46 posts tagged "Rihanna"
Hood By Air’s Zombie Walk
New York’s own Hood By Air bills itself as “ghetto goth.” That’s a niche market if we’ve ever seen one. But in spite (or perhaps because) of its cult appeal, HBA can certainly draw a crowd. Theophilus London, Nicola Formichetti, and his two Pomeranians, Tank and Bambi, were in the front row at the label’s Fall ’13 show at Milk Studios yesterday afternoon. The theme was techno-tribal-street-zombie—a concept that was magnified by performance artist Boy Child, who would sporadically interrupt the catwalking by creeping through a cloud of smoke and contorting his body into morbid positions.
Designer Shayne Oliver moved away from his usual all-black palette this season with splashes of yellow, blue, and X-ray green. “Before, I enjoyed black because I thought it looked the best,” Oliver told Style.com, “Now I’m learning how to express that darkness without actually doing black.” This collection is also markedly more complex than what we’ve seen on the racks in previous seasons. Sweatshirts are done in oversize neoprene to distort the body, Bermudas are slit open and worn over skinny pants, and zippers transform one garment into something else entirely, like a pair of loose shorts into a kilt. It’s an aesthetic that really appealed to A$AP Rocky, whom Oliver enlisted to close the show. “Growing up in Harlem, hanging out in Soho, I had to deal with the transition between different worlds. Shayne’s stuff is totally something I can get with.” Thanks to A$AP, HBA’s niche might soon get a little bit bigger—Oliver will be dressing the rapper as he opens for Rihanna on her world tour this spring.
Stockholm Fashion Week Comes To A Close
Throughout Stockholm fashion week, blogger Columbine Smille will report back on the best and brightest shows. To view our complete coverage click here.
Day 3:
The final day of Stockholm fashion week began with AltewaiSaome, a young label designed by Natalia Altewai and Randa Saome. For Fall, the pair was inspired by a trip to New York and showed a luxe take on streetwear. Featuring embellished dresses, emerald-green hooded silk jackets, and relaxed silhouettes, their wearable urban collection had an easy, sporty tone.
J.Lindeberg’s Fall ’13 (above) was all about traditional tailoring with a modern twist. Inspired by the Stockholm City Library, the men’s collection was filled with well-cut suits and coats, as well as a few splashes of color and playful prints. For women, the brand (which is sold in more than thirty-five countries worldwide) offered sophisticated separates in black, navy, and olive.
Over at Diana Orving, there were earth tones, metallics and flowerlike sheer organza appliqués. A few dresses were shown in a script print, which the designer wrote in her own hand, but the long lace dress paired with a transparent off-the-shoulder cardigan was the highlight of the show.
Tiger of Sweden—which some have come to call the Burberry Prorsum of Stockholm—closed fashion week with a standout show (a show that, it should be noted, included model Kirstin Liljegren, pictured above). Tweed coats and caps were mixed with color-blocked silky looks in black, deep purple, and neon. The outerwear, however, was the crowd favorite—a big fuzzy fur coat made front-rowers look twice.
Stockholm fashion week may be finished, but the Swedes still have two more local brands to look forward to: Acne Studios will be showing in Paris this season (they formerly showed in London), and Rodebjer has recently started presenting their collection in New York. Indeed, we’re excited to see what they’ll bring to the international fashion stage.
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Heather Huey Gets Pleated
“I felt like I needed to do something a little bit more classic,” says thirty-two-year-old Heather Huey, the milliner-cum-conceptual-designer best known for her dramatic body cages (as worn by Rihanna in her Annie Leibovitz-lensed Vogue spread last November), crystal bunny masks, and sculptural chapeaux. Indeed, Pleated Project, her latest collection of pleated grosgrain and felt headpieces, stems from classic references (like circle hats and papal miters), but the result is hardly traditional. Made completely in black (“I love black,” says Huey. “It’s classic, flattering, easy, and lets me focus on other elements of design, like shape, texture, and finish.”), the collection features a host of structured toppers that are simultaneously wearable and editorial. Take, for instance, a fascinator that twists and arcs like a pair of frowning lips, or a large piece with upturned wings that merges Hunger Games-esque futurism with a Victorian silhouette (thanks to her background in architecture, Huey’s shapes are always unusual but considered).
So who can pull off Huey’s head sculptures? “She has to have confidence and a desire to commit to whatever look she is creating,” explains the designer, who describes her personal aesthetic as “low-key casual” and rarely wears her own work. (There are exceptions, of course, like when her boyfriend, photographer Billy Kidd shot Huey in her creations for an exhibition at Clic Gallery last year.) She does, however, try on her toppers during the design process. “My head isn’t really a ‘hat’ head, so I know if it looks good on me, it’s going to look amazing on anyone else,” she laughs.
After spending several months on her intricate pleated looks, Huey is already planning her next move—a new range of cages. “The Pleated Project challenged me to take on the traditional,” she says. “Now I’m ready to try something new and modern again.”
Heather Huey’s handmade hats and cages are available at Kiki de Montparnasse, on her Web site, and at other select retailers.
Been There, Dunn That
“Everybody, including myself, thought it was a bit random,” said Jourdan Dunn of her new cooking show, Well Dunn With Jourdan Dunn, which debuted on Jay-Z’s Life + Times YouTube channel last week. “But that’s what I liked about the project to begin with. Nobody saw it coming.”
After the first episode, 60,000 viewers (and counting) immediately understood that the show was less about Dunn’s culinary skills and more about showcasing the 22-year-old model’s feisty, laugh-a-minute personality. While preparing a jerk pork belly dish inspired by her Jamaican roots, Dunn had garlic cloves flying around the kitchen. Her hair was in her face, and she even sliced one of her nails. “Before signing on to do [the show], my mom was like, ‘Are you ready for the whole world to know that you’re basically an idiot?’ And I thought, ‘Well yeah, I am ready,” she laughed. “The show was a way to share myself with my fans while doing something that I love: cooking.”
Dunn explained that the series will feature meals she regularly serves at home. Sweet and sour spare ribs, buffalo wings, a spicy Thai beef salad, and baked fish with Indian spices and tomatoes will all make appearances. The model, however, is hesitant to reveal the recipe for her 3-year-old son Riley’s favorite dish: macaroni and cheese. “My mac and cheese is kind of special and I wasn’t sure that I wanted everybody to know how to make it. We’re talking about a second season of Well Dunn [which would potentially include model friends like Karlie Kloss and Cara Delevingne], and maybe I’ll let the secret out then.” She did give us one hint: “Most people only use one kind of cheese but I make it with about five different ones, so it’s really cheesy.”
All in all, it’s been an even busier year than usual for Dunn, who recently made her Victoria’s Secret debut and shot the ad campaign for Rihanna’s forthcoming River Island clothing line. “Rihanna was really cool. During the shoot, she said, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe you have a son.’ I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe you know that I have a son or even know who I am!’ ” Between cooking on Jay-Z’s channel and modeling for Rihanna, we’d say Dunn is officially part of the Def Jam family. So what’s next? “I was thinking about rapping,” Dunn mused. While you’re waiting for her potential lyrical debut, you can catch the second episode of Well Dunn With Jourdan Dunn on Life + Times on Monday.
Bark!
“Poodles are the new Rottweilers,” blared an email from V‘s Vfiles.com today, which is exclusively selling this poodle top designed by the upstart New York label Hood by Air and recently worn by the cultural barometer that is Rihanna. Those looking for proof that the revolving door of trends swings ever more quickly these days need only recall that as recently as last week, Dobermans were the new Rottweilers .
Hood by Air Poodle combo T-shirt, $198, available at store.vfiles.com.