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)
Sunday, May 05, 2013
Industry Icon: Nicola Formichetti
“One of the most influential creative forces working in
fashion today” (business of fashion)
If you don’t know the name already – you should! Lady Gaga’s superstar stylist and
collaborator Nicola Formichetti is the epitome of high-fashion mixed with avant
garde and darkism. The 35 year old,
Japanese/Italian mixed Formichetti has an impressive roster under his
belt. Some of his other work and
achievements:
·
DIESEL artistic director
·
MUGLER artistic director (recently left his
position for the brand)
·
Vogue Hommes Japan fashion director
·
Uniqlo fashion director
·
Isabella Blow Award for Fashion Creator 2010
winner (britishfashionawards.com)
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| From top-left, clockwise: blushingnoir.com, hypnoticfascination.com, style.com, fashionbombdaily.com, style.com, le-21eme.com |
Formichetti was born in Japan, grew up in Rome and Tokyo,
and moved to London to go to school. He
became heavily involved in the London nightlife and street fashions. Dazed & Confused picked him up and he
became its creative director in 2008.
Working for the magazine led to others such as V, Another Magazine,
Arena Homme +, and Harper’s Bazaar US.
He has also worked with fashion brands such as Alexander McQueen, Gareth
Pugh, Prada, Topman, and H&M.
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| From top-left, clockwise: defamer.com.au, nymag.com, le-21eme.com, eroglamour.com, style.com |
He also has an obsession with pandas, and therefore created
his line of panda-influenced and heavily characterized products under the
Nicopanda label. He sells everything
from zombie panda rings to phone cases to t-shirts. The name came from his friends calling him
Nico Panda due to the fact that he is half-Asian, was a little chubby, and had
a beard – basically resembling a bear.
Even though the latter two circumstances have definitely changed, the
name stuck and Nicola capitalized on such and branded himself as Nicopanda!
Friday, April 12, 2013
My Work: Magazine Layout "Black On Black On Black"
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Industry Icon: Mickey Drexler
Informed by Steve Jobs that he was going to be fired from
Gap after working 19 years for the company, expanding it’s fleet from 450
stores to over 2, 000, and bringing it’s annual revenue from $400 million up to
$14 billion during that time (businessoffashion.com). Now, he is
currently the CEO of J. Crew, which he turned from a lacklustre brand into a
fashion-forward empire. Even though
Mickey is not a prime example of a fashion icon himself, his intuitive sense of
what the public craves and transforming companies to new heights, definitely
makes him someone to know in the industry.
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| wmagazine.com |
Since he began at J. Crew in 2003, he has increased the
company’s revenues by 170%. He is a
self-proclaimed micro-manager, doing everything he can in the company, including
answering customer’s emails and telephone calls himself. J. Crew’s style has gained a large following,
with many celebrities enjoying the brand, such as Michelle Obama and Oprah
Winfrey. Overall, Mickey Drexler truly
is the “merchant prince” (businessoffashion.com).
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| streetpeeper.com |
With all that said, go check out the new J. Crew store that
just opened last Wednesday at the Eaton Centre.
It is the first store in Canada to feature its menswear line!
Industry Icon: Haider Ackermann
“When Karl Lagerfeld was recently asked
who he’d most like to see succeed him at Chanel, he didn’t hesitate: “Haider
Ackermann”” (wmagazine.com).
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From top-left, clockwise: zoccao.blogspot.com, vogue.com, vogue.com, harpersbazaar.com, campbellreport.files.wordpress.com, thestar.com.
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Ackermann was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and
was adopted shortly after birth by a French couple. They had previously adopted a girl from
Vietnam and a boy from South Korea. The
family traveled a lot due to the father being a cartographer. They spent time living in Algeria, Chad,
Ethiopia, and Iran, ending up in the Netherlands when Ackermann was 12. He moved to Antwerp, Belgium when he was 25
to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and was able to produce a collection
in 2002 that was shown in Paris. Three
years later he found an investor and opened an atelier in Paris.
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From top-left, clockwise: obyncooke-styleguide.co.za, thenumber4.com, style.com, anonymitynews.com, wmagazine.com. Middle: wmagazine.com.
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One of my favourite women’s fashion designers, Haider
Ackermann delivers clothes for a strong, confident, and mighty woman. His pieces flow together to create a seamless
outfit that speaks volumes of his artistic ability, creating a
fashion-as-armour range of clothing.
While viewing his collections, I am drawn to picture an avant-garde
circus, both with the outfits he puts forth and the magical stories he tells
through his clothing. Ackermann notes
the Sahara Desert as one of his places for inspiration and I’m sure his
nomadic, eclectic, and adventurous upbringing led him towards this fantastical
gypsy look that he adores. Through his
dedication and artistic abilities with his clothes, it is no wonder that he has
gained people like Tilda Swinton as a friend and supporter.
Industry Icon: BryanBoy
Bryan Grey-Yambao
aka BryanBoy is a fashion blogger from the Philippines who has taken the fashion
world by storm with his outrageous clothing choices, mixing men’s and women’s
fashions into an androgynous look that is all his own. His website bryanboy.com draws 200,000
visitors each day from 212 different countries
(teenvoguefashionuniversity.com). He has
been featured in both Vogue and Net-A-Porter as one of the most powerful
bloggers.
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From top-left, clockwise: seelike.me, vogue.in, lifestylehunters.com, teenvoguefashionuniversity.com, dailymail.co.uk, blog.mykita.com
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Bryan’s
first taste of front-row fashion came with the Spring 2010 Dolce & Gabbana
fashion show, which came with much controversy.
Three other bloggers joined BryanBoy; those being Tommy Ton, Scott
Schuman, and Garance Doré, whom were
all placed in the front row with their laptops, sitting inbetween such fashion heavyweights
as Anna Wintour, Hamish Bowles, Michael Roberts, and Suzy Menkes. This caused an uproar from some of the
fashion community but the truth is that these fashion bloggers are a huge
influential force that is here to stay.
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From top-left, clockwise: adoreandaddict.blogspot.com, bryanboy.com, seelike.me, shadesofgold.co.za, zimbio.com (x2), sequingown.wordpress.com, seelike.me,(x2)
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He has been
labeled as one of Fashion 2.0’s biggest superstars up there with Tavi Gevinson
(Style Rookie), Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist), and Susie Bubble (Style
Bubble). He has become so popular that
Marc Jacobs went so far as to name one of his handbags the BB bag.
Bryan is
very good friends with fellow blogger, Rumi Neely of Fashiontoast, travelling
around the States shooting videos and photoshoots together, while collaborating
on fashion news. As of late, you can see
him on Season 19 of America’s Next Top Model as the social media correspondent.
“I give you
a 10 for effort… Love your passion for fashion, after all, where would
designers be without enthusiasm like yours?” – Marc Jacobs (bryanboy.com)
Industry Icon: Taylor Tomasi Hill
Down the streets of Paris you spy a model-height, flaming
red-haired girl, decked out in the hottest fashions, and stacked to the nines
with jewellery. Flash! She’s being followed by the biggest
streetstyle bloggers, taking her picture at every step. Who is this fashion maven? None other than Taylor Tomasi Hill of course!
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From top-left, clockwise: coolspotters.com,
brigadeirochoc.blogspot.com,
coolspotters.com,
stockholmstreetstyle.com,
streetpeeper.com,
erinjeen.com,
youstylexx.blogspot.ca
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Taylor was born and raised in Dallas and went onto gain a
Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design from the Pratt Institute. There she studied how to make things like
tabletops, shoes, and everything in-between.
However, a career in fashion ended up being her calling. She began with an internship for W Magazine
and was subsequently hired by Teen Vogue as their Accessories Director. This may be why she has such an affiliation
with statement jewellery!
In February of 2011, Taylor joined the online e-commerce
site Moda Operandi as their Artistic Director, where she focuses on the
editorial features (nytimes.com). The
site features clothes to purchase right off the runway, and was at the
forefront of this new style of fast-fashion for luxury goods. Taylor has also done some designing of her
own, with an exclusive capsule collection for retailer Lane Crawford.
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From top-left, clockwise: style4style.tumblr.com,
refinery29.com,
leeoliveira.com,
brigadeirochoc.blogspot.com,
backseatstylers.com,
streetpeeper.com
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Taylor mixes high-street with high-end clothing to put
together eclectic outfits that are still practical. She has said that she is a “clothing
chameleon,” with an ever-changing style and attitude. When asked what is one of her favourite
fast-fashion stores she answers, "Zara. Some of my favorite things in my closet have
come from Zara. Their price point is
unbeatable, and they have a great way of interpreting trends that's a good
medium between taste and quality" (refinery29.com). This pretty much sums up what’s to love about
Taylor. She has impeccable style, and
isn’t afraid to be seen wearing lower-priced fashions and re-working different
pieces in new ways.
Industry Icon: Eddie Borgo
“The Eddie Borgo collection is a study in traditions;
American costume jewelry, the history of rock and roll, and the heritage of New
York City. Eddie Borgo brings new energy
and a modern point of view to these established themes, fusing high end and
street in every piece he creates” (eddieborgo.com).
Born and bred in Atlanta, Eddie Borgo soon made his way to
New York City to study Art History at Hunter College while working at Barney’s
and Donna Karen. In 2002, he started
making one-of-a-kind pieces for established stylists. Then in 2008, he was invited to design
jewelry for Phillip Lim’s Spring/Summer 2009 fashion show. He subsequently launched his self-titled
label for Spring/Summer 2009 – being sold in such prestigious stores as Barney’s
New York, Colette (Paris), Liberty of London, and Joyce (Hong Kong). Today his creations are sold in over 90
stores worldwide (eddieborgo.com). He
has also collaborated with such heavyweight designers as Marchesa, Proenza
Schouler, Jason Wu, and Joseph Altuzarrra.
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From top-left, clockwise: guestofaguest.com, guestofaguest.com, guestofaguest.com, vogue.com
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Borgo’s designs are inspired by urban architecture, rock ‘n’
roll, and nature, always having a punky overtone. In 2011, he told Vogue, “Punk
iconography is aggressive, but I like the idea of manipulating something raw
and making it beautiful and feminine” (vogue.com). His most popular style would be the
cone bracelet that was created at the launch of his brand. Since then, this style has been knocked-off over
and over again, showing up in many fast-fashion stores currently. Fans of Borgo’s jewellery include Alexa
Chung, Rihanna, and Kate Lanphear (whom starred in his Fall/Winter 2010
campaign; also see earlier Industry Icon to check out Kate’s awesome style).
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From top-left, clockwise: eddieborgo.com, vogue.com, guestofaguest.com, guestofaguest.com, vogue.com
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Awards Eddie Borgo has won:
-
2010 –Runner up for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund
award
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2011 – Won the CFDA Swarovski Award for
Innovation in Accessory Design (eddieborgo.com)
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2011 – Won a Tiffany & Co. Development Grant
of $100,000 (vogue.com)
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