miércoles, 30 de junio de 2010

R.I.P. Mr. Swatch, A Retrospective” y 11 mas

R.I.P. Mr. Swatch, A Retrospective” y 11 mas

R.I.P. Mr. Swatch, A Retrospective

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 04:00 PM PDT

Nicholas Hayek, the founder and chairman of the Swatch Group Ltd, died yesterday of heart failure at 82. Hayek was a charismatic businessman (the NYT’s obit cited a Harvard Business Review article that described him as “a genuine business celebrity”), and widely credited with saving the Swiss watch industry with the creation, in 1983, of the affordable and adorable Swatch watch.

As a child of the ’80s, I get nostalgic about Swatch watches. My favorite had a bright green band and a pink face and the hands had little faces on the ends. (Also Swatches made learning to tell time easy.) And I’m not the only one who waxes nostalgic about Swatch. The brightly colored plastic watches have become highly collectible and can go for as much as $1200. Swatch launched “Swatch the Club” in 1990 for their growing fan base, and, according to one Swatch-head site, by the end of that year the club had over 20,000 members.

Each year, the Swatch Club creates a specially designed Swatch for its members. (Don’t worry, you can still join the club.) So as a tribute to Hayek, we put together this retrospective of Swatch Club watches and even earlier vintage models. Which is your favorite?

Street Style: Sophie Follows the Tao of Zoolander

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 03:30 PM PDT

Name: Sophie

Age: 21

Occupation: Stylist’s Assistant

What's is your favorite summertime drink? Amaretto Sour

What is your motto? There's more to life than being incredibly good looking, and I plan on finding out what that is.

Describe your style: Easy silhouettes, comfort, detail, asymmetry, easy breezy shapes with eye popping accessories.

Speaking of accessories, I see you are sporting the new "it" accessory Silly Bandz: Yes, my barista at La Colombe had the Amphibious collection and I had the Prehistoric collection, so we traded.

What is your favorite meal? Huevos Rancheros with avocados and cheese with a pitcher of white wine spritzer on the terrace of La Esquina.

**All photos by Ashley Jahncke.

Lula Pops Up in Harvey Nichols This Thursday

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 03:00 PM PDT

To celebrate 5 Years of Lula’s editor in chief Leith Clark has collaborated with Harvey Nichols on a pop-up curated by the magazine and designed by set designer Fiona Leahy.

Apparently Clark is turning the 4th floor of Harvey Nichols, which she calls, “the only store you need to visit in London. British style heaven,” into a wonderland of her favorite things. With products created especially for pop-up from the likes of Rodarte, Erdem, Lover, Miu Miu, Charles Anastase, Rachel Antonoff, and Sonia Rykiel; and books and music from her friends, i.e. Liz Goldwyn, Melissa Auf Der Maur, Derek Blasberg, Daisy de Villeneuve and Karen Elson, it sounds like her favorite things and our favorite things have a lot in common.

There will be an exclusive Erdem dress, Rodarte’s “Radarte” Tee (which we’re pretty sure we’ve seen at Opening Ceremony, but maybe this is the first time it’s available in the UK?) and the first chance for Londoners to get their hands on Blasberg’s Classy.

We love Lula and wish we could be in London to see this in real life, but we’re willing to settle for the online version. Both will launch this Thursday, July 1.

93% of Men Say the Term ‘Metrosexual’ is Offensive, Dated; Plus Other Fun Stats From the New Allure & GQ Grooming and Beauty Study

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 02:00 PM PDT

Allure & GQ released their 2010 Grooming and Beauty Study this morning. 1,000 men and 1,000 women aged 18-64 were surveyed for the Conde Nast imprints, and while the findings aren’t exactly revelatory (women spend more time and money on beauty and grooming, they feel more pressure to look younger, etc.), it seems men are ramping up their beauty regimens. Just don’t call them metrosexuals.

We culled the five most interesting findings from the exhaustive survey. Check them out.

1. “93% of men say the term ‘metrosexual is offensive and dated, and doesn’t describe me.’”

2. Women still spend more time on their beauty routines, but the time gap is closing. Allure and GQ found today men spend 22 minutes on their beauty regiment, as opposed to women, who spend 29 minutes. Men are spending more time primping than they did five years ago, when they spent just 20 minutes getting prepped.

3. Women have always been under pressure to look good, but the study shows that men are (finally) feeling some pressure to keep up appearances too. The survey asked, “Compared to 10 years ago, are men today under more pressure to care about their appearance?” 72% of men, and 78% of women said yes.

4. The survey asked participants to choose words they would use to “describe the image they want to project.” Men said: confident, masculine, intelligent, cool, and classic. Women? Confident, feminine, classic, youthful and intelligent. Who knew men and women want to project such similar images? Except of course for the “youthful” part. Men get handsome and “silver” when they get older, and we’re bombarded with botox and fillers to freeze time. In fact, the survey found that compared to 10 years ago, 92% of women feel that there is there more pressure “to look younger than one’s age.”

5. Men love their products too. 84% of men and 92% of women agreed that men feel more comfortable purchasing grooming products today compared to previous generations. To back that up, the study found that men spend $121 a year on grooming and beauty products, up from $90 five years ago. (Women spent an average of $194 on grooming and beauty products last year.)

Derek Lam is Hiring Interns!

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 01:28 PM PDT

Are you enthusiastic, dedicated and available at least three days a week from now until mid December? If so, Derek Lam’s PR department wants you.

This is an unpaid internship and you must be able to receive school credit. Job duties will include daily send outs/requests, occasional help with photo shoots and market appointments, running errands, and assisting with show prep for the Spring/Summer 2011 show. Fashion GPS and Photoshop experience is a plus but not required. Please send resumes to pr-intern@dereklam.com. And good luck!



Styling Duo Kemal + Karla Needs Interns in New York and LA!

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 01:25 PM PDT

Live in New York or L.A.? Want to help style cute celebs?

Kemal+Karla are a leading team of celebrity stylists/contributing fashion editors covering both coasts–Kemal is based in NYC and Karla is based in LA. They are represented by The Wall Group.

They’re looking for interns, unpaid 3-4 days per week, to join both the New York and L.A. offices, with room to grow into full-time paid assistants.

Duties include helping on set, preparing clothes, dressing models, ironing, steaming, organizing the closet, tracking samples, facilitating pick-up’s and deliveries, updating the blog, archiving photos, handling Fashion Week invites and more. Some of these days may include evenings and weekends depending on shoot schedule.

Must be motivated, confident, problem-solvers with manners and common sense who know the cities well and can receive emails and look up directions on their own phones when out in the field. In L.A., must have their own car and in NY, cost of metrocard on work days will be covered.

Must be calm and discreet when dealing with celebrities and clients. Experience working with other stylists or fashion magazines is helpful as well as any web media experience (blogs, websites, image archiving, twitter, facebook, etc).

Interested applicants should send resumes to info@kemalandkarla.com for consideration–and don’t forget to put NYC or LA in the subject line!

Inspiring Story of the Day: Shop Girls Open Their Very Own Boutique After the Big Company They Worked For Shuttered

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 01:00 PM PDT

LONDON–We all know the economic downturn has been tough on fashion—the past year alone has seen brands like Lyell, Phi, Tracy Feith and Abaete close in the wake of funding difficulties.

But there are bright spots as well, and we've found one in Chelmsford, England, where a group of staffers from the recently closed Faith shoe store are reopening as an independent shop.

Even sweeter: the new incarnation of Faith… is Hope!

That's right. The employees laid off when Faith closed earlier this year are reinventing themselves as the retail entrepreneurs behind Hope Footwear Ltd.

Spearheading the project are 26-year-old former store manager Justina Pay and 22-year-old former supervisor Roxanne Ransom.

"None of us wanted to get out of the retail industry, and it was such a shame that we closed," Roxanne told me during a break from decorating the new store.

"We got together and thought, why not reopen it? We had all that knowledge and a great, experienced team, and once we had the support of Faith suppliers, we became really excited about reopening as an independent company."

The store founders know the retail outlook isn't much stronger than a few months ago, when national shoe chain Faith entered administration–kind of like the UK’s version of filing for bankruptcy–and closed 70 stores across the country. Even so, Roxanne hopes she'll see "a huge rush" of shoppers pouring through the doors after the grand ribbon-cutting this Saturday.

Let's Hope!

Weird Trend: Adults Wearing Silly Bandz

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 12:00 PM PDT

All the rage with the kids, funny-shaped, brightly colored Silly Bandz are this generation’s answer to the slap bracelet. Modelina.com recently reported that even the fashion crowd has taken to the craze–both Henry Holland and Agyness Deyn have begun collecting.

Slap bracelets aside, the whole trend is very reminiscent of those rubbery rave bracelets that kids used to wear in stacks. The difference this time around? You don't have to been an angsty teenager or have matching neon hair to try it out. In order to get to the bottom of this phenomenon, we talked to a girl named Morgan, who is in her twenties and collects Silly Bandz with her friends.

It turns out that Silly Bandz aren't that new. Morgan says that she first heard about them around Christmas of 2009 when her mom gave her some. She says they that although they used to be hard to find nowadays you can get them almost anywhere, like the drug store or in the mall. A pack will run you anywhere between $1.99 and $5.99. There are some shapes known as "rares" which are the most sought-after and hardest to find.

People who collect Silly Bandz wear them stacked on as bracelets–not only to show off how many they have collected, but also to compare with other rabid fans. Morgan says they’re great conversation starters, but she usually only wears her rares. (The rest are stored in a plastic baggy at home.)

We’re curious: Have you embraced the Silly Bandz trend?



Prada Will Open Its US E-Store July 1

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 11:00 AM PDT

Following in the footsteps of competitors like Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, Prada will launch an online boutique for US customers.

The store is set to open this Thursday, July 1, debuting just as the privately-owned company revealed that it’s thinking about scheduling an initial public offering in 2012.

(Some background: This is probably the seventh or eighth time over the last 15 years that Prada has toyed with selling shares on the Milan Stock Market, so it’s most certainly not a definite thing.)

Much like the rest of Prada’s online efforts, the site is well-designed, user-friendly, and perfectly on-brand. You can’t buy clothes, but you can buy leather goods and eye wear, which are the house’s bread and butter categories.

Next up in the company’s online world? Japan will get its very own Prada E-store.

2010’s Best Summer Scents

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 10:00 AM PDT

I read recently that 800 new fragrances are introduced yearly. After attempting to do a review of the new 2010 summer fragrances, I think the number is more like 10,000.

I have been to perfume counters and Sephoras all over NYC, often trudging through heat that no human should have to bear. Armed with samples, little cardboard strips, and a bag of coffee beans for palette cleansing sniffs, I bring you Fashionista's best summer scents–and bottles–of 2010.



Fashion News Roundup: Shoulder Dysmorphia, Taylor Momsen Goes Too Far, and A Peek Inside Gilt Groupe’s Warehouse

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 09:39 AM PDT

Suffer for Fashion: Dis Magazine gets a little dis-turbing. Here’s a hypothetical look at what women would look like if we surgically “enhanced” our shoulders and collarbones to adapt to the increasing popularity of dramatic shoulders a la McQueen and Lanvin. It’s funny, creepy and sort-of NSFW. {Dis Magazine}

Gilt Groupe’s Offices Less Glamorous Than Their Image: A tour of Gilt’s gritty warehouse, located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. {Business Insider}

How Much For the Kate Moss?: Eighteen Testino-shot photographs of the supermodel will be exhibited and up for sale next week at Phillips de Pury & Co' s London headquarters in Victoria next week. The best part? The photos have been blown up to life-size proportions. {Telegraph}

Alexa Gets Knocked Off: In other London news, high street retailer Peacocks has produced a £14 bag that looks exactly like Mulberry’s “Alexa.” The bag will be available at the end of July, but if you want to get your hands on one, you might find yourself on a Birkin-esque waiting list. {Telegraph}

The iPhone Feeds Our Shopping Addiction: Want to know what stores have on sale in whatever neighborhood you happen to be in? There’s an app for that. {Racked NY}

Taylor Momsen Looks Like a Prostitute: Literally. {The Cut}

Ask Chris: What Makes a Good Stylist?

Posted: 29 Jun 2010 09:00 AM PDT

Mr. Benz,

How are you doing? As an aspiring stylist in the fashion industry, my question for you is, how do I go about developing a well rounded portfolio and besides local work on my own, how do I go about finding a stylist experienced enough to intern for? Seeing that you are a fashion designer, I’m pretty sure you have worked with everyone from a make-up artist to a stylist. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated. Hope to hear from you soon.

Dear Aspiring Stylist,

If you haven't figured it out yet, presentation is everything. And I do mean that – don't get lost in the minutia of “portfolios” and “books.” I actually can't remember the last time I reviewed a portfolio. Curate your life and your persona, commit to your direction, and become completely dedicated to that vision. Chances are, as an aspiring stylist, you have very unique opinions about the manner in which things should look. Focus on that and anything that speaks to that direction should get assembled into a portfolio. It's as interesting to see the process of inspiration as the end result.

A stylist fulfills many more roles than simply putting outfits together–they're personalities unto themselves, and are often the inspiration for entire collections. By becoming the most distinctive kind of person, people will gravitate towards your vision.

First impressions more often than not are the reason to work with someone, so you must be prepared for anything and at any moment! If your message as a stylist is a huge mess of colorful hair and shaved eyebrows, then you'd ought to make sure that you're representing that look everyday. If it's Lauren Hutton breezy glamor, with a clean face, straw hat, and overalls, then literally wear that everyday!

All the great stylists have a clear vision, and one that they have formed after years of trial and error. I say, wear something wonderful in a new way, and trust me, people will notice.

xx
CB

Got a question for Chris? Email him on askchrisbenz@fashionista.com!
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