Jeremy Scott marks 20th anniversary at New York Fashion Week
Jeremy Scott’s kitschy, high-entertainment fashion shows always have whimsical themes. This time, at New York Fashion Week, the designer didn’t have to look far for inspiration: his theme was himself.
It was the 20th anniversary of Scott’s label, and he celebrated it by going back to his own past, looking at key moments of his career and updating the looks for today.
“I used my own history as my starting point,” Scott said in a backstage interview Friday night. “And as fashion is so contextual — there’s so much meaning about when and where it’s done — that it was challenging, because I was, ‘How do I take all of this and also make something new for today?”
Scott said he finally figured out that the answer was “like making a fragrance from a flower and taking the essence, and so I started grabbing the essence of different remarkable moments in my career that I am responding to today.”
A quickly visible theme was snakeskin, in bright neon colours — bold pink, brilliant yellow — in trousers, or jackets, or thigh-high boots. And there were sequins galore, reserved not for gowns but for street wear, like glittering hoodies and work boots.
There were cargo pants, but here, they were perfectly sheer. There were big and colourful cartoon graphics, on shirts and sweaters. And there was a series of looks with huge, fake colourful gems, or what Scott called “body jewellery.”
Among the notable models were those who have been important Scott’s past shows, like British model Liberty Ross, 38.
Also walking the runway was the daughter of singer Lionel Richie, Sofia Richie.
“She’s so excited she’s about to have a nervous breakdown,” Richie said before the show, “and she’s just, ‘Oh my God Dad, I want you to come!’ Then I’m finally here and she goes ‘Oh I’m so nervous that you’re here.’ What does that mean?”
Also walking in the show were supermodels Gigi Hadid, Karlie Kloss, Coco Rocha, and Joan Smalls.
Scott, who also is the creative director for Moschino, spoke passionately about his recent work on the music video and album artwork for his friend Miley Cyrus’ “Younger Now.”
“Miley is like a rib out of my own chest,” Scott said, adding he would do many more projects with her. “We can’t get enough of each other,” he said. “I love her to pieces.”
He also addressed the role of fashion in the current polarised political climate.
“Particularly with me, I think I have always played a role in being... a place of fantasy, of escape... I always think of my shows as like the movies were for the Depression era, where people would go to the movies to escape the fact that they were hungry and didn’t have a job and didn’t have all the necessities. They brought you fantasies, these movies of glamour and glitz and fairytales. And you know, putting a smile on someone’s face really does make them feel better.”Read more at:queenieau.com | bridesmaid dresses
Get Behind Us Campaign Encourages People to Protest Through DIY Fashion
These days, tuning into the news inevitably leads to frustration. From a violent Nazi “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville to Trump rescinding DACA, fundamental human rights in the U.S. are constantly under attack by the presidential administration, Congress and white supremacists across the nation. Yet, while the current political landscape can feel overwhelming at times and too much to bear, it’s also rife with opportunity to take action and drive change.
Created at an opportune time, a new important campaign called GETBEHINDUS is empowering people to do just that. The brainchild of New York-based creatives Alicia Serrani, Charlie Gillette, Gabby Beans, and Isabella Serrani, it celebrates the next generation of artists and activists with a message of unity and optimism through the power of fashion. The heartening and energetic collection of art videos feature a host of diverse women donning jeans emblazoned with political slogans, hand-painted by the producer and art director Alicia.
In an effort to galvanize the masses to use their voices for political change, the campaign powerfully showcases that the resistance is stronger than ever. In the videos, as a cover of “Jeans On” by David Dundas sung by Isabella plays, each woman's backside is turned towards the camera — an intentional creative decision to subvert the social gaze — while recognizable sayings such as “nasty women,” Trump’s infamous remark about Hillary at one of the 2016 presidential debates, are prominently featured on screen. Made by women for women, it will leave you fired up and ready to tackle political injustices. Smashing out the apathy and the powerlessness often expressed by people since the election of Donald Trump, it’s an incredible example that while nothing in politics is ever certain, you'll always have a way to speak up about issues you’re passionate about. Don't know where to start? The GETBEHINDUS crew suggest making and sharing art that addresses a cause you feel passionately about, volunteering at an organization whose work you admire, and/or supporting brands and impactful organizations that represent your beliefs.
In the near future, you will be able to purchase your own GETBEHINDUS merchandise of which a portion of the proceeds will go to causes represented on the jeans patches, including Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter, No DAPL, and more. Even more, there will be a fundraiser in October to raise money to fund Planned Parenthood NYC and the crucial resources they provide.Read more at:bridesmaid dresses australia | cheap bridesmaid dresses australia
Exploring the 6-yard glory
Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” And for a lot of reasons, designer Anavila Misra, who has been making quite the fashionable waves, befits the quotation.
Born to a scientist and agriculturist father, and a mother who was a teacher and fine artist but chose to be a housewife, Anavila always had an interest in design that manifested in many ways through childhood. Brought up in Karnal, a small town in Har-yana, and Patna, the designer was into flower arrangements and wall decorations with natural flowers and materials collected from gardens and wild forest areas near her house as well as designing clothes for her dolls as a child. She learnt embroidery, knitting, sewing and painting at home, under her mother’s guidance.
The designer is a post-graduate in Knitwear Design from NIFT Delhi, and her first job was at Madura Garments where she worked as an assistant designer for the brand Louis Phillipe, primarily focusing on men’s formal and casual shirts as well as knitwear. In 2004, she began working on a craft cluster development project for NIFT in association with the Ministry of Rural Development. And between 2007 and 2010, she worked on small projects with weavers and artisans, creating products which could be showcased at exhibitions. In between, she took a few years’ break when her son was born, and it was only in 2010-11 that she began experimenting with the six-yard beauty. “Comfort was the last word anyone associated with a sari, which is considered a mark of virtuous femininity, and I wanted to break that mould to show the ease with which it can be worn,” says Anavila. “While I was discovering this long trail of cloth of one straight single length, with no zips or stitches, I thought to myself, what kind of sari would
I want to wear? That lead to the genesis of my journey with the sari.”
The designer is flying high these days and has increasingly become a rage despite creating languidly draped linen saris in trademark muted and hushed colour palette. She is one of the top go-to designers for B-wood biggies like Vidya Balan, Kalki Koechlin, Sonam Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Deepti Naval, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kajol, Kiran Rao, Sonali Bendre, etc. “Appreciation in any form feels nice. I consider each one of my buyers as stars in their own universe,” she says.
Her saris appear simple and demure with minimum embellishments and restricted colour story but the price point of the garment is very competitive. How does a pure linen sari in shy muted tones hold up to a high price point, we probe? “The first sari that I did was for `12,000. The cost of pure linen plus the weaver’s labour/hard work along with the dying cost of the fabric all came out quite competitively when compared to other saris. Linen is a fine yarn and it is expensive. That’s a fact. It (the sari) might look casual because of the nature of the yarn and the way it falls on the body… but the kind of labour and skill that goes into making the sari matches to that of any other expensive sari.” She adds, “Having said that, it’s always up to the customer whether they want to wear the light and comfortable linen or choose a banarasi. It’s completely the consumer’s choice. But the cost is legitimate.”Read more at:unique formal dresses
No rules - a fashion season of extremes and contradictions
What has come as a big new insight to me is how the rules of fashion have changed so much. Even as recently as 10 years ago, there were things that were 'in', which then went 'out'. Everyone who followed fashion slavishly observed 'the trends'.
As I watched Brown Thomas's recent fantastic autumn/winter high-end international designer fashion show, I noticed my responses to the extremes of this season's fashion - trench coats with shoulders as wide as those then-70-something Angela Lansbury wore in Murder She Wrote circa 1992; strikingly modernist tailoring looks, with a nod to 1940s film noir; body-clinging knitted midi dresses - and realised that truly, today, anything and everything goes.
Finally, we have abolished the need to constantly change everything. There is no such thing as something being out of date. So rock your favourite pieces from 20 years ago with today's - you will still look great.
"It is a season of extremes and seeming contradictions," Shelly Corkery, Brown Thomas group fashion director, explains. "It is about sharper fashion - but softness is still in there. Minimalism is important, but maximalism is still there, too. The trapeze shape is here still. But the waist and strong shoulders are also a key focus. There is that whole hard-edged, architectural fashion look, and there is that whole soft, floral thing.
"For sure, fashion is moving into being about more powerful women than before, which is expressed in all the sartorial dressing and strong silhouettes" she says.
"Hero tailoring is the new thing we are talking about this season. And it looks fantastic on women - of all ages, all walks of life."
Considering all the gender-equality debates raging in Ireland in recent times, such is the wonder of fashion that it is reflecting our desire for equality and recognition.
"I feel that women will always want a feminine look, regardless of what might be on-trend," Shelly says. "This season, between the focus on the waist and the bigger shoulder, she will have all the femininity she wants, with the power she needs."Read more at:celebrity dresses
Balancing Health And Beauty
In 2017, the beauty industry is bigger and brighter than ever before. In a world of picture perfect models on Instagram, successful beauty vloggers on YouTube, and nearly countless amounts of images and links to scroll through on Pinterest, the vast array of makeup possibilities is almost overwhelming. Care to sport Adele’s flawless winged eyeliner? Desire to keep it to the bare necessities? Want to throw it back to the wide-eyed look of Twiggy? There are tutorials for these looks and so much more.
An industry that used to rely solely on professionals to create a certain look now uses social media to provide that power to consumers themselves. But often, the thrill of the illusion makeup can create keeps consumers from remembering to take care of their well-being as they fine-tune their appearance. However, if you take a little time to research the topic, it is possible to indulge in the pursuit of both the fun and practical aspects of makeup, while also keeping skin healthy and happy.
Makeup has existed since long before Marilyn Monroe, Marie Antionette, Cleopatra, and the stage plays of William Shakespeare. The world’s earliest record of makeup may come from the first Dynasty of Egypt, but since that time, it has evolved in a number of ways. Makeup has had both its glory days and its day of shame throughout history. It has identified the prestige of the upper class and the desperation of the lower class, but today we see it on a level it has never experienced before. Both men and women are now consumers of cosmetics, and there are whole stores dedicated to selling any type or brand of makeup one might imagine or desire. While the choices these stores offer are no doubt fun and can embrace one’s wildest imagination, it is always important to contemplate what ingredients are being used to create the end product.
At this moment in America, there is not a lot of control over or rules governing the ingredients used in makeup and cosmetics. Many companies opt for shortcuts in order to increase quantity and profits instead of using quality, healthy ingredients. Due to this practice, many makeup brands can include toxins that interfere with the natural hormones our bodies produce. This is a common concern, one locally expressed by Knoxville makeup artist Susan Bourdeau, who has spent years advocating the importance of using non-toxic makeup. When asked about the growing awareness of health’s connection with beauty, Bourdeau says that, “over the last 20 years, as Americans have become more health conscious, paying more attention to what we put into our bodies, we have also become more aware of what we put onto our bodies.” This consciousness has caused many in the beauty industry to rise to the occasion and employ healthier and safer ingredients to make their products. The end result might be slightly more expensive, but the long-term effects are worth their weight in gold for a consumer’s health.
Bourdeau says that first and foremost, “clean, non-toxic ingredients are the most important thing a person should look for in their cosmetics and skin care.” Your motivation should go beyond merely asking if the color is right for your complexion. You should also question the ease of application. If your makeup does not easily blend, it can cause premature aging and more serious problems. In relation to this, Bourdeau notes, “For instance, parabens can act like estrogen in the body, and higher levels of estrogen are linked to breast cancer. Many products contain parabens, and the exposures add up over time.” The Susan B. Komen Foundation cites a study by the Endogenous Hormones and Breast Cancer Collaborative Group indicating that “higher amounts of estrogen in the blood are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer in women after menopause.” The more dangerous toxins we put on our body, the more those toxins go into our body and linger long enough to deal some serious long-term damage, especially as we age. This is why it is important to know what should and should not be in a skin care or cosmetic product.
Bourdeau points out that some buzzwords that might sound dangerous for makeup are actually not only safe, but necessary for high-quality and clean makeup: “You may think that preservative- and chemical-free is good, but preservatives are important for products that contain water; otherwise, microbes could become a big problem.”
In 2012, to help ensure that consumers can easily find a makeup line with both the absence of toxic ingredients and the presence of healthy preservatives and chemicals, Bourdeau formulated Susan Bourdeau Skin Care and Cosmetics, her own brand of makeup, to meet her standards for a high-quality, clean beauty product that is also priced to be affordable. Bourdeau’s twenty-plus years of experience in the beauty industry helped her create a line of skin care and makeup products that is non-toxic, while still upholding the professional quality she is committed to. “I have worked hard over the years with my suppliers to ensure that Susan Bourdeau products meet the exacting standards I have set, so I am confident in putting my name on these products.” Bourdeau shares that, “unlike other manufacturers, I have spent the money to find new ingredients and have eliminated toxic additives like Parabens, Sulfates, DHEA’s, and Triethanolamine and other Thalomines.” And Bourdeau is not the only professional concerned with the quality and safety of beauty products.
The beauty industry as a whole has positively answered consumers’ calls for non-toxic products. Non-toxic brands such as Physicians Formula, Mineral Fusion, Ilia, Beautycounter, BareMinerals, and Honest Beauty are all brands that can easily be found, not only in chain stores such as Ulta and Sephora, but also in superstores like Target and in brand outlets within malls. Some brands are more affordable than others, but if cost is a concern, a potential solution might be a surprise. Brand discount stores such as TJ Maxx are beginning to carry more beauty products from brands that promise to be clean and non-toxic. That includes not just makeup, but also basic skin care products.
Some other options for clean beauty products can be found through less traditional means. Young Living is a brand often known for its essential oils, but they recently launched a new branch of their company: a line of cosmetics called Savvy Minerals. This new venture features products that are non-toxic, made with natural and clean ingredients, and are entirely mineral-based. Although you will not be able to buy Savvy Minerals at just any department store, you can most likely find a local Young Living representative from whom you can order the products.
With so many brands promising to be non-toxic in response to a more health-conscious consumer, cosmetic shopping might feel a little daunting and overwhelming at the moment. But it does not have to be. Bourdeau simply suggests educating yourself. You do not have to buy a particular brand to ensure that your makeup is the cleanest it can be. You can mix and match from various non-toxic companies. She recommends that you look at what you are purchasing, read labels, and compare them to the knowledge of what you know to be safe and unsafe. According to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit organization “dedicated to protecting human health and the environment,” other ingredients such as synthetic colors, fragrances, phthalates, and triclosan may cause effects from minor skin irritation to respiratory distress and cancers. Many companies might come across as natural and clean through their marketing but prove to be otherwise if you look a little closer at the ingredients in their products.
Makeup is supposed to be fun and creative. The countless ways of learning how to achieve an appealing look via instructions and examples one finds on the internet makes it even more enjoyable. Your face is a canvas, and the cosmetics you buy are your tools as an artist. But with such a mortal and precious canvas, it is important to ensure that what you use on your skin and face will replenish and fortify your health rather than destroy it. Thanks to experts like Bourdeau who care about both health and beauty, you as a consumer no longer have to sacrifice one in favor of the other. We live in an age where—with the right knowledge—beauty and health can walk hand in hand. Ultimately, consumers do not have to sacrifice their well-being in order to indulge in and enjoy beauty products.Read more at:formal wear melbourne | celebrity inspired dresses
Matiza speaks on House of Hohwa designs
In an interview with NewsDay from his Johannesburg base, Matiza said the need for cultural expression in modern Africa plays an important role in the creation of his garments.
“The interest to venture into fashion industry was inspired by the need to express and tell many stories that Africa has through constructive garments and that is when I established House of Hohwa that has three collections namely Urban Shroom, Mambokadzi and Winds of Change,” he said.
“As an individual, I always want to open dialogue on a number of topics with the aim to influence or inspire individuals.”
The self-taught designer said his ability to think outside the box and do things differently enables his designs to appeal to global trends.
“My first collection, Urban Shroom, symbolises the emergence of urban ethnic wear into the modern-day representing the arrival of Africa in the urban sphere, while our second collection, Mambokadzi (loosely translated means queen), defines the urban woman, whose values and character are represented in the way she dresses,” he said.
“House of Hohwa’s third collection, The Winds of Change collection, was inspired by the famous speech given by former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in Cape Town in 1960 on a ‘winds of change’ tour encouraging change to colonial rule and liberation of Africans.”
A music and film graduate, Matiza said although Zimbabwean fashion creatives are yet to make a global impact, there is a lot of authentic talent that is waiting to be unearthed.
“Zimbabwean fashion trends, like most African ones, are slowly inclining with global trends,” he said.
“Although we cannot take away from the few designers like Farai Simoyi, who have made strides, we need more of those designers and I believe it goes down to creating an environment that suits young aspiring designers to grasp the platform.
“There should be more fashion institutions and programmes to incubate talent so that it can start competing globally.
“We also need to make sure that we can also encourage each other to buy from local designers.”Read more at:semi formal dresses
Farming meets high-end fashion at Dowerin Field Days agricultural show
The eco fashion parade featured garments made from recycled wool blankets and coffee bean bags.
Five Western Australians were among 14 designers to drape merino wool and recycled materials on local models who graced the runway for the launch of the first Eco Fashion Week Australia (EFWA).
EFWA founder Zuhal Kuvan-Mills, who is also the designer behind Perth-based eco-fashion label Green Embassy, said merino wool had many benefits.
"If a garment made of merino ends up on the land it becomes a soil again and there is no carbon footprint."
She said consumers must be conscious of the impact clothing has on the environment.
"The way it is going at the moment we are polluting our land our oceans are dying and all the dye coming from the fast fashion and microfibres in going into the ocean.
"It is a disaster for our environment."
Farmer ends mulesing; reaps rewards
Australian merino wool has been used for more than 150 years to create luxury items across the globe, but the industry has also been scrutinised for mulesing for more than a decade.
In August, Italian garment makers said the practice of mulesing had driven them to look at alternative suppliers.
Mukinbudin farmer Dane Farina said he decided to stop the controversial practice years ago.
"We finished mulesing in 2012," he said.
Mr Farina said other farmers should also consider putting an end to the practice, which some consider to be cruel.
Mr Farina said there were other benefits too.
"We just had our wool sold and marketed specifically on its non-mulesing trait," he said.
"We are actually getting a little bit of an extra kick in the price for that reason so it is good to see that."
While Mr Farina said his own style was more conservative than what was seen on the runway at Dowerin, it was great to see merino wool used in the fashion industry.
"It is more what we sell into, more than what we like to see ourselves wearing"
"The more we can market our product and if we can find that connection between retail and what we do on the ground, it can always be a positive."Read more at:long formal dresses | princess formal dresses
