quarta-feira, 23 de outubro de 2013

Lana Del Rey Does Her Grungy-Glam Thing For Nylon


Lana Del Rey for Nylon November '13

It’s as fittingly Nylon as it is fittingly Lana Del Rey: grainy black and white images or those blown out bright with a flash, crop tops and denim and crucifix necklaces and dirty high top sneakers.

Shot by the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Marvin Scott Jarrett, this appropriately grunge-glam styled cover story appears in the magazine’s November 2013 issue alongside an interview with Del Rey.




Under The Radar In Antwerp

ANTWERP, Belgium — With a population of about half a million people, Antwerp is not a large city, nor is it a particularly cosmopolitan one. In some parts of town, Antwerp has a kind of sleepy, post-industrial feel to it, with large swooping cranes and expansive warehouse spaces in the city’s seaport, one of the largest in Northern Europe.

But in fashion terms — more than 20,000 people work in Belgium’s fashion industry, worth more than 7 billion euros a year — Antwerp is a veritable Mecca and has all of the key elements of a thriving fashion ecosystem that helps to attract, educate, and train young fashion designers and incubate their new businesses.


Walter Van Beirendonck installation made of shipping containers | Photo: BoF

First, there is the excellent fashion department at The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. A few months ago, the six designers who laid the foundation for Antwerp’s vibrant fashion culture, the so-called Antwerp Six — Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee — came together to say “Happy Birthday Dear Academie.”

And then there is also the Flanders Fashion Institute (FFI), an organisation that enables and promotes the Flanders fashion industry and which, last week, invited me to speak at Fashion Talks, a conference bringing together fashion experts and commentators — from Style.com’s Tim Blanks and BoF columnist Pierre Mallevays to former LVMH executive Concetta Lanciaux — to discuss and debate the current state of the fashion industry in Belgium and beyond.

My last visit to Antwerp was back in June 2009, a trip which left me incredibly inspired. So, Fashion Talks seemed like the perfect reason to return. And right upon my arrival, I was immersed in all that makes Antwerp such an interesting place for any follower of fashion.

Veerle Windels, one of the country’s most respected fashion journalists, who kindly took me on a whistle-stop tour of the city, said that one of the reasons the “Antwerp Six” were able to create clothing that was so different to what was happening in the world’s primary fashion capitals was because they weren’t weighed down by heritage. They could create genuinely new things because they were starting from zero.

It shows in the variety of aesthetics that have come to define each of their brands. From Walter van Bierendonck’s colourful and playful point of view to Dries Van Noten’s signature prints and embellishments to Ann Demeulemeester’s monochromatic, slim silhouettes, the designers may have come from the same fashion school, but their signatures were miles apart.

Today, this sense of originality has also seeped into the city’s retail scene, which is especially varied and interesting for a city of this size, and everywhere you look, there is creativity, reflected in subtle but sophisticated ways. In a world where the same identi-kit products are found in identi-kit stores, from Sydney to São Paulo, Antwerp is refreshingly different; a place where you can discover genuinely new things and where the rules are different.


Seven Rooms | Photo: BoF

One of the newest places on Antwerp’s fashion map, Seven Rooms, is actually built on the site of Walter Van Beirendonck’s old concept store. The airy and beautiful space, stocks a cool edit of creative young designer brands — including Prabal Gurung from New York, Ostwald Helgason and JW Anderson from London, and Bouchra Jarrar from Paris — with a lifestyle slant, merchandising contemporary fashion with modern furniture and jewellery, making this store a must visit. (Sadly, the store’s website leaves a little to be desired and does a disservice to what is a great retail experience).

In the meantime, Mr Van Beirendonck and his partner and fellow “Antwerp Six” designer Dirk Van Saene have now opened another store, aptly named DVS, which offers an intimate, personal and beautiful contrast to Seven Rooms. While the store, of course, carries both Van Beirendonck and Van Saene’s lines, it also stock some excellent under-the-radar names including Sofie d’Hoore and Monsieur Maison. A tight and focused edit means you don’t have to search for a gem because every piece is special.

Just downstairs is the women’s branch of Coccodrillo, one of the finest curations of luxury footwear I have seen anywhere. Opened almost thirty years ago by Geert Brulot and Eddy Michiels, Coccodrillo stocks everyone from Gianvito Rossi and Giuseppe Zanotti to Saint Laurent and Raf Simons. Across the street in the men’s store was my favourite new discovery: Weberholderfeder, a label that marries old-school brogues with sporty velcro closures in great colours.

But apart from all the interesting retail spaces, there are also scores of designer brands who choose to base their businesses in Antwerp, many of whom can even open their own small retail stores, because of Antwerp’s relatively affordable rents. But so many of these designers seem to work away in relative anonymity, quietly honing their craft and creating some of the most interesting, well-made fashion you can find anywhere, but lacking exposure outside Belgium.

For example, the designer Stephan Schneider has a great little store in Antwerp with excellent knitwear. And Vera and Olivera Capara, the twin sisters behind the brand Capara who previously worked at Dries Van Noten and Maison Martin Margiela, have an interesting brand with real potential. But both of these labels are scarcely known beyond Belgium’s borders.

Indeed, this was a topic that dominated the conversations at Fashion Talks and an intimate conversation with Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who has taken a special interest in the local fashion industry.

Christian Wijnants, a talented young Belgian designer and graduate of the Academy, who first rose to prominence as the winner of the prestigious Festival d’Hyères fashion prize in 2001, explained that he struggled at first to grow his own business. But winning the International Woolmark Prize, last year, has helped him to regain global visibility and he has seized on that to gain new sales momentum. This year, he has also managed to secured investment — and this combination of capital and broader visibility beyond the Benelux countries seems to be a promising approach.

While a Belgian fashion investment fund is currently being mooted, it’s clear that this alone wont be enough. Again and again, I heard comments like: “but she doesn’t do presentations” or “he doesn’t like attention” or “I don’t have any press support.”

A successful and sustainable designer business needs to target a global market opportunity, and this means connecting with international buyers and press, who rarely visit Belgium, according to many of the people I spoke to.

While I certainly encourage all of the fashion buyers and media to visit Antwerp to experience its unique fashion culture first-hand, the current generation of Belgian fashion brands must also go abroad to spread awareness of what they do, and why it is so special, just as the “Antwerp Six” did when they drove in a van to London Fashion Week in 1986 and captured the fashion world’s imagination.

The Ups And Downs Of Japan Fashion Week

TOKYO, Japan — Last week, at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo, a group of fashion “influencers,” including myself, met up with officials from Japan’s ministry of economy, trade and industry. We were presented with a didactic presentation explaining what the government is calling the “Cool Japan Initiative.” Chock full of flow charts and diagrams, the presentation basically said that the Japanese government, along with private sector companies, would invest ¥50 billion (about $50 million dollars at current exchange rates) over a twenty year period to help Japanese companies in the cultural sector expand overseas.

That Japan is “cool” didn’t need to be explained with a flow chart. Tokyo could easily lay claim to the title of the world’s fifth greatest fashion capital, after the main four (New York, London, Paris and Milan), not just because of the hugely influential Japanese wave, including Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, but also because there are few cities on the planet in which street style is as inspiring as in Tokyo.

Then, why is it that — beyond a trickle of names like Sacai and Toga — so many post-Comme des Garçons Japanese fashion designers remain largely unknown internationally? In fact, unless you’re a seasoned visitor to Tokyo, much of what’s most vibrant and stimulating about the city’s fashion scene remains inaccessible; locked away in the hives and hubs of Harajuku, Shibuya and Aoyama as well as in hipster areas like Koenji and Shimokitazawa.

As Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo came to another close, I was left wondering why the Tokyo scene was so fractured and why — beyond the obvious language barrier — it was so difficult for international press and buyers to penetrate.

The truth is, Japan Fashion Week (the body that organises Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo) has its own agenda — and designers must either get on-board or go their own way, resulting in a schedule that’s not only late on the international buying calendar, but fractured. “The show schedule is tight and there is a gap of creativity between the official JFW shows and off-schedule shows,” says Takura Ogasawara, writer for the esteemed Senken newspaper. “Some designers who show off-schedule are more interesting than the JFW shows. But the biggest problem is that JFW shows have not become a tool of trade, as the European shows are. Buyers don’t come to see many JFW shows. And some designers think taking part in the official schedule is not cool.” From a buyer’s perspective, Jesse Hudnutt of Opening Ceremony concurs. “We’re not discovering through JFW. We look at blogs and Tumblrs; we listen to our friends — word of mouth is how we find the brands we love for Opening Ceremony.”

I, too, came to rely on word of mouth to navigate Tokyo’s fashion schedule, as I tried to see everything that would be relevant from an international perspective and genuinely offered a fresh perspective. Brands such as Anrealage and Mint Designs, which offered up the slickest shows of the week in terms of concept and production values, were once part of the official JFW schedule, but opted to show off-schedule this season. I literally had to bump into a fan on the street, who addressed me as “Style Bubble-san,” to discover Shibuya’s Parco, where designers Mikio Sakabe and Yoshikazu Yamagata were putting on small scale presentations.

Then, there are the numerous showrooms, where some of Tokyo’s most impressive menswear labels, such as Phenomenon and The Soloist (designed by Takahiro Miyashita, formerly of Number (N)ine), were presenting their collections, quietly and unassumingly. Even a public and participatory event like Shibuya Fashion Festival, where young and exciting fashion talent Jenny Fax held her show, was not part of the official JFW schedule. In fact, it’s only once you’ve asked around, done your researched and visited key shops such as Candy in Shibuya that you get a more complete picture of Tokyo’s fashion scene: teeming with labels and brands that have the design chops to break out internationally.

Strong brands like Yoshio Kubo and Facetasm also put on strong shows at the Shibuya Hikarie building, the official JFW venue. But overall, the official events came up lacking.

Akiko Shinoda, in charge of international relations at JFW, acknowledged the fractious nature of Tokyo fashion, blaming lack of sustained government support as the primary deterrent for designers contemplating joining forces with JFW. “The problem in Japan is that our government positions change every year and a half,” says Shinoda. “Once we’ve spent the time convincing these bureaucrats that fashion is important, that person will leave and the process has to start all over again.” She rightly noted that other countries in Asia, such as Korea, Indonesia and Singapore are heavily investing in fashion and that, in Japan, despite its remarkable fashion talent and fashion legacy, the government is only beginning to realise the sector’s potential.

Others such as Yoshiko Edstrom, director of sales and PR firm Edstrom Office, were more pessimistic. “The government do have the budget, but they don’t understand how Japanese fashion can have an effect on the overall economy. We have top level designers from Comme des Garçons to younger labels. But Comme des Garçons was, itself, completely self-supported from the start. The Japanese government still doesn’t understand what it is that they do.”

This all begs the question of whether a company like Uniqlo could mirror what Topshop has done with the British Fashion Council in London and bring support and cohesion to Tokyo’s emerging fashion scene. When questioned on this possibility, all Shinoda would say is that they would endeavor to make an approach.

One thing’s for sure: there’s certainly no lack of desire on the part of international buyers to discover and bring Tokyo designers to global markets, despite the logistical challenges of navigating the scene. “We are pushing ourselves to go to places to find things that haven’t been seen,” says Hudnutt. “I think there’s a fascination with Japanese style from a young urban customer and, added to that, Japanese textiles and printing are somewhat unparalleled.”

But the bottom line is, like with London, even with the right building blocks in place, the road to Tokyo’s rise as a global fashion capital may be a very long one. Having talent is one thing, but harnessing it and correctly presenting it to the world is another. “There simply needs to be more investment,” says Hutnutt. “JFW needs to bring more buyers and press over. There’s such an interest, just not enough of a spotlight.”

Ogasawara is hopeful that Tokyo can rise as London has done. “I remember many press and buyers went to London Fashion Week when Christopher Kane began to show. I hope Tokyo becomes an incubator of young talent like London.”

As it turns out, new initiatives to bring Japanese designers to international markets are already afoot. Jakarta Fashion Week is the next destination for some of JFW’s designers. How the “Cool Japan” funding will be spent over the next few years still remains to be seen, but one hopes it will be spent wisely, possibly on a showroom programme to bring Japanese designers to New York or Paris. If JFW manages to provide a real international platform, then perhaps the best Tokyo designers would be more willing to present the kind of united front that would certainly wow the world.

Here’s a rundown of some of the designers that caught my eye in Tokyo:

Anrealage


Kunihiko Morinaga lauched his own brand Anrealage in 2003 and has slowly but surely built up a reputation for the kind of mind-blowing, conceptual fashion that could well make its way to Paris. His latest Spring/Summer 2014 “Size” collection featured magically shrinking dresses controlled by mechanical wires. They owe a debt to Hussein Chalayan, but who else out there is making this kind of moving fashion a reality?

99%Is


Designer Bajowoo may be Korean but has made Tokyo his base, setting up his label 99%Is here last year. Bajowoo has already caught the eye of Dover Street Market, where he presented a collaboration with Mackintosh. His Spring/Summer 2014 collection was a tightly focused edit of monochrome and metallic leather separates that spoke to young Tokyo’s style crowd.

Akira Naka


I remember Naka’s brilliant collection from his graduate show at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, so it was good to see this talented knitwear designer stocked at the likes of United Arrows and Isetan. Naka has learnt to commercialise his specialist knitwear techniques, taking advantage of fine Japanese craftsmanship to good effect.

Balmung


Balmung Hachi started his design career making odd pieces for small shops and he’s still working on an out-of-sync schedule, as his Spring/Summer 2014 collection won’t be ready to show until December. Still, there’s something visceral and raw about his creations that are loved by Tokyo street icons like Mademoiselle Yulia.

Blackmeans


The hardcore craft collective Blackmeans, consisting of Yujiro Komatsu, Takatomo Ariga, Masatomo Ariga and Tomoko Moriya, create incredible leather creations, rooted in Japan but often influenced by folksy or tribal elements. Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony is a fan of this specialist leather label that has sub-cultural backnotes.

Phenomenon


Takeshi Osumi aka Big O’s menswear label is namechecked by everyone as a personal fave. Since launching his womenswear line and eschewing shows, Osumi has been concentrating on the commerciability of Phenomenon, known for mixing unexpected elements and gender bending. With the right support in Europe, the label is definitely at a level where Paris could come calling.

D.TT.K


Kazuma Detto leads a collective that, since last year, has begun to express itself through clothing, influenced by what it calls a “Neo Sporty” aesthetic, populised by stores such as GR8 in La Foret and Candy in Shibuya.

Writtenafterwards/Mikio Sakabe


Designers Mikio Sakabe and Yoshikazu Yamagata of artsy label Writtenafterwards represent a very different side to Tokyo fashion, more fitting to our own clichéd views of Japanese conceptualism. They are eschewing commercial obligations and instead tapping into the raw seeds of creativity with their alternative fashion school Coconogacco. Their own collections and that of their students indicate the creative potential of young designers in Japan.

Jenny Fax


Shueh Jen-Fang, originally from Taiwan, started her label Jenny Fax in 2010 and has since been building a cult following with collections ridden with personal childhood and sub culture references. Her Spring/Summer 2014 show, held in a skate park as part of Shibuya Fashion Festival, looked to dodgy 1990s Chinese horror movies as she went to a darker place than her usual sweet and Kawaii aesthetic.

Mame


Maiko Kurogouchi named her brand after her nickname, Mame, meaning “bean.” Her incredible cut-PVC accessories have already caught the eye of Joyce and Opening Ceremony, but she’s also making headway with her beautifully crafted clothing. This season she was inspired by the traditional gestures of her grandmother.

Facetasm


Textiles whizz Hiromichi Ochiai launched his brand in 2007 and is one of the few unisex labels which showed at Tokyo Fashion Week. Like Phenomenon, Facetasm mixes up workwear, streetwear and high fashion to create a unique mix that sees hardy aprons take to the catwalk along with decorative ruffles.

Sasquatchfabrix/EOTOTO


There’s a whole host of menswear brands from Tokyo that deserve mention, but SASQUATCHFabrix and its brother brand EOTOTO are definitely at a level where international stockists have taken a keen interest. The concept is “High Performance Vandalism, Always Presenting a Sense of Freshness.” What that translates into is highly-nuanced menswear that borrows from influences around the world, without ever feeling heavy-handed.

quinta-feira, 17 de outubro de 2013

No-Code Campaign

 

tods no code4 Tod’s Gets Artful for No Code Fall 2013 Campaign

Color Theory – Continuing its collaboration with London magazine editor Jefferson Hack, Italian shoe label Tod’s releases the fall 2013 campaign for “No_Code”. This season, LA-based photographer and artist Sam Falls captured the images and added a unique touch with painting and digital manipulation in post-production. The line has four styles for women based off of classic shoe styles like the Oxford shoe, desert boot and Chelsea boot. The No_Code collection is available in Tod’s boutiques, mytheresa.com and on Net-a-Porter now.

tods no code1 Tod’s Gets Artful for No Code Fall 2013 Campaign

tods no code2 Tod’s Gets Artful for No Code Fall 2013 Campaign

tods no code3 Tod’s Gets Artful for No Code Fall 2013 Campaign

tods no code5 Tod’s Gets Artful for No Code Fall 2013 Campaign

Inspiration Colors for 2014 summer!

Colour transforms. It defines. It impacts our mood and changes the way we feel. That’s why each season’s colour trends are as influential and important as the broader fashion trends that sweep in on the change in weather.

Spring / summer 2014 brings a colour palette that’s pared back and yet optimistic, with earthy tones, ocean blues and opaque pastels shaping the mood of the season. After the break, a look at the color trends forecast for the warmer part of 2014.

Spring / summer 2014 colours: Lenzing

Forecasting agency Lenzing predicts colours for spring 2014 will take shape around 5 themes: sensual, serene, colorquake, oasis and diaphanous.

Sensual: Hot Summer

Seductive. Desire. Racy. Intense. Voluptuous. It’s words like these Lenzing uses to describe this theme of a steamy, hot summer; where tactility of textiles is slinky and sophisticated. The colour palette compliments fabrics like light-reflecting satins, jacquards, rich jerseys and open weave knits.

ss14 color trends

Serene: The Blues

Contrasting the passion of the ‘sensual’ theme is a palette of serene blues. Clear open skies and calm seas signify freshness and the simplicity of nature. Spurred on by a longing for handmade authenticity, indigo dying and traditional denim return to the spotlight.

ss14 color trends

Colourquake: This Meets That

Think clashes, contrasts, cut+paste craziness… this palette is all about a wild mix of colours and textures. Lenzing calls it a “clash between hard-core technical attitude and natural materials”, featuring “all kinds of embellishments and elaborations”.

ss14 color trends

Oasis: Pop Up Lushness

All things sun-baked and natural find their place in clay red and jungle greens. Parched earth and radiant leaves are reflected in rough surfaces and visible grain in fabric weaves, making for deliberately worn and adventured garments and accessories. Prints are “more of textures than of patterns”.

ss14 color trends

Diaphanous: Precious Opaque

Gemstones and minerals set off a sartorial alchemy in this palette of opaque pastel tones. Less the sugar sweet pastels of summer past, these are modern tones that take shape in layers of transparent fabrics, in openwork jersey and lightweight, airy smoothness.

ss14 color trends

Spring / summer 2014 colours: SPINEXPO

Forecasting at SPINEXPO centered around the evolution and change. “In todays lifestyles there is no right or wrong, we want to move along with the crowd but still stand out. Nothing is as clearly defined as it was in the past, the boundaries have blurred between cultures, communities, the sexes and what is real or virtual.”

They predicted “an evolution of colours” through the following tonal families:

spring summer 2014 colour trends

spring summer 2014 colour trends

spring summer 2014 colour trends

spring summer 2014 colour trends

spring summer 2014 colour trends

spring summer 2014 colour trends

spring summer 2014 colour trends

spring summer 2014 colour trends

quarta-feira, 16 de outubro de 2013

Some inspiration for you..Spanish style!

hasan hejazi spring 2014 2 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 3 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 4 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 5 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 6 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 7 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 8 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 9 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 10 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 11 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

hasan hejazi spring 2014 12 Hasan Hejazi Spring 2014 Collection

New line of sun glasses!

Fashion News: June Ambrose Launches Line Of Sunglasses With Selima Optique

The Fashion Bomb Blog /// All Urban Fashion... All the Time · aujourd’hui 21:14

The post Fashion News: June Ambrose Launches Line of Sunglasses with Selima Optique appeared first on The Fashion Bomb Blog : Celebrity Fashion, Fashion News, What To Wear, Runway Show Reviews.

According to TalkingwithTami.com, June Ambrose has extended her accessories empire into the sunglasses domain, imagining a collection of oversized shades geared towards the bold fashionista:



Her cool specs come equipped with names like Edna, Daphne, Summer (after her daughter), and Chance (after her son), and ring in between $250 and $350:














Hats off to June for continuing to expand her brand!


I definitely see one or two pairs I wouldn’t mind trying on for size.
What about you? Spy anything you like?


See more and purchase at SelimaOptique.com

The post Fashion News: June Ambrose Launches Line of Sunglasses with Selima Optique appeared first on The Fashion Bomb Blog : Celebrity Fashion, Fashion News, What To Wear, Runway Show