Academy of Art University presented their Spring 2017 collections this week at New York Fashion Week. Thirteen talented students from the private university are selected each season to participate in the school’s biannual show. Designers are selected in regard to overall creativity in “Textiles, three dimensional design, tailoring, and construction techniques”.
“WENCH” was the title of Shayne Oliver’s Spring/Summer 2017 collection for “Hood by Air”. With a much anticipated front row, and an even more exciting show to follow, guests waited for arrivals to an X rated soundtrack of what seemed to be fifteen minutes of fellatio.
Nicholas K presented their Spring 2017 collection in New York this week, inspired by the movie “Theeb” about a Bedouin boy tasked with leading a British officer through the unforgiving Wadi Rum desert.
The last installation of Bud Light’s 13 show nation wide convention landed in New York City, where the night quickly turned into a star-studded kegger.
New York Fashion Week Men’s Spring 17 shows ended in quite a bang Thursday, as American industry juggernaut John Varvatos closed the shows in the evening and opened a new fragrance in his existing “Dark Rebel” line.
Last Wednesday, Freedom for All charity held its annual gala at the Top of the Standard, inviting donors and human rights activists to recap on their combined accomplishments throughout the year. Along with Michael Stipe, Nicole Miller, and Princess Beatrice of York in attendance, musician Rhiannon Giddens of the band “Carolina Chocolate Drops” graced the crowd with a few choice songs. Following a heart wrenching speech by a woman liberated from a human trafficking ring, Giddens stepped up to the stage with her banjo, accompanied by only a bassist. The crowd grew solemn at first, with songs touching on the topic of slavery leading off her set. Like the people whose goal it is of Freedom for All to support, the mood gradually lightened as Giddens began to perform uplifting songs about liberation and freedom. The crowd was invited to sing along, and clapping ensued as an a capella piece closed out the night.
In the past year, Freedom for all has rescued over 3,000 people, helped launch an NGO to assist survivors in Cameroon, pulled over 70 children out of slavery in Ghana, as well as launched many more projects based in the the Middle East and the Philippines.
To learn more about FREEDOM FOR ALL or make a donation, visit their website:
Libertine’s Autumn/Winter 2016 collection once again flexes its collage-esque aesthetic with fluorescent text and Swarovski graphic appliqués. The collection effectively decreases our lifespans flaunting crushed cigarettes and inspires our glamorous alter egos with shimmering hands and electrified blood red nails. Designer Johnston Hartig seems to have a talent for finding peace and cohesion in seemingly random objects. His persistence in using every color of the rainbow in his collections materialized in the literal sense this season, as rainbows joined the cigarettes, hands, and eye motifs on the runway. Hartig cites the current state of the world as an inspiration for this collection, and the eyes seem to peer out at the “current” presence of the audience looking on at the clothes before them. Nothing summarized this element more clearly than the final parade, where models galavanted through the choreography yielding signs adorned with the words “Save the Planet”, “Bernie 4 Eva”, “Lib for Today”, “Buy More Libertine”, and “Feel the Bern”, which spoke to the obvious pending presidential election and perhaps a tongue-in-cheek poke at modern consumer culture.
Taking on this styling endeavor was once again Thomas Osborn; who, season after season, brings Hartig’s eclectic look together with impeccably done hair. For the guys, Osborn decided to leave them as is, letting their personalities show though with their own personal hair styles. With the ladies, multiple braids off to the side were used to provide texture for an “untroubled chic” look, embodying the Libertine girl- “casual and cool”. One of the most interesting details Osborn adds, is the burettes in the back. “Johnston went on Amazon for $600 worth of burettes and he didn’t even know if he wanted to use them or not, but more is more here if you will”!
Robert Greene for Too Cool For School curated the makeup look. He channeled the “3 AM Girl” for the makeup look with a bold, graphic eye. The Libertine woman takes a risk with a dramatic cat eye and smoky highlighted lid. With a 60’s inspiration for the bottom lashes and a focus on the eyes, the face and lips remained natural. Too Cool For School also previewed the brand’s new color cosmetics sub-line launching in Sephora in April 2016 – Glam Rock!
Inspired by the iconic styles of 70’s rock in the UK, Glam Rock is the ultimate visual revolution. Several of the Glam Rock products were used to create the bold, dramatic eye makeup at Libertine including Extreme Color Eyes and Volume Thriller Mascara.
“A modern juxtaposition of textures” defines Tanya Taylor’s look this season in the words of celebrity NARS makeup artist Uzo.
The renowned International Woolmark Prize was held this week, featuring designers from across the globe competing for a chance to win the prestigious award designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld had won before them.
This season, Bianca Spender [Australian], J Koo [Korean], Nanna van Blaaderen [Dutch], Tanya Taylor [American], and Taller Marmo [UAE], were the 6 designers competing for $71,000 and shelf space at stockists such as Saks Fifth Avenue and 10 Corso Como.
Styling the event was Rodney Cutler for Redken Salon, who worked around the unique dynamic of creating 6 different looks representing each designer while still maintaining a noticeable cohesion. In order to keep the look about the clothes, the looks were simple, and included low pony tails with stray hair and braids to infuse “a textural dynamic”. “You don’t want to do something that’s an eye sore and a distraction, but you have to recognize what the designer is into”. “I like to push a little, and then back off. Thats how you find it [the look]”. To achieve this, Cutler used a mix between Redken Guts to builds texture, and Fatboy Boss Dog by Redken – a new styling creme that increases elasticity in the hair.
For their Spring 2016 campaign, INC International Concepts [Macy’s private label brand] turned to instafamous couple Murad and Nataly Osmann to take the lead in a travel inspired line.