fashionologie

Video Sneak Peek: The Day Before with Proenza Schouler, Fendi, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Sonia Rykiel

fashionologie — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:59:39 PDT

>> Loic Prigent's The Day Before series, documenting the 48 hours before Proenza Schouler, Fendi, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Sonia Rykiel shows, doesn't air on the Sundance Channel until Sept. 9, but they've put up 11 clips total spanning the four segments, and the entire Fendi episode has leaked to YouTube - watch here. A couple of favorite clips below: the first in which Karl Lagerfeld's muse Amanda Harlech yells for some music, initiating the Fendi employees' seasonal late night fashion show - one male staffer even wobbles the runway in vertiginous Fendi heels; the second in which Proenza Schouler's clearly nervous Jack McCullough - who yearns for a cheeseburger - and "fidgeting" Lazaro Hernandez are inclined to physically touch every look backstage before it goes out on the runway. Ikram boutique' Ikram Goldman calls it "blessing" the garment.

The video clips! »

Michelle Obama's Style: Unfairly Biased by Ikram Goldman?

fashionologie — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:25:10 PST

>> The meteoric rise of Jason Wu - he has tripled his sales appointments for his sold out, yet-to-be-unveiled Fall 2009 collection - shows what an influence Michelle Obama can have on a designer. But Wu doesn't just have Obama to thank - he never actually interacted with the First Lady, but rather with Ikram Goldman, owner of Chicago boutique Ikram, and Obama's gatekeeper to the fashion industry.

In fact, none of the designers who have made clothes for the First Lady have had any direct contact with their White House client - all commissions, measurements, bills, and other directions have been mediated by Ikram, causing something of a controversy; the clothes that Obama has worn recently are predominantly from designers that Cathy Horyn points out, "Ikram sells and ultimately stands to benefit from" - Jason Wu, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Proenza Schouler, Thakoon, and Mario Cornejo.

Is Obama limiting herself? »

Jason Wu, Isabel Toledo Relish in the Mrs. O Aftershock

fashionologie — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 10:26:10 PST

>> First Lady Michelle Obama - soon to be Vogue cover girl, most likely shot by Annie Leibovitz - has been in position for a day and already made a couple of careers: those of Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu, who are now household names.

Both designers' looks were special-ordered through Chicago boutique owner Ikram Goldman, who is expected the advise the First Lady over the next four years - she also helped with Obama's choice of Jimmy Choo shoes and Loree Rodkin jewelry - and neither Wu nor Toledo were told their designs were for the inauguration. The two designers were on The Today Show this morning, talking color choice, fabric choice, and how they were "awestruck," in the words of Jason. And that's not even to mention how all of this will impact their sales - a Spring version of Toledo's dress will hit Barneys in March, retailing for $1,500.

Video: Jason Wu and Isabel Toledo on Mrs. O »

Time Names 100 Greatest Fashion Icons

fashionologie — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:31:22 PDT

Coco Chanel in 1920

>> Time magazine today released its list of the 100 greatest fashion icons, a collection of designers, brands, models, muses, photographers, editors, and stylists meant to be the definitive guide to the "visionaries that changed how we think about what we wear, and how we wear it."

The list includes all of the expected players - Coco Chanel is there, as are Yves Saint Laurent, Anna Wintour, Naomi Campbell, and Steven Meisel - but there are also a few people most wouldn't think of for a list like this. Sarah Blakely, inventor of Spanx, is included because she "has helped shape the modern woman - literally." Jacques Heim and Louis Réard, the men who simultaneously invented what eventually became the bikini are also on the list.

Time only mentions style influencers who made an impact after 1923 - the beginning of Time magazine - which means the list reaches back to people like '20s icon Zelda Fitzgerald and Chanel rival Elsa Schiaparelli. The list doesn't include any notable retailers (Andrew Saks and Ikram Goldman would have been worthy additions), and it's also not very diverse - of the 100 people on the list, only eight are black and two are Asian.

Still, the list is a testament to how vital the creative forces of the fashion industry are to the world at large. Take a look at the whole thing on Time.

Thakoon Goes with Scuba Warriors for Spring 2009

fashionologie — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:08:15 PDT

>> Thakoon got a boost earlier this year via Michelle Obama and then again later with his prominent role in The September Issue, and although Ikram Goldman (the First Lady's unofficial style advisor) was in attendance at his Spring 2010 show again today, he's still looking for ways to save costs without compromising creativity, he told Cathy Horyn last week. He ended up buying a large supply of crinkled jacquard and printing it in different patterns, lowering costs, and can use the fabric again for future collections.

As for compromising creativity, his Spring 2010 collection - full of his hallmark brightly-colored prints mixed and patchworked together, scuba-like pants, and printed heels done in collaboration with Giuseppe Zanotti - earned some comparisons to Balenciaga's Spring 2003 scuba collection, WWD reported a number of editors noting. But ultimately these days, it comes down to whether the pieces will sell - and the slashed and draped, Fortuny pleated dresses should have no problem in that arena.

Fun little sidenotes: Bee Shaffer attended the show, but Anna Wintour skipped for the US Open; and Thakoon's backstage passes were pins featuring a picture of his dog, Steve, on them.

View Slideshow ›

fashionologie — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:40:31 PST

>> INSIDER WIRE -Unlike Isabel Toledo, who is selling a version of Michelle Obama's inaugural day dress starting in March, Jason Wu doesn't plan on reproducing her inaugural ball gown for sale. "This can’t be replicated - it will never appear in any form in my collection. It has to be special." Even before Wu saw Mrs. Obama wearing his gown, which the First Lady's style advisor Ikram Goldman told him should "sparkle," he treated it with special care, flying it to Chicago himself over Thanksgiving. "I was like, I'm delivering this myself! I didn't want anyone else touching it!" [Heard on the Runway, Teen Vogue]
*image: source