Designers take a look back at what makes them great

Backward thought might not always a bad thing. In this case, the fashion industry is looking back to their roots- each brand tapping into their heritage and playing up what they’re best at. They’re taking a cue from the first designs that put them on the map- Dolce & Gabbana’s precise tailoring, Missoni’s intricate knits and Cavalli’s elaborate prints. For Natori, it’s complex embroidery and attention to detail. And after years of varying trends, we love how new an old look can feel.

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Everyone wants to get real- with a technology known as Augmented Reality. It’s what Wii video games, iphone applications and now magazines use to create a complete sensory experience, where users can interact with their environments. Go bowling with your Wii, hold up your iphone to find the closest Starbucks or hold a magazine to your webcam for front row seats at a fashion show. In Style is leading the pack in the magazine industry with their March issue. Along with a webcam you can experience behind the scenes with designers and their fashion shows! Take a look:

http://cwl.instyle.com/

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She was one of “The Big Six”, hosted MTV’s House of Style and has an iconic beauty mark above the corner of her lip- she’s Cindy Crawford.  Alongside the other original supermodels, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Claudia Schiffer, Cindy is one of the few models in the world who can truly call herself “Super”. These 6 are rightfully recognized within the fashion industry as deserving of the title “Supermodel”. And while many models like Twiggy and Elle McPherson paved the way for the era of the supermodel, and models like Gisele Bundchen and Karolina Kurkova have followed, the term “supermodel” really belongs to a phenomenon that began in the 80’s and lasted through the 90’s.

Check out Ms. Crawford donning Natori on the cover of Cosmopolitan’s March 1991 issue!

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Leave it to Barbie to have not just one LBD- but 12 stunning Little Black Dresses! From plunging necklines to strapless, asymmetrical and cowl, these LBD’s cover all occasions, from day to night.  Barbie designer Bill Greening created 12 dolls with 12 diverse faces, hair and skin tones, each wearing a distinct LBD. And in honor of the collection, Barbie asked designers to tell her what the Little Black Dress means to them.  And their answers? Well we couldn’t agree with them more!

“My Little Black Dress is freedom. Freedom to dress up. Freedom to dress down. Freedom to go anywhere, do anything.”
–Josie Natori 

“The LBD means being ready in less than 15 minutes– if you knew me you’d know how important that is!”
–Kay Unger 

“The Little Black Dress can be worn by women from all walks of life. The woman can be athletic; she can be classic; she can be sophisticated.”
–Vera Wang 

“Day to dinner, work to weekend, a simple change of accessories and your LBD is an ever-changing, go-to outfit.”
–Tracy Reese 

“Nothing in your wardrobe is worth more than the right little cocktail dress… It makes you modern, sexy and smart at the same time–for any occasion!”
–Angel Sanchez 

“The LBD may appear simple at first glance, but it’s subtle onslaught of seduction, sophistication and glamour makes it unforgettable.”
–Reed Krakoff COACH 

“Little Black Dress equals big colorful confidence.”
–Nanette Lepore & daughter Violet 

“The Little Black Dress is all you’ll ever need, a true-blue, black basic. Your shoes, your bag, your accessories give it a new personality every day and night.”
–Betsey Johnson 

“The Little Black Dress is the passport to elegance!”
–Diane Von Furstenberg 

“Air, water, chocolate, Little Black Dress.”
– George M. Simonton 

“A black dress is a wonderful canvas for a woman to overlay her personal style. It is a foundation for any look, and a great way to move from day to night, season to season, year to year! It is timeless.”
–Naeem Khan 

“Always chic, always appropriate, often edgy, sometimes avant garde— you can never go wrong in a Little Black Dress.”
–Nicole Miller

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Holiday travel is often the most stressful traveling you’ll experience all year. And with the rush of buying gifts, packing and making sure you get that window seat, you’re bound to forget your Shu Uemura eyelash curler or Dior mascara. Don’t worry- Sephora has installed vending machines in select airports nationwide to dispense beauty essentials on-the-fly.  Forgot a present? There’s no need to give a tee-shirt from the airport gift shop- give a Philosophy gift set instead! We just can’t resist a vending machine that dispenses beauty instead of calories.

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We love to see the fashion and entertainment industries combine their efforts to support charitable causes- especially one like Women In Need; an incredible organization that helps homeless women and children get back on their feet. This year WIN came up with an inventive way to raise money. They challenged participants to funnel their design, musical or performing talents into another creative outlet: decorating a cardboard model house with some of their own personal flair. And so designers like Josie Natori, Isaac Mizrahi, Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta and Diane von Furstenberg alongside celebrities like Mary J. Blige, Halle Berry, the Beckhams and Jennifer Lopez, just to name a few, transformed their plain houses into works of art! All houses are displayed in the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue and will be auctioned off, all proceeds to benefit Women In Need.

For more information please visit:

https://www.charitybuzz.com/auctions/WomeninNeed%20/catalog_items?page=2&per_page=10

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We are devotees of Polyvore, the tech styling site for fashionistas. For those who reluctantly gave up playing with and styling their Barbies, (that doll does have an amazing closet) we can finally play dress-up again! Polyvore has given us a piece of our childhood back. It’s a virtual version of dressing Barbie but this time around, our closet is stocked with mouth-watering designer clothes, shoes and accessories – including the likes of Chanel, Dior and Matthew Williamson! You can even add your crucial caffeine fix – a cup of Starbucks.

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Pin-Up Girls entered onto the scene in the 1940’s and since then, their seductive style has become a mainstay in the fashion industry. Their glamour and beauty never cease to captivate! Below are some of our favorite posters of the most famous pin-up girl of all time, Marilyn Monroe, alongside some of Natori’s past advertisements. We love our Natori ads with that pin-up girl flair!

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At the Titanic exhibit in Times Square NYC, artifacts left from the tragic event are on display. Among them are pieces of leather luggage, ivory hair brushes, gold jewelry and even cuff links inscribed with the “Tiffany & Co.” logo. But most captivating was a collection of 62 perfume vials—the property of first-class passenger Adolphe Saalfeld, a perfumier from England who boarded the Titanic in 1912.  Saalfed headed to New York with ambitions of introducing his perfume to the major department stores.  And while he survived the sinking of the Titanic, his signature scents went down with the ship and he never created another perfume. 

The vials were recovered on a dive in 2000, protected in the leather case Saalfeld had kept them in.  But the astonishment of finding these vials amongst the debris was nothing compared to the fragrance they released, still preserved after nearly a century resting on the ocean floor.

Fragrance can elicit the feeling of being transported to another time and place. That is especially true in this case, as these perfumes just arrived from another time and place- one that continues to intrigue and mesmerize since the night it sank- the Titanic.

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Girdles and gussets and push-ups, oh my!  Through September 27^th, London’s Fashion and Textile Museum featured a unique lingerie exhibit chronicling the evolution of underwear.  From the story of Mary Phelps Jacob who patented the first bra in 1915 to the Swarovski crystal encrusted La Perla bra, the exhibition presents “a visual demonstration of how female underwear has evolved as women’s role in society changed”.

‘Stars and their bras’ is undoubtedly one of the most alluring aspects of the exhibit as viewers are taken through a titillating journey of the celebrity faces who have graced lingerie advertisements—from Marilyn Monroe in Christian Dior to Kylie Minogue’s scandalous Agent Provacateur ad. 

Undercover charts the drastic changes in the history of underwear from function to fashion.  This exhibit was fantastic!

For more details visit http://www.ftmlondon.org/exhibitions/detail/?ID=53

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