* Joining the likes of David Bowie, Nadine Gordimer and Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis has been named a Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, France’s highest cultural honour. According to reports, France’s Culture Minister said the medal was to pay tribute to his contribution to film over the past thirty years, citing his diverse body of work from Moonrise Kingdom to Pulp Fiction and, of course, Die Hard.
*Phillip Lim was among the designers who showed their Fall 2013 collections on Monday and he delighted at Mercedes Benz NY Fashion Week-goers with his neoprene jackets and biker chic style. Meanwhile, drapes and capes, sometimes fused with leather, made their appearance at Donna Karan, and disco is back for Marc Jacobs!
* Punk comes under the spotlight at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s next fashion exhibition, to be held in May. Organizers say it will trace how high fashion has appropriated the subculture for its own . No doubt among the highlights will be Alexander McQueen’s corseted ball gown from 2008, with its patch-worked bodice of the Queen’s face with a safety pin through her nose.
* Among the films screening at the Berlin Film Festival this week is banned Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s latest one, Closed Curtain. Panahi, who defied a 20-year ban on filmmaking to secretly co-direct the film, continues to be one of the country’s most important filmmakers, even without being able to travel freely to show his work.
* And while 28 million Americans were watching the Grammys (a 30 % drop from last year), over 12 million others tuned into The Walking Dead. In spite of killing off main characters and firing lead production members , the show still seems to rule the TV pack with its record-setting audience numbers.
