MAGAZINE FOR GIRLS IN THEIR 20S
BALMAIN H&M A Nation United by Fast Fshion
SPRING FASHION SPECIAL
Dec 2015
CONTENT Editor Sonya Sun Office 79 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone +19708899249 E-mail. miaofly0807@126.com web. ershimagazine.weebly.com
EDITOR’S LETTER
05
This magazine is for ladies who are in their twenties and who wish to stand out from their peers. We hope to stimulate readers’ fashion awareness and lead them to an exciting journey of self-discovery.
14 “WOMEN TRANSFORMERS” Ever since their debut at London Fashion Week in 2012, Fyodor Podgorny and Golan Frydman have never failed to surprise us with their idiosyncratic designs.
22 SPRING IS BLOOMING Kate Spade’s creative director Deborah Lloyd used the season itself as her inspiration for Spring/ Summer 2016 collection show at New York Fashion Week.
2
A STORY OF A DREAMER One such artist is Michelle Phan, and if you do not know her yet, here is a story that will feed you with all the inspiration you need, for makeup, and maybe for your life as well.
32
TECHNOLOGY AND FASHION The fashion industry has been influenced from the advances in technology ——they go handin-hand with each other.
48 56
BALMAIN X H&M A NATION UNITED BY FAST FASHION The latest collection in a series of H&M’s collaborations with high-profile designers is set to arrive in stores on November 5. This time it is with Olivier Rousteing, director of French luxury brand Balmain.
EDITORIALS
06/ 28/ 40/ 52/
“ GIRL WITH FRINGE IS IN “
“ FIRST DATE ”
“ SO SHE GOES “
“ LIGHTING OR NOTHING “
3
“ERSHI” IS THE WORD FOR THE NUMBER 20 IN CHINESE, AND “20” IS SYMBOLIC OF A TRANSITION FROM TEENAGER TO ADULT. ERSHI MAGAZINE IS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE IN YOUR TWENTIES.
4
Editor’s Letter I’m excited to announce the first letter from the editor that’s me! This is the first issue of ERSHI Magazine, which was produced after much stress and hard work. “ERSHI” is a Chinese pronunciation, which means 20. At the age of 20, many young women are financially independent, can buy what they like, and have developed a strong sense of fashion and personal taste. Our first fashion magazine focuses on Asian styles geared towards American women in their twenties. Thanks to the globalization and the spread of information, young women can absorb different cultures of fashion. Now is the perfect time for a magazine like ERSHI. In our first issue, you will read about a lot of real-life fashion issues, which include the latest information and emerging trends in the industry, as well as New York and London runway show reviews of Kate Spade, Red Valentino, Rebecca Minkoff and Fyodor Golan. Additionally, we offer an artist story of artist and YouTube star Michelle Phan, as well an op-ed about Balmain x H&M. In the upcoming issues, we invite some new fashion designers to share their collection with you. We cover it all. Starting a brand-new magazine is inspiring and exhausting. It is quite an exciting challenge, but I’m ready to take it on. I hope ERSHI will boost your self-confidence and help you find your voice. Enjoy ERSHI Magazine’s very first issue and please provide lots of feedback to miaofly0807@126.com! Thanks, Sonya Sun, Editor MA Fashion Journalism Student ERSHI Magazine
5
poncho RAG & BONE skirt AZALEA hat RAG AND BONE tall boot ASKA
6
FRINGE GIRL WITH IS IN Photographer: Jen Lovely
Make-up: Sean Kosug Hair: Kendall Shira Model: Arrianna Duarte Stylist: Laynie Rouch
7
tassel sweater PODEBJER suede dress AAZLEA blue suede boots H BY HUDSON
8
fringe jakect BLANK DENIM lace up print dress AZALEA
9
jacket AZALEA gray sweater ALEXANDER WANG skirt The FIFTH bag RAG & BONE
10
11
12
blouse WON HUNDRED dress RODEBJER
13
The Showcase of Fyodor Golan’s Women “Transformers” London | SS 2016 Fashion Show
14
Ever since their debut at London Fashion Week in 2012, Fyodor Podgorny and Golan Frydman have never failed to surprise us with their idiosyncratic designs. From the earliest “Flowers of Evil” to the Autumn/ Winter 2015 collection inspired by “My Little Pony”, the designer duo have demonstrated an exceptional ability in turning concepts-often borrowed from literature, music and movies into reality with a texture. This time, Spring/Summer 2016, it is the “Transformer”, an idea that is reminiscent of the cartoon series and toys created in the 80s, which fueled the imagination of adults and children back in a time when we still very much lived in the real, and less “virtual,” world.
The ”Transformers” motif was evidenced in the form of small robot patterns, which were printed in bright neon colors on sweatshirts or skirts. The metallic sensation was also reinforced through the use of materials such as leather and transparent plastics, the application of heavy eye-shadow and excessive earrings. What also caught the audience’s eyes were the unconventional cuts: Skirts and dresses were hacked and styled in jagged layers; shirts and jackets were long and oversized, featuring either protruding or asymmetrical sleeves. Spaghetti-strap tops and dresses complemented the whole look with a touch of femininity, so did details such as rose prints, frills and layers of chiffon.
15
“Playful adolescent aesthetics, pure colour combinations and distinctive 3D textiles are the essence of the FG image.” — Fyodor
16
Golan
The best part, however, was the hightech vitality invoked by the fluorescent fabric and echoed by the high fluorescent platform soles. The green color particularly reminded one of flickering numbers and codes on a digital screen. Technological savvy definitely makes up part of the picture of the modern woman that Fyodor and Golan have in mind, but what else? Look closer: The sandals were exaggerated versions of Japanese Geta colored in simple white or with neon straps, and the long black dress with knots all over was similar in structure to a kimono. The multicultural influences and high-tech finishes that had already been present in the duo’s earlier “Crocodile” collection, but perhaps this time they were merely paying tribute to Takara Tomy, the company that originally produced the line of Transformers toys.
Whichever it was, Fyodor Golan’s SS16 Collection was another interpretation of the duo’s slogan of “wardrobe for today’s global modern and iconic women”. Some might call it “candy-coated fashion”, but it could also be pure playfulness.
17
18
MODEST CHIC by Red Valentino
F
or Spring 2016 Red Valentino’s two powerful designers, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, offered a Marie Antoinette-inspired collection with a bohemian twist. Red Valentino never goes wrong with monochrome colors combines casual cuteness with smart elegance. Another interpretation of the brand’s signature “modest chic” style, Red Valentino’s spring collection skillfully mixes lace, silk, leather and denim to create a style that is elegant, smart, casual and hip. Elements such as round, deep V-shaped or slightly standing shirt collar, floral patterns, tower skirts and bow tie accessories all add to femininity that is already outlined by the collection’s A-line silhouette. Such as wallpaper patterns are transformed into pastel prints, short dresses feature built-in corsets, embroidered birds embellish liven up the light sleeves. All these kinds of clothing are paired with lace-up boots, contrasting heel patterned sneakers, socks and pointy pumps with bows. Even canvas shoes are represented and the result is young feminine loveliness. The best part is the bold reference to corsets, which are incredibly contemporary while royally elegant. We have a reason to believe the princesses, whose existence Hollywood movies have convinced us of, will all be wearing them next season.
19
20
21
SPRING IS BLOOMING
KATE SPADE NEW YORK
“A SPRING MORNING”
Through whole collection of Kate Spade New York Spring 2016, the designer wants to share a story of balmy spring in this collection.
22
23
Kate Spade New York
Kate Spade’s creative director Deborah Lloyd used the season itself as her inspiration for Spring/Summer 2016 collection show during New York Fashion Week. Leave it to Llyod to keep it interesting: Kate Spade introduced a brand new line, which was inspired by Bodega’s flowers in the
24
vibrant New York flower markets, Broome Street. The floral bodega could let guests to dell that they had left the city completely with bursts of roses and daisies as far as one can see.
Spring and flowers, flowers and spring. Reductive yes; smart, absolutely! This trend is here to stay for a while, and for Kate Spade it is flowers as far as we can see, from a big red abstrct organza flower bow on the black belt, to small flowers in grayscale shades splattered on an A-line shirt, and plenty of transparent petals’ printed on a pink shirt. All those floral prints with colorful clothing were accentuated by the runway, featuring more than 30,000 flowers in this springlike presentation.
Kate Spade bags have gathered a cult following. The cheerful S/S 2016 collection offers them in a variety of options, from a more classic black and gold stitched flap clutches to quirky nature inspired handbags. Between floral looks and bright colors, Kate Spade woman will need to make sure she doesn’t blend in too much into her seasonal surroundings.
25
NEW YORK FASHION WEEK REBECCA MINKOFF 2016 S/S Collection
26
When it comes to balance coolness and femininity, Rebecca Minkoff is pretty gifted. Opening with the music of Borne’s, whose alternative rock style set the tone for the whole show, Minkoff’s 2016 Spring Summer collection immediately evoked a vintage sensibility that is reminiscent of the sixties and seventies. The combined use of leather and metallic accessories were the statement of a modern woman about her strong and independent qualities and yet at the same time chiffon’s lightness and transpar-
ency and a highlighted waistline softened the toughness and brought out the sentimental side of the female. Shirts and skirts with above-the-knee length are a definite breakthrough from Minkoff’s more conservative past series; Elements such as bra, crop top, tasseled bags, collars with varied shapes and irregular cuts at the shoulders and around the waist also added a bit twist.
27
REBECCA MINKOFF’S BOHO SPIRIT REBECCA MINKOFF S/S 16 READY-TO-WEAR
28
It was smart of Minkoff to play with simple and classic colors—mostly white and black but also occasionally grey and lilac, which brought cuts and patterns to the forefront of attention. Contrast was however not merely reflected by the colors, but has became something more fundamental in this collection: embodied by a model with a leather jumpsuit, an obvious reference to Marianne Faithfull staged in The Girl on a Motorcycle, Minkoff’s design was at once
a tribute to Faithful and a contemporary rendering of the cute and edgy female, be her a rock star, or a normal college girl. The show was also livened by an Intel drone circling in the room, a technological knowhow that Minkoff has clearly mastered in order to entertain the audience—last year it was wearable smart gadgets. Remember? The question though, is that when 60s rock or Bohemian is only relevant in commercialized runway shows, is the spirit still alive?
29
FIRST
sunglasses BUFFALO EXCHANGE bucket bag ELIZABETH AND JAMES nail polish AMERICAN APPAREL paper / tile props FLAX, SCRAP
30
Photographer: Anthony Rogers Stylist: Laynie Rouch
DATE
31
32
Technology and Fashion
ARE DRIVING EACH OTHER FORWARD The fashion industry has been influenced from the advances in technology — they go hand-in-hand with each other. You can now merge technology with fashion in endless ways: find inspiration from other fashionistas, find a pair of pants to match your blouse, or use an app to post your outfit-of-the day, and be a potentialAstylist to others. For many years, the spread and development of fashion has relied on technology. Beginning in the mid-1800s, fashion brands were introduced through retail catalogues allowing access from even the most remote locations. Fast-forward 100 years and the most effective ways to reach the consumer include magazines and television commercials. In the last 20 years, consumers have been introduced to a very convenient and useful revolutionary technology in the form of computer apps and the Internet. In addition to the fashion news, trends, and events, how does one get fashion information? There is no doubt that technology plays a big role.There are hundreds of fashion apps out there, and are a few:
33
Cloth
The Cloth app lets you save and organizes photos of your favorite outfits, with the weather conditions noted for easy future searches. It’s free for you to create their own categories and view friends’ outfit feeds, which make you virtual closet dream come true.
1
2
Whisp
A messaging app focused sololy on fashion, currently available on iPad and web, and the iPhone. You can browse thousands of products from over 5,000 brands and then drag and drop best images of the items onto your personal Facebook or your “Whisps” chats. Most importantly, you are never directed to an item that’s sold out because every product featured on site are shoppable.
34
3
Tradesy
Tradesy is a unique technology platform to lead peer-to-peer online fashion marketplace for buyers and sellers. It encourages the buying and selling of premium items by guaranteeing authenticity, which protects customers from designer fakes and knockoff goods.
4
Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. It is easy for people to “pin” a picture, an outfit or an article they like, and with one click to their pinboard as the sources. Whether it’s vacation plans, new gadgets, favorite recipes, fashion or the latest home decor, Pinterest is an easy way for you to get any inspiration.
35
5
T echnology is also giving some significant opportunities to fashion industry workers that previously wouldn’t have them. For example, Lauren Sherman examines Peter Fitzpatrick’s
“ Will ‘Uber for Models’ Disrupt the Industry?” Lauren Sherman said in the Business of Fashion’s August 12th article.
new venture Swipecast. Unlike traditional modeling which involves an agency, Swipecast is an app that gives models the ability to be their own manager, meaning they can promote and negotiate for themselves, essentially giving them greater control of their career. Modeling agencies traditionally take up to 33% to represent the models, but Swipecast only takes 10% and just like Uber, the models and hiring companies can evaluate and rate them. T echnology has changed the fashion industry forever and is as important as the good design of products. While technology boosts the commercial aspect of fashion, fashion is also doing the same things to tech. Fashion gave
36
a changing aesthetic value to technology, so the products are both good looking and functional. With the fierce competition of the tech industry, it definitely needs fashion to survive. For example, Apple realizes that consumers want the latest gadgets and they also are coming to terms with the fact they want them to be fashionable as well. Even though Apple Watch is a fine piece of technology, which has already proven its function, the company is considering itself at the forefront of beautiful appearances. There are three special and chic designs of the watchband: one for the gym, another for work, and the last for a casual stroll through the city. Consumers could choose each of them for a different occasion. Meanwhile, in 2014, Apple teamed up with Michael Kors to design fashion-forward phone chargers that would appeal to those who want to be chic.
6
7
8
One of these new inventions is Ringly, Now, it is on the market with look like a unique gemstone ring, but really it is synced to your iPhone and vibrates when you receive a text or notification. It is perfect for when you are in a meeting or on a date and don’t want to be rude by checking your phone. Technology and fashion have influenced each other in countless ways, and it is clear that their merger will affect the future of dressing and the technology we incorporate into our wristbands, shoes, dress and so on.
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
| MAKEUP ARTIST| ENTREPRENEUR | YOUTUBE VIDEO BLOGGER
48
The Story of a Dreamer
Makeup is charming and powerful: it allows us to be who we want to be and be seen as we want to be seen. But those of us who wear makeup know to wield that power wisely is no easy task; it requires an innovative mind and a heart willing to experiment. One such artist is Michelle Phan, and if you do not know her yet, here is a story that will feed you with all the inspiration you need, for makeup, and maybe for your life as well. Michelle Phan is a Vietnam-born American girl, who first rose to fame in 2007 because of her video makeup tutorials on YouTube. The videos were originally fan requests on the beauty blog that she started in 2005. Over the course of seven years Phan has uploaded more than 300 self-edited videos and has had over 1 billion views and 8 million subscribers, an influence that successfully helped her to transform from a blogger and makeup demonstrator to a celebrity entrepreneur with two makeup lines (IQQU and em Cosmetics) and an author of a book—“Make Up: Your Life Guide to Beauty, Style, and Success -- Online and Off.” She also co-founded a venture firm—Shift Music Group, a makeup subscription startup--ipsy and premium lifestyle networks ICON and FAWN (For All Women Network). And hold your breath for this: Earlier this year, this 28-year-old girl made it to the Forbes 30 under 30 lists. retty impressive, right? But if you P check out Phan’s YouTube videos, you
will instantly understand her success. From easy and natural everyday looks, to the fantasy looks of Egyptian Queen or a Hollywood actress, from the sweet look of an angel baby to the ultimate seductive bad girl, from Lunar New Year beauty to a Valentine’s Day DIY or a Vampire makeup, Phan’s videos cover it all! No kidding, even someone as unadventurous as me found many of my alter ego looks there. It is hard not to admire Phan’s makeup skills and innovative ability to create with subtle tricks. Most important of all, all of the videos are innovative, clever, fun, well-edited and easy to follow. Raised by a single mother who owned a nail salon, Phan was exposed to beauty at an early age, but also had a love for art and drawing. Although turning her hobby into a business was not what Phan had envisioned when she first set up a video channel, she has earned her success by continuous effort and determination. She knew to stay relevant she had to constantly evolve and innovate and an online job meant being open 24/7, which was a huge commitment but at the same time fulfilling. Having achieved her biggest dream, which was to help her mom retire early, a goal not uncommon among young Asians, Phan is now fully taken up by the new challenge to run her business. Perhaps if you have a dream, you should wake up and realize it, too because all girls with talent, perseverance and ambition deserve to be blessed.
49
FLOURESCENT
FUN 50
halter /shorts / hat AMERICAN APPAREL white 2 pieces set URBAN OUTFITTERS
51
52
jacket RAGGED PRIEST white 2 piece set URBAN OUTFITTERS hat AMERICAN APPAREL
53
54
Photographer: Aleesha Woodson Hair & Makeup: Tamara Locke Model: Alyssa Stylist: Laynie Rouch
55
BALMAIN X H&M A Nation United By Fast Fashion? 56
T
he latest collection in a series of H&M’s collaborations with high-profile designers is set to arrive in stores in two weeks’ time on November 5. This time it is with Olivier Rousteing, the director of French luxury brand Balmain. From the big announcement at the Billboard Music Awards this May to the 2015 autumn-winter runway show earlier this week, this collaboration has made the headlines numerous times.
“ It shows the collaboration is not only about beautiful clothes, it’s also about creating a new fashion world of diversity and community, a positive message of tolerance, happiness, peace, and freedom. ” —Olivier Rousteing
NIt is hard for anyone to ignore the collection’s shiny beading and elaborate embroidery, and what is perhaps even harder to ignore is the hashtag #HMBalmaination that has been popping up everywhere on Instagram. Fast fashion, perhaps one of the greatest inventions in the history of marketing, already deserves to be examined in its own right. But when combined with a social media campaign? It makes a media spectacle. The H&M x Balmain campaign is definitely a successful one. Rousteing alone has 1.1 million followers on Instagram. Together with his models girls Kendall Jenner and Jourdan Dunn, he has a formidable power of influence. As he stated in the interview with VOGUE.com, Rousteing’s idea between the digital campaign and the collaboration itself was to “unite people” and have them join a “new nation of warriors from the entire world.” His goal is both ambitious and thought-provoking.
fashion is about stating one’s individuality confidently, isn’t an empire of warriors dressed in the same mass-produced clothes freaky? Is it not just another version of uniform? Some might get Rousteing’s positive message of “tolerance, happiness, peace, and freedom”, but I fail to see the “new fashion world of diversity and community”-he mentioned in Vogue. It is important to note here that fast fashion has come to exist because there is a niche market for it. To be more exact, it satisfies people’s psychological desire to be like the privileged that enjoy haute couture. Of course, I am not in a position to judge people’s desires or needs. In fact, what I find far more interesting is to look at the bigger picture—the production network and the life journey of a fast produced garment. In the case of the H&M x Balmain collaboration, Rousteing’s idea of a “united nation” is perhaps the perfect irony. It is a fair guess that the people “united” here are not only those who are waiting eagerly to get in the frontline on November 5, but also people from developing countries in Africa or Asia who are working overtime for a minimum wage. If poorly produced, how long is the piece going to last before it goes to a flea market, a charity shop or into a waste bin? Moreover, with the fast turnover speed, disposability and waste have already become an issue.
Who are the warriors? Are the people who fight to get in the queue for a couple of quickly produced, cheaply priced garments that magically embody tolerance and happiness, peace and freedom, sexiness and power— the allegedly “true spirit of Balmain”? If
57
Being fast is cool, but how many clothes should we produce before we start to consider others and the environment we live in? I am not making the case against H&M, or Rousteing’s fans, who have every right to choose who and what they like, all that I am saying is that by asking one or two extra questions—where do the clothes come from and where are they going to end up—we are offered a different perspective in looking at fast fashion, and its relation with capitalism and globalization .
58
Remember, remember, the 5th of November. This time, it is not so much about a British political conspiracy (go watch V for Vendetta, if you have not yet); it is the whole world being involved in yet another fast and furious capitalist invention. And that is not an all-glamorous picture.
59