Allure: Rachel Roy's Fall Hot List

Source: Luxx @ TFS

Iman "Tigress" ad from 1977

via Gawker

This ad is intriguing to me for a couple reasons. First because, it's Iman. Who doesn't want to look at her all day? Second, because in spite of her incredible beauty and grace, this is so horribly styled, even by 1977 standards. If they were going for the "looks like she was just attacked by a tiger" look then I suppose they succeeded but really, why the bed head? This doesn't say wild and sexy to me, it says just rolled out of bed, a bed which just happens to be a bus terminal. Also, Tigress? I've read that many Black models complain that the fashion machine exploits race, using images of Black women as a negative construction. Instead of being presented as the beautiful women they are, they are instead presented as animalistic and exotic, something other than beautiful. Lastly, the ad immediately made me think of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" video.

Now, to be perfectly honest, I freaking loved that video when I was a preteen. I lived, breathed and dreamed Duran Duran and when I first saw that video, I was floored. I mean, it had an honest to God dark skinned Black woman in it and she got to kiss Simon Le Bon. I so wanted to be her. It's so funny how once just accepts things at face value when one is a child. Thinking about that video now sorta makes me cringe.

Another Look at Cavalli for H&M

Just as we all suspected, Cavalli for H&M means lots leopard and gold. This party collection makes me happy that I no longer live a short walk away from H&M. If I was still in Luxembourg, I would probably buy every piece of this...and then never wear it.

That said, I like what he's done here, which essentially was pirate his other line on the super cheap. The whole thing just makes me think of New Year's Eve. I'm curious to see the accessories collection.

Photo Source: Annie NYC blog

Post-modern Elegance: Ports 1961 Spring 2008

Ports 1961 collection at fashion week this year was the meeting of classical styling and global village. I think this is really wearable stuff that is also fun and inspired. While most designers seem to think that "African inspired" means throw a bunch of loud colors together, Tia Cibani chose to go with warm rich colors and metallics. Even a color phobic person like myself could get down with these garments.

http://www.ports1961.com/

Style Star: Serena Williams

I never thought I would write these words but Serena Williams looks amazing. What a difference figure flattering clothes, her natural hair color and dumping her makeup gun have made. I don't know what stylist of the gods got a hold of her but s/he deserves an award, his or her own clothing line and a book deal. Bravo! Source: TFS

Little Diversity in Fashion: African-Americans Bemoan Their Absence in Industry

Excerpts from WWD

...By not including more blacks in their shows and ads, Ivan Bart, senior vice president of IMG Models, said designers and other fashion companies are missing out on black women's spending power. "By not having black women represented, those luxury brands are saying they can't afford it," he said.

...[Bethann] Hardison, who has modeled, run her own modeling agency and handled casting over the years, said, "In the United States of America, this is the one industry that still has the freedom to refer to people by their color and reject them in their work."

...Daniel Wolf, a Washington-based attorney who specializes in civil and human rights, said the assumption being made in the fashion industry is that it is legal to discriminate — however false. Wolf recommended that modeling agencies hire the same percentage of black models that are in the entire modeling industry.

...The lack of blacks in all aspects of fashion — from the runway to the executive suite — comes as there is a noticeable increase in the number of Asian models, designers and executives in the industry. Among designers, for example, Thakoon Panichgul, Peter Som, Doo-Ri Chung, Derek Lam, Phillip Lim, and Benjamin Cho have all sprung onto the scene. Of course, designers like Vera Wang, Yeohlee Teng, Anna Sui and Vivienne Tam had already helped pave the way.

...Of the 101 shows and presentations posted on Style.com, 31 appear to have no black models. Most of those who did use black models opted for one or two. However, Heatherette, Diane von Furstenberg, Charles Nolan, Tracy Reese, Yigal Azrouël, Philip Lim, Marc Jacobs, Jenni Kayne and Sue Stemp were among the designers who used more than two.

...[Naomi] Campbell, who flew in from London for the occasion, recalled how Christy Turlington once told Dolce & Gabbana, "If you don't use Naomi, you don't get us," referring also to Linda Evangelista. Campbell said that's how she also got into Helmut Lang, Prada and Versace. She used a different route with French Vogue, appealing to Yves Saint Laurent, whose campaigns she had worked on for three years running. The magazine relented after the designer threatened to pull his advertising, which at the time was reportedly the publication's largest advertiser.


...Bill Blass' former designer, Michael Vollbracht, recalled the days when booking Sheila Johnson, Pat Cleveland and other leading African-American beauties was a given. After returning to the industry after a 15-year hiatus, he was surprised to learn that was no longer the case. Age is also an issue, Vollbracht said. Cleveland's return to the Blass runway in 2004 was not well-received, Vollbracht said. "I was told, 'Don't ever put that girl back on the runway.'"

...On occasion [Tracy] Reese's booker has to request specific girls or the modeling agencies will not send them, Reese said.


Most of this, we've all read before so I won't bother to rehash my thought on the subject. The most striking thing about this article to me is that someone would actually complain about watching Pat Cleveland on the runway. Talk about a jaw dropping comment. To be fair, I know that everyone has their favorites in the modeling industry but... damn. That would be like me writing a pissy letter to Anna Wintour every time I saw Kate Moss or Gisele appearing in an advertisement. Personally, I'd pay money to watch Cleveland walk across the street.

Naomi Campbell uncovers British Vogue 'snub'

Top black stylemakers pulled no punches Friday at a panel discussion that accused some top names in fashion of racism.

But in a thought-provoking discussion involving Iman, Andre Leon Talley, Tracy Reese and others, Naomi Campbell stole the show with remarks that make us wonder what, again, is she smoking?

"I've never been on the cover of British Vogue and I've asked a million times and they've always refused me," Campbell insisted at the Blacks in Fashion event.

"They'll put the same white model for half the year — I swear like six times, but wouldn't put me on once in my own country. But I still want my British Vogue cover!"

For the record, since 1987 Naomi has been on the cover of British Vogue eight times: twice with other models, once posing with Diddy and five times by herself.

That bizarre comment aside, Campbell spoke some hard truths about being a person of color in the fashion industry.

"The only time they care about black models is in February [Black History Month]," she said.

"Linda [Evangelista] and Christy [Turlington] would go to big designers and say, 'If you don't pick Naomi to be in your show, then I don't want to be in it.' That's how I got Prada and Helmut [Lang]."

She also said she appeared on the cover of French Vogue only because Yves Saint Laurent "called up ... and told them he'd pull his ads if they didn't. So of course I got the cover."

It must really have been a big deal — she remembers that one!

Source: NY Daily News

Strange. I wonder what Naomi was thinking? I do think it's a bit sad that so far this was the only newspaper article I could find referring to the "Blacks in Fashion" panel discussion, which it didn't even mention it by name. I hope someone gives a first hand account of what when on there, Naomi drama aside.

**EDIT**: I was just over at Clutch Magazine's site and it looks like the panel discussion received some ink from The Guardian.

Source: Lipstick Alley (MAR)

If I Had a Thousand Bucks (and change) to Spend...at Impulse

Impulse for me is the only boutique I've ever walked into and seriously thought to myself that I could wear every item on the the racks. Unfortunately for me, I am not in a financial position to buy every item off of those racks so instead, I have to fantasize about my favorite pieces and figure out how to scratch together the money to buy maybe one of two of those items.

Now if I could somehow scratch together $1250. I could hang these in my closet. I think it's time to Ebay some old clothes....or take in some borders.

Vanessa Bruno cowl neck sweater dress in pale mocha, 377.00
Humanoid zip up cable sweater, 248.00, Humanoid black racer back tank dress, 192.00
Roberto Collina Belted Cashmere Turtneck Sweater, 388.00

Source: Impulse

Loeffler Randall for Target

Loeffler Randall Minnie Slouch

I wasn't a big fan of of the handbags that Devi Kroell designed for Target but I think that the husband and wife team behind Loeffler Randall has produced some good looking stuff. Is it too much to hope that they do these up in leather instead of PVC? It is? Well, how about them doing a low cost version of the Minnie Slouch? Source: ELLE

The Brown Dress Project

This woman wore the same brown dress every single day for a year as part of performance art project. My first thought looking at the photo was "damn, why that sack of a dress?" but really I admire the spirit of the piece. I know that I buy things on impulse that I really don't need. In spite of all the clothes I have in my closet and in boxes, I still end up wearing the same outfits pretty frequently. For me, it's either my completely unimaginative combination of skinny black pants, flats, and a light sweater with a scarf; a shift; or my trusty denim. Very boring but it works for me, especially with a toddler running around my knees.

Sheila's Heels

When my family and I lived in Luxembourg, we subscribed had a SKY satellite dish so we could watch British TV. The Sheila's Wheels auto insurance for women commercial was on constant rotation so I still have their catchy but incredibly annoying jingle on permanent rotation in my head.

Anyway, in response to a study which showed that up to 80% of women drive while wearing "inappropriate" footwear, Shiela's Wheels has developed convertible driving shoes so that women don't have to choose between style and safety.

Jacky Brown, spokesperson for Sheilas’ Wheels, said: “Our Sheila Driving Heel design could provide safety-conscious female motorists with the ultimate driving shoe - allowing women to wear a safe flat shoe whilst driving, and a fashionable heel once they are out of the car.”

Personally, I'd rather wear JP Tod's pebble-soled driving moccasin but then, I gave up being a high heel girl awhile ago. I think these shoes are a little less than cute but I do like the idea. If they could get a tube of lipstick to fit into that heel they might be onto something.

Rosa Cha - Spring 2008

I spied pics from this show on 55 Secret and NY Magazine. These are seriously sexy bathing suits, Cha does a great job of selecting some models with great not-too-skinny figures. I think I might have to tape a photo of this model on my fridge for inspiration. If my legs looked like that, I would throw away all of my pants.

Something Shifty

I would wear a shift dress everyday if I could get away with it. I think it's an elegant shape that flatters most every figure and it goes from day to evening with ease. Diane von Furstenberg has some particularly beautiful shifts out this fall but it's not too hard to find something worth taking home at most price levels.

Source: Nordstrom

KLS by Kimora Lee Simmons

Honestly, there isn't a single thing in this collection that I would wear but I've got to give Kimora Lee credit because hers is probably the most racially diverse fashion show to ever take the stage during NY Fashion Week.

(Supermodel) You Betta Work

I quickly browsed through some of the runway photos from New York Fashion Week on Style.com to see just how many Black models were working the runway this year. Most of these women have only worked one show so far but a few (like Chanel Iman, Ajuma, Jaunel McKenzie, and Marie Fuema) managed to book more than three shows each. The only Asian model that I noticed was Du Jaun but my tally is probably not completely accurate, especially since the Week isn't over yet.

The Other Great White Way

Kenya Hunt, writing for Metro New York is the latest to voice criticism about the step backwards that many fashion houses have taken diversity-wise when it comes to casting models for shows.

"...the odds of an ethnic model making inroads into the runway realm growing increasingly dismal with time. “The runway doesn’t reflect the world. It makes fashion feel very backward,” notes Guy Trebay, a fashion reporter for The New York Times, who has written extensively about the subject. The dearth of minorities on the catwalk is a decades-long quandary. But many who work behind-the-scenes say the problem has worsened rather than improved, with groups of minority women unable to get jobs based on the whims that dictate what’s out and what’s in."

Of course, designers and agencies have a million and one excuses for the lack of color on the runway this season with some claiming erroneously that black and brown models don't "fit" their clothes or that they stand out too much, while others cite the imaginary lack of models of color. In my opinion both of these excuses are ridiculous. What it brings to my mind is an episode of Janice Dickinson's modeling industry "reality" show in which she chided a male agent for not championing models that he personally didn't find f*ckable (meaning blond and white.) It seems kind of ridiculous in this day and age to compare models of color to Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" but honestly, what other conclusion is the casual observer of fashion supposed to come to? Fashion designers and agencies don't "see" ethnic models because they don't have to. It really saddens me that that there were more ethnic models working when I was in junior high than there are visible today.

What is the ultimate effect of all this anyway? For me personally, it means that I don't buy a quarter of the fashion magazines that I regularly purchased ten years ago. While I still love clothes, my excitement about the industry as a whole has dampened considerably.

US Weekly's Take on the Best Dressed New Yorkers

Kimora Lee Simmons


Marcus Samuelson


Tracey Reese

These lists are as ubiquitous as they are meaningless but I do appreciate that they at least made the effort to include a few names that don't usually pop up in these discussions.

Also named:

Mayor Bloomberg
The MisShapes
Robbie Myers
Padma Lakshmi
Lara Spencer
Aerin Lauder
Serge Normant
Claudia Poccia
Dylan Lauren
Sam Champion
Stephen Colbert
Tim Gunn
Richard Kirshenbaum
Katie Lee Joel
Maria Sansone
Stacy London
Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss
Bill Hemmer
Juliet Huddy
Natalie Morales

Source: Gawker

Rachel Roy S/S 2008

This collection is a little meh in my opinion. With past collections, I've salivated over nearly every piece but this time around the only items that catch my eye are the mustard dress and the outfit that Rachel is wearing in the final picture.

Source: Posted by robotjon3z on TFS

If I Had a Thousand Bucks to Spend...at JCrew

Total: $969 (not including tax)

Not bad. J Crew is a good place to stock up on well made basics. I really dig that jacket with the white piping and the cardigan and silk dress with the "library" inspired patterns speaks to me personally as a former reference librarian gone bad. Still, a big part of me (the cheap part) wants to take home more than six items when dropping a grand. Unless a big discount coupon comes my way soon, I think I would have to trim a few of these items off the list before hitting the send button.

Kimora Lee Simmons - InStyle Magazine

Though I am not exactly sure when my active dislike of Kimora Lee Simmons morphed into a love/hate type thing and then a bizarre adoration, but after looking at these photographs of her closet, I find myself quite content to live vicariously through her excess.

Source: Lipstick Alley

Style Star: Iman

Iman @ Alek Wek's Book Release Party

The Fashionista Diaries

I know that I am way late to the party but I finally got around to taping a few episodes of "The Fashionista Diaries" during the marathon last weekend on SOAPnet and I absolutely love it. I'll spare you the blow by blow which is done much better on other sites but I have to buy a ticket on the Janjay love train. She's so beautiful, smart and professional that I want her to be my best friend.
I'm so happy that the producers of this show focused on casting interesting people and not types. I know she has a brilliant career ahead of her.

NYT: Before Models Can Turn Around, Knockoffs Fly

A Tory Burch "original"

The New York Times has published another in the growing list of articles about the business of knock-offs. This one focusing on retailers such as Seema Anand who, like many of us, will look through magazines and online in search of the latest trends.

The difference is that when Ms. Anand sees a particularly hot item, she phones her factory in India and has them make a slightly "tweaked" version of the garment for her to sell. The factory, like many others in India and China, can mass produce the garment before the original designs have hit upscale retailers like Nordstrom.

As you can imagine, this has sent the fashion world in a tailspin. The article states that The Council of Fashion Designers of America has made copyright infringement it's public enemy number 1 and is lobbying Congress hard for protection arguing that knock-off's are costing them big money to the tune of about 5% of the $180 billion industry.

Of course, if you ask 10 different people how they feel about low cost retailers like Forever 21, copying (sometimes blatantly) runways designs, you are libel to get ten different answers. Most people, it seems, don't really care and honestly, I'm a fence sitter on the subject. I'm not going to pretend that there aren't a few not-so-authentic handbags sitting in my closet right next to the real ones.

While it is obviously illegal for someone to copy say, a Tory Burch flat, right down to her name on the insole, is it really that bad to make a similar shoe with a recognizably different insignia on the toe? It's not like Tory Burch invented ballet flats. What about the sequined dress above? Ms. Anand makes and sells a $260 version of the dress (also by Burch - who makes a $750 version.) Can anyone look at that dress, and call it an "original" design with a straight face? I think this slippery slope will be the arguments downfall.

Fashion is notorious for "borrowing" styles. No one is safe from being ripped off: Hip-hop kids, skateboarders, movies, actors, musicians, tribal groups, and each other. How is it possible to police what is original in this day and age?

Jovovich-Hawk for Target

According to the LA Times, Jovovich-Hawk, like Patrick Robinson and Proenza Schouler before them, will be designing a line of clothing for Target set to debut next Spring.

It looks like this trend of high profile designers hitting mass retailers will never go away and though I think I'm past running out and buying everything I can get my hands on, I still like the concept of being able to buy designer inspired pieces actually made by the designer and not a knock off brand like Forever 21. I'm always very interested to see what they come up with at that price point.

Jovovich-Hawk is not a line that I covet. Their Spring '07 collection looked too much like great-grandma's attic. Fall pieces are a little better (pics attached) but the looks are still not for me.

I do wonder however if it would be a step in the right direction for Target to hired a few promising designers and start their own line of well-made, budget conscious and stylish clothing instead of spending so much dough on big names.