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subscribe to style file blog via RSSCannes Ready
May 18, 2012
The truth is, I’ll be home in New York this weekend, taking long walks in Central Park and having friends over for a barbecue. But a girl can dream. And where I’d really like to be spending my weekend (and, what the hell, next week) is Cannes.
What to pack for the French Riviera? Neon and zebra-print K. Jacques St. Tropez flat sandals ($315) to wear with an all-white outfit, or to pair with crazy printed cotton pants. And this Proenza Schouler boho dress ($1,650) is perfect to wear from the pool to cocktails. For evening, I’ll take my inspiration from Giovanna Battaglia, who was the star of the Cannes red carpet last year at the amfAR gala—I would go with vintage, in my case, this Chanel one-shoulder gown from 1986 ($2,298) with a couple of bows in the back and peplum on the waist. To finish the look, Irene Neuwirth’s black and diamond earrings (price on request) would bring it all up to date, as would my customized Charlotte Olympia clutch ($745), embroidered with my name.
tags: amfAR gala, Cannes, Chanel, Charlotte Olympia, Giovanna Battaglia, Irene Neuwirth, K. Jacques, Proenza Schouler
Is Africa Fashion’s Next Big Thing?
May 18, 2012
What’s the next big thing in fashion? Lately, signs are pointing to Africa. For starters, Franca Sozzani dedicated the entire May issue of L’Uomo Vogue to celebrating the continent’s intrinsic allure and creativity. This year’s International Herald Tribune Luxury conference will examine the growing African middle class as an emerging consumer as well as the region’s potential for manufacturing. And last night, Essence editor in chief Constance White led a panel discussion entitled Design Africa, where she and political journalist Chika Oduah held forth with Rogan and Loomstate co-founder Scott Hahn, Suno head of production Nadiyah Bradshaw, and Bantu swimwear designer Yodit Eklund about the future of design on the continent.
The consensus: There’s plenty to be done, but the potential is great. “China did not become China overnight,” Bradshaw said, going on to explain how at Suno, she helps Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty find ethical workshops and factories and effectively create needed job opportunities in places like Kenya. Panelists mused on the potential of African manufacturing and hoped that one day, a “Made in Nigeria” tag would be as highly regarded as a “Made in Italy” or a “Made in France” one.
In the meantime, people like panelist Enyinne Owunwanne (the founder of online African fashion retailer Heritage 1960) are working to promote Africa’s rising design stars. Owunwanne works with promising up-and-coming designers including Jewel By Lisa and The Summit, as well as artisans in South Africa, Nigeria, and Rwanda, which she features on her site. “Until recently, Africa has largely been underserved within the global fashion and design scene, but the continent has always been chock-full of amazingly talented designers and artists,” Owunwanne told Style.com. “It was only a matter of time before the world stage started to give due recognition to the talent stemming from Africa. Diasporan trailblazers such as Duro Olowu and Ozwald Boateng set the stage for an appreciation of African designers. The fashion industry has barely tipped the iceberg with African designers and inspiration coming from the continent, though. There is so much more to discover—this is truly just the beginning!”
tags: Chika Oduah, Constance White, Duro Olowu, Erin Beatty, Jewel by Lisa, L'Uomo Vogue, Laurence Airline, Loomstate, Maki Oh, Max Osterweis, Ozwald Boateng, Rogan, Scott Hahn, Suno, Yodit Eklund
The Guys Who Set Paris On Fire
May 18, 2012
The song of Fall ‘12 Paris fashion week? No question—Zebra Katz’s (pictured, left) vogue culture-referencing “Ima Read.” Credit for that goes to Rick Owens (pictured, right), who blasted the song as the soundtrack to his fire-and-brimstone (literally!) Fall womenswear show. (”It’s a Rick Owens show, it’s not Disney World,” the designer shrugs.) Dazed & Confused brought the two provocateurs together for a video interview and a little photo shoot. Clothes, naturally, are by Rick Owens. The hat is Katz’s—but if Rick started making them, we’d have no objections. Check out the full video here.
tags: Fall '12, Rick Owens, Zebra Katz
It’s A Good Day To Friend Mark Zuckerberg, And More of the Day’s Top Stories
May 18, 2012
It’s probably been a pretty happy birthday for Mark Zuckerberg (pictured), Facebook’s baby-faced CEO, who turned 28 this week: The company’s initial public offering today is targeted to raise $16.4 billion and be the third largest in financial history. (The initial share price is $38.) Could a trade-up from his much-maligned hoodies be next? [WWD]
Zuckerberg isn’t the only guy smiling: U2 front man Bono is reaping the rewards of Facebook’s IPO as well. Through his private equity firm, Elevation Partners, Bono owns 2.3 percent of Facebook. This morning’s offering will earn a reported $1.5 billion and make the man the world’s richest rocker—a title he takes over from Sir Paul McCartney. [The Hollywood Reporter]
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is getting a shot of street culture thanks to KAWS, who has been tapped to create his own balloon. The artist (a.k.a. Brian Donnelly) plans to inflate his Companion character, who originally made his debut last summer when he was positioned at the entrance of the Standard hotel in New York. [NYT]
Sixties fashion icon Peggy Moffitt is still rocking her signature look—five-point haircut included—and she shows it off in a Phil Pinto-directed film shot at her Los Angeles home. The model and muse, who worked closely with designer Rudi Gernreich and photographer William Claxton (her husband), reminisces about her favorite fashion memories. [NOWNESS]
tags: Bono, Facebook, KAWS, Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, Mark Zuckerberg, Peggy Moffitt, Sir Paul McCartney
Southern In The City
May 18, 2012
New York’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) kicks off this week, and the fashion set is not to be left out. Designer Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin, has organized a series of events called MAKESHIFT, to initiate, she says, “a larger conversation around finding the point where the professional worlds of fashion, craft, design, and DIY intersect.” As the Alabama-based (hence the name) Chanin points out, “The important business and brand building parts of the fashion industry can sometimes obscure that initial designer act of making things with our hands.”
Last night, Chanin unveiled one of the main centerpieces of MAKESHIFT—her craft/design pop-up shop with fellow Alabamian Billy Reid at Reid’s Bond Street shop. “Anytime we can work with Natalie, we’re in,” Reid says. “When she proposed the idea of the pop-up shop for design week, it was a perfect fit. We had been working with crafting quilts into jackets so it was a timely item to have included.”
Inside the 20′ by 20′ pop-up, you’ll find one-of-a-kind pieces exclusive to the store, from designers including Gaby Basora of Tucker, Maria Cornejo, Albertus Swanepoel, Susan Cianciolo (a fashion darling-turned-artist)—and of course, items from Reid and Chanin as well.
The pop-up, open through May 25, is located at Billy Reid, 54 Bond Street, New York. To learn more about MAKESHIFT, visit Alabamachanin-makeshift.com.
tags: Alabama Chanin, Billy Reid, ICFF, MAKESHIFT
Helping Haiti, One Brushstroke At A Time
May 17, 2012
“I was in Haiti for my very first time,” says the designer and big-time Haiti activist Donna Karan, “and I got back to my hotel one day and saw this amazing artwork on the walls. I said, Oh my God, who did this?” As it turned out, the artist was leading contemporary Haitian artist Philippe Dodard, and he happened to be standing right behind her at that moment. (Apparently, timing really is everything.)
After that chance meeting, Dodard’s strong graphic ink wash paintings became the inspiration for Karan’s Spring 2012 graphic collection of body-hugging dresses and full skirts (of which a portion of the sales benefited the artisans of Haiti). More recently, the pair combined their artistic efforts for a new exhibition at North Miami’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), entitled The Luminous Breath of the Human Spirit. On display, there are six dresses from Karan’s Spring collection (pictured, left) and 37 works by Dodard (who now serves as the general director of the National School of Arts in Haiti). “I want to create art that awakens rather than satisfies the mundane desires of the clientele—art that embodies different answers to our human problems,” Dodard tells Style.com of his work. That is the bigger picture to this ongoing partnership between Karan and Dodard (they have collaborated on design and metal projects through initiatives of her Urban Zen foundation, and both contributed to photographer Russell James’ Nomad Two Worlds multimedia project, which has been showcased around the world and is now on display at Urban Zen)—the duo is revitalizing and rebuilding Haiti through art.
“I have always said that the answer to Haiti is in the hands of the people,” says Karan, who, since meeting Dodard, has been back to the country countless times. “It’s the artists, the most creative people, who will revive it.”
The Luminous Breath of the Human Spirit is on display through June 20 at MOCA, 770 Northeast 125th St., Miami, Fla., (305) 893-6211. To learn more about Karan and Dodard’s collaborative efforts, visit UrbanZen.org.
tags: Donna Karan, Haiti, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Philippe Dodard, The Luminous Breath of the Human Spirit
She Loved To Love You, Baby
May 17, 2012
A disco queen has died. “Last Dance” quips may be expected. But Donna Summer’s influence was great. She didn’t just have a moment—she had 17, the epic length of “Love to Love You, Baby,” the track she recorded with Giorgio Moroder, the Italian producer with whom she helped to shape the entire genre of dance music. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, borrowing may go one better—and everyone from Madonna to Whitney to Diana to Beyoncé has sampled Summer. Several generations of one-namers recognize her as one of their own.
Summer’s onstage style may not have been as influential as some of her fellow seventies dollies. But her music gave the beat to the better part of a generation. She had a catalog of hits nearly unrivaled among disco divas, and continued well into the pop/R&B of the eighties: In addition to “Love to Love You, Baby” and “Last Dance,” there were “I Feel Love,” “MacArthur Park,” “Bad Girls,” “On the Radio,” and “She Works Hard for the Money.” She won five Grammys and a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The fashion world has long appreciated Summer. In 2010, she and Marc Jacobs duetted on “On the Radio” at the opening of Louis Vuitton’s New Bond Street maison. (Kim Jones, Vuitton’s menswear designer, later called on Moroder to create and spin the soundtrack to his Fall ‘12 men’s show, too.)
Summer died this morning, following a private battle with cancer. She was 63.
tags: "Last Dance", Beyonce, Donna Summer, Kim Jones, Louis Vuitton, Madonna, Marc Jacobs, Whitney Houston
New York Welcomes A New Wang
May 17, 2012
While it takes a cranked party to drown out the sound of World Trade Center construction, such was the scene at last night’s W Hotel Downtown soirée for Chinese designer Uma Wang (pictured, right), who turned heads this past fashion week in Milan, where her namesake label made its Italian debut. Hosts Meredith Melling Burke and W Hotels global fashion director Jenne Lombardo (pictured, left) took it to eleven, with help from guests like Peter Som, Alejandro Ingelmo, and Kate Foley. Wang, who is here for a month as part of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund China exchange program (a new initiative targeted at expanding opportunities for CFDA designers in China and vice versa for Chinese designers like Wang), kept a noticeably low profile. “I was so happy to come to New York, but I had no idea what to expect,” she said. “I’m just following the schedule.”
She’s right on time for a breakthrough. Wang’s design vibes combine the almost-goth moodiness of Rick Owens with the sharp utility of that other Wang, Alexander. Or, as she puts it: “I only wear black, unless I’m wearing white.” On that note, Lombardo said, “Look at her, she’s wearing all these black layers with long hair and a nose ring—it’s so right-on. She’s more New York than all of us!”
tags: Alejandro Ingelmo, CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund China exchange program, Jenne Lombardo, Peter Som, Uma Wang, W Hotel Downtown
Building A Better Barneys
May 17, 2012
While Barneys’ Madison Avenue flagship is getting an extensive renovation, the retailer’s online home is getting some work done, too. This week, Barneys revealed the new, revamped Barneys.com, with new features to streamline browsing and product suggestions from a host of influencers, including Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Julianne Moore and her stylist Leslie Fremar, and Rachel Chandler Guinness and Tom Guinness.
Among the new tools is a “Favorites” feature, which allows you to make categorized lists of your go-to designers, favorite products (those exclusive to Barneys are marked XO—Exclusively Ours), options in your size, and your preferred color choices, all of which can be shared across social media platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, and The Fancy. If you’re looking for ideas, there’s also a “Most Loved” section, which shows the products the most customers “Favorite.” And the editorial sub-site The Window now has designer pages as a home for each brand available to its customers. Once you’ve figured out what you want to buy, it’s just two clicks away.
tags: Barneys.com, Julianne Moore, Leslie Fremar, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Pinterest, Rachel Chandler Guinness, The Fancy, Tom Guinness, Twitter
Jewelry Designer Sally Sohn’s Postcard From South Korea
May 17, 2012
Sally Sohn makes exquisite (and exquisitely expensive) one-of-a-kind jewelry by finding rare heirlooms at auctions in every corner of the globe, then refurbishing them with precious stones and metal. The results of her work are delicate, whimsical pieces encrusted with pearls and diamonds, sold at retailers including Bergdorf Goodman, Ikram, and Lane Crawford.
Recently, Sohn led a group of friends and colleagues (Gilt Groupe vice president Leah Park, video director Cycy Sanders, model agent Agel Raya, photographer Jasper Rischen, and casting director Roger Inniss) on an excursion through her native country of South Korea (she grew up in Seoul). They explored labyrinthine Buddhist temples, the seascape in Busan, local marketplaces, cuisine, and, of course, the zany nightlife in Seoul. Photographer Pieter Henket took snapshots of the ten-day-long trip, which Sohn shares here exclusively with Style.com.
“The beautiful seaside in Busan, and a crazy-in-love couple enjoying the view.”
“While catching some rays, Cycy, Pieter, and Agel were inspired to strip down for the camera.”
tags: Bergdorf Goodman, Gilt Groupe, Ikram, Lane Crawford, Pieter Henket, Sally Sohn
