Wednesday, December 04, 2013
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Monday, May 06, 2013
Industry Icon: Miroslava Duma
Ever-stylish Russian “It” Girl, Mira Duma is a 25 year-old
former editor at Harper’s Bazaar Russia.
Her father is a Russian senator and she is one of the four girls
respectively called “the Russian mafia” in the fashion world. Mira and her comrades show the world what
Russian style is all about these days and that it is a force to be reckoned
with. Prior to the 1990s, the Soviet
Union was a fashion-free country, not allowing fashion boutiques or
magazines. When the U.S.S.R. collapsed
in 1991, everything changed.
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Top-left clockwise: stylemuse.blogspot.ca,
lapetitelunaa.blogspot.ca, whoisdrew.com, taistoisoisbeau.com
Middle: whoisdrew.com
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Mira states first-hand:
It was something in the air that you
felt and realised: significant
changes are coming. I grew up with the
understanding that inexpensive
and staid dress was the right choice for me. I
didn't know what it
was to be 'an instrument of propaganda' but I remember
thinking,
'Why does it have to be like that?' I was too young to know the
political implications but it was something rebellious deep inside
of me. The
department stores had such limited stocks of clothes - I was
a huge fan of the
Hollywood golden age, so I got my fashion fix
watching movies featuring
Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and
Marilyn Monroe (fashion.telegraph.co.uk).
Now today with Mira and her fashion gang of peers, Russia is
definitely an up-and-coming fashion capital.
She has become a staple at Fashion Weeks around the globe and is a
favourite of bloggers Scott Schuman, Garance Dore, and Tommy Ton.
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Top-left clockwise: whatevereurotrash.com,
blog.needsupply.com, pleasestrikeapost.blogspot.ca, whatstrend.com
Middle: miroslavaduma.tumblr.com
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She currently is a freelance writer, collaborating with
magazines such as OK Magazine (Russia), Tatler, and Glamour (Russia). She also is the founder of the style website
Buro 24/7 that deals with fashion, art, architecture, cinema, music, and style.
Mira and Tommy Ton shot a campaign for
the store Symphony in the Dubai Mall for Spring/Summer 2012.
Her favourite designers include, Vika Gazinskaya, Marni,
Chanel, Phoebe Philo, Raf Simons, Ostwald Helgason, and Proenza Schouler.
She was recently in the Louis Vuitton “Small is Beautiful”
autumn 2012 mini campaign for their cross-body bag alongside fellow bloggers
Elin Kling and Hanneli Mustaparta.
Industry Icon: Jenna Lyons
"Fashion can change who you are
and how you feel, and that can be magical" – J. Crew president and
creative director Jenna Lyons (guardian.co.uk)
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top-left clockwise: lifewise.canoe.ca, uncharteredstyle.com,
fashionologie.com, glamour.com
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The geek chic heroine of fashion known as Jenna Lyons is an
anoamaly of a new order. For twenty
years she has worked hard at J. Crew from an assistant of an assistant all the
way up to her current position as president and creative director of the
company. She helped grow the brand into
a billion dollar company with serious fashion cred (guardian.co.uk). Jenna has inspired legions of women to reignite
their love of getting dressed in the morning.
Through her signature dark-rimmed glasses, centre-part hairstyle, and
flair for mixing colour, texture, and pattern, she is truly inspiring.
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top-left clockwise: fashionprose.wordpress.com,
backseatstylers.com, thoroughlymodernmelly.tumblr.com, stylecaster.com
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It seems like such a long time ago that Jenna was having a
hard time at school, being picked on constantly due to her long and lanky
stature, crooked teeth, and overall lack of confidence. This brought herself to be very introverted
and what garnered her to gain this incredible love for fashion. Due to her height and lack of clothes readily
available to her, she took a sewing class and made herself a long, narrow skirt
printed in watermelons. This was a
breakthrough moment for her. After her
grandmother bought her a sewing machine and a subscription to Vogue one
Christmas, that was it Jenna says.
Parsons in New York City is where she chose to earn her degree and soon
went on to work for a company that she would help grow by 170 percent. Of this, Jenna says, “Amazing
things happen when you’re having fun doing something you love” (glamour.com).
It is therefore no wonder
she was awarded one of the coveted Woman of the Year awards by Glamour magazine
for 2012.
Industry Icon: Helen Gurley Brown
“Good girls go to heaven.
Bad girls go everywhere.”
– Helen Gurley Brown
One of the most successful and provocative magazine editors
ever, Helen Gurley Brown went from a small-town girl to becoming the
editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.
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| timesunion.com |
She had to start working very early in life due to her
father dying when she was 10, and her sister getting polio shortly thereafter. She began as a secretary at an advertising
agency until her employer recognized her writing skills and hired her on as a
copywriter. She was one of the only
women in the business and was generally disregarded by the men.
Brown went on to publish a book in 1962 entitled Sex and the
Single Girl in 1962. The book encouraged
women to become financially independent and sexually liberated. Brown wanted them to experience pleasure in
sex and work on their own terms. The
book went on to influence shows such as Sex and the City and Mad Men.
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| newyorker.com |
In 1965, she became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan. The magazine was dying and so Hearst
Publishing decided to go with Brown because she could bring a fresh focus to
the magazine. She brought forth a new
direction of women’s sexual freedom and was a great advocate for the sexual revolution. Brown targeted women 18-34 who wanted to
achieve on their own. She believed that
women should have it all. Some people
saw her ideas as objectifying women, but she saw it more as a way of liberating
women. Either way, Cosmopolitan quickly
turned around to have a 100% sell-through (businessoffashion.com).
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| timesunion.com |
Cosmopolitan
continues to thrive today, including articles on relationships, sex, health,
careers, self-improvement, and fashion.
Industry Icon: Alexander Wang
Tawainese-American designer, Alexander Wang, was born and
raised in California, moving to New York City when he was 18 to pursue his
dreams of becoming a fashion designer at Parsons School of Design. He ended up dropping out in his second year
to work on designing his first collection, consisting mainly of knits. In 2007, his first women’s ready-to-wear collection
was released to much praise, and had over 200 stores carrying his products. In 2011, he opened his first flagship store
in SoHo and has since then expanded to stores in Asia. He has also moved onto his own e-commerce,
with his online store selling many of his creations. (alexanderwang.com).
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From top-left, clockwise: blog.youheshe.com,
alexanderwang.com, alexanderwang.com, Fashion Wire Press
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Wang’s inspiration came from the model-off-duty look. He was fascinated by all the girls coming to
and from the shows and how they wore their tight jeans, with oversize t-shirts
tucked in. From there, he created his line
of t-shirts with his T by Alexander Wang line.
The T line also features other very sporty looks, while his ready-to-wear
collection is luxurious, with more intricacies.
Alexander Wang clothes are very French chic and rock grunge,
with an industrial overtone. He likes
the look of putting on a t-shirt, that maybe you even slept in and just got up
and went out of the house in. He has
created many it-items, such as the Rocco bag, the Freja booties, and the Donna
hobo bag.
He has formed somewhat of a cult following, stylish girls
walking around New York City decked out in Alexander Wang clothes, have been
labeled “wangsters.” Anna Wintour has
been a huge supporter of Alex from the very beginning and pushed him into the
spotlight because she knew he had what it takes to go big. Many celebrities have been drawn to his
designs, and even have been included in his advertisements, including Azealia
Banks, Diplo, and Die Antwoord.
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From top-left, clockwise: fashfasms.blogspot.ca,
alexanderwang.com, alexanderwang.com, ssense.com, mutex.me
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In 2010 he came out with his men’s T by Alexander Wang
collection (one of my personal favourites) to cater to another demographic,
once he had conquered the women’s division.
Here, Wang was influenced by skateboarders and basketball players on the
courts in NYC, and their style, which he incorporated in his street-savvy men’s
line. From there he moved onto his men’s
ready-to-wear collection, and more recently, his line of accessories for men.
This young designer has already made such a stamp on the
fashion industry, so we’ll have to keep a lookout for what he has planned for
the future of his ever-expanding business.
In his short time as a designer, Alex has received such
prestigious awards as:
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2008: Recipient of the Vogue/CFDA Fashion Fund
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2009: Swarovski Womenswear Designer of the Year
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2009: Swiss Textiles Award
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2010: Swarovski Accessories Designer of the Year
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2011: GQ Best Designer of the Year
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2011: CFDA Best Accessory Designer
(alexanderwang.com)
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