had a lovely lady already inquiring about the YSL Rive Gauche Paris 90s black velvet pleated trousers, so get these finds while they are hot!
We were feeling moody opulent vibes. It’s always a secret society gathering one way or another here at The Eye of Faith {Vintage}. You got to know when to hold or fold, and we all need a place where we belong. . .
Braeden Militante (@bmilitante) + Angela Xie (@_thelorelei_) photographed by Aaron Duarte. Styling by Paul Heaton and Aaron Duarte/ The Eye of Faith {Vintage} in collaboration with Style at Mac. Read our interview with this stylishly discerning society!
Just be yourself! The thing we love most about these finds is the unending options. We are also excited that many of our new additions are for our stylishly discerning lady friends. . .
There once was a mysterious band of knights who roamed and raved their days and nights along the banks of the cool dark waters. Young and wild, they howled at the moon like the wolves, and on the clear days when the sun seemed to sparkle like diamonds on their faces, they stood sullen like statues of antiquity before cawing and cooing outrageously to their peers.
They sat watching the crowd waves roar; the boardwalk full of walking visitors, strange and new from far away places, that would all turn away in disdain from the boys of summer, sensing somehow their mighty position above it all . . .
They weren’t there for the sights and sounds, instead vying for an order of things far from the distressing quarrels of everyday society.
Simple positions shared amongst them all. One assigned to watch, another to distribute, another to discover, and the rest to play by the rules. No one over stepped a turn at the bottle, for each one knew that their last could be any day. Neville, one of the leaders, would say, ‘Never shy from your true colours’ and these they would display with unbroken pride.
Your honour was earned by the friendships you garnered and gathered.
Some say they had magic on their sides; magic powers taken from the ages, used to ensure their place along the sand dunes. Others say they made friends easily, but were actually ghosts playing games on the common folk.
Only one place in the world for them. A sacred fellowship that haunts us all to this day . . .
I like to imagine seeing them there every time I go back to the seaside. Guarding their little corner of the Earth, and protecting the small sliver of paradise they managed to claim as their own.
Sometimes I can hear them sing their favourite tune; a memory that wavers from faded dream to brilliant exuberance.
It was a familiar one made their own by one of their musically gifted initiates –
The Knights of the Sandcastle need your help reviving their unique spirit that has been suppressed by the ages.
With their help, you too can be free. We have lots of wicked vintage apparel in the {SHOP} today so make sure you take a look, and invite a friend while you’re at it!
Our {SHOP} on ETSY is stocked full of goodies, so take a peak before they’re gone. . .
Indeed there are many sinfully stylish idols to worship throughout “The Great Gatsby”; like masculine and cool Jordan, soft and feminine Daisy, even the bookish narrator Nick. And then of course there’s the poster boy himself, Jay Gatsby ,who shall always remain in the fore realm of our memory as a hero to determination and an eternal icon of excess.
But, one that is often overlooked has to be Tom Buchanan; the brutish and masculine husband of Daisy.
This powerful Yale alum is as much the style savant as any of the other devilish dandies that parade themselves throughout the story. This time around, however, Tom Buchanan is as much the idol of style as anyone of his other stylish co-sars.
We thought it only {STYLE-WISE} to look at style through the eyes of the ivy league, and look at secret society style with a time travelling hustler’s unique eye for detail. . .
{remember XIXIXI gets you 25 % off in the {SHOP} ALWAYS! }
TIME TRAVELLING at its Finest. Pieces from disparate eras can be mixed and matched to create an overall look. Secret society cool is about luxury, strength, and standing apart from the rest.
No, not Hannah from GIRLS . . . “Hannah and Her Sisters” – one of Woody Allen’s best and most classic films he ever made chronicling the eccentric lives of well, Hannah, and her sisters.
Dianne Wiest won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Michael Caine was dubbed Best Supporting Actor of the year, as well as a deserved win for the film’s hilarious screenplay. It appropriately captures the life and longings of living in a metropolitan city in the age of the moderns.
It’s bold yet subtle, and the film has a lot to owe to it’s exquisite curation of oldies and classics to make the film’s iconic soundtrack.
Don’t you find that sometimes there are soundtracks that much up perfectly to your state-of-mind or point-in-life in the most remarkable way, you’d swear they were handcrafted for you. In a way, they were, and with each passing mood and memory, you are bound to find another soundtrack that uplifts that particular spirit.
That’s why I’m always scouring for new old ones, and old new ones to help make my world a more beautiful and inspiring place.
Sometimes only the songs really understand . . .
Enjoy this, the complete soundtrack to Woody Allen’s “Hannah and her Sisters”. Not sure what it says about me at the moment, but it fits my mood just right. Maybe I’ve got a little bit of the January Jones blues . . .
What do you think our choice says about our moment? Let us know in the comments below!
We’ll be posting more of these as the moods strike.
