Once upon a time (1984) in a Southwestern US city (Dallas) a very famous designer (Phillippe Starck) created a namesake nightclub (Starck Club) that boasted some of the biggest names of the time (Stevie Nicks, Grace Jones, Robert Plant).

By all accounts, Starck Club was the definition of 80′s excess and perversion — it boasted a unisex bathroom, an androgynous cigarette salesperson (Vaal), floor-to-cieling mirrors, tons of hiding spots throughout, and of course the infamous bathroom stalls (complete with your own Sony television!). By the time the club closed in 1989, it had become best known for rampant Ecstasy use than anything else. Twenty-plus years later, the legend continues…

Also, THE ISH‘s very own WISHFM (aka Wade Hampton) and his Sundance-award winning team is currently producing a documentary on the Starck Club (Starck Project) looking to be released sometime in the next year. We can’t wait!

Images via Dallas Morning News

No, that isn’t the the dude from the Chabad telethon, that’s Woody Allen. On an American Apparel billboard nonetheless. Nosh on this: Allen recently sued the retailer for $10 million after the company used his picture on its billboards in Hollywood and New York and on a Web site (below). He claims the company didn’t have permission. Jewishest lawsuit ever?

Just came across a very interesting article in the LABJ about The King of Pop planning to auction off 2,000+ personal items in a four-day auction (April 22 to 25) at The Beverly Hilton Hotel, in Los Angeles. Among the many sick and twisted items that will be up for grabs: dozens of statues of laughing, frolicking children (for real); the iron gates to Neverland Ranch; dozens of arcade games, flight simulators, pinball machines and nickelodeons; the 1954 Cadillac Fleetwood limousine used in the film “Driving Miss Daisy”; multiple suits of armor; ornate, 10-foot-tall candelabras; go-karts, bumper cars, buggies and all-terrain vehicles; and a selection of British military uniforms. No word yet on whether Michael will be getting rid of his infamous his hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

DALLAS — So much for an economic slowdown: Highland Park Village, the United States’ second oldest shopping center, is officially under contract in a deal looking to close in March. The 200,000 SF Spanish/Mediterranean open-air shopping center opened in 1931 and is currently home to luxury brands such as Chanel, Escada, Carolina Herrera, Hermès, Harry Winston and Jimmy Choo to name a few. In 2000 it was officially recognized as a National Historic Landmark (and has the plaque to prove it).

News of the deal came last week with Ray Washburne (Hunt family) of Dallas’ Charter Holdings at the helm. Current owner Henry S. Miller Interests has owned that bad-boy since purchasing it in 1976 for a cool $5 million. The price tag? A reported $200 million (the building is valued at around $80 million). Goooo property tax!

With a price tag that heavy and such a premium being paid, one can only deduce that returns are being sacrificed here for a crown jewel property. Working in the center myself, its pretty easy to see how the building is a one-of-a-kind gem and day in and day out it serves as a gathering point for Bentleys, plastic surgery-clad housewives and old perverts alike. In other words, its soooooo Dallas.