Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Heart
Not alot of people are familiar with the band Heart unless you really are a 60's or 70's music fanatic. Infact I only discovered them as a couple of their songs are featured on one of my favourite film's soundtracks - The Virgin Suicides. I researched into the band and also discovered that Nancy Wilson, one of the two sisters, composed the soundtrack to Almost Famous, as Nancy is the wife of the writer of the film - Cameron Crowe. They are a rock band circa 1975-1990, the band line-up changed regularly, however, the only remaining two are the sisters Ann & Nancy Wilson. They also take influence from folk and hard rock music, and were ranked number 57# on VH1's Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. Dreamboat Annie is by far their best album and my favourite of all their albums, released in 1976, it is also their debut. The album has a very folky, 'hippy' style to it, my favourite track being Magic Man. Whilst trying to 'untick' some Heart songs on my itunes because my ipod is full up, I didn't manage to untick any of their songs from Dreamboat Annie as every single song sounds different and stands out. Crazy On You is another favourite. Also, how gorgeous are they?! (Ann on the left, Nancy on the right).
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
De Leiburne & Gmach
My dearly beloved friend Andrea has ran away from her home in Vienna to Landan town, and she is living the life. I met her for the first time in person the other day and we spent all day wandering aimlessly around Camden eating doughnuts, then being the fatty I am I craved a KFC and we went to KFC. Then we met my good old friend DE LEIBURNE! Most people know her as Nicole however, and we went in search for the cheapest pub in Camden to buy a drink. Why is everywhere so expensive! We were going to go and visit Sandy - http://cottonstyle.co.uk/blog/... but then we realised Sandy did not actually reside in Camden but in Shoreditch, so we got ourselves a couple of beers and WKD's and sat on Camden Lock for hours drinking and talking about how horrible men are and what we hope to do with our lives. In the meantime we met a cute busker, got interviewed for a television show and witnessed a load of people being arrested for posession of the good old greenery, then they waltzed past us and didn't even search us despite the fact we had about 5 empty bottles of alcohol on us, we are the lucky ones.
Bloody Social
Jamie Burke is my new future husband, he is literally beautiful. For some reason I am ONLY attracted to men with long hair but occasionally there are a few exceptions. This guy looks like a rock n' roll mixture between Axl Rose - of Guns N' Roses and some 70's hippy hobo dude. His hair is perfect, his model face is perfect, the way he dresses is perfect and the fact that he plays guitar doesn't even come into it. Jamie models for Calvin Klein and is also the lead singer of rock band Bloody Social, hear their music here - http://www.myspace.com/bloodysocial, I reccomend listening to Radio Maniacs. The only negative fact I have discovered about this man is that he supposedly cheated on Sienna Miller, but still, I think I might be willing to sacrifice that, simply because he is drop dead gorgeous and when you look like that you really can get away with anything.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Getting Past the Red Rope of Fashion: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week recently took place in New York City (September 10-17), and for all those interested, I suggest going to the MBFW website to view sample slides and videos of the featured designers’ Spring 2010 clothing lines. Since I’m interested in the popularity of the Tribal Style and Native-influenced fashion, and in the democratization of fashion, I perused the collections searching for evidence of diversity in fashion, through tribal influences and brown faces.
The New York Fashion Week began in 1943 as Press Week in an attempt to highlight American fashion to the press who would hopefully write about American designers (as opposed to European designers) in fashion magazines such as Vogue. The first New York Fashion Week was a success: American styles were praised as modern and flattering, and American designers were finally gaining the respect previously reserved for European designers. At first, the fashion events were held at Hotels. But during the '70s and '80s, American designers began to stage their own shows in lofts, clubs, and restaurants. In 1994 the events were ‘consolidated’ to one location: Bryant Park. One of the main concerns with centralizing the event came from the designers – they didn’t want their creativity stifled. However, Fashion Week helped American designers reach a greater audience by allowing editors and buyers to see the country's best work at a single time, in a single place. Nevertheless, this centralizing didn’t come without a cost – the event became exclusive, and new designers continue to have a hard time getting in. Furthermore, the limited audience seating is reserved for elite buyers, celebrities, and select members of the press.
In February 2009, three Native American designers, Dorothy Grant (Haida), Patricia Michaels (Taos), and Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti), marked an historical moment and showed their work during the New York Fashion Week. This is the first time in history that Native designers participated in an event in Manhattan during Fashion Week.
The Native fashion event was held at Ramscale Penthouse Studio in February, and was hosted by Gail and Murray Bruce and Michael Chapman. Ramscale offered the space and opportunity for these designers to network throughout the week with various individuals in the New York fashion world. It was a foot in the door. However, the event was held on the fringes of Fashion Week, and it was not at the prestigious, elite, and hard-to-get-into Bryant Park (physically, Ramscale is on the outer limits of the fashion week events, located on West St, which is a few blocks away from Bryant Park). The high ticket price of a slot in Bryant Park ensures that those slots remain reserved for the recognizable names, such as Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs. Gail Bruce and others hope that the big name American designers, such as Lauren and Anna Sui, will work collaboratively with Native designers instead of just using Native designs as their own. Though we are only at the very beginning of this movement, these three designers plan to show again at Fashion Week next February, and they are dedicated toward building a Native Fashion Week movement. Patricia Michaels explained that it was difficult to find a market for cutting-edge Native-made fashion, but was hopeful that times were changing. She stated, “When people see something so different and new, it’s kind of hard to take, but now it’s finally happening.”
While these designers were absent from the September event, Indianness was still present as non-Native designers sought inspiration from America’s first peoples. Props to Mara Hoffman for producing a line reflecting diverse inspirations, including Aztec and Native American geometrics and beadwork patterns. But best of all, they were shown on ethnically diverse models as well.
We’ll look to the future as designers push Native-made fashion past the red rope and hail it to be as equally as important as its non-Native counterparts.
The New York Fashion Week began in 1943 as Press Week in an attempt to highlight American fashion to the press who would hopefully write about American designers (as opposed to European designers) in fashion magazines such as Vogue. The first New York Fashion Week was a success: American styles were praised as modern and flattering, and American designers were finally gaining the respect previously reserved for European designers. At first, the fashion events were held at Hotels. But during the '70s and '80s, American designers began to stage their own shows in lofts, clubs, and restaurants. In 1994 the events were ‘consolidated’ to one location: Bryant Park. One of the main concerns with centralizing the event came from the designers – they didn’t want their creativity stifled. However, Fashion Week helped American designers reach a greater audience by allowing editors and buyers to see the country's best work at a single time, in a single place. Nevertheless, this centralizing didn’t come without a cost – the event became exclusive, and new designers continue to have a hard time getting in. Furthermore, the limited audience seating is reserved for elite buyers, celebrities, and select members of the press.
In February 2009, three Native American designers, Dorothy Grant (Haida), Patricia Michaels (Taos), and Virgil Ortiz (Cochiti), marked an historical moment and showed their work during the New York Fashion Week. This is the first time in history that Native designers participated in an event in Manhattan during Fashion Week.
The Native fashion event was held at Ramscale Penthouse Studio in February, and was hosted by Gail and Murray Bruce and Michael Chapman. Ramscale offered the space and opportunity for these designers to network throughout the week with various individuals in the New York fashion world. It was a foot in the door. However, the event was held on the fringes of Fashion Week, and it was not at the prestigious, elite, and hard-to-get-into Bryant Park (physically, Ramscale is on the outer limits of the fashion week events, located on West St, which is a few blocks away from Bryant Park). The high ticket price of a slot in Bryant Park ensures that those slots remain reserved for the recognizable names, such as Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs. Gail Bruce and others hope that the big name American designers, such as Lauren and Anna Sui, will work collaboratively with Native designers instead of just using Native designs as their own. Though we are only at the very beginning of this movement, these three designers plan to show again at Fashion Week next February, and they are dedicated toward building a Native Fashion Week movement. Patricia Michaels explained that it was difficult to find a market for cutting-edge Native-made fashion, but was hopeful that times were changing. She stated, “When people see something so different and new, it’s kind of hard to take, but now it’s finally happening.”
While these designers were absent from the September event, Indianness was still present as non-Native designers sought inspiration from America’s first peoples. Props to Mara Hoffman for producing a line reflecting diverse inspirations, including Aztec and Native American geometrics and beadwork patterns. But best of all, they were shown on ethnically diverse models as well.
We’ll look to the future as designers push Native-made fashion past the red rope and hail it to be as equally as important as its non-Native counterparts.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Video | Is the Fashion Industry Racist?
In 1997, Jean Paul Gaultier created the first fashion show to feature all black models:
A decade later, individuals who impact the fashion industry, such as Bethann Hardison, gathered in 2007 to talk about the issue of black faces being absent from fashion.
Curious how New York Fashion Week's 116 Shows [in February 2009] treated models of color? Check out these links from Jezebel.com and Abagond.com who break it down.
A decade later, individuals who impact the fashion industry, such as Bethann Hardison, gathered in 2007 to talk about the issue of black faces being absent from fashion.
Curious how New York Fashion Week's 116 Shows [in February 2009] treated models of color? Check out these links from Jezebel.com and Abagond.com who break it down.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
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