AlexSandro Palombo, who contributed to our upcoming fashion month edition, surprised me with a blog post and illustration portraying me as the "subway's fashion queen" with some major cleavage action. Too funny!
In certain ways, one-piece garments seem to make more sense for night than day. If you wear a nightie like the one above to bed, for instance, you don't necessarily have to think about repeated runs to the ladies' room. How annoying is it to wear a jumpsuit during the day and have to peel that thing off in a bathroom stall? Too much information, I know. This romper by The Lake and Stars could technically work for day or night, with its pretty satin ribbons and cool black piping. The Brooklyn-based brand has a knack for giving sexy lingerie ideas a contemporary treatment. Pair it with tuxedo trousers and a jacket for your hot Valentine's Day dinner date. And then rock it alone afterward.
Name: Najah Wakil
Occupation: Model
What she's wearing: "A pair of Miss Sixty jeans, a John Galliano sweater and a Valentino bag, fur vest and over-the-knee boots."
Trend vs. anti-trend: "I like to see the clothes coming off the runway. I want to know what the new items for the coming seasons are."
Name: Oniagbitse Omagbemi
Occupation: Dancer and yoga instructor
What she's wearing: "Shoes by Irregular choice, vintage trousers that I bought at American Apparel, an H&M jacket and Urban Outfitters gloves."
Trend vs. anti-trend: "I don't really follow the trends. I'm into vintage because some of those looks can't be duplicated."
-Karl-Edwin Guerre, Swagger
"For me, creating a new collection is always a painful process until it starts emerging. Once it comes, it's all worth it. The biggest difference from being pregnant is that the fashion cravings are not the healthy ones - white wine, cigarettes. I go through many sleepless nights and can't think straight. And sometimes my temperament seems irrational. But at least in the end, everything comes back to the right place." -Sophie Theallet
"Right now, I'm obsessed with Olive's giant chocolate chip cookies. For me the collection feels like a child all grown up and ready to go on its own way into the real world. Like sending your child off to college. Not that I know what that feels like." -Bensoni co-designer Sonia Yoon
A former professional basketball player seems an unlikely choice for an olfactory star. And yet, you'd be hard-pressed to find a fashion insider who doesn't name-check Ben Gorham's Byredo perfume as a favorite. He's got collaborations with Acne and the painfully cool magazine, Fantastic Man, under his belt and has become a go-to for fragrance lovers who are craving a bit of the unexpected. That's an impressive feat considering that he only launched his brand three years ago.
Each of his cleanly packaged perfumes, body washes, lotions and candles are inspired by a significant personal memory. "One of my earliest was the way my father smelled. And what I tried to do with Byredo was identify my scent memories with a collective experience. I think many people have a memory of their father or mother through smell in some way," he explains. "I'm trying to translate emotions and feelings into smell."
So far, his approach is working. His brand has been closely associated with Stockholm's current renaissance, which includes Acne and Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair. "It's a group of people who understand the traditional aspect of Swedish design and choose to take it a step further," he says. "I think the aesthetics of what some of the other brands do is very different from mine, but the ambition is the same. We've learned from our big brother brands like Ikea and H&M that we can translate what we do globally."
Name: Olesya Skarvina
Occupation: Fashion student
What she's wearing: "The coat is a vintage find I got in Shepherds Bush. It cost me £2. The dress was originally a vintage men's shirt. And the shoes are also a vintage find. They were originally Italian white linen. But when I bought them they had been painted orange. So I then painted them black."
If she could forever banish one trend it would be: "The type of clothes worn by Katy Perry. Cheesy pinks and that sort of thing."
-by Wayne Tippetts, Street Style Aesthetic
As much as I love my new home city, London, there are certain things that I miss about New York. There's Mary Fish Camp (their fish tacos are unparalleled), my beloved Dominican hair salons (no one gives a better blowout) and the train buskers (you won't find a beatboxing flutist anywhere else). I'm loving this rendition of Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind. Check out the teenage girls dancing in the background. Sooooo New York! It's getting me psyched about going back there next week.
More than anyone else in fashion, it's the models who seem abnormally perfect. How do they go from show to show looking so dang dewy and fresh-faced after wearing gobs of potentially breakout-inducing makeup? What miracle creams are they using? Or is it just genetics? A few catwalk fixtures fill us in.
"I apply LaRoche-Posey moisturizing cream every night. And I can't get through the day without a good lip balm and my iPod. Music is essential to your beauty!" -Constance Jablonski
"I can't live without Embryolisse Hydrating Cream. All of the makeup artists use it. It's so rich it feels like butter on the skin." -Sessilee Lopez
"I like to use Avène Cicalfate restorative cream, which is really good for dry skin." -Charlotte Di Calypso
"Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant is another product that everyone swears by. It's great for keeping your lips hydrated during transatlantic flights." -Sessilee Lopez
-as told to Andre J
Isabella Blow (the top two photos on the right), Anna Piaggi, Grace Jones, Moi René and Leigh Bowery (the bottom photos)
Beyoncé winning six Grammys seems to be the big story of the night (congrats girl!) But it's Lady Gaga's now trademark habit of making multiple awards show outfit changes that we are talking about in the office this morning. Perhaps its because I'm often surrounded by gay men and artists (how else would I know about the diva Moi René?), but it's hard for me to look at Gaga without seeing all of the eccentrics who came before her. On the red carpet last night, she literally looked like a mash-up of the last three decades worth of avant-garde fashion. It's like the collective spirit of all the wild and crazy divas was hovering over her that night, like a big old glittery cloud. The ice queen headpiece, and just about every other hat that she has worn up until now, screams Isabella Blow to me. The Day-Glo yellow hair and bold pink lips, bring to mind Karl Lagerfeld's old muse Anna Piaggi and the legendary '80s New York drag queen, Moi René. The sparkly face paint and platform shoes? Sooooo Leigh Bowery. But Lady Gaga has never made a secret about how the Australian performance artist who scared the hell out of London's club scene in the '80s and '90s (he was known for his over-the-top, practically masochistic costumes) influenced her work. The exaggerated silhouettes of her custom-made Giorgio Armani Privé dresses, meanwhile, had Grace Jones' name written all over them. Gaga's look is not as original as so many people give her credit for being. But she's clearly looking to all the right people for inspiration. Love that.
Lady Gaga meets Mad Max (scary!) at Karssenberg/Greidanus
I've only been here for two days but have seen a wide variety of work. Some collections had really pretty moments (Jan Taminiau's shield-like dresses, which had just shown in Paris for couture days earlier) and some had pretty bad ones ("I feel like I'm at a shopping mall fashion show," one New York journalist whispered in my ear tonight.) With so many cities having launched their own fashion weeks in the last five to ten years, it can be difficult knowing what to pay attention to and what to take seriously. A few (Stockholm, Berlin and Copenhagen) are beginning to distinguish themselves from the others with impressive homegrown talent and a tightly knit industry to support it. Amsterdam hasn't gotten there quite yet.
While talking to the director of programming of Amsterdam's Fashion Week, she admitted that the city doesn't have a fashion council of designers that nurtures emerging talent and mentors them on how to grow their business. Based on the wide range of skill levels I've seen over the last two days and how few designers here are actually selling their work in stores, it looks like they could really use one. With solid funding, a full roster of sponsors (Volvo, Redken, Maybelline, the list goes on), and slick venues, the city seemingly has the potential to attract more international attention. And in this day of the Internet, it shouldn't be very hard.
Clean lines and clinical whites at Elsien Gringhuis
(clockwise from top) Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry Prorsum, Giorgio Armani and Dior Homme
The paradigm has finally flipped. Instead of designers telling shoppers what to wear, the men's autumn 2010 collections in Milan and Paris showed that the customer's need for comfort, versatility and longevity in his purchases is often more important than seasonal trends. As designers strive for more commercially viable collections, customers will see relaxed, comfortable proportions, vintage military details and heritage-based looks in stores come fall. Here we look at some of the season's standouts so far.
Sportswear Revival
This season sportswear and outerwear took precedence over tailored suiting. Even Armani, the master of the suit, showed a predominance of relaxed looks with soft shoulder slopes in cashmeres and silks. Thom Browne for Moncler Gamme Bleu approached this trend from the other end with winter wear tailored as impeccably as any suit with down blazers, performance-ready anoraks, and quilted trousers.
Military Coup
The '80's influence of the past few years has finally been usurped by a military coup inspired by the '30's and '40's. From oversized officer coats at Lanvin to army green great coats and Royal Airforce flying jackets at Burberry Prorsum, fashion's collective homage to the troops just gets bigger and bigger. Key looks include shearling-lined boots, leather and waxed cotton outerwear and the ever-popular shoulder epaulette.
Heralds of Heritage
Designers this season looked to their roots. Standout examples include Dolce & Gabanna, who focused on their Sicilian work wear heritage, reinforced at their show with a huge screen playing scenes from Sicilian epic movie Baaria. Prada also revisited her roots with a men's collection that hit notes of '70's kitsch in a subdued and commercially balanced manner. Gucci, always the pinnacle of panache for the jet-setting playboy, showed velvet blazers, fringed scarves and amazing weekender bags perfectly sized for a private jet.
Cautious with Color
The colors of the season were soft and accessible, centered in shades of olive, coffee, charcoal and taupe. These base colors were highlighted with strokes of burgundy, camel and cream, as seen at Jil Sander and surprisingly even in the usually all black collections of Dior Homme. The preponderance of neutrals shows that designers understand that men want versatility in their wardrobes and are investment-shopping in key pieces that will last years instead of trending out after a season.
-by Louis Monoyudis
For the longest, I've known my fiance, Matt, as the lovable artist, surfer, skater, fixed gear bike rider guy with the longish hair. His hair seemed to be the perfect symbol of all of his life passions to me. One look at it and the art, surf, skateboard thing became clear. Then we moved to London and he cut it all off. And suddenly he looked very retro in a bicycle polo player way. And then, he surprised me with this haircut this weekend:
Crazy, right?!?! We were on the tube after he left the barbershop and an African man walked up and gave Matt a fist bump. It turns out the man was from Kenya. And speaking of barbershops, Matt decided not to go to his fancy Shoreditch salon and went to a barbershop called "Kriss Kutz" instead. Because where else could he get the '80s style block letters just so? Hilarious. Matt has been threatening to have my name shaved on his head ever since a vacation we took to the Amalfi Coast in Italy. While on the beach, he tagged his intentions on a rock, which he now keeps on a bookshelf in his studio.
Crazy, right?!?! We were on the tube after he left the barbershop and an African man walked up and gave Matt a fist bump. It turns out the man was from Kenya. And speaking of barbershops, Matt decided not to go to his fancy Shoreditch salon and went to a barbershop called "Kriss Kutz" instead. Because where else could he get the '80s style block letters just so? Hilarious. Matt has been threatening to have my name shaved on his head ever since a vacation we took to the Amalfi Coast in Italy. While on the beach, he tagged his intentions on a rock, which he now keeps on a bookshelf in his studio. 
So in retrospect, I should have seen this coming.
The number of fashion and beauty brands donating to Haiti relief grows. Bliss is donating 75% of sales of its Glamour Gloves and Softening Socks to rebuilding the devastated country. Meanwhile, Naomi Campbell, Yasmin LeBon and Erin O'Connor met up with Sarah Brown at Somerset House today to announce Fashion for Relief Haiti 2010, a charity runway show that will raise money for the earthquake victims. I'll update with details as soon as I know more. But it's nice to see fashion types banding together for the effort on this side of the pond. Perhaps the fashion industry in New York will make a similar move soon?
Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair By the No. spring/summer '10
With Stockholm Fashion Week just days away, it's hard to ignore the city's growing global fashion influence. I traveled to the now very cold and dark city to meet some of Sweden's brightest emerging talents who are poised to push the concept of Scandinavian style even further. My first stop, was Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, aka the married design duo Astrid Olsson and Lee Cotter. They're two of those quintessentially Swedish talents who manage to merge conflicting ideas in a way that makes sense. Their six-year-old label is equal parts challenging and complex, accessible and minimal. If Comme des Garçons and Jil Sander had a baby, it would look like this.
You both worked in totally different areas of fashion (Astrid was a tailor and Lee a retail buyer), what prompted you to go into design?
Lee: It started out with our dream of being able to design our own things.
Astrid: Not having to be too commercial and just making what we wanted.
Lee: And then it kind of emerged into a business and we changed and evolved. Now we have the commercial ready-to-wear part and then we have our line, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair By the No. which is much more experimental.Astrid: With the By the No. line, we're not focused on making money at all.
Your brand name has been on the tongues of many of the people our street style photographers shoot in various countries. Are you ever surprised by the reach your brand has?
Astrid: It's funny because all of a sudden we started getting these big requests from these really big magazines wanting to borrow ten outfits from the fashion show. And I'm like, 'how do they even know about us?' Some of the things we do is for a very small group of people. Not everyone will appreciate. Not everyone wears layers and layers. So if there are more people watching what we do, maybe our work will live for that much longer. We try to do timeless pieces.
Lee: We would really suck at doing trendy things. We have more fun trying to make the perfect white shirt, and then deconstructing it, and assembling it again. I think we live in Sweden and we think that no one sees us--
Astrid: We're in this very small country, very cold, in the north.
Lee: So we think we can do whatever we want because no one will see it anyway. And then you pop up in magazines and articles and it's fantastic.
Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair spring/summer '10
But Sweden has been growing as a fashion force for several years now. Why do you think the city's moment is happening now as opposed to, say, ten years ago?
Lee: It's interesting because it's like planting a seed in soil that you don't think you could grow anything in. But I think there is a small group of intellectuals who like art, music, design and architecture who have sprung out of it. I think we're a bit weirder than the other Swedish brands, which tend to be very clean cut.
Astrid: And I think that now, with the Internet, it's easier for things to go global. Swedish people are very sort of -- not too bossy, not taking too much space, not saying, "I'm the greatest designer in the world." That kind of thing. But now with the Internet I think we're seeing that it's possible to sell things all over the world.
What is it about Swedish fashion that sets it apart from that of other cities?
Astrid: I'd say the price levels. If you look at Scandinavian fashion and compare it to the rest of the world, it's a special segment. Scandinavians don't spend the kind of money on their wardrobes that people in other countries do. We have a lot of chain stores where you can get your fashion very cheap here.
Lee: In Scandinavia in general, you get a lot of fashion for the money you spend compared to a lot of other countries.
Astrid: It's partly because the Swedish are very practical. As you've probably seen while you've been here, the mothers get their kids, do their own shopping and clean their own house.
Lee: This isn't a dry cleaning culture.
Name: Kiko Caruso
Occupation: DJ by night, retail manager by day
What he's wearing: "The hat, jacket, shirt, cardigan, trousers, and shoes are all by JS Dundee."
His favorite trend: "Tweed and tartan. I like the Scottish gentleman look."
-by Wayne Tippetts 
Bess, our favorite go-to for all things studded is making its NYFW debut next month. The married duo Douglas and Bess Abraham have earned a serious fashion following for their customized vintage one-off pieces (their Lafayette Street store in downtown Manhattan stocks everything from denim to boots with a punk edge.) Their fan base includes industry majors Marc Jacobs, Carine Roitfeld, Alexander Wang, and Hedi Slimane, among others. With all of that said, we're guessing it's safe to assume that the brand will be outgrowing its under-the-radar-status soon.
The notoriously clever fashion illustrator behind Humor Chic, AlexSandro Palombo, has been cooking up something fun for our fashion month preview supplement. Can't wait to show it to you. Soon come.
That's me looking bedraggled at the end of Paris Fashion Week, last season. Notice the frizzy hair and dust marks on the toes of my Miu Mius. I think I had literally tripped right before this photo was taken. Sigh.And the cycle repeats itself when the Christmas and New Year festivities come around. All is fun and good and then -- POW! -- a rude awakening to the New Year in the form of a teensy window of time to complete all planning for the autumn shows. You get the idea.
At the moment, my team and I are still stinging from the POW! and wishing that the Christmas break lasted just a little bit longer. That said it should be an eventful show season. And, of course, we've got lots of fantastic preview bits coming up.
