Loengard even managed to recapture Henri Cartier-Bresson's decisive moment with his shot (above) of the negative of the iconic 1932 photo "Behind Saint-Lazare Station" squeezed ever so gently between a thumb and forefinger. "Actually, I asked Henri Cartier-Bresson to let me photograph another negative showing two prostitutes in Mexico City," writes Loengard in the portfolio. "'Oh, no! No! No! Think of their feelings! They might be grandmothers now. No, no! You can't publish that,' he replied with intensity that surprised me. Instead, he let me photograph the negative to his most famous photograph." As for the the negative itself, "For safekeeping, [it] was cut from a strip of 35mm film at the start of World War II. Sprocket holes are missing on one side," notes Loengard. "Possibly the film was manufactured without them—or possibly someone has cut them off. Asked about this, Cartier-Bresson replies, 'I swallowed them.'"

Well here we have the exact opposite of all that Tom Wolfe and Italian anti-modernism. Lawrence Biemiller over at the Chronicle of Higher Education's blog has called out all those faux-classic buildings lining modern college campus and has asked "Collegiate Gothic: the Worst Thing That Ever Happened to Campus Architecture?" Biemiller calls it like he sees it, claiming that, early on, colleges and universities got lazy, thinking this very serious, very self-important style of architecture was the only way to go, only to go through the decades to find that we're still building the same things, only cheaper and even less effective than the lazy originals. But for all of those Prince Charles' out there saying, "Wait, wait, wait..." please remember that Biemiller's title includes a question mark, which he opens up for comments on what readers think. And of course, the very first is:

"I'd vote for mid 20th century boxes as the worst thing to every [sic] happen."

Luke Hayman has continued his streak of making magazines look better, and this time around, it's sure to make this writer's father very happy. Hayman just finished up working on a redesign for Consumer Reports, the new look being launched yesterday. This one was a different sort of magazine project for the Pentagram partner, given that it is a publication that is largely all about infographics, instead of traditional magazine layouts. Pentagram's blog has the whole story on the redesign from top to bottom, but here's a little bit about how Hayman figured out how to tweak all that data, just so:

One of the most basic, and subtle, changes has been to the information charts in the product testing sections. Products are more clearly separated and rated by type, and designations have been simplified. The "Quick Pick" label has been eliminated and incorporated into the product overviews; "Best Buys" have been streamlined to a simple checkmark. The typeface Amplitude has been used for its greater legibility at a narrow, small size (thanks to better inktraps) that allow more information to be condensed into the charts.

Elsewhere in the Pentagram world, the plans the firm cooked up with At Large for the new Darwin Center in London's Natural History Museum have been unveiled.

It looks like there's a final front runner in the search for the new Guggenheim Foundation director to replace Thomas Krens, who you might remember our reporting on his leaving back in February. So who is it, as Krens steps aside and possibly heads to the Hudson Yards Museum? According to the NY Times, it's looking like it's going to be one Mr. Richard Armstrong, he of the strong arms and the former director of the Carneige in Pittsburgh. Here's a bit:

Eleanor R. Goldhar, the Guggenheim's deputy director of external affairs, confirmed that Mr. Armstrong was the leading candidate. Although he is still negotiating with the museum, she said, the museum's board is set to vote on the appointment at its next meeting, scheduled for Sept. 23. She added that the board might decide to vote earlier.

For more: CultureGrrl has some additional info and links back to the speculation before it was officially announced.

The countdown to Fashion Week continues here on UnBeige, and today we tip our black cashmere beanies to Alexander Wang, the buzzed-about young designer who knows the importance of creating a unified runway look that sets fashion editors obsessing over things like elegantly demolished denim shorts (perfect over sheer ripped tights that suggest one has spent the day scaling chain-link fences and starting trouble). How does the 2008 Swarovski award nominee do it? Faith in contrasts—"street and luxe, sexy versus androgyny, and where vagabond meets a street-smart modernist"—and edgy styling by his friend/muse and model/stylist Erin Wasson, who joined Wang on the runway after the showing of his fall 2008 collection (pictured above and below) at Eyebeam in West Chelsea. Whether Wang will send out more hip Wasson doppelgangers (albeit in springier hues) at his Saturday show remains to be seen, as the muse has a clothing line of her own in the works with RVCA: a capsule womenswear collection set to debut in the spring of 2009.

After acing a screen test that consisted of a guest appearance on Larry King Live, Hicks was thrilled to join the Top Design crew, which gave her the opportunity to meet Adler and Wearstler, whose designs happens to routinely references the work of her father. "Jonathan and Kelly are out there in the field so they know what it takes to succeed," said Hicks in the same conference call. "These are real pros judging, and it makes a big difference." They'll be weighing in on challenges that require the contestants, who range in age from 24 to 40, to "design out of the box, quite literally," said Hicks on the change from the white box of last season to "real places and real settings." Among this season's tasks: redesigning a fall out shelter and competing in a full-on "design triathlon."

As for those competing for the $100,000 cash prize and a four-page editorial showcase in Elle Decor, we think we already spy an UnBeige favorite: Wisit. The Illinois-born, Parsons-educated designer counts among his design icons Stephane Boudin, Billy Baldwin, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and also, as luck would have it, David Hicks.

Marimekko ("Mary's little dress") was born when Immonen, a self-taught designer and shop owner, advised her friend Armi Ratia to make dresses from the bold, hand-printed cotton cloth produced by the company owned by Ratia's husband. Noted yesterday's New York Times obituary:

On May 20, 1951, the two women showed 27 dresses designed by Ms. Immonen at a Helsinki restaurant, Kalastajatorppa. As she did at her atelier, Ms. Immonen gave each outfit its own name, a practice that would become standard for subsequent Marimekko lines.

Our beloved former co-worker, Alissa Walker, has just put together a great piece over at her occasional stomping grounds, Core 77, offering up some advice: "Conventional Wisdom: Eight Ways to Save Design Conferences." If there's one thing Alissa knows, it's design conferences. In her two years here at UnBeige, she always seemed to be coming or going to one somewhere in the world, and would offer up top secret feedback to we co-editors like "Wow, did that ever suck!" or "Wow, did that ever totally rule!" (little known fact: she also begins every sentence with "wow"). So if you're a planner person for any of the bazillion conferences that go on each month, or you've come from one wondering what exactly was the problem or why it worked so well, trust in this piece to provide great clarity. So go forth and read. And if you happen to see Alissa at that next conference (and you will), make sure you remind her that she still owes us $10 for that sno-cone in Aspen.

Speaking of designer-y people trying something new, Tom Dixon, the man who likes to have people steal his chairs, has decided to try his hand at the magazine business, as he's just launched his own design-focused publication entitled Distill. Mostly all about fashion, Dixon says he wants the magazine to focus on getting fashion in front of creative types, not just your regular old joe. And thus far, he's lined up some good talent to help fill the pages, including Dejan Sudjic, Giles Deacon, and even some help from former Vogue art director, Sheila Jack. Here's a bit about the new mag from former Wallpaper publisher/current Distill creative and publishing director, Christopher Lockwood:

'This is not a fashion magazine about hemlines, it is about the way fashion is presented globally,' says Distill creative and publishing director Lockwood.

'The number of designers and creatives is growing,' he adds. 'Fashion is an important visual stimulus and inspiration to the creative sector as a whole, which is why we have recruited designers from a range of disciplines to sit on the editorial board.'

Here are some additional scans of the magazine and some photos from the launch party.

Now that temporary designer shops are all the rage (we remember our rose-colored youths when we were first talking about the trend back in 2006), some of the bigwigs want in on the action as a way to appear "hep" in front of the nation's young people. Such is the case with Target, who has announced that they plan to open a series of temporary, fly-by-night shops in New York from September 12th through the 15th, called "Bullseye Bodegas," each of which will feature nothing but their various stuffs by name designers, including Jonathan Saunders and Sigerson Morrison. All the info is available here, and below you'll find a list of where you can catch these hep locales:

Midtown: 101 57th Street at 6th
Union Square: 813 Broadway between 11th and 12th
SoHo: 489 Broome Street between Wooster and West Broadway
East Village Bodega: 325 Bowery at 2nd

Designer John Pasche will have something new to talk about at the bar with Peter Blake, now that he's followed Blake's lead in seeing something he designed on the cheap turn into a major ticket item bringing in the big money. That "something" of course, is the Rolling Stones' tongue and lip logo, which Pasche was paid a total of $250 for while he was a design student in London, but the original print was just sold at auction for $92,500. Granted, more than thirty years, and a few hit albums, have passed, giving the open mouth a little more collectable weight. Fortunately, Pasche should be able to sleep a little better in knowing who bought the original:

The famous logo, bought by the Victoria and Albert Museum last week at a US auction, is now being housed permanently at the London museum.

Independent art charity The Art Fund, entirely funded by donations and its 80,000 members, gave 50% towards the total cost of the artwork.