It’s that time of the month again. No, not that time– a much more festive and welcomed time of the month. Tonight the streets of Downtown LA will be swarmed with pedestrians all on a self-guided stroll through the various art shops and galleries. The monthly Downtown Artwalk draws creators and patrons of art, food, revelry and lately, political statements too — last month, Occupy LA’s presence led to chaos with some overzealous boys in blue. Will there be another LAPD stand-off this time out? Maybe. KTLA pondered this question in its local broadcast last night (and one of the event’s best known faces, Robert Vargas, weighed in).
We don’t really know what might happen tonight, but the event is on and if you focus on attending these style-driven soirees, we promise arresting fashion and art at least. Click orange links for more info.
Capturing Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe‘s timeless beauty like not many have had the chance to, Stern’s exhibit focuses on the time he spent with Marilyn backstage at the nearby Shrine Auditorium in December of 1953. The gallery, which opens a public door to a very private moment, will likely see one of the spiffier crowds at Artwalk. Men and women who love Marilyn are often arbiters of retro style and aesthetics.
We believe there is an art to shopping, but at the Crack Gallery downtown there literally is art and shopping. The upstairs boutique offers racks of contemporary apparel for men and women, while the basement is dedicated to a gallery of art. You might not have room in that 2 bedroom Hollywood apartment for that great art installation piece you saw, but we bet you have room in your closet for a great new clothes addition! This Crack is anything but whack.
3. Omega Collektive Pop-Up Shop at Red Zebra
Causing quite a ruckus on Facebook before the event even launches, our friend Ernie Omega‘s apparel pop-up shop promises to deliver in both merchandise and spectacle. Held inside artist Robert Vargas’ (mentioned in intro) beloved Red Zebra party which moved from the Crocker Club on the Thursday before Artwalk to smack dab in the middle of it, this one will feature Vargas famed live painting, an art installation by Sana Smirnoff and Omega’s wild fashions (see featured photo and the one here) for sale. Unfortunately, the electrifying Kate Crash‘s live performance was canceled due to what we hear will be a crackdown on amplified music at the ‘Walk.
4. Full Set
Art, fashion, music, and tattoos. They may as well usher Art Walk goers straight into designer/performer/hostess Rude Ness‘ event because it has it all! Held by Salon on Main, you can come get your nails and hair did, your shop on, and your tattoo touched up all in one stop. We are loving Rude’s line, which we told you about here, but we also highly recommend the hot looks by Rik Villa (sweet street-inspired looks made out of bandannas) and Muneco (spiked resin jewelry in bright candy colors). We fell in love with these designers when we saw their stuff at the last Full Set at Plaid Studio in Hollywood (see we took pics below), so look for feature posts about each here on HSS soon. Live performances (Purple Crush) and much more is promised…
Last three photos by Lina Lecaro. Text by Kyle Warner and Lina Lecaro.
