A window across from Chris Benz’s studio in midtown Manhattan is plastered with two signs, one reading SAVE OUR GARMENT CENTER, the other SAVE THE FASHION DISTRICT. The Seattle-born Benz spends the better portion of his feature in our CATWALK COUNTDOWN series speaking to the growing threat to New York’s fashion epicenter: “I think our responsibility is to support the domestic garment industry. We produce 98 percent of our collection — samples and production — within a two-block radius of this studio. We work with little factories really closely, so we know people. I think that if that goes away, it’ll be a huge detriment to the industry.” Put a visual with this, and hear him explain why a typical Chris Benz customer doesn’t tuck in her shirt.
CATWALK COUNTDOWN: Chris Benz
| 02/09/10 — 0 comments |
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Robin Sayers | Categories: Design + Designers, People + Personalities | No Comments » |
| Article Tags: Catwalk Countdown, Chris Benz, Fashion District, Garment Center, New York Fashion Week, Seattle | |
Aya Kanai: in support of Tavi Gevinson
| 02/09/10 — 3 comments |
fashion blogger Tavi models for Japanese fashion magazines
If you are a reader of fashion blogs you might have read the recent comment regarding Tavi by Sarah Mower in The Telegraph (UK). She wrote, “At the Dior show, trying to fight my way backstage to get a quote from John Galliano, I nearly fell over a tiny, grey-haired woman who, from the back, I took to be a septuagenarian Japanese fashion fanatic, as she was dressed head-to-toe in Comme des Garçons. When she was ushered into the inner sanctum before me, and turned around, I saw, with a sick lurch, that it was actually Tavi Gevinson…Had I not been so busy trying to attract Galliano’s attention, I would have asked Mr. Gevinson why he thought it was right to take his daughter out of school to go to haute couture shows, where she would be treated like a celebrity by paparazzi? Or why he thought it OK for her to model for Pop and Love magazines last year?”
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Aya Kanai | Categories: People + Personalities, Style + Trends | 3 Comments » |
| Article Tags: Sarah Mower, Tavi Gevinson | |
Tune in Tuesday at 9pm: JACK TAYLOR OF BEVERLY HILLS
| 02/09/10 — 0 comments |
Tune in to Sundance Channel tonight at 9 p.m. to watch the documentary JACK TAYLOR OF BEVERLY HILLS. For more than 60 years, the fashionable custom-made suits Jack Taylor created for stars like Cary Grant, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis defined Hollywood glamour, status, and good taste. Now in his nineties, Taylor remains active and in demand even as some speak of him as an endangered species in an era of shoddy workmanship and casual dress. Cecile Leroy Beaulieu’s fascinating documentary profiles the life and times of an outspoken and witty Beverly Hills icon as he discusses his career and his commitment to excellence in men’s attire.
Search here for the complete schedule of FULL FRONTAL FASHION films and series!
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Kelley Culp | Categories: Film + Fashion | No Comments » |
| Article Tags: Cecile Leroy Beaulieu, Jack Taylor of Beverly Hills, Menswear | |
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THE RED CARPET ISSUE: “a den of bad taste”
| 02/09/10 — 0 comments |
My best tip for viewing THE RED CARPET ISSUE — an insightful, provocative documentary about the relationship between Hollywood and high-end fashion — is that you do so with friends (or, see it separately, then discuss). And while ostensibly about girlie things (gowns, jewelry, high heels, handbags), this is really about the red carpet’s dirty underside, a multi-billion dollar game of poker sure to appeal to male and female viewers alike.
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Robin Sayers | Categories: Design + Designers, Film + Fashion | No Comments » |
| Article Tags: Chanel, Documentary, Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Marchesa, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Olivier Nicklaus, Red Carpet Issue, Roberto Cavalli | |
It’s your time at Benetton
| 02/09/10 — 0 comments |
Benetton’s new campaign
United Colors of Benetton has long been lauded for its innovative advertising campaigns, which celebrate cultural differences and diversity. Now the Italy-based brand is taking its model-casting international and virtual with It’s My Time, an online global casting competition to find the new faces of the 21st century, set to launch today and last until March 16. People from around the world are invited to upload photos and videos that illustrate their singular style and what makes them unconventional. Twenty winners will be flown to New York and featured in Benetton’s autumn/winter 2010 advertising campaign, under the lens of renowned photographer Josh Olins. Says the press release:
The new IT’S MY TIME campaign offers young people around the world a means of sharing their opinions, as well as a “place” to be noticed and a dream to aspire to. Through the open culture of social media, the blogosphere and citizen journalism, it promotes a radical freedom, enabling them to make the leap from objects to subjects. Benetton is giving an open invitation to take part in a revolution from the bottom, from one to many, that is both collective and individual.
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Jessica Marati | Categories: Design + Designers, Global | No Comments » |
| Article Tags: Advertising, Benetton, Global Casting Competition, It's My Time, Models | |
Tune In Tuesday at 8pm: SAVILE ROW – PART 2: FOREIGN AFFAIRS
| 02/09/10 — 0 comments |
An image from SAVILE ROW
Tune in to Sundance Channel tonight at 8pm E/P to see the second of our new three-part series, SAVILE ROW.
Documentarian Ian Denyer explores Savile Row’s illustrious tradition and how it can meet the challenges of the 21st century. In episode two, the Row’s tailors visit an expo in Florence to promote themselves to customers abroad.
Search here for the complete schedule of all FULL FRONTAL FASHION film and series!
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Kelley Culp | Categories: Film + Fashion | No Comments » |
| Article Tags: Ian Denyer, Savile Row | |
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Abercrombie & Fitch on SAVILE ROW?
| 02/08/10 — 0 comments |
Image from SAVILE ROW
I don’t know the type of Emmy for which SAVILE ROW could be eligible. This in-depth look at the famed bespoke tailors in London’s Mayfair district is a three-part docu-miniseries, which is a rare format in U.S. television. I fear that, like many of the best things, it might fall helplessly between category cracks. I just know that this is some of the best stuff I’ve ever seen on the small screen. It’s totally fantastic and grabs you from the very first frame.
Let’s start with genre: This is a comedy-thriller, swinging deftly from funny to menacing. It reminded me of Election in the way it was, by turns, both hilarious and horrifying.
Based on the straightforward title, I guessed the basic place and topic of this program, but knew nothing else. That’s exactly how you should go into watching this, so I don’t want to give too many specifics lest I spoil even a moment of the immense fun this series offers. Rather, ask yourself these five questions:
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Robin Sayers | Categories: Design + Designers, Film + Fashion | No Comments » |
| Article Tags: Abercrombie & Fitch, Documentary, Election, Emmy, Harris Tweed, Justin Timberlake, London, Savile Row | |
Tune In Monday at 9pm: THE RED CARPET ISSUE
| 02/08/10 — 0 comments |
Tune in to Sundance Channel tonight at 9pm E/P to watch THE RED CARPET ISSUE.
How has a formerly exclusive private ceremony been transformed into a popular public phenomenon and an extension of the multi-million dollar fashion industry? With trenchant insight and plenty of humor, French journalist and filmmaker Olivier Nicklaus explores the mystique, risks and rewards surrounding the fabled red carpet on which designers, stylists, and celebrities vie for the attention of the world’s media. The film features interviews with red carpet veterans Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Monica Bellucci, Milla Jovovich and Perez Hilton.
Click here for the complete schedule of FULL FRONTAL FASHION films and series all this week as we celebrate New York Fashion Week!
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Kelley Culp | Categories: Film + Fashion | No Comments » |
| Article Tags: Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs, Olivier Nicklaus, The Red Carpet Issue | |
CATWALK COUNTDOWN: Vena Cava
| 02/08/10 — 0 comments |
In 2003, three weeks after graduating from Parsons, classmates Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai began work on their inaugural collection — on the floor of their living room. “The initial idea was that we were going to have a barbecue,” Buhai recalls in the duo’s segment on CATWALK COUNTDOWN. “We were going to make a bunch of clothes and just have a fashion-show kegger.” In this piece, we learn their friend, Douglas, persuaded the Vena Cava ladies to modify their plan and schedule it during New York Fashion Week. Important players showed up, and the rest is fashion history. Now you can see the Vena Cava threads on every cool “It” girl around town. Thanks, Douglas!
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Robin Sayers | Categories: Design + Designers, People + Personalities | No Comments » |
| Article Tags: Catwalk Countdown, Lisa Mayock, New York Fashion Week, Parsons, Sophie Buhai, Vena Cava | |
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