Voodoo Queens; Facial Masks Doodled By Illustrator Nina Chakrabati.

Voodoo Queens is a series of interventionist doodles created by illustrator Nina Chakrabati for I Want You Magazine. With a rotring pen, she doodled facial 'masks' and superimposed them upon photographs of women:









About the artist:

above: self portrait by Nina Chakrabati

Nina was born and spent her early life in Calcutta, India. She moved to the UK in her teens carrying her stamp collection under her arm and little else. She studied illustration at Central St. Martins, and many years later, at The Royal College of Art.

Her work is often concerned with collections and the composition of objects. She works using Rotring pens, felt tips, biros, pencils, inks and the Apple Macintosh. She enjoys using different technologies and mediums and collaborating with others when the opportunity arises.

She lives and works in London, England.

Nina Chakrabati

Sharpie Appears On The Catwalk [Again] In The 2011 F/W Qasimi Homme Collection.

Sharpie markers have hit that catwalk again. Whereas Rodarte used Sharpies to decorate the arms and bodies of women in their S/S 2010 collection, this time it's men donning the black markers to embellish the collection of menswear for 2011 Fall /Winter Qasimi Homme line.



Designer Khalid Al-Qasim's latest menswear collection features leather, knitwear and furs in warm chocolate browns, greys, aubergines, beiges and blacks, and was accentuated with tribal patterns in black [and white] placed on the foreheads of the male models.



The white was applied with body make-up:

but the black was created with the favorite tool of artists and designers everywhere, the Sharpie:



Belted coats, oversized sweaters, tailored wools and leathers with graphic patterns were complimented by the artfully applied facial markings.










The entire collection of menswear is really quite striking, but for this feature, I've focused on the Sharpie markers applied to the foreheads and bodies of the beautiful men making their way down the runway. To get a look at the entire line of clothing, please visit Fashionising.

Designer Khalid Al-Qasim:

images courtesy of Fashion Mag and Fashionising

Qasimi Homme

Yes, I am a proud member of the Sharpie Squad. If you find, do or know of creative applications with Sharpie markers, and would like to see me feature them on my blog and/or on Sharpie's blog, kindly let me know.



See more creativity with Sharpies at Sharpie Uncapped
Sharpie

Bieber Fever Spreads To Fingertips. A First Look At His Nicole by Opi Nail Polishes.

above: the collection is said to include a total of 14 colors, with the above six launching first.

Bieber Fever spreads to fingertips. That's right, tween heartthrob Justin Bieber has collaborated with Opi's new Nicole line to design a collection of nail polish which hits Wal-Mart stores this December after which it will appear in Target, Sears and several other stores.

The collection will debut with six shades in this December; One Less Lonely Glitter (a metallic lavendar), Prized Possession Purple (grape), Give Me The First Dance (silver), Me + Blue (metallic blue), OMB! (metallic red), and Step 2 the Beat of my Heart (heart shaped specks). Come February, the collection will be made available at other stores, including Target and Sears.

Here's a first look at some of the colors:

above: Justin Bieber's One Less Lonely Girl (metallic lavender) polish For Nicole by Opi


above: Justin Bieber's Blue +Me (metallic blue) polish For Nicole by Opi


above: Justin Bieber's Give Me The First Dance polish For Nicole by Opi

Laugh if you must, but this little man with the popular haircut knows what he's doing or his managers do. Aside from his likeness splayed all over T-shirts, calendars and jewelry, he made a recent appearance on television's CSI, his 3D concert is soon to be released in theaters and he's soon launching "First Step 2 Forever: My Story", his first memoir.


above: One Less Lonely Glitter, Give Me The First Dance ad Step 2 the Beat of my Heart

He will be joining the likes of Katy Perry and Serena Williams who will both be launching collections with Nicole by OPI.


images and info courtesy of Nicole by Opi.

Photography Legend Matthew Rolston Shoots For America's Next Top Model

the above Matthew Rolston photo of Ann was deemed the winner by the collective panel of judges

For those who don't tune into ANTM (that's America's Next Top Model for you non-watchers), you wouldn't be aware of how the show has upped the creativity quotient for their 15th cycle.

They've enlisted more impressive photographers and judges than in previous cycles, have wrangled a Vogue Italia spread and cover of their Beauty supplement as part of the winner's package and in the episodes that have aired thus far, seem to be taking the creative art of modeling a bit more seriously. Don't fret, the cat-fights, insipid conversation and petty drama within the modern beachfront Venice house still occur.


above: photographer Matthew Rolston

Wednesday night's episode featured legendary beauty photographer Matthew Rolston as both a photographer and a judge. Rolston chose to style the models as underwater mermaids and placed them along with diamonds, pearls and sea life beneath a plexiglass case filled with water. For many of the models, it was their best shot of the season, not surprisingly.



For the more discriminating folks who may consider this reality television entertainment a waste of time, let me just share with you the portraits shot by Matthew Rolston of cycle 15's remaining contestants. You may very well decide to start tuning in.


the above photo of Chris was Matthew Rolston's personal favorite

I don't know if these young and beautiful women realize that this may be the only time in their potential careers that they are ever shot by the likes of Matthew. Never again may they be in front of the lens of such a reputable and respected photographer, so I hope they cherish the following photos and place them in their portfolios forever (except for Chelsey and Liz whose photos, although beautifully shot, are not flattering).

Kacey:

Esther:

Kendal:

Lexie:

Kayla:

Jane:

Liz:

Chelsey:

Rhianna, below, was elimated in this episode, due to purported lack of versatility:

photos courtesy of Matthew Rolston/Pottle Productions Inc ©2010 Pottle Productions Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Images of the prep for the underwater shoot:







About the show this season
The show features Tyra Banks and gives real young women of various backgrounds, shapes and sizes an opportunity to prove that they can make it in the high-stress, high-stakes world of high fashion supermodeling.


America's Next Top Model - Cycle 15 Pictured: (front row) Kayla, Chelsey, Kendal, Ann, Esther, Lexie, Liz, Jane (back row) Kacey, Sara, Free, Anamaria, Chris, Terra Photo Credit: Jessica Brooks /Pottle Productions © 2010 Pottle Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Lending their expertise as guest judges during this high fashion cycle are designer Diane Von Furstenberg, designer/stylist Patricia Field ("Sex and the City"), top beauty photographer Matthew Rolston, supermodel Karolina Kurkova, top fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier, Italian photographer Francesco Carrozzini, designer Zac Posen, designer/model Margherita Missoni, IMG Models executive Kyle Hagler, Vogue Italia editor-in-chief Franca Sozzani and designer Roberto Cavalli.

Banks leads the panel of judges, comprised of influential fashion editor Andre Leon Talley and photographer Nigel Barker. Jay Manuel serves as the photo shoot creative director, while Miss J Alexander returns as the runway trainer.

The prize package has also been given a high-fashion makeover. The winner of Cycle 15 will receive a career-launching package, including a contract with IMG Models, one of the top international modeling management companies in the world; a fashion spread in Vogue Italia and an additional spread and cover of Beauty in Vogue; and a $100,000 contract with CoverGirl Cosmetics.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL is produced by 10 by 10 Entertainment, in association with Bankable Productions. Tyra Banks is the creator and executive producer along with Ken Mok ("Making the Band") and Laura Fuest ("Pit Boss").

Matthew Rolston books