Designer Franco Sarto will be at Nordstrom at the San Francisco Centre from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday March 31 to present his Spring Collection. See the flyer for details:
Kate Betts and I go back a long way when we were foot soldiers at the Collections, circa 3rd row.
Kate was at Vogue and strongly tipped to succeed Anna Wintour, should she ever step aside.
Kate didn’t wait (will it ever happen?) and became Editor-in-Chief of Harper’s Bazaar and — timing is not everything — a new mother at the same time.
She arrived in Milan for the Italian Collections, in tears, not glory, because at Kennedy Airport she discovered that even new babies need a passport, or at least be on their mother’s passport.
Fast forward.
Today, she works for Time magazine, The Daily Beast, NPR, Sirius, and CNN.
Kate really knows the world of fashion, where all the bodies are buried: some dead, some alive…
Follow the jump to read more.
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Buenos días mis amigos!
I’m in New York for the preview of the Balenciaga Exhibition at Queen Sofía Spanish Institute tomorrow evening. It will be open to the public November 19 – February 19.
The exhibition was conceived by Oscar de la Renta, our Guest of Honour in 2000, and curated by Hamish Bowles of Vogue.
Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972), a Spaniard, had been a successful couturier in his own country.
He left in wake of the Spanish Civil War and went to London where he couldn’t find any work (really?) In 1937 he moved to Paris where his first collection was a huge success (surprise!).
Diana Vreeland once asked what he thought of a woman who bought clothes from different designers. Balenciaga replied, “I wouldn’t dress her because it shows she is merely interested in clothes and doesn’t understand fashion.”
Clearly, Americans including Pauline de Rothschild (née Potter), Mona von Bismarck (née Strader), Thelma Chrysler Foy and Doris Duke understood fashion.
Mona von Bismarck’s red dress to die for
The Texan Claudia Heard de Osborne wished to be buried in Balenciaga because “If my dear Cristóbal is waiting for me wherever we go when we die, he’ll be so pleased to see me in his dress and coat.”
You may enjoy pictures from two earlier Balenciaga exhibitions in Paris in 2006, at the Mona Bismarck Foundation in March; and at the Musée de la Mode at du Textile of the Louvre in July:
The New York exhibition will come to the de Young Museum in San Francisco from March 26 to July 4 2011. Before that, watch out for Balenciaga-mania at New York Fashion Week in February.
Written by: Gladys Perint Palmer
Click here to read more of “Picture This” by GPP
Anna Wintour, the Editor in Chief of American Vogue, turned 61 on November 3, 2010.
“I think my father really decided for me that I should work in fashion,” said Wintour in The September Issue. The popular fashion documentary has almost everything you need to know about Wintour. Her father arranged her first job for her. What a lucky little girl. She worked for Biba boutique — one of the most influential fashion houses in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Philip Washington wrote about how Wintour worked for Viva Magazine — a ’70s softcore porn publication for women — in the Fall 2010 issue of 180 Magazine. Wintour went from Biba to softcore porn to being fired from Harper’s Bazaar to firing many women (and arguably some gay men) at American Vogue. She transformed from a semi-emo teen girl to a sunglasses-wearing editrix. There is no doubt this Scorpio lady has made herself one of the most powerful women today. Wintour had made some remarkable quotes in past. Let’s have a look.
Anna Wintour in her semi-emo days
She once said at the Teen Vogue annual Fashion University: “I worked for American Harper’s Bazaar — they fired me. I recommend that you all get fired, it’s a great learning experience.” I honestly cannot tell if Anna Wintour was being funny, sarcastic or if she was telling the truth? Or was it a “ha-ha, I got the last laugh” to Harper’s Bazaar?
Follow the jump to read more.
The September issue of fashion magazines is the biggest selling issue all year — so it plays a big role in fashion. In RJ Cutler’s documentary, The September Issue Candy Pratts Price confirms that “September is the January in fashion,” confirmed by Candy Pratts Price. That is why when it comes to September cover, most publications play it safe by putting a blonde celebrity (or a model with celebrity status) in a pretty dress.
Let’s analyze last year’s September issues: Vogue put Charlize Theron, W put Kate Moss, Elle put Jennifer Aniston, Glamour put Jessica Simpson, Marie Claire put Ashley Olsen (or her twin—I still can’t tell them apart), and Allure had Amanda Seyfried. It was an all-blonde September — and Dodai Stewart from Jezebel was furious about it.
This year, some magazines still play it safe(ish). Harper’s Bazaar put Jennifer Aniston (she’s quite a popular choice, isn’t she?), Elle nabbed Julia Roberts, InStyle picked Hilary Swank. However, some tried to push the envelope delicately. Teen Vogue put Justin Bieber on the cover—which was genius because all these prepubescent girls will definitely buy a copy or two. Vanity Fair featured Lady Gaga who is blonde, but edgier than Jennifer Aniston or Jessica Simpson. American Vogue put Halle Berry in Anna Wintour’s cropped hairdo circa early ‘90s. (BTW, Halle is the second African American woman to appear on Vogue’s September cover. The first was Naomi Campbell in 1989.)
Perhaps my favorite is Stefano Tonchi’s W. It features up-and-coming actresses Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and the upcoming Thor), Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), Yaya DaCosta (The Kids Are All Right), Greta Gerwig (Greenberg), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Emma Roberts, and Zoe Kravitz. I love the pyramidal composition of the cover girls. The cover will be triple-page foldout and will have W’s new logo, which is an italicized “W”. The font choice is also much better than Vogue’s Futura.
Follow the jump for covers from more September issues.
With a knack of vibrant surrealism and politically minded work, Frida Kahlo is probably one of the most engaging artists of our time — not to mention the only one who could rock a unibrow and get away with it.
Frida would’ve been 103 years old today rockin’ her uber-personal paintings and probably making things interesting in popular culture — and God knows we need it. Frida once rocked the cover of Vogue in the late ’30s and people are still paying homage to the icon:
Claudia Schiffer gives us her best Kahlo in this German Vogue shoot photographed by Karl Lagerfeld
Kristen Wiig as the great Frida in V magazine
It has been 18 years since Peter Lindbergh last worked for Vogue. In March, we were informed that he would return to the magazine. He said something that I found rather intriguing: “It was like you are the black sheep in the family, and your older brother asks you to come home.”
Lindbergh shot Natalia Vodianova and Ewan McGregor acting out family scenes in a setting that echoed the aesthetic from Mad Men and A Single Man for American Vogue July 2010. Natalia is a lady with many lovers—at least that’s how it is portrayed in the magazine. She has been involved in love stories with everyone from Diddy to Justin Portman (who is now her real-life husband).
The spread’s title was “Magnificent Obsession.” It was Grace Coddington’s interpretation of an everyday family — complete with two kids and two dogs. Even so, it is hard to believe there are many families that wear Louis Vuitton and Dior Homme to go and play outside on the grass. The story says, “The Fall collections’ most vivid moments had all the autumnal brilliance of a 1950s domestic drama.”
Here are some of my favorite images from the spread:
(All photos are from Vogue July 2010)
Follow the jump for more pictures. Read more…
The other day I was taking the shuttle bus from Sutter to New Montgomery and saw an interesting picture right across the Crocker Galleria. It was a campaign ad for Armani. It seems they have switched out the Beckhams for Megan Fox (ugh) and Cristiano Ronaldo.
There was something about Cristiano’s pic that was odd:
Photo credit: MyFashionLife.com
“Cristiano is a great looking man with the perfect physique of an athlete,” said Giorgio Armani in a statement. “For me, he is the essence of youth – spontaneous, exciting, a real maverick. It is for his energy that I have chosen Cristiano to become the new face of Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani Underwear – for his youthful, exciting and yes, sexy, attitude.”
I agree, but what is up with that pose? It worked for Sasha Pivovarova on the cover of i-D Magazine in July 2008, but on a shirtless, buffed male athlete it just looks awkward.
Photo credit: Models.com
Follow the jump for more awkward model poses. Read more…
Danny Roberts makes headlines again with his portrait of famed fashion blogger, Bryanboy sitting front row at D&G’s spring/summer 2010 show in Milan alongside Vanity Fair’s Michael Roberts, Vogue’s Sally Singer, Anna Wintour and Hamish Bowles:
Here’s the original pic:
Bryanboy (centr, with computer), sits between, from left, Suzy Menkes of the Herald Tribune, Michael Roberts of Vanity Fair and US Vogue’s Sally Singer, Anna Wintour and Hamish Bowles, at D&G’s spring/summer 2010 show in Milan
Yes, that is friend of the Academy of Art University Suzy Menkes sitting there as well.
Bryanboy is just one of the many fashion bloggers making a name for himself in the industry. Tavi, the 13-year-old fashion prodigy has been making waves in the biz with her blog Style Rookie and Scott Schuman has been doing it for years as The Sartorialist.
And let’s not forget Fashion School Daily – we know how to throw down as well.
Check out the behind-the-scenes video that Danny made for this illustration after the jump… Read more…
Former student, Danny Roberts is racking up the “press points” with a bunch of glossies – Vogue in particular. This month, his work appeared in Vogue Spain:
With featured works like “The Girls in Glasses” and his illustrations for Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers collection, his track record with the mag is quite impressive. Follow the jump to watch a retrospective of Mr. Roberts’s appearances in Vogues across the world. Read more…
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