Big-name Olympic fashion draws cheers and jeers
The athletes' parade during Friday's Opening Ceremony might as well have been a catwalk show, with some of fashion's biggest names - Armani, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney - designing the team uniforms.
Many in the fashion industry are already calling this the most stylish Olympics ever.
"For any designer, this is the biggest audience you can possibly have for your designs and arguably the most critical," said Avril Graham, Harper's Bazaar executive fashion and beauty editor. "These outfits have to fly the flag and represent their nation in the eyes of the rest of the world."
The Italians must be some of the best-dressed athletes, scoring points with an understated monochrome kit in navy and white by Giorgio Armani, as well as waterproof blue designs for their sailing team by Prada.
Stella McCartney has worked with Adidas to design the sporting gear and "village wear" (read lounge wear) for Britain's home team, though the outfits weren't on show Friday as athletes covered up in white and gold tracksuits.
Meanwhile, the American team may have gotten a barrage of bad press for its made-in-China Ralph Lauren uniforms, but the preppy designs were still some of the most stylish in the arena: clean-cut navy blazers, crisp white trousers, skirts, and shoes, accessorized with navy berets and blue, red and white striped scarves.
The Jamaican team is in the spotlight because of sprinter Usain Bolt, so it's fitting that it also got a boost in the fashion stakes this year. Its kit, which features the national colors as well as lightning-like prints, was designed by Cedella Marley, daughter of legendary singer Bob Marley, for Puma.
Other designers behind the Olympics this year include luxury label Hermes, which designed riding jackets for the French equestrian team, and Salvatore Ferragamo, which designed the official uniform for the tiny European republic of San Marino.
Friday's parade of athletes showcased some surprising and less popular designs.
The German team was notable for not using its national colors at all. Instead, the kit was all hot pink for the women's jackets and cornflower blue for the men. Both were paired with white trousers.
Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=43&articleid=20120731_43_D2_CUTLIN466477
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Chinese women are muses for fashion guru
Chinese women are muses for fashion guru
When Diane von Furstenberg was 22 years old and just starting out in the fashion business, she dreamed that one day she would sell a dress to every woman in China. As a child, she had read about the country in Tin Tin's Blue Lotus adventure book. She imagined it to be luxurious and enigmatic. In 1990, she became one of the first American fashion designers to visit, at a time when bicycles filled dirt roads.
Today, with five stores doing brisk business (and plans for four more this year) and more than 300,000 followers on China's Sina Weibo, she is becoming a household name here, a realization of her 2010 resolution to be widely known in a country that has become more than a business destination.
"For me, it's not just 'Go there and sell'," she says. "I have really good friends there, artists and writers and journalists. I've absorbed myself into the culture and have given it a lot of my time. I have real connections there."
Over the past four years, she has visited up to three times a year, she says. In 2011, she hosted the Red Ball, a glamorous black-tie party at a converted studio factory outside Shanghai owned by artist Zhang Huan. The fete was in celebration of the opening of Diane Von Furstenberg: Journey of a Dress, an exhibition spotlighting her career as both icon and fashion designer. The show featured newly commissioned works by Chinese artists Li Songsong, Zhang Huan, Hai Bo and Yi Zhou.
Then, in late 2011, Citic Press of China released Von Furstenberg's autobiography A Signature Life, translated into Chinese by TV personality and author Huang Hung.
"I am inspired by the whole country," Von Furstenberg says. "I identify very much with Chinese people. And if you are into textiles and silk well - people say the Chinese steal everything, but originally we stole it from them, didn't we? It's the crib of civilization."
She chose Zhang's factory as the location of her party because of its blend of gritty and modern aesthetics, she says.
"Instead of doing it in a ballroom or a hotel, I wanted to do it in the factory, because that represents China - and it represents me too," she says.
The fashion icon's interest in China stems from an innate curiosity, Huang Hung says. Since the two worked together on the translation of Von Furstenberg's autobiography, they have become close friends.
"She was so curious about China, about Chinese women, about us," Huang says. "Most of the time people ask questions about their business or things relevant to their business, but Diane was very different. Her interest in China was broader; it was a genuine intellectual interest in the place, its people and its culture."
She recalls their first meeting, during which several Chinese colleagues pronounced Diane's name wrong (the correct pronunciation is "Dee-an"). Her husband, the media mogul Barry Diller, whispered to her, asking whether she would like to correct them.
"Diane simply said, 'It's OK.' This made a great impression on me," Huang says. "It showed that she is very kind and sensitive to other people's feelings. It spoke volumes about who she is."
Over the course of her career, Von Furstenberg has made women's issues a priority; her DVF Awards disperse money each year to various women's causes. In China, she has gravitated toward strong women, she says. "But over time I realized that even though they seem like they can conquer the world, they are also vulnerable."
Huang recalls Von Furstenberg's advice to a successful young designer in China. "She was pining for a boyfriend, and Diane told her 'Never tell people you cannot find a man'. She stopped, and transformed herself from dressing for men to dressing for herself."
Von Furstenberg's story is inspiring to many young Chinese women, Huang says. "I personally think Chinese women are not so keen to take successful business women as role models. They have a suspicion that such women have sacrificed too much of their family life for a career. Of course, having both is the true dream. That's why Diane is so admired by Chinese women. She has both a beautiful family and an amazing career."
When Diane von Furstenberg was 22 years old and just starting out in the fashion business, she dreamed that one day she would sell a dress to every woman in China. As a child, she had read about the country in Tin Tin's Blue Lotus adventure book. She imagined it to be luxurious and enigmatic. In 1990, she became one of the first American fashion designers to visit, at a time when bicycles filled dirt roads.
Today, with five stores doing brisk business (and plans for four more this year) and more than 300,000 followers on China's Sina Weibo, she is becoming a household name here, a realization of her 2010 resolution to be widely known in a country that has become more than a business destination.
"For me, it's not just 'Go there and sell'," she says. "I have really good friends there, artists and writers and journalists. I've absorbed myself into the culture and have given it a lot of my time. I have real connections there."
Over the past four years, she has visited up to three times a year, she says. In 2011, she hosted the Red Ball, a glamorous black-tie party at a converted studio factory outside Shanghai owned by artist Zhang Huan. The fete was in celebration of the opening of Diane Von Furstenberg: Journey of a Dress, an exhibition spotlighting her career as both icon and fashion designer. The show featured newly commissioned works by Chinese artists Li Songsong, Zhang Huan, Hai Bo and Yi Zhou.
Then, in late 2011, Citic Press of China released Von Furstenberg's autobiography A Signature Life, translated into Chinese by TV personality and author Huang Hung.
"I am inspired by the whole country," Von Furstenberg says. "I identify very much with Chinese people. And if you are into textiles and silk well - people say the Chinese steal everything, but originally we stole it from them, didn't we? It's the crib of civilization."
She chose Zhang's factory as the location of her party because of its blend of gritty and modern aesthetics, she says.
"Instead of doing it in a ballroom or a hotel, I wanted to do it in the factory, because that represents China - and it represents me too," she says.
The fashion icon's interest in China stems from an innate curiosity, Huang Hung says. Since the two worked together on the translation of Von Furstenberg's autobiography, they have become close friends.
"She was so curious about China, about Chinese women, about us," Huang says. "Most of the time people ask questions about their business or things relevant to their business, but Diane was very different. Her interest in China was broader; it was a genuine intellectual interest in the place, its people and its culture."
She recalls their first meeting, during which several Chinese colleagues pronounced Diane's name wrong (the correct pronunciation is "Dee-an"). Her husband, the media mogul Barry Diller, whispered to her, asking whether she would like to correct them.
"Diane simply said, 'It's OK.' This made a great impression on me," Huang says. "It showed that she is very kind and sensitive to other people's feelings. It spoke volumes about who she is."
Over the course of her career, Von Furstenberg has made women's issues a priority; her DVF Awards disperse money each year to various women's causes. In China, she has gravitated toward strong women, she says. "But over time I realized that even though they seem like they can conquer the world, they are also vulnerable."
Huang recalls Von Furstenberg's advice to a successful young designer in China. "She was pining for a boyfriend, and Diane told her 'Never tell people you cannot find a man'. She stopped, and transformed herself from dressing for men to dressing for herself."
Von Furstenberg's story is inspiring to many young Chinese women, Huang says. "I personally think Chinese women are not so keen to take successful business women as role models. They have a suspicion that such women have sacrificed too much of their family life for a career. Of course, having both is the true dream. That's why Diane is so admired by Chinese women. She has both a beautiful family and an amazing career."
Friday, July 27, 2012
Robin Givhan, Fashion Journalist, Talks About Her Fabulous Career In StyleBlazer 'How I Made It' Series (VIDEO)
Robin Givhan, Fashion Journalist, Talks About Her Fabulous Career In StyleBlazer 'How I Made It' Series (VIDEO)
Robin Givhan could very well be considered the best fashion journalist in the world. She is the first and only fashion writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and she recently landed on Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 Fashion Icons list. Impressive, to say the least.
However, Givhan isn't the stereotypical street-style-stalked, pseudo-socialite, "Devil Wears Prada" type of fashion editor. She has kept a relatively low profile despite the fact that she is revered by industry insiders, serious fashion fans and has proven adept at penning such thought-provoking work as her recent meme on Trayvon Martin, hoodies and racial fears.
So naturally curious minds want to know more about the groundbreaking writer and how she has managed to reach the illusive upper echelon of the fashion industry.
But pine no longer, Givhan opens up about the subject and more in the newest installment of StyleBlazer's "How I Made it" video series. In the five minute film, she offers sage advice about breaking into fashion (hint: sharpen your writing and reporting skills), shares how she landed a life-changing gig at The Washington Post and tells us what the best part of her job is (sans sitting front row at Fashion Week and rubbing elbows with fashion's elite).
Givhan, who is currently the special correspondent for style and culture for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, reveals in the video that her recipe for success is a combination of being "really blessed--and really lucky--and working really, really hard."
Robin Givhan could very well be considered the best fashion journalist in the world. She is the first and only fashion writer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism and she recently landed on Time magazine's "All-TIME" 100 Fashion Icons list. Impressive, to say the least.
However, Givhan isn't the stereotypical street-style-stalked, pseudo-socialite, "Devil Wears Prada" type of fashion editor. She has kept a relatively low profile despite the fact that she is revered by industry insiders, serious fashion fans and has proven adept at penning such thought-provoking work as her recent meme on Trayvon Martin, hoodies and racial fears.
So naturally curious minds want to know more about the groundbreaking writer and how she has managed to reach the illusive upper echelon of the fashion industry.
But pine no longer, Givhan opens up about the subject and more in the newest installment of StyleBlazer's "How I Made it" video series. In the five minute film, she offers sage advice about breaking into fashion (hint: sharpen your writing and reporting skills), shares how she landed a life-changing gig at The Washington Post and tells us what the best part of her job is (sans sitting front row at Fashion Week and rubbing elbows with fashion's elite).
Givhan, who is currently the special correspondent for style and culture for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, reveals in the video that her recipe for success is a combination of being "really blessed--and really lucky--and working really, really hard."
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Fashion steps up
Fashion steps up
In a city of summer festivals, it’s now fashion’s turn to step up.
The 12th annual Festival Mode & Design kicks off in stilettoed splendour Wednesday, Aug. 1, on McGill College Ave., the plaza of Place Ville Marie, and for Thursday’s shopping rally – our answer to Fashion’s Night Out – along Ste. Catherine St. and in the major malls.
On the fashion front, there are shows featuring the fall trends, Montreal Fashion Week highlights, blogger style and a grand Bollywood finale Saturday night.
Shopping-wise, the Thursday night rally will feature gifts, discounts and four vintage buses loaded with designer exclusives. Throughout the festival, a pop-up shop offers design chez nous for sale.
There will be music: guest DJs every evening at 5 p.m. and performances by bands Girl, Jolie Jumper, Tops and Grenadine.
There will be dance, as Noémie Lafrance choreographs a show called Dressing Room opening night at 10 p.m., and Bollywood Blast does the honours for Saturday’s kitsch finale.
On the design front, Sylvie Berkowicz curates an exhibit called Inbox Design, with ship containers holding artists’ visions of northern icons like the forest, snow, rivers and wind. The McCord Museum offers two exhibitions: an urban forest of purple papered metal trees on the avenue, as well as Living Landscapes, 25 giant photos of 19th-century landscapes by Alexander Henderson.
It all kicks off with a high-heel race, Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on the avenue, to benefit the Canadian Cancer Society.
The big catwalk events are on the main stage on McGill College Ave. The Scène Select is on the plaza of PVM.
In a city of summer festivals, it’s now fashion’s turn to step up.
The 12th annual Festival Mode & Design kicks off in stilettoed splendour Wednesday, Aug. 1, on McGill College Ave., the plaza of Place Ville Marie, and for Thursday’s shopping rally – our answer to Fashion’s Night Out – along Ste. Catherine St. and in the major malls.
On the fashion front, there are shows featuring the fall trends, Montreal Fashion Week highlights, blogger style and a grand Bollywood finale Saturday night.
Shopping-wise, the Thursday night rally will feature gifts, discounts and four vintage buses loaded with designer exclusives. Throughout the festival, a pop-up shop offers design chez nous for sale.
There will be music: guest DJs every evening at 5 p.m. and performances by bands Girl, Jolie Jumper, Tops and Grenadine.
There will be dance, as Noémie Lafrance choreographs a show called Dressing Room opening night at 10 p.m., and Bollywood Blast does the honours for Saturday’s kitsch finale.
On the design front, Sylvie Berkowicz curates an exhibit called Inbox Design, with ship containers holding artists’ visions of northern icons like the forest, snow, rivers and wind. The McCord Museum offers two exhibitions: an urban forest of purple papered metal trees on the avenue, as well as Living Landscapes, 25 giant photos of 19th-century landscapes by Alexander Henderson.
It all kicks off with a high-heel race, Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on the avenue, to benefit the Canadian Cancer Society.
The big catwalk events are on the main stage on McGill College Ave. The Scène Select is on the plaza of PVM.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Fashion GPS Kicks Off Conversation Series With Tech and Fashion Panel
Fashion GPS Kicks Off Conversation Series With Tech and Fashion Panel
Fashion GPS kicked off a conversation series last night with a “Technology & Fashion” panel that raised question such as whether technology has replaced the need for Fashion Week.
Simon Collins, dean of fashion at Parsons The New School for Design moderated a group of speakers that included Peter Levy (managing director of IMG Fashion), Jenne Lombardo (fashion director of Milk Made), Rachna Shah (SVP of public relations firm KCD Worldwide), and Dirk Standen.
Fern Mallis, who is credited with creating the first centralized fashion week in New York City in 1993 opened the evening. “During those first shows, technology was not a word associated with fashion,” Mallis said. “Cell phones were the size of bricks.” Mallis says today it’s hard to take in a runway show without fighting to see through a sea of iPads.
Talk turned to topics including how much Fashion Week has changed in recent years, the fashion calendar, and whether showing at Fashion Week is even necessary anymore.
“We used to put all of the shows up together at five or six in the morning [during Fashion Week]…Everyone would say, ‘I can’t believe you can get that up in 24 hours,’" Standen said of how much technology has changed Fashion Week in recent years. "If we did that today we would be dead.”
Public relations pro Shah said she wishes more people were paying attention at the shows instead of burying themselves in their smartphones. Technology has been a boon to many of the fashion brands she works with. “For many of my clients this is their one big moment to express their brand and technology has helped them expand that moment," she said.
Of whether Fashion Week is even necessary during the technological age, Shah said: “To be honest, not every brand needs to do a live show.”
IMG’s Levy said: “[Fashion shows] are really the unveiling of spectacle…how do you encapsulate that moment of performance.”
And Standen asserted: “There is something special about the live experience, that’s not going away.”
The biggest issue facing the Fashion Week calendar, according to a few of the panelists, is the lag time between runway shows and the delivery of clothes into the stores.
“Everything has speeded up except the manufacturing of clothes,” said Standen.
“The customer is really now the buyer,” said Lombardo.
Fashion GPS kicked off a conversation series last night with a “Technology & Fashion” panel that raised question such as whether technology has replaced the need for Fashion Week.
Simon Collins, dean of fashion at Parsons The New School for Design moderated a group of speakers that included Peter Levy (managing director of IMG Fashion), Jenne Lombardo (fashion director of Milk Made), Rachna Shah (SVP of public relations firm KCD Worldwide), and Dirk Standen.
Fern Mallis, who is credited with creating the first centralized fashion week in New York City in 1993 opened the evening. “During those first shows, technology was not a word associated with fashion,” Mallis said. “Cell phones were the size of bricks.” Mallis says today it’s hard to take in a runway show without fighting to see through a sea of iPads.
Talk turned to topics including how much Fashion Week has changed in recent years, the fashion calendar, and whether showing at Fashion Week is even necessary anymore.
“We used to put all of the shows up together at five or six in the morning [during Fashion Week]…Everyone would say, ‘I can’t believe you can get that up in 24 hours,’" Standen said of how much technology has changed Fashion Week in recent years. "If we did that today we would be dead.”
Public relations pro Shah said she wishes more people were paying attention at the shows instead of burying themselves in their smartphones. Technology has been a boon to many of the fashion brands she works with. “For many of my clients this is their one big moment to express their brand and technology has helped them expand that moment," she said.
Of whether Fashion Week is even necessary during the technological age, Shah said: “To be honest, not every brand needs to do a live show.”
IMG’s Levy said: “[Fashion shows] are really the unveiling of spectacle…how do you encapsulate that moment of performance.”
And Standen asserted: “There is something special about the live experience, that’s not going away.”
The biggest issue facing the Fashion Week calendar, according to a few of the panelists, is the lag time between runway shows and the delivery of clothes into the stores.
“Everything has speeded up except the manufacturing of clothes,” said Standen.
“The customer is really now the buyer,” said Lombardo.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
When politics, fashion meet on red carpet
When politics, fashion meet on red carpet
They wore their hearts on their sleeves and carried their politics on their backs, their bodices and their shirts.
Politics and fashion converged on the red carpet at Monday's State of the Nation Address (Sona) and the opening of the joint session of the 15th Congress.
The annual fashion event at the Batasang Pambansa complex became more of a passion show as guests, government officials and lawmakers made sure that their stylish togs advanced their personal causes and advocacies as well.
Senator Loren Legarda, who confessed to the Inquirer last week that she was torn among several choices for her Sona frock, decided on a Paul Cabral piña dress made of recycled fabric.
"I want to prove that old, recycled and even something that's borrowed can look good," said Legarda, who recently put up the country's first permanent textile galleries in the National Museum.
Former Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel combined materials from several geographical, and sometimes opposing political, locales in her yellow fishtail dress made of abel Iloko from up north with a pair of detachable terno sleeves made of T'nalak material from the south made by Joel Acebuche.
"The use of two fabrics symbolizes the diversity and unity of Filipino cultures," Hontiveros said.
As expected, representatives from party-list groups such as Gabriela, Bayan Muna and Anakpawis didn't pass up the chance to wear their political statements.
Gabriela Representative Emmi de Jesus wore what she described as a "Luzviminda" ensemble consisting of a peasant-inspired dress fashioned from a bold checkered fabric from Iloilo. Her tapis skirt carried the words "Libre, Angkop, Batayan at Kagyat na Serbisyong Kalusugan" to reflect her advocacy of "free, appropriate, basic and immediate healthcare for Filipinos."
Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño's hand-painted barong by Edgar San Diego and artists Boy Dominguez and Renan Ortiz had colorful icons of people's basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, electricity, education and gas, shaped to spell out the message, "Presyo Ibaba" (bring down prices).
Representative Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis directed the embroidered statement on his barong to President Benigno Aquino: "Hacienda Luisita, Ipamahagi Na!" (Distribute Hacienda Luisita Now!). His colleague, Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares had the words "Free all political prisoners" embroidered on the left side of his barong. Its right side demanded for increased pension from the Social Security System ("Itaas ang Pensyon ng SSS").
Austerity
Cebu Representative Rachel del Mar's political statement centered on austerity, as she claimed that she could have won a contest for the cheapest dress. "I don't like spending," she said, as she preened for the cameras in a white dress made by Cebu designer Didi Araneta.
Del Mar said the dress cost her only P4,000 (S$120.04), and that she had opted for white so she could wear it again for other occasions.
Queenie Gonzales, wife of Mandaluyong City Representative Neptali Gonzales II, proved just as spartan-minded as she wore an old knee-length piña terno in violet by Ortiz whose ruched bodice echoed the skirt's tiered details.
"This is the first time I'm wearing this dress to the Sona," she said, "but I've worn it a couple of times before."
Tessie Daza, the wife of Northern Samar Representative Raul Daza, described herself as "an avid fan" of President Aquino and showed her support through the yellow ribbons painted on her nails. The motif extended to the beadwork on her yellow dress.
Some guests pushed for homegrown designers, among them Joni Villanueva-Tugna, wife of Cibac Representative Sherwin Tugna, whose black terno with appliques of pink sampaguita and cadena de amor was designed by Jo Rubio, her townmate from Bocaue, Bulacan province.
Usual fashion plates
Similarly, Cebu Mayor Michael Rama chose a Nehru-collared barong by Cebuano designer Philip Rodriguez, while Janice Salimbangon, wife of Cebu Representative Benhur Salimbangon, wore a rust-colored frock designed by fellow Cebu native Cary Santiago.
Monday's event also had its share of the usual fashion plates whose clothes live up to the simple injunction, "Look good and stand out on the red carpet."
Leyte Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez was her radiant self in an apricot-colored dress by Randy Ortiz. She and husband Richard made for a stunning pair, rivaled only by Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla and wife, Cavite Representative Lani Mercado, who wore a green sari-tailored jacket with belt and scarf skirt by Rajo Laurel. The fabric came from Lanao del Sur province, Mercado said.
The Revilla couple was accompanied by their daughter Inah del Rosario, who wore a short lace terno, also by Laurel.
Among those who became immediate head-turners were Kaye Tiñga, wife of Taguig City Representative Freddie Tiñga, Jip Remulla, wife of Cavite Representative Crispin Remulla, and Assunta de Rossi, wife of Negros Occidental Representative Jules Ledesma.
Kaye Tiñga wore Pepito Albert's idea of a contemporary silk terno in deep aubergine with a fishtail skirt, accented with ribbons crisscrossing the upper bodice. Albert downplayed the traditional terno sleeves in favor of ribbons.
De Rossi also drew her share of attention in a nude terno with matching lace overlay by Cheryl Vicente. The former movie star was with younger sisters Maggie and Isabel, both in JC Buendia outfits.
Nude ternos
Apart from De Rossi, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, wife of Senator Allan Peter Cayetano, also stood out in a nude chiffon terno with a draped skirt and a bodice accented with a fine layer of silver lace by Cabral.
"I chose this color because it's versatile and easy to wear," said Mayor Cayetano. "I can easily slip into it as a wedding sponsor."
Nasreen Garbin, wife of Ako Bicol Representative Alfredo Garbin, also opted for a nude terno made of embroidered lace and accented with a slim leather belt and cabbage rose. The form-fitting silhouette flattered Mrs. Garbin's figure and belied the fact that she had just given birth six months ago.
"I insisted on the belt with a rhinestone buckle to make the outfit look younger," she said.
They wore their hearts on their sleeves and carried their politics on their backs, their bodices and their shirts.
Politics and fashion converged on the red carpet at Monday's State of the Nation Address (Sona) and the opening of the joint session of the 15th Congress.
The annual fashion event at the Batasang Pambansa complex became more of a passion show as guests, government officials and lawmakers made sure that their stylish togs advanced their personal causes and advocacies as well.
Senator Loren Legarda, who confessed to the Inquirer last week that she was torn among several choices for her Sona frock, decided on a Paul Cabral piña dress made of recycled fabric.
"I want to prove that old, recycled and even something that's borrowed can look good," said Legarda, who recently put up the country's first permanent textile galleries in the National Museum.
Former Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel combined materials from several geographical, and sometimes opposing political, locales in her yellow fishtail dress made of abel Iloko from up north with a pair of detachable terno sleeves made of T'nalak material from the south made by Joel Acebuche.
"The use of two fabrics symbolizes the diversity and unity of Filipino cultures," Hontiveros said.
As expected, representatives from party-list groups such as Gabriela, Bayan Muna and Anakpawis didn't pass up the chance to wear their political statements.
Gabriela Representative Emmi de Jesus wore what she described as a "Luzviminda" ensemble consisting of a peasant-inspired dress fashioned from a bold checkered fabric from Iloilo. Her tapis skirt carried the words "Libre, Angkop, Batayan at Kagyat na Serbisyong Kalusugan" to reflect her advocacy of "free, appropriate, basic and immediate healthcare for Filipinos."
Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño's hand-painted barong by Edgar San Diego and artists Boy Dominguez and Renan Ortiz had colorful icons of people's basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, electricity, education and gas, shaped to spell out the message, "Presyo Ibaba" (bring down prices).
Representative Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis directed the embroidered statement on his barong to President Benigno Aquino: "Hacienda Luisita, Ipamahagi Na!" (Distribute Hacienda Luisita Now!). His colleague, Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares had the words "Free all political prisoners" embroidered on the left side of his barong. Its right side demanded for increased pension from the Social Security System ("Itaas ang Pensyon ng SSS").
Austerity
Cebu Representative Rachel del Mar's political statement centered on austerity, as she claimed that she could have won a contest for the cheapest dress. "I don't like spending," she said, as she preened for the cameras in a white dress made by Cebu designer Didi Araneta.
Del Mar said the dress cost her only P4,000 (S$120.04), and that she had opted for white so she could wear it again for other occasions.
Queenie Gonzales, wife of Mandaluyong City Representative Neptali Gonzales II, proved just as spartan-minded as she wore an old knee-length piña terno in violet by Ortiz whose ruched bodice echoed the skirt's tiered details.
"This is the first time I'm wearing this dress to the Sona," she said, "but I've worn it a couple of times before."
Tessie Daza, the wife of Northern Samar Representative Raul Daza, described herself as "an avid fan" of President Aquino and showed her support through the yellow ribbons painted on her nails. The motif extended to the beadwork on her yellow dress.
Some guests pushed for homegrown designers, among them Joni Villanueva-Tugna, wife of Cibac Representative Sherwin Tugna, whose black terno with appliques of pink sampaguita and cadena de amor was designed by Jo Rubio, her townmate from Bocaue, Bulacan province.
Usual fashion plates
Similarly, Cebu Mayor Michael Rama chose a Nehru-collared barong by Cebuano designer Philip Rodriguez, while Janice Salimbangon, wife of Cebu Representative Benhur Salimbangon, wore a rust-colored frock designed by fellow Cebu native Cary Santiago.
Monday's event also had its share of the usual fashion plates whose clothes live up to the simple injunction, "Look good and stand out on the red carpet."
Leyte Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez was her radiant self in an apricot-colored dress by Randy Ortiz. She and husband Richard made for a stunning pair, rivaled only by Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla and wife, Cavite Representative Lani Mercado, who wore a green sari-tailored jacket with belt and scarf skirt by Rajo Laurel. The fabric came from Lanao del Sur province, Mercado said.
The Revilla couple was accompanied by their daughter Inah del Rosario, who wore a short lace terno, also by Laurel.
Among those who became immediate head-turners were Kaye Tiñga, wife of Taguig City Representative Freddie Tiñga, Jip Remulla, wife of Cavite Representative Crispin Remulla, and Assunta de Rossi, wife of Negros Occidental Representative Jules Ledesma.
Kaye Tiñga wore Pepito Albert's idea of a contemporary silk terno in deep aubergine with a fishtail skirt, accented with ribbons crisscrossing the upper bodice. Albert downplayed the traditional terno sleeves in favor of ribbons.
De Rossi also drew her share of attention in a nude terno with matching lace overlay by Cheryl Vicente. The former movie star was with younger sisters Maggie and Isabel, both in JC Buendia outfits.
Nude ternos
Apart from De Rossi, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, wife of Senator Allan Peter Cayetano, also stood out in a nude chiffon terno with a draped skirt and a bodice accented with a fine layer of silver lace by Cabral.
"I chose this color because it's versatile and easy to wear," said Mayor Cayetano. "I can easily slip into it as a wedding sponsor."
Nasreen Garbin, wife of Ako Bicol Representative Alfredo Garbin, also opted for a nude terno made of embroidered lace and accented with a slim leather belt and cabbage rose. The form-fitting silhouette flattered Mrs. Garbin's figure and belied the fact that she had just given birth six months ago.
"I insisted on the belt with a rhinestone buckle to make the outfit look younger," she said.
Monday, July 23, 2012
The Stylish Side of China
The Stylish Side of China
Zena Hao, a 24-year-old publicist, avid follower of fashion trends and proud owner of four Prada handbags, has a new passion: fashion magazines. She carries home hefty copies of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and studies the pictures for inspiration.
“Before university, I didn’t read them that much because the photographs weren’t that good,” Ms. Hao said. “But now in the last three to four years, they’ve gotten so much better.”
Ms. Hao’s enthusiasm for fashion magazines thick with advertisements for Louis Vuitton handbags and Chanel lipsticks are a welcome source of revenue for magazine publishers based in New York. While fashion labels are spending more on magazine advertising in the United States, they’re pouring even more money into magazines across mainland China.
Publishers willing to contend with censorship, relationships with local business partners and low-level corruption common in many Chinese businesses are being rewarded so far.
Late last year, Cosmopolitan editors in China started splitting its monthly issue into two magazines because it was too thick to print. Elle now publishes twice a month because issues had grown to 700 pages. Vogue added four more issues each year to keep up with advertising demand. Hearst is even designing plastic and cloth bags for women to easily carry these heavy magazines home.
“We never take anything for granted. But so far this year, we look like we’re having a pretty good year of growth,” said Duncan Edwards, president and chief executive of Hearst Magazines International, which has agreements to have 22 magazines, including Elle and Harper’s Bazaar, published here. “There is an enormous hunger for information about luxury, and there aren’t many other places you can get that information than in fashion magazines.”
Many Chinese women will spend far more of their income than their Western counterparts on these magazines and the products featured inside them. According to a 2011 study conducted by Bain & Company, mainland China ranked sixth in the world for spending on luxury goods ranked by country. In 2010, it was a $17.7 billion market. Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci remain the most desired luxury brands.
For example, both Vogue and Cosmopolitan cost about $3.15, which is significant when the average monthly individual income in Beijing is about $733. Mr. Edwards added that it was fairly common to find Chinese women who earn $15,000 a year spending $2,000 on one luxury item.
“We’re going through this wonderful period where huge numbers of women are coming out of poverty into the middle class and beyond,” Mr. Edwards said. “Many of these women are choosing to spend on luxury goods.”
Lena Yang, general manager of Hearst Magazines China, who oversees nine publications including Elle and Marie Claire, says that the typical reader of Hearst Magazines in China is a 29.5-year-old woman who is more likely to be single than married. She has an average income of about $1,431 a month and spends $938 a season on luxury watches, $982 on handbags and shoes and $1,066 on clothes.
Ms. Yang says these women often live at home and turn to their parents and grandparents to pay for them. The study also showed that many readers in their 20s saved little.
“Most of them, they are a single child,” Ms. Yang said. “That means they don’t have to pay for their rent. So all of that goes to pocket money. They have the parents support them and the grandparents. They actually have six persons to support them.”
That’s why so many different advertisers want to appear in these magazines. Next to Gucci and Prada in the pages of women’s magazines sit some of these homegrown brands, with names virtually unknown outside China, like Ochirly, Marisfrolg, EIN and Mo&Co.
IDG, which works with more than 40 magazines in China, said that advertising spending for women’s consumer magazines jumped 16.9 percent through June 1, even as demand to advertise in technology and business magazines slowed. Ms. Yang predicts plenty of growth potential in second- and third-tier cities, where 60 percent of all store openings have taken place in the last three years.
“In China, for them it’s still a new experience,” Ms. Yang said.
Ms. Hao, the daughter of engineers, is eager to embrace and spend on the goods she finds in these magazines. She said that she made more than $1,587 a month as a publicist and that her husband’s event planning business was also growing. While her mother has only one real Prada handbag, she continues to shop for them because, she said, “for my job, it’s important that I have the real thing.”
But she also doesn’t want to read these magazines digitally. While China remains the second-largest market for iPads behind the United States, and magazine executives fear that readers could all migrate to digital publications, Ms. Hao prefers the paper version.
“Magazines are just like books. People want the real thing, not just a flash on the iPad,” she said. “It’s different. Reading magazines shows you’re taking fashion seriously.”
Of course, for publishers who often profit from licensing agreements, the arrangements in China come with a price. Mr. Edwards said that because all magazines are owned by the Chinese government, Hearst has relationships with two local companies that license the names of the magazines to local publishing companies.
The first company, Hearst Magazines China, which the company bought from Hachette last year, includes magazines like Elle and Marie Claire. Hearst also profits from its 20 percent stake in the Trends Media Group, which has licenses to publish magazines like Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar.
Bob Gutwillig, who introduced Elle to China in 1988, said that in the early days, the Chinese government was so involved in the magazine that it had an employee from the Communist Party assigned to sit in the editorial room. But Mr. Gutwillig said that Elle was largely spared the censorship challenges other types of news organizations faced because the official was less concerned with images in fashion magazines than what appears in traditional news outlets.
Publishing in China also carries its potential for corruption. Magazine publishers interviewed for this article offered widely varying circulation data. There are no widely accepted independently audited reports the way there are in the United States.
Additionally, Angelica Cheung, editor in chief of Vogue, said that advertisers’ paying for content was expected and even demanded in this business. She says the magazine stresses that it refuses to do under-the-table deals.
Of course, the publishers recognize that this market could evaporate as the Chinese economy slows. They’re especially vulnerable because the magazine industry gets a much smaller overall percentage of advertising than other media, like television, Mr. Edwards said. But for now, as long as their stories of movie stars and fashion trends steer clear of censors, the magazine industry is enjoying the profits.
“We’re pretty low-risk,” Mr. Edwards said. “Cosmo and Elle and magazines like this are not deemed to be highly likely to offend the relevant government bodies.”
Zena Hao, a 24-year-old publicist, avid follower of fashion trends and proud owner of four Prada handbags, has a new passion: fashion magazines. She carries home hefty copies of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and studies the pictures for inspiration.
“Before university, I didn’t read them that much because the photographs weren’t that good,” Ms. Hao said. “But now in the last three to four years, they’ve gotten so much better.”
Ms. Hao’s enthusiasm for fashion magazines thick with advertisements for Louis Vuitton handbags and Chanel lipsticks are a welcome source of revenue for magazine publishers based in New York. While fashion labels are spending more on magazine advertising in the United States, they’re pouring even more money into magazines across mainland China.
Publishers willing to contend with censorship, relationships with local business partners and low-level corruption common in many Chinese businesses are being rewarded so far.
Late last year, Cosmopolitan editors in China started splitting its monthly issue into two magazines because it was too thick to print. Elle now publishes twice a month because issues had grown to 700 pages. Vogue added four more issues each year to keep up with advertising demand. Hearst is even designing plastic and cloth bags for women to easily carry these heavy magazines home.
“We never take anything for granted. But so far this year, we look like we’re having a pretty good year of growth,” said Duncan Edwards, president and chief executive of Hearst Magazines International, which has agreements to have 22 magazines, including Elle and Harper’s Bazaar, published here. “There is an enormous hunger for information about luxury, and there aren’t many other places you can get that information than in fashion magazines.”
Many Chinese women will spend far more of their income than their Western counterparts on these magazines and the products featured inside them. According to a 2011 study conducted by Bain & Company, mainland China ranked sixth in the world for spending on luxury goods ranked by country. In 2010, it was a $17.7 billion market. Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci remain the most desired luxury brands.
For example, both Vogue and Cosmopolitan cost about $3.15, which is significant when the average monthly individual income in Beijing is about $733. Mr. Edwards added that it was fairly common to find Chinese women who earn $15,000 a year spending $2,000 on one luxury item.
“We’re going through this wonderful period where huge numbers of women are coming out of poverty into the middle class and beyond,” Mr. Edwards said. “Many of these women are choosing to spend on luxury goods.”
Lena Yang, general manager of Hearst Magazines China, who oversees nine publications including Elle and Marie Claire, says that the typical reader of Hearst Magazines in China is a 29.5-year-old woman who is more likely to be single than married. She has an average income of about $1,431 a month and spends $938 a season on luxury watches, $982 on handbags and shoes and $1,066 on clothes.
Ms. Yang says these women often live at home and turn to their parents and grandparents to pay for them. The study also showed that many readers in their 20s saved little.
“Most of them, they are a single child,” Ms. Yang said. “That means they don’t have to pay for their rent. So all of that goes to pocket money. They have the parents support them and the grandparents. They actually have six persons to support them.”
That’s why so many different advertisers want to appear in these magazines. Next to Gucci and Prada in the pages of women’s magazines sit some of these homegrown brands, with names virtually unknown outside China, like Ochirly, Marisfrolg, EIN and Mo&Co.
IDG, which works with more than 40 magazines in China, said that advertising spending for women’s consumer magazines jumped 16.9 percent through June 1, even as demand to advertise in technology and business magazines slowed. Ms. Yang predicts plenty of growth potential in second- and third-tier cities, where 60 percent of all store openings have taken place in the last three years.
“In China, for them it’s still a new experience,” Ms. Yang said.
Ms. Hao, the daughter of engineers, is eager to embrace and spend on the goods she finds in these magazines. She said that she made more than $1,587 a month as a publicist and that her husband’s event planning business was also growing. While her mother has only one real Prada handbag, she continues to shop for them because, she said, “for my job, it’s important that I have the real thing.”
But she also doesn’t want to read these magazines digitally. While China remains the second-largest market for iPads behind the United States, and magazine executives fear that readers could all migrate to digital publications, Ms. Hao prefers the paper version.
“Magazines are just like books. People want the real thing, not just a flash on the iPad,” she said. “It’s different. Reading magazines shows you’re taking fashion seriously.”
Of course, for publishers who often profit from licensing agreements, the arrangements in China come with a price. Mr. Edwards said that because all magazines are owned by the Chinese government, Hearst has relationships with two local companies that license the names of the magazines to local publishing companies.
The first company, Hearst Magazines China, which the company bought from Hachette last year, includes magazines like Elle and Marie Claire. Hearst also profits from its 20 percent stake in the Trends Media Group, which has licenses to publish magazines like Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar.
Bob Gutwillig, who introduced Elle to China in 1988, said that in the early days, the Chinese government was so involved in the magazine that it had an employee from the Communist Party assigned to sit in the editorial room. But Mr. Gutwillig said that Elle was largely spared the censorship challenges other types of news organizations faced because the official was less concerned with images in fashion magazines than what appears in traditional news outlets.
Publishing in China also carries its potential for corruption. Magazine publishers interviewed for this article offered widely varying circulation data. There are no widely accepted independently audited reports the way there are in the United States.
Additionally, Angelica Cheung, editor in chief of Vogue, said that advertisers’ paying for content was expected and even demanded in this business. She says the magazine stresses that it refuses to do under-the-table deals.
Of course, the publishers recognize that this market could evaporate as the Chinese economy slows. They’re especially vulnerable because the magazine industry gets a much smaller overall percentage of advertising than other media, like television, Mr. Edwards said. But for now, as long as their stories of movie stars and fashion trends steer clear of censors, the magazine industry is enjoying the profits.
“We’re pretty low-risk,” Mr. Edwards said. “Cosmo and Elle and magazines like this are not deemed to be highly likely to offend the relevant government bodies.”
Friday, July 20, 2012
China fashion hits London
China fashion hits London
Although China is by far the world’s largest exporter of clothes, its wares are almost all sold under foreign labels.
This is now changing, with Bosideng, the Chinese fashion brand specialising in down-filled clothing, opening a flagship store this month in London’s West End.
While a handful of other Chinese fashion brands have concessions inside European and North American department stores, this is, as far as beyondbrics can establish, the first time a large mainland Chinese fashion group has hung its sign over the front door in the west.
Bosideng is going for broke, setting up its stall in South Molton Street, one of London’s most prestigious – and most expensive – retail addresses.
Bosideng UK’s CEO, Wayne Zhu, told beyondbrics that the London store is the first of several planned Europe openings. The company has also wanted to open a shop in New York for some time, “but the right Manhatten location has yet to come available”. The company hopes that in five years time overseas stores will contribute around 5 per cent of group revenues.
Opening in London hasn’t been quick or easy. The store has been two years in planning and development, turning a previous 3-storey building that housed the Hog in the Pound pub into a 6-storey shop, offices and apartments.
Work was hampered by the new Crossrail and London Underground work at the next-door site, as well as a re-landscaping of South Molton Street. The shop development cost £35m ($55m) in total. The shop will open on July 26, assuming the finishing touches go to plan.
Bosideng has over 10,000 retail outlets. It listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007. For the year ending March 2012, net income was $225m, a rise of 17.2 per cent, on revenues of $1.3bn, a rise of 19 per cent. Shares are down 15.5 per cent in 2012.
Vanessa Friedman, the FT’s fashion editor, said she had not heard of a similar venture by a Chinese mainland group. But she pointed to a more limited move by Joyce group: the large Chinese fashion brand is collaborating with Italian designer Romeo Gigli, opening a pop-up boutique in Venice at the end August – Joyce’s first presence in Europe.
In other retail sectors, Li Ning, the Beijing-based sportswear maker, opened a US flagship store in January 2010 in Portland, Oregon (home of rival Nike), but closed the store in February.
The first Chinese fashion retailer to go overseas was Shanghai Tang, David Tang’s luxury fashion house, more than 15 years ago. But this started life in Hong Kong. Bosideng hails from the mainland, from Shanghai.
Although China is by far the world’s largest exporter of clothes, its wares are almost all sold under foreign labels.
This is now changing, with Bosideng, the Chinese fashion brand specialising in down-filled clothing, opening a flagship store this month in London’s West End.
While a handful of other Chinese fashion brands have concessions inside European and North American department stores, this is, as far as beyondbrics can establish, the first time a large mainland Chinese fashion group has hung its sign over the front door in the west.
Bosideng is going for broke, setting up its stall in South Molton Street, one of London’s most prestigious – and most expensive – retail addresses.
Bosideng UK’s CEO, Wayne Zhu, told beyondbrics that the London store is the first of several planned Europe openings. The company has also wanted to open a shop in New York for some time, “but the right Manhatten location has yet to come available”. The company hopes that in five years time overseas stores will contribute around 5 per cent of group revenues.
Opening in London hasn’t been quick or easy. The store has been two years in planning and development, turning a previous 3-storey building that housed the Hog in the Pound pub into a 6-storey shop, offices and apartments.
Work was hampered by the new Crossrail and London Underground work at the next-door site, as well as a re-landscaping of South Molton Street. The shop development cost £35m ($55m) in total. The shop will open on July 26, assuming the finishing touches go to plan.
Bosideng has over 10,000 retail outlets. It listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007. For the year ending March 2012, net income was $225m, a rise of 17.2 per cent, on revenues of $1.3bn, a rise of 19 per cent. Shares are down 15.5 per cent in 2012.
Vanessa Friedman, the FT’s fashion editor, said she had not heard of a similar venture by a Chinese mainland group. But she pointed to a more limited move by Joyce group: the large Chinese fashion brand is collaborating with Italian designer Romeo Gigli, opening a pop-up boutique in Venice at the end August – Joyce’s first presence in Europe.
In other retail sectors, Li Ning, the Beijing-based sportswear maker, opened a US flagship store in January 2010 in Portland, Oregon (home of rival Nike), but closed the store in February.
The first Chinese fashion retailer to go overseas was Shanghai Tang, David Tang’s luxury fashion house, more than 15 years ago. But this started life in Hong Kong. Bosideng hails from the mainland, from Shanghai.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Fashion expert Nina Garcia as jcpenney style ambassador
Jcpenney announced a new partnership with Nina Garcia, Fashion Director of Marie Claire magazine, judge of Lifetime's fashion reality competition Project Runway and New York Times best-selling author.
Garcia will bring her highly sought-after advice and trend inspiration to jcpenney as the Company's resident Style Voice and fashion collection curator.
"Known for her discerning eye, Nina is a tremendous addition to our team. We look forward to leveraging her global fashion expertise as we provide our customers with attainable style advice and ideas," said Liz Sweney, chief merchant of jcpenney. "Nina's creative involvement as a jcpenney style ambassador will help our customers look and live better every day."
In her new role, Garcia will work closely with jcpenney's merchandise and design teams to offer trend direction and insight into the Company's exclusive apparel collections. Garcia's style advice will be made available to consumers nationwide through a variety of in-store activations, digital initiatives and social media chats throughout the year.
"I am thrilled to partner with jcpenney as their resident Style Voice during such an exciting time for the company," said Nina Garcia. "Fashion and personal style are always evolving, and I'm excited to collaborate on a variety of amazing projects with the incredible team at jcpenney."
Garcia's strong background in the industry makes her a natural fit for jcpenney as it continues to celebrate its core brands and strengthen its growing portfolio of designer partnerships. One of the country's most celebrated fashion authorities, Garcia will bring a fresh perspective to jcpenney.
Garcia will bring her highly sought-after advice and trend inspiration to jcpenney as the Company's resident Style Voice and fashion collection curator.
"Known for her discerning eye, Nina is a tremendous addition to our team. We look forward to leveraging her global fashion expertise as we provide our customers with attainable style advice and ideas," said Liz Sweney, chief merchant of jcpenney. "Nina's creative involvement as a jcpenney style ambassador will help our customers look and live better every day."
In her new role, Garcia will work closely with jcpenney's merchandise and design teams to offer trend direction and insight into the Company's exclusive apparel collections. Garcia's style advice will be made available to consumers nationwide through a variety of in-store activations, digital initiatives and social media chats throughout the year.
"I am thrilled to partner with jcpenney as their resident Style Voice during such an exciting time for the company," said Nina Garcia. "Fashion and personal style are always evolving, and I'm excited to collaborate on a variety of amazing projects with the incredible team at jcpenney."
Garcia's strong background in the industry makes her a natural fit for jcpenney as it continues to celebrate its core brands and strengthen its growing portfolio of designer partnerships. One of the country's most celebrated fashion authorities, Garcia will bring a fresh perspective to jcpenney.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Posh Party Beauty & Trend Show Returns to Fashion Week 2012
Posh Party Beauty & Trend Event is the must-attend girl's night out event of Fashion Week at The Bellevue Collection, Friday, September 28 at 6:30 p.m. The stylish evening is jam-packed with beauty and fashion. Start with tasty bites, then move on to “Macy's Beauty Report” showcasing Urban Decay and Benefit Cosmetics, and ending with a finale trend runway show featuring the hottest fashions for fall.
On stage, Urban Decay's jet-setting Global Makeup Artist, Eric Jimenez, will recreate the hottest makeup trends of the season, including the All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray, its groundbreaking mist that ensures makeup lasts up to 16 hours. Be one of the first to try the new Naked Skin Liquid Makeup, Smoked Palette and other new items in the fall collection.
Up next, watch and learn as April Johns, Benefit Cosmetics' Regional Education Manager, teaches how to be “Flawless in Seconds” with one of a kind" fake-its" and "fix-its." Benefit Cosmetics will also share tips for the perfect brows. As a licensed Aesthetician, Johns has traveled from coast to coast perfecting the perfect brow arch and will share her top tips.
The event culminates with models strutting the latest fall trends straight from The Bellevue Collection.
The complimentary "Posh Party Lounge" will take over Bellevue Square from 2 – 9:30 p.m. on Friday. Anyone can enjoy a quick beauty touch up that will have you ready for front row at the runway show, or following the event, head to the Posh Party Lounge to experience tips first-hand from your favorite beauty brands at Macy's and other Bellevue Square cosmetic stores.
About The Bellevue Collection
Located in the heart of Bellevue, Washington, The Bellevue Collection, owned by Kemper Development Company, includes Bellevue Square a super-regional upscale shopping center, Bellevue Place, a mixed-use property featuring the Hyatt Regency Bellevue and small boutiques and Lincoln Square anchored by the Lincoln Square Cinemas, restaurants, home furnishings and The Westin Bellevue hotel. With a distinctive collection of 250 of the finest shops, 23 sit-down restaurants, a 16-screen premier cinema, 1,000 luxury hotel rooms and 10,000 free retail parking spaces, all in one location. The Bellevue Collection is shopping, dining and nightlife and entertainment experience unlike any other in the region. It is located on Bellevue Way between NE 4th and NE 10th Streets in downtown Bellevue, just across Lake Washington from Seattle.
On stage, Urban Decay's jet-setting Global Makeup Artist, Eric Jimenez, will recreate the hottest makeup trends of the season, including the All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray, its groundbreaking mist that ensures makeup lasts up to 16 hours. Be one of the first to try the new Naked Skin Liquid Makeup, Smoked Palette and other new items in the fall collection.
Up next, watch and learn as April Johns, Benefit Cosmetics' Regional Education Manager, teaches how to be “Flawless in Seconds” with one of a kind" fake-its" and "fix-its." Benefit Cosmetics will also share tips for the perfect brows. As a licensed Aesthetician, Johns has traveled from coast to coast perfecting the perfect brow arch and will share her top tips.
The event culminates with models strutting the latest fall trends straight from The Bellevue Collection.
The complimentary "Posh Party Lounge" will take over Bellevue Square from 2 – 9:30 p.m. on Friday. Anyone can enjoy a quick beauty touch up that will have you ready for front row at the runway show, or following the event, head to the Posh Party Lounge to experience tips first-hand from your favorite beauty brands at Macy's and other Bellevue Square cosmetic stores.
About The Bellevue Collection
Located in the heart of Bellevue, Washington, The Bellevue Collection, owned by Kemper Development Company, includes Bellevue Square a super-regional upscale shopping center, Bellevue Place, a mixed-use property featuring the Hyatt Regency Bellevue and small boutiques and Lincoln Square anchored by the Lincoln Square Cinemas, restaurants, home furnishings and The Westin Bellevue hotel. With a distinctive collection of 250 of the finest shops, 23 sit-down restaurants, a 16-screen premier cinema, 1,000 luxury hotel rooms and 10,000 free retail parking spaces, all in one location. The Bellevue Collection is shopping, dining and nightlife and entertainment experience unlike any other in the region. It is located on Bellevue Way between NE 4th and NE 10th Streets in downtown Bellevue, just across Lake Washington from Seattle.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Fox reporter’s little square adds a little flair to his attire
Fox reporter’s little square adds a little flair to his attire
Ed Henry doesn’t have a lot of room to make a style statement. The chief White House correspondent for Fox News Channel pretty much has to stay in the box that is your TV screen.
But in the buttoned-up world of TV news, he has figured out a way: pocket squares — blue ones, red ones, white ones.He’ll wear red-meets-blue purple, too, but don’t read too much into any political meaning, he says.
It all started as a friendly fashion competition with Ali Velshi, a former colleague when Henry was at CNN. It was all about the bigger, better necktie. There was an unending game of one-upmanship with more colorful shirts, perhaps even a patterned vest.
Still, Henry says, Velshi usually outdid him — until Henry pulled out the pocket square.
“The pocket square amps it up,” says Henry, adding: “At least no one is teasing me about my makeup anymore.”
A bit of ribbing does go on about his fashion sense. A producer set up a Twitter account for Ed’s Pocket Square. Sample tweet: “I hate when the TV graphics cover me and I don’t get enough airtime!”< /p>
Henry agreed to meet at the Brooks Brothers flagship store on Madison Avenue. The way he stood there at one of the glass countertops, opening his travel-friendly pocket-square case and putting the accessories on display, it looked as if, if things didn’t work out at Fox, he could have a position at the store. Customers passed by and looked: One couldn’t tell whether they wanted to ask for his autograph or whether they thought the squares were for sale.
“I like pizazz. I like to show my personality — any way I can,” Henry says with a smile.
Most of his workday is serious business, and he doesn’t want to detract from that. He travels the world with the president, reporting on stories and issues that affect the world.
But that doesn’t mean he’s a two-dimensional stuffed shirt: The 40-year-old has a wife, kids and, yes, an appreciation for fashion.
When he was following President Barack Obama to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., two years ago, he stopped in a store in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and picked up a pocket square with a paisley print in ocean colors. He was covering the president’s vacation, after all, and he wanted to look the part.
“I never did the khaki-and-cotton thing,” he says. “I like how they dressed in Mad Men, and I think that dressing up is something that’s coming out of the recession. People want to look successful.”
There’s also the respect that Henry offers to his job and the people he covers by putting on a suit and tie — and a pocket square.
He has been Fox’s top White House reporter since 2011.
Henry and Obama have at times had a prickly relationship, but they can agree on style.The reporter recalls interviewing the president in Moscow in 2009 and Obama taking an extra moment to compliment Henry’s cuff links and tie.
“The president has a real eye for detail,” Henry says. “He’s a great dresser.”
Henry picks up ties and pocket squares as souvenirs during his globe-trotting expeditions; they act as a bit of a travelogue, he says.His favorite is a tie he bought in Italy, where he was with President George W. Bush.
He rarely shops for ties and pocket squares together, and it’s his rule that they never fully match.“I try to pull out the color of one and pick it up in the other,” he says. “Wearing two solids is cheating.”
He plans to buy a special pocket square for the 2013 presidential inauguration — no matter who wins the election in the fall.“I made a trip for a new tie for the ’09 inaugural,” he says, “but the next inauguration will be my first ‘pocket-square inauguration.’ ”
Ed Henry doesn’t have a lot of room to make a style statement. The chief White House correspondent for Fox News Channel pretty much has to stay in the box that is your TV screen.
But in the buttoned-up world of TV news, he has figured out a way: pocket squares — blue ones, red ones, white ones.He’ll wear red-meets-blue purple, too, but don’t read too much into any political meaning, he says.
It all started as a friendly fashion competition with Ali Velshi, a former colleague when Henry was at CNN. It was all about the bigger, better necktie. There was an unending game of one-upmanship with more colorful shirts, perhaps even a patterned vest.
Still, Henry says, Velshi usually outdid him — until Henry pulled out the pocket square.
“The pocket square amps it up,” says Henry, adding: “At least no one is teasing me about my makeup anymore.”
A bit of ribbing does go on about his fashion sense. A producer set up a Twitter account for Ed’s Pocket Square. Sample tweet: “I hate when the TV graphics cover me and I don’t get enough airtime!”< /p>
Henry agreed to meet at the Brooks Brothers flagship store on Madison Avenue. The way he stood there at one of the glass countertops, opening his travel-friendly pocket-square case and putting the accessories on display, it looked as if, if things didn’t work out at Fox, he could have a position at the store. Customers passed by and looked: One couldn’t tell whether they wanted to ask for his autograph or whether they thought the squares were for sale.
“I like pizazz. I like to show my personality — any way I can,” Henry says with a smile.
Most of his workday is serious business, and he doesn’t want to detract from that. He travels the world with the president, reporting on stories and issues that affect the world.
But that doesn’t mean he’s a two-dimensional stuffed shirt: The 40-year-old has a wife, kids and, yes, an appreciation for fashion.
When he was following President Barack Obama to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., two years ago, he stopped in a store in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and picked up a pocket square with a paisley print in ocean colors. He was covering the president’s vacation, after all, and he wanted to look the part.
“I never did the khaki-and-cotton thing,” he says. “I like how they dressed in Mad Men, and I think that dressing up is something that’s coming out of the recession. People want to look successful.”
There’s also the respect that Henry offers to his job and the people he covers by putting on a suit and tie — and a pocket square.
He has been Fox’s top White House reporter since 2011.
Henry and Obama have at times had a prickly relationship, but they can agree on style.The reporter recalls interviewing the president in Moscow in 2009 and Obama taking an extra moment to compliment Henry’s cuff links and tie.
“The president has a real eye for detail,” Henry says. “He’s a great dresser.”
Henry picks up ties and pocket squares as souvenirs during his globe-trotting expeditions; they act as a bit of a travelogue, he says.His favorite is a tie he bought in Italy, where he was with President George W. Bush.
He rarely shops for ties and pocket squares together, and it’s his rule that they never fully match.“I try to pull out the color of one and pick it up in the other,” he says. “Wearing two solids is cheating.”
He plans to buy a special pocket square for the 2013 presidential inauguration — no matter who wins the election in the fall.“I made a trip for a new tie for the ’09 inaugural,” he says, “but the next inauguration will be my first ‘pocket-square inauguration.’ ”
Friday, July 13, 2012
Nordstrom to add U.K’s Topshop to 14 stores
Nordstrom, the conservative Seattle department store, is bringing in Topshop, the British fast-fashion chain with rock ’n’ roll flair.
Topshop, along with the men’s brand Topman, will be introduced in Nordstrom in September and sold through Nordstrom.com, the companies said Thursday. Topshop, which incorporates trends from the runway and from street fashion into its clothing in a matter of weeks, will add some speed to Nordstrom, which has so far lacked such a quick-turnaround brand.
This will be a new customer for them, and a new customer for us," Sir Philip Green, the owner of Topshop, said in an interview Thursday at Topshop’s New York store, one of three stores it has in the United States.
Department stores want to bring in young shoppers, and partnerships like this is a popular way to do it. J.C. Penney has carried clothes from the fast-fashion brand Mango, under its MNG by Mango line, for a couple of years. On Tuesday, Neiman Marcus and Target announced they would jointly be carrying Christmastime collections from 24 designers like Carolina Herrera and Derek Lam.
Nordstrom will add Topshop to 14 stores in September, said Pete Nordstrom, president of merchandising, adding that they will represent a range of geographies, sizes and shopper demographics so the retailer can get a sense of what worked where; from there, the plan is to roll Topshop and Topman out to most of its stores.
"Fast fashion implies cheap, and that’s not what we’re after," Pete Nordstrom said. "It wasn’t about how we sell a bunch of really cheap T-shirts. It’s about how we deliver credible new fashion to the customer."
While Topshops usually blare music, Nordstrom is known for its tinkling pianos. Pete Nordstrom said that, at least for now, "it’s going to live amongst what we do," meaning a DJ probably won’t be setting up a station in the Topshop section anytime soon.
Topshop, along with the men’s brand Topman, will be introduced in Nordstrom in September and sold through Nordstrom.com, the companies said Thursday. Topshop, which incorporates trends from the runway and from street fashion into its clothing in a matter of weeks, will add some speed to Nordstrom, which has so far lacked such a quick-turnaround brand.
This will be a new customer for them, and a new customer for us," Sir Philip Green, the owner of Topshop, said in an interview Thursday at Topshop’s New York store, one of three stores it has in the United States.
Department stores want to bring in young shoppers, and partnerships like this is a popular way to do it. J.C. Penney has carried clothes from the fast-fashion brand Mango, under its MNG by Mango line, for a couple of years. On Tuesday, Neiman Marcus and Target announced they would jointly be carrying Christmastime collections from 24 designers like Carolina Herrera and Derek Lam.
Nordstrom will add Topshop to 14 stores in September, said Pete Nordstrom, president of merchandising, adding that they will represent a range of geographies, sizes and shopper demographics so the retailer can get a sense of what worked where; from there, the plan is to roll Topshop and Topman out to most of its stores.
"Fast fashion implies cheap, and that’s not what we’re after," Pete Nordstrom said. "It wasn’t about how we sell a bunch of really cheap T-shirts. It’s about how we deliver credible new fashion to the customer."
While Topshops usually blare music, Nordstrom is known for its tinkling pianos. Pete Nordstrom said that, at least for now, "it’s going to live amongst what we do," meaning a DJ probably won’t be setting up a station in the Topshop section anytime soon.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Taliban denies role in woman's execution
Taliban denies role in woman's execution
Afghan authorities blamed the Taliban for killing the 22-year-old woman for adultery, as was common during their rule of the country between 1996 and 2001.
She was shot dead as dozens of men cheered in a village about 100 kilometres north of the capital Kabul.
But the Taliban said in a statement on their website that they had investigated the incident and found the woman was "killed by the decision of the local residents".
"The involvement of the... mujahideen as alleged by some officials of the Kabul government is absolutely untrue and baseless," the statement said.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the execution as un-Islamic and unforgivable and security forces have launched a manhunt for those responsible.
The US commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, General John Allen, offered to help local security forces track down and capture the men involved in what he called "an atrocity of unspeakable cruelty".
Afghan authorities blamed the Taliban for killing the 22-year-old woman for adultery, as was common during their rule of the country between 1996 and 2001.
She was shot dead as dozens of men cheered in a village about 100 kilometres north of the capital Kabul.
But the Taliban said in a statement on their website that they had investigated the incident and found the woman was "killed by the decision of the local residents".
"The involvement of the... mujahideen as alleged by some officials of the Kabul government is absolutely untrue and baseless," the statement said.
President Hamid Karzai condemned the execution as un-Islamic and unforgivable and security forces have launched a manhunt for those responsible.
The US commander of NATO troops in Afghanistan, General John Allen, offered to help local security forces track down and capture the men involved in what he called "an atrocity of unspeakable cruelty".
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
More confident Microsoft serves up full plate of plans
The company has been on a roll lately, from the announcement of Surface, its own branded tablet, to news about the next version of its Windows Phone, to its recent acquisition of business social-networking hot kid, Yammer.
On Monday, at the company's Worldwide Partners Conference in Toronto, Microsoft announced even more news:
• The company said it's on track to release Windows 8 — the major revamp of its flagship operating system — to manufacturers by the first week in August, with general availability of devices running Windows 8 on store shelves by late October.
• It's acquiring Perceptive Pixel, a New York-based company that specializes in large, multitouch displays.
• It's launching Office 365 Open, allowing its partners to package Microsoft's Office 365 with the partner's own value-added services, and allowing those partners to bill their customers for all of that in a single invoice.
This will be "the most epic year in Microsoft history," CEO Steve Ballmer said in his keynote address to the conference Monday morning.
Some 16,000 of Microsoft's 640,000 partners worldwide are at the conference, which runs through Thursday.
It's the largest number of attendees for the event, which brings together Microsoft's far-flung partners — including resellers, consultants, distributors and others — so they can hear about the company's product road map for the year ahead.
And what the partners heard seemed to excite them, despite worries that might have arisen about their value since Microsoft announced last month it is making its own branded Windows computing device for the first time.
"For the first time in a long time, I'm seeing Microsoft charged about their own products and confident that they can win. That's a big deal," said Lee Nicholls, director of global solutions for KPN, a Dutch telecommunications company.
In his keynote, Ballmer tried to allay any fears among PC manufacturers.
The Surface tablet, he told the audience at the Air Canada Centre, is "a design point" that has a distinct niche among the many Windows 8 devices, including tablets, to be sold.
(Ballmer said the forecast is for 375 million new Windows PCs to be sold in the next 12 months.)
But he isn't expecting mass quantities of Surface sales. "We may sell a few million of the 375 million," Ballmer said.
"The importance of thousands of partners will not diminish."
Not much on Surface
Ballmer and other executives did not show or talk extensively about Surface during the keynote, somewhat of a surprise to some attendees.
"The reason for that is obvious," said Nicholls of KPN, which sells Office 365 and Windows Intune to business customers.
"They've got to keep courting the OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]. HP and Fujitsu are big sponsors of this conference. Samsung and Dell are also sponsors. So going out on stage, waving your own piece of hardware, is not a great way to manage your OEMs."
Nicholls, specifying he was not speaking for KPN, said he thinks Surface will end up being "a kind of luxury device to compete with Apple," with the two versions of Surface tablets priced comparably to the iPad and the MacBook Air.
Microsoft's manufacturing partners, such as Samsung and Hewlett-Packard, will probably end up charging much lower prices for their Windows 8 tablets than Microsoft will charge for its Surface devices, Nicholls predicts.
He likens the anxiety of hardware partners over potential competition with Microsoft to that felt a few years ago by some partners when Microsoft announced its own online services, such as Office 365 and Windows Intune — a cloud service for PC security and management.
"But it's necessary to move things forward," Nicholls said. "OEMs do a good job. But until Microsoft makes its own device, they can't truly compete with quality."
Nicholls said he'd rather have that than what he's seen in years past, when Microsoft almost seemed to apologize for its products — as in Windows 7 being an apology for the much criticized Windows Vista.
Acquisition applauded
Another well-received part of the morning's keynote was Microsoft's announcement that it was acquiring New York-based Perceptive Pixel.
The 6-year-old company, which has 70 employees scattered between New York Wilsonville, Ore.; Mountain View, Calif., and Washington, D.C., focuses on creating large multitouch displays.
How that meshes with Windows 8 was on display during Monday's keynote in which Perceptive Pixel founder Jeff Han demonstrated Windows 8 on a conference room-sized Perceptive Pixel display.
He easily pinched and zoomed, swiped between pages, marked up content with a stylus while manipulating the page and content with his other hand.
"It's so nice to find another company that has aligned visions with our own," Han said later in an interview. "The transaction means an accelerant in achieving our vision" of large touch screens in the workplace.
Neither Han nor a Microsoft representative would give a price for the acquisition.
Perceptive Pixel's Wilsonville operation, south of Portland, will remain there, while its Mountain View office will move to the Puget Sound area.
Han himself will move to Redmond, where he will report directly to Kurt DelBene, president of Microsoft's Office division.
Han said that because Windows 8 works on Perceptive Pixel's large screens, the plan for now is to develop new software and apps to run on Windows 8.
Gathering cloud
Another subject at the conference is the fast-growing cloud-services arena.
Some partners are concerned whether there was room for them in this business, given that Microsoft's Azure and Office 365 are complete cloud offerings in and of themselves, said Birger Steen, CEO of Renton-based Parallels, which offers virtualization and automation software.
"Microsoft has been perceived as heading toward less room for partners in recent years," he said.
But Steen thinks the pendulum is swinging the other way, especially after Monday's keynote. He said Ballmer seemed to place equal importance on clouds hosted by Microsoft, partners or customers.
"What they [partners] want to hear is: 'Yes, there is a role for the greater ecosystem in the cloud as well,' " Steen said. "I think that was being said very clearly today."
The proof, he said, was how well attendees received news of Office 365 Open, a program that allows Office 365 to be sold and billed as part of a partner's own value-added package.
That makes it easier for the partner and less complicated for the partner's customer. It also avoids highlighting the monetary value of Office 365 vs. other elements of the package, said Steen.
Wandering the exhibition halls, Steen noticed something else this year, he said: More exhibitors and people focused on cloud companies and gadgets.
"Up until recently, there hasn't been much gadget excitement at (the Worldwide Partners Conference.)," he said. "I think this year, there is a palpable gadget excitement."
On Monday, at the company's Worldwide Partners Conference in Toronto, Microsoft announced even more news:
• The company said it's on track to release Windows 8 — the major revamp of its flagship operating system — to manufacturers by the first week in August, with general availability of devices running Windows 8 on store shelves by late October.
• It's acquiring Perceptive Pixel, a New York-based company that specializes in large, multitouch displays.
• It's launching Office 365 Open, allowing its partners to package Microsoft's Office 365 with the partner's own value-added services, and allowing those partners to bill their customers for all of that in a single invoice.
This will be "the most epic year in Microsoft history," CEO Steve Ballmer said in his keynote address to the conference Monday morning.
Some 16,000 of Microsoft's 640,000 partners worldwide are at the conference, which runs through Thursday.
It's the largest number of attendees for the event, which brings together Microsoft's far-flung partners — including resellers, consultants, distributors and others — so they can hear about the company's product road map for the year ahead.
And what the partners heard seemed to excite them, despite worries that might have arisen about their value since Microsoft announced last month it is making its own branded Windows computing device for the first time.
"For the first time in a long time, I'm seeing Microsoft charged about their own products and confident that they can win. That's a big deal," said Lee Nicholls, director of global solutions for KPN, a Dutch telecommunications company.
In his keynote, Ballmer tried to allay any fears among PC manufacturers.
The Surface tablet, he told the audience at the Air Canada Centre, is "a design point" that has a distinct niche among the many Windows 8 devices, including tablets, to be sold.
(Ballmer said the forecast is for 375 million new Windows PCs to be sold in the next 12 months.)
But he isn't expecting mass quantities of Surface sales. "We may sell a few million of the 375 million," Ballmer said.
"The importance of thousands of partners will not diminish."
Not much on Surface
Ballmer and other executives did not show or talk extensively about Surface during the keynote, somewhat of a surprise to some attendees.
"The reason for that is obvious," said Nicholls of KPN, which sells Office 365 and Windows Intune to business customers.
"They've got to keep courting the OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]. HP and Fujitsu are big sponsors of this conference. Samsung and Dell are also sponsors. So going out on stage, waving your own piece of hardware, is not a great way to manage your OEMs."
Nicholls, specifying he was not speaking for KPN, said he thinks Surface will end up being "a kind of luxury device to compete with Apple," with the two versions of Surface tablets priced comparably to the iPad and the MacBook Air.
Microsoft's manufacturing partners, such as Samsung and Hewlett-Packard, will probably end up charging much lower prices for their Windows 8 tablets than Microsoft will charge for its Surface devices, Nicholls predicts.
He likens the anxiety of hardware partners over potential competition with Microsoft to that felt a few years ago by some partners when Microsoft announced its own online services, such as Office 365 and Windows Intune — a cloud service for PC security and management.
"But it's necessary to move things forward," Nicholls said. "OEMs do a good job. But until Microsoft makes its own device, they can't truly compete with quality."
Nicholls said he'd rather have that than what he's seen in years past, when Microsoft almost seemed to apologize for its products — as in Windows 7 being an apology for the much criticized Windows Vista.
Acquisition applauded
Another well-received part of the morning's keynote was Microsoft's announcement that it was acquiring New York-based Perceptive Pixel.
The 6-year-old company, which has 70 employees scattered between New York Wilsonville, Ore.; Mountain View, Calif., and Washington, D.C., focuses on creating large multitouch displays.
How that meshes with Windows 8 was on display during Monday's keynote in which Perceptive Pixel founder Jeff Han demonstrated Windows 8 on a conference room-sized Perceptive Pixel display.
He easily pinched and zoomed, swiped between pages, marked up content with a stylus while manipulating the page and content with his other hand.
"It's so nice to find another company that has aligned visions with our own," Han said later in an interview. "The transaction means an accelerant in achieving our vision" of large touch screens in the workplace.
Neither Han nor a Microsoft representative would give a price for the acquisition.
Perceptive Pixel's Wilsonville operation, south of Portland, will remain there, while its Mountain View office will move to the Puget Sound area.
Han himself will move to Redmond, where he will report directly to Kurt DelBene, president of Microsoft's Office division.
Han said that because Windows 8 works on Perceptive Pixel's large screens, the plan for now is to develop new software and apps to run on Windows 8.
Gathering cloud
Another subject at the conference is the fast-growing cloud-services arena.
Some partners are concerned whether there was room for them in this business, given that Microsoft's Azure and Office 365 are complete cloud offerings in and of themselves, said Birger Steen, CEO of Renton-based Parallels, which offers virtualization and automation software.
"Microsoft has been perceived as heading toward less room for partners in recent years," he said.
But Steen thinks the pendulum is swinging the other way, especially after Monday's keynote. He said Ballmer seemed to place equal importance on clouds hosted by Microsoft, partners or customers.
"What they [partners] want to hear is: 'Yes, there is a role for the greater ecosystem in the cloud as well,' " Steen said. "I think that was being said very clearly today."
The proof, he said, was how well attendees received news of Office 365 Open, a program that allows Office 365 to be sold and billed as part of a partner's own value-added package.
That makes it easier for the partner and less complicated for the partner's customer. It also avoids highlighting the monetary value of Office 365 vs. other elements of the package, said Steen.
Wandering the exhibition halls, Steen noticed something else this year, he said: More exhibitors and people focused on cloud companies and gadgets.
"Up until recently, there hasn't been much gadget excitement at (the Worldwide Partners Conference.)," he said. "I think this year, there is a palpable gadget excitement."
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