Every woman would like to be a princess or a queen and Venezuelan designer, Rafael Cennamo, knows that.
He even crowned some of his models in his NYFW Presentation at the Lincoln Center Box venue.
The teased hair with the circlets is modern days take on the gigantic wigs Marie Antoinette and her ladies wore to Court as well as the cover of Jo Manning‘s My Lady Scandalous [The Amazing Life and Outrageous Times of Grace Dalrymple Elliott, Royal Courtesan] a book I can’t wait to start reading tonight.
PR guru, Paul Wilmot, had expressed enthusiasm for this designer some months back, and he has never steered us wrong, but this collection exceeded all expectations.
True, we’d checked-out images of Taylor Swift and Gwen Stefani in R.C. and they looked good, but what we saw in the Box was on a whole different plane; it was transformative dressing at its best.
We fell in love with Rafael Cennamo when we spotted the blue metallic mesh turtleneck cocktail dress with its discreet illusion panel. The effect was Modern Day Chinese Princess.
The moonlight metallic embroidered tulle gown was the Western idea of what a princess should look like. The embroidery and its placement was reminiscent of a bejeweled bodice and underskirt like Queen Elizabeth I wore in royal portraits. As if that weren’t already enough, the sapphire blue backless gown with draped sleeves worn by a beautiful Asian model knocked us out. We can’t image that this dress wouldn’t wind up on the Red Carpet. We hope that someone snatched this one up and that we’ll see it Sunday at the Oscars when into ABC to watch.
Below, a shout-out to the people on the team who helped Rafael create these modern day princesses
I’ve always admired gorgeous women with long blonde locks since I was 5 years old, starting with Goldilocks and later, Princess Aurora, Farrah Fawcett Majors, Marilyn Monroe and more recently, Blake Lively and Maria Sharapova. Family friend, William, then a Dutch University Student, and now a KLM pilot, jokingly showed me an image of Maria Sharapova on his iphone, casually calling her “my girlfriend” and then laughing when I believed him – for a second.
Apparently, we weren’t the only ones to think Maria was something really special.
This season, at NYFW, Maria was front row at some of New York’s biggest shows. Below, Anthony Palermo, tells us how his ALS partner, Leonard Zagami, created some fresh looks for the gorgeous tennis star. I’ve featured the one she sported at the Marc Jacobs show.
And, now… here’s Anthony!
“Mercedes Benz Fashion week is always filled with fabulous people. These Fall RTW 2012 collections were more about the who’s who in the front row. One of our all time favorites , Maria Sharapova , knows how to make an entrance and cause a frenzy on the court, but the real commotion starts when she is spotted at all the hottest shows! Celebrity make up artist and friend of the AnthonyLeonard Salon , Andie Markoe -Byrne, teamed up with Leonard Zagami, Creative Director of ALS, to complete Maria ’s looks for the shows.
Read on as Leonard explains look 1 of the 3 looks he gave the grand slammer for this very fashionable NYC Week!
AT Marc Jacobs:
Maria , seen here with famed photographer Patrick Demarchelier and his wife Mia , had a slightly pinned back side part . “I used Super Shine Cream by Oribe to get a sleek look with out it being too overdone” says Zagami. ” I also used a Kent Brush ( for fine hair) to help smooth down fly-aways”. Maria usually parts her hair in the middle so this was a great change for her!
To read and see all 3, go to anthonyleonardsalonblog. There, you’ll find out how Leonard styled her for her appearances at Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta. If you’re sitting next to Anna [Wintour], you had BETTER be on your game! Thanks to Leonard, Maria looked every bit the star she is.
Photograph of Daphne Guinness by Markus Klinko & Indrani
WHAT: a Grade-A platinum fashion moment at 172 Norfolk Street, NYC
It’s taken me two days to fully digest the events of Sunday night. It’s not often I get a dose of pure undiluted high octane fashion.
Laura and I arrived at the Angel Orensanz Foundation for Contemporary Art at 10:00p.m. on the dot. THIS was NOT something either of us wanted to miss a second of. We had high hopes for this event, in part due to two days worth of experiencing the polished sterility of the Lincoln Center Venues and the accompanying jitters of sucking down one too many cans of free Diet Pepsi. We were actually look forward to visiting Alphabet City as the Lower East Side is the only remaining vestige of “NYC Eighties cool” that still survives. Going down there is fun and makes me feel 25 again.
The Angel Orensanz venue is the artist’s creation and is a cross between a Russian Orthodox Church and a nightclub, in other words, Limelight, when it just started and was THE place to go and dance until 2:00a.m. before going off to Florent in MeatPacking to have something to eat before trying to score a taxi willing to take us back to Laura’s apartment in the Village.
It was obvious from the moment we entered that this was “a happening”. First, there were the photographs – giant sized ones of Daphne Guinness posing in her astounding McQueen Couture, which she wore in the film. Catwoman has nothing on Daphne who was dressed up as a high fashion villainess in a red catsuit and insanely high heels. I’ll need to win Powerball to scratch this itch as I mentally “bought” four of the photographs that would look amazing in The Fashion Examiner office and fireplace room. Total cost for four of Markus Klinko & Indrani’s fabulous photos of Daphne = $160,000. These photos really DO “combine story-telling with cutting-edge fashion”.
Next, we ambled over to the well-stocked bar – no yukky plastic glasses here – and sat down in a padded bamboo gilt chair just as Daphne made her entrance in an incredible chainmail gown and a head ornament loaded with what I’m assuming were probably actually diamonds rather than Swarovski Crystals.
The film itself was genius – a cross between a poetry reading and a couture fashion show. It may sound odd, but it was spectacular. On our way out, Laura stopped to chat with a young female editor to get her take. Like us, she was blown away and was going to Google the film and read Neil Gaiman’s poem. The point of the film though, was the EXPERIENCE and it got a 10/10 on that score. After this visual feast, we got an auditory one – a performance by the very talented Viva Girls, who were perched like a row of angels in blue ball gowns to the right of the massive screen.
The grand finale to the event was a capsule collection of gowns from the new Genghis Khan collection designed by GK Reid. We loved the hooded one and his concept of transformative styling and dressing – something we can totally get behind.
SO, which of Markus Klinko & Idrani’s photographs of Daphne Guinness would YOU like to take home with you?
The morning after the 69th Annual Golden Globes, our winners for “best-dressed/most beautiful” were: Charlize Theron, Madonna, and of course, Angelina Jolie, who managed to look even more beautiful than ever in her cream Atelier Versace gown. The woman is unnaturally gorgeous, almost cartoon like in perfection and always a reliable glamour fix even if we get our dose from afar.
The Always Gorgeous Angelina Jolie in Atelier Versace at the 69th Annual Golden Globes
The above women are so stunning that they may not be as relatable as another actor, Jodie Foster. She’s Hollywood Royalty and has been since her big screen debut as “Nina” a teenage prostitute in Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver in 1976. This star has “class” and gamely smiled [and actually appeared relaxed] when Globes’ host, Ricky Gervais, took a few verbal cracks at her. Maybe having a perfectly made-up face, thanks to Carol Shaw, helped her keep her cool.
Carol Shaw is a Celebrity Makeup Artist and Founder of LORAC Cosmetics, an excellent brand that keeps a relatively low profile, like Jodie.
Jodie’s overall look was fresh, modern and glamorous. It’s that off-hand elegant look that takes work, but for a big night like this, it’s worth it!
The Look in a Nutshell: shimmering champagne and smoky brown eyes, bronze cheeks and light peach glossy lips
Below, the HOW TO, courtesy of LORAC
Complexion:
Apply AquaPRIME Oil Free Makeup Primer to prepare skin for smooth, long-lasting makeup application
Smooth Breakthrough Performance Foundation in SMS 3 all over skin for flawless coverage and a youthful radiance
Give skin a silky-smooth picture perfect finish with POREfection Baked Perfecting Powder in PF2
Eyes:
Prime the eyelid with Behind the Scenes Eye Primer
To give eyes a hint of sparkle, use the shimmering champagne and nude shadows in the NEW UNZIPPED Eye Shadow Palette (available at Sephora this spring)
Define eyes by tracing the lash line with Front of the Line Pro Eyeliner in Black
Create dramatic, voluminous lashes with Multiplex 3D Lashes Mascara
Brows:
Fill in brows with Creamy Brow Pencil in Blonde
Cheeks:
Brighten skin while giving a natural radiant glow with Perfectly Lit Oil-Free Luminizing Powder in Luminous
Apply Baked Matte Satin Blush in Exposed to give cheeks a peachy pink pop of color
Finish by lightly dusting TANtalizer Baked Bronzer all over for a subtle glow
Lips:
Line lips with Nude Pencil #18 to define and keep lip gloss in place
Apply NEW Lips With Benefits in Mark (available this spring) for a long-lasting glossy finish
Body:
Mix TANtalizer Body Bronzing Luminizer with Breakthrough Performance Foundation in SMS 3 and apply to exposed arms and neck for a natural Red Carpet tan that is about as removed from Snookie’s orange glow as you can get. Can you really see Jodie Foster running to a Mystic Tan spray booth or laying in a tanning coffin covered in coconut grease?
Anne Garside’s coffee table book, Camelot at Dawn delivered a sorely needed fashion moment in the midst of the disheartening 8 day power outage. The photos shot by Orlando Suero, were ones I’d never seen before.
Most of the photos we see of Jacqueline Kennedy are of her as as the First Lady or in her later incarnation as the mysterious “Jackie O”, dodging paparazzo Ron Gallela.
The images of Jacqueline Kennedy and her husband, shot in May 1954, in Georgetown, have that “easy” American style that put US fashion designers on the map. I related to Jackie’s khaki capris, striped shirt and flats, because that’s my daily uniform, but that hair! The short wavy haircut she had combined with bubblegum pearl necklaces and large gold clip earrings got my heart racing. Like turned to love when I got to the image of her lighting the candles for her first formal dinner party. The white strapless evening gown was stunning combined with the famous three strand pearl necklace and the haircut. I could get the necklace at Carolee but the hair – not so easy.
Jackie, before her first formal dinner party, Georgetown, 1954. Photo by Orlando Suero.
The only two guys who would really “get” this obsession were Anthony Palermo and Leonard Zagami. Off to New York I went to go show them the book and hopefully to walk out with a modern day version of this cut. If you’re not familiar with their work, have a look at their blog, and you’ll see what I mean by “editorial”.
While sitting in Leonard’s chair, getting my so-so short coupe transformed into a modern day version of Jackie Kennedy’s 1954 cut, Anthony [Leonard] came by to chat in between a barrage of color clients. I come to A-L for the outstanding hair services but even more so for their company; we share a mutual passion for hair that can transform you and can make you feel like your favorite fashion icon.
and Leonard [right], my go-to editorial hair gurus”]
Anthony [left
“Have you seen the Vogue covers book” asked Anthony. “Uh, no…” I confessed, feeling decidedly out of it but happy I had something new to get inspired about, while getting the haircut of my dreams. An added bonus was that Leonard told me about his Uncle, Salvatore Zagami, a noted sculptor/artist who brought works from his personal collection for the Salon’s FNO party back in September. Luckily for me, he left some of them in the salon and I enjoyed them as Leonard worked on my hair.
A Salvatore Zagami Sculpture, photographed by Anthony Palermo.
Considering my hair is finer than Jackie’s the cut I walked out with was as close as I could get. Leonard suggested playing with a strong mousse, such as Nexxus Mouse Plus Volumizing Styler. The key was to scrunch my hair to create the waves I wanted. Perfect, AND easy.
Leonard's modern version of Jackie Kennedy's 1954 Hairdo
Hair is like fashion. As with fashion, as soon as a collection is done, the question ”what’s next?” arises. As I got up, I asked Anthony about “the next step. Maybe the Lady Diana cut?” His eyes lit up and he said, “and maybe blonde too?”
Princess Diana's Short Haircut
Over the Holidays, we’re going to Foxwoods. While the others at the poker tables, I’ll be at the Lady Diana Retrospective, studying her hair and style. On a world tour, the exhibition “Diana, A Celebration” stops Sept. 16 through Jan. 15 at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket. Graeme Murtonand Nick Grossmark, art handlers for the Althorp Estate in England, installed the iconic gown worn by Diana at her 1981 wedding to Charles, Prince of Wales.
Art handlers Nick Grossmark (black gloves) and Graeme Murton (white gloves) travel to each tour stop for "Diana, A Celebration," responsible for setting up the exhibition (wearing gloves to prevent damage). The duo are standing next to Diana's iconic ivory silk and lace wedding gown.
After that experience, I’ll undoubtedly have a Lady Di moment and head back to the A-L Salon to make my vision a reality, with a lot of help from my friends there.
Kate Middleton’s little sis, Pippa, stole the show on Kate’s big day – her much anticipated wedding to Prince William. I woke up at 1:00a.m. EST, and started watching the arrivals, with half an eye open as ladies in pastel suits and over the top hats arrived at Westminster Abbey. My eyes flew shut when Pippa Middleton made her entrance in a shockingly form fitting white Satin Alexander McQueen dress by Sarah Burton.
I know – almost everyone [particularly straight "red-blooded" males] looooved the dress, but I did not. It was white [hmm, doesn't only the bride and maybe the flower girl get to wear white?], puckered up in the front and completely molded to her now infamous behind. I thought of the dress Marilyn Monroe had made for her, the one where she suggestively sang “Happy Birthday Mr. President” to JFK. Legend has it that it split open later that evening.
Marilyn Monroe Showing Off Her Assets, While Singing "Happy Birthday" to JFK
I stopped thinking about Pippa’s dress after a long conversation with close friend, Theadora Brack in July, in which we’d [I thought] put the dress to rest at last – until November 14th.
The padded panty is available at the Debenham’s Department Store for 19 Pounds and is as retailers love to say, “blowing-out”.
I can see why it’s a hot item. Pop starlets Britney Spears, Beyonce, and Jennifer Lopez have the Pippa bum, but high, lifted buttocks take work. Without a steady regimen of squats and butt-squeezes, or daily hip hop dancing, the gluteus maximus cedes to gravity and hence the dreaded “pancake look”.
If you don’t happen to live in England, Yummie Tummie by Heather Thomson, has you covered with not only panties, but with dress and leggings that also deliver that royal rump. Slip one of these on and you can get that perfect behind AND stop worrying about the post-Thanksgiving bloat this year, thanks to the contour waistband.
Added perk – Yummie Tummie is having a Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale , 30% off of everything on YummieLife.com* , but only from November 25th to November 28th.
Just please promise you won’t wear your Yummies with an overly tight white satin dress! It’s a McQueen, yes, but nonetheless, a “fashion don’t”. Do, however feel free to flaunt your assets in a pair of Y.T. black leggings while channeling your inner Pippa.
My Burberry obsession started the day I met Christopher Bailey at the MET Museum’s press preview for “AngloMania”, which focused on British fashion from 1976-2006. It was one of the strongest showings the Costume Institute’s Andrew Bolton has ever put together. The waiflike Bailey was on-hand and I immediately sensed the presence of a star as I pushed my way into the crowded press preview.
Bailey had an irresistible combination going – he was modest, cool, media-genic yet approachable. He was also passionate about fashion and the Burberry brand. That, combined with the campaigns he’d started to conceive, the obvious admiration he had from Industry heavy weights such as Anna Wintour and Hamsich Bowles, added to my favorable impression.
Bailey himself looks “Burberry”, or at least the image I’ve come to associate with the brand since he’s been at the helm. The first few campaigns featured Kate Moss in the starring role, followed by it model, Agyness Deyn and Harry Potter Star, Emma Watson. Regardless of the model, the concept is always the same – a grouping of young guys and girls ranging from British Public School students to bright young things out and about having a good time. A key component of “British Cool” is that they never ever look like they’re trying to BE cool. Trying too hard is off-limits.
Don’t think for a minute though, that Christopher Bailey has just coasted by all of these seasons on this one iconic plaid and a couple of great ad campaigns. Bailey has turned Burberry Prorsum into a brand that used to be “Porsum, or is it Prosum what? Into the highlight of London Fashion Week. Part of the Burberry mystique is the use of Prints and Patterns and mismatched prints that look eccentrically cool rather than dorky.
The last time I remember such excitement over prints was when Dean and Dan Caten of Dsquared did this in their spring 2010 show and before that, the late Franco Moschino’s wild catwalk shows for his Moschino Cheap and Chic brand of the late Eighties and early Nineties.The Caten boys’ and Moschino prints are for the fashion obsessed.
By contrast, Burberry prints are more understandable and relatable, and as such, reach a much broader audience. They allow you to participate in one of the season’s biggest trends [Let’s call it “the Print Parade”], in a way that doesn’t have you look like a clownish Moschino party-goer.
I’ve never been a fan of “baby” designer brands, until I stopped in front of the Burberry Baby store window at the Westchester Mall, enthralled by a short sleeve Burberry plaid dress. On a roll, I strolled into the Burberry proper shop, where I promptly fell in love with two handbags.
That evening, I took inventory of the Burberry pieces in my closet and wondered if I could wear it head to toe. Yes, I could, but I a toned down way. How about the navy wool Burberry boyfriend jacket, short blue Hunter boots, the plaid shirt and kilt? I haven’t worn more than one of my Burberry pieces at one time, but I will this winter and am pretty confident the Fashion Police won’t stop me.
While my Burberry collection is limited to the classics, I’m fully on board with some of Bailey’s more adventuresome designs, such as the gorgeous blue Prorsum dress Kate Bosworth wore to the Burberry Body event on October 26 at the Beverly Hills Boutique.
Prorsum is the next step in my prints meet the classics voyage and at the time of this post, am coveting the long sleeve blue graphic print dress model, Samantha Gradoville, [IMG of her on spring Runway] wore in the spring 2012 show. Maybe I’d wear it with my short blue Hunter boots, or maybe with a pair of black platforms….
Celebrities have a bad rap in the fashion business. I’d taken a skeptical stance on the idea of the notion of celebrity as fashion designer, since the days when Kathie Lee Gifford “designed” a line for Wal-Mart, followed by legions of demi celebs such as Paris Hilton who capitalized on their fame to produce shoddy garments they themselves would never actually wear. The fact that THEY themselves wore Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la Renta etc etc. said it all.
There are exceptions however, that show that celebrities CAN [in conjunction with the right team] produce a credible fashion line. The first time I witnessed this was while attending a Justin Timberlake concert at Mohegan Sun, soon after his “Future Sex/Love Sounds” tour hit. Joe Zee did an amazing job styling him and Justin carried that white suit as well as John Travolta did his in “Saturday Night Fever”.
IT wasn’t William Rast, but I recall being stupefied when mid-way through the show, he sang a ballad in a plaid William Rast shirt and jeans. That night, I began reconsidering the celebrity as fashion designer issue and resolved to actually READ the WWD articles about Celebrity X designing a fashion line to see if others besides Justin were getting it right.
Good news. In the ranks of the “getting it right” are Justin Timberlake/William Rast, the Olsen Twins/Elizabeth and James, and the subject of this post, Gwen Stefani/L.A.M.B. Until this NYFW, the closest I got to Gwen’s line was seeing pieces at Nordstrom’s on the floor. I liked what I saw and longed to see her next collection in its entirety to see if she continued to follow-through on her branding message ie: herself = a fun yet sophisticated version of cool.
A key ingredient for a brand’s success is to create an identity and to stick with your DNA. Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana hit gold early in their career with the severe look of elderly Italian women clad in black crossed with sexy corsets and animal print that showed their idealized woman; one who possesses an intriguing angel-devil personality.
Gwen Stefani has similarly created a believable personality for her L.A.M.B line. She is known as a pop star who mixes classic glamour with funky contemporary clothing resulting in a mix that is the modern equivalent of Eighties’ pop star, Cyndi Lauper. Although physically these two don’t resemble one another, they share that irresistible “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” spirit that I’ve loved since Ms. Lauper debuted it in 1983 on MTV.
This season was my first L.A.M.B. show. I’m calling it a “show” even though technically, it was a presentation, set in the “Box” space – my favorite of the Lincoln Center Fashion Week venues as there’s usually little to no waiting, you can get as close as you want to the clothes and the models obligingly pose for shots.
The presentation was scheduled to start at 2:30p.m, but you wouldn’t have known that from the crowd assembled in the holding area when I arrived at 2:20. Normally tardy editors were in line waiting, snaked around the length of the tent to get what I guessed would be only a very quick glimpse of the latest L.A.M.B. collection and hopefully a look at the chanteuse cum fashion designer herself. [Ms. Stefani was not there, sigh.]
I wiggled to the front of the 4-deep crowd huddled around the models posing on the white blocks, to scan the 23 looks. There was herringbone plaid, a leather moto jacket, some fun Ikat prints and quite a bit of Noir Jewelry; in short, no huge deviations from the brand’s DNA. Just an hour earlier at lunch with Scott French and Meredith Garcia of The Fashion List at Pain Quotidian, we all agreed that the best designers like writers find their voice and stick with it. Their customers appreciate this; can count on them to deliver the goods. Make no mistake – consistency is not boring, it is an asset.
A few months ago, a stroll on the floor at Nordstrom’s Westchester Mall verified this. Marc Jacobs Mark by Marc and L.A.M.B. stood out, because they didn’t need any store signage to identify them. That odd but adorable tweak like a teeny tiny print on a puff sleeve blouse- must be Marc. Black and white herringbone jackets and red accents? Must be L.A.M.B. – it was.
With all of this in the back of my mind, once finally, inside the Box, my first glimpse revealed black and white, this time as an Ikat print top worn with brown herringbone shorts accessorized with a skinny red belt, and towering platform sandals in black, red and cobalt – very Eighties!
The rock and roll portion of the brand was most apparent in the accessories, hair and makeup, namely a leather and gold shark tooth necklace heavily kohled eyes, straight black brows and a two- tone “Pebbles” from The Flintstones hairdo.
Many of the editors in the Tents were wearing this same up-do, minus the volume and two-tone.
Ms.Stefani hit the preppy trend square on with a v-front cream tennis sweater but unlike the one from your parents’ country club, this one is minus the unflattering bulk. The L.A.M.B sweater boasts fine knit gage stitching, which make it an ideal transition piece. These days, transition pieces are where it’s at. What could be better than playing a set of tennis, taking a shower, putting on the same sweater that you walked on the Courts with and getting-on with your day? There’s something for everyone here, and even one piece will up the fun quotient of your spring wardrobe.
You say “Tomatoe” I say “Tomahto”. The same goes with the shoe brand name, SEBAGO. No matter which way you elect to pronounce it, Sebago is a great brand. Sometime during NYFW, I fell into a huge clothing rut – I no longer knew what I wanted to wear, and despite a stuffed walk-in closet at home, nothing looked right. As I sat in Robert Verdi’s Luxe Laboratory, looking at the Sebago display, the answer came to me- preppy dressing.
By this, I mean how we used to dress in the late Seventies in Middle School and at Greenwich High. There was a uniform and it transitioned me into my freshman year at Duke. The early Eighties were a throwback period to conservatism. Ronald Reagan had just been elected President, and it was good to look WASP, ie: subtly rich. At this same time, Lisa Birnbach’s Preppy Handbook came out and served as the how-to get the look of affluence.
Key to the look is the boat shoe and the penny loafer. Anyone in Middle School who didn’t have Dock or Top Siders was a social outcast. One had a rounded toe, the other a square toe, and either was acceptable, as long as they were by Sperry. Only those most tuned into fashion back then knew that the ORIGINAL boat shoe was actually manufactured by SEBAGO, in 1946. Friend, R. Scott French, fashion designer and co-owner of The Fashion List, was one of the few who KNEW. Little good this did him as his less enlightened Baltimore classmates kept insisting that his Sebago docks were “wrong” and their Sperrys were “right”.
Once at Duke, I swapped my topsiders for penny loafers in cordovan and wore them with jeans and some of my Mother’s tweed blazers and a prize Diana Vreeland red tweed blazer [with suede elbow patches]through fall and early winter.
Years later, I remembered my beloved topsiders and loafers while flipping through the September 2011 People’s Special Fashion Issue, with the blaring headline, “Kate’s Style Secrets!”. On p. 51 lay the answer to my “Whatever Do I Wear?” crisis. There, at the top of the page, were a pair of Sebago “Bala” mocassins, with an oily wax finish that looked great with Kate’s J Brand jeans and a simple button down shirt.
Years later, at the Luxe Lab, I learned from Tracee Yang, Harrison & Shriftman’s PR Rep, that today’s Sebagos are all hand made in the Dominican Republic. They’ve kept the original designs we love but they’ve added some great fashion twists, by collaborating with artists such as Stash, an innovator in urban design who exhibited alongside the late Keith Haring, when he was 17 years old. Since then, he’s added a commercial aspect to his work, by collaborating with Nike and A Bathing Ape. We loved his short moc/boot that laces up and has a bit of spatter treatment to toughen up this beloved preppy staple.
Another noteworthy collaboration is with the Filson, a “better outdoor clothing company” that was established in 1897 in Seattle, by C.C. Filson, a former railroad conductor. His fledgling outdoor clothing store took off thanks to the Great Klondike Gold Rush [1897-9].
Sebago has mixed Filson’s oil tint cloths with Sebago leathers, most notably in a ruggedly handsome bag that’s also very practical. The bags are available exclusively in Bloomingdales’ selected NYC, Santa Monica, LA, and 59th Street.
Sure to be an editorial success are the women’s collection with Kimmie Smith, who’s known for her “nuvo glam style”. She’s already done a small collection for fall that’s being well received, but lookout for the spring collection, which will be available online in February and March. You’ll have to wait until then to pickup her irresistible colorful docksides.
For now, if you’re a guy, or shopping for one, you’re in luck. There’s a nice assortment of styles at the Sebago popup store at Saks 5th Ave. on the 7th floor. The salesmen there couldn’t be nicer. Seeing I was near tears after slogging through the rain to discover Saks isn’t yet carrying the Plaza and Bala Sebagos I wanted, they directed me to East 34th Street. It was there, thanks to them, that I finally scored, at Orva Shoes, just like they said, at 34 West 34th Street.
Now, I just have to wait until late October, for my pair of “Balas” to come in. I’ve just put in my order for the first tall boot I’ve bought in years – the Saranac, which has a stylish tweed panel offsetting the rich light brown leather and a practical lug sole.
It was early in the morning, mid-way through NYFW, and in the dash from our West 56th Street hotel to the Lincoln Center tents to go backstage for Callula Lillibelle, no time for some sorely needed coffee. The lobby at Lincoln Center was weirdly empty, but Neiman Marcus’ Fashion Director, Ken Downing was there, Starbucks in hand, and we stopped by to chat and to get a bead on what one of fashion’s sharpest forcasters thought of the New York s/s2012 season so far. I mentioned we were on our way to chat with William Calvert, backstage at Callula Lillibele.
“Is it Neiman’s?” Ken asked us as Mark [Behnke, of Fashion Tribes],whiled- away those few pleasant moments before hitting backstage.
Good question. I replied, “Hm, well there was a great coat I saw last time.”
“Honey, it takes more than one coat to be in Neiman Marcus” he joked. It struck me then, how hard his job is. I kept that question in mind a few minutes later, as I watched the models get into their looks and pose on the white backdrop backstage, presumably for the lookbook that would be in stores for spring.
I finally actually “met” the designer, William Calvert, after an aborted attempt to record our phone conversation a few months earlier, in which he told me that C.L. had a few winning silhouettes that worked well from size 2-12 and that he worked on tweaking the winning formula each season. I botched that interview, but this describes Callula’s mission – to make women look good and to as the French so aptly put it, “look comfortable in their skin”, and to be proud of their curves.
During our backstage interview, that took place in front of the scrim where the models were posting for the look book, William said “Callula Lillibelle is primarily a dress collection” and in answer to our other question, “it sells at Saks”. Unsurprisingly, the strongest looks were dresses such as the lemon/silver stretch tweed boatneck one that would look as good on a curvy woman as on the size zero models posing in the Box presentation.Best in show was the white “Penelope Cruz” – that had a beautiful wrap front bodice, that was both glamorous and practical.
While pointing to the models posing in front of him , he told us that he was inspired by strong curvy fashion icons such as Sofia Lauren, Penelope Cruz, Beyonce and Rihanna. Clients and fans include curvy ladies such as Oprah and Gayle King.
There were though, non-dress looks that stood-out, such as the right-on-trend pink jacquard jacket over an ivory dot lace tank and ivory pin dot slouchy shorts. It seems that grown women really WILL be wearing shorts to work, after all. Both looked great with a pair of chic Stuart Weitzman pumps.
To answer Ken’s question, ["Is it Neiman's?"], we concurred that Callula is a solid collection that is perfectly placed at Saks, rather than Neiman’s which houses cutting edge design and where shoppers go to find what they expect to see on the pages of US Vogue. The Neiman’s woman is one who counts fashion and her wardrobe in her top three life priorities. Neiman’s top customers have Ken on speed dial.
By contrast, Saks and Callula are more mellow in their approach to fashion. This brand offers an excellent fit and the fact that the designs do not vary radically from season to season is reassuring to women who want some style but who don’t want a whole new wardrobe each and every season. This collection fits her lifestyle, as while she enjoys her fashion, she doesn’t want [or need] it delivered at warp speed. She paces herself with easy to wear fashions such as Callula. Fashion and her wardrobe are important but rank lower on the priority list, and like Saks, there is a sense of decorum in her attitude. Despite the year-round throng of tourists and buzz, the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship continues to maintain the air of stately dignity when well-to-do ladies shopped there on their way to lunch and their choice of gloves was an important matter. Similarly, Callula also possesses that gracious sensibility but there’s no better way to experience it than to slip on one of William’s dresses and to see for yourself.
