SEPTEMBER 8, 2016
FEARLESS DESIGNERS FRONT ROW
EXPOSÉS
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FASHION’S NEW REALITY
ASTROLOGERS WEIGH IN ON VOUS!
THE
FIERCE FACTOR
YOUR TOTALLY INSIDE SCOOP ON THE HAUTEST FACES AND ESSENTIAL PLACES
A CURL L I K E N O OT H ER SIMPLIFIED SOLUTIONS FOR CURLS OF ALL SHAPES AND SIZES : THE NEW CURL COLLECTION BY MOROCCANOIL
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ONE BR AND: A WORLD OF OIL-INFUSED BE AUT Y
Lindsey Wixson in LISA MARIE FERNANDEZ triple poppy maillot swimsuit and CHICAGO women’s rink skates. Styled by Sofia Achaval de Montaigu. Fashion editor: Paige Reddinger. Makeup by Ayami Nishimura; hair by Teddy Charles. Photographed at the Faena Hotel, Miami. FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
TESTINGTesting...
ARE YOU A TRUE FASHION INSIDER?
Do you know your Wang from your Zang, your Lottie from your Lotta, your Oliver from your Olivier? Take the test! PHOTOGRAPHY BY SEBASTIAN FAENA
A. Attending the wedding of Hanne Gaby Odiele B. Giving a talk at the Metropolitan Museum of Art C. Finding hair inspo from a cashier at the King Kullen D. Learning the mandolin
8. Who is Julia Haart? A. The hottest new model from IMG B. The newly minted creative director at La Perla C. Anna Wintour’s new third assistant D. The top salesperson at Gucci’s Madison Avenue flagship
2. Sies Marjan is an alum of...
9. Which of the following editors has the largest Instagram following?
A. USC Film B. Ann Demeulemeester C. RISD D. Dries Van Noten
A. Giovanna Battaglia B. Laura Brown C. Joanna Coles D. Nina Garcia
3. Lotta Volkova is known for...
10. Which of the following is not true about Sonia Rykiel?
A. Her influential styling for Demna Gvasalia B. A star-crossed love affair with Olivier Zahm C. Inspiring Grimes' upcoming album, Listless Chutzpah D. An uncanny resemblance to Lottie Moss
4. Where was Hood by Air designer Shayne Oliver born? A. Minnesota B. Trinidad C. Brooklyn D. Antwerp
5. Which fashion provocateur shares a studio with Dev Hynes? A. Hood by Air’s Shayne Oliver B. Off-White’s Virgil Abloh C. Chromat’s Becca McCharen D. Alyx’s Matthew Williams
6. Which fashion duo is currently renovating their home in the Berkshires? A. Jack and Lazaro B. Maxwell and Dao-Yi C. Fiona and Alexa D. Carol and Humberto
7. What’s not happening at Prada? A. They’ve finally decided to sell RTW on Net-a-Porter B. A 25 percent slump in H1 profits C. A collab with H&M D. A collab with artist Christophe Chemin
A. She was the first luxury designer to make clothes for a large mail-order company B. When working as a window dresser, one of her displays inspired Henri Matisse to buy a slew of colorful scarves C. Her Parisian apartment was lacquered in black D. Her first slogan sweater was censored by the French newspapers
11. What’s the name of model Miles McMillan’s adored baby nephew? A. Jasper B. Walter C. Christensen D. Alden
12. According to a recent report by BuzzFeed News, how many people were on the waiting list for Glossier’s Boy Brow? A. 1,200 B. 10,000 C. 72,000 D. 1.2 million
13. Why do you care about Niklaus Hodel, Matthias Weber, and Florian Feder? A. They’re styling Hillary Clinton B. They’re the new editors-in-chief of Teen Vogue C. They’re relaunching Band of Outsiders D. Their new magazine, devoted exclusively to golden retrievers, will be guest-edited by Bruce Weber and Ralph Lauren
14. Which of the following A-listers was shot by Sebastian Faena for The Daily Summer? A. Lindsey Wixson B. Lara Stone C. Miles McMillan D. Hari Nef E. All of the above
15. What’s the latest with Brunello Cucinelli’s Fall ’16 collection? A. It’s already 40 percent sold out B. The men’s samples were stolen from the brand’s Milan showroom…while the women’s were left intact C. It’s currently on tour with the Backstreet Boys D. It’s so expensive that an online petition is circulating to have it classified as couture
16. How many pounds of concrete were used in the design of the new Rick Owens store on Howard Street? A. 400 B. 36,000 C. 275,000 D. 1.2 million
0–5 CORRECT ANSWERS YOU ARE…CHRISTOPHE DECARNIN A fashion fiend at one time, your intel is weak at best. It’s OK, darling—we’re here to help. Have you bookmarked fashionweekdaily.com yet?
5–10 CORRECT ANSWERS YOU ARE…CHRISTOPHE SAUVAT Your gauzy poplin boho blouses have a certain je ne sais quoi, but it will require full immersion in your dear Dailys to achieve true front-row status. Good thing we have six more issues heading your way!
10–15 CORRECT ANSWERS YOU ARE…CHRISTOPHE LEMAIRE Total insider status is yours. We’re calling you for tips, chéri! ANSWERS: 1.D 2.D 3.A 4.A 5.D 6.A 7.C 8.B 9.A 10.D 11.D 12.B 13. C 14.E 15.B 16.C
1. Which of the following escapades did Alexander Wang not engage in this summer?
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
EDITORS’Letter Miles McMillan, Sebastian Faena, and Delfina Blaquier
Sebastian Faena, Brandusa Niro, and Michael Clinton
SEBASTIAN FAENA PHOTOGRAPHED MILES MCMILLAN, LARA STONE, HARI NEF, AND LINDSEY WIXSON FOR THE DAILY SUMMER.
Happy fashion week, chéris! What a fantastic summer this has been. We’ve spent much of it publishing six issues of our Daily Summer, full of magnificent photography, unforgettable fashion, and the most beautiful moments of everyone’s favorite season. In fact, you can see for yourself how we celebrated our Luxury Is Love issue last month in the company of some of our very good friends. Recognize them all, we hope? If not, you’d better revisit the quiz immédiatement. But now, as Fashion Week begins, we are excited, recharged, and ready for disruption. Our Fashion Media Awards, happening tonight at the Park Hyatt, are guaranteed to kick off the festivities on the highest possible note. And as always, we’ve prepared seven unmissable issues that are bound to delight you Daily. Love and kisses from the entire team! —THE EDITORS
LOVE FEST! FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
Nastya Siten
Levi Dylan
Todd Trofimuk and Michael Clinton
Brandusa Niro
Editor in Chief, CEO
Grace Atwood
Brandusa Niro and Mark Tevis
Ashley Baker and Geoffrey Nimmer Akin Akman and Miles McMillan
Rosemarie Ingleton with Ivan Bart
V VERY SPECIAL SPE SPEC CIAL CIA IAL THANKS THAN THA HANK NKS KS TO T MAYBELLINE N NEW YORK FOR YORK F PARTNERI TNERIN TNERI ERIN NG G WITH WIT WI TH TH PARTNERING US ON US ON OUR ENT E NTIRE NTIRE ENTIRE SU SUMM MMER MM ER OF OF SUMMER B BEAU EAUTY! EAUT TY! BEAUTY!
Deputy Editor Eddie Roche Executive Editor Ashley Baker Managing Editor Tangie Silva Design Director Jill Serra Wilde Fashion Editor Paige Reddinger Contributing Editor Lauren Smith Brody Senior Editor Kristen Heinzinger Associate Editor Sydney Sadick Art Directors Teresa Platt, Magdalena Long Contributing Photographer Giorgio Niro Contributing Photo Editors Emma Schwartz, Hannah Turner-Harts Contributing Copy Editors Stacy Cousino, Kerry Acker, Joseph Manghise Imaging Specialists RJ Hamilton, George Maier
Mark Tevis Publisher
Executive Sales Director Stephen Savage Account Manager Cristina Graham Midwest Sales Rhapsodie Media, Kathy Burke Director of Marketing & Special Events Alex Dickerson Digital Director Daniel Chivu Sales & Marketing Assistant Carey Cassidy Manufacturing Operations Michael Esposito, Amy Taylor Kyle and David Greenberg and I-Hua Wu
To advertise, call (646) 768-8102 Or e-mail: mark@dailyfrontrow.com GETTY IMAGES The Official Photo Agency of The Daily Front Row
The Daily Front Row is a Daily Front Row Inc. publication. Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Requests for reprints must be submitted in writing to: The Daily, Attn: Tangie Silva, 250 West 57th Street, Ste. 301, New York, NY 10107.
Eddie Roche and friend, Leilani Bishop, and Athena Calderone
OUR THANKS TO THE INN AT WINDMILL LANE, MAGASCHONI, PERONI, ZICO, LANDMARK VINEYARDS, TITO'S, AND PERU.
ON THE COVER: Nastya Siten photographed by Giorgio Niro. Dolce & Gabbana dress and hat; Kenneth Jay Lane earrings. Styling by Rebecca Bennett. Fashion editor: Paige Reddinger. Hair by Ryan Cotton for John Frieda Hair Care. Makeup by Raul Otero for Maybelline New York.
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
CHICMoments
WILHELMINA HITS EQUINOX
FITNESS 411
With Sharron Lynn
How does the chic set shape up for Fashion Week? Let’s just say that some serious gym time is required. Wilhelmina models and The Daily hit Equinox to test out the formidable Ropes & Rowers class before runway season—and the crowd was duly impressed. PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEFANIA CURTO
How do you stay in shape? I’m a dancer, and I do Pilates, ballet, yoga, Barry’s Bootcamp, cycling, and running. What’s your fitness goal? Building physical and mental strength, and resilience. What was the biggest challenge of the class? Pacing yourself. Everything is full-body. What do you love about Equinox? It’s a warm and inviting environment to work out in, and the amenities are fantastic. The cool towels are clutch. They smell like eucalyptus!
SWEAT SESH
With Hannah Donker
“I’M A PERSONAL TRAINER, SO I WORK OUT EVERY DAY, AND THIS WAS REALLY CHALLENGING. I LEARNED SOME STUFF, TOO. I SHOULD HAVE PRESERVED MORE OF MY ENERGY—I DIDN’T REALIZE WE WERE DOING EACH STATION THREE TIMES! I ROW A LOT; USUALLY FOR WARMUPS I DO 500 METERS. I’M PRETTY SURE I HAD THE BEST TIME THE FIRST ROUND, BUT I FORGOT TO PRESS THE START BUTTON!” —Ugo Peter Obiagwu
What keeps you coming back to Equinox? The positivity and the vibe. I want to have fun with fitness! What was the hardest part of Ropes & Rowers? Pulling the weights. I’ve never done anything like that before. I probably should’ve worn a bandanna to help with the sweating!
“MY PERSONAL FITNESS GOAL IS TO RUN A MARATHON. IT’S ACHIEVABLE—I JUST DID A HALF MARATHON ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO.” —William Taylor FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
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29/08/2016 3:10 pm
Taylor Hill Lexi Boling Marc Jacobs
THINGS TO DISCUSS!
HEARD
Donna, Donna, Donna! Your dear Daily went batty for everything at the Urban Zen store in Sag Harbor during Daily Summer season, and now, the one and only Donna Karan is officially presenting the line on Tuesday. Total joie! • Kendall and Kylie Jenner showed their Kendall + Kylie collection at Samsung 837.
Cheryl Tiegs
Who knew that these famous supes were all repped by the agency owned by a certain Presidential candidate? Discuss!
2.
. SASHA! MILLA! TAYLOR! LEXI! Oodles of supes are heading to JIMMY CHOO’S epic 20th anniversary bash, which will feature a special performance by MARY J. BLIGE.
HEARD
THE LOVELY LADIES OF TRUMP MODELS!
Beverly Johnson
1.
TOM FORD! Expect to see him at The Daily’s Fashion Media Awards…if you scored an invite, bien sûr.
Jerry Hall
3.
Next Thursday. MARC JACOBS is the one to watch.
HARPER’S BAZAAR’S “ICONS” BASH, HAPPENING TOMORROW AT THE PLAZA, WILL FEATURE A PERFORMANCE BY KANYE WEST.
4.
HAIDER ACKERMANN at BERLUTI. Guys, you’ve got a good thing coming.
5.
JARED LETO’S divine new GUCCI campaign. If you’re still single, amor, call us.
Maggie Rizer
THE DAILY+#ALDOCREW Ali McGraw
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MOTI ANKARI @TheMetroMan and metroman.com
MARITAL BLISS!
What’s your current project? I’m launching a brand with one of my best friends, Marcel Floruss, this fall! How would you describe your personal style? I’m like a caterpillar; my style changes every day. On some days, I like getting dressed in a sharp, well-fitted suit, and other times I like throwing on a graphic top and some ripped jeans. Currently, my style is laid-back luxe. What’s the last really good walk you took? I went down the West Side highway from Times Square to Tribeca during golden hour. Throwing on my headphones and going on a trek is my favorite.
WITH TOM BRADY
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HAVE YOU SEEN THESE DESIGNERS?
So many darlings are not on the runway show sked for Spring ’17. Email editor@dailyfrontrow.com with any and all information about their whereabouts! Clockwise from left: Betsey Johnson, Sophie Theallet, Rachel Zoe, Wes Gordon, Max Azria, and Diane von Furstenberg FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
CHICSTER OF THE DAY
How would you describe your style? I’m pretty relaxed. Fortunately, I don’t have to dress up much for my job—I’m in a locker room most of the day!
Do you enjoy working with fashion brands? Yeah. I like seeing others do their jobs really well, and teams coming together to turn an idea into a reality.
Does Gisele ever give you style advice? She’s pretty subtle about it: She’s like, “God, I like your hair shorter,” or “I like your hair a little longer.” Or we’ll see a picture and she’ll be like, “Wow, what were you thinking there?” But it’s never on a day-today basis.
The Oladonia,
MOTI’S PICKS
$110
The Tabari,
$190
All available at Aldoshoes.com.
The Coppe,
$165
G E T T Y I M A G E S ( 1 5 ) ; S H U T T E R S TO C K ( 3 ) ; B FA N YC . C O M ( 2 ) ; M A R C E L F L O R U S S ( 1 ) ; A L L OT H E R S C O U R T E S Y
Milla Jovovich
S:10.25”
S:13”
Makeup artistry by Erin Parsons. ©2016 Maybelline LLC.
Before she was a yogi-master at Equinox’s Pure Yoga, Karen Nourizadeh was a litigating attorney for Fortune 500 companies—she knows a lot about stress. Here, her top tips to stay balanced.
WITH DESIGNER KERRY O’BRIEN
What were you doing before you were designing underwear? I was in financial PR, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, and reading every financial newspaper from front to back every day.
Why did you launch Commando? My friends always used to ask me for advice on what to wear for a date or occasion, and I would always start with the undergarments. I’ve always loved underwear, and I saw such an opportunity for innovation in intimate apparel. I wanted to create undergarments that I wanted to wear.
1. To counter the downward pointing of the toes from wearing heels, stretch your foot and point your toes toward your face while flexing your foot. Add a twist of your chest toward your flexed foot for a deeper stretch to your leg. 2. Bring feet together, lift your heels up off the ground, bend your knees, and sit on your heels. Your knees move to the ground and your toes are curled under, not lying flat, while you sit atop your heels. Stay for between one and three minutes, and breathe. 3. Twists counter back, neck, and shoulder fatigue. While seated, take your left hand to your right knee and move your right hand to the back of the chair. Push down with your hands, lift your chest and head up as you inhale, then twist to the right as you exhale. Repeat on the left, after five breaths.
What’s new in underwear? We’re going to continue to see underwear styled deliberately with, or as, ready-to-wear. Women are realizing that they should be asking for more from their undergarments—they should be comfortable and beautiful, and they should work with your body. It’s really been Commando’s guiding principle from the start.
What are your best sellers? Our photo-realistic, engineered prints are really special. We also have an amazing new
PROMOTION
How “styled” are Bon Appétit’s shoots?
SELFIE STUDY: LOTTA VOLKOVA A steely gaze, hipbone-baring bodysuits, and trickedout glasses are among the favorite tropes of the Vetements and Balenciaga stylist. Discuss!
We don’t often use models, but when we do, we make sure to hire a fashion stylist just as we would hire a prop stylist to prop out a tablescape. For our recent Thanksgiving feature, I pulled outfit inspirations for each of the looks, and our stylist, Doria Santlofer, pulled everything from Suno to Rolex. It was definitely fun to have clothing on set and not just the usual forks and knives! Which fashion photographer would you love to have shoot for the magazine? I’d really love to see what Juergen Teller would do with a plate of pasta. Any secrets to your strong IG came? Instead of posting whatever I’m eating or seeing, I choose photos that give off a mood, and I’m mindful of the color palette of the feed as a whole. This all sounds so lame, but it’s technically a personal version of what I do for my job, right?
FLAWLESS FACE
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
We work with so many designers, from Rodarte to Rag & Bone. Commando is on a strong growth trajectory, and I think Fashion Week has played a part in that. It really supports the idea that the right underwear is an integral part of your overall look.
WITH ELI JAIME, DEPUTY PHOTO EDITOR, BON APPÉTIT
PROMOTION
JASON WU Fall 2016
What’s your plan for NYFW?
SHOOTING IN STYLE
SHOE OF THE DAILY STUART WEITZMAN’S Tieland’s iconic over-the-knee silhouette is reintroduced with a bold block heel. Inspired by the HIGHLAND, this leg-lengthening boot is crafted from the brand’s signature stretch suede and finished with a tieback detail. Sexy, sleek, and sophisticated, this statement-maker stands to be an A-list essential and street-style staple. Dare to wear with bare legs and a duster coat. $798, stuartweitzman.com.
raw-cut satin collection that totally upends what you think about when you think about satin— it’s so clean and contemporary, not at all fussy. And our hosiery continues to be a favorite. It’s amazing what a great pair of legwear can do for an outfit. It’s like makeup for your legs!
Running from show to show shouldn’t affect your appearance front-row. This new oil-free powder not only blends on easily but also eliminates shine and evens out skin tone. And it delivers a shot of salicylic acid to help improve the skin’s quality in a matter of weeks. Talk about multitasking... BEAUTY MUST: MAYBELLINE NEW YORK Super Stay Better Skin Powder ($10.99), maybelline.com
ALEX LAU (1); SHUTTERSTOCK; ALL OTHERS COURTESY
EVERYBODY JUST RELAX!
GOING COMMANDO
HEADING UPTOWN? CHECK OUT BARNEYS’ NEW WINDOWS, CREATED IN COLLAB WITH MAISON MARGIELA.
PROUD PARTNER OF
#HOWFASHIONTRAVELS See more at lexus.com/NYFW
©2016 Lexus
IMG M
ODELS
FRESHFaces
ONES TO WATCH Ready to meet the next superstars? New York’s top modeling agencies sent us digitals of the latest talents to keep an eye on from their rosters. Expect to see them on the top runways all month long! BY EDDIE ROCHE
COURTESY
NEXT MODELS
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
FRESH Faces
WILHE
LMINA
NS
THE LIO
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
SUPREME
ANAGEMENT
JUSTIN POLAND, THE SOCIETY MANAGEMENT (3); ALL OTHERS COURTESY
THE SOCIET Y M
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
CASTINGCall
NASTYA GIRL MODEL TO WATCH
Russian native Nastya Siten only arrived in the States this summer, and she’s already generating buzz among fashion insiders. The 19-year-old recently stopped by chez Daily to fill us in on her background, the New Yorker lifestyle, and the things she misses most about home. BY EDDIE ROCHE PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIORGIO NIRO STYLING BY REBECCA DENNETT FASHION EDITOR PAIGE REDDINGER Where are you from? Bryansk, Russia. It’s a small town near Moscow. The population is 400,000. There are a million Russians in New York City, and a lot fewer there. What did your parents do for a living? My mom was a chef at a traditional Russian restaurant, and my dad was a truck driver. He passed away when I was 14. How were you discovered? My friends told me that I looked like a model. I was like, “What?” I went to a modeling school and they had a contest. There was a big modeling agency that found me. I wasn’t ready, but they asked a year later if I was and it felt right. The next thing I knew, I was working in Japan! I was so excited. Why did you feel ready? I thought about it a lot and learned English. I was a little older. I know I look like I’m 16 now, but if you saw me at 16, I looked really young! Does your mom look young? Yes. She’s 40, but she looks 32. Do you have a beauty routine? Not really. I just put oil on my face before I go to bed. Ever wish you looked older? I’m fine with it! I like it. When I’m at airports, I’m always taking heavier luggage and don’t want to pay extra, so I use it to my advantage and pretend to cry. People think I’m a child and feel bad for me, and I don’t have to pay. What brought you to New York City? My mother agency told me that Wilhelmina in New York wanted me to come for the summer. I was so excited! I was in China, went to Russia for a week, and then arrived in New York. I was dreaming about it. I was curious to see the buildings. It was just like the movies. I lived in a models’ apartment in Hell’s Kitchen, and I wasn’t excited about that at first. But every week I fell more and more in love with the city. Are you homesick? No! I’m always traveling somewhere. I miss the food, but I can make it here. I can go to Brighton Beach to see all the Russians. I can stay here forever now! Describe going to Brighton Beach for the first time. I was like “Wow!” Little Italy is not like Italy. Brighton FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
Beach is not like Russia. It’s dirty, but I like it. I went there on the first day I moved to New York. Tell us about your name. It’s a very Russian name. It was a man’s name from Greece. The name on my passport is Anastasia, but everybody calls me Nastya. I’m happy with my name. When I was 5 I didn’t like it because it’s a popular name. In kindergarten there were four other people with the same name. What are your hobbies? I draw portraits. I draw everything. I sometimes sit in the street and draw what I see. I haven’t had a lot of time for it lately. I was in art school in Russia. I still want to go to university. I like reading—Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a favorite. Nice! How did you learn English? My English is so bad. It’s really been through my travels. I didn’t learn it in school. Nobody cares about English in Russian schools. It’s important to know it when you are in other countries. I was in China, Japan, and Korea, and everybody spoke English there. My English is with an Asian accent! What fashion designers do you like? Miu Miu, Chloé, Dior, Chanel, Marc Jacobs. I like to mix brands. I like girly Japanese styles. Have you walked in any fashion shows yet? Not really—only for really small brands in China. I READY FOR HER CLOSE-UP Siten appeared in the Fall Fashion issue of The Daily Summer.
wasn’t nervous. If you are nervous, there is more of a likelihood of making a mistake. What do your friends from Russia think of this life? They think it’s cool. Most go to university, and they see what I’m doing on Instagram and are so excited for me. When I went home to Russia, I brought gifts. My friends wanted brand-name clothes, like Dolce & Gabbana. You can’t get that in the small town where I’m from. Did you like living in a small town? I can be happy in a village, or a city like Tokyo or New York. I’m a Gemini. I can maneuver in different situations. I like talking and being with people, but I’m also okay with being alone. Both are fine for me. Who are your favorite musicians? The Neighbourhood are amazing. I think I like every song they’ve made. If you listen, you can’t help but like them. They are a similar style to Depeche Mode. I also like Rufus and old music like Shivaree. We understand you’ve worked with a bunny before you shot with us. Tell us more! I love animals and they love me. It’s easy for me. My time with the bunny was for a small Japanese brand. I wasn’t scared at all. I have three cats at home in Russia. I’ve also worked with parrots. Who are your bookers at Wilhelmina? Jorge Urena and Josh Bostwick. They are really so good to me. When I first arrived, they got me a very big job. They really care about me and always ask how I am. They’re also very funny. Not crazy funny, but the right kind of funny! Where have you made friends? Through work! On one of my jobs, I worked with a girl I idolized on Instagram and who is also Russian. I loved her style. We’ve become really good friends. What do you know about New York Fashion Week? All the models tell me it’s going to be crazy. You don’t have time to sleep. Castings can go for hours. You run around town. But I’ve heard a lot of positive things. You never know what kind of show you are going to get! Any well-known models who you look up to? Daphne Groeneveld. She’s really fun to follow on Instagram. She looks like a real model and always looks fresh. She’s a star! What will you say to her if you meet? I don’t know! I will be in shock. I’d be so excited. Do you have a special fella in your life? Yup! We met in the subway at the 50th Street station. I didn’t know where I was going, and I went up to this guy to ask him to help me put more money on my MetroCard and figure out which way to go. He asked me if I was Russian and then asked for my phone number. I gave it to him, and he texted to make sure I was okay. I like him a lot. What was it like shooting for The Daily? It was perfect. Everyone was so professional. The hairstylist gave me hair extensions, and I just wanted to keep them in. They made me look like an adult. It was so cool. The clothes were the best, like Dolce and Chanel. I could work like that every day. Are you enjoying being a model? I am! I like what I’m doing. I never do what I don’t like. My goal is to keep it up. I like how I live! I like everything that’s going on right now. ß
Nastya Siten in DOLCE & GABBANA pink paillette dress, gold and crystal embellished bow belt, and headband Makeup by Raul Otero for Maybelline New York, Hair by Ryan Cotton for John Frieda Hair Care, Sun Care by Moroccanoil
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
BELIEVE THE HYPE DESIGNER TO WATCH: ALYX
In three short seasons, Alyx designer Matthew Williams has emerged as one of New York’s most talked-about creatives. With the brand’s street-savvy sensibility and subversive tailoring—not to mention praise from LVMH executives and designers—Williams might just be poised to be the city’s version of Demna Gvasalia. BY PAIGE REDDINGER
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
What were some of the first pieces you ever made? When I dropped out of college, I started doing production for clothing brands in Los Angeles. I later moved to New York, and I worked with a bunch of women’s wear brands like Benjamin Cho and Earnest Sewn. I began designing costumes for Kanye when I was about 21. How did you meet him? His stylist asked me to make a costume for his performance with Daft Punk. I created a light-up jacket that reacted to sound. Kanye really liked working with me, and asked me to come work for him, and that’s how I got into costume design and doing creative direction. Launching my own brand was really about coming back to my roots and doing what I have always wanted to do. Why did you strike out on your own? Getting married, having kids—I turned 30 this year, and I’d always dreamed about having my own brand. I felt like my ideas were more fully formed than what I wanted to say. I had been working in music for a good amount of time, and I wanted to get back to doing fashion and designing collections, which is really my number-one passion. When you design costumes, they are for that person, that night, and that moment, which I really love. However, the fabrics are not for wearing in real life, because you’re just making one costume, sourcing things that are available really quickly, or using upholstery fabric because it holds the shape or has the shimmer or shine that would look amazing under the lights. I wanted to get back to making clothes that people wear in real life. You named your clothing line after your daughter—who are your other muses? My wife, definitely; but a muse can be somebody I’ve met for only 10 minutes. I took my daughter to ballet class and saw the little girls enjoying themselves and being so free—that’s inspiring. And then yesterday I met some kids from Canada who want to get into fashion. They had great energy and really good ideas, and they reminded me of myself when I was starting out. I heard about the struggles they are going through, trying to live in New York and hoping that the city can bring them some opportunities. They are kind of muses for me for that moment. How did you meet them? For the past year I’ve shared a studio with Blood Orange—Devonté Hynes—and those kids made a video for him. I was working in the studio, and they came through to show Dev the video and explained that they make clothes as well. What are some of the challenges you’ve faced with your brand? Every day I’m learning new things that keep the wheels turning. Our first collection got held up in customs for over a month, and we missed the wholesale season in New York and Paris. Luckily, a few stores like Dover Street Market and Machine A believed in the brand and bought through the line sheets online. Now we fly with our products. The world is changing so rapidly; what’s worked in the past in fashion doesn’t necessarily work anymore. You're using some really interesting materials. We are not turning out fast fashion. I want people to buy into the world that we are building with the brand. We make sure the quality is at the highest level—our collection is 100 percent made in Italy. For fabrics we work with regionally-specific manufacturers. The roller-coaster buckle has become one of our iconic pieces, and I just met with the company that makes them. They’ve been forging metal in this valley in Austria since the year 400. They are really excited to be doing something in fashion. Normally, when
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someone buys these roller-coaster buckles, they don’t buy a new one for like 15 years. Was it challenging to source them? I just looked at the brand name on the buckles on rides at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and I contacted them. When you contact people who don’t normally work in the fashion lane, the lead times are long, and you have to convince them of your project. These are made with aluminum steel by a forger that also makes ice picks and shovels—it has a weight and a soul. I love bringing these elements of reality into the clothing, whether or not the customer recognizes it or knows about it. How did you orchestrate a collaboration with Spidi? Spidi makes all of the jackets for the Ducati racing team. I wanted to make sport racing jackets, but when I spoke to my factory about it, the development time and cost would end up being 5,000 euros in a store. We’re a start-up—we have low overhead and a small budget to develop samples. Collaborating with Spidi was a way to work with a company that has an amazing heritage, and to bring their design know-how to a fashion avenue. They only happened to be an hour away from my office in Italy, so I drove there and met with them. Normally, they spend about three years developing one jacket and sell it for five years. They are all about development and testing, which is so amazing when you apply that resource and knowledge into the clothing that we made with them. It was a win-win for everybody. Why did you decide to go into women’s wear instead of men’s? I felt like I had something fresh to say with women’s wear. For me it was more of a challenge, and I wanted to make sure that was set in stone and solidified first. Guys are already wearing our women’s pieces. You were a finalist for the LVMH prize. What was that experience like? It gave validation to the brand, and I’m extremely thankful. It also brought us a lot of new stores and helped us get other opportunities from other brands. The mentorship from LVMH executives and designers was amazing. Just speaking with Karl Lagerfeld for 15 minutes was life-changing. Nicolas Ghesquière told me, “You’re going to have a great future, and I really love your work—it’s amazing how you work with so many different textures, like knitwear and leather and then jersey.” He’s like a designer’s designer; he didn’t have to come up to speak to me, but to say that gives me a lot of confidence and excitement for the future. Riccardo [Tisci] is amazing and passionate. Being able to show my work was an honor. Can you shed some light on your growth strategy? I would love to have a section of the brand that does some men’s-specific pieces. I would also like for us to have some sort of avenue for direct sales to our customer, whether it’s a store in New York or an e-commerce site. Today, stores give a physical space for people to engage with the brand, but not necessarily to move product. That’s why there are so many vacant retail stores around right now. It would be cool to have my studio and office with a small store, and maybe a coffee shop where my wife and daughter can cook pastries or healthy juices—to make it a little destination place. I think that’s the future of retail. You have to give people a place to go each day, and the clothes become another pillar of that routine. What can we expect from Spring ’17? It is a continuation of pre-Spring, so I’m doing more of those shape silhouettes, creating a waist in a lot of the pieces. I’m combining knitwear and classic tailoring, which is really new for me. It’s difficult to
get knitwear to work with a tailoring factory. Nobody wants to make a little section of a jacket; they want to make full pieces. I really love that idea of combining disciplines—it’s a way to land us something that’s new and modern. I don’t want to make Frankenstein garments that are new for the sake of being new. I want them to attempt to bring fashion forward and into a new place, but in a real way, not necessarily by overdesign. You do a lot of traveling—and with kids. We’ve gotten so used to it from my time working in music, when I would follow artists everywhere. Sometimes I’d be in three different countries in a single day. It was so wild. I’d take breaks for a few weeks, and I’d get cabin fever. I developed so many close relationships in all these different cities through work, which created reasons for me to come back. I work very closely with Nick Knight; we are always talking, and there’s always another project for us to work on, so there’s a reason to come back to London. I’ve been working with him for nine years now. I’ve watched his kids grow up, and I’ve become really close with his family, so I try to make it there for birthdays, graduations, and things like that. The same thing with my partner in Italy—we’ve become so close and go on weekend vacations in Italy together. My wife and I both have family in California, so we go back often to see them. We also attend Paris Fashion Week twice a year, and Alyx’s godfather lives in Hong Kong. There are always things to do in Asia. So add all that up, and we’ve spent about one month in each different place! ß
“I LOVE BRINGING THESE ELEMENTS OF REALITY INTO THE CLOTHING.”
MIXED MESSAGES Alyx’s looks combine menswear tailoring with subversive accessories, street-inspired design motifs, and playful proportions.
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DESIGNER TO WATCH: MORGAN CURTIS
Newly minted designer Morgan Curtis has truly grown up in the fashion industry—she’s the daughter of Jill Stuart, after all. Now she’s designing a well-regarded lingerie line, known as Morgan Lane, and was named a finalist in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund extravaganza. BY SYDNEY SADICK PHOTOGRAPHY BY RYAN LIU
Was designing always in the cards? I guess you could say it’s in my blood! I grew up in my mom’s office, and I’ve always been obsessed with what she’s working on. I worked for her for five years in every department you could imagine. I started as an intern, and then worked my way up through retail. I opened her East Hampton store, and also spent time in her Soho store. When I was at the office, I started as a fabric and sourcing director and moved up to associate designer, where I helped design a few pieces for her runway shows from 2010 to 2012. Did you go to fashion school? I studied fashion at Cornell University, and then went to Central Saint Martins to take a small course in knitwear. It’s something I always wanted to do my whole life. What inspired the launch of Morgan Lane? I saw a hole in the market for fashion lingerie, so I wanted to do something contemporary that was fully designed and on-trend with what’s going on FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
in runway and ready-to-wear. I’ve always loved lingerie and all the details that go into it. When I was younger, I used to ask my mom for a nice, new bra for Christmas and birthdays, which was unique. It’s such a small little piece of clothing, but there’s actually so much work put into it. You’re showing at New York Fashion Week for the first time. How does it feel? I’m excited! As I’m in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund competition, they gave me the Milk Studios space, and all the judges from the Fund, like Anna Wintour, will be there. I worked with an amazing set designer, Nate Brown, who’s a really good friend of mine. He works for Kanye West and did the set for Alexander Wang’s 10th anniversary show. I worked on all my mom’s shows, so I know the pressure that goes into it and feel a bit more prepared. Have you met Anna? She came to my office with Mark Holgate for a site visit as part of the competition. She was half an hour early, and I had just gotten back the night before from Mykonos, where I had shot my Spring/Summer 2017 ad campaign. I had to frantically unpack and steam my whole collection while jetlagged. I also redid my office just in time for her to arrive. She was smiling, which I think was a good sign. Tell us about “Laney,” your brand muse. While I was working at Jill Stuart, I was also making oil paintings—I’ve been painting since I was 15. The last thing I worked on was a series of large-scale doll paintings. When I created Morgan Lane, I knew I wanted to combine my passion for art and illustration with my love for lingerie, so I picked one of the characters from my paintings and turned her into my brand muse. I illustrate all the branding myself, and you can see her on a lot of items in the classic collection. She’s this mischievous seductress—a troublemaker—and her idea of sexy is being confident without trying. I made a short eight-minute film called “Meet Laney,” which features a real person acting as
her. It shows who she really is. It’s something for my customers to follow along with and have fun; it adds a storyline to the brand, and each season I introduce a new part of her life. What’s the attitude of the brand? Whimsical and playful. It makes my lingerie and sleepwear easier to approach and buy, since buying lingerie can be a little bit intimidating. Do you often go to your mom for advice? Definitely! She’s my biggest fan and inspiration— she wears my stuff all the time and loves coming into my office to show me what bra she’s wearing that day. Our offices are connected, so I always run downstairs and ask her things. We have a lot of similar tastes; she’s been there for me through the whole process. Best sellers? Definitely the silk Oscar bat mask, the classic-style silk pajama sets, the Dree romper, which was one of my first pajama styles, and the Cara PJ's set, which is a play on long johns. My soft-cup bras are really popular too, and the monogramming that I launched on my website for my pajama tops is doing better than anything—people want personalization! What can we expect from Spring 2017? When I was designing, I kept in mind that I was applying to the Fashion Fund, so I wanted to do something new, different, and exciting, and make a punch with it. I always do lots of black and dark colors, but for spring you’ll see really fun, bright colors and lots of new categories that I haven’t tried out. The combination will reflect the whole theme of the collection, and there will be a little surprise once everyone sees it, too. ß
DETAIL ORIENTED Morgan Lane’s wares are sold at retailers such as Harvey Nichols in London, Tenoversix in Los Angeles, and Fivestory in New York.
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NYFW: You’re so in. Discover Fashion Week at Samsung 837 September 7 - 13th Front row access in Virtual Reality, one-of-a-kind FW art/tech installations, product launches powered by technology — these are but some of the experiences brought to you by Samsung in collaboration with some of fashion’s most future-facing creators. Join us. 837 Washington St In the heart of the Meatpacking District Find all FW events at Samsung.com/837
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POSITIVE VIBES DESIGNER TO WATCH: RIO URIBE
Few brands that play to streetwear aesthetics are of the inclusive mind-set. If anything, they thrive on excluding the masses. Enter Gypsy Sport by Rio Uribe, whose wildly creative brand thrives on the energy from subcultures of all stripes. Are you prepared to enter the Haturn? You have described the Gypsy Sport Universe as planet Haturn. Which is…? Haturn is the logo—it’s two baseball caps inverted on each other to form one planet. We’re creating this universe that’s super inclusive—not only cool and crazy but open. A lot of people of different ages, genders, and races are a part of that universe. It’s pretty cool to use that as an excuse to have diversity on the runways and whoever we want in our campaigns. Were you clear about the aesthetic you wanted when you first started the label? I had a very clear idea, although I didn’t expect it to be a gender thing. But I did know I wanted something similar to United Colors of Benetton ads, where every race is represented. How did the brand become part of the conversation surrounding gender fluidity? We were just making menswear, but it was pretty feminine and forward. Girls were buying it more than men, although the only store that was selling it at that time was Opening Ceremony. At this point, it’s not for any specific gender—it’s just clothing. VFILES was another early adopter. VFILES was still a young, crowdsourced company. Someone recommended my Tumblr page to them. I was only making T-shirts and hats, but I guess they liked the vibe and called me in for a meeting. They told me they were doing a competition called VFILES Runway and if I won, I would get to have a show at Fashion Week. That was the first Gypsy Sport show. The Internet and social media helped a lot. Who makes up Gypsy Sport? The nuclear family is myself, our fashion director Lester Garcia, and
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Estelle Mata, who does communications. Lester brings in photographers or plans the campaigns, product shoots, and videos we do. Also, our PR team Brooke Mueller and Kristin Kavanagh Shane at KB Brand Partners are a close part of our team. You’ve done some interesting collaborations, starting with DKNY. I made hats for them, which they put on the runway. I got to see what it was like working for a larger company, and the exposure was huge. Models like Cara Delevingne starting wearing Gypsy Sport. We did a collaboration with Chris Habana, who makes our jewelry. He’s been doing it for about four seasons now; his aesthetic meshes really well with mine. We worked with Lil’ Kool, a fine artist who made some paintings and virtual video work for us. His flowers are all over the collection this season. What are the various subcultures Gypsy Sport is speaking to? The reason I chose the word gypsy is because it feels like a worldwide subculture—club kids, stoners, granola types, trans activists, trans models…anything can be a subculture in New York. In a way, we try to represent whatever doesn’t conform. We try to see outside of what everyone else sees, including and excluding the simpler things, like beauty. We look for what’s outside of stereotypical beauty for everyone else and use a different form to approach it. You worked at Balenciaga in merchandising for many years. How do you feel about Demna Gvasalia’s new influence at the brand? I really like what he is doing. I think it gives hope to streetwear or sportswear designers to be able to do high-end houses. Who have been some of your mentors from the very beginning? From the very beginning there was an editor named Carole Sabas, who worked for Vogue; she was one of the very first people who spread the name of Gypsy Sport among the Vogue editors, or any other publications. Lynn Yaeger has been a pretty great supporter. We used to do small pop-up shops, and she would buy our stuff—the weirdest hats or supercool necklaces, even candy bags for $5. She wrote a nice story about the Washington Square park show. Where were you doing the pop-ups? At Pop Souk. It’s a democratic fashion pop-up for entrepreneurs that Ladyfag organizes. She hit me up and told me she was opening up a huge space to small designers and asked if I wanted to have a booth. Before I was selling to Opening Ceremony or VFILES, we were selling there. Who have been some of your mentors since? Steven Kolb and the CFDA. Anna Wintour and the whole Vogue team. Mark Holgate has been instrumental in the growth of the brand, including pulling us into the Fashion Fund competition. Since then, he’s always kept in touch and supported all our
“IN A WAY, WE TRY TO REPRESENT WHATEVER DOESN'T CONFORM.”
ventures; anytime that we’ve needed a space to show or any kind of support, Anna has always been able to work her magic in our favor. Vogue recently put me in touch with John Galliano, and I got to intern with him for the artisanal collection the past couple of months. It was a dream come true to work with someone like him. We don’t keep in touch, but I would definitely say he was a huge mentor. Having Anna’s approval really helped him to warm up to me, and show me how he works on a day-to-day basis. What did you learn from him? He taught me the vulnerability but also the strength you have to have in order to be a designer or creative director, because you have a million opinions coming at you at once, and your job is to stay true to your own while taking in everyone else’s. The biggest thing he told me was to make sure I take time to sketch and really pour my ideas onto paper. Have you always sketched your designs? Yes, I used to want to be a kids’ book illustrator. I have tons of books filled with drawings, but I don’t think my sketches are very fashion-school. I have interns and freelancers who sketch with me too and I’m like, “Damn, you guys are so good!” What was Galliano like? He’s definitely theatrical and funny, but he was really clever and warm. It felt like he was an estranged aunt, and we got along great. He’s also very decisive and quick. He’s a hard worker—he works out at 6 a.m. before going to the office. How has your style evolved into what it is today? It’s simplified. When I was younger, I was crazy avantgarde. In the morning, I would cut my hair into weird shapes or shave the sides and wear scarves as T-shirts. I just wanted to be radical. My parents and brothers were like, “What is wrong with you? Why are you wearing these things to our family dinners?” [Laughs] When I moved to New York and started designing, I realized that because everyone is a weirdo, you can’t stand out too much, no matter how hard you try. What do your parents think about your career? My mom loves it! She has great style. She’s so proud and overwhelmed; she wants me to make something that she can wear, so we are making a line that’s much more simple. That will be new for Spring 2017. What was the first piece of clothing you ever made? I used to have a line in high school called Rio Apparel. I would take jean jackets and cut them apart and bedazzle them. My best friends would wear them around school and advertise, and I would get orders. What’s the next step in growing the business? E-commerce. We’re also revamping the site, and making more drops of merchandise every quarter. I’m definitely not very business-minded, but I do my best. I’ve always relied on mentors to help me. Wen Zhou of 3.1 Phillip Lim gives me so much business advice. What we are learning is that we are not a massmarket brand and we don’t have to be, but we do have to keep our community intact and interact with our fans and community. Your parents were immigrants. How has that informed your approach to your business? My mom was born here. My father is from Mexico; he immigrated to California. Two years ago I met a man in the Garment District who had his own factory for about 30 or 40 years. He moved to the United States with very little education, but he knew how to cut and sew dresses. He got a job working for a Jewish immigrant in a factory, and that factory blew up and did really well. It earned him enough to start his own factory; his goal for me is to start my own Gypsy Sport factory. That’s a piece of the American dream. ß
ECLECTIC MIX Looks from Gypsy Sports’ Fall 2016 runway show.
COLLECTIVE SHIFT DESIGNER TO WATCH: GEORGIA LAZZARO
With just one season under her belt, Georgia Lazzaro is quietly but fiercely taking Protagonist from an insider’s label to a must-have for every woman’s wardrobe. The fledgling brand’s chic minimalism has already gained a cult following for its sleek, precise staples ever since it debuted in 2013 as an exclusive on Vanessa Traina’s e-comm site, The Line. BY PAIGE REDDINGER
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What first attracted you to fashion? I always loved drawing and painting. When I was in high school, I used to have a romantic idea about being an artist. When I went to college, I attended an art school, and I was working in retail and merchandising at one of Australia’s leading design companies, Scanlan Theodore, to support my studies. They were working with really amazing European fabrics, and in my art studies, I found myself increasingly in the fashion section of the library. Everything evolved from there. Tell me about your first job out of school. I really wanted to go to Europe or America to do an internship. I read about this new fashion foundation called AUSFF, the Australian Fashion Foundation, which was founded by Australian expats in New York and helped young Australians obtain internships here. Back then, about seven years ago, it was very difficult to get access to international fashion from Australia— the distance coupled with the difficulty of getting into the fashion industry was really hard. I entered this competition through AUSFF, and I was lucky enough to win it. It was an incredible opportunity. I wouldn’t have been able to get a job at Calvin Klein, or have had the trajectory that I’ve had, without that initial step up it gave me. I feel indebted to the founders Julie Anne Quay, Malcolm Carfrae, and Brana Wolf. Did [former Calvin Klein EVP and chief communications officer] Malcolm Carfrae help you land at Calvin Klein? When I interviewed for the award, you are asked to nominate where you would want to work. Aesthetically, I’ve always loved Calvin Klein and Narciso Rodriguez. They were the two companies that I had asked to intern for, and it was fortuitous that Malcolm Carfrae was working at Calvin Klein at the time. When I came over here I had a year on my visa, so I did six months at Narciso and six months at Calvin; Calvin Klein ended up hiring me. How did you come to Protagonist? I was at Narciso Rodriguez, where I worked after Calvin Klein, and Vanessa Traina contacted me and told me about this position. I was really happy at Narciso—I really love him, so I wasn’t looking to leave, but in the end I really felt that it was such an amazing opportunity that I would be crazy if I didn’t take it. Narciso was so lovely and understanding. What was surprising about working for a smaller brand and running the show? The process of samplemaking. With the previous two companies, I had the luxury of having in-house pattern makers and an in-house atelier, which means that your design process is so fluid. You really can refine and hone each piece. With Protagonist, we use local factories, and our studio is in the Garment District, so there’s close proximity there. But I’m trying to bring more of that atelier culture into the brand. It’s been a massive learning curve for me. It’s changed the way that I’ve designed and the way that the clothes are put together. Learning to trust my judgment and decisionmaking is the biggest hurdle of all. Vanessa is still very involved, and I love that collaborative process. She’s got an incredible eye. Since coming onboard, what have you learned about the Protagonist customer? They are just starting to sell my first collection now. The collection was done in six weeks, so it was an absolute whirlwind. In terms of the shift in direction and aesthetic, we picked up a lot of new stores. Protagonist needs to be essential and functional. I love the opportunity to design for my peers—the women around and above me who are working really hard in their careers, going about their day-to-day—and really
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addressing their needs, is something I’m trying to keep in mind. I want it to feel seamless and to offer things to women’s different body shapes. I want to be able to afford it, and I want my friends to be able to afford it as well. If your colleagues had to describe you, what would they say? They probably think I’m a little bit all over the place— I’m not very linear in the way I do things. I like running from one spot to the other. The most precious thing about my experience at Calvin Klein and Narciso Rodriguez was feeling a part of the studio culture. I want that same energy in the Protagonist studio. How many people are on your staff? There are five full-time staff members, and then for busy periods, we have freelancers as well. I’m really lucky because I’ve met some really amazing people through Calvin Klein and Narciso Rodriguez. I’ve been calling on my friends a lot to help me with things, and that’s been really great. We are a tiny team, and it’s also a first time for the brand to be putting out full collections. I hope with every collection we are building a strong narrative. What piece from the label’s resort collection will you be living in? It actually didn’t sell very well [laughs], but it’s a really cool wool dress coat in black-andwhite plaid. It works as a dress or as a soft-tone seasonal coat. Tell us what we can expect from the Spring ’17 collection? We’re trying to build on the notion of a library of silhouettes that we can keep coming back to and reworking. When you buy into Protagonist, the pieces are trans-seasonal. We are also introducing some new styles that speak nicely to what we’ve already set up, but taking them a little bit further. ß
“LEARNING TO TRUST MY JUDGMENT AND DECISION-MAKING IS THE BIGGEST HURDLE OF ALL.”
MINIMAL FUSS, MAXIMUM CHIC Fluid silhouettes, a restrained approach to color, and ultra-luxe fabrics are some of Protagonist's aesthetic signatures.
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EUROPEANInf luence
EVERYBODY LOVES AWINNER He’s not a household name or an Instagram sensation, but Albert Kriemler of Akris is the go-to guy for more women than we dare to count. The Swiss designer was in New York this week to receive the Couture Council’s prestigious honor for Artistry of Fashion, and for the occasion, he will show his Akris collection here for the first time. What took so long?
QUIET RIOT Albert Kriemler's sense of understated chic has earned him a devoted following.
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How did you find out about this award? I was notified by [director and chief curator of the Museum at FIT] Valerie Steele. I could not have been more surprised! What did this mean to you? When two preeminent museum curators like Pamela Golbin and Valerie, a fashion pundit like Suzy Menkes, and other stellar opinion leaders decide that I’m receiving this award, following in the footsteps of Alber Elbaz, Dries van Noten, Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar de la Renta, and Valentino, what can I say? I lack the words to describe how I feel about it. How come you decided to show in New York this season? When I visited New York on September 21, 2001, I met Anna Wintour for the first time in her office, and she said I should show my collection here. At an event years later at Saks Fifth Avenue, she mentioned it again. When I was awarded by the Couture Council, I felt this was the right time to follow her advice and show here for once to pay homage to the city that has welcomed me as a young designer and offers so much love and respect for our work every day. Why do you love New York City? It is the only place in the world where five continents
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BY EDDIE ROCHE
meet. People here have no preconception about where you come from—what matters is whether you are doing something interesting. It is utterly competitive, but you are welcome to come here and do what you want to do. Everybody here is just a tad more professional than a person at the same level in any other big city. What are you most excited about showing in New York? That it is New York. Nervous about anything? Nothing…on a first view. You’ve had such a long relationship with Bergdorf Goodman. How did that relationship begin? When I was 19, and just before I started working in difficult to find valuable, reliable information based the family fashion house, my father gifted me a trip on expertise. Consumers want information to be to New York for one week. On that trip I discovered mainly visual, via images and films and less through Bergdorf Goodman. Standing in front of the edited and thoughtful text. It is more emotional, famous windows, I thought, if I am ever going to be but it lacks layers of knowledge and reflection. somebody in this industry, I want my Silicon Valley is not only changing the collection to be seen in these windows. AKRIS FALL 2016 system, it is already inspiring dress Ten years later I had my first meeting codes and wardrobes. We will see with Dawn Mello and Joe Boitano at changes in lifestyle and face new Bergdorf’s to show my collection, and issues. Generation Z is actually very we got our first order. much about a healthy and sustainable What has it meant to you over lifestyle, and if you think about it, who the years? needs these short production cycles? For those who love fashion, Bergdorf I like it if you can wear something Goodman is a unique specialty store, season after season. I like the idea of the epitome of culture and taste, with a wardrobe resembling a collection, a impeccable service—and last but treasured investment with longevity. not least, those incredibly creative It is not about the most, it is about the best. It is about dressing a woman’s windows on Fifth Avenue. It will always body in a way that makes her feel be a special place for me, as it gave us perfectly right. a great initial platform to speak to the You’ve had a singular vision at New York woman. your brand for so long. Thoughts How have you managed a longtime on all the recent designer moves? collaboration with Steven Klein? In a family-owned fashion house like Mutual respect. We first worked ours, you are very much in control together in 1996 on a Stella Tennant as a designer, on every level. You campaign in his Greenwich Street can shape the work conditions studio. and your ecosystem, especially if Do you have a favorite campaign you are vertical, which my brother from over the years? secured. When you are a designer Probably Daphne Guinness in the who, after establishing a brand, campaign that launched our iconic bag, attracts a big conglomeration to hire the Ai. you, you relinquish control. It can be Of the many changes you’ve increasingly difficult to maintain the instilled at the company since you integrity of your own fashion vision. took the helm, which has been most This can put pressure and suffering impactful? on designers, who need to express For sure, starting to show the themselves and who want to grow collection in Paris in 2004. and evolve. Fashion is much more What have been your greatest than looking at beautiful clothes and inspirations over the years? creating something that is visually The evolution of women, my mother, pleasing. Yes, women love the glowing the arts, and architecture. colors and the bold prints this season, Where do you see the fashion but it is the artisanship, the know-how. industry going? The feel, the tactile side of the fabrics We’re going through a revolution you wear on your skin, and the fit of information and communication translate into body language and add technology. Fashion is reflecting that— to a woman’s presence and charisma. If in marketing and communication, and you have the opportunity as a designer in entirely new distribution channels. to create what women dream about, it We see much more information about is very fulfilling. everything, but it has become more
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“WE ARE NOT NOISY, BUT THOSE TANGIBLE ELEMENTS OF OUR IDENTITY SPEAK LOUD AND CLEAR TO THOSE WHO WANT TO DELVE DEEPER INTO FASHION.” Will you eventually turn to the immediate runway-to-retail model? As everybody else is doing, we are considering our options. But we have not yet decided. Going to New York for one season is a good way to think about what we want to return to, and what we want to see changed. The Financial Times once dubbed Akris “the most successful label you’ve never heard of.” What did you think of that? It was a shortcut for our modus operandi. We established our culture and strong customer base flying under the radar. As luxury brands become more and more flashy and the 100 newest musthaves are trending on every smartphone, there is a growing desire for something that needs knowledge and an advanced sensibility for a design language. Something personal. We are not noisy, but those tangible elements of our identity speak loud and clear to those who want to delve deeper into fashion. How can the fashion world improve? Fair working conditions in production, less collections, more sensible timing of the shows. Being more real, which in fashion means fulfilling the desires of women. Any thoughts on the relationship between fashion and social media? As is obvious from the “see now, buy now” discussion, social media is disrupting the fashion show model. They empower the consumer to get direct access to a formerly closed world of fashion presentations, which used to have strictly defined roles and rules. It will be difficult to show new product so extensively on social media and make the consumer wait half a year until it arrives in the store. As Ken Downing from Neiman Marcus put it recently, it’s like showing someone a Christmas gift six months beforehand. What would you like to do in life that you haven’t done? As a young man: Study fashion in Paris and live in New York for at least a year. But one of the best bits of advice I ever got was: Don’t think about what you don’t have. Give us your best advice for younger designers starting in the business. Go your own way. Learn the craft, every day. Follow your gut feeling. Dream. Do the math. Listen to women and follow their advice. And don’t get lost in an ocean of images. How do you want to be remembered? Ask me again in 30 years.ß FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
ICON Status
PAUL CAVACO, UNCENSORED As the former creative director of Allure and Harper’s Bazaar as well as cofounder of press powerhouse KCD, Paul Cavaco is one of fashion’s most storied editors. Beloved by his colleagues, respected by his peers, and revered as a one-of-a-kind storyteller, his freelance career is bringing all sorts of interesting prospects his way. Cavaco sat down with close friend and former colleague Sasha Charnin Morrison to reminisce and reveal. Tell me your name, age, and where you’re from… My name is Paul Cavaco. I’m 64 years old and I’m from New York City. So, tell me about your new job. What are you thinking of doing? I’m thinking of becoming a bartender. (Laughs) Why are you thinking of becoming a bartender? After 40 years of the industry, I don’t know if I can do this much longer. What would Diana Vreeland make of today? From not knowing Mrs. Vreeland but having been married to Kezia Keeble, who worked for Diana Vreeland at Vogue; working with Tonne Goodman, who worked with Vreeland at the Met; and also my best friend, who worked for Mrs. Vreeland at the Met, what they all say is what she was interested in was what’s new, what’s happening, what’s modern. I think she would be fond of all the newness. I’m not so sure how she’d feel about the slipping of quality in the way clothes are made, in fashion coverage, in the speed of fashion, sort of sacrificing what made fashion special, which was making people look beautiful. Given the climate, would she even have a job today? You either have to be extremely old or very young. Everyone in between is sitting here thinking about being bartenders or Uber drivers. She would probably have a job. The talent was very special. What was the most outlandish or craziest shoot you every worked on? My shoots are not ever crazy, for some reason. I don’t know if I don’t attract it or what? Things have always just worked out. I have shoots where there are so FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
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BY SASHA CHARNIN MORRISON
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many people on the shoot where it becomes… A three-ring circus? I’ve had 30 children, babies, 20 adults, all on the same booking. Animals. Clowns. Madonna’s Sex Book. You styled that. YOU STYLED THAT! What was that like? It was hilarious in a way that you can’t even imagine. We laughed from the minute we got on set ’til the minute we left. She’s an incredible model. She was always on time. She worked hard. She was open to suggestion. It was full collaboration. I heard you didn’t have permits and were just running out into the street, taking pictures. She took the handbags and sunglasses and just said to Steven [Meisel], “Let’s go.” I don’t think people realized that Madonna was that naked woman who was hitchhiking. There were moments: She wanted to do one thing and I said, “Madonna, I don’t think we should do this. I have a child.” And she just said, “Get over it, Paul. This is my fantasy, not yours.” What was the most expensive shoot you ever did? And give me a number because numbers are good. At Harper’s Bazaar, we were protected from the numbers, so I don’t really know what the numbers were. What was the average cost of a shoot at Allure? Between $35,000 and $40,000. At Bazaar? $80,000, I would think. No wonder we’re not all there anymore. What was the most painful shoot? I can give you an example of a painful shoot. I never thought you were coming back to work again. Which one? Angelina Jolie. Delightmare. You think that was the most painful one? You know, yeah. I think you were mentally disassembled. The thing about working with celebrities that’s really difficult is they don’t know you and you don’t know them. You’re walking in on a moment, and you don’t know what’s going on in their life that day. I’ve had someone’s divorce announced in the press the day they were coming to shoot. Angelina was in her twenties, which is a difficult time for anyone, and doing a thing that she’s not… Actresses didn’t sign up to be models. We’ve turned them into that because it sells magazines for us. I think they’ve become comfortable with it now, but in the beginning they were really not comfortable with it. She was not comfortable with it. Now, in retrospect, I can look back and think, OK, there’s all these things. But going through it, I was like, Oh my god. That cover was beautiful. I actually loved that cover. I think she looked beyond beautiful. In the end, she had a good time. It was fine. Name your favorite, most beautiful shoots! Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard. She was glorious.
“YOU EITHER HAVE TO BE EXTREMELY OLD OR VERY YOUNG. EVERYONE IN BETWEEN IS SITTING HERE THINKING ABOUT BEING BARTENDERS OR UBER DRIVERS.”
STAR POWER (Clockwise from left) Angelina Jolie on the March 2001 cover of Allure; Cavaco at Fashion Week with Linda Wells; Oprah Winfrey’s October 1988 cover of Vogue
She was brilliant to work with. My first Kate Moss sitting with Patrick Demarchelier. She was…the gloriousness of what she looked like. Baby Kate. That cover was an homage to the old Bazaar covers, and it was Kate’s first cover. At the time, she didn’t like it, because it made her look too mature—she didn’t look young and hip. And I think she’s grown to like it for what it is. And I think it’s a cute cover for Christmas. The Oprah cover? She was the most amazing. She would actually dial the phone herself and call me: “Hi, is Paul there? It’s Oprah.” And my assistant would be frantic and say she’d run get me and could we call you back and she’d say, “No, get him. It’s OK. I’ll wait.” You famously always say you want it all to be beautiful. But what was truly the most beautiful of them all? Beauty’s not one thing. They’re all beautiful for what they were at that moment.
You have 6,500 followers on Instagram—not bad for someone who barely posts. People love to reference and tag you—not that you’re monetizing it… We can’t monetize anything on the Internet so we have to figure all of that out. I always think of that movie, The Graduate. When Ben comes home and they have that party for him and everyone keeps telling him, “Plastics.” That’s what I feel like: Internet. Internet. Internet. How did you really get your start? So, I was dating Kezia Keeble. Are you going to give me the Hello Kitty version or the Citizen Kane version? You want the down and dirty version? There’s a real down and dirty version. Well, it’s a love story… I was living with Kezia and I had thought I wanted to write. I can’t string two words together practically in
ICON Status
“BEAUTIFUL CAN BE BLAH—A LITTLE TOO STERILE. THERE NEEDS TO BE A LITTLE BIT OF SEXUALITY, A LITTLE BIT OF DESIRE.”
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READY FOR YOUR CLOSE-UP? (Clockwise from top left) Winona Ryder on the January 2000 cover of Allure; Cavaco with Sasha Charnin Morrison; Kate Moss on the December 1992 cover of Harper’s Bazaar; Meryl Streep on the October 15, 1981, cover of Rolling Stone
they can’t tell how short or tall you are. I was helping Kezia put the clothes together, and Bruce said, “He’s actually really good at this.” We finished the shoot, and about a week later Bruce called me and said, “You know, I have a job. Could you come style it?” He gave me my first big break. Everyone’s a stylist now, but at that time? It was a brand new business. Someone like Julie Britt, who had been a fashion editor at Glamour, was really one of the first freelance stylists. It was when stylists didn’t get credited. Hair and makeup did but stylists didn’t. It was not considered because it was
supposed to be the point of view of the magazine, not the individual point of view of the fashion editor. There was Julie Britt, Kezia, eventually me, Freddie Leiba, Iris Bianchi… It wasn’t like now. None of us had agents. I never had an assistant. I did all my shoots by myself. I ironed the clothes, steamed the clothes, dressed everyone all by myself. I made $125 a day, which is what my dad made in a week. For me, it was an amazing amount of money. I’m taking you to the past-life pavilion. How did you come up with the idea for KCD? Kezia kept getting phone calls all the time from art
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conversation. You speak like a lovely dolphin. So, I realized if you were going to write, you had to specialize in something, because otherwise there’s just too many things to write about. So I thought, Kezia is into fashion, she had been a fashion editor. I was writing press releases for her, so I thought I can do that. Someone called Kezia and said, “We’re looking for a fashion editor for Esquire.” She got the job. One of the first people she worked with was Bruce Weber. Bruce had a few guys that he wanted to use on the reel, and Kezia sent him Woody Hochswender, who at the time was a bike mechanic in Central Park. He was 6'2"—he looked like a model. She sent me there. I’m now 5'4", but at the time I was 5'5" and change. Were you? I was a little taller before I got old. We were all in our early twenties. Woody and I had both just gotten out of college. So I went to see Bruce. He had a little tiny studio on 27th Street. Took a picture of me on the roof, daylight, gave me like a sweater. I was one of the guys they hired. I was thrilled. Everybody else is 6'1", 6'2", and then there’s me. It was supposed to be a college story, so I’m wearing glasses. We do one scene where we all had instruments. I have a bass. So the bass is gigantic. I’m completely dwarfed. That’s where I learned to only be photographed alone so
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directors and stuff saying, “Who do you think we should use for this?” She thought, Why am I giving out all this information? We would get paid to be the stylists but meanwhile she’d put together the whole team. So we decided to do this as a business. By this point, she was married to John Duka, who was writing fashion for the Times. We thought, We have everything here. We can conceive it together. Kezia and I can style it. John can write about it. We can produce ads. We can also work for designers and do their press kits. Eventually, we ended up doing PR to try to control the image that went out. At the time, PR was done mostly by single women who were connected, like Barbara Dente, Donna Christina, Mary Loving. We were the first three editors doing it. We had a track record of knowing things. When we called Polly Mellen or Jade Hobson or one of the Vogue editors and said, “This is a line, you should really look at it,” it was like your contemporary saying it rather than some publicist who’s trying to push their client. We could also style their line so it was palatable for the magazines. The clothes might not have been Vogue, but we could spin the look so it could give the Vogue look. What was it like working together? You and Kezia were married, separated, divorced… We had a really hilarious time. All three of us are fire signs—Kezia was an Aries, John was a Leo, and I’m a Sagittarian. The great thing about most fire signs is you do the explosion and you’re over it. Boom! The big joke was there was always door slamming going on in and out of our office. That’s why I slam the door all the time! I had been friends with Kezia before we were married, and we remained friends until her death. The same thing with John. Everything was brand new. We had no idea how to do it, so we were making it all up. That made it fun. My stepmother, Jade Hobson, who was Vogue’s creative director, tried to explain to me the origins of your company. I couldn’t believe
it—married, divorced, remarried, working together, a baby. So Kezia and I were married. The form of our relationship was work. The relationship worked, but the form wasn’t working, so we changed the form. We obviously remained friends until her death. I cared for her while she was sick. We have a child together. You have a child with someone, you’re connected forever. I loved Kezia as a person. I thought she was the most hilarious, fabulous and smart. Why would I want to be separated from the thing that I thought was wonderful? She loved me as a person, and she was the one person who had my back. I had her back. Then you throw John into the mix, which was just insanity. We all worked really well together. Imagine us on Instagram, how great it could’ve been. Did KCD become a victim of its success by creating a model for others? I think I left it too early to know that. Why did you leave so early? The void was too great for me. John had already died. Kezia died. My dad had died, who was also part of the business. My mom had moved. My whole life changed, and it was too hard. I went to the office for two years after that, but I literally had to grip myself outside to walk in. Then the opportunity at Harper’s Bazaar came along. Julie Mannion and Ed Filipowski were running the business so beautifully that they needed me for some things, but not really. No one is irreplaceable. They made the company something that Kezia would’ve been proud of, but she couldn’t have imagined it, because it’s modern and has nothing to do with what we knew. It has the DNA of us in it, but Julie and Ed were part of it to begin with, because they came with us so early. Ed is the one who created the way we do PR. It’s their DNA as much as ours. Did your daughter change your view on fashion? I have a much more generous outlook on body types than most editors. I know what it’s like to bring up a child—what girls go through. Also, it helped me because I knew what kids were interested in. I could keep up with the times because I had someone who was telling me about it. One day, it was reported back to me that my child was wearing a see-through Dolce & Gabbana dress with a very beautiful bra and panties. She was maybe 17, and she said, “You show it in the magazine.” If I’m showing it, I’ve gotta be fine with it. I can’t judge it. What is great style and who has it now? I like generic style. I’m fine with everything. Kate Young has great style. Everyone she styles looks amazing. Lisa Eisner has fabulous personal style. I love the way Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl look—considered and purposeful. I want all people to look that way. Everybody kind of has such good taste, you kind of want a little bit of bad taste.
Always! That’s the thing: There’s either no vulgarity or it’s too vulgar. You want a little bit of vulgar, but it’s not tacky. It’s a distinction. Here’s someone like Angelina Jolie, who’s extraordinarily beautiful, but there’s a little vulgarity in the fact that her mouth is so large. You don’t think of that as refined, but she’s the most beautifully refined girl. It’s that thing that makes her not ordinary and so beautiful. Marc Jacobs has a little bit of vulgarity. Beautiful can be blah—a little too sterile. There needs to be a little bit of sexuality, a little bit of desire. How would you style Hillary Clinton? A little boxy at the moment. She has to look presidential, but it could be a little more tailored. Same idea. Maybe someone should color-advise. A girl just got off the bus and wants to break into the industry. What would you tell her? Get the hell back on the bus? Internet. Internet. Internet! It’s a brilliant industry. You just have to figure out what you want to do, what your place is. You’ve worked with some of magazines’ classiest. Give us your thoughts on Liz Tilberis. She was completely joyful. She understood that you might not always do your best shoot. After a shoot day, she knew you need a day to unwind, because it took so much out of you. Anna Wintour. Anna was precise. What I loved about working with her is that you knew what she wanted. She knew what she was going after and in that you had to try to create something that was still a surprise. I learned to edit clothes very tightly from her. Linda Wells. Linda was kind of a combination of Liz and Anna in that she is a great editor, and she is happy, joyful, fun to hang out with in that way, but she’s also very directed in what she wants for the magazine. We had a very good collaboration—she treated me very much like what I did was important for the magazine. And she valued it, and my ability to do it unhindered. I lasted about 16 years so obviously I liked working with her a lot. My new boss is now everybody. Is there a place for you in the industry? I do a very, very specific thing for magazines, but the nature of the industry, anyway, is change. The nature of life is change. The struggle is about becoming part of this new world in a way that works for me, because I’m not a street-style star or an incessant Instagrammer. Cayli Cavaco Reck has an idea for me to do a blog, which is great, and I’m going to do a book. But I want the everydayness of working. I’m working freelance for magazines like W and V, and I’ve done lots of ads. But how am I going to become a part of this internet world? That’s my new challenge. ß
WHOOPI’S WORLD
The legendary talk-show host breaks down her new docu-series, Strut, which hits Oxygen on September 20. Plus! Who knew fashion has always been one of her most enduring passions? BY SYDNEY SADICK
STYLE IN SPADES Goldberg with granddaughter Jerzey Dean at a Tracy Reese show; working a shirtdress at a charity event.
Did you come up with Strut? My partner, Tom [Leonardis], and I came to the show through 44 Blue Productions. I think most people don’t realize how often they’ve been around transgender people—it’s not something people will generally bring up—so seeing all the hoopla surrounding Caitlyn Jenner and people’s interest in Laverne Cox made this seem like a good opportunity to talk about the first transgender modeling agency, Slay Model Management. What are you hoping to show viewers? Transgender people are just simply people, and their stories are pretty much the same as everybody else’s story, except they have one extra page: It’s about who they see themselves to be and who they are in their soul. I think a lot of people understand it in a flippant way, and this show reveals real people trying to live their lives and how they can’t get things done as quickly or in the way they want to. We thought we could also help people who aren’t only going through FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
this but are living this through a family member. I Am Cait was canceled after two seasons. What was your reaction? I think what most people would say about Caitlyn Jenner is that she came out, we started to see a change, and then she made a giant change and became the face of what is supposed to be transgender. We’re taking it away from all of that and putting it in real people’s hands, in real time, and showing what they’re really going through. People have spent time with Caitlyn through the Kardashians and they see that she has a lot of money to do these things, but what about the people who don’t have the money—what do they have to do? They won’t be able to sit down with a famous journalist and talk about their journey, so we’re taking it in a different direction. Were you ever on set during filming? When they’re here and I can get to things, I go—I love them. But I try not to be around too much because it
can sometimes change how people do stuff. I prefer to look from a distance. You’re a Fashion Week regular. What do you like about it? Anything that’s unusual and wonderful and makes people feel good is something I want to investigate. I like lots of different kinds of designers—not necessarily to wear, but just to watch. For a while my granddaughter wanted to be a model, and then she realized that it’s really a lot of work. So we went to see what it was like and what it entailed. You’ve tapped into design yourself over the years. I have. I’ve designed socks and bedding. I like design—it’s about finding faith in what you do. How do you describe your personal style? It’s all about comfort. I like things to be oversize, whether I’m a pencil or a basketball. I like to wear white shirts because they make me feel like I’m starting out the day in a clean way. I’m not looking to prove anything in my clothes other than I’m comfortable. It’s no news that you have quite the shoe collection…. The shoe collection I have is specifically for The View. I have probably four pairs of shoes at my house, and 200 for The View. A lot of my shoes come from Irregular Choice; they have magnificent stuff. They also come from Shoe Be Do, in New Orleans, and Kobi Levi, in Israel—they come from all over! There are also a bunch of shoe sites I really dig. I just look and see what’s around. Describe the weirdest shoe you have. It’s kind of hard because I have some weird ones! I have shoes that light up, shoes that look like animals, shoes that look like twists of wood…I think they’re all kind of weird and wonderful. What triggered your interest in fashion? I’ve always liked comfortable and interesting-looking things. When you look at fashion through the years, you realize that the ’20s fashion has been tweaked to turn into the ’40s fashion and then the ’60s—it’s really one outfit that has shifted and turned into lots of different things. It’s what I’ve seen in movies, what I see on the street, what I’ve lived…I love peasant blouses and bell-bottoms. Can I always get away with them? No, but I love them. Do you keep up with fashion magazines? Well, there are a lot of them now—it used to be simpler! But I try to keep up and see who’s doing what and where, and what they think is going to be interesting for next year. Then I try to find out what shoes are going to be interesting. I like Vogue—but it’s whatever I can get my hands on wherever I am. You’re friends with André Leon Talley. How did you meet? I don’t know how or where, but I feel like we’ve always been friends! To me, he’s one of those voices who really sets the tone and tells you, “Listen, you need to look beautiful, but beyond everything else you have to be comfortable. You can’t be uncomfortable in beautiful clothes because then you’ll look uncomfortable.” He tells you things your friend should tell you. Your other industry pal is Gary Wassner. We met at a show—he was talking to my granddaughter. I think she was wearing a hat, when she was trying to design, that made him ask her, “What is that?” They actually worked together for a while, but then she decided that designing wasn’t what she wanted to do. We have an upcoming fashion venture happening this winter! ß
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MARIELLA
Introducing the new power play— enviably chic pieces and an unapologetic confidence to match.
Mariella Mini Eva Satchel • Grey Croc
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Mariella Eva Satchel • Grey Croc
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MASTER OF MODERNISM Taffin’s exquisite contemporary aesthetic and iconic colored ceramic settings have made James de Givenchy’s designs the most coveted among those with the deepest pockets. After two decades creating jeweled masterpieces, Givenchy (nephew of Hubert) has finally decided to document his storied career and brilliant creations in a new tome, simply called Taffin, to be published by Rizzoli this October. We caught up with him in his Manhattan atelier to hear more about his haute history. BY PAIGE REDDINGER
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Happy 20th! How long had you been thinking about putting a book together? For a number of years, and I think it’s a good thing I started thinking about it early, because it really took about a year and a half to make. The hardest part was committing to the images. We made about 3,000 to 4,000 pieces, so to pick 200 that can represent what you did over 20 years was difficult. The book is composed of plenty of anecdotes from your friends. Why did you choose that format? I wanted people to have fun looking at the book. I don’t think people read as much, so I didn’t want this book to be closed and put away. I wanted people to go through it and smile—hopefully this will work. HL Group president Hamilton South had a particularly funny anecdote about you… We went to the same school. It’s funny, because he said I was a rugby player. I wasn’t a rugby player—I was being beaten up by the rugby players! But it’s true that I majored in modern dance. When I first arrived here to learn English, I went to Manhattanville
College in Purchase, New York. I ended up getting a BA in art. My first area of concentration was drawing and my second was dancing and choreography. I had really wanted to do dance, but I had two surgeries on my knee so I wasn’t made for it. I quit and was going to do photography, but my father really wanted me to do something where I could make a living. But, yeah, I loved Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, all of those modern Americans. Dance is like a moving 3-D painting set to music. Is there anyone in your family line who isn’t in the arts? I have a twin brother who is a banker, but he’s creative in his work. But yeah, my uncle Hubert was, of course, a designer; my great grandfather, Jules Badin, was a painter; and my great grandmother, Marguerite Dieterle Badin, was a painter as well. You fell into jewelry by chance. What was your original career path? Furniture. My brother was an interior designer in Paris and had also done some jobs in New York. I graduated from FIT with a degree in graphic design, and I tried
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NATURAL IINSPIRATION (Clockwise from top right) An image by Dennis Walton that inspired the ring below it; a 10.15-karat Golconda diamond, ceramic, gold, and platinum ring, 2015; coral and gold necklace, 1999; Poniatowski Intaglio ceramic and 18-karat gold bracelet, 2016; topaz, oxidized silver, and gold riviere necklace, 2015; an image by Gerrit van Ommering that inspired the topaz necklace below it; (below) pink tourmaline, ceramic, and 18-karat rose gold bracelet, 2016.
to work in that field, but it was not very promising. It was 1985 or 1986, and all the big graphic design agencies were merging; there was a crisis in the business. I ended up working with my brother on a project here in New York, and I traced the plans for him. When the job finished, I went to Christie’s and Sotheby’s and I said I would love to get into furniture; they asked me what I knew about furniture and I replied, “Nothing.” Sotheby’s wouldn’t take me, but Christie’s gave me a job at the front counter. I went and sold the catalogs for six months, then one day, François Curiel, the head of jewelry, called me and said, “Are you French?” I replied, “Yes.” He wanted a guy with a French accent to answer the phone. While working for him, I fell in love with jewelry. First, the stones, and then I learned about the pieces. You can see all the things that no one ever gets to see at Christie’s or Sotheby’s. What you see in the catalogs is only a fraction of what they have. A lot of it is
appraisals—to go to people’s safes and see things that have never gone out and will never go out was really amazing. How did you get into the craft of making jewelry? I could draw, so I bought a book on jewelry drawing from a guy who used to work at Harry Winston. I met a jewelry manufacturer who worked for Van Cleef & Arpels, and at night I would work on the bench and learn how to make things. I quickly realized that you were either going to live on the bench or do the drawings. In the beginning, I would go door-to-door with my drawings and look for the right guy to make my pieces. Eventually, I got a space, bought the machines and whatever else was needed. What was the first piece you ever made? It was a giant starfish, very inspired by René Boivin in many ways. I actually don’t have a photo of this piece, but funny enough, it was sold at Sotheby’s in 2000, and the person who bought it refused to let us shoot it for the book, which I found odd. What did you do after Christie’s? I had told François, who had hired me at Christie’s six years earlier, that I wanted to take on the Far East clients, and he kept telling me I was too young. One day, Ward Landrigan of Verdura came to Los Angeles and made me an offer. So I told François that I would take another job unless he gave me the Far East,
and he said that I was ridiculous, and the next day I resigned. Five minutes later, the phone rang, and he offered the Far East. But I had already committed to Verdura, so I moved to New York. After Verdura, I started my own company, which was originally going to be buying and selling antiques and jewelry. I knew the dealers, and it’s an easy business when you know the right people. A few months later, a client asked me to help her make a ring How did you do it? I found a jeweler, Calvin French. The piece was a carved black jade, and had a ton of platinum; it looked like a weapon, but very clean. It’s featured in the book. She liked that, and every once in a while I see her, and she still wears it. How did you grow your business from there? She recommended other clients. I met a writer who worked for Town & Country at a dinner and told her I was a jewelry designer. Shortly after, I got a call from her saying they wanted to do a small story. In 1996, some of my pieces were featured in Town & Country. What do you hope the next 20 years will hold? I’d like to continue doing this, but I’ve always wanted to make a perfume, so we are working on a fragrance. My father founded Givenchy perfume in Beauvais, so it will really mean something to me. The people we meet in the perfume business are passionate about what they do. They talk about it like wine, and I can see that we are going to have fun. ß
TELLAll André Leon Talley. It’s when they were just starting to produce online content. I didn’t last very long though. I got fired. Why? I was very naive. Some of the things I did were foolish, since I was entering a very professional environment where people expected you to work your way up the ladder. Changing my name was one reason—after my interview at Vogue, I thought I’d never fit in the way that I am, so if they hired me, I had to change everything. And I did, because I wanted to fit in so badly. I was trying to form relationships with people in that network, and it seemed like they felt that I hadn’t paid my dues. But the last straw was showing up to work in really outrageous outfits—crazy patterned suits and high heels. This was before Caitlyn Jenner. I thought those outfits would be appreciated in that environment. They weren’t. What was the best part of working at Vogue? Going to Fashion Week with André. It was crazy; he invited me to go to shows with him. He was really generous. I’d never done anything like that in my life. I had never met a famous person. The first night, at Fashion’s Night Out, I met Sarah Jessica Parker and was interviewed by E! News. It sounds so trivial, but looking back, I was eating it up. I thought my life had started. I had arrived. Have you met Anna? No, but we shared an elevator once. She’s perfectly lovely. Anybody who championed people like John Galliano or Alexander McQueen can’t be that bad. Where else have you worked? I interned for Joe Zee at Elle after Vogue—I worked on shoots and styled. It was at the time when the internship lawsuits were happening, so they fired us all as interns and then hired me as an accessories assistant. I was still full-on Seymour Glass. Then I went to W for four to five months, also in the fashion closet. I quit after that; I couldn’t take it anymore. Do you think anyone’s feelings will be hurt by the book? I don’t think anyone should take anything personally. My intent was not to attack anyone in the industry R.J. Hernández’s debut novel, An Innocent Fashion, has been touted as a that I care about. To me, criticizing is a mark of caring millennial take on The Devil Wears Prada. It’s no wonder—the 26-yearabout something. I really did have a good relationship old Miami native cut his teeth at Vogue, W, and Elle. In his NYC pad, the with André. intern formerly known as Seymour Glass explains his motivations. Have you seen him lately? We were seated next to each other at Donna Karan’s BY SYDNEY SADICK PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIORGIO NIRO fashion show right before she stepped down. He was perfectly lovely. How did you end up writing this book? things. Anyone who reads the book and knows People have compared your book to The Devil I started writing it in between quitting my job at W and me will see resemblances—the trajectory of the Wears Prada. figuring out what I was going to do next. I was having protagonist resembles my own in many important While I see the obvious comparisons, I like to think that a quarter-life crisis. Working in fashion wasn’t making ways. Combining people I knew into characters and my book is drastically more complex. There are a lot me happy, so I started writing as a form of therapy. I’ve tightening up the narrative was a better of things at play, like the character’s written since I was very young—this is my fifth or sixth representation of truth than a play-byREQUIRED READING A Wash- gender, race, class, and sexuality. I liked ington Post reviewer dubbed the book—but the others have never seen the light of day. play of what that time was like for me The Devil Wears Prada growing up—for book “a millennial fairy tale.” People who knew me growing up would associate me and who, specifically, was involved. the most superficial reasons—but it also with the visual arts—I majored in fine arts at Yale— When did you start interning at perpetuates the number-one myth of Vogue? but in private, I expressed myself through writing. For what the fashion industry is like. If that As graduation at Yale was approaching, almost a year I was in my apartment, all boarded up. I attracts them to my book, great, but I I knew I wanted to do something in became a crazy person. I burned through my savings, hope they’d leave with an appreciation art or fashion. I didn’t know designers, but this was important to me. that it contains a lot of layers. models, or trends—I just had an What’s the book about? Could you see your book turning appreciation for how I dress myself and It’s about the experience of a character similar to me into a movie? others. I applied to a few magazines, who had great expectations for his post-graduate life We just sold the rights to an affiliate of and Vogue was the one that got back to and ended up working in fashion, having thought for HBO to turn it into a TV show. They’re me first, so I took it. Before I knew it, I many years that it was the epitome of glamour. He looking for a screenwriter, so we’ll see! had a different name. comes to understand his disillusionment as this larger What are you working on now? You started using the name social framework in which he was disadvantaged for My next novel! The concept is the second Seymour Glass? being an outsider. coming of Jesus Christ as a teenager at a How much of the book is really fiction? Yeah. I was in a rabbit hole of s**t. Christian prep school. It has nothing to do I interned for Hamish Bowles and I like to think of fact and truth as two different with An Innocent Fashion. ß
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CLEARING THE AIR
BLOOMINGDALE’S SOUTHAMPTON 53C Jobs Lane
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CHICTech
Samsung 837 is breaking the boundaries of reality for designers and brands with its high-tech offerings this NYFW, from installations to virtual reality to live-streaming and more. Zach Overton, VP/GM at Samsung, reveals what the future looks like at the Washington Street destination and beyond.
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BY KRISTEN HEINZINGER
TECH TALK Samsung 837’s VR Tunnel and virtual reality equipment make for 360-degree experiences; the CFDA connects designers with Samsung to explore new opportunities.
What’s the concept behind Samsung 837? It’s our global flagship and Market Center of Excellence here in the heart of New York City, which opened in February. Open to the general public, the living lab features Samsung product installations and technology touchpoints across three floors. 837 isn’t just a venue, it’s an experiential space where we bring cultural moments to life, all amplified by our technology. It’s the physical manifestation of the Samsung brand, living at the intersection of technology and culture. The space is about bringing people and ideas together, and we execute that promise through our immersive programming and activations. We focus on passion pillars, including
fashion, art, technology, health and fitness, and more. There’s something here for everyone to enjoy. We believe that through the access we provide to cultural moments and exclusive events, like NYFW, we help make life better. Can you give a few examples of recent events and partnerships? Since 837 launched, we have created several robust partnerships, from The Infatuation to Wanderlust, NBC and The Olympics and, of course, the CFDA. We launched our partnership with the CFDA this spring, working with them to select their Platform 3 emerging designers. We worked with these designers to create virtual reality (VR) content about their
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FASHIONING THE FUTURE
“WE LIKE TO THINK OF 837 AS THE UNFASHION WEEK DESTINATION... PROVIDING GUESTS WITH ACCESS TO FASHION AND BEAUTY’S MAJOR MOMENTS.”
THE 837 CROWD A taste of who’s amping up their tech game this NYFW:
KENDALL + KYLIE September 7 Pop-up shop, presentation
MONSE September 9 8 p.m.–12 a.m. After-party, invite-only
GYPSY SPORT September 11, 4–6 p.m. Runway show, public CHARLOTTE TILBURY September 10, 12–8 p.m. Fragrance launch, public
inspiration and design process that debuted at NYFW: Men’s and 837. What was so impactful about this content was that it allowed the fashion enthusiasts at NYFW: Men’s and beyond to have a personal connection to the designer prior to viewing the collection. What’s lined up for NYFW? We are so excited to be part of NYFW this season. Fashion is a passion point that runs deep within our target audience, and we are a proud partner of the CFDA. Samsung 837 is at the forefront of helping designers and brands reach an all-new, large, and influential audience of enthusiasts in unexpected ways. As a leader in virtual reality, we are helping designers welcome their fans into immersive experiences of their fashion shows and collections. Samsung positions 837 as an “un-fashion week”
destination. Why is it taking this approach? Samsung is constantly innovating to enhance how people can enjoy the things they love, and NYFW is no exception. At 837, fashion and technology are integrated to create a fully immersive experience. We like to think of 837 as the un-fashion week destination, democratizing the industry’s biggest events by providing guests with access to fashion and beauty’s major moments. For example, the Kendall + Kylie fall collection launch and huge blowout celebration and Olivine Gabbro’s runway show at 837. We’re integrating technology and virtual reality to elevate the brands’ presence and reach a broader audience. Celebrity makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury will debut her new fragrance and reveal her VR film using Samsung Gear VR, which features Kate Moss. Some of the CFDA’s most promising designers, Timo Weiland and Gypsy Sport, will also take over the space to unveil their most recent collections. For Timo Weiland’s fashion show, “see now buy now” will become a reality through Samsung technology. We offer three floors in the
space to allow for fully immersive shows, including live-streaming and see-now, buy-now purchasing. How did 837 team up with this group of designers? We wanted to curate a unique mix, and we think we’ve achieved that. What all of these designers have in common is their desire to innovate and be on the forefront of what’s happening in fashion. Before fashion week, 837 wrapped up its first summer concert series—how’d that go? Throughout the summer we hosted Live@837NYC, a weekly concert series on Thursday nights with artists including Gwen Stefani, Tegan and Sara, Phantogram, Marina and the Diamonds, Diplo, St. Lucia, Capital Cities, Cold War Kids, Years & Years, and A$AP Ferg. 837 has become one of the hottest concert venues, but we don’t sell tickets—it’s the un-concert. We offer our consumers access to some of the biggest names in music. Providing access is what Samsung and 837 is all about—we bring cultural moments to life. ß FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
JUSTAsking
WHAT WAS YOUR MOST THANKLESS JOB EVER? BY SYDNEY SADICK
IN SOME WAYS ALL OF MY JOBS HAVE BEEN GREAT EXPERIENCES. I’VE DEFINITELY TAKEN SOMETHING BACK FROM IT, EVEN IF IT JUST INVOLVES RUNNING TO GET COFFEE FOR SOMEONE. —CAROLINE C CAROLINE CONSTAS, CONSTAS, DESIGNER
Sharing my bed with rotating children who can’t sleep! —VERONICA SWANSON BEARD, DESIGNER
I lasted a day—and by a day, I mean a couple of hours—at a shoe store. When I saw that at the end of the day the shoes were all on the floor after I spent the whole day putting them on shelves, I was like, “I gotta go.” I quit at that moment and literally walked out the door. Maybe I wasn’t too thankful! I was a little thankless myself.
I used to work at this place called Frugal Fannie's. It’s this women’s warehouse store where everything is discounted, and it was huge. I was 14 and used to hide under the clothing racks so my manager wouldn’t see me because I hated it so much. —DIANE — —D DIANE GUERRERO, DIANE ACTRESS
I’ve never had a bad job. The thing about having a bad job is you learn from it, so at the moment if you think it’s a bad job, it isn’t.
—HAILEY — —H HAILEY B HAILEY BALDWIN, MODEL
Diane G Guerrero
Hailey Baldwin
When I was an assistant fashion editor at Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, I’d have to stay up all night before a shoot, steaming out trunk after trunk of 2,000 dresses from like Dior and Versace. But I loved all the clothes, so I was excited to see them! —MARY ALICE STEPHENSON, PERSONALITY
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—JASON WU, DESIGNER
Not too long ago, I was shooting in Paris for an editorial, and I woke up and was throwing up all morning for no particular reason. I just got sick and still had to shoot the whole day, and in between I was like, “Be right back.” Not good!
Jonathan Simkhai
—DONNA KARAN, DESIGNER
I’ve only had two jobs in my life: working in toys and in fashion. I made dolls for 10 years and loved it! But when I was in boarding school, I had to rake up all the leaves because I got in trouble.
—SELENIS LEYVA, ACTRESS
I sold wigs at a wig stand in the middle of a mall, and they all had names like “Tiffany” and “Veronica.” I had to sit people down and convince them that these wigs were something they needed in their life. It was terrifying. —TRACY ANDERSON, TRAINER
It was my first summer internship working in the buying office for a department store. I actually really loved the job and my boss, but it was before you could easily PDF and e-mail out reports. Mondays were miserable. We received one hard copy of our (sacred, holy grail) weekly selling report that was about 500 pages long. I would spend my entire Monday photocopying it in sections, and faxing the individual sections to my different vendors (there were more than 50 of them, and if I messed up I would be in big trouble, as the information was so confidential). —GRACE G ATWOOD, BLOGGER
Things have been pretty great. I haven’t had any bad experiences. I’ve lived a pretty thankful life! —ANSEL ELGORT, — ACTOR
MY FIRST JOB WHEN I WAS IN DESIGN SCHOOL WAS WORKING IN A CHILDREN’S BOUTIQUE. I HAD TO FOLD EVERYTHING BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T HAVE HANGERS, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW MUCH I HAD TO FOLD. I DIDN’T LAST LONG!
WHEN I WAS MODELING, I WAS DESIGNATED TO DO THE MOST PHYSICAL STUFF, LIKE HANGING FROM TRAPEZES AND HOLDING ALLIGATORS. —GABRIELLE REECE, MODEL, ATHLETE, AND ENTREPRENEUR
—MONIQUE LHUILLIER, DESIGNER
I used to work at a pet store when I was 15 years old. My mom dropped me off there and told me to get a job, so I used to clean all the aquariums and cages. I’d catch a cricket and sell them for, like, 10 cents a piece. —JONATHAN ONATHAN SIMKHAI, S DESIGNER
Monique Lhuillier
When I saw myself on a billboard where they photoshopped boobs onto me, totally not cool. They didn't ask or mention anything—they just did it. —CHLOE C CHLOE N NORGAARD, MODEL
Ansel Elgort
Gabrielle Reece
Selenis elenis Leyva
Miles McMillan
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Veronica Miele Beard
Jackie Cruz
Veronica Swanson Beard
To save money during our first season, I was our lookbook model. Thank God those days are over! —VERONICA MIELE BEARD, DESIGNER
Tracy Anderson
I was a server at Dos Caminos on 14th St., and whether you were a man or a woman, you had to bring in the tables and chairs every day. The guacamole bowls were also so heavy to carry up and down the stairs!
I’ve had maybe 10 or more thankless jobs, or ones that I’ve blacked out from and don’t want to remember. —MILES MCMILLAN, MODEL
—JACKIE CRUZ, ACTRESS FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
TRUE LIFE: I’M A LUXURY SALESPERSON One storied brand has become the darling of Madison Avenue ever since a galvanizing new creative director revived its once-fatigué look. The Daily recently sat down with a saleswoman at one of its best-performing stores to dish anonymously about life back on top. Consider this a tale of hope! BY EDDIE ROCHE
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EVERETT COLLECTION; SHUTTERSTOCK
EASYSell
How would you describe the current state of retail these days? It’s pretty bad in the luxury sector. Everything is down, with the exception of us. We’re so hot right now! The other stores on our street have been seriously cutting employee hours—some are only allowing their employees to work 30 to 35 hours a week. But happy days are here again, chez vous? Correct. Every salesperson in New York is dropping off their résumé to my manager. He proceeds to put them in an ever-expanding pile that nobody really looks at, because none of us has plans to leave anytime soon. Everyone wants to go where strong sales are guaranteed, and can you blame us? It’s not just the money—the fashion itself is so good. [Redacted creative director] is brilliant. What was your life like when stiletto sales were weak and business was limping along? There were basically tumbleweeds rolling around the store. We’d essentially count sheep to make the time pass. There’s only so much you can squeeze out of your private clients—we had to be really creative to make our commissions. How so? I always tried to think outside of the box and call hotel concierges to invite out-of-towners for a personal shopping experience. During big sporting events, we’d invite the athletes in for appointments. We’d also throw events before or after store hours. It was exhausting! It’s so nice to not work so hard. How much did that period affect your personal finances? Not as badly as you might think—most high-fashion luxury brands still give a pretty good base salary. We don’t rely solely on commission, although it is hugely helpful. How much money can salespeople make? Each of us essentially runs our own business, so the sky is the limit. It’s all about what you do on your downtime: Are you sitting there waiting for the customer to come in, or are you on the phone working it? Handbags aren’t going to make as much as readyto-wear. A great salesperson can make well over $150,000 a year. It’s all about having the right rich lady on your side. What kind of feedback do you get from customers these days? The walk-in traffic has increased tenfold. There are some loyalists who think, What the hell happened to [redacted]? But the fashion customers—the ones we actually want—are so excited. In turn, it makes us excited to sell it. Your brand’s previous creative director was known for her overtly sexy style. But it was stale! I understood her business model—she was trying to attract the career women, like bankers and lawyers, but it wasn’t stimulating. Tell us about the day her departure was announced. We had heard whispers about a shake-up, so we were ready. I do find it funny that she had a baby with a colleague, and I had to watch ethics training videos? Please! Are you competitive? In a commission environment, there is definitely selfishness at every turn. It’s a little more respectful in the ready-to-wear area, where I work, than in handbags. Selling clothes takes a little more polish. The associates who work in handbags have walk-in customers, and we don’t clamor for the walk-in clients like they do. There are always people
“IT’S NICE TO GET TO KNOW CLIENTS OVER THE YEARS, BUT YOU REALLY JUST WANT TO SEE THE CENTURION CARD COME OUT. MAKING RELATIONSHIPS SPEEDS THAT UP.” complaining at the cash wrap that someone took their client. Some of the gay associates have an advantage with the Park Avenue women who want “a gay.” I try not to let that bother me. What’s the discount? Fifty percent! Half of my paycheck goes right back to [redacted]. Weirdest customer requests? I meet with some clients nearly every week of the year, and I’ve become a therapist. You find out what’s going on with their husbands; they’ll open up about affairs. It’s nice to get to know clients over the years, but you really just want to see the Centurion card come out. Making relationships speeds that up. I recently had a woman who bought the same sweaters for her house in New York and her house in Aspen. Must be nice! Do associates have clients they can’t stand? Absolutely. Luckily, the money makes them a lot more tolerable. How old is your average customer these days? She’s a lot younger now. With the old creative director, the average age was 94. Just kidding. On what occasions do you lie? Some clients don’t want to be realistic about their size. If you even hint that perhaps a 42 would be
more flattering, you might lose the sale. I’m not above gushing at something that looks like it’s going to come apart at the seams. Do you encounter shoplifters? Absolutely, even with all the cameras. Shoplifters aren’t stupid: Once, a girl tried on a pair of shoes that were in a display case, and she just replaced them with her tennis shoes and walked out. It was kind of amazing how she clearly gave no f**ks. Does your new creative god ever come into the store? He does. He’s one of the most relatable and approachable guys. Do your feet get tired? Let’s just say we’re all very grateful for Dr. Scholl’s foot pads. What’s the most a customer has ever spent? One of my regulars spent $85,000 in one sitting. Some associates have had sales north of a million! I would have thrown up in their face out of gratitude. It’s a bit like playing the lottery every day. Any advice for struggling luxury brands? Promote from within! At first I thought, How am I going to sell this s**t? But I appreciate it now. You can tell he had fun making the clothes. It’s so much more rewarding to sell. ß FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
ZODIAC ALERT!
Astrological motifs rocked the runway at Emilio Pucci.
How will she do at Dior? MARIA GRAZIA CHIURI AQUARIUS ELISABETH GRACE: Maria Grazia’s actual birthday is a secret. Only her birth month, February, and her age were found in our web search. Maria Grazia is known for her extraordinary discipline, and patterns in the second week of February 1968 scream that potential. So let’s run with it. In 2016 we see an easy flow between Maria Grazia’s Aquarius Sun and Jupiter, which will be in Libra until October. In the language of astrology, Jupiter symbolizes expansion. Thus, we expect significant opportunities for Maria Grazia to expand her influence and broaden her horizons. Other patterns suggest power and resources on an even bigger scale, now and through 2017. Her pioneering aesthetic sensibilities are likely to be pulling focus, for better or worse, in the Spring. If we had her birth time, I suspect we’d instantly see major pressure for change on the angles of the horoscope, i.e., her Ascendant (how she needs to be seen) and Midheaven (her career and status). Pressure on those would reflect her recent dramatic changes: quitting smoking, going blonde, and moving from Rome to Paris, where she’s now flying solo. PERI LYONS: Maria Grazia is going to undergo what we Buddhists call a “human revolution,” that is, she is going to be challenged enormously, and at one point, will absolutely feel like giving up. This feels like six to eight months from now. Around that time, it’s possible that by being a bit too ahead of her time, her artistry might be misunderstood. She will have to pull back a bit, and do that most difficult of tasks for artists: integrate her vision with that of the wider culture’s. I predict she will do this by going back to the past, both Dior’s and her own. It will redefine luxury in a way that is paradoxically practical and even ethical. My advice: Do not give up. The moment you feel lowest is the moment of greatest opportunity for creative revolution.
There’s nothing wrong with a little guesswork, but when it comes to real, bona fide intel on what’s going on in the alwaysturbulent world of chic, we turned to the experts. Astrologer Elisabeth Grace and psychic Peri Lyons studied the charts of our most news-making designers to provide some insight into how they’re faring in their new roles. AS TOLD TO PAIGE REDDINGER
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ANTHONY VACCARELLO VIRGO ELISABETH GRACE: Anthony is a Virgo, driven by the Moon in Pisces. He needs to work with impressions and ideals, using his discerning intellect to turn his intuition into the perfect tangible form. In Anthony’s case, if he was born before noon, potential setbacks should be in the rearview mirror by the end of 2016. Heading into 2017, we see opportunities for a renewed sense of purpose, evolving into an aesthetic expression that blooms with prominence throughout the year. PERI LYONS: Anthony’s energy is so much like Saint Laurent’s—to me, Saint Laurent was like Picasso. If he trusts his originality and goes beyond his comfort zone, and sends me some free shoes—kidding!—and uses the best people in the world to do the fiddly bits like sewing and cutting, then he should do beautifully. He is a dreamer and a visionary.
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WHAT’S IN YOUR STARS?
Will his first collection for Saint Laurent be a runaway success?
Will he be able to carry Valentino on his own? PIERPAOLO PICCIOLI VIRGO ELISABETH GRACE: Seventeen planets in secretive Scorpio? A hyperactive nebulous Neptune? No trace of a birth date can be found online, but he did confess to being a Virgo in Harper’s Bazaar. If he was born at the very end of August or early September 2016, he may be feeling a little bit like Alice in Wonderland—10 feet tall one day, and oh so small the next. It can be quite a trip when your Virgo Sun is working hard to discern, dissect, and perfect, while under pressure from planetary patterns suggesting dogged ambition, expansive opportunity, sobering reality, and sublime vision all at the same time. If Pierpaolo was born after September 8, his Virgo Sun would face only the streamlining ambition of Saturn in 2017. If born before the 8th, it’s Wonderland now and all of next year, thanks to dreamy Neptune. Upside: the bliss of structuring that sublime vision. Downside: Carrying the weight on his own could sap his vitality. Perfection can still be achieved with plenty of rest. PERI LYONS: I’m getting that Pierpaolo, who has a strong psychic talent himself, will almost literally “channel” Valentino. Valentino will be very present in guiding Pierpaolo, and the two sensibilities will blend seamlessly. Look for an almost Charles James–like perfection of structure in the couture lines, combined with playfulness. I would ask this designer to take care of his health. His workaholism and perfectionism could present some issues, so please sleep and eat and drink water...while making us all more gorgeous!
Will Balenciaga diehards take him for a wunderkind or an impostor?
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DEMNA GVASALIA ARIES ELISABETH GRACE: Demna is a pioneering Aries. If you want to get him to do something, tell him it’s impossible. He’ll move heaven and earth to prove you wrong. Demna’s Moon is either in controlling Scorpio or boundary-pushing Sagittarius. Does Demna need to tell you his righteous opinion 24/7? Then his Moon is likely Sagittarius. Demna’s horoscope suggests seriously focused business savvy with a fair-minded balance to his me-first Aries sun. In September, his horoscope will have just entered a phase of potential expansion and prominence, which deepens in 2017. Demna needs to be ahead of the pack in his aesthetic expression. The first half of 2017 suggests his cutting-edge initiatives will be in the limelight. Why? Because Venus—which refers to money, love, and beauty—will be hot in his horoscope for an unusually long stretch. PERI LYONS: This is a hard question for me to answer, because someone just stole my favorite Balenciaga jacket, but I’m seeing more of what’s been working. This is a stock I would buy. I also like this guy’s energy as a person, although I wouldn’t want him mad at me! He seems to embody the brand without trying. I’m not worried here.
Will Raf galvanize Calvin Klein as he did at Dior?
ASTROChic MEET OUR EXPERTS!
RAF SIMONS CAPRICORN ELISABETH GRACE: Raf is a Capricorn, driven by a chatterbox moon in Gemini. In Raf’s horoscope, his Capricorn Sun driven by a Gemini Moon suggests his ambition is most happily fulfilled when he is the smartest, most creative kid in the room. “I don’t want to do collections where I’m not thinking,” he confided last November to New York, after he left the fast-paced House of Dior. Ya think? In April 2016, we see in Raf’s horoscope an electrifying need to be himself, working on his own terms without compromise. This carries him through the first half of 2017. If I were his astrologer, we’d be talking about his plans to show off his originality to the max. Other patterns in his horoscope suggest a need for a romanticized creative vision carrying though 2017. Does he have a creative outlet other than his work as a designer? He would be happy if he developed one now. PERI LYONS: Although he works just as hard as the previous two designers—and let me tell you, this is a crazy-workethic bunch of folks you’ve asked about—I just get such an irrepressible joy from Raf, that I’m not always sure people give him credit... In other words, he makes all this look almost too easy! He should be a bit careful while letting other people drive. I see him being quiet about what’s really going on, but we can expect him to burst out in a way that makes him utterly unique…on his own terms.
ELISABETH GRACE Elisabeth earned her B.A. in Philosophy from Wellesley College when she was 20. Grace was an award-winning film and TV marketer in Los Angeles before moving to New York, where she is now a certified professional astrologer, with credentials conferred by ISAR, the International Society for Astrological Research. Contact her at graceastrology.com or e-mail eg@graceastrology.com.
Will he stay at Louis Vuitton? NICOLAS GHESQUIÈRE TAURUS ELISABETH GRACE: Ghesquière is a Taurus, driven to fulfill the needs of a Scorpio Moon. Building material security that shows him to be a person of depth is his prime directive. He needs to be in control and he can be quite stubborn and headstrong. It’s not surprising that there were rumors of him leaving Vuitton over the summer. Planetary patterns relevant to his birth date suggest frustrated ambition in June and July. All year his pioneering aesthetic sensibilities have been buzzing with innovative concepts looking to be set free. This continues into 2017, coupled with a burning need for passion in all areas of creative expression. But according to his birth time, found on an astrology database, we see the potential for a parting of ways in 2018. PERI LYONS: I don’t see him leaving soon, but there may be a lightning clap, in which he decides to go elsewhere and is replaced by a different, very talented designer. I don’t want to say who, but this designer is known for their ability to do costume design and reference vintage while still staying fresh. I see a possibility of scandal with Ghesquière—not his doing, but someone making a fuss—and I see him doing a line that includes interior and fabric design, possibly furniture too. I see a change for everyone’s good within two years.
PERI LYONS Peri has modeled, sung with Moby and Courtney Love, posed for paintings in museums, and as a psychic, was profiled in ArtInfo, The New Yorker, and Huffington Post. She is known for her warmth, humor, straightforwardness, and above all accuracy—and her (moral) aversion to Google. She got her start in the New York art world, reading for now-famous artists and gallerists. Contact her at perilyonsintuitive.com, or give her a ring at (917) 568-5368.
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
FACEOff
TERRY RICHARDSON VS. YOUR DAD If Instagram is to be believed, newly minted father Terry Richardson is embracing family life with gusto. So how does the legendary fashion photographer stack up to your precious pops? BY ASHLEY BAKER
TERRY
YOUR DAD
DEMOGRAPHIC
DEMOGRAPHIC
A seasoned Gen Xer
A young-at-heart Baby Boomer
FIRST CAREER
FIRST CAREER
Making $14K a year as a junior-level accountant
SIGNATURE GESTURE
The thumbs-up
BFF
BFF
“Uncle” Mike, a toxic bachelor from his JV football team. Go, Panthers!
“Uncle” Jared Leto
SIGNATURE GESTURE
The thumbs-up
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
CAREER HIGHLIGHT
Shooting an entire issue of Playboy in the aftermath of a sexual harassment scandal
His retirement party, held last year at the downtown Marriott
BROWSING HISTORY
BROWSING HISTORY
Terrysdiary.com and other sites that are probably illegal to promote
USAToday.com, Fidelity.com, AOL.com
DUBIOUS HOBBIES
DUBIOUS HOBBIES
Giving out condoms as party favors
STYLE LEGACY
Everyone in Hollywood has been photographed in his glasses
Giving out 35% tips to a chesty waitress at the Olive Garden
Twenty minutes ago
BIG EXPOSURE Remember Terryworld?
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
STYLE LEGACY
LAST ENCOUNTERED A STRANGER’S BARE BREASTS…
He’s managed to wear the same exact shoes as Mike Bloomberg since 1972
LAST ENCOUNTERED A STRANGER’S BARE BREASTS… During the Summer of Love
BIG EXPOSURE
You saw him once in just boxers, and you will never be the same
G E T T Y I M A G E S ; B FA N YC . C O M ; S H U T T E R S TO C K ; C O U R T E S Y
Playing bass guitar in punk bands
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