fashionologie

Le Monde Launches T Magazine-Inspired M with Audrey Marnay

fashionologie — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 18:07:03 PDT

>> New York Times T Magazine envy has now gone global. At the beginning of this month, Le Monde launched the creatively-named M, its version of a lifestyle magazine, which has apparently been under development for a year and will publish monthly, making it slightly less frequent than T, which publishes 15 times a year. Matthias Vriens photographed the first cover with Audrey Marnay, plus an accompanying model-filled editorial inside; so far, the look is much more on par with a fashion magazine than the other T-inspired spinoff: The Wall Street Journal's WSJ.

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Muse Like Jagger: Georgia May's Style Evolution

Christina Perez — Fri, 25 May 2012 08:15:23 PDT

She may be Madonna's latest Material Girl, but Georgia May Jagger has always been one of the coolest girls around. With model-mom Jerry Hall's stunning bone structure and dad Mick's iconic gap-toothed pout - not to mention both parents' rock 'n' roll vibe - the 5'7" progeny-turned-muse has already been featured in scores of magazines, from American Vogue to i-D. She's also been photographed by the likes of Mario Sorrenti and Hedi Slimane, fronted major campaigns for Chanel and Versace, and has long-standing contracts with Hudson Jeans and Rimmel London.

"To be handpicked by Madonna and Lola as the new face of Material Girl is truly amazing," Jagger said of her latest endeavor, the back-to-school campaign for junior line Material Girl, which bows this Summer. "My agent received a call from the Material Girl team saying Lola and Madonna wanted to work together with me. From talking with Lola, she and her mum liked my style and thought it would be a good fit," Jagger elaborated. "I've always admired Madonna's style and I'm thrilled to be working with her and Lola. I dressed up like her for a school dance once!"

A look at Jagger's muse-worthy style evolution - which includes plenty of animal print, primary hues, and body-con silhouettes - here, in the gallery.

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Scott Schuman Speaks His Mind in New GQ Profile

Justin Fenner — Mon, 21 May 2012 10:47:24 PDT

Scott Schuman doesn't pull any punches in a new GQ profile that examines his rarefied place in the fashion industry.

"It shocks me when young kids still say, 'I want to do a magazine,'" Schuman, who started the blog The Sartorialist in 2005, says in the piece. "Really? Do you want to do a magazine because you want to be an editor - what you think that life is, that romance - or do you want to communicate? Because if you want to communicate, why the f*ck would you put all those obstacles in your path and have to print pages, as opposed to going right on the Internet and actually communicating?"

Alex Pappademas, who wrote the profile, describes Schuman as being able to travel "nimbly between fashion-world insider and outsider" - which could explain his license to say what he feels and his ability to sit front row at high-profile fashion shows. Read on for more of his quotes from the profile.

On meeting Ron Frasch, president and chief merchandising office at Saks: "He's looking right over my head," Schuman says, "and I remember thinking, I'm gonna make this f*cking blog so he looks at me when I'm talking to him."

On sitting Dolce & Gabbana's Spring 2009 show: "They got a humongous amount of press," Schuman says. "Look, we brought the bloggers in and gave them the front row. Look at the dancing-monkey bloggers! I could barely bring myself to sit down . . . Like, 'Ugh, I don't want everyone looking at us.' Like, Oh, look at the cute bloggers! Isn't that cute! Are they playing Angry Birds? When you've got Ron Frasch behind you going, 'I spent two f*cking million dollars on D&G's last collection, and I'm sitting here? For these little schmucks?'" (Schuman later clarified that Frasch didn't say anything to this effect.)

Kanye West on Schuman: "Scott gave me my first opportunity to be photographed in a different light than the normal rap way. So anytime Scott does anything, I don’t care where I am in the world. I'll be there."

Happy Birthday, Emmanuelle Alt

Christina Perez — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:54:32 PDT

It's been well over a year since Emmanuelle Alt took the helm of Vogue Paris, and while the aesthetic of that magazine may have changed, one thing's for certain: Alt's personal style has not. In fact, if there's one thing that can be said about Alt, it's that she definitely sticks to a look.

"Her style is her big shoulders, long legs, tight jeans, sleeves up to the elbow, one hip out. I personally like her. She’s a handsome French woman," Karl Lagerfeld has said of the minimalistic, admittedly low-maintenance editor in chief. "I don't look after myself. I don't do yoga, Pilates, those things. I hate physical effort, I don't run anywhere, but I am superenergetic. Makeup? I just black my eyes, and that's it. My hair? I get it cut on set. I never go to a hairdresser. I'm not sure I'm French," Alt has said.

Regardless, we think the überstylist's French appeal is quite apparent. So in honor of her May 18 birthday - and her refreshingly low-key chic - we've gathered up some of our favorite Alt-in-uniform style moments. Bon anniversaire!

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Vogue's Olympic Cover, H&M's Apology, and Lara Stone's Love Story

Justin Fenner — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:17:56 PDT

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

America's Olympians have taken over the June issue of Vogue, with a cover featuring soccer player Hope Solo, swimmer Ryan Lochte, and tennis star Serena Williams. Lochte is the fourth man to be included on the cover of Vogue (the other three are Richard Gere, George Clooney, and LeBron James). Inside the magazine, Karlie Kloss poses alongside other athletes, like gymnast Jonathan Horton and basketball player Dwyane Wade. [Vogue]
H&M has apologized for using an image of a tan-skinned Isabeli Fontana to advertise its Summer swimsuits after a Swedish anticancer group accused the brand of promoting "a beauty ideal that is deadly." H&M said in a statement that "It was not our intention to show off a specific ideal or to encourage dangerous behaviour, but was instead to show off our latest summer collection." [The New York Daily News]
Lara Stone revealed how her husband, David Walliams, managed to woo her in the new issue of Vogue Netherlands: "He stalked me," she joked. Asked whether she thought their romance was sparked by love at first sight, Stone said, "To him it was!" [Vogue UK]
Manolo Blahnik has signed a deal to expand his footprint in London. Shoe retailer Kurt Geiger will open a Manolo Blahnik shop-in-store at Harrods in time to sell the accessories brand's Fall 2012 collection. Kurt Geiger opened a similar space for Blahnik at Liberty London this February. [Vogue UK]
The May issue of L'Uomo Vogue is dedicated to "Rebranding Africa." Editor Franca Sozzani said she wanted to portray African nations in a favorable light. "Presenting a positive image of the continent means focusing world attention on an area that has been hitherto excluded," she said. [Fashion Etc.]
Meanwhile, Sozzani's other magazine Vogue Italia recently shot a spread featuring reality star Kim Kardashian. [@KimKardashian]
Model Lily Kwong has big plans for after she graduates from Columbia University. Kwong, who is Joseph Altuzarra's cousin, says she will travel on behalf of her new charity Nuvana, which helps empower the youth in poor communities. [Lifestyle Mirror]

Photo courtesy of Vogue.

Coco Rocha Could Sue Elle Brazil For Not Honoring Her No-Nudity Policy

fashionologie — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:20:49 PDT

>> Coco Rocha took to her blog to express unhappiness with how naked she looks on Elle Brazil's May cover - but if she wanted, she could take her fight all the way to court.

Rocha wrote on Tuesday afternoon that even though the cover makes her look as though she's wearing nothing under a sparkly, sheer dress, she was actually wearing a bodysuit when the photo was taken. Rocha claimed her undergarment was "photoshopped out to give the impression of me showing much more skin than I was, or am comfortable with. This was specifically against my expressed verbal and written direction to the entire team that they not do so. I’m extremely disappointed that my wishes and contract was ignored."

But more than being disappointed, Rocha could also be litigious. Susan Scafidi, the founder of Fordham University's Fashion Law Institute, told Fashionologie that Rocha could bring legal action against the magazine. Scafidi knows Rocha through her position on the board of directors of the Model Alliance, an organization that finds ways to improve working conditions for models; Rocha herself is a member of its advisory board.

"If her policy against no nudity or partial nudity was part of her written contract, then she can sue for breach of contract and potentially collect monetary damages," Scafidi wrote in an email. "It's possible that she could ask a court to stop distribution of the magazine, but that would probably be a long shot."

Scafidi went on to write that Rocha could still sue even if she only verbally expressed her desire not to appear naked. If that's the case, Rocha "might have an action for breach of privacy, emotional harm or - since she has a general no-nudity policy - damage to her professional reputation."

It's rare for models to speak up when their work depicts them in a manner that makes them uncomfortable - perhaps because of fear that they'll lose future opportunities. But Scafidi says Rocha is "a giant among models," so calling Elle Brazil to task won't hurt her.

"She won't be dropped by her agency or shunned by potential employers for writing about the incident or hiring a lawyer," Scafidi wrote. "But the fact that a major magazine would ignore even Coco's efforts to have some control over her own image gives a sense of how little authority models really have."

Scafidi was quick to point out that lesser-known models would still have the law on their side, but the same wouldn't necessarily be said of the industry at large.

"The sad reality is that if an unknown girl objected to being undressed via Photoshop and spoke out publicly against the client, she might as well be skinned alive, professionally speaking," she wrote.

Victoria Beckham Was in the Vogue Offices Today, But What Does It All Mean?

fashionologie — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:05:11 PDT

»Victoria Beckham was spotted in the reception area of Vogue's offices today — Is she a potential cover girl? [Chic Report]

»Catherine McNeil went to Disneyworld for her birthday, and here's a picture to prove it [MDX]

»There's something about ~~Mary~~ Agyness at Jean Paul Gaultier's party this evening [Dirty Dirty Dancing]

»Creepy puppet versions of Jean Paul Gaultier, Donatella Versace, and Giorgio Armani [Chic Report]

»Kate Moss is doing a charity tee with Topshop [FabSugar]

»H&M is planning to use organic cotton in all departments come Fall [Vogue UK]

»Guinevere van Seenus and Paolo Roversi shot a project for an upcoming New York Times T Magazine [The Moment]

»Alexander McQueen's forniphiliac table [CasaSugar]

»Previews of Yves Saint Laurent, Doo.ri Resort 2009 [WWD, WWD]

Newsweek Responds to Choice Words From Karl Lagerfeld

fashionologie — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:20:24 PDT

>> Karl Lagerfeld didn't pull any punches when asked how he felt about a recent Newsweek column suggesting he was "overrated" and spread too thin.

A reporter asked Lagerfeld during a press conference in Tokyo on Friday about his reaction to the Robin Givhan article in Newsweek this January. Lagerfeld downplayed the credibility of the story by calling the publication that printed it a dying news source.

"First of all, Tina Brown's magazine is not doing well at all . . . She is dying," he said. "I'm sorry for Tina Brown, who was such a success at Vanity Fair, to go down with a sh*tty little paper like this. I'm sorry."

In response, Newsweek released a statement to Fashionista which runs through empirical evidence to the contrary, claiming that the magazine is thriving under Brown's leadership.

"In the past year since Tina Brown took over as editor in chief of Newsweek, newsstand sales have increased 30 percent year on year, advertising pages have seen a 27 percent increase for the first quarter of 2012, we have over 2.2 million people engaged in our social media communities and perhaps the most telling indicator of the renewed vitality of Newsweek, subscription renewals, in a consistent state of decline since 2005, rose by 3% last year."

Whether or not those figures will change Lagerfeld's mind about the story is debatable.

Franca Sozzani Defends Haute Mess, Jennifer Lopez May Headline the Met Gala

fashionologie — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:14:40 PDT

>> Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

Franca Sozzani defended Vogue Italia's recent Haute Mess spread against accusations that it was racist, saying that it was not her intention to cause controversy with images of candy bars pasted into models' hairdos. "A racist image, I really do not understand," she said. "I went through the pages so many times. Like when we did the Black Issue, everybody said that we did that on purpose because Obama was the person chosen to go to the White House, and if you just think one second, not more than one second, you can see that to make a magazine like what we did for the Black Issue, it takes six months [to do]. … What do you answer? They don't know what it means to work at a magazine. That's it." [The Cut]

Menswear designer Simon Spurr left his eponymous fashion label last week without explanation. "At this moment, I'm not at liberty to say anything about what's gone on," he stated in an email. His unexpected departure came just a week after being nominated for the CFDA's menswear designer of the year award. [WWD]

Despite a statement from Vogue to the contrary, rumors have persisted that current cover girl Jennifer Lopez will be performing at the Met Gala this May. She's been a regular attendee of the event in the past, and with the added attention of being on the magazine's cover this Spring, the idea that she'll perform makes sense. Wait and see. [Fashion Etc.]

Fabien Baron, Karl Templer Starting New Magazine and M/M Paris to Interview?

fashionologie — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 14:54:46 PST

>> Yesterday's surprising news came in the form of co-editorial director Fabien Baron leaving Interview and taking creative director Karl Templer with him. Today's surprising news? Also about Fabien Baron - it's rumored that he may be launching his own publication with Templer.

Brant Publications released a statement in response to their exits today, confirming that Baron "decided to resign in order to focus on [his agency Baron & Baron]" and Templer resigned "in order to focus on other projects."

Baron also commented on his move - "now it’s time to focus all my energy on my own business and the many clients that have been loyal to me over the years" - but does his "own business" include a new magazine, as the buzz among his colleagues indicates? His "many clients" - which include luxury brands that Baron directs and sometimes even photographs ads for - could, as Gawker points out, allow Baron to be "especially well positioned to land what remains of [luxury print advertising]."

Meanwhile, back at Interview, M/M Paris, who just like Fabien Baron are well known for their work with Vogue Paris and luxury advertising, are said to be taking over creative direction.
*image: source