Commentary

The Genteel editors on what we're seeing, doing, reading and anticipating for the week ahead.

EVENTS

BUENOS AIRES - ArteBA. One of South America's most important contemporary art fairs, ArteBA is bringing the biggest names in Latin American art to the Argentine capital. Now in its 22nd year, the event will run from May 19 - 22, 2012 in La Rural, a large convention centre in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. Last year, the four-day fair attracted more than 120,000 visitors. La Rural, Predio Ferial de Buenos Aires, Av. Sarmiento 2704 (May 19 - 22, 2012).

LONDON - Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950. The Victoria and Albert Museum celebrates the opening of the newly renovated Fashion Galleries with an exhibition of beautiful ballgowns, red carpet evening dresses and catwalk showstoppers. Displayed over two floors, the exhibition will feature more than sixty designs for social events such as private parties, royal balls, state occasions and opening nights. Victoria and Albert Museum (May 19, 2012 - January 26, 2013). 

Where Do We Go Now? Source: imbd.com.

NEW YORK - Christer Strömholm: Les Amies de Place Blanche. Swedish photographer Christer Strömholm landed in Paris' red-light district in the 1950s with the goal of documenting the lives and struggles of transgender males. Decades later, in 1983, his images were published in a book, which sold out almost instantly. His vibrant photos have been little seen on American soil, but all of that is about to change with his American museum debut. 
International Center of Photography, 1133 Sixth Ave. (May 18 - September 7, 2012). 

FILMS

Where Do We Go Now? (May 11) - Set in a remote village where the church and the mosque stand side by side, Where Do We Go Now? follows the antics of the town's women to keep their blowhard men from starting a religious war. Women heartsick over sons, husbands and fathers lost to previous flare-ups unite to distract their men with clever ruses, from faking a miracle to hiring a troop of Ukrainian strippers.

BOOKS

The Little Book of Schiaparelli. Emma Baxter-Wright (Carlton Books Limited). Elsa Schiaparelli was one of history's most influential and eccentric couturiers. Endowed with a strikingly imaginative approach to fashion, she perfected a unique combination of the witty and the surreal, the cutting edge and the elegant, from her clothing, jewellery, shoe and perfume designs to her collaborations with such provocative artists as Dalí, Cocteau, and Giacometti. This extravagantly illustrated biography, enhanced with beautiful photographs of Schiaparelli's finished designs and personal sketches, traces the life and career of this innovative fashion genius.

The Little Book of Schiaparelli. Source: retrochick.co.uk.

ONLINE

The New York Times -  In this first installment, we spot Brit Cato, a fashion stylist, hoofing it across DeKalb and Carlton Avenues in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, on a recent afternoon.

Fast Coexist - Building incredibly efficient buildings is hard enough, but it gets a lot harder when you have to make them work in the freezing conditions of rural Alaska. These buildings do it, and cheaply, too.

The Fader - The Fader consulted a handful of discerning minds - makers, curators and packagers - to talk about where and how they discover the best of the new in art, film, literature, comedy and design. After all, everyone needs an editor.

GOOD - The aptly named Trashcam Project started in March after a group of workers-cum-amateur photographers teamed up with a local creative agency and got some pointers from a professional. Now they're documenting the city they help keep clean by turning dumpsters into gigantic pinhole cameras.

Business of Fashion - Is the Met Gala becoming fashion's biggest PR platform? 

Chictopia - A fashion history lesson in Greek, Roman and Minoan style.

The Guardian - Could small be the new big for the fashion industry? The Guardian argues that if fashion wants to truly embrace sustainable practice, it needs to reach out to small companies for innovation.