There is a new “it girl” in the place, everybody can’t stop talking about Lupita. First she is beautiful, second she’s smart and third she’s co starring in Steve Mc Queen Oscar worthy last movie, 12 Years a Slave, with Brad Bitt, Chiwetel Ejifor and Michael Fassbender, not bad for a beginning… Born in Mexico, the Kenyan actress studied acting in Yale and played in various stage productions, but also wrote, produced and directed In My Genes a documentary about Kenya’s Albino population. From Chanel to Miu Miu designers have only one envy, it is to dress Lupita we can’t wait for the Award season!
The Prada and Marc Jacobs shows marked this SS14 fashion week by their strong message about women in the past, today and future society… For me they were by far the most accomplished and impressive ones.
The icons: Mila Jovovich in Jeanne d’Arc meets the Belle Epoque coquette
At Marc Jacobs, we were confronted to a survivor who faces an apocalyptic world and keeps fighting no matter what, but also plays with fashion and managed to assemble unexpected pieces: sneakers and bermuda mixed with heavy wool silk embellished troubadour jackets, sequins beaded dresses worn with flat native American boots or Belle Epoque rich silk taffetas gowns, betraying a luxurious and decadent past.
Mila Jovovich in Jeanne D’Arc (1999)
Coquette of La Belle Epoque (circa 1900′s)
Marc Jacobs SS14
Marc Jacobs SS14
Marc Jacobs SS14
Marc Jacobs SS14
Marc Jacobs SS14
The Icon: Eva Peron meets the Chula girl
Miucca Prada took us to the perilous world of feminist fighters and women who struggle all over the world. Indeed the audience could see those impressive frescoes painted by mural artists that reflected the “barrio latino” street art and Miucca’s political statement. The awesome face drawings on most of the looks were definitely the central point of the show smartly combined with sportswear elements and powerful colors.
Eva Peron
Karrueche Tran as a Chula girl (image from the daily mail uk)
Paris was a whirlwind of great surprises this season. Between designers getting out of their comfort zone (Christian Dior using preppy dress codes, and Celine more colorful than ever), the unexpected performance of the Rick Owens’s presentation (instead of models, the designers had professional stepping dancers), Alexander Wang affirming his identity at Balenciaga and the last show of Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton, this fashion week was particularly impressive. At Celine and Chanel we saw a new palette of bright colors announcing a festive summer, I particularly love the rainbow eye make up on Chanel’s models. African influences like tribal accessories, body conscious wrapping or clothing embellishments graced the runway at Givenchy (amazing glitter make up masks), Alexander Mc Queen, Celine. Some Frida Khalo references were also spotted at Valentino, Elie Saab and Vivienne Westwood. The 70′s bohemian, as always, was represented at Miu Miu and Valentino with brown to dark reds patchwork beautiful suede pieces. Balmain denim pieces mixed with gold chunky jewelry are to die for, talking of gold, I loved the subtil touch at Dries Van Noten mixed with more casual pieces, Anthony Vaccarello showed a sexier version and Lanvin went on the sophisticated side. Heidi Slimane for Saint Laurent continues to surf on the rock’n roll attitude with a 60′s, 80′s vibe this season.
Milan’s shows elevated the level of this fashion week season, and I’m placing high hopes in Paris too… Let’s start with the Italian folklore at Alberta Ferretti, Dolce Gabbana and Blumarine, tres Dolce Vita with pretty flowers appliqué and embroideries. On a totally different register be prepared to hunt for a boxing belt spotted at Pucci, Versace and again at Dolce&Gabbana, the goal here is to enhance and add toughness to a sexy silhouette. Gucci and Versace did a beautiful work of mixing sportswear dress code with evening attire (with a little SM touch at Versace of course), super inspiring if you want to be feminine and well dressed without all the inconvenience of spending too much time in front of your closet. The dots print is coming back (Sportmax, Dolce&Gabbana), kind of timeless. On the masculine side, I loved the oversized high waist pants at Marni and the 3 parts suit at Ferragamo. Prada like every season blew my mind but that’s for another post!
If I had to choose one collection shown during London fashion week, it would be Burberry, I loved the pastels colors and embellished details, the pairing of a simple cardigan with an elegant sheer shirt and pencil skirt is just perfect. Christopher Kane had some interesting tears shape cut outs looks, Tom Ford presented an empowering collection, I particularly like the over the knee (laced and mirrored) boots that climb so high on the leg that they almost morph into a second skin. At Peter Pilotto and JW Anderson the complexity of some of the models reminded me of the origami style, we can only be amazed by the technical prowess. Last but not least, Doru Olowu’s colorful capes are definitely an ode to happiness and optimism , ideal to go through the long months of Winter ahead of us!
This season most of the NY designers presented laid back collections for example models were in majority in flat shoes which I’m sure they didn’t complained about! The exotic gateway with casual sophistication was celebrated at Altuzarra, Suno or The Row, minimalist gowns are making a big come back as seen at Rag & Bone (loved the bright orange lips and bare face), Edun and Reed Krakoff.
I also loved the embellished and detail printed skirts at Creatures of The Wind, Honor and Oscar De la Renta plus the pop of color at Ralph Lauren who presented a surprisingly refreshing collection.
New York Fashion Week is coming to an end, not only fashion and trends happened on the runway, the streets are also becoming a big source of inspiration and a legitimate authority about what’s in and what to wear now. Below are my favorites styles of the season from New York City streets!
Images 1,2, 5, 6 from style.com
Image 3 from garancedore.fr and Image 4 from vanityfair.com
The first time I saw the Fall 2013 Saint Laurent collection, I hated it. From the casting to the clothes, I was just in shock and didn’t get where Slimane was taking the brand to. Even if I’m aware of the designer’s devotion to grunge culture and aesthetic, it was just confusing. Then my eye started to get used to it, I even started to like it, I think mostly because of seeing it in magazines. Who would have said that grunge can be classy, even luxurious isn’t it the far opposite? I guess when being between the hands of expert stylists, it offers a total different point of view. It’s not the first time grunge style flirts with high fashion: Marc Jacob’s collection for Perry Ellis, Altuzarra’s Fall 11 collection ingeniously pairing parkas and glamorous evening gowns, Vogue US Grunge and Glory shoot by Steven Meisel, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp, and the list goes on. Givenchy also had some strong references to the alternative movement in their latest Fall collection. Here are a few selects of current and past references, whether you like it or not grunge is back, and stronger than ever.
Amanda Seyfried in Givenchy and Ralph Lauren wool hat for ELLE August issue
Amanda Seyfried in Saint Laurent for ELLE August issue
Saint Laurent Fall 13
Karlie Kloss in Saint Laurent for Vogue US July issue
A young Kate Moss in a flannel shirt
Saint Laurent Men’s Fall 13
Kurt Cobain
Vogue US 1992 Grunge and Glory shoot (photography by Steven Meisel)
If you are a regular on this blog, you know how much I love old pictures capturing cult moments which will remain forever alive and vibrant. Like the ones below for example, which for me represent an idyllic vision of Summer and the art of La Dolce Vita… Plus, I just want the same bustier as Sophia, the rings of Brigitte and turban of Audrey, enjoy!
Hot trend alert, the menswear wardrobe is everywhere. Just to name a few Marlene Dietrich or Katherine Hepburn did not hesitate to play with their femininity and sex appeal by adopting the very avant-garde, and a bit rebellious at the time, men’s uniform. During July Men’s and Paris Couture collections, the streets were full of fashion girls ditching platform heels for masculine attire. See below some of the greatest looks for inspiration snapped by genius street style photographer, Tommy Ton for style.com
Maria Ana Moura is the designer behind the jewelry label Mamazoo. Her rich heritage ultimately led her to creation and more recently to jewelry design. The designer received me in her studio where you can sense her unconditional love for nature, exoticism and animals main sources of her inspiration: she has an adorable rabbit called Coconutzu, two birds named Blue and Gray and a fish, Paloma. Maria is slowly but surely becoming a favorite of Indie artists and performers who regularly request customized pieces. Read about her inspiring journey below!
1. Maria, tell us about your background and how you started your jewelry line?
I was born in Germany to Swiss Brazilian parents and grew up between Switzerland, Costa Rica and Brazil with my two brothers. I accomplished my graphic design and art direction studies in Barcelona where I then got the great opportunity to work at ROJO, a contemporary art gallery. I managed the gallery and had the great chance to work with incredibly talented artists, young upcoming artists from around the globe. While working at the art-space I dedicated my free time to paint and create accessories. It took me then to New York City for a change. I also wanted to learn more about fabric and garment construction and did an associate degree in Fashion Design at Parsons. A year later I was working with Daniel Feld a former Project Runway contestant, designing Woman’s ready to wear. During my studies in New York I had created necklaces for a project in this fascinating Mexican Art and Myth class I took. The pieces were published on Round Square Collective’s website in Lisbon, which led to boutiques being interested and consequently I made Mamazoo my full time occupation.
2. What’s the most challenging thing about launching your brand?
It all happened very natural at the initial launching stage. The main challenge is to thrive an organic growth of your brand without loosing its core values. I would like for my brand to be as transparent as possible, knowing exactly where my materials come from, making sure there is no bad involved. It is not easy to know and have proof of the exact source of the material. Therefore there is a lot of research and investigation involved besides designing and producing. With this purpose I will hopefully soon be traveling more to acquire my material from the prime source directly, ensuring fair trade, morality and respect. Another challenge is the sharpness you have to have to make yourself noticed in the market. This is overcome by the passion you got for your product and a lot of patience.
3. Where do you find your inspiration? Do you have any muses?
My inspiration come from the tropics, the exotic and the cultural mix. These are the things that activate my senses. I also love and adore animals, they definitely inspire me. I admire their elegance and purity.
4. If you weren’t in the creative field designing jewelry, what would you do?
I would be in the wild, Brazil or Costa Rica, Kenya or Congo, working for an organization involved in animal conservation. In any case, I strongly hope that throughout my business development I will be able to combine the focus on profitability together with ecological and social goals.
5. Do you have anything exciting or special projects coming up?
I have a collaboration coming up of unique pieces for ‘Lindo Killer’ and a show at ‘Mitte’ Barcelona.
At last Summer is here, it’s time to slowly get out of our long Winter hibernation. Magazines and beauty experts are giving us advices on how to get in shape and look fantastic in our bikinis, hopefully the beautiful pictures below will give us some motivation! The rules are: a soft “glowy” skin, tone body , lots of sun (under SPF protection of course), relaxation and loads of protective oil for hair and body. Ready?
Spanish model Dalianah Arekion is one of my favorite girl of the moment. Her magnetic eyes and androgynous beauty have seduced fashion big names: she opened the Fall 13 Givenchy show and is in their Resort 14 collection look book, she was also featured in the June issue of Teen Vogue among others. Next fashion week should be a big season for Dalianah and we can’t wait!
Dalianah for Schwarzkopf (image courtesy of Schwarzkopf)
Nothing is better than a silent yoga retreat (this one was organized by the great team of Yoga To The People) in the middle of nowhere to regain some energy and motivation. The best part is to reconnect with nature, simple things and most importantly yourself, yes it’s scary and destabilizing but with all the distractions we are surrounded by everyday chances are you never take the time to actually do nothing and just be. The pictures below were taken at theMenla Mountain retreat located in Phoenicia, close to Woodstock, and the landscapes were just beautiful! I wish we could hear through the pictures the birds, insects, the wind gently caressing the leaves, the deers taking their daily round walking gracefully on the grass, it’s called the sound of the nature…
Yoga To The People has several yoga centers in New York and other U.S Cities, please visit www.yogatothepeople.com
For more information about the Menla Mountain Retreat, please visit www.menlamountain.org
