FASHION Magazine

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Wraiths and spectres of all kinds haunted the fall runways. At Altuzarra, eyes were rimmed with “spooky” grey shadow and an ominous reddish blur; models wore a “ghostly” pallor and eerily shining eyes at Mary Katrantzou; Gareth Pugh’s soot-washed damsels looked as if they’d just entered the netherworld through a burning house; and nails were scrawled with “redrum” at The Blonds, a nod to The Shining.

See all the backstage beauty details from Jason Wu Fall 2013 »

If you’re looking to add a little drama to your beauty look, purple is certainly the way to go. While the Jason Wu Fall 2013 collection was primarily black and white, the runway was given a burst of colour in the form of an exaggerated violet cat-eye that anchored every look. The bold colour choice was taken from Wu’s finale dress. To get the look, makeup artist Diane Kendal applied purple eye pencil, indigo shadow and shimmering lilac pigment, blending the edges as she went. Several coats of black mascara added definition while a subtle lip balm and velvet skin ensured the rest of the look was soft—keeping the eyes as the focus point of it all.

Canadian wonder boy Tommy Ton reflects on his street style photographs in a new monthly column. “This was the first time I’d ever seen Chiara, and it was…I don’t want to say love at first sight, but I was infatuated by her. It’s refreshing to see someone new for a change. I’ve noticed there’s a […]

The post Snapped by Tommy Ton: “She had me at Miu Miu” appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the manicures »

Lips, skin and hair were a study in texture on the Fall 2013 runways, and the same went for nails. Now, beauty brands are launching gritty, matte and high-gloss polishes, and top coats flecked with chunks of glitter or fabric. Global nail artist for L’Oréal Paris Tom Bachik offers his take on the trend.

Sentaler
“They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” Belgrade-born, Toronto-based designer Bojana Sentaler Nikolic could be referring to her own line of luxury coats, which are individually made and hand-finished, but in this case she’s talking about the inimitable Karl Lagerfeld. She crossed the Kaiser’s path five years ago while working in media in Dubai. During a meeting with him about the villas he was designing, she snuck in a few career questions of her own. “I said, ‘Listen, Karl, I went to business school, but my passion is fashion, can I do it?’” she recalls. “He said, ‘What do you mean? I didn’t go to fashion school, look at me.’ He was so blunt and nonchalant. That was 2008, and I launched Sentaler in 2009.”

Karl’s predictably eloquent advice aside, another driver in Sentaler’s decision to pursue a life of design was the dearth of winter outerwear that satisfied both her function and fashion requirements. “Wool coats weren’t warm enough, and puffy down jackets weren’t as elegant,” she says. “I remember not liking winters because of those jackets.” It took a six-month stint researching fabrics in South America to solve her conundrum. While in Peru, she zeroed in on alpaca fibres, which she praises for being warmer, lighter and more durable than wool.

Peek inside these closets »

Photography by Jake Rosenberg/The Coveteur

Photography by Jake Rosenberg/The Coveteur

Photography by Matthew Williams

Photography by Matthew Williams

Photography by l.A. Closet Design

1/5

Sylvia Mantella’s Closet

Sylvia Mantella’s Closet

2/5

Sylvia Mantella’s Closet

Sylvia Mantella’s Closet

3/5

Veronica Swanson Beard’s Closet

Veronica Swanson Beard’s Closet

4/5

Veronica Miele Beard’s Closet

Veronica Miele Beard’s Closet

5/5

Guliana Rancic’s Closet

Guliana Rancic’s Closet

By Shawna Cohen

What do Rachel Zoe, Tory Burch, Kim Kardashian and Mariah Carey have in common? They’re all household names, sure, but they happen to share something far more intimate: walk-in closets that could easily rival some of the world’s chicest high-end boutiques. Forget slick chef’s kitchens or luxurious, spa-like bathrooms—these days, it’s all about the closet. Once reserved as out-of-sight spaces for storing clothes, closets are quickly becoming the main attraction of multi-million-dollar homes. And they’re boasting everything from custom-designed couches and crystal chandeliers to wine bars, massage tables, oceanfront views and, in at least one instance, an escalator (how else to move around a two-storey walk-in?). Some closet connoisseurs are even incorporating “virtual styling tools” into the space, where they can be outfitted remotely by stylist via iPad or computer screen.

“It’s the last frontier of the home,” says Melanie Charlton, CEO and creative director of Clos-ette, a New York-based company that builds luxury closets for clients such as Kate Hudson and Jay Z. “Why would you put your All-Clad in a $250,000 kitchen but not outfit your closet that way? Let’s face it: Your Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Hermès [clothing] and your jewellery are often more expensive than the art and furniture in an entire home.”

That helps explain why people are dishing out hundreds of thousands of dollars—sometimes millions—to create spectacular closets that double as offices, dens or just quiet spaces in which to read a book, take a call or enjoy a glass of bubbly. “It’s becoming a sanctuary,” says Charlton. Consider it the female equivalent of the man cave.

Thanks to the popularity of websites like The Coveteur and reality shows such as Million Dollar Closets, we’re now more obsessed with peeking inside the closets of the rich, famous and fashionable than ever before. “We’re living in an age of fashion voyeurism,” says Erin Kleinberg, president and creative director of The Coveteur. “Because of social media—Twitter and Instagram, not to mention all those street-style fashion blogs—we’re used to it. In fact, we’ve come to expect it.” Since it launched in 2011, the site has featured more than 350 closets, showcasing the stylish wares of everyone from Anna Dello Russo to Margherita Missoni, but for Kleinberg the one that sticks out most belongs to Toronto philanthropist Sylvia Mantella. “She has this glass cabinet where she houses her Birkins—it almost acts as art,” Kleinberg says. “She also has a rotating closet, just like Cher Horowitz in Clueless!”

Our take on Fall 2013’s coat trends »

Coats on coats on coats. Fall’s necessary evil has turned especially trendy with Fall 2013’s many very cool takes on the must-have weather protector. Whether pink and girlish is your thing (and this season it most definitely should be) or borrowed from the boys items run rampant in your closet, we’ve got 43 coats and their essential accoutrements.

Jump to trend: CAPES | OVERSIZED | PINK | PLAID | TAILORED

To say that punk influenced the fall runways is an understatement; the late-’70s subculture bred from anti-establishment rock ’n’ roll dominated many collections. Aside from the tartan, vinyl, chains and studs, and the faux piercings on just one of the models’ lobes—a page ripped right out of the CBGB style guide—another trend rose from those anarchic ashes: choppy haircuts.

“Punk is an idea that was floating around,” Sam McKnight said backstage at Fendi, where he created haute fox-fur mohawks a few days after engineering a similar long-on-top, short-on-the-sides optical illusion at Clements Ribeiro.

“It might have been something in the air,” says Redken creative consultant Guido Palau of the punk theme, “but it wasn’t planned.” Other influences led him to create short styles at Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton and Jean Paul Gaultier—not least fashion’s fickle nature. “Designers see girls with long hair, and they get a little despondent. Sometimes they just want that different character, the kind of girl that would cut her hair.” Palau dates the move away from long, luxe locks to January 2013, when he cut over 40 wigs into gamine pixies for Raf Simons’s Spring 2013 Dior Haute Couture show. “Raf really wanted what that brings to an outfit—what that brings to a dress.”

See our top anti-aging eye products »

“Don’t you think she looks tired?” These six words, murmured by a male adversary, take down an entire government. Doctor Who’s Tenth Doctor is speaking about Harriet Jones, the 50-something prime minister of Britain. As his words spread doubt about her capabilities, Jones begins to panic and worry—appearing tired as a result. The time-travelling Doctor himself may be incredulous at how little has changed with regard to the link between professional women’s work and their appearance-—the appearance of fatigue, particularly.

So age discrimination persists against women? There are “all kinds of it,” says Spring Tompkins, a professor of human resources at St. Lawrence College. One acquaintance, a finance executive in her 60s, has been bombarded throughout her career with faux sympathy for her so-very-tiredness. “I know they’re trying to undermine me,” she says. “I just smile.” Such digs are a way of nipping at one’s confidence and sense of security in the many industries that value youth over experience. It’s a global issue: The Daily Beast reports that in China, professional women nearing their 30s are increasingly resorting to plastic surgery—many job postings are open only to women under 30, and unmarried females in their late 20s are commonly referred to as “leftover women.”

There are three voices talking at once, and a blow-dryer is whirling at high speed via a long-distance call from Australia. The first remotely audible sound is from 24-year-old Danielle Haim, who immediately excuses herself from the interview to use the shower because her throat is feeling “nasty.” The second is from 27-year-old Este Haim, and the third is from 21-year-old Alana Haim, who blurts out a “Thanks for the call, man!” and shakes the receiver.

Alana apologizes for the lame, crackling phone connection and explains that this is how it always is with the sisters’ band, Haim. Overlapping thoughts. Different schedules happening at once. Various energy levels. “We are all-over-the-place crazy until it really matters,” she says, “but when it’s time to rock, everyone sits tight and has to work at the same speed. It was so much harder to work with other people. We’re best friends too.”

Alana says that in the midst of the chaos, they always have a trick up their sleeve—something that she feels other musical sister acts such as Heart, Tegan and Sara and CocoRosie must also share.

“We have this psychic sister thing going on that makes us finish [each other’s] sentences, lyrics and chords. It’s pretty weird for the average person, but for us, and I think for other sister groups, it’s a normal way to communicate.”

If ever a retail wiz there was, the omnipotent Zara is one because, well, the list is a lengthy one. There’s the dominating presence of its 1,763 stores worldwide, and that’s not including its offspring, Zara Kids and Zara Home. There’s its notoriously media-shy founder, Amancio Ortega, who keeps a low profile despite being the world’s fourth-richest person. And there’s the miraculous way the brand has weathered the recession with record profits and continued expansion, not to mention its disparate cult of loyal followers that includes the Duchess of Cambridge, Garance Doré and the girl next door. And although the brand has made enemies of high-end designers who have accused it of lifting designs directly from runways, the company has yet to be successfully challenged. But none of these achievements can be credited to any advertising smoke and mirrors: Zara doesn’t do splashy billboards or TV spots.

So when I received a rare invitation to visit the retailer’s gated headquarters, I double clicked “yes.” As someone who lacks neither the courage to wear a Balenciaga bra top nor the heart to don Céline’s palazzo pants but perhaps the funds to do so, I was eager to meet my great and powerful fast fashion maker.

If the recent runways are any indication, the fixation with rich, outré lip colours isn’t fading anytime soon. From metallic purple (Fendi) to fluoro-pink (Christian Dior) to burning red (Marni), makeup artists have ignited a newfound appreciation for highly individualized hues. Yet for certain style and beauty influencers, a bold swipe of colour across the lips is a defining feature that separates them from the pack. More than a spritz of perfume or a faithful handbag, lipstick conveys the nuances of their personality, making them instantly recognizable. Here, we asked our favourite lipstick devotees to bare all when it comes to their shades and brands of choice, how they discovered their prized hues and their expert application tricks.

HANNAH BRONFMAN | MIA MORETTI | POPPY KING | LINDA RODIN | KATE YOUNG | JEN BRILL