Sebastiao Salgado

I am currently taking a beginners photography class at FIT to learn how to use my DSLR camera and am working to explore the great photographers of the past and present. My last post showed a few photographs by Eugene Smith, who was an influential photographer during WWII, then photographed for Life Magazine. Sebastiao Salgado is another famous photographer, who focuses on more graphic world photography, displaying to viewers interest and beauty in things that aren't necessarily supposed to look beautiful. Take a look..

"Passion is in all great searches and is necessary to all creative endeavors"

"Hardening of the categories causes art disease" - Eugene Smith

Photo Credit: Eugene Smith

Museum of FIT goes green

The topic of sustainability has been all the talk lately as Earth Day was just recently celebrated just last Friday, yet the "go green" conversations are not going anywhere anytime soon. The Museum of FIT will be launching a new exhibition on May 26th called "Eco-Fashion: Going Green," which will display over 100 garments, accessories and textiles showing contemporary methods of going green in compared to the past. Here is the Museum of FIT's description of the upcoming exhibit:

"The Museum at FIT presents Eco-Fashion: Going Green, an exhibition exploring the evolution of the fashion industry’s multifaceted and complex relationship with the environment. By examining the past two centuries of fashion’s good—and bad— environmental and ethical practices, Eco-Fashion: Going Green provides historical context for today’s eco-fashion movement. Presented chronologically and featuring more than 100 garments, accessories, and textiles, the exhibition uses contemporary methods for “going green” as a framework to study the past. The objects displayed touch upon at least one of six major themes: the re-purposing and recycling of materials, fiber origins, textile dyeing and production, quality of craftsmanship, labor practices, and the treatment of animals. Curated by Jennifer Farley and Colleen Hill, the exhibition features some of the finest examples of 21st-century sustainable fashions by current, cutting-edge labels, including Alabama Chanin, Edun, FIN, and NOIR."To learn more about upcoming exhibits at the Museum of FIT, both student and historical currated shows, check out their website or follow them on twitter for quick updates.

Rainy Days

I'm sorry for the short post, as I haven't written much lately because of my busy end of the semester school schedule and my sister's wedding approaching in less than a week! (Exciting!!) However, I was looking through old magazines while searching for interesting lighting techniques for a Photography project, and came across this weather-appropriate photograph in W magazine. Thought this might brighten up these rainy days!

Crocodile and Chrome Lunchbox Set: Paige Gamble
Bicycle with Quilted Side Bag: Chanel (who knew??)
Rain Boots: Hermes

Photo Credit: W - May 2008

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day to all you triple-R lovers (reduce, re-use, recycle.. duh). This morning I picked up the Metro News to read on my way to school and turned to a story that focused on Earth Day. The article mainly contained information on reasons why we should recycle and listed recyclable and re-uasble products. However, there was one small section that stuck out to me the most titled: "How long it takes for various materials to biodegrade." I know we have all heard growing up that plastics materials such as styrofoam take... like... a million years to decompose, however this article listed out several other everyday items and the amount of time it would take them to biodegrade. Here's part of the lengthy list:

Cardboard Box: 4 weeks
Cigarette Butt: 10 years!!! (I found that disturbing, especially for those who smoke a pack a day)
Nylon Fabric: 30-40 years
Aluminum Can: 50 years (in seawater)
Rubber Boot Sole: 50-80 years
Batteries: 100 years
Plastic 6-Pack Cover: 450 years (also astonishing and disturbing)
Disposable Diapers: 500 yearsFishing Line: 800 years
Styrofoam: 5,000+ years
Glass Bottle: 1,000,000 years

So just a note about the cigarette butts: Say you smoke a pack a day and there is 20 cigarettes in one pack. For just one person, that is 7,300 cigarette butts that won't decompose for another 10 years. 7,300 is the number for just one person, now think of the amount of people who smoke in the world. As I said before.. disturbing, right?

Most products today are available in a form that can be recycled or at least be re-used, so I urge you to go that route! According to the article, from 1987-1996, the aluminum cans that have been recycled annually increased about 20%, and recycling an aluminum can produces 95% less air pollution and 97% less water pollution than creating a can from new aluminum. Those are huge percentages, however we can definitely do better. Every year the sustainability movement adds more followers, striving for a "greener" world. Do your part as fashion lovers and upcycle (turning waste materials into useful new products - aka - DIY!) because honestly, who doesn't want to have a creative and exclusive "new" look to show off to the world.

Coachella

My brother-in-law (to be)'s sister, Lexie, is a photographer at WWD and recently flew out to Indio, CA to document the Coachella music festival. Although there were some rockin' performances including: Macy Gray and Crystal Method, The Dutchess and the Duke, Sondre Lerche, Peanut Butter Wolf and Orbital, just to name a few, the crowd was a mix of music lovers dancing and singing, and fashionistas partying, socializing and strutting their styles around the festival's grounds. Celebrities soaked up the scene, spending most of their time in the private lounges and after parties. Some VIP-ers seen were Thom Yorke, Flea, John Mayer, Jeremy Scott, James Murphy, Sarah Lerfe, Lindsey Lohan, Chanel Iman, Alexander Wang, Katy Perry, Kristen Stewart, Rachel Bilson, Rosario Dawson, Peaches Geldof, Penn Badgley and Vampire Weekend, as many more were hanging at the numerous pool parties and bbqs events. Below are some of my favorite photos of the fashion scene at Coachella, taken by Lexie. You can see the entire slideshow of the festival here.

From the looks of it, I think jean, oversized everything and that simplistic vintage-worn look just might be in this spring/summer. What do you think?

Photo Credits: Lexie Moreland at WWD

NYU's EXPO 2010

Tomorrow night I will be attending a charity fashion event sponsored by NYU's Chinese Society. Expo 2010 is an annual fashion show that benefits Room to Read, a part of the Reading Room Program. Room to Read is a charity dedicated to giving children around the globe "quality education that enables them to reach their full potential and contribute to their community and the world". Having already built over 1,000 institutional buildings, including schools and libraries, they strive to change the world with these educated children. Prada, Gilt Groupe, Nicole Miller, Eryn Brinié, Katie Gallagher, Rent the Runway, Project Runway's Althea Harper, +AA-, and Vilebrequin are just a few fashion participants who made this show possible by loaning runway looks. The show has also been sponsored by Hint Water, Goodcrush.com, GoodSearch.com, Izze Sparkling Water, Laura Geller, Kaplan, Kiehl's, P&G ReadyU, Popchips, Melrose Street, Scoop Street and Vita Coco. This year, the NYU Chinese Society's goal is to raise $12,000 to help Room to Read build a library in Asia.The pre-sale tickets are only $7 and all proceeds go to Room to Read. If you would like to learn more about the charitable acts done by Room to Read, check out their website here. You can also follow EXPO 2010's tumblr here.

Nordstrom Rack, Target's GO International - Zac Posen

Today I was dreamily strolling along in Union square, enjoying the sunny rays beating down on me when enormous black letters reading "NORDSTROM RACK" stopped me in my tracks. I had heard endless rumors that there was to be a Nordstrom Rack opening near Union Square, but I had yet to see any signs of it actually being built. It will be located right on 14th Street, taking the space of the old Virgin MegaStore that closed last year and conveniently placed next to the enormous Filene's Basement and DSW on the next block. Merchandise from both Nordstrom stores and their website will be sold at Nordstrom Rack for 50%-60% off original prices. As the sign states, the store will open its doors May 11th.

Another shopaholic secret - A pop-up Target store will be opening on Thursday, April 15th for a full 24 hours at 481 Eighth Avenue. Target is calling this event a "shopping party," where customers can scope out the new collection, shop until they drop, while rocking out to the girl-band Like and a stage set of DJs hired specifically for the grand event. Although doors open at 11:00PM, the line to get in will presumably be piling down 34th Street much earlier with stylish fashionistas eagerly awaiting to get their hands on the metallic gold one-piece bathing suit or red asymmetrical moto jacket that was shown in the lookbook released in January. Check out Fashionista.com for a preview of the collection, if you haven't already!

Photo Credit: Fashionista.com (look book)

Who says sporting sweats isn't cool?

These girls rocked their sweats while staying fashionably (yet comfortably) chic. Bravo!

 

Photo Credit: stylesight.com

How to get the "model-off-duty" look

Today I took advantage of the beautiful weather and took my break between classes to sit outside on campus and people-watch the FIT community. Summer outfits were out in full force because of the ninety degree weather, and a lot of individualized styles marched down 27th Street. As I watched the passerbys stroll fashionable to and from class, I noticed something... every few minutes a fellow classmate would walk by sporting a dress and close shoes combination. And then it hit me, this look is a definite translation from last fall's androgynous trend that was played up strongly with the oxford shoe. Ballet flats were out of the question today, but Keds, Vans, Sperrys, Toms and even Converse low-tops were on the rage - in both slide-in or lace-up styles. It got me to thinking about the look and then I remembered something: last summer I worked in production for a Danish advertisement and the model had worn this exact look to the shoot! A pink American Apparel cross-back dress with "optical white" chucks was her "model-off-duty" look. Although it may seem easy to get this care-free look, there is a fine line of how to stay sweet and simple without looking like you threw on the first thing in sight that morning. Think cute feminine sneaker shoes with a printed dress, or for a more hard-edge look, worn-in high-tops or slide-in vans with a basic cotton dress.

Here's how you can get the look:

American Apparel and Converse

Patterson J. Kincaid  and Toms

Mixing spots

Photo Credit: Tommy Ton

Style.com reported on their "Global Best Dressed" and the top trends for fall from photographs that JakAndJil's Tommy Ton had taken at FW'10 Fashion Week. For the past few years mixing florals on florals or stripes on plaids has blown up, especially in editorial spreads where louder style choices are encouraged. This fall, mixing animal prints is on the move. Leopard prints have always been hot, but now a new level of "spot on spot" print mixing is appearing - - see the mis-matched leopard heels and tights combo above. My personal favorite was done in an Alexander Wang shoe for this Spring; three different designs of leopard print were coordinated together creating one wild shoe.

Alexander Wang
Photo Credit: style.com

Spring sprung with the trench

Long are the gloomy days of winter. I'm not sure if it was the sunny skies, warm breeze or what, but this morning I awoke and found myself subconsciously analyzing the trendy East Villagers more than usual as I walked to the subway for my daily school commute. It was as if it was "National Trench Coat Day.." if that day even existed. Trenches of every style, length, size with various details popped into my eyes - on St. Marks Street, Astor Place, the subway, Seventh Avenue... everywhere! Now, I know the trench is predicted to be in this spring and even more so for the fall season, but from what I saw today, the trench will be a top hit in stores this season. Here are some trench inspired jackets I found by Juicy Couture, Nanette Lapore, JCrew, Lanvin and Burberry.

Wouldn't this Diane von Furstenberg "Arita"  dress and hair bow scarf go great with any of those trench jackets? The perfect LBD for the perfect trench.

Spring '10 Print Report: Flourishing Florals

Spring 2010 is full of both new and continuing trends from past seasons. Nature inspired printed textiles is one trend that is being expanded further within apparel and accessories. I noticed in mass market level retails (e.g. Topshop, H&M and Zara), floral prints will be one of the top trends for the upcoming season - seen on all types of garments (dresses, skirts, leggings/jeans, bathing suits and tops) and accessories (scarves, shoes, sunglasses and headbands). There is much variation with size of the print repeat ranging from small liberty prints to those with such large repeat sizes that range outside the area of the garment (e.g. patio prints). Stylized, washed out/ watercolored flora and delicate, feminine flowers are seen for Spring 2010 with the color schemes of saturated brights and muted pastels. The bright color scheme includes: hot pink, “Kelly” green, “sunshine” yellow, high chroma orange and violet; while a pastel color trend was also seen with de-saturated hues of the same color families. The combination of these color harmonies and floral designs directs an overall vintage and retro look for the season’s fashion. To add to the vintage feeling, natural fibers are the main fabrication make up, including cotton, flax and either woven or knitted viscose made to feel and look like silk. This season is all about nostalgic feelings and sticking to what you love. These flouncy vintage prints bring about childhood care-free memories, perfect for summertime when the livins' easy.

Fashionable Fizz

Always looking for new and strategic branding approaches, Karl Lagerfeld recently collaborated with Coca Cola to create Coca Cola Light. The stylish beverage will be launched April 28th across France, along with the fun pop of advertisements shot by Lagerfeld, himself, for the campaign.The creative king also designed the packaging label, incorporating his unmistakable silhouette and signature black suit, white collar and pony-tail look on the aluminum bottle. The full packaged soda bottle and coordinating bottle opener will be sold for $64 - a wee bit ostentatious but hey, it's designer soda!

"Lagerfeld has long been a fan of diet cola, and says he prefers to drink it in a delicate crystal goblet to accentuate the taste." - WWD

Beatiful People. Beautiful Clothes. Oh, it must be Paris.

Style.com created a short film reviewing what was seen in Paris for Fall'10. A few top trends that you should note:
1. Minimalist: a simplistic style revealed on real girl models
2. Power Silhouette: minimal styles come with a powerful silhouette, structured elegance creates a "sexy in strength" feeling within
3. Camel: camel colored everything - trenches, blazers, trousers, shoes - the list goes on. . .
4. Fur: faux or real, as long as its fuzzy, warm.. and of course, fabulous.

Did you notice how Leigh Lezark happened to mention that she believes we are out of the recession. I am sitting here wondering where she had gotten that impression from. Minimalist garments, lack of textile print, power silhouette (a little toned down from the "power suit" but still.) - doesn't that scream that we are still in a recession! Not to mention the extrodinary amounts of people who have been layed off and jobless for months at a time? Luxury will always live on, but even the top luxe brands are innovating new products and switching from mass-marketed back to good'ol hand made luxury. It's the only way to keep their consumer base coming back in times of economic troubles - not just in America, but across Europe too.