Ebony Fashion Fair

The Runway Report: What’s Hip. What’s Hot. What’s Now! is the theme for this 51st year of the Ebony Fashion Fair.  If you’re unfamiliar with this production, it’s not your typical fashion show.

Part runway, part Broadway show, Ebony Fashion Fair showcases designs by Christian Lacroix, Sarli, b. michael, Carolina Herrera, Ruben Singer, Jean-Louis Scherrer to the music of hip hop and R&B.

Ebony Fashion Fair isn’t just a fashion indulgence, this organization is also dedicated to giving back to the community.  To date, the show has donated over $55 million to charitable organizations and scholarship funds.

Can any other fashion show production make an equal claim?

The show debuted in Chicago earlier this month, and will travel to 170 cities nationwide.  I recommend you check it out if you get the chance.

Here’s a preview of some of the hot fashion you will see at the show.

Christian LaCroix

Missoni

Sarli

Jutta Nordheim

For more information and an event schedule, click here.

Photo Source: Ebony Fashion Fair

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Fashion Lesson #21: Picks For Your Shape at NY Fashion Week S/S 2009

Now that Fashion Week in New York is wrapping up, I thought it would be interesting to use some of the pieces from the shows and match them to a respective body type.  So for this Fashion Lesson, let’s all pretend that we have well toned and fit bodies for our corresponding body shape category.  After all, Fashion Week doles out a liberal dose of fantasy, so why not just pretend?

(click on images for source and designer information)

Apple

The main objective for the Apple shape is to camouflage the tummy without sacrificing a feminine shape.  Pockets on the hips also helps to make the waist appear smaller.  I do not endorse the knee high nylons with this look from G-Star, but the jacket really appeals to me.

I also chose the gray and orange ombre dress for the figure flattering drape and the beautiful illusion of a dress on fire.  The flesh toned dress to the left of this photo is a great example of creating a proportioned body shape with beadwork.  In addition, I like it for an Apple Shape because of the V-neck.  Many Apple shaped women have a large bust and need to break up the voluminous appearance of their bust.

  

 

Straight

With a straight figure, you want to create an hourglass shape.  The examples below do just that.  One easy way of doing this is to add a belt to your coat or sweater this season.

Hourglass

One of the most envied body shapes on the spectrum, the job of the Hourglass is to show off those amazing curves!  Be sure to choose a garment that defines your waist, but is not too tight everywhere else, unless you look like the model in the Hervé Léger by Max Azria dress.

Pear

The Pear woman shares some of the traits of an hourglass, but she needs to make sure that her shoulders are well defined to balance out her hips.  I know the Oscar de la Renta outfit is a repeat for me, but I think it is a lovely example for a pear shaped woman.  The top enhances the waist, adds definition to the shoulders with the geometric piping and the pants are nice and loose at the hips without sacrificing a feminine shape.

 

If you have any suggestions for future Fashion Lessons, be sure to write me or leave a comment!

Photo Source: Style.com

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Japan FW TYO Spring/Summer 2009: Day 2

Day Two at Japan’s Fashion Week brings strong shoulders, more “ice cream cone” pants, HISUI seems to have a bone to pick with us, doll clothes, Cousin IT wigs, more ruffs and some ass kicking 80′s.

First up are the decidedly strong shoulders from designer Akira Naka.  For women who have the weight of the world to balance, this collection calls to mind a certain eighties business suit jacket look.

AKIRA NAKA

Designer

AKIRA NAKA

Of all of Tuesday’s collections available for review, I would have to say that support surface was my favorite.  We have fall 2008′s “it” pants back for an encore and a really lovely modern interpretation of the bold shoulder.  I would feel much more comfortable wearing this sort of shape than a set of linebacker shoulder pads as seen in the above collection from AKIRA NAKA.  One thing is for sure, invest in a great pair of oxford shoes!

support surface

Designer

Norio Surikabe

 

Like mintdesigns yesterday, HISUI seems to have been inspired by skeletal features.  Is it a commentary on the pressure to be thin?  I’m not really sure, but the first dress in this collection also brings a fish like skeleton to mind.

HISUI

Designer

Hiroko Ito

Oh Né-net, what can I say?  All I could think of was what would Michael Kors say if this came down the runway for him to judge?  Look number two looks like a modern day Depression Era costume (hmm, intentional?) and just in case we didn’t get it, Raggedy Ann and Andy are holding effigies of themselves.

Né-net

Designer

Kazuaki Takashima

Aguri Sagimori had some very interesting uses of the ruffle, which seems to be a popular trend.  I especially liked the white blouse below with the tuxedo-like tail.  That sort of tail was very popular in the mid to late eighties.

AGURI SAGIMORI

Designer

Aguri Sagimori

Slightly similar to motonari ono yesterday, Kamishima Chinami has its own interpretation of the ruff and an intriguing take on the popular bold shoulder.  It’s a really lovely collection.

KAMISHIMA CHINAMI

Designer

Chinami Kamishima

Finally! There’s no need to wonder what you and your man will be wearing on your next date night.  Take a little inspiration from the sexy punk collection by designer Ato Matsumoto.

ato

Designer

Ato Matsumoto

 

Photo Source: Japan Fashion Week Organization

Stay Tuned for more of Japan’s Fashion Week in Tokyo!

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FOREVER IN FASHION — HOW NEW YORK DRESSED THE WORLD 1925 TO 1965

 

Pull out your calendars, because you will want to reserve a date to see Producer William Buster’s Historic Runway Fashion Event – FOREVER IN FASHION — HOW NEW YORK DRESSED THE WORLD 1925 TO 1965 showing August 21-24 in New York City.

The event is described as, “a rare and detailed opportunity to see, on a runway, an unprecedented collection of American Vintage fashions created and sold in New York and throughout North America.” 

The show is created by Bill Buster, an Award-Winning designer in Film, Theatre, Television and Opera. The event is a spectacular theatrical runway retrospective of the classic fashions that defined American Elegance and still inspire the runway collections shown today around the world. Presented on four consecutive dates, this is presented as a living tribute to the New York Fashion District and the history that was made there. There will also be available for sale a boutique of vintage fashions, collectible accessories and home decor objects from the eras covered in the show.

LOCATION:  THE PRODUCER’S CLUB, THE GRAND THEATER.   358 West 44th Street in the Theater District, between 8th and 9th Avenues.

TIMES: Thursday through Saturday Evenings at 8 PM. Closes after Sunday Matinee at 3 PM, 8/24/08.

TICKETS: ONLINE NOW: http://www.theatermania.com. ORDER BY PHONE: (212) 352-3101, or (866) 811-4111 Toll Free. Cash only at the door. PRICES: $50 Adults, $40 fashion and retail professionals, $30 students and seniors. Group Discounts available. Call 347.880.2840 for information.

Web site: http://www.theatermania.com/

Source: PR Newswire

Photo Source: Kisses & Roses

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Fashion Sensei Says… Nerd Alert! Edition

After seeing this first event and nearly making an entire post out of it, I decided to have a theme to today’s Fashion Sensei Says.  Enjoy!

Le Geek So Chic…

Hot off the Style.com newswire, Superheros: Fashion and Fantasy is set to go on display May 7th at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Here’s a sneak peak of what looks to be a fantastic show.

Masked Mavens

Inspiration

Cat Woman

 

Runway

 

Every Superhero needs and emblem

Inspiration

Superman, Queen with Supermen

Runway

 

 

When Super Powers Just Aren’t Enough- Body Armor

Inspiration

Iron Man, Tron

Runway

The Feminine Caped Crusader

Inspiration

Jane Fonda in Barbarella

Runway

 

 

Free For All…

May 3rd is Free Comic Book Day.  Hit your local comic book store to pick up one free comic from a list of titles.  For more information, click here.  Sci-Fi Sensei has been talking about this for weeks and was excited to see this cover to the local entertainment section of the Detroit Free Press today.

 

Not A Paper Cup…

From the fabulous Thinking Geek site comes the Not A Paper Cup. This ceramic, thermal java cup is fantastic!

Beauty and Brains Too…

While toting your new coffee cup, show that you have a dose of brains to go with your astonishing beauty.  The below  Caffeine Babydoll Tee has the molecular structure for your morning buzz.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this abbreviated Fashion Sensei Says… and getting in touch with your “Inner Geek”.

 

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Comme Des Garcons for H&M Fall 2008

H&M has announced that Rei Kawakubo will collaborate with the discount design emporium come November 2008.  Her collection will include men and women’s collections along with some pieces for children.  The collection release will coincide with the launch of the second H&M store in Tokyo.

“Rei Kawakubo has been at the top of our wish list for a long time and we are thrilled that she has chosen to collaborate with us. We have tremendous respect for Kawakubo’s fashion philosophy of questioning fashion’s ingrained patterns, and admire her artistic approach to design. …explains Margareta van den Bosch, creative advisor, H&M.”

Rei Kawakubo who was born in Tokyo and interestingly, not being a trained fashion designer (she studied fine art and literature), dictated her designs verbally to pattern makers.

She now is responsible for 14 different brands, in shops spanning 25 countries, with nearly  700 employees.

Comme des Garcons has been described as specializing “in anti-fashion, austere, sometimes deconstructed garments, sometimes lacking a sleeve or other component.”

Here are some looks from her Spring and Autumn 2008 collections.

 

 

I will be interested to see what sort of collection she decides upon.  Not to mention the budget constraints she will have with fabric and materials.

Hmm…this is all beginning to sound like a Project Runway challenge.

 

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Sources: infomat, H&M, Style.com

Wills India Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2008

Have you ever heard the saying it’s always Happy Hour somewhere?  Well it seems this adage applies to Fashion Week around the world. 

Last week while I was covering Japan Fashion Week Tokyo, New Deli India was hosting their own.

However some industry insiders felt Wills India Fashion Week (WIFW) designers did not take into account global weather and questioned who Indian designers were marketing to.

Benedicte Bro, an international fashion consultant, asked, “Who is the target client for the Indian designers? The clothes they showed seem to be for a fantasy woman whose only preoccupation is to look pretty. The designers right now are definitely not catering to the working woman.” She added, “Good clothes are powerful.”

The article also goes on to say:

Chantal Rousseau, operating vice-president, Europe Bloomingdales said, “I have been coming for the autumn/winter fashion week now for some time but I am wondering if I should continue because if the week is held in March there is no way the deliveries can happen by the time the autumn/winter collections are in stores in the west.”

So what were they looking at?  Here are some highlights from WIFW.

Manish Arora

Said to be inspired by warrior fashions from around the world.

Rina Dhaka

Puja Arya

Charu Parashar

Ekru

What do you think of these pictures?  Frankly based on these pictures, I do not see how the above criticisms are warranted.  I see a lot of influences that we have seen elsewhere; i.e. Manish Arora’s first picture feels a little Galliano and the second definitely is Ballenciaga Spring 2008.  I also see the Ombre influence in  Charu Parashar’s beautiful long beige, crimson and gold skirt.  But how are these clothes and less wearable than runway shows we see in Paris, New York and Milan?  There are all sorts of  “unwearable” fashion that comes down those runways if you hold it to the average woman’s standards; especially work wear.

 Any Indian readers out there?  What’s your take?

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Sources: Business Standard; Fashion Wire Daily

JFW Tokyo Autumn/Winter 2008

Here’s the latest run from JFW/TYO.

ato by Ato Matsumoto

everlasting sprout by

Keiichi Muramatsu /
Noriko Seki

FUMIO by FUMIO AKIYAMA

* installation

corazon del alma by Nobuhide Koi

* installation

HISUI by Hiroko Ito

Raphus cucu by ERIKO ISOYA

YLANG YLANG by Ryunosuke Aoyagi

AGURI SAGIMORI

Here comes cousin It!

suzuki takayuki by Takayuki Suzuki

ELE TRA by Ritsuko Kato

tiny dinosaur by Naomi Yamamoto

Yukiko Hanai

JUNYA TASHIRO

TAKUMI HATAKEYAMA

garconshinois by shin

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Update On JFW A/W 2008

Hi guys, here is an update on the collections for Autumn/Winter at Japan Fashion Week in Tokyo.  I don’t have any time to comment on them other than some are very creative and some are just crazy.  Enjoy!

zechia by 

Lica /
Masahiro Nakagawa

motonari ono

mintdesigns by

Hokuto Katsui /
Nao Yagi

MIKIO SAKABE  by

Mikio Sakabe /
Shueh Jen-Fang

JOTARO SAITO

support surface by Norio Surikabe

Né-net by Kazuaki Takashima

UNDER CASTLE by Shinichiro Shimojo

(FYI this is underware)

matohu by

Hiroyuki Horihata /
Makiko Sekiguchi

 

Photo Sources: JFW/TYO, REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (JAPAN)

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Tokyo Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2008

This is an exciting week in fashion as Tokyo unveils their Autumn/Winter collections for 2008.  Unlike many other countries, Japan’s Fashion Week is organized by the Japanese government along with the private sector to bring international awareness to this countries talented fashion design community.

Many well known Japanese designers such as Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo and Jun Takashi of Undercover are well known names worldwide.  However, these designers no longer show in Tokyo.  Instead, they have moved their collections to Paris for greater recognition.

JFW started on Monday with 4 shows under it’s belt with a total of  45 brands set for exhibition.

Here are some highlights of Monday’s shows.

KAMISHIMA CHINAMI by Chinami Kamishima

HIROMI YOSHIDA

MODE ÀCŌTÉ by Minoru Adachi

Hidenobu Yasui

I’ll keep you posted on any noteworthy designs in the coming week.

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 Photo Source