Palacio de Hierro

Living in México is more exciting than I thought. Walking through this streets, full of amazing buildings, great stores, people dressed in interesting/bizarre ways is what I love about a city. Architecture, fashion, tradition and people are just a few important elements for loving a place and México has all of this and more.

So, on Wednesday I went to Centro Histórico, near El Zócalo, watching mini stores, full of fabrics, clothes, some of them nice, other not so nice, tacky, mainstream, fancy... And then, I ran into the Palacio de Hierro shop windows and I went speechless. They have nothing to envy Saks or any other famous store from the U.S or Europe. In September, México will be celebrating its bicentenary, so the city is getting in a festive mood, the government is investing billions of pesos for this huge and important celebration. Besides planning a parade starting in Reforma and getting to El Centro Histórico, all building around El Zócalo are decorated with white, red and green (colors of the mexican flag) and of course some gold to make it shinier.

And because of this, Palacio de Hierro also made its own and they decorated and designs the shop windows in a festive way, without leaving behind the class and glamour for what it's known. So I took some photos you can see this gorgeous windows, that are a homage to mexican culture, to their traditions, including not only textiles, but ceramic, jewelry, silver works, tequila, candles, etc.

I think that having such a strong culture and being so attached to their tradition without getting stuck it's one of the things that makes México such a strong country and unique. Walking around an old city that at the same time looks modern and contemporary is priceless. So I'm in love, not with a guy but with this city and I think we are going to have the greatest relationship ever.

"México me gusta tu estilo" <3

Mexican piñata.

Silver necklace and traditional textile poncho.


Amazing red gown.


Catrina.


Día de muertos' window.


Alebrijes.


Styled as traditional costumes but with modern brands as Juicy Couture, Michael Kors, etc.


"México me gusta tu estilo".

...

Blow by Blow

More news on Isabella, my favorite person (doesn't matter I never met her)...

Her husband, Detmar Blow and Tom Sykes (brother to my beloved Plum Sykes) wrote a book about Izzy, called "Blow by Blow" and it will be out in November 9 in the U.S. The book tells details about Blow's tragic life, starting with the death of her 2-year-old brother, who drowned in a swimming pool while she was supposed to be watching him (she was 5), and ending with her suicide at age 48.

When she killed herself fashion lost one of its biggest icons ever, no one's gonna be like Izzy, not even Daphne. She had a unique taste and also a great eye for spoting great creators, like McQueen and Treacy. But she commited suicide, the same way he's father in law did. "My immediate feeling was one of sickening déjà vu: my own father had died in 1977 after drinking weedkiller, and it had killed him in half an hour as the liquid burned out his insides," Detmar writes.

Can't wait for this book to come out, hopefully it will pay homage to one of the greatest figures fashion will ever met.

R.I.P Izzy.

Shoe obsessed

It's been a long loooooong time since the last time I wrote, but I've being going through lots of changes, moving location and starting a fashion internship so I've been busy. But there's a thousand things to blog about and now it's time for shoes!

We all know about photo blogs, many of them doing collaborations for Style.com, GQ, Esquire and many other fashion magazines and webzines. A huge one is Jak & Jil, created by Tommy Ton, who is now celebrating a photo exposition in Holt Renfrew, the Toronto luxury department store. What's the expo about? About shoes! What else could it be?

His blog, focused on photographing shoes and amazing outfits is worldwide renowned and it's a must for everyone who loves fashion. Tommy does not consider himself as a street style, his specialty and what he loves to shoot is gorgeous people during fashion weeks, where he gets the 95% of his shots. He never studied photography, but like some people, he has "an eye" and that's what makes him one of a kind.

As everyone else he's obsessed with shoes and Celine and of course fashion weeks and most of it that what he does, but he does it in a special way, like I said, he has an eye for fashion and that what makes his blog so special and fun to watch.

Here are some photos from his Holt Renfrew exhibition.

Nars & Daphne Guinnness

So our goddess, Daphne Guinness is now the face of Nars cosmetics. She's promoting the new purple eye shadow that costs $23, created and named after her by François Nars. "When I started thinking about colors that meant Daphne to me, purple felt right," he explained.

With this new eye shadow, plus Daphne Guinness on the ads, François is expecting to make at least $8 million in sales and this would help him open his first own store in November. The store is planned to be located at Bleecker Street and he would sale special items, like palettes and nail polish. Besides this new store, he might put out a book next year, which I guess would be amazing, 'cause since I can remember, Nars has always had incredible ads.

Daphne is unique and amazing, no matter what she does or what she wears I guess I would always be speechless and this ad are no exception. I want my mom to be like her and of course with the same wardrobe so I can steal of all her Treacy's...

Tree Dimensional Art

Sorry, I've been sleeping for two weeks in a row and that's the reason why I haven't write a single entry... Besides, I didn't find anything that was worth of writing about. But now I found it...

Enzo Enea is a Swiss landscape designer who took his hobby as a tree collector far from this, becoming a tree curator/landscape designer. Now he's celebrating the opening of The Tree Museum on the banks of Lake Zurich, taking what we have in mind of a garden to whole new different level, creating a modern-day Eden.

He deals with great clients, art collectors, Picassos and Warhols buyers, he, instead collects Japanese maples and weeping willows, creating with his trees an unique collection, an open-air museum. "I think they are natural pieces of art. For 20 years I have been collecting trees from all over Europe. I wanted to show how much beauty and power there is around us", said Enea.

The Tree Museum, opened in June 14th, has an oval shape where he created a series of "rooms" which showcase over 50 trees and 25 species, all set to allow the view from different angles. His ambition goes almost beyond his success. He has a 2000 trees personal collection, plus two headquearters, one in Switzerland and the other one in Miami. Of course, his creations goes to a limited part of society, the in-the-know super rich.

I love passionate people and Enzo is one of them. He doesn't consider himself only as a tree collector but as a curator "because it's a collection. And you put things in a museum which must be conserved. It's not like a public park. Children can't climb these trees - I would shoot them!" LOL.

It's really worth to take some time and google him. He has amazing designs and makes trees be looked from a whole new perspective, appreciating nature from an artsy point of view. Many people might say that "they're only trees", but not for him and not for me, not as he set them in a garden and not by the meaning they have for him, who truly has a passion for what he does.

Sarah Burton for McQueen Menswear Spring/Summer 2011

Back in February, the greatest designer that the world have met, died. Now four months after, the Gucci Group is trying to keep his legacy alive (and also the incomes), so now, McQueen's fashion house is directed by Sarah Burton, who was his right hand since 1996. So her turn came and she presented her first collection, showing the house aesthetic.

The show was named "Pomp and Circumstance", it has some nice elements like high collars, morning suits, jackets (that was always a key piece in McQueen's). Of course it was not going to be the same, Burton might has worked for 14 years with Lee, but they would never thing the same way. I liked the collection, it reminds me a little bit of his work, but it's not the same. She's on a really hard position, everyone's waiting to see what' she is doing, if she's going to do it right or if she's going to mess it up.

In my opinion, the collection lacked of Alexander's theatricality, it was not enough with a gold brocade coat (which I loved) and some "smoky" coats. There were good pieces, unusual silhouettes, puffy sleeves... But there's something that I must recognized in her work, as Tim Blanks said: The truest reflection of the McQueen heritage was the sense of a story being told: Burton's interplay between aristo and working-class rough was the latest chapter in a book started nearly two decades ago."

It would be a matter of time and everyone's looking forward to see her work. She has potencial and she has the knowleadge to be leading the McQueen house, and maybe that's why I think she fits in this position, but we'll see...

Chanel Pre-Fall 2010

Menswear fashion weeks are starting now, plus the Resort collections, plus pre-fall. And I found this ad campaign from Chanel Pre-Fall 2010 and I thoight I should share it. It's not beyond anything we've seen, but Lagerfeld makes an amazing job as a designer and also his photography skills are great.

Simple, yet beautiful. A classic collection from Karl, presented in Shangai, where the city played a leading role. Presented in Huanpu River, with an amazing skyline on the back, that was the "set". Inspired by the city, the clothes has the Chanel signature all over, giving this time a twist with the accesories and also with the details on the clothes, bringing this country legacy and culture into fashion. This collection and ad campaign was inspired by "Paris-Shangai: A fantasy", a movie directed by Lagerfeld telling stories about Gabrielle Chanel and her visits to Shangai, where she experienced with different people and situations, of course Baptiste Giabiconi acts.

Other than being a special presentation, this Paris-Shangai thing is an answer to the giant power that China has over the world and of course if you want to be someone, you gotta go where the money is and this country has helped Chanel to grow as a brand. A sample of the success of the house is the majority of the audience dressed in Chanel from top to toe, the opening of a new store and this one been packed with people since they opened.

R.I.P Tom Nicon

Another model was found dead... Another tragic day for fashion. This time, model Tom Nicon aged 22, was found dead in Milan this morning when he supposedly "fell" from his window apartment. There has been no comments about his dead, but an unnamed friend that "he did the Versace fitting this morning, after that he was supposed to go to his agency but he never arrived. I don't know if it was suicide or if he fell."

It's weird that someone so successful, who walked for Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Costume National, Versace, Kenzo, Gareth Pugh, and Hugo Boss came to this ending but, we all know how fashion could be sometimes, how cruel it can be. In the last years Daul Kim ♥ and Ambrose Olsen killed themselves and many people think it was because of the pressure they had on them. I made an entry about Lara Stone and how hard it was for her to get to the top, where she is right now. Fame can be a tricky thing, it can get you to the top, but there could be many things missing... emotionally speakind.

An anonymous model told, "people think we are young and beautiful and rich and happy. But we're not. We go to castings and the directors take one look at us and then we're dismissed. You spend your whole life wondering what's wrong with you. Why didn't I get that job? You're competing with your friends, you're away from your family. The pressure is huge. It's not the fairytale life people would expect."

Daphne Guinness bought Izzy's wardrobe

A few weeks ago, I wrote an entry about Isabella Blow's wardrobe being auctioned, with which I though that it was sad the fact that a no one was gonna get this amazing pieces from her personal collection without even knowing the real value of each and every thing she wore or bought. This auction was supposed to take place at Christie's in September but... Daphne Guinness bought Izzy's entire wardrobe. YAY!

I think that Daphne having all of Blow's pieces makes me happier than a random socialite having them, at least we know that she would appreciate and value every piece and heapiece from this amazing collection.

Both Isabella and Daphne has a unique and excentric style, so I think that no one more than her is perfect to have the whole wardrobe. Rather than a girl from "The Hills" or "The City" buying something just to be hip. This wardrobe deserves a place in a museum and I hope that someday someone plans an exhibition like "When Philip met Isabella" or the one from Daphne Guinness or Piaggi's.

Update: "The planned sale at Christie's could only result in carnage, as souvenir seekers plundered the incredible body of work Issie had created over her life. Indeed, in many ways, the auction would not be merely a sale of clothes; it would be a sale of what was left of Issie, and the carrion crows would gather and take away her essence forever", said Daphne Guinness. ♥