Editor and muse Isabella Blow left behind a truly legendary wardrobe. She famously snapped up Alexander McQueen’s graduate collection from Central Saint Martins. Now, the late style icon is getting her due with an exhibit of her wardrobe highlights, set to open in November at the Somerset House in London.
Yes, John Galliano was at Central Saint Martins last week. No, he’s not working there.
But here’s what he was up to.
There’s a lot of legend surrounding the work and life of Alexander “Lee” McQueen–this is the man who claimed to have written obscenities in the coats of Prince Charles, after all! (Total rumor, by the way.)
Alexander McQueen: The Life and the Legacy, out October 30, is more of an examination of McQueen’s entire body of work and the inspiration behind it than a biography. We caught up with the author, Judith Watt, Head of Fashion History at Central Saint Martins, to chat about what she learned about McQueen while writing the book and what she hopes people will learn about the man behind the legend.
Made in Brazil #5 is launching this week and Models.com has a sneak peek. There’s a 30 page spread styled by Brad Goreski featuring 5 Brazilian male models, including Rodrigo Braga, who will appear in Givenchy’s fall campaign. Yum. {Models.com}
The Kardashian-Jenner clan have released a new “music video” set to “Hypnotize” by Notorious B.I.G., filmed on a yacht in the Dominican Republic. It is, as with all things Kardashian, the pinnacle of klass and decorum. {MTV}
Drew Barrymore got married this past weekend in a Chanel pleated gown with a black belt. Which makes sense since her father in law was the CEO of Chanel. {E!}
Helmut Newton is the focus of an upcoming photography exhibit at The Williamson Gallery of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Three former protégés are the subject and co-curators of “Three Boys From Pasadena: A Tribute to Helmut Newton,” to open June 14. {WWD}
A comprehensive guide to campaign fashion, including “ironic” Mitt Romney tees courtesy of Urban Outfitters. {Current.com}
SEOUL–Seoul is a powerful and wealthy mega-city with a large consumer base–that means there’s a huge appetite for branded luxury goods. The city’s Cheongdam-dong, a 12-lane wide boulevard, is lined with so many luxury shops that it’s earned nickname ‘Street of Luxury Goods.’
The 10 Corso Como on Cheongdam-dong, which opened in 2008 in partnership with Samsung Cheil (the Samsung Fashion Group), is even larger than the Milan flagship. Due to high demand for avant-garde fashion, a second 10 Corso Como opened just last month at the high-end mall Lotte Avenuel, joining Prada, Givenchy, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Lanvin and more.
Despite the obvious appetite for luxury designs, there seems to be an absence of good risk-taking design in Seoul.
If you’re going to see a student show, Central Saint Martins is the one to see, and this is the show that kicked off London fashion week for me. Louise Wilson, who, according to the Telegraph, is in her 20th year as course director of the esteemed design school, sent 18 graduating MA fashion student Read more →
We haven’t heard much about Kanye’s fashion label, DW, since his poorly-received first collection debuted this fall. But it appears that the rapper with design ambitions is going to actually try to get the label off the ground. The Sun reports that Kanye threw a party for his label in London the week before Christmas and let drop a few nuggets of information.
A “source” told the UK tabloid that while chatting with guests at a party he said that “he is now based in [London] and would return in early January.”
Karlie Kloss Covers Deutsch Vogue: This cover is fantastic. Contoured makeup and a one-shoulder dress are right on the money. Karlie is the best. {The Fashion Spot}
Filipa Fino Is Launching A Free Online Accessories Mag: The longtime Vogue accessories editor retired in June but kept her next move quiet until now; she’s launching a free online accessories magazine called Fino File in February. She’s also putting out a 40 page holiday gift guide on November 28 for the mega-shopping insanity of Cyber Monday. {Fashion Week Daily}
Rebecca Minkoff’s eBay Collection Is On Sale Today: Minkoff’s iPhone covers and small leather goods line for the online retailer is on sale today. But hurry quick–this stuff wont last long. {Rebecca Minkoff}
Evelyn Lauder Dies At 75: The beauty industry mogul and breast cancer activist passed away of ovarian cancer this weekend. Her legacy will live on with the pink breast cancer ribbon, which she created in 1992. {WWD Subscription Required}
Emma Watson Attending Oxford: Apparently, Brown just didn’t do much for the superstar. No worries, she’s not dropping out- just doing her junior year abroad…in her home country. {Vogue UK}
Olivia Palermo is the Cover Girl of the Summer: The former “Elle accessories editor” (read: reality TV star) is now taking over the newsstands in a new way. She’s covering three different magazines this summer, looking unsurprisingly drop-dead gorgeous on each one. Love her or hate her, this girl has got some serious style. {MTV Style}
Kirsten Dunst Models in Another Friend’s Look Book: Opening Ceremony just posted the look book for their collaboration with Reyn Spooner, known for his Hawaiin print shirts. It stars Jonathan Rice, Jenny Lewis and Kirsten Dunst all looking very cute. Kirsten’s boyfriend Jason Boesel shot it. Hopefully Scott Sternberg isn’t too jealous. Also, we guess hipsters wearing Hawaiian prints is going to be a thing. {Opening Ceremony}
LONDON–As a design school with countless success stories, Central Saint Martins sets instant expectations and usually more often than not manages to fulfill them.
This time, it was the second year BA jewelry design students’ turn to wow us. On April 1, the group put on an intimate show, an “exploration of what it means to be sustainable,” complete with organic wine and entirely-recycled paper goody bags. Indeed, this was the first time in their six-year-running annual show that sustainability was added as a key element. This was to demonstrate that ethical challenges can be turned into a positive catalyst. As-ever with Saint Martins you can expect a performance, and the opening pieces–structured bamboo bodily extensions by Steph Bila and a dripping wax choker by Crystal Burden–gave way to complex metal and biodegradable costume wear in sculptural shapes and forms, showing a vulnerability and softness that often comes with ethical considerations.
The fashion industry has a love/hate relationship with celebrities. Paris Vogue is just one of the European glossies notorious for choosing models over celebs for their covers. Last year, Marc Jacobs banned them from his front row because he thinks they distract people from paying attention to the show.
Kanye West definitely experienced this relationship during Paris Fashion Week this season. The rapper and fashion enthusiast managed to score invites to shows like Valentino and Givenchy, but not everyone in Paris was so welcoming.
If you want to work in fashion and are about to enter college, finding the right school for you can be a difficult task. We’d like to help. So we’ve painstakingly rounded up the 50 best fashion schools in the world. (Click here for the full list.)
These are not just design schools. We’ve included tons of colleges and universities that offer stellar fashion business, marketing, styling, textiles, and technology programs.
Methodology: To generate our list, we spoke to students, employees at the schools, companies who hire graduates, and industry professionals. We also considered tuition costs, demographics, famous alums, and variety in programming. It’s not scientific, but we tried to be as objective as possible. Keep this in mind if you don’t see your favorite school here or disagree with the ranking your alma mater received. The take-home message? These schools are all amazing, or they wouldn’t have made the list.
Tuition: Art and design schools are generally expensive. But you can see here that the prices range from almost $40,000 per year to free. (Yes, you read that correctly–thank you, Finland). Unless otherwise stated, the tuition you see is yearly for international students. It does not include room and board and incidentals. Also, tuition obviously changes yearly, so take it as an approximation.
How To Apply: Most of the schools have very similar application requirements, so we decided not to include them for each individual school. In general, you need a high school equivalency, letters of recommendation, essay, portfolio (for design students), interview. Some countries, for obvious reasons, have language requirements. We’ve noted where English is not the main language spoken.
Famous grads: Just because a school hasn’t produced a marquee name (yet) doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Every single one of these schools has placed students in major fashion houses, commercial labels, and other fashion businesses. Behind every Alber Elbaz (a Shenkar alum) are 50 Jane and John Does helping everything run smoothly. And getting paid damn good money to do it.
Other: If you see an asterisk (*) it denotes a CFDA-affiliated school.
Now dive in and learn something:
