Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2013 Ad Campaign

Here's the new Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2013 ad campaig featuring one of my favorite models, Raquel Zimmerman, and photographed by David Sims.

I guess there's not much to say... "A picture is worth a thousand words."

The Golden Globes 2013

It has been already in every fashion website, every television channel, E!, Vogue, JustJared... But I always like to make my own critics and choose my favorite (and not so favorite) dresses from every red carpet, maybe in my head I think I'm Joan Rivers.

So yesterday were The Golden Globes, many said that it was a lame red carpet but I think there were some interesting dresses and some... that I rather save all my comments.

Here's a selection after watching the live transmission and some sites like French Vogue, JustJared, Vogue Mexico, etc.

 Amy Poehler in Stella McCartney. Not that I think is one of the best dressed, but you have to give her some credit for showing up with something classy and decent.

 Meh! That's all I have to say. And I don't care if Anne's wearing Chanel Haute Couture it's still a boring dress.

Helena Boham Carter always in lace dresses and in black (by Dolce & Gabbana). I like her and even though she's always on the worst dresses lists I think at least she has her own style.

For me is Katniss Everdeen and not Jennifer Lawrence. I loved how she looks in that Raf Simons for Christian Dior Haute Couture. Perfect hair and make up. And I love her and I love Raf so...

Hoochie mamma! She looks beyond tacky in her Muhair Zurad dress. I keep thinking that she's too curvy for that dress and that she looks like Niurka.

 On the other hand, Julianna Margulies looks awesome in her Emilio Pucci dress, same lace-see-through-idea as J.Lo's dress but we can even compare them. She looks flawless, sexy and classy.

My favorite!!! Julianne Moore once again wearing a design from her friend Tom Ford. Black & white, an all time classic. Great silhouette. Great accesorizing. Great hair. Greatness!

Wrong hair choice, wrong belt. I think the buckle and the collar is too much. But Kate Hudson chose a beautiful Alexander McQueen dress.

I used to like Zac Posen a lot... But from the dresses I saw on this red carpet, Kelly's my favorite. She looks fresh plus her hair and the color of the dress matches perfectly.

Another girl I'm fixated with. Marion Cotillard is gorgeous. She wore a custom made Raf Simons for Christian Dior and also a new hairdo.

Like a character from "Dangerous Liaisons" or whatever they said... I still think Lucy Liu always looks fabolous in a dress. This time she went for a Carolina Herrera gown with a floral pattern that gave the red carpet a new breath.

Nicole Kidman said she lost interest in fashion and she gained it back with the new movie she's working in. Her choice, a black Alexander Mcqueen that made her look like a fine china (as always).

Hmmm... Isn't she like 12 years old?! The dress, the hair, the push-up... Everything made her look like she came out of "Real Housewives of New Jersey", like a botox injected lady. Dress by BCBG Max Azria.

I haven't seen "Downton Abbey" but I guess it's getting on my to-do list. Michelle Dockery wore a tight dress with gold lace by Alexandre Vauthier and he looked amazing. For me another one of the best dressed from this Golden Globes.

And finally Sienna Miller! Meh! First of all she's a home wrecker (reason number one to hate her) and second of all, she looks absurdly pale with that two pieces dress by Erdem. I must confess I'm an Erdem fan, he always has beautiful patterns, amazing fabrics, romantic looks but... this dress is a fail for me (just like Kirsten Stewart's), I think somethings are meant to stay in a runway.

Anyways, this is just my humble opinion...

Ophelia has a dream

Between 1851 and 1852, John Everett Millais painted Ophelia, one of Shakespeare's Hamlet character before she drowns in a river.

Not very appreciated in its years, later it became an admired artwork for its beauty and its accurate depiction of a natural landscape. Ophelia has been estimated to have a market value of around $48 million.

And a few days ago, Mihara Yasuhiro collaborated with photographer Paolo Roversi on a moving rendition of the portrait, presented at Tate Britain in London alongside the original painting of the pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Mihara Yasuhiro is a japanese designer known for his work with shoes. His work has been prolific since his first shoes were created, landing him deals with Puma and major shoe distributors around the world. He has recently taken up clothing lines for both men and women and his work in street fashion has made him a popular name throughout Tokyo.

He decided to make this film as a symbol of eternity and existence after Japan's disaster in March 2011.

"I wanted to create something that would allow viewers to dream and be immersed in a fantasy", said Yasuhiro.

Spring/Summer 2013 Dior's Ad Campaign

Raf Simons, has been in fashion for more than 15 years by now. He started as an Industrial Designer but he decided to dedicate his life for fashion after watching Martin Margiela's all white collection in 1991.

Since he launched his namesake collection he has gained acclaim from fashion editors. He also designed for Jil Sander, bringing the brand back to the spotlight and getting amazing reviews for his patterns, pieces and catwalks.

After Galliano's disgrace, Simons got the Creative Director  position at Christian Dior and this was his catapult to success and maximum press coverage.

His debut in Dior's house was one of the most expected collections ever. Rooms filled with flowers and amazing dresses, perfectly cut, clean and breathtaking. 

“It was more elegant than elegant and he trod a brilliant line of being him and being respectful of Dior, I loved it,” said Vogue's fashion director, Lucinda Chambers.

And after one couture and one ready-to-wear show is time for the ad campaigns to fill all fashion magazines. 

So here are some of the shots. You judge!

The Campana Brothers

Fernando and Humberto, are the Campana Brothers. Both born in São Paulo, a mix of a lawyer and an architect who decided to join and create/design furniture from ordinary material. They started at the beginning of the 80's causing controversy and lots of critics but this brought massive attention on them.

By the early 90's they were already known in Europe and the U.S. And in 1998 they presented an exhubition along with lightning designer Ingo Maurer at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York.

They have by now an amazing and long resumé, including São Paulo Design Week, Moss New York Design Week, Milan Design Week  and collaborations for Hotel Athens, Venini, Klein Karoo, Lacoste and many many more.

This year, Maison & Objet, selected the design duo as "Creator of the Year" for the significant influence to the design and architecture scene. 

Here's a selection of my favorite pieces created by them.

 "The Banquete Chair".

 "Alligator Lace" for Lacoste.

 "Alligator Lace" for Lacoste - detail.

 Tennis for Melissa.

 "Rivivo" for Venini.

 Garden Design for São Paulo Design Week.

"The Favela Chair" at the São Paulo Design Week.

Humberto and Fernando Campana.

Ghesquière's.

Nicolas Ghesquière was born in 1971 in Comines. His dad owned a golf course and his mom was a fashion lover... 

In his resumé, Agnès B (aged 15), then Jean-Paul Gaultier where he made an internship with the designer. In 1995, he got hired as a licensed product designer for Balenciaga, making an  approach to the brand. "It's OK. I will go and I will see what the potential is and see what is going on. So it was not the most glamorous way to approach the brand. But it was interesting to work on this license and to see what was left from Balenciaga." Two years after this, he got named as Balenciaga's new creative director.

After this happened, back in 1997, all of his collections started to succeed, giving more reputation to the house and to himself.

"We've developed the brand," he told Interview magazine in January 2010. "I probably feel more solid because the brand is solid and I feel stronger than my years. But I put so much pressure on myself, which makes me very insecure. With my designs and my ideas, I want to please myself first. I'm always very stressed about making a new proposition every season. But in a way, it's a kind of addiction. In another way, it's a crazy pressure. I try to stay quiet about the whole situation, because fashion itself can be crazy, and everyone wants a part of you."

After more than 10 years working for the famous fashion house, he gained everyone's respect and admiration. Every season me, and many more, waited for each Paris Fashion Week to see what Ghesquière's proposal for the season was. And it was always mind blowing. Unique silhouettes, weird/new materials, volume, show... The whole package to make of his show one of a kind.

After all this success, after dressing Nicole Kidman for her wedding, working with Charlotte Gainsburg, getting Twilight's hated Kirsten Stewart as spokeswoman and image for the brand... Ghesquière decides to leave Balenciaga behind.

"With an incomparable creative talent, Nicolas has brought to Balenciaga an artistic contribution essential to the unique influence of the house", said François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of PPR.

Is not confirmed what Ghesquière's future will be. If he would launch his own brand or start with another house... By the moment I will make a little homage to one of the designer's I admire the most. Here's a selection of my favorite designs.

 ♥

H&M and Maison Martin Margiela

Everyone's being dying of anxiety since a gossip started more than a year ago that the swedish retailer, H&M, would open a store here in Mexico... And finally that day came!

With 3 floors, 4200 square meters this store is the beginning of H&M's expansion in Latin America. Starting in Mexico City with zero risk of being a failure, because since they open their first store outside Europe back in 2000 all they keep getting is more and more success, more fans, more clients and of course absurd amounts of money.

The opening is one huge event but for me the biggest, and the one that everyone have their eyes on, is H&M's new collaboration with the Belgian designer, Martin Margiela. A few months ago the news were broke all over the internet, published on NYMag, videos on YouTube... It was all over! And it has been a long long wait since we saw those and read about it and finally there are just a few days before we can get our hands in some cheaper Margiela pieces.

The retailer is known for always offering their customers fashion at an affordable price, trends and of course not the best quality (but at least better than Zara). A few collaborations after, this strategy maintain the growth and success of the house.

Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, Viktor & Rolf, Roberto Cavalli, Comme des Garçons, Matthew Williamson, Jimmy Choo, Sonia Rykiel, Versace and now Margiela for H&M. Excitement for this collaboration is up to date becuase Margiela created a collection based on his most pieces, from the plexiglass heel shoes, the candy wrap clutch, the oversized coats, the two-dresses-dress... this promess to be a huge success and mayhem at stores worldwide... but anyways, I'll be part of that mayhem to get a MMM piece with friendly price tag, not one with the £3000 on it.

Here are some of my picks from this awesome collaboration.

Iris Apfel: Goddess.

It's been quite a while since I last posted an entry here. For many reason I've been off but I guess is about time to make a comeback and what a better way than writing about someone you really admire.

Iris Apfel is a businesswoman and interior designer, known for Old World Weavers, the textile firm she created with her husband, which they ran until 1992 and for being A fashion icon. She worked for Women's Wear Daily and now, being 92 years old, she's everywhere: magazines, ad campaigns (MAC), covers, editorials, fashion lectures, special events and also consulting. 

Her own and unique style has given her a special place in fashion, styling celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and stores like Bergdorf Goodman. And in 2005 she was honored by the Metroplitan Museum of Art with an exposition called Rara Avis (Rare Bird): The Irreverent Iris Apfel, showing her exhuberant and idiosyncratic wardrobe, which combines pieces from Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, flea market findings, textures, colors, patterns... an aesthetic that's truly hers.

Dazed & Confused photographed Iris in the celebrated 2D Fall/Winter 2012 collection from Comme des Garçons for their current issue, so here are the photos and also a video they posted on their official website.Enjoy and welcome back!

 

 

CREDITS:
PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILM Jeff Bark
STYLING Robbie Spencer
HAIR Duffy at Tim Howard Management
MAKE-UP Lisa Houghton at Tim Howard Management
MODEL Iris Apfel
SET DESIGN School Float
PHOTOGRAPHIC ASSISTANT Christopher White
STYLING ASSISTANTS Elizabeth Fraser-Bell, Jessica Bobince
CASTING Noah Shelley at AM Casting