Over the past 16 years, Parisian charity event Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs has called upon lauded fashion designers, artists, and architects to put their own spin on the classic Christmas tree — for a good cause, of course. Masterminded by Marie-Christiane Marek, the yearly event is held in early December and showcases innovative tree creations by fashion’s most adored houses. The designs go on display for the public to enjoy before being auctioned off to support a children’s charity — this year’s proceeds supported Association pour la Vie-Espoir contre le Cancer (A.V.E.C.). Given full creative license, the designers have kept a basic tree silhouette in mind, but completely departed from the norm, fashioning gorgeous trees composed of an ever-expanding variety of materials, like Stella McCartney’s festive ode to knitting and Chantal Thomas’s bizarre mannequin-leg masterpiece. Check out Christmas trees by the likes of Christian Dior, Chanel, and Sonia Rykiel after the jump. Read More »

Anyone who has watched the first season of Mad Men knows that the late ’50s/early ’60s was something of a golden age for Volkswagen in print advertising. At the same time, hand-painted advertising on split-window Volkswagen buses was quickly gaining in popularity (perhaps as a way to pay for said VW?). Click through, and prepare to drool over the retro graphics on these old-school autos.

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1. Facebook‘s 2010 privacy policy is longer than the United States Constitution. [via NYT]
2. FOX has picked up a new comedy from Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz that will star Will Arnett and Keri Russell. [via Live Feed]
3. Watch Karl Lagerfeld‘s latest short film for Chanel, Remember Me. It’s like the inside of the fashion designer’s brain exploded. [via UnBeige]
4. Christina Ricci will make her Broadway debut in Time Stands Still when the Tony-nominated show returns on September 23. [via ArtsBeat]
5. Get a sneak peek at Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton (he gained 35 pounds for the part) and Hope Davis as Hillary in HBO’s The Special Relationship, which airs May 29. [via Faded Youth]

Bonus link: Atheism Gets a Much-Needed Rebranding

While no one is going to argue against the practicality of Old Navy (hey, even tech vests had their moment), it is clear that high fashion is often wearable (or in the case of The Devil Wears Prada — quite unwearable) art. But sometimes even these threads can get upstaged (theatrically speaking), and fashion shows become more about over-the-top production than the clothes. Case in point: Chanel’s RTW Fall 2010 show, which featured a 265-ton iceberg that was imported from Scandinavia and handcarved by 35 ice sculptors. In that spirit, after the jump we’ve rounded up some of the most outrageous runways shots we could find. Recession, what?

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Sunshine + Design clued us in to the work of French street artist Zevs. In addition to making luxe logos like Louis Vuitton and Chanel appear to be dripping, Zevs has perpetrated and popularized the act of “visual kidnapping” (a.k.a. removing cutouts of models from billboards). His first solo exhibition is currently on view at Hong Kong’s Art Statements gallery. He dripped on a canvas this time, but he’s been known to leave his mark on actual storefronts, so 5th Avenue beware! More images after the jump. Read More »