Now you can search the world's fashion with a photo - The Reporter
Your neighbor’s lovely handbag just got a little closer to your reach.
If you’ve ever coveted a piece of apparel worn by a coworker, a stranger on the street or sighted in an Instagram feed, a new app called ASAP54 can find it for you in stores, or at least something very similar.
See also: Top 10 YouTube Beauty Channels to Follow
All you’ll need is a photo. The app will ask you to crop out the specific item you’re looking for, and will return numerous results of similar items which can be purchased through the app’s mobile browser.
ASAP54 launched on iOS on Friday and is allowing new users in on a cascading basis.
The app is made by Daniela Cecílio, previously of boutique fashion site Farfetch (and married to its CEO).
The idea came to the onetime fashion designer after her frustration with shopping online and trying to find the perfect item.
“You fall in love, you have an emotional feeling,” she says. “It’s a painful process to go to Google and put it into words.”
While most retailer and brand ecommerce sites allow users to search by size, color, type (i.e., wedges, heels or flats for shoes), it can be tedious to narrow down exactly what you’re looking for — and once you do, you often find it doesn’t exist, or at least isn’t on the market anymore.
Discovery Algorithms
While ASAP54 has some resemblance to Shazam, the app that tells you the name of a song based on an audio clip, Cecílio notes fashion is more diverse, due in part to camera angles, making a photo search less conclusive. Her background in fashion is what sets ASAP54 apart from competitors.
Mashable covered a similar site called OSHa’Re that was being tested in Taiwan and offers reverse image search on desktop.
In ASAP54, if the search doesn’t return satisfactory results, users are given the opportunity to ask a stylist, what Cecílio describes as “a human element to refine tech when it fails.”c
After a photo is searched, it is added to a user’s activity stream along with the similar items found by ASAP54.
How It Works
I searched ASAP54 for my black Steve Madden boots, a Betsy Johnson bag and a friend’s scarf. No exact matches were found — which could mean the brand or an online retailer that sells it are not partnered with ASAP54 yet. Most partners at launch are mid-range to high-end brands or retailers, such as Barneys, J Crew and Topshop.
Unlike fashion magazines that might show a celebrity’s outfit and where one can buy similar items more affordably, ASAP54 simply hopes to find a comparable match. For example, the search for my Steve Madden boots returned similar items, the least expensive pair for $113, while the boots are actually priced under $100.
There is a toggle for price, if you’d like to limit results in a range, and you can search by color — so you could still use a photo of a friend’s green jacket even if you’re looking for something similar in a different color. You can also refine the search by brand.
Going forward, Cecílio expects users will not only use the search function themselves, but also find fashion inspiration in the app’s social stream, similar to Instagram or Pinterest. But in ASAP54, everything is shoppable.
This article originally appeared on Mashable.
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Fashion disaster? Downpour douses Oscars red carpet - Reuters
(Reuters) - The most glamorous of all runways, the 500-foot-long Oscars red carpet, might be a fashion disaster on Sunday.
A rare heavy rain storm on Friday in Southern California has soaked parts of the red carpet laid down on Hollywood Boulevard, where movie stars and Tinseltown powerbrokers will make their grand entrance to the Academy Awards, film's highest honors.
Dozens of workers spent the morning securing the red carpet from the pelting rain and overflowing street gutters 48 hours before hundreds of attendees will parade designer gowns, extravagant jewels and tailored tuxedos.
Workers cleared pools of water that had collected atop the tent built to shield stars from the rain while others hustled to plug any leaks and a team wielding squeegees pushed standing water out of the protective plastic over the red carpet.
"It has been a challenge, a lot of water in a short amount of time," said Joe Lewis, the associate producer of arrivals for Hollywood's biggest night. "There is no perfect science to (a) rain plan. It is going to rain, there is going to be water, we have got to protect as best we can."
The rain began in Los Angeles on Thursday evening and according to the National Weather Service is not expected to let up until Sunday morning, hours before Hollywood's movie stars begin their walk across the red carpet at 3 p.m. PST (2300 GMT).
"I think the carpet is probably wet underneath us, which is going to be a problem in a couple days," said Doug Neal, the stage manager of the Oscars red carpet show. "But we are well protected. They have put this up a few days ago so I think we will be alright."
While the rain is a welcome sight for many in California, which is mired in its third year of a debilitating drought, high winds and debris caused road closures, power outages and about 1,000 homes in the Los Angeles area were ordered to be evacuated due to possible mudslides.
Organizers as a precaution had already wrapped the large gilded Oscar statues that flank the red carpet like columns to shield them from possible water damage.
"Well we have put in all the gutters, we have protected all the carpet, we've got all the scenery protected, we have got all the stages built," Lewis said.
"We know how tough it is, but when they get out of the car on Sunday afternoon, this is their first impression of the Academy Awards and, by God, we want it to be a good one," he added.
(Reporting by Reuters TV; Writing by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Mary Milliken and Lisa Shumaker)
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PARIS: Rihanna Eyes up French Fashion Industry - ABC News
After turning up at Balmain's show after everyone had left, Barbadian superstar Rihanna arrived this time at Friday's Christian Dior show before hardly anyone had arrived.
Though the 26-year-old clearly doesn't lack staff — with aggressive bodyguards around her — if "fashionably early" doesn't catch on, perhaps she could do with a better time-keeper.
Here are the highlights of Friday's colorful Paris fall-winter ready-to-wear shows.
RIHANNA IS FASHIONABLY EARLY
Photographers swarmed around the "Diamonds" singer inside Paris' Musee Rodin in front of row upon row of empty Dior seating.
"I just love fashion," she told The Associated Press as she posed in shades and a bright fur Dior wrap jacket that revealed ample bosom to flashes of camera.
If the singer, who hopes to launch a designing career and is touring Paris Fashion Week, was aiming to create the new concept of "fashionably early," good luck to her. Celebrities are normally expected to enter at the very last minute for fashion shows, for maximum effect.
CHRISTIAN DIOR'S CITY LIGHTS
Raf Simons produced a surprising show for Christian Dior. In several ways.
Firstly, the jacketed-businesswoman theme was a dramatic departure from his last — and very successful — ode to diaphanous couture.
Second, the near-sacred codes of Dior — softly feminine gowns, sculpting bar jackets — seemed almost gone with Simons' masculine tailoring style.
The show, entitled "City Lights," which began with long menswear cashmere coats, did feature some nice suits — although they weren't particularly ground-breaking.
Simons' androgynous thinking had a lot more success in a series of wool gowns in fuscia, bright yellow and blue that had double layers and V-shapes mirroring the two tiers of an office suit.
But even those could have done without distracting embroidering that seemed like an afterthought to please the Dior clientele.
Certainly the best part of the show was when he let the Dior girl do the talking: in a great set of asymmetrical and trapeze nylon dresses that blossomed in quilted pleats.
Dior girls don't want to go to the office. They want to have fun!
CRITIC WHO ATTENDED DIOR'S FIRST YSL SHOW REMINISCES
In 1958, after Monsieur Dior died in unexpected circumstances, his protégé — a 21-year-old unknown called Yves Saint Laurent was chosen to fill his shoes and presented his first collection.
It was a historic show, launching Saint Laurent into the fashion stratosphere, but one that came before the time of most people who attend Dior shows these days.
Apart from one: veteran fashion critic Marylou Luther, who spoke to the AP.
"In 1958 I was working for the Chicago Tribune and I covered the first collection after the death of Dior," said octogenarian Luther, with her signature round black spectacles.
"He went to the avenue Marceau headquarters, stood on the balcony and there were thousands — I'm not exaggerating — thousands of people. The word had gone out. This was maybe an hour after the show. And a throng of people waiting for him to come out and wave," she added.
Luther says that although 55 years have passed, the current Dior collections still have traces of the heritage: "You still see signs of the Bar Jacket, and the New Look."
SMELLS LIKE TREE SPIRIT
Issey Miyake used circular pleating — inspired by tree rings — to produce one of the most beautiful and unpretentious shows so far in Paris Fashion Week.
And that was aside from the show's great theatricality: opening with an electronic rock band and models who trod the catwalk in plain black outfits armed with tree-width circular panels.
Spontaneously, guests applauded when the panels opened up magically into pop-up dresses — that were then donned by these tree nymphs.
The collection itself saw curved, abstract and trapeze silhouettes float by with a gentle bounce in incredible shades of indigo, bronze, soft green, cerulean blue and warm deep pink.
The elastic mastery was owed to the Franco-Japanese house's new technique of hand pleating on the curve.
Then poncho and shawl type garments almost eluded definition, at times moving with the suspended gravity of a sea medusa.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN SAYS "GRACE OF MONACO" CONTROVERSY RESOLVED
Hollywood's Harvey Weinstein, who attended the Dior show, has said that the problems associated with the troubled movie "Grace of Monaco," featuring Nicole Kidman as the actress-turned-princess, have "obviously" been resolved.
The influential producer came to Paris to attend Friday's Cesar awards, the French equivalent to the Oscars — for the nomination of the Quentin Tarantino movie "Django Unchained," produced by him.
But it's not been such smooth riding for the heavyweight executive in recent months.
"Grace of Monaco" director Olivier Dahan (who directed Edith Piaf biopic "La Vie en Rose") caused controversy after telling French daily Liberation that Weinstein had approved changes to the film that Dahan disagreed with.
"There are two versions of the film — mine and his — which I find catastrophic," he said to the newspaper.
Weinstein pointed to smoother waters now after months of silence, telling the AP on Friday: "Obviously (the problems are resolved). We're opening (May's) Cannes Film Festival." He did not elaborate.
ROLAND MOURET
Roland Mouret attempted to produce a catwalk show without the usual PR gimmicks, calling his chosen styles simply the "definition of myself."
The 52-year-old French designer, who found fame for his cap-sleeved va-va-voom Galaxy dress, thus went back to his student years — the late 1970s and early 80s for a graphic collection with lashings of black.
Large triangular leather collars were the leifmotif, mirrored by the angles in black and white geometric shapes, interspersed with a few looks in blown up plaid check.
It was red or blue against black — the colors of punk. And one large black and white speckled jacket possessed a flat, wide silhouette that was all the rage at this time.
Sadly, the designer went a little overboard with a series of warped tassled skirts.
No definition of Mouret is complete without a reference to the sexy derrieres that made his name. Several body-hugging va-va-voom sheaths, zipped down the back, had fashion insiders turning their heads to glimpse them from behind.
————
Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://ift.tt/SkFVOF
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Now you can search the world's fashion with a photo - Denver Post
A photographer snaps a hard-to-get fashion photo on the Brooklyn Bridge. (ADNANBANGLADESH/Flickr)
If you've ever coveted a piece of apparel worn by a coworker, a stranger on the street or sighted in an Instagram feed, a new app called ASAP54 can find it for you in stores, or at least something very similar.
See also: Top 10 YouTube Beauty Channels to Follow
All you'll need is a photo. The app will ask you to crop out the specific item you're looking for, and will return numerous results of similar items which can be purchased through the app's mobile browser.
ASAP54 launched on iOS on Friday and is allowing new users in on a cascading basis.
The app is made by Daniela Cecílio, previously of boutique fashion site Farfetch (and married to its CEO).
The idea came to the onetime fashion designer after her frustration with shopping online and trying to find the perfect item.
“You fall in love, you have an emotional feeling,” she says. “It's a painful process to go to Google and put it into words.”
While most retailer and brand ecommerce sites allow users to search by size, color, type (i.e., wedges, heels or flats for shoes), it can be tedious to narrow down exactly what you're looking for — and once you do, you often find it doesn't exist, or at least isn't on the market anymore.
Discovery Algorithms
While ASAP54 has some resemblance to Shazam, the app that tells you the name of a song based on an audio clip, Cecílio notes fashion is more diverse, due in part to camera angles, making a photo search less conclusive. Her background in fashion is what sets ASAP54 apart from competitors.
Mashable covered a similar site called OSHa'Re that was being tested in Taiwan and offers reverse image search on desktop.
In ASAP54, if the search doesn't return satisfactory results, users are given the opportunity to ask a stylist, what Cecílio describes as “a human element to refine tech when it fails.”c
After a photo is searched, it is added to a user's activity stream along with the similar items found by ASAP54.
How It Works
I searched ASAP54 for my black Steve Madden boots, a Betsy Johnson bag and a friend's scarf. No exact matches were found — which could mean the brand or an online retailer that sells it are not partnered with ASAP54 yet. Most partners at launch are mid-range to high-end brands or retailers, such as Barneys, J Crew and Topshop.
Unlike fashion magazines that might show a celebrity's outfit and where one can buy similar items more affordably, ASAP54 simply hopes to find a comparable match. For example, the search for my Steve Madden boots returned similar items, the least expensive pair for $113, while the boots are actually priced under $100.
There is a toggle for price, if you'd like to limit results in a range, and you can search by color — so you could still use a photo of a friend's green jacket even if you're looking for something similar in a different color. You can also refine the search by brand.
Going forward, Cecílio expects users will not only use the search function themselves, but also find fashion inspiration in the app's social stream, similar to Instagram or Pinterest. But in ASAP54, everything is shoppable.
This article originally appeared on Mashable.
via fashion - Google News http://ift.tt/1d2ZPLL
PARIS: Rihanna eyes up French fashion industry - WNEM TV 5 - WNEM Saginaw
AP Fashion Writer
PARIS (AP) - She may sing "Please Don't Stop The Music," but the music at the Balmain show had well and truly stopped when seven-time Grammy Award-winner Rihanna sneaked in the back door, after everyone had left.
That is, apart from a handful of people.
The singer caused a stir earlier this month when she said she wants to launch her own fashion label - so could this appearance have been a reconnaissance mission?
Here are the highlights of Thursday's fall-winter ready-to-wear shows.
___
RIHANNA'S SURPRISE VISIT AT BALMAIN
The singer, who had plum lips and wore a revealingly plunging terre verte belted Balmain jacket without a bra, arrived at Paris' Hotel de Ville with heavy security, and was greeted by friend and designer Olivier Rousteign, who hugged her and gushed: "She's the hottest girl in the world."
The well-dressed Barbadian superstar has her eyes set on the fashion industry - and not just as the face of Balmain.
When asked Thursday if she was here to get inspiration for her own brand, she hinted she's attending Paris Fashion Week to get ideas.
"I love Balmain and can be inspired by (Rousteign's) clothes. I'm inspired by everything here (in Paris)," she told The Associated Press, her only comments before being whisked away.
Rihanna is no stranger to the industry: she's created collections for two fashion labels before for Armani in 2011, and for high-street brand River Island. She may hope to tread a path similar to rapper Kanye West, who now has his own fashion brand, shows in Paris and is a regular attendee at runway shows.
___
BALMAIN SAYS 'L'AFRIQUE, C'EST CHIC'
Zebra stripes, leopard print, beaded jackets mixed with khaki colors, flak pockets and safari pants.
Yes, this was Africa - at least, Balmain's opulent and decadent version of it.
And the exotic musing helped Rousteign produce a subtler collection than usual.
The brashness was still there of course in a citrus yellow fleece sweater or in the waists which were cinched to within an inch of life.
But the fall-winter collection saw some of the best looks seen so far this season, like a petrol blue knotted rope sheath with a regal-feel twinned with beige cuffs that resembled African bracelets.
L'afrique, c'est chic!
___
RIHANNA UPSTAGES CATHERINE DENEUVE
Rihanna caused a media scrum as she entered the Lanvin show in a beige trilby hat.
With the sort of fame the it-pop star possesses, it's inevitable that even the most iconic of vintage stars will be upstaged.
This was the case with Catherine Deneuve, a main fixture at Paris Fashion Week, who looked nonplussed in her front row seat as people busied around the singer.
One thing's certain: the "Belle de Jour" star won't be too bothered, since at 70, she's seen it all before.
___
LANVIN USES FUR LIKE COTTON
To the set of an age-old movie studio with flood lighting Alber Elbaz produced yet another symphony of excitement, nostalgia and innovation for Lanvin.
The show in the Left bank Ecole des Beaux-Arts was varied - Elbaz famously designing to give women as much choice as possible.
The first aria: feathered riding hats alongside black, brown and white asymmetrical tweed coats had a swagger of the 18th century, with horizontal lines and fringing that was so loose it looked feathered.
The conclusion was 1930s satin dress nostalgia.
But the best segment was the fur climax in the middle. (Vegans stop reading.)
Elbaz used fur extravagantly and with style: in skirts, jackets, dresses - and even a black fur rucksack that had fashion insiders gasping.
Then he proposed a whole new concept: button down fur.
It featured in bands and lapels - and one model capped it all by sporting a gray fur bust.
___
BODY BAGS AND DRIED BLOOD ARE TRENDY THIS SEASON
Rick Owens injected Thursday's proceedings with a splash of dried blood and deathly musing.
The eccentric American designer continued using the high wading boots of his menswear show, but this time he mixed the black and pearl palette with what the program notes described as "dried blood." Normal people might call it burgundy.
Elsewhere, strangeness took on a new form altogether in abstract, enveloping silhouettes that that were sweetly described as "bodybags," which possessed high turtle necks and long billowing sleeves.
Naturally for an oddball like Owens, the show ended with a completely unrelated science-fiction vibe: C3P0 style knee caps on boots, with shoulder stripes and high round necks like Star Trek uniform.
With Owens there is always a mad unity in the disparate styles. Needless to say, his was a very cool show.
___
FASHION ICON CLAUDE MONTANA HITS DRIES VAN NOTEN EXHIBIT
He's was one of the biggest fashion icon of the 1980s, who all but disappeared from public view after his company went bust in 1997, but Claude Montana made a rare appearance turning up for the launch Belgian designer Dries Van Noten's Paris retrospective.
"It a wonderful show actually. I love the colors and shapes. It's beautiful," Montana told the Associated Press, inside the sprawling exhibit at Paris' Musee des Arts Decoratifs where he walked around discreetly and was hardly recognized.
The designer, one of Alexander McQueen's and Riccardo Tisci's biggest influences, and was good pals with Cher in her heady days, was one of the hottest fashion tickets in the 1980s. He set the standard for opulence and excess in his fashion presentations, but in the 1990s he fell off the map.
Fashion shows have reined in their excess somewhat in recent years, especially due to the financial crisis. But the discreet 66-year-old says he still admires the presentations of the Paris fashion industry nowadays.
___
NINA RICCI
The Nina Ricci show progressed from covered up chic to complete see-through in a feminine show that channeled designer Peter Copping's fascination with the vintage and romantic.
And, of course, the signature flowers.
Nostalgic colors like silvery purple, deep plum and burgundy mixed up with sequined dresses with hints of the 1930s. Elsewhere, there were some dropped waists and one great black and white flying jacket with huge 1970s lapels.
The use of fur was notable, appearing inventively as luxuriant streaks or insets on capes and jackets.
The final series of high, sheer gowns had a feel of a sensual prude that might have been borrowed from Valentino.
___
Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://ift.tt/1o72SUR
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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10 Other Stupid Non-Fashion Trends Inspired by Normcore - Flavorwire
According to The Cut, the newest fashion trend sweeping the crazy streets of New York City is a surprising one. Dubbed “normcore,” it’s not the trend of young women dressing like Cheers-era George Wendt (much to our dismay), but rather young people “embracing sameness deliberately as a new way of being cool, rather than striving for ‘difference’ or ‘authenticity,’” by which the writer Fiona Duncan means: standing out by not standing out. You know, like wearing non-New Yorker clothes such as khakis and sweatpants and turtlenecks and sneakers. Sure, this is just one more bit of proof that New Yorkers and fashion people live in a bubble, believing that every choice we make is interesting and fashion-forward, but what if it inspired some other non-interesting non-fashion trends? We came up with a few we’d like to see. Or not.
Mumblecore
Do you love jumpers paired with 20-something malaise? Then you’re totally mumblecore.
Skortcore
It’s more than just wearing skorts — it’s about appreciating all varieties of hybrid fashions: jeggings (jean leggings), jorts (jean shorts), shormals (formal shorts), even sweatquins (sequined sweatshirts)!
Denimcore
Often referred to as a Canadian tuxedo, the denim-on-denim look is coming back in a big way. I’m wearing a denim shirt and denim pants right now!
Dumblecore
If you attended any midnight screenings of the Harry Potter movies in your best wizard robes, congratulations — you were a pioneer of dumblecore.
Falcor
If your affinity for large flying dogs is so deep that you start to resemble them yourself, you’re definitely making Falcor a thing.
Applecore
Can you pull off a giant apple costume when it’s not Halloween?
Bardcore
Ruffled necklines, tights, powdered wigs. If you’re dressed like a Twelfth Night character, you’re nailing bardcore.
D-hallcore
Remember when you’d just roll into the dining hall for breakfast at 3PM on a Saturday in pajama pants and the largest graphic T-shirt you could find? Total d-hallcore.
Napcore
Are you exhausted after work and falling asleep on your subway commute home? Join the club — napcore is all the rage!
Cliffcore
You know, Cliff Clavin really revolutionized USPS chic in the ’80s.
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PARIS: Rihanna eyes up French fashion industry - Boston.com
PARIS (AP) — She may sing ‘‘Please Don’t Stop The Music,’’ but the music at the Balmain show had well and truly stopped when seven-time Grammy Award-winner Rihanna sneaked in the back door, after everyone had left.
That is, apart from a handful of people.
The singer caused a stir earlier this month when she said she wants to launch her own fashion label — so could this appearance have been a reconnaissance mission?
Here are the highlights of Thursday’s fall-winter ready-to-wear shows.
___
RIHANNA'S SURPRISE VISIT AT BALMAIN
The singer, who had plum lips and wore a revealingly plunging terre verte belted Balmain jacket without a bra, arrived at Paris’ Hotel de Ville with heavy security, and was greeted by friend and designer Olivier Rousteign, who hugged her and gushed: ‘‘She’s the hottest girl in the world.’’
The well-dressed Barbadian superstar has her eyes set on the fashion industry — and not just as the face of Balmain.
When asked Thursday if she was here to get inspiration for her own brand, she hinted she’s attending Paris Fashion Week to get ideas.
‘‘I love Balmain and can be inspired by (Rousteign's) clothes. I'm inspired by everything here (in Paris),’’ she told The Associated Press, her only comments before being whisked away.
Rihanna is no stranger to the industry: she’s created collections for two fashion labels before for Armani in 2011, and for high-street brand River Island. She may hope to tread a path similar to rapper Kanye West, who now has his own fashion brand, shows in Paris and is a regular attendee at runway shows.
___
BALMAIN SAYS ‘L'AFRIQUE, C'EST CHIC’
Zebra stripes, leopard print, beaded jackets mixed with khaki colors, flak pockets and safari pants.
Yes, this was Africa — at least, Balmain’s opulent and decadent version of it.
And the exotic musing helped Rousteign produce a subtler collection than usual.
The brashness was still there of course in a citrus yellow fleece sweater or in the waists which were cinched to within an inch of life.
But the fall-winter collection saw some of the best looks seen so far this season, like a petrol blue knotted rope sheath with a regal-feel twinned with beige cuffs that resembled African bracelets.
L'afrique, c'est chic!
___
RIHANNA UPSTAGES CATHERINE DENEUVE
Rihanna caused a media scrum as she entered the Lanvin show in a beige trilby hat.
With the sort of fame the it-pop star possesses, it’s inevitable that even the most iconic of vintage stars will be upstaged.
This was the case with Catherine Deneuve, a main fixture at Paris Fashion Week, who looked nonplussed in her front row seat as people busied around the singer.
One thing’s certain: the ‘‘Belle de Jour’’ star won’t be too bothered, since at 70, she’s seen it all before.
___
LANVIN USES FUR LIKE COTTON
To the set of an age-old movie studio with flood lighting Alber Elbaz produced yet another symphony of excitement, nostalgia and innovation for Lanvin.
The show in the Left bank Ecole des Beaux-Arts was varied — Elbaz famously designing to give women as much choice as possible.
The first aria: feathered riding hats alongside black, brown and white asymmetrical tweed coats had a swagger of the 18th century, with horizontal lines and fringing that was so loose it looked feathered.
The conclusion was 1930s satin dress nostalgia.
But the best segment was the fur climax in the middle. (Vegans stop reading.)
Elbaz used fur extravagantly and with style: in skirts, jackets, dresses — and even a black fur rucksack that had fashion insiders gasping.
Then he proposed a whole new concept: button down fur.
It featured in bands and lapels — and one model capped it all by sporting a gray fur bust.
___
BODY BAGS AND DRIED BLOOD ARE TRENDY THIS SEASON
Rick Owens injected Thursday’s proceedings with a splash of dried blood and deathly musing.
The eccentric American designer continued using the high wading boots of his menswear show, but this time he mixed the black and pearl palette with what the program notes described as ‘‘dried blood.’’ Normal people might call it burgundy.
Elsewhere, strangeness took on a new form altogether in abstract, enveloping silhouettes that that were sweetly described as ‘‘bodybags,’’ which possessed high turtle necks and long billowing sleeves.
Naturally for an oddball like Owens, the show ended with a completely unrelated science-fiction vibe: C3P0 style knee caps on boots, with shoulder stripes and high round necks like Star Trek uniform.
With Owens there is always a mad unity in the disparate styles. Needless to say, his was a very cool show.Continued...
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Culture » Bring in the Noise - W Magazine
Seven young women in black rubber leggings stomping and twisting and clapping in perfect unison across a platform erected on the 50-yard line of the Superdome in New Orleans. Five young men in white vests, loose blue pants, and gold-painted Army boots, arms raised, knees high, chanting at the top of their lungs. It was the day after Thanksgiving, the night before the Bayou Classic, a football game between Grambling and Southern, two historically black Louisiana universities, and about 25,000 people had come out to watch the show. Four blindfolded women dancing on chairs; five women with their faces painted gold to match their gold-lamé jumpsuits; seven men in camo pants, face masks, and white gloves performing a boisterous series of spins, claps, and hops before falling simultaneously into splits. The stage was miked, and there was almost no music, just the complex rhythms of feet hitting the floor and hands smacking together. For especially fine moves—a double-time break, a drop-dead ending—the crowd stood up and shouted, and their cheers washed through the stadium.
“I’m going to the step shows,” I’d told my friends. And they had said, “To the what?”
Stepping is a rite, a tradition, a performance, a competition, a point of pride, and about as much fun as any 10 minutes on the planet. It’s somewhere between a dance, a march, and a vignette—and a unique art form developed by black fraternities and sororities, most of which were founded at historically black colleges and universities early in the 20th century and have swelled, in the years since, to include countless chapters across the country. Each chapter develops its own routine and competes against its campus rivals at homecoming; the winners meet at occasions like this: a weekend of Greek shows, marching bands, and football. “It’s a privilege, you know,” an Omega named Simon Theus told me. “School, community activities, and stepping are our main priorities.”
So it was that at sundown that Friday, scores of young men and women—though they seemed so young that it was difficult not to think of them as boys and girls—milled around a small concrete warren of rooms somewhere behind the Superdome’s stands. The men were darting in and out of their dressing rooms, laughing and bouncing on the balls of their feet, exhibiting that endearing combination of bravado and guardedness that comes from being young, strong, exuberant, and very polite. The women were performing the kind of half-motions one makes when nervously rehearsing a routine, eyes turned mnemonically to the ceiling; others were fretting over their outfits.
Behind one door, the Alpha Kappa Alphas were getting ready, ironing one another’s hair, laughing, and talking softly. They were from Southern, wearing pink windbreakers with the sorority’s letters on the front and painting their faces a subtle green (their theme was The Hunger Games). Their step master—logistical captain and guardian of the team’s spirit—was a self-possessed senior named Prentice Garrett, trained in ballet and aiming for a job teaching middle school science. She called me “sir” until I insisted she stop, and then she started calling me Mr. Jim instead—half-joking, but only half.
I asked her how the routines are choreographed. “We usually make the majority of our shows up together,” she said. “We always do everything together.” Do they get nervous before a competition? Not her: It was her second time competing in this event, and she wasn’t nervous at all, though the younger members were more fidgety. “We just try to stay humble and focused, but, of course, we want first place. For most of them, this will be their first time on the stage before a big crowd. But I’m more than confident,” she said sweetly. “They’re going to be fine.” Perhaps this was a canned response; perhaps it was a case of saying it to make it so. But it worked: You could tell when they hit the stage an hour or so later and performed a routine that was fast, surprisingly intense, and in flawless unison.
Stepping is the sort of thing you either know well or you’ve never heard of, a supremely community and tradition-bound American art form, like shape-note singing or low-riding. When Rick Owens brought a group of step teams to Paris to model his spring collection last September, it caused a sensation, not just because the women were mostly black and brown, and more athletically built than your standard runway model, nor simply because of the martial ferocity of the show, the shouts and grimaces, was startling, but because the form was something that much of his audience had never seen. “Stepping combines soul, discipline, and artifice—three of my favorite things,” Owens said. “That’s the tone I was after with this show. But the variety of women that performed was just a plus. The results surpassed my hopes.”
There are untold numbers of step teams across the United States, but where the practice comes from remains a mystery even to those closest to it. A fraternity is, after all, a sort of secret society: Its rituals are passed down from upperclassmen to pledges—not all that different from the way you learn stickball or how to jump rope.
Read through the literature on stepping (there isn’t very much), go to a couple of shows, or watch the homemade videos that get posted on YouTube and you’ll find evidence of dozens of influences: African foot dancing, the synchronized choreography of vocal backup groups like the Miracles or the Pips, military close-order drilling (which explains the dancers’ grimaces and shouted call-and-response), tap dancing, gymnastics, cheerleading, even patty-cake and a little double Dutch, plus a dose of broad chitlin’-circuit vaudeville—all mashed together into a performance that has to be taken on its own terms. The routines are set up as little stories, though they can be hard for the uninitiated to follow, involving, as they do, a slew of in-jokes, plays on each fraternity’s reputation (suave, athletic, nerdy, frilly), and references to campus life.
The result is an activity unlike any other—“I don’t know how to dance, but I know how to step,” one of the Omegas told me—and beholden only to itself. Pop music, for example, is used very sparingly—a bit of ear candy to warm up the crowd; once things get under way, the only sounds you hear are chanting, the thundering rhythmic stomp of feet on the stage, and hands clapping. In the wider world, this year’s beat is next year’s forgotten fad, but stepping is as bound to tradition as a religious ceremony. Old school is pretty much the only school, and change comes gradually. When one of the Omegas suggested that he was trying to “modernize” their show, he meant adding a bit of video projection above the stage, not overhauling the moves.
It is bound, as well, to the rituals of unity, of brotherhood and sisterhood. There are no real solos; no one shines at the expense of the others (and this, too, makes it hard to introduce it to the wider world: American media, from magazines to movies, like a star to focus on). “There are four principles to stepping,” one of the men in Omega Psi Phi told me. “Style, soul, grace, and expression.” But the unspoken mandate—too obvious even to mention—is solidarity, sometimes taken to a level that might discomfit an outsider. As I spoke to the Omegas, I noticed identical configurations of scar tissue on their upper arms: They had branded themselves with hot irons, burning the letter Ω into their flesh.
The Omegas looked tough, but they were earnest and sweet, and their stepping had a similar mixture of showmanship and playfulness. Their routine that night involved wooden guns, masks, and a lot of loud drill sergeant shouting, but the story line was perfectly anodyne, even goofy: They were playing bank robbers of a sort, but the “bank” was the Superdome, their objective was to steal the show—and they succeeded, winning first place and a check for $3,000.
They were glorious, all the steppers were that night: loose and funny but also powerfully virtuosic. It was a beautiful thing, and by the end, as the Omegas took the stage to collect their accolades, my cheeks hurt from grinning so much. You know how it is, when you see something you’ve never seen before, and it’s done right; all the pieces fit, everyone’s happy, and you say, “Ohhh!” It was a good time.
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Nominees in for Fashion 2.0 Awards - New York Daily News
Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Smartphones light up the front row at Marc Jacobs’ fall 2014 fashion show this month in New York. The designer was named Top Innovator at last year’s Fashion 2.0 Awards.
Drones at fashion shows, ad campaigns on Instagram and supermodels wearing Google Glass.
It’s not the future of fashion — it’s right now. And fans have the chance to vote on which brands are the biggest innovators.
Polls opened Thursday for the fifth annual Fashion 2.0 Awards, which recognize the houses that are the most social media savvy, and have the smartest online ad campaigns, e-commerce platforms and more.
“Technology is becoming a bigger part of our lives every year and fashion brands are realizing that,” Yuli Ziv, founder of Style Coalition, which hosts the awards, told the Daily News.
Up for the awards’ biggest category — Top Innovator — are ASOS, Burberry, DKNY, Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren.
Other categories include Best Twitter, Best Online Video, Best Start-Up and Best Wearable Tech.
RELATED: SOCIAL MEDIA: THE 21ST CENTURY FASHION REVOLUTION
DKNY has been a top contender in past years — sweeping Best Twitter for its witty account every year since Style Coalition launched the awards in 2010.
“It’s hard to compete with,” Ziv admitted.
Last year, Marc Jacobs was crowned Top Innovator.
In its fifth year, the awards are finally picking up steam with the designers, too, who are promoting their nominations and urging fans to vote on social media.
“They’re getting really competitive,” said Ziv, who founded Style Coalition in 2008. Her company matches fashion brands with influencers — heavyweights in the fashion industry who are vocal on Instagram and Twitter.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony in NYC on March 20.
RELATED: NOKIA'S SMART SKIRT FOR FASHION WEEK
It’s easy to see technology’s influence on the fashion industry.
Tory Burch recently designed a line of Nike FuelBands. Diane von Furstenberg sent models down the runway wearing Google Glass at her spring 2013 fashion show in New York.
Last month, Marc Jacobs traded bottles of his Daisy perfume for tweets and Instagram posts at a pop-up shop during New York fashion week.
Most recently, drones hovered above guests’ heads at Fendi’s show in Milan, gathering footage for a live stream.
“Brands are starting to look at and collaborate with tech companies,” Ziv said. “It’s becoming a new form of taking their brands to the next level. They can’t ignore it.”
CAST YOUR VOTE BELOW!
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Fashion designer Kevin Carter is bolder than his 19 years - Columbus Ledger-Enquirer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — He's just 19, but already Kevin Carter has hit many of the milestones fashion designers work for decades to achieve - seeing his work in museum exhibits, local fashion shows and even a solo fashion show at the Mint Museum.
In a field where getting noticed is everything, his determination opens doors.
Invite him for an interview and photo shoot at the newspaper, and Carter asks if he can bring a model, a hair and makeup stylist and a videographer to shoot footage for a possible TV documentary.
He still has the baby face of a teenager, but when he talks about his fashion line, KevinVain, a fierce determination takes hold. Turn the camera on him, and his cheery expression changes to a steely countenance.
"Whether it's fashion or music, you have to create a persona for yourself," he says.
His designs are couture - bold silhouettes, exaggerated shapes, heavy beading, draping and painstaking pleating.
"What I consider simple," he says, "others consider extreme."
He says he picked the name KevinVain for his line because it represents an alter ego. "Kevin (Carter) doesn't care about materialistic things," he says. "KevinVain is into flashy clothes, fashion design and the shock factor."
It was musical theater that enchanted Carter as a child. Theater, piano and chorus were his passions as a middle schooler at Northwest School of the Arts.
"My friends always called me a 'Glee' character," he says.
His family moved shortly before ninth grade, and he enrolled in West Mecklenburg High School, where he quickly realized that clothes dictated status in a way he never saw at Northwest School of the Arts.
"I saw how much your clothing influenced your social scene at school - if you didn't have on the right (Nike Air) Jordans, nobody would sit with you at lunch," Carter says. "It made me want to do research on clothing lines. I started reading Vogue and Vanity Fair and signed up for apparel classes."
He enrolled in fashion merchandising classes with West Mecklenburg apparel teacher Tammy Lane Reynolds. After school, he got a lift from a friend and rode a public bus four days a week to Mary Jo's Cloth Shop in Gastonia, N.C., for free sewing lessons.
As his sewing skills grew, he began repurposing thrift store finds, turning them into edgy statement pieces such as jackets covered in Lego bricks. At school some kids sneered, he says, but others asked him to create similar looks for them.
Some outfits were so extreme (lace veils with long trains, or shirts covered in mosaic glass), administrators deemed them a safety hazard and made him change.
"There was no box for Kevin. He was completely his own person," Reynolds recalls. "There was never a day when I saw him in anything that would be typical standard teenager clothing. There would be days when he would have on these big Frankenstein-type boots that he had outfitted with silver spikes."
She remembers Carter being sent to in-school suspension because of his dress code violations.
"Kevin had a high level of confidence in who he was, and he didn't let what others thought about him affect his choice of what he chose to wear to school," she says.
He transferred to Hopewell High his senior year, and he says administrators there were stricter about the dress policy. He says he received a 10-day suspension for wearing gloves he embellished with nails.
As different as he looked from all the other students, Carter says that is how he felt most comfortable. "I stayed true to my own craft. I never betrayed my creativity," he says. "I stuck with it and ultimately, it benefited me."
As a high school sophomore in 2010, Carter got what he describes as his first big break when his couture dress collection was featured in a Charlotte Fashion Week fashion show.
Fashion curators at the Mint Museum asked him to contribute two beaded dresses for a 2012-2013 exhibit titled "And the Bead Goes On." Then the museum asked Carter to hold a fashion show in January 2013 at Mint Randolph.
So many people came that night, the museum added a second showing in the 170-seat round auditorium.
Kathleen Collier, the Mint's Learning And Engagement Programs coordinator, recalls wondering what it would be like having a teenager responsible for putting his own fashion show together.
"Going into the process, I was a little curious because he was just 18," Collier says. "But he really went above and beyond and made it truly an event," composing original music to accompany the show, and assembling a team to be sure the models, makeup, hair and ambiance were just right.
Carter participated in other local fashion shows, such as Charlotte's Passport for Fashion, and was featured in regional magazine spreads.
Cigi Guz, a Charlotte fashion designer who had retail fashion businesses and is now pursuing TV and film costuming, says it is Carter's "boldness" that impressed her when they met about two years ago at a fashion show.
"He takes it to a place that's thought provoking. He taps into people's mind through sheer boldness," she says. "He happens to speak in the form of clothing. That's his language."
Guz says she sees big potential in Carter. "That's the most magical part of all - that he's so young."
Carter suffered a serious back injury in a car accident last winter, and says he feels he is just now regaining momentum.
He is back at work, living at his parents' home and designing dresses for clients and future fashion shows, hoping for another break.
On his Facebook page he displays images of dresses he is working on, labor-intensive gowns that entail days of finger-numbing pleating and beading by hand.
He says his parents have sacrificed financially to support his craft, selling possessions and tightening their budgets to help their son buy fabric, sewing machines, hire models and hair and makeup artists, and pay for inclusion in certain fashion shows. Carter has also held jobs at retail stores and call centers.
His dad, Kevin Carter Sr., owns Masters Touch Barber & Styling Salon on West Boulevard in Charlotte. He says he believes his son got his roots in fashion from spending time at the salon and watching his father style models' hair at fashion shows.
"As a kid in the salon, he would have an eye for hairstyles. He would tinker with certain mannequins and do things with those," he says. "Hair, fashion, it's all related. Kevin just always had an eye for style and things that are beautiful."
The younger Carter says he knows he'll eventually have to move to a fashion mecca such as New York or Los Angeles. But he hopes to see how far he can go in Charlotte.
"I hate when people say they have to move away because Charlotte is so behind" in fashion, he says. "I'm just another fish in the sea in New York. But here, there is shock value in what I do."
Reynolds says she won't be surprised to one day see KevinVain gowns on the A-list.
"I don't see his apparel items being mass produced or in your department stores. I see him designing high fashion trends that you see on top celebrities that are going to the Emmys or the Oscars," Reynolds says.
"I see Julia Roberts saying, 'My gown is designed by KevinVain.'"
Personal: Father, Kevin Carter Sr.; mother, Angelia Carter; sister, Daja Carter; graduated from Hopewell High School in 2012.
Fashion inspirations: "My fashion inspirations don't come from specific people because I believe that after a while you start to become a copy of that person. I'm really inspired by everything, and I think this creates a broader platform for my art."
Vision for his line: "To alter the public's view on beauty and fashion. I'll continue to push the laws of fashion and challenge the boundaries of the human body."
In five years: "I see myself living in a small studio apartment in New York. ... evolving and living my dream."
If he could dress one public figure: Michelle Obama or Queen Elizabeth.
On plans for his education: "I have chosen not to further my education through mainstream mediums, although I do believe in knowledge consumption and urge daily studies and research. I've made friends with many influential people here in Charlotte ... . I feel that I don't need to put myself in debt before my career even begins when I can learn these things for free or for very little cost."
More info: Twitter and Instagram @kevinVain, "kevinvain" on Facebook.
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Spencer Boldman: Puppy Shoot on the Beach for Project Fashion Tails - Just Jared Jr.
Spencer Boldman shows off his fit physique on the beach during a photo shoot for Project Fashion Tails in Los Angeles on Monday evening (February 24).
The 21-year-old Lab Rats star posed with pups Emily and Tomas for the Adopt A New Attitude campaign. Project Fashion Tails is an initiative started to educate the public about the plight of homeless animals through the use of high fashion photography.
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Spencer Boldman
“Did an awesome shoot today for the @FashionTails exhibit. Please support them & @LAAnimalRescue to help pups like Tomas & Emily find homes,” Spencer tweeted afterwards.
10+ pics inside of Spencer Boldman…
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GQ Says Colo. Congressman Needs Emergency Fashion Makeover - ABC News (blog)
Feb 27, 2014 12:01pm
When Rep. Jared Polis, R-Colo., walks into the U.S. Capitol for work every day, he faces the usual onslaught of partisan bickering and legislative wrangling.
This week, he suffered an indignity of a totally different kind.
When the Colorado congressman strode onto the floor of the House of Representatives to deliver a speech on the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, his silver bow tie and bright purple golf polo shirt caught the unexpected — and unflattering — attention of the fashion gurus at GQ Magazine.
“Worst Congressional Style Ever? Yeah, Probably,” bellowed the headline of a blog post by GQ associate editor Dennis Tang.
“Am I having a seizure? Can someone make it stop?” Tang wrote. “Okay. Calm. Breath …. Jared. It’s fine. We can help. You should let us help you.”
It wasn’t long before the congressman accepted the magazine’s offer. Recognizing the fashion faux pas, Polis tweeted:
The outfit “was a bit of a fashion misfire,” Polis admitted.
In a follow-up interview with ABC News, Polis said it wasn’t clear exactly what kind of help GQ plans to offer him.
“But if they’ll allow some degree of creativity,” he said. “I’m happy to take fashion advice from the definitive source in men’s fashion.”
Of course, even he has limits, saying he won’t let the New York fashionistas “transform me into looking like a Wall Street banker.”
Polis said he never wears ties when he’s in his own home district in central Colorado, but he has donned a bow tie several times in the past month.
“There’s only so much you can do with a shirt and tie,” he joked. “Bow ties and cravats offer creativity.”
A day after the offer from GQ, Polis was spotted wearing an even more bizarre ensemble: a pink polo shirt, polka-dotted maroon bow tie, army green vest and khaki blazer. This morning, he picked out a gray polo with a white collar, gray vest, dark gray blazer and a checkered bow tie.
Asked to describe his style in one word, Polis said, “Evolving.”
However, if you’re waiting for Polis to make Vanity Fair’s best dressed list, “you might have to wait a while,” he conceded.
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Fashion house Versace sells stake to Blackstone to fund growth - Reuters
A sign is seen for high-end retail store Versace along 5th Avenue in New York May 19, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Eric Thayer
(Reuters) - Italian fashion house Versace is selling a 20 percent stake to U.S. private equity firm Blackstone (BX.N) for 210 million euros ($287 million), aiming to fund new shops and build on a recent recovery in sales before an eventual stock market listing.
The family-controlled brand, which chose pop singer Lady Gaga to promote it last year, struggled for years following the murder of founder Gianni Versace in 1997.
While it returned to profit in 2011, it has lacked the cash to expand rapidly in fast-growing markets abroad.
"This is a very large and very well-known brand so it could be revived ... but a lot of work has to be done on the creative side," Exane BNP Paribas analyst Luca Solca said in the wake of the deal on Thursday.
"The brand has to be updated and they need new ideas. With a minority stake it might not be possible to make these changes," he added, referring to the potential influence of Blackstone.
Versace, which had been gearing up for a listing before Gianni died, first flagged last April that it was considering opening up to outside investors.
The family does not want to relinquish control, a characteristic which has kept other Italian fashion brands like Giorgio Armani and Missoni in the hands of their founders, but which some analysts say has hampered their expansion.
"The vision is to maintain independence," Versace Chief Executive Gian Giacomo Ferraris told Reuters after announcing the deal.
Gianni's sister Donatella is creative director and older brother Santo is company president, while Donatella's daughter Allegra owns 50 percent of the company and sits on the board.
Ferraris said a planned initial public offering in the next three to five years was still on the agenda, and Blackstone's investment would help the brand get there.
"In this intermediate period of time you need a financial investor, not a strategic investor," said Ferraris, signaling the company had not wanted a tie-up with another luxury firm or a more activist private equity investor which might have interfered with its management.
Mergers and acquisitions have been picking up in the luxury sector, as a growing number of cash rich buyers from Asia and the Middle East jostle with global luxury brands and private equity firms for deals in a growing industry.
EXPANSION PLANS
Thursday's deal values Versace, whose catwalk show in Milan earlier this month showed fishtail gowns and 1960s-style shift dresses, at around 14.5 times expected 2013 core earnings.
This multiple is higher than the luxury sector average of around 11, but well below the 31.5 times core earnings that Qatar's royal family paid to acquire Valentino in 2012.
Versace has 137 shops, and plans to reach a total of 200 directly-operated shops within three years, Ferraris said.
By comparison, fellow Italian designer Roberto Cavalli, whose vivid style is sometimes compared to Versace's, has 179 mono-brand stores, despite making less than half the revenue Versace expects to post for 2013.
"If you compare with competitors we deserve to be bigger," Ferraris said. "That is why we need a little financial help."
Ferraris said the company wanted to open in emerging markets, where demand for luxury goods remains strong, including Turkey, Korea and Japan. It shut all its shops in Japan in 2009 to cut costs as losses deepened.
Versace, which was founded in 1978, said it expects to post 2013 core earnings up more than 50 percent to at least 69 million euros.
Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Banca IMI (ISP.MI) advised Versace on the transaction. Blackstone was advised by Lazard.
(Additional reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Jason Neely and Mark Potter)
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Oscars Fashion: These Classic Flashback Photos Will Have You Ready For ... - PerezHilton.com
People have been captivated by Oscars fashion for decades!!
Since the event is known for being one of the most glamorous and celebrity-filled occasions of the year, it’s no wonder!
Interestingly enough, some of the vintage fashions worn by Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor , and other A-listers back in the day would probably still be considered red carpet-chic today!
And thanks to MPTV Images , you can peruse some of the best photos ever taken at the Oscars!
Get a load of these 6 classic looks in preparation for the Oscars this Sunday, and hey, maybe they’ll even inspire you to host a classic-style viewing party!!
CLICK HERE to view the gallery, “Oscars Fashion: These Classic Flashback Photos Will Have You Ready For Sunday!”
CLICK HERE to view the gallery, “Oscars Fashion: These Classic Flashback Photos Will Have You Ready For Sunday!”
CLICK HERE to view the gallery, “Oscars Fashion: These Classic Flashback Photos Will Have You Ready For Sunday!”
CLICK HERE to view the gallery, “Oscars Fashion: These Classic Flashback Photos Will Have You Ready For Sunday!”
CLICK HERE to view the gallery, “Oscars Fashion: These Classic Flashback Photos Will Have You Ready For Sunday!”
[Image via MPTV Images .]
Tags: audrey hepburn, classic styles, elizabeth taylor, fashion smashion, flashback, inspiration, oscars, photos!, red carpet, vintage fashion
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Undies on show at Paris Fashion Week - euronews
Etam have shown their new collection of underwear at Paris Fashion week. Model Natalia Vodianova has designed her own line for the collection.
She said it was inspired by a recent trip to Peru. “It’s very colourful with a lot of embroidery, very much like the native costumes of Peru. It’s about travel, its about the current trend of disco and jungle.”
Laurent Milchior, the co-director of Etam said: “It’s an extremely competitive market and European economies are still somewhat depressed. So it’s the companies who invest in their products, in experience, in the brand, who will win. We still have a factory in the north of France employing 70 people and they produce garments with a real savoir faire. The factory is 50 years old and that’s really what makes the difference for our products, they’re very fashionable but also good quality and very well made.”
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Aspen International Fashion Week brings runway back to ski town - Denver Post
Brooke Fogg, center, president of Aspen International Fashion Week, with vice presidents Kerri Butler, left, and Katie Van Horne. The trio from Denver are planning Aspen's March 13-16 fashion shows, store events and parties (. Cyrus McCrimmon, The Denver Post)
The catwalk is coming back to Aspen after a one-year absence, with a new name and leadership for 2014.
The Denver-based team behind Aspen International FashionWeek has big plans for the end-of-winter fashion event, starting by putting its past problems behind. They intend to build the type of draw that music and film festivals have become in other Western cities.
"The event has so much potential to bring to Colorado, to this industry and to the town of Aspen," said Brooke Fogg, president of Aspen International Fashion Week, the successor to the now-defunct Aspen Fashion Week. "If we do the job we hope to do, we hope to build it into an experience."
Klaus Obermeyer and a model on the runway wearing Sport Obermeyer during an Aspen runway show. (Aspen Fashion Week, provided by Snowsports Industries America)
The first Aspen International Fashion Week will descend upon the luxury ski town March 13-16, boasting a full schedule of outdoor après-ski fashion shows, boutique retail events and parties, including a black-and-white gala March 15 to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Concurrently, the Après Ski Cocktail Classic will be held in Snowmass and Aspen.
Fur designer Dennis Basso, fresh off his turn at New York Fashion Week, is among the marquee names on this year's outdoor runway, along with Aspen's own Sport Obermeyer, Columbia and Gorski Furs.
Snowlink.com, the consumer arm of SnowSports Industries America, is also sponsoring a day of runway shows, with presentations on the "mega" trends and accessories for next ski season.
Aspen is a perfect example of mixing chic and functionality in outerwear — "that's exactly what we're trying to bring to the show," said Kerri Butler, the event's vice president of production. "We have fur and we have Obermeyer."
Fogg, a Colorado native, is the president of Wilhelmina Denver, an affiliate of the national Wilhelmina Models agency, and owner of Premier Image Agency, an experiential marketing firm. Joining her is Butler, a Denver event planner and owner of A Touch of Bliss, and Katie Van Horne, model booker for Wilhelmina Denver.
Fogg got involved in Aspen Fashion Week in 2012 when Wilhelmina Denver supplied 19 models for the event. But Johnson and Fashion Week never paid the bill for more than $30,000 in talent, according to Fogg.
Over the years, Aspen Fashion Week was the subject of multiple claims from vendors who said they were not paid, according to news reports. That included Wilhelmina Denver, which won a default judgment against the former organizer, Fogg said.
A financial report, provided to the city of Aspen, showed the 2010 event ended with a deficit of $429,144, according to the Aspen Daily News. Organizers had to release the information because the event received $15,000 in public funding in 2010.
The 2013 event, scheduled for March 10-13, was canceled only a few weeks before opening day. Shortly thereafter, Fogg announced her intention to revive the event.
Fogg said she still believes a fashion week in Aspen is viable, "with the right people in the right leadership roles."
Her team has pared back the event's production costs — which Fogg said were a "gross exaggeration" of what was necessary — by partnering with local businesses, not reserving big blocks of hotel rooms and changing some venues. Sponsors including Deep Eddy Vodka, Red Bull, Outside, Matthew Morris Salon & Skincare and Pressery are providing products, services and sponsoring events.
In future years, the team hopes to add more types of fashion — keeping in mind that its hallmark is an outdoor runway in March. Music, film and on-mountain activities could follow.
Colorado's fashion scene is "absolutely growing," Van Horne said, while acknowledging it will never reach the same status as New York or Los Angeles. The recent reality-TV turns of Denver's Mondo Guerra and Stephanie O — the latter of whom will be a guest at Aspen International Fashion Week — haven't hurt the city's profile, either.
"We're seeing a surge of people in these (larger) markets saying, 'What's happening over there in Denver?' " Fogg said. "People are really catching on to the fact that we're not what they think we are. We are developed, and we have a very supportive industry."
Emilie Rusch: 303-954-2457, erusch@denverpost.com or http://ift.tt/1d3fw1X
Aspen International Fashion Week
Shows, retail events and parties will be held March 13-16 in Aspen. Tickets are $275 for all-access pass; $100-$150 for single-day pass at http://ift.tt/1dfT44y.
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Oscars 2014 fashion forecast: Elie Saab for Lupita Nyong'o, Valentino for Cate ... - The Star-Ledger
For style czars, the real Super Bowl is almost here — the red carpet at the 2014 Academy Awards. Since the spring 2014 haute couture shows in Paris in January, we've kept our eyes peeled on the runways for possible Oscar gowns, and here are some hot possibilities for Sunday night's leading ladies:
• "12 Years a Slave" star Lupita Nyong'o has already done Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Dior, Gucci, Ralph Lauren to incredible effect this awards season. What's left in her bucket list? Surely one of Elie Saab's ethereal creations. While the newcomer seems to favor cleaner lines, she may yet succumb to the allure of Saab's princess-y gowns come Oscar night — perhaps this cherry red confection?
• We all know Dior cover girl Jennifer Lawrence is obligated to wear something from the French fashion powerhouse, but designer Raf Simons' most recent couture collection, while technically impressive, didn't offer up any major red carpet possibilities. We predict she'll go custom, but in a perfect world, we'd love to see the ebullient star in the flouncy black-and-white polka dot gown that closed Oscar de la Renta's recent fall 2014 show.
• "August: Osage County" star Meryl Streep, who so often struggles on the red carpet, could take a cue from Emma Thompson's look at the recent Critics Choice Awards — rather than a gown, Thompson opted for a statement coat over a basic red dress. The butterfly-bedecked coat from Valentino's recent haute couture collection would a showstopper, and she could pair it with a simply cut, body-skimming sheath beneath.
• Cate Blanchett is a fan of Valentino, and we've picked another look from the Italian house's spring couture collection for the "Blue Jasmine" star — a regal-looking caped gown with a wide, elaborately beaded collar in an unusual olive green.
• Julia Roberts' recent red carpet track record is dismal, from her button-down gown to her hot pink jumpsuit. From what we've seen, boho seems to work for the "August: Osage County" actress, and Armani Prive's gypsy-influenced collection — deep blues and silvers embellished with lace, metallic thread and macro-paisley — would suit her to a T.
• Amy Adams of "American Hustle" has been, appropriately enough, rocking a disco vibe all season. Badgley Mischka's glazed floral gowns from its fall 2014 collection are reminiscent of metallic flocked wallpaper of the '70s in the coolest possible way.
• Carolina Herrera's fall 2014 collection featured strong-shouldered but slim-lined gowns with unusual geometric beading. They're as chic and modern as "Gravity" star Sandra Bullock, and the burgundy would set off her dark hair and eyes beautifully.
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Vogue Paris Sets Fashion Fund - Women's Wear Daily
PHOTO FINISH: In tandem with the opening of the exhibition “Papier glacé, un siècle de photographie de mode chez Condé Nast” (“Coming Into Fashion, a Century of Photography at Condé Nast”) at Paris’ Palais Galliera, Vogue Paris revealed the creation of a fashion fund to help the museum make acquisitions and mount future exhibitions of contemporary fashion and photography.
“Through this fund, Vogue Paris will help the museum and also creation — designers and fashion houses — to stay the tests of time,” said Xavier Romatet, president of Condé Nast France, at a press conference Wednesday, which also drew Jonathan Newhouse, chairman and chief executive officer of Condé Nast International, and Olivier Saillard, director of the fashion museum at the Palais Galliera. “We are convinced that today’s heritage is tomorrow’s creation. It is inspiring for both designers and the public. It is also a way to reaffirm Paris as capital of creation and show that Paris has a fundamental role to play in fashion globally.”
RELATED STORY: The Paris Scene — Fashion Photo Op >>
The fund comes with an annual initial grant of 100,000 euros, or $137,417 at current exchange. In addition to its editorial support, the magazine is to host a fund-raising gala every year during couture week, where fashion houses, designers, clients and collectors can donate money or artifacts. The inaugural gala is set for July 9 at the Palais Galliera.
Saillard will have carte blanche to choose which pieces will make the collection. Asked if he has set his sights on a specific one, Saillard said there are plenty to choose from and dropped a few names including Maison Martin Margiela, Iris van Herpen and Junya Watanabe. “Looking at the exhibit today, I thought it would also be important to acquire photographs by Juergen Teller and Corinne Day,” he said. “It must build a consistent collection. It would be tempting to go shopping and buy for the collection as if it were your own wardrobe, but it is important to look at what will leave an imprint on contemporary creation.”
The first exhibit showcasing pieces is set to open in November.
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Paris Fashion Week: A new designer at Rochas - Los Angeles Times
Paris Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2014
By Booth Moore, Los Angeles Times Fashion Critic
4:32 PM PST, February 26, 2014
PARIS -- The dowdy-chic beat goes on at Rochas, where newly-anointed creative director Alessandro Dell'Acqua showed his first collection for the house on Wednesday during Paris Fashion Week.
The look: Quirky lady in the spirit of Prada and Marni.
Key pieces: Pleated brocade skirts worn with glossy patent leather button-down shirts tucked in. Oversized fuzzy wuzzy coats so textured, they practically looked as if they were pilling. Glossy leather pencil skirts worn with peplum tops that added several inches to the waist and hips. (These were definitely not clothes for the figure-obsessed.) Tent dresses layered over ball skirts for maximum volume. Crystal embroidered gloves and shoes dangling beaded fringe from the heels.
The verdict: A start, though it's not clear what Dell'Acqua is bringing to the fashion discussion that isn't already out there. I wish it had been a tad more subversive.
ALSO:
At Dries Van Noten, an Op Art rave
Paris Fashion Week kicks off with Anthony Vaccarello
Five memorable shows at N.Y. Fashion Week, including Marc by Marc Jacobs and Thom Browne
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
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Paris: Jessica Alba's Main Street High Fashion - ABC News
The first full day of Paris' frenzied ready-to-wear shows mixed up iconic fashion veterans like Dries Van Noten with a whole new sort of fashion player: H&M.
It may be a tricky ride ahead for the main street shop, which is now attempting to walk the snooty high fashion runway.
Yet the company, which has still not been allowed on the official Fashion Week calendar, put on a buzzy show-spectacle replete with strobe lights, plasma screens and Jessica Alba which may go some way in shutting up the detractors — at least until next season.
Here are the highlights of the day.
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JESSICA ALBA EARNS MILLIONS BUT SHOPS FOR $20
Alba may earn millions every time she does a movie, but it doesn't stop her counting her pennies.
The Sin City actress turned up at Wednesday's show in a white H&M lace dress with black tights, hugging model Miranda Kerr for the cameras.
"Yes, I'm wearing H&M. It feels very romantic, sort of gothic. Red lips and black tights throw off the romantic lacing. Mixing high and low that's how I dress," Alba told the Associated Press.
"I love shopping at H&M and I can always find great pieces, if I need a great blazer or a pencil skirt," said the multimillionaire, momentarily forgetting she can afford a stylist.
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H&M'S CREATIVE ADVISOR SPEAKS ON FASHION SOCIALISM
She's been one of the most influential figures in fashion, but H&M head designer for over 20 years Margareta van den Bosch still wasn't allowed to finish her champagne ahead of the H&M show that channeled the knee high boots, center partings and khaki shades of the 70s.
Bosch, who happened to sit next to an Associated Press writer during the high-octane presentation, was H&M chief designer for over 20 years and pivotal in the company's high-profile collaborations with Karl Lagerfeld, Roberto Cavalli, Stella McCartney and Versace.
But Bosch remains down-to-earth, and doesn't forget her roots.
This, despite the endless paparazzi flashbulbs that snap before her.
"I like fashion. I was a designer myself for 22 years when I started in '87 as head of design, and the vision was that we would make nice clothes at good value for money — something for all people. Fashion for everybody," she told The Associated Press.
But how does she answer the high fashion snoots that say lesser quality clothes have no place on Paris' esteemed runways?
"I really admire people that do things by hand and fantastic hand craft — but I think we can all exist. There must be a place for us all. Not everybody can pay for that haute couture, and they also deserve some fashion," she said.
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DRIES VAN NOTEN IS BOLD AS BRASS
Dries Van Noten infused what he called a "glimmer of Glam" with the optical lines of famed British artist Bridget Riley.
The result was a collection that was much bolder than usual, but with some beautiful statements. Glam-rock-style silver wave patterns made the silhouette near-invisible and while black stripes against strips of printed flowers that played optically with two and three-dimensions. Strips of floral prints sometimes looked like camouflage, the designer's signature, inset like shards on a skirt below an oversize or daintily fitting top. Van Noten, again, shows he is Paris Fashion Week's master of illusion.
At times, however, some of the thick swirling patterns ended up looking simply a bit too brash and might stop traffic for the wrong reasons.
This was the case, for instance, on one otherwise cool anachronistic Regency jacket in with contemporary black-beige lines, and, elsewhere, in wide swirls of contrasting vermillion and navy.
The best of the optical musing was when the geometry got complex and diffused the boldness.
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ARTY-FARTY
Damir Doma gave classical tailoring a frayed, grungy edge with a splash of art.
The Croatian-born designer was inspired by contemporary artist Gerhard Richter with a collection of mottled ochre jacquards.
And some beautiful back column dresses sported the German painter's famed stripes.
But the most on-trend part of the strong show were the turtle necks above horizontal, truncated shoulders. Watch this space — we may see more of this to come this week.
Guy Laroche's designer Marcel Morongiu also went arty-farty, but with less success.
He channeled the palette of Russian-born French artist Serge Poliakoff for a chocolate brown and muted anthracite color wheel.
Then, elsewhere, the collection borrowed from French painter Pierre Soulage's black on black in the shimmering collection composed mainly of shirts and dresses.
But some designers should just forget the high-art references and let the clothes talk.
This show was really about bold sexuality.
Frills on dresses came in oversized curvaceous volumes — stabbing out like a shield next to shiny, kinky leather jackets that were a tad obvious at points.
While sheer silk tops with embroideries, described as "trompe l'oeil," were plainly just made to titillate.
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ROCHAS DEBUTANT MAKES DEMICOUTURE
Change is underfoot at Rochas, the old French house that is famed to have been first to put pockets on skirts.
Alessandro Dell'Acqua showed his debut collection, following predecessor Marco Zanini's departure for Schiaparelli — and the new man certainly paid homage to Rochas' couture style.
The huge volume that's made the house such a hit in recent years was present on off-kilter trapeze silhouettes, often on fastidiously embroidered gowns.
But there was more than a dash of eccentricity: Full skirts with unusually loose waists swaggered down the catwalk, while some even sported second A-line skirt underneath with buttoned up princess coats adding a prudish modesty.
It was a strange collection — known as "demicouture:" not quite ready-to-wear, not quite couture. But somehow it worked.
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