The sock trend in Silicon Valley
Unlike its more glamorous sister to the north, Silicon Valley doesn’t have the more obvious fashion-forward street cred that San Francisco can claim.
In fact, take a stroll around downtown Palo Alto or Mountain View, and you’re much more likely to find throngs of engineers and VCs heading to lunch in zip-up fleece jackets, jeans, or a simple button-down shirt (for men and women), than any statement pieces or fine suits. The focus, it would seem, is on the daily grind of work in a brainy start-up culture that still powers the valley.
That’s not to say that this little innovation mecca doesn’t flaunt its casual, practical style in a quirky way. Last week, the New York Times published a fun article in their Style section on the way Silicon Valley nerds and millionaires bump up the style quotient by donning artful, funky, vibrant socks. Yes, socks. It’s the signal that you’re cool or part of the in-crowd, at least around these parts. Wear an Armani suit and you’re more likely to be singled out as the outsider or the lawyer.
It’s hard to say what makes the trend stick. Some say crazy socks are an “acceptable piece of flair,” in a dress-down setting. In the article, one Facebook employee said that even when you’re dashing around the office in a hoody and sweatpants, those uber rad socks are a signal that you still put a little care into your look.
Part cool, part geeky, funky socks signal to the valley’s elite that you get their culture and style. Give it a try yourself no matter what your style happens to be.
Trend Forecast: Textile Designers Reveal 2013 Will Be Bursting With Color
Taking a turn away from somber shades of black, grey and neutral beige, 2013 promises to herald a return to color, according to many fashion industry insiders. Last Thursday in Paris, fashion designers and fabric designers revealed their trend forecasts for Spring/Summer 2013 on the runway, and based on the fashion presented, it's clear that color is returning in a big, big way—from pinks and reds to turquoise and chartreuse.
But how does this return to color coincide with the current economic climate? One would assume that, given the downturn in consumerism, fashion would mirror the bleak times. However, according to Pascaline Wilhelm, a fashion director for Premiere Vision, "We don't believe for a minute that fashion is going to turn all austere, that consumers are going to start dressing all in black...we are betting on beauty and innovation."
Indeed, the fashions on the runway proved to be girly, glam, and full of life. In addition to color, transparent fabrics by way of gauzy layers made a big splash, as well as a return to more natural materials that suggest a return to flowing romantic lines.
Wilhelm describes the look as "very colorful, serene, punchy without being aggressive."
In charge of a team of textile designers, Wilhelm and her crew have the overwhelming task of sifting through 15,000 fabric swatches from different suppliers around the globe. Only a few textile designers will have the chance to showcase their creations in the fashion shows, which goes to show how competitive careers in fashion can be. However, with hard work and determination, those that try hard and have the talent can have a shot at fame on the Paris runways.
Paint it black? No way! Fashion colours up for 2013 [Yahoo!]
Photo Credit: Flickr
Ann Demeulemeester's edgy and timeless style
Belgium-based designer Ann Demeulemeester has always ventured outside the luster of mainstream fashion catwalks and created her own aesthetic, influenced by deconstructionism, jagged lines, and unruly cuts. Her timeless sensibility has garnered her attention from the likes of Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, and Alexander McQueen.
Born in Kortrijk, Belgium in 1959, the 51-year-old Demeulemeester graduated from fashion school in Brugge and went on to study fashion design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp from 1978 to 1981. Upon graduation in 1981, the talented designer was welcomed into the fashion world with fellow graduates. Along with Dries Von Noten, Demeulemeester became known as the the Antwerp Six.
In 1985, with the help of her husband, the photographer Patrick Robyn, she launched her own label and premiered her women’s wear collection in Paris in 1992. The show was a major hit and solidified her rising star status amongst the fashion elite.
Today her designs are sold in 30 countries worldwide and she sells a vast collection of accessories, shoes, and garments. Her garments are known for their drapey shapes in primarily black and white shades. She famously cuts the best trousers in the industry and has a distinctly edgy, almost gothic look to her clothing. On the other hand, her aesthetic has also been described as poetic romanticism – harkening to the designer’s penchant for flowy, romantic skirts and blowsy, breezy shapes.
One of Demeulemeester’s many style muses is Patti Smith, although this fashion icon doesn’t take her cues from any one era or inspiration. Her style has alternately been described as punk, goth, and experimental.
While she doesn’t adhere to any single, static style, her clothing has the unmistakable imprint of her unique vision. There is a kind of savage, rawness to her work that cuts across eras and trends. Most recently, Demeulemeester styled friend and award-winning songwriter, PJ Harvey, for the singer’s “Let England Shake” shows. Harvey was alternately seen onstage in long white and black gowns, jaggedly cut, with a smooth leather bodice piece. Underneath, she wore a pair of the designer’s iconic black combat boots and paired the piece off with dramatic, feather headpieces.
Although Demeulemeester has been quoted in interviews saying she appreciates designer’s tastes that are very different and separate from her own, she says she looks for the designer’s “soul” in a piece of clothing. If she can discern it, she is attracted to the piece.
Since the late 1990s, Demeulemeester began experimenting with longer lengths and sillouettes. Demeulemeester still lives in Belgium today and is a staple to watch for in fashion shows worldwide. Her thoroughly striking looks seemingly never go out of fashion in a world where flash trends seem to dominate every season.
Fashion Designers Look to Street Style for Inspiration
While some may think that fashion is a closed-off, inward-looking industry, that’s not entirely true. In fact, reputed fashion designers often look to street styles to inspire them and launch new trends.
Popular fashion bloggers like The Sartorialist and Bill Cunningham of the New York Times hit the streets and make rounds to snap shots of smartly-dressed people as their stylish, everyday selves. Often, these simple pictures spark a huge response online.
If you’re interested or even set on careers in fashion, it’s easy to look to the ivory tower of fashion and mold yourself after designer giants like Oscar De La Renta, Thakoon, Tom Ford, and others. But remember: new trends are borne everywhere and looking to the street can be a budding fashion designer’s best way to find a jolt of inspiration.
In fact, this year’s biggest trends are born from street-styles. Attention-seeking fashionistas have been spotted parading the streets with a wisp or piece of black lace hung across their eyes or even covering the mouth. You can skip the makeup and shades with this romantic-gothic look sure to draw glances. In fact, Esquire Magazine predicts this trend to hit runways in full force by spring 2012.
Bow-ties have started popping up, too. These charming, cute numbers are a fun, throwback to dapper styles from the 1930s and ‘40s, but have seen a big resurgence lately. Fashion Week shows in New York and Paris featured a parade of men (and some women) donning their bowties in bright colors with creative prints.
According to Elle Magazine’s Fall issue, long, billowing skirts and subdued, darker prints on maxi dresses are making the leap from summer to winter. Worn with a leather moto jacket or cozy tweed blazer, this updated boho look can also be effortlessly beautiful in the colder months. Fashion writers expect runways in Spring to be take a decidedly swift move from short, billowy skirts to longer, more flowing skirts.
Pair your long black skirt with a faux-fur coat, a tailored, blazer, or a more short coat for an elegant look. A little more grown-up and sophisticated than the short skirt, long skirts also give women the ability to layer on their own pieces for a personalized style. Add baubles, a long necklace, or a lovely scarf.
If you’re considering a career in fashion, it’s important to think outside the runway. Take to the streets, or if you don’t live in a fashion capital, check out fashion blogs for some inspiration. Remember, fashion school can give you the tools to begin a career in the field, but you need to conjure up the creativity on your own.
Vogue Italia Launches Wiki-Like Web Page, Vogue Encyclo
In an effort to let down the “iron veil” of the fashion editorial world, Vogue Italia has created Vogue, Encyclo, a wiki-esque website that allows users to pitch story ideas and contribute articles. However, unlike other wikis, the editing is not in the hands of users, but rather the editorial staff of Vogue. The Vogue editors also assign ideas and vet them.
“We fact-check everything just to make sure things are written in the right way,” says Alice Furnari, editorial coordinator for Vogue.it. “Not only substantially, but style-wise. So we tend to leave the writers’ own style, but we edit them in line with our style.”
Articles are published with the user’s byline—which is a great opportunity if you are trying to break into the world of fashion journalism. However, some could also argue that obtaining free articles will negatively impact fashion journalists and freelance writers. How exactly this new format this will impact these journalistic careers in fashion is uncertain.
Other sites that have utilized crowd-sourcing as a way to generate content include FashionStake.com, Modcloth.com, and SocialAttire.com. All of these sites invite users to decide and pick which fashion designs they would like to see in the stores. There’s also Wikifashion, started in 2009 by Madeline Veenstra and Coen Hyde. Like Wikipedia, Wikifashion allows its users to create and edit content on their own, without taking the editorial reigns.
“We work the same way as Wikipedia does by allowing our community to take care of the editing process,” said Veenstra of the site.
Over the summer, Vogue Encyclo put out a call for submissions based on a theme. The site received over 300 stories.
GAP Kids Line Appeals to Super Thin Celebs
Stars who lean on the svelte side have found an unlikely source of fashion inspiration in GAP's children's line. Two years ago, the clothing retailer teamed up with fashion designer Stella McCartney, who created a children-sized military jacket with braided trim. Soon after, celebrity Carla Bruni-Sarkozy wore it on French TV.
The super slender actress Krisitn Chenoweth is also a fan of the GAP kids line, which features sizes ranging from 2 to 14 (up to 18 online).
GAP kids is currently planning a collaboration with fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg, which is guarenteed to attract a lot of attention from both kids and super skinny starlets alike.
Cool, Condensed [NYT]
The Best and Worst Celebrity Fashion Brands
Carine Roitfeld Vamps It Up for Paris Fashion Event
Just in time for Halloween, Carine Roitfeld—the former editor-in-chief of French Vogue—hosted a party called the Bal des Vampires in Paris to celebrate her new book, Irreverent. Models in attendance included Anja Rubik, Karlie Kloss and Abbey Lee Kershaw. Fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg also made an appearance.
The fashions of the night included lots of black and lots of smoky eye makeup, arguably influenced by fashion designer Roberto Cavalli’s fall fashion show. Cavalli’s models wore heavy eye makeup with metallic corners and pale makeup to contrast.
According to New York Times writer Eric Wilson, Dirk Standen, the editor-in-chief of Style.com, wore fangs to the party, while actress Uma Thurman wore a black, goth-inspired dress by Chanel. There wasn't a person in sight that wasn't dressed to the nines in vampiric duds.
Although Roitfeld was let go from French Vogue, she continues to be the toast of Paris when it comes to the fashion industry. At the event she wore a black dress by Givenchy, with dark smoky eye makeup that matched many of the other ladies in the room.
With films like Twilight drawing so much money at the theaters, and the popularity of the HBO show, True Blood, it comes as no surprise that vampires remain a hot topic in both pop culture and the haute couture scene.
Fashion Retailer H&M to Release Clothing Line Based on Bestseller
This December, the famous fashion retail outlet H&M will be releasing a new line of clothing based off the main character in the new David Fincher directed version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander. The 30 piece collection will launch at the concept store, Colette, in Paris, and will become available to the masses online and in stores on December 14th.
The line, which features leather pants and jackets, dark and loose hoodies and torn-up jeans, was designed by Anna Norling, who works for H&M’s Divided line of clothing.
"The clothes are all about the attitude," Norling says, "they have a toughness to them but they are also really flattering,"
For the fashion line, Norling worked side by side with the costume designer for the film, Trish Summerville.
"Salander's look is very real and very lived in," Summerville says, "with pieces that her character has worn for a long time, like her jackets that act as her armour to shield her from the world. I wanted the collection to have the essence and strength of Salander, with a fashion edge…"
The clothing line’s launch comes one week before the release of the new film. Marketing move? You betcha. But you got to admit, it's unique.
H&M to launch 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' collection [Yahoo! News]
Trend Forecast: Fashion Goes Flapper Chic in Spring 2012
It seems that it's never too early for the fashion industry to begin forecasting trends for the next season. Now, according to New York Magazine, the hot look for next Spring will be a blast from the past. Says the mag's fashion editor:
The flapper girl is having a pop culture moment with Paz de la Huerta’s feisty and unpredictable Lucy Danziger in Boardwalk Empire and Carey Mulligan’s turn as Daisy Buchanan in the highly anticipated Great Gatsby remake. Drawing inspiration from the roaring twenties and the Art Deco thirties, designers turned out drop-waist dresses suited for a speakeasy, but with modern twists like tulle trim and multicolored jeweled embellishments.
This is exciting news for fashionistas with a penchant for vintage aesthetics. Fashion design labels like Etro, Gucci, and fashion designers like Alberta Ferretti, Marc Jacobs and Tory Burch have all debuted their new Spring 2012 fashion lines, which feature a fresh new take on the flapper look, with a focus on soft satin champaign tones and whites mixed with shining gold sparkles.
Other trends that the magazine forecasts include crop tops, a combination of '60s and '80s inspired clothing, short-shorts, gym-wear inspired pieces and reflective fabrics like lame'.
When it comes to the latest trends, it pays to be one step ahead, especially if you are fashion designer.
See the Ten Trends That Will Be Everywhere Next Spring [New York Magazine]
- 1 of 3
- ››
