“This whole crisis is like a big spring housecleaning — both moral and physical. There is no creative evolution if you don’t have dramatic moments like this. Bling is over. Red carpety covered with rhinestones is out. I call it ‘the new modesty.’”
- Karl Lagerfeld voicing what many of us have been thinking in The New York Times. Because, honestly, those shoe and It bag prices couldn’t go any higher. Something had to give.
Quote of the day
Categorised as: fashion
A soda bottle that is better dressed than you
Sonia Rykiel’s daughter Nathalie is the latest to design a limited edition Coca-Cola bottle. (Team Roberto Cavalli swathed it in a leopard and zebra print creation two seasons ago.) The Parisian’s version features stripes in a very Rykiel-like color palette of crimson, saffron, pink and gold. It hits stores worldwide this month.
Categorised as: fashion
Katie’s deeper side
Photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot managed to strip Katie Holmes of all Stepford Wife qualities for Miu Miu’s spring-summer 2009 campaign. The ad “speaks to the deeper complexity of the Miu Miu woman” according to a press release from the brand.
Categorised as: fashion
Unexpected cures for winter skin
Rachel Weisz has nary a winter-time patch of dry skin in sight thanks to Dr. David Colbert.
Hard times and harsh weather do not a clear complexion make. To save you from three cold months of chafed noses and crusty eyebrows, we enlisted celebrity dermatologist Dr. David Colbert and makeup artist Talia Shobrook to address a list of winter skin ills with budget-friendly tips.
It’s one thing to have a constant runny nose in elementary school, another as a working adult. Those crusty flakes of skin around your nose won’t exactly impress on a job interview. “The problem is that when you constantly blow your nose, the friction irritates the skin. The trick is to coat your nose with a thin layer of Vaseline to form a protective shield from the tissue,” says Colbert who helps loyal clients including Cate Blanchett, Naomi Campbell and Rachel Weisz look spot-free. “I would also use an eye cream on the nose at night before bed,” adds Shobrook whose clients include Kate Bosworth, Sarah Jessica Parker and Mischa Barton.
The idea of dry flakey skin around the eyes and eyebrows sounds weird (and gross), but it’s a more common occurrence than you think. Example: you have acne-prone skin and the cold weather and nightly Retin-A applications have caused flakes in sensitive areas. “The cure for ‘eye dandruff’ is a really good eye cream or gel. A cream is good for people who generally have dry skin around the eye area. Eyecon by Benefit cosmetics will smooth the delicate skin around the eye,” says Shobrook.
Scaly face
“People don’t realize that sugar is really bad for maintaining moisture in the skin,” says Colbert before going on to explain that the body uses more water to metabolize a pack of M&M’s than an apple. So basically, a diet loaded with refined sugars = accelerated aging. “You are what you eat,” adds Colbert. The solution? A Metamucil tablet a day (seriously.) “I tell my patients to take a tablet a day because it helps get the digestive tract moving the way it needs to and helps the body hold water. When your digestive tract is working properly, your skin retains more moisture. And when that happens, the aging process slows down.”
Those cold and flu-induced dry nose patches
It’s one thing to have a constant runny nose in elementary school, another as a working adult. Those crusty flakes of skin around your nose won’t exactly impress on a job interview. “The problem is that when you constantly blow your nose, the friction irritates the skin. The trick is to coat your nose with a thin layer of Vaseline to form a protective shield from the tissue,” says Colbert who helps loyal clients including Cate Blanchett, Naomi Campbell and Rachel Weisz look spot-free. “I would also use an eye cream on the nose at night before bed,” adds Shobrook whose clients include Kate Bosworth, Sarah Jessica Parker and Mischa Barton.
Eye dandruff
The idea of dry flakey skin around the eyes and eyebrows sounds weird (and gross), but it’s a more common occurrence than you think. Example: you have acne-prone skin and the cold weather and nightly Retin-A applications have caused flakes in sensitive areas. “The cure for ‘eye dandruff’ is a really good eye cream or gel. A cream is good for people who generally have dry skin around the eye area. Eyecon by Benefit cosmetics will smooth the delicate skin around the eye,” says Shobrook.
Scaly face
“People don’t realize that sugar is really bad for maintaining moisture in the skin,” says Colbert before going on to explain that the body uses more water to metabolize a pack of M&M’s than an apple. So basically, a diet loaded with refined sugars = accelerated aging. “You are what you eat,” adds Colbert. The solution? A Metamucil tablet a day (seriously.) “I tell my patients to take a tablet a day because it helps get the digestive tract moving the way it needs to and helps the body hold water. When your digestive tract is working properly, your skin retains more moisture. And when that happens, the aging process slows down.”
Categorised as: fashion
London Fashion Week loses a day, gains a show
It’s comforting to know that not every fashion brand is canceling its autumn winter 2009 show. Sienna and Savannah Miller will put on their first catwalk show ever for their line Twenty8Twelve by s. miller during London Fashion Week. That’s a good thing for Britain’s style scene, which suffered a blow when its Fashion Week was trimmed to four measly days. Expect their usual brand of effortlessly cool and very English-looking dresses, separates and coats.
Categorised as: fashion
Sprouse mania
Between Louis Vuitton’s tribute series of handbags featuring his prints and an upcoming art exhibit at the New York gallery Deitch Projects, Stephen Sprouse — the late designer who earned cool cred in the ’80s for his Day-Glo graffiti-print women’s wear — is having a major pop culture moment. “Rock On Mars,” an art show created in collaboration with Louis Vuitton opens at Deitch on Friday and runs through February 28. For those who can’t make the exhibit, get your Sprouse fix at www.welovesprouse.com which features a virtual tour of his life and work complete with a preview of the handbags that hit stores this week. Added bonus: a video interview with Marc Jacobs.
Categorised as: fashion
The most memorable fashion moments of 2008
From luxury department stores having major markdowns on YSL, Prada and Givenchy to traditionally blonde-haired-blue-eyed dominated runway shows opening its call sheets to models of color, the year in fashion experienced a when-pigs-fly level of change.
1) The economy brought the fashion world down to earth
High-end fashion has long sailed in the winds of fantasy. And fantasy and budgets have never exactly mixed–until now. Watching Chanel cancel its elaborate mobile art tour and Marc Jacobs nix his annual Christmas party (not to mention those persistent Internet rumors that luxury emporium Saks Fifth Avenue is in financial trouble) made it painfully clear that the industry’s biggest brands are not immune from the downturn.
2) But we got to score some major bargains as a result
Here are just a few of the deals we’ve encountered in recent weeks: A) A Prada tote marked down 70% — from $1, 595 to $479, people — at Barneys New York. B) An autumn/ winter ‘08 Maison Martin Margiela dress marked down to $130 on Saks Fifth Avenue’s e-commerce site. And C) Yves Saint Laurent platform heels marked down to $299 on its online home. Enough said.
3) Sarah Palin made a very expensive wardrobe look not-so-expensive
It was bad enough that the Republican National Committee spent roughly $150,000 on the Vice Presidential candidate during a major financial crises. But to make matters worse, she didn’t even make the pricey clothes look especially exciting or unique. Fashion critics, television pundits and bloggers alike agreed that she could have easily gotten the conservative looks from Ann Taylor or Gap. And worst of all, Michelle Obama outdressed her a week after wardrobe-gate in a totally wallet-friendly ensemble from J.Crew. Two snaps and a twin set.
4) Black made a comeback…
Model manager and activist Bethann Hardison created public awareness of the dearth of black models in fashion shows and imagery through her panel discussions. Vogue Italia kept the momentum going with its Steven Meisel-shot black edition. And the appearance of black models in major ad campaigns for Topshop, Lanvin and Yves Saint Laurent and on the runways in Paris, New York and London proved the power of meaningful public dialogue. The Milan runways, which still looked pretty homogenous with the exception of a few Jourdan Dunn sightings, were another story. Baby steps.
5) …and supermodels did too
Between the sudden interest in up-and-coming black models to the super’s return to magazine covers and ad campaigns, 2008 could have also been called, “The Year of the Model.” The major girls not only gave magazine covers a bit of fabulosity (Stephanie Seymour for Harper’s Bazaar and Christy Turlington’s W and French Vogue covers), they brought the wow factor to ad campaigns as well (Naomi Campbell’s YSL photos, Claudia Schiffer’s stints with Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana and Linda Evangelista’s Prada ads.) It’s enough to make one want to YouTube old George Michael videos.
Categorised as: fashion
