NYC-based label Cushnie et Ochs has consistently been one of my favorites each season. When, I saw the recent show for Fall 2012 I loved the sleek tailoring and color sensibility, as usual, but wasn’t gasping in fashion rapture like I have for other seasons of this brand. That changed when I got to see the show again with it’s original music.

The first time I saw the show it was via Livestream feed, which ran the show with some underwhelming stock tunes. The show’s real music, however, was the perfect punch for the sexy collection. See the collection with the proper music on firstcomesfashion.com. The marriage and sound and sight here is as exciting the Marc Jacobs show from Fall 2011 that showed with Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People” – perfect!

This song heard at the start end closing of the show is “Juices” by Parallel Dance Ensemble. The video for the song is genius: hilarious, weird, and somehow smoking hot all at once. Check it out:

Photo by Brandon English for clatl.com

Saul Williams has an amazing live show filled with electric emotion. This is an artist in the truest sense, not bound by genre or political correctness. Despite the disruptive acoustics at the venue, the set didn’t miss a single beat – even during the hushed moments when Saul performed his poetry. Anyone who knows me knows I cringe at the term “spoken word,” but this was the real deal and every bit as moving as the driving beats from the performers handheld drum.

And to top it all off, the entire band was so well dressed! Post show I got to meet Saul, and found out that he’s based in France when he’s not touring. His new home is truly reflected in a sense of style that transcends American rocker chic. I was also basking in the good style by drummer Guillermo Brown, who managed an understated glam that included a fur vest and custom ripped tea. Good style + good music = my heaven! Multi-instrumentalist Julien Chirol and DJ CX Kidtronik were also well dressed. Unfortunately, I was completely unprepared to take advantage of the moment, as I didn’t even have a phone camera on me. Argh!

Definitely check out Saul Williams’ latest release Volcanic Sunlight, as well as the rest of the catalogue. And if you get a chance to see him live, DO IT!

Recommended Listening:

• “List Of Demands (Reparations)” from the album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation Of Niggy Tardust
• “Coded Language” from the album Amethyst Rock Star
• “Explain My Heart” from the album Volcanic Sunlight

Nicki Minaj was in the news for her provocative video Stupid Hoe, which was announced a couple of weeks ago. It shall officially be released before the 14th of February and features Nicki in pastel makeup and pink hair.

Talking about pink hair, she sports a brighter shade of pink on the cover of Wonderland’s February – March issue. The mag would hit the newsstands this week in Britain. In an exclusive interview to the magazine, the pop star reveals how she handles her alter-egos and how she withdraws to her introspective-self once she is offstage. However, Nicki’s onstage persona is that of raucous color-obsessed diva who doesn’t think much before playing with various hues.

Nicki is not the first one though, to experiment with pink hair color. Gwen Stefani colored her hair pink in the video Ex-girlfriend, the first single from the album Return of Saturn. Pink, Avril Lavigne, Katy Perry and even Lady Gaga have also experimented with pink colored hairstyles in the past.

Photos: tomandlorenzo.com, film.com, albumartexchange.us, fanpop.com, hairpediaclub.com, dailymail.co.uk

Will Nicki Minaj be the next music-fashion crossover? Many have tried, though few have done it well. Whether or not the artist has music staying power remains to be seen, so I don’t blame her for seizing the moment! If a line does happen I hope it’s full throttle, but well curated. None of this 150-piece-watered-down-for-Target nonsense! Or maybe she should just do a wig line… I’d cop!

“A year ago, Ms. Minaj was making dresses for herself in her basement, said John Demsey, group president of Estée Lauder Companies, which owns MAC Cosmetics, the brand that worked with her on a lipstick. “Now the others want to get their hands on her.”

Last spring, she split with her manager, P. Diddy, and began working with the hip-hop veteran Gee Roberson and Cortez Bryant… A priority of his, Mr. Bryant said in a phone interview, is to negotiate a deal with a fashion house so Ms. Minaj can sell her own line of clothes. “

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photos: blackbookmag.com, thesmugger.com, theobserver.com