Kate Moss: Vogue Paris April 08:Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin ,Josh Beech: Hedi Slimane for VHI via thefashionspot

Well that's two in a row for Carine Roitfeld both in the sense of her dual management of Vogue Paris and Vogues Hommes International and the fact that the second VHI under her watch has turned out to be a sizzler. Today's challenge is to be succinct so here's TI's bullet points as to why both Vogue Paris and VHI are run-to-the-newstand brilliant.

Kenichi Hoshine: Untitled:2007: oil on wood, 24 X 36

Apologies for the lapse in posting kids. I took Sunday off just to see what life on the surface was like. Well guess what? New York right now is living on a sustained art-beat. Its a town full of great gallery and museum shows with Pulse and The Armory fairs looming this weekend. I've been processing the Biennal in bits and pieces and I've come to like about a quarter of the work there with its cold, dry sense of analysis and self-control. From filtering the big reviews at The Times, New York Magazine, The New Yorker and The Voice you've probably gathered that "exuberance" is not a big tone this year in the proceedings. . From "The End Of Empire" to "Recession proof and emotionally numb ", this Biennal is sure drawing its fair share of tut-tutting. But I'm a contrarian ...Speaking of recession... in the gallery scene there seems to be a strange sense of glee at the thought of a market collapse. Will this weekend's Armory and Pulse contemporary show leave all the participants rosy and upbeat regarding the future? Probably not but you you do have to love the inherent democracy of the Saatchi-online gallery offerings at Pulse. The above Kenichi Hochine is available at 5K. The beat goes on!

When Supermodels Ruled The Earth: Cindy Crawford As Icon

Who invented the supermodel? Was it Gianni Versace when he started to employ the top editorial stars of the day in his runway shows? Was it Steven Meisel when he started to bulk-book The Trinity (Christy, Linda, Omi) month after month for every gig in sight? Maybe it was Gerald Marie and John Casablancas when they started to package the right girls dressed in the right clothes, staying at the right hotel at premium rates to the clients. Or was it the girls who took these opportunities as presented by Gianni and Steven and Gerald and ran like thieves with it all the way into history ( with stops off at The Fashion Cafe, The George Michael "Freedom" video and an aerobic video here or there).

The Sleep Of Reason (Asia) 2007

Mark the night of April 16th as belonging to Yinka Shonibare alone . That's when his new show at James Cohan opens . It gets the proverbial bated breath because the advance view of the prints have been show-stopping! The show runs until May 16th so its a must-go!

Yinka Shonibare MBE
Prospero's Monsters
April 17 - May 17, 2008
James Cohan Gallery
533 West 26th Street
New York NY 10001

Rie Rasmussen's beautiful new book is too chic and way gorgeous

Ladies and gentlemen, a world premiere. Lily Dillon a/k/a Rie Rasmussen has issued a beautiful book of her drawings and photographs where she works out a fascinating duality between being the object and the object maker. Last time I saw Rie she had been laying the book out in her Soho loft , with a grid of images arrayed all over its walls. How thrilled I was to see the physical book sitting on a desk at 1 Mgmt when I popped in to say hello to Scotty Lipps. In addition to the book Rie is also wrapping up post-production on her first feature film. Dear God, the life force in that woman. Its epic !

Mr Kanner sped these Gregory Vaughan shots of Major-star-in training Sean Biloski over to TI this morning and we were not one to deny you the matinee idol charms of Mr B. Viva Le Vaughan!

Images from Enki Bilal's body of work

I woke up this morning to an email from Rad Hourani regarding the work of comic artist Enki Bilal, which frankly I knew nothing of. So off to trusty Google I went and found a treasure trove. Born to a Czech mother and Bosnian father, Bilal grew up in Paris where he started to create comics as a teenager.

Quite Butch queen realness in athletic heels , no?

TI's fascination with NY style mavericks Hood By Air is pretty self-evident. They are like a new chapter in the myth of New York living in the grand tradition of boomboxes and breakdancing, vogue balls and languorous summer days spent on handball courts. I hear the music of New York night clubs when I see their clothes which is practical and flamboyant, sportif and conceptual, plus I love their homemade videos which always has me in stitches. I caught up with Shayen, one of the architects of HBA , where he schooled me to the ways and by-laws of a taste point called Hood By Air.

Is New York "late" right now next to London and Berlin ? Is there hope for NY to snatch the moment back?

No, never that. London has its cocky sensibility. We're realist... or too conservative lol. From a New York point of view, I feel like they have this way of complicating expression, or at least mocking it in a way that comes off as pompous...even late. We are everyday show queens, whereas they're queens that put on a show. Which is pretty cool both ways.NY is coming back though, We always birth the urban renewal.

From HBA I get a feeling of Nike but also of a vogue battle with a little vintage Gaultier...vintage Westwood.... Something Yohji is up in there too. I get many things. Am I wrong?

These are a few things that have been an inspiration, not necessarily reference... I love the sense of active restriction which I feel these inspirations embody.

Where do you all come from?

Via michaelclarkcompany.com Micheal and Leigh Bowery ...as a teapot!

I don't know anything about "dance" frankly but I do know that Micheal Clarke is legendary and beyond that the sole survivior of the 80's London Taboo clique that gave us such perishable eminences such as Trojan and Leigh Bowery . The Clarke Company is a part of the Lincoln Center's "Stravinsky Project" with the troupe dancing to the composer's "Apollo". "Petruska" "Les Noces" and "Rites Of Spring" scores. The program runs (intermittently) from April 2nd to June 2nd. I saw archival footage of Micheal Clarke looking angelically beautiful in the "Legend Of Leigh Bowery" DVD and I'm amazed that the man is still standing AND dancing after the excess of that crowd. With looks intact too! Check out the website also for michaelclarkcompany.com. Its too gorge!

An Evening with Mr. Kost and Mr Koh

The enterprising Jeremy Kost has a new event coming up. You should go, if only to see what Terence Koh will wear.