FASHION Magazine

Few can claim to embody the term “masterclass” the way Marina Abramović can. The Serbian-born, New York-based performance artist has consistently risked her physical and mental health in order to examine the concept of human limitation. In 1974, for a piece called Rhythm 5, Abramović set fire to a large petroleum-soaked pentacle and lay expressionless in the centre of the star as the flames went up (she fainted from a lack of oxygen). Other extreme works—some of which are covered in 2012’s acclaimed documentary on her life, Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present—had Abramović dripping candle wax on her bare skin, masturbating in public, cleaning human skulls and offering her naked body to strangers, who were encouraged to dress and undress her. One of her most time-consuming pieces—a 1988 performance titled The Lovers—had Abramović walk the east side of the Great Wall of China alone. The trip, which measured more than 2,000 kilometres, was planned alongside a parallel expedition taken by her lover and partner, Ulay, who trekked up the wall’s west side so the two could meet in the middle. When the pair reunited—three months after their respective journeys began—Abramović chose the moment to tell him she was putting an end to their professional and personal relationship.

See photos from the CFDA Awards 2013 »

Photography by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Photography by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Photography by Jennifer Graylock/Getty Images for Swarovski

Photography by Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Photography courtesy BFA/Calvin Klein

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CFDA Awards 2013

Marina Abramovic, Riccardo Tisci, Actress Jessica Chastain and Adriana Lima

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CFDA Awards 2013 Phillip Lim Rose Byrne

Phillip Lim and Rose Byrne

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CFDA Awards 2013 Elizabeth Olsen Mary Kate Olsen

Elizabeth and Mary Kate Olsen

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CFDA Awards 2013 Lazaro Hernandez Kerry Washington Jack McCollough

CFDA Awards 2013 Lazaro Hernandez, Kerry Washington and Jack McCollough

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CFDA Awards 2013 Francisco Costa Rooney Mara

Francisco Costa and Rooney Mara

The who’s who of fashion piled into the Lincoln Centre’s Alice Tully Hall last night for the CFDA Awards 2013 in New York City. For those who are a little unfamiliar to the event, the ceremony is to the fashion industry what the Grammys are to music. Let’s just say, you’re more likely to see Zac Posen on the red carpet, that you are J Biebs.

From Hilary Rhoda’s Helmut Lang number to Nicole Richie’s metallic maxi, the red carpet saw fashions finest (accompanied by their favourite six-foot-tall friends) in a variety of daring ensembles. Adriana Lima’s floor sweeping Givenchy frock left little to the imagination with its sheer skirt, while Jessica Chastain’s little black after-party-ready dress looked fabulous with her main accessory, Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci, whom she later presented the international award to. Erin Wasson looked positively futuristic in her edgy Alexander Wang gown while Miranda Kerr supported the boys at Proenza Schouler with a stunning blue mini by the label. Kerr’s fellow Victoria’s Secret angel Candice Swanepoel accompanied a very lucky Prabal Gurung to the event. Poor Michael Kors, who couldn’t decide on which model-friend to be his plus one, ended up bringing two dazzling dates, Karolina Kurkova and Cody Horn, who wore shimmering pieces from his collection. Meanwhile, Mary-Kate Olsen swapped sisters for the night, dressing Elizabeth Olsen in The Row while she stuck to her vintage penchant in Issey Miyake.

See the Met Gala 2013 red carpet photos »

The build up to this year’s Met Gala has been major. Designers, celebrities and the fashion elite have been scrambling to piece together a look that fits the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s theme, PUNK: Chaos to Couture and while admittedly, the punk-inspired looks were few and far between, we were certainly thrilled with a few.

Channeling her own recent V Magazine cover, Miley Cyrus went latter day Debbie Harry with platinum blonde spikes and a long fishnet Marc Jacobs dress. Anne Hathaway debuted a similarly bleached bob alongside her date and dresser for the night, Valentino Garavani, sending the twittersphere in a tizzy.

Co-chairs of the event Riccardo Tisci and Rooney Mara went punk-light with Mara in a beautifully detailed white lace Givenchy dress and a pop of crimson on the lips.

Also wearing Givenchy was none other than Beyoncé—the honourary chairperson for this year’s event. Pairing her custom-designed strapless black and gold printed gown with blinged out boots in the same shade, Queen Bey proved for her second year in a row that last on the red carpet is always best.

After finally receiving the Anna Wintour nod of approval, Kim Kardashian made an appearance at the Met Gala 2013 in a floral-print Givenchy dress with baby-daddy, Kanye West at her side.

Someone who is more known for consistently nailing red carpet looks than Kimye, is Emma Watson and she hit a high note yet again in a skin-bearing Prabal Gurung dress with a single silver drop earring hanging from her left ear.

And while Kristen Stewart has held fast to her role as the face of Balenciaga’s Florabotanica, she strayed from the house’s new wears, opting instead, for a crimson Stella McCartney pantsuit.

So who was the best dressed at the Met Gala 2013? Vote in our poll!

See our favourite MET Gala looks and predictions »

It’s been a couple of months since the last big red carpet event and let’s face it: what is fashion without the red carpet? Since May is just around the corner, this only means the biggest fashion event of the year, the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala in New York. This year’s exhibit, PUNK: Chaos to Couture, will feature around designs for both men and women focusing on the evolution of punk’s influence in the world of fashion since the birth of its movement in the 1970s to its present day.

With punk theme as the focus, who better than to have punk’s latest muse, actress Rooney Mara, and Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci as this year’s co-chairs alongside Anna Wintour and Moda Operandi’s Lauren Santo Domingo? Not usually associated with punk, Beyonce was named Honourary Chair of the event as if her show-stopping Givenchy dress at last year’s MET Gala was not enough of a reason to be given this honour.

See Kate Moss’s Stuart Weitzman Ads »

After her recent Vanity Fair cover and the release of her own book, Kate Moss has now been named the face of Stuart Weitzman’s Spring 2013 campaign.

Photographed in black and white by Mario Testino (a long time collaborator of Moss’s), this role marks the first time the British supermodel has modeled in an American shoe designer’s campaign, despite her nearly two-decade career.

Of the shoot, Moss said “I had a great time shooting the Stuart Weitzman campaign and I’m so happy to be the face of the brand this season. Working with Mario Testino is always fun and it was wonderful meeting Stuart on set.”

Rumour has it that H&M’s next designer collaboration will be with none other than Givenchy and the French fashion house’s alleged collection will be released sometime in 2013. The thing about H&M collaboration rumours is that most of the time, they actually come true. Rumours circulated about Maison Martin Margiela, Versace, and Marni—all of which […]

The post Could Givenchy be H&M’s latest designer collaboration? All rumours point to yes! appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

An Ottawa model, a Toronto-bred photographer and a Paris hotel room packed with haute couture. What a perfect way to illustrate FASHION’s mandate—bringing the international world of fashion home.

PHOTO SHOOT:
See the gallery of images now »

BEHIND THE SCENES:
Goes behind the scenes at our haute couture shoot in Paris »

VIDEOS:
Watch as we share two videos from the shoot »

ON LOCATION:
Hôtel de Crillon in Paris »

See the Carine Roitfeld M.A.C Cosmetics party photos »

If who comes to your party is an indication of your popularity, then Carine Roitfeld is the most popular girl in Paris. The list of attendees at last night’s European launch of her special M.A.C Cosmetics collection (which ironically leaves Canadian shelves tomorrow) runs the gamut of fashion’s biggest and best.

Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino Garavani, Azzedine Alaia, Nicolas Ghesquière, Riccardo Tisci, Mario Testino, Giambattista Valli, Haider Ackermann, Anna Dello Russo, Kanye West, Natalia Vodianova, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and many, many more turned up last night to toast the former Vogue Paris chief, editor of her own magazine and world’s most stylish grandma.

Now here’s a rave we’d actually like to go to: a dancing Stella Tennant, thumping electronic music and a Givenchy wardrobe. Much more chic than the usual glow-in-the-dark sticks and face paint. The fractured images of Tennant shimmying under a stormy sky in violet Givenchy are meant to capture the electric euphoria of a rave […]

The post Just released: Givenchy’s Fall 2012 ad starring Stella Tennant makes us want to rave appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

This one is for all you designer diehards out there—the ones who would risk their rent on the latest Riccardo Tisci masterpiece. You know what it’s like to go without the many, only to behold the fashionable few. But how do you justify that one outlandish designer purchase? We’re here to help. We’ve done the math, and come up with enough affordable outfits to justify that one gotta-have-it-now item.

Case in point: Proenza Schouler’s latest PS1. Despite the designers’ intention to create just the opposite, Jack and Laz created a beast of a must-have in the classic style back in ’08, and its Spring 2012 iteration has us seeing stars (or rather, tropical flowers). At a cool $1,125 for the Pochette model, we figure you’ve gotta wear this guy quite a few times to make it work, and being bright yellow, that ain’t an easy feat. Working out to just under $113 a wear, we’ve styled 10 full and unique looks on Marta that make the PS1 proud.

Have a peek. Foam at the mouth. And then be happy that no other single item in the gallery costs anywhere close to $1,125.

JUMP TO A LOOK:

Christopher Kane at Christian Dior? The prince of neon was placed into the Galliano-replacement ring earlier this week by Suzy Menkes, who claimed, in her International Herald Tribune column, that the 29-year-old designer was set to take a seat on the dizzying designer merry-go-round—but alas, he’s already put the rumour to rest. Kane says, “I […]

The post Well, you can cross Christopher Kane off the Galliano-replacement list at Dior appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

It’s not every day that you get to play host to a living, breathing masterpiece! The Canadian Art Foundation was lucky enough to showcase Yugoslavian performance artist Marina Abramovic, who was in Toronto for the Canadian premiere of The Artist is Present at the Reel Artists Film Festival. The new documentary film chronicles her prolific and often painful career and follows the preparation for her 2010 retrospective show at the MoMA—she spent more than 700 hours over the course of three months staring into the eyes of museum visitors. Beyond her lifelong love affair with performance art, Abramovic is a designer devotee (having discovered fashion after a particularly nasty breakup); in the film, she’s shown shopping at Givenchy with none other than Riccardo Tisci. It’s no surprise then that the 65-year-old wore head-to-toe Costume National to the premiere, or that she counts Fashion Television’s Jeanne Beker as a fan. At the a swank soiree, held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and bookended by not one but two cocktail parties, we spotted a smattering of guests from Canada’s creative set including Luminato’s Jörn Weisbrodt (who also made an appearance in the film), the Beckerman clan, and gallery owner Daniel Faria.

View the photo gallery »