Andrew Andrew
No, they are not twins (though they do dress alike), and they’d rather not be compared to Gilbert and George. Andrew Andrew began, the story goes, two years ago in Tomorrowland at Disney World, when one Andrew approached the other Andrew and asked him, “IBM or Mac?” and they both immediately felt an incredibly strong connection. Suddenly, they were Andrew Andrew, playing video games, going on picnics, and wondering what to do with all of their ideas. Since then, they have curated shows in art galleries, sold their baked goods in the Chelsea Market, and these days, they are wearing big pants and spinning records at art openings and clubs. Andrew Andrew have also turned their attention to fashion. Their fall 2000 line was called “Respect Me,” and it consisted of many sticky labels, onto which the words RESPECT ME had been printed, that they stuck into the collars of T-shirts at stores like H&M and Old Navy – without the permission of the chain stores. “So,” they explain, “people would think they’d bought an Old Navy shirt but it would really be Respect Me.” Now they are hard at work on their Spring 2001 couture line, Respectez Moi. The details are still under wraps. There will be labels involved, but this time they will be hand-done. “We’re really populists,” Andrew Andrew declare. “It’s not the avant-garde, it’s the opposite.”
Marc-oleptics
When photographers swarmed Tiffani-Amber Thiessen at the opening of the Lancel store, the actress stuck out her hip and pointed proudly to the bitty initials – MJ – embroidered on her jeans. MJ is for Marc Jacobs but not his pricey, eponymous line. Thiessen was wearing Marc, the lower-priced version that hit stores for the first time this spring. Hordes of girls have been gobbling up the princess-cut army jackets and fruity rainbow belts with astonishing hunger. Bergdorf Goodman sold 400 pairs of Marc jeans in one week! Incidents involving more than two Marc kimono tops at the very same party/bar/opening are widespread, which leaves only one question: Whatever did anyone wear before?
Jewels of the Style
Twice a year, when European editor and stylist types descend on New York, their American counterparts study their look. While there’s always plenty of Prada and Gucci (bought, it is jealously noted, for far less than they cost Stateside), there are also subtle Euro touches, like the organically amorphous jewelry by Lia di Gregorio: Interlocking gold hoops make a bracelet ($700); the tiniest baby pearls make chains ($250). Incredibly understated – and with the look of something hard to find – it can actually be bought here, at Barneys. Now we just have to work out how to get the great deals on Bruno Frisoni shoes.
Anna Anna?
Page 141 of the May issue of Vogue is causing double takes. Although the photograph is actually of a 20-year-old Mexican model named Liliana, she looks, at first (and second, even third!) glance, exactly like the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. Same bob, same grin; there’s even something, practiced Anna-watchers can tell you, about the stance. According to her agency, Karin, Liliana’s hair has been bobbed for about a year, but she’s never before been compared to the famous editor. A spokesman for the magazine denies that the looky-likey was intentional. “Comparisons to Anna Wintour are inevitable,” he explained, “whenever we show a model with a bob haircut and bangs.” Our eyes are peeled for Andre Leon Talley types in future editions.