rodarte for vancouver

Sometimes, the stars align and two things you love dearly join forces and the results are amazing in ways you couldn't have ever predicted. Like Lady Gaga and Beyonce.  Or chocolate and peanut butter. Or Forever 21 and my clothing budget.
Added to the list: figure skating and the Rodarte sisters. Yes, you read that right. Fresh off the success of their diffusion line with Target, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sisters behind Rodarte, designed outfits for a select few Olympians in a New York Times Style Magazine photo shoot. The most notable outfit was the one donned by Johnny Weir, the ice dancer who freaking skated to "Poker Face" dressed like Edward Scissorhands. I imagine he'd be a little chilly wearing this outfit on the ice, but it's fabulous nonetheless:

 

In addition to providing ice skaters with something a little more Vogue-worthy than short, sassy skirts and sparkly unitards, they also outfitted freestyle skier Jeret Peterson in this stylish sweater:

 

Check out the magazine for more shots from the editorial--they're pretty great. Meanwhile, I'll be practicing my triple axel, since it now seems to be a reasonable way to ensure some Rodarte in my future. 

sizing up

I didn't want to comment on V magazine's size issue until I had read and taken the time to digest the whole thing--even though we all saw about 85% of the photos well before the magazine was released. So I was happy to get my hands on a copy when I was out and about this weekend.
It seems that the fashion community is finally starting to realize how unrealistic and potentially damaging it is for them to send the message that looking like a pubescent girl at age 25 is ideal. More importantly, they are actually starting to do something to change it. Plus size model Crystal Renn is becoming more of a household name after starring in a few Glamour editorials and, of course, makes an appearance in V's "One Size Fits All" spread, which features her modeling the same outfit as "straight-sized" model Jacquelyn Jablonski and looking really, really good. I didn't love that particular editorial though. I get the message: Plus sized woman can look just as good as (or better than!) thin models wearing the exact same clothes. But the spread reminded me of one of those "Spot the Differences" games in Highlights for Children. I don't think it was their intention, but I think the shoot seemed to draw more attention to how different the models look instead of how marvelously they both wear the clothes.

I liked the "Curves Ahead" editorial that featured plus-sized models only, but I didn't like that the entire focus of the photos seemed to be on their bodies. When Anja Rubik or Karlie Kloss model, they are showing off clothes or cosmetics or shoes. When they stuck these models behind the camera, the message seems to be, "they might be a size 14, but they still look good!"

What it all boils down to, for me, is this marginalization of so-called plus sized models. They seem to exist so magazine editors, photographers, designers and so on and so forth can be appear less shallow and more open minded to different types of beauty. I don't think it's fair for these gorgeous and talented models to be used so critics will get off the fashion community's back about glorifying unrealistic body types.
I'm not saying the editors of V didn't have their heart in the right place, because I think they did. And mostly, I think the issue was a success. I just wish we could do away with the whole plus-sized/straight-sized label and just call them models. And not comment on a woman's body as if it is ours to dissect. Because at the end of the day, fashion is about beauty and creativity and fantasy. And you need diversity for all those things to exist.

images from stylist.com and socialitelife.com

vampire weekend

I headed straight over to Repo after work today to pick up the new Vampire Weekend album, and let me tell you, Anna approves. She stuck the guys in an editorial with Sasha Pivovarova in Vogue's January 2010 issue.  Just thought you might like to know.

image: modelinia.com  

In other news, happy birthday, Colleen!

V&R

source

I love that they put Gaga in this SS10 Viktor and Rolf piece for Elle's January issue.
I realize this blog is quickly becoming a tribute to Lady Gaga... New Year's resolution: Find another hobby? Or another obsession? It's so hard though! I'm still listening to The Fame Monster on repeat! It never gets old!
Anyway, Happy Holidays, everyone!

lara

I really need the December 2009 issue of British Vogue. My current favorite (and everyone's current favorite) model Lara Stone graces the cover and stars in a elegant, ballgown filled-photo shoot and interview in which she reveals her struggle with alcoholism and recounts a story of pushing another model down a flight of stairs. WHY ISN'T IT AT BORDERS YET??

image fashiontography.blogspot.com

thin is in--but why?

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While fashion is certainly a fun hobby for me, there are times when I want to examine the serious influence fashion has on our culture. After reading a Washington Post article op-ed, I decided to discuss the issue of unhealthy-looking models and the impact their presence has on society. I ended up having a lot to say on the topic, so I decided to post my thoughts here. I warn you, this is a long entry, so if you don't have anywhere to be for the next 10 minutes or so, pull up a chair and enjoy. And if you think I'm full of it--that's what the comments are for!

This past Sunday in the Washington Post, Robin Givhan, the paper's fashion editor, wrote an op-ed about the recent flair-up of controversy surrounding the trend of seriously skinny fashion models. Needless to say, she seemed to come down in favor of the status-quo. I think the fashion industry needs to re-evaluate itself when it comes to who they'd like to model their clothes, but Givhan brought up some points defending the fashion industry that I think are worth discussing further.

In the article, Givhan addressed the public's growing concern for extremely thin models and the message fashion designers and magazine editors are sending by allowing them to walk down runways, pose for editorials and be photoshopped beyond recognition in advertisements. As Givhan points out, public outrage recently reached a fever pitch when a Polo Ralph Lauren advertisement featured model Filipa Hamilton so severely photoshopped that her head appeared to be significantly wider than her waist. Adding insult to injury, Hamilton revealed that she was fired from the company because she--all of 5-foot-10 and 120 pounds--couldn't fit in the sample sizes.

Filippa Hamilton, human lollipop.

Hearing stories like Hamilton's makes me disappointed in the fashion industry. I agree with critics who have called for larger sample sizes, because a frequent excuse editors use when explaining why they don't use larger models is because they simply don't fit in the clothes designers send them. That's a shame, because I really don't see why designers can only spare size zeroes. However, I also don't think the solution to fashion's latest obsession with thinness is as simple as critics seem to think. Here are a few arguments Givhan makes and my take on them:

Argument 1--It's just fashion, people: As Givhan points out in her article, people are quick to jump all over the fashion industry for being "too much" of many things: too expensive, too revealing, too ugly, too severe. But anyone who thinks what's on runways and in magazine editorials is something everyone should aspire to is missing the point.

You would wear these boots to the office, right?

Fashion isn't about being normal or fitting in or even being comfortable. Just because models strutted down Prada's AW2009 runway in thigh-high wader boots doesn't mean you're going to get kicked off the planet for sticking with sneakers. Fashion is a business of extremes and it's a fantasy parallel universe. Which brings me to Givhan's next point...

Argument 2--Fashion is giving people what they secretly want: We all see that models are getting younger and thinner. What does that say about our culture? Givhan references the so-called obesity epidemic plaguing Americans and how we're all striving to become thinner. Same goes with youth: People have fetishized youth and feared aging for years now, and fashion is simply showing what the majority of people like to see. I suppose a chicken-or-the-egg counterpoint could come in here: is fashion taking cues from what we value aesthetically as a culture or is our culture's obsession with youth and thinness coming from fashion? I personally think designers and editors are just doing their market research--people prefer to look at what they aspire to be, not what they already are. So with that in mind, Givhan's final point...

Argument 3--You want models to get bigger? Than get smaller: This is where the article falls a little flat. Givhan invokes a little fashion bitchery when she more or less says thin models will go away only when the people watching them aren't fat and jealous. She doesn't think people are upset because the models are unhealthy or ugly-looking, but because, as Givhan says, their look is "unattainable for most people." While it's true that most people cannot maintain the weight of a model while functioning normally, I don't think one can chalk up people's disgust to a simple case of jealousy. Many critics are more concerned with the health of the models and the unrealistic ideal that's being presented to the young, the impressionable and the insecure.

To conclude, I'm not quite sure where I stand on this particular issue. I agree the most with argument #1, that at the end of the day, it's just fashion, not the law. I enjoy magazines and fashion shows because they're fun and extraordinary. The extremes we see in couture shows and editorials are verrryy watered-down by the time they hit the mall, so most of us actually cannot follow the trends we see on the runway to a T. But at the same time, the way Givhan glosses over the health issue doesn't sit right with me. She says the people complaining about thin models "aren't asking for a doctor's note," and are more concerned about the aesthetic. While many models are simply naturally thin, many more aren't and are putting their health at risk to conform to a questionable ideal. And even more frighteningly, there are plenty of fashion obsessives out there (most likely young and female) who think they need to look like what they see in a magazine. It's not fashion's responsibility to make sure everyone has a healthy body image, but this is an important part of the issue that Givhan doesn't even acknowlege.

Like I said, this is a tough issue--but I think it's great people are voicing their concerns and realizing they do have a say in fashion, and that it isn't just a bunch of mindless trends being shoved down our throats.

photos from jezebel.com and dailymail.co.uk

on vogue

Yesterday I picked up Vogue's May 2009 issue, the one with the pull-out cover featuring fashion's current top models (no, neither Saliesha nor McKey graces the cover). I've only been reading Vogue sporadically lately because it just isn't doing anything for me.

fashionista.com
How many times are they going to put Gwyneth on the cover? Snore.

I remember I used to pore over each issue, cover to cover, every month as recently as a few years ago. The fashion layouts were creative and interesting and the articles contained substance and at least attempted to tackle real issues.

flickr.com
Remember how awesome this Sept. 06 cover was?

Now especially, Vogue is showing just how out of touch they are with the American middle class. This month, there's a downright insulting essay by former Village Voice editor Lynn Yaeger that details the poor New Yorker's struggle in realizing that she could no longer afford $900 sweaters after being laid off. Boo-hoo! The story wraps up with the author getting a nice paycheck from Vogue to write this very sob story. Turns out freelancing in NYC pays handsomely, because she could then re-purchase a vintage ring she had to return after losing her full-time job. Hooray! Vogue, please. Most likely, the wealthy readers you had before the economic downturn are still able to spend extravagantly and the not-so-wealthy readers who lost their jobs and faced real troubles like losing their house and car instead of vintage jewelry still aren't putting Vogue's recommendations on their shopping list. Just stay true to who you are and when the economy turns back around, you can go back to not feeling so guilty about it.