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.
 |
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)
-
2011 – Won a Tiffany & Co. Development Grant
of $100,000 (vogue.com)
Industry Icon: Christine Centenera
The beautifully stylish (part-Filipino) Christine Centenera
has been a street style regular of The Sartorialist and Tommy Ton for years.
Centenera studied communications at university and quickly
moved onto a job as the marketing assistant at Australian Harper’s Bazaar. Even though she did not have any formal
training as an assistant, she was seen to have a good eye and was given the
chance to climb the ladder within the magazine.
She ended up as the fashion editor.
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Sources (top-left, clockwise): emilielamode.com, lamodellamafia.com, lamodellamafia.com, lamodellamafia.com
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During her years working, Christine held jobs at
Cosmopolitan magazine, as well as a freelance stylist, and a fashion
consultant. She has consulted with
Australian brand Ksubi as well as Kanye West for his women’s clothing line. She most recently joined Vogue Australia as
their senior fashion editor. There she
produces fifty/fifty content for the Vogue magazine and vogue.com.au.
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Sources (top-left, clockwise): sparklyfashion.com, knowmoderation.wordpress.com, lamodellamafia.com, lamodellamafia.com
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