FASHION Magazine

“This was the very first photo I took from the spring season. Sometimes it takes a couple of days to feel like you’re seeing something new that inspires you, but when I saw Kate coming up the steps, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I need to take this picture right away.’ I love how […]

The post Snapped by Tommy Ton: “We’re entering a new era of fashion” appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the Spring 2014 beauty looks »

As bare-bones beauty dominates the runways, a few holdouts are making sure fantasy lives on.

It was a casual remark, meant to highlight the exceptional craftsmanship behind the Old Hollywood-inspired, ultra-glamorous sets he devised for the Armani Privé Fall 2013 Couture show. But hairstylist Orlando Pita’s words backstage in Paris last summer offered an astute commentary on the state of runway beauty as a whole: “Now that John Galliano and Alexander McQueen are gone from the business, a new guard has created a kind of couture that relates to the street,” he said. “It was always about fantasy; that’s gone for now.”

The role of the backstage beauty team is to complete the full translation from the designer’s mind; it helps refine the woman, or the character, who would wear the clothes. Certain designers stuck to their fantasy-driven existence for spring, with all the over-the-top beauty fanfare that goes with it (Gareth Pugh’s alien-inspired eyebrow discs; Thom Browne’s frizzy-haired, smudged-makeup insane asylum patients; Vivienne Westwood’s similarly unnerved walking dead iteration). However, if you take a look at some of the most anticipated shows of the past few seasons, the resonance of Pita’s statement becomes much louder. From Proenza Schouler, Alexander Wang and The Row to Burberry Prorsum, Christopher Kane, Balmain and Isabel Marant, there has been an overwhelming reliance on minimal makeup and easy, undone hair that was most certainly not in the phrasebooks of Galliano or McQueen—or Thierry Mugler and Azzedine Alaïa, for that matter.

For those of you who ain’t the type to completely trend-ify your wardrobe, let your extras do the talking with this list of 24 accessories for the foolproof freshen up.

View by trend The ’90s | Athlete | World

Nail art’s not quite dead, but the baroque period is definitely over, as these five fresh-from-the-runways trends show. We’re in a minimalist phase, embracing subtle detailing, a more subdued palette and considerably less sparkle.

Jump to: CANDY-COATED | WHITEOUT | FRENCH REDUX | MOON PHASE | SPARKLE & SHINE

See the spring statement photo shoot »

Whether it’s a wordy print, an arty pattern or an accessory that will get them talking, make a heartfelt statement this spring. Nude male model: optional.

In an age when it is socially unacceptable to have loads of free time, Olivia Stren wonders why being busy has become the ultimate symbol of success.

“How are you?” a barista asked me recently. “Super busy?” He was presumably too busy frothing almond milk for another customer to wait for my answer.

“Yeah. SO busy. Crazed!” I replied. And lied. I wasn’t crazed that day (at least not from busyness). Granted, I was busy feeling guilty, a low-grade panic about not being busy enough. But I was hardly going to shame myself by revealing the vacancy of my calendar to my barista (especially as he was clearly too busy to care). I fetched my latte and proceeded to check my iPhone with a socially acceptable sigh of tension and frustration. (See George Costanza in Seinfeld: “When you look annoyed all the time, people think that you’re busy.”) Today, being busy is code for being important, successful and valid, and admitting to not being busy is admitting to hopeless loserdom.

See the entire Proenza Schouler for M.A.C collection »

They say that youth is wasted on the young, but Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez haven’t frittered theirs away. In 2002, at only 23, they launched Proenza Schouler, which has gone global. But in spite of running one of the most coveted labels in the world, they retain an air of boyish charm.

Seated in a suite in London’s Claridge’s hotel, both are in rumpled clothes and sneakers: Hernandez’s are New Balance, McCollough’s are Adidas. They’re here to discuss their partnership with M.A.C, a brand that has paved the way for designer makeup collaborations—Alexander McQueen, Rodarte and Gareth Pugh are a few it’s teamed with. “We don’t even think of them as collaborations,” says James Gager, senior vice-president and group creative director. “My attitude is these are just people who are part of our brand.” Given that M.A.C has been the beauty sponsor for Proenza’s shows since 2008, it’s a wonder it didn’t happen sooner.

The recent trajectory of Canadian star Taylor Kitsch’s career is testament to his staying power: after a duo of box office misfires, Kitsch has a series of upcoming movies that are sure to put dubious criticisms to rest. Known best for his role as Tim Riggins, the brooding running back in Friday Night Lights, Kitsch sprung to fame on the big screen for his role as fan favourite Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and as drug kingpin Chon in Oliver Stone’s Savages. Not one to dwell on his career’s more minor moments, Kitsch maintains that he will continue to choose roles in movies he cares about, regardless of the risk factor. Two such films he has slated for 2014 include The Normal Heart, which focuses on the early ‘80s HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City (costarring Mark Ruffalo and Julia Roberts), and Canadian comedy The Grand Seduction, in which Kitsch plays a big-city doctor who descends upon a Maritime village in order to secure a factory contract and save the town from financial ruin.

In an exclusive interview with Men’s FASHION, Kitsch opens up about upcoming films, his love of laying low in his adopted hometown of Austin, Texas, and his foray into a new side of moviemaking with his upcoming directorial debut.  

See this season’s top flankers »

When I was 14, a friend and her family picked me up to go to a play. When I got into the car, her normally reticent 18-year-old (and thus super-intriguing) brother said to me: “Wow, you smell amazing.” I had recently received my first bottle of Issey Miyake’s L’Eau d’Issey as a birthday request—I liked the idea of a watery smell and felt a Japanese designer was terribly sophisticated—and was taken with spraying it into the air above my head and twirling under the mist.

This encounter cemented my decades-long love for the ’90s classic (and for being told I smell great), during which time I collected many of the variations of it that came and went on the local department store counter like colourful siblings in town for a short visit. On a given day, I’d pick a version to match my mood: Summer of 2005 or 2008 if it was warm outside, A Drop of Cloud (2009) if I was feeling pensive, Fleur de Bois (2010) to cultivate a much-needed air of mystery. Somewhere along the way, I actually stopped wearing the original, since each new one offered what I loved about it along with a new and exciting twist.

For Lorde’s first Canadian magazine cover, the 17-year-old Grammy-winner was exclusively photographed and interviewed for FASHION Magazine on a quick stop in Texas during her recent tour. Taking time out between her sold-out concert in Austin and another sold-out show in Houston (where the cover was shot), the New Zealand-born pop star—she’s the country’s biggest […]

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When you move an ocean away for a new life and a new job in a new country, you might expect to be the odd accent out in a weekly status meeting, or take an occasional ribbing for your use of words like “sweater” and “tank top” instead of “jumper” and “vest.” Unless, of course, you’re a Canadian working at The Outnet.

While the British e-tailer’s staff is remarkably international, one can’t help but notice that Canadians occupy some key positions.

Mary Chaim is the New York-based head of merchandise planning, leading a team that works directly with designers to source end-of-season runs and create exclusive pieces for the site. Rebecca Tay is the editor responsible for all written communication, and social media writer Malwina Gudowska looks after The Outnet’s social media platforms. Tay and Gudowska are London residents and FASHION alumnae—Tay was FASHION’s western editor from 2007 to 2010, while Gudowska was FASHION’s first Alberta editor, from 2006 to 2009. Toronto-born art director Jane Gorley, who recently left The Outnet to join a London-based start-up, helped shape the original creative vision for the site, including its design and custom content. And if you question president Stephanie Phair about her nationality, she’ll whip out her Canadian passport. “I was born in Mexico and grew up in London, but my father is from Chatham, Ont.,” she says. Phair has been with the firm since it launched with two employees in 2009.

In the age of the selfie, Waris Ahluwalia is the world’s most reluctant subject. In Gap ads and New York social diaries, the actor/jewellery designer appears deadpan and remote. But travelling with him in his native India, I discover a cheerful, easygoing guy with a deep appreciation for handmade things. It’s a passion he shares with Alexandra Weston, Holt Renfrew’s director of brand strategy, who asked Ahluwalia to help curate an “Uncrate India” collection for H Project (available April 1), a section within Holt Renfrew stores offering “extraordinary products with extraordinary stories.” I was invited to tag along on their treasure hunt. Journeying through Rajasthan, seeing expert hands bringing jewellery, scarves and wooden boxes to life was heart-warming for us all. As Weston puts it, “Supporting craft in any way you can is the most important thing you can do, because craft is the way out of poverty.”

Read on to discover our journey through India: