Each year fashion brand Emporio Armani chooses a new celeb to be scantily clad in their black and white ad campaign for underwear and lingerie. Shot by Steven Klein, this year's sexy siren is Rihanna, replacing last year's Megan Fox and David and Victoria Beckham.
Taken in a black Lincoln Continental in New York, Rihanna's photos by Steven Klein (shown below) were just unveiled to the public.
If you've been on the internet or have seen the news this week, chances are you caught a glimpse of The Black Eyed Peas' Fergie and her fun LEGO dress worn during the 24th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Nickelodeon held last Saturday.
The heavily blogged about LEGO dress is a hoot, but hardly impressive when compared to other work by the same designer. The dress was created by Michael Schmidt Studios of Los Angeles and New York. You may not now his name, but you certainly know his work. He's been designing for musical legends like Tina Turner, Cher, Deborah Harry, Joan Jett, Iggy Pop, Steven Tyler and Grace Jones since the late 1980's. He was even nominated for an Emmy Award for Costume Design for a Variety or Music Program, "Cher... At The Mirage" in 1991.
above: Michael's chain maille and crystal designs for Cher and Tina Turner in 1986 and 1989.
More in demand than ever, Michael continues to design for today's popular entertainers like Madonna, Lady Gaga, Dita Von Teese, Rihanna, Brittany Spears and the Chrome Hearts brand. Often working with lots of Swarovski crystals, snake-like imagery and scales, corsets and chain maille, Michael produces sexy, body conscious clothes for concert tours, award shows and other appearances.
above: Michael Schmidt's designs for Lady Gaga, photos by David LaChapelle
Michael has also made several forays into the world of interior design. Projects include the installation of a massive bamboo 'Wave' construction at the restaurant Simon At The Palms, Palms Casino, Las Vegas. Another creation is a knotted rope curtain for the lobby of the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, CA, woven from more than a mile of white cotton rope. Past projects include designing the VIP rooms of the Palladium nightclub in NYC, featuring the installation of black leather floors upon which silver studs spelled out the lyrics to the classic Iggy Pop song 'Nightclubbing' in Braille.
His costume and accessory designs are nothing short of body sculpture and last year the PMCA (Pasadena Museum of California Arts) featured much of his work in their California Design Biennial: Action/Reaction exhibit.
above: Rihanna wears his denim-printed metal mesh shorts on the cover of last month's Rolling Stone
FERGIE Working with stylists B. Ackerlund, Schmidt as also created other memorable outfits for Fergie. Hand-sewn snake scale and Swarovski studded body suits and boots for her 2010 appearance on American Idol Gives Back, chromed body armored catsuits, even a vacuum-formed and chromed corset:
MADONNA Some of his pieces designed for Madonna's 2008-2009 world tour:
DITA VON TEESE Designs for Dita Von Teese include Swarovski Crystals soldered onto aviator glasses and the Swarovski crystal-embellished outfit and accessories worn in her Opium Den show:
CHROME HEARTS Michael has created sterling silver and diamond jewelry, accessories and mesh clothes for rock n' roll luxe brand Chrome Hearts:
above: Inez and Vindooh in a self-portrait for Lanvin, 2010
Fashion photographers, artists and directors, husband and wife Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin met at The Art Academy in Amsterdam in the mid 1980s. Working formally together since the early 1990s, they have now been together personally and professionally for almost two decades.
Some of the busiest and hardest working talent in the industry, they've photographed ad campaigns for just about every prestigious fashion and fragrance brand including Balmain, Roberto Cavalli, Chanel, Isabel Marant, Gianfranco Ferre, Moschino, Lanvin, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Calvin Klein, Gaultier, Dior, Viktor & Rolf, Miu Miu, Guiseppe Zanotti, Gucci, YSL, Lanvin, Chloe, Jimmy Choo, Nina Ricci - even Pirelli- and countless others.
above: their photo of Sophia Loren in the 2007 Pirelli calendar
In addition to their commercial advertising work, they've shot magazine covers and editorials for Vogue (Paris, Japan, China and more), GQ, W, V and many other publications. And they are fabulous with celebrity portraits. Videos and short films for fashion brands YSL, Balmain, Gucci and more are also part of their impressive repetoire.
above: a still from Balmain's Everglade (video shown further down in the post)
From sexy to sophisticated, pop art to surreal, here's a look at some of their diverse work from 2010 and 2011.
Advertising photography Gucci: Jean-Paul Gaultier: Lanvin: Jimmy Choo: Dior: Narcisco Rodriguez and Viktor & Rolf: Roberto Cavalli: Chloe: Louis Vuitton: Miu Miu:
Recent editorial photography:
Celebrity portraits for W Magazine, 2011 Jennifer Lawrence: Michael Douglas: Mila Kunis: Colin Firth:
And most recently, they shot the April covers for next month's issues of Vogue Paris (featuring Gisele Bundchen) and for Vogue Nippon (Japan): above images courtesy of models.com, the collective shift
Fashion collection videos and short films: Balmain Collection video (Everglade) with Kate Moss for 2011. Music by Antony & the Illustrations by Jo Ratcliffe:
YSL Manifesto Video for 2010 :
One of their earliest videos was the 2001 Bjork Hidden Place video:
INEZ VAN LAMSWEERDE Born: September 25, 1963, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Education: One year residency at PS1, Institute of Contemporary Art, New York, 1992 -1993 Rietveld Academy of the Arts, 1985 - 1990, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
VINOODH MATADIN Born: September 29, 1961, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Education: Fashion Academy, 1981 - 1985, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
