Exclusive: Inside the New A&F Quarterly” y 11 mas

Exclusive: Inside the New A&F Quarterly
Get Inspired: Fashion According to Four Classic Rock Stars
Sunglasses At Night: Cute Celebrities Like Jessica Szohr Celebrate the CFDAs Sunglass Hut Collab
Why Mariah Carey’s New Candy-Scented Fragrances Will Make Her Even Richer
Street Style: Hannah Loves Vintage, Gregory Isaacs, and Sugar in the Raw
Surreal Fashion at the Concise Dictionary of Dress Exhibition
Seven Questions for Designer Hyden Yoo
Adventures in Copyright: Navoh Bags Proenza’s PS1 and Mulberry’s Alexa in One Fell Swoop
Ten Questions for The City
Fashion News Roundup: NYT’s Hearts Rodarte But Not Neighborhoodies, More From American Apparel, And The Dark Side Of Organic
Do You Want Your Gadgets to Be Girly?
London Fashion Week’s NEWGEN Men Winners Include Christopher Raeburn, Christopher Shannon, JW Anderson

Posted: 24 Jun 2010 07:00 AM PDT

The provocative Abercrombie & Fitch Quarterly magazine is back after a seven year hiatus, and we’ve got an exclusive look at the well-toned abs and bare asses inside.

The mag was shot by famed photographer Bruce Weber, and the theme, according to an Abercrombie & Fitch spokesperson, is “backstage at the A&F screen test.”

Unsurprisingly, clothing is optional backstage on the A&F set, and the actors are feeling lusty. The models–wholesome and chiseled–are classic Abercrombie, and the photos–sultry, voyeuristic, black and white–are classic Weber.

If the images we got our hands on are any indication, frat boys and teen girls alike won’t be disappointed by the 176-page mag, which hits stores July 17 at $10 an issue. (You can pre-order yours here).

Click through for more never before seen images from the racy mag.

Get Inspired: Fashion According to Four Classic Rock Stars

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 04:00 PM PDT

Everyone wants to look like a rock star, but not everyone wants to dress up in a machine-gun bra like Lady Gaga. For the more practical among us, we look to four old-school men of rock and update their signature vibes for our own stylish brand of androgyny-chic.

Elvis Costello
There's no denying that Elvis' glasses are the most iconic part of his look, but that's no reason that his knack for hipster-dandy style should go unrecognized. The guy knows how to sport a scarf, we'll give him that.

1. Michelson’s Burgundy Scarf, £41.95, KJ Beckett
2. Vinny Fedora, $50, Goorin Brothers
3. Depp Readers, $14, Urban Outfitters

Sunglasses At Night: Cute Celebrities Like Jessica Szohr Celebrate the CFDAs Sunglass Hut Collab

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 03:15 PM PDT

We will forgive these three for wearing sunglasses inside, just this once. Last night, at the Sunglass Hut Flagship store on Fifth Avenue, we watched Jessica Szohr, Alexis Bledel, and Emmy Rossum try on some pretty cute shades in celebration of the new Vogue Eyewear/CFDA Capsule Collection. We thought this was a pretty random choice of celeb guests and were wondering where Rachel Bilson was, until we realized each pair of sunglasses was pretty well-suited to these three girls. By the way, Alexis Bledel is GORGEOUS in person.

CFDA members Devi Kroell, Matt Murphy and Kara Ross were each selected to design a pair of sunglasses for a special capsule collection to be sold under the Vogue Eyewear brand.

Each designer's goal was to translate his or her signature look into a pair of sunglasses. We think each of them did a great job of designing a frame that reflected their aesthetic. We also feel that these designers were well chosen because we can see each pair appealing to a different girl. However, each pair of sunglasses has “VOGUE” emblazoned on both sides (with the designer’s name on the inside), which we think looks a little tacky. The collection retails for a pretty reasonable $129.95 per style and is available now at the Sunglass Hut Flagship store in New York and in Sunglass Hut stores in Macy’s. See below for pics of the collection plus a little behind the scenes video.

Why Mariah Carey’s New Candy-Scented Fragrances Will Make Her Even Richer

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 02:30 PM PDT

Launching a fragrance is easy money for celebrities with the right star power.

So it’s no surprise, following news that Mariah Carey dropped out of Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, that she’s looking to boost her biz with a new trio of fragrances called Lollipop Bling. (Yes, that is really the name.)

“It means she needs an infusion of cash,” says Jo Piazza, who writes the Celebenomics column for AOL’s PopEater.

“Celebrity fragrance has the highest margins of any celebrity branded consumer product and they get paid an upfront of between $2 million and $5 million. If the fragrance sells well it can bring in revenues of $100 million a year, requiring a celebrity to do very little in promotions or marketing.”

For Carey’s latest set of fragrances (she’s already got M by Mariah Carey, M by Mariah Carey Gold, Luscious Pink, and Forever), Elizabeth Arden, the company that holds Carey’s fragrance license, partnered with Bazooka Candy Brands, a division of Topps Company, Inc. which also makes Ring Pops.

"The inspiration for Lollipop Bling was Nick's marriage proposal to me…He first surprised me with a Ring Pop,” Carey says in a release.

Mimi’s always been a kid at heart (you’ll recall her fondness for all things Hello Kitty), so it follows that she’d relish a Ring Pop proposal. But perfume that smells like candy?

“Hopefully it will be a more sophisticated interpretation of bubble gum,” says Candace Corlett, President of WSL Strategic Retail. “But I’m sure it will make people open the bottle to smell it just to see.”

Could Mimi be more biz-savvy than we give her credit for? Maybe “Lollipop Bling” is a bit of marketing genius.

“With a celebrity like Mariah Carey, a fragrance can be a winning option,” says Karen Grant, vice president and global industry analyst, The NPD Group. “Based on NPD’s Celebrity Influence study, she is ranked in the top 25 in terms of awareness among those age 13 and up, and among the top 20 that they see endorsing a fragrance.”

Elizabeth Arden is planning on marketing the scents–Honey, Mine Again and Ribbon–using gumball machine gift sets and a lollipop rollerball fragrance set starting this Fall. (The scents sans gimmicky packaging are $35 a pop (pun intended), and will be available at department stores nationwide in July 2010.)

It’s a smart move, says Grant.

“In recent years, fragrances with novelty and fun packaging like Gwen Stefani’s Harujuku Lovers have been a big hit. As celebrity fragrances also tend to appeal more to a younger consumer, the affiliation with Topps Candy could, potentially, be a way to capitalize on the trend of a fun fragrance option,” says Grant.

But if you’re not a tween, would you wear it?

Street Style: Hannah Loves Vintage, Gregory Isaacs, and Sugar in the Raw

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 01:45 PM PDT

Name: Hannah

Age:21

Occupation: Student, works at Jamin Puech.

What is your favorite store in NYC? I like to shop in little vintage stores and church thrift stores.

How would you describe your style? Well, I always look for the perfect find..I know it when I see it.

How do you take your coffee? Milk and one Sugar in the Raw.

What is your current favorite song? Night Nurse by Gregory Isaacs… I've been in a reggae mood lately.

What is your #1 beauty product? Dr. Haushka Toned Day Cream

Who are your shoes by? Kork-Ease

Who is your top by? It's actually Edwardian underwear…I love it, especially because it's cropped.

Who is your skirt by? The Salvation Army, I love skirts like this that have pockets, so I can put things in them when I'm at work.

Where is your jewelry from? All over–I used to live in Africa, so my bracelets and ivory rings are from there…my necklace is an old scapular from Brazil.

**All photos by Ashley Jahncke.

Surreal Fashion at the Concise Dictionary of Dress Exhibition

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 01:15 PM PDT

Comformist 4, photo by Julian Abrams

LONDON—We love when serious museums turn their curatorial eyes to fashion, but all too often, the rigid display protocols and protective measures can make style exhibitions as stiff as a mannequin's port de bras.

So it was with a mix of excitement and curiosity that we headed to Kensington's Blythe House for The Concise Dictionary of Dress, a special collaborative fashion exhibition concocted by a costume curator and a psychologist.

The exhibition is organized around eleven 'definitions' (more like evocative associations) of the words armored, comfortable, conformist, creased, pretentious, fashionable, tight, measured, essential, plain and loose. Guides lead small groups on an hour-long journey through the building, pausing at installations that illustrate each word.

We began on the roof and spent the next hour descending through the floors.

Seven Questions for Designer Hyden Yoo

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 12:30 PM PDT

Self-taught designer Hyden Yoo learned the fashion industry through menswear, but recently has unleashed a womenswear line onto the world. We sat down with him for to talk fashion, Fear Factor, and why Chicago's never going to be New York.

Fashionista: You've said that your menswear collection draws from two main audiences– the Wall Street professional and the trendy Brooklynite. Do they wear the same things? Can they repurpose any item in your collection for either style?
Hyden Yoo: Basically I'm just trying to hit that bell curve so that the people who are way off in the top 20% could take a step down and wear some of those pieces, and then the guys at the very bottom who are very square and don't know that much about clothing could take a half-step up. So that's kind of where I positioned the line so it could reach a broader customer base. [Somewhere that] the hipsters don't think it's too lame, and at the same time those guys who are in business won't think, like, "Oh my god, what is this sleeve hanging off of the shirt? Why are there three sleeves?"

You've recently started doing womenswear. How do you think those two archetypes that you've designed for in menswear translate into womenswear? Are they as cut-and-dry?
It's two completely different monsters. Men's is just straight-up–they'll like it if it looks nice, fits nice, if the color is their favorite color or whatever color they're used to. That's kind of the male customer. It's not like I'm reinventing the wheel with men's, but with women's, you have to think of something new and fresh and try to reinvent proportions and go a little bit crazier. That's been a challenge, but at the same time, I think we're doing well so far. But in terms of the aesthetic matching with the men's… sometimes a lot of the fabrics are shared, or a lot of the details are shared, but it looks completely different. It's just really hard to have the men's and women's be matchy-matchy–in a sense either your men's is going to be too feminine or your women's is going to be too masculine.

So is the menswear market easier to please? Or just different?
It's just totally different. With the men's I can pretty much look at the whole collection and be like, "Alright, I know these pieces will sell, these will be good for press, we've got to use these colors." But some things with women's, it's just like, "I can't believe people bought this!" I made [certain pieces] just to throw them out there, to see what happens. I wasn't expecting any retailers to pick it up, let alone the customers to like it, but people responded. With women's, it's just a surprise every time.

Is there a trend in fashion right now that you absolutely hate?
I don't know if it's a trend or not, but recently I've noticed that with a lot of these high-end designer shoes, the heels are massive. They're super high stiletto heels and the front sole is also like three inches high. Somewhat like stripper shoes in a way. But, y'know, it works for some people, some people it doesn't work for. I like women who wear flats. I mean, it's just obviously personal preference.

You were on Fear Factor. Was it originally your intention, if you got money from that, to immediately go into fashion?
No. Basically how I started in this business was…I was in between jobs at the time, because my start-date for the job I had at the time got pushed back so in-between I was like "Okay, well, I'll just have fun and mess around and try to do different things, or travel, or try to work these odd jobs before I have to try to make a career." So me and a bunch of friends of mine were watching Fear Factor, and I was like, "I could totally win this show." I'm atheletic—not to toot my own horn but, I believed I was athletic, and I was like, "I could eat all that weird stuff, so I'm totally game." So I interviewed, got on, and they picked–it was a less than 1% acceptance to get on the show. So I got on and I won an episode, and I always saved [the money] for a rainy day just in case the time came where I hated my job and was like, "Oh shit, I've got to figure something else out to do." So when that time came, I had some money–when you graduate college, you think having ten or fifteen thousand saved up is a lot of money. Little did I know that to start a business, especially a garment business, it was nothing. I burned through that so fast, so I interned and freelanced at all these places when I first moved out here to New York and just tried to figure out the industry. So no, I had no intention of starting this business or even being in the fashion industry when I went on Fear Factor, or even after. It was only two years after that I realized, "Y'know what? I really like clothing and I really want to pursue a career in this."

You've lived in Chicago and Houston. Is there a different aesthetic in designing for New York as opposed to those cities, or is everything homogenized by this point?
It's definitely different. I'm not trying to offend anybody from any of those cities, because I love those cities, because I lived there for a while and I grew up there and so on, but there's no way I would take fashion tips or inspiration from the way people dress or how people style themselves in Chicago or Houston. Whenever I go home or visit, people are like, "Man, your jeans are so tight!" or, "Really, is your v-neck that low?" They're not used to it. There are a few stores in those areas now that are trying to get more New York/east-coast style, but we'll see how long that takes. It'll probably still be a couple of years behind.

If you could go back in time and steal credit for the designs of any designer, whose would you pick?
Honestly, I can't put a finger on an exact collection, because as bad as this sounds, I'm not a student of any particular designer's work. But I know one designer I could say–I think Ralph Lauren is hands-down my favorite designer. Any collection that he's ever done, I would be blessed—more than blessed—to say "This stuff's my stuff." Year after year, it's absolutely gorgeous. It's comfortable, it looks fabulous. I don't think he's setting the curve for any of this stuff–maybe for a few pieces here and there, but not his whole collection. It's not like he's trying to be the leader of the pack, but in a way, he is a leader of the pack. In the way he conducts his business, in the way he has branded his company, and how he's just started from where he's started… It's such an amazing brand, and even when I look at his collections from the previous seasons, they're just so consistent and solid all the way around. I rarely go shopping, but when I do buy something, I'll always look for Ralph Lauren.

Adventures in Copyright: Navoh Bags Proenza’s PS1 and Mulberry’s Alexa in One Fell Swoop

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 11:30 AM PDT

We love affordable, chic handbags, and that’s what label Navoh says it’s all about: Faux leather handbags priced at $125 and under.

But we’re not okay with blatant knockoffs.

We just don’t get why Navoh would bother out-n-out copying Proenza Schouler’s famed PS1 for its Fall 2010 collection. It’s literally the same exact bag in a cheaper material, from the colorways to the hardware.

Proenza Schouler isn’t a big company–and the boys make most of their money off of their genius accessories.

So copies like this are a huge deal. And downright shameful, in our opinion.

Navoh has also done an obvious re-imagining of another hot messenger bag, Mulberry’s Alexa, down to the braided handle. It’s not as exact as the Proenza copy, but it’s pretty close.

Really, we’re shocked that Navoh left Alex Wang alone.

Ten Questions for The City

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 10:30 AM PDT

1. I love how Olivia Palermo is so completely repulsed by Trash and Vaudeville that she looks like she might vom the entire time she’s in the store. Olivia, why won’t you let manager/buyer Jimmy help you try on shoes? He just wants to be the Prince Charming to your sulky snobby Cinderella, ok? Don’t deprive an aging ex-hair-band-er in a sleeveless studded leather vest of his simple pleasures (and possible foot fetish). That’s just bad karma.

2. Is Olivia part magpie? Is that why she desperately clutches that silver sequined platform stiletto in Trash and Vaudeville?

3. Olivia, pulling shoes for a shoot that have already been shot before? Tssk tssk. Shouldn’t you know your own magazine if you “work” there?

4. How many times is Nicholas Kirkwood mentioned in this episode? We’re too lazy to count, but it is a lot. We get it. Nicholas Kirkwood makes awesome shoes.

5. “I would be a [size] two I guess–I mean my boobs are kind of big.” Sigh. It must be really rough to be Whitney Port. This is not a question.

6. Forgotten why you love Kelly Cutrone? Here’s why: When Whitney and Roxy start to sound like Teletubbies after making a sale (that will later go bust), Kelly shuts them down instantly, telling them “So sorry to bother you girls, I actually came here to do business, not be entertained.” Zing!

7. If Kelly Cutrone ever leaves fashion could she become my therapist? Her advice to Roxy about what’s going on in Whitney’s head after she loses a big sale–”I’m scared, I’m without my family, I might lose everything that I have and I’m not sure about what I’m doing”–is so spot on.

8. Ke$ha: “I love garbage bags.” Why are we not surprised?

9. Is Seth, Robbie’s assistant, angling for a bigger role? He’s really amped up his bitchy in this episode. Well played, sir.

10. Where was Erin this episode? If she hadn’t unleashed her quick-tongued venom with such gusto at the end of the show–first accusing Olivia of stealing Louise Roe’s contact to pull the Nicholas Kirkwood trashbag shoes for the Ke$ha shoot, and then correcting Olivia that people are “pitted” and not “pinned” against each other–I would have been seriously disappointed. Way to pull through in the clutch, Erin.

Fashion News Roundup: NYT’s Hearts Rodarte But Not Neighborhoodies, More From American Apparel, And The Dark Side Of Organic

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 09:34 AM PDT

New York Times Versus Neighborhoodies Versus Rodarte: When Rodarte released its New York Herald Tribune tee as a tribute to the cult-classic film Breathless, apparently they forgot the cliché that there are no new ideas. T-shirt underdogs Neighborhoodies had already been producing a near-exact doppleganger of the shirt for years– minus the ghosted-out “Rodarte” text, of course. Neighborhoodies is now in a legal kerfuffle with The New York Times, but the Times may not have much of a case. We expect the newspaper giant to emerge from the conflict with no winnings and some bad press–as they say, no news is good news. {Racked}

The Un-Cuddly Facts About Organic Cotton: Hipster mommies and daddies everywhere wouldn’t dream about putting their little Emmett/Regina/Asbury in anything other than 100% pure organic cotton, but they may not realize that the kid’s going to have a hell of a complex when he grows up. According to Time magazine, the insecticide restrictions necessitated by the “organic” label are putting babies in Africa at an even higher risk for Malaria, a disease that’s already wreaking havoc on Uganda. Let’s hope the newly-pregnant Stella McCartney avoids this trap….{Ecouterre}

V Launches V Spain V Spain debuts this week, sporting a rather-nude Adriana Lima. This marks the ~~first foreign sister-magazine of V~~. This is the fifth edition of V Spain, but the first time its cover model differs from the American version. {Design Scene}

Just Karen and Her Guitar: The model/musician/goddess sings does her very own rendition of “Cruel Summer.” {Daily Candy}

More Drama From American Apparel: Since word got out about American Apparel’s intensely regimented hiring practices, it seems to be all anyone can talk about. However, the latest installment of the drama is that American Apparel now requires all its employees to sign a one-million dollar confidentiality agreement…presumably so this sort of thing doesn’t happen again. {Gawker}

Do You Want Your Gadgets to Be Girly?

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:58 AM PDT

So, my new iPhone is scheduled to arrive in the mail today. And I’m really excited. I’ve owned my original iPhone for two years now, and I’m ready for a change. The iPhone was the first phone I ever spent more than $30 on–mostly because in the past, I’ve found most hand held devices available in the US to be downright ugly.

Which brings me to my next point: Today I received a pitch about Sony’s new designs for its VAIO EA-Series Signature Collection. The laptops, with an etched pattern called “Arabesque,” are available in pink, black, and gold.

Let me be clear. These aren’t horrible looking. But they aren’t amazing, either.

The issue? The suits running Sony–and companies like Sony–don’t get what women want.

Think about the laptops Vivienne Tam and other designers have created for HP. (We actually gave one away to a reader a few months ago.) Again, I don’t think these are downright ugly, but I also don’t think I’d personally carry one, even if I was a PC person.

To be fair, tech companies are savvy in certain ways: They’re attempting to attract more females, a segment of the market with plenty of room to grow. But I feel like they’re going about it in the wrong way. Women, much like men, want their products to look good. That’s why I buy Apple–because it looks good. (And it also works, but that’s not a story for this site.)

Another company that gets it right? Incase. While they only provide protection for gadgets, it’s good-looking protection. Incase’s collaboration with Another Magazine, Gareth Pugh and Colette is much more attractive to me than a pale pink cell phone.

What should these firms do to better connect with female consumers? Hire people who actually know what they’re talking about when it comes to what looks good and what doesn’t. Don’t rely on market research, which is something big companies tend to fall back on.

What do you think? Do you like girl-i-fied gadgets? Or are you simply after great design?

London Fashion Week’s NEWGEN Men Winners Include Christopher Raeburn, Christopher Shannon, JW Anderson

Posted: 23 Jun 2010 08:15 AM PDT

Smack in the middle of Men’s Fashion Week, the British Fashion Council has announced its NEWGEN menswear class of Spring 2011.

Much like the womenswear recipients, announced June 10, the ten designers will be afforded the opportunity to show their Spring 2011 collections at London Fashion Week this September. And along with £5,000 – £10,000 towards their show costs, they’ll receive free exhibition space, usage of the BFC catwalk and mentoring.

Christopher Shannon, James Long, and JW Anderson will use stage runway shows; Carolyn Massey, Lou Dalton, and Sibling will do presentations; and Christopher Raeburn, James Small, Katie Eary, and Omar Kashoura will create installations.

We’re only super-familiar with Raeburn, who creates rugged outerwear out of recycled materials, then has it all put together right in England. But Katie Eary and JW Andersons’ collections have really caught our eye. We’ll be reporting on them from the front lines of London Fashion Week, so expect to hear more about these designers soon.