8 posts tagged "Edward Enninful"
Has Nicolas Ghesquière Surfaced?
“Where’s Nicolas going?” has been the parlor game of choice for the fashion set of late, and as of this week, there may be at least part of an answer: onto Twitter. The new @TWNGhesquiere hasn’t breathed a (digital) word yet, but W‘s Edward Enninful posted a welcome message, which is probably about as close to an authentication as you can get without Twitter’s little blue check. Is it really him? The account is following a more-or-less Ghesquière-approved 11 people (including Enninful, Lori Goldstein, Charlotte Rampling, Pierre Hardy, and much of the staff of French Elle), but further than that, there’s no saying for sure, until (at earliest) his first transmission. The world awaits.
New York Is Burning
Anyone who has seen the seminal documentary Paris Is Burning or tried to “strike a pose” like Madonna is familiar with voguing—the gender-bending posing that flourished during the late eighties and early nineties with New York’s “ball culture.” Last night, W Hotels paid tribute to the “legendary” underground movement by putting on its own Love Hangover Ball—a voguing competition—in support of amfAR and World AIDS Day on December 1. Hosted by Kelly Osbourne, the walk-off drew a crowd of club kids and fashion fixtures, including models Karlie Kloss, Anja Rubik, Anne Vyalitsyna, and Lily Donaldson, and designers like Richard Chai, Zac Posen, and Prabal Gurung.
“I used to go to all the voguing balls back in the day,” said Simon Doonan, who judged the event alongside a panel that included Fergie, Mickey Boardman, and Jason Wu. Wearing a fur coat and a necklace constructed out of Liberace charm bracelets, Doonan reminisced about the old days. “I knew all those people and houses: the Xtravaganzas, the House of Dorian Corey, the Mizrahis. The level of style and preparation that went into the balls is beyond description. Drag queens would still be painting on their lashes at 10 p.m., and the balls would take hours and hours, going until 3 or 4 in the morning. Hopefully that won’t be the case tonight.” W‘s style director Edward Enninful was also a judge and voguing veteran. “I’m a huge fan of voguing. Growing up, it was a very important part of all our lives,” he said. “It’s a great art form. It’s glamorous. It’s fashion. I think the new generation is really inspired by what it represents.”
Speaking of the new generation, Donaldson and Kloss were just babies during the fad’s heyday, but were quickly swept up. By the end of the performance, both girls were pounding their fists on the makeshift runway, finger-wagging, and yelling, “Work!” When asked to compare her posing abilities to the divas onstage, Donaldson enthused, “These girls are on a completely different level. I wouldn’t stand a chance against them.” Perhaps Pat McGrath summed up the evening best: “Drama, drama, drama. Fierce, fierce, fierce. Realness.” Amen.
Campaign Crawford
Lane Crawford, one of the top shopping destinations in the Far East, has a history of tapping top Asian models for its ads, and this season is no different. This time around, the retailer brought on Ming Xi, Xiao Wen Ju, and Wang Xiao to star in its Fall campaign, shot by Nick Knight. Edward Enninful styled the girls wearing the latest designer pieces from Alexander McQueen, Lanvin, Celine, Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent, and more.
“The concept revolves around the idea of three tribes: Hard Leather, Tribal Street Wear, and Geometrics,” Enninful tells Style.com. “I wanted to play with masculine and feminine, androgyny is always a theme that works, and an exaggerated sense of color and proportion always creates exciting imagery.” Here, Style.com has an exclusive first look at the ad images and the accompanying campaign film.
Will You Wear “The Housemaid Look”? And More…
Jewelers, it’s your lucky day. Tiffany & Co. has announced a new, $1 million gift to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which will include a $250,000 grant to be awarded to one of the past jewelry winners of the Fashion Fund grant. [CFDA]
Vogue Italia investigates a trend we’re not sure will catch on: “the housemaid look” (left). [Vogue.it]
Before his move to W, Edward Enninful had been fashion director at i-D for two decades, since taking the job in 1991 at the tender age of 18. His successor has just been announced: Charlotte Stockdale, the English stylist who’s long worked with the magazine, as well as contributing to Numéro, V, and Visionaire. [Fashionologie]
Organic’s John Patrick is a man of many talents. Case in point: The watercolor paintings (with organic paint, no less!) he’s contributing to a new group show. [T]
And pour a little out, it’s the end of an era: The final episode of Oprah airs today at 4 p.m. EST. [Oprah]
Edward Enninful, W‘s New Fashion And Style Director, On His Vision For The Mag
Stefano Tonchi did plenty to shake up W when he departed from T to take the reins at the Condé Nast fashion title, but his most recent appointment is likely to have the largest impact yet. The magazine announced last week that its longtime creative fashion director, Alex White—a 16-year veteran at the glossy—is stepping down to pursue other projects; in her place, Tonchi has appointed Edward Enninful, formerly fashion director at i-D (where he made history as the youngest person ever appointed to the fashion director spot, at 18) and contributing fashion editor to U.S. Vogue and Vogue Italia, as fashion and style director. Style.com caught up with Enninful (on a shoot, of course) to talk young guns and big plans.
Congratulations on the new post. What can we expect from your W?
I want editorial to be filled with ideas. It’s very important to capture the mood of the collections and bring narrative onto the pages. It’s also very important to be forward-thinking but remain wearable. We should project what’s going to come, take from the past and bring something new, and document what’s around now.
And what, do you think, is the mood of the current mood?
The past couple of months there’s been a bit of mobility at these big houses. Now it’s perfect moment to put young designers—whether they’re from America or Europe—it’s very important to put them forward. It’s a new day. Not to do a young designer story separately, but keep them in the mix.
Any young designers in particular that stand out?
I love Alexander Wang, I love Joseph Altuzarra, I love Christopher Kane, and Mary Katrantzou. But for me, fashion is one universe. I don’t break it into young designers, [per se]…they all have amazing voices and I want to embrace that. Alongside the designers we all know and love, I want to create something new and exciting—to bring a new energy.
And how do you see W in particular as an outlet for that—say, versus the other fashion magazines?
W is an American institution. It’s one of the rare places where you can express yourself through photography, through the arts, through music, through film…For me, I always thought W was a perfect balance of fashion, society, celerity, and subcultures. In America, it’s the one place where all these things combine perfectly. You read W and it’s very intelligent but it’s also visual.