Amid a growing global concern about models’ weight (too thin) and age (too young), the Council of Fashion Designers of America launched the Health Initiative in January 2007. Its first step: the introduction of guidelines to promote a healthier working environment for models and to alert designers and agents to “red flags” that could indicate risky behavior. Since then, the initiative has hosted a series of events to educate people about the dangers of eating disorders and encourage a dialogue about the industry’s collective responsibility to protect models. While attitude shifts can be hard to measure, it is safe to say that awareness is at an all-time high. In anticipation of New York Fashion Week in September, we asked Nian Fish, a creative consultant of KCD Worldwide and CFDA Health Initiative chair, to share her inside view of the changes she has seen so far and thoughts on what we can expect in the future.  

How has the conversation changed since the CFDA Health Initiative began two and half years ago?

There was no productive conversation about models’ potential eating disorders or the fashion industry’s responsibility to create a new image of health. The last time a healthy model look was considered fashionable was in the eighties. Think Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer.

 A common conversation used to be “She looks soooo thin; let’s open the show with her” or a whisper behind a model’s back: “She’s gained sooooo much weight that she looks fat.” The gossip about the “fat” model would cross the ocean to Milan and Paris, and that would be the end of that model that season.

Now, at model go-sees, which are basically like auditions for models, we may see a model who is not the perfect sample size, but if she has the look, we will give her the best shot. We are mindfully doing our best to look at models as human beings, instead of only as an image that we need for our purposes. 

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Can a new fitness device the size of a lipstick give you the same results as a real trainer?
 
As you go off on summer vacations, you can now take your favorite trainer with you—without putting her up in the guesthouse. The NextFit Keychain Trainer compiles all the instruction, motivation, and music that come with a professionally led workout into a device the size of an iPod, letting you continue your regular exercise routine (or try a new one), whether you’re in Montauk or Milan. Plug the keychain into an Internet-connected computer and choose from 30 renowned trainers (Kathy Smith, Jeff Galaway, David Kirsch, and Kathy Kaehler, to name a few) and 25,000 audio workouts (updated every twelve weeks) in every fitness category. In addition to customizing the difficulty and duration, you can tailor workouts to match your personal fitness goals, equipment available, and location (home, outside, or in a gym).

So how does the program compare with being schooled by a live trainer? While paying a visit to a friend in Dublin, I take the keychain with me to her local gym. Having recently uploaded Alycea Ungaro’s mat Pilates workout, I might as well be at her Tribeca studio, instead of surrounded by hulking Irishmen lifting weights. Ungaro’s instructions are specific, precise (she even counts for you), and impressively intuitive, somehow knowing exactly where I’ll try to cheat on a pose by adding a firm “Do not wiggle” in the midst of her instruction. The next time I plug in the keychain, several new workouts are suggested based on my previous exercise, and I am delighted that I can try all of them, having to coordinate with no one’s schedule but my own. The verdict? Along with my swimsuit and camera, the Nextfit Keychain will be in every weekend bag I pack this summer.

The NextFit Keychain Trainer, $99.95. Includes first month’s subscription, $24.99 for each subsequent month; mynextfit.com

—Molly Creeden

Now that it’s officially summer, it’s high time to offer a sweet opine for the fabled cliffs of Big Sur, a region long regaled as a haven for artistic and bohemian endeavors, and one of the country’s most idyllic weekend escapes. Flush with ancient redwoods and purple hills dotted with lupines and wild pea flowers, Big Sur’s lush wilderness is the heart of California, pulsing as a 90-mile coastline stretch off Highway One. Some of the most breathtaking views are certainly at the sybaritic Post Ranch Inn, a 100-acre cliff-side utopia that hangs over the curl and froth of crashing Pacific Ocean waves. If you can drag yourself off your deck—perched over the cliffs or the Ventana mountain ridge, depending where you’re staying (we recommend the new Cliff House and Peak House, both with dramatic glass-walled bedrooms)—there is morning yoga in a yurt, guided hikes through canyons and atop bluffs, and even a cooking class. Or you could just hole up at the spa, where bespoke aromatherapy oils and local herbs—many harvested from the ranch’s organic gardens and meadows—are the order of the day. And though you can’t take the Wildflower or Organic Garden facials home with you, per se, you can now order the ranch’s signature products, used in many of the treatments. There are body oils, flower-essence mist, bath salts, and calming soy travel candles that re-create Big Sur’s green peace and sophisticated higher conscious—even if the closest thing you’ve got to a view of crashing waves is an apartment on an especially high floor. postranchinn.com

—Jeanine Celeste Pang 

Until I discovered packages of them at my beloved organic market, I thought mulberries were the stuff of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. It turns out the little fruits are rather magical, though. The tiny raw, dried snacks look like dehydrated raspberries and taste like gummy bears—and they’ve turned out to be my best beauty secret. I feel energized when I eat a handful, and since I became addicted, my hair looks shinier and my nails appear stronger. Apparently I’m a little behind, as I’ve only just figured out what Asian medicine has known for ages: Mulberries are a good source of vitamins (one ounce of the dried fruit has 135 percent of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C), iron, calcium, fiber, and even protein, as well as the free radical–fighting antioxidant resveratrol. These concentrated benefits make them better than chocolate—and while still sweet, they have a lower glycemic load than most dried fruits, meaning there’s no inevitable sugar crash. My favorite:  Navitas Naturals White Mulberries. They’re sustainably harvested in Turkey, where the berries aren’t picked but shaken off trees and sun-dried.

—Stephanie LaCava

Keeping up with the Must Do Better Than J.Lo training schedule can prove to be especially difficult while traveling. Lugging an eighteen-pound bike through a crowded New York City airport over a holiday weekend is not my idea of a good time—but neither is getting my flight canceled, only to be rebooked on an early-morning flight . . . from Philadelphia. In any case, I packed my weekender with the usuals (J.Crew white jeans, Ralph Lauren button-down oxford, Theory summer dress) in addition to the new usuals (Asics running shoes, a loaded iPod, Nike shorts) for a Fourth of July celebration with my boyfriend’s family in Detroit. I thought the easiest aspect of training would be the six-mile run, but it can be surprisingly difficult to motivate myself to slip on a pair of kicks. The reason: Why practice something I’m already pretty good at—plus, it’s just six miles, right? Not exactly. According to Coach Dylan, it’s all in the planning. He has me running in a range of levels (from L1, the slowest, to L5, an all-out sprint) based on a heart-rate test he conducted when I first started training. Long explanation short: Training within these levels and then splitting the race up into these groups, according to his master plan, will help my body store up the energy and endurance I’ll need to get through the Mighty Hampton. So, early on the Fourth of July, while everyone else was still asleep, I dragged myself out of bed, strapped on a heart-rate monitor and chest band (Polar), and hit the road running—through the very hilly (my knees have yet to thank me) but beautiful suburb of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

—Christina Han

Coconut, hibiscus, saltwater taffy . . . We wax poetic for anything reminiscent of the beach, and Cire Trudon’s latest candle collection, made exclusively for Barneys New York, has an uncanny way of dipping our toes right into the sand. 

Landing on shelves this week, the candles mimic the scents and sentiments of eight far-flung beach locales, from Senegal and Indonesia to Baja and Peru. Simply light the wick and the surf’s up. 

Fancy a weekender out to Long Island? Fire Island blends armoise, cedar, and vetiver patchouli, ferrying you into the barrier beach’s wildflowers and bungalows (of which Philip Crangi is a fan.) Sidi Kacem mingles peppermint, mimosa tea leaves, and honey, redolent of the Tangier hotbed frequented by Jacquetta Wheeler and Bruno Frisoni. Señoritas (think powerful, Peruvian waves for the surfing cognoscenti) is a heady mélange of spicy amber balm and vanilla leather. Coco pulp, orchid, and hibiscus bring about memories of Almadies (the Senegalese peninsula popularized by the 1966 surf film, The Endless Summer), while sugary marshmallow and star anise notes recall Bolinas, one of the most winsome—and canine-friendly—beaches in Northern California. And if you’re in the mood for something even more chill and blissed-out, the mix of lemon, anise, and geranium is your one-way ticket to Jack Johnson’s hometown of Oahu. $45 each, with $5 going to the non-profit Oceana.

—Jeanine Celeste Pang

Who knew model Coco Rocha was such a maestro with makeup? On a recent visit to Vogue’s Beauty Department, fashion’s favorite muse ventured inside our Beauty Closet—a room stocked floor-to-ceiling with every company’s newest products—to do a little summer shopping. Here’s what she found:

I’ve been to Vogue on numerous occasions, and I’ve found myself in the Fashion Closet on many of those visits. However, the other day I found the Beauty Closet. That, my friends, is a whole other ball game. . . .  I never knew it even existed. I was overwhelmed. Wall-to-wall cosmetics, with every imaginable brand and product. You name it—it’s in the closet. I headed straight for Smashbox, as I have this eye shadow called Pearl that I use all the time. It’s a yellow shimmer, great for highlighting any part of your face you want to accent. Then, moving to my right, I found YSL. I already had an idea of what I wanted to try: I had to get myself a Touche Éclat—one can never have enough of that. Then there was the wall of perfumes. My mother is in love with Marc Jacobs’s fragrance, so I got her a bottle (I think she will be pleased!). I then retraced my steps and started at the very beginning of the closet—which is organized alphabetically by brand—and found myself checking out Bobbi Brown. I’ve always wanted to get that concealer palette all the makeup artists use. Not that I need all those colors, but I find myself doing my friends’ makeup quite frequently, and it will be put to good use. Next up was Chanel, which is always a good line from which to get a little bit of everything. For me, this included more concealers, the No 18 perfume, and a few eye shadows. Finally, there was Dior, where I was drawn to what looked like a small wallet with a black bow. When I opened it, it turned out to be an eye-shadow palette with black cream eyeliner, a great must-have (Jazz Club Palette in Smoky Jazz). And, of course, their new cover-up (Diorskin Nude): my new favorite thing in the entire world. There is so much more that I could go on about, but before this turns into a novel about cosmetics, I will stop!

—Coco Rocha

In the hopes that the sun is here to stay—it can’t possibly rain on July 4th weekend; that just seems un-American—here is the sunscreen speech I give annually to friends, Vogue readers, and anyone else who wants to listen. Wherever you are—beach, sailboat, tennis court, rooftop, a shiny red convertible—sunscreen should be your very best accessory. It’s not sexy, but neither are the sunspots/wrinkles/sagging skin/possible skin cancer that comes with not using it. Sunscreen is the one subject I willingly preach, as I have a complexion of the Twilight ilk and have perfected my application method over the years in an I’m-so-pale-I’ve-had-no-other-choice kind of way. So, for a lifetime of fabulous skin and immediate sunscreen success:

-Make sure you like the product you’re using—the smell; the feel; if it makes all the difference to you, the package—so you will actually use it. The ones I find myself stocking year after year: Lancôme for face (doesn’t break me out and feels like expensive moisturizer, which it is), Neutrogena for body (the Dry Touch feels powdery rather than sticky; the new Sport blocks are formulated with an invisible “web” that promises to stay on longer than others). Under makeup during, say, the workweek, the high SPF “veils” from Chanel, Dior, Clarins, and La Mer feel as light as a serum—don’t forget your neck! Continue reading ›

Vogue’s Beauty Assistant Christina Han chronicles training for her first triathalon. 

Choreographed, synchronized routines with my friend Megan in her pool, endless games of Marco Polo with my cousins, and the requisite body surfing—such is the extent of my swimming experience. Proper “stroke mechanics” definitely not required. Knowing this, Dylan sent me to Boris Talan. A triathlete and pro-swimmer by way of St. Petersburg, Russia, Boris was determined to help me become the next Dara Torres (or maybe Dara on a very slow day).

For our first session, I changed into my goggles, bright-red suit, and cap—all by Speedo—and met Boris on the pool deck of his midtown apartment building, where he perfects the strokes of swimmers of all levels. He asked me to stretch my arms above my head with one palm over the other to assess “The Form.” Standing there, looking like a just-sharpened human pencil, I waited for Boris’s evaluation. Outlook? Surprisingly good. My elbows are double-jointed, making for a straight streamline under water. For the next hour and a half, Boris filmed me as I swam back and forth, breaking down each aspect of my freestyle. Turns out you can’t sneak anything past Boris with his surveillance equipment: He had told me to come up for air on both sides, but he caught me faking it on the right. By the end of the lesson, I was well on my way to mastering the art of (truly) inhaling on both sides. I left the pool with noodles for arms and legs, the scent of chlorine lingering in my hair, and knowing that I would be up at 6 a.m. for a twelve-mile bike ride with Dylan in Central Park.

—Christina Han

It’s a sunny Tuesday and I am outside the Vogue offices on the car-free stretch of Broadway in Times Square learning how to land paddle on a Kahuna Creations longboard. Had I known I’d be executing a balancing act on wheels for a bunch of midtown tourists I might have worn a cigarette jean, but this is a very last-minute lesson, so I am faced with the added challenge of athleticism in a knee-length dress. With me is Steve McBride, the board’s designer and the man who invented land paddling, which can best be described as a street/skate version of paddleboarding. (You’ve likely seen pictures of Kate Hudson and Jennifer Aniston in action off the coasts of Malibu and Kauai; it looks like a cross between surfing and steering a gondola). Using my feet to make the turns downhill, and the signature Big Stick—a five-foot long wood poll with a rubber stopper at its base— to push me uphill, I’m grateful for having yoga-honed balance to keep me onboard. “You’d be surprised how quickly you’ll get good at it,” McBride tells me. “Just think of the Big Stick as a shoulder to lean on. Let it help you stay in control.”

Launched as a leisure activity, land paddling has quickly become an alternative exercise tool among elite athletes. “You get an upper-body workout,” says McBride. “Plus, you’re engaging your stabilizer muscles, your quads, and your core to balance.” That said, if it weren’t for the effort that it takes to paddle uphill, you might not know you’re burning calories at all. In fact, the biggest draw might be the grace one feels when in motion. Says McBride, “The Big Stick really makes riding easier, especially for women, and that’s what we want, everyone to ride, because it’s so therapeutic, because it’s fun, because it’s a great way to travel.” Look out peddlers: The paddlers could very well be making a break for your lane.

Kahuna Creations Keiki classic wood longboard ($279), and Bamboo Big Stick ($149); kahunacreations.com

—Jane Herman