Perhaps it’s the sudden arrival of crisp autumn weather and the thrill of switching over to a fall wardrobe, but the black and white austerity of Nathaniel Goldberg’s recent Numéro editorial is as refreshing and awakening as that sudden gust of chilly air when you leave your apartment in the morning.
The title refers to Lewis Carroll’s sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, in which Alice travels to a fantasy world through her bedroom mirror. Shalow Harlow’s stoic yet coquettish expression suggests she caught a glimpse of this world through her own looking glass, and leaves the perfect amount of intrigue for the viewer.
Of course, with hair by Teddy Charles and makeup by Francelle you can never go wrong. After months of light, colorful, and whimsical summer editorials, we think this one is a perfect kickoff to the fall season.
Nathaniel Goldberg for Numéro magazine, October 2009
Shu Pei has been a runway staple since her smash hit debut during the F/W 2008 shows in Milan and Paris. Her high cheek bones, beautiful skin, and versatile attitude have allowed her to walk in some of the most coveted shows around. Plus, she can pull off so many different looks from clean and simple to geek chic with great ease. This season Shu Pei is back with a strong lineup across New York, London and Milan, and we can’t wait to see where she’ll be walking in Paris. Below are a few looks from her recent shows in Milan. We are kind of into the geek chic, sexy schoolgirl look. Which look do you prefer?
One thing we love about the new Flaming Lips video for “I Can Be a Frog” is the exquisite corpse quality of the song and video. There are the onomatopoeic lyrics Karen O contributes to the song, the girl’s interpretive dance in the video, and finally the illustrator’s theatrical animations. On a gloomy Monday afternoon like today, and with the premiere of Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are right around the corner, we are totally into the DIY imaginative quality of this video. What do you think?
When we think of Anna Wintour’s wardrobe, we think of three words: Prada, prints, and fur. She is always impeccably dressed, with every strand of hair in place (though often covering half her face), perfectly understated makeup, and with her bone thin physique, her clothing always hangs exactly as it should. Although we are sure she has the best tailor in town!
Earlier this week the Huffington Post shared a few images of Anna’s fashion choices from the 1980’s. The images show her in a fashion spotlight that we were not familiar with. Look at all that … BOLD COLOR! We guess it was a sign of the times, since everything bold, bright, and shimmery was all the rage. Apparently, Anna was even wearing fur back then, albeit in a rather unnatural shade of green. What kind of animal is that anyway? Always a woman ahead of her time…
This week is not a quiz, just a question. Which is your favorite Anna outfit from the 1980’s?
In today’s world, the modeling industry is just about as cutthroat as it gets. With agencies representing hundreds, or even thousands of girls, it isn’t easy to say what it takes to “stand out” in the crowd. For some, it might be a really distinctive look or fantastic personality, while for others it’s their ability to act as a canvas for a stylist, hair stylist and makeup artist, to use as a human palette. It’s amazing how a talented team can literally transform a girl.
Kristy Kaurova at Major just booked an exclusive for Calvin Klein, and we think she may be the first Major girl to have done so in years. When she came in recently for a go-see we could immediately see why they chose her. Her porcelain skin, classic features, and expressive looks are perfect for Calvin Klein’s clean lines and subtle, elegant palette.
The French have an eye for fashion. It must be in their genetic makeup because they seem intrinsically in tune with its history, subtleties and artfulness.
Although this is a complete generalization, we think the French define fashion at its best. One brand that defines classic French style for us is Chanel. With Coco Avant Chanel opening in the US this weekend, we have been thinking a lot about the brand. Then yesterday, in the midst of a lunchtime discussion about the film, we were reminded of an amazing documentary we watched about Peter Philips, the Global Creative Director for Chanel. The film offers an inside look into his creative process, his person and how he achieves all the different colors and looks for the brand. He is a true artist and the film was really incredible to watch.
The film documents Philips’ preparation for the Fall/Winter 2009 season. A true artist, Philips creates the makeup palette for each show through a careful consideration of colors, hues and textures while staying true to each designer’s unique angle for the season. Talk about great talent, superb design, aesthetic sensibility, and an unwavering attention to detail.
Since we work in NYC we have been watching London Fashion Week from afar, admiring all the Spring collections and speculating about what trends to expect in Milan and Paris. Based on what we have seen and heard: black is out, everyone is opting for flats and no one wants to see a metal stud on anything. Carine Roitfeld is going for the “preppy” look so we can only assume that is what everyone will be wearing in Spring 2010.
Aside from all the news about what’s in and what’s out, our favorite piece of news from this week’s shows was reading that a pregnant Jourdan Dunn was spotted in the front row at the Topshop Unique and Issa shows! At six months we can understand why she’s taking a little break from work, but we were so happy to hear she was out to cheer her friends and peers on down the catwalk.
We picked out a few of our favorite Jordan looks from her most recent runway appearances. Which do you prefer, Jourdan’s glam updo from Oscar de la Renta, or her deep red pout from Dolce & Gabbana?
Fashion is always ahead of the curve and designers and editors are even ahead of the curve’s curve. It’s about to get chilly and autumnal in NYC, yet all our thoughts right now are on Spring 2010. What will we be wanting, wearing and buying for the new spring season. There is so much inspiration on the runway, so we thought we might sum up our thoughts with a simple spring poem by Robert Louis Stevenson and some of our favorite images from Matthew Williamson’s recent show.
In the Green and Gallant Spring
In the green and gallant Spring,
Love and the lyre I thought to sing,
And kisses sweet to give and take
By the flowery hawthorn brake.
Now is russet Autumn here,
Death and the grave and winter drear,
And I must ponder here aloof
While the rain is on the roof.
Hello, we’ve just received word from the ground crew and we are cleared for landing. The fastened seat belt light is on. Please make sure your seat back is fully upright and your tray table is in the upright and locked position, and take a look at the quiz answers below to see if your guesses were correct!
New York Fashion Week is officially over, and all eyes are now on London. With several of our artists jetting around the world over the coming weeks for London, Milan, and Paris fashion weeks, we chuckled a little when we thought of the various types of runways being put to use for this seasonal event. We did a little searching through the Art + Commerce Image Archive and chose a few highlights for today’s Photo Pop Quiz! Can you tell which photographer captured each runway moment below?
1. Ellen von Unwerth
2. Adrian Gaut
3. Richard Burbridge
4. David LaChapelle
Nathaniel Goldberg for Numéro magazine, October 2009
