59 posts tagged "Raf Simons"
Baby’s First Warhol
For any Dior-wearing mothers wondering how to coordinate Raf Simons’ Fall ’13 Warhol-print shifts and bags with their baby gear, Bugaboo has the answer. Today, the stroller brand announced that they’ve launched a multiyear collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation—the first installment of which will hit stores in May. Having previously released fashion-forward strollers with the likes of Missoni and Viktor & Rolf, Bugaboo’s debut Warhol project features the artist’s 1946 “Flowers” series and his 1962 “Cars” series. The painterly prints will appear on canopies tailored for the Bugaboo Bee, Bugaboo Cameleon, and Bugaboo Donkey-style baby carriages, and will even grace a little parasol. Where stylish moms are concerned, Mr. Simons’ Warholian wares may have met their match.
Bugaboo’s collection of Andy Warhol stroller accessories ranges from $69.95 to $109.95 and will be available at Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s this May.
Diamond Girl: Behind the Scenes of Rihanna’s World Tour Wardrobe
When your world tour is called Diamonds, the wardrobe had better sparkle. Luckily, Rihanna had stylist Mel Ottenberg on hand to ensure that her looks do just that. Featuring a total of—count ‘em—seven costumes, each of which was custom made by a megawatt designer (think Riccardo Tisci, Raf Simons, Alber Elbaz, and Adam Selman—Rihanna’s River Island collaborator), the pop star’s onstage wares boast everything from holographs to “orgy” embroidery (courtesy of Givenchy, naturally). “The most amazing thing about Rihanna is what a chameleon she is,” said Ottenberg, who’s worked with Riri for two years. “She’s always up for something new. She’s fearless, she knows what she likes, and it’s fun to see which ideas she’ll jump for.”
The Diamonds lineup begins with a bespoke black Givenchy Couture cape, embroidered coat, shorts, bra, and boots, and ends with a shimmering tailor-made Lanvin jumpsuit. “Riccardo blew it out of the park,” said Ottenberg. “And Givenchy went above and beyond with the level of customization, and dealing with all the pop-world craziness.” (Adding to said craziness was the fact that the entire wardrobe had to be put together in the middle of fashion week.) “And with Lanvin, I knew that, more than anybody, [Alber] would just murder a strong sparkly look to work with the idea of Diamonds.” Each outfit, Ottenberg tells us, plays off creative director Willo Perron’s multi-themed tour concept. For instance, one section, during which Rihanna sings “Rude Boy” and “Man Down,” has a hip-hop-cum-dance-hall vibe. This is where Raf Simons’ graphic oversize T-shirt dress (which is worn with Louboutin boots and a Michael Schmidt nameplate necklace) comes in. For a more rock ‘n’ roll section, Selman created a red-and-yellow leather bra and pants ensemble that’s finished off with white Manolo Blahnik boots. “It was eighties David Lee Roth bouncing around on stage mixed with a sleek Lamborghini/Ferrari situation,” Ottenberg laughs. And Selman’s much-talked-about holographic money-print dress and coat—which Rihanna wears during a rave portion of the show—actually began with a pair of Pierre Hardy sneakers made just for the tour. “The whole thing is very Thug Life Tupac mixed with nineties candy raver,” Ottenberg explained. Forget the music (well no, don’t—it’s pretty great). Rihanna’s tour is a sartorial odyssey not to be missed.
Click for a slideshow of performance snaps and exclusive sketches by Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci, Dior’s Raf Simons, Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz, and Adam Selman.
Dior Takes Harrods
As part of a larger initiative to ring in Raf Simons’ new era of Dior, the storied French house will veritably annex Harrods in London from March 16 through April 14. Dior, whose relationship with London goes way back (Mr. Dior actually staged a show at Harrods back in 1953), will install 33 window displays, complete with Dior iterations of the London phone booth, teddy bears, and Dior-clad beefeaters. The exhibition-cum-event will also offer vintage photographs and sketches, 40 perfectly fashioned mini couture dresses, and an installation featuring gowns worn by the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Watson, and Marion Cotillard. Anyone looking to take home a piece of the action, limited-edition products like Dior cupcakes (you can buy a box of four for $29.75), a snow globe, and a Lady Dior bag (a favorite of the late Princess Diana) in tartan and crocodile, will be up for sale. And those of us who won’t be in London this month might not be completely out of luck: The house is reportedly opening additional pop-ups around the world this spring.
Dressing for Laughs
There’s been lots of talk about the controversial practice of “peacocking” this season. But as we look back at four weeks of Fall ’13 shows with weary eyes, a few designers (and street-style stars) remind us that the f in fashion stands for fun. And perhaps embracing that with a little panache isn’t such a bad thing—particularly when it comes to novelty accessories. Take Dior, for instance: This season, Raf Simons brought a dash of wit to his slick collection by embossing boxy handbags with Warholian sketches of pointy single-soled shoes, thereby fusing two of our favorite things into one. (His raised-eyebrow sunglasses also deserve an honorable mention.) At Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld garnished his handbags with furry multicolored dice (one of which reminds us a little bit of an Angry Bird), and over at Chanel, he sent out models with mini-globe handbags and cobalt, powder-pink, mint-green, or red fur Anna Wintour bobs that looked like they were plucked from an anime cartoon. Speaking of fur, we can’t forget the giant skunk-striped mittens that turned up at Altuzarra or, for that matter, the arctic-appropriate full-length black gloves at Alexander Wang.
We also saw loads of cheeky headgear (Yazbukey‘s Plexiglas heart-and-arrow hat, Piers Atkinson‘s devil-horn cap, Meadham Kirchhoff‘s unicorns-in-love crown), jewelry (Henry Holland‘s crystal martini earrings, Lanvin‘s wildly appropriate “Help” pendants and wasp brooches, Louise Gray‘s eggbeater earrings), and miscellanea (Dsquared²‘s Sunset Boulevard-worthy extra long crystal-encrusted cigarette holders). But the sartorial satire wasn’t just on the runway. Outside the shows, Tommy Ton captured everything from skeleton gloves to Vika Gazinskaya’s scarf, which is made out of what appears to be a stuffed-animal iteration of a lemur. Sure, many of the shows were dark and somber, with their punk themes and muted palettes. But that just made the odd touch of zany all the more welcome.
Inside David Bowie’s “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)”
Out of the mystic comes “The Stars (Are Out Tonight),” a new Bowie video. This one is a lot less oblique than the video that artist Tony Oursler made for “Where Are We Now?,” the first single from Bowie’s startling comeback album, and that’s mostly because director Floria Sigismondi’s natural genius with a twisted narrative (case in point: Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People” promo) gels so well with what one imagines is Bowie’s own predilection for the cinematically perverse. “The Stars” sumptuously elevates the man and the myth to new heights.
This particular offering toys with the androgyny, the bravado, the decadence, the desire that turns an ordinary human being into a raving fan. It also has a strong contemporary-fashion quotient, appropriate given that Bowie was, in a way that the upcoming exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum will surely clarify, always inclined to the fashion experiment—from the early days of his Kansai jumpsuits to McQueen frock coats and Hedi Slimane suits.
Stylist Jerry Stafford was responsible for dressing the cast of five for the two-day shoot in L.A.: models Saskia de Brauw, Andrej Pejic, and Iselin Steiro, plus Bowie himself and his co-star Tilda Swinton, with whom Stafford has worked for fifteen years. Stafford is, like me, a child of Bowie, but he says there was no time on the set for fandom. “Everyone understood they were part of something special.” There was one moment when Stafford presented Bowie with a long coat, explaining to him it was by a designer named Rick Owens. “More Rick Wakeman than Rick Owens,” was the response, Wakeman being the wizard-coat-wearing keyboard king of Brit prog rock. “He played piano on ‘Life on Mars?,’ ” chimed in Stafford, the sole moment when he let himself indulge his know-every-last-detail trainspotter obsession. “And, indeed, on the whole of Hunky Dory,” Bowie said with a knowing smile. Continue Reading “Inside David Bowie’s “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)”” »