“There is nothing new except what is forgotten,” stated Rose Bertin, known as France’s first celebrated fashion designer and famed milliner, who transformed a young Marie Antoinette into a cultural icon during her reign in Versailles. Over 300 years after Antoinette‘s grim end, a forgotten art form has resurfaced with the help of Austria’s youngest milliner creating over-the-top hats that will make any church-going lady turn green with envy.
Julia Cranz may just be 26-years-old, but her hats have won over today’s stylish starlets, making her designs the ultimate accessory. Before Sarah Jessica Parker drove photographers crazy at the Sex and the City premiere in May with her Philip Treacy’s garden-inspired hat adored with monarch butterflies, she turned to Cranz for a personal heart-shaped cap made of silk and leather just for nights out. Cranz even managed to entice burlesque performer Dita Von Teese at their first meeting during the recent Vienna Opera Ball, which resulted in a towering piece made of glossy patent leather, goose neck feathers, and colored pheasant on English linen. Yet, the daughter of artists, who felt fashion was “too-dimensional,” wanted to turn heads with pieces that can make any bad hair day an excuse to become glamorous anytime.
Cranz, who originally studied agricultural economics for four years, chose Mother Nature as her muse. Her Spring/Summer 2007 collection included spread bird’s wings in an army-green hue decked with tiny emerald Swaroski crystals. For a more demure look, Cranz’s “Redroom” contains a scarlet-red hat, resembling a giant crushed rose with small rubies resting on its petals. The designer, who never fails at making each collection more dramatic than the last, manages to leave shoppers in awe with a woman’s miniature bowler hat, once a man’s must-have accessory during the Roaring ‘20s, stitched with delicate lime-yellow lace inspired by cascading leaves.
Her latest hats, which debuted at Berlin Fashion Week this month, proved bolder than anything else she’s done. Some of her most talked-about pieces consist of a flat fuchsia starfish, a bombshell hat wrapped in canary blue feathers, and a men’s hot pink bowler hat that could have been influenced by blooming Gerbera daisies, a fitting image for Spring 2009.
From Vienna’s underground graffiti artists to famed opera diva Anna Netrebko, Cranz’s expertise of hand making flora coming to life in hats has made her one of this year’s most beloved designers.
Visit www.juliacranz.com for more info.
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BLOWOUTS IN BABYLON
Tonight, Tuesday, July 29th- LinYee + Queen Majesty invite you to celebrate the summer with BIG BAMBOO! TUESDAYS A weekly rotation of special guests selecting Jamaican Ska, Rock Steady, and Rub a Dub! Tonights Special Guest Selectors: DJ Ayres and DJ Eleven from THE RUB!! Every Tuesday, 8PM-Midnite! No Malice Palace and Garden 197 East 3rd Street between Avenue A and B. DrinkSpecials.Backyard.DancingMood.
Also tonight- Tacos Again! MISSBEHAVE MAGAZINE vs. PITCH CONTROL PR. Taco Tuesday. 7pm-late @ Rewind. 137 Essex Street (Between Stanton & Rivington) Music Provided by: DJ Panther, Cash & Prizes, DJ Chopps, And Danny Estrella of Ladies Night! $2 Tacos (Carne Asada, Chicken & Veggie) $4 Margaritas
Wednesday, July 30- At 205 Club. Taste in association with Ashes57 proudly presents…LICK, Downtown’s all female artists showdown. Hosted by Jasmine Solano & LaMazing Presenting: a live set by JOI (Dungeon Family / Outkast / ATL), DJ CAT NYC, DJ Wildcat Ebony Brown, The Agytators (photo installations). Coole Swan cocktails & Wine Cellar Sorbet 10-11pm. Goodies provided by Kill Shop Kill, Audible Treats, and more.
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ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Rose Bertin was talented and Isabella Blow will truly be missed