Twenty-five years have passed since the events chronicled in Less Than Zero, and Clay Easton, now a successful screenwriter, has returned from a brief stint in New York City to Los Angeles, where he’s helping to cast his newest movie, The Listeners. But the more things have changed, the more they stay the same, and Clay is soon drifting around in his familiar old circle. There’s his vulnerable former girlfriend, Blair, and her husband, Trent, now a high-powered agent but still a bisexual philanderer; and the parties they host at their Beverly Hills mansion are filled with Hollywood types of various levels of fame and fortune and power. There’s his childhood friend Julian, a recovering addict running an ultra-discreet, high-class escort service, and their old dealer Rip Millar, reconstructed and face-lifted nearly beyond recognition, who nowadays is involved in activities far more sinister than those of his notorious past.

But Clay has demons of his own, and they threaten to destroy him once he becomes involved with Rain Turner, a gorgeous, much younger actress whom he has promised a role in his movie, exploiting her as best he can until he grows emotionally attached. Before long he realizes she has mysterious connections to not only Julian and Rip but also Kelly Montrose, a producer whose gruesomely violent death is suddenly very much the talk of the town. And as Clay’s life spirals out of control, he is forced to plumb the dark recesses of his character and fully come to terms with his capacity for betrayal.

As bleak and stylish as the era-defining Less Than Zero, Imperial Bedrooms will be the book of the season for Bret’s devoted fans and should also win him a whole new generation of readers.

I have been eagerly awaiting another Ellis novel. Imperial Bedrooms has a release date of July 2, 2010 and a page count of 256. Short, but hopefully sweet. It has been a long time since Lunar Park.

This is an applique that I designed and digitized for a catalog shoot and Impressions Magazine feature. It is three colors of denim with bean stitches and direct embroidery.

Eli Horn
I met this guy not knowing who he was at all. He is an artist, designer and photographer living in Vancouver, BC. His artwork is amazing and you should check out his site. I also noticed after the fact that he does t-shirts for a really cool line called Sidual Apparel, also in Vancouver, BC.

Beautiful Decay
This is a really cool magazine with tons of great artists. They also have an apparel line with awesome designs by artists featured in their zine.

Cardboard Robot
Cool t-shirt line from Cali. The guys working the booth were great. Check out their site and buy some shirts.

Someone
Dope t-shirts direct from Portland, Oregon.

Me Against The World
I love the style of these t-shirts. Very nice guys out of St. Louis. Check em’ out and buy a shirt or two or three.

I thought this was a pretty good show. The Tapout booth was hopping with MMA stars. I saw Kimbo Slice, Dan Hendersen and Jake Shields. I met Rob Halford and got a classic signed photo which I will scan and upload soon. In case you didn’t know, really big prints with lot’s of bling are in right now. That and shoes from the 80’s. I was glad to be a part of the fun this year. More to come…

Download Zipped Archive

Local photographer Mark Hensel took all the pictures. We did all of the apparel shots in his studio in Batavia. To get the apparel to look like it is being worn, we took a mannequin and cut it’s head off. Then we rigged a wire system to hold the hoods open. That way, the garment is filled out and you can see the inside tag. I did all the styling of the garments as well. Shooting apparel is not as easy as it looks…

All in all, I am very happy with the finished piece. It was especially fun making the chapter header spreads. This was my first catalog. I am already working on our next one! To download a pdf of the full thing, click here.