Karl does it again!

"Here's a fashion show on a scale never held before, with eighty eight models walking down a ramp that is literally one of its kind in the world - a ramp nothing less than the Great Wall of China."

The legendary Karl Lagerfeld has done it again ladies and gentlemen.

How many people can actually hold a faashion show ON TOP of the Great Wall of China? Sure many shows have been held on the bottom but never on top.

Fendi definitely is becoming a grand label again and what better place to do it then the upcoming economic power.

“Why are we in China? Because in the next twenty five years it will be become the world’s greatest economic power and we want Fendi to be very important in this country,” Bernard Arnault president of LVMH, the giant French luxury empire that controls Fendi, told FWD.

Well go ahead and do your thing, Monsieur Lagerfeld

Another Book Review

OK so I'm a nerd at heart. I love the weirdest things and I love staying up late so I can finish reading a book (although when I finish it, I get mad because now there's nothing else to do =(....) so you may recall my last book review.. Today I'm talking about the story of my life also known as Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic. I kid you not, its as if Sophie followed me in my day to day life. I'm not done yet, but I'm telling you, sittin here writing this blog is hard know I have about 20 more pages to read. So, the inner nerd is telling me to leave you and get back to the story of my life..so ta-ta for now!

Quote of the day!

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?

Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul Varjak: Sure.

Holly Golightly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!

Where Have All the Black Models Gone...Part Deux

Last night I attended the Out of Fashion: the Absence of Color in Fashion at the New York Public Library. I arrived at 6:20 and the room was getting crowded fast. In the panel were former fashion model and model agency owner Bethann Hardison, stylist Lori Goldstein, model agent David Ralph, fashion designer Tracy Reese, and casting agent James Scully. Of course in the audience were fashionistas and bloggers. The wonderful Iman was in the crowd, Vera Wang, and models from all over.

To begin the even Bethann told the crowd of her ten pet peeves of the industry, a few include: people in fashion can't define black beauty, deciding that having one black model at a time is acceptable,the thought that black covers don't sell, and reps saying that they already have a black model or two.

Bethann asked a wide range of questions and James Scully stated that at first Milan allowed him to be creative while at Gucci. He stated that sometimes casting directors have as much power as the designer in casting models. This personally I feel is a problem. If a designer has a vision than they should be the one to hand pick the models. The whole loss of the supermodel-models with personality- came about with Prada where all the models look the same...plain boring girls.

Bethann also made a point that the relationship between the designer and the model is like that of the husband and wife. There was a personal relationship where the designers knew and had that connection with the models. Back in the 80s and early 90s, the models represented the clothes. Now they're just like walking hangars. Lori (stylist), however, disagreed and said that designers DO care who the models are (which I find hard to believe because the girls are pure BORING).

Some reasons why there are no black models is that the packets sent out for castings, runways, etc lack ethnic girls. Also there's the whole light skinned (white girls dipped in chocolate) vs dark skinned black girls. Iman told them off though, saying that there's no one look for African woman. Not all Africans are dark skinned and just because they are light skin that doesn't make them less black.

Lori said that the industry has become very homogenized. Tracy Reese says designers are lazy. Bethann says fashion is in a rut. For the month of October 7 out of 9 magazines had NO black girls in their editorial features. And you guessed it, powerhouses like Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle (all of my favorites) had NO black models. I'm starting to think that if they can't support my people, why should I support them.

What can we as consumers do to try to change this...to start this "revolution" that Bethann is talking about? Keep the public aware of this issue! I say start letter writing campaigns for Christ's sake. Write to Anna Wintour and Glenda Bailey and let them know we WANT AND NEED BLACKS IN THE MAGAZINES!

It's depressing as a young black female to open these magazines and not see someone like me, especially when they're trying to sell to you.

At the end, Bethann said that hopefully this is like the Wizard of Oz and that there's someone behind the machine running the show. Hopefully if we all pray to that one person this issue will change (we all know who that is, don't we?).

Quote of the Day

"If you are not in fashion, you are nobody."
Lord Chesterfield

Paris Fashion Week

Sorry I have been MIA for so long but the life of a student/PR fashion girl is quite demanding =). Well, so I have missed out on keeping you up to date on soooo many fashion Weeks BUT I must say the one that made me WANT to post was of course-Paris Fashion Week. Sure London and Milan were GREAT! but Paris was simply AMAZING!



KARL LAGERFELD:

Absolutely the most fantastic collection I have seen to date. the clothes are young, fresh, and so wearable. This collection could definitely be worn around the streets of NY. They have that quintessential Lagerfeld touch but a hint of modernity. The theme was rainbow-esque. According to http://www.style.com/, "The designer started, as usual, with sharp black and white tailoring, as exemplified by the graphic, fitted jackets and vests worn—with skinny pants and tulle-covered jeans, respectively—by Gemma and Snejana. Also in this category were fit-and-flare fifties dresses with geometric cutouts at the neckline, and a high-neck sleeveless blouse and a billowy frock that looked not unlike Lagerfeld's own monastic shirts.The show's other idea—body-con jersey dressing—is where the bright hues came in, and it introduced an element of sexiness that the designer doesn't often explore in this line. But count on Lagerfeld to add a layer of intrigue. Veilings of black mesh crisscrossed the body, echoing the more angular shapes of his tailoring. After dark, he laid on the sequins and crystals—in horizontal stripes across a thick-strapped little black dress, for example. " In other words, its Lagerfeld's classic touches mixed with a new hint of sexiness. And as a Lagerfeld fan.



I must agree...had I the expenses/connections, this collection would be in my closet in under 60 seconds =)





COSTUME NATIONAL:

Ok so as a big Costume national fan, I must say..I was NOT disappointed at all this season. =)



"A cool and chic traveler after a long journey to India returns home," read the show notes. But focusing on her return home and not the trip, Capasa had some jewel tones, khakis, and beautiful blacks.






CHANEL:
The theme for this Chanel ready to wear collection was Nuits d'Été...Summer Nights. Gives some sort of ideas of what would be in this collection..I don't know about you but when I think of summer, I'm thinking cool and relaxed...chic yet oh so comfortable...in other words...denim. I'm a blue jeans kind of girl...every summer I practically live in my Lucky Brand Jeans, Uniqlo denim, and H&M; skinny jeans. And I was some what close. There was a plethora of styles..."fifties Americana"...mixing and matching of different styles. Again...style.com..=)

"In other words, it was the regular Chanel ready-to-wear tsunami of style, strewn with a plethora of surface devices like grommets and portholes (in a bag) and loaded with pearls, chains, bows, bangles, buttons, and star-strung jewelry. Though it teetered on the brink of that other Parisian trend, randomness (the one Rei Kawakubo brought up at Comme), Lagerfeld kept the Chanel classics bobbing along on the surface as a lifeline to the elegance-seekers of the world."



Overall...I loved Paris! The clothes were very ready to wear..the other designers were good (Balenciaga..Stella McCartney) but these were my absolutely fave.

Stay Classy!