Wednesday, November 30, 2011

What's my style????

I've been looking at my pictures for some time and also the ones where I posted for the "Today I'm Wearing..." series. And I've been thinking... I don't have a real personal style! I mean, it's all over the place! Well I know what you're thinking. It's ok, you can be country today and a bit rock and roll the next day and a dandy on the next day. But I've been more inclined to that rock and roll and I don't care I'll just do it look. Like one of these. Just ignore the other people on the picture. It was during a celebratory lunch for our successful event, the Quezon City Youth Summit for Tourism!









We actually all look good huh? Haha! Must be because we are in a college where dressing fashionably is everything (although there are some who dont! Ha!) I'm a tourism student you know! :D

So I had a very colorful powerful button down paired with a shirt and ripped up skinny jeans folded to see the calves and black and white brogues. It's that "I borrowed this from my boyfriend" look for the girls! Why don't you guys try it? The great thing is you can use heels or any shoes. You can use any print or color as long as you stick to the formula. Let me be your model! Haha! :D

Have a fashionable day everyone!
Ta-ta! :))

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

New Fashion Purchase!

I mean, sunglasses purchase! Yes! I got a new one, For just over $40, A PAIR OF THIERRY MUGLER SUNGLASSES!!!! HERE IT IS!


Monday, November 28, 2011

Tom Ford Spring 2012 Lookbook!!!!

Just two months after the super secret presentation at London, VOGUE.COM  releases the lookbook for Tom Ford Spring 2012. To tell you the truth, it makes me miss Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent days. The collection was truly an Yves Saint Laurent collection. Although Stefano's collection for Spring 2012 was good, this one's better. Just replace Ford's shoes with the Pilati ones AND I'M IN SAINT LAURENT HEAVEN! Go to vogue.com NOW! :D

Sunday, November 27, 2011

The ultimate Cat eye!

If you're obsessing over Giles x Cutler and Gross or the House of Harlow Chelsea. Well, get ready to drool over this! THE DIOR MISS CHERIE!
I know Galliano for Dior fans know that Galliano loves cat eye sunglasses! To the point that every season, there's always a pair of cat eye sunglasses! So, this was limited edition and surely expensive, Oh well! :(





Gushing since the day I saw them! :>

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Emporio Armani's 30th Anniversary

Up to this day, I still don't know why Emporio Armani was established. It's not a young line or much a diffusion line. It's just a copy of Giorgio Armani. Oh well! They actually make profits as it is now in its 30th anniversary.

Emporio Armani has released a capsule sunglasses collection to celebrate their 30th anniversary. The vibrant, oversized shades are reminiscent of the 1980s (Emporio Armani was founded in 1981), but the collection's tagline commends the future: "No nostalgia. The message beams at streaming speed towards digital futures. Fashion is play, movement, energy and pleasure."

I see the sunglasses as a continuation or supplement to the Emporio Armani Spring/Summer 2012 collection – they would be a marvelous enhancement to the black and white palette.



I certainly love the color palette and the style. Good job EA! :D

Friday, November 25, 2011

Tom Ford for H&M???

H&M has their sights set on Tom Ford for their next designer collaboration.

The retailer's creative adviser Margareta van den Bosch said in an interview this week Ford is "a very interesting name" and wouldn't mind working with the designer.

H&M hasn't officially reached out to Tom yet, but we're not so sure he'd go for it.

Remember this is the guy who keeps all his presentations a huge secret and banned starlets from wearing his designs.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Okay I'm obsessed

WITH SUNNIES!
After almost not producing a true sunglasses line, Lanvin decides to make one! Yehey! I'm still obsessing over the Saratoga, Wayshiner, and those crystal embellished square shades!

The Lanvin Maison is pleased to present, in partnership with the De Rigo Group, its first men's and women's eyewear collection, developed under the creative guidance of Albert Elbaz. The sunglasses will be on sale in December in all boutique.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

I'm feeling CATTY!

Aside from the Nicole Richie's House of Harlow Chelsea Sunglasses, here are some of the cat eye sunglasses that are timeless and can be passed down for generations. :)

1. OMO Norma Kamali Eyewear, $250; normakamalicollection.com.
2. Cynthia Rowley, $250; cynthiarowley.com.
3. OMO Norma Kamali Eyewear, $250; normakamalicollection.com.
4. Sonia Rykiel, $860; (212) 369-3606.
5. Derek Lam at Modo Store, $320; (212) 625-0014.
6. Rochas, price upon request; rochas.com for stores.
7. Sonia Rykiel, $475; (212) 369-3606.
8. Alexander McQueen, $325; solsticestores.com for stores.
9. Tom Ford Eyewear, $360; (212) 359-0300.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Makes me laugh in so many ways...

I love me some Oprah but this is just too funny!
Photo credit: perezhilton.com

Monday, November 21, 2011

MADONNA ON THE COVER OF HARPER'S BAZAAR

You've all seen it. Just wanna add to the news. :)

The first is the newsstand cover, the next is the subscriber's cover. I like the subscriber's cover more. Just sayin'. It's because Madonna has more attitude. Too bad. :(

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Chanel sunnies + inexpensive and kinda unnecessary accessory = SUPER EXPENSIVE SUNNIES

Whew! That was a moutful of a title! Haha!
Well the Chanel 5202 sunglasses. Have you seen them? I have, for a long time! And it's quite... hmmm... boring!






I don't get why spend over 500 pounds for a pair of sunglasses with small mirror on the temples. I just don't get it. Well, it's Chanel. But, it's a classic shape and with thick temples, it will surely give you more protection for your eyes. I guess you can wear it for all centuries and can be passed down to your grandchildren. That's the beauty of Chanel, you can never put it in a "throw" pile. It can be for all seasons. Although the designs today are quite bland. I don't know, I'm expecting more trendyness from Chanel. Oh well, make it work! :)

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Azzedine Alaia

There was an extra buzz in the front row at the Comme des Garçons show this season. A star was in our midst, and not just some movie actor or singer. Azzedine Alaïa, the great Tunisian-born, Paris-based designer, had come to support his friend, Rei Kawakubo. Fresh off the triumphant collection he showed during Couture in July, the first presentation he had opened up to the world’s cameras in eight years, Alaïa is more than great. He’s unique. He is the only major designer to produce collections on his own timetable, devoting his time to his private clients as well as to a thriving ready-to-wear business. (Richemont is an investor.) A few days after the Comme des Garçons show, I went to Alaïa’s headquarters in the Marais, a sprawling converted warehouse that houses his boutique, his cluttered studio (where the TV is usually tuned to the National Geographic Channel), and his living quarters. The thing that strikes you first is his vitality. He has the most infectious, mischievous giggle in fashion.

[Note: To see the full shoot of Saskia de Brauw, top, modeling Alaïa’s clothes, pick up a copy of Style.com/Print today. Photographed by Kacper Kasprzyk. Styled by Tony Irvine. Hair by Anthony Turner. Makeup by Janeen Witherspoon.]

You are one of the only designers who have managed to work outside the system. What is your secret?
No, it’s not a secret. Today I believe that designers are asked to do too much, too many collections. It’s inconceivable to me that someone creative can have a new idea every two months. Because if I have one new idea in a year, I thank heaven. I pray, I do everything, but God doesn’t always give me ideas. [Laughs.] That’s why I’m always late with the collection.

Is it possible for young designers to follow your example?
I don’t know, to be honest. Because it’s not up to the designers anymore, it’s up to the places that employ them and demand this work from them. In my case, no one demands anything of me. When I decide to do something, I do it. But I make sure it works, too. The proof is that you sell.

Do you think it’s possible to change the system?
I don’t know, but something has to change. There are too many designers who are in a bad state, who are sick, who feel obliged to take drugs. Me, I’m high on life.

Did the stress contribute to the Galliano situation?
Yes, and [Christophe Decarnin at] Balmain. McQueen. There is too much pressure. If it ends up destroying people, it’s not good. A human being is not a machine. Especially when it comes to creating. You wouldn’t ask a painter or a sculptor to do an exhibition every two months… I even think it’s hard for the buyers and the journalists. They have to run from New York to London to Italy, Paris. And when it’s finished, they start again. They can’t spend any time with their families, their children. It’s not good.

It seems very important to you to be independent.
Even if I was in prison, I could be free in my head. I can adapt easily.

Is it true that you were offered the Dior job?
I don’t want to go into that story again. [Laughs..] No, they asked me a while ago, at the same time as Galliano, when he was at Givenchy. They asked me for Dior, but I couldn’t do it.

Do you think you would have been happy working for a big house?
Anything’s possible.

What do you think of fast fashion retailers?
I like them a lot.

It might surprise people to hear that.
It’s a very good system. Even if you don’t have money, you can still dress well. I shop at H&M and Zara for my cousins and my nieces.

You don’t think they copy other designers?
Listen, everyone copies.

You’re known for your devotion to technique. You’ve worked with the same knitwear factory in Italy for 30 years, for example. But do you think technique is dying out?
No, because there are people at the big houses who don’t know technique, but they are surrounded by great technicians. Dior wasn’t a technician. But he had a feel for fashion, he had worked for a number of years at other houses, and he was surrounded by great technicians like Marguerite Carré … Chanel didn’t cut but she had a feel for it… Balenciaga, he cut. He knew. Cardin, he knew. There are people like that. Vionnet was at the highest level. But at the same time there are other houses where the designer is surrounded by people who even today have a lot of technique and understand it.

You’re not concerned that young designers will lose the sense of technique?
No, because there are good schools, schools where they learn. These schools exist.

So you are optimistic about the future of fashion?
Fashion will last forever. It will exist always. It will exist in its own way in each era. I live in the moment. It’s interesting to know the old methods. But you have to live in the present moment. The evolution today is in the machinery. There are machines that did not exist before. It allows you to be a lot more of a perfectionist.

Does the Internet interest you?
It interests me, of course. When I’m looking for a singer or music, I do the search myself. [Laughs.] No, I don’t know how to use it. But all my assistants know how to do it. I ask them to look it up for me.

But you don’t have a BlackBerry?
I have one, but I leave it on the table and I forget about it for a week.

What is the role of the fashion press?
The press is important, very important.

Has that role changed with the Internet?
It’s changed a lot. At any second, the whole world knows everything. That’s why it’s important that fashion magazines work more seriously, that they take the time to do good subjects with good photographers that you don’t find on the Internet. With the Internet, fashion goes directly to the world the same day, the same hour. Whether you are a journalist in the room or someone at home, you see it at the same time.

Is that a good thing?
It’s good, but not for the newspapers. Soon people won’t read newspapers anymore. They go on the Internet for their news. I saw a television program the other day; at schools they don’t write [by hand] anymore. Pupils go to school with their computers. Learning to write will disappear. And when they asked the little kids about it, they said, Yes, I look on the Internet if I want a book. The brain worked better before because you were forced to use your brain more. But that doesn’t mean the intelligence is less. People are more advanced now. When I meet kids today, I think, my God, I don’t know anything. But every era is different. You shouldn’t think it’s good or not good. You must live in the era you’re in. Each era will be different and it’s important to follow it. You don’t want to grow old with the past.

You and Karl Lagerfeld have managed to avoid that trap.
You’re talking about two different worlds. He goes in one direction, I go in another.

But you respect Lagerfeld?
I respect all designers. No doubt he is a worker.

People would say that you are two of the greatest designers.
I don’t think I’m a great designer. I’m good, but great is another matter… I have a lot to learn.

Going back to magazines, do you look at fashion magazines?
I look at them. I don’t have time to read them, not at all. You buy them because [your clothes] appear in them. And if they don’t look good, it drives me mad [laughs]. I say, Don’t give them any more clothes to shoot, because it drives me mad. And it’s true, my team hides them from me. If the photos aren’t good, they don’t show me the magazine.

I hope our shoot turns out OK then.
When your magazine comes out, I’ll call you on the telephone. Be careful, because I like to play tricks, too. I play a trick and I let the person get upset, and after, I call them and tell them it was just a joke… There are too many editors who give their advice to fashion houses. It must stop, that nonsense. Everyone has their own métier and should stick to their mÉtier.

Is it important to you to make a woman look beautiful in your clothes?
It’s the most important thing. Think about it. You are married. You have a woman. You know that she buys a dress to feel good in it, to feel beautiful. My first thought is the woman’s body, how she is in a piece of clothing, how she moves. There are certain fabrics I refuse to use. If it’s going to crinkle, I say no. I hate that. Because today people are traveling so much, they don’t have time.

So the woman comes first?
I look at them. To stay in contact with the lives of women, I go down to the boutique and I watch them. How they try things on, how they act. Because the truth is there.

Is it important that actresses wear your clothes?
There are certain actresses where it’s important, because it’s their era. There are a lot of people who observe them, watch them. It’s important for a designer that his clothes are worn by beautiful women.

And fashion in general is growing?
It’s not dead, fashion. No, no, no. Just look at all the boutiques that are opening. People are buying a lot of clothes, more than ever before.

What impact have the emerging markets had on your business?
They didn’t use to come. But little by little [they started]. And now Russia is an enormous market. The number of women who come, young, young Russians. They have the buying power, and now China is starting to move. The Arab countries. They are some of the biggest customers.

And how big a role do the accessories play in your business?
The belts, the shoes, and now the bags are starting to become important, but the clothes are the most important here. There are houses where the accessories are the most important, but here it’s the clothes.

You like it that way?
Yes, because I’m a couturier. The accessories are something extra. But at the same time there are women who are crazy about shoes.

You always wear the same uniform.
I’ve been wearing Chinese clothes since I was 14. I can’t wear a suit. I’m small and when I put on a suit, it’s not possible. [Laughs.]

What does Paris mean to you?
It’s very important for me. Truly.

Could you live anywhere else?
Yes, I adapt quickly. I went once to New York on my own. I didn’t speak English. But even if you don’t speak the language, you end up finding a way around it. I’ve never felt ill at ease in another country. I feel good right away. I went to Africa with the Masai, and I was in conditions that people would find difficult, but I felt truly at ease.

Do you see differences between people in the East and West today?
Today there are no more differences. People are almost the same everywhere. [I notice that] when I see people at the airport, each time I go to the airport.

But what about the conflicts in the world?
It’s sad that today these wars exist. I would like to live in a place where you could live without problems of nationality or passports or religion.

How important is your Tunisian heritage to you?
It’s important because I was raised by my grandmother. And she was a woman who was very free for that era in Tunisia. My grandfather took me to the cinema every week. I’d watch a film four times in a day, and you can calculate how many times in a month. I learned by heart all the films that I saw, the costumes, the dialogue, and I would play each role. It’s true.

When did you first know you would become a designer?
I never did. I never thought I would at the beginning. I was at the École des Beaux-Arts. My father didn’t want me to go. He wanted me to study [at the lycée]. I couldn’t ask him for money because he thought I was going to the lycée with my brother. But not at all. I’d leave the house with my brother. He’d go the lycée. I’d go to the École des Beaux-Arts. And I started to think about how I could earn money so I wouldn’t have to ask [my father] for it. And it happened that there was a couturier in the neighborhood who put a sign on the door saying they were looking for someone to finish the clothes [at home]. I went to see them and I said I was there for my sister. My sister was going to boarding school and they had a course in couture… and I asked my sister to show me how to do it… and so I was able to earn a bit of money. And here’s where coincidence comes in. A family, who saw me going to this couturier with a package of designs, asked to see me. I told them what I was doing. And they arranged during the summer holidays for me to come to [another] couturier who was making copies of the couture houses. Dior and Balmain, I believe… And I learned a bit, and after, I wanted to come to Paris. But I wanted to come to Paris to be in Paris. I didn’t think I was going to become a designer.

[The French actress] Arletty was an important person in your life.
She became a great friend of mine… In the film Hôtel du Nord, she has this very zipped-up dress. And I thought, you only see something like this in Paris, you don’t see it anywhere else. Because there was a tonality that was unique to Paris. It doesn’t exist anymore… A friend of mine who was a hairdresser was coming to dinner, and he said, I have to do Arletty’s hair first at the theater. She’s playing [a role]. I said, I adore her. So he took me with him. And when I went into her dressing room with him, he introduced me and told her I was a couturier. And she looked at me and said, “He’s small, but when you look at him, you can’t forget him.” [Laughs.]

Source http://www.style.com/stylefile/2011/10/the-future-of-fashion-part-nine-azzedine-alaia/

Friday, November 18, 2011

Kanye West pushing boundaries of fashion... whatever!

I honestly don't like Kanye! Sorry!
But he's wearing Givenchy Spring 2012 skirt. Yes, skirt. It's not really a girly skirt actually so no big deal

Thursday, November 17, 2011

James Van Doren, founder of Vans, has passed away

James Van Doren and his older brother Paul had only sample sneakers to offer when they opened their first store, in Anaheim, in 1966. They took a dozen orders in the morning and delivered custom canvas deck shoes, made in their adjacent factory, in the afternoon.

Operating as the Van Doren Rubber Co., the brothers and two other co-founders planned to succeed by cutting out the middleman and selling their distinctive thick rubber-soled shoes directly to the public.

By the early 1970s, the company owed some of its success to Southern California's burgeoning skateboard culture. The shoes were especially valued for the sticky rubber soles that helped skaters grip their boards — an innovation devised by Van Doren.

From the start, the casual shoes were known by a single name: Vans.

James Van Doren, who ran the company from 1976 to 1984, died Oct. 12 at his home in Fullerton after a long illness, said his wife, Char. He was 72.

"He was a mechanic, a chemist, the brains behind the early shoe," said his nephew, Steve Van Doren, one of several family members who still work for the company. "In his garage, he made all the molds for the very first soles," including the trademark waffle design.

With James at the helm, Vans built up its manufacturing operation, doubled its workforce and greatly expanded its product line far beyond the initial deck shoes into the competitive athletic shoe market. To test running shoes, he became a serious runner and raced in half-marathons.

The brand gained national recognition when Sean Penn donned a pair of checkerboard slip-on Vans to play the spaced-out Spicoli in the 1982 film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."

"He guided Vans through the checkerboard era, and we were flying," said Steve Van Doren, son of company co-founder Paul. "We were the hottest thing going."

While trying to absorb expansion costs, Vans was squeezed by dwindling sales in the early 1980s as the "Ridgemont High" fad faded and cheaper foreign imitations hit the market.

"We had kind of gotten away from our sweet spot and off track into athletic shoes that were expensive to make in America," Steve said, when the competition made them overseas.

Heavy losses sent the company into bankruptcy, which forced a court-ordered management shake-up. In 1984, James left Vans and returned control to Paul, who came out of semi-retirement to run the firm, then based in Orange. Four years later, an investment banking company bought Vans, which has been sold several times since.

Only 45 years old when he was ousted, Van Doren became a general contractor who often worked for free for people who couldn't afford to pay, said James Van Doren Jr., one of his three sons.

Born March 20, 1939, in Weymouth, Mass., the senior James was one of five children of Johnson and Rena Van Doren. His father was an inventor and his mother a seamstress.

James spent two years at Northeastern University in Boston and a decade with the Randolph Rubber Manufacturing Co. in Massachusetts, working his way up to factory manager.

The two Van Doren brothers moved west in 1964 to run a Randolph factory in Garden Grove and left the company the next year to start their own firm.

"He was a very driven man, a hard worker, very giving, very funny," his son James said. "He could control a room with his stories."

In addition to Char, his wife of 15 years, Van Doren is survived by his sons from a previous marriage, James, Mark and Eric; brothers Paul and Robert; sister Bernice; and five grandchildren.

A memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Juliana Falconieri Church, 1316 N. Acacia Ave., Fullerton.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-james-van-doren-20111103,0,4133394.story

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Harper’s Bazaar Gears Up for Revamp

A NEW HARPER’S LOOK BY SPRING: After a decade as editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar, Glenda Bailey is plotting big changes for the magazine and WWD has learned she’s hired Robin Derrick of Spring Studios to help her make them. Derrick, who was creative director of British Vogue for 10 years until last June, will also work with Bazaar’s creative director Stephen Gan on a revamp that will be revealed in the March issue. As WWD reported, the title is also planning to increase the trim size and upgrade its paper and cover stock, along with reducing frequency to 10 times a year.

“After 10 years, it’s time to refresh — Stephen and I are looking forward to evolving Bazaar’s design for the next decade and we are excited to be collaborating with Robin,” Bailey said.

A spokeswoman said Spring Studios has just been retained, so it’s too early to comment on pending changes.

Source: http://www.wwd.com/media-news/print/a-new-harpers-look-by-spring-5346581?src=rss/recentstories/20111102&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

SUPER HATE THAT 10 ISSUES PER YEAR. I MEAN THEY HAVE 11 ISSUES THIS YEAR. Britney was on the cover of the JUNE/JULY issue and it's quite thin, c'mon Bazaar! :(

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

MG Icon announces the launch of Truth or Dare by Madonna

MG Icon, the joint venture among Iconix Brand Group, Madonna and Guy Oseary announced today the launch of Truth or Dare by Madonna, the second brand to launch under the MG Icon venture.

Truth or Dare by Madonna will be a global lifestyle brand. The brand will initially launch with footwear, handbags, intimates, accessories and fragrance. MG Icon will exclusively partner with Macy's for the initial launch in 2012 while launching simultaneously worldwide. In 2013, the brand will be widely distributed at leading department stores in the United States.

Madonna stated, "Over the past several years, I have been approached countless times to create my own brand. The timing is right and I have found great partners in Iconix who can help translate my vision to reality."

"The interest and excitement globally for brands developed by Madonna are significant," stated Neil Cole, CEO, Iconix Brand Group, Inc. "After the highly successful launch of the junior brand, Material Girl, we knew there would be a tremendous demand for a brand that Madonna herself is the face of and that truly captures her essence."

The Truth or Dare by Madonna brand is aimed at Madonna's core demo, women ages 27-50 who have a timeless style and an innate sex appeal. Truth or Dare by Madonna was created to showcase the dichotomy that is Madonna, both powerful icon and feminine beauty.

MG Icon's, Material Girl brand, is exclusively available at Macy's in the United States and at The Bay in Canada. Since the brands inception in 2010, the brand has been rolled out to over 400 Macy's doors, 90 doors in The Bay and expanded its product offerings to include: apparel, footwear, handbags, jewelry, swimwear, intimates and sleepwear, denim, social dresses, outwear and beauty.

From an Iconix Brand Group, Inc. press release.


Source: madonnatribe.com

PS. the first brand another MG Icon is Material Girl but people say that MDG by Madonna and Dolce and Gabbana is a part of the Iconix Brand but quite frankly I don't know. :))

PPS. for the accessories, I WISH SHE HAD A SUNGLASSES LINE! Please Madonna! We love me some MDG but I want some more! :D

Monday, November 14, 2011

MADONNA WILL BE RELEASING HER OWN FRAGRANCE

While GaGa will have Monster coming out in 2012 and have it smelling like sperm, (ew!)  Madonna has been around for a long time and now is the perfect time for a fragrance, along with a new album, looks like she is set to conquer the world more now that we've reached 7 billion. And she plans to do it on 2012, the end of the world!

She only got 4 minutes you know! LOL!

Coty Prestige announced today that it signed an agreement with MG Icon - the joint venture between Madonna, Guy Oseary, and Iconix Brand Group, Inc. - to launch the icon's first fragrance. The fragrance, Truth or Dare by Madonna, will debut exclusively at Macy's in April 2012 in the United States, with global distribution beginning in May. 

The agreement with Coty marks the first time Madonna, the top selling female recording artist of all time, with more than 300 million records sold worldwide, will launch a fragrance.

Madonna stated to Women's Wear Daily, "I have always been obsessed by fragrance and for years wanted to create something personal that was an expression of me but that other people could relate to as well. Something honest, and yet daring, hence the name Truth or Dare."

"Madonna is the marquis addition to Coty's unrivaled brand portfolio and further establishes us as cutting edge leaders in the global beauty industry," Bernd Beetz, CEO, Coty Inc said. "We are thrilled to embark on this new venture with Madonna, a global icon with unprecedented star power and cultural relevance."

Madonna will be featured in a global print, television, and online marketing campaign produced in collaboration with Fabien Baron of Baron & Baron who she has worked with on many projects including "Sex," her renowned 1992 pictorial essay on sexuality.

"Madonna is an artistic phenomenon whose vision has helped define the cultural zeitgeist for nearly three decades. Her fans around the world have an unparalleled devotion and will be eager to experience a unique, and more personal, materialization of her talent," Michele Scannavini, President, Coty Prestige said.

Truth or Dare by Madonna will be a signature floral fragrance. Its unique blend of narcotic florals, balanced with addictive woods and vanilla, creates a scent that is timeless, yet contemporary, simultaneously dark and light. The bottle plays up the Truth or Dare duality - a classic and sophisticated shape, with modern and edgy detailing.

The scent will be available in a 75ml EDP ($68 / euro 62), 50ml EDP ($55 / euro 46), 30ml EDP ($39 / euro 35), Body Lotion ($28 / euro 22), and Shower Gel ($24 / euro 21).

"Madonna is a globally recognized music and style pioneer. The debut of her first fragrance is a dynamic platform to launch her lifestyle brand, Truth or Dare by Madonna," commented Neil Cole, CEO, Iconix Brand Group. "Coty is a respected leader in the prestige fragrance industry. Their expertise coupled with Madonna's iconic status is a powerful partnership."

From a press release by Coty Inc.


source: madonnatribe.com 

Sunday, November 13, 2011

ANTM’s Fatima Siad on Breaking the Top Model Curse



Despite what Tyra says, winning America's Next Top Model basically guarantees that a girl's high-fashion modeling career is doomed. With that precedent in mind, losing the competition might have been a stroke of luck for Cycle 10 reject Fatima Siad. Leaving the show as the third runner-up, 24-year-old Siad was then scooped up by New York Models, who currently represent Niki Taylor and Sui He. After three years of quietly working in the commercial market, shooting for department stores and catalogues, the Somali model landed on the spring 2012 runways for Dries Van Noten and Hermès — a Top Model first! Siad also confirms that she recently shot with Swedish photographer Camilla Akrans for Hervé Léger's spring 2012 campaign. We met with the refreshingly frank Siad this week to talk things Top Model and her transition into high fashion.
Why did you choose the reality TV route instead of seeking agency representation right away?
Basically, I didn't know anything about fashion. I was very nerdy; I went to Bryn Mawr and never even noticed models when I was 21. After going to Bryn Mawr for three years, I transferred to NYU, and as soon as I moved to New York, people were like "You should model! You should model!" That was the first time I heard it in my life.
Really, the first time?
Well, once in a while, people would tell me, "You look like Iman." But they didn't really know fashion either. Anyway, when my friend was auditioning for Top Model she asked me to go with her, and I just went with the flow all the way until I became a cast member. Next thing you know, I'm in this house with all these crazy people and I'm thinking, "What the fuck did I do?!" And you don't realize it because they kind of brainwash you. Until you get out and you realize, "Oh my gosh, I really could have just gone to an agency, because these people obviously had no interest in my career."
What do you remember most about your time on the show?
It was really intense and dramatic. There was unnecessary stress; they made fashion seem like it was the hardest thing in the world. Now that I work as a professional model, I advise people to stay away from any television shows. It's a waste of your time; it's just entertainment. It's not the fashion that we now know.
I'm sure you still get recognized when you're out, no?
Yes! All the gay guys! When I go Harlem or Brooklyn, I can't go to stores. It's crazy. It's nice, but when you deal with that for three years every single day, it makes you a little bit mean. I'm running somewhere and someone will be like, "How's Tyra?" I want people to recognize me for the work I do now as a model, and not something I did three years ago.
Well, now that you've done high-fashion work, how legit was all that ANTM training?
I have a love and hate relationship with Top Model. I think, obviously, if I didn't do the show, I wouldn't be where I am now and I never would have been exposed to fashion. I learned to love fashion. I went from not knowing anything to becoming really curious and wanting to know and respecting people in the industry, realizing how hard they work. I will always be thankful for Top Model for that.
Do you keep in touch with anyone from your cycle?
Actually, Whitney lives right next to me. I went to her birthday party and we hung out; she's cool. It's really hard to be friends with people on a TV show, especially when there's cameras shoved in your face 24 hours a day. After the show, I see the girls as human beings. In the show, it just brings out the worst of you. They put you in uncomfortable situations so you're not yourself.
What do you mean?
Like not being fed on time. If I'm not eating at my times, then you don't want to be around me. [Laughs.] They just want to make you the most uncomfortable, so that you're on edge. As an example, when we were shooting on the boat and Marvita [Washington] was getting seasick and basically, what happened was that they had Advil, but they didn't want to give it to her to see how she would react. Or if you wanted water or needed to go pee, sometimes they would just hold us in the car. Psychologically, it's smart because then the girls are uncomfortable and then clashes will happen.
When you first started modeling, how did clients respond to you?
I didn't really work well my first year. My agency wanted to strip the whole Top Model off me and basically sell me as a model, and not a reality TV model. I did jobs here and there, but I think what was going on was that my agency wanted to build me from scratch. I was learning through it all.
This season, you were selected by top casting director, Russell Marsh, to walk the Dries Van Noten show. What was that process like?
First of all, I work in fashion, but I still don't know much about it. I don't know names, but I'm working on it. I remember I walked in and he's just looking at me and I thought, "Who's this guy just staring at me?" I had no idea who he was, but maybe it was good that I didn't, because I would have been nervous. It was a really great experience, especially because I didn't expect it at all.
What was it like working with Christophe Lemaire at Hermès?
He has to be one of the nicest people I met. He's genuinely interested in the world and other people. He's very global. I heard he lived in Africa when he was young. At the show, people were giving us massages; they really take care of their girls. Normal fashion shows are chaotic, but he has a very interesting energy; he's very subtle and very calm, which carried over to backstage. I could not believe how nice they all are, which was a completely different experience for me.
Overall, do you think being on Top Model helped or hindered your career?
Honestly, I don’t know. I hear a lot of Top Model girls say they are dismissed by clients because they recognize them, but it never happened to me. I think it might have helped in some ways because some people know of me. If you use your time on the show in a smart way, you can take your career to the next level.
Lastly, have you heard anything from Tyra after your successful show season?
No, I just got back three days ago. But I have to say, I think she's a smart business woman. Months ago, I ran into her in the Lower East Side and she hopped out of her car yelling, "Fatima, girl! I'm so proud of you!" She shows me love. I feel like she's always tried to coach me, but I was never there yet to understand. I always thought she was really tough on me, but now I see, I think she saw potential.

Source: http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2011/10/antm_fatima_siad.html?

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Nicholas Ghesquiere's flats


"We wanted to have beautiful pictures [of the shows]. After, when I saw the show and I saw how it makes them very mechanical, I understood sometimes the pain on the feet. There is a lot of emotion. I was like, back to toe ground. We wanted something easier. It's old to have those girls walking like that, so I tried to stop that craziness. The idea was to have this crazy casting with Gisele [Bündchen] and Amber Valletta and Carolyn [Murphy], and they said no for high heels. They were not used to walking with heels anymore. Gisele was worried; she would not walk with my heels."


-Nicolas Ghesquire tells Women's Wear Daily why he started designing flat shoes, even though Balenciaga is known for sky high heels. What Gisele wants, Gisele gets.

Friday, November 11, 2011

WOW! 111111

OOOPS! I think I didn't press the shift key, so it was "1" instead of "!" or was it intentional? It's a rare day today people! It's 11/11/11! Let's just simmer the day and not talk about fashion today, tomorrow we will! :D

Thursday, November 10, 2011

So, you're proud now?

I just watched ANTM Cycle 17 All Star
So, ANTM trended #3 in the Philippines due to Georgina Wilson's tweet that she will appear in the said episode as the brand ambassador of Bench Body! And... EPIC FAIL! You know, I am so happy that it was a failure because I'm jealous! Haha! But really, it's such an epic failure

So the shoot was "clothing that Shannon won't wear" in a Greek salad theme. Bench Body sponsored the outfits, blah, blah! GEORGINA WILSON APPEARED FOR 5 SECONDS AND LABELED "WARDROBE STYLIST" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And then Andre Leon Talley asks in panel "What is that? Underwear? Lingerie?" The fact that Andre, ANDRE! doesn't know. Oh my God, Bench, you need me on your design team. Although since Tyra wants to salvage Bench, she answered "underwear that looks like a bikini."

It's such sad to be a Filipino while watching that. Good thing they didn't mention it. Although I was kinda proud to see Michael Cinco. Even though he has made a parade of prom dresses, that couture gown Anne Curtis was wearing on the September 2011 issue of Preview proved that he can step it up to the next level and be in the ranks of Mugler and Gaultier! Good luck Michael Cinco! :)

I WANNA RELEASE A SUNGLASSES LINE!

I DO! I REALLY DO! WILL YOU BUY IT? BARTON PERREIRA, TOM FORD, CUTLER AND GROSS, PRADA, ROBERTO CAVALLI, ETC. WATCH OUT! I WANNA RELEASE MY OWN LINE! :)

Buy it if it's possible! I already have sketches! :D

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Obsessing!

I desperately need this House of Harlow Chelsea sunglasses! They're a clear rip-off of Giles x Cutler and Gross oversized cat eye sunglasses!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

MOSCHINO OBSESSION!

I think my dear readers know that for Menswear, it's Moschino that ultimately expresses me ( and a bit of Balmain) and the Spring 2012 collection surely proved what I wanna wear! :D Will post pics soon!

Monday, November 7, 2011

GALLIANO OBSESSION!

I finally got me some John Galliano 0001/s! The first model!!! Woohoo! In black and violet, just like on the ad!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

PRADA RELEASES JEWELRY

Those jewelry you saw on the Spring 2012 runway will hit stores this holiday season. It will surely make Anna Wintour happy. The styles are up there in her alley. It means it's kinda old. As Prada always is. I just feel that it's always matronly you know. But they do hit it with some girly looks but majority, ages 30 and up! :)

Saturday, November 5, 2011

OLIVIER THEYSKENS

If someone needs to release a couture line under his own name, it should be this guy and not Giambattista Valli. Sorry girl, I love Olivier Theyskens more!
Girl-about-town Natalie Joos spends her days casting for shows like ADAM and Yigal Azrouël and editorials for the likes of Mario Sorrenti and Mariano Vivanco, but her passion is vintage clothing. Joos’ blog, Tales of Endearment, spotlights her “Muses,” impeccably styled girls and guys who share her secondhand obsession. In a new partnership with Style.com, Tales of Endearment’s subjects discuss their shoots right here on Style File.

Fashion month is over, but Olivier Theyskens hasn’t slowed down for a second, except to eat a hamburger (or two) in Paris with Natalie Joos. After dining chez McDonald’s, the two fed their fashion appetites with vintage treasures. Though Theyskens tells Style.com he’s “not a designer that buys vintage to be inspired,” one thing is certain: Others will refer to his work for years to come. Some of it, like the dress from one of his early Rochas collections that they found on their shopping trip, is already archived in vintage shops on the racks among Miu Miu. “He is perplexed. He can’t believe he’s already vintage!” says Joos.

Theyskens took a break from a photo shoot in Paris to chat with Style.com about his vintage shopping guidelines and what’s next for Theyskens’ Theory, and confessed to having a lazy gene.
I have to ask, why did you two pick McDonald’s as your meeting place? It seems like a very unexpected choice.
Because like everyone, I had to eat something. I think it’s OK to go once in a while. Sometimes it’s cool. I wouldn’t like to promote them or anything, but everyone can go rarely; but it’s important not to go often.

Once you ate, it sounds like you found some good finds. What did you buy?
I bought a bow tie for the Carine vampire party at an antique men’s shop. I also found a very old Mugler jacket that doesn’t look too old. It’s large, but that’s good because it doesn’t look so exaggerated that way.

So, what exactly do you look for when you vintage shop?
I like vintage that is not so dated. It’s interesting for me because in my work, a lot of times, I like to scrutinize the clothes and think what’s going to make them look dated and I do the same with vintage. In vintage, you want something unique and different, but at the same time, something that doesn’t make you look like you dress like a grandpa.

Where do you like to buy your vintage pieces?
I don’t go often. I am not a designer that buys vintage to be inspired. You can be sure if I travel and go to some weird place, I will see if they have a vintage store with tricky, interesting things. I went once to the Rose Bowl market in Los Angeles—it’s gigantic! I was just there, going around, and I had no idea what to buy. It was so overwhelming.

How is your personal style reflected in your work?
It’s complicated. In my personal style, I don’t go too crazy…maybe it’s my body. How I design is how I imagine (mentally) to wear things. I put myself in the place of people—tall, short, bigger, smaller, whatever. It has always been like that. I think that actors have to do this too. Of course, my own experiences have an impact on how I design things, for sure. A lot of times my girls have shoulders, probably because I have shoulders. My jackets, I imagine them on people with shoulders.

Do you have something you wear every single day?
I have some cute old boots that I have been wearing for years—it’s impossible to read the brand. They are totally ruined but I love them. Or like a jean, you find one and there is no other jean that will fit that good so you keep wearing it. I am always wearing jeans that I designed these days. The ones I am wearing are cleaner and darker—they are from last pre-fall. I was wearing this old pair from the time of Helmut Lang, with holes in them now, that I wear all the time and I could not stop wearing them.

Fashion month is over. What was your favorite moment from the season?
For me, the favorite moment was to arrive in Paris and have this amazing Indian summer. It’s not a high fashion, glamorous moment, but it was great. I have always been in New York during the summer and missed seeing Paris in the sunshine. This was really special, for sure.

What’s on the horizon for you right now?
I am going to travel to China and then I am going to be in NYC, going from time to time to Paris. In Asia, we are going to be involved with Lane Crawford, and we opened a store in Beijing a year ago, so it’s nice to go and see what’s happening there. All these projects are growing and it’s great—I am excited to get back to New York. When I’m there, in NYC, I’m really into everything.

How do you hope to expand your Theory collection next?
You always want to expand but you also think what you want to keep in and what you want to put out. It’s more an evolution. I am sometimes scared when there are too many projects. The experience I have with Theory, we want to be editing and have this evolving story. Expanding to us is being stronger in different markets and inspiring people to wear the clothes.

When you aren’t designing and working, what do you like to do for fun?
I like to be lazy. I do like to be busy and really active, but when that’s done, you can be sure I will be a lazy boy. I like to take time and relax and enjoy life.


Source: http://www.style.com/stylefile/2011/10/meet-the-muse-olivier-theyskens/

Friday, November 4, 2011

Hudson Kroenig


Hudson Kroenig

Mini Model Extrordanaire & Lagerfeld Muse. New York
(Narrated by Daddy Kroenig)
Remember this punim? Let us refresh you. Hudson Kroenig is the adorable toddler who walked with his dad, Brad Kroenig—the inimitable muse to  Karl Lagerfeld—in the Chanel S/S ’11 show. Matching from head-to-toe in a Canadian tuxedo and white Chanel jacket,—starting to come back now?—Hudson’s runway debut with daddy was only the beginning to his booming modeling career. Taking cues from dad—the Abercrombie & Fitch model-turned-Lagerfeld legend—little Hudson’s resumé reads like that of fashion’s veterans: he’s been shot by The Kaiser (numerous times!), graced the pages of German Vogue and posed as the face of Fendi alongside his dapper dad, Anja Rubik and Baptiste Giabiconi. Not bad for a 3-year-old, right? And it’s no surprise that as the face of Fendi, Hudson is repping hard—jacket, sweater, jeans, hat, shoes… you name it, he’s got it! Uncle Karl—who shot the Fendi campaign—really is like an uncle to Hud- gifting him stuffed mini Karl’s to cuddle with at night, visiting him in NYC and hanging with him in Europe.  From catwalks to clothes, little H definitely knows a thing or two about style. It’s safe to say this kid has a bigger Nike kicks collection than any kid on the playground. Plus- he picks them out himself! But we’ve got to credit his good-looking dad for his keen sense of style and model material. Brad has fronted the campaigns for Chanel (duh!), H&M, DKNY and Canadian brand, Le Chateau. Muse and magnet to Uncle Karl’s camera, he has shot him for everything from Harper’s Bazaar to the Pirelli Calendar- keeping it PG here, kids. With a dad of this caliber, we’re sure Hudson has a big future ahead of him. Now that’s what we call good jeans!

Source: http://thecoveteur.com/Hudson_Kroenig
Go to the site for pictures! I think Hudson is very adorable and at such a young age to be bitten by the fashion bug? Fierce baby! Loving it! Also his dad is hot, he's just haggard in the pic! :)))

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Coco Chanel Quotes

Quotes to live by!


• How many cares one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone.
• Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.
• A fashion that does not reach the streets is not a fashion.
• Fashion is made to become unfashionable.
• [T]here is no fashion for the old.
• Elegance is refusal.
• Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.
• A woman has the age she deserves.
• Fashion is architecture: it is a matter of proportions.
• Fashion has become a joke. The designers have forgotten that there are women inside the dresses. Most women dress for men and want to be admired. But they must also be able to move, to get into a car without bursting their seams! Clothes must have a natural shape.
• "Where should one use perfume?" a young woman asked. "Wherever one wants to be kissed," I said.
• I don't understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little - if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that's the day she has a date with destiny. And it's best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.
• Legend is the consecration of celebrity.
• My friends, there are no friends.
• Since everything is in our heads, we had better not lose them.
• There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love. That leaves no other time.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

GABRIELLE (COCO) CHANEL by Melanie from Fredericksburg

When I think of a hero I think of someone who has made it on their own, someone who stands up for what they believe in, someone who made a significant change when one was needed. Someone like Coco Chanel. Coco Chanel completely redesigned the way women dressed during the 20th Century. She took her dreams and turned them into reality on her own, and liberated women from their common stereotypical uniform.
Gabrielle Chanel, as she was known as before she became a leading lady in the fashion industry, was born in France in 1883 and grew up in an orphanage. Life wasn't easy for her, but she followed her dreams of becoming a clothing designer. "She couldn't afford the fashionable clothes of the period--so she rejected them and made her own" (Time magazine). She opened her first, and now legendary, shop at 31 rue Cambon just outside Paris France in partnership with her uncle. Gabrielle Chanel saved up money for starting the store by performing at the music hall. The store displayed men's pullover sweaters, sailor jackets, and straight skirts which caught the attention of everyone who walked past the window.
Gabrielle
Back in the 1920's women dressed conservatively and were still thought to be less then men. It was Coco Chanel who took her wild ideas of fashion and ran with them. Her first designer item to be publicly known for was her little black dress. She designed this dress using a jersey fabric--which was, for its time, stunning. She used pearls, jewels, and lace to turn an ordinary item of clothing into an extraordinary piece of art. Gabrielle Chanel was later critically acclaimed for her women's business suits, which turned the fashion industry upside down. She had done something no one else had ever dared to try--to turn clothing designed for men and making it a unisex fashion. Her emotions, thoughts, and expressions were all displayed in her clothing. She didn't care about what people thought or if her styles would be accepted, and it showed in her innovative and spontaneous designs.
Once Gabrielle was on top of the fashion charts, she didn't give up. She continued with her creative ideas and expanded her line by adding jewelry and her still-famous Chanel No. 5 perfume. She continued her fashion line even as she grew older. This is just another reason why Gabrielle Chanel has inspired people to continue to make a difference.
Chanel Older
(http://www.gva.be/dossiers/-m/mode/img/chanel.jpg)
She showed the world her passion for fashion and wasn't afraid of failing. She showed women that they had the freedom of expression through their clothes and they didn't need to be limited to the way others thought they should look, that the only limit that exists is the one that lay within you. This is why Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel is my hero.

Source: http://www.myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=Gabrielle_Fredericksberg_05
Thanks to myhero.com!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A Profile of Simon Spurr: Tough Swagger Confident

Simon Spurr is handsome. He needs no adornment for this to be true. He's thirty-seven, blond, British. Wears his granddad's dog tags every day. Married to a doctor who looks like an actress who might play a doctor in a Michael Bay movie. Met her seven years ago at, no joke, Diddy's White Party in the Hamptons. (Spurr was the guest of a guest.) Drives an Audi A7 with room in the back for his ninety-pound Rhodesian, Apollo. Favorite funny movie is Anchorman. Soft-spoken, polite in that way that closes doors as well as opens them. He's the kind of man who can say that Ryan Gosling would play him in a movie and not get laughed out of the room.
Gosling is handsome, too. You can see this in Blue Valentine or Lars and the Real Girl, where creative facial hair or an actorly layer of flab can't quite conceal the movie star underneath. Or you can see it in Crazy, Stupid, Love, in which he literally needs no adornment as he stands, bare-ass naked, swaggering in front of Steve Carell in a sweaty locker room, a perfect 10.0 on the Richter scale of confidence. But there are other moments in that movie — moments when Gosling's character wears the kind of suits that make you — yes, you! — think, Hey ... maybe, with the right light and the right sunglasses and that suit, that suit, I, too, could look like that. Handsome. Like a man. Like the man. (And hey, it works for Carell. At least in the movie.) Many of those suits, as you might have guessed, were designed by Simon Spurr.
As were suits worn by the full spectrum of young Hollywood this year, from the guys who seem to possess Gosling-like levels of swagger and charisma — Justin Timberlake, Bradley Cooper, and Gosling himself — to those who don't — Daniel Radcliffe, a Jonas brother, assorted Twilighters. That you can't immediately tell the difference between the two kinds of men, at least when they're staring down the paparazzi, shows why people are talking about Simon Spurr right now. If he can make a big-balled killer out of Harry Potter, he can make one out of you.
A storm is coming, and Spurr is looking for a face. It's late summer and he's sitting in his office in New York, shuffling through a pile of models' head shots and searching for the guy who would be, for all intents and purposes, the face of his five-year-old brand — meaning the guy who will wear his first look on the runway at his upcoming Spring-Summer 2012 fashion show. (Spurr, as the employer of no more than ten people, isn't going to be buying any glossy billboard ads anytime soon, so the face he chooses is critical for branding the whole operation.) Hurricane Irene is due any day, and Spurr mentions that he and his staff should move his clothes to a safer location. During the last storm, his river-facing ninth-floor office's windows blew out completely.
About those clothes: The critical shorthand on the brand is something like "a young Savile Row." Even though he traffics in denim and leather and other casual staples, Spurr is known mostly for suits and tailored separates that reflect the architectural rigor and aesthetic attitude of one of his idols: Tommy Nutter, the Savile Row legend who made suits for Mick Jagger (he wore one at his wedding to Bianca) and the Beatles (all but George wore Nutter for the Abbey Road cover). Nutter was a designer of suits for men who didn't have to wear suits, and Spurr has a similar customer in mind. His jackets, made in Italy, come with armholes that are cut extremely high, which has the practical effect of forcing you to walk taller, stronger, better. His choices in patterned cloth lean toward the provocative. His inspirations are British, but the type of British who like to fight and fuck and drive angry. (Backstage at his Fall 2010 show, Spurr posted a sign to set the mood for his models. It read: TOUGH SWAGGER BRIT STRONG WALK GUY RITCHIE CONFIDENT.) In other words: The Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Brits. The Daniel Craig Brits. Brits who could kick your ass while wearing a suit.
Which is a far cry from the boys on the model cards. The image he wants to project for his collection is a bit more grown-up, more manly than what you'd see from contemporaries like Phillip Lim and Thom Browne — as one stylist notes, Spurr's pants have special tabs that can be let out in case the owner adds a few pounds around the waist, as men tend to do — and none of the emaciated teenagers before him quite fit the bill. Ultimately, he selects a handful of models he's used before, and later that day, he will review the music for his upcoming show. When asked how much time he gets to spend designing clothes, he says, "This much" and holds his fingers an inch apart.
The journey — from boy to man to designer to brand — begins in a tiny village in Kent, in southeast England, a town, Simon says, "with one grocery store and five pubs." His parents were both bankers, his dad commuting forty minutes each way to London. "I still look up to him," Spurr says. "As a person, as a man. But he's also very influential in my aesthetics. My dad had a lot of suits working in a bank, late '60s, early '70s. They still had the slim lapel, the narrow shoulder. And I guess it was subconsciously ingrained in me. That's the decade I always go back to."
As a teenager, he worked in supermarkets and dressed like Paul Weller and favored art in school, and he credits a line of relatives on his mom's side for inspiring that. (He's related to the sculptor Sydney March, who was commissioned to design public monuments in such far-flung places as Calcutta and Hamilton, Ontario.) He earned his bona fides studying men's fashion at Middlesex University in London before landing jobs in New York at Nautica, CK Calvin Klein, and Ralph Lauren Purple Label. That last one, designing suits at the pinnacle of the Polo empire, was about as close as Spurr ever got to a Savile Row education, learning from the other designers and tailors at Ralph Lauren how to create off-the-rack suits that could meet the highest sartorial standards.
Then, in 2006, Spurr left to go solo and launch Spurr, a denim-centric line of mostly casual clothing. "I needed to make the choice between putting my feet under the table and enjoying the financial rewards associated with foreseeable promotion [at Ralph Lauren], or take an educated gamble and try to create something that would allow me to have freedom down the road for a family. It felt like my last chance to get out of the corporate world." He designed three pairs of jeans and brought them to Bergdorf Goodman, where the fashion director, a former colleague from Calvin Klein named Tommy Fazio, liked what he saw. The first pair of Spurr jeans was sold to an older man, a rich guy who liked how they fit. The designer was there when it happened, sheepishly looking on, and before long, they were among the store's top-selling jeans. Recognizing that "the jeans guy" was a limiting role, Simon Spurr (the man) created Simon Spurr (the high-end suit-and-sportswear brand) in 2009. That same year, Fazio joined as president, seeing to it that guys in, say, Tokyo could buy Spurr jeans and Simon Spurr suits just as easily as guys in New York. In 2011, they can. And they are.

And now, what some other people have to say about Simon Spurr:
"I think what best describes Simon is five words: He knows what he wants." —Tommy Hilfiger, who currently employs Spurr as a creative consultant for his men's-wear label. The first results of that collaboration — a slightly British update on Hilfiger's trademark preppy Americana — are in stores now.
"When everyone was doing slim lapels and the Mad Men look, he was doing peak lapels. It's almost a Mod Squad/Dylan kind of swagger." —Michael Nash, the stylist who has put Spurr's suits on Justin Timberlake and Joe Jonas
"[Spurr] has the best financial mind of any of our clients." —Spurr's lawyer (according to Spurr)
Spurr is confident. "I'm not naturally someone who enjoys the spotlight," he says over dinner. "Having a brand with your name comes with a lot attached to it. You can't switch it off, you can't mess up... . You're always being watched. I am a brand." He named his company after himself — no "Band of Outsiders" or "Rag & Bone" for him — which can be seen as evidence of both healthy self-regard and good horse sense. (Ten letters, neatly symmetrical. Simon — a name of biblical piety, of British pedigree, of the studious Chipmunk; and then Spurr — rugged, western, with that extra r to make it search-engine friendly. It's a good name.) He has modeled his own clothes in the pages of a fashion magazine. He appears comfortable in his own skin and in his ability to make good clothes, and if it's all merely a projection — if he's really just one of the uncool guys trying to look anything but — then it's a pretty damn convincing one.
What happens when a man becomes a brand? Good things, certainly, if you play your cards right — see: Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Hilfiger — and bad things, too, if you don't. Consider Joseph Abboud or Jil Sander, two designers who sold, and eventually left, their namesake brands and can no longer design under their own names. "I was very careful," Spurr says. "I read all the horror stories. I own my own name." And yet one can't help but wonder if it's already slipping away. This summer, a sailing team competed in the forty-fourth Antigua Sailing Week, sponsored by Simon Spurr, with his brand's label — a giant "SIMON SPURR" — on the humongous sail. Apparently, it wasn't his idea. "I should be careful with what I say ..." he says when discussing it.
Then again, the team won.
The pressure for any designer — any man, really — is to grow, to expand, to build. And back in Spurr's showroom, there's talk of opening a store, of doing a bespoke line of suits (the name Simon James has been bandied about), of art to be created and furniture he'd love to design. And, and, and. But first, a storm is coming, and the clothes need to be put away.

Thanks to Esquire. Article available on Esquire November 2011 issue.