13 posts tagged "Craig McDean"
Fashion’s Even Bigger Night Out
The preparations are officially under way for Fashion’s Night Out 2011, which will encompass New York, cities around the globe, and, for the first time, online e-tailers this September 8. With it come not only the special events, deals, and parties but also the Fashion’s Night Out collection, which has expanded to include a baseball cap, tote, and both long- and short-sleeve tees. (Retailers hoping to carry it can sign up at Fashionsnightout.com.) A portion of the proceeds goes to benefit the New York City AIDS Fund in the Community Trust; above, model-of-the-moment Arizona Muse shows off one of the year’s new shirts, shot by Craig McDean.
Alexander Wang’s New Web Site Debuts
Alexander Wang’s new bricks-and-mortar store is a great place to pick up the designer’s collections (not to mention take a quick catnap in his fur hammock). And having set up shop for himself on the pavement, he’s extending his brand farther into cyberspace, too: Today, the newly relaunched AlexanderWang.com goes live, where ready-to-wear will join T and accessories in his e-commerce site for the first time.
“We wanted to elevate the shopping experience, elevate the editorial experience,” Wang said by phone from Florence. The site, a collaboration between Wang and the online design firm Createthegroup, will feature both new e-commerce opportunities (including exclusives available only at Wang’s Grand Street store and the online shop) and content from Wang HQ. A new “Studio” section will include videos—like the new, Craig McDean-shot campaign video with Aymeline Valade that we’ve got an exclusive preview of below—and behind-the-scenes content. (Britt Maren made her own My-Life-in-Wang video, from casting to fitting to walking, while preparing to open the Spring ’11 show.) Editorials will feature, too, including a new one with Anna Dello Russo shopping the Grand Street store. And a series of “Flashbacks” will give glimpses into the brand’s past.
Where shopping is concerned, each season Wang will work with an artist, editor, or friend to create custom masks to obscure models’ faces in the e-commerce product shots. First up, for the launch: Terence Koh. “There was a big focus on an all-white collection [for Spring] and Terence came to the show—it was like a blinking sign right in front of our face,” Wang said of selecting his first collaborator. “I gave him very, very little [in the way of] guidelines. It has to obscure the identity. Other than that, [I said] I want you to be as creative, to have complete freedom to do what you want.” The result (left) is a kind of halo—one worn not on top of the head, but in front of the face. “It’s like a fluorescent tube that the models wore, so that each time they stood in front of the camera and the flash went off, it reflected a halo in front of their face.”
It fits with the cool, slightly skewed profile that Wang has been pursuing with his label for years. And so, in fact, does the entire site, now brought up to speed with its racing creator. “It’s definitely still the same brand,” Wang explained with a laugh. “[Users] will feel the DNA behind it—but it’s punched up about 20 notches.”
Alex And Abbey Take To The Streets, i-D Turns 30, Beckham Adds Bags, And More…
This week, Alexander Wang launches his first ever video campaign (pictured), starring Abbey Lee Kershaw and lensed by Craig McDean. Karl Templer and Fabien Baron styled and creative-directed the spot, which will launch right here on Style.com this Wednesday at noon EST—so stay tuned. [WWD]
English fashion bible i-D is celebrating its 30th birthday this month, with a 200-photo portfolio and three covers, all by Nick Knight. Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Lady Gaga get the birthday-cover honors. [i-D via Refinery29]
Victoria Beckham is adding bags to her line, designed with help from the English accessory maven Katie Hillier, who’s worked with Marc Jacobs and Luella Bartley. But with new handbags of her own, what will she ever do with all those vintage Birkins? [Catwalk Queen]
Your feel-good footwear story of the day: TOMS Shoes will give away its millionth pair next month to a child in Argentina. [WWD]
Your feel-slightly-less-good footwear story of the day: Tamara Mellon and the owners of Jimmy Choo are considering selling the business—reportedly valued up to about $800 million. [Vogue U.K.]
Awards Worth A Couple Thousand Words, At Least
“The art of telling a story cannot be done better than it is with a picture,” said lensman Mark Seliger (pictured) last night at the International Center of Photography’s 26th annual Infinity Awards. His tablemates—Ingrid Sischy, Craig McDean, and Calvin Klein (that last no stranger to telling a fashion story, often sans clothes, in the medium)—would likely agree. When Seliger first moved to New York, he went on, he volunteered at the Center in exchange for darkroom time, and the debt runs deep. “Giving back to the ICP is important because the act of documenting what is going on—which is so crazy—is so important!” Rising star Alexi Lubomirski agreed, adding that photography has an immediacy that other mediums lack. As a “frustrated artist,” he finds that “when you paint a painting, it takes three months before you know if it’s good or not. With photography, it is instantaneous! Though,” he went on to add ruefully, “that can be a bad thing…”
The awards this year passed over fashion-centric photogs, but the style set was still well represented—not only by Klein, McDean, and Sischy, but designers Jay Kos, Gaby Basora, and W‘s Stefano Tonchi, too. The awards themselves were presented to, among others, Luc Sante, for his writings on photography; to photojournalist Reza for his gritty wartime captures in Afghanistan; to artist Lorna Simpson; and to Raphaël Dallaporta, who nabbed the Young Photographer Award. Duly collected, it was time for a stylish exit. In the words of Danielle Levitt, who’s shot for The New York Times Magazine, Arena Homme Plus, and Details, “This was amazing! Now it’s time I beat some people to my cab.”