Ian Witlen

Yes, this happened.

By Liz Tracy

Most of the people we met on the S.S. Coachella had never been on a cruise before. Like us, they weren't so sure what to pack or how to dress for three days of awkwardly saying hi to their favorite bands on a floating building at sea. But, like the festival, the fans also brought their desert style to cruisin' with mixed results.

We could sit here and talk about all the "types" of people who sailed out to Nassau, but really, we'd rather just show you. These are the most memorable fashion moments we caught on the maiden voyage of the S.S. Coachella. Get your eyebrows ready to raise.

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"On Nov. 26, 2010, MAC introduced Ms. Minaj's Pink Friday lipstick, selling all 3,000 in stock in 15 minutes, in addition to an eye-popping 27,000 in the next three weeks. The company spent little on advertising, Mr. Demsey said, with sales driven mostly by Ms. Minaj's voluminous postings to fans via Twitter and Facebook. Indeed, 8 of 10 buyers were new to the MAC Web site."
—The New York Times took a look at the rising fashion-industry moxie of Nicki Minaj, and this anecdote showcasing her fans' devotion all the way back in 2010 serves as a sort of portent to her being invited to fashion shows by Anna Wintour and the like. Beginning next month, Minaj will help promote the cosmetic company's Viva Glam line alongside Ricky Martin; she's stepping into the awkwardly heeled shoes of none other than Lady Gaga. The Mr. Demsey referred above is John Demsey of MAC parent company Estée Lauder, who referred to Minaj's aesthetic as "a mashup style between Vivienne Westwood and a Harajuku girl." Which I think sounds a bit reductive!

The jeans-and-tees emporium The Gap has paired up with musicians before; the likes of Luscious Jackson and Common have warbled holiday-appropriate tunes for them during the store's late-autumn shopping season ads, Daft Punk has danced for its denim, and even Willie Nelson has endorsed the brand. But now the chain's starting to return the favor for certain musicians and iconic people of note by placing them on t-shirts—and among those luminaries immortalized in 100% cotton form is none other than Staten Island's own Wu-Tang Clan. For $29.95, the "canyon shadow"-colored top can be yours! A bigger image of the shirt after the jump.

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Kid Cudi, going all out for Converse.

Sneakers have long been hip-hop's footwear of choice. The links between the artists making the music and the companies behind the kicks are now totally intermingled, from top-end exclusive lines like Jay-Z's limited-to-five-pairs all-black Air Force 1s (decoded: they're entirely black) and Kanye West's Nike Air Yeezys to the populist-minded brand Converse sponsoring a summery release from Kid Cudi. In honor of the show that committed hip-hop sneaker freak Rick Ross played this past weekend in NYC as part of the 2010 Sneaker Pimps tour, here's a look at ten top sneaker songs from the annals of rap.

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This body is attainable if you just come to regard air as food.

Here is a mostly intentionally delightful chat with Iggy Pop about his rampant shirtlessness, as conducted with the New Yorker, with all the high-culture/low-culture disorientation that implies. It's like the benevolent version of the Times' Snooki profile. Highlights include:

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Another of Ted Leo's questionable looks, courtesy this person.

Kudos to the L crew for whipping up one of the more entertaining (and informative!) multiple-artist Q&A gambits in recent memory: "It's 95 degrees. It's humid. You're playing an outdoor show. Shorts on stage: Yes or no?" Don't act like you don't want to know how Ted Leo answered this question.

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A Parental-Advisory sticker and everything

Perhaps the strangest thing about the new Hole record is how few of you seem to realize there is a new Hole record. There is, it's named Nobody's Daughter, and two far-better-than-you-think singles from the 11-track album are streaming over at the band's MySpace page. Pre-orders for the April 27th release became available yesterday, and if there's any doubt that everybody involved desperately needs the past to sell the present, the band's logo has returned to its Live Through This-era font, three of the pre-sale packages offer a Nobody's Daughter sash, and if you're still somehow wearing stonewashed jean jackets with iron-on decals, the $149.99 package offers a super-cool Hole patch. An alternate luxury fan pack, likely targeted at women, trannies, and drag queens, offers three variations of Love-endorsed make-up with a Happy-Meal-like disclaimer: "If you purchase Package 3 with Makeup you will receive either 1 piece of Illasmasqua makeup, a pencil, lipstick, or liquid metal eye shadow." Personalized instructions on how to use it are here; we will not resort to any other punchlines, so stop looking for one. Update: More tickets for Hole's two Terminal 5 shows released today over here.

Photo of Drake hanging out with the drapes at the W Hotel via Necole Bitchie

It's as if a cheetah were attempting to hide in the middle of an elderly woman's Central Park West apartment. Or maybe some wallpaper at the W Hotel, where Jay and LeBron James hosted their annual Saturday night Two Kings dinner, just up and attacked the rapper as he was getting dressed? (Also, he hates the new "We Are the World." Get in line, Jay!) [Rap Radar/Necole Bitchie]

Stacey Anderson

Gwen Stefani
L.A.M.B. fashion show
Milk Studios
Thursday, February 11

Somewhere in here is a trenchant quip about Gwen Stefani getting "all tied up," but it is out of deep, California sisterhood that I will not sink to it.

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Metric photo by Anne Koller. We'd have put the Patti Smith shot here, but it's sort of terrifying.

"When people like Alexander McQueen leave us so young we have to remember to live," Patti Smith said in between songs at last night's LNA afterparty at Chelsea's MILK Studios. "Don't forget, you're alive."

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