9 posts tagged "Isabella Blow"
Behind the Scenes with Swarovski: Creatures of the Wind
The Swarovski Collective—the crystal house’s initiative to help promising young designers and established names—was started in 1999, after Isabella Blow introduced the Swarovski family to Alexander McQueen. “We saw then the magic that resulted from putting our crystals in the hands of cutting-edge talent, how they push the creative boundaries and limits of creative craftsmanship,” says Nadja Swarovski, the initiative’s founder, who notes that collaborating with young designers has been the “cornerstone” of the project from day one. “The fashion industry is fiercely competitive, and it’s incredibly hard for young designers to fulfill their creative potential season after season,” she adds. Indeed, Swarovski has done its part—the initiative has helped over 150 talents since it launched. This season, fourteen brands—Mary Katrantzou, Creatures of the Wind, Suno, and Eudon Choi among them—have been supported by Swarovski and its stones. And to further celebrate the designers’ creative processes, Swarovski has made behind-the-scenes films that follow every label on its journey down the Fall ’13 runway. Style.com will be giving you exclusive looks at two of Swarovski’s films from each of the four fashion weeks. The series kicks off with Creatures of the Wind, above.
Gigi Burris: Thoroughly Modern Milliner
If Gigi Burris has her way, soon enough, every street-style star (not just Anna Dello Russo) will be wearing her statement-making headgear. “Getting dressed used to mean planning out an outfit that was truly head-to-toe, and while today there’s more of an emphasis on casualness, I think there’s also a major resurgence in ladylike dressing,” Burris (pictured) tells Style.com. The 25-year-old up-and-comer first got into millinery while studying design at Parsons. “I was abroad in Paris and fell in love with the chapelleries there. When I came back to New York, I signed up for a hatmaking class, but they nearly canceled the course because there weren’t enough students interested, so I got my friends to sign up,” she said. “When I was creating my ready-to-wear collections for school, I always included hats because I thought the looks were incomplete without them, and eventually they became my focus.” Burris lucked out and found a mentor in couture milliner Leah Chalfen, who really invested time and effort in training Burris as an apprentice. “I love the old-world, romantic aspect to the craft,” she said, explaining how she draws inspirations from luxurious materials like felt, ostrich, and exotic skins (she even sources some of the gator skins from her family’s property in Florida).
Her latest collection was inspired by dead palm trees. Featuring straw boater, panama, and wide-brimmed hats as well as a “crown of thorns” made from leather cording, the lineup evokes “a sad beach vacation that you have really high hopes for and it ends up raining.” Burris has also been collaborating with NAHM on the label’s upcoming Spring ’13 collection and expanding her brisk made-to-order business (the base price for custom pieces is $700). “I really love doing custom pieces because the women that want funny hats are the kind of women you want to sit down and have a long conversation with,” Burris explained. “Just look at icons like Anna Piaggi and Isabella Blow (R.I.P.), who really paved the way for girls who want to get daring with their headgear. Now with the popularity of street-style blogs, you see that the girls who wear hats and know how to wear them well are definitely the ones getting attention.” Speaking of, we wouldn’t be surprised if we see more than a few of those Tommy Ton stars pop up next month wearing Burris numbers.
Daphne Guinness Auction Blows It Out Of The Water, And More Of Today’s Top Stories
For Daphne Guinness, half a million pounds may be chump change. But the fashion icon said she was “overwhelmed” by that number, which was the amount of money she raised at her auction for the Isabella Blow Foundation. The top-selling item was a portrait of Guinness (pictured), taken by Mario Testino, which went for £133,250 (a new record for Testino photos). [Vogue U.K.]
The bond between Hermès and Actes Sud has just grown a little stronger. The French publishing house will put out a series of booklets about eight artists who completed residencies at the luxury fashion house as part of the Fondation d’Entreprise. The books will go on sale October 3 for $45. [WWD]
The Rolling Stones are still going strong after 50 years. To celebrate their half-century anniversary, the rock band has asked Shepard Fairey to update its famous tongue logo with a new design. The graphic, originally done by John Pasche, was first used on the Sticky Fingers album sleeve in 1971 and was meant to represent the band’s anti-authoritarian attitude. [Rolling Stone]
The men’s shows have moved on to Paris for the last leg of the season. You can find complete coverage of all the top shows from Calvin Klein and Prada to Burberry Prorsum on Style.com. But Buzzfeed.com came up with its own take on the menswear happenings. FYI, you may not want to take rule number two, “shrink polo shirts in the dryer”—or any of them—too seriously. [Buzzfeed]
McQueen And Beyond: The Complete Rundown Of Daphne Guinness’ Barneys Windows Looks
How chic is that Daphne in the window? Daphne Guinness made a much publicized vitrine debut yesterday at Barneys, where the fashion-forward social took to the windows to prepare for the Met gala and show off some truly covetable wares from her collection and from Isabella Blow’s. She’s shared the full list of pieces that co-starred with her behind glass exclusively with Style.com. Read on for the enviable closet stock. Continue Reading “McQueen And Beyond: The Complete Rundown Of Daphne Guinness’ Barneys Windows Looks” »
McQueen Vs. The Bikers, The Blogosphere vs. The Anti-Fat Blogger, The Force Can Soon Be With You, And More…
Weirdest news we’ve heard all morning: The Hells Angels—who, apparently, are corporatized, thank you very much—are suing the Alexander McQueen label for infringing on their trademarked winged death’s-head symbol. According to the complaint, “From decades of notoriety, the HAMC [Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation] marks have acquired very widespread public recognition, consequently they evoke strong and immediate reactions whenever used. The impact of these marks is virtually incomparable, and as a result they have great commercial value.” This is apparently the official, litigious version of revving your engine. And you don’t want to mess with this guy (above). [Vogue U.K.]
And the blogosphere’s in an uproar again, this time over an incendiary post by Marie Claire‘s Maura Kelly, who comes out against plus-sized love on television. (Kelly takes issue with the new sitcom Mike & Molly, about two overweight singles who find romance in an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.) Kelly, who’s struggled with anorexia, is being pelted with angry comments (almost 1,000 at last check), but Marie Claire editor in chief Joanna Coles is sticking by her writer. [Fashionista]
The good news: An original Darth Vader costume is being auctioned in London. The bad news: not in time for Halloween. [AP via Racked]
The Isabella Blow film comes a little bit closer to fruition: A Swedish filmmaker has signed on to produce, and has optioned Lauren Goldstein Crowe’s Blow bio, Isabella Blow: A Life in Fashion, for background material. Want a preview? Goldstein Crowe’s book hits U.S. shelves November 9. [WWD]