Money, Notoriety and Rivieras
Two nights in Cannes, immediately after seeing Lana perform for the fourth time in London last week seems apt, right? Being here during the film festival is mostlyalways incredible (the mostly is in part to the paparazzi and “please invite me to your premiere” signs held by girls in cheap ball gowns – something I will never understand).
The cameo appearance in Cannes included a night at Unkle Karl’s favourite Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc for the epic De Grisogono Midnight Party followed by the global premiere of Gosling’s Drive reteam with Nicolas Winding Refn for Only God Forgives. Huge thanks again to MRPORTER.COM again for hooking me up with the Dolce & Gabbana black tie and to Louis Vuitton for the dress shirt.
Tuxedo: Balenciaga
Shirt: Louis Vuitton
Bow tie: Dolce & Gabbana via MRPORTER.COM
Shoes: Bottega Veneta
Short Film: Regeneration with Fabergé
Last month, contemporary master jeweller Fabergé approached me to collaborate on a project and I can finally share the result. Filmed by my extraordinary talented film director/producer brother Oz Thakkar, we created a 50-second short, ‘Regeneration’ – telling the story of knowledge and faith through the meditative embrace of the Fabergé’s legendary coloured gemstones.
We filmed at Fabergé’s London Boutique and fashion featured is by Dolce & Gabbana and Saint Laurent Paris courtesy of MRPORTER.COM. The Romanov necklace itself was previously worn by Lana Del Rey in a shoot with Solve Sundsbo for Vanity Fair and Mila Kunis in a recent Gemfields campaign shot by Mario Sorrenti), it is valued at £3.5million. The original score is by the inimitable Monarchy (you can see their video and single featuring Dita Von Teese here).
Special thanks to Jay Best, Lauren Morris, Alize Morand and Christopher MacDonald for helping make this come to life and to one of my favourite sites DesignScene for running the film as an exclusive.
Announcing: Ada + Nik
After months of planning, studio time and creating – with more to come(!), I am REALLY excited to be able to announce a huge personal project that I’ve been working on with designer Ada Zanditon for London Collections: Men.
We’ve teamed up to launch Ada + Nik – which will debut with a ‘Greco-Roman Punk’ inspired capsule collection in June.
Ada + Nik features ten unique pieces bringing to life my adoration for a monochrome and minimalist luxe aesthetic, nodding to Ada’s previous collections.
We are using sheer and eel skin t-shirts, kilts, two pairs of leather detailed shorts, a statement biker jacket, open back structured dress shirts and a human hair, bamboo and calf leather jersey with accompanying swimwear, luxury gym towel and tank tops – all ethically sourced and produced. The brand itself will be art and visual content driven; and we are creating fashion films in collaboration with leading industry directors and filmmakers and creative campaigns featuring big gun male models and fashion muses.
I have been a huge fan of Ada’s work and sustainable approach to fashion for years now – and loved her bespoke menswear pieces for Patrick Wolf. Her unique structuring and use of silhouettes made the decision to partner with Ada an easy choice to bring a vision that I have had in mind for this brand to life.
A huge thank you to the prestigious WWD for helping us announce today, and to Matthew James Arthur Payne for photographing the press shots and my long-time collaborator Achraf Amiri for the launch illustrations – check them out below.
More details on the collection, the campaign and film we’re creating with Thomas Knights and talent we are signing for the campaign to be announced soon.
You can follow Ada + Nik on Twitter and Like the brand page on Facebook where the latest information will be posted!
Projections Reinterpreted
A few months ago, I worked with photographer Lefteris Primos on a shoot aptly titled ‘Projections’ that ended up going Tumblr viral, racking up coverage on various trend and fashion sites including the prestigious Trend Hunter. Today NY-based singer-songwriter Adriel Daniel re-interpreted one of the images on his site/evolving moodboard, grouping it with a couple of inspiration images.
Adriel is an incredibly talented artist, you can check out his creative vision and preview some of his tracks on his tumblr and below along with the full ‘Projections’ shoot (note the Gaga and Rick Genest/Mugler cameos).
You can follow KARLISMYUNKLE/me on tumblr here.
Filming with Fabergé
Fabergé has always been a brand that you could only dream to work with, which is why I’m stoked that a short film/video portrait we created together will be out in a couple of weeks.
My incredible film director/producer brother Oz Thakkar (of Silent Treatment Films) and I shot it at Fabergé’s London Boutique in Mayfair which recently reopened in 2011 for the first time the last Fabergé store in London was closed in 1915 due to the repatriation of Russian resources at the beginning of the First World War.
Showcasing and wearing parts of the £3.5m Romanov necklace that has graced the décolleté of Lana Del Rey and Mila Kunis in editorials and campaigns was an absolute pleasure. Huge thank you to MR PORTER who kindly offered to dress me in Saint Laurent Paris and Dolce & Gabbana.
