Read Autre's Favorites from Milan Fashion Week

Oh, Italy. The land of luxury behemoths. Young fashion people scoff at Milan, but Milan is planting itself once more at the forefront of conceptual fashion. Versace and Prada will always be doing their thing. Damir Doma decided to leave the herd of Paris and create his architectural garments in Italy. Arthur Arbesser is injecting youth and idea-driven fashion into the city revitalizing Iceberg and launching his own brand. And, less we forget, Alessandro Michele is the hottest designer in fashion at Gucci. It feels like people are ready for Italian fashion again, and they certainly want Gucci to be relevant again. We’ve had so many years of “cool” and “arty” brands out of Paris and London that maybe the coolest thing to do right now is to pay heed to the luxury giants of Italy. It’s hip to be square, motherfuckers. Click here to read the full review.

Sharon Stone Hosts The Photo15 AIDS Monument Benefit and Photography Auction at Milk Studios In Hollywood

Last night at Milk Studios, Photo15 a live auction benefit, was held for the creation of the West Hollywood AIDS Memorial. For the benefit, dozens of the most iconic photographs from the past 50 years were donated by some of the art world’s greatest juggernaut photographers. Works by Jack Pierson, Herb Ritts, Olivier Zahm, Ellen von Unwerth, Katherine Opie, and many more were represented, and some of the most philanthropic buyers were there hoping to take home a piece of the action. Preceding the live auction, Sharon Stone gave an emotional and sobering speech about the AIDS epidemic and what it has taught us about humanity. In it she says, “This is not a lesson we’re just learning in the AIDS community – it’s a lesson we are learning about humanity. When we judge, when we turn our backs on each other, when we turn away from anyone in need, we have a global crisis.” Indeed, for this event to happen on the same day as a mass shooting in Oregan, we are once again reminded of the obligation we have to band together and put an end to our most deadly manifestations. Last night, hundreds of Angelenos came together to build awareness and honor those who have suffered from the tragedies of the AIDS epidemic. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper

Kamil Franko "Love & War" @ The New Release Gallery in New York

"I wanted to create an existence that is located at the balancing tip of this razor. The very borderline that divides love and violence. To paint joy and harmony with a cast of a shadow; a dawning horror." Click here to read our full review of Kamil Franko's Love & War, which is on view now until November 7, at the New Release Gallery, 60 Mulbery Street. 

Macho Mel: Read Our Convo With the Endlessly Fascinating Mel Shimkovitz On Trans Vampires, Meeting William Burroughs, and Making It In Hollywood →

In the following interview, we have a long chat with Mel Shimkovitz about Trans vampires, her Zelig-like position in the music, art and Hollywood worlds, and the media’s sudden shift in focus toward the lives and rights of the LGBTQ community. Click here to read the full convo. 

Fish and Chicks: See Photos Of London Club Performer Imma Mess Shot by Daniel Peace for Maison Des Fous →

Imma Mess is a little bit of a legend in the underground London club scene. In our new editorial, Daniel Peace captures the performer for a special club night called Maison Des Fous, aka House of Crazy. Maison Des Fous will offer a space for performance and partying where artists of all variety come together to show off their unique skills. With freakshow, drag, neo burlesque and circus performers. Click here to see the full editorial. 

Jacob Kassay At the Beautiful Fitzpatrick-Leland House In Los Angeles Presented By 303 Gallery

Last weekend, 303 Gallery presented Jacob Kassay's presentation of new work at R.M. Schindler's Fitzpatrick-Leland House at the peak of Mulholand Drive in Los Angeles. Commissioned in 1936 as a model home by developer Clifton Fitzpatrick, the Fitzpatrick-Leland house underwent numerous modifications by previous owners until being acquired by Russ Leland in 1990, who restored much of its original design. In a site layered with a history of iterations and mixed uses, Kassay presents a group of raw stretchers from his ongoing series of irregularly shaped remnant paintings, which emerge from the residual textiles leftover from the production of other paintings and from the studios of fellow artists. While Schindler's house was originally built solely for display, these works take shape from excess material typically omitted from use and view. These discards are recouped as blueprints for paintings, where each remnant is given a wooden support that follows its discrete profile and contours, reversing the conventional procedure of producing paintings where surface is trimmed to fit its substrate. photographs by Oliver Maxwell Kupper

Alona Rodeh "Safe and Sound" @ Grimmuseum in Berlin Is A Dark Ode to Israel's Iron Dome

For her solo show at Grimmuseum, Alona Rodeh is presenting the fourth and final episode of her exhibition series Safe and Sound. The first was a large-scale sound and light installation linking club culture and safety regulations in architecture, presented at Künstlerhaus Bethanien; the second presented a variation on the same project at Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art. The third episode—currently on view—is a multichannel sound work and a monumental homage to the notorious Israeli "Iron dome” at Petach Tikva Museum of Art. The last episode, at Grimmuseum, is the most abstract of them all. Issues of vandalism, security and law enforcement were present in the artist’s previous works but, since moving to Berlin two summers ago, she has been closely following the local (as well as general) boost in various audiovisual methods of safety and security in the city, and their adaptations into popular and subcultural aesthetics. Taking an informal path, her investigations reached deep into questions of involuntary reactions to origin and skin tone, the nature of being alarmed, the unwritten borders of authorities’ control, effectivity of pro-active self protection, social hierarchy of personal safety and more. Safe and Sound will be on view until October 17, 2015 at Grimmuseum in Berlin. 

We Love Dutch Hip Hop Group De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig's Music Video For the Track Manon

Created by Amsterdam based creative powerhouse Lernert & Sander, the genius music video for Dutch hip hop group De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig's single Manon goes for pussy power with a bevy of cats playing against a stark pink background – veiled innuendo or not, we love it. 

Autre Exclusively Debuts New Song From Kisses’ Upcoming Album That Comes With A Delicious Limited-Edition Plum Jam

photograph by John Michael Fulton

We’ve been following Los Angeles based pop duo Kisses for a long time. It’s a cliché thing to admit, but they have been a regular soundtrack to our life for the last five years – since their extremely cool and sexy debut album, The Heart of the Nightlife. Sexy is the perfect way to describe Kisses – it’s their name, but it’s also the sound. Combining Jesse Kivel’s nonchalant, vintage-hued timbre and lyrics of youthful abandon and Zinzi Edmundson’s disco-inspired instrumentation, Kisses make undeniable magic for your ears and the dance floor. So, it was beyond exciting when we were asked if we wanted to exclusively premier a track off their upcoming album, Rest In Paradise (out October 9th), which sees Kisses collaborating with a live backing band, Midnight Magic, for the first time. This move from synth to live composition makes the record literally levitate with a new kind of aural luminance that harkens back to early Talking Heads, Orange Juice or even The English Beat. Below, we offer the first listen of the incredible track, entitled “Jam.” In what may be a first, the band has collaborated with L.A. based preserves company and eatery Sqirl to create a custom-made plum jam for the debut of the track. Lead singer Kivel describes the track as “…a song best served with a piece of Chloe Sevigney "toe-ast" – which is why we paired with our friend Jessica at Sqirl to debut this song and a limited edition, literal jam. The tune takes you on a complex and flavorful journey, much like our tasty jam. Fun fact, Erika Spring adds some vocal harmonies on this tune.” This weekend, you can get a taste of this delicious jam and a taste of Kisses’ new album at a special listening party held at Formerly Yes in Downtown Los Angeles – you can RSVP here. The jam is also available for purchase with Hit City USA, the label that takes these tasty grooves from the studio, to your earbuds, and straight down to your dancing feet. Turn up your speakers and press play below. 

Ben Jones "A Technicolor Happening" @ Ace Gallery In Beverly Hills

Ace Gallery hosted a major live performance event, Technicolor Happening, debuting a collaboration between artist Ben Jones and fashion designers Brian Wolk and Claude Morais as well as the world premier of an original composition by David Utzinger entitled Apollonian Gasket, and a Ping-Pong performance by model, actress and table tennis champion Soo Yeon Lee. Ben Jones "A Technicolor Happening" will be on view until October 3, 2015 at Ace Gallery in Beverly Hills. 

Nick van Woert "Just Dropped In To See What Condition" @ Moran Bondaroff Gallery In Los Angeles

Moran Bondaroff, formerly OHWOW gallery, presents Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was. Named after Kenny Rogers’ hit song about psychedelic experience, van Woert adopts this title to reference the subtext of previous work; work centered around artificial substance and an intoxicated landscape. Beyond hinting at altered states, the title refers to his new works, which assess the human condition from an observant, sober vantage. With this quote in mind, van Woert considered the roots of American civilization: “When the white man came he had the bible and we had the land. They gave us the bible and told us to close our eyes and pray. When we opened our eyes we had the bible and they had the land.” Appropriating cigar store Indian figures, the artist carved historic white faces over the existing Native American caricature visages – murderous faces, such as Andrew Jackson and Buffalo Bill, graft the decorative stereotype. The works also reference the 1985 bombing of the house where communal black liberation group MOVE held their office, through various silkscreens burned with the news headlines.  Just Dropped In To See What Condition will be on view until October 10, 2015 at Moran Bondaroff, 937, N. La Cienega, Los Angeles. 

We Love Gucci's Cruise 2016 Fashion Film Directed By Glen Luchford with An Incredible Joy Division Cover

Following a guest into a dance party in a villa outside Florence, the film directed by Glen Luchford captures the contemporary essence of Alessandro Michele's Cruise 2016 Collection for Gucci. Directed by Glen Luchford. Music, "She's Lost Control," performed by Alive She Died.

Jill Di Donato Takes On Gender, Sexual Reassignment Surgery, Sex Tapes and The Pleasure of Having a Clit In This Cultural Meandering on Womanhood in the 21st Century →

We don't mean to get heavy on a Monday, but Jill Di Donato's essay is just too good and too informative not to start your week off with. Starting with Lynda Benglis' massive faux member in Artforum to the discovery that her own sex tape was previewed in public to a bunch of strangers, Donato explores female sexuality, gender, and what it means to be a woman in the 21st century. She talks to photographers like Ricky Powell and Richard Kern to find the answers. Click here to read. 

Betty Tompkins "REAL ERSATZ" @ FUG (Foundation University Gallery)

BHQFU, New York’s freest art school, presents REAL ERSATZ, an exhibition by Betty Tompkins and her first New York solo show since 2009. In her new body of work Tompkins plays with the idea of the real, the fake and the area in-between. Using both digital prints and paintings of the same image she explores the interaction that these different mediums have with each other. The exhibition will open a conversation between photorealism and technology as well as the experience of medium, scale and color in contemporary art. Recognized for her exploration into sexuality and her controversial ‘Fuck’ paintings of the 1970s, this exhibition marks a new direction in Tompkins work whilst celebrating her as a transgressive icon. Real Ersatz will be on view until October 18, 2015 at FUG, 431 E 6th St, BSMT, New York, NY. photographs by Tenlie Mourning

Dan McCarthy's Psychedelic Ceramic Sculptures On View Now @ Venus Over Los Angeles

Venus Over Los Angeles presents a new, exciting batch of ceramic sculptures and paintings by Dan McCarthy. The Facepots are the largest the artist has created to date, some weighing in at over 75 pounds. Also on view is a series of new paintings--lightning bolts, clouds, and rainbows paired with Haiku-style speech bubbles that illustrate the artist's California upbringing. On view until November 1 2015 at Venus Over Los Angeles, 601 South Anderson Street, Los Angeles.

Read Our Round-Up Review of 2015 London Fashion Week →

London Fashion is Autre Fashion - if that makes any sense. Basically, the fashion coming out of London is on-brand with the message that we are trying to set forth at Autre: the contrast of high and low culture, freedom, expression, sexuality, and you know, being fucking weird. It’s been a pleasure to watch these young designers grow into their roles as international arbiters of taste. It’s not hard to imagine JW Anderson’s brand growing into Yves Saint Laurent levels of label endurance while he simultaneously re-brands Loewe into an ultra desirable fashion label. Simone Rocha is bringing a romance back to fancy clothing that has been missing for some time. KTZ is still killing it. Burberry puts on a very fun show for a juggernaut mega money brand. And the best part is, there is always a new crop of Central Saint Martin’s graduates looking to enter the fashion system and re-shape it in their visions. So, yeah we love London. Obviously we get excited about Paris, too, but there is such a youthful vitality going on in London fashion at the moment made all the more exciting by its defiance of the city’s astronomical living rates and housing costs. These designers express their creativity in any way they can or they starve trying. Literally. So, I (Adam Lehrer, fashion editor at Autre Magazine) teamed up with new fashion correspondent Julianna Vezzetti to discuss the SS 2016 London collections. Click here to read the full review.

The New Funkadelic Revival: Read Our Exclusive Interview with Boulevards' Jamil Rashad On Bringing Funk Back To The People and His New Album →

“Funk is the DNA for hip hop,” George Clinton once said in a television interview, when asked why his music had such staying power. It’s true, funk music is the double helix of sorts for the hip hop that rose from the streets to the top of the record label chain and to a sort of a blanketed commerciality that makes the rap music of today seem very watered down. This is where Boulevards comes in – not only are they bringing back the downhome funkiness of hip hop, they are also making funk music for the 21st century, which is amazing. Click here to read our interview with Boulevards' Jamil Rashad on his new album and bringing funk back to the people.