70 posts tagged "Michael Kors"
Assessing Michelle Obama’s Inauguration Options
While designers across the world are focused on nabbing red-carpet credits at this month’s Golden Globe and SAG Awards, the big question here at Style.com is, Who will Michelle Obama wear to the Inaugural Ball? There’s no denying the enormous impact a MObama endorsement has on a designer’s career. Recall the surge in popularity both Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu had after dressing her four years ago for the 2009 Inauguration. While there’s no surefire way to pinpoint which designer the FLOTUS will choose this time around—and we’re all but positive that she’ll wear one-of-a-kind, not off-the-rack—we’ve nonetheless made a few educated guesses based on her past sartorial choices, and pulled looks from the pre-fall collections and Spring ’13 shows. Chances are Mrs. Obama will opt for an American designer (her decision to wear Alexander McQueen to a China state dinner last year, for example, was widely criticized). She’s also a proponent of up-and-coming talent, and many speculators have named Prabal Gurung as the top contender (she’s worn the designer’s clothes several times recently). Still, the First Lady is a fan of the old guard, too; she stunned in a red Michael Kors number on Election Night. She’s also a card-carrying member of Naeem Khan’s fan club, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see her turn up in one of his over-the-top embellished gowns on the 21st.
CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW of Michelle Obama’s potential Inauguration gowns.
Suzy Q’s? We’ve got A’s
Front-row fashion-watchers tend to be in one season, out the next, but one woman is a fixture: Suzy Menkes. Anyone who’s been to a show has likely seen the International Herald Tribune‘s critic, her bangs flipped into that signature top-roll, typing away on her mini computer (long before any blogger picked up on the trend, it should be noted). She’s written over 1.7 million words for the Trib, where she’s served as fashion editor since 1988. She’s both a tough critic and a nurturing presence—or, to put it more bluntly, as Kate Moss did when speaking to the New Yorker, she’s “like a slightly mad auntie.” During the upcoming menswear shows at Pitti Uomo, Menkes will be awarded the Fiorino d’Oro, an honor given by the Municipality of Florence to individuals who have greatly contributed to social and cultural development. For anyone in need of a primer on Menkesism, a few key moments in her rise and illustrious career:
—Menkes attended her fist couture show—Nina Ricci—while living in Paris and studying dressmaking during her gap year between high school and university.
—While at university, Menkes would sneak into the Paris show venues at 5 a.m. and hide under the stage until she could creep out and watch the collections walk down the runway.
—In 1991, during a Michael Kors show in an apparently derelict loft, a piece of the ceiling fell on Ms. Menkes’ head. The mishap caused her to deem New York fashion week “second rate.” But there was a silver lining—the incident caused New York’s designers to show their future collections in a single, less dilapidated, location—Bryant Park.
—In the nineties, Menkes prompted what was, perhaps, one of fashion journalism’s earliest open letters when she declared that the classic quilted Chanel bag was “over.” The house took out a full-page ad in the Tribune in protest.
—In 2007, perturbed by Marc Jacobs’ infamously tardy Spring 2008 show (it began two hours late), and unimpressed with his collection, Menkes wrote a review titled “Marc Jacobs Disappoints With a Freak Show.” Naturally, a fashion feud ensued. Jacobs eventually attempted to make amends by leaving a Marc Jacobs T-shirt on Menkes’ seat at that season’s Vuitton show. The shirt featured a drawing of the designer and critic side by side, as well as a “love note.” The note she may have appreciated; the gift, maybe not. She famously refuses all gifts, saying, “I was brought up to believe a girl should never accept anything but flowers and chocolates.”
—In 2012, Menkes reached her latest pinnacle: animation. Disney artists created a cartoon Suzy to sit front-row for the festivities surrounding the Barneys New York and Disney holiday windows.
Get the Look: Zoe Saldana, All Star
Zoe Saldana has a talent for rocking runway looks on the red carpet (the pastel brocade Prabal Gurung pantsuit she wore to the designer’s Fall 2012 show and the Givenchy Couture white dress she donned at the 2012 SAG Awards come to mind). But the actress has a knack for putting together laid-back (but no less chic) everyday outfits, too. She was recently snapped in L.A. wearing Diane von Furstenberg cargo pants, a classic white T-shirt, and a Gentsco baseball cap. Get her look with the essentials below.
From top left, below:
1.The Row T-shirt, $260, available at www.netaporter.com
2. Gents Co. baseball cap, $48, available at www.gentsco.com
3. Alexander Wang ‘Pelican’ clutch, $750, available at www.alexanderwang.com
4. Rag & Bone jeans, $330, available at www.rag-bone.com
5. Franco Sarto bootie, $79.95, available at www.dsw.com
6. Michael Kors ‘Tristan’ aviators, $135, available at www.shop.nordstrom.com
Out And About On Fashion’s Night Out
As the first day of shows at Lincoln Center was coming to a close, the FNO festivities uptown were already in full swing. Michael Kors put on his own version of American Idol, turning his Madison Avenue store into a karaoke parlor for amateur contestants and bringing in Kate Upton, Nikki Reed, and Debra Messing to judge. Of FNO, Kors said, “It’s a new holiday. It’s Halloween, it’s New Year’s, and it’s all about style.”
Not far away, a more seasoned performer was taking the stage at Manolo Blahnik: Cyndi Lauper. “It’s kinky boot night!” Lauper said. (Kinky Boots is the name of the new musical she’s developing, about a drag queen and a shoemaker, which will head to Broadway next year; Lauper was wearing a red suede pair by Blahnik for the occasion.) “I love fashion, I’m sorry, I do. I like to give it a twist here and there, a little tug and a pull, deconstruct it a little. I don’t want to look in a magazine and see a 12-year-old in something I’m being pitched to wear.”
At the Calvin Klein store, Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat was signing copies of his new book A Father First, while models including Karen Elson, Hanne Gaby Odiele, and Kasia Struss, fluttered about. “I always like to push the envelope a little bit,” Wade told Style.com as Ryan Lochte walked by. “With athletes the door is open for us in fashion, and we’re getting into it and enjoying it.” One block over at Bergdorf Goodman, Aerin Lauder (who was celebrating the launch of her eponymous cosmetics line) kick-started the retailer’s 111th birthday celebrations, which later in the night included visits from a host of boldface names like Thakoon Panchigul, Bobbi Brown, and Victoria Beckham and various festivities on the different floors. The scene at Saks was also a multi-story party, ranging from Oscar de la Renta signing fragrance bottles to manicures with Rebecca Minkoff to ping-pong with Susan Sarandon. Before her performance on the eighth floor, songstress Vanessa Carlton admitted, “I’ve never played a shoe floor—there’s some really nice shoes here. And, I’ve never played Saks before.”
It was a night of many firsts. At Bottega Veneta, creative director Tomas Maier was enjoying his first-ever FNO in New York, and over at Ferragamo, Miroslava Duma, Elena Perminova, and Anya Ziourova were hosting their first fête at Ferragamo, in honor of the Italian label’s Russian-themed Fall collection. “At first I thought it would be very overwhelming because I’ve never hosted a night before, but now I think it’s amazing,” Ziourova told Style.com while she clutched her Fabergé egg bag. As waiters passed out latkes, borscht tartar, and plenty of vodka, Duma said, “You know, Russians really love toasts. Sometimes there are people in Russia that, when they’re drunk, they’ll go on toasting for 20 or 30 minutes without reason. But tonight we’ll toast by saying good luck to the fashion industry.” A few guests at the Fivestory party, hosted by Olympia Le-Tan, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, and Arielle de Pinto, could have used that luck for the cut-throat game of Pictionary that was taking place. “I lost,” Le-Tan reported. “The first theme was ‘fashion people’ and I drew Donatella Versace. I think I did a good job but then someone on my team had to draw Mad Men and it was terrible so we lost.”
Downtown in Soho, the streets were so packed you could barely move. But the DKNY store, conveniently spacious and air-conditioned, offered some relief. That is, except where model-of-the-moment Karlie Kloss, who just signed with IMG, was standing. A crowd gathered around Kloss, who was holding a tray of Karlie’s Kookies (get the recipe here) made in collaboration with Momofuku Milk Bar. “They are fashion-week approved,” she told Style.com (translation: “There is no butter and no sugar”). And better yet, she swears she eats them. “I have been eating them all day, I just came from the bakery.” There to support a different kind of FEED was Lauren Bush Lauren, hawking her do-gooder bags.
Over on the west side at Balenciaga, the line wrapped around the store for an audience with Grace Coddington, Vogue‘s longtime creative director. She couldn’t take all the credit. Some went to Pumpkin, her beloved tabby, whom she’d illustrated wearing several seasons’ worth of Balenciaga looks for a Steidl book some years back. Her friend Nicolas Ghesquière was so taken with them that the label printed them on limited-edition bags and scarves, which Coddington happily signed for fans at Balenciaga’s West Chelsea store for FNO. What does Pumpkin think of her newfound fame? “She loves it!” Coddington reported, though, a more press-shy starlet than her owner, Pumpkin wasn’t in attendance last night. A few blocks away, black was the color of the evening—as in BLACK, Comme des Garçons’ popup-turned-permanent store on 17th Street. Only a few shoppers at a time could fit into the minuscule store space, but many more made an impromptu block party outside, fueled by ice cream from a Brooklyn churner. Near nine o’clock, the designated cutoff time, there seemed no signs of dispersal—perhaps because the plastic snap-band watches CDG offered gratis as FNO gifts were all showing Japanese time. Diane von Furstenberg, however, was running on Democratic National Convention time last night. “Let’s all meditate,” she commanded at her Meatpacking District space. “Today is a little crazy so I’m going to go upstairs to watch the President.” Cue loud cheers. “I see this is not a Republican crowd,” she quipped. “Good, we have that in common.”
CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW of photos from the night.
Model-Slash: Designer-Slash-Director Hyoni Kang
Hyoni Kang can multitask with the best of them. After winning the Ford Supermodel of the World competition in 2008, the 24-year-old Korean model (pictured) has consistently worked with top designers including Jason Wu, Phillip Lim, and Michael Kors. When she’s not running around to castings or photo shoots (she was recently one of the four cover girls for W Korea’s seventh anniversary March issue), Kang keeps busy by designing her clothing label Reborn Process.
Back in 2009, Kang partnered with two friends (one, a stylist; the other, a photographer and Vogue Korea editor) to open Reborn Process as a tiny Soho boutique, where she offered vintage finds reworked by the trio. They’ve since expanded into a full line, now their main focus. (The Crosby Street store has since closed, but they’re looking to eventually reopen in the West Village.)
In the meantime, Kang is also busy working on Play With New York, the online TV show she directs and produces, geared at a Korean audience (it’s currently in Korean). For the six-episode series, which debuted in May at Hyoni-TV.com, Kang scouts and tours neighborhoods including the East Village, Chelsea, and Harlem, calling out insider spots and bringing on guests like fellow models Hanne Gaby Odiele and Shu Pei Qin.
On Thursday night, Kang will host Opening Ceremony’s Fashion’s Night Out event at the Ace Hotel, where Korea will be launched as the retailer’s country of focus for 2013. OC cast Kang in several of its recent lookbooks, and the store also carries Reborn Process (the Fall collection will arrive later this month). “What I love most about Hyoni’s line is that it is a reflection of herself and shows her individuality,” says OC’s Carol Lim, who met Kang when she was interviewed by her for a Korean TV station. “I don’t like how a lot of models wear all-black everything,” Hyoni adds. “You need to have fun with fashion, which I want to be involved with for a long time.”