FASHION Magazine

Once upon a time, itineraries were planned by travel agents. Then, there were extensive guide books. Then, of course, there was the internet and suddenly we all became insufferable sources of information like “the coolest under-the-radar nightclubs in Berlin” and “the best coffee in Melbourne” and “the chicest vintage markets in Paris.” Now, we’re all […]

The post <em>The New York Times’</em> “36 Hours” Toronto Guide is Now a Real-Life Tour appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Bill O’Reilly’s Fox News reign has come to an abrupt end. The longtime host for the network has been kicked off following multiple accusations of sexual harassment that have recently surfaced. 21st Century Fox released a statement Wednesday confirming, “After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the Company and Bill O’Reilly have agreed that […]

The post Fox News Drops Bill O’Reilly Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

John Galliano is back on the map after a two-year hiatus. The Gibraltar-born British fashion designer, who not so long ago held the reins to one of the biggest fashion houses in the industry, has been the subject of much dispute since his 2011 firing from Dior. Galliano spottings over the past couple of years have been scarce, leaving questions about a possible comeback unanswered. With a new Vanity Fair interview on the stands and a televised one just released online, Galliano seems to be straying from the low profile he’s been keeping contributing to suspicions of a rebound on the horizon. From internships at his designer pal’s atelier to facing blackout drinking, were taking a look at recent developments in John Galliano’s slow but sure return.

When Katie Holmes first announced her divorce, we were all shocked by the move: up until a month ago, she seemed every part the dutiful wife, playing a supporting role to Tom Cruise’s megawatt presence. What we didn’t realize at the time was just how much Holmes would shatter that old image in the weeks to come.

Since that announcement, Elle’s oddly prophetic and impossibly well-timed feature on Holmes went viral across the web, Holmes’ legal team managed to pull off what must be one of the fastest settlements in celebrity divorce history (two weeks…two weeks!), Holmes snagged sole custody of Suri, taped an appearance on Project Runway and managed to make a series of almost daily public appearances around her home in New York City, looking impeccably put-together and serene each time (in other words, not acting or looking like someone who was going through a painful divorce).

What’s particularly admirable about these appearances though is the discrete marketing tactic implicit in them: with hoards of paparazzo clamoring for a picture outside her door every day post-scandal, Holmes very wisely chose to almost exclusively don none other than Holmes & Yang, her own line with former Cruise stylist Jeanna Yang, for her jaunts about town. As the New York Times puts it, the paparazzo shots have become “a stealth ad campaign,” one that’s been put into motion right before the brand’s first-ever showing at New York Fashion Week come September.

“The way she’s getting photographed today, she’s in a position to get more exposure than ever before,” Robert Burke, a former Bergdorf Goodman executive and fashion consultant, told the New York Times. “She’s not waiting for fashion editors and stylists to come and pull her clothes.”

Whether it’s a strategy or not, it’s worked: Holmes & Yang sales have skyrocketed at retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys. Whatever your feelings about the former Mrs. Cruise are now, you have to give it to her: she’s not the brainwashed sidekick we once thought she was.

The Russian fashion elite (also known as the “Russian Fashion Pack”) are having a moment right now, one that may have culminated yesterday in street-style-star-turned-designer Ulyana Sergeenko’s debut couture collection.

Rolling out right in between Chanel and Armani Privé’s shows, the couture collector’s first-ever collection was an ode to her country’s folklore and heritage, complete with babushkas, hand-carved wooden shoes and fur-lined military coats. Grace Coddington and Carine Roitfeld sat front row, which if anything, is a testament to Sergeenko and the rest of the Russian Fashion Pack’s appeal right now.

“America has Jackie O, and the world has Audrey Hepburn, but Russia never had a fashion icon of the moment,” Anya Ziourova, the fashion director of the Russian version of Tatler, told the New York Times in a feature titled “The Czarinas Are Back.” “Maybe that is what is happening: the modern Russian icons are being born.”

If street style blogs are any indication of style, then the Russian fash-pack has it in spades. Something about their individually distinct aesthetics and sartorial risk-taking has caught heavy-hitting and influential photographers’ eyes, turning them into fashion stars overnight.

Take designer Vika Gazinskaya, for example: the Russian gamine quickly gained visibility online, thanks to heavily circulated photographs of her by Garance Doré, Scott Schuman and Tommy Ton across the blogosphere. In a strategic move, she wore her own designs to the fashion show circuit, and thanks to the blogosphere pics, the move worked out: her pieces are now carried at Colette in Paris and Fivestory in New York.

There’s also Miroslava (or Mira) Duma, the daughter of a Russian senator and the former editor of Russia’s Harper’s Bazaar, who has become as known (if not more so) for her quirky, colourful style as her popular fashion website Buro 24/7.

And then, of course, there’s Sergeenko, arguably the leader of the pack: like her couture collection on Tuesday, the former model’s signatures are full, ‘50s-esque skirts paired with tight wool sweaters, dramatic Russian touches like babushkas and stunning makeup that hearkens back to another time.

The leading ladies of the Russian Fashion Pack may have some deep pockets (Sergeenko’s husband is an insurance billionaire), but their inimitable style and work is what’s really distinguishing them among their peers.

Because summer is the ultimate time for tunage, we’ve picked out a few of our favourite ladies to listen to while you’re busy sitting on the dock of the bay.

METRIC | GOSSIP | GRIMES | EMELI SANDÉ | MELANIE FIONA

Word: Camarilla

Meaning: A private, often secret, even sinister group of unelected advisors surrounding a leader or ruler; a cabal.

Usage: “SEKVIA’S DARK OUTLOOK; King Peter Dominated by the Military Camarilla. Prospects Are That Radicals Will Win at Approaching Election—King Peter May Then Leave the Country.” – a New York Times cablegram in 1903. (Sekvia, by the way, was in the Balkans… I think.)

Word: Book musical

Meaning: A musical in which the songs and dances are fully integrated into a well-made story, with serious dramatic goals, kinda like a book. Often, book musicals are actually based on books.

Usage: “The Book of Mormon… ardently embraces the all-American art form of the inspirational book musical.” — the New York Times

Word: Twitterology

Meaning: The study of tweets, or more academically, “real-time language data.”

Word: Near-futurism

Meaning: A concern with the events of the future, coupled with a belief that the future is… now.

Usage: “The current wave of literary near futurism comes at a time when the printed book — and the very act of traditional reading — seems under siege by digital technology.” — New York Times, The 10th Annual Year in Ideas, 2010

One of fashion’s most celebrated yet understated stars, Bill Cunningham, is finally getting his moment in the spotlight…. though he’s already shying back out of it. Despite photographing some of the most memorable street style images in over 4 decades for the New York Times (many times from a bicycle that he folds into a closet outside his apartment in Carnegie Hall), the 80+-year-old photographer sees himself as nothing more than a mere fashion enthusiast. Proving nothing but the contrary, director Richard Press turned his lens on the man for the new film, Bill Cunningham New York. Finally opening in Toronto and Vancouver this Friday April 22nd after receiving weeks of rave reviews from New York and LA, the film is so overwhelmingly heartwarming that it’ll have you crying tears of fashion joy. We had the change to speak with Press and quiz him all about Bill and his legendary impact on fashion.