FASHION Magazine

Nicola Formichetti is one of the few rarified figures in fashion who deserves the mantle of “trailblazer.” As Lady Gaga’s fashion director, he was responsible for some of the most memorable fashion moments of the past decade, including the head-to-toe Alexander McQueen cyborg beetle look Gaga wore in her “Bad Romance” video, as well as […]

The post Nicola Formichetti on His New Collab With M.A.C (And Why Sometimes a Lipstick Isn’t <em>Just</em> a Lipstick) appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the Diesel Tribute Capsule collection »

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Diesel Tribute Capsule Collection

Diesel Tribute Capsule Collection

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Diesel Reboot Flash T-Shirt

Diesel Reboot Flash T-Shirt

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Diesel Tribute Capsule Collection

Diesel Tribute Capsule Collection

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Diesel Tribute Capsule Collection

Diesel Tribute Capsule Collection

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Diesel Tribute Capsule Collection

Diesel Tribute Capsule Collection

When I arrive at Nicola Formichetti’s New York studio, located on a quiet street in the no man’s land between Tribeca and Chinatown, I’m greeted by a chaotic production scene and a whole lot of very stylish, very busy-looking Chinese people. Photographers are zigzagging around the space, women with clipboards are running after them, everyone’s iPhones are out and ablaze. Apparently, Chinese pop star Momo Wu (and her extensive entourage) is here filming a segment with Formichetti, whom I spot patiently posing for pictures while being shouted at in Mandarin. I’m quickly ushered into the metallic calm of a waiting elevator and whisked up to the designer’s fourth-floor loft.

When the elevator doors open, I find myself face to face with a different kind of frenzy. Compared to the clean-lined studio downstairs, which calls to mind a Tokyo gallery with its minimal decor and silver sculptures on display, Formichetti’s private space is an unexpected explosion of youthful exuberance and unadulterated kawaii. Seeing this wonderland of tropical plants, fuzzy shag rugs and colourful plush toys, I can’t help but smile, despite the sensory overload. I don’t know what I expected of the radical former Mugler designer’s New York pad (a sinister-looking crown on the mantel perhaps? A lace and latex settee?), but a rainbow-coloured cartoon fantasy was not it.

When Formichetti appears a few minutes later, he is equal parts bemused and bewildered. “It’s crazy down there!” he proclaims. “Did you see all those people? I must have had 10 cameras facing me!” Momo Wu has come to woo him, he explains as he collapses onto a pink and purple sofa upholstered in a whimsical Japanese fruit and flower print. He settles in between a stuffed Tarepanda doll and a Rilakkuma pillow. “She wants to work with me,” he shrugs. “Apparently, she’s
the Lady Gaga of China.”

Formichetti may be best known as the former stylist (and still bestie) of Lady Gaga, but these days he’s got more on his mind than meat gowns, feather headdresses and bubble-machine minis. As fashion director at Uniqlo and recently appointed artistic director at Diesel, it seems the boundary-pushing designer is going back to basics. “I’m very interested in the fantasy side of fashion, but at the same time I’ve always been into street culture,” he says. “Diesel is in between »

View the Mugler party photos »

A good-looking crowd of Vancouverites elected to put on their Tuesday Best (lipstick, heels, an exaggerated shoulder) last night and head to The Room at the Bay rather than sit at home in sweatpants glued to the Obama-Romney battle royal. What lured them away from CNN? Two other men, Mugler creative director Nicola Formichetti and women’s designer Sébastien Peigné, plus an exhibition of out-of-this-world dresses from the archives.

It’s Paris. It’s raining. And the fashion cognoscenti are rethinking their footwear for Paris Fashion Week Spring 2013. Velvet slippers are out. And maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to leave the Hunter wellies at home. Here are some high and low lights from my first day in the city of light: Champagne with […]

The post Paris Fashion Week Spring 2013: See-through trousers at Dries Van Voten, peplum hems (and a bit of Gaga) at Mugler, champagne with Eddie Borgo and more appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

When Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said they were taking inspiration from Sicily for their Spring 2013 men’s collection, they meant it quite literally. Seventy boys and men from the island, where the label is originally from, were plucked from the streets and brought over to Milan to walk in the duo’s garbs.

The scene on the runway was an overt nod to retro Sicily: lean, olive-skinned boys and moustached men alike took to the runway in an array of belted, high-waisted shorts, soft three-piece suits, carnival-striped shirts and souvenir prints. Though the collection itself has received mostly positive reviews, the fleet of Sicilians was definitely the most standout aspect of the entire show, offering an “authentic emotional punch” that had most of the industry captivated.

It’s no big secret that the fashion industry is on a never-ending search for “the next big thing,” something to shake jaded fashion watchers out of their doldrums and inject excitement into their ennui. Several years ago, style bloggers and street style photographers seemed to offer something more raw and authentic than the traditional fashion circuit, but as the popularity of blogging rose, its “edge” seemed to slowly wear off. Though fashion blogging is still alive and well, its novelty has waned. With street style photography, what used to be an unfiltered take on what real people were wearing on the streets has exploded into a veritable zoo during fashion weeks and outside of fashion hot spots.

Strategic cut-outs, thigh-high slits and body-con shapes: Sébastien Peigné and Nicola Formichetti of Mugler are bringing sexy back.

Reviving Mugler is a monster task. After designer Thierry Mugler took his final runway bow at his couture show in July 2000, this kinky house of cool (remember Demi Moore’s bondage-style dress in 1993’s Indecent Proposal?) started flatlining. Ten years later, the resuscitation began. In 2010, following months of speculation, Nicola Formichetti (Lady Gaga’s stylist) was tapped to lead the revival of the French house known for its over-the-top theatricality and sex appeal. Besides outfitting Mother Monster, this 34-year-old half-Italian, half-Japanese, techno-savvy superstar is also the fashion director for Vogue Hommes Japan and global retailer Uniqlo. His debut Mugler womenswear show during Fall 2011 Paris Fashion Week had the twitterverse buzzing about its latex-dipped leggings, body-stocking dresses and the catwalk pièce de résistance: Gaga, smoking in every sense of the word.

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When I was a newspaper reporter, the water-cooler chat often turned to “how we got the story.”

Investigative reporters would describe months spent wooing reluctant sources. Photographers would detail how they wound up in the right place at the right time. And foreign correspondents told tales of bribery and squalor.

Things aren’t quite so dramatic on the fashion beat, but we have our moments.

Runway photographer Peter Stigter, whose images you see throughout every issue of FASHION, often finds himself crammed onto a riser in show venues that are so stifling, the sweat from other shooters rains down on his head.

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If last night’s cocktail party at The Room in Toronto was all about the Mugler woman, the party’s many attendees showed just how diverse that woman can be. At one end of the spectrum was the usual mix of the city’s most fashionable ladies: Model Yasmin Warsame in exaggerated shoulders and a floor-length skirt, the Bay’s Sarah Kosloff in a velvet and shimmering silver vintage duo (the whole outfit bought for a cool $45), and our own Bernadette Morra in a black metallic Herman-Sellers-Gough jacket with a platinum-tipped fox collar. At the other, two transgendered attendees respectively in lace and coned leather, looking every bit Mother Monster as Gaga herself.

Known for her crazy outfits and antics—like showing up to the Grammys in an egg—we aren’t shocked by Lady Gaga’s cover for the newest issue of Visionaire Magazine. Styled by her BFF Nicola Formichetti, she appears as an oil-slicked mermaid—standard fare for the pop star, really. What is outrageous, however, is the magazine’s literal take on the issue’s theme of larger than life. The deluxe issue measures in at 5×7 feet (yes, that’s taller than the average human) and costs a cool $1,500. (The standard issue is a measly 3×4 feet in size, and much more affordable.) It should go without saying the size has broken a Guinness World Record.

Word: Ink

Meaning: In this case, slang for “tattoo.”

Usage: “Let’s get inked,” we imagine Lady Gaga said to LA Ink artist Kat Von D.

Replace candy for clothes, and Fashion’s Night Out could easily be described as the Halloween of fashion (no, not because it’s scary). For one night only, the streets of New York are jam-packed with merrymakers trying to navigate their way from one party to the next. In and amongst the crowd, our boy Lewis Mirrett was snapping away, capturing all of the festivities in his signature vibrant way! We’re feeling pretty jazzed by the photos, and have added some hilarious (we hope!) captions to add to the fun. Enjoy!

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John Galliano’s court date draws closer. The ex-Dior designer will be going on trial this Wednesday. [Vogue UK]