When Andrew Butler’s first-grade teacher decided against the Grimms come story time and read Greek myths aloud instead, she had no clue that her choice would still be reverberating, almost 25 years later, through sound systems at clubs all over the world. But reverberate it does: Butler is now the presiding spirit behind Hercules and Love Affair, the New York-based band whose self-titled debut is destined to soundtrack the summer of 2008. Released to steady acclaim in Europe and the U.K. earlier this year and due out stateside on June 28, “Hercules and Love Affair” is a myth-inspired song cycle set to a disco beat—with the caveat that Butler works both lyrics and music to his own inventively romantic ends. The album’s pedigree has already made it one of the year’s spotlight releases—DFA Records impresario Tim Goldsworthy co-produced, and Antony of Antony and the Johnsons chips in vocals—but it’s the passion lurking inside Butler’s synthesized, sequenced songs that’s making both critics and clubgoers swoon. On Saturday, the Hercules crew take over Studio B in Brooklyn for an Opening Ceremony-hosted show previewing the record; here, Butler talks to Style.com about his ongoing love affair with the dance floor.

This is the absolute lamest question to ask someone in a band, but I’ll go for it: Where did you get the name Hercules and Love Affair?

Actually, the name is pretty central to the record; I took a lot of the imagery in the songs from Greek mythology, which has been an obsession of mine ever since my first-grade teacher started reading them out loud to us in school. But more specifically, the name comes from one of my favorite myths—it’s a story about Hercules and a lover he had, a male lover he lost on a journey. There’s a really intense description of Hercules as he’s looking for this lost lover, and I so connected to that idea, the strongest man in the world at his most utterly vulnerable. That, and “Hercules and Love Affair, ” sounds pretty disco.

Were you always a disco fan?

I’ve always been into club music, which came out of disco. But the more important influences are probably bands like Yazoo and Cocteau Twins. The music is electronic, but it’s emotional, too; you relate to it on a personal level. My friendship with Antony is founded on a shared love of those bands. Before we ever recorded together, we’d just hang out listening to Cocteau Twins.

And the whole time, you were secretly plotting a collaboration?

I loved his record, and he knew I was a songwriter, too, but it wasn’t until I wrote “Blind” that those pieces fell into place. I thought it would be interesting to hear his voice in a more synthesized context, so I brought it to him, and it worked. And then we kept at it.

You have a few different vocalists on the record—Antony sings, you sing; there’s Kim Ann and there’s NomI… Why so many singers?

Well, some of that’s just happenstance. Kim and I were friends, and sometimes she’d be at my place when I was working on a song and needed to hear a voice on it. Nomi we approached more formally, at Antony’s recommendation; she’s usually more of a hip-hop girl, but I love how she sounds. Beyond the vocals, a lot of people got on board for the record—we recorded a whole horn section, for example, and drums and bass and rhythm guitar, a whole live band. They’re all coming on tour with us, it’s going to be a real show. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m a big believe in collaboration and getting as many good people involved as possible. Like, the DFA guys are going to deejay at Studio B on Saturday, and Opening Ceremony is hosting the show, and promoting it at their store… I like to use my community. That doesn’t happen enough in New York these days. Maybe we can bring it back into style.—Maya Singer

Both geographically and culturally, the fifth floor of Barneys is a long way from Florence, Alabama. But at yesterday’s Alabama Chanin trunk show, designer Natalie Chanin was dishing out the Southern hospitality as she walked shoppers through custom orders of her limited-edition, hand-sewn pieces. The DIY-minded, meanwhile, could pick up a copy of Chanin’s recently released “Alabama Stitch Book” and learn how to custom-make an Alabama Chanin-style skirt or dress for herself. “You know, our mission as a company is to save these traditions,” Chanin said. “And our philosophy is to savor them. But the only way to make a movement is to teach women the handicraft, so they can pass that knowledge down the way my grandmother passed it down to me.”—Maya Singer

Fans of fictionalized polygamy will be happy to know that Ginnifer Goodwin has been hard at work and is currently in the midst of production on HBO’s “Big Love.” But last night the actress took a break to host a dinner (at the Beverly Hills home of impresario Sam Nazarian) honoring MaxMara’s Nicola Maramotti and the fashion brand’s long involvement with Women in Film, the nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering and recognizing, you guessed it, women in the film industry. In the interest of mutual support, tonight Goodwin will receive MaxMara’s Face of the Future Award at the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards Gala. (Also being honored are Diane English, Salma Hayek, and Sherry Lansing.) But then it’s back to work, to satisfy those who can’t wait to see what dramas are set to unfold in Sandy, Utah.

Photo: Donato Sardella/WireImage

London-based Chantal Joffe began painting from fashion magazines as “a ready-made, endless source for images of women.” But for her new show at London’s Victoria Miro gallery, Joffe presents a body of work painted from life. Invited behind the scenes at Paris fashion week, Joffe acts as an updated Degas—who painted ballerinas as they prepped backstage at the Paris Opéra—of the modeling world. But while Degas was interested in depicting the dancers’ stretching and preparing, Joffe aimed to capture glimpses into the girls’ identities. “In Degas you get an extreme physicality: bending backs and cropped legs,” she says. “In one sense what I saw backstage was like that, perhaps, but it was also something completely other. You are plunged into thinking about the sort of girls who model and what was happening to them socially.”—Ana Finel Honigman

Photo: Chantal Joffe, “Dungarees With Wallpaper,” 2008, courtesy of Victoria Miro

Backpacking through Europe with a couple of your best friends is pretty par-for-the-course after college graduation. Returning to the States with a plan to import European workwear and sell it to fashion-forward New Yorkers? Less usual. But Operations founders Michael Leen, Matteo Gottardi, and Johannes Mahmood have been amply rewarded for their hits off the can-do-spirit pipe. Since opening the first Operations shop in Soho in 2004, the trio has gone from tweaking pieces like Russian military trenches to designing original collections for both men and women, collaborating with Levi’s on a range of co-branded sportswear, and making plans for a second Operations store in the Meatpacking District. Due to open in August, the new boutique will better reflect the Operations aesthetic that’s emerged over the years, according to Leen. “Obviously, that utilitarian feeling will be there, but the look is sharper, a bit more sophisticated,” he explained over hot dogs at one of Operations’ bi-weekly summer barbecues last night. “You know,”
Gottardi added, “because we’re all ’serious’ now. Super-pro. But we’re still going to have barbecues.”—Maya Singer

Photo: Courtesy of Operations

Back when they were spray-painting subway cars in the eighties, the five members of Tats Cru never could have guessed that one day, they’d be commissioned to redecorate Fifth Avenue. But that day has come: As part of its Art in Action program, Lord & Taylor has given Tats Cru the run of the windows at the department store’s flagship in midtown, and in related news, if Rudy Giuliani weren’t still alive, he’d be rolling in his grave. “Initially, Lord & Taylor wanted us to paint live, in the windows,” says Tats Cru tagger Nicer Nazario. “But then we saw how big the backdrops are, and we were like, uh, you have no idea what a mess we’d make.” Clearly, Nazario and confrères How and Nosm Perre, BG183 Ortiz, and Bio Feliciano have gotten a mite more polite since they shook up their first cans of Krylon 26 years ago. “Man, we’re dinosaurs,” Nazario recalls with a laugh. “We’ve been doing this since forever. We’ve done murals for the Smithsonian. But Fifth Avenue? That’s crazy. Any artist would kill for that exposure. I guess we’ve come a long way.”—Maya Singer

Photo: Courtesy of Tats Cru

Whether or not you count yourself one of Daryl Kerrigan’s obsessed fans, there’s no denying that the scion of East Village chic possesses that elusive thing, a readily identifiable look. You can conjure it up instantly—a streetwise, punk-spirited elegance so uncomplicated it can come off as accidental. Except it’s not. Kerrigan has always been relentlessly precise in her work, whether refining the cut of the boot-leg pants that made her name in the nineties, or getting the exactly washed-out-enough finish right on a piece of silk destined for one of her signature bias-cut dresses. Since the turn of the millennium, when rapid expansion of the Daryl K and K-189 lines almost simultaneously made Kerrigan into a fashion star and imploded her business, everything about Kerrigan’s brand has changed, and nothing has. You won’t find any boot-leg pants at the Bond Street headquarters she reopened a few years ago; neither will you find a designer hatching plans for mass-market domination. But the look remains. As the first season of Kerrigan’s new diffusion line, Kerrigan, hits shelves, the designer talked to Style.com about doing more with less and her antidotes to hopelessness.

Obviously, this isn’t the first time you’ve designed a diffusion range. Was there something you missed about K-189 that inspired you to launch Kerrigan now?

I’ve always been a girl who likes to mix casual pieces into my wardrobe, and when I was doing K-189, I had an outlet for things like jeans, hoodies, worn-out tees. But Daryl K, the primary line, those collections are really about high-end fabrics, working with really beautiful silks and wools and materials with special finishes, and I’ve found that it’s hard to incorporate those sportier pieces into Daryl K without sacrificing some of that line’s integrity.

But Kerrigan comprises more than just tees and hoodies…

Well, the other reason I wanted to launch Kerrigan is that I get a fair amount of price resistance to my clothes. I think maybe that’s partly because I make daywear, and I like clothes to have a certain simplicity; on the rack, that stuff doesn’t read like it ought to be expensive. Like I said, it’s about the fabric, the cut. But I also believe that part of the resistance has to do with my customer, and I mean that in the best way—my girl has never been, you know, the billionaire’s daughter. She’s got some grit to her, the arty girl who’s doing her own thing, working her way up. I wanted to make pieces that girl could afford.

The debut collection is quite small, only 25 pieces or so. Are you planning to expand?

We might expand the line a bit, but to be honest, I like that it’s small. I find I’m asking myself a lot of questions about the environment lately, on a daily basis, in fact, and it seems like the easiest way to be more green is just, you know, to make less. Buy less; throw away less. There’s so much talk out there about local, organic, what have you; it’s all very confusing. I mean, I read this article in The New Yorker the other day about how it’s basically impossible to guess any item’s carbon footprint, even if you’re using solid logic. Apples from New Zealand are greener for me to buy than apples from upstate New York; how is that possible? But it’s true. Anyway, it really seems like the answer is just to limit yourself to what’s essential.

Are you hoping to make the line more sustainable?

Getting the line on its feet, I feel like I struggle enough with maintaining quality control. The lower the price point, the harder it is to make things that last. And making clothes that last, that seems like another easy way of being green. You ought to be able to wear things for a while. I’d be happy to learn more about it, sustainable production and all that, but then, all this global-warming stuff, at the end of the day it can just make me feel hopeless. That’s when I switch the channel to celebrity news.

And that actually makes you feel more hopeful, not less?

Good point. Mainly it’s a distraction—they are entertaining, those crazy celebrities. I’ve never been a big tabloid person, but every so often I just can’t help myself. But in general, I do try to stay on the hopeful side of things—for my son, who’s nine and a worrier, if for no other reason. Wearing pink right now, that cheers me up. I feel like people always associate me and my line with dark colors, gray and black and all that, but right now, I just want to wear pink all the time.—Maya Singer

Photo: Courtesy of Kerrigan

There are bands that have launched a sound, and bands that have launched a scene or two, but very rare indeed are the bands that can lay claim to fomenting a global subculture. Prior to the August 1979 release of the first Bauhaus single, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” there was no such thing as a goth, per se—just a bunch of brooding misfits who liked to slump around to a dissonance-covered beat and call it dancing. Après Bauhaus, le deluge. Anyone who spent his or her teenage years clad in black and covered in pressed powder the color of flour has Bauhaus members Daniel Ash, Peter Murphy, Kevin Haskins, and David J to thank for giving their adolescence an overarching mood, community, and aesthetic. This week, the Bauhausers are saying “you’re welcome” in a few different ways. Tuesday saw the release of the band’s first studio album in 25 years, “Go Away White,” a swan song conceived during the group’s brief reunion in 2005. Details are leaking out about the forthcoming reunion of Love and Rockets, the group that formed out of the Bauhaus ashes. And tonight, ex-Bauhaus bassist Daniel J opens “Silver for Gold,” his musical rumination on the life of Edie Sedgwick, at the Met Theatre in Los Angeles. Here, J takes a break from tech rehearsals to talk to Style.com about money, mythology, and, of course, music.

Wow, lots to talk about! Let’s start with “Go Away White.” Is that really it for Bauhaus?

That’s it. The fact that there’s a new record at all is down to coincidence and good timing. When the Coachella organizers came to us in 2005 and asked us to do a reunion show, the only reason we said yes was they were offering us a rather fantastic sum of money. Frankly. But when the time came to get together and rehearse, we found that we were really, really into it…So we did a few more dates, and snuck into a studio for a few days not having any idea if a record would come out of the sessions. We’re all quite pleased with “Go Away White,” but it seems best not to push it.

But now there’s a Love and Rockets reunion on the docket…

Once again, I have to admit that money played a role in the decision. Those Coachella folks, they’re irresistible. But, you know, the Bauhaus reunion was such a positive experience that in a way, getting Love and Rockets back onstage seemed like the natural next step. It helped convince us, too, that Love and Rockets seems to be name-checked by quite a few young bands lately; there’s something in the ether—we’re relevant again.

Any set-list hints?

The song I’m really into is our old cover of “Ball of Confusion.” It seems quite appropriate to the world these days, dystopia and so on. We’re playing early stuff, nothing from after ‘89.

And in the meantime, you’re staging “Silver for Gold.” Is this your first experience doing musical theater?

Yes and no. A little after 9/11, I did a kind of experimental thing at the Knitting Factory here, riffing off a solo song of mine, and there was a 12-minute play I wrote for a theater company in Atlanta about my teenage years as a punk. But this is the first time I’ve attempted anything on this scale. Ten songs, two instrumentals, monologues, costumes… real show, in other words. It’s funny, because I was never one of those people obsessed with Edie Sedgwick—in fact, I’d always assumed she was uninteresting. But I happened to see this script about her, called “Girl on Fire,” and I liked the title and stole it for a song. Didn’t think there was much more in it for me than that, but one thing led to another thing, and here we are.

Is “Silver for Gold” based on that screenplay?

No, I gave Edie’s story my own spin. I did a fair amount of research on her, and what I wound up seeing is that she’s sort of like a modern-day Persephone, the girl who journeys to the underworld. He’s not in the show, but Andy is Hades, obviously, and “Silver” stands for the silver at the Factory, to some degree. Bob Dylan comes in as Orpheus, and Paul Morrissey, Ondine, and Chuck Wein are the three heads of Cerberus, the dog guarding the gates of hell. Monique Jenkinson plays Edie, the girl who doesn’t know she’s living in a myth. We’re all having a lot of fun.—Maya Singer

“So many people told me that she wouldn’t have time to do it,” said Fashion Fringe director Colin McDowell, referring to Donatella Versace taking over from Tom Ford as chairperson of the British talent incubator. “But I was hopeful—and look at the outcome!” Indeed, McDowell made his remarks at a party at Claridge’s last night to celebrate Versace’s new position. Despite hurricane-level winds, Roland Mouret, Daphne Guinness, Manolo Blahnik, Erdem Moralioglu, and Rupert Sanderson all came out to clink Champagne glasses with the woman of the hour. But despite McDowell’s apprehension, La Versace insisted there was never any doubt that she would accept the role. “It’s a huge honor,” she told us. “London is a very cool city, and there’s so much fashion talent coming from here. Of course I would say yes!”—Afsun Qureshi

Photo: Jonathan Hordle/Rex USA

Two of hip-hop and R&B’s hottest protegees turned up last night at the Adidas Originals store to celebrate Rap-Up magazine’s third anniversary. Keri Hilson, Timbaland’s understudy and the star of his hits “The Way I Are” and “Scream,” is a tomboy at heart, but she’s getting used to the glam life. “I’m still not particularly good on the heels yet,” she said, teetering on Chanel pumps. “But I make do.” And she’s got her image mapped out for the release of her highly anticipated debut disc this summer. “You see my pageboy mushroom going on!” she said, patting her hair. “I like to keep it funky and retro with the three-finger ring, the high-waisted pants, and platforms.” Also feeling the throwback style was Pharrell’s teenage find from Harlem—and Heatherette muse—Teyana Taylor. “My look is Salt-n-Pepa with a little bit of Flavor Flav thrown in there,” she said. But wait, wasn’t Teyana in diapers when they made hits? “I do my history,” she said.

—Katie HintzPhoto: John Ricard