Sweatshirts have been reinvented on the runways for both men and women, and there is an array of styles you can choose from! The classic grey, colour blocked and printed matched with great accessories will have you looking stylish and feeling cozy in no time.
Styling by Vanessa Cocchiaro
Watches used to be a staple in an everyday wardrobe but have over the years been replaced by digital machinery, reducing the timepiece to a more decorative state. So excusing a dreadful wrist watch with the fact that “it still works” just isn’t enough by today’s fashionable standards. If picking the right one, a watch can stand the test of time in both prestige and design. Vintage watch styles can more often than not be seen at high end fashion brands as if to show their heritage and build status.
Watches as many other fashion items of today have become part of complementing our own individuality. But how do you know which style is right? Start by defining your lifestyle. Here are some examples:
- The Splurger – For a person of expensive taste and a bank-account to match a Rolex or other high end brand such as Bvlgari will always complement an outfit due to the sheer exclusivity.
- The “I’ll do it my way” – The boyfriend wrist watch with its big dial has been one of the biggest watch trends the past year, especially when combined with rosé gold as seen at Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors. So for the person who wants to go up stream pick a small dial, as seen at Karl Lagerfeld, something that will work great in these minimalistic times.
- The Globetrotter – Kitmen Keung has, by combining a simplistic dial in off white brass with a smart and sleek design, created the perfect travel companion. The primary dial is in a dark and bold color scheme. The precision of the secondary clock face has been made to almost come across like an “interface shadow” showcasing to the wearer the temporal distance between the user and someone on the other side of the globe.
It is said that time is of the essence so naturally there is a perfect watch for everyone to find, it is just a matter of answering the question what defines me?
The Founders of Fashion
This year Christian Dior celebrates 65 years in business, long after the fashion house founder left the building. Cristóbal Balenciaga is being honoured with an exhibition in Paris 40 years after his death and Jil Sander steps back into the role as head designer of her eponymous brand. There are dozens of fashion brands that are famous for the name of the person that gave it its first stamp, whether that person is still in his or her seat. How important are these ‘fashion founder’ names for their respective brands? And is the status of the fashion houses paying homage to their founders as much as to their current createurs?
Take aside everyone with special interest in fashion. How many really knows the name of the designer behind Dior today? Average Jane does for sure know the name Christian Dior, she probably buys both his make-up and perfume as well. But the name of Dior might be as important to everyone who actually knows Raf Simons as well. Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Balmain, Emilio Pucci, Kenzo Takada and all their friends – they breathe fashion excellence. Some of the great names are still alive; some are still even with their companies. These designers have shaped much of what the business is today, and whether they smile or turn in their graves over what their successors are doing to their lines, every garment entering the runway is carrying their names and their heritage.
When Alexander McQueen, a much younger ‘genius’, tragically passed away, the death of the brand was up for immediate discussion. Even if there’s probably a few years left before anything can be told for certain, Sarah Burton is keeping the brand floating – McQueen isn’t a name that anyone will let slip away without a fight. It must be a fine balance to sustain between honouring the name you work for and staying true to your own design aesthetics, while making business happen. “If you don’t know your history, you have no future” are the words of Jil Sander who for many years has seen collections in her name being directed by someone else.
Is it the stories of old Paris and Italian family companies deriving from leather producers that add to the myth and status of today’s giants? Is it the impact that these designers once made, or is it smart business? Is this a phenomenon of the past, or will we in the future be as nostalgic about Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Thomas Tait and their younger friends? No matter what the answer might be, the names that still inspire awe in us have made a contribution to the beauty of things we still see today.
Kaleidoscopic cosmetics – Carolina Melis
2012 Beauty Club Awards, the annual competition for cosmetics brands launched by Debenhams to involve cosmetics addicts to vote for their favourite beauty products, has its winners. To celebrate the closure of the 2012 edition, the British retailer commissioned 2DM’t talent Carolina Melis to design and direct an animated film, which shows the most-loved products chosen among six different categories – make-up, skincare, fragrance, new kids on the block, body and tan – and selected by a panel of experts.
Floating among colourful dots, lines, and geometric figures, Carolina Melis displays the winning cosmetics on the screen creating wonderful kaleidoscope effects and charming images. From the lipstick by MAC and the women’s fragrance by Marc Jacobs and Jimmy Choo, to the best night cream by Clarins (just to mention a few) the video presents in a magical and imaginative way an array of must-have beauty products women can do without.
