In 2009, New Boyz in their hit single boasted, "Man I got colors that ain't even on the rainbow (x3)/ dudes think they're fresh but we ain't even in the same boat… my style is so retro/ so fresh yo/  I got the best clothes/ you still rocking Ecko." 

 Andre 3000

And they certainly spoke the truth. Starting in the 1980s, the new hip-hop generation, including the likes of Will Smith and the ladies of Salt N' Pepa, largely repopularized the hi-top sneaker and brought large gold jewelry and brightly colored sportswear into the fashion spotlight. Following in the 90s, Andre 3000 brought into vogue an old school look hip-hop look featuring argyles, plaids, straw boater, and jaunty bowtie. 

In the land of the young artiste, where the same H&M scarves and lensless Ray-Bans stretch for miles, Barnard freshman and emerging art star Allison Cohen is one of the few who can not be accused of conformity.  When I fed her with the cliched line, "So Allison, name one of the artists who had served as a primary inspiration for you," I deserved a "Jackson Pollock" or "Picasso, the blue period" (recently described to me as the default choice for angsty teens). Allison, however, calm, cool, and cited Chris Ofili, a little known British painter whose artwork references his Nigerian heritage.

She spoke of how he used elephant dung to paint pictures of the Madonna, simultaneously creating a cultural commentary and playing upon the religious significance of  elephant dung in Zimbambwe. Cohen then explained how she replicated this process at home with her pet African Gray Parrot. She painted a canvas a tone that would emphasize the white urates, allow nature to take its course, and then fix the canvas with a gel medium.  Then, like Offili, she superimposed a picture on these deposits, matching the natural tonal values of the excrement to the paint. She got some mixed responses from an obviously close-minded audience, "Most people upon seeing the bird poop pieces would be like 'Oh that's so pretty! It looks like Jackson Pollock, how'd you do that?' And I'd be like, 'It's poop,' and they'd be like 'Ew.'" She laughed mischievously but then suddenly made the transition from delighted imp to introspective academic announcing, "It was interesting to see the reaction produced by the visual aspect of the painting and then the reaction produced by the medium that was used to make it."As the work of all great artists was reviled before it was accepted, I believe that we can expect only remarkable things from Ms. Cohen. Who knows,  between her and Offili's efforts, they may have already set the precedent for the next emerging art form.

FOR MORE, VISIT: http://allisongallery.com

A "look." That's something that every girl in the world becomes obsessed with sooner or later. A signature style that symbolizes "you," that somehow exudes your personality to the rest of the world.

We all draw on different influences, but I for one wish that I could just invent my own signature style and not think "my god, I want that exact look" and copy every awesome look I see. It's something we all fall prey too.

But it's a tricky and often misguided process. The iconic picture of Audrey Hepburn in her slinky little black dress isn't iconic just because the dress is gorgeous. Beauty isn’t special. Audrey’s inimitable dash of je ne sais quoi make that look special. That charismatic, aloof quality, of relaxed elegance and comfort is what we're actually striving for. That's the difference between true style and fashion.

And today, I’d like to present one of my favorite stylish movie characters:

Gwyneth Paltrow as Margot Tenenbaum from The Royal Tenenbaums:

Her signature look...

To the horror of music purists everywhere—hipsters, pull that houndstooth scarf up over your eyes, or something—I’m about to provide the first if you like x, then you’d like y METROPOLIS sound recommendation.  Yes, I’m going to make a demeaning simplification, reducing your complex taste and a band’s complex work to a two-clause byline, and yes, I can’t guarantee that I’ll always speak the truth, but go on and give me the benefit of the doubt.  If you’re the kind of music fan I am, even when you’re burned out on an album, you still want more: kindly accept my silver platter.