5 posts tagged "Veruschka"
Natalia Alaverdian Is Wide A.W.A.K.E.
Street-style watchers will recognize Natalia Alaverdian, Harper’s Bazaar Russia’s diminutive fashion editor and the woman responsible for some of its most eye-popping spreads. But fewer know she’s also the force behind her own ready-to-wear line, A.W.A.K.E. (which stands for All Wonderful Adventures Kindle Enthusiasm), which debuted with a presentation during Paris fashion week. But, like all good collections, her Spring offerings deserved a second look. So Alaverdian hauled the collection to New York this week and took Style.com through the lineup, which fuses sixties mod with Japanese elements. “I’ve wanted to design since I was about ten years old, but I was scared of the technical aspect of it, so I went into styling,” said Alaverdian. “My boyfriend convinced me to take the leap. Life’s too short,” she added while flipping through pieces like a statement-making floor-length gown cut from giraffe-printed grosgrain and a sharp three-piece white canvas suit. “It’s very Saturday Night Fever,” she said of the ensemble.
The newly minted designer pulled inspiration from Richard Avedon’s iconic seventies images of Veruschka in Japan; hence the pleated samurai culottes, flared trousers, and checked belts with origami-like folds. It’s the kind of playful, effortless clothing that will drive the fashion paparazzi wild. On the topic of street-style celebs, don’t get Alaverdian crossed with those other oft-photographed Russians. (Technically, despite her prominence in Russia, she is Belgian/Armenian, and A.W.A.K.E. is based in London.) Nevertheless, she has a few strong words for those she’s grouped together with: “Compared to the other popular Russians, I actually do something,” she joked.
A.W.A.K.E. is currently available on Moda Operandi.
A Berlin Blowout, Courtesy of Hugo Boss
There’s something to be said for the home-field advantage. When Hugo Boss-—based in Germany—elected to show its Hugo collection at Berlin fashion week, they went for broke, inviting 1,000 guests (including Hilary Swank, Eric Bana, and Ryan Kwanten) for a fashion show, dinner, and party at the Museum Island in the city’s center. Designer Eyan Allen looked back to the future for Spring. He called the collection Poetic Tailoring, but he seemed more to be channeling Star Trek with the sharp, clean lines, and stark palette of starship silver, glacial blue, white, and flame red. Silver lamé leggings and flowing dresses over second-skin white trousers gave a hint of the sixties.
Afterward, the catwalkers of today had no trouble imagining themselves in the goods. Georgia May Jagger, wearing a dress and lipstick in the same arresting red shown on the catwalk, cooed with Leah Woods over a sharp pantsuit worn by Jourdan Dunn. They both congratulated Allen on his bracing palette, too. A different opinion came from a model old enough to remember the sixties the first time around: Veruschka. “I love that Hugo’s clothes are wearable,” she said. “But I would rather wear the menswear, especially the apronlike coverall jackets, because I can’t see many men wearing them and someone should. I especially love how Hugo reduces it to one strong color, whether ice, silver or red. But really, I mostly wear what I bought 30 years ago. When something is strong, it stays worth keeping.” Or, you might say, reinterpreting.
Thom Takes Off, Kate Moss Finishes Strong, Veruschka’s Venom, And More…
Thom Browne’s foray into womenswear is one of the most eagerly anticipated debuts of the upcoming season. Style.com contributor Tommy Ton got a sneak peek at the natty goods. [JakandJil]
Kate Moss was in London last night to debut her last collection for her Topshop line. Moss and Topshop’s Sir Philip Green both say their collaboration will be going strong again in the future. Until then, the final collection will include some past-season best sellers, as well as new product like fur-trimmed dresses, feather stoles, sequined jackets, and tons of florals. [WWD]
Veruschka doesn’t have too many kind words for the Giles Spring ’11 show that she walked in this past London season (left). “I didn’t like the makeup in the show, and didn’t think much of the dress,” the sixties super told the Daily Mail. The shoes didn’t tickle her much, either. “In the sixties, fashion was about liberation. It was about setting women free; it wasn’t about being unable to walk.” [Huffington Post]
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled a six-point plan to stimulate the fashion industry today, including programs to aid up-and-coming designers, fund pop-up shops, and provide training, networking, and financial skills for burgeoning businesses. The guy’s bucking to become the patron saint of New York fashion. How long till we see a hizzoner menswear collection in tribute? [Daily Front Row]
Stella McCartney Likes Candy, Gerhard Richter
With its verdant landscape and green viewpoint, Berlin is a natural fit for Stella McCartney’s eco-friendly clothes. It’s why Josef Voelk and Emanuel de Bayer, the visionary co-directors of The Corner (Berlin’s answer to Colette), decided to stock her line four years ago, before anywhere else in Germany. For last night’s party to commemorate the pioneering buy, they spelled McCartney’s name in balloons and invited Berlin’s leading fashion folk. The jolly fête at the high-end boutique was followed by an intimate dinner for McCartney hosted by German Vogue editor in chief Christiane Arp, where she was joined by guests like Veruschka and Olafur Eliasson. At The Corner, the menu consisted entirely of dessert in the form of mini candy bars, served by ladies in “I Heart Stella” T-shirts holding cigarette-girl trays. (For the record, they also offered cigarettes as well as flavored condoms and little samples of Stella perfume.) McCartney seemed overjoyed to see Michael Michalsky, the delightfully decadent Berlin designer. “You can’t talk to Stella without wearing gold alien ears,” he instructed me with German sternness. Of course, I obeyed. But even without the antennae, McCartney was willing to chat. “I would love to see the art galleries here,” she said. “I like Gerhard Richter. He came to one of my shows. Someday, if I sell a lot of dresses, I hope to own one of his paintings, but in the meantime, I have three children and need to hurry home.”
veruschka on self: “pretty good”
What does one do for the woman who’s done everything? Well, when the woman in question is Veruschka, arguably the most photogenic person ever to look into a camera lens, the logical thing is to compile the very best snaps of her and issue a limited-edition book. Thus Veruschka comes to press courtesy of Assouline, and on Friday night, publishers Prosper and Martine Assouline hosted a fête for the most super of supermodels at the Mini Cooper space in midtown. Diane von Furstenberg, Lady Bunny, Agyness Deyn, and Glenn O’Brien were among the notables who hit the rooftop to pay their respects to the former Vera Gottliebe Anna, Countess Lehndorff, who was gamely signing copies of the thuddingly heavy tome she’d helped to conceive. “I can’t say that I have any favorite photographs,” she said. “Though I do have some favorite memories of the days they were taken. Working with Avedon, for example, was always a joy. But then it was all joy because that was a joyous time.” Was it particularly joyous to discover herself an icon? “I never thought of myself that way,” replied Veruschka, as avid autograph-seekers hovered nearby. “You know, when you’re doing it, it’s just life. But maybe later I looked back at some of my photos and thought, ‘Hmmm, pretty good.’”