Real New Yorkers know that our favorite time of the year is upon us, no Christmas did not come early. It is Fashion Week, the time when we throw on our best threads to get a sneak peak of next seasons trends. And what better way to prepare New Yorkers for fashion week than with a pop-up shop. [Read more…] about Mixology Clothing Company Takes Over Fashion Week
Fashion Week
KYE Presents Their Fall/Winter 2016 Fashion Week Collection
New York Fashion Week, one of the most iconic weeks in the best city in the world, is wrapping up another successful week of events including some of the biggest and up and coming designers in the world. A notable one that ran their show last week is KYE, who presented their 2016 Fall/Winter collection at Skylight Clarkson Square last Thursday. Here is some more info on their fabulous show.
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Nicole Miller’s Nordic Theme Rocks New York Fashion Week
One of the most anticipated weeks in fashion has finally arrived, as New York Fashion Week has begun in the Big Apple. Some of the biggest names in fashion have come out to debut their fall lines in hopes that it will appeal to the masses and either make them the next big thing or keep their massive careers on the up on up. Someone who is part of the latter of those two categories is famed fashion designer Nicole Miller, who debuted her fall fashion line last night at the Skylight Clarkson Square.
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New York Fashion Week: Todd Snyder Review
Fashion week is in full swing here in New York City! Some of the biggest names in the industry to the green and up and coming designers have brought out their best of the best for what is to come for Spring 2015. My good friend and top of the line photographer Jason Jaskot was able to cover some of the best and the brightest shows, one in particular being menswear designer Todd Snyder.
Here is a little more of a background about Todd Snyder via his website–
Iowa native Todd Snyder launched his eponymous menswear collection exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman, Ron Herman, and Neiman Marcus for Fall 2011. Inspired by Savile Row craftsmanship, military tailoring, and a distinct New York sensibility, the line has garnered wide critical and commercial praise in the US. In 2012, the line was picked up by Barneys New York and select Nordstrom stores; simultaneously, Snyder was nominated for the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear and named one of GQ’s Best New Menswear Designers. More recently, Snyder was selected as one of the 2013 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists. During that time he launched his Todd Snyder + Champion collaboration with the iconic Rochester, NY-based sportswear brand, and opened his first New York boutique, called City Gym, at 242 Elizabeth Street in NoLiTa.
This success is a humbling reaffirmation of Snyder’s roots. In Dutch, his surname means “one who makes outer garments” and while studying textile and clothing design at Iowa State University, Snyder learned the art of cutting and sewing at the Des Moines haberdashery Badowers. He spent the following two decades honing his skills in New York, designing outerwear for Polo Ralph Lauren, working as Director of Menswear for the Gap, and SVP of menswear at J. Crew, where he revamped men’s styling, introduced formalwear, and launched a series of collaborations with heritage brands like Timex, Red Wing, Thomas Mason, and Alden that culminated in the popular Liquor Store boutique, opened in 2008. At the helm of his own brand, Snyder still strives to deliver on the rubric set forth by his Badowers mentor: “A perfectly fitted suit makes the man.”
Todd’s collection looked phenomenal, totally modern and tailored for the everyday man. His use of the standard colors were elevated to another level and overall from the looks of the photos this seems like this will be a big hit with consumers worldwide.
Todd has recently collaborated with notable sportswear company Champion. As stated on the website, “Inspired by Champion’s Glory Days, each piece is a collectible part of sartorial history and has been made for the maximum amount of versatility and utility.”
Fashion Flash-Forward: The Future in Fashion
I am admittedly a sci-fi nerd. The other day I was reading about jazz musician, performance artist, and Afrofuturist philosopher Sun Ra and his iconic work Space Is the Place.
It got me thinking about the fact that futurism has continued to find its way into fashion and aesthetic concepts, from Jean Paul Gaultier’s costume design for The Fifth Element to singer Janelle Monae’s Metropolis cycle.
Something about the distant future inspires us to imagine new possibilities and make bolder aesthetic choices. When I was researching for my performance piece about an extra-dimensional traveler, Arken: Searching for Wonder, I sought out images of futuristic fashion for inspiration. Here are a few images and designers that excite my mind.
This editorial from Numéro Homme called “Manhattan Psycho” effortlessly merges classic style with a sci-fi sensibility.
Coco and Breezy’s entire line of edgy accessories has futuristic overtones, but its “20/20” campaign is all about what accessorizing will mean in the future: “‘Planet C &&B’ is a world that consists only of fresh air and extreme sunlight where normal eyes cannot stand to view without being covered.”
Kay Kwok presented some out-of-this-world design concepts at his FW14 fashion week show in London. I don’t know if I’d wear this stuff on a regular trip to the grocery store, but I wouldn’t mind owning one of those visors, and I’m sure I’d cause a splash if I received dinner guests in that ET two-piece.
Lee Roach’s line has a much more subtle sci-fi flavor as he makes use of shiny materials and contemplates how our evolution will result in more streamlined fashion, by eliminating collars and lapels, for example.
Nasir Mazhar‘s FW14 collection updates men’s sportswear by exploring geometric shapes, distorted lines, quirky accessories, and shiny space suit sheen.
In the “Warriors” editorial, Holly Fox-Lee imagines how modern-day hip hop style might evolve, fusing it with an ancestral tribal aesthetic and taking it to extremes in terms of shape, scale, and materials.
This editorial called “The Visitors” in G7 magazine features my buddy Ulrico Eguizábal, who I met while I was modeling in Argentina. Not only does it use the concept of alien “visitors” to play with size and shape, but it also imagines a future style that challenges our current gender norms in fashion (thank goodness), using elements typically associated with femininity, like shoulder pads and long flowing fabrics, to highlight the male form in a fascinating new way.
Some of my favorite futuristic designs (and the ones I’d be most likely to wear in day-to-day life) come from Skingraft, which makes nuanced use of a lot of the earlier-mentioned elements, geometric shapes, extraterrestrial mystique, and interesting combinations of materials.
Finally, INAISCE is one of my personal favorite designers right now, in part because it incorporates futurism into its larger design concept to create clothing that is arresting, undeniably unique, and totally wearable. Not only do I absolutely love the campaign for Fall/Winter 2013, but I’m also ecstatic to see another tall African model, South Sudan native Ger Duany, take center stage with his beautiful, otherworldly features. Africans unite!
Model Alexey Kim on Making Style an Art Form
As a creative artist, I am naturally drawn to other creative spirits that are unapologetically unique, nuanced in their choices, sophisticated, and undeniably fierce. Enter Kazakh model Alexey Kim. The day I met Alexey, he was wearing a slinky black tank top, a baseball cap tilted to the side, and acid washed jeans that were shredded and covered in silver spikes that I later found out he added himself. I knew immediately that we would get along famously and was surer still when I caught wind of his quirky sense of humor. Alexey not only has a truly artistic fashion sensibility but also the attitude and confidence to carry even his most avant-garde couture creations. Needless to say he’s given me some great tips on posing when I’m modeling for photo shoots and has become my fashion hero. Here’s a bit of our conversation about his career and his thoughts on fashion and style.
What excites you about fashion and style?
Personal style is what actually excites me the most. There is a certain art to putting together a great outfit. It is cool to see people getting clothes from here and there, from a luxury label and mixing it with a national retailer, to come up with their own unique way of making all the items work as a whole.
How did you get into modeling?
I was approached by a scout from Elite Models in Miami. I was sitting in Starbucks crying my ass off. I’m still thinking how awkward she must have felt when she approached me, looked into my mascara-smudged face, and asked, “Do you model?” Just kidding. I never wear mascara.
Name your three favorite new things in your wardrobe.
1. Dark purple bomber jacket from H&M. It’s short but warm, and the color is kick ass too.
2. These shiny pleather pants that I got. They are Alice & Olivia…ahem… for…men… Don’t judge! Men’s pants usually don’t fit me!
No judgment here.
I love seeing people’s reactions when I wear them, “Is that made from a garbage bag?” Haha awesome!
3. KTZ gloves. They have huge pop-out red hearts on them, are too big, and aren’t warm, but who cares? I just like them.
What designers are you really into this season?
I’m always into Balmain, Helmut Lang, and Phillip Lim. Balmain has the most impressive looking clothes while not being too over the top. Helmut Lang is luxury necessities. Clean lines, solid colors. Phillip Lim – I really like his use and combination of colors and his fabric choices.
I know that you also alter a lot of your own clothing. Where do you get your inspiration? Have you ever thought about being a designer?
Well I got my very first inspiration to alter something from…don’t you dare laugh at me…Britney. Remember at some point she was all about wearing low-rise jeans, like in that video for “I’m Not a Girl Not Yet a Woman”? You could almost see her babies come out. Well, I wanted low-rise jeans too. Do you think you could find those in Kazakhstan? No! Mom’s jeans all day every day for everyone! So I cut off the upper part of my jeans, took in the sides, and attached the loopholes lower. Now you could almost see my babies come out. I loved it. And yes, I think about designing every day.
You’re also a street style blogger. What new trends would you like to see in men’s fashion?
I would like to see more men wear slick tailored suits with nice ties and watches, a pocket-handkerchief too, perhaps. I also think long brim fedoras look sharp.
What advice do you have for guys that want to look stylish but aren’t as edgy or adventurous as you are with fashion? Where are some easy places for them to find good clothes?
Thing is, national retailers are doing the most right now. You can go to H&M and buy something from their Dark Purple Label. That’s a bit more expensive but also much more stylish and well made. Or Zara. You can come out looking like you just dropped money at an expensive department store. When I buy something I always think, “Can I wear this with most of the stuff that I already own?” It’s always best to recycle and mix an item with things that you already have.
What projects do you have going on now?
Right now I am starting my own digital design agency, and I also just had an important interview with a great fashion house. Fingers crossed.
New York Men’s Fashion Week Launch Party!
- Credit to Jason Jaskot
Fashion week is in full swing here in New York City! Regardless of Nemo coming in and trying to ruin our good time, people still showed up in their best to support and watch the amazing designs of several different designers. This past Saturday was no different. The launch party for “New York Men’s Fashion Week” took place at the Roosevelt Hotel in the heart of New York
City. The designers featured were Janet Zheng, Andrew Nowell and Ray Vicente.
As a newbie in the fashion world, I have to say I was very impressed by each of the designers. Their aesthetics were on point in terms of the what each designer was going for. Ray’s line definitely had an international feel to it, with rich uses of the color green. Andrew’s line was more of the norm you would see in an issue of GQ but with an amazing addition to it- fur accessories such as shoes, hats and gloves. Not a fur fan myself, but it did look interesting paired off with the suits each of the men wore. To finish the night off. Janet had some amazing designs with jackets amongst other items with a great use of purple and white. All in all, it was a great show.
WM Michael Reid did an amazing job emceeing the event, giving great introductions to each of the designers and giving them time at the end of each of their shows to talk to the press and audience. Check out for more of New York Men’s Fashion Week as a separate event, as that launches in June.
Janeration’s Fashion Show: Knits, Colors, and The Cashmere Touch Collection
Bravo Jane and Anna. Bravo. Timeless, stunning touches of detail, and superb craftsmanship is what Janeration’s Ready-To-Wear hand knitted collection is bringing to the table for 2013. The Cashmere Touch collection is about color, embellishments, leather, textures, crocheting, and above all beautifully executed pieces. [Read more…] about Janeration’s Fashion Show: Knits, Colors, and The Cashmere Touch Collection