EDITOR'S LETTER: September 2013

BIG CHOP! NEW LOOK!

These past few months have been terribly busy for myself, in which I figured I needed to make some changes in my schedule, and life. Along with the pending shift in seasons, the first change was my "Big Chop" of my hair and the beginning of an old, but “New Look”, none the less (This is my second time going bald). Considering it is now September, the quintessential equivalent of New Years in the fashion world (Fashion Week begins September 5, 2012 in New York City), I'd figured chopping my hair off and sporting a “New Look” goes perfect with the fact that fashion is primarily about transformation and self discovery. I am quite disappointed in myself for I have not had the time to come up with my usual stream pf posts for #IMFblog these past months, and this has prompted me to figure out how I can streamline my life a bit more as to cater to my busy schedule. Having been growing my hair since last April, as if I wasn't spending enough time styling it after work and on the weekends, my hair was one thing I spent most of my day thinking about! I figured to myself that, in my fashion, if a style is not easy and convenient for oneself, then that style may not be the right style one should be maintaining. In my fashion, style must be effortless for it to exude our true character, otherwise we might as well be in 18th century Paris during the the era of Marie Antoinette where preparation for ones look took hours, and required the assistance of many maids. The fro had to go! When I decided to take my scissors and razor blade to my head, upon the first chop of hair, I instantly felt liberated, as if I was preparing for a new frontier, and it could not have come at a better time for myself, because at this stage in my life, I am more than ready to take on new horizons in my life. I have no idea what the future holds for myself, but my New Look has inspired a strength within who I am, and a certain freedom from my typical mode of thinking that has me feeling bolder and more refined.

My new robe I've been developing for myself goes
perfect with this Fall's trends. Vogue's 2013  September
Issue declares coats and robes are the new handbag.

I recently came across an Andre Leon Talley quote from Vogue Living: "Luxury is...to be able to take control of one's life, health and the pursuit of happiness in a way that is joyful." In my fashion, attaining a luxurious lifestyle is the pursuit of a style all one's own, and as the late Diana Vreeland had proclaimed, "There is only one good life, and that's the one you want, and you make it yourself!" Luxury is not defined by the necessity of wearing Dior everyday, or living in Paris, or even having a lot of money to do things like that. Its about finding the things one truly enjoys about life, and having the guts to pursue what one enjoys in a way that brings a certain meaning and value to ourselves and those we interact with.

My new look and increased spiritual outlook on life
 has me feeling like what I call, an "Urban Monk"! 

A phrase I have found myself reciting to people more often these past few months is my belief that in life, “It’s all about the visual!” I have found this to be true not only because I realize the difference between how people interact with things that are attractive, and things that are unattractive, but because in my research I found that 50% of our brains are in fact dedicated to the information we receive visually. There are many unconscious processes within our brain that occur when we look at things, and ultimately our brains control how we feel largely based on the things that we see. Going forward with the rest of the year, I am planning to elaborate more on this, and hopefully this will put more into perspective, how we respond to things that are beautiful, and why as Diana Vreeland always said, “The eyes have to travel.” Of all of her eccentric quotes (this also being the name of one of her biographies), this is one of my favorites, because I believe in this phrase, and that it applies to our lives more than we imagine. I intend on continuing this month with info from Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible, and the The Secret World of Couture, and later on hopefully before the month ends, we can go more in detail on the Science of Beauty. As I said before, I have gotten really busy lately and I’m so disappointed that my posts have been slacking compared to prior months, but as I said, with my BIG CHOP, will come big changes, not just in my schedule, but to #IMFblog content and presentation, so continue to visit and see what information I find to inspire us all!

EDITOR'S LETTER: August 2013

Think about why two women can wear the
same dress and rock them differently? Look
at their poise, grace, and posture!

I am a firm believer in the idea that, to understand where one is going in life, one must have an understanding of one's past. What is it in our past that made us into what we are in the present? In my fashion, it would only make sense that a certain understanding of fashion history is what makes the difference between a "clothing-horse" and a fashion advocate with a real sense of personal style. If I am wrong, if anything, one can certainly tell that an understanding and knowledge of fashion history, in some way, subliminally enhances ones style. Style is all about poise, grace, and posture, and when one finds a piece of fashion history that really speaks to us on deeper level, it is reflected in our poise, grace, and posture, because that bit of knowledge that resonates within us gives us the confidence to be who we want to be.

In my fashion, one’s understanding of fashion's past helps to enhance the appeal and authenticity of ones style because I believe when it comes to fashion and having style, every visible detail means something and says something about how we live our lives. Every detail from the yellow hair tie a girl pulls her hair up with, to even one's hand movements tell a story of where we have been in our lives. I was always fascinated with the Sherlock Holmes stories when I was younger because of his deductive reasoning. He could deduce what happened at a crime scene by paying attention to details and connecting those details in a way that reveals the truth. In this exaggerated example of our deductive abilities as humans, in my fashion, examining other people's fashions works the same. 

Style is all in the detail. 

This month lets think of Sherlock Holmes as we motion to gather more knowledge of fashion by examining Tim Gunn's Fashion Bible. Sherlock Holmes was able to make such intricate conclusions and come to understandings that no one else could fathom because he had a vast storage of knowledge of how the world works, and what has happened in the past. Tim Gunn's book helps us to become Sherlock Holmes of fashion. Understanding the original meaning of clothing items helps us to compare what the garment was intended for, as opposed to why an individual is wearing it today in our time. Looking at other's clothes we can deduce a person’s personality, interests, and viewpoints on life. In my fashion, the less that we are able to express our personality through our clothes the weaker our style, and as Diana Vreeland says, "Without style you are nobody!" As I have observed, people tend to respect other people with style! It’s important to express ourselves through our clothes for visuals constitutes 55% of communication between people, and you should know how to express the best of yourself through your sartorial journey and maturity through life. 

Of course this month we are going to keep with the best of fashion, which is The Secret World of Couture. In my fashion, the special idea behind a couture piece is that it has the ability to plainly communicate the extraordinary qualities of an individual and is indicative of one's amount of imagination and free will. One has to have quite a free mentally to express ones imagination through their clothing. As I heard artist and socialite, Daphne Guinness says, what’s interesting about fashion is the idea that we can transform ourselves because we are human beings and we can. Haute couture is much more than just finding the most elaborate and extravagant dress from the couture collections. It’s about finding the right fit to a dress made for none other than yourself and for your personality. Couture is an emphasis, and appreciation, for detail; style is an emphasis on point of view, so when you put them together, one creates a look that is alluringly unique. As is the theme of these two months, Unique Is Chic, fashion allows for the celebration of our uniqueness. In my fashion, thank God we are not all the same - how boring would that be?

Style Watch: Vogue Voices - Alexander Wang

My theme this month, “Unique is Chic” is inspired by the fact that, in my fashion, fashion is all about understanding what it is that makes us stand out from others, and how we can present that uniqueness to others. Recently, I was able to watch Diana Vreeland’s documentary, “The Eye has to Travel”, and what she emphasized in fashion is how to make an asset of one’s faults. If one has a space in one’s teeth, make it the most beautiful thing about them; If one is tall, become taller by wearing high heeled shoes; If one has a long neck, be proud of it and don’t hunch over; if one has got a long nose, hold it up and make it your trademark. Fashion designers have an amazing ability and talent to create clothes that help us to push our faults in the most glorious ways, because after all, our faults are what make us unique, and why should we be ashamed of what makes us whole. Vogue has a new video series on Vogue.com entitled, “Vogue Voices”, which delves into the minds of some of the biggest designers of the moment and what makes them qualified to run a design house. Couture is all about the unique and one of a kind, and being that this month on #IMGblog is all about “The Secret World of Couture”, I decided to bring the interviews of the couture designers from this series to my Style Watch series. In W Magazine’s May 2013 feature, “The Man Who Loves Women”, Alber Elbaz, Creative Director of Lanvin, made an interesting assertion he learned from co-founder of the couture house, Yves St. Laurent, Pierre Bergé: “The best business people are the ones who think like artists. And the best artists are the true business people.” Making women beautiful is a difficult business and the designers of couture houses take their business very seriously, and are very wise about life and how to create products that work for women’s lives. This month I wanted to see what specifically we could learn about fashion from these designers for I always find it interesting how much wisdom can be gained from the eccentric minds of fashion designers.

Alexander Wang believes that fashion is a melting pot, and that it is changing all the time. To him, the people in fashion are just crazy enough to go along with the ride because they love it so much. In my fashion, I agree because the one commonality that I feel between anyone who is interested in fashion, is that we are all fascinated with elevating the everyday. What I enjoy most about Wang’s designs is that we see this elevation of the everyday so clearly, yet the basic premise and purpose for the piece is not lost behind the design. The fact that Wang bases his pieces on the basic concept of sports ware and creating pieces that a have a sense of ease that people can relate to in their busy lives, is what is so appealing about his self titled brand. With his wearable, abstract, and highly modern pieces, the exhilarating growth that his brand has made since 2005 is why he was approached by Balenciaga three months ago to become the house’s new Creative Director after, Nicolas Ghesquière. 

Fox jacket, silk velvet pants, and calfshin
sandals from Wang's 1st collection for
Balenciaga. (Photos: Vogue)

In Wang’s debut collection for the house, it is said in the June 2013 issue of Vogue, that “it was an impressive and focused beginning,--an elegant, respectful homage to the house’s legendary founder. There were jackets and coats cut with curving, air-injected shoulder lines and fastened with gleaming silver claps; narrow trousers or long, lean skirts, all in deep forest green or black; and a series of sleeveless hourglass coats and sheath dresses, embroidered to resemble the striations of marble, an effect echoed in the intarsia technique used for sheared-mink jackets atop silk-velvet pants treated to resemble guipure lace.” Wang says, “I felt it was important to go back to the roots of the house to reinforce Cristobal’s codes, but in the context of a modern, functioning wardrobe.”

In my fashion, what we see in Wang’s designs IS that elevation of the everyday, and the innovation he employs in his pieces are so attractive because he is aware of the fact that everyone’s lives are so complex, and the clothes that favor in today's market are clothes that are functional. He is most proud of the fact that there is such a range in the diversity of his customers, because he is most about his brand having a certain sensibility and attitude as opposed to catering to a particular age group and cultural background. The fact that his brand accomplishes this is an aspect that certainly qualifies him for his new position because, in my fashion, that is a principal aspect of couture that distinguishes it from the ready-to-wear. He sees that now a days it is good to see that brands are now beginning to pair customers with an aesthetic instead of pairing them to a price, which is more a way of keeping people from options, which is not the objective of designers.

The embroidery on sheath dresses was
made to look like marble. 

In my fashion, the one thing I favor most about what we can take away from Alexander Wang is that fashion brands are about telling a story, and building a connection with an audience based off that story. This notion is not true of just fashion brands, but it extends to other industries, and most of all, in society in general. Throughout history clothes have been used to single our success in life, and life is all about attracting other's to one's success to be with the people that want to continue a story of life with you in it. On top of Alexander Wang's genius of how to work fabric in interesting ways, his dedication towards understanding how people can communicate a certain story about oneself through their clothes is what, in my fashion, puts him on a level of couture sensibility. 

Style Watch: Vogue Voices - Alber Elbaz

My theme this month, “Unique is Chic” is inspired by the fact that, in my fashion, fashion is all about understanding what it is that makes us stand out from others, and how we can present that uniqueness to others. Recently, I was able to watch Diana Vreeland’s documentary, “The Eye has to Travel”, and what she emphasized in fashion is how to make an asset of one’s faults. If one has a space in one’s teeth, make it the most beautiful thing about them; If one is tall, become taller by wearing high heeled shoes; If one has a long neck, be proud of it and don’t hunch over; if one has got a long nose, hold it up and make it your trademark. Fashion designers have an amazing ability and talent to create clothes that help us to push our faults in the most glorious ways, because after all, our faults are what make us unique, and why should we be ashamed of what makes us whole. Vogue has a new video series on Vogue.com entitled, “Vogue Voices”, which delves into the minds of some of the biggest designers of the moment and what makes them qualified to run a design house. Couture is all about the unique and one of a kind, and being that this month on #IMGblog is all about “The Secret World of Couture”, I decided to bring the interviews of the couture designers from this series to my Style Watch series. In W Magazine’s May 2013 feature, “The Man Who Loves Women”, Alber Elbaz, Creative Director of Lanvin, made an interesting assertion he learned from co-founder of the couture house, Yves St. Laurent, Pierre Bergé: “The best business people are the ones who think like artists. And the best artists are the true business people.” Making women beautiful is a difficult business and the designers of couture houses take their business very seriously, and are very wise about life and how to create products that work for women’s lives. This month I wanted to see what specifically we could learn about fashion from these designers for I always find it interesting how much wisdom can be gained from the eccentric minds of fashion designers.

Creative Director of Lanvin, Alber Elbaz, believes that real haute couture is when you actually work with a person. His favorite part of being a designer is being in the store, in the dressing rooms with a women during a fitting. He says that when he is fitting a customer, he gets so anxious with excitement that while they are dressing he will barge into their dressing area because he loves to work and feel that he can make a change. He compares designing to being a doctor in that he is very careful and attentive to the needs of his clients, and he loves finding the pieces that will “fit” her. For him the couture process is all about knowing the person, and understanding who she is, what she wants to hide, what she loves about herself,  where she coming from, and where she is going.

Elbaz specializes in creating clothes for beautiful, talented, gorgeous, women and he tries to help them look beautiful on the red carpet. For him, its more about how they feel than how they look. He tries to think of how to make the dress disappear, where one can look at the women, understand who they are, and in the end, we don’t see the dress on the woman, but we see the woman inside the dress. He doesn’t want the onlooker to be caught up in the styling because then one misses the point of dressing, which is to be seen for what you are. The dress is meant to enhance a women’s beauty, not be the focal point. He respects women for the work they have done, and the hard work they go through in their lives. He appreciates that fagility and vulnerability women posess.

Elbaz's illustration for the promotion of 
Lancôme Mascara.

Recently, Elbaz has been working with Lancome to design the packaging for their mascara line. In his W Magazine feature, he admits that he “adores women, and the one thing [he] wants to do more than anything is to see a transformation of personality when someone puts on one of [his] dresses.” His original agenda as a designer has always been to communicate with women through clothes, and he feels an obligation to the Lanvin brand and the Lanvin woman even though he has worked at other design houses such as YSL, Krizia, and was sought after for Givenchy and Dior. Elber is committed to the idea that his clothes be timeless and in a way, helpful: He wants to make it easier for women to dress for their complicated lives. He says, “I am not interested in perfection, and neither are the women who wear my clothes.” He also says, “I don’t ever use the word ‘sexy. My clothes may be sexy, but I am more interested in what is beautiful—and that has nothing to do with age or size. Or…sexy. I don’t even know what that word means.”

The philosophy of his work is to do things in a different way, and to bring joy to his life. “When you enjoy something and bring a good energy to it, it shows in the product.” He says, “Basically we create what we are: when we are sad, we create sadness; when we are happy, we create happy, when we are miserable, we create misery, and it shows through the product, and is felt on the body.”

EDITOR'S LETTER: July 2013



 In my fashion, Haute Couture is the ultimate
appreciation of clothes.

I have been absolutely intrigued by how fascinating fashion can be when one really delves into its history. In my fashion, having knowledge of fashion history empowers personal style. If you have been following #IMFblog for the past two months learning about Diana Vreeland’s accomplishments at the Costume Institute, hopefully you have gained a plethora of insight into how costume history has influenced our modern views of what we find beautiful. Through DV’s point of view, and her flare for presentation, she introduced new ways of thinking about the importance of fashion in a societal context through time. Her work mostly helped to bring inspiration and aspiration to the high fashion designers of the industry, and their work would go on to become revolutionary in their respective points in time. In these past months I have really began to ponder the reason why the Couture houses maintain their high standards, and how they run their business as the leaders of fashion ingenuity. I recently came across a BBC documentary which followed its reporter, Margy Kinmonth, as she met various members of “The Secret World of Couture” from the point of view of an outsider being allowed access to a heavily guarded insider club of sorts.

"Unique is Chic!"

While anyone can become a part of the couture festivities, one must have made their way up the social latter quite high before couture regulars will acknowledge your presence. I wondered why it is that people like Karl Lagerfeld, and Alber Elbaz, Riccardo Tisci, and most recently Alexander Wang are inspired to provide garments to the world of which a body may never feel the inside of. Clothes that are so special, they only need one outing to be burned into the mental images of those that see the woman in that dress (and these days with the internet, everyone is able to see the woman as soon as she steps out into the daylight). In my fashion, the couture shows are so magical just to see on live-streams. I can only imagine being present during these events (can you imagine the goose bumps). Watching the BBC documentary one gains an understanding of the level of the fashion industry that is responsible for bring fashion to the rest of the world through wildly imaginative and expensive pieces in the couture, down to the ready-to-wear collections and mainstream fashion.



"Life is an endless costume party!"

 This month I am inspired by the magic of “The Secret World of Couture”. Diana Vreeland adored Paris, and was alive during a time when designers of the great couture houses of today were making their beginnings for the fashion industry. She socialized and was friends with the designers Cristobol Balenciaga, Coco Chanel, Hubert Givenchy, and Christian Dior. So this month I am going to be looking into the point of views of the current couture design house heads, and how they help individuals assert the power of the imagination through clothes. One fashion expert whose book I have been reading of late speaks on the influence of these design houses, and much more on fashion history, in his book “Tim Gunn’s Fashion Bible”. Tim Gunn maintains that fashion is all about context—societal, cultural, historic, economic, and political. To him, dismissing fashion as silly or unimportant seems like a denial of history and frequently a show of sexism. I support this notion, and that is why I work to understand fashion in its entire context within our world. As feminist, Elizabeth Wilson postulated, “immense psychological and material work goes into the production of the social self, and clothes are an indispensable part of that production.” As Vogue says in its July 2013 issue, “Life is an endless costume party,” and when one thinks about it, the fashion industry is actually quite young, but inventive costume and adorning oneself has always been an innate aspect of the human experience. In July, we will delve into why, “Unique is Chic.”