Archive for December 2011

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Magazines

Vogue Cover Rumor Update: Adele Will Cover March, But Taylor Swift Nabs a Cover Too

Earlier today we reported on two conflicting rumors concerning US Vogue’s March covergirl: Styleite had it going to Taylor Swift, while WWD heard that Vogue was asking for “special cover outfits” from designers for an Adele cover.

Well, we think we’ve cleared things up. We have it on good authority that Adele is Vogue’s March covergirl and Taylor Swift will cover February. It’s a big deal that Adele is covering March. March is the spring fashion issue and is the second most important issue following September. The covergirl has to be commercial and appealing to advertisers. And the fact that Vogue has decided on Adele for March, someone who doesn’t look like most other Vogue covergirls is a big deal. So kudos to Vogue for going with Adele here–let’s just hope they don’t give her the British Vogue close-crop treatment.

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Kate Middleton

Sib-bum Rivalry: British Paper Deems Kate Middleton’s Rear a Worthy Rival to Pippa’s

By Cheryl Wischhover Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 / 12:00 PM

Photo: Telegraph

There are so many things to focus on when looking at an image of Kate Middleton–her style, her eyeliner, whether or not she looks a teeny bit pregnant. But the Telegraph caught a view of the Duchess that we rarely get to see, and indeed, have never even thought to consider: Her derriere. Read more »

Magazines

Elle Fanning Looks Saintly (Literally) in Rodarte Couture in A Magazine

By Leah Chernikoff Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 / 11:17 AM

Rodarte designers Kate and Laura Mulleavy curated the latest issue of A Magazine, and for the editorials, they used their favorite muses Elle Fanning and Kirsten Dunst. Rodarte has just posted Elle Fanning’s story on Facebook, photographed by Bill Owens, and it’s gorgeous. Fanning alternately looks like a kid–carrying a surfboard, wearing a Pearl Jam tee–and a saint, wearing a crown and Rodarte couture in a ’70s California living room. The editorial is inspired by the Mulleavy’s childhood experience growing up in California and the result is hauntingly nostalgic.

Click through for more images. What do you think?
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Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce

Don’t Expect a Fast Fashion Collaboration from Dolce & Gabbana Anytime Soon. Or Ever.

Versace, Missoni, Marni, Karl Lagerfeld…There’s hardly a designer label left that hasn’t collaborated with a fast fashion retailer. But that doesn’t mean you should expect a similar collaboration from Dolce & Gabbana.

In an interview with WWD, co-designer Domenico Dolce told the paper, “Recently, it’s all “trusciume” [in Sicilian, cheap, trashy] — there’s no quality, these fast-fashion companies churning out looks. People thought it was cool, but it’s cheap. You can’t expect quality at 20 euros [$27]. It’s like good codfish at 5 euros [$6.70] — how can it be?”

Well then. Guess we’ll have to give up hope of ever affording the label’s bombshell-worthy designs.

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Photo: Solve Sundsbo for VogueUK
Magazines

Rumor: Adele To Cover Vogue‘s March Issue

There is a lot of speculation around who is going to cover Vogue‘s March issue. Styleite reported yesterday that it heard the magazine was calling in samples for Taylor Swift, who attended Rodarte’s runway show in September with Anna Wintour. But this morning WWD is reporting that Adele is March’s cover girl.

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News

Rihanna Responds to Dutch Fashion Mag that Called Her the ‘N’ Word

By Cheryl Wischhover Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 / 9:06 AM

Photo: Getty

Yesterday we caught wind of an article in Dutch fashion magazine Jackie that made all sorts of completely inappropriate racial slurs, including but not limited to the use of the ‘N’ word, in a feature on how to dress like Rihanna. Eva Hoeke, the magazine’s editor, followed up with a half-assed, somewhat disingenuous apology.

Well, Rihanna has taken to Twitter to respond. Using very clear language, Rihanna takes Jackie and its clueless editor to task for the treatment she received in the magazine:

@evajackie I hope u can read english, because your magazine is a poor representation of the evolution of human rights! I find you disrespectful, and rather desperate!! You ran out of legit, civilized information to print! There are 1000′s of Dutch girls who would love to be recognized for their contributions to your country, you could have given them an article. Instead, u paid to print one degrading an entire race! That’s your contribution to this world! To encourage segregation, to mislead the future leaders to act in the past! You put two words together,

@evajackie with the intent of abasement, that made no sense…”***** BITCH”?!….Well with all respect, on behalf of my race, here are my two words for you…FUCK YOU!!!

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Photo: Getty

Who’s the Most Influential Fashion Blogger? There’s No Easy Answer and Here’s Why

In case you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably noticed that the influence of personal style bloggers has grown exponentially the past few years. More and more, brands are forgoing traditional methods of PR and media and instead reaching out to influential bloggers to harness their viral influence and disseminate the brand message. But while the online influence of personal style bloggers is unquestionable, accurately measuring and quantifying that influence is another story.

With the vast amount of data that’s available at the click of a mouse–from Google Analytics to Compete to Facebook to Twitter–you’d think measuring a site’s online presence would be easy. Not so. Because as Matthew Rhodes, strategy director of social media agency Fresh Networks points out in a recent Financial Times article, looking at page views and unique visitors alone no longer cuts it as an accurate way of measuring a blogger‘s influence. “Time on a site doesn’t mean influence, necessarily, any more than the volume of traffic does,” he said.

Karen Robinovitz of social media marketing agency Digital Brand Architects agrees.

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Dutch Fashion Mag Apologizes After Calling Rihanna the ‘N’ Word

It’s December 19, 2011 and yet this happened today: A fashion magazine out of the Netherlands published a story on how to dress like Rihanna. The headline? “De Niggabitch.” Really.

Here’s the full excerpt from Jackie magazine, translated by Parlour magazine:

“She has street cred, she has a ghetto ass and she has a golden throat. Rihanna, the good girl gone bad, is the ultimate niggabitch and displays that gladly, and for her that means: what’s on can come off. If that means she’ll be on stage half naked, then so be it. But Dutch winters aren’t like Jamaican ones [Ed. note: Rihanna is not Jamaican], so pick a clothing style in which your daughter can resist minus ten. No to the big sunglasses and the pornheels, and yes to the tiger print, pink shizzle and everything that glitters. Now let’s hope she won’t beat anybody up at daycare.”

Wait. What?

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NARS holiday_2011
Beauty

Francois Nars Shares His Holiday Makeup Tips and Secrets with Us

The holidays are officially upon us. Do you have a makeup plan yet? You probably have a few more holiday events to attend, and of course there’s the night to end all nights coming up–New Year’s eve. Or maybe you just feel like getting dramatically made up for a random Wednesday night. Perfect.

We got to pick the brain of none other than Francois Nars, the creative director and founder of NARS Cosmetics. Nars is known for drama and color, and we couldn’t think of anyone better to answer all our pressing holiday makeup conundrums. Read on for his wise words and product suggestions.

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Pre-Fall 2012

Diane von Furstenberg Pre-Fall 2012: Macadam Diva

Macadam, for those of you who don’t know, is the french word for asphalt or tarmac. It’s also the inspiration behind DVF‘s Pre-Fall 2012 collection. Doesn’t everything just sound better in French?

The collection was rooted in the urban spirit–there were wearable skirt suits in eye-popping geometric prints, structured shift dresses and easy separates that we could see on any city-dweller.

But the second half of the collection seemed to really explore the gritty substance von Furstenberg named the collection after.

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Jenn Hyman
Fashion Careers

Fashionpreneur with Rent the Runway’s Jenn Hyman: How to Really Take a Vacation and Why You Should

Jenn Hyman is the CEO and co-founder of Rent the Runway. Before that she went to Harvard Business School (and Harvard for undergrad too, NBD). She’s writing a column for us that we’re calling Fashionpreneur. In it she’ll dole out advice and lessons learned on everything from raising funds, branding yourself, sales and generally managing a business. She’s also taking your questions.

For most of the country, ‘tis the season to take a vacation. The week between Christmas and New Year’s is reliably one of the most travelled weeks of the year and many offices fleetingly feel like ghost town central, prompting anyone who considered taking their two weeks in the summer (Greek islands! Amalfi!) to change course. Despite the upcoming vacation season, the American workforce is exhausted, overworked, and underpaid (yes, I’m kvetching a bit!) and often not entirely refreshed after that holiday vacation. It’s my belief that we all must learn how to REALLY take a vacation so that life isn’t just about a countdown between vacations.

Some lessons I’ve learned:

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  • Jenn Hyman
  • Monday, Dec 19, 2011 / 3:45 PM
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Campaigns

Prada’s Spring Campaign is Set at a Gas Station

By Leah Chernikoff Monday, Dec 19, 2011 / 3:01 PM

Prada’s campaigns are easily among the most anticipated each season. They make stars of new models and cement the success of established ones. For spring, Steven Meisel shot a cast of six models (Kati Nescher, Meghan Collison, Natasha Poly, Elise Crombez, Ymre Stiekema and Kathryn Kruger) as blond bombshells or femmes noirs at an idealized version of a 1950′s American gas station reclining on hot rods. According to the release, “the gas station is cast as a central symbol in this post-modern crossroads of new horizons and economic fulfillment, a stage set where fashion, fantasy and the promise of new discoveries collide.” The low angle the campaign is shot from is meant to “emphasize the power and positivism in the campaign and collection message.” Miuccia, as always, delivers the right message for the time.

What do you think of the campaign? Does it make you feel optimistic? Click through to see the rest.
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