GRAND OPENING: The Cut's Style Blog
2.13.2010
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Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fashion. Show all posts
Karlie Kloss Most Used Model by International Vogues in 2009
12.11.2009
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French Legislator to Battle Idealized Beauty in Ads
12.06.2009
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People have complained for years about too-thin models on the runways and the unrealistically high standards presented by celebrities in advertisement, but French legislator Valérie Boyer is actually doing something about it: proposing a law that would require all advertisements featuring digitally retouched people to say so on the advertisement.
In such a commercial world, people, especially the youth, are constantly being bombarded with advertisements. Boyer argues that seeing the idealized beauty of advertisements has a negative impact on self-esteem, especially of young women, and may incite eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. Boyer told The New York Times, "If someone wants to make life a success, wants to feel good in their skin, wants to be part of society, one has to be thin or skinny, and then it’s not enough — one will have his body transformed with software that alters the image, so we enter a standardized and brainwashed world, and those who aren’t part of it are excluded from society.”
This debate is not new: arguments against the idealistic women in the fashion industry have been happening for a while, from model Fillipa Hamilton's extremely retouched Raplh Lauren advertisement in which her waist was shrunk to the width of her head and Self magazine's publishing of a thinned-down Kelly Clarkson. Boyer hopes, from a mother's perspective, that labeling these retouched images will start to open up the eyes of young girls who idolize the stick-thin models.
Many French women disagree with this idea. A former model, Inès de La Fressange, says that the bill is "demagogic and stupid," claiming the causes of anorexia are more complex than pretty pictures. Dominique Issermann, a French fashion photographers, goes even farther to say, "There is this illusion that photography is ‘true,’” but "as soon as you frame something you exclude something else." She argues photo-retouching is not always used to slim girls down. Issermann uses her photograph of actress Keira Knightly in an advertisement for Coco Chanel perfume as an arguing point, saying that it was retouched to add to her thigh, because the actress was too thin there.
This debate will probably not be solved by the passing of this law, if it even passes. Anne-Florence Schmitt, editor of fashion magazine Madame Figaro argues, “Michelangelo painted idealized bodies, so the idea of idealized beauty was already there. It’s a fake debate.”
Read the full story
Model Gemma Ward to Retire
11.09.2009
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Right now you are either shaking your head, wondering who she is, or crying with your head in your desk.
Extremely popular mode Gemma Ward, from Perth, Australia, has been largely absent from the runways and magazines since the death of her boyfriend Heath Ledger in 2008. Since then Gemma has come under fire for gaining weight, a side effect of not eat solely lettuce and Diet Coke. Fashion blogger Bryanboy posted the most recent pictures of her, calling her "plus-size." She, in reality, looks fabulous, and we wish her the best of luck in whatever she pursues.
What's next for Gemma? Most likely acting: she starred in the Australian Black Balloon and the scariest movie in years, The Strangers. Read the full story
NY Fashion Week Redux: The American Dream
9.20.2009
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The recession just get get the designers down this year. A la the 1930s, when the Great Depression was at it's worst and fashion at one of its bests, many designers took one of two paths: pure escapism or the destroyed American dream.
TREND ONE: PRETTY PARTY NATION
TREND TWO: EAST OF EDEN
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Last season, the American designers tried simple, and business dropped. Hopefully, the fashion industry will snap back with these escapist and literalist interpretations of the world we are living in now. Read the full story
Marc Jacobs goes 80's for fall campaign
7.23.2009
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Perhaps, Marc Jacobs, it is time to reinvent your ads.
Ads are obviously one of the most important parts of the fashion industry, as what good is sewing up all those clothes if no one knows they exists. They also take another meaning, as many designers shoot their advertisements almost like a fashion editorial, and Jacobs is notorious for that.
In fact, they have all been in the same spirit, coming across as just an extension of the world's longest editorial. His Fall '09 ads are no exception. They were shot by Juergen Teller, and featured his overexposed style of photography. The only exception this year is that they are slightly more raunchy than years past, citing drunken models in the meatpacking district, pantless models, and a general trashy 80's party girl vibe.
Still, his collection is bound to fly off the shelves because, well, he's Marc Jacobs.
Emma Watson: A New Kind of Starlet?
7.15.2009
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You have to admit Emma Watson, of Harry Potter fame, has grown up quite nicely. Even if the fact that she's probably prettier than her character Hermione is supposed to be hasn't stopped her from doing something very important: being classy.
Oh yes, the word 'starlet' brings up thoughts of people like Lindsay Lohan, Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart; all girls who have grown up in the Hollywood industry and turned out not-so-clean. Kristen Stewart had caused gossip with her psuedo-lover and Twilight costar, Rob Pattison, while simuteaniously drooping in Converses at red-carpet premieres and looking like she wants to bang her head on the wall. Miley Cyrus has already been in multiple photo-scandals: from her sexual DIY pics or her slightly-incestual Vanity Fair shoot. And Lindsay, do we even need to say?
No, Emma has grown up different; better. She's intelligent, has expressed the desire to attend college (Brown, preferably), and she's fashionable. Fashionable to garner the respect of brands like Burberry, who have already snagged this girl to be their model. She's done couture-like photoshoots for Teen Vogue, recieved the admiration from the fashion king himself, Karl Lagerfield, and she shows up at premieres always in something slightly daring but still chic at the same time. As the Fug Girls say, "It’s clear that she’s torn a page out of The [Natalie] Portman Handbook for Being a Movie Star Without Acting Like an Ass." Even with a slight wardrobe malfunction at the Half-Blood Prince London premiere, she stayed classy.
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Audrey Tautou's Chanel No. 5 film
5.06.2009
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Audrey Tautou, due to star as Coco Chanel in the upcoming film Coco avent Chanel, is featured in the latest advertisment from Chanel. The short film features a fornlorn girl who, after meeting and transfixing a man on a train, is eventually tracked down by him because of her scent; namely Chanel No. 5 (of course). Thoughts? Read the full story
The Best of the Met Gala
The only things that rivals (and perhaps beats) the Academy Awards in couture activity by celebrities is the annual Metropolitian Museum of Art's Costume Gala. This year's theme was 'The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion.' Many celebrities took the gala as the oppurtunity to wear their most amazing designer gowns. Here are some of my favorite gowns worn at the gala:
Fashion Designers Predict Flu Epidemic
4.29.2009
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Fashion Showdown: Carla Bruni and Spain's Princess Letizia
Well, well, looks like international fashion ambassador/French first lady Carla Bruni has met her match: the equally fabulous, if not disturbingly similar, Spain's Princess Letizia.
The Telegraph goes as far as to say that "they made the steps leading to Madrid's Zarzuela Palace resemble a catwalk." Carla Bruni and the Princess wore similar dresses (Bruni's was blue, and the Princess' magenta), but while Bruni stayed with her modest black Louboutin heels, Princess Letizia donned a pair of sky-high platform heels in a shade of lavender. So who eclipsed the other in terms of fashion-forwardness? The Grazia says the Princess (and not just because she gets the better title) for her bold choice of a snug bandage dress "knowing she's about to meet a supermodel." Luckily enough for Princess Letizia, her husband towers over her at six foot four inches, so she won't have to worry about trading down for flats
Bruni's husband, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, was in town (and by "town," I mean "Madrid.") for two days of talks with the Spanish royal family. The couple met King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia at Madrid's Zarzuela Palace. They were honored with a military parade and later lunched at the Pardo palace, the traditional home-away-from-home for traveling dignitaries when visiting the capital of Spain.
Reports say that 'highly intimate' pictures of Bruni with her ex-lover and philosopher Raphael Enthoven. Thieves reportedly broke into the flat of Enthoven's brother and stole the prints and videos from the flat. However, Bruni's approval ratings skyrocketed when nude photos of her were leaked, so this new development may not be as harmful as the thieves intend it to be.
Read the full story
Leighton Meester talks Blair Waldorf
4.12.2009
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Project Runway's Kenley a Literal Crazy Cat Lady
3.19.2009
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So, if anyone can remember Kenley Collins from the last season of Project Runway (can anyone even remember that far back?), she was the annoying 50's girl with the nasaly voice. Then she lost and disappeared from the face of the Earth. But this morning, Kenley jumped back into the news. Why? She was arrested for assault on her ex-fiance Zak Penley and later was released without bail. She claims it was a misunderstanding, but from the police reports, we know what went down. The Post writes:
According to sources, the fur began to fly at 7 a.m., when Collins cocked her arm and threw one of the couple's two cats, Arlo or Sandra, at Penley, who was sleeping at the time.
She then threw her laptop as he fell and crawled on the floor, cops said. She also allegedly slammed a door on his head.
As Penley dialed 911, Collins threw three apples at him and doused him with water, cops said.
The funniest part is the cats. They don't know which cat it was? And who throws cats at people. I mean, just visually imagining it is hilarious. Also, if she had married him, her name would be Kenley Penley. Where do these people meet?
Read the full story
More New York Fashion Week: Diane von Furstenburg
2.18.2009
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I would probably maybe kind of wear all the clothes in this collection given that I have the money to do so. Which I don't, but that doesn't stop the clothes from being any less fabulous.
Léger, Preen, Walker: NYC Fashion Week Begins
2.17.2009
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So Fashion Week snuck up on me this year. One day, I'm off to see the remake of Friday the 13th, and the next, people are showing in NYC. Already, three designers have been critically acclaimed: Hervé Léger, Preen, and Karen Walker.
Although two models tripped at the Léger show, the clothes were still amazing. There were bright colors and new prints, and everything was fantastically fitted, as always. Léger is famous for the bondage dress, and while that was included in the show, 'new and novel contrasting fabrics and edgy cutouts' made it a lot more interesting. Critics say that Azria (designer for Léger) "kicked it up an edgy notch" via intense shoulders, and the Léger show "deserved the applause the starlets gave it."
Preen's show can be descibed in two words: futuristic sexy. The dresses were racy (but in a good way) and adorned with neon colors that matched the theme of the label: "Bright Young Thing–meets–Brave New World ethos." Appliqué and cutouts can often be done very wrong, but despite Preen not being everyday clothing, it should look fabulous for events.
Karen Walker took the word 'cracked' and ran with it. Referring to a dry land, she applied this visual demonstation to "fractured" pants, literally. Her collection included more dresses than usual, but the seperates are what caught the critics eyes, saying the separates "hit that perfect boy-meets-girl sweet spot," accoring to British Vogue.
Lara Stone & You.
1.17.2009
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Vogue Paris's Febuary issue has been dedicated to the well-endowed model Lara Stone. I feel it is a rather bold choice to dedicate an entire issue to one model, especially one so, well, determined to show off her body. The name 'Lara Stone' has been intertwined with 'fashion nudity' for a while now. In fact, it has become predictible that Lara's editorials feature nudity. And I don't mind nudity, if it is used artfully, but too much of it can look trashy, and Lara's editorials often do. I understand that France is less prude than the United States, but that does not mean they should print the porno equivalent of a fashion magazine. Hopefully, Vogue Paris will take the higher route and only feature nudity (because there will/must be some) in the classiest way, the way the French are supposed to do it.
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